A price paid for complacency

Watched the match b/w India and the West Indies yesterday. Not a birthday surprise I would have wished for. The first news on June 13th, 2009 dealt with a way below par performance by the men in blue routed and outplayed completely by a determined Caribbean side.

Thanks to the half hour power cut, I missed the beginning of the match. By the time I switched the TV on, India were 37/3 after six overs. And I thought I would miss Rohit Sharma's onslaught just minutes before that! What I missed was a superb display by the West Indian quicks who bowled to a plan and with a purpose. They succeeded in bouncing out the in-form Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. After that we saw some t20 batsmanship display by the "big hitter" captain of India, a forgettable innings of which even Ishant Sharma won't be proud of. 11 of 23 bowls cannot be counted as a t20 innings by any stretch of imagination, and when it comes from a batsman who, four years ago, had hammered 183 runs in the second innings of a one-dayer, it is tough to swallow. I am sure I was not the only one who was shell shocked to see Dhoni presenting the full face of the bat to demonstrate his forward defense skills on more than one occasion.

At the other end, Yuvraj seemed to have hardly noticed what his partner was trying hard to achieve. He played an outstanding innings, just the kind that was expected of him, if not better, and scored 66 of 43 balls. After 14 overs, India were 82/4. Thanks to some late order hitting by Yusuf and Harbhajan India winded the innings on a respectable 153 of 20 overs.

During the late 90s and the early years of the 21st century, Jayasuriya built his reputation as a bowler-killer and many of his best one day innings were scored against India. This resulted in the Indian captains focussing largely on getting the Matara Marauder's wicket and they believed that if they got his wicket early, their job was half done. The Indians repeated the same mistake against the West Indies yesterday. Dhoni took an eternity to set the field when Gayle was on strike and formulated his plans around the scalping of the Gayle force. He hardly seemed to have taken into reckoning the powerful West Indian batting line up. The Indians were successful in getting their rival captain's wicket without much damage done to their chances. But Lendl Simmons played a good hand of 44 off 37 balls to support an immaculate innings from Dwayne Bravo. The all-rounder seemed to do nothing wrong on a day in which he picked a four-for and scored 66 off 36 balls and there wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind about who the man of the day was going to be. Things would have gone worse for Dhoni when he missed a simple chance to run Simmons out in the 15th over. But luckily for him, Simmons was dismissed two balls later. Chanderpaul, too, didn't make it easier for India when he hit three fours in the nine balls he faced to score eighteen runs. In the end Bravo finished the innings off in style by depositing a Zaheer Khan full toss over the long off fence, the shot summing up his team's performance.

The bottom line is that India was caught unawares by a red hot West Indies team who looked like they badly wanted to win this one. Maybe they took this one lightly and thought that it was a cake walk. While Indian team is left licking the wounds with probably no other option than to win their next two matches convincingly, a confident West Indies team would take on a strong South Africa today.

My Indian XI

India looks to be the team to beat. Time will tell whether the IPL gave a good practice session leading to the world cup or whether the fatigue factor will catch up sooner or later. Here is my Indian eleven for the tournament.

1 & 2. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag - was there any doubt? The left-right combination is briskly making a name for itself. It has to be one of the finest pairs at least in recent times. Even though they failed repeatedly in the IPL, i believe that they will turn the tables in the world cup.

3. Suresh Raina- Raina has improved leaps and bounds in the last two years. Hits it as clean as anybody in the game. Unlike the previous years, Raina is a much more confident guy. The way in which he gets under the ball to deposit the bowler way beyond the long-on and mid-wicket fence is a treat to watch.

4. Yuvraj Singh - After Sehwag, this talismanic southpaw would undoubtedly be any bowler's most feared batsman in this Indian line-up. He makes batting look so easy. With fluid strokes all round the wicket, he will make sure that the stands are not empty while he is batting. Lately, he is much more equipped in facing offies, a weakness well exploited by rival captains in the past.

5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni - The charismatic captain has not done well in recent times, but he cannot be counted out by any stretch of imagination. He did not do well in the previous version either, so he would badly want to lead by example this time.

6. Rohit Sharma - perhaps the most elegant batsman in the line-up, Rohit Sharma has flattered to deceive on more than one occasion. The stint with Deccan Chargers in the IPL showed that he has not lost all of it. I think Rohit is going to lead the batsmen of the next generation.

7. Yusuf Pathan - To be frank, I wont fix a position for this big-hitter. He may bat at any of the positions from 3-7 depending on the match situation. He makes good use of the long handle and his big stride and he can clear the fence with ease, even if it is a mishit.

8- Harbhajan Singh - The offie has been in good form for the last two years and played a vital role in bringing the trophy to India. He can also hit the ball a fair distance, and on his day he can be as effective the bat as any other guy.

9-Irfan Pathan/Pragyan Ojha - I would rather go for Irfan, given his ability with the bat. It is tough to drop Ojha after his splendid show in the IPL. This would be the toughest choice in finalizing the side.

10. Zaheer Khan/Praveen Kumar - even though Praveen Kumar is not the quickest, he can swing the bowl both ways and can ask a few questions to the openers. If Zaheer is be injured, Praveen would definitely find a place in my side.

11. R P Singh - The purple capper in the IPL will be a certain inclusion in my side. He causes a few problems to the right handers with his in-swingers.

At this point in time, I would prefer Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan over Ishant Sharma. Ishant seems to be jaded and tired. With a return of just 7 wickets in 13 matches in the IPL, he would be in my eleven only if there is no other option.

Chargers tamed by Sangwan and Bhatia

The match between an all-conquering Delhi and a rejuvenated Deccan was hyped to be a thriller, but the end was a sort of an anti-climax. Deccan slumped from a comfortable 149/3 to 161 all-out thanks to the efforts by two domestic bowlers-Rajat Bhatia and an eighteen-year-old Pradeep Sangwan.

Delhi put up a stiff target, thanks to the efforts of Karthik , Dilshan and deVilliers who scored 125 runs between them in just 77 balls. The veteran Lankan, Vaas, was taken to the cleaners and conceded 52 runs in his four overs, the highest in this version of the IPL. His last over went for 23 runs. Young Shoaib Maqsusi also came in the way of a hard hitting Dilshan and gave away 24 runs in the only over he bowled.

Then it was a battle between the two Delhi resident bowlers-Pradeep Sangwan and Rajat Bhatia against the two heavy-hitting Aussies in the Deccan line-up-Adam Gilchirst and Andrew Symonds. Gilchrist was in sublime touch as he murdered Nehra and Nannes, sending them to all parts of the ground. Some sanity returned to the proceedings as Sangwan took over the reins from Nehra and he put the shackles on the Aussie. 50 runs were conceded in the powerplay overs, of which Sangwan gave away just three runs in his two overs. But Gilly was not done yet. He hit five huge sixes, taking on every bowler who bowled at him other than Dilshan and Sangwan. It was surpising to see Mishra not using his googly against Gilchrist who obliged by hitting the leggie twice over the square-leg boundary. When Gilchrist was out to Sangwan in the 11th over he had scored 64 runs in a total of 86.

Then came the big burly Symonds who wisely chose the balls to be hit. At one point the Chargers required at eleven per over but it was brought down to 25 off 19 by Roy. From that point it just seemed to be a cakewalk for the Chargers who had seven wickets in hand. Ravi Teja was out in the last ball of the seventeenth over trying hard to up the ante but finishing with 27 off 32. Sehwag passed the ball to Bhatia, hoping against hope. I dont think even he believed that Delhi had a chance from there on with Symonds at the crease. The first ball was a very slow and low full toss aimed at the off stump. Symonds missed it completely as he tried for a big one. It was a match decider as the Chargers collapsed thereon. The third ball to smith was again a slower ball, but this time a leg cutter on the middle stump. Smith went for a wild swing and by the time he completed his swing, his off stump was uprooted. The batsmen who followed could do little and Deccan were bowled out for 161 in 19.4 overs. They scored just 12 runs in their last 17 balls and lost 7 wickets, four of them to Bhatia who was rightly adjudged the MOM. He will be on a hat-trick when he gets to bowl against Punjab

The Kiwis fire, at last!

We knew that it was due. Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor are too good to be kept silent for long. We saw a spark in McCullum's last match against Delhi when he hit Ashish Nehra for a six in his first over. But to add to the long list of Kolkatta's woes he was wrongly adjudged lbw in the very next ball. McCullum proved what a force he can be in his next match against Bangalore.

He began the innings slowly, scoring at a run a ball. But he shifted to top gear in the sixteenth over pulling and cutting and scooping the balls to and over the boundaries. He finished with an unbeaten 84 off 64 with 12 hits to the boundary and two of them over it. The batting effort rubbed on his fielding too. He took a spectacular catch in his left hand, driving full stretch to dismiss a set Kallis. The McCullum who dropped sitters was already forgotten. The McCullum we knew was back.

But another Kiwi spoiled his party. What would have been a wonderful day for the Knight Riders and their captain turned out sour when Ross Taylor decided that he hadn't contributed enough for his team's cause. 81 off 33 balls is an excellent strike rate even on the best batting grounds in the world. When India's fastest bowler, Ishant Sharma, gets hit to all parts of the ground and concedes 20 in an over, we know that Ross means business. His quick hands provided apt replies to the bowlers 145k short-of-a-length deliveries. Bangalore needed 40 off the last three overs. When Ross had done with a hapless Ishant and a hopeless Agarkar, they needed just five of the last over. In the second ball of the last over, Taylor deposited Angelo Mathews over the fence to earn a well fought win against some ordinary bowling.

Taylor is my favorite batsman after the Mumbai Maestro and Jayawardena. These batsmen rely more on timing and placement than or power hitting and that is what I love about them. Taylor is the youngest of the lot and might be the best batsmen of the world after the other two retire. I believe that we have not yet seen the best of this Kiwi. Many more bigger and better innings are right around the corner

2009- A year to watch out for

Cricket fans all over the world, even the Australians, would be pleased to see some competition for the top spot after more than one-and-a-half decades. Australia, all credit to them, was almost invincible during this entire period. They won almost 80% of the ODIs and 90% of the tests they played. But this gradually changed since the exit of McGrath, Warne, Langer and Gilchrist. Today, it’s a tough call to make between South Africa, India and Australia. England too, is not far behind and is fast improving. All these make 2009 a year of promises.

South Africa won a whopping 11 tests in the calendar year of 2008, a record in itself. They would be hugely confident about 2009, especially after having won a series for the first time in Australia. They have lost just 3 tests in this period- to England in England where they won the series, to India in a dust bowl in Nagpur to concede a draw in the series and one in a dead rubber to Australia in Sydney. They won all the series they played in 2008 other than against India in India where the result was 1-1.

The Proteas could not have asked for a better captain than Graeme Smith to lead them into the New Year. Yes, he does have an excellent team to work his plans out but never once does he look short of ideas on the field. He sets high standards for the rest of his team to follow and his team happily obliges. He was the highest run getter in tests in 2008 with an average of above seventy. His commitment to the South African cause was for everyone to see when he came to bat out fifteen overs as the 11^th man in the dead rubber in Sydney with his left hand plastered, to deny the Aussies a win which wouldn’t have mattered to the outcome of the series result.

I would be watching out for Jean Paul Duminy in 2009. He batted in his debut series like a veteran of ten years. He was unlucky to be given out in his debut innings at Perth, but made up for it in the second innings by scoring the winning shot and in the process, his maiden fifty. But the world didn’t have to wait for long to see a much more spectacular innings from the young man. The 160 he scored by batting with the tail in the first innings at Melbourne was an absolute delight. He together with Dale Steyn and Harris rescued the Proteas from a precarious 210 for 7 to 440. He is an Usain Bolt in the field and as Mark Taylor rightly pointed out- if Duminy can’t chase down a ball, among the current players of the world nobody else can.

Dale Steyn is the leading wicket taker of 2008. Even on the sub-continental pitches in India and Bangladesh he had equal success with the new ball and the old ball. The old war horses Ntini, Kallis and Boucher have not lost one bit of the fire power. Neil Mackenzie too has made a strong comeback. A B Devilliers and Hashim Amla, have had an excellent year. Albie Morkel is knocking heavily on the doors of the test team and he will keep the veteran batsmen on their toes. Mornie Morkel, who has played just 5 tests so far, is already a feared fast bowler. Paul Harris brings a kind of variety to the bowling attack which the Proteas lacked for years since the exit of Pat Symcox.

Australia might have had their worst year in decades. They lost five tests in 2009, surprisingly three of them at home. During this time they tried out twenty three players in tests! They were thrashed twice in Perth and once in Melbourne-grounds where they have not lost in almost two decades. They conceded one of their heaviest ever defeats against India in Mohali. Another big challenge is round the corner when they will host the Ashes and Matthew Hayden’s poor form and retirement could not have come at a worse time. Their premier fast bowlers Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will be out for quite a while owing to injury. Other than Johnson and Siddle, nobody else looks capable of knocking down twenty wickets in a test match. Part timer, Michael Clarke looks better than Krezja or Hauritz and to think that Hauritz is the 12^th man even for his state team, South Australia! Australia would be just hoping that everything shapes out well as soon as possible. They don’t talk as tough as they used to in the past, since they no longer seem to be able to back their tongues with performance

Captain Ricky Ponting looked like a lost kid most of the time on the field while on the field against South Africa and India. The decision to bowl with part-timers Hussey and Clarke to better the over rates in Kanpur, a test they desperately needed to win to avoid a series defeat, was one of the stupidest captaincy decisions I have ever seen! This brings to one’s mind Ganguly’s statement that a captain is only as good as his team. When he had McGrath, Warne, Langer, Lee, and Hayden in top form, making the calls was much easier. But his decision to declare to set South Africa a target of 340 runs from 110 overs in the final test in Sydney was a truly courageous one. His timing of decision was perfect since they won the test with 10 balls to spare. Remember, earlier South Africa had chased down 414 in Perth. Had Australia lost the test, it would have been the first time they were whitewashed in a series in their entire history. Ricky Ponting would have been the most disgraceful captain ever. The test reminds us that the famous Australian spirit to claw back from any bad situation is not all lost.

India has had one of their best ever years in 2008, maybe better than even 1971, 1983 and 1985 in terms of consistent performance throughout the year. India stamped their authority as one among the top three teams in the world in all forms of the game. India beat Australia in a one day series in Australia, became the first team to beat Australia in Perth in 18 long years, beat Australia in a test series at home 2-0, drew with South Africa at home (the only team not to lose a series against South Africa amongst the teams South Africa has played against in 2008), beat England 5-0 in a ODI series(many believe it could have been 7-0 had it not been for the Mumbai attacks) and 1-0 in the test series at home.

Like South Africa, India too can boast of an aggressive and cunning captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The twenty 20 championship is a golden feather in his cap but I think the decision to field a highly inexperienced team against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank series and to win was a much more remarkable achievement. Excluding Sachin, Harbhajan, Sehwag and Yuvraj, all the other players were playing for the first time in Australia. He had the guts to exclude an in-form Ganguly and veteran Dravid in spite of protests from all corners. He is an inspiring captain and induces a lot of confidence in the young guns. He finished 2008 as the top ranked batsman in the ICC ratings. Dhoni deserves a good share of the credit for the successful comeback of Raina and Harbhajan in 2008.

Excluding Sachin and Laxman all the other members in the team are under 30 or thereabouts and have lots of years of cricket left in them. Already they are a world beating side. It would be tough ask to emulate the achievements of Australia but it waits to be seen if this team is capable of going the distance. Almost all the batsmen had enjoyed a good stint in 2008. Sachin returned to form (well, he was hardly out of form, for that matter) and scored heavily in all the series except against Australia. Gambhir and Zaheer were the men for IndiaEngland. We might see more of Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay in this year. Ishant Sharma was deservedly the most promising young player of 2008. To trouble Ponting over long spells is indeed a big achievement. India has a long list of quality fast bowlers to choose from-Zaheer, Ishant, Munaf, Sreeshant, R P Singh, Irfan and Praveen Kumar. Gony, Joginder Sharma, Dinda and Dhawal Kulkarni are also waiting in the ranks. Agarkar might find it very tough to return. It will be a good battle between Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla to occupy the 2^nd spinner spot and they might even give the premier spinner, Harbhajan, a run for his money. This Indian team looks to be ready to take on the world in 2009. in 2008. Both are enjoying the form of their life. Gambhir looks unconquerable and has made big strides from the previous years. Zaheer is arguably the best with the old ball. Sehwag is as devastating as ever. Maybe after the retirement of Hayden and Gilchirst, he and Gayle are the most feared opening batsmen today. Yuvraj, Raina and Virat Kohli have tasted success in the one-dayers. Laxman, so typically of him, has silently scored more than 1000 runs in tests in 2008 at over 50 per innings. I love Rohit Sharma’s style and technique but he needs a bit more consistency to cement his place in the team. Yusuf Pathan showed a lot of promise towards the end of the series against

Among the other teams, England will keep the top three on their toes. They are now a much improved one-day side than they ever have been. Flintoff is possibly the best all-rounder in world today. The English fans would be hoping that the infighting in the team would get over very soon. Sri Lanka have made a fine find in Ajantha Mendis who single handedly destroyed India on almost all the occasions he played against them. After a long time, a lot of pressure will be off Murali’s and Vaas’s shoulders thanks to Mendis. Their batsmen –Sangakkara, Jayewardene, Kapugedara and Dilshan are also in good form. PakistanWest Indies are as unpredictable as they have ever been. In the Pak camp, the rift between the senior and the junior players is a matter of concern. Shoaib Malik has to prove his worth as a captain in 2009. For the Windies, the batting looks strong with Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle in top form. It is the bowling and fielding that lets the team down. Dwayne Bravo bows the most deceptive slower balls in the game. But no bowler looks potent enough to lead the Caribbean attack. New Zealand probably had the worst 12 months in a long time. Other than for captain Vettori, who is the top ranked ODI bowler, none others seem to perform consistently. They have drastically gone down the rankings in tests, though they are not too bad in the one day format. Ross Taylor, one of my favourite batsmen, shows a lot of promise and is equally good in all forms of the game. In 2008, Bangladesh’s only win against a test playing nation came against Sri Lanka in an ODI. They came so close to winning their first ever tri-series but were denied by Muralitharan, this time with the willow for the change. Other than for these two performances, nothing much has changed. Zimbabwean cricket, too, looks to be on the decline. Not much promise was shown by any of their players in 2008. and

I believe that 2009 is going to be a fan’s delight. The top four teams will be vying for the top spot and hoping to maintain it in tests. Test cricket has not been this competitive in decades. The next two series’ will set the trend for 2009- India’s tour of New Zealand and the Ashes series. Can’t wait!

Still we depend on them

Nothing has actually changed in five years. It is a pity that we have not seen a consistent performer since the entry of stylish Yuvraj Singh and explosive Sehwag. The sad thing is that India is still dependent heavily on their senior players.

On the other day I heard somebody comment in a news channel that Piyush Chawla is better than Anil Kumble! Such kind of remarks are only testimonials of the die hard passion of the common Indian cricket fan. When his superstars win a match for India, he worships them. When they dont perform to his expectations, he calls for their heads. It is really amazing that players such as Tendulkar maybe a little worn out, maybe he is not as good as he was five years ago, but he is able to perform even when under the enormous pressure of the hundreds of millions of his fans.

The obvious and scary question that India will have to find an answer pretty soon is : Who will fill the space soon to be left vacant by the fab four: Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman? Gautam Gambhir who has been in and out of the team in the past three years has a long way to go before he can be called a reliable batsman. Robin Uthappa knows only one way- hit the ball. He showed a lot of promise when he came first came to the scene. The good thing about Uthappa is that he looks to play straight more often than the others in his era. But he has to give more value to his wicket. Hopefully, Sehwag will come back to the team soon and will answer his critics with his performances.

Even when some of the Indian teams were not competent enough when compared to the other comtemporary teams in the previous decades, we had at least one spinner in top form. I strongly believe that Anil Kumble's retirement will make a bigger impact than any of the others'. Will Piyush Chawla be able to take over the reins from Anil Kumble, once he retires? Seems like there are already too many questions to find answers for.

A missed opportunity

The second innings of the Lords test was a perfect setting for any Indian batsman to cement his place in the side. While Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik made the most out of it, it was another missed opportunity for Sachin. Yes, you heard me right. Sachin has to prove his commitment,skill and ability to be sure of a place in the eleven.

While each delivery he faces will be watched intensely by not only his critics but also his millions of fans worldwide, the pressure he has to face, I believe, is at its peak now. For more than one-and-a-half decades, he has been the premiere batsman of the Indian cricket team. Most of these years he was the only dependable batsman. Captains world over priced the champions wicket over the other ten and they had good reason for that. He is the only batsman in the last two decades who has not been dropped from the test or one day team owing to poor performance. But I believe that its getting worse for the little master now. In our cricket crazy nation, everyone still expects him to make a hundred everytime he takes guard at the crease.

His exploits against South Africa, without doubt, proved that Sachin had still some fire left in him. He hooked, pulled and drove the likes of Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel to all parts of the ground in two glorious innings. But he failed to repeat the magic in the all important decider, the third match of the series and in the second innings of the test at Lords. The way he got out to Monty Panesar was appalling. With all due respect to Monty, it was not a delivery good enough to scalp the wicket of one of the best players of spin the world has seen. But of late, he has got out to spinners whose records are nowhere near as impressive as Panesar's.

Hopefully, the Trent Bridge test might see a different Sachin. With the millions of other Sachin fans around the world, I too would love to see some of the master's masterclass.