With India gearing up for a do-or-die battle at Sydney which begins less than 24 hours from now, the call to have Sehwag partnering Dravid is gaining momentum.
After Steve Waugh (http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2007/12/steves-team-will-have-sehwag-partnering.html), Javagal Srinath has asked the team management to let Sehwag partner Dravid at the top in a match, which India simply can’t afford to lose.
‘’Given the nature of the surface at the SCG, Sehwag and Rahul should be opening the innings. Sehwag was not only a great hit with the bat on the last tour, but can be very handy with the ball, on a turner like SCG,’’ writes Srinath in his column by Hawkeye/Chivach Sports.
Srinath is convinced that ‘’At present, Rahul needs an aggressive opening partner to complement his style of batting.’’Sehwag should be happy indeed.
If he gets in and scores, there won’t be a better new year gift for him and the Indian Contingent. His selection in that case will turn out to be as inspirational as Ganguly’s inclusion in the Test team for South Africa at the fag end of 2006.
In between, there were two adverse developments for the Indian squad, gearing up to take on Australia.
India’s best batsman in the 1st Test, Ganguly is down with fever though the team management believes that he will be fit in time for the second test. One does recall seeing Ganguly in discomfort during India’s second innings.
Hopefully, he will have recovered sufficiently to bat for long if India are to bat first tomorrow. They simply can’t afford to lose a batsman in form.
The second bad piece of news has been the nature of the pitch. In a story titled ‘’Pacy strip confuses India,’’ the Times of India says ‘’the virgin wicket at the SCG is not quite a spinners’ paradise, but has a bit of grass no it and the ball will carry nicely to the wicketkeeper.’
However, the nature of the pitch should concern only the Indians who are banking heavily on their best attack, which comprises two spinners. The Australians will hardly be bothered, as they have form as well momentum going on their side.
Showing posts with label Sourav Ganguly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sourav Ganguly. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
A broken bat, that could mend Indian hearts
But Ganguly will need to keep it safe. The Australians now do know what this bat means to Ganguly, and they just need to separate the two.
A very interesting PTI story in the Hindu.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200712251821.htm
A very interesting PTI story in the Hindu.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200712251821.htm
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Soaring Hopes and a Mission not Impossible
Media Watch Dec 18
India’s departure for Australia was the biggest news in Indian Newspapers today.
''Indians fly off Down Under with Soaring hopes in tow'', was the headline in the Indian Express as the paper quoted Skipper Kumble that the experience of previous tours will come handy.
His optimism was reflected in his comment that ‘’We have the potential and the players to win the series.
Blog's Take: However, while the batsmen in the team have over 30,000 runs collectively, over 10,000 more than what they had when they toured last, they are also older by four years. The reflexes may not hold this time round against Lee and Tait. The last chance missed (in 2003-04) may well have been their last chance.
Meanwhile, Laxman was as down to earth as he has ever been, as he talked about the Australian potential.‘’They are the best so it is pretty simple that you have got to give your best against them,’’ he said. Jaffer too said that ‘’It will be a big test for me’’.
Blog's Take: Surely, and he will also need stability at the other end whether it is Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvraj or Karthik opening the batting with him. It takes two to tango. Noting illustrates it better than the exploits of Sehwag-Aakash Combo which had set the tone for the last series.
HT, well they headlined it ‘’Mission: Not impossible’’. However, the paper did say that the lack of more than one warm up match before the first test will be a big problem for India. The Times of India simply said ‘’Team off to Oz, looking to make history.’’
Blog's Take: Kumble and company can be justifiably aggrieved. With so much at stake, the issue needs to be addressed quickly. Players are not machines that they keep on performing relentlessly at the big stage in completely different conditions without adequate preparation. The absence of that opportunity to get tuned into conditions does make it a mission impossible for a team still grappling with batting combinations at the top.
In the Times of India, there was an interview with Sourav Ganguly where he said that India had done better outside the subcontinent in last six-seven years compared to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In fact, he used the word ‘’wonderfully well’’.He felt that this knowledge of beating West Indies, Pakistan and England in away series and drawing with Australia last time, will help India immensely. He also quoted India reaching the final of ODI World Cup in 2003 and winning the 20-20 Cup as among the important factors.
Blog's Take: Ganguly has shown that he has the skills to go with the guts. A tremendous skipper, India will look at Ganguly for the kind of inspiration he showed in the recent series against Pakistan. Mission may not be possible, but that is possible!
India’s departure for Australia was the biggest news in Indian Newspapers today.
''Indians fly off Down Under with Soaring hopes in tow'', was the headline in the Indian Express as the paper quoted Skipper Kumble that the experience of previous tours will come handy.
His optimism was reflected in his comment that ‘’We have the potential and the players to win the series.
Blog's Take: However, while the batsmen in the team have over 30,000 runs collectively, over 10,000 more than what they had when they toured last, they are also older by four years. The reflexes may not hold this time round against Lee and Tait. The last chance missed (in 2003-04) may well have been their last chance.
Meanwhile, Laxman was as down to earth as he has ever been, as he talked about the Australian potential.‘’They are the best so it is pretty simple that you have got to give your best against them,’’ he said. Jaffer too said that ‘’It will be a big test for me’’.
Blog's Take: Surely, and he will also need stability at the other end whether it is Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvraj or Karthik opening the batting with him. It takes two to tango. Noting illustrates it better than the exploits of Sehwag-Aakash Combo which had set the tone for the last series.
HT, well they headlined it ‘’Mission: Not impossible’’. However, the paper did say that the lack of more than one warm up match before the first test will be a big problem for India. The Times of India simply said ‘’Team off to Oz, looking to make history.’’
Blog's Take: Kumble and company can be justifiably aggrieved. With so much at stake, the issue needs to be addressed quickly. Players are not machines that they keep on performing relentlessly at the big stage in completely different conditions without adequate preparation. The absence of that opportunity to get tuned into conditions does make it a mission impossible for a team still grappling with batting combinations at the top.
In the Times of India, there was an interview with Sourav Ganguly where he said that India had done better outside the subcontinent in last six-seven years compared to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In fact, he used the word ‘’wonderfully well’’.He felt that this knowledge of beating West Indies, Pakistan and England in away series and drawing with Australia last time, will help India immensely. He also quoted India reaching the final of ODI World Cup in 2003 and winning the 20-20 Cup as among the important factors.
Blog's Take: Ganguly has shown that he has the skills to go with the guts. A tremendous skipper, India will look at Ganguly for the kind of inspiration he showed in the recent series against Pakistan. Mission may not be possible, but that is possible!
Monday, December 17, 2007
What Bishan Bedi never said!
Well he never said that the 1990 Indian team be thrown into the sea!!
In a TV programme Sunday Night, Bishan Singh Bedi clarified that he had never said that the Indian team should be thrown into the pacific ocean after a narrow loss to Australia.
Speaking on Cricket Controversies programme on NDTV Sunday night, Bedi, the Indian coach then, said the comment was wrongly printed and actually what he said (after a humiliating loss) was that if somebody wants to commit suicide by jumping into the sea, he won’t stop him!
Unfortunately, his anguish, with little touch of humour, became a reckless comment by the time it reached the countrymen and created one of the biggest verbal turmoils in Indian cricket.
His wife, also on the programme, said that while people may have thought of Bedi as aloof and arrogant at times, he was only being frank and forthright.
In fact, Bedi has been forthright and candid (read outspoken) throughout his life (as player, coach and columnist) which was evident when he objected to Vaseline 'abuse' by Lever during England's tour of India in late seventies.
A year earlier at Kingston, to protest against West Indies immoral intimidation he had declare India's second innings rather prematurely.
However, Bedi's wife did say that at times she felt that his criticism of Sourav Ganguly was little harsh and in arguments with her husband on Sourav, she often defended Sourav and asked Bedi to be soft on him!
Interestingly, Atul Wassan, a pacer on the tour, jokingly pointed out that Bedi, in zest, had told them during that tour, after one bad performance, that make sure that if your performance is not good on the field, at least is it good off the it!
In a TV programme Sunday Night, Bishan Singh Bedi clarified that he had never said that the Indian team should be thrown into the pacific ocean after a narrow loss to Australia.
Speaking on Cricket Controversies programme on NDTV Sunday night, Bedi, the Indian coach then, said the comment was wrongly printed and actually what he said (after a humiliating loss) was that if somebody wants to commit suicide by jumping into the sea, he won’t stop him!
Unfortunately, his anguish, with little touch of humour, became a reckless comment by the time it reached the countrymen and created one of the biggest verbal turmoils in Indian cricket.
His wife, also on the programme, said that while people may have thought of Bedi as aloof and arrogant at times, he was only being frank and forthright.
In fact, Bedi has been forthright and candid (read outspoken) throughout his life (as player, coach and columnist) which was evident when he objected to Vaseline 'abuse' by Lever during England's tour of India in late seventies.
A year earlier at Kingston, to protest against West Indies immoral intimidation he had declare India's second innings rather prematurely.
However, Bedi's wife did say that at times she felt that his criticism of Sourav Ganguly was little harsh and in arguments with her husband on Sourav, she often defended Sourav and asked Bedi to be soft on him!
Interestingly, Atul Wassan, a pacer on the tour, jokingly pointed out that Bedi, in zest, had told them during that tour, after one bad performance, that make sure that if your performance is not good on the field, at least is it good off the it!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Do not get too carried away by Yuvraj's form
Certainly it was a tremendous 169 which catapulted India to a position at Bangalore where the worst thing that can happen to them is a draw.
Certainly it was a knock played under extreme duress; with India reeling at 61 for 4 and Pakistan threatening to finish them well under 150 or 200.
Certainly, he could be the most talented batsman in recent times never to have got his due.
But do not get carried away by Yuvraj’s display today and try and force his inclusion at the cost of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly or Laxman. At least not till the Australian tour is over.
In Tests, Yuvraj has been a tremendous performer on the subcontinent pitches, and that too just against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Before the innings of 169, two of his hundreds and three fifties had come only against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He was averaging 57 from six Tests against Pakistan with two hundreds and a fifty, and 51 against Sri Lanka with two fifties.
Against other opponents, Yuvraj has never been able to average more than 25 runs per innings, and that has been disappointing even considering the fact that he never had a secure place in the test team.
Against Australia, Yuvraj has just 47 runs from two tests, against England 64 from two, against New Zealand 25 from one match, against the West Indies 104 runs from four matches and against Zimbabwe, 37 from two.
He is one of the few top class batsmen, who has played 15 tests and over 100 ODIs, with ODI average at 37 being more than the test average (33).
So do not get carried away. Praise his knock but do remember his record against other opposition, outside the subcontinent, and the two chances he got yesterday.
This talented batsman does deserve a place, but only if Dravid consents to open the innings on the Australian tour. He should certainly not be in at the cost of any of the big four in the test playing eleven for the Australian tour. That will put so much pressure on him.
Certainly it was a knock played under extreme duress; with India reeling at 61 for 4 and Pakistan threatening to finish them well under 150 or 200.
Certainly, he could be the most talented batsman in recent times never to have got his due.
But do not get carried away by Yuvraj’s display today and try and force his inclusion at the cost of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly or Laxman. At least not till the Australian tour is over.
In Tests, Yuvraj has been a tremendous performer on the subcontinent pitches, and that too just against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Before the innings of 169, two of his hundreds and three fifties had come only against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He was averaging 57 from six Tests against Pakistan with two hundreds and a fifty, and 51 against Sri Lanka with two fifties.
Against other opponents, Yuvraj has never been able to average more than 25 runs per innings, and that has been disappointing even considering the fact that he never had a secure place in the test team.
Against Australia, Yuvraj has just 47 runs from two tests, against England 64 from two, against New Zealand 25 from one match, against the West Indies 104 runs from four matches and against Zimbabwe, 37 from two.
He is one of the few top class batsmen, who has played 15 tests and over 100 ODIs, with ODI average at 37 being more than the test average (33).
So do not get carried away. Praise his knock but do remember his record against other opposition, outside the subcontinent, and the two chances he got yesterday.
This talented batsman does deserve a place, but only if Dravid consents to open the innings on the Australian tour. He should certainly not be in at the cost of any of the big four in the test playing eleven for the Australian tour. That will put so much pressure on him.
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