The pundits had written the Indian ODI team off even before the series had got rolling. Largely due to the disappointing performance of the Indian batsmen against the duo of Mendis and Murali in the test series which India lost 2-1. But Dhoni’s men have gotten used to being the underdogs before the start of a series and yet emerging triumphs at the end of it. The ODI series down under early this year was one such example. But the side filled with young rising talent was a treat to watch in this series a they went from strength to strength and managed to pull off the series even with a match in hand. Even in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag both of whom had to pull out due to injuries, the Indian bench made up for their absence.
A victory in Sri Lanka is always sweet. The last bilateral series in Sri Lanka had India face an embarrassing defeat of 3-0 and confirmed the fact that taming the Sri Lankan lions in their own backyard is not such a frivolous task. But finally India succeeded in triumphing in an ODI series here and this success can be attributed to the team work and the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Right from calling the coin correctly, Dhoni has not set a foot wrong in this series. He led from the front especially in the last two matches in Colombo. But what is important to note is the way he motivated the team after the embarrassing loss in the first one dayer in Dambula. The Indian team was expected to lose this series badily as none of the batsmen had any experience whatsoever against the duo of Mendis and Murali and that too on spinner friendly tracks in Sri Lanka. But the young Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and even Badrinath applied themselves to the early swing of the experienced Vaas and against the guile of Mendis and Murali. They applied themselves, used their feet and were not scared of hopping down the pitch in order to counter the spin. During the test series it was just one batsman Sachin Tendulkar who had tried to get aggressive against the spin duo. But in the one day series it was all the batsmen who went aggressively against the Sri Lankan spinners and emerged triumphant at the end.
But the primary reason why the Indians have got the series in the bag has been the success of the Indian bowlers. The pace bowlers Zaheer and Praveen kumar have always picked up wickets with the new ball. Right from pitching the ball in the right areas to getting early break throughs, the Indian pacers have laid the foundation for Harbhajan to come and clean up the tail. Even the fifth bowler in the form of Yuvraj Singh has picked up wickets at regular intervals.
The series win against Sri Lanka would come as a huge sigh of relief for the thousands of the Indian fans who had given up after the test series. But this win will do wonders to the confidence of the Indian ODI team who has just started a fresh innings under the reign of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has appeared to be calm and unperturbed even when faced with tremendous pressure. The Indian team can only get better from here and after the infusion of Sachin and Sehwag at the top of the order, this team will have the perfect mix of flamboyant aggressive youth and dependable experience.
IT WAS touted as the clash of the titans. The invincible Rajasthan Royals up against the resurgent Chennai Super Kings. Even the pundits were refusing to take a stand, as this was expected to be a very close encounter.
Both the semifinals at the Wankhede Stadium had been tame one-sided wins with both the teams registering comprehensive wins over their counterparts. But the 55,000 plus spectators seated at the DY Patil stadium could not have asked for a better finish to what has been the most explosive series ever to have hit Indian television. All the critics who had earlier questioned the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the outset are now running for cover because such is the popularity of this league that it has every one hooked on to it. And now that it is over for this year, there would still be people salivating for more.
The glittering closing ceremony with the host of Bollywood starlets, German acrobats and a sizzling display of fire works were a treat to the eye. But the action was still to begin with Dhoni’s boys coming out to bat against a hostile bowling attack of Rajasthan Royals led by Sohail Tanveer who had been the highest wicket taker of the tournament. The Chennai openers set the ball rolling and were off to a sedate start. Suresh Raina came in and hit some lusty blows, which included three huge towering sixes.
The Chennai Super kings were restricted to a total of 163 in their quote of 20 overs. Not a match winning score but definitely a competing one! The Rajasthan Royals were not off to a very good start, as they lost the first wicket of Patel early. It was left to the find of the tournament Yousuf Pathan to come to their rescue as he has done time and time again for his team in this series. His 50 was the turning point of the match as he led his team to within a few runs from the target. At the end it was Shane Warne and Sohail Tanveer who had a cool head on their shoulders and took the Rajasthan Royals home but not without its share of drama. The winning runs were scored of the final delivery of the innings.
This is what dreams are made of. Here is a team, which spent barely anything on the auctions who retained Shane Warne as captain and coach, it was sure that this team would find it next to impossible to qualify for the semis. But qualify they did not through any back door entry but by topping the group and carrying on the good work in the finals as well. And on the other hand some of the big names like Royal Challengers and the Deccan charges, both failed o create an impact in this edition as well.
The IPL has been a phenomenal success. With all the money pouring in, this league has created a storm. Rajasthan Royals emerged as the winners of this edition. It is a day when Warne needs to be applauded for his incessant work and charming personality. The Indian Premier League has arrived and is here to stay. The transfer window in February will be a vital important aspect of the IPL. Here’s applauding Lalit Modi and the rest of the gang behind this colossal event and hoping the next edition of the IPL will be bigger and better.
It could not have been scripted better. Tendulkar made his debut in the IPL, with his team Mumbai Indians having won three matches consecutively. But in order to make it to the Semis, they had to keep the momentum going. After restricting the Chennai Super Kings to a modest total of 157 due to some disciplined bowling up front by Pollock and Nehra but since then the night belonged to Jayasuriya.
He had been getting starts in the tournament but had barely converted them. This was the day when Jayasuriya had been waiting for to prove his worth to the team. Till the match against Chennai, he had been opening with different partners and the opening partnership never used to go past a few years. Opening with Sachin probably gave him the confidence to go berserk. The first six overs yielded 78 and by then the Chennai Super Kings knew that something had hit them hard. His flicks over Square Leg for six, his powerful cover drives and bottom hand jabs on the on side were a delight to watch.
Though on the other hand Sachin did not really make his dream debut but was more than happy to let Jayasuriya take the strike and demolish the opposition. Eleven sixes in an innings, second in the IPL only to Brendon Mecculum’s 13 in the first match against the Royal Challengers. The sheer arrogance with which he hit all the Chennai Super Kings bowlers all around the park was astonishing to see. In the belligerent mood that he was in, he did not even spare his previous team mate Muralitharan as he attempted twice to reverse sweep the Sri Lankan off spinner. If there is one player who can single handedly take the match away from the opposition with his explosive batting, it is Sanath Jayasuriya. And his team were aware that it would need just one innings to get him abck in form which he did in style.
The second fastest hundred of the tournament after Adam Gilchrist who had gone on a rampage against the Mumbai Indians a few matches back. But with Jayasuriya’s current performance the Mumbai Indians can be happy that their most explosive batsman is back in form and these are not good signs for the other teams. Jayasuriya’s knock was the first good score from a team who had till now struggled in the tournament.
But this innings would do a world of confidence to them as they would now make their move to try and reach the Semi Finals. For the thousands that had gathered to see Sachin bat, it would have been a dream come true to watch this innings of Jayasuriya. Mumbai Indians would also feel confident now as their batting looks more or less to be settled though the departure of Bravo will hurt them. Their next tie against the Kolkatta Knight Riders would be a vital one, as both these teams are fighting for a birth in the Semi Finals. It will be great to see King Khan back in Mumbai cheering his team at the sidelines. But the resurgent Mumbai Indians would be up for the challenge.
It is said, Cricket is a great Leveler. A young exuberant side led by MS Dhoni with almost no twenty twenty practice had shocked the World by winning the World Cup in South Africa. It was a team effort but the team did have its share of heroes. Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir with the Bat. Harbhajan and RP Singh with the ball. The World champions arrived at Melbourne to take up the Aussie challenge. The might of the Aussies had been humbled twice. But they were no the ones to take this lying down, even in the absence of Ponting and Hayden, it was a cake walk for the Kangaroos.
From an Indian point of view, it was a feeling of melancholy. Through out the Aussie summer this was one clash that was being anticipated. But, the Indian batsmen could not even last the stipulated quota of twenty overs, forget making a decent score. It was appalling to see Sachin Tendulkar sitting at the Dug out watching the wickets fall down like the bowling pins. Now we need to understand the importance of experience.
Look at the Aussie side, World Champions, the best team in tests and their recent win over India in Twenty Twenty makes them a force to reckon with. Australia have had great youngsters doing well in the Domestic circuit, but sadly there is no place for them in the international side. Guys like Hayden and Hussey had to wait till their thirties to make their respective debuts. Australia focuses on performance and form rather than age as a criteria to fetch the players their coveted baggy green.
It was the same old story yesterday. A batting collapse, we all have got used to. Sehwag with a poor choice of run. Gambhir and Utthappa trying to go over the in field even when they had barely gauged the bounce of the pitch. Karthick and Sharma falling to irresponsible shots. Dhoni trying to clear the field but only holing out to the fielder at Square Leg. And Indians could have been bowled out for the lowest total in twenty twenty ever, if it was not for a face saving knock from Irfan Pathan. The only Indian batsman who exercised some caution while batting.
Twenty Twenty is a game of fours and sixes, but remember the boundaries are still at the same distance and hence all the rules of Cricket apply. Whatever the format of cricket be, you just cant score from the first ball. You need to get yourself set first. Indian batsmen it seems were awed by the great occasion and this is where the experience of Sachin could have helped. And you cant really prove that guys like Karthick, Sharma or Utthapa are better players then Sachin.
The scene that caught my eye yesterday was the one in which, there was a spinner bowling to a number eleven batsmen with all the fielders crowding around the bat. Trust me, it may have been a hat trick ball but you will not ever see this happening again. This was hurting the pride of the Indians, as the Aussies have most certainly avenged their two earlier defeats.
The selection for the team had itself been a flawed one. With batsmen like Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman sent home, the Indians were looking for trouble. The Indians have a mammoth task in front of them if they are to win the series against Australia. The debate between experience and youth will continue. But if Sachin would have taken to the field, the result could well have been different.
The Indians have decided to choose youth over experience by leaving out Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly from the squad. Yuvraj Singh struggled in the two tests that he played, and Zaheer Khan and R P Singh are out due to injury. Also, the remainder of the team comprises of players who hardly have any experience playing in Australia, as was on show in the T20 match. Mahender Singh Dhoni has got his way as far as the team selection goes, and now it is up to the team to deliver.
What complicates the situation is that, by unceremoniously dumping the “seniors” from the squad, the inexperienced Dhoni seems to have shot himself in the foot. Whatever happens in the series, the selection panel cannot be blamed too much, as it was Dhoni’s vociferousness that got him his team. Even Anil Kumble didn’t seem too happy with what had transpired in the meeting when the team was decided. Dhoni has gone for broke; some may say he has decided to put his entire team through a test of fire.
Another factor that tilts the scales against Dhoni at the moment is that the third team in the tri series is Sri Lanka. The last time India played the same series, they were joined by Zimbabwe, which had meant that they were more or less assured of a spot in the best of three finals. This time, considering the force Australia are at home, and the force Sri Lanka have become under the astute captaincy of Jayawardene, things will not be so easy.
So in a nutshell, a road of thorns lies ahead for Dhoni. It may be asking too much from a young wicketkeeper to shoulder the responsibilities of the entire team. But considering the fact that there really is no one else in the team capable enough to do that, he might well have to go through with it. Maybe, just maybe, he might be sending out silent prayers to the Almighty, hoping that Yuvraj Singh hits a purple patch, or virtually each and every one of his decisions go fully according to plan. Things have gone according to his caprices till date anyway.
If the Indians manage to bag the series, or even put up a good enough fight, then the entire country will laud Mahender Singh Dhoni’s attitude, courage, premonition, call it what you may. But a performance along the lines of what was on view this Friday, and he would experience the “hero to zero” free-fall first hand. The bells have not yet begun to toll for the seniors in the Indian side, who will be watching the matches live from the comforts of their homes.
Harbhajan Singh’s exoneration for his alleged “monkey” comment towards Andrew Symonds has been hailed as a victory for justice in India, but the decision has incensed Australia’s cricketers, who believe their board has caved in to overwhelming pressure from the game’s financial superpower.
In a front-page article in Wednesday’s Sydney Morning Herald, an unnamed Australian cricketer has hit out at the decision, which was only reached after Cricket Australia persuaded their five players at the hearing to downgrade their charge against Harbhajan from racism to abusive language. Instead of being banned for three Tests as per the original verdict, he was fined 50% of his match fee.
“The thing that pisses us off is that it shows how much power India has,” the anonymous contracted player told the paper. “The Aussie guys aren’t going to make it [the accusation] up. The players are frustrated because this shows how much influence India has, because of the wealth they generate. Money talks.”
In what the paper described as a “brazen act of provocation”, the Indian board chartered a plane to whisk their one-day squad from Melbourne – the venue for Friday’s Twenty20 fixture – to Adelaide, so that they could fly home to India if the charges against Harbhajan were not dropped. The move was described by MV Sridhar, the team’s assistant manager, as a “show of solidarity”.
Friday’s match alone – the curtain-raiser for the lucrative CB Series – is expected to attract a crowd in excess of 90,000, and Cricket Australia, fearing the loss of millions of dollars in TV rights, sponsorship and gate takings, opted not to call India’s bluff. It was also believed to be under pressure from broadcasters who could have sued had the series been abandoned. The Australian reported the players had an often fiery meeting with Cricket Australia officials during the fourth Test and it was agreed the charge would be lowered if Harbhajan apologised.
An Indian pull-out would have threatened Sri Lanka’s participation in the CB Series as well. Arjuna Ranatunga, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, and other senior board officials told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier that the board was keeping an eye on the developments in the hearing before deciding whether to commit to the tour or not.
The issue was resolved late on Tuesday night, when Cricket Australia and the BCCI issued a joint statement, saying Symonds and Harbhajan had “resolved” the issue and that both captains were also “satisfied with the outcome”.
Australia’s unofficial opinion, however, is less placatory. The team maintain that Harbhajan abused Symonds both in Sydney and three months earlier during an ill-tempered one-day series in India. In audio evidence supplied by Channel 9 – and played before the appeals commissioner, Justice John Hansen – Matthew Hayden is heard remonstrating with Harbhajan. “You’ve got a witness now, champ,” says Hayden. “It’s racial vilification, mate. It’s a shit word and you know it.”
Harbhajan can be heard protesting that Symonds started the verbals, but the actual word is inaudible on the tapes. “Ultimately, truth has prevailed,” said the BCCI vice-president, Rajiv Shukla. “India has always stood against racism. Cricket is the victor in all this.”
Ranatunga, a former Sri Lankan captain, called for a ban on sledging and hoped the Australians would learn their lessons from this controversy.
“Australia have had these issues with some touring sides,” Ranatunga told Reuters. “History shows whenever they get it back, they struggle. Sometimes they also need to learn a lesson. I’m a great believer they should stop all shouting in the grounds.”
Sourav Ganguly is sure to be in a quandary. He had registered one of the greatest comebacks into the Indian team. Scoring 1240 runs in ODI’s in the calendar year of 2007 at an average of 44, you could not have asked for more.
The Indian team were savoring the win at Perth when the bombshell was dropped by the selectors. Ganguly dropped from the team for the upcoming tri series against Australia and Sri Lanka. The in form Dravid and Laxman were ignored once again. The selectors seem to have made up their mind to go with youth for the ODI side. It might augur well for the Indian team in the future but in the present context, it could be disastrous for the Indian team.
The selectors could have made the announcement after the fourth test as there is gap between the tests and the ODI’s. Also there is a 20-20 match against the Aussies on February 1st, which the entire nation would be waiting for. But the team of selecters has acted as party poopers and has taken the sheen of the tremendous win at Perth. But perhaps the greatest impact it will have will be on the performance of the dropped players in the Adelaide test. Kumble will have his task cut out, in order to get Dravid and Ganguly to focus on the test match at hand which is a must win for the Indian side.
The selectors have infused youth into the side, dropping all the seniors except for Tendulkar. Ganguly has been replaced by Suresh Raina. Now, Raina last played an ODI in January 2007, more than an year back. His form in the domestic season last year wasn’t something to be proud of but yet he has found his way into the ODI squad in place of Ganguly. Ganguly had been the in form batsman for India as he made consecutive hundreds against Pakistan in tests and had looked one of the few composed batsman in the side in Australia. But yet he has been unceremoniously dropped. Is it the end of the road for Ganguly atleast in ODI? Only Ganguly can make the decision and it wont be an easy one.
We have an ODI squad which is similar to the 20-20 squad that had won the World Cup. But can these youngsters repeat their magical performance against the World Champions in their own backyard? There has to be a balance between youth and experience in the side which the selectors have not adhered to. And the high profile ODI series could definitely not be used for experimenting. The theory of being ‘in form’ in order to be selected seems to baffle me completely. If there was one player who has woefully out of form on the Aussie tour, it was Yuvraj Singh who barely troubled the scorers in the first two test matches. Dhoni too had not looked particularly confident against the rising ball. But both these players have been retained as vice captain and captain respectively. Virendra Sehwag has retained his place in the ODI side after a good performance in the Perth test. But is a single performance enough to cement your place in the ODI side? IF yes, then Ganguly gave us some of the best performances of his career last year. Why wernt they considered?
The only legitimate thing that could have gone against the former Indian captain is his fielding prowess or the lack of it. Ganguly is definitely not the most agile fielder on the park and he would be the first man to accept it. But, if fielding was all to be considered then with due respect Glenn Mcgrath, Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram and Inzamam ul haq would never have played for their sides, forget being the all time greats to represent their country. And Sehwag who has been chosen in the side, is not a terrific fielder too.
Ganguly should consider himself really unfortunate for it was his last tour to Australia and would have wanted to make the most of it. It might well signal the end of the road for the Prince of Kolkatta, a young prodigy who with his sheer grit and determination had scripted the best story of comebacks in Cricket at the age of 34. Dhoni may have got his desired team for the series, but it will be interesting to see if his bunch of young boys can perform against the mighty Aussies. And don’t be surprised if after a couple of failures, Sachin Tendulkar will find himself missing from the ODI side. In Indian cricket, anything can happen.
THE contrast could not be more stark. At the very venue they reclaimed the Ashes last summer, the Australians yesterday witnessed the end of their record-equalling 16-Test winning sequence, though not before an enthralling late-innings fightback. [Alex Brown for Sydney Morning Herald]
I found this interesting article on Fox Sports.
WELCOME to the future, Australian cricket fans. Welcome to a world where your team will remain among the best sides in the world but will have to work like drover’s dogs to subdue their closest rivals.
We have seen the end of a golden era and will have to get used to the occasional silver and bronze medal against teams ready to answer our best sledges.
The fortress was attacked in Sydney and the barricades finally fell in Perth.
The post Warne-McGrath adjustment which had to happen has finally kicked. We have learned that Phil Jaques is not Justin Langer, that Shaun Tait is not yet Jason Gillespie, that Shane Warne is irreplaceable and that if you take Matthew Hayden out of the team it hurts everywhere.
The most challenging era of Ricky Ponting’s captaincy starts this morning.
How Allan Border managed to average 50 despite a decade’s worth of the type of pressure that has engulfed Ponting this series defies belief.
We have also learned that Australian batsmen who skated along like mini-Bradman when their side was crushing the world can be vulnerable when put under pressure.
Any Australian batsman who averages 50 over the next four or five years will have earned it.
As Steve Waugh says, there is no need for Australian fans to get too worried. They will continue to be among the world leaders and there will be no slide into the abyss which was home to Australian teams of the mid-1980s.
It’s just that they will find it harder to win.
Even as Australia despairs, world cricket is rejoicing at the discovery of a team who not only do not fear Australia but actually fancy their chances against them.
No praise is high enough for an India side whose entire pace attack is younger than Tait.
Australia is being threatened by a new breed of Indian, whose confidence was embodied by a gesture from young quick Irfan Pathan, when he held his hand up to his ear to the crowd after taking the ninth wicket. India’s win will send waves of delight and anticipation across the cricket world. If Australia can falter against India in Perth they can falter anywhere. This is an extraordinary result.
Australia will probably win this series but Shane Warne was right. This is no time to be arrogant.
India, without their top three fast bowlers, deserve to be rejoicing.
The potential of their young fast bowler Ishant Sharma is limitless.
Sharma’s harassment of Ricky Ponting at the WACA was the best spell of fast bowling Australians have faced since the 2005 Ashes tour when Andrew Flintoff was making the ball swing like a soap bubble.
It takes a great spell to contain Ponting; it takes a freakish one to make him look as if he is batting with a cricket stump.
His arrival is great news for a world cricket scene desperately seeking some new fast bowling heroes.
He has only been playing serious cricket for five years. A great career beckons for him if his drain-pipe physique can be kept in one piece.
If there were any devils in the pitch as predicted by the pundits, they were to be seen only on the second day of the test match as the Aussies were bundled out for a mere 212. The swing bowling by the Indian pacers would have even made the Sultan of Swing Wasim Akram proud and the famed Aussie batting line up was left in the lurch. But the day belonged to Anil Kumble, the mechanical engineer of yesterday and the Captain and Man Manager of yesterday accomplished the feat of taking 600 test wickets.
Anil Radhakrishna Kumble has started off as a young bespectacled spinner in the 1990 season. Unconventional by nature he was written off by all his critics. From his first wicket of Allan Lamb to his 600th yesterday, the great Indian spinner has come a long way. He has been the leading Indian bowler ever since the departure of Kapil Dev. Time and time the Indians have relied on him to get the first breakthrough and he has almost always delivered. Kumble reached this landmark in just his 124th test even quicker than Shane Warne. With only Warne and Muralitharan in front of him, we could well see Kumble taking 700 test scalps by the time he hangs up his boots.
Kumble’s value to the team comes to light in the following facts. He has taken one third of the wickets Indians have taken at home in the past eighteen years. Whenever Anil takes a 10 wicket haul in a test, the Indians have never lost a test match. He has claimed 50 wickets or more in a year thrice in 1999, 2004 and 2006. He defied all odds when he bandaged his fractured jaw during a test match against West Indies to deliver a telling blow and claim the prized wicket of Brian Lara. Not to forget his marathon spell of 72 overs against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1997. His wily flippers and googlies have bamboozled batsmen world wide and has earned him the respect of all ex players as well.
In his long untiring tenure as India’s premier spinner, Kumble has done it all. Taking diving catches at the gully position, scoring a hundred at Lords and taking all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan. Anil Kumble the giant killer or the smiling assassin, whatever you may call him has been an invaluable gift to the Indian team, one which we would even cherish long after he’s gone.
For in his corner stood perseverance, aggression and dignity, great human qualities if you are searching for a role model. In the last month, his tremendous Man Management qualities have surprised many. Captain courageous dealt with the Racism Row in the best possible manner. Standing by his team mate throughout the fiasco and then extending the olive branch to Ricky Ponting regarding Hogg’s abusing issue, Kumble has turned out to be the best man at the helm of the affairs.
If there was one player the Indians would sorely miss after his retirement, it would undoubtedly be Anil Kumble. Not because he is a great bowler, but because there will never be anyone who could fill this massive void in the Indian team. If there was ever a list of unsung heroes in Indian Cricket, this man would top that list. It is time to acknowledge the genius of this man. His determination, his will to perform despite all odds has made him a paragon of virtue. It is time for Kumble to deservingly revel in the glory and for all us mortals to stand up and salute him.
Never termed a classical leg-spinner (primarily because he is not a huge turner of the ball) in the real sense of the word, Anil has proved in his 16 long years in international cricket, that his style was equally effective. With a clever mix of top-spinners, googlies, leg-breaks, flight and a variation of pace, he has outwitted many a batsman. Facing a vary tall spinner, hurling deliveries at short of medium-pace, with every ball on target, can be a very daunting task.
Anil Kumble has some unique achievements in his illustrious career that one can only dream of. Anil Kumble is the only second bowlers in the history of test cricket who could take 10 wickets in a test innings. In a test match against Pakistan in 1999, Anil Kumble took all of the 10 wickets of Pakistan’s second innings leading India to win the test and level the series. After English spinner Jim Laker, Anil Kumble is the second person who has this distinction in his career.
Recently, Anil Kumble got his maiden test century in the recent test series against England. Scoring 110 not out at his 118th Test and 151st innings, Anil Kumble took the highest number of tests to get his first test century. Actually, both his test century and test captaincy have come to him surprisingly. Even he could not think off getting a century in test cricket and test captaincy at the age of 37. He handled the matter agressively after the racial controversy in Sydney and is now considered to be the toughest man in Indian Cricket at the moment.
With a down to earth personality, this leg spinner is always a respected person both on and off the field. From the umpires to opposition players, almost everybody knows him a solid gentleman.