There were fleeting displays of brilliance in the first two tests from Sachin Tendulkar – who is still in search of the vaunted 100^th international ton – but he has consistently fallen short of imposing his will. Rahul Dravid, magnificent in England when no one around him rose above mediocrity, has looked grotesque every time he’s batted in the series. That he’s been bowled, often through the gate, in each of the tests doesn’t help either. But with Dravid it has never been only about technical perfection – some of his greatest innings have, in fact, lacked textbook purity. It has been his ability to come on top through a mighty struggle against all adversities, whether it is playing on the wickedest of wickets or against the fiercest of opposition that has been his most outstanding quality. In Australia, not only has his batting looked ugly, but he’s also seemed incapable of rising above some of these adversities. V.V.S. Laxman, one of cricket’s most artful match-winners, has scarcely made runs away from home in the last two years, and his celebrated hand-eye coordination is certainly not what it once was. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have likewise been less than ordinary lately – yes, India have struggled for many years to find a consistently good opening partnership, but the pair has been anything but consistently good in recent times.  Away from home in the last three years, Sehwag averages a meager 32.55, while since the beginning of 2010, Gambhir has recorded only a single century, averaging just 32.05. Numbers can of course be misleading, but these are certainly not figures that help teams win test matches.

The time for mere introspection has passed. The time to enforce a seamless transition has also passed. Where youngsters could have once been eased into the eleven, they now need to be thrust into it. Laxman’s place in the pantheon of greats may be assured, but it has been reported that he may not even make the team for the fourth test at Adelaide. It shouldn’t have come to this; he has performed a terrific service to Indian cricket, and in the ideal circumstances he would deserve a proper farewell. But there is no place for sentiment in sport, certainly not when you are down 0-3 in a four match series. It continues to baffle the mind that Rohit Sharma is yet to make his test match debut – had the transition been more structured, he’d have been playing a pivotal role in this series. But regardless, he must be given his chance in the fourth test in place of Laxman, whether or not Laxman chooses to retire. Ajinkya Rahane, Sharma’s teammate at Mumbai, who has made oodles of runs in domestic cricket, must also be accorded a place in the team. This, though, would entail a tougher decision of dropping one of Sehwag, Gambhir or Dravid – something, which I doubt, the authorities would be prepared to take responsibility for.

The root of India’s problems, though, goes far deeper than issues of selection, and is entrenched in the shortsighted, supercilious attitude of the B.C.C.I., exemplified by its president, N. Srinivasan’s reported remarks after the defeat at Perth: “Next New Zealand is coming to India and it will be followed by England and Australia. We will beat these three teams on our own soil. They cannot beat us here and we will feel very happy.” That the president of India’s cricket board is willing to virtually forego its games away from home shows the incredibly myopic vision of the game’s governing authority in India.

This is a real pity for India is not lacking in talent, certainly not as far as the batting – which has been in shambles in Australia – is concerned. Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Abhinav Mukund, Subramaniam Badrinath and Cheteshwar Pujara have all performed with aplomb in domestic cricket, and certainly deserve a sustained chance at the highest level. Dravid’s performance in 2011 – in which he scored five test match centuries – notwithstanding his display in Australia, perhaps, indicates that he still has runs left in him. But if he is to be retained, he must be pulled down the order, and Virat Kohli – who showed that he has the temperament for test cricket with his displays at the WACA – must be allowed a continued run at one-down. India also needs to think of Rahane and Mukund as viable successors to Sehwag and Gambhir, who cannot be carried on for too much longer solely on the basis of their reputations. Sachin Tendulkar in whatever time he has spent batting in Australia still easily looks India’s best batsman, but nobody should be considered bigger than the team, not even Tendulkar. I am not suggesting that India should, at once, axe Tendulkar and Dravid, but if you’re going to suffer such mammoth defeats as India has in Australia, you might as well do so with youngsters in your team.

Just as worrying as the batting displays has been M.S. Dhoni’s captaincy. Dhoni has always had a laid-back, casual approach to the job – when it works he looks cool and brilliant, and when it doesn’t he looks unconcerned and uninspiring. But the demeanor apart, neither has he looked like a good leader of men nor has his tactics been up to scratch. That he’s batted like a hapless tailender hasn’t helped either. Virender Sehwag who is the vice captain for the current tour has never showed any interest in the job, and in any event his form with the bat scarcely helps further his case. Gambhir is, perhaps, the only other contender, but his batting form has been worrying too, and his long-term future in the side is by no means settled. This then leaves us with Virat Kohli – who for all his indiscipline – has, since his Under-21 days, been considered as a future captain. In recent times, transition to test match captaincy has generally occurred via the ODI path. There has indeed been nothing to complain about Dhoni’s performance as captain in the shorter format, but assuming India wants to prioritize test cricket – which it admittedly doesn’t, but nontheless – it may not be the worst of ideas to consider Kohli, at first, for the ODI vice-captaincy with a view to him taking on the job in the not-so-distant future.

In a series in which the batsmen have given the bowlers so little to play with, it may be unfair to heap much blame on them, but Ishant Sharma’s form, in particular, has been worrying. The verve and the talent that the displayed the last time he was in Australia has been completely non-existent. It is difficult to point a finger at the exact reasons for Ishant’s decline, but none of the consistency in line and length that he once displayed has been evident. Umesh Yadav, while terrific in phases, does not have the reliability of a James Pattinson, who is three years junior to him. That said, Umesh’s raw pace and aggression means that his bowling can certainly be worked upon. What India doesn’t want to see, though, is a regression on lines akin to what Ishant has gone through. Zaheer Khan still retains a lot of his magic, particularly when bowling with the old ball, but it’s doubtful he has too many years left in him. Sreesanth and R.P. Singh who have played important roles for India in away victories have fallen by the wayside, but it is encouraging to see that Irfan Pathan is beginning to make a comeback into the side. Managing the fast bowling group is far harder with the depth in India’s coffins not as rich as its batting talent. But the BCCI’s decision to pick a fast-bowling pool and identify bowlers who would form the bench strength has been one of the more encouraging ones in recent times.

For the average Indian fan, the displays in England and Australia have been far more disappointing than the consistent mediocrity of the early nineties, where the expectations on the team, at any rate, were lower. As daft as it sounds, India went into both these tours as genuine contenders, but perhaps, the team has needed these poundings to grasp the malaise that has slowly been building up. But all things considered, if these defeats do result in relatively wholesale changes, as they should, India are certainly in for an exciting, even if, potentially, painful phase. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the finest young batting talents in the world and I am looking forward – as I am sure many others are – to see their fruition as test match batsmen. The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

***

Edward Cowan’s batting today was an absolute pleasure to watch. It was a really good, old-fashioned test match innings. He was composed and assured throughout; left the ball superbly well in the first session – a high art that we don’t get to see often enough these days – allowing, first, David Warner to get on with the scoring and then, Ricky Ponting. But once the Indian bowlers began to waver with their length post lunch, with the sun beginning to shine, he opened up with a blaze of gorgeous drives, cuts and pulls, particularly off Umesh Yadav. Much like Michael Hussey, he sometimes has a tendency to pull off the front foot, with his weight transferring backward at the very last minute. And for someone who leaves the ball so well, he did show a propensity to drive away from his body, albeit displaying fine judgment of length on every such occasion. All in all, though, a compact and proper test match opener who should dovetail beautifully with David Warner in the future. This, though, could mean that when Shane Watson is fit and back in the team, he is likely to drop into the middle order.

***

Zaheer Khan – with his fitness shrouded in doubt – cut a leaner figure, but his bowling in the first two sessions was substandard at best. He did start well, however, maintaining a fine line to Cowan, but the debutant displayed tremendous patience to get through the testing phase. After lunch, Zaheer was shockingly poor, bowling without any pace and dropping the ball far too short, allowing Ponting and Cowan to break loose easily. Post tea, though, with a hint of reverse swing in the air, Zaheer was a different beast – suddenly there was a greater spring his step and the pace was upped. Bowling from around the wicket to Michael Clarke, he used the crease ever so cleverly, getting the ball to dip in and causing Clarke, who thought he had the room to cut, to drag on. The very next ball, Michael Hussey was cut to ribbons by an absolute snorter that took off from a good length, but was unlucky to be given out by Marais Erasmus – the ball had clearly missed the bat, striking Hussey’s shirtsleeve en route to the keeper. The 6-over spell served as a lovely pointer of Zaheer’s value to the team. India certainly needs a substantial, consistent contribution from him, if they are to harbour any hopes of winning the series.

***

Umesh Yadav was terrific in some phases – bowling with pace and extracting bounce off the wicket – and tripe in others – bowling far too short and wide. He went through a particularly torrid period post-lunch, when he struggled to hit the right length, leaking runs aplenty to Cowan and Ponting. He does, though, have a unique knack of bowling wicket-taking deliveries with remarkable regularity and it was this skill, which kept India in the game for large parts of day one. Just when it looked like David Warner could cost India dear, after he had raced away to a typically effervescent start, Yadav produced a quick, short delivery that Warner top-edged to M.S. Dhoni, first ball after a brief rain delay in the morning session. Shaun Marsh, batting at one-drop, fell soon after, edging Yadav’s full and slanting delivery to point. After lunch, however, Yadav dropped the ball far too short, and Cowan and Ponting capitalized with alacrity. After a spell of sustained dominance from Australia, though, Yadav came back into the attack to snarl Ponting, who edged a beautiful, quick delivery that nipped away off a length to V.V.S. Laxman at second slip. It was no doubt an inconsistent showing from Yadav, but the potential was there to be seen.

***

It took until over number 65 for the inevitable debate on the DRS (decision review system) to be ignited. Erasmus’s decision to rule Hussey out was clearly egregious and Virtual Eye showed no mark on Hussey’s bat. This was a particularly terrible decision, an obvious error that required reversal. I still think a system needs to be put in place whereby errors of this ilk can be reversed, but a microcosm of the problem with the system as is proposed – and as has been applied in many series’ – was evident a few overs later when Cowan was ruled caught behind, by Ian Gould, off Ashwin. To begin with, there seemed little doubt about the decision – there was a clear sound and Cowan certainly seemed to have nicked it, yet Virtual Eye showed no mark. It may well be the case that Cowan didn’t in fact edge the ball, but Virtual Eye has hardly proved itself foolproof, thereby triggering an element of doubt. Indeed we need a reliable system – and a uniform one at that – to help review obvious errors made by umpires, but the technology currently in place fails to pass muster.

Especially when, by its very nature, T20 and more so, the IPL, is hit and giggle fluff that one watches to forget.
Especially, when one has written off this IPL as a travesty and a sham on this website (in the comments) and tried to popularize the #iplsucks hashtag on twitter.
Especially when one has no connection, emotional or parochial, to any of the teams in question.

Why would anyone want to watch the highlights of an IPL match?

I did. Today. For the first time ever, of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala v Deccan Chargers match.

May I advance two pieces of evidence in my defence?

Exhibit 1

A friend and me were talking cricket yesterday and he wistfully remarked that he’d like, just for once, to be able to see an Indian bowler glide into the crease, leap like a gazelle and swing the ball at 90mph into the batsman’s stumps. Repeatedly. Both of us having no memories of Kapil Dev in the pomp, we couldn’t do more than remind ourselves of Perth 2008, when Ishant Sharma suddenly turned into a lanky, Indian Dennis Lillee. Minus the magnificent mo.

Our hopes for the future were small. Injuries, loss of form, general insanity and an unmanageable workload were slowly breaking down our brightest fast bowling hopes, or worse, turning them into workaday seamers.

Exhibit 2

You don’t expect to be woken up at 11.00 p.m. in the first stages of REM sleep by a phone call from your father excitedly asking you if you were watching the match.

Who? What match? It’s the IPL. Why would I be watching it?

He describes to you the sequence of wickets falling, barely stopping to catch his breath as rattles off the fall of wickets (1-0, 2-1, 3-1, 4-2, 5-6, 6-11!!!) and then goes on to describe the scorecard at one stage (0,4,0,0,0,)

It’s the IPL, who cares.

Then he says something about Ishant Sharma, five wickets and fast bowling and it just about registers in your brain.

uhuh. Right.

It was something else, he says. It was beautiful. He’s lost for words. There’s the sound of someone who’s seen something remarkable and amazing and is struggling to find the right words in about two different languages to capture it. He gives up after a point of time.

You go back to sleep.

In the morning, you wake up, see the scorecard, and realize that Ishant Sharma has caused complete mayhem. You want to see the highlights now.

It. Is. So. Totally. Worth. It.

Right from the start you are treated to an RP Singh special. Bounding in from over the left-armer’s over the wicket, he pitches it perfectly on the good length, on middle and off and swings it in, just enough to beat the batsman’s prod, hit him on the pads but not too far to be missing the long stump. LBW. In front.

2007. That was when we last saw RP at his best. In that match against South Africa and right through the World Cup in South Africa he bounded in, got the ball to pitch middle and off and made the ball swing both ways. At pace. He was the Next-Great-Left-Arm-Swing-Bowling-Hope after Zaheer Khan seemed to fade away and Irfan Pathan disappeared right off the map. Zaheer’s back now, and Irfan’s still gone, but there was always, and remains, hope for RP.

Next and most stunning of all, was Sreesanth bowling for the Kochi Tuskers. Bowling at full tilt and swinging the ball away from the left hander he was more than a handful on this pitch.

And he was in full control of his emotions.

Then he unfurled, undoubtedly, the ball of the match.

Bowling over the wicket to the left hander (Kumar Sangakkara), he got the ball to land on a good length on the left hander’s off stump and knocked out middle stump. Through the hard-to-discern gap between bat and pad. Kumar Sangakkara is easily one of the best left handers going around these days, but even he stood no chance against this gem of a ball.

Except, it was a no-ball.

Amazingly, Sreesanth, sporting a sane haircut and a lot less bling, showed no emotion this time as well, as he walked back to his mark and continued his spell.

Sreesanth and RP’s spells were only the set up. The opening gigs to Metallica. The hors d’oeuvres to a grand entree.

Ishant’s spell.

He was fast, he was magnificent, he was brutal.

Hair streaming behind him, his bling swaying from his neck as he ran into the crease with all the intent of a particularly vicious velociraptor. Sure, he won’t win any Michael Holding prizes for the smoothness of his run up, but the same intent and venom was evident.

In his first over, he picked up three wickets. Three balls that the best batsmen, on the best of days would have been hard pressed to keep their wickets intact to.

The first landed on a good length and took off as Parthiv Patel, all of five-foot-nothing, fended off ungainly and could only feather an edge to the ‘keeper. You may blame the pitch, but when a six-foot-five seamer lands it on a length and at 145kmph, you’d want to credit the bowler on that. 2 down for 1

The next was the mirror image of Sreesanth’s pearler. On the right handed batsman’s off stump line and curling in, beating the batsman completely for pace. Raiphi Gomez (who’s the spitting image of Salman Butt) probably doesn’t face this kind of pace in the Plate League of the Ranji or any of India’s first class tournaments, and the look of surprise was understandable. Three down.

Brad Hodge, on the other hand, is from the complete opposite end of the quality spectrum from Raiphi Gomez, having been oh-so-close to selection into the great Australian team of old. He was stunned by the full length inswinger that slammed into the base of his stumps. He looked around like a man who’d just seen a monster. Four down.

Another fast and furious one does for Jadhav in the next Ishant over as he can’t get his pads out of the way. Five down.

Next comes another pearler. On a good length, around off stump, would have been hitting the top of off stump if it didn’t take off like a rocket and aim for Mahela Jayawardene’s body. He fended off, in the same manner as Parthiv, only to get the edge to Sangakkara, in the same manner as Parthiv. Six down.

Few batsmen acknowledge that they’ve been beating by great bowling. Mahela looked down at the pitch as though some untamed demon lay there. He said as much in the press conference. But when really pressed (hah! a pun), he wouldn’t deny the brilliance of Ishant’s spell.

5 for 12 and he only bowled 3 overs.

This from the bowler who looked exhausted and jaded the last one saw him playing for India and struggling with injuries that kept him out of the World Cup.

What one saw was not just another good bowling performance. It was something glorious.

Three young, fast bowlers, sprinting into the crease, leaping in full rhythm and unleashing terrific spells of fast swing bowling. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will be on anyone’s list of all-time greats and they were blown away by the bowling (or at least would have been but for a no-ball).

The brilliance and the sheer visual spectacle of this still defies words.

And this was just the highlights.

Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene conjured centuries of differing style if equally fine merit in the quarter-final and final respectively, but India emerged as the winner on both these occasions without any of its batsmen reaching the three figure mark or any of its bowlers scalping a substantial portion of the wickets. Likewise against Pakistan in the semi-final, it was an amalgam of exceptional fielding from almost every member of the team and a collectively excellent performance from all the bowlers that won India the tie. This is in stark contrast to the World Cups between 1983 and now, in which the team has relied, almost solely, on individual performances for success.

In 1987 as defending champions, playing at home, India was a much-fancied team, but in the semi-final against England, the bowlers wilted, allowing Graham Gooch to sweep his way to a marvellous 115 and in reply, barring a fine, stylish hand from Mohammad Azharuddin the team yielded without a whimper. In 1992, India failed to make the semi-finals, with its victory against Pakistan – a team to which it has never lost in World Cups – the only bright spark. In the next edition, held in the sub-continent, India was amongst the favourites, even though the side was virtually a one-man army, which was perhaps the cause of its undoing. Sachin Tendulkar had a magnificent tournament, but when he fell for 65 against Sri Lanka in the semi-final, the team capitulated under the pressure of the chase, albeit on a deteriorating Eden Gardens wicket.

1999 again contained many moments of individual brilliance – most notably Rahul Dravid’s and Sourav Ganguly’s partnership against the Lankans at Taunton and Tendulkar’s hundred against Kenya, a day after he had returned from India to complete his father’s funeral, but the team lacking in verve and imagination, succumbed in the decisive fixtures. It defeated only Pakistan in the Super-Six, failing to qualify for the semi-finals.

In 2003, no doubt, India had an excellent tournament. But in the final it surrendered to a combination of a masterful showing from Australia and its own lack of command over the situation – blatant over-excitement amongst the players, exemplified by that infamous first over from Zaheer Khan. Inside the opening exchanges of the game, India had the wind knocked out of its sails.

Four years down in 2007, as Alok mentions, the World Cup was altogether forgettable, memorable neither for notable individual showings nor for the team’s performance – an embarrassing exit ensuing at the Group stage.

The recently concluded World Cup, though, as I mentioned earlier, may not have contained many moments of statistical individual brilliance, but in displaying wonderful skills collectively, the team has, as a group, captured our imagination. In the tournaments between 1983 and 2011, what we remember are those solo displays – whether it be Tendulkar’s 97 against Pakistan in 2003, Ganguly’s and Dravid’s partnership at Taunton in 1999, Ashish Nehra’s 6 for 23 against England in 2003, possibly even Sunil Gavaskar’s only ODI century, a 103 that came, wonder of wonders off a mere 88 balls against New Zealand in 1987, to name a few. But in the years to come, when we look back upon the triumphant 2011 campaign, it is perhaps the team as a collective which we will remember – an incredible achievement indeed.

]]> http://www.criticaltwenties.in/sport/an-incredible-journey/feed 4 http://www.criticaltwenties.in/sport/india-versus-england-gripping-yet-flawed http://www.criticaltwenties.in/sport/india-versus-england-gripping-yet-flawed#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:43:57 +0000 Suhrith http://www.criticaltwenties.in/?p=2529 As narratives go, the tie at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore between India and England was as compelling as any. The sides scored 338 runs each in a match that remained on tenterhooks for much of its duration – especially in the final over in which England needed 14 runs to secure victory – and gave this World Cup its first thriller. But let’s not get carried away in the resonance of the tale – by calling it a great game – and ignore the teams’ respective deficiencies that was, in the first place, responsible for providing the game with the grip that enraptured the viewers. No doubt, the batting from both sides made for a fantastic sight – but the plaudits must be tempered in light of the poor quality of bowling and fielding that was on display.

We watch sport for a variety of reasons and a riveting story is often what we search for. In that sense, this game fulfilled our needs – constantly remaining on a knife-edge. But when you cut through the brilliance – admittedly there was a lot of that, especially from the two centurions, Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss – you are left to grapple with lots of dismal performances in the field. Easy catches were dropped, misfields were aplenty, the lines from the bowlers – barring Tim Bresnan – were wayward and the captaincy and the field settings from both M.S. Dhoni and Strauss lacked verve and imagination. All of this, while contributing heavily to the narrative, certainly did not make for pretty viewing. So to say that the contest was ‘a perfect advertisement’ for the one-day game – which it may well be, considering the general obsession with runs – veils the quality that both teams lacked.

On current form, regardless of their batting prowess, it looks unlikely that either India or England will be in contention towards the end of the tournament. Unlike test-matches, one-day games can, no doubt, be won on the strength, purely, of a team’s batting. But World Cups tend to be different – might in a single department has never been sufficient to lift the trophy. At least England was missing Stuart Broad, who is easily its best limited overs bowler. India had no such excuses. Its bowling – barring a brief yet stirring spell from Zaheer Khan – was uninspired and consistently poor, outdone in its sloppiness only by the fielding. India must, therefore, consider the option of playing five bowlers, a buffer that is necessary on sub-continental pitches for teams lacking sufficient bowling quality – an option that is particularly viable in India’s case, considering the strength of its batting. This would, of course, mean that one of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir or Yusuf Pathan would have to be excluded; not an easy decision by any means. But the exigency of the situation calls for a bold move and in view of the form of Kohli (not to mention his fielding skills), Yuvraj’s usefulness with the ball and Pathan’s undeniable match-winning abilities, it may well have to be Gambhir who makes way.

Gambhir is a fine one-day batsman, whose worth to the team is undeniable. Yet, in a squad filled with as many batting stars as India’s is, it is inevitable that one of them will have to miss out. India could learn from Spain’s football team, which for much of the 2010 World Cup, started without Cesc Fabregas, favouring the more defence minded Sergio Busquets in the interests of team-balance. Winning a World Cup is no easy feat. And it certainly won’t be possible if sentiment is preferred over pragmatism.

1. Pick the bowlers that suit the conditions

Pitches in the subcontinent, contrary to general perception, are not all slow, dry and low. Different grounds across the stretch of the region tend to produce surfaces that are varied in subtle yet vital ways and therefore, part of M.S. Dhoni’s job will be to rotate his bowlers to suit the playing conditions. Where possible though – except on pitches that have a clear propensity to aid the quicker bowlers – Dhoni must try and incorporate two frontline spinners in his line-up, for spin is clearly India’s biggest weapon. With Harbhajan Singh’s position in the Eleven considered unassailable, Piyush Chawla and Ravichandran Ashwin will vie for the second spinner’s spot. Chawla’s exemplary form in India’s two warm-up games coupled with the fact that Ashwin like Harbhajan is an off spinner, could see the leggie make the cut. If Chawla is preferred, a case may also be made for Suresh Raina to be included in place of Yuvraj Singh, considering that India will have a full-time spinner who can turn the ball away from the right-handed batsmen. Some believe, rightly in my opinion, that Raina should play ahead of Yuvraj, in any event, based on his superior batting record in the subcontinent in recent times and his excellent fielding skills. But that said, Dhoni seems to view Yuvraj’s bowling as a key cog in the present set-up and he is unlikely to drop him unless his performances are monumentally poor.

Additionally, the opponent’s team composition must also be considered before choosing between Chawla and Ashwin. Against teams littered with left-handed batsmen, Ashwin should be the preferred option. And if Ashwin is picked, Yuvraj, perhaps, irrespective of his batting form should be fielded to lend variety to the bowling attack.

2. Use Yusuf Pathan as a Floater

It is crucial that Yusuf Pathan’s destructive ability as a batsman is used to its maximum potential. Pathan looks to be at his most dangerous when batting at number seven, but India mustn’t fall into the trap of pigeonholing batsmen into set positions. He should be used as a floater in the order and must be accorded enough time to inflict the most severe damage upon the opponent. Pathan, perhaps, doesn’t need the aid of a power-play to do his thing, but it wouldn’t hurt to ensure that the batting power-play is used, if possible, when he is in the middle.

3. Use the Third Power-Play with Purpose

The third power-play – a stretch of five consecutive overs to be selected by the batting team when not more than three fielders can be placed outside the 30 yard circle – has rarely been used with ingenuity. Very often we see teams waiting until at least the 40^th over, and in some cases even until the 45^th over, before calling for the power-play. This may be sensible in some cases, but when a team is seven or eight wickets down, the batsmen at the crease are ill-equipped to make the most of the situation. If India can use the option creatively, even between the 15^th and 20^th over where the situation so demands, it can add exponentially to its batting totals.

4. Endeavour to pick wickets in the middle overs

India got many of its strategies wrong in the disastrous 2007 World Cup where it crashed out in the group stages, of which the bowling tactics in the middle overs, particularly, bordered on the ludicrous. The spinners were sought to be used as mere containing acts and the middle overs were seen as a time to check the flow of runs, with the team rarely looking at wicket-taking options. What ensued, though, were neither wickets nor an improved economy rate. (Here is a table which shows that the economy rate in the middle overs during the 2007 World Cup was directly proportional to the number of wickets picked) The spinners, therefore, need to be utilised as attacking weapons and as we saw in the practice games, nothing works like wickets in containing the run flow.

5. Place the right fielders in the right positions

In a recent address at Calcutta, Sir Vivian Richards and Steve Waugh both opined that the best fielding side will win the World Cup. For India’s sake, one hopes that their prophecies don’t come true. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina – who may not feature in the Eleven – are the only world class fielders in the Indian squad and it is quite improbable that the team would be among the better fielding sides in the competition. That being the case, Dhoni needs to ensure, perhaps more than most other captains, that he gets the right fielders in the right positions. The likes of Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Yusuf Pathan and even Sachin Tendulkar, are poor ground-fielders, which means that Dhoni will have a great deal of hiding to attempt. But unless an effort is made towards that end, India can wave its chances of lifting the Cup, a big goodbye!

1. South Africa v Australia Semi-finals 1999

Without question, the greatest of chokes in all of World Cup history. Having restricted Australia to a paltry 213 South Africa were odds on favourites to win until a fat blonde bowling leg spin went to work on their minds. A healthy 53/1 was quickly turned into 183/7 when their man of the hour (and ultimate man of the series), Lance Klusener kept his wits and hammered boundaries to drag them closer to victory. Then, with one run needed of four balls, this happened. Watch the video again. You can almost hear the frenzied voices in Allan Donald’s head go off when Klusener hits the ball. At least that is the only explanation one can give for the the initial freeze and then the mad and futile (not to mention, batless) run to the other end for a ball hit straight to short mid on. This match was the ultimate example of why one can never hope to say with a straight face: “Even South Africa cannot lose it from here…”

2. West Indies v Australia Semi-finals 1996

After an up and down tournament West Indies seemed to have finally gotten a golden chance to make the finals again after having upset (who else, but) South Africa in the quarters and needing only 43 runs to win off the last nine overs against Australia in the semis. Oh and they also had eight wickets in hand. That they lost from where will tell you nothing about the brainlessness and stupidity behind their cricket in the next half an hour. Batsman after batsman came in, tried to hit his way out, handed over his wicket… only for the next batsman to come in and do exactly the same. All the while Captain Richie Richardson, stuck at the other end, frantically pleading (practically going down on his knees and begging) with the batsmen to show some sense and hand him the strike. The rest of the West Indian batsmen politely declined.

3. India v Sri Lanka Semi-finals 1999

It is still seen as something of a national tragedy, a great humiliation, etc etc, but take a step back and you’ll realize this one was up there with the all time great chokes of the World Cup. From having the opposition to at 3 for 35 and letting them get to 250, all the way to cruising at 98 for 1 and then collapsing to 120 for 8, this was a choke of ginormous proportions and make no mistake about it. Naturally, the Kolkata crowd were less then amused.

4. South Africa v Sri Lanka Group Stage 2003

I could have filled in half of this list with South African World Cup performances between 1992-2007, but that would be unfair to the less well known chokers of the cricket World Cup. However, it is no great surprise then that South Africa’s Duckworth Lewis Method inspired choke (in front of a home crowd that too) finds mention here. This particular choke is unique in that it is perhaps the only mathematics based choke on this list. One can almost hear the collective howl of rage in the dressing room as Mark Boucher firmly pats back the last ball to Muralitharan confident in the assumption that they have enough to get over the D/L par score. They needed one more. They forgot to tell Mark Boucher.

5. South Africa v Australia Semi-finals 2007

By 2007, even the South African team believed that it was going to choke sometime between the end of the Super-Eights and the finals. They did. In the semi-finals. To (who else, but) Australia. Faced with Glenn McGrath and Shaun Tait, a much vaunted South African battling line mustered all of 149 runs between them and saw the Australians rack up the runs in about 30 overs.

6. West Indies v India final 1983

It’s probably taboo to say it; (but say it I will) India’s one World Cup win came courtesy of a massive choke. See, the West Indies were the form team since about 1975, and in 1983 they were expected to win the tournament again hands down. They too expected to win hands down. Just that they forgot how to. Batsman after batsman kept getting out in the belief that someone after them would get them to the paltry 183 but somehow no one seemed to realize that Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd get to bat only once in an innings. It was the finals, against one of the weaker teams, on a hot streak no doubt, but with Balwinder Singh Sandhu opening the bowling? Come on! They should have won it at a canter.

They didn’t. And the rest is well… you’re living in it now, so you know.

7. England v Australia finals 1987

When you’re cruising to victory in a World Cup final, no matter how rubbish the bowling is, YOU NEVER REVERSE SWEEP. Thanks to England’s almighty choke in this match, everyone knows this sacred maxim. Mike Gatting, on a roll, cleaning up Australia and taking England to a comfortable win, gets a little too comfortable against Allan Border. He decides to reverse sweep gets an edge to the keeper, and like the seasoned World Cup losers that they are, England promptly go on to collapse in a heap. Australia climbed out of nowhere to win the World Cup, and Mike Gatting ate humble pie. Lots of it.

8. Pakistan v Australia finals 1999

Thanks to Pakistan, this mostly unloved edition of the World Cup ended as it began; a damp squib of a contest. After a thrilling semi-final and a resounding Pakistani win in the semi-finals, an almighty clash of the titans was expected. Instead, Pakistan woke up, realized they were in the World Cup finals again, panicked and threw it all away in a limp and spineless display the likes of which weren’t seen…

9. India v Australia finals 2003

… for four years at the next World Cup. In 2003, after a rousing World Cup campaign where India beat all comers (except Australia) the finals against the all-conquering Australia was (once again) touted as an almighty clash of the titans. Except of course, India managed to choke at the toss. A limp bowling and batting display followed but in fact, after Ricky Ponting’s one handed six, we all sort of figured the match was over as a contest.

10. England v India Group Stage, 1999

In front of their home crowd (as defined as those who managed to pass the Tebbit test) England were on the verge of being kicked out of their own party. They needed to win this match against India to stay alive in the World Cup and keep a bit of interest alive. They were up against a team that had itself choked spectacularly against Zimbabwe but had come back strongly to keep their Super-Six hope alive. All the cues were set up for a thrilling game and a close contest. Of course it was a match involving England. Of course they choked. Of course they got kicked out of the World Cup. Even before the official song was released.

11. India v Bangladesh/Pakistan v Ireland group stages 2007

I really couldn’t decide which was the worse choke between the two, but considering the fact that both happened on the same day in the same tournament, I feel compelled (and in the interests of Indo-Pak comity) to jointly hand this place on the list to both India and Pakistan. The tournament format had been changed to give teams an opportunity to get kicked out of the World Cup earlier than before. Guess which teams took this glorious opportunity?

For the Indian fan, the agony of watching India stumble and fumble against Bangladesh was set off by the delight at the sight of the Irish pouring cold Guinness on Pakistani hopes ( I’m sure the opposite was also true for Pakistani fans that day). The ensuing Bangladesh-Ireland Super-Eights match was one more reason the 2007 World Cup will go down as probably the worst ever, thanks to the great sub-continental choke. (This is also perhaps the only choke to be attributed to a coach’s death; one would think Greg Chappell was happy he just got fired.)

As has already been pointed out in painful detail, the World Cup is really not going to get going till we reach the quarterfinals at least, but we can be sure of at least a good choke or two. Will India misunderstand the UDRS, panic and lose by 10 runs? Will Australia finally make their entry into the above list with a performance straight out of this winter’s Ashes? or will South Africa surprise us all… and find a new and hitherto impossible way of choking in the semi-finals? Again?

I can hardly wait to find out.

His innings in the 2003 final is often overlooked in favour of Ricky Ponting’s bludgeoned 140, perhaps rightly so. But frequently forgotten is that Martyn was the one who got to his half century first – in spite of a six over handicap – the one who provided the impetus to a partnership that set the tone for a victory of resounding brilliance.

The nine editions of the World Cup have provided many excellent batting performances. The nature of the shortened format, though, has usually meant that an innings constructed with graceful ingenuity is reduced in its prettiness by grotesque hitting that is seen as a necessity in the slog-overs. Martyn’s elegance, however, was never cheapened by the layout of the game – he could make a swish over extra-cover look like a stroke from Picasso’s paint-brush. That he played the 2003 Final with a broken finger was never apparent. A batsman couldn’t have looked calmer at the crease.

If one were to generalise, Australian batsmen would fall into a prosaic category, ‘the gritty and the determined’. But the country has also been blessed with some of the most artful batsmen in the history of the game – Doug Walters, Greg Chappell and Mark Waugh to name the finest of a class, in which Martyn, most definitely belongs. Peter English once wrote that ‘Martyn can make Mark Waugh’s strokes look ugly and hurried.’ The knock in the 2003 finals explicitly paraded the truism in English’s words. It was compiled with a perfect amalgam of crafty placement and sublime timing. Martyn played the spinners so late, almost after the ball had passed him, and yet not once did he look ruffled. Although punctuated by seven fours and a six, the hallmark of the innings was the manner in which he found the gaps off the spinners, rotating the strike with metronomic ease – an aspect of the game that is often ignored in highlights packages. The pick of his boundaries was a six over extra-cover off Zaheer Khan – a graceful six if ever there was one. He may have eventually only played second-fiddle to a rampant Ponting, but there was enough in his innings to leave an indelible mark in my mind. We will be lucky if the upcoming World Cup produces a performance half as elegant as Martyn’s was.

Vijay’s first innings century was probably valuable. Zaheer and Sreesanth’s reverse swing in the second possibly useful, as were the spells of spin bowled by Harbhajan and Ojha. Pujara’s second innings fifty was also significant I guess, but as far as the bigger picture is considered, I was responsible for India’s win in the Second Test.

Ok… me and God himself who scored the double century and the fifty.

Fine… God, me and the sixty thousand odd Bangaloreans who turned up to watch this Test Match over five days.

I’m not being immodest here! Captain Dhoni himself acknowledged my efforts at turning up for the game! I humbly accept the thanks of a grateful nation..

Today’s game wasn’t as close as the Mohali Test, and the match as a contest virtually ended with those two identical strokes by Tendulkar off two consecutive balls from Hauritz. These were no Sehwag-esque slogs and there was no element of brutality in them whatsoever. It was just Tendulkar in such imperious form that he could got down on one knee and send the ball sailing over the deep midwicket boundary with a graceful arc of the bat. Those shots killed whatever hopes Australia had of creating some pressure with a wicket or two as their shoulders dropped when they realized the impossibility of getting past Tendulkar’s blade on this day. The rest of the day after that was basically a formality.

A fifteen year jinx was finally broken. For fifteen years, Bangalore/Bengaluru hosted Test matches without giving the Indian team a taste of success. In each of these Test Matches, Bangaloreans turned out in their thousands on all the days and cheered their team on to little or no avail. The closest India came to a victory at Bengaluru in the last fifteen years was when an unlikely combination of cloudy weather and Anil Kumble bowling seam up nearly dismantled the Pakistani batting, only to be stopped by bad light.

The reports of Test Cricket’s demise are greatly exaggerated of course. At least in India. Sure, the smaller cities like Mohali, Nagpur and Kanpur have struggled to fill up their vast stadia for Tests there, but recent games at Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Chennai have seen packed houses on most days of the match. It’s probably no co-incidence India has won the latter matches in thrilling encounters. A 30,000 strong crowd getting behind the players is probably the difference between winning and losing (or drawing) the match in such tight games.

Not that the following for Test cricket has diminished in India.

Take a walk through any market or crowded place on a Test Match day and you will find dozens crowding around TVs and radios eagerly following the scores. Go to offices with internet connections and you will find workers surreptitiously following the score on cricinfo while pretending to be deeply engaged in work. Should God himself be batting or the chase get exciting the numbers multiply manifold and all productive activity seems to come to an end.

For sheer drama, Test cricket is unrivalled by any sport and the Indian cricket fan knows it. Test cricket fans aren’t restricted to any one demographic and any region. Nothing demonstrated this better than sitting in the stands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. One saw retirees with binoculars and grim expressions who can possibly verbatim recall the commentary on the day Gavaskar made his debut. One saw families with children in tow, fathers patiently explaining to the children (boys and girls, mind you) the intricacies of the game and the significance of proceedings. One saw young men (and no small number of young women), taking a break from work or college to relax and enjoy themselves in the stadium, rooting for their heroes and providing the atmosphere so necessary for the game. It being Bangalore, one heard a smattering of different languages in all directions, Kannada dominating of course, but excited commentary in chaste Tamil and loud cheering in Hindi making their presence felt!

Much as the luminaries of other sports complain, cricket continues to be a national obsession, and on the evidence of the last few days, probably a good one at that.

A Coda:

A young man who’d just finished college and gotten an offer from a top IT firm wanted to watch the game in Bengaluru with his friends to celebrate. On the day before the Test, he bought his tickets from the stadium counter, and headed home on his two wheeler. Minutes from home he met with a terrible accident and passed away on the spot, the tickets still in his pocket and unstained.

His family was (and probably continues to be) in great shock at the loss of someone so young. To console himself and cherish his son’s memory, his father wrote a letter to his son’s hero, Sachin Tendulkar, explaining what had happened and asking for a small memento; a photograph of his son, autographed by Sachin.

The match had already begun and tight security meant it was going to be difficult to get the letter and the photo to Tendulkar. Fortunately, the brother of the bereaved father was an ex-Ranji trophy player and he happened to be in Bengaluru. The letter and the photo were handed to him with instructions to get it to Sachin in any way possible before he left Bengaluru. Eventually, the letter found its way to Ravi Shastri and on the fourth morning of the match, with Tendulkar 9 runs from a double century, Shastri managed to catch hold of Sachin and hand over the letter and the photo, briefly explaining the situation.

Sachin nodded, briefly looked at the letter and went up into the dressing room.

At around lunch time, the ex-Ranji player got a call to come up to the India dressing room. There, Sachin handed over the autographed photo, with a message to the family expressing his condolence at their loss, and also handed him an autographed India cap that he wore during the match.

He kept the letter.