The Pitch Turns for Others Too!

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India's captain MS Dhoni finally got what he has been craving for. Rank turners, more turn and bounce, pitches that turn viciously like a king cobra following you and what not. But, he wouldn't have liked the scoreboard reading 119-5 when he walked out to bat today. Thankfully, there were other events that highlighted the first day of the second Test between India and England:

SEHWAG'S 100th TEST:
After Gambhir fell to Anderson on the second ball of the match, Virender Sehwag struck four boundaries in his knock of 30 out of which two nearly sent him back to the pavilion. It did not look like he was batting after scoring a hundred in the previous Test as he produced inside and outside edges off Anderson and finally gave Monty Panesar a reason to throw a party. After playing a responsible and reliable innings in Ahmedabad, he gave his wicket away by playing across the line and missed the ball completely.

SRT:
Not a single delivery hit his bat anywhere but its middle. And the one that got him out, missed it completely. Flicks on the on side, a cover drive, front-foot and back-foot strokes, Tendulkar was putting the ingredients together for what was looking like a potent knock. However, Monty produced a wicket-taking delivery, that pitched on leg and took the off stump beating the master completely.

Che PUJARA:
It's simple: England, who possess one of the best bowling attacks in the world, haven't found a way to get him out yet. Brimming with confidence, he was the only batsman who looked comfortable while wickets tumbled at the other end. He held fort on one end from the third ball of the match till stumps and gave the spectators what they came for: a hundred. His technique looked solid, he played with ease off the frontfoot and backfoot, showed the right temperament in tense conditions and played the bounce well. His real test to play on bouncy pitches will arrive only outside the sub-continent so he can't be doing more on Indian pitches against a formidable attack.

ASHWIN THE BATSMAN:
The way this lanky bowler has been batting in Tests, he could very well become a number seven in India's line-up creating space for another bowler in a feeble bowling attack. Apart from a hundred on a flatter pitch on the same ground last year, he scored 62 at Sydney earlier this year and averages over 40 in 10 matches. Not a bad start eh?

MONTY PYTHON: 
26 wickets at an average of 25.19 in his last three Tests played on spin-friendly pitches and still doesn't get a chance to play in the first Test in India? And when he gets to bowl on a pitch that offers turn and bounce, he gives you the wickets of Sehwag, Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni. Sehwag gave the ball more than what it deserved but Monty jumped on the opportunity and that opened gates for his confidence. It took Monty a few overs to settle down as he offered full-tosses and short ones often which were put away for boundaries. Then he made sure he bowled consistently on and around middle and off to not give the Indian batsmen much room to swing their arms. What he produced for Tendulkar was a delicious delivery from a left-arm spinner. His discliplined bowling to Kohli (9 runs from 30 balls) meant the Delhi batsman was under pressure as he was finding it difficult find to the gaps. When he got a chance to drive one through the covers, he handed it straight to Nick Compton. Dhoni's dismissal was another example of extracting good turn and bounce as it got the shoulder of his bat and went like a balloon to Swann at gully who got there in the nick of time. That wicket got him closer to another five-wicket haul - it will be his third in four matches.

We need an overhaul and it has to come from the BCCI: Aakash Chopra

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Aakash Chopra, one of the most technically correct batsmen to have played for India in Tests is as worried about the future of Test cricket in India as you and me. When he was in Mumbai recently after the second Ranji Trophy victory for Rajasthan, I not only played cricket with him but also got a chance to talk to him in length about India's last two whitewashes abroad. A batsman who has scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket said four-day games need to be incentivised more by the BCCI for a brighter future in Tests.

What would you identify as the main reasons behind India's 4-0 loss even though it was believed this team could actually beat Australia in Australia?
I think it will be unfair to pinpoint one reason or a couple of individuals for India for the dismal performance overseas. It's been a systemic failure wherein we have failed to understand the importance or the gravity of situation. When we were whitewashed in England we allowed us to believe that it was just a freak incident, it was just a blip in India's illustrious cricket journey. But there were a few issues that should have been addressed and arrested that time itself which we did not do and now it's been a collective failure. It's been a batting failure more than a bowling failure because I personally believe batting was our strength and when your strength becomes your weakness then you are found wanting more often than not. This batting line-up has brought us a lot of laurels, accolades, pride and everything else but the fact remains that this batting line-up has not batted for five sessions in the last 14 months away from home. We have managed to score over 300 in one innings only four times in about 20 odd innings or maybe more. When that is the case, there is a deeper problem which should be addressed and that is why it's about time we did an Argus type review of how things have gone wrong and why and what needs to be done to get out there and be the number one side once again.

From a batsman's perspective, what do you think went wrong with India's batting in Australia, particularly with the seniors?
It doesn't matter how good you were on the previous tour because previous tours can only help you prepare a little better because you know what to expect and how to deal with those situations, bowlers or conditions. But then, every tour you have to start with a fresh, clean slate. I remember the first time Rahul Dravid went to Australia, he had a very torrid time. But he came back and conquered Australia for two consecutive tours. In this tour, he has not really scored the runs. These things happen, yes, experience counts and counts hell of a lot but there is no guarantee that if you have played in certain conditions or against a certain individual or a team you will always do well.

Why do you think Rahul Dravid was bowled 6 out of 8 times in the series? Was there any technical error you saw?
First of all there is nothing wrong in getting bowled. The entire nation is obsessed saying there is a hole in the wall and how can someone like Dravid get bowled. For heaven's sake, it's just a mode of dismissal. People get beaten, leg before, caught behind, caught in front of the stumps, people get out on full-tosses. There are different modes of dismissal, it all happens in cricket that's why there are so many dismissals and getting bowled is just one of them. And there is no ranking that getting bowled is very humiliating and getting caught is not.
Technically, why he is getting bowled I think is because of the technical change that he inculcated before England or in fact a little before that wherein he eliminated his trigger movement in which he used to go back and across a bit with his backfoot and then would cover the line of the ball, actually always play behind the line of the ball. But now he has eliminated that which has allowed him to bat more freely, his arms are moving a lot as compared to what it was earlier. But then, he is also playing besides the ball which means that if you get beaten there is no second line of defence. So, that is why he is getting bowled quite a few times but it's a bargain or gamble he took because when he changed it, it worked brilliantly in England. And at times, great cricketers, great sportspersons need to reinvent themselves and that's what he did. But now, since he has failed a few times I'm sure he is going to go back and look at how and why things went wrong. I
think why it worked in England was because there the ball moved in the air and you can always cover it. But when it moves off the surface (like in Australia), you get a little late.

Whenever the big 3 retire from India, who are the batsmen you see replacing them in the middle-order?
The first name that comes to my mind is Cheteshwar Pujara. He is the guy who bats in the traditional mould and is someone who knows how to bat time. The other one could be Ajinkya Rahane because for the number of runs he has been scoring in domestic cricket I think he deserves a chance. He is shouting from the rooftop that he definitely does because he is phenomenal in domestic cricket and you need to reward domestic performances. I think Rohit Sharma is a good player too, he is technically very correct and has time on his hands whe he plays fast bowling, he has no chinks in his batting technique. So that tells me that he has it in him to succeed in the longer format provided he is willing to make the sacrifices he is needed to make as a successful Test cricketer. Virat Kohli is already there in the team. If at all we want to go back we can actually draft in Badrinath for a little while because he has also been consistent. Someone like Robin Bist is knocking the doors now but I'd still give him a bit of time to go ahead and prove his worth and if he does that he could be another prospect.

Don't you think those Indian players who play throughout the year, like Raina and Yuvraj, should play lesser of IPL and prioritise Test cricket, like how most of the players from England and Australia do?
Most of the Test cricketers like Dravid, Tendulkar or Laxman don't play the one-dayers. Someone like Suresh Raina has got chances in Tests but has unfortunately failed. Whether he plays the IPL or not, it will not affect his Test career because he is already playing one-day cricket. He needs to make some mental and technical adjustments and as and when he can, I'm sure he can be there in the Test side also. Yuvraj Singh is probably in an enigma with regards to his Test career because he is extremely talented. I always thought that he would play over a 100 Tests easily, but he has not. I think once he recovers, once he starts playing Test cricket and starts performing consistently that will be wonderful. But I don't think the players who are playing Test cricket need to say goodbye to one of the formats. More importantly, we need to really incentivise and prioritise four-day cricket that's the Ranji Trophy because that's where we are going to get our next Test players and not from the IPL. So if IPL becomes the be all and end all of some of the cricketers then we will produce only T20 specialists. We will not produce Test cricketers and for that to happen Ranji Trophy needs to be incentivised.

Do you think it's time the BCCI took some bold steps like how Australia came up with the Argus Committee and how Sri Lanka have revamped their system?
Something has to come from BCCI because regardless of what others feel, think, say, do, it will not change anything. Yes, I think there is a need to do an Argus like review and it has to come from the BCCI. It may mean overhauling a few things and by overhauling I don't mean changing a few personnel. That too maybe, but then more importantly changing things like the structure of domestic cricket, more India A tours or prioritising and incentivising domestic tournaments, making four-day games your priority. If we are willing to do all that I think that has to come from the top and that is for the BCCI to decide the road ahaead. The blueprint is in their hands in whichever way they want to take Indian cricket. I think they are responsible people and I'm sure they will act responsibly.

I like a few things about DRS and don't like a few: Sanjay Manjrekar

Follow @Vishal1686 Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said he still has his doubts about the DRS (Decision Review System) and if it should be used or not in international cricket. Apart from being unsure about the use of technology, he also said the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) should set its priorities right and do more to nurture young talent in India. Here is all that and much more he told me when I met him recently in Mumbai.

The DRS debate has ignited again, what's your take on the use of technology in cricket?

Currently, I sit on the fence on this one. I like a few things about the DRS and don't like a few.

After being 0-1 down in the series against Australia, do you think India can bounce back and win from here?

Australia at the moment is an unpredictable side. It's hard to predict the outcome of this series.

Were you happy with the team that was selected for Australia or would you have selected someone else?

For me Abhimanyu Mithun was a surprise choice. Apart from him, I have no complaints.

Do you think the BCCI is doing enough to hone the skills and talent of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, like how Cricket Australia is taking care of Pat Cummins and James Pattinson?

I think the BCCI has learnt their lessons after the England tour. We will have to wait and see how they handle the two youngsters Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav

What else should the BCCI do to manage players' injuries in a better way?
The BCCI should set their priorities as to which form of cricket is most important for them. Once they do that, they should have someone in-charge who can manage the players accordingly.

Vinod Kambli said recently that the Indian team had decided to bat first in the 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka but Azhar decided to bowl after winning the toss. Can you give us some clarity on that?
I think it was an honest cricketing decision the team had taken which eventually backfired.

And lastly, what according to you should be done to promote Test cricket globally?
I think day-night cricket should be introduced to promote Tests.

‘England Will Keep On Improving To Get Better All The Time’

Follow @Vishal1686 One of the finest all-rounders and fielders from England, Paul Collingwood was in India recently during the England-India 5-match ODI series and the one off Twenty20. He is the only captain to have lifted a World Cup in the history of English cricket when England beat Australia to win the 2010 World Twenty20. When I met him in Mumbai, he spoke in length about whatever I asked him about our common love - cricket. In this conversation, he talks about the current England team which he thinks is capable of staying at the top in Tests and doing much better in one-dayers.

India couldn’t win a single match in England and England managed to win only one in India. What were the reasons behind this kind of a result apart from the alien conditions for the two teams?

It comes down to adapting your skills in the conditions. I know everybody is saying that it can’t just be the conditions but it’s very alien for the Indian batsmen to bat and bowlers to bowl on wickets like that and English batsmen become very accustomed in their conditions. Likewise, when we come over here it’s very difficult for us to adapt to the conditions. But, I guess it’s the mentality as well. Known that we haven’t done well here in the past, it becomes a bigger challenge and the pressure of going 1-0 or 2-0 down is huge. So the mental side is obviously a huge factor too and it comes down to the skills that you have in these two completely different conditions.

Number 1 in Tests, number 1 in Twenty20s but number 5 in ODIs. What do you make of the current England ODI side and what’s the way forward for them?

If you look at the World Cup coming up in 2015 in Australia I believe 70% of the players who are involved now will be involved then. England’s one-day side has a broad spectrum of skills that will work very well in Australia. We’ve got a lot of power in the side now and we do have some serious pace and we’ve got one of the best spinners in the world which we haven’t had in previous occasions. They are a learning side and they will move forward, they will keep on improving their skills to become better all the time. So I don’t think there will be a major change and they won’t panic about the situation, they will learn a lot from playing in India and in these conditions.

The Test team won the Ashes this year, beat Sri Lanka and whitewashed India in the summer to become the number one team. What does the team need to do now to stay at the top in the long run?

It’s simple you got to keep winning. That’s what you gauged and that’s what people want you to do and to stay at number one. You don’t sit back, you don’t relax thinking we are number one and I’m sure they won’t do that. They are very driven, very ambitious and each and every player will want to get better and better by playing in different conditions.

Will staying at the top be a bigger challenge than reaching the top?

I think it’s a huge challenge because people would want to knock you off from the number one spot. So people subconsciously try a bit harder against you to beat you. Obviously once you’ve gained some things as the number one spot, you do sit back and relax a bit but I don’t think this England team will. I think they will all keep moving forward and get better and better.

We have some new faces in the England team like Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Stuart Meaker. What do you make of them and what are their prospects in the future?

They are a very talented set of players and England haven’t had many leg-spinners in the history and he (Borthwick) is a very talented cricketer, not just leg-spinner but good batsman and a very energetic fielder as well.

We talk about power and Bairstow has serious power, something in the one-day game that we have probably lacked at times. If he can find his game and play at his potential, he is going to be a serious asset to that side.

Stuart Meaker has some really good pace and I’m sure will develop all the time, it looks as though he has a good action and can trouble the batsmen with his pace.

The next Tests series England play now is only in January 2012 against Pakistan in UAE. Do you think this long gap will break the winning momentum they have had?

No, not at all, it will probably work the other way. I think it’s a good time to sit back and relax. England haven’t had a break from cricket for such a long time and they have hardly had a 2 or 3-month break. It’s great they have this break now and that will put them in good shape, they can recharge their batteries as individuals. It’s amazing how that recharging will help to become a better side and it’s crucial you do get those kinds of breaks and in many ways it will work for them.

So instead of breaking the momentum, this break will work in their favour?

I think the preparation time before they play the next Test series is crucial. You want to give your bowlers enough time to get into their rhythm of playing and the batsmen to get used to the conditions out there. So, it will be a real drive forward in terms of wanting to keep the momentum going in the Test side and they will certainly do that.

The Prince of Indian Cricket

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The career of Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi reads like a romance. A man who was a cricketer in more senses than one is unfortunately not with us anymore.

Mansur Ali Khan, the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi, was arguably the best captain India has ever produced. He was handed the captaincy of India at a tender age of 21, the youngest captain in the world until that record was broken in 2004 by Tatenda Taibu. Something worth a mention is that he severely damamged his right eye in a car accident well before he made his debut for India.

After his debut in 1961 and only three Tests, he was made the captain of the national team ahead of some senior players in the team like Chandu Borde, Vijay Manjrekar and Polly Umrigar.

From the very beginning he was known for his skills, his ambitious attitude, his poise and panache as he had already captained Sussex and Oxford University. He then changed the course and direction of Indian cricket.

The Indian team till then played more to represent the country and not so much for winning. The team lacked the belief that they could play a Test and bowl the opposition out twice in a single Test.

Pataudi is known as the man who changed that and instilled feelings of self belief, confidence, faith and taught his team how to fight. Between 1961 and 1975, he captained India in 40 Tests, of which India won nine. This included the magical feat of leading India to its first ever Test win at Dunedin in 1968 and the team's first ever series win abroad in New Zealand.

If his successor Ajit Wadekar was successful as a captain in the early 1970s, it was only because Tiger Pataudi had impregnated the idea of playing the team to its strength of match-winning spinners - Bishan Singh Bedi, BS Chandrashekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Venkataraghavan.

Apart from captaining the side, he made a name for his personal achievements too. Six hundreds, including a double hundred against England in Delhi, and 16 fifties bear testimony to his gumption. He was a Tiger on the field being one of the finest fielders in the covers in the history of Indian cricket.

Tiger was once smacked on the jaw at the Eden Gardens against West Indies in 1975 by 6 feet 2 inches tall Andy Roberts. He was back on the field with a wired jaw as soon as the next wicket fell to hit six elegant boundaries.

One innings which stands out in his career is one he played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1967. Pataudi came to the green pitch when the scoreboard read 25 for 5 and came along with a runner as he had pulled his hamstring. This innings of 75 is regarded better than his six hundreds and is referred to an innings played with one leg and one eye.

It is because of his and his father's services to Anglo-Indian cricket that the bilateral Test series between India and England have been named the 'Pataudi Trophy'. His father Iftikhar Ali Khan is the only cricketer to have played for both India and England.

While some of us shed tears and some hold them back, one question which will always remain unanswered is, what all would the Nawab have achieved with two eyes?

No Country for Greedy Men?

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Ask any kid in or around Shivaji Park, Azad Maidan or the Oval Ground about what his dream is and he will reply without a second’s delay, “I want to be a part of the Indian cricket team”. That’s how it has been for years if not decades, but the question is will the answer remain the same over the coming years?

With the T20 format introduced by the introducers the game, the contours of the game and pay scales are changing rather rapidly. The latest developments being the tiff between Chris Gayle and the WICB aggravating, second being one of the most bizarre retirements from the finest format of the game by Malinga and third being senior Indian cricketers like Tendulkar, Zaheer, Sehwag and Dhoni playing for clubs in the IPL but not representing their country for the ODIs in the Caribbean.

Initially, it was only a misunderstanding between the WICB and Gayle but as soon as the former landed in the subcontinent, the relationship has been getting worse as quickly as Gayle has been hitting sixes in the IPL. Gayle definitely seems to be more relaxed with RCB than with his nation’s side as he’s been smiling (which is a rare sight), giving high fives and he himself has said he is feeling very comfortable with the team. Dwayne Bravo who joined the defending champions much later recently said that he didn't have any difficulty in gelling with the team (CSK). Will this ignorance by the cricket board lead to preference towards the money laundering entertainment event?

Malinga’s retirement from Test on the other hand was nothing less than out of the blue. He announced his retirement in the middle of the squabble between the Sri Lankan board and the players who were playing in IPL who wanted to stay longer and skip the practice games before their English tour. I firmly believe that IPL was one of the main reasons he retired because if his knee injury was so serious, he could have easily retired from T20s including IPL and played occasionally in the ODIs to make himself fully available for Tests. Or choose between ODIs and Tests depending on his personal preference after retiring from IPL which takes place when cricketers around the world rest or play county in England. But sadly, players nowadays have the option of going for money and not caring enough about their country.

And then came the announcement of Gambhir leading the LOI team for the Caribbean tour starting on June 4. No doubt it is another salivating opportunity for youngsters but why are we ignoring the fact that all the seniors have chosen to skip the ODIs? Do we not want to see them win matches for our country rather than some club which is busier in hiring and firing cheerleaders and inviting Bollywood celebs for the matches?

If I had my ways, I would have reprimanded Sehwag for being so nonchalant about his injury. The shoulder injury occurred during the Tests in December during South African tour which made him miss the ODIs so that he could be in shape (so to say) for the World Cup. Credit goes to him for playing the World Cup even when his shoulder had not healed completely and we lifted the cup, didn’t we? But shouldn’t he have gone for an operation immediately after the celebrations instead of worsening it in the IPL and missing the entire Caribbean tour? On being asked about his shoulder in a press conference just before his last game for the Delhi Daredevils, he said, “I will continue to play with it as long as it doesn't hurt”. And some sweet reminders, Sehwag missed the T20 World Cups in England in 2009 and in West Indies last year because he picked up injuries in the IPL.

If you are a regular follower of Indian cricket, you will know that Zaheer has not been 100% fit for long now which is evident in his run-ups and while he is fielding in the deep. Shouldn’t he also have given rest to his tired legs to be fresh for the Caribbean and England tour?

Our man with the midas touch, Dhoni complained a few months before the World Cup that the team’s schedule was too hectic. But the same man did not go to his hometown Ranchi after playing the World Cup finals in Mumbai because he had to fly to Chennai to join his team Chennai Super Kings. Any logic behind that? I fail to understand why he didn’t take a break as the money could not have made him greedy since he is the highest paid cricketer in the country and maybe in the world.

What I cannot understand even more is that why is Sachin Tendulkar playing match after match in the IPL? He skipped most of the ODIs in 2010 to keep himself fit for the World Cup and to concentrate on Tests. Now that the Cup is in his cabinet (not literally), why does he need to play all the IPL matches? Which part of his body has he not injured in the last 21 and a half years while playing for his country? By how much will the IPL increase his bank balance, 0.1% or 1%? He himself says in almost all his interviews that playing and winning for the country gives him more satisfaction than anything else. Any dots to be connected here?

We can only hope and pray now that the trend doesn’t change because of the moolah and that upcoming cricketers whether in India or abroad still dream of playing for their country.

The Benefits of Sachin Not Scoring a 100 In The WC Final

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There is more to Indian cricket beyond Sachin Tendulkar. He may have dominated the headlines for all sorts of records over the last two decades but this World Cup final was not just about him. The World Cup has been his burning desire since childhood and he gave it his everything like he does once in four years but it wasn’t won by him alone even though the 31,000 crowd at the Wankhede wanted him to score his 100th international ton on his home turf.

The World Cup might be his now, though not just his, and the final was certainly not about him. It was about the skillful Zaheer, about the uncomplicated Munaf, about the new avatar of Yuvraj, about the determined Gambhir, about a promising Virat Kohli, about the leader Dhoni and about 120 crore other people of the country.

After the World Cup was won almost all Indian players dedicated the cup to Sachin Tendulkar. In fact, even weeks before the tournament started players had started saying that it’s his last World Cup and they want to win it for him.

Were the celebrations and the enjoyment overshadowed by the fact that this meant a lot to Sachin and that it was mostly about him, this being his last World Cup? Most of the post-match discussions were about him, all players were asked about him and what this meant to him, all the players wanted to dedicate this to him, all pictures had Sachin all over them, the newspapers had his pictures on the front page showing him in front of Gateway of India even 48 hours after winning the trophy and of course our ‘sensible’ TV channels also had nothing else to show as usual.

No doubt it was most disheartening and frightening to see Sachin’s wicket fall that evening as I saw it in the stadium itself as there was pin-drop silence for a few minutes. But it was nothing less than a pleasure to see that in the World Cup Final, which must have been the most important match of the players, the youngsters stood up and performed.

Yuvraj took the ball once again as the fifth bowler and broke the crucial Sanga-Jaya partnership which could have taken them closer to 300 and gave runs at less than 5/over. Munaf did not take a single wicket or bowl a single maiden but not many realized that despite being criticized the most, he had the most economical figures. The deadly duo of Raina and Kohli saved at least 20-25 runs which made our chase easier. Kohli played like a matured and experienced player and made crucial 35 runs and then the match-winning knock from Gambhir who came to the pitch when the scorecard said 0-1 and made the most runs under pressure. If I had to make a sequel of True Grit, I would star Gautam Gambhir in it.

Ever since Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid were the spine of our batting in ODIs, we have been wondering how they will be replaced. Now, only the first one is left in the team and I’m more than happy to say that the baton is being passed on to some responsible cricketers. Sachin played only two ODIs in 2010 and still our team’s performance was consistent.

Coming back to the World Cup, it was exhilarating to see these youngsters play some fantastic cricket and that it wasn’t yet another victory just because of Sachin. It very well could have been…But a part of me says, I’m glad it wasn’t.

Mind you, I am not taking any credit away from the senior players like Sachin, Zaheer, Dhoni or Yuvraj, I am only giving a lot of credit to these youngsters which they deserve…