ST.KITTS

WINDIES GO ONE UP




The home team won with just the last ball to spare in the third one dayer of the current series. Incidentally, this is the first international match to be played at Warner Park. All the three matches have been very close ones, each going to the last over. But that does not hide the truth that the Windies outplayed India in the third match.

Sehwag and Kaif took their team to a strong position after the early dismissal of Dravid. But the other batsmen could not sustain the tempo and the innings of the tourists ended having posted a not so impressive total. The last 15 overs of the Indian innings just produced 42 runs. The slow bowlers like Samuels and Gayle proved to be difficult to score runs off. The absence of the in-form Yuvraj was very much felt.

Needing to score just under 250 runs in 50 overs, the home team was not expected to be stretched. But the Windies managed to do that despite the sterling knocks from Sarwan and Chanderpaul. These two have been thorns in the Indian flesh in the past, and this time was no different. Sarwan has an exceptional record against the Indians, which does not quite match his record when it comes to teams like Australia. The same is the case with Chanderpaul who has never shown his dislike for the Indian attacks.

Initially, the Indian bowlers were treated with disrespect with the exception of Agarkar. Pathan seems to be in a trance as he went all over the park. Harbhajan once again showed the control he has over the Caribbean batsmen. Powar was taken to the cleaners by Sarwan and with this showing, it is time the management takes a new look at the Mumbai off-spinner.

With the team being considered as a strong contender for the world cup in 2007, India ought to outplay an opposition as mediocre as the Windies.

TEST TEAM FOR WINDIES

The Indian team for the test matches does not have any surprises except for the inclusion of V V S Laxman and the non-inclusion of Ajit Agarkar. Probably, the last minute decision of Sachin to miss the tour gave the batsman from Hyderabad another tilt at test match glory. I am a big fan of Laxman but with the theories and ideas of Greg Chappell, it was always doubtful.

I have never been a supporter of Agarkar. I have always felt that the Mumbai bowler gets the opportunities just because he comes from a particular part of the country. But in the three one dayers, he has been a revelation. He bowled exceedingly well and a test slot was awaited. But the selectors led by the irrepressible Kiran More sprang a surprise by excluding Agarkar from the test side. The last time Punjab bowler V R V Singh was in the team, the selectors did not know about the injury he was carrying. Hope this time he is fully fit. I reckon the obsession with this bowler is more to do with the kind of influence that a particular gentleman wields in the present dispensation. The inclusion of Powar is baffling, to say the least. Maybe, that is something to do with the representation from Mumbai.With Kumble and Harbhajan, the Mumbai spinner will only sit on the bench. Wasim Jaffer will return to the test team to open the innings and that will spare us from the ‘sacrifices’ made by Dravid while opening the batting.

Raina has been included in the test squad following his impressive performances in the shorter version of the game. After a long time, the selectors have shown some sense in picking a second wicket keeper in Dinesh Kartik. Since it is a four match series, it is wise to have some contingent plan.

Lastly, the timing of the announcement when the one dayers are still to be played is curious, as always is the case with the current selection panel.

DOES THAT INCLUDE MR.CHAPPELL?

Greg Chappell has been in the news ever since he was appointed the coach of the Indian team. The spat with Saurav and the subsequent events have been well documented. A supposed injury caused the Aussie to show a particular finger. It is also well publicized the desire of Chappell to make India the second best team in the world. The wins over Sri Lanka, England and Pakistan, especially in the limited overs game has enhanced the reputation of Chappell. A lot of coverage has been given in the press about the ‘processes’ and ‘experiments’ that contributed to the success. However, the same could not help India save test matches, one in Pakistan and one in India.


I was going through an interview that Chappell gave to Rohit Brijnath in Sportstar (May 20, 2006). Chappell believes that India has to get good results in test matches by 2006. In case, India is not able to achieve this objective, then in Chappell’s words “ we’ve got wrong people”. When persisted with the question, Chappell says “ at the end of the day the players have got to play. It could be a reflection on the selectors, it could be a reflection on the system in India that produces cricketers, it could be a reflection on a lot of people”.

Chappell, who has earned the reputation of being honest and candid, does not think anything about the role of the coach. If the players have to play and the selectors have to do their jobs, then what is the coach going to do? In that case, it is not justified to employ someone who does not want to be accountable.

JAMAICA

SECOND ODI- WINDIES DRAW LEVEL

The sequence of chasing targets has come to an end thanks to a most inept display. I don’t like to underestimate the strength of the Windies, but that team from the Caribbean is mediocre to say the least. If the Indian team cannot come up with a convincing display against such opponents, then all the ‘experiments’ and ‘processes’ do not mean anything.

In recent years, most of the touring teams to the Caribbean have been victorious in both the versions of the game. The home team has been outplayed on a number of occasions. The only saving grace has been the batting of a few individuals. In the first game, the Indian line up nearly threw it all away, before scrapping a win. Now, in the second game, a target of less than 200 runs seemed beyond the superstars.

With the kind of money, the players ought to respond in a more professional manner. It would serve the team better, if the players concentrate on their game.

NOT THE RIGHT VIEW

I read the write ups of Ms. Sharda Ugra with interest. But I don’t agree with her views on Asia (India Today, May 15, 2006) getting the chance to host the cricket World Cup in 2011. Her argument is that since cricket is by far the most popular sport in the subcontinent, the event should have gone to some other country where cricket can be popularized.

Ms.Ugra cites events like the football World Cup that have been hosted in South Korea and Japan in 2002 and that South Africa gets the chance to host the same in 2010. It is true that FIFA has tried out to reach countries of Asia and Africa. But let us not forget that the first world cup in football was held in 1938 and only in 2002 the world body decided to take football outside the traditional venues! The same is the case with other sporting events.

It is the money and the popularity that influence such decisions today. Windies gets to host the world cup in 2007. England hosted the first three editions and another in 1999. It is Australia that has hosted only one in 1992. But Australia has so far hosted the Olympic games and the Commonwealth games twice each. Australia has so strong sporting culture and traditions that the average Australian would not be unhappy to lose out this chance.

India now excels in very few sports on a world level. Cricket, even though played only in a handful of countries is the most popular sport. So there is nothing wrong with Asia getting the chance to host another world cup.

SUMMER OF 1985

India won the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. The year also was eventful for me. I entered into college leaving behind uniforms and the school bags. The Indian victory came just before I sat down to write the class 10 examinations.

With no television, one had to depend on newspapers and occasionally on the radio. In the recent weeks, I saw all the action on television, courtesy, ESPN and Star Sports. Behind the win, the Indians did the ‘basics’ right.

Srikkanth played shots all over the ground and he was not afraid to take to the air, something that coaches at the junior level despise of. Ravi Shastri batted and bowled like a true champion of champions. Kapil Dev bowled well and played an important knock like the one against New Zealand. Sunil Gavaskar and Azharuddin batted well.

All the bowlers had their moments and were ably supported by the fielders. The fielders covered the large grounds in Australia well and took most of the catches. Basically, everyone contributed his might. The team did not rely on an individual and that really made all the difference.

This win and the victory in the World Cup in 1983 was the reason why I follow cricket till today.

JAMAICA

In the end, India pulled off a win with just one ball to spare. India made heavy weather of the target having been comfortably placed at one point, with the good partnership between Dravid and Kaif. Dravid batted like a dream while Kaif’s was a scrappy one.

The decision to field first after winning the toss continues to baffle me.The decision could have been prompted either with the confidence of chasing well the targets or the inability to face the ball on a wicket that was green. I don’t expect the team think tank to be defensive in their approach while being confronted with a wicket that offered assistance to the faster bowlers.

The Indian bowlers were taken apart by Chris Gayle who seems to relish this attack. The other destroyers of Indian attacks like Chanderpaul and Sarwan could not make a big contribution and that kept the Windies total within the reach of India. Lara has never played a spectacular knock against the Indians and that is a cause of worry, since the left-hander wants to make it big in his final stint as captain.

The win should not take away some of the concerns for the Indians. Irfan Pathan was not effective. It was only Agarkar and Harbhajan who could control the runs.

DRAW AT LORD'S

The test match between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s finished as a draw. England was on the front foot for nearly four days. The weather and the dropped catches saw Lanka save the match from a certain defeat. Of course, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain played the innings of his life. He made a 50 in the first and got a ton the second time round.

In the first innings, the Lankans were thoroughly outplayed, with both the ball and the bat. The bowling was not penetrative and the English made merry. Trescothick, Strauss, Cook, Collingwood all made runs. KP made a big hundred and Flintoff carted a few shots over the boundary. Matthew Hoggard and Mahmood then used the conditions well to make the Lankans follow on.


In the second innings, most of the Lankan batsmen contributed with the bat. Just as the dropped catches made a draw possible, an umpiring error could have proven costly for Sri Lanka. A ball from Flintoff brushed the pullover of Jayawardene and the umpire gave the batsman out, caught behind. There was justice in the end, with the draw.

BORN TO RUN?

There was surprise and awe in the deeds of a four year old. Here is Buddhia Singh who at only four years can run for kilometers. The fact that he hails from Orissa is more cause for cheer. There are very few sportspersons from this state. In cricket we had SS Das and Debashish Mohanty and in hockey there are Dilip Tirkey and others. But Buddhia has the potential to become the biggest athlete from the state and the country. Well, almost.


Buddhia comes from a very poor family, so poor that at one point his mother contemplated selling him for mere Rs.800 (less than US $20). In comes Biranchi, a Judo coach who takes with him Buddhia. The little wonder is ever since with Biranchi.


Even as Biranchi was showing to the world the potential of his protégé, there were calls that the child was exploited. A few Public Interest Litigations were also filed in the Courts, ostensibly to protect Buddhia. Some doctors alleged that the diet given to Buddhia and the training methods adopted by Biranchi were causing great damage to the frail Buddhia.


A week ago, Buddhia was to run a distance of 70 kilometers in an attempt to set a record. But the heat of May took its toll and after a grueling 65 kilometers, the boy had to be taken away for medical treatment. As the media and the coach were rejoicing over the record, Buddhia was taken away for a medical check-up after instructions from the state government. A team of doctors came up with the opinion that the running could cause severe damage to the body of Buddhia. The government warned of action against the coach.


The coach dismisses all the allegations saying that they are a part of a larger conspiracy. Now, what does the future hold for Buddhia? Is he going to disappear after promising a lot ? What do the experts and the government plan to ensure a good future for Buddhia?

NOT AGAIN!

I am fed up with the ‘second best’ thing. The dislike is partly because it was the name of a theory that I could not comprehend for a long time. A lot of media coverage was given over the ‘efforts’ of the coach and the support staff to take India to the second spot in the list of the cricket playing nations.

Now, the ‘second best’ bug has bitten the entire television fraternity. Every channel was proud to report the ascension of Rahul Dravid to the second position in the list of the best test batsmen.

When are we going to come out of this fixation with rankings and statistics? The last time we were fixated with this ranking business is when the media reported on a daily basis the rank of Sania Mirza.

BURNOUT?

In recent days, everyone, that is, the players, the media and the administrators have been showing concern over the ‘burnout’ caused by too much cricket. Even a newcomer like Dhoni is also concerned and has offered a solution. Dhoni wants the team management to come up with a rotation policy. With an Australian at the helm, ideas also sound different.

Sehwag wants the authorities to ensure that the players get extended breaks between matches. For the last one season, Sehwag has been spending more time in the dressing room, rather than at the batting crease !

I fully agree with the view of Sunil Gavaskar over the issue of too much cricket. The players are much better looked after now in terms of the money. The fact that they represent the country should be motivational enough. Playing 100 days out of a total of 365 days is tiresome, to say the least.

The Indian cricketers are a pampered lot and their views on the burnout issue only reinforces that belief. Look at the tennis players who slog it out on a daily basis. The same is with the footballers. Let us for a moment think about Leander and Bhupathi. They give everything for the sake of the country in Davis Cup in the midst of the packed schedule that modern tennis is. Yet, never have they complained.

Things like ‘patriotism’ can sound old fashioned and even jingoistic to the Indian cricketer of the present day.

ARSENAL VERSUS BARCELONA

Arsenal will meet Barcelona in the finals of the Champions League. Watched the two semifinals (second leg) live-something that I have done after a while, considering the timings for India. However, none of the two matches lived upto the expectations, with Arsenal and Barcelona playing it safe, protecting the one goal advantage from the first leg of the semifinals. It was a dull affair with players like Henry and Ronaldinho.

Arsenal were lucky to scrape through against a spirited Villareal. The Spanish team was unlucky to miss several chances, despite enjoying most of the ball possession. In the end, the Arsenal ‘keeper Jens Lehmann saved a penalty from a disputable decision.

Barcelona are on the verge of clinching the Primera Liga title and that raised the expectations. But Ronaldinho and his team could not go past the Italian defence.

In my opinion, Barcelona start as the favourites.

MY ATLAS

I was going through Gideon Haigh's Game for Anything-Writings on Cricket where in the first section titled Past Masters, the author takes up the case of the West Indian great, George Headley. Headley was, among other things, called the Black Bradman, which in my humble opinion, does not do justice to the mighty contribution made to the game in the West Indies.. C.B. Fry, the English cricketer called Headley, 'Atlas' and Haigh follows suit. The tag was in reference to the heavy burden that was placed on the shoulders of Headley in the batting department.

Haigh writes,”the complications of a role such as Headley's must be understood as the most formidable in cricket. Great players usually play in good teams. This is the reason they become great, because they have the opportunity to bat with competent partners and in favourable circumstances, or to bowl with reliable backup and alert fieldsmen. The lot of the outstanding player in a mediocre team is disproportionately harder, not merely because of the absence of able support and the likelihood of losing causes, but because the scenarios encountered tend over time to distort one's natural game.”
Haigh writes how Headley was given a small opportunity to captain the West Indian side, inspite of his credentials. The only reason could be found in racial equations, as asserted by Learie Constantaine and C.L.R. James.

Haigh made me think about the Atlaslike figure of Indian cricket. For a while, I thought about the likes of Vinoo Mankad and Lala Amarnath. Then I turned to players who really made me take to cricket. This includes Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Mohinder Amarnath and Kapil Dev. This is followed by the present 'superstars' with Sachin leading the list that also includes Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and V.V.S. Laxman. But none of them actually can become the Atlaslike figure that Haigh conjures of Headley. I have my sound reasons for this. All of them have, at times, been members of great teams, savouring success. Most of them have also had the honour of captaining the Indian team. Vinoo Mankad, Mohinder and Laxman, could not become captains.

For a long while, Sachin carried the Indian batting on his shoulders. He was the only Indian to command the respect and admiration of the opposing teams. Rahul Dravid has taken the leading role now with Sachin taking the backseat. But both Rahul and Sachin have got the recognition and honour that they richly deserve. And so is the case with Saurav Gangluy.Laxman once again, misses the cut.

But my vote goes to Anil Kumble. He has remained the workhorse of the Indian cricket team, without actually getting the recognition of the cricket followers, commentators, or the selectors. Lesser peers of the Karnataka bowler have captured greater heights of public adulation, while Kumble has been seen the also ran. First the criticism that he was a spinner who could not turn the ball. There is nothing worse for an Indian cricket follower to come across a spinner who cannot make the ball turn. Then came all the talk with regard to the rather 'poor' record of Kumble on foreign pitches, that is, outside the subcontinent. Kumble has answered all the criticism in his own way, without, ever showing his anger or frustration in public when any news channel would have loved to show the soundbites.

There was a time when Kumble was trusted by the captain to bowl at the death in the shorter version of the game. But then, all of a sudden, he was shunted out of the squad for the team that played in the World Cup of 2003. The then captain and the coach also did not hesitate to keep him out of the test teams, when playing outside home. Things were not well for India in Australia until Kumble returned to the playing eleven. Kumble had a big role in the historic series win in Pakistan. But the selectors thought fit to rest him for the series in Bangladesh. The same selectors were not keen to rest a batsman named Sachin, who duly got hundred on that tour. Kumble has never blamed the ball nor the pitch for failures while everyone gives credit to these things whenever he takes wickets.





Kumble had never been considered a captaincy material, although newcomers like Sehwag and Kaif are considered future prospects. For a while, Kumble was made the vice-captain but he could not get the promotion with 'natural' leaders like Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid in the team. I still remember vividly the voice of the commentator who went ballistic against Kumble. The team lost a match in Sri Lanka and the margin was very small. What was the fault of Kumble? The commentator felt the shot played by him was 'irresponsible' since Kumble was the vice-captain of the side.

I fully agree with the words of Haigh about the difficulties of playing in a mediocre team. The perfomances of Warne are recognised because the sides including him are outstanding. The efforts of Kumble are not given the recognition even after getting more than 500 wickets in test cricket. Even now, there are critics who point out to the number of wickets taken on home pitches. In that case, why forget the role of Kumble in shaping the record of the Indian team on home soil?

For me, the most striking image is the sight of Kumble taking the wicket of the great Brian Lara, with a broken jaw. So Anil Kumble is my favourite cricketer.

This tribute may seem as unconventional and unglamorous as the leg spin of Kumble.

THE CAPTAINCY DEBATE

“Captaincy is ninety percent luck and ten percent skill”-Richie Benaud.

Richie Benaud is well respected as a commentator and as a good captain of his generation. The defeat of the Aussies in a one dayer after posting a record total and the decision of Rahul Dravid to bowl first in the Mumbai test after winning the toss, has reopened the captaincy debate.

Much is made of the man-management skills and the astuteness of the cricket captains of the present and the past. But as Benaud puts it, there is only a limited amount of skill involved, where the captain has to take the right decision at the right time.

What was Ponting doing when his bowlers were thrashed all over the park after he and his batsmen posted a total in excess of 400? Ponting allowed the game to be taken away from his hands and even as the South African batsmen threw their wickets away, they could win the game. Normally, Ponting is praised for his thinking and cricketing acumen, both of which were not visible on that day.

Conventional wisdom says that the side winning the toss has to bat first on the pitches of the subcontinent. Dravid went the other way and paid the price by losing the test to England. There were explanations galore after the defeat. But the wins in the one dayers have put the Indian captain on a higher plane for his captaincy skills.

If a matter as small as a toss can decide the outcome of the matches, then the captain should be asked to master the art of making the winning calls. With 'super' coaches like Greg Chappell calling the shots in matters relating to selection and the strategies, there is very little for the captain to do.

FATULLAH TEST

SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR

Australia have another test win and Ponting has scored another 100. Both these have become so common that there is nothing to be surprised about. But this win and 100 are different. The win has come over Bangladesh and the 100 went a long way in securing the win for the Aussies.

For the first three days, it was the home team that called the shots. On the first day, the batsmen of the home team scored more than 300 runs that had the likes of Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Stuart Clark and Jason Gillespie, on a comeback. The second leg spinner, MacGill took eight wickets that restricted the Bangladesh total. When the Aussies batted, it was the 100 from Adam Gilchrist that took them past the follow-on mark. The home team was in control of the match until the third innings of the test.

The batsmen of the home team did not appear as confident as they did in the first innings. The batsmen who played shots in the first innings, were too tentative the second time round. Probably, the thought of scoring a win over the best team was putting too much pressure on their bodies and minds. The Aussies were given a target of just over 300 runs.

Only Ponting, Hayden and for a little while, Hussey resisted the bowling attack. Hayden and Ponting forged a good stand, but it was the captain, Ponting who took his team home.

For a test which was expected to be over in under three days, the match went to the fifth. That should be something of an achievement for the Bangla tigers, but a win for the home team could have been the biggest upset in the history of cricket, especially, coming on the heels of the South African one day win.

SECOND OF THE SECOND OF THE SECOND………………..

It was astonishing to find that everyone connected with the Indian cricket team, right from the coach onwards and the media talking about the desire to be the second best team in the world, after the all-conquering Aussies. Now, India, Pakistan and England and not forgetting Mickey Arthur’s Proteas are supposedly in the race for the tag of ‘second best’. With India losing to Pakistan in the test series, and the defeat at Mumbai, they have slipped to being the second of the second of the second of…………. the second best.

It was quite ludicrous to read in the media, glowing tributes to the methods employed by Chappell and his team to make India the second best team. I am not sure whether Chappell ever said this. But if there is any truth, then it is time to do something that the English FA did to Sven Goran Erikson.

“…WE PLAYED WELL AGAINST SRI LANKA”

So stated the Indian captain Rahul Dravid in a press conference after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the English. A team that was expected to lose, especially, after the loss of key players, managed to turn the tables on the host. England managed to win the Ashes after a long time with Ricky Ponting being the Aussie captain to be forced to part with the famous urn. Now, Rahul Dravid has the bear the tag of being the first Indian captain to lose a test to England on the Indian soil in 21 years.

The visitors actually grew in confidence and strength as the series progressed. Their batsmen were not given a chance while coping the Indian spinners. But they played with a degree of authority, not associated with any of the English teams of the past. Cook was a surprise package while Strauss got into the act only in the third test. Pietersen played a couple of good knocks and Flintoff was simply superb. Collingwood and Bell also played the supporting part well.

In the bowling department, Hoggard and Flintoff added to their reputation while Anderson made the best of the opportunity he received. Monty Panesar was spoken in rather dismissive terms. Remember the famous quote of Miandad on Irfan Pathan ? Panesar did not set the pitch on fire but managed to create ripples. Shaun Udal got into the act in the third test.

In the Indian camp, Sehwag and Sachin were failures. The man from Najafgarh could not simply negotiate the rising delivery, notwithstanding his knock in the second test. Sachin was simply scratchy and so was the new batting found, Yuvraj. Jaffer and Dravid were good but failed at the wrong time. About the bowlers, Kumble , Sreesanth and Munaf Patel were the picks. Harbhajan failed to create any impression even with the SG ball in his hands and the familiar home conditions. Irfan is looking more like a batsman who can bowl.

It is a well known fact that Sri Lanka are one of the worst when it comes to playing in overseas conditions. So the rejoicement over the win earlier in the season was quite premature. When push came to shove in Pakistan, the Indians were beaten in the third test.

'MOUTH' SHUT?

It is difficult to watch the Chamions League games live as the telecast is made well past the midnight hour India time. But then Barcelona managed to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It would take more than the loudmouth of Mourinho to defeat the Spanish league leaders who have a two away goal advantage. For the first time, Mourinho was realistic after the loss. Remember the last time? Mourinho was quite convinced that Liverpool was not the best team in Europe after their success. Add to it the controversy over the Barcelona coach having a talk with the referee.

Chelsea are on track to win the English Premier League for the second year in a row. But the rather poor showing on the European stage and the recent shock defeat in England have put question marks over the power of money in assembling a team. Incidentally, the man who is chased by Chelsea, Samuel Eto'o scored the winner.

END OF THE ROAD?

(Photo courtesy cricinfo.com


There were very few surprises in the Indian team that is to take on England. The injury to Yuvraj meant the inclusion of Kaif. He is a good player who on most occasions has delivered the goods. But, unfortunately, Kaif has always been on the fringes. Laxman looked out of sorts on the tour to Pakistan. Of course, to be fair, most of the batsmen looked like stoned during the third test.

Saurav Ganguly should have got a chance. Now since the selection is over, it is time the lefthander took stock of the situation. The whole world is up in arms against the inclusion of Ganguly. Everyone is fully behind the selectors and the powers that run Indian cricket. It is surreal and something that does not fully reflect the drama that is Indian cricket.

Cricket historians in time would remind us the intrigue that surrounded Indian cricket in general and Ganguly, in particular.

SAURAV DILEMNA

Saurav Ganguly continues to evoke strong reactions(Cricinfo Magazine,February 2006). Sadly, the performance of the Indian team in the one dayers leaves little room for the left hander to make a comeback. Paradoxically, a poor run in the limited overs version by the team could have made the clamour for his inclusion in the team a lot stronger. As an Indian, I don't want the team to lose to any team, and especially, not to Pakistan. At the same time, I cannot but scheme how to make Ganguly a part of the team once again.

I agree with the view that players with age on their side have to be tried out for the long term interest of the team. But it makes little sense to try someone just for the sake for trying. In the two innings that he played, Gambhir was not upto the mark. On any given day, Ganguly, is definitely a lot superior to the Delhi batsman. It was also not too long ago, that Saurav was replaced by Wasim Jaffer for the test at Ahmedabad and the Mumbai opener was made to warm the bench.

Ganguly baiters would cite the inability of the man to handle fast bowling especially, the short pitched stuff. But look at the way, the Indian batsmen collapsed to their feet, in the third test in Pakistan. The wicket was no way near to the Brisbane test where Ganguly made a ton on the great tour to down under. Few also remember the century scored at Leeds which resulted in a victory for India.

Clearly, this is a case of applying different criteria to different people. Suddenly, it became a fashion to whip Saurav, particularly after the incidents in Zimbabwe.

Whatever happens to Saurav, I am proud of his achievements. He was the one who made the entire country proud by standing upto his opponents.

UNSUNG HEROES

The retirement of Narendra Hirwani from the Indian first class scene did not get the attention that it deserved. Few of today's cricket followers can talk about the achievements of the leg spinner. It was Hirwani who spun India to an improbable win at Chepauk, then in Madras over the mighty West Indies captained by Viv Richards. For the record, Hirwani took 16 wickets in his debut match.

Hirwani made leg spin glamorous with the sharp turn and the dark glasses. For many of my contemporaries, leg spin was something to gain cricket glory.Add to the cricketing exploits, the alleged romantic affair with a budding television actress. After the heady start, there was a decline in the cricketing fortunes of Hirwani. But he continued to make many a domestic batsman to dance to his spin, year after year.

In the same lines, Rajinder Goel of Haryana and Padmakar Shivalkar of Bombay and not to forget V.V.Kumar of Madras continued to serve their teams long after their hopes of playing for the country faded. Also, mention has to be made of Kanwaljeet Singh of Hyderabad and Ananthapadmanabhan of Kerala who played every season for a long time as if their survival depended on it. To this list of spinners, a medium pacer by the name of Zaidi has to be added.

It is these gentlemen who have made Indian cricket richer by the effort and the often ignored performance. Cynics may scoff that this reflects the lack of new players. Perhaps, they were not as lucky as the few who represented the country or that they were simply born at the wrong time.

COOL RUNNINGS 2?

The winter Olympics are underway in Turin. Indians don't have anything to look for. The Indian athlete Shiva Kesavan created a stir on the eve of the opening ceremony and finished 25th in his event. That is not the reason behind this post.

Remember 'Cool Runnings'? It was a movie that featured the attempt at glory by the bobsled team from Jamaica in the 1988 winter Olympics at Calgary, Canada. Yes, it is about a team from the sunbaked island of Jamaica where there is no possibility of any snow. Actually, three sprinters from the Caribbean island failed to make to the summer Olympics for the sprint events. The three then got hold of a fellow countryman to go to Canada. In the end, there was no medal for the Jamaicans but their attempt was highly commendable.

I was watching the sports bulletin on the BBC before the start of the compeition at Turin. It featured an athlete by the name Robel( forgive me for not giving his full name) form of all places, Ethiopia. You heard it right; he is from an African country. Followers of athletics know that Ethiopia is more famous for producing great middle and long distance runners. Now it came as a shock rather than a surprise to me hear about an athlete in the winter Olympics from an African country.

It does not matter if Robel wins any medal or not.

Any filmmaker from Hollywood interested in making 'Cool Runnings2'?

VB SERIES

The South Africans lost three matches too miss out the finals of the VB Series. They had to win just one to go to the finals. But it was Sri Lanka who are going to meet the host Australia in the finals.

Nothing went right for the Proteas despite all the big talk from the likes of their coach and captain. A few months back, the same captain was praised by the Indian media for his batting as well as his tactical acumen. Now, Smith proved to be a big failure on both the counts. There was a suggestion that the absence of players like Kallis and Nel was a big blow to the fortunes on the tour to down under. Kallis, though he has the statistics to boast, has never looked to win matches in the shorter version of the game. Nel is a good bowler, though makes most of his emotional quotient on the field to terrify his opponents. At best, he is lively bowler in the test matches.

Gibbs has the skills but did not show any application to threaten the rival teams. The best South African batsman was the wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. It came as a surprise when Boucher was not included in the team to India. The rest are just not upto the scratch when it comes to take the likes of Australia.

COME ON, INZAMAM

The recent success of Pakistan has made most of the players and ex-players of that country more expressive. Inzamam, is someone who is not known for his verbal skills. But the dismissal of the Pakistan captain in the first one-dayer has prompted a reaction.

Inzamam was declared out for obstructing the field. It is interesting to note that he was involved in a similar incident in the test series with England. In the match at Peshawar, Inzamam was well out of the crease and so there was justification for the appeal of the Indians. At this rate, all batsmen would make an attempt to stop the ball, thereby, surviving runouts. For someone so experienced, it makes little sense to blame the opposition for conduct unbecoming for a sportsman. If Inzamam is conscious of upholding the spirit of sportsmanship, then he should not cry over spilt milk.

Moin Khan is another who is afflicted with the severe case of verbal diarrhoea. He is in no position to talk about sporting spirit. Was there a sporting conduct with the Younis Khan appealing for bad light when the equation was in their favour?

DEATH OF A SPORTSTAR

It was in the summer of 1984 that my father introduced us to The Sportstar and that probably explains the liking I have for Liverpool. Those were the days when there was no television and the newspapers carried black and white images of my favourite sportspersons. The Sportstar showed us the true colour of sports coupled with some of the finest prose we could lay our hands on. It was a habit that I shared with my brothers for weeks and years; for more than 20 years. My brother who is abroad, goes for the online edition week after week. I must confess that over the years, I have lost touch with this wonderful friend.

Each issue of The Sportstar was something that me and my brothers did not mind having a fight. Being the eldest, I had the final say. Also, I was the one who got it from the newstand. The initial issues were marked by the rise of a German tennis player called Boris Becker. Liverpool with people like Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush were the best footballers with the exception of Maradona and Platini. Golf gave us Ballesteros (hope I spell the name correctly).

Of course, the best coverage was with regard to cricket. The photographs were simply superb. There was a special centrefold photograph that gave me the opportunity to decorate the walls of my hostel room. There are still some photographs that are highly valuable for us.

R.Mohan and Nirmal Sekhar amazed us with their writing skills. There was also Robin Marlar for cricket and Peter Bodo for tennis. Then there is the peerless Brian Glanville talking sense of football. He was and still is aiming his guns or his pen at people like Sepp Blatter. I haven't touched a tennis racquet in my life but 'Stan Smith's tennis class' gave enough inspiration to go for a imaginary backhand shot down the line. It was much later that I heard the Dire Straits going full throttle with 'Sultans of Swing'. The Sportstar was the first to give the phrase 'Sultan of Swing' on a cover to mark the 15 wicket haul of Richard Hadlee in the Brisbane test. The special issues before a major sporting event and after were highly coveted.

In the later years, Sunil Gavaskar graced the pages and soon a number of former players joined the bandwagon. There were high quality articles interspersed with mediocre stuff. That, I believe started the slide. People like Rohit Brijnath continue to do the good work even today.

What really prompted me to write is the new look of The Sportstar. It was recently relaunched in a tabloid form. There are no longer any photos on glossy paper. The new look makes The Sportstar a very pale shadow of its former self. The newstand owner was sad to report the alarming loss of leaders. While 30 copies were sold in a week, this week only one copy was picked up by a reader. Change is needed, but not in this way.

WELL SAID, ASIF

After the second test that ended in a draw, Mohd. Asif was speaking to a channel. What hit me was the confidence of the bowler who was only two tests old. Asif caused problems to the Indian batting line-up in Faisalabad too. He was confident about the Pakistan bowling attack and opined that the Indian batsmen could face trouble on wickets assisting the faster bowlers.

Initially, this was something straight out of the books of Miandad, Moin Khan and others. But it turned out to be true as the famed Indian top order was blown away.

A TURNAROUND INDEED

Before the last tour to Pakistan, it was Indians who appeared to be well prepared and well organised. It showed in the results when the Indians emerged victorious in both the test matches and the one-dayers. This time round, the hosts looked well prepared with some clear strategy in mind.

Javed Miandad was the coach of the Pakistan team. True to his habit, Miandad was full of sound bites. The most famous or most infamous line concerned Irfan Pathan. He observed that bowlers like Pathan were plenty in Pakistan. On the other hand, the Indian coach was John Wright who rarely caused any surprises with his verbal utterances. Miandad was sometimes behaving like the coach of a football team, shouting at his players or giving instructions from the balcony.

This time round, the roles have been reversed. Bob Woolmer does like to stay out of the limelight, preferring to work the strategy. On the other camp, we have Greg Chappell who rarely stays out of controversy, though sometimes not his fault. Miandad's role has been taken over by the likes of Raj Singh Dungarpur, though, after the start of the test series, the gentleman has rarely uttered a word in public. The actions of Sharad Pawar and Kiran More only added to the broth that is Indian cricket.

On the last tour, the Indian players appeared to be focussed while there was a chop and change approach to the Pakistan team. The Indians were riding the crest of a wave while there was tremendous pressure on the host team. There was very little sledging from the Pakistani side, except the Akhtar and Sehwag confrontation during the Multan test. But this time round, the players of the home team left no stone unturned to assert their confidence. Even a player like Afridi who was not sure of a regular place in the Pakistan team just a couple of series' ago, is now an important player.

There is something that is different this time. The Indians had a point to prove on their last tour and they were motivated. This time it is Inzamam and company who showed the hunger for success.

DOWN AND OUT?

(photo courtesy cricinfo.com)

The sight of Sachin Tendulkar falling to the ground after being bowled by Asif in the second innings of the Karachi test was depressing. Of course, it was not the first time that Tendulkar tried to give the impression that the ball kept low. That gave cue to the media that the ball which got the wicket of Tendulkar was a 'shooter'.

Anyone who has played a bit of cricket on the dusty turfs of India, knows what it is like to be confronted with a shooter. A shooter rarely has any upward movement; it just slithers to the wickets.
Tendulkar has not been brought up and bred on the hard and bouncy wickets of Australia.

STOP THE FINGER POINTING

Greg Chappell has the knack of showing his finger. The first time it was in Kolkata that was attributed to some kind of injury. Now the Aussie has pointed, not shown , his finger at the bowling action of Shoaib Akhtar. This comes at a bad time after India were trashed comprehensively in the Karachi test match.

That Akhtar is chucking is something that is visible to everyone. But the ICC and the wise men who make the laws relating to the game of cricket have allowed this type of chucking to take place in the name of 15 degrees. When the ICC and the Umpires have no objection to the action of Akhtar, there is very little that Chappell can achieve.

If Chappell wanted to achieve something good for the game in the long run, he should have highlighted the case much before the tour to Pakistan. The chucking controversy does not start and end with Akhtar.

With the kind of performance in Karachi, fingers are sure to be pointed at Chappell, even when the fingers do not require any medical attention

A CRICKETING PARADOX

For a long time I am puzzled about the inability of the Indian batsmen when it comes to the short pitched bowling. This is because at the junior level, most of the wickets are matting wickets. The mats are made from coir-the fibre derived from coconut. The coir mats give pace and bounce to the ball. Balls pitched on good length also are extremely uncomfortable to deal with. With a fair bit of practice on such wickets one has to acquire some skills needed to face the rising ball.


The mats make ordinary bowlers appear lethal so much that on turf wickets they fail. The mats do not give any assistance to the spinners and so that in many ways explains the dearth of quality spinners in the country once famous for its 'spin quartet'.


In my humble opinion, the batting failure on seaming and bouncy tracks is a paradox. Suggestions resolving the paradox are welcome.

KARACHI TEST-DAY TWO

By the end of day two, the home team further strengthened their position. Having dismissed the Indian team for a low score, Pakistan scored at a rate more than 4.5 runs per over to have a lead of 180 runs with eight wickets and three days left. The openers Butt and Farhat made half centuries. Younis Khan and Mohd. Yousuf are at the wicket but the biggest threat is likely to come from Akmal, Razzaq and Afridi. With the pitch showing signs of easing up, the Indian bowlers could not pose any danger the second time round today.

Ganguly was looking good before a reckless shot caused his dismissal. Yuvraj was not too happy at the leg before decision. Replays showed how the ball hit the pad first before brushing the bat. Dhoni was not comfortable with the pace and the bounce. Pathan took advantage of the dropped chances and scored valuable runs in the company of Kumble and Zaheer. Mohd. Asif bowled well over a long spell.

Barring a miracle, there is very little chance for India to save the match let alone winning it.

VB SERIES

The Australians were led by Adam Gilchrist at Perth to a victory over the Sri Lankans. This further consolidates the position of the home team as far as the points table is concerned. Gilchrist came into his own after a long time taking apart the Lankan bowling attack. There is no better sight in world cricket today Gilchrist makes big runs. This should sound a warning to the rival teams. There was even talk that he should be dropped from the one day squad. After the century on Sunday, Gilchrist was quite ecstatic and jutifiably so.


The Lankan batting is heavily dependent on Jayasuriya and when he fails, the team scores limps towards respectability. Sangakkara is the only other batsmen who is able most of the bowling attacks and he too fell for a small score. Jayawardena is a run machine when it comes to the subcontinental wickets and Attapatu feasts on docile attacks. The bowling is also no great shakes either excepting Vaas and Muralitharan.


The match between Sri Lanka and South Africa should decide the second finalist that takes on Australia. It is difficult to hope for a victory to the Sri Lankans on a pitch such as Perth.

VB SERIES

The rotation policy employed by the Australians has come in for a bit of stick. Surprisingly, Steve Waugh wants it scrapped when it was during his reign as captain, it was introduced. It is true that the 'rest' given to the players is not justified in the light of the amount of cricket played by the Aussies after the Ashes.


In the entire episode, the resting of Ponting was quite ridiculous. The captain of the Australian team was not allowed to take his team out to the middle on the Australia Day. I believe this was the result of poor planning. The selectors did not want to take the blame and so Ponting was rested even for Sunday's match against Sri Lanka. Imagine the reaction if a Sachin or a Sehwag were to be rested for a match that had to be played on January 26th or August 15th. It is not possible to know the reaction in Australia sitting somewhere in India.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

In the end, Roger Federer kept intact his record in Grandslam finals and went on to win the Australian Open. Marcos Baghdatis kept the Swiss on the backfoot for the first two sets and then in the third and the fourth sets, it was all one way. Perhaps, this win was the most difficult for Federer considering the opponents he had to face, especially during the second fortnight. Maybe, there is now a belief that Federer could be beaten.


Nothing can be taken away from Baghdatis even after the defeat in the finals. He is one who is going to achieve greater things in the future.

Mahesh Bhupathi combined well with Martina Hingis to win the mixed doubles event. This is the sixth one for Bhupathi and with a different partner.

KARACHI TEST-DAY ONE

At the end of the first day, the home team is ahead with the big guns of the Indian batting line-up back in the dressing room. The strategy of having a lively wicket for the last test of the series after two batting friendly tracks has almost paid off for the Pakistanis.

The hattrick in the very first over of the match was sensational. The exploits of Pathan were followed by the good work of Zaheer and Rudra Pratap Singh. However, somewhere along the day, the Indian bowlers forgot their lines and Akmal and company took their team score to some respectability. The keeper of the home team is someone who is clearly relishing the Indian batting. In fact, most of the Pakistan wicketkeepers have had this habit in the past also. But none of them were as spectacular as the current gloveman.

The Indian batsmen were unable to capitalise on the good work of their bowlers and lost four wickets for less than hundred runs on the board. Saurav Ganguly has a lot on his plate. His performance with the bat will not only help his team but also give him a new lease of life. The same goes for Yuvraj who is rated highly by the team management. Dhoni has to do something special with the bat to compensate for his shoddy keeping.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

The ladies final has turned to be an anti-climax with the forcible retirement of the favourite of Justine Henin-Hardenne in the second set. The first set was won by Mauresmo and the Frenchwoman was leading in the second set.

Indians have a lot at stake with Paes and Damm playing in the doubles finals today.

MORE SURPRISES

There have been reports in the media that Saurav Ganguly could be included in the playing eleven for the third test at Karachi at the expense of Harbhajan Singh. There are two aspects to this decision. It is a surprise that Ganguly is considered inspite of the opposition from the likes of Chappell, Dungarpur and Dravid. The second relates to Harbhajan. The off-spinner has till now not much success on pitches outside India. Blame it on the pitches or on the ball, the record speaks for itself.

The thinktank have to include Ganguly in the third test. They don't want to repeat the mistake that was committed during the third test at Ahmedabad. Now with all the hot air about the green top at Karachi, there is a need to give an opportunity to Ganguly. If, he fails to deliver, then Ganguly has his cricketing fate sealed. Perhaps, this is what Pawar and company had in mind when a strong case was made for the inclusion of the former captain in the side to Pakistan.

Call me anything but there was a bitter taste in the mouth in the aftermath of the decision to have Ganguly on the bench for the second test at Faisalabad. There was very little logic to play five bowlers where even 10 bowlers would have failed. There was a one point agenda- make Ganguly sit on the bench. Chappell and Dravid are too keen to please their masters, especially when big brother, Dungarpur is present with the touring team.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Roger Federer is through to the final of a grand slam once again. It is not surprising; what is important is the somewhat stiff opposition that the Swiss had to face . Haas and Davydenko had taken the champion to a distance that was unthinkable last season. In the semifinals, Kiefer looked good for two sets and then the resistance faded.

Federer has to face the 'new kid on the block' Marcos Baghdatis in the final. The Cypriot showed his mettle by beating Nalbandian after being two sets down in the semis. But Federer is in a different class. Of course, Baghdatis has nothing to lose. The pressure is on Federer.

In the ladies side, the final features the Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne and the Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo. The Belgian starts the favourite and her opponent has to do something extraordinary to win her first major.

The Indian fans have a lot to look forward in the men's doubles with Paes and Damm taking on the top team of the Bryan brothers. In the mixed doubles Bhupathi and Hingis are into the finals with Paes losing out.

In the womens' doubles, the Chinese team have won over the favourites. Looks like the Chinese have begun to make their mark in tennis-a racquet sport.

FAISALABAD TEST-DAY TWO

At stumps on the second day, India put up 110 runs on the board for the loss of Sehwag. Dravid and the others in the batting line-up have to bat really well to take the match beyond the home team. Dravid was in his usual composed self while Laxman appeared shaky at times.


The home team pushed towards the 600 mark thanks to the hitting from Afridi. Inzamam also got to his ton despite being troubled by a bad back. The Indian bowlers had to suffer with Shoaib Akhtar also in the mood for some runs. For a change, Kamran Akmal did not trouble the Indians and the scorers.


The Indian team management and the bowlers seem to lose their heads when confronted with the likes of Afridi. He is someone who has the habit of feasting on the Indian attack, be it in the tests or the one-dayers. Other teams have sorted out the threat of Afridi by bowling short stuff moving away to the off. There was no attempt from any bowler to test the patience of Afridi. For a while, it seemed that Afridi had to find a way of giving his wicket away and the Indian bowlers were just going through their motions.


Irfan Pathan has completely lost his plot as far as the bowling is concerned. He is on the verge of becoming an useful lower order batsman having the ability to bowl. It is really hard to understand the logic behind his loss of pace. If he cannot bowl fast at this young age, then something must be done. I believe it is the faulty advice from the experts that has done this. Fast bowlers cut down on the pace in order to reduce the stress on their bodies after playing for a long time. Pathan has not even played for more than a couple of full seasons!


The debutante, R.P.Singh bowled commendably to bag 4 wickets. Zaheer Khan got the wicket of the Pakistan skipper with a terrific delivery.

HOME ADVANTAGE IS LEGIT

Finally, someone(Mukul Kesavan, Cricinfo Magazine) has the courage to defend the performances of teams like India on home turf which is something that is routinely derided by the media. Actually, a win is a win and much is made out of the 'poor' record of India abroad. It is also sad that the records of players is also put in that kind of a perspective. This is unfair when desi media also joins chorus with the likes of Peter Roebuck in calling the pitches in India to be unfit for 'good' cricket.


The last time Australia came to India the test at Mumbai was won by the home team although the tourists had the series already in their pocket. Predictably, the home team won with the help of spinners relishing the conditions. The Indians also happened to play the Aussie bowlers well on a pitch where good strokeplay was difficult. Roebuck went on for days calling the pitch something where the ball jumped like fat on a hot fan. It is interesting to note that a non-regular bowler like Michael Clarke got 6 Indian wickets.


If a Ricky Ponting fails on the Indian wickets, as in 2001, it is put to badluck or worse bad wickets. But if an Indian batsmen fails to negotiate the short pitched stuff, then it is put to poor technique to worse to the lack of commitment. If an Indian spinner fails in Australia or England, then fun is made of his record. But the same yardstick is not applied when a pace bowler fails to deliver in India. What is detestable is the total unanimity with which Indian media and the so-called tellyexperts call for the immediate revamping of the pitches in India.


People fail to recognise that cricket is not the only sport nor India is the only country that seeks to take advantage of the familiar conditions. Davis Cup matches are played on surfaces which benefit the home country. India contested a final which was played in Sweden. Typically, the event was held on clay which was meat and drink for the home team which had most of the best in their ranks. Of course, grass would not have mattered for the likes of Mats Wilander and company. But then the Swedes did not take any chance with Vijay and Ramesh Krishnan being good players of grass. Every effort is made in football to make the visiting team uncomfortable.


It is no doubt that a good team has to win on all surfaces and a good players has to score runs and take wickets on all kinds of pitches. There are very few teams in the history of cricket who have done this. The West Indies teams led by Clive Lloyd was the one team feared by their opponents at home and away. There are very few players who have done consistently well under all conditions.


I don't agree with the view that poor umpiring is something that takes the gloss off wins in a home series. All umpires in the past have displayed various degrees of prejudice and bias and so the scores even out for all the teams. Now with the neutral umpires that is a non-issue.

FIRST TEST AT LAHORE

The first test between India and Pakistan ended in a draw with the sides unable to complete two innings. This was a sort of an anticlimax coming after all the talk of preparing a greentop to make the Indian batsmen struggle. The bowlers became insignificant with most of the batsmen having a whale of time.


What I found interesting on the days leading to the test were the torrents of advice and predictions coming from the former players across the border. Imran Khan led the way with the others following suit. None wanted to be left behind in the whole exercise of psyching up the Pakistan team to take the rival. The last time round when India went on to win the series, Akram was roundly criticised for giving advice to Indian players such as Pathan. Now the leftarmer did not want to miss any photoop or otherwise to show his loyalty and patriotism. However, with the mighty stand forged by Sehwag and Dravid, everything changed and Akram talked about the presssure on the Pakistan team. Imran Khan was busy giving tips to Sami before the match and the way the bowler was ineffective, the tips were not really useful.


The saving grace from the last tour was the absence of Sidhu from the commentator box.

VB SERIES

After three matches, all the three sides are equally placed with a win and a loss each. There is an interesting aspect to the three matches wherein the side winning the toss finished on the losing side. First it was the turn of Sri Lanka and then South Africa turned the tables on the hosts. Today, the Sri Lankans beat the Proteas comfortably. Predictably, everyone questioned the wisdom of Graeme Smith in asking the Sri Lankans to make first use of the wicket .


The captain has to take all the flak in such a situation. Nasser Hussain was quite assertive of this fact during the rain break in the run feast in Pakistan. He reminded the decision at Brisbane where the Aussies were asked to bat first and that set the tone for a disastrous Ashes campaign. If I remember correctly, Azharuddin won the toss and put England in which resulted in Graham Gooch getting a triple in the first and a ton in the second innings.


Surely, the captain has a lot to think about.

MEGA DEAL?

The marketing arm of BCCI led by Lalit Modi was proud to announce the fact that the Indian cricket team or rather the BCCI has overtaken the likes of Juventus, Manchester United etc. as the richest sporting body in the world. This announcement was made after the near Rs.200 crores deal with Nike.

But there is one thing amiss in all this. That is, the lack of any accountability. Manchester United is run with a professional approach. The same is the case with most of the big football clubs all over the world. It is interesting to note that all are privately owned and some like Manchester United are also listed on the stock exchange. But BCCI does not even have any permanent office address of its own. During the days of Dalmiya, everything was run from Kolkata. Now, with Pawar at the top, things are made or undone in Mumbai.

There is another thing that has come to my mind in the aftermath of the deal with Nike. None of the players have any endorsement deals with Nike. The biggest one, Sachin endorses Adidas; ditto with Sehwag. The others have contracts with Reebok. Does this deal with Nike not result in a conflict of interest? We may very well witness a row between the players and the Board as in the case involving the West Indies.

THE WHEEL HAS TURNED A FULL CIRCLE

The wheel has turned a full circle; the transfer of power has been complete. I am talking about the appointment of Raj Singh Dungarpur as the Manager of the team to Pakistan. Until now, he was acting as the spokesperson for the anti-Jagmohan Dalmiya camp. Now his statements would carry the official sanction. It is persons of this kind that have damaged Indian cricket in the past and would continue to do the same for the years to come.

It is this gentleman who happened to find something in Azharuddin. No doubt, India with Azharuddin and Wadekar did win a couple of home series for India. But in general they took India at least a decade back vis-a-vis other teams. Everyone knows how the then captain found himself in the thick of the match-fixing scandal.

What has really upset me is the statement of Raj Singh on the possibility of Saurav Ganguly making a comeback. The newly appointed manager made some startling revelations to a news channel. On asked about the observations of Greg Chappell on the former Indian captain faking injuries, Raj Singh replied in the affirmative. He cited the 1999 World Cup match against Pakistan and the test matches at Nagpur and Mumbai against Australia as the evidence of Ganguly faking injuries.

Despite all this Raj Singh promised full backing if Ganguly was included in the touring party to Pakistan!

PERTH TEST

The test match at Perth featuring Australia and South Africa finished in a draw. This is a rarity since in recent times test matches have been witnessing runs scored at a fast rate. There is another rarity that Australia could not finish off their rivals in a day and a bit, on arguably the fastest pitch. This is what separates the present Australian team from that under Steve Waugh. Despite having the likes of McGrath, Warne and Brett Lee the Aussies have lacked the cutting edge.

The South Africans were never in the hunt for the target of 491 runs despite all the big talk from their skipper, Graeme Smith. In the first innings, the two sides appeared to be evenly matched reminding one of the matches between the two teams when the Proteas just returned to the fold of international cricket.

The South Africans were surprisingly uninspiring in the fielding department, letting off a few of the Aussie batsmen. Brad Hodge was dropped on 13 and he went on to score a double hundred in his third test match.

The South Africans were able to save the match thanks to the marathon innings played by Jacques Rudolph. The left hander was at the crease for the entire 5th day. That is something of a novelty these days since batsmen are far more inclined to play the shots rather than occupy the crease. This innings was certainly something that batsmen of the past such as Boycott, Gavaskar would have been proud of.

Warne was once again in the headlines for the right reasons. He became the highest wickettaker in one calendar year going past his countryman Dennis Lillee. It is to be seen whether he can take 12 wickets in the boxing day test at Melbourne to score a century of a different kind.

AHMEDABAD TEST-DAY THREE

By the end of the third day, the Indians are in a commanding position in the third test at Motera. Harbhajan finished the Lankan first innings with a haul of 7 wickets, incidentally, in his 50th test match.

The Indian top order failed to click the second time and the lower order came to the rescue once again giving India a lead of over 400 runs. Yuvraj has once again played a tremendous innings after not troubling the scorer in the first innings. Is that a record of sorts?

The real mystery is the inability of Muralitharan to pick wickets by the bagful as is his wont. Does it have something to do with the fact that SG balls are used in India and not the Kookaburra balls that Murali uses back home? Or does it have to do something with the team composition. There was a news item about how Sanath Jayasuriya destroyed his television after the win by India at Delhi.

AHMEDABAD TEST-DAY TWO

The end of the second day at Motera saw India in a strong position with Sri Lanka losing 5 wickets for not many runs. This time Harbhajan was the tormentor with 4 wickets with the other going to Irfan Pathan.

On the first day a score of 398 looked impossible with 5 Indian batsmen back in the hut for less than 100 runs on the board. But thanks to Laxman, Dhoni and Pathan, India could recover to the present position. Laxman again underlined his class with a century. However, he could not carry on to post a big score. Pathan continues to impress with his temperament and class. Kumble and Agarkar also did their bit to frustrate the visitors.

The main talking point in the college staff common room was the strange action of Lasith Malinga. The batsmen found it pretty difficult to judge the ball since the bowling arm came suddenly from the back of the umpire. I saw him earlier on a tour to Australia where he was more than impressive.

AHMEDABAD TEST-DAY ONE

As expected, Wasim Jaffer, the new hope of Indian cricket was made to sit on the bench. The team management or the think-tank need to be congratulated for their courage in making the Mumbai opener warm up the bench, especially in the aftermath of his controversial selection.

Coming to the test match at Ahmedabad, the Indians were in a deep hole, thanks to some lackadaisical batting, including from one Sachin Tendulkar. Gambhir did not deserve the extended run given his repeated failures. With this kind of scores behind him, it is scary to think of the team against the likes of Pakistan and England. The captain for this match, Sehwag is carrying his natural game a little too far in the interests of the team. Yuvraj is not known for his ability to play spin and this showed today. Kaif was not at all comfortable after the long lay-off from test cricket.

Laxman has done it again when more heralded batsmen bit the dust at Motera. There were some streaky shots interspersed with the trademark away from the body that guided the ball beyond the balls. In the morning I read somewhere about the knocks played by Laxman in low scoring innings. Dhoni seemed unfazed by the spin and went to play some meaty shots. Irfan Pathan has really shown wisdom beyond his years. Laxman and Pathan have to stay at the wicket long enough on the second day to dent the hopes of the Lankans.

My congratulations to Anil Kumble on achieving the landmark of 100 tests. Here is one cricketer who has always stuck to his job even when he was dropped unceremoniously. He was made to miss the World Cup and there were no protests in Bangalore.

TWO WRONGS MAKING A RIGHT

Kiran More was not very reliable with the wicketkeeping gloves in his playing days. After all, he was the man who made Graham Gooch a great player. In that match, More grassed a chance and the English opener went to score the highest number of runs in a test match.

It came as no surprise that the Chairman of selectors went on to justify the selection of Saurav Ganguly on the ground that the former Indian captain was needed for his all-round ability. More than a few questions were raised considering the exclusion of Ganguly from the one day team where his all-round skills are more helpful for the team.

Now, when Saurav put up a good show in the second test, the selectors dropped him in favour of Wasim Jaffer who to nobody's surprise hails from the new power centre of Indian cricket, Mumbai. Of course, More can now claim that the selection of Ganguly for the first two test matches was beyond his control with pressure from some members of the selection panel. This time with a more friendly panel, More can be proud of having corrected the mistake. Talk about two wrongs making a right.

It is people like More backed by the likes of Raj Singh Dungarpur who give Indian cricket the bad name that it has. To my surprise the role of More was not investigated in the Abhijit Kale episode.

The exclusion of Ganguly and the inclusion of Jaffer in the team for the third test is something that is going to please people like Ravi Shastri. The former player had always expressed his dislike for Ganguly the captain. He always cited the case of Australia and tried to pretend like an Australian with borrowed phrases and accent.
If domestic performances are any yardstick for selection, then what about Zaheer Khan? Is the left arm paceman given ignored because he does not play for Mumbai? Does Ajit Agarkar continue in the squad for being a part of the Mumbai team?

A couple of months back, Saurav Ganguly was a hated figure and now he has become a martyr or even a saint. Kiran More and his backers deserve all the credit for this amazing transformation.

WATCH OUT

It was not a surprise that the Chennai test ended in a draw after just four sessions of cricket. It was, of course, a surprise that the Lankans managed to put the Indians in a spot of bother. The Indians could put up only 167 runs, their lowest score against the Lankans so far.

Muralitharan was more than a handful on the pitch that had uneven bounce. All the Indian batsmen struggled including the likes of Sachin and Rahul. Only Sehwag was looking comfortable. Ganguly added another single digit to this career tally while Laxman got himself involved in a runout in the company of Ganguly. The right hander from Hyderabad is a poor runner between the wickets and Ganguly is always a reluctant runner.

On Monday the Lankans, especially, Mahela Jayawardene batted very fluently. Suddenly, the pitch did not show any devils. It can be argued that the sun did the favours for Sri Lanka. On the flip side, it can be pointed out that the Indian batsmen were not simply upto the task of test batting.

It is after eight long years that Sri Lanka are in India for test cricket. In all these years, Muralitharan has picked loads of wickets on similar pitches back home. And, in all these years Indian batsmen have not played a good spinner with the exception of Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq. The off spinner from Pakistan took 5 wickets in consecutive innings of two test matches.

My take is that the Indians have got to take on Muralitharan to have any chance of denying the Lankans a test win on Indian soil. At the same time, the Indian spinners and more specifically, Kumble needs to get on to the wicket taking mode.

MEET THE NEW BOSS

Many years ago, The Who sang “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. The line could not be more appropriate with the election of Sharad Pawar as the President of the BCCI. This is certainly a big blow to Jagmohan Dalmiya. But true cricket lovers need not rejoice.

It is foolish to expect any changes in the way the richest cricket body in the world works. If Dalmiya put politics into cricket, then Pawar and his backers are no novices in this respect. Worse, the new President is a professional politician who has no accountability in this part of the world. Now people like Dungarpur can wield their considerable influence on the way cricket is played in the country.

If one looks at the grassroot level, then most of the office bearers of cricket bodies or associations are run either by hardcore politicians or by people who have strong politicial links. No wonder, the elections are so deeply mired in controversy.

The media reported very triumphantly the ouster of the candidate backed by Dalmiya. Former players and the press never speaks anything good about Dalmiya. It is something of a surprise since it is the same person who brought money to cricket, in India and elsewhere too.

I have a very humble suggestion to make. Let there be elections for the selection committee also. In that way politicians can directly have their say. Of course, M/s More and Company could make a killing out in the political arena.

ONE STEP FORWARD, FEW STEPS BACKWARD

The selection of Saurav Ganguly for the test side, ostensibly as an 'all-rounder' is something that has been made on the basis of reasons not related to form or performance. A few days ago, the selectors cited poor performance as the reason for the appointment of Dravid as the test skipper. Now all that has changed.

The threat of disruption of the one-dayer at the Eden Gardens seemed to weigh heavily on the minds of the selectors. The cricket loving people of Kolkata are not justified in their anguish over the non-inclusion of Ganguly in the present squad. The selection in the test team is something to placate them.

The selectors, three of them were completely in favour of Ganguly being taken in the team, despite the stiff opposition from the 'super' coach, Chappell. This is what the press has reported. It is also reported that the selectors were not in favour of Laxman. Now, the batsman from Hyderabad is someone who does not have any godfathers in the Board, the Press or the Selection committee. The public of Hyderabad too did never issue a threat to disrupt the match played at Hyderabad.

The selection does not guarantee the place for Saurav in the first eleven. He is too proud to be content with the task of being the 12th man.

I am a big supporter of Ganguly but at this point of time there is no place for him in the Indian team. Let he find his form and confidence at the domestic level.

VERBAL VOLLEYS

In recent days, quite a few ladies have landed themselves in trouble over their remarks on pre-marital sex. First it was a Tamil actress who faced the wrath of some self appointed culture police. Then another actress had to face the heat on account of the support given to the first. Now the latest to join the ranks is a sportsperson, Sania Mirza.

Sania has demonstrated her abilities on the tennis court where her rivals are to face volleys off the racquet. But this time her verbal volleys on the issue of pre-marital sex have met with tough resistance from the opponents.
I agree that everyone has the right to have and say their views but something on sex is always regarded as a taboo. It is even more of a sin when it is uttered by a personality who is well known and is seen as a role model for others. The worst offence is committed when such statements come from ladies.

I don't have the faintest idea of the reason behind these utterances from the tennis player. A 20 year old Indian girl speaking about the s** word is something that is sure to raise the eyebrows in a society like India.

Sania concentrate on tennis and leave these things to people to decide for themselves.

SUSPECT ACTIONS

The actions of the Pakistani bowlers Shabbir and Shoaib Mallik are once again in the news. Even after the whole issue of 15 degrees, the umpires and the match referee found them 'suspect' enough to report.

The ICC handled the whole chucking issue very shoddily and changed the laws. It seems, those amendments are not suitable enough.

Today all teams have at least one bowler who has a suspect action. So it is better to legalise chucking or prevent such bowlers from playing at the highest level.

INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA

After the euphoria came the fall at Hyderabad. Of course, it is too early to predict the eventual winner.

The toss provided the break the visitors needed. Yuvraj and others made sure that the match did not go away from the home team. But such recovery is a rare occurrence.

The day and night encounter at Bangalore might also make the toss a crucial factor with the dew in the night. The lack of a specialist fifth bowler was felt at Hyderabad. Taking on Gambhir as a super-sub in place of Murali Kartik was a panic reaction. It was also strange for Dravid to opt for Yuvraj when R.P.Singh had three overs in his quota.

Harbhajan was fined for his gesture at Ashwell Prince although no one noticed the reactions of Andre Nel. I have always felt that Indians are at the receiving end while their opponents are let off for showing their 'emotions'.

I am convinced that Sachin did not nick the ball from Pollock into the gloves of Boucher. The South African 'keeper did not appear to claim the catch. That is a dubious one for the umpire Hariharan.

IN DEFENCE OF KARTHIKEYAN

It is sad that in all probability Narain Karthikeyan is going not to drive in the next season's races. The performances of Karthikeyan have attracted a lot of criticism and ridicule from a lot of people in India who cannot spot a difference between a go-kart and a Formula1 car. It is not to say that I know much about the sport of racing and Formula1.

What pains me most are the supposed jokes cracked by a person who unashamedly imitates the likes of Jay Leno and David Letterman. The joke was that Karthikeyan could be beaten by the taxi drivers of Mumbai.

The greatest contribution of Karthikeyan is to make the Indians talk about Formula1. It is great achievement in a country where owning a car is the ultimate dream.

THE AMAZING INDIAN FAN

The Indian cricket fan is very demanding and sometimes this borders on absurdity. It is good to support the team and adulate the players but not at the cost of logic.

I have in mind a letter written to the editor of an English daily after the heroics of the latest Indian batting star, Dhoni. The reader was expressing his displeasure at the Sri Lankans not being able to put up a total that would have given the chance to Dhoni to break the record for the highest individual score in one-dayers held by Saeed Anwar! For the record, Anwar made 194 in Chennai.

would it have mattered if the record belonged to a batsman not hailing from Pakistan? After all, a player of the past, B.B.Nimbalkar was denied the opportunity to go past the then highest score in first class cricket. The fielding captain did not want to be irreverent to the record holder, Don Bradman.

VIDEOCON CUP

As expected, the Indian thinktank carried out the ‘experiment’ but the ‘processes’ backfired and the Sri Lankans got back to their winning ways. There is nothing wrong to try out the youngsters but there is nothing wrong either in having the winning side. A couple of years back it is the ‘rotation policy’ that undid the mighty Australians in a triangular one-day tournament that also featured the South Africans and the Kiwis. If I remember correctly, the great Steve Waugh lost his one-day place thereafter.

The policy of tinkering with the selection of the team and the rest given to the likes of Sachin is unjustified to say the least. Sachin was out of the game for the best part of a season and is in need of more outings. Harbhajan seems to have discovered his bowling rhythm, at least on home turf and a spinner needs more overs in the middle. Pathan is a young man who can surely be expected to take the load. If anyone has to be ‘dropped’, then it is Yuvraj.

The wiseheads have decided to bring back Kaif and Singh. Kaif is someone who deserves his place on purely cricketing reasons. Have the selectors been convinced of the abilities of Venugoal Rao to the extent that he is given the rest? Kumble was given the rest in recent times for the one-dayers. ‘Rest’ is something akin to being dropped as far as things in Indian cricket go.

Not sounding like Sidhu, I like to add that too much tinkering makes the vessel weak though the noise is there.

VIDEOCON CUP

After four matches, the scoreline reads 4-0 in favour of India and all of a sudden the captain, the players and most importantly, the coach are paid glowing tributes. One news channel even conducted a poll, ostensibly, to identify the person who had the most important contribution to the performance of India. The poll found the captain, Rahul Dravid to be the most significant factor and the embattled coach, Greg Chappell came a distant second. Truly, cricket is a magnificent obsession in this country.

Now, everyone is expecting a clean sweep of the seven match series. Let us not forget that the Sri Lankans were the most feared opponents till a few months back. In my opinion, the biggest factor behind the poor show by the Lankans so far is the failure of Jayasurya. The lefthander has always shown a liking for the Indian bowling taking it to the cleaners, be it in the test matches or the one-dayers. Of course, players like Dhoni, Raina and Venugopal Rao have shown the grit and determination that is required in international cricket.

VIDEOCON CUP

It was a splendid gift on the eve of the festival lights. Dhoni really set the stadium ablaze with his brand of pyrotechnics. It was the day of the wicketkeeper batsmen with Kumara Sangakkara coming good with a terrific knock earlier in the day when Sri Lanka batted. It really puzzles me when the Lankan was dropped in favour of the South African in the ill advised 6 day super test at Sydney.

Whether Dhoni’s secret is milk or anything else, his hits really stay hit. Even Sehwag also looked pedestrian in comparison. If Sangakkara was classy in his methods, then Dhoni was all power, but is not slogging. If anything, it was flogging of the Sri Lankans.

Sachin failed and it showed that he is after all a human. Yuvraj, once again showed his fallibility against spin.

VIDEOCON CUP

India won the first two matches of the seven match series against Sri Lanka. The media hype surrounding the victory has been shameful; it makes someone feel as if we just won the World Cup. Perhaps, the last couple of months have been so tumultous that we can excuse the media for all the gloating and the shouting.

There are a couple of things that are sure to cause some pain the true lovers of the game and its players. Let me start with the praise that the television commentators had for Murali Kartik during the first match. Here we have a former left-arm spinner raising his eyebrows over the 'harsh' treatment meted out to the Railways spinner despite his 'good' show in international matches. If only, Kartik would have displayed some spine and provided the necesary support to Kumble, then we could have won the test match at Sydney and the series on the last tour down under. The same Kartik was belted all over the park in a one-dayer at Vijayawada by the Windies. It is too early to call him a world class performer on the basis of one good performance. One swallow does not make a summer.

The second one also concerns Kartik. The same left -arm spinner of yesteryears praised Rahul Dravid for his 'imaginative' use of Kartik. There was also a hint that Saurav Ganguly conspired against Kartik. If at all Ganguly erred in the choice of spinners, it was the rather unwarranted backing of Harbhajan at the expense of Kumble.

The cake goes for the suggestion that Dravid is a better captain than what Ganguly was. It is too early to make any statements on the basis of two wins against a team that is not known to win many matches abroad.

FAIR AND LOVELY

Thanks to the Videocon Cup, it is time to watch cricket on Doordarshan. It took me to the days when there were more advertisements than cricket on the state owned broadcaster. There was this one-dayer between India and England. As is the case now, every fall of a wicket was followed by the ubiquitous ad. Sometimes, the fifth ball of an over and/or the first ball of the next over was taken over by the ads. By the time, the ad was stopped and play resumed on the telly, India lost another wicket and the ads resumed. It took quite a while to figure out the identity of the batsman who came out to bat and went back to the pavilion all in the space of a few ads. By the way, the batsman was Ajay Sharma. I presumed that he got ditracted by the ads and thus his stay at the wicket was very short.

Now, the babus at Doordarshan and the producers of the show have decided to take the bull by its horns and have replaced the aspiring actors and models with the former captain of the Indian women cricket team.

By the way, the word Doordarshan became part of the lexicon with Sanjay giving an account of the war (live)between the Pandavas and the Kauravas to the Dhritarashtra. Of course, we are not blind like the king .

JOHNNIE WALKER SUPER SERIES

The much awaited clash between Australia and the rest did not take off to the expected heights. The Aussies won with ease with the rest looking miserable with the bat. The stars including the likes of Lara, Dravid and Kallis could not simply get their act together. Maybe, the closed environs of the Telstra dome played havoc with their brains just as a mountaineer feels due to the lack of oxygen.

The rest of the world could contain Australia to just over 250. It was a combination of good bowling by the spinners and the scratchy Aussie batting that made the total look reasonable rather than unsurmountable. The batting woes continue for the Aussies with many of them not looking convincing. However, the great McGrath found his rhythm and returned to his familiar miserly ways while Watson made the best of the opportunity.

Sehwag looked out of sorts as has been the story in recent times, especially in the shorter version of the game. Dravid has not been his confident self ever since Ganguly took back the captaincy. Lara looked to be in a hurry to catch a flight back home and the Aussie fielders did catch one. Kallis has always been a suspect against top quality bowling and it showed. It is too early to talk about Pietersen's failure and Flintoff showed a glimpse of his batting ability although he was not successful with the bat. The super-sub Shahid Afridi did not add to his tally of sixers.

There was some anxiety over the damage to the roof that could result from the hits from Gilchrist and Pietersen. There was no such damage. The audience presence was not encouraging.

Hope to have a good match the second time round with the rest of the world pulling one back to maintain interest in the series. Personally, I am looking forward as my brother is going to be there inside the dome.

SG BATS FOR SG

Sunil Gavaskar has an unenviable record in taking on the best of the fast bowlers of all time. Many time a long innings from the original 'Little Master' saved the day for India. The only one classic innings I remember is the one played at Bangalore which was his last appearance in a test match. I could not watch his other innings live.

Here I am not interested in telling the world about the fantastic record of Gavaskar. During the second day of the second test at Harare there was a comment from the great man that prompted this post. He is known for his political correctness(- a quality that is perfected by Sachin). But this one had me stumped.

Maybe Gavaskar was reacting to the media criticism over the quality of the hundred scored by Ganguly in the first test at Bulawayo. It was argued in a large section of the media that the hundred came against a very ineffective bowling attack. Gavaskar on the contrary, argued that a hundred is a hundred, irrespective of the quality of the bowling. He also pointed out the fact that only two hundreds were scored by the Indians in the first test when the other batsmen could not against a weak bowling line-up.In order to support his argument, Gavaskar cited the 380 scored by Matthew Hayden against Zimbabwe while the rest of the Australian batsmen could not score even a double-hundred in the same match.

I agree with Gavaskar that a hundred is a hundred, no matter the opposition or the venue or the situation. But here the case involves a player who has consistently struggled against all opposition in both the long and the short versions of the game. The player concerned gave the impression that this hundred gave him the freedom to do whatever or say anything. It is only after scoring the hundred that Ganguly 'disclosed' the proposal for his stepping down from captaincy. This is when the credentials of the Zimbabwean attack came to be discussed. In the second test the same batsman could not prove his supporters right!

There is no belittling the contributions made by Ganguly but now the time has come for a change. This is where I find it ridiculous for SG(Sunil Gavaskar) to bat for another SG(Saurav Ganguly).

O(H) CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

I have to first apologise to the students of English language for the way the title of a famous poem by the American poet Walt Whitman is used. For starters, Whitman wrote the poem on the death of the American President, Abraham Lincoln.

I feel the recent events surrounding the Indian captain Saurav Ganguly have also saddened my heart. He was petulance personified in disclosing before the media about the proposal of Greg Chappell. The coach, it is alleged, wanted Saurav to step down as captain in view of his rather poor form in recent times. Now what was the response? The captain responded with a century against the opposition. So far so good, but the problem is that the other team happens to be Zimbabwe. There is no denying of the fact that Bulawayo is one of the friendliest of the pitches for the batsmen and that the quality of the bowlers is also of a rather friendly type. Of course, the record books will not show any of these things.

The timing of the disclosure by Saurav left a rather bad taste in the mouths of his fans like me. What takes the cake is the allegation that Saurav called on Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya to complain about Chappell. This action is typical of the way Indian politicians respond when stripped of their posts or denied of undue favours. Usually, they start new parties. There is no such likelihood in this case.

What the whole incident has done is to reduce the standing of the captain. It has given a stick in the hands of the known Dalmiya and Ganguly baiters like Rajsingh Dungarpur. It has in one instance, thrown the stellar contributions made by Ganguly as a batsman and more importantly, as a captain, to the dustbin. For once, the magical timing that once made Ganguly a delight to watch has deserted him. Surely, it is like a drowning man clutching at straws.

INDIA IN ZIMBABWE

India won the first test without much trouble. There was no resistance from the home team with the sole exception of yet another innings of substance from Tatenda Taibu. Hope the innings from the Zimbabwean skipper will bring some sanity to the Indian camp.

Team India is now in a bad shape as is evident from the events relating to Ganguly. Laxman also sent out feelers about the lack of trust in the team.

Now I am happy to inform everyone that Dheeraj Jadhav was able to take the field albeit as a substitue fielder.

INDIA IN ZIMBABWE

India expectedly finished the third day on a commanding position, albeit coming against a team as weak as Zimbabwe. Ganguly used all his experience and ability to score a hundred. Wonder what this would to his and the team's confidence in the coming months. The last time he scored a century, it was different. It defined the Indian performance in the tour to down under.

Yuvraj once again proved his doubters right. He has shown a spectacular lack of ability playing spinners of all kinds. What is bothering the team think tank in having Kaif in the playing eleven. Kaif has been given the raw deal even when performing creditably in the test matches. This backing of Yuvraj by Ganguly is somewhat unjustified.

The Indian bowlers had their opponents of the mat with Irfan Pathan in particular showing a liking for the Zimbabweans the second time also. At one point, Zimbabwe were well on the way to beat their lowest test innings score of 54. But they finished the day past that score. Looks like a four day test and the media in India shall be all over the place with the victory ignoring the recent dismal show.

INDIA IN ZIMBABWE

The day two of the first test ended with India taking a lead with seven first innings wickets in hand. Laxman and Ganguly are at the crease though having scored their runs in contrasting styles. Both batsmen are in a way on trial. While Laxman scored his runs fluently with some signature shots, Saurav was playing for life. He is just a pale shadow of his glorious past when spinners were despatched over the boundary with disdain. But here we have the Indian captain who was showing extreme caution to the Zimbabwean spinners.

Earlier, the innings of Zimbabwe was terminated with Pathan cleaning up the tail. Poor Harbhajan toiled in vain to get his 200th wicket in test matches. He is not the bowler that he appears on Indian wickets. Forget what people like Sidhu say about the cause, such as the Kookaburra ball. Wonder what Shane Warne could have done with Indian balls! Here we had Warne who was spinning the ball a mile on English pitches while Harbhajan could not achieve any turn of significance on a slow Zimbabwean wicket.

Sehwag and Gambhir got out after giving a good start against a none-too impressive attack. Dravid was his usual self before getting out uncharacteristically. This where I feel that batsmen of other teams are far superior to the Indian batsmen. Remember the record score of 380 posted by Hayden versus Zimbabwe not too long ago. Attapattu, the Sri Lankan captain has perfected the art of scoring double hundreds when playing the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The decision to keep Kaif out of the playing eleven is just ridiculous. Maybe, it is the only way of giving Ganguly the opportunity. Finally, what about Dheeraj Jadhav, the man who replaced Sachin?

ASHES UPDATE

AT LAST

The Ashes have been reclaimed by England and it may mark the beginning of the end of the Aussie dominance over world cricket. With stalwarts like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath certainly on their last tour and people like Gillespie and Kasprowicz being on the way out, it is hard to think of replacements. Make no mistake, England can never even think of taking away the mantle of 'world's best'. They have to beat all sides under all conditions to emulate the Aussies or the Windies of an earlier era.

Despite rain, the fifth test was eventful till the last. The English managed to upstage their rivals, although Kevin Pietersen has to thank his stars for the dropped chances. It was ironical that the man who gave his everything to keep the Aussie flag flying, Warne dropped a sitter. This is what makes cricket, for that matter any sport, a cruel business. Just a night before, Agassi was outlasted. There were no fairy tale ending for the men in the baggy green.

As expected, Warne and Flintoff were the 'Men of the Series' and many would have felt happy if the Compton and Miller trophy was also shared by the same two. It is not to belittle the efforts of Flintoff who gave a dream performance. He remarked during the presentation ceremony that it(the Ashes victory) was all yet to sink in. Flintoff has mellowed down since his shirt removal days at Mumbai.

For few days the English and their supporters will enjoy their moment under the sun. Who can complain?