CricDigs Blogs

Day three of the Kotla test match will be remembered for two things. Firstly, the unimpressive showing of the Indian captain, despite bowling on his favourite, record-breaking pitch and secondly for the resolute batting by the Aussies. It was apparent from the way the Indians had batted for the first day-and-a-half that this pitch didn’t have too much life in it and the bowlers had to dig in their reserves and come up with something special. This is where they needed leadership in the form of a skipper who was ready to take chances and seize the limited opportunities that were due to come the bowling side’s way. What turned out was a rather ordinary show by Anil Kumble.

When he came on to bowl, everyone was expecting him to give the team the much-needed breakthrough. However, for nearly half-an-hour, Kumble kept pitching the ball well short of the good length area, giving ample opportunities to the batsmen to sweep and pull him. It is no secret that he tends to struggle a bit against the left-handers. With this point in mind, he should have made some quick bowling changes and made sure that Hayden was denied access to quick runs. Instead, he hardly made any inspiring bowling alterations and the likes of Sehewag and Tendulkar were under-utilised. Agreed, they are both part-time bowlers but doesn’t it make sense to try them for a few overs?

Eventually, it was Sehewag who got the wicket of Hayden, but it seemed that he had been brought on far too late. When Hayden departed, Australia had already sailed into the safety zone. Dhoni had been inspirational in the Mohali test match, making quick bowling changes and asking his bowlers to change the bowling angles and their flight in the air. Whereas Kumble appeared content with giving the bowlers extended spells, even when it was clear that the two left-handers — Hayden and Katich were at total ease and were stealing singles and twos at will. India did manage to get four wickets as the day ended, but the Aussies had stolen the initiative by digging in at the crease. Each of their top four batsmen may have batted a bit slowly but has contributed handsomely to the score and it would take the Indian think-tank to pull out something extraordinary to get the Australian team out for anything less than 500.

As day two of the Kotla test match came to an end, one fact was established beyond a shadow of any doubt. Since the point in time of the first test match where Zaheer and Bhajji had turned the tables on the Aussies by refusing to get out, it has been the Indians who have consistently got the better of each session and the Aussies have been put on the defensive like never before. India has a monumental score and aping that kind of a scorecard is not going to be easy. Ponting’s men realise that any realistic chance of winning this test match has been put to rest. The only option they have is forcing a draw.

This is where India’s biggest advantage lies. This kind of thinking itself is new for the world champions. Playing for a draw is unfamiliar territory for the men from Down Under. The likes of Hayden and Ponting are busy with their personal battles with Zaheer and Ishant Sharma respectively. The Aussie middle order would be susceptible against the Indian spinners. However, there are some worrying factors also which may prevent India from wrapping up the test series at Kotla.

First of all the pitch is turning out to be a belter of a surface. The bounce is so true that the batsmen can walk down the pitch and hit the ball without fearing any horizontal movement or any late swing from the lifeless Kotla surface. The Indian team is banking on the pitch to dry up further and develop an inconsistent bounce to aid the likes of Kumble and Amit Mishra. For someone who likes to flight the ball, bowling in these circumstances would be a real challenge for Mishra as he can’t hope for the pitch to provide any assistance on day three.

A drawn test match really wouldn’t do the Indian cause a big favour. There is a big possibility that Gambhir would face a one-match suspension and may not be available for selection in the last match and there are still questions hanging around Bhajji’s fitness for the final test match. Neither would the Indian team prefer to play in a deciding, final-kind of a test match in front of the home crowd. This is where I feel that Bhajji’s injury could not have come at a more wrong time. The pitch is very slow and his high-arm action could have extracted some extra bounce from the pitch and his sore equation with the Aussies would have certainly worked in our favour. It is still Advantage India, but there is an ocean to swim before we end up winning the series.

The Australians just can’t help it, I said it before and I will say it again. The Aussie team is a bunch of sore, sore losers. Losers not in the literal sense because their winning record is still very good, but because of the fact that just a hint of an opposing team player coming good makes them jittery and brings out the worst of behaviour from them. Day one of the Delhi test match essentially belonged to Gautam Gambhir. The Delhi batsman was in total control from the very onset and the Aussie bowlers were on the receiving end. So, how did the Kangaroos react to this? In the usual manner by trying to provoke the batsman into doing something silly. This time it wasn’t Symonds or Hayden, but the newest member of the Aussie cricketing drama — Shane Watson.

Rather than concentrating on how to get Gambhir out, Watson seemed more content at mouthing off Gambhir on more than one occasion. Somewhere around the 51st – 52nd over mark, as Gambhir was completing a run, he made some gesture to Gambhir with his elbow. What Gambhir did in return won’t be described as the best approach to the situation but it felt good to see the way the diminutive batsman stuck his elbow out as he turned for the second run and his elbow poked Watson right in the rib cage. I totally agree with Mohinder Amarnath when he says that rather than taking notice of Gambhir’s retaliation or questioning the sensibility of reacting the way he did, may be the match referee should look at the circumstances that were created by the Aussies that made Gambhir react in the way he did.

And this wasn’t the end of it. As the day proceeded and it was clear that the Aussies had lost all control over the proceedings of the match, the usually reticent Simon Katich started mirroring Watson’s sentiments by repeatedly engaging Gambhir in futile arguments and it was with the umpire’s intervention that the Katich eventually returned to bowling. And this is when it was Ponting who had appealed for the spirit of the game to be upheld in this series.
Ponting had questioned the spirit of playing the game being alive in the Indian dressing room. So which dressing room has the spirit now, Mr. Ponting? Well can someone please make sure that during the match referee’s hearing, Gambhir’s plight is highlighted or is it going to be another case of a sub-continental player being penalised and the ‘phirangi’ partner-in-crime getting off the hook? With Chris Broad as the match referee, I do fear the worst. I hope I am wrong this time.

Most cricketing fans are delighted with what happened on the second day of the third test match between India and Australia. When the day began, all eyes were set on Gambhir as everyone waited for the local hero to get his 150. However, as Sunny Gavaskar said, Gambhir isn’t new to scoring big hundreds and the 150 should have been used by someone as young and hungry as Gambhir as a starting point and that is exactly what the Delhi opener did. He went on to score his maiden test double century, making sure that the run rate never really suffered because of his personal landmarks. This cannot be said about the other double centurion of the Indian innings, VVS Laxman. While Gambhir made sure that he used his feet and remained positive even when he was in the 190s, Laxman seemed obsessed with getting the century and the double century mark.

He had been stuck when approaching his century too. When it was becoming more than apparent that the time for declaration had come, Kumble waited for his teammate to get to the double century mark. Things had in fact come to such a standstill with Laxman taking absolutely no risks that it was left to the opposing captain, Ricky Ponting, to call the whole field inside the fielding circle, thereby allowing Laxman a chance to lift the bowl over the top and get his second double century. What this meant was that India had to sacrifice nearly 15 to 20 overs of very crucial bowling period against the Aussies. This is where I don’t see Kumble being a captain as capable and steeled enough to take the harsh decisions.

Most of us would recall that Dravid had declared against Pakistan when Tendulkar was batting on 194, which had left even the Little Master shocked. As the day was coming to an end, the Aussies seemed tired and frustrated with the excellent batting display of the Indians. It made a lot of sense to declare in time, giving the fast bowlers and the spinners a decent enough chance of getting two to three important wickets and making sure that the Aussies went back to their dressing room with any notion of winning the test match being knocked out. Kumble proved my point-of-view correct by being defensive again and waiting for a player to get a personal landmark, as if winning the test match was a secondary issue. The captain and such a senior member of the team really should have thought otherwise. What kind of a message it would send to the likes of Gambhir and Dhoni — that having better personal batting averages and records is more important than the team winning the match?

The Kotla test match began with India winning the toss electing to bat on a pitch that looked very slow and dry from the onset. The Indian innings was supposed to be given a swashbuckling opening that everyone is accustomed to from the Indian openers. However, the real story turned out pretty differently. It was evident that the batsmen had to be quick to come on to the frontfoot to keep away the incoming deliveries that would tend to slide in lower than the expectation of the batsman. However, the local hero, Sehewag didn’t seem to think so and was clearly sluggish in moving his feet when Brett Lee struck in the third over of the match and had Virender Sehwag plumb in front of the wickets.

Dravid walked in and tried to steady the ship in the company of Gambhir but didn’t last too long. By this time it was evident that the pitch wasn’t the most conducive surface for playing strokes on the up. It needed one of the Indian batsmen to try and hold the innings together and this exactly what Gambhir did. He plugged his usual style of coming down the wicket or playing uppish square drives. Instead, he chose a more sedate role, allowing his partners the comfort of knowing that at least one of them was ready to play out the entire day. In fact, at one point in time, Dravid’s scoring rate was better than that of Gambhir! It is difficult to imagine how an attacking batsman like Gambhir could subdue and mould his game so well.

I believe that Sachin Tendulkar was able to play his natural game and went on the offensive against the Aussie quicks only because Gambhir had blunted the Aussie attack at one end. Tendulkar started playing his usual strokes while Gambhir decided to seek the singles and play with a straight bat. Gambhir continued to stand tall, facing the likes of Lee with composure and brought up his century around the 60th over of the match. If he could play such mature innings more often, it would allow the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar to play more freely. It is about time this talented left-hander fulfils his potential and establishes himself as India’s unquestioned opening batsman.

Cricketing boards around the world seem to be slugging it out over administrative and scheduling issues. As England played the first of its Stanford Series matches, the views expressed from around the cricketing fraternity exclaimed how the ECB had literally sold of its players and teams for a non-cricketing cause. Even the likes of Geoffrey Boycott have come to terms with T20 cricket, saying it is a must for the game to survive, but even he couldn’t comprehend the logic behind T20 matches being organised between a national side and a privately-owned corporate team. Again, what exactly is the logic behind the West Indian players donning the uniforms for Stanford and not their national logos? Does this mean that on that day, the Stanford Group has bought the entire West Indies cricket team? The ECB has gone in a mood of snubbing everyone who has counter-questioned their wisdom.

Now, closer home, the SLC — Sri Lankan Cricket authorities are at loggerheads with the BCCI. The SLC strongly feels that their players should give priority to national duty rather than club cricket — IPL. Notwithstanding, the SLC’s sentiments, the BCCI has cleared that the Sri Lankan cricketers had signed up to participate in the IPL for three seasons. This has stumped the SLC. They were under the assumption that their players had been contracted for the first season only. This comes in the wake of the Sri Lankan players being asked to continue with their England Tour rather than play for the money-rich IPL. Now, the BCCI is on the verge of snapping its ties with the SLC, if the Board doesn’t allow its players to take part in the IPL. Things are getting worse with national sentiments divided among the viewing public. Most people agree with SLC head, Ranatunga, that it is immoral to choose club cricket over international, test cricket.

Even IPL’s arch rival, the ICL is on a warpath with its players. Reportedly, the Dhaka Warriors aren’t pleased with the amenities extended to them. The ICL has suspended an international player, Chris Cairns of New Zealand along with former Indian player, Dines Mongaia on disciplinary grounds. The ICL-IPL talks seem to be headed nowhere as everyone knows that Lalit Modi is going to be relentless in his pursuit to make IPL the undisputed T20 Championship. There were suggestions that ICL could sell its franchise to the IPL, helping IPL to eliminate the competition and increase the number of participating teams. The ICL bosses seem perturbed over the fact that the second edition is witnessing one-sided matches and limited crowds in the stadiums.

So as the situation stands now — the Stanford Series has soured relationships of world cricketing boards and the ECB. The ECB and SLC aren’t on the best of terms, with the forthcoming Sri Lanka – England series on the verge of being scrapped. Like I said, the BCCI and SLC are already slugging it out. Phew!! This is the state of things when we have less than ten Test teams and the game is struggling to re-invent itself and survive. May God hammer some sense into these crusading cricket boards and make them realise the bigger goal — uplifting and spreading the game.

One memory that is spurring on the Indians and haunting the Aussies is that of Kumble’s 10-wicket haul against the Pakistanis a few years back. Why do these memories still make sense? Simply because the Kotla pitch looks the one similar on which Kumble claimed 10 wickets. Further, because the Kotla is famous for producing results. The last seven test matches have all seen results, early in the fifth or the fourth day itself. The problem that the Aussies face is the rough nature of the pitch. No matter how easy it looks to bat upon for the first day or two, the pitch is basically abrasive in nature. This is something that every domestic cricketer in India and the curator vouch for. No matter how much rolling and sprinkling of water is done, the Kotla pitch is a dry, dry turner in its true essence. This poses problems for the Aussies and a quandary for the Indian camp.

The Aussie Predicament — the slow nature of the pitch doesn’t suit the batting style of the likes of Hayden, Ponting and Haddin. Hayden has been susceptible to the low-bounce deliveries that tend to just bend in a bit. The abrasiveness of the surface means that the reverse swing factor would come in early in the match. This is something that has got the Aussies confused during this series. Further, the slow turner is of great assistance to the likes of Bhajji and Mishra. Now, Kumble would be backing himself to make a grand return on his most favourite pitch and nail the Aussies in the capital city, meaning the pitch induces confidence in the Indian captain, again a negative for the tourists. The short square boundaries mean that the two opening batsmen for India, both Sehewag and Gambhir, if not tamed early could wreck havoc on the medium pacers of Australia. Again, both Sehewag and Gambhir have grown up on the Kotla – this is where they began playing cricket, Kotla being their home ground.

The Indian Quandary — whom to drop — Kumble or Mishra? What kind of a combination to choose — six or five batsmen? The top five batsmen choose themselves, so can they really axe the likes of Ganguly or Laxman? Ganguly has been in his silken touch. The slow pitch could translate into Viru being used as a fifth bowling option, so the six batsmen theory does have more sensibility attached to it. Should they alter the balance of a match-winning team just to accommodate a captain who is not in the best of touch?

I don’t remember exactly which, but recently there was a model introduced by BMW that had a new Help-Seek Mode for the driver in case he felt giddy or was losing control of the car. Let us compare that model to the Aussie set-up. Just like the BMW they have been known for setting world-class standards. However, just like the safety device introduced, the Aussies are also in a help-seeking mode, which makes sense since most of their planning is scattered all over the place and it must be making the team think-tank rather giddy for sure! The Aussies are really frantic about the Delhi test match.

Earlier, they had roped in the services of Greg Chappell, hoping he would provide inputs about the Indian team’s sore points. Now, they have employed the services of Bishan Singh Bedi, one of India’s all-time greatest spinners. However, maybe they don’t realise that Bishan Bedi isn’t exactly the humble and dignified fool they might be hoping for him to be and leak out all the nuances of playing on our surfaces. Bedi is a warrior to the core. He was and is still known for being a real pain when it comes to winning anything.

He really isn’t the type to graciously help the Aussies as much he could in reality. In fact, I believe he might come out of the Aussie camp with some information to be shared with the Indian camp. I say this for a fact. My father had played district and club-level cricket along with the likes of Bedi and Raman Lamba. He still remembers how the aggressive Sardar wouldn’t give an inch to the opposition and whenever seen on TV, he still looks like the old wise wolf. Stories of his hard work are a legend in Delhi’s cricket circles, till date. If the Aussies really think that they are gonna benefit from his inputs, good luck to them.

Well the Aussies sure are pushing their luck this time by saying too much and doing too little. Steven Waugh is also in the Aussie training camp. He is the mental factor they believe for the Aussie camp, which can help them get back the edge. He too is expressing his opinions even though few would take the time to react to it. With so many former cricketers in the Aussie camp and discussion going on, when does the team actually get along and practice as a unit? Shane Warne is shouting on the other end of the southern hemisphere, saying that the Australian team would make the comeback of a lifetime. One thing is for sure, once retired, the game does become a lot easier for the players doesn’t it? Predict something, if it comes true — “Didn’t we say so?” And if doesn’t — “I am not a fortune teller, you know?”

I had been waiting for a long time to see the more aggressive side of Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach. I always believed he was one of the most dogged batsman, not the greatest and not the most talented, to have played the game. There were countless times when he had single-handedly structured a South African win in the direst of circumstances. When India was touring Australia and his name was brought up as the new coach of the Indian team, he chose to travel with the team and interact with them rather than straight-away take charge of the team.

According to Ravi Shastri, who was there as a sports commentator, Gary had given invaluable tips to the Indians in how to handle the Aussie verbal aggression and not let them get under their skin. Since, that time Gary has gelled well with the team and the support staff is going ga-ga over how he manages every small aspect of preparation for a big match. Now, for the first time since the series began, he has spoken out. First of all, he clarified the air, saying that India needed six batsmen on a pitch that was sure to crumble on the fourth day itself. He further didn’t add fuel to the question of Kumble being dropped.

Diplomatically, he said that the captain had to assess himself. Regarding the question of aggression shown by the Indians and the Aussie backlash, he didn’t dodge the bullet by undermining the antics of both the teams. In fact, he stressed upon the need for aggression from both teams to make the series more interesting. He further supported the cause of Bhajji and Zaheer, negating any theory that said that the two were emotionally more vulnerable than the rest of the team.

His countless sessions with the individual players and strategising is becoming visible now, making sure that the Indians maintain the consistency just the way he made sure that South Africa won every time he batted — mixing caution with aggression, never giving an inch to the opposition and standing his ground no matter how ungainly he looked — this man is not about appearances and smart one-liners, he is the Silent Killer type — more than happy to grind it till the end and wait for the opposition to self-destruct.

Whether the Aussies win this edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy or not, the world will remember one aspect of this test series for a long, long time. I guess everyone is bound to, as it has never happened before. The cricketing world has never seen an Australian captain so full of it and so unworthy of being the representative of a great cricketing nation. Things have reached such an extreme that the Aussie media back home too is asking for appointing Michael Clarke as the new captain. Just take this for an example. His own team is on the brink of losing the test match, he has no good spinning option, his team was beaten black and blue at Mohali, his rapport with a senior bowler has gone awry and his credentials as a captain are being questioned.

So how does the supposed greatest batsman of the modern era (i.e. according to the likes of former Australian captains only) dig himself out of this situation? By scoring a breathtaking match-saving century? No. By maintaining a dignified silence? Hell, no. By seeking the help of a few reasonable cricketing experts? Absolutely, not.

My man, Ponting mouths off again, trying to play some sort of a sarcastic game with the media and the Indian team by hinting that the Indians might be too guarded to drop Kumble and would rather have a batsman dropped!! And this is when his team went into the Mohali test match with just three proper bowlers. This is when he was caught calling Cameron White, a part-time spinner at best, and a great leg-spinning option in the making. This is when he chose Hussey as a bowler over Brett Lee.

You have to give it to the man for his sheer fortitude — whether it comes from belonging to Down Under or an ego to massive to be questioned even for a minute, no one really knows. Greg Chappell once called Ponting the greatest modern-day captain in world cricket — a captain who was childish enough in his approach to arrive intentionally late for the small function that was held at the Kotla to facilitate him! Only a Chappell would say something like that. Did someone say it takes one to know one?? Try and figure out your own team, Punter.