India-Pak Third Test at Bangalore

The final day is excitingly poised. Hats of to Pak. This team has played exceptionally in this match thus far. Younis Khan is super player with a lot of character (now it make sense as to why Imran was pitching his case for captaincy). Its hard to imagine, that India won the previous test because Pak has held the psychological upper hand pretty much throughout this test. India on the other hand has a golden opportunity to prove that they are a winning, fighting, capable unit as opposed to a bunch of high net worth, yet talented celebrities.

Laxman’s knock on Day 4:

Was batting so difficult? Why was VVS batting like he had 10 more batsmen to follow after Kumble. He scored a total of 28 runs on day 4. The other tailenders combined made almost as much! Has this guy lost his form for good? Given the way Pak batted immediately after India’s first innings, its an indication that there weren’t exactly any major challenges posed by the pitch.

Sehwag holds the key:

The TOI headlines read “Can Viru win the test for India?” Its an indication of how much has changed in the India batting order. Dravid is solid, Sachin is still good but never considered a match winner anymore, Ganguly is in a permanent state of struggle, VVS form is a figment of imagination. But Viru is the man who can make a difference to a victory. All the others can contribute significantly to save the test, but none can contribute to a victory more than Viru can. On the downside Viru has a dismal second innings average. Moreover he has already scored a double in the first innings. All in all a tall score from him is not going to be easy. But if he does get one India will be in the race atleast until he is at the crease. Its a different story that after his departure from the crease India might simply switch to a save test mode. What a shame if it came down to it. Anyway, should be an exciting day ahead!

The Result tomorrow

If Pak wins, hats of to Pak once again. The team has played superbly and it will be a deserving win. For India it means a huge loss of the psychological advantage prior to the one-day series challenges, especially, given that Pak are a better one-day team. On the other hand, if India wins, then India deserves to be rated the number 2 or 3 test side in the world. Its an awesome opportunity for Team India to prove itself and steal the limelight from their arch rivals on the final day of the test and go into the one-day series with a lot of confidence.

Lastly, its great to see so much interest and excitement being generated by Test cricket.