Have to start off with the Indians. Okay though the ODIs have never been my favourite form of cricket, I must say I really enjoyed some of the moments. Irfan’s all-round skills. Agarkar’s accurate bowling( what a change!), Bhajji’s & Karthik’s twisters and not to forget RP Singh’s emergence as a third left-armer! I didn’t see much of him live in action though:-(
Sachin started off with a bang, followed by Rahul’s consistency, Dhoni’s Dhamaka and ended with Yuvraj’s explosion. Gambhir, Raina and Venugopal Rao(He impressed me when he managed to pull of a six in the square region a la-Sehwag/Sachin in the 4th ODI Vs SL) played their parts well. Fielding was a huge improvement and having got Kaif back certainly helped matters. That little Suresh Raina is a rocket in the field. He seems to have mastered the two As pretty well: Agility and Accuracy, consistently hits the stumps!
Overall impressive. One crib, why is it Greg’s team? Surely Rahul is not doing a Cronje here. (Remember SA Vs India World Cup 1999- The microphone-earphone episode!) Oh!Come on, don’t make Rahul the ‘Best man’ here too! He lead from the front and he has showed good captaincy skills. He has not been tested yet; but I think, now that he is getting a full assignment on hands he is easing into the job.
Aussies are getting into their destruction zone, WI are slumping to further depths. It really hurts to see this team play today. I see no challenge for the Aussies and a series that has no fight-back is really not worth watching.
I thought the Pak series will test the Brit character. And what a tough one this is proving to be. Am I surprised? Not really, cause England during their winning streak has not been tested enough by the two biggies of the sub-continent. Even the Aussies took a neat three decades to win here.
In the first test, on a lifeless track, the Freddie-Harmisson duo bowled England into the match and their batsman batted them out of the match in the last innings! Pretty disappointing.
The second test looks headed for a draw after a spirited fight from Bell, Pietersen, Jones and the tail.
I think Shahid Afridi should be banned for life! Mistake how can it be a mistake? Tampering the pitch so openly with your shoes was a mistake? Do you not read the rules or do you simply not care because you are playing in your own country!
Before I end, Ganguly’s tenure as the most successful test captain of India ended yesterday.
He is in the team now. Was he not a better ODI player than tests? Hopefully he will answer with his performance. Why do I still want that? Well, yours truly has been his vociferous supporter until this happened.)
And if indeed, it is the end of the road for you Saurav, despite your shortcomings, I have admired you as a captain, and honestly, I think you deserve a better farewell. Don’t you think so too? By your selection in the test squad you have been given that opportunity. Grab it with both hands and play like there will be no tomorrow. Atleast say good bye with your head held high!
Rauf
I agree with you fully Minal
I have been writing in my blogs how
I have been repeating my blunders
Our cricket board or what ever it is called, keeps repeating them too. The Chennai one dayer was a wash out as you know. this is the third time it has happened. This is what happens when you schedule the match in the rainy season. I wrote about it in my yesterday’s blog
Minal
@Rauf: I know you did not say they shouldn’t get a decent farewell. I was just adding to your point by saying it’s sad that they have never got a decent farewell and ideally they shoud be getting one:-)
Rauf
Minal, I said none of our captains had a decent farewell, I did not say they shouldn’t, the worst being poor ventkataraghavan, No other captain faced such humiliation, being stripped of captaincy and kicked out of the team while the series was still on. Yes you are right, this happens only in India and you are right about selectors being a bunch of Jokers too, Mohindar Amarnath said that long long ago
Minal
@Rauf: I think captains need a decent farewell unless they perform miserably along with the team. Or atleast selectors should not play hide ‘n seek. They should be forthright and tell Saurav we gave you enough chances now it’s time for you to go and Rahul to step in. Rahul should be told the team is yours for the entire season, let not a sword hang over his head stating you fail once and Saurav is back. You are doing none justice! Nor does the team remain stable!
@Bhaskar: I read about the selection details only later in the night:-) I can’t stop laughing! Our selectors have always been a pack of jokers! I thought Ganguly earned his seat as a batsman, since when did he become batting all-rounder and since when was Zaheer touted as bowling allrounder? Was Zaheer’s batting a decisive factor for his selection? Zaheer Khan I think you got it wrong, forget your bowling we need more batsman!
Stupid batsman crazy jokers!
How many times do we keep telling them, bowlers win test matches not batsmen!At the end of the day you got to get those 20 wickets!
Never mind, this happens only in India:-)
Bhaskar Tatke
Hi Minal.
I want to share my thought on the team selection.
Ganguly wants to be in the team and is willing to take up any role. I felt this statement was funny coming from a man famous for his bombastic or at times boorish statements. Then the selectors come out with a statement which was even more hilarious, saying that Saurau has been included as a batting all-rounder. Now suddenly the discarded Indian skipper who has taken only 25 wickets in his 10 year test career becomes an all-rounder cos he takes a few wickets at the domestic level. Kiran More…This statement is beyond amusing.The selectors really are confused and clueless. But still this was no way to justify his place in the team. The selectors should have had the conviction of including Ganguly as a pure batsman. Giving him a tag of an all-rounder puts him in even more pressure to perform now in both the departments.
Poor Zaheer had to miss out. I felt he has done enough in the domestic criket this season with two 6-wicket hauls in successive Duleep trophy games. The selectors say that as compared to Ganguly, Zaheer lacks ability with the bat. My question is how can you compare the two with respect to their batting. This is a joke. Ganguly and Zaheer have different roles and hence you cannot compare them. My request to the selectors….Please note Mr. MORE Ganguly is a BATSMAN and Zaheer is a BOWLER.
Rauf
Except for Nari Contractor, no Indian captain had a pleasant farewell. Nari Contractor unfortunately had a pretty violent farewell.
You are a captain in this test, and you are kicked out from the team itself in the next test. This happened to our present umpire Venkatraghavan, This can happen only in India. would you please check. Please forgive me if it is not true. My memory has gone pretty fuzzy.
I have my own time and space I have no clue what time day or date is I hate wearing a watch or carry a mobile, but you seem to defeat me, I had a fight with a guy
65 lower berth is mine, Sir, yes 65 lower berth is yours alright but your train left yesterday.
The date on your blog gave me a fright early in the morning. I have a dreadful meeting coming up tomorrow.