Blah Blah Black Sheep !

2005-06: Virendar Sehwag wanted to score the first double century in ODI Cricket. He hasn't gone past 150 ever since. Even when he was on the verge of a 100, Randiv or Sehwag himself have denied him the coveted mark.

If not for Anil Kumble's insistence he would not even have played down under in 2008 and a great talent would have ended up in oblivion.

In the meanwhile, another man reached the summit without making any noise.

2011, after just 3 knocks worth remembering in international Cricket , Yusuf Pathan has done This !

"I can win matches from any position"

Confidence is when your actions speak for yourself. Arrogance is when words overtake your actions !

Blah blah Black sheep,
Can you play ball ?
Yes Sir, Yes Sir,
Better than them all !
One for the Leader,
One for the name,
And one for the big boy
Who lives high on fame !

I don't know if Yusuf Pathan really did all this blah blah. It is perfectly possible the wily interviewer has put those words into the mouth of Pathan. Not as proficient in English as his better equipped half brother, Yusuf has been given leading questions to do all this talk.

Rediff and many others in the E-media have always done this hyping that has only harmed Indian Cricket and nothing more. The question is, why do they do this ? Is someone really paying them to do this ?

I have read somewhere that Yusuf doesn't listen to many people and goes by his own judgment. He is believed to be close to a few people and will trust and do only according to what his core group thinks. That is fine. But if this ill-conceived sham of an interview was in accordance with his confidantes, then he should change his think tank for better.

Yusuf had told somewhere else that "I hit only those balls that are in my area". Well, most of the 'balls' in this piece of stinking journalism were basically way outside his area. He should have left them alone. Some of them were so wide and now he has been caught on the third-man boundary.

When arrogance shouts, performance is bound to go mute. Yusuf should shut up and let his bat do the talking. He still is one bad shot away from being dropped. Dhoni had kept him out favoring Vijay and Nohit Sharma soon after that epochal hundred against Kiwis. Dhoni can do it again to keep Raina and Yuvi in.

Hope our big man from humble origins doesn't get carried away by this big hype. This isn't the time to lose who could really be our triumph-card. He can indeed win matches from very difficult situations. But it looks better on field than on some hits-hungry portal.

Hope the Electronic Media leaves our Cricketers alone to play Cricket !

S-Pun Doctor

Random musings after two Murdered Tests !

After two immensely forgettable Tests with New Zealand, what have we got to remember, learn and carry home ? 

Indian Cricket is so very complex: Quite like Harbhajan Singh's Technique. You can never say Bhajji lacks technique. But neither can you you say he has it. Just like Team India. You can't say they are No. 1 Test Team. You can't say they aren't No. 1 either ! 

They always play on level ground: They play every opponent at their level; that is the opponent's level. Never expect Team India to crush weaklings. Never expect them to capitulate easily against the best. There will be a fight. Nothing less, nothing more. 

Why is the Indian middle order confused ? Answer is simple. First Jatman Viru Sehwag goes out and bashes everything in sight as if he were Dharmendra and the bowlers, the baddies. And then Rahul Dravid comes out with his brand of Gandhigiri and refuses to hit anything ! No wonder Dhoni, Raina and even Sachin look lost in the middle. 

The Great Indian Run Rate: India have over the past 3 years maintained a better run rate compared to all other teams in Tests. What is the secret ? This has been partly explained above. Sehwag wags to attain a strike rate of 100% or an average of 6 RPO. Dravid lags and attains a strike rate of 25% or about 1.5 RPO. The other confused lot fall in between at 42% or 2.5 RPO. Thus India manage to keep the total scoring rate above 3.3 RPO. 

The All Rounders problem solved: Bhajji is the answer to India's long standing prayers for a Batting All-rounder. Sending him to bat at No. 8 is a master-stroke. India's middle order actually starts here with very competent batsmen like Zaheer, Ojha and Sreesanth to follow. And just think of it, Ishant Sharma is not even playing. What an embarrassment of riches.

Suresh Raina finally has arrived as the Bowling All-rounder. So what if he has got more wickets than the runs he has scored of late ? Anyway we now have two genuine All-rounders !

Taking responsibility, Indian style: Whenever Team India are in trouble, someone or the other stands up to be counted. The 'Someone' is Laxman and the 'Other' is Harbhajan Singh ! 

This series is not about the 50th Century: Whom are they trying to fool ? Every member of the Team is so preoccupied with this number, they have actually forgotten there is a Test series going on. Anything else happening out there is an irritant. No wonder the Kiwis have taken flight after being grounded by Bangladesh !

Then some 'Random' acceptance Speeches... 

Bhajji: People threw brick-bats at me and I used the bricks to construct Milestones in Mohali and the bats to score two centuries ! 

Gambhir: I owe my performance in this test to Viru and Rahul. While Viru went on like Viru, nobody noticed me. Those who did notice, thought Rahul batted left handed at the other end. 

Dravid: I am relieved now because there is someone to take over my mantle now. I was totally confused while I watched Gambhir bat. I often felt I was out there in the middle and batting left handed. 

Sehwag: New Zealand is an ordinary team. It is just that some of us are wasting too many four balls. I have to make up for everyone including Sreesanth. I would prefer if Bhajji comes out to bat at No. 3 and Rahul comes out only if we have to face follow on. 

Raina: I play my natural game as Dhoni has asked me to. What if they keep three men on the boundary ? I can always come back and play the next innings or the next or the next... 

Laxman: I enjoy playing under pressure. I am forever indebted to my team-mates for providing me with ample opportunities to do so. It is such a pleasure, almost like sitting inside the pressure cooker used by my Mom to prepare idlees. What if you are steam cooked practically every test ? Idlees do taste Delicious ! 

Dhoni:  We have to accept we have not batted well and our bowlers have tried their level best to match the batsmen. Our fielding can be better and the wicket-keeping particularly needs some improvement. Overall though I am satisfied with our performance. You win some, you draw some and you can always drop some catches.

McCullum: Bhajji inspired me to go for the Double Ton. If he can score two hundreds in two innings, I can score two hundred in one innings. Impossible is nothing ! 

Vettori: We have come back strongly after the Bangladesh debacle. Aussies lost 2-0 in 2 Tests in India. So we are better than them now. I believe my new born baby deserves all the credit for this.

And last but not the Least !

Curator: I hoped I will be remembered as the man who prepared the pitch on which Sachin Tendulkar scored his 50th Hundred. Alas, Everyone else scored here except Sachin !





S-Pun Doctor