Cricket Blog

What a superb match and a sensational win to Team India. MS Dhoni’s boys did what previous Indian legends could never accomplish. This win in the best of three finals will rank as high as the Twenty20 World Cup. Massive celebrations at the end of the match clearly indicated the emotions that the Indians were going through. After a controversial summer, the Indians managed to tell the Aussies - Shut the hell up.

Sachin Tendulkar was the standout performer for India and played two dream innings just when it mattered. He silenced his critics, for now, by playing match winning knocks in the crucial finals. But the real heroes were the 19 and 20 year olds backed by their maverick captain. I still remember Dhoni calling this team as “My team” in the presentation ceremony. This performance, coupled with the T20 win, has surely put an end to the One day careers of Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly.

Playing with the most inexperienced side in this tri-series, Dhoni and his “boys” have proven that experience without will and talent is like a glass without water. I, for one, had been extremely impressed by the selectors’ decision to pack the squad with these talented youngsters. The fact was that these players had already proven themselves in the T20 World Cup. How many tournaments have Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman won for India? I am not questioning the talent and experience of these four, but at the end of the day, results matter.

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Well, its time to give out my opinion on the squad that has been chosen for the ODI series involving India, Sri Lanka and Australia. A lot is being said about the exclusion of some “Big” names from the squad and that the players selected are not right for this series. The selectors have flat-out cleared their criteria - Fielding. In a country where people are completely crazy about their stars, this is not a good enough reason. In my opinion, hats off to the selectors for finally putting a greater emphasis on the fielding capabilities of ODI players.

For years we have seen our team to be the worst in fielding, on paper and on Live TV. The bungling old players have had over a decade of playing experience, yet there has been absolutely no improvement in their fielding. Yes they are good in catching, and catches win matches. But catches don’t come every other ball. Every single run counts in ODI cricket, and every time the ball is placed to Ganguly and Dravid, the batsmen always take an extra run.

Well what about running between the wickets. It would be an understatement to say that both Ganguly and Dravid are the worst runners in the Indian squad. Saurav Ganguly has played 311 matches. He has been part of 145 losses. He has been runout 13 times averaging 34.92 every time. Almost once every 11 matches that India have lost. Almost always after getting a good start. Overall he has been runout 23 times. Dravid, on the other hand, has played 333 ODI matches. He has been involved in 160 defeats and got himself runout 20 times. That is once in every 8 defeats. He averages 30.65 and just like Ganguly gets himself runout after getting a good start.

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A lot was being said about this match before a ball had been bowled. Will India be competitive enough? Will it be Shaun Tait or Brad Hogg? What will the pitch condition be? Can India stop Australia from 15 wins in a row? The first question can be answered after looking at the scorecard - Australia, 1st inngs - 337/9. A shock result after a splendid start. The Indian supporters in Melbourne had their best day out after 4 long years. But if memory serves me correct then four years ago India had one of their best first days in Australia. We all know what happened at the end of the match.

The second question’s answer is that Brad Hogg found a place and after watching Killer Kumble’s performance, the Australian selectors must be hoping that he is the right choice. Harbhajan Singh had already made it clear that the Indians would love to go after Hoggy. All goes to be seen who goes after whom.

The pitch had a slightly green top and it seemed that the ball was not really coming on to the bat. There was definite movement from the first ball up, and the movement was there whenever Zaheer Khan was bowling. The wicket of Ricky Ponting was an absolute peach of a delivery.

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In what could be considered as one of the biggest surprises that the selection committee could ever conjure, out-of-form batsman Virender Sehwag has been given a spot in the Test squad that will tour Australia later this month. Many would consider this as wrong and mis-calculated, with Ian Chappell even considering Sehwag’s ommission from the list of 24 probables as India’s first mistake ahead of the tour. Looks like the selectors have given heed to his advice by recalling Sehwag back. The X-factor that Sehwag provides cannot be ignored. All he needs is a good score to get going. If he can start the series with a resounding century then he may just be included in the ODI squad as well.

Lets look at why his selection can be a bonus for Team India, provided he gets a place in the playing XI. Wasim Jaffer is in the form of his life at the moment, so was Dinesh Karthik a couple of months ago. Jaffer is not experienced in bouncy conditions as Australia, but Melbourne and Sydney are no longer fast, in fact they will actually be more suited to Indian players. The first match at the MCG offers Sehwag the perfect opportunity to reclaim his spot in the Indian team. He should remember that on this very ground he smashed 195 in the first day of play. Of all the Indian players, only Sehwag can demoralize the Australian bowling attack, especially Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. With not a lot of swing movement predicted, the pitches suit his style of attacking play.

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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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