India won the second test against Australia today by 320 runs. The victory margin is that big for various reasons:
1. India batted well in the first innings with Ganguly's hundred and Dhoni's 92 getting India past an average score to a good score once Tendulkar had led the way with 88.
2. Australia bowled averagely. Bowling in India is hard. Ask Warne. Lee hasn't played in India before and is dealing with off-field problems and the other bowlers haven't really played test cricket before. Siddle and White are doing very well given their inexperience. Johnson appears to be able to bowl well against and in India but can't take wickets against anyone else. Which is kinda backwards but Ponting isn't going to complain at the moment.
3. Australia batted like idiots. For Watson to rescue the first innings and then Clarke to be the last batsman standing in the second indicates that there are problems. Hayden, Hussey and Ponting are the players you would expect to make hundreds when the team is up against it and they were MIA.
4. Dhoni's luck/karma/good captaincy inspired India and especially the bowlers to improve on their performances in the first test and achieve a deserved win. The bowlers out-performed Australia's attack with the pace of Sharma and Khan and the spin of Misra and Harbajan managing to get good batsmen out.
The first and second tests have shown that test cricket is alive and well despite all the 2020 hype. Here's hoping Australia fix their problems in time for the third test and make it a close series.
Showing posts with label Shane Watson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shane Watson. Show all posts
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
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