Like most people I haven’t been watching much of the seven match series of one dayers that seems to have no real purpose other than to prolong the special love affair that James Sutherland and Lalit Modi have.
When Bhajji said India could win 5-2 I paid some attention, then I realised he was right and tuned out again.
Today I watched a little, India fielded like a proper International cricket team, Australia managed to trip over a terrific opening, and then somehow India lost regular wickets while Mitchell Johnson had Ashes flashbacks.
How is it even possible that India and Australia are square after four matches?
Even without Australia’s injuries, which are impressive, they have just looked like empty vacuous shells shuffling around the field like they’re all novacained up.
It looks like, even though I can find no record of it in the media, that Siddle got injured after his first spell. Why else would Watson suddenly come on at the end and bowl so many overs. And there can be no other reason that Mitchell Johnson was continually given the ball.
That makes Australia’s win (India’s loss) even weirder.
India just found their own ways to collapse, slowly, and in doing so thoroughly earned the 2 all scorecard.
India have looked like the best side since Praveen and Bhajji started swatting full tosses. They could, and maybe should, be 4 nil up. 3-1 at least.
It must be troubling to India that they look the better team, seem to be playing the better cricket, are taking on a side with a lot of injuries and yet can only get to all square.
They might still win 5-2 (I checked the maths, it is still on) but this hasn’t been pretty so far.
Dhoni and Sachin seemed to bat like two men confused on holiday, they were both unlucky to go out, but it wasn’t as if either of them were looking in killer touch.
The rest of the Indian team just got themselves out. On a good pitch you probably should get bowled out when Watson and Moises ball 15 of the overs. Should you?
Weird game really. India were cruising so much that they never looked at the rising wicket tally, or they were depending on Mitchell Johnson to bowl them to victory.
And it was his birthday. Apparently in his family that meant he had to give gifts to everyone else.
The whole game gave me a headache. I am so please there are 3 games left. I wonder if it is too late to have a 14 match series?
I went to bed with Sehwag going ballistic thiking i’ll wake up to 3-1. Instead i woke up to find as per normal that NSW bowlers got a bunch of wickets. Surely Punter should be one of ours as well, living in Sydney.
Good to see the NSW Bowlers Hauritzisgod, Bollinger and Watson saving the day.
A 14 match series? That’s so crazy it just might work. How about two 14 match series with the winner of each series playing in a 22 match final? if the same team wins both series then they get the privellege of fielding both teams for the 22 match final series. Think of all the cricket, we’d have 42 matches just like the world cup, but without any minnows to distract us from the revenue.
.-= Moses´s last blog ..They breed ‘em tough in the country =-.
Lots of questions for this series.
Why is Punter captaining Australia A?
You wanted evidence of match fixing? I think you just got it?
How come everyone else is getting injured but Watto isn’t? WTF!
Is Instant Karma pissed Jadeja has stolen his bunny (Punter)?
Something’s seriously wrong with Punter’s PR skills. At the start of game 4, he said that he doesn’t believe in “momentum”. At the post match presentation of game 4, he said that the 2-2 scoreline suggests that neither team has managed to achieve a “momentum” !!!
jrod, the game was so mediocre. someone should tell the pride of gavaskar/mumbai/maharashtra/india that if leaving every ball outside off was the team strategy, we would play dravid, who possesses the added advantage of not needing to fret everytime he’s remotely close to an artificially hyped-up denary system landmark.
Jogesh, what I found interesting was how they kept saying Sachin had betted very well, even Sachin looked frustrated with how he was batting.
Niceone, you’re right, this was a massively biased article. Thank you for pointing it out, you are a visionary. Some people might have thought i was only interested as the scoreline is close (for some people that reignites their interest) and yet it feels like India are miles in front, but you saw through it with your cunning pseudo liberalist detector. Bravo.
I actually don’t mind watching mediocre cricket every so often.
The thought of match fixing was crossing my mind too though. Some odd decisions.
really like the way you managed the pseudo-disinterest in the series until of course australia sprang back into the series. and that genuine belief that india should have won, wow youre now ready to fuck up all media because youre now the perfect pseudo liberalist, poor at hiding his bias. you should be on television
What’s this series you guys are talking about?
This series really is awful, I don’t know how we have fluked it to 2-2 with all these injuries. I wish it would just be over already so they can get back to Oz and play some real cricket.
My Lord Nathan is surely due to be injured next. If he has to miss the W.I series, you should be happy Jrod.
.-= Dustbinner´s last blog ..Check out "Hilditch & the Selectors" – the great new band from Sydney, touring India this week! =-.
India look like at least the no 2 team in the world, the Ozzies look like something vaguely deranged for a lot of the time.
India’s batting looks so much better on paper and mostly on the field it makes me weep. Dhoni must feel like he has entered a parallel zone without realising it. The mundane spectre of match-fixing has occurred to me every game apart from the second.
What will the bowling attack be next game? Get your bets in now.
I don’t think India look remotely like a no. 2 team. GO back and watch reruns of T&T and the Blues to see what real top teams looks like.
India look like cardboard cutouts from last century fashion mags. Is that their arms and legs moving? Pose the crowd, boys, Pose for the cameras. Look sullen, pout, then toss your hair.
Australia look like a bandwagon the wheels have come off, and is careering out of control into the barrier.
Jrod, whens the last time a commentator criticised Tendulkar and retained his job? fuck, hes the holiest of all holy cows – remember how they hounded Manjrekar when he gave his frank opinion a few years back. And he should know, he nurtured the boy Tendulkar through mumbai cricket and in the early years in the indian team.