SA Vs. India, 3rd test, Day 1
In test cricket, forward short leg is a position nobody wants to field. The fielder here needs to be on constant alert and there is the danger of getting hurt. So, the job is thrust upon the youngest and the most inexperienced member of the team. They stand there, take the blows and if they are lucky, they make their mark.
In Indian cricket, the opening batsman’s position is similar to the forward short leg position as no one wants to bat in that position. After Sehwag’s series of failures that threatened to take epic proportions, India had to change its opening pair, which it did. But it seems no one was willing to take the gamble, no senior player wanted to risk his position and the job was given to Dinesh Karthik, who of course was in no position to negotiate.
And batting the way he did, he didn’t need to negotiate!
In absence of its swashbuckling opening batsman Virender Sehwag (he used to hit the ball, once upon a time!) India started cautiously. The motive was to survive. Dinesh karthik batted his heart out on a pitch that probably made him remember the pitches back home. It didn’t have the kind of bounce and swing witnessed in the earlier matches. The opening pair of Wasim Jaffer and Karthik batted with guts, courage and common sense.
And the history beckoned!
The opening pair put up the first ever 100 run partnership by an Indian opening pair in SA against SA. Wasim Jaffer played some silken strokes as he grew in confidence and Karthik was courage personified. As the SA bowlers painfully realized that they might have to work harder on this pitch to get wicket, India had crossed 100 and Jaffer had got to his fifty. As the frustrations of the fielding side grew, Karthik too got his well deserved fifty and was poised for a hundred when he was out on a dubious decision.
In came captain Rahul Dravid and he started off with a flurry of boundaries, quite unlike the Dravid we know. He seemed to be full of energy, looking to keep the momentum going. But scoring fast is not an area Rahul is familiar with. He fell to Pollock’s agonizingly accurate bowling, nicking one to the wicket keeper.
As India closed at 254/3, with Saurav and Sehwag still to come, things look bright. There is a rough spot outside the leg stump which can be exploited by the likes of Anil Kumble and even Sachin Tendulkar if India can post a big total. SA are not good players of spin.
Am I taking it too far?
In Indian cricket, the opening batsman’s position is similar to the forward short leg position as no one wants to bat in that position. After Sehwag’s series of failures that threatened to take epic proportions, India had to change its opening pair, which it did. But it seems no one was willing to take the gamble, no senior player wanted to risk his position and the job was given to Dinesh Karthik, who of course was in no position to negotiate.
And batting the way he did, he didn’t need to negotiate!
In absence of its swashbuckling opening batsman Virender Sehwag (he used to hit the ball, once upon a time!) India started cautiously. The motive was to survive. Dinesh karthik batted his heart out on a pitch that probably made him remember the pitches back home. It didn’t have the kind of bounce and swing witnessed in the earlier matches. The opening pair of Wasim Jaffer and Karthik batted with guts, courage and common sense.
And the history beckoned!
The opening pair put up the first ever 100 run partnership by an Indian opening pair in SA against SA. Wasim Jaffer played some silken strokes as he grew in confidence and Karthik was courage personified. As the SA bowlers painfully realized that they might have to work harder on this pitch to get wicket, India had crossed 100 and Jaffer had got to his fifty. As the frustrations of the fielding side grew, Karthik too got his well deserved fifty and was poised for a hundred when he was out on a dubious decision.
In came captain Rahul Dravid and he started off with a flurry of boundaries, quite unlike the Dravid we know. He seemed to be full of energy, looking to keep the momentum going. But scoring fast is not an area Rahul is familiar with. He fell to Pollock’s agonizingly accurate bowling, nicking one to the wicket keeper.
As India closed at 254/3, with Saurav and Sehwag still to come, things look bright. There is a rough spot outside the leg stump which can be exploited by the likes of Anil Kumble and even Sachin Tendulkar if India can post a big total. SA are not good players of spin.
Am I taking it too far?
posted by Raju @ 8:42 AM
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