Published>Sun, Oct 10 10 08:07 AM
Adorned in extensive gear and armed with high-tech bomb-detecting sensors, the security men patrolled the ground for the entire duration of the day; each taking one ginger step at a time along the boundary ropes while pausing only briefly at the end of their respective designated zones. Meanwhile, the bunch of frosty kites, who forever seem to hover above the Chinnaswamy Stadium, too hardly took a break while relentlessly scouring for potential prey. Neither group ever seemed to lose focus and pursued their respective tasks with inexorable vigour.
Unfortunately, the Australian batsmen didn't quite manage to get inspired and display similar powers of application for a comprehensive period of time. Almost all of them, who came to the crease on Saturday, got off to decent starts only to fritter away the advantage and get dismissed mainly as a result of momentary lapses in concentration. Even skipper Ricky Ponting, who showed the most gumption among the lot on a flat wicket, eventually fell victim to an innocuous delivery from part-timer Suresh Raina.
And after a bright start and a number of their batsmen looking good for many more runs, Australia finished the opening day of the second Test at Bangalore with their score reading 285 for five.
The Indian bowlers on the other hand toiled hard throughout the day on a wicket, which is unlikely to assist reverse-swing?one of the major weapons in the home team's arsenal and would be pleased with their returns.
After Ponting won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors commenced their innings in now customary fashion with Shane Watson playing the role of the free-flowing aggressor to perfection and Simon Katich content at being the stodgy and ungainly accumulator. And by lunch, the opening pair looked to have put Australia well on their way to a big total. Katich then was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh in the first over after the break but not before he had put on 99 for the first wicket.
Though he was welcomed to the crease with loud jeers from a near-capacity crowd, a reception which was meted out to every Australian batsman and a few words from Harbhajan, the Australian captain seemed to be in his elements from the very beginning. And he looked in complete control while executing almost every stroke in the Ponting-repertoire in a delectable manner.
The short balls from both the seamers and the spinners were cut with consummate ease while the full-pitched deliveries were either cover-driven or flicked in his inimitable style as Ponting looked set for his second century at this venue.
Ponting looked unruffled even as wickets fell at the other end, Watson and Michael Clarke to good deliveries from Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan respectively and Michael Hussey to a loose shot. And not surprisingly it was an extremely dejected Ponting who dragged himself off the field after being adjudged LBW in Raina's first delivery, a decision which could have gone either way for 77 off 147 balls.
While Ponting did add a 66-run stand with Hussey, his half-century stand with Marcus North proved to be crucial not only for the team's sake but also for the left-hander, who has struggled against the Indian spinners so far. And North, who remained unbeaten on 43, will be the key when the Australians look for a repeat from Mohali, where their last five wickets added more than 200 runs in the first innings.
Just like on the opening day, the patrolling booth in the air and on the ground will resume bright on Sunday. Ponting can only hope that his lower-order emulates the sentinels better than what the top-half could manage.
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