(Australia vs India, 2nd day, 3rd test match at Perth from Jan 13-17, 2012, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12)
Australia started off strongly, with Warner continuing his ruthless form, there was another double hundred in the reckoning. This one, a more flamboyant innings filled with fearless shots, played just with sheer power & instinct, much against the comparison of a more smooth & neatly compiled innings of Clarke, in the previous test match. Ed Cowan played the second fiddle to perfection and brought up a much needed 50, to do his spirits a world of good. With the team reaching 200 in 219 balls, India were searching for some divine intervention to save them from this merciless butchering. Umesh Yadav created a spark by removing Cowan, with a beauty that cleaned him up, shattering his thoughts of getting to the 3 figure mark. India sensed an opening there, with a pretty fragile Shaun Marsh at No.3. Marsh's below average form continued, when he knicked an outgoing ball to the slip.
While Warner rocketed his way to a 150, Ponting at the other end was bowled the best delivery of the day (in my view) by Umesh Yadav, which dismantled his central timber. The morning session pretty much belonged to the Indians, with 3 top order wickets, but Warner still stayed. Briefly after lunch, Warner began to pick his spots and slam the deliveries all over the park. But he failed to connect a ball by Ishant Sharma, thereby scooping it to the long fielder Yadav, who managed to grab the ball without falling over the fence. There was more a sense of relief than celebration in the Indian camp. That was the best chance for India, to go for the kill. And this time they dint make a mess of it.
Zaheer Khan came back with a superb spell of swing bowling, claiming 2 quick wickets of Captain Clarke & keeper Haddin. The ball to Clarke was a beauty, which just moved away to take his knick & the most enjoyed one, would be that of Haddin's, especially after a sour exchange of words at the beginning of the test. After brief resistance from Hussey & Siddle, Yadav dealt the striking blows to clean up the tail. Sehwag & Vinay Kumar chipped in with a wicket each, & Australia were bowled out eventually for 369. The last 10 wickets were taken at the cost of 154 runs, which clearly indicates that the bowling department has now, finally had a move on. Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, who claimed a five-for. He bowled terrific lines with a good amount of pace, erred occasionally & but got the wickets to restore some sort of chance for India to save this game.
The 3rd innings had already begun in the final session of just the second day. That proved, that a result was assured, more in the favor of the team which had the lead. With Australia leading by 208 runs, if at all there was any time that the Indian batting had to come good, it was then. Gambhir & Sehwag opened cautiously. If you were an Indian fan, you'd obviously wonder, "If Warner could play such an innings, what stops Sehwag to out perform him?" I was tricked into thinking the same way, until I realized the difference between a less inspired bowling attack & the Symphony of the Pace Quartet, bowling seamlessly. India were to play out the entire session without losing a wicket, to even think of creating a miracle. But Gambhir soon bit the dust, yet again edging a swinging ball to the slip. Micthell Starc was exceptional with his away swing, especially the one's he brings back into the right handers.
The experience of nearly 30,000 runs was in the middle, in the form of Dravid & Sachin. They needed to make their experience count and infuse some inspiration into this quickly surrendering team. Clarke was shuffling his bowlers really well, giving them short spells to make sure their steam din't run out when they come into bowl, mainly in the notion of taking wickets & sealing the game in their favor. Starc was brought back into the attack. In just his second over, he bowled a "Banana"delivery, that swung sharply into Sachin to wrap him on his pads. The first sight was plumb, but Sachin, very unusually was not happy with the decision given & walked off shaking his head showing his disagreement to Aleem Dar's decision. More than the thought of him missing an opportunity to get to his 100th ton yet again, he seemed more disappointed because he was not able to save India from what is to be faced - Humiliation.
If you're an Indian, you couldn't help, but to hope that the Kolkata miracle is re-performed, when Laxman walked out. Dravid at the other end looked assertive in his foot movement & fended to deliveries that were pitched short of good length. The wicket seems to be holding on well, but for one huge crack. Laxman, with his non committal foot movement, soon crashed the hopes of a miracle by, poking a delivery outside off stump, giving Hilfenhaus his first wicket of this innings. VVS made a long walk back to the pavilion, after scoring a duck. He walked into the shadow filled dressing room, which has much more than just pondering to do.
MATCH STATUS
India - 161 & 88/4. Australia - 369.
India trail by 120 runs with 6 wickets hand in their second innings.
Its just the second day of the 3rd test, and India already have a humiliating defeat in their hands. This is not the first time this series, that India are faced with this situation. After the powerful knock by Warner last night, it was pretty sure that India's chances of winning this test was far beyond sight. On a day, where the Indian bowlers sparkled, the batting failed yet again, to diminish the chances of India saving this test match. With 3 full days remaining, and India having to score 120 more runs to make Australia bat again, are just left with little over half a side remaining. This will be the third time this series, that I'd hope for that unlikely Kolkata miracle to repeat itself.
Australia started off strongly, with Warner continuing his ruthless form, there was another double hundred in the reckoning. This one, a more flamboyant innings filled with fearless shots, played just with sheer power & instinct, much against the comparison of a more smooth & neatly compiled innings of Clarke, in the previous test match. Ed Cowan played the second fiddle to perfection and brought up a much needed 50, to do his spirits a world of good. With the team reaching 200 in 219 balls, India were searching for some divine intervention to save them from this merciless butchering. Umesh Yadav created a spark by removing Cowan, with a beauty that cleaned him up, shattering his thoughts of getting to the 3 figure mark. India sensed an opening there, with a pretty fragile Shaun Marsh at No.3. Marsh's below average form continued, when he knicked an outgoing ball to the slip. 
While Warner rocketed his way to a 150, Ponting at the other end was bowled the best delivery of the day (in my view) by Umesh Yadav, which dismantled his central timber. The morning session pretty much belonged to the Indians, with 3 top order wickets, but Warner still stayed. Briefly after lunch, Warner began to pick his spots and slam the deliveries all over the park. But he failed to connect a ball by Ishant Sharma, thereby scooping it to the long fielder Yadav, who managed to grab the ball without falling over the fence. There was more a sense of relief than celebration in the Indian camp. That was the best chance for India, to go for the kill. And this time they dint make a mess of it. 
Zaheer Khan came back with a superb spell of swing bowling, claiming 2 quick wickets of Captain Clarke & keeper Haddin. The ball to Clarke was a beauty, which just moved away to take his knick & the most enjoyed one, would be that of Haddin's, especially after a sour exchange of words at the beginning of the test. After brief resistance from Hussey & Siddle, Yadav dealt the striking blows to clean up the tail. Sehwag & Vinay Kumar chipped in with a wicket each, & Australia were bowled out eventually for 369. The last 10 wickets were taken at the cost of 154 runs, which clearly indicates that the bowling department has now, finally had a move on. Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, who claimed a five-for. He bowled terrific lines with a good amount of pace, erred occasionally & but got the wickets to restore some sort of chance for India to save this game. 
The 3rd innings had already begun in the final session of just the second day. That proved, that a result was assured, more in the favor of the team which had the lead. With Australia leading by 208 runs, if at all there was any time that the Indian batting had to come good, it was then. Gambhir & Sehwag opened cautiously. If you were an Indian fan, you'd obviously wonder, "If Warner could play such an innings, what stops Sehwag to out perform him?" I was tricked into thinking the same way, until I realized the difference between a less inspired bowling attack & the Symphony of the Pace Quartet, bowling seamlessly. India were to play out the entire session without losing a wicket, to even think of creating a miracle. But Gambhir soon bit the dust, yet again edging a swinging ball to the slip. Micthell Starc was exceptional with his away swing, especially the one's he brings back into the right handers. First change Siddle, came into the attack and to immediate effect showed why he is one of the most reliable bowlers that a captain can depend on. His precision was the key in claiming Sehwag's wicket. The ball had squared him up, forcing him to play outside the line of his body & nicking it to the keeper. India lost both their openers cheaply, yet again for a meager 25 runs. India needed runs & needed to occupy the crease most importantly, to provide some hope of saving the embarrassment of an innings defeat.
The experience of nearly 30,000 runs was in the middle, in the form of Dravid & Sachin. They needed to make their experience count and infuse some inspiration into this quickly surrendering team. Clarke was shuffling his bowlers really well, giving them short spells to make sure their steam din't run out when they come into bowl, mainly in the notion of taking wickets & sealing the game in their favor. Starc was brought back into the attack. In just his second over, he bowled a "Banana"delivery, that swung sharply into Sachin to wrap him on his pads. The first sight was plumb, but Sachin, very unusually was not happy with the decision given & walked off shaking his head showing his disagreement to Aleem Dar's decision. More than the thought of him missing an opportunity to get to his 100th ton yet again, he seemed more disappointed because he was not able to save India from what is to be faced - Humiliation. 
If you're an Indian, you couldn't help, but to hope that the Kolkata miracle is re-performed, when Laxman walked out. Dravid at the other end looked assertive in his foot movement & fended to deliveries that were pitched short of good length. The wicket seems to be holding on well, but for one huge crack. Laxman, with his non committal foot movement, soon crashed the hopes of a miracle by, poking a delivery outside off stump, giving Hilfenhaus his first wicket of this innings. VVS made a long walk back to the pavilion, after scoring a duck. He walked into the shadow filled dressing room, which has much more than just pondering to do. Kohli joined Dravid in the middle & though both the batsmen didn't feel at home, they managed to delay the inevitable, unless these 2 able batsmen in the middle play the innings of their lives tomorrow. The bowling was at its usual best, with Micthell Starc bowling the spell of his career so far. A left arm pacer proves lethal, only when he's able to bring the ball back into the right hander, and he was able to do that with much ease.
The Indians would take the first 2 sessions and the bowling did show a lot of intent. The top order batting was yet another let down, with Dravid waging the lone battle. With the bowlers coming one after the other, the day ahead seems respite-less for the Indian batsmen. The question is how far will they be able to push the inevitable. If you are "The hopeful Indian Fan" like me, you 'd ideally want this pair to play atleast until tea & wipe of the deficit to get us the lead. But if you're a realist, you'd be surprised to see India play until tea to save this match.
DAY 2: A pinch of India, in a mouthful of Australia.
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