warm-up games were better in my days...

so, it seems, we have seen apple falling from tree and discovered the law of gravity...

the parallel of above analogy for team india's beyond dismal performance has boiled down to warm up games...

even the bcci has seen the light and asked for one more warm-up game before the boxing day test... and lo... all team india being slow starter problem will be solved... 

this thought it so nobel and yet so simple that i am surprised how we missed it...?

more warm-up games...

i am sure (not even) the second xi players (which is a norm now for warm up games) will give enough match practice to our team... they will indeed push us so hard that we will be properly warmed before the boxing day test... never mind the fact that if that was the case... we would have been giving the same medical treatment to england team by now that we have been receiving... from the second test onwards...

this reminds me of what gary kirsten said in his last public appearance before he took the offer of coaching south africa team...

Kirsten thought before he joined the team, the Indian team did not know how to prepare for a game.

“If I had to rate it out of 10, I thought the way the Indian players practised was about 1 or 2. Basically, what I realised was there was no connection between preparation and play. We just upped the ante on our preparation and we had real purpose to everything we did and then the Indian team probably became the hardest working and preparation team in the world. From 2 we went to 7 or 8.”

are we missing a real story here...?

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is dhoni getting exposed...?

dhoni, the captain, has every trophy in his cupboard that can make any captain envious...

in one day cricket he is undisputed king and one of the most valuable batsman...

but when it comes to tests... the doubts start to creep in... with his keeping... and batting...

dhoni wicket keeping of late is almost everything that has made kamran akmal the butt of all jokes...

he is not going for catches... fumbling with regular takes... standing some steps back only to gift himself some much needed time... and before you jump on me that in english conditions keeper requires bit of time to cover for late movement... you obviously missed the west indies series...

it screws our slip cordon is one side-effect...

dhoni collecting ball below knee is a regular feature... as is ball dissecting him and first slip with him stuck on his feet...

india could have still afforded his keeping services given his batting was as stable as is expected of wicket keeper batsman... but here dhoni is regressing fast to say the least...

when india plays at full strength... the batting line up of viru, gambhir, dravid, sachin, vvs, raina/yuvi/che precede him... followed by a lower order crisis man harbhajan singh... who has played more match winning/turning innings than dhoni for quite a while...

one can clearly see the class in batting line up... and invariably at least two out of first six batsmen clicks for india big time and we manage to score a decent total if not outright winning total to give our bowlers a chance to force result... so dhoni not scoring on consistent basis goes un-noticed... india winning more matches than it loses also glosses over dhoni poor form with bat...

so when team india loses (like in this series with england)... or plays understrength team that requires dhoni to step up as batsman... he gets exposed...

a lot of dhoni being the next gilchrist is based on his odi career... while in tests he is yet to prove his credentials with reasonable consistency...

he was and never will be a technically sound test batsman... his play is based on percentage cricket... so when there is slightest movement in that percentage towards bowler... he obviously finds it difficult...

even gilchrist was not technically accomplished batsman... a lot of his batting was hand eye coordination... but what differentiated him with dhoni is... he trusted his instincts...

if a batting line up of viru, gambhir, dravid, sachinn, vvs, raina/yuvi/che, dhoni followed by bhajji cannot make dhoni confident enough to go for shots... be the player he promised... be the player he can be... wonder what will...

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dravid hyperbole...

dravid contrary to perception is one of the most aggressive... most ruthless player one would come across...

only his method is different...

when players like sehwag will smash you to submission... dravid will kill you step by step to the point that you will stop seeing light... you will yearn for the mercy... he will sap your last ounce of energy... he will kill all the hope that gave you the reason to keep coming back... and then he will kill that reason too... slowly but surely...

dravid is the kind of torture tale that one reads... that how late one kept his victim alive while torturing him by taking one limb at a time...

but of late he looked like the victim of the walls that he built around himself... he would often get the start but then the torture was as equal on him as on his fans... he showed some sparks in between but those were too far too few...

the questions were being asked and rightly so... so in that regard... he could not have timed his two centuries more perfectly... for his sagging career...

suddenly you can see pundits are falling over one other to get the dravid pie... the wall that seen as crumbling has suddenly taken a new lease of life... like tendulkar he too seems to have got the 'second wind'... not many thought was possible given his struggles in doing things that was his second nature...

but on the back of two successive centuries... now everybody is hailing him as the ultimate crisis man...some even went on to proclaim that he is the lone crisis man in the team...

as if all this while when dravid wasn't performing... team india didn't face any crisis at all...

all this while team virtually carried him on the hope that dravid will show his class... and when he has started to show it... is it necessary to praise his contribution at the cost of ones that helped him stay in the team for as long as he did... at the cost of those who gave all the space he needed to perform the way he is performing now...?

why it is necessary to belittle the contribution of one to show the greatness of other...?

ps: just saw the tweet that dravid is recalled to the one day team... well well... india, it seems, has already started preparation for next world cup...

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will they 'uncap' some players again...?

'uncap' players...?

what does that means...? if this is your question... read on...

the selection of west indies tour is upon us and in lieu of most of the senior players taking rest... there will be lots of places up for grabs in our odi outfit...

last time when team india traveled for west indies/zimbabwe series... selectors rewarded many players india cap based on ipl performances... so much so that many saw it virtually as an ipl xi squad...

now i am not against players making the natural progression from a t20 to an odi... but there is small matter that as soon as a player gets selected for team india (even if he will be nothing more than a tourist there) he becomes the capped player and his ipl base price just hits the roof top in a matter of mere an announcement...

ask manish pandey... he is the running symbol of 'capping' discrimination...

the guy suffered the most in ipl 4 auction while certain saurabh tiwari, for example, while doing much less than pandey in ipl as well as domestic circuit, walked laughing all the way to the bank...

i just hope we are not brewing another 'pandey' with the upcoming selection...

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why duncan fletcher...?

now that the news of duncan fletcher has started to sink in... i started to wonder whether fletcher was the only realistic candidate to coach team india left with as the reports filtering out wants me to believe...?

the template of team india coach was more or less set by gary kirsten...

a coach that has a formidable record... a fierce competitor but not on your face kinda competitor... a trier who will keep coming at you... likes only his work do the talking... likes to remain in background... allergic to media... should have seen the game from close quarters to understand and know the demands of modern game... the more recent one the better...

duncan fletcher meets some of the requirements but if only india not kept its eyes set obsessively on foreign shores it could have easily found the man that fits the above template to the T...

anil kumble...

the man is one of the best match winner india has produced... a fierce competitor but never crossed the line... genuinely respected in cricketing circles... one of the architect of team india being numero uno... knows all players inside out... specially could have been the guiding influence on young players hence could have handled the imminent transition phase more aptly than the most... never runs to talk to media but when he does cricket world listens...

contrary to many beliefs... "only one team was playing with the spirit of game" statement kumble made did more in capturing the gravity of the sydney-gate... made them rise from the slumber to act than the so called arm twisting methods of bcci...

has seen the game evolved from as close quarters as one could get... and most importantly knows exactly where the heart and mind is... of himself and that of indian cricket...

but as i said if only bcci and team think tank were bit more flexible and not obsessed with looking over the shoulder...

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world cupped...

at 31 for 2... with sehwag and sachin back in pavilion... chasing the total never been chased in world cup finals history... the odds were stacked against team india...

india needed to chase that total... it was not only the world champions title that was at stake... but it was whether next gen cricketers had it in them to see team india through from that precarious situation...

and our next-gen did make an emphatic statement...

yes we are ready...

without them performing the way they did... the world champions title would have felt bit hollow... at least to me...

the glorious tribute to sachin was not only the world cup title that was missing from his otherwise illustrious career... but the feeling that yes... the baton has been passed on to right hands... the legacy is being carried forward... that even if when some of the stalwarts will walk into the sunset... they will sleep peacefully... knowing very well that the this team will keep going... to overhaul many more milestones...

and in this light i heard what kohli, who played a crucial role in soothing the nerves in middle, said after the world cup triumph..

"sachin has carried us on his shoulders for 21 years... now its our turn to carry him..."

thank you sachin... thank you gary... thank you team india... thank you for the wonderful game....

well played sri lanka... but we played little better...

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why this fixation with 'domination'...?

look around almost everybody is so animatedly disappointed with team india's performance so far... the reason being...?

we are not dominating while still winning... we should blast our opponents out in our quest to win world cup...

since the fall of oz empire... no team can be called the true dominating team in the world... in fact any of first 5-6 teams can defeat one another on its day... and for no reason this world cup is being called the most open world cup so far...

but still the narrative seems set... just dominate...

as if the world cup trophy will value less if we were to win in anything less than the domination fashion... as if it is written in holy books of world cup that only the team that win... sorry blast its opponent is entitled to the world cup trophy...

the better suggestion to those seeking domination from team india will be to watch or play cricket on play-station where they can make team india do what they want it to do on field... coz i am more than happy if we score just one run more or restrict them to just one run less in our way to the win the title... specially given the conditions this world cup is being played in... the resources and limitations we have in certain aspect of game like fielding etc...

in fact i feel better that team india is winning more and more consistently despite not playing 'dominating cricket'... which means team india accept, understand and yet prevail over the limitations instead of cribbing about it... which is the beauty of sport and the team i follow...

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first thoughts on team india world cup squad selection

i for once in perfect agreement with the world cup squad selection...

the selection seems to be an attacking one... for a change they have trusted batsmen to deliver and beefed up bowling...

i was looking for one inspired, instinctive selection that has come in the name of piyush chawla... that, to me, seems to be the case of a request coming from team management down there in south africa...

now if only they play harbhajan at no.7 and chawla at no.8 with three pacers... and sehwag coming down at no.4 in middle order...

so my starting eleven will be...

sachin, gambhir, kohli, sehwag, raina, dhoni, bhajji, chawla, zaheer, nehra, munaf

the squad...
MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin


update:
more than anything i am surprised and baffled at the appointment of sehwag as vice captain... why opt for a reluctant leader when you have gambhir or even raina in your squad...?

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how do you feel about the stalemate...?

so InSaf ho gaya... and we tied the test series 1-1 with south africa...

before the series started not many gave chance to team india but ended up saying they could have pressed more to create history... this is as lop sided assessment as one could get...

before the series started... there were customary or shall i say phony talks of bouncy pacy wickets that will test this 'aging' line up... how india will be cream rolled coz they don't know how to play short bowling etc etc... the talks that creates headlines before every series only to melt into oblivion after the series is over...

so how do you feel about the stalemate now...?

would you boast about the fact that south africa with arguably the best bowling attack in the form of life... with the pitches of their liking... could not press matter beyond a point...

that with all the class and pluck... they could not get pass that 'aging' line up in their own backyard...

that india with arguably the thinnest bowling line-up were in a position to actually win the series against the batting line-up that consist of some of the best in business in the comforts of homely conditions...

that despite the goof-up, even before the first ball of series were to be bowled, from the bcci in the form of accepting/finalising such itinerary in first place and selectors doing the icing on cake act with the kind of selection blunders only they can manage and getting paid for it... and yet despite all those hiccups team india not only surmounted the challenges from the opponent but also from a bigger opponent at home... their own board... their own selectors...

south africa had all they wanted to upset indians... but they would or rather should be the first to admit that their best of best was not good enough against the grit of team india... that despite all the requisite armory in their tank they could achieve only a stalemate... to show for their efforts...

if left to me i would say... gautam gambhir's performances on the proteas tour epitomizes team india in all possible ways...

before the start of the series... there were doubts raised about gambhir's technique and temperament...

it was gambhir's first tour of south africa where even the best in business have come short before him... first innings started with 'look what we said'... but by the time tour ended... lots of those doubts were put to bin... step by step... innings by innings...

gambhir emerged with an enhanced and enviable reputation... and so did team india...

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when getting dropped is not a setback...

come durban test... and we might see a very talented cricketer in suresh raina being dropped for another talented player... cheteshwar pujara...

but this post is about suresh raina...

recent failures of suresh raina has not been well received... pundits have already started calling him limited overs cricket bully not suited for test cricket...  his perennial problems against short pitch bowling... his lack of foot work... basically you name it and he has that deficiency in his game...

for once i don't think he has any more short coming against short pitch bowling than the other talents around... its just that it has been hyped so much that he has fallen into no-man's land... the mind is cluttered with so many thoughts that it has started to infiltrate the functioning of his more strong skills... now more than the talent or skills it has become a question of temperament...

right now he seems to be in quandary whether to play a pull shot, he is perfectly capable of than most, or leave it... and in doing so isn't doing both... hence we saw him giving catching practice to slip cordon in centurion test... that was the shot of a man who wanted to leave it till last minute but played coz of instinct...

make no mistake... he has better footwork than most famed left-handers... he is one of the better players of spin... and has the skills that can change the complexion of the game by his sheer stroke play in just one session... given right dose of confidence and care... he could be the game breaker in the mold of gilchrist for india at no.6... but like many before him... he needs to find the right bearings to make a career in highest form of game... test cricket...

its only going to serve him good that he has been confronted with some uncomfortable questions at the very beginning of his test career and now knows exactly what it takes to be consistently successful at highest level... coz unlike one day cricket one can not get away in test cricket by just playing shots...

he needs to find his batting arc but for that he needs to be in relaxed and right frame of mind... which can only come from facing the same uncomfortable question again and again till it stops bothering you... once he will be able to make distinction of batting arc viz a viz which (short) ball to play and leave he will become that game-breaker at no.6 everyone wants in his team but only dreams about...

i know it is easier said than done but when playing at highest level was supposed to be easy...?

the same south africa tour last time saw another stalwart in virender sehwag getting dropped from team india... felt the pain of seeing team india playing from the idiot box in his own words... how he used that pain and how he has returned with vengence since then is a story worth telling...

so, if i were suresh raina, i won't see getting dropped from playing eleven as a setback... but a timely learning towards a long fulfilling journey...

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my two cents on... is dedication dying...?

once again the only comment from me on 'the asses' going on is that i can wait for the adelaide test to start... so if you came here looking for the asses... this is it...

thanks to mayank of freehit fame's hat-tip via tweet... i read latest aakash chopra's article... is dedication dying...?

he laments...

"The scales are heavily tilted in favour of the ones playing in the money-spinning IPL with regard to both money and recognition, and in some cases even selection. And if nothing is done soon enough to change that rather warped perception, at the risk of sounding cynical, this current set of players might be the last group who will see India at the top of Test rankings."

chopra of late is falling into the trap of populist themed articles where everybody comes knocking with customary wah! wah!... and this one is no different...

the article is written off the cuff that tries to sweep youngsters with one populist beaten to death stroke... "oh! look how ipl is corrupting the mindsets of our youngsters into easy money without putting much of an effort..."

first of all it just dismiss t20 cricket as if it does not require any skill set to be successful in it... if that was the case chopra would have been a star in indian premium league but that's obviously not the case...

the shorter form of any stream requires a different mindset and skill level which should not be dismissed disdainfully when compared to the longer format of same stream...

every 100 meter sprinter cannot be successful marathon runner... every ad film maker cannot be a good full length feature film maker... so while this is true its opposite is also equally true but that does not mean those who pursue careers in shorter forms should be simply dismissed in favor of those who pursue their careers in longer forms...

market gives equal opportunities for all talent to find their pastures... and so does ipl... i don't know if 100 meter sprinters or ad filmmakers are seen in lesser esteem... their work... their success dismissed with such disdain... just coz they happen to be successful in short form of stream that has longer form too...

in any case why would team india need players who would sell themselves short for lessor pastures...?

for every such players there are equal, if not more, players who want to grind it out in the middle dreaming of making it big at the highest level... yearn for that illusive opportunity and when it comes knocking... grab it with both hands...

our greats did not make a great team overnight and while when they won't be there and team india might slip a bit that would not necessarily be because of ipl... or comment on our youngsters ethics... it is too simplistic... 

the cricketing world is filled with success stories like zaheer's who was what sree is today in terms of temperament, was rightly dropped from the team more on attitude rather than talent, spent quality time in wilderness of county cricket where you are on your own without many noticing it... and came back to become a spear head of team india's bowling attack...

he did not fell for lessor postures or sold himself short coz he wanted to be known as good cricketer at the highest level...

and he is not alone... for every so called 'ipl dreamer' we have che waiting impatiently to just break into the test team...

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dhoni's curious stand on suresh raina's 'mental fatigue'...

first accept my sincere apology to talk about sundry matters like india vs south africa test series when the flavor of the moment is 'the asses'...

dhoni, after crushing new zealand in final test match of the test series, stood up for raina... and pronounced...

"If he doesn't get a break in the ODI series [after the first 2 games] then you have to [replace him]," Dhoni said. "He is at a point where he needs a break from cricket.

A 10 to 15-day break will really help him. He has played as much cricket as I have or most of other cricketers. He has played one more series in Zimbabwe. At times international cricket really drains you. More than the physical part it's always that mental part that is important. Unfortunately, most of the senior players are missing from the ODI series which means he had to play."

now no denying the fact that after dhoni, if any player that deserved the rest... it was suresh raina... he is the most busy player in team india, after dhoni, who has featured in almost all games without a break... but if he has really reached the 'tipping point' as mentioned by dhoni... why they continued to play him against no.8 team in the world...?

dhoni's excuse that they kept him playing thinking he would be given rest in one day series against new zealand don't cut the ice simply because why would you risk a fatigued player for three back to back five day games to limit team's potential when you have more fit and eager player in ranks in the form of cheteshwar pujara...?

as things stands now... if raina is not rested in later half of the odis (which i hope he will be) he is going to miss the first test against south africa in their home soil... and guess who will replace him...? cheteshwar pujara... in all probability...

this is baffling on many counts... if che is deemed capable enough to play in far tough conditions than the roads that were laid for new zealand test series at home... why he was not given an outing here instead of opting to include a player who is on the 'tipping point' as far as mental fatigue goes... hence, can be safely assumed, was not able to give his 100%... thereby limiting the potential of a team...?

dhoni himself acknowledged that india did not play to its potential in the test series against new zealand when he himself opted to do so...

another aspect is that if team management can decide who plays after selectors have done their job by selecting 15-16 players... can decide and announce more than a fortnight ago that so and so player will be rested... what was stopping the same think tank for doing it at home against a much lessor opponent...?

poor che... who had to spend time at bench when the roads were waiting for him to have a decent knocks against his name while a mentally fatigued player was allowed to keep playing to give him easy runs... but when the conditions will be more demanding... more challenging he will be picked to play coz the same fatigued player will be rested... and irrespective of whether che succeed or not will see his place being taken over again by the same player... who will come 'refreshed' after a well deserved break...

must say our team think tank has already made the forthcoming india vs south africa test series interesting without even a ball being bowled... at least for me...

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abhimanyu mithun deserves an explanation...

in my last post... is team india a one man army again..? the debate in comments section touched upon the arbitrary selections from our selectors...

the debate was on the way they have played musical chairs with pace bowlers and specially abhimanyu mithun who did more than ok against sri lanka... a tough assignment for any bowler there considering how good sri lanka are at home...

but instead of appreciating his performance there by the way of giving him more opportunities... they have done exactly the opposite... first they replaced jaidev unadkat with injured zaheer and now they have selected unadkat for the sa tour...

what message selectors wants to give a player like abhimanyu mithun...?

that now you are not even an option as fifth bowler...? is this the way our selection panel reward a decent performance against tough opponent in their own den...?

selectors are picking and dropping pace bowlers at random without any apparent logic... another case in point is the selection of umesh yadav... who is the surprise inclusion for sa tour...

may be it was the demand of team think tank... zaheer, nehra, gambhir, sehwag etc have spoken some nice words about yadav in past... as he is seen as india's answer to pace bowler that can give it back to opposition in short bursts...

but if he is going to tour south africa wouldn't it be good for yadav had they selected him for the one day series against new zealand to give him as much overs as possible against a competitive opposition in real match situations...?

south africa tour is seen as 'the tour' for team india... the series win there will go a long way in establishing credentials as the real no.1 test cricket nation... one would assume in such tours where there is lots at stake... there is no scope of passengers... every place would go to the player who can replace a first choice player in case of injury without much loss of balance or keep the first choice players on their heels...

mithun was such bowler who has performed in tough conditions but selectors have preferred a passengers in yadav and unadkat much like dhawal kulkarni who was considered good to be sent to the new zealand tour and forgotten afterwards without given a glance...

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is team india a one man army again...?

if you have come to read it thinking about certain sachin in mind... please don't even bother to read beyond this line coz this post is not about him...

its about zak... zaheer khan... when no one can...

Zaheer takes a wicket every 58.6 balls. Of all the bowlers who played for India and took 100 wickets or more; no one has a better strike rate. For reference Kapil stands @ 63.9, Kumble and Chandrashekhar @ 65.9 and Bedi @ 80.3

- facts courtesy opinions on cricket...

naturally when zaheer don't take wickets... india struggles... considering bhajji has refused to take the lead spinner role let alone the lead bowler... and ojha being a defensive bowler at best...

together they are not creating enough wicket taking opportunities and reasons are apparent... obvious...

india is playing with virtually non-existent second pace bowler... sree has been erratic at best... ishant struggling with fitness and form... and selectors not showing enough balls to look for pace bowlers beyond these two until unless forced by the way of injury...

this has resulted in a tremendous pressure on zak who is supposed to take wickets with new ball... with old ball... supposed to check the flow of runs and keep the one end going while the bowlers from other end seem more interested in creating bowling dots all over the pitch...

still zaheer's name is not taken in the same breath as his more pedigreed colleagues as the reason india rose to the summit of test ranking... but this rant is for another day...

unlike previous dominant forces... team india has adopted a different route to achieve results... their no-nonsense batting...

although test match advances coz of wickets but team india is consistently putting up huge totals or over coming it in no time which not only gives our bowler enough time to bowl opposition out but give an additional teeth of pressure of total on board...

australia becoming the first team to lose a test match in india despite putting up 450+ score in first innings recently is the case in point...

but this strategy backfires when pitches doesn't even have the semblance of life coz then it neutralises everything... one of the reason india could not force issues in current series with new zealand... on the likes of pitches where even a tailender in sree could play out 70 odd deliveries without looking much in trouble against the likes of vettori and company...

it seems that curator's and team india's missions are poles apart... that simply defies the endeavor of a world no.1 test ranking nation... that team india is no.1 despite all these limitations is testimony to its character, attitude, intent and mental strength...

but in short india can afford to have an off day from any bowler but zak... the fit zaheer could have still extracted the result from this track and there in lies the story...

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india should have gone for a win...

at the end of day four... india were reeling at 82 for six with a paltry lead of just 110 with all recognised batsmen gone but for VVS laxman... with irratic bhajji on crease with him...

now bhajji is no ishant... he is known more for the flamboyance than the assurity ishant exudes when he is at crease... not many gave team india a chance at the end of day four of even drawing this test let alone winning from that position considering the factors were stacked against team india...

india not only needed to score some runs to first achieve what they would have felt a safe total but in doing so needed to consume at least 40-45 overs out of 90 possible overs on final day... with only bowlers at other end of VVS... and make no mistake... no ishant to follow...

india managed to do exactly the same with bhajji century being icing on the cake... and of course we all know how VVS revel under these, now his patent, circumstances... shows a character of this team that invariably finds a player who puts his hand up and say 'i will do it'...

so basically india had about 45 overs to bowl out new zealand had they declared and considering the last hour is cut off to call a draw about 30 overs to be precise to make things happen on a track when no wicket fell in first session... knowing the fact that it was easy to shut the shop on this track which had no apparent demons in it... even on third session of the fifth day...

but we would take none of it... rather than applauding the fact that just in past three test matches india has come from the brink of an almost certain defeat twice... ended up winning one of them... we must criticise... question our team's intention... motive... character and take moralistic stands on things which are highly subjective...

if team india is special... we the fan are even more so...

so now, being the true fan of team india,  i too think that india should have gone for a win too, however improbable it might have been, and next time even if there are two overs left in the fifth day i would demand team india to declare and go for a win...

technically it takes just ten balls to achieve it...

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is irfan pathan paying the price of being a left-arm bowler...?

in my quest to find solution to india's no.7 conundrum... the one name which keeps coming back to my mind, and i am sure i am not alone, is of irfan pathan's...

the selectors and more importantly team management has virtually shut the door on him at least for the world cup squad, if not completely for the future...

the reason being given is that he does not inspire confidence of about 10 'safe' overs if not wicket taking ones... while nobody doubts his batting prowess...

now i have this theory...

since zaheer khan and ashish nehra are given names in final xi baring alarming drop in form or freak injury... irfan's candidature is not looked upon as feasible option coz the team management fears the sameness of attack might prove counter productive...

this theory gains some weight if we look upon most sides no.7 or so called 'allrounders'... collingwood, shane watson, angelo mathews, abdul razzaq etc... now don't tell me they are superior both in terms of variety, skill or pace than irfu bhai...

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first thoughts after seeing abdul razzaq's blistering innings...

i could not see the innings live at first place... actually to be precise could not commit myself to see another pak vs sa match... its only when friend and fellow bored member, gaurav of naked cricket pinged me how he razzaqed sa, i realised what i missed...

but this post is not about adding my two cents in appreciation of razzaq's innings... this is already done by naked cricket on bored which i can't better...

the first thought that flashed in mind, after seeing razzaq's innings, was how dearly india would love to have the kind of game breaker at no.7... like abdul bhai...

few regulars of this blog would recall i advocated robin uthappa's candidature for the no.7 position for the same reason... and more i watched razzaq's innings, knowing fate, more i get convinced that uthappa is just the type of player to do it for us and lamented how selectors missed the golden opportunity to try him out during the recent oz series... not that they can't try it now against new zealand... its still worth to take a chance...

its no rocket science now that at no.7 india needs a player who can either play down some quite overs or go full berserk like razzaq did yesterday... ek dum masst pagalpann... although if that is the situation then it probably means your top order has left you to do too much either in terms of no. of overs left to first do a repair job... or in terms of too steep a required run rate to overcome... but however i like kohli, i just can't fathom him doing the later part...

this is where the selectors and team think tank have gone wrong on two counts in my opinion...

first not checking out if players like uthappa can add value to the team... or if they have already made-up their mind that kohli is the one who will take that job, then not testing him out at that position in real match situations to see how he plays... finish...

the natural question which comes to mind is... are they just going to wake up one day and discover the player they are going to play at no.7 without giving the player in question the opportunity to play at the vital position...?

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why dhoni the maahi never says naahi...

o yess... how well i slept yesterday and woke up a fresh after watching team india doing soopda saaf of aussies... only to be stirred and shaken by the friend and fellow bored member naked cricket's candid boredwaani... is one day team selection rigged...?

this got me thinking about our one day team... many usual suspects are rested and many usual suspects walk in without doing anything... as if the door was never closed on them... like they have the pass to the team that never expires irrespective of what they do... or to be precise not do on field which matters most to other players who get dropped even before one blinks an eye...

this brings me to an usual suspect who is, unusually, not rested despite being in visible discomfort... dhoni...

dhoni, inarguably, is the most busy international player today... reportedly his back is not holding well... his hands are swollen... his right hand's middle finger is badly damaged and taped so heavily that it takes an effort to fit it in gloves... if any player who needed rest more than anyone else from this farce of an odi series... it was mahender singh dhoni... mahi... but why he never says naahi (no) to rest is THE question worth wondering... specially the same dhoni who took rest from a test series sighting fatigue...

i have always wondered... why dhoni subject himself to be treated like a machine that has to be installed on every venue... every match... every series... however inconsequential...?

i fear, that dhoni becoming the most valuable player... the face of team india in corporate world... and lastly... his latest 200 crore endorsement deal has nothing to do with it... where he is required to feature in every game irrespective of its significance... and if it is not... i don't think he likes his middle finger that much... does he...? :)

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satisfaction!

though you might be thinking that i am indicating to the 2-0 soopda saaf (white wash) of australia in the latest edition of border gavaskar trophy... err... teri maa ki series as we call it on bored... and you won't be too off the mark...

but i am talking about the satisfaction of a different kind...

the satisfaction of next-gen looking capable of taking the charge as and when the time will come to hand over the baton...

i am sure the seniors of team india, past and present, will not only be immensely proud on winning the series this way but deep down they will be even more happy in knowing the fact that baton will get passed on to the capable hands... the legacy will keep going...

murali vijay in first and second innings... and the moment cheteshwar pujara (CHE) stepped in at no.3... he ensured the game was team india's by the time he left the crease for sachin to take over... and it was only fitting that two veterans of the team gave finishing touches to the comprehensive win... the soopda saaf...

kumble, when he took over as test captain, made a very big and important statement... as future course for team india...  that he would want india to play to win taking pitch out of equation... and when i saw him in stands applauding cheteshwar pujara, i could sense how mightily pleased he must have been seeing it happening for actual in front of him... the satisfaction on his face could be seen and felt even from the distance... transcending the live stream straight to the heart...

so sleep well today... not only for that we have established yet again that why there is no other team right now that deserve no.1 spot more than team india for we don't depend on toss... or fixed eleven to win matches as this series has shown... but sleep well knowing that we have the next-gen players who have it in them to ensure many such wins in future once the baton... the legacy... will be passed on to them when their time will come...

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why blame ishant... or even bhajji for that matter...?

once there was poet summit (kavi-sammelan) going on... and this poet was reciting one of the most boring poems one can come across, one after another, saw this man who was frowning back and forth across the stage with a long bulky stick in hand and looking really angry... obviously this poet got worried of his safety and asked this person if everything is ok...? shall i stop...?

this person said "nah... you are our guest... please carry on... i am looking for the guy who called you..."

now you would wonder what this joke has anything to do with cricket... and specially ishant and bhajji for that matter... but give me a minute...

ishant was getting lots of flak for his no balls and wayward bowling... and even now one can read it in at the end of day's 'analysis'... but should ishant be really be blamed for that...?

for quite some time now it is getting increasingly clear that ishant is not only declining as bowler but his fitness is going down even more alarmingly as if there is competition between his skills and his body that who will give in first... and yet our wise men at helm keep in selecting him in the squad and our team think tank in the final xi...

do they sleep when ishant bowls at net...?

for, i am sure, this problem of over stepping... him spraying balls everywhere but on spot he needs to land on can be easily noticed when he is bowling in the nets... but still he continues to find a place in final xi instead of playing and rectifying it in at domestic games... given the long season we have ahead...?

same goes with bhajji... he has become the butt of joke and i am not even trying to defending him here coz with his 'consistent' bowling performances he has become indefensible... but what can bhajji do when team management is hell bent on picking him to play even when he was ill (in sri lanka) or not even half fit here at mohali...?

i am sure you got the joke now...

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