The case of Rohit, JP and Umar

In the cricketing world, all of us agree that we are in the midst of some extraordinary talent - talent that may not touch the heights of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting or Inzamam-ul-Haq but will take their countries to the pinnacle in some form or the other. But, it is also disturbing to see the likes of Rohit Sharma, JP Duminy and Umar Akmal falter the way they have been in recent times.

The three of them have been given chances galore by their country but they have not risen to the occasion as well as they would have or their captains would have liked. It becomes frustrating from the perspective of their fans that such a huge talent is wasted amidst talents that do not scale to the half-way mark. 

Let us look at their numbers for a moment:

• JP Duminy - age of 28 years. 16 tests at an average of close to 38, 92 ODIs at 40. Though the numbers do not show anything wrong, they have come down a notch in recent times. It was expected that JP will be the fulcrum of the Proteas batting with AB De Viliers - but that was not to be. After a great 2010-11 season, JP has not been able to catch up with the rest of his team-mates. 
• Rohit Sharma - age of 25 years. Though he has not played any tests so far, he has been helped by a captain who thinks he has a big future. 85 ODIs at an average of 31 does not do Rohit any justice at all. His penchant to play across the line has led to many downfall. He is still in the scheme of things but time is running out and there are other talented players waiting for his spot in the team.
• Umar Akmal - age of 22 years. An average of 36 in 16 tests, 39 in 69 ODIs once again does not reflect the talent that is inherent in this youngster. If he can only put in the effort like Hafeez or Ajmal, this youngster can reach the heights of the world. He has promised so much in his innings only to falter at the wrong time. Reminds one of a certain Basit Ali from the earlier days.

Do they need a challenge to deliver their performance? Or is it something more serious - having reached the highest level, do they not have the drive to perform day in and day out? 

Whatever it is, world cricket is poorer by their absence at the headlines of the sports page!

Galle Test - India let Sri Lanka get away further

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India, thanks to the exploits of their pace bowlers, made a comeback in the first session of the 3rd days play. Ishant Sharma, in fact, gave Jayawardane the same treatment that he had given Ricky Ponting in Perth before taking his wicket. Mithun gave him good support at the other end, not only restricting the run scoring but also taking wickets.

In fact, they were the only ones who looked like taking wickets from the Indian attack. They started the bowling in the morning, took a brief rest and then come back to take the second new ball, restricting to around 340 for 6.

Herath and Malinga then took the attack by its scruff, scoring their highest first-class scores. Prasanna Jayawardene was the one who started attacking the bowlers and strengthening India's position. This is where the Indian bowlers gave away the match - now, only a draw could be the favorable result for the Indians.

The Indians started their innings after the declaration at tea. Gambhir was dismissed cheaply by Malinga - his batting has been going downhill, even though slightly, for few matches now. Probably, his rich vein has gone the other direction now - whatever reason it may be, he needs to re-align his radar back to his high-scoring ways. Sehwag had no such problems - he was away, putting away the bad balls while controlling the ones that threatened his body and head.

Rahul Dravid - he must have now gone ahead of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the number of run-outs - lost his wicket after settling down. Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed by the magician, trying to attempt a sweep. Sehwag continued to prosper and it is very likely that he will add to his tally of centuries tomorrow. Laxman has been promising so far - hope he can go on to score a big one.

3 days gone and India still is not in dire straits. They can still make a match out of it, at least think they can. 320 is the first target that the Indian team has to scale (interesting rule for follow-on here). The Indian team needs to show their batting strength and combat the Lankans on the last 2 days. Will the rain-gods help India also?

Session Dashboard - The Lankans still lead the Indians by 4.5 - 1.5. The first session was all India's while the Lankans came back in the second. The third session was dominated by the Indians though the Lankans took 3 vital wickets. With 6 more sessions remaining, Sri Lanka needs to win more than 3 sessions in the next 2 days to win the match. What will India's response be?

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