On a flawless day for India, Australia were also handed a reality check. They will need a Laxman – Dravid miracle a la Eden Gardens if they are to change the way this Border Gavaskar Trophy series is heading.
Australia must be feeling like they are reliving the nightmare of Mohali again. Once again, they find themselves in a deep hole and no amount of rope will be enough to pull them out. Still it would be treacherous to undermine the world champions. India have done their best and given themselves a great chance at sealing victory in Delhi. Now it remains to be seen if Australia proved stronger than they did at Mohali or whether India can show the persistence and resilience to hold off the world champions in delectable fashion.
Australia remained wicketless for half of the second day’s play. When wickets did fall, the match had become more formidable for them and the wickets felt more like belated gifts than critical blows. Credit must go to Gautam Gambhir and V.V.S. Laxman who carried on their 139 run partnership overnight to a record breaking and back breaking (for the Australians) 278 run alliance that gave India the decisive edge.
The Australian bowling tactics went from the mundane to the bizarre to the downright negative. They were indicative of the state where the team found itself. That Ricky Ponting himself decided to roll his arm over showed the mindset of the skipper who ran out of options of which bowler to turn to on day one itself. The spin was absent despite the part timers and the fast bowlers chose to rather pitch the ball to induce wide arms from the umpires rather than bowl on off stump or in the corridor of uncertainty.
While the Indians batted, it appeared that the pitch held no demons even though it was drier and it was credit to Gambhir that he made batting look less tiring than it actually was. That Australia lacked a quality spinner was exposed by the manner in which Anil Kumble and Amit Mishra got considerable bounce and turn late in the day.
Gambhir’s maiden double century came is rock solid fashion; carefully chalked out singles once in his nineties like he did on day one to ensure India stayed on track. Laxman, on the other hand, gave Gambhir a hassle free partner while accelerating India’s position as well. Laxman’s runs came at a brisk rate and it appeared his time in the middle yesterday was practice to bring about his own double century.
Rarely has it been that India have enjoyed two double centurions and it would have been an extraordinary performance from the Australians to ensure their efforts are forgotten or even overshadowed.
When a tired Gautam Gambhir finally gave in, Sourav Ganguly couldn’t get going but Mahendra Singh Dhoni did. His little cameo looked to push India much further before his belligerent act also led to his downfall. Just when it was assumed that the otherwise flawless day for India would end up in a prematurely ended innings. But Zaheer Khan ensured the fireworks stayed on even as India held off declaring long enough to ensure Laxman reached his 200.
India’s declaration on 613 gave Australia an uneasy hour’s play. It took all of Matthew Hayden’s grit to ensure Ponting would not be required to make a quick entry as he often has in the series. But Australia have a long climb; it is now for India to ensure it will be one long, steep one!
Billy’s Moment of the Day:
If standing between Simon Katich and Gautam Gambhir was Billy Bowden’s stellar performance on day one, day two left much to be desired. Firstly, he picked on Laxman for running on the pitch. One warning later, Billy was at it again, declaring a dead ball for Laxman’s so called repeat offence. But worse, the game enjoyed only a four ball over because one was declared dead and the final ball never got round to being bowled!
