Australia v India, 3rd Test, Melbourne

3rd Test, MCG
26-30 December, 2014

Australia:
D Warner, C Rogers, S Watson, S Smith*, S Marsh, J Burns, B Haddin†, M Johnson, R Harris, J Hazelwood, N Lyon.

India:
M Vijay, S Dhawan, C Pujara, V Kohli, A Rahane, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni*†, R Ashwin, M Sharmi, I Sharma, UT Yadav.

india must play Bhuv in place of rohit.
Bhuv returning from injury and aaron generally fragile have to be 2 out of 4 seamers and not 1 out of 3.
If Patel gets to Aus in time, I would play him instead of ashwin

Watson has been hit on the head (wearing helmet) in the practice nets today. James Pattinson was the bowler.
He looked slightly shaken but should be OK.

Warner is in a lot of pain with his thumb but seems desperate to bear the pain and play.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is getting closer to a comeback as he has started batting in the nets and increased his bowling workload reports cricinfo. The Indian camp would be looking forward to having him back at the earliest.
I am with KPF on replacing Rohit Sharma, but not with Kumar. Kumar in for Aaron, KL Rahul for Rohit Sharma. I know he's a top order batsman, but Rahul is the form bat in the reserves, and unlike Suresh Raina, he looks test quality. Wouldn't even mind him playing at 3, Cheteshwar Pujara hasn't found his real touch as yet, drop him down to 4, Kohli at 5 and Ajinkya at 6 would make that lineup a lot more solid.......
But Mr FTB will not be dropped.......

msp83 wrote:Bhuvneshwar Kumar is getting closer to a comeback as he has started batting in the nets and increased his bowling workload reports cricinfo. The Indian camp would be looking forward to having him back at the earliest.
I am with KPF on replacing Rohit Sharma, but not with Kumar. Kumar in for Aaron, KL Rahul for Rohit Sharma. I know he's a top order batsman, but Rahul is the form bat in the reserves, and unlike Suresh Raina, he looks test quality. Wouldn't even mind him playing at 3, Cheteshwar Pujara hasn't found his real touch as yet, drop him down to 4, Kohli at 5 and Ajinkya at 6 would make that lineup a lot more solid.......
But Mr FTB will not be dropped.......

dhoni doesn't care for tests...and wouldn't bother to think such a "complicated" replacement scenario.
either of Rohit or Raina will play.....and now that Dhwan score 81 "glorious" runs with a "broken" hand.....he will get the reward of last two test.
also sensing he might be in the last two tests of his career....Dhoni would rather in line with his charcater....give these as an opportunity to his loyalists or lovers....rather than make the best selections in team interest

Starc had a ball smashed back at him yesterday - which hit him just below the knee.
Seems like this side is sorting itself out through natural attrition.

who has Starc struck on the knee?

Actually he was doing batting practice when he got hit on the knee. Not sure who was bowling to him.

From abc.net.au

In good news for Australia, paceman Ryan Harris bowled in the nets without any apparent problems as he recovers from a quadricep injury.

He looks likely to feature in the Boxing Day Test after Mitchell Starc limped out of the nets during batting practice after copping a knock to his knee.

Now Sean Marsh has been hit on the glove by Hazelwood.

The Loaded Dog wrote:Now Sean Marsh has been hit on the glove by Hazelwood.

Must have brought those dodgy practice pitches down from Brisbane

Dhawan's innings at Brisbane suggested he can slog well against the old ball whilst shepherding the tail. He proved nothing about his ability to open the innings against the moving ball. Bring in Rahul as the opener and drop Dhawan down the order to 6 where he can bat with the tail. It also helps getting rid of the biggest fraud in the history of Indian cricket but part of me wants that fraud to play the entire series so that he fails so badly so that even the team management are not able to pick him again on "talent" grounds. What a joke. What a fraud! Hopefully both him and Dhawan will be axed from the test side forever after this series.

Shanky, unfortunately, they both are going nowhere....... Dhawan scored runs in the last possible chance to save his career. But hopefully that won't give him space to fail away for the next 5 tests. Sharma, unfortunately, is a liability that has to be carried, as he's 'so tallented'. Hopefully the joker will get a few in the coming games.......

There are media reports in India that Rohit Sharma may be dropped for Suresh Raina who is highly rated by team director Ravi Shastri. Dropping Rohit is absolutely fine, but not sure Raina will make that much of a difference. Would have preferred Rahul coming in, but anyone for Rohit is welcomed.......

well in a positively surprising way Ind play Rahul
aaron was better than shami

Perhaps they thought Bhuvi wasn't quite ready to take the riggers of a 5 day game as yet, particularly as the World Cup is so close. The chrisinfo preview had indicated that reverse could be a factor on this track, Shami at his peak, can get the ball to reverse big time. Took an early wicket, but its time for him to really step up.
Will be interesting as to see where KL Rahul will bat.......

The Indian bowling unit has no idea about dealing with Steven Smith. The man just can't get out!. How many more this time?

India need to make the 2nd new ball count. Taken it a bit late, didn't understand the point of Ashwin and Vijay continuing even after the new ball was due.

Smith going strong as ever, and now Haddin has got a start. They are playing for stumps now, and if they are together up to close, it can be considered an even day. But with Mitchell Johnson yet to come and India's inability to get the lower order out, Australia still can post a sizable first innings score.

An over survive for Haddin and Smith to make it an even day....... Haddin wasn't quite comfortable against Umesh in the last few minutes, the bowler has 1 chance to make it count today and make it India's day.......

Smith and Haddin survived the day as Australia go to stumps at 259-5. Its an even day with Australia in a slightly happier position as Smith continues to bat brilliantly, and Haddin at last finding a decent start. As the Indians kept the runs down and took 5 wickets, they are very much in the game. From 216-5 and some 20 overs to go after that, they would be disappointed with the eventual score.
Ishant bowled with discipline but didn't look like taking too many wickets. Shami took a couple of wickets but hasn't been consistent. Ashwin was very economical and picked up Watson and that is a decent job on a day one track for a spinner. Umesh was the pick of the bowlers for me, took Warner out early, and added one more wicket later in the day. worked up decent speed and trouble most batsmen. Gave away a few, but unlike Aaron, he looked more threatening.......
Bhuvneshwar is being missed, yet again though.......

commentators and media might tell you its an "even day".
and conventional common sense might concur with the above.
BUT
For an Indian team under Dhoni trust that at your peril. He can play to the plot a day or two, but will lose the plot somewhere, inevitably and will get walloped.
Defeat is "guranteed" M Dhoni is too "dumb" to fight hard over 5 days and win an even test.

To win he needs the opposition to "roll-over" through an implosion or an inspired bowling in under a day....to get so far ahead in first inning that inspite of the "fallen asleep patches" that Dhoni will hit...he won't blow up the test.

Hope India will come out fighting tomorrow morning and bowl Australia out for around 350 and then bat well.
Expecting Smith to better his test best, Haddin to come out of his present slump with a ton of his own and then Mitchell Johnson smashing it around for a 50 before blasting through our collapse happy batting lineup.......

Varun Aaron's grandfather has passed away and he's on his way to India. Might miss the next test as well.

Condolences to Aaron.

As for the cricket I watched the first couple of sessions. If anything I thought the pitch was a bit two paced, a few balls seemed to get stuck in the wicket whilst some were carrying through quite nicely. This made playing attacking shots quite difficult and helps explain the somewhat pedestrian run-rate. Also, India bowled fairly containing lines and lengths.

I was a bit puzzled by some of Dhoni's tactics - there is a time and place for unusual field settings, and to Smith probably not a bad idea, but some of them were just bizarre and seemed like setting fields for the sake of it rather than to any particular plan. In defence of Dhoni, it is easy to say "just bowl line and length and set standard fields" but his bowlers on the whole are just not good enough - Shami is all over the place half the time and Yadav bowls some great balls but just isn't a line and length bowler. My gut feeling though is that Dhoni's captaincy is part of the problem.

The Indian fielding merits comment - it was atrocious. I mean really really bad, you would (or should) be disappointed by that at club level.

I was again struck by the maturity of Smith and the way he constructs his innings. Australia will be disappointed that 4 of the 5 wickets were well set batsmen and not particularly earned - Rogers will be particularly disappointed by his. Watson to some extent was got out by good tactics - the Indians blocked his scoring areas, and he had to come up with a solution to score, the solution he chose was probably the wrong one, and at the wrong time with Rogers having just got out, but it wasn't the worst idea in the world. Marsh was disappointing though, no need for that just after the break, particularly with Smith going well.

Thought Burns looked OK. Hard to judge because it was a nice enough time to bat, but he looked compact enough, and seems to have a few shots.

For India I was impressed with Ashwin's control, but his issue with bowling abroad is more of a technical one, he just doesn't get enough overspin on the ball. However he bowled intelligently, varied his pace well and could be a handful as the game goes on.

Yadav did pretty well - he's always likely to pick up wickets. Shami as I said was a bit all over the place, and Sharma to me still doesn't look like he understands how to construct a wicket.

I think Australia are marginally ahead. I don't think it's as good a pitch as the last couple, and 400 will be a good score if Aus can get up to that. India obviously need an earlyish breakthrough and to try to wrap up the innings for around the 350 mark.

Many years ago, Mickey Arthur spoke of how the plan was always about making 300 with the top six, and Boucher and the tail hustling another 100 runs. Using that benchmark, the game is even, maybe India in slight ascendancy.

Had a bit to drink this at St Georges Park for the boxing day, so I have no clue how long I'll be on for... might pass out on the couch

Australia's tail proving the exception to that rule. More like 200 runs.

Another century for Smith, Haddin had a fine flurry before getting out for 55... and now MJ is coming to the party.

350 up. 93 runs in very quick time this morning... off only 16 overs.

Ryan Harris smacking 70-odd. Words fail me

aus tail wagged...furiously ....not an exception but the norm against this Dhoni's side.

all the talk of an "even" day-1 predictably went out of the window as the real Dhon turned up today.....awaiting declaration. His job in his mind finished ...demonstrating processes and some resistance on D1....which is max span for which he can keep his mind focused

also do not be fooled by a seemingly "good" position of Indian inning.

Such fragile crybabies have turned this Dhoni's side that a bad net, not finding the favourite Veg samosa in the buffet, a gentle touch or push by an opponent not recorded on camera......is enuf to bring the house of cards down.

Questions--will Aus enforce a follow-on should they get to ?

Can Dhoni take the game into D5?

the result of the test barring any thunderstorms is an inevitability

I said it yesterday, Smith bettered his test best!!. Not MJ, but it was Ryan Harris who came to the party with the bat with Haddin also chipping in. Not a surprise really.
I do agree with Mike and KPF, that Dhoni's captaincy is also part of the problem. But the greater problem is the lack of bowling quality. Shami was really really atrocious. Ishant Sharma can't get wickets. Yadav is the only wicket taking bowler for this side in these conditions and he's not one to contain much. Can't blame Ashwin much, he did the job that he has to, kept the runs down and kept one end quiet for most of his spell. The fielding continued to be pretty poor. Making Kohli or someone else skipper might bring a more attacking intent into the overall game, but so long as we bowl like this and we field like this, nothing is going to change. Hope Bhuvneshwar is fully fit for the last test.

As for the batting, Murali Vijay played another fine hand, but his job hasn't even started.
Shikhar Dhawan wasted yet another start. While on commentary, Sanjay Manjrekar asked whether we have reached a stage where investing in a batsman who has more than one obvious technical issues with his batting is really worth it? The 81 did save his place in the side, but apart from New Zealand, Dhawan hasn't looked the part as a test opener. Unless he can't score the big runs in the next innings, its time for a new combination at the top. Murali Vijay and KL Rahul....... But only if that doesn't mean Rohit Sharma coming back into the side.
Cheteshwar Pujara has a problem. There is something technical about it, he's a bit too indecisive with his feet movement when playing the spinner Nathan Lyon. But more than being technical, it is a mental issue. He has to show greater intent, even when defending. Pujara was superb in South Africa, and he does have the ability and temperament. But he hasn't lived up to his potential in away tours since then. He batted time today and has moved into the 20s, but just didn't look settled at all and is lucky to be still there as Brad Haddin had put down an absolute sitter when he was on 14.

msp
dhoni's captaincy is 90% problem

As has been previously said, the big problem for India is that they're bowling line up is just darn right poor. Shami being one of the 3 seamers highlighting this issue. He's a skiddy bowler, yet continually bowls half trackers at low 80's, and has very little control. Sharma, apart from one test vs an awful England side mentally shot hasn't bowled to anywhere near what he could. He has height and decent pace, put again like Shami consistently bowls back of a length and offers very little wicket taking threat. Yadav has potential. The only genuine wicket taking bowler India have. Ashwin is doing a decent job but just doesn't possess the attributes away from India to be a danger to batsmen. Oz will have this wrapped in by day 4.

Among the upcoming bowlers, Sandeep Sharma is the one real promising prospect. He has had 2 very good domestic seasons, and coming off an injury layoff, he has started the present season well. Sandeep, 21, is on record that he's trying to add a bit more pace to his bowling. He can swing the ball big already. He can form a potent new ball attack in the future. Perhaps they should give him an opening soon enough. Shami has clearly regressed over the last year, Ishant can't take wickets consistently. Bhuvi, Sandeep and Yadav, that could form a more wicket taking bowling unit.......

In spinning conditions, Ashwin, Jadeja, Akshar/Ojha/Mishra/Karn can do the job.......

And oh, this one was a gonner by the end of the 2nd session on day 2!.

Before trying to help India win tests, Pragyan Ojha will have to help himself....... Reported for suspect action, and banned from bowling till cleared.......
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/814113.html

Msp - thanks for that about Ojha. Sad news. He played for Surrey in the closing weeks of the 2011 season and played a large part in our promotion then to the top tier of the County Championship. If he gets his ban rescinded next year but doesn't do enough to win round your national selectors (thus guaranteeing his availability), Surrey might well come knocking. He remains highly regarded at the Oval and it wouldn't take much to rekindle our interest - especially for the second half of the season in which spinners normally come into their own in England. Regardless of Surrey, I hope he makes it back.

Meanwhile, India are certainly up against it now. Have seen very little of this Test but hope to watch the opening session of day 3. Immediate aim, I would guess, is to avoid the follow on and still be batting at the start of day 4. Even then, no certainty that defeat can be avoided ....

You can blame MS Dhoni all you want, and his stubbornness at times boder on the ridiculous. But ts the bowling that is the real issue, and India's away troubles will continue so long as the bowling really picks up. There is not much choice in terms of personnel other than waiting for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to get fit. Bhuvi, despite all his success in England and ability and discipline that he has, is not the ultimate answer either, after all he has 28 wickets from 10 tests, 19 of those coming in the 4 tests in England. A bowling lineup led by Ishant Sharma!, you really can't expect much....... In the last 20 away tests, India took 20 wickets 4 times!!!. How do you beat that?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-india-2014-15/content/story/814007.html

Guildford, indeed unfortunate about Ojha. He has been struggling with his action though for some time. In fact after the England series, he had made some changes to his action, and struggled a bit against Australia subsequently. Had a fine series against the West Indies, but has been rather inconsistent since in domestic cricket. In the current Ranji season, he had taken 4 wickets in 3 games at an average of 75.
Hope he sorts his action out, and comes out of this a better bowler.......

whats happened to Ishwar Pandey..?

Pandey is yet to get a look in for tests. Considering the state of the bowling unit, he shouldn't be too far away though. He got injured during the last Ranji game though.......

msp83 wrote:You can blame MS Dhoni all you want, and his stubbornness at times boder on the ridiculous. But ts the bowling that is the real issue, and India's away troubles will continue so long as the bowling really picks up. There is not much choice in terms of personnel other than waiting for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to get fit. Bhuvi, despite all his success in England and ability and discipline that he has, is not the ultimate answer either, after all he has 28 wickets from 10 tests, 19 of those coming in the 4 tests in England. A bowling lineup led by Ishant Sharma!, you really can't expect much....... In the last 20 away tests, India took 20 wickets 4 times!!!. How do you beat that?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-india-2014-15/content/story/814007.html

seam bowling resources in India as as good as ever in the history of the game.

we need a captain....who can think / strategise over a 5 days span. Dhoni cannot scale his mind over 5 days....captains before him delivered more.....and captains after him will deliver much more with similar resources coming from the same resource pool.

1)He is simply incompetent as an overseas test match captain.
2)and add to that corrupted by sense of power / self importance (blind backing of Srni) means he picks his favourites instead of best ones availbale
3) and finally he doesn't care for lack of results.....if you are kind you will call him thick skinned......I will cal him shameless and devoid of moral responsibility as the custodian of Indian cricket

these are the same 3 points I wrote earlier

pujara gone already

An atrocious shot as well. Just fielding practice really. Really good catch from Haddin. Think his desperation to make the ODI squad has fudged his test game.

The channel 9 team hardly ever discuss the actual cricket on. display. Always anecdotes, and moans about the modern game. And when Australia are under the cosh, they speak about how close Australia are to turning it around. Quite like it though.

It has become more and more of a comical presentation these days with Taylor, Slats and Brayshaw (the latter two I find particularly annoying). Warne also is a joker but I enjoy his spin bowling analysis. Ian Chappell and Healy are slightly boring, imo although I chuckle when I hear Chappelli go on and on about things. Bill Lawry is classic though. Not a fan of Michael Clarke's inclusion since his injury. I'm used to Mark Nicholas now... in one ear and out the other.

I prefer to listen to the 2UE commentary team with Tim Lane and Bruce Eva (traditional ball by ball commentary), Blowers, Deano (funny but also crass a lot of the time), Fleming, Chappell there as well (always eating Magnum ice creams and having a whinge about India's tactics), McGrath (too much ego!) Carl Rackemann, Greg Mathews, Tom Moody, John Emburey and Mickey Arthur.

147/3 as Vijay plays a loose shot. Caught by Haddin again.

Didn't actually realise Arthur was still involved with Australian cricket, even if only through media. Was actually wondering this afternoon what had become of him.

The Murali dismissal was big. He's been the star turn for India, along with Kohli. The inevitable collapse can't be too far off. Kohli looking good though

Kohli is the rock of India these days and I agree the Vijay wicket is a big one.

Arthur must have bought some property here so would find it hard to leave... as most South Africans do.
Wouldn't surprise me if Kallis makes the move also. He loves it here apparently.

No surprise. It's an amazing feeling waking up and not having genuine concerns about being a victim of crime. Been looking into it myself, now that I've got a degree. Don't think Jacques will leave though, he's from Cape Town... those incestuous bastards don't leave the nest.

Back to the cricket, Rahane and Kohli launching a bit of a counter attack. Great to watch. You have the feeling that India have a fifteen over spell of madness in them which will undo all the work... but it's looking good. Jeez this Indian batting side is aesthetically pleasing. Kohli probably the most gifted, but Rahane is beautiful to watch.