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Cricket XXV - The long runup to the World Cup


Stubby

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The first test being in Adelaide has certainly helped the Indian top order. Had it not been for a couple of wasteful dismissals (Pujara and Kohli) India would be in an excellent position. As it stands, Australia will be looking for a quick clean-up job to keep India under 400 in the morning. It's a pity Dhoni isn't playing- this would've been the perfect platform for him.



My hope for a couple of sessions play on Saturday are still alive!!


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My coverage dropped out with England 3 runs off winning. Was expecting it to come back on and see that 5 wickets had gone in 5 balls and we'd lost. Thankfully not though!



ETA: That was a big innings from Joe Root. Good lad.


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Yeah, it's pretty surprising, specially as he is an offy. I knew he would take a couple, but not a five-for.

Indians are not the same as Englishmen or South Africans. They are historically better players of legspin than offspin. Saqlain and Murali (in SL, not in India) have excellent records against India, while Warne mostly struggled against them. In more recent times, Swann, Hauritz and Moin Ali have all enjoyed success against India.

Having said all of that, I did think that India would handle Lyon better.

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Yeah, it was a great knock from Kohli. Warner made two hundreds and Lyon took 12 wickets in the match, but Kohli also made two hundreds and that last one was on the fifth day of a Test match chasing a large target. If he had batted for another half hour they would have been close enough to make it. It's great for him considering that his Test career has not been nearly as good as his ODI achievements, and it was his first one as captain, so hopefully it will be the start of him really getting on with his Test career.



On the flip side it sounds like Clarke is ruled out of the rest of the series and is even contemplating retirement. He is a brilliant player and our best batsman alongside Warner (with much more experience) so it would be a big blow to lose him at the relatively young age of 33. Hopefully he can continue on, but if injuries keep on interrupting then it won't be good for the leadership. Haddin is 37 and while he will probably take over for the rest of the series, there aren't any glaring long-term candidates who seem ready, they might have to throw it to Warner or Smith. Rogers as an older head might have been a good stopgap for a year or two but his form has been dodgy.


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