Tag: Dhoni

Playing Blind…India in England

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20101 Comment
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..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-2010Leave a comment

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..

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

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-2010Leave a comment
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.

Redemption! Jekyll and Hyde style..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20107 Comments
 Welcome to the real curtain raiser to the world Cup. What has gone before this, minnows bashing or champions breaking TVs, its all an entré to the main course. If Ponting or Dhoni was asked before the start of this World Cup, which captain they would love to avoid most till finals, they would have mentioned each other. The fact that they face up to each other today to decide who misses out on a berth in the semi finals, is an indication of how much under-par they have performed. Australia, though got drubbed by the Poms in test series, showed their opponents their rightful place in ODI series winning handsomely, and maintained their supremacy in the ODI ranking. India, who on the other hand came into this competition from a difficult tour to South Africa where in spite of their main players not participating, did quite well in the ODI series and certainly surprised their fans and opponents equally. While Aussies were coming from a high, Indians were coming home. And with their linchpins like Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir returning and their spinners likely to find more bite from the tracks, Indians were certainly fancied to prevail in all the games they played. However, typical Jekyll and Hyde Indian show has had most of the their supporters, including die-hard fans like me, hesitant to consider them as firm favorites. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the game, at least for some one like me who has a soft corner for both the teams and would have loved to see them play the finals. That way I would have been the winner!! Not to be…

Let us analyse this sans emotions.Take strengths of both teams first:

  1. India have perhaps the most robust batting line up of all. There are proven match winners and three out of top five have scored tons in this comp. Sehwag, Tendulkar are at the top of the leader board of individual runs. With 5 centuries between them in this comp, Indian batting looks settled.
  2. Indians will be playing at home; home crowds and home wickets. Things can’t get any better.
  3. As for bowling, their spinners will be a little more difficult to get away than on normal roads.
  4. For Aussies, their pace battery is formidable due to their air speed which can negate slowness of the wicket to some extent.
  5. Aussie batsmen, though not looking in great form at present, are proven champs.
  6. Typical Australian never-say-die spirit has always given its opponents something more to worry about apart from their skills.
  7. Australian fielding has always been top class, even when they carry some players in their 30s.. 

And now for the negatives:

  1. Indian batting has had two collapses that defies logic. Their opponents will try to exploit that.
  2. Indian bowling has, except for Zak and Bhajji to some extent, looked insipid and at times, lacking ideas. 
  3. And of course, Indian fielding is made up of some slow movers and some who would not be selected in an international side, if fielding was a criteria. 
  4. Last but not the least for India, it is also a home-pressure and incredible hype of winning at home and giving their favored son a deserving farewell. 
  5. Australian batting, on the other hand has so far looked superior on paper more than on the turf. So far no a single batsman has scored a ton.
  6. While pace bowling looks formidable, back up spin department looks innocuous. So potentially 20 overs of loose bowling if Indian batsmen can time their assault properly.
  7. Most importantly, Australia looks a disjointed unit at present with the skipper being under-fire more from his own side than any opponent. This has to be the most unhappy looking Australian unit I have seen with its skipper at his grumpiest!! Ponting’s “love-affair” with India is not making it easy for him to feel at home, which I believe, is affecting his performance.

All in all, it seems like both the teams are competing with each other in accumulating negatives more than positives. Don’t forget that these are no. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the world, even at present. So the competition is going to be fierce. The way I feel is, small things will make big difference tonight. Like those small edges eluding stumps or hands or falling short; those lofted shots falling in no-man’s land or slashes flying over keeper’s head for a four or six, or a stinging straight drive touching a bowler’s finger-nail and running out a well set non-striker, or a miraculous direct hit!! Cricket’s uncertainties are about to unravel tonight and will make this game a most memorable one….That most important commodity which has never been given its due in this great game, will perhaps play a signature tune tonight…that commodity called luck!! Mind may say something different but my heart says luck will be with India tonight! Even if Sehwag may not be found fit to play!!!

Perhaps for the first time, I feel Indian and Australian fans both are in the same camp; camp of uncertainty!! For a team that has held an ownership of this Cup for as long as Aussies have, it is definately a new territory.On the other hand, for India, a team playing at home, in their favourable conditions and coming off a reasonably tough but successful campaign, it is equally unexpected to be in the same position. Rarely India and Australia have been so level in ODIs. Hopefully the Jeckyl and Hyde nature of the Indian team will work its magic tonight in their favour!!! India will never get a better chance at redemption for the World Cup final defeat of 2003!!!

May the best on the day, win!!

L"axeman" Does it again..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-201015 Comments

Another symphony from Motzart of Cricket, Lax, the Axeman. And what a contrasting day of cricket it was yesterday. Even if you may not have watched it, I am sure you can imagine Laxman and Dhoni sharing a long pertnership (I think this is their first century partnership). Laxman’s silken touch sending the cricket ball to the fence without apparent power intersperced with Dhoni’s violent treatment, was like listening to a Ghazal and a Bhangra at the same time. I love melody and rythem both equally and it was fantastic to watch. So where is this test and India’s tenuous hold on the top ranking in the ICC test championship headed? I reckon, Indians will be able to force a decision in their favour even though the wicket looks nice to bat on. I believe you need to give lots of rotation to the ball on this wicket to create an impact; Bhajji and Mishra should be able to do so and with a lead of 347, put Proteas under pressure and share the series. At worst, Indians will be chasing ~50 in fourth innings.

Also, good to see Yusuf Pathan come into the ODI team. He seems to be in great form; remains to be seen if he can stand up to the pressure of playing against probably the best bowling side in the world, with the same confidence he takes into a Ranji game. I reckon he can. He seems to be that ever-elusive all -rounder, “poor-man’s Kapil” that his younger sibling gave me a glimps of being, at the start of his career in 2004. All those who listened to me know how certain I was about Irfan Pathan becoming that important all-rounder Indian test team so desperately needs. While Yusuf Pathan is still many miles from reaching there, I believe he has the capability and, most importantly, ATTITUDE to be there. He can fill in that spot at 7, given that the “Prince” Yuvraj Singh at number 6 has done very little in test matches to support immense faith placed by his captain and selectors. About time to give the Prince a bit of competition..

Imagine this; after two years, Indian test batting order can read like so: Shewag/Gambhir (1 & 2); Badri Nath / Murli Vijay(3), Virat Kohli/Suresh Raina (4), Laxman (5), Dhoni (6) and Yusuf Pathan (7). While it won’t be easy to replace Tendulkar and Dravid, above players if given enough exposure can at least give a start to a new order.

Care to share your late cut on this?