The beauty of cricket is that it is a very difficult game to predict. Who would have thought after the debacle in Bangalore that the Indians would find themselves in such a great position at the end of day three of the second Test.
Yes, we did expect a better showing but thus far it’s been a real revelation and one brought about by a few fantastic individual performances.
This Virendra Sehwag is a truly amazing batsman. When he gets going, nothing seems to matter -- not the state of the pitch nor the reputation of the bowler. He did adapt brilliantly to the situation however and that's a very good sign. He didn't go after every ball as is his wont, prepared to play the waiting game for a change.
Anyone who can repeatedly hit a bowler of the calibre of Shane Warne against the spin on a turning track, needs to be blessed and I certainly derived a lot of pleasure watching the young man treat the veteran so.
It reminded me of 1998 and 2001 when Tendulkar went after Warne.
As for Warne's bowling, while it was a lion-hearted performance, I felt his line was wrong most of the time. I may have not been as great a cricketer as Warne is but I do think he got it wrong here. Attacking Indian batsmen around their legs is not the best thing to do but it is a credit to the world's leading wicket-taker that he finally succeeded in bagging his first ever five-wicket haul on Indian soil. One man who hardly ever gets his line wrong is Anil Kumble. He sure showed why he is called ‘Jumbo’ -- the bounce that he produced on a first day Chepauk wicket left everyone in a daze.
It reminded me of 1998 and 2001 when Tendulkar went after Warne.
As for Warne's bowling, while it was a lion-hearted performance, I felt his line was wrong most of the time. I may have not been as great a cricketer as Warne is but I do think he got it wrong here. Attacking Indian batsmen around their legs is not the best thing to do but it is a credit to the world's leading wicket-taker that he finally succeeded in bagging his first ever five-wicket haul on Indian soil. One man who hardly ever gets his line wrong is Anil Kumble. He sure showed why he is called ‘Jumbo’ -- the bounce that he produced on a first day Chepauk wicket left everyone in a daze.