1-0 up in the series. More than 60000 spectators on Boxing Day. Captain wins toss and decides to bat first. Opener’s first tour to Australia. India ends the day at 329 for 4; of which 195 (off 233) decorated with 25 fours and 5 sixes come from one batsman. Flamboyance defined Virender Sehwag’s batting career, but lack of baggage and no fear of failure leading to high impact knocks noticeably marked his early years. India went on to lose the test by 9 wickets, thanks to a career-best 257 from Ricky Ponting. India’s cricket over the 1990s & early-2000s on away tours seemed to follow this pattern of solid batting prowess and infrequent instances of out-bowling the opposition. The bowling looked thinner on days when the batting delivered under par, which resulted in more losses than draws or wins. Spin was India’s stronger suit, which made it more arduous task to restrict opposition in the 1 st innings, necessitating the batting to click in the first attempt. That Sehwag knock prope...
Cricket from the spectator's point of view.