Yoda, & initials on T3

"So unforseeably pointless, has today been, a day ."
Master Yoda (at least what he would have said if he followed cricket)

I still can't believe the rains messed this one up. I am almost at a loss for what to do, with no Day 5 to reflect upon. I would have been shattered if India had crumbled, and I would have wished for the humidity to convert to showers then. But irrespective of who had a better chance, I am pretty sure this would have been a cracker of a day. If it got close, it got close. If India managed to play exceptionally win, it would still have been a great chase. Either way, it would have been good cricket.
Though India surely had the better chance, as is reflected in an Aussie pundit's celebration.
Suddenly, Gillespie (and Martyn's) refusal to just fall over on Day 4 becomes all the more significant. Remember, that time they were all talking of the match wrapping up on the penultimate day itself...

It was not to be. The series stays at 1-0 and India's chances of winning it outright are tougher now than before. Chennai was our best chance, with the bouncy venomous pitch that it has. Nagpur promises to be a batter's paradise and I shudder to think what'll happen if we don't win the toss. Mumbai is a happy hunting ground for the Aussies, and in general a more 'international' pitch than hardcore Indian . That doesn't augur well. But HEY. There are positives to be gained from this match, and possibly some mental advantage.

What do you know. Irfan's side strain is bad enough for him to be ruled out of T4 which is more than a week away. This is going to be a big loss. As if Zaheer's slow return to form was not enough to cope with- now the fast bowling attacke is unlikely to have any teeth whatsoever. I do not see Nehra being a wicket taking bowler, and if he is not that then it is a problem, because he is very unlikely to be a tight, stifling bowler.

For instinctive reactions I would say we should now go in with three spinners. Ask the curator to make it as spin friendly as possible without being excessive or underhand (i.e- not to the extent of our tour of NZ, or Durban many years ago). Throw in Murali Karthik and let him know he is not a hot-shot wicket taking star. His job should be to plug one end up.

Yuvi looks all set to continue as opener, and that is a good thing given the current thinking. Like I said earlier, if he is the opener the team mgmt is looking at, he deserves to be given a fair run in the slot. His talent is there for all to see, but if you believe he is good enough to open, then give him a fair chance at it- i.e the rest of the series. After all, he has forced Aakash Chopra to make way, and there should be confidence (and consequence) behind that move. Parthiv, for one, should defnitely not be thrown up to this perpetually debated slot. Which brings me to him.

Parthiv. I am a little surprised, yet in some ways hardly at all, that he has been retained. There have been innumerable calls for his head, and I cannot argue with the logic behind all his detractors' thinking. Yet I can see the logic behind his backers' way of thought, which, all in all, is basically what i had spoken of here. It may extend beyond Sauravda to gentle Mr.Wright and the (new) selectors, but it is a line of thinking that has to be given credit for guts. Again, whether young Parthiv makes them looks like idiots or men of great foresight remains to be seen.
Those are the preliminary thoughts. More later, once I have fully recovered from the huge loss (of good cricket) that today has been.