Silly M(a)id-on

Obviously mindful of the fact that I was disappointed to see NZL fold up for a paltry 155, Team India has obliged and lost 4 wickets for 84.

Aww…thanks you guys! (no really, I’m not being sarcastic)

With all these discomforting talks going on about ODIs being past their prime, I have been asking myself what exactly is it about ODIs that I don’t want them to die out. Am I just refusing to give up something I have enjoyed so much for as long as I have been following cricket? Or do ODIs still have something to give to the game?

Shane Warne thinks we don’t need them anymore. Harsha Bhogle has a point when he says “If you remove the ODI from the mix, the gulf between T20 and Tests, from a batting point of view, becomes way too vast, and over time you end up with a situation where players are good enough to play either the one or the other.”

Peter Roebuck thinks There Is Life In The ODI Yet. While Dileep Premachandran calls for an overhaul.

There has been a lot of talk about ODIs needing “a context”. Lots of ideas are being thrown about. No more bilateral series, no phony 4-match triangular series, playing ODIs as a build up to Test matches on tours, splitting each innings into 2 etc. Leela made a point about ODIs series being an interesting watch these days only if there is some off-field drama associated with it, and I find myself agreeing with it. But then there wasn’t always some kind of drama associated with ODIs when I used to stay up late and see all those matches, was there? (or was I really fokat those days?)

I mean, all of India’s matches were seen simply because India was playing. All of Australia’s matches were seen because they were the numero uno team and I wanted to see if any of their opponents were giving them a run for their money. Pakistan’s matches were followed cheer the other team because earlier Pakistan losing used to be equal to India winning somehow. All of South Africa’s matches were seen because when they were not busy choking, they used to play good cricket. And for Shaun Pollock.

And now when I find myself trying to write a preview for the Compaq Cup, I don’t know what to say. I mean yeah, I’m happy that India is finally back in action. And I am super excited to see how Dravid will fare and all. But it’s not how it is supposed to be. This series (and the Eng-Aus one) seems so pointless that I am tempted to label it as another Fake ODI Series. As someone commented on someone’s blog (and I paraphrase here because I don’t remember where I read this)

It takes just 4 matches to decide a tri-series, but it takes 7 one-dayers to conclude that England suck at pyjama cricket.

Indeed.

The Wall Resurrected….
A Dream Comeback….
Rebuilding The Wall ….

No…I haven’t not written a post on the greatest news of the month yet b’coz I was busy thinking up titles…

For those interested, I have been waging a lonely battle against crashing servers, helpdesks that have been sneaked off offshore without anyone having a clue and other such things for the last 3 weeks. And then recuperating. (And well, I haven’t really been MIA either. You can find some great works ala Megha here and here.)

IMHO RD should not have been dropped from the ODI team in the first place, but that is perhaps a discussion for another day. I can see a role for Dravid in the team. He can provide the stability that is required when the team loses early wickets. Or he can hold one end while the others have a license to hit away as and when needed. Dhoni can then revert back to his earlier batting days, come in at 6/7 and hit away with abandon. And it’s not as if Dravid cannot hit a few boundaries himself . Plus you get a good slip fielder, a part time wicketkeeper and all the wealth of his experience on the field. Not a bad bargain, is it?

Those worried about how Rohit Sharma’s and possibly Suresh Raina’s career would be ruined by this decision, and how this move is not keeping in mind the WC….well, the WC is barely 2 years away. I believe that both Sachin and Rahul can play in the WC. I assume they will hang up their boots after that. SR and RS are in their early 20s right now. So age is definitely on their side. Abhi nahi to 2 saal ke baad team me aa jayenge yaar…tab tak T20 khelo na…kisne mana kiya

When Sehwag comes back, the batting order could look like this –

Sehwag

Tendulkar

Gambhir

Dravid

Yuvi

Dhoni

Yusuf/Irfan (yeah..i still live in hope!!)

4 bowlers

See? It’s not that bad, is it?

And for those of you suggesting that the selectors have given Dravid an opportunity to retire with grace, and he will do so after the Champions Trophy, well…don’t say that! That’s not gonna happen..

No…that’s not gonna happen…right?

India win 2-1 as rain plays spoilsport.

Yay!!!

kthanxbye..

Did India win because they had 339 runs on the board or did they almost lose because they thought they had 339 runs on board?

I feel sorry for WI, they got 2 bad decisions that just might have cost them the game. Chasing 25 runs from 18 balls seems a whole lot easier if you have 4 wickets in hand as opposed to 2. More so if there is a certain Mr Bravo at the other end.

Anyway, I noticed Dhoni’s emotionless face as the last WI wicket fell. What could that possibly mean?

Was he really pissed at his team?
Was he just plain relieved that India won?
Was he just too tired to care about cricket anymore?
Was he trying to show the media that he is still Captain Cool?
Was he…

Wait a sec…Am I turning into an Indian media journalist?
Yeah…I think I need to stop now…

Yessir…India is playing WI in a 4-match series…just 4…seems a bit pointless to me. Perhaps a couple of Tests would have provided this tour a little legitimacy. Too much to ask? OK..maybe just one more ODI? At least make it a best of 5 series? No luck there either.

Hmmm.

The purpose of this tour is perhaps same as that of a student going to attend extra classes in school just to get his attendance level upto the required mark.

Which is why I call it The Fake ODI Series.

Another thing to note is that the series has started on the 26th of June. Which means that if India had managed to reach the finals of the T20 WC, they would have had just 4 days to reach Jamaica, shake off the jet lag (ok, it’s a bit easier to that when you are travelling westwards, but still!) and get used to the conditions before playing the first match. Well planned guys! Or did an astrologer tell you in advance that India will crash out before the finals?

So anyway, Dhoni says that this series is a chance to erase memories of 2007.

Umm…no?! The only way to erase that memory *shudder* is to win the WC in 2011! So don’t gimme this little trophy as a consolation prize, okay?

Win this series, and I will tell all and sundry what a great team you are and how I just knew you would bounce back. Lose it, and I’ll go “Meh! Don’t really care about it anyways….”

Just play these 4 games and go back home and take a break guys!

I am worried about India playing 4 specialist bowlers and the part timers being taken for runs this time.
I am worried about Yuvi falling to Mendis or Murali in an awful manner.
I am worried about the law of averages catching up with all Indian players in golden touch.
I am worried about Sachin getting another harsh decision from the umpires.
I am worried about Jayasuriya, the man who refuses to age, hitting Indian bowlers all over the park.

On the other hand,
I look forward to India winning the match and equalling its own record of successive wins.
I look forward to wrapping up the series tommorow itself.
I kinda also look forward to Murali getting the 2 wickets he needs to set a world record as long as it does not mess with the points above .

And then,
It would be good to see Balaji in action later in the series and give Zak/Ishant some rest.
It would be fantastic to go on and win the series 5-0!! Ah, the dreams and high hopes!!

On an entirely separate note, I have decided that, since Rahul Dravid is not playing ODIs and T20s any more, I am transferring my affections to Dhoni for these formats.

I can’t believe Haddin has the nerve to call Vettori claims poor and low! I have seen the replays of the infamous “glove incident”. I didn’t think for a second that Haddin did that purposefully, I did not even expect him to call Broom back. But you would think that having seen the replays, he could have apologised maybe? Or just acknowledged that the dismissal did not look right and said something like “We all should be careful in the future” like Vettori said? Too much to ask? I thought so!

After the triumph in BG Trophy, India now looks ahead at a new challenge. Expectations are very high from Dhoni’s men and no less than a thumping win would do. England’s recent outings have not brought much joy to them which, inspite of what KP says, would have had an effect on the team morale for sure. Compared to that, the Indian team is in a much happy place. They will most definitely miss SRT and Ishant but there are good players in the squad to take their places and hopefully they will step up.

I expect a couple of close contests, but India should be able to sail through easily with a 5-2 win at the very least. The only way England can win the series is if India mess it up either by being complacent or conversely by trying too hard and over-attacking.