THANK YOU, VVS!

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman. Or Very Very Special Laxman. Whatever name you prefer!

Personally, I don't remember much of VVS Laxman before the 281. I am quite sure a lot of people don't. In fact, pre-281, I can count my memories of him on my fingertips. I do remember reading about the Sydney hundred in 2000 (first one of that love affair with the ground) in newspapers, and I remember him opening against Pakistan in 1999. Even then, I remember more of his opening partner Sadagoppan Ramesh than him from that series.

Possibly the most lasting memory for me of VVS Laxman's pre-281 career for me is that moment when he took Wasim Akram's catch to seal Anil Kumble's 10 for 74. But post that 281, it all changed. The memories are so many that it's hard to pick one out that stands mightily above the rest.

That innings of 281 itself should unquestionably rank amongst the best ever played by any batsman in the world through the history of cricket. It marked the creation of a clear transitional divide between eras in Indian cricket. From Day 4 of that Eden Gardens Test (14th March 2001) to the day India won the World Cup again (2nd April 2011) - it was 10 years and 19 days of wondrous joy for the Indian cricket followers. For sure, there were troughs too, but none would be talked of much in hindsight when this era is looked at in its entirety henceforth.

I could not watch that innings of 281 live - neither that match, nor that series. I lived in a hostel back then, and all the cricket I followed was over the All India Radio and the newspapers. And following that match on the radio was an emotional turbulence of enormous proportions. First, there was frustration over the first 2 days (though there was the brief delight late on Day 1 when Harbhajan Singh claimed a hat-trick), then resignation on the 3rd day, then the feeling of small joys as Day 4 progressed that turned into one of hope by the time it ended... and then it ended with euphoria on Day 5. All of it possible because of three men - Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

Day 4 of that Test match was the day I learnt a new word in Hindi - 'kalai'. I heard it so many times over the day uttered by the radio commentators, that mid-way through the day, I had to ask someone what it meant, and finally understood it meant 'wrist'. That was also the day I came closest to being caught sneaking in a portable 'Walkman with Radio' inside the classroom (which I often did). Thankfully, I escaped with the help of a couple of friends who were being supplied the scores by me, and we carried on through the day as Laxman and Dravid carried on their vigil.

The first time that I remember watching VVS Laxman bat in Test cricket after that 281, was in West Indies - Port of Spain 2002. In a largely forgotten 2nd innings effort, Laxman scored 70-odd and in the company of Sourav Ganguly, ensured a 300+ target for the West Indies, which eventually proved enough. If my memory serves me right, when he got out, he had ensured a target of 300+, which could not be stretched much further as the tail collapsed.

Post 2004, there are many memories - Mumbai 2004 (vs. Australia), Johannesburg 2006, Delhi 2007 (vs. Pakistan), Sydney 2008, Perth 2008, Kolkata 2010 (vs. South Africa), Colombo 2010, Mohali 2010 (vs. Australia), Durban 2010 and Bridgetown 2011 stand out. What's more, all but two of them came in Indian wins - and both those should have been Indian wins but for bad umpiring (Sydney 2008) and bad weather (Bridgetown 2011).

But these scores are just numbers - they will be archived and brought up in future in debates and analyses. What they can never convey was the art called VVS Laxman's batting. It was wizardry of the highest levels, and could leave not just the spectators, but even his opponents mesmerised. I do not remember Azharuddin much at the peak of his career for I was very young back then, but I am sure he couldn't have been any 'wristy-er' than VVS Laxman - it just seems humanly impossible.

Those flicks to leg off balls way outside the line of off-stump aside, I will always miss those drives through the cover off spinners where the left leg moved right to the pitch of the ball and the right leg moved sideways as he completed the movement to finish the shot with a flourish. I have seen many beautiful cover drives played and will see many more in future, but whenever I see one finish with the back leg moving sideways in flourish, I am always going to remember VVS Laxman.

While Laxman did have a decent couple of years in ODI cricket, I will always imagine him as a smiling character in white who, when not batting, would be chirping away with his teammates at second slip or gully or at a catching position for a drive on either side of the pitch. While we all celebrate his batting mastery (or should I call it 'wizardry' again), I wouldn't want to overlook the fact that he was a fine catcher too. It will be an oft-overlooked fact that he has 135 catches too in Test cricket. In his youth, he fielded well at short leg and other close-in positions too, and it's only recently that he became a liability in the field.

Another one of the endearing memories would be one of Laxman always in the balcony of the dressing room, the widest smile on the face, whenever the time came to celebrate a teammate reaching a hundred or other such milestone. If he wasn't the non-striker, he would always invariably be there to salute his teammate and share that joy.

Oh VVS, thou shalt be missed dearly. But thank you! Thank you for the joy of your batting!

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!

MS DHONI'S JEKYLL AND HYDE SYNDROME

MS Dhoni has received a lot of flak over his field placements and defensive captaincy strategies over the past week at SCG. This is not the first time that his field settings have left cricket watchers frustrated in muted agony. Some just shrug their shoulders and say that it's become a part of the modern-day captaincy, while others grit their teeth and wonder who-the-hell ever called Dhoni an attacking captain!

I find Dhoni strange and difficult to understand. Sometimes, his field placements and other strategies are so good that you feel the need to applaud him even if they do not work out the way they were intended... and at other times, they are so lousy that you question whether you are watching the right match!

Less than 10 months ago, on 24th March 2011, India played the Quarterfinals of the ICC World Cup 2011 against the then three-time defending champions Australia at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Stadium. In that match, Dhoni had attacked like I have never seen him do before. He had a fielder at silly point even on Yuvraj Singh's bowling in the 39th over of the Australian innings to Ricky Ponting, who was batting fluently in his 60s and 70s. In fact, Ponting had either a short square leg or a silly point virtually every time he faced a spinner till he was in his 70s.

Those attacking field placements may not have directly earned India any wickets, but they surely sent a statement of intent to the opposition. One might argue that Michael Clarke's horrendous attempt at slog sweeping Yuvraj Singh might have been caused by the attacking field settings (even he had a slip for him in the 31st over bowled by Yuvraj Singh), but that is arguable both ways.

Even in the Semi-finals against Pakistan at Mohali, I was impressed by the fielding positions he had set. The fielders were within the 30-yard circle were up very close, in order to stop the singles that result if they are fielding on the edge of the circle. On the other hand, the fielders in the deep were right on the boundary line, in order to cover as much ground as possible to prevent a boundary. For the gaps in the middle, he relied on the lack of athleticism of Asian batsmen for converting ones-into-twos. That was quite brilliant to watch as the pressure built on Pakistan, with Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq almost stalling their progress in the middle overs.

Post the World Cup win, when I had done a post on the main architects of India's World Cup triumph, I focused more on Dhoni's captaincy in the knock-out matches than his knock in the World Cup final. Those kind of knocks when India is chasing a target in ODI cricket are a Dhoni-specialty, but that brand of attacking captaincy as we witnessed in India's last three World Cup matches was a pleasant change.

And now with the benefit of hindsight, I can say that it indeed was just a "pleasant change". I had secretly hoped that Dhoni might have turned over a new leaf during the World Cup, and we would see a more attacking Indian captain post that win. The first crack in that hope came with the draw at Dominica. The England tour also a big question mark, but to be fair to Dhoni, he never really had a bowling unit there with whom he could attack well.

But here in Australia, that reasoning does not hold good. Sehwag claimed at Melbourne that the current pace-bowling unit is the best he has ever played with. Even if that assertion is over-the-top, there is no denying that this indeed is a very good bowling unit that India is carrying (obviously when fully fit). They may have flopped miserably at SCG with only 4 wickets to their name (reminds me of the Centurion Test on India's 2010-11 tour of South Africa), but they are the very same bowlers who grabbed 20 Australian wickets at MCG.

It can be arguably held that a bit less defensiveness of Dhoni's part might have helped the bowlers in a big way. It wouldn't have allowed the Australian tail to wag as much as it did at MCG, which could (and I am just saying COULD) have altered the result there... and while at SCG, the result may not have changed, but there was definitely a scope for a little more attacking cricket when Ponting and Clarke were early in their partnership. Even when their association had crossed a 100-run mark, Australia was still trailing India (albeit not by much). I would have expected a truly-attacking captain to use that slender margin of lead to continue attacking rather than having a sweeper cover and a deep square leg. It just so happens that because of the size of the SCG, Dhoni continued to be unable to stop the flow of Australian boundaries and runs.

I wonder which 'alter' of Dhoni's multiple-personality will need to be strengthened to see him attack once again like he did at the World Cup!

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!

INDIA IN AUSTRALIA, 1ST TEST - HOW CAN UMPIRING GO OUT OF FOCUS?

I was far too young to follow India's tour of Australia in 1991-92. Once I started understanding and following the game of cricket, India has toured Australia in 1999-00, 2003-04, 2007-08 and the current one now in 2011-12... and each time, umpiring has been a subject of sharp focus!

If that is not enough, the scrutiny of umpiring decisions have started in the 1st Test on all but one of the above tours. Only in 2007-08 did the opening Test at MCG on the Boxing Day go through without an umpiring decision worthy of remembrance years later! Unhappy with how incident-free the 1st Test was from an umpiring perspective, the cricketing Gods put in all their efforts to ensure that the 2nd Test would not only compensate for the 1st one, but also supersede all other incident-involving Australia-India Tests of my living memory.

1999-00: The first Test was in Adelaide... and it will always be remembered for the infamous shoulder-before-wicket LBW decision by Daryl Harper against Sachin Tendulkar of Glenn McGrath's bowling. Even in that era, that particular decision gathered a lot of inches and minutes in print and television media respectively. I shudder to imagine what would have happened had such a decision been given in this era!

It was a marginal call, as the ball could have clipped the top of the stumps or gone over it. In normal circumstances, the benefit of the doubt goes to the batsman. Only when the batsman does not offer a shot does the benefit of the doubt go to the bowler. Was that a case of no shot offered? In my view, definitely not! When a batsman ducks under a bouncer that hits him on any part of his body and goes for runs, it is given as leg byes. When no shot is offered, and the ball is deflected of the pads of the batsman, no runs are given. This rule may be farcical, but as long as it exists, ducking cannot be deemed to be a case of no shot offered, and the benefit of doubt in that case should have gone to the batsman.

While I remember just this incident clearly from that tour, I do remember that there definitely was discontentment about umpiring during that tour. I have read that that particular tour accelerated ICC's plans of implementing the concept of two neutral umpires in Tests. This article from the Cricinfo archives points out that there were arguably three contentious decisions against Sachin Tendulkar alone in his 6 Test innings on that tour.

2003-04: The first Test was in Brisbane... and the central figure was once again Sachin Tendulkar. The bowler this time was Jason Gillespie and the umpire was Steve Bucknor. Again, the media coverage was immense and even Gillespie had admitted that his appeal had only been academic and that he wasn't actually expecting to get the decision in his favour.

While the ball pitched outside off and seamed in, even the naked eye could tell that the bounce was far too much in that ball to be able to hit the stumps. Truth be told, I think that this ball would have passed the stumps at a higher altitude than McGrath's bouncer four years previously that resulted in the shoulder-before-wicket dismissal. That same article to which I have provided the link above talks of the coverage that followed this Steve Bucknor decision.

2007-08: Like I said, the first Test at MCG was more-or-less incident-free, and the second Test at SCG overcompensated for that! There has been more than enough coverage of the Sydney Test of 2008 - both the racial abuse allegation as well as the collection of umpiring errors! Andrew Symonds was reprieved thrice (twice by Steve Bucknor and once incredibly by the third umpire Bruce Oxenford!) and Ricky Ponting was reprieved once and then given out when he shouldn't have been. Sourav Ganguly was ruled out caught by Michael Clarke by umpire Mark Benson in consultation with Ponting rather than the third umpire.

There were some more incidents (I remember Rahul Dravid too falling victim of a Steve Bucknor error), but the key one definitely was the first reprieve that Andrew Symonds received on Ishant Sharma's bowling. Steve Bucknor (once again!) failed to see/hear a very clear edge with its big woody noise and a clear deflection of the ball on its way to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. That decision was very clearly a result-impacting decision. Symonds was on 30 then, and Australia 193 for 6. Australia ended up with 463 with Symonds unbeaten on 162. Even though India had no business losing the Test on Day 5, there might have been a completely different result had Symonds been ruled out there and Australia slumped to 193 for 7.

2011-12: The first Test at Melbourne, Day 1... and both umpires in the limelight for one caught-behind decision each. Maraius Erasmus ruled Michael Hussey out for a golden duck off Zaheer Khan's bowling and soon thereafter, Ian Gould ruled the debutant Ed Cowan out for 68 off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling.

While I wouldn't call either of those decisions a 'howler', the debate on it shall be no less than the other decisions of the past... because we live in the era that has tasted the implementation of DRS. Where I stand on the issue of DRS is absolutely unrelated to what this post is about, and so I'll refrain from getting into that. But it must be said here that there is a difference between a marginal call and a howler, and DRS is starting to obliterate that line. Had it not been for the debate on DRS, the Hussey and Cowan dismissals might have been talked about just for a few hours, and then archived somewhere in history. But now, we'll have gigabytes of data to tell the future generation different versions of what actually transpired there!

NOSTALGIA

My mind goes back to that morning 8 years and 10 days ago. 16th December 2003. I was 15, had just finished a class at my boarding school, and rushed out as it ended to find my Physics professor. I knew he would have the score.

When I found him, I did not need to ask. I knew. His smile (and he rarely smiled!) made it obvious. India had won by 4 wickets at Adelaide, and Rahul Dravid had hit the winning runs. "Poetic justice!" is what he had said back then!

I had followed that Test series (from Brisbane to Sydney) by snatching updates on All India Radio and begging for more updates from professors whom I knew had internet connections. Despite the fact that we were clear underdogs, I still had hopes from our team. Back then, I was less of a realist and more of an optimist! I still remember thinking that during the World Cup less than a year before that series, India had clearly been the second best team. The time seemed ripe to take on the best team in their backyard!

And take them on we did! That Adelaide Test took my love for the game to a different level... particularly Test cricket! India had won after conceding more than 550 runs in the first innings. If the Eden Gardens miracle of 2001 was not enough, this one just reaffirmed my faith that there is no game quite like Test cricket!

And then, on the next day (17th December 2003), Rohit Brijnath became my favourite cricket writer with this wonderful piece on the front page of The Indian Express. Yes, those three "architects" of our win deserved no less!

That Australian summer changed a lot of things about my relationship with cricket! I had followed India's tours to England and the West Indies earlier in the decade with considerable studiousness, but this was the tour that created an impact... an impact that made cricket a lot bigger than a mere sport for me!

An hour before the Boxing Day Test match kicks off at Melbourne Cricket Ground, memories of that match at Adelaide (and to think that I managed to watch just the highlights) create a nostalgia in my mind. I hope that this series is just as hard fought and fairly-fought, and when "dusk begins its quiet descent", the winners are wearing blue caps!

INDIA'S GREATEST ODI TRIUMPH OUTSIDE OF THE WORLD CUPS

This is an interesting thought that came to my mind when I was reading the Times of India article about the Raina / Yuvraj / No. 6 slot debate. There was this line in that article which said - "Lord's was the venue of India's greatest triumph outside World Cup when it chased down a target of 326 set by England in the 2002 Natwest Trophy and in which Yuvraj had played a critical knock of 69 runs."

While Lord's 2002 was undoubtedly a great win - one of the most memorable ever - but was it India's best ODI triumph outside of the World Cup? Immediately, two other triumphs come to my mind - the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Championship Finals against Pakistan at MCG, and the more recent 2008 Commonwealth Bank Series win over Australia.

If ever a vote is taken on this debate, I am sure that these 3 wins will pile up the maximum hits. Each one has something special about it...

Which was the greatest of them all?

1985 - I was not born back then, so wouldn't really be able to put describe much about the feelings and emotions of that occasion. But one look at the facts - a win over Pakistan in the finals, an unbeaten run in the tournament, a chance to show that the World Cup win in 1983 was not a flash in the pan, and the surroundings of the MCG - that win has to be special! A fine moment for Sunil Gavaskar as the captain, top-3 run-scorers were Indians, top-3 wicket takers were Indians, Ravi Shastri had a dream tournament and won an Audi for his efforts. The flowing champagne and the Audi ride after the win are some of the lasting images from that win. One reading of this Ravi Shastri interview leaves you in no doubt about the importance of that World Championship of Cricket triumph! In many ways, that win did just as much as the World Cup triumph of 1983 to redefine the status of cricket in India, and in effect, the status of India in the world of cricket!

2002 - A shirtless Sourav Ganguly on the Lord's balcony in a show of brilliant passion is the lasting image from this triumph. Two youngsters on the scene - Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh - scripted an unbelievable win when all hope seemed lost. Kaif came in to join Yuvraj at the fall of the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar and India at 146-5. In a previous era, the fall of Sachin would have been game over for India... but these two young men changed that era right there. That match had passion all right - English captain Nasser Hussain's gestures to the media box on reaching his hundred, Sourav Ganguly's aggression at the start of the Indian innings, his disappointment when he got out, and then the final shirt-waving before pinning Kaif to the ground with his hug! That win changed Indian cricket to an extent that is still being defined, and laid the first slab in the creation of the legend of Sourav Ganguly!

2008 - A young captain, a young team, coming to an end of a bitter tour of Australia, history against them, and what do they do? The Indian team beats Australia in the first 2 finals at SCG and Gabba to win their first ever triangular tournament in Australia. During commentary in the 1st final, when India was closing on to a comfortable win thanks to a Sachin Tendulkar century, Ian Chappell suggested that while Brisbane might favour Australia, the Indians might fancy their chances in Adelaide - the venue of the 3rd final, if needed! How unlike Ian Chappell (or any Australian, for that matter) to even think of losing a match! India certainly did not think that way, and with Sachin Tendulkar scoring over 200 runs in the 2 finals, and some good bowling by a young Praveen Kumar, India sealed a memorable win. The passionate celebration, not only after the win but even on the fall of key wickets of Hayden (the obnoxious weed episode) and Symonds (the monkey-gate saga), in the 2nd final, tell you just how important that win was. It gave a young team of MS Dhoni the confidence to walk ahead and carve its own identity... a win that might well have eventually led to the World Cup triumph of 2011!

I'm not sure which one would I vote as the greatest ODI triumph for India outside of the World Cups of 1983 and 2011. There are other triumphs like the 1998 Sharjah win, 5 Asia Cup wins and 1993 Hero Cup, but these do not have the same feel to them as the wins of 1985, 2002 and 2008. What do you think?

GRAEME SMITH: LBW B. ZAHEER KHAN

How many times in the past have we seen those two names in the same line on the scoresheet? It's no secret that Zaheer Khan has been troubling Graeme Smith for quite a while now and the South African skipper's troubles continued into the new year at Newlands, Cape Town.

Like in the first innings of the Durban Test, Smith faced less than 10 balls from Zaheer Khan... or should I say, 7 balls was all Zaheer Khan needed to get his bunny once again.

However, before Smith got out, there was an incident that caught my eye. On the first ball of the 5th over of the day, Graeme Smith tucked Zaheer away on the leg side and ran two. Then he was beaten by Zaheer who drew him forward into a drive to a ball that should have been left alone. The next ball was safely defended... and on the fourth ball, Smith tucked Zaheer away to the leg side once again. Though the fielder Harbhajan Singh was closer to the ball this time, there was still a clear opportunity for another couple of runs.

However, this time Smith just ambled across to the other end for a single. Harbhajan Singh deliberately slowed down his chase and even ran backwards to see whether Smith is taking a two... and I presume that this was because the entire Indian team wanted to see Smith take strike to Zaheer. That captain was being subtly taunted...

And Smith did not take the second. I don't know if it was just me that felt it... but suddenly I thought the fielders were a lot more chirpy and Smith looked a lot more subdued. There was something amiss in that man... I don't know if it was the lack of confidence in facing Zaheer or what! But to me, it looked like a public admission by Smith of the well-documented fact that he struggles to face Zaheer Khan.

Soon enough, Zaheer worked him over brilliantly in his next over and had him out plumb. When the ball hit his back pad, Smith turned around to get back into the crease without looking at the umpire. He did not want to see that finger go up. I think he did not even see that finger... he just walked off when he heard Zaheer's whooping cry of jubilation. And his slow walk back suggested that here is a man, extremely confident and assured of himself at all times, except when he is facing up to this left arm pace bowler bowling to him from the other end.

That denied second run said a lot... it was totally unexpected from a man who had walked out into the Sydney Cricket Ground just two years ago with a broken hand to save a dead Test match for his team!

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CAPE TOWN TEST

And so it's set to begin tomorrow... The hosts and 2nd ranked South Africa will take on the visiting team and top-ranked India in the deciding Third Test at Newlands, Cape Town. It has been an amazing series so far... and I hope it continues that way in the shadow of the Table Mountain from tomorrow.

Like I wrote in an earlier blog, India has not won two consecutive away Tests in the same series against a top-8 Test team for about 2 and a half decades. Now the challenge for them is to tame the No. 2 side in the world.

IF INDIA WIN

If India do manage to pull out a series win at Cape Town, the world will be a lot closer to acknowledging India's rank as No. 1 Test team. The English might still say that India needs to beat them later this year... and they would have a point there. England did not manage to beat South Africa last time they visited the Rainbow Nation, so India will be able to boast of a series win there... but the English will remind India that they just beat Australia in Australia... something that India has not quite managed for a number of years now. South Africa's claim to the No. 1 spot will be a lot subdued and India's tour of England might become another tussle for the No. 1 spot that India will have to win to justify the ranking.

IF SOUTH AFRICA WIN

If South Africa beat India at Newlands, be assured that they will claim themselves to be the 'unofficial' No. 1 Test team in the world. India's No. 1 ranking will then be referred to as just a piece of paper with some calculations. And then even if India beat England later in July - August, this defeat will keep on souring the taste of the No. 1 spot that they will in most likelihood maintain. With a win at Cape Town, South Africa, alongside England, will start thinking of themselves as the best in Tests... and India's tour to England will further complicate matters then. An Indian win will again make it a three-horse boasting race whereas an English win will intensify the two-horse race between South Africa and England.

(Note: No matter what South Africans would like to claim, the fact that there are a number of South African-born players in the English team shall not be considered as a point in their favour.)

IF IT IS A DRAW

Well, a draw at Newlands would keep the status quo. India will continue to call themselves as No. 1 (both officially and unofficially). South Africa will not be able to boast of the fact that they are the only team over the last 6 and a half years to have scraped through with a draw on tour of India... twice! Because a draw would mean that India has done the same. England's chants would continue and India's tour of England would be a decisive moment. If India draw the Test series with England as well, though the No. 1 ranking will still be in the bag, the team will be criticised for not being ruthless enough to finish teams off.

FINAL ANALYSIS

So if we really want an 'undisputed' No. 1 to emerge by the year end, the best we can hope for is an Indian win at Cape Town. I would certainly be hoping for that... though sadly, except for Day 1, I would not be able to follow the rest of it properly. I will have to be relying on Cricinfo commentary, SMS updates from friends and whenever possible, I will try and catch up a bit on the TV. I will be on the road for the about 10 days, which would mean that I would also miss another rendition of the 'Sprinkler Dance' (it it happens) at Sydney.

I hope that the four teams play out two cracking New Year Tests to kick of a year, which I hope will be another brilliant one for Test cricket.

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!

THE BRISBANE TEST - FROM THE NEUTRAL EYE

How quickly fortune can change! Three days into the first Ashes Test, Australia was right on top... leading England by more than 200 runs, having gotten 10 first-innings English wickets without even letting the second new ball become due, centuries for batsmen who had had question marks over their places in the squad and there seemed to exist a tremendous amount of optimism in the media all over the island nation.

Two days later, the tables have as upside down as upside down can be! Whereas less than 77 overs were needed to take the first 10 English wickets, Australia couldn't prise out more than 1 over almost double the number of overs in the second innings. The captain led from the front, then the vice-captain overtook him and went further ahead... and meanwhile, the South African born No. 3 continued his dream run against the Aussies.

Since England won the final 2 days of the drawn Gabba Test, there is naturally a lot of optimism now in the English media and there are talks about momentum and psychological advantage... But putting all this aside, what else can be deduced from this match?

England batted for a total of 228.5 overs and scored 777 runs for the loss of 11 wickets at 3.40 runs per over. Australia, on the other hand, batted for a total of 184.4 overs and scored 588 runs for the loss of 11 wickets at 3.18 runs per over. Given that 302 of England's runs were scored by Alastair Cook (that's 38.88%) and 136 of Australia's runs were scored by Brad Haddin (that's 23.13%), it is surprising to see England scoring a good 0.22 runs per over more than Australia over the duration of the match.

So the numbers too, prima facie, showcase England as the better side over the Test match. But the catch is, they were just slightly better. 'Slightly better' will not be good enough to win the urn, maybe just good enough to retain it.

Australia's problems are being talked of loudly and clearly all over the cricketing world at the moment. But England should realise that they have problems of their own. Australia, even at their worst, can put up a huge fight. England's worst fear right now would be a scenario where Ben Hilfenhaus finds his rhythm (which he is soon bound to), Mitchell Johnson producing one of his once-in-10-Tests brilliant efforts, Doug Bollinger returning to the squad with decent match practice (sorry Peter Siddle, but you are not going to be getting hat-tricks everyday... everyday's not your birthday), Marcus North finding grip and turn with his off breaks and the English batting having its once-in-10-Tests batting collapse... all in the same Test.

But then, England will also be cheered up by the fact that the above scenario is unlikely to occur in the 2nd Test... since it is at Adelaide. So what I am left wondering about now is that if Brisbane has produced only 22 wickets over 5 days (10 of which fell under a cloudy Day 1), what is going to happen at Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne? The flip side is that these venues might just provide the impetus needed to spur a certain Graeme Swann back into the thick of things.

Frankly, the first Test was a let down from what I expected. I hope Adelaide delivers a better show...

DISTURBING CROWD

South Africa tried very hard to pull off an England, and Hashim Amla tried to be the Paul Collingwood. In the end, South Africa choked when the No. 1 ranking was up for grabs. And Amla ended up pulling off an Andrew Strauss (check my previous blog).

I have already blogged a lot about my joy in watching the crowd at Eden Gardens. I read Sidharth Monga's article of Cricinfo - The rot in rotation yesterday, and I must say that it made a lot of sense. I'll quote a bit of what he said:

"In a recent piece in the Hindu, S Venkataraghvan, the former India offspinner, wrote about the Pongal Test in Chennai. "In Madras, this festival [traditionally in mid-January] used to be synonymous with Test cricket at Chepauk," he wrote. "Schedules were carefully drawn so that a Test match was played at Chepauk during the season."

That is like the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests in Australia and South Africa, annual events that people plan for from months ahead. The last time Chennai saw a Pongal Test, though, was in 1988, and there have been only 10 Tests there since. With nine venues and only five or six home Tests a year, it is impossible to develop such Test culture."

India has ten Test venues (alphabetically, no favouritism involved) -
1. Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
2. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
3. Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi
4. Green Park Stadium, Kanpur
5. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk), Chennai
6. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
7. PCA Stadium, Mohali
8. Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera), Ahmedabad
9. VCA Stadium (Jamtha), Nagpur
10. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (temporarily unavailable due to renovation)

The most disturbing crowd attendances in Test cricket have been at Mohali, Ahmedabad and Nagpur (as stated by Sidharth Monga). And the cities where crowd has been the most disturbing for the visiting team are Kolkata and Chennai.

India plays about 5-6 Tests at home every year. I would suggest that 2 of these are awarded to Kolkata and Chennai every year. In fact, it should be so managed that like the Boxing Test (MCG) and New Year Test (SCG) tradition, Kolkata and Chennai should have a tradition of their own. In the long run, it will help prospective spectators plan their holiday schedules around it. They won't have to wait for BCCI to release the tour itinerary in order to confirm their own travel plans if they are travelling from other cities to watch these Tests.

The remaining home Tests should be awarded on the basis of a ranking system. This ranking should consider factors like last Test official crowd attendance and pitch preparation. Even domestic crowd attendance can be considered. The Ranji Trophy Final and Duleep Trophy Final showed very encouraging signs. And it's high time that Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is inducted into the list of India's Test venues.

And why only in India - may be, ICC could create a ranking system for Test grounds based on various such parameters. Then, a news flash in the future might read: India climb to No. 1 in Test Team Rankings and Eden Gardens climbs to No. 1 in Test Venue Rankings.