Ind Vs Aus , Delhi Test

Ferosha Kotla curator was quoted as saying that the grass was cut by a BCCI Pitch Committee, without his knowledge on the eve of the match, making it a lifeless pitch and no wonder it produced a dull boring 5 days of cricket. And with cricket entering a brash new world, of 20-over Slang-Bang games and city franchises where representing your country may no longer be the biggest ambition, the last thing ICC wants is doctoring of pitches. ICC should bring the interest back to the traditional game and demonstrate how 15 sessions in the field can be more rewarding than an evening out between an early dinner and a late bedtime. The wicket was as shiny as a temple floor and 1300 runs were scored in the First Innings by both the teams doesn't come as a big surprise. The Match was well and truly over by the end of 12th Session. Team India were not able to give a Winning Farewell gift to Anil Kumble, as the match ended in a draw.

India scored in excess of 600 runs. VVS Laxman's penchant for attacking stroke play and propensity to score centuries frequently against the Aussies continued as he notched up his Second Double Hundred. Some of his timing would certainly put legendary Swiss watches into the shade. Absolute Stunner. Laxman played a classy innings and his partnership with Gambhir is where the contest changed shades after Australia took the early bowling honours. Gautam Gambhir did a damn good job in tarnishing his double hundred with an exhibition of beastly behaviour. Thanks Gautam, We were able to see the other side of Muscle Power of BCCI. The melodrama enacted on the floor of Kotla on the first day of the test was deplorable. True, Watson provoked Gambhir and Gambir's reaction can in no way be regarded as the right way to express the intent. This was a futile and desperate exercise by Gambhir that has caused Team India to bow their heads in shame. Ideally he should have been handed with a severe penalty than just one test ban. It was comedy stuff by Chris Broad, Match Referee.

Hayden got his mind settled and played a telling innings in his country's hour of need. Katich provided good support to Hayden, which was well capitalised by the Aussie Batting line-up with the likes of Ponting, Hussey and White. Though Michael Clarke survived a large dose of fortune, he played the most dignified and resolute innings and held the Aussie Lower order together. Catches were grounded with appalling regularity by the Indians and Clarke capitalised on that and ensured the Team to Safety. Zaheer and Ishant were not able to replicate their magic. Shewag was the surprise package and he ended up picking his first fifer. Kumble picked up an injury while fielding and that was enough to convince him that his best days were over as he announced his retirement at his favourite ground where he has an awesome record.

When India began their Second innings, Ponting's tactics had been dubious and his attack appeared threadbare. While his faith in his key bowlers is admirable, his reluctance to introduce Clarke earlier, was surprising. And he did not call on Katich at all. For all his potential and contributions in the shorter version of the game, Cameeron White does not look ready for Test cricket. He is certainly nowhere near being an all-rounder at this level. It is impossible to tell how much Aussie miss Andrew Symonds.

Cricket Australia, I'm sure is aware that, a certain retired fast bowler from Narromine and a blond bombshell from Victoria, who has been taking wickets and coaxing victories for them earlier, will no longer be available. Unavoidably, Australia have replaced great bowlers with good bowlers, and it is showing. They need something extra from their bowlers to take 20 wickets in the next test at Nagpur. At Kotla though, they never looked like bowling India out. They have to get the bowling arsenal correct to deal with the conditions at Nagpur. Else, the Border-Gavaskar trophy will be lost.

Salaam Sachin

It has become a one-off race for Tendulkar to reach the Summit of 11,953 Test Runs, ever since the mercurial lefthander from Trinidad retired. The Bombay Bomber scaled the peak at the PCA Stadium, Mohali against his most respected rivals Australia. Congrats Sachin, who carried the sobriquet of being the ‘best player in the world’ for 19 years now, for achieving the World Record. Wasn't just the sheer inevitability of the event that Sachin has to be number one?

Having watched Sachin's career for a shade over 15 years, I must confess and at times frustrated, what more can one say of a player who has scored 82 Centuries and in excess of 28 thousand runs. What else he has to offer? Tendulkar's penchant for attacking strokeplay(Till early 2000) and propensity to score hundreds after hundreds earned him world wide adulation from lay spectator and the Great Don himself alike. He may not have figured in the Top 5 list of Wisden Cricketers of the Century, yet, we have been fortunate to live in the age of Sachin, just like those who boasted about seeing Hobbs, Bradman, Sobers , Richards and Warne.

When he took guard at 1989 Vs Pakistan against the likes of Akram, Imran and Waqar, he was just yet another Indian Player. Soon, he became a symbol of national pride and aspiration that extended beyond the 22 yards. Indian people go mad for this man and so does the Cricket loving Public all around the world. He bats with the symmetry of straight lines and the geometry of acute angles and at the core of his wondrous play is the purest technician in the business. For spectators, he is worth the admission price alone. Sachin Tendulkar was the lone brightest star in the Indian batting constellation before the likes of Dravid and Ganguly emerged at Lords in 1996.

Let us accept, Sachin is simply not his old self (and maybe he will return to it), but perhaps this was inevitable, for no man could play so artfully, so long. But it is interesting nevertheless, for with genius we want to see how long can he carry on performing almost without blemish. May be some more centuries to swell his kitty, Few thousand runs perhaps !!
If the cricket world is looking for a president, it would have to be him. In a sports culture that increasingly runs on hype, drama and hysteria, Sachin never gets overheated. Sachin has been praised to the skies. And he deserves all the applause, but one of the factors behind his success has been underplayed. He wasn't just an outstanding player but also cricket’s undisputed global brand ambassador.

"Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching," reads a banner during India's tour of Australia earlier this year. How true, isn't ?

Those who did not see Don Bradman can boast they saw Tendulkar. And believe me, it's a very proud boast.

Ind Vs Aus Second Test Mohali

Ponting's men were thrashed by a bold and exciting Indian team by a lopsided margin of 320 runs at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Aussie's outfit were comprehensively outplayed from start to finish by Dhoni's boys. Let us not forget, this is just Australia's second loss in the last three years. The loss gets magnified since this is the second time they have lost to India in the last four matches. Courtesy India, Australia have come face to face with the reality of playing without their two champion bowlers. I haven't seen Aussies getting beaten left, right and centre like this at Mohali in the last 15 years.


India played a rookie spinner Mishra in the place of injured Kumble. Dhoni won the all important toss on a perfect batting track and it was just one way traffic from that point. Surprisingly Ponting opened with a debutant Siddle and Lee and they literally fed the Indian openers with freebies on either side of the Wicket and allowed the game to drift away. Save for the odd patches of excellence by Mitchell Johnson the Aussie bowling shared the discredit.Sachin and Sourav steadied the ship with a century stand. Sachin finally surpassed Lara's record of highest run scorer in Test Cricket. It was a gritty innings from the Mumbai Maestro. Ganguly played well and scored his 16th century and put India in a commanding position. At last, Dhoni contributed with the bat and India scored in excess of 450.


Zaheer and Ishant did the job for India by picking up early wickets. Indian pace duo made mincemeat of the star-studded Aussie batting line-up. Power house opener Hayden might perhaps miss the Ashes 2009 if he doesn't come good in the Delhi test. Half Centuries from Watson and Hussey was not enough for Australia, who conceded a 200+ lead. Debutant leggie Mishra took Five Wickets and it would be an interesting selection for the next test when Kumbles returns.

In India's second innings, Aussies ran out of petrol, and luck(Asad Rauf yet again), while Indian Openers refuelled their tank and pulverised the inexperienced Aussie bowling to submission. Seven bowlers were used but, in the trying humidity, the Indian opening pair defied them with brisk scoring. Brett Lee is dreadfully out of sorts and Australian bowling looked very pedestrian. I wasn't thrilled with Ponting's captaincy either. The need of the hour for Punter is to use both parts of the brain and think holistically by complementing his premiere fast bowler, though he has not made any impact in the series, by setting fields which will suit Lee's bowling. Lee for sure missed the services of Stuart Clark at the other end.

Harbajan ripped through the Aussie top order with three quick wickets. I don't want to sound churlish. Ricky Ponting was a fine captain and a master-stylist as a batsman, who could take fine attacks to pieces. Ever since he scored that gritty not classy century at Bangalore, he looked very confused with his foot work. He got an absolute beauty from Ishant Sharma in the second innings and was comprehensively bowled. Punter certainly needs to tighten his technique and Aussie certainly need Ponting to fire if they want to square the series in Delhi. Zaheer tore the Aussie lower order on Day 5 with high quality bowling. Zaheer sent Haddin’s woodwork in all directions was certainly a delight to watch. Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson's partnership later in the innings did just little more than delay the popping of the champagne corks.

Let us understand, Aussies are in a rebuilding phase and they will continue to lose test matches here and there since they doesn't have the bowling arsenal to deal with the conditions. With an attack heavily reliant on Lee and With Gilchrist now part of Australian cricket folklore, Ponting's team might find victories harder to attain and yet, Aussies are still World Champions and a loss here and there will not make them a poor team. One thing is for sure, Australia's dominance is slipping away, which is bound to happen and good for the game. Australia will be treated like mortals instead of being feared as all-conquering superheroes.

India have one hand on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Unless the Aussies raise their game in the next test, Kumble(or Dhoni) and his men will win the series before the teams reach Nagpur. For Australia, the series will not be won by looking backwards but by rediscovering the kind of diamond-hard discipline and professionalism that characterised Australia brand of Cricket over the years. The Aussies have mastered the wondrous art of raising their game during crunch games, and that treasured art has helped them win some of the most important games on a canter. Can we see one more of those at Kotla?

Ind Vs Aus, First Test - Bangalore

Thanks to a sensible innings by Sachin and Laxman, and to some extent the badlight, India managed to save a gripping test match at the Chinnasamy Stadium in Bangalore and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is pretty much open now. Drawing this game is like passing Class XI with distinction. Creditable, but of no consequence if one fails to secure the requisite marks in the Class XII board exams.(Read Upcoming Matches)

Australian Captain scored his 36th Test Century and his first in Indian Soil, a statistical embellishment that had somehow eluded the batsman on four previous visits.
Ricky Ponting has proved yet again as Australia's best batsman by a disturbing margin. It was a classy innings by the Tasmanian, who was determined to wipe off the bad memories of not scoring a ton in India for 12 years, he had in his otherwise coveted CV . A thousand-runs-a-season batsman with a strong work ethic in the form of Mike Hussey though took just one innings to score the coveted hundred. Perhaps a Hussey Test ton is no longer newsworthy, since it happens so frequently. Hussey's 9th century in his 26th Test. Brilliant One Huss. Simon Katich relished the privilege of opening the batting and played with the greatest aplomb despite the hot, humid, energy sapping conditions. Hayden's stay was cut short by Poor Umpiring decision in both the innings.

Zaheer and Ishant was able to reverse swing the ball and posed greater difficulties to the Aussie batsman. It was heartening to see the pacers picking up 9 wickets between them in an innings on home soil. India’s Spin bowlers gave a new meaning to line and length while the fielders were as shoddy as their ancestors. Bajji and Kumble were pretty ordinary. The Indian Skipper is definitely in need of a long 'perhaps' a permanent holiday from Cricket. It is just the third time Kumble has gone wicket less in a Test but the second time this year. Significantly, it has never happened in India before and Bangalore is his home ground. The turban-topped spinner who seems to save his best performances for Australia, failed miserably on a pitch which was tailor made for spinners. The spinners took only 3 for 350 in the game

The Fab Four was a total flop in the Indian First Innings and it took a sensible innings from Harbajan and Zaheer to bail the team out of the trouble. Mitchell Johnson was a revelation for Australia. He bowled his heart out on a unresponsive wicket and took the prized scalps of Sachin,Laxman,Ganguly. Shane Watson, who is playing his first test match after nearly 3 years, took other bowling honours. Sachin Tendulkar, a player who is a statistical delight is now stalked by some less pleasant numbers. Yet another Test has passed and he is still behind Lara, as the World's Leading Scorer. Since that 153 against the Australians at Adelaide oval, Sachin has scored just 170 runs in the last 10 innings.Iam hoping he is going to knock of the deficit at Mohali with the minimum of fuss. When was the last time Dhoni made a significant contribution to the team with batting.? I'm afraid time has come for the darling of Corporate world, Dhoni to make serious contributions on the field. The manner in which he got out (rather gifted) to Miachel Clarke was nothing but atrocious.

While chasing the Victory target set of 299, set up by Ponting, VVS Laxman and Sachin batted out the crucial middle overs and ensured the team to Safety. Later rain gods were kind enough to see them through. Brett Lee bowled well and he needs one more wicket to go past Craig Mcdermott's tally of 291 test wickets. I was impressed with the way Cameroon White bowled. He was accurate and landed the ball pretty much on target. I just wonder why Ponting under bowled Watson and why Katich was not called at all.

Though Zaheer took the MOM award, he certainly had a tough competitor in the form of Asad Rauf, who had a shocker in the match. If Indians were hell bent on removing Bucknor because of poor umpiring, I just don’t understand why they were so silent this time around. Is this because the match ended in a draw?

Australia is hoping that Hayden and Clarke, who scored 30 runs between them, will come good in Mohali. With Stuart Clark suffering from the elbow injury, Australia will be forced to play a rookie paceman in the form of Siddle or Bollinger. I will definitely play a third seamer in the form of Munaf Patel in place of Kumble, who, to me doesn't look match fit.

I just hope, we will have an absorbing test match coming up in Mohali.

Singh Slap Sree

So…If you plan to send your kid for Cricket Coaching Camp this Summer, Think Again. You may have to purchase additional equipments besides the normal Cricketing Gear. Yes, Cricket will never ever be the same again. Once a Gentleman's game and now it is no longer the game between the willow and the leather.

Never in my recent memory has the noble game felt so dirty. Harbhajan Singh's Slap on Sreesanth in the ongoing IPL, was a serious offence and the step taken by board to ban him for 11 matches is nothing but a Joke. The Punjab Offspinner, in my view is the most undisciplined Cricketer ever to have graced the field. Ideally he should have been banned for life. This is a serious crime. Slapping a fellow player deserve much more than 11 match ban.

I don't think Opinions about him is heavily polarised: Ask any opposition Captain, they will agree that, Bajji represents a disruptive element who has done more harm than good to the team. Having said that, Sreesanth is no saint either. From the evidence of what I have seen,the temperamental kerala speedster needs to be given strict sentence if another incident occurs in the near future.

One thing is for Sure. The embarrassment suffered by Harbhajan(And to lesser extent BCCI) was acute, and his reputation has been damaged, possibly beyond repair. Had a foreign player been involved in the same incident, it would have been far worse? Thank God, Otherwise Anil Kumble would have hung his head in Shame, for he once complained that Cricket was never played in the "Spirit of the Game".

Adieu Stephen Flemming

Bye Pollock

Shaun Pollock, added to the legacy of his father Peter Pollock, an exceptional fast bowler, and uncle Graeme, among the greatest left-handers the game has seen, departed from Cricket in a blaze of glory in front of his home crowd in Durban.

His statistics are phenomenal: Having made his test debut vs England at 1995, he played 108 Tests and scored nearly 4000 runs and took 421 wickets at an healthy average of 23. He played just over 300 ODI's and took nearly 400 wickets.They stack well against the great all-rounders who preceded him in Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan. Shaun Pollock, extraordinarily consistent, the possessor of a perfect bowling action and a character that has never failed because of high personal standards and discipline helped SA to white wash Windies in his Farewell ODI Series and took the Man of the Series award. Pollock's pace slowed perhaps due to his workload with South Africa and Warwickshire, but his effectiveness remained intact.

He started his career as a tear-away fast bowler and formed a destructive pace combination with his best mate Allan 'White Lightening" Donald. He was pretty much the clone of Glenn Mcgrath. His economy rate of 3.69 is just brilliant. Pollock's toughest assignment was perhaps his captaincy which was given to him after the Match Fixing Saga in 2000 when Cronje was banned. He led the team remarkably and played the game with great dignity. One of Pollock's career highlights was winning the gold medal against Australia in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Pollock never had a great WC career. In 1999,though he claimed 5 wickets in the Semifinal Vs Australia, it was not enough for SA to march towards the final as his illustrious bowling partner ran himself out in that Epic Semifinal.

At the World Cup four years later, when captaining the South African team at home,South Africa was favourite to win the title but failed to qualify for the super six stage following a disastrous misreading of the Duckworth/Lewis rule by Pollock which cost the game Vs SriLanka.

Thanks Shaun for your memories.