It was Sachin’s day all the way on Day I of the second test in Mohali. First, he eclipsed Brain Lara’s record of most runs scored by a batsman in Test cricket and then scoring 50th half century followed by the milestone of 12000 runs. However, he missed his 40th century by 12 runs and failed to revise the target for Ricky Ponting who is just three centuries behind Tendulkar. Like in the 1st test, Tendulkar was out to a debutant—Peter Siddle.
Tendulkar’s records notwithstanding, it was a day of ups and down for India. The openers started well by putting 70 runs on the board before Sehwag departed for 35. Dravid and Gambhir followed it up with 76 run partnership. Thereafter three wickets tumbled in quick succession.
Later, the authority Tendulkar and Ganguly showed first in taming and then dominating the bowling was unmistakable. While the owner of many records came up with a flawless display, the left-hander was almost as good and added to the frustration of the Australians by taking his own sweet time in going about things.
Tendulkar broke Brian Lara’s record off the first ball after tea, steering Peter Siddle to third man, but, once the seemingly endless fireworks subsided, India needed a much more substantial contribution from him. It was Ganguly, however, who set the pace initially. He had taken 17 balls to get off the mark before tea but after the interval he hit the ball through gaps in the offside with precision, driving Shane Watson and Peter Siddle for three boundaries between point and cover. He milked that region for 41 of his runs and, apart from a stumping against Cameron White – Rudi Koertzen did not refer it to the third umpire – and a couple of uncertain wafts against the second new ball, his innings was calm.
Towards the end of the day, Tendulkar was batting so confidently that he despatched the first delivery with the second new ball, bowled by Siddle, through cover with a back foot drive. He tried to repeat the shot the next ball but inside edged the ball past his stumps. His third attempt to push the new ball through the offside 15 minutes before stumps landed in Matthew Hayden’s hands at first slip and gave Siddle his maiden Test wicket. It ended a 142-run stand and helped even the balance between the teams.
Before that error in judgement, however, Tendulkar had scored runs all round the ground and wasn’t tied down by any bowler. He was severe on Siddle, against whom he scored 29 off 20 balls, driving him twice past mid-on for four and steering him to the third-man boundary. He also scored at a strike-rate of above 75 against Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, who was once again Australia’s best bowler. When Ponting brought on Cameron White, Tendulkar attempted to unsettle the legspinner by charging down the pitch and lofting down the ground. He brought up his fifty – his 50th in Test cricket – and also became the first batsmen to score 12,000 Test runs.
Johnson was largely responsible for the fightback. He ended Virender Sehwag’s charge in the morning, caught down the leg side, and dismissed Laxman in a similar manner after lunch. In between those wickets he contained Dravid by bowling full and wide with seven fielders on the off side, and induced an edge from Gambhir as he tried to drive another full delivery through cover. Australia picked up 3 for 17 and recovered from the rapid start made by Gambhir and Sehwag.
Gambhir was struck on the helmet by Siddle’s first ball in international cricket but recovered to drive the ball through cover, a stroke that would become a feature of his innings. Sehwag ensured the run-rate stayed around six an over by piercing the infield frequently. He punished Siddle when the line was too straight, nudging him down to fine leg, and flicking to the square-leg boundary twice in succession.
The batsmen hit 10 boundaries in the first hour and raced to 63 in 13 overs. Having tried all his fast bowlers, Ricky Ponting gave the final over of the session to the left-arm spinner Michael Clarke. Gambhir took the opportunity to reach his half-century before lunch by stepping out to loft Clarke twice in a row over mid-on. — The IST and Agencies
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Vital Stats |
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· The 15th run of his 88 helped Sachin Tendulkar break Brian Lara’s record for most Test runs. Tendulkar also became the first to reach 12,000 Test runs during his innings. · The innings also saw Tendulkar complete 10,000 runs at No. 4, making him the first to score more than 10,000 at a single position. He now has 10,041 runs at No. 4; the next-best is Lara with 7535. · Tendulkar scored his 50th Test fifty. He is the fourth batsman to achieve the feat, and the second Indian; Rahul Dravid was the first. · Ganguly became the 33rd player and the fourth Indian to score 7000 runs in Tests. · During their 142-run stand, Ganguly and Tendulkar became the sixth pair to score more than 4000 runs when batting together in Tests. Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar have combined for over 5000 runs. · India scored 49% of their runs in boundaries; 58% of their runs came in fours until the end of the second session. · Eighteen bowlers, including Cameron White and Peter Siddle in this series, have claimed Tendulkar’s wicket in their first Test. — Cricinfo |
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