PUTTING THIS TWENTY20 WIN IN PERSPECTIVE

India's win over Australia at the MCG in the second Twenty20 International was the first away win in an international match for India since 23rd June 2011, which was the 4th day of the First Test on the tour of West Indies. That is a gap of a whopping 225 days!

Since the turn of the millennium, this was just the 4th occasion when India has had to wait for more than 200 days for an away (including neutral matches) win. The earlier three occasions were:

• From 13th November 2000 (Test win over Bangladesh at Dhaka) to 10th June 2001 (Test win over Zimbabwe at Harare) - 209 days.
• From 16th April 2003 (ODI win over Bangladesh at Dhaka) to 16th December 2003 (Test win over Australia at Adelaide) - 244 days.
• From 27th December 2004 (ODI win over Bangladesh at Dhaka) to 30th July 2005 (ODI win over West Indies at Dambulla) - 216 days.

But while these numbers of over 200 days may look very large at first, none of those droughts were half as bad as the recently-ended one! In the 209-day gap of 2000-01, there was no away match played by India. That gap was a result of scheduling, not performances! In the 244-day gap of 2003, India played just 2 neutral ODIs against South Africa at Bangladesh (1 lost and 1 no result) and 1 Test against Australia (draw) at Brisbane. And in the 216-day gap of 2004-05, India played and lost just one ODI against Sri Lanka at Dambulla.

However, in this recently-ended drought of 225 days, India played 10 Tests (losing 8, drawing 2), 2 Twenty20 Internationals (lost both), and 5 ODIs (3 lost, 1 tied and 1 no result). That is a run of 17 win-less away internationals!

The most staggering fact is this - after the first ever away win against New Zealand at Dunedin Test of February 1968, India has never had a win-less streak of away international matches as big as this 17-match one! India played 43 away Test matches from June 1932 to January 1968 without a win, which remains India's longest win-less streak in away international matches, but since then, the largest one was the one that ended a few hours ago!

(P.S.: And since we are talking numbers, this is the 400th post on CRIC - SIS.)

FIVE WISHES FOR 2012

Would love to see them batting together once again!

There are a lot of things I would love to see happening in 2012... but I have picked out over here, five of them that I dearly wish for:

1. Get That 100 And Then Many More

I hope it happens in a few days time now at Sydney. He's got three there already, and with a Test average of more than 200 at SCG, there's every chance that the 100th ton for Sachin Tendulkar finally arrives there. I wish to see that 100th ton out of the way, and then many more runs and tons from the Little Master in 2012. India will be playing Test cricket against Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England over the next 12 months... so lets have another special year (like 2010) in 2012 from Sachin Tendulkar!

2. Cheteshwar Pujara Gets Back In

His last appearance in the Indian squad was a year ago... in the Third Test during India's Tour of South Africa. An injury in the IPL caused Cheteshwar Pujara to miss virtually the entire remaining 2011. He made a comeback for Saurashtra mid-way through the Ranji season, but could not get back his form that saw him force his way into the Indian team. With Saurashtra not making it to the quarterfinals (they came very close), and his spot uncertain in the West Zone team, it could be a difficult path for Pujara now. Taking into consideration that Virat Kohli has been given his chance at No. 6 for India in Tests with Rohit Sharma right behind him, Pujara will have to work extremely hard and pray for a little bit of luck along the way. I too will be praying for him... and hope to see him reclaim his spot in India's Test squad very soon!

3. Afghanistan Qualify For The World Twenty20 Championships

The Qualifying Tournament for participation in the World Twenty20 Championships 2012 will be held in United Arab Emirates from 13th to 24th March 2012. A total of 16 teams will fight for the meagre 2 spots open for them in the main event. Realistically, the teams that have a good chance to make it through are Ireland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Canada, Kenya and Scotland. I would love to see Afghanistan make it through once again, and participate in their second major global tournament after the 2010 edition of the same. Having followed Afghan cricket closely for the past one year, I find the prospect of Afghanistan in top-flight cricket a very realistic and exciting one!

4. An Exciting U-19 World Cup

The Australian state of Queensland will be hosting the U-19 Cricket World Cup in August 2012. I love watching the U-19 World Cup tournaments for they show up a lot of unknown exciting talent... and not always from the regular cricketing nations. The highest wicket taker in the 2010 edition of the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand was a fast bowler from Papua New Guinea! India is place in arguably the easiest group - Group C - alongside the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea. I would love to see the Indian juniors perform well and for a lot of young, new and exciting talent to emerge from this tournament.

5. India Gets A Small Measure Of Revenge In November - December

India will be hosting England for 4 Tests at the end of the year in November and December. There is nothing Indian fans would like to see better than a reverse whitewash after the humiliation faced over the English summer of 2011. But one's got to be realistic here... the English cricket team in Test cricket is a fantastic one, and though they are not the most comfortable playing in sub-continental conditions, they can still be a handful. A good pace attack can work in any condition on earth, and the South Africans have shown that admirably in India - twice! But I would love to see India gain some big wins over England during the winter season, and show them why this land came to be known as the Final Frontier!

THE OTHER LAXMAN WAS NEEDED

Spoilt an already-bad MCG record!

The match fluctuated through the first 3 days, but not by much. At no point in time during those 3 days of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the MCG could you say that a particular team has a clear, definite and big advantage.

On the 4th day though, only one team turned up and walked away with the match. While the match was very evenly balanced at the start of Day 4, and remained so when Michael Hussey fell in the morning, it started shifting in Australia's favour with the last wicket partnership of Pattinson and Hilfenhaus. And while Australia kept on making inroads when they came on to bowl, they sealed the deal when Pattinson had Laxman caught attempting his favourite wristy flick.

That wicket meant that two of India's Big Three were back in the pavilion. But more importantly, it sealed the deal for Australia in my mind because the wrong Laxman had turned up there and departed.

After Day 3 ended, my mind told me that Laxman would be India's key player during the chase. The thing to be seen on Day 4 would be which Laxman turns up - the one who averages 14.25 (after this match) at the MCG in his 4 Boxing Day Tests there or the one who averages 107.00 in 10 fourth innings chases between the 2007-08 and 2011-12 tours of Australia. Out of those 10 innings, 4 had resulted in Indian wins, 4 matches had been drawn and 2 were lost.

Sadly for India, the former Laxman turned up just when we needed the latter one after 3 early wickets. Well at least at the SCG, lets hope that this Laxman and this Tendulkar turn up... and most importantly, the bowlers can continue to bowl as many overs as they bowled at the MCG and help India level the series!

QUARTER FINALS PROBABILITIES - INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Pakistan bowled exceptionally well to lay the foundation of their win over Australia at Colombo, ending Australia 34-match winning streak in World Cup matches. For the second match in a row, Australia (and Ricky Ponting) was confronted with the fact that their bowling attack can come undone quite easily when put under pressure. Brett Lee performed like a big-hearted champion that he is, but that's it... can't say anything more about the Australian bowling attack! It might have a brilliant day, or a disastrous day! Three consecutive brilliant days look difficult to me from hereon.

With this win, Pakistan top Group A. The standings of the Quarter finalists from Group A are:

1. Pakistan - 10 points

2. Sri Lanka - 9 points

3. Australia - 9 points

4. New Zealand - 8 points

Since we know South Africa is the Group B topper, one Quarterfinal has been fixed - South Africa v. New Zealand at Mirpur, Dhaka on either 23rd March or 25th March. I suspect it will be the 23rd March for them.

From an Indian perspective, a win against the West Indies will see them in the 2nd place, a loss will see them in the 3rd place and a heavy loss will see them in the 4th place (example - if West Indies bat first, score 250, and bowl India out for 92, India will have NRR lower than that of England and will be placed 4th).

So from an Indian point of view, it is possible that we might play any one of Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Quarter Finals, though Australia is the most likely one and Pakistan is the most unlikely one. Lets look at each of the possible fixtures in detail:

(Note: We all know India's weaknesses very well, so I won't glean over them again as I look at the possible Quarter Finals fixtures below. I will concentrate of the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents.)

INDIA v. AUSTRALIA

If India win against West Indies (which we should), India will meet Australia in the 2nd quarter-final at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Stadium. It will be a tricky clash. Australia is a very strong team, but with their own set of weaknesses. Their pace bowling attack, on which they heavily rely, is quite combustible. With their pace, they will almost certainly target Sehwag and Gambhir with short stuff, but the former needs just a little bit of waywardness in line (very possible due to the presence of Tait and Johnson) while the latter will need just a little bit of patience to counter them.

Apart from the 30 overs of pace, Australia's bowling attack is not a lot to talk about. Watson is handy, but can be milked. Krejza can be attacking, but I would place my money on the Indian batsmen attacking him more and pulling it off well. Smith will also be facing genuinely good players of spin bowling for the first time.

In their batting, Watson is certain to get them off to a good start, but just as certain to not capitalise on that start. Haddin has been inconsistent and Ponting consistent in his failures. He will also have to face Harbhajan Singh, whose bowling becomes interesting every time the batsman facing him has a last name 'Ponting'. Clarke has been in decent form and plays spin well, while Michael Hussey is their best batsman of spin bowling. White is desperately out of form, and if David Hussey plays in his place, it will be his first bat in almost a month.

Australia played a match at Ahmedabad against Zimbabwe, where they scratched their way to a win and a damaged TV set. All in all, they are definitely beatable, but yet I am wary of them, simply because of the fight that they have in them. Not for nothing are they the top-ranked team in ODIs in the world even today!

But when I think of it differently, had Australia won today against Pakistan, India would have met them in the semi-finals at Mohali. I'd much rather have an India v. Australia game at Ahmedabad than Mohali, for Mohali is more likely to support their pace, despite the pitch there having slowed down over the years.

INDIA v. SRI LANKA

If India lose to West Indies (not too badly), then we will play Sri Lanka in the Quarter Finals. Sri Lanka is a very strong team when they play at home... but don't have a record to talk about when they play India in India. Despite the similarity in conditions, Sri Lanka somehow manages to create a fortress at home and look at sea in India.

A lot of people with whom I have conversed personally or on Twitter reckon that Sri Lanka will be a tough opposition, and India would be better off facing Australia. I don't know why... I still think Sri Lanka will not be much trouble.

Their batting is based around Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene. The rest of it looks quite brittle. Their bowling trump card against India would be Malinga. I know Muralitharan is a legend, but Indian batsmen have the ability to face him out, milking him for a few. Where need arises, batsmen like Sehwag and Gambhir can attack him quite well. Having said all this, I also think that our openers will need to be careful against Kulasekara's first spell, especially if we bat under lights. He can nip the ball in to the pads, and Sehwag is prone to losing balance by playing across the line and get LBW.

India has beaten Sri Lanka a number of times in the recent past at home even with our several first choice players (mainly Sachin Tendulkar) absent. Now with Tendulkar in such a rich vein of form, I doubt we'll have a lot of trouble against them. The team should not be complacent facing them, but they will certainly be high on confidence if they have to face Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad.

INDIA v. PAKISTAN

The mother of all clashes! Indo-Pak World Cup clashes are stuff of folklore! Expect nothing different if this clash does happen!

If India lose heavily to West Indies, so much so that our NRR dips below England's, then we play Pakistan in the Quarter Finals. Honestly, in my opinion, this should be India's best Quarter Final fixture if it happens. I'll tell you the reasons why I'll be very comfortable with the prospect of India facing Pakistan in QFs -

A. India will be coming off a heavy defeat, and will be more motivated to turn the tide.

B. Pakistan will be coming off a very impressive win over Australia, and will be prone to complacency. We all know that they are a highly inconsistent team, and after a great performance against Australia, a shoddy one is round the corner.

C. Pakistan will play with the additional pressure of 4-0... the history books say that in the 4 Indo-Pak World Cup matches, India has won all 4!

D. While Umar Gul with the new ball will be a difficult prospect, Pakistan's bowling gameplan in this World Cup has relied heavily on Afridi's performance. Against India, it will be difficult for Afridi to perform, given how every batsman in India loves facing a spinner (not so much for Yuvraj Singh, but even he would prefer a leg spinner to an off spinner).

E. If this fixture does result, it may well be all about who handles the pressure better. India has a lot more experience in their ranks, and men who will not be flustered by the opposition.

However, since this clash is extremely unlikely to happen, I won't write anything more about it.

THE LAST WORD

Even though I feel Australia will be the trickiest opposition for the QFs, I still feel that India should go all out against the West Indies tomorrow and play for a win rather than a strategic loss. India needs to get some confidence in their system after the close loss to South Africa, and also need to find the right winning combination. However, even if we manage only a scratchy performance against the West Indies, I won't be too disappointed... I will just hope that all the scratchiness is out of the system and come the Quarter Finals, India will be ready to show a different side of the team!

PEARLS FROM RAVI SHASTRI'S COMMENTARY

Ravi Shastri is the last name I would put in a list of commentators I would love to listen to in every match. And after today's India v. Ireland match at Bangalore, he's gone completely off that list!

As if punishing the listeners with the most boring cliques was not enough, today Ravi Shastri went a step ahead and completely massacred up a piece of trivia information that he was giving on air. It's not the first time that he's given his listeners a wrong piece of trivia... it does happen quite often... but what made me swear at him today was that he completely killed a piece of trivia he was giving about a cricket match, in which he himself was involved, all the while when their stats man Mohandas Menon was right there to give him the correct piece of information!

When Yuvraj Singh reached 40* today, Ravi Shastri was on air giving out the information that Yuvraj has become just the 2nd player in a World Cup match to score 40 runs and take 5 wickets. For good measure, he added that Kapil Dev was the first one to have done it in 1983 against Australia at Trent Bridge (5 for 43 and 40 off 27 balls). Fine up until now!

Here's what he said after that (I wrote it down on a scrap of paper immediately for the fear that I might misquote him later): "(that performance) set India up for the semi-finals at Old Trafford" and "sent Australia out of the competition".

Now here's the truth. As mightily impressive as that performance was from our captain Kapil Dev, it did nothing to "set India up for the semi-finals", because as it happens, India went on to lose that match by a huge margin of 162 runs. What did set India up for the semi-finals was India's win (courtesy Kapil Dev) over Zimbabwe later on, and more importantly, India's win against Australia in the reverse fixture at Chelmsford. Had India lost that match to the Aussies, the two teams would have been level on point, and the Australians would have had a better Net Run Rate giving them the semi-final berth.

Since we lost that match where Kapil's all-round performance was recorded, it was impossible for us to "send Australia out of the competition" then. We played 3 more Group matches after this loss before playing in the semi-finals. I don't quite understand how he could forget such a magnificent all-round performance wasted on a loss!

What baffled me even more was that Ravi Shastri was a part of that loss against Australia and was not a part of the win that came later against Australia. So it beats me how he could muddle it all up!

Here was I, sitting in my living room, raising my eyebrows immediately to his mighty assertions, when I was not even born in 1983! And the man who was a part of our squad back then was completely botching up the facts of our glorious 1983 campaign!

THE PACKAGE OF RICKY PONTING

An innings and 157 runs... that's a crushing margin! And it sounds worse when it is the margin of victory for a visiting team in an Ashes Test match!

England have retained the Ashes and will look to win this series against Australia when they travel to Sydney for the New Year Test. With this loss, we know for sure that there might be massive changes to the Australian set up post Sydney Test... maybe even before it. Ricky Ponting is almost certainly playing his last Test series as an Australian captain.

When Ponting took over the full time Australian captaincy from Steve Waugh after the Sydney Test of 2004 against India, he must have hoped that he too would one day get the sort of farewell that was given to his former captain. Ponting may still take a lap of honour on someone's shoulders after his final Test... but when he does bid adieu, it will be as a member of an Australian side that are no longer the world beaters and champions that Steve Waugh had led till his final Test.

I have always looked at Ponting with two different views... one is the batsman and the other is the captain.

As a batsman, Ricky Ponting is par excellence. He is one of the best in the era he played in... and at the time of his peak, he was probably the best in the world at that time. He's played at that crucial No. 3 position... and done complete justice to it. Yes, there are criticisms and weaknesses. The weakness at the start of his innings when he is fidgety and tends to feel for the ball outside his off stump by planting his front foot forward, the weakness against quality spin bowling, the recently discovered weakness against the short-pitches bowling... but then, they all have their weaknesses.

The criticisms have also been there... that he cannot adapt his game to suit the declining standards of the rest of his team, that he is very rigid and does not want to change his game, that he was a great batsman only when he had other great cricketers in the team with him...

As a captain, Ricky Ponting, in my opinion, has been overrated a lot of times. The outstanding statistics that he possesses as the captain of Australia would have been possessed by any other captain had he gotten the two resources called Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath for the majority of his captaincy career... not to forget the great compliments called Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist.

He has not been inspirational enough to turn an ordinary side into a strong and forceful unit. Yes, the team under him has always fought tooth and nail... but fighting is just a part of the story... delivering the results is what matters more. Ponting is on the verge of becoming just the second Australian skipper to lose three Ashes series, first to lose one at home in almost two and a half decades... he does not have a series win as a captain in England and he does not have a single Test win as a captain in India. One may say that he almost managed one at Mohali earlier this year, but even if he had, 1 Test win in India as a captain of the Australian side in 7 attempts would not have been too flattering either.

I, for one, have criticised him at every available opportunity... and I guess, I will always have some criticisms about him. But right now, I am not going to dwell further on those.

It is sad to see Ponting in the state he is in currently. The team under him is not good enough to challenge a strong side... even at home. His batting is going nowhere under the pressures of leading a mediocre side. For a man who is so used to winning (he has played 99 Tests in which his side has won... that's one world record that will be hard to break!), it is a sorry figure that he cuts out in the field these days.

Yes, that sadness disappears and contempt returns when I see Ponting arguing with the umpire over a decision that is not going to be overturned no matter what he says. The old feeling of frustration returns when I read his 'apology' over the incident where he still maintains that he was right in thinking the batsman was out. That feeling of pity erodes when I still see that cockiness in him on the field as if he is still the leader of a champion side that can win from any situation.

But it is short lived... because now even I am coming to the realisation that Ricky Ponting, like all the other players, comes as a package. The great batting, the outstanding fielding, that cocky attitude, that appetite for a fight, those hollow words when he talks about the 'spirit of cricket'... all that and more.

He is coming to the end of his career, and whenever I may think back about him, I will have confused feelings. He has never been amongst my favourite cricketers... but I still don't want to see him go out of the game when he is down. He has been a champion player, and champions shouldn't go out this way!

RANDOM FACTS AT THE END OF DAY 3

1. This was Sachin Tendulkar's 8th dismissal in the nineties in Test cricket... taking him to the 4th position alongside Kallicharran (WI) and Inzamam (Pak) in the all time list of most dismissals in the 90s behind Dravid (10), Steve Waugh (10) and Michael Slater (9).

2. Tendulkar also has 17 dismissals in his 90s in ODI cricket and 1 other occasion when he remained not out in his 90s. In One Day Cricket, this 18 occasions of being stranded in the 90s is a comfortable World Record... way ahead of 2nd-placed Grant Flower (Zim), Aravinda De Silva (SL) and Nathan Astle (NZ) at 9. Amusingly, Sachin would have had 52 tons in Tests and 55 in ODIs had he converted even half of his forays to the nineties into 100s!

3. On Day 2, Virendra Sehwag scored a fifty... and as a result, he has now managed a 50+ score in each of his last 11 Tests... a world record he jointly holds now with Sir Viv Richards (WI) and Gautam Gambhir (Ind). Gambhir had a chance to break Viv's record against South Africa at Nagpur earlier this year, but he failed. Will Viru go one better at Bangalore against the Aussies?

4. Sachin Tendulkar is not behind the above trio... he's now scored a 50+ score in each of his last 9 Tests. In fact, Sachin has scored a 50+ score in 17 of his last 19 Tests (starting from the match in which he surpassed Brian Lara... at the same ground and against the same opposition as he is playing now). What a phenomenal time he is having!

5. On Day 2, Zaheer Khan's 5-wicket haul was the 100th instance of a 5-for being recorded in an India-Australia Test match. Mitchell Johnson's 5-64 becomes 101st.

6. Mitchell Johnson is now the 8th highest wicket taker for Australia against India in Tests (34 wickets). Amongst the top 10 for Australia against India, Johnson has the 2nd worst average (32.79) after Shane Warne (43 @ 47.18)!

7. This is the 2nd time in 3 Tests that Marcus North has gotten a batsman out in his 90s. He got Salman Butt (Pak) stumped on 92 at Lord's before getting Sachin Tendulkar lbw today on 98.

A CHANGE... TEST RUNS IN 2010

I posted the list of top run scorers in Test cricket in 2010 two days back. There has been a change in the order now. Right at the top... and guess who is it now!?

UDRS: A HALF-COOKED MEAL

Sachin Tendulkar: c. P Jayawardene b. L Malinga 41 (72)

This is what happened in the very first over of the day when Sachin chased a wide one from Malinga and nicking it to the jubilant young keeper as the Lankans gathered to celebrate Malinga's 100th Test wicket... a special one as it was of the Indian maestro!

But something perplexed me in the replays that followed. The 'Snicko' did not detect a nick as the ball went past the bat. But everyone could detect the nick in Sachin's expression immediately after the shot and the confidence of the Lankan appeal. Usually when SRT feels that he has been given a harsh decision (it has happened many a time so we know that reaction well!), he just shakes his head before making the walk. Today there wasn't any shake of the head... there was just a grimace, showing the disappointment of having nicked a ball that did not deserve the wicket of the highest run-scorer in Test cricket!

So we know one thing for sure: SRT did nick that ball! Then the question to be asked is: WHY DID THAT NICK DID NOT REGISTER ON THE SNICKO? The stump microphones are turned up to their full volume reception when a bowler is delivering the ball. If SRT's nick was so obvious to the keeper, bowler and the umpire, then surely it must have created a sound. The fact that it went undetected forces me to conclude that Snicko is an imprecise technology.

Given that the Hawk Eye team admits that they have a certain small percentage of imperfection in their predictive techniques, we now have two pieces of technology that can be easily qualified as 'imperfect'. And guess what, ICC plans to form its Umpires' Decision Review System in the base of these two technologies in its showpiece event next year... the World Cup!

The news is out that the Hot Spot cameras are too expensive to purchase... what rubbish! This is Cricket World Cup... one that happens once in 4 years... and one that is happening in India after 15 year! If this cannot generate money, then I don't know what can! But in any case, moving on... with the Hot Spot technology unavailable atleast till the Quarter Finals stage of the event, the UDRS will be restricted to Super Slow-Motion Replay Cameras, Snickometers and Hawk Eye Technology. The first one usually proves nothing conclusively... and the other two have already demonstrated their imperfections!

In such a case, I would rather suggest the ICC to not use the UDRS at all till the Quarter Final stage of the event. A bad decision from the UDRS leaves a much worse taste than a bad decision coming from a human umpire. Umpires can later walk up to players and apologies... UDRS cannot do that! A half-cooked meal is bound to cause a nasty stomach ache!

TEST RUNS IN 2010

Here's a list of the highest run scorers in Test cricket in the year 2010. Check who's heading the list...

INDIA'S FIRST TEST JINX AND DHONI ON THE BACKFOOT

Oh well! It wasn't unexpected at all! This tour of Sri Lanka is the 15th 'away' Test series that India has started, against a Test opponent other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, from 1st January 2000. And this was their 7th loss in the opening Test of such a series.


I thought that being the No. 1 team now would have meant a little bit of change... but then some thing don't change at all. So as Sri Lanka celebrate the great achievement by their favourite son Muttiah Muralitharan to notch up 800 Test wickets... India need to sit back and introspect.


India's record in 2nd Tests on tours where they have lost the 1st one is a little difficult to analyse... out of the 6 previous occasions where India has lost the 1st Test of a tour in 2000s, India has bounced back to a win 2 times, slumped to another defeat 2 times, and managed a draw 2 times. So, it currently stands at 2-2-2.


Whatever the past record says, I will be surprised if India don't fight back with a much better performance in the 2nd Test at Colombo. In particular, I am sure that the batting unit will perform admirable once again. But will India manage to win the Test? That question remains unanswered in my mind.


India's bowling is weak. And Dhoni's captaincy was uninspiring today. Dhoni is fast going the Ponting way. He is a bat-first bully as a captain. In conditions where it is not favourable to bat second and he is forced to do so after losing the toss, he is being found wanted. And the problems have been compounded by the fact that he has now lost his last 5 tosses as a Test captain for India (and batted second in all of them).


Here's an analysis of Tests in which Dhoni has lost the toss and was made to bat second by his opposing captain:


v. South Africa, Kanpur 2008 - India won by 8 wickets - This win came due to the fact that South Africa was rubbish at playing spin on a crumbling pitch. Paul Harris managed to pick 4 wickets in that Test - that should tell the story! I don't think that Dhoni was spectacular in his part-time role as a captain (he was filling in for Anil Kumble then).


v. England, Chennai 2008 - India won by 6 wickets - Dhoni's 4th Test as captain and he was definitely found wanting when the opposition batting unit clicked. Andrew Strauss hit a hundred in each innings, as India crumbled to hand over a 75-run 1st innings advantage. In the second innings, Dhoni couldn't separate the pair of Strauss and Collingwood for a long time. In the end, India managed to win only because of Sehwag's belligerence on the 4th day and Tendulkar's composure on the 5th. Otherwise, this might well have been Dhoni's first loss as a captain.


v. Sri Lanka, Mumbai (BS) 2009 - India won by an innings and 144 runs - When Sri Lanka was batting in the 1st innings, the signs were not good for India. Dilshan and Mathews batted brilliantly and Dhoni was always one step behind the game as Sri Lanka notched up almost 400. Again, Dhoni should thank Sehwag for his brutal 293 that ensured that India managed 726 in reply. Dhoni chipped in with a 100* himself... but then India was already 200 runs ahead when he came in to bat... not exactly a knock under pressure by the captain!


v. Bangladesh, Dhaka 2010 - India won by 10 wickets - Well, it was Bangladesh after all! They have indeed made very decent progress in Test cricket, but they are still Bangladesh!


v. South Africa, Nagpur 2010 - India lost by an innings and 6 runs - Dhoni's first loss as a Test captain was an embarrassing one for the No. 1 Test team. Dhoni looked absolutely clueless as Amla and Kallis piled on 340 runs for the 4th wicket. This showed in an absolutely clear manner that when the opposition is on top, Dhoni starts to sink.


v. South Africa, Kolkata 2010 - India won by an innings and 57 runs - India did manage a win, but Dhoni did look helpless in the first two sessions on Day 1 when Amla and Peterson put on a 209-run 2nd wicket stand. He fared much better once Zaheer and Harbhajan had engineered a collapse to dismiss South Africa eventually for 296. And yes, another ton for the captain... after all, he came in to bat when India was just 12 runs shy of a 100-run lead!


v. Sri Lanka, Galle 2010 - India lost by 10 wickets - I don't need to say a lot. The bats of Paranavitana and Sangakkara did the speaking.


Back in February this year, after India had lost the first Test to South Africa at Nagpur, Avjit Ghosh had written on his blog: "Dhoni is a master of mediocre bowling but is hardly the same batsman against stronger attacks."


I really want to add further that his captaincy is not very different. He needs to start a Test match strongly to be able to dominate. Where India starts a Test on the backfoot, like batting second after losing the toss, he looks helpless and uninspiring as a captain. He still has managed to give a few positive results in such cases, but any captain would have managed that if he had Sehwag and Tendulkar playing the way they did in those cases!

ABSURD SCHEDULING

Nagpur will be hosting the third Test instead of Mumbai during New Zealand's tour of India in November - December 2010. Earlier, this match (20 - 24 November) was scheduled for Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. But after Mumbai Cricket Association's announcement that it will be unable to host the match due to the preparations for World Cup 2011, BCCI decided to shift it to Nagpur.

Empty Stands don't bear a pretty sight!

The current BCCI President Shashank Manohar, originally from Nagpur, was elected to his post on 29th September 2008. From that point, India played 33 international home games (11 Tests, 20 ODIs, 2 T20Is), out of which Nagpur has hosted the most number for any venue - 5 matches (2 Tests, 2 ODIs, 1 T20I).

By the end of this year, Nagpur and Mohali would have hosted 3 Tests each (starting from October 2008). Given that these two venues have seen extremely low crowd attendances in Test cricket over the recent past, it seems that BCCI is not using any head in its scheduling. In 2008 against Australia, Sachin Tendulkar went past Brian Lara as the highest run scorer in Test cricket in front of virtually empty stands at Mohali. And a couple of weeks later at Nagpur's new stadium in Jamtha, he scored a century acknowledged by a handful of spectators.

Things were no different when Mohali hosted its next Test against England and Nagpur hosted against South Africa. Part of the reason for low attendance for Test cricket in these grounds (apart from the dwindling interest in the purest form of the game) is the fact that these stadiums (at Mohali and Jamtha) are located quite some distance away from the main cities of Chandigarh and Nagpur respectively. Most spectators are unwilling to travel that far for a day of Test cricket that might not even bear a result.

So I am stumped as to why BCCI has ignored the other Tests grounds that have shown good crowd attendance whenever they have had a chance to witness Test cricket. Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata have hosted just 1 Test each during this period... and by the end of 2010, Bangalore will be the only venue amongst these four to increase its tally to 2 against Australia. These grounds have seen good crowd support for Test cricket... but either BCCI is blind and deaf or it is dumb. I guess it's the latter!

MURALI: A LEGEND ABOUT TO RETIRE

Muttiah Muralitharan! This name elicits one response from me: respect, immense respect! And the reason is simple: this man has deserved every bit of it.

He's been embroiled in controversies... none of which were of his making. He was called for 'chucking' a number of times in his career. But how could he help it? It was a physical / biological problem that he could do nothing about. It was incurable. He was just a lover of the game who wanted to serve the game in his country to the best of his abilities.

So he went on. He faced all the criticism and never gave up... kept on bowling day in and day out... carrying the burden of being the lynch pin of Sri Lankan cricket. The results are there for everyone to see: highest number of wickets in Tests and ODIs, highest number of 5-fors and 10-fors, and numerous matches won for his team.

For me, Murali will always be a legend! I am glad to see that he will be playing his last Test match against India. He's had some extremely absorbing duels with Indians over the last many years... and it would be a perfect way to sign off with another one!

DEAR MR. MICHAEL CLARKE

Dear Mr. Michael Clarke,

Over past few months, everyone has witnessed your continuous struggles at coming to terms with the newest form of cricket... Twenty20. What makes this situation comic (atleast for a neutral spectator like me) is that you are the captain of your country's international Twenty20 squad.

Last year, when Lalit Modi had claimed that you withdrew your name from the IPL auctions because you were scared of the humiliation of not being sold at you 'high' base price, I was scoffing. The story looked a little far-fetched! But now, I can almost believe it. To put it in very soft words for you, your batting in Twenty20 is pathetic!

Let me first revisit you Twenty20 batting record for you: 32 matches, 26 innings, 442 runs at an average of 21.04 and a strike rate of 101.14 with the help pf 22 fours and 9 sixes. Your highest score of 67 is your only 50+ score in Twenty20 internationals.

You have played just 5 innings in your career where you have scored more than 20 runs at a strike rate of 105+. And let me remind you, 18 of your 26 innings have been played at positions 1 to 4. You have not managed to score at a strike rate of 100+ in your last 8 matches now. And all those 8 matches were played as a captain! Frankly, I have never known a more under-performing captain.

I know I shouldn't compare, but Virendra Sehwag's ODI strike rate is higher than your Twenty20 International strike rate. And David Obuya has more 50+ scores than you. And to think that you are a captain of a team that has dominated world cricket for over one and a half decades!

Now here's my humble suggestion. It would do a lot of good if you voluntarily opt out of this form of cricket. It will save you the embarrassment of being sacked despite being the captain. It will hugely benefit your team. It will help a lot of fans who want to watch good cricket action. It will benefit the game of cricket indeed!

You are a wonderful batsman in the other forms, a delight especially in Tests. But having struggled in Twenty20s for so long now, I think you should be wise enough to make a call. There are enough youngsters in the Aussie structure to fill you relatively tiny boots. The captaincy can be well handled by Cameron White. So, I guess you have understood my point.

You can contact me anytime on this blog if you need more advice for the advancement of your career. I am always ready to help everyone... even Shane Watson!

Take care. Waiting for your retirement press conference dates,

SJ.

SOMETHING FUN AND DIFFERENT FOR MY 200TH BLOG

Wow! This feels good... this is my 200th post on this blog. And as CRIC - SIS celebrates its double century, I though I'll write something different today... something fun and unique!

And so I got this idea! I had read somewhere about the views of Sir Alex Fergusson... the celebrated manager of Manchester United Football Club. I read that he encourages his players to settle down in life and get married. He believes that players gain maturity and play with responsibility after their marriages! He even pointed out the case if Wayne Rooney to prove his point. So I thought lets see if his ideologies apply in cricket... or rather, Indian cricket!

Now since I am a little pre-occupied, I decided to restrict my research to India's top-5 batsmen of the last decade... Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. However, I have excluded Sourav Ganguly from the common analysis because he presents a unique case.

Ganguly has two marriage dates. The first one (August 12, 1996) was when he eloped with his love, now his wife Dona Ganguly, and had his marriage registered in the government records. The second one (February 21, 1997) is the date when he reportedly celebrates his marriage anniversary as he was remarried to Dona Ganguly on that day with the consent of both their families. True Bollywood style, man! More on that later on this blog...

On another note, I am sorry bowlers... but if you want I'll do a similar research sometime later for you guys! This marriage series will continue as and when I get the time...

Sachin Tendulkar married in 1995, scored a record number of runs in 1996 World Cup and raised that form in 1998-99. He maintained his good form till 2003-04 before injuries finally caught up with him and had a toll on his body. So the lady luck supported him well for almost a decade before he faced major challenges that it could not counter!

Dravid married in the midst of his golden days. His marriage in 2003 was followed by his most memorable performance in India's tour of Australia 2003-04... the one series for which he will forever be remembered. He was soon handed the captaincy of the side and led India to Test series wins in England and West Indies. The interesting thing here is his strike rate. There was a good jump in his strike rate in both forms (particularly ODIs) after the marriage. In fact, it gave a boost to his 6-hitting capabilities. So his lady luck carried him to a captaincy stint with Team India and held him well for about 4 years till the disastrous World Cup 2007 campaign.

Viru married in 2004... just after hitting his 309. He followed it up with a couple of successful seasons before his form deserted him and he was dropped from the side. But he came back stronger after that... another 300... then almost another 300... and now he is indispensable to the team. What's unique here is that he is scoring much faster while taking lesser risks! His 6-hitting in Tests has reduced marginally... but the runs are coming faster than ever! The bowlers might start cursing the day when he got married. More than anyone else, Sir Alex Fergusson's theory fits Viru pretty well. Better results with lesser risks!

VVS Laxman is the only guy to whom marriage life has not been good (professionally, I mean)! It almost signalled the end of his ODI career... and has not done anything ti improve his Test performances. Maybe, the only positive is that he has atleast maintained his place in the Test side... which is no mean feat considering the policies of our selectors over the past few years with regard to our seniors.

Coming back to Ganguly, here are his stats:

Ganguly's marriage made his career. From a nobody... he became one of India's finest captains, had a glorious career and came to be regarded as one of the legends in Indian cricket. That is what you call Lady Luck! The Prince of Kolkata had it! His performances were wretched during the period of uncertainty over his family's acceptance of marriage... but once that was out of his way, there was not looking back for him!

So, I guess its time for guys like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir to look at the option of marriage seriously. Who knows how it might transform their career (for the better)!

WEEK OF RECORDS

Three international cricket matches today... but the match that India was watching was the much-awaited India - Pakistan hockey encounter on the opening day of the World Cup. And happily for us, India beat Pakistan 4-1 to start its campaign off in a brilliant style.

But the brilliance of the day was reserved for Brendon McCullum. That's what I thought till I saw the score update of the West Indies - Zimbabwe Twenty20 match just now. Zimbabwe, batting first is 16 for 4 in 7 overs right now. Sulieman Benn has completed his spell of 4 - 2 - 6 - 4. That's right! Sulieman Benn bowled 2 maidens, conceded just 6 in the other 2 overs and took 4 wickets in his brilliant spell with the new ball. This is the 3rd best spell of bowling in an international Twenty20 match ever.

All this after Brendon McCullum's onslaught on Australia that saw him score just the 2nd century in a Twenty20 International and finish on 116. New Zealand went on to clinch a thriller in the One Over Eliminator, and I must say that Tim Southee was exceptional in that over. He conceded just 6 runs - that in a match where both the teams had already scored 214 in 20 overs. Phenomenal!

So what all have we witnessed in the past one week?

• Sachin Tendulkar scored the highest score in an ODI ever
• Brendon McCullum scored the 2nd highest score in a Twenty20 International ever
• Sulieman Benn bowled the 3rd best spell in a Twenty20 International ever

Are we now due for a Bangladesh win over England in the ODIs? Something's 'Cook'ing!

CRASH COURSE

I have just read a wonderful post by Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, titled Tendulkar breaks Cricinfo records. Just when you start thinking what else remains, Sachin Tendulkar comes up with something new.

Sambit Bal says that Cricinfo recorded its highest traffic on the day when Sachin broke the 200 barrier in ODIs. He mentions that when Sachin was a couple of runs away from the mark, the viewer traffic became so large that it crashed a couple of Cricinfo servers.

One interesting thing that he mentions is that Cricinfo recorded the highest number of unique users from United States of America on 24th February 2010. When Sachin scored his first 100 runs in that match, the sun had not risen in USA. And the country was just waking up when Sachin blasted his last 100 runs in 57 balls.

So there you go, SRT robbed a number of his fans based in the USA from sleep. Not that they would mind it!

MISSES IT ON MON, SUN AND THU, SACHIN FINALLY GETS IT ON A WEDNESDAY

Monday, 8th November 1999 (Hyderabad): He threatened to do it for the first time. But he just ran out of overs against the Kiwis and finished 186*.

Sunday, 8th March 2009 (Christchurch): We were almost sure that he'll get there. But with 5 overs to go, he retired hurt at 163.

Thursday, 5th November 2009 (Hyderabad): What a heartbreak! Not only did he get out on 175, but the Indian tail somehow contrived to lose the plot completely and succumb to the pressure.

Wednesday, 24th February 2010 (Gwalior): Finally, he gets there. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar scales the hitherto unsurmounted peak of a Double Century in One Day International Cricket, finishing 200*.

In the process, SRT has broken some more records - most fours in an ODI innings (25), most 150+ scores in ODIs (5), and of course - the highest individual score by a batsman in One Day International Cricket.

When Sachin reached 179* in 42 overs, the target I wanted him to reach was 230. That's because the highest individual score in all forms of ODIs is 229* in Women's Cricket by the legendary Australian batswoman Belinda Clark in the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup match at Mumbai against Denmark. But given the amount of frustration MS Dhoni caused to SRT fans like me, I think I should just be glad for the 200 - 200 of the silkiest and risk-free runs that Sachin might have ever scored.

Indeed, there was no dropped chance, one run out appeal to third umpire and one stumping appeal to the third umpire - both which were not very difficult decisions. In fact, except for one ball from Steyn (fourth ball of the fifth over of the match), Sachin was not beaten even once in his 147 ball stay at the crease.

If you are not already impressed, here's another one. After the first four balls that he faced from Steyn in which he did not score a run, there was no other occasion in his entire innings where he let four consecutive balls bowled to him go runless (Thank you Cricinfo for this bit of trivia). Such was the mastery!

He almost toyed around with the young Wayne Parnell (not that the other South African bowlers were spared). His two backfoot punches square on the off side early in the innings to Parnell from around the wicket were the highlights if his innings for me. Even honey can't get sweeter!

In the last 12 months, Sachin has shown that age is having no effect on his body. If anything, it is speeding him up. What else can explain 3 scores of 150+ in ODIs in the last one year? What the heck man, most batsmen would die to get one such score in their entire career!

Amidst all of this, it is so easy to forget that India won the match by 153 runs and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. This means that India have secured the No. 2 Rank in the ICC ODI Team Rankings as on the cut off date - 1st April.

Accolades are pouring from all over the world:
- No one deserved it more than him!
- He is a true champion!
- One of the best knocks ever!
- India's Superman!
- Cricket's best brand ambassador!
- We are priveleged to be living in the Sachin era!
- Sachin's a gem of a person, apart from being a great cricketer!

And he deserves all of it. I am not sure if I will see God when I die. So till then, I am just content watching Sachin Tendulkar.

MY NAME IS KHAN

Oh no, it's not the Bollywood blockbuster that I am talking about. That one's aleady been the eye of a big storm already. I am talking about the new leader of India's pace attack... Zaheer Khan.

Cricinfo gave Zak a 7 out of 10 for his performance in the Ind-SA series. But numbers count for very little over here. He is 31 - an age where most pace bowlers go through the best phases of their respective careers. It's no different for Zak.

He burst into the international scene by yorking the batsmen facing him - a fast bowler's most potent weapon. Ironically, at the peak of his career, the yorker is the most rarely used weapon. The fast, aggressive, stare-into-the-batsman's-eyes-in-a-World-Cup-final bowler has now been replaced by a little gentler, but a lot more dangerous swing bowler, who has taken over the mantle of India's premier paceman with some admirable performances over the past 4 years.

At a time when India is truly grappling with the question of whether Harbhajan Singh (irrespective of his Eden Garden performance) is a worthy successor to Anil Kumble as the premier spinner in the country, it is the safety net that Zak offers that has helped India hold onto the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket.

Having taken 488 international wickets for the country, Zak has, for quite some time now, been the only consistent element in India's bowling ranks, especially in Tests. From the start of 2007, Zak has bowled 1000.1 overs in Test cricket, taking 113 wickets at 29.43 (his overall career average is 32.98). This period has also brought him his best bowling figures in an innings and in a match.

But here's the interesting piece of stat: 70 out of his 113 wickets (61.95%) in this period have been of batsmen who have scored less than 20 runs. Yes, even the numbers say that he has been the bowler that Dhoni (and Kumble and Dravid before him) have turned to for attacking a new batsman and getting his wicket.

What has been heartwarming to see is that all the opposition batsmen have started howing him a lot of respect - something that has rarely happenned with Indian pacers of the past. Not only his bunnies like Greame Smith, but even other contemporary greats and opposition captains like Ricky Ponting have acknowledged the importance of seeing Zaheer's spell through. Even MS Dhoni gives up his field setting authorities to Zak when he or Ishant Sharma are bowling. He might well be the new fast bowling coach of Team India.

His reverse swing bowling to dismiss Brad Haddin, Cameron White and Brett Lee (where he reversed the ball both ways) bowled - caught behind - bowled at Mohali in October 2008 was one of the highlights of this period.

As a fast bowler, it won't be long before injuries start plaguing him and being on the wrong side of 30, he is bound to tire out soon (especially with the amount of cricket that India plays these days). But I'd like to see him carry on as much as he can because India needs him. India needs him to hold onto the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket. India needs him to be there if there has to be chance in the 2011 World Cup. India needs him to be there to guide the younger generation of pacers and groom them for the responsibilities lying ahead - the responsibilities that he has carried with admirable ease.

AMLA DOES A STRAUSS

What is common between Hashim Amla and Andrew Strauss? These are the only two overseas batsmen to have scored two centuries in a Test match in India in this millenium. And guess what! Both ended up on the losing side.

The similarities between these two Tests (v England, Chennai 20008 and v South Africa, Kolkata 2010) and these two grounds (M.A. Chidambaram Stadium and Eden Gardens) don't end there. Dhoni lost the toss in both the matches, just as Sachin Tendulkar scored a ton. These were arguably the two most thrilling Tests to have been played in India since the unforgettable Australia series of 2001. Incidentally, the final 2 Tests in that series (the ones that make this series so memorable) were also played at Kolkata and Chennai. All of these four Tests were decided in the last session of the match. And well, one for the statisticians - these are the only two grounds in India where batsmen have managed two centuries in a Test match (5 at Kolkata and 2 at Chennai).

India will be very proud of this win, South Africa proud of their fight, and Hashim Amla proud of... himself. This win did not come on a doctored surface like in Green Park, Kanpur. In fact, South Africa had just as much of a chance on this surface as India. The same cannot be said of South Africa's series - levelling efforts against England last month.

Having said that, the Proteas can certainly walk with their heads held high. No other team can claim that in their last to visits to India, they have not lost a Test series. True, they had a disappointing Test as India had had in Nagpur. But both the Tests had a show guts, determination and perseverance - something that made this series deserving of the fight for No. 1.

Let me recount the series statistics. We saw 1 Double Century, 10 Centuries, 1 Seven-for, 1 Five-for, 1 Four-for and 5 Three-fors. We saw 12 wides being bowled by a bowler in a single innings. We saw 18 no-balls being bowled by a legspinner (what is the world coming to!) in the series. We saw a foreign batsman so comfortable in the Indian conditions that we mistook him to be an Indian (with good reason, too).

And finally, a word for the wonderful Eden crowd. It's fitting that the Kolkata crowd got a good reward for their immense passion. Given by the recent history  of crowd attendance in Tests in India, no other ground deserved to host this match as much as the Eden Gardens.