Mind games and Strategy

A number of Pakistani ex-cricketers from Imran to Moin are predicting that Pak has the edge in the forthcoming series and will be able to win easily. Akram’s quote of "throw them on the canvas" about the Indian batting line up, also gained prominence in the media today. A number of them are pointing out that the internal rifts, with Sourav saga and the fact that the top order has been brittle even against a toothless Lankan attack are big negatives that can not be overcome against superior Pakistan bowling. Then, there is also talk about the winter aspect and the hard, bouncy tracks as well that have been requested by Inzi.

I have to agree with most of these points but most cricketing predictions fall by the wayside unless you are a percentage team like Australia and can produce winners (Mike Hussey for example at the ripe age of 30 and scoring in Bradmansque fashion) by the dozen. Having said that, Indian team has its weaknesses and good teams, in the past have exposed them. I am going to dwell into points that are already not in the media and put some new spin here on the strategy and mind games – just for the 1^st test, to start with.

Traditional Indian Weakness in the first few games of any tour : Over the years, I have watched India start tours abroad very badly and loose the first game straightaway. This might be largely due to they not acclimatizing themselves but even in tough tours, they somehow start putting a fight towards the end (by which time, it is invariably too late). This time around, the transition should not be that difficult since after all, Lahore is minutes across the Punjab border and the usual rustiness associated with some lay offs is not going to be there. The key for Rahul and co. is to get down to fighting levels straightaway at Lahore and not exhibit this traditional Indian weakness of bad opening gambits.

Get the selection right : There is this old saying of ‘catching a genie in a bottle’. Maybe, India has found its genie – Wasim Jaffer ( Mike Hussey’s example again. Good first class background, lots of runs, not so young but perhaps the crucial difference being Jaffer having messed his earlier international chances). I will go with Jaffer as opener (even if he fails in the practice game) since he is in the best form of his career and much safer option than trigger happy Gambhir. There are other compromise moves discussed like sending Yuvaraj / SG or the outrageous suggestion of sending Parthiv but common sense says that put all this fracas aside and go with Jaffer. The last puzzle is going to be the 4^th bowling spot.(Pathan is the lone sure hand here. The rest of the cast can vary depending on the pitch). I will go with Pathan + Zaheer + Agarkar + Kumble ( and not Bhajji, the reason being I feel that Kumble is more patient and will fit with the draw plan [below] much better than the flamboyant Bhajji).

Play for a draw @ Lahore : This might look negative to start with but let us be honest. With the blazing form that the Pak team is in (Butt, Inzi, Youhana and Kamran are in great form plus Afridi has exhibited a rare consistency in his 50s and 60s now. The only soft spot is perhaps Malik and to some extent Younus Khan), India has little chance for a win – unless Pak messes up in an outrageous fashion. I am not sure what happened to the Pak request of starting the matches by 30 minutes earlier. If that happens to be okayed, then there is a possibility of squeezing in 85 overs and if not it is going to be 75 overs a day. India’s best chances for a draw are with the Wall – Rahul Dravid. The last time he batted in a test, he was able to score a 50+ in the 2^nd innings at Kotla (and looked capable of more, until he ran himself out) but that was some weeks ago. Off hand, I have to say that his stats. after taking over captaincy have not reached the dizzy heights before and it is high time he mends that.

Bowl to a plan : This is easier said than done. In the last tour, I did not see any great ‘Brearly’ like strategic moves by Inzi. But, this time around – that gap is filled by Woolmer’s presence and success breeds its own confidence. The key is to contain the rampaging Butt (again the old weakness against left handers) and of course Inzi. Polishing the lower order is also vital since a 250 for 5 score can easily run away to 450 score, if you allow Kamran and Afridi to flourish.

Finally, keep your chin up and work on the details. Not everything is going to go as per plan. Hence, a plan B and even a plan C is essential. It might be as simple as deciding who should be the night watchman (India’s best bet – Agarkar IMHO), getting slip fielders right (VVS, RD – not to grass the odd chance that may come by) and who will field at shortleg if GG is not playing. All in all, RD must consider that his job well done, if India goes to the 2^nd test, unbeaten. By then, a lot can happen and a re-look at this will be required.

Cricket4ever 2005 awards

2005 is coming to a close and it is time to relook at the whole year and give some awards to those who really deserve it. Here is the Cricket4ever roll call – ladies and gentlemen. !!

Playing Truant all through the year : You guessed it right. No scope for argument here. The gold medal here goes to Dada.

Foot in the mouth champion : Who else but Kiran More. No need to explain why he is getting this.

Quote of the year : “Sourav is selected as all rounder and hence we decided not to select Zaheer”

Groundsman of the year : Prabir Mukherjee – for preparing a green top at Edens for the ODI against SA.

Newsmaker of the year : Well ! The honor goes to Sourav. Pages and pages of newspaper columns, blog after blog (even something as strange as 'I hate sourav ganguly.com'), hours of panelists pouring over for and against opinions and even figuring in corporate case studies of the firm run by Harsha.

Most sportive crowd in a cricket ground : You guessed it again. It is the Eden crowd that choose to cheer SA rather than India.

Master planners of the year : The BCCI brain wave that scheduled a Chennai ODI during rainy season and as if not to be outdone by this smart move, then shift the 3^rd test venue to the 1^st test venue so that falls right during hurricane season.

Most Consumer friendly : TNCA refusing to refund the money back to ticket holders who hardly saw a ball bowled for over 4+1 days.

Outsmarting rivals : The two rival groups in Delhi cricket associaton – one puncturing the sight screen tires and the other removing some useful screws from the Supper Sopper.

Reenact another sport in a cricket ground : This award goes to the rival factions of Himachal cricket association – for renacting world wide boxing championship, in picturesque Dhamasala.

Spring a surprise, when least expected : Emergence of Pondicherry cricket association, during BCCI election.

Leaving things ambiguous : This peculiar liking for grey color is a common trend thro’ the corridors of the erstwhile BCCI. The award is given for the splendid act of making the whole coaching staff of Indian team work for almost an year without a contract.

Maximizer : This award goes to Parhiv Patel. He hardly did a thing worth mentioning in domestic cricket and is currently down with viral fever but is still selected for the Pak tour (he kind of reenacted his World cup act of amazing a fortune without lifting a finger in a single match).

Swift justice : This award goes to the new powers of BCCI for sacking the 3 selectors who backed Sourav, seconds after taking over the power.

Most boring commentary team : The verbal diarrhea during the whole SL series is forcing me to give this award to entire TV commentary team.

War of Words from Kiran More !!

The Ganguly episode takes a new turn almost every hour, even after he has engineered his way into the 16 (not again, ugh !!). Kiran More seems to be staging a one man war against Dada, when he demanded an explanation from him (through a letter to Nirajan Shah), when Dada failed to turn up at Surat Ranji game against Gujarat. Niranjan Shah, for his part did a vole face and said – ‘no explanation will be asked. What can we do if he does not play’?.

For a long, long time, the Indian players have been taking it cool and not bothering to play in Ranji games, unless they are thrown out once and for all or their position threatened. The Maharajas (a.k.a Test team) of Indian cricket never bothered about turning up in such remote places as Siliguiri, Anathpur, Surat and Rajkot(with no big 5 star comforts) unless the situation was desperate from their personal angle (Well !! I can hear about a few exceptions here and there but for the most part the above statement is true. Who cares about Ranji trophy. That is for the poor souls who have to brave the late running, dirty Indian trains, indifferent state associations, absolutely useless umpiring, no crowd support, dirty little unknown hotels and of course sordid tales like the Dharmasala match - where they poured water on the pitch and staged a mini war amidst 2 factions. For the shear pleasure of watching a WWF boxing match - nothing can beat the sleazy games played by the Delhi administrators and selectors
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IES20051226085526&Page=S&Title=Sports&Topic=0).
For the record, Dada has sited ‘personal reasons’ for his absense from Surat and I am sure that the last word on this subject is yet to be written.

In the mean while, Dinesh Karthik put up quite a show at Wankhade but a trifle too late for VB Chandrashekar to do anything. In my books, Karthik is streets ahead of Parthiv in keeping and batting (show me one inning of Parthiv, even in a Ranji) but unfortunately, he does not have suitable backing and that has been the sad story for 5 decades for TN players.

A relook : There has been a number of Sachin Vs Shoiab match ups in the past and I can say Sachin has generally emerged the better – when you count the overall stats and also how he played Shoiab in important games (like the World cup); but here is one video worth revisiting. Sachin is bowled neck and crop here, in front of a massive crowd at Eden. Those were the days, when Shoiab just ran in fast and hurled it as far as he can let it go; but, these days, he has developed other weapons like the slower ball (he is even batting better, after having gained the trust of Inzi, who sent him as night watchman and he did not do bad at all). Indian batsmen need to watch their backs. In the midst of all the Sourav drama, let them not forget that here is a much superior team ready to fight at their own back yards.

http://media.putfile.com/Shoaib-Akhtar-To-Tendulkar---YEAH

Parthiv as Opener !

What seemed as unthinkable a few days ago, might happen. I have read reports that Parthiv Patel might get to relive his Pindi act (http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2003-04/IND_IN_PAK/SCORECARDS/IND_PAK_T3_13-17APR2004.html) of opening the batting so as to accommodate Dada in the XI. Dinesh Karthik might feel unlucky but he has been in horrendous form this Ranji season with the bat and had absolutely left VB Chandrashekar (the South Zone selector) empty handed. With Kiran More going to Pakistan as a voting selector, having a say in the final XI, I won’t be surprised of ‘bring back Parthiv’ campaign. IMHO, this will be a crazy move (if it happens) since Dhoni’s ability is to change the course of the match in a couple of hours and the Parthiv + Dada combo can forget about doing any such thing. They simply do not have in them to score so quickly.

In the meanwhile, Jaffer has hit a massive 160+ score today against TN and is not going to let go these few chances he is getting. Gambhir, on the other hand did not make a big score against Railways and will be under pressure in the first practice match in the Pak tour. I am almost tempted to pencil in Jaffer, ahead of Gambhir since even by Ranji standards, no batsmen has scored in such Bradmansque fashion in recent times.

All in all, there has been enough drama already but I feel that Pak has the definite edge. Almost, all their batsmen are in form (Salman Butt, Inzi, Kamran and Youhana(Yousuf) plus you throw in Razzak and Afridi – it looks quite heady) but the clincher is the bowling – Shoiab, for a change is making news for on field (rather than off field) contributions and the support cast of Rana and Sami are not doing bad. Kaneria may not be as much as a factor, as he was against England but he will be still useful against the likes of Yuvaraj. Then there are other bowlers, who typically spring to life when they face India – like Umer Gul and perhaps even Asif. Dravid will count himself lucky, if he comes back with a drawn test series.

More retracts !! Dada is back !!

Dada is back, both In the 16 and the ‘A’ list of contracts. It seems to be a literal Santa like gift for Sourav, on both counts. It is not much of a news that Kiran More continued his mumblings and said something totally inconsequential about the selection. The other surprise is Parthiv’s inclusion. In a short tour of just 3 tests and one practice match, what is Parthiv going to do (unless Dhoni fails miserably). With all the holidays for Id in between, a replacement can literally walk from Wagah border, in case there is an injury. Strange are the ways of Indian cricket but that has been the story for decades and this is no different now. I have seen too many sordid, despicable tales of cloak and dagger politicking to be really shocked by anything. Now that the unwanted (by GC/RD) Dada is in 16, the next obvious question is – will he make the XI?

Time to look ahead

As expected, the mopping up was quick at Motera and Attappattu mumbled the usual comments of ‘taking the positives from the tour'. Ditto from Shewag, although more in an off the cuff tone. Well !! To me, the so called ‘I am not overtly concerned’ comment eminating time and again from the Indian dressing room, about the gross failure of opening batsmen and the whole top order (100 for 5 in both inning at Motera!!) is understating an all important issue. Good bowling teams like Pakistan will not allow such ‘escapes from Jail’ and it is high time that Sehwag learns to combine aggression with responsibility. His ugly swat to 3^rd man in the 2^nd inning off the very 1^st ball is definitely disconcerting and there is going to be little or no chance of come backs in the tough tour of Pakistan. Not with the way Shoiab has been bowling.

Inzi has already called for hard, bouncy tracks, thereby giving away his strategies in the open. Although, this call is no surprise (given the recent success of Shoiab and co. against a lackluster England), Chappell has to start out-thinking his opponents here. I am not sure that theory on who can bowl fast is any good for consistently taking wickets (McGrath, the most successful fast bowler for a decade now is not exactly your tear away). Shoiab seems to have developed a new slower delivery that has caused nightmares to the poms. Indian batsmen struggled or atleast did not handle it well, when Dilhara bowled the slower ones during the ODI series. This is the time to do some video analysis, practice against the slower ball and take the bull by the horn (rather than worrying about whether you got into the already ultra rich BCCI contract as grade A or B or spending time in some New year bash).

India has to get its selection right as well and get the wicket taking Zaheer Khan back. Balaji and Nehra are still injured and are perhaps ruled out straight away. That leaves the selectors to pick RP or Zaheer or both. My choice is Zaheer since he will be now ready to make a come back forgetting his troubles of the past.

Some spunk atlast !

The Sri Lankan batsmen displayed some application but again failed to make it to a big score. In the end, they did show enough gumption to take the play to the final day but would have really liked Jaya and Dishan to be there not out. Cricket is a strange game and after his 7 wickets, Bhajji was able to take just one in the 2^nd inning. Neither he and nor Kumble were in their best bowling form but 500 is a lot of cushion to bowl with and can lead to an almost complacent mood. Attappattu for the umpteenth time, failed to send Dilshan ahead of lackluster Samaraweera and thereby deprived whatever little chance Lanka had. Barring a Mohali like act (when Razzak and Kamran Akmal held up India for a day), this should be over by lunch of 5^th day. It is time for Chappell and Co. to plan for the tougher tour ahead.

Elsewhere, I was amused to read Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI media rep giving details of the meeting between Pawar and Sourav “ They discussed matters to improve Indian Cricket”. Hmmn..this is the sort of remarks that really leads BCCI into trouble. Can anyone believe this – Sourav takes a plane and comes all the way to Delhi to meet Pawar and then discuss about improving Indian cricket. Give me a break ! What is the latest brain wave he would have had that is different from about a week ago, when he met Pawar along with the other players, during the contract discussion. Come on Shukla !! Obviously, much water has flown under the bridge since the 1^st meeting with other players but to discuss about improvements? Hmm..again, I feel that these tongue tied remarks is just not going to get us anywhere.

In other news, word has leaked out that the grand old man of Indian cricket – the redoubtable Raj Singh Dungapur will be the team manager for the Pak tour. Raj Singh is no stranger to the ways of Indian cricket and has been in the thick of many a thing in the past (including the famous appointment of Azhar as captain and finishing off Srikanth’s short but impressive stint at captaincy) and he is brought in perhaps to handle the thorny dressing room atmosphere, where Sourav is likely to be around.

Lackluster Lions !!

Lanka must be ruing the fact that for the 2^nd time they allowed the Indian lower order to wriggle their team out of a tight spot. The lower order has added nearly 500 (300+187) runs in this match and that speaks volumes of the resolve of Pathan, Dhoni and even Agarkar. Yuvaraj made up for his failure in the 1^st inning and put to rest the claims of ‘nay sayers’. I, for one never doubted his talent and right to be where he is but he has to bridge the gap while playing spin. I am yet to be convinced that Agarkar is better than a Zaheer (or even a Balaji or Nehra) when it comes to be the no.2 seamer in tests but in batting, he still has the potential to come good, once in a while. Today was his day, when he stroked to a pleasant 48 and threw it away when a 50 was there for the asking. Lanka looked like a spent team late in the evening -wilting under the happy go lucky 10th wicket stand of Bhajji/Kumble, ready to go back to Columbo by the next flight. India has to go for the kill and do a ruthless demolition that will give them the edge, while they prepare for the tough tour ahead of Pakistan.

Turbanator runs riot !!

Harbhajan produced a Prasanna like dream spell and Lanka was left to ponder on another late evening collapse. Earlier, the Indian tail had wagged and Pathan had gone on to consolidate, first with Laxman and then with Agarkar. Kumble would have enjoyed that moment, when he whacked Murali for a towering 6 but that is about the last time he enjoyed anything today. He was totally off color while bowling and worst, gifted too many ‘hit me for 4’ balls. I do not think that Sehwag will be keen to enforce the follow on, even if the Lankan tail fails to make the required runs. It is a safe option for him to bat on and wear out the surface and pretty much close all possibilities of a result other than an Indian win. Attappattu again missed out a trick by not rearranging the batting order. Dilshan has been more positive and the near 50 average of ‘deer in the headlights’ Samaraweera not withstanding, should have been sent earlier. Dilshan can still fight and reduce the lead but with a longish tail, without Vaas, Lanka is up against it for all practical purposes. Finally, did someone notice the 41 extras in India's 398 and that too with 15 byes? Sangakkara, who was recently selected for world XI and one who wants to set the mood for the whole team - hmmm. Cricket can be a great leveller in no time.

Dour day at Motera

On a day, when there were more misfortunes for Attappattu than for Sehwag, Indian batsmen played as if trying to steer a raft amidst high seas. Lanka had lost Vaas & Dlihara due to the virus and lost the 3^rd successive toss too. On a featherbed, all India had to do was to amaze a 1^st day score of 350+ but they batted in a miserly fashion and ended up a good 100 runs short. I had seen VVS crib often that he is not getting many chances to hit 100s, when he used to bat at number 6 (during the Ganguly era) and had to play with the tail. Here, he had an absolute gift at Motera and he could have stroked all the way to a 150 n.o from a none too threatening attack but he choose to display a deep slumber, dormant mood and ended the day at 71 n.o. But for Dhoni, the rest choose to play too cautiously and that includes Pathan. Yuvaraj again showed that he is going to be suspect against spin and the manner of his dismissal – caught off a traditional offspinner at slip, while defending, left me with an opinion that he has to quickly bridge this gap; otherwise, top sides will eat him up easily and he will be a laughing stock by the end of Pak tour. Gambhir could not resist the pull, Sehwag played the wrong line, Sachin was surprised by the bounce and Kaif wasted a golden chance. Agreed that India had to battle back from 97/5 but the last 15 overs, when Lanka were going through the motion, Pathan & VVS could have creamed another 50-60 more.
Another point which did not go without my notice was the the 1st hour lost due to dew on the ground. Give me a break !! Pawar was present in A'bad and everyone in the Northern hemisphere knew that this is winter in N. India. What the hell ? In this day of Super Soppers, an hour lost - yikes.!! What was GCA upto? Some things never change. Never ever.
I think, there is going to be a result in this match (inspite of the deadpan scoring pattern and an ever worst over rate) and whoever takes a decent 1^st innings lead is likely to win.

Dravid in Hospital !! Confusion every where

Dravid seems to be down with a bout of gastro trouble & infection and is hospitalized. As usual, there was utter confusion about the news on whether he will be able to play or not. The media rep of the team is telling something, while the doctor in the hospital is telling something else. Chappell on the other hand sounds hopeful

Let us examine a few headlines.
Cricketnext - 'Darvid's condition improving' http://www.cricketnext.com/news1/next/Rep2005/rep460.htm
and here 'Dravid will miss the test' from rediff
http://ia.rediff.com/cricket/2005/dec/17dravid.htm?q=tp&file=.htm
and here Chappell being hopeful that he will play
http://www.hindustantimes.com/htcricket/7856_1576011,001601100000.htm

But, from all accounts, Dravid seems to be almost out. There was also confusion on whether who is going to open - Jaffer or Gambhir. Crickinfo felt that it is going to be the Delhi lad, whereas there were others supporting the cause of Jaffer.
In the meanwhile, there seems to be no stopping the hot air still blowing on the Sourav issue. All this started because of the fact that Kiran More is not articulate enough to really speak and clarify anything of substance. It also appears that from now on, every selection move will have to be endorsed by the parliment, especially the team from CPM. That is provided they meet amidst all the walkouts and boycotts (and not to forget the bomb scares). With Kolkatta burning and a group starting a relay fast near Gangu's residence, it has become a real joke. From now on, selection will be dependent on whether where the next test will be, how much support the player garners in his home town and so on, rather than cricketing matters. Scores, wickets are immaterial. All that it matters is - can you drum up enough frenzy and raise the issue in Lok Sabha ? The nation has such serious dearth of issues that the cricket selection had to be discussed in Lok Sabha, you see.
On the whole, I feel that the Indian team has lost whatever psychological edge it gained after the Kotla win since there is an atmosphere of mistrust, chaos and utter lack of cricketing logic (all of course nothing new in India).

Sourav for MP !!

With Kolkattans burning effigies, performing Shrardh of More & Chappell and every one – who is 'whose who' in Bengal protesting, there is no shortage of sympathy for Sourav. There was even a suggestion by some Kerala association to make him an MP. I think that all this only reflects the emotionalism and regionalism that gets attached with the crazy cricket following in India. The reason for all this sympathy is perhaps in the manner in which the exclusion was carried out, with half baked expressions from More.

Let me look at the lighter side of things. This is not the first time Kiran More is getting into the skin of others. Remember the famous Miandad 'Frog Jump'. For those who have forgotten that or do not belong to that generation, here it is again - in good video.(copy and paste the link in IE)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2882550246281540624&q=miandad+frog+jump

It has to be said that several great cricketers including the likes of Kapil Dev and Steve Waugh had difficult last phases and did not get the Gavaskar’s exit plan with ‘You must go when people are asking why rather than why not’. I am not saying that Sourav should quit but he can easily make life for More & co. difficult by scoring in the domestic matches, which itself for Sourav supporters a different yardstick as opposed to given to say Sachin, who just had to play the challenger before coming back into the team.

I can see also scores of articles about the stoic silence of Dravid on the issue – Frankly speaking, what can he do? He knows pretty well that he has to take Yuvi at number 6 and hence he kept quite, in my opinion. Dravid was afterall trying to rectify the 1^st wrong, which was allowing Sourav back into the team in tests. I can see also waves and waves of columns attributing all this to Chappell. He might have been the initiator but remember no one else had the power to articulate the obvious. Sourav was way beyond his 'sell by date' and no one had the courage to say that in public, until Chappell brought it to the light. Anyway, all this is a moot point since I feel that a compromise is on the way and for all you know a plan has already been hatched to get him for the Pak tour.

Let me revisit the choice of batsman who replaced Sourav – Jaffer. Granted, he has been scoring heavily in domestic circuit but the million dollar question is - can he live up to it, especially with all the media pressure of he being the man, who got in place of Gangu.?. There were other choices for the selectors – Shikar Dhiwan and Ricky but Bhupender Singh is just ‘in’ the committee and would have been timid to oppose More’s backing of Jaffer. Dhiraj Jadav has had a horrible Ranji season and was out of contention and the dare devil methods of Uthappa is not going to win him friends in Test selection. Given all that, Jaffer is not a bad choice but he has to rise upto the occasion; that is assuming he is in the XI.

Motera seems to have planned another Dhiraj Parsanna dust bowl, where the tweakers will be itching to turn their arms around. I guess, it is going to be tall scoring 1^st innings for both sides and whoever backs themselves up to perform to potential can produce the result.

Dada dropped !! & Kotla win

The inevitable has happened. I mean, for both points in the head line. Dropping of Sourav and Indian victory at Kotla. I will address the 2^nd topic later in the post. I am pretty sure that we have already hit the record on the amount of news paper columns, air time in TV, blogs’s comments & postings, road side tea stall discussions on this very topic of Sourav Ganguly. There are passionate lovers of him on one side and on the other side, people who would want him go once and for all. Let me tell you, I am in neither group. I am very aware of what he has done over the years and also know pretty well on how he plays in the field.

I am going to disregard the Kiran More quotes that followed the decision to drop Dada since our selectors are not an eloquent bunch (remember the all rounder tag !!) and come out with vague, unconvincing reasons that are the butt of jokes at the next party.

In my own books, Sourav has been not in prime form and he himself will know that, heart of hearts. He has not played one fluent innings for several years now and he is not comparable to Yuvaraj, at least not in current form. Yuvaraj has still ways to go while playing spin bowling ( his true test is going to be against Kaneria later in the coming months) but in current form, he is streets ahead of Sourav and hence deserves the number 6 spot. I will say, Kiran More should have kept Ganguly in the 14, even if it meant that he will not be in the playing 11 and Gambhir should have got the boot. So much has happened so quickly for Sourav, one more indignity does not really matter. It is better than being given the sack (and heckled by the crowd).

Now, let us examine the two decent contributions of Sourav at Kotla. In both innings, he played a decent part in preventing a collapse but I felt that he was way too slow on the 4^th morning, when the match was well in the bag. The selectors had delayed their announcement for the 3^rd test till Wednesday (normally, I have seen them doing it in the 4^th day end) and all Sourav had to do was to hit a couple of pleasing 4s on the 4^th morning and coast to a 50+ score in double quick time. That would have kept the proverbial Damocles sword away. But, he choose to play in his somnolent ways and dragged his feat for an hour and did not win any admirers. That very approach pretty much sealed it (along with Yuvi’s 77 n.o). I just hope that the deep divide, we have seen in the cricket crazy nation, will not get any deeper after this. But, one never knows and perhaps the last word on this topic is yet to come.

The other inevitable happened at Kotla and ‘Jumbo’ once again proved that he is the sole match winner capable of repeating this act (he has done it now for over a decade) time in and time out. What was Attappattu doing by holding back Dilshan? Anyway, it was all over by the time Dilshan came in and he and Jaya delayed the inevitable a bit.

I would like to ask the hypothetical question - what if India had not succumbed to Murali on 2nd day morning? IMHO - this match would have ended in draw since India would have scored too slowly for any result other than a draw. Remember, even the 2nd innings change of tempo came only with Pathan and in normal proceedings, he wouldn't have opened. So, in my opinion, Murali's flurry of wickets on 2nd morning contributed to arriving at a result, albeit - the one which Lanka did not want. It might sound wierd but look at the scoring pattern of India in last 10 test matches and anyone can see this.

The positives in this game for India is their will to fight out of the adversary and also think out of the box (Irfan as opener). Question is – can they continue the trend long term and against more established opposition?

Late evening Blues (Blows)

It was another tame, late evening madness in the fading light at Kotla; 4 Lankan wickets fell in some 20 minutes and Kumble was back in stride. Jayasurya must be wondering, what his replacements in the Test team are up to. Gunawardane repeated the Gambhir act of 3rd failure and Samaraweera played a nothing shot in the last over. Attappattu started it all with a charge to be C&B and Tauffel accounted for Bandara. Marvan also missed a trick by sending in Mubarak ahead of the shaky Samaraweera.
In the morning, I am not sure what Sourav was upto. He was in a camatose mood (not for the 1st time though) and playing for a place in the next test team, neither he nor Yuvi were prepared to even strike the ball hard. Sourav hogged the strike for the most part and played in a manner, as if India wanted a dead game. Dada's time is up. By not playing fluently in this pitch, where the ball rarely rose beyond the boot lace, he showed once again why he needs to be given a decent send off. Any further hanging around is going to be utter injustce to the potential of Yuvaraj in tests. (Well !! I can hear the usual excuses from his supporters. The ball was keeping low and he has to see off the initial overs and all that. Give me a break ! This attack of Lanka is no great shakes for such an ultra cautious approach). Normal service was only restored when Dhoni injected some urgency into the proceedings with a typical sledge hammer innings. This is a good sign since I have been preaching about the need to score quickly in tests too. In the coming years, Dhoni's quick fire knocks can become invaluable as much in tests, as in ODIs.
It should be a formality from here but I have seen the odd display of defiance in Indian soil before and a chance for any result other than Indian win looks slim but not impossible.

Asali Pathan - Irfan Pathan

I remember an India-Pak match telecast, which I saw in the big screen at Raleigh a while ago and every time Pathan came to bowl or bat, the crowd used to shout ‘ Asali Pathan – Irfan Pathan’. Today, Irfan played like the other famous Pathan – Imran Khan. Dravid surprised one and all with another inspired move. I was suggesting Dhoni but Rahul went one step further and sent the technically correct Pathan and what a move it proved to be. Pathan did not allow Murali to settle in and set the table by hitting that six in the opening over. Irafan not only stroke the ball all around fluently but played most of them in copy book fashion.

It was an ideal opportunity for Gambhir to come good since there was no real pressure to score; Pathan was going great guns at the other end and all he had to do was to build an innings. But, his 3^rd successive single digit score is going to put some pressure although I must say that at Motera dust bowl, he will be valuable at short leg. Atappattu did India a favor by under bowling Bandara and the rest was easy. Murali did not pick up a wicket and I hope that it is not due to sudden change of pitch behavior. If that is the case, India should aim for nothing less than a 425 target.

In the morning, Lankan tail was polished off in a reasonable amount of time. In my own books, at least 10-15 more runs were allowed. This is where Australia scores easily. The Aussies give no easy runs to the tail and pretty much score at 4 an over, while they bat. So, there is plenty of time for the results to take care of themselves.

A safe score is in excess of 400 to chase and Kumble will be itching to repeat his act, in his favortite hunting ground.

Kumble saves India blushes !!

Murali spun a web around Indian batsmen and the score literally read 45/7. Atappattu would not have imagined this in his wildest dreams. I thought that he tossed the ball to Bandara, just to bowl the 80^th over, before getting the new ball. Murali continued for the 81^st and if they would have taken the new ball, may be things could have been different but just then Sourav got out and started a procession that never stopped. Murali’s Doosaras, pitched on the leg stump, were turning like Shane Warne’s leg breaks and although every one can see what is coming, no one dared to play it in the right manner. With the result, India virtually surrendered the match, for all practical purposes – so it seemed, until Kumble restored some parity.
A few other observations :

• Yuvaraj Singh, again proved that he is a bunny against top class spin bowling.
• Sachin was unlucky to be given out LBW , on a day when it rained LBWs. Dhoni got a peach of a ball and could have been the difference, if he has hung on to make even a quick fire 30.
• Indian tail should have thrown their bat around rather than just staying around. Agarkar, for some strange reason curbed the fireworks of Bhajji. 25 or 30 runs more by the last 2/3 wickets would have really helped.
• In SL innings, Indian bowling was listless and Bhajji was especially ineffective. Dravid, I thought brought in Kumble too late and Kumble himself was not living upto his high standards until he woke up late in the day.

No one expected Murali to run amok like this. His bent arm is pretty obvious in his doosras but too much time has passed on and this action has been allowed to continue for so long, I remember a decade ago, when Murali toured India, playing tests, he was just another spinner but now with a record 48 5 hauls, too much water has flown under the bridge and the best thing for now is to keep quite rather than crib about his action. I still admire his stamina and the will of his.

What is ahead ? Well !! My draw prediction proved to be totally wrong but that is okay since it was made out of common wisdom and observing Indian cricket for long. Over the years, India has lost numerous matches due to its inability to finish off opposition’s tail. Vaas and Bandara can bat and Murali can throw his bat around too for a nerve wrecking quick fire 20/25. Dilhara is not much of batsman but even he hung around for a while in the BP XI practice match. India has to take these last 4 wickets within the next 40 or 50 runs, for them to have some chance. Pathan should pair up with Kumble and should polish off the tail in double quick time. Otherwise, they are in trouble since Murali will be virtually untouchable in the 2^nd innings.

I will say that India, has to open with Dhoni in the 2^nd innings. He should be used to launch into an attack like what Afridi did at Bangalore during Pak tour of India and even 40 runs coming off the opening few overs before Murali comes in, is still going to be handy. But, I doubt very much whether it will happen since Dravid is too responsible and too conventional to a fault and he will willingly shoulder on by taking it on himself, thereby missing a simple trick of unsettling the opposition. It will be also a moot point, if Murali opens the bowling with Vaas and that is entirely not ruled out especially if Lanka come close to 290 or even lead. I will say that the advantage is with Sri Lanka, 65-35 at this time since India may not polish off the Lankan tail and will struggle to make anything in excess of 150 in the 2nd innings.

Sachin's moment in History !!

Dileep Premachandran wrote in crickinfo “Years from now, if you're an Indian cricket aficionado, they might ask you where you were at 4:45pm on a wintry December evening at the Ferozshah Kotla” when history was being made by the little master Sachin. Well. I was listening to the audio in sify.com at Dayton when suddenly Sanjay Agarwal became tongue tied and failed to describe the event in a manner that befits the enormity of it. 35 test 100s !! hmmm. From a whole generation, who grew up idealizing Sachin and having watched most of his centuries, I had to say, I was hoping that I would have been there to watch it live. After going through the media reports and the video highlights of each of his 13 fours and 1 six, atleast 5 times, I have to say that it was a masterly, if not a pretty or fluent innings, considering the circumstances; Sachin’s own form, recovery from the operation and the turn of events during day 1 of the 2^nd test. Sachin had to will his way through, especially out of the shackles in his own mind rather than those imposed by an ordinary Lanka attack.

I am pretty sure, that Dilhara played a trick by intently not releasing the ball, when Sachin was on 99 and it had an effect too when Sachin’s nervous edge just fell short of the 1^st slip.

Sachin, it seems had urged his team mates later during celebrations ,that 'let us win the next world cup'. Well !! If there is one person, who can motivate every one, it has to be Sachin. That will be a fitting tribute to a glorious career that began at the tender age of 16.

Couple of quick points on day 1:

· Rahul’s act of opening the batting with Gambhir was truly an unselfish act. He could have easily asked someone else to go but choose the option of going in at no.2 himself. He has just recovered from a fever and such acts are really going to separate the men from the also rans.

· VVS stamped his class with a gem of an innings and some of his boundaries were just sizzling. He was unlucky to get a near unplayable doosra; otherwise, he never looked like getting out, after the initial overs. I hope that this innings will once and for all silence the mis-informed critics of him.

There were numerous delays like ball changes, wet field, sight screen problems – all typical of a DDCA still struggling to get its act right and with all that, I think India ended atleast 50 runs short on a day, where they should have scored at 4 an over from 75 overs. Ganguly’s long period of hibernation and Sachin’s own lack of fluent rhythm, till he suddenly woke up with those 3 4s in a Murali over, also contributed to a dreary day.

So..What is next? Ideally, you will expect India to be off the blocks and start scoring at 4 an over on day 2; but, I have followed lndian cricket long enough to have no such ambition. My initial guess is that Indian scoring rate is going to be too listless and somnolent (unless Dhoni does something big in double quick time) for a result in this match and in all likelihood, unless there is a stupendous Kumble effort, this is a draw written all over, especially with dew induced delays of morning and curtailed evenings of a North Indian winter.
Pic : AP

Some things Never Change !! Never Ever !!

They say, change means a move towards upliftment and progress. But, as I look at events surrounding Indian cricket, I see only more of the same – Some things never seem to change. Here are some stunning examples from the past few days to prove this theory :-

· Sourav and VVS involved in another run out !! Another lame brain mix up in a dead duck last day of a test !! hmmm ( Here, I have to take credit for the ‘ I told you so’ quotes. Here is my post http://cricket4ever.blogspot.com/2005/11/sourav-in-test-team-as-all-rounder.html predicting that VVS has to watch for mix ups with Dada).

· TN cricket association blaming lack of time for procuring enough covers to cover Chepauk. The whole world and their brothers knew that the rains were coming except for the office bearers of TNCA and obviously they did not seem it fit to procure a few more tarpaulins – even after the washout in the ODI against SA. Amazing as it can sound but that is Indian cricket for you. Well !! In hindsight, the Greek God for rain, Pluvias alone could have saved Madras. It poured cats and dogs for days and nights and the poor Madras crowd must be wondering what had struck them especially when the sun is going to shine, as it usually does in Madras around Pongal and the 3^rd test should have been played there as per the original schedule.

· Delhi Cricket Association (DDCA) selectors having a fight among themselves in deciding who should be the chairman. There is nothing new here since such acts have been going on for as long as I can remember. Ajay Jadeja must be happy, playing for Rajasthan rather than witnessing these fist fights among the selectors !!

· The pitch committee head for BCCI, Venkat Sundaram blaming DDCA to be unfit to host the 2^nd test against Sri Lanka and Arun Jaitely of DDCA hitting back on Venkat with another round of claims that Kotla is much better prepared this time. Tail piece : The Delhi police was stunned by the amount of rubble around the stadium (an year behind and 40 Crores+ over run as per media reports) that it refused to issue the ‘no objection certificate’ for the 2^nd test.

· Two teams (representing rival factions) showing up at Dharmasala cricket ground representing HP team in Ranji Trophy match !!. Amidst the prestine beauty of Himalyan mountains in the backdrop, some miscreants poured water on the pitch.

Well !! I can go on. But, I guess the point is made. Some things never change !!