Backs To The Wall

India have their collective backs to the wall.  They will need to bat out a full day to save the match. One man they could look to for inspiration is the one pictured here. 

A man who averaged under 20 with the bat, was able to score a Test match hundred in the fourth innings at Lord's, so all the "Gun Bats" as Nasser Hussain evocatively calls them of the Indian team need to only take a leaf out of Agarkar's batting book.

Actually I read in the days following that innings that his innings against the likes of Freddy Flintoff and Ashley Giles, was one of the most "controlled" ever.  An enterprising statistician had come up with this parameter which measures if the stroke the batsman hit was actually the one he wanted to hit.  So being beaten outside the off stump or hitting the ball to thirdman while trying to whip it to square leg would be considered "out of control".   Agarkar's in control percentage in that innings was something like 77% which was generally the range that a batsman like Lara or Kallis or Tendulkar would have.

What this really indicates is the totally flat nature of the pitch...So come on India, if Ducky can do it so can you!