what i have found the most interesting through this series is the way that india have batted. they have lost wickets through arrogant and lazy shots when they looked like being on top, but the most interesting thing has been the old 'where theres one, theres two'. india have dominated for large periods of time and it is as if everyone but the two batting have switched right off, causing a couple of wickets to fall at a time.

They may win the series but are they world champions? No. Unlike the Australians at their best, they cant keep their foot on the opponent's jugular vein.

India will be interesting in the future, Kumble and Ganguly have retired. Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid are sure to follow soon. That's a huge hole in talent and experience and is not easily replaced.

I was pleasantly surprised last night. I was expecting the customary sub-continent collapse after Ponting got out (memo to the Australian dressing room, Sehwag, Laxman and Ponting have all been dismissed trying to cut balls that were too full and pitched on or about off stump - play the percentages), but Katich and Hussey made batting look extremely comfortable last night and there's only the occasional ball that's doing something. There's absolutely nothing in the pitch for the fast bowlers and even the Indian quicks can't get the ball to reverse. If we can get through the first hour without losing another wicket I think we're still some sort of chance to actually build a lead and put the pressure back on the Indians, the key will be how quickly the pitch starts to deteriorate.

I can't understand Cam White's selection given the reluctance of Ponting to bowl him, but I fully understand why Clarke (back) and Katich (opener) weren't given the ball, it's too much to expect your batsmen to make runs and take wickets. They're fine for a bit of a chop out, but not for extended spells. Sehwag suffered in the last test from having to bowl too many overs IMO.

I admire Ponting's firm resolve as a captian - the Australians never dropped their heads after the first session when it never looked like they were going to take a wicket and he persevered with Kreja. Well done to the kid, what a debut, particularly after getting pasted early and then looking at figures over 200 runs. Hopefully the Indian spinners continue to push the ball through, because the dangerous ones are those that are tossed up and allowed to bounce. I'm bemused by test spinners that are intent on bowling in the 90-95 Kms range, it's not a one day match.

Today should be one of the most intriguing day's viewing of the entire series. C'mon Aussie C'mon!

What was Hayden thinking when he took that run?

Suggested on cricinfo that he didn't see India swap Mishra (poor fielder) for Vijay (young, good fielder).

They may win the series but are they world champions? No. Unlike the Australians at their best, they cant keep their foot on the opponent's jugular vein.

India will be interesting in the future, Kumble and Ganguly have retired. Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid are sure to follow soon. That's a huge hole in talent and experience and is not easily replaced.

Totally agreed. Dravid surely will retire after either this series or the England series beginning next week. I think he's playing based only on his reputation, not his form, which is very poor. They might play as good cricket as us, if not better, but they won't sustain it.

I can't understand Cam White's selection given the reluctance of Ponting to bowl him, but I fully understand why Clarke (back) and Katich (opener) weren't given the ball, it's too much to expect your batsmen to make runs and take wickets. They're fine for a bit of a chop out, but not for extended spells. Sehwag suffered in the last test from having to bowl too many overs IMO.

I would have expected White to get a bowl sometime yesterday morning. If they did play him for his batting, then why isn't someone like Hodge or Marsh playing instead? If not, why didn't he bowl? He seemed to do alright on Day 1.

I'm a bit worried about Clarke actually. Apparently Watson was padded up during the Katich-Hussey partnership, and Clarke wasn't. He didn't bowl, and he fielded at slip, where he doesn't usually field if Hayden is playing. Which all suggests that he's below fitness.

re clarkes fitness, i understand the concern, how krejza was bowling well, and there was probably no need for him to bowl. i am surprised white didnt get another go either, i thought he bowled alright day one, but probably for the same reason clarke didnt. am wondering if clarke in slip could have been as much about getting hayden a rest from concentrating as it was for clarkes injury, but probably not.

RE white, i think his selection could well help us win this because we bat down to 8. we really need to score as close to 600 as possible (300-350 today would put us around 500, but i think we want to bat into day 4 if we can and post a lead of about 150-200) so that we can then try and bowl them out without having to worry about needing 3 sessions to make the runs on the last day.

we don't want to have to bat a second time, unless we are only chasing 50 or so, and even then we probably dont want to be doing that because time will be an issue.

India's bowling a negative line outside off stump with all but 1 fielder on the off side. We scored 42 runs in a session, and lost Katich, because we weren't playing at any of the balls. It's up to the Australians to have a go, try to work the balls onto the leg side. Despite it being negative/defensive/whatever from Dhoni, we're the ones who need to win, not India. Katich scored 10 runs in an hour and a half. It's all good for India. We have to be past their score by the end of the day if we want to win, and that isn't going to happen if we don't play shots.

Kreja should be congratulated for his perseverence and performance. 8 wickets on debut.

Best Figures on Debut

Best figures in a innings on debut

Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Econ Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard

AE Trott 27.0 10 43 8 1.59 Australia v England Adelaide 11 Jan 1895 Test # 44

RAL Massie 27.2 9 53 8 1.93 Australia v England Lord's 22 Jun 1972 Test # 699

ND Hirwani 18.3 3 61 8 3.29 India v West Indies Chennai 11 Jan 1988 Test # 1089

L Klusener 21.3 4 64 8 2.97 South Africa v India Kolkata 27 Nov 1996 Test # 1341

ND Hirwani 15.2 3 75 8 4.89 India v West Indies Chennai 11 Jan 1988 Test # 1089

RAL Massie 32.5 7 84 8 2.55 Australia v England Lord's 22 Jun 1972 Test # 699

AL Valentine 50.0 14 104 8 2.08 West Indies v England Manchester 8 Jun 1950 Test # 323

JJ Krejza 43.5 1 215 8 4.90 Australia v India Nagpur 6 Nov 2008 Test # 1892

Congratulations to Krezja on his bowling performance. 43.5 overs on debut is one helluva "throw him in the deep end and see if he will swim" job for your country.

Isn't it amazing RR, that in years to come when all look to the record books for most wickets on debut, they see some astonishing bowling with 8 wickets to their name, then they will look at Krezja's figures and see 215 runs next to it. "What the?! "

PS> Massie's figures are remarkable.

India will be interesting in the future, Kumble and Ganguly have retired. Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid are sure to follow soon. That's a huge hole in talent and experience and is not easily replaced.

Tendulkar may play another 3 years, he's looking to give away the one-dayers to prolong his career. - Fox Sports commentary.

India's bowling a negative line outside off stump with all but 1 fielder on the off side. We scored 42 runs in a session, and lost Katich, because we weren't playing at any of the balls. It's up to the Australians to have a go, try to work the balls onto the leg side. Despite it being negative/defensive/whatever from Dhoni, we're the ones who need to win, not India. Katich scored 10 runs in an hour and a half. It's all good for India. We have to be past their score by the end of the day if we want to win, and that isn't going to happen if we don't play shots.

We have a saying at our cricket club, "If you occupy the crease, the runs will come." Albeit eventually. Much like "If you build it, they will come" - Field Of Dreams.

We have a saying at our cricket club, "If you occupy the crease, the runs will come." Albeit eventually. Much like "If you build it, they will come" - Field Of Dreams.

That's what I used to believe. But we spent all day at the crease yesterday. 85.4 overs, 8 wickets in hand, but just 166 runs in total. Something like our second or third worst run rate in an innings 9 years.

What will happen from here:

Optimist's view: we'll bowl India out by the end of today for 200, then chase down 290-odd tomorrow and win the trophy back

Pessimist's view: India will bat for almost the rest of the game, Dravid will get going and score 70 off 300 balls.

I think India will post a sizeable lead (350-400), then declare, giving us 2-3 sessions to try and win. But we won't.

If they were serious they'd have a lead of 350+ tonight, declare and have a few overs at us tonight.

They don't seem to have that killer attitude

If they were serious they'd have a lead of 350+ tonight, declare and have a few overs at us tonight.

They don't seem to have that killer attitude

Ganguly is out again to spin. He has notoriously lazy feet and is prone to lapses in concentration, but to be out first ball in his last test innings would be pretty disappointing. VVS gone too.

As I write this, Tendulkar is run out by White. Bloody hell... its back on again. Go you good thing.

A massive colapse by the Indians in the second session puts us in the driver's seat. Krezja gets his 10 for the match, including a beauty that ripped back from well on the off-side to knock out Laxman's leg stump.

First ball mate.

I must say, I cannot comprehend their attitude/approach. They played so well in the first session, why would they change it? Bat hard, make the test (and series for that matter) only winnable to one team and go from there. Don't bat slowly and let the opposition back in. Dissapointing from an Indian point of view

First ball mate.

I must say, I cannot comprehend their attitude/approach. They played so well in the first session, why would they change it? Bat hard, make the test (and series for that matter) only winnable to one team and go from there. Don't bat slowly and let the opposition back in. Dissapointing from an Indian point of view

Funny how everyone is out to pot the Aussies for having an aggressive mentality and India's lack thereof could well cost them this test match. I suppose the critics would say the Australians go too far, but that might just be symptomatic of the general, pervasive winning attitude.

Pissing it away now. The winning mentality I mentioned has taken a back seat to self-preservation. With a poor over rate likely to see Ponting banned, the idiots are trying to save Ponting, rather than the trophy. Bizarre is being kind.

Pissing it away now. The winning mentality I mentioned has taken a back seat to self-preservation. With a poor over rate likely to see Ponting banned, the idiots are trying to save Ponting, rather than the trophy. Bizarre is being kind.

Agree. It defies logic. Ponting's captaincy has been a disgrace on this tour.

I wanted to back India at Tea, because I thought that Australia would get bowled out chasing anything around 300. The odds were too short. The way the games going, India will still be batting at Tea time tomorrow.

India finally all out. Aussies off to a flyer, 13 runs from the over. Requiring 380 -odd off 90 overs tomorrow. Unlikey, but you never know. Krezja chimed in with 4/143. 12 wickets in his first test. Averaging about 30 with the ball. Better than most others.

Watson also ended up with 4 wickets. He was getting great reverse swing which was good to see.

Dhoni and Harbahjan took the game away from the Aussies in the last session with a 100 run partnership. Fingers Crossed for tomorrow. History says they can't do it. The pitch will turn big tomorrow on the last day.

IMO, Pontings captaincy of this tour has been average at best.

Hayden, Lee, Clark have struggled on this tour. Hayden needs a big one tomorrow. Otherwise he may find himself under pressure come the Aussie Summer. With Jacques to return.

Katich is under-bowled and I don't really understand why.

Given that Clarke has a bad back I don't see why we over-bowl him while virtually refusing to throw the ball to Kat.

If they were serious they'd have a lead of 350+ tonight, declare and have a few overs at us tonight.

They don't seem to have that killer attitude

It's worked out that way sans the declaration.

We bat fairly deep so we're still in the game...but it'd be an amazing win.

We'll need to come up with something better if they decide to try and choke us with an 8-1 off-side field again though.

With Jacques to return.

I think Jaques is out for a while, so a more likely replacement would be Marsh or even Rogers.

That said, I think that - providing he's fit - Hayden will play versus NZ regardless of what happens this innings.

If he fails in that series he may be in trouble, particularly if we somehow lost.

It's a shame Oram's going to miss the tour.

Hayden, Lee, Clark have struggled on this tour.

Given the conditions I think Clark's performed okay.

If we had played a decent spinner Clark would have been able to tie up the other end and keep the pressure on even if he wasn't claiming wickets himself.

With a poor over rate likely to see Ponting banned, the idiots are trying to save Ponting, rather than the trophy. Bizarre is being kind.

If that's the reason - and I can't see any other explanation - it's a disgrace.

It'd be interesting to see who came up with this idea, assuming it was to avoid Ponting being suspended.

They should've been forced to fight much harder to get to that total though.

India should thank Ricky Ponting for being allowed to get to that total after we had them in a difficult position.

It's a shame Oram's going to miss the tour.

Given the conditions I think Clark's performed okay.

If we had played a decent spinner Clark would have been able to tie up the other end and keep the pressure on even if he wasn't claiming wickets himself.

Is a shame about Oram. He does well against the Aussies for the Kiwi's.

Good point actually about tying up other end for Krezja to take scalps. He just lacks variety on those pitches imo. I suppose most bowlers do though in india. Once back on Aussie soil, he should do much better.

Glenn Mcgrath didn't bother too much with variety, served him well in India with an average of 21.3 in India

They should've been forced to fight much harder to get to that total though.

India should thank Ricky Ponting for being allowed to get to that total after we had them in a difficult position.

Absolutely.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at tea to determine what gave way on the thinking to bowl the part timers.

If anything had Ponting pressed for victory and got it. He may have been suspended but he would have been a hero for it!

I expect the India's to bowl a foot outside off stump at 12 overs an hour with a 9-0 field and kill the game in the first session.

It really is a pity that a game that should give rise to an exciting final day will have any challenge squeezed out of it.

The dullard and negative captaincy is but just one element sending Test Cricket to a grave and its wrong. Despite the colour and pizazz of the limited forms of cricket there is nothing to beat a stirring memorable tight conclusion to a Test match.

I hope for the games sake this is a ripper of a final day with both sides actually going for the win.

Glenn Mcgrath didn't bother too much with variety, served him well in India with an average of 21.3 in India

True. But what McGrath had was a better consistency of stump to stump bowling and not giving the batsmen much width. Often frustrating the Indians to produce rash shot selections and getting out. Often put in the odd good short ball, which Clark lacks.

Ponting's captaincy has, on this tour, been exposed for what it is: not that good. As Jon Pierik writes in the HUN today, Ponting's not an 'intuitive' captain, like Mark Taylor. I see that as somewhat of a criticism of Ponting's captaincy. Since he began, Australia has been the dominant force in cricket, and with bowlers like Warne and McGrath, you don't need to do as much as a captain than you would with the Bangladesh team. Now that we're struggling, Ponting's lack of ability to analyse the game and intuitively know what to do and when has been exposed.

However, I doubt it was his decision to bowl the part-timers. What is his fault is the constant talking to the bowler between overs and the eternity he spends setting fields. If he'd not wasted so much time between overs in the first 2 sessions, then maybe he wouldn't have had this problem.

As for the match, I think India will go for it to start with. They've got plenty of runs to play with, so they could well go on the attack and look for quick wickets early. If that works then they can push for a win, but if it doesn't, they can slip into an 8-1 field whenever they want to shut us out. Which they will do as soon as we look like getting close to the target.

Ponting's captaincy has, on this tour, been exposed for what it is: not that good. As Jon Pierik writes in the HUN today, Ponting's not an 'intuitive' captain, like Mark Taylor. I see that as somewhat of a criticism of Ponting's captaincy. Since he began, Australia has been the dominant force in cricket, and with bowlers like Warne and McGrath, you don't need to do as much as a captain than you would with the Bangladesh team. Now that we're struggling, Ponting's lack of ability to analyse the game and intuitively know what to do and when has been exposed.

While there are questions that can be asked about Ricky Ponting, how intuitive did Mark Taylor have to be when he had access to McGrath, Warne, Waugh brothers and Healy? With class like that you have the ability to gamble and gamble hard. The quality of opposition that Taylor had to deal with in general was far less competent than Ponting. And why is Australia struggling? We got a pace attack that one paced, pedestrian and lacking the killer strike and we are playing a very competitive side at their home. Lets not forget the Australians have taken a lame squad to India without a recognised spinner at the start of the tour.

However, I doubt it was his decision to bowl the part-timers. What is his fault is the constant talking to the bowler between overs and the eternity he spends setting fields. If he'd not wasted so much time between overs in the first 2 sessions, then maybe he wouldn't have had this problem.

Thats an observation they were making on the radio. I share your doubts that it was a sole decision. However the Captain is going to carry the can for this.

As for the match, I think India will go for it to start with. They've got plenty of runs to play with, so they could well go on the attack and look for quick wickets early. If that works then they can push for a win, but if it doesn't, they can slip into an 8-1 field whenever they want to shut us out. Which they will do as soon as we look like getting close to the target.

It would not surprise at all if they went for the 8-1 field early

A long way to the total for a win. However, the first 3 overs has produced another 15 runs for no loss. 0/28 after 5 overs as I type this. Requiring another 354 runs with all (10) wickets in hand. Go Aussies...

We have no idea what to do in a situation such as the one we are in now. Katich and Hayden have come out slogging, Katich can't do it, played an awful stroke and was caught. Next over, Ponting takes a suicidal run and is run out by a metre. 2/37. We mightn't be there at tea. Awful batting. Absolutely awful.