The climax of the Mansoor Khan's Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar from 1992 has always been dear to me. We have seen umpteen movies with the David felling the Goliath theme. This particular movie can't be rated as an original. Neither can we call it a classic. But it was one of those movies that left you with a warm feeling inside the chest.
What made the movie special is the 'Killer Instinct' shown by the protagonist, a role played with gusto by Aamir Khan. This special talent of Indian Cinema has since gone on to act in many more wonderful movies. But for me, JJWS will remain the quintessential Aamir Khan movie. It required real courage and conviction to make a movie with cycling as the background in a country gone crazy about Cricket.
A country with a people who are easily satisfied has always excelled in underachievement. We will be happy if Sachin Tendulkar scores century even if India lose the match. We will find a zillion excuses from the Umpiring decisions to the pitch to the weather to the crash of stock markets for our sporting defeats!
We look at the magnificent heights achieved by our neighbors in Olympic games with awe and then are quick to cast aspersions about doping and cheating. We are not good to our own rare winners. Our burgeoning sport bureaucracy ill-treats even the nest in the business. So what are we left with? Bhindra fails during the very next opportunity. When we have our own sports bodies to demoralize and defeat our athletes, we don't need any opponents.
Cricket is a rare case where we can say a sport has been administered marginally better than other sports. The way we have managed our national game can be described in a single word; Shame! Even the sporting Gods have been unkind to Indian Hockey. They robbed India of a possible chance to win a title after a long time. We rarely win anything on the world stage. This happens only in reel life, never in real life!
With such a gloomy scenario, there is 'One and Only' true Champion among the gigantic mass of humanity we have in this country. And 'HE' has time and again lifted our morale every time the much hyped Cricket team went down tamely in ICC events.
Yes, he too has lost and was blamed for the lack of 'Killer Instinct' like any other Indian. This Gentle Tamil Brahman boy from Chennai has enthralled the Chess world with his lightening speed and sharp skills. But at the age of 40, he also has proved he has what we always doubted in Indians; the Killer Instinct!
Why is it that Indians lack in this instinct when our neighbors are all aggression and killer instinct incarnated. I am not only talking about China. Just look at Pakistan's overall records in Test Cricket. They took 112 lesser tests to notch up 100 Test wins and that too in double quick time. This is in spite of the chronic infighting and politics plaguing them. They have produced more quicker and aggressive fast bowlers in every single decade since 1947 than all those produced by India since we started playing Cricket.
Why are we lagging behind? The stock answer is lack of 'Killer Instinct'. But is this true? We have had guys like Sreesanth, Manoj Prabhakar, Saurav Ganguly and Harbhajan who have not only been aggressive with their game but also with the body-language. We are ready to suffer tantrums of the likes of Andre Nel, but are quick to pounce upon Sreesanth and admonish him and even ridicule him.
We have double standards when it comes to our own bad boys. Aussie bad boys are good but our own are not! No wonder we don't have many aggressive guys. This is where and why we lag behind. We are too harsh on externally aggressive Indians. It is true that Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are Gentleman Cricketers who are also fiercely competitors without being demonstrative. But without characters like Sreesanth, we will definitely lag behind when it comes to giving back aggression with aggression.
With all the respect and tribute due to Vishwanathan Anand, the Greatest Indian Sports Icon; I would love to see a lot more aggro from Indian Sports-persons on the international stage. Something like this when repeated more often augurs well for India in sports and sports in India.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
India vs Short Ball; Is it really a Long Haul?
Short Pitched bowling and Indian batsmen are the flavor of the season. Anything connected to Team India gains maximum footage and TRPs and hence will linger longer. From former Pakistan players to current West Indies Captain to Champion West Indies batsman; everyone seems to be concerned about the 'shortcomings' of our 'short' players against 'short-pitched' bowling in this 'short' form of Cricket!
To make matters worse, we have public and official outcry against the private brawl in a St. Lucia Pub. Youngistan is known for the brash confidence and an understandable attraction towards good life. As long as they were doing well, none complained. The moment they lost, the daggers are out. The same people who carried these Demigods on their shoulders are now busy burning effigies.
Is this 'weakness' against short-pitched bowling unique to Indians? I beg to disagree. It gets highlighted only when an Indian batsman fails against short pitched stuff. If we look at International players, we have had South African batsman falling to the short ball many a times. Justin Langer, Simon Katich and even Rickey Ponting have been targeted by tall bowlers with short balls.
Even the short and frail Ajit Agarkar has got players like Damien Martin, Carl Hooper and Simon Katich out with short balls. Sri Lankan batmen have done well mostly in Sri Lanka and they were found wanting on English and Australian pitches time and again. Pakistan doesn't have a single batsman who can be called safe against short pitched bowling.
India have beaten Australia in Australia, South Africa in South Africa, West Indies in West Indies, England in England and New Zealand in New Zealand over the past five years. Apart from the all conquering Australians; only India, South Africa and England have done well playing away from home. All other teams have floundered on fast pitches. India have won some memorable wins on bounciest of pitches.
When Rahul Dravid was injured by a freak bouncer by the Bangladesh motor mouth Shahdat Hossain; he claimed, "We are targeting the weakness of batsmen like Sehwag and Dravid against bouncers". What a joke! Even minnows love to enjoy their 30 seconds of limelight at the cost of the Indians! India still hammered Bangladesh 2-0 in that series.
This in no way denies the problems Indian batsmen have while facing 'short pitched bowling'. The problem exists without an iota of doubt. But so is the case with most of the other teams. The problem in reality is with our bowling. We don't have someone who can bounce out opposition batsmen. When Srinath was raw and energetic, he had knocked down quite a few International batsmen with bouncers. Since then, we have seriously lacked in that energy. Ian Chappelle is right, India are a Team short on Champion Bowlers.
Zaheer is a very good bowler. But he lacks the bouncer to soften the batsmen and then the yorker to bowl them out. Ishant, RP, Srisanth and many others are on the Radar. But none has shown the kind of sustained aggression shown by the likes of Dale Steyn, Jerome Taylor, Mohammed Asif, Lasit Malinga or Dirk Nannes. If India have made it to the top of Test table, and are the No. 2 ODI team; it is because of these same batsmen and in spite of the 20 year old weakness!
Let us not get carried away by this defeat in the shortest form of Cricket. The shortcomings can be sorted out. No team in the world is comfortable playing against sustained and consistent short-pitched bowling. There are exceptions, but mostly this is a rule. We actually need more aggressive bowlers who can bounce out opponents. When the opponents know that they will get back as good as they give, the short pitched bowling will cease to haunt Indian batsmen.
Except Australia till the retirement of their Champion Players, no team has played more consistently than India in the longer formats of the game! Failure in ICC events and those defeats in all those finals are held against them. But we forget they entered so many finals and still figure in the upper part of the table in Tests and ODIs. Let us give them the credit for that and all the support they need during these moments of depression.
Let us not become 'short-sighted' by blaming and axing those players who should be the cream of Indian batting in future. Team India needs our support. Let the seniors and mentors spend a little more time with these boys and the boys will be men soon!
To make matters worse, we have public and official outcry against the private brawl in a St. Lucia Pub. Youngistan is known for the brash confidence and an understandable attraction towards good life. As long as they were doing well, none complained. The moment they lost, the daggers are out. The same people who carried these Demigods on their shoulders are now busy burning effigies.
Is this 'weakness' against short-pitched bowling unique to Indians? I beg to disagree. It gets highlighted only when an Indian batsman fails against short pitched stuff. If we look at International players, we have had South African batsman falling to the short ball many a times. Justin Langer, Simon Katich and even Rickey Ponting have been targeted by tall bowlers with short balls.
Even the short and frail Ajit Agarkar has got players like Damien Martin, Carl Hooper and Simon Katich out with short balls. Sri Lankan batmen have done well mostly in Sri Lanka and they were found wanting on English and Australian pitches time and again. Pakistan doesn't have a single batsman who can be called safe against short pitched bowling.
India have beaten Australia in Australia, South Africa in South Africa, West Indies in West Indies, England in England and New Zealand in New Zealand over the past five years. Apart from the all conquering Australians; only India, South Africa and England have done well playing away from home. All other teams have floundered on fast pitches. India have won some memorable wins on bounciest of pitches.
When Rahul Dravid was injured by a freak bouncer by the Bangladesh motor mouth Shahdat Hossain; he claimed, "We are targeting the weakness of batsmen like Sehwag and Dravid against bouncers". What a joke! Even minnows love to enjoy their 30 seconds of limelight at the cost of the Indians! India still hammered Bangladesh 2-0 in that series.
This in no way denies the problems Indian batsmen have while facing 'short pitched bowling'. The problem exists without an iota of doubt. But so is the case with most of the other teams. The problem in reality is with our bowling. We don't have someone who can bounce out opposition batsmen. When Srinath was raw and energetic, he had knocked down quite a few International batsmen with bouncers. Since then, we have seriously lacked in that energy. Ian Chappelle is right, India are a Team short on Champion Bowlers.
Zaheer is a very good bowler. But he lacks the bouncer to soften the batsmen and then the yorker to bowl them out. Ishant, RP, Srisanth and many others are on the Radar. But none has shown the kind of sustained aggression shown by the likes of Dale Steyn, Jerome Taylor, Mohammed Asif, Lasit Malinga or Dirk Nannes. If India have made it to the top of Test table, and are the No. 2 ODI team; it is because of these same batsmen and in spite of the 20 year old weakness!
Let us not get carried away by this defeat in the shortest form of Cricket. The shortcomings can be sorted out. No team in the world is comfortable playing against sustained and consistent short-pitched bowling. There are exceptions, but mostly this is a rule. We actually need more aggressive bowlers who can bounce out opponents. When the opponents know that they will get back as good as they give, the short pitched bowling will cease to haunt Indian batsmen.
Except Australia till the retirement of their Champion Players, no team has played more consistently than India in the longer formats of the game! Failure in ICC events and those defeats in all those finals are held against them. But we forget they entered so many finals and still figure in the upper part of the table in Tests and ODIs. Let us give them the credit for that and all the support they need during these moments of depression.
Let us not become 'short-sighted' by blaming and axing those players who should be the cream of Indian batting in future. Team India needs our support. Let the seniors and mentors spend a little more time with these boys and the boys will be men soon!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
After the Power Play !
What a cracker of a Final; was what we expected! Australia, the unbeatable team as aired by Shaun Tait and England, who never aired anything except their displeasure with the Duckworth-Lewis method! What we got instead was a crack in the Armour of the Unbeatable! So what will we remember after this Caribbean Cricket Carnival? Here we go!
Duckworth-Lewis method: ICC has for quite some time 'ducked' the issue of the 'worth' of this method to decide the rain affected matches. There appears to be some madness behind this method when it comes to T-20 matches. No team would like to bat first when there is a cloud cover. No, they will not be worried about the bowlers swinging the ball; they will be worried about the calculators swinging the fortunes even before you can say Duckworth-Lewis. These two gentlemen and their no so gentle method!
Shaun Tait: Time to keep his tongue tight and line and length too. Shooting from the lips and then see the cup slip from your grip is a good lesson for all Superstars and Superstars in the making; Gautham Gambhir included.
Paul Collingwood: He seems reluctant to talk except when forced by circumstances. The bloodiest hard-working and dedicated Cricketer since Steve Waugh deserves all the applause and the right to hit the winning runs in a final against Australia! His equating the World Cup win to Ashes win has left many a people dumb. But we have to realize; for an Englishman, any win against the descendants of those exiled criminals from Down-under is sacred. Only Aussie the Poms will not hate will be Rickey Ponting, the only Australian Captain to lose Ashes twice!
Yuveraj Singh: Talent and memories of past glory aren't enough to fetch you immortality. You need dedication and direction. Unfortunately the most gifted Indian batsman since Sachin Tendulkar lacks both and looks like a spent-force at 28. Can he redeem himself? Let us hope he does manage for the sake of Indian Cricket! They don't make Match-winners by software programming! If they could, India would have been Champions forever!
England: This team of sincere and hard working professionals has 'Flowered' into an awesome fighting unit under the ultra-dedicated Zimbabwean Andy. Kevin Peitersen has remained calm like a sage and played like God throughout. He was rightly blessed with a beautiful baby as a reward, a Man of the Series award and the Winners trophy. The first ever for England in any form of Cricket!
Australia: In spite of the tame loss in the finals, Aussies have played glorious Cricket throughout this Cup and failed just once. They still are the best team in the world by a few yards, now that England have accelerated with this win!
Team India: Remember you are as good as your last win and as bad as your last defeat. Poor Dhoni and his boys; even their loo habits are being criticized these days! We fail to remember England have won their first ever world title after inventing and playing the game for over five thousand years. South Africa have yet to show anything but for an obscure Champions Trophy Silverware.
Pakistan and India have almost same kind of records in ICC Championships. Sri Lanka have won more Asian Cups and done well, but are not really better than India on world stage. New Zealand have won one single Champions Trophy thanks to Indian habit of choking in finals. West Indies have won just a fluke title in the 2004 Champions Trophy final because England choked. But for this, they have won precious little since 1979 on ICC stage.
When South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and England fail to qualify, that is taken for granted. When Pakistan fail, that has to match-fixing! But when India fail, it is only because of their 'shortcomings' against 'short balls'! The shortcomings are shortlisted by every channel, tabloid and expert on the planet! And this includes this particular blogger!
Except for the almighty Australians, no team has shown consistency over the past 25 years and this is the truth. If at all, Team India showed real consistency under Saurav Ganguly. They lost almost all the finals they played under Dada except the One where England again choked after scoring 325!
South Africa: Their tryst with destiny continues in ICC events. The Best Equipped Test team in the world come croppers when it comes to Multi-Nation events. Some things never change!
New Zealand: Not even die-hard supporters expected them to do any better and they came and went back without much of a fanfare or brickbats! Poor Indians, the weight of expectations always pulls them down!
Pakistan: Something is seriously wrong in Pakistan. First time in living memory, we haven't heard cries of match-fixing from across the border and nobody has been suspended yet! This is when a tail-end batsman hits a stupid shot to hand over one run win to the Kiwis and then they conceded 53 runs from 16 balls to an eighth wicket partnership against the Aussies. Shahid Afridi has so many things in common with our own Viru Sehwag. Both are quite capable of destroying any bowling attack and wagging the tongue. And both make very bad Captains! Viru almost knows it but Afridi doesn't.
The Minnows: Most of the second rung teams are good for that rare 'one good day'. Including Bangladesh, the minnows don't measure up to much on the International scene. Even the best talents from these teams combined together will not be good enough to compete consistently with the G-8. We don't need Gautham Gambhir to declare this.
And finally the West Indies: They played true to character. Not yet ready to be winners but quite capable of bouncing out better teams on their day! It was good to see some quality International Cricket in the Caribbean. Cricket needs West Indies to flourish and for that, they need to win more often!
Duckworth-Lewis method: ICC has for quite some time 'ducked' the issue of the 'worth' of this method to decide the rain affected matches. There appears to be some madness behind this method when it comes to T-20 matches. No team would like to bat first when there is a cloud cover. No, they will not be worried about the bowlers swinging the ball; they will be worried about the calculators swinging the fortunes even before you can say Duckworth-Lewis. These two gentlemen and their no so gentle method!
Shaun Tait: Time to keep his tongue tight and line and length too. Shooting from the lips and then see the cup slip from your grip is a good lesson for all Superstars and Superstars in the making; Gautham Gambhir included.
Paul Collingwood: He seems reluctant to talk except when forced by circumstances. The bloodiest hard-working and dedicated Cricketer since Steve Waugh deserves all the applause and the right to hit the winning runs in a final against Australia! His equating the World Cup win to Ashes win has left many a people dumb. But we have to realize; for an Englishman, any win against the descendants of those exiled criminals from Down-under is sacred. Only Aussie the Poms will not hate will be Rickey Ponting, the only Australian Captain to lose Ashes twice!
Yuveraj Singh: Talent and memories of past glory aren't enough to fetch you immortality. You need dedication and direction. Unfortunately the most gifted Indian batsman since Sachin Tendulkar lacks both and looks like a spent-force at 28. Can he redeem himself? Let us hope he does manage for the sake of Indian Cricket! They don't make Match-winners by software programming! If they could, India would have been Champions forever!
England: This team of sincere and hard working professionals has 'Flowered' into an awesome fighting unit under the ultra-dedicated Zimbabwean Andy. Kevin Peitersen has remained calm like a sage and played like God throughout. He was rightly blessed with a beautiful baby as a reward, a Man of the Series award and the Winners trophy. The first ever for England in any form of Cricket!
Australia: In spite of the tame loss in the finals, Aussies have played glorious Cricket throughout this Cup and failed just once. They still are the best team in the world by a few yards, now that England have accelerated with this win!
Team India: Remember you are as good as your last win and as bad as your last defeat. Poor Dhoni and his boys; even their loo habits are being criticized these days! We fail to remember England have won their first ever world title after inventing and playing the game for over five thousand years. South Africa have yet to show anything but for an obscure Champions Trophy Silverware.
Pakistan and India have almost same kind of records in ICC Championships. Sri Lanka have won more Asian Cups and done well, but are not really better than India on world stage. New Zealand have won one single Champions Trophy thanks to Indian habit of choking in finals. West Indies have won just a fluke title in the 2004 Champions Trophy final because England choked. But for this, they have won precious little since 1979 on ICC stage.
When South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and England fail to qualify, that is taken for granted. When Pakistan fail, that has to match-fixing! But when India fail, it is only because of their 'shortcomings' against 'short balls'! The shortcomings are shortlisted by every channel, tabloid and expert on the planet! And this includes this particular blogger!
Except for the almighty Australians, no team has shown consistency over the past 25 years and this is the truth. If at all, Team India showed real consistency under Saurav Ganguly. They lost almost all the finals they played under Dada except the One where England again choked after scoring 325!
South Africa: Their tryst with destiny continues in ICC events. The Best Equipped Test team in the world come croppers when it comes to Multi-Nation events. Some things never change!
New Zealand: Not even die-hard supporters expected them to do any better and they came and went back without much of a fanfare or brickbats! Poor Indians, the weight of expectations always pulls them down!
Pakistan: Something is seriously wrong in Pakistan. First time in living memory, we haven't heard cries of match-fixing from across the border and nobody has been suspended yet! This is when a tail-end batsman hits a stupid shot to hand over one run win to the Kiwis and then they conceded 53 runs from 16 balls to an eighth wicket partnership against the Aussies. Shahid Afridi has so many things in common with our own Viru Sehwag. Both are quite capable of destroying any bowling attack and wagging the tongue. And both make very bad Captains! Viru almost knows it but Afridi doesn't.
The Minnows: Most of the second rung teams are good for that rare 'one good day'. Including Bangladesh, the minnows don't measure up to much on the International scene. Even the best talents from these teams combined together will not be good enough to compete consistently with the G-8. We don't need Gautham Gambhir to declare this.
And finally the West Indies: They played true to character. Not yet ready to be winners but quite capable of bouncing out better teams on their day! It was good to see some quality International Cricket in the Caribbean. Cricket needs West Indies to flourish and for that, they need to win more often!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Sack Dhoni? No chance !
A friend sent a text message today that went like this, "If Dravid could be held responsible for India's World Cup debacle in 2007 and asked to quit, isn't it fair to sack Dhoni, now that he has failed to lead the team beyond second round in two successive T-20 World Cups?".
A lot of Dhoni haters are out with vitriol. I too am upset with Dhoni's Uncommon Sense and with the way he has managed the affairs during this T-20 WC. But I don't agree with these knee-jerk reactions. We are too emotional and are too quick to react. It is either absolute adulation or damned demolition of Demigods; no balance whatsoever!
I believe Dhoni should continue to Captain India at least till 2011 World Cup. This is absolutely not the time to change the Captain or the Coach. And here are the reasons...
Dhoni has done exceedingly well in Tests and under him, India have reached the pinnacle of Test Championship. In ODI matches too, India have done pretty well under Dhoni. Even though the fabulous seniors have a big role in this accent, Dhoni's role can't be ignored.
And the second reason is more pertinent. Who will replace him? Let us take a look at the probables.
1] Virendar Sehwag: India's Premier Test Match Batsman since 2005, Viru needs to be free of all the stress. We can't afford to entangle his uncluttered mind in cobwebs of self doubts. India's success depends on Sehwagging. Leave him alone, Sehwag is too precious to be Captain!
2] Gautham Gambhir: We have seen his leadership qualities when he lead Delhi Daredevils to disaster during IPL-3. For a chap with a foot in the mouth, the added burden of Captaincy will mean doom. And who knows; he might say England are an Ordinary side and then end up losing to Ireland, Antarctica and even Uganda during next T-20 World Cup.
3] Yuveraj Singh: The way he has played over the past 3 months, Yuvi should thank his fortunes, Dhoni and Selectors for selecting him for the Caribbean tour. He doesn't deserve a place in India-A team in his current form and shape.
4] Harbhajan Singh: I mentioned him just because he is a senior player. He has absolutely no leadership qualities.
5] Suresh Raina: He is a good long term prospect. But still too 'Short' on International experience to be a leader of Men. Let him lead the boys first and then we will assess him!
6] Who else... But Dhoni?
I have not mentioned Sachin, Dravid and Laxman simply because they will not be interested in this job anymore!
So we have to persist with Dhoni. He still is the best bet when it comes to Captaincy; simply because his average has not collapsed after becoming the Captain even though he has lost a lot of flair at the crease. Almost all Indian Captains went downhill after inheriting the mantle and Dhoni is the only exception. So like it or not; Dhoni is here to 'Stay'!
A lot of Dhoni haters are out with vitriol. I too am upset with Dhoni's Uncommon Sense and with the way he has managed the affairs during this T-20 WC. But I don't agree with these knee-jerk reactions. We are too emotional and are too quick to react. It is either absolute adulation or damned demolition of Demigods; no balance whatsoever!
I believe Dhoni should continue to Captain India at least till 2011 World Cup. This is absolutely not the time to change the Captain or the Coach. And here are the reasons...
Dhoni has done exceedingly well in Tests and under him, India have reached the pinnacle of Test Championship. In ODI matches too, India have done pretty well under Dhoni. Even though the fabulous seniors have a big role in this accent, Dhoni's role can't be ignored.
And the second reason is more pertinent. Who will replace him? Let us take a look at the probables.
1] Virendar Sehwag: India's Premier Test Match Batsman since 2005, Viru needs to be free of all the stress. We can't afford to entangle his uncluttered mind in cobwebs of self doubts. India's success depends on Sehwagging. Leave him alone, Sehwag is too precious to be Captain!
2] Gautham Gambhir: We have seen his leadership qualities when he lead Delhi Daredevils to disaster during IPL-3. For a chap with a foot in the mouth, the added burden of Captaincy will mean doom. And who knows; he might say England are an Ordinary side and then end up losing to Ireland, Antarctica and even Uganda during next T-20 World Cup.
3] Yuveraj Singh: The way he has played over the past 3 months, Yuvi should thank his fortunes, Dhoni and Selectors for selecting him for the Caribbean tour. He doesn't deserve a place in India-A team in his current form and shape.
4] Harbhajan Singh: I mentioned him just because he is a senior player. He has absolutely no leadership qualities.
5] Suresh Raina: He is a good long term prospect. But still too 'Short' on International experience to be a leader of Men. Let him lead the boys first and then we will assess him!
6] Who else... But Dhoni?
I have not mentioned Sachin, Dravid and Laxman simply because they will not be interested in this job anymore!
So we have to persist with Dhoni. He still is the best bet when it comes to Captaincy; simply because his average has not collapsed after becoming the Captain even though he has lost a lot of flair at the crease. Almost all Indian Captains went downhill after inheriting the mantle and Dhoni is the only exception. So like it or not; Dhoni is here to 'Stay'!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Uncommon Sense !
Common sense is not so common! Said French Philosopher Voltaire in 1764. This quotable quote has been used and abused a zillion times since. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni proved once again yesterday that Voltaire is valid 246 years since the quote. Some things never change.
Dhoni has been credited with a lot of credit for making a World Beating Team out of Team India. We indeed are No. 1 Test Team. But this mainly has been due to 'Golden Oldies' like Dravid, Laxman, Sachin and Sehwag. My reservations about the 'Youngistan' brigade has been all too well documented.
But what happened yesterday against West Indies beats all logic and all definitions of common sense. Let us examine this. First of all Dhoni did the Ganguly by inviting Australians to bat first after winning the toss in the first Super-8 match. The two 'W' s of New Generation Australia pummeled Indian bowlers on a good wicket. Watson and Warner were simply unstoppable and India lost half the battle here.
Ravindra Jadeja carrying the scars of IPL suspension has never looked confident. He was hammered in his first over and still got another over and ended up conceding almost 90% of Australia's margin of victory in his two overs. And then we know what happened.
Now after this debacle, India had the best chances of beating West Indies by batting first and putting up a decent score on board. We know how the Windies middle order is vulnerable against spin while chasing targets. Sri Lanka had proved it.
Common sense would have prompted Dhoni to go in for a change in team and replace Jadeja with anyone else in team. Common sense would have meant India would have batted first after winning the toss. Common sense means playing to your strength and using your best talent to the best effect. And common sense demands you be flexible.
But just like the disaster of 2009 T-20 World Cup, Dhoni has remained adamant. He refuses to change. He has always gone by instincts rather than common wisdom. Giving the last over to Jogindar Sharma in 2007 T-20 World Cup Final was a gamble. Jogindar gave a full-toss for a six and then bowled a wide ball. India still won because the batsman was an unbelievably stupid Misba Ul Haq. Only a Pakistani can play the ball in the air when you need to score one to tie and two to win.
You don't get to see a Stupid Aussie. You can call them arrogant *$@#^~!* and any other damn thing, but not stupid. Well, an Aussie can get carried away with a mike in his hands, but not when he has a bat or a ball. That never happens and India suffered.
Against Windies again, Dhoni won the toss and invited Chris Gail to run riot! Riot he ran and India were once again found 'short' of technique against short pitched stuff. Similar bowling was used by South Africans too. But when you don't have the mounting asking rate hanging like a sword over your head, Suresh Raina and any Indian can bat and swat the short or long balls.
Dhoni did the unthinkable by opting to bowl on a wicket that would have become harder to bat on as it proved. Then he actually made Jadeja bowl and he went for 16 in his first over. As if that wasn't enough Jadeja got another over. Jadeja's figures for the 2 Super-8 matches go like this: 4-0-69-1. In a single match, this would have been a world record.
Knowing Vijay's lack of technique and the good form shown by Rohit, it would have been better to promote Rohit. But Dhoni believes in doing things his own way. As I write this, India have one and a half feet out of this episode of the Caribbean Carnival. A miracle against the in form Sri Lanka and a 100 runs drubbing for the West Indies against Aussies can take India to the next stage. But then, Team India don't deserve to make it to the next level.
So why did Dhoni not conform to time tested practice? Every Indian including my Mom would have elected to bat first and play Vinay Kumar in place of Jadeja. But Dhoni did things his way and now blames it on India's 20 year old weakness against 'short pitched' bowling. Why doesn't this become a problem when India bat first or when they chase smaller totals?
Dhoni is not a common man any more. He always thinks out of the box and sometimes even suitcase. That is why he is left with his mobile phone boxes while all his mobile phones are stolen. So what Dhoni practices is out of the common. So can we call this 'Uncommon Sense'? This is an exact opposite of Voltaire, 'Uncommon sense is not so Uncommon'; especially among Indian Cricket Captains !
Dhoni has been credited with a lot of credit for making a World Beating Team out of Team India. We indeed are No. 1 Test Team. But this mainly has been due to 'Golden Oldies' like Dravid, Laxman, Sachin and Sehwag. My reservations about the 'Youngistan' brigade has been all too well documented.
But what happened yesterday against West Indies beats all logic and all definitions of common sense. Let us examine this. First of all Dhoni did the Ganguly by inviting Australians to bat first after winning the toss in the first Super-8 match. The two 'W' s of New Generation Australia pummeled Indian bowlers on a good wicket. Watson and Warner were simply unstoppable and India lost half the battle here.
Ravindra Jadeja carrying the scars of IPL suspension has never looked confident. He was hammered in his first over and still got another over and ended up conceding almost 90% of Australia's margin of victory in his two overs. And then we know what happened.
Now after this debacle, India had the best chances of beating West Indies by batting first and putting up a decent score on board. We know how the Windies middle order is vulnerable against spin while chasing targets. Sri Lanka had proved it.
Common sense would have prompted Dhoni to go in for a change in team and replace Jadeja with anyone else in team. Common sense would have meant India would have batted first after winning the toss. Common sense means playing to your strength and using your best talent to the best effect. And common sense demands you be flexible.
But just like the disaster of 2009 T-20 World Cup, Dhoni has remained adamant. He refuses to change. He has always gone by instincts rather than common wisdom. Giving the last over to Jogindar Sharma in 2007 T-20 World Cup Final was a gamble. Jogindar gave a full-toss for a six and then bowled a wide ball. India still won because the batsman was an unbelievably stupid Misba Ul Haq. Only a Pakistani can play the ball in the air when you need to score one to tie and two to win.
You don't get to see a Stupid Aussie. You can call them arrogant *$@#^~!* and any other damn thing, but not stupid. Well, an Aussie can get carried away with a mike in his hands, but not when he has a bat or a ball. That never happens and India suffered.
Against Windies again, Dhoni won the toss and invited Chris Gail to run riot! Riot he ran and India were once again found 'short' of technique against short pitched stuff. Similar bowling was used by South Africans too. But when you don't have the mounting asking rate hanging like a sword over your head, Suresh Raina and any Indian can bat and swat the short or long balls.
Dhoni did the unthinkable by opting to bowl on a wicket that would have become harder to bat on as it proved. Then he actually made Jadeja bowl and he went for 16 in his first over. As if that wasn't enough Jadeja got another over. Jadeja's figures for the 2 Super-8 matches go like this: 4-0-69-1. In a single match, this would have been a world record.
Knowing Vijay's lack of technique and the good form shown by Rohit, it would have been better to promote Rohit. But Dhoni believes in doing things his own way. As I write this, India have one and a half feet out of this episode of the Caribbean Carnival. A miracle against the in form Sri Lanka and a 100 runs drubbing for the West Indies against Aussies can take India to the next stage. But then, Team India don't deserve to make it to the next level.
So why did Dhoni not conform to time tested practice? Every Indian including my Mom would have elected to bat first and play Vinay Kumar in place of Jadeja. But Dhoni did things his way and now blames it on India's 20 year old weakness against 'short pitched' bowling. Why doesn't this become a problem when India bat first or when they chase smaller totals?
Dhoni is not a common man any more. He always thinks out of the box and sometimes even suitcase. That is why he is left with his mobile phone boxes while all his mobile phones are stolen. So what Dhoni practices is out of the common. So can we call this 'Uncommon Sense'? This is an exact opposite of Voltaire, 'Uncommon sense is not so Uncommon'; especially among Indian Cricket Captains !
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Old is Gold !
One day they play like they are the 'Masters of the Universe' and then follow it up like 'Lambs to Slaughter'. This is team India at the T-20 World Cup. But looking at the body language of Dhoni's boys, it seems all over for this team. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is something seriously wrong somewhere. I am not sure what it is, but some strain is on.
Virendar Sehwag has a jinx with T-20 World Cup. He was benched in favor of Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa during the famous final in 2007. And now he misses his second successive Cup due to injury. Praveen Kumar who could run out Smith from the deep during the South Africa match didn't bowl at death when Yusuf Pathan was bleeding runs. 1-0-3-0 are PK's bowling figures. Was he unfit only to bowl? And then he suddenly gets injured and we have very little information about the type or extent of injury except those vague words 'Side Strain'.
As replacement, we have Umesh Yadav who was not even in the first 30 probables list. This is surprising because a more experienced campaigner like R. P. Singh or even Ishant Sharma would have been a better choice. Poor Yadav still doesn't have the necessary papers to fly to the Caribbean! ICC has yet to clear his selection too.
Strange are the ways of our Selectors. Looking at the way Spinners have done so far and the absolutely lackluster show of Raveendra Jadeja, it would have been better to fly in Amit Mishra or Pragyan Ojha. Spinners will dictate terms during later parts of this event. But the question is, will India make it thus far?
I have my doubts. Gautham Gambhir is never the same batsman when a certain Marauder named Virendar Sehwag isn't around. This has been established time and again. Short pitched bowling is Suresh Raina's shortcoming and will remain so for some time. Murali Vijay is woefully short of technique to handle moving and raising balls. Yuveraj Singh is yet to come to terms with his relegation to the seniors list!
Zaheer Khan looks half the bowler he usually is and quarter the fielder. Rohit Sharma had a good day against Aussies, but I suspect his utility when it comes to winning matches. Jadeja is demoralized and Pathan looks more like a bowler who can slog for exactly one over. Bhajji has done well as Opening bowler and Ashish Nehra has surprised everyone so far. Overall team India look as if something is missing in spite of Dhoni's assertion 'We are enjoying our Cricket'!
So it looks as if we have one more ICC event that will pass off into history without much to remember when it comes to an end. So I believe we have to concentrate on 'Test Cricket' because the return of the likes of Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman and Sachin adds weight to the team. People are free to enjoy their own opinions. I don't by any means want to demean the achievement of 'Youngistan' brigade. But I sincerely believe 'Old is Gold'! We are the No. 1 Test Team and have all chances of retaining that tag when the 'Men' come back! No wonder BCCI has asked Australia to accommodate 2 Tests instead of a heap of ODI matches. Thank goodness for some sense!
If Youngistan still manage to go on to reach next stage, I will be as pleased as any other Indian. But as of now, the chances look bleak; as bleak as those of Pakistan!
Virendar Sehwag has a jinx with T-20 World Cup. He was benched in favor of Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa during the famous final in 2007. And now he misses his second successive Cup due to injury. Praveen Kumar who could run out Smith from the deep during the South Africa match didn't bowl at death when Yusuf Pathan was bleeding runs. 1-0-3-0 are PK's bowling figures. Was he unfit only to bowl? And then he suddenly gets injured and we have very little information about the type or extent of injury except those vague words 'Side Strain'.
As replacement, we have Umesh Yadav who was not even in the first 30 probables list. This is surprising because a more experienced campaigner like R. P. Singh or even Ishant Sharma would have been a better choice. Poor Yadav still doesn't have the necessary papers to fly to the Caribbean! ICC has yet to clear his selection too.
Strange are the ways of our Selectors. Looking at the way Spinners have done so far and the absolutely lackluster show of Raveendra Jadeja, it would have been better to fly in Amit Mishra or Pragyan Ojha. Spinners will dictate terms during later parts of this event. But the question is, will India make it thus far?
I have my doubts. Gautham Gambhir is never the same batsman when a certain Marauder named Virendar Sehwag isn't around. This has been established time and again. Short pitched bowling is Suresh Raina's shortcoming and will remain so for some time. Murali Vijay is woefully short of technique to handle moving and raising balls. Yuveraj Singh is yet to come to terms with his relegation to the seniors list!
Zaheer Khan looks half the bowler he usually is and quarter the fielder. Rohit Sharma had a good day against Aussies, but I suspect his utility when it comes to winning matches. Jadeja is demoralized and Pathan looks more like a bowler who can slog for exactly one over. Bhajji has done well as Opening bowler and Ashish Nehra has surprised everyone so far. Overall team India look as if something is missing in spite of Dhoni's assertion 'We are enjoying our Cricket'!
So it looks as if we have one more ICC event that will pass off into history without much to remember when it comes to an end. So I believe we have to concentrate on 'Test Cricket' because the return of the likes of Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman and Sachin adds weight to the team. People are free to enjoy their own opinions. I don't by any means want to demean the achievement of 'Youngistan' brigade. But I sincerely believe 'Old is Gold'! We are the No. 1 Test Team and have all chances of retaining that tag when the 'Men' come back! No wonder BCCI has asked Australia to accommodate 2 Tests instead of a heap of ODI matches. Thank goodness for some sense!
If Youngistan still manage to go on to reach next stage, I will be as pleased as any other Indian. But as of now, the chances look bleak; as bleak as those of Pakistan!
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