Australia humiliate England and square the Series

Second Investec Ashes Test,Lord’s,London,July 16-19,2015

Australia, after suffering an eye-opening defeat in the first Test, locked horns against their traditional rivals just four days later at the Home of Cricket in the second Ashes Test.England went into the Test match unchanged while Australia made two changes.Haddin opted out due to family reasons and Peter Nevill was all set to make his Test debut at Lord’s.Watson was dropped and Mitchell Marsh was drafted in.Australia had not won an Ashes Test at Lord’s since 2005 and after suffering a crushing defeat in the first Test were desperate to turn the things this time around.Australia,after winning the toss, opted to bat first and got off to a fluent start. Warner and Rogers brought up their 50-run stand in just the 12^th over and raced to 0/68 at drinks in the first session.Moeen Ali came in to bowl the first over after drinks and Warner, after hitting couple of boundaries early in the over, was induced into playing a false stroke and Anderson, running backwards completed a neat catch to end the Warner’s carnage for 38.Smith joined Rogers and Australia were in a commanding position at 104/1 at lunch on Day 1 with Rogers and Smith unbeaten on 43 and 16 respectively. Following lunch, Rogers got to his half-century with a classic punch of the back foot and it was his 8^th fifty in last nine innings. He didn’t convert any of last seven fifties into a hundred and it was important for Rogers, not only for himself but also for the team’s cause to convert this fifty into a big hundred. Learning from the mistakes of the previous Test, Smith and Rogers consolidated on a good start and played patiently, making full utilization of good batting conditions. Following Rogers’s suit, Smith too completed his fifty and by the time it was Tea, Australia were in the driver’s seat at 191/1.England were wicketless in the afternoon session and they had themselves to blame for as Bell failed to grab a difficult chance in slip cordon of Smith when he was on 50.Post Tea, Australia were on a roll as runs started to come far too easily and with no help from the wicket, English players started to drop their shoulders. With Rogers on 97 and Smith on 87,there was a competition between two as in who will get to his hundred first and with Root coming on to ball, Smith got some quick runs and raced to his hundred when he pulled Wood for a boundary. It was Smith’s 10^th Test ton, 4th Vs England. Rogers too, soon completed his 5^th Test hundred and was a relieved man, finally, getting there to three figures after a long, long time.

Rogers exults after getting to his hundred

Following their hundreds, both Smith and Rogers marched on and their partnership continued to get bigger and better. At Stumps on Day 1, Australia had posted mammoth 337 runs on the board and Warner’s dismissal was the only success that England had. Rogers was unbeaten on 158 and Smith was 129 not out as the duo made a strong statement in response to England’s victory at Cardiff.

 The first ball of Day 2, Anderson to Rogers and Rogers paid the penalty for taking eyes off the ball as ball thrashed into his helmet and luckily for him, nothing happened especially after he suffered concussion just a month and a half before. Rogers was able to get over that nasty blow but managed to add just 15 runs to his overnight score before he was cleaned up for his career best 173.Rogers’s downfall brought an end to a majestic 284 run stand between him and vice-captain Smith. Skipper Clarke who came at the fall of Rogers’s wicket didn’t last long as he was caught at square leg, trying to pull Wood, just for 7.In the meanwhile, Smith brought his 150 and at lunch on Day 2,Australia were 424/3.Australia’s No.5,Adam Vogues was the next man to go as he was dismissed in just the second over after lunch for 25.Broad got his third scalp when Mitchell Marsh was bowled for 12,becoming the first case of drag on of the Test as the ball kept a bit low and Australia were reduced to 442/5.Wicket-Keeper batsman Peter Nevill on his debut, coming at No.7,got off the blocks quickly and runs started to come quickly for Australia, thereby indicating the first signs of declaration. Smith got to his double-century with a boundary off Moeen Ali and received a standing ovation from the packed crowd at the Home of Cricket.

Smith acknowledges the crowd after his double hundred

Smith, soon after his double-hundred, perished, trying to play an extravagant reverse sweep for brilliant 215 and by then Australia had well past beyond 500.Just an over after Tea, Clarke declared the Australian innings at massive 566/8 and that meant England were left to face as many as 29 overs before the close of play on Day 2.

England got off to a worst possible start as opener Lyth edged just the second ball of the innings and peter Nevill grabbed maiden catch of his Test career and England were one down with no score on the board. Johnson, who took a long time to take his first wicket in the first Test, required just 3 balls to take his first scalp this time around as he bowled out of form Garry Ballance for 23 with a ball that kept a bit low. In the very next over, from the other end,Hazzlewood produced a jaffer to get rid of Ian Bell and England were reeling at 29/3.

Mitchell Johnson is ecstatic after dismissing Joe Root cheaply

In-form Joe Root was the fourth batsman to fall as Johnson’s rising delivery did the trick and England were in doldrums at 30/4.The wicket that looked flat and docile when Aussies batted,suddenly started to produce some demons as England found it tough to bat on.Stokes joined Cook and fortunately for England, the duo survived the remainder of the day as England went into Stumps on Day 2 at 85/4.

Perfect conditions welcomed one and all at the Home of Cricket on Saturday, Day 3 of the Test match and stokes and England got to a streaky start with a boundary that flew through the vacant gully region. Except that, Stokes played well and brought up his fifty, just off 67 balls with an elegant boundary through the extra-cover region. Cook followed Stokes and brought up his fifty as well. Cook’s half century was a patient knock that hold the England innings together when wickets were tumbling at other end and his solidity was an ideal foil to go with Stokes’s free-flowing innings. Just when it looked like Cook and Stokes’s partnership was blossoming and with barely 15 minutes to lunch, Marsh brought an end to Stokes’s knock. Stokes became the second case of drag-on and his dismissal brought an end to a solid 145-run stand between him and Cook and at lunch on Day 3, England were in a critical position at 181/5, still needing 186 runs to avoid the follow-on.Stokes’s downfall opened the floodgates for Australia and Australia further tightened the screws as there was no significant partnership for England following Cook and Stokes’s stand.Buttler departed for 13 and Cook’s hard fought innings was ended by Mitch Marsh.

Cook is completely distraught after getting out for 96

Cook was out for 96 and fell agonizingly short of what could have been a brave and fighting hundred. Following Cook’s departure, Australia wasted no time in taking remaining three wickets and England were bundled out for 312 shortly after Tea on Day 3.

In spite of leading by 254 runs, Clarke decided against enforcing the follow-on and Australian openers Rogers and warner came out to bat in 2^nd innings. The duo were in full flow and completely dominated the English attack as Australia reached 108/0 at stumps on Day 3,leading England by 362 runs.

On Day 4,just after 2^nd over of the day, Chris Rogers suffered from dizziness and was forced to retire hurt on 49.Warner,who resumed the day on 60,in a bid to score some quick runs, perished for 83,trying to hit one shot too many. Smith played an entertaining innings of 48 ball 58 and at 254/2, Australia declared, setting England improbable 509 runs to win.

England’s performance in second innings was horrendous, dreadful and their display with the bat certainly reminded us of their batting debacle of Sydney Test of 2013-14 Ashes series as their innings lasted barely for 37 overs and were shot out for mere 103.What’s worst?Johnson and Co. opened their previous wounds as English batsmen continued to repeat their mistakes. Cook got out in a similar fashion, chasing a wide one and Keeper Nevill took a regulation catch. Bell’s woes with the bat continued as he was dismissed cheaply yet again.Stokes’s dismissal was a school-boy style run out as his bat and feet, both were in the air, trying to avoid the throw.Moeen Ali’s problems with the short ball continued as he had no clue about the nasty bouncer from Johnson and ball popped up in the air, nicely for the man at short leg.Buttler played a loose stroke and newcomer Lyth and Balance were going nowhere with their technique and shot selection. Broad was the only batsman to score more than 20 and four players were out for single digit scores. Mitchell Johnson, man of the last Ashes Series, led the way for Australia with 3 wickets in the innings and 6 in the match as England suffered a humiliating 405-run defeat. The victory helped Australia square the series 1-1.

Australian team thanks the crowd for their support

SCORES:

AUSTRALIA             566/8d  & 254/2d

ENGLAND                312 & 103

AUSTRALIA WON by 405 runs.

AUSTRALIA LEVEL the series 1-1.

First Investec Ashes Test,Cardiff,July 8-11,2015

                                                        Similar to 2009 Ashes,Sophia Gardens in Cardiff was the venue for first Ashes Test and England,after winning the toss chose to bat first.With Harris announcing his retirement just few days before the first Test,Australia were left without one of their previous Ashes hero and a senior bowler,but,still had a quite formidable pace attack in the form of Johnson,Starc and Hazlewood.In the very second over of the English innings,Australia drew first blood as Lyth was caught by Warner off Hazlewood at gully.The break generally brings wickets  and in this case,it was drinks break that brought the downfall of Cook.Bell followed Cook just for 1 and England were in a spot of bother at 43/3.Ballance,who was terribly out of form was joined by in-form Joe Root and big partnership was the need of the hour as far as England were concerned.Ballance,at one end was intimidated by some short ball stuff by Johnson & Co. while Root at other end was playing aggressively.Root brought up his fifty in just 56 balls and his innings brought some momentum into the innings especially after three quick wickets.By the time it was Tea on Day 1,Root had marched his way to 93 and Ballance was there,59 not out and England were in a healthy position at 190/3.Just after the Tea break,lapse in concentration lead to the downfall of Ballance and he was out,trapped in front of the wickets for fighting 61.Root brought up his 7th Test hundred with a fine cover drive and Haddin had all the reasons to blame himself as he had dropped Root when he was on no score.

Joe Root obliges the crowd after scoring the Century

Root made full utilization of the life he got and along with Stokes,who came in at No.6,played aggressive brand of cricket which left everyone in a state of shock.Stokes raced to his fifty as well which included six fours and two towering sixes and just when it looked like Root and Stokes were taking the game away from Australia,Starc got rid of Root for 134,caught at first slip by Watson.Stokes was dismissed soon after for 52,cleaned up by Starc.

Mitchell Starc reacting after dismissing Ben Stokes

Wicket-Keeper batsman Buttler was out at the fag end of the day for entertaining 27 and though England scored 343 runs,Australia chipped in with 7 wickets to complete an absorbing day of Test Cricket.Root's magnificent 134 was clearly the highlight of the day for England and Johnson's inability to take even a single wicket on slow pitch was definitely a worrying sign as far as Australia were concerned.

                                                                   Moeen Ali justified his spot in the side with a solid knock of 77 in the morning session  on Day 2 and along with the tail batted brilliantly to take the English tally beyond 400.England's innings finally folded for 430 with last 87 runs coming just off 14 overs.

                                                                  Chris Rogers and David Warner opened the innings for Australia and put on a 50-run stand.But,soon after their 50-run partnership,Warner departed for 17 after playing an uncharacteristic Warner innings.Smith,in his new role,coming at No.3, got off the blocks quickly and built a good,steady partnership along with Rogers.In the meanwhile,Rogers got to his half-century ,his seventh consecutive Test fifty.Smith,who was trying to  break free and attack Moeen Ali in particular,perished,thanks to a flighted delivery from Ali and excellent field setting from Cook,caught at short mid-on for 33.Australia went into Tea at 145/2,with Rogers unbeaten on 74.Following the Tea interval,Broad and Wood put sustained pressure on Rogers and that paid off as Rogers,nearing his hundred,edged one off Wood and Buttler did the rest.Rogers was dismissed for 95 and Australia were reduced to 180/3.Aussie captain was the next man to go,falling to Moeen Ali,who grabbed a good return catch and Clarke was on his way for 38.Watson,playing as an all-rounder,came in at No.6 and joined Voges in the middle.It was important for Watson to make some significant contribution as his spot was under threat from Mitchell Marsh,another all-rounder,eleven years younger to him and most importantly,in red-hot form,especially after scoring two hundreds in as many warm-up matches.Watson,in company of Voges played well and put up a 50-run partnership before Voges became third batsman after Smith and Clarke to get out in their 30's.Voges was dismissed for 31 in  the dying minutes of the day and at Stumps on Day 2,Australia were 264/5,still trailing England by 166 runs.

                                                          England on Day 3 wasted no time in dismissing the Australian tail as last five wickets fell just for 44 runs and Australia were bundled out for 308 in their first innings,handing England a lead of 122 runs.Wickets were shared with Anderson getting three and Broad,Wood and Ali picking two wickets a piece.

                                                                     England,similar to their first innings,found themselves in a bit of bother at the start of second innings as well as they were reduced to 22/2 with both Cook and Ballance back in the hut.Bell,in desperate need of  some runs joined Lyth in the middle and a steady partnership was the need of the hour for England.Lyth and Bell shared a 51-run stand  before Clarke took a spectacular diving catch to his left at the first slip to dismiss opener Adam Lyth for 37.With England 73/3 and leading by 195 runs,the in-form batsman Joe Root joined Ian Bell and the duo played aggressive brand of cricket to put England in a commanding position at Tea on Day 3.Bell,under pressure to score runs,completed his half-century before Tea and he was the most relieved person going into the Tea break.After Tea,Bell who played so well for his 60 runs,was castled by Johnson,his first wicket of the match and England were four down for 170.Root,who raced to his fifty with eight cracking boundaries,slowed down fractionally after the Tea interval.Hazlewood,with his first delivery of the new spell bowled Root for 60 and Australia's plan to attack the stumps paid off with ball staying a bit low on a slow pitch.England continued to play their newly adopted aggressive brand of cricket as Australia ticked away with three quick wickets.Buttler,Stokes and Broad were dismissed in three consecutive overs as England slipped to 245/8,leading by 367 runs.Mark Wood,the No.10 batsman,played some fancy strokes and pushed the England's lead beyond 400.England were finally bowled out for 289 at Stumps on Day 3.England set Australia, a target of 412 runs and with two full days to go,everyone was expecting a cracker of a contest on Day 4 and Day 5.

                                                                  Australia,in pursuit of a record Ashes run chase,needed someone to bat big and bat long and Chris Rogers,in form of his lifetime,was the ideal candidate to do so.England though,had some other ideas and Bell took a low dying catch to sent Rogers on his way just for 10.Warner,who missed out in first innings,scored a counter-attacking half century and along with Smith gave some impetus to the Australian innings.But,just at the the stroke of lunch,England got a lucky break,an important one as Moeen Ali trapped Warner LBW for 52.Australia were 97/2 at lunch on Day 4.Post-lunch,there was a procession of wickets as Smith,Clarke and Voges all got out to loose strokes and Australia found themselves in a state of complete disarray at 106/5.From then on,Australia never recovered and Haddin was the next one to bite the dust,thanks to Cook,who took a brilliant catch and Australia were in deep,deep trouble at 122/6.

Haddin had a forgettable outing

Watson,trying to save his place in the side,offered some resistance,but,his effort was ended by a delivery from Wood that thrashed into his pads and he was out LBW for 29th time in his Test career.Australia were seven down for 151 and Starc joined Johnson.The duo of left-arm quickies frustrated England with a 72-run partnership and Johnson scored a gritty half-century.Starc's resistance was ended by Root,first dropped by Cook and then caught by Lyth for 17.Johnson,after hitting some hefty blows off Root,departed for 77 and Hazlewood was the last man to go,which gave England, a thumping 169-run victory over Australia.

England players jubilate after their victory

SCORES:

ENGLAND             430 & 289

AUSTRALIA         308 & 242

ENGLAND won by 169 runs.

ENGLAND lead THE ASHES 1-0.

Player of the Match: JOE ROOT.

   

The Final - ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 [29 March 2015]

Clarke and McCullum with the Coveted trophy

                                                                              Mind blowing Melbourne Cricket Ground was all set for a Grand Finale to what was a fabulous World Cup;World Cup which certainly rose above expectations with scintillating performances not only from the full member nations but also from the associate member nations.The final was a clash between two charismatic sides of the tournament and not to forget between two co-hosts as well.Michael Clarke's announcement of retirement from ODI's just the day before the final had already spiced up the contest and two dynamic blokes in McCullum and Clarke leading their respective sides meant a mouth-watering clash at the 'G'.
                                                                   NZ won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first.All eyes were on McCullum and how he would carry himself on the field.

Turning Point of the Match

All of New Zealand was hoping against hope and expecting McCullum to fire at the top for one last time in this World Cup. Australia,too knowing what could come their way had their task cut out. Mitchell Starc had the new ball in his hand and after  a couple of narrow misses, cleaned up McCullum's off-stump in the very first over of the World Cup final and that led to a huge roar from the massive MCG crowd as the men in green and gold were jubilant to see the back of the big fish.Kane Williamson ,who came in at No. 3 joined Guptill and had a huge responsibility to calm down the nerves within the black caps dressing room following the downfall of McCullum.

But it was not going to be easy as Australian bowlers Starc, Hazlewood and Johnson were steaming in and made life difficult for the kiwis in the middle.Australia's bowling effort in the mandatory Powerplay was so disciplined that NZ who averaged 77 in first 10 Overs up till now managed only 31 runs this time around.Though the scoring was slow, Guptill and Williamson had withered the early storm and were looking for some respite as Maxwell came to bowl in the 12th over.But, instead of any respite,just on the 2nd delivery of the over,Guptill played down the wrong line and was bowled to reduce NZ to 33/2.Next man to go was Kane Williamson,caught and bowled to Johnson and NZ were tottering  down the barrel at 3 down for 39.Semi-final hero Grant Elliott joined Taylor as both of them had a massive task of rebuilding the innings for NZ.Elliott was good while Taylor who didn't had the best of the World Cups was trying desperately and run-by-run ,ball-by-ball was stitching a steady partnership with Elliott.Elliott, who tried to sweep Maxwell was adjudged LBW by umpire Dharmasena, but, when he reviewed it,hawk-eye showed that the ball was clearly missing the stumps and Elliott survived the scare.Following the review, Elliott started to find his feet and runs started to come for NZ at a fair clip. Clarke brought back Starc for his second spell in search of a wicket and continued to persist with his aggressive field set up.NZ played him well as Taylor and Elliott completed their 50-run stand .Runs started to come easily by then as New Zealand posted 100 on the board by the end of 27th over.Elliott started to score briskly as he brought up his 2nd consecutive half century and found an able ally in Taylor.NZ, who were struggling in the initial phase of the innings had consolidated brilliantly in the middle overs as Taylor and Elliott completed their 100 run partnership and both of them were looking in good shape to end the black caps innings on a high.By the end of 35th over, NZ were 3/150 and it was time for some action as batting Powerplay was taken. Powerplay specialist Faulkner was back int bowling attack and Oh boy what a start it was for batting Poweplay!Taylor out as Haddin grabbed a neat low catch.Corey Anderson just lasted for two balls as he was cleaned up by a special James Faulkner yorker. Next man in was Australian-born Wicket-Keeper Batsman Luke Ronchi and just like Anderson,he too didn't trouble the scorers as he was caught in slips off Mitchell Starc's bowling.Three quick wickets turned the match on it's head as Australia came back strongly with NZ in deep trouble at 151/6.Batting Powerplay turned out to be a disaster for New Zealand as only 15 runs were scored at the loss of 3 wickets.Clarke brought back Johnson and he didn't disappoint his skipper as he got rid of veteran Vettori just for 9.In the very next over,it was almost curtains over NZ's batting as their last hope Elliott too made a long way back to the pavilion for well-made 83 and once again,the destroyer was Faulkner.With the score of 171/8  at the end of 41st over ,New Zealand's tail enders Southee and Henry were at the crease.They barely managed to add 11 runs as Johnson dismissed Henry in an effective,though, not a convincing way.Soon,Souhee was ran out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Maxwell and New Zealand's innings folded at 183,co-incidentally, same number of runs as managed by India in 1983 World Cup final batting first. 
                                                                                    184 runs to win the World Cup final;Australia would have  certainly taken that at the start of the match.Target wasn't big ,but still a lot of work was to be done and with a fighting captain like McCullum in opposition ranks,Australia knew what could come their way.NZ certainly needed early wickets and they got one of Finch as Australia got off to a dodgy start.Man of the summer for Australia, Steve Smith joined Warner and that gave Warner the license to free his arms.Warner's counterattacking play meant runs were coming thick and fast and that settled the initial jitters within the Aussie camp .By the time the first powerplay ended,Australia had already raced to 56/1 and Smith was complimenting Warner brilliantly as they completed their 50-run partnership.Warner,who was stroking the ball amazingly well was induced into a false shot off Henry's rising delivery as he hold out to deep square leg, man specifically stationed for that kind of shot.Warner departed for well-made 45 and his exit brought Michael Clarke to the centre. Michael Clarke came out to bat for one final time in ODI's to a huge ovation from jam-packed MCG crowd.Clarke got off to a slow and sluggish start and Warner's dismissal dried up the free flow of runs for Australia.After some quite overs, Clarke and Smith got their act together and Clarke, in particular was looking ominous.Australia registered 100 on the board by the end of 21st over and by the half way stage ,they were cruising at 130/2 ,needing only 54 more runs to win.McCullum brought back his strike bowler Boult as a last throw of the dice.But,Boult's and half-fit Vettori's inability to take wickets meant there were no hiccups in the run-chase.In the meanwhile,

Clarke Scores 74 in his final ODI Innings

Clarke got to his half-century in his final ODI innings and was well appreciated by the record attendance at MCG.By the time Clarke got out for 74,Australia was in touching distance of victory as he bid adieu to one-dayers with a fairy tale end.Watson joined Smith to complete the last rites .Smith too completed his fifty,fifth for him in this World Cup.

Winning Moment

And then came the moment,Australia requiring 2 runs to victory,Smith pulled the first delivery of 33rd over to boundary ropes to give Australia their 5th World Cup title and there was massive jubilation within the home crowd as this was their first World cup win on their home soil imitating India's feat which they achieved four years ago at Mumbai.

Australia celebrate their 5th World Cup win

SCORES:
New Zealand     183
Elliott       83                                                                                  Johnson       3-30
Taylor      40                                                                                  Faulkner      3-36  

Australia            186/3
Clarke       74                                                                                 Henry          2-46                    
Smith         56*                                                                              Boult            1-40                                     
Australia Won by  7 Wickets.                   

WHY TEST CRICKET ROCKS!!!

                                                                       If you like history,tune yourself into the rosy past of 19th century and imagine yourself to be one of them,who wore white clothes and played a game using a red cherry and a wooden timber.Yes,the origin of the game traces to way back in 19th century,when white people played the game in their leisure time.No one then would have  ever thought that this game will come so far,but from Timeless Test matches to T20 Cricket,it has evolved and successfully completed 130 years of it's existence.But, even after so many years and in spite of fast moving world,Test Cricket still fascinates one and all and the reasons for it are:

Test Cricket of 1880's

(1)The Conditions,the Toss and Team Combination:-

   The conditions play a very crucial role as far as Test Cricket is concerned.The conditions include the state of pitch and atmospheric conditions viz sunny,overcast and so on.Just as conditions play a very huge role,toss too has an overall impact on the end result of the Test match.When a certain captain wins the toss,he has to assess the conditions before taking any decision as his decision can benefit his team a great deal on the first morning itself.Imagine,a captain opts to field after winning the toss and his bowlers respond with five wickets in morning session itself.In such a scenario,bowling team is clearly in the driver's seat.But now considering the negative side of it,suppose his decision is backfired and opposition team piles on the runs in first innings,then,indeed the advantage of winning the toss is lost and bowling team may remain under pressure during the course of the match.Thus,this indicates that toss factor depending upon the conditions has a big part to play in Test Cricket unlike limited overs cricket where conditions predominantly remain the same throughout the match.Similarly,the 22-yard pitch undergoes a lot of change throughout the course of five match days and players need to be efficient enough to cope up with it.The sun,the cloud cover,the rain all have an impact on the nature of the pitch.Moreover,the wicket deteriorates as the time progresses.Moving our attention from the pitch to team combinations,the term 'Specialist' is significant in Test Cricket and not 'all-rounder' which has a higher value in limited overs cricket.Save some names,all-rounders don't fit into the scheme of things when it comes to Test Cricket and always 'Specialists' are given importance.Wicket-Keeping is no mean job in Test Cricket and always well-trained,professional wicket-keepers are given preference.Specialist wicket-keepers are highly respected when it comes to Test Cricket and their performance behind the stumps has it's own impact on the end result.Thus no push-overs are entertained for wicket-keeping unlike what is being done in limited overs cricket.

(2)Batting:-

 Gavaskar-pillar of Concentration

    "Give the first hour to the bowlers and next five hours will be yours"-the quote by legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar is indeed apt as far as batting in Test Cricket is concerned.Batting in Test Cricket demands immense level of concentration,determination,patience,passion and temperament.You have to play each ball according to it's merit and there are no easy runs.With a sporting pitch,good bowlers,long boundaries and no restrictions on field and number of overs a bowler can bowl,it is a test of your character as a batsman.As a batsman,you should have perseverance and hunger to combat difficult situations where runs are hard to come by and when you are on the back foot.The next major challenge for a Test batsman is to be able to bat in all conditions and against different and diverse bowling attacks.Traditionally,the batsmen from sub-continent find it hard to perform in fast,bouncy and swinging conditions while batsmen from England,Australia and South Africa don't deliver the goods when they play spin on the turning tracks.

Richards-Fight fire with fire

Thus,in order to succeed at the highest level,you should be technically solid and temperamentally sound and you should be clever enough to fine tune your technique to suit the given conditions and given bowling attack.Only those batsmen who can play well in foreign conditions are regarded as good batsmen and for that ,you must be well equipped and efficient in all respects.Thus,all these qualities makes the Test batsman a class apart as compared to batsmen in limited overs cricket where the conditions are tailor-made for batting.

(3)Bowling:-
    Who says Cricket is a batsman's game? you can't win a Test match unless you take those 20 wickets.The above sentence itself describes the importance of a bowling unit in Test Cricket.Main challenge for a bowler in Test Cricket is to keep himself fit ,energetic and enthusiastic as he has to bowl long spells.An another important thing is to have that intent going on and the bowler should be able to give his 100% every time he bowls.The major difference between Test Cricket and limited overs Cricket is that,there is no contention-like thing in Test Cricket and you have to look for taking wickets all the time.

West Indies Pace Battery of 1980's-Roberts,Holding,Croft,Garner

An ordinary bowler may come good in ODI's,but he will be completely exposed and severely punished in Test Cricket.As a Test bowler,patience is the key to success and you must stick to your basics.Bowlers should not get frustrated when the things aren't going their away and must adhere to their line and length and must continue to execute their plans.Only,the proper Test bowlers have a high success rate and any emerging bowler must try to make himself a proper Test bowler .He must develop himself so as to be able to take wickets at any point of time,irrespective of the conditions and the quality of the batsman.As far as fast bowler is concerned,he must be equipped with all the armoury like swing,reverse swing and must be clever enough to use the old ball as well.Moreover,there are no easy wickets for bowlers in Tests as batsmen are more conservative and avoid playing rash strokes.Thus,bowlers must bend their backs and produce wicket taking deliveries so as to break the defenses of well-set batsmen.Hence,all the above description clearly indicates how rigorous the bowling can be in Test Cricket and it speaks about enormous talent and will-power that a bowler must possess to succeed at the Test level.

                                                                    Nasty Stuff

(4)Captaincy,Coaching and Support Staff:-
     "Captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill ,but never ever try it if you don't have 10% skill"- a quote by Richie Benaud is indeed apt.Captaincy,especially in Test Cricket is challenging,because as a captain,you must be proactive and the decisions on and off-the field have a great impact on the end result.In Tests,you can't play a waiting game for too long and captain-as a leader of the team must make things happen.Many a times,during long hours on the field,fielders start dropping their shoulders and captain,in such a scenario should inspire his team-mates and rejuvenate them with a new hope.After a heavy loss,captain has to accept it's responsibility and then he has to shoulder a bigger responsibility of rebuilding and reorganizing his team and we all know how difficult it is to bounce back after a Test match or a series loss.Moreover,coach and captain have to formulate plans before entering into a Test match and captain has to manage his troops so that the pre-planned operations are executed.You know,a lot of planning goes into the Test match with planning of dismissals and forming and defining new strategies,singling out each and every opposition player and coach is the man in charge to do so.Also,coach has to ensure that all his players do the homework well and are clear with a definite approach towards the Test match.

                                                                             The other major factor that players have to come across in a Test match is mental ability.In this regard,members of support staff play an integral role.Test Cricket is a hard game which not only drains you physically but also mentally and you should be mentally strong to deliver the goods.During anxious moments,it is more of a battle of nerves than between bat and ball.Thus,as a Test Cricketer,mental toughness is what you must possess to become successful.It is a true Test of your character.

                                                                               Finally,from my perspective,Test Cricket resembles Life.Just as our life,Test Cricket has longevity and Test Cricket offers various challenges at different instants of time throughout the course of five match days.You have to go through all those rigorous moments,disciplinary drills,painful setbacks,emotional occasions and then,ultimately,you are bestowed with success and in the midst of all this,your true character is at stake.All such situations are indeed analogous to real life challenges and this is the reason why TEST CRICKET ROCKS!!!
*LONG LIVE TEST CRICKET*
                                                                            
                                                                       

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series Eng Vs Ind 1st Test,TrentBridge,Nottingham 9-13 July 2014

 Day One

Captains unveil the Investec Trophy before the start of the match

                                                    Start of 5 match Test series,another overseas tour for M S Dhoni and co.,a new team,completely fresh outlook,can all these reverse the fortunes of Indian team away from home was the big question hovering in the minds of millions of Indians.First job done by the captain,he won the toss and India are batting.After a cheeky start,the opening duo of India in the form of Vijay and Dhawan looked relatively settled as all the early nerves had calmed down.But,you can't keep Anderson out of the game for too long as he drew first blood by dismissing Dhawan. Prior took a flying catch as Anderson celebrated his 50th test wicket at Trent Bridge.Pujara walked in as he and Vijay batted beautifully to take India to a commendable score of 106/1 at lunch.

                                                                               But,if it was India's batting that made a lot of talking in the morning session,then it was England's bowling that dominated the post-lunch session.India from being one down were reduced to three down with barely few runs added on the board within minutes in the afternoon session.Bell took a brilliant catch at short mid-on to get rid of pujara off Jimmy Anderson's bowling and Broad accounted for Kohli's dismissal.Rahane,who walked in at No.5 steadied the ship in company of Vijay as hosts rolled down a number of maiden overs.Both Vijay and Rahane played with lot of composure and patience,playing each ball on it's merit and went into tea unconquered.

                                                                             Just as lunch break yielded England double break-through,Tea break brought the downfall of Rahane who failed to keep down Plunkett's rising delivery.With India playing only five specialist batsman,Dhoni came at No.6 to join Vijay,who by now was in nervous nineties.After being stranded on  99 for quite a while,Vijay finally completed his 4th Test hundred and got a warm reception from nearly a full-house Nottingham crowd.Vijay's knock was solid in temperament,determination and patience and made full use of good batting conditions.Dhoni,too,looked good and was determined to prove his critics wrong.Just before the close of play on Day 1,Dhoni got to his half century off just 64 balls ,a brisk one in the context of the proceedings.England bowlers failed to get a wicket after Rahane's dismissal in the evening session on a placid pitch as India ended the day on a high.

First day first show-Vijay scores a brilliant hundred

SCORE:

INDIA 259/4

Stumps,Day 1.

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series,End Vs Ind,1st Test,TrentBridge,Nottingham,9-13 July 2014

                                               Day Two

                                                               With a great day in the office for Indians on day one,it was time to consolidate on day 2.With no specialist batsman to follow,both Dhoni and Vijay played cautiously knowing the importance of their partnership.They survived the first hour without any damage done and in the meanwhile, Vijay was nearing his personal milestone of 150.But,his 150 was not to be as Anderson trapped him LBW for a fantastic 146 immediately after drinks on second morning.Vijay was Anderson's third scalp of the innings.Jadeja joined Dhoni and batted aggressively to put India into driver's seat going into lunch on day two.

England boys celebrate the dismissal of Vijay

                                                               Second session though brought cheers back on English faces as 4 wickets tumbled in space of just two runs.Jadeja edged one to Prior,Dhoni was run out trying to take an unnecessary single,debutant Stuart Binny returned to the pavilion for just a single and Ishant was clueless about Broad delivery that castled his timber.Score was 346/9 when last wicket partnership of B Kumar and M Shami came together and what followed then brought back the memories of exactly an year earlier when Australian 11th wicket partnership of A Agar and P Hughes had put on 163 and made English bowlers toil hard at the same venue.B Kumar and M Shami batted with resolution and courage and played ball after ball,over after over.The duo frustrated the English bowlers as both of them were not willing to throw their wickets away.Both of them added 111 runs for the last wicket as they batted for 38 long overs spanning for about two and half hours.In the process,both of them completed their half centuries and when Kumar finally fell to M Ali for 58,they had stretched the India's total to 457.

B Kumar and M Shami shared a 111-run stand

for the last wicket

                                                             After that fabulous partnership.pressure was back on England as their tired looking opening pair made it's way to the centre .Cook,especially was under enormous pressure to perform and he succumbed to the pressure yet again as he was clean bowled by Shami for mere 5 runs.It was a crucial breakthrough from India's point of view but following that England survived the remainder of the day without any further scare with Robson and Ballance being the not out batsmen.

SCORE:

INDIA 457

ENGLAND 43/1

Stumps,Day 2.

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series,Eng Vs Ind,1st Test,TrentBridge,Nottingham,9-13 July 2014

                                                   Day Three                 

                                                                          The overnight batsman Robson and Ballance resumed the proceedings for England on Day 3.It was vital for England not to lose early wickets in the morning session as it would have given India an early advantage.Robson and Ballance played cautiously and though their scoring rate was just above 2 runs per over in the first hour of play,they were occupying the crease and it was important for their team's cause.Both of them played out the entire session as Indian bowlers failed to make any inroads into the English batting line-up.

                                                                           They say Cricket is a funny game and it was again evident in that afternoon session.It turned out to be a fantastic session of Test Cricket as a flat,placid pitch showered some blessings on seamers as 6 English wickets fell for just 74 runs.Ishant Sharma was at his best as he got Ballance and Robson trapped in front of their stumps in the space of 20 deliveries.Ishant bowled with good pace and fantastic line and length as ball made a lot of talking in that passage of play.Ishant was steaming in and danger man Ian Bell was his third scalp.Bell poked at a wide delivery away from his body as faintest of faint edge landed safely into Dhoni's gloves.M Ali joined Root at the crease and responsibility of steadying the England innings rested on their shoulders after triple strike from Sharma shook England.But it was not to be as M Ali was deceived by the slow and low nature of the pitch as the short ball from Shami didn't bounce as he anticipated and he was guilty of taking eyes off the ball and the ball after hitting his gloves loomed up in the air and easy catch was taken in slip cordon to bring down curtains on his short stay at the crease.Prior,the wicket-keeper batsman wa the next man in and was dubiously given out by umpire as replays clearly showed daylight between bat and ball.Stokes,came in at No.8 with barely 15 minutes to Tea but even he didn't last long as his wicket was like icing on the cake for Indians.It was a remarkable session not only from India's point of view but also in the context of the match as the match which was going nowhere at Lunch suddenly got momentum and Indians were in a position of strength at Tea interval.

Ishant is ecstatic after dismissing Ian Bell

Broad punishes India with a defiant 47

                                                                        The Tea interval gave English batsman time to think and rethink their strategies as the duo of Root and Broad came out with a clear mind and positive intent in the evening session.Broad,in particular ,came out with all guns blazing as he didn't miss out on a single opportunity to score.England who were crawling at 205/7 at Tea time scored quickly and reached 250 within 45 minutes of play in the evening session.They overhauled their first target ,258 i.e they avoided the follow-on and the inception of new ball brought runs thick and fast for England.Broad was finally dismissed just 3 short of what could have been a fabulous half century but by then he had done his job and certainly saved England from deep waters.After dismissing Prior,Stokes and Broad ,B Kumar also accounted for plunkett as England's score read 298/9 still trailing India by 159 runs.The No.11,Anderson joined defiant Root and it was important for India to close out on England innings as early as possible.But poor tactics from Dhoni meant Root shielded Anderson over after over for the first four balls of the over and leaving the remaining two balls for the latter to negotiate.These defensive tactics worked perfectly for England as Root and Anderson stretched the English total past 350 at the close of play on Day 3 without being conquered.

 Root consolidates with a gritty half-century

Score:

India 457

England 352/9

Stumps,Day 3

Pataudi Trophy/Investic Test Seies,Eng Vs Ind,1st Test,Trent Bridge,Nottingham,July 9-13 2014

                                                                       Day Four

                                                                              Being denied of the last wicket on Day 3,Indians hoped to end English innings as early as possible on 4th morning.But just as last Indian wicket was not willing to give up,Root and Anderson too dig it deep and continued to frustrate Indian bowlers on fourth day morning.Anderson started to look confident at the crease as time passed by and runs too started to come easily for the duo.Root completed his hundred from 186 balls as he continued his march and was taking England from position of safety to a position of strength.Soon Anderson and Root completed their century partnership as England went past 400.Anderson too got to his well deserved half century.In the quest of taking that last wicket,morning session was extended further by 30 minutes but even that was not enough as the duo of Anderson and Root was not separated even at lunch.But before going to lunch,England had scored 485 runs and were leading India by 28 runs.When England's score went past 461,Anderson and Root registered a world record 10th wicket partnership as they broke the previous record of 163 which incidentally came at the same venue as well.In the morning session,Anderson wasn't intimidated by the Indian bowlers as he was unbeaten on 81 going into lunch.

Record 10th wicket partnership 

                                                                               Soon after lunch,Root completed his 150 as a spat between him and Ishant spiced up the contest.Anderson was finally dismissed for 81 as England innings eventually folded at 496.

Head on-Ishant Sharma and J Root

When Indians came out to bat in the second essay,it was important for them to play well and stay focused as they had a deficit of 39 runs and pressure was back on India.First innings centurion M Vijay was looking good and so was Dhawan as pitch offered very little help to English seamers. Just before tea though,Dhawan ran into self destruction as he returned a simple catch off a full toss to M Ali.

                                                                            Pujara and Vijay were at the crease and played well in tandem:one being aggressor and other being cautious.Each of them completed half centuries as they took control of the situation on a docile pitch.But just as we often see,both the Indian Batsmen threw away their wickets immediately after getting fifties and suddenly three wickets were down for India.Double strike brought some respite for Englishmen as they ended the day on better note and Indian scorecard read 167/3 at the close of play on Day 4 with one full day remaining of the Test match.

Score:

India    : 457 & 167/3

England:496

Stumps,Day 4.

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series,Eng Vs Ind,1st Test,Trent Bridge,Nottingham,July 9-13 2014

                                                                  Day Five

                                                                         Play started late due to wet ground on Day 5.For India,Kohli and Rahane were at the crease and it was important for the duo to start off well and ensure a steady start in the morning session.Broad,though,had other ideas as he dismissed Kohli LBW just in the 2nd over of the day.Broad got Rahane as well as he celebrated his 2nd wicket in as many overs of his on the day as he managed to produce an edge off Rahane's bat and Prior did the rest.India were in a spot of bother at 173/5 and Broad was in the middle of a superb spell.Broad almost dismissed Dhoni too but for a dropped catch from Dhoni's counterpart,he survived the scare.Cook floored Dhoni's catch at 1st slip which was relatively simple at the highest level of the game.But for Cook,there was no need to regret the dropped catch as Plunkett bowled Dhoni just for 11 to leave India in doldrums at 184 for 6.

Dhoni bowled by Plunkett

England were clearly into the match as they started sensing a victory which looked improbable at one point of time.With India placed at 184/6,Binny,who was on his debut joined Jadeja and both of them had a massive task of saving the match on their shoulders. Jadeja took as many as 38 balls to get off the mark and he finally registered runs against his name when he spanked Anderson straight over his head for a superb boundary.But the important thing was that,both of them were occupying the crease and battling hard to save India from trouble.They survived the tricky period before lunch as they went into lunch unbeaten with India's score being still 6 down for 230,leading England by 191 runs.

                                                   

Binny saved the day for India

                            Binny and Jadeja batted sensibly even after lunch as India's lead crossed 200.Soon,both of them registered 50 run stand and how important that partnership was from India's point of view as it was taking India to a position of safety as the time and overs started to bid by.But,the new ball did the trick for England as their premium bowler Anderson dismissed Jadeja for 31 and India were 7 down with 249 on the board.At this point,England were still in with a slim chance as Cook bowled Anderson and Broad in tandem as a part of last throw of the dice.However English skipper's last throw of the dice didn't work as stubborn partnership between Binny and Kumar meant the match was heading towards a draw.In the meanwhile,Binny completed his maiden half century as his efforts certainly saved the day for India.Finally,Binny was out for 78 as India went into tea at 347/8.

                                                                         

Cook mimicking Bob Willis

With India leading by more than 300 runs and barely a session left,match was done and dusted as boys came out in the evening session just to have some fun.B Kumar recorded 2nd fifty of the match while Cook had some fun with the bowl.Cook even mimicked Bob Willis and he was also able to get a wicket of Ishant Sharma.Finally,with one hour barely left,both the captains decided to shake hands as curtains were drawn on the match which actually turned out to be a pale draw.

Scores:

India      : 457 &391/9d

England :496

Match Drawn.

                                                                                        

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series,Eng Vs Ind,2nd Test,Lord's,London July 17-21 2014

                                                                      Day One

Rahul Dravid marks the start of Day 1 at Lord's

                                      With flat and docile pitch playing a spoilsport in Trent Bridge Test,onus was on Lord's wicket to play well and give batters and bowlers an equal and fair advantage.England won the crucial toss and had no hesitation in putting India into bat on a green,grassy wicket.It was clear that England wanted to exploit best of the bowling conditions on a green wicket and they did just that when Anderson dismissed Dhawan cheaply as England drew first blood.Conditions were testing for Indian batsman as they were ready for the grind on a wicket that offered a lot of help to the seamers. Once again Vijay and Pujara got their act together as they survived the crucial first hour of play and showed good technique and temperament with willingness to leave the balls outside their off-stump.But,just as the partnership of Vijay and Pujara was blossoming,Plunkett brought an end to Vijay's stay at the crease as India were reduced to 48/2.Kohli,walked in at No.4 and brought some momentum into the Indian innings with some flurry of runs as India ended the session at 73/2 and clearly session belonged to India as they batted well on a tough pitch.

                                                                  Pujara and Kohli resumed the Indian innings after lunch but Anderson accounted for Kohli's downfall shortly after lunch.Pujara's resolute innings was ended by Stokes delivery that castled his stumps and India were left tottering at 113/4.Dhoni joined Rahane in the middle as they had the responsibility of rebuilding the innings.But,Dhoni edged one to Prior as Broad got rid of Indian skipper just for a single.The next man in,Jadeja too didn't last long as 6th wicket fell at the score of 128.India went into tea at 6 down for 140 with Rahane still at the crease.

                                                                   Binny was the next man to go as Indian team found itself in a horrendous position at 145/7.Though Rahane was playing beautifully at one end,he was running out of partners and needed someone to stick around with him.Finally,he found an able partner in B Kumar as the duo lead the Indian fightback.Soon,Rahane completed his well-crafted half century.Rahane's and Kumar's stay at the crease had a calming influence on the dressing room as their partnership started to flourish.The duo completed their 50 run stand as India went past 200.But,just when their partnership looked threatening,B Kumar's resilience was ended by a Broad delivery that castled his stumps.The 90 run partnership between Rahane and Kumar was of massive importance from India's perspective as that not only saved India from a certain batting collapse but also got some momentum going into the Indian innings.By then,Rahane was playing fluently as he was nearing a Test hundred at Lord's.If he had to grind for his first 50 runs,his next 50 runs were authoritative as he celebrated his hundred at the Mecca of Cricket with a classical punch of the back foot and the whole Indian team rose in jubilation.Rahane's century was a classy knock ,full of determination and solid technique and temperament.He played fabulously well when chips were down and proved his worth,his knock worth weighing in gold.However,Rahane was dismissed by Anderson immediately following his hundred as India ended the day at 290/9.

Ajinkya Rahane celebrates after completing his maiden hundred

at Lord's.

Score:
India 290/9

Stumps,Day 1.

Pataudi Trophy/Investec Test Series,England Vs India,2nd Test,Lord's,London,17-21 July 2014

                                                                   Day Two

                                           With last Indian wicket falling quickly in the morning session,England began day 2 on a good note.Cook and Robson walked out to bat as Indian innings folded for 295,clearly 100 runs greater than what Englishmen would have expected,especially at tea time on day one.Well,Cook was under enormous pressure and there was no mercy either from Indian bowlers.He badly needed some runs under his belt but he didn't help himself by nicking a Kumar delivery as wicket-keeper Dhoni completed the catch.Cook took a long walk towards famous Lord's balcony as he was dismissed only for 10,yet another failure!.Runs dried up for England as Robson followed his captain shortly leaving England in a spot of bother at 31/2.Senior pro Bell joined young Ballance at the crease and both of them had to grind for their runs as the duo safely steered England Past 50 at lunch.
                                                                        Post lunch,Kumar got his third scalp when he dismissed Bell as England were reduced to 71/3.Root,joined Ballance at the fall of Bell's wicket and there were high expectations from him,following his hundred in first Test,he being the batsman in form.Root and Ballance stitched together a 42 run partnership before Root succumbed to Jadeja delivery that trapped him in front of his stumps as England found themselves in a critical position at 113/4.Fall of wickets at regular intervals and lack of substantial partnerships were hurting England and they desperately needed one to stabilize their innings.soon,Ballance completed his hard-earned fifty as he and M Ali went into Tea being unbeaten with England's score reading 125/4.

The duo of Ballance and Ali steady the ship for England

                                                                           After Tea,England started to play well and conditions ,being predominantly sunny eased out for batting.The duo of Ballance and Ali made full use of good batting conditions as they completed their 50 run stand-first of the innings for England.Ballance,who was earlier given a life in the slip cordon was making India pay for it and he was nearing his 2nd Test hundred.England went past 200 and young Ballance too got to his hundred as England by then were in a commanding position trailing India by 90 odd runs with 6 wickets still remaining.However,it was India,who finished the day on a better note as they were able to get rid of both the set batsman-Ali and Ballance.Ali was dismissed by part-time off-spinner Vijay while Ballance was caught down the leg-side off B Kumar's bowling for a hard-fought 110. Plunkett and Prior negotiated the last couple of overs of the day as England ended second day's play at 219/6.

Ballance delighted after scoring his hudred

Score:
India       295
England  219/6
Stumps,Day 2.