Ineffectual Harbhajan needs to prove his worth

Only two bowlers in this series have a strike-rate above 100. One is Ishant Sharma, whose figures of 6 for 358 (strike-rate of 101) are ample evidence that numbers taken in isolation mean absolutely nothing. Both at the WACA in Perth and here at the Adelaide Oval, Ishant was magnificent in spells, beating the bat with pace and late swing and the steep bounce that he gets as a result of being NBA-tall.

After working Ricky Ponting over in Perth, he concentrated his energies on Andrew Symonds today, putting him through the wringer before an inside edge put him out of his misery. Only ill luck has prevented him from taking more wickets, and the boy clearly has a future.

The other man came into this game with something of a past, more wickets (255) than any other Indian spinner apart from Anil Kumble and Bishan Singh Bedi. Harbhajan Singh was never going to replicate his 32-wicket series of 2001, but few expected him to be as ineffectual as he has been in this series.

If you leave aside the strange psychological hold he appeared to have over Ponting prior to this game, he had done little to justify continued selection. Certainly, the slow bowlers that were left behind - Murali Kartik, Ramesh Powar and Piyush Chawla - may be entitled to ask why the bar seems to be set so low for one person and pegged elsewhere for others.

It said much about Harbhajan's bowling that he wasn't even the best offspinner on view today. Virender Sehwag, who troubled the Australians in Perth, was certainly more guileful and penetrative, while Harbhajan toiled more than 45 overs before picking up his lone wicket, Mitchell Johnson.

I asked a former international what he thought of Harbhajan's bowling, expecting a technical breakdown of the mistakes that he might be making. His answer consisted of one word: Shit. Perhaps a tad harsh, but then again pretty words can't gloss over such a poor display.

Kumble didn't bowl much, perhaps suffering from a sore shoulder after such a hectic schedule, and it was sobering that a nation once renowned for its spinners was left to rely on Sehwag for breakthroughs in that department.

Ishant and Irfan Pathan offered more cheer, with Pathan's 100th wicket coming at the same ground where he took his first, Matthew Hayden [2003]. But no silver lining can obscure the fact that the match and series are now probably out of reach. India will need to bat close to 50 overs to set a decent target, and the chances of Australia being bowled out in less than 40 overs are slim to non-existent.

England lost their nerve in similar circumstances in December 2006, and India will need to be in control of theirs to prevent a repeat. The best we can hope for is the type of finish that we had in Mumbai three years ago, with the last-wicket pair stubbornly trying to defy a ball spinning like a top, a claustrophobia-inducing fielding cordon and the frenzied crowd.

Comments

[bunty]

well played viru- he mayve saved game for india tho 46 overs remain at this point; he has not just come back to the team but in view of dhoni poor scores in oz perhaps back as a captaincy successor to kumble?

[bunty]

well written; india may soon need to look at 4 fm strike bowlers and greentops- sreesanth, zak, rp+ ishant (i wasnt a fan earlier but his bowling at perth/adelaide has made a fan of me, his figures dont do justice)+sehwag/y pathan, surprising but india have recently done better on pitches offering more bounce, seam or swing as fm bowlers have cashed in while theyve not looked so penetrating on more normal pitches, even here quickest indian ishant looked best; lets see if yusuf pathan or powar (i believe for long that his style was best suited for oz (indian wickets are better for taller finger spinners for many years now) get wickets in the duleep; unfortunately adelaides day 5/3rd innings record, indian teams/sachin/viru 2nd innings records suggest advantage oz; this mightve been countered if laxman had walked in at no 3; outside chance to save if he walks in at no 5; otherwise its clearly ad oz, though they may miss tait or siddle; despite runs scored by the seniors the poor 2nd innings must have selectors looking at players like badrinath or pujara (fine 2nd innings deteriorating pitch record in domestic), tanmay srivastav needs another season of domestic +an 'A' team tour of rsa/oz; both oz and indian middle orders have done well when theyve had a good start,n like indian middle oz middle has looked vulnerable when exposed early to the new ball; apart from again forcing a think on the perhaps inflated global batting records in past 10 years this emphasises the urgent need for india to get a good opener soon- my gut feel is that ravi teja and rahane are promising but admittedly theres no clear candidate yet; oz selectors must be worried too that while superior fitness standards and workouts ensure their aging teams ground fielding/running but aging is showing up in reflexes for close in catches; this suggests too that its good to introduce a couple of youngsters early even if seniors not failing with the bat; but indian selectors need to look beyond kaif, r sharma, gambhir, uttappa, raina or tiwary; t20/odi success may not translate into test success; oz are lucly for wk as haddin may be a decent successor to gilly, n tait(like indias vrv needs to be given a run of 3-4 tests in a row not occasionally to be fairly assessed) n siddle have pace; katich is unlucky not to find a place as a top bat in form; some aussies rate noffke higher than lucky symonds; but opener and spinner may be weak links;no strong contenders in sight. whatever the result on day 5 india at least fought well in tests 2 to 4 and desrve to be rated no 2 test side; but far away from first.