Cricket Tournaments

Okay, so the wait is finally over. The Indian team for the Asia Cup has been announced. A first glance at the squad gives one the impression of a mixed bag. There has been extreme pressure on the selectors ever since the T20 debacle, soon followed by the recent disaster in Zimbabwe. And so, the medley of the team for the tournament in Sri Lanka is quite clearly a reflection of how things have transpired in the recent past. Even so, one can’t quite comprehend the logic behind the 15-member squad picked.

Without doubt, a lot of print and online space in the media will be dedicated to the exclusion of the under-fire Yuvraj Singh – some supporting the axe, and a few others denouncing it. We too will discuss about the southpaw’s case. But, does anyone have the courage to question Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to rest himself?

Unquestionably, he is among the greats in the game. However, it is correct for a player to request himself not to be considered, even if he is the legend himself. A couple of seasons ago, when MS Dhoni decided to opt out of the Indian Test team touring Sri Lanka, the India skipper received a mouthful from former players and the media alike, an uproar which only got stronger after India lost the series to Ajantha Mendis, and one which fell silent post India’s 4-1 one-day series win under the same man.

You can bet the same uncomfortable questions can’t be asked of Tendulkar. But, by doing so aren’t we making him bigger than the game?

Of course, it can be argued that the Mumbai batsman is doing this keeping the 2011 World Cup in mind. And, there is no question that Tendulkar has anything but noble intentions. The problem, though, is that every time he walks in and walks out, it upsets the balance of the side.

It is no secret in world cricket that he likes to bat at the top of the order. However, during the period that he was away from limited-overs cricket, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag have forged a scintillating pair at the top. But, every time Tendulkar has come back, he has separated the Delhi duo.

And, while the man himself has been performing exceptionally well, India have been lucky that Gambhir and Sehwag haven’t suffered exaggeratedly. But, for how long? After all, this isn’t the first time in the last two years that Sachin has opted out of a series, and going by the precedent the selectors have set, it won’t be the last one either.

Moving on to the ‘hot’ topic of Yuvraj, it is least surprising that he has been shown the door, considering his recent non-performances. The motivation that took the lanky left-hander to such great heights till as recently as last season is, without doubt, missing.

Being so, Yuvraj should consider this as a blessing in disguise. Probably, the selectors could have done him a favour by announcing publicly that he has been rested. After all, like the other members of the team, he too has been part of some non-stop cricket action. Just because his extra-curricular activities are on the forefront, it doesn’t mean that his contribution to Indian cricket should be undermined.

So what if the selectors didn’t do it, Yuvraj can himself look at it in a positive manner and believe he has been given a much-needed break. At the same time, he must utilize the opportunity to get back to prime form and fitness. This is not the first that he is facing a roadblock.

The last occasion when he was dropped, more than five years ago, he came back with a vengeance, and took world cricket by storm. True, he had age on his side them. But, even now he is only 28, a stage at which most players hit their peak. And so, he still has ample time to make a mark and reclaim his spot prior to next year’s World Cup.

As a parting thought, it is sad that Yusuf Pathan has been made a scapegoat once again. He rarely got opportunities to score, batting down the order in Zimbabwe, and in the one game that he was promoted, he came up with a decent effort. And, keeping this yardstick in mind, one wonders how Ravindra Jadeja has managed to retain in place in the team.

Also, why is IPL being considered a short-cut to the ODI team? What made selectors pick Saurabh Tiwary even after watching how other stars of the league, Ashok Dinda (surprisingly retained) and Umesh Yadav, struggled even against minnows Zimbabwe?

The team has been announced. Now, for the rapid-fire round.

The knives are out as India have to failed to progress past the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup for the second year in a row. However, the question that needs to be asked is was the result really that unexpected? We saw a precursor last year when India struggled against the short ball in England. What was different this time? Nothing. And that is precisely the reason why India failed to deliver the goods yet again.

One shouldn’t be too critical of the IPL factor, since most players from the other participating countries also featured in the cricketainment package. However, the fact of the matter is that playing in the IPL wasn’t the best possible preparation for India, prior to heading for the Caribbean. And, this was evident as soon as the first Super Eight fixture against Australia.

The 360 degree shift from the low bouncy tracks of India to the pace and bounce of Barbados caught India unawares. And, this was the most disappointing factor. It’s one thing to try and fail as opposed to not trying at all. Everyone saw what happened in England last year.

Yet, they were not an inch better prepared this time around. With such an attitude the team can hardly go places, at least when they play on bouncy tracks.

No doubt there is a wealth of talent in this Indian squad. But to beat world beaters consistently, they need to adapt to all kinds of conditions rather than chickening out and waiting for the surface that is to their liking to succeed. The case of Suresh Raina is a perfect illustration.

On the slow, low bounce tracks, he batted like the IPL was still very much on. However, when he got his turn to prove his mettle at Barbados, he preferred to back out of the challenge. Instead to trying to bide his time by, the left-hander was content trying to pull the short ball without ever getting to the pitch of it and was totally rattled.

The most worrying aspect of India’s loss wasn’t the fact that they were beaten, but the manner in which they went down. When even a quality batsman like Gautam Gambhir is caught behind, embarrassingly fending off a little-known West Indies quickie, you know you are in real trouble.

The Windies bowlers fed off the confidence they attained by just watching the Aussie pacemen unsettle the Indian top order. And despite knowing what to expect, the Indians had not prepared their answers for the ‘short’ test.

In hindsight, all and sundry are questioning why someone like a Robin Uthappa, who had an unbelievable run in the IPL, wasn’t on the flight to West Indies. But, selection isn’t the moot point here. For that matter, even Murali Vijay was equally devastating in the IPL, only to come a cropper in the World Cup.

The problem goes beyond individuals. Their batting shortcomings apart, India need to do something drastic to improve their shoddy batting and fielding. All above though, what ails Indian cricket is a champion-like attitude, to be the best in any given situation.

A scintillating 63 from Sachin Tendulkar and an equally smashing 61 from Saurabh Tiwary helped Mumbai Indians post an imposing 218 for 7 against the in-form Delhi Daredevils, a score which proved more than enough for Mumbai to register their second successive win, and hand Delhi their first defeat. Chasing the huge target, Delhi began on an aggressive note with Tillakaratne Dilshan opening the innings with Virender Sehwag in place of the injured skipper Gautam Gambhir.

The duo went hammer and tongs right from the start, but a smart piece of bowling by Lasith Malinga ended Dilshan’s threatening knock. Dilshan was cleaned up by a slower ball for 17 and that opened the floodgates as Mumbai cruised to a comprehensive win.

The victory was achieved thanks in main to two utterly entertaining and typical T20 knocks. One was played by none other than the master blaster Tendulkar. He batted as if he was the 16-year-old Sachin, fearlessly thrashing the bowlers all around the park. It was a great sight to watch the Mumbaikar in great flow.

Over the years, the heavy burden of expectations has forced him to play in a rather measured manner. But, thanks to T20 we can again see glimpses of the batsman, who dominated bowlers the world over with utter disdain. As usual, his innings featured lofted drives down the ground and deft touches behind the wicket. However, it was the sight of him charging down the wickets and hitting the spinner over the top that remains a favourite with Sachin fans.

When the little master eventually fell striving for quick runs, Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. But, they could not have fathomed what was to come. Saurabh Tiwary was equally explosive if not more and sent the Delhi bowlers on a massive leather hunt. With four boundaries and three sixes, he ensured that Mumbai easily crossed 200. Tiwary got great support from Ambati Rayadu, who contributed 34, an innings which also included three sixes.

While the Mumbai batsmen benefited from a number of useful partnerships, the Delhi bowling was completely out of sync. For a change even Dirk Nannes went for runs, bowling length deliveries and being punished accordingly against a strong batting line-up. Still, his figures of none for 35 were respectable in comparison to the rest. Though Farveez Maharoof picked up two wickets, that of Sanath Jayasuriya and Rayadu, he leaked 50 runs.

Spraying the ball all over, he was easy meat for the Mumbai batsmen. Left-arm quickie Pradeep Sangwan and the two spinners, Ladda and Mishra, did not fare any better. While Sangwan managed to sneak in one economical over, the latter who were torn apart by Sachin, Tiwary and Rayadu.

The onslaught did not seem to dent Delhi’s confidence though as Dilshan and Sehwag began merrily. However, they missed Gambhir big time, which was evident from the fact that no one was prepared to stick around once they lost a few quick wickets. Bravo, Harbhajan and Jayasuriya took advantage of the situation and added a couple of scalps each to their kitty.

This win by Mumbai has now set up the tournament nicely, with no team being able to extent their winning steak beyond two. Whether Mumbai will break the hoodoo remains to be seen.

Needing an asking rate of just over seven runs per over, Delhi Daredevils were undoubtedly the favourites to clinch the game against the home side, Kings XI Punjab, at Mohali. However, a double strike by the often erratic S. Sreesanth, sending back the batting side’s two most dangerous hitters, Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan, meant Punjab were in with a chance.

The impact of those deadly blows saw them take the game into the very last over. However, an authoritative half-century by Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir ensured that Delhi had their noses in front for most part of the chase.

Gambhir played a typical captain’s knock, forging three fruitful partnerships with AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik and finally with Mithun Manhas, who eventually hit the winning runs. Though de Villiers and Karthik were not able to clear the field at will, they pitched in by giving Gambhir most of the strike on a wicket that wasn’t the easiest to score on, in particular against the spinners. And here is where Gambhir’s skills came in very handy.

He used deft touches and manoeuvred the ball around in the gaps smartly to find the boundaries. And occasionally when he stepped out, he ensured that the ball found the middle of the bat. Even though Gambhir was dismissed when Delhi where within striking distance of victory, he had done enough to see his side through safely.

On a day when his brother Yusuf became a hero for Rajasthan Royals even in a losing cause, Irfan Pathan ended up playing villain for his side. The skier he dropped at long-off, that of Mithun Manhas, could have easily given Punjab a window of opportunity. The target was still a little distance away and the bowlers had just managed to build up some pressure with a few precious dot balls. Unfortunately for the home team, Irfan could not hang on to the chance, probably losing it in the lights and letting it slip through his palms.

That definitely wasn’t the turning point of the match through. In hindsight, it came much earlier when Punjab were asked to take first strike by Delhi’s new skipper, Gambhir. Of course, Punjab also had a new skipper in Kumar Sangakkara. However, only one captain could have luck on his side on this day and that was to be Gambhir.

Dirk Nannes put in a superb first spell, bowling with extreme pace. The left-arm pacer was consistently pitching deliveries short of a length and the Punjab batsmen had no answer to it. The batting side did not do themselves any favour either when Manvinder Bisla ran himself out unnecessarily. Farveez Maharoof went for a few runs. More importantly though, he managed to strike telling blows by scalping Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh cheaply. If that wasn’t bad enough, Punjab lost Mahela Jayawardene as well pretty soon, which put them in extreme trouble.

Ravi Bopara batted sensibly and in the company of Irfan Pathan helped Punjab reach a respectable total. However, as it turned out, the damage had already done. And despite a disciplined bowling effort, Punjab could not undo Gambhir’s good work.

There was a huge amount of hoopla leading up to the first test of the Idea Cup between India and hosts Bangladesh. From India’s loss in the recently concluded tri-series final against Sri Lanka, to Virender Sehwag’s comments that Bangladesh is an ‘ordinary’ team who cannot win because their bowlers can’t take 20 wickets.

Bangladesh had every right of believing that they can prove Sehwag wrong. And the first day itself lived up to all the hype when Shakib al Hasan, the Bangladesh skipper won the toss and elected to field first in murky conditions at Chittagong. Gautam Gambhir and the stand-in captain Sehwag were up for the opportunity to get India off to a flying start against an inexperienced Bangladeshi pace attack.

The Delhi duo put on 79 for the first wicket until Shakib al Hasan trapped Sehwag with a short delivery on the leg side only to be caught by Tamim Iqbal for a well-deserved and nearly a run-a-ball half century. The celebrations were wild among the Bangladesh players as the captain led from the front, anchoring an ‘ordinary’ bowling attack. Lanky fast bowler Shahadat Hossain then picked the wickets of Gambhir and Dravid in quick succession.

And when VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh fell cheaply to the superb bowling of the Bangladesh captain, the world’s No.1 Test team was reeling at 160/6 at tea on the first day with Sachin Tendulkar holding fort at 50 and Mishra who had just entered the crease following the wicket of the Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. Game on! Certainly, even after tea, there was no respite for the Indian batsman as the lower order crumbled like a pack of cards. Tendulkar batted exceptionally well to remain unbeaten on 76 as he ran out of partners from time to time.

On the next day, Tendulkar completed his 44th hundred in majestic fashion when he hit Shahadat Hossain, the tormentor-in-chief for two boundaries in a row. Yet Bangladesh had the upper hand in the game when India was bowled out for 243 with Tendulkar unbeaten, in what was perhaps one of his best hundreds away from home. Hossain along with Shakib al Hasan achieved five-wicket hauls in a bowling performance that proved that Bangladesh were no underdogs.

Bangladesh started off superbly with the openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes smashing the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground and in the process, bringing up their 50-run partnership until Zaheer Khan struck with the wicket of Kayes who was out lbw for 23. He then bagged the wicket of Iqbal. It was then the turn of Ishant Sharma to do some major damage when he got the wicket of ICL returnee Shahriar Nafees cheaply as Day 2 ended.

Ishant on the next day continued the form he was in the previous day when he picked Mohd. Ashraful’s wicket. India was back in the game in style! Clearly, Bangladesh was losing its way like India did when Shakib al Hasan, who dazzled with the ball, fell for 17 and incidentally was caught by the Indian captain Virender Sehwag off Zaheer Khan’s bowling. After Raqibul Hasan fell of Sreesanth’s bowling, Bangladesh wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim and up-coming all-rounder Mahmudullah forged a 118 run partnership, bringing the hosts close to the Indian total.

However Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra finished off the Bangladeshi tail. Bangladesh ended their first innings at 242, just a run behind India. A considerable improvement from a precarious position of 98/6 at one stage!

It was after tea on day 3 that India began their second innings. Once again, Gambhir and Sehwag gave India a good start until Sehwag fell for 45. However, this time there was no collapse as India batted merrily till the end of the day’s play with the scoreboard reading 122/1 with Amit Mishra in at No.3 as night-watchman. Day 4 clearly belonged to India as Mishra made a surprise half-century as well as an in-form Gambhir slamming 116 of just 129 balls, in the process scoring his 5th century in as many tests, and breaking Dravid’s record of 4 centuries in 4 Tests in 2002.

Unlike the first innings, Tendulkar didn’t have a great second innings when he was partly responsible in running out a well-set Dravid for 24 as well as he was given out lbw at 16 off Rubel Hossain’s bowling. However, teams around the world have discovered over the years that when one Indian batsman fails, usually the other stands up for him.

That’s exactly what Laxman did for Tendulkar’s failure. Laxman showed how vital he is for India’s batting when he scored 69 and remained not out till Sehwag decided to declare the innings at 413/8, a far better performance the second time around. The positive aspect about this innings was that the lower-order batted well. None of Bangladesh’s bowlers impressed, therefore making people believe that Sehwag was right in his perspective that their bowlers cannot take 20 opposition wickets, which defines the lowest-ranked test team.

Bangladesh had to chase a massive target of 415 to win the Test, which was near to impossible considering India’s potent bowling attack. Yet, the war of words continued between the two teams when Shakib al Hasan believed at the end of the 4th day’s play, that the target was achievable. Despite the fact that Bangladesh were reeling at 67/2 with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, continued from where they left off, picking early wickets.

On the final day, Tamim Iqbal showed the talent he possesses by smashing a valuable half-century until he played a silly attacking shot of the bowling of the Indian captain, giving an easy catch at first slip to Rahul Dravid, when there were just 8 minutes left before lunch. Thus Bangladesh suffered a major setback in their run-chase. Mohd Ashraful also looked promising and back in form, but Ishant made full use of the life in the pitch by bowling on good length outside the off-stump and as the ball hit Ashraful’s outside edge, Dravid accepted his second catch gleefully.

Shakib’s poor run with the bat continued when he was undone by a Amit Mishra delivery, helping Sehwag take a simple catch again at silly point, resulting in Bangladesh being in deep trouble at 145/6, with India needing just 4 wickets to win the Test. Mahmudullah and Shahadat Hossain lost their wickets due to poor footwork and shot selection, even as Mushfiqur Rahim was fighting hard at the other end.

Rahim, like Tendulkar in the first innings, was the lone warrior for Bangladesh as he didn’t get enough support from the tail enders and yet he scored his maiden test century. This century would be special for the Bangladeshi wicketkeeper as it was not only his 1st in test cricket, but also against the world’s best test side. The Indians had taunted him as ‘school-boy’ and how did he transform into a man!

Eventually, Bangladesh went on to lose by 113 runs with Rahim the last man out. It was a fighting effort which went down in vain. India would be happy with their team effort, yet their performance and their credibility as the world’s ‘numero uno’ team remains a lot to be desired.

The Indian team may have retained their number two ranking in ODIs despite the loss in the tri-series finals, but their insipid showing does not augur well for the World Cup, which is just over a year away. The worrying aspect is that this is not a one-off loss. India have been faltering in the finals way too often in recent years and in most cases, it is the strong batting line-up that has let them down. The Dhaka final had a similar tale to tell. This is one aspect India will need to work on very hard if they want to be seen as strong contenders for the 2011 World Cup.

Cricket may be a team game, but it is important that each and every individual takes up certain responsibility and tries to fulfil it to the hilt, especially in such crunch games. Starting with the openers, Virender Sehwag can play only one way and should continue doing so, but his partner Gautam Gambhir could look at adopting a slightly cautious in case Sehwag is doing well. To be fair to Gambhir, he has been doing an excellent job and was plain unlucky to be dismissed in the finals, but then things could have been different had he decided to take his time and not attempted strokes from the word go.

Virat Kohli had a great series, but unfortunately failed on the D-day. While one can’t be too harsh on him as he is still relatively inexperienced, his shot selection was rather disappointing for a man in prime form. Kohli needs to realize that such purple patches don’t come in your career often and hence you must make the best use of it. The plus point in Kohli’s favour is that he has proved to be a quick learner – the transformation from scoring 30s and 40s to hundreds has been rather swift. He now just needs to carry on the good work.

Like Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni’s shot selection was also questionable. But then that’s the flip side of being aggressive. When it doesn’t work, it ends up looking rather ugly. India would dearly hope the experienced duo can get their act together in future finals. That is because if they fire, there is very little chance of India losing, such will be the brutality of their attack. In short, the Indian batters need to work out a proper mechanism when it comes to competing in finals.

To be brutally honest, the situation is equally bad in the bowling department, if not worse. And a lot of it has to be attributed to the non-stop cricket the Indians have been playing (for some weird reason, mostly against Sri Lanka) as well as the power play restrictions. Zaheer Khan has clearly lost the edge he held over batsmen over six months back and his partner Ashish Nehra’s fitness concerns have comeback to haunt him again. To lose Nehra in a final was a big setback for India and vindicates the selectors’ stance to keep him away from the Test squad. Harbhajan Singh continues to bamboozle us all and this has been haunting India for a dangerously long time. Time for some soul searching, boys.

Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form, registered the second ODI century of his career as India got the better of Bangladesh in an inconsequential encounter prior to the tri-series finals.

Chasing a decent target of 248, Indian batters eased to the target with Virat Kohli’s contribution being supported by cameos all around. Earlier, batting first, Bangladesh recovered from a precarious 95 for 5 to post a reasonable score of 247 for the loss of six wickets.

Shakib Al Hasan’s was the star of the show with the bat for the hosts, striking an impregnable 85. He was ably supported by Mahmudullah, who carried on his good form against the Indians and remained unbeaten on 64. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the Indians proved to be too good for them once again and raced home to an easy win.

Kohli, who was deservedly named Man of the Match, batted in a commanding manner, proving that he has learnt very quickly from his past mistakes. His cuts, drives and pulls were equally impressive and the beleaguered bowlers had no answer to Kohli’s prowess.

He slammed Shafiul Islam for a number of boundaries with great authority and similar punishment was meted out to Naeem Islam as well. Kohli went on to complete a well-compiled hundred with a leg side whip off Shakib’s bowling and end the game.

The new India number three was lucky to be offered a couple of lives. Mohammad Ashraful dropped him off Syed Rasel’s bowling at deep midwicket. Kohli was then on 83. Very soon, wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim missed a stumping chance created by Shakib.

A couple of balls later Suresh Raina was reprieved as well, but it hardly could have had any impact on the game.

What could have helped Bangladesh was early wickets, but that was far from the case. Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir were offered plenty of width to play their favourite shots.

While Dinesh cut with ease, Gambhir flicked away a number of deliveries directed at his pads. The openers though would be disappointed for failing to capitalize on their starts. Karthik edged one to the keeper when on 34 and Gambhir’s wild swing led to his downfall while on 41. India lost Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni in pursuit of the chase, but Kohli and Raina saw India through without much difficulty in dewy conditions.

Despite the loss, Bangladesh can take heart from their batting performance, their recovery being nothing short of sensational. The fightback began courtesy a century partnership between Shakib and Mahmudullah. Shakib, who was given a life when in the 30s, went on to punish the Indian bowlers severely.

He was especially severe on the spinners, slamming Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra for sixes over midwicket. It needed Ashish Nehra’s skill, a slower ball, to see the back of Shakib. At the other end, Mahmudullah continued with his merry ways.

He was severe on all the bowlers, be it the seamers or spinners. Naeem contributed a whirlwind 22 towards the end as Bangladesh took 95 from the final 10 overs. But, it still wasn’t good enough to overpower the Indians.

Okay, India won the series 3-1 following the abandoned encounter at Delhi. However, the batters from both sides dominated the series. If Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli starred for India, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara were in explosive form for the Lankans.

The bowlers from both sides, experienced and inexperienced, were at the receiving end. As such, if there was one factor that decided the fate of the series, it was the inability of the weak Lankan middle-order to capitalize on the great starts provided by the trio mentioned above.

Except for Mahela Jayawardene, they did not have much when it came to experience in the middle-order. Thilina Kandamby showed some spark when India visited Sri Lanka earlier in the year, but on this tour his deficiencies were clearly exposed.

In fact, he will be remembered more for his innumerable fielding lapses during the series more than anything else. Then, there is Chamara Kapugedara, who has been retaining his place in the side for reasons unknown.

He hasn’t registered a decent score in a while and it’s about time the Lankan selectors tell him to shape up for ship out. Among the others, Thilan Samaraweera is still finding his feet as an ODI batsman, while Sanath Jayasuriya has looked anything but comfortable while batting down the order. And so, Jayawardene’s failure proved all the more critical for the visitors.

Despite being on the losing side, it was great to see Dilshan in full flow. 2009 has been his watershed year and he can only get better from here on. The drives on the up, cuts, pulls and of course the Dilscoop have made him as devastating a batsman as Sehwag.

Like Dishan, Tharanga too was in ballistic form. He had lost his way after a sensational start to his career, but this series should set things right for him once again. And about Sangakkara, one can’t be effusive enough in praise of his batsmanship. The effortless ease with which he cleared the boundaries throughout series was in stark contrast to the power play on demonstration by Dilshan, yet equally effective.

However, if the Lankan trio was explosive, India were even more deadly. Sehwag carried his murderous form from the Tests into the ODIs and gave India some enthralling starts. And when Sehwag failed, Tendulkar was there to hold fort. Gambhir only made one major contribution in the series, but it was perhaps the most significant of all. Further, this series could end up being the turning point in rookie Kohli’s career. Prior to the series, he was not able to convert the 50s into bigger scores. But at Kolkata, in the company of Gambhir, he achieved it in an impressive manner, and more importantly under pressure.

In the other departments, it has to be said that India were the slightly better of the two bowling sides, while Lanka took the honours when it came to fielding, despite not being at their best. At the end of the day, however, their overall failure as a batting unit sealed their fate.