The last test match at ARG produced a draw. Little fun in draws usually at the ARG when you think of the boring ones we have had there. This one was different though. The match had two of three results possible, an Indian victory and a draw, which made it exciting till the last ball.

We saw Dave Mohammed take revenge for the bashing Dhoni gave him yesterday, adding to the legend of the guy with the cool name. Dave, or tadpole, as he is more popularly know by his cult following, kept making runs. That didn’t cause the torture though. The constant play and miss, topped by the stumping miss by Dhoni was the real sweet revenge.

In the end, the Indians fought back well. However, questions can be asked regarding the timing of taking the new ball. Dave Md. was not getting out but couldn’t taking the new ball have been delayed? Especially considering Sehwag was getting drift and looking good? Once the new ball bowlers weren’t causing an impact, I supported the decision of bringing back Kumble as he was some one who could take wickets.

However, doesn’t bringing back Kumble after taking the new ball show that your decision to take the new ball in the first place failed? Ideally, going a few more overs with the spinners as they were looking dangerous would have been apt with the seamers going in for the last plunge (last 5-6 overs) if the wickets didn’t fall till then. In the current scenario, could India have followed the given discourse though, given the inexperience of the seamers? Sreesanth didn’t look capable of handling the pressure in the last over. In such a situation, couldn’t a more experienced bowler make an impact?

On a different note, it was really unsporting of the crowd to boo the umpires off the field when the match ended. Simon Taufel was apparently booed for giving Ian Bradshaw out and Asaf Rauf for the Lara episode from yesterday. Really, if any one should be criticised, it is Brian Lara. A cracker of a test regardless. A test which also added to the agonising moments I have had as a fan watching India-West Indies tests in the Caribbean. First there was 1997 where we couldn’t chase 120. Then there was the 2002 series where we lost the advantage of being 1-0 up in the series. It is painful to watch test cricket as an Indian fan. It really is.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 at 4:53 am and is filed under Cricket. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.