Indian Cricket- Time for some introspection

I know I am writing this blog after a really long time. But I have made a promise to myself that this blog will continue from here on. Another reason I am compelled to write this blog is due to GOD’s presence on the cricket field (aka Sachin Tendulkar). His innings of yesterday was as good as one can see in the modern era. The only irony was that India ended up loosing a match that they should have won. When you need 46 runs in 6 overs ( 5 of them were to be in batting powerplay) with 4 wickets in India, you shouldn’t be loosing. It’s not the first time that we have managed to throw a match away from such a position. In fact we have a history of doing so.

But lets look at what went wrong for India? Everything. If you take away Sachin’s 175 and assume he had scored an average 40-50, India would have been all out for 250 odd chasing a mammoth 350 against a depleted bowling attack. Yes we are ranked no. 2 in ICC ODI ranking. ( How every one wishes we were no. 1). When India can’t beat a second strung Australian team in 2 matches consecutively, should we be even No 2.?

The current India team is a mix of players who are high on success of a T20 world cup win and some IPL performances. Incidentally none of the players from India playing XI have a IPL century.

The young talent carries a T20 mindset is clearly visible. When ever Virat Kohli walks in to bat, it seems like he is ready to blow off the opposition. I have yet to come across an expression on his face or in his eyes which could give a message that today I am here to stay & play a composed innings and build a score. The same was the case with Yusuf Pathan. He survived the Indian team, thanks to some hard hitting in IPL 1.

Our weakest link today is bowling. Zaheer’s absence is a big blog and its showing. The Indian bowling attack is lead by Ashish Nehra who only seems to bowl well when bouts. He will have 1 good day and 3-4 bad days on the field. Then you have the curious case of Munaf Patel who it seems like wishes to be more comfortable in the dressing room rather than on the field. Yet he managers to make a come back.

The reality of Indian team away from the glamor of big money & IPL is that we are struggling to find youngsters who can play the longer version of the game (50 overs as well as tests). Barring Gambhir, and to some extent Suresh Raina,none of the new comers have been able to show consistency or the mental toughness in crunch situations. I will be surprised if we slip down a bit on our ODI ranking in coming few months.

Sehwag- Zero on Ten

Yes, that the verdict.

1. Extremely laid back captaincy.
2. Rash shot in first innings.
3. Worse shot in the second innigs.

He is the captain and an opening batsman. The Indian team has 2 full days to bat & try and save the test because they need a miracle to win it. With not many overs left in the day’s play, one would have expected more responsible shot from him. He should have also kept in mind that Gambhir is looking rusty in this match, therefore Shewag should have tried to protect his wicket.

But full marks to Daniel Vettori. I think if NZ win this match, my MOM will be Daniel Vettori. His aggressive field placement has only resulted in India following on. This was in extreme contrast to Indian field placement.

NZ bowlers just bowled in the right areas and Indian batsman offered chances, which the fielders caught onto, thanks to Daniel Vettori.

But Indian batsman did show some complacency.

1.Tendulkar tried to steer the ball to third man.
2. Dravid caught with a ball that swung away after pitching.
3. Yuvraj is still struggling with test cricket overseas. Plays away from the body to a swinging away delivery.
4. Laxman, bad shot very far away from his body
5. Karthik: Same story as Laxman.

Tomorrow’s Prediction:
I have a feeling that India will loose the test tomorrow itself. Indian team is under pressure and whenever they have played defensive cricket under such circumstances, they have not been successful.

But I am hoping that I am proved wrong. Sachin scores a double. Dravid/Laxman chip in with a century.

India V/s NZ- 2nd Test, Day 1

India is carrying the burden of winning the first test. They have been in similar positions during their overseas trip to Zimbabwe in 2001 & South Africa in 2006-07  when they had won the 1st test. But went on to either draw the series or loose it. So Mr. Dhoni & team will be under pressure to carry the form into the second test & not repeat the recent history( Let me rephrase it to Mr. Sehwag & team).

Yes, that was the news that Dhoni is out of the 2nd test due to a back injury & Sehwag will lead the side in Dhoni’s absence.

However it was a day when India had a mixed bag. Early breakthroughs & then disappointments along with some sloppy catching.

India did loose the early initiative. However full credit to Ross Taylor & Jesse Ryder. Ryder who has come back into the team with a nasty reputation has silenced his critics with back to back centuries. His performance so far in both the test matches doesn’t reflect his laid back persona that he portrays and Taylor who has had a bad time against Indian’s so far in T20 & One dayers did come good with a rusty century.

But bowling of Harbhajan Singh was a great surprise. For some one who took 5 wickets in his last test innings, he was a shadow of his previous performance. He didn’t flight the ball and was short in his length. It’s a known fact that if he can get early wickets, he bowls with a lot of sting, but with NZ @ 23/3, one would have expected Harbhajan to look at taking wickets.

Munaf Patel just proved that you are as good as your last performance. The way he bowled the last over, summarized things on his approach towards this innings. He lacked the aggression & focus to bowl the last over. Wonder what did he think in the last test match when he bowled the last over on the first day of the first test match.

However the concern maybe Ishant Sharma. He is a great bowler against the right handers when he can get the ball to seam both ways. However he looses this ability against the left handers.

I know Sehwag will be criticised for letting runs flow after NZ was 23/3, but I think the Indian Bowlers barring Zaheer did not have the consistency that they had displayed in the first test.

Other highlights of the day were couple of close chances which usually would be taken if they get stuck in your hand. Umprire Doctrove also played his part during the last hour of the play by judging Franklin not out when he had snicked the ball. No doubt it was a slight nick, the decision is such cases go either way.

Tomorrow, India will have a chance to come back into the game in the first hour, with some quick wickets and a NZ score of around 400. Anything over 450, India will have to pull the game back by scoring big and ensuring they don’t bat again.

Tomorrow’s update after the day’s end.