Cricket Blog

The BCCI selectors announced the 14 man squad that will take on the Pakistanis in the first 2 tests. Final impressions is that this is a squad that is based more on political-wrangling than any common sense. For example, why do they have 3 spinners in as we all know that only 2 will ever get to play. With Kumble the captain the other logical selection would certainly be Harbhajan Singh. Instead of strengthening the top order, the selectors have gone ahead and included Murali Karthik as another spinner.

Gautam Gambhir has failed to make it to the test squad which is a real shame as he has been one of the most prolific batsmen for India in the last couple of months. The selectors should have awarded his performance by giving him a test spot. The fact that hasn’t happened and Murali Karthik has found a place is really very annoying. Karthik has only performed in the last couple of weeks, and he gets a spot.

Atleast the rest is pretty predictable. The openers, Jaffer and Karthik did extremely well in England so they get to retain their positions. The Big 3 take care of the middle order. Dhoni is the wicketkeeper-batsman. The real tough decision would be the toss up between Yuvraj and Laxman. Yuvi has been in absolutely scintillating form in the shorter format and he should be given the first chance over Laxman who hasn’t played since the English Test series which was a couple of months ago. This is where Kumble’s first challenge will be.

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Well the first match was a damp squib considering the hype and hoopla before the start of the series. Pakistan were completely outmaneuvered by India in what should be described as a clinical performance. All the talk about missing Dravid in the middle order turned out to be just that - talk. A solid batting effort from the young guns - Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gambhir should keep the critics at bay.

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. After the first three overs it seemed that this would be a big total chase. However, that was the only real challenge put forth by Pakistan. The Indian bowlers came back admirably and restricted the visitors to small, yet defendable, total on a pitch that was predicted to crack and turn in the second innings. Salman Butt started aggressively and was, perhaps, the only Pakistani batsman who looked like he had the better of the bowlers. Kamran Akmal was all over the place despite playing a couple of delectable strokes.

Irfan Pathan got the first breakthrough for India when he trapped Akmal LBW. Although the ball pitched just outside leg-stump the umpire had no doubts in giving Akmal out. Younis Khan walked in and the enormity of the situation/responsibility may have gotten to him. He was in his shell from the word go and just could not break the shakles. Butt on the other hand got himself run out to poor calling and his own mistake.

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World Champions against World Champions. Definitely a new rivalry in the making. This time, however, India were the defending Twenty20 World Champions. For a change, something that is as rare as word itself, Australia were NOT the favorites. And yesterday night’s match proved why Australia still has a little more work to do in this new format of the game.

The problem for Australia was the team selection. You cannot, I repeat cannot, go to a match in India, no matter what format, without a regular spin bowler. Australia left out Brad Hogg, clearly their best bowler in the ODI series, and that was where they lost the match. Winning the toss and deciding to bat first was always the right thing to do in this match. Ricky Ponting seems to have lady luck on his side whenever he goes in for the toss in a crucial match. Yesterday was no different.

The Australian openers have always enjoyed batting against the Indians and the T20 format would have suited them to the tee. However, that was not the case to be. Adam Gilchrist started the proceedings by smashing RP Singh for three consecutive fours only to see his middle stump uprooted off the very next ball. India drew first blood. Gilchrist was the wicket they wanted early on and that is exactly what they got.

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“Close Encounters of The Indian Kind” - That’s what the final match was all about. Can India ever defeat Australia convincingly? I don’t really think so. Today’s match definitely proved why the Aussies are World Champions, and will stay like that for quite some time.

Before the match even started, the series belonged to the visitors. Leading 4-1 ensured that this was going to be a dead rubber. The climax was far from dead. The toss was won by Ricky Ponting and, as expected, he decided to bat first. The pitch had some juice in it and the Indian pace bowlers were definitely going to have an advantage early on. Zaheer Khan charged in to bowl the first delivery of the match to Michael “Pup” Clarke. The ball was bang on target and caught Clarkey plumb in front. The appeal was instantaneous, the umpire’s decision even more. Australia were 0-1. India had got the dream start they were looking for.

In comes Ricky Ponting, who has had a pretty average series considering his form over the last couple of years. The Indian bowlers were giving away far too many wides and RP Singh was the leader of the pack. He just wasn’t able to control the seam movement and the extras ensured that the runs kept on ticking up. This also enabled the two Australian batsmen, captain and vice-captain, to settle down. The runs from the bat started coming and a partnership started to build.

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After the poor starts that India have been getting off late in the ODI matches, one begs to question the selection criteria of the team. With Gautam Gambhir injured, I would have expected Sehwag to be brought back into the team. Instead the selectors have gone ahead and brought in Subramaniam Badrinath from Tamil Nadu.

Of course, there are people who would say that Badrinath’s time was due as he has been batting superbly in the domestic circuit. But there are others, including me, who would say that we are not playing against Zimbabwe or Kenya, but against the World Champions. The team needs a player who has the ability, and more importantly the experience, to face up to the giants of cricket.

Quite honestly, I was very impressed with the team selection for the T20 World Cup. But the team selection for the ODI’s has for a long time been stuck with the melodrama of including seniors as they are the guiding force. The Indian team does not need a guide anymore as that responsibility is for the coach and the captain. Unfortunately for the Big 3, they are neither. With continuous failure in the last 6 months in the shorter format and just hints of brilliance here and there, and that is not good enough anymore.

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