First Test

Ind vs Aus Bangalore Test 5th Day's Play

Another one of those boring weekends, it was, and the damn telly tube wasn't working properly. India had already capitulated on Saturday to Australia. But, it was very heart-warming to see delightful strokes played by Pathan and Harbhajan against Shane Warne. Pathan's compact defence and a straight bat made me wonder why Dravid was shielding Pathan in the morning by not taking singles at all. Harbhajan and Pathan toyed with Shane Warne, as if he were a gully bowler. Heart-warming to see that the greatest spinner's figures were completely obliterated by these two wanna-be batsmen. Maybe, Warne was going after the world-record figure for total wickets and he was a little dazed. But one thing stood out: Dean Jones at the commentary repeatedly referred to Pathan as the next superstar of the world cricket initially. Once Pathan got to this fifty, he started referring to Pathan as the next genuine all-rounder superstar in the world of cricket. Whether Pathan realizes his immense talent(with bat) or not, we would have to wait and see. Almost a decade ago in the Titan Cup, it was another similar combination of batsmen(a fast bowler and a spinner) who had won a ODI for India against the Aussies. Alas, Sri didn't develop his innate batting capabilities. But there is something very polished about the way Pathan defends and goes about playing his strokes. He bats more like a batsman, rather than a tail-ender. One of his strokes that made India's day was the lofted six over mid-wicket of Darren Lehmann's slow left-arm spin. That ball reached the upper-most stands of the stadium, much to the delight of the Sunday crowd gathered at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Even Harbhajan joined the party by hitting a huge six off Warne. This was a classic stroke. I remember watching Steve Waugh playing exactly the same kind of stroke against Harbhajan during the unforgettable 2001 series. Bhaji went one knee down and played it cleanly across by sweep-pulled it over the long-on boundary. At the end of the day, Warne's figures were badly mauled by these two batsmen. During the "Fair and Lovely Fourth Umpire" show at lunch break, Cheeka had interestingly mentioned that Warne is yet to bowl as well as he could, in the Indian conditions. He still has got 3 more Tests to show off his wares in India. In the end, it was Aussies who had the last laugh, continuing the notion that Bangalore is not India's happy hunting ground. Due to the batting exploits of Bhaji and Pathan, India managed to reach a respectable score of 239. I, for one, am very optimistic about India's chances in the Chennai Test for a reason. Bhaji bowling was simply fantastic in his 2nd Innings. Interestingly, his tally of 10 wickets in both innings was the 4th consecutive time that he had taken 10 wickets against Aussies at home. The batsmen can't bat any worse than they have in the 1st Test. Keeping my fingers crossed for a positive outcome for India in the Chennai Test.