INDIA WINS THE TEST SERIES AGAINST ENGLAND

The second and final Test match being held at Mohali ended in a draw and India clinched the series 1-0.

SCORECARD: India vs England, 2nd Test, Mohali, 2008.

Pointers to Administrators
It is a well known fact that winters are more severe in northern part of India. Then, why the administrators did fix Mohali as the venue? Ok, because of Mumbai bombings they had to reschedule the matches. But that cannot be said as an excuse. Even the choice of venue for the first Test match was not that great. We have witnessed a great chase by Indians at Chennai and there was no rain, but that is a different story. Usually Chennai gets north-west monsoon rain between mid October and mid November. But in last few years the rainfall season extends upto early December. Next time around they have to schedule the matches carefully. If I am right, there is a MoU between BCCI and Ministry of Science & Environment regarding weather forecasting to guide and enable BCCI to schedule matches properly. I don’t know whether that MoU is bearing any fruit. The Mohali Test was completely marred by poor light and morning fog.

Initially it was proposed to be a 3-Test series and 5-One-day series. But the greedy BCCI changed to 2-Test series and 7-One-day series. ICC should enact a rule that a bilateral Test series should have minimum of 3 matches.

Run Machine Gambhir
In last one year Gautam Gambhir is virtually a run machine. It would not be a surprise to people who are following domestic matches. He has a great first-class record and amassed lot of runs over the years.

Relieved ‘The Wall’ Fan
As a Rahul Dravid fan I was very much relieved with his century in the first innings. Still I must admit that second innings duck had again made me somewhat skeptical. I am keeping my fingers crossed on New Zealand tour.

Consistent Zaheer and Ishant
The consistency of Zaheer and Ishant is heartening. I hope Ishant gets more wickets. Unluckily he is not able to get pack of wickets. I believe his time is not far away.