Even Stevens....

This day has been one with a balanced performance from both the sides. While the Aussie's were able to get half the Indian side dismissed (and that too the stronger half), the Indians did well to score over 300 in the day. Slow over rate was again the order of the day as Ponting failed to finish his stipulated 90 overs. Mitchell Johnson did well to get the 1st & 2nd wicket and Lee did well to snarl Laxman and Sehwag.

It's thrilling to watch Lee bowl these days. He has really filled McGrath's shoes and has taken over the mantle of being a strike bowler in its true sense. His wickets of both Sehwag and Laxman were against the run of play and this clearly shows his ability to take wickets when the going gets tough. The way he set Laxman up when the latter was on 37 shows his cricketing acumen. Its a pity that Gilchrist dropped a sitter to deny him the wicket at that point. He however had the better of Laxman a little later and without letting the latter cause much damage to the Aussies.

In my previous post, I had mentioned that I was not in favor of Irfan opening the innings as he was not that good against the new ball. And hence was not surprised to see him edge one early in the 8th over of the day. Its becoming a big problem for the Indians as they are unable to find a fixed opening combination for their test side. As for Sehwag, It was refreshing to see him display the kind of strokeplay that was missing from the Indian batting ranks for a long time. While Sachin and Laxman score briskly in their elegant manner, Sehwag brings with him, the cavalier approach which pays rich dividends more often than not on the test arena.

Sachin has played a flawless innings all through the day. The LBW shout against him by Hogg was debatable to say the least and I would not delve into it further. Laxman, during his 51, showed complete control over the Aussie attack except for the 2 deliveries, one of which got him out and the other one of which he was dropped.

Rahul is still fighting the demons but I am sure I will see him emerge from this start-stop trend to score a big one soon. Ganguly might have had a debatable decision go against him but then he has been Hogg's bunny for this series. He might have some scores to settle in the second innings if he gets an oportunity to play Hogg.

I would love to see Dhoni get a bit aggressive and play his natural game early on the 2nd day and take the attack to the Aussie camp because as we have seen before in the series, If the Aussie's are able to get a couple of early wickets tomorrow morning, the Indian innings might be over even before most of us wake up. The pitch offers true bounce and there is no need for him to be over defensive. But that is left to be seen. All in all.... If India is able to score over 450 in their 1st innings, we have a great contest on cards.