First blood

Ricky Ponting called heads and lost the toss at the start of the 4th Test between India and Australia at Nagpur. MS Dhoni did not have a moment's hesitation in choosing to bat.

Virender Sehwag took strike to protect Murali Vijay at the start of the match. The second ball was thumped to the point boundary and it was business as usual for the manic marauder from Delhi. Pleasingly, Vijay did not lag behind and displayed a good temperament, coupled with a tight technique. He stays very still at the crease and has a slight step forward without committing too much. The wicket was as good a batting wicket as there can be in the first hour of a Test and he showed that he may have the tools to do well in the Test arena. He also handled the short-pitched ball with aplomb, dropping his wrists and swaying out of the way easily. By the time Shane Watson got him to prod at a sharply rising ball, 98 runs had been scored and the Aussies were on the defensive.

Jason Krejza has been shielded all series by Ponting, and his first three overs showed why. Sehwag waded into him with such reckless abandon that it was going to take a man with a big heart to absorb the damage. 32 runs in 3 overs and it looked like Jason would have a tough day at the office. Luckily for him, Rahul Dravid is having a tougher time than even Jason. A hesitant prod at a fairly timid delivery spelled the end of Dravid, hopefully not forever in the Test arena. After that Jason got a double bonus when Sehwag tried to cut a ball that came in sharply and played on. Sehwag has the instincts of a measured gambler and I will not berate him for "throwing" it away. This is how he plays and his record shows that, more often than not, he makes it count when set. Today was one of those rare failures that we should have to live with.

This brought Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to the crease, easily the best looking middle order batsmen from either side in this series. They put together another serene century-plus partnership without appearing to be in any trouble. However, these days, Sachin's batting worries begin when his score reaches the 60's. For a guy who has more than 80 international centuries he seems to have forgotten how to score them. His progression to three digits was fairly torturous to watch and he tried to mix predetermined defense with predetermined slogging, escaping three times when in sight of his century. Along the way, Laxman tried to force Krejza to the vacant off-side one time too many and, as luck would have it, the ball lodged between Haddin's legs and the keeper was able to cover the ball and claim the catch on his second attempt. For the second time in the innings, Krejza dismissed a well-settled batsman in his 60's.

Sourav Ganguly then played serenely till the end of the day, not really tested in any way. At the other end, Sachin entered that increasingly annoying state of mind of his where he shuts down everything and defends every ball. To do this when he was in the 90's was understandable, considering the tension, but to do this after he reached his century was inexcusable. This negative frame of mind of his has caused his downfall too many times in the last 3 years. I keep hearing how Sachin analyzes all his dismissals and is always working to never repeat his mistakes. I don't see any signs of this malady of his being addressed in spite of repeated failures. Why he chooses to put away the most complete repertoire of strokes in the game today, and bring out only the defensive stroke when the conditions do not even warrant it, is beyond me. Not surprisingly, he got out to Mitchell Johnson and gave back some of the initiative to the Aussies. Earlier in the series, Michael Clarke had given back the initiative twice to the Indians by getting out late in the day. You'd think Mr. Little Master would have learned the importance of keeping his foot on the pedal by now. Grr-dom prevails.

Tomorrow, Ganguly will resume with MS Dhoni, who eschewed a night-watchman in a nice, positive move at the end of the day. The pitch is showing signs of wear and tear and Krejza was able to spin the ball from the good length region and not just the rough. This augers well for the Singh-Mishra-Sehwag troika. I believe that 450 runs on the board will be a good total to aim for. 140 runs to get, 5 wickets in hand.

This could turn out to be the most interesting of the 4 Tests and it is a shame that it is taking place in front of almost empty stands. Test cricket is not dead in India, but the BCCI is doing a great job of trying to kill it with some inane decisions on ticket distribution and sales. You don't suppose it is an intentional ploy, is it? Paging Mr. Lalit Modi.

How do you do?

In Indian cricket, it is not how you do but who you know that matters.

Come with me while I show you what I mean. The following players are under contract with the BCCI:

Grade A (Rs. 60 lakhs): Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.

Grade B (Rs. 40 lakhs): Wasim Jaffer, S Sreesanth, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag.

Grade C (Rs. 25 lakhs): Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla and Suresh Raina.

Grade D (Rs 15 lakhs): Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Joginder Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose, Mohammad Kaif, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Aakash Chopra, Yusuf Pathan.

President Sharad Pawar told the media that Grade D was aimed at nurturing new talents, who are on the fringe of making it to the Indian team, by giving them stability and financial backing. Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said, “They have done very well in the India A tours and we look upon them as India prospects.”

Ignoring gradations, here's how it breaks down:

Opening batsmen: Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra.

Competition for this opening spot has been tough with the first three playing musical chairs with Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid thrown in on the odd occasion someone needed a spot in the middle order. Of late, however, Gambir and Sehwag have cemented their spot, relegating Jaffer to the Ranji leagues, his technique having been found wanting at the highest level against the Aussies.

Gautam Gambhir got himself a 1 match ban and is not available for the 4th Test. So, naturally the Indian selectors reach back into the centrally contracted talent pool and select M Vijay as his replacement. Makes sense....wait...err...M Vijay?

Who is M Vijay? Since I cannot ask the girls next door, let's check with CricInfo.

Murali Vijay: 34 innings, 1505 runs, 4 centuries, 4 fifties, average of 47.03.

He scored a double century (243) in his latest first-class match so the numbers get better. Other facts that emerge about him are that he was the third-highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy with 628 runs in seven games at a 50-plus average in 2006-07. This year, he is the third highest scorer so far in this season.

The stats are nice and undeniably indicate a young man who could be a great player in the years to come. But when the incumbent misses a match, as is the case here with Gambhir, then the next in line ought to come from the pool of centrally contracted players, right? I mean, that is why you pay them to stay on the fringes.

Wasim Jaffer did not do well against the Australians so I can understand not trying him. But right behind him is the leading run-getter from last season, and the guy who is in 4th place (one place behind Vijay) in runs this year, too - Aakash Chopra. He is a centrally contracted player (level D) who can also replace Gambhir at the forward short-leg position. He has played for years with Sehwag and has a great understanding with him. Moreover, he has faced the best the Aussies could throw at him and acquited himself quite well in the past.

In a match as crucial as this one, the Indians are going to send in a tyro. I have no idea how good a player Vijay is and I am not saying anything about his ability here. But the person he is replacing could not keep his cool when confronted with the verbal barrage the Aussies get away with on the cricket field. Can Vijay handle this, on top of it being his first Test, while playing with teammates who would not be able to pick him out of a line-up?

I hope he does very well. If his career numbers so far are a accurate indicators, he has the capability to do very well. But the reason for this diatribe is this - would he have been pitchforked into the spotlight so soon had the Chairman of the selectors not been from Tamil Nadu? The cynic in me cannot reconcile that.

Aakash Chopra has done nothing wrong in the time he has spent on the sidelines, waiting for his chance to come. When it rightfully should have been his time, he has been by-passed. I just hope it does not come back to haunt the Indians in Nagpur.

The final nail in Aakash Chopra's international career just got rammed in. What rankles is that it came from the stroke of a biased selector's whim and not from an opponent on the cricketing field.

The future is now

As soon as the clock ticked past 11pm EST, and polling closed in the contiguous US, all the media outlets announced Barack Obama as the next President of USA. By wide margin.

Soon after that John McCain gave a concession speech that ranks right up there in the great speeches of this decade. It made you wonder where this persona of McCain had gone to during the last few weeks of the election. Rather than expending energy wailing away at Obama, McCain should probably have spent more time talking about himself. Those that protest too much only raise intrigue about their own drawbacks.

While some of his supporters booed when Obama's name was mentioned, McCain admirably kept them in check and proved to be a model of grace and dignity in defeat. Politicians all over the world, especially India, will do well to learn from him. In the end, it is the country that is important, all said and done.

Here is the transcript of his concession speech.

Once John McCain cleared the screen, the stage was set for Barack Obama to come forth and acknowledge the victory. And he did, in a dignified and measured way. Occasionally breaking into a wide smile, he kept his composure and added some gravity to the situation. Incredible as it sounds, he knows, more than anyone else, that becoming President was probably the easiest hurdle to cross. The hard work begins now. Great men get anointed as messiahs after they have accomplished something remarkable. Barack has been given the mantle of one by his ardent supporters even before he has done anything substantial at the worldwide level.

His acceptance speech reflected this need for caution, too. On a stage (mercifully and incredibly) devoid of anyone else, Obama stood alone and spoke to everyone - supporters and detractors alike. The message was simple, delivered in an style sure to produce soundbites and elicited appropriate crowd reactions. But it was more than that - it was a message that the hard yards had yet to be run. The race to the Presidency was a marathon not a sprint. It is the next decade that will determine whether he won or lost, not just the events of yesterday.

The audacity of hope has yielded to the fierce urgency of now. Yes, he can!

Here's the transcript of his acceptance speech.

Trolling the web

While taking a break from preparing lectures, I wandered around the web and these are the articles that caught my eye:

a) When cricketers retire and go to the commentary booth, I expect their analysis to consist of more than the banal "What India needs right now is a couple of quick wickets." or "A good over or two will change the complexion of the game." D-uh! What I am looking for is an insight into the game that someone looking on from outside may not readily pick up on. Here's a perfect example and it comes from someone who is still playing the game at a very high level. Aakash Chopra tells us why the type of ball used in matches makes a huge difference. That's insight, dear analysts.

The SG Test ball that is used in first-class and Test cricket in India is relatively soft (made with a soft cork inside and a finer quality of leather) with a very pronounced seam. The ball doesn't move too much, but once it gets a little old, if maintained properly, it swings throughout the day. The ball comes a bit slower off the surface unless it's been made to pitch on the seam. The only way to succeed with an SG Test ball is to land it on the seam, for otherwise you're doomed. On the contrary, the SG Tournament ball has a lot more glaze on it, and is made with hard cork and not-so-fine leather. The ball does a lot when it's new, and travels much quicker after pitching even when it is not pitched on the seam.

The figures we see at the end of the game could be quite misleading. You can't pick a fast bowler just because he wreaked havoc with that ball in the winters in north India. Spinners get less purchase, and hence shouldn't be condemned, and poor openers might not get big scores.

b) Just a day or two after blasting Anil Kumble, Dilip Vengsarkar lets bygones be bygones upon hearing about the leg-spinner's retirement. The article itself is very bland and poorly written, but there is a nugget that was very interesting to read about.

However, DDCA’s curator was quoted as saying that the grass was cut without his knowledge on the eve of the match, making it a lifeless wicket that invariably produces dull cricket, and leaving the curator furious.

c) Rick Reilly used to write the last page article for Sports Illustrated for years. Often it was the best thing in the whole magazine. Now he works for ESPN and, occasionally, still produces brilliantly written pieces, such as this one about John Wooden, the celebrated coach of the UCLA men's basketball team of the 60's and 70's. A must-read from start to finish.

d) One of the people who caught my eye in the early part of this millennium on a cricket field was Shane Bond. He had an injury-ravaged career in which he showed what could have been. When fit, he was the best FAST bowler in the world, better than the Lee's and Akhtar's of the world. Way better. Here, he reminisces about his achievements and his role in the ICL.

e) Harsha Bhogle waxes eloquently about Laxman. I may have already linked to this earlier, but I don't care. Read it again, if you already have. Or read it for the first time and enjoy a writer describing a batsman, with both at the top of their game.

This will be one of Laxman's more satisfying moments. He was treated very shabbily during the IPL, was prevented, in a most bizarre episode, from playing for a month in England and had to witness the swords being sharpened for his execution. Don't forget this is a man who gave up a million dollars a year so the Deccan Chargers could get better players and help develop cricket in his state. In England they are going crazy over a million dollars per player. Laxman gave up a million a year for three years! At the end of the first season in the IPL, he was sacked when he had been captain for six games and the job was given to a man who had led in the other eight!! And not a thank you for the extra three million!!

f) Finally, the folks at CricInfo try to describe VVS Laxman in a elegantly written article. Wonderful writing. One for the archives.

When VVS Laxman plays like he did today, there isn't a worry in the world. For 470 minutes over the last two days even the Feroz Shah Kotla's garish stand at the Tata End didn't look ugly. For 470 minutes, Laxman disguised violence with grace and left Australia hopelessly spellbound.

When Laxman plays like he did today...

Remembering the titan

Anil Kumble announced his retirement (from Test cricket, mind you, not all cricket) with minimal fanfare, and a lap of honor around the Kotla. Compliments have been pouring in from all quarters since then. All of them justified and apt.

Some words are common to almost all of them - dignity, respect, hard-working, gentle, giant, leg-spinner who did not turn the ball, broken jaw, Brian Lara, match-winner, greatest, timely retirement, captain, quiet, unassuming.....

But the word that comes up in all of them, either overtly or covertly, is underrated. If everyone thinks someone is underrated, then is that person really underrated? I don't know. I always thought that opposing teams respected Kumble's presence in the team more than any other Indian bowler's. (There were periods here and there where someone like Harbhajan broke through, but not in a sustained way). How does that make him underrated? Methinks that may have been the case in the early 90's, but not any more. Give the man his due. He was India's greatest and most reliable match-winner. Bar none.

Anyway, as previously promised, here are some of the better written tributes to Kumble. For each one I shall highlight the points in the article that stood out for me. (Click on the author's name to access the article).

1) First and foremost, the person who has probably spent the most time with him on a cricket field - Rahul Dravid. (This is an older, very well-written article, pubished soon after Kumble crossed Kapil Dev's mark of 434 wickets in Tests):

Anil is tough and I like that about him. He is the essential 100-per-cent cricketer, every day, every over, every ball, bringing great energy to the contest, facing every challenge with his jaw sternly set - or even broken for that matter!

2) Next up, Sanjay Manjrekar:

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a seminar on management issues connected with cricket; we were about four or five speakers there, and one of them was Kumble. His preparations were so hectic; he was working hard on his speech that he was going to give to the corporates next morning. I could see the same kind of effort and discipline going into his preparations for his speech that he would put into his preparations for a Test.

3) A statistical break down of Kumble's career by CricInfo's S. Rajesh and Matthew Verghese:

Where Kumble stands head and shoulders above the other Indian bowlers is in his contribution to team wins. He took 288 wickets in the 43 Tests India won - an average of 6.70 wickets per Test. The average was a remarkable 18.75, at a strike rate of 44.4 deliveries per wicket.

4) A sampling of former players and selectors by Nagraj Gollapudi of CrinInfo:

Vijay Bharadwaj , former Karnataka and India team-mate:
It was my first day as Karnataka coach back in the 2006-07 season and we were playing Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium. Both Anil and Rahul [Dravid] were available for the first couple of games. They were pulling my leg saying, "Vijay has already retired, Venky [Venkatesh Prasad] has already retired, and both of them are coaches now but we are still playing." On our return to Bangalore, before our second game, Anil called up to check if it was fine to get a 16-year-old legspinner as a net bowler. I just laughed. I told him he didn't need to call me to get permission. But he knew the coach was important and didn't want to break protocol, so he wanted to check. He could've straightaway taken the decision himself because of his stature. He is a guy who gave importance to each and every detail.

5) The CricInfo staff puts in another high-quality effort:

Bowden went up to him, handed him his cap and shook his hand again. Ditto Hayden. Amit Mishra came up to hug him; the baton was perhaps being passed. And then he was swarmed by his team-mates. Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan lifted him and after a while it was clear he was not comfortable with all that. Dravid and VVS Laxman tried it again before Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the strongest man in the team, took over the job alone and lifted Kumble on his shoulders. But Kumble was not happy; he wanted to walk on his favourite turf, soak it in one last time.

Not a person in the ground could stay seated through the farewell; they could sense a very important part of their lives going away. Kumble would have felt the same but, save a few emotional moments, he handled it with dignity and with equanimity. It was so like Anil Kumble.

6) Dileep Premachandran calls him one of the two pillars of Indian cricket:

As he walked off the square for the final time, Anil Kumble got a pat on the back from the only man who has been playing international cricket even longer than he has. Kumble's first Test, at Old Trafford in August 1990, was Sachin Tendulkar's ninth, and in the decade that followed they would be the twin pillars of a team that sought to establish itself as a big player on the world stage. Over time, they would be joined by other great players, a nucleus that would allow India to challenge Australia on a consistent basis, but the mind-boggling durability of the two main men remained a source of wonder.
(...)
After all was said and done and the match called off, he came back out to be chaired around the ground, part of the way on the shoulders of the man who will succeed him as captain. For someone who scaled the greatest heights, it was one of the very few occasions during the 18 years when his feet actually left the ground.

7) Suresh Menon uses that word in the title:

He played 41 Tests fewer than Kapil Dev to go past Kapil's Indian record of 434 wickets; he bowled India to more victories than the entire spin quartet of the 1970s, yet he was condemned to being defined by negatives. The pundits told us he did not spin the ball, that he did not have the classic legspinner's loop, that he did not bowl slowly enough to get the ball to bite. Kumble was described by what he did not do rather than by what he did.

8) Snippets from the press conference where he made his formal announcement:

"Thank you all for all the support I have received right through my career. I've built some great friendships and met some fantastic people along the way. You'll probably start calling me from tomorrow for quotes about somebody else. Give me a break for a couple of days and I'll certainly take all your calls." Like he has unfailingly answered the Indian team's calls for the last 18 years.

9) The scene in the Indian dressing room was how we'd imagine it to be, knowing what we have been told about the man:

In between, there was time for some humour as well. A player turned to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and quipped: “You have two empty seats now” (the Nagpur Test will be Sourav Ganguly’s last). But for those who are familiar with Dhoni’s style, the gist of his instantaneous reply did not come as a surprise: “Nobody can replace those two”.

10) Ian Chappell thinks the timing of the decision was right:

The defining moment for me and it encapsulated the career of Anil Kumble was his last wicket in Tests. He had been angered by the young legspinner, misjudging a catch in the outfield and the very next ball he took off after a skied catch off his own bowling, charged back even with his bad hand, took the catch and turned around and fired the ball back at the stumps as if to say to the young man, who will take over his role as a legspinner in the Indian team, that is the sort of the effort that you've got to put in every day if you want to be at the top of the game.

11) Rob Smyth of the Guardian talks about some of the high notes of Kumble's career:

Rarely has there been a sportsman who has combined flintiness and dignity so adeptly. He was hard, really hard, but utterly fair. Kumble forever walked the line, but rarely if ever crossed it. This was a fiercely proud man.

12) Peter Roebuck chips in from Australia:

He never gave up, and with unyielding will and high intelligence, made the most of his abilities. He scored a Test hundred and never let his side down. A thousand pities the Australians did not speak to him in Sydney. Throughout he has retained his dignity, it has been an immense contribution, and he did not outstay his welcome by a single day. Even in his retirement he served the side and Indian cricket.

13) Prem Panicker says goodbye:

And so he went. Not at the end of the series, or the end of the year, but now, when the arguments for his going were only as strong as, not stronger than, those for his continuing—and that, perhaps more than anything he has done on the field in course of an extraordinarily distinguished 19-year career, sums up all there is to know about Kumble the human being.

The more long-lived of Indian cricketers have invariably been players of extraordinary skills. They have had one other thing in common: they have all, without exception, undersold themselves; their accomplishments have been less than their promise.

Anil alone has been the converse: man who consistently rose above the sum of his own parts; almost, you could call him the Glenn McGrath of spin bowlers.

14) G. Rajaraman pays tribute to the Smiling Assasin:

A couple of years ago he joined world billiards champion Geet Sethi, former Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar and Olympian sprinter Ashwini Nachappa in conducting a management workshop for corporates. And I had the opportunity of watching him prepare his presentation on resilience. He spoke at length about developing the ability to bounce back – citing examples from his own career – but more than his oration, the quality of his preparation left me stunned and gave me an insight into how seriously he took any task.

15) Kadambari Murali has some inside stuff on the man:

Eight months ago, sitting under a lovely afternoon sun outside Kreeda, his elegant Bangalore bungalow, Anil Kumble casually said he didn’t think he would last out the year, career wise. “I’m hoping to make it to the Australian series this October,” he added, equally casually, “but it depends on my body”.
(...)
That Bangalore day, he grinned as wife Chethana disapprovingly commented, “He needs to think about himself”. “She’s being a wife,” he quipped, smiling at the woman he dubbed his “support system” and “partner in everything”. And then the smile became more wry. “What do I do?” he asked. “I’m exhausted. The last tour was very tough, mentally and physically and though I desperately want to play, I have to see how much I can take. I’ll know when it’s time to say goodbye.”

16) From the archives, an article by Anand Vasu, written soon after Kumble had crossed the 600 wicket mark in Tests:

Anil will not like this piece on him, though it is meant to be a tribute. He does not let his personal life become public and he would probably have preferred that what happened to him in England stayed private. He will be irritated that this mentions the time in 2004 when the Supreme Court of India granted sole custody of a child from an earlier marriage to the woman who is his wife, and was carrying his child at the time. “The Supreme Court cannot trace any deception in Kumble,” screamed the headlines. Justices Shivraj V. Patil and DM Adhikari never faced Kumble’s bowling, clearly.

17) To round it off, Harsha Bhogle uses almost all the words I mentioned above, and more:

The announcement itself was typical of the man: no grandstanding, no ostentation, no farewell tour. Anything else would have jarred, it wouldn’t have been Kumble. One of the greatest team-men the game has known did his job and said good-bye. In his last Test match, he had eleven stitches and was under general anesthesia for half a day. When the numbness vanished, when the body was over-ruled once more, he returned to take three more wickets.

Home stretch

The third Test did not produce the result that was expected when the Australians began their first innings trailing by 613 runs. The Indians got a get-out-of-jail card to explain their inability to prise out the Aussies when they lost Anil Kumble for most of the third day to a finger injury. But even a "healthy" Kumble, bowling the way he has been of late, would not have been able to do much more. A wise man is one who can feel the wind change direction, a wiser man is one who can see the change and adjust his sails accordingly. Anil Kumble showed that he belonged to the latter group by announcing his retirement.

Kumble waited until a draw had been ensured before making the announcement public and it injected some vigor into the proceedings that owed VVS Laxman a favor for what little life there was at that point. Serenely motoring along in the second innings, Laxman did not even remotely look like getting out and was prevented from padding his stats when Kumble declared with about 24 overs to go. I did not realize how dense the TV commentators were until they started talking about India declaring in order to try to get a psychological advantage by prising out an Australian wicket or two before the Test was done. Didn't they understand that Kumble was being given his moment to say goodbye? While I am not privy to any private conversation or to having any knowledge of the man, I am pretty sure that the decision to declare, so he could have a few overs to himself on the field, was a team one. (Anil Kumble has toiled away for almost two decades, always looking out for the team's interests. An hour's worth of self-indulgence to end his career appeared out of line, given his nature).

But, either way, come out he did, to open the bowling attack and send down a few overs that had enough nostalgic appeal to remind us of what was going away for good. When he bowled his last ball, I was more emotionally affected than I would have thought I'd be. After taking his presence in the team for granted all these years, it felt strange to bid him adieu.

Compliments and salutations have poured in from all over and I shall devote another post to just that.

For now, the lines have been drawn and India will go into Nagpur looking to seal a series victory. I hope they go in trying to win. Three of the 4 possible results - win, draw or tie - will get them the trophy. If they eliminate a win from the equation, then they will be playing into the hands of the Aussies. When your opponent is staggering, it is best to deliver a knockout punch. Jabbing away at their body in order to win by a decision only invites trouble.

Only five more days of Test cricket remain in this absorbing match-up. Don't you wish it could have been a 5 Test series?

Getting on the moral bandwagon

By battling to within 36 runs of the Indians, the Australians ensured that the third Test match ends up in a draw.

The morning began with the Aussies 275 runs behind with 6 wickets in hand. Michael Clarke stood between an Aussie collapse and an Indian dream of a win. As expected he received excellent support from his team-mates. However, he would not have counted on the Indians helping his cause. In a big way. Spilling catches has always been a part of the game, but the stooping of the shoulders when Clarke was dropped on 21 is not something you'd expect to see from a team that is within striking distance of toppling the Aussies.

The lack of intensity from the Indians was palpable and something that was sad to see. The Australians were batting really well, yes, but the Indians walked around between overs, took their time to bowl them, and did not display any enthusiasm. At least one ball an over was doing something, so you'd think they would be pumped up. Once Clarke was dropped, they appeared to go through the motions.

Soon the lead was whittled down to double digits and with it went any hope that India would go for the win. With good reason. Australia, being the team that trails, is the one that will look to force the issue while the Indians, based upon years and years of watching this team, will not look to force the issue if a draw is dangled in front of them.

Australia batted almost 180 overs to lose 10 wickets, which is enough for the current edition to believe that they cannot get them all out in less than 50 overs. Stranger things have happened but if you do not have the belief that they can, then you will not get the results you seek.

So, the fifth day will involve the Indians batting slowly for time, with an occasional wicket here and there injecting some artificial life into the game. At the end of the day, the Aussies will talk about moral victories and how they were the only team looking for a result.

Big deal. If moral victories mattered on the cricket field, then the Aussies would surely have been under the biggest mental cosh of them all, after losing the previous Test by a record margin, right?

Moral victories are as as influential and informative as the player interviews after the game. Lay the red carpet, Nagpur, the sound bite bandwagon is going to be talking up a great game for the next few days.

Blessing in disguise

Australia scored 288 runs and lost 4 wickets in 90 overs. Remarkable, really, that at the end of the day, they are still looking down some serious gun barrels. Australia trail by 275 runs on a pitch that is getting better for bowling by the session.

The umpires appear more in tune with things other than adjudging batsmen out. Matthew Hayden was given out to one that would not have raised eyebrows if the opposite decision had been given, while Shane Watson was as plumb as a batsman can be in Amit Mishra's last over of the day, but that was denied.

The day's play was, however, defined by one glorious session just before the new ball was taken. With a ball about 70 overs old, conventional wisdom (i.e. talking heads on TV) suggested that the spinners continue for another 10 overs before relinquishing to the pace bowlers. But at that time, it was clear that Mishra and Sehwag needed a break. Anil Kumble had hurt himself earlier in the day and in his absence MS Dhoni took over reins. For a while Dhoni continued with Kumble's policies but as the shadows lengthened, the real Dhoni began to emerge. In Kumble's absence, Sehwag bowled 22 brilliant overs, and at the stage mentioned at the start of this paragraph Dhoni gave the ball to Isant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Facing them were Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. Every ball looked like it could get a wicket. Ponting will have nightmares about Ishant Sharma for a long time, and yesterday just added to the drama. Sharma hurried Ponting, beat his bat, cut him in half, and did everything excpet get the captain out. Zaheer Khan was no less impressive. This was Test cricket at its very best.

This breathtaking stuff went on for almost an hour and Ponting and Hussey survived undefeated, but definitely not unscathed. The two balls that Sehwag bowled to dismiss the duo a little later were ones that Harbhajan Singh would willingly wash his mouth with soap a 100 times in order to be able to duplicate.

The 4th day's play should be riveting. Can the Aussies whittle the lead to less than 100 or even surpass India's total? Based upon how the innings has been going, I think that a lead between 150 to 200 will be obtained by India and then the commentators can indulge in their second favorite exercise - trying to predict when the batting team captain will declare. And no matter when he declares, it is always "half an hour too late".

Coming back to the big event of the day - if Anil Kumble had not injured himself, Sehwag would not have bowled more than 5 or 6 overs and a trick would have been missed. I hope Kumble was watching the proceedings on a TV somewhere.

I do not believe in telling people to retire. It is not my place to do so. People can retire as and when they want. They have earned that privilege. However, I do reserve the right to demand that a player be dropped from a team if he is underachieving. Kumble does not remotely look like he will run through the batting order. It is time for him to rest his shoulder, let it heal completely, and then make a return to the side. However, I fear this will never be possible in the current climate of distrust between selectors, players, and the media.

Indeed, uneasy rests the head that wears the crown.

Death by a thousand flicks

The second day of the second Test match between India and Australia featured two double centuries - one that was on the cards when the day began and the other that came as a breath of fresh air in these times of structured batting and graceless gestures and sledges.

The morning brought about Gautam Gambhir's first double century. But as his innings progressed it was becoming clear that he was tiring. And when he played on to a Shane Watson delivery it did not really surprise too many people. By then, however, the attention had been diverted away from Gambhir's end by the man Ian Chappell calls Very Very Special.

VVS Laxman has always elicited oohs and aahs when on song and yesterday he showed that he can carry the Indian middle-order for a few more years. At the very least. Reports of his cricketing death are extremely premature. When this series is done I shall expand on my admiration and respect for how and what he does on the field. For now, I shall refrain from adding anything else as I do not want to jinx him in any way.

Two articles on Laxman from folks who write better (and get paid a whole lot more for this) than I do. First up, the CricInfo staff writes a delightful piece on the man. When Laxman bats like he did today...

BD (or DSC) brings to my attention this piece by Harsha Bhogle.

Only four days ago there were suggestions that Laxman be left out of the eleven to accommodate another bowler. The same suggestions were made forty days ago and four hundred days ago. We seek change, and to be honest change isn't always bad, but somewhat we seek to dump as well. True, we need to groom another generation of middle order batsmen for we cannot have too many leaving at one time but try telling that to a player who is scoring runs; who is in the pursuit of the only thing he can do well in life.

This will be one of Laxman's more satisfying moments. He was treated very shabbily during the IPL, was prevented, in a most bizarre episode, from playing for a month in England and had to witness the swords being sharpened for his execution. Don't forget this is a man who gave up a million dollars a year so the Deccan Chargers could get better players and help develop cricket in his state. In England they are going crazy over a million dollars per player. Laxman gave up a million a year for three years! At the end of the first season in the IPL, he was sacked when he had been captain for six games and the job was given to a man who had led in the other eight!! And not a thank you for the extra three million!!

Coming back to the game. The wicket is still a good one to bat on as Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan showed. I expect Australia to begin well on the 3rd day, but as the day progresses and the wicket begins to crumble, batting will become harder and by the time the 4th day rolls around they will be in deep trouble, fighting to save the match.

The key to Aussie survival is Matthew Hayden. Australia must be hoping that his broad shoulders have a few more runs in him or else they can kiss the series goodbye.

The long kiss goodbye

The critical moment of the day for the Australians came when Ricky Ponting called incorrectly to lose the toss. Batting first is such a big advantage in the subcontinent (especially if you make a big score first up) that you could feel a lot of the wind going out of the Aussie sails.

For a brief while the Indians gave them some hope. Brett Lee got Virender Sehwag with a peach of an in-cutter that would have thudded into middle stump had Sehwag's leg not been in the way.

Rahul Dravid is in the phase of his career where old methods are not producing the results they once used to. So, in trying to change slightly, he is overdoing it. He was out, once again, to a wide ball from Johnson that the Dravid of old, unmindful of the sharpening knives of the media, would have left well alone. Instead he found the bucket-like hands of Matthew Hayden at first slip.

After that we were treated to a glorious period of batting as Sachin Tendulkar turned back the clock. Unfurling his patented back-foot punches and flourishing flicks, Tendulkar looked good for a big, big one when the onset of tea put him into the negative mindset that has been his downfall in the 2000's. Playing out for a break is not something that Sehwag does and you'd think a seasoned campaigner like Sachin, who professes to play every ball on its merit, would not worry about such trifles, and take his cue from the opener. Anyway, a tentative prod found the edge through to the keeper and the end result was a splendid 68 that was at least 200 less than he could have made on this track.

By this time Gautam Gambhir was well-settled, motoring along splendidly in a type of innings unique to Test cricket - the sigmoidal curve-like pattern of accumulation. At the other end, VVS Laxman picked up from where Tendulkar left off. This was a typical Laxman innings - an initial flourish into the 30's where his tensile wrists found gaps frequently enough to disperse the field followed by a patient accumulation of singles. Sanjay Manjrekar once described Laxman as an aggressive batsman with the temperament of a defensive player. Which means that Laxman is capable of playing through long periods of defensive cricket without letting it affect his ability to pick up and hit the juicy offerings when they do come along. (Tendulkar will do well to learn a little more of this from Laxman). For a batsman who has scored almost 60% of his runs in boundaries over his career, hitting 53 with just 3 fours must have been a strange experience.

But his presence at the crease was enough for Gambhir to relax and continue through the 60's and 70's and the Delhi-ite raced through the double digits till he found himself on 99 and a defensive prod followed by a scything square-cut should have signaled a 100. Instead Michael Hussey, at point, cut off a sure boundary. As an aside, Hussey has to rank up there with the great point fielders in the game. Anyway, Gambhir turned to Plan B as Ricky Ponting brought everyone into the close-in circle. The bowler was Shane Watson, who bowls in the 140-145 kmph range. As Watson delivered the ball, Gambhir took the two-step forward step usually reserved for spinners and, with a clean swing of the bat, deposited the ball into the stands beyond long-on. Just like that was was on 105 and continued the trend of improving on his score with every inning in this Test series (21, 29, 67, 104, and now 149 not out).

Tomorrow, the key will be to reach lunch without losing any wickets. After that the afternoon and evening sessions will be there for the taking. If India manage that, then the Aussies will be fighting for survival, not something conducive to taking the Indians down in a home Test.

I am going to keep my fingers crossed that Laxman can pass Mohammad Azharuddin's Test tally of runs. To do that, he needs 161 runs in this innings. If he manages it, then India will definitely have found themselves in the drivers seat. Good luck, Laxman, I'll be rooting for you, crossed fingers and bitten nails at the ready!

Desperate times

For a man who has contributed diddly-squat, Matthew Hayden is talking up a pretty high game. His only innings of substance in this series so far has been a maniacal 29 that did not just hint at the desperation behind it, it reeked to high heavens. Since the game (which, by the way, the Aussies lost) Hayden is in full form, filled with bluster much like the thirsty wanderer in a desert who will drink the sand if need be.

Matthew Hayden has made runs all over the world and will make many more in the days to come. It is highly unlikely that he will not make significant runs in the remaining two Tests. But his interviews are quite unbecoming of the man who has fronted Ricky Ponting's assault on the captaincy record books. Patrick Smith hits the nail on the head perfectly.

It is almost that Australia is in denial. Hayden, who has made 0, 13, 0, and 29, has said that he believes he has Zaheer Khan on the back foot. For the record the Australian opener has made 17 fewer runs than Zaheer, who bats when no one else can. And who has batted half as many times. With the ball Zaheer has taken 10 wickets - more than any Australian and second only to Ishant Sharma - at the very good average of 26.

Hayden's diagnosis that Zaheer is on the point of a nervous breakdown is based on the bowler's abuse of him when the Australian was dismissed for 29 in the second innings of the second Test. Hayden apparently had brought Zaheer to this brink when he charged his first ball of the second innings. That the ball was mis-hit and looped dangerously close to mid-off was, it seems, a victory for Hayden and not the bowler.

Said Hayden: "Zaheer Khan has been put under pressure a lot by myself and Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) in all the tournaments we've played in one-dayers. I have also tried to emulate that when we've played Tests. I just feel he is vulnerable when he's like that."

Not only is it such graceless gibberish, it is also foolish. Unable to bully India as it has in the old days, the veterans of the team hanker for the good times when they could back up their words with significant deeds. Times change. Australia has no response to losing other than a childish attempt to bully its way back to the top. In victory it has learnt to gloat and nothing else.

Contrast Hayden's desperate tones with the measured ones of his captain. In an age where cricketers can reel of all kinds of statistics to show how good their form is, Ponting is honest enough to accept that three failures by him have put a lot of pressure on the rest of the team. Incredible really, since he scored 123 in the first innings of the series. If this was almost anyone else, they'd be throwing that century in everyone's face.

"I've got to stand up as much as the next bloke," Ponting said. "It's been three innings since I had an impact on the game with the bat." Ponting opened the series with his first century in India but followed with 17, 5 and 2.

Which is why Ponting should have a good game at the Kotla while Hayden suffers. Unfortunately, cricket does not dish out answers in such a prudent manner. Let's see what transpires over the next 5 days.

The cricket match is about to start and off I go!

Two pack

While waiting for the third Test match to start, I found two contrasting articles by good cricket writers.

Peter Roebuck profiles Harbhajan Singh. This is vintage Roebuck, writing in a style all his own and engaging from first word to last.

Mukul Kesavan writes about MS Dhoni, focusing on his demeanor and contemplates what makes MS such a good fit for captaincy. However, this is not one of Kesavan's better efforts. He meanders around and ends on a note that rings a little too hyperbolic for my liking.

Reasons to Sing

Dew on leaf blades and velvety grass
People with personality and a touch of class.
Rainy days in summer when it gets really hot
Or finding something that I've given up as lost.

The smell of fresh paper and petroleum is heavenly
But not everyone takes to them so readily.
Freshly cooked rice, a starlit night
The glow of dawn in refracted sunlight.

The monotonous clip-clip of a moving train
As it glides towards destinations again and again.
The rush of adrenaline just after take-off
But then some air-sick people might, at this, scoff

The sound of my echo in the distance
And the chanting of hymns in genuine reverence.
The rustle of the newspaper as I read some good news
And the sound made on stone floors by leather shoes.

I could go on like this all day long
Recounting things that make me break out into a song.
But deep down inside me is always the thought
That the thing I treasure most is the freedom I've got.

- CSM

It's not whether you win or lose...

ESPN, the self-proclaimed "worldwide leader in sports", has increasingly blurred the line between sports news and tabloid-ness. Here's a random sampling of what the home page looks like with each passing day.

Look more closely at the top news stories for the day. Except for one article (second from bottom) none of the stories deal with descriptions of sporting activity, but are items more appropriate for some other website.

Come again?

Matthew Hayden, in his latest interview is in a very magnanimous and forgiving mood:

Zaheer Khan was fined for giving Hayden a send-off after he was dismissed in the second innings in Mohali. Harbhajan’s celebrations were not muted, but there was no ill-feeling despite the history between the two players. "Why wouldn't he [Harbhajan]?" Hayden said. "If I was bowling I would be doing exactly the same thing. I am planning on doing the same thing. I harbour no resentment or hard feelings at all about anyone on the Indian side. It's good competitive, hard cricket.”

If that was the case, why did Hayden complain that Zaheer Khan said something to him when he was dismissed?

What happened to the age-old "what happens on the field stays on the field" philosophy? Or does it only apply when you are the giver not the givee? Please spare me the hogwash.

Open mouth, insert foot, sell book

Adam Gilchrist and I share many things (those that know me know what they are, those that don't probably need not know) and I have always had the highest regard for him. We all knew that he'd be one of the first to pen an autobiography after retirement, and the Aussie gloveman did not disappoint.

However, he has raked up an old issue that should have been left untouched - the Sydney Test fracas between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds. It is Gilchrist's autobiography and he is welcome to give his side of the picture, but what gets me is that he was not involved in the Sydney fracas having been too far to hear (or not hear, depending upon whom you want to believe) Harbhajan respond to Symond's chatter. So, if he was going to write about the incident it should only have been to cast some fresh light on the episode.

When the reports first came out it appeared that he did have something new to add - that Sachin Tendulkar lied to protect his team-mate. However, in light of the severe criticism he has come under since the story broke, Gilchrist backtracked faster than he ever moved on the cricket field. In the end, if we are to believe him, we are back to square one. In that case, what did he actually accomplish with all this? I would have respected him even more if he had stuck to his guns and professed to saying all the things he said and not hid behind the age-old "quoted out of context" and "misquoted by sensationalist media" excuses. Perhaps the fear that he could lose out on the retirement fund (aka IPL purse) has a big role to play. One of the statements in there was about how the BCCI held the sport to ransom during the aftermath of the Test. Surprisingly, no one in the Board is bringing that aspect up. Surely, it cannot be because he is the captain of the Deccan Chargers and one of the prime selling points of the IPL, is it?

Then why did Gilchrist do this? Where is the upside to this? Ah yes, he will sell a few more copies of his autobiography. I was going to purchase it when I first heard about it, but not any more.

Sorry, Gilly, you lost more than just a reader in the past few days. You lost some of the respect I have for you.

Quick hits

a) CricInfo confirms what I had alluded to in one of my earlier posts - the Virender Sehwag - Gautam Gambhir duo is fast becoming one of the best opening partnerships in the business.

b) Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN interviews two of the Little Masters of Indian cricket (GR Viswanath being the original one) - Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Read the entire thing. Sift through the mutual admiration that is evident all the way through, and there are quite a few interesting things in there.

For instance, Sunil Gavaskar says he never looked at the scoreboard, while Tendulkar admits that he does pay close attention to it.

Towards the end, Gavaskar repeats a recent plea of his to Sachin.

Gavaskar: (...) but what I will do is, not advise him, but I will make a plea - please regain the World Cup for us in 2011.

The set up

Reports of the demise of the Australian juggernaut are premature. Extremely premature. Ricky Ponting has won 33 of the 46 Tests he has helmed. Think about that again. Only Steve Waugh with 41 wins (57 Tests) and Clive Lloyd with 36 wins (74 Tests) have been more successful in the entire history of Test cricket.

True, this Indian team does not seem to be as intimated by the Aussies as some of the other squads are, but it would be foolish to suggest that the Aussies are done. Peter Roebuck writes that the Indians have passed the Aussies, and there is some truth to his arguments.

India are better balanced and stronger at the top of the order and from seven to 11. The great players are the weak point. It is quite a thought.

The problem with historic wins (of the 320-run kind) is that they distort one's perspective. Let's not forget that just 6 Test-playing days ago, the question on everyone's lips was whether India could survive the last day of the Bengaluru Test without collapsing to another defeat. Five days of domination should not swing the balance in the other direction.

Here's a sobering thought. Dhoni felt that he needed more than 500 runs to feel safe that the Aussies would not chase it down. Targets in excess of 400 runs have been chased successfully only 3 times in almost 1900 Tests. Surely, 500 runs were an excessive luxury (I am repeating myself for emphasis). I suspect that the Indian team knows best how strong the Australian team, sans all those greats (McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist, Langer, Martyn, etc.) still is. As long as Hayden, Ponting, Hussey and Clarke put on their pads, the batting is still strong.

It is the bowling that is weaker. Brett Lee does not even seem like swinging the ball except for a ball or two to start the innings. What happened to that brilliant out-swinger that surprised everyone, including me, when he threw it down at such a blistering pace? Mitchell Johnson is consistently bowling faster than Lee. There is something wrong about that. They lack that brilliant spinner, but then so does every other team except Sri Lanka and India. (With due apologies, Vettori and Panesar are more restrictive, than incisive, spinners).

Yes, the Aussies are down, but they are certainly not out of it. The Indian team was in a similar predicament before it went to Perth earlier this year. Australia had just won it's 16th Test in a row, and all signs pointed to an annihilation of India on the bounciest wicket in the world. Cast your mind back to that Test. India went in with a bowling attack that read - RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma (playing in his 4th Test) and Kumble. The fast bowlers took 14 of the 20 wickets to fall, and out-bowled the Aussies on their turf (Shaun Tait was so demoralized he even left the game briefly). Unheralded players can produce results given the right set of circumstances. Remember Shaun Udal?

Underestimate the heart of a champion at your own peril. I am sure that Australia will lose the series - India is, pound for pound, a far superior side - but I don't think it is a done deal as some people believe it is. I just hope that the members of the Indian team (yes, Harbhajan, especially you) do not start believing tales of their own superiority.

Luckily, India has two captains - Kumble and Dhoni - who are pragmatic and sensible. That, in the end, will determine the course of this series.

(Harsha Bhogle chimes in with a similar thesis in his column).

Que sera sera

It has been many years since one of my favorite Hindi movies - Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro - was released. I did not really appreciate the subtle nuances of this comedy until I watched it again a few years ago. Jabberwock (Jai Arkun Singh) goes back in time and describes his emotions while watching the movie again, 25 years after the fact.

You may think I'm shallow but my favorite scene is still the Mahabharat play.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

MS Dhoni's ascendancy to the top of Indian cricket's totem pole is as surprising as it is uplifting. All kinds of articles have been written about the boy from the backwaters of Jharkhand making it to the Indian team and it is not going to abate any time soon. When he first came on the scene the long, streaked hair put me off and I dismissed him as a senseless slogger (so much for never judging a book by it's cover).

Then he scored 183, always referred to as the highest score made by a wicket-keeper batsman in an ODI. I remember it for something even more significant, but under-appreciated - it is the highest score ever made by a batsman while chasing a target in an ODI. However, I began to sit up and take notice when, in the very next match, he showed me that he was more than just a slam-bang type of player. He scored 45 not out in 43 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes, taking India to an easy victory over the Sri Lankans. But the numbers lie. Take a look at the way he scored the runs in the innings. The last two balls were hit for a six, with 12 runs required to win. Until then, he was patient, farming the strike and ensuring that there was no collapse. A thinking batsman hid behind the flashy exterior.

After that innings, I started keeping track of his batting, especially during chases. (I have previously blogged about it here and, in an earlier post, here). He has gone from strength to strength and is, currently, the #1 ranked batsmen in ODI's. I was surprised at his failures in Test matches and was hoping that he played them the way he played ODI's - looking to farm the strike and then opening up once the bowlers had lost some confidence. Based on the way he batted (and then later spoke about it) in the second Test, I believe he has come to the same realization. Bowlers everywhere - beware!

The CricInfo staff wrote a drool-worthy piece (especially for Dhoni fans) about the OCD of Indian cricket.

Anand Vasu, a fine writer who, in my opinion, does not write often enough, puts forth his views on the two Indian Test captains - Kumble and Dhoni.

On a similar note, Peter Roebuck chimes in, determined not to be left behind in the Dhoni bandwagon stakes, with a nicely written piece (no surprise there) comparing the Aussie skipper to the stop-gap Indian captain.

Continuing on this theme, Prem Panicker takes the CricInfo article referred to above, and continues on with his impressions of Dhoni.

This, too, is a personality trait that is yet to be tested under real fire—but this other thing? A calm, collected public demeanor? That’s for real, and that’s likely in the long run to prove to be his single biggest asset. Consider these two clips from the Cricinfo piece:

His 100% win record is safe but Dhoni isn’t shouting triumphantly from the rooftops just yet. “Playing [just] one Test and hitting a half century, you get an average of 50. So is the case if you hit a 100,” Dhoni said, moments after securing India’s biggest victory in terms of runs. “Your performance is counted over a longer duration of the game. I got my chance here but it was a team effort.”

Dhoni, however, has the Midas touch and it was summed up best when he asked the debutant Amit Mishra to go round the stumps in the last over of the second day. Mishra bowled an accurate wrong’un to trap Michael Clarke in front and one was reminded of the ploy to give Joginder Sharma the final over of the World Twenty20 final. But Dhoni, to the amusement of all present, only said, “Fluke tha yaar [It was a fluke].”

An ability to take the game seriously without taking himself seriously is invaluable.

On a final note, I just love this ad featuring Dhoni and Shah Rukh Khan!

Cricket links

1) Suresh Menon delves into the mystique of Sourav Ganguly in great depth in this well-written piece.

2) Here's an explanation for the 2nd Test defeat from an Aussie point of view, tongue firmly in cheek.

3) Peter Roebuck, who seems to get excited and write more frequently whenever an India-Australia Test series comes around, has his very simple, but eloquent take on the reason the Aussies lost. Look no further than the title of his article for the answer. I doubt that Ponting and Roebuck are the thickest of friends.

4) Andy Bull, on The Guardian's Sports Blog, discusses the balance of power at the top of the Test table and uncovers an interesting nugget that augers well for the future of Indian cricket.

More impressive still is the record of India's Under-19 team, which, almost unnoticed, have accrued a phenomenal string of results in recent years. Since 2003, in fact, India's Under-19s have won 57 out of 64 one-day matches and lost just one Test in 15.

5) Finally, the best piece of news I have had since the Indian win is this one concerning VVS Laxman's plans for next summer.

Salutations

When Sachin Tendulkar crossed Brian Lara, a whole nation (and more) heaved a sigh of relief. Many articles written about the latest Little Master were dusted off and printed.

Here's Sunil Gavaskar's thoughts on the boy he called Tendlya. Of particular interest to me is the last sentence in the article.

And don't you dare call it quits until you have the World Cup for India in 2011.

Anil Kumble discusses the man behind the runs, ending with this thought about Tendulkar that does not surprise me one bit, especially considering some of the personal anecdotes I have heard about the person from people who have met him.

On a final note, while Sachin and I haven't had too many conversations over anything else but cricket, I've always admired him greatly.

The bigger they are...

The second Test match ended with a whimper. In a space of 4 balls, Zaheer Khan removed 3 of the five batsmen left at Australia's disposal. The rest of the proceedings had an air of inevitability to them, and took a little over an hour to finish.

When you consider that of the 11 Indians, at least 9 had major contributions (Dravid and Laxman being the ones that missed out this time), the victory is not that big a surprise. The key will be for the Indians to sustain it. India has not won back-to-back Test matches in the same series since 2005. There is no better time, and no better opponent than Australia, to rectify that blemish than now.

The choice of the Man of the Match was MS Dhoni, more for his captaincy than his batting, I believe. The future of Indian cricket is in good hands, for now. As long as he is winning, he is fine. He has to look no further than this Indian team to know that success (or failure) as a captain can have repercussions. In the Bengaluru Test, no less than 6 players had captained India at one time or the other in Tests -Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dhoni, and Kumble! Surely this team should not be bereft of ideas when the going gets tough.

There is a big gap before the next Test starts in Delhi. Enough time for the media to whip up a frenzy. I will weigh in on whether Kumble should participate in Delhi, as a bowler or bowler-captain, later. For now, I shall continue doing what I love to do whenever India wins a Test match - surf the web and read articles about the win.

Under the Iowan sun

The weather was gorgeous this past weekend and I took full advantage of it with a trip to a private woodlot in Iowa. Much fun was had. Further details to come soon. Until then, here's a few words...

Timber!

For the 7th time in the last 8 innings, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on a a 50+ partnership. This time they kept going and going to the tune of 182 runs before Sehwag's conscience got the better of him and he got out. At that point in time Sehwag had blazed away to 90 runs off just 121 balls, uncharacteristically with just 8 fours. Gambhir was no slouch with the bat either, reaching 86 off just 115 balls, with 6 fours and a thundering six (a marginally better strike rate than Sehwag's, actually).

The startling (and refreshing) thing about their partnership was the willingness to look for ones and twos. Of the 182 runs scored by them, off just 39.1 overs, only 62 runs came in boundaries. In other words, they ran 120 runs between them, often stealing singles from under the in-fielder's noses. Ponting lost his temper at one point when Sehwag clearly edged the ball to the keeper but did not walk. Ponting was seen having a very animated conversation with Sehwag, asking him to walk, I suppose. Strange that the very same Ponting stoutly defended Andrew Symonds when he did not walk in the Sydney Test match. What's good for the goose has to be good for the gander, too, don't you think?

When Sehwag got out, MS Dhoni filled the breach and played the rest of the innings as if it were the middle portion of an ODI. Perfect. Then when Gambhir got out after a wonderful and richly deserved century, Sourav Ganguly came in to continue the left-right theme. All 6 of India's partnerships in this Test that yielded more than 50 runs featured a left-right combination. Do you suppose Dhoni reads my blog?

The Aussie innings began with the tempo of a gunslinger firing away his last bullets. Matthew Hayden was in a hurry. He was batting in a rage, it seemed, intent on bullying every ball to the fence. But 516 runs is a huge target to get and merely swinging for the fences would not get them there. There was more than a touch of desperation about the batting but Dhoni did not flinch. It would have been easy to spread the field and hope for a mistake but this man was borne out of a different mould. He threw the ball to Harbhajan, who immediately came around the wicket. Hayden went to sweep, missed, and was out LBW. A couple of balls later, Simon Katich drove without getting to the pitch of the ball and perished to a wonderful diving catch by Sachin Tendulkar (his 99th in Tests). After the tea break Michael Hussey went to pull a short ball that kept low, missed and was trapped in front of the middle stump. Australia's last hope was Ricky Ponting.

The two bowlers who have tormented Ponting the most in the past few years, since his ascendancy to the upper echelons of world cricket, are Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma. Dhoni immediately brought Sharma back. What followed was a master class in bowling to Ponting, backed by imaginative captaincy. Ball after ball was pitched up, inviting the drive. Dhoni kept just one slip, but had a short cover and a short mid-wicket in Ponting's eyeline. Ponting likes to thrust his pad forward and bat around it, but the two fielders ensured that he did not bring his bat down with a full flourish. Having set him up, Sharma bowled an in-cutter from short of a good length. Ponting had thrust his pad forward, and the bat came down outside the line of the ball. The ball slipped through the gap, hitting middle and off, uprooting the off-stump, to trigger wild celebrations. I suspect the celebrations were just as wild at Mohali, too.

The score was 52 for 4, and Australia was effectively shut out of the Test match. A few overs later, Shane Watson departed to Harbhajan (3 for 3 at that point) and the Aussies had been reduced to thinking solely about survival. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin pushed and prodded their way to the close of play, scratching around the crease, only occasionally able to stamp their authority with booming shots.

The pitch is still a good one to bat on, but the weight of the runs required and the overs still remaining will weigh heavily on the Australians. The Aussies know that it is possible to bat out a whole day against the Indians at Mohali - after all as recently as 2005 Pakistan got out of jail with a similar effort and the wicket-keeper was closely involved on that day, too. I saw that match, but the bowlers in this match are superior to the ones who bowled in that one (I am comparing their forms and skills, not overall career graphs) and I don't anticipate it happening again.

The Aussies will resist stoutly on day 5, but in the end will come up short. Way short.

The best form of defence

When Virender Sehwag had faced 30 balls in the second innings of the second Test match against Australia, an interesting graphic was flashed on the TV screen. At that point in time Sehwag had scored 22 runs, with only 3 balls having been left alone, and a further three that had been defended. The remaining 24 balls had been replied to with an attacking shot. A clear indicator of the fact that India was on the move, aggressive intent fully apparent. While the folks on TV were raving about Sehwag's attacking nature, the telling thing for me was this - at that point in time, Gautam Gambhir had played 36 balls, and was batting on 26. The Indian opening duo is not chalk and cheese when it comes to scoring. Gambhir is just as fast as Sehwag. However, their styles are enormously different. While Sehwag keeps his back foot anchored, preferring to stay beside the ball to give it a big thump, Gambhir walks across the stumps (reminiscent of Justin Langer) and shimmies to the pitch of the ball when needed.

Together the duo took the game further away from Australia, abetted by some curiously impotent captaincy by Ricky Ponting. When Brett Lee is charging in for the first ball of the innings and there is just one slip fielder with 4 men guarding the boundary it is obvious that damage control is foremost on the captain's mind. Ponting's thought was that if you dried up the boundaries, Sehwag would get impatient and get out. What he does not understand (or seems unwilling to believe) is that Sehwag gets antsy only if runs are not being scored by him. He is happy enough to milk single after single until he gets a chance to clear his shoulders and give the ball a fearsome thumping.

Australia began the day needing Michael Hussey to score big once again. Ishant Sharma made sure that did not happen. After multiple edges that fell short of the slip cordon, Sharma snared Hussey for 54, and the Indian's sensed a chance to wrap things up quickly. Into the cauldron stepped Shane Watson. He picked up four boundaries to an untenanted third man region early in his innings (I wish the Indians would keep a 3rd man for the entire innings without removing a slip fielder) and was very still at the crease, defending stoutly and putting away anything full or short of length. Playing in the IPL, where he was the Man of the Series, has given Watson immense confidence and he rode that to the tune of career-best 78 runs. Yet another batsman whose career-best is against India. He should have been out on 39 but for umpire Rudy Koertzen's largesse. The first ball of a new spell from Sharma thudded into Watson's pad just above the ankle in front of the stumps but Koertzen was unimpressed. On TV, Brendon Julian dryly remarked that Koertzen had gotten it right since the ball was clearly going to miss the leg and the off-stump! That's how plumb that was. Koertzen has made some egregious mistakes in the series and it is a matter of time before a howler will cause some furore. At least he has been an equal opportunity offender so far, unlike Steve Bucknor, impartially affecting both teams.

The day belonged, however, to another layer who has used the IPL as a launching pad to the Indian squad - Amit Mishra. He richly deserved the 5 wickets he picked up on debut - 2 LBW, 2 bowled, and 1 stumped indicating clearly that these were not wickets gifted to him by mistimed tailender slogs. When Kumble is fit, and that is the caveat I want to emphasize - that he is completely fit, he deserves to play ahead of Mishra, but until that is the case Mishra merits a spot in the playing 11. It is good to know that there is an able apprentice waiting in the wings. Mishra should not lose heart - I suspect that Kumble will not be around much longer - and at 25, Amit's best years are ahead of him.

But that is a question to ponder about after the match (or series) is over. I will not speculate on how many runs the Indians need before they declare or the timing of the declaration. Dhoni has played the fastest innings on the pitch and knows what target is attainable. The highest score ever made in the fourth-innings to win a Test match is 418. On that occasion, Steve Waugh gave the West Indies 200 overs to score those runs. They did it in 128. There are 180 possible overs left in this match (more realistically 165-170 going by the slow over-rates of the Aussies. On an aside, will they be censured by the Match Referee for this, I wonder?). India is 300 runs ahead right now. You can do the math and figure out what should be a good total to declare at.

I just hope that if one of the openers gets out on the 4th day, the incoming batsman is either Dhoni or Ganguly, depending upon whether the right-hander (Sehwag) or the left-hander (Ganbhir) gets out. Keeping the pedal to the floor and scoring quickly is imperative. So far in this match, India has had 3 century partnerships, and two over 70 runs. All 5 of them have featured a left-right combination. Coincidence? I think not!

The sooner the batsmen reach the target that Dhoni has in his mind, the more overs the Indians have to bowl out the Aussies. Once he reaches a big enough target, Dhoni can ensure that an Aussie victory is out of question, leaving him free to relentlessly attack without worrying about the runs being scored.

The Aussies are staggering. Can India deliver the knockout punch?

Language barrier

MS Dhoni tilted the balance of the second Test match towards India's favor with an inspired bit of captaincy, capping a brilliant day at the office.

The day began with a total of 450-plus beckoning. Anything less and the Aussies would feel they had been let off the hook. Ganguly played within himself, essaying the role that Dravid has played so many times. However, just after he got to his 100 he threw it away, needlessly throwing caution to the winds. MS Dhoni was blazing away at the other end, taking on the Aussies as they tried to bounce him out. Four fours and a six in the backward of square-leg region showed the Aussies that Dhoni was willing to take them on. In the company of the tail-enders Dhoni took the score to 469 before Rudi Koertzen got him out with a horrible decision that looked not out even as the Aussies were appealing for an LBW.

Anyway, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma took out Hayden and Ponting, beautifully setting it up for Harbhajan Sigh and Amit Sharma to attack. Amit Mishra got a foruitous bounce to clean bowl Katich and the cat was among the pigeons. However, for India, there is a steel pigeon in the middle of the Aussie line-up - Michael Hussey. He survived two reprieves to steady the nerves in the Aussie dressing room along with Michael Clarke, who was playing an un-Clarke-like innings. The balance seemed to be tilting (not shifting just yet, but tilting nevertheless) towards the Aussies when Dhoni's captaincy broke through Clarke's resistance. More on that in a second.

I like Anil Kumble. I even like some aspects of his captaincy. But MS Dhoni is the better captain. More decisive, pro-active, aggressive, and constantly thinking ahead. Losing Kumble the bowler has been offset by gaining Dhoni the captain. When Katich and Hussey were at the crease he kept a leg gully for the former and a leg slip for the latter, effectively cutting off their favorite shot - the pressure-relieving single to fine-leg after walking across the stumps. He kept a short cover and a short midwicket in Ponting's eyeline, preventing him from thrusting his pad all the way down the wicket to negate the in-cutters of Sharma. With Dhoni captaining, there appears to be a spring in the step of everyone. Also, it is no coincidence that the over rate of the Indians in this Test is better than the over-rates of either team so far in the series.

But Dhoni's masterstroke was reserved for the last over of the day. Amit Mishra bowled three balls from over the wicket to Clarke. At which point Dhoni said, "Pair se dalna hai to is taraf se dal" (If you want to bowl on the legs, bowl from this side), gesturing round the wicket. Amit bowled another ball, a googly wide of the stumps from over the wicket. As soon as he collected the ball, Dhoni flung his left hand out and said, "Is taraf se dal" (bowl from this side, i.e. round the wicket). Dhoni then theatrically moved a fielder to leg gully as if to emphasize that the line was going to be outside the leg-stump. On TV, the commentators picked up on it, but Shastri was talking about bowling into the rough, a la Shane Warne. Mishra and Dhoni, while on a different plane of thought, luckily were on the same page - Mishra bowled a googly on the middle stump. Clarke had thrust his pad forward expecting a ball to pitch in the rough outside the leg-stump, and could not bring his bat down in time, and Asad Rauf had no problems adjudging him LBW. With that blow, the scales shifted firmly in India's favor. Maybe if Brett Lee, with his rapidly improving command of Hindi, was at the crease he may have been able to warn Clarke of the trap!

Australia still have a few batsmen left but I cannot see them surpassing 469 in this innings - India has 4 good bowlers to attack with. Even if India gets them all out before the follow-on is averted, I want (and I suspect Dhoni feels this way, too) India to bat again and put up a total beyond the reach of the Australians. Give them two days to bat out for a draw and keep a suffocating ring of fielders around the bat. Let's see how the Aussies respond when the shoe is on the other foot.

Dhoni is captaining his second Test and has shown no signs of a sophomoric slump so far. The future of Indian cricket is in great hands.

Growing pains

Amitabh Bachchan is an avid blogger. Much more regular than I am and I visit his blog every day. For a few days, ironically from the eve of his 66th birthday, he has not blogged (until yesterday) and the reason is known to anyone with access to a newspaper or television.

In a very revealing blog post (Day 472), Amitabh talks about the ordeal he went through. Read it here, and please read it fully. After an initial descriptive tone, the article begins to offer a much closer look into the man. If you ignore the fact that it is Amitabh who is writing this, you can almost see the makings of a haunting short story, with a kicker at the end. Wow!

The air up there

Sachin Tendulkar has scored more Test runs and centuries than anyone else. Tendulkar has also scored more ODI runs and centuries than anyone else. Naturally, anyone with a pen in hand and a column to fill will be toasting the little guy for the next few days. There are many such articles to pick from. Unless I see something really well-written I shall stick with these two (with Roebuck and Bal in the wings, if and when they do write something).

a) Harsh Bhogle muses about what Tendulkar has meant to India.

b) Aakash Chopra provides an insider's perspective on how Tendulkar prepares for the game.

Shadow boxing

The second Test began with a bang - literally - when Peter Siddle managed to pound Gambhir's hemet with his first ball in Test cricket. That was as good as it got for the next 80-odd overs for him, until he became the 18th debutant to bag Sachin Tendulkar as his first scalp. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Anil Kumble did everyone a favor by deciding to rest his shoulder for an additional week, giving up the reins to MS Dhoni. A fully-fit Anil Kumble at Feroz Shah Kotla is a much scarier proposition for Ponting than a half-fit player open to media criticism. Dhoni then did the Indians a favor by winning the toss and electing to bat. Sehwag got off to his (now customary) blazing start and then got out to a "strangler", a wide delivery down the leg-side that was tickled to the keeper. 70 for 1. By the way, this was the 6th time in the last 7 innings that the Delhi duo has put on an opening partnership of at least 50 runs.

Rahul Dravid came in, slowed down the scoring, as is the case with him, but did not get bogged down. After getting his eye in, he began to expand, and a Dravid not seen for a couple of years now began to emerge. Though he got out, chopping a ball he should have left well alone onto his stumps, Dravid showed enough to indicate that a big innings is around the corner. 146 for 2. Three balls later, Gambhir did not move his feet and edged to the keeper. 146 for 3. Another promising start for Gambhir, another wasted start for Gambhir. Someday he will have a conversation with Aakash Chopra and discuss the cost of not converting starts into centuries. If you are not one of the Fab Four these things are held against you by the selectors.

Tendulkar hung around, getting his bearings, while Laxman began to find the gaps. Just when it appeared that the tide had been stemmed, Mitchell Johnson bowled another "strangler", a wide delivery from over the wicket (Johnson is left-handed) that Laxman tickled behind for Haddin to pull of a very sharp catch, tumbling to his left. In the pavilion, long after he came back, Laxman sat quietly, glaring away at the ground as if he had lost a fortune there. And indeed, a fortune was what he gave away today.

Ganguly and Tendulkar then showed the previous batsmen what they had left at the table. Ganguly was the aggressor, while Tendulkar was content to pick up the ones and twos. It appeared as if Sachin had something on his mind. When he crossed 15, the relief on his face, and the commotion that followed showed what it was. Sachin contributed just 17 of the first 50 runs put together with the Bengali southpaw. Ganguly was on 32 when Sachin crossed Brian Lara. Once the mark was established Tendulkar began to expand his range. An on-drive, a square-drive, and a patented high-finish flick for boundaries showed us that the old Tendulkar was still among us, hidden for the most part, but still there. Going from strength to strength, Tendulkar became the first man to cross 12,000 runs, and a 40th century seemed inevitable when the great man showed some nerves. With about 2 or 3 overs to go before the close, Siddle was bowling with the new ball. Sachin was 20 runs from the century and it appeared that he wanted to get to the mark on the first day itself. The first ball was dispatched to the cover, high elbow and all. The next ball was inner-edged to the fine-leg fence. Three balls later, a wid-ish full ball beckoned and Tendulkar fell to the same trap that he had famously ignored during his 241 at Sydney 5 years ago. The ball flew low and fast towards Hayden's left ankle. Very calmly, the big man stayed low and collected the ball softly in his bucket-like hands and rolled over in joy. Mark Waugh and Warne have retired but the Aussies have not lost anything in the slip catching department with Hayden and Ponting.

Tendulkar's 88 was at least 112 runs less than I'd have liked to have seen from him. With that wicket the Aussies have inched back in the match. This pitch is one that demands a score of at least 450-500 in the first innings. Expecting the bowlers to hang around for a long time is a dangerous habit to get into, notwithstanding the fact that Harbhajan Singh has scored three consecutive 50's against the Aussies (wouldn't the Fab Four love to have that streak?!).

Ganguly and Dhoni have to take India past 450. The problem is that by sending in Ishant Sharma as a nightwatchman, we have effectively reduced one more tailender to play with. Hopefully, Ganguly can stick around till Dhoni comes. Anything less than 500 and I fear that Adelaide 2003, in reverse, may happen.

At the end of the first day of the first Test, Michael Clarke's dismissal put a spring in the Indian's step as they went in for the night. Tendulkar's dismissal did the same for the Aussies in this Test. The Aussies are slightly ahead right now, but another 100 runs with the loss of only a wicket or two will swing it heavily in India's favor.

I can hardly wait...