Friday, 19 February 2010
India and South Africa; Number 1 and 2! Just by a whisker! What a series this was! Must be rated as the best short series played in India since the India - Australia series in 2001. It had everything a splendid whodunit movie could offer! Magnificent is the word.
7 Centuries with 2 in the same match for one of them. One 5 wicket haul. Some dropped catches and two extremely stupid run-outs. Some huge partnerships and one real collapse. Some pains; Bhajji played with a lot of pain and Khan goes missing on the 'Judgment Day'. Some gains; Amla, Mishra, Petersen and Ishant will carry a lot of confidence from here. Then some intervention by the nature and some Rains. And then finally a humdinger of a finale! What an exciting advertisement for Test Cricket!
I should not be branded partial if this analysis says India were overall better team in the series in spite of the 'Nagpur Horror'. I had definitely been quite critical of India in my earlier post 'Nagpur Disaster and Kolkotta Prayer'. At least quite so of a few 'Key' players. I am happy to see those guys stand up and be counted! It always feels good to see those whom you love; prove you wrong to surprise you pleasantly!
Why India were Better - even though marginally?
Let us look at the South Africans first.
The Rock:
South Africa had just three and a half performers and one of them played throughout entire series bar those few minutes Smith spent at the batting crease! Hashim Amla reminded me of Sunny Gavaskar of the 70s and 80s. Nothing seemed to disturb him; not even Harbhajan's antics and the butter stuck in the hands of Laxman, Vijay, Badri and Raina. He was 'The Rock' of Gibraltar! Even Rahul Dravid would have been proud of this achievement!
And the Shock:
Dale Steyn was lethal during that one session at Nagpur and was good through rest of that test. But in Kolkotta, he was Sehwagged again!
The Greatest All-rounder Ever:
Kallis for me, is the Greatest All-rounder of all times; till someone with a better record comes. He is nearly as good a batsman as Dravid and is much better a bowler than many of those 'fast bowlers' who have played for India. He did play a perfect resurrecting role at Nagpur when South Africa were 9/2 and actually it was Kallis who guided and empowered Hashim Amla. Let's not forget this.
The New Petersen:
Alvero looked like he had watched Sehwagging all night when he started his test career with a style of batting that will make him a 'popular' figure with the IPL Bosses very soon.
And the Rest:
Smith was bowled over by 'My name is Khan'! It will take some time to get over the hangover.
JP Duminy will be remembered for dropping Sehwag and then not scoring as many runs as the catches he dropped. His bowling was better than his batting in the series!
Devilliers will look at the previous series with fondness and would love to forget this one before the ODIs. His keeping was a big bonus, for India. But this man is the future of SA Cricket and he will be back!
As well as anyone would like to see him; this Prince was never meant to be a King! I shudder to think the day when he becomes full time Captain of South Africa. He reminds me of a certain Rizwan Uz Zaman of Pakistan. Stroke-less wonder!
Harris will be remembered for his world record too! To be fair to him, he did bowl well in patches. He got Sachin out cheaply, twice after his centuries! When he had the cushion of a big score and a scorcher of a wicket, he turned the ball big. At Kolkotta, he turned towards the skies for divine intervention and then turned towards Ian Gould to see all those wides declared.
Morkel proved that Murali Vijay is still not good enough for test Cricket. He almost had Sehwag after that run-out hullabaloo. Apart from these, he did little else at Kolkotta. His batting was better than bowling.
Boucher was good at Nagpur and was missed sorely at Kolkotta. His batting and wicket-keeping; both would have made a difference.
Parnell looks like one of those baddies in the Hollywood pot-boilers. He did manage to frustrate Indians as a batsman rather than as a bowler! He was Sehwagged really badly.
So that is the South African Score Card. Now let us look at India!
Sehwagging with no mercy:
Viru Sehwag wags his tongue quite effectively without any self-consciousness. But he does much more than just wagging when he has a bat in hand. He does 'Sehwagging'! Every South African bowler has suffered this. I for one can never have enough of this!
Very Very Special:
There is no doubt about this! Laxman is by far the finest player to bat at No. 5 / 6 for India. When he is around, it is not that obvious. When he is not there; we know what happened at Nagpur! But for heaven's sake, take him out of the slips. He slips more than he catches there!
The God of 'Small' Centuries:
Even though he scored 2 centuries; Sachin will definitely be given 'a few private words' by Sunny Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri when they meet him next time. 100 and 106 and on both occasions falling to 'stupid' shots at the worst moment possible to Harris; That is not done! But to his credit, he has reached where no man ever has imagined thus far and he is still progressing. My only wish is, he doesn't get satisfied with small hundreds!
The Milk Shakti Strongest Man on Earth:
Mahendar Singh Dhoni can be faulted for his exaggerated support to a few players. But none can fault him for his strength of Character. Every time there was a crisis, he has stood up to be counted and stood by those whom he trusts. He fell to vicious deliveries in both innings at Nagpur. And at the Eden, nothing disturbed him. His brain should be studied in detail to know how he manages to remain cool in the worst of the moments!
My Name is Khan and I am a Terrorist!
He has Terrorized Smith and many more batsmen! India missed him sorely on the day-5 at the Eden. But he had proved throughout the series, that he is a major force in World Cricket today.
Bhajji on the Pitch:
Well, the Eden does funny things to this chap. He came back strongly with 8 wickets; the most important one of Morkel at the right moment! I am happy to see him bounce back after I had bashed him on my earlier post. But even here, he acknowledged the 'Jumbo Support' from the venerable Anil Kumble!
My Name is Sharma:
When nothing goes right, you still find yourself with the 'Strongest Man on Earth' to support; and then you 'Stand Tall' and deliver! Deliver he did, when it mattered. Ishant Sharma did do justice to the 'Huge Faith' Dhoni has reposed in him. He did pepper Amla with some really good short stuff on day-1 and softened him for Khan to fell him soon after. And in spite of not being at his best, he got crucial wickets in the second innings.
Mixed Bag of Limited Twists:
Amit means 'Unlimited' and Mishra means 'Mixed'! So literally translated he is 'Unlimited Mixture'. He definitely had a 'Mixed' series. He was caned at Nagpur and came back strongly at the Eden. Except Amla, not one South African managed to read his 'Mixed' up Googlys! Definitely a praiseworthy come back!
Then the relative failures:
Gautam Gambhir had 'The Law of averages' catch up with him badly after 11 tests of continued success. And even the luck and his famed chemistry with Viru failed him at Kolkotta when the world was at their feet.
Badrinath is not at all a 'Bad' player and he proved it at Nagpur with a fighting 50 before he became one of the victims of the Steyn Tsunami. He was unlucky to be denied a 'Night Watchman' on day-2 at the Eden. But his fielding is pathetic and he needs to do something about it.
Murali Vijay had a pretty good beginning to his career against Australia. But Steyn and Morkel have exposed him badly and he needs to tighten his technique. And perhaps he lost his confidence too; and dropped catches he would have taken in sleep.
So overall score-sheet proves my point that India as a Team played better Cricket! I hail all the 'Come from behind' men who were in the 'Pits' at Nagpur but have 'Lapped' South Africa at 'The Eden'! And they have done it without the 'Great Wall of India' throughout and 'My name is Khan' missing at the crucial moments. More Creditable indeed!
And finally a sincere request:
The BCCI and Bengal Cricket Association should give it a thought to name 'The Eden Gardens' as VVS Garden. If not, at least name a Stand at the Eden after the 'VVS'. How many batsmen can boast of such a record at the "Holiest Shrine of Indian Cricket?" And we don't get to see 'Men' like him very often!
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