The Hindu : Sport : Ganguly consolidates, Dhoni provides the fireworks

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Ganguly consolidates, Dhoni provides the fireworks

S. Dinakar

Zaheer and Ishant trap their ‘bunnies’ cheaply; debutant Mishra’s strikes give India the edge

— Photo: S. Subramanium

OFF-SIDE KING: Sourav Ganguly sends on rocketing to the fence on way to his 16th Test hundred at Mohali on Saturday.

Mohali: Irrespective of the pitch, bowling is a lot about landing the ball in the right areas. It’s also about the work that a bowler puts or imparts on the ball — the wrist and the seam position, the rip and the revolution.

Matthew Hayden was undone by the length and the inward movement from his nemesis Zaheer Khan. Ricky Ponting, caught at the crease, perished to bugbear Ishant Sharma’s precise off-cutter.

Simon Katich was done in by the spin on the ball as he stretched forward to Amit Mishra. Then, the debutant leg-spinner foxed and consumed Michael Clarke with the one that skidded through straight in the final piece of action on a dramatic Saturday.

Different ball game

It indeed was a different ball game on a surface where Sourav Ganguly celebrated his 16th Test hundred, his second against Australia, with typical panache and stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni powered his way to 92.

India had Australia on the mat at 102 for four at stumps after stretching its first innings to 469 on a dry, bald, wicket. At the conclusion of the second day’s play of the second Test, the host had a gilt-edged opportunity to take the lead in the Border-Gavaskar series.

Australia’s plight would have been worse had ’keeper Dhoni held a sharp, low catch when the left-handed Michael Hussey (37 batting) edged a delivery spinning away from Harbhajan Singh when on 25.

The Indians bowled in partnerships — Zaheer with Ishant, Harbhajan with a laudable Mishra — and created the pressure. After long hours of fielding under the hot and blazing run, the stress told on the Aussies. Zaheer and Ishant consistently hit the seam, Harbhajan and Mishra spun it both ways

Dhoni leads well

Dhoni led well, strangulating the Aussies with a single-saving ring when the pacemen operated and backing his spinners with close catchers. Crucially, the bowlers were disciplined in length and direction.

If the sun continues to beat down, the pitch may develop cracks. It could make Australia’s task of saving the Test harder.

Earlier, Ganguly (102, 225b, 8x4) displayed fight and heart to see off the second new ball and consolidate India’s position with a 109-run stand with Dhoni.

As the left-hander in the middle-order, Ganguly adds much to the line-up. The bowlers are forced to switch their line and this is easier said done.

His relaxed stance and the straight downswing of the willow were in view. This was an effort where Ganguly essentially put solidity over flair yet the natural flow and the timing were evident when he switched to an attacking mode. He coaxed the ball through the off-side gaps, brought his wrists into play when the bowlers pitched on leg.

Erring pacemen

Nightwatchman Ishant Sharma might have been prised out by a short ball but the Aussie pacemen erred by banging it in at Dhoni on this surface. The stand-in captain employed the pull effectively.

Against leg-spinner Cameron White’s essentially straight bowling, Dhoni (92, 124b, 8x4) managed to get his front leg out of the way for powerful blows over mid-wicket and square-leg.

On one occasion, Dhoni charged down and blasted the ball through the hapless White’s hands. And he bludgeoned the pacemen through the off-side. This was Power Play in Test match cricket.

Dhoni was desperately unlucky to miss a hundred, falling to a contentious leg-before decision as a hard-working Peter Siddle swung one in.

Ganguly suffered a lapse in concentration after reaching the three-figure mark and the tail did not wag this time around. The innings came to a rather abrupt end.

Apart from the post-lunch session on day one when Lee and Johnson created some pressure and were rewarded for it, the Aussie bowlers failed to put the Indian batsmen under stress. This attack has no McGrath or Warne. And it shows.

SCOREBOARD

India - 1st innings: G. Gambhir c Haddin b Johnson 67, V. Sehwag c Haddin b Johnson 35, R. Dravid b Lee 39, S. Tendulkar c Hayden b Siddle 88, V.V.S. Laxman c Haddin b Johnson 12, S. Ganguly c Lee b White 102, I. Sharma c Katich b Siddle 9, M.S. Dhoni lbw b Siddle 92, H. Singh b White 1, Z. Khan (run out) 2, A. Mishra (not out) 0; Extras: (b-4, lb-10, w-5, nb-3) 22; Total: (in 129 overs) 469.

Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Sehwag), 2-146 (Dravid), 3-146 (Gambhir), 4-163 (Laxman), 5-305 (Tendulkar), 6-326 (Ishant), 7-435 (Ganguly), 8-442 (Harbhajan), 9-469 (Zaheer).

Australia bowling: Lee 24-5-86-1, Siddle 28-4-114-3, Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2.

Australia - 1st innings: M. Hayden b Zaheer 0, S. Katich b Mishra 33, R. Ponting lbw b Ishant 5, M. Hussey (batting) 37, M. Clarke lbw b Mishra 23; Extras: (lb-1, nb-3) 4; Total: (for four wkts in 40.5 overs) 102.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Hayden), 2-17 (Ponting), 3-62 (Katich), 4-102 (Clarke).

India bowling: Zaheer 13-4-24-1, Ishant 9-3-28-1, Harbhajan 10-2-28-0, Mishra 8.5-1-21-2.

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