What a fantastic way to begin the most anticipated series, The Border-Gavaskar Series between India and Australia starting Boxing Day at the historic MCG. Australia got 337 and India got 9 wickets. That leaves the first day honours even though India has a slight advantage. But to an Indian fan this is a huge satisfaction, to stay in the game at the end of Day 1 overseas that too Australia.
For India its captain Kumble has led from the front taking 5 wickets. He rates this as his best bowling spell overseas. For Australia Hayden scored 124 (100 of just 120 balls), he too rates his hundred as the best of his career. To rate this as their best achievements from players of the stature and experience of Kumble and Hayden shows what a massive day this has been and how important this contest is for the respective teams.
The turning point to me of the day was Zaheer Khan castling Ponting's off-stump. That was a peach of a delivery, bowled from an angle, pitching on good length, swings just away to beat Pointing outside edge and hit the top of off-stump. The best fast bowlers have a very simple strategy, just bowl such that the ball pitches and hits the top of off-stump. This though is a very effective strategy because at that length the batsmen is unsure as to whether to play it off the front foot or back foot. The line is such that the batsmen has to play at it. If he misses it he will get out bowled or lbw or if he gets an outside edge it will carry to waiting hands and slips.
On his personal front, it is a very special day for Saurav Ganguly who is playing his 100th test match. Lord's and MCG are Mecca and Madina of cricket. He is the most privileged one to play his first test at the former and 100th test at the latter. He scored a 100 on the first occasion, could he score a 100 on this occasion? He made his ODI debut too here 15 years back. He is the 7th Indian to play 100 tests and 3 of them (Sachin, Rahul and Anil) are playing alongside him in this match. When Laxman will play his 100th match, hopefully India will have 5 centurions in same team, 4 in the middle order. He has scored a few hundreds with the bat in Tests, ODIs and First Class matches but it will he this hundred (matches) that he will value the most.
Regarding the selection, I am happy that a spinner was picked ahead of the medium pacer. Kumble very much realises that Australian batsmen are susceptible to quality spin bowling and are very comfortable with medium pace. Only Kumble and Harbhajan of the Indian bowlers have troubled Australia consistently in the recent past. But the shuffling of the settled batting order was what I didn't like. I am not against selection of Yuvraj Singh, but the fact that Dravid is made to open and Laxman has to bat at No 3. Harsha Bogle in his column for espnstar wrote "If you want to pick a junior minister in the cabinet, you don’t move the home minister to finance, the finance minister to external affairs so that the junior man can take home!". I feel sorry for Dravid here, he is in his worst phase of his career, struggling with the bat, quit captaincy, lost his one day place and now lost his favourite Test Batting position. No doubt he has the skill and technique to bat at any position and he is ready to make any sacrifices for the team.
At this stage India have their noses ahead but a Test win is still far off. To me Australians are still favourites to win this opening encounter.
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