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‘Mr. Cricket’ oozes cricketing wisdom

S. Dinakar

Australia finishes with 430; Virender Sehwag races to an unbeaten 43

Zaheer scalped five, while Ishant took four wickets
Hussey and Haddin handled the second new ball well

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

GOOD KNOCK: Mike Hussey played patiently to anchor Australia’s innings

Bangalore: ‘Mr. Cricket’ oozed cricketing wisdom at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Acknowledged for his extraordinary comprehension of the game, Michael Hussey constructed a monument for his team on the second day of the first Test.

Hussey’s 146 (276b, 15x4, 1x6) piloted Australia to 430, a total that gave its bowlers an opportunity to apply pressure on India. The left-hander made all the right moves.

The Aussie pacemen, apart from creating a couple of anxious moments for the openers, struggled to find the right length for the sub-continental pitches, either bowling too short or too full.

Virender Sehwag blitzed to an unbeaten 43 off 55 balls with seven boundaries while the left-handed Gautam Gambhir was on 20 when a sharp spell of rain brought the day’s proceedings to a close. India was 68 without loss in 18.1 overs.

Coming second best

Earlier, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, up against a bunch of fleet-footed batsmen, came out second best. They were not consistent in their line to exploit inconsistent bounce and failed to create pressure. The fizz off the pitch was lacking too.

The pacemen bowled with heart and skill. Change of pace and reverse swing — not dependent on the surface — can be effective in these conditions.

Ishant Sharma foxed and consumed Brad Haddin and debutant Cameron White with the slower delivery while Zaheer Khan struck with reverse swing late in the innings to return a five-wicket innings haul.

Ishant castled Shane Watson in the morning with an off-cutter and used the crease well to send down lively incoming balls and straighter ones from a high-arm action preceded by a galloping run-up.

And Zaheer can swing the old ball in the same direction of the shine — the reverse swing. Before succumbing right at the end to a Zaheer reverse swinger, Hussey displayed several aspects of his batsmanship.

Precious ability

He has this precious ability to play the ball late, delaying the movement of his feet momentarily even while staying balanced. An initial trigger movement may take him trifle forward but he does not commit himself. Consequently, he is strong off either foot.

The left-hander pulled Zaheer when the paceman pitched short. When Zaheer bowled a fuller length, he responded with a cracking cover-drive off the front foot.

Harbhajan tempted Hussey with a 6-3 field, the two single-denying men in front of the wicket on the on-side stationed at mid-wicket and square-leg. The idea was to lure Hussey to strike against the turn.

Hussey waited and only when Harbhajan erred in length did he launch into a pull and a lofted six over mid-wicket. The men at mid-wicket and square-leg were moved to the fence and Hussey began milking the bowling with ones and twos. This was clever batting.

Safe ploy

Apart from driving firmly in the ‘V’, he negotiated Kumble by ‘closing’ the face of the bat and using the bottom hand and the wrist to turn balls, even from outside the off-stump, between square-leg and fine-leg. And he ‘opened’ the face of the willow to collect runs off the pacemen, a safe ploy for a middle-order batsman on sub-continental pitches.

And the Aussie found the gaps. Kumble had a mid-off and a cover and Hussey coaxed the ball to the fence between the two fielders.

In a crucial 91-run partnership for the sixth wicket, Hussey and a fighting Haddin handled the second new ball well; Hussey judged Ishant’s line capably. The two also ran brilliantly, judging the pace on the stroke and the ability of the fielder.

They were quick on the turn and ran with the stroke, the non-striker being pro-active. Then, Lee batted usefully and Australia crossed the psychologically crucial 400-run mark.

SCOREBOARD

Australia — 1st innings: M. Hayden c Dhoni b Zaheer 0, S. Katich c Dhoni b Ishant 66, R. Ponting lbw b Harbhajan 123, M. Hussey b Zaheer 146, M. Clarke lbw b Zaheer 11, S. Watson b Ishant 2, B. Haddin c Laxman b Ishant 33, C. White c Harbhajan b Ishant 6, B. Lee b Zaheer 27, M. Johnson b Zaheer 1, S. Clark (not out) 0; Extras (lb-11, w-1, nb-3) 15; Total (all out in 149.5 overs) 430.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Hayden), 2-166 (Katich), 3-226 (Ponting), 4-254 (Clarke), 5-259 (Watson), 6-350 (Haddin), 7-362 (White), 8-421 (Lee), 9-429 (Johnson).

India bowling: Zaheer 29.5-4-91-5, Ishant 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan 41-8-103-1, Kumble 43-6-129-0, Sehwag 6-0-19-0.

India — 1st innings: G. Gambhir (batting) 20, V. Sehwag (batting) 43, Extras (b-4, nb-1) 5; Total (for no loss in 18.1 overs) 68.

Australia bowling: Lee 5-1-12-0, Clark 7-1-28-0, Johnson 4.1-0-23-0, Watson 2-1-1-0.

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