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Cricket is Life! Played, coached, and umpired.

  • Trent Bridge- Is that a bridge too far?

    0-2 down and more importantly beaten in two playing days of a test match that could have been totally rained off; just that the English cricket had the sun on their beck and call. Indians of course obliged the hosts by playing terribly in the second innings, a total spineless performance has left them with no defence for an extreme bad luck of losing the toss and massively swinging conditions where 150 was a par score for the best of the best. That innings was no different in English condition from the typical spinning wickets Poms have faced a few times in India and have been annihilated as badly as Indians were at Lords. None of the Indian batsmen barring Kohli look settled; and even he is looking vulnerable more due to his sore back. He looked set to win his much-touted contest with Anderson after mercurial innings at Edgbaston. Currently, Kohli is a wee bit ahead in that contest; 200 runs in one innings notwithstanding, Anderson was a bit unlucky not to nip out Kohli earlier, due to his slip cordon’s generosity towards the visiting captain; a rare thing for a Pom. Though, the turnaround in Kohli’s game against Anderson in typical English conditions, is a clear indication of great maturity and skill level that he has reached since the disastrous last series in the Old Blighty. It is an indication of fantastic mental strength that Kohli is bestowed with. Unfortunately, the support that he needs to push the marauding English pacemen back (and Stokes has now joined the fray for Edgbaston) has been conspicuous by its absence! I won’t quote the stats to highlight the plight of Indian top order; its stating obvious. What it still hides is the fact that the same set of players have conquered situations similar to this before; not often but at least one example is hard to ignore. The last test at Wanderers in South Africa where the home batsmen wanted the test match to be called off due to poor wicket saw Indian batters play with rare guts, even after losing the series to pocket a memorable victory. While a repeat of that gutsy performance may seem almost impossible at this moment, there is no doubt that this batting unit is still capable of putting up a fight. There is no doubt about the skill; it’s all up in the minds. How well they have been able to switch off after the Lords test and go to Trent Bridge with a confidence in their capabilities, is a singular most important factor that will determine the fate of this series.

    Batting woes alone aren’t an issue. India should have won the Edgbaston test when they had removed the English top order in the second innings very cheaply. Just that they gave a few precious runs to a lower order in both tests is an indication of either loosing the focus after early good work or the skipper’s impatience with his bowlers when a partnership develops. In both test matches Kohli has missed a few things as a captain; it is easy of course to state that in hind sight. Though his bringing in the left arm chinamen in conditions that were more suitable for was an example of impatience due to his team’s low first innings total. His misplaced confidence in Kuldeep’s mystery factor actually convinced him to fire his bullet a bit too early in the contest; forgetting the fact that he needed to take into account the bowler’s mindset. It was obvious that Kohli was making a statement by throwing ball to him earlier than Ashwin, who was literally unplayable at Edgbaston, that he DEMANDS wickets from him. That was immense pressure for the young leggie apart from trying to defend a low score. I thought, Kohli should have protected his young and critical weapon a little bit better.
    It is then apparent that to win a series from here for India is almost a herculean task; in fact some may even say India will loose all 5 tests. I am not convinced about that. I still believe there is plenty of fight in this unit and there is a lot left for the Indian team to fight for; not just no. 1 raking but a lot of pride. I still believe India can and will get back at least one if not two tests. I am not sure if that one will be today’s crucial game or not.
    My reasons? I think English batting is still unsettled. Indian bowlers have given them a rare hard couple of games so far; just that there is insufficient fire power as Umesh was a bit disappointing in the first test and Hardik Pandya is looking half decent test allrounder. He is capable bowler but still needs more experience of how to bowl in English conditions. That leaves the burden only on two pacers and Ashwin. If Bumrah can join for today’s test, he will make a difference. Him, Shami and Ishant will be handful at Trent Bridge, if India get an opportunity to bowl first.
    Indian batting is one good outing away. If they come close to 300 once the confidence will be back. I would like to see Dhawan back may be for Vijay. And Karthik has looked pedestrian. This is a good opportunity to bleed the youngster, Rishabh Pant, who will have no fear of failure as the whole team has flopped and is expected to flop. He may be an x-factor that India is looking for.

    My team will be: Dhawan, Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, Rehane, Pandya, Pant, Ashwin, Ishant, Shami and Bumrah. This seems like the best team to give Poms a fight and put the series back on track…let’s keep the fingers crossed!!

    Match Scorecard link added on 13-Aug-2025
    ENG vs IND Cricket Scorecard, 3rd Test at Nottingham, August 18 – 22, 2018

  • Team India on the cusp of greatness

    India V England test series: a contest too close to call.

    Team India is on the cusp of greatness. Opportunity to play two very strong and difficult opponents on their home turf in next 6 months, brings opportunities to shut their detractors and critics who have consistently rubbished its no.1 test cricket ranking claim at the throne of the test team by calling them tigers at home, lambs overseas. There is some softening in that stance though ; now they call them tigers in subcontinent conditions! In all fairness, there is some truth in it. While their journey to the top ranking test team came during four successive series wins at home including 13 tests winning all but two (one draw and one loss). However, as soon as they travelled to South Africa, the usual failings against pace and bounce surfaced and the critics were up with their customary I-told-you-so. To their credit, they came back strongly in the test series, but it was too late to erase that familiar sense of deja vu!

    While India have beaten England, West Indies and New Zealand travelling, they are yet to take a series in Australia and South Africa. This was the motivation at the start of 2018 in South Africa, as it was the start of the most difficult passage for team India. However their usual poor and almost ridiculous preparation for significant series caught them out. As Virat kohli’s team prepares to go into a big 5 test series against strong English side, they have one less excuse to blame their potential failure upon. They have been in England for more than a month and have already given themselves a reasonable start by dominating T20 series. England came back strongly in the odi series by turning the tables on their nemesis in the form of two Indian spinners, who looked unplayable. This has emphasised one thing. This series will be a hard fought, arm wrestle, a slug fest, a mouth watering contest and very hard to predict who the winner could be. While England is always hard to beat at home, Indian team has perhaps most balanced bowling attack since 1986 when Kapil’s team dominated the three test series winning 2-0. It covers all the bases with 6 good pace bowlers and three good spinners. There are three pace bowlers who consistently bowl at over 140k, one swing bowler who could be very handy in typical English conditions. The spinners are all different with the left arm Chinamen already proving a handful in the limited over games. If English curators prefer to keep a lot of grass Indian pace bowling unit can test English batters like they did the home batsmen in south Africa. If the conditions can be dry as it seems likely due to prevailing weather conditions  Indian spinners can be handful in second dig. England team management knows this so they will depend upon their batsmen’s better experience of their home condition against pace and hope to rattle the relatively unsuccessful Indian batting line-up with their swing and pace. Their best chance at beating the number 1 team is their pace bowling unit’s proven record in home conditions ; the wickets will definately start greenish. For them, the key will be for their batting unit to counter the Indian bowling threat and hope to keep Virat kohli and his batting unit’s modest batting record in England unchanged.

    Predicting the outcome of the series is tough. I sense it is upon the success of Indian batting. There is no doubt that Indian bowling is capable to take 20 wickets, critical thing is will kohli and his batsmen provide the cushion of 350+ totals consistently to their bowling attack? If they can, india will take the series. For that to happen, kohli will need to take the english bull by the horn, score runs in the only country where his record doesn’t reflect the incredible talent he possesses. If he succeeds in taming English conditions and bowling, india will win. His success will be required for his batting unit to fire ; Ajinkya Rehane, Murli Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul all are capable batsmen but except Rehane and Vijay to some extent none has been even reasonably successful in english conditions; that’s perhaps one thing english team management will be pinning their hopes upon.
    Last series, India started on a winning note at lords but conceded their advantage through insipid batting and more importantly dropping crucial catches in the slip cordon. They will be hoping to improve that part of their game. This will be very close so a couple of catches dropped or snared can be the difference between the two teams.

    Looking at unfortunate beginning for team India in the form of injuries to their two key bowlers, Bhuvi and Bumrah, it won’t be surprising if india take time to get off the ground. Having 5 tests is a benifit for traditionally slow starting team like India. It will be a difficult decision for kohli and team selectors to pick the batting line up for the first test  I think following will be the starting XI at Birmingham on 1st aug:
    Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rehane, Kartik, Pandya, Ashwin, Yadav, Shami and Ishan. If the wickets look dry underneath and no chances of rain, Shami can be replaced by Kuldeep. I think this will be the best team that can not only take 20 wickets but also score runs. I will stick with Dhawan; he has x factor and if he gets in, he can score quickly and dominate any bowling giving players like kohli the cushion he will need to not feel the pressure of scoring as soon as he arrives at the crease. Vijay, pujara and Rehane are stayers so stroke players like him, virat and Pandya can play with some freedom. On paper India looks a very balanced side ; the only doubt being unproven batting unit in english conditions!

    My prediction is India will still come empty handed with the series drawn at 2-2, one test being drawn.. 

  • World Cup Opener, Befitting The Championship

    Second time, second time India will start their world cup campaign as the defending champs. Last time, it was twenty seven years back. Then, India had forced the cricket authorities to look beyond the mother country and move to the subcontinent. I still remember the excitement we Indian fans had; dual excitement of having first ever major world sporting event in the most popular game of the country and a great opportunity for the home team to defend it’s crown and prove to all, themselves included, that their win in 1983 was no fluke. India then was so overwhelming, sentimental favorite to retain the crown that every one was thinking about their opponent at the Eden gardens on the final day..there was no doubt about  playing in the finals. What happened then is history; disappointment at India’s defeat by Graham Gooch’s sweeping bat, almost single handedly, was palpable even months later. Indian cricket plunged into a deep disappointment. Subsequent world cups brought similar disappointments in terms of overall performance in the tournaments with only one shining beacon….wins against the arch rival Pakistan. What started in 1991 world cup has continued right through to last event. India has beaten Pakistan on six consecutive occasions and has established a kind of supremacy that Pakistan had established over India in Sharjah after the famous ‘last ball six’ victory from Miandad’s blade. Whatever happens in other tournaments or series against each other, India has got better of Pakistan in the world cup games.

    The world cup of 2015 will start for both the teames with a bang. Biggest game for both the teams will be the first of the tournament. In many ways, it will be a defining game for both the teams. The outcome of this game will set sail for both the teams giving them confidence to move forward in the tournament. It is rare to see the major teams taking on each other in first game  itself; Australia v England, New Zealand v Sri Lanka and India v Pakistan. Normally major teams warm up with games against minnows. This should be a testing opening for all major teams, with an opportunity to relax midway through the fixtures against minnows, before moving to knock out stage. This should make it an interesting scheduling for all major teams. There is a good chance that the so called minnows may take a scalp or two if any major team has a bad day. Ability to play consistently well will be tested .

    Re. India v Pakistan game; while history indicates a kind of dominance India had established, due to India’ poor returns on Australian soil to date, will definitely give Pakistan some heart. Pakistan has returned to the continent where they have won the only world cup title. While that should bring hope, it would be interesting to see if they are able to break the hoodoo. India on the other hand will draw strength and more importantly, hope from the history, since their bowl so far on the tour has been quite empty. However, there is plenty for India to draw confidence from their performance in test matches against Australia. Their hapless blowing in test matches where taking twenty wickets was a must to win, will to some extent feel they are in the game if they can bowl dot balls. Dhoni’s captainship which often looks clueless in taking wickets, can be different when pressure of limited overs can force batsmen to make mistakes.India will have to depend upon opponents mistakes more than their own ability to win.

    I believe, while India appears disjointed and does not inspire a lot of confidence in their ability to win, their experience of winning major tournaments should come to the fore at the crunch time. The team is young for test cricket but has plenty of experience in limited overs version and some champion players. I believe in many ways it is best that they are playing Pakistan first up..it should force them to wake up. The passion of playing against Pakistan should bring out the best from them and put them on a path to self belief. Conversely even if they loose, they will have dispensed with psychologically most important game of the tournament and can force them to bring out their best being pushed against the wall…often India produce their best under such condition.

    Whatever the outcome of India v Pakistan game, I would be happy if India reach semi-finals. Winning against Pakistan is good but not ultimate. GO INDIA!!

  • One Over

    Bit outside the off stump, probably fifth stump; that was the first ball of the over. Good pace, lovely out swinger and also a bit late movement. The ball is only 7 overs old. The game has just begun; no wickets down yet. That is a bit of a surprise since the opponents are slightly mis-matched. The bowling side has representative players of high skill; the opening batsmen are not highly ranked but not bad; after all they are playing first grade district cricket. In grade cricket anywhere in Australia, that is no mean achievement. The line then changes slightly towards the off stump next ball. One after that and it keeps coming towards the off stump with same late outswinger and off the deck movement. I can see what the bowler is up to now. The opener has been stubborn, not very skilful but good enough to leave good balls and not good enough to touch the cockers!! Three overs that the bowler has bowled from my end, I am certain would have produced a wicket, if the batsmen were good enough to come close! Many have gone past apparently thin looking blades of both batsmen. That’s a phenomenon I know only too well, having been an opening batsman all my plying life. I can identify with the batsmen; having been in similar mode while playing against first class bowlers of my state team; remember making a lot of them pull their hairs out the same way with my edgy but long and sometimes even productive stays at the crease. David slaying a Goliath..am I going to see another one here or what? Some experience of playing this game helps me to see the bowler’s brain ticking even behind the agonized expression every time a wicket taking ball returns nothing. The value of experience in cricket or any game or indeed life, teaches you patience and perseverance. But skill added to experience teaches you to plan a dismissal. When you see the plan developing, that is when the intricacies of the game  become engrossing, even when the opponents are mis-matched. I am lucky to be in the best position to watch, though can’t afford to focus away from a few triggers on every ball that I have defined for myself as an umpire. I can’t afford to make an error distracted by the brilliance of a bowler or a batsman. Also, like batsman if I get trapped into an expectation of what’s going to happen next, I can give unintended benefit to either batsman or a bowler. Watch it, watch the next ball, stay focussed, I tell myself, as I used to, every time I faced up to the next thunderbolt coming my way when batting. 

    Wait, what’s happening here? The bowler has decided to change the field for fifth ball of the over. He asks his mid-off, the only fielder in front of the wicket so far, to go into the slip cordon. Four slips and two gullies now. Everyone except the bowler is now behind the stumps anticipating an edge. The next ball comes back into the batsman!! Surprised batsman still manages to keep it out somehow. Great thinking by the bowler, perfect execution, but nothing to show! Agony again. A bit of grunt, a glare and even a couple of words in the direction of an impervious batsman…In the end, no choice but to turn around and come back for the last ball. Sixth and last ball of the over coming up; though the batsman is now probably unsure what the ball will do, in or out?? Last ball, perfect ball, middle and off line now, again beautiful late out swing and this time quite a healthy edge!! But wait, it has taken the shoulder of the blade and lobs EXACTLY over the replenished fourth slip fielder’s head. A fly slip would have caught it!!! “Hook, line and sinker” the bowler mutters under his breath; a resigned shrug of the shoulders, hands-on-hips-stand in the follow-through as the batsman crosses his path taking a single….Sure, absolutely, I agree silently with him, handing over his cap. But still no wicket…?? Apparently, the bowler came off second best through no brilliance of the batsman. Beauty of cricket. Luck and skill the two faces of a coin that this great game is. As I move to my position at square-leg, I see the agony on the face of the bowler, with a bit of sparkle in the eyes. It’s still a win for the bowler even though the scorebook says one run to the batsman. Somewhere within, I sense there has to be a sense of satisfaction, pride to plan and execute a dismissal that never was, so near and yet so far. That it did not eventuate brings everyone to an equal platform. Often great balls go unrewarded and full tosses pick up a wicket or two. As in cricket, so also in life….

    Did he finally dismiss him? Don’t think he did. The bowler certainly ended up getting a fifer at the end of the innings; quite deservedly. Though he could never defeat that particular batsman on that day. That’s what I remember!! On a given day, even less skilled can beat the geniuses; one ray of hope that made me continue to play even as a less skilled player. And indeed gave me a few success stories to tell and dream about. No surprise why the game continues to still fascinate me. After all, its similarity with life are so uncanny, isn’t it? You do not know when will you see the beauty of the unpredictable even in the intensity of a battle. Often even when you do not get what you want, you can still afford a smile and go away in your corner to replenish and come back to persevere. Because patience and perseverance are virtues that can outlive skill. Attitude over ability. Imagine if both come together? A small moment in a game, can often make one forget even the physical pain, as I experienced on that day. Small moments can leave big impacts. Makes it all worth doing again, that’s why I look forward to tomorrow…….No prizes for guessing that I shall be back for more. 🙂

  • Playing Blind…India in England

    Five tests and Indians proved to be duds, even after winning a famous test at Lords after a long time; and that too more for the way in which they won rather than the result itself! Perhaps for the first time England were bounced out by Indians! They have been spun out many times but bounced out?? I never though I would live to see that..Strange thing though was that some bouncers were actually quite friendly!! Only a few were in the West Indian category of eighties. But Poms reciprocated the chivalry of Indian bowlers by being even better hosts, and hit them straight down the throats of very visibly placed deep midwicket, square leg fielders. Honestly it was as much an English loss as it was an Indian win. This is not to detract from one of the finest and worthy centuries in the history of Indian cricket; a superlative century in the first innings by Ajinkya Rehane on a spicy wicket and against a skilfully mean set of seam bowlers. Or a singularly unidirectional but lion-hearted spell of fast bowling from Ishant Sharma. Sevenfor in fourth innings to win a test match is meritorious for any pace bowler, any where. What followed the Lord’s test was bizarre, and that is putting it mildly. Indian fans can be forgiven for their bewilderment. They now know how one feels after smoking cocaine…an incredibly high high, followed by a massive thud followed by indescribable agony! Even for a seasoned Indian fan like me, having lived through decades of numerous ignominious defeats at the bats and balls of all comers, be at home or away, this was still a new feeling. Makes one realize, losses are after all,  not that bad. The problem is a win! It raises your expectation!!! Dhoni has been responsible more than any other skipper in the history of Indian cricket, to do this to the unwitting Indian cricket fan. Perhaps, at the end of his career, this will be his best achievement??? May be I am being a bit too harsh. May be father and son duo, up there somewhere, would be watching and feeling the same for allowing their names on the Pataudi Trophy??

    As if Dhoni reads my mind..surely come the ODI series and what do we see? India win three ODIs rather ‘uncharacteristically’, but at a canter and the series with it!! In fact, it’s a thrashing. Even though in One day format, India are ahead of England, on this tour they have shown a rubbery spine; termed so since to turn it around once was kind of ok, but a hat-trick of wins was certainly like being injected with “ice”. Its as if this is not the same India that whimpered along in tests.

    Often in the past, a draw used to be a dream for an Indian cricket fan and when achieved on rare occasions, was celebrated with a massive fan fare and temple bells ringing for a few weeks……sometimes even the PM of the country sending congratulatory telegrams to the captain of the team and the elected legislators of the country for a change, thumping the Loksabha benches instead of each other. At the best of the times, Indians do not need much of an invitation to celebrate. When there was a cause to celebrate a draw, a “Haley’s comet” like event, the whole country came together, including a  multitude who had neither any interest in cricket nor those who had any understanding of it nor cared for any sport in general! To the uninitiated this may not seem like much but believe you me, it is! We Indians have been veritably described as oranges, for once the peel is taken off, we emerge as distinct units. There was hardly anything to celebrate in the lives of Indian citizens then…..even in 1974, 1947 still remained a prime thing to celebrate! With that kind of mentality, an Indian fan is so much used to defeats that any unexpected win actually becomes more shocking than a loss…Dhoni has to understand this! If you ask me, that is the real generation gap!

    Having said that, to win occasionally mostly from loosing, is nothing but an obvious progression. The problem though, is the roller-coaster ride that the fans have to endure; the tigers at home suddenly loose their teeth to become the lambs and whether the opponents expect it or not, gift the games away. I mean I can understand gift of a wine bottle or two for your hosts when you are invited; but to gift away the whole kit and caboodle is far from expected even by the hosts. While Dr Jekyll of Indian cricket is well known for killing the opponent with a surprise, the occasionally appearing Mr Hyde surprises the opponent (and the fans), with a clinical kill. Just when you sigh with a “here we go” after the customary defeats, suddenly the emergence of Mr Hyde shocks the fans more than the opponents. The strange case of Jekyll and Hyde becomes even more strange when Indianized. The evil is good and the good is evil! It can’t be more confusing…

    Look at the way in which India has played and won the three ODIs so far. All three have been comprehensive wins and Poms have been totally outplayed. The tracks have suddenly assumed sub-continental hue from the green-green and even Ravindra Jadeja has started spinning the ball! In first two games English start was reasonable; something that flattered to deceive. Bit like an occasional rainbow accompanying the downpour. The first sight of the slow bowlers was the trigger for that rainbow to fade away. Slow bowlers is best how one can describe the group Dhoni uses as a spin bowling option. The famous Indian spin quartet of the past would refuse to call themselves bowlers, let alone spinners, if the current set of Indian bowlers were classified as genuine spinners…ah well, that may be my old bones creaking but really what we see today that Dhoni gets by, not only using as spinners but also to claim wickets, you would wonder why someone would really make any attempt to master the art of spin bowling. I mean for heaven’s sake, Alistair Cook got spun out by Ambati Rayudu!! But that is no fault of Dhoni. If English can not bully the moderate spin options that they are being served by the Indian captain, it’s their loss and points to a deeper malaise in the English system.

    I think it is a “Cook” Effect. I think English are SO much hung-up on their captain getting some runs, right through the last Ashes and beyond, that if he scores anything, it’s a win. From that point, they are hardly different from Indians!! Match result doesn’t count. Honestly, the best Poms could do; let me correct myself; the ONLY thing Poms could do is to drop Cook from ODIs for his own good and that of the team. Honestly, he is an apology for an ODI opener…I think Sunny Gavaskar must be praying that Cook carries on in One day cricket for long long time. Two reasons: he is current BCCI boss but more importantly, that is the only way his 36 n.o. of 60 overs can finally be forgotten…I mean it’s bizarre.

    English have only one reasonable spinner in Treadwell but they are dishing out slow tracks. Only way it can be explained is that they have decided to challenge their bowlers! I can imagine their cricket development management team’s brain ticking… damn, they are not going to get slow and mildly spinning conditions for a while; definitely not in the upcoming world cup in Australia. This is against the principles of skill development we have planned! That is unacceptable!! Yeah, that must be it. Quite a noble thought really, if you care to think deeply. Results after all are not as important as the processes!! If Dhoni says so, it must be right!! Hah……looks like the Captain Courageous has produced another rabbit form his hat!!

    Basically I think both the teams are playing blind…..as you do in a game of Teen Patti; the Indian version of card game, Flush or Poker. When you have a hand containing 2,3,5 a la Raj of Shri 420 fame, the only way to win the pot is by bullying your opponent through blind play and hope he folds out of fear of his own inability! Indians did that in the Lord’s test and Poms obliged. English returned the favour in next and Indians surprised all, most their opponents, by obliging them in not one but next three tests! So now it was the turn of English to be good hosts. Honestly, the cricket I have seen on the tour so far ranks as one from the widest range of skills; extremely skilful to absolute fourth grade rubbish, in all departments of the game. If one catch of Alistair Cook spilled by Jadeja could be so important as to turn the series on its head, surely the level of skills on both sides have to be on very high oscillations between sublime to rubbish. It all depends upon the luck of the draw on a day; not even Nostradamus could have predicted who will turn up next day at the ground  from either team. The pity I think is, all concerned know this. Teams know it, their skippers know it, the coaches and the plethora of support staff know it, the management teams know it, the boards know it and now the paying spectators and us the last-to-know loyal fans know it!! That’s why the teams play blind..let us just keep playing and hope we will get one hand better than the opposition. After all a win is just a relative thing! Well, even competition is just a relative thing. I remember one college game I witnessed yonks back on my home ground of MG Science in Ahmedabad, when one team scored 92 runs in their allotted 50 overs and the opponents almost won it……just fell short by a run at the end of 50 overs!! It was one of the slowestly nail biting games I have ever witnessed. The fact that I still remember it after 40 years, is the proof. I know you wonder why I was watching it in the first place; surely I couldn’t see the close finish at half time. Well, a simple answer to that is that I had bunked the class so ended up sitting at the ground watching to avoid reaching home early!! The point is, when we see a game as fans, loyal fans, everything is subjective and relatively compared. Honestly otherwise fans of these both teams have little to celebrate….

    It’s about time, as Indian cricket fans we also learn to play blind! Let us hope Dhoni and his troupe keep bringing up one hand better than their opponents. A 2,3,6 against a 2,3,5 is good enough for me; I am a fan of modest ambitions! Let us not hope for all aces, or single suit or a flush every time these guys go out to play. It needs to be just one better than their opponent. And if they can win blind even with a hand of 2,3,5, so be it…….after all, more than likely, the hands dealt to Indian teams are likely to be lower denominations more than anything else. Seems to me that the Indian deck is bereft of all picture cards; a joker once in a while not withstanding!

    Disclaimer: Its’ all in the fun. I would SO love to be wrong!! 🙂

  • Dhoni X-Factor in ICC Champions Trophy Finale..

    Indian cricket team is once again living up to its tag of being unpredictable. The difference is till now in the tournament, it has shown the kind of consistently dominating performance that can only be termed as oxymoronic for Jekyl and Hyde nature that Indian fans are so used to. It is indeed a pleasant surprise. I thought they would be tested by the Sri Lankans, but probably the toss going in favour of Indian captain and then the support he got from his new ball bowlers in forst 15 overs, really put a nooze around the Lankan throats. Dhoni is too smart a captain to let that loose; to me the brilliance of his captainship was a decision to take the pads off and bowl a few overs when his main pace bowlers were coming close to exhausting their quota and clearly, one of the best batsman of spin bowling ever, Mahela Jayavardane was waiting for spinners to come on. Dhoni got the nod from Aleem Dar with a hooping in-swinger, only to be denied by the DRS. But that and Dhoni’s spell infact kept both Mahela and his skipper Mathews, both extremely attacking batsmen, quiet for a spell of 8 overs when they were looking to break the shakles imposed by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma. Of course at the other end, it was another surprise package, Ravindra Jadeja dooing his bit, delightfully mixing a spinner with a slider with almost no discerning change in his bowling action. It is quite an achievement for Jadeja to get rave comments form spin maestro behind the microphone in the commentator’s box, Shane Warne….perhaps you may say, Warney has a bit of soft corner for this player who took his first baby steps in the world of international cricket under his tutelage eventhough in IPL team of Rajasthan Royals. Every time Warney opens his mouth to say something for Jadeja, it has been nothing but praise..even his “rock-star” comment drips with admiration for this youngster. That is no mean achievement, since Warney, the quaintessential Aussie, simply does not know how to soften his words, be it for his foe or his own countrymen and is very similar to another typical Aussie bloke, Ian Chappel. Jadeja’s turnaround has been shocking….pleasantly shocking for me. I never thought this guy had it within him to suceed at the international level, and he is still some distance away, but by God, what he has shown in last 12 months is nothing short of miracle. And  absolute triumph of sheer hard work and attitude…..something very close to my heart. I am, for a change, glad to be wrong, and do tip my hat to Dhoni for keeping faith in this lad. One day, if I get an opportunity to sit with Dhoni, I would love to ask, how and what and where and when did he see ANY kind of potential in Jadeja…I don’t know if someone will call Dhoni a lucky captain as a lot more of his moves come off rather than otherwise, and sometimes without appearing to be looking logical as well. I strongly suspect, however, that there is a method to Dhoni’s madness. May be some day we will read the X-files on Dhoni’s this X-factor!! Till then, just enjoy his cptainship.

    I rate it somewhere as high as Nawab of Pataudi and a little above Surav Ganguly. Nawab was the best Indian captain I have ever seen, and he was as cool on the field as Dhoni is; but then, he was born a prince and played without much personal pressure. No amount of criticism affected him as he had a princely background and cricket was mere opportunity to showcase his talents. This is not to say he played with a disdain akin to what an aristocrat shows towards currency, but the pressure of failure did not bother him as much as it did some other mere mortals, who depended upon the fame earned on the cricket field to get wealthy. India in those days was very different; one of the finest pace bowlers India has ever produced, “Tiny”  Ramakant Desai died in a Mumbai chawl, in a small room under the staircase…

    Dhoni, when started as a player, had no structured technique, as we coaches like to say. He had his own technique, but his sharp reflexes and eyesight, awesome self-confidence and quick hands allowed him to dominate bowling like a few have done so far. His technique behind the stumps was not exactly atrocious, but definately not worthy of being first class cricketer. But the x-factor of his batting outweighed everything. Dhoni, when started his career, was a simple boy, of simple means from a hither-to unknown cricket state of Bihar/Zarkhand. It was amazing how he was picked up even in the East Zone team to start with…..to me that shows how much Indian domestic selection policies have changed from my playing days. He hardly oozed wealth as the Nawab did, but by sheer dint of his X-factor rose to a level of popularity that rivalled even Tendulkar’s. Through all that journey though, I have not seen him change much outwardly…well, not true exactly.


    He has certainly lost his locks of 2005 fame when he bashed an 183 n.o. against Sri Lankans in an ODI and regularly took Pakistanis head on. The latter, to me is a hallmark of the guts very very few Indians showed till then, especially after that famous six of the last ball by Javed Miandad; “attitude” against  Pakistan has always been my criteria to define greatness for an Indian cricketer. But Dhoni, when he took over the captainship from Kumble, was a breath of fresh air; good mix of attack and defense. His man-management capabilities were right from day one, at par with Saurav Ganguly in that his team was ready to die for him. His triumph in the ODI tri series in Australia in 2009; first time ever India won after the successful 1985 World Championship, defined the greatness of his team at that time, and to a great extent his captainship. Soon he was to lift the mace of the Test Championship. The spike in the chart of his popularity went through the proverbial roof and amazingly has remained somewhere up there far longer than any other Indian captain I have seen. In spite of a lot of barbs thrown at him by some armchair critics, he continues to remain his own man, cool and mostly withdrawn from any controversy (some recent “conflict of interest” allegations notwithstanding!). I remember what once his IPL teammate Matthew Haydon said; MS remains so much detached from cricket off the field that it was impossible even for his team mates, during the IPL season, after a game, to contact and talk to him once he disappeared form the dressing room. He would not lift the phone, nor return a message. But he commanded a respect from his team mates, even when they were bigger than him in age, experience and achievements. And more often than not on the field, has had the last word.

    Perhaps tomorrow he will have one more of such last word, against many of his detractors as his team has shown a great composure and hitherto-rarely seen-dominance in a world cup type tournament. English team, on the other hand also looks very settled and playing some great cricket. While India have gone through the tournament so far without a single loss, England was beaten by Sri Lanka in the group game, quite soundly. Though it was the result of a single masterclass from Sangakaara, I thiought England were a tad unlucky in not getting Sanga out a couple of times; if that had happened, English could have restricted Sri Lanka from reaching the target. English bowling has been the main stay for them in the tournament so far, probably similar to Indian team. A slight edge India has is in their batting department as all top order except, perhaps Raina, have fired and look in good nick. The conditions, even though it is early part of English summer, has been the non-English conditions that all teams have faced; and of course use of the Kookaburra balls. The latter, I think is also critical since it has not swung much and to that extent, English pacers have looked less dangerous. On the other hand, at all three venues, Indians have found the turf to yield to tweak giving them some advantage. However Sunday’s weather forcast for Burmingham is like a typical English weather, cool and rain in the air. Dhoni may be tempted to go for a seamer like Irfan; though the current balance of his team has been so much on the spot that he may not like to tinker with it..whatever it is, I feel Dhoni may produce a rabbit form the hat tomorrow..it’s his X-factor that will be critical for Indians tomorrow as well…

    Look forward to a great game of cricket..

  • New Series, Old Rivalry, Lots of Smoke, No Fire, Held Together by Money…

    Border-Gavaskar trophy was the pinnacle of cricket rivalries of the first decade of this century. Ignited by one of the best series ever to have been played, 2000-01 series in India, where Indians came from behind and only second time in the history of test cricket, ended up winners after being made to follow on, set the tone for the explosive rivalry. The cricket between the two has always been electric, rivalry fierce and has often involved gamesmanship bordering on the breach of spirit of cricket, but all being taken as the spice that has made this rivalry a real Masala recipe; a typically Indian. To the credit of Aussies, whose visits to the sub-continent was once in a decade affair till 80s, changed their perception and made it a point to win this “Last frontier”, especially since their world beating team had won every where else. After incredible arm-wrestle, eventually Aussies broke through for the first ever series win in India after 35 years of drought at Nagpur on a wicket hardly recognizable as a subcontinent wicket and totally favouring the visitor….that was the only way Aussies could have won a series in India!! Incredibly enough, in the very next test in Mumbai, they found the typical Indian beauty, spinning and charmingly devious, had Aussies slipping to one of their most embarrassing looses, loosing by 13 runs chasing only 107. The Nagpur test win on 29th Oct, 2004 on a typically non sub-continent wicket still remains the last test match win Aussies have had in India, as in the next series in India in 2008-09 they ended up loosing both tests! This was after the explosive series of 2007-08 in Australia made infamous by the so-called “monkeygate on SCG” and unfortunately hiding one of the most competitively played series between the two countries. The aftermath of the Sydney test was, if Indians had withdrawn from the series, likely to split the world cricket vertically along the racial lines. However wiser counsel prevailed when Harbhajan Singh was found not to be guilty of the racial abuse charge; something that would still be hotly debated in Australian pubs and talk back radios. In a typically Aussie way, we love to hate opponents who are like us! Saurav Ganguly and Arjuna Ranatunga understood this trait so perfectly that they made it into a subcontinental form of sledging! Steve Waugh’s mantra of “mental disintegration of opponents” probably came back to bite the Aussies on their backside, when in the aftermath of Sydney test, one of the most read newspapers Sydney Morning Herald, published this on the first page, “Arrogant Ponting must be fired“. This too, in a country where Australian cricket captainship is considered only second to Prime Ministership!!! Fortunately or unfortunately, money has a lot of power. Like the best solvent in the world, TV rights money that fills the coffers of any country that plays India, home or away, eventually dissolved the differences between the boards. And whatever painful memories players may have carried, further dissolved in the IPL money!! That said, perhaps the controversy that looked so from a distance to us the fans, was perhaps no more than a storm in the tea cup to start with, but was perhaps unwisely pushed by some Australian players to the front as a means of gaining some “mental disintegration” of Indian team which looked very competitive on field. Indeed but for Steve Bucknor’s playing as an Australian team member, India would have registered a win in that Sydney test; something that stirred Peter Roebuck to write that Indian was dudded….Today, after half a decade, the event is more a conversation piece rather than a controversy. Either the claimed “facts” were not good enough to stand up to the test of times or not significant enough morally to uphold for long, or simply that, as I said before, economic perils of its adverse outcome, far too damaging for the stability of the international nature of the game; one will never know till a few people retire from international cricket and if they decide to spill the beans, once again for a handsome remuneration! It is quite a surprise that whenever I cast my eyes on the history of these two of my most favourite cricket nations ( I have been following Australian cricket as long as I can remember) the controversies come to the fore, more than the magical cricket it has produced. Perhaps the competitiveness that Indians have been able to show in their encounters since that 2000-01 series is the reason. Surely Australians still carry the scars of the defeats after dominating that series so much; the fact that VVS Laxman gained a Bradmanesque stature for many Australian fans is an evidence of that. That is why the last series in Australia that resulted in a total whitewash of Indians, not only came as a surprise but a distinct disappointment more for Australian cricket fans than Indians! However, the typical Australian bull that the sport fan is, is not so sure about his current team. The stalwarts have retired and now the team is being captained by a champion player but someone who is hardly seen as a representative of a typical, macho, beer-drinking aggro Aussie male. Michael Clarke is seen as quite a soft captain as compared to some if his predecessors like Ponting and indeed Steve Waugh; good captaincy results not withstanding. However, Captain Clarke is in such a sublime batting form that the detractors have been totally shut up!! Though, they are lurking somewhere in the back ground waiting to pounce upon him as soon as he fails. That is why Clarke has been so careful with his words in his interviews about Indian tour, calling it one of the toughest test of his captainship. He has also learned quite early in the piece that there is still a lot of baggage of that Sydney test being carried by an average Indian fan. Any overt aggression shown by Australian player can rekindle that emotion and fire Indian fans to an extent that they will start SUPPORTING THEIR TEAM!!!! I know this sounds funny; but today, I believe, Indian team has lot more problems than Australian team has. Their comprehensive defeats in England and Australia exacerbated by first loss to English at home in 26 years, has dropped Indian cricket team’s popularity to a a very low level and indeed Dhoni’s stature to a nadir! All the euphoria of world beaters that Indians were riding upon after the World Cup win in March 2011, has evaporated with a hiss like a beer thrown on a barbie; only the flavours of the over-cooked meat left! This must surely be one of the most unusual start to a compelling rivalry in test cricket….the softly softly approach of Australians and the missing tigers-at-home bravado of Indians are both new and shockingly unfashionable!! It is like neither the fans nor the players know what is expected..Since that Sydney test in 2008, Aussies have been pussyfootying around Indians, for whatever reasons. Indians on the other hand, have been scoring their self-goals. There is a lot of smoke of uncertainty replacing all the fire and brimstone we were so used to see, when these two met in the past. However there is one small chance this may still ignite. Many of Aussie players on this team will play test cricket for the first time In India. Even under quiet Captain Clarke, there are ignitable characters like Davy Warner and James Pattinson; both will play in the first test. These guys are typical Aussies; constitutionally aggressive not only in their game but also in their expression. perhaps both could be said to be suffering from that white lie that was perhaps specifically coined for Glen Mcgrath, as white line fever. And on the opposition side, there is still that perpetual Aussie  baiter a lots of Australians love to hate, Bhajji Singh. It was quite a surprise that India team management while not announcing the playing eleven still decided to announce that Harbhajan will play his 100th test!!! Apparently, they are intent upon using Bhajji not just as a bowler! In any case, India V Australia is a compelling drama, ready to unfold, and I for one, am looking forward to that……isn’t it obvious since it is after over 13 months that I have  got inspired to write this blog??? Let cricket flow…and a few controversies here and there don’t matter. Nothing will break this BCCI and CA partnership. They are in it for life time as they are bound by only one thread that is unbreakable in this world; the thread of love…………………for rupee!

     
    Of late it has been very quiet on the Gavaskar Border..cheerio!

  • DRS through a Microscope. Eagle Eye or Hawk Eye, but not the Bull's Eye!!

    Is DRS a Decision Review System or Dead Revived System? Looked like it was laid to rest after India’s tour to the Old Blighty, when ICC declared it no longer mandatory. However, no sooner did the Indian team arrive down under, the issue has been raised thanks mainly to the Eagle Eye technology owner or supporter, Channel Nine, who seem to be convinced that their word on everything in world cricket has to be final. Sky TV commentary team in England did the same and gleefully, trumpeted poetic justice, every time a decision went against Indians…till VVS Laxman was reprieved by the so-called infallible “Hot spot” technology (use of Infrared camera to detect contact between bat and ball). Michael Vaughn’s infamous tweet about Laxman’s cheating by applying Vaseline on the edges of the bat to “hide” the hot spot, proved at least one thing, irrevocably; EVERY ONE is still suspicious about the capability of ANY technology to be 100% correct. Something that Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been saying for ages. That shut up the Sky TV channel commentary team for sure. Poms and Aussies have this endearing quality of coming around to what is obvious only after they have suffered!!!

    However, looks like the inventors of the technology and investors of big bucks in them, are not going to die so easily. Especially when you have the best possible medium of TV and assured contract to beam free-to-air live cricket to the masses, you want to use that to push a technology even if it is still in its infancy. That is, what DRS actually is. Not surprising then, why after the first day of the Boxing day test in Melbourne, Crime master Gogo was seen asking all and sundry, “Yeh DRS DRS Kya Hai, Yeh DRS DRS Kya Hai?”

    I want to show you DRS through my microscope. Before we do that, however, understand this; DRS is not merely applying all available technology to arrive at correct decision most of the times, as it is touted to be. Let me clarify. DRS or Decision Review System is a “PROCESS” set up by ICC to give SOME opportunity to players to question on-field umpire’s decision. IT IS NOT AN ATTEMPT AT GETTING ALL DECISIONS 100% CORRECT!!! This is where a cricket fan is being taken for a ride.
    The reason for my above argument? In every innings, both teams are given ONLY TWO opportunities to question umpire’s decision. Once you loose both opportunities, you have no right to question Umpire’s decision. In other words, after you have lost both of your appeals, an umpire is ALLOWED to make mistakes!!! Let us presume this system was used in the infamous Sydney test match of 2008, of monkey-gate fame. Even before Andrew Symonds was given not out to a blatant thick edge of Ishant Sharma, Ricky Ponting was reprieved by Mark Benson, off Saurav Ganguly; a possible faint edge. Let us say that Indians reviewed and had lost that appeal since hot spot is not necessarily a full-proof technology. Subsequent to that, on that first day itself, Andrew Symonds was reprieved twice on stumping appeals, once by the third umpire who had the benefit of the technology of a slow-mo replay, even when it was obvious to a blind that Symonds was out. Indeed, even the Channel Nine commentators had given the verdict as out. This means Indians would have lost both of their appeals on the first day itself, possibly even before tea!! What good would this so-called high tech DRS would have done for the good of cricket in this case? The results could still have been the same; jaundiced decision making from one-eyed and motivated umpires.
    There is also another example of MS Dhoni given out in spite of the bowler having over-stepped in West Indies this year, simply because the technician brought up WRONG REPLAY, or better put, replay of legal delivery stride from another delivery!!! All that talk about technology being savior of the world cricket makes no sense when the control of decision making goes into the hands of a total outsider who may be motivated by commercial interest of the technology provider.
    Last week I heard Channel Nine commentator Tony Greig lamenting about the lack of use of the Eagle Eye that they use to judge the umpiring performance. He went on and on like a broken record about how Indians through their power of money are in fact acting against the interest of the game!! He also quoted other sports people from USA who, according to him, were astonished that Cricket refuses to use technology and has still remained an18th century sport. Ah, the beauty and benefit of having the platform to dish out drivel!! The only choice poor audience has is to shut off the TV, isn’t it?? There were references made to another ball tracking system called Hawk Eye, which according to the geniuses at Channel Nine is a very inferior technology, merely due to the number of frames captured per second, and perhaps the reason why Indian cricketers hate DRS.

    I brought out this issue in one of my previous blogs, and received a very interesting comment from one reader who claims to be the inventor of Eagle Eye tracking program; one that is touted as Bee’s knees by Channel Nine and the whole of Australian fourth estate. Paddy’s comments are presented below, verbatim:

    –>“I wrote the Eagle Eye tracking system. It works like this… All the measured points over all frames triangulate to 3D ball positions of the flight. Given there is a factor of noise, pixel error, measurement error etc, these form a probability distribution. The system then attempts to solve a multivariate equation of flight that most closely matches this distribution. This involves deriving obvious things like initial position and velocity, flight characteristics such as lift and drag, and more importantly fluid dynamics tailored to the flight of cricket balls. There are a few tricks in here that compensate for numerous things that cannot be measured. The result is a large equation that can be used to regenerate the ‘actual’ trajectory of the ball and extend it past the point where observations cease (ie impact on the pad). Having more frames helps this process. As you pointed out, the physics after the bounce is completely separate from that leading up to the bounce. The more data that can be collected post-bounce, the better the chance of calculating the more obscure components of flight. Operating at 230fps means every frame captures about 10cm of travel. So most of the time, enough data is captured for an informed prediction. When there is not enough data, there is a roll-off built into the system whereby factors such as swing, lift, drag and even bounce deviation cannot be sufficiently derived. Attempting to do so generally leads to solutions that look wrong. The best answer in extreme cases is found by dropping the higher-order components of drag, ignoring lift, assuming the ball does not deviate after bounce, and presume no post-bounce swing is in effect. The system is not bullet-proof, and I disagree with the assumption that “Eagle Eye is twice as good as Hawk-Eye”. The two systems are totally different and each have their strengths and weaknesses. However, it is a fact that the more frames you capture, the better your chances of predicting in extreme situations. I think it’s important to remember that the UDRS was supposed to prevent gross misjudgments. There are limits, and they should be scientifically explored. The ICC ‘testing’ done on either system is a joke.”

    There you go….I have no way to confirm that the writer is the originator of the Eagle Eye program or that he is not. However, the comments very well describe the logic behind defining algorithms for tracking the flight of the ball. It is obvious from the above comments that there are sufficient doubts about the validity of either tracking system; and most importantly, none of the system is “scientifically explored” sufficiently. Exactly the point I made in my blog. Also, interestingly, the originator accepts that the algorithms can not predict accurately, complex factors such as “swing, lift, drag and even bounce”. This means, prediction of the flight of the ball post impact (after it has been intercepted by the batsman) is very difficult. Perhaps that is why we saw the drama of DRS not applied during the World Cup, when the distance between the pad and stumps was more than 2.5 meters. Indeed, increased data in the form of more picture frames per second gives a better opportunity to predict the flight of the ball post impact, and to that effect Eagle Eye may be better than other technology. However, even high frames per second will not be able to predict changes in bounce, pace and turn off the wicket, that eventuate as the pitch changes its nature during the course of the test match. Forget about the difference in every ball that a bowler is able to employ, e.g. cocked wrist versus loose wrist while delivering a ball, that can generate different pace off the wicket. So when one can not be sure about the validity of this tracking system to predict the flight of the ball from day one to day five on the same wicket, how can one be confident that it can perform with acceptable accuracy, across all types of wickets; from a low slow subcontinent to a spongy English to a Perth or a Centurion bouncing one. One thing is certain: the originator of the Eagle Eye is saying that ICC has not done sufficient testing on either tracking system!!! Does it not then, sound a bit rich, Channel Nine’s constant tirade against Mahendra Sigh Dhoni, or his team or indeed BCCI in not accepting DRS? Why this uni-directional tirade using questionable evidence, called BCCI bashing? Ihas now become the favorite past time of some Cricket playing countries ……Tony Greig, take off that mask of being a savior of world cricket please. You are nothing but a mouth-piece of a commercial venture, looking to pass off its yet incompetent technology. Cash for comments, of course, what else??
    Let us not forget that DRS does not consist of technological solution to get only LBWs correct.It also includes other technologies like “Hot Spot” to detect a nick; something that looked to be the only infallible component of the system, till that fateful Laxman-Vaughn episode. Now that technology looks as much dicey as the tracking system. Perhaps the only technology that is close to being 100% correct is the pitch map; to confirm if the ball has pitched within the statutory area as per the LBW law. I full heartedly agree that this technology must be used to provide on-field umpire the required support. As for other decisions like stumping and run outs, TV slow-mo replays have been accepted long back, even though they have produced wrong decisions, for a variety of reasons. Andrew Symonds’ stumping, is a cases in point.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92zqspN3W2c&feature=related

    So it is obvious that there is sufficient doubt about the capability of the tracker system to predict the path after impact. Let us leave that aside for a moment and accept that even if not 100% certain, the technology will give a prediction of the flight of the ball, somewhere close to an umpire’s eye and brain. I am ok, if the technology comes somewhere close to human capability, since it has one thing which is better than a human mind. Technology can not be “pressurized”, like an umpire can be, under extreme conditions. So one can accept the fallibility of the system to the level of a human mind; with a caveat…”as long as ICC officials manage the technology”. This is to prevent commercial interests from influencing the decision making. Or tomorrow’s headlines will read something like..”TV technicians being investigated for Match fixing”..
    Apart from the uncertainty of technology, my grouse against the DRS system, is the process of giving right to the players to challenge umpire’s decision. That is eroding the very basic tenet of this game; a player shall accept umpire’s verdict. Yes, on-field umpires can do with the support from technology, no doubt about that. But instead of players being given TWO appeals to get their decision right (!!), I would like to see that process completely in the hands of on-field AND third umpires. Both should work in unison. The TV umpire should have a say in every contentious decision and he should have a right to communicate or indeed over-turn on-field umpire’s decision if he sees evidence to do so. In this system on-field umpire’s role does become more of a constant partnership with the third umpire. There is a potential for slowing down of the game, but by now it seems every one has accepted that extension of the game time is not important if right decision could be made. Don’t know though, how this will allow ICC to maintain minimum 90 overs a day requirement. Let the players be players rather than trying to be umpires also..
    As the system has “evolved”, there is a slight change to the name. UDRS has become now DRS. Looks like ICC has decided to take the U (Umpire) out of the name. Yes, literally that is what the system is meant to do. While the supporters of this so-called bee’s knees technology claim that it is to support umpires, in actual effect, its practical purpose is to take an umpire out of the decision making…..slowly slowly, completely; well, if not today, tomorrow.

  • Veeru, Veeru, Veeru, Oi, Oi, Oi !!!

    Brutal Veeru
    Sublime Veeru
    Viv like Veeru
    But most importantly,
    Focussed Veeru!!

    Though this innings of Virender Sehwag came against a reasonable rather than testing bowling and a feather-bed of a wicket, the way in which he approached it, indicates that if this player puts his mind to it, he can break all possible records in the annals of this game.

    To me, this puts Veeru right besides my most favourite batsman of all time, Viv Richards. There is lot more to Veeru than mere statistics, but they do tell something.

    Look at the following charts and it will show how Veeru is the most non-discriminating batsmen ever. He does not discriminate against any type of bowling, conditions, match situations and most importantly, the state of his own innings. He treats all same…one-dimensionally. If a ball is bowled, it is meant to be hit!
    And he rarely hits a shot in anger….he doesn’t need to.
    He started off a little circumspectly, as his first 50 runs came off 41 balls or a run-rate of 122 runs off 100 balls; something that could be called as great run-rate for a majority of international batsmen. His scoring rate picked up in later half of each hundred, ending with a rate of ~143 runs per hundred balls. Incredible, considering he had scored a whopping 58% of the total when he was dismissed!! Domination? No, annhilation.

    Look at individual fifties and hundreds in this innings. His first fifties in every hundred took slightly longer than the later one. But almost identical number of balls. This does indicate that he was perhaps playing to a plan…..may be for the first time?? The fact that he got a double ton in less than 50 overs, is astonishing in itself, what is even more startling is that he scored two fifties in a day at 28 balls each! Rarely players get one fifty at that rate!! Individually, that should count as one of the fastest fifty in the ODI history, and he got two in a day!! And scored two hundreds in a day at ~70 balls each! He must have been tired, since he took 2 balls more to reach the second hundred!

    Jimmy Maxwell on ABC Grandstand commentary box said it all….When he got out, Veeru perhaps missed a chance to score a triple on the day!! Sehwag got out with still 21 balls available in the innings. He needed another 81 runs for a triple. Presuming he would have received a major percentage of balls, say 15 out of 21, it means Veeru would have required to score like so: 12 x 6 = 72. 3 x 4 = 12..total 84…Final score = 219+84 = 303…….easy!!!! Funny thing is, for any batsman other than Veeru, this exercise would sound like a joke and a mere mathametical possibility!!! To even consider, even in a light vein, that he could score a triple in a day is an acknowledgement of his genius. Mortals do not even get joked about such things..

    This innings shows that here is one player who plays independent of the situation. He plays within his own zone EVERYTIME he steps on to the field. Cricket is a very mental game. For a batsman to be unfazed so much as he is, unaffected by what goes on around him and stay pure to his art of stroke-making, is to me, the most amazing thing. In that, he is the Don of Batting…above every one, including even Viv Richards. And if any doubts, just look at his record of long test innings..Almost every time, he plays them completely devoid of any influence of the environment.

    Every time I see Veeru bat, it seems as if he is asking with every stroke of his, why is it so hard to understand that you have a bat in your hand to make runs??? Veeru’s art of batting is distilled to the purest form of making runs; something we know as children but forget as we grow up to be called matured batsmen. Much like a pure Ethanol distilled from many other mixed spirits. But this elixir comes with flavours that makes it easy on the pallet and a joy to be intoxicated with. As I write this, I can say, even the hang-over is enjoyable. Imagine a clone of Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar, and you get Virender Sehwag on song.

  • Malcolm, who are you Conning?

    Reading an interesting article by News Limited’s Senior Cricket Correspondent, Malcolm Conn in the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Sat, 6-Aug-11, just confirmed a few things I already know. Since this article is unavailable on-line, it is given below verbatim, in full, including two pictures.
    _________________________________________________________________________
     Why India doesn’t want to know about the technology that Australia can bring to Umpiring decisions: Malcolm Conn

    These photos prove why India has been using third rate technology as an excuse to stop video umpires ruling on the leg before wicket decisions.

    The photos (left) with the spars red dots highlights the cheap and inaccurate system the International Cricket Council used during the recent World cup, which raised India’s ire.

    The tightly packed white dots in the photo (right) shows the space age technology Channel Nine began using last season and will use again for the New Zealand and India series this summer.

    The system used by the ICC through normal television cameras tracked the ball 26 times on its journey from bowler to batsman. Channel Nine’s new technology, using six high speed cameras and fibre optic cable, tracks the ball 130 times on the same path, offering far greater accuracy. Nine now uses Eagle Eye, which is twice as good as the previous Hawk Eye and far superior to ICC’s third rate system.

    Executive producer of Nine’s cricket coverage, Brad McNamara, fears confusion this summer because the full system will be used in two Tests against New Zealand but lbws will be excluded for the following series against India. “It will be interesting to see what happens,” McNamara said.

    Ricky Ponting is baffled as the rest of the cricket world by India’s refusal to use technology that improves the accuracy of umpiring decisions.

    END OF THE ARTICLE
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    There you go…I am sure you will be surprised as much as I am to read some oxy-morons in above writing. By calling ICC’s current technology (or Hawk Eye) as third rate and THEN saying India is using it as an EXCUSE to prevent UDRS is a typical jaundiced-eye, chip-on-the-shoulder, holier-than-thou western writing born out of immensely undiluted acidic reflux, that simple people like me call “jealousy”. If the Hawk Eye is third rate (he has used that qualification twice in the article), then isn’t India’s stand on refusing to use it vindicated? D’uh?? Probably, Malcolm, that is what you also want to say, but something prevents you from saying? If the so-called high-profile writers are really keen to assess truth, won’t you expect them to ask that question to the businesses commercializing the technology or its inventors? Won’t it be logical to ask why Hawk Eye has NOW agreed to do more tests and generate data before ICC can accept it, only after BCCI and Indian team refused to accept it? I will tell you why. Because that would simply vindicate what Indian players and BCCI all along have been saying; that technology is still not fool-proof and they are correct in going with the on-field umpire’s decision!! Instead of calling that as the real spirit of cricket, Indians are being pole-axed, in writings and TV commentaries. If claims in Malcolm’s article are correct about Hawk Eye being third rate, it makes me wonder why all Pommy commentators on Sky commentary team in the current India-England series, are so keen to incessantly blame BCCI for not accepting that.

    Let me be very clear; I am seriously impressed with all the “space-age” technical mambo-jumbo about high fps (frames per second) pictures delivered by fiber optic cable and ball tracking capability increasing by 130/26 = 5 times!! Wow! That’s awesome, isn’t it? So Malcolm, could you please tell me what fps is required now, to make the on-field umpire redundant??

    I am yet to see hard core evidence that DRS of any kind, Hawk or Eagle, is fool-proof. And if not fool-proof, why not wait till more evidence is available? I will tell you why. Inventors need money to perform their experiments to generate data. By clever marketing gimmicks like these, all they are trying to do is get ICC and individual cricket boards to cough up the money to fine tune their “third rate” technology. What they do with that technology after it is developed sufficiently to be commercialized for other uses, is no concern of cricket boards or ICC. The commercial exploitation will line up the business’s pockets. Hey, here is a gravy train. Let us jump on it; poor old cricketers who are now writers or commentators of some reputation, and those who have missed the gravy train, just can’t resist this, now can they? And who would blame them? Of course for poor, all believing simpleton cricket fans like me (don’t know about you), it is all in the interest of improving the game….oh yeah??

    Don’t get me wrong; I am no techno-phoebe. Quite the contrary; for a person who had not seen a computer, let alone use it, till the age of 37, I am pretty good at taking up technology. (if this blog is any evidence). I love the idea of incorporating new technologies to improve the game. However, being a scientist, I like to see experimental data under controlled conditions. Malcolm doesn’t give any proof to his claim in this article, that “Channel Nine’s Eagle Eye is TWICE as good as the Hawk Eye, and far superior to ICC’s third rate system”. I am sorry, mate, I can’t understand. If the ball tracking along the path is 5 times more (130 to 26) than ICC’s third rate Hawk Eye, isn’t it 5 times more efficient? Modest Malcolm, certainly sounds oxy-moronic! Perhaps Eagle Eye has some data somewhere, but they are not comfortable in releasing/publishing that as yet. Perhaps by utilizing the big guns of the fourth estate (and fifth, being TV) they are aiming to obtain sufficient funding for their project? Cash for Comments? Those of us who live in Australia and are avid fans of yak-back radio, would surely recognise the syndrome, won’t we??

    If I was a Hawk or Eagle Eye inventor, first thing I would do is to publish that data to get confidence of players, officials and fans like me. I am yet to see that.

    You know what, Malcolm, you have still missed the most important point in all this. Improving the ball tracking efficiency is great. What I fail to understand, is how does it improve PREDICTIVE PATH of the ball AFTER it has been intercepted by the batsman? What algorithms are used to extrapolate that path? Try and pitch the ball with the same energy (or pace) on same spot on day one and day five wicket, and I am sure it will travel differently; bounce and carry will vary significantly. Even when the ball hits either seam or the leather sides, it travels differently, from the same spot on the same wicket. That is one reason why top quality cricket is played on turf and not synthetic wicket. That is why we have been lamenting so much in recent times that cricket has become so much of a batsman’s game, as wickets are now covered. That is why labels like “Flat track bullies” are applied to recent high scoring, record breaking batsmen when compared to past greats like Bradman, Hobbs or Hadley. Also, if a bowler bowls with a loose or cocked wrist, the ball travels at different pace after hitting the wicket. Often the ball swings after pitching in certain conditions. How will the so-claimed space age Hawk or Eagle Eye totally dependent upon the software algorithms, be able to pick up all of that?

    At the end of all these arguments, I believe a well trained/experienced umpire’s brain is the best available technology……still! Yes, they can be helped to some extent, by some technology to take the pressure off them. I like the ball pitch map, that tells an umpire without any doubts whether the ball pitched within the critical area or not. I am not convinced that an umpire’s decision about the predictive path of the ball after it has been intercepted by the batsman, will be any less accurate than a set of high tech, high fps camera feeding the optic fibre and a computer. If all the technology was better than a well trained human brain which can re-calibrate it self after every ball, using the available information (as compared to a static software that needs input from data interpreted by a human), then why do we need human umpires??? No balls, number of balls bowled in an over, bowler or a batsman transgressing on playing area; all that can be done better by a machine. So umpires will be required only to listen to the quality of sledging and enforce what is bandied around these days as the spirit of cricket? So human umpires will become Cricket Cops? You, all of those who seriously swear by DRS, can you imagine how robotic the game will be? OK, you may argue, as long as correct decisions are made. Fair enough. However, is there a guarantee that even with the best available technology, 100% correct decisions will be made? That is why I still prefer Rauf Eye or a Taufel Eye over a Hawk Eye or an Eagle Eye.

    You know what, being humans, we will forgive a human error, some times, eventually; but not a machine. Believe you me, if we have machines controlling games, it will become far more acrimonious because there will be claims that machines are more easy to manipulate than humans. With the kind of high tech mambo-jumbo, not every one’s cup of tea to understand and control, the power of controlling the outcome of a game will shift into the hands of a handful of technicians, who instead of representing ICC and game, will be representing the commercial businesses owning/operating the technology. We saw how DRS was either manipulated or erroneously used in recently concluded  India V West Indies series, when the technician could not (or did not) produce correct replay frame to confirm that Dhoni was out of a no-ball!! How did the so called space-age technology help there? If you ask me, machine-run system in totality, is far more susceptible to manipulations than a human umpire.

    Dickie Bird, the best ever umpire who stood in international cricket, in my opinion, is not fond of the UDRS. There has been a war of words between Ravi Shastri and Nassar Hussain in recent India-England series about the use of DRS, that clearly indicates to me, that not every one is enamoured by this, as yet. However, many Indian journos and fans have opined that Shastri’s use of word “jealousy” was a “tantrum”; some going to the length of calling Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar, BCCI “chamchas” or “pitthus”. Fact of the matter is, a majority of fans (prominently Indian fans) are sold on the marketing gimmick by Hawk Eye or Eagle Eye, without realising that there is not enough data presented to us; if it has been done to players, umpires and cricket boards, I haven’t heard about that yet. Hot Spot (Infra-red camera), the so-called fool-proof technology has proved to be not necessarily so, if we are to believe numerous comments made by the English past players and commentators on various media including tweets, that VVS Laxman survived a clear caught behind as hot spot failed to show up. And what about a totally unnecessary controversy that Vaseline can be used on the bat to create a cool-spot to cheat the Hot-Spot camera? The inventors have, since, confirmed that this is not possible. Hopefully, their inference is not driven by economical factors. Interesting thing, though, is that the reason why the whole of the Pommy Land was convinced that there was a nick, was due to a noise caught on the Snickometer. Wow! The same snicko, which till then had been considered LESS believable than Hot Spot!! How does that work? Why not, even once, did any Pommy commentator mention that the noise could be a creaking bat handle rather than an actual edge, something that was bandied around at every possible inexplicable “woody” click on the Snickometer, before Hot spot was used ? (If it was and I did not hear, my apologies)

    You know what, the answer is simple, that is, if you bloody care to ACCEPT it. Poms and Aussies will always talk about only that evidence that helps their team….PERIOD!! Michael Vaughn even went to the length of calling a gentleman cricketer like VVS, who in these days of gamesmanship is like a long extinct dodo’s tail, a cheat. Poms have been so riled for long, by cheat label that was stuck on John Lever in Vaseline affair, that they have been itching to return the serve. To me, that is the real Colonial mentality!!!!

    Don’t get conned by these senior players, commentators or even so-called writers like Malcolm Conn. They are not one eyed…..they are plain damn blind to any thing that is not in the favour of their team….Don’t you remember that cry from our childhood days…”Aapni tukdi Zindabad” (આપણી ટુકડી ઝિંદાબાદ)?? Our team always wins!…….and to talk about the Spirit of Cricket, in the same breath….GIVE ME A BREAK!!