Bangalore Test, Day 2, Lunch
Thursday, December 20, 2001

It was an excellent morning for England where they added some precious runs. Sourav Ganguly took the new ball at the right time and Javagal Srinath bowled a particularly good spell. But after that, things went badly awry for India.

One look at the bowling analyses will tell you that those who have bowled the best in this match were used least. Kumble has bowled the maximum number of overs in this innings, while looking the bowler least likely to take a wicket. Harbhajan has bowled almost as much but impressed only in patches while Sarandeep Singh, who had such a good afternoon session yesterday, was brought on with only fifteen minutes to go for lunch.

These are basic mistakes that defy all logic and common sense. Surely, the team management has to be held accountable. Everyone can see which bowler has troubled the batsmen the most yet Ganguly persists in going by reputation rather than form.

Jamie Foster batted with a lot of grit this morning and England will also take heart from the pitch. It's clear now that as the game progresses, their seamers will have a good surface to bowl on, especially in the opening hour when they will get movement off the pitch. The English medium-pacers are not better than Srinath but they will be better utilised by Nasser Hussain. That could have a significant bearing on the outcome of this match.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran.

More from Manjrekar
Day 1, Close: Unfortunate but not unjust

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