What a great test match! While the 705 is amazing, the Aussie aggression even in the face of the 705 is something to be admired. It'd take a miracle to bowl the Aussies out in one day. But great wins are made of that stuff anyway.
Even if drawn, it would be a great match for India - Irfan, Parthiv and Sehwag are good finds and this would have built confidence in them (not that Sehwag ever needed any such build up - what a guy). A draw would also be a better send of to Tugga than a loss.
Anyway, I hope India will play +ve in I2 and start hitting some 6+ per over.
I think Ganguly lost the advantage. I see it this way:
The time india takes in getting safe lead will be waste. As they would like it to be 400+ and then getting Australia out in one day would be very difficult.
If india had enforced follow-on. India could have got 3 or 4 wickets by applying pressure, at the end of the day, and going for a kill on last day.
I think in no way india should have felt threatend
If this match ends in a DRAW which looks like the most probable result now, the Aussies should give credit to one man - *SM Katich *. By scoring a century, he not only consumed precious 3-4 hours but also diminished India's possible lead by atleast 100 runs. And now the Indians are having to bat longer to make up for the lost lead and thus eating into the time they needed to bowl the Aussies out again.
Btw, looking at the way Dravid/Tendulkar are batting, it looks like the pitch is still holding its own. So difficult to see how the Indians will be able to bowl the Aussies out again in ONE day.
But I think I will wait for f&b for his expert opinion on the pitch since I am not following the game on TV.
I don’t care wht happens to this match,I’m just worried abt wht’s gonna happen to Pak.YIKES!
India now know wht it takes to beat the best.
Pak is screwed.
Australia has knocked 10 runs off the target. They will begin tomorrow requiring 433 runs from 540 balls. 276 is the highest winning total for the fourth innings in Sydney, so it's fair to say that an Aussie win would be one of the finest achievements in world sport. If one thing is certain, it's that they'll have a crack!
actually you should care what happens in this match. If India lose (highly unlikely but technically possible) then it’s confidence will
plummet. If it draws the match it’ll be a plus but nothing to get tooo excited about. If it wins, yes, I reckon we have a good chance of pulling off a win in Pak too.
It's about time, Australia realizes they are no longer the Test Cricket bullies of the world. Enter India.
Dravid got hit in the ear, and the blood was pouring. Kind of ironic that, the ball previous the hit, Ganguly and Dravid were getting mixed up about whether to declare and walk off. Also Steve Waugh had the whole field spread to the boundary line, except for himself which was at Mid Off (I believe).
Sehwag was laughing his head off at the whole mix up between Ganguly and the batsmen in the background. (I think Ganguly looked back and he shut up).
Ganguly seemed to instantly take the advice of the Team Manager, when he told Ganguly to declare and call Dravid back after being hit.
The critical innings of Australia was Gillespie and Katich, where as after Katich hit 100, Gillespie took over command.
Did any of you guys see Pathan's bowling? He is really impressing me with his reverse swing. The one he bowled to Gilchrist was a great one to watch.
After Hayden and Langer finished the day off, Hayden signaled to Ganguly showing him that Look I'm still here, and did some sort of cocky laugh. Ganguly just turned his head to him and ignored him.
Tomorrow is a very critical day. Although no team has achieved a score this big at SCG, this Australia team may well do it. Consider it a long One Day game, and it's very possible. India must NOT LET Kartik bowl! Agarkar is the key for Langer, and Pathan should keep bowling yorkers.
Good luck to India. They sure have shown that nothing is impossible. India is developing into a stronger team, series after series. What a way for Steve to finish off his career in a thrilling test match.
Exactly! Tomorrow is gonna be like some ODI. I cannot wait for the day to start. That karthik foo is no good..I only hope he bowls his share of overs(which is small hopefully) without giving too many runs.
I really can't understand why India did not enforce teh follow on. They had the advantage and should have pressed for victory from thereon. After their first innings performance they should have had the confidence to bat last if so required.With a lead of 236 India could not have gone wrong. The Aussies would had to bat cautiously to save the match and they could not have declared before scoring at least 450 to 500 runs. That would have left very little time for the Indians to bat to save teh match. Now the Aussies only have to bat out today to save the match and draw the series. I feel India has lost a chance.
This test match is appearing to be one of the most thrilling test match one can witness... :( it aint a holiday tomorrow other wise, I woudl have watched the match from the first ball till last.. but still ill manage to see around two-three hours.... Is Australia will loose any wicket,,they would go on the back foot and start defending, other wise, I know they gonnaa try and win this match.. lets hope... initial two hours will be too much crucial for both teams... Good LUck India and Indian Fanss
I think india has very less chance of winning this match. They should have followed on the aussies. SUre the bolwers were tired but now I think tehy have every chance of saving teh match.
not sure how this match is going to go.. but one thing's for certain if India has to win this game.. Kumble needs support.. we really can't expect him to run through the Aussie side all by himself.. hope Saurav gives Sachin and Sehwag a bowl...
i think aussies will win it bcuz if mathew hayden starts goin, he'll not stop and then they have strong middle order including Ponting, Waugh and Katich.
Lets see the final day of the play.
Australia has 90 possible overs with 433 to chase, which is about 4.5/over. Which is quite achiveable considering Hayden, Ponting in very good touch and thats what they usually go about their innings anyways.
Kumble might well have to bowl for the whole day if possible tommorrow, bowling 45 overs, and considering the Indian bowlers, Australia might have a good chance.
If they lose early wickets then they should settle for a draw, otherwise, they should go for the win.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
actually you should care what happens in this match. If India lose (highly unlikely but technically possible) then it's confidence will
plummet.....
[/QUOTE]
I don't think loosing (edit: )game will cause confidence to plummet. They know they didn't have full bowling strength, and scoring 705 was not a small thing against Aussies in their own backyard.
