Friday 23 November 2012

Mini-session Analysis, 2nd test, India England, Mumbai, 2012/13

Here is the mini-session analysis for the second test between India and England at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-SessionScoreWinner
1-1aIndia 50/1 off 14India
1-1bIndia 37/2 off 14England
1-2aIndia 47/2 off 18England
1-2bIndia 33/0 off 14India
1-3aIndia 45/1 off 14draw
1-3bIndia 54/0 off 16India
2-1aIndia 27/1 off 17England
2-1bIndia 34/3 off 8.1England
England 7/0 off 4
2-2aEngland 42/0 off 17England
2-2bEngland 28/2 off 15India
2-3aEngland 65/0 off 16England
2-3bEngland 36/0 off 13England
3-1aEngland 78/0 off 16England
3-1bEngland 42/2 off 12.4India
3-2aEngland 71/1 off 17.2England
3-2bEngland 44/5 off 10.3India
3-3aIndia 46/2 off 14England
3-3bIndia 71/5 off 19England
4-1aIndia 25/3 off 11.1England
4-1bEngland 58/0 off 9.4England

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First drinks, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 1-0

This first hour was microcosm of the rollercoaster of emotion that is test cricket. England lose the toss again, and after the first ball goes to the fence they must have wanted to dig a hole, as it would have felt very similar . However the next ball saw Gambhir heading back to the pavilion. England would have felt like this was going to be their day. The rest of the hour, however, was them chasing leather as Sehwag and Pujara worked the ball around the ground without ever really looking troubled.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

Welcome back to test cricket Monty Panesar. After he got smashed in his first over, a lot of captains would have pulled him off. Not captain Cook. He stuck with him, and it paid dividends. First Sehwag then Tendulkar, not a bad brace for his first two wickets of the tour.

Middle drinks, Day 1: England lead the mini-session count 2-1

I think they have two pitchs here. One of them is being batted on by Cheteshwar Pujara and the other pitch is being batted on by everyone else. This might be a short test. If the Indian batsmen are having trouble with the spin, how will the English batsmen fare?

Tea, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 2-2

Great fightback from India. Pujara was lucky to survive a dropped catch 4 balls after drinks, but after that he and Dhoni have quietly gone about building the innings. A score of 300 would probably give India the advantage in this match.

Final drinks, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 2-2

England removed Dhoni, but Ashwin has stood tall so far. There is still the threat of the new ball, which might be a chance for England to get into the tail.

Stumps, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 3-2

Cheteshwar Pujara probably wishes he was playing against England every week. He's just kept collecting runs, scoring in his areas and denying the bowlers if they are not bowling in his scoring zones. His temperment may be similar to Dravid, but he is his own man, and he could be a real asset for India. As yet he hasn't shown much in his two matches outside India, and he had trouble picking Jeetan Patel, so he might really struggle with Narine or Ajmal, but regardless he looks like a real talent.

Stumps, Day 2: England lead the mini-session count 7-4

England clearly won the day. However they still have a lot of work to do to be in the lead in the match. India may be regretting going with only one seamer, as Zaheer probably looked the most dangerous of the Indian bowlers on day 2. Possibly that will change, however, by the time day 5 arrives.

First drinks, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 8-4

India have just let this game slide by. They need to start making the game happen, because waiting for Cook and Pietersen to make a mistake might take a while.

Lunch, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 8-5

India strike, but England are still looking good. They are only 30 runs away from having a lead, with only 4 wickets down. It's a cliche, but the next couple of hours will be vital.

Tea, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 9-6

A big partnership followed by an epic collapse. This is somewhat fimiliar. The only difference from the usual English performance in the subcontinent is the size of the partnership. England lead by 86, which might be enough to counter the disadvantage of having to bat last, but the game is really still in the balance.

Final drinks, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 10-6

When Sehwag was dismissed England were happy, but when Pujara was dismissed the whole team lifted. India are in some trouble now.

Lunch, Day 4: England lead the mini-session count 13-6

A clinical performance by England. A complete reversal from the first match. The third test will be really interesting now. Was this just a follow-on hangover, just an aberation or a change in the momentum of the whole series?

Part of the beauty of sport is that we will get to find out in a few days, once test 3 arrives.

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