You made me proud with your performance in the SCG test. As fans, while we would like to see victories, what we really want is to that you guys tried your best, applied yourselves and gave us good cricket.Australia is hard enough to beat (especially at home) playing eleven men against eleven. But when the men in black and white play for them, victory is almost impossible. Almost all umpiring errors went in their favour but the team still fought manfully and that’s all I ask for.

Dravid, Laxman, Sachin & Ganguly: You have given us such joy over the last few years. We have been quick to praise good batting and even quicker to criticize and bay for your blood at each failure. Each one of you has been written off as being over the hill and you have taken the criticism in your stride and responded beautifully with the bat. Though I would love to have seen atleast one of you save this match, I think to blame you would be unfair given the fashion in which you were dismissed (all except Sachin, that is). Sachin, I love the way you have been batting in this series. The SCG dismissal to an indecisive shot was disappointing. I hope that won’t stop you from playing like you did in Perth, 1991.

Yuvraj, Jaffer: I don’t know what has happened to the form you displayed just last month. I know Australia is a hard place to play cricket but you are picturing demons where none exist. It is disappointing that you haven’t even managed to stay at the crease for some period of time. The absolute lack of willingness to fight it out in the middle irks me. I am not suggesting you be dropped right away but I think the tether is short. There are fighters like Karthik on the bench and you would need to do something with the next opportunity, if you get one. My simple advice: watch how Dravid has played and look at Dhoni’s second innings performance.

Dhoni: It was good to see some fight from you in the second innings of the match. But the shouldering the arms dismissal left much to be desired. Hope to see some better sense and blistering batting in the matches to come.

Harbhajan: I have always been critical of playing you in the team outside the subcontinent because I believe your bowling has lacked consistency. You have rarely shown us glimpses of the 2001 Harbhajan. But I liked the way you bowled for parts of this match: the flight and the bounce, mixing the top spinners well with the offies and not over using the doosra. Your batting style is quite comical really and I am always nervy when you are at the crease. The half-century in the first innings was no different but the determination to hang in (in both innings) was refreshing. I hope you can consistently show us some of the magic we have seen you produce.

R.P. Singh, Ishant: You guys should pat yourselves in the back and make these bowling spots your own. The first day effort from you guys was brilliant, especially you Mr. Singh. But you guys would do well to study the careers of pacers in recent times: Irfan Pathan, L. Balaji, Ashish Nehra (to name a few) and ensure you don’t repeat what these guys did. You have a captain that will back you. It is now upto you to put your heads down and work towards a long India career. Focus on your bowling and fitness instead of the bells and whistles that come with a spot in the Indian team.

Anil Kumble: You have shouldered the burden of bowling India to victory for over 15 years now. In return, we have criticized your bowling, dropped you from the squad, ridiculed your overseas record and tried to take the sheen off your home performances. You have continued wheeling away and picking up wickets in the bagful. In this match, you again displayed the grit, determination and talent that helped you recover from each of those setbacks. In addition to the bowling and batting, I admired the way you made no excuses at the end of the match, refusing to be drawn into controversy on the umpiring. Anil, take a bow. I can’t think of a more dignified person to lead this Indian team.

Guys, I’m realistic enough to realize that we will probably not be even tying this series. I just hope for two more performances like the one I saw in this match and if we still lose, we know you guys tried your best. The Aussies know that without the umpires, this game could have gone any which way. They will try to stamp their superiority coming hard at you in the next game at Perth. Show them that you pack a few punches too.

Best,

Prof

What did you think of the match? Did umpiring decisions cost us or were Australia simply the better team?