After the incident at the Gabba, where R Ashwin appealed for a run out against Lahiru Thirimanne who was backing up too far at the non-striker's end, Greg Baum, in the Sydney Morning Herald, dug up some history of the beginnings of the Mankad.

Mankad, a left-armer, twice ran out Australian opener Bill Brown while backing up on India's tour of Australia in 1947. The first time was in a tour match at the SCG, and followed a clear warning from Mankad to Brown. The match is better remembered for Bradman's 100th first-class century ...

But Bradman, the Australian captain, was mystified by the fuss. ''There was absolutely no feeling in the matter as far as we were concerned, for we considered it quite a legitimate part of the game,'' he subsequently wrote. ''For the life of me, I can't understand why [the press] questioned his sportsmanship. The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the nonstriker must keep within his ground until the ball has been delivered. If not, why is the provision there which enables the bowler to run him out? By backing up too far or too early, the nonstriker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage.''

In the Hindu, Greg Chappell recalls a training session in 2005 when MS Dhoni first made him sit up and take notice. Chappell also analyses the effectiveness of Dhoni's batting and captaincy, and his significance to world cricket.

Dhoni's grounding in tennis-ball cricket is obvious in the way he bats. He has an inimitable and unorthodox technique. With his strength, he is capable of hitting balls into places that only few others can conceive. He is the best attacking player of the yorker I have ever seen. I once saw him hit a James Anderson yorker straight back over the bowler's head for six. It was awesome.

After Sachin Tendulkar was not named in the XI for India's Commonwealth Bank Series match against Australia in Adelaide, the Times of India's Vinay Nayudu documented the reactions of fans and experts to Tendulkar's exclusion.

On the other hand, as expected, the general sentiment among spectators at the Oval was largely of disappointment. "It's disgusting," said an elderly gentleman with a big wave of his hand. A keen cricket follower, Todd Russell said he felt like being taken for a ride. "I was fortunate to see Sachin in action during the Test match here, but missing him today is again a disappointment. I guess everybody wants to see Sachin in action."

Why is India suddenly using a rotation strategy for the Commonwealth Bank Series when they have refused to use one in Tests for the last year? Ashish Magotra writes on Firstpost. Moreover, he asks, why are they resting players when the next major tournament is the IPL?

In fact, more than anything else, it makes one wonder why the batsmen need to be ‘rested’ now? Are they saving up their best for the IPL? Do they want to be fit for the ‘big’ event? What other reason could this selection committee and the team management have of suddenly lapsing into a rotation policy in the middle of a tough tour of Australia?

In the Mumbai Mirror, Sriram Veera wonders why MS Dhoni decided to leave out fast bowler Umesh Yadav and go in with three spinners in the first ODI at the MCG.

“Our loose deliveries were too loose. That was the difference,” Dhoni said at the end of the game. Ah, oh ok. Case solved then. Dhoni also talked about the lack of resources. It’s not clear why he rested Umesh and he also went on to say that “we don’t have a fast-bowling all-rounder”. How does the team view Irfan Pathan? A batsman? A bowler? What?

Following a splendid start to his Test career in India, R Ashwin's stock has dropped in Australia, partly due to his own undoing and partly owing to unimaginative captaincy and dropped catches by his colleagues. In his hurry for instant results, he overused the carrom ball, and eventually his line became predictable, writes G Unnikrishnan in Deccan Herald.

It was quite disappointing to see Ashwin continue to operate in the same way as he did in Tests. Strangely, Ashwin seemed incapable of doing anything different to keep the batsmen under check, as there simply was no urge to fight back – a trait he often showed in the past when batsmen took him on.