Silly M(a)id-on

India does it…so does Bangladesh…Pakistan does it too, and quite spectacularly at times I might add. C’mon…don’t spoil the subcontinental brotherhood. Self destruct, wouldja??

Let’s get The Preview bit out of the way first.

Sri Lanka arrive in India after a gap of four years with thoughts of opening their test account there. On the other hand, Indians probably have revenge on their mind, after Ajantha Mendis messed with the heads of their world class batsmen last year, and sent them to a 2-1 defeat. The other issue that keeps coming up of course is the number 1 spot on ICC rankings…which is a bit much because regardless of who wins this series, South Africa will surely pound England later in December and reclaim their #1 spot. But that’s ok. There is test cricket on the menu finally, and India is playing..after what seems like an overkill of T20s and ODIs, what more could I ask for?

A few things have changed since these 2 countries played each other last. Ganguly and Kumble no longer represent India at the International level. Vaas doesn’t play for Sri Lanka anymore. Bowling well and taking wickets has become incidental to Harbhajan Singh..his primary role is that of a batsman now. Sangakkara is showing a lot of “aggression” on the field these days, so unlike the “gentle, mild-mannered Sri Lankans”. And Mendis seems to have lost his mysterious aura, so much so that he doesn’t find himself in the team every now and then.

It should be an interesting series. As Sangakkara said, there are reputations to be made. The bits that interest me are all related to India (yeah, I’m pretty one-dimensional like that)

Will Dhoni show the courage to give Harbhajan the boot finally?

Will Yuvraj cement his place in the test side?

Will Tendulkar enter the 21st year of his career with a good series?

Will Sehwag and Gambhir shrug off their indifferent ODI form and shine?

Will Dravid do well?

Will India’s pacers find their bearings?

Will M&M be mauled? (Yes please!!)

We’ll know pretty soon.

Onto Match 1, Day 1 then..aka The Review.

From 32/4 to 385/6, Dhoni must be a relieved man. By the time I got up today, India’s score was around 120/4. Not the greatest of starts, but I was quite pleased to see Dravid’s half century then. Didn’t realise until much later just how big a hole India had dug for itself earlier in the day, courtesy them being generous to another debutant some newbie with like the longest name ever….honestly guys..you have got to stop doing that!!

(Update – Just got to know that W’s debut match was in 2007, against England..Thanks NC)

(And dear Mr. and Mrs. Welegedara. I know it is probably none of my business, but…Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanga Welegedara…seriously??)

Dhoni and Yuvi must be pleased with their effort. They both needed that. I was surprised to learn that this was only Dhoni’s second Test century, and that too after a gap of almost 4 years. Hmmm..chalo, der aaye, durust aaye. (Better late than never)

With Bhajji’s ability to hold the bat (5 of his 7 50s have come since 2008), I suppose 450 should be gettable at the very least. That should be a decent enough 1st innings score. I don’t know how helpful the pitch will be for bowlers tomorrow and the day after so let’s see how the Indians fare on the field.

So then, are you ready for the Yahoooo yet??

Saving India the blushes today, and in some style, was THE MAN..with a very confident innings, a SR of more than 70 and hitting a 6 too! Could my Monday GET any better?

Days like these make me want to go back to school/college days when it was so much easier to just take a day off and sit glued in front of the telly on match days. I can probably see highlights after I get back from work, but it is not the same as watching it live. Sigh…I’ll soothe my soul with this stuff in the meantime…

SP @ Bored

Cricinfo

Trevor Chesterfield @ Cricketnext

Trying hard not to get carried away, but please RD, could we have some more?

Here’s my father on the art of getting one’s exceptionally large feet into one’s even bigger mouth!

..for right now, I am just going to enjoy the fact that we finished our most successful tour of NZ.

After all, what is not to celebrate? We won a Test series in NZ after 41 years. We won the ODI series comprehensively. Gambhir had a terrific tour Test-wise and Sehwag took the honours in ODIs. Indian bowlers outshone their counterparts by some distance. Most of our batsmen were amongst runs. Dravid had a good series(words cannot describe how pleased I am at this). He now also holds the record for most catches. Even when the team was in a tough spot, there was always someone who put his hand up and pulled the team out of trouble. Most importantly, Dhoni passed the “overseas series” test.

Sure, people will raise legitimate concern about poor fielding/catching. Some will say that the pitches were hardly how they usually are in NZ, NZ is one of the weaker sides right now, Dhoni should have declared earlier, blah blah blah. Well you know what. I don’t care. I really don’t. So, for now, why don’t you pass me the brickbats….and I’ll forward bouquets to the team instead

So, 7 minutes to go until Day 2 starts. Here is my tuppence on the first day.

After 60/6 I was pissed off to see NZL score 289 in all. But all in all I think I am ok with it. India are poor starters when it comes to away series. And I would rather take this start see India 6 down for 60-odd before lunchtime. Plus, you know, did you really expect NZL to just give up batting? Vettori is a very handy #8 batsman (he has scored 18 50s and a hundred before this) and Ryder is, well, Ryder. It is good to see a fightback. That is what Test cricket is about isn’t it?

Onto today…as far as India’s innings is concerned, Sehwag will be Sehwag. If he fires, India will automatically be in a very dominant position becuase of the sheer mometum his innings usually bring. If he doesn’t, I would like to think that we have a very capable batting line up. Gambhir has a point to prove. At least I think so. He needs a good series outside the subcontinent. Yuvi needs a solid effort to cement his place in the side. But the man of the moment for me is Rahul Dravid(no surprises here). He has to make sure that he paces his innings well. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that playing a lot of dot balls and then getting out doesn’t really benefit the team. So, RD, sweety, lets give me a reason to chear about from you in this series, all right?

Onto the live game…uh..as soon as it starts that is..

The first session was our revenge for yesterday. And now for 2002….

Looking at Viru and Gauti makes me realise how much we were missing out on in the past few years with no settled openers. Even with a rock solid middle order there was always a piece missing from the puzzle. That seems complete now. Oh, except for Dravid. As for him, he either needs to fire in the next match(with a convincing innings, not a scratchy, coma-inducing half century) or he needs to be fired!

Onto England. They definitely are a better Test team than an ODI one. They can take back a lot of positives from the performances of Strauss, Collingwood, Flintoff and Swann. They were ahead of India till the end of Day 3 but erred badly when they needed to set India a target. Their batting lost the plot. But Sehwag was the one who actually took the game away from them. 387 should have been good enough. But he had other plans! And he executed them in such a manner that his innings overshadowed every other performance of the match.

Thanks you guys, for winning this game in such incredible style.

I write this piece with mixed feelings. I am still not very sure if going ahead with the test series is a good idea. First of all the sheer amount of security provided to cover just the players and the stadium(5000 is the number I am told) is mind boggling. Would that have an effect on the players’ psyche? A lot has been said about the English players and their mental state in the aftermath of the terror attacks but surprisingly little has been written about the Indian players. After all the terror attack took place in their country, and in the case of Sachin Tendulkar, in his city. Like us, the Indian players too would be hurt, confused, angry, scared and cricket might not be high on their list. Also, would the extra security discourage people from coming out to watch the game, given that Ind vs Aus did not attract many people as it is. Or would they come out in huge numbers to show their solidarity(the new buzzword). I guess we will know tomorrow.

Secondly, the BCCI has done it again. It has picked out a venue where the weather could end up playing an important part. The track at Chennai is flat as it is. Losing a few hours to rain would not be ideal, to put it mildly.

On to the cricketing stuff now. India are clear favourites to win the series, weather permitting. The opening pair is looking solid. The middle order looks good. Yuvraj and Rahul have a point to prove and I bet they will come good. Anil will be missed very much but Bhajji, Mishra and Ojha will be quiet a handful for England. And the pace attack has never looked better. The English test team is definitely better than their ODI team, but they still have a lot to sort out before they lay claim to the series.

Ah, who knows! Maybe a couple of fantastic games is what is needed to lift the gloom of the past few days. Now that the game is on, let’s get on with it people!

- 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?