Cricket: Australian bowlers on top as Indian batsmen tremble

Australia's new-look pace attack again rattled India's top order, with James Pattinson taking three wickets as the visitors struggled to 72-4 at lunch on the opening day of the second cricket test.

The 21-year-old Pattinson exposed the tourist’s much-vaunted batting lineup in two spells Tuesday morning, striking in the first over to remove Gautam Gambhir for 0 and then returning to dismiss Virender Sehwag (30) and V.V.S. Laxman (2).

Only Sachin Tendulkar, who is attempting to be the first player to score 100 international centuries, looked comfortable against the Australian attack and was unbeaten on 21 at the interval. Virat Kohli was 12 not out.

Peter Siddle took the other wicket in the first session, having Rahul Dravid (5) caught at short leg by Ed Cowan. He was unlucky to not also claim Sehwag, but the opener's edge was dropped by Ricky Ponting at second slip when on 23.

Tendulkar received a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked to the wicket in what is likely to be his final test appearance at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The numbers are lining up for India's master batsman, who has been one shy of his 100th international century since March. He averages an astonishing 221 at the SCG, which is hosting its 100th test match.

Tendulkar scored a double century here in 2004 and a hundred in the acrimonious 2008 SCG test in 2008. Both times, he had good support from Laxman. But he can't rely on his veteran teammate in this innings after the Indian top order crumbled in a greenish pitch.

Pattinson had Gambhir caught by Australia skipper Michael Clarke at first slip on just the third ball.

During his second spell he found an edge off Sehwag which carried through to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, before producing an outswinger which Laxman guided to Shaun Marsh at third slip.

India's collapse comes after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first on an SCG pitch which has given Australia's seam bowlers plenty of assistance on day one.

Both teams went into the match with unchanged lineups from the first test, which Australia won by 122 runs in Melbourne last week.

Read more »

Cricket’s DRS tragedy must ending now

India remains the only Test-playing nation to be share out on the issue of the Decision Review System, yet has not at all made clear why accurately it is in such disagreement with the system.

India has maintain a strong stance next to the DRS since it was used in a Test against Sri Lanka in 2008, where Sri Lanka were able to make wide use of referral while India only managed one single winning review.

Since then the BCCI has said that it will not support the DRS while there is still the opportunity of error within the technology.

Cricket observers consideration this might be close to an end, when India approved to the use of the DRS, with the BCCI affirm that it “always express its willingness to embrace technology”, according to board President Narayanaswami Srinivasan.

A number of errors in the use of Hot Spot once once more led India to shun the system, and in the lead up to the Test series next to Australia, Indian captain MS Dhoni spoke of the technology, saying that “[India] feels the technology is not 100 percent exact.”

But while there were poor decisions also way during the Boxing Day test, India were hurt in Australia’s second innings, where Ricky Ponting was given a life and Michael Hussey several lives, when on a second look either be supposed to have been out.

With the UDRS in place, the match may have accomplished differently.

The referral system might end in a few incorrect decisions, but according to ICC statistics the DRS leads to a correct decision rate of 97 percent, obviously higher than the rate of 92 percent without it.

Dhoni show no interest in the figures, but when will India realize the inherent worth in the use of technology in umpiring, the worth which every other cricketing nation has seen long ago?

Must a spate of ten mistaken decisions in the space of one batting innings damn India to a laughable total before they stop and think that the aptitude to review these decisions might have been a blessing?

Or will world cricket continue to be held with a knife to its throat by the biggest monetary powerbroker in the game?

Read more »