Cricket - 2nd Test, Efficient Kiwis, Overconfident Indians

As the 2nd test unfolds, it looks more and more true that Yuvraj Singh is not a test match batsman. It also shows that Virender Sehwag is a predictable one. He will take risks no matter what the situation.

The Kiwis have always played international cricket based on a limited pool of talent. Their main weakness is the lack of depth in their teams. Due to this, they rely on their strengths which are

1. Efficienctly using their limited resources
2. Being tactically smarter than their opponents
   
3. Avoiding obvious mistakes

If one stays with them on these three fronts, their lack of depth gets exposed. Just watch them play Australia or South Africa. They more or less get muscled out.

The current Indian team has the depth but tends to loose ground on the above points. When they don't, they also dominate New Zealand like they did in the first test. This test, they have lost on all three counts with dropped catches, and rash shots.

The situation has been made worse with Dhoni missing. It costs India their best keeper by far, a strong lower middle order batsman and an inspirational captain. Kartik has already contributed a dropped catch. The gap between him and the next best options for captainship also seem collosal now.

As for Yuvraj Singh, there is no way to hide him after this test. He will have to play the innings of his life to make up for his lapses in this test to save his test career.