India wins 5-0 as expected

When Yusuf Pathan said that the knock of 123 not out against the Kiwis might just prove to be the turning point in his career, he was right in many ways, or so it seems. At least history is on his side, for New Zealand has regularly allowed Indians some truly career-transforming moments, ever since I can remember.



Yusuf played a blinder

About a decade ago, on 2nd August 2001, Virender Sehwag played his life changing knock of 100 off 70 balls against the Kiwis, coming at the top of the order. He has not looked back ever since. Go back seven more years, and on 27th March 1994, yet again New Zealand witnessed a young Sachin Tendulkar playing that unforgettable inning of 82 runs off 49 balls opening in absence of Navjot Singh Sidhu, a knock that would re-define his batting position and in turn his LOI career forever. You could probably add to that a hattrick in world cup to Chetan Sharma, or the only one century of his career to the original little master Sunil Gavaskar, or the other 123 to Rahul Dravid that resurrected his one day career, but we need not go that far.

Today, if Pathan feels history may repeat itself yet again, you can’t blame him for sure. But then the onus is entirely on him. What this particular knock has done for him is that, it has allowed him a fresh lease of life in this over competitive Indian batting line up. To say that this knock has cemented his place in the world cup side would be logical, but slightly tricky. That’s because, the timing of this epic innings has made Pathan a certainty for the five one day matches against South Africa, and if due to any reason he fails there, it might just go against him when the wise men sit for picking the world cup squad.



Pathan handled the short ball well

But from what I saw in that knock of his, Pathan was in fact handling the short ball much better than he used to, something that would stand him in good stead while dealing with the likes of Styens and Morkels in the bouncy wickets of South Africa. Also, since all our big guns would be back there in the squad to test themselves in match conditions for the final time before the world cup, Pathan would only be batting only during the last few overs, if at all. That he should be able to manage.

One more demon should have been laid to rest as a result of this performance of Yusuf, i.e. the unreasonable competition with Jadeja for the number seven slot. In all fairness, going by ability alone, this comparison should never have been made, for Yusuf is a game changer and a match winner, where as Jadeja is just an accumulator of runs even though a slightly better bowler. Though both have similar kind of records in international cricket thus far (request Sankara to provide us with a qualitative analysis on this piece of statistics), we need an impact player at the number seven slot, which tilts the scale towards Pathan beyond doubt.



Gambhir lead from the front

Now coming back to the series against the Kiwis, a five nil white wash has given India a very good momentum and self confidence, especially due to the fact that they were able to achieve the result in absence of quite a few regular players.

It has helped Gambhir, Kohli and Pathan immensely, and to an extent Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma have also benefitted from their knocks. In the bowling department, Sreesanth, to my surprise has done quite well and Pathan and Yuvraj chipped in with wicket when needed. Ashwin did justice to the faith that was reposed upon him, carrying the mantle of the lead spinner role with élan, in absence of Harbhajan. Parthiv Patel too, helped himself with a couple of half centuries in as many matches. I am not sure, where he features in the future plans of the selectors, but all credit to him for grabbing the opportunity and showing that he is now a much improved batsman and wicket keeper who can be considered when Dhoni is not playing. Dinesh Karthik has competition here.

Of course, like Sankara, I too would have preferred to give Rayudu or Robin Uthappa a go in such kind of a series, but can’t really complain much especially the way Patel batted and kept.

The biggest dissapointment of the series emerged in terms of Murali Vijay, who despite of a fair run at the top of the order for three matches, could not capitalize on the oppotunity. It is extremely difficult to get your chances in this Indian batting line up, more so, at the top of the order, as we have stalwarts like Sehwag, Sacin and Gambhir in our wings, hence it's absolutely important that Vijay should have grabbed the rare chance that came his way. This was the second time after the series in Zimbabwe, where Vijay was seen wasting the opportunity.

Now the focus shifts to South Africa, where the battle for the number one position in test would take the center stage to begin with, and then to the ODI series, which would, as I mentioned earlier, be a defining series for the Indian world cup campaign.

An on-the-go update on the one day series against New Zealand

By the time this post is published, India has already secured yet another series win over the Kiwis, having pocketed three out of the three matches that have been played so far, and are looking good for a emphatic white wash, given the form and confidence of the opposition.

Kohli & Gambhir have batted well

But I wouldn’t read too much into it, as even Bangladesh had handed the same team a similar result only a few weeks back. That the Kiwis were able to give India a good run for their money in the test series, is entirely the fault of the curators or the authorities who do not have any interest to advance the traditional form of the game, and continue to prepare flat tracks that would help only piling up the runs. The very fact that Harbhajan Singh could treat test bowlers the way he did, proves my point. Mind you, this is not to take anything away from the sardar. He batted extremely well, but the tracks did play their part.

The one-day series has had its own benefit though. It has brought somebody like Gautam Gambhir to terrific form. He looks to be quite intimidating on the crease, and that is no good news for the oppositions. Virat Kohli has helped himself with some good knocks, and Yuvraj Singh too has looked to be getting back to some kind of rhythm. Sreesanth, though not one of my original choice for the series, has bowled quite beautifully and before being rested for the last two matches, has done enough to earn himself a place for the one day series in South Africa.

Sreesanth celebrates a wicket

As I had mentioned earlier, I would have liked to see Yusuf Pathan bat up the order just to let him score some runs and gain some confidence ahead of the world cup. That doesn’t seem to be happening, and it should be ok as long as the lack of opportunity doesn’t work against him while picking a team in near future. Our selectors are good at that, I mean, good in dropping some players without providing them enough opportunity. Not everybody is as fortunate as Ravindra Jadeja after all!

The real test of character is awaiting them in South Africa, and a win there would be invaluable in their preparation for the world cup in terms of confidence and self belief.

A quick update on the 1st test of Ashes 2010-11

And the coin goes up

As I write this post sitting in front of my television, watching the second test in this Ashes series, on this early Friday morning, I experience perfect bliss. It doesn’t get better than this, I think, as there is no better feeling for a avid cricket lover like me to go to bed thinking about the buildup of the oldest rivalry in this great game and then waking up to find Australia three down with just two runs on the board! No good news this if you are an Australian fan though.



Last week saw England walking out of Brisbane holding their head high after a high scoring draw, despite of Ricky Ponting’s tall claims about how the visitors were going to struggle under the difficult batting conditions of the Gabba. Peter Siddle, with a six wicket haul including a hattrick in the first innings did everything to prove his captain right, but Andrew Strauss’s men never felt they were out of the game except for the start of the second innings, when they were staring at a mammoth lead of 221 runs with two and half days to go. But very quickly, the captain in the company of Alistair Cook, wiped up the deficit and then England went on to pile up the runs on Australia in an authoritative manner.

 

Finn claimed six wickets in the match

The positives from this drawn test would be a high level of confidence for England, given the fact that deep down, they still have this feeling of the Aussies being kind of invincible at home To their credit, England played aggressive cricket over the entire five days, despite of being pushed back early in the match by the Siddle-storm, and then by the Hussey-Haddin partnership. But then they knew they blew their chances by poorly using the UDRS, which costed them Hussey’s wicket when he was in his eighties. I also liked the way KP and Trott approached their knocks in the first innings. Even though they didn’t score a lot of runs, they did manage to set the tone for the rest of the match by their positive approach. Pieterson was greeted with a customary bullying, but came and settled like he does, before unleashing some stupendous shots.



Trott in fine form



I had no doubt, KP bats only one way, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the way Trott played. Here is a player who has got a tight technique, knows how to mix the right amount of caution and aggression in his batting, strong on either side of the wicket and most of all is unfazed by things around him when he is on the crease. He lend solidity to the top order of England much like what Ponting used to do for Australia a decade earlier. I can’t really compare his with a Dravid of a Kallis because he unlike the former two guys, doesn’t miss out on any scoring opportunity. Mind you, I’m also not comparing his game with that of a young Ponting; they are as different as chalk and cheese. Only, the effect of their knock could be similar on their sides at the crucial one down position.

I am unable to comment of Ian Bell’s knock for I missed that part of the match, but I am told, his was the most defining innings on day one. He played superbly to pull the England score towards that respectable 260, which kept them in the game.  



A dissapointing Johnson



For Australia, the two most disappointing factors were yet again Mitchell Johnson and Marcus North. Both failed to make any impact in the match and are looking like a burden on their team. As of today, we are aware that Johnson has lost his place to Doug Bollinger, but North has still got another life line in the second test.

It does look like England are a much better side and are in with more than a decent chance of retaining the Ahses, but it remains to be seen, if they can beat the Aussies in their own den. It's gonnabe a long series as Ashes are, and this English side, despite of the absence of the towering Andrew Flintoff, does look capable of beating the Aussies. Much would depend upon how they keep up the already created pressure though,

Much more excitement to follow in days to come! Will update you on the second test ASAP.