The Second Test

After a test that India won easily but should have lost easily we come to Perth with promises of a fast bouncy pitch.

Firstly what did we learn from Adelaide apart it was a bad cricket pitch. The Indian bowlers performed better than the highly rated Aussie bowlers.
Bumrah was easily the most consistently fastest bowler. Both bowling Sharma and Ashwin were far better bowlers than in previous visits.
On the Aussie side Starc ( who was actually a wicket-keeper for Berala in the Junior comp I coached in ) was bad again. He has not bowled well or been quick since the first test in Durban. his inswinger ( his most deadly weapon) is not looking good. On the other hand Hazelwood, Cummins and Lyons are all bowling well.

Secondly will India bat as extravagantly again in both innings? you would have to say there is a lot more potential in the Indian batting lineup that the Aussie one.

Back on the Indian bowlers. Why oh why do they bowl over the wicket? They essentially bowl a straight ball then. none has significant swing or  cut which makes lefthanders squirn when facing. They also cut up the pitch for Lyons to bowl at their righthanders. bowling over the wicket means a better angle and thus more possible slip catches as well as cutting up the pitch for Ashwin!  If you can swing the ball in to lefthanders as Shami clearly can you swing it more and later if you bowl over the wicket . This almost dissipates when you bowl around the wicket!

Assuming the hype is correct then it becomes a battle of the pace attacks. Which attack has recovered from the high temperatures of Adelaide?
Also important here is this might suit some batsman. I can't get batting Sharma out of my head here despite thinking it should be Kholi,

Remember too He knows three more draws and India win the series in Australia for the first time.

The worst thing about Perth.
Cricket Australia who put no money into the new stadium has determined in Australia of all places people cannot sit in the shade


Sorry but I forgot the link to After Grog blog Cricket