VIEWLOGIC-a different perspective

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:STEVE WAUGH-1999

2011-02-16T10:09:00.001+05:30

He came into the Australian squad as an all-rounder during the test series down-under versus India. He was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 1987. Within a few years, he lost his place in the test team to his twin brother who scored a century on debut in the Ashes of 1991. The player is Stephen Rodger Waugh who went to become one of the best batsmen of his generation and also one of the best captains in the game.

Following his exit from the team, Steve had a change in his approach to batting. The comeback into the team witnessed a different batsman who started to score runs in torrents. The opponents seemed to bring the best out of him and no one can forget the double hundred in the West Indies in 1995 that gave Australia the Frank Worrell trophy after a long interval.

Some of the most famous innings of Steve Waugh have come in the longer version of the game.For someone who batted down the order, big scores in the one-dayers were not always possible.

In the Reliance World Cup of 1987, Steve Waugh could not make a big contribution with his bat but on more than one occasion, took crucial wickets. Waugh was a very clever bowler who varied the pace much to the surprise of the batsmen. In the semi-finals versus Pakistan at Lahore, Waugh scored 18 runs off Salim Jaffer in the 50^th over of the Australian innings.Those runs proved to be the winning margin for the Aussies. Later when Pakistan batted, he took a couple of wickets.

In the Wills World Cup of 1996, Steve Waugh had a few memorable outings like the half-century versus New Zealand at Chennai. In the semi-finals at Mohali, he produced a great delivery to stop Brian Lara who was well set to take the Windies to the finals.

But it was the ICC World Cup of 1999 that saw Steve Waugh’s emergence as a great captain.The Aussies had to really sweat it out after the initial stages.It was in the super-six match versus South Africa at Leeds that the famous Waugh magic came to the fore.It was a now-or-never match with Australia needing to win in order to have any further say in the tournament.

South Africa made 271 with Gibbs making a century. In reply, the Aussies had a poor start but Waugh went for the shots making a 50 off only 47 balls.When on 56, Waugh had a reprieve, thanks to Herschelle Gibbs.Legend has it that Waugh made a comment to Gibbs about the drop. Waugh went on to make 120 and took his team to the semi-finals. After a couple of days, the same two teams contested the semi-finals which ended in a tie and the Aussies went to the final on a better run-rate.

Waugh was not picked for the World Cup of 2003.He had to make way for new and younger players.But no one can question the part played by Waugh in the making of a strong Australian team.

I was fascinated once to learn that Steve Waugh played with a bat that was shorter in length in relation to the bats used by other players.The famous red hankie in the trouser pocket and the worn out baggy green are still fresh in my memory.

More than the style it was substance that was more important.

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:ANDREW SYMONDS-2003

2011-02-15T19:47:00.001+05:30

He first came into the picture when the Indian team was at the receiving end on a tour game in England facing a county side. He had the great ability to hit the ball to great distances. The same person also toyed with the Indian bowling on a tour to down under. He had the opportunity to play for England but declined in order to play for Australia.

For most of the Indian followers, he became a hate figure following the on-field events involving Harbhajan Singh.

It was only when Andrew Symonds got into the Australian one-day side that the world started to take note of the prowess of the man. Not only could he bat but also he was a tremendous fielder and a more than useful bowler. Symonds was powerfully built and when song could take on any bowler in the limited overs contests.The dread locks gave way to the clean shaven head and yet there was no change in his style as far as cricket was concerned.

He had a disastrous start to his test career facing the likes of Muthiah Muralitharan on the turning wickets of Sri Lanka. Symonds was dropped from the test team while he was a regular for the one-day team. He got a lucky break to play test cricket once again and he scored a fine century versus the visiting English team. However, things began to become difficult for him as the cricket administrators were forced to take disciplinary action following many ‘incidents’. All these culminated in Symonds not being picked up for the Australian sides and he announced his retirement from the international game. These days, he is a freelancer for the different teams in the T20 competitions.

The ICC World Cup of 2003 provided the platform for Symonds to display his talent in a big way. The defending champions Australia faced Pakistan at Johannesburg and Wasim Akram sent back Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden back to the pavilion early in the game. Damien Martyn also could not trouble the scorer as he was bowled by a Akram special. Jimmy Maher was out to Waqar Younis and only Ricky Ponting was holding fort tackling the Pakistan bowlers when Symonds came to crease.

Within no time the shots began to flow from the bat of Symonds and the pressure was on Pakistan. The ball kept racing to the boundary with the fielders joining the ranks of the spectators. Even the dismissal of Ponting could not deter Symonds from attacking the bowlers. Symonds made 143 runs from only 125 balls. The Pakistan bowlers had no answers to this onslaught and the frustration was reflected when Waqar Younis was stopped from bowling following two beamers bowled at Symonds. Thanks to Symonds, the Aussies scored 310 runs and Pakistan fell short by 92 runs.

In the semi-finals at Port Elizabeth, the Australians took on Sri Lanka. Chaminda Vaas had the Aussies in all kinds of trouble with excellent support from Aravinda DeSilva and Sanath Jayasuriya. None of the famous batsmen could stay long at the wicket and there was a real possibility of Sri Lanka upsetting the top ranked team. But Symonds had other ideas and in a display of controlled aggression scored 91 from 118 balls. This was a slow effort and Australia laboured to 212 from 50 overs. Following a rain disruption, the Sri Lankans had to score 172 runs in 38 overs. They could only score 123 and the Aussies went to the finals for the third time. In the finals versus India, Ponting and Martyn trashed the Indian bowlers leaving very little for the likes of Symonds.

Symonds was a part of the Australian team that won the World Cup again in 2007.By this time, he was an established member of the squad who had many years of top class cricket left in him. But things did not go according to the script and now when Australia is desperate to re-establish its superiority, Symonds is on the sidelines.

Symonds would have been a wonderful addition to the Australian side for the World Cup of 2011.His ability to clear the boundaries would have been a great asset on the smaller grounds of the subcontinent.

It is a pity that a man with so much ability would be restricted to the IPL and other such T20 events.

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:CHETAN SHARMA-1987

2011-02-15T12:59:00.001+05:30

He is best remembered by my generation for that full toss that was whacked out of the ground at Sharjah by Miandad for an improbable win for Pakistan. That one ball overshadowed all the other important contributions mostly with the ball and on occasions with the bat from this player. Weeks after the incident at Sharjah, this man had a great part in the famous series win by India in England in the test matches. In the very first test, this player took India to the doorstep of a win with splendid bowling.

I am talking about Chetan Sharma, who was small in stature but had a big heart. He was a member of the Indian team that won the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985.Sharma played the finals in place of the ill Roger Binny.

Chetan Sharma also a few times was capable of making runs with the bat in the one-dayers even once when promoted up in the batting order during the Nehru Cup. But my abiding memory was the hat-trick achieved by him during the Reliance World Cup in 1987.

India played New Zealand at Nagpur and the visitors batted first. None of the Kiwi batsmen could play a long innings and a modest target awaited India. Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield were dismissed by Chetan Sharma in successive deliveries for a hat trick. All the three were clean bowled.

But the efforts of Chetan Sharma were completely overshadowed by the batting of Sunil Gavaskar and Srikkanth with the former getting his only century in limited overs. Even earlier, the superlative batting of Dilip Vengsarkar on the tour to England relegated the efforts of Chetan Sharma into the background.

Luckily, things like match-fixing and spot-fixing were not around during the last ball full toss incident at Sharjah, otherwise, Chetan Sharma would have been hounded for all the wrong reasons. Even the government of the day would not have hesitated to constitute an enquiry committee to find the truth!

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:STEPHEN FLEMING-2003

2011-02-14T21:45:00.001+05:30

He came on to the international scene as an unknown and surprisingly, was made the captain of the team. He was tall and lanky and unlike many left handers, did not show much grace at the crease. But with the passage of time, he showed tremendous application as a batsman. If I remember correctly, Fleming decided to open the innings in the test matches on a tour to Sri Lanka and went on to make a double hundred.However, it is as a captain that he showed great skill and at times plotted the downfall of much more accomplished teams and opposing players.I remember a series played in Australia where he employed a specific field for Damien Martyn and the batsman got out playing the same shot on more than one occasion.

I am talking about Stephen Fleming. It was not an easy task to lead the New Zealand who did not possess any great players after the retirements of the likes of Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe. It is to the credit of Fleming that at times the Kiwis made a mockery of their standing in the international arena. The battles with the traditional rivals the Aussies were always something to look forward to even when the Kiwis were beaten.

The 1992 World Cup with Martin Crowe at the helm saw New Zealand make the best use of the home conditions with the team going all the way to the semi-finals. But in the later editions, the team could not make much of a progress despite the sterling performances of a few individual players.

Few gave a chance to the team led by Fleming in the 2003 edition of the ICC World Cup. But one innings from Fleming showed his intelligence much to the chagrin of the home team, South Africa at Johannesburg.

The Proteas were under great pressure after the narrow loss to the West Indies. They had to win in order to have any chance of going forward in the tournament. The team led by Shaun Pollock scored 306 with Gibbs scoring 143. All the bowlers suffered including the likes of Shane Bond and the normally reliable Daniel Vettori.

The target of 307 was always going to be something of a mountain for the Kiwis to climb. But then there was always a possibility of rain intervening and the DL method deciding the outcome of the match. This was kept in my mind by Fleming and he went on to play shots. Always the Kiwis were ahead of the required runs and when the rains came and put a halt to the proceedings, the Kiwis got home comfortably. The home team was caught unawares about the score they had to defend and let Fleming to call the shots.

Stephen Fleming made 134 in only 132 balls and controlled the chase beautifully. Testing my memory I recall one incident where the ball ricocheted off the bat of Fleming following a throw from a South African fielder. Normally, the batsmen don’t run but Fleming calmly took the runs on offer.It might have been unsportsmanlike, though not illegal but it just shows the determination of Fleming to win.This innings was called the ‘innings of a lifetime’.

I have read somewhere that Fleming was a student of Economics and that is how probably he mastered the technique of getting the best out of his team with limited resources. It is all the more satisfying since yours truly also is a student of Economics

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:HERSCHELLE GIBBS-1999 & 2003

2011-02-11T23:31:00.001+05:30

He was considered one of the finest fielders at the position once graced by Jonty Rhodes. On his day, he could take apart any attack out of the ground.

Recently, he came out with a tell-all autobiography that did not show his teammates and the coaching staff in a good light. He also was not ashamed to reveal his weakness for the good things in life.

He was infamously part of the few players who confessed to taking orders from Hansie Cronje to throw away matches. After the ban, he came out with the jersey having two 0s on it to signify his intentions of starting afresh.

As far as the World Cup is concerned, Herschelle Gibbs is best remembered for the dropped catch that gave Steve Waugh and his team the opportunity to go all the way to winning the Cup. The innings of Steve Waugh and the dropped catch overshadowed the fine effort of Gibbs with the bat earlier in the day at Leeds. Gibbs made 101 and this helped his team to post a score of 271. The match was inching towards South Africa until Gibbs in an attempt to hurl the ball into the air dropped it. Steve Waugh took full advantage of the reprieve and made the South Africans pay dearly. It is said that Waugh had a jibe at Gibbs for not just the catch but the World Cup being dropped. The Aussies beat the Proteas and went to the semi-finals where the same two teams came face-to-face.

With Shaun Pollock putting up a great display, the Aussies could only muster up a score of 213.This was not a target beyond the reach of South Africa even when the Australians had bowlers of the caliber of McGrath and Warne. Gibbs was playing well until he was bowled by a Warne special and South Africa found it difficult to score. Even Klusener’s late heroics could not help the team and match ended in a tie. The Australians went to the finals on the back of their earlier victory over South Africa.

In the World Cup of 2003, South Africa faced New Zealand at Johannesburg. South Africa needed to win the match to progress further in the tournament since they were defeated by the West Indies. The home team was off to steady start and Gibbs was in his elements taking the Kiwi bowlers to the cleaners. He made 143 off only 131 balls with 3 sixers. South Africa scored 306.

The target of 307 was always going to be a difficult one for the Kiwis. However, the New Zealand skipper, Stephen played the innings of a lifetime. Rain caused a reduction in the number of overs and the Kiwis were always ahead of the required runs as stipulated by the DL method. South Africa lost again.

Gibbs finished on the losing side twice in the World Cup even when he made great contributions with the bat. Of course, Gibbs made amends during the famous chase of 434 versus Australia.

Gibbs would be the first person to admit that the World Cup was a much greater stage than any other.

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:SUNIL GAVASKAR-1987

2011-02-11T00:06:00.001+05:30

Technorati Tags: WORLD CUP 2011,RELIANCE CRICKET WORLD CUP 1987,SUNIL GAVASKAR,CHETAN SHARMA,CRICKET WORLD CUP,CRICKET

It is a pity that by the time cable and satellite television made its presence felt in India, this man stopped playing cricket. That certainly is a reason why the cricket followers of this age only talk about things like the IPL –the auctions, the cheerleaders and the intrigue surrounding it and not about the great players of the past. The players of yesteryears are relegated to some dusty pages or some sepia tinted photographs.

He has the habit of ruffling many feathers particularly the Aussie ones. He has managed to stave off all the criticism resulting from his association with the IPL and one of the teams. He had a big role in the selection of the coach for the Indian team from John Wright to Gary Kirsten. In this exercise, too he was thought of as the hand that could rock the cradle of Indian cricket.

However, there is beyond any doubt that he was a great player not just for India but one of the truly all time greats. It is he who for a long time stood as the only symbol of resistance as far as the Indian team was concerned. I am talking about the peerless Sunil Manohar Gavaskar.

Just as millions worship Sachin, there was a time when Gavaskar occupied the same pedestal in the hearts and minds of Indians. He was often criticized for being too defensive but again his methods saved the team in a number of test matches both at home and abroad. He had a particularly tremendous record facing the best of the bowlers-both spin and pace. He took on some of the most fearsome fast bowlers of all time without ever donning a helmet. All he had was a skull cap under the floppy hat.

A lot of clicks of the keyboard would be necessary to speak of the exploits of Gavaskar in the test matches. I remember vividly his knock of 188 at Lord’s for the Rest of the World team facing the MCC. There was no live telecast but the commentators on the BBC Test Match Special made it really memorable. This was Sunny’s last outing in a first-class game when he signed off in style by scoring a 100 for the first time at the most famous cricket ground in the world.

A lot of praise is showered on the innings of 96 that Gavaskar played in his last test innings at Bangalore versus Pakistan. Many argue that this was one of the finest coming from the blade of the ‘liitle master’.

History tells us that Gavaskar remained 36 not out while India was facing a target of over 300 runs in the 1975 World Cup. Gavaskar himself famously wrote years ago about this innings. He could not make much of an impression in the later editions of the World Cup in 1975 and also in 1983 when India won the Cup.

Gavaskar could not get to the 100 mark in the limited overs version of the game and the Reliance World Cup of 1987 offered him the last opportunity. India took on New Zealand at Nagpur.

The Kiwis batted first and could only score 221 thanks to the hat trick of Chetan Sharma. With the asking rate of less than 5 runs per over, India was expected to have an easy win but few could predict the storm that hit everyone that day.Gavaskar opened the innings along with Krishnamachari Srikkanth and immediately both of them decided to go at the target. None of the bowlers including the normally economical Ewen Chatfield was spared. The ball kept going to the boundary and the Kiwis could do little even as they had a reputation as good fielders.

Gavaskar and Srikkanth seemed to compete with one another as far as the shots were concerned. Just as the fans were dreaming of a 10 wicket win, Srikkanth got out. But that did not deter Gavaskar from scoring his first and only 100 in the one-dayers. Gavaskar who rarely lofted the ball hit 3 over the boundary. His strike rate was only marginally inferior to Srikkanth’s.

After the match, one Kiwi bowler quipped that bowling to Gavaskar that day was like watching the highlights. The match was over with India winning by 9 wickets and with over 100 balls to spare.

Gavaskar could not repeat the heroics in the semi-final versus England and that was the last innings of the great man on Indian soil. Even the best also sometimes fail.

Legend has it that Sunny got exchanged for the child of a fisherman at the time of his birth in the hospital. It was only his uncle who detected this mistake and got the right one to the right place. It was maybe destiny that helped his uncle for that would been a sad loss for the game of cricket.

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:BRIAN LARA-1996 & 2003

2011-02-07T18:08:00.001+05:30

Few players have in the modern era have been as entertaining to the true followers as the left-hander from the tiny island of Trinidad and Tobago. Yes, I am talking about Brian Charles Lara, the only man to have made 400 in a test innings and 501 in a first class innings. His highest score before the quadruple hundred was 375. It was a pure delight watching Lara bat whether in a test match or in limited overs. But he could never be a part of a World Cup winning team.

But there have been a few innings from the flashing blade of Lara that spelt doom for the opponents in the World Cup.

Lara was a part of the West Indies team that took to the field in the World Cup of 1992 but apart from the half-century against Pakistan there was very little from him. But by 1996, Lara was clearly the most accomplished batsman of his team. The team was not a favourite but managed to reach the semi-finals.

In the quarterfinals the West Indies took on the mighty South Africa at Karachi. Few gave the West Indies any chance considering the Proteas had it very easy against all opponents in the earlier matches. The West Indies batted first and made 264 with Chanderpaul and Lara scoring the bulk of the runs. Lara played as only he could, scoring against all the bowlers with his 111 coming off only 94 balls. The ball kept eluding the fielders and speeded away to the boundary on both sides of the wicket. Worse, Jacques Kallis a very reliable catcher, dropped Lara and the batsman took full advantage of the reprieve. Once these two batsmen departed, the innings folded for a score that was not seemingly enough. However, the South Africans have been showing us again and again as to why they are called the ‘chokers’ and they fell short of the target and were knocked out off the World Cup.

In the semi-finals, the Australians struggled to score freely against the likes of Bishop, Walsh and Ambrose. The West Indies seemed to have the match in their grip until Lara tried to manufacture a shot and was bowled by Steve Waugh. It was only then that Warne took over and hastened the demise of the West Indies. But for that fateful shot, the West Indies could have been in the final.

There was very little of note as far as Lara was concerned in the World Cup of 1999.By 2003, there was little expected from the West Indies. South Africa was the host and even as the team was just rebuilding following the aftermath of Cronjegate, the West Indies was not considered much of a challenge.

The hosts took on the West Indies in the first match of the ICC World Cup of 2003 at Newlands in Capetown. Gayle and Hinds departed early and Lara took to the crease. He received good support from the other batsmen like Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Hooper. Lara made 116 and the West Indies put up 278 runs on the board. Lara started cautiously, but as more time was spent at the wicket, the shots started to flow from his bat. Once again, the ghosts of the past caught up as South Africa fell short of 3 runs. This defeat did not knock South Africa out of the World Cup but as things transpired was one of the factors for the first round exit of the hosts.

A month ago, Lara expressed his desire to take part in the Indian Premier League much to the surprise of everyone. The team owners had other ideas and decided not to ‘buy’ Lara. Does Brian Charles Lara require the approval of the ‘chaddi’ cricket to cement his place in the hall of fame?

Wah Lara, kya mara!

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:ASHISH NEHRA-2003

2011-02-07T09:29:00.001+05:30

In recent times, India has won matches both at home and away, thanks to the emergence of quick bowlers .One such instance featured the match between India and England in the ICC World Cup of 2003 at Kingsmead, Durban in South Africa.

India batted first and made 250 a score that seemed defendable considering the difficulties of batting second under the lights. But there was anxiety over the ability of the Indian bowlers.

Marcus Trescothick was snared by Zaheer Khan and the other opener Nick Knight was run out. Then it was the Ashish Nehra show all the way. The left-armer from Delhi was always regarded as a talent but then has the uncanny knack of getting injured at the most inopportune time. However, on that balmy night, everything paled before the magnificent show put up by Nehra. He made the ball and the English batsmen dance to his commands. The balls to dismiss Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart are still fresh in the memory. There were 6 wickets for only 23 runs and that sealed the win for India despite some typical powerful hits from Flintoff.

In between his bowling, Nehra had a brief stint of throwing up his food and drink but there was no respite for the English. On one occasion, the speedgun reported a speed of over 150 kmph much to the surprise of everyone. Even if there was some error, nothing can be taken away form Nehra.

The showing of Nehra seemed to have brought some relief to the minds of the followers of Indian cricket who were fed up with their batsmen brought down to the knees by the swinging ball on tours to England.

Hope Nehra comes up with a similar spell in the ICC World Cup of 2011 even as the conditions at home are radically different from those that evening at the Kingsmead.

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GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:GRAHAM GOOCH-1987

2011-02-07T00:41:00.001+05:30

India was one of the favourites to go the distance in the Reliance World Cup of 1987.In the semi-finals in Bombay, India had to face England led by Mike Gatting.

The Indian team was rocked by bad news even before a ball was bowled with Dilip Vengsarkar out of the match with tummy trouble caused by ‘Bombay Duck’. It became the most infamous dish of the time, considering Vengsarkar was in fine form and much was expected of him on his home ground. Even then, there was still a lot of firepower left in the Indian arsenal to reach the final.

But India did not account for one of the finest performances of the World Cup coming from the bat of Graham Gooch. Gooch started his test career on a pair facing the likes of Dennis Lillee. There was also a ban on him following a trip to South Africa on a rebel tour. However, after the ban was served, Gooch returned to the English team and there were enough indications of his prowess.

Gooch had this way of facing the bowlers with a very high backlift. He always seemed to a good player of pace bowling but on that day, Gooch took on the Indian spinners and broke a lot of hearts.

Ball after ball and over after over, Gooch swept the spinners and the Indian team seemed to be completely bereft of all ideas. Maninder Singh who once was talked of as the natural successor to the legendary Bishen Singh Bedi was swept out of the attack. The other spinner, Ravi Shastri also did not have any clue to stop Gooch.

The Indian chase was not successful with the loss of key wickets at crucial junctures and the final nail in the coffin was struck when Kapil Dev holed out to a fielder in the deep. The bowler was Eddie Hemmings and the fielder was Gatting. This marked the end of tenure for India as the holders of the World Cup. There was so much anger and frustration that Kapil was made the scapegoat and he lost the captaincy.

Graham Gooch once again blew the Indian team away in a test match in 1990 when he scored 333 in the first innings and a 100 in the second.

Technorati Tags: RELIANCE CRICKET WORLD CUP 1987,INDIA,ENGLAND,GRAHAM GOOCH,KAPIL DEV,RAVI SHASTRI,MANINDER SINGH

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:GEOFF ALLOTT-1999

2011-02-06T22:44:00.001+05:30

With the ICC Cricket World Cup only a few days away, most of the news and sports channels are making us ‘relive’ the past action. There are highlights, sidelights and also the visions from the experts.

In between the not-so-busy schedule of mine, I find time to remote through the different channels and a couple of days ago, I happened to stumble upon the match between India and New Zealand in the World Cup of 1999 in England. Geoff Allott the left-arm fast from New Zealand took advantage of the conditions and had Saurav Ganguly in a great deal of discomfort and finally yorked the batsman out.

Allott had a great World Cup with 20 wickets in the competition but that was not enough for his team. Shane Warne also took the same number of wickets in that tournament. Against Australia and Pakistan the finalists of the World Cup, Allott took 4 wickets each. Cricket as a team game can be very cruel in that great individual performances do not get the attention they deserve in view of the team’s lack of success.

Allott could not take his career to greater levels due to persistent injuries and finally in 2010, he decided to call it a day.

Technorati Tags: GEOFF ALLOTT,AUSTRALIA,PAKISTAN,INDIA,SAURAV GANGULY

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:SHANE BOND-2003

2011-02-06T17:22:00.001+05:30

The name with the surname Bond always has a special ring to it having grown up on a number of films showing the adventures of the super spy created by Ian Fleming.So when someone with the same surname came on to the cricket field, there was a natural curiosity.What made it even more interesting was the fact that this gentleman was a fast bowler.

I am talking about Shane Bond, a real life policeman who was armed with the cricket ball licensed to end the stay of the opposing batsmen at the crease. Bond was a pace bowler in the real sense of the term; the adjectives like medium-fast or fast-medium did not apply to him, he was a fast bowler.But unlike other fast bowlers, Bond did never use his mouth on the field.Those qualities made him more endearing for me.

Like most from New Zealand, Shane Bond relished playing against the traditional rivals, the Australians. There have been a few occasions when the famed Australian line-up was battered into submission by Bond.

The Indian team which toured New Zealand before the ICC World Cup of 2003 in South Africa found it almost impossible to counter the pace bowlers of the home team led by Bond on green and drop down wickets.

But for me, the best that Bond bowled was in the 2003 ICC World Cup versus Australia at Port Elizabeth. The first four batsmen consisting the likes of Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting and Martyn in batting order all fell to the pace of Bond. Hogg and Ian Harvey also became the victims of genuine pace coupled with bounce and movement. The scoreboard read 7 wickets down for only 84 runs and Bond’s figures read 6 for 23.That day, Bond was unplayable.

Once Bond finished with his spell, things became cooler and the Aussies recovered thanks to the efforts of Bevan and Bichel.That speaks volumes of the impact of Bond. The Aussies with a much greater dept in their bowling could successfully defend a small score.

Recurrent injuries put Bond more in the confines of the surgeon’s table and less on the cricket field. After a while in the T20 circus, Bond called it a day.

Sadly, this Bond did not have a victorious ending as is the case with the other Bond.

Technorati Tags: ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2003,PORT ELIZABETH,INDIA,NEW ZEALAND,AUSTRALIA,SHANE BOND,JAMES BOND

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:ARAVINDA DE SILVA-1996

2011-02-02T00:02:00.001+05:30

Aravinda De Silva had made a name for himself much before the Wills Cricket World Cup of 1996.As an Indian and a fan of Kapil Dev, it pained me a lot when De Silva hit the great bowler for a six in a test match.

Aravinda made the headlines for his ability to take on the best of the bowlers-both pace and spin. He was not afraid to play the horizontal shots when the ball bounced. He was all power and at times, the ball just sped to the boundary seemingly at the slight wave of the bat. Aravinda seemed to infuse the finesse of some his predecessors like Roy Dias with power. As was the case with most of his teammates, Aravinda too did not mind having a paunch.

The 1996 World Cup saw Sri Lanka in its full glory where everything seemed to work for the men from the small island nation. The batsmen could score runs; the bowlers took the wickets while fielding was top class. Every member of the team contributed to the ultimate triumph while the class of Aravinda came into its won during the semi-finals and the finals.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana gave their team flying starts and most opponents were too shell shocked to trouble the rest of the Sri Lankan team. But in the semi-finals versus India at the Eden Gardens, things went from bad to worse for the islanders. Srinath sent the opening pair back to the pavilion with very few runs. Asanka Gurusinghe was given a rough time before he too fell to Srinath. Things started looking really rosy for India and a spot in the finals at Karachi seemed very real.

I can still remember the day of the match. It was the day when examinations were going on and every now and then I went away from the examination hall to get the latest scores. The first three wickets were followed by three crackers and after a while there was an eerie silence. The reason was Aravinda was taking on the Indian bowlers. There was a cover drive that looked ominous and in the company of Roshan Mahanama, De Silva took Sri Lanka to a good total. As it turned out, this total was beyond the reach of India and Sri Lanka was in the finals.

The finals featured Sri Lanka and Australia in the city of Karachi in Pakistan. The Aussies did not go to Sri Lanka for the preliminary round of matches citing security reasons. There were the usual mind games before the big match. The Aussies appeared confident while Arjuna Ranatunga did not blink. History had favoured the Aussies to win the World Cup for a second time. I had not fully recovered from the trashing India received from Sri Lanka but I did not want the Aussies to win.

The Aussies could not post a good total. The famed batting line-up boasting the likes of the Waugh twins, Stuart Law, Michael Bevan, Ponting and Healy failed to make a big score. The spinners of Sri Lanka made it difficult to score freely and Aravinda had a big role taking 3 key wickets-Mark Taylor, Ponting and Healy.

The target was not stiff but Shane Warne was expected to make the ball talk but the genius of Aravinda put an end to all such speculation. Like in the semi-finals, Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana failed.Aravinda scored a century and along with Gurusinghe put the match beyond the reach of the Aussies. There were all kinds of shots-the powerful and also the subtle ones.

Truly a great World Cup for a great player. Like Mohinder Amarnath in 1983, Aravinda contributed immensely with both the bat and the ball.

Technorati Tags: WILLS CRICKET WORLD CUP 1996,SRI LANKA,AUSTRALIA,ARAVINDA DE SILVA

GREAT PERFORMANCES IN THE WORLD CUP:DAVID HOUGHTON-1987

2011-02-01T01:54:00.001+05:30

I did not watch the Prudential Cricket World Cup of 1983. My father watched the match live and he provided the report. Of course, there were the newspapers.

For me and my brothers, the Reliance World Cup of 1987 was truly the first one. It was only the World Cup that prompted my parents to accede to out demand for a colour tv at home. With the cable connection, it was time to sit back and enjoy.

While the World Cup was going on, I had to accompany my mother to Hyderabad to pay a visit to my grandmother. My uncle did not and still does not have a high opinion of cricket and also the followers of the game. But the day before the match featuring New Zealand and Zimbabwe at the Lal Bahadur Stadium, he wanted to know if I needed a ticket to watch the match live. With two teams that were not expected to put up a good show, I declined the offer and instead preferred to watch the match on the tv. Even after all these years, I still regret the decision for the match featured on the best innings ever played in the World Cup.

New Zealand batted first and put up a good score for in those days even an asking rate of 5 runs per over seemed to be a tough task provided the bowling attack was decent. Snedden made a half-century and Martin Crowe batted like only he could.

Zimbabwe was not expected to do much. My only interest was to follow the progress of Kevin Curran. He was one of the bowlers to wreak havoc on the Indians in the previous World Cup and Curran was rated one of the good allrounders in the English county circuit.

Zimbabwe lost wickets early with not many runs on the scoreboard. The match seemed to be going in one direction-New Zealand. But one man-David Houghton had a different idea. In the company of Iain Butchart, Houghton took his team very close to the target. The end for Houghton and his team came when Martin Crowe came up with the catch of the World Cup.

Houghton played every shot and it was really incredible stuff. The ball kept going to and over the boundary.

It was a truly remarkable innings and once again I regret having missed out on that.

Technorati Tags: NEW ZEALAND,ZIMBABWE,RELIANCE CRICKET WORLD CUP 1987,DAVID HOUGHTON,MARTIN CROWE,LAL BAHADUR STADIUM,HYDERABAD

KALLIS VS.SOBERS-DEBATE CONTINUES

2011-01-13T11:54:00.001+05:30

Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. ~Aaron Levenstein

Harsha Bhogle argues in Cricinfo that the South African all-rounder Kallis is the Garfield Sobers of the present generation. Harsha uses statistics to show us the great similarities as far as the numbers go.

But he misses out on one crucial factor that made Sobers a completely unique player, who according to many (Australians apart) is the greatest ever to step on to the cricket field. People loved to watch Sobers play while Kallis does not have that kind of an attraction. Kallis is truly a great player but equating him with Sobers is taking the things too far.

I have not seen Sobers play nor might have Harsha watched him in his pomp. But from what I have read and listened to, Sobers did everything with a lot of flair and panache. In contrast, Kallis is someone who is efficient to the point of being robotic. There have been times when Kallis seems to be overawed by the opposition as was the case against the likes of McGrath and Warne. Could anyone say the same for Sobers?

It is only in the current context where anyone who can bowl and bat a bit is called an ‘all-rounder’ that the record of Kallis is something of a very tall mountain to climb. Make no mistake, Kallis is a true all-rounder.

It would have been kind of refreshing to see Kallis compete against the likes of Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Ian Botham or Richard Hadlee leaving Sobers out of the equation. While Kallis keeps scoring runs, takes wickets and pouches catches, he does not qualify as a match-winner who can change the course of a match with the bat or the ball or even by holding a catch or affecting a run-out. Can Kallis do a Botham at Headingley or a Kapil a 175 not out while the team lost 5 wickets for a few runs on the board? Imran was very good with the both the ball and the bat against the top teams including the ones from the West Indies. Hadlee took wickets everywhere even when his team was not the best.

Kallis is a great player and Sobers is the greatest.

Technorati Tags: ALL-ROUNDER,CRICKET,KAPIL DEV,IMRAN KHAN,IAN BOTHAM,RICHARD HADLEE,GARFIELD SOBERS

IS WORLD CUP EVERYTHING?

2011-01-01T23:01:00.001+05:30

Zico of Brazil was an extraordinarily gifted footballer from Brazil. He won many trophies but could not ever become a World Cup winner.

Socrates a teammate of Zico for many years also failed to win at the biggest stage of world football like many other super talented footballers of his generation from Brazil.

Michel Platini of France was renowned for his skills as a midfield maestro who could not take his team to glory at the World Cup.

Ivan Lendl won many tennis matches and was ranked the best player in the world for a long while but he could not win the trophy that matters- at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe could not win the French Open even after taking a two set lead in the finals once.

All these players are considered great even when they have not won perhaps the ultimate prize in their respective areas.

The achievements of Sachin Tendulkar are well documented and there is only one word to describe him- ‘great’. But Dean Jones argues that Sachin is not the greatest since the Mumbai batsman has never been part of a World Cup winning team.

Jones like many Australians is not able to live with the fact that an Indian is being talked as being equal or even being better than Donald Bradman. Even while he acknowledges the achievements of Sachin, Jones does not hesitate to drop the World Cup or the lack of it to downplay the greatness of the Mumbai maestro.

Cricket is a team game and it takes all the players in the team to perform in order to win a tournament that is spread out over a period of time. Jones was part of one Cup winning team in 1987.Most of the same team took to the field in 1992 and it was booted out of the event even in home conditions.

Brian Lara another great cricketer of his generation is also someone who could never be a part of any World Cup winning squad but this never diminishes the achievements of the left-hander from the Caribbean.

Sachin has scored the maximum runs in the World Cup and he even was the ‘player of the tournament’ in 2003 even when Australia won beating India in the final.

What more Sachin has to prove?

It is more of a case of sour grapes for Mr. Dean Jones.

It is time our media stopped giving the space to such ‘professors’.

There is more to cricket in general and Sachin Tendulkar in particular than the World Cup medal. The CV of Sachin does not require one such medal.

Technorati Tags: INDIA,CRICKET WORLD CUP,AUSTRALIA,DEAN JONES,SACHIN TENDULKAR

ONE SIMILARITY

2011-01-01T12:36:00.001+05:30

After Sachin scored his 50th test hundred, there was a lot of talk about his greatness vis-a-vis Donald Bradman.Indians, me including feel that Sachin is the greatest but the Aussies don’t want any of that.

To use a cliche, comparisons are always odious, especially, when it involves players belonging to different periods.But to be fair, while Sachin has played and scored in every test playing country, the Don played in just two countries.Of course, the supporters of the Don would be ready to show the statistics to justify their claim.

Let me move away from cricket and bring in what for me is something that is common to Sachin and Donald Bradman.Cricket writers/historians covering the times of the Don tell about how his cricket had a soothing effect on the public ravaged by the Great Depression and the Second World War.

The exploits of Sachin this year where the public of India was exposed to different kinds of scams and wrongdoings came as a refreshing change.The television channels and the media were forced to change tracks from the Rajas and Co. to Sachin.

Hope 2011 will be better for Sachin and India.

Technorati Tags: SACHIN TENDULKAR,DONALD BRADMAN,INDIA,AUSTRALIA,THE GREAT DEPRESSION

A WIN AT LAST

2010-12-27T09:14:00.001+05:30

In the first T20 match at Eden Park,the hosts New Zealand had an easy five wicket win over Pakistan.

Pakistan started well with Afridi hitting the ball well.But once the openers departed,the visitors floundered.Tom Southee took five wickets that included a hat-trick.The umpire gave Umar Akmal out in front when there was a big inside edge.

Ross Taylor who disappointed in India, took his team home.But it was Martin Guptill who shone for the home team in the batting department.

Looks like the familiar home conditions have brought the spark back into the Kiwis. Or is the victory due the appointment of John Wright as the Coach?

Technorati Tags: T20,CRICKET,NEW ZEALAND,PAKISTAN

iNDIA DOWN & OUT

2010-12-17T23:15:00.001+05:30

It is only the second day and India is already down in the dumps in the first test at Centurion. It is interesting that more than half of the first day’s play could not be possible due to the rain and wet outfield.

The home team has taken a lead of over 200 runs going into the third day with eight more batsmen still to come to crease. The openers Smith and Peterson gave a solid start and both scored half-centuries. The fast bowlers could not make any impression and it was Harbhajan Singh who got the two wickets to fall on the day.

Then it was the Kallis and Amla show all the way as they have put together more than 200 runs and still they are at the crease. Dhoni tried different bowlers including Sachin and Raina but with no success.

This match takes my memory back to the Kingsmead test many years ago when Allan Donald and company destroyed the Indian batting. The tourists were bowled out for less than 100 and the home team put up a big score.

Then came perhaps one of the greatest innings ever played by Sachin Tendulkar. In the company of Azharuddin, Sachin murdered the South Africans and there were runs all over the ground. It looked like a highlights package as Azharuddin also scored the runs at a very brisk pace. The partnership ended only when there was a run out and after that a great catch took the match to South Africa.

In many ways, this match is similar to the times when Sachin was the only Indian batsman to score runs against difficult bowling and mostly in the second innings. But in the final analysis, India lost the match. I really hope that Sachin does not get to his 50^th hundred in that way.

Technorati Tags: TEST CRICKET,INDIA,SOUTH AFRICA,CENTURION,SACHIN TENDULKAR

ADVANTAGE AUSTRALIA

2010-12-17T23:06:00.001+05:30

Technorati Tags: TEST CRICKET,THE ASHES,MITCHELL JOHNSON,AUSTRALIA,ENGLAND

The home team seems to have turned the test match in its favour in Perth. After being dismissed for 268, the visitors seemed to be in a strong position. But Mitchell Johnson wrote a superb script for himself and his team.

In the first innings, Johnson scored a half-century and that perhaps could have boosted his confidence with the ball. The helpful wicket at Perth did the rest and there were times when the left-armer looked unplayable. The same bowler struggled to put the ball in the right place in the Brisbane test. In the English first innings, he took six wickets. Johnson was picked for this test and there was a lot of answering the selectors had to do to justify his selection.

Ponting failed once again but the win in this test match may bring runs from the Australian skipper in the rest of the series. That is something of a bad sign for the English.

Steve Waugh commented that Ricky Ponting would leave international cricket if he were to be dropped from the captaincy. Waugh was an acknowledged master at the art of ‘mental disintegration’. This might have inspired the Aussie bowlers to rise up to the occasion.

For the first time in the series, the Australian commentators had something to gloat about the superior abilities of the home team. Everyone seemed to have removed from their memories the bad showing in the first two test matches.

England can only bank on a miracle to save this match.

ON THE BACKFOOT

2010-12-17T00:02:00.001+05:30

Technorati Tags: INDIA,SOUTH AFRICA,TEST CRICKET,CENTURION,SACHIN TENDULKAR,RAHUL DRAVID,SEHWAG,DHONI

The worst fears have come true with the Indian batsmen unable to handle the fast bowlers at the Super Sports Park in Centurion.

Sehwag carried a lot of hopes but he played a shot that went straight into the hands of the waiting fielder.One expert called it ‘an irrational shot’.But I say it is due to the planning that South Africa had done for the batsman.

Gambhir, though an extremely capable batsman, is still untested when it comes to facing genuine fast bowling on pacy wickets.He had a harrowing time before giving the edge to the slip fielder.Dravid went past Brian Lara in the all time list of runs scored in test matches but could not last long.

Sachin looked in form before falling.Laxman was beaten by the pace and the movement.The less said is better about Suresh Raina. It is a wonder how many more opportunities should be given to the left-hander to prove himself.

Harbhajan showed his improved prowess as a batsman and that is something of a danger for in recent times, he bowls more like a part-timer.

There is of course, Dhoni still at the crease.My feeling is that he shall remain not out which would boost his average by a very small margin but has no import in the context of the match.

The weathermen have predicted some thundershowers on the fourth and the fifth days.That may give some hope for a draw if only the match goes that far.

INTRIGUING CONTEST ON THE CARDS

2010-12-16T00:38:00.001+05:30

It is not very often that Australia trails behind in a test series and more so in the Ashes at home.It was more than two decades ago that this happened and the Ashes went all the way to England.

The last time the English went to the land down under, they were wiped clean, losing all the five matches.But now things are different with the home lacking the firepower in both the batting and the bowling departments to crush their traditional rivals.

It is true that the home team was regarded as not too strong going into the Ashes but after two test matches, the edge lies with the English.Of course, only a fool would be courageous enough the write-off the Aussies.

In a selection policy that is best practiced in the sub-continent, Cricket Australia has been busy in picking and dropping players.Add to this is the public clamour building up for the comeback of Shane Warne.

As a neutral, I would still love to see the Ashes being taken to England

A LOT AT STAKE

2010-12-15T23:26:00.001+05:30

It is the time that the Indian team stood up to the challenge of playing real fast bowlers on wickets that have pace and bounce.

South Africa has never been a delightful experience for the Indians with the exception of the T20 World Cup, the 2003 World Cup and sterling individual performances.

With the tag of No.1 the Indian cricket team has a lot to prove.The lacklustre showing against the New Zealand at home in the test series should be a cruel pointer.I do not want to sound like a pessimist or a Jaywant Lele, but something tells me that this series could be a make or break for the team and a lot of players.

The news of Zaheer Khan and Shreesanth being doubtful for the first test could not have come at a more inopportune time.The spinners, the less said the better for they could not answer the questions posed by the batsmen from New Zealand.Surely, the likes of Kallis and Co. are much more accomplished and have the entries in the record books to justify this.

In the batting department, everything comes down to the seniors led by the gentleman named Sachin Tendulkar. It would be a photographer’s delight to watch Raina face the fast bowlers.

Historically, India have not done well in the opening test of a series at home as well as on foreign soil.So a wrong foot in the first test could make things extremely complicated in the series.The sad losses in the first two test matches in the last tour of Australia could not prevent India from saving the series even with that famous win in Perth.

The captaincy of Dhoni and his famed ‘midas touch’-largely a myth will be put under tremendous pressure.

FULL FORCE GAYLE

2010-11-17T12:03:00.001+05:30

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,TEST CRICKET,CHRIS GAYLE,SHAHID AFRIDI

My apologies to Van Morrison for using the title of his song and misspelling it.

Chris Gayle showed everyone once again his ability with the bat. It is not the number of runs that are important, but the way is which the runs are scored makes for a great game of cricket. The same can be stated of Sehwag. Despite the question marks over their technique and temperament, these two are only four batsmen to score triple hundreds twice in test cricket.

It is sad that Gayle has to play alongside far ordinary colleagues in the team from the West Indies. If he would have been part of a different and a stronger team, greater recognition would surely have followed.

Sometime ago the commitment of Gayle to test cricket was questioned following his confession of greater love for T20. But then that has not prevented his from scoring 333 runs at Galle. There is another interesting thing that I find common between Gayle and Sehwag. Both can strike the ball hard over long distances and yet they have accomplished more in the longer version of the game. Since Sehwag is in the company of really good players in his team, his knocks often turn out to be match winning ones. On the other hand, Gayle has to remain on the losing side. There is Shahid Afridi who has achieved a lot in the short and the shortest format of the game, without doing much of any substance in test cricket.

Looks like with the burden of captaincy gone and with no need to give politically correct statements, Gayle has discovered new ways to liberate his soul. No longer does his batting is tied with the word ‘responsibility’.

The longer form of the game which is not exactly in the pink of health, needs players like Gayle and Sehwag. More importantly, there is a place for characters and players with attitude like Gayle. Otherwise, test cricket would become boring.

I cannot desist myself from using some lines from the song of Van Morrison even though the same praises somebody else.

Like a full force gale

I was lifted up again

CHANGE OF ROLES?

2010-11-15T19:43:00.001+05:30

For the second innings in a row, Harbhajan Singh managed to upstage his more legendary teammates and scored a century.Harbhajan took four wickets in the first innings but could not make much of an impression on the New Zealand batsmen so far in the second innings.

Since announcing his arrival into the big league of test matches with a bang in Sri Lanka, Suresh Raina has failed to back his supporters. Even when he scored a half-century against the Australians, Raina looked extremely suspect when it came to the fast and rising balls. If one remembers correctly, Raina offered not so pleasant pictures when facing the short balls even in the IPL. What is worse is the fact that Raina tries a big shot and gets out as he did in the first innings of the Hyderabad test.But interestingly, Raina got the wicket of Ryder.

So is Harbhajan the new batsman and Raina the new off-spinner in the Indian team?

NO CLEAR ANSWERS

2010-11-15T18:41:00.001+05:30

Sharda Ugra tries to go into the minds of those who are alleged to have been involved in things like ‘match-fixing’ or ‘spot-fixing’ in this great piece in Cricinfo.

She cites people like Mike Brearley and Sandy Gordon to find answers to the question “why” or “what” motivates great sportspersons to take part in acts that are not sportsmanlike.

As an Indian and one who reads, hears about corruption and one who is also a victim of corruption, the reasons for going corrupt or bad are extremely complex.

There is a genuine feeling that when one is in the midst of corrupt people, the temptation to remain clean is extremely hard.Besides, the corrupt ones always try to enlist more members into their club, primarily to gain strength from larger numbers or to reduce the risk of being caught.But this hypothesis does not fit into the cases of sportspersons where most are clean.

It is mostly to do with greed and to nothing with the backgrounds-economic, social or religious. Even as sportspersons, especially, the cricket players of today are highly paid, the temptation to make that extra moolah without having to score runs or take wickets or grasp catches. The moolah is given precisely not to do anything of the above!

Personally, for me there is also a second factor that makes cricket players succumb to the lure of the lucre.There is no strong a deterrent or punishment that would discourage corruption.

There may be commissions and probes which can never conclusively prove the allegations and the whole thing repeats itself.

WHAT A 100

2010-11-10T07:43:00.001+05:30

In the just completed test at Motera in Ahmedabad, India managed to stave off an embarassing defeat to lowly ranked New Zealand thanks to the efforts of V V S Laxman and Harbhajan Singh.

Laxman once again showed everyone in very clear terms why he is really ‘very very special’.This statement is fast becoming a cliche thanks to the exploits of Laxman in the recent matches against Sri Lanka and Australia.

While Laxman’s abilities and credentials cannot be questioned, Harbhajan Singh demonstrated his attitude and brought up his maiden 100 in first class cricket when it really mattered most.Not to forget the half century in the first innings in the same match.

With the 100, Harbhajan joined 3 other Indians who scored their maiden first class 100 in test matches.One of them is the great Kapil Dev.Predictably, after the match, some managed to ‘unearth’ a new all-rounder in Indian cricket. Mercifully, no one has the gall to draw comparisons between Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh!Of course, Sunil Gavaskar wants the selectors to make a batsman make way for another bowler in the wake of the 100 from Harbhajan.

Even as praises are showered on the batting efforts of Harbhajan, we have ignored the most important contribution that the off-spinner has to bring to his team. It is a matter of concern that while Harbhajan’s batting has improved, his bowling has gone into downhill. It is a worry that Australia and New Zealand managed to score in excess of 400 runs in the first innings of the previous three test matches in India.The primary role of Harbhajan is to take wickets although runs from his bat are also welcome.

AN ORIGINAL

2010-04-19T01:15:00.001+05:30

It is difficult to make oneself count when one of your teammates goes by the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Ever since the Mumbai maestro made his debut in 1989, all cricketing superlatives seem to head in one direction-Mumbai.

Great cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and V V S Laxman could have made the headlines consistently, but for the exploits of Sachin. All of these have been match winners, though.

But,one man though has carried a bigger burden. Virendra Sehwag was called a ‘Sachin Clone’ and even today some one called him the protégé of Sachin. The commentators might shamelessly argue that such labeling is some sort of a compliment without recognizing the full import of the contributions made by the ‘Nawab of Nazafgarh’ to the success of Indian cricket in recent times. These epithets, I believe are just an indication of a pretty blinkered view of the world.Sachin is without doubt a great player but that does not make Virendra Sehwag an ordinary player.

Sehwag was and even now accused of having a bad technique for a proper batsman.A number of commentators take pride in pointing out the flaws in his technique when the batsman is out for a small score.But then how have the runs continued to flow from his bat?

Sehwag was also accused during the Chappell era of possessing a spirit detrimental to the interests of the Indian team and the Delhi batsman was left out of the team for a while. This also went against Sehwag as far as the captaincy was concerned.It is a testimony of his temperament that he weathered all these storms and made a smashing comeback into the team.

Even during the last trip to Australia Sehwag could not find a place in the test team and when given the opportunity, he batted for a long time in ensuring the safety of his team.

Few players have batted in the way that Sehwag does in the longer version of the game over a long period of time.In the Multan test, Sehwag hit a six to go to the triple hundred mark. Sehwag is incidentally the only batsman after Donald Bradman to go past the 290 mark in a test innings on three occasions.

Wisden named Virendra Sehwag as the Leading Cricketer in the World for the Year for the second year running.

Surely, this is not a bad recognition for some clone or a poor imitation having very few qualities of the original and in this case the copy sometimes seems to shine brighter than the original.

Even during the last trip to Australia Sehwag could not find a place in the test team and when given the opportunity, he batted for a long time in ensuring the safety of his team.

Wisden named Virendra Sehwag as the Leading Cricketer in the World for the Year for the second year running.

Surely, this is not a bad recognition for some clone or a poor imitation having very few qualities of the original and in this case the copy sometimes seems to shine brighter than the original.

A POINT TO PROVE?

2010-03-23T01:07:00.001+05:30

By his standards, Sachin Tendulkar did not have a good time so far in the IPL.But in the third edition, the great master seems to be determined in putting up a good show.

Sachin is all guns blazing and the latest team to fall prey to his bat is the one captained by Saurav Ganguly.The pitch seemed a bit tricky when the Knight Riders were batting but Sachin put all that to rest with another of his grand exhibition of stroke play.It was in the match against the Anil Kumble led Royal Challengers that Sachin paid dearly for his experiment of playing inside the line of the ball to the leg side.

The rich vein of form continues and recently a show on television wanted to know the reasons why Sachin is not willing to play T20 for the country.Let Sachin enjoy doing the thing that he loves the most-scoring runs for the team that he plays for.

Looks like Sachin wants to prove a point about playing in the IPL.

That is not good news for either the rival teams nor their bowlers.

Technorati Tags: SACHIN TENDULKAR,CRICKET,IPL

SUMMER OF 1985

2010-03-11T00:14:00.001+05:30

I could only listen and read about the win of India in the 1983 Prudential World Cup.I was very young and it was my father who told endless times the story of the famous win to me and my younger siblings.

By the time the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket took place in Australia, I started to play cricket. With no television, the print media and the radio were the only sources of information.

But there was a problem. The event was to be followed by 10^th class examinations that in many ways are life defining for most of us, even now. My mother would not let me have the radio near me and so while she was busy with her school or household chores, I would get the scores from my younger brothers.

The win made me take to cricket after the examinations.It is true that I could not make much of an impact on the cricket field as well on the result sheets of later examinations, but cricket has remained with me since that eventful day of 1985.

Months after the famous win in Australia the son of a successful businessman of my town started to make money by showing the video footage of the finals between India and Pakistan.It was not that difficult to ask for money from father much to the chagrin of my mother.

The win in 1983 was considered a fluke but the win in 1985 suddenly made India a team to reckon with in the future.It is this win that heralded many innovations. The carefree batting of Srikkanth at the top and the inclusion of two spinners in the team coupled with a large number of players who could bowl and also bat made the difference to the way one dayers have been played since. Also, let us not forget the fielding display put on by the Indians.

Two decades after the win in Australia, I could watch the recordings on the television and whenever I watch the same, I am taken back in time to the good old days.

In many ways, 1985 shall remain the most important year in my life. It was the year I stepped into the college minus the uniform and the opening prayer. It was also the year of the great victory for the Indian cricket team.

It was also the year when Boris Becker won the Wimbledon.

Let us all tip our hats to the winning team of 1985.

Technorati Tags: INDIA,CRICKET,PAKISTAN,WCC 1985,AUSTRALIA,BORIS BECKER1985

A GOOD SERIES IN PROSPECT

2010-03-06T00:10:00.001+05:30

The first one dayer of the Chappell-Hadlee series played at Napier went in favour of New Zealand. With this win, the Kiwis have ended the 12 match winning streak of the Aussies. The second match at Auckland will surely see the Aussies going all out to keep their standing intact.

New Zealand always have the habit of pulling out all stops when it comes to their trans-Tasman rivals and more so in their home conditions. It is true that the Kiwis are much more of a capable team in the shorter form of the game.The New Zealand team also has the advantage of playing at home on some of the smallest and sometimes very funny shaped cricket grounds.It is here that people like Brendon McCullum can make the ball sail over the ropes even with mishits and edges.

The Aussies will never take their opponents lightly since the last time round the Kiwis managed a 3-0 whitewash over their much celebrated opponents. But this time things are going to be tough for the Blackcaps since their skipper Daniel Vettori is doubtful for the second match and their influential allrounder Jacob Oram is out of the whole series.Oram has the ability to clear the longest boundaries and also bowl a rather heavy ball. Vettori is a world-class albeit an understated spinner who often does well against the Aussies.Also, the tactical acumen of Vettori is also invaluable.

In the first match, Scott Styris played a winning knock down the order. It is interesting to note here that Styris came into the team only at the last instance following the fitness problems of Vettori.He will want to do well in the remainder of the series.Ross Taylor has to continue his good touch with the bat.

The Aussies have to post a really big total and their bowlers need to keep the opposition batsmen in check. Ricky Ponting needs to come up with a brutal and a big innings to take his team to the shores of safety.

It is time the Aussies learnt to put their emotions under control. The sight of Mitchell Johnson having a verbal go at Styris was something unbecoming of a champion team.I wonder if the match referee would have stuck to the 60 percent fine if an Indian player were in place of Johnson!

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,CHAPPELL-HADLEE TROPHY

THE QUESTION REMAINS THE SAME

2010-03-05T00:03:00.001+05:30

Another loss by the margin of 5-2 and this loss to Spain puts to rest all the speculation about India’s great hockey revival story. There is no way India can now reach the last four with England winning its three encounters.Australia is looking pretty solid with the demolition of South Africa. Now India has to do something great to win the remaining matches, at least to provide some consolation to the followers.

If anyone thought that the loss to Australia was an aberration, team India proved them wrong with yet another display that lacked conviction. Chances were not taken and in the end, the scoreline reflected the opportunities that were squandered.

Indian teams have never been comfortable with penalty corners, but the success rate of 1 from 8 is not expected from a team that is supposedly on the path of revival.The forwards just could not push the ball into the net and the midfielders were unable to keep in possession the ball for any length of time.Time and again, the defenders were made to look very ordinary in the face of the counterattacks from the Spanish.

As in the past, the scapegoats will be found and they will be made to accept all the responsibility for the poor showing.It would not be a surprise if the absence of Shivendra is cited as the main cause of the defeats.

The proverbial question of India’s revival still remains unanswered.

Technorati Tags: HOCKEY,INDIA,WORLD CUP 2010

FLASH IN THE PAN OR AN ABERRATION?

2010-03-03T02:37:00.001+05:30

It was the same old story, the same old failings and the same old result-a defeat after raising the expectations to very high levels, in fact, leaving some to dream about the glory days of long gone by decades.

The hockey team that suddenly became the focus for all the right reasons after the stunning victory over Pakistan, was stopped in its tracks by the team from down under.The stronger physique of the rival coupled with a stronger strategy was too hot to handle for team India.

This match between India and Australia grabbed the headlines in the manner that has been given to cricket matches between these two nations since 2001.This was a proud moment since hockey became as fashionable as cricket.Over the years, hockey matches between India and Australia were considered one-sided and there was very little hope for the fans.But now after the win over Pakistan, things appeared rosy, to say the least.

Team India could do no wrong in its match against Pakistan, while nothing seemed to go right in its encounter with Australia.Penalty corners, never a strong point with the Indians, proved to be very costly and decisive against Australia.Three penalty corners were squandered away and that made the difference to the final scoreline.

It is argued by some that the suspension of Shivendra for foulplay after the first match was the reason for the defeat to Australia.But the other members of team India could not raise their play seemingly exhausted after the effort against Pakistan.

The World Cup is not over by any means, but after this defeat, one is discouraged to look ahead to the rest of the matches.

It is either a case of a flash in the pan(the win over Pakistan) or just an aberration(the defeat to Australia).

Technorati Tags: HOCKEY,INDIA,AUSTRALIA,PAKISTAN,WORLD CUP 2010

AN INTERESTING CHOICE

2010-02-28T07:39:00.001+05:30

Waqar Younis has accepted the offer to coach the cricket team of Pakistan.It is learnt that Younis shall be with the team till the 2011 World Cup.There was speculation in the past about this but now Younis has himself confirmed the offer from the PCB and the subsequent acceptance.

There is nothing new in a former player becoming the coach but things are extremely complicated in Pakistan. Things between Younis and his bowling partner, Wasim Akram were less than cordial and this can divide the team into two groups, each owing allegiance to a great fast bowler.Add to this is the fact that former players like Javed Miandad and Sarfraz Nawaz are always happy to give their take on Pakistan cricket.

Waqar was a great bowler but this does not guarantee his success as a coach. It is not rare to find great players not having a good time as coaches. The players might not be as talented as the coach and the coach finds it difficult to make the players lift their game.Besides, Waqar does not have any coaching experience.

Even as the contract runs through the forthcoming World Cup, Pakistan can still spring surprises and have a new coach in place of Waqar

Technorati Tags: PAKISTAN,CRICKET,WAQAR YOUNIS

REDEMPTION

2010-02-28T07:10:00.001+05:30

It was always something that bothered me.

The highest score of Sachin Tendulkar in test matches came against Bangladesh and the master does not have a triple hundred in his resume.

It pained even more to remember that the highest score in one dayers belonged to Saeed Anwar who made 194 against India in the Independence Cup.

So when Tendulkar became the first person to score 200 in one dayers in the ongoing series between India and South Africa, I like millions of Indian cricket fans felt redeemed. That it came against one of the stronger teams made this latest feat of Sachin even more special.It is hard to imagine any other batsman going that far, but even when the feat is repeated or exceeded, the record books shall always show the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar as the first man to climb to this mark.

Sometime back, Sachin made a 150 plus score against Australia and still India finished on the losing side. That innings, in my humble opinion should be rated as one of the best of the master. Probably, an Indian win would have kept that innings in our memories. Let us not forget the back to back hundreds made in Sharjah.

There is another innings that can match this latest knock of Sachin-the 175 not out of Kapil Dev in the Prudential World Cup of 1983. When half of the side was back in the pavilion and the days when 100s were not common in the one dayers, Kapil showed the way.Of course, there was no one to record that innings for posterity, unlike the 200 of Sachin that surely will be viewed many times even in future.

Just as Sachin was being written off as a matchwinner, he managed to set a benchmark that may become one of the most long standing records in the history of cricket.

It is not happiness or relief but a case of redemption not for Sachin but for Indians as a whole.

Technorati Tags: INDIA,CRICKET,SACHIN TENDULKAR,SOUTH AFRICA,KAPIL DEV

A CAUSE FOR CONCERN

2010-02-24T00:14:00.001+05:30

Technorati Tags: CRICKET.INDIA,SOUTH AFRICA,JAIPUR,GWALIOR

The Indian team just managed to win the first one dayer at Jaipur after having the Proteas down and out.The lack of bite in the Indian bowling allowed Steyn and Parnell to take their team alarmingly close to the target.

The second match of the series is going to be played at Gwalior and the curator is not ashamed to call his creation a 'graveyard for the bowlers'.In this scenario, the lack of penetration in the Indian bowling is a cause for concern.It is not everyday that the rival batsmen fail to score.It is difficult to imagine Ravindra Jadeja becoming the saviour of his team in every match.With a big question mark on the fitness of Sehwag, there is a greater need for the bowlers of the home team to take the initiative.

Even in the one day situation where people mostly pay for the runs, there has to be some place for the bowlers.

A LOSS TO TEST CRICKET

2010-02-23T23:58:00.001+05:30

The lure of the IPL riches has made test cricket poorer with the speculation of Brett Lee likely to announce his retirement from test cricket.It was only a few months ago that Andrew Flintoff, an all-rounder of the highest class did the same.It is true that both of these players were battling injuries and more so the case with Flintoff

The present Australian team does not really miss Lee with many promising fast bowlers ready to wear the baggy green although the same cannot be said of the English test team without Flintoff.

Lee brought more than fast bowling to the team from down under. It was not uncommon to find Lee showing genuine appreciation for the exploits of the rivals.Even when he was on the receiving end, there was a smile for all to see.

There were doubts over his action when Brett Lee was first unleashed on the Indians but over the years, he silenced the critics.He played cricket the hard way without rubbing rivals the wrong way.That made Lee special.

In the past also, fast bowlers suffered injuries that led to changes in the bowling actions and a cut in the pace but with the likes of IPL offering easy cash, Lee and others have found an easy way out.The world of test cricket is a loser because of the chaddi (T20) cricket.

There are many memories associated with Lee on the cricket field.My most loved one is the straight drive from the bat of Sachin Tendulkar during the last Commonwealth Bank Series that thundered past the bowler to the boundary even before Lee could complete his follow through. Unlike the typical reaction from a fast bowler, Lee could afford a smile!

SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

2010-02-14T13:15:00.001+05:30

When Ian Chappell expressed his doubts over the standing of India as the best test playing nation in the long run, there was widespread disbelief. Motives were attributed to Chappelli and the familiar white vs. black debate got started all over again especially among the followers of the game in India who are more addicted to the chaddi cricket(T20).

In his analysis, Chappell talks about the bowling and the batting talents that are required to sustain the No.1 ranking over a period of time.

The first test between India and South Africa exposed brutally the chinks that were visible to most real followers of Indian cricket.In the absence of Dravid and Laxman, the batting resembled a bunch of weekend cricketers against a professional outfit, barring the knocks of Sachin and Sehwag.Forget what Dhoni might had to say after the trashing on swing bowling-conventional or otherwise, the fact remains that the batsmen were just not equipped to deal with the likes of Steyn. It is true that most teams now look very ordinary when facing good bowling, particularly of the faster variety.The most successful batsmen of his generation, Ricky Ponting made to look ragged by Kiemar Roach.

Laxman talked about the lack of bench strength in the spin department.The Nagpur loss showed how true the concerns of Laxman were. The premier spinner in the team Harbhajan Singh just did not have a clue on spin while Amit Mishra spun a few balls in his first spell on the first day. That the Indian batsmen struggled to find their feet against Paul Harris is another story.

THe selection of the team made one pull out hair in dismay. Why was Saha in the team as a batsman when Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli had better credentials to offer?

It is often said that one needs to run faster to stay at the present position. The INdian team just could barely walk and going by the happenings in the second test, it is very difficult for the team to stay at the top.

YEH HOCKEY MAANGE MORE!

2010-01-24T13:58:00.001+05:30

Damn with the game of hockey!

First the men demand money and after a strike and press conferences, and offers of help from really unexpected quarters, the light is found at the end of the tunnel and money is raised and the players are happy to take part in the conditioning camp. A K Mattoo, the standing-in chief of Hockey India puts in his papers feeling pissed off in the whole episode.

Just as everyone feels nostalgic over the record books gloating over the achievements of the Indian hockey in the past decades, the women decide to stick black tape on their arms in a sign of protest.

As usual, the women players talk of dues promised but not paid and in the light of the settlement deal reached with the men, this is perceived as a gross injustice, which is justified.

Not surprisingly, the new standing-in chief of Hockey India, Vidya Stokes, claims no knowledge of the protest of the players with a straight face. Then taking a u-turn, the players are offered Rs.50K each, which is turned down.Again, in a bizarre repeat of the earlier week, offers come in from the unexpected sources and the players are promised their dues.

This time, the former boss of Hockey India, K P S Gill did not offer his help in resolving the crisis in minutes, like the case was with the striking men. The Central Minister, M S Gill, a self appointed cleanser of Indian Hockey too seemed busy with more important things.

But like a bolt from the blue, the women players are not satisfied.They insist on changes to be brought about in the whole system.So the impasse has not ended.The ‘top’ sports administrator in the country, Suresh Kalmadi has his hands full.

Again, as expected, the elections to elect the office bearers of Hockey India is ‘postponed’ for some unavoidable reasons(a common phrase used in India).

The game of hockey is surely helping the news channels to gain more points and making bloggers like me appear to be important.

IS A WIN POSSIBLE?

2010-01-21T13:50:00.001+05:30

India have managed to take 7 wickets of Bangladesh and the home team need another 200 runs to secure the first ever win against India in test matches.That is highly improbable and it is no exaggeration to say that it would be impossible. But what is interesting is that whether the Indian bowlers would be able to get the remaining 3 wickets.

In the first innings, the lower order batsmen of Bangladesh put up a brave fight and almost equaled the Indian effort when more than half of the team was back in the pavilion with few runs.

There is no better opportunity for the beleaguered Indian bowlers to get a win even when it is against Bangladesh.

Hope the standing in captain Sehwag does not regret calling Bangladesh an ordinary team before the start of the test.

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,INDIA,BANGLADESH,CHITTAGONG,SEHWAG

NO SURPRISE

2010-01-21T13:37:00.001+05:30

The cat is out of the proverbial bag with the IPL supremo Lalit Modi saying in an interview to NDTV that there was a risk associated with Pakistan players. This comes as a surprise since Mr.Modi denied after the conclusion of the auction for the players that the BCCI had nothing to do with the decision of the team owners not to pick any of the 11 players from Pakistan who were available for purchase.

The full text of the interview is here:http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20100126812/story20012010_185300.html

Technorati Tags: IPL,IPL3,CRICKET,LALIT MODI,INDIA,PAKISTAN

SOUND BUSINESS + POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

2010-01-20T01:23:00.001+05:30

The auctions for players for IPL3 took place today and the television 'news' channels having nothing more worthwhile to do, hammered on our heads, eyes and ears about the same.

By the time the auction ended, none of the 11 players from Pakistan was picked by any of the franchise.This incident dominated the evening and prime time news shows.

Some players from Pakistan called it a 'conspiracy' while others felt sorry for the Indians being unable to witness those talented players in action.Conspiracy because the Pakistan players would have been available for the entire IPL3.Pakistan is the defending T20 World Champions which would have made the players from that country a definite value addition to any team.

There are two reasons which I feel made the team owners develop cold feet when bidding for the Pakistan players.

In the first place, there is no certainty that players from across the border would have been available to play given that the government has never made it clear about the granting of visas.So like any shrewd businessman, the teams put the money where it was really worth and were not prepared to take any risk in the face of uncertainty.This is sound business.

Secondly, the team owners wanted to make a politically correct statement, even as the interest of the country comes next to self interest for them. In this atmosphere where jingoism rules the air, it might come in handy to keep clear from any future controversy.Looks like the team owners want a certificate of appreciation from the likes of Bal Thackeray.

This is a perfect case study where sound business and political correctness have successfully cleared the SWOT test.

So much for 'chaddi' (T20) cricket!.

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,INDIA,IPL,IPL3,PAKISTAN

ADVANTAGE MUMBAI

2010-01-12T23:43:00.001+05:30

In the on going finals of the Ranji Trophy, Mumbai have the advantage going into the third day at Mysore.

Once Mumbai were dismissed for 230 runs in their first innings, I hoped for a lead of Karnataka.But that was not the case and Karnataka conceded a 100 plus first innings lead.Even as Mumbai have lost 5 wickets in the second innings, the batsmen of the home team seem to be ill equipped to chase in the last innings of the match.

When many first class matches in India are decided on the basis of first innings lead, this match is poised to provide a clear winner.

25 wickets fell on the first two days. Are the bowlers improved or are the batsmen short of the ability to play faster bowlers? Or is the pitch responsible for this sort of a match?

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,INDIA,RANJI TROPHY FINALS,MUMBAI,KARNATAKA,MYSORE

THE STAND-OFF CONTINUES

2010-01-12T23:42:00.003+05:30

The stand-off between the hockey players and Hockey India continues over the demands from the players relating to incentives and graded pay system.

Predictably, the people in charge of running the sport in the country have put forward some ‘ad-hoc’ proposals that the players have rejected. Hockey India is offering only Rs.25,000 per player while the players have asked for Rs.4.5 lakh each.Hockey India does not have the funds.The players at least want a written assurance from Hockey India which is also rejected.

The players have boycotted the conditioning camp for the forthcoming World Cup. Hockey India has given a 48 hour deadline for the players to take part in the camp.The players have also been warned that a team of ‘reserve’ players would be fielded in the World Cup.

Hockey India has criticised the money mindedness of the players and also has questioned the timing of the ‘revolt’. Hockey India has tried to use the card of playing for the nation.But as things are at the moment, the players are firm in their decision and are sticking to their demands.

I watched a press conference of the players where they pointed out that during the Azlan Shah tournament each player was provided $14 per day. On their tour to Argentina, the remuneration was $20 per day.These payments are pittances even when considers the pride of playing for the country.The men of Hockey India are least bothered about the image of the sport that has taken a lot of beating in the past few decades. People like Mattoo do not realise the pain and the sacrifices that the players make.

K P S Gill, the former top boss of Indian hockey claims that he could solve the problem in 10 minutes. This is utterly ludicrous since it is people like him who have taken the sport to such depths in the first place. In a way, Gill can do it. All he has to do is to hold the players at gun point and make them fall in line. Mr.Gill, these are players and not some criminals.

The Union Minister for Sports, M.S.Gill a self proclaimed saviour of Indian hockey wishes that the problem is solved immediately for the larger interest of the country.

The Governments of Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have offered help.Tomorrow, we may more such offers from Congress ruled states. This kind of attitude is something that is sickening to say the least.

Shah Rukh Khan has tweeted about this situation and a former actress /singer who now lives across the border in Pakistan has offered to hold concerts to raise funds.So much for the players and the sport!

The players have put forward the proposal that they can shell out money from their pockets to meet the expenses.

Ad hocism has plagued this country in all fields and sports is no exception.

It is only the players who have to think about national pride while people like Kalmadi, Gill etc. do not hesitate to hog all the limelight when the players bring laurels to the country.

What a coincidence that as I am typing this post, B B King is saying “The Thrill is Gone”.

Technorati Tags: HOCKEY,INDIA,HOCKEY INDIA,WORLD CUP,M S GILL,K P S GILL,SHAH RUKH KHAN

HOCKEY BLUES

2010-01-10T14:12:00.001+05:30

It was reported in the media that the hockey players refused to take part in the training/conditioning camp prior to the World Cup.The players wanted a solution to the problem of pay. They demanded better pay-a fixed remuneration similar to the contracted cricket players.

The stalemate continued for a couple of days and then the representatives of the players met with the officials and a solution was reached upon. The players have agreed to take part in the camp and promised better performance in the future events.

So far so good but no one is sure about the solution. I believe that the solution is an ad hoc one typifying the way Governance in general and sports administration in particular is run in India.

Were the players threatened with disciplinary action for their ‘rebellion’?Or, did the officials finally managed to see the larger interest of hockey?

There are questions with no answers in sight.

TEST CRICKET IS NOT GOING TO DIE

2010-01-09T00:13:00.001+05:30

In recent months, cricket pundits and news channels alike are busy arguing over the demise of test cricket.The voices have gone stronger with the ‘success’ and the popularity of ‘chaddi cricket’(T20).I do not regard myself as a cricket pundit nor I am affiliated to any news channel.First and foremost, I am a fan of real cricket-tests, one-dayers, chaddi cricket and even that which is played by people like me on the

Technorati Tags: CRICKET,TEST CRICKET,LALIT MODI,T20,ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS

streets and on grounds which would put even the Kotla ground to shade.

The West Indies were beaten by the Aussies but few can forget the kind of effort put in by the men in the maroon caps. The innings from Chris Gayle at Perth who once (in)famously declared his greater liking for the shorter forms of the game, is something that will always linger in my mind.Adrian Barath played an innings on his debut that far greater cricketers would only dream of. The bowlers from the Caribbean at times bowled with genuine pace and hostility that was once thought to be a thing of the days gone by.The home team had to dig deep to secure the series.

The Aussies won the series on home soil against Pakistan. The test at the SCG could have gone the visitor’s way.The bowling of Mohammad Asif in the first innings showed everyone that tests can be beautiful.

The visiting English just managed to secure a draw in the first test and won the second test.The third test ended with the fans of the visiting team in an extremely upbeat mood. The English team did not win the test but just managed to draw. When everyone predicted a draw towards the middle of the last day, the home team bowlers took a few wickets that made things very interesting.With only one match to be played, the visitors cannot lose the series.They might go home the winners!

The ups and downs associated with these matches can never be replicated in the shorter forms of the game. In matches on the subcontinent under the lights, the toss becomes crucial. The side batting first puts up a big total and in most cases emerges victorious.It is on the rare occasions that the side batting second makes a chase successful. With wickets becoming flatter everywhere, there is a particular trend that even the novel concept like powerplays cannot reverse. The side batting first has a distinct advantage.

Things are more predictable when it comes to the shortest form of the game-T20.The toss is the key and no matter what commentators say and cheerleaders do, the results mostly go with the right call when the coin is spun.

I might have rubbed the likes of Lalit Modi the wrong way, but I stand firm in my bias towards test cricket.

AN UNFAIR COMPARISON

2009-11-03T23:49:00.001+05:30

M S Dhoni scored a brilliant 100 to take India to a victory in second match of the ongoing series versus Australia. The media and the commentators went over the board to heap their praises on this knock. I have no complaint on this.

But I am feeling outraged at the opinion of a commentator who compared this knock of Dhoni to the 175 not out of Kapil Dev in the Prudential World Cup of 1983.Just look at the scenario. Kapil came to the wicket when the top 5 of the batsmen were back in the pavilion unable to cope with the bowling from the likes of Kevin Curran.Dhoni received great support from Gambhir and later from Suresh Raina. On the other hand, Kapil had the company of far less accomplished batsmen in the form of Kirmani, Madan Lal, Roger Binny and Balwinder Sandhu.This knock came against Zimbabwe but it paved the way for the ulimate win in the World Cup.

I do not for a moment wish to denigrate the knock of Dhoni but it is shameful to compare it with the great knock of victory.But the likes of Dhoni have a very long way to be put into the 'true' pantheon of greatness.

I sometimes feel that even the gods did not want the knock of Kapil to be recorded for posterity taking it into the realm of a legend.But we the ordinary mortals don't realise this and go on making highly odious comparisons.

CRICKET REPORTING OR FORECASTING?

2009-11-03T17:03:00.001+05:30

It came as a total surprise that the cricket correspondent of The New Indian Express is also someone having the ability to see the future.Writing in the Bhubaneswar edition and also on the net edition dated 3-11-09 under the headline 'INJURIES ROB SERIES OF SOME OF SPARK', Sandip G says "Doug Bollinger debuted impressively on a slow track in Delhi but was sized out in Mohali".

There are certain things that need some clarification.

1.Bollinger is a left-arm fast bowler who has been brought up on the hard and bouncy wickets of Australia. In that case he should have been uncomfortable with the 'slow' wicket of Delhi.

2.The Indians fielded first after winning the toss in Mohali. It was a day-night game and the newspaper could only include the first 50 overs when the Aussies batted and the Indians fielded.By the time the story of Sandip G was filed, Bollinger did not have a bowl in Mohali.However, when he actually bowled, Bollinger was not 'sized out' . In fact, the left-armer 'sized-up' with figures of 3 for 38 as the Indians could not chase down 251.

Wonder how such pathetic reporting finds place in a newspaper that speaks of quality!

ADVANTAGE AUSTRALIA

2009-10-24T22:57:00.000+05:30

It is rather strange to talk about the One Day series between India and Australia just a day after the end of the 20-20 circus.

It is not going to be a match-up between the two best teams even when the rankings do.Recent form makes the visitors the overwhelming favourites.

There are very few bright spots for India apart from the form of Sachin and the return of Sehwag.On the other hand, the Aussies look perfectly placed to extend their dominance.

IT IS TIME

2008-09-11T00:13:00.001+05:30

The decision of the management of the Indian team on the non-inclusion of Saurav Ganguly in the Rest of India for the forthcoming Irani Trophy has reignited an old debate.

Is it the right time for Ganguly to quit? I have always been a great fan of Ganguly the batsman and Ganguly the captain. But the left hander from Kolkata has to retire. Saurav Ganguly was failure in the entire series in Sri Lanka where he scored less than 100 runs in the six innings. Even during the Australian tour, Ganguly scored few runs and got out at the most crucial of times. It appeared that he lost the appetite to stay at the wicket.

In many respects, Ganguly is frank and forthright and that is one reason why I respect him. But when it comes to his retirement, Saurav is not able to take decision. To use a cliché, it is like clutching straws.

In this context, the comments of Amit Varma make a very interesting read.

THAT IS NOT OUT

2008-09-11T00:12:00.000+05:30

In recent times, I have found cricketers not appealing in the way it is meant to be. I was watching a match involving two county teams of England on the television. The wicketkeeper and the bowler appealed. What is surprising is that it was not the 'how is that' appeal. Rather, it was something that sounded like 'hee ya'. Now what to make of that sort of an appeal?

The Aussies have taken the appealing to a different level. Shane Warne was extremely aggressive and many umpires were in a way felt pressurised to give decisions in favour of the bowler when replays showed a different picture. Symonds with his huge frame looks like giving a hearty growl to the umpire in the name of appealing.

It does not matter that the game of cricket has witnessed many changes over the decades. But this is something I am not in agreement with as more players have dropped the habit of asking 'how is that'.

Knowing the ICC, a time may come when some rules can be changed to accommodate the new way of appealing.

A GAIN TO CRICKET

2008-09-11T00:11:00.000+05:30

There are unconfirmed reports of Andrew Symonds calling it quits the international game. This news should please a lot of Indians since he was regarded as the villian of the Sydney test match involving Harbhajan Singh.

Symonds has always loved the Indian bowling attacks. He scored runs as an English county player when India was on tour. The last time the Aussies toured India, Symonds scored a lot of runs in the one dayers. Besides, he is an excellent fielder and also a useful bowler. With his absence, the Indians can feel relieved. However, it should also be remembered that Symonds was a total failure when he faced the likes of Muralitharan in Sri Lanka.

If anything, the absence of Symonds will give precedence to cricket over allegations and counter-allegations.

25 NOT OUT

2008-09-09T23:36:00.001+05:30

We don't see batsmen on the field celebrating after scoring 25 runs-not even in the condensed format of 20-20 cricket.But this 25 is something to rejoice.

Harsha Bhogle has completed 25 years as a cricket commentator.I have never heard Harsha speak on the radio. The first time I saw Harsha was on a Sunday show on sports called 'Sportsmag' on Doordarshan. If my memory is not corrupted, I can remember that his co-host was Sanjana Kapoor.

He is one commentator who I feel has the right words for the right occasion.Rarely, he goes over the top. He does not say things like ' a fine driver of the cricket ball' to desribe a shot like many of his Indian contemporaries.I remember on one occasion when Harsha wanted the use of Variance-a statistical measure to compare the averages. As a student and a teacher of Statistics, I felt very happy.

But there are two write-ups by Harsha that make me remain devoted to the game of cricket even through the lean and mean times. The two write-ups appeared in the Cricinfo Magazine(now history). The first related to his experiences of playng cricket in a locality called Angad Basti of his native city of Hyderabad. The second one was an appreciation of Anil Kumble-one of my favourite cricketer.I shall provide the dates of the issues and if the people at Cricinfo allow, I shall post them on my blog.

I have read fine books on cricket-one by Gideon Haigh and the other by Peter Roebuck. The two write-ups of Harsha Bhogle stand there at the top of my all time favourite writings on cricket.
There is one little thing of Harsha that irritates me. Normally, a very composed person behind the microphone, Harsha seems to go over the top when the Indian team is the winner.

Anyway, wishing a very happy anniversary and expecting more from the man.

DHONI HAS EXCELLENT TIMING

2008-09-07T16:08:00.000+05:30

When M.S.Dhoni decided to skip the test series ostensibly to take rest, he received a lot of support. The media and the ex-players hailed the 'courageous' decision. Even the great Sachin Tendulkar did not enjoy the luxury of picking matches in his pomp. Would the cricket authorities in Australia allow a top player like Ponting to miss a whole test series?

Dhoni by all accounts is extremely street smart. He has not done well in the test matches. The way he batted in Australia was not expected of a future captain. He was not able to string a decent score. The spinners of Sri Lanka would have made a mockery of the batting ability of Dhoni. Excellent players of spin like Sachin, Laxman and Dravid were made to look like novices on the tour.

So Dhoni decided to give the test matches a miss and play the one day series instead. I wonder whether Dhoni would have missed the series if he were the captain?

WILL FEDERER WIN?

2008-09-07T16:06:00.000+05:30

Since the trashing at Roland Garros at the hands of Nadal, Roger Federer has looked like an ordinary player. The loss at Wimbledon was not expected even by the most ardent followers of Nadal. Of course, one should not forget the loss of Federer to Novak Djokovic the first Slam of the year at Melbourne. With the scrappy showing so far in the year and the US Open, things are not looking rosy for the Swiss.The players who lost the match even before stepping onto the court until a year ago, are now confident of standing upto the fight.

In case Murray reaches the finals, Federer has a great chance to win at least one Slam this year. That would also enable him to win five consecutive championships.But if Nadal manages to put it past Murray and goes to the finals, the Spaniard becomes the favourite.

While Nadal has gone from strength to strength, Federer seems like a player who is just playing from his memory. Occasionally there are the familiar Federer streaks of pure brilliance, but mostly they are overshadowed by misses.

TOSS WAS IMPORTANT

2008-09-07T16:03:00.000+05:30

In my humble opinion, much has been made out of the captaincy skills of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The win the T20 World Cup and the victories in Australia and Sri Lanka have been cited as instances of the acumen of Dhoni. But we should not forget the losses in Sri Lanka.

When the home team won the toss the Indian team floundered. Dhoni and his men appeared clueless and when Dhoni called correctly at the toss, the team won. So the toss became the crucial factor in deciding the final outcome of the one day series. The supporters of Dhoni have argued that the players were not motivated for the last game after having won the series in the fourth match.

LOYALTY POINTS

2008-09-06T23:02:00.000+05:30

Loyalty has to be rewarded and who knows it better than the BCCI. A couple of days ago, Oriya news channels reported that Cuttack would host a one-day international between India and England. The Secreatry of the Orissa Cricket Association(OCA) was a person who seemed extremely happy with the favour doled out by the top cricket administrators of the country.He also added that Cuttack would also play host to the Challenger Trophy.

With the President of the Orissa Cricket Association, Ranjib Biswal also a national selector, things appear rosy for Orissa. However, the fortunes of the Orissa cricket team have been on the downhill and more so in the last couple of seasons. Biswal a cricketer of repute in his playing days might be associated with the good performances of the Indian team, but back home, his magic has failed.

Just as the BCCI grants matches to different affiliated units of the country as a reward for loyalty, the OCA also shows its generosity to the office bearers at the level of the various districts of the state. It is the players and the paying public who do not have any say.

DON'T CROSS THE LAXMAN REKHA

2008-09-06T23:00:00.000+05:30

The BCCI censured the coach of the Indian cricket team.The reason-poor Kirsten opined that Dhoni would be the right person to lead the team for the test matches.The BCCI argues that the decision is to be left to the selection panel. The coach should not interfere with the working of the selectors.

The message of the BCCI is loud and clear-Kirsten should not cross the 'laxman rekha'. It is a different matter that the officials of the BCCI can vent their views all across the media.

I think there is a mountain made of the captaincy issue. Sometime ago a player was asked of his desire to lead the team and the player replied in the affirmative. This led the media to make the public smell a coup.

Similarly, Gary Kirsten also made his views known on the captaincy after the departure of Kumble.

VERBAL BOUNCERS

2007-12-20T00:03:00.000+05:30

Harbhajan Singh is not too worried over the inclusion of Brad Hogg in the Australian squad. The statement of Harbhajan does not make much sense since the off-spinner does not have any record of repute bowling away from India. Even in the recent series at home in India against Pakistan, Harbhajan looked anything but threatening. Looks like he relishes the idea of ‘mental disintegration’ rather than do his bowling do the talking.

Even the normally sensible Kumble also seems to have taken up the challenge of speaking out his mind. Shane Warne did not have much success against India and the leg spinner was the first to admit his inability while bowling to the likes of Sachin, Rahul and Laxman. So Kumble’s assertion that the home team would miss Warne is not on the mark.

Not to be left behind in the statement race, Shoaib Akhtar took time out from his search to find any takers for his Mumbai film career to give some valuable advice to the Aussies. Shoaib wants the home team to include Shaun Tait just to scare the Indians away. Is Tim Nielsen listening?

The coach of Pakistan Geoff Lawson (an Australian) feels that Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke are capable of taking the responsibility of the spin department. Wonder why Lawson did not think of any such innovative ideas whilst in India! The Pakistan team did not feel the need to field a specialist left arm spinner when the faster bowlers were not able to make any impact on the Indian batting.

Cricket is slowly degenerating into slanging matches that are a regular feature of boxing contests.

THEIR WAY, OUR WAY!

2007-12-17T23:18:00.000+05:30

England failed to qualify for the forthcoming edition of Euro and so on expected lines, the coach Steve McClaren was fired. The failure came even when the English team boasted the likes of Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard in the line-up. The Football Association was under pressure to find a replacement and a number of names were mentioned. But the FA offered the top job to Italian Fabio Cappello.

India failed to get past the first round of the cricket World Cup losing to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The solitary win came against Bermuda who can’t claim to have any kind of cricketing pedigree. The team had the presence of players like Sachin, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. As expected, the high profile coach Greg Chappell quit the job. After a lot of near misses, the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri decided to entrust the coaching job to Gary Kirsten.

The English FA did not have the reason to feel embarrassed like the way the BCCI did when Graham Ford decided to let go the job after expressing interest. Of course, Scolari turned down an earlier offer, something that can comfort the coach hunters of the Indian cricket team. The choice of Gary Kirsten was surprising to say the least. Kirsten was a tough opener with a more than a decent record, but he has no previous coaching experience. It was strange when the well-respected Dav Whatmore was not even called for an interview. It was pretty clear that the choice of Kirsten was largely the handiwork of Sunil Gavaskar.

Cappello has won major trophies with all the clubs that he has managed across Europe. There is no doubt over the credentials of the Italian. The only problem that the new England coach might face is the English language.

The shock elimination of England at the qualifying stage made the FA look for a genuine coach and not someone who appealed to the personal biases and prejudices of a few individuals. There is a lesson here for the BCCI.

WHY RAHUL DRAVID?

2007-12-17T23:17:00.000+05:30

The recent form of Yuvraj Singh has compelled the selectors to include the left-hander in the test squad on the tour of Australia. With Sachin, Saurav, Laxman, Dravid and Jaffer being certainties, a spot for Yuvraj calls for a bold choice or a gamble. Many wise people have voiced the view that Yuvraj can be accommodated in the middle order only if Dravid is asked to give company to Jaffer at the start of the innings. Even the great Sunil Gavaskar has endorsed this view.

The idea that Dravid should open stems from the fact that the Karnataka batsman is the most competent when it comes to facing fast bowling on bouncy pitches. More importantly, Dravid opened the innings once before in Pakistan. So that makes Dravid a sort of a ‘natural choice’ for the role of the opener.

If Dravid is indeed compelled by the team management to open the innings, things could take a turn for the worst for the Indian team. If one cares to remember the last tour to down under, it was Dravid who was a crucial factor behind the team’s good show batting at one drop. With his confidence low, not only the team but also the batting of Dravid could suffer.

Why Dravid? The answer is pretty simple and straightforward. Dravid does not have many powerful backers among the former players and the media. In fact, Dravid is someone who can be dispensed with ostensibly in the name of larger interests.

The success or the failure of the team in the batting department depends mostly on the performance of Dravid.

CHEQUERED FLAG

2007-12-17T00:10:00.000+05:30

What a splendid day with Narain Karthikeyan finishing at the top in the Chinese edition of the A1 Grand Prix.

Karthikeyan did not have a time to remember during the one season in Formula 1. He managed to earn some points in the infamous race at Indianapolis where only four cars participated in the race. His contract was not renewed after the season and suddenly the media started to write about other Indian drivers.

Karthikeyan is right to say that he still has age on his side as far as Formula 1 is concerned.

May this win be the first of many.

CAN THEY DELIVER?

2007-12-17T00:06:00.000+05:30

Coming after the wins at home against Pakistan, hopes are high as the Indian team travels down under. The last series between the India and Australia resulted in victory for Ponting and company. Of course, the last visit by the Indians resulted in a series where the honours were shared.

The batting of the Indian team looks stronger. Sachin can be expected to add considerably to his tally. Laxman is always a good bet against his favourite opposition. Ganguly’s show against Pakistan is going to cheer up his fans. Yuvraj is in great form. Sehwag is back in the team. Jaffer appears sound at the top of the order. But the biggest worry comes in the shape of Dravid. The Karnataka batsman did not appear his usual self in the recent series. The run-ins with the selection panel chief seem to have had the impact on the batsman.

Apart from Zaheer Khan and Kumble, the bowling department does not inspire any confidence. The selectors have done the right thing in letting Agarkar sit at home but have erred in picking Harbhajan Singh. Pathan has lost the pace and his swing is only a thing of the past. Ishant Sharma is a dubious choice and even more surprising is the case of the inclusion of Pankaj Singh.

The choice of two specialist wicket keepers in the touring party is a bit of a gamble. If that were a necessity, then is it right to pick Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik?

It remains to be seen if some of the greats of Indian cricket deliver where it matters most.

WELL DESIGNED TROPHY

2007-11-22T19:08:00.000+05:30

The Australians led by Ricky Ponting won the test series against the Sri Lankans with the score line of 2-0 in the two test series. With this, the home team captured the Warne-Muralitharan trophy in its inaugural series.

The Australians compete for the Border-Gavaskar trophy for test matches involving India. The Warne-Muralitharan trophy looks nice in comparison to the Border-Gavaskar trophy. The trophy named after the two spinners features the bowling hands whilst the Border-Gavaskar trophy features some circular objects place upon one another.

Even as Muralitharan would be disappointed with his bowling efforts, he at least would be happy with the design of the trophy.

MISPLACED CONCERNS

2007-11-22T19:06:00.000+05:30

I was reading a news report where it was mentioned that Shane Warne conveyed his thanks to the members of the Australian team. The leg spinner expressed his gratitude since Muralitharan was denied the opportunity to go to the top of the wicket takers list in test matches.

Was Warne really worried about Muralitharan? It is a known fact that the off spinner from Sri Lanka has never done well on Australian soil. So the concerns of Warne were really misplaced.

I believe Warne just wants to maintain relations with the Australian team.

HOME ADVANTAGE!

2007-11-22T19:04:00.000+05:30

Sreesanth and R.P.Singh shall miss the first test at Delhi due to injuries. This is not the news. The news concerns the drafting of Ishant Sharma into the playing eleven. Munaf Patel is also called as a replacement.

Ishant Sharma made his debut in the test series in Bangladesh when the Indian team was on a mission to avenge the defeat in the World Cup. By all accounts, Sharma is someone who didn’t look like a bowler suited the highest level of the game. Even when faced with the prospect of bowling at the Bangladesh batsmen, there were few deliveries that looked threatening leave alone wickettaking ones.

So what has made Sharma the chosen one? The reason is far simpler and obvious. Sharma happens to play for Delhi at the domestic level. Let the BCCI make it a policy to include at least one player from the local team in case of matches played in India.

Irfan Pathan has the experience and he is definitely the better choice. But at the present point of time, Pathan is unable to convince the selectors.

Munaf Patel has only played a handful of tests and he looks and bowls like a veteran bowler of more than 100 tests. The pace has dropped alarmingly and the body language does not speak well. Of course, Pathan’s pace also is something that cannot worry any batsman of some class. But then Sharma looked pedestrian even in his debut test.

WHO WILL PLAY AND WHO SHALL TAKE THE REST?

2007-11-19T23:17:00.000+05:30

It is going to be a difficult choice as far as the playing eleven for the first test is concerned.

It is certain that three spinners will be fielded with the hope that the result goes India’s way. It is also not misplaced considering Pakistan batsmen could not handle the spin of the South African. If the think-tank decides to have two faster bowlers in the eleven, problems would arise.

Wasim Jaffer is a certainty since he is the only specialist opener in the side. Dinesh Karthik performed admirably in England at the top of the order and so he might get another opportunity. The problem is with the fact that the team has another keeper in Dhoni. Even as the test credentials of Dhoni are not proven, the selectors would not like to invite hostile public reaction. Let us not forget that Dhoni is the current favourite of the nation, even without the long hair.

It is a no-brainer as far as Sachin and Rahul Dravid are concerned. These two are a must for the playing eleven. That leaves only one more slot to be filled and there are three contenders in the form of Saurav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Of these three the claims of Ganguly are the weakest. I am a great supporter of the left-hander from Kolkata, but he does not inspire much confidence. Laxman is too good a batsman to be left out while Yuvraj is in the form of his life brimming with confidence. It would be unjust not to give him an opportunity.

I have a solution. Since Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper who also opens the innings, it would not be unwise to drop Dhoni. That would give the selectors the choice to pick Yuvraj and Laxman. If dropping Dhoni is not an option, as it seems, then a rethink should be made about the idea of playing three spinners.

Of course, the selectors can always spring a choice like asking Dravid or Laxman or Ganguly or even Yuvraj to open the innings partnering Jaffer.

It is a million bucks question as to who is going to be ‘rested’?

BANISHING THE GHOSTS OF A DEFEAT

2007-11-18T02:06:00.000+05:30

I still remember that day like it was only yesterday. That was the time when my town did not have the television. To watch live cricket one had to go to friends who stayed ten kilometres away.

I and a couple of friends decided to cycle all the way to watch the 1986 finals at Sharjah featuring India and Pakistan. We chose a classmate who was having a colour television.

India batted first and made a score that was going to challenge Pakistan. Srikkanth and Gavaskar laid the platform and Dilip Vengsarkar scored a fifty. India lost wickets late in the innings and that prevented a truly big score. Pakistan’s innings mainly revolved around Javed Miandad. India was always in the match and just a couple of wickets away from a win. The last over was to be bowled by Chetan Sharma and Miandad hit the last ball-a full toss for a six to claim the win.

That one shot changed the equation between India and Pakistan on the cricket field in general and at Sharjah in particular. In most of the matches that followed, India finished on the losing side. Chetan Sharma became the villain. In those days, the issue of match fixing was not in vogue, otherwise, the public pressure would have forced the authorities to launch an investigation. Even when Chetan Sharma went on to take wickets in England helping India to win the series only for the second time, the tag stayed with him.

A couple of days ago while surfing the channels, I watched a programme titled “Remember the Titans” on ESPN or Star Sports. The programme featured Chetan Sharma’s exploits on the English tour of 1986. The tour is best known for the series win and the batting of Vengsarkar but the programme brought to the fore the invaluable contribution made by Sharma.

In a great coincidence, India secured a series win over Pakistan-the first in an ODI series on home soil in 24 years. Sharma is now an expert on Doordarshan. The win and the programme helped to banish the rather unforgettable pain of cycling all the way back home after the Miandad six when ten kilometres appeared a great distance.

Thanks a lot, Mr.Sharma for the win in England.

A NICE JINX!

2007-11-18T02:04:00.000+05:30

In recent months Sachin Tendulkar has been getting out without making a century. In the process he has the distinction of notching up the most number of 90 plus scores in one dayers. This has led to the belief that there is jinx that prevents Sachin from having his 42nd ODI ton. It is sad that Sachin has been unable to get beyond the 90s. But that jinx has not helped Pakistan with India taking the series.

At times the talk about the jinx becomes ridiculous. We are talking about a batsman who has scored thousands of runs and a lot of hundreds. So it cannot be question of nervous nineties. It is more of a coincidence. Any lesser player would be proud to become the owner of the 90 plus scores that Sachin is accumulating these days.

There was a time when Sachin scored a 100 but India was not able to force the issue with the opposition. So it matters very little whether Sachin scores a 100 or falls in the nineties. What matters more is the win for India.

I believe Sachin also gives a greater importance to the fortunes of the team than to his own.

PEAKS BEING CONQUERED?

2007-11-17T19:20:00.000+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar has been getting out in the 90s. He is unable to add to his tally of international hundreds. At the rate of the matches played by him and the 90 plus scores, there is little wonder that Sachin has the maximum. Fans and the commentators alike are anguished over the ‘failure’ of Sachin.

Roger Federer lost to Nalbandian and then to Gonzalez. In the season ending Master’s event at Shanghai where the top eight players compete, Federer lost to Gonzalez after taking the first set. His long time rival Andy Roddick was demolishing his opponents in the round robin event. Suddenly, there were some questions asked about Federer. Even if the Swiss master made it to the last four, there he had to go past his other great rival Nadal.

The failures of Sachin and the losses of Federer grabbed attention. There was a talk of the peaks being conquered.

Sachin has the maximum number of 90 plus scores in one dayers and he also owns the record for the largest number of tons. Any batsman would be proud to own the 90 plus scores and be called a good player. Similarly, there are very few players who can boast of a credible head-to-head record against Federer. Any player, who can match the accomplishments of Federer over the last two seasons in his entire career, would surely be considered as a good player. Such is the phenomenal record of the Swiss maestro.

In the fourth one dayer at Gwalior, Sachin looked at his best toying with the bowlers of Pakistan. Any doubts over the form of Federer were brushed off with disdain as was evident in the wins over Roddick and Nadal. As the clichéd saying goes “form is temporary, class is permanent”.

Sachin is in the final legs of a great career while Federer is someone who is till far away from the mid-life crisis of tennis professionals. There will always be moments when some opponent can score a point but there can no doubt over the greatness of these two players.

Mount Everest has been conquered many times since the day Hillary and Norgay set their foot on the tallest peak in the world. Flags of many nations have been planted at the top but Everest stands where it is. Sachin and Federer are setting the benchmarks for other players. Their achievements cannot be conquered while their records may be broken some day.

HOMING ON THE FACTS

2007-11-12T19:18:00.000+05:30

South Africa won their test match at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by taking advantage of the home conditions. The pace and the bounce proved too much for the visiting Kiwis. Home conditions played a role too in the win of Australia over Sri Lanka in Brisbane. The bowlers and the batsmen of the home team deserve all the appreciation.

England managed to beat the Aussies in the Ashes of 2005 and it was the English bowlers who proved to be the decisive factor. Call it reverse swing or not, the swing generated by the likes of Simon Jones proved to be the undoing of the Aussies.

New Zealand is always a tough proposition when it comes to playing them at home. Teams from the subcontinent are often at sea when it comes to the rising ball.

In their pomp, the West Indies bowlers succeeded everywhere and at home they were truly devastating. It is an entirely different story now.

But it is altogether different when it comes to the teams from the subcontinent in general and India in particular. The wins are never attributed to the skills of the players. The pitches are given all the dubious credit. Cricket analysts who are otherwise balanced seem to lose their judgment once the results go in the direction of the home team. Seemingly, it gives more delight to watch a batsman duck to a bouncer than be fooled by the spinning ball.

What is appalling is the fact that the local media also takes jibes at the pitches. The statisticians take delight in calling batsmen ‘fat track bullies’. It is quite another thing when batsmen from teams outside of the subcontinent fail to tackle the spin. The pitch is blamed. The spin bowlers are not at all given the credit. Of course, even a mediocre spinner like Ashley Giles is praised for his acumen when bowling on the wickets of the subcontinent.

Things have gone to such a pass that the cricket administration has appointed a committee to look after the pitches and produce wickets that are more suitable to the visiting teams!

Home teams have always taken the advantage of the conditions and this is something that is not peculiar to cricket alone. Of course, to be fair, good teams possess the talent and the skill to beat any opponent anywhere, be it at home or away.

A WIN FOR SOUTH AFRICA

2007-11-12T19:15:00.000+05:30

South Africa used the home conditions to their advantage and had a crushing win over New Zealand. The wicket at the Wanderers in Johannesburg offered pace and bounce and that did the Kiwis in. Dale Steyn took 10 wickets in the match.

It looked like a good test match when the hosts were dismissed for a small total in the first innings. But when the New Zealand batsmen found the home bowlers too hot to handle. In the second innings, Kallis scored big in the company of Amla. Kallis went past the 9000 run mark in test matches. Kallis had scored heavily during the test matches in Pakistan and the good form continues. Wonder how Kallis has not been a matchwinner for the Proteas in the one-dayers.

The Kiwis have been inflicted with a major blow for the rest of their tour. Their premier pace bowler, Shane Bond has suffered an injury that forces him out of the tour. This is not the first time that Bond has suffered an injury. I wonder if certain bowlers do not have the physical characteristics to protect themselves from injury.

South Africa decided to leave out Shaun Pollock out of the playing eleven. This is a continuation of the strategy employed earlier when Pollock played in the one-dayers during the tour to Pakistan. Pollock is the top wicket taker for South Africa in tests and at the Wanderers he has taken more than 50 wickets in 13 matches. I don’t know the reactions of the press and the fans in South Africa, but I am sure it wouldn’t have come anyway near the one triggered off by the ‘resting’ of Rahul Dravid in India.

A NEW COLOUR OF SYCOPHANCY!

2007-11-10T10:41:00.000+05:30

The third one dayer between India and Pakistan is to be played at Kanpur. That is not the news. A news channel reported that the UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) is likely to apply blue colour to the ground. It has nothing to do with the colour of the Indian team dress. The colour blue is associated with the ruling party in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

If this is true, then it gives a whole new dimension to the game of cricket. Instead of talking about the green of the ground, everyone shall be wondering about the blues! A real precedent is likely to be set. The different political parties ruling the states in India will surely want their party colours to be used for painting the cricket grounds.

With the state cricket associations dominated by politicians and shady characters and also government officials, it is no wonder that everyone wants to be in the good books of the party in power.

It is further reported that the UPCA has asked the BCCI not to give an invite to Shah Rukh Khan to watch the match at Kanpur. The official view is not to create any crowd trouble at the Green Park. I have an entirely different take on this. The authorities know very well that Khan’s presence could simply overshadow the presence of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

Is this sycophancy at its best or at its worst?

SAME OLD STORY

2007-11-10T10:14:00.000+05:30

Sri Lanka made all the right noises about how to handle the Aussie might. But when it came to the actual cricket, the same old story continued.

Never did the batsman of the home team appear in trouble. There were three centurions. Phil Jacques scored his first test century while replacing Justin Langer at the top of the batting line-up. Ponting scored a fluent half-century and Andrew Symonds rounded off the innings with some scorching drives and cuts. In between Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey added to the total with their tons. It is only Matthew Hayden who failed to cash in on the insipid bowling of the Lankans.

Ponting wishes to deny Muralitharan the opportunity of going past the wickets tally of Shane Warne on Australian soil. Murali had the better of Ponting. Batsmen found Murali tough only in the early stages, but as the innings progressed, the off spinner could not exert any pressure.

While batting, the Lankans had nothing to offer with the pace of Australia being too hot. Marvan Atapattu laboured to a 50. I am of the view that Marvan is someone who feasts on lesser bowling attacks and that he reserves his best for home conditions. The absence of Kumara Sangakkara is a big setback in the batting department.
It is a foregone conclusion that the Aussies make a winning start to their summer

WHY SACHIN?

2007-11-07T19:01:00.000+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar ended all the speculation about the captaincy. Sachin does not want to lead the test team for a third time. The refusal set off in motion all the rumour mills. It was alleged that Sachin was miffed over the ‘treatment’ meted out to the ‘senior’ players and as a protest did not accept the captaincy. As it is the habit, the BCCI came out with the denial of such an occurrences.

Ever since Rahul Dravid decided to give up the captaincy, there was a suspicion that the Mumbai lobby led by the likes of Sharad Pawar and Dilip Vengsarkar was behind the moves to make Sachin the captain. I wonder whether Sachin did not want these allegations to stick and hence decided to stay away from the controversy. It is hard to believe that Sachin decided not to just because the selectors were not treating the seniors fairly.

Whatever the case is, there is one thing that makes the whole thing appear wishy-washy. Rahul Dravid decided to give up the captaincy and informed Sharad Pawar about it. Now, Sachin has also followed the same route. The selection committee led by Vengsarkar was not in the know of the things. Earlier, it was Pawar who had talks with Ganguly when the Kolkata left-hander was dropped out of the team.

What makes Pawar a favourite and Vengsarkar a hated figure for the senior players? It is evident that Vengsarkar is someone who doesn’t believe in operating behind the scenes. He is proactive to the point of taking the attention away from the players. Pawar, on the other hand, is a politician who in the true Indian style is good at making compromises even at the cost of merit.

In the fitness of things, it would be better to hand over formally the powers of the selection committee to Pawar.

INDIA TAKES THE FIRST MATCH

2007-11-05T18:54:00.000+05:30

The first one-dayer of the Indian Oil Cup went India’s way. There were no big scores and batsmen had difficulty hitting the ball over the boundaries. It was not a match expected on the wickets of the subcontinent.

A score of 240 was never expected to trouble the Indians. With the bowling of Pakistan unable to exert any pressure, things became a lot easier for the Indians, despite the failure of Sachin. It was Shoaib Akhtar who took the wicket of Sachin.

Gambhir and Ganguly put a decent partnership where good shots were interspersed with streaky shots. Ganguly is simply not the batsman he used to be in the limited overs variety. Gambhir is simply playing in the way he is known to be.

Dhoni and Yuvraj strung a match winning partnership. There were few big shots from the bat of Yuvraj. Dhoni also played in a sensible manner. There was a mild excitement in the dying stages with the dismissals of these two.

Salman Butt started off nicely and his run out seemed to take the fizz out of Pakistan innings. Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf batted in the test match style and the total could not become a challenging one. Misbah and Afridi hit some lusty blows but by then the Indians began to feel comfortable about the chase.

The toss was the only thing that ought to have made Shoaib Malik happy after this match.

A COUP OF SORTS!

2007-11-04T18:41:00.000+05:30

The Australians and the Sri Lankans will fight it out for the Warne-Murali trophy starting with the first test on the 8th of this month. With this, a new trend has been set. This is the first time that a trophy bears the name of a current player.

The Sri Lankan cricket authorities have pulled off a coup of sorts. I use the term ‘coup’ deliberately. It is a well-known fact that the Aussie spectators do not like Muralitharan. A former captain of Sri Lanka Arjuna Ranatunga even advised the off spinner to give the tour to down under a miss. With the naming of the trophy, the authorities hope to take attention away from the disputed bowling action of Murali.

Is the naming of the trophy going to put all doubts over the action of Murali to rest once-and-for all? It was in Australia where Murali was first no-balled for ‘illegal’ action.

THE ACTION STARTS

2007-11-04T18:39:00.000+05:30

The first one-dayer between India and Pakistan kicks off in the northeastern city of Guwahati on Monday.

The press and the players want us to believe that a series between the traditional rivals has the potential to overtake even the Ashes. In many ways that is true. Given the rancour between the two countries, a victory in the cricket field is seen as a victory for the winning nation.

Players have made their reputation or have theirs marred in the past encounters between the two teams. Traditionally, it is Pakistan players who always seem to reserve their best for the Indo-Pak encounters.

Shoaib Akhtar has a lot to prove and that is certainly not good news for the Indians. On the Indian side, Sachin and Saurav have a lot on their hands after the ‘rest’ given to Rahul Dravid. The two captains also have a lot to prove. Shoaib Malik has to cement his captaincy after the losses to South Africa at home. Dhoni has to make his mark in the larger versions of the game.

I am a little unhappy over the timing of the series. With most of the matches on working days, there is little chance of following them. Of course, I am hopeful of my students giving the classes a miss.

ANOTHER LOSS FOR FEDERER!

2007-11-02T15:43:00.000+05:30

For a second time within a month, David Nalbandian has defeated Roger Federer. The Argentine was the winner in the Master’s event at Madrid. Now Federer has lost to Nalbandian in the Paris Master’s. Fans surely remember the win by the Argentine over the world’s best player at Shanghai last year.

It is three times that Nalbandian has beaten Federer in the Master’s series. This is an achievement that not many players in the ATP tour have.

I have a suspicion that Federer switches off when it comes to the season ending events and that he reserves the best for the Grand Slams. In the recent seasons, it is only Nadal and Safin who have stopped the Swiss master at the big events.

Despite the defeat, Federer is truly one of the all time greats. I take this opportunity to share with my fellow bloggers the comments of an Australian gentleman named Rod Laver. By the way, Laver is the only player to have won all the four tennis majors in the same year, twice.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST?

2007-11-02T15:33:00.000+05:30

Martina Hingis a former world no.1 and winner of 5 Grand Slam singles titles and 9 double titles announced her retirement at the age of 27. This is the second time that Hingis has called it quits from competitive tennis.

The retirement does not come as a surprise except for the stunning and shocking incident that prompted Hingis to make the announcement. She tested positive for cocaine during a drug test conducted at Wimbledon of this year.

Cocaine is not a performance enhancing substance. It is only used for ‘recreational’ purposes. Even then the consumption of cocaine is illegal.

Hingis denies the charges but does not intend to continue with the game and fight the allegation.

It is not the first time that a top tennis player is under the cloud of drugs. Petr Korda received a ban and a certain J.P.McEnroe confessed to the use of substances like cocaine.

Whatever is the truth, this is a sad end to a fine career.

IN BAD TASTE

2007-11-01T15:12:00.000+05:30

Navjot Singh Sidhu is the acknowledged master of gibberish. There are times when he exceeds all norms of decency. It is a wonder how a news channel that prides itself as ‘the best’ has made the worst choice. Are we getting the channels and the experts that we deserve?

Last night there was a discussion on NDTV over the Pakistan and India series that is scheduled to commence from the 5th of November. The issue of Younus Khan becoming the Vice-captain of Pakistan came up. The presenter of the show remarked about the number of players being made the Vice-captains since Shoaib Malik became the Captain.

This led Sidhu to declare that the culture of Pakistan was different from the Indian culture. Sidhu added rather sagely that since Pakistani culture permitted a man to have many wives, it was natural for the Pakistan cricket team to chop and change Vice-captains.

This remark is something that deserves to be condemned. It is time for NDTV to make a rethink. Such dirty and cheap remarks have no place at least as far as the game of cricket is concerned.

Sidhu always talks about things like commitment and loyalty. What was the case with him when he left the Indian team on tour to England?

A REAL JOLT

2007-11-01T15:11:00.000+05:30

The Pakistan cricket team has received a jolt even before a ball has been bowled in the series in India. Just as the team management appeared to rejoice over the return of Shoaib Akhtar, another pace bowler, Mohammed Asif has pulled out of the tour with an elbow injury.

Ever since Asif started with a bang against the touring Indians, he has been the bowler who looked most likely to take wickets. The Indians were ambushed by the swing and control of Asif and the hosts won the series

But in the short career so far, Asif has been dogged by injuries. The ban for the alleged doping offence also did not help the matters.

It is not Akhtar who is to be feared since it is not the nature of the bowler to be consistent for an entire series. Moreover, Akhtar is only moments away from a new brawl and injury. Umar Gul can be a handful on helpful wickets, but he is not in the same class as Mohd.Asif.

IS THIS NECESSARY?

2007-10-30T18:09:00.000+05:30

Predictably, the non-inclusion of Dravid in the squad for the first and second one-dayers against Pakistan has evoked a strong response. Every supporter of Dravid is now able to find a personal enemy in the Chief of the Selection Committee, Dilip Vengsarkar. This is similar to the situation when Saurav Ganguly was axed during the tenure of Kiran More.

The news channels have gone to great lengths to explain the possibility of a conspiracy theory. Polls have been conducted to show that Dravid should have been included in the squad. Former players and cricket administrators have joined the bandwagon. In short, the decision of the selectors has not been received too well.

It is true that Dravid was totally out of sorts in the six matches against Australia. But that does not give the selectors any licence to make Dravid sit at home considering his past record. In both cases, statistics have been bandied about.

In the midst of all this shouting and chest beating, we have to remember that this squad is to play only the first two matches. A different squad is to be selected for the other matches. That may bring Dravid into the squad after all.

There is of course, very little logic in bringing Virender Sehwag to the team. Sehwag scored only one 50 in the Challenger trophy and he is no youngster as well. Sehwag’s record in the limited overs game is not impressive while his test record is excellent, especially, in the context of Pakistan.

When everyone talks about the Australian methods, it is time for the selectors to think about the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly. Both have stellar achievements as far as one-dayers are concerned, but their match winning ability is suspect. The Aussies dropped the Waugh twins when they could have easily walked into any of the international teams. Vengsarkar needs to apply the same principles to everyone.

I am still not sure whether Dravid has been dropped or rested.

HAYDEN'S REVELATIONS

2007-10-25T18:01:00.000+05:30

In the midst of all the shouting and the allegations, Matthew Hayden has come up with a stunning revelation. Hayden feels that beating India gives the Aussies the ultimate satisfaction. He even went on to suggest that the duels with India rank higher than those involving England.

The supporters of Indian cricket should take this positively. This also explains why the Aussies were so focused during the seven match one-day series in India. That in a way explains why the Aussies took offence to the verbals dished out by the Indian players and spectators alike.

In the test series of 2001, India managed to win the series 2-1 after trailing 1-0. In the series, Hayden was by far the best batsman on show with over 500 runs. That series marked the emergence of Hayden as a great player who could adapt to different conditions successfully. In the end, that was not enough and Steve Waugh’s dream of conquering the ‘last frontier’ remained unfulfilled.

The loss to India in the T20 made the Aussies look beatable and they were determined to settle the scores. England won the Ashes in 2005 and the Aussies returned the compliment by scoring a 5-0 whitewash during the last summer down under.

The Indian team can expect a less-than friendly atmosphere when they tour Australia later this year. But the Indians should not lose heart in the wake of the statement of Hayden.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF FEDERER'S LOSSES

2007-10-25T18:00:00.000+05:30

Roger Federer lost to David Nalbandian in the Madrid Masters. It was a rare event. Then Federer struggled to get past Michael Berrer in the first round at Basel.

Federer is expected to win all his matches. There are very few answers to the spectacular success of the Swiss, except may be on the red clay of the French Open. Now with these two losses, there are questions asked. Rightfully, the master fends them off as laughable.

The two losses just show that everyone including the truly great can have off days and there are times when the opponents can raise their game to great levels

PLAYING FIRE WITH FIRE?

2007-10-25T10:56:00.000+05:30

During the series against Australia and also during the T20 World Cup, the Indian players displayed aggression in the form of shouting at the opponents and showing unnecessary emotions. For a long time, the average Indian fan felt unhappy because the Indian players were at the receiving end of verbal bashing from the opponents, especially the Aussies. Any gesture or a verbal was misconstrued as an insult to India and Indians. So the newfound aggression got a lot of support. The win in South Africa added to the tall tale. It is not for nothing that George Orwell called sport ‘war minus the shooting’.

The Australians are past masters in the game of verbal volleys. Ponting and his team have taken the art of ‘mental disintegration’ to a new level. The Aussies do not like to lose and the loss in South Africa only added to the decibels.

With cameras everywhere, players like Sreesanth and Harbhajan did their best to keep the spectators interested. Even Robin Uthappa talked about ‘playing fire with fire’. Sreesanth’s behaviour was boorish. The Aussies succeeded in their ploy and the Indians concentrated more on verbal aggression and lost the one-day series.

The media that projected the new found show of aggression with a lot of enthusiasm suddenly did a volte-face after the racist allegations leveled by Symonds. Suddenly, the Indian players were advised to show restraint.

A win in the T20 World Cup is not sufficient to give bragging rights forever. The Indian team surely deserves the adulation since it is in a long while that the Aussies have ended up on the losing side four times in a space of two months to India.

IS IT RACIAL ABUSE?

2007-10-25T10:54:00.000+05:30

The racial allegations leveled by Andrew Symonds have opened the proverbial can of worms.

Initially, there was the disbelief that Indian spectators could subject white coloured foreigners to any kind of racial abuse. I use the word disbelief deliberately since even in the context of Indians, the colour of the skin has a very important bearing. There are ‘fairness creams’ which promise to make the dark coloured girl fair much to the relief of her father and family who find it difficult to find a groom. The creams also promise to make the wearer shine on the career path as well. It is no secret that most of the mothers want fair skinned daughters-in-law.

The Indians always hold white foreigners in awe and no wonder even the advertisements for underwears feature a white male or female. Indians attach great prestige to the recognition given by people of the Western world. An Indian novelist or a poet or for that matter anyone from any walk of life is not considered good enough unless there is an approval from a foreigner, especially one with a white skin. The Indian cricket fan is also not different. Giving something back to the Aussie players is not an option since the retribution is feared.

The win in the T20 World Cup where the Aussies were one of the victims of Dhoni and company, emboldened the Indian fans. Suddenly, the fans realized the prospect of the Aussies looking beatable. This added to the noise and Symonds might have misconstrued this as racial abuse.

The Aussies have the right to be aggrieved if the Indian spectators hurled racial abuse. But in the event of no such evidence, there is no way the Aussies should complain for their fans are notorious for their hostility towards players from other countries.

With the allegations, the media made Indians feel ashamed over the racial slurs. Some cricket writers also joined in castigating the behaviour of the Indian spectators.

The reaction of Sharad Pawar in the whole episode was typical of a politician. He argued that the whole issue was due to the inability of the Aussies to decipher the Indian languages. Pawar himself expressed his inability to understand many of the Indian languages. No wonder, the farmers are committing suicides since their pleas cannot be understood by Pawar who is also the Minister for Agriculture in India.

There is no place for racism but it cannot be removed.

STRIKING PARALLELS!

2007-09-17T19:05:00.000+05:30

With the resignation of Dravid, the hunt for a new captain has begun. Predictably, no new names except that of Dhoni are doing the rounds. Dhoni, of course, has very little chance to become the Captain. The other two contenders are Ganguly and Sachin.

The Mumbai lobby will never want to make Gaguly take charge of the team for a second time. So Pawar and his cohorts have been busy in propping up Sachin. Even in the past, there was no dearth of people in favour of Sachin.

The news channels have found a new topic that is far less tricky in relation to the issue of Ram or the Sethusamudram. Polls via SMS have been conducted and Ganguly has become the preferred choice of the average cricket fan. But in the ultimate analysis, it is Sachin who is most likely to be made the Captain.

In this context, I cannot desist myself from reminding everyone about the Presidential elections that took place a couple of months ago. APJ Abdul Kalam was the choice as far as the people were concerned but that did not stop Pratibha Patil from claiming the occupancy rights to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Similarly, none seems to have the power to prevent Sachin from becoming the Captain for a third time, despite a poor record in the Captaincy department.

Of course, Sachin has the ability and the experience. But the plot is similar.

A COUP?

2007-09-17T19:02:00.000+05:30

The resignation of Rahul Dravid looks like a coup of some sorts. This conspiracy theory of mine may not stick but Indian cricket has always had the reputation of being in the hands of the worst script writer that Bombay films ever had.

The appointment of Sachin Tendulkar as the Vice-captain before the World Cup in the Caribbean was something that was touted as a masterstroke by the selectors. Sachin, it was argued, would provide valuable inputs to the team think-tank and also would play more ‘responsibly’. We all know what happened in the World Cup. Sachin himself put on highly forgettable displays against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was only against Bermuda that the bat of the great man talked.

In the tour to England, Sachin played with a rare freedom especially in the one-dayers. The test series was won and the one-day series was lost in the last match. But the success of the tour has soured now with the dramatic announcement made by Dravid.

One has to take the appointment of Dhoni as the captain of the team for the T20 World Cup in the right perspective. As is the case now, the likelihood of Dhoni taking the mantle from Dravid appears remote with Sachin being the clear frontrunner. The Mumbai lobby led ably by Sharad Pawar has been very efficient plotting the downfall of Dravid. Various satraps connected to the ruling body of cricket in India have made noises over the strategy of Dravid. The Chairman of the selection committee, Dilip Vengsarkar was, reportedly unhappy over the defensive approach of Dravid.

It is true that in some instances, the strategy of Dravid appeared to be less than sound. The decision of not enforcing the follow on in the third test when England was on the mat baffled everyone. Dravid defended himself on the ground of giving the bowlers time for recuperation. But then every captain has his own way of making decisions.

Now the decks are cleared for the anointment of Sachin to the top job. There is a report in the media about an interview given by Sachin during the tour to England. All these, only add to the rumors and the innuendoes that very much characterize Indian cricket.

I hope to be proved wrong.

BORN TO RUN?

2007-08-28T10:49:00.000+05:30

(BUDDHIA ON HIS 70 KM RUN)
(BUDDHIA AND BIRANCHI)

He was just 4 years old. His mother contemplated selling the kid for a sum of less than Rs.1000. Such was the poverty. The kid was in hospital where the doctors wanted to amputate one of his legs. In came a gentleman who took care of the kid and nursed him. The same kid displayed a talent for running great distances. No scriptwriter could have done better. The kid is Buddhia Singh and the gentleman is Biranchi Das.

For a state starved of sporting heroes, the emergence of Buddhia was something of a revelation. Biranchi, a Judoka coach made tall claims about the prowess of his prodigy. The boy was made to run nearly 70 kms in oppressive heat. The run nearly caused Buddhia to collapse after 65 kms and he was taken to a hospital.

The Government of Orissa stepped in to prevent the cruel exploitation of the little boy. Buddhia was subject to a number of medical tests and the doctors seemed unhappy over the stresses the frail body was asked to take. Immediately, the Government decided to stop the 500 kms race that Buddhia was to undertake.

The mother of the boy, the boy and the coach were not happy with the development. Even the little boy was ‘made’ to speak before the television cameras about the support provided by Biranchi to his family. The mother of Buddhia went so far as to question the right of the state to take such steps.

This made news and many news channels stepped in to present their side of the story. In the meantime, the boy and his coach went places and a number of ‘philanthropists’ assured financial support. A trust fund was to be set up for the upbringing and the training of the little boy.

Then a couple of weeks ago, the coach and the guardian angel of Buddhia was arrested on grounds of ‘torturing’ Buddhia in the name of training. After the arrest of Biranchi, his mother took the boy to home. Now Buddhia lives with his mother and two elder sisters in a Bhubaneswar slum.

This latest event again sparked off a fresh round of allegations and counter allegations. The same Buddhia who was so loyal to Biranchi now speaks in a different tone. Buddhia’s mother does not mince any words when she castigates Biranchi. Biranchi on his part blames some of the slum people for misleading the boy and his mother.

At the root of the matter is the money that was supposedly received by Biranchi on behalf of Buddhia. People who are close to the family allege that the coach siphoned off all of it, while Biranchi points out that all promises of financial assistance were mere promises. He also alleges that the self-styled elders of the slum want to earn from the talents of Buddhia. This may not be entirely untrue.

What is the wrong if Biranchi took some money? He was the person who provided help to the family and the boy in their time of distress.

What moral authority does the Government have to prevent such exploitation when child labour is rampant? Does the Government not have any other worthwhile things to do?

What about the news channels who took up cudgels on behalf of the boy and his coach?

One thing is pretty clear. Buddhia may not run again. In a few months, all of us will forget about a little boy who could run. In time, Buddhia may be lost in the slums working in some wayside teashop or an automobile workshop.

Sporting history is replete with stories of talented and promising athletes being exploited by family members or manipulative coaches and managers.

In any event, Buddhia is born to run.

WHEN 99 IS BIGGER THAN A 100

2007-08-26T07:58:00.000+05:30

Every time Sachin Tendulkar steps on to the field nowadays with a bat in his hand, there is bound to be a debate. There are supporters who feel that Sachin can still play the kind of cricket that made him great in the first place. There are detractors who argue that Sachin should step down.

In the second one dayer at Bristol, India needed to put a good total on the board after Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat. That decision presupposed a good knock from Sachin at the top of the order.

For a while, Sachin missed a number of balls but as the innings progressed, there were some of the trademark drives. He played well enough to get a 100 but was dismissed for 99. That sparked off a debate.

It is pointed out that Sachin lost his ability to score a 100. Some expressed their anguish over the fact that Sachin missed the opportunity to add to his tally of international tons. Evidence is gleaned from the near misses on this tour so far. Does a 100 from Sachin matter so much for the fan? Sachin himself would be the first to say that the team win was more satisfactory than another 100.

Even Donald Bradman could not score the four runs that would have taken his average to a perfect 100. That is the mystique of cricket.

For the numerically obsessed fan, it is worth a lot to keep in mind that statistics or more correctly put, the average is a bikini that covers less than what it reveals.

PARITY RESTORED

2007-08-26T07:57:00.000+05:30

At Bristol, the Indians managed to beat to home team despite having the luxury of putting up a score of 329 runs on the board. The small ground makes it possible for shots to go over the boundary. But more importantly, the Indian bowling was not adequate. The woes of the team were compounded by the atrocious fielding.

Speaking about bowling, it is a mystery that Ajit Agarkar continues to have the support of the selectors and the team management even after proven inability. The same logic does not apply to Gambhir who was dropped from the playing eleven after the first match. Munaf Patel is not looking to bowl fast. He is looking like a veteran of over 300 matches. R.P.Singh produced some good balls. It is a pity that Sreesanth was not picked for the limited overs contests. In the third test, Dravid did not enforce the follow on ostensibly to give a breather to the bowlers. Of the bowlers, Kumble, Zaheer and Sreesanth are not playing the one dayers and the others barring R.P.Singh, did not play in the test matches.

In the batting department, Sachin and Dravid were simply outstanding. Sachin has, in his career, played many better knocks. But in the context of the series, this was worth its weight in gold. Sachin played and missed a number of times, but he hung in there to score 99. Ganguly was not fluent but the opening partnership was worth more than 100. Yuvraj scored 49 runs and looked good for a lot more.

It was Dravid who was a complete revelation. The man, who struggled in the first match, suddenly carted all the bowlers to all parts of the ground. He could not score a 100 as the overs ran out. But the knock was crucial to the final outcome of the match. Great batsmen like W.G.Grace, Wally Hammond and Zaheer Abbas who played for Gloucestershire at Bristol would have been proud of the way Dravid stroked the ball.

The parity has been restored and now the teams have to start from scratch.

A BAD START

2007-08-22T16:43:00.000+05:30

By any standard, the Indians played bad cricket and deserved to lose the first one dayer at Southampton. After a long time, England looked good in the limited over format.

The change of captaincy has injected some kind of dynamism into the English time that was sorely lacking during the time of Michael Vaughan. Vaughan has an extremely poor record as a batsman in the one dayers and this got reflected in his captaincy as well. Of course, Duncan Fletcher had certain strange ideas about the shorter format of the game.

The Indians failed miserably in the departments of the game. If the batting was sub-standard, the bowling was ragged, the fielding was miserable. With specialist coaches in the side, it makes difficult to find no improvement. Dravid cannot defend the fielding lapses on the fact that the match was played on a relatively large ground.

India is not yet out of the series with six more matches to be played. If the showing is the same as yesterday, the series loss cannot be ruled out.

WHO IS RANCOROUS?

2007-08-07T00:33:00.000+05:30

England have not taken the defeat at the hands of India in the second test in the sporting sense. It is one thing to be trashed by Australia down under. It is quite another thing for the English team to be beaten at home by India.

First there were assertions by players and also the coach of the England cricket team over the sledging accusations. Even a player of the stature of Matt Prior doesn’t feel bad about the sledging. The coach Peter Moores dismisses such allegations. Collingwood is not ashamed at the jellybeans thrown by some his teammates at the Indian players.

But the cake should go to Mike Atherton, the former captain of the England team and now a media professional. It is right for Atherton to go hammer and tongs at Sreesanth for his boorish behaviour during the test. Sreesanth bowled a beamer at Kevin Pietersen and then shoulder barged Michael Vaughan. Such behaviour should not be condoned by any means. Atherton is not happy with the punishment meted out to Sreesanth. The former skipper wants Sreesanth to be dropped from the third test. Sreesanth looks most likely to be dropped given his shoddy efforts in the match. It is true that the match referee Ranjan Madugalle took a rather lenient view of the whole Sreesanth. But what authority does Atherton have to talk about a tougher punishment?

Atherton himself is someone who does not have the moral authority to sermonize. This same gentleman was once caught by cameras taking sand from his trouser pocket and applying the same to a ball during the course of a test. Then the punishment was not severe, by today’s standards. Probably that is the reason for the present outburst. If Sreesanth’s bowling a beamer was ‘rancorous’, then what should we call Atherton’s behaviour? Sreesanth can walk away from the controversy on the pretext of an accidental act, while Atherton does not have that kind of a luxury.

In a one dayer prior to the Ashes of 2005, Simon Jones hurled the ball at Matthew Hayden when the batsman was not even attempting a run. The ball hit the shoulder of Hayden. The whole of the English media praised this incident as the ‘aggression’ of the English team.

Clearly, it is a case of different strokes for different people.

Don't brand me a racist, just yet.

GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE

2007-08-07T00:31:00.000+05:30

Peter Roebuck writes in The Hindu (Saturday 04 August, 2007) about the stellar roles played by Saurav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan in the famous test win over England at Trent Bridge.

Not long ago, both Saurav and Zaheer were out in the dumps. Ganguly was stripped of his captaincy and then lost his place in the team. Clearly, the lefthander was sitting on his achievements as a player and as a captain as well. The writing was on the wall, as the cliché goes.

Zaheer was not bowling his best and worse, there were reports of indiscipline. Zaheer was perceived to be someone who was not really playing for the team.

Now, both of these fallen heroes have to use another oft-used cliché, risen from the ashes. In a way the credit for the turnaround should go to Greg Chappell. It was during the reign of Chappell as the coach of the Indian team that these two players were shown the exit.

Chappell could not achieve much given his propensity to talk hours about the ‘processes’ and ‘experiments’. But if a small kick in the backs could achieve some tangible benefits, then it is a success. The much-maligned coach could now bask in this glory.

Let us give credit where it is due.

PROFESSIONALISM IS ALSO IMPORTANT

2007-08-05T01:03:00.000+05:30

Last week there was a discussion on the Indian Cricket League (ICL) aired on CNN-IBN. Two former Indian cricketers K.Srikkanth and Javagal Srinath presented their views.

Both of them argued against the current generation of players joining the rival league. They asserted that while former players would be attracted by big bucks, the current players would lose an opportunity to play for the country at the highest level. They pointed out that and quite rightly also the fact that playing for the country involves patriotism and pride.

That brings the key question. Is there not something called professionalism that drives players as much as people involved in other professions? It is right that players pride themselves to wear the national colours and also at the same time display professionalism when playing for teams other than the national team.

If the players were only interested in their bank balances, then most cricket players would not venture into areas like County cricket or even club cricket. Shane Warne is busy slogging it out in County cricket and by all means he is an extremely rich man. It is not just the money; it is also the love for the game. The professionalism drives the players to give their best even when the honour of the country is not at stake. Interestingly, Srinath also had a stint with an English County. Did he not put his best foot forward when playing for the team?

It is naïve to argue that the ICL would be a failure just because the players won’t be representing their countries. In this context, it is time to remember the success achieved by the World Series of Cricket where countries were not involved.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

2007-08-03T18:04:00.000+05:30

India and Pakistan have a history of animosity. The politicians on both sides have failed to settle the differences. But the cricket administrators of the countries have, mostly, been friendly with each other. There have been instances where they have taken a common stand.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has come up with a warning to players, former or present. The PCB has threatened action against players going with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). It is the BCCI, which should be worried over the ICL. So far only talks have been held between players and the representatives of the ICL. Shoaib Malik will never give up the captaincy just for the sake of a few easy dollars. Even the out of favour Inzamam-ul-Haq might not want to end his desire to play for the national team again.

The ICL has not taken off. It is only in the media that announcements are made and also refuted about the signing of players. So it is a bit premature for the PCB to come up with the warning. Either the PCB is genuinely worried or the PCB is simply expressing solidarity with BCCI.

It is not politics alone where there are strange bedfellows. Cricket too can be a very strong force.

WHY AFRAID OF MONTY?

2007-08-02T00:17:00.000+05:30

It is true that Indian batsmen are short of the ability and technique needed to handle faster bowlers, especially on foreign soil. But over the last few years, Indian batsmen have not shone the confidence that was the hallmark of their predecessors when it came to the spinners.

The latest show was put up the Indian batsmen while facing the English left-armer Monty Panesar. In the first test at Lords’, the wickets of Panesar included Sachin Tendulkar. The batsman played with the pad and not with the bat and to a straighter one, it was judged out by the Umpire. In the second test, the Indian openers put up a solid start. One delivery to Karthick looked like crashing into the wickets, but the batsmen was saved by the Umpire. Rahul Dravid played a Panesar delivery straight into the hands of one of the short extra covers.

In all these deliveries, there was nothing extraordinary despite the observations of the commentators. It was the batsmen who became so circumspect that the bowler had an easy job. There are many left-arm spinners in the domestic scene in India who are better than Panesar. Things are a bit off the mark when even Sunil Gavaskar heaps praise on the showing of Panesar. Give a wicket similar to the one at Bangalore where Gavaskar played his last innings of a test and scored 96. Surely none of the present day Indian batsmen appear capable of scoring a total of 96.

Sachin Tendulkar has taken on a rampaging Shane Warne and the Aussie confessed of having nightmares over the assault. Laxman can dismantle the best spinners on his day. But suddenly, those appear things of the distant past. Sachin looked a batsman with unsure footwork in the first test. Dravid was once a bunny of Warne while Ganguly and Laxman made it a point not to take on Panesar. A big hitter like Dhoni also preferred to go on the defensive against Panesar.

The lack of quality spinners on the domestic circuit and the top players not taking interest in domestic cricket seems the most likely cause of the difficulties facing the spinners. Most of the present day Indian batsman do not rely on footwork but merely thrust their pads to the spinners. The replay of Dravid’s dismissal in the second test is ample proof.

Panesar is a good bowler from the point of view of the supporters of English cricket. But why should Indians be so prolific in their appreciation of the bowler? So much so that an Indian news channel has engaged Panesar to talk about cricket at the end of the play each day.

ATROCIOUS AND OBNOXIOUS

2007-07-31T14:45:00.000+05:30

In the second test at Trent Bridge, India is on the verge of registering only a fifth victory on English soil. Good batting by most of the batsmen and excellent bowling from Zaheer Khan has helped the visitors. But the bowling of Sreesanth was nothing short of atrocious.

The bowler from Kerala has been fined 50% of his match fee for shoulder barging the English captain Michael Vaughan. In South Africa Sreesanth waved the bat and showed some fancy dance steps in response to Andre Nel. That was something, which amused everyone. But the latest incident is obnoxious. This is similar to Roger Telemachus shoulder barging Rahul Dravid many seasons ago. In both the cases it was not an accident but deliberate.

On the first day, the bowling of Sreesanth was a parody. In his first over itself, he tried many variations. There were instances when the deliveries went so far as the third slip. Instead of concentrating on the bowling, Sreesanth took the path of a street bully.

I would have thanked the match referee Ranjan Maduagalle if Sreesanth were banned for the next test. That would have given another bowler a chance.

ANOTHER LASHINGS IN THE MAKING?

2007-07-26T18:51:00.000+05:30

When Subash Chandra (the promoter of Zee TV) announced the formation of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), there were many eyebrows raised. It was inevitable that Chandra would be compared with the audacious venture started by Kerry Packer (World Series) many years ago in Australia. By the way, it was a Packer innovation that has resulted in the use of coloured clothing and white balls in the one-dayers. It was also a Packer channel-Channel 9 that has since stayed at the forefront of live cricket telecasts.

Packer started the World Series as a response to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC) getting the exclusive rights to broadcast cricket down under. This was, despite Packer putting forward a better deal. The Indian scenario was no different. Subash Chandra could not bag the telecast rights. Matters went to the court and there was no relief to Chandra.

Packer roped in the likes of Tony Greig to persuade other players. Players all over the cricketing nations jumped in the bandwagon. There was, of course, no representation from India. The teams were nothing but test teams. The ICC was not willing to recognize this breakaway tour and so the players were promptly banned from international cricket. The records are still not included in the official first class records.

Kapil Dev has been the most visible face of ICL till today. Chandra hopes to do what Packer achieved through Greig. But there is a difference. Current players have not jumped at the idea and neither there is any chance of them doing so in the future as well. It is only a few retired greats like Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath who are supposed to have given their nods. Cricketers of today are paid handsomely and to a certain extent, the present players are not as rebellious as those who took part in the World Series. Will Ponting be like Ian Chappell or does any present West Indian player command the respect of Viv Richards.

The World Series made the cricket authorities in Australia to end the dispute and since then Channel 9 has had the telecast rights. This was mostly because the official test teams were being beaten and partly because the paying public was more eager to watch cricket played by stars in a different way. There is no possibility of it happening in case of ICL.
At least the formation of a parallel cricket body was expected to bring some sanity to the working of the BCCI. Going by the response of the players, it also seems farfetched.

The ICL may end up like another Lashings that ropes in famous cricket players of the past and the present for large payments. The only aim is to provide some entertainment and occasionally, contribute to charity. Lashings is no serious cricket club; it is like a cricketing version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Subash Chandra is no Kerry Packer and it would be great if he were able to repeat the achievements of David Folb (the promoter of Lashings).

TOUR DE FRANCE:A DOWNWARD CYCLE

2007-07-26T17:28:00.000+05:30

It is not my intention to degrade the premier cycling event of the world. The controversy over who is caught for doping and who is not and what substances are used for the abuse is really taking the attention away from the cycling.

There was a cloud over whether Lance Armstrong used any performance boosting substances to win the Tour five times in a row. The German Uhlrich who was one rider to challenge Armstrong was found guilty. Then there was the Italian who admitted to doping offences and died very prematurely of side-effects.

The American Floyd Landis won the Tour in 2006 and was immediately touted as the natural successor to Armstrong. Landis is now spending most of his time in courts in the United States trying to clear himself from doping charges.

Most of the big names were absent from the Tour of 2007. Aleksandar Vinokurov of Kazakhstan was expected to be the winner. But it is the Kazakh who has been found guilty of ‘blood doping’ and his entire team has been pulled out of the race.

The current leader of the Tour and the holder of the yellow jersey, Rasmussen of Denmark is accused of not turning up for out of event drug testing on more than one occasion. There are bound to be doubts over his credibility if he manages to win the event.

An event that is supposed to be one of the ultimate challenges for a sportsman is now under a huge shadow.

Is the great Tour on the verge of becoming a farce?