Monthly Archives: October 2015

India have too many Virus and not enough Dravids

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

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“I want to thank everyone for all the cricketing advice given to me over the years and apologize for not accepting most of it! I had a reason for not following it: I did it my way” – Virender Sehwag.

Players like the recently retired Virender Sehwag are the reason a lot of people watch cricket. Players like AB De Villiers and Brendon McCullum are part of the reason cricket is so loved. Care free players who don’t even look like they’re playing cricket. They invent new shots, the Dilscoop, the flamingo and the helicopter. They play outside convention and can make or break a game. However just like with most other sports, if everyone is on the attack there is no one in defence.

India are currently in a crisis, they are a team of Virus. As entertaining as that might be to watch 11 Virender Sehwags running around on the field, it doesn’t make for good cricket. Before the great four retired, India had one of the most incredible teams. It included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Players who knew when to attack and when to hold back. Players who played to the conditions and to the opposition.

The recent surge in T20 cricket has killed the game. Scores below 180 are considered below par. The pressure on batsmen to score has rocketed and all players are being forced to hit out or get out. That is the way modern cricket is moving. There is very little room for players who resemble the likes of Rahul Dravid. Cheteshwar Pujara has been held back from the ODI and T20 team yet India on several occasions have failed to play out a full 50 overs of cricket. There is no consistency in the team. Each player plays to their strengths. If every batsman in India’s ODI team had a good day, they could easily reach 400. However the opposite is also true. If they all have a bad day…

India have been lucky so far. They have players who are more than talented. More often than not, the matches India win are from some single outstanding performance, not a collective one. With each player playing to win on their own and not looking at the big picture. India’s 3rd ODI against South Africa showed just that. They had done well to limit the visitors to 270. It was still a good score but not unachievable, especially not with India’s line-up.

The hosts got off to a decent start bar Shikhar Dhawan’s attempted release shot to a fairly new ball that was still moving. Rohit Sharma was playing well and Virat Kohli looked in good nick. However it all went downhill once Rohit was removed in the 22nd over. From there, only 80 runs came in 20 overs. MS Dhoni who had promoted himself up the order (ahead of Ajinkya Rahane) and Virat Kohli slowed down the run rate massively believing they would be able to finish it off easily at the end. That resounding belief in their own ability is what got them into trouble. Morne Morkel was bowling fantastically and removed Dhoni. Rahane was once again pushed down the order for no reason to make way for an out of touch Suresh Raina and the next three wickets of Raina, Kohli and Rahane fell to slogs caught at deep midwicket. India fell short by 18 runs.

There was no sense to India’s madness. Dhoni’s promotion to no.4, pushing Rahane down the order, not believing in the team and the team then justifying such disbelief with poor cricket. India will really need to go back to the drawing board for the next ODI in Chennai. Dhoni’s ad-lib tactics are beginning to fail India more often than not.

The sun finally set for Pakistan.

18 Sunday Oct 2015

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Imagine a Test match where the first two innings racked up a grand total of 1121 runs and the third innings has not even begun by the morning of the fifth and final day. Now imagine that test falling just 25 runs short of a result due to poor lighting. Only such a Test could involve possibly one of the most interesting teams in cricket, Pakistan.

It was the first of three Tests between England and Pakistan and Abu Dhabi had produced possibly one of the most limp and lifeless pitches in recent times. Pakistan had not only failed the game, they had failed themselves. They had failed to back their bowlers. Failed to back the likes of Wahab Riaz who put on one of the most incredible pace bowling performances in recent history. The first four days of the Test came and went with two batsmen scoring 200+ runs each (with Cook scoring 250+) but nothing else happened. Once again Test cricket was clearly doing everything in its power to drive away the few fans it has left. Each wicket came at almost 70 runs apiece in the first four days and a result looked about as likely as dogs playing poker.

The fifth day had finally come and with a lead of 74 England finally declared. It was easy to assume Pakistan would play out the day and give their bowlers an hour max to have a whack at England when they had 150 on the board. However, this was not how the day played out.

The Gods had finally taken it into their own hands to produce a wicket for some exciting cricket. The almighty had come to reward England for their hard work and in particular, a debutante leg-spinner who had bowled his heart out in the first innings to no effect. Adil Rashid became the hero of the hour as he picked up five wickets in Pakistan’s second innings. Within 14 runs, Pakistan’s tail had fizzled out. Rashid had opened up the gates to the possibility of a victory as England only needed 99 runs to win the game.

The Test had finally come to life. The visitors had more than enough overs to make the total. It was the sun they were chasing. In a full-blown T20 style attack from the batsmen, England came within inches of the finishing line. Moeen Ali was joined by Jos Buttler to open the batting. They were going full steam ahead with boundaries right from the word ‘go’. Runs came and wickets fell. Joe Root, with some assistance from Ali and a smashing six from Jonny Bairstow off Wahab Riaz, took England as far as they could. England ended on 74-4 as the day came to close. A score which would look extremely poor from the outside, but not from inside the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The score showed hope and belief. Something Pakistan will need for the coming Tests.

Cricket’s ‘extremists’.

07 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Every religion has a huge spectrum of followers. From those who associate themselves with a religion, to those who follow their teachings to a T. However it is only ever the extremists that get the attention. From the gang rapists in India, to the terrorists in Iraq and Syria. It may be far stretch to compare certain fans to terrorists, but to me, these people are the terrorists of my religion.

On Tuesday the 6th of October at the Cuttack stadium, the good name of Indian cricket was sullied by a group of Individuals. Individuals who had decided to take it into their own hands to try and alter the course of the game after India struck out for 92 in 18 overs. They had decided to throw bottles onto the field in protest of India’s poor performance. The first instance of bottle throwing occurred between innings. Luckily it had no impact on the game. That however is where it should have stopped. The fact that two more episodes occurred, one of which forced the players off the field just showed how poor security was at the stadium and how poor the crowd were. There was no love for cricket as a sport that day.

Were a football fan to throw anything onto the pitch they would be kicked out immediately. You wouldn’t even notice. However it took 50+ minutes and an entire stand evacuation before play could continue. Even those fans who had come just to appreciate the game were kicked out.

How can a team feel encouraged to go and play abroad when this is the response they get? South Africa were clinical. Albie Morkel bowled fantastically well but there was no appreciation for him. Instead he was greeted with a mob of angry Indians who were not happy their team had performed so poorly.

It was also a poor response from MS Dhoni in the press conferenceto downplay such behaviour. It may well have been that the crowd were just doing it for fun and it had nothing to do with the fact that India were losing (however unlikely), but it was completely not in the spirit of the game and extremely dangerous for the players

Hopefully the rest of the series will not carry the bitter taste of such behaviour, regardless of India’s performance. (I will however pray India find some form soon).