THE WIN IS SINKING IN

The last 2 days have been surreal. So much so that this is my fourth attempt to write a blog after India's win... and after deleting the first 3 drafts, I have decided that I will publish this one even if it does not really explain the things that are in my head.

I will go through the thoughts that erupted in my head as the day went by - the day being 2nd April 2011!

After almost a sleepless night, I got up unusually early and read everything that Cricinfo and other blogs that I follow had to offer. There was no way of getting back to sleep (which had been less even in the run up to the finals), so I thought I might as well get up and be ready in the lucky t-shirt that I wear for every India match.

Yes, God really was with us!

On the previous day, I had seen the weather forecast for this match and read that there will be wind (or rather, breeze) of 14 - 16 kmph from the west. When I had read this, I was of the opinion that Sreesanth should get a chance as the breeze will be from the direction of the sea and the moisture in that sea air will help him more than any other bowler. In fact, this also made me a bit wary of how Kulasekara would perform, for he can get some very good swing when there is assistance.

But when the telecast began, and Harsha Bhogle had a chat with those present at the Wankhede Stadium, I realised that there was no breeze at all. Not one bit! The shirts and ties of the men there were not moving an millimeter. And my thoughts changed immediately. In these conditions, R Ashwin was a shoo in for me.

When the toss happened, it was frustrating. But what surprised me was that even MS Dhoni showed his frustration. There was a very perfunctory shake of hands with Sangakkara before he turned his back to him in what was obvious show of dissatisfaction. That kind of convinced me that Dhoni must have won the first toss, but as it later turned out, it was Sangakkara indeed who had won both the tosses. So all well here!

I was disappointed slightly by the fact that India would have had to bowl first, yet confident that India will be able to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 260, a score which I thought India should be able to chase keeping in my mind the occasion.

Zaheer Khan started brilliantly. Even Sreesanth started fairly, despite his second ball no-ball. When Sehwag caught Tharanga, for a moment, I was under the impression that the ball had reached him on the bounce, and then I saw Zaheer celebrating with his arms spread. And I celebrated too, because the statistically best opening partnership of the World Cup had been broken.

Dilshan briefly threatened to shine, before he succumbed to the pressure created due to tight bowling and amazing fielding. Fielding! Oh my word! To see Yuvraj Singh make that flying stop off a Dilshan drive through the off-side was a throwback to the era of Ganguly's captaincy. It almost felt as if we had the younger version of Yuvraj Singh back in the team, and it was great to watch that.

When the Sangakkara-Jayawardene partnership was flourishing, I felt that Dhoni should have brought back Zaheer Khan. His famous knuckle ball works a lot better with left-handers and Sangakkara was definitely looking the more dangerous of the two then. Eventually, he was unlucky to fall to a long hop from Yuvraj Singh, who again bowled better than what is expected out of a fifth bowler.

I was a bit disappointed to see Zaheer Khan leak runs at the end... moreover because he was genuinely bowling bad balls for that period. There were too many length balls and they were taken full toll of. A target of 275 did make me wary, but there was still confidence in the team that had chased tougher targets without a full-strength team over the past one year.

During that short 20-minute break, I had texted a friend that in my opinion, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gamhir and Virat Kohli would be the main men in the chase. Later on, I also added Yuvraj Singh to the list. I chose SRT for the occasion, GG for his brilliant play against the spin, VK for his tremendous record in chases, and Yuvi for the obvious reason - his current form and confidence!

Sehwag's dismissal disappointed me, but did not dishearten me. I was not expecting much from him due to his poor second-innings record, but a contribution greater than 0 would definitely have helped! Sachin's dismissal shook me... not the confidence of a win, but the realisation that it was not exactly going to be a fairytale if we got there. Though it was a tense situation then, I still had the confidence in the team.

The next 4 batsmen vindicated my confidence in them, and each one played a knock to remember. Gambhir was brilliant. It was a solid knock paced beautifully. He was given a reprieve when Kulasekara did not catch a difficult chance when he was on 30, but what Gambhir did after that was very impressive.

Gambhir loves playing the inside out shot over extra cover to spinners, and Sangakkara had set up a trap for him there by placing a very straight-ish deep extra cover, along with a long off. After getting that reprieve, he did not attempt that shot again even once, even though he must have been very tempted to given the fact that he faced three off-spinners. He even played a conventional sweep, and I don't remember seeing him play that too many times in his entire career. He changed his game a little bit to suit the occasion, and he deserves all the accolades for that!

Virat Kohli continued to show cool head and maturity in a tricky chase under pressure. Even though he was beaten on that ball, but his dismissal was still more on account of a brilliant work by a Sri Lankan rather than him making a mistake. I would have to see him get a 50, just as I would have loved to see Gambhir getting his 100, but well, I am satisfied with the World Cup!

When Kohli was dismissed, I felt a little wobbly for the reasons that have now been discussed and dissected everywhere. I was uncertain about Yuvraj Singh coming in to face three off-spinners. And I was also uncertain about the running between the wickets of Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh together, who had had a series of mishaps in the game against Australia before Gambhir lost his wicket.

So I was quite okay to see MS Dhoni coming out to bat despite his bad form. A couple of hours later, he proved to the world that that particular move was a masterstroke from him, and played a very mature knock to guide India home. Yuvraj's assistance was also very good. There was a point after India had taken the batting powerplay when Yuvraj played 4 dot balls from Malinga. That was the moment Sri Lanka would have felt that Yuvraj is susceptible to a rash stroke. But he very coolly managed a 2 and a 1 from the next two balls to finish the over, and India knew that the Cup will soon be ours.

That winning six brought about different emotions in me. Watching alone at my house, I gave Dhoni and the team a long round of applause. But what was really touching to see was the emotions that came out then. Yuvraj in tears, unashamedly in tears! Harbhajan sobbing uncontrollably. Dhoni's twirl of the bat and then hopping madly to get a stump before Yuvraj could reach him. Kohli, Raina and Yusuf Pathan carrying Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders around the ground. The joy that was so clearly etched in Gary Kirsten's face. And then the smile of Sachin Tendulkar himself. Those were images that I am going to remember forever, and when I say forever, I mean it!

Ashish Nehra - awkward bowling action, awkward victory celebration!

After having fantasised about this moment for almost over a year now, I just did not know how to react, and I guess the members of Team India felt the same! I felt proud to be witnessing this moment, and not just proud because I am a fan of Indian cricket team, no! That would kill my joy!

I was proud of that moment in Indian cricket because I have supported Indian cricket team even through its darkest hours, like the World Cup 2007. I have had faith in these men and boys, and I have always wished for them to perform. There have been some players I have liked more than others, a lot of decisions from the captain that I have criticised, and I will continue doing so. I have and will continue pointing out shortcomings of certain players, and loopholes in our team. But through all this, I have never stopped supporting the team through its turbulent times, nor will I ever do so. I take pride in this fact!

For me, this triumph was also a vindication of the faith shown by me and many other cricket fans in our cricket team when there was criticism heaped upon them. We believed in our team when men like Steve Waugh and Allan Border tipped Sri Lanka to win the finals. We believed in our team when men like Dean Jones said that "Dhoni must be dreaming if he thinks that he can win the World Cup with a team like this". He has not been heard from since the night of 2nd April 2011.

Darren Gough had said after the Ashes win that England can beat India any day of the week. We will continue to believe in our team when we tour England later this year. We will continue to believe in our team when England visit India after that. We will continue to believe!

Thank you, Team India for giving the nation this wonderful victory. I place it as the biggest win in the history of Indian cricket for two reasons: A) It was achieved in the claustrophobic pressure of enormous expectations, whereas the 1983 triumph as well as the 2007 World Twenty20 triumph came when there was nothing expected from the team; B) I was born in 1988 - unable to witness the glory of 1983, so this will remain, to me, India's greatest cricketing triumph till date.

As I run out of thoughts, I would just like to say how glad I am to see the Indian team celebrate the win, and how overwhelming it is to see, as his fan, Sachin Tendulkar get a chance to lift that trophy. The respect that he has from his teammates was wonderful to see. Virat Kohli became the darling of a nation when he delivered the quote of the World Cup: "He (Sachin Tendulkar) has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years; it was time we carried him." Who cares about what Imran Khan had said earlier - that if he were Tendulkar, he would be embarrassed by all this mention of "We want to win it for Sachin" dialogue. To hear this statement coming from a man who talked only about his personal ambitions and failed to mention even a word about his team in his victory speech as a World Cup winning captain in 1992 is a blasphemy. It was also great to see how Sachin Tendulkar celebrated the win with his fan, and read about how the team's family time in the dressing room.

Well done, Sri Lanka and congratulations, India!

GARY KIRSTEN

As the World Cup enters the Knock Out stages, every team knows that one slip-up and it might spell the end of the road for them. For some players in these teams, it may well be the end of their cricket careers.

India play a tough Quarterfinal match against the Australians at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Stadium on 24th March 2011. If we lose that match (I desperately hope not!), that would be the end of Gary Kirsten's coaching period with Team India. His coaching career with India is now anything between 1 to 3 games long.

Since there is this uncertainty about what can India do in these Knock Out stages, I thought I'll write this tribute to Gary Kirsten right away, for I do want to be amongst the first ones to applaud him during his last few days with the team.

Whether or not India succeeds in winning this World Cup, Kirsten will always be remembered as one of India's best loved coaches, and definitely the most successful one till now. He will leave India, having attained the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket, No. 2 in ODI cricket, and hopefully, a World Cup!

Officially, Gary Kirsten took over as the coach of India's cricket team on 1st March 2008. India's previous full-time coach was the controversial Australian Greg Chappell, who had resigned almost a year earlier, after India's disastrous campaign in the World Cup 2007. During this interim period, where India had a good and successful tour of England, a win in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, and a tour of Australia, we did not have a full-time coach, but the responsibility was carried out by men like Chandu Borde, Lalchand Rajput and Ravi Shastri.

During that acrimonious tour of Australia, the Indian team saw Gary Kirsten joining in as a traveler. He was not officially the coach then, but he had been announced as the future coach. He wanted to spend some time with the team before he took over the coaching duties. He joined the team after the infamous Sydney Test, and almost saw the tour being called off. Luckily it wasn't, and India won the next Test at Perth, followed by a win in the ODI tri-series.

His first assignment as the official coach of India's cricket team was against his home country South Africa, who had toured India in March 2008. That was the start of a wonderful journey, during which India lost just 1 Test series (to Sri Lanka in August that year), and towards the end of this journey, several cricketers have come out profusely praising the contribution of this man to their success.

Almost every Indian cricketer that I can think of, who has played substantial cricket for India during this period, has gone on record praising Gary Kirsten. The Indian skipper MS Dhoni called him "the best thing to happen to Indian cricket." Mighty words those!

Less than 50 days into his new job, Kirsten saw the launch of Indian Premier League. The most commendable part of Kirsten's coaching has been how he has managed to get a lot of youngsters to ground themselves from the high they attained in the riches of this league. India's sustained presence at the top of Test rankings, and emergence of Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and in particular, Virat Kohli bears ample testimony to Kirsten's brilliant handling of India's post-IPL cricketers. It is no wonder that his man-management skills have been hailed by one and all, and I won't be surprised if his tenure is taken up as a case study in the future by management graduates at reputed B-Schools studying the subject of Human Resource Management.

During Kirsten's tenure, India played 33 Tests, with 16 wins, 11 draws and 6 losses. The fact that these results came despite the fact that India lost 21 tosses makes it even more commendable! In the 94 ODIs, India won 56, lost 29, tied 1 and others were abandoned or yielded no result. The worst ODI win-loss record that Kirsten can end with is 56-30, and the best is 59-29... both numbers of a highly successful coach during the Golden Era of India's cricket!

Kirsten leaves the job due to family commitments, as he would like to spend more time with his two young children and his wife. The Indian team, along with the followers of Indian cricket, respect that decision. We all wish you well, Gary!

WORLD CUP TRAGEDIES OF SURESH RAINA

As the 10th edition of One Day Cricket's largest event looms ever closer, here is a closer look at the Indian team, and in particular, at a man called Suresh Raina.

A few days ago, I had posted this where I had suggested that the 11-member team of India should include Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan in the middle order, and leave Virat Kohli on the bench at least to start the tournament with. My thinking was this - keeping an inform player on the bench will make the out-of-form batsmen (Raina and Yuvraj) realise that they have to perform not only for India but also for their place. If they do, they are India's big match winners (bigger in impact than Virat Kohli)... and if they don't, then we can always have Kohli replacing them after a couple of matches. Since each team plays 6 matches at the league stage in this World Cup (and India has Ireland, Netherlands and Bangladesh in our group), the impact of an early loss or two can be taken care of later.

The second important reason was also that Yuvraj and Raina will provide Dhoni with part-time bowling options... something that can come in very handy in the sub-continental conditions. But one thing is clear - this selection of the middle order spots is a potential headache to MS Dhoni. Already, I have read some really diverse views everywhere about the composition of the Indian team.

Golandaaz has suggested pushing Sehwag to middle order, Vidooshak has suggested dropping Sehwag altogether, SP has suggested Sehwag in the middle and dropping Yuvraj as well as Yusuf in favour of Kohli and Chawla, Mahek is in favour of going for specialist bowlers instead of part-timers, Govind also thinks that Sehwag would be better of at No. 4 or No. 6, Mayank (Freehit) feels that if someone is to be dropped then it should be Raina, and I am sure there are a lot of other different variations being planned in the heads of Indian cricket fans.

Finally, we all know that the question of who is dropped and who is not will be finally answered by MS Dhoni in assistance with Gary Kirsten. But no one can deny that Raina's place in the squad is not a 100% certainty today... and definitely much less sure today than it was about a year ago or even two years ago.

The reason why I am writing this post about Suresh Raina is that this is the second time we are seeing pre - World Cup blues for this southpaw. Raina made his international debut in July 2005 against Sri Lanka at Dambulla and got out for a golden duck. The not-so-great debut aside, he was quite impressive in his first few performances for India and also scored 3 very good half-centuries against England when they toured India in 2006.

Till the end of that England ODI series, he had scored 406 runs for India at an average of 45.11 and a strike rate of 89.82. After that came a rough patch of form. He scored 246 runs in his next 17 ODIs at an average of 17.57 and a strike rate of 63.08 with a top score of 40. This was when he was dropped... right before the World Cup 2007.

India performed miserably in that tournament... and voices from some corners said that he should have been a part of the team despite his less-than-convincing performances. But his first chance at a World Cup for India had gone. His next chance to play for India came almost a year and a half later in June 2008 against Pakistan in Bangladesh.

Since then till the end of our Bangladesh tour in January 2010, he scored 1602 runs in 54 matches at an average of 45.77 and a strike rate of 96.62 with 3 hundreds and 12 fifties. Because of such a good display of batsmanship, he was assigned the captain of Team India for its tour of Zimbabwe in a tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka. Since then, it has again been a downhill road for Raina.

425 runs in 21 matches at an average of 25.00 and a strike rate of 91.01 with just 1 fifty has again resulted in question marks over his spot. It hasn't helped that his weaknesses against short-pitched pacy bowling have been rediscovered and that after a good debut on a very flat track, his Test performances have also been disappointing. When Pujara was given his Test spot, the ice had broken. MS Dhoni had sent out a signal that Suresh Raina is not indispensable and can be dropped.

Yet he played all the 5 ODIs on South African tour, scored 111 at an average of 22.20 and strike rate of 78.72. Now before the start of yet another World Cup, a sword is hanging over his neck. It may even fall before India faces Bangladesh in the first match of the World Cup 2011. It will be quite a tragedy if a talent like him goes wasted yet again before the Cup that Counts...

A TRIBUTE TO GARY KIRSTEN

This is coming a little late... but as they say, better late than never! When England won the Ashes and people started voicing that over the next year, India, South Africa and England will be a part of the 3-horse race to decide the best team in Tests, I did a post here looking ahead at the fixtures of these three teams over the next year.

Immediately after I had posted this blog, I realised that I had not considered a very important factor... the chance that Gary Kirsten may no longer be the coach of the Indian team over Test season of 2011. However, I put that thought at the back of my mind and put a mental note that I will reflect on it later. Then came the announcement that Kirsten will definitely not be renewing his contract with BCCI after the World Cup.

So now, that thought has come back to the front of my mind... and here I am, writing about the man who silently worked on Team India to make it reach unforeseen heights.

After the match-fixing controversy that rocked Indian cricket at the turn of the millennium, it took a partnership of Sourav Ganguly and John Wright (the first ever foreign coach of Team India) to see India through. They worked wonderfully well as a team... and were quite a contrast in their styles. Whereas the skipper Sourav Ganguly was loud and in-your-face fellow, the coach in John Wright was a quiet and behind-the-doors worker. Under their charge, India reached great heights with a number of Test wins abroad and the road to the World Cup finals in 2003.

But as it is bound to happen with every foreigner who has a job as tough as the one of coaching the Indian national cricket team, he did not renew his contract and went back to New Zealand... with his reputation enhanced. Then came the Greg Chappell era in Indian cricket.

His partnership started with Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly had reportedly sought Chappell's help to combat the rising deliveries during the 2003-04 tour of Australia... and he had had immediate effect with a fighting century in the opening Test at Gabba that set the tone for the rest of the series. So Chappell's appointment as coach with Ganguly as the captain was a news that was welcomed by most in Indian cricket.

But soon, Ganguly's form dipped, he was out of the team soon (reportedly on Chappell's suggestions to the Board) and Rahul Dravid was the captain of Team India. The Dravid - Chappell partnership was quite a contrast to the earlier Ganguly - Wright one. Here, it was a quiet and diplomatically correct captain who had paired up with a loud coach who as it later turned out, liked to use the media to get some of his work done.

Though India did see a lot of success during this time also (a world record run of ODI wins while chasing and a Test series win in West Indies), there was a feeling of uneasiness and discomfort within the team... and it was reflected in its interactions with the media. There was a feeling of insecurity in the team.

Then came the debacle called World Cup 2007 (the ODI version). India got knocked out in the opening round with a loss to Bangladesh. There were cries for senior players to retire. There were cries for the coach to be sacked. The coach himself made a few different claims that he had not gotten the team he wanted. Sachin Tendulkar spoke out against the coach for questioning the commitment of players. A few hours later, Greg Chappell tendered his resignation to the Board.

From this day (i.e. April 4, 2007), India did not have a regular coach for almost a whole year. Former cricketers like Ravi Shastri, Chandu Borde and Lalchand Rajput were given the responsibilities in this span. And India once again saw tremendous success. There was a Test series win in England, the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships and the ODI tri-series in Australia.

And then, Gary Kirsten was officially appointed as the coach of the Indian cricket team with effect from March 1, 2008... and his very first assignment was a home series against his home country South Africa. However, before that series, Kirsten had joined the Indian team on their 2007-08 tour of Australia and spent some time getting to know the individual members of the team.

Not many people know this (and amongst those who know, many may not remember this) that Gary Kirsten joined the Indian team in his capacity as a 'Future Coach' immediately after the controversial Sydney Test, which created a diplomatic furore. The tour was almost called off and one of the most silent and dignified man of Indian cricket, the captain Anil Kumble, went on to remark that only one team had played that Test in the 'true spirit of the game'.

It was in the midst of this huge storm of controversy and unrest that Gary Kirsten made his first entrance in the dressing room of the Indian cricket team, though not in any official capacity as of then. Though he may not have had any role to play in what followed immediately, but it is interesting to recall that India went on to win the next Test at Perth and then the tri-series as well. Gary Kirsten's relationship with Indian cricket had begun on a positive note and with a good omen.

In his first official Test as the coach of the team, Sehwag scored a triple hundred (319) at Chennai... and later went on to play many more unbelievable knocks under Kirsten's tutelage. After a little rough patch in Sri Lanka due to Ajantha Mendis' mysteries, Team India went ahead to play some of the most stunning cricket ever witnessed in our history. The 320-run Mohali win against Australia in 2008, the Chennai chase against England after 26/11, a series win in New Zealand, the ascendancy to No. 1 in Tests after a 2-0 drubbing of Sri Lanka with a spectacular win at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the retention of that ranking against South Africa at Eden Gardens, a series-leveling win with a second-string pace bowling attack against Sri Lanka at Colombo, a 2-0 'whitewash' of Australia with a nail-biter at Mohali and clinical efficiency at Bangalore, and then a brilliant and extremely impressive 1-1 result in South Africa.

Gary Kirsten saw the retirements of Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly, the good, bad and ugly times of Yuvraj Singh as a Test cricketer, the ups and downs of Raina, the brilliance called Virender Sehwag, the sturdiness of Sachin Tendulkar, the artistry of VVS Laxman, the struggles and successes of Rahul Dravid, the new-found confidence of Gautam Gambhir, the dependence on Zaheer Khan, the capriciousness of Harbhajan Singh, the sometimes-great-sometimes-not-that-great captaincy of MS Dhoni, and the flimsiness of the rest of our bowling unit.

Together with MS Dhoni, Kirsten formed a partnership that allowed Indian team to scaled newer and greater heights, instilled a spirit of team work, inspired confidence in each other... and today, after finishing his last Test assignment on the tour of South Africa, he deserves to sit and lean back on a comfortable rocking chair and smile a smile of contentment. That's the least he deserves!

Some guys like Zaheer, Harbhajan and Sehwag have gone on record praising the methods of Kirsten and the contrast they were to the tactics of Greg Chappell. Others like Dhoni, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Dravid and Raina are content in just praising Kirsten without comparing him with anyone... an acknowledgement of the fact that he is beyond any comparison as far as the coaches of the Indian cricket teams are concerned.

India has a tough year in Test cricket in 2011. There is a tour to West Indies immediately after the World Cup. Then 10 days after the end of the last test on that tour, the first Test against England in England is scheduled to begin. Then India will be hosting England before embarking on a tour of Australia in December. All this while, India will have to be without Gary Kirsten.

I just hope that the work done by Kirsten continues showing its fruits for a long time to come!

TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD CUP 2011

The selectors have come up with their 15... and MS Dhoni, Gary Kirsten and the team management looks like they have had a say in the final selection. Here is what the squad of 15 looks like:

MS Dhoni (c) (wk), V Sehwag (vc), S Tendulkar, G Gambhir, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Raina, Y Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, M Patel, P Kumar, A Nehra, R Ashwin, P Chawla.

Well, for me, the first 13 names were on the expected lines. I had assumed that Ashwin and Chawla would be discussed for the 2nd spinner's role and we will have an additional pacer.

I am not at all satisfied with Chawla's selection. Here are the reasons why (I have already enumerated these by way of comments in SP's blog):

1. Piyush Chawla has never played an ODI in India. As Cricinfo pointed out, all his 21 ODIs have been away from home. So if he plays in the World Cup, he will be making his debut in India in ODIs. It may be argued that he knows the conditions well... but I still feel that bowling at international cricketers in the middle overs of an ODI is a different art from the other experiences that Chawla must have had in India.

2. Piyush Chawla has not played an ODI for India since 2008. Even if he does play the next 3 ODIs against South Africa, I wouldn't call it a selection based on performances. Plus, all those ODIs will still be outside India!

3. Chawla has been selected as a spinner, who will be bowling in the middle overs. But from what I have last seen, Ojha would be a much better bowler in the middle overs. He is more crafty and though he may not get you many wickets in Test cricket, but in ODIs in home conditions, I would select him over Chawla on the recent viewings.

4. A lot of people have opined that Chawla is handy with the bat and in the field... and thus he got a shoo in. If this is the reasoning, then why not go for Rohit Sharma? He is a better batsman, a better fielder and even though he is a part timer, he has been bowling pretty well for India in recent ODIs. And for a bowler who is handy with the bat, we already have Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar. I am not sure why we had to pick Chawla for another one!

5. This is the MOST IMPORTANT REASON. We know India will be going with a 3 pacer + 1 spinner combo and allow part timers to do the rest. So it's baffling that we have just 1 backup for our 3 pacers and 2 backups for our 1 spinner. The numbers just don't sound good. Plus given the fact that pacers are more likely to be injured than spinners, it puts an even bigger question mark over the selection.

If the extra spinners have been selected for the reason that India may go in with a different combination (maybe 3 pacers + 2 spinners and sacrifice the place of Yusuf / Kohli), then I think it is a foolish idea.

It would have been a good idea had it been tried earlier (with or without success) and then implemented at the World Cup... because we would have had some experiences to learn from. But to try something novel straight away in a World Cup is not called "planning", it's called "gambling".

But apart from Chawla's selection, I like the look of the team. I like the fact that our replacement pacer (Munaf Patel) is in good form and has got some good overs under his belt recently. If any of our first choice pacers were to underperform or get injured, our replacement should not give us too many headaches. But if two of our pacers were to underperform or injure themselves, then God help Team India!

In our batting lineup, contrary to many other opinions, I have a feeling that Yusuf Pathan will play ahead of Virat Kohli. I know Virat is in tremendous form, but the reasons why Yusuf could get in ahead are:

1. Yusuf Pathan can bowl very decent and wicket to wicket brand of off-spin during the middle overs, whereas Virat's dibbly-dobbly bowling may not work in Indian conditions.

2. Yusuf has experience batting low down the order, whereas Virat has been tried out mainly at No. 3. Since our top-3 are packed and there is little scope of coming in at 4 or 5, Virat's chances look slimmer to me.

3. Raina and Yuvraj may bowl out the 5th bowler's quota... but they may not be able to cover up for another regular bowler who has a bad day. But with Yusuf in the squad, India can give a little more comfort space for the main bowlers.

4. Yusuf's biggest drawback in recent times has been his inability to play the short balls. But in Indian conditions, this problem will be mitigated. For sure, there will be a few good short balls bowled to him when he comes in. But even the best fast bowlers will find it difficult to sustain a lengthy peppering of short balls to Pathan in India. And when the length is not short enough, those balls become long hops and we all know what Yusuf Pathan can do with those!

So here's my first XI:

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni (c) (wk)
Yusuf Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar
Zaheer Khan
Ashish Nehra

It's very reminiscent of the team India had for World Cup 2003. The same opening pair - both in batting and in bowling (assuming that Nehra opens the bowling with Zaheer). The same spinner also, and a very similar middle order. On the whole, this team is more attacking in terms of shot-making than the one we had in 2003. But the question is: CAN IT GO ONE BETTER?

THIS TIME IT WAS RECKLESS

I am, for a change, disappointed with Virender Sehwag. Usually, I always leap up to defend Viru even when he throws away his wicket. But today, I am going to be the prosecutor, not the defendant.

The shot that Sehwag was trying to play when he got out might well have connected and the ball would have screamed towards the deep cover boundary. But it would still have been a reckless shot.

That delivery was the first time Sehwag's bat made contact with the ball during this tour of South Africa in a match situation. And given the kind of shot he was attempting, it's no wonder it landed in the hands of that bearded fielder at third man.

A few Indian players reached South Africa early to get acclimatised with the conditions. Gary Kirsten did thousands of throw downs in the nets and at his academy to get his batsmen ready. But none of that can get you into match rhythm, especially in difficult and alien conditions as India encountered. So in such a situation, for Sehwag to go for that wild swing of his bat without having felt the ball even once during the match, it was reckless and irresponsible.

Most observers would agree that Sehwag, of late, has become a more dangerous proposition than he originally was because he has now become a little more selective in his shot-making and more aware of the match conditions and the team's dependence on the starts provided by him.

But there was nothing selective or responsible about that shot today... and I am utterly disappointed with him. I know Strauss went for a third ball duck at the Gabba and yet England are not too far away from retaining the Ashes now. But expecting something similar here will be stretching imagination beyond reasonable boundaries.

I just hope now that our weakened pace attack of Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and the debutant Jaidev Unadkat show a bit of fight tomorrow and manage to strike a few telling blows early. Lets see if the contest becomes more of a contest tomorrow...

ROHIT SHARMA, DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU?

A square cut for 4 and Rohit Sharma got to his second ODI century in 3 days... this time against a more reputable opposition and in a winning cause as well.

I had read of Rohit Sharma first time in early 2007. He was just a name in the newspaper then. When he got selected for and played in India's victorious World Twenty20 campaign in South Africa that year, he looked good. He was then selected for the ODI tri - series Down Under in early 2008.

The famous match-winning partnership he shared with Sachin Tendulkar in the first final of that Commonwealth Bank Series won him many fans and admirers... including the likes of Ian Chappell. He made 60-odd in what was an extremely mature knock coming from a very young player in a high-pressure situation. It did help that he had the guidance of a certain Sachin Tendulkar at the other end.

After that, the inaugural edition of IPL was held. Rohit Sharma was the only bright spot in a very disappointing campaign for the Deccan Chargers. After that, things started going wrong. Since then, whenever Rohit has had an opportunity to play for India, he has looked good... till a bad shot at the wrong time does him in (much like I mentioned about Mohammed Ashraful in my previous blog).

His inconsistency and a change in selection panel meant that he was no longer a regular in the Indian team. Every good performance for Deccan Chargers since then has caused a lot more heartburn for Team India fans, who keep wondering why he cannot perform just as well for the country as he does for his club. Every outing in the Indian colours, which is usually another frustrating failure, makes the fan in me wonder that is this just another extremely and obviously talented youngster that will be wasted like many before him?

His twin centuries here may have redeemed him somewhat... but I am still not satisfied, like many others. He needs to perform on a big occasion... when the chips are down. Rohit Sharma needs to do full justice to the enormous skills that he possesses alongwith that cool head. He needs to play and perform for the country more consistently against stronger oppositions. Sri Lanka is a good team... but in Zimbabwe, they are a second-string unit.

Rohit Sharma has a lot of fans... but most of them are angry fans! They are waiting to see if he can truly become what he is capable of. For that to happen, he will need to stay grounded. There were a few moments during IPL 2010 that made me feel that he will need a few keep-your-feet-on-the-ground lessons... and here is where Gary Kirsten could help.

He might have a bright future ahead of him... but the journey will have to be undertaken manfully. RG Sharma, do you have it in you?

URGENTLY

In my previous posts, I have stressed on the need to move forward for Team India. I posted a 4-part 'Roadmap for the Future' series yesterday. One of the essential things while moving forward is taking stock of your past actions... and trying to find out what went wrong.

India went into the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 having played only 1 international T20 match in its history. They went in not only without expectations... they also went in without much experience. And in one of the best adverts for Twenty20 cricket, India played and beat Pakistan in the final. When about 25 to 30 percent of the earth's population is following one particular cricket match, it is bound to have a domino effect.

So after the win over the arch rivals, the young Indian men who were trying to make the cut into the senior team were suddenly the toast of the nation. They were heaped with rewards, honours, glory and above all, the most corruptible thing of them all - money. With these youngsters getting fat paychecks at the IPL held soon after, they assumed that they had successfully overgrown the popularity of their seniors... the stars who had proved themselves everywhere... in every condition... in every situation... for years and years and years. All this due to one win!

The teams that played Twenty20 cricket for India since the World Cup win remained essentially same in character... but just could not manage the desired results. In the 17 international T20 matches that India has played since the World Cup final at the Wanderers, India has managed just 7 wins. And if you were to exclude the matches against Ireland, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, it would be down to 4 wins from 14 matches against the top-8 opponents in international cricket.

4 wins in 14 games! That is a winning percentage of less than 30%, despite having a stable team and captain. Do you realise that even Kings XI Punjab fared better than that this season in the IPL? And they were pathetic. So what's the word to be used for India? I am lost completely.

The members if this team need to be made to face reality. They need to be brought down from their high pedestals. Gary Kirsten has already lashed out hard... and if a man like him is lashing out hard, then the problem is extremely severe. Something needs to be done. Urgently.

CAST A COACH

Three coaches have been in news over the past week: Arthur Mickey (now an ex-coach of South Africa) has gotten the maximum news bytes after his bolt-from-the-blue resignation; Ottis Gibson created some news by resigning as the bowling coach of England and taking over as the head coach of West Indies; and Gary Kirsten renewed his contract with the BCCI as the coach of  India, thereby squashing all rumours that Cricket South Africa was trying to recruit him.

What really defines a coach's role in a cricket team? Or for that matter, what is the role of the entire supporting staff that accompanies a cricket team? It's common knowledge by now that England's support staff has a bigger strength than their team. There are all kinds of coaches - head coach, assistant coach, batting coach, fast  bowling coach, spin bowling coach, fielding coach, wicket-keeping coach, mental conditioning coach, and the list goes on. Then there are various managers - head manager, assistant manager, media manager, et cetera. And we have more back room staff - video analyst, masseur, physiotherapist, trainer and more.

The strange thing is - everyone of them has a role to play. Sachin Tendulkar, on completion of his 20 years in international cricket, acknowledged the role of all the coaches and the supporting staff that he'd been with. I thought that there was only so much a cricket team could do off the field!

Going by the current trends, what are new possible coaching / supporting roles that might open up in the times to come? I have come up with a few possibilities as job openings with cricket teams: IPL Recruitment Manager (to ensure that the players are selected in the auction), Team Chef (so that Shahid Afridi does not go hungry again), Board of Selectors Negotiation Manager (so that the captain gets a team of his choice always), Multiple Captain's Coach (a role for John Buchanan in KKR), Multiple Mistresses Manager (so that cases like John Terry and Tiger Woods do not come out in the open - a role for Paddy Upton maybe?),... and well, I really cannot think of any more.

Do come up with your own ideas and let me know. Lets see if BCCI is interested in our list.