A life time of Ten Days!

Remember April three? It was just ten days ago, when everybody was gunning after the Indian cricketers, lambasting them for a meek surrender at the Ahmedabad greentop. http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/04/just-one-bad-day.html

Today, after a commendable show in the last two days when they fought against all odds – loss of toss, loss of Kumble, a very good start by the South Africans, and a very dismal start by their own openers – things have changed so much! In few minutes from now, they will be fighting a battle, which once seemed lost for all practical purposes. Just ten days, and four playing days was all it took to get them back to where they belong to – the very top.

If the visitors manage a reasonable batting score, South African can still win this match and the series. But if it is anybody’s game now, it is only thanks to some stupendous display by India. They would certainly have been out of the equation but for tremendous bowling by Harbhajan, Ishant and Chawla, and some gritty batting display by their middle order spearheaded by Sourav Ganguly.

In the process, India also showed the world that they can come back from any situation. They may not yet be the World's best team (they still need the winning consistency of South Africa and Australia), but for an average Indian fan who wants his team to fight till the very end without caring for result, they are a special bunch. Our sentimental number one.

What an Indian fan/writer wishes to see by the end of Day Two

India sitting pretty on a 400+ score. If India can manage that, it will surely have quite a few Australians anxious, and thinking. Shall we then call it Perth scare revisited?

A double century for Tendulkar will be a fitting tribute to his exploits on the Australian soil for last one and a half decade. He is still a long way away. But even if the great man does not achieve that, just by reaching closer he will have done the Indian cause a great deal of good.

The Indian tail to wag a little, just as they had done in the crucial second innings at Perth, and the 1st innings of Sydney. Nothing bothers a batting side more than a stubborn tail wagging.

Five bowlers to work their magic like five Pandavas. The whole press in India has gone berserk advocating for more ammunition to make it 2-2. Now their job is to get cracking when they get their chance sometime tomorrow.

Nothing will give India more satisfaction than the Australians looking at their watches and praying for the day to end. They are undoubtedly a champion side, but right now the momentum is well and truly with the Indians.

Prey Turns Predator

Sania Mirza’s match will be the first one at Rod Laver Arena at 7.30 PM Melbourne Time (5.30 PM Perth time and 2 PM Indian Standard Time). The trend at Perth should be clear by that time!

As of now, the chance is that the 31st seed has more chance of winning against Venus Williams, than Australia has of preventing India from reducing their lead to 1-2 in the series!

Probably, even the die-hard cricket fans in India might get so much bored of the Indian domination, that they will keep surfing the channels to watch Sania in action.

It is ironical indeed that the Indian team, expected to be mauled by the rampaging Australians before the series began, is actually having the better of exchanges.

I can still recall the words of Pat Symcox on NDTV before the series began, when he had said that it was important for India to take the game into the fifth day to win. Experts on various others channels were also of the same view that India must stay in the test for long, to win it.

It is ironical that now, with 348 runs still needed, Australia might need to take the game into the fifth day to win! Though, realistically, a win for either team should come today. Considering that the Australians score at 3.5 to four runs per over irrespective of the situation, and after the 1st day dominated by batsmen, as many as 26 wickets have tumbled in next two days.

As Sunil Gavaskar had said, India must guard against complacency. The batsmen who have not scored runs, now must score them on the field. That is the point number one for India to succeed.

The second is that they must always pitch the ball up. They will get hit, but their swinging deliveries will bother the Australians more than the short-pitched stuff. Though the one that got Gilchrist in the 1st innings was a beauty, and a great surprise tactics by RP after he was hit for three consecutive fours!

It also won’t be a bad idea to try part-time bowlers in between, to unsettle the set batsmen. Michael Clarke was the second most economical Australian yesterday, while Andrew Symonds chipped in with two at critical junctures. Australia could well have been chasing 450 plus, with a tiring frontline attack, had these two not been bowling.

Even if a partnership is worth over 100 runs, India must not get ultra-defensive. One wicket on this track yields at least one to two more. Australia will need at least two very good partnerships of over 100 to win this game. And it is the fourth innings!

Even after all this, if the Australians win, Indians must join in the celebrations as that will be a tribute to their never-say-die spirit, and never ending search for excellence.

India have Australia by the scruff of the neck

And they can thank the inspired selection of Sehwag and Irfan for it.

But for the initial thrust provided by Sehwag in both the innings, and two critical breakthroughs given by Irfan in first few overs, probably Australia would have been holding the initiative at Perth.

In fact, that was anticipated at the time of writing this post during the warm up match at Canberra.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-india-have-to-get-in-sehwag-this-is.html

Irfan and Sehwag were also the integral part of the team suggested in this blog even before Canberra match, though the ideal thing would have been to have five bowlers and six batsmen.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/time-to-talk-cricket-and-opening.html

Still, it is India who have Australia by the scruff of the neck. You do not get too many opportunities of Taming the Kangaroos. So India must get them fast, by totaling in excess of 400. That should be an impossible fourth innings target on this pitch.

This Sickening Cricket Addiction!!!!!!

It forces one to get up much before time even on such a cold January day.

It compels one to type furiously in dark, and in doubly quick time, just to ensure that the family does not get disturbed.

It forces one to lower the volume of the TV set even though one wishes to hear the ambiance it its full glory.

And all this just to see the first day, first show of a brand new test (!) even though one gets a sinking feeling about the team’s chances even before the Sydney challenge has begun.

And here I should be representing the collective sentiments of the die-hard fans and cricket writers, who sacrifice all the family values (do not disturb others' sleep before six), put aside their own sleep and cast aside all urgent work, just to see their team in action. An addiction they have been living with for decades.

Meanwhile, in less than half-an-hour from now we will know the composition of the team for sure. That will partly decide if we need to go back to sleep again, or our sleep-deprived eyes will allow us to watch the tone-setting first two hours.

India must make their own statement!

Getting up at four (IST), well an hour before the Indian batsmen undertake an arduous, rather a near impossible, journey for glory at Melbourne, reminds me of the days in the eighties when we would not be able to sleep the whole night in anticipation of a great telecast from Australia.

It used to be a tremendous telecast with crystal clear pictures and mind-blowing action replays considering the telecast standards that prevailed in India at that time. One can still recall with amusement how Srikaanth backed away nonchalantly and fooled everybody after dislodging a bail. He even had the gumption to put it back on. But for those action replays, one would have never known that kind of drama. That the Indian team was almost equal to Australia in mid-eighties also helped the matters a lot.

Coming back to Melbourne, I could not sleep tonight (the whole neighbourhood is still pitch dark), because I still hope that this Indian team can leave Melbourne with a good batting display, a display which may not win them the match, but which will surely be a solid statement for the next three matches.

India will badly need to make a statement with the bat because Ponting, by setting a target of 499 when he could have easily gone for 525-550, made a statement that the Australians were brave enough to be prepared to lose, in order to win. After all, statistically speaking, a strike rate of 47 should be good enough to take India through. Even though no team has lasted hundred overs in this match.

Now the Indians must be brave enough to resist even if they lose some early wickets. As Sunil Gavaskar had said yesterday, they must not think of 180 overs or 499 runs. They must play it ball-by-ball, session-by-session and keep rotating the strike.

They will also do well to remember Steve Waugh’s words at Sydney four years ago. Faced with a daunting Indian first innings score of around 700 and in danger of losing the final test and the series, the about-to-retire skipper had said that Australia will fight till the last man standing. And they managed to escape with a draw!

Surely, a draw is impossible here unless bad weather intervenes, and an Indian defeat looks the most likely outcome, but the visitors must go down with all guns blazing. They will make their own statement this way.

Related Links
http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-you-do-not-score-australia-will.html

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/india-look-doomed.html

India look doomed

Got up at Seven for two reasons. Not to spoil my wife’s birthday as early morning noises from Melbourne in Indian winter have the potential to disturb the whole neighbourhood, not to speak of my household. And second, did not wish to wake up at five and see the Indian bowlers carted to all parts of the ground and would rather dream of India bowling out Australia for less than 150 by lunch!

Dream did not happen (it happened four years ago at Adelaide thanks to Agarkar and I should be satisfied), and felt happy that did not miss much, though Indian situation at lunch looks much beyond redemption.

With Australia leading by a good 282 runs with eight wickets in hand and eight sessions remaining, read an article where Tendulkar defended Dravid’s approach and said the match was far from over.

"We were in a good position yesterday. Today (After Dec 27 play) it's not the same for us. But it's part and parcel of the game. We'll continue to fight (in this Test)," said the batsman in that article and added, "It's possible to chase 400 runs on this wicket. The match isn't over yet. We would try to take 10 wickets as early as possible. We would look to break it down session to session."

If it was not just for the consumption of the press, it will be a very good statement of intent. Though I have not seen an Indian team successfully chasing even a 300+ score ever since Sachin Tendulkar debuted. But then, India’s rare series win in England too had come 18 years after his debut, so we can hope that India will make it count.

Second, as of now it looks Australia will end up well above 400. May be around 475-500 by the end of play today, which will leave India with a massive task of surviving the last five-and-a-half to six sessions. If we are lucky, weather will intervene.

As of now, India look doomed. Who had said before the series started that if India have to win the series, they will need to win it 2-1 because Australia will try and win every match, and they will win at least one? I think it was Ian Chappell, but may be I am wrong.

Kumble helps India restrict Aussie

As we had hoped, after India got Australia's first three wickets in the space of 30 runs, the Indian bowlers came firing all cylinders and the visitors seem to have restricted Australia to under 350-360. (http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/kumbles-twin-strike-zaheer-chips-in.html)

The 337 for nine could well have remained 337 for two, three or four, but some on-target bowling by Kumble and Zaheer (the pacer took three) kept India in the match. (For more details, please see sites below profile in this blog or this AP report in the Hindu Newspaper http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200712261340.htm)
Make no mistake. Australia still hold the upper hand in this match as India will have to bat fourth on this wicket. And they will have to muster a lead of 100 or 150 to put any kind of pressure on Australia.

The bowlers have done their job. Now everything will depend on how the Indian batsmen negotiate the first session tomorrow, with a makeshift opener in Rahul Dravid. That could well be the most critical session of the match.

Indian batting dilemma is over, Australia's on bowling attack persists

(Media Watch One for Dec 24, More to follow above this post)

With India finally deciding that Dravid will open (Dravid to ‘crack’ open puzzle in IE and in most news channels yesterday), it is clear that Sehwag will have to wait for his chance from the bench on a ground where he was so lethal with that 195 four years ago.

But one thing good about the decision is that it has been made three days before the test, rather than a day before or in the morning. It will help Dravid get into the opening ‘mindset’ sooner than later. Since now Yuvraj too knows he is in, there is going to be more intensity about his preparations. Sehwag can feel he was unlucky, but he will surely have his chance in January-Feb 2008.

However, the Australians may still not have decided on whether to include Chinaman Hogg, or go with all pace attack at the Melbourne Test. It will be wise for Australia to include a man about whom Muralitharan says that ‘’the World’s top batsmen can’t pick his wrong ones.’’ Indian batsmen are capable of clobbering a unidimensional pace attack at will on a benign pitch. Australia will certainly need some variety.

If one goes by what the curator has to say, it is not going to be a green top and even he has asked Australia to include a spinner.

And if it is not a green top, then even India must go in with their best attack. That is, two spinners and two seamers.

Miandad has interesting tips for India

Media Watch on Dec 23

The former Pakistan coach and one of world’s most resilient player ever, he says in an interview to the Indian Express that ‘’it is (beating Australia in Australia) a tough task no doubt. But by saying that it is the toughest, you have just made it tougher than it is.’’

That is the best tip someone could have given to the Indian side. Javed has very encouraging words for the Indian team as he says that ‘’I personally do not think that it is as tough as it is being made out to be, especially considering the strength and form of the Indian side at the moment.’’

A report in the Times of India had Tendulkar saying that India have got what it takes to win the test series in Australia, but he also cautioned batsmen to be ‘’little more careful with shot selection.’’ He also said that some ‘’mental adjustments’’ were needed on this tour.

In fact, everyone is talking about the strength of the Indian batting, and that includes Australian past greats and current cricketers. They believe that India have it in them to put it across Australia. That is also representative of the cordial manner in which the series will be fought and lack of hostility should certainly help India as much as the absence of Warne and McGrath.

Australia new coach Tim Nielsen believes that ‘’The older players (in Indian team) know how to pace themselves. As you get older it is easier to lay the big games for you know how to play and recover. The same holds good for India’s top players,’’ he says.

If their reflexes manage to judge the Australian pace the same way as they did last time, India should be able to give a tough challenge. Win or lose, the fight must be good.

Why India should aim for the top of the off-stump

Simply because Agarkar successfully did that in Adelaide four years ago and helped India get their first away test win over Australia in over two decades.

‘’It is simple. Just bowl on a good length and try and aim for the top of the off-stump,’’ says Agarkar about his approach in Australia in 2003-04 series.

His advise makes sense because it is easier to get carried away for a pace bowler in Australia. Listening to what he says in the Times of India will do a world of good to Zaheer and company.

Meanwhile, in his column (By Hawkeye/Chivach Sport) in the Hindu, Anil Kumble laments that ‘’Ideally, it would have been great if the weather had been kinder and we had had a good tour game but that was not to be''. He also say ideally India should have had two tour games before the first test to sort out their chinks.

Too late to say this skipper. The Team should have requested the BCCI to take note of this 'thoughtlessly done schedule' even as the itinerary was being planned.

But good preparation or not, India has some good supporters in Gilchrist and Hussey, two of Australia key players who are predicting a good, well-contested series.

Gilchrist believes that India is ‘’not underprepared’’ for the tour, and rather they are ‘’match-hardened’’ after three-four weeks of intense cricket against Pakistan.

Hussey believes it is a ‘huge challenge’ for Australia as India right now have ‘good momentum’ and ‘good form’ going into the contest. Though in a separate story in the Indian Express, he also said that the Australian batsmen had plans ready for each Indian bowler.

Basically, the contest between the Australian bowlers and the Indian batsmen will decide the outcome of the series. Australian batsmen are always expected to score heavily on their pitches so do not expect much from the Indian attack. India batting can't afford to fail once or twice in their eight attempts. That will spell doom.

Dravid 'may' (!) Open

(Media Watch Two for Dec 21 Morning Papers)

Dravid May Open in Tests -- It was an interesting headline in the Hindu talking about the indications that ‘’the Indian team down under is considering the option’’ of using Dravid as opener in the first test.

It was interesting as the headlines came a day after Dravid's great resilience in making 33 not out at a strike rate of less than 30 (the match against Victoria lasted just a few overs today with Dravid still playing at 38).

Probably the paper, a tremendous source of knowledge on cricket, could have been more adventurous in saying that Dravid WILL open.

The 1st session of play yesterday at Melbourne warm up match made it more than clear that the Indian batting lineup will have Jaffer and Dravid as openers for sure, with Ganguly, Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj in the middle order.

India will definitely bank on its strong middle order to click, and hope Dravid shines in his new role as opener. Hope because Dravid’s average, at 33.54 (Source ToI) is his worst in this position compared to any other he has played at. Even though he may say that he will play wherever his team wants him to be.

Sacrificing your top batsman at number three (where Dravid averages a good 57) does not really make any sense just to ensure that every middle order bat is accommodated. You can't be successful overseas without a 'comfortable' opening pair. Sehwag or Karthik deserved a look in.

Challenge is enormous!

If you take Australia's record and compare it with India's, challenge is enormous. The story below in IBN Live says that Australia win three out of their every four matches and India win one of their every three matches.

So, in lighter vain, India should be happy with a 1-2 scoreline in favour of Australia just on the basis of their respective performances since year 2000.

http://ibnlive.com/news/aussies-test-record-awesome-india-way-behind/54487-5.html

Meanwhile, here are two links on Print media's assessment on India's chances and Blog's take on that.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/what-will-india-be-banking-on-in.html

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/soaring-hopes-and-mission-not.html

What will India be banking on in Australia

(Based on quotes in Print Media)

Desperation to grab one last opportunity: Most senior cricketers are on their last tour of Australia so it is very important that we go back victorious, says Kumble.

Blog's Take: Hopefully, this desperation will be inspiration enough. The last chance should surely be the big enough motivation to give it one’s best shot. Especially for Kumble and Tendulkar, the only men from the two teams who were playing when Australia were last beaten on the home soil.

Absence of Warne: Kumble believes Australia will miss Warne so that is one area which India might be able to exploit.

Blog's Take: But that will happen only if the top order is able to play the pace effectively. That will allow the middle order to take care of any spin attack that Australia have post-Warne. But if top flops, Tait and Lee are capable of playing havoc with any batting lineup

Indian Aggression: Vice Captain Dhoni says that India is quite ready for Australian aggression on the field and ‘’We showed to them during the home series as well.’’

Blog's Take: India still lost the ODI series 4-2 though it won its twenty-20 encounter. It was not too bad, and rather creditable to take three matches out of seven, but this time the performance must exceed any upper hand in a verbal duel. After all, India is touring to win.

Adaptability: It is about playing good cricket and about adaptability, says Dhoni.

Blog's Take: Well, this adaptability will be the most important factor as just seven days remain before the battle of Melbourne takes off. The time is too little for comfort, but then Australia has never been a comfort zone for India.

It Stumps me that.....

How can someone be as badly named as Misbah. First a 'guy' can’t be a Miss and then, when he never misses a single thing except when makeshift bowlers are in view, it sounds so strange. May be the media can slightly change it after his laudable performance, and name him MrWah!

How can bad light deny India in a match where they could have easily declared at Lunch even if they had gone on at the rate of five per over and made around 340. They just needed 120 in 25 overs. And how could Pakistan have achieved 170 per session in the final two sessions on a pitch where cracks were connected by the soil!

How could Younis get dismissed when he DID NOT (RPT DID NOT!) not play a reverse sweep! Probably he would have survived had he tried reverse sweep on that Kumble’s ball. That fatal drive into the bowler's hand was a foolish shot!

A sense of history should have served us better. At Mumbai in 2004, somewhat similar pitch, left arm slow bowlers were very effective. Remember Michael Clarke taking six wickets and Murali Kartik following it up with three. Someone like Yuvraj, a leftarmer, was underutilised as bowler.

(Take it too seriously only at your own risk! Serious stories will come as you scroll down)

Will India manage the impossible?

With 13 overs to go, if India manage Pakistan's next three wickets, they will achieve the impossible. Claiming last ten wickets in the final session to win a match! It has never happened before.

But if they do not, they will certainly rue the late declaration.

Just before interval, every one was predicting a dull draw -- all the experts in the studio and on various channels. But Kumble's genius, Yuvraj's accuracy, and the pitch has changed all that. It made it a most breathtaking battle.

Even now Arun Lal is saying that ''time may be running out for India, but game has changed totally.''

Here is a link before the fourth day play started, where it was pointed out that Yuvraj needed more bowling in Pakistan's first innings after his tremendous over to Misbah on the third day evening.
http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/battle-of-bangalore-equal-opportunity.html

And then another which talks about India's failure to give enough time to Pakistan to make it count.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/india-end-contest-with-48-overs-to-go.html

For Pak, one can only say they deserve a draw after showing such bravery.

Is one bad series enough to dump poor Karthik?

Our contention is that leaving Dinesh Karthik from Australia tour party will be unfair.
Story
He was the toast of the nation after India won the test series in England. In his first six tests since a tremendous comeback as opener against South Africa (A chance he got due to Dhoni’s injury), Dinesh Karthik made big strides, stopped only by the series against Pakistan.

He was the opener the team was looking for. Scores of 63, 38*, 56, 22, 129, 5, 60, 77, 22, 91, 8 in six tests of three away series after resurrection in Cape town had left Karthik with an average of 57 for his 571 runs from 11 innings (one unbeaten knock).

Five sixties and one hundred in away series at a conversion rate of one fifty plus knock per two innings is not every batsman can boast of. It was creditable for a makeshift opener.

But then came the Pakistan series. A total disappointment with Karthik averaging just 13 from his five innings so far (The fifth day play will commence one hour from now).

Can we drop this natural wicketkeeper-cum-makeshift opener just because one series has gone bad for him, even if it happens to be the home series against Pakistan. Give a break. Others in the team have leaner runs against quality opponents before.

Then as keeper Karthik’s value is tremendous. There were 35 byes in 76 extras conceded by India on a track of variable (read low) bounce where Indian bowlers sprayed the ball in all directions but at the wicket! Imagine Dravid in place of Dhoni on this treacherous track for a keeper, trying to hold fort for nearly five sessions.

Selectors will need a cushion against Dhoni’s failure. And will need to recognize Karthik’s value as an opening batsmen in overseas conditions since January 2007. Just one bad series should not be enough to dump him. That will be grave injustice.

Lawson has thrown a challenge which India might not accept

The final day of the Bangalore test tomorrow holds intriguing possibilities. Pakistan’s coach Geoff Lawson has thrown the challenge that they will go for a win if the score is competitive.

In other words, he has dangled a temptation for India to make it 2-0 by putting Pakistan in a position where their batsmen will go in for their shots.

However, given the fact that it is not everyday that you win a series against Pakistan, it is highly unlikely that Kumble will give them a target of around 4.5 runs per over, which is the only realistic target on this kind of pitch.

India's lead right now is 220 and if the target is to be 315-320 in about 70 overs, the Indian batsmen will have to go at five runs per over in the morning session. That way India will reach the target figure in 18-19 overs, leaving Pakistan with around 70.

But the problem with that kind of target is that it does give Pakistan a realistic chance and it is India who are leading the series right now. Lawson would not have thrown this challenge at India if Pak were leading!

India will be more comfortable with a target score of around 340-345, the same at Kolkatta, and Pakistan having about 60 to 65 overs to chase that (they had nearly 80 at Kolkatta). At least five runs per over will be what they will demand of Pakistan to make.

Needless to say, that will not be the kind of target Pakistan would like to chase. They will end that pursuit after the loss of just one or two wickets.

Anything above five is virtually impossible on this track, especially on the final day, and Pakistan can not realistically expect to chase a total which might need them to go at 5.5 to 6 runs per over. If they try, they will be in real danger of losing an uneven contest.

So Mr Lawson, you can take back your challenge. India would not like to share honours in a series which they have already won.

Miandad knows what batting is all about, defends Younis' Reverse Sweep

One of the top batsmen of the world in the seventies, eighties, and even nineties, Javed Miandad has defended the reverse sweep of Younis Khan at Bangalore which had resulted in his dismissal.

''When a player gets out playing a reverse sweep, it looks ugly and becomes a controversy. But one should not forget that when one succeeds, as Younis did in Kolkatta and on Monday, it draws applause from spectators,'' he wrote in one of India's premier papers, The Hindustan Times today (A PMG Column).

Miandad felt it would be folly to blame Younis and Yousuf for going for runs considering the wicket.

If one recalls, Miandad did not seem to be having the most conventional of techniques, but lasted a good two decades thanks to his ability to find gaps and some innovative stroke-making. Naturally, he believes that some risks are essential to succeed for any batsman as ultimately it is the runs on the board that matter.

Below is a link to the story written on the same issue yesterday. http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/younis-khan-lives-in-present.html

Battle of Bangalore. Equal opportunity for both India and Pak

What all can India do on the Fourth day to weed out Pakistan resistance

Just bowl straight and hope for pitch to do something, or pray that the Pakistani players run out of patience. Some times the ball is keeping so low that if it is straight, a wicket is certain.

More overs needed for Yuvraj. His last over today was a revelation. Two of the six deliveries almost got Misbah just because they failed to bounce. May be there is something he can do on this pitch which others can’t.

Realise that they are already 1-0 up in the series and in virtually no chance of losing this test. Crowd the opposition with as many fielders as Possible. Pakistan will be happy to escape with a draw.

Enforce the follow on if the opportunity arises. Pakistan will dread the possibility of batting again without a break on this track.

And what can Pak do to ensure that India remain on the backfoot

Low backlift as Misbah has shown throughout his essay. That will be important to counter the balls which can rattle the stumps by their lack of bounce.

Never lose a run-making opportunity to inch closer to the follow on mark, and then deficit reduction endeavour. There will be ample gaps in the field with the Indians going all out for a kill.

Be more careful against makeshift bowlers. Laxman’s wicket of Sami had almost endangered Pakistan in Kolkatta. Yuvraj is capable of doing the same here.

Pakistan are almost exactly in the same position going into the last two days as at Kolkatta. Indian bowling does not hold much threat. But pitch does.