A NOT-SO-DRASTIC SUGGESTION FOR TEAM INDIA

As expected, a couple of losses have brought out the knives against Team India. The blame has been placed on batting, bowling, captaincy, lack of practice, disharmony in the team, and myriad other factors. Suggestions and advice have been pouring in from everywhere.

These suggestions involve simple things like dropping VVS Laxman for Rohit Sharma, to more radical ideas like R Ashwin opening the batting!

Since virtually everyone has jumped in on the bandwagon, I thought of joining in too. But my solution (or should I call it suggestion) to the Indian team is far less drastic.

I would like to see the Indian team go unchanged to Perth, with a small reshuffle in the batting order - Kohli at 5 and Laxman at 6. There are a number of reasons behind this line of thinking, and I'll state them thus:

A. Fours Bowlers vs. Five Bowlers

I don't see any reason to change the status quo unless we discover a new bowling all-rounder in the ranks. And while Ashwin's performances with the bat do show promise, it is far too early to call him an all-rounder already. The drubbing at SCG has made everyone cry hoarse about India's bowling resources, and it's been conveniently forgotten that at MCG, Sehwag had called this very same bowling unit the best that he had ever played with.

While I don't think it's the best ever of Sehwag's time, but I still do think that it is quite good. They took 20 Australian wickets at MCG, and if the WACA pitch offers assistance as is being claimed in the media, I think they are quite capable to picking 20 more there. They are well-rested now after having been in the field watching Australia score a mammoth score, and most importantly, there are no injury concerns (at the moment).

Zaheer Khan has been leading the attack well. Umesh Yadav has been inconsistent and a little wayward, but I think he can be relied upon to pitch the ball up. In the second innings at MCG, his lines were not that good, but he grabbed 4 wickets because of his length. Ishant Sharma is, in my opinion, the biggest concern because he finds it difficult to change his length, and at a venue like Perth, his natural short-of-a-length balls will seem a lot shorter than they do at other venues.

There are talks of dropping Ashwin and going for Ojha or a fourth seamer... but I don't think that is a very good idea. Maybe, Ojha for Ashwin is an option worth considering, but definitely not a fourth seamer! I don't think either Abhimanyu Mithun or Vinay Kumar will add a lot more value than R Ashwin in the team. As for Ojha, the main reason for considering him is that the Australian right-handers pose more of a threat than the left-handers. Zaheer Khan with the new ball is very potent against the left-handed top-3 of Australia. But with Michael Clarke hitting form and Ricky Ponting hitting a ton, a left-arm spinner might be of help more than an off-spinner.

B. Laxman At 6

Laxman's numbers at No. 5 are very similar to his numbers at No. 6. Averages of 49.00 at 5 and 50.18 at 6 show that he is quite comfortable at both these positions. However, from the team's perspective, I think it is beneficial to have him at 6 rather than 5.

There are a number of benefits of having him bat at 6. Firstly, it adds experience in the lower middle order of India's batting, which has been prone to collapsing even after being given a good platform by the top- and middle-order (read 1st innings at MCG). Secondly, it separates India's Big 3 - Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. When they are bunched together at 3, 4 and 5, one bowler bowling a fiery spell with good rhythm can get rid of all of them. With Laxman at 6, it offers a break between India's 3 best batsmen's batting positions and protects them from one inspired spell of fast bowling.

C. Kohli At 5

Virat Kohli is young - in terms of both age and experience in Test cricket! Currently, when he comes out to bat, he comes with the knowledge that there is just a struggling MS Dhoni and the tail to follow him. With him at 5, he will know that there is an experienced batsman in the form of VVS Laxman to follow, and will allow him to play in slightly lesser pressure. At No. 5, he will almost invariably bat with one of the Big-3, and if he survives that partnership, he will get a chance to bat with another member of the Big-3. These experiences can only help to calm him and grow as a cricketer.

D. Kohli vs. Sharma

All those people calling for Rohit Sharma to replace Virat Kohli need to realise that Rohit Sharma is not a saviour sent from heaven for Indian team's cause. In shorter versions of cricket, Sharma has flattered to deceive in the past, and that is why Kohli got his chances in the first place. Since Kohli capitalised, it is fair that he be given his chances in Test cricket too... even if they are chances to fail!

The most baffling point is that I don't see any reason why Rohit Sharma can come into this lineup and do something that other batsmen cannot do! Sanjay Manjrekar says that this step makes "long term sense"... but right now, the team's goal is a very short-term one - i.e. to arrest this slide in Australia and put India's away Test cricket on surer footing. The time for long-term measures will start after this tour, when India will play at home for a long time. For the present short-term goal, lets stick to short-term solutions and show faith in these players!

UMPIRING CANNOT BE THE EXCUSE

India's One Day team has put up another horrible performance in Dambulla. There are cries that I hear about poor umpiring. Granted, the umpiring was poor... but the only ones who lost out due to that kind of umpiring were Sehwag and Yuvraj.


Sehwag is in top form and will feel genuinely disappointed at being given out on a ball where most Elite Panel umpires would kept have fingers to themselves. Yuvraj, on the other hand, was getting some very valuable practice in match conditions in a lost cause... but considering that he has been in a very bad form and really needed that practice, he will feel wronged on being cut short by an Asad-Rauf-howler.


Well, as for Dinesh Karthik... the decision may have been wrong, but the umpire just reduced the suffering for Dinesh Karthik and the Indian fans. That guy has now had more than enough opportunities. How he manages to maintain his place as the first replacement to a top-order batsmen with just 20s and rare 30s is beyond my understanding (actually not, it's obviously the Cheeka factor)! And Suresh Raina just had to shrug off his piece of bad luck after having encountered good luck just a few moments before.


And there is no excuse for Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. Rohit Sharma frustrates an Indian fan like very few others can... he is so obviously full of unconverted talent! I now fully appreciate the angst of a Bangladesh cricketer over the case of Mohammed Ashraful. In fact, I have a feeling that even I can get Sharma's wicket on my bowling. The only thing I do well is bowl those gentle dibbly-dobbly off-cutters... but then, that is how Rohit Sharma gets out! I can keep bowling those in the knowledge that very soon Sharma will get his front leg across and I will catch him plumb in front!


And MS Dhoni... the skipper! I have always been of the opinion that he is a master of mediocre attacks and mediocre conditions. Once in a while he may come up with a truly astounding performance in a pressure situation... but those occasions are very rare now... and have happened more often for Chennai Super Kings than Team India in 2010. If Dhoni really wanted to play a captain's knock today, he'd play himself higher and not wait till 4 wickets are down to finally show his presence.


But I am still not worried about India's batting scene... because with the entry of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir, not only will a lot of stability be instilled in the team... but also the frustrating figures of Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik will vanish! And considering that the World Cup is in the sub-continent, Dhoni will not be very troubled either...

WHATEVER YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER!

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both competing for a berth in the middle order during India's World Cup campaign next year, are trying to outdo each other.

Kohli, sent at No. 3 after Dinesh Karthik's dismissal against Sri Lanka, worked hard for his 3-ball DUCK. Not to be outdone, Sharma showed his usual skills of rooting his legs on the crease once again, as he managed an even better 2-ball DUCK!

We have a tight competition on our hand! Way to go lads!

A COMMENDABLE WIN

© Associated Press

A series-leveling win for India against Sri Lanka means that India retains the No. 1 spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings. But the point worth noting is that Sri Lanka have now moved up to No. 3 on the table, pushing Australia down to No. 4 - the first time that I have seen them there.

VVS Laxman played a serene knock - a chanceless unbeaten hundred guiding India to a successful 4th innings chase of a tricky target away from home!

I mentioned in my previous post that the main men for India in the chase today would be SRT and VVS, and that the first hour of the day would be the most crucial one. These two men stitched up a 109-run partnership that laid the foundation for a Raina flourish at the end... but more importantly Laxman and in particular, Tendulkar negotiated the first hour in a cautious manner to ensure that Raina does not have to face a ball that had retained some hardness in it and that Dhoni did not have to face a ball at all!

The win is a commendable one indeed, given the bowling attack that we went into the match with. For just the second time in 10 years was India playing a Test without the services of either Anil Kumble or Harbhajan Singh (not that I rate Bhajji very highly these days)! The four frontline bowlers had a combined experience of 41 Tests before the match started... but they somehow managed to eek out 20 wickets with some good help from Sehwag.

But at the end of it all, I am left wondering about one thing! The entire world knows the importance of a Virender Sehwag start for this Indian batting lineup. A Viru failure puts immense pressure on this lineup... and his duck yesterday was no different. But the class of SRT and VVS had it in them to bat through that pressure and win the match for India. Once these men call it a day, I wonder if the future class of Yuvraj, Raina, Pujara, Sharma and Kohli will have it in them to soak this kind of pressure!

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!

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?

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!

EMPTY STANDS AND LOO

Yesterday's match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians
Actual Winner: Kings XI Punjab

Today's Match 1: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers

Today's Match 2: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
My Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore


MI has gotten into a losing streak (I know it's only two in a row now, but their next match is against RR at Jaipur - and RR has NEVER lost a match at Jaipur). Yesterday's result is not going to affect the table in any way, but KXIP has issued a warning to all their remaining opponents that they are going to try and upset a few parties.

The afternoon match today between DC and CSK will be played at Nagpur. Who the hell plays in the afternoon at Nagpur? Its 41 degree celcius and DRY out there. It is the most dry part of India and the 'hot winds' that blow in the afternoon over there (called 'Loo Winds') can really knock you out. All I can say is best luck to DC and CSK boys!

I hope Lalit Modi sees this match and realises that the attendance is 'very poor' at the neutral-Nagpur. It might be one of the best grounds in the country with great facilities, but it is very poorly located. It is far away from the city of Nagpur and takes a long time to reach there. Add to that the fact that it is hosting home matches for DC, who do not have a single big Indian star in their ranks. I mean, for God's sake, the Nagpur crowd is not going to come out in this kind of heat to watch a neutral game and support the likes of Rohit Sharma and RP Singh.

RCB and KKR will have much better and 'playable' conditions later in the evening at Bangalore. Both teams need wins for varying reasons - RCB to arrest their loss of momentum and KKR to take another step towards the semis. If KKR manage a win, RCB will truly need to worry about their semi-final spot. Kevin Pietersen must be wondering why his presence affects the RCB squad's performance so adversely!

TIME TO PROVE YOUR WORTH, ROHIT!

Yesterday's match between the teams led by the retired-Aussie captains was perhaps, by far, the best match of tournament thus far. It's ironic that it came in a 6th place v 7th place clash rather than a top-3 clash.

Both the teams yesterday, RR first and then DC, were dismissed in 19.5 overs. The fact that 20 wickets fell seems to suggest that the pitch must have been a good one for bowling as well. It is obvious that in a Twenty20 match, most wickets fall due to batsmen's errors rather than the bowlers' ability.

But yesterday, the bowlers enjoyed too. There was turn for Warne, the bouncers were used well by the quickies, and yet the average run rate for the match was almost 8 per over. The fact that the game went down to the wire - a victory margin of 2 runs - made it a perfect Twenty20 game for me.

A word on Rohit Sharma now. A lot has been written about the performance of the 40-year old SK Warne. Now, lets spare a thought for the 22-year old RG Sharma.

He played a fantastic innings yesterday - the lone fighting hand with wickets falling continuously at the other end. This boy was under pressure because voices everywhere felt that he did not deserve the chance to represent India in the World Twenty20 Championship coming up. He needed to make his bat prove a point.

He started a little rusty and there was a top-edge that was misjudged by mid-off running backwards. He was again lucky at the end when I was convinced that he was run out, and not Harmeet Singh, in the last over. Despite all this, he got a chance right at the end to see his team through to a win - 3 runs in 2 balls with 1 wicket to spare.

At this stage, a little more maturity or experience would have certainly helped. Rohit played one in the air and was promptly caught. When he had 2 balls, why did he want to finish it in 1? With the situation at 3 runs from 2 balls, I was convinced that he would go for a couple first. Nagpur has a big ground, and scoring 2s there is just as easy as scoring a single. There were plenty of gaps in the field. Infact, there were huge gaps on either side of the fielder who caught him at sweeper cover. If he could have gotten the equation down to 1 from 1, he could have gone for a aerial shot as the field would have been up.

I hope Rohit learns from this... because he has the ability and the talent to become a good finisher for Team India. And finishers finish with a win! He has two more 'home' matches with Deccan Chargers at Nagpur, his birth place. He will not find a better place to prove his worth and to prove that he deserves his ticket to the Caribbean islands.

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!