First blood

Ricky Ponting called heads and lost the toss at the start of the 4th Test between India and Australia at Nagpur. MS Dhoni did not have a moment's hesitation in choosing to bat.

Virender Sehwag took strike to protect Murali Vijay at the start of the match. The second ball was thumped to the point boundary and it was business as usual for the manic marauder from Delhi. Pleasingly, Vijay did not lag behind and displayed a good temperament, coupled with a tight technique. He stays very still at the crease and has a slight step forward without committing too much. The wicket was as good a batting wicket as there can be in the first hour of a Test and he showed that he may have the tools to do well in the Test arena. He also handled the short-pitched ball with aplomb, dropping his wrists and swaying out of the way easily. By the time Shane Watson got him to prod at a sharply rising ball, 98 runs had been scored and the Aussies were on the defensive.

Jason Krejza has been shielded all series by Ponting, and his first three overs showed why. Sehwag waded into him with such reckless abandon that it was going to take a man with a big heart to absorb the damage. 32 runs in 3 overs and it looked like Jason would have a tough day at the office. Luckily for him, Rahul Dravid is having a tougher time than even Jason. A hesitant prod at a fairly timid delivery spelled the end of Dravid, hopefully not forever in the Test arena. After that Jason got a double bonus when Sehwag tried to cut a ball that came in sharply and played on. Sehwag has the instincts of a measured gambler and I will not berate him for "throwing" it away. This is how he plays and his record shows that, more often than not, he makes it count when set. Today was one of those rare failures that we should have to live with.

This brought Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to the crease, easily the best looking middle order batsmen from either side in this series. They put together another serene century-plus partnership without appearing to be in any trouble. However, these days, Sachin's batting worries begin when his score reaches the 60's. For a guy who has more than 80 international centuries he seems to have forgotten how to score them. His progression to three digits was fairly torturous to watch and he tried to mix predetermined defense with predetermined slogging, escaping three times when in sight of his century. Along the way, Laxman tried to force Krejza to the vacant off-side one time too many and, as luck would have it, the ball lodged between Haddin's legs and the keeper was able to cover the ball and claim the catch on his second attempt. For the second time in the innings, Krejza dismissed a well-settled batsman in his 60's.

Sourav Ganguly then played serenely till the end of the day, not really tested in any way. At the other end, Sachin entered that increasingly annoying state of mind of his where he shuts down everything and defends every ball. To do this when he was in the 90's was understandable, considering the tension, but to do this after he reached his century was inexcusable. This negative frame of mind of his has caused his downfall too many times in the last 3 years. I keep hearing how Sachin analyzes all his dismissals and is always working to never repeat his mistakes. I don't see any signs of this malady of his being addressed in spite of repeated failures. Why he chooses to put away the most complete repertoire of strokes in the game today, and bring out only the defensive stroke when the conditions do not even warrant it, is beyond me. Not surprisingly, he got out to Mitchell Johnson and gave back some of the initiative to the Aussies. Earlier in the series, Michael Clarke had given back the initiative twice to the Indians by getting out late in the day. You'd think Mr. Little Master would have learned the importance of keeping his foot on the pedal by now. Grr-dom prevails.

Tomorrow, Ganguly will resume with MS Dhoni, who eschewed a night-watchman in a nice, positive move at the end of the day. The pitch is showing signs of wear and tear and Krejza was able to spin the ball from the good length region and not just the rough. This augers well for the Singh-Mishra-Sehwag troika. I believe that 450 runs on the board will be a good total to aim for. 140 runs to get, 5 wickets in hand.

This could turn out to be the most interesting of the 4 Tests and it is a shame that it is taking place in front of almost empty stands. Test cricket is not dead in India, but the BCCI is doing a great job of trying to kill it with some inane decisions on ticket distribution and sales. You don't suppose it is an intentional ploy, is it? Paging Mr. Lalit Modi.