The MCG disaster
The pain of being an Indian cricket fan is multifold. There are more ups and downs than a roller coaster ride. Then follows the shame, the ecstasy, the disappointment, the exhilaration, then finally anger. All these not necessarily in that order, and these emotions repeat themselves intermittently.
The Boxing day match started well for India, a couple of early wickets then the usual 'walkabout' by the bowlers, only to return to the MCG with a few quick wickets. They wrapped it up with efficacy, that was alien to India's bowling machine that is soon becoming a repeat act. India started batting well, Gambhir looked out of touch, but Viru & Rahul set about the task in their own ways, Viru bludgeoning the bowlers, Rahul being obdurate as only he can be. He is such a poster boy for test cricket. Sachin joined in and blazed away before settling down to a more test cricketish rate of scoring. India ended the day well placed for a lead of 150+, knowing all too well that the first hour's play would be extremely crucial.
Australia pulverize India in the first session to take a vital 51 run lead. India hit back fabulously with Yadav rattling the Aussie top order. At 27/4, Australia needed to counter attack, and that is exactly what Ponting & Hussey did, and did it with such class. Then Zaheer got Ponting against the run of play, to a lazy shot and Haddin to a poke outside off . And India were back in the game. Oz ended the day 230 runs ahead and 2 wickets in hand. India had to finish off the tail quickly the next morning. With Hussey still around, India could ill afford any lapses.
Hussey & Pattinson started off well. Hussey got a brute of delivery from Zaheer, a great delivery to end a great knock. Zaheer dropped Pattinson's mistimed hook and from then every run was another nail in the coffin for India. Ishant finished off the tail, but it seemed late. India started their chase carefully, but then the capitulation began. It was shameful, the way the batsmen went about the chase, no spine at all. Yes, "Spineless" is the only way to describe it. The Aussie bowlers did a great job of obliterating 'the best batting lineup in he world', with sustained hostility and consistent line.
India started the series with a decent chance of winning their first series in Australia. As tings stand now, they will have to fight to stand a chance of drawing it. The bowling did their job very well, the batting has to deliver. The middle order looked agile, almost non-existent. Dhoni's form is a cause for worry, and Virat looked very uncomfortable. Ashwin continues to impress, with his bowling & batting. The pacers were the one big plus for India in this test. Their fitness is key to India's success.
Just one more, statistic before I go, this is India' 5th consecutive overseas loss. Four in England & now at MCG.
Come on boys, show some heart & deliver at the SCG.
The Storm, Verbal Wars...
A lot has happened since the last post...Melbourne won the NRL for the second time. India went to war against the Aussies (verbally!!) among others!!
Firstly though it was a great year for my dear Rabbitohs, they made it to the finals after a long time. The euphoria did not last long though, losing in tier first & only game of the finals. But I am still very happy & proud of them. Bravo Bunnies!!
Coming to the rest of the finalists this year....they were all deserving, all of them having a point to prove from the Eels to the Bulldogs. But the fact that the Bunnies were also in the finals overshadowed everything else for me. Storm had an amazing winning almost 90% of their games this season, which I am sure is a league record. Manly Sea Eagles also had a great run until they met Storm in the Grand Final.
Some great rugby was played throughout the season. I personally did not get to see a lot, being in India. I did watch a few games on Australia Network. I saw my beloved Bunnies play a couple of times. That was very nice to say the least. To be able to watch them play while I am in a country so far away from OZ was exceptional. Here's to satellite technology and television!!!
While India did very well to win the Twenty20 WC...I am sure a lot of people will agree with me when I say that they went completely overboard in celebrating that win...true it was WC but did it warrant an open top double decker...coz at the end of the day its only a game. Let’s not go ballistic with our euphoria. The media is mostly responsible for this too. There is a need for some level headed pondering here; we do not have to go all out in either glorifying or in lambasting them for their performance. We need to find a middle path; else we can expect more instances of mobs attacking the houses of cricketers like in Dhoni's case after the ODI WC debacle.
As for the T20 WC win. It was great, especially so since it was a team of tyros (almost). The way Dhoni handled the team, the players and most importantly the situations was very admirable. He sure has a long way to go before being called a good captain; nonetheless he showed signs of getting there sooner than later. This being the shortest format of the game, it makes it easier for the minnows to beat the giants, like Zimbabwe beating the Aussies. But they still had to get things right, no discredit to them at all. The Aussies have not yet learnt the art of T20, they are in unfamiliar grounds.
I like the way Dhoni is backing his boys, something that an 'Indian Captain' has not done so well with eh exception of Kapil and more so Ganguly. He is giving the boys a lot of leeway for doing their thing, like with Sreesanth & Bhajji. This is a good sign only if they can back it up with some solid performances. Both Sree & Bhajji need to take a leaf out of each others performances, Sree need to cut down on the runs conceded, while Bhajji has to get a few more wickets. Though I am not completely convinced about Bhajji, I am prepared to give him another chance with the Pak series, he has to start getting more wickets before he gets back to test cricket. Kumble is still the spearhead of this young Indian bowling. We do have a decent motley, but none of them are something new to neither Pak, who will play us soon, not to Australia, where we play tests later.
The recent Aus-Ind ODI series is being labeled a very acrimonious one for reasons best known to Ponting & Symonds. They have always been at the fore front of 'mental disintegration'. They are a bit upset at losing the T20 WC and also that the Indians had the audacity to talk back to them. Symonds even went to the extent of alleging racist comments from the spectators. I have been to grounds in Australia to watch cricket and the kind of earful that a player on the line gets from the stands is not for the fainthearted. It take a lot of restrain from a man NOT to jump into the stands and whack the guy who's having a go at you, all because you are playing against his team.
Mark Waugh has already said in his column that Symonds is being silly with these allegations. But we can be sure of having a very hard time once or team lands Down Under. But we can be assured of one very entertaining series. I sure hope our boys go there in good form. We need our 'Big Three' to be in god form to do well there.
The less we talk about the Dravid resignation the better; he did a decent job while at the helm. Winning test series overseas in England & WI. Winning a test for the first time in SA. But he is better off now, this is good for him as well as for Indian cricket. He can do what he does best score runs. He is the Rock of our batting and he needs to be there for us to do well in Australia as well against Pakistan. His batting form will get better, being a class act that he is. So we have to only hope the selectors don't do anything stupid. Kudos to Rahul for making a brave decision !!
Here's to a better & stronger Indian team !!
Finally saw 'Chak De'...SRK did a decent job, though I have to credit the director with that. It is he, who is telling us a story. A fine story with no jingoistic patriotism at all is amazing. A fabulous movie...Shimit Amin is definitely one to watch out for. Also the girls in the movie were very very good, they all looked the part. Well Done, Mr.Amin.
Awaiting the release of 'Saawariya', 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Akbar-Jodha'. For different reasons though... Om..is gonna be a out and out commercial movie, the usual SRK fare ! The other two will be worth the wait...
Back to our old self....
After the high of the Test series win...the Indian cricket fan could not have been blamed too much to expect a win in the ODIs too. But as is the wont of the Indian team, they fell short, in this case, way short of their target. Barring Zaheer, Dravid & Karthik, none of the rest seemed to have come to work yesterday. What a shame to fall short by 104 runs whilst having Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, Yuvraj, Dhoni among others in your batting line-up ?????
The lack of a fifth bowler cannot be cited as the cause of the loss...the other bowlers did not do any better. Agarkar after having played close to 200 (187 to be exact) games still goes for runs...wonder when will he learn to be (more) consistent with his bowling. The batting was woeful to say the least. Dhoni scored at strike rate of around 30, which for a late middle order batsman is pathetic.
Well, this being a series of seven games we still have a good chance of making up...only if we come good and quickly too.
The Essel group has announced the list of players who have registered to pay in the Indian Cricket League (ICL). I only hope that this does lead to us having two weak league instead one that will strengthen the domestic cricket in India.
But this sure will make great viewing, with Lara, Inzamam, Yousuf among others playing. Also there is talk of Chris Harris, Shane Warne & McGrath also joining. The Hyderabad Ranji team was the worst affected by this exodus players, with as many as seven of their players signing up for the ICL. This sure is a major sign that all is not well with cricket in Hyderabad. They will now have n all new team for the next season, including a new captain.
I have been told by all and sundry that the new Shah Rukh Khan flick, "Chak De India" is probably the best Indian sports movie. For me, Iqbal has been the best, mind you..I haven't seen 'Chak De' yet. Most of them have also told me that this is by far the best performance by Shah Rukh. I always found him to be a slave to his mannerisms, pretty unpalatable for me. He seems to be Shah Rukh in all his movies, not his character.
I reserve my opinion till I have seen this one. His best performance for me was Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa !! That was way back before he got soo bigg !!
