India v England: Third Test

Gambhir will again be testing out his forward defence on the first morning of the third Test in India.

 

 

This has turned out to be a very interesting Test series. India handed England a trouncing in the first Test, winning by 9 wickets. Although, the disastrous first innings from England potentially skewed this result as the tourists showed some grit in the second, scoring heavily with Alistair Cook leading the way with 176. England carried this form into the second Test, where they were bowled to victory by Monty Panesar’s 11 wickets. Panesar was used in tandem with Graeme Swann, who claimed 8 wickets. Alistair Cook made another century, while Kevin Pietersen scored a big hundred. For the home side, Cheteshwar Pujara has been phenomenal. In this series, Pujara has accumulated scores of 206 not out, 41 not out, 135 and 6. Demonstrating the absolute dominance of the slow bowlers in this series, Pragyan Ojha has claimed 14 wickets in what has essentially been 3 innings.

 

As a result of the significant momentum shift throughout the first couple of Tests, picking a winner in Kolkata will be a difficult prospect. It is difficult to imagine that India can be dismissed within 45 overs for a second consecutive Test, so if England are to win, they will surely have to fight harder than in Mumbai. Steve Finn has been included in place of Stuart Broad, which is likely to add to the England team, given Broad’s recent struggles. Ishant Sharma returns for India, with Harbhajan Singh the omission. Despite Dhoni’s calls for a slow turner, the wicket has been predicted to offer bounce, which will favour both Sharma and Finn, with their similarly long-limbed frames.

 

India have won the toss and elected to bat. This could prove to be a significant advantage. England will have to bowl well in the first two sessions and make some inroads, given the best two batsmen for the series thus far have been the openers, Pujara and Sehwag.

 

This should be a cracking test match.

South Africa v Australia: Second Test, Day Three

The day was marked by rapidly changing fortunes with the bat, as quick flurries of wickets derailed both batting line ups. South Africa started the day with two wickets down and 217 runs on the board. This quickly turned to 7 for 250-odd, as the momentum swung sharply in Australia’s direction. Ben Hilfenhaus looked dangerous again, while Nathan Lyon was extracting significant bounce from the wicket and causing some concerns for the batsmen.

 

Enter Jacques Kallis, who shuffled out to the wicket with his damaged hamstring. Batting at 9, Kallis managed to stick around, supporting Faf du Plessis in his debut Test innings. The pair stemmed the flow of wickets and pushed the South African innings towards respectability. Nevertheless, when South Africa were finally dismissed for 388, they were still 162 runs in arrears and seemingly destined for defeat.

 

Edward Cowan and Davidward Warner strode out to bat in the afternoon sun, which was now beating down on the Adelaide Oval with some force. What a time to be batting, late on day three against a tired attack in hot conditions. The pair initially made the job look easy, rattling along at 5 runs an over. Cowan mistimed a push towards the legside from Tahir which popped up to mid wicket. Tahir celebrated quite extensively, after his effort of 0 for 159 off 21 overs in the first innings. Unfortunately for Tahir, the third umpire was brought into play and ruled that the delivery was indeed a no ball.

 

Not long after, Warner popped a catch up to cover and left with the score on 77. The manner of dismissal suggested that the wicket was becoming two-paced. Quiney entered, knowing that he needed runs. He edged the second delivery he faced through to de Villiers, and resignedly left the Adelaide Oval to raucous cheers. The cheers were for Ponting, who was entering as a batsmen for perhaps the final time. Ponting looked nervous, and his vastly expressive method of leaving seemed to demonstrate this. Cowan was bowled by a ball from Kleinveldt that snaked in off the wicket, before Ponting himself played on to a rapid delivery from Dale Steyn. This brought nightwatchman Peter Siddle to the crease, who managed to last for a few overs before edging Morne Morkel through to de Villiers.

 

The day ended with Australia on 5 for 111, 273 runs in front. Australia should win, particularly as the pitch appeared to be starting to play some tricks.