So what was the difference in the end? Both bowling sides had inexperienced fast bowlers who bowled really well - not scary or fearsome- but with hard work and passion. Zaheer Khan and Anderson deserved their reward of the Man of the Series for each side. However the difference came down to a few factors:
1. Openers- for a change the Indian flag was flying higher than their opponents in this department. Jaffer and Karthik gave what India deserved for decades- an opening pair who could ensure that the rest of the batsmen bat at meaningful batting orders.
2. Second new ball- India handled this phase better. Tendulkar played out Sidebottom making 3 of some 48 balls (2nd Test) and in the third test he made some 6 runs when Laxman added 30 in that phase. Tendulkar only began attacking after 110 overs and phased the team lower order to bat when the sun was shining hard on the English bowlers... Kumble and Dhoni made a lot more hay than expected! England always gave a wicket in the 2nd new ball, and opened the door to more wickets...and never really pushed the score to convincing volumes- as Vaughn admitted after the match.
Test matches demand 150 plus overs of play in the first innings.
3. Kumble v Monty- Experience v Youth? Monty Panesar could only do so much. There were phases when England did not give Kumble too much, but Kumble either got the early breakthroughs or cleaned up the tail (which has plagued India for years, not being able to knock the tail off, after making massive inroads).
Hope it all lasts for India. They better not fiddle around with the openers now.
Saumil
Mumbai
Aug 14, 2007
Aug 11, 2007
Positional Masterclass from Tendulkar, 3rd Test India vs England, The Oval, 2007
So this is a flat track and Tendulkar for the second consecutive time in test matches, comes in to bat after 40 overs and more than 175 runs on the board. Sounds like the ideal platform to cut loose? Sure, in normal cases that would be true- but here is how the calculations work out:
1. In approx 50 overs, India are 200 for 3 with Tendulkar and Ganguly batting. On this pitch, a score of 400 will perhaps loose the match, or at least give England some chance to put India back in (the pitch does not have any scary bounce, just a bit more than what batsmen would expect, from time to time)... Moreover, a team which won the toss on this pitch should bat nearly two days or at least 150 overs (110 overs is a minimum any side should plan to bat on most pitches which are fair to both bat and ball).
So at about 50th over losing 3 wickets is tricky for sure.
2. Tendulkar therefore continues to dot it out, aided by England bowling the legside stuff (one shot bowling!), expecting him to glance it into leg-slip, or chip it to short leg (and if not, give a single to fine leg). The English approach is fine under 'normal' matches where you need to keep the run rate in check from overs 50-80, and yet hope that Tendulkar would try to work it around.
3. However, Tendulkar had other plans- to dot it out all the way to 30 overs past the second new ball (remember the unfortunate way Vaughn got out in the last test during the second new ball phase- allowing Zaheer to clean up the lower middle order). A strike rate of 35-40% will not matter- you would be 15-20 runs fewer than needed, but it is important that the rest of the lower middle order bat well after the second new ball- when bowlers are in their sixth or seventh spells. This 'positional aspect' of the lower order batting after 110 overs was the target, and Tendulkar achieved it with Ganguly and Laxman doing normal scoring off normal bowling. Only then did Tendulkar attack the bowling, when it was ensured that the team will now get a good shot to play 150 overs or more, without being bundled out in the second new ball overs.
4. Obviously, nobody expected Kumble to score a century. However, with Dhoni and the tail, on a good track- with bowlers being half-dead, India could hope to add 100 odd runs to reach about 550 by tea. They did that and more!
5. Kumble made 100 off about 190 balls, Tendulkar made 82 WITH 192 balls. If a team has to bat 150 overs (900 balls), one of the top order batsman must get a big hundred. Tendulkar did it with 192 (balls, not runs). A costly miss by Prior to drop Tendulkar when he had not yet played 100 balls!
Will Tendulkar bowl some legspin- full and wide outside of off stump- since England have to try to score some quickly? We need to wait and watch.
Also, was the -inswinging down the legside line to Tendulkar- similar to Sir Alec Bedser to Sir Don Bradman?
1. In approx 50 overs, India are 200 for 3 with Tendulkar and Ganguly batting. On this pitch, a score of 400 will perhaps loose the match, or at least give England some chance to put India back in (the pitch does not have any scary bounce, just a bit more than what batsmen would expect, from time to time)... Moreover, a team which won the toss on this pitch should bat nearly two days or at least 150 overs (110 overs is a minimum any side should plan to bat on most pitches which are fair to both bat and ball).
So at about 50th over losing 3 wickets is tricky for sure.
2. Tendulkar therefore continues to dot it out, aided by England bowling the legside stuff (one shot bowling!), expecting him to glance it into leg-slip, or chip it to short leg (and if not, give a single to fine leg). The English approach is fine under 'normal' matches where you need to keep the run rate in check from overs 50-80, and yet hope that Tendulkar would try to work it around.
3. However, Tendulkar had other plans- to dot it out all the way to 30 overs past the second new ball (remember the unfortunate way Vaughn got out in the last test during the second new ball phase- allowing Zaheer to clean up the lower middle order). A strike rate of 35-40% will not matter- you would be 15-20 runs fewer than needed, but it is important that the rest of the lower middle order bat well after the second new ball- when bowlers are in their sixth or seventh spells. This 'positional aspect' of the lower order batting after 110 overs was the target, and Tendulkar achieved it with Ganguly and Laxman doing normal scoring off normal bowling. Only then did Tendulkar attack the bowling, when it was ensured that the team will now get a good shot to play 150 overs or more, without being bundled out in the second new ball overs.
4. Obviously, nobody expected Kumble to score a century. However, with Dhoni and the tail, on a good track- with bowlers being half-dead, India could hope to add 100 odd runs to reach about 550 by tea. They did that and more!
5. Kumble made 100 off about 190 balls, Tendulkar made 82 WITH 192 balls. If a team has to bat 150 overs (900 balls), one of the top order batsman must get a big hundred. Tendulkar did it with 192 (balls, not runs). A costly miss by Prior to drop Tendulkar when he had not yet played 100 balls!
Will Tendulkar bowl some legspin- full and wide outside of off stump- since England have to try to score some quickly? We need to wait and watch.
Also, was the -inswinging down the legside line to Tendulkar- similar to Sir Alec Bedser to Sir Don Bradman?
Jul 28, 2007
Posted for cricinfo article on Indian middle order (Lords test 2007)
This is in response to cricinfo article:
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/cricinfoselect/archives/2007/07/flabby_in_the_middle.php
Our middle order is still the best we have. We are paying a heavy price for neglecting the opening situation as a 'pair' for few decades now. Did we ever hear of a great batting team which did not not know who will open on the eve of every series? Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Younis Khan (Pakistan) have slogged it out to ensure that the team has a chance to last for 100 overs plus. To do this one needs to bat out a lot of dot balls till 40 overs, (when the middle order bats inside the first 14 overs)... Even in school and club cricket, we usually have openers who open. Until this is fixed as a 'pair', middle order batsmen will be doing a repair job to ensure it does not fall apart. In tests, teams need to bat between 110-150 overs to be dominant/competitive. Hopefully, we found the openers who will be there as a 'pair' for some time.
Besides, The last few series India played have been low scoring, so scores need to be 'normalized' to the pitch conditions. I have mentioned how to do this in my Cricket book.
And on a side note- India batted better then England in the wet conditions (days 2-5 at Lords). After it began raining, Engalnd lost 15 wickets in 320 runs, India lost 19 in about 480 runs. England were also lucky to get the best of the weather on day 1!
No wonder England are struglling in Trent Bridge day 1... Some more positional play from their top order was perhaps needed- like Tendulkar and Jaffer did in the first innings at Lords... Be ready for more positional play from the middle order folks!!! Tactics can only flow from good positions as Anand and other tactical GMs say in chess... Keep a close watch on the Fall of wickets by over number, not just runs to see how batsmen will play in this series.
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/cricinfoselect/archives/2007/07/flabby_in_the_middle.php
Our middle order is still the best we have. We are paying a heavy price for neglecting the opening situation as a 'pair' for few decades now. Did we ever hear of a great batting team which did not not know who will open on the eve of every series? Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Younis Khan (Pakistan) have slogged it out to ensure that the team has a chance to last for 100 overs plus. To do this one needs to bat out a lot of dot balls till 40 overs, (when the middle order bats inside the first 14 overs)... Even in school and club cricket, we usually have openers who open. Until this is fixed as a 'pair', middle order batsmen will be doing a repair job to ensure it does not fall apart. In tests, teams need to bat between 110-150 overs to be dominant/competitive. Hopefully, we found the openers who will be there as a 'pair' for some time.
Besides, The last few series India played have been low scoring, so scores need to be 'normalized' to the pitch conditions. I have mentioned how to do this in my Cricket book.
And on a side note- India batted better then England in the wet conditions (days 2-5 at Lords). After it began raining, Engalnd lost 15 wickets in 320 runs, India lost 19 in about 480 runs. England were also lucky to get the best of the weather on day 1!
No wonder England are struglling in Trent Bridge day 1... Some more positional play from their top order was perhaps needed- like Tendulkar and Jaffer did in the first innings at Lords... Be ready for more positional play from the middle order folks!!! Tactics can only flow from good positions as Anand and other tactical GMs say in chess... Keep a close watch on the Fall of wickets by over number, not just runs to see how batsmen will play in this series.
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