WARMING UP

When a stadium is almost full capacity one may think that the game being played is a serious one. The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was an exception today as a near capacity crowd watched a thrilling warm up game between India and Australia. A warm up game being a thriller is a rarity and the crowd at the stadium got its money’s worth.

The ICC came up with the idea of holding warm up matches prior to the 2007 World Cup. I really support this idea as it helps the teams acclimatize to the conditions and find the right combination. However, it must be noted that the warm up matches are not a sign of things to come. The last time India had won their warm-ups convincingly and we know what happened then. Australia had scrapped through Zimbabwe in a warm up but went on to win the cup. Another interesting fact is that when India did not play any warm up matches prior to the ICC World T20 2007 as they were in England. What I am saying is that it is good to play warm up matches but at the same time the results should not mislead you. Even if you win you should continue to look at areas that require attention and if you lose you shouldn’t panic and go back to the drawing board immediately.

The warm up game between India and Australia today was the best warm up game I have ever seen. The pitch was one of a kind as it had good bounce, carry and assistance for the seamers but at the same time it had great turn for the spinners. In this post I will analyze the performances of both the teams. I will list the positives and the negatives that emerged from this game for both the teams.

AUSTRALIA

When the defending champions were bowling they looked like a unit that was settled and had a hold of the proceedings. They looked in control even when they were chasing but the middle order looked like they had no clue against the spin.

The pace attack is a huge asset to the Aussies. Lee, Johnson, Bollinger and Hastings looked in good rhythm and were finding the right lines and lengths. Johnson sprayed the ball a bit but his overall figures were good and he was able to pick up the key wicket of Yuvraj Singh. Some of the rising deliveries that he bowled were simply too good but the one that got Yuvraj was exceptional. That is just the kind of a delivery you want to bowl. It had the batsman in two or three mind as Sunil Gavaskar said on commentary. It looked like Yuvraj first wanted to pull it, then leave it and finally nudge it over the slips but ended up edging it to Paine. Lee was brilliant in his second spell. He picked up all his three wickets in that relatively long spell of five overs. His pace was too good for Harbhajan and Chawla. Lee was able to invite a tentative drive from Suresh Raina and that according to me was well thought out by him. Hastings was good with his variety as he was able to mix the slower ones with the normal deliveries very well. He bowls this very good slower bouncer that can deceive any batsman. Bollinger was very good early on and he maintained his line and length throughout. The interesting part was that Australia did not call Tait to bowl. Maybe they are giving him a breather before the important matches start.

Coming to the spin bowling, this is one department Australia have struggled since the retirement of Shane Warne and Brad Hogg. Jason Krejza never would have imagined that he would play this World Cup and he has to get used to this fact as soon as possible. He was good in patches and was able to get good turn. However, he was struggling with his length. As in the final ODI against England, he was too short allowing a batsman like Sehwag the time to go back and cut. He bounced back to get Sehwag’s wicket but he has to improve well in time before the start of the grand event. Thus, like today Australia will look to David Hussey to bowl. His off spinners would be useful in these conditions.

214 on the board looked very easy considering the names in the Australian line-up. Shane Watson continued from where he left off from Australia and I think he will be the key to Australia’s performance in this tournament. He may have to contribute with the ball as well. I was surprised when Tim Paine walked out to partner Watson. I do not know why Haddin wasn’t sent who in all probability will open the batting for them. Paine was doing well against the spinners and his wicket sparked the collapse. Ponting looked in good touch but was tested by the spinners. A moment of indiscretion caused his downfall as he was stumped off Harbhajan. This is where Australia will suffer. Apart from Michael Clarke, no other batsman is very experienced in playing spin in India. The middle order had no clue against the spinners and that is a cause for worry but there is no need to panic as all pitches of the World Cup aren’t going to be like this one. I just got the feeling though that they will miss Michael Hussey. They need somebody very dependable to hold the batting in the middle order. Ferguson and Hussey are both capable of playing that role but at the end of the day Michael Hussey is Michael Hussey.

To sum up, I think one of the main reasons they lost the game were the two dropped catches of Yusuf Pathan. He was able to add the extra runs and his contribution along with that of Ashwin and Nehra was the difference between the two teams. These things happen at times and there is no real reason to panic for the Aussies. They just have to get their middle order right.

INDIA

When you win you generally overlook some areas that you need to work on. Luckily for India, they have a shrewd captain who will look into all the areas that require attention.

The top order did not look comfortable against the pace attack. Gambhir got a good one but the others could have shown better application. The biggest worry is Suresh Raina. He continues to poke tentatively outside the off stump and that just shows that he has failed to learn from his mistakes. I would prefer to pick Yusuf Pathan instead of him as he is in good touch and has shown application. Pathan doesn’t possess a good technique like Raina but like in South Africa he showed good application even today. This line-up will settle when Sachin Tendulkar comes back. He will open the batting with Sehwag and Gambhir will have to come at number three. Virender Sehwag’s innings was a surprise. Never have I seen him bat like this. He said that he wanted to bat through the innings and today he looked really determined to do it.

The spin bowling was very good. The performance speaks for itself. The seam bowling is a bit of a concern. Nehra and Munaf did not look good today. Munaf the fielder did well not the bowler. Dhoni said that they wanted to avoid a few niggles which is why they went easy on fast bowling. Sreesanth was bowling with vigor and he might just replace Nehra in the final eleven.

Just a few concerns for India. The match-winning performance for me came from MS Dhoni. He was exceptional with his three stumpings and that is what won the game for India.