Indian tail wags merrily as Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh slam half-centuries to frustrate the Australian bowlers after Tendulkar hammers a brilliant 153With just three days remaining in a series which has lived up to its reputation, India have done wonderfully well in Adelaide.
At close on Day Two, they are in the box seat. Of course, there is a lot of hard work to be done. And it will take a mammoth effort for Australia to either win or draw the Test from here.
More than analysing the match, I think a few words should be spoken about the Little Master.
There was a lot of talk before Sachin Tendulkar hit the shores on how he hasn’t been the Tendulkar of the past and how he is nearing his retirement.
But he has proven all the critics wrong. His batting has been as good as anytime. His shot selection has been exemplary to say the least. Of course he hasn’t been as attacking as he used to be in the past.
But he looks more dominating at the crease now. You are scratching your head as to how to get him out. And that I think is signature of a great player.
I was surprised to hear this fact yesterday that he has never scored 500 runs in a single Test series.
I think the fact that he is one of those guys who loves to score quickly and that has made him more vulnerable.
If he was tied down at the crease, he used to get impatient and make a mistake which has resulted in him not making as many big scores as by someone like Brian Lara.
But that is not the case anymore. I think in the next couple of years we will see a lot of big scores.
I guess before he finishes he might push close to 50 hundreds. It would be a great feeling and we will have to wait and watch whether the likes of Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis will be able to go past him.
Coming back to the match, thumbs up for the Indian selection panel on tour for having decided to go into the match with five bowlers. And trust me, the move is going to pay dividends.
With two regular spinners in the side I think they are going to be the key to the match’s outcome. If Kumble and Harbhajan, backed by Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar, who has been under bowled despite being a dangerous customer especially when the ball is turning, are able to get the inroads on Saturday, I think India would have almost squared the series.
Tomorrow is a very important day. This wicket is a very good one for batting but it does some tricks on the last two days.
So if India converts all their catching opportunities and are able to get early inroads into that Australian batting line-up, they stand with a good chance to win the match.
Having said that, the contribution of the tail has been just so vital. With seven wickets down, India were in danger of being bowled out below 400. And if that had happened, it would have put Australia on top.
However, Anil Kumble, who has improved immensely as a batsman over the last two years, and Harbhajan ensured that they will have a good total to bowl to the Australians. Harbhajan throws the willow but don’t forget he connects it very often.
