The latest controversy
What happened today was no way an ordinary thing happening during one of the ordinary matches. Firstly We saw, a newcomer (Wasim Jaffer) who was till recently struggling for a finding a permanent place in the test squad, going a step further than merely making his presence felt and crafting a double century. Then, we watched a controversial thing which will go into record books as a dubious decision and will become a matter of debate in the cricketing circle.
Dhoni hit three consecutive sixes and he went for the fourth one. The ball flew high in the air and went straight to the hands of the fielder who took the catch. However, the camera failed to establish that the catch was clean. The fielder claimed that he completed the catch however, third umpire failed to intervene due to lack of proper evidence. After much thinking, the umpires gave the batsman the benefit of the doubt but then Lara went to Dhoni to tell him that the catch was clean and he should better walk out. Well, it will go into history books as a matter of debate that whether the captain of the opposition team can ask a batsmen to refer to his own conscience or not but, I think that Lara did the most appropriate thing possible. He might be slammed with a fine for his behaviour after the decision but, still I think that Dhoni should have walked off the ground after the fielder claimed that the catch was clean.
Leaving the controversies behind, let's hope that India wins.
Why India will beat West Indies in the Test Series?
When the Indian team departed for the west Indies tour, I guess, Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappel were having a plan in their mind and that was to have "no plan". Now, it might seems weird that how un professional these guyz could be at times, but if you delve dipper into the issue, probably they were right not to have wasted their energies in making plans against a team which is fighting hard to come out of the shadows of their past. Inspite of having the inpirational presence of the great Brian Lara, this team is nowhere close to the team which was considered invincible once. While, Indian team might not have planned on how to make the mockery of the rank eight team but I believe that Dravid must have seen this as an opportunity to repeat the 1971 act of beating the West Indies in West Indies. And also as a bonus it will give him another boost over Saurav Ganguly because his side managed to win only one test series outside the asia and that too against a depleted Zimbawe. But, whatsoever, a victory over rank eight is always better than beating a rank 9.
Okay, So what are the reasons which makes me think that India can overpower the confident West Indies. Well, there are few.
1) Kumble, The spin Doctor: The picture which comes into your mind is of a bandaged person who insisted on to bowl even after getting a fracture in skull region. He walked into the stadium like a tiger and bowled with the same fire as if nothing has happened. His experience is the only difference between two sides. They have Lara who can any day change the game but, it takes the likes of Kumble to counter the experience of Lara. In the one day series we have seen that how Lara has developed a special liking for the attack of Harbhajan Singh. And Powar has nothing to offer to the spin department. Flight is not going to do you any good in the test matches where the batsmen plays at his liberty as when to attack and when to defend. So Kumble remains the potent weapon in the Dravid's arsenal.
2)
Irfan 'the Pathan': He do not ball with pace, but that magical ball which leaves the left handers and bang into the right handers is going to test the top order. He is a wicket taker and is very much effective in short spells. And what else, if he has a bad day with the ball, he will always be there to swing his bat around with much authority. The lack of experience of the West Indian conditions was visible in the one day series, but tests are going to be a different story altogether. He is a kind of guy who is not going to fail always and watch out, he is not going to rest when he knows that all it takes to change the course of the match is just "One Wonder Ball".
3)
The Great Wall of India: Rahul Dravid is the kind of player which are not favorite for their playmaking. It's a hard fact that they are loved and liked for their statistics. You can't find a spectator who like Rahul Dravid because of his action in the middle, rather you can find millions who like Dravid for what he did in the past, for what he always does and for what they know he gonna do again and again. Well, the same kind of sentiments prevails among the opposition. He frustrates a spectator (who has a special liking for Sehwag and Dhoni brand of cricket) but then, he also frustrates the opposition bowler and fielders by not offering anything to them. Holding the fort is an art in itself and Rahul need no advice from anybody that how to do that better and better. His determination and grit perfectly symbolizes the name tag that he has earned for himself. The great wall of India is here and Brian Lara must be dreaming about strategies for making a hole into wall.
4)
Firebrand Cricket, Sehwag, Dhoni and Yuvraj: Call it firebrand cricket or 'Fatafat' cricket, doesn't matter. The fact is that these people are crowd pullers and even if one of the three clicks, it's enough. Watching them sloggin the ball hard and throwing everything to the ball can irritate an ardent Dravid's or Laxman's Fan but, they are there. it doesn't matter that how many critics call them wreckless and brand them as careless shot makers, they are not going to give a damn. They will play like they always play and believe me, they play like that's the only possible approach to this game. Sehwag likeness for the fast ball can come in handy and if he could get a few well timed shot going early in the innings then god save West Indies! Dhoni can chip in with some useful contribution in the middle and most often he will get a chance to partner with Yuvraj or Pathan and these partnerships coould well decide the target for West Indies. Yuvi is on a golden run and he could well justify his test cap that he has earned only recently.
Apart from these, Laxman and Wasim Jafar adds to the batting strength. So, if India is to beat West Indies then this is their best chance. West Indies team has got nothing to loose, so most probably they are up on the learning curve and their team will get better in the future also attributed to the rising level of confidence. However, If Indian fails to do it here then probably the defeat will dent into their confidence level and perhaps also into the rankings. Well, let's see what these wise guys have it in their mind.
It's not an all expenses paid Caribbean Trip. Wake up
Well it's 4-1 finally. After you loose the series, it really doesn't matter it's a 4-1 or a 3-2, a loss is a loss. Rahul will still say that they would not want to repeat this same feat in the test matches and is looking forward to play some positive cricket in the coming days. Thank you Rahul that you weigh your words carefully but the recent debacle shows that it's not the lack of experience among your players that is playing spoilsport but their attitude. In my previous post I suggested about replacing Dravid by uthappa in the opening position and to bring Dhoni at number 3. Rahul Dravid did exactly that. He played everything straight putting his best pieces at best places. But, he failed to enthuse positive attitude and the same sense of confidence among his players which has helped them to win some of the series in the recent past. It's like most of them start feeling homesick on the field and want to stay on the wicket for the minimum time possible.
Uthappa swings his bat at almost everything as if the youngster feels that if he won't do this, he will be out of the next match. Dhoni missed the cut and his collection today was really awful. Nobody would forget the dropped catch of Gayle who went on to score a fifty. Rahul the Jammy again got run out. How many times this will happen to you Rahul? In statistics you even beat Ganguli in getting your partners run out for most number of times, well this time you found yourself on the wrong end. Nobody to blame, you should better improve yourself.
yuvraj is not to blame as he is the only person who is showing a lot of confidence and aggression in his batting. kaif bats like he always do, trying to save his position in the team. Raina was a dissapointment.
Well, in the bowling department Munaf Patel was never close to even 140 km/h. Then was that all media hype that we have finally got a pacemen who can bowl at matching speeds with atleast Fidel Edwards? Maybe. We know our media well. If ganguly plays, it becomes an issue and when he don't then again it becomes another issue. Agarkar again bowled with a lot of discipline and Bhajji recieved a special treatment from Brian Lara.
West Indians were surely playing according to a plan. And fortune really favors the brave. See how Hinds rocked the Indian boat upfront. All the moves by Lara paid (even the way he moved his fielders around also made some catches possible). In the end it was Gayle again who never gave an inch away, not to the bowlers and not even to the batsmen. Surely, the West Indians will go into the first test with a positive mindset as they outrun Indians in every department of the limited overs edition. Well, Rahul Dravid have to find a solution to the inexperience of the batsmen or to the mindset of the players who more seems like enjoying their all expenses paid carribean trip. Wake up man, if you can't beat a team whose one of the strike bowlers gets injured in the very first over of the match then, how come you even think about repeating the 1971?
Cricket: Ghosts of the past chose to haunt back again..
Ghosts of the past have chosen to haunt the Indian team once again. The recent golden run of the Indian cricket which resembled the steep ascent of the stock sensex ended just like that. Collapsed from a season high to perhaps an all time low. Indian teams has shown the signs of its past and it seems that the cricket crazy nation of 1000 millions/Justify Fullns is felling cheated after the series loss to a depleted west indies which is by no way close to what it use to be a decade ago. One of the characteristics of Indian team was it's unpredictibility. Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappel gave signs that the era is bygone and the Indian cricket is getting a face lift. But, well fans like us will be happy to find that no, it's the same old Indian team which has given many an heart attacks to it's ardent fans in the past.
Like every other cricket fan, I too like to have my own opinion about the team and I don't care even if it's the billion'th one. Long live freedom of speech and expression. Well here is my analysis into why India Lost the series with West Indies? Five reasons.
1) Opening trouble: Sachin's position might be debatable like of Ganguly's due to his recent run in cricket. But, then see what a non-regular opener can do the morale of the team. No doubt Rahul Dravid is a thinking cricketer who likes to meet the challenges head on but you need to learn this Mr. Rahul that no body is suited for all the roles. He hit a century in the first match but failed in the rest of the three and same is about the Indian team. What was the role of Robin uthappa? Was he picked up for serving the drinks only? It seems to me that letting Rahul Dravid score a century was a part of the bigger plan of the West Indian captain Lara who excelled Dravid in the art of putting his pieces together.
***Suggestion: Dravid should stick to the number three or four and let Dhoni/Uthappa open the innings if you don't have Sachin playing.2) Number Three batsmen: For opening the innings, Rahul Dravid had to abandon his post at number three and it served as a weak link. I mean you can't afford to discharge an experienced soldier of his duties and ask a lay man to fill in for him at a post of strategic importance. Suresh Raina was happy playing his shots in the end of the innings and he was asked to fill in for Rahul Dravid. Well, he failed regularly.
*** Are you afraid of Dhoni garnering more publicity than anybody else? Then why he is not finding his place at number three during crunch situations. Do you want more experiments at that position?3) The Dhoni Factor: Indians have got a cannon which can surely blast away the West Indian attack but, they chose to hide it behind their lesser capable batsmen. He has scored both of his centuries playing up the order and it's completely beyond my understanding that if players like Irfan and Raina are getting chances up the order then why Dhoni is instructed to play cautiously because the once he departs there is no sting left in the Indian tail.
4) Inconsistency of Sehwag: He hooks, he pulls, he flicks off his leg stump and then he cuts with raw power. He shows you signs of brilliance here and there and the moment you start feeling good about him, there he goes with one foolish looking shot either played in the air, straight in the hands of some fielder or on the stumps. He is no doubt an accompolished batsmen but his incosistency is costing us matches.
5) Selfish cricket: Kaif on the field and Kaif batting both are different situations. In the former, he roars like tiger, jumps over the ball with much fury and guard a territory which will require two fielders for sure. But, when he is batting, he gives you the feeling of a fragile looking player who is struggling hard to keep the ball away from his body. The brand of cricket he has started palying lately is nothing but selfish cricket and thanks to the captain and coach to create this sense of insecurity among players. Well, the fact is that this insecurity could well become inspiration for you (Raina, Uthappa, Dhoni, Sreesanth) or could play havoc on your mindset and in the long run with your career (Kaif, Venugopal, Pathan).
Well, Mr. Coach and Captain, Would be ever beat the eighth ranked team on their home turf? Or you need more experiments to get the results? Well accept my suggestion then, throw Sehwag and Kaif out of the team or give them some rest, and adopt rotation policy for your fast bowlers also. This Irfan boy is stressed out, don't burden him with more responsibities. And Mr. Dependable, please refrain yourself from opening the inning. Nobody wants to cut his fingers instead of cutting the ribbon during opening ceremonies, can't you understand?
