How India nailed the Aussies, 4-0

Before the Border-Gavaskar series began, I was quite weary as a fan. Recent defeat against England didn’t go down well with the Indian Cricket fan in me. Against Oz, though I knew it was one of their weakest teams in decades but, I wasn’t too sure about the Indian line-up.

However, MSD’s mind blowing innings in the 1st Test wiped out my early doubts of the usual Batting catastrophe. It was the kind of knock which seriously dents the oppositions psyche. A double hundred in 2 sessions is quite an achievement. From that point onwards it seemed like Team India had magically taken complete control over the match and the series.

Then the 2nd match happened, nothing much to talk about as Aussies were simply blown away to bits, first by Vijay-Pujara’s partnership and then some lethal bowling display. A paltry 131 is all that Aussies could make in the 2nd innings, a shameful performance by the once “Mighty” Aussies. Around that time most Indian fans and I had sensed that this is going to be a piece of cake for the Indians.

Team India

In the 3rd Test, Aussies had a great start to the innings thanks to the openers and rain gods for taking away Day 1’s play, but then lighting struck and once again they were wrapped up for a modest total. At that point of time no one thought there could be positive result to the match, but then ‘moochad’ Shikhar Dhawan wanted to tell the world that he has arrived. A staggering century, fastest by a debutant completely changed the momentum of the match. Such a special innings, this should easily qualify as the best 100 in the recent times. After his blitz, Oz did try its best and set a modest target, which India finally scaled and just to tease the Aussies, they added some drama during the last hour. However, it was still an easy win for Team India.

By the time the last match commenced it was almost sure that a spinning track was awaiting the Aussies. Well, it just took less than 3 days to destroy them, though I must say they did pretty well, especially the bowlers, having said that at no stage they looked like winning the match, atleast it was a decent fight.

Team India’s triumph, a 4-0 whitewash, youngsters coming through and MSD the captain back on track. As an India cricket fan, I can’t ask for anything more. History says that Oz has always had difficulty visiting India, even Steve Waugh’s invincibles fell flat but a clean sweep is little too much. However, this story is not about Aussies fall, it’s India’s rise from the ashes, a story of a team propelled by bunch of youngsters, a team which was had lost 10 of its major Test matches. A win of this nature was unexpected, unbelievable. This series sweep has revitalized and renewed the joys of being an Indian Cricket fan. Looking forward to more thrills, more wins.

Team India: Failure, yet again

Four good wins and one terrible defeat meant Team India failed to qualify for the Semi’s third time in a row at the T20 world cup. This time the performance was average but output was a failure. Which reflects on the teams preparation and MSD’s fading midas touch ( or has he lost it long ago ).

Team India was among the pre-tournament favorites but their poor show against Oz has left them in the cold, yet again. Blame game

India cricket crest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

has already begun and it looks like after series of disastrous overseas tours and losses at  various high profile tournaments, MSD’s reign at the top could be over ( atleast in one format of the game ). Last week BCCI announced a new selection committee which means men who favored MSD have left and a new team is place. And the new chief, Sandip Patil is known for his tough approach. Only saving grace for MSD might be the lack of potential leaders in the current team. Virat ( Vice-captain ) who has been a top performer for a while may not be elevated as yet. Besides him no other player is performing to full capacity or they aren’t permanent members of the all 3 formats. So MSD might just escape for a while.

Personally, I believe MSD must be relieved from captaincy ( atleast in Test matches ) and Gautam, despite his dodgy performances must be made Captain. And if Virat has to tried out, he should be first allowed to lead a T20 side and slowly moved to other formats. My radical choice for captaincy would be Zaheer. He has played for over a decade now, though his fitness is a major concern he’s still India’s best bowler. Zaheer could probably do a ‘Kumble’ before he retires.

It’s not just the captain, lot of other players also should be dropped, atleast till they are back to their best. Likes of Sehwag, Rohit should be immediately sidelined. Manoj, Ajinkya, Cheteswar, Vijay and rest deserve to be included. I’m mighty pleased with Cheteswar, he blasted back-to-back 100’s at a domestic tournament and led the side to victory ( He might be a Captain in the making ).

For now, Team India has to get it right in the upcoming series against England, as of the early exit from T20 WC….Well, we’re used to it 🙂

 

Who will be the next ‘Rahul Dravid’ ?

Now that India’s greatest and most successful No.3 Batsman, Rahul Dravid has ended his Cricketing expedition. Team India is in the hunt for a suitable replacement. Rahul’s demanor and conduct maybe unmatchable, as Sachin put things into perspective ‘ There can be no other Rahul Dravid’ however, we’re in urgent need for a player who can score runs, good behavior will be a bonus though.

Here is a list of few players who come to mind who might go on to fill the void.

Virat Kohli: He’s already a regular in the ODI side. His recent Test hundred against Australia in Australia is enough proof of his batting credentials. In terms of scoring runs especially under pressure, he looks the best bet. Virat has matured into an excellent Batsmen who is able to convert starts into 100’s quite regularly however, he will have to master the art of making big hundred’s. If you were to ask me today, who would replace Dravid? I won’t think twice to say ‘Virat’.

Suresh Raina: If you can take back your memory to mid & late 90’s, Rahul Dravid was just a shade of what he ended up achieving. In his early days Rahul wasn’t exactly a feisty batsman even his Test knocks were labored and mostly came against lesser teams ( Zim & NZ ). So if you compare Rahul and Raina at the age of 25, Raina would lead the tally by a decent margin. Suresh may not have the technique of Rahul but he posses an important arsenal which distinguishes heroes from zeroes at the top level – ‘Ability’. With his limited technique Raina has already cemented his place in the ODI side plus, he made a century on his Test debut. He for sure has the ‘ability’ to do well at the top level.

Rohit Sharma: Rohit is pitted to be the ‘Next Big Thing’ however, since his debut in 2007 he has done very little to justify that tag. Cricket pundits still haven’t lost faith in him for he has been plundering runs at the domestic circuit ( He averages a mind boggling 63.52  out of 47matches ). He is yet to make his Test debut, I would like to believe Tests might just bring the best out of him. If he clicks there is no doubt in my mind that he will end up with no less than 10K runs in Tests.

Cheteswar Pujara: My personal favorite. He has been murdering bowlers across the nation at will, a magnificent run machine. He is the only Indian player to score 3 triple tons in one season. His debut was as dramatic as his domestic career, sent in at No.3 against mighty Aussie’s in a tricky fourth-inning’s chase, he creamed the bowlers all over the park to a delightful 72. Most Cricket fans haven’t forgotten his innings yet, we’re all waiting with bated breath for him to take center stage and show case his amazing run making abilities. Like Rahul he’s technically correct infact he looks much more composed and fluent. He maintains an extremely calm demeanor, I have never seen him sledge or go over board on the field. We can expect to see him play in the Test side later this year. Personally, I am extremely keen to seem him do well, in him I see a gentleman which World Cricket badly deserves.

However, we will have to wait atleast 3-4 years to see who will eventually wear the hat of Mr.Dependable. Only time will tell…

 

Is this the beginning of the end for Mahendra Singh Dhoni?

When India won the WC in 1983, everyone went ga-ga over the then captain Kapil Dev, however little do people remember, he was fired from captaincy in less than a year times. India was marauded by the West Indies and Kapil was abruptly terminated from the top job.

Fast forward to 2011, India’ s favorite son M S Dhoni helped India lift the WC after 28 years and months later he’s faced with the biggest crisis of his captaincy career, he has lost his first Test series as a captain, India has be dethroned from the No.1 slot, most of his team mates are out with injuries and a set of legends are on the verge of retirement. M S Dhoni is staring down the barrel.

However, one has to remember a captain is as good as his team. Prime example is Ricky Ponting, he was a nothing captain once his top men retired. Moreover, in this particular series batsmen has collectively failed and that doesn’t help the cause. No captain can do anything if 4 of his top 5 batsmen aren’t scoring runs.

Just drifting a little from the main subject, there’s needless talk about IPL, CL and ODI overkill. Just by loosing one serious entire system doesn’t fail. And few nuts have to realize that we were No.1 in Tests for more than an year, plus we won the WC. Public just needs to take a chill pill and accept the fact that Cricket is a sport and there will be times when the team will be miserable.

Going back to MSD, he’s by the far the best captain India ever had simply because he successfully utilized the potential of many bits n pieces players. Unlike Saurav, MSD has a team of ageing superstars ( who are still the best in the business ) and a mix of unpredictable young talent. Winning and winning continuously has been his hallmark and it’s ridiculous for people to compare him with Dada. What Dada did for team India is sacrosanct, so stop the foolish comparisons.

Running down MSD is inappropriate, if people are talking about respecting Rahul Dravid for his contribution, don’t you think MSD deserves the same, this guy won you the World Cup.

Few Cricketing experts have written about his field placings and resource utilization skills. Well, if Steve waugh had taken off 1 slip and placed him in the mid wicket boundary, he would have conquered the final frontier. But, he didn’t because he believed Laxman or Dravid would nick one to the slips whereas they looted scores of runs through the mid wicket. So, there’s no point freaking out on MSD’s field placements.

Criticism has gone to nonsensical levels, mostly it is unintelligent and plain stupid. Personally, I do not believe it is the end of the road for MSD, he will bounce back. I share Sachin’s sentiment – He’s the best Captain India ever had. Remember Cricket’s favorite One liner ‘ Form is temporary, Class is permanent‘. MSD shall rise again.

Finally, Finals

Finally, after 6 weeks of high octane cricketing action, it all comes down to tomorrow’s final. India takes on Sri Lanka for the Silverware and more importantly a place in World Cup history.

For Sri Lanka, who were the runner-up of the last edition, this game will be their 2nd consecutive shot at glory. Losing Mathews will be a huge setback for them as he’s a brilliant all-rounder and someone who is seen as the next big thing. However, likes of Dilshan, Tharanga, Sanga will look to step it up. Bowling will be a worry for Sri Lanka simply because Muralitharan doesn’t seem to be 100% and rest of their spinners haven’t had too much success against India over the last 15 months. So, there will be lot of pressure on Malinga to deliver, a bad outing might spell doom for Sri Lanka. But, having seen Sri Lankan Cricketers over the years, I’m sure they will put in their best performance.

Strengths: Opening Batsmen, Malinga

Weakness: Fragile middle order

India on the other hand looks decent but, they haven’t improved much over the tournament. Batting collapses, Bowling woes and marginal fielding luckily hasn’t hampered the teams progress, this can be largely attributed to the fact that other teams weren’t doing well, it isn’t India which has raised its standards. Tomorrow, as always a lot will depend on Sachin’s innings, he’s our best batsmen, naturally he needs to come good. India will miss the services of Ashish Nehra which means Ashwin will get to play or Yusuf Pathan might be drafted into the side to reinforce the batting. Whoever plays, it will add some variety to our bowling line up. Team India will have to put in much more than 100% to go past the line, this will be a huge test. Hope for the best.

Strengths: Sachin, Yuvraj

Weakness: Batting flip-flops, Bowling

Mumbai pitch has historically been a slow turner, I won’t be surprised to see the team winning the toss opting to bat first. Any score of 250 and above should be good enough to push for a win. For the team chasing, they would need much more than talent, skill and luck to get there. I strongly believe which ever team bowls well will claim the cup. Also, I feel this won’t be a one sided final as we had in the last three editions. This one could well go down to the wire because none of the teams are playing like gods, it’s all even. Looking forward to the finals, I guess I would have a sleepless night but the unrest is worth it.