Silly M(a)id-on

What do you do when you are at the cusp of making history? When you know there are just a few runs separating you from a record that even The Don could not manage? Mortals clamp down on the scoring. They play carefully, try not to do anything silly. If you are Sehwag though, you just keep playing the way you know best.

What do you do then if you lose out on the record by a whisker? You are pained, you throw your bat about in disgust, you are extremely disappointed and tell everyone as much. If you are Sehwag though, you go out with a smile on your face. You acknowledge the fact that there was a record for the taking, that you missed an opportunity, but are not overly concerned. “There is always a next time”, you say.

I like that. There is a certain amount of selflessness in this approach. I like the fact that Sehwag is not too concerned about making and breaking records. It tells me that he will not alter the natural flow of his game just because he is near a milestone. Good for the team!

Congratulations and well done on the 293, Veeru. Veeru aur Jai (victory) ki jodi bani rahe!

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 Ganguly and Kumble no longer represent India at the International level.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?

Two Words.

MUST. READ.

Part 1
Part 2

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?

..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