The Club House

No one holds aces yet in Nagpur

2008-11-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days when you will never quite be able to make out who holds the aces at the end of it. You will think and then think again, but still not be able to give any one side a clear advantage. India ended the first day of the concluding test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy with a score of 311 for 5. Indians are 1-0 up, they know that their tail has wagged exceedingly well in last few months and years and have two in-form batsmen at crease. But, the catch is that inspite of making more than 300 runs, they have lost 5 wickets. The current pair is the last recognised pair of batsmen at crease. The pitch has no demons and the Australian bowling attack certainly doesn't have any either. They are without their tightest bowler, Stuart Clark. But they can look back at this day with a lot of satisfaction and look forward with a lot of optimism. They are just a wicket away from running into India's tail. For all his greatness, Saurav Ganguly still remains a mortal figure who never brings to crease a fatality for oppnonents that Rahul Dravid once used to bring and Mahendar Singh Dhoni has shown that he can get out when it really matters in the long version of the game. One of them can certainly be dismissed for peanuts early tomorrow. And once that is done, Australia can exert pressure like they have done for last many years and get India out for around 400. Teams have lost after scoring 400 runs in first innings. India themselves have often lost (thought most of that has been outside the subcontinent). Australia have a decent chance of redeeming a part of their aura.

And finally a word on the two debutants. M. Vijay looked rock solid while defending, ran very well, played his shots, showed the arrogance to come down the wicket to a spinner and most importantly, did not seem overawed. He obviously came into the match with some momentum, having just scored a double ton in a Ranji match. The 33 runs scored by him were quite crucial, those were 33 runs of self-assurance. Needless to say he was impressive, but nothing much should be read yet. This was after all an innings played on a placid track against a modest attack. Jason Krezsa finally got a place in the Australian eleven and had a wretched first few overs. He was taken apart by Sehwag intitially (who anyway never has any doubt about how to treat rookie spinners. The very same guy had stepped out to Ajantha Mendis on his first ball in a final and got stumped! But trust Sehwag to stick to his guns.) and had an economy which is below average even by the standards of one-dayers. He got some stick, picked up two huge wickets, but still looked pedestrian as Indians helped themselves to easy runs. Only when he started pitching the ball up, did he look threatening. His bowling is nothing but good old fashioned off-spin bowling. Impart some flight pitch it up and give it a big turn. At its best such bowling can be useful against average players, but batsmen like Sehwag and Pietersen will ruin him. Apart from discipline, he does need atleast some doosra, skidder or something in his arsenal.

Aussie Arrogance

2008-09-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

There is something different about this Australian side which has landed in India today. I am not speaking about the composition of the team or the skill of its players. I am referring to the attitude with which it has left its shores.

There is nothing new about new untested players in Australian squad. Ever since Damien Martyn retired, Australia has been dealing with a slow exodus of its colossus players and dealing very well. It is no stranger to seeing new players in their team trying to fill up big boots. The likes of Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Stuart Macgill and Michael Kasprowicz have gone out of reckoning in these last 2 years, some on their own terms and a few on selector's terms. And prior to that we of course had the Waugh brothers, Andrew Bichell, Paul Reifell and some more. There has been a steady exodus happening in Australian cricket since the turn of this decade which has come to characterise them. In last 2 years, this exodus was massive but what happened along side was that every loss was equalled by some one else who came up and grabbed the opportunity. Mcgrath's departure saw Brett Lee successfully taking up the mantle of Australia's spearhead, Stuart Clark stepping up as one hell of a number two and Mitchell Johnson proving to be a more than an able third pacer. The three together still kept on triggering collapses and even Shane Warne's absence was not felt much. Martyn left, but Michael Clarke was ready. Langer departed but Hayden has carried on. All these years, there was never a hint of any confusion in Australian ranks as its heavy weights called it a day one by one.

I am not trying to say that now there is panic in Australian dressing room and they have lost their sleep. But something is different. Have a look at the things they have said in last few weeks. Micheal Hussey said Australian team is not yet settled for India (that was 2 weeks back). Any Australian would not have said anything like this even a year back. Matthew Hayden has said that he believes he will be the target and even went as far as to admitting that Harbhajan Singh will be quite a threat in the upcoming series. Even a year back, any Australian would have instead gone ahead and said that they will dominate the opponents lynch pin. Ricky Ponting while trying to egg on Jason Krejza could not muster anything more than saying that he spins the ball a long way. Does he spin it more than Murali, I am sure not and if spins even close to him, why didn't we hear more about him before? Uni-dimensional spin alone is not going to pose any problem for Indians.

What has caused this uncertainty in Australian minds? Challenges are not new to them. Well, we will never know. It can be anything. May be they have hard done by the sudden departure of both Brad Hogg and Stuart Macgill. A trip to India with spinners even they have heard less about would have been a humbling experience. Probably, they understand that there has not been one really exciting player they have produced in two years or so and that is worrying. Or perhaps, all that happened in last summer down under has actually shook them. The captain had been one of those hit the hardest. But most unsettling must have been Symonds' absece from the team. He was a vital cog and is out of the team for non-cricketing, non-fitness and non-doping issues. This might be commonplace in Pakistan but is not in Australia. What is clear to me is that this team has come with an undercurrent which is very unAustralian. They are not missing Aussie ability as much as they are missing Aussie arrogance. And that in the end may be their undoing.

Unlikely win in Galle

2008-08-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

A few hours into the third session of the fourth day at Galle, India defeated Sri Lanka by an unexpected margin of 170 runs. The scoreline is flattering, not only does it lie about the closeness of the match, it also lies about the state of Indian test team. There were four players who carried India in this match and the familiar news is that none of them belong to the proverbial veteran brigade.

As has been written all over the Internet in a last couple of days, Sehwag seemed to be living in a different plane. The ferocity and conviction of his stroke play against top drawer spin bowling in spin friendly conditions to boot was incredible. Muralitharan posed no problems, Mendis could ask him questions only on limited ocassions and the pacers were never a worry. His undefeated 201 in first innings was an innings of extraordinary responsibility and deftness. The value of the innings is beyond words or any awards, it more than single handedly saw India through when the match seemed to be drifting to the same script as in Sinhalese Cricket Club. It might just be his best innings till date, even better than the shocking 195 in the opening day of the Boxing Day test match in Melbourne four and a half years back. The previous innings was played against a formidable attack (though without its two best stalwarts) with India 1-0 up, while the recent one was played against an arguably more challenging attack ( while it is too early to heap superlatives, Murali and Mendis together must be the strongest spin attack any team has had since the days of Chandra and co. ) with India 0-1 down. His half-century in the second innings was equally significant, for he took the lead to a decent margin in no time and once again showed that Sri Lankans spinners are playable even in the later part of the match. The next best batsman from India was Gambhir. The short Delhi opener with no-fuss attitude came to age in Test match arena with this test. All he did was to hit two fifties, but both of them came with relative ease and in this low scoring match were the only highlights in India's scorecards if one leaves aside Sehwag. Wasim Jaffer's second chance will take some time coming. And if Dinesh Kaartik doesn't get another shot in Colombo, he too may be relegated to India's third choice wicket keeper. His keeping was unimpressive and he was unlucky enough to make those mistakes at wrong times.

Harbhajan did not have as monstrous an impact on the match as Sehwag, but it was just as crucial. In the first innings, he brought India back into the match from nowhere. The Sri Lankans had seemed set on another mammoth total which would have ruled India out of the series. He was good in the second Innings as well, but was a supporting act to Ishant Sharma who bowled lesser overs and took lesser wickets but took the important ones. Mysteriously enough, the pitch was more conducive to seam than spin on the fourth day and Ishant Sharma made apt use of it. He rocked Sri Lanka with two key wickets early on and then again came back to take the wicket of Dilshan which must have relieved Indians to no end. Dilshan is a misleadingly cheesy character and has a resemblance to Javed Miandad when it comes to street smart cricket. His partnership with Samaraweera was definitely threatening if not alarming.

Sri Lanka will look back at this match with some concerns. Their batting line-up which had perhaps flattered itself in the first test match was probed more and didn't show up adequately. This match would be a reminder to them and the rest of world of the perils that accompany any team when youth no matter how promising suddenly replaces a set of seasoned campaigners. It will take them some more time to establish a formidable batting line-up, but Warnapura and company look promising. What would have worried Mahela more was the ease with which Indians played Murali in Galle, at times he was made to look like an ordinary bowler just going through the motions.

The next match starts in another five days time at Sarvanamuttu. Both teams would be having quite a bit to ponder in the mean time, but we have a classic shaping up for us.