A scintillating innings by Jacques Kallis (89 from 55 balls) and a whirlwind half-century by Robin Uthappa (51) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore overhaul a stiff target of 204 set by Kings XI Punjab. For Bangalore to remain in the hunt during the chase, they needed a speedy start without losing too many wickets.

Openers Manish Pandey (38) and Kallis scripted the Bangalore reply perfectly. Pandey was especially severe at the top of the order, taking on S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan successfully even as the experienced Kallis was prepared to bide his time by and watch the action from the other end. Sreesanth and Irfan made the mistake of bowling either short or on a length, giving the young Pandey enough opportunities to swing his bat around. Left-arm pacer Yusuf Abdulla also did not fare any better, feeling the pressure.

The Bangalore openers added 74 very quickly and Kumar Sangakkara was forced to turn to spin in an effort to break the deadly partnership. Piyush Chawla eventually did the trick for Punjab. Pandey went for a mighty heave against the impressive leggie and only managed to end up hitting one straight in the air. Irfan Pathan, who dropped a skier in the previous game, managed to hang on to this offering rather easily. However, if Punjab though they could heave a sense of relief, they were absolutely wrong.

In walked India discard Robin Uthappa and took full advantage of the great platform set. Uthappa was in only for 21 deliveries, but by the time he left, he had more or less sealed the fate of the game. The ultra-talented Uthappa did not slog his way around. Instead, he tried to hit as straight as possible and was rewarded rather fruitfully. In Sreesanth’s comeback over, he slammed the bowler for three monstrous sixes, turning the tide of the game in Bangalore favour.

He eventually to debutant left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma fell going another big shot on the off side. But, not before ensuring that the run-rate was well within the home side’s grasp.

The best innings of the game was yet to be played though. Kallis, who was quiet all this while, suddenly went into overdrive mode and finished off the game in whisker. He was extremely severe on Sharma, who was rather economical until that point, slamming him for three huge sixes in one over.

Later, Abdulla who was recalled also went for a few boundaries, making things worse for Punjab. Virat Kohli came in and played a nice cameo to finish off the game in the company of Kallis.

The South African all-rounder’s magical knock overshadowed fine efforts by the Punjab openers Ravi Bopara (77) and Manvinder Bisla (75). Batting first, the duo was in fine striking form, adding 129 for the opening wicket in just over 14 overs. Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Kallis and Anil Kumble all went for plenty.

Mahela Jayawardene played a splendid cameo of 26 to help Punjab post an imposing 203. However, Bangalore had enough in their tank to overhaul the score.

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.

Three games, three heroes

It was a disappointing end to the one-day series for India. They had a great chance to score a whitewash against the South Africans for the first time, but they preferred to rest their key players and tested out the bench strength, which resulted in a rather one-sided victory for the Proteas. Yet, the matter of the fact was that India won the series rather handsomely and there were some memorable performances even in such a short series. Presenting a rewind of top three performances of the series.

Game 1, Jaipur

Jadeja’s all-round act (22 and 2/29)

In a high-scoring game, where most of the batters were at ease, it was Ravindra Jadeja’s tight left-arm spin that made the difference. The Indian pacers, Ashish Nehra and S. Sreesanth went for plenty, and though they did pick up three wickets among themselves, they also ensured that South Africa stayed in the hunt. On the contrary, Jadeja not only kept the runs down, but also picked up two wickets, crucial ones at that, to derail the Proteas’ chase of 299. He cut short one-day specialist Herschelle Gibbs’ promising knock and later cleaned up AB de Villiers, who was also looking dangerous.

His cameo with the bat towards the fag end of the innings also came in handy, considering that India ended up winning by a solitary run, thanks to a late surge by the African tail. Jadeja is certainly turning out to be a good utility player for India.

Game 2, Gwalior

Sachin makes history (200 not out)

This was Sachin Tendulkar’s show all the way. Virender Sehwag fell early after India won the toss and batted. But, that did not deter the Indian master. He went on the rampage from the word go and the carnage did not stop till the very end. Come pace or spin, Sachin had an answer to every trick of the South African bowlers. He cut, pull, drove and lofted the bowlers with disdain on a ground that seemed too small for the Indian giant.

Dale Steyn, who destroyed India in the opening Test, was despatched for 89 from his quota of overs. Worse, Wayne Parnell went for 95. The others weren’t spared either. Charl Langeveldt went for a somewhat respectable 70 while Kallis and Duminy combined to leak over the 80. The Sachin magic was very much at display in Gwalior.

There were other handsome contributions in the game as well. Dinesh Karthik registered his highest ODI score of 79 while Dhoni slammed a hurricane like 68 not out. A B de Villiers too impressed with his sublime ton, but the match with undoubtedly be remembered for the indelible Sachin Tendulkar touch.

Game 3, Ahmedabad

de Villiers winning ton (102 not out)

The series was gone. However, the South Africans still had a lot to play for. After all they had never been blanked by India in a one-day series. And that record will stand, albeit with a little help from India themselves. They decided not to field a full-strength and de Villiers decided to take full toll of the inexperienced Indian attack. His 59 ball 102 included 11 hits to the fence and 3 over it. It was as if he was avenging the humiliation meted out to them at Gwalior, with great support from skipper Kallis.
The Indian bowling figures read similar to those of the Proteas in the previous game. Here was Sreesanth’s chance to lead the attack, but he failed miserably, conceding 83 in nine overs. As such, much couldn’t be expected from rookies Sudeep Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun. All were slammed. The de Villiers magic was in full bloom and the Indians had no answer to it.

For most, this may have been a dead and buried topic, but the Ranji Trophy will hopefully reignite the debate once again. Ajit Agarkar, one of the stars of the Ranji finals, hasn’t played international cricket for well over two years now.

And there is a very slim possibility of him making a comeback into the Indian side at the age 32. But with the Indian bowling struggling at the moment and the other comeback men S Sreesanth and Ashish Nerhra not being consistent enough, it might not be a bad idea for the selectors to give the experienced Mumbaikar one final dash at glory.

Of course, it can be argued that India must look ahead instead of digging the past. However, it is a fact that Robin Singh made a comeback at a similar age after a long hibernation period and went on to play for the country with distinction for half a decade.

If performance is the criteria for selection, the Agarkar has done more than enough this season for Mumbai to merit a comeback into the national squad.

As a senior pro of his Ranji team, he has batted with great courage at various stages of the tournament to get his team out of trouble. With the ball, he has been penetrative throughout the season and reserved his best for the last.

The Ranji trophy is seen as a clash of the best in India’s domestic circuit and if Agarkar and his team have come up trumps, it means he is amongst the best of the lot even at this age.

Again, critics can say that the young Dhaval Kulkarni, who has been equally impressive, will be a better choice. That might be a fair point, but the selectors would do well to allow him to bloom for another season instead of rushing him into the international circuit. Otherwise, we might as well end up with another Irfan Pathan-like scenario.

Coming back to Agarkar, he has international experience on his side. Add to it, this tough season of domestic cricket must have made his even better force to reckon with. Time and again, he has made a comeback after being dropped and proved people wrong.

At the time of his axing in late 2007, he was definitely short on confidence and was lacking in rhythm. However, in the last two seasons, he has worked his way up the ladder and his performance with the ball in the finals was undoubtedly a pinnacle of sorts for him, proving that he is raring to go once again.

The schedule for the South African series has been announced and the selection committee would do well to consider Agarkar once again. It would also make sense if he plays purely as a bowler and bats lower down the order as he has self-admittedly not been comfortable in the role of an all-rounder, his performances with the bat this season notwithstanding.

There has never been a question over his commitment and if he can remain fit, Agarkar can still make something substantial out of his evident talent, provided the long-elusive chance comes knocking on his doors.

If Sri Lanka held the upper hand at Ahmedabad, it was India all the way in Kanpur. Right from winning the toss to putting up a mammoth score on board to decimating the Lankan batting line-up, each and every thing went right for India. And so when the fourth and, what turned out to be the final day of the Test began, only the formalities needed to be completed. And India wrapped things up midway through the day. The end could have come a lot earlier but for some stubborn resistance by Thilan Samaraweera and good support by Ajantha Mendis. Still, it was an imposing victory for India, their 100th in Test matches and biggest ever against Lanka.

The day began with the visitors precariously placed at 57/4 and even though they batted positively – 149 runs were added in the morning session – the Indians kept picking up wickets at regular intervals, ensuring Sri Lanka never got a partnership going. Overnight batsman Angelo Matthews began by crashing an off-target Zaheer Khan for three cracking boundaries. The left-arm seamer though soon had his revenge as he got Matthews caught by Dravid. The remaining batsmen too continued to go after the bowlers. One really could not point a finger at the batsmen since they were in a no-win situation. Defending would have got them nowhere and the only hope they had of salvaging some pride was to make India bat again. They fell well short of that target as well as the home side romped hope by a whopping margin of an innings and 144 runs.

Following Matthews exit, there was some resistance in the form of a partnership between Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene. The two added 61, with Jayawardene in particular impressing with his strokeplay. But just when he looked good for a lot more a yawning gap between bat and pad saw his furniture being disturbed. A delivery from Harbhajan Singh, which drifted back in after pitching, did the trick. In came Rangana Herath, threw his bat around for a run-a-ball 13 before becoming Harbhajan’s second victim of the day and third of the innings, trapped plumb in front of the stumps.

The most entertaining albeit short phase of the day, however, came when the maverick Muttiah Muralitharan walked out to bat. With nothing at stake, he used to long handle and enjoyed himself at the expense of the Indian spinners. Harbhajan was thrashed for plenty in one over and Pragyan Ojha too wasn’t treated differently. Murali had slammed two sixes and three fours in his 29, when Ojha managed to slip one through his slogging bat.

All this while, Samaraweera was solid as ever, notching up yet another half-century. He found an able ally in Mendis, who was prepared to defend and not just wield the willow mercilessly. The duo added 73 and frustrated the Indian bowlers, taking the game well beyond lunch. Neither looked in any kind of trouble against the same spinners who had looked threatening earlier in the day. Finally, MS Dhoni had to turn partnership breaker Yuvraj Singh and he did not disappoint, brining an end to Mendis’ resolute. Soon, Ojha brought the curtains down on the game having Chanaka Welegedara caught and bowled and India had registered a historic and memorable win. S. Sreesanth did not have much to do on this day, but his contribution the day before was telling enough to earn him the player of the match.