Posts from — March 2005

Sourav Ganguly has been the butt of numerous jokes in the last few days…

People calling him prefer to hold the line if he’s just gone in to bat. Kids are taught to boil instant noodles for the amount of time Ganguly spends at the crease. People wonder why Ganguly puts on zinc cream (as a sunscreen) when he goes out to bat…

I don’t think it’s fair to heap scorn on someone who’s led India to most number of Test wins… but then, I can’t resist this…

21, 12, 12, 1, 2, ??

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Rarer than the tigers at Indian tiger reserves, is another endangered species… right here in Mumbai!

Maharashtrian taxi drivers.

It has been a long time since one was sighted in the wild (for the streets of Mumbai are a jungle!). You will find the ubiquitous ‘North Indians’ - a term exclusively reserved (in Mumbai) for biharis and bhaiyyas, in plenty. You will also come across numerous muslims driving taxis. And nowadays you may occasionally find a burly Sardar (a huge climbdown from the old days when a Sardar driving a taxi was a common sight on Mumbai streets). But a Maharashtrian taxi driver… umm, well… forget it!

So, if you come across one, make sure you treat him with the same sense of wonder as you would a tiger in Sariska.

With the inclusion of a Theme Switcher plugin, this blog features multiple themes. A list of assorted themes will now be available on the sidebar. Choose the one you like and enjoy your time here!

In case, you come across a good looking Wordpress 1.5 theme that you’d like to see here, please let me know.

Note: This post formed itself in my head as I was travelling to work listening to the match commentary on radio and was written moments after Sachin Tendulkar fell to a Shahid Afridi delivery.

With Pakistan almost certain to square the Test Series by cleaning up the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up on Day 5 of the Bangalore Test, some of my friends and colleagues have questioned the logic of my previous post. How could we have possibly pressed for a win with such a huge total to chase on a rough pitch that was taking sharp spin, they asked.

Well… I don’t have to answer their question. The Indian top-order has answered that question very clearly… though at the cost of facing defeat!

Check out the dismissals and you will see that almost all the wickets fell to defensive shots. With a cracked and turning pitch and an entire day to contend with, defence is never the safe option. It is only time before a ball hits the cracks and rears up, defeating even the most compact of defenses! Also, it is only time before a short pitched ball from a spinner hits a crack and scoots shin-high under the bat and hits pads squarely in front of the stumps.

It’s a high-risk game… playing defence on a spinning track! Moreover, an ultra-defensive batsman will find himself surrounded by fielders staring him down. And this strategy lets the fielding captain dictate the course of the game!

On the other hand, reflect on why Virender Sehwag, Younis Khan or even Rahul Dravid have been successful in this series. It is because they’ve been positive in their approach. Positivity does not mean reckless shots. Even Sehwag hasn’t been reckless in this series. A positive approach is a tendency to look for runs rather than trying to defend one’s wicket. And runs may not always come in the form of boundaries. Sehwag and Gambhir’s partnerships have been studded with quick singles. And we know how Younis Khan and Yousuf Youhana ran the Indian team ragged at Kolkata with their running between the wickets. Dravid’s tons at Kolkata had everyone marvelling at the positive approach he showed by taking every opportunity to score runs. Once a batsman starts looking for runs, it puts the fielding captain on the backfoot. Fielders around the bat disappear one by one and the defensive shots carry a lot less risk even on a mis-behaving pitch.

This is exactly what India needed to do today! If it had showed its intent on scoring runs, there would have been a passage of play when Inzy would’ve been forced to ask his bowlers to bowl a negative line to stem the flow of runs. But, instead, Indian think-tank opted to guard their wickets letting Inzy go all out on the attack. And the result is there for all to see!

In the end, everything comes down to this day - the final day of the third Test match between India and Pakistan (‘05 tour) at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

From the looks of it, India can afford to relax, having already ensured at Kolkata that it cannot lose this Test Series. And of the three results possible today, India would settle for two of them - an outright win or a draw, as both would ensure a series win. But at the same time, Pakistan would (or should) be okay with two of the three possible results too - a win or a loss (a loss would be okay since a draw would anyway mean a lost series!).

Will India go for a win or will it just play out a draw?!

In my opinion, India should not think about a draw in the first two sessions at all! It has two incentives to go for a win…

1. India was the pre-tournament favourites, and by a long way. But Pakistan’s resurgence has taken them by surprise. However, history remembers results. Hence, a 2-0 series win would keep the favourites tag intact for all posterity.
2. A 2-0 win would take India to the second place in the ICC Test rankings. And that would be a huge achievement for Sourav Ganguly, who is under fire for his lack of form. If you ask me, Ganguly should grab this as a chance to hit back at his critics!
3. Did I say two incentives?! Well, there’s a third one too!! John Wright will, in all probability, quit after the Pakistani tour. The Indian team should be looking to give Wright a victory as a parting gift… after all, it is under Wright’s management that the team has emerged as a strong and consistent performer in world cricket!

All said and done, this should make for a memorable day of Test cricket! I am keeping my fingers crossed!!