2S
Techie. Writer. Photographer.
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November 23, 2007 at 9:05 am · Filed under cricket
When in search of an answer, you first turn to God. In which case, you turn to Google. I tried to figure out, in the last twelve months, who’s the most popular amongst India’s big three from the Indian internet users.
This link suggests that it’s Tendulkar, hands down.
Ironically, the only time Dravid extracted more popularity from the Little Master was when he resigned as captain of India! Shows what it takes to get the crowd away from Sachin.
GoogleTrends also suggests that the only city he loses as Mr. Popular - to Ganguly - is Calcutta. Bangalore, however, still has Tendulkar ranked higher than Dravid. It figures - the Bongs are more loyal to the son of their state than the Bangs are.
Personally, I dislike Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar for one simple reason: he makes blogging difficult. I mean, you’ve written this awesome piece on why he should be kicked out, you go to CricInfo and hunt for his stats, you spend days tweaking them to sell your absurd idea of leaving him out, you refine your blog posts, you get people to proof-read it, and just before hitting ‘Publish’, lad walks out cool as a cucumber and scores a 90 or two.
A waste of time, effort and draft space on the blog, I tell you.
November 7, 2007 at 1:39 pm · Filed under cricket
India’s captaincy woes continue. Surprising - we don’t have a coach, and we’re as tentative about our captaincy dilemma as Sehwag would be on a grassy MCG, yet we’re winning. Though it pains me to agree with the likes of Ramiz Raja, the guy certainly made sense when he said that the Aussie tour was a good one for India.
Australia, he said, expose your weaknesses to the limit, allowing you to sort them out better.
But we’ve seen a few letdowns as far as the management goes. First, Dravid. The million dollar question - ‘why’ he gave up the captaincy - will probably go with the cricketer to his grave. Dravid’s stubbornness in his defence apparently has rubbed off a bit, and being the diplomatic gentleman that he’s always been, he would never bring the game into disrespect by pointing a finger or blaming anyone. Simply put, Dravid’s the perfect student of cricket, the sport’s biggest nerd, the front-bencher that the ICC love to have, that Indian cricket need as a leader, the one that a corrupt BCCI never deserves.
If Dravid is the Indian ambassador of batsmanship after Gundappa Vishwanath, Tendulkar is nothing short of a cricketing deity. One would think that the most capped player, a master of analysis - a cricketing genius that he is - would raise his hand and say “Yes, I shall lead the team.” Instead, he chose the easier option out.
Fine, so leadership doesn’t come naturally to Tendulkar. Indian cricket is slowly being dominated by youth, and handing over the Test captaincy to Dhoni at this stage is just way too early. The Australian tour would obviously make him more of ‘Test-captaincy-material’ but when you send your national cricket side down-under, you have no excuses to pick the best team, and the best captain. Sachin, with all due respect, has run away from responsibility in declining the captaincy. Which sucks.
When on the turf, when things aren’t going well for you, when Gilchrist and Hayden have each scored fifty not out, you start to look around for an inspiring, commanding and respected presence on the field. T20 and ODIs are a different game altogether, but in Tests, batsman work real hard for their runs, and bowlers work real hard for their wickets. Strategy is of immense importance. Whoever thinks that Dhoni can do this ahead of Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar right now, is horribly wrong. It’s about time you acknowledge this fact. Perhaps, a year down the line, Dhoni would be the ideal captain. Indian cricket, at this stage, is in a transition, and it needs experience to slowly rub onto youth. Welcome, seniors.
The ’seniors’ also might another option to the table - Anil Kumble. Is he as inspiring as the big three? More importantly, are we willing to go with the second-best option? If we are, then you might as well pick Dhoni. The kid is here to stay. Kumble’s retirement is just around the corner.
If only Dravid would revoke hid decision, walk back and say, “Okay. I’ll lead the test side till MS can take over.”
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, Dravid is no Kumaraswamy to make an absurd U-turn.
October 17, 2007 at 11:58 pm · Filed under cricket
Let’s state two highlights today. The first, Dravid was rested. Secondly, India won. No, I’m not correlating, but merely stating two facts.
On a rather serious note, people have hit back on the Wall’s exclusion. Spare a thought for the selectors - the guy doesn’t perform, you drop him, and the match you drop him requires the services of a strong middle-order batsman strong in defence chasing 193 where run-rates aren’t too worrying. How unfortunate indeed.
On the Mumbai ODI itself, well, what do you say at a team like ours? We bowled exceptionally well - Karthik surprisingly got wickets, six of them to be precise, he’s the same guy who was initially offered to comment on the series from the media-center - and we fielded decently although there were chances we didn’t take. Not many teams end up bowling Australia out within 50 overs for less than 200, and with only 193 to chase, one would think India had the match safely pocketed.
Yeah, right. It just occurred to me - we’re a team that’ll make a match out of chasing 24 on a belter, if we could.
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So the batting card walked out there, and horribly shuffled around, ducked, swayed and shuddered in fright before perishing to the pace of Yellow. Ganguly and Karthik - Dravid’s replacement - decided to give the scorers the day off, Tendulkar has the woodwork in a mess, Yuvraj was uncharacteristically measured and Dhoni hopped around for a bit. When Pathan had strolled out for a quick see-in (and promptly walked back after a quicker see-you), India were reeling at 64-6 before Uthappa and Bhajji had enough. Utthappa played extremely well for his 47, a fighting knock in the context of the match, one that brought India to within a whisker of the victory. The tail held their nerves, common sense prevailed and some wayward bowling from Australia (who actually conded 20 wides, would you believe it?) allow India to scamper through and regain some respect from a series they deserved to lose from day one.
Simply becase, hello, Australia played more professionally, were more consistent and were more positive.
India’s aggression, on the other hand, was limited to a fiery burst of pace from Zaheer and Sreesanth, the latter sprinkling a bit of southie profanity to stir the Australian camp up. Didn’t go down too well with Andrew Symonds, and if looks are anything to judge by, he’s one bloke I wouldn’t want to piss off. Instead, Sreesanth got whacked all over the park in his recent outings provoking the selectors to show him out and draft RP Singh in, injuries be damned.
Eventually, we limped across and won, and all is forgotten.
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It will be interesting to see the team selection for the one-off T20 at Bombay in a few days from now. I’d pick the same team that won the finals at the Wanderers, but then again, that’s me. Will bring the match live, ball-by-ball come Saturday evening. Until then, adios.
October 13, 2007 at 12:06 am · Filed under cricket
Vengsarkar has been yapping, Sachin states the obvious - performance over age - and the world is writing all about the big three.
A quick look at the trio, probably India’s best servants of cricket in recent times. Let’s not even get into stats, reputation or their services until date. Unquestionable. Here’s what I think of each of them.
Sachin Tendulkar
Worshipped as if he were God Himself. I had gone for the first ODI at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and I can tell you that Tendulkar is still the biggest crowd-puller. The roar that went up when the 5′5 cricketing genius graced the third-man boundary was deafening. There is no bigger name in Indian cricket, and only a handful might compete with him for popularity. The word ‘Endulkar’ is enough to invite the wrath of millions.
Memories - April 1998 - Sandstorm. Sachin Tendulkar murdered the might of the Australian attack. Kasprowicz was taken to the cleaners. Damien Fleming felt all kind of pain except physical. It’s not every day you see Shane Warne bowl a googly, only to see it screaming over the sight-screen for six. It’s not every day you see him hang his head in shame and walk back to the ropes, like a prisoner sentenced to the gallows.
Tendulkar had made it clear. He’s boss.
Verdict - His inconsistency has been worrying. Dropping him doesn’t make sense, because even the off-color champion is an asset to the team, and not a burden. Tendulkar has the aggression to step it up, his arm is still strong and he can chip in with the occasional off-breaks when Bhajji gets hammered. Useful, do retain.
Rahul Dravid
He isn’t nicknamed ‘The Wall’ for anything. Most bowlers, until last year, would have rather broken through Fort Knox. Dravid played two crucial roles during the Ganguly-Wright ‘revival’ of Indian cricket. First, he doubled up as a wicketkeeper, allowing India the extra batsman. Second, he played around the explosive middle order (the Yuvis and Kaifs) and the tail (the Agarkars and Khans), becoming India’s best and most clinical finisher in recent times.
Memories - Dravid has scored many memorable hundreds and fifties in winning causes, but I recall one innings against New Zealand. First day after marriage, Dravid walks out, scores 50 in 22 balls. Mind you, none of those were remotely slogs, all perfect cricketing shots. Never seen better timing ever. Here’s a batsman who can drop it short, sneak the singles, play the big-shot, pull on bouncy tracks, and evade the bouncer with the ease of slicing through cake, as even Tendulkar and Ganguly would clumsily play all over it, ducking in fright.
Verdict - The dip in form has been horribly worrying, and without the ‘keeper role anymore, Dravid will need to really turn it on towards the end of this ODI series to keep the critics mum. Personally, I’d like to see Dravid call it quits from limited-overs cricket soon, while focusing on Tests. Dravid has been a great adapter and a greater servant, and though he’s the safest pair of hands in the slips, he needs to make room for agility. What Dravid brings to the team is rock-solid stability in the middle order, a role that probably few can fill. There is unfortunately no one in the Indian team who can match his temperament, and that would certainly be India’s worry in a side without the Wall.
Sourav Ganguly
What do you say of this bloke? He might be ‘princely’ and stubborn, a tad lazy too, but aggression knows few limits in the presence of this Bengal tiger. One of the few Indians who mustered up the guts to take the attack to the opposition, once regarded as the finest on the off-side after God Himself, Sourav Ganguly has made a great comeback this year, and though his fitness looms under a huge question-mark, he makes India’s best bet as an opener alongside the great Tendulkar.
Memories - Muttiah Muralitharan is probably capable of turning the ball on glass. In he hops, the face contorted in determination, the ball leaves the fingers. It’s the doosra. Ganguly has stepped out, gets to the pitch of the ball, and lofts it as only he can, banging it dead straight. Long-on and long-off are reduced to mere spectators. The sight-screen shudders in fright. Fewer sights can better that if you wear Blue.
Verdict - F is for fitness, a worry for the man. Ganguly hasn’t been bowling much either, and with Gambhir showing excellent signs of strong maturity, one is tempted to see dada retire to Test cricket, although knowing the fighter in, I’d put my money on him coming out tops against adversity yet again. He still hasn’t managed to work his away around the shorter one which has more than troubled his career, so I’d like to see Ganguly quit at the peak than be ushered out of the team due to lack of form.
Having mentioned it all, there really is no substitute for merit. Performance should drive selection, always, as reputation counts for nothing in a new game. For instance, let’s say, three poor consecutive performances is enough to create doubt in the selectors’ minds, and with the likes of Raina and Badrinath knocking the doors, and with Karthik already at the porch, a fourth or fifth poor performance should put things beyond doubt.
Personally, I believe that Test cricket is indeed the ‘real’ form of cricket, if that does exist. It is in Tests where you really apply your skills and tactics. Bowlers work really hard for their wickets in Tests. Batsman work hard to score runs in Tests. ODIs form a packaged version of this display of skill as the batsmen make the bigger impression. Twenty20 absolutely destroys the bowlers, turning the into a necropolis for anyone who has the guts to fancy their arm.
I’d like to see the seniors focus on Tests and make graceful exits from limited overs cricket, so that younger blood can take it up. The Twenty20 win was no fluke, is is testimony to the capability of India’s youth, even in a shorter form of cricket where luck plays a bigger role than in ODIs. As the yellow-pyjama dominance doesn’t look like deteriorating, India (and the rest of the world) need to show more aggression and fire on the field to counter-attack. It calls for youth, and perhaps Indian cricket is finally asking for the biggies to leave gaps that people can fill.
A tooth falling out on its own terms goes unnoticed. Pulling it out, however, is both hard and painful.
September 24, 2007 at 11:20 pm · Filed under cricket
The champagne is oozing all over the place. The graffitti is flying, Everyone are getting a hand on the trophy! Dhoni has it in his hands! SRK comes along and wishes each and every player, hugs them. Quite a sight, a versace-clad SRK hugging the sweaty team. Who cares? Chak de India! The world watches as India rule T20. They’re standing across a board that goes: champions.
With that textual scene, I’ll leave you, because simply put, I needn’t say more. India are the T20 champions. This, by far, has been the happiest day in the history of Indian cricket in recent times. And for me too.
Hope you enjoyed the commentary. Until next time around, this is Sandy signing off. Apologies for not being able to replicate the scenes out there on text, though. For once in ages, I’m at loss for words.
Goodbye!
Presentation
Ravi: A big thank you to all the players, officials, broadcasters - one massive event. A match worthy of a final. They got all the subcontinental spice to the party. Congratulations to the Indian team.
I’d like to call up the ICC match officials to come up: Ranjan Madugalle, Simon Taufel, Mark Benson, Darryl Harper, Billy Doctrove. Well done gentlemen.
The Pakistani team come up, in alphabetical order … and now, Shoaib Malik
Always difficult to be on the losing side.
Shoaib Malik: I want to thank you Pakistan and wherever Muslims live all around the world. Sorry, we gave our 100% and our team gave our 100%, I want to thank them.
India have a strong batting line up, and our plan was to restrict them to 150. We did that, but our batting line-up wasn’t up to it. It wasn’t pressure, we played a few bad shots.
We enjoyed this Twenty20 tournament, our guys played very well. We have a series against South Africa and InshaAllah we’ll work hard to win again.
The man of the match - Irfan Pathan!
Ravi: Excellent figures, Irfan. Outstanding performance. You were under a bit of pressure.
Pathan: MashaAllah it’s a great feeling. Obviously when I came, I was under a bit of pressure, but I held my nerve. It was a bit slow, I was holding a bit bowling split-finger slow ones. I had to bowl many slower ones, they were going after the bowling.
Ravi: What was going through the player’s mind?
Pathan: Pressure! (Laughs) I think Joginder bowled well, not just him, they all bowled well - RP, Bhajji, we fielded pretty well, we batted well, we deserved it after the World Cup
The player of the tournament: Shahid Afridi!
Ravi: Well, Shahid, disappointed?
Shahid Afridi: First of all, I want to thank Almighty Allah, winning and losing doesn’t matter, we played great cricket. Congratulations to India and the Indian Nations (whatever that is). The atmosphere is great, and I want to mention one more thing, before the tournament, my friend Salim said you will be the man of the tournament. This (the medal) is for him!
And now, the Indian team collect their medals. The crowd erupt when Yuvraj’s name is announced! They go entirely berserk when Dhoni’s name is announced! Too many Singhs in the side …
Ravi: Congrats, MS! How does it feel?
Dhoni: It’s one of the things I’ve achieved in the last three years, a treasure for my whole life. Thanks, boys, for the effort and for the response. No one expected us to win, and the way we have won, we deserve a big celebration.
Ravi: Pakistan did well to restrict you to 150?
Dhoni: Arafat and Gul bowled well, but we know that we scored 150. They have to make it. Chasing, pressure, it was going to be hard.
Ravi: Joginder, Harbhajan, why Joginder?
Dhoni: Bhajji wasn’t 100% sure, Jogi wanted to do well at the international level. Surely, now, T20 will catch up in India. After the way we departed from the World Cup, this will do the repair work for some time. We have Australia and Pakistan visiting us!
BCCI REWARDS! A CRORE FOR YUVRAJ SINGH for the sixers! TWO MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE TEAM! There goes my tax, sigh …
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The channel in question was Aaj Tak. Bhajji and co. are doing the jig on the grounds, back to ESPN now. These are great pictures, for anyone who is still reading (I don’t expect many), tune into ESPN right now!
Why is the presentation taking so long? Dhoni, probably, is getting the shirt back on. In fact, he’s put up a sleeveless jersey and then a gesture of thanks to the Pakistani team. Both teams played this with great goodwill.
SRK has his SLR with him, and he’s clicking away.
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I’ll be back with the presentation commentary soon. Incidentally, I was there at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore at 5.00 am to pick up tickets for the India-Oz match. Can’t wait, now! More on that incident later, because …
I need to lock up the woman at my home, who is - incidentally - my mother. She’s gone absolutely crazy with excitement, and (oh God!) switched channels to watch the news! That crime called for quick action.
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One must feel for Pakistan, they played extremely well throughout. Everyone has been ranting about India’s dismal World Cup, but few realise the damage to Pakistan. They had their coach murdered, and they lost Inzy as a captain. To have recovered from the trench of failure, is no mean feat. Full credit to Pakistan for making this tournament, and this match, memorable as ever.
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A fitting finale in the end, and a gripping match of cricket. T20 is here to stay, it’s power-packed, it’s fun, it’s entertainment - and now - it’s India’s :-) Imagine what this does for the T20 circuit back home! The BCCI have loads to do, for now they’ll bask in the glory of picking a great team.
- - -
A couple of Emirates Airlines airhostesses bring the trophy. Meanwhile, Yuvraj is on top of another player, oh, that’s Sehwag? For a moment it looked like the gay-pride-parade, but then sanity is restored. Indian brotherhood.
Dhoni is topless!, he’s lost the shirt!
- - -
The phones are ringing, the neighbors are ecstatic! Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, everyone are out there bursting crackers! This is, by far, the happiest moment in recent times for Indian cricket. Yusuf Pathan hugs the flag. There’s not a single Pakistani out there on the camera! Can you believe it?
Misbah ul Haq just scoops it up in the air, would you believe it? He smashes a six, SURELY he would back himself to score another boundary straight down the ground?
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Can you believe this? Chasing 157, Pakistan made a whole mess of it and the men in blue pull off an amazing victory! The fireworks have gone off at the Wanderers and in my backyard to! This isn’t the Ganesh festival, it’s India winning the T20 World Cup!
India are doing the victory round at the Wanderers in the meantime. A great team, a great captain! Dhoni looks the part - those locks running all around! Bhajji points the flag at the crowd! One of the happiest moments in cricketing history for the nation.
19.3 - Sharma to Haq, OUT! Scooped to Sreesanth at fine-leg and India have won the Twenty20 WORLD CUP! They’re through!
What a shot under pressure! My fingers have gone cold though …
19.2 - Sharma to Haq, SIX!, straight down the ground and it’s gone all the way! 6 to win from four now!
19.1 - Sharma to Haq, played and missed! It was width and it was offered, Misbah would be disappointed with that. 12 to win from 5.
19.1 - Sharma to Haq, WIDE! What a criminal ball first up! How crucial is that? What’s with Sharma and the last over?
What a match this has been! Not bored one bit, RP Singh is stunned! Asif celebrates. 13 from one over, you would back Pakistan and Misbah-ul-Haq against Bhajji here. Sharma will bowl it.
19.0 - RP Singh to Asif, FOUR!, edged and it runs down to third-man! 13 required from the last over! Match on! 145-9
India heave a sigh of relief, but Misbah ul Haq will play the final over. Asif will have to keep this ball out. His favourite shot is anywhere for six. That’ll do for Pak!
18.5 - RP Singh to Gul, OUT!, you miss, I hit, and leg-stump goes out for a little smoke. RP Singh delivering when needed. India one wicket away from victory, within a whisker!
I’ve already lost fingernails this tournament. Am down to the skin.
18.4 - RP Singh to Haq, single, he gets a glove to it. Misbah was eyeing the short boundary.
18.3 - RP Singh to Haq, louud shout! Not out! India go up! Cat and mouse … Simon Taufel under pressure!
18.2 - RP Singh to Gul, missed but they run across for a single. RP isn’t happy.
18.1 - RP Singh to Haq, run down to third man for a single. It’s Misbah versus India, yet again. Are we on couse for another bowl-out? 1000 bucks looks like mine for the taking, Jerry did place a bet, interestingly.
Umar Gul comes out to the middle to bat. Haq is on strike. RP Singh returns for the penultimate over.
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