Pakora Korner

Team India seems to have made winning a habit. India once again opted for the five bowler combination and restricted England to a achievable total and knocked off the target with near clinical precision.

Immediate Post Match Moves: Dravid has been rested and Viru named captain. Both excellent moves. Viru will feel re-assured. Dravid gets a much needed rest and the team continues to explore the Dravid-Chappell mantra of experimentation. It might have been ok to stretch this a little further and rest both Yuvraj and Pathan. VRV’s addition is a great move. Hopefully, Robin and Venu will get to play the remaining three ODIs.

Team India continue to reap the benefits of investing in the future of Indian cricket. This team management has definitely made some very bold decisions when it comes to experimenting with the team composition. Raina clearly has staked his claim to a spot in the crowded middle order. Kaif should be under pressure to deliver. Yuvraj has reminded everyone of his talent like he does every five matches. Sreesanth has been reminded that it doesn’t take too many failures to return to the bench. In short, these experiments have been producing excellent results as witnessed in the last two ODIs.

Opening slot: Rahul Dravid in the opening slot in ODIs is something completely new. To the credit of the team management I have never come across this suggestion from any experts. While this might not be a permanent arrangement it does open up some avenues for changes that are likely to unsettle or keep the opposition guessing. This change let the team accomodate five bowlers.

Five Bowlers: Two off spinners in the team is producing very good results too! The idea of playing two off spinners would surely have always been questioned and criticized. But this team has experimented with it and it seems to have worked! Moreover, Powar is a decent batsman too and might just be the answer to India’s quest for an all rounder.

Uthappa on the Menu: The inclusion of Robin Uthappa continues the trend of experimenting in order to find the right combination. This is a golden opportunity for him to cement his berth for the WC. The timing could not be more perfect. Viru is in bad form. Gambhir just blew it. Sachin is unavailable. The captain and India’s MVP, Rahul Dravid is from his home state and is sure to give him the necessary support and encouragement. He couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect platform to launch his international career. (Will someone take Javagal off the microphones please when Robin is batting. Javagal goes way to ga-ga over his home state players, Dravid and Kumble. Now he has another! Or is its just me?:-)

Kochi ODI: The next ODI does bring up some interesting selection challenges. Will Sreesanth be brought back to play in his home ground? Will Robin get a shot? If so, who will make way? Munaf did well too. The two spinners have done well so far. Dropping Kaif to make way for Robin might be a little to hasty especially with Venu on the bench. Even Agarkar had a good outing in third ODI for a change.

Interesting challenge, but with this team management anything is possible. So stay tuned for the next surprise. My guess is that Dhoni will open sometime this series.

Bring back Dada? Lastly, for all those who are/were crying for Dada’s return, would any of this have been possible with the Dada still captain. Very unlikely the supposed More-Chappell nexus not withstanding!

Sanath Jayasurya announced his retirement from Tests after the second Test against Pak. Firstly hats off to him for quitting while still in the Test team. He was dropped and then brought back to the Test team and he could not have chosen a better time to call it quits. One could argue that he should have quit earlier, but he is still very much a force though not to the extent that the world has known him to be. His biggest problem in recent times has been recurring injuries — his last Test being a prime example.

He has been a star performer for SL over the years and it would have been sad to see him go without a dignified farewell. The SL selectors deserve credit for facilitating this. Likewise, Jayasurya deserves credit for moving on without having to be axed for good.

I suspect he won’t make it to the World Cup though he has expressed his desire to retire completely from International cricket after the event. But the sad truth is that he is starting to fall apart with injuries and can be a huge liability to the SL team despite his unquestionable talent. If he does make it to the WC team, it will be a sad reflection on SL’s bench strength.

Team India continued its winning streak in ODIs under Dravid pulling off a fine win after England seemed completely in control at 117 for 3 chasing a modest 203. India’s total was quite impressive given that the bulk of the batting was back in the hut for less han 100 runs. In defending the modest total India pulled of a seemingly improbable win thanks to some fine bowling from Bhajji, Yuvraj and Pathan.

Here are a few key takeaways from this game for Team India..

• Bhajji delivers under pressure: The presence of Romesh Powar seems to have produced an inspired show by Bhajji both with the bat and ball. Competition is good and keeps everyone honest. I thought India might go in with Powar given his batting talents and his current bowling form. Hats off to the team management for persisting with Bhajji. A gamble that paid off given his run of poor form at least from a wicket taking perspective.

• Viru’s struggle continues: It might be time to think of a counter strategy since the situation has persisted for a while. Open with Dhoni (or someone new) and drop Viru down the order, perhaps. He could come in very useful in the last 15 overs.

• Lack of a genuine allrounder: Yuvraj might have done a great job with the ball today, but if the plan is to groom him for the fifth bowler slot India’s think tank should make sure that he bowls his quota in every match. These recent victories are hiding India’s primary weakness — Lack of a genuine all rounder. Someone who routinely bowls his quota of 10 overs and is capble of making a big score from time to time a la Flintoff, Symonds, Kallis, Dilshan, Styris, Afridi, Razzack. Since the team is on a winning streak there is no talk of it these days and JP Yadav has quietly dropped out of sight. In short, the team is back to 3 seamers plus one spinner and no real genuine 5th bowler. In difficult times, this weakness is likely to be exposed. This series is India’s best chance to explore all rounder options.

Lastly, a salute to the curators at the Kotla. ODIs don’t have to be run fests! Here was a pitch that had plenty for fast bowlers and spinners and for batsmen who were wiling to apply themselves. Naturally, we ended up with a well fought ODI where both bowlers and batsman had a role to play. Lets hope to see more ODI pitches of this kind!

In this fast paced global economy, the age of instant gratification, even an ODI is fast becoming a luxury. Twenty-twenty matches have started to take off so much so that a World Cup is being planned. India, Pak and SL have been slow in adopting this. Its in their best interest to start early. These three countries are key to filling ICC coffers, so its unlikely that the ICC can pull of this World Cup without their active participation. In any case, as this form of cricket gains acceptance, it makes sense to adapt to this sooner rather than later.

In fact, I think 20-20 matches must be started at the domestic level right away. At a minimum it will help identify key talent for the 2007 World Cup. India still lacks a good all rounder. 20-20s might be the road to finding this elusive player.

The performance was certainly disappointing. But I think there is reason for optimism. There is no doubting the fact that this team management is very keen on experimenting. This means that there are lessons to be learnt at every stage. The learning from these experiments has resulted in swift changes in the team and I think that it is likely to continue. I would give credit to Dravid and Chappell for experimenting rather than call for their sacking!

The Toss
Putting England to bat was an experiment that failed. The thinking was that India would bowl England out cheaply and pile up a big score and not have to bat again. This experiment failed. If it had succeeded all the the team management would have been praised to the skies by all and sundry. Notice that Dravid accepted that this was a mistake. A rare admission by an Indian captain.

The Batting:

Dropping VVS was a mistake. Yuvraj is still very much an ODI player and is far from capable of replacing VVS in Tests. Again, another experiment that failed. The lesson here is to bring back VVS into the 11. I suspect this will happen on the WI tour.

Five Bowlers:

I think this is a positive move. As Dravid pointed out India needs five bowlers in order to win a test. Unfortunately, the five are not in their best form. Bhajji and Pathan are struggling while the other three are showing good results. The lesson here is to play five “in form” bowlers. Sreesanth and Munaf are two new finds who are likely to remain for quite sometime. Agarakar, Nehra, Balaji, and Zaheer have been swapped out for good. Bhajji is feeling the heat with Powar knocking on the door wit superb domestic performances. Pathan will be shown the door if his bowling deteriorates. None of this would be happening but for the recent experiments.

The Dropped Catches

Again, Dravid rightly pointed out that because of changes in the team, India didn’t have the right fielders in specialist positions. Yuvraj in slips and other close catching positions for instance. I am not sure there is an easy fix for this. But at least the captain appears to have recognized this shortcoming.

When I read Dravid’s comments I sense there is some “learning” from these mistakes. The responses are sensible and thoughtful. Besides Dravid is clearly not afraid to admit his errors and take responsibility.

This defeat is not new considering historic data. The Indian team has almost always failed when chasing a total on the last day (recent Pak series, Pak in India in Bangalore are just two recent examples). But what is positive here is that India now has a learning captain (as seen in his comments) and a thinking coach neither of whom are afraid to experiment.

Sachin (I suspect!) was deliberately rested from the ODIs with an eye towards the World Cup. I think Powar will play in first ODI ahead of Bhajji. Venu and Raina will keep Kaif and Yuvraj honest. Gambhir must be motivated to excel while Viru is under pressure to get out of his slump. RP and VRV are waiting to replace Sreesanth and Munaf or Pathan.

When is the last time India had so much prime talent waiting in the wings?