India vs SA - 2nd Test

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 4:11 am

India wins toss and elects to bat. Both sides make one change each. Jadeja in for Ashwin. Peterson for Tahir.

Dhawan goes first ball after drinks break, India 41/1

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 5:03 am

76/1 at lunch not a bad start. Morkel extracting some bounce, testing batsmen

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 5:19 am

Pitch was not helping bowlers is what experts say. then India need a score of 400 plus min. that is 5 sessions. so a lot of batting to follow .
vijay needs to make a big one and rohit needs to do a lot better.
amla could score lot of runs.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 6:19 am

Good shot. 50 for vijay. keep going for more.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:48 am

India on plan till tea. scored at good clip after lunch. overcast conditions seem to have slowed down scoring. a 250 without significant damage would be good.
this is a good contest between bat and ball.

by Guest Thu Dec 26, 2013 8:16 am

Superb batting display by murli vijay. you rock man!

Seems nothing in the pitch for bowlers. Let's enjoy 5 days of batting.

by MaxEntropy_Man Thu Dec 26, 2013 8:29 am

woke up late. just started watching. india in a good position.

by MaxEntropy_Man Thu Dec 26, 2013 8:56 am

what the heck, i barely started watching, and they called off play for bad light.

by Guest Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:19 pm

steyn bowled his heart out. he is very versatile -- can bowl around the wicket. he maintained his speed with the old ball. he is a great bowler! good to see morkel back with his fierce attack against easy-pickings indian batsmen.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:29 pm

Steyn was trying to imitate Michael Johnson for angles. diff was mj was 150 km and a bit steeper. both were trying the body angle but that little bit extra helps mj.

by nevada Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:43 pm

Anyone else think Mitchell could be using steroids? A 32 year old who fell out of his prime 3-4 years ago suddenly comes back bowling faster than ever intimidating the opposition with speed alone? Is that normal? Zaheer had a good comeback or two in his career but he became craftier, swinging the ball both ways and making batsmen second guess.

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:55 pm

truthbetold wrote:Steyn was trying to imitate Michael Johnson for angles. diff was mj was 150 km and a bit steeper. both were trying the body angle but that little bit extra helps mj.

Dale Steyn is twice as good a bowler as that wayward Mitchell Johnson.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 5:12 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
truthbetold wrote:Steyn was trying to imitate Michael Johnson for angles. diff was mj was 150 km and a bit steeper. both were trying the body angle but that little bit extra helps mj.

Dale Steyn is twice as good a bowler as that wayward Mitchell Johnson.

That fact is not in dispute. But dale certainly is not as intimidating as mj is.
English batsmen including cook were simply physically intimated by the length, angle, steep bounce and sheer speed of mj.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 6:27 pm

Cd,
check cricinfo's match point. Manjrekar and cullinan commented on dale steyn bowling. Also included was a comparison with mj.

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:26 pm

truthbetold wrote:Cd,
check cricinfo's match point. Manjrekar and cullinan commented on dale steyn bowling. Also included was a comparison with mj.

At the moment Johnson is having a lot of success and Dale is going through slump. Also, keep in mind that England batting line up also inexperienced and Cook hasn't been consistent in Australia throughout his career. For my money, Amla is a better bat than Cook.

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:36 pm

nevada wrote:Anyone else think Mitchell could be using steroids? A 32 year old who fell out of his prime 3-4 years ago suddenly comes back bowling faster than ever intimidating the opposition with speed alone? Is that normal? Zaheer had a good comeback or two in his career but he became craftier, swinging the ball both ways and making batsmen second guess.

I thought he was done and dusted but this is some comeback. I don't quiet understand this craze about Ashes, this has been as lopsided contest as it can get in recent times. When was the last time a series was decided in the end such as 3-2 or 2-2 contest?

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:41 pm

Cd,
I do not agree with England batting inexperience thing. They got cook, bell, pietersen and prior. Trott was there but took himseg out. That was lot of experience and that is the best England got. Root, ben Stokes added to their batting.

Right now mj is the best bowler in the world.

I am not taking anything away from dale steyn. Indian batting is still vulnerable and a morning breeze could be enough to help steyn blow India out of kingmead.

I am glad to see Indian batting to a plan and successfully executing it. Vijay's score is more important to India than pujara's score.

by confuzzled dude Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:52 pm

There was a discussion in the commentary box about dropping Ashwin. SA guy was trying to stir the pot, his point was he is the quickest Indian bowler to take 100 wickets and thinks dropping him for non-performance in just one test is not fair. Dravid a diplomat that he is, said Indians thought left arm bowler would be more effective against right handed SA batsmen. They also discussed a bit on Aswin's stats abroad. Dravid said it's too small a sample to jump to any conclusion and added, generally Indian bowlers have tough time adjusting to the grip of Kookaburra ball as they're used to bowl with SG ball. He pointed out, even Kumble & Bhajji struggled initially, took them a while to get used Kookaburra. Conversely, Warne (& Murali) had their share of struggles bowling with the SG ball.

by truthbetold Thu Dec 26, 2013 8:35 pm

Cd,
I don't think it is dropping ashwin for prrformance. It should be seen as a question of utility. Spinners are not likely to do much and jadeja is just a different option. Come next text, ashwin will be ahead ofother spinners.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 5:24 am

play to start in 15 mins. looking forward to vijay's century.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:05 am

Lovely delivery by Steyn. Pujara out.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:16 am

Shitttt. Vijay out at 97

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:18 am

It was a delight watching him bat. He never ducks to leave a ball; always sways his body away from the ball while keeping an eye on it.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:20 am

Omg another wicket! Bye TV.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 7:08 am

Rahane ducks and the ball, 140 kmph, crashes straight into his helmet. This game is dangerous without helmets.

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:12 am

Brigadier HK (Retd) wrote:Rahane ducks and the ball, 140 kmph, crashes straight into his helmet. This game is dangerous without helmets.

Earlier, Ozzie opener had one landed on his helmet too, Broad bowled well.

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:15 am

Other than Rohit (Dhawan to some extent), every one contributed in this series.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:22 am

all morning didn't tune in. decided to check in and promptly dhoni got out. rotten luck!

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:28 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:all morning didn't tune in. decided to check in and promptly dhoni got out. rotten luck!

and thank you Sanjay Manjrekar for belittling Steyn as mid 130s bowler, he is back now. Jadeja goes.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:33 am

what a catch! steyn takes a 5-fer and shuts up the monday morning quarterbacks.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:34 am

Rohit sharma also disappointed this series.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:35 am

Yes a b took 3 spectacular catches this innings. 2 leg side and then this stunning one.

by truthbetold Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:39 am

Dhoni, jadeja and Khan threw away their wickets. India felt they were cruising and bumped into a wall.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:45 am

Still disappointed with murli missing century. My Idli sambar lunch for tomorrow stands cancelled.

I think I will opt for vada sambar.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:51 am

334... ij eet a good score?

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:52 am

Brigadier HK (Retd) wrote:334... ij eet a good score?

i think it's competitive. let's see what the bowlers do.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 9:58 am

Ok. Yes, let's see some ishant and shami action.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:07 am

This kookaburra ball is so red red. How is it different from the other ball besides the color shade?

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:07 am

Brigadier HK (Retd) wrote:This kookaburra ball is so red red. How is it different from the other ball besides the color shade?

the seam is more prominent as i understand it than the sg ball.

by southindian Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:08 am

Brigadier HK (Retd) wrote:334... ij eet a good score?

300+ on Day 2. 3 and a quarter days to go for 3 innings.

If SA can score 500+ and fold India in India's second innings this can be SA's game.

Kali S. can also make his memorable last outing.

India need to bowl out SA in 2 innings, which is possible but highly unlikely.

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:14 am

WTH are we playing ODI. Looks Indian bowlers are in generous mood somebody please tell them Christmas was 2 days ago.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 10:24 am

The third man is the biggest scorer in sa team. Plenty of runs came from that area to edges and here too. Dhoni has not learnt his lesson.

by Guest Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:18 am

Half pitch is under shadow and have under bright sunlight. Really weird.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:34 am

Dale Styn "proved" Doofus theory that a fast bowler need not have to bowl very fast and mid 130s is more than enough "these days"

MJ is also "proving" the same in Australia.

by MaxEntropy_Man Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:36 am

steyn wasn't just bowling mid 130s. he ramped it up today.

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:39 am

confuzzled dude wrote:
nevada wrote:Anyone else think Mitchell could be using steroids? A 32 year old who fell out of his prime 3-4 years ago suddenly comes back bowling faster than ever intimidating the opposition with speed alone? Is that normal? Zaheer had a good comeback or two in his career but he became craftier, swinging the ball both ways and making batsmen second guess.

I thought he was done and dusted but this is some comeback. I don't quiet understand this craze about Ashes, this has been as lopsided contest as it can get in recent times. When was the last time a series was decided in the end such as 3-2 or 2-2 contest?

Glad I'm not the only one feels this way

The usual context of a four-year Ashes cycle was lost - and by 2015 we will have had three such series in two years - amid administrator gluttony and player punishment. Test cricket, in particular, does not need to double up on flat, one-sided series.

by confuzzled dude Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:42 am

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Dale Styn "proved" Doofus theory that a fast bowler need not have to bowl very fast and mid 130s is more than enough "these days"

MJ is also "proving" the same in Australia.

MJ ain't bowling in mid 130s. As Nevada pointed out he is bowling like someone who has been juiced.

by truthbetold Fri Dec 27, 2013 12:17 pm

Uppili saruvadu,
Mj was bowling min 140 km and some of his balls were listed at 146 and 147. They were quite a few of them. What makes it more difficult is the angle at which he delivers. Batsman has to do couple more calculations.
Dale steyn also made an adjustment after tea yesterday by coming over the wicket at a steep angle. But that tussle was for only few overs before bad light stopped play. Based on the partial game I saw dale was bowling high 130 and low 140s.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Fri Dec 27, 2013 2:01 pm

truthbetold wrote:Uppili saruvadu,
Mj was bowling min 140 km and some of his balls were listed at 146 and 147. They were quite a few of them. What makes it more difficult is the angle at which he delivers. Batsman has to do couple more calculations.
Dale steyn also made an adjustment after tea yesterday by coming over the wicket at a steep angle. But that tussle was for only few overs before bad light stopped play. Based on the partial game I saw dale was bowling high 130 and low 140s.

All you guys - CD and Max - included did not pick up my sarcasm. I was referring to a discussion long back in which I said India needed a REAL pace bowler like Styn and Morkel, for which Doofus said these days there was no need for a real pace bowler and mid 130s is good enough with line and length to be a threat to any batsman.

And today MJ and Styn are proving my point that real pace - with line and length - beats 130s pace with line and length any day.

by nevada Fri Dec 27, 2013 2:22 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
nevada wrote:Anyone else think Mitchell could be using steroids? A 32 year old who fell out of his prime 3-4 years ago suddenly comes back bowling faster than ever intimidating the opposition with speed alone? Is that normal? Zaheer had a good comeback or two in his career but he became craftier, swinging the ball both ways and making batsmen second guess.

I thought he was done and dusted but this is some comeback. I don't quiet understand this craze about Ashes, this has been as lopsided contest as it can get in recent times. When was the last time a series was decided in the end such as 3-2 or 2-2 contest?

Glad I'm not the only one feels this way

The usual context of a four-year Ashes cycle was lost - and by 2015 we will have had three such series in two years - amid administrator gluttony and player punishment. Test cricket, in particular, does not need to double up on flat, one-sided series.

I don't like the idea of a back to back Ashes as well. They could have done 2 3 match series in each country instead. Players are not machines. Give them a sufficient break.

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