Is it time for a change?

When was the last time India won a test match outside of India? The answer is, against West Indies in 2011. That was the first series under the leadership of Duncan Fletcher and Dhoni. And it will be fair to say that the captaincy of M S Dhoni has gone downhill ever since Fletcher took over. In that particular series there was a glaring example of defensiveness when they settled for a draw when they could have gone for the kill with wickets in hand on the last day and the pitch albeit slow but devoid of any sort of cracks or demons.

Subsequent to that series, the Indians have played 12 tests away from India and have failed to register a single win. These losses have come against England, Australia, South Africa and even New Zealand who are nowhere near in the top rankings. As soon as a batsman settles down little bit, the field starts to spread. It happened in Durban when Kallis was batting on 20 or thereabouts and Jadeja was bowling his usual twenty twenty style which is to bowl at 90 kmph. AS soon as, Kallis hit two lofted shots, there was a Long on in place. Dhoni also seems to be a stubborn guy who is always reluctant to try and play with 5 bowlers. He showed that inflexibility time and again in the shorter format of the game where he elects to bowl first regardless of the pitch conditions. He is also averse to the idea of going with Amit Mishra who is a very good spinner in his own right.

Dhoni has failed not only to inspire his team but also to seize the crucial moments. In the second test at Trent Bridge in that 2011 series, England were reeling at 124/8 but still ended up winning the match. After the 0-4 loss down-under in Tests, Dhoni was quoted as saying that if there is a better replacement for the captaincy, he can come in. So the million dollar question is: has the time come for a change in the captaincy? I guess the answer is a loud and deafening yes. But do the selectors have that courage to take the initiative. Or will he be saved by the Veto power of India Cements chairman. Time will be the judge of that.

For now, let us consider the replacements available. Kohli will be the front runner as he has been the Vice Captain for quite some time and has the experience of leading the side at U/19 level. Pujara is another option but he has had a limited exposure in limited overs format. Although they can have it split between the both by handing over the reins to Pujara in the longer version and Kohli in the shorter varieties of the game; it has never been desirable or advisable. It has worked for a team like South Africa where they have continued with Smith in tests and made AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis the skipper in ODIs & T20s, respectively.

Part of the blame will go to Duncan Fletcher. He had taken charge of the team which was riding high on the World Cup win in April 2011. The wins at home will count for nothing as they were happening even before his term began. His main job presumably would be to make strategies and keep the team motivated right through the cricketing calendar.  It is perhaps too risky to change the coach with the next world cup being less than 12 months away but it will not necessarily be such a bad thing to happen. May be the time has come to find a suitable match for one of the toughest jobs in world cricket. A guy like Andy Flower could be worthy replacement.

Endulkar passes on the baton to generationext

November 15, 1989 marks the day when Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi. At just 16 years old, he only managed 15 runs in his debut innings being bowled out by fellow debutant Waqar Younis, but was noticed for how he coped with abundant bodyline deliveries by the Pakistani pace attack. It is November 15, 2013 and it looks as if he has played his last innings as West Indies seem to lack that hunger for one big cohesive effort to put up a competitive total on the board. It’s time to relive few of his most cherished test innings.

Not many know this but it was John Wright who prevented Sachin from becoming the youngest batsman to score a test match hundred at Napier in February 1990. His first century did come later that year at Old Trafford which coincidentally is the same ground where Shane Warne produced that ‘Ball of the century’ to dismiss Mike Gatting in 1993. On January 6, 1992, he scored 148 not out against hosts Australia at the SCG in the match which marked the arrival of Shane Warne. This particular innings of his was very much overshadowed by the double hundred scored by Ravi Shastri.

Sachin's good form persisted and in the 5th match of the same series against Australia, he slammed one more hundred, this time at the bounciest pitch in the world at WACA Ground in Perth. Two striking things came to the fore during the course of this innings of his. First, very rarely you would see a batsman from the visiting team scoring a hundred at Perth. And secondly, he adjusted beautifully from the lower bounce at SCG to the higher bounce at WACA. Many of his team mates regard this innings of 114 at Perth as his best knock.

Sachin was made the captain in 1996 and by now he was leading Team India from the front and was setting examples for all and sundry. Without showing the burden of captaincy, he scored 169 runs against the Proteas at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on January 4, 1997. Tendulkar and Azhar got together at 58 for 5 and began smacking the bowling as if they were playing a club game in the park. Perhaps he was inspired by meeting Nelson Mandela during the lunch break.

A year and a bit later came another gem from Sachin's bat on one of his happy hunting grounds. He appeared to be at the peak of his career during this phase and scored an unbeaten 155 against Australia on March 9, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He took the attack to Warne and company in such brutal manner that the great leg spinner could never recover enough from this assault. He unleashed a series of slog sweeps to counter the vicious turn and bounce being extracted from the rough. He turned the match on its head by that scintillating knock and allowed his skipper to declare the innings in time to bowl out the Aussies on the last day of the match.

Sachin produced another beauty at the same venue against Pakistan in the year 1999. He scored 136 runs in the second innings at the Chidambaram Stadium against the likes of Akram, Waqar and Saqlain. In a low scoring affair, he finds his team in a precarious position at 82 for 5 chasing 271. His battle with Saqlain especially, was a treat to watch for cricket lovers. He kept on going in spite of being handicapped by back spasms in searing heat of Chennai. India fell short by 13 runs in a close contest.

In the year 2004, we witnessed a different Sachin at SCG when he scored epic 241 undefeated against mighty Australians. It might sound strange but this particular innings of his was devoid of any covered drives. He kept getting out to this shot prior to this Test match and had decided to do away with it. It just shows the mental strength and the tenacity. This was his highest Test score yet.

Subsequent to the terror attacks on Mumbai, India played England in Chennai. And the master turned it into a memorable one. He made unbeaten 103 runs chasing down a stiff target of 387 on a wearing pitch on the last day and dedicated his 41st ton to all his countrymen. This innings came just few weeks after India faced one of its worst terror attacks. With Tendulkar’s ton, India smiled again.

And in 2010-11 tour of South Africa, he showed why he is known as a genius. He mastered the way to negate Dale Steyn’s out swingers bowled at more than 140 kph by standing outside of the crease. This innings of 146 at Newlands, was by far the best innings from his willow after he recovered from the Tennis elbow injury. Sachin, the bowler, has contributed too in achieving victories for his country. The two most famous ones being the 3 wickets on the last day at Eden gardens to beat the Aussies after that mammoth innings of 281 from VVS Laxman, and the 2 wickets at the Adelaide Oval which helped India bowl out Steve Waugh’s men for a small total to register an India victory after many years on Australian soil. His part time leggies bamboozled many including Moin Khan who got bowled by Sachin’s googly in one of the test matches in Pakistan. All we can say is that an era has ended with his retirement and it will be apt to say that he has passed on the baton to the next generation of batsmen like Pujara, Kohli and Sharma. Congratulations are in order for the little master for a fabulous career.

Can this team win the next world cup down under?

A simple answer to the question is yes. This team has that tenacity to do well in adverse conditions as they have shown in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. I do not think any Indian team has managed to win all the matches of a particular ICC tournament. There was an argument in sections of media that this team might be better than the one which won the World Cup in 2011. I think there is merit in this argument.

If you think about the heroes of 2011 World Cup triumph, a certain Yuvraj Singh will come straight to the mind.  He ended up with the Man of the Series award in the premiere ICC tournament. Zaheer Khan who finished up being the joint highest wicket taker alongside Shahid Afridi. Gautam Gambhir who narrowly missed being the Man of the Match award in that World Cup final played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Virender Sehwag who has been the fear factor for last so many years for the opposition bowlers. Harbhajan Singh, the turbanator, picked up the crucial wicket of Umar Akmal in the Semi final to turn the match in India’s favor. Does India miss these set of players anymore? I think not.

Let’s look at the guys who have replaced these yesteryear stars. Shikhar Dhawan is fast developing the reputation of instilling that fear factor for the bowlers around the globe. It only augurs well for Indian cricket. Rohit Sharma once again showing the kind of talent and skills he possesses with amassing 177 runs in 5 innings. He was overshadowed by the free flowing southpaw from Delhi who aggregated 363 runs in as many innings. Virat Kohli, the vice captain, collected 176 runs to continue his good run of form. These 3 players were in the list of top 5 run getters in the competition which has been a huge factor in avenging the short ball threat which was omnipresent in the minds of erstwhile players. All of these are terrific cutters and pullers of the ball emphasizing the importance of employing the horizontal bat shots to good effect.

Ishant Sharma often gets clobbered around in the final stages of a one day innings simply because he doesn’t have an effective yorker in his repertoire. Despite that he grabbed 10 wickets in the series with his nagging length and high arm action. He along with Ravindra Jadeja made the list of top 5 wicket takers in this edition of the event. Who would have predicted this at the beginning of the Champions Trophy? Jadeja was adjudged Man of the Match for his all round show with the bat and the ball. He has come up leaps and bounds in the shorter version of the game and he has the backing of the captain too. He became the highest wicket taker with 12 wickets at an average of 12.83 and economy rate of 3.75. He also contributed with the bat against South Africa in the closing stages of the innings as he did in the final against England. Astonishing feat indeed when you think that he was the only bowler to grab a five wicket haul in the entire tournament.

This win has come without any significant contribution from the skipper M S Dhoni. It is also a big plus as it tells the other teams that this team is a serious contender for the World Cup title down under in 2015. He now has the distinction of being the only captain in the world to have won all ICC trophies. The selectors also need to be congratulated for their foresight and fearless approach. Keeping in mind, the pace and bounce of the Australian pitches, the selectors will be well advised to make sure that the fast bowlers are given enough rest in between tours to keep them fresh for the Kangaroo sojourn as they are crucial cog in the wheel for that particular event. For now though, well done to Team India.

Brown Washtralia

First, congratulations to M S Dhoni and his team for putting up a pulverizing performance against the mighty Aussies. Secondly, I think we need to congratulate Sandeep Patil & Co. who seem to have managed to muster a lot of courage in taking some bold decisions after the catastrophe of losing at home against England. They dropped Zaheer Khan at the end of the series against England. That was the sign of things to come for the non-performers. They showed the door to Gautam Gambhir at the start of the series against Australia. And on the top of that, Virender Sehwag was also axed during the ongoing series after taking the lead of 2-0. That sends a strong message to the team that they will either perform or will perish.

Let’s look at the new faces that were brought in to replace some of the experienced players. Although Murli Vijay is not entirely new but he ended up at the top of the list of run getters in the series with 430 runs in 4 matches. He showed lot of maturity during his two hundreds at Hyderabad and Mohali. His leg side play reminds me of Mark Waugh who always relied on silky touch rather than brute force. If anything, he needs to tighten up his defensive technique as it will be tested in India’s next assignment in South Africa. He tends to hang back a lot and doesn’t come fully forward when the ball is pitched slightly further up.

Ravindra Jadeja is renowned as ‘million dollar baby’ on IPL circuit but he showed that he can be good enough in the longest version of the game too. This was second series for him and he had the backing of his skipper. He did not let him down or the selectors for that matter as he performed admirably with the ball in this series. He managed to take 24 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 17.45. I think he will be saying to his team mates that Michael Clarke is his bunny after dismissing him 5 times out of 6 innings. Not only did he bowled well but also fielded well. Keeping the long term interests of the team in mind, Dhoni would love if he becomes a full-fledged all rounder so that he can become a permanent fixture in the line up.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a debutante at the start of this series but he used his domestic experience to good effect on these unresponsive pitches. He swung the Mohali test India’s way with his triple strikes. He also provided the initial break-through in Hyderabad test and went on to take 3 wickets on what appeared to be batting wicket. He also quite capable with the bat as he showed in that partnership with his captain when Dhoni was going great guns in Chennai. It will be interesting to see how he goes in pacer friendly conditions in South Africa. He looks like a bowler who will not compensate swing for speed but sometimes at the highest level you need combination of both to make inroads in the opposition batting line up.

Shikhar Dhawan is a household name by now. He batted like a man possessed. In many ways, that knock of 187 at Mohali reminded viewers of Sehwag. If anything, Shikhar Dhawan looks to have a better footwork than his more illustrious team mate from Delhi. Such was his dominance that Allan Border, former captain from Australia, had to ask his fellow commentators, “Where were the Indian team hiding this young left hander”. It was the fastest century by a debutante which says it all.

Finally a word on Ajinkya Rahane. He got his chance after warming the bench for 18 months. He was slightly unlucky that he got to make his debut on a 3 day wicket. He could not score much on a pitch where spinners were ruling the roost but everyone knows what he is capable of. He should get more chance to shows his mettle. The selectors need to be lauded for their effort. They seem to have the right approach.

Selection Dilemma

The selectors have decided to go back to veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh again. It will be 100^th match if he is part of the final eleven and a second come back in less than a year. The selectors are not to be blamed for this one as there are hardly any new spinners on the horizon. Mumbai won the Ranji trophy yet again but there were not many five-for achieved by the spinners during the course of the premier domestic tournament in the country.

The advent of T 20 cricket seems to have had an adverse effect on the mind-set of the spinners. They wait for the batsmen to commit an error in the limited overs cricket and the same mentality is affecting the way they bowl in the longer version of the game. How many times do we see them deceiving the batsmen in the air these days. It’s an art long forgotten. Look at the way Parvez Rassol has performed with the use of the flight. He grabbed the headlines by picking up 7 for 45 against the Aussies on the opening day of their match against Board President’s XI.

In a move that is bound to send strong message to the players that non performer will not be spared by the selectors. Gautam Gambhir has lost his place in the squad. He has failed to reach three figures in his last 26 matches. Wasim Jaffer has been overlooked again and it appears that the door will remain closed for him as he is not getting any younger at 34. It will be little surprising if Shikhar Dhawan makes it to the playing eleven as M Vijay was part of the squad that lost to England not too long ago. Virender Sehwag is also facing the heat because of the indifferent form he has shown right throughout the season. Ajinkya Rahane may not be a bad choice for the openers slot should any of the others fails.

As far as middle order is concerned, Pujara has cemented his place with superlative scores under his belt. It will be his first series after getting married and the fans will be hoping that he continues his run of good scores. Sachin Tendulkar will be raring to go after his exploits in the domestic tournaments. Virat Kohli will be looking to replicate his performances of 2011 and 2012. The skipper, M S Dhoni, appears to be a different batsman in the test matches. Bowlers don’t fear him in test matches as much as they do in shorter versions of the game. Perhaps, it is time for somebody like Duncan Fletcher to remind him about the kind of skills he possesses. It will not be a surprise if Fletcher’s contract is not renewed as he has failed to resurrect the techniques of the batsmen especially on overseas tours.

Coming back to the team selection, Ravindra Jadeja gets another opportunity to showcase his all-round abilities. Pragyan Ojha will be handling the responsibility of bowling the bulk of the overs along-side R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. The fast bowling attack looks to be in shambles with the unavailability of the likes of Umesh Yadav & Varun Aaron. Ishant Sharma will share the new ball with Ashok Dinda most probably. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar gets rewarded for his good showing in the One dayers against Pakistan as well as England.

Both India and Australia are going through a transitional phase with quite a few of the players having retired. It will be interesting to see how the Aussies employ their fast bowling resources on this tour. It promises to be a great series. May the best team win.

Farewell Time

Sachin Tendulkar has announced his retirement from One day international cricket. We will no longer see him in India blues, but the little master, as he is affectionately known in the cricketing world, will continue to be seen in whites in the longest format of the game. It was way back in 1989 that he arrived on the scene as a child prodigy, under the captainship of Krishnamachari Srikkanth, and made a mark in an exhibition match by hitting Abdul Qadir out of the park.

Not many know that Sachin had gone for the MRF pace foundation camp as a cricketer wanting to bowl fast but he was rejected by none other than Dennis Lillee. But he was more than useful with the ball as he has shown on many occasions during his illustrious ODI career.  In 1991-92 tri-angular series down under, he was handed the ball with only one wicket remaining. He got the wicket of Cummins and match ended up as a tie. In front of 100,000 spectators, he showed plenty of guts by asking his skipper to give him the ball in the famous Hero Cup semi final at Eden Gardens against South Africa which was also the first Day Night match at the venue. He conceded just 3 runs from 6 balls and helped India go through to the final. And in the final of that 1993 Hero Cup, Saching again did the trick for his captain by removing Brian Lara’s off stump.

He got his first chance as an opener in a match at Auckland in 1994. Waking up early, Indian viewers were pleasantly surprised to witness that innings of 82 runs which came in 49 balls. It was also the year in which he made his first ODI hundred against the mighty Australians at Colombo. Then came the world cup in 1996 where he showed tremendous form right throughout. In the semi final of that tournament, he gets stumped chasing a total of 250 odd with scorecard reading 98-2. Within seconds, the score becomes 120-8.

Over to Sharjah in 1998, India were on the verge of being thrown out of the series and Sachin comes to their rescue with a scintillating knock of 143 in 131 balls versus Australia and helping India to go through to the final. Even a desert storm could not stop him during that day such was his dominance. In the final, on his birthday, chasing a stiff target, he scored a well compiled hundred. That year was special for him, more so because he got invited to meet Sir Don at his home in Adelaide. Another match, this time in Dhaka, against his favorite opposition Australia, he comes up with a performance of 141 runs with the bat and 4 wickets.

2003 saw him getting the Man of the tournament for his superlative performance in the world cup but he couldn’t fulfill his dream of lifting it. Four year later, in the next edition of the ICC event, India got knocked out in the first round, bringing him to tears. Then came the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, where he batted marvelously in both the finals to help India win the series in Australia for the first time. One more gem came against Australia, this time in Hyderabad, chasing a mammoth target of 350. He almost single-handedly took India to the brink of victory with an innings of 175 which made Mark Taylor, the former Aussie captain, feel that Tendulkar has had a rebirth.

This piece will be incomplete without mentioning that double century making him the first batsman in the history to reach that landmark in ODI history. This superhuman effort came against the likes of Dale Steyn who is by far the best fast bowler in the modern era. That was class personified. He is also very proud of India’s record of never losing to Pakistan in a world cup match. He has made significant contribution in those matches too. People still talk about his onslaught on Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis & Co. in that crucial match of 2003 World cup. 23 years, 463 games, 18426 runs, 49 hundreds, 96 fifties, 154 wickets…an era has ended. Thank you Sachin for the entertainment.

Time for a change?

One more failed campaign in one more edition of World T20. Let’s just say that India was done in by the format of the tournament slightly. Pakistan, Australia & Sri Lanka managed to go through to semis winning four out of five games. India, on the other hand, won identical number of games but they could not sneak in whereas the West Indies won two out of five games and still managed to get through to the semis.

So the big question: is it time for changes in the T20 team. May be yes, may be no but the issue as of now is whether to stick with senior players like Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag or not. Both of these players have dubious fitness records. They are not live wires in the field either. And as far as Gambhir is concerned, he needs to find his off stump otherwise his place might be up for grabs sooner than later. His record has dipped alarmingly in all forms of the game.

Dhoni seems to be under-utilizing himself as a batsman. He has not even managed to score a half century in four World T20 events thus far. He is a prolific scorer in shorter versions of the game so he should not have any hesitation in batting at number 4. He has made big scores in ODI cricket batting higher up the order. It just may be that he has run out of luck with 0-8 away losses in Test cricket and failure to make it through to the final round of Asia Cup as well as World T20.

The plates are full for Sandip Patil & Co., the new selection committee. Sandip Patil was a courageous batsman and I guess he will require courage aplenty in the next few months. In 2007, the committee had selected few unknown names in World T20 in South Africa and their fearless brand of cricket brought India the glory. May be it’s time for an overhaul of the team. This goes for Test team too due the retirements of stalwarts like Dravid and Laxman, earlier in the year. Testing times ahead for all the parties concerned, with England series looming large on their heads. Good luck team India!