It's In TeH GaMe !!!

Mohammad Asif has made a wonderful comeback to Test cricket, and with his counterpart- the young sensation Mohammad Aamer, he managed to destroy the New Zealand batting order. Unlike the first innings where Vettori and his boys made better of the Pakistani bowlers, both Asif and Aamer wre very good and bowled good lines. This new Pakistani bowling lineup seems to be very good. Both the Mohammads have the ability to swing and seam the ball, but what Mohammad Aamer is doing for his country at such a young age is really remarkable. He has really proved himself and Asif requires no introduction. Though Pakistan have lost the match because of some great bowling by the New Zealanders, one can say that this new bowling pair is looking very dangerous. This pair has the ability to match India's recent successful bowling pair of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. The two Mohammads can do it for Pakistan and I wish them all the very best for the rest of the series.

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First of all, congrats to Team India for their 100^th great win against still a weak team in tests - Sri Lanka. Now you might think I am mad for calling a World No.2 team weak. Apologies to all SL fans out there. But hey, beating a side that did not even tour with the dangerous slinger and the Matara Marauder is still weak. Moreover, if you see, all the recent sucess that Sri Lanka has tasted has been against lower ranked test nations - New Zealand and Pakistan. To me this win doesn't mean much. There is still a long way to go. Let's hope India doesn't be for what it is best known to be - Complacent. They win 1-2 games, become complacent and this is it. The series is gone out of their hands. And one fine example is the thumping received against a depleted Australian lineup in the ODI series.

Sreesanth looked good, so did Ojha. Bhajji seems to have secured his place in the playing XI at least till the tour against Bangladesh. I pity Ishant and Mishra. Seems like they too had a dose of complacency. And now they are found warming up the bench and having some doses of painkillers.

Now the question comes...can this so-called potential World Champions guard against complacency and go on to win the whole series against the hurt lions still searching for a win in India?

Coming back to this game though, as I had hoped before, the pitch did start to deteriorate once Dilshan and Paranavitana came out on Day 2. And well...you all know the story there on. Ojha took a nervous catch on the first ball, Sreesanth probably bowled the best spell of his career so far(I hope there are more to come), Zak looked average though. Bhajji as said before, bowled in right areas.

Certainly, I have been gifted my birthday present this year by team India!

Back to the business, play on India.

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What a shame for the top order and what a game going on! A result is foreseen this time around. I would rather like India to go for a win than slowing down things and playing just for a draw. India's 1st innings is almost over other than (if)the last partnership between Ishant and Munaf can take the score to 450+ runs, it would be a merry and a cherry on the the cake served(I mean the efforts) by MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and SRT. Congrats to Ian O'Brien for taking his 50 wickets. He continues to show a fine package of disciplined line and length bowling mixed with some fine pace.

From India's perspective what really hurt me the most was the middle order slump just after the Tea. But it's good to see MSD back in the side and why not? He has shown his worth by scoring a half century. Bhajji has again showed that he can bat and mat his counterparts. And as the cricinfo.com commentators said, Vettori would really be hopping madly back in the dressing room after failing to stop the Indian tail wag and score runs heavily. Definitely, the Kiwis have underestimated Harbhajan and Co.

A few records were tumbled down on this day and another one which is regarding this blog is that Crick-O marks it's 100th post with this one adding to the total.

Now moving forward to expectations from India for Day 2 all I can say is 'reverse swing'. That's it. Chilly, windy conditions are perfect for the Indian seamers to get the bowl to swing and once again prove their mettle after being hammered in the 2nd test. But again, DON'T Underestimate Harbhajan Singh.

While many of the Indian supporters would be wanting to see the 100th test win for India, it would be too early to say anything, at least after looking the mauling Indian bowlers received in Napier.

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Bravo!! What a courageous performance from the Indian batsmen, especially Gautam Gambhir. Toiling for more than 11 hours under the hot sun is never easy. This makes me remind of Gautam's own surname(Gambhir) which in Hindi means serious, which he remained throughout his innings of 137. It's one of the most spectacular comebacks I have ever seen or heard of. Seriously, not many would have expected a draw once the bails were dislodged by the umpires to call it stumps on Day 3. And again, India has proved the majority wrong. That majority who would have put their money on Kiwis must be thinking how in this world did New Zealand manage to loose their best chance to level the series?


Jesse Ryder's efforts were in vain and nearly drained. After all he himself expressed his disappointment over this draw.

As an Indian what's good to see is first this draw; second the top and middle order is back in form; India can't loose the series now; Dhoni would probably be back for the final game.

Anyways, here are the analysis of the three departments in this game:

1. Batting - India: Very much neutral given the slump in the first innings and the strong comeback in the second innings. And as I have said, the middle order is fired up now that Yuvraj Singh is looking back in form. Sehwag was the only concern in this game, but I know leading India is not easy, and so he did have some pressure on him to anchor both the innings.

New Zealand: They still have some issues that are urgently needed to be rectified. The top still hasn't settled down. However, it was their middle order that not only helped them bounce from 23/3 to post a mammoth total of 619 runs but also has been a reason to cheer about. Ryder looks solid and to break at. Ross Taylor looked classy throughout his 151. Now even the captain himself is looking dangerous.

2. Bowling - India: Once the catches were dropped the New Zealand batsmen offered no resistance whatsoever. Ruthlessly they hammered the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground. The Indian think-tank would surely be wondering how they can stop Ryder. Precisely speaking, I thought that it was only Zak and Ishant who looked good but the third seamer again seems to be troubling India. In my opinion India should try swapping Munaf with Balaji or maybe go in with a spinner which would mean Amit Mishra getting to play his first game. Whatever it really is, the sloppy fielding has definitely let the bowlers down.

New Zealand: First a superb bowling performance which ended the first three days of the game in their pockets. And the next two were disastrous. Again, sloppy fielding even from New Zealand helped India get away with a draw. Chris Martin was clearly the star of the attack and has probably justified his selection. Franklin looked dangerous, Vettori was at his usual best. O'Brien was speedy. So should I say Jeetan Patel was spinny? Ahoy!!! True indeed. But then what went wrong all of them in the second innings? Was it the solid defense of the batsmen or the disastrous catching?

3. Fielding - India: Extremely disappointing. A bunch of butter-fingers truly.

New Zealand: Their's wasn't to good as well. They dropped many sitters. The worst one was on the final day when Ian O'Brien dropped Gambhir. Though it wouldn't have hurt the Kiwis too much but the catch was simply a sitter which even I would have held on 9 out of 10 times.

Both the teams do have a lot to think. It seems that India will not give the Black Caps any hope and chance of drawing the series. If India let their golden series win after 40 years go down it would be a shame. While New Zealand have nothing to loose from here on, India won't like to go down in the final test match to as well as their golden series win after 40 years slip away.

I am really looking forward for the third match that will begin on 3rd April.

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