INDIAN BOWLERS WERE DISAPPOINTING

Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrated the New Year by winning the toss... an occasion almost as rare as the New Year itself. Incidentally, this was just the 2nd time in Dhoni's 24-Test captaincy stint that he had inserted the opposition in after winning the toss (he's won 8 tosses, by the way).

The first time he did it was in March 2009 against New Zealand at Hamilton... and India went on to win that match by 10 wickets. That win was possible only because the Indian pace bowlers were able to dismiss the Kiwis for 279 on Day 1 itself. This time tough, things are a lot different.

Kallis is rock solid at the end of day's play with Ashwell Prince for company. Boucher is still waiting in the wings, and even though he isn't in the best form, he can still be dangerous if this partnership can add a few more and take South Africa to a position of strength. Then all that Boucher will need to do is get a few quick runs... and usually, these sort of situations are exactly what an out-of-form batsman wants in Test cricket.

Back in Hamilton, India could dismiss New Zealand cheaply mainly due to the fact that Ishant Sharma bagged 4 wickets on that day. He's bagged only 1 so far today and though the other bowlers' figures are not far ahead than his, I must say that I was extremely disappointed with Ishant Sharma's bowling today.

Here is the comparison of the pitch maps of the three Indian pacers today...

Zaheer Khan's pitch map on Day 1

S Sreesanth's pitch map on Day 1

Ishant Sharma's pitch map on Day 1

As you can see, Zaheer was extremely full... as you should be when conditions are favouring you. I know Ishant Sharma's stock delivery is when he runs in, hits the deck hard at back-of-good-length area and allows the seam movement to do its bit. But this was not a pitch and these were not the conditions for his style of bowling.

He needed to pitch the ball further up today and make the batsman play. His pitch map clearly shows that he was short of the required length and also quite some way outside off... which helped the batsman in leaving the balls. Both he and Sreesanth bowled a lot of balls that could be left alone harmlessly by the batsmen... particularly early in the day when the conditions were favourable for the bowlers. It was a waste!

Ishant got Alviro Peterson out driving to a delivery that was amongst the fullest he'd bowled all day. The fact that Ishant did not bowl full consistently after getting such a reward was very disappointing.

Sreesanth was still okay... even though he could have been a bit more fuller. I say a bit more fuller particularly because more often than not, he was getting a very good shape taking the ball away from the right hander. But when he was pitch it on good length, the batsmen were able to leave the ball trusting the shape to take it away from them (except for one occasion when De Villiers has a fatal poke at it). Had he been a little fuller, the batsmen would have been forced to play a lot more and given how close he gets to the stumps while delivering, it could have been a lot more than just 2 wickets for him today.

Zaheer operated well, from both over- and around-the-wicket... but apart from his first spell, he could not get significant movement on the ball. With the new ball available just 6 overs into the day tomorrow, he could make things very difficult for the left-handed Ashwell Prince.

Having won the toss and inserted the opposition in, Dhoni would have hoped for a lot more from his pacers. Though the day wasn't BAD for India, it wasn't satisfactory either. Tomorrow, the sun is expected to be shining brightly over Newlands, Cape Town and Dhoni will be hoping that South Africa collapse with the second new ball so that his batsmen get a chance to wield their willow in helpful conditions under the sun. They haven't had too many such chances on this tour thus far!

TEST TEAM OF THE YEAR 2010

I have donned the selector's hat... and here's my pick for the Test Team of the Year 2010:

OPENERS:

Alastair Cook (1287 runs in 14 matches @ Avg 58.50 and SR 54.76, 100s-5, 50s-4)
Virendra Sehwag (1422 runs in 14 matches @ Avg 61.82 and SR 90.80, 100s-5, 50s-8)

The young and promising Alastair Cook and the belligerent Virendra Sehwag should make a great opening pair for the Test Team of the year. Tamim Iqbal and Graeme Smith did make their cases strong, but they couldn't beat the sheer consistency of this pair.

MIDDLE ORDER:

Hashim Amla (1249 runs in 11 matches @ Avg 78.06 and SR 53.05, 100s-5, 50s-4)
Sachin Tendulkar (1562 runs in 14 matches @ Avg 78.10 and SR 55.90, 100s-7, 50s-5)
Johnathan Trott (1325 runs in 14 matches @ Avg 66.25 and SR 49.44, 100s-4, 50s-4)
Jacques Kallis (1198 runs in 11 matches @ Avg 79.86 and SR 54.01, 100s-6, 50s-2)

These four members picked themselves... but the difficult question was whom to accommodate at their usual No. 3 and No. 4 positions, and whom to push down to No. 5 and No. 6.

Eventually, Amla beat Trott to No. 3 because Amla's runs have come against more difficult oppositions. Trott scored 805 runs against Bangladesh and Pakistan whereas Amla scored 386 runs against West Indies and Pakistan. This, and slightly superior strike rate, sealed the No. 3 spot for Amla.

For the No. 4 spot, Tendulkar scored 390 runs against Bangladesh and New Zealand whereas Kallis scored 606 runs against West Indies and Pakistan. So the No. 4 spot went to Tendulkar.

It is sad that AB De Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara and VVS Laxman had to miss out... but there just isn't any more space left in the team.

WICKETKEEPER:

MS Dhoni (749 runs in 13 Tests @ Avg 41.61 and SR 55.48, 100s-1, 50s-4, Cat-41, St-7)

Sangakkara averaged 99.28 for the year but did not keep wickets even once through the year. AB De Villiers scored 996 runs but kept wickets only once. Matthew Prior had 8 more dismissals than Dhoni, but scored 640 runs at an average of 40.00. Brendon McCullum was also considered, but was not the ideal choice. So despite having not-too-impressive batting figures, Dhoni forms a part of the Test Team for the Year 2010 and in an obvious choice, takes the captaincy of the team.

BOWLERS:

Graeme Swann (64 wkts in 14 matches @ Avg 25.96, ER 2.88 and SR 54.0)
Dale Steyn (60 wkts in 11 matches @ Avg 21.41, ER 3.29 and SR 39.0)
Zaheer Khan (47 wkts in 9 matches @ Avg 21.97, ER 3.31 and SR 39.8)
James Anderson (57 wkts in 12 matches @ Avg 22.96, ER 2.82 and SR 48.7)

The three pacers in prime form, with the best spinner in the world to accompany them, forms a potent bowling unit. The irrepressible Jacques Kallis can lend good support and Virendra Sehwag's off spin can be called for when the chips are down.

Morne Morkel performed brilliantly through the year, but despite his 49 wickets, there is no one amongst the 4 listed above whom one would want to see out to accommodate Morkel. Steven Finn was also good through the year, but not enough to make the team.

FINAL TEAM:

A Cook (Eng), V Sehwag (Ind), H Amla (SA), S Tendulkar (Ind), J Trott (Eng), J Kallis (SA), MS Dhoni (Ind) (c)(wk), G Swann (Eng), D Steyn (SA), Z Khan (Ind), J Anderson (Eng).

A BRUTE!

A snorter from Sreesanth dismissed the key man for South Africa... Jacques Kallis!

THE DECIDING DAY AT DURBAN

The Durban Test is all set for a thrilling finish... South Africa can win the series with 192 more runs... India can level it with 7 more wickets.

Durban has seen rain overnight... and though the sun is out again, I hope the early morning start will see a bit of help for the Indian pacers, particularly Zaheer Khan. If Sreesanth keeps his head about him, he may also prove to be crucial to the task.

For South Africa, the overnight batsmen are the key. Before they commenced the chase, I had figured out that four batsmen in their top-5 are the biggest threats in my opinion - Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB De Villiers. Two of them are out and two of them are in. If the Indian pacers can use some help that they might gain from the conditions and dismiss these two early, the game might well be in the bag.

Yes, Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher are good batsmen... and the South African lower order can hang around (Morkel and Harris) or even spank the ball a bit (Steyn). But the situation in this Test is so tight that it will be hard to hold the nerves.

Most people are saying that Harbhajan will be the key man considering the bounce he might be able to generate on the pitch. But I would still peg Zaheer as the key man for India. Bhajji might prove useful if the match gets too tight as he is a lot more experienced than the South African lower order batsmen (except Boucher).

There may not be a lot of clouds in the Kingsmead sky, but there should be a bit of moisture due to the rains last night. I hope India can use this to their advantage and manage a victory here. It is too tight to call at the moment. The match should begin in less than 10 minutes now... and I am off now to watch it.

THE BIGGEST POSITIVE FOR INDIA

India has ended Day 1 on the First Test against South Africa at Centurion on 136 for 9. The damage that has already been inflicted on them cannot be undone now... but believe it or not, India can take some positives from the two short sessions bowled today.

There was the batting of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh... with MS Dhoni still holding ground. But with a batting lineup such as the one India boasts of, these performances are bound to be there even in a low score. So these are not the positives that I was thinking of.

There is one major positive... South Africa's lack of attacking backup bowlers. Steyn and Morkel bowled wonderfully and complemented each other well. Whereas Morkel worked his batsmen out by using the old one-two of a bouncer followed by a fuller length ball, Steyn was content on concentrating on his fuller length and generate swing at high speeds of over 90 mph during the post tea session. Steyn used very little of the bouncers... there was one very good one that hit Gambhir on the shoulder.

These two brilliant new ball operators have taken 7 of the 9 Indian wickets to fall thus far... 3 for Steyn and 4 for Morkel. However, apart from these two, no one in the South African attack has looked threatening enough. The bowling figures of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris combined read 16 overs, 3 maidens, 1 wicket for 76 runs... i.e. 4.75 runs per over.

Though Kallis went at a decent 3.33 runs per over and also got 1 wicket of Raina, he was never threatening. He generated a decent pace, dug in a few short, but was well handled by most Indian batsmen. Tsotsobe was the reason today that India managed to cross the 100-run mark. All the 3 sixes of the Indian innings were hit of his bowling. And frankly, I was surprised that Graeme Smith persisted with him to give him 9 overs. Though Harris did not get a lot of chance, I am sure none of the Indian batsmen will be losing their sleep at the prospect of facing his bowling.

So even though the present situation of 136 - 9 is quite grave, India should know that there is still a lot left in the game. The weather may help India again as there are showers and thunderstorms expected on the 4th and 5th days. But apart from that, India will also know that if the initial burst of Steyn and Morkel can be seen through, the rest will not pose much of a threat and South Africa can then be attacked. Once there are a few runs on the board and the batsmen are settled in, even Steyn and Morkel will not be that very threatening in their further spells.

Even if Tsotsobe is replaced during the next Test by Ryan McLaren or Wayne Parnell, there is no reason to believe that they will be able to maintain the pressure exerted by their strike bowlers.

In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see how the Indian pacers perform. They are nowhere as good as Steyn and Morkel (especially in the absence of Zaheer Khan), but in helpful conditions, they can be a handful. If the Indian bowlers put up a large performance tomorrow, there may yet be a result in the match even if it rains over the last 2 days. Otherwise, we may go to Kingsmeade, Durban at 0 - 0.

ALL TIME WORLD XI - ALL ROUNDERS

There are not too many nominees for the All - Rounders spot... and this is such an important role that lesser the better.

A Reminder: I had removed Kallis from the analysis of Middle Order Batsmen and had decided to include him in the All Rounders analysis. That is why you will see his name below (highlighted yellow). Here are the statistics:

Now, I want two All-Rounders in my team. One bowling all-rounder and one batting all-rounder. That would be my ideal combination.

For the role of the batting all rounder, the contest was between Sir Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis. A tight one... and I choose Jacques Kallis. Both are mighty men, capable of performing the unthinkable deeds. Kallis may never get to a double century in his career, but you won't need too many double centuries from him in a middle order of Bradman, Tendulkar and Barrington (the ones I have chosen).

What tilted the scales in favour of Kallis was a pure statistical detail... it was his bowling strike rate of 67.2 against 91.9. When my batting all rounder can take a wicket once every 11 overs or so, it is commendable. I can;t ask for a lot more. And thus despite the greatness of Sir Garry Sobers, I have to exclude him from my squad.

For the spot of the bowling all rounder, the men on my shortlist were Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Sir Ian Botham and Sir Richard Hadlee. All these men have enviable numbers above and are legends in their own ways. But for this particular spot, I had long decided that the man I select would be based on fitness. I'll explain why...

The spot of the Bowling All Rounder is, in my opinion, the most important one in a Test team. He is one of the chief men responsible to get you the 20 wickets that can win you a Test match... and if the batsmen fool around, he is also expected to score a few down the order. A team is very dependent of such men, if they are available. And as a result, their absence due to injuries places their team into a big area of discomfort as they have to usually fill in with a regular bowler, thereby giving up a batsman. That is why, I place a high price on the fitness of the men in my shortlist.

So, Imran Khan had a career of 21 years. Kapil Dev once held a record of most number of consecutive Test appearances for India. Richard Hadlee also had just one major shoulder injury to speak of during his career. And Ian Botham also had a decently fit career. But what counts against Ian Botham was his indiscipline, as his career not only surged improbable heights, but also bottomless depths.

So as my shortlist cuts down to 3, my decision (again a very tough one) goes to Imran Khan, who only narrowly beat Kapil Dev. In the end, a career of 21 years overcame the record of most consecutive Test appearances. Phew!

So here's a recap of the team I have selected thus far:

Openers: Sir Jack Hobbs, Virender Sehwag
Middle Order: Sir Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Ken Barrington
Batting All Rounder: Jacques Kallis
Wicketkeeper: Adam Gilchrist
Bowling All Rounder: Imran Khan

Now what remains is the choice of bowlers, which will come in a day or two.

ANY COMMENTS?

Greame Smith uploaded this pic on his Twitter page. I am speechless...

TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD CUP 2011: PART 2

(contd...)

I have a feeling that Dhoni will prefer Yusuf over Jadeja... though I would prefer otherwise. Despite his torrid performances lately, I still find Jadeja as a much safer slow bowling option... particularly in 50-over cricket. Plus, he will turn the ball away from the right-hander, which should complement well with Harbhajan's off-spin. There are arguements for including Yusuf for his batting abilities. But then, all those abilities come to nought the moment he faces up to a pacer. And batting at No. 7, he is bound to face pacers at all times. Even if he is promoted up the order, the opposition captains will bring their pacers in immediately. His tryst with the short deliveries has been well noted and documented. Yusuf could not even get his bat to touch the ball on the last 2 balls of India's innings against Zimbabwe because they were bowled short by a certain medium pacer by the name of Mpofu. Imagine the damage that can be caused by a Dale Steyn or a Mitchell Johnson.

Coming to the bowling department now. The team is likely to go in with 3 pacers and a lone spinner in the form of Harbhajan Singh. The pacers are likely to be Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar. There is a small question mark over Zaheer's form and a larger one over Praveen Kumar's place in the side. Though I am not particularly worried about Zaheer Khan, the third pacer's spot is certainly a cause of worry for MS Dhoni. He does not want his first change bowler to become a target for the opposition's top order... a bowler that will release the pressure after the new ball spell. There are several boys who will be eyeing Praveen Kumar's place: Vinay Kumar, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma... and many others. But I am not sure about any of them. It is quite possibly the weakest link of the squad.

As you might have noted... there is hardly anything similar between the ideal Team India for the World Cup and the team that lost to Zimbabwe. Suresh Raina... that's just about it. But the guys like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik and Vinay Kumar are likely to be the other members of the 15-men squad... the replacements in case of injuries, losses of form or commitment issues. And that is where the greater problem lies.

Are they good enough? Bobilli Vijay Kumar, in his article in Times of India titled 'Second String or Second Class?' ponders upon this issue. Maybe a Rohit Sharma will manage a 100 against a Zimbabwe and a Virat Kohli may do slightly better by hitting a 100 against Sri Lanka, but when they are under pressure... a knockout stage of a World Cup... a team as strong as Australia... backs to the wall situation... will they be able to deliver? They have done nothing so far to show that they can.

TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD CUP 2011: PART 1

TEAM INDIA HAS BEEN SELECTED: CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT THE TEAM


What's the immediate goal for the Indian team? Obviously, it is identifying and preparing a squad for the World Cup 2011? To that effect, how much does the loss to Zimbabwe affect the plans?

What is the batting order expected to be like when the World Cup begins in February next year? The top order is expected to be Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir. The middle order would comprise of Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. This would be the ideal top-6 if all the men are in form... fit and firing.

Currently however, there are question marks over form, fitness, commitment... just about everything. Most of those question marks, I believe, would be cleared by the turn of the year. One question that threatens to remain is that of Yuvraj Singh's attitude and commitment to Team India's cause. His waistline is causing a lot of problems for Team India and a lot of angst for fans because they can see a potential exceptionally-gifted match winner being wasted away.

There are limited all-round options... just Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja. There is no pace all-round option... but in the short term, we do not need it. Pace-bowling all rounder is not going to be of much help in the sub-continent, unless he is of a Jacques Kallis pedigree. So, for now, we just have to be content with these two. In the first 11, only 1 of the 2 is likely to get the chance. After the top-6, Dhoni is likely to play an all-rounder at 7 followed by 4 bowlers... 3 of whom are likely to be seamers.

(contd...)

QUESTION OF STRATEGIES

Zimbabwe and England open their campaign in the World Twenty20 Championship today after the Super Sunday yesterday, in which the top-4 teams in international cricket met at St. Lucia.

In the first match, India rided on Suresh Raina's 60-ball 101 to bat South Africa out of the match. In the end, the scores suggested that South Africa did make a match out of it. But in reality, they were out of it by the time Kallis and Smith started their acceleration. The hits towards the end were bound to come... but they were just meant to reduce the margin of defeat, not to avert the defeat.

The South African strategy was questionable. Loots Bosman opening the innings with Kallis is a good idea, but if Greame Smith is pushed to No. 3 for its implementation, then it is not so good. Bosman is an ideal replacement for Smith if his fingers are broken... but when healed, Greame Smith should open the South African innings in all formats of the game.

And Kallis needs to rethink his strategies as well. He said at the start of the IPL that he wants to become the best Twenty20 player in the world. And for the best part of that tournament, he looked like it. But then it all started going wrong. His strike rates were questioned all round, and he's done nothing since then to show that he might want to learn and change.

All said and done, I also felt that Dhoni's strategies were a tad unwise. Going in with three specialist spinners in the form of Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja alongside part-timers like Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh seemed a little overboard. Maybe he wanted to rest Zaheer Khan, but he could have tried R Vinay Kumar in that case. He does not want to bowl 20 overs with spin. Once the batsmen are used to the pace of the wicket, they can take toll. Kallis and Smith showed that towards the end of their partnership. As a result, none of the spinners had extremely impressive figures. In contrast, Ashish Nehra had another brilliant day in office.

The second match between Australia and Pakistan saw the ODI Champions putting in a clinical performance to outso the defending champions. Mohammed Aamer bowled a 5-wicket last over, but that wasn't enough to swing the momentum completely towards the Pakistan side, and in the end, the score of 191 proved too much for them.

Overall, it was a good day's (night's in India) of cricket even though both the matches eventually turned out to be a little one-sided.

LUCK FACTOR

A flight from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi takes about five and a half hours. Dr. Vijay Mallya said in his interview during the last match that he will reach New Delhi to catch RCB's match against DD.

The Formula One race at Sepang starts at 1330 IST. Considering that the race will take about 2 hours, and another half an hour for Dr. Mallya to take his leave and reach the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (just 10 mins from Sepang race circuit), he will not be able to leave before 1600 hrs. That means he will reach New Delhi only by 2130 hrs IST and reach the Kotla some time after that, maybe when the match is in its finishing stages.

But why am I trying to decipher Dr. Mallya's schedule? A very stupid reason, actually! The only other time that RCB played a match this season on a Formula One weekend (their first match against KKR), they lost it. When, they won the next few matches on a trot, I thought at that time that maybe, Dr. Mallaya is the lucky charm for the RCB side. His presence in the stadium inspired an RCB win.

Yes, RCB has lost two other matches after that, which were not held on Formula One weekends! But after 2008 season, RCB has not won a single match that was played on a Formula One Sunday. They lost 3 matches in South Africa 2009 that were held on the same Sundays as the Bahrain, Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix (the last one was the IPL 2009 Finals). They have already lost the match held on the day of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix.

So I have my prediction ready for the result of today's DD v RCB match to be held on the Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday: a win for Delhi Daredevils.

Apart from the very stupid reason stated above, I also feel that Viru is going to click today. Somehow, I also feel that RCB's bowling attack will be exactly what Viru will want in his search for a good form. Praveen Kumar and R Vinay Kumar, though extremely intelligent bowlers, might just provide Viru with the pace and length he would like to feed on. And apart from the bouncers from Steyn and Kallis, I do not feel much else will be a problem for him. He should be able to manage Anil Kumble as long as he keeps his cool.

Lets wait and see... we'll know by 11.30 pm tonight if Dr. Vijay Mallya is indeed RCB's lucky mascot!

A MONTH FROM THE FINALS - THE PICTURE SO FAR

Exactly one month from today, two teams will walk out on 25th April at Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Academy Stadium in the finals of the Indian Premier League 2010. And there is a big chance that both those teams are amongst the ones playing today.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently struggling in their chase of Delhi Daredevils' 183. However, there is no doubt in most people's minds that they are one of the two strongest teams in this tounament - the other one being Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings in about an hour from now, hoping to get another win and take another step towards the semi-finals.

Both these teams, RCB and MI, have certain similarities - which might well be called the keys to their success thus far in this tournament.

1. Both these teams have relied on strong solid starts consistently, with two batsmen in the top-5 runs scorers list (Kallis and Tendulkar).
2. Both have a strong opening bowling combination (Zaheer + Malinga and Praveen + Steyn).
3. Both these teams have bowlers who bowl to pick up wickets in the middle overs as well, not just for containing the batsmen (R Vinay Kumar and Dwayne Bravo).

The fact that these teams have concentrated on strengthening their bowling department (an often neglected affair in this format) is paying dividends now. Lets hope we get to see India's highest run-scorer captain his side against the side of India's highest wicket-taker - that would truly be a final of the Indian Premier League.

ORANGE AND PURPLE

I am not an expert on colours... so I have absolutely know idea how will a combination of orange and purple will look. Jacques Kallis from Royal Challengers Bangalore might be the one to find out soon.

Kallis is already holding the Orange cap in IPL 2010, having scored 154 runs (before the ongoing match against RR) without being dismissed. He has also taken 3 wickets (including his 2 in the ongoing game against RR). The current purple cap holder, Chaminda Vaas, has 5 (just 2 more).

I wonder what will happen if he is on top of both the tables. He can't be wearing 2 caps!

Nevertheless, Kallis is having a great run in this season so far - a testimony to the fact that truly great players of the game can play any form of the game.

ROYALS' BATTLE TO BE ONE SIDED AGAIN?

Just one match yesterday - but a big one! And a big win for the Mumbai Indians. The only thing that went right for Delhi Daredevils in the game was the toss. After that, it was all downhill for them.

TEAM PERFORMANCE REVIEWS:

DD: Completely and thoroughly outplayed! One does not usually get to see a side as strong as DD beaten so brutally. Gambhir's injury is a big loss. But if anyone has to suffer from an injury, it's best to get it out of the way early in the tournament. Nannes started with a big wide outside leg, but was the only bowler to go for less than 10 an over.

MI: Such a big win was completely unexpected! The performance was clinical, and Sachin's captaincy was admirable. He is a great thinker of the game - everyone knows that. But somehow, his captaincy record never suggested that. But yesterday, it was fun to watch all his moves pay off. And to watch the two openers with a combined age of more than 77 running for almost everything between the wickets made you love cricket a whole lot more!

MATCHES TODAY:

RCB v RR: If RCB play to their potential, this should be an easy win. The RR side just does not look good enough. Shane Warne does not seem as inspirational as he was in 2008, Yusuf has consistency issues (as well as a dodgy shoulder), and Ravindra Jadeja has been banned. On the other side, Kallis looks threatening every time he holds a bat, Morgan and Pandey are brilliant talents, and their squad looks a lot more healthier than that of RR. Had this match come later in the tournament, I'd even havee said that RCB should test its bench and give a chance to the likes of Dillon du Preez, who  bowled well in South Africa last year in the game against Mumbai Indians. RCB have a chance of winnings their 2nd consecutive 'home' match (they won only 1 at home in 2008).

WHO WILL GUARD THE GUARDS?

The penultimate legal ball of the match. 7 to win. Number 11 on strike. He pulls towards deep square leg, and the ball looks on course to reach the ropes. A 36-year old body flies across. The ball is pulled back, but no one is really certain whether it was a four or not.

Third umpire under pressure. After endlessly watching replays that revealed nothing of help, the benefit of doubt was given to the fielder, Sachin Tendulkar. While Kallis and the South African camp seemed angry, the Indian camp also looked uncertain. The batsmen had run 3, and on strike now would be Wayne Parnell (48* of 46 balls then). He was the visitors' best hope for a win. 4 needed off the last ball.

Praveen Kumar runs in and bowls one wide of the off stump. Parnell has a swing. Does not connect. Dhoni celebrates. The South African dressing room signals a wide. When umpire Tarapore does the same, that dressing room celebrates almost as if they have won it. Replays suggested that even this one was a tight call.

When the replays were being shown of Sachin Tendulkar diving and saving a run, the South Africans must have been wondering if they could get a 4 and still have Parnell on strike. Eventually, that is exactly how it turned out. One tight call went in favour of India, the next one in favour of South Africa. Poetic justice, was it?

But irrespective of the result, in a match where both the teams underperformed to produce a thriller, one man's performance stood out. Ravindra Jadeja churned out a spell of 10-2-29-2. An economy rate of 2.9 by a slow left arm bowler on a batting beauty with the threat of dew around in a match where runs were scored at 5.95. Phenomenal! Not to forget, he had also made 22 runs of 20 balls earlier in the day to help India score 298.

Jadeja produced a performance to be proud of at a time when he must have been feeling low due to the IPL fiasco. Here is a promising youngster who has been banned from a big-buck tournament that would have given him some more experience of playing with and against top international players. Why? Because he was searching for a franchise that would pay him something worth his skills. If recent performances are anything to go by, he deserves more than US$ 0.95 million. Confused? That is the value of Ishant Sharma's contract. Jadeja certainly deserves better than Sharma.

Jayaditya Gupta, in an article on the Cricinfo Magazine, talking about the Jadeja - IPL fiaso, asks a question about the young and promising cricketers on the fringes: "Who's in charge of these cricketers outside the six-week tournament?"

IPL has promised counselling for youngsters who have suddenly tasted wealth. They have promised financial counselling even for parents. But what about caring for players when the IPL is not bothered?

Jadeja, in the recent past, has been reliable and impressive with his bowling. Though not very potent a batsman, he can be depended on to rotate the strike and allow the bigger bullies in the Indian batting line up express themselves. Is it right that a player as promising as this one has been hurled into such a controversy at the age of 21 years? Couldn't he have been let off with a warning and some counselling? After all, his record thus far in his fledgling career is completely clean.

Jadeja is entitled to an appeal against the IPL decision and Niranjan Shah is supposedly going to plead his case. The members of the IPL Governing Council is the guards of this tournament. But such controversies throw up one big unanswered question: "WHO WILL GUARD THE GUARDS?"

THRILLING SERIES

Not being able to watch a Test match at Eden Gardens live on TV feels awful. Thank God for Cricinfo! Now, this Test is living up to its billing as the battle for World No. 1 Test team status. South Africa, continuing with their momentum from the Nagpur Test, dominated two sessions of opening day’s play. India, trying to hold on to their top ranking, suddenly roared back to life. Spurred on by vociferous Kolkata crowd, Zaheer and Harbhajan turned things around and South Africa were dismissed for less than 300.

Then, it was time for ‘Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’. Sehwag and Tendulkar made life difficult for Greame Smith’s boys, and Dale Steyn’s hostile spell of fast bowling in Nagpur might well have been story of some other time. South Africa, to their credit, did fight back. Three wickets late on Day 2 pegged India back just a little.

But India had more in store for them. The Eden Gardens specialist was due for a big score and what better time could he have chosen! VVS Laxman slowed down when Amit Mishra was trying to be Sehwag-like. But once he departed, he joined skipper MS Dhoni to grind the Proteas to a point from where even their most optimistic fans cannot hope for a return.

I am quite liking this Test Series (wish it could have been longer than 2 Tests, though). This series, thus far, is 1 and a half Test old. We have already seen 1 Double Century (Amla), 9 Centuries (Kallis, Sehwag, Sachin, Amla, Peterson, Sehwag, Sachin, Laxman , Dhoni), 1 Seven-for (Steyn), and few more good spells of fast as well as spin bowling (Steyn, Morkel, Harris, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Ishant). And what’s more, we already have 1 result and can expect another one in the next 2 days. Three debutants got a taste of Test cricket, and all of them showed mettle at some point or the other. One got a 50, another got a 100. We have even witnessed something very rare in Test cricket - 12 wides bowled by a bowler in an innings! What more could you ask for from Test matches!

This Test match is even attracting a fairly large crowd, who have been generous in their support for the home team, especially given their performance just a week back. Let’s hope this rivalry continues and the teams provide us with another thriller in the return series later this year.

SIX SOLID LESSONS

The Indian team got a taste of reality over the last four days. It was embarassing to watch the match as an Indian fan. So, mid-way through the third day, I changed my mindset - I decided to watch the match as a cricket fan rather than an Indian cricket fan. Oh, it was so much more enjoyable then!

The South African team taught many lessons to a lot of people in India.

Lesson No. 1: While Steyn, Morkel and even Parnell (playing just his 2nd Test) were head and shoulders above the Indian seamers, even Paul Harris showed that he can be considered a better option than India's premier spinner Harbhajan Singh. Though Zaheer and Mishra did put in whole - hearted performances, it just cannot be compared to the South African effort - partly due to luck, but mainly due to skill and perseverance (in case of Harris).

Lesson No. 2: Amla and Kallis collectively scored 426 runs for South Africa in just one innings losing just one wicket between them. India's top 7 managed an aggregate of 410 runs in two attempts losing a total of 14 wickets between them. Here, I am very tempted to quote what Avijit Ghosh wrote in his blog 'Addiction' on Times of India:
"It is important to regularly play Test matches with teams with good bowling attacks. At the moment, only Australia, South Africa and Pakistan have penetrative all-wicket attacks. Playing against teams with ordinary bowlers gives an inflated sense of a batsman’s ability. Dhoni, for instance, is a master of mediocre bowling but is hardly the same batsman against stronger attacks. Closely examine his run of scores and you’ll know what I mean. And he was giving Harris more respect than he deserved."

Lesson No. 3: It does not matter that your coach has resigned just before coming into a very big series. It does not matter that your entire selection panel has been sacked. It does not matter that your cricket board is about to be restructured. What really happens on the 22 yards and the grass around it is what decides who the No. 1 Team in the world is going to be. And yes, amidst all this, they showed that even a selection panel that faced the ignomity of being sacked is better than the Indian selection panel.

Lesson No. 4: This lesson has already been covered by the quote from Avijit Ghosh's blog above. The BCCI needs to learn this lesson, and learn it fast. India needs to stop playing Sri Lanka every now and again. India need to face more of South Africa, Australia and even England in Test cricket. A 100 run loss in an ODI does hurt, but an innings defeat in a Test match at home humiliates. I hope BCCI gets the point and pays more attention to Test cricket.

Lesson No. 5: This is the most obvious one - fielding. No one really expected Indian fielding to match up to South African standards - and it didn't. Even though our fielding was not really street - level, but there is still a lot of scope for improvement.

Lesson No. 6: Perhaps the most important lesson of them all! The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and Rahul Dravid are still needed to guide the newer players. Their role in the team is perhaps more important than that of Dhoni himself. Everyone is talking about preparing for the transition period that India will have to face. But something that needs to be understood here is that the likes of Tendulkar and Dravid are needed to prepare the younger generation for the transition.

In the first innings, Badrinath lost his wicket soon after Sehwag got out. In the second innings, the writing on the wall became crystal clear once Sachin got out. To use examples of our recent past, Dravid and Sachin were needed to see India to respectability in the recent Bangladesh tour. In the Hyderabad ODI against Australia (better remembered for Sachin's masterly 175), Ravindra Jadeja looked cool as cucumber with Sachin at the other end. But as soon as he got out, Jadeja lost his cool and his wicket going for a suicidal single. There are a lot many more such cases, if only we could open our eyes to them.

The young guns on India all look promising. But they will need the help of their seniors to fulfill their promise. There are no two ways about it.

SATURDAY'S HEROES

A lot happenned today. West Zone's unbelievable win in Duleep Trophy Finals and Kallis' unbelievable knock in the Battle for No. 1. I want to talk about how the day passed for me today.

0900 - Dhoni lost his third Test toss in a row and his counterpart, Smith expectedly decided to bat on a very brown pitch. But what followed next was a shock. W Saha makes his debut replacing VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma (who also injured himself in the morning). A line up already missing out on Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh (not that he is a big loss, but still!), now misses out on VVS Laxman and also the man who was to replace him. How many more things could go wrong!

1000 - The morning started well! Zaheer Khan struck twice early and South Africa were 6 for 2. An opening spell of 6-4-2-2. Exciting stuff. A few hundred kilometers away in Hyderabad, Yusuf Pathan had also resumed his battle for West Zone and closed in on his century.

1100 - Kallis and Amla were playing sensibly. Pinal Shah was also batting sensibly with his broken finger. But Yusuf Pathan had gone mad. Maintaining a strike rate of over 100, he made the South bowlers feel helpless (not helped by the fact that their fielders had buttered their fingers instead of the toast on the breakfast table).

1200 - Lunch break scheduled to end in 10 more mins. West looking set for a win. India and South Africa even stevens though the momentum was certainly shifting towards the Proteas.

1300 - Yusuf looked set for a double hundred and a domestic match was turning out to be more interesting than a Test match between the two top nations in the world.

1400 - West Zone had completed a historic win (chasing 541 is a world record for the highest fourth innings successful run chase in first class cricket). Yusuf was 210*. Will this innings be the turning point of his career? Meanwhile, Kallis and Hashim Amla were continuing serenely, untroubled by the happenings around them.

1500 - Tea break came and went. Zaheer induced a couple of edges off Amla's bat with his reverse swing bowling. But luck was with the Proteas.

1600 - The truth is sinking in - Kallis and Amla have played faultless batting roles (Kallis - faultless; Amla - near faultless). Hats off to them, man! Even when they come against the team you support, you have no option but to appreciate strong performances such as these.

1635 - End of 1st day's play. For a change, India was ahead of the over rate and managed to get in 91 overs for the day (can they take credit of this the next time they are slow?). But the day belonged, without any doubt, to Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla... and of course, Yusuf Pathan.

A good Saturday, on the whole!