'Chasing outside off stump , a nothing shot' is the first thing I heard when I switched on the TV. Gavaskar was commenting on Vijay's dismissal off Starc, cliched as his words were, it wasn't a bad shot, only that Starc did better this time around. More so in the context of the shots played by other the captain and vice-captain. Thirty minutes into the game India were already on their way to their usual dismal beginning to another overseas tour.
India's last overseas tour began with India having the chance of their lifetime to win in England, so did the one before that in South Africa, so did the one even before that, somewhere, at this point it doesn't matter anymore, just another country they never did well.
Australian grounds are so enormous that fielders are never out of the game. The fielders chasing balls forever, the batsmen running between the wickets forever, while the ball keeps rolling on looking like a red island on a lush green ocean. I wouldn't be surprised if the broadcasters habitually slowed down the frame rate a wee bit to keep us in the chase a bit longer every time the ball went past the inner circle.
Having listened to cricket commentary for years now, I confess there is only so many ways you can say certain things. 'He is a good player of spin, he uses his feet well against spin.' must be one of the underwear hanging by the thread if there ever was a question of overuse.
