Yuvraj Singh, that man in sublime touch and a scourge for bowlers from around the world, was on Thursday adjudged caught behind off Stuart Clark by umpire Billy Bowden before the left-hander had scored a run.

At least a couple of inches seemed to separate the line of the ball from the prodigious left-hander’s bat, but there was not even an iota of doubt in Kiwi umpire Billy Bowden’s mind. He was quick to raise the dreaded finger, though Yuvraj did not respond as fast to the decision. The left-hander shook his head in dismay, prolonged his stay in the middle while showing his dissent, before walking off with his head still shaking.

The MCG may not be the easiest place to officiate in, as pointed out by commentator Ravi Shastri earlier in the day while praising the same umpire, but the fact is that a decision here or there can still have a bearing on the outcome of the match. That Mahendra Dhoni was adjudged lbw immediately afterwards to a ball that swung in a lot to hit the stretched left foot did not seem to help the Indians either, which also seemed to be a close decision and Dhoni could have enjoyed the benefit of doubt.

It is just the second day of a tough Test series and there have also been some other doubtful decisions both for and against India, leaving one hoping that umpiring does not become the topic of debate in the series.

It might just be a matter of chance that Sachin Tendulkar got quite a few bad decisions on previous tours of Australia and in a practice game against Victoria last week in which he was given out off a no ball, but the fact is that India have suffered at the hands of the best of the umpires Down Under.

Despite the tremendous anticipation surrounding India’s cricket tour of Australia, ticket sales for the first Test starting on December 26 have not kept pace with the excitement generated. Just over 22,000 cricket tickets have been sold for the first day’s play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground which, though high for a non-Ashes year, compares poorly with almost 67,000 at the corresponding stage last year, when Boxing Day was sold out for England.

Australian speedster Brett Lee may put an India-Australia Test series at par with the Ashes, but the oldest rivalry in cricket is still the showpiece event in the domestic calendar. Recognizing that fact, Cricket Australia (CA) is set to decide on a proposal to make the Ashes six-Test contests. CA wants to play a Test in every State when England tours. The Cricket Australia is thought to be announcing a new promotion campaign to boost the sales with a prize of free ashes tickets along with every ticket sold for this Indian - Australia series.

Misbah-ul-Haq may have been unpardonably guilty of playing an irresponsible shot in the T20 World Cup final. But in the ongoing Test series, he has proved to be Pak’s delight and India’s blight. He unfortunately ran himself out in the Delhi Test. I wonder if India would have won the Delhi Test had he not been dismissed in such tragicomic circumstances. He certainly was looking good for more than his 82 suggested. He has pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for Pakistan both in Kolkata and Bangalore with unbeaten innings of 161 and 133.

He grafts for runs, quite unlike the Misbah we all saw in T20 WC. He has shown remarkable adaptability between two formats of the game which players of his age struggle to achieve. The fact that the holy Indian trinity opted out of the T20 World Cup is proof enough that it is widely believed to be a game of the spring chickens. So,where was Misbah all these years? Players at 32 must be contemplating about the opportune moment to hang up the boots. But he has shown a rare consistency. He has scored two back-to-back hundreds in extremely precarious situations that make his innings worth more than their weight in gold. The obvious conclusion is that Misbah is a victim of Pakistan’s deeply politicised selection policies.

At least in India, it is not as crassly political despite the zonal selection system and that’s perhaps why our bench strength is improving.