The Parallels between Chennai and Perth

For those wondering about the future of Test cricket, the last two matches we have witnessed should clear all doubts. First the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and then the WACA in Perth provided ten fascinating days of cricket. What's just as remarkable are the similarities between India's run-chase and that of South Africa. So we decided to take a closer look at the numbers and more, to see how alike these two innings' were.

The Plot
1 Both matches were the first game of the series, with teams looking to take an early upper hand.

2)The side that batted first (England in Chennai and Australia in Perth) took a decent first innings lead on the back of some good bowling. England had a 75 run lead while Australia's lead was 94 runs.

3)In the third innings, the teams had similar scores (England 311/9 declared, Australia 319); leaving their opposition a record score to chase- in both cases the highest fourth innings score required to win a match in the host country.

The Characters
1) The Ballistic Batter- In order to chase a big total, you need a great start. India got that from Virender Sehwag, with his squash-buckling innings of 83 which included 15 boundaries (sixes included). South Africa had Graeme Smith, who was not as aggressive but just as effective with a match-winning 108 that included 13 boundaries. In fact, both these men have been the stars with the bat for their sides through 2008. Smith is the highest run-getter this year with 1519 runs while Sehwag is second with 1445 runs.

2) The Able Ally- Sehwag and Smith both needed a calm, sedate partner at the other end. And Gautam Gambhir for India, and Hashim Amla for South Africa played that part to perfection. Both got useful fifties at similar strike-rates, 47.5 for Gambhir and 47.3 for Amla! And really, both have played the ideal supporting role all year long. Amla is South Africa's second highest run-getter with 1112 runs. Gambhir is only fourth for India, but only because he has played fewer Test matches (8) than Laxman (15) and Tendulkar (13). His average, though, is better than the rest.

3) Three down- Both teams had one failure amongst the top three, Neil McKenzie for the Proteas and Rahul Dravid for India. India lost their third wicket with 183 runs on the board, South Africa had scored 179.

4) Elegant Cameo- Truth be told, Jacques Kallis contributed more with the bat than VVS Laxman. But again, both scored fluently and helped stitch a useful partnership when the pressure was on. Kallis' flurry towards the end of Day Four was one of the unnoticed turning points in the match, which gave the visitors the momentum they carried forward to the final day.

5) The Stylish Southpaw- Yuvraj Singh has been around a while, but still had to establish himself in the Test arena. Jean-Paul Duminy was on debut. Both left-handers, with plenty to prove, stuck till the end, scoring unbeaten half centuries to take their sides home. And both delivered the knockout punch. The point one felt sure India would win was when Yuvraj hit that six of Panesar. At the WACA, Duminy's six of Krejza sent similar signals.

6) The Battered Bowlers- Only Andrew Flitnoff and Graeme Swann (three of the four wickets between them) posed any kind of threat to the Indian batsmen. The rest of the lot looked lacklustre and insipid on a fifth day pitch that offered some help to the bowlers. Likewise, Johnson and Lee (all four second innings wickets between them) were the only ones who looked like taking a wicket for the Aussies. Everyone else was easy pickings.7)The Classic Century- A match-winning 103 not out by Sachin Tendulkar, of 196 deliveries with 9 boundaries. A match-winning 106 not out by AB de Villiers, of 186 deliveries with 9 boundaries. Innings for innings, these two knocks were just as good. AB de Villiers is no Sachin Tendulkar, but his innings on Sunday could be start of him going from good to great.

The Result
1) Chases make for great viewing, right from movies to cartoons (remember the Road Runner!) to cricket. And in the end, both chases were successful, India and South Africa won by 6 wickets.
2) Both games were a fantastic advertisement for Test Cricket. Forget the fast-food version, this is what cricket is all about.