Sportsnob – Critics Corner

132 test matches, 619 wickets, 19 years of international cricket and one of just two men to get all 10 wickets in an innings in a test match. The man who was the architect of so many test wins first in India and then abroad, Anil Kumble has announced his retirement. Thank you sir for all the wonderful moments.  

The time has come again when the two most entertaining nations clash for what could be a turning point in contemporary Test Match Cricket. The much-anticipated Test series between India and Australia gets underway in Bangalore on Thursday. A number of players on the Indian side are heading towards retirement and this is a brilliant opportunity for these cricketers to bow out on a high.  Beating Australia in a test series irrespective of the location is something not many cricketers have experienced. For India this is the last series where the fab four will be playing together and it will be interesting to see if they can come good and guide India to a comprehensive test series victory. It has been over 10 years since a country has beaten Australia comprehensively in Test Cricket.

For a change, after a decade India has been tipped to be the favourites for the test series. With the Australians relatively inexperienced to the sub-continent conditions it throws open a big opportunity for India to repeat the performance of 2001. 6 players who took part in that great series are still present whereas there are only 2 from the Australian side.

India’s Chances

Despite the old age, the batting strength and the experience is with India. Gambhir and Sehwag have been in good form recently. Although there is some pressure on Rahul Dravid; he is due some runs and there is no better time to get them. Sachin Tendulkar is 77 runs behind Lara’s world record of scoring the maximum number of Runs in Test Cricket. Sachin will have a special place for himself in Test Cricket and the whole country is waiting to witness this moment. Very Very Special Laxman who has been the main nemesis for Australia over the years will try to continue to haunt his favourite opponents. He has always been behind the shadows of the Sachin and Dravid but would like to his list of marquee performances against the Australians.The Batting is completed by Saurav Ganguly who would like to finish on a high and only time will answer this. As usual India’s arsenal is strengthened by the presence of the two spinning stalwarts who are yet again India’s main hope in a home series. Dhoni, Zaheer and Ishant complete the line up and all are potential threats to the Aussies. Overall a great squad and should do exceedingly well if they play to their potential. 

Australia’s Chances

Australia is definitely the weaker of the two teams and this is a true test of Australia’s reserve pool of players. The scene is perfect for the young cricketers to prove themselves. They have been in the country for over 2 weeks and they will look to up the tempo. Bangalore has never been favourable to India and this could is probably the best venue where the visitors could have started. The batting has plenty of class with the likes of Hayden, Ponting, Clarke and Hussey. They are the batting mainstay and it is very vital that two of these four players click every game if they want to compete.  With only 4 players ever playing a test in India the team needs collective performances if they are to pull off a series winSimon Katich has been in great nick and the team management will be looking to him to give the team good starts. Watson and White are multi-faceted players who can change the course of the match. None of the bowlers have ever played a Test in India and it is going to be a tough challenge for them to bowl under these conditions. Lee leads the pace attack and will be raring to get some wickets in the bag. The Australians are in transition mode and are looking to fill the gaps left by Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. The following four tests will show the resilience of this great cricketing nation.

Predictions: 

I am guessing it will be a closely fought series which should end in a deadlock with the series score reading 1-1. My mind says India could clinch the series 2-1 but my heart says that the Australians will probably nick it 2-1

Sourav Ganguly has called finally called time on an incredible career that stretched over 15 years. But before he finally hangs up his boots he will play 4 test matches against Australia (at least two anyway). I know there has been a lot of debate over the past two years on whether Ganguly deserved his place in the team. And with all things connected with Indian cricket, this debate has seen its fair share of passion and emotions. But right now let us just hope that Ganguly can end a great career by doing well against the Australians. He deserves a farewell similar to what the Australians gave Steve Waugh.

He is going to be all fired up and I just hope that manages to put together some runs so that he gets to play the final test in Nagpur on merit rather than on sentiment. This is the first step in the dismantling on what is most probably the most celebrated batting middle order in cricketing history. Ganguly the batsman may not have contributed as much to that middle order as the likes of Tendulkar or Dravid or maybe even Laxman; but what Ganguly the captain did was to create an environment where these men could thrive. Its also easy to forget that it was under Ganguly that men like Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and most importantly MS Dhoni took their first steps in international cricket. As Sanjay Manjrekar rightly put it- he gave India belief, and his cricket team perfectly epitomized the coming of age of India both as a nation and as a cricketing superpower. Ganguly also gave Indian fans some of our best moments-  be it the incredible run to the 2003 World Cup final or the victories in Pakistan or best of all that incredible series in Australia in 2004. Amidst all this talk of his form, of his battle with Guru Greg Chappell, its easy to forget just how successful he made the Indian team- we hardly won away from India before him. 

In the end, it will be great if Ganguly goes out the same way he came in way back in 1996- with a bang.  

2

Runs made by Adam Gilchrist in his final innings before he edged Praveen Kumar and decided to walk. It brought to an end one of the most successful careers over the past decade, which has included three world cups, over 70 test victories and a world record for test dismissals for wicket keepers. But sometimes stats do not tell the entire story, because Adam Gilchrist has been one of the best entertainers the game has ever seen, and also as one of the best all rounders of all time. One can safely say that he will be the third name put down in an all time test XI (after the Don and Sobers). Gilchrist was also a fantastic ambassador for Australia and needless to say, international cricket will miss him.

5

Number of matches won by India on the tour out of a possible 8 (two were washed out). 2 against the Lankans and 3 against the Aussies.

8

The number of batsmen who finished with an average of more than 35 and yet it was one of the most fun tournaments in living memory! Who said we need flat decks and 300 runs every 50 to have exciting one-day internationals?

10

Number of wickets taken by Praveen Kumar in three matches, including 4 in the second final at the Gabba. Watching Praveen Kumar bamboozle the Australian top order with his prodigious swing, it was hard to imagine that the guy is just 21 and would have almost thrown away his international career by joining the ICL. His performances again proved what a shrewd cricketing brain Dhoni has. Few captains would have backed Praveen Kumar because of his obvious lack of pace, but Dhoni rightly spotted that he would cause problems with his swing. Another one for the future.

14

Number of wickets taken by Ishant Sharma. No doubt the find of the tour and one to watch out for. Hopefully, the selectors and the team management will groom him and not let him go the way of countless other promising youngsters before him.

24

Average age of the Indian team. Who said you don’t win anything with kids? The average of the Australian team? 33. India had one player above the age of 30 (Tendulkar) whereas the Australians had just three players under 30. As I pointed out before, this was a shot in the arm for not just the selection committee but also for Dhoni’s captaincy. Moving forward, the introduction of youth at the expense of the experienced warhorses will probably take place with less drama.

67

Runs made by Ricky Ponting in 9 innings if one removes the 124 he made against India. Thats an average of 7 runs per innings.

208

Runs made by Sachin Tendulkar in the two finals of the tournament. He had had a largely forgettable tournament till that point with just 191 runs from 8 innings leading fans and former players to wonder whether the time had come for Tendulkar to go the way of both Dravid and Ganguly. But in two fantastic innings, Tendulkar turned it all around taking India to victory. It wasn’t as glamorous as the two knocks in Sharjah over a decade back but it was memorable to watch the way Sachin use his strengths to the maximum and guide youngsters such as Uthappa and Rohit Sharma. Needless to say, I fully expect the little master to carry on till 2011.

440

Total runs scored by Gautam Gambhir in the tournament. To be very honest, I have never been a big fan of the Delhi youngster, always had the feeling that he would struggle against the top teams in tough conditions but did he prove me wrong! Gambhir had a fantastic series and topped the runs charts scoring two centuries in the process. His 113 against Australia was a innings of the highest quality and proved that he has the maturity to play at the top level. Pity that he didn’t do well in the final, but then its a good thing that a certain Mr. Tendulkar stepped up.

100000000

Amount in Rupees that the BCCI has decided is a suitable award for the Indian team for winning the tournament. If you think 10 crores is a big amount, consider this- MS Dhoni will get Rs 6 crores for turning out for Chennai Kings for the IPL.

In a brilliant display of teamwork, commitment, and maturity, the Indian cricket team beat Australia 2-0 in the best of three finals to lift the Commonwealth Bank triseries in Australia. The second final in particular was an absolute humdinger and the manner in which youngsters responded in the pressure cooker situation was nothing short of remarkable. This is definitely the Indian team’s most notable achievement in the 50 over format in years and should prove to be a fantastic springboard for more success over the next couple of years.

All round performance gives India vital victory:

It is true that the Indian victory at the SCG and at the Gabba was set up by the little champion Sachin Tendulkar, but it is heartening to see that several individuals contributed over the two matches. From Rohit Sharma’s patient 50 that helped India chase down 240 in the final to Harbhajan’s crucial blows in the middle overs to Praveen Kumar’s spectacular 4 for 46 in the second final, both the finals had enough instances of Indian players stepping up during crucial moments. What was so remarkable about the matches is the fact that not one Australian player barring James Hopes was able to lift their game in either of the games.

Vindication of selection policy:

India’s success in the triseries is not just a vindication of MS Dhoni’s captaincy skills but is also a shot in the arm for the selection committee that has been trumpeting the need to promote rookies at the expense of experienced warhorses. There has been a lot of criticism of the policy that has led to the introduction of several youngsters at one time rather than in phases. But, to the credit of the selection committee it has to be said that they gave the captain the team he wanted.

Fantastic climax to a long tour:

With this victory, an eventful Australian tour that will go down in history not for the runs scored but for the insults traded finally come to an end in a moment of triumph for Indian cricket. This victory will also hopefully give the Indian and Australian medias enough things to write about without having to resort to articles about the childish behaviour of the two sides. But mostly, I am hoping that this is not another false dawn for Indian cricket, and that this team can start putting together good performances consistently and is more than just a mere collection of several stars as has been the case for many years.

The fortress has finally been breached. As expected it was not one or two individuals who stormed the fortress but an entire team led by a very able general.

India beat Australia in Perth after playing some fantastic cricket over four days. This has to be without a doubt India’s most memorable victory overseas. For all the brouhaha about being such a dangerous venue for India, Perth has been kind to the Indian team- Kapil Dev got his 400th wicket here, Tendulkar took one giant step forward in his career when he hit 114 in 1992, Kumble took his 600th wicket on the second day and now we have beaten the Australians.

Consider the odds- full strength (barring Hayden) Australian line up, four dangerous fast bowlers, a fast pitch and coming off a very emotional two weeks after accusations and counter accusations have been bouncing off the two teams. And India had two players coming in after a full year away from the side, a very inexperienced bowling line up, and yet managed to win the game in four bloody days!

Team Performance

What is most heartening about the test win is that almost every player contributed: Jaffer and Sehwag gave us two good starts and Sehwag took those two crucial wickets on the fourth day. Dravid made that fine 93 in the first innings and reminded us why he is considered to be one of the best at the number 3 in the line up. Tendulkar made a crucial 71 in the first innings. Laxman made a top class 79 in the second innings and continued to be a big thorn in the Australian plans.

Ishanth Sharma has been bowling so well in all three test matches he has played that it seems to me that Sreesanth is going to find it tough to get his spot back. His first spell on the fourth day was absolutely top class and the way he tormented Ricky Ponting will be a talking point for years to come. RP Singh was fantastic in the first innings, swinging the ball both ways and pitched in with two crucial wickets in the second.

Irfan Pathan- it is so good to see the smile back on his face. Crucial wickets in both the innings and pitching in with an invaluable 40 in the second innings as a night watchman. The decision to keep him out of the final eleven in the first two matches seems utterly ridiculous now.

And Anil Kumble, at the age of 37, he hits his first 100, he takes his six hundreth wicket and leads India to such a victory. It couldn’t have happened to a more committed cricketer and the way he is going, it looks like he definitely has another two years of test cricket in him. Expect a post about him soon.

The Australian Performance:

The Australian team never really got out of second gear in this test match. Barring Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, and Michael Clarke to a certain extent, none of the other players established their authority in the course of the four days. Shaun Tait looked totally out of sorts and surely there must have been tremendous pressure on him considering all the expectations. One feels for Chris Rogers, Hayden will come straight back into the squad in Adelaide and he will probably continue there for another couple of years.

Ricky Ponting’s dream run over the past two years has ended and it looks like the law of averages has finally caught up with him. The 16 overs which Symonds and Clark bowled on the third day as Ponting tried to catch up with the over rate clearly made a big difference in the final result.

The Final Result:

The Perth test couldn’t have come at a better time for both the test series and world cricket. All the nonsense that has been come out of the Indian and Australian medias finally stopped as everybody started to take stock of the drama that was unfolding at the WACA. More importantly, this victory should give heart to the other teams that Australia can be beaten and beaten at home, but as Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark showed in that fantastic partnership, the Australians fight and fight hard till the last man.

On to Adelaide. Can the Indians do the unthinkable and make it in two in a row? Or will the Aussies revert to the status quo and kill the series at the Oval. It all remains to be seen.

Watch the video of Ponting struggle Ishant Sharma here

The BCCI is repeatedly being criticized by the western press for its appeal against Harbhajan but I strongly believe it isn’t doing enough. The BCCI is an extremely strong organization but it will ultimately acquiesce to the ICC. That’s how it works and the Indian team will have no option but to continue this tour and continue playing in such disgraceful conditions. The BCCI will make noises and try and force the ICC to revoke the Harbhajan suspension but I am not convinced any of it will happen.

Indian cricket getting screwed:

The manner in which the match referee has suspended the Harbhajan Singh without taking into account the fact that he was provoked into making such a statement is frankly absurd. Besides, there is still NO EVIDENCE that Harbhajan made that statement. And why not take the sledge in context of the way the Australians were winding Harbhajan up? If it did happen that is.

Men of honour and true servants of the country like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar will continue to maintain silence and play out the rest of the tour. We as fans will forget all of this and move on to the new games and continue to pump cash into the game. And yet, I get the uneasy we are getting screwed by the ICC. Why does Ricky Ponting, a man who has no credibility whatsoever get such a say in things and somebody like Tendulkar doesn’t?

I won’t be shocked if Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist put on false PR facades over the next 2 months and start to charm us Indians. The money these cricketers stand to make from Indian sponsorship and especially the Indian Premier League is too important for them to worry about national pride. That is going to absolutely make me sick.

The defeat at Sydney:

Yes, the defeat hurts and its adding to the pain leading to increased outrage. Anil Kumble’s decision to sign an off-field pact with Ricky Ponting is frankly laughable, this is like signing something with your spouse that says ,”When either of us cheats on the other we will warn the other party accordingly .” Are you kidding me ? And with Ricky Ponting?!

The team made us proud by fighting through incredibly poor decisions in the first innings. we fought really hard to take the first innings lead. And we could have very well saved the test match if not for unbelievable decisions on the final day. Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly could have well saved the match. And who the hell made Ricky Ponting the umpire? Men like RP Singh and Ishanth Sharma fought so hard after years of toiling playing in front of 20 people and a dog and yet their efforts ended up in a defeat and not an honourable draw.

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?

What do Indian cricket and English football have in common? Gary Kirsten and Fabio Capello – both are foreigners about to take charge of the national teams of the most passionate sport in India and England – cricket and football, respectively. And that’s not where the similarity ends.

Couple of months back, in a surprising move, Gary Kirsten was chosen to be the manager of the Indian cricket team, ahead of other luminaries such as Dave Whatmore (appointed as head of NCA instead), John Buchanan and Martin Crowe. He has no previous coaching experience but had a glittering test and ODI career for South Africa.

Meanwhile, after Steve McClaren was sacked following England’s disastrous exit from Euro 2008, the English FA said they would appoint a world-class manager and courted ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho before the latter rejected the job. The FA has settled for Fabio Capello, an Italian with a great CV, and who has won trophies with big clubs such as Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid.

Before we look at their challenges, let’s look at some of the similarities between Indian Cricket and English Football…

1. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in India and the pressure on the Indian team and the manager is huge. The media and the fans expect the team to win every game.
The same goes for the English football team.

2. India have been under-achievers in the game and have won the World Cup just once, in 1983. Despite a great team consisting of Sachin, Dravid, and Ganguly, India has failed to claim the ultimate prize in the sport and has never won a test series in Australia, the powerhouse in World Cricket.

The last time England won the Football World Cup was at home in 1966. Since then, they have had superstars such as Shearer, Linekar, Gascoigne, Hoddle, Keegan, Beckham, Owen, Gerrard, and Lampard but they have not even reached the final of a major Championships.

3. India looked strangely out of sorts at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and crashed out in the group stage itself. The 2006 Football World Cup witnessed the English footballers’ wives create a bigger impact than their spouses. And, in 2007, the English team failed to qualify for next summer’s European Championships.

4. The Indian cricket team and the English football team have often been described as chokers on the big stage lacking mental toughness.

5. Indian cricket and English football are run by powerful governing bodies – the BCCI and the English FA respectively, consisting of officials, mostly old men, who have never played the sport professionally.

6. Indian cricketers and English footballers are often considered over-paid, and lacking the willingness to fight for each other. Are the sports being ruined by too much popularity, hype and money?

Real Challenge

It’s a terrific challenge for Kirsten and Capello. While Kirsten, who has previously criticized everything about India during his playing days, has neither the ego nor the dictatorial attitude of his predecessor Greg Chappell, he is a regarded as an intelligent cricketer. He not only has the task of instilling confidence and mental toughness into a team that has a new-found resolve following the Twenty-20 win and recent series victories over England and Pakistan. His other main task is to phase out ageing stars and blood a new, talented group of youngsters for the 2011 World Cup.

Capello too has the task of removing the mental block that England players seem to have when it comes to crucial matches. He has the balls to drop Gerrard or Lampard if he thinks it would benefit his team. This is the guy who has dropped Totti, Del Piero, Davids, Ronaldo, and Beckham during his long and productive club career. Moreover, the FA has to utilize his skill in such a manner that it benefits the whole coaching framework in England.

But there are certainly mixed feeling about these appointments. why does India, a nation of a billion-plus people and numerous ex-stalwarts in cricket, have to appoint a foreign manager? Why does England, the nation that takes pride in inventing football, lack world-class English managers? Do you think this is indeed a good trend?

Over the past decade Indian cricket fans have been absolutely and utterly spoilt by the exploits of the team. True we have suffered some big setbacks (the World Cup this year) but by and large since 2000 we have been the second best team in the World. It is a fact that some meaningless one-day performances in between have removed the shine off what has been a fantastic seven years. Our performances in Australia, Pakistan, England, South Africa and even West Indies would have been hailed as brilliant in any other decade, but thanks to the incredible benchmark set by Australia we have not enjoyed our successes. All Indian fans want is for us to compete with Australia and if possible just knock them over. Very small expectations indeed.

After the Melbourne defeat I felt that we would have a tough time avoiding a three nil spanking (a draw in Adelaide of course!) and watching Symonds and Hogg tear apart our bowling attack didn’t make things any brighter.

And then Mr. Very Very Special Laxman got into the picture. Laxman showed us exactly why many believe that he has underperformed at the international level despite a test average of nearly 45. In his innings of 109, Laxman played every shot in the book and left men like Richie Benaud mumbling “extraordinary talent”. The cover drive, the pull, the little push that goes all the way to the long on boundary and of course the little flick of those rubber wrists- we saw them all. And he absolutely tore into Michael Johnson (who must have been thinking that test cricket was a piece of cake till then). Backed by a gritty Rahul Dravid at the other end (the pair brilliantly titled as Will and Grace by Sid V), Laxman turned the clock back and reminded us why exactly the Australians treat him with so much reverence. 167 in 1999, 178 in 2004 and now a 109 in 2008. How Laxman must wish the next two tests were played at Sydney too.

You can the video of Laxman’s innings here

Turn back the clock: You can also watch the videos of the 178 and the 167

Four years back, Sachin produced one of the greatest displays of grit and determination when he scored that fabulous innings of 241 at the same ground. In doing so, he almost stole the show from the real hero of that test match- Steve Waugh. Just last week I was left wondering whether he would even score another test century and as ever he went and did just that. A fantastic 154 gave the fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground full paisa vasool. And also led to what will go down as one of the most memorable banners ever- “Commit all your crimes when Sachin is bating. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching”. He was superbly assisted by Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma who showed Yuvraj and Dhoni that Lee and co. can be conquered.

Watching Sachin and Laxman bat (and Ganguly to a certain extent), I was left wondering how things could have been different in the first test if only these guys could have gotten more match practice before Melbourne. And also watching them left me a bit depressed cause I know that they aren’t going to be around the next time India travels to Australia to conquer the final frontier.

Watch Sachin’s video here

Watch Sachin’s 148 ( in 1991 ! against McDermott and co.) and his epic 241.