Sachin and Viru set the game for India….Still Sachin shudnt open ?

Nastier side of me is back to the business and this time its for anti Sachin ppl…The GOD and his disciple do it again…10th 100 partnership and that too at quicker pace…Sets up the game for the lead to be 5-0.

Sometimes I do wonder people who go away with sentiments echoed by the media when they say “Sachin is slow”, “Sachin is selfish”, “Sachin shudnt open with Viru”….Are they half baked intelligent ppl ? If Sehwag is going all guns then to preserve wkts one of the partner has to anchor the innings….And Sachin Tendulkar is one guy who switches role to perfection. After 20 yrs of cricket we mere mortals have audacity to question the greatest batsman of all times. I wish if Aussies did the same to DON in his playing days ?

Meanwhile Sehwag hit Broad for 2 back to back fours….And I m off to the game……0/119 in 17 overs with 153 more to get in 33 overs. Thats a game set match to India unless the likes of Raina and Sharma dont screw it up!!

PS : I am old timer. I love the older generation of Indian cricket, i have grown up watching them play and transform the Indian cricket from no-hoppers to almost world beaters. Bear my opinions. I would always favor Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans and Sehwags now with Saurav and Anil gone. I am not anti young brigade but then they gotta show the hunger…..So far the stars of the series aint the so called new young lads but the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer and of course Yuvraj…..Where are the young lads?

collective cynicism with multiple obsession for crucification

Indian media is suffering from what I call collective cynicism with multiple obsession for crucification!!!

Silly Billy Geofrey

One of them is injured forever , makes appearences every now and then, then breaks down, then an operation, then talks of comeback, comeback, again a breakdown to injury.

The other one is a nervous traveller. When he steps in to Heathrow to board the flight out of England, he feels goosebumps in his tummy, misses his family and kids (4) and fades out soon, bowls the first ball in much anticipated Ashes as wide wide outside off stump much in contrast to the short ball he did in home Ashes…With time he fades, retires, is dropped from the team, comes back rejuvenated in ONE DEAD RUBBER TEST which his team wins under a new captain and the usual rants of “WE ARE THE BEST” goes high…..and then for the shining dollars(Stanford t20) comes out of retirement of ODIs…

Guys the 1st one is Freddie Flintoff — the weak knee man and the first England captain to have suffered whitewash in ages….

Second one is Steve Harmison — the one time # 1 bowler in world and now nobody.

This are the guys Geofrrey Boycott banks to fear Indian fading greats in the upcoming England series.

“The pace of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison will be England’s biggest weapon, because the senior batsmen should all be vulnerable early on to quality fast bowling. OK, the pitches won’t give you much, so you have to be precise and accurate. But the way England have been playing since Pietersen became captain, they’ve got to think positive and believe that they can bowl India out”

Silly words. Utter silly. Laugh it out guys. I m. Please you guys too. Did i forget that you sent spectators sleeping with boredom playin helluva slow innings of 242 in 2 days and then you were dropped the next test match ? And then were you not thrown out of the team for 3 years ?

It amazes me that how England get euphoric on basis of just 1 test win against SA in a dead rubber. They wish tht they can take on Australia next summer Ashes and beat them. A series win over them in 20 years on basis of cheating and Murray Mints isnt a worthy record to be proud of. But yes 4 back to back epic series –2001, 2003, 2004 and 2008 are smthin to be really proud of. Yes WE the INDIANS proudly solemnize that we have kicked England’s ass to replace them as Australia’s worthy rivals and form the greatest test rivalry of the modern day cricket. Move away Brits, its INDIA show.

Lets see if England can win even a session in the upcoming Test series in India. I bet for 2-0 scoreline for India in Tests and a 5-2 or 6-1 in ODIs. Grow up sir Geoffrey. Set your inhouse cricket right and leave our seniors to us. We would take care of that. Have good sleep sir, you need that. If you get that you wont puke venom and rubbish which would make us laugh at you in your face. Alright Sir, get well soon 🙂

Fair Selection

So the selection debate ends with the “incumbent batsmen” keeping up their places and the “next generation” players getting a peep-in into the final 15. I feel so sad for the critics of Saurav Ganguly who had wrote him off and declared him a thing of past. He is back again and I can’t hide my happiness. I don’t care if I am being termed as cynical or whatever, but the fact is I have always liked the fighting qualities of the man and he in a way has inspired me in more ways than one. I cannot help but to back him to max, though it doesn’t matter a heck in the end. It anyways won’t change his fortunes, but would give me a satisfaction. A player who cut through the system out of various charges of quota selection, being duped as a LORD SNOOTY or MAHARAJ or a disturbing effect on the team by Greg Chappell, the man transformed the Indian team from a meek outfit to the current outfit who has conquered all but New Zealand.

He transformed the attitude of the players, rubbed off the north-south divide, backed few players he thought were good and today the world knows them by the names of Sehwag, Bhajji, Zaheer, Dhoni, Yuvraj etc etc. Not to mention that he resurrected the career of Dravid in ODIs and Kumble in Tests once he was termed as past force after the NZ tour of 2003. HE fought an eye to eye with the best and led the team to some memorable triumphs home and away. I am too small an entity to write anything about the great man. But my heartfelt wishes to the man from Kolkata to come good and shut his critics off.

Besides the team is on the expected lines. Selection of Amit Mishra can be debatable though it’s very little chance that he might play. What wrong did Ojha do to be ousted without a game ? That’s what you call selection inconsistency which Nasser Hussein very well summarizes it. Badrinath gets a look-in as well, but again he won’t be playing. I cannot understand a reason why he is being so rated hugely. He was okish in the SL ODI series and doesn’t look to be a very attractive or solid prospect. Yeah making noises can be attributed to him, but then making runs concerned, I won’t bet a penny on this man from TN (is he in cos the Chief selector hails from TN J).

Munaf Patel won’t be playing and so would be RP Singh. RP Singh has drastically fallen apart since the Asia Cup in June this year. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma look the starters in the XI along with the captain and Harbhajan Singh as spinners.

All in all it’s a fair team selection IMHO, though the critics of the Fab four would be fairly miffed looking that none of the incumbent chickens were rolled off. Alright, the stage is set, the team is in like it or not. Now we all the bloggers got to rally behind this team to support it during this epic series and ensure that we give a tough fight to Aussies once again and we get to see another high voltage series as India – Australia have always been. 8 days to go.

Nasser Hussein turns the tide

Usually the English media and the cricketers have been critical and wary of Indian playing conditions and many times they have skipped the tour to the country. For example in 1987 World Cup, there were no Ian Botham and David Gower in the side that went on to the final losing to Australia by 7 runs. Darren Gough and Andy Caddick – the 2 leading English fast bowlers of early 2000s for England skipped the 2001 tour to India . Their 2006 tour to the country was marred by injuries and suspicious virus that finally turned to a depression for Marcus Treskothick confirmed the doubts in Indian minds that England don’t pay the required dignity and respect to the Indian cricket, it deserves. May be the fact that India uprooted England as the ICC powerhouse or may be the fact that England now cannot have its own way in ICC or may be the fact that the English media and players yet take India to be a country full of pied pipers and snake charmers. May be they also think that conditions in India are very hot and humid, the pitches are slow and low and the crowd is bad mannered. Quite of it could have been true until late 90s, but then now the things have changed. Many players in the ill fated tour of 1993 suffered from stomach disorders (how much that’s related to Indian spicy food is a subject of debate).

England have toured the country for a Test series 2 times in this decade and just 2 times in 1980s and 1990s. Contrast that to a England tour to West Indies or South Africa. The upcoming series would be the quickest home series India plays against England in long memory (that I have). And we almost see a strong England side (as they believe and the players that make to XV) touring India subject to the condition that none of the selected player falls to injuries or pulls out of due to varied reasons. Lack of England’s top players in IPL was another example of how England sees India. But then not all the players see India in the same light. One such player is Nasser Hussein who has been a prolific England captain who actually transformed the England side from worst Test playing country (those days in late 90s, BD were not a Test playing country) to one of the most competitive team in Tests. Michael Vaughan built on the legacy of Hussein and the results were visible in the streak from 2003 – 2005 when England won almost everything they played.

Hussein in 2001 tour captained his weak side to a series loss of 0-1 with actually his side holding upper hand in drawn Tests in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. He got Tendulkar stumped for the only time in his Test career to Giles by bowling a constant nagging leg side line round the wicket. It was negative tactics, but then Hussein always believed in keeping the runs flow in check and he constantly lays stress on keeping the run flow in check to score points over opposition. The point I am trying to drive across is that the same man has now said some minty sweet and cool words about the tour to India which should act as an eye opener to the prejudiced English media and players.

Here it goes :

India is a fantastic tour, one I’ve never had a problem with. Everything about it is just great: you realize how lucky you are as a cricketer; they love the game; you are the centre of attention; the hotels are great; the food is great; the crowds are great – it’s just a wonderful tour to be on.

You don’t get specifically ill anymore and you are looked after very well. But the cricket is tough and one of the pieces of advice I would pass on to Kevin Pietersen, as captain, which I learned on my tour there, is to try and stay in control of the run rate out on the field.

You have to try and control the emotion of the crowd, keep them subdued when the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and of course, Sachin Tendulkar are batting. If you can do that and quieten the crowd then you’re on top of the game, but if you just go in without any plans and start getting smacked around, then things can easily slip away from you and suddenly you find yourself batting last on a turning pitch.

England need to put the pressure back on the Indians and that first Test in Ahmedabad is even more important than usual because if they can get to Mumbai still in with a chance of winning the series, you’ll be amazed how much the Indian public gets on their own players’ backs.

And then his views on Fab four and the seniors :

Those players have a really important series coming up against Australia which will go a long way to deciding what England are actually facing on the field. If they go well in that, you can expect a very confident India side. There has been a little bit of a shift in their selection and the senior players – the Dravids, the Gangulys, the Tendulkars, VVS Laxman – because they haven’t performed for a while. Youngsters are starting to knock on the door more and more, but the one thing we all know is that you can never write off India’s star players.

Michael Vaughan was dropped off the touring party for lack of form and fitness (mental more than physical). But then didn’t he already clarify that he is not in right state of mind to tour India. He would utilize the time to regain the fitness to be back for West Indies tour in Mar – Apr 2009 (before Ashes). Another prejudice towards India. England doesn’t have any more domestic cricket and he is misfit for international cricket for time being. So how is he going to ensure he is back to scoring runs again ? Playing in domestic cricket in South Africa or Australia ? If yes, then why not India ?

Whose series is this ?

Sachin Tendulkar has said it right when he said that the series against Australia is not about the seniors but about the 2 teams. 2 of the best Test playing teams who have played some epic series this decade and perhaps this one is going to be no different. Go to any channel or any newspaper, the pre-series talk is specific to the future of the seniors and how they are over aged and how much they are liable to the team on basis of just 1 failure in Sri Lanka. Any ex-cricketer who has lifted some bat in international level or state level assumes importance when lured by the money in the media. And so we now have likes of Venkat Raja, Surendra Bhave who havent played at international level, to select the Test team for Australia series and yet again the questions would be does SG deserve a place ? When would seniors be dropped ?

M’con guys we got to discuss more about other aspects of the series, the selectors, the new regime of BCCI, the upcoming series and stuff like that. But we are stuck with 4 guys. Team doesnt revolve around this 4 people. They form the middle order. There are openers, there are bowlers and then there are wicket keepers. All possible micro analysis and micro management of every move of the 4 middle order batsmen is being done and every move is dissected with a surgeon’s precision.

Time and again, on this blog I have said, yes the seniors would go one day. We should have replacements. But who ? Somebody who has succeded in T20 goes straight to Tests ? How many of our media experts or some bored writers (pun intended) know Test match rules ? Survival is the key in Tests. 20 overs is little less than a session in a day out of 5’s play and you got to win sessions to win a Test.

Another silly discussion going around the corner is Greg Chappell. Media seems to be obsessed with him. Ok he is with Aussie team now as a coach cum consultant or whatever role it is. And if he gives some inputs to Aussies, then wats wrong with it ? He was with us during 2003-04 series, Bobby Simpson was consultant during 1999 WC, we have had John Wright and now Gary Kirsten as coach. Never did NZ and SA come back and charged us that may be this coaches are giving secrets about them to India. Then why this fuss over Chappell ?

Real battle would be right there in the middle of the ground. And when it would begin the coaches and every other thing would take the backseat. Can’t wait for the series to begin. And as VM correctly pointed out pro-senior posts have no taking. I would sincerly advise all the bloggers (not media buffoons) to have a wide perspective, apply some brain before writing anybody off. Before prejudicing anybody, lets have his options ready.

Rakhi Sawant’s cousin

Mukul Kesavan,

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/371078.html

You headless chicken, nothing can get worse than this out of your ridiculous brain. Get some new views dude. You speak like those fool hardy journos who are just out of masscom course and fresh into job. You no different than Rakhi Sawant…….. A worthy cousin of her, perhaps lost in Kolkata’s Bahu Bazaar 😀

Irani trophy Kick Starts

Take this game which begins Indian domestic season in one of 2 ways :

1. Beginning of the end of fab four should they fail to perform in this game.
2. A warmup for fab four (RD and VVS) before Test series begins on Oct 9.

Critics have been very unfair to the Fab four after the SL failure and most of them have been written off. Too much has been read into Ganguly’s non inclusion in RoI squad. Tendulkar has been accused of feigning injury and opting out for “mystery” reasons. Dravid has been scratchy in form. And VVS just 33 now has been always the one on the edge. He has been performing consistently as unsung hero, but he is the one who has been always put on sword, be it Yuvraj hitting hundreds or Badri hitting a domestic 100.

Pretty unfair. I have been ranting on this space for support of fab 4. Yes. I dont feel this is the time to see the 4 greatest batsmen of Indian test history as of yet. Not long ago in England the 4 combined to produce a spectacular 1-0 win and then back home against Pakistan. Dravid shot back at Perth and Tendulkar, Laxman continued their love with Sydney down under. Ganguly played a series levelling 80s in Kanpur when nobody else crossed 70. RD scored a 100 in Chennai in the same series. Didnt he ?

Tomorrow on a flat track the match would be played with more than usual interest from everybody. Selectors to bloggers, media from print to electronic. Yes every body. From Dubai to Bombay, USA to UK and Bangalore to Pune. A question on Kumble’s leadership skills, a delicious contest between Sehwag-Gambhir and Zaheer along with 2 spinners. Ishant testing Rahul Dravid who would once again step early in innings given the opening combo of Patel and Jaffer for RoI. Laxman at 4, Badri and Kaif at 5 ,6 with Dhoni at 7.

What if Kaif performs and Badri fails ? Badri has got one more chance to impress selectors may be for 2nd test ownwards then. And what if both fail ? What if RD and VVS hit good form ? Lot of questions, but no answers right now. Speculations are on, the swords are ready to come out of the shells to cut the seniors to pieces. Most crucial home season for India. 6 tests against Ashes opponents. Followed by a tour of Pakistan and NZ.

Good to hear that Yuvraj will lead the Board Prez XI against Australia in a tour game. May be this is one more chance to resucrrect his fading Test career. Guess its got to do with his attitude and mindset more than his ability and class. Class and talent are no doubt supreme. He needs to redefine his priorities and refocus on game. He should be the first candidate to replace a Fab 4 than the T20 kids.

May be we are at the cusp of either a new phase in Indian cricket sans Fab 4 or a major victory against all odds and time. I would support the second option. I dont know if i would like to see the game without the fab 4 playing Tests. After all i am used to see Tendulkar for 19 years of 22 years of following the game.

Youngsters

Robin Uthappa out for 2.

Suresh Raina out for 0.

Badri out for 1

Rohit Sharma out for 15.

This is the match scorelines for Test youth hopefuls vs Australia A where the home side were blown away by Shaun Tait first and then Luke Ronchi with a superb 100. The same team which lost to NZ by 129 runs yesterday, blew India A team which had as many as 8 players with international experience.

Badrinath has been spoken of in high esteem by many players and bloggers. He got a chance to prove himself in SL ODIs, failed. He spoke about how bad he was being treated by selectors and promptly was drafted in the team as Sachin’s replacement for ODIs. And now when he got a chance to prove a worthy contender for aussie test series with “seniors in decline”, the chap failed. Does that sound as class ? Or a talent ? Cmon dude, you got a chance to lead, you failed. You lead India A in Emerging player tourney down under, you failed. You still feel good enuf to be in the contention for a Test slot ? Performance. Where ‘s that with the bat ? We need runs under your belt sir, not vocal chord decibel strength.

Raina was very good in Asia Cup against BD and UAE, but failed to Tait — the bowler who is on a return from the break and doesnt figure in Test XV of Aussies. Uthappa is on a way out to exile for long term. Rohit Sharma, who is being viewed as next Sachin or next Richards (some ex-player said) failed once again.

If this players we expect to replace the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly or Dravid, then I am sorry to say we are next West Indies in making. This players can be found in Page 3 parties, TV ads, commercials, shaking a leg or 2 in a dance show, but would hardly be found performing where they are actually meant to. And when they get blown by second string Australian team, think of what Lee, Clarke and Johnson would do to this guys. Do we want to loose the series 0-4 inside 3 days ?

Once more the debate is out there for everybody to participate in. There are scores from seniors who have one odd failure in Lanka and the youngsters who were blown away on a flat wicket on a subcontinent track. We got to decide do we need likes of Rainas, Sharmas or Badris ?

Or the likes of Virat Kohli who has been getting better and better in the game against Sui gas in Nisar trophy. 52 in the first innings when nobody else crossed double figures and 81* right now wiping out the lead Sui gas had before. If there is one contender for Test team, then here it is. Virat Kohli. Sheer genius.

Think about it.

End of Symmo ?

So what was feared has come out to be true. Symmo isnt figured anymore in Oz squad for Indian Test series and that practically sound an end for him. Tough to understand the reason why he snubbed the team meeting for fishing. Was that more important for him than 4-5 yrs of fruitful and rockin career ? Thats where defining the priorities come to picture. You got to think whats more important for you ? And thats when you got to take the call and act accordingly on the choice you make. Symmo made a wrong choice and he is paying huge huge price for it. Not only it is unfair for him, but also for world cricket.

Barring Symmo out of the Indian tour, the gloss of the series has been lost. I fear the next generation of players from both teams wont be able to sustain the intensity and passion we have seen in the series in this decade. The classic tag might soon be archived. The maverick nature of pros like Bhajji and Symmo is essential to keep the flare alive for the series. Would you shell out hard earned money to watch McGain bowl to Rohit Sharma or a Suresh Raina ?

Aussies have chosen a weak team, which gives India an edge to start with. Experience is the key in crucial series and India has aplenty of it. Even if you take out 109 out of the cumulative experience, you got 150 from Tendulkar, 132 from skipper, 97 from VVS, 125 from RD, 70 from Bhajji and 60 from VS + 53 from Zaks. Stack that against Aussies and you see India way ahead of the fiercest rivals.

Only 4 players — Ponting, Hayden, Katich and Clark(Pup) have played a Test in India before. And Hayden, Ponting are injured. Aussies lack a genuine spinner. Ok McGain is a M, but he is not Mendis or a chuck, so Indians wont submit to him. Krezza is a rookie, Boulinger and Siddins wont get a game. So its more or less in the hands of Lee, Johnson and Clarke to share the load of bowling.

Jacques and Watson/Katich/Hayden ‘s opening pair doesnt look as intimidating as Hayden and Langer. Batting looks a bit settled with Clark and Hussey as main anchors.. It would be the last time the Fab 5 of Indian cricket would take on the Aussies home or away. And nothing short of classic series win would suffice for the greats of Indian cricket.

Whatever be the team compositions, the series promises to be a cliffhanger and close one. Depends if it would be classic as 2001, 2003 or 2007. Wish that Symmo is out for now and would be back soon. He would be certainly missed, after all we have not forgot that he took the Test away from us in Sydney no matter riding on luck and bad umpiring.