CricDigs Blogs

Sehewag and Gambhir collected more than 70 runs for the team during the first hour of the first day’s play during the third test match and every one in the dressing must have been feeling relaxed. However, soon Sehewag got himself out and before Gambhir and Dravid could carry on the innings, Gambhir too got out. It was left for Tendulkar and Dravid to steady the ship and they did a brilliant job of it. It was a special but short Tendulkar’s innings, as he opened out after the lunch break and played some breathtaking strokes. However, the batsmen at the other end didn’t seem to be in a mood to put their head down and dig-in at the crease to allow Tendulkar the luxury of having partners as he carried on to pierce the field through the off-side. As it turned out, there was nothing in pitch after so much controversy that had captured the headlines for more than a week.

In fact, the pitch appears better suited for batting and the slow bowler, so brown is its shade and footmarks are already beginning to appear. Laxman and Yuvraj were absolutely pathetic in the way they got themselves casually out to balls that had nothing in them to claim the wickets of major batsmen. It was ultimately left to Bhajji and Dhoni to do the rescue act. It was ultimately Bhajji who provided the entertainment factor for the day, while Dhoni played another one of his customary save-the-situation kind of innings. Much like Dravid, Dhoni too got out to a pull shot that had little power or any sense of authority to it. The Dhoni-Bhajji partnership ensured that the team crossed the 300-run mark after being reduced to about 200+ runs for the loss of six wickets. The way Bhajji has been batting in the last few test matches, it looks he must be having a better batting average better than that of Yuvraj. What is going on with this talented left-hander is something that is truly hard to decipher.