how to show 'character'...

had randiv thrown the ball out of boundary he would have looked far more innocent...

no surprise it has come from the team that talks about 'character' so much they can't even complete a sentence without using it...

on bored: Randiv, see what YOU have left FAR BEHIND!

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tale of two draws seen from jaundiced eye...

a team chasing a target of 330 runs at home against a lowly ranked team... saves a test match by batting 75 odd overs... on a pitch that remained true till last ball...

cut to scene two...

a team coming behind from a precarious situation of 32/4 in first innings... facing a lead of 330 odd in second... bats 130 odd overs against a team that is ranked no. 2 to save a test match at home... on a pitch that remained true till last ball...

end result...?

the former was an 'engrossing' draw... a savior of test cricket... while the later was pronounced as a 'boring' draw that would kill test cricket...

the difference...?

one draw was played in australia... while the later... in india...

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the future is here...

its not easy to look anywhere when jatman savages bowlers... teams... morales... reputations... the way only he can...

watching jatman is like a roller coaster ride... which evokes all possible emotions in you... like life itself... coz when he plays he metaphors into a life... some days you will walk like king... some days you want to be left alone... some days you want to fight... some days you will throw the towel in disgust... and some days you will ask god that if this is my last day on earth then it could not have been better...

but this post is not about jatman... its about murali vijay...

more than the runs he scored yesterday... its his re-assuring demeanor on field which makes you believe that future of indian cricket will be in safe hands...

he has the temperament and body language which not only oozes confidence but distinctly pronounce he belongs to the highest level... he eases in like he was never out of the team... you would be fooled in believing if actually he was opening in this series all this while or was he merely filling in the shoes of the most prolific opener of team india... gautam gambhir...

so it comes as no surprise that he did well both times in such a short notice... coming out of cold...

given that we have the opening combination to die for... and it will be hard to find a place for him at the very top... then why not play him in middle order...? if a middle order batsman can be converted into an opening batsman then why not an opener can be drafted into the team to, say, bat at no. 3...?

indian cricket must find a place for the players like murli vijay... who really wants to represent india at the highest level unlike glamorous pretenders who would often play tape recorded statement that they love test cricket... when their temperament... their approach towards highest form of game is anything but that...

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tale of two tests seen from jaundiced eyes...

i read this article from sidharth monga on cricinfo... the premise of the article is summed up as...

Just for the high quality of consistent fast bowling throughout the match, the Dunedin Test needs to be celebrated...

then what about kanpur test mr. monga...?

it had one team playing as attacking cricket as one would have seen recently... scoring nearly 5.50 runs per over for most part of the innings... scoring more than 400 runs in a day...

we get to see a 'troubled child' of indian cricket staging a comeback into team after good 18 months... making the ball talk both ways not only with new ball but old ball as well... the best reverse swing bowling on indian pitches after a while... on a pitch that was supposed to assist spin bowling... and finishing the game in three and half days... even when there were no demons in the pitch...

in nutshell... attacking test cricket at its best...

but no we must praise dunedin test coz that had pace bowlers doing a job under favorable overcast conditions representing teams that were hell bent on surrendering the initiative to other... there by making that test interesting only coz of their age old deficiencies...

never mind the fact that a pace bowler was man of the match in kanpur test match on a pitch and conditions that had little to do with it... but purely coz of his extraordinary skills...

but i guess the choice becomes easier in the end... coz on one side we had a test match that had equivalent of armani 'pace' tag attached on a picturesque location... and on another a test match that was played on subcontinent patta wicket... that had 'spin' tag attached to it like a stigma...

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well done sreesanth...

india require him at the top of his game...specially with injury of zaheer the indian pace cupboard is looking thin and bare...with not many fast bowlers knocking team india's door with conviction...

also for the fact that i strongly feel...sreesanth along with ishant and zaheer can make cricketing equivalent of 'bermuda triangle' in which lots of teams will sink without a trace...

i wrote this when there was not even a whiff of sreesanth in the air...

we knew sree will have to reborn to make it to team india again coz such was the insulation shield build around team india for him at that time... so the freesanth was born on bored on 15th of august 2009... india's independence day... to free him from all the prejudices... and since then we have been running single minded campaign for him...

in fact cricket superblogroll announcing BCC! as the 'featured blog' has this to say... which is still up there...

And on site are real cool characters like Jatman (Sehwag), Che (Cheteshwar Pujara), Yawn T Roads, Bored Peon & Bored Neon, KhufiaBaaz, the thankless 'Thank You Sachin!' Group and the pointless FreeSanth venture.

i don't blame them... it did appear pointless to many...

now that he has come and pulled the rug from under non-believer's feet... with the five-for in his first comeback test innings after 18 months of enforced exile... it feels good that the player one was backing has come good... sree is freesanth again...

so thank you sree and well done!

but remember... its just the start though... keep all the wishes and praise you are getting now in your stride... you will need them when you will go wicket less on some days and people will inevitably try to reason it with sree the persona... rather than sree the bowler...

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o really...?!

look around and you will find many saying sri lankans were more desperate to win...

really...?!

to me desperation is when you don't even bother defeat as the price you will pay to push for a win...

other than that... it is a draw in test match... nothing more... nothing less...

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you owe an explanation sehwag...

he was dropped by wicket keeper chasing a wide ball... don't tell me he heard the no ball call that's why he played that daft shot...

then after a while... another catch goes down between slip and keeper for aimlessly prodding at a ball...

another such shot flies past slip for four...

then he wanted to ran himself out by going for a non existent single... he would not have been even in frame had the throw hit the stumps... in fact he gave up hope midway running that single...

ultimately he could not resist the temptation any more and throws his wicket to an ordinary ball...

all this happened when india is trying to save a match...

then he comes on mike after today's play is over and talks about patience...

can someone explain me all this...?

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one bad outing it takes...

for the commentators to start their tongues wagging... that selectors should look for an alternative for the second test match when even the second innings of the first match is yet to begin...

no denying the fact that amit mishra is having an awfully bad day... but where were these ravi shashtri and company when they saw bhajji bowling dart after another but pretend to look the other way...

such is the protection shield around bhajji that even though he bowl shit nobody will comment on his bowling coz he is a 'world class' spinner... a 'turbunator' when the fact is that even on spin friendly wickets he failed to make an impression... not coz his skill has vanished but is afraid to do so as he has an image to protect...

for the man who was kept on the benches for past six months or so... and even when it was clear that he won't take any part in home series against australia was not released to play domestic games to keep himself match fit... when you don't require more that 12-13 players to be present in dressing room and even a local lad can come and field as substitute...

on a dead pitch where even the likes of murli's experience went for runs... and could have gone for more had we not lost so much wickets upfront... calling for a head of a bowler based on his maiden outing after months when second innings is still due is bit rich...

go mishra go... so weak is the threshold of the rope given to you that anything less than running through the ranks of sri lankan team in second innings won't be enough to keep your place in the team...

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thoughts on second days play...

sri lanka started the first session of this test match with clear advantage and must say that they have ended the last session of 2nd days play by regaining most of that...

they not only bowled india rather cheaply today but scored at decent pace to be at 275/3 at the close of play... and if they can see off first hour tomorrow without any flutters they will hold the aces in this match...

sri lanka should look to bat big and bat once in this match and see if the pressure of strong lead can force the result in this match which seems to be the only way we might see a result in this strip specially when team india’s opening seems bit wobbly...

from india’s point of view they must capitalise the early morning hour much the same way sri lanka has managed to do on two consecutive days or they will be the team who will be chasing the leather in this match... though sri lanka will start tomorrow play with bit of an advantage in a way that new ball is still 10 overs due... so by the time india will take new ball they would have eased themselves in...

spin bowlers from both sides have failed to make an impact... though some balls are bouncing sharply and some are spinning out of rough but the pace of wicket is such that batsmen are finding time to adjust...

if i were dhoni i will give spinners relatively hard ball to see if they can induce some errors from the batsmen... mishra should take heart from the fact that on many occasions he came close to taking a wicket and if he can adjust his bowling to the pace of the wicket... he can still bounce back in this match...

i expect ishant and zaheer to bowl bit fuller on this wicket specially early in the morning to see if they can swing or seam the ball... while using short pitch deliveries as surprising weapon on this pitch... contrary to what zaheer did at the start of innings today when i felt that he laid his cards open too early to dilshan with his line of attack...

it will be interesting to see if india can again manage to fight back in the game this time with ball in its hand...


PS: on side note... is it me or you also noticed the difference...? imagine what would have been the hoopla in media and alike had sachin achieved 11000 runs milestone with the type of scintillating innings dravid played yesterday... goes to show however well they do... some are never equals...

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dravid drives... india rides...

very pleasing day for india as well as rahul dravid...

from 32 for 4 to finishing 385 for 6 wickets by scoring most runs in a day... while dravid scoring 177 of those runs in a single day... a never before feat achieved by him... from that precarious situation... just goes to show what difference slight change in approach can make...

india lost first four wickets next to nothing on board... and to be honest one was bit skeptic about how dravid will approach the situation based on some of his recent innings at that point of time coz of late he appeared to be bit bogged down... seemed like a player who was holding himself back... but not today...

he came in refreshingly positive frame of mind... didn't let go loose ball just coz the situation demanded it... rotated the strike and therefore even though india lost quite a few wickets for their liking... the scoring was never a problem so much so that at one stage sangakkara appeared in doldrums whether to keep on attacking field or set a defensive one... hence his use of murli in then middle... when he could have attacked bit more with him... specially early in the innings when yuvraj came to the crease... but such was the onslaught from dravid that he kept sanga occupied... which also gave some breathing space to yuvraj and later to dhoni... who went on to score his second century and first in india...

although its easier said than done... but how i wish dravid keep this tempo not only for this match but in future games as well... that is too punish the bad balls irrespective of the situation and more importantly look to score which he showed today that he is perfectly capable of...

» on bored:
11000 reasons to celebrate a century...

perfect way to celebrate 11000 runs in test cricket... by playing one of the better paced innings...

congratulations dravid!!

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taking fresh guard...

sorry for talking about mundane things like the upcoming india vs sri lanka series when the flavor of the season is tendulkar20 business...

its not that being a sachin fan i did not capture my feelings on sachin completing 20 years... but i came bit early to the party... end september to be precise...

coming back to the post... after the brain freeze series that india had recently against fractured australian team... the aura around sri lanka series seems to be just about the same... that india will have to just turn on the ground to beat sri lanka which has youngsters in the rank who have virtually no experience of playing in india... is carrying the weight of veteran jayasuriya... in a land where even the likes of murli have not find any favors...

i hope this is not the case this time... specially after the timely rap on the knuckles provided by australia... the last series was like the mirror placed in front of team india in which they could clearly see their ugly complacent face and the extra flab which needed to be shed...

hopefully now team india will realise what it takes to remain at the top... any team can have bad days but great teams usually keep the gap between bad days as wide as possible...

earlier team india was not expected to win and the win against top teams used to be seen as underdog defying all odds to beat the favorites... but now the table is turned... now india start as favorites to win most of the time... it will take some time adjusting to this scenario... much the same way it took australia some time to reconcile to the fact that they are not favorites or the same force anymore...

so next few series starting from srilanka series will tell us whether team india has it in them to cross this hurdle or this is the best they can produce... how they are going to cope with this new found status coz now even fans want team to behave the way favorites teams are supposed to... on and off the field...

good showing in upcoming series will go a long way in re-assuring dejected indian fans that they really have the team which is not only the best but can take the best head on... consistently...

whatever be the case... as far as indian cricket goes... we are in for some interesting times...

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yuvraj moves one step closer...

this is what i said before the start of india-srilanka series...

i, though, rather than the series result...will be focusing more on how yuvraj plays mendis and even murli…keeping in mind that he is now going to be certainty in tests and I would like to see how much progress he has made as batsman to be qualified for towards this very fact…

and must say that he has grown more confident with each outing in this series...and when it was time to close the series he came with superlative performance...'ton'king M&M with ease that we have not witnessed thus far...

» recommended link:
my latest mendis-toon on BCC! mind-this...

gk and upton are surely working with him and the brief given to him, as far as playing spin goes, seems like forget the last ball that beat you...if next ball lands in your arch turst your strengths to give it the treatment it deserve...

i think the 'chemistry' yuvi shares with dhoni...and that dhoni is now a permanent test match captain too...he finds himself lot more comfortable playing under him...coz we all know how dhoni backed him when he was going through lean patch in ODIs...

this series is happening just at the right time for yuvi when he is looking to find stability in his test career and the confidence he will take from this series will go a long way in making him complete test bat...

i can only imagine the plight of bowlers who will have to face yuvi and dhoni after aggressive start from sehwag and gambhir...and some solid work in middle by our seniors...

in tests that is...

update: here's a brilliant comment of gaurav of naked cricket on yuvi...here @ SP...

this guy is a form player, and if and when he can cope with drops in form, bide his time, he'll become even more dangerous. Cages will be called for. And signs that say, do not bowl to the animal.

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the focus now shifts to...

india-srilanka ODI series...

image courtesy...cricinfo

in a day’s time india will be locking horns with sri lanka in a hurriedly organised series…

sri lanka is obviously brimming with confidence from his recent series win against over confident and lackluster pakistan…while pakistan played mendis relatively well…i think all their preparations were so much focused on spin or rather mendis that they apparently lacked the same while playing seamers…

this in a way is also the fruit of having a bowler like mendis in the ranks coz opposition team look to attack their seamers more in anticipation of some quiet overs from M&M if not wicket taking overs…

mendis has become the latest benchmark of playing spin so much so that playing murli seems almost as an afterthought for consideration…let alone playing their pacers…and therein lays the catch which pak discovered to their utter dismay…

india on other hand though looks confident unit…but is a slow starter after the break which has been the old nemesis they have not been able to shed off despite all the success they have enjoyed in recent past…and that’s where, i think, lies the best chance for sri lanka…if they can put pressure on india from the word go they will give themselves very good chance of avenging the series defeat which india inflicted on them in their home last time…

i, though, rather than the series result...will be focusing more on how yuvraj plays mendis and even murli…keeping in mind that he is now going to be certainty in tests and I would like to see how much progress he has made as batsman to be qualified for towards this very fact…while raina’s and rohit’s too will be looking forward to using this series as platform to stake their claim for the selection in tests too for nz tour…

in short it’s going to be the series where both teams will be looking at their new as well as some tried and tested players with keen eye on their performances…

final score line...?

i am predicting a closely fought series which can go either way...

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