In short, India were poor all round today, except for the bowlers and the unbeaten batsmen. This is not going to be a polite piece, so brace yourselves. I have been effusive in praise when deserved and it is only fair that I be scathing when deserved. The fielding was very poor. At least 6 easy chances were floored this innings. Flintoff was dropped thrice before finally falling for 50. Strauss was dropped twice yesterday. England should not have crossed 300 but got to exactly 400. Munaf was the bowler who suffered on almost every occasion and should have had at least six this innings ( 29-4-81-2).

Dravid ( two), Sehwag, Kumble, Dhoni ( two) dropped routine catches. Irfan took a catch 2 feet in front of the boundary and casually walked back, over the line, to make it a six! He had Collingwood plumb lbw earlier but did not even appeal!! Can you believe that - this is a test player. He does not look his usual self and I do not think it is all fine in his head. He looks demoralized and seems to be just going through the motions. If I were the coach he would get a kick in the ass and a good lesson in old fashioned, full throated appealing. Irfan had done the same at Mohali with another lbw shout. His shelf life, I predict, is limited.

Munaf and Sreesanth ( 22-5-70-4) bowled well and with a lot of heart. Kumble was efficient and will see more help later ( 39-7-84-1). Bhajji got 3/89 without doing anything special.

Owais Shah looks a good batsman - played well to get 88 - was very well caught by Dravid off Bhajji.

Overall, the bowlers did well to restrict England to 400, despite all the dropped catches! The batting, however, was shambolic.

I have always felt that England and Australia understand the game better and are tactically much more savvy than the Asian teams. With Chappell coming in, we have got better but the English are still ahead tactically. They had a clear plan for every Indian batsmen. Sehwag now stands exposed, a la Dada, for his weakness against the short ball.

At Mohali in the first innings, and again today, he was nailed by a bouncer. On both occasions he played a shot, if you can call it that, that belongs on the badminton court, not a cricket pitch! These were balls bowled at chin height. A good batsmen sees them early and sways out of the way or shapes to hook them. Sehwag has jumped up and presented his bat handle and gloves to the ball. There are only two outcomes to an act like that - you either miss it or get caught behind. It is not a scoring shot. It is really not a shot at all! It is a monkey jump!

The English bowlers executed their plan to perfection. Most balls were short and well directed. They have used the bounce on offer very well. Our batsmen grow up on drives and balls worked off the pads on our low pitches. Cleverly, there were none on offer. The English have done their homework. Sehwag was out doing the monkey jump mentioned above for 6 ( 9/1).

Jaffer followed soon, unable to get out of the way of a short ball going down leg side - clumsy batting ( 24/2). Sachin came to bat with the crowd chanting his name and left to boos from the crowd. He was totally out of sorts and struggled to time or middle the ball. He fished at one well outside off, feet rooted to the ground and was taken by Jones easily - a poor shot. He looked hesitant and totally lacking confidence.  

For the first time, I heard an Indian crowd booing Sachin. That it came from his home crowd is a sure sign that he cannot take adulation for granted any more and the fans are losing patience. Expect to see more booing if he fails again. Of course, if he hits a century soon, they will be fawning all over him again. Such are the vagaries of cricketing fame. Just ask one Saurav Ganguly! The signs of decline, though, are evident. His one run took all of 20 balls ( 28/3).

Yuvraj stroked his first two deliveries for boundaries to emphasize his emergence as the new star of Indian batting. Both Rahul ( 37 n.o.) and Yuvraj ( 32 n.o.) held the innings together to end the day on 89/3.

Yuvraj, Rahul, Dhoni, Irfan and all batsmen down the order need to score for India to have any chance in this match. If India fall for less than 330- 340, England should win this match. The pitch is offering turn and has good bounce. As far as I can predict, there will be a result here. 

The Indian performance today has been very disappointing, to say the least.