Australian tour - All is not well with Indian team

0-8 in consecutive overseas test matches. This is acceptable if the team in question is Bangladesh or Zimbabwe or even the current West Indian team. Not the No.3 team (which was recently No.1) in the world. The performance has led to a lot of disappointment in the hearts of Indian fans, ex-players, commentators, journalists. There have been a huge outcry to sack all the seniors of the Indian team. Why this Kolaveri? Is it justified?

Now, let us take a step back and analyse what went wrong and what (if any) did go as per plan?

1. The batsmen started the tour Down Under with a lot of expectations from their fans. There were suggestions that the team would win their first ever series in Australia. Hope, even after being white-washed in the four-test series in England, was probably not right especially without any remedial actions after the disaster.
2. There was no series of injuries as witnessed during the English series. Zaheer Khan went through an entire series without breaking down. But, this did not make a difference in the final analysis. The result was the same in both series.
3.  By the end of second day in Melbourne, India were slightly ahead of the Aussies. They could not tighten the screws on the Aussies even after half-centuries by Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid. This is where, from the 3rd day of the test, things started to turn to the Aussies. Not able to seize the opportunities that came their way was a big mistake (Hussey's dropped chance by Dravid might have tilted the scales).
4. Planning by the Australian team cannot be ignored. The plans laid out by the support staff was on the dot, be it Gautam Gambhir or the other Indian batsmen. This should not be forgotten in the hue and cry raised about the Indian seniors.
5. The previous point also raises an important point on the effectiveness of the Indian support staff. Are they not able to impose their plans on the Indian team? Or are they not able to plan at all? Are Duncan Fletcher sealed? Why has he not attended any press conferences on the tour? Is there something that the public is not aware of? The head of Eric Simons is surely going to fall but that will not solve the entire crisis the Indian team is under.
6. Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav emerged as the positives of the tour but they must now endure the feeling of a whitewash through their initial years and emerge stronger. Only then, they can travel the paths of their current colleagues.

The BCCI had, through its powers, created tests from a non-existent schedule to ensure that the test team remains No.1. Can it do the same magic and conjure test series from nowhere (even against minnows like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) so that the younger players can start playing tests? Or have they filled up the time with their money-making ODIs and T20s already? Can 'A' tours be restarted? 

My review comments after the previous whitewash still remain - will they ever be implemented? God only knows.

Australian tour - Oz Planning - Part II

Continuing from the previous post on Gautam Gambhir's dismissals, here would like to point the planning done on other Indian batsmen.

Rahul Dravid came into this series with a rich vein of form - scoring 3 centuries on the ill-fated tour of England as well as contributing heavily against the Windies both away and home. After this series, he was left contemplating a retirement decision based on the ways he has got dismissed. Look at the details below (courtesy Cricinfo)

• 1st Test at Melbourne - he's bowled 'em! what a ball to get early in the morning, as straight as you can get, fullish length, bang on off stump, straightens enough to sneak past Dravid's push and rattles the off stump, Dravid's front foot did not come as forward as he would have liked 214/4
• cleaned him up! Dravid left a big gap between bat and pad to let the ball sneak in, Pattinson is besieged by his team-mates, it was angled in fullish and moved in further, Dravid was caught in the crease and ended up pushing way outside the line 58/3
• 2nd test at Sydney - through the gate and the malaise hasn't escaped Dravid yet! Hilfenhaus squares him up for a delivery that comes back in, Dravid gets forward but leaves a gap between bat and pad, the ball sneaks through and hits the top of the off stump 100/2
• 3rd test at Perth - Dravid is bowled, yet again! It wasn't the movement this time as it had been on previous occasions this series, that was a yorker aimed at the legs, Dravid was struck on the full outside leg and it ricocheted off the pads onto the stumps, quicker from Siddle and Dravid's bad run this series continues 32/2
• 3rd test at Perth (2nd innings) - Dravid is bowled again, yet again! Done in by a ball that swung in and was bowled full, moved in a touch further after pitching, Dravid got across to try to drive it through midwicket, he missed, it clipped the pads and then knocked out leg. 135/5
• 4th test at Adelaide - would you believe it, he's been bowled again, tad unfortunate, but full marks to Australia for sticking to a tight line and length, he was just a touch late in motioning forward, the ball bounced from a length, hit him near the elbow, and ricocheted on to the stumps 31/2

Sachin Tendulkar started and ended the series in the conquest of a 100th hundred. His technique was also tested by the opposition and his scores after a confident start went southward. Two of his dismissals were planned out very well in the series

• Melbourne test - Sachin has looked positive throughout his stay, and that is what consumes him now, he reaches out to drive this pitched up widish delivery that moves away a touch, and gully accepts the thick edge, Siddle is overjoyed, Australia are dominant, and India face a stiff defeat 81/6
• Adelaide test - Siddle strikes big, Tendulkar looking to push away from the body towards cover with a slightly open face and Ponting takes a very low catch at second slip, pitched up, the angle in to Tendulkar and the fuller length draws him forward, the open face takes the ball straight to Ponting, it was taken low enough for them to have a second look at it, looks alright 78/3

Virat Kohli enhanced his reputation in this series with a string of good knocks against the Aussies. He was one who was quick to recover from the initial errors he made in the series. Witness his dismissals in the beginning that the Oz bowlers capitalized on

• Melbourne test - Virat departs now, caught in front, front foot moving across a long way, the bat had to do a lot of work in coming around it, it even brushed the pad on its way down, and the length ball had already nipped in to strike him in front of middle, Virat looked rather cross with the decision, wonder why 69/5
• Sydney test - It landed on that crack on a good length and kept really low, the ball nipped back in sharply after pitching and as he tries to whip it to the on side he's trapped flush in front of the stumps and falls over at the crease 286/7

One can go on with similar examples of others dismissals as well but the bottom-line is that the amount of planning and execution to go along with it had been top-notch in this series. Kudos to Billy McDermott and his wards for the whitewash.

Australian tour - Planning was key for Oz win - Part I

The 2011-12 series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been finished. 4-0 is the verdict in favor of the Aussies. Convincingly won with two innings victories. There have been many talks going on about the veterans in the Indian team and how they were ineffective in the entire series. But, let us take this opportunity to congratulate the Oz team for their planning.

Let us look at the dismissals of certain players in the series and the planning becomes evident. Gautam Gambhir is the focus of this first part. His weakness outside the off stump was well exploited by the bowlers. Look at the way he has been dismissed (text courtesy Cricinfo):

1st Test at Melbourne - first innings - Gambhir once again perishes to an indiscretion outside the off stump. Top bowling from Hilfenhaus, but aided by an average shot too. Short of a length, at least a foot and a half outside off stump to start with. The ball then seamed away, and Gambhir had a good enough sight at it, to leave if he wanted to. He chose not to, and fiddled to produce a faint edge through to the keeper. Aus have a wicket. 22/1

1st Test at Melbourne - second innings - outside edge and gone, Gautam's problems outside off continue, Siddle letting it rip from just short of a good length, finding bounce, the angle and away movement taking it away from the left-hander, but importantly, making him play, would have taken a very good leave to let it go, but he ended up jerking his hands slightly to the left to poke at it, the edge loops to second slip 39/2

2nd Test at Sydney - first innings - That really squared up Gambhir, landed on middle and slightly shaped away off a good length, Gambhir was squared up with the extra bounce and movement, thick outside edge to Clarke at first slip 0/1

3rd Test at Perth - first innings - Australia in command here, they remove the set batsman, Gambhir plays a nothing shot, no footwork hangs his bat in response to a ball outside off that moves away a hint, a tickle down to the keeper, and the familiar failings of the Indian batting come to the fore once more 63/4

4th Test at Sydney - first innings - there's the outside edge, and Haddin takes a neat catch tumbling to his left, excellent line, made him play the pitched up delivery just around the off stump, and Haddin did the rest, it moved just enough away after pitching to take the edge 14/1

If the bowlers couldn't get Gambhir nicking to the slip cordon, they got him with a perfume ball. Witness these 2 dismissals

• 3rd test at Perth - second innings - What a scorcher! Banged in short and that darted away, Gambhir was taken by surprise, got on the back foot and tried to play it into the leg side, almost trying to fend it away, the ball pops up towards gully and Hussey takes a comfortable catch, an excellent short ball by Starc, India under greater pressure now. Came off the handle 24/1
• 4th test at Adelaide - first innings - Siddle all over India, Gautam falls to the bouncer, incredible delivery on this flat wicket, must have taken so much effort, Siddle bangs it in short, it gets way too big on Gautam, close to head high, he hops in the air as he has been doing all morning, wanting to bring it down, but ends up fending it away well in front of gully, Michael Hussey races forward and dives full length forward to hold on to it, what a delivery, what a catch, top stuff 87/4

The support staff of the Australian team has done their homework alright. Persistence as well as execution of the well-thought out strategy is the hallmark of great teams and this one seems to be on their way if handled well. The question that comes to mind is why the Indian support staff could not do the same? 

Next post will be about Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar's dismissals in this series.

Perth test - Warner proves to be the difference

The Indian team have won themselves two more days of break after the Perth test match, thanks to their dismal performance with the bat. It was a surprise that the Indian team managed to extend the match beyond the second day. In hindsight, David Warner was the major difference between the two teams in terms of scoring runs. The Indian bowlers did well to the other batsmen in the Oz line-up. Dhoni managed to put a brave face with the media after the 7th consecutive loss overseas but this was expected of him in the batting department. Warner proved that there was not much in the pitch that affected stroke-play. Sehwag should give up his mantle now to his shishya in world cricket (for this alone, Cricket Australia should thank IPL).

What happened wrong for the Indians? Everything mostly. Except for couple of sessions when they competed with the Aussies, nothing much worked for the Indians. Virat Kohli showed that he was well-equipped to take the Indian batting into future by his stints in both innings in this match. VVS Laxman hung around in the first innings but couldnt do much in the next. The old failings of Sehwag, Sachin and Rahul reappeared to keep their impact on the match to a minimum. Gambhir looked confident in the middle but got a nasty ball in the second stint. Dhoni disappointed as a batsman, once again giving an impression that he has a long way to go in order to counter the moving ball.

With the ball, it was an improved performance by the bowlers compared to the 2nd test match. Other than the period when Warner played a Sehwag-like innings, the Indian bowlers bowled well on lengths that would have done the Aussies proud. Vinay Kumar has played his first and last test match in his career - though he captured Hussey in the test, he does not seem to have many skills that can test batsmen around the world. Ashwin might have contributed better with bat and ball in this test - maybe bringing a spinner like him would have been a good ploy to counter Warner at his best. Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav have given hope to the Indians as symbols of the future Indian test generations.

What next for India? VVS and Rahul Dravid are too proud players to hang around further. They have seen many victories with the Indian team (drawn series in Australia & SAF & SL, wins in England, NZ, WI, Pakistan) but the disappointments in England and now Australia must hurt them more than anything. They will now have to give way to the younger batsmen. Having made up their mind, they should take up the last match as though they have nothing to lose. Will Sachin Tendulkar take up a similar route? He looks good still and can go on for longer unlike the other two but only he can answer the question.

Virender Sehwag has turned out to be a damp squib after his double-ton in the WI ODIs - his performances after turning 30 seem to be dismal. His hand-eye coordination which had given him success all over the world seems to be fading (a la Krish Srikkanth). Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwara Pujara are waiting in the wings, ready to take the Indian team to the future. They should be allowed to play for India in the next few series (which will happen on Indian soil) so that they can gain confidence and refine their technique and temperament before they start touring again.

The Indian cricket seems to be going down and under every match - SEVEN successive matches lost outside their soil now. One feels that this is the worst possible scenario that they could have encountered but one can only wait for time to say whether they can slide down further. EIGHT will be reality next week? On current evidence, it seems to be straight-forward. Will BCCI do an enquiry or will it be done by amateurs like me on my blog as I had done earlier?

Related articles

• Australia series - India lose 6th overseas test in a row (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Boxing day test - Australia take 1-0 lead (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Oz Series - Comments on Indian team

The Indian team has been facing a hostile press Down Under but the press back home is not good to them as well.

India's ex-coach, Greg Chappell, writes in Hindu on the steps the Indian team needs to take and highlights the areas he had pointed out earlier

Personalities should not enter into it. Just pick the players who you think can do the job.

HINT - Drop VVS & Rahul Dravid and pick youngsters to replace them. 

Players will not respond to cajoling and threats from the coach alone.

HINT - Selection committee (as well as BCCI administrators) should also cajole and threat

fielding and fitness were two things that I identified nearly seven years ago that needed improvement. That it is still a problem is just not acceptable.

HINT - Younger players are the way to go forward

Greg agrees with the go-karting however - one that Sunil Gavaskar was not happy about.

Makarand Wingankar in the same paper, also points out different reasons that are contributing (as per him) to the ills of the Indian team.

newly married couples and whole lot of families with children on tour have certainly been a distraction

Makarand goes on to take a dig at the Master and his son

If he allows a son of a cricketer to practice with the team, he is not the Fletcher that we have heard of.

Australia series - India lose 6th overseas test in a row

9.5 to 2.5. The session dashboard conveys a story that was grim for the Indian test team and its fans. There was hardly any session that the Australian team was tested to the potential that the Indian team had on paper. Right from the first innings on the first day, the match went downhill for the team.

The runs scored in the series by both teams reveal the true picture as shown below. Though the number of runs scored by the openers (thanks to Gambhir's second innings at SCG), bowlers (Ashwin being the main contributor), wicket-keeper (Haddin's dismal form continued), the difference of runs scored by both teams show the main reason why India is two tests down. Though the gulf of difference is because of Clarke's triple ton, the others like Ricky Ponting and Hussey have not been far behind.

VVS Laxman seems to have lost his Midas touch (is there something to do with his spiritual mentor Sai Baba's death?). Sachin Tendulkar has been drowned in the hype surrounding the Super Century (there is no other reason to be blamed for his failures to score a big ton). Rahul Dravid's defiance has been breached not once but repeatedly - putting a big question mark in his mind about his defence. Gambhir has retained his touch but will it continue in the remaining tests? Virat Kohli seems to have lost his spot to Rohit Sharma after two non-performances once again.

Number of runs scored in the series

The wickets taken in the series also reflect a similar trend for the Aussies - agreed that the Australian team has played only one innings compared to the two by India. The pace bowlers have made use of the helpful conditions they were provided (obviously luck played its role at SCG) to grab the wickets. The Indians have been found lacking here as well, despite doing well in the first test (again with conditions helping them). Ashwin has won the battle for spin against Lyon in this series but that does not amount to much in the series. Ishant has been bowling without taking any wickets, putting pressure on the others. Umesh has been lacking ideas when the pitch was not helping the Indians while Zaheer was off-color for the time the bat dominated the Indians on the 2nd and 3rd day.

Wickets taken in the test series

SCG test - Will India bounce back?

Will he get his 100th Century at SCG?

Glenn Mcgrath and the pink color of his Charity Foundation has become synonymous with SCG test matches. The Australian (and Indian) team had their photo-shoot with the legendary fast bowler but it was surprising to see the now-retired paceman fired another salvo against the Indians by suggesting that Australia can win the series 4-0. The current players seem more interested about Sachin Tendulkar's 100th ton and how they will try to restrict him.

Is Mcgrath's prediction likely to happen? I dont think so. Why? Australia as a team is in the rebuilding phase and they are not as consistent as they used to be in the times of Mcgrath (as a player). The Indian bowlers will be itching to come back at the Oz batsmen on a pitch that is expected to help them. If VVS and SRT fire (as their numbers at SCG suggest), the Indians will have a better chance to equal the series.

Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher will ensure that they pull out all stops to keep the morale of the team high. There will not be any changes expected on either side (except for any last-minute injuries). India had their tails up in the first test but the downfall of Tendulkar meant the advantage went back to Australia. The last 2 days were fully dominated by Australia (except for few rare minutes). In this test, they should continue their spirits to keep the Aussies at bay. Aakash Chopra suggests that the batsmen should look at playing 160 overs to dominate the play. If they can do it, they will have enough runs on the board to defeat the Oz. Easier said than done, right?

Boxing day test - Australia take 1-0 lead

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the test series by dismissing the Indian team for a paltry score in the second innings on the penultimate day of the MCG test. It was a good performance by the young bowlers against the batting might of the Indians who were expected to fare much better than this. Continuing a run of low scores in away test matches, the Indian team struggled to score against a target of 292.

The stats reflect the travails of the Indian batting - 1 score of 300   during the England tour as well as 1 score of 300+ in the 3 Caribbean tests does not do justice to a team that has four players in excess of 8000 runs in their career. Now, the Indians will do well to put this defeat behind them and look at the same time last year when they made a remarkable comeback against the Proteans on their soil (who had a much better bowling attack than the current Aussies). From a position of 200 for 2 when they were primed to take a good lead over their opponents, the Indians succumbed in the next 2 days to lost by more than 130 runs.

The day started with the Aussie tail scoring valuable runs and taking the target to a formidable 292. The Indian attack would take their deficiency to wipe the tail as an area of improvement for the forthcoming tests. Even then, the likes of Dean Jones thought that the Indians were favorites to score the runs required in the last innings. If the target was less than 300, Sehwag was confident of chasing it down. But, he was the first one to leave the crease even before lunch was taken. This dismissal raised the hopes of the entire Oz team so much so that after the lunch break, the bowlers were all over the Indians. The bowling coach, Craig Mcdermott, would have been very happy with the way his wards responded to his suggestions.

The Indians seemed to have lost the battle in the mind more than on the ground. Gambhir was once again dismissed poking to a delivery outside the off - a failing he had few years before his big innings. Sachin started well but failed to continue the show once again. The 2nd innings savior, VVS, once again failed in MCG - a bizarre statistic in his Oz tours. Dhoni and Ashwin tried to score runs but the Aussie win was just a matter of when and not if. Ashwin, meanwhile, showed that he can be a suitable No.7 (if Dhoni takes the No.6 position) batsmen for the tour and thus accommodate an extra spinner in the playing eleven. This will give the much needed depth for the bowling attack while putting the onus on the batsmen to contribute more.

Once again, a defeat in the first test match of the series for the Indians. But, there are many positives they can take from the match as well as areas of improvement. With the arsenal in their army, they should be able to mount a comeback in the series very quickly. Will the New Year seem them coming back? If I were a betting man, I will still put my money on India!

Related articles

• Boxing Day test - Bowlers rule the MCG (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Boxing Day test - India grit their way vs Oz (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Down Under - who will shine for India? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Boxing Day test - Bowlers rule the MCG

It was a fascinating battle at the MCG where the bowlers from either side held the upper hand. Only the veteran pair of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey managed to survive the carnage to put up a well-paced and crucial partnership in the second innings for Australia.

The day started with India in a good position to use the momentum of the partnership between Sachin and Dravid to score further and possibly take a handy lead. Hilfenhaus thought otherwise. Pitching the ball up and generating just enough movement to beat the batsmen and remind them of their old weaknesses, Hilfenhaus had the Indians play to the hands of the cordon behind the stumps. Dravid was bowled by a peach of a delivery while Kohli continued his overseas test match form by nicking to the keeper. Laxman was cleaned up by Siddle's well-pitched delivery while Dhoni continued his miserable run in test matches by edging to gully. All this while, Ishant was patient enough to continue his stint as a night-watchman but not for long. Ashwin showed what the top-order batsmen could have done by adding runs to the total and thereby reducing the deficit to a better-looking 51.

Australia's recent record has not been so great in the second innings - remember 47 vs South Africa as well as the recent debacle vs Black Caps in Hobart! There was a danger of a repeat performance when four batsmen perished to the bowling of Umesh and Ishant. Zaheer was bowling well and maintaining the pressure from the other end while the batsmen were getting out to the other bowlers. It needed the experience of Ponting and Hussey to stop the rut and keep the scoreboard ticking. Ponting looked more relaxed compared to the first innings while Hussey was on a mission to show his worth to a squad that cannot afford to miss him. Zaheer came back with late strikes but Hussey's miss by Dravid might prove to be costly.

Overall, a close dashboard for the test match with the Indians having a slight edge over Australia. The only difference will be the runs on the board that India will have to chase down. If the last 2 wickets are dismissed quite early tomorrow, India will expect their famed lineup to come to the party the second time.

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• Boxing Day test - Australia have noses in front of India (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Boxing Day test - India grit their way vs Oz

The Indians put up a better bowling display in the morning to wrap up the last four Oz wickets, led by the swing of Zaheer Khan. The Aussies will be dreading the very sight of this bowler from now on, the bowler having retained his rhythm back after bowling a good number of balls this innings. Ishant and Umesh was supportive in their efforts to restrict the run-scoring without managing any wickets on the day. Ashwin came to the party to take the last two wickets, especially the last one was a wonderful sight to watch. A flighted ball on the middle-wicket that straightened to defeat the sweep and hit the stumps, must have given the Aussies another headache to deal with.

The Indian reply started in the usual fashion with their openers taking quick singles and rotating the strike. Gambhir was fleet-footed and ended his innings with a poke to the keeper. Sehwag continued merrily, chancing his arm and keeping the bowlers (and fielders) interested. Viru's batting is good to keep the captain and his bowlers occupied in thinking of various strategies to put in place. Whether they implement or not, the non-striker benefits from this by settling down at the crease. Rahul played a very typical innings that was very much in-sync with his nature and character. Grinding down the attack while Sehwag and later Sachin scored boundaries, Dravid accumulated runs in his own way.

Tendulkar had decided to score runs when it was offered, especially with his patented upper-cut with which he scored many boundaries on the day. He was picking runs with a great flourish and steady run-rate that was adequate for an ODI. The impending close of day was a distraction that slowed Sachin down, sending him into a shell. Peter Siddle was unlucky not to have Dravid dismissed because of his over-stepping nature. It was a similar delivery that  dismissed Sachin in the fag end of the day.

A good day for the Indians when they captured all the three sessions of the day to take a lead over the Aussies in the Session dashboard. Tomorrow, they will hope to consolidate their position and take a lead of hundred runs before being dismissed.

Related articles

• Boxing Day test - Australia have noses in front of India (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)