Category: Cricket

Team Composition: The team management deserves some kudos for their guts. Going in with an inexperienced bowling combination was quite a gamble. The team certainly gained a lot from this experience without it proving too costly. I suspect Pathan will be back after a much deserved break in the next Test. Playing the extra batsman seems like a must at this point, though its a safer strategy than an aggressive one. Though Bhajji was certainly missed in the bowling dept., it might have been too risky to play him at the expense of a batsman as pointed out by Chappell. India might have been better served by an all rounder in place of Karthik in the 15. This would certainly have given the team management some more options.

Jaffer Strikes: Jaffer chose a perfect moment to come up with a fine knock. He has certainly cemented his position in the team for the rest of the Test series at a min. His tendency to flash outside the off stump so frequently, even at the start of day 4 (after a long innings on day 3) might be a serious weakness. It will interesting to see how he does against someone like McGrath who can bowl so easily and consistently within the “corridor”.

VVS must grab these opportunities: VVS threw away his wicket after being decently settled in both innings. He needs to grab these opportunities to seal a permanent position in the Test team (and not be an object of experimentation!). Its painful to see a batsman of his calibre squander such chances to shine. Hopefully. he’ll come good in the rest of the series.

Last over gamble: Who should have bowled the last over? It is easy to speculate after the fact. But lets look at it once again. In the last few overs India had to pick up one more wicket. This meant that there was a very high chance that India could go into the last over still requiring one wicket. Under those circumstances, it makes sense to have the most experienced bowler bowl the last over. This individual is without doubt Anil Kumble. I suspect that Dravid might have missed a trick here by not saving Kumble for the last over of the Test match. One of the prior overs could have been shuffled to give Kumble the last over. Easier said than done, but might well have been worth a try. Big player, big name, big over. Might have been a perfect setting for India’s bowling hero over the years to deliver the “jumbo” strike. But then…..

While Sehwag was fined for excessive appealing, the match referee thought Lara’s on field behavior was perfectly Ok. This is completely ridiculous to say the least. Its a clear sign that the referee simply didn’t have the guts to take on the local hero. I hope the BCCI or the team management would at least make their displeasure known to avoid such inconsistencies in the future!

Regarding Dhoni’s dismissal (which triggered Lara’s tantrums), shouldn’t the benefit of doubt have gone to the batsman when the on-field umpires and the third umpire could not make a decision?

Check out the Times of India report and the cricket.org
report on Rahul Dravid’s quotes after the recent ODI series defeat. No where does the cricket.org site refer to Dravid saying that Ganguly, VVS and Kumble were missed!

A perfect example of TOI cooking up stories starting with the very title of the article! Listen to the actual audio of Dravid’s interview.

The Indian selectors once again did a better job than they have done in the past of selecting the Indian Test team. VRV Singh and Raina got the nod mostly on the basis of future potential while Powar’s call to the Test team was certainly due. Agarakar’s inclusion in the team has always been a mystery. It nice to see the selectors finally looking beyond Agarakar (though it won’t be surprising if he makes a mysterious comeback in the next series!). Dinesh Karthick’s inclusion is bit of a mystery too. With just three Tests, its unlikely that he will make the team, barring an injury to Dhoni. Then, why bother?

Sachin will no doubt be missed. The one to benefit the most from his absence is VVS Laxman. He was dumped from the Test against England (quite unfairly one could argue) to include Yuvraj and a fifth bowler. This is his golden opportunity to set the record straight that when it comes to Tests he deserves a slot ahead of Yuvi and Kaif and should never be traded in to make way for a fifth bowler. If he doesn’t goofup in the first couple of Tests he is likely to play all the Tests. He should grab this opportunity to cement his position in the Test team. Else he might find himself out of the Test side fairly quickly like he did from the ODI team. Unfortunate, given his talent and his record (especially against the mighty Aussies), but the truth is that there is plenty of talent waiting on the sidelines.

A fine show by WI. Great fielding and some tight bowling ensured the WI an exciting win. India came cross as a tad over-confident. Each batsman seemed to think that the next man can always do the job. With Yuvraj looking solid right through, all he needed was someone to hang out with him till the end. Unfortunately for India it was not be.

Not to take away any credit from Yuvraj for a superb performance but at the death I thought he goofed up rather badly. After scoring two fours (one a fluke and the other one an impressive drive) he had no reason to go for a wild slog. A more seasoned player might have bet on his ability to pick two runs of the remaining three balls. Worst case, he could have tied the game. Out in the middle, in the midst of all the excitement and pressure, its easier said than done to do the right thing. But it won’t hurt for India’s sporting heroes to occasionally bet on common sense over raw physical ability.

India unnecessarily choked (almost!) and drove the match to the brink. Mohd. Kaif fighting his way back to form almost earned his team a defeat by struggling at the very end before pulling it off with a 4 on the penultimate delivery. If India had lost, cries for Kaif’s head would have multiplied overnight. In any case, I suspect the man seems to be recovering from his slump.

Dravid’s innings was perfect, to say the least. He appears to be in the best form of his career. Leading from the front, he should no signs of panic whatsoever even when the asking rate started to climb. His pull shot and straight drive of Taylor early in the innings were absolute copy-book. His six over mid-on showed that he can make the occassional big hits when needed.

The WI are so unpredictable and that’s part of why they are an interesting bunch to watch. When WI get going, they can be match winners. A case in point. Taylor who opened the bowling was instantly attacked by both Dravid and Viru. He came back into the attack with 4 overs to go and produced a gem of an over. Kaif faced 5 balls which produced no runs and the last ball earned him a single!

The seamers bowl at a consistent 135+. Batsman like Gayle and Lara can single handedly destroy the opposition. However, the WI fielding was what made the ultimate difference. So many direct hits were missed and a few catches were dropped which combined proved too costly for the team as a whole.

What a wonderful fight back! Hats off to the young SL team for saving the Test. Jayawardene deserves the credit for leading the fight back. Does SL still need the injury prone Jayasuriya? I think he can come in handy for Tests but it is an overkill to play him in ODIs, especially if his injury problems persist.