India were bold, but not bold enough

Still they managed to have a good first session courtesy Sehwag, which augurs well as of now.

While opting for a five bowler attack in this do-or-die battle was a bold move, a makeshift opener in Irfan meant they were not bold enough to sacrifice a batsman for an opener in Karthik.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/possible-combinations-if-india-play.html

Irfan may have done exceptionally well as nightwatchman at Perth, and in ODIs at number three under Greg, still opening the batting is not his cup of tea. And it was found out very soon. To succeed in Australia, you need reasonably good opening partnerships. Still, 34 runs for the first wicket, mainly courtesy Sehwag, did give India some kind of a launch pad.

However, the bold approach to go with five bowlers means India can feel they have a chance even if they manage a score around 300 on a ground where a team batting first normally scores above 400.

Five bowlers, all of them genuinely proving to be strike-bowlers, do provide more variety and depth to arrest the Aussie momentum at any stage. Just imagine Harbhajan and Ishant bowling in tandem to Ponting. Your bunny, or mine!

One also feels good about Sehwag. Despite Dravid’s failure to get going on one of his favourite grounds, Sehwag's blitz ensured a respectable lunch time score. And his inclusion proved that ‘’it is better late, than never’’. Below are two stories advocating Sehwag’s inclusion before Sydney encounter.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/sehwag-left-out-of-india-team.html

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/sehwag-dravid-combo-finds-one-more.html