Duleep Final

What a crying shame that the final of the Domestic Championships is not covered LIVE on TV anywhere. Anyway the West Zone (that's my Zone) require just 17 to win with 5 wickets in hand and it is the forgotten man of Indian cricket - Parthiv Patel who is taking them home.

Good job, Parthiv and go West ! Show that Sourav Ganguly's side its place.

Update: YIPPEE !! Duleep Trophy Champions 2005 - WEST !!

More Praise For Rahul Dravid

It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Rahul Dravid - some may say sometimes I am irrational and excessive about it. Here is an article in Mid-Day giving more fulsome praise to the man written by none other than Mike Fereira - one of the country's billiards champions, ain't it ? Or was it snooker now ?

Thanks, Ruchir for the link.

Update: I tried to find posts in which I have praised RD to provide links to them but I realised almost every other post reeks of it in some way or the other, so gave up the idea.

Shoaib fails to impress ... again

The fact that I feel Shoaib is extremely overrated is no secret. Today once again, he failed to impress. On the same wicket on which Flintoff, Harmisson and Hoaggard had done a super job. My co-blogger Zainub with whom I had a debate about the utitliy of Shoaib a short while back seems to admit that Pak's bowling performance today was pretty pedestrian.

Of course, Shoaib still has a chance to come back with a bang tomorrow and I would love to see it - after all, a contest is what we all want ain't it ? But why do I get the feeling it is not going to happen ??

Not fair to single out Shoaib for today's performance of course - Sami, too didn't do much (I thought he had turned a leaf in India) and why the hell is Shabbir in the team ? Yeah he got the wicket of Collingwood but seems pretty innocuous (of course when your top two are so innocuous is there any point in blaming the third seamer for that ?)

The Ganguly-Dravid handover

Well it seems like a misnomer that. Handovers take place between mature individuals. Here Ganguly was acting more like a child holding on to a toy rather than a responsible and mature leader realising his time was up and handing over the reins in a dignified manner.

Well anyway, call it snatching the captaincy from Ganguly and "handing it over" to Dravid. Now, a couple of people in a Yahoo! Groups I visit (sachintendulkarfans@yahoogroups.com) pointed out that this particular "hand-over" was sort of similar to the Taylor-Waugh one or the Hussain-Vaughan one. Of course, Dravid has a lot to prove to be talked of in the same breath as Waugh and Vaughan - but even at this point, certainly there are telling similarities but some major differences.

I would like to consider these 3 on the following parameters -
1) The kind of team inherited: It seems fair to say that Hussain, Taylor and Ganguly had to pretty much build their teams from scratch. Well less so for Taylor than the others. Vaughan, Waugh and Dravid got more settled teams. Again, more so Vaughan than the others - Waugh did not have the best of starts only managing to draw a series in the West Indies and looked in trouble early in the World Cup 99 (remember the losses to NZ and Pakistan and having to win all matches in order to stay in ?) before embarking uponone of the greatest runs in history. Ganguly almost managed to destroy the team he worked so hard to build but then that is to be expected of a little child.

2) Greatness as Individual Performances: Here the similarities are extremely telling. Quite simply, Taylor, Hussain and Ganguly were good players while Waugh, Vaughan and Dravid are/were great ones (well Vaughan has the potential to get there at any rate if some of you don't think he is already there)

3) Cricketing Acumen vs Man-management Abilities: Here there are some differences. Taylor was brilliant - probably the greatest cricketing brain in the last 15 years at least, maybe (just maybe) Waugh was not that great (well he was still pretty great) as a tactician but he shone through with his man-management, leading by example and instiling even harder the virtues of determination, positivisim, discipline and the never-say-die attitude. In the other 2 cases, the situation somewhat reverses. Hussain was a hard task-master. He built a team from a fairly scratchy lot brick by brick and was perhaps not the smartest tactically. Vaughan on the other hand has been quite immaculate with attention to detail as regards field placements, bowling changes etc. and unlike Hussain he is more of "one of the guys" type of leader. Ganguly must be given credit for building the Indian team just like Hussain is for England. He staunchly backed players he had faith in, overall got the optimum off them and gave India a new belief. However when it came to on-field tactics, he was extremely average. So far Dravid has made a positive start with regards to that. He is also coming on well as a leader of men and I think now all the young kids know that he is in charge and respect him for it. Of course, his immaculate individual performances on and off the field help. There are people who wonder if the over-analytical Dravid will be able to face the heat when things start to wrong, whether he will be able to keep the squad together, be able to keep drawing the best out of temperamental players like Harbhajan Singh the way Ganguly did ?? I think he has it in him to overcome any challenge. Of course time will tell

Another "Twist"

Don't worry - I'm not talking of twists to any "sagas" like the GC-SG one etc. I'm referring to another instance of an interview "twisted" in such a way to convey a very different meaning. Consider this article from DNA - titled "The guys know who’s in charge, says Rahul Dravid"

Now just looking at the title, one is bound to feel that here is a bold proclamation by a successul captain and a warning to his predecessor who still harbours ambitions of recovering the throne that reads "Don't mess with me" - very unlike the Rahul we know.

Of course if you go ahead and read the whole article, you realise it is nothing of that sort.

Consider this relevant extract from there and I quote:

Dravid, who deputised whenever Ganguly was injured or suspended, said he was happy to be in charge.

“If you’re given the job, then it does help to get the message across, it does help from a team’s perspective,” he said. “The guys know who is in charge. These are still early days as captain and I’m learning along the way. It helps to have someone like Greg around. He’s done it before."

Now tell me when read in context does it convey the above meaning ?? To me it doesn't. But that's the way journalism works, isn't it ?

Why ?

Why do so many people HATE Yuvraj Singh ?

Ponting Speaks

These last few weeks have seen a great number of Cricket Books, mainly autobiographies I might add make their way in public domain. While the big one of course is Steve Waugh's "Out of My Comfort Zone" a large number of them have been those of the stars of this past Ashes series - Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff from England, now Ricky Ponting from Australia.

Speaking in his book Ashes Diary 2005 and about it Ponting does some good talking. I am not a great fan of the bloke and have been quite critical of him on this blog before but I appreciate his honest, forthright comments here:

Check out this extract in particular of what he felt on the day he lost the Ashes:

“The hardest thing about our defeat is that we know what went wrong — we failed with the bat, lacked penetration and control with the ball (Warne and McGrath excepted), dropped catches, bowled far too many no-balls and lost Glenn McGrath to injury for the vital Edgbaston Test. But that was WHAT went wrong; the reasons WHY we failed remain a mystery. England played well, putting us under pressure with bat and ball. Despite their excellence, we should still have been able to compete far more effectively than we did.”

Honest, yes. Forthright yes. More importantly pretty accurate according to me. Australia, all said and done, definitely had the team that COULD have competed and probably got the better of England. If you are willing to be so forthright about it, Ricky, is it too harsh of me to suggest that in answer to your WHY question I might put up your failed leadership as a possible reason ? After all, given such established resources, isn't it more or less up to the captain to ensure their optimum utilization. Can you go one step ahead and agree with the opinion of several experts that you were in fact, "outcaptained" by Michael Vaughan ?

Anyway, about Shane Warne:

Ponting said that of the entire touring squad only Shane Warne could look at himself in the mirror and know he had played to his full potential. “The rest of us have just hinted at the form we are capable of, and that has cost us the series,” he wrote.

Again, very good of the bloke to acknowledge. Of course there was talk of big disagreements between Warne and Ponting during the Ashes and it is very likely it was true. Both are of courses colossuses in their respective arts. Of course, I do believe that Warne would make an excellent captain for Australia - I know that is not likely to happen - I heard someone tell me that Ponting has gone on record to say that Warne would have to wait in line if he wants to lead Australia.

Quite indisputably I think Warne is a much more likeable and intelligent person than Ponting but I do feel it necessary to appreciate Ponting here.

Ponting quotes and news source - this DNA article.

Quick Roundup

Before going into a detailed report on my experience at the Nehru Stadium on Thursday and celebrating the great series win over Sri Lanka let's have a quick look at what is happening in the cricket world.

1) Captain Pathetic: Shivnarine Chanderpaul has justified the criticism he received from cricket experts and fans by his continued display of clueless and directionless captaincy. After conceding a lead of 225 runs early on Day 3, the obvious thing to do was to try and get the Aussies all out within a reasonable score. Just going on the defensive and waiting for a declaration is clearly not the way to go. Shiv has done just that and the West Indies are going to suffer.

Unfortunately, Chanderpaul is not the only clueless captain going around in World Cricket at the moment. As has been evident from some of my posts earlier see 1,2 and 3 I have been extremely critical of captains all over the World. I hope Rahul Dravid of India does a better job when he gets the captaincy of the Test team. He has done well so far in ODIs but we will come to that later.

2) Another Dicey Issue: After chucking, this could well go on to be another extremely dicey issue for the ICC - the question of when a fielder is allowed to start moving in anticipation of the ball. As mentioned here, Michael Vaughan has been moving from slip to leg-slip with the ball still in flight in the warmup match against the Patron's X1 in Pakistan. He seems to think it is just fine !! I remember the catch Rajesh Chauhan took to dismiss Aravinda DeSilva in 1997 and that had become a fair controversy. I think the ICC needs to come up with clear-cut legislation on this one because it is impossible to ensure under the present circumstances that the fielders are moving legally only after the ball has been struck by the batsmen.

3) Get On With It People: Some South Africans and I stress SOME here have started whining about the whole Gibbs and Boje controversy. To these I would just like to say GIVE ME A BREAK. These people seem to imply that we are deliberately preventing these players from touring thus weakening the South Africa side. The weakening part could be true but for God's sake the players are staying away on their own free will !! They have NOT been threatened by the Indian police. They are merely willing to give no guarantees. Why should they give any guarantees ? Clearly the players are not above the law of the land. True they should demand to be treated with dignity like any person but they CANNOT demand any guarantees. If they are in the clear (Boje) and have served out their punishment (Gibbs) why should they fear ? All they have to do is assist the police by answering some questions that is going to aid there ongoing investigation.

Betting is illegal by Indian laws, while match-fixing is not. So if the players are afraid that their involvement in match-fixing would cause them to be detained or punished they shouldn't be. Rememebr the action to be taken on the erring players is entirely the prerogative of the respective Boards and not the police. Hence I believe the players are just suffering from a case of paranoia. Also it could be that they consider the Indian police and law-and-order system untrustworthy. This could be causing them to ask for a probe in a neutral country. I show them the little finger if that is the case. India is a democratic country with a proper judicial system in place and you better respect it. Or if you prefer to stay at home don't whine about it.

Just for the sake of information there has been a similar precedent in the past. In 1998 Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh toured Pakistan, appeared before the authorites and answered their interrogation and it all went off smoothly. They did not sit at home like paranoid cowards as Gibbs and Boje are doing.

Oh yeah and some people are asking about what happened to the great India South Africa friendship and whether the Indian Board should not do more to ensure the participation of the 2 players. To them I would like to mention that the BCCI did inquire of the Government if anything could be done about it, though not very forcefully. Also, the South African Board and South African Government do not care too much about this issue. I can't say I blame them. It is clear that it is simply a case of 2 paranoid, cowardly individuals being afraid to bear the consequences of their doing. And it needs to be treated just like that. We don't need them here and neither should the Proteas. Let them go to hell.

Pune Is Ready ...

... to host the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka. It is Diwali time and already the city is celebrating the Festival Of Lights. Now comes the big bonus - an expectation of greater fireworks from the in-form Indian team. The tickets are all sold out and the weather is perfect. Really, you can sense the excitement in the air.

The Sri Lankans practised at the Nehru Stadium yesterday and India will be doing so today. Maybe I will drop in at some time in the afternoon to see if I am in luck. Last time the Indian team was here, I was extremely unlucky - I missed the practice session and nightmarishly was out somewhere when the team virtually came to my home - yes, they had come to the Deenanath Hospital on the request of Lata Mangeshkar which is right nextdoor to the place I live and apparently they climbed out of the bus had some fun with the people hanging around before proceeding.

I did see the match however from the clubhouse and that's where I am going to be from 8 o clock tomorrow. Maybe I will try to carry something to be identified. Keep watching this space for more.

That 2001 team did not fare too well against Australia losing by 8 wickets. Today however there is more than just hope that we will beat Sri Lanka. There is strong belief. For this team has been in excellent form, comprehensively overwhelming the islanders in the first 3 games. Also India has historically done well against them at this venue. It was here in 1990 that Tendulkar scored his first fifty to take India home against Sri Lanka and in 1999 Jadeja stroked a wonderful 100 to register a comprehensive win. The Lankans look lost and while they do have a few quality players to bounce back, really the biggest worry from India's point of view is the Law of Averages.

There were some disturbing rumours doing the rounds about Tendulkar being rested for the game, but fortunately those rumours have been put to rest. Dravid, Harbhajan and Tendulkar are the only 3 players to have played in that Australia game four years ago. Agarkar played here in 1999 but I don't think any of the other players have had a game.

History favors the side batting second at this venue. It is a flat batting track which usually has something for the bowlers early in the morning. In the last 10 matches, the side chasing has won on 8 occasions. However India beat Sri Lanka batting first in 1999. The score of 286 in that game is the highest score here. So I don't expect an obscene 350-ish total. Maybe 290 if a team bats really well. 270 should be a par score and should be chaseable. Having said that the last 2 scores here have been 258 and 248. Both were chased down comfortably by Australia.

The weather here is reasonably cool in the mornings and staying pretty comfortable throughout. Again this suggests help for the bowlers in the first hour or so and a batsman's paradise as the game progresses. I do believe if India bat first, they have the quality in the top order to negate the early assistance Vaas is likely to get. I would expect a more conventional batting line-up in that case. If India field first Pathan and Agarkar are likely to get the ball to do something.

So all in all I think everything is perfectly in order. Here's hoping for a great game and an Indian victory.

Picking and Choosing

Given the sheer volume of ODI cricket these days, picking and choosing matches to skip is also a task that requries skills of great art and science. While the dead rubbers are the obvious candidates for the top players, they do not really come along that frequently. Often, the losing team wants to play its best even in dead rubbers to gain more respectability and in cases of triangular series even matches that have no influence on deciding the finalists are considered important so as to not let the other team seize the momentum and the advantage before the final.

What then is the best way ? Teams have been following rotation policies off and on. The 2001 Aussies did so famously but evidently players like McGrath didn't like it. Even today India while playing with the same set of 12 players is vigorously rotating their roles in the lineup.

The other day I thought that Ricky Ponting has had a fairly long and very successful run with Australia and in recent times been very much injury-free. I figured he would have played so many consecutive matches that his name would surely figure somewhere at the top of the list of players playing most consecutive matches. Imagine my shock then when I saw that he figures nowhere on the list. In fact he has never played 50 matches in a row. Sachin Tendulkar tops the list with 185, Andy Flower is up there - a lot of players are up there including some Kenyans but no Ponting.

This clearly indicated to me that he had picked and chosen the matches he missed with great care. I really do think there needs to be a well-laid customized plan for every player that ensures his optimum utilization while never letting the team suffer. Your thoughts ?

What's Happening

Not quite finding time to blog regularly at the moment. So trying to take a quick recap here and then will go on to more specific topics.

Down Under West Indies make an encouraging start to their tour dominating their practice match against Queensland. Significantly Hayden flops on both occasions and Powell impresses with the ball. Most important however, Marlon Samuels smashes 267 and makes a VERY strong case for an immediate entry in the playing X1. With Gayle, Smith, Sarwan, Lara and Chanderpaul sure to occupy the top 5 slots it will be interesting to see if Samuels fits in at 6 or West Indies stick with Bravo in that position. I remember writing a few days ago that Samuels' selection is encouraging and have been somewhat justified so far.

England have not got off to a great start to their tour of Pakistan. For those English fans who are so confident about a victory following the Ashes, this comes as a wakeup call. However England have flopped miserably in tour openers to come back strong in recent times - the South Africa series last year being a prime example. Trescothick was the shining light in England's dismal first inns of 256/9. Tresco scored 124*. The bowlers did pretty well - Plunkett and Udal took 3 wickets each - encouragingly so did Anderson. But after bundling out the Patron's X1 for 211 they find themselves at 39/6 in the second innings in a match that is apparently being played in an atmosphere of great frivolity.

Now coming to the big one - the India v Sri Lanka home series - since I last posted India have notched up 2 more consecutive wins. What can I say ? In Mohali the bowling effort was top-class and in Jaipur Dhoni played an absolute blinder. I am still not sure he is going to be India's Gilchrist but he seems a very talented striker of the ball. Also he seems to have a decent brain, which I admit I was not too sure of initially, and a lot of heart . Wonderful as his innings was, and great as those sixes were, I do believe the most heartening thing for me was the way he followed through and saw India home. Also the fact that he played Murali out so intelligently and with great skill. While Dravid and Sehwag were not all too comfortable against the champion offie, Dhoni was very much at ease and played the ball late. The way he destroyed the others was great. It has been a great tragedy of Indian cricket in recent times that we have been giving undue respect to bowlers of the calibre of Chandana, Dilshan, Maharoof etc. I am not trying to single out the Sri Lankans here - there are others - Shoaib Malik is one that springs to mind immediately. I do believe such mediocre medium-pacers and dibbly dobbly "spinners" have no place in international cricket and Dhoni has shown them where they actually stand. They deserve only one kind of treatment that is to be thrown out of the ground once every over and that is exactly what they got. Hopefully Atapattu has got the message and he won't ever dare to put Dilshan in front of Dhoni again.

Let us also not forget to acknowledge, in our excitement and celebration, a masterly innings by Kumar Sangakkara - that wonderful batsman and a delicate contribution from Mahela Jayawardene. That reminds me - Mahela is getting married this week - congratulations to him and will be missing the match at Pune. That reminds me - I have bought tickets worth Rs. 3000 for the Pune match and I pray we win that one to go up 4-0 .... I mean sure we are in great form but I just hope the Law of Averages does not catch up. Having said that, Pune has always been a lucky venue for India particularly against Sri Lanka - it was here 15 years ago against Sri Lanka that Sachin Tendulkar scored his first score of 50+ and in 1999 Ajay Jadeja stroked a wonderful century in a match that India won convincingly.

Going back to the Southern Hemisphere for just a little bit, South Africa take the series against the Kiwis by winning the first 3 matches - nice stuff !! And what great revenge. Last times the Kiwis had won 5-1 and I was so happy because that brought the feet of the cocky Proteas firmly down on the ground. Now the situation was somewhat reverse. New Zealand were just beginning to consider themselves as a powerful team and looking to break away from the pack and they have been brought back to Earth. The ICC rankings also reflects that after Australia the teams are very closely matched. A week or so ago, Sri Lanka were 2, NZ 3, Pak 4 and SA 5. Now SA beat NZ 3-0, India lead SL 3-0. Suddenly the table reads SA 2, Pak 3, SL 4, NZ 5. Not sure how long it will stay that way with SA touring India soon. That is going to be another exciting series. Now the battle between Dhoni and Kemp is going to be a great one. Both are giant-hitters and match-winners. Of course Dhoni has been given extensive coverage. I also mentioned Kemp becoming a force to reckon with in an earlier post. The other day I saw him hit Shane Bond (I repeat Shane Bond - yes that deadly fast bowler who has made several great batsmen dance to his music and has taken wickets at less than 18 runs so far in ODIs) for a MASSIVE 6 over long on that not only cleared the stadium, the ground and the road but kept going beyond that. Quite frankly I have never seen anything of that kind before. People in India have got to be careful if they are hanging around in a radius of a few kilometres of the wicket when he is playing.

New Dawn ?

I had expressed hope in my earlier post about a new dawn in Indian cricket and looks like the Gods were listening. Of course it is just 1 game and we have been flattered to deceive by this team many times before but well-begun is half-done. Honestly ever since the Pakistan series of 2004, never has an ODI win by India given me so much hope and cheer.

The toss played a big part at the outset. It may sound churlish but it is not too unlikely to imagine that the boot might well have been on the other foot had the spin of the coin gone the other way. That is the tragedy of wickets in India - win the toss, bat first, bat well and it is very difficult to lose. Or win the toss - bat first, bat poorly and get a hiding. On some rare occasion, even a good score might see you losing.

This has been the story in the last 7 ODI games played in India except perhaps Kanpur which had a little for the bowlers. Anyway, once that lucky break went our way, the advantage was seized emphatically. Sachin Tendulkar sent the World media into lyrical raptures as he turned the clock back some 7-8 years to play a wonderful innings on a comeback trail. Shots that stand out are a flicked six off Fernando, the signature straight drive off the same bowler, paddle sweep of Vaas, stepping down the track to Maharoof among others.

Irfan Pathan was brilliant. There is no doubt he is a wonderful batsman but like Srinath said we need to make sure his bowling does not suffer as we look to utilize his batting prowess.

And Rahul Dravid gave a fitting riposte to people who even after all these years doubted his ability as an ODI player. A beautifully paced innings, Dravid even showed that he can shed his usual elegant style to strike some muscular blows at the end. This was the best possible start to his tenure a captain and will give him great confidence to do well in the series as a leader who can lead by example.

Dravid was once again expectedly intelligent in handling his bowling resources. Admittedly, a score of 350 meant the pressure was off him but Sangakarra and Jayasuriya had got stuck in at the start. Dravid did not take the powerplay - brought on Harbhajan - who picked Jayasuriya in his first over - then brought on Sehwag who picked Sangakarra in his first - mission accomplished, he put in the powerplay removed Sehwag even after figures of 1-1-0-1 because there were 2 right-handers in and immediately brought on the supersub Karthik. The spinners wreaked havoc thereafter and Harbhajan should be thankful to Chappell for giving him an altogether new dimension by managing to convince him about the virtues of bowling round the wicket. Today Bhajji came round from the word go, and at 1 stage had figures of 3-6 finally looking the attacking bowler we all know he can be. Unfortunately he had been doing donkey's work for a great portion of the last two years under Ganguly.

Finally a word for the debutant - Sreesanth - he has a good action, good rythm and moves the ball both ways. He also bowls a good yorker and has a surprising bouncer. I feel he has great potential and should be treated with care and understanding. He may have been expensive at the start of his spell today but that is extremely understandable. Full marks to Dravid for getting him back at the end to pick up 2 tail-end wickets. As Dileep Premachandran said "it transformed a traumatic debut into an encouraging one." It may seem an insignificant gesture at this stage - but if Sreesanth one day goes on to pick 300 wickets in either form of the game it will have made a career, a far-reaching impact on the future of Indian cricket.

Early Take on England-Pak series

England have just arrived in Pakistan and I must admit I know really very little about when the games are starting being busy with all sorts of other things and concentrating on the India Sri Lanka series. However here's my early take on the series:

Very closely fought series - with a likely result 1-1 or 2-1 to England - Kaneria will not be easy to handle.

Your views ?

Worried About Rahul Dravid's Form

Yes. Given the whole Sourav brouhaha, lately very little attention has gone to the fact that Rahul himself has not been in very good form recently in ODIs. We all know he came a cropper in Zimbabwe and while that can be accepted as a one-off poor series, let us closely look at his last 50 games.

While his average of 39.2 is great and slightly better than his career average the countrywise split tells a slightly worrying story.
Against Australia he averages 19.6, against England 22, and against NZ 14.67. While he averages a good 37 against Sri Lanka, 34 against Zimbabwe and 46 against Pakistan, he averages a mammoth 56 against Bangladesh, 62 against the West Indies and 100+ against the UAE.

Not trying to hint at anything here. Just putting the facts and emphasizing that he needs to put up some big scores against the big boys soon now.

Go !

The first Ind-SL game begins in less than eleven hours. A lot has been talked about, a lot thoroughly discussed and analyzed. I'm not going to go into all that again. Here's for an exciting series and hopefully a new dawn for Indian cricket.

Daily Roundup

Yes. This is a bit late in the day - but yes - SG scored a hundred in the Duleep Trophy. He has proven a point but nothing beyond that. This should not automatically ensure his comeback to the team but it should be based on the team's needs at the end of the first two games. Yes, the selectors have already indicated via sources that SG's return to the team is a mere formality now but I have this sneaky feeling that GC and RD are not going to lay down the red carpet that easily. If they win the first two games or maybe one of them they will have more breathing space to weigh their options. My point again - I'm not against SG making a comeback to the team now or sometime in the future (I certainly do not condone sites like this) - I just want the team's requirements to be the priority over those of an individual.

By the same measure Wasim Jaffer played a stellar role in taking West to victory over South. But we are not going to pick him in the team immediately are we ? Also VVS scored a precious 70 in the second innings. From the bowling point of view, Zaheer took 6 wickets in the second innings, Balaji took 5 overall I think - both putting in the yards - good to see - again I am sceptical about Zaheer a bit. He has done this several times over in the past. Put up a good show when left out and look less than full throttle on return to the team. VR Singh and Gagandeep also were pretty good. So all in all the pace bowling department seems to be doing quite well.

Meanwhile SA have beaten NZ by 2 wickets and 3 balls in a close opening game. Kemp did the job again and is becoming a serious player for SA and a pain for the other teams. I remember him playing some fantastic innings last season against England.

Also, Mumbai beat SL yesterday - what a great blow is that - admittedly Vaas and Murali were not playing but that is just the tonic India needed ahead of the series. Mumbai has always been a great team and Vinayak Mane, Nishit Shetty and Amol Muzumdar (one of the most unfairly treated cricketers ever) did a sterling job to take Mumbai home.

Sourav Watch - 4

Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy. And seems like we've got some real bowler-friendly wickets here - an increasing trend in Indian domestic cricket - not an entirely unwelcome one so long as the wickets are not dubious.

In the South v West game, the spinners did the job for the West with Ramesh Powar once again putting his hand up for selection after Zaheer and Munaf gave the early blows. But Balaji struck back for South with 2 very early wickets.

In the *big* game meanwhile, North were bundled out for 177 - Ranadeb Bose taking 4 and Paul 3. But most importantly Sourav Ganguly has taken 2 and is batting 19 not out. So far so good for the man. Tomorrow is going to be huge. As I guess pretty much every game from now on for him until he rediscovers his touch.

India - Sri Lanka First Look

So the series is less than a week away. It is another thing that we still do not know which channel we need to switch to to watch it.

But the Lankans are arriving and having proven conclusively that they are unbeatable at home, will now look to start winning abroad. So far they have not done well abroad. Hell, the last time they toured Aus they lost 7 matches out of 8, when they toured England they lost 5 out of 6, when they toured India they lost 3 out of 4 etc. The only positive was the decent show at the WC. But an Indian side that is down in the dumps and looking to rebuild combined with their good recent run gives them a huge chance to arrest that trend.

As it turns out that same fact, having nothing to lose could work in India's favour. They will have the home advantage - although that hasn't meant much in recent ODI series. But they will have a few fresh faces and a captain with fresh ideas - the big blow is the abscence of MK and the stupid decision not to include VVS. This means that we have a team that has Sehwag and Dravid out of form, Sachin making a comeback, Rao still looking to make a mark which only leaves the mercurial Yuvraj as a relatively steady figure !!!

I think it is going to be very close. I would say a 4-3 result. Which way is hard to tell. Until recently I was willing to give the benefit to India - but just realizing the bare-looking batting line-up I am tempted to think otherwise

Another Double Wrist Act ?

Inzy plans on attacking England with spin - a ploy I'm not too sure about - and chances are that Mushtaq Ahmed might join the rising star Danish Kaneria - to make it another act of 2 leggies in tandem. It could be great if it works, disastrous otherwise.

Another player-coach story

relation(Shoaib Akhtar, Bob Woolmer) =? relation(Sourav Ganguly, Greg Chappell)

Increasingly it looks like it.

Here's the latest from the other side of the border.

This is great - here's more: Shoaib's county chairman is absolutely disgusted with him and we all know what SG's Lancashire mates had to say about him.

Btw I had posted my thoughts on Akhtar just recently here.

Sourav Watch - 3

As expected SG has been declared fit and the conspiracy theorists (and I admit I am not entirely sure I do not support them) will feel vindicated. The news channels are full of stories questioning the veracity of the injury in the first place - they have conveniently forgotten that they are doubting the credentials of Dr. Anant Joshi and John Gloster by doing so - anyway, they are coming up with some weird punch-lines that say "The battle is won but the war is yet to begin" - also stating in no uncertain terms that this is a war between SG and 'people who don't want to see him in the team'.

Arre !! What kind of categorization is that ? I don't want to see him in the team as of today but if he returns to form and proves he deserves to be in the side above his competitors I would be extremely happy to have him back. Being dropped out of the team is simply a matter of form and fitness. Unfortunately the channels want to bill it as a great battle between SG and the People of India.

I must add that without exception all channels have taken an unmistakeable anti-SG stand in this so called 'battle' which is clearly a figment of their imagination. They have dug up stats, brought on dummy 'experts' to assert their point and have tried to influence the public in an unprecedented manner.

What is great is that if SG scores a big hundred tomorrow these very channels will start singing paeans of the man - and completely backtrack on their own ideas - and start propagating about how SG was always a class act and he had scored 10K runs and how he was being unfairly treated as compared to other players !!

Pathetic shallow-minded entities who have no understanding or concern for the game, for the public or the players - in fact for nothing but their own petty profits and rating points

Duleep Trophy Beckons

The domestic season is certainly picking up. After a lack-lustre Irani Trophy came the unexpected hit - the Challenger Trophy and now 2 high-profile Duleep Trophy Games begin tomorrow.

First, East vs North at Rajkot. Nothing can be bigger of course than the fact that SG will be leading East. This is one of the sternest tests for him. A good score here would put him in with a great chance of making an immediate comeback to the Indian team. But he will face stiff challenge from the North Zone bowlers - VRV Singh (one of the fastest in the country), Gagandeep Singh, Joginder Sharma and Amit Mishra who apparently did well last season but was surprisingly overlooked for the Challenger. For the North, the batting is also quite formidable with Ricky, Dhawan and Mongia being the lead performers.

In the South v West game, the big battle will be the one between Zaheer and Laxman - both overlooked for the SL series. Again a good showing here could mean a quick recall for either.But there are other people to watch out for - Utthapa (oh what an innings that was), Balaji (the forgotten man of Indian cricket), Neeraj Patel and Dheeraj Jadhav.

All in all 2 fascinating contests on the cards. This is another great benefit of dropping the senior players every now and then. The domestic circuit will get a new lease of life.

Super Series Debacle - 2

Lack of a shared future is a major reason for a lack of care.

A beautiful piece by Waleed Aly in The Age.

Link via Cricinfo's Surfer.

The Verdict on Shane Watson

I had in an earlier post been impressed by the pace Shane Watson showed in the first ODI game at the Dome. His outing in the Test match at Sydney was nothing flash however. He batted for a fair amount of time without getting too many and bowled just 6 wicketless overs.

So what does the future hold for Shane Watson ? His skipper Ponting is a big supporter. We know that if Ponting likes someone he can back him to the hilt and he was justified in the case of Andrew Symonds who set Johanesburg alight and launched off the World Cup campaign. Watson believes he can be the third bowler in this line-up - and that will greatly aid the balance of the side.

Question is - does he have it in him to get there ? - I don't think he will ever come close to matching Flintoff but he does have the potential to be a genuine bowling all-rounder in Test match cricket. I would suppose if he is given 2 full series against West Indies and South Africa we will be in a much better position to say.

Shoaib Akhtar

He is one of the most useless cricketers in the World. As long as his lack of utility was confined to the Pakistan cricket team, it was fine. But now it has spinned over into World Cricket by his extremely dumb selection for the Super Series. It is a matter of great humor that a person who is unable to command a regular place in the Pakistan side is an automatic choice in the World X1. Clearly, Gavaskar and his mates were looking only at his box-office status and the balance of the team could not have been further from their minds.

As it turns out he bowled quite ordinarily in the 2 games he played and was luckily dropped from the playing X1 for the Test match. Not only is Shoaib Akhtar an ultra-egoistic megalomaniac who has no interests besides being in the limelight and harming team spirit with his attitude; but he has also failed miserably with the ball over the last 3 years. Since NZ 2003, I can't remember a single time Shoaib has bowled a decisive spell that has led his team to a win. He was really really deadly between 1999 and 2002 and now he nothing more than average. Of course, his injury record is stuff of legend. Again when was the last time he lasted an entire test series ?? And bear in mind, he is 30 - not getting any younger. He is in serious danger of leaving a legacy of being a big flop.

And now his antics have so annoyed John Wright, the World X1 coach that he has been given one nice Wright slap. Good on you, John. That's the way such guys need to be treated.

Sourav Watch - 2

For the second time in 10 days Sourav Ganguly will be in Mumbai to undergo a fitness test over his injured elbow. 10 days is a long time however - as Ganguly will readily agree.

Ten days ago, he still adorned the throne of Indian cricket. Today, he is just another commoner. Regardless of the outcome of this test, he is going to have to work his way back into the side. Clearly, it will be a very different Ganguly that Mumbai will see today.

Super Series Debacle - Who's Responsible ?

One major reason for the debacle of the Super Series, other than faulty selection, that everyone seems to be overlooking is the poor timing. To be fair, in such a packed international calendar, it is extremely difficult to find a time when all countries are free. But honestly, having this Super Series at a time when several of the World players were coming straight out from the cold, was a big blow.

For the batsmen, this blow can be bigger - because they get only one chance. Clearly Lara, Kallis and Inzamam looked rusty and they had every right to be. Kallis would not have played competitive cricket in 6 months, Lara and Inzy in 5. Well, of course, this cannot be an excuse but it will definitely have played a part. Clearly, the ICC did not do this deliberately for the series was scheduled about a year in advance. But it turned out to be disastrous.

For the bowlers too, it was a problem. Particularly in the ODIs. Andrew Flintoff came back to his best only towards the end of the exercise.

Already, Malcolm Speed has indicated that the ICC would not want to hold the event again anytime soon. The farce that this edition was - this is an extremely natural knee-jerk reaction. But most people, it seems are preferring to hide behind that very safe formula 'It is not the same as playing for your country'.

What is sad is that the ICC is likely to use it to cover its failure in getting the timing right and resultantly destroy a concept that potentially was and still is a great one. My suggestion would be the following: hold the event immediately after the ICC Trophy. All the teams are in one place at that time - and the players will not be rusty. Maybe just 2 back-to-back ODIs and a 5-day test - add another week at the end of the event - and it could work. Or maybe even scrap the ICC Trophy if required !!

"As Long As They Want Me"

Michael Vaughan has this to say on captaining England:

"I'm sure there will come a stage where the players would like to hear a
different voice and like to have a different direction," he added. "When that is
I'm not too sure but it is up to the players and the ECB to decide how long they
want me to carry on. I would love to carry on for a while but it is not my
decision. I'll stay for as long as they want me."

Pity Sourav Ganguly did not seem to agree. He would have been spared all the humiliations and trauma had he opted to go out gracefully after the great win over Pakistan last year. But then very few captains get it right ain't it ?

As they say it is always better to go when people are asking 'Why' than when they are asking 'Why not'

'Super' Test Verdict

It can be summed up thus:

"Definitely the West Indies and possibly Bangladesh, two of the worst teams in the World at the moment, would have put up a much better show."

Appalling.

Will He Last ?

Not sure whether Brett Lee will be able to don the role of lead bowler for Australia in Test matches for too long. And this is not speculation about the post-McGrath era - Im talking about the present. For all his efforts Brett Lee had a pretty average tour of England with the ball - results-wise. The impression is quite contrary but the stats will tell you something different. He was overall more or less on the expensive side- Although his strike rate was good. And never could he put in "a" decisive spell (except perhaps Edgbaston second innings). Overall too his test career record is quite average. He is quite simply unable to provide the supreme control Jason Gillespie did before he fell away.

In fact, before the Ashes Lee hadn't played a Test in over an year, because he was unable to command a place in the side. It was his great form in ODIs combined with a loss of form for Kasper and Gillespie that propelled him back in. Though he showed plenty of effort, enthusiasm and heart in England and was superb with the bat he just did not get the results with the ball.

He also seemed quite lame today. I wonder how long Australia will persist with him at the highest level. Is there a replacement waiting in the wings ? I really don't see any - and given that McGrath is in his last phase, I feel strongly the chances are bright for a rejuvenated Dizzy to make a comeback.

"Super" Series

Back after a bit of a break due to inevitable reasons. In the next few days too, chances are that blogging will be off and on a bit due to time constraints. Hopefully will get back to full force soon.

Now to the "Super Series". As of now, the Super Test is all but won by Australia. The optimist in me still hopes that the World X1 put in an inspired performance to salvage some pride - otherwise this is bound to be considered one of the floppiest ideas ever.

Trying to analyze the performance or the lack of it of the World X1 a couple of interesting points come up.

1. Lack of commitment does not seem to be such an issue as is made out to be. If that were the case, it would have been more pronouncedly felt in the field. If anything, this World Team has been less poor in bowling than in batting to put it mildly.
Coming back to the batting (for that has been the real bane) consider the scores of 4 of the World X1 batsmen today
1) Graeme Smith 12 (Career Avg. 55)
2) Rahul Dravid 0 (Career Avg. 58)
3) Brian Lara 5 (Career Avg. 55)
4) Inzamam 1 (Career Avg. 51)

The four of them while expected to score on an average over 200 runs scored less than 20. That is a damning stat. But looking at it from a different perspective, it is not as if they have got starts and then thrown it. (except perhaps Smith a little). The same thing happened in the ODIs where Lara Dravid and Kallis basically never got off to a start.

I do think the timing of this Super Series could be one of the reasons for the sad batting display. With the exception of India and England and to some extent Sri Lanka, all the other teams were completely cold coming into this series.

Normally all teams take some time to get going in a season and it is bound to be far more pronounced when you have a motley collection of individuals like in this case. So the lack of team feeling is in my opinion a secondary issue and not the primary one.

2. Now coming to the use of technology in umpiring decisions particularly lbws - I must say I'm not totally convinced so far. For one in most cases the umpire's intuition turned out to be correct. Which is fine, but with some decisions this might radically change the game - as was the case with Inzy's lbw appeal today (ultimately negatived). For years umpires have been giving the benefit of the doubt to the batsman on close bat-pad decisions and that's the way it should be. Problem is technology is quite inconclusive and unless we can get that straight, I do feel it is best to trust the on-field umpire's judgement and make sure only the best get the job. Also the decisions do take a fair amount of time and despite all this there are times when umpires still give a wrong decision without referring. (like happened to Mark Boucher today). Now there will always be a debate - whether to take the safer option by referring or to trust one's judgement - not an easy choice to make.

A Time For Hope ... Yet Again

The West Indies squad to tour Australia for the 3-Test series has been announced. The best part is the return of all the top players (Lara, Sarwan, Bravo, Gayle etal). Also encouraging is the comeback of Marlon Samuels which Tony Cozier finds 'interesting' and I find 'heartening' because West Indies are in need of his talent and flair (inconsistency and injury notwithstanding). Dwayne Smith has been retained based on his potential rather than performances. Jermaine Lawson has been given a thumbs-up and will lead the attack.

Once again we can only hope that the magic will be rediscovered.

Sourav Watch

In the latest episode of the soap opera Sourav is going to undergo his fitness test in Mumbai tomorrow. John Gloster will do the needful. Needless to say all eyes and TV cameras will be on Mumbai tomorrow.

A Big Chance

McGrath being rested due to 'tightness in his legs' whatever that is has given the World X1 a huge chance to draw level in the series. We all know what a great team Australia is - but even so there are certain players who are more exceptional than others and can make a telling difference. Gilchrist is one such. McGrath is another. Excellent opportunity to see what Stuart Clark is made of too. My curiosity all the greater on account of him being of Indian origin.

Meanwhile Katich says he is comfortable opening the innings. Could he go on to be a long-term opener ? He definitely could. I have great faith in his intelligence as a cricketer and his tendency to play well within his limitations. However it will be a bit of a climbdown from the imposing Hayden which in itself was a climbdown from the unparalleled Mark Waugh.

Gayle Replaces Afridi

I had thought Sehwag would sit out but this is about the same. Another chance for Veeru.

Impressive my Dear Watson

For long I have considered Shane Watson an overhyped cricketer mainly by hopeful Aussies deprived of a great all-rounder. When it was suggested after the Ashes that he should be nurtured to be developed into a Flintoff, I nearly laughed my intestines out. But today he impressed me quite a bit mostly with his pace which is really up there - in the 140s - definitely as much as if not on a consistent basis higher than Flintoff. So maybe there is something that can be worked upon there. He has to improve a great deal with the bat though. As some commentator pointed out today he would probably be better-off batting higher up.

A Fair Team !!

Cricinfo has started a new series on 'Little-Known Stats' and this could be a really interesting one. The first one surely is. It lists the highest number of runs scored at each batting position.

Of course, it confirms what we already know - and what we generally perceive to be the most prolific scorers in World Cricket. And amazing that Sunny, Rahul and Sachin are all in there !!

What it also shows is that these are the players who have over their long career made a particular spot their own.

And most intriguing is the fact that this could actually make a fair World Team of players over the last 20 years or so. Throw in an all-rounder at 6 (Steve Waugh has his name twice) and you are virtually through. The only deficiency is a World Class spinner - now why is Warne not up there instead of Ambrose ??

When All The Stars Fail To Shine ...

... there is bound to be gloom. And that is exactly what happened at the Telstra Dome.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Limited Overs Cricket is one boring game these days and seems to have lived its life. The odd great match like the Natwest Final this season here and there has kept the interest barely alive but that is soon likely to diminish. No amount of new rules like Supersubs and Powerplays are going to make it exciting. Add to that the stupid roof at the Telstra Dome and the whole charm out of the game is destroyed.

So to the game ... I think the main problem was not, as many suspected it would be, a lack of team spirit in the World X1 squad. They looked extremely commited on the field and took great joy in each other's successes. Where they failed was with the bat and I think the major reason for that could be simply lack of understanding of what role they are supposed to play. All the batsmen in this team with the exception of Dravid (and to some extent Kallis) are dashers for their own countries. And that is exactly the way each looked to play today. No one really got out to a great ball or anything like that.

Luckily, from Pollock's comments it seems that this team is really hurting and wants to come back with a venegeance. I hope they do. Otherwise the other 2 matches could well be as boring. About the only change I see that could be made to this side is to bring in Gayle for Sehwag - and I don't mean to single out VS in any way here but in a short series it is very difficult to give people extended run to find their form. And an important point we all seem to be missing here is VS is to some degree an overrated ODI player. He is great in Tests not so in ODIs as his records will show. So Gayle could be a handy replacement. Other than that, all it needs is to show some fight and this "team" will stand a chance of staging a comeback.

On the positive side, the bowling effort was pretty good. Vettori was outstanding. I have great respect for Vettori's bowling - quite contrary to what many people may think based on my insistence on Anil Kumble over him - but a) I insist on AK in the Test not ODIs and b) I think a spot in the World X1 should be a reward for performance and Kumble had done supremely well both recently and over his entire career. Anyway, both Vettori and Murali did a superb job and only Freddie was slightly off target. I was fairly impressed by Pollock's captaincy although he might have missed a trick by not getting the spinners on earlier (esp Murali) when Gilchrist was going great guns after the 10th over and delay the powerplay.

To the Aussies - well-played. You have demonstrated again that you are the top team in the World - contrary to what many people may say - definitely in ODIs.

Looking forward to the next battle - hopefully the night will be bright and that stars will exhibit their light this time round.

Do Us Proud Boys !!

Good luck to Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid for the Super Series !! This is indeed a great honour and a great opportunity to bring glory to themselves and to India. While I can never get over Anil Kumble's exclusion from the squad the truth is if there were only 2 spots for Indians there could not have been anyone better than these two to fill them.

They now have the opportunity to bring back hope and respect to Indian cricket in the eyes of the World - something sadly lost this last month

More On Captains

I am just about finishing the book 'India's Captains: From Nayudu to Ganguly' by Partab Ramchand so pardon me if I am a bit too obsessed by captaincy issues recently. As mentioned in my earlier posts here and here I am generally disappointed with captaincy in World Cricket today (other than the notable exception of Michael Vaughan)

I do not buy into this theory that 'A Captain Is As Good As His Team.' At least, not in entirety. Sure, to produce results he has to have a proportionate number of resources available. But, given a team I believe captains can distinguish themselves by utilising those resources in different manners all the time trying for optimum results within their constraints. So for eg. I believe if Michael Vaughan captained India we could be much closer to being World Champions. Or if Ranatunga captained this Bangladesh side, they would be a much tougher fighting unit. Also, if Steve Waugh was captain this Ashes series (the rest of the side remaining the same) the result could have been different.

So where are the great captains ? Where are the CK Nayudus and the Lala Amarnaths the people who believed in attacking at all costs ? On a global scale where are the Emperors like Imran and Lloyd ? The wily fox Arjuna Ranatunga ? The brilliant Mark Taylor ? And the indefagtible Steve Waugh ? Please step up to fill in the void someone !!

Mysterious Injuries

It is the season of mysterious ailments in Indian cricket as it is every so often.

First there was the whole Ashish Nehra episode. It is said that he was too lazy to play the Test matches and hence feigned the injury. Then instead of going to South Africa for repairs as per the advice of the coach he went to England. Then he made a cameo surprise visit to the Mumbai Flop-show for undisclosed reasons. And just to make matters more intriguing he is still not fit enough to participate in the Challenger series.

Then there is the case of Anil Kumble. There was no inkling of any sort of injury until the end of Zimbabwe; but now suddenly he is apparently advised four weeks rest from some speculative reports. What is the truth behind all this ? Are the selectors convinced that Kumble has no future in ODI cricket and Kumble otherwise ? Is this the reason why this facade of injury is going on ? Or is there some even deeper meaning attached to it ?

Most intriguing however is the injury to Sourav Ganguly who is reported to be suffering from his own version of tennis elbow. This after the whole affair in which feigning injury was a specific point - in fact the only one that was comprehensively and emphatically dismissed by the hilarious Ranbir Singh Mahendra !! But wait it gets better. In a discussion I was involved in on Prem Panicker's blog someone actually said that SG retiring in the practice match at Mutare after being hit on the arm might have been a precaution against tennis elbow !! Also, tangentially Chuckster in his blog wonders whether in fact this was all preplanned at the Mumbai flop-show where GC would have his way after all - SG not play due to 'injury' and be spared a humiliating sacking in lieu of the services he has offered !! Well well it is indeed a brain-teaser this one !!

The immediate problem I see is that if SG does not play the Challenger (as is also speculated) who will lead the seniors side ? VS and RD are not there of course !! Nor is AK. So will it be SRT who is on a comeback trail ? Or will it be the Gen-next idols Mohammd Kaif or Irfan Pathan ? Either way it promises to be one interesting choice.

The other problem is that I had braced myself up for enthusiastically supporting the India A side led by The Boss VVS Laxman. I badly wanted to see SG lose the series, lose face !! Now who will I support ??

Spinners All

The Irani Trophy so far has been more or less dominated by the spinners - 3 of them - Murali Karthik, Kulamani Parida and Ramesh Powar. I would look to the performances of the spinners in the domestic season with keen interest because Harbhajan Singh's poor form in the ODIs means a spot could be up for grabs somewhere down the line.

Karthik took 5 wickets for 60 odd while both Powar and Parida took 7 for 115 odd in the match. While Karthik also scored 96 and can be an obdurate bat, Powar is a known big-hitter and good fielder - so these 2 would be of particular interest.

While on the topic of the Irani Trophy why o why is Rest of India such a weak team and is evidently going to go down comfortably ? I have a lot to say on this topic but for lack of time have to save it up for a later post.

Captains Under The Cosh

These are troubling times for captains all over the World. And that does not quite include Inzamam's flipflops on playing in the Super Series and his miscommunication with the Board.

Of course, there is the whole GC-SG saga and SG must be feeling very much like a man cornered now.

Then older brother Ian has called for the head of the Australian captain Ricky Ponting. And now, he is after the South African and World X1 captain Graeme Smith arguing that he lacks imagination.

Of course I had already mentioned in an earlier post my thoughts on the issue. Fair to say some of the experts reinforce them.

With you, Mate

The Australian wicket-keeper feels that Test status should not be awarded to the Super Test and I couldn't agree with him more. Doubtless, everything needs to be done to ensure that all players play the game in all sincerity, I do not think granting official Test status was the only way to achieve that . For eg. the ICC could have created a separate category for matches like these, the Tsunami Relief game, the Asia-Africa series etc.

Test Cricket should always be an international game - it is too sacrosanct to fiddle with so lightly.

Tait Injury A Blessing In Disguise ?

Shaun Tait is going to be out of action for quite a while it seems. While it is bad luck for the young man, it could in fact prove to be ironically beneficial for him and Australian cricket in the long run. Don't mean to be churlish but I don't think he is quite there yet as far as international cricket is concerned. Young and raw, has a bit of talent but not quite the ready product. Even the most fervent Aussie fans (shattered by the disastrous demises of Gillespie and Kasprowicz and hence eagerly looking forward to Tait) could only go so far as to describe his performances in the 2 tests as 'solid'. Crucially, he is an attacking bowler who does tend to go for runs in trying to get wickets. While that in itself is no crime (in fact it is something to be lauded), Australia already have one such bowler in Brett Lee who despite what many feel has not yet reached World Class standards in terms of consistency and results. So, overall it would be better if someone more defensive and safe like Stuart Clark fills in the void for the moment while Tait polishes his skills on the domestic scene.

About Stuart Clark - the little I have heard of him seems to indicate that he is a McGrathesque bowler and has parents of Indian origin ! Pray how is that ? If anyone could care to explain ...

Also - the injury to Hogg is also not without rewards - to us fans that is - while he has been an excellent cricketer for Australia I personally find his style of cricket a bit boring and dour and would prefer to see what the youngster White has to offer !!

You Need A Rest I See !

Sourav Ganguly has gone on record saying that he needs a rest. Question: Should he be allowed to skip the Irani Trophy when he has done nothing to deserve this rest ? For that matter why is Gautam Gambhir leading the Rest of India side ? Why aren't the top Indian players playing ? Do they consider it below their dignity to play in the season-opening domestic tournament ?

People might argue that this should be used as an opportunity for youngsters to shine. So is our domestic cricket reduced to that ? A launching platform for young cricketers ? In 2003, when India played an almost complete side in the Irani Trophy I was so happy that finally we had begun respecting our domestic competitions. Sadly, that was just a flash in the pan.

I would have liked to see the following team for the Irani Trophy
Gambhir
Jadhav
Laxman
Ganguly
Kaif
Yuvraj
Karthik
Pathan
Kumble
Powar (Harbhajan should be suspended)
Zaheer

Here is the actual ROI team for the Irani Trophy:
Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Dheeraj Jadhav, Shikar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Venugopal Rao (Vice-Captain), Suresh Raina, Neeraj Patel, Parthiv Patel (Wicket-Keeper), Ramesh Pawar, Ram Kumar, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Ranadeep Bose, Amit Bhandari and VRV Singh.

For that matter is Murali Karthik going to return from his Lancashire stint to represent his Railways side ?

Colourful

It is not black and white as several suspected. And I did too almost. It is not as if Ganguly is the clear-cut villain and Greg is the saint. This is what can be concluded from the inside stories of the Review Commitee Meeting. Clearly, both were in the wrong and both had some valid points. Only in such a situation, would a compromise be possible.

Here is what the Mumbai Mirror has to say on the issue. A detailed analysis on the points raised in it here on Prem's blog.

One of the most disturbing points about this whole issue is the leaks. First of all, the deadly email leak - alleged by Dungarpur, Pawar and others to be from the SG-JD camp, now this leak despite the gag-order. Again note, that whatever leaks have come out, it is all in support of SG which leads one to believe that there is indeed a deliberate attempt to seek sympathy by JD-SG. Which is why SG still remains an extremely shady character.

One particular piece the article mentions:

Ganguly told the committee that Chappell tried to undermine his authority right through the Zimbabwe series and even went out to toss with the opposing captain without Ganguly's knowledge during a warm-up game while the team was practising in the nets.

In his note, Ganguly called it a "huge humiliation for any captain". But, he wrote, he let the incident pass as a joke because he did not want to make a scene and create an "unhealthy dressing-room environment".

I'm not sure what are the rules about this and whether it is as serious an issue, but I feel SG would be rightly annoyed if that were the case.

The other parts are pretty irrelevant. It mentions that SG says that GC did in fact categorically ask him to step down unlike what GC said in his email. However, I do not see anything wrong in GC asking him to do that other than a sense of timing.

The incident in Mutare could have been a case of miscommunication as the Board President said in his press conference.

Consider this:

He vehemently fought the charge that he used a policy of "divide and rule". Ganguly stressed on how the Team India concept had emerged under his leadership and gave incidents of how he had backed players, even fought for them with the selectors on occasion. Secretary Karunakaran Nair, who sits in on selection meetings, backed Ganguly on this.

Mr. Ganguly, what about Nagpur then ? Don't be under the impression that we don't know what happened at Nagpur. Also, it cannot be ignored that you did not even feel like congratulating the team after winning the Test match in Mumbai. Why, even in the latest series win in Zimbabwe, you alone held the trophy aloft. You didn't feel it necessary to share it among the team that had won a series outside the subcontinent after 19 years !! The abscence of RD anywhere near the prize distribution has also not gone by unnoticed. Do you mean after all this we are expected to believe the team is one happy family ?

More on this to come ... You can start pouring in your thoughts.

Harsha, Why Are You Quiet ?

Harsha, I would want you to come up with your stand on the whole mess Indian cricket finds itself in. I am a huge fan of your columns where you provide such a beautifully balanced view yet leave not doubt what your stand on an issue is. I think your column on Mohammad Kaif's innings against Zimbabwe before he got that wonderful hundred against NZ was a brilliant piece of journalism - not harsh or overcritical yet made the point - and I'm sure Kaif got it. You, in your columns are quite different than you on TV where often you have to let the opinions of the experts take centre stage - though you and I know they are often not free of bias and politics and prejudice.

You are the voice of Indian cricket. You are to Indian cricket what Tony Cozier is to the West Indies or Richie Benaud to Australia. It is not right of you to let this ball go by and concentrate instead on scoring on the BCCI elections. Almost every Tom, Dick, Harry and Sanjay Jha in India has had his say. We don't care about these. We want your opinion. Please grant it to us.

Dada, For The Sake Of The Bengali Pride ...

If not for the team (he has long given up on it, in fact I don't even feel like calling this my Team India these days, it is a collection of individuals some of whom get along with SG and some who don't), not for the simple principles of fairness, not for anything else then at least for the sake of the great Bengali pride, Sourav should do the right thing - hand over the captaincy and redeem himself to some degree.

It really hurt me today when my family and I were discussing the issue watching the news channels go wild, that a person in my family suggested that Bengalis are always likely to play politics and that one should never trust them. I have so many of my best friends who are Bengali and I know that they are such extremely lovely people - mostly brilliant, go-getters at the same time extremely fair and just and likeable. Also excellent at making intelligent and precise discussions.

Bengal has given us so many great heroes - Tagore, Subhashchandra Bose, RD Burman, Kishore Kumar - to name a few - and until last year according to me Sourav Ganguly. This really pains me immensely.

The Turbanator Speaks

Harbhajan has been the first of "Ganguly's boys (chamchas)" to speak out in favor of him and make gross accuasations against GC. One of them even includes a most indecent attempt of involvind RD who has stayed away from the issue.

Whether Harbhajan was bit by a stray dog for him to make such comments or he is just inherently foolish or he was prompted to do so by SG is anybody's guess. Hell, he even had the audacity to say that this mess should be cleared soon because it is preventing him from playing to his full potential. What audacity and arrogance that makes him feel that after all this he will still be allowed to play without any disciplinary action to be taken ?

One thing should be clear. Irrespective of what happens with GC or SG, HS should be banned for at least 6 months - for not being able to shut his mouth. Luckily the PCA has already given him a show-cause notice.

Also I don't really care if we lose HS as a result. I do not deny that he is a very good bowler and has won matches for us in the past, but it counts for nothing if one does not have the spirit and discipline. I'd rather have a bunch of ordinary players full of discipline and passion than some gifted megalomaniacs who are too big for their shoes.

So if anyone else wants to follow HS, he is most welcome - let us see your true colors !!

The Email That Shook Indian Cricket

The full text can be found here.
Exactly, as I had imagined. It was evident that Ganguly was not acting in the best interests of the team for the past year.

If this email is entirely false, SG should still be kicked out for sheer incompetency as captain and player.

If this email is even half-true, he should not just be kicked out but banned for a fair while.

Of Character Of Men

Ganguly has gone on record commenting on the 'character' of GC. Apparently he said something to the effect that you can judge the character of a man who within hours of a truce goes and does something like this.

The fool (and I am not going to think twice about using derogatory words here on) should realize how his character is being reflected through statements like these. What 'truce' is he talking about ? Does he think this is a family matter or a Bengali soap opera (one of which he might soon be producing) that there can be things like 'truces' and being all hunky-dory again ? This is professional cricket for God's sake and the person in-charge has to give his honest feedback.

In any case, it is now being apparent that the email was sent before the 'truce' happened and it was leaked yesterday evidently by someone who was sypathetic towards SG and malicious towards GC. This has to be someone from the JD camp in the board. I can't help feeling that SG is appearing to play a victim here but in reality it is GC who is being targetted.

I have also heard rumors that he is planning to quit. I hope that is not true. I hope he stays on and fights the system. Because we need him to. Someone has to cleanse this dirty system and to do that one has to be in it.

Talking of characters once again the sterling character of Rahul Dravid has stood out in all this saga. He never once uttered a word, never tried to take advantage of the situation and has always played every issue on its merit with a straight bat. Prem Panicker here is pretty close to what happens in Indian cricket and knows what happens at close quarters. He says so about RD in as many words here. And here is Outlook's take on the issue.

The Chappell Ganguly Saga

This is going to get reaaly interesting and really dirty. I just hope it has a happy ending (read Ganguly being sacked). We all know what has happened so rather than repeat all that here I think we should just start firing off. Anyone taking the first shot ?

All this mess could have been avoided had Ganguly been wise enough to quit a year ago when he was clearly on a high and had the respect of the team and the public. Or again it could have been avoided if the selectors hadn't made the stupid mistake of sacking Dravid after Sri Lanka.

Differences Begin To Show

Quietly but surely, Greg Chappell has begun making a difference - it was so heartening to see first Harbhajan Singh and then Zaheer Khan try out something different by going round the wicket. And to top it off, it has worked. Both have become successful. This is what I meant by saying we needed a tactically smart coach esp since the captain is tactically inept. Greg has all the knowledge, ideas and the belief - he knows the how the different angles will affect the batsmen. He has sorted it all out to a T. We must candidly admit that while both Zaheer and Harbhajan are very good bowlers with a good attitude they are brainwise quite limited. It was essential to make them see the light.

For The Record ...

India's first series win outside the subcontinent in 19 years. While it is nothing to be proud of, it was a shame we could not beat Zimbabwe in 2001 - so at least we did better on that count.

The controversies surrounding the Indian dressing-room do not look like dying down - with Zaheer Khan today asserting that that in recent times the atmosphere in the dressing room had been *upsetting* - after surprise surprise putting in a good performance !!

Aussies Wring In The Changes

The axe has fallen upon several high-profile members of the Australian squad int he wake of the Ashes defeat. This was to be expected but some of it is particularly incomprehensible.

The biggest of which is the absolutely unfair sacking of Damien Martyn. True, he had a poor series, but he had at least 2 very bad decisions and 1 great ball. His innings at Lord's was instrumental in that lone victory and most importantly, he has scored 6 hundreds in the past year - a lot of which have been in the subcontinent the self-proclaimed final frontier. This is indeed shortchanging that brave General who played a leading role in capturing that frontier. I won't be surprised if Martyn is declared the ICC Test Player of The Year in October Ceremony and wouldn't that be an irony ?? To make matters significantly more incomprehensible, his replacement in the squad is an all-rounder Shane Watson. Nowhere close to the batsman Damien Martyn is. And the 2 young guns - Clarke and Katich haven't really established themselves firmly yet - they have definitely not set the world on fire. In the past, harsh decisions have paid dividends for Australia but this one is not just harsh - it is downright stupid in my opinion.

Much more understandable is the omission of Hayden from the ODI squad. I have maintained for a long time that he is a highly overrated ODI player. Also expected were the sackings of Gillespie and Kasprowicz.

What do you all think ? Esp the Aussie fans. The full story here.

The Hundred Test Men

Sanath Jayasuriya becomes the first Sri Lankan to join the 100-Test club. It is, without doubt an elite club and in my opinion a benchmark for cricketing excellence and longevity. The other players and there are only about 30-odd to have reched this mark can be found here.

Without exception, each has been at least a very very good player.

Update: Jayasuriya has not had a great start to his hundredth test and Bangladesh are off to a good start.

Captains

I tend to think World Cricket is suffering from a lack of great captaincy at the moment . With the singular exception of Michael Vaughan who has done a sterling job. Fleming has been good but he has not always had a team to back up his efforts.

Ponting, as long as he needed to do nothing, seemed to be going well. The moment, questions were asked of him, he has come up way too short. About Ganguly the less said the better. I have lost all respect for this man. He has gone from being a hero to a villain quicker than anyone else in history.

Inzy is improving but has a long way to go. Smith has been so-so. Atapattu hasn't really been tested. Chanderpaul has been extremely average.

I would like to know your thoughts on this issue. Which captains do you like ? Whom do you hate ? Who are the tactically astute ones ? Who are good performers ? Just about anything you wish to say.

The Whole Chappell - Ganguly Blow Up

To make a long story short: GC was well within his rights to do what he did. (Though his timing may not have been quite right). SG had absolutely no business going public with his frustrations and disappointments. SG has lost it. This is a desperate man clutching at straws. He has got to go for the larger good of everyone. The sooner the better. Your comments ?

The Ashes

It is one of the greatest series of modern times and a tremendous achievement. Not that I am quite speechless for I am sure if I try hard enough I will be able to come up with an elaborate write up, but at the moment I somehow lack the inspiration. Hence I will just say Many Congratulations to England on a Superb Achievement. It is funny sometimes you look forward to an event so much with all kind of previews, tactics, suggestions and at the end of the spectacle you are at a loss for words.

Freddie, Tresco, Pietersen, Vaughany, Jones, Hoggard, Gilo, Harmy, Strauss - all have performed spledidly some time or the other. Of course, there were moments and periods of play that were crucial. McGrath's horribly ill-timed injuries, Ponting's terrible errors at the toss and on the field, Tresco's attacking batting at top, Freddie's magic at Edgbaston and powerful century at Trent Bridge and Pietersen's finishing touches at the Oval just to name a few.

For the Aussies Warne stood alone. There should be a lot of introspection in that camp. Clearly, this is not just a blip but a thorough exposition of the cracks in an apparently faultless unit. Personally I would like to see a change in captaincy. Warne would be my man. But let's see how it all goes.

The Gaffer

Alec Stewart whose body fat indices were found to be better than all models in Britain two years ago, is finally showing signs of looking his age.

Keeping Track Of Greg Chappell's Progress

GC had stated before the finals of the Videocon Cup that winning this final was only a secondary objective in the larger picture of continued long-term improvement in key areas. Let us see how far he has come in achieving this goal.
1. Fielding: Good progress. While India fielded diabolically in the Indianoil Cup final, their fielding throughout the Videocon Cup (including the final) was promising. Of course the addition of Agarkar to the squad was a big boost in the field. Kaif can always be relied upon while Yuvraj who seemed a touch lax was at it again. The others while still remaining predominantly poor fielders are trying to make an effort, most notably Pathan. It is very difficult to expect the likes of Nehra to improve.
2. Running between the wickets: Constantly lukewarm. Dipped to a low in the Indianoil Cup final as far as intent is concerned, but at least not getting worse.
3. Batting: Opening problem is far from solved. Sehwag still scores a half-century once every 12 innings. Although, thankfully he at least makes 30s and 40s now. Ganguly is a liability. Dravid's form is not a major worry. Kaif is looking good at 3, Yuvraj at 5 and Dhoni at 6 also look set in their roles. I think this is the best to come out for India this season. #3-#6 now seem more or less settled to go all the way. The inclusion of Agarkar and Yadav lend solidity to the lower order esp. with Pathan finding form
4. Bowling: Situation looks grim. Nehra seemed to have risen above his injuries and inconsistency to be the 1 constant factor in the attack but his poor performance in the finals and subsequent injury has banished both those hopes. Pathan and Zaheer seem content to bowl medium-pace and take loads of wickets in favorable conditions so as to compensate for poor performances in challenging ones. Agarkar is lacking confidence. Harbhajan has been more or less destroyed by a weird combination of himself, Ganguly and a certain Chris Broad.

It seems quite clear where all GCs energies need to be focussed. He seems to be on the right track as he has already declared his intentions of putting together a bunch of 10 pace bowlers all of whom would be in contention for the World Cup.

The Ashes Test 5 Day 2

Nothing that happened at the Oval on Friday can possibly of greater significance that one thing that did not. The Aussies simply did not show any guts, courage and determination or sense and pathetically and disgracefully accepted the bad light. Langer says that the decision was not his and the management had decided not to take a chance with Flintoff reverse swinging the ball in less than perfect light. I believe him. It is very much in keeping with the attitude shown by Ricky Ponting and the Aussie team management on this tour to make negative defensive decisions such as this one. Looking at the statement itself, one can see the shallowness and cowardliness of the decision. By their own admission, the Aussies did not want to take the chance of losing a couple of wickets to Andrew Flintoff's reverse swing. The sprirt of the cricket clearly states that bad light should be taken only if there is a chance of physical injury. This kind of decision could have been understandable if a couple of tail-enders were batting. Given the context of the series, maybe not even then. Has Ricky Ponting forgotten that this Test has to be won if the Ashes are to be retained ? How dare he be afraid of defeat ? What difference is it going to make anyway whether they lose 2-1 or 3-1 ? Does he not know that iffy weather has been forecast for the rest of the Test ? I must say whatever little respect I had for Ponting as a leader has been destroyed by this decision. And my sympathies towards the Aussies have also decreased significantly alongwith. For the sake of cricket (and that of McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist) I still hope the weather gives both teams a fair chance to win.

This pathetic decision in the end clouded a good performance by the Aussie openers. Langer has looked in good touch but needs to now go on and make a hundred. Hayden buckled down well. Will all of it become inconsequential ? Time will tell

Nehra Out, Agarkar In

After going two ODI series (10 matches) without injury, the "great left-arm-king" of India is at it again. The handyman Agarkar has to fill in for him. No doubt, as soon as Nehra declares himself fit again, he will be given his place back on a platter, regardless of how the other bowlers perform. Agarkar has to take advantage of the situation and hope for the best. As the Bhagvad Geeta says:

"Karmanyevadhikaraste Ma Faleshu Kadacha Na"

Speaking of bowlers, I think Balaji and Kumble are the two that deserve to be in the starting lineup straight away. It should be left to the two remaining "left-arm-kings" and Ajit Agarkar to fight for the remaining two spots. On current form and given the history of Zimbabwe wickets Bhajji should not figure at all.

The Ashes Test 5 Day 1

England is in the grip of an unprecedented cricket fever. When a football-crazy nation proclaims in one voice that a cricket Test is the greatest sporting event in its history in the last 39 years, you have to sit up and take notice. Finally, cricket is no longer a game just for the guys, it is for all - young and old, male and female, black and white.

Last week Mrs. Flintoff very aptly said that she was glad that her husband is a cricketer not a footballer so that he is loved all over the country; not loved in one part and hated in the other. Truly, by its very nationalistic nature and the immense pride which is at stake in an international game, cricket has more potential as a national unifier than any other game. In football, the national team comes together only at World Cups and the Euros and that too where most of its stars arrive to represent their nations after playing overseas most of the time. I would like to know from the English fans what their opinions are on this cricket v football issue in particular regard to nationalism and what sentiments are aroused resultantly. If they agree with me in my hypothesis, why is it that cricket was so completely overshadowed by football up until this summer ??

So the whole country is cricket-crazy right now and while one wonders how long this euphoria will last, it needs to be cherished nevetherless. Just one word of warning though. The England cricket team and the ECB should not get carried away with it. If reports are to be believed, the arrangements are already in place for the cricketers to be paraded if they retain the Ashes. For God's sake, make sure you win the Ashed first, then talk about parades. This is just the kind of idea that is likely to give the players a sense of having already got home and let their guard down a bit. For the sake of England, I hope that that does not happen.

Coming to the game, the day dawned bright ane clear, not a cloud in the sky. The 25K capacity Brit Oval was packed to the rafters and when the two English batsmen walked out, the applause was deafening. England has hosted four World Cups, but I doubt if ever before this brilliant atmosphere was matched. It tends to happen at times at the MCG and at the Eden Gardens although sadly Indian audiences are not mature enough to appreciate real cricket and are more keen on the shorter version of the game. But this was just a moment to remember.

Coming to the game, what more can one say about Shane Warne ? With England off to a flyer, I was just thinking - OK let's see what Warne can do here - first morning, flat wicket, batsmen off to a flyer - all the adverse conditions and befire I had completed my thought process the champion had already got into the act. Relying purely on skill, intelligence and mental strength, he almost singlehandedly put Australia on top in the game. For a leg-spinner to take 4 wickets on the first morning of a test, 3 of them before lunch is just tremendous. But the image that will remain etched on the mind forever would be the destruction of Pietersen's stumps and the look on the faces of both batsman and bowler following that.

This was not a magical ball ala Mike Gatting, Basit Ali or Andrew Strauss but the way he priced out Pietersen was precious. Pietersen has this tendency of playing Warne towards mid-wicket and the genius lured him into the trap perfectly before spinning one through bat and pad. Pietersen was shell-shocked, Warne while celebrating emphatically, wore a look of smug satisfaction, of a plan executed to perfection.

Warne looked more and more like the leader Australia have lacked in this series. While he was always giving Ponting advice, on the field earlier, today it almost seemed to me he appeared to have taken matters in his own hands, directing fielders and encouraging bowlers while himself bowling nearly half of the overs of the day. You might be wondering if I have forgotten that there is another team playing in this series in the course of writing this post and that is actually the better team at the moment. My apologies to the English for drifting away so completely towards the Australian performance. Much as I wanted England to win the Ashes at the start of the series (and I had even started a series of advices) I can't help feeling sad for Warne and McGrath for they really do not deserve to lose. They are two of the greatest champions of the generation (also Gilchrist I think) so a part of me really wants the three of them to fire at their best and pull off a win for Australia. However, another part wishes England to take the trophy to bring an end to Aussie dominance and arrogance - most specifically that of Ricky Ponting, whom I never really liked as a person and a leader (great batsman that he is)

At the end of day 1, the match seems more or less in the balance, and I'm sure a part of me will have got what it wants at the end - Question is which part ??

The Mandatory Post-Mortem

I am getting really weary of writing these posts. Another final. Another loss. This should really say it all. But can't stop myself from making some points. Note that henceforth I will refer to the Indian captain as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (shortened HWMNBN). So when HWMNBN won the toss, I had this weird feeling that it would be better to chase. But the lessons learnt in the past of hopeless left-arm trundlers succumbing to the pressure of a final and being plundered of near-300 (often higher) scores in finals would have prompted him to bat first. What he forgot was that against NZ, India have generally done better chasing. Rather they have done worse batting first. In the 2000 ICC Knockout finals in Nairobi when HWMNBN was the World's best ODI batsman India had lost batting first despite his hundred courtesy of an innings for the ages by an injury-ridden Chris Cairns. The similarities between that day and today were eerie. With the exception that HWMNBN was now one of the World's worst ODI batsman and the fact that the African capital hosting the match was different, a lot of things remained the same. Most pertinently, Cairns was once again injury-ridden and was potentially dangerously preserved as a supersub ready to be unleashed when the situation demanded. That was most likely to emerge while chasing a big score. Clearly, Fleming wanted to chase and that should have been reason enough for HWMNBN to field first. But he had other ideas. As it turns out, Cairns was not needed. Other than that, it all went to script just as Fleming would have imagined. But choosing to bat first was one of HWMNBN's less-serious mistakes and hence I would not harp too much on that.

Just as an aside, another negative outcome of the television age in cricket has been the demise of the very polite and pleasant gesture of telling the opposition captain of what one plans to do after winning the toss. When that annoyingly omnipresent Ravi Shastri is out there ready to pounce on the (un)lucky captain who wins the toss with his senseless chatter, the captain often forgets to tell his counterpart of what he wants to do. (Or chooses to ignore him.) This is what happened today. HWMNBN felt no need to tell Fleming of his choice. Or Shastri felt no need to allow him the time to do so. Either way, Fleming had to infer that he was going to field first only from the meaningless conversation between the two Indians. This is very sad, to see another of those little niceties which make cricket the game it is bite the dust.

276 was a fair score. Not great, but not bad either. Given just the score, the team defending it should have backed itself. Indeed a team with a decent attack and a good leader would have defended it at least 7 times out of 10. Unfortunately India suffered from a lack of both. Pathan's lack of pace and peneteration is shocking. If a 20-year old is content to bowl line and length at medium pace and rely entirely on non-existent swing, it is a matter of great concern. Nehra too suffers when the conditions don't suit him. He was his old self bowling one bad ball per over and that is all that is needed with a few chances for a good team like the Kiwis to get off to a flyer. As usual, the axe is likely to fall on Agarkar, one of the most ill-treated cricketers in recent times (along with VVS Laxman) But truth is the damage had been done at the top. Agarkar is a bowler who thrives on getting early wickets. Of course, he has not been at his best, recently. But that is mostly because of the step-motherly treatment given to him by HWMNBN and the management. He is always given short change when the great left-arm kings come back after taking leisurely time-outs. But the worst was reserved for the middle stages of the innings.

After that flier, Harbhajan and Sehwag had bowled well to get India in with a chance. However HWMNBN showed no intentions of supporting them with attacking fields. I will have to write a separate post on how he has destroyed Harbhajan's career as an ODI bowler (while acknowledging that he had supported and encouraged Harbhajan in the early days) But today he refused to give Harbhajan close catchers to prize out wickets when clearly that was the only way the match could have been won. Worse, he did not trust Sehwag, the best bowler of the day to be able to bowl with the field restrictions. He brought in the hapless Pathan who was thrashed for 9 and then Yadav who was hammered for 14. There were several points in the match where India had a chance to turn things around. But this one with Sehwag and Harbhajan bowling well, was the last and decisive one. HWMNBN made a mess of it.

I end by averring that we are unlikely to win any ODI series (and definitely not any final) so long as HWMNBN is in charge. This is a bunch of talented individuals but a very poor team. The weakest link in the team is the leadership, rather the lack of it. Unless, there is a change at the top, we can expect to see more such pathetic defeats in the near future.