India's new opener, playing his first test, scored 187, the fastest on debut and in the process became the highest scorer on debut for India. Shikhar Dhawan is the 13th Indian to do so (according to records). The elite list includes Indian batting greats like Lala Amarnath, Gundappa Vishwanath, Mohammed Azharuddin, Saurav Ganguly, Virendra Sehwag & others who haven't really made it big, but nevertheless scored a century. Out of the above, Azharuddin scored 3 centuries in his first 3 tests, Ganguly scored 2. They went on to become quite respectful captains of the Indian team.
Dhawan has been waiting for long, warming the bench, ever since he became a household name in IPL, playing for Delhi Daredevils to start with & last year he played for Mumbai Indians. He has also been scoring big in domestic arena. Murali Vijay too has scored 2 centuries in row now against Australia in the current series. So has India found the best opening combination after Sehwag-Gambhir? Well time will tell. India next plays a full-fledged Test series in South Africa in November & that is the place where both these openers are going to be tested. All South African wickets are going to present bounce & swing which will be exploited to the maximum by the Proteas bowlers, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel & others. So as far as the current series goes, yes, we should be sticking to the current pair & look to win the series; if not this match, then the next which is incidentally the home-ground for young Dhawan.
India is on recovery-path in terms of gaining back the reputation of a formidable side & the transition phase is yet to complete. India is going to miss the services of Dravid & Laxman who retired last year, especially in South Africa. We are surely going to need a no. 3 who would be doing the recovery work, often associated with the WALL & Cheteshwar Pujara has to prepare well in the coming 6-7 months to work on his technique. So do the current pair of openers, assuming they get selected on the team to RSA. The grand-old-man of Indian team is going to need to pull up his socks, dig deep into his bag of experience & try his best to put his team into respectable position, one-last time. This, is going to be his last tour to RSA & Sachin seems knows it well. He is not going to play ODIs till November & there is no domestic series between June to September thanks to monsoon. So wonder, how is he going to be in prime form before the all-important tour. His last 2 overseas tours (England & Australia) have been too poor by his own standards in terms of runs scored. He is going to need a hell lot of homework before he appears for the test. Strange, even after 23 years of international career, he would need to go back to basics. Is it the end? Time will tell.
India seem to have found a good opening pair, & with Sehwag & Gambhir trying to come back in the team, the signs are good. For now, even the no. 3 position can be called safe & I am still happy to bet on no. 4 who, I think, can come good in the SA conditions. But, the big question is of no. 5 & 6 (if Dhoni continues to play at 7). The once strongest middle order of Indian team has now become the weakest after the exit of Saurav Ganguly & VVS Laxman, especially the latter. Unless, Kohli puts up a better show in this & the last test the future seems to be bleak. Hope the bouncy wickets of South Africa will help him play his shots & natural game. Indian team has experimented a lot with no. 6, with Raina & Yuvraj. It's time Ajinkya Rahane gets a chance. He has been "marked" as middle-order player, for some strange reason & since then he has been warming the bench, becoming the "Batli-Boy" of the team, delivering drinks & bats/gloves/helmets to the team on field. Any player not in the 11, does that, but he has become the specialist in that rather than his batting. I hope the team management gives his his due. Or else, send him back to his domestic team & let him score some runs instead of warming the bench.
Indian team seems to have found a new swing-bowler after Zaheer & Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has done justice to his selection by picking up early wickets swinging the ball both ways even on our dead pitches. He would relish the South African conditions. Ishant Sharma has been improving & we still have a good fast-bowling (if you wish to call them fast bowlers) talent on bench. However, they all are inexperienced & Zaheer can make a comeback if he is fit. So the fast bowling department looks good. The ball is not going to spin much, so we could do well to play just 1 or maximum 2 spinners. Having said that, the big worry is that the batting tail starts at no. 8 & it is pretty weak, rarely showing any resistance. So no. 5 & 6 is still going to be having the heaviest burden on their shoulders, especially if the previous 5 batters have not played to their reputation. We can think of including Sehwag in the team & put him in middle order, at no. 5, a place where he can come good. After all he has scored his first runs in South Africa & he has a good record against the spinners or the tired fast bowlers. No. 6 can go to Kohli or Rahane, whoever gets selected or even Dhoni if he decides to promote himself up the order.
Seems, we have a huge task on hand. Hope, the selectors & team management takes some sensible decisions, put up a good mix of experience & youth. Now that Fletcher has got an extension of a year, his task is cut out. Pull the team together, prepare them for the SA tour & produce some results. Vijayi Bhav...
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Home advantage...?
You must have heard the line "apni gali me to kutta bhi sher hota hai" in numerous Bollywood movies. There is a lot of truth in it. You know the conditions, the area, the people, the skills better. Relate that to Test cricket. When any team travels/visits another country the conditions are alien. How the pitch works, how the wind flows, how the sun behaves, all things are alien to the visiting team. Although you might have visited the country many times before, still every year, every visit is different.
When we travel to England, South Africa or Australia, the pitches are different. England has lot of swing. Australia has lot of bounce. South Africa has a mixture of both pace & bounce. Our team's history isn't all that great in all 3 countries. We have almost never won in South Africa, barring a couple of tests, if I am not wrong. We have rarely won in Australia & England. The record has been better in past decade, however, our last visit in 2011-12 was something we would want to wipe out from our memories ASAP. Our visit to England before the 'Tour Down Under' was forgettable too, but I would still want to discount the Indian team for lack of quality pacers & bowling overall. We just weren't capable of taking 20 wickets.
The point is that the 'home-teams' took full advantage of their home conditions, used proper pace attack & more importantly their bowlers bowled to the field set for them. If they are free to use the conditions to their liking, if they are free to prepare pitches to their strengths, what's the harm if Indian team decides to go for square turner pitches which turns from day-1?
A simple question, however, creates lots of issues in the long run. And it sometimes does more harm than good. Indian team reached the Number-One ranking in sub-continent conditions (in Sri Lanka) and played most of their cricket for the next 18+ months in home conditions. And the fact that we retained the ranking for such a long period makes it amply clear that we were winning most of the matches & rarely losing. So why the need of a square turner now? And how good that policy is going to be in the near or longer future? Post world cup 2011, we have had only a couple of real testing matches in England and Australia, rest all Tests (they were only handful) were in the sub-continent. There are 9 test playing nations in the world including us & 5 of them are reliant on pace than spin.
Well, there are few things to consider before going for turner tracks. If you want the pitch to turn from day-1, it has to have lot of dust, or one that has lots of cracks from the outset. Either one of them or mixture of both means bliss for the spinners, and we often have atleast 3-4 specialist spinners in our squad. But, such a pitch, which is typically a day-3 or day-4 pitch can also backfire because the pace bowlers too can wisely use the cracks, the foot-marks (on subsequent days) & the ball can have variable bounce which could create doubt or problem in best of the batsmen's mind. The wicket of Sachin Tendulkar on day-3 of the first test in Chennai was enough to show how the ball misbehaved if used intelligently. Ofcourse, Dhoni's innings was that much more special because he didn't allow any bowler to settle. But the phase and time in which Sachin was batting was also crucial. He was in defensive mood to let the first hour or so go in the favor of bowling team & that's where the wicket came from.
Michael Clarke persisted with his pace battery and it was actually a good move, because he knew he didn't have quality spinners to take advantage of such conditions & James Pattinson bowled his heart out on that pitch. However, our openers failed & if Sachin-Virat-Dhoni not played their respective innings, we would have been staring at another loss at home. Not too long ago Australia had won the series in India under Gilchrist's captaincy (2004).
Its an old line used by most of the commentators, Indian team is the best player of spin bowling. Well, lets put that line to dust & let it rust there. It was true half a decade back. The truth is that there are few players in the current team who know how to best tackle spin bowling. Virat is still new & learning. Viru gets out too early to face spin. Dhoni comes in bit too late to get time to attack the spinners. And Sachin is not getting any younger. The biggest disappointment is lack of footwork at all from most the team-members. We allow the ball to spin & then decide the shot and gift our wickets. Sir Gary Sobers was once asked what's the best way to play spin bowling. He had said, I don't go to the ball, I let it come to me and then decide what I should do. Hey, that was Sobers, one of the all-time greats. Not everyone is capable of doing that. For us mortals, it's best to reach to the ball & not allow it to spin & show it's magic.
The point here is that, although spin is your strength, your batsmen too need to play their shots, put up a defendable total on the board & then let your spinners wreak havoc. And when teams like Australia travel to India with 4-5 specialist pacers, who are as potent or lethal as Starc/Johnson/Pattinson/Siddle, it's best to be able to handle the pace on a deteriorating pitch from day-1. Imagine, we are batting second and, god forbid, we are batting on day-2 or day-3. The pitch would play it's wonders, but against us.
I personally feel, the need to demand spin-friendly pitches might have risen because of two things. First, the failure of our openers. If the pitch is going to turn from day-1, it would most probably be acting like a day-3 pitch on the first day & usually the day-3 pitch is good for batting. The ball doesn't bounce much & Dhoni might be expecting Viru & whoever the other opener is to play some good innings & give a platform for the middle order to build a respectable score & then get the visitors out twice and finish the match in 4 days max. The second reason might be lack of quality pacers. Whatever the current picture shows (a Bhuvaneshwar Kumar or Shafi Ahmed, Umesh Yadav), we still put our best wishes & hopes on spinners in Indian conditions. Its a open secret that spinners take more than 70-75 % of the wickets for India. So, why not bank on spinners? The problem is that it is doing more harm to the pitches & we are just trying to create a happy-happy scenario, hiding our inability to play pace & bounce, our inability to put up good score and give the bowlers something to fight for. We were not losing matches earlier with sporting pitches that would turn from day-3. So it's simply childish & ridiculous that we want spinner tracks. Yes, we should have home conditions that supports our home team, but that doesn't mean you change something that was working fine & then do something that might have the potential to make you fall flat on your face. Not every time a Dhoni is going to save you from biting the dust, not for long Sachin is going to be there to stable the ship. Not every time a Virat is going to be playing a mature & sensible innings curbing his natural flamboyance.
Jago Indian Team, Jago. Things were going fine the way they were. Don't hurt the pitches & don't create a fracas. Just have normal pitches that will support the spirit of the game. Don't disappoint the loyal & faithful Test cricket fans and don't finish the match on day-3. No wonder, Test cricket is losing its spectators, losing its glam, losing its importance. Let it be a 5-day affair. You still have some exciting, interesting games that last for 5 days.
When we travel to England, South Africa or Australia, the pitches are different. England has lot of swing. Australia has lot of bounce. South Africa has a mixture of both pace & bounce. Our team's history isn't all that great in all 3 countries. We have almost never won in South Africa, barring a couple of tests, if I am not wrong. We have rarely won in Australia & England. The record has been better in past decade, however, our last visit in 2011-12 was something we would want to wipe out from our memories ASAP. Our visit to England before the 'Tour Down Under' was forgettable too, but I would still want to discount the Indian team for lack of quality pacers & bowling overall. We just weren't capable of taking 20 wickets.
The point is that the 'home-teams' took full advantage of their home conditions, used proper pace attack & more importantly their bowlers bowled to the field set for them. If they are free to use the conditions to their liking, if they are free to prepare pitches to their strengths, what's the harm if Indian team decides to go for square turner pitches which turns from day-1?
A simple question, however, creates lots of issues in the long run. And it sometimes does more harm than good. Indian team reached the Number-One ranking in sub-continent conditions (in Sri Lanka) and played most of their cricket for the next 18+ months in home conditions. And the fact that we retained the ranking for such a long period makes it amply clear that we were winning most of the matches & rarely losing. So why the need of a square turner now? And how good that policy is going to be in the near or longer future? Post world cup 2011, we have had only a couple of real testing matches in England and Australia, rest all Tests (they were only handful) were in the sub-continent. There are 9 test playing nations in the world including us & 5 of them are reliant on pace than spin.
Well, there are few things to consider before going for turner tracks. If you want the pitch to turn from day-1, it has to have lot of dust, or one that has lots of cracks from the outset. Either one of them or mixture of both means bliss for the spinners, and we often have atleast 3-4 specialist spinners in our squad. But, such a pitch, which is typically a day-3 or day-4 pitch can also backfire because the pace bowlers too can wisely use the cracks, the foot-marks (on subsequent days) & the ball can have variable bounce which could create doubt or problem in best of the batsmen's mind. The wicket of Sachin Tendulkar on day-3 of the first test in Chennai was enough to show how the ball misbehaved if used intelligently. Ofcourse, Dhoni's innings was that much more special because he didn't allow any bowler to settle. But the phase and time in which Sachin was batting was also crucial. He was in defensive mood to let the first hour or so go in the favor of bowling team & that's where the wicket came from.
Michael Clarke persisted with his pace battery and it was actually a good move, because he knew he didn't have quality spinners to take advantage of such conditions & James Pattinson bowled his heart out on that pitch. However, our openers failed & if Sachin-Virat-Dhoni not played their respective innings, we would have been staring at another loss at home. Not too long ago Australia had won the series in India under Gilchrist's captaincy (2004).
Its an old line used by most of the commentators, Indian team is the best player of spin bowling. Well, lets put that line to dust & let it rust there. It was true half a decade back. The truth is that there are few players in the current team who know how to best tackle spin bowling. Virat is still new & learning. Viru gets out too early to face spin. Dhoni comes in bit too late to get time to attack the spinners. And Sachin is not getting any younger. The biggest disappointment is lack of footwork at all from most the team-members. We allow the ball to spin & then decide the shot and gift our wickets. Sir Gary Sobers was once asked what's the best way to play spin bowling. He had said, I don't go to the ball, I let it come to me and then decide what I should do. Hey, that was Sobers, one of the all-time greats. Not everyone is capable of doing that. For us mortals, it's best to reach to the ball & not allow it to spin & show it's magic.
The point here is that, although spin is your strength, your batsmen too need to play their shots, put up a defendable total on the board & then let your spinners wreak havoc. And when teams like Australia travel to India with 4-5 specialist pacers, who are as potent or lethal as Starc/Johnson/Pattinson/Siddle, it's best to be able to handle the pace on a deteriorating pitch from day-1. Imagine, we are batting second and, god forbid, we are batting on day-2 or day-3. The pitch would play it's wonders, but against us.
I personally feel, the need to demand spin-friendly pitches might have risen because of two things. First, the failure of our openers. If the pitch is going to turn from day-1, it would most probably be acting like a day-3 pitch on the first day & usually the day-3 pitch is good for batting. The ball doesn't bounce much & Dhoni might be expecting Viru & whoever the other opener is to play some good innings & give a platform for the middle order to build a respectable score & then get the visitors out twice and finish the match in 4 days max. The second reason might be lack of quality pacers. Whatever the current picture shows (a Bhuvaneshwar Kumar or Shafi Ahmed, Umesh Yadav), we still put our best wishes & hopes on spinners in Indian conditions. Its a open secret that spinners take more than 70-75 % of the wickets for India. So, why not bank on spinners? The problem is that it is doing more harm to the pitches & we are just trying to create a happy-happy scenario, hiding our inability to play pace & bounce, our inability to put up good score and give the bowlers something to fight for. We were not losing matches earlier with sporting pitches that would turn from day-3. So it's simply childish & ridiculous that we want spinner tracks. Yes, we should have home conditions that supports our home team, but that doesn't mean you change something that was working fine & then do something that might have the potential to make you fall flat on your face. Not every time a Dhoni is going to save you from biting the dust, not for long Sachin is going to be there to stable the ship. Not every time a Virat is going to be playing a mature & sensible innings curbing his natural flamboyance.
Jago Indian Team, Jago. Things were going fine the way they were. Don't hurt the pitches & don't create a fracas. Just have normal pitches that will support the spirit of the game. Don't disappoint the loyal & faithful Test cricket fans and don't finish the match on day-3. No wonder, Test cricket is losing its spectators, losing its glam, losing its importance. Let it be a 5-day affair. You still have some exciting, interesting games that last for 5 days.
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