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I wanted to post this soon after play ended, but sleep’s something that I value more than the chance to eat humble pie, at least partially.

The thing is, the fact that we ended the day in a strong note does not change my reservations about how we got there. Sure, ends do justify the means, but in my eyes the means are nevertheless impossible. More often than not in the past, we have had not so good results on a day where the first session went the same way.

Our consistency (or the lack there of) has always been in the news and no amount of light hearted banter at the end of the day from Kumble (see below) can mask the fact that he is in fact, more a bowler than a captain. Yes, he did live up to his words.

For all the incisive breakthroughs of the second and the third sessions, what stands out is that first session. It is my firm belief that Australia owned India during that morning session. And the more sessions that a team wins, the better the chances of a victory. India won two today, but if the captaincy is going to as inspid as it was during the first session, it is going to be that much difficult.

Jagadish says that as individuals, India has mostly regressed since the last tour and I agree with that. But there is every chance that the value of this whole team is more than the sum of its individual parts. And the first session of the second day shall show that.

Peter English thinks that India is not capable of getting past the 350 or so that Australia will probably end up with and I dont agree with that at all. Even with his role as makeshift opener, Dravid and the other three are still capable bats and Yuvraj’s addition should prove to be the proverbial shot in the arm. So I don’t forsee any problems with India leading Australia at the end of the first innings.

But before we go ahead and think about India’s batting, it is important to put some emphasis on finishing Australia off. And we have seen tails wag when facing India. Clark and Johnson have put on 25 in quick time and the sooner India finishes them off, the better it will be.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Australia, Cricket, Down Under, India, sports, test matches.