Today start a big fight,not only between two country,its big fight for a great man Sachin Tendulkar. A lot of you writing in praying for Sachin. The Indian openers walk out. Pattinson warms up.
Gajanan: "Dhoni should be very careful when he makes comments like "We are Slow Starters " , people travelled from Sydney to Melbourne, spending on air tickets, hotels , family , took leave to accomodated and cherish their heroes and as a Captain of India to make a comment that we are slow starters is very precarious, Dhoni , you are professionals."
Karthik: "May sound a bit corny but I don't want any other 'gate' in this match but only floodgates of runs to be opened by Indian batting ;)."
Toss: India have won the toss and they're batting. Both teams are fielding unchanged teams. That means Rohit Sharma will have to wait longer for his Test debut. Virat Kohli gets another life.
The pitch, as the curator said, does have a covering of grass but with the sun out the way it is at the moment, you'd want to pad up. That way, Dhoni's decision isn't entirely surprising. It's going to be a test of patience for the openers and Gambhir particularly. He'd want to attack his way into form. Perhaps he would have to give the first hour to the bowlers.
10.20: My wish for India in 2012 - No, not necessarily Sachin's 100th century (don't shoot me!), but I wish Dhoni wouldn't place fielders at all corners of the globe when the tailenders are on! We've had enough examples of that backfiring in the recent past. Speaking of the SCG, Mohammad Yousuf let go of a Test in Pakistan's hands by getting too defensive.
Ankit: "Sachin Tendulkar has scored a century in his first innings in each of the last 4 years, including at the same venue against the same opposition in 2008 (with the others being NZ in 2009, Bangladesh in 2010, and South Africa in 2011). All of those innings were in away tests. Here's hoping for yet another masterly start to a new year!"
10.15: Let's talk a bit about Australia. I guess there wasn't a pressing need to change the line-up. Perhaps Lyon could have made way for an extra seamer, Ryan Harris, but Clarke's got a lot of faith in his spinner.
Hayden (Matthew)?, writes: "Over the NZ series and this one, both Southee and Ishant have been labelled as unlucky. Amongst other 'unlucky' bowlers, the problem with these two is that they bowl too short. They beat the outside edge a lot, without much success, which is why they seem unlucky, but the reason why they don't get edges is because by the time the ball has reached the batsman, it has done too much. If they just pitch it a little fuller, like the Australians (and Bracewell and Zak), they could expect much more success."
Ananth tells us his new year wish: '2010 was Sachin's year. 2011 was the year of The Wall. I think 2012 will be a Very Very Special year!"
VVS Laxman will buy the SCG pitch if he could. His record here goes without saying.
The experts reckon this will be a better batting wicket by tomorrow.
10.00: Just had the first peek at the ground and it's bathed in sunshine! The toss should happen any moment now.
9.30 am local: It's a very happy new year to all of you from across the world following this coverage. As 2012 ushers in its first Test, I trust all of you are in good spirits. Unless the hangover's still lingering.
The toss is half an hour away, so that gives us a chance to reflect on what's happened. There's been plenty of reading material in the lead-up to this Test, as you would have noticed. Our men - Dan, Brydon, Sidharth and Sambit have been keeping an eagle eye on the happenings in Australia, what's good and not so good about the teams at the moment.
Before we go on, here's a reminder that this is the 100th Test at this hallowed Sydney Cricket Ground.
We also have to remind ourselves of 2007-08 and the ugliness of that Test. Things that shouldn't have happened, happened. Let's not go into those details. The spirit between these two teams seems good. As it says on our match preview - "fortunately for the integrity of this upcoming contest, several of the key protagonists are gone. Andrew Symonds has retired. Harbhajan Singh is no longer considered one of India's two best spinners."
Just a few months ago, India found themselves in a similar situation in England. As a student, I was rather lucky to get match passes for the Lord's Test thanks to my family friend Suresh Shankar, a cricket globetrotter, and after the defeat, I thought India's last-day surrender would just be an aberration. We all know what happened after that. With this star-studded line-up, defeat seems unimaginable, but funny things happen. Australia showed more resilience at the MCG and were the deserved winners.
Ed Cowan and Warner walk out. I'd love to get hold of Cowan's book some day. By the way, I'd strongly recommend Aakash Chopra's "Out of the Blue". It's a super read, especially for the stories and anecdotes. Must read
Hosford: "Yes it's great that the bowlers are getting a fairer go now, but you have to wonder if Twenty20 has ruined Test batting forever. Coz it just looks this is all caused by curators preparing pitches with A LITTLE BIT for the bowlers. Just you know, 80-90% as flat as they used to be, leaving just enough grass and moisture to avoid the kind of borefests we've had in recent years. Then BAM, no batsman has a clue."
when the top three left-handers departed to Zaheer. The bowlers since then showed intensity only in patches. Ponting has looked very assured, moving his feet well and leaving deliveries with greater assurance. A solid Clarke at the other end has helped. This pair proved that it is possible to get runs in this pitch, which has produced 13 wickets on the opening day.
There's plenty to look forward to regarding today's play. Our chaps at the SCG will be busy hammering away at their laptops. There's a forecast for rain tomorrow. Let's not think about that now.
Thanks for your company. We'll see you again tomorrow. Cheers!
To be continue....................................
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