2 April 2011; A Victory Constructed and Deconstructed !

Attention Please: I am not responsible for the length of this post; the 28 years wait is. That is exactly 70% of the time I have spent on this planet. So those who wish to embark upon this journey are advised to exercise enormous patience. I sincerely believe it is a journey worth and would love it if some of you think so too. Kindly express your reaction. Like it or not, let me know it. Thanks for taking the plunge !

Most of us Indians, especially those who have seen and lived 25 June 1983 have been living to see, savor and attain salvation with an encore ! I can't talk about those who have only heard of this day. Because 2 April 2011 must be a 'This is it' for them like 25 June 1983 was for us.

And then it happened !

DLF-IPL has come too soon for the 'Real Thing' to sink in. But it has finally sunk in. Having been negative throughout Team India's campaign, I am the happiest earthling today. So happy, I have even decided to spend my hard-earned money to watch Sreesanth play for Kochi Tuskers. Why, I have decided to tolerate Sidhu and forgive Dean Jones. Winners have Responsibility !

Looking back at the victory celebrations and the players reactions, I caught hold of a small piece of statement by Viru Sehwag. He said, "We have been planning about how to play the final ever since we played a final in Sri Lanka about a year ago".

Perhaps the journey started a lot earlier in 2008. Perhaps it was the Sydney Test that gave us the momentum and then this moment. But like Viru said, the actual preparation began in Sri Lanka.

Let me deconstruct the journey in a lazy manner. Chronology is not one of my strengths. So if it looks haphazard, it should be forgiven. Because this is one journey and one destination we will savor all our breathing moments.

The Road to Victory; How was it Constructed !

Summer of 2010: Yuveraj Singh loses Punjab Captaincy to Sangakkara and goes into sulking. His runs recede but the waist-line doesn't.

July 2010: Suresh Raina makes a fabulous Test Debut and nudges Yuveraj Singh out of the Test Team.

November 2010: Yuveraj's place in ODI Team too is jeopardized. Yuveraj Singh written off !

All through 2010: Virat Kohli almost seals the No. 3 / 4 position with very mature performances and centuries during one chase after another.

Throughout 2010: Gautam Gambhir struggles with niggles and then wriggles out at the fag end with a Captain's show against Kiwis.

Most Important: Selectors finally decide to 'rest' His Highness Ravindra Jadeja and bring in Yusuf Pathan. We will know why the story would not have been so big without the big man !

Second half of 2010: Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra take turns to get injured and be rested.

November 2010: Dhoni has taken enough battering in his hands and decides to rest and lets Gambhir make a come-back.

December 2010: Yusuf Pathan wins a match that was almost lost before the rains intervened. His hitting was so sensational, the seventh batsman theory was refurbished and buttressed.

January 2011: Suresh Raina progressively develops feet of clay and an acute shortness against short balls. He loses his Test spot to Che and ODI spot to Virat / Yusuf.

January 2011: Yuveraj struggles but does better than Raina and Gambhir's Test form saves him for the big show.

January 2011: Munaf Patel snatches 4 wickets and a Man of the Match award from nowhere and elbows Sreesanth from contention.

January 2011: Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay disqualify themselves from World Cup berths even as Yusuf comes into the BIG picture.

17 January 2011: Indian Team declared. Sreesanth out and Piyush Chawla in. I was vociferous in criticizing this. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer, Bhajji, Praveen Kumar, Yuveraj and Nehra selected but still in different wards in different hospitals.

23 January 2011: Yusuf Pathan blasts a match winning 60 and then an incredible Century against South Africa even though India fail to win the ODI series. He then goes on to declare, "I can win matches from any position".

February 2011: Noise worth 2389 Billion GB created over the World Wide Web debating the Raina vs Yusuf vs Gambhir vs Virat. My contribution: 3.4 GB.

February 2011: Everyone is fit for the Cup except 'Pehelwan'. Praveen Kumar calls Dhoni the 'Obama of Cricket' [How Prophetic !] and then picks up what turned out to be the costliest injury in the history of Cricket. Hence Sreesanth makes a back door entry. Dhoni declares Sreesanth has to irritate opponents and not his own team-mates.

13 February 2011: Piyush Chawla replaces Jadeja as the 'Latest Blue Eyed Boy' of Indian Cricket. Dhoni roots for 'The Leg Spinner' who brings in the variety. He has quite a lot of variety. The full toss, the long hop, the short one, the sitting duck and the dead duck balls. Chawla ambushes Australia in a low scoring match on a lower bouncing pitch at Bengaluru during warm up game.

16 February 2011: India warm up further and thrash New Zealand at Chennai as Dhoni cuts loose.

17 February 2011: Sehwag declares 'War' and wants to draw first blood against Bangladesh. He also wants to bat all 50 overs.

19 February 2011: Tiger Tamed: Sehwagging continues till the 48th over as India manage to extract revenge. Sreesanth slaughtered for pace and Munaf cons with his lack of that.

27 February 2011: Poms Tied: After loitering around for over a week, India cross the Poms. Each team plays worse than the other and they are tied ! Chawla goes for plenty and Dhoni defends him. Sachin fires and Munaf misfires. Zaheer Khan unveils the knuckle ball.

6 March 2011: Irish Delight: India play like MINNOWS against minnows and beat Ireland without hurting them. Chawla again goes for runs in his last spell. Yuveraj Singh gaining in confidence.

9 March 2011: Go Dutch with Dignity: Netherlands too treated with extreme respect as India first create mayhem and then a mini panic and then allow Yuveraj Singh to regain form, fitness and faith. Pathan promoted by Dhoni and demoted by himself.

12 March 2011: Spring of the Springboks: India blast Saffers for the 40 overs then Smith uses Steyn remover to wipe the rest of the batting. Sachin fires again and this time, Nehra misfires. Saffers canter home by 3 wickets.

20 March 2011: Yuvi Revival in Caribbean Carnival: Ravi Rampaul gets Sachin early but the rejuvenation of Yuveraj Singh is complete. Zaheer knuckles another left-hander and the West Indies tail outdoes Indian tail in the business of collapsing. India through to knock outs and the mighty Bangladesh knocked out.

Throughout March 2011: From Dean Jones to sundries to Spun Doctor have written Team India off. Everyone has their reasons and Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra and Piyush Chawla were in everyone's lest.

Knock Outs and the 3 M Connection !

One of my superstitious friends had told me 'B' for Bengaluru wasn't all that lucky for India. 'N' for Nagpur too was not. But 'M' was going to be the lucky letter. Starting the journey at Mirpur, he predicted Matera, Mohali and Mumbai would win India the Cup. I scoffed at this. This was one more addition to many of those coincidence based predictions of fellow Blogger Shridhar Jaju.

24 March 2011: Matera Matters: Yuvi again showed he means business with the ball. In front of an appreciative Narendra Modi, Sachin began the chase well. Gambhir cemented and then ran out of ideas. Yuvi and Raina proved their mettle in a tense chase and Raina exorcised the 'Short Ball Ghost' with a massive one of Lee. Lee injured himself and Yuvi celebrated the most pent up celebration witnessed in our lifetime. And Ponting still being Ponting, walked into World Cup Sunset with a Century !

30 March 2011: Diwali in Mohali: Viru began with fireworks on Gul and won the first round of nerves. Sachin has never been dropped as many times in a 5 Test Series. He showed how the 'Ghost of Saqlain Mushtaq' still haunts him with his vulnerability against 'Doosra'. India started as if they'd score 400. Then looked as if they'd not even reach 250 and then Raina plays another cameo to take them to 260.

Hafeez thought they could overhaul it. Umar Akmal wanted to finish it before 40 overs. But Bhajji accounted for him and Afridi's last wicket in this Cup was that of Afridi himself. Munaf Patel bowled his best ball of the Cup to Razack and Ashish Nehra salvaged himself with his last spell of 2-0-3-2. India cantered home in spite of late assault by Misbah which turned out to be too late !

1 April 2011: 6 World Cup winning Captains together; What an Idea Sirji: Lloyd believed Dhoni the Captain was too good. Kapil Dev said the team that played well would win, so did Ranatunga; Politically correct chaps. Border believed India will be easy meat for Lankan Lions. Waugh too felt Lanka would win. Imran Khan thought with the win against Australia and Pakistan, India would be the team to beat. All fools day, who would be a fool and who would be cool the next evening ? Suspense !

2 April 2011: Mumbai Meri Jaan: Sreesanth playing ahead of Ashwin left every Indian dumb. Sanga won a cunning toss and was smarter only till the first ball bowled by Zaheer Khan. The first spell by Zaheer was one of the finest and was ably supported by Munaf. Indian fielding was at its best as even Sreesanth hurled himself in the deep to save 2 runs. Sri Lanka scored big in the slog and left India with the highest total to be chased in a World Cup Final.

Slinga was point blank with Viru and Sachin was snared in no time and a lot of TV sets in India were switched off and there was a late rush for movie tickets. Gambhir and Virat played some of the most sensible Cricket seen in this cup. Virat fell for a Dilshan blinder. Stage set for Yuveraj, the man of the season for India to come and save India. As India waited with bated breath in walked the hitherto out of form Captain.

What happened from here is part of modern day Folklore and Legend. We don't have to repeat it here. It will be visited, revisited, collected, recollected, lived and relived millions of times in our life time !

This ends the Story: The Road to Victory; How was it Constructed ! Everyone knows this. It ain't big deal telling what happened only 2 weeks ago. That wasn't my endeavor. The story had to be told because our job is to deconstruct the story. And that is what we are going to unfurl from here.

Everything was planned; Road to Victory Deconstructed !

When Viru said the planning began one year ago in Sri Lanka, they had expected the Lankans to be there in the finals. And thus the planning began there.

Even as every Arm-chair Critic, self-proclaimed expert and International Stars went on denouncing Team India and their chances, Dhoni and his men went about their business as if they had heard nothing. There was something almost obstinate about them. It only unfolds now: Everything was planned, EVERYTHING !

They played so much Cricket with the Lions, almost everyone got sick of it, including the Lankans. This exactly is what they wanted.

India gave wickets to Suraj Randiv and shared the ODI series Finals with the Lions. India wanted him in Mumbai / Mohali / Matera ahead of Mendes.

Yuvi dropped and humiliated. India knew well, after what he did to England after Flintoff in 2007 T-20 World Cup; no opposition would dare to arouse the sleep-walking Giant. To get him fired and pumped up, we had to do the due !

Raina short-listed and then short-charged. It was all a ploy again. A ploy to confuse opposition bowlers. They fell hook, line and length to bowl short at him when it mattered. In the interim, he had 'pulled' new trick out of the hat.

Sehwag threatened to bat all 50 overs and almost did against Bangladesh. Every opponent concentrated on Viru and actually allowed Virat, Gautam and Yuvi to relax.

Sachin could not be planned unless you have a genuine 'Doosra'. He played along merrily.

India gave so much respect to the minnows, everyone believed this team can be beaten easily. Fool them all !

India shared honors with England just to keep the Poms happy. And also to introduce the 'knuckle ball'. Zaheer created the fear in the minds of left hand batters.

Indian middle order collapsed and collapsed and the tail never wagged. Get Viru and Sachin and they will collapse is what the opponents thought. Again misleading. Virat batted as if he never existed. Gambhir batted without anyone noticing till he ran himself out. Yuvi made chasing under pressure his forte.

Pathan wasn't winning matches from any positions. He bowled more during slog overs than bat. He was then dropped to bring in Raina during knock outs. It worked like dream for India.

Bhajji looked so tame all through first round and Munaf Patel never once threatened to take an important wicket. Against Pakistan, as they concentrated on Zaheer, Bhajji knocked Uakmal with a beauty and Munaf unleashed a beast to snare Razack.

Sreesanth and Chawla made Indian bowling look so ordinary that even Boycott's mother wanted to play for England. At the rate their players were getting injured, she had some realistic chances.

Somehow history shows us that India have to lose once to an Opponent to win a Final against them. If you win a group match, you get knocked out in knock outs. Else you have to tie to win. So they tied against Poms and lost to Saffers, their realistic Semi Final or Final opponents from their own group. Very smart. But we only know it now.

Ashish Nehra created enormous over-confidence in the minds of Pakistan batsmen with his last over against South Africa. This too was planned. 2 birds with one over. Saffers sorted out and Pakistan lulled into complacency. We now know how he did them in at Mohali.

Ashwin is the only player who has 100% win record in this team. He was kept for West Indies and Australia. India didn't waste him against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both teams had their own "Doosras". So India preferred to play the 'Pehla' and he did it with his 'Teesra' !

India then fooled Sri Lanka with their orchestrated ineptness against Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez. They played well against Afridi denying him any wicket in the Semi-final. This turned out to be a master stroke as the Lankans kept Mendes out and played with 2 Off spinners.

One move after another had left opponents dumb. But still they fell for more. All though the cup, India fielded ordinary. Dhoni kept telling there is very little we can do about our fielding. Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka believed this and we know how they suffered when it mattered.

All the while Dhoni kept himself out of form. He preferred to face flak for everything he did and didn't than face bowlers at the crease. All the opponents were gleefully anticipating to bowl at him, a Captain under duress and a batsman out of form.

With India 2 down for 31 in the Final, he fooled Lankans again. Expecting Yuvi to come in and crowd him with spin, Lankans lost the plot when Dhoni walked in and kept walking singles without any fuss. Before they realized it, he had shifted gears in spite of the mandatory harakiri committed by Gambhir. But even this was planned. India wanted 2 of the most important players of this generation to be around to win it.

Sachin and Viru did the early guiding. Virat chipped in frequently. Raina rained when it got too hot. Yuvi marshaled through troubled waters and Dhoni finished with flourish !

Another important thing had happened during all this. They had even coached players to come out with quotable quotes. So Virat said, "He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. The least we could do was to carry him".

We have said, everything was planned. Yusuf Pathan was selected, designated, trained and ordained to carry 'the burden of the man who carried the burden of the nation' through the Victory Lap ! Who else but the strongest man in India ? Fittingly, the young tyros Raina and Virat were assigned to assist the mighty Pathan !

The Atlas !

And the Assistants !

I thank profusely, all those who have completed this journey. I also thank those who left halfway like many of those Indian fans who left early through Indian chase in the Final. Because this is 'Our Victory'. The Victory of a nation starved of ODI World Cup Glory for too long. So let me be magnanimous too.

If you liked the post, well and good. Even if you didn't like this, I am sure you are rejoicing the Indian win like me. And if anyone other than Indians is reading this by chance, "Come, join us. We deserved to win this. Sachin deserved to win. Dhoni deserved to win. Yuveraj deserved to win and all of India deserved to win. So come join us !"



SPun Doctor
Also blogs @ http://diehardcricketfans.org/category/contributed/govind-raj-shenoy/

Victory has many Fathers; Let them all be !

Victory has many Fathers; Let them all be !

Disclaimer: This is my most serious post ever. I have never been so serious. No, not even while I was waiting for my daughter's arrival through a complicated Cesarean section 12 seasons ago. I am so very dead serious because I am seeing a good chance of winning 'A Cup for Mr. Tendulkar' is going up in smoke thanks to a few rectifiable factors. So I am making a serious attempt to find a way of of the mess.

I have often been accused of trivializing the serious issues with my mirth. It hurts but what else can one do when the team one adores continues to play like idiots when it matters the most.

Let us take stock. India are No. 1 side in Tests and No. 2 in ODI format. They won the T-20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 when none expected them to. They white-washed New Zealand recently with an under strength team. They also played pretty well without the bigwigs in the recently concluded ODI series in South Africa before going down 3-2.

But what happens to India when an ICC event comes up ? It perhaps isn't Team India that turns up. It must be some other team. You, Me and Hum don't know this team. This is my inference. Why do I think so ? Let us understand what is happening. 

Captain not so Cool 

Why does the Cool go Captain Fool during ICC events. His fixation with certain players and dislike for some others has cost us dear. It was His Highness Ravindra Jadeja during the T-20 World Cup. It happens to be Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel this time.

Why does Dhoni want Munaf to bowl at death ? It invariably means instant death for the team. Munaf doesn't have the pace. He can't reverse swing and he bowled his last yorker about 9 years ago and that too accidentally. 

Batting Disorder 

Dhoni also is experimenting too much with the batting line up. It is fine if and when it works. But we saw it went wrong not once, not twice but thrice. Why do you want to upset the rhythm ? Well, Dhoni should know better. Both Virat and Yusuf stand undermined in confidence. If we want to win from here, Virat should bat higher and that means higher than Gautam.

Gambhir is capable of switching gears quicker. Hence he should be made to understand the importance of batting at No. 4. Yusuf should never bat before Yuveraj. He perhaps gets complacent when he knows there still are Dhoni, Yuvi and Virat in the pavilion waiting to bat. Best of Yusuf has come when he has batted with back to the wall with only the tail to follow. Let him carry on with his brand of Cricket.

Power Play Problems 

Time and again, things have fallen apart during the Batting Power Play. This happened in the 5th ODI in the South Africa series. Yusuf Pathan was indulging in savage hitting with a spread out field scoring 8 -10 runs an over without breaking much sweat. Then they took BPP and Yusuf fell promptly. India collapsed against England and then were decimated by South Africa. Why is it so happening ?

The answer is simple. We have a batting line up full of gigantic Egos. Left alone, they have the capabilities to clear any ground in the world. When the batting power play comes into action, somehow our boys think they have to hit every ball and score may be 100 runs from those 5 overs. And thus we end up getting all out from unbelievable positions.

So what do we do ? Simple again. Tell the boys, "Never bother about the Batting Power plays. When you have wickets in hands, runs will come. Don't throw your wicket." Sehwag and Pathan can be excused to a little extent for being impetuous but not others. Against England, Yuveraj and Dhoni got out in back to back overs playing injudicious shots and India were bowled out for at least 20 - 25 runs short of what would have been. Against South Africa, Sachin and Gambhir fell in back to back overs and that turned the tide. 

Reverse Swing 

Like it or not, Asian teams did well with reverse swing in the past. But now, all other teams have picked up and are in fact doing better. Taking BPP once the ball starts to reverse has proved counter productive. Even England lost the plot against India during BPP against Zaheer Khan's reverse swing.

What is the solution ? Take BPP earlier. If we have wickets in hands with batsmen in good nick, take BPP soon after the 15 overs. Then play those overs just like the first 15 overs. What are the benefits ?

1] Sachin / Sehwag or Sachin / Gambhir or Sehwag / Gambhir or Gambhir / Kohli pair can manage to score about 30 - 35 or even 40 runs from these overs without much risk. The wickets will be in hand for the final assault.

2] When the ball reverses, we are not compelled to take BPP. The opponents will not be risking close in fielders to prevent singles during this period even if the ball is reversing. This gives an option for settled batsmen to rotate strike and strike big when you get an opportunity. Four singles and a boundary can still get you 40 runs from 5 overs between overs 41 and 45. But with lesser batsmen at the crease, bowlers like Steyn and Malinga can become lethal. So earlier they play the BPP, better it will be.

3] 2 overs each lesser from bowlers like Steyn, Malinga or Gul during the death means that much lesser problem. Fast bowlers and reverse swing will not be so lethal without the field support and when in form top order batsmen at the crease. This is what happened when Ross Taylor caned the Pakistan bowling. 

Middle Over Crisis 

Like the middle age crisis, Team India faces middle over crisis. Sachin and Gambhir inexplicably slowed down during middle overs. It isn't possible to bat in fifth gear all the time. But keep it in fourth or at least third during middle overs. When a run rate of 8.5 RPO drops to just about 6.5 during middle overs, it allows the opponents to regroup. Allows lesser bowlers to squeeze in a lot of overs. And thus we end up with a lot lesser runs than what could have been. 

Team > Individual Milestones

 The 'Mantra' should be to keep the runs trickling. Personal milestones should have no roles and only the interest of team should matter. It was annoying to see Yusuf Pathan's generosity when he slowed down to allow Yuveraj to reach his 50 against Ireland. Just imagine if India get knocked out of the tourney in a tight tie for fourth place with England. It will be remembered that India lost the cup in a bid to give one of their players a World Cup record. Duminy will tell us that is not done by South Africans. 

Bowling Woes 

As of now we are unlikely to find a drastic solution. I was right from the beginning criticizing the selection of Nehra, Munaf and Chawla. I would have preferred any three from Irfan Pathan, R P Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha and Sreesanth.

The troika I mentioned bring down the stock of the team thanks also to their fielding and absolute lack of batting. Whatever might have been his problems in longer version of Cricket, Irfan has done well in shorter formats and is a wicket taking bowler. Praveen Kumar is a loss, but he isn't exactly a Steyn or Malinga.

No use crying over split milk. What can we do with the available stock ? Bring back Sreesanth and give him some confidence. The Captain needs to back all his players. Not the selected ones like Chawla. Bring in Ashwin. He is a wicket taking bowler and can bowl at death or slog. Forget about bowling becoming one-dimensional. It is not. Bhajji and Ashwin are totally different bowlers and Pathan is the non-spinner who keeps things tight.

Squeeze in 10 - 12 overs from Yusuf and Yuveraj but keep faith in main bowlers. Sreesanth and not Zaheer is the best exponent of reverse swing in India. Bowl him in 4 spells of 3, 3, 2 and 2 overs like Steyn does. He just needs some support. Can we expect that from Dhoni ? 

Fielding the Best 11 

Well, they showed some commitment while fielding against Saffers. If we keep Munaf and Nehra out, one third of the fielding woes are solved. Shield Bhajji from mid-off and mid-on. Keep Sachin in the Third man and Bhajji in the mid-wicket / square leg. Zaheer is another slow mover who can be shielded in the fine-leg. Virat at point adds to the pressure. And we can frequently bring in Raina to cover up for slow movers.

So finally I would go in with...

Sehwag
Sachin
Kohli
Gambhir
Yuveraj
Dhoni
Yusuf
Bhajji
Ashwin
Zaheer
Sreesanth

If we still don't win, we will have two new scape-goats: Sreesanth and Ashwin. Makes no difference. Let them be !

If we go onto win... Victory has many fathers; let them all be !


SPun Doctor

De Ghumaake: I can take defeat, not disgrace !

This report in the media has left me dumb and numb. I really wish there's nothing in it. I have suffered enormous pain when some of my favorites like Azar, Cronje and Jadeja were damned in what must be the 'Dark Age' of Cricket.

Why do I admire Saurav Ganguly ? Precisely because he lifted the pall of gloom over Indian Cricket with his aggression, the will to win and his cover drive; in that order.

This current Indian Team, patronized by Sachin Tendulkar, the God and loved by millions is an absolute favorite for me. That is in spite of Sreesanth's antics, Dhoni's obstinacy and Munaf Patel's fielding.

Many a times in the past, there have been allegations about people in the current team being in contact with bookies. Suresh Raina was targeted by a section of Sri Lankan media. Never did I believe any of that. Neither do I want to believe now. But what happened during "Tie is a Tie is a Tie" does sound a little fishy !

Let us take a look...

It is amazing that India [Dhoni and Zaheer] didn't appeal when Strauss edged twice. Noise, what noise ? Every Indian is born and lives in a perpetual Railway Station. We can read and write examinations in the middle of bedlam. We can listen to Mohammed Rafi in the market and we can pick up snicks even in Eden.

Apart from this there were some strange things that happened. The BelLBW decision that went up and came unchanged was one. The way Munaf and Zaheer ran those one and three quarter useless runs was another. And then there was the most surprising of them all...

Of the last ball of the match, even as the fielder was swooping on the ball, the English pair had at their liberty the choice of running the second. At worse, they would have lost a wicket. The match would still have been a tie. And at best, there could have been an over-throw and England would have won.Why did they not run ?

Had everyone decided in advance that this match is a Tie ?

Strauss has gone on record that Shane Warne had predictweeted a Tie !

Now, am I reading too much ?

I sincerely hope this Cup is not fixed. I sincerely hope Dhoni and his boys just had 60% bad day in the office.

I was much younger when Azar declared "Maine match banaaya". Today, at forty, I am not strong enough to absorb another shock. Too passionate about Cricket for any more shocks.

I can take defeat, not disgrace !
Come on Team India, millions root for you, don't let the millions down.
Fix the problems in the bowling, fielding and late order batting.
Let nobody dare to fix matches !




SPun Doctor

Cold facts from the Warm-up game !

*

Some interesting and random sub-plots from the warm up game.

What looked like a cake walk turned into choke walk for the Aussies.

The match looked all but over at Australia 118 / 1 in the 22 over.

But as was quoted by Yogi Berra, "It ain't over until it is over !".

13 people played for India on Sunday the 13th February.

One bad-boy [Sreesanth] welcomed another bad boy [Ponting] in a manner that suited both.

Australia couldn't warm up enough in the cold wintry Bangalore evening and collapsed like Pakistan. The Pakistani Umpire must have felt at home.

Krejza continues to pick the wicket of Sehwag when he least looks like doing anything on field.

Raina and Yuvi continue to compete with each other and we still don't know who is behind.

Chawla has at least for the time being, proved me wrong and put Yuvi and Raina in serious trouble.

If pitches continue to behave this way throughout the Cup, it might be 2 + 2 + part-timers for India. Nehra and Sree will have to fill in the second seamer's slot.

Yusuf Pathan will retire with more sixes than fours, singles or twos at the end of his career.

It looked as if Johnson had started the walk back even before Bhajji bowled the ball. He was very close to the boundary line when Dhoni removed the bails.

Ponting's slog sweep was neither a slog nor a sweep. It almost looked like a swog sleep or whatever.

Michael Clarke makes a better Captain than a batsman if that is any consolation.

Virat Kohli is good. But he still isn't Dravid or Laxman. Neither in the slips nor with the clips [of the hips].

Munaf Patel did a huge favor to us. We knew he'd be cannon-fodder on Indian pitches. Thankfully he proved that well before the curtain-raiser.

Mitchell Johnson again bowled twice as many wides as all the Indian bowlers together.

Australia bowled more than 4 additional overs thanks to wides.

In fact not only Johnson but Hastings, Lee and Dussey out-wide-balled India.

And to think I was one of the very few Indians who didn't get to bowl today because Aussies folded up in 38 overs.

Ashwin and Nehra won the match for India. The 44 runs the No. 10 / 11 scored was the difference.

Australia's part-time spinners appear to be better than the main spinner.

India's lower order looks better than the middle order [which is still in South Africa].

And finally, a sensational scoop, breaking news and revelation all put together...

Sachin and Zaheer are India's secret weapons being hidden from the opponents.



S-Pun Doctor

Square and Fair : InSaf Well and Truly Done !

Square and Fair : InSaf Well and Truly Done !

A Progress Report of India - South Africa Series

South Africa -1 India - 1 in 3 Test Series. Twice in less than a year ! Home and Away for both teams. 

InSaf well and truly done ! 

Finally if we look at the whole series...

South Africa scored 1669 runs losing 44 wickets with an average of 37.93

India scored 1558 runs losing 53 wickets with an average of 29.40

South Africa scored quicker, bigger and won their win by an Innings at Centurion.
Team India scored slower, smaller and managed to Square at Durban by 87 runs.

So why do I say InSaf was done ?
Let us take a look at Player Report cards.

Team India Report Card

Zaheer: He is India's Champion bowler and did 'InSaf' to his billing and the faith his team had in him. Never forget the Durban second innings partnership with VVS.
Rating: 8.5 / 10

Sachin: India's best player in the series contributed very little when they won. Still played a major role and continues to rule.
Rating: 8.5 / 10 

Laxman: Whenever India win, this Man has to be around. Centurion was a disaster. But I will remember his knock on final day at Capetown because only 'He' played Cricket. All others batted to kill 'Test Cricket'.
Rating: 7.5 / 10 

Gambhir: Proved me wrong. Has stronger character than his more famous partner in crime. Overcame his 'Short-coming' with real guts. Forget averages, he was one of the main reasons the series ended 1-1.
Rating: 7.5 / 10 

Bhajji: Return of the prodigal. For all the panning, he has bounced back as a bowler in this series. Batted well when mattered.
Rating: 7 / 10

Dhoni: Another feather in the crown for Captain Cool who has not yet lost a Test Series. Batted perhaps his best in a long time; especially the first 50 runs at Centurion is why Dhoni is Dhoni.
Rating: 6.5 / 10 

Sreesanth: Lackluster at Centurion, he was real hot after that. Deserves all accolades for the Smith and Kallis dismissals at Durban. Make no mistakes, curb his aggression and you lose a wicket taking bowler.
Rating: 6 / 10 

Pujara: Again forget runs and averages. Che is much better than his returns. Persist with him. And when was the last time we saw a run-out like that of Tsostobe at Durban ?
Rating: 4.5 / 10

Ishant: Was steady after Centurion debacle. But could have been better.
Rating: 4 / 10

Vijay: Got to play in the most difficult match. Deserves better for his grit. Better than Raina on any day in Test Cricket.
Rating: 3.5 / 10

Sehwag: Disappointing. Threw his wicket away almost all the time. Centurion would have been different if he had not played 2 out of 2 bad shots. His cameo at Durban second innings was worth much more than those runs. But playing like Dravid at Capetown was unpardonable.
Rating: 2 / 10 

Dravid: Collingwood gone. Did he talk to RD before that ? For me, Dravid is a stumbling block for Team India. Sorry Great Man, but your time is long over.
Rating: 2 / 10

Raina: Save the future India Captain. Tigers can wait. He needs a break and a shoulder and some gumption. If Gambhir can, so can Raina.
Rating: 1 / 10

South Africa Report Card

1] Kallis: He was all over the place except when Sreesanth bounced him with a beast. The Player of the series deserving.
Rating: 9 / 10 

2] Steyn: Easily the best bowler in the world today. Couldn't have bowled more or better without risking breakdown. Practically it was series between Steyn and India.
Rating: 9 / 10

3] Boucher: Turned the Capetown test around with his aggression in second innings. He is a top performer in tough situations.
Rating: 6 / 10

4] Amla: The hometown jinx continues to haunt. Made merry at Centurion, but was just okay after that. Still the man in form. But failed at crucial times.
Rating: 5 / 10

5] de Villiers: Future Saf Captain dominated when his team was on top. Bad decisions included, he could not raise the bar when India started bowling better.
Rating: 4.5 / 10

6] Tsotsobe: Troubled Tendulkar. Was unlucky often. Took a stunning catch and was mostly ordinary.
Rating: 3.5 / 10

7] Smith: With or without Zaheer, India mostly have got better of Saf Captain. Except for the first test, he was ordinary, and just better than Sehwag. Lost out to Sreesanth and then went wimp.
Rating: 3 / 10

8] Morkel: Bowling in really helpful and familiar conditions, he was not very impressive except for the fag end. Anyone would've picked up wickets at Centurion day-1. Ishant was better.
Rating: 3 / 10

9] Prince: Was patchy, but better than Petersen. More a Pauper than a Prince. Would find it tough to make it into a decent batting line up except Saf.
Rating: 3 / 10

10] Petersen: Was worse than his partner after the Centurion. The Saf openers were the reason for India's come back. Thanks both you guys !
Rating: 2.5 / 10

11] Harris: Was ordinary but for some good balls. India perhaps have exorcised the left arm spin ghost.
Rating: 2.5 / 10

Look at the individual ratings.
India had more players performing above 5 / 10 than South Africa.
For Saffers, it was all about Kallis and Steyn with all others making special appearances Post-Centurion.
For India, Zaheer, Sachin, Laxman, Sreesanth, Bhajji, Dhoni and Gambhir did the Star Turn at different stages.

Average rating point for India: 5.27
Average rating point for Saf: 4.63

The final result was Square and Fair !

S-Pun Doctor

India, The Deserving No. 1 Test team !

By hammering the hapless Kiwis by an innings and a lot, India have sealed their place at the Top of Test Rankings for some more time. Unless they get humiliated in South Africa, they might stay there. Do India deserve to be No. 1 Ranked Test Team ?

Let us take a look at our Assets and Liabilities first...

The Assets

India has on paper the strongest batting line up and perhaps one of the all time best.

Just two Guys have scored more than 26000 Test runs. Another two take the tally up to nearly 40000. Awesome, Right ?

One Opener has created the fear of God in the minds of atheists.

And the God after all comes to bat after the Wall !

Every time there is a crisis, the Man stands up and there is nothing Lax about him.

A young Tyro who has played more ODIs than any 23 year old bats at No.6 for India. If not battered by good short stuff and not bettered by his own impetuousness, is a damn good No. 6.

The Captain Cool is indeed Cool. He will face his sternest test next month.

Not many teams can boast of a No. 8 with back to back test centuries and 300 runs in a 3-Test Series. India do !

Zaheer Can get Smith and rattle any batsman in the world with new ball. If the new ball doesn't get you, the old will !

Ishant has rattled Ponting before. He has rattled Chris Martin now. If his hair doesn't obscure his vision, he should be able to pitch the ball in right areas.

Sreesanth is India's Best test Bowler on pacy pitches. If he makes batsmen dance to his tunes rather than dance himself, he should be India's Triumph Card.

Ojha can smother the run rate and frustrate any batsman. No reason why he should not be able to do it to Amla and Co.

If a Team can keep Pujara and Vijay on the bench, that speaks of the Bench Strength ! Not to forget Yuveraj Singh who is not even on the Bench.

But are these the reasons for India's Supremacy ? As much as I would like to believe, there is more to it than meets the eyes. So here we go...

The Liabilities

This team has only one bowler who can be called World Class today; Zaheer Khan. And he is 32 years old and is unlikely to improve from here.

Bhajji is hardly a bowler now. Sreesanth and Ishant are too erratic. Ojha at best is a restrictive spinner.

A Team that has a No. 3 batsman who scores at 35 - 40% strike rate is not a great asset in modern day Cricket. He actually brings the scoring to a grinding halt and there by undoing all the gains of Sehwagging.

Gambhir and Raina will be tested severely with short stuff and will find out how different is the life of a Test Cricketer outside India. Hope they will be wiser for that.

Sachin doesn't boast of a great record in South Africa. He too has had problems on those pitches.

Laxman has to make sure he doesn't leave big gaps through his stance. It looked as big as the margin with which New Zealand lost. Dale Steyn must have seen his dismissal in the Nagpur test.

Question: Can we trust Bhajji to bat to win or at least save a test for us ?
Anwer: No.
Question: Why is he in the team ?
Answer: To Take wickets.
Question: Is he doing that regularly ?
Answer: No.
Question: So what do we do with him ?
Answer: Replace him... Err Wait !
Question: But with Whom ?
Answer: Ojha...
Question: Oh Really ? Can he take wickets ?
Weren't we talking about Bench Strength ?

So how do they manage to stay at the top in spite of this ?

Answers:

1] Australia: In serious decline after the retirement of the Great Bunch. The current lot would not have qualified to carry drinks during the 1999 - 2007 Period.

2] South Africa: Great batting and the world's best fast bowler. But a bit too one dimensional team. Somehow falter when everything looks great. And Smith can author a book titled, "1001 ways to break your fingers". Take out Steyn and the bowling isn't way much better than the Kiwis.

3] England: The Best equipped Test Team now. But some loopholes still not plugged. Batting can crumble against good spin. And that has restricted their progress too often.

4] Sri Lanka: There are more than 800 reasons to believe that with Murali is gone, they will find it tough to win away from home. Malinga, please forgive me. But the ICC rules don't allow you to bowl from both sides. Even Anil Kumble wasn't allowed. Their batting can come unstuck against good quick bowling.

5] Pakistan: If anybody can inspire Pakistan Cricket, Younis Khan. But they have a Butt as the Head of the PCB. So what do you expect other than serious shit ? Send this man to Afghanistan to live with Taliban. They might surrender thanks to this Pain in the Butt of a guy.

6] West Indies: Gayle storm can engulf opponents once in a while. But overall they suffer from Sreesanth Syndrome. Absolute Brilliance one moment and Nadir of Mediocrity the very next.

7] Bangladesh: One season doesn't make a Champion team. They have done well in shorter formats of late. But the Lions are an Ordinary Team in Test Cricket. Apologies due to Sehwag !

8] I am Happy Zimbabwe aren't playing tests. Else Chris Martin would have scored a Test Century and Ishant Sharma would have batted all 5 days of a test without getting out, why without even getting beaten once.

So this reminds me of an old Hindi adage:

Andhon ke Gaon mein Kana Rajah ! 

In the land of the blind, one eyed man is King !

India Deserve to be the No. 1 Ranked Test Team !

I rest my Case.






S-Pun Doctor

India Won !

India drubbed Australia by 7 wickets and saved the Indian fans a lot of stress and heartache !

If Mohali was won on an Oxygen cylinder, Bengaluru was a 'Smoother Delivery' !

2-0 is better than 1-0 and certainly much better than 1-1. Thanks Laxman !

"I don't like to count. I score and let others count": Sachin Tendulkar continues to grow up and nobody can help it ! 

Vijay finally has arrived. Gautam Gambhir should watch his steps ! 

Sehwag failed to cross 50 in a Test for the first time after 11 tests.
 Incidentally this coincides with his tongue wagging more than the bat ! 

Pujara has arrived. Che is here to stay !

Thanks Rahul for being 'The Wall' for all these years ! 
But I think it is time to say Dravid RIP [Retire In Peace] ! 

Raina needs to rein in his ODI and T-20 shots in Test Cricket !

Dhoni can do nothing wrong, including promoting Che today ! 

Bhajji the Batsman failed. Bhajji the bowler fared better ! 

Ojha is not Bedi, but we will settle for Ojha because he doesn't call Bhajji a Chucker ! 

Zaheer is an 'Old ball' and is better with the Old Ball ! Dhoni revers him !

Sreesanth still has the fire in the belly. But not much in the new ball !

Laxman was smiling like a sage at the post match celebrations, and why not ? 

Ishant Sharma gets his confidence back when he sees a certain Mr. Ponting in the opposition.
He deserves an applause too ! 

Kudos to Gary Kirsten, his support staff and his wards ! 

A wholesome Victory for a Team that looks more like a Number-1 Test Team now !

S-Pun Doctor