[deepakhon]

Yes. Tendulkar is taking a run off the first ball to give Ishant Sharma the strike. Of course, Ishant scored a boundary.

This Indian innings looks one of the best I have seen. Lakshman's wristy strokes, Dravid's defence, Tendulkar's master strokes and Ganguly's elegant strokes. Not to mention, Harbhajan Singh's good partnership with Tendulkar. Good that we have got a lead over the Aussies.

[Surprise]

Lee to Tendulkar, 1 run, Tendulkar defends a good length ball towards the off side and takes the single off the first ball once again, well the ploy has paid off so far so you can't really complain

I was too breaking my head why cant sachin retain the strike and score runs, but......

136.6 Lee to Sharma, no run, left alone outside the off stump, Ishant hands the strike back to Tendulkar, you get the feeling that Ishant will get it back soon enough

[rks]

Originally Posted by Surprise

I was too breaking my head why cant sachin retain the strike and score runs, but......

Sachin was at it again. Looks like he wanted to come back not out, with an eye on the record books. When he scored 243 not out in Sydney he was asked why he didn't speed up the run rate to help India's cause and he replied "I did not want to get out". But this time he has scored faster and saved India's neck, so he will be forgiven.

[maddy42]

Well we got some major surprises today. Great effort by tendulkare, bhajji and sharma. ganguly was also good. But the drawback was that none of the aussies fell today.

By the way i have a feeling kumble can bowl close to 50 overs a day. god this man has got grit

[Steeroid]

One century by this man and the commentators and their analysis is full of praise, overlooking the contributions by all the others.

Boy it must suck to have played well on a day when Tendulkar scores painfully.

[Surprise]

If aussies handover a target of 300 runs on final day for India, it would be interesting to check out whether India reaches the target or bundle out while attempting to win (or try to take even honors)

Iam sure Ponting would definitely like to have a positive result to equal Steve's record & he will be on it.

[snaronikar]

I think Ponting will hand over the target of over 350+ to India. They will complete this within tomorrow with 10 overs remaining. He will make India bat for around 10 0vers t'mrow and see whether he can take a couple of wickets and if this happens, then we will be in deep trouble on 5th day. Otherwise, 350+ in one day is not achievable by India and we will settle out for a draw and that too if all our old guns go blazing as 1st innings.

[Eddy]

My prediction: Aussies get bowled out for 200 odd. And we chase the 150 odd target with 5 wickets down.

<God, u reading ?>

[MaserQ]

Originally Posted by rks

The younger players Jaffer, Yuvraj and Dhoni disappointed again. Yuvraj and Dhoni look like they need at least 5 more games on Australian pitches before they would get used to playing here. When they got out, the commentators' instant reaction was "That is not the way to play on Australian pitches". The next Test is in Perth, the fastest and bounciest pitch in Australia. I would seriously consider bringing in Karthik and Pathan in place of Jaffer and Yuvraj, if they flop again in the second innings.

The first thing we need to drop is the idea of dropping players after 2-3 bad performances. Give them a free run for say 2-3 tests atleast. Their innate fighting qualities come to the fore when the chips are down. Yuvy and Dhoni have to fire at some stage.

Jaffer is a backfoot player, plays the pull/cut shot well and he is in form. Why drop him at this stage? Infact he is the man to have in Perth, where we will also see Tait firing all cylinders. It would be interesting to see who Kumble would drop if they have to pick an extra fast bowler in Perth. Pathan is a safe choice. VRV can hit the deck, so he might get the nod.

[Spitfire]

Great batting by Tendulkar, a masterpiece again.

Somehow it pains me when someone says with an eye on records, comeon man. I used to play first class cricket for my state and have had the fortune to play with tendulkar. You guys are horribly mistaken when you say he plays for records. I played for 4 years and the beating my body has taken at that level is something which i only can know. I was a fast bowler and opening bat. To do the samething for like 18 years is beyond fascination. If anyone saw some off his shots played off the backfoot especially the six do you think he was going for records? He was demoralising the bowler by taking calculated risks.

Try batting for 5-6 hours straight against the best team in the world and you will know. On the same lines Laxman was praised for his innings. We are fortunate to see such great batsmen in our lifetime. Failures happen and the pressures of an Indian Cricketer are beyond your and my comprehension.

Well done India and keep going.

[Surprise]

Wonderful innings by Sachin. I watched his inning from lunch break till tea and it was superb.

News From Sahara Samay:: It was a relief to get to three figures: Tendulkar

Tendulkar did not protect the tailenders and gave them plenty of strike. "The field was back for me and I took the singles on offer. There was no point playing a rash shot and getting out. I thought the field would come in for the tailenders and they could hit some boundaries," he said.

Aussies will try to score 360 runs tomorrow and hand over India with a lead of 300 runs and 10 over to play at day-4. Hope they lose wickets while trying to accelerate their scoring rate.

[rks]

Originally Posted by MaserQ

Jaffer is a backfoot player, plays the pull/cut shot well and he is in form. Why drop him at this stage? Infact he is the man to have in Perth, where we will also see Tait firing all cylinders. It would be interesting to see who Kumble would drop if they have to pick an extra fast bowler in Perth. Pathan is a safe choice. VRV can hit the deck, so he might get the nod.

I blame the schedule for the problems that Yuvraj, Dhoni and Jaffer are facing. There should be at least 3 state-level games before the first Test, so that our batsmen can get used to the completely different conditions in Australia.

I agree that Jaffer is a good back foot player, but in Australia the ball comes on much quicker and it appears that he is not having enough time to play his shots. The problem with Yuvraj and Dhoni is that they are attempting shots that will get them boundaries on Indian pitches, but will get them out on Australian ones. I do not mean to say that these guys should be dropped for good. But if they fail in the second innings of the Sydney Test, that would make it four consecutive failures. For their own good and also for the sake of the team, some fresh faces would be welcome in Perth.

I would say if all three fail in the second innings at Sydney, go for Sehwag, Karthik and Pathan instead. I agree that 3 fast bowlers are a must in Perth. But it would be illogical to drop Harbhajan, who has done a great job wtih ball and bat. VRV Singh has pace, but in the absence of movement and accuracy, that is just meat and drink for the Aussies. I would prefer Pathan and not just for his batting ability.

But realistically Dhoni will not be dropped because he is vice-captain. So I would leave out Yuvi and Jaffer (if they fail in second innings also at SCG) and go for Pathan and Karthik. Sehwag is always a gamble and I would prefer Karthik to him.

[extreme_torque]

Sachin should have taken it upon himself atleast after RP Singh departed. I am not able to pin point what was going on is his mind except that he wanted to come out, not out. Sucks!

[MaserQ]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Great batting by Tendulkar, a masterpiece again.

Somehow it pains me when someone says with an eye on records, comeon man. I used to play first class cricket for my state and have had the fortune to play with tendulkar. You guys are horribly mistaken when you say he plays for records. I played for 4 years and the beating my body has taken at that level is something which i only can know. I was a fast bowler and opening bat. To do the samething for like 18 years is beyond fascination. If anyone saw some off his shots played off the backfoot especially the six do you think he was going for records? He was demoralising the bowler by taking calculated risks.

Try batting for 5-6 hours straight against the best team in the world and you will know. On the same lines Laxman was praised for his innings. We are fortunate to see such great batsmen in our lifetime. Failures happen and the pressures of an Indian Cricketer are beyond your and my comprehension.

Well done India and keep going.

We are a cynical bunch Spitfire. Well said.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Try batting for 5-6 hours straight against the best team in the world and you will know.

Finally someone commenting after having played the game at a competitive level or knows what it takes to play 50 overs or a 5 day match.

Originally Posted by rks

I blame the schedule for the problems that Yuvraj, Dhoni and Jaffer are facing. There should be at least 3 state-level games before the first Test, so that our batsmen can get used to the completely different conditions in Australia.

What if the players get injured during the warm up games? Then people will again blame it on the schedule. In times where almost all players are playing excessive cricket I don't think many players would welcome this.