27 March 2008

Arpy's first Test at home!

Its a thin line between attacking and loose, and Bhajji ain't walking it. His good balls have been few, and there have been several hit-me balls.
Arpy Singh on the other hand, is not even a shadow of his self in Australia and England. Playing in his first Test at home, he looked among other things, lazy - which is not something I thought could be said of him. And it is not as if he is a stranger to batting beauties. His debut was against Pakistan on a dead Faisalabad track. (We use a term in Malayalam to refer to er.. less endowed women which directly translates to "the frog over which a Tamil goods lorry has passed".. well, suffice to say that it was that kind of a track. Afridi mauled Bhajji, Arpy took 4-for in a MoM performance, and Pakistan made 588 in the first innings, and India responded with 603)
Is he unfit? Unlikely considering he picked up five wickets in a domestic Deodhar game. Not only were there a few bloopers on the field, his first spell was consistently in the mid 120s while Sree - not so Santh anymore, was regularly in the mid 130s. Sree might have gone for almost as many runs, but those who watched him bowl will know he created far more chances on what appears to be the flattest of tracks. If Arpy does not pull up his socks - a lot, in the second innings, the choice of who to drop when Ishant returns will become easier.

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