Australia had held the Border-Gavaskar Test Trophy for Test Series played between India and Australia
India won back this Trophy by beating them 2-0 in the Series that just concluded
Just a strong reflection on the strange playing tactics and strategies of the Australian Captain,Pointing that has provoked me to even classify this blog under the category of ‘Insider Trading ‘!….Of course this should not take away any of the Indian team’s Glory in beating the Champions
Was Pointing,the Australian Captain playing for India ?….the way he threw his wicket in the earlier tests demands some investigation screamed my Son
More Demanding an investigation was this situation where Australia were in a position to square the series and retain the Trophy…They had India reeling at 166 for 6 in their second innings at Tea on the fourth day of the fourth and last test match in Nagpur,ahead by just 250 runs…What did Pointing do after Tea ?…Instead of going for the kill he rested his fast bowlers,who were relegated to the role of retrieving the ball back from the Boundary rather than hurling it at the batsmen…..He introduced part time spinners to allow Dhoni and Harbhajan to settle down into a long partnership…all under the excuse that he had to make up the slow over rate !…You can’t do this at the cost of losing both the Match and the Series and the Trophy !
Was it a conscience trade off for his unsporting behaviour that won Australia the Sydney Test in the last series between the two countries?….Did Pointing adopt this strange tactic deliberately as many are accusing him of doing to secure his future !?…Methinks his mind was plagued with a lot of Indigestion and he was just not thinking and playing Cricket…unpardonable and unacceptable from a seasoned Captain like him
Australian Legends,Ian Chappell and Alan Border,both past Test Captains were simply furious and let loose harsh and strong words on Pointing…The CEO of the Australian Board is going to seek an explanation from Pointing
It’s Funny that the Australian Coach,Tim Neilsen defends Pointing by questioning his Critics if it was right to break the rules to win !…he meant making up for the slow overrate……Funny and pretty Rich coming from an Australian !….because Pointing and the Australian team,with not so little help from both Umpires,both B’s…no !no ! I’m not cursing them…their names were Benson and Bucknor !, did not pause to think twice while breaking all rules to win the Sydney Test,and which prompted even their Prime Minister to chide them to play the game in it’s true spirit
Pointing’s tactics were not dictated by any sound cricketing sense…unless you share his Indigestion in the Mind,you should not defend him…probably recommend him for India’s highest Sporting Award,the Arjuna Award for bringing (giving ?) glory to Indian Sport
And a last thought….at times it seemed like our Dhoni was captaining both sides !