Sachin and Viru set the game for India....Still Sachin shudnt open ?

Nastier side of me is back to the business and this time its for anti Sachin ppl...The GOD and his disciple do it again...10th 100 partnership and that too at quicker pace...Sets up the game for the lead to be 5-0.

Sometimes I do wonder people who go away with sentiments echoed by the media when they say "Sachin is slow", "Sachin is selfish", "Sachin shudnt open with Viru"....Are they half baked intelligent ppl ? If Sehwag is going all guns then to preserve wkts one of the partner has to anchor the innings....And Sachin Tendulkar is one guy who switches role to perfection. After 20 yrs of cricket we mere mortals have audacity to question the greatest batsman of all times. I wish if Aussies did the same to DON in his playing days ?

Meanwhile Sehwag hit Broad for 2 back to back fours....And I m off to the game......0/119 in 17 overs with 153 more to get in 33 overs. Thats a game set match to India unless the likes of Raina and Sharma dont screw it up!!

PS : I am old timer. I love the older generation of Indian cricket, i have grown up watching them play and transform the Indian cricket from no-hoppers to almost world beaters. Bear my opinions. I would always favor Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans and Sehwags now with Saurav and Anil gone. I am not anti young brigade but then they gotta show the hunger.....So far the stars of the series aint the so called new young lads but the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer and of course Yuvraj.....Where are the young lads?

collective cynicism with multiple obsession for crucification

Indian media is suffering from what I call collective cynicism with multiple obsession for crucification!!!

Silly Billy Geofrey

One of them is injured forever , makes appearences every now and then, then breaks down, then an operation, then talks of comeback, comeback, again a breakdown to injury.

The other one is a nervous traveller. When he steps in to Heathrow to board the flight out of England, he feels goosebumps in his tummy, misses his family and kids (4) and fades out soon, bowls the first ball in much anticipated Ashes as wide wide outside off stump much in contrast to the short ball he did in home Ashes...With time he fades, retires, is dropped from the team, comes back rejuvenated in ONE DEAD RUBBER TEST which his team wins under a new captain and the usual rants of "WE ARE THE BEST" goes high.....and then for the shining dollars(Stanford t20) comes out of retirement of ODIs...

Guys the 1st one is Freddie Flintoff -- the weak knee man and the first England captain to have suffered whitewash in ages....

Second one is Steve Harmison -- the one time # 1 bowler in world and now nobody.

This are the guys Geofrrey Boycott banks to fear Indian fading greats in the upcoming England series.

"The pace of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison will be England’s biggest weapon, because the senior batsmen should all be vulnerable early on to quality fast bowling. OK, the pitches won’t give you much, so you have to be precise and accurate. But the way England have been playing since Pietersen became captain, they’ve got to think positive and believe that they can bowl India out"

Silly words. Utter silly. Laugh it out guys. I m. Please you guys too. Did i forget that you sent spectators sleeping with boredom playin helluva slow innings of 242 in 2 days and then you were dropped the next test match ? And then were you not thrown out of the team for 3 years ?

It amazes me that how England get euphoric on basis of just 1 test win against SA in a dead rubber. They wish tht they can take on Australia next summer Ashes and beat them. A series win over them in 20 years on basis of cheating and Murray Mints isnt a worthy record to be proud of. But yes 4 back to back epic series --2001, 2003, 2004 and 2008 are smthin to be really proud of. Yes WE the INDIANS proudly solemnize that we have kicked England's ass to replace them as Australia's worthy rivals and form the greatest test rivalry of the modern day cricket. Move away Brits, its INDIA show.

Lets see if England can win even a session in the upcoming Test series in India. I bet for 2-0 scoreline for India in Tests and a 5-2 or 6-1 in ODIs. Grow up sir Geoffrey. Set your inhouse cricket right and leave our seniors to us. We would take care of that. Have good sleep sir, you need that. If you get that you wont puke venom and rubbish which would make us laugh at you in your face. Alright Sir, get well soon :)

Fair Selection

So the selection debate ends with the “incumbent batsmen” keeping up their places and the “next generation” players getting a peep-in into the final 15. I feel so sad for the critics of Saurav Ganguly who had wrote him off and declared him a thing of past. He is back again and I can’t hide my happiness. I don’t care if I am being termed as cynical or whatever, but the fact is I have always liked the fighting qualities of the man and he in a way has inspired me in more ways than one. I cannot help but to back him to max, though it doesn’t matter a heck in the end. It anyways won’t change his fortunes, but would give me a satisfaction. A player who cut through the system out of various charges of quota selection, being duped as a LORD SNOOTY or MAHARAJ or a disturbing effect on the team by Greg Chappell, the man transformed the Indian team from a meek outfit to the current outfit who has conquered all but New Zealand.

He transformed the attitude of the players, rubbed off the north-south divide, backed few players he thought were good and today the world knows them by the names of Sehwag, Bhajji, Zaheer, Dhoni, Yuvraj etc etc. Not to mention that he resurrected the career of Dravid in ODIs and Kumble in Tests once he was termed as past force after the NZ tour of 2003. HE fought an eye to eye with the best and led the team to some memorable triumphs home and away. I am too small an entity to write anything about the great man. But my heartfelt wishes to the man from Kolkata to come good and shut his critics off.

Besides the team is on the expected lines. Selection of Amit Mishra can be debatable though it’s very little chance that he might play. What wrong did Ojha do to be ousted without a game ? That’s what you call selection inconsistency which Nasser Hussein very well summarizes it. Badrinath gets a look-in as well, but again he won’t be playing. I cannot understand a reason why he is being so rated hugely. He was okish in the SL ODI series and doesn’t look to be a very attractive or solid prospect. Yeah making noises can be attributed to him, but then making runs concerned, I won’t bet a penny on this man from TN (is he in cos the Chief selector hails from TN J).

Munaf Patel won’t be playing and so would be RP Singh. RP Singh has drastically fallen apart since the Asia Cup in June this year. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma look the starters in the XI along with the captain and Harbhajan Singh as spinners.

All in all it’s a fair team selection IMHO, though the critics of the Fab four would be fairly miffed looking that none of the incumbent chickens were rolled off. Alright, the stage is set, the team is in like it or not. Now we all the bloggers got to rally behind this team to support it during this epic series and ensure that we give a tough fight to Aussies once again and we get to see another high voltage series as India – Australia have always been. 8 days to go.

Nasser Hussein turns the tide

Usually the English media and the cricketers have been critical and wary of Indian playing conditions and many times they have skipped the tour to the country. For example in 1987 World Cup, there were no Ian Botham and David Gower in the side that went on to the final losing to Australia by 7 runs. Darren Gough and Andy Caddick – the 2 leading English fast bowlers of early 2000s for England skipped the 2001 tour to India . Their 2006 tour to the country was marred by injuries and suspicious virus that finally turned to a depression for Marcus Treskothick confirmed the doubts in Indian minds that England don’t pay the required dignity and respect to the Indian cricket, it deserves. May be the fact that India uprooted England as the ICC powerhouse or may be the fact that England now cannot have its own way in ICC or may be the fact that the English media and players yet take India to be a country full of pied pipers and snake charmers. May be they also think that conditions in India are very hot and humid, the pitches are slow and low and the crowd is bad mannered. Quite of it could have been true until late 90s, but then now the things have changed. Many players in the ill fated tour of 1993 suffered from stomach disorders (how much that’s related to Indian spicy food is a subject of debate).

England have toured the country for a Test series 2 times in this decade and just 2 times in 1980s and 1990s. Contrast that to a England tour to West Indies or South Africa. The upcoming series would be the quickest home series India plays against England in long memory (that I have). And we almost see a strong England side (as they believe and the players that make to XV) touring India subject to the condition that none of the selected player falls to injuries or pulls out of due to varied reasons. Lack of England’s top players in IPL was another example of how England sees India. But then not all the players see India in the same light. One such player is Nasser Hussein who has been a prolific England captain who actually transformed the England side from worst Test playing country (those days in late 90s, BD were not a Test playing country) to one of the most competitive team in Tests. Michael Vaughan built on the legacy of Hussein and the results were visible in the streak from 2003 – 2005 when England won almost everything they played.

Hussein in 2001 tour captained his weak side to a series loss of 0-1 with actually his side holding upper hand in drawn Tests in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. He got Tendulkar stumped for the only time in his Test career to Giles by bowling a constant nagging leg side line round the wicket. It was negative tactics, but then Hussein always believed in keeping the runs flow in check and he constantly lays stress on keeping the run flow in check to score points over opposition. The point I am trying to drive across is that the same man has now said some minty sweet and cool words about the tour to India which should act as an eye opener to the prejudiced English media and players.

Here it goes :

India is a fantastic tour, one I've never had a problem with. Everything about it is just great: you realize how lucky you are as a cricketer; they love the game; you are the centre of attention; the hotels are great; the food is great; the crowds are great - it's just a wonderful tour to be on.

You don't get specifically ill anymore and you are looked after very well. But the cricket is tough and one of the pieces of advice I would pass on to Kevin Pietersen, as captain, which I learned on my tour there, is to try and stay in control of the run rate out on the field.

You have to try and control the emotion of the crowd, keep them subdued when the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and of course, Sachin Tendulkar are batting. If you can do that and quieten the crowd then you're on top of the game, but if you just go in without any plans and start getting smacked around, then things can easily slip away from you and suddenly you find yourself batting last on a turning pitch.

England need to put the pressure back on the Indians and that first Test in Ahmedabad is even more important than usual because if they can get to Mumbai still in with a chance of winning the series, you'll be amazed how much the Indian public gets on their own players' backs.

And then his views on Fab four and the seniors :

Those players have a really important series coming up against Australia which will go a long way to deciding what England are actually facing on the field. If they go well in that, you can expect a very confident India side. There has been a little bit of a shift in their selection and the senior players - the Dravids, the Gangulys, the Tendulkars, VVS Laxman - because they haven't performed for a while. Youngsters are starting to knock on the door more and more, but the one thing we all know is that you can never write off India's star players.

Michael Vaughan was dropped off the touring party for lack of form and fitness (mental more than physical). But then didn’t he already clarify that he is not in right state of mind to tour India. He would utilize the time to regain the fitness to be back for West Indies tour in Mar – Apr 2009 (before Ashes). Another prejudice towards India. England doesn’t have any more domestic cricket and he is misfit for international cricket for time being. So how is he going to ensure he is back to scoring runs again ? Playing in domestic cricket in South Africa or Australia ? If yes, then why not India ?

Whose series is this ?

Sachin Tendulkar has said it right when he said that the series against Australia is not about the seniors but about the 2 teams. 2 of the best Test playing teams who have played some epic series this decade and perhaps this one is going to be no different. Go to any channel or any newspaper, the pre-series talk is specific to the future of the seniors and how they are over aged and how much they are liable to the team on basis of just 1 failure in Sri Lanka. Any ex-cricketer who has lifted some bat in international level or state level assumes importance when lured by the money in the media. And so we now have likes of Venkat Raja, Surendra Bhave who havent played at international level, to select the Test team for Australia series and yet again the questions would be does SG deserve a place ? When would seniors be dropped ?

M'con guys we got to discuss more about other aspects of the series, the selectors, the new regime of BCCI, the upcoming series and stuff like that. But we are stuck with 4 guys. Team doesnt revolve around this 4 people. They form the middle order. There are openers, there are bowlers and then there are wicket keepers. All possible micro analysis and micro management of every move of the 4 middle order batsmen is being done and every move is dissected with a surgeon's precision.

Time and again, on this blog I have said, yes the seniors would go one day. We should have replacements. But who ? Somebody who has succeded in T20 goes straight to Tests ? How many of our media experts or some bored writers (pun intended) know Test match rules ? Survival is the key in Tests. 20 overs is little less than a session in a day out of 5's play and you got to win sessions to win a Test.

Another silly discussion going around the corner is Greg Chappell. Media seems to be obsessed with him. Ok he is with Aussie team now as a coach cum consultant or whatever role it is. And if he gives some inputs to Aussies, then wats wrong with it ? He was with us during 2003-04 series, Bobby Simpson was consultant during 1999 WC, we have had John Wright and now Gary Kirsten as coach. Never did NZ and SA come back and charged us that may be this coaches are giving secrets about them to India. Then why this fuss over Chappell ?

Real battle would be right there in the middle of the ground. And when it would begin the coaches and every other thing would take the backseat. Can't wait for the series to begin. And as VM correctly pointed out pro-senior posts have no taking. I would sincerly advise all the bloggers (not media buffoons) to have a wide perspective, apply some brain before writing anybody off. Before prejudicing anybody, lets have his options ready.

Rakhi Sawant's cousin

Mukul Kesavan,

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/371078.html

You headless chicken, nothing can get worse than this out of your ridiculous brain. Get some new views dude. You speak like those fool hardy journos who are just out of masscom course and fresh into job. You no different than Rakhi Sawant........ A worthy cousin of her, perhaps lost in Kolkata's Bahu Bazaar :D

Irani trophy Kick Starts

Take this game which begins Indian domestic season in one of 2 ways :

1. Beginning of the end of fab four should they fail to perform in this game.
2. A warmup for fab four (RD and VVS) before Test series begins on Oct 9.

Critics have been very unfair to the Fab four after the SL failure and most of them have been written off. Too much has been read into Ganguly's non inclusion in RoI squad. Tendulkar has been accused of feigning injury and opting out for "mystery" reasons. Dravid has been scratchy in form. And VVS just 33 now has been always the one on the edge. He has been performing consistently as unsung hero, but he is the one who has been always put on sword, be it Yuvraj hitting hundreds or Badri hitting a domestic 100.

Pretty unfair. I have been ranting on this space for support of fab 4. Yes. I dont feel this is the time to see the 4 greatest batsmen of Indian test history as of yet. Not long ago in England the 4 combined to produce a spectacular 1-0 win and then back home against Pakistan. Dravid shot back at Perth and Tendulkar, Laxman continued their love with Sydney down under. Ganguly played a series levelling 80s in Kanpur when nobody else crossed 70. RD scored a 100 in Chennai in the same series. Didnt he ?

Tomorrow on a flat track the match would be played with more than usual interest from everybody. Selectors to bloggers, media from print to electronic. Yes every body. From Dubai to Bombay, USA to UK and Bangalore to Pune. A question on Kumble's leadership skills, a delicious contest between Sehwag-Gambhir and Zaheer along with 2 spinners. Ishant testing Rahul Dravid who would once again step early in innings given the opening combo of Patel and Jaffer for RoI. Laxman at 4, Badri and Kaif at 5 ,6 with Dhoni at 7.

What if Kaif performs and Badri fails ? Badri has got one more chance to impress selectors may be for 2nd test ownwards then. And what if both fail ? What if RD and VVS hit good form ? Lot of questions, but no answers right now. Speculations are on, the swords are ready to come out of the shells to cut the seniors to pieces. Most crucial home season for India. 6 tests against Ashes opponents. Followed by a tour of Pakistan and NZ.

Good to hear that Yuvraj will lead the Board Prez XI against Australia in a tour game. May be this is one more chance to resucrrect his fading Test career. Guess its got to do with his attitude and mindset more than his ability and class. Class and talent are no doubt supreme. He needs to redefine his priorities and refocus on game. He should be the first candidate to replace a Fab 4 than the T20 kids.

May be we are at the cusp of either a new phase in Indian cricket sans Fab 4 or a major victory against all odds and time. I would support the second option. I dont know if i would like to see the game without the fab 4 playing Tests. After all i am used to see Tendulkar for 19 years of 22 years of following the game.

Youngsters

Robin Uthappa out for 2.

Suresh Raina out for 0.

Badri out for 1

Rohit Sharma out for 15.

This is the match scorelines for Test youth hopefuls vs Australia A where the home side were blown away by Shaun Tait first and then Luke Ronchi with a superb 100. The same team which lost to NZ by 129 runs yesterday, blew India A team which had as many as 8 players with international experience.

Badrinath has been spoken of in high esteem by many players and bloggers. He got a chance to prove himself in SL ODIs, failed. He spoke about how bad he was being treated by selectors and promptly was drafted in the team as Sachin's replacement for ODIs. And now when he got a chance to prove a worthy contender for aussie test series with "seniors in decline", the chap failed. Does that sound as class ? Or a talent ? Cmon dude, you got a chance to lead, you failed. You lead India A in Emerging player tourney down under, you failed. You still feel good enuf to be in the contention for a Test slot ? Performance. Where 's that with the bat ? We need runs under your belt sir, not vocal chord decibel strength.

Raina was very good in Asia Cup against BD and UAE, but failed to Tait -- the bowler who is on a return from the break and doesnt figure in Test XV of Aussies. Uthappa is on a way out to exile for long term. Rohit Sharma, who is being viewed as next Sachin or next Richards (some ex-player said) failed once again.

If this players we expect to replace the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly or Dravid, then I am sorry to say we are next West Indies in making. This players can be found in Page 3 parties, TV ads, commercials, shaking a leg or 2 in a dance show, but would hardly be found performing where they are actually meant to. And when they get blown by second string Australian team, think of what Lee, Clarke and Johnson would do to this guys. Do we want to loose the series 0-4 inside 3 days ?

Once more the debate is out there for everybody to participate in. There are scores from seniors who have one odd failure in Lanka and the youngsters who were blown away on a flat wicket on a subcontinent track. We got to decide do we need likes of Rainas, Sharmas or Badris ?

Or the likes of Virat Kohli who has been getting better and better in the game against Sui gas in Nisar trophy. 52 in the first innings when nobody else crossed double figures and 81* right now wiping out the lead Sui gas had before. If there is one contender for Test team, then here it is. Virat Kohli. Sheer genius.

Think about it.

End of Symmo ?

So what was feared has come out to be true. Symmo isnt figured anymore in Oz squad for Indian Test series and that practically sound an end for him. Tough to understand the reason why he snubbed the team meeting for fishing. Was that more important for him than 4-5 yrs of fruitful and rockin career ? Thats where defining the priorities come to picture. You got to think whats more important for you ? And thats when you got to take the call and act accordingly on the choice you make. Symmo made a wrong choice and he is paying huge huge price for it. Not only it is unfair for him, but also for world cricket.


Barring Symmo out of the Indian tour, the gloss of the series has been lost. I fear the next generation of players from both teams wont be able to sustain the intensity and passion we have seen in the series in this decade. The classic tag might soon be archived. The maverick nature of pros like Bhajji and Symmo is essential to keep the flare alive for the series. Would you shell out hard earned money to watch McGain bowl to Rohit Sharma or a Suresh Raina ?

Aussies have chosen a weak team, which gives India an edge to start with. Experience is the key in crucial series and India has aplenty of it. Even if you take out 109 out of the cumulative experience, you got 150 from Tendulkar, 132 from skipper, 97 from VVS, 125 from RD, 70 from Bhajji and 60 from VS + 53 from Zaks. Stack that against Aussies and you see India way ahead of the fiercest rivals.

Only 4 players -- Ponting, Hayden, Katich and Clark(Pup) have played a Test in India before. And Hayden, Ponting are injured. Aussies lack a genuine spinner. Ok McGain is a M, but he is not Mendis or a chuck, so Indians wont submit to him. Krezza is a rookie, Boulinger and Siddins wont get a game. So its more or less in the hands of Lee, Johnson and Clarke to share the load of bowling.

Jacques and Watson/Katich/Hayden 's opening pair doesnt look as intimidating as Hayden and Langer. Batting looks a bit settled with Clark and Hussey as main anchors.. It would be the last time the Fab 5 of Indian cricket would take on the Aussies home or away. And nothing short of classic series win would suffice for the greats of Indian cricket.

Whatever be the team compositions, the series promises to be a cliffhanger and close one. Depends if it would be classic as 2001, 2003 or 2007. Wish that Symmo is out for now and would be back soon. He would be certainly missed, after all we have not forgot that he took the Test away from us in Sydney no matter riding on luck and bad umpiring.

Inconsistent Selections

By dropping Saurav Ganguly out of the RoI squad, the selectors have opened a pandora box. They have let the cat out of the bag. The axe is totally unfair and uncalled for. The grounds on which Ganguly has been dropped aint satisfactory. Since his comeback he has had one dull series and since he has been the one on tight rope ever since he lost his captaincy, he was dropped.

If we look at the stats since his comeback he stands tallest amongst all batsmen in 21 Tests in the duration (Dec 06 - Sep 08) with 1600+ runs @ 46. Not even Dravid, not even Tendulkar or Laxman have scored this many runs. So whats the criteria for selection committee to drop Ganguly ? Form ? Fitness ? Politics ? What ?

I still reiterate that the so called young guns aint ready for Test transit. Unfortunately the guys who were supposed to have eased out to the test mode aint confident over their ability. You can say some of them have been unfair like Kaif who got an axe following every worthy inning he played (91 against England 06, 148 vs WI 06)or you can say some of them didnt deserve to play 23 Tests who yet to date dont know their responsibilities. Yuvraj, that is.

By far Kaif and Yuvraj should have been ready to take the Test places, but they are not. Unfortunately Australia is not the team against which you can throw in young rookies citing change or transition. Success against them might boost them and the road to fame would be easier, but in case they fail then the career would be gone and finished. We certainly wont need a future prospect ruin his chances this way.

To be very honest, SL series is the only series in many years when the Fab Four have failed. Australia 07, Pakistan 07, England 07, South Africa 06, West Indies 06 -- all series have had Fab four firing the guns. You got to be consistent in deciding criteria to drop or retain a player. Performance should be the single most criterion to judge a place. Doesnt matter if the player is 35 or 25. Rohit Sharma hasnt played any significant innings post CB series 2nd final. Yuvraj Singh has squandered away all starts he has got in ODIs. The 2 guys are integral part of ODI scheme of things.

And Ganguly isnt. I wont yet write off Saurav Ganguly. He is a fighter and he would claw back in the team with even greater vengenance than before. He can be down, but not out. He would fight out this crisis and trust me he would emerge victorious yet again.

Irani trophy.

The selectors choose the RoI squad for the Irani Trophy -- the season kickass starter today. And the choice of skipper (MSD or AK) would say a big deal about the plans to come for the rest of the season. RoI is going to be virtually the Test squad going to play against the Aussies minus the openers and the premier bowler who troubled Ponting down under -- Ishant Sharma.

If MSD plays, then it doesnt make sense to pick one more keeper. If MSD is up for Tests, then I dont think PP or DK are playing unless MSD is injured or Gambhir gets a slump in the form. So i dont see any reason for Karthik or Pappu Patel to play.

Fab four and Kaif along with Raina would form the batting line up. Zaheer, Munaf, Santh and RP could be the front runners for the pace attack and with Kumble, Bhajji forming what we call as the spin attack.

Fingers crossed.

Update :

The squad is declared with Ganguly not bein selected for the trophy. That doesnt mean his career has ended. He would be right there to take on the Auzzies in Chinna stadia. And few pointers if the squad indicates :

1. MSD got to wait for Test captaincy a bit longer. Pretty logical.
2. No new "yung shot" for test series against the best.
3. Jaffer -- bhai konsi chakki ka aata khate ho ? 175 runs in 11 innings and you still in dude. Ganguly 600+ in 11 innings and he finds himself out. Perhaps thats an advantage Mumbai has when its got a reputed ex-player as selectos head. No matter how irrelevant it might seem as cricketing logic might suggest. Rohit Sharma still finds a place. Dhanya he.

Comment karo bhai.

Rahul Dravid

Is the guy over or finished ? Should he retire and make way for geeks like Raina or Sharma ? Rahul Dravid, who not so long ago was the indian skipper and one of the mainstay of Indian batting in ODIs and Tests. He was the man who won us the series in West Indies after 35 years and in England after 21 years. Mean achievements ah ?

And not to mention a superb run with the bat during Ganguly's era. Hand in epic victories in Adelaide, Headingley, Perth (greatest of all overseas win), RawalPindi, West Indies and many such far away neverlands where India was never successful historically. He has been struggling for runs this year and the last year. He has been looked pedestal against the likes of Mendis and every cheating Muralitharan, but that doesnt take away the gloss away off a superb batting career for India.

He has been the captain who has been under severest of media scrutiny and undue pressure from ex-cricketers who were like a whiff of sand before him. He had to deal with the tantrums of an ego rich coach in Greg Chappell and then deal with the post world cup failure of 2007 and a coach less period for most part of 2007.

I dont think Dravid has finished or should retire now or in a year. He is just 35 and the law of averages has stuck him for the first time in 9 years. Thats fair. Every batsman goes through a high or a low and this is not a new phenomenon. Going on since 1876 when Test cricket began. The crap media scrutiny has began few years back. He has had to face most of the scrutiny in the past 3 years since the era of Ganguly as captain ended. First he was hailed for his winning ways with Chappell, then he was accused of plotting SG s down fall which appeared kiddish to me. The blokes have played their test cricket and odis together like conjoined twins. They have been delight to watch and the media goons got nothing better than plotting 1 against the other.

And then Dravid was compared to peerless Tendulkar. They both dont compete against each other, they play with each other. No other pair has ever made more runs for 3rd wkt partnership than the peerless pair of Tendulkar and Dravid. Occasional success of over enthusiastics like Raina and Sharma cant force the man of stature liek Dravid to go back and call curtains on his peerless career. And neither can any of the selector present or the future who were not even as half as good as the man from Bangalore himself.

I back Dravid totally to come good against his fav opposition in his home turf where he doesnt boast a very good record (60 in 2004 against Aus is his highest), yet he would overcome his nerves and resucrrect his career for another 2-3 years. Critics better watch out and be prepared to fag yourself in the dust bowl nearby.

India s series win and DON s centenary

I return full fledged to the world of cricket blog. And a good day to return when :

• Sir DON Bradman completes centenary of his life.
• 
  India win an elusive ODI series win in SL for first time in 23 years.

Sir Don Bradman till date remains the greatest ever batsmen to have played the game to date. Critics might argue that he scored 5028 of his 6996 runs against one team of the 5 teams who played Test cricket in his times. But then it takes guts and challenge to score 5028 runs in 37 Tests against a single team.

The debate of the playing conditions then and now, the question of Don having played one dimensional bowlers more than variety of bowlers in his time would always rage but his aura and fame wont fade an inch. The fact that 60 years hence he played his last test, no batsmen till date has managed to reach the average of 65 in Test cricket says the huge difference between the class of Don and the rest of the Test batsmen.

India s win in SL ODi series is sure to rekindle the age old debate of senior Vs junior players in the Test team. And after failure of the GODs of Indian batting in Tests and "success" of the rookies in the ODI series, its but natural for the media to start the debate on their prime time shows. and yes there would be calls to replace Anil Kumble as Test captain with MS as well.

By the way I missed writing blogs on cricket hugely. But now I feel I am up for it and write it with more regularity.