Category: Cricket

The roles are almost reversed in this Test as SA gained the upper hand after day 2. India’s celebrity batting line up struggled and had to depend on Sreesanth to reduce the lead to 88 runs. VVS Laxman showed once again that he is not the best player when it comes to batting with the tail at the other end (one more reason why he does not fit into the ODI team?). This was a golden opportunity for Laxman to show that he accelerate when the situation demands it.

Sachin managed his first Test fifty for the year 2006! A century from him against a quality opposition is fast becoming a dream. There is no question the master batsmen continues on a decline. Ganguly failed. Another failure in innings two and a defeat for India will give his critics plenty to complain about. The failure of the Indian batting underscores the fact that the team is way too dependent on Dravid. He fails and India has a collapse in the making. If Viru fails in innings 2 the team will do well to send him the Pathan way to grab some much need practice at the domestic level.

Unless the India bowling can restrict the SA to a small score (which seems unlikely at the moment), India will need all the help it can from the weather to save this Test. On the other hand if India manages to trigger a SA collapse, India should have an achievable target on its hands to once again Test its celebrity batting line up.

There have been report in the media that Ishant Sharma will be sent in as a replacement for Irfan Pathan. No offence to Ishant or his talent. But this move begs many questions. There is no one with more experience than someone playing his maiden first class season who fits the need? Remember the time when Noel David was sent to Australia and Sachin, then captain asked, “Noel who?” because he had never heard of him. Are Dravid & co., familiar with Ishant and his skills or is there some behind the scenes activity behind his proposed selection?

Good to hear that the plan to send in Ishant is called off. It makes no sense to say the least unless the team management is very familiar with him and specifically ask for him to be sent in and the selectors can convincingly argue that he is the best India has to offer as an alternative.

A great win for India. After being thrashed in the ODI series India came back strongly to win the first test. On the eve of the second Test which promises a key contest, here are a few key thoughts from the first Test.

• Almost all of India’s batsmen (barring Jaffer) displayed shades of their class. Barring Laxman’s 73 and Dada’s 51 none of the others could extend their starts to make a big score. But the positive sign was that all the key players did well enough to show that they are in the right form to make big scores in the remaining tests.

• India’s bowlers despite a strong show in first innings, struggled quite a bit in the second. Offered 7-2 fields all three of India’s pacers strayed down the leg side quite often. In low scoring games this can make a huge difference. Prince and Pollock appeared so much in control at one time and but for Pollock’s wild swing at Kumble the match could have been a lot closer.

• SA didn’t just get their bowling right in this Test. To compound matters, they lost Dale to an injury half way through. The same could very easily happen to India in the second Test! (especially if a half fit Munaf returns the side!). India could end up missing a fifth bowler though the they pulled off a famous victory in the first Test with just four bowlers.

• Sreesanth’s six of Nel and his jiggle that followed underscored his aggressive nature. His well deserved MoM award hopefully does not make him over confident. For someone who is so early in his career, he has shown alarming non-cricketing changes in a very short time. Strange outfits like a black full sleeve in-shirt, colored hair, repeatedly gesturing with the cross-sign (despite being a Hindu), all kinds of threads and necklaces, self chatter on the way back to him run up, to name a few (wonder how much of this was around before he hit the national stage). It would help him and his team cause if he focused more on his game and less on playing to the cameras. He needn’t look far. His co-seamers Zaheer and Irfan were not long ago walking down the modeling ramp before they saw their cricketing fortunes slump.

• VRV brings back memories of Javagal Srinath in his early days. Fast and bangs the ball in hard, but seldom pitches far enough to trouble the batsman. When he does pitch up its usually over pitched. VRV could benefit by watching Javagal in action on the NZ tour (one of his last tours) to discover the right length. Meanwhile, bringing back Munaf would be a useful move provided he can last the Test match without an injury.

• India could use a left hander in the top order just as SA could use a left arm seamer to add some variety to the 5 man right arm pace attack. Opening with Gambhir in place of Jaffer might be a good bet to unsettle SA, which seems all set to go in with 5-man right arm pace attack. If Pathan’s bowling form was any better, he might have been a worthy wild card experiment to open the batting with Viru and serve as the fifth bowler. However, at this point it appears that a defeat in the second Test might be required before India goes down this path even with Gambhir.

• This Test saw the return of former discards, Dada and Zaheer. Hats off to Dada for applying himself and fighting his way back. A couple more innings will be required to firm up his return. Two back to back defeats could still dramatically change his fortunes. But for now, the Prince of Kolkata deserves a big salute for his show in the first Test. He certainly showed more grit and skill than most people anticipated.

• India meanwhile sent Pathan home to play Ranji cricket. Its a great move. If Viru fails to make a big score this series, he could benefit from a similar exercise. A break from International cricket when out of form can be the best for both the team and the player himself as proven in the case of Dada and Zaheer. Its a pity that Viru wasn’t given a break especially in ODIs where his form over the last three years has been highly questionable.

Team India has been struggling on this tour. With the Tests just round the corner there is plenty to be concerned about for the team management starting with repeated failure of the batsmen. The good news is that the team has shown through its only two victories on this tour shades of what it is capable of. Dada’s performance and the late order fight back lead by Pathan in the tour match is a sure sign of depth in the batting. The bowling meanwhile has been good for most part in comparison to the batting.

The long break seems to have done Zaheer a world of good. He is back in full form and defaults to being the spearhead. VRV had a good match in the victory against Rest of SA and being the quickest of the lot is very likely to play in the first Test. Given the green tops in SA, India could do well to play three seamers and one spinner, with Pathan as the all rounder and fifth bowler. With Dravid likely to play in the first Test, Jaffer might have to sit out while Dada opens the innings with the eternally out of form Viru. After so many failures, the infamous law of averages and the return of Dravid should ensure that at least one or two of the top Indian batsmen do fire in the first Test! With a decent bowling attack to back it India might actually surprise SA, especially if they take their opposition lightly.

Adjusting to the conditions in SA after playing for an extending time in the sub-continent has been the challenge faced by team India. With the ODI series behind them and a morale boosting win in the match again Rest of SA, the Test match might just be the start of the turn around.

With Ganguly back in the team the next round of speculation over whether he would make it to the playing 11 is just round the corner. If Dravid misses out on the first Test due to injury then Dad’s place in the 11 is guaranteed. On the other hand, if Dravid does play in the 11, India has to make the call of playing both Jaffer and Ganguly or drop one in favor of a bowler/all rounder. Given the flaky form of India’s bowlers it makes sense to play 5 bowlers with Pathan being the all rounder-bowler in the 11. At the same time going into the match with 6 batsman as opposed to seven is a debatable issue considering the dismal failure of India’s batting. The alternative might be to stick with 5 bowlers and open the innings with Dada. If he flunks he should pack his bags for good. If he scores big, hats off to him.

The practice match that’s due to begin tomorrow should give some fresh insight about whom might be close to striking some form!

Dada: Another Chance to Sign-off?

Its official. Dada is back. Its a joke to say there wasn’t any political pressure. Given Dada’s track record in recent years its unlikely that he will be able to pull of some good scores and if he does he fully deserves to be back. Else its best if he treats this as another opportunity to sign-off in style.

VVS: Talk About Changing Fortunes!

The other change in the team is the return of VVS Laxman. What a dramatic change of fortunes! He has been in and out of the team, even dropped from the Test 11 in favor of Yuvraj Singh, and virtually written off from the ODI team and now the man is a heart beat way from the captaincy! Given that Dravid might not be fit for the first Test, he could now be captaining the side! Wonder what his astrologers had predicted! This was not a bad move considering Viru’s dismal show in recent years(!). If the selectors were looking for a short term change it might have been a safe bet to appoint Kumble the Vice-Captain instead. The guy is still doing well, is close to the end of his career, has nothing really to prove as a player and is a sure member of Test 11. But now VVS now has a golden chance to cement his place for good and possibly gain the Test captaincy at some point!

Youth vs. Experience

There is no question that India’s batting has failed consistently in the recent past. But the “preference for youth over experience” direction that Chappell had set for India was the right one for the ODIs. Relying on the experienced players for the Tess is a welcome strategy. Nevertheless Dada’s place in the playing 11 is bound to bring back a host of new discussions! (hopefully not on the boundary line a la Pak tour)

Its best to treat ODI team selection with a different mindset. If experience works for Australia it does not mean that it will work for India. An experienced Aussie batsman or bowler automatically comes with a certain standard of fielding ability which is not true for Indian players. All of India’s experienced players are not the best fielders. Kumble, Ganguly, VVS, Dravid are all experienced but far from good fielders. In a team of 11, four such players plus an out of shape Viru, an ageing Sachin and a 124-year old Munaf leaves just 4 slots to make up for the fielding. ODIs are as much about fielding as they are about batting and bowling. It will serve India best to focus on tweaking the current Chappell strategy by fundamentally relying on youth but reinforcing the batting with some class. For starters, this could mean dumping Viru (whose slump in form has been at the forefront of the teams failures), bringing in VVS and Yuvraj and perhaps pushing Dhoni to open. The rest can stay as is for the ODIs. Trying to change the ODI team composition drastically will be huge mistake.

There is nothing more blatant than the BCCI chief, a sitting MP and Minister meeting the selectors on the eve of the team selection. There is plenty of reaction and discussion in the parliament. The CPI(M) party whose support is critical to the ruling Congress party has obviously made a case for their “Prince” Saurav Ganguly. In anticipation of his selection, he has already relinquished his W.Bengal captaincy!

There is no question that the team performance stinks. But this does not mean that all and sundry tamper with the selection process. Maybe its time the selection committee is scrapped and a parliamentary committee (of sitting MPs) is setup instead to select the national team?

The India cricket “circus” is in full cry. On the field the team is being routed without mercy by the South Africans. Off the field, the politicians back in India have stepped firmly into the ring to join the discussion. The most recent entrant being Jaggu (Dalmiya) himself. Sensing that his nemesis Sharad Pawar was on the backfoot (given India’s performance, the recent ruckus in Parliament both prior and after Chappell’s comments etc.), Dalmiya has demanded the return of Ganguly. Its interesting to note that Dada himself had fallen out with Dalmiya earlier and had openly campaigned for Dalmiya’s openent in the CAB elections.

The bad news for Team India of course is that its mainstay Dravid is ruled out of the next two ODIs and the out of form Viru has been asked to lead. VVS , meanwhile, gets a last chance to stake his for a World Cup slot.

Its an understatement to say that India is struggling. The first ODI was a complete disaster. The second ODI was a shade better but a disaster nevertheless. After having reduced SA to 6 down for under 80 runs, SA recovered to 274. Despite this failure to restrict SA to a low score India’s bigger issue at present appears to be its batting. Barring Dravid and a struggling Tendulkar and to some extent Dhoni the rest of the batting appears to be in shambles. Sreesanth’s absence from the 11 is debatable. Otherwise, the team for the second ODI was perhaps the best possible from the 14 on the tour.

Viru’s woeful performance continues. If he fails this series the selectors will do well to send him packing for good. He has been around for too long and done too little to justify his presence in the team.There has been a lot of criticism from the likes of Shastri for not opening the innings with Viru on a permanent basis. But, the dire state of affairs calls for some desperate measures. Viru’s continued failure might leave the captain with no alternative but to shunt him down the order. An out of form Viru in the middle order is still a safer option than Raina or Mongia!

A strategy of saving Viru for the last 15-20 overs might not be a bad experiment. In other words, Viru and Dhoni could swap places in the batting order. i.e., Sachin, Dhoni, Dravid, Kaif, Viru, Karthik, Pathan, Bhajji, Kumble, Zaheer, Sreesanth. Bhajji appears to be struggling and considering India’s continued batting failure it might be worthwhile bringing in Mongia in place of Bhajji. Between Sachin, Viru and Mongia, India should be able to cover for Bhajji’s absence.

Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat again was highly questionable. The only possible reason might be that the ageing Glenn McGrath needed a rest before having another go at the English. Even if this were true it made little sense since the rest of the bowling attack was well eqipped to attack the deeply demoralized england batsmen. Besides a 400+ runs lead is not sufficient for the world’s strongest team?

If the match is drawn for some reason (weather intervening or a superlative show by Eng on the last day), Ponting is bound to draw some serious fire.