Josh Hazlewood had been the hard nut to crack at
MCG so far. He bowled a remarkable spell of 26-11-33-2 as his line-and-length
was similar to Glenn McGrath – nagging and incisive. Josh hit that
three-quarter length outside the line of offstump , targeting the top of off
consistently. Such sort of testing stuffs had always been handy for the batters
who’re always tentative to poke outside off.
Either patience and solid defense or controlled aggression is
needed to deal with such stuffs.
Still not an easy task.
Azhar Ali decided to dig deep and exhibited the test of
technique and temperament against such a tight bowling. What I noticed was his
improvement in technique outside the offstump . He kept his head still and bat
close to his body and for which, the balls which were leaving him outside off,
hardly posed a threat to kiss the edge and fly towards the slip cordon. Of
course, he never went hard at the ball.
Steve Smith kept one fielder at long leg and the rest on the
offside, but Azhar’s defense and concentration could not be deterred via
landing the ball regularly in that corridor of uncertainty. Defensively boring
batting exhibition, but to arrest a collapse and instill stability, such stuffs
reap a rich harvest.
From an entertainment point of view, well, the battle
between the bowler, opposition captain, fielders and the resolve of the batsmen
are a treat to watch if you love to watch Test cricket.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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