WAITING FOR THEIR RETURN TO TESTS

Things are slowly getting back to normal. Bangladesh were comprehensively beaten (to put it mildly) by England in 7 sessions are Old Trafford. Zimbabwe lost (finally!) to Sri Lanka comprehensively (to put it mildly, again!) at Harare in the tri-series final. This chain of events imply that India should have 2 easy wins in the 2 Twenty20 Internationals that they are scheduled to play against Zimbabwe to end their African tour.

And there is a good chance that we may see a couple of one - sided matches as India, smarting from twin defeats to the hosts, may well come out all guns blazing to completely streamroll the opposition. Or... Or we may witness an upset or two more. That is a smaller possibility but there is a chance that India, wary of Zimbabwe after the ODI defeats, may look to play cautious cricket and allow the hosts to seize the initiative.

Whatever happens in the 2 Twenty20s... kudos to Zimbabwe (and Bangladesh of course) for the fight and the improvement they have shown in their cricket. These two teams do not have too many threatening names in their lineup... names for  whom the opposition teams sit for hours in a meeting formulating plans and strategies... but they are good as a unit. They have learnt how to fight... and these skills are helping them as they take on the bigger teams with bigger names.

It's good that the teams have become competitive... it will help the game grow. I am just waiting now for Zimbabwe to be allotted the Test status once again... I know Andy Flower no longer plays for them, but I do hope someone else comes along who impresses me just as much as Andy Flower did!

THE NEXT STEP FOR YUSUF PATHAN

It's a weekend again... I just love weekends! A number of reasons... it offers me a break from my daily work and there is always interesting sporting action waiting on weekends.


This time, it is the finals of the French Open Grand Slam Tennis... and of course, the rather uninteresting India - Sri Lanka clash at Harare. India did try to make the match up interesting by losing to Zimbabwe on Thursday... a do-or-die match usually means higher TRPs for the broadcasters! And then the Indian batsmen tried to make it more interesting by taking the batting powerplay after 17 overs only.

But just to prove that the entire world is right, Yusuf Pathan survived the early overs, played decently in the powerplay... and then succumbed to a temptation, which is also sometimes called an innocuous off-spinner. That man is going nowhere!


I left a comment another blog that Yusuf Pathan needs to be dropped from the Indian team for some time now. He needs to be dropped, and tested in bouncier conditions like England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as a part of India 'A' team tours. If he can overcome his weakness against the short balls on such tours, then good! If he can't, then I think that the Indian team management needs to just accept the fact that he will be a perennial underachiever and move on...


There are others out there waiting for their chances. They may not be as talented as Yusuf... but there is a good chance that they will be far more consistent and committed than the elder Pathan.


India has just lost a couple of quick wickets (Kohli and Sharma) in their quest of setting a formidable target and win the match against the men from Emerald Isle with a bonus point. The task is extremely tough... and even more tougher now after the two wickets! The skipper Suresh Raina will have to guide the ship for India now in the company of Ravindra Jadeja.


Forget a bonus point... at this stage, even a win looks a distant thought!

I SEE THE FUTURE...

As I write this, Zimbabwe is strangulating India slowly at Harare. India is struggling at 111 for 5 in 33 overs. That is a run rate of 3.36 runs per over with 17 overs to go. The batsmen in the middle are Ravindra Jadeja (12* of 20 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (5* of 16 balls).

Now, here is what is going to happen next. Yusuf Pathan is going to hit and hit and hit the spin-based Zimbabwe attack and score his career best score (which currently stands at 59* only). Most fans and almost everybody in the Indian media will forgive him for his past performances in the Indian deep blue and forgetting his shortcomings with the short balls, will heap praises on him and his phenomenal ability to change the course of the match.

The hype and hoopla will end when Yusuf Pathan fails in the next match against Sri Lanka... falling to a short ball. India might even lose both these matches (or one of them)... and might find itself on an early flight back home before the finals.

And then God save these boys! The media will cremate them live... and the selectors will be questioned and hung alongwith Ajmal Amir Kasab!