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.