They wudnt have wanted their record equaling win to have come under such circumstances. Having said that, i really wonder if they were ready to do just anything for victory.
This is certainly not equal to the standards that steve waugh's team set. It wud be a big shame if this winning streak, under such abnormal circumstances, is compared with Waugh's winning streak.
Ricky Ponting wasnt given out caught behind. Symonds was not given out caught behind. But Rahul Dravid was given caught behind. For a very long time i thought he was given out leg before !!! The ball certainly hit his pad and not the pad. And Ganguly !!!! The umpire shud have thought they were playing street cricket. Cuz that is the only place where "one pitch" catches are allowed. :)
To make things worse, the umpire thought cricket was still a gentleman's game and asks the fielding side if the catch was taken cleanly. I think the leg umpire just wondered what he was doing there. He wasn't even consulted.
Looking at the other side of the match, i think it was a fairly intriguing match. Australia recovered remarkably from 130 for 6 to 460 odd. This is not the first time the indians have let the tailenders score so much. India replied very well. Laxman's knock was scintillating. Tendulkar was magnificent. Shown below is wat i would like to call the "gladiator's pose" :)
Australia showed character in their second's innings. Indians just dint have things going their way. Couple of half chances and inside edges missing the stumps. The declaration came a bit late i thought. Steve Waugh would have declared an hour earlier and had another 10 overs to bowl at the Indians.
The fourth innings was filled with controversy which will be discussed a lot over the next few days. I seriously cant understand Ricky Ponting complaining to the match referee about harbhajan's behavior. Australians have behaved worse on the field in the previous years.
Anil Kumble proves to be a lion hearted captain. He showed courage and patience. It is time the axe fell on Jaffer and Yuvraj. Time to bring in Sehwag & Karthik as openers. This wud bring dravid back to his familiar no. 3 position. I wish Pathan is also brought back into the team. Probably drop young ishanth sharma.
Indians have a lot to take out of this match. Australians wont be pleased with this victory. The teams go to Perth from here, a pitch known to be one of the fastest in the world.
Although Australia have retained the trophy, the series is still open. Indians would play for pride. This defeat would only make Indians stronger and put up a great fight in the remaining 2 matches.
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