It was a game which turned into favor of India by the fifth day. It was almost a win. But then, the usual ‘play safe’ strategy of the Indian players disappointed cricket fans around the world.
When Ricky Ponting declared his innings on the fifth day for the advantages of the hosts, the Indian team could not respond well enough to win the game.
Not that Ponting wanted to lose the game.
But with the lead the visitors had, the chances of a tough game were there.
And it could have been very exciting if not for the ‘safety first’ approach of the Indian players. After all, the total of 299 in 83 overs could have been achieved at a run rate of just 3.4 per over.
The Indian players overlooked the calculations to play safe and to ensure a draw at the Bangalore test match.
Critics may blame it on the stoppages that paused the game two times during the session.
But really, the problem of the Indian players is that they always use the strategy of ‘stay on stumps,’ irrespective of what is required. But even with this strategy, they could have scored singles and doubles which would have ensured a win for India.
Even Sachin could have reached the world record of Brian Lara’s highest test cricket aggregated runs. But he gifted his wicket to Cameron White. God knows how many test matches will it take before Sachin can complete these final 15 runs.
This was another disappointment for the cricket fans who were in a mood to celebrate Sachin’s world record.
Saurav, however, did his best and stayed on the stumps till the end of the game when the Indians wrapped up at 177 for 4, thereby denying the visitor’s bid for a victory.
While Ponting says his team did not perform to the extent it should have done on such a simple wicket, the Indian team is happy that it did not lose the game.
But how true is this? Did the hosts reach a draw or did they fail to win?
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