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India v Australia 2^nd Test.....No More Suspicious Minds

Mohali

Friday 17^th October 04.00 GMT

I feel a song coming on:

"We can't go on together

With suspicious minds

And we can't build our dreams

On suspicious minds"

Indeed, as Elvis said, we can't build our dreams, or win test matches with suspicious minds.

On the first morning of the 1^st test, the pitch had cracks and an appearance that suggested it would defiantly get worse each day and so winning the toss was crucial.

Ricky Ponting won that toss and he, along with Katich and Hussey played great innings to set up what seemed a massive total on the pitch of 430.

However, that total was built painstakingly slowly, at 2.8 an over mainly because the batsmen were convinced there were gremlins in the track and their minds were very suspicious of how the pitch would play.

In reply, India also went at a snails pace, not as slow as the Aussies, but a slightly more adventurous run rate of just over 3 runs per over. The Indian batsmen too were very suspicious of the pitch and felt that the only way to get anywhere near Australia’s total would require extreme concentration and application.

Ironically, it was only after the Indian’s were in trouble at 234-7 that we realised that the pitch was in fact holding up rather well. Whilst the top order of both sides had struggled, the Indian tailenders Zaheer Khan and Harbhjan Singh put together a match saving partnership of 80, playing with freedom and trusting the pitch rather then being suspicious of it.

They managed to restrict the Australian lead to just 70 runs. When Aussies batted again, it was back to those suspicious minds again as they painstakingly built on their lead.

They looked to have come unstuck and gave India a slim chance when they collapsed to 128-5, however again it was lower order batsmen, this time Watson and Haddin who decided to play with freedom as they put on an important 60 run partnership in quick time.

On day 5, Ponting set India a target of 299 off 83 overs, hoping that the pitch would crumble and they could force a win..

Despite a good start and having India 25-2, that win proved elusive as the pitch again proved not to have crumbled and India comfortably held on for a draw, only losing 2 more wickets.

It appears that those suspicions about the pitch  proved unfounded and it actually played a lot better then its appearance on day 1 suggested.

If the top order batsmen of both teams had adopted the same positive approach as the lower order batsmen did, then I feel the game could have moved forward quicker and maybe a result could have ensued.

Also it has to be said that another obstacle to a positive result was the woeful over rate of the Aussie bowlers.

12 overs an hour is just not good enough, and, ironically, I feel it was the Aussies that paid the price.

A better over rate could have meant 11 overs were not lost at end of day 2, and a further 10 on day 3. If they had bowled these 20+ overs, and scored at a slightly more adventurous rate then 2.8 an over in their first innings, the Aussies could have been in a position to have 4 sessions to bowl India out instead of just 83 overs.

Ok, that’s history now. We move on to Mohali, what can we expect this time?

The pitch here won’t be suspicious looking. It will have more life, bounce and carry then Bangalore. This will mean batsmen from both teams will feel more comfortable and be able to express themselves with freedom.

This time their minds won’t be preoccupied with suspicion about the pitch.

This pitch will suit the pacers, but critically, it will also suit the spinners.

Kumble, Harbhjan and Cameron White all struggled at Banglaore as the pitch was very slow and any turn that was available was slow and so batsmen had time to readjust their shots.

Mohali will be different, it will take turn as the match progresses and this time that turn will be sharp, pronounced and bouncy.

Mohali has been one of India’s favourite grounds. The fab 4 and sehwag have all made big runs here in the past and I fully expect most of them to do so again.

Australian batting lineup will also like the true nature of this pitch, and so I will be surprised if we see run rates of below 3 an over for either team.

I believe that this time, the match will progress at a faster rate then in Bangalore and there will be result, the question is, who will win.

With the batting evenly matched between the sides, the key to this match will be the balance in the bowling department.

Australia’s fundamental weakness of a lack of a quality spinner was again highlighted in the 1^st test, and as the series progresses, this weakness will become more and more obvious.

Whilst India too will have been disappointed with the returns for Kumble and Harbahjan at Banglaore, they will know that these two have proven records on coming good at key times.

Overall, it’s India that have the perfect balance of pace and spin in this match and I believe it will be them that prevail.

So what the bet?

I believe Australia’s best chance of winning a test in this series has gone. This venue, and the ones to follow in Delhi and Nagpur will suit India much more then Bangalore and I still believe they will win this series comfortably.

Therefore the play is:

BACK India for 4 points @ 3.5 on Betfair .

Join me, trust me, there’s nothing suspicious about it.

Bigjoe