PLANNING OF A CHASE

India beat Australia earlier today by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare at Adelaide in the 4th ODI of the CB Triangular Series. While Gautam Gambhir was India's top contributor with a measured 92, it was Dhoni's knock of 44* (58) that was the talking point of the day.

India won the match due to a massive 112 meter six by Dhoni followed by a no-ball by Clint McKay due to a above-waist height full toss. Once it was over, a lot of people called it all well and good... but was it just as well and good when the chase was on? My Twitter timeline at the time of the chase said that most of the viewers were having trouble understanding why Dhoni was leaving it so late. And I was with them... indeed, why so late?

The biggest question raised after Dhoni hit that monstrous six was that if one can hit such shots, why not try it earlier to ease a bit of pressure, rather than risking it all at the end. And these kind of queries were not just raised in the minds of casual viewers, but also the men in the dressing room. The Man of the Match Gautam Gambhir had this to say: "We should have finished this game in the 48th over. We shouldn't have taken this game to the 50th over, that's my personal observation."

What is the best way to plan and pace a chase? When do you attack and when do you rely on quick running? Obviously, the answers differ in different conditions, but I think certain things remain common everywhere. In my opinion, if the best finisher of the team (MS Dhoni) is coming in to bat with 92 needed of 95 balls and batsmen like Suresh Raina (batting), Jadeja and Ashwin (to follow), and the team ends up needing 13 in the final over with two of these above batsmen still batting, then the chase has been miscalculated somewhere.

And in this innings of MS Dhoni, it is quite apparent where the miscalculation occurred. His innings break up is like this - 8 runs of first 24 balls, 25 of next 31 balls, and 11 runs of the last 3 balls. He came in when 92 were needed of 95 balls, and ended up playing 30 dot balls, i.e. 52% of the total deliveries he faced. To put it in perspective, Gambhir faced 52 dot balls in his 111-ball innings, i.e. 47% of the total deliveries faced by him, despite batting through the middle overs as well!

One might well argue that since Dhoni was not doing much to get the required run rate down, Raina and Jadeja had to go for the big hits, and lose their wickets in the process. Gambhir was right when he said that it's difficult in the middle, and different people plan their chases differently, but surely, when you end up with 7 runs of 19 balls in the Batting Powerplay and play a dot ball in almost every over where you also take a 2, you are not doing a lot of good, are you?

Dhoni is usually a fabulous planner and executor of chases - stiff ones, tricky ones, easy ones and straightforward ones. He, along with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, have made India a very competent chasing unit in limited overs cricket, and also made the World Cup runners-up captain Kumar Sangakkara remark that a team needs about 350 runs on the board to feel safe against this Indian team. But every now and again, there arises a question mark of Dhoni's strategies in such situations.

Like it arose today, it had also arisen during the first Twenty20 between India and Australia earlier on this tour. One of the earlier occasions that I can remember when a similar question had arisen in my mind was not a chase, but India setting a target for New Zealand on the tour of 2009 in the 2nd Twenty20 International, where he wasted the middle overs with 8* (18) before ending up with 28* (30). In that match too, it might be argued that Dhoni's slow approach forced Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja to play shots that shouldn't have ideally been required in those situations.

The man I have written this post about - MS Dhoni - had brilliantly executed the 161 required runs of 170 balls in the World Cup finals. The run rate required then at Wankhede Stadium was 5.68 runs per over, and here at Adelaide Oval was 5.81 runs per over. If he can do it so well there, why couldn't he do it as well here? Had this been a one-off case, I wouldn't have bothered writing this long a post, presuming it to be a mistake. But it is not a one-off case, and thus this has to be considered a strategy of some sort - and in my opinion, a miscalculated strategy!

SOMEONE HAS HIDDEN YUVI'S GIFT: PART 2

(contd...)

2. Each member in the team is chosen for a specific purpose... everyone's got a job profile. Yuvraj's numbers may be better than those of Ravindra Jadeja's for this period... but his role is different than that of Jadeja. His numbers are expected to be comparable with the likes of SRT or Viru... not Jadeja!

... and The Grumbler!

He is expected to be a middle order match winner, a handy left arm spinner and an athletic fielder. Since some of those skills are on decline, he needed a break to find a solution away from the pressure of an international match for India... away from the constant media glare!

3. Yuvi's attitude needs a bit of mending. I don't care as to what he gets on with off the field... but its his attitude on it that worries me! We have started witnessing uncharacteristic misfields because he was too slow to bend down. We have started witnessing fumbles because the eyes were not on the ball. The dives have disappeared... and when they do come out, they are ugly and ineffective. There is no desire to chase down a ball. The grumbling on the field has increased. He has been demoted from point to mid off... and despite the relatively simpler profile, the work was still not satisfactory.

All these, to me, are signs of a person who is not being able to enjoy the game... especially the grumbling and frowning. There may be a lack of motivation. And if that is the case, it needs to be rediscovered... and soon! Motivation will not be helped if he is forced to play more and more matches in a packed schedule. Maybe a break from cricket will help him rediscover the enthusiasm...

Yuvraj needs to quickly rediscover his past form... because if he does do that, and if Sachin and Viru keep fit and firing, India can be an unstoppable force on home pitches for the World Cup in 2011. Hope this break will help Yuvraj realise once again that it is a privelege to wear the India cap!

SOMEONE HAS HIDDEN YUVI'S GIFT: PART 1

Yuvraj Singh has been dropped. Most people, including the likes of former captain Sourav Ganguly, feel that he had it coming. The decision by the selectors to drop Yuvraj has widely been supported... something that our current crop of selectors have seen very little of!

The Match Winner...

So what was the need to drop Yuvraj? True, his performance has dropped... but his performances are still better than those of Ravindra Jadeja, who is still a part of the squad. Some fans just dislike Yuvraj for his clubbing and partying ways... and feel that he deserved to be dropped for that.

What rubbish! Had Ricky Ponting been dropped like this when he received a black eye at such a club more than 10 years ago, he may never have become the great batsman that he is today. Cricketers should be picked or dropped for their on field performances... not for their off field habits (unless they hamper the team spirit).

In fact, Straight Points got me thinking of the reasons why Yuvraj was dropped... or rather, deserved to be dropped. And in line to what I wrote as a comment on SP's blog, I have listed my reasons here as to why Yuvraj needed to be dropped.

1. All team selections are now being done keeping in view the upcoming 2011 World Cup. Everyone (including SP, I am sure) will agree that Yuvraj is an integral part of the 'scheme of things' for the World Cup. So who do we want to see at the World Cup? A completely-fit-rejuvenated, match-winner-like-in-the-old-times Yuvraj Singh or the averaging-24-in-2010, unfit-and-almost-fat Yuvraj Singh?

The answer is simple. We want the Yuvraj who could win matches on his own... and do it with ease. At the moment, Yuvraj is not even scoring runs with ease... forget about winning matches! He is gifted, no doubt... but someone seems to have hidden his gift in the recent past (since the Champions Trophy last year, to be precise)!

Dropping Yuvraj offers him a chance to work on his fitness, heal his injuries, get rid of that flab and come back stronger.

(contd...)

SELECTION REVIEW: PART 2

(contd...)

YUSUF PATHAN DROPPED:

Like Yuvraj, Yusuf too had it coming. Bowlers world over have the knowledge of shortcomings against the short ball. So much so that Yusuf Pathan could not even touch the two short balls bowled to him by Zimbabwean Christopher Mpofu in India's first ODI of the tri-series in Zimbabwe.

I have aleady mentioned and I reiterate it here that Yusuf needs to tour with India's A teams to places like England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He is not going to improve much even if he smashes 10 more match-winning double hundreds in finals of domestic tournaments.

In fact, now that Saurabh Tiwary has been called for the Asia Cup... there is a vacancy in India A's squad that is currently in England. That should be Yusuf Pathan now... if the selectors are wise enough!

SAURABH TIWARY GETS A CHANCE:

Saurabh Tiwary is unlikely to get a game in Sri Lanka... but the fact that he has been selected as a part of the Indian team should do his confidence a world of good.

He has been selected on the basis of his IPL performances... and that is why I feel that this selection is flawed. Selection on the basis of IPL performances is not a very wise strategy. We have already seen it backfire on Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav, and even Yusuf Pathan for that matter. I just hope that this young lad does not meet the same fate.

I followed Tiwary's season this IPL in detail since I am a Mumbai Indians supporter. He is not technically great... but has a lot of power. However, he does need a few overs to settle in. He is not a Kieron-Pollard-style-smash-it-on-arrival fellow... he needs time to get in before taking the aerial route. And that is why, my impression of him was that he could have a good future in India's ODI team. There are some players who are Test specialists and some who are Twenty20 specialists. Saurabh Tiwary, for me, comes under a different category called ODI specialists.

OTHER DECISIONS:

Ravindra Jadeja was retained in the squad. Not too wise in my opinion. I certainly do see a future for him as an Indian player. But the Shane Watson attack on him at Barbados seems to have robbed him of his confidence completely. He needs time to regain it before stepping back into the international scene.

Ashok Dinda has also been retained. Well, it would be unfair on the lad to drop him without giving a decent exposure. But did he deserve that India cap in the first place? I doubt it. The selectors have been playing musical chairs with India's seam bowling resources... and I don't blame them completely. They are not getting the results... but that does not mean that they can shove anyone and everyone (like Dinda and Yadav) into the international scenario.

SELECTION REVIEW: PART 1

Another meeting of the Selection Committee for the Asia Cup 2010 to be held in Sri Lanka from 15th June to 24th June. How is the team? Not ideal, but do we have a choice?

Here are some of the big decisions:

YUVRAJ SINGH DROPPED:

Well, he had it coming... Yuvraj's major problem was not that he was not getting the runs. He was bound to get them if he continued batting... he is too talented to be in a run drought for a long time.

The problem was his attitude. I am not even going to have a look at the off-the-field incidents that might have / might not have had an impact on this decision. Just the onfield incidents are enough.

First of all, his fitness is a huge issue. His waistline has grown... and the fact that it has shown no improvement in over two months now begs this question that does he really have the motivation and desire to work hard and earn a place in the Indian team?

Secondly, his fielding has gone bad... there is no other word for it. With the emergence of newer and fitter fielders, Yuvraj was bound to be moved away from his usual point position. But, wherever he fields, Yuvraj is expected to be agile and alert. Misfields because he failed to go down in time to pick up the ball, gross attempts at diving and unwillingness to chase a ball down does not seem to suit the requirements of Team India.

Thirdly, all this has taken a toll on his batting as well. His average has dropped... and he is not the dangerous batsman anymore who could once upon a time, change the game like no one else (apart from Sehwag, perhaps!)

SACHIN TENDULKAR RESTED:

This was not the decision of the selectors, in any case! The minute Sachin Tendulkar makes a decision... everyone in Indian cricket listens... right from the Board President to the groundsman working on the pitch. Who are the Selectors then?

But I have to add here that I am not happy with SRT's decision (for a change). Sure, he has earned enough respect and done enough for India to have the right to decide which tournaments does he want to play in and which ones does he not want to. But skipping the Asia Cup is not too wise a decision, in my opinion.

I know that India has a tight schedule ahead now. But skipping the season opener will not make the future schedule lighter. A wiser decision would have been participating in the Asia Cup now... and then skip maybe the ODI home series against New Zealand. Or some other additional tournament that the BCCI is bound to insert for more moolah...

Whatever the case, we have to live with this decision now. Though with the comebacks of Sehwag and Gambhir, I am not too worried.

(contd...)

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!

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...)

TEAM INDIA TAKES A BEATING

What is the progress made by Indian cricket in the last 12 months?

o India has climbed to the No. 1 spot in ICC Test Rankings
o India is placed at No. 2 spot in ICC ODI Rankings
o India defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in Tests at home, drew 1-1 with South Africa
o Sachin Tendulkar became the 1st man to score an ODI 200
o MS Dhoni became the first Indian captain to lift the IPL
o Gautam Gambhir equalled Sir Viv Richards' reccord of a 50+ score in 11 consecutive Tests and also scored 100s in 4 consecutive Tests
o Sachin Tendulkar has also managed a 100 in each of his last 4 Tests

Yet, the youngsters in the squad still cannot play short and pacy bowling. And our team, the captain included, do not seem to learn from their mistakes at all. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been witnessing a repeat of England 2009 at West Indies 2010.

MS Dhoni won the toss, and committed the same error again of inserting the opposition into bat. But even before that error, he had already made another one - an erroneous team selection. For the second game in a row, he went with a part-time spinner laden attack of a pacy and bouncy Kensington Oval wicket. When you have a decent backup seamer in the form of R Vinay Kumar in your ranks, you pick him... even if he is a new to this level. I'd have thought that Dhoni must have learnt his lessons from the defeat at the hands of Australia... but no, the learning is just not happenning. May be if Shashank Manohar had talked to Dhoni yesterday and said that he was confident that the team would qualify, then Dhoni would have hit a couple of sixes out of Barbados in the end and helped India into the semi-finals. Shashank Manohar needs to learn a few lessons on motivation from N Srinivasan, the owner of Chennai Super Kings.

I will also never be able to understand why he gave Harbhajan 3 overs in the Powerplay. The pitch was never a turner... and he wasted some tidy overs that were needed in the middle right at the start. He had already tried this strategy a couple of days back... and it had failed (pretty miserably at that!). So why try it again?

Apart from all the strategies, I still don't get it why Dhoni wanted to take the 2nd run and risk getting run out, which is exactly what happenned. Did he think that Harbhajan would be better against 5 more Kemar Roach deliveries? May be, he was right! Roach was so scared of Bhajji that he kept on spraying wides.

Gambhir needs to sort out his approach towards short pitched bowling in limited overs cricket. In Tests, he does not need to attack every short ball, and thus he can survive there. In ODIs and T20s, it is a different matter altogether. As for Suresh Raina, if he is not comfortable with the pull shot, he needs to find out alternative ways of scoring off short ones. Maybe, make-some-room-and-slap-over-point is an option that can be used. A session with Sourav Ganguly should help as well. The solution for Yuvraj's problem is simple: lose some weight.

Yusuf Pathan needs to realise that is he wants to become a good finisher for Team India, he needs to be adept at playing fast bowling... because its pacers who usually finish an innings for a bowling side. Bullying the medium pacers on the domestic circuit will not help in international cricket.

Ravindra Jadeja: what should I say? I like the lad... but he did not seem to learn from his mistakes in the previous match and continued bowling fast half trackers here as well. When Sammy hit him for a 4, I was relieved to see a 4 being hit off him. Otherwise, he just gives 6-hitting balls. The Watson 6s knocked the confidence out of him... and the Warner 6s ensured that he'll not be able to regain that confidence in quick time. So a rest for him in this game, and an opportunity for R Vinay Kumar seemed the ideal choice for me. Strangely though, Dhoni had some other ideas.

Though Zaheer is not playing well, I am not worried about him. He will need some time to get back into a good rhythm... a Test series could help him out here. Ashish Nehra has performed satisfactorily. Harbhajan has not taken wickets, but he has bowled extremely well... never letting the opposition relax. And as for Rohit Sharma, despite his 79* against Australia, I have had enough of him. I liked him in Australia 2008, but his perform-for-Deccan-Chargers-and-fail-in-Indian-colours scenario has frustrated me and many others enough now.

I am also tired of Dhoni's irrelevant comments to the media. Before the match, at the press conference, when asked whether he was expecting a barrage of short-pitched stuff, he said that all the Indian teams have been facing this kind of bowling for the last 10-15-20 years... yet some of the best batsmen in the world have been Indians. He conveniently forgot that none of those 'best batsmen in the world' are a part of his team, and that he was asked a question about his team and not the past Indian teams.

I know a small opportunity still exists. But if Sri Lanka win against Australia now, even that window of opportunity will be shut. And given that Australia are currently 4 down for 45 in 7.2 overs (with Michael Clarke at crease, I might add), the chances look bleak. God help Team India!

BOARDING PASS TO THE CARIBBEAN

Here is the Indian squad for the World Twenty20 Championship: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma.

I'll again do the analysis that I had done when the list of 30 probables had been announced.

Pure Batsman (1): Gautam Gambhir

Batsmen who can bowl (5): Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma

Wicketkeepers (2): MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik

Bowlers who can bat (5): Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, R Vinay Kumar

Pure Bowlers (2): Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra

As can be seen from the list above, a lot of emphasis has been laid on players who have the ability with both the bat and the ball. Therefore, it should not be surprising that Piyush Chawla has edged out Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha to grab the second spinner's slot in the team.

But in the first eleven, the second spinner's slot will go to Ravindra Jadeja, and rightly so. He faced a lot of flak in the previous edition of this Championship in England when he was sent higher up in the order to bat and could not get the runs at a fair clip. It was not his fault. It was a bad piece of captaincy, because Jadeja is a bowler who bats - he is not a genuine all-rounder.

The surprise omission was Virat Kohli, who has shown good form in the international cricket over the past few months. It is good to see that Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra have been selected - it indicates that they are well on course for a recovery. And their quick recovery is absolutely necessary if India is to have a decent chance at the tournament.

There is a good chance that in the next 30 days (during the IPL), someone listed above might get injured (or injured again, as the case may be). So, I was thinking about the replacements. Here is my list of replacements:

Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey
Wicketkeeper: Naman Ojha
Spinners: Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha
Seamers: S Sreesanth, RP Singh (no Ishant Sharma for me)

Well, I do hope that there will be no need to seek any replacements. IPL has already seen the injury list swell and I do not want to see it affect the national team. Any national team, actually.

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).

PATHAN'S PUZZLE

The Indian selectors recently announced the probables list of 30 for the World T20 Championship in West Indies in May 2010. Here is the list:

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, S Sreesanth, Sudeep Tyagi, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Abhimanyu Mithun, Manish Pandey, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, M Vijay, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin.

Here is a small analysis:

Pure Batsmen (3): Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey, M Vijay.

Batsmen who can bowl a bit (7): Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Virat Kohli.

Keeper Batsmen (4): Dinesh Karthik, M S Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha.

Bowlers who can bat a bit (7): Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra.

Pure Bowlers (9): S Sreesanth, Sudeep Tyagi, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, R Ashwin.

I have a feeling that many of you might disagree with my classification of Ravindra Jadeja (or maybe even Abhishek Nayar), and I will be delighted to hear your views. You can always leave your comments, but as far as I am concerned, Jadeja is a very good bowler who can bat a bit, certainly not T20 style.

An interesting omission was Irfan Pathan (My Classification: Batsman who can bowl a bit), who is supposed to be injured. If he is being excluded from the list of probables of World Twenty20 Championship, which is to start from April 30, does this mean he will be unavailable for Kings XI Punjab's IPL campaign? That would be a huge blow for Preity Zinta owned franchisee as they are unsure about the participation of Brett Lee as well.

But if Pathan Jr. does play the IPL, would it be safe to assume that the injury claim was just a gimmick played by the selectors to tell Irfan that he is no longer considered amongst the top 30 players in India by them?

Though I am not a great fan of Irfan Pathan, I don't think that he should be considered below the likes of Vinay Kumar or Abhishek Nayar. For that matter, he could have been included even in place of Naman Ojha (why do we need 4 keepers in the list?) or R Ashwin (9 bowlers are far too many).

Well, lets see what the selectors come up with as their final 15 to tour the Caribbean islands! I am sure that atleast a couple of the above mentioned guys will get injured during the IPL and a few outside the list will impress. Tha ball is in the court of the Indian Selection Committee.

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?"