Enjoy watching Tendulkar as long as you can

The World cricket has already been poorer by expected retirement of the Indian WALL -- Rahul Sharad Dravid, so it would be inept and unjust for those media experts and ex-players cooling off their heels in air conditioned rooms to ask Sachin Tendulkar to quit the game.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid have been once in a generation, or perhaps once in a century phenonmenon and we've been lucky to have them play together for India in similar era. And what a partnership they've had for the 3rd wicket in 100s of Test matches over last 15 and half years. And thats a sad fact that this partnership wont take guard any more in the Test cricket for India in future and we've been blessed enough to have witnessed those innumerable rearguards launched by this stalwarts of Indian cricket.

No words on any of the cricketing sites, blogs or forums are enough to describe the legacy of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. People this days love to trash the greats, question their commitment for the country and even ridicule them or joke about them on social networking sites and news channels.

Little do they forget that this players scored 1000s of runs for a country which was deprived of the milestones or winning habit. Though for some time, that winning habit seems to have been forgotten, yet their legacy and contribution to the Indian cricket is unparalleled and would be untouched in the history of the game.

In a country woefully short of sports role models, the players like Tendulkar and Dravid are idles of success, humbleness and modesty. Never has anybody seen this two icons lose their cool in the middle or seen crossing the acceptable on field behavior like Mahela Jayawardhena does so often under the guile of passion. Dedication, concentration and work ethics are emanating out of this 2 proud cricketing sons of the country and it would be just unfair to trash their contribution for past 8 defeats in 8 overseas Tests.

I concur with Sir Viv that lets enjoy the Sachin phenomenon as much as we can as that day of announcement from the master blaster is not years away, but just few series or months away. And i cant imagine the day when I'd be left to watch an Indian team which would never have Tendulkar play for, something which I have witnessed for most part of my cricket watching time (23 of 27 years).

The road ahead

With great disappointment and disgust here is my take on the reasons why India lost so miserably in the 3 test matches so far.

Opening Pair is silent

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are best bet when it comes to open the innings in any format for India. This pair has been excellent in Test matches across all conditions barring Australia. This was an acid test for the duo and they have failed miserably in this tour. Not technically for Sehwag, because he doesn’t have much of it, but in mental thought process. Something which is surprising given his exploits in Australia over past 2 tours. Gambhir was expected to have come full circle on this tour, but he has failed to live upto those expectations.  Sehwag and Gambhir haven’t fired together or in solo attempt, which makes the task of ageing middle order a bit tough, something which has happened consistently in this tour. Barring the first innings in MCG, Sehwag hasn’t fired. Gambhir has showed some fight in last 3 innings, but that doesn’t redeem of 3 aghast failures in first 3 innings on this tour.

The reason why India was so successful in 2003-04 in Australia was the start Sehwag and Chopra provided. Chopra didn’t make more than 48 in any innings, but he played out the dangerous span of 15-20 overs from Gillespie, Brad Williams and company.  That Australian team was far superior to the one which beat India blue on this tour.

Sehwag and Gambhir are the best bet to continue opening for India in long run, since they are not supposed to tour for another year or so outside subcontinent, they would need to find their mojo back very soon. The replacements for them, the TN implants don’t look promising either.

Ageing Middle Order

When your middle order is past the prime, the usability date, such failures are long due. And sadly India did not learn through the mistakes of England tour.  No one expected India to lose 0-4 in England and so badly in Australia. Perhaps this was the best chance for India to beat Australia first time in Australia. Instead they ran to their worst defeat in Australia in 13 years.  Dravid,Tendulkar and Laxman are ageing stalwarts and they look no good to extend their career beyond this tour. Tendulkar has been under severe pressure for that elusive 100th century from the media and perhaps that has got to him. As a result the team has suffered. He has been the best batsman on this tour and every time he has walked on the crease, he has looked assured in the start only to grow nervous in the end of the innings. He is going to be 39 in April and perhaps he is the only man who looks to play a few more series at home before he calls it a day.

Dravid has been in superb form in 2011 with 5 hundreds and topping the run charts, but he has been back to 1999 form on this tour. Worst, his defence has been breached. He finds unique ways to get bowled and that is a sign for you to go.  Its time for the fans and selectors to say thank you to the great man and move on. It’s a disgrace for fans, his loyal fans over the years to see him get bowled, given the fact he has been THE WALL and one of the most complete Test batsmen of the history, something very rare this era.  He has made few runs, but they are not enough and they are not the premium that would extend his golden career beyond this tour.   He has to sign off post Adelaide and since he is already 39, he would be remembered to have retired still at top (little lower than that though).

Laxman has to be dropped from the team after the Perth test. He was expected to make runs against his favorite opposition, but he has struggled miserably. Silken Hyderabadi should read the writing on the wall and should announce his retirement immediately. He hasn’t been dropped in ages and if he is dropped for Adelaide, then it would be a blot on his career. Again, a time to say thank you to Laxman for his contribution to the Indian Test arena in past 16 years.

Until England tour, we believed that the golden generation of Indian cricket has turned around the way it plays cricket in away series, but last 2 tours have diminished that notion, that belief which was installed by this very men in 2000s under the lion hearted Sourav Ganguly.  It would now take perhaps another decade or so (less the better) to turn around from this moment of darkness in Test arena.

Defensive Captaincy

MS Dhoni, the ODI captain and MS Dhoni, the Test captain.  Two different personalities, split personalities may be.  MS Dhoni in limited overs is a different batsmen and captain altogether than what he is in Tests. The morning of MCG test, day 4 was the turn around for Indian team which pushed the team to the darkness it find itself in. And the culprit has to be Dhoni himself. Spreading out the field to 10 and 11 is aghast. When you have the last pair of an insecure batting lineup on the crease, you’d rather look for wiping out the tail and have less target to chase than what was actually. But those visuals implant a permanent memory in Indian fans that the captaincy from the world cup winning captain was insipid and timid. The timid captaincy in England and Australia have cost 7 tests on the trot.

Way ahead

The winds of change have to start blowing and the replacements for Dravid and Laxman have to be handy.  Kohli has promised a lot and he should be persisted despite uneven scores in Australia. He is a prodigy and he has to be preserved from the evils of IPL to ensure he is transformed to a complete international batsman in all formats of game.   There is a lot of young talent coming through. Rohit Sharma is certain to debut sooner than later and along side Suresh Raina, provided he cures his short ball weakness, the middle order for Indian Test team should be good, if not as formidable as in 2000s at least for few seasons. It took a few years for the likes of Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly to blossom into the batsmen they were. And similar chances have to be provided to the next generation of Indian cricket.  The good news is there is a lot of young talent that is shining. Ajinkya Rahane,  Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Menaria,  Manish Pandey etc are few very good prospects in the pipeline that should find their spots in the Indian team very soon. It’s the dawn of the new era in Indian cricket and it has to be ensured the evil clutches of easy money of IPL doesn’t hamper the transition from golden batting to the new gen batting.

The IPL has to be toned down and one more moderate or flop viewership would ensure that this monster is grounded, if not buried totally.

The ODI team looks well set and the transition from the oldies to the new gen was almost smooth. Sure, there were few hiccups in between, but the victories came more than defeats and the ODIs ahead do look promising and they evoke some kind of hope after the doom of the tests.

May be a different captain for ODIs and Tests could be a theme to follow just like 2007-08 or what South Africa follows, or England follows (they go to a maddening extreme with one captain per format).  MS Dhoni has looked clueless in Tests in batting and captaincy. May be the one test ban might serve as a deterrent for him and he could arrest the slide.  He looks top notch in ODIs, but he has to catch up on the Test front. And if he is making way for another captain, then may be somebody young as Virat Kohli could be an option, but that would be too soon for him for now. Once he finds his mojo in Tests too, he wont make a bad captain. And the need of the hour for India’s test team is to play aggressive cricket, something they did over past 2 tours in Australia.  And they need an aggressive captain for that.

Coaching regime

The coaching regime has to undergo a change and 7 tests is good enough to judge the resume of Duncan Fletcher. To me, he seems the biggest culprit for the disasters.   Something which Gary Kirsten did in 2 years, it didn’t take even a year for Fletcher to demolish all the good work done by Kirsten and of course John Wright. So for sure he needs to be shown the door.  5-0 for England in 2006-07 laid the foundation for their success running into 2011 and similar whitewash for India (England and probable Australian) should lead to a change in coaching regime and a new coach has to be found out.  May be likes of Wasim Akram could be a good option to start with for the bowling department and hire somebody for batting too, as the transition begins. Something which Justin Langer does for Australia.

Duncan Fletcher has escaped the media attention and the buck has to stop at this man, the culprit to sow seeds of disaster by making the team negative and defensive.

The signs were visible in 3rd test in West Indies when India decided to close the shop with 86 runs to get in 15 overs and 7 wickets in hand. In modern T20 era, this is a cheap target and then even though Laxman, Dravid were at crease, the runs should have been gotten. For me that was the turning point when the team stopped belief. And the same set of batsmen performed credibly in South Africa, almost winning the series. And sooner, one tour later, the technique and attitude of the same batsmen were found deficient. Hard to believe. More to do with the external advice coming from the so called coaches.  India struggled to bowl out weaker Windies team in Windies in 2nd and 3rd test and as a result 3-0 became 1-0 and then the famous cold act of R Ashvin which ensured India let go of whitewashing a team again in the return tour.

And not to cite the numerous occasions, which were encountered in England where some defensive and inexplicable tactics led to a 0-4 rout.

Hard decisions bestow,  some culling to follow and probably more than anything else, the mental belief and attitude of winning and aggression needs to return for the remainder of the tour and the next series India plays at home against England and then Australia should dawn the new age and a scoreline of 3-0 and 4-0 should be aimed at least in home.

Eden Gardens Test : Day 2

India have scored the highest score in last 11 games for themselves. And also crossed 300 first time after 10 innings. Something that reflects the torrid times the team had in England quite unexpectedly.  The 2nd day at Eden Gardens saw quite a lot of milestones:

1. Dhoni scored a hundred after 32 innings and 21 months on the same ground. Last one being against SA in that hard fought victory.

2. Laxman scored # 17, 5th in Edens and first in 15 months. He also became highest scorer in any ground in India.

And with a mammonth 631 on board, the bowlers did a good job in sending back 2 West Indian openers to hut for only 34 runs. And then bad light came to WI's help. Else few more wickets would have tumbled.

The biggest thorn in Indian flesh is going to be Shiv Chanderpaul and if he is accounted for soon, then India would have a very strong chance to win sooner than the case when Chanderpaul gets going with his irritating (though effective for West Indies) batting style.

There are few questions going to be asked after this Test is over for Yuvraj Singh -- how many more chances he is going to get to prove he belongs at the Test level. He is  the most talked about player right now in terms of players who are insecure or whose position in thet eam is not secure. There are too many incumbents around to take his place and Yuvraj isnt helping his own case with low scores like he has had in 3 innings so far. He might not be coming out to bat again in 2nd innings, but I feel he should be given a free run of 4-5 tests and then a judgement call be made if he belongs to the test level or not. He has rarely got more than 5-6 Tests at stretch to prove himself. Most of the chances have came after Sourav retired in 2008.

And since then Kohli, Raina and Pujara have been tried for # 6, none being successful to make that place his own for different reasons (form or injury whatsoever). Yuvraj should make it to the touring party to Australia where his left arm spin would be handy to break partnerships. India is not going to play 2 spinners in Australia and most probably its going to be a toss up between Harbhajan(experience), Ojha and Ashvin to occupy that slot of lone spinner. Sehwag has a dodgy shoulder and he doesnt bowl that much now as he used to say a couple of years back. So Yuvraj would be one handy person to turn to roll his arm over to break a partnership. Having said that, the primary responsibility of Yuvraj would still be to score runs and score big. And if fails over course of next 2-3 Tests then may be it would be apt to ignore for the future.

I also feel once the holy trinity of Tests is gone, Yuvraj would be one of the replacements, but again depending on how good he comes through this set of opportunities.

And as of Sachin's most awaited 100th 100, the only folks continue to be worried are the mediamen and those impatient fans. The man himself, as Rahul Dravid mentioned, isnt bothered about the impending milestone. The 100 would come when it has to. The media is continuing to create some needless pressure on the man who today completed 22 years in international cricket.

And Rahul Dravid continues to be in golden run of form when he has almost 1000 test runs and 5 hundreds, most by any batsman in 2011. He is all set to finish up with 1000+ runs and 13000 runs by the year end (2 more tests India plays before year end). He is just 21 runs away from the 13000 run mark -- 2nd Indian and 2nd in the world to do so when he reaches there.

India vs West Indies : First Test at an interesting stage

India are 124 runs away from a win in Delhi Test.  This has been an attritional Test match, albeit an old school classic. One team ending up dominating a day's play followed up by comeback by the other next day. Something I hope wont be the case on day 4 and in almost session and half India shall be home with a comfortable win in the end. 

The pitch has been slow, low and having variable bounce. Not that it has impacted a lot of stroke playing or resulted in dismissals of a lot of batsmen. If one is ready to grind on this wicket and have patience, the runs scoring would be lot easier. Chanderpaul showed it in both innings, Dravid has shown in both innings aided by Tendulkar in 2nd innings. Sehwag too had said that the collapse in the first innings had to do with the soft dismissals rather than the demon in the pitch.  

India were typical of them in the first innings when they batted, collapsed. Worrisome part is they havent got to 300 more often than they would have liked to in past 8 Tests (starting WI tour, disastrous England tour). 209 is not a  score that reflects the batting might of the line up India has, but it does say of the sorry state of mind India had on day 2.  They self destructed, which they so very often have done in the 2nd part of this year in longest format of the game. It seemed that India were still stuck in the ODI mode. The likes of Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj fell to soft dismissals. Sehwag and Gambhir fell to freak ones.  And Dravid in first innings was setup off a short ball by Rampaul which invoked wild celebrations by WI captain Sammy.

Can you believe 3 wickets in first innings fell to Sammy and he further had a hand in 2 more wickets.  Barring openers and Dravid, none reached 25 and India conceeded 95 run lead. The highlight of the first innings was the approach from Sehwag that showed that he is almost back to full fitness.  Dravid continued his good form and barring that nothing much to write about. Chanderpaul continued to torment Indian bowlers for 10th year in row now which began in 2002. 3 hundreds then followed by 2 this year in back to back tests.  His stance has grown weirder than ever before and he has been dour and ugly to watch. But he continues to make runs, valuable to the team which boasts of youngsters and has inexperienced batsmen.  

Ojha got 6-for and Ashvin got 3. 

2nd innings, West Indies had a chance to extend the lead to 350 plus and shut the door on Indians but they collapsed in the end and except Chanders and Sammy, none of the batters contributed. Ashvin got a dream debut with a 9 wicket haul, 2nd best to Hirwani, current selector.  Ojha got 7 wickets in the match, Ashvin got 9, Yadav got 2 and Ishant Sharma got 2. 

Ishant Sharma impressed with his rythm and pace. He almost got 3 wkts on 3rd morning but for crooked ignorance of Dharmsena to a plumb lbw and a drop catch (tough) from Ashvin, he could just show for 1.  Umesh Yadav showed pace, but leaked runs at critical juncture on 3rd morning just before lunch to ease off pressure on the Windies. Still early days for him in Tests and he would (should) learn in the future.  Both spinners earning wickets mean more bench time for Harbhajan Singh. He going wicketless in Ranji game didnt help his case either.  Except for injuries and dramatic collapse on day 4, the team for 2nd Test shouldnt change.

India's 2 most experienced batsmen are on crease and they would want to ensure on day 4 that they do the job for India rather than leave it to the next 3.  They survived the day 3 with some resolute batting and gritty determination. 

IPL Ashvin has evolved a great deal and I have to eat my own humble pie when I said previously I wasnt a big fan of Ashvin.  He would need to continue to be in the wickets for the remaining 2 Tests to be able to remain in contention for Australian tour later this year. 

Gambhir and Sehwag need to bat longer than just 12 and 9 overs in this game and convert 50-100 to a 100-150 as they did in the past.   Laxman and Dhoni would need to get some runs under their belt too. 

All and all a good Test match with a classic finish in sight.

Sanga cant lead sala

Dabba Chargers or Dhakkan Chokers -- as you might want to call the 2009 champions,  they are funnier lot. They played 5 bowlers today -- Steyn, Sharma, Christian, Ojha and Mishra. 4 of them genuine wicket takers. Mishra and Ojha amongst the top 2 wicket takers last edition. 

Unfortunately they continued to lose their own home ground and VVS Laxman might be smiling down in Kochi seeing the plight of  the home franchisee.

Positives:

Ishant Sharma didnt take a wicket, but he troubled batsmen quite a few times and he got bounce and carry on the pitch. Something that augurs well for the confidence of the bowler. ODI setup needs an express bowler and need to look no further than this lad if he gets his economy rate under control.

Negatives:

Ojha is yet to recover from the shock of world cup omission.

Sanga Nanga got off to a disastrous start to his 2nd franchisee captaincy stint. He lost the world cup final last Saturday and today he lost the IPL opener.  He got a duck as well. Aduck getting a duck. 

Rajasthan got off to a good winning start and the move to open with Dravid doesnt quite look good. 

The worst part is the same commentators who were good a week back and now are shouting the usual IPL associated cliches. How sad.

Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten has farewelled coach of India position and he is off to Capetown, SA to be with his young family. Some time later when he returns to mainstream coaching, he shall more likely than not take up job with SA and he gave a lot of feelers for the same when he departed today.

He has been a major factor responsible for the turnaround India has shown in past 4 years. He gave his everything, worked on every player, worked on strengths of players, gave them confidence, backed them up and what not. Thats why today we find players like Raina, Kohli, Zaheer and others a touch above than they were in the previous regime. He remained a backroom guy and did his stuff wonderfully well but quietly.

The results are for everyone to see. The respect he has got from every one, his contemporaries in Test side, his young lads in the ODIs and everyone have just good words for him. VVS Laxman, Kumble, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid have played against SA side of which Gary has been the part of. Even add Harbhajan, Zaheer, Nehra, Yuvraj in it.  All this players have publicly spoken high about the man.

He is definetely going to be missed and he is going to make the job of BCCI very difficult to find an able and worthy replacement for him before the West Indies tour and I just hope they can avoid the Graham Ford episode and they are able to find somebody who shall accept the position. But 2007 is different from 2011. Then we were first round crashers, today we are world champions.

We would feel sorry for Sangakara after this world cup is over

I just digged out the archives of 2007 world cup and was pained to see 2 defeats to BD and SL that knocked the steam out of the Indian campaign and that ended the world cup campaign of Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble. 17 March and 23 March were painful days in India's world cup history. 

13 March 1996 is one such painful day in the history where SL rolled through final at India's expense in Eden Gardens.

And then there was this article from ever fucktard Kumar Sangakara

"India at home and India overseas are two different teams.

To be honest, though, I feel sorry for India's cricketers. They'll now face a torrent of criticism and abuse in the coming weeks. Fanatical fans will no doubt be burning effigies as I write. The huge expectation places their players under enormous pressure. And when that expectation is raised a degree or two, it can easily have a crippling effect."

In Sri Lanka, the general public seem to have a more easy-going perspective. Yes, most Sri Lankans are passionate about sport, especially cricket, but we also seem to understand that sport is sport. I am not sure whether that more balanced attitude is the product of two decades of civil war, or merely reflects the more happy-go-lucky style of an island nation. The attitude of our fans makes it easier for us. Yes, we still get our fair share of criticism. There can be mud-slinging in the media too. But our houses are not stoned when we lose and we can still walk down the street without fearing for our safety. I am grateful for this and really don't envy the situation of India and Pakistan's top cricketers.

This is right time to ensure Sangakara and his men are steamrolled in this world cup ruthlessly and also to ensure he is never able to speak such a crap again. We would then need to feel pity for Sri Lankan cricketers. Yeah they are easy going people who killed their own countrymen who spoke Tamil for 20+ years and were subjected to inhuman war crimes in the war zone over past few years. Something that never happened in India or even in Pakistan.

Its time India or some other team beat SL huge so that none of their overrated players are able to write articles full of venom like this. Once they lose, the normal fans of SL who are no more than waterboys in the world cricket would come out and stone the houses of idiots like Sangakara. Fucker!!!!

2011 WishList

Wishlist for 2011:

This is a big year for Indian cricket given the fact that it plays World Cup in home turf a month and half from now. Plus it tours away countries where it has a realistic chances to win series. In 2 of those countries India has already won the last series it played and in the 3rd one, its the best chance to win a series first time after deprived of it by ugly Steve Bucknor.

India tours England, West Indies and Australia this year. First time away tours in such a bulk after 2007.

The progress India has made in last few years which led to its incarnation being the top test team of the world would be tested this year and i hope it comes out with flying  colors. Dravid wont be around after SA series for sure and that would mean Che Pujara / M Vijay would move to the 3 and again Yuvraj would compete with Raina for 6.

India would play the world cup in its turf where it would be the team best suited to go all the distance as it would have a knowledge of the conditions and pitches all over the grounds its going to play. And it would be heartbreaking if a team like Sri Lanka wins the world cup in India. This is the best chance to avenge that 1996 defeat in Eden Gardens.  A world cup win in Mumbai and hopefully a Sachin 100 would be dream come true. But more than Sachin 100, its going to be a world cup win thats going to be more wishful.

The contest of the year wont be SL vs Aus or SL vs ?? but India vs England in England. That would be the best chance for England to try and win a series against India in 14 years. And if that happens then may be then Gough and Vuaghan would get some credit to their bullcrap!!

But first things first, a Capetown victory would be the first one on the agenda and start of the best things thats destined to come to Indian cricket.

THings around Durban Win

The Durban Test is conquered and the daemons of 14 years have been buried. And this was done on "one of the greenest ever tracks" we played on. This test was won by a team whose bowlers had a ? on "ability to take 20 wickets".  14 years back, the Donald and Pollock company had buried India for 100 and 66 and that was the worst display by the team ever since I started watching cricket.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman were part of that team.

But this team is different. This team is the top ranked team of the world and if there were any questions on the rank, they must be buried now. India bounced back in style on a green track on which Smith and co "have grew up on", yet they have lost last 3 tests in 3 years on Kingsmead.

The likes of Robin Jackman, Shaun Pollock and others were shut up hard when they saw how Zaheer and Harbhajan rolled Saffers for 131 in first innings on a "not so 131 looking pitch".

Shameful isnt it.

Losing in one's own backyard in conditions suiting the home team is a shame.

India has downplayed every achievement it has in past few years abroad. They have now won every where. And given the current form and situations, they should easily win in West Indies and Australia. A good contest would be in offing against England who are pipped for # 1.

England have not won a series against India home and away in 14 years. And so has South Africa in 4 years.

Zaheer, Laxman, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Pujara and of course Ishant Sharma wrote the script for the victory. Presence of Zaheer Khan showed how much he is valuable to the Indian team. The attack looks potent from average and insipid. Only if Ishant Sharma could discover the form and passion of Australia 08 India's new ball attack would be better than it is right now.

Kallis jumping to form a reverse C would be the marquee vintage image of this series and for years to come. How could he not play short ball? He has grew up in such conditions. And so did Graeme Smith. He got out to a miscued pull off a short ball of short tempered Freesanth.  Only after pointing a bat to him after there was a personal thing between him and Freesanth.

I wont complaint. The situations leading to Cape Town test are similar to 2007 when India lost out on the day 3 and day 4 when Lord Harris strangulated Sachin and Dravid and after a Kallisque effort, SA won by 6 wkts. That was a Jaffer test and a Ganguly series. Coud not believe that Sehwag batted at 7 and BossDK batted at 2.

India had won at Joburg, lost at Durban then. This time lost in Centurion, won in Durban.

If Capetown is won, then this would be the best test series win of the decade. In a land which has tormented the cricket for last 17 years and has made mortals of greats. A 2-1 India would be a fitting result.

Response to Graeme Smith 's questioning India's # 1 status

Ok this reading compels me to write a post.

India are top team in the Tests in the world for more than a year now. And this has not come down to India just cos of the mathematical formulae that go beyond calculating the ICC rankings and all. The results home and away reflect the consistency India has had over past 3 years starting England 2007 or perhaps before than that.  India reached # 1 ranking last year and has hung to it for 1 year and counting now. Its not like South Africa who reached # 1 in both formats of the game and slipped no later than they reached.  

There have been verbal volleys from the coach and the captain of SA how India have to win to prove their # 1 ranking. What if India wins? What if SA lose yet again to take 20 wickets? They failed to take 20 wickets in consecutive tests against weaker Pakistan which had no Yusuf in their ranks. They have not won a Test series at home beyond last 2 series. They drew against England and lost to Australia just after they won in Australia.

Same Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel failed to shut out the Pakistani batsmen in Sheikhland, who had been bruised and hurt by England in England and in Australia before.

"We've been touching the No. 1 and 2 spot for the past two-and-a-half-years and we've played some good cricket around the world. We pride ourselves on big series like this one". Smith says. But they have not clung on to that spot. They are not even 1, 2 or 3 in ODIs.

Their batters have been getting big runs every where but they have choked when it came to hitting the nail hard to win a series. They won in Nagpur in India but lost in Kolkata. So if they are tough nuts why did they lose out in India 2 times after winning first test every time. Why did they fail to dismiss Pakistan 2 times in 2 tests in last series they played?

Last year they drew against England but 2 times out of 3 in first 3 tests they were in winning positions but failed out to take last English wicket to win 3-1. So who is tough and who deserves a # 1?

India or South Africa?

India have consistently won test matches in absence of first choice bowlers most part of the times. They've found out somebody in the bwoling department who stands out and delivers.

In batting they have made 400 runs in 7 consecutive games and passed 300 in one of every 25 Tests they have played in since 2008. They have not lost a series in last 2 and half years.

South Africa have not won a Test series in their own backyard in 2 years, their own conditions pacy and bouncy aiding their fast bowlers, they still failed to take 20 wickets every Test they played. Their batsmen plundered runs, but their bowlers lacked the firepower to take 20 wickets consistently.

On the other hand India -- having a so called "world class bowling attack" have taken 20 wickets in alien conditions and in supporting conditions. They won in SL, when SA were blanked 0-3. They won in NZ. India saved test matches, won test matches, chased targets in 4th innings, won convincingly, made huge scores in first or second innings of a test giving enough time to their depleted bowlers to take 20 wickets.

If Sehwag does not do it, then Dravid does, if not Dravid then Laxman. Sachin always performs.

And whats this hype about the dislike for short balls? Who fails against them? Sachin? Dravid? Laxman? Sehwag?  If its just 2 batsmen -- Gambhir and Raina who are prone to short balls, then why label the entire team as succeptible to the short stuff. Try short stuff against Sehwag. Once or twice you might succeed, but be ready to face the music then. Remember 319? Remember this year's Kolkata test?

Does South Africa invite that awe which Australia had? They've never won in SL, India. They last won in India 10 years back and since then they have lost 1 and drew 2. They were blanked 0-3 in dead pitches of SL 4 years back.

Australia consistently whitewashed them this decade home and away until 2008 when they won 2-1 but lost the home series 1-2. They won in England but drew in home. They failed to shut out Pakistan who are at their weakest in terms of batting in their history.

It'd be better if Smith has a look at the side he's got and then do a pot shot to India. India has experienced customers who are too good to fall in this verbal childish trap of so called mind games. Focus on the play in the middle dude and not on the verbal volleys.

Ishant Sharma, the biggest beneficiary of Nagpur Test

India in the end won the Nagpur test by 3rd highest margin in its history and thanks to the man in the center, the bridesmaid of Indian cricket. Rahul Dravid. He is tenacious, he is patient and he is a rejuvenated wall.  He was a big factor why India were able to post a lead of 373 runs in the first innings. His return to form is a welcome sign ahead of the final frontier in South Africa.

India have a very good chance of a series win in South Africa with Smith injured and Indian bowlers showing up the promise on the day 3 and day 4 of the Nagpur Test.

Ishant Sharma's 7 wickets in absence of Zaheer ensured he was not missed much, this 7 wicket haul in the game would have given a tremendous surge in the confidence for Ishant Sharma to have his first real Test overseas after Australia 08.  Not to forget on those Australian wickets, Ishant gained a reputation of being a zippy bowler who can extract bounce off the track.

If he could make AB or Amla his bunny, India would only be benefitted from that. Now that Zaheer's bunny wont be playing the series anylonger as of now, the bunny for Zaheer can be Kallis, but Ishant would need to fire in SA. That done, he would go long way being the next fast bowling sensation in India after Srinath and Zaheer at least in Tests.

Hail Dravid for his 30th century

Dravid jokes are common on twitter and blogs.

Some of them being "comparison to Chandupaul" and "no privacy as he finds fielders".

You gotta give him some space of his own. He has had a horrible 2010 by his standards and he is trying hard to come out of it. Efforts were fruitful right away with him scoring his 30th 100 and moving to the elite group of 30+ 100s in Test cricket. He struggled initially but once he was set in, he didnt fall and he stuck another hundred at Motera. Last year around same time he had scripted a comeback from the hole when Welagedara something too 4 early wickets to reduce India at 4/32.

From what it is reported in the cricketing sites it seems that he is keen to end his slump and find form. There are evidences that he has found some bit of form, but he needs some space and he be left alone to find some runs which would be very valuable in quest to win first Test series in the Saffaland next month.

The tweeters and bloggers do not have patience on anybody except Sanga. They are ready to digest any rant and $hit from that guy but they aint ready to have some patience to see Dravid watch all the way to his 30th 100.

The day Dravid finds that he is no longer feeling a belonging sense to the topmost level, he would step down and none of us would ever need to put any pressure on the lad. He is that kind of man with highest integrity. But then such have been the 5 men who have transformed Indian cricket in the 2000s.

Its very crucial to have Dravid in the Test setup for another year or so when India plays in West Indies, England and Australia and those would be marquee series to save the # 1 ranking and also initiate the transition from the greatest middle order to an inexperienced one albeit talented one with couple of contenders coming good in the limited opportunities they have got in past few months owing to whatever reasons.

Patience in the T20 era is a bygone virtue and it lasts only with the selected few who are ready to watch the glorious men just for the love of the game. I am one of them.

India vs Australia T1D3

The first test between India and Australia is delicately poised and for sure it wont head to a draw, what fucking Sanjay Manjrekar believes. Damn him, he is an eternal pessimist. 

If the lower order of India could have shown the same resolve as in Lanka, India would have had some lead rather than giving away some lead.  Injury to VVS Laxman also did not help. Either of this would have happened, India surely would have surged ahead of Australia in first innings. 

India had 4 half centurions -- Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar and Raina. 

Raina has almost sealed his spot at 6 for at least few more Tests. Failure of Yuvraj Singh in first innings of Irani trophy has not helped his case in anyway.  

Sachin was unlucky to have missed yet another ton this year, although he did lead a good partnerships with Dravid and Raina. 

Only if MSD and so called allrounder Harbhajan could have made some more runs. 

On day 4, the lot would depend on Zaheer and Ojha to make early inroads to Australian 2nd innings. Ishant is out injured and Harbhajan is useless. 

So if this 2 bowlers in addition to occasional off spin by Virender Sehwag should ideally run through the Australian 2nd innings. The match is delicately poised. A session or 2 good for any team could turn the game in its favor. 

And given the rivalry between the 2 teams neither of the teams would like to give an inch to the other. And this is what you call pulsating and riveting Test cricket. Even contest between bat and ball.

Yuvraj's omission is baffling.

India's team for the first test is almost a good one except following:

1. Yuvraj's omission is baffling. He did not get a chance to demonstrate his so called loss of form in Tests after the disastrous Galle test. Next test he was injured and next one Raina persisted over him. Ideally he could have been given one chance to prove his form in Tests and then drop would have been justified. Now that Che is in, it seems that for forseeable future Yuvraj's Test fortunes are on hold for now.
2. Che finally gets in the team but is he going to play ? He would no more than a drinks man. Ideally he should replace Dravid at 3, but then Dravid has had one poor series in Lanka and he should be back in form again.
3. Harbhajan in the team is baffling. He has not been in form, fitness and sane mind.  As SP says he is a spot fixer in Indian team.

Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan and IPL should be the lineup for bowling.  GG, VS, RD, ST, VVS, SR, MSD for batting.

Champions League update thus far

CLT20 is on in full flow and thats the Cricket Ka Asli Muqabla.  There are lot of new faces in the commentary boxes and thats a welcome sign. Saurav Ganguly is in the box and so are Shastri, Gavaskar -- India's finest. Good respite from the likes of Arun Lal, Shiva and company. On the flip side we also have Pommie Bangwa and Russell Arnold. The results so far are as expected.

1. Out of the 10 playing teams 3 are from India and 2 of them have won the first games emphatically when they were supposed to struggle and flaunder in this conditions. The critics forget that it was in South Africa, that India has had their best run in the ICC editions of the World Cup and World T20. A world cup final in 2003 and World T20 win in 2007. So how the teams would struggle is beyond comprehension. This point of view has been pastered on us by Sanjay Manjrekars of the world who refuse to see anything silver lining in the dooms.  Sachin Tendulkar the batsman continued his good form and that pretty much almost covered his unusual errings in the field as captain. Kumble and MSD led their respective teams to victories with ease and they should be good for the semis if they continue to play the same way they did in their first games.
2. Wayamba is as useless as Mahelangakara's character rants. They failed miserably against Warriors and a lot of  that blame has to go on Mahila who fell for a duck. I guess the major reason they failed to win was that the character juice supply was in short and a lot of that did not arrive from Lankan godowns.  Only positive point of their team was old Kulatunga and young Pareira (there are so many Pareiras playing for Lanka, its difficult to track them all) with their positive batting. The praise ends here.
3. Australian teams have had mixed bag so far. South Australia RedBacks beat Lions (SA) by 19 runs on day 2 of the tourney and Victoria, the Aussie version of Tamil Nadu lost their opening game to Warriors who look  good to go the semis route at least.
4. Windies and Kiwis teams had horrible outings in conditions that should have suited them ideally.

As of now given the form RCB, CSK, Warriors and one of RedBacks/Lions look good to go the distance to the semis.

Kumble had figures of 1/10 in 4 overs against Guyana. Harbhajan could not take a wicket in the game against Lions.  When Kumble played Harbhajan often got wickets owing to the pressure built by Kumble from the other end. Since Kumble retired, Harbhajan has struggled in Tests and that has impacted further his ODI and T20 bowling.

Kallis is continuing his good run this year in CL as well and he came good with bat and ball in the game vs Guyana. Dravid had a 33 which was solid and flair of typical Dravid in his peak in ODIs. Unfortunately he grassed a few dollies which prompted few to call for his axing and a well tracked farewell. Uncalled for.

Sachin had a good outing in first game as batsman and his other big names failed. Dumniny, Pollard, Rayudu, Sathish were miserable. Except Malinga none came good in bowling. Sachin is too good a player to repeat his captaincy mistakes in the second game tomorow.

Indian players have had a good outing so far. Unexpectedly Junior Cheeka had a 42 which should fast track his place into national colors. That there are other deserving players than him to get the India cap is another story, he has that advantage of having DAD at high position backed by Nambiarulu Srinivasan, the CSK owner and powerful BCCI sachiv.

So if he finds a place in the ODI team as a replacement for great Sobers in making RavinderSing Jaddukha, it sould not be a surprise as Cheeka would have ensured a good entry behind the door.

Dabri had a good outing again and like his Chennai friend DK he would now come into contention for every team India plays and once in he would be back to usual scoring pattern of 10s, 20s and 30s.  Its good. It keeps our community (bloggers and twitterers) busy guessing who # 6 in Tests and # 7 in ODIs would be. Not to forget that the jokes would continue too.

PS : Thanks SoulBerry for mentioning that this blog is one of the good ones for IPL and CLT20. It means a lot when this blog has more distractors than admirers. Appreciate a lot.

CLT20 : RCB Preview

AirTel CLT20 kicks off on Sep 10th in South Africa in their earlier summer and 10 teams play in the 2nd edition of the premier tournament. No England and Pakistan teams here due to clashes with the domestic season and political reasons respectively. For England's absence blame it on the lack of the FTP window for IPL and CLT20.

There are 3 teams from India, 2 each from SA and Aus, 1 each from WI, NZ and SL.

Its MI, CSK and RCB for India. Only RCB made it to the first edition in 2009 where they failed to make it to the semis.

Let me start a series of preview for the teams I know of -- 3 IPL teams.

Starting with the team I shall support : Royal Challengers Bangalore. Just bcos its led by legendary Anil Kumble.

The squad of 15 is :

Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Virat Kohli, Cameron White, Ross Taylor, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, Dillon du Preez, B Akhil, Abhimanyu Mithun, Nayan Doshi.

There are foreign players in Cameron White, Ross Taylor, Dale Steyn, Kallis, Preez. No Boucher. Kallis, Taylor, White were eligible for playing their home teams too, but RCB has eased out its wallet to retain this key players.

I presume CLT20 also allows IPL teams to play 4 foreign players and in that case the RCB has 5 foreign players to chose from. Not sure about du Preez who he is and what his credentials are. This could be the starting XI for RCB in their first game:

*
Kallis
*
Pandey
*
Uthappa
*
Taylor
*
Kohli
*
Dravid
*
White
*
Praveen
*
Steyn
*
Kumble
*
Vinay Kumar / Mithun

White and Kumble would be the spinners. Kallis, Steyn, Praveen and one of Vinay and Mithun would be the pacers. Having Steyn and Kallis in the team and playing in the home conditions actually helps RCB.

Prediction : I'd assume RCB would make it to the semis given the golden run they had in SA conditions in 2009 IPL.

They are in group B ranked 4th with Mumbai Indians as top rank team.

The other teams are Guyana (WI), MI (India), South Australia (Australia), Lions (SA).

Why we failed in Galle

List of Test matches saved in reverse order:

·         Ahmedabad Test vs SL in 2009

·         Napier Test vs NZ in 2009

·         Bangalore Test vs Aus in 2008

·         Adelaide Test vs Aus in 2008

·         Lord’s Test vs England in 2007

It was Sachin Tendulkar in Ahmedabad, Gautam Gambhir in Napier, Zaheer, Harbhajan in Bangalore, Sehwag in Adelaide and MSD in Lord’s Test 2007.

Neither of this batters are around on the middle now and the patience factor has deserted Indian batsmen in this Test.

Except for Tendulkar, Dravid an Laxman none of the other batsmen played more than 90 balls, most important to save the Test match when following on.  Laxman is baffling still, he has hold on one end yet to avoid the defeat.

Sehwag lasted 30 balls, Yuvraj and Dhoni combined not even 20. Gautam Gambhir could not stay past 1^st over in both innings.  He has had good outing in the first warm up game, yet he made a score line of 2, 0 in the Test, a much rare failure for the Delhiite.

Sehwag got a 100 but threw it away both times when he would have been the key man for India to save the Test in both innings. A big score from him (bigger than 110) in both innings could have meant India would be safe on day 5. But then it was not to be.  Dravid fell both times for his own mistake and Sachin as usual once for a poor umpire decision (lbw both times).

All said and done, this is one Test we would like to forget sooner than later and hope from 2^nd Test ownwards India shows its true class which has made it # 1 in the rankings.

We have got a jacked S bowling attack with none owing up responsibility to be premier strike bowler.   Ojha is not a Test material, forget Tests he is not even an international material. He is good for Deccan Chargers in that overhyped Bollywood hijacked T20 tournament.  Harbhajan Singh badly needs Anil Kumble down the other end to take wickets or to appear as a decent bowler. His ODI bowling is taking a toll on him as a test bowler. ODI bowling as in restrictive role. Line and length ustaad, wicket blub.

Lest bowling attack improves the likes of Lanka would continue to have bat-a-thons and make 500, 600 or even 1000. Our best bet to survive this kind of negative tactics is to bat stronger. We’ve got the best batting order in the world, but at times it falls prey to the bowlers who have forgot to play Test cricket for good 3 years.  But as SP said, India is always vulnerable as it comes out of a long break. Once that cooling period is gone, its tough past getting  the greats. And I bet the Indians would be in their true Test form 2^nd Test ownwards.                      

Just wishing a heavy downpour in Galle NOW.

Sanga favors UDRS

Kumar Sangakara has been making a lot of noise on UDRS. He is disappointed, disgusted and a heck lot of emotions have come out of his daily dose of rants on the usage of UDRS in the upcoming Test series vs India.  No doubt he is a buoyant supporter of this flawed technology due to the fact that he thinks UDRS won his team 2-1 in 2008 and lost 0-2 in 2009 in India.

Many close decisions went against India and they were the differences in what were 26 wkts to Mendis and 6 wkts to Mendis. 29 decisions went against India and 3 went in their favor, that’s a huge difference.  BCCI and Indians are not big supporters of UDRS. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MSD have publicly put foot down on the UDRS thingy.

Question is why does Sangakara root too wildly for this technology.  Simple reason : he does not have 20 wicket taking bowlers left in his kitty.  Murali is not a force, they dropped Mendis and Suraj Randiv would probably make his debut(or he has made).  Fast bowlers except Malinga are not a threat to India anymore, unless the batsmen self destruct.

So UDRS would only be the tool Sangakara would rely on getting half hearted appeals in his team’s favor and try to win a series or prevent a loss.

IMO Sri Lanka are going to go to the 1990s when they batted and batted and batted for 3 days in row to rewrite batting and partnership records and save the series. As a result they are yet to win a test series in India, Australia and South Africa.

They are the most negative Test playing nation in the world and this series wont be any different.

Those who would rip me apart for this statement, just have a look at the score card of the infamous Test match when SL scored 6/952 when Blabba Queen debuted and Vaas made 61.

Aftermath

India’s fourth or fifth string team lost to the enthusiastic and committed Zimbabwe second time in a week. How pathetic it is. Who owns up this defeat ? Skipper Raina, coach Kirsten or selector head clown Srikanth?  It was pathetic to see that there was no intent or will to score runs from the openers. What was Murali Vijay thinking ? He is a star ? IPL is long time over kid. If you cant play against Zimbabwe, there is a little chance you could play against anybody else.  56 ball 21 in PowerPlay overs with no boundaries whatsoever. Ditto for his Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik, who by far should have been dumped in the dustbin of Marina Beach or Golden Beach in Chennai for his hyped talent, zero on delivery.

What happened to Amit Mishra who got a 5-for on his Test debut substituting for Anil Kumble and fast tracking his retirement?  Why do our spinners fail to take wickets in ODIs and T20s whereas little known spinners of lesser countries are rich in wickets. Pragyan Ojha, another big IPL name, purple cap holder of IPL-3. He ended up with one wicket. Why ? Did he forget spinning the ball ? Or did he think playing a game or 2 for India is good enough ?

Ashok Dinda, poor fiery chap from Bengal, wrote highly by Sourav was other failure. His off cutters and Yorkers were safely negotiated, half volleys were spanked to boundaries by young Zimbabwe kids.  Umesh Yadav bowled only 4 overs.  Yusuf Pathan was never in sight bowling with his fire in his eyes.  He had chance to score runs on a flat track, which he always does in IPL, he gave away the chance.  Rohit, Raina fell to sharp fielding from Zimbabwean kids.  Jadeja was selfish enough to complete a 50 and fall.

Did not he think to accelerate or at least try for it? He was contend taking singles and rotating strike in 45-50 overs when India scored just 18 runs.

This team is pathetic. If they are called future stars, then lets stop watching cricket for good. Once the greats are retired from Tests and this lesser souls take over, we would be soon languishing in the lower bottom half of the Test rankings. But wait are they even good to play for India again ?

Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay,  Yusuf Pathan, Ravinder Jadeja should never play for India again unless they prove hard in the domestic cricket that they belong and not just IPL.  

The flat track bullies of Chepauk, Mr Vijay forgot that he is playing ODI and not a first class game.  He plays  faster than this in 4 tests that he has played for India and he had given impression that he is gutsy enough to play for India long time in Tests. Now that impression stands dusted. Not so long ago he was thought of future # 3 in Tests, a big spot held for 14 years by Rahul Dravid.

Unfortunately this kids don’t have work ethic, their seniors have.  Easy money from IPL, fast tracked selection by ex cricketers from their zone makes them believe that they have arrived on the international scene and hence they fail to do whatever it takes to succeed on the highest level.

Just need to illustrate the case of 3 Best ODI players India ever produced.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

Success did not come to this lads instantly. Sachin took 78 games and 6 years for his first ODI 100 and thereafter no looking back. 45 hundreds more he scored in 16 years.  He had the promise, he showed it, he delivered it in his younger days. Remember the tour of 1991 to Australia, when bigger Test players (then) than him flopped, the guy scored 2 sublime 100s in Perth and Sydney.

Rahul Dravid, considered by many a misfit ODI batsman (even today) got off to a disastrous start to his ODI career in Singapore and Sharjah tournaments just after 1996 world cup, till 1999 world cup when he emerged as top run getter, his place was never fixed.

When Yuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif along side Virender Sehwag arrived in early 2000s, Dravid was once again questioned if he belonged to the ODI arena. He remodeled his game from a # 3 to a # 5 or # 6 player as finisher and scored countless innings to win games for India. His partnerships with Yuvraj and Kaif are epitome to the fact.

Ganguly had a disastrous ODI debut in 1991 down under and for 5 years he did not play another game until one day he was selected in Test team to England post 1996 World Cup. The success story thereafter is known to everybody, how he evolved from a “quota selection” to become India’s best captain ever in the formats that matter.

Story of Virender Sehwag could be inspirational too. Dropped after disastrous ODI debut in 1999 and back in the team for Tests in 2001 and then dropped again in 2006-07 and bouncing back in 2008 Adelaide Test could be benchmark for this so called young kids of the Indian cricket team.  They ought to remember that T20s and IPL is not the only thing they need to play well in. Who remembers Swapnil Asnodkar and Kamran Khan now who shone in 2008 and 2009 editions? Do they even play first class cricket and get noticed? Nope, not at all.

Anil Kumble was mocked by Kapil Dev in 1990 England tour when he debuted. For next 2 years he did not play a Test until 1992 when he made a comeback to grab 6/59 in Wanderers Test in SA. And post 1993 he changed the story of Indian spin.

Can Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra, known for aggressive send-offs and fire in the bellies learn from the senior pro on how to take wickets and then show the aggression? Take wickets and then do whatever, all is forgiven and forgotten.

Heads would need to roll for this pathetic show.  Its not a show, the team just did not turn up. They just ran through the motions. They pretended that they are playing. The hearts were just not there, that were somewhere else.

Pitiful and shameful performance this.  That’s the least 2 cussing words I can use right now.

Road Ahead

Anil Kumble has been spot on for his evaluation of the T20 debacle.   He is right to say we have not handled pacers well. We’ve lost Munaf (he was fast only when he played tour game vs England), RP Singh (so successful in first winning campaign in World T20 and IPL-2), Sreesanth (disciplinary problems),  Ishant Sharma (poor in LoIs) and many others who shone in domestic tourneys but did not succeed.  Irfan Pathan destroyed by Greg Chappell is seeming to be lost forever. He is million times more useful than his showmaker brother Yusuf Pathan who shows fake aggression on taking wicket of a tail ender.

In one of the other diagnostic article on cricinfo there is mention of this batting line to cope up with the pressure of top side in Tests. Fortunately none of this batsmen boomed in by IPL glitz and glamor play for India in Tests. Neither does Vijay, Raina, Yuvraj or a Pathan appear to be in contention for any Test spot near future.  That rests with Gambhir, who is still a world class batter, Sehwag, the one who was missed, Dravid, who should be back for ODIs world cup, Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni. 6^th spot should be for a debutant sans Dabrinath and Vijay.

So the test team has conquered everywhere – West Indies, England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  Reason the work ethics of the top 5 of Indian Test batting line up has been different. The likes of Raina, Sharma lack patience. They come out and try to hit the ball out of park first minute they enter. There is no meaning of settling down or having a grip of situation in the middle. When its against a minnow it might work, but against  stronger team it just wont work.

T20 failure throws up a question on the composition of the ODI side which has to win the World Cup at any side. The oDI record for India is best amongst the top teams. That’s conveniently forgotten. Most of the players in XI chose themselves – Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj (??), MSD, Raina, Kohli.  The bowling attack needs an overhaul. Sorry to say but Harbhajan needs a kick up his back to remind that he is so called best Indian spinner after Anil Kumble. He can never be the bowler Anil was in his peak in 1990s home ODIs when Azhar used to bring him on in the 15 overs and he usually responded with crucial breakthroughs.

Shastri says groom a young captain for T20. MSD is not an old warhorse. And he is a good captain. Remember he is winning almost every ODI and Test series India is playing. T20s are being lost but that should not be that big a disappointment as losing a traditional world cup. We don’t want a repeat of 2007 when India failed to qualify in Super 8s in 15 years.  We need to have a look at the bowling attack and have 2 good fast bowlers who would have pace, take wickets and even though give runs. A figure of 4/55 would be much better than 0/45 and a speed of 140+ than 135.  There are a few players who need discard for good and besides the usual culprits mentioned on other posts of the blog – Pravin Kumar is one such bowler who would be ineffective on flat Indian pitches for WC.

Shastri, Ganguly and Gavaskar have been spot on with their comments, but the likes of Madan Lal or Jadeja, Maninder Singh are fool hardies.

MSD has won more than he has lost. So if he is reeled for this defeat then he has to be commended for other achievements too. If he has been stubborn for few players, then may be he would learn a hard lesson. If he is trying to do a Ganguly to Pathans, Jadejas, Vijays and Pravins then lets not forget that the players Ganguly nursed were awesome then (may be they are poor now), they were serious talents (Sehwag and Yuvraj prove this).

The golden generation of Indian batting prospered in short ball conditions, fast bouncy traks and slow pitches too. The same cannot be expected out of the likes of Rainas and others.  Simple, the work ethic is  the reason. The golden generation of Indian batting prospered in Tests, ODIs and IPL. The current generation excels in just IPL.  The players who made  500s and  400s in IPL flopped in the international format. The guy who made 600 in this IPL has proved what adaptability is and what work ethic is.  It’s a pity that the younger generation of Indian batsmen don’t want to learn from the illustrious men like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly while sharing the dressing room..

Yuvraj Singh was a special talent and its delightful to watch him in full flow. When he scratches around he seems ugly. Off field reaons play a big reason in why he fails to deliver.  For the time being he is best suited to sit out the team till he solves whatsoever his problems are.

India’s next big assignment is the Sri Lankan Dambulla cup in June July. And that IMO should mark the beginning of preparation for ODI world cup, far bigger and important than the T20I world cup which keeps on coming every 2 years. 

All is not lost and in couple of months now we would be back to backing the team hoping that it learns from this mistakes, chucks out complacent IPL players and gets the dedicated hungry for success players. India can do it and we would still be able to achieve success in the ODI series lined up in next few months.  After all we are # 2 in ODIs and # 1 in Tests. Lets not forget that the personnel for the ODI and Tests, as next assignments would change and hopefully we wont need to see the same usual crop of retards playing for India and thus insulting the meaning of playing for country.