Silly M(a)id-on

- Welcome Border-Gavaskar Trophy! It is nice to have you back. A 2-0 win is as comprehensive as it gets.
- Ind/Aus contests are beyond just cricket now. The animosity reminds me of Ind-Pak contests of before. Only it is worse now. It is on the field and off the field. The talk that goes on is more than just “mental disintegration”. And honestly, I am getting a little bored of it now. Don’t care who is doing the talking…or elbowing!!
- Finally, I am convinced that Indian fast bowlers have come of age. Zahir and Ishant have proved to be genuine strike bowlers. With RP Singh, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan (yes, I have not ruled him out as yet) on the bench, we have a genuine pace attack now. A far cry from the days when pacers were just required to take the shine off the ball so that the spinners could go do their thing. It is also a major reason why Indians are better travellers now.
- Ricky Ponting is losing it. He is not used to playing catch-up to teams, not 3 tests in a row anyway. And the pressure is showing. There have been quite a few bizzare decisions from him that I think he will find hard to live down. Opting and persisting with White and not giving Krejza a chance until the last test, not giving Lee a bowl in the Mohali clash for an extended period presumably because of sloppy over rates, the mad rush while chasing a near impossible 516 in the same test, the icing on the cake being bowling part-timers when India was at 166-6 on the 4th day in the final test, again because of sloppy over rates. Very rarely were the Aussies ahead in this series, and they never managed to go for the kill when they were in front. Their frustration was aptly summed up in Haddin’s crazy attempt to stop the ball by throwing his glove at it! A “New-Age Cricket” tactic Mr. Ponting or did your team just run out of ideas?
- With the departure of Ganguly and Kumble it is the beginning of the end of an era in Indian cricket. With Kumble goes one of the last gentlemen of the game. And with Ganguly goes the architect of the Great Indian Makeover. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan has written a wonderful piece that aptly describes my state of mind. Although I am excited about the prospects of this Indian team, I can’t but help look back at the past.
- MS Dhoni. He does bring something extra to the team , doesn’t he? Almost seems as if there is some invisible force in the field when he is at the helm. Plus it does something to his wicketkeeping and batting as well. He seems to thrive on responsibility. I hope that the combined pressure of captaincy in all 3 forms plus wicketkeeping plus batting combined with the constant media scrutiny don’t take its toll.
- Rahul Dravid..what can i say. I will be in India on holiday when the 2-Test series against England starts. I have a feeling it could be his last. So, I will make sure I follow all of it. Of course, would be glad if Dravid plays for much longer

And finally..Test Cricket is awesome!!

Looks like Team India has put itself in a bit of a spot here with some insensible batting. An all-too-familiar late order collapse is not what what , plus the usual generosity of spirit in giving Krezja an astounding debut. Hayden and Ponting are gone, but Hussey and Katich are looking good. So here is what I think should be done. (Another gem from the Department of the Bleeding Obvious coming up. I’ll take the award now, thanks)

India need to send the Aussies packing ASAP with some attacking bowling and fielding (Dhoni, are you listening?).
Ideally I would want them to be dismissed by tea. The Indians cannot afford to let them get too close to 441, let alone concede a lead.
And then there is need to bat sensibly and not gift wickets away like in the 1st innings.

Also Rahul Dravid needs to bat down the order, specially if our openers start well. The man is under pressure and I suspect he will try and make one last bid to get some runs against his name and it may turn out to be a snoozefest! While I am on that, Rahul, could you please please please make a few runs in the second innings…with a decent strike rate?