India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on day-5 of the Nagpur Test. Just around Tea time on day-5 of the Test a crazy day mirrored the somewhat crazy days that had preceded that moment when a crazy LBW decision went in favour of India. This meant that the Test and the series went to India.
Australia started the series with a conditioning camp at the Rajasthan Cricket Academy. Australia ended the series with a Cricket Australia enquiry into the craziness that enveloped the post-Tea session on day-4 of this Test match. James Sutherland, the CEO of Cricket Australia has indicated that he wishes to conduct an enquiry into Ricky Ponting’s decisions in this 4th Test match.
Australian media, in a bid to search for excuses, will blame the 3 lost tosses, and perhaps even the pitches. The captain has already alluded to the toss-losses as being significant.
But really, Australia got it wrong with their “new age cricket” strategy. This cost the team the Bangalore Test match and then, the series! Moreover, Australia had a wrong team balance. I really do not know what Cameron White was doing in the team! It was only in the last Test that Jason Krejza had a bowl. And more than batting well and taking wickets, Australia was more interested in the verbals. It is batting and bowling that win matches.
One can’t really blame the toss. Every team learns to deal with it. And as for pitches, I certainly hope India continues to have spinning pitches. You do not travel to Sydney to expect to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa! If you do, you really need to visit a psychiatrist really soon!
India started the last day with a somewhat confused strategy. They attacked and then defended and then attacked and then defended and then attacked again. In the middle there was some ordinary fielding, excellent fielding, ordinary catching and excellent catching too.
The bottom line is that India has a long way to go before becoming a champion team. It is not there yet. But all of that is not quite relevant now. India won the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2-0.
Ishant Sharma was Man of the Series and Jason Krejza was Man of the Match. I think this was about the only thing Chris Broad got right in this series! The most exciting fast bowler in world cricket and the most exciting spinner in world cricket (behind Ajanta Mendis) were recognised!
M. S. Dhoni has had a wonderful initiation to Test cricket. He has won the first 3 Test matches that he has captained! And these weren’t easy oppositions! He has beaten South Africa, Australia and Australia! Admittedly, these were all in India. However, this is not to be scoffed at.
M. S. Dhoni is a man who is, in my view, mature beyond his years. When the 9th wicket fell, he dragged Sourav Ganguly to one side and then handed over the captaincy to the retiring Ganguly. What a wonderful gesture that was? And then, when it came to accepting the trophy, he called over Anil Kumble to the dais to accept the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with him! This was a sign of respect. It was a celebration of two glorious careers.
And in all of this, Gary Kirsten was nowhere to be seen.
India had a mature captain and a coach that did not need to be in the drivers’ seat!
Well done Dhoni. Well done Kirsten. The future of Indian cricket is certainly in good hands.
— Mohan
i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket... 
way we go !!!
@Mohan,
Australia will blame the 3 lost tosses. And perhaps even the pitches?
Cheap and quick Mohan. Read the media hard as you do. I look forward to your comments as you are so emphatic that our media only barracks.
I really do feel for Ponting. No one can understand a couple of the decisions by him in the test.
India was tooooo good. By some way. Our equipment was found wanting. Not much went right and India took all the 50/50’s.
The pitches were fine.
A changing of the guard ensues quicker than many think.
Watson will be. White may never get a chance. Surprising in some ways. Katich – I just cant have him. Clarke will be boss. Lee must assess is priorities. Krezja – I hope so. He’s the first Aussie offie to have the guts to throw it! The way you allowed to these days.
Time will tell.
Chris
Welcome back and I see for the first time a mellowed and gracious Chris – good on you mate – I like your spirit and assessment – yes Clarke will be a thinking captain (Ponting has stopped thinking right thru this series) and so will be much better. Also they need to think if Neilsen is the right guy for the coach’s job.
@Chris
I said what I did about the pitches and the toss because that was just about the first thing that Nick McCardle and Mark Waugh said after the loss! And most sports radio stations, Ch-9 and Ch-7 have been full of it today. It is seductively easy to blame the loss on toss-loss and the pitches. But that would deflect from the real reason.
For example, Peter Lalor has already started the apology-mongering by stating, “India is a difficult cricket tour.”
Really? Why?
Because you get pampered in 7-star hotels?
— Mohan
I wonder how much Guru Greg was behind New Age Cricket Policy…(i guess this point has been raised somewhere). At the end punter was run out by sharp fielding
@outsider,
Me? Mellow! Well melancholy probably and gracious a trait many know me for.
It’s not the first time on this blog tonight that I have wondered what someone is insinuating. Albeit that you suggest that I am not gracious.
Cheap shots at Ponting seem fair at the moment. I am curious.
However! He is far better man than he is given credit for – and you can include his captaincy with that.
I state as before that he, Hayden and Symonds have not been the same since Sydney and most Indian’s (and a sad number of Australians) seem to not care.
Mohan and I have moved on from Sydney but those three never will.
It’s time Dean Kino and James Sutherland took the stand as I suspect they know why!
ghambir should get the man of the series
badri &pavan, jeelan are very happy on winning india with great efforts………….
@Mohan,
Mate a you a journo or something! Your media coverage is extraordinary.
I guess these things are fillers conversations and paper sellers. The wickets were basically roads and tosses are tosses. Sure it would have helped.
But please dont take us all on Nick “Cricket! But I havent played before” McArdle and Mark “Catch this one” Waugh.
Listen to SEN and listen to the obit on R T Ponting.
I just told a blogger that you and I have left Sydney behind.
Three blokes havent and I want to know why.
I can not believe Ponting did not want to be suspended for one test, and used part time bowlers, when he had a chance to win and square the series – chase about 275 odd, which is also tough target.
Australian Bowling needs to be straightened out – 4 good bowlers. I think they have the talent.
Brett Lee needs a break from Cricket. He seems to be busy with Bollywood nowadays than the cricket field.
Australia should find a good spinner who can bowl 20+ overs in a match – Except for Sehwag’s hitting Kretja’s bowling analysis would be ok.
Mitchell Johnson is probably his first tour of India. He will learn.
Right now, they do not have a good pace bowler – who comes on first change. Initially Stuart Clark was compared to be the new Glen McGrath. Not sure when he is.
In batting, Haydos is nearing retirement. Not same player. Michael Clarke did not perform to his expectations.
Now, Australia can feel the retirement of Gilchrist, the batsman – who could change the match. In the last tour – Damien Martin, almost won the series for Australia, with his exceptional batting.
gambir having great future………… .if he play consistently he is the replace of sachinnnnnn
Immediately after the end of the match, Ian Chappell had this to say on Ponting – “There will be a lot of hullaballoo over the 4th day tactics of Ponting. The CEO might just have a chat with Ponting about what happened. Eventually the next series will start in a week from now. Since nZ is not that great a team Australia will win both tests and everything will soon be forgotten.”
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@ Chris
You said- ‘Katich – I just cant have him.’
But why? I taught he was impressive in the series.
First off, congratulations to you all who keep the spirits up.
Well the enquiry would be welcomed by Australian fans but this is a knee jerk reaction. The signs of Ricky Ponting’s “eccentric” behaviour was always there to see. Difficult to imagine that one brain fart was capable of sending CA into an inquiring tizzy – I think there was much stewing leading upto that moment. The bubble burst and all stand bared…
It’s time for change down under, from the same radical leadership and followers. It’s time to for change to sweep back sports into the viewing homes of Australia. Sports – with that thing called sporting spirit and all and not the Australian interpretation of it …or what we are made to believe is the Australian interpretation of it.
Hi Mohan
Excellent one-I absolutely agree with you on 2 counts,one on the confusion of attacking/Defending that was witnessed today.Two on the assessment that India is not yet there to be the no 1.
Regards
Subbu
Subbu567.wordpress.com
@Chris
I shared your opinion regarding Katich at the start of the series, but I have to admit the man was effective. Given that Hayden is not getting any younger, methinks SK is here to stay.
With you on Clarke. He is gotta take on the mantel sooner rather than later. Ponting has spent too long with champion bowlers and he seems lost captaining a team of mere mortals.
I think NZ will be easy meat (they struggled against Bang last week), but SA could be a handful
@Chris
Yes, I did listen to the obits on SEN. I also called in yesterday on the ‘Morning Glory’ program on my way in to work to suggest that they stop hyperventilating about 8-1 fields and small-crowd! Billy Brownless was gracious and accepted my opinions. Those guys were also talking about flat pitches, small crowds and the toss advantage.
Kochie and Mark Beretta on Channel-7 have been doing the same thing too: toss, pitches, crowds. The only difference this time is that in addition to toss-pitches-crowds, there has been a bit of Ponting-bashing too.
So there has been excuse-mongering in the press. I point to these media people: McCrdle, Waugh, Lalor, Kochie, Baretta, Brownless… I could go on and on.
And you toss them aside as useless!
But mate, these are the guys that make/influence opinion in this country!
Answer me: Why does Lalor continue to say that India is a hard tour? What makes it hard? Why is India any harder for the Aussie to tour than Australia is for the Indians? We do not hear our media say “Oh but Australia is a hard place to tour.” The cricket is, no doubt, hard. Get over it. If you can’t then take up lawn bowls!
The next generation of Aussie cricketers will go back to India and wonder why they are seeing the Taj Mahal and not the Sydney Opera House in Agra!
I am stretching the point, but you know what I mean!
@Chris, SB, et al
And BTW, I do not believe that Ponting needs to go. He is a good captain. But he needs to cleanse the dressing room of guys that are wedded to process and strategy. There is way too much pen-paper-computer stuff in the Australian dressing room.
He also needs to also tear up that “Spirit of Cricket” document and start again on crafting a real one. At the moment, it is more a “Spit of Cricket” document! Cricket is played with bat and ball and not with pen, paper, computer and mouth.
And I agree with Irish: Katich has done enough to get his stripes. He is here to stay.
Kochie and Mark Beretta on Channel-7 have been doing the same thing too: toss, pitches, crowds. The only difference this time is that in addition to toss-pitches-crowds, there has been a bit of Ponting-bashing too.
LOL ! I would have loved to watch Kochie whining about the toss, the pitch and the crowds 🙂
Tosses, pitches and crowds are all part of the game. India deserved to win the series, because they played a lot better, and Australia was constantly struggling to keep their heads above water. And that’s that as far as I am concerned.
The Aussies really had some problem that they failed to deal with. I cannot see how you can justify having Cameron White in a Test side, and I cannot understand what is the big problem with bowling 90 overs in a day.
(And I agree that Katich definitely deserves his spot, although I do think that Jaques has some reason to feel a little aggrieved)
On Foxtel’s coverage of the cricket, Telstra Mobiles had this banner going past “Watch us humiliate 1.3 Billion people” or words to that effect.
Much as I looked for it during the Nagpur test, it was not to be seen.
Wonder why.
Soundar
Indians serve unhygenic food. Michael Clarke and Brett Lee were (food) poisoned. Stuart Clark had fever in the first test. The press ask stupid questions, people put all kinds of stuff on your forehead every time you go to a new city, that might affect your skin. It is crazy place, India. I am sure Peter Lalor considers these as some of the many reasons why touring India is hard!
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Mohan,
You are in full form!!:D
Is this Indian victory line of 2-0 a surprise to you? It is certainly a surprise to me because I never thought that Australian bowlers would fail to take 20 wickets. And what surprisecd me even more was a lack of fight and resistence from Australia. I for one, never thought that I’d see an Australian side going down vwithout fighting like they did at Mohali.
What are your opinions about Dhoni’s captaincy? In my opinion he seems to be the smartest captain India has ever got.
And finally, who’ll fill that spot which Ganguly is vacating after this series?;)
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