By Sunil Gavaskar
India missed out on the opportunity to take an upper hand in the Test by letting Haddin and Siddle build a partnership that has taken Australia to a degree of comfort. If India can restrict the Australians to under 300 then they will give themselves a real chance to control the Test match.
There is the odd delivery which is bouncing from a length which the Indian batsmen will have to watch out for but otherwise it looks like a good wicket to pitch your tent on. Oppor-tunities like this don’t come too often and India has to cash in on it else they will regret it.
If Australia are let off the hook, they will grow in confidence and will be harder to crack in the remaining Test matches.
The Indian bowlers have stuck to their task very well with Umesh Yadav being very impressive.
He may have conceded a few boundaries by pitching the ball up or too short but by getting the ball fuller he got the ball to swing in the air as well as off the pitch and with his extra pace caused problems to all batsmen.
If Ishant can bowl it fuller then he too will be able to trouble the batsmen more than he has so far. Zaheer came back well with wickets off consecutive deliveries and Ashwin bowled a fine tight line.
What Ashwin needs is an attacking field since he is getting the ball to turn and bounce too. Dhoni has been allowing the singles to be taken with the off-side fielder deep and so the pressure is considerably eased on the batsmen.
Captains and bowlers are moulded by the different formats of the game and that is why bowlers would rather get cut or pulled by bowling short but are petrified of being lofted when in fact a lofted shot gives the bowler the best chance to get a wicket if the batsman mistimes his shot.
Captains also prefer to concede singles than boundaries and so the fielders are deep set than they should be.
For the Australians ED Cowans making his debut showed a stubborn streak while Ponting, though not at his best, gave glimpses of what has made him one of the game’s greats.
Both had trouble against Yadav and Ashwin, but gritted it out as you would expect from the Australians. It is this very grittiness that has helped Haddin and Siddle hold the bowlers at bay.
India will have to earn every wicket for even the number eleven for Australia will not throw his wicket away and that’s how Australia have recovered in the past.
Haddin is the danger man for, while he is no Adam Gilchrist, he has the shots to upset the bowler and is not afraid to play them.
He has played second fiddle to Siddle but India need him back in the dressing room fast if they are hoping to dismiss Australia for under 300.