More actions required from ICC

ICC addressed the declining on-field behavior in December 2016. This was very much required and the tough stance will bring back some level of decency to the gentlemen's game.

There are other areas ICC should take up in 2017, which have been waiting for quite a while.These around few specific areas:

1. Follow-on rule -  Since VVS Laxman's epic 281 versus Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata 2001, the number of times a team has enforced follow-on despite having a lead of more than 200 has reduced drastically. Maybe the lead of runs should be reduced to 150 ( as is applicable to a four-day match). This will keep the legacy of follow-ons  ( remember Kapil Dev's four sixes off Eddie Hemmings to avoid the follow-on)to continue without putting undue pressure on the bowlers ( having to bowl for consecutive innings).
2. DRS uniformity -Now that India has conducted a complete series with DRS system, it is time the competing nations or ICC take responsibility of DRS  system rather than leave it to the broadcasting companies. This will mean that the features available are same for all countries and tests.
3. LBW for ball pitching outside the leg stump.- An off-spinner pitches the ball outside off but is able to get a LBW in his favor if the ball is deemed to hit the stumps. With DRS in place, it is easy for the umpires to make the judgement. Hence, it is time to allow balls pitched outside leg to be given out as well.This will rule out batsmen kicking out balls pitching outside the leg and eliminate negativity.

With these changes, test cricket can move further and get the much-needed attention over the other formats. The key question is whether ICC is ready to bite the bullet? Time will tell.

Dhoni the unconventional hero

MS Dhoni was always unconventional - when I thought of writing a blog entry about him, there were many thoughts that entered my mind. But, Rahul Dravid's post was just superb, on the spot about what MSD stood for. Hence, I will try to write this post a bit differently.

When Ganguly announced his retirement, he was merely a player. What did MSD do? Watch this video for a timely gesture.

When Anil Kumble announced his, he was taken around for a lap by his team-mates (no, just one man)

Thanks to Times Group for image 

When Sachin Tendulkar's famous last match finished, this was the fitting finale

Thanks to Cricinfo for image

Having done all this, MSD also watched the likes of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman walk away into the sunset without any fanfare. He was also witness to his friends like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag fade away from the limelight. 

Would he have scripted a better farewell himself than what he did? Probably not. Taking India to safety on the last day of the Boxing Day test match was the best way for him to say goodbye.

Thanks to Cricinfo for image

His records speak for themselves and there is no comparison for a wicket-keeper who captained his side so well. 

Finally, what did his workload look like? In 2014, he captained his team in nine tests, twelve ODI's and seven T20 internationals. Other than this, he led CSK in 16 T20 matches in the IPL as well as six T20 matches in Champions League. 

It was probably a choice of letting go one of the formats or one of his occupation (wicket-keeping or captaincy). Since he would continue to keep wickets (he is not a good fielder according to himself) as well as captain the side (his CEO would demand it always), one of the format had to give way. And that is exactly what MSD opted.

2012 Mumbai Test - India caught in their own web

MS Dhoni would have been happy with the wicket, his team composition as well as his luck with the toss. For other than this, there was nothing that worked in the match (other than Pujara and Ashwin with the bat in the first innings). Dhoni did not factor his own batsmen's incompetencies against quality spin bowling (how he wished he had the recently retired Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in his batting eleven!)

For most of the match, the commentators showed the pitch map as well as the pace of English bowlers in comparison with the Indians. Though this was true, the Indian bowlers were not consistent and disciplined in their attack. Every over there was one ball that would give runs to the batsman and rotate the strike. Dhoni's captaincy has deteriorated so much that he is now ball-following mostly. He is not trying to make things happen but instead moving the fielders to where the ball went the previous delivery.

In the second innings, none of the batsmen (other than Gambhir of course) played more than 20 deliveries! What else can you expect with such a performance. Gambhir also wanted to prove that he still deserved his place in the team rather than rotate strike and score some runs for his team. Though one can praise Kevin Pietersen and Alistair Cook for their batting, it was the failure of the Indian batsmen to come to terms with the pitch that did the main damage.

Sachin Tendulkar played more like a debutant rather than one with 192 matches to his credit. Virat Kohli's stroke selection was suspect while Yuvraj showed his weakness against quality spin. Sehwag did well until he met Monty. Harbhajan's selection was a surprise and seemed to be on course on Day 1 but it has to be remembered that he did not get wickets even in Ranji matches - how can he be expected to make miracles in test matches? He was the one who bowled faster usually but on this track if the English bowlers could make such a big impact, why couldnt he? Not every question can be answered with Pietersen and Cook's brilliance!

What will happen in the next two tests? Will Dhoni still ask for a turning track, considering that the opposition has Monty and Swanny in their eleven? Kolkata will have the answers for us!

India versus New Zealand test series - will Sachin be next?

New Zealand are fresh after their defeat to West Indies - they lag the Caribbean team by 10 points in the ICC Rankings table. The Black Caps are in India after the loss, still without veteran Dan Vettori. Is there any point in getting interested about this 2-test series?

As predicted, Ashwin and Ojha trapped the NZ batsmen in the first test in their web to ensure that India ran away with the match to win by an innings and more. After the VVS controversy, Pujara raised his hands and put up a big hundred to boot. All nice and well. We will revisit the scene once the English and Aussies are in India. Kohli, as usual, is milking runs like there is no tomorrow (nobody should blame him for there will be a time when he will struggle to score runs). As with Rohit Sharma in the ODIs, MS Dhoni has given Suresh Raina a long reign in the test matches (ahead of the senior Badrinath). Time and again, Raina has promised much only to under-deliver - this must be making Dhoni's youngsters-only mantra more difficult to implement.

Sachin Tendulkar has failed twice so far, completely bowled in the innings he has faced. Though Gavaskar and Manjrekar thought that this was due to Tendulkar's age, they managed to come up with a statement (as only fellow Mumbaikars can) to assure the viewers that Sachin might still come up with a big hundred in his next outing with the bat! The double standards are visible for everyone to see - when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were not doing well, they were questioned but the same is not applied to a certain Sachin Tendulkar. Even if he is a genius, there is a time one must leave, isnt it? You cannot put a Dravid or Laxman anywhere behind Sachin in terms of their effectiveness, commitment and dedication to Indian cricket - then, why the dual policy?

After the initial flurry of wickets on the second day of the second test, Raina, Kohli and Dhoni have wrested back the initiative. It is just a matter of time when the Indian spinners weave a web around the Black Caps again!

Apologies Mr. Laxman

From the entire cricketing fraternity, it is our duty to apologize to VVS Laxman for the way he has bowed out of international cricket. This is not an isolated instance in his career - merely yet another example of how he has had to deal with the idiosyncrasies of the selectors, critics and fans across the Indian continent. In fact, if there was anyone else in his place, I dont think one would retire without making his point made. But, that is what makes Laxman the gentleman that he is - he always let his bat do the talking and I am sure Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy is the team to look out for.

In a blatant case of double standards, Laxman was probably told that the series against New Zealand was his last one (from what one can make out of Ganguly's outburst). If that was the case, Laxman could have joined Rahul Dravid earlier this season in retirement - just as they have done in many partnerships. MS Dhoni also seems to be party to the confusion around Laxman's place - a not good signal for the Indian captain who should have faced questions himself (whether it happened or not is anyone's guess). Or is this all because of the coach Fletcher's long-term plan after the Oz series disaster? Is Rohit Sharma given multiple chances just because he is younger? If so, it is definitely not the right standard to decide who should play or not! The fact that his wife was shocked at his decision shows the mental agony gone through by Laxman in the last few days. Thanks to the BCCI's style, none of the other players have spoken in support of Laxman, asking him to stay back in the squad. Not a single quote from anyone - is this the team unity that we have?

Coming back to Laxman's career, there is nothing more that I can say than what has been told by many people before. His appetite for runs was huge but not for 'easy runs' - he would never make hundreds in situations where others have made their impact. If the team is down and looking for someone to shore them up, that is where Laxman would come to rescue. Doesnt this remind you of Gundappa Viswanath? Exactly. One should put VVS in the same category as the veteran not just because of their unique batting style but also their penchant to score runs in diversity. They never believed in flogging attacks like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to make their records appear impressive. They may not have the best records to show but everyone from their team-mates to opponents know whom to call upon when they are in trouble.

What Laxman should now do is to score runs by the ton in Ranji cricket to show who is the boss while his replacement and other batsmen will fail in matches against England and Australia.

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)

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

Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem

The series is over. India have been white-washed by the English team convincingly, 4-0 being the verdict. There was no doubt who was the stronger team and the No.1 ranking at the end of the series was apt for the winners.

The jury is out. Ex-players are out with their comments and suggestions on how to improve Indian cricket but one thing is common among all the commentators - they are like the Indian industrialists who do not want to support Anna Hazare in the Anti-Corruption Drive. For fear of being an outcast in the eyes of BCCI and thereby losing their potential income, they do not blame IPL as one of the reasons for the Indian loss.

No longer the No.1

Sanjay Manjrekar in Cricinfo states that India needs a few urgent repairs. Manjrekar talks about pace bowlers first and then spinners.

Stating that India needs to look beyond Zaheer Khan, Sanjay lists the likely bowlers who can lead India's new-ball attack - Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma - while being disappointed with two other bowlers - Sreesanth, Munaf Patel. From the period Javagal Srinath retired from the international scene, India has played quite a few number of pacemen.
Let us look at the ones who are still in the hunt:

• Irfan Pathan - played 29 test matches for India. Has a hat-trick to his name but lost his prodigious swing somewhere. Everyone criticized him for losing his pace which never was his strength. Injury further sidelined him, making it difficult for getting a look-in to the pace attack. Definitely should be in the plans for the future of Indian cricket. A fully-fit and in-form Irfan would have been a handful for the English attack with his swing and batting skills. 
• RP Singh - Eric Simons mentioned that he was selected over Munaf Patel because of his ability to swing. Neither swing was on offer nor pace was visible during his spell in the final test match. After having lost pace (more than 10kmph compared to the earlier English series in 2007), RP did not look like making any impact on the batsmen in any way. 
• Balaji and Ashish Nehra played test matches for India last in 2005. Injuries crippled them to cut short their promising careers. Though Nehra made a comeback to ODIs and has performed creditably, he has not been looked (by the selectors) as a possible candidate for tests (even though he was keen on coming back to the test arena). Balaji made a comeback two seasons ago in the IPL bowling at slower pace.
• VRV Singh, Jaidev Unadkat were given chances on the tour to South Africa but they never capitalized on the opportunities. While VRV has fallen away, Wasim Akram has spoken very highly of Unadkat and one might see him make a comeback (provided he can add muscle to his slight frame). Abhimanyu Mithun on the Sri Lankan tour (in the absence of the leading bowlers), however, performed better than expected. But, he has not been seen once again in Indian colors. Will the selectors revert back to him for the Australian tour?

Similarly, in the spin bowling department, Manjrekar feels that Ashwin should be given a chance in the home series against West Indies. Who else have played for India in the same time-frame as above?

• Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha are the ones who have been given the maximum number of chances after Kumble and in the absence of Harbhajan Singh. But, as Mishra showed in the recent series, on wickets that do not support spin, these bowlers do not make any impact on the bowlers. Pragyan Ojha should continue his previous assignment that was agreed with Surrey and gain experience on the county circuit. This will keep him in good stead for the future.
• Piyush Chawla and Romesh Powar are the other spinners who have played a couple of test matches for India. Though Chawla made a surprise comeback to the 2011 World Cup and has age on his side, he is not thought to be in the same frame as the other spinners. If he can be a bit faster in the air, Chawla can still help India in the long run. Powar continues to ply his wares in the Ranji tournament with average success.
• Murali Karthik is the other bowler who has performed well whenever given a chance (which is mostly in a crisis situation). But, the selectors seem to consider him as over-the-hill even though he plays with success on the county circuit.

Sanjay finishes the article by suggesting that VVS Laxman does not have much time to play for India. Just a few test matches ago, the entire sub-continent was singing praises for VVS but look at the reactions now. There are obviously no other players who are good enough to take his role, yet. Who are the other middle-order batsmen whom the selectors have given a chance so far?

• Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been given enough chances to prove themselves. Both have showed that they cannot translate their potential shown in the shorter format to the longer arena. How longer will they continue to get chances their way? Should the selectors not look elsewhere now? Probably yes.
• Cheteshwara Pujara, Virat Kohli and Badrinath have been given a few tests to show their prowess. Virat and Badri have shown that they have technical weaknesses against the short ball (Badrinath would have felt unlucky to have started his test career against the searing pace of Steyn). Pujara did well against Australia at home but in the series against Proteans, did not make a big contribution.  
• Rohit Sharma is the other name suggested by Anil Kumble in his comments after the debacle but these players should earn their spot in the playing eleven rather than being selected purely for youth sake.

In the opening department, Sehwag and Gambhir have been playing well but as this series once again showed, injuries and illnesses need to be planned in a proactive manner. 

• Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar had performed the role of opener very creditably on the tours to Australia and England. Though they still play domestic cricket, they are not on the short-list of selectors any more. Aakash would have been the ideal opener to replace Sehwag on the recent tour, even though it was a short-term option.
• Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund hail from the state of Tamil Nadu. They have done well in few of the opportunities given to them so far but it is injustice to them that they have not been given the exposure to challenging pitches overseas on 'A' tours. Will the BCCI make the necessary changes to groom these players?

Ravi Shastri, the IPL veteran, remarked in his column - It's time for Indian cricket to identify players who are specifically suited to the different formats of the game. A way has to be found to encourage those cricketers who want to give Test cricket priority. There ought to be superior remuneration or compensation. How do you suggest this will happen, Ravi? Especially when the BCCI is filling its coffers with IPL as well as CLT20 tournaments, how can young cricketers get encouraged by the longer version? Is BCCI planning to start a new tournament on similar lines? Or are they going to increase the prices of central contract? What is your detailed proposal to achieve this, Mr. Shastri?

Pataudi, who gave away the trophy (named after his father) to England at Oval, predicted the next action that one can expect from the BCCI very correctly - The BCCI is not going to show a great deal of vision. Cricket will continue [in India] the way it is, but I sincerely hope that some sense does come in.

Related articles

• Eng-Ind series - When India had a chance (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Eng-Ind - MSD needs a break (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Vaseline and Batsman Recalls

Two off-field incidents made news in the second test between India and England - one obviously was the decision by MS Dhoni to recall Ian Bell after he was run out by the Indian team in the second innings. This led to a huge discussion all around the world whether it was right or not. The Indian ex-players also joined the noise-bytes made over the decision - Anil Kumble and GR Viswanath being two ex-captains from the state of Karnataka who praised Dhoni's decision. Nobody spoke about Viswanath's decision to recall Bob Taylor in the Golden Jubilee test between India and England - a pity that such a decision was not given the right advertisement.

The other incident was about the tweet given by ex-English captain Michael Vaughan. Vaughan suggested that VVS Laxman might have used Vaseline to cheat the HotSpot machine. Obviously, this led to players like Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar to voice strong opinions on Vaughan - in fact, Sunny Bhai even went to the extent of asking VVS to consult his lawyers!! Vaseline too had an earlier connection between India and England test matches - ask John Lever about it. Tony Greig gives a good spin over the incident but this only goes to prove that the English media has very short memory about incidents that do not show their team in a poor situation.

One common thread between these two incidents and the second test match was that England won the matches concerned!

Related articles

• 'Stupid' and 'naive' Bell benefits from India's spirit of the game (guardian.co.uk)
• Vaseline cannot affect Hot Spot - BBG Sports (espncricinfo.com)

Eng-Ind - 2nd test preview

While the English press is already celebrating the win in the Lords test by saying that the team is a step away from being No.1, the Indian media is talking about the typical attitude shown by Indian teams in coming back from such situations. While both are partially true, the players must be quietly planning their own battles for the next test match with the hope that there will be enough support for their style of cricket.

Now, what should be the Indian approach in the next match to equalize the series? A number of small steps:

1. The famed batting lineup should come to the party. Rahul Dravid will most likely open the batting and he has to take this in the right spirit (and not just do it for the sake of the team).
2. Sachin Tendulkar has to forget the fact that he is one-century short of a landmark milestone. He cannot get bogged down by statistics and even though he will create history eventually, he has to free up his mind.
3. VVS Laxman has to blame himself for both his dismissals at Lords. If not, he has shown that he can correct his record in England. Will it start from this test? MSD will hope so.
4. Yuvraj Singh will be the player to take over from Gambhir and must ensure that his pie-chucking skills get Kevin Pietersen out quickly.
5. The Indian team should kindle Sreesanth in such a way that he performs with the ball and not lip-service.
6. Hope Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar have been kept in cotton-wool for the last 3 days. 
7. Harbhajan Singh should start flighting and turning the ball now. It has been high time he has led the attack and he should realize that his bag of wickets is not justifying his performance on the ground.

Yes, a long list of tasks but not impossible for the Indian team.

Related articles

• Eng-Ind - England go up 1-0 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

WI-India 1st test - India win the series 1-0

Being the No.1 team in the world, one expected the Indian team to win this series 3-0. Thanks to the team that was selected for the series (without SRT, Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer), the expectations was reduced and the public was not expecting a brown-wash. That the final verdict was 1-0 must be looked at as a good win for the team (with a new coach as well).

The first match was won by the team despite being in a precarious situation at one stage. Rain thwarted the victory march in the second test. The final test was going the Indian way till Kirk Edwards and Shiv Chanderpaul decided to show what they were made of. Chanderpaul has seen so much criticism come his way that he made his bat do the talking. There were talks that he was asked to quit test cricket and make way for younger generation - if his performance in this test was anything to go by, the youngsters have to prove themselves first before even thinking of taking his place in the eleven. Edwards on the other hand, looked shaky but went on to cobble a century.

The return of form of MS Dhoni and continued efforts of Suresh Raina, Abhinav Mukund and evergreen VVS Laxman were the highlights from the batting front. All this augurs well for the English tour where the four of them will most definitely play the Lords test match. Ishant Sharma bowled well again while Harbhajan improved his performance compared to the first 2 matches. The lack of penetration on the final day would worry Dhoni and Fletcher but with the return of Zak, there will be some solace.

Overall, a good tour for the Indians where they won 1 T20, 3 ODIs and 1 test match. Expected but nevertheless a decent result with the number of youngsters who were blooded in this series.

England, here we come.

Related articles

• India tour starts in England later this week (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• WI-India 1st test - Dravid helps India take lead (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

WI-India 2nd test - Laxman and Ishant nearly make it 2-0

Ishant Sharma with the ball and VVS Laxman with the bat almost got the win for India that would have enabled them to go up 2-0 in the test series. Bad light and rain had made the most impact on the match and they ensured that they will have the final say on the fate of the match.

Ishant Sharma had shown glimpses of form in the first test match - here, he took it a notch higher. It was very satisfying for the Indian fan to see him pinging the opposition batsmen on the helmet and then troubling them with his swing/seam. He was the leader of the pack and he came to the party whenever his captain asked for a breakthrough.

VVS Laxman, just like Rahul Dravid in the first test, held the Indian innings together after early inroads were made by the Windies pacemen. The short ball has never been a problem for the tall batsman - here also, he pulled out his horizontal bat whenever required to keep the bowlers at bay. Raina in the first and Abhinav Mukund / Rahul Dravid in the second innings gave him good company. He missed a century in both his innings but he would have been the happiest if India had gone on to win the match.

Mukund learnt from his own as well as the rival batsmen on how to survive and play on such wickets. His gritty performance meant that he was selected to continue in the Indian team for the England sojourn also. Suresh Raina continued to impress everyone with his gutsy performances - weaving and pulling whenever the ball was pitched short. He seems to have reclaimed his spot in the batting order during this series with the help of such timely knocks.

Harbhajan Singh again continued to disappoint - a bowler of nearly 400 wickets has struggled to pick up wickets once again. His friendship with the captain will be under strain now, because of such lackluster performances. It is time to look at Pragyan Ojha for the next test match.

MS Dhoni was involved in two incidents that could have made a difference to the verdict - one was his dismissal in the first innings of a no-ball (even though the TV umpire was involved, the wrong decision was given) while the other was the dropped catch by him of the wicket-keeper Baugh (Baugh and Bravo held the fort for Windies on the last day to ensure that the match would not be lost). Though it must be argued that, because of Dhoni's decision, the match came to life on the last-day after the declaration. One can say it was brave but obviously the form of Windies batsmen must have made it easy for MSD.

The last test match with India 1-0 up in the series. Will they make it 2-0 in Dominica?

Related articles

• WI-India 1st test - Dravid helps India take lead (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

SRT and MSD

Sachin Tendulkar. Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Two legends who are adored by different generations, playing for the same team, but still manage to keep their head on their shoulders. Role models for the next generation cricketers in the Indian sub-continent. What more can one say? Only that the youngsters in the Indian cricket team are lucky to be sharing the dressing room with players who are extra-ordinary gentlemen as well as skilled professionals in the art they pursue.

If Sachin was the epitome of individual skills, Dhoni has shown that he is one who can shine in a team situation. For long, Tendulkar was failing to get the one team medal that was not present in his closet - the World Cup winners medal. He tried in five different World Cups but destiny was not on his side. It was meant to be in a team that was captained by the best captain that India had (in terms of accomplishments he is beyond the statistically-backed Sourav Ganguly). He scored two centuries in this World Cup but coincidentally they were the two matches that India did not win (tie against England, loss against South Africa).

Sachin tried his best to inspire a generation of young cricketers to share his dream but in trying to do that, his expectations soared. This was probably the burden that upcoming youngsters could not face and coming from the legend, they could not say it out openly. Dhoni, on the other hand, is very approachable to his players. He supports them when their form is down, like Piyush Chawla and Ashwin in the World Cup or Yuvraj Singh before. The support makes the players believe in themselves and come out much stronger.

Before you start thinking that this article is in favor of Dhoni, I would like to set the record straight that as a batsman he is far behind SRT. Though his ODI record is quite good and he has proved his worth time and again, he is not facing the issues that ailed the Indian team during Sachin's younger days. In test matches, Sachin is streets ahead of the rest of the world, forget Dhoni.

Together with Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, the Indian team is lucky to have four gentlemen in the playing eleven. There might not be many matches that this quartet will play together in the future but as long as they do, we should enjoy the occasion. Such genuinely good successful human beings in one team is a rarity. Do you agree?

IPL4 Match 3 - RCB deny dream debut for Kochi

RCB flexed their muscles at the end of their chase to deny the debutants, Kochi Tuskers, a dream start in IPL4. AB De Viliers guided the team through the chase and as can be seen in the worm below, the over bowled by Gomez (17th) proved to be vital. Mahela opted for Gomez in place of the mercurial Sreesanth but that turned out to be helpful for RCB. VVS Laxman and McCullum had given a good start for Kochi in the first innings with their own style of play but the score put up was not good enough at the end.

 

SA Series - Two days to break the deadlock

We are good on 4th January
What a test match this has been !! Whatever happens over the next two days, this series will definitely go down as one of the most gripping tests played in recent times by the two best teams in the cricketing world. High-class fast bowling against top-class batsmen who were determined to grit it out. The match situation after the first two innings was also even-stevens - India had a token two-run lead over the Proteans.

If Jacques Kallis scored a masterpiece yesterday, Sachin Tendulkar followed up with his own spectacular century today. Sachin attacked the bowling when bad balls were given by the batsmen while toiling hard against the seam and swing of Steyn and Morkel. This knock will give him great delight for it helped the Indians reply strongly to the first innings score of South Africa and come back into the match.

Gautam Gambhir did his bit by partnering Sachin in a partnership that wore down the strike bowlers, making the Indians favorites to come on top. He fell to what Prem Panicker calls it as the 'third-bowler syndrome'. After facing the more dangerous bowlers, the opener fell to Paul Harris, who finally managed to turn the ball.

Dale Steyn, after being denied in the morning, came back to take the wickets of Pujara and Dhoni. VVS Laxman became a casualty like Kallis in the second test match - dismissed by a shot from the maestro. It was then, Harbhajan came out to join Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. The two have not made any big partnerships when they batted together on any day other than 4th of January - one century stand in 2008 and a fifty partnership today. Zaheer Khan threw his bat around to take the lead for India.

When South Africa came out to bat, the openers did well to make runs quite easily. Until Harbhajan was introduced to the attack. He quickly struck twice to reduce the South Africans to 52 by the close of play. An interesting day to look forward to, on the morrow.

The luck that I mentioned yesterday continued with the Indians again today - the example today was the failure of the bails to fall down despite the ball hitting Harbhajan's stumps. The pitch has started playing tricks, especially the wicket of Harris of the bowling of Harbhajan Singh was alarming for the South Africans. If the Indians can take early wickets in the morning, the pressure is squarely on the Proteans.

Related articles

• SA Series - Kallis makes the difference (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• SA Series - Decider starts tomorrow (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

SA Series - Kallis makes the difference

Truly a Giant!! 
Jacques Kallis did a VVS Laxman (of Durban) today - adding close to eighty runs with the help of the last two wickets in the first innings today. But, in the bargain, South Africa lost a bowler who could bowl quick for 8-10 overs in a day. They also lost a fantastic slip fielder forcing AB De Viliers to field at slips (and then dropping Gautam Gambhir off the bowling of Tsotsobe).

Lady-luck seems to be smiling on the Indians this test match. Not only did they manage to restrict South Africa to 362 (after overnight score of 232-4) today, they started batting on a track bathed in sunlight after the cloudy day yesterday. The loss of Kallis, the bowler, is going to hurt South Africa tomorrow as well.

The wicket seems to have flattened out and removed any sort of movement that was visible in the morning today. The toss was crucial for MSD to win yesterday - the early help to the bowlers helping the Indians control the direction the match started (though they could have done a better job). Sreesanth came out blazing today and restricted the Proteans in the morning today till Kallis did his mono-act once again. He scored yet another century, bringing him on par with Ricky Ponting. Add the 200+ wickets he has taken in test matches - truly a fantastic all-rounder in the mould of the yesteryears' Botham, Imran, Kapil and Hadlee if not the legendary Gary Sobers.

If Greame Smith is becoming the bunny of Zaheer, Sehwag is following his example to become one against Steyn. Rahul Dravid decided to show his running skills and became run-out for the 52nd time in international matches. Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar came together to take the initiative further - scoring runs at a fair clip first but reducing the run-rate towards the close of the day.

With three days to go, the match seems to be in a good position for both sides. If the Indians can take a lead of around one hundred in the test, they will be in a spot to create history. The weather helped the Indians today and if it continues the same way, the advantage will continue to remain with the Indians.

Related articles

• SA Series - Decider starts tomorrow (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Kallis conquers all (prempanicker.wordpress.com)
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2011 - Cricketing Wishes

After India finished the year 2010 successfully by winning the Durban test, my wishes for 2011 have increased. There are quite a few accomplishments I would like India to achieve in the New Year:

• First would be the Ongoing test series - India should win the final test match against the Proteans and win their first series there.
• India travel to West Indies, England and Australia. The last time they visited the same countries, they have won in WI and England while they lost in a controversial series in Oz. If they can repeat the performances in the first two tours while winning the one Down Under, that would be really great news
• India host West Indies also in the New Year. Considering the opponents position and (in)experience, it will be a surprise if there is a result less than 2-0 (for India)
• Sachin Tendulkar will score 15,000 runs very soon, considering the form he has been in the last one year. He will retire from ODIs after guiding the Indian team to victory in WC2011 to focus on test matches for the next few years
• Harbhajan Singh will reach the milestone of 400 wickets very soon - quite a landmark considering the fact that there are not many Indians who have taken so many
• Rahul Dravid makes a graceful exit by playing his last series in England and topping the runs scored
• VVS Laxman starts making contributions in First Innings of test matches so that he is not required to bat in the Second Innings
• Sehwag stops falling to spinners and left-arm pace bowlers after dominating the bowling completely
• India agrees to play test cricket with UDRS in place for all their test matches
• Sreesanth stops fighting with rival batsmen - he focuses his attention on his pace and bowls regularly at speeds of more than 145kmph
• Ishant Sharma stops bowling no-balls in matches
• Gary Kirsten agrees to continue coaching the Indian team for 3 more years
• Anil Kumble contests elections at the national level and wins!!!

Do you have any other hopes for the Indian team in the New Year? Let me know.

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SA Series - India equalize test series

Clever captaincy by MS Dhoni The South African team is scared of history - it has been proven many times earlier. Remember their performance in multi-national ODI tournaments? Everyone is aware of this. Now, remember how the media had harped upon their performances in Durban?  I am sure that this was also on their mind at various times throughout the second innings of this test match. They now have three scores in the 130's (out of six innings) in Durban and lost all the three tests played. Similarly, Hashim Amla's home-ground jinx continued for some more time (his dismissal in both innings giving the initiative back to India).



This pressure, coupled with the tight bowling of Harbhajan Singh made life miserable for the Proteas. As AB tweeted, South Africa did not play as well as they could. Run-making was made difficult with the bowling and some clever fielding placements. It was only a matter of time when an unplayable ball arrived - just like Murali Vijay faced yesterday, Kallis was the unlucky batsmen today to get a snorter from Sreesanth. Other than this ball, the pitch had not deteriorated to such an extent that nobody could beat the first innings score of VVS (Prince would beat it later, however).

De Viliers got a dismissal that looked out in real-time but Hawk-Eye showed it to be going above the stumps. Similarly, Boucher got a ball that seemed to come in to hit off-stump. Both these dismissals were not approved by the South Africans and the latter batsmen seemed to have realized that any hopes of win were remote. MS Dhoni did a clever move by bringing Zaheer into the attack (with chances of reverse-swing, MSD started the bowling with Sreesanth & Harbhajan, saving Zak for later). Prince waged a battle against the Indians thwarting the attack with the tailenders but it was just a matter of when the last wicket would fall. A smart piece of fielding by the youngster Pujara brought the final wicket, resulting in the match win for India.

Overall, a good comeback by the Indians after the loss in the first test match. Ayaz Menon tweeted that the game-changers for India were Zaheer and VVS Laxman but I wouldn't agree with it. One has to credit the resurgence to the entire team - right from the second innings of the first test, the comeback had been initiated by the knocks of Gambhir, Tendulkar and Dhoni - this was taken to the next level in this match by Laxman and the bowlers lead by Zaheer. It was team-work alright!!

Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted that the last 5 great overseas wins for India have been at Headingley, Perth, Jamaica, Wanderers and now Durban - lively, pacy wickets are to the advantage of the Indian bowlers now. Opponents of India, Beware!!!   

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SA Series - Seven wickets to equal the series

Seven !!! Yes, seven more wickets for India to win the test match and square the series at 1-1. For South Africa, it is a matter of 192 more runs. Right now, India is in the driver's seat to win the match while one can never say till the time Kallis and AB De Viliers are at the crease. The pitch will support Harbhajan and India will come back strongly with the services of Zaheer Khan, who was a bit gingerly on the field.

Maybe it was something to do with the time he spent on the field, supporting VVS Laxman with a partnership that is mostly a match-winning one. VVS was seldom uncomfortable on the pitch where he has the Top 2 scores of the match. Only when the last wicket was left, he tried his hand with an uncharacteristic shot that led to his downfall. Till then, it was all class and grace from the maestro, who averages 142+ in the Indian 2nd innings whenever he scores more than 50.

In such match-changing knocks, he averages 43+ with Zaheer Khan and 36+ with Ishant Sharma - proof that most of his innings have come when the chips are down and he is forced to play with the tailenders. He did the same today also with Zaheer and added 80 runs after the fall of Harbhajan Singh. This partnership brought the target to 303, a total that was more challenging than what was anticipated in the morning.

Zaheer, after scoring his fourteenth score of 25+ in test matches was not his usual self with the ball when South Africa started their innings. It also helped that Greame Smith came out with an aggressive mindset against him. Runs started flowing and Dhoni was forced to take Zaheer out of the attack. Sreesanth, however, made up for Zaheer's lack of form with a good spell of swing bowling, taking two wickets and bringing India back in the game. Harbhajan chipped in with Peterson's wicket and India gained further advantage. The run-rate that was more than five at one time, came down with the new batsmen at the crease.

Tomorrow, the wickets of De Viliers and Kallis are key to the match. If they can be dismissed early, India will be able to run through the remaining wickets quickly. With runs on the board, I would call the Indians as the favorites right now.

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SA Series - India strike back to gain advantage

India, by their performance today, proved multiple theories in the ongoing test series. Their bowlers came up with a performance that showed why they were the No.1 team in the world. The show put up by the batters yesterday signified the devils in the pitch on the first day of the first test match. The innings of South Africans also gave an idea of how they would have succumbed if they had batted first in the same match.

The beginning of the day went against the plans of the Indians - if they had thought about adding few runs and take the score near 250, Steyn and Morkel dismissed the thoughts quickly - VVS Laxman's score of 38 was the highest of the innings (in fact, highest of the match after 2 days).

At this juncture, the script followed a pattern that was visible in the last test series between the two sides when Sreesanth sent the Proteas packing. This time, it was Zaheer Khan who lead the attack with his strikes. First with his bunny, Greame Smith, and then adding the wicket of Peterson Zaheer increased the hopes of India. Fantastic catching by the Indians helped the bowlers take quick break-throughs and reduce the score of the opposition. Luck aided them through the run-out of Kallis. Harbhajan came into his own and picked up wickets, thanks to the turn and bounce available on show - his eleventh performance of four wickets and above overseas (eight of them have helped India win - will the latest one also do the same?)

Sehwag started briskly and took the initiative to score quick runs on the board (42 runs in the first nine overs) - Steyn was removed from the attack as a result of this assault. But, four wickets in the space of 16 runs put the pressure back on India. Except for Murali Vijay's wicket, the others chased the ball to get out. The Indians came out with an aggressive intent and were on the lookout for runs - obvious strategy to add runs even while staying at the crease. It was left to VVS and Pujara to see out the rest of the evening (before bad light stopped once again) with 36 runs added to the score.

166 is the lead that India has at the end of the second day, making them the favorites after two days. Setting a total of 275 to 300 (or more) will help them equalize the series.

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