Ind vs Eng Day 1: Sehewag Special in the Making?

Virender Sehewag has just lofted Graeme Swann for a boundary and as I glance at the scorecard reading no wickets for nearly 116, it seems that Day 1 of the first test match between India and England well might turn into another Sehewag special. The way Sehewag is batting, Alistair Cook must be cursing his luck for having lost the toss. Even Gavaskar commented that this time around, Sehewag is looking rather determined. Early on, the Delhi Blaster was a cautious-something he has been guilty of not doing in the last ten innings or so. If he is ready to keep his head down and look upon this opportunity to register another double ton there is nothing that can possibly stop him, at least not the English bowling. Only Stuart Broad has shown some semblance of bowling a line that can contain or challenge the batsmen. Surprisingly, the English bowlers did not use the short bowl, even to Gambhir, despite being fully aware that he is a bit of compulsive puller on typically sub-continental conditions. I end this post, hoping that Sehewag redeems his recent failures by absolutely butchering the Englishmen.

Can We Look Beyond the Opener Obsession in India?

The selection of Indian players for the first two test matches against the visiting England team has been made. From what has been reported on TV channels and newspapers, the sports media at large seems obsessed with who is going to form the opening pair for India, who are the reserve openers and what could have been a better selection. To add more fuel to the opener conundrum, the chief selector, Mr. Sandeep Patil underlined that Rahane has been retained as a middle-order batsmen and not-an-opener. What surprises me is that nobody has bothered to question the form of the middle or the late order
that has been woefully short on runs in the last, two seasons. Yes, the Sehewag-Gambhir equation has not been delivering but neither is the Indian middle order. Perhaps, some wisdom will prevail and a journalistic/media resource will highlight the state of the entire batting line-up rather than obsessing about the openers. Just to end this discussion, what is the big fuss about selecting Murali Vijay over Mukund or not giving Rahane a chance to partner Gambhir? The seriousness with which these questions are being raised make it seem like Gambhir and Sehewag have outrun their shelf-life and the possible options are might talents...which is not the case!

Day 2: India vs Australia 2011: Bumpy Sehewag Gives India a Smooth Start

The first instance of it immediately raked up images from the controversial India Australia test series of 2007. I am talking about Sehewag bumping into Pattinson, the young Aussie bowler, and Sehewag verbally and animatedly asking Pattinson to mind himself, raising his bat in the air. However, soon things became calmer when Gautam Gambhir played what can be best described as a horrible, unnecessary poke outside his off-stump to give Australia their first breakthrough. However, at this moment, Dravid has joined forces with Sehewag who seems to be continuing from his 190+ score at this same venue a few years ago. Yes, he had his usual share of almost-out instance, but most Sehewag followers have now become accustomed to it.
A Sehewag innings without some anxiety and panic attacks among the Indian fans just wouldn't have its natural flavor. The second bump from Sehewag was a bit harder but didn't flare the tempers in either camp when he accidentally bumped into Peter Siddle. Sehewag apologized immediately and Siddle just seemed too busy thinking about his next delivery to exchange any verbal volleys. Sehewag is nearing another test half century as I write this, and hopefully, he can convert into another test ton. As long as he is at the crease, things seem a bit undemanding for the Indian batsmen. His daredevil method of batting seems to have rubbed on Rahul Dravid too who is batting with much more freedom than what we usually witness during the early part of his test match batting.  

Jayawardene Proves More 'Proper' Batsmen Flourish in T20 format

By now,you would have read about or seen the magnificent innings that Jayawardene played yesterday, against the West Indies. While it has been surprising to most cricket observers that Mahela has taken so well to the opening profile that he was offered even though Jayasuriya is still in the playing XI.However, I would like to add that the promotion of Mahela to the opening slot and his tremendous success in his new role proves one thing that might have escaped the attention of the T20 fans: it is not the mad-hopping T20 batsmen that are making the most of this shortened format of the game but the veterans or those who have flourished as test and ODI batsmen who are bringing-in the most, match-winning innings.

Even if you look at the IPL since its very inception, it was the likes of Hayden, Gilchrist, Gayle and Sehewag, all big test match players, who made the most impact. Even in the last edition of the IPL, i.e. the 2010 IPL season, it was Sachin Tendulkar, regarded more orthodox than some of the supposed T20 specialists like Pollard and Shane Watson who was the most consistent and the biggest run-getter of the tournament. Geoffrey Boycott has often commented that it is not the format of the game that creates champion batsmen but it is the champion players who adapt and come to terms with the newest of formats and still reign. Jayawardene's tremendous success and his unbelievable range of shots on display in the current edition of the T20 World Cup merely supports this theory. All the youngsters who were thinking that they are going to make a living out simply clobbering the ball in T20s and sustain themselves in the squad by scoring an odd 20-25 runs are on a short lease...perform soon or perish forever.

IPL3: Not jerking this—Daredevils do have an edge

You might say that I am blowing the same horn that has been voiced by some of the betting agencies who have placed the Delhi Daredevils as the most favored team to win the IPL3 but this isn’t so—the fact is that this is one of the most balanced sides in the third edition of the IPL. They have someone like Glenn McGrath waiting in the ranks and Rajat Bhatia hasn’t been listed for the first four matches though he is a very useful all-rounder. Further, there is an abundance of handy players in the side who can bat and bowl, including the likes of Sehewag and Dilshan who are good enough to win matches with their batting alone. Add to this mix, the likes of Gambhir, the Daredevil skipper, and DeVilliers and you have the most formidable batting line-up in the competition. The fielding standards too are at par with any other team playing in IPL3 and none of the players are scheduled to leave the side before the final match is played—a problem being faced by many sides in the competition, and none of the benched players are unfit or struggling for form. What all this means is that Daredevils are the only side that can field a full-fit and competitive side for each of their IPL3 league matches.

Is Tendulkar's Epic Innings precursor to ODI 200s??

It is an unarguable fact that Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the greatest batsmen in contemporary cricket even as the debate on his status as an all-time great among the game’s leading run-scorers will continue to seep into every cricketing conversation for many years to come. His most recent landmark—the 200+ score in an ODI may become something of a precursor, considering the amount of runs that are being scored in an average ODI game. It seems that scoring in excess of 300 runs is a mere formality when playing in the sub-continent and with Sachin’s record-breaking effort, the mental block of reaching the double-century mark in the 50-over game might have been broken. Considering the kind of batsmen that are opening the innings in the modern ODI format, from Sehewag to Gayle, and the mediocrity of the bowling oppositions, it might become a more regular feature than any of us could have imagined a couple of years back. I would say this is Sachin’s second biggest contribution in redefining the ODI game. Firstly, he single-handedly introduced the feature of an aggressive, opening bat who was relentless on the bowlers and the pattern was emulated by every international team. Now, he has reset the benchmarks for ODI openers and might have opened the floodgates for ODI doubles!!

The ‘Singles Approach’ — a Kirsten thing?

If you recall, the entry of South Africa during the 1992 World Cup heralded a new fashion of setting-up decent scores in ODI without taking too many risks — the idea was to take as many quick singles and secures the wickets for the slog overs. Before this, the Australians were regarded as the best team in terms of running, seemingly-risky but actually, safe singles and running the opposition teams, ragged. Yes, there were some players from the sub-continent like Miandad who had created a niche for themselves by being canny single seekers but beyond a few names, this approach was limited to Australia. After the 1992 season, Hansie Cronje’s South Africa gave a new definition to this approach wherein under the coaching of Bob Woolmer, the team started believing that if you could take a single off every ball, a score of around 300 was easily achievable and that too when a score of ODI game was within the realm of 225 – 250. Those who have a good cricket memory would recall that one of South Africa keenest followers of this approach and a dedicated innings architect for nearly a decade was India’s preset coach, Gary Kirsten. The man literally grew upon the opposition not through magnanimous shots that are played by the likes of Sehewag or Hayden, but through this, singles approach. It seems that the current Indian team is beginning to understand the virtue of this noble approach. For starters, for the first time in probably a decade, the team looks hungry to rotate the strike and their batting appetite is being satiated through taking a boundary but along with preceding and following the boundary shot by placing the ball into gaps and running lots of ones/twos.
I personally believe that this is a direct effect of Kirsten’s presence in the squad. He has somehow managed to appeal to the senses of the boundary-and-sixes hitters in the team that the entire idea is to keep the game moving even if it means sacrificing your ‘glory’ shots and running a lot, for the team’s cause. The result is very evident — batsmen like Gambhir and Sehewag are becoming more comprehensive batters, learning how to mix-up their innings which previously, often bordered on being one-way traffic. The idea was introduced by Greg Chappell also but somehow his much-maligned approach didn’t work with the team.

Murali Vijay or Virat Kohli?

Gautam Gambhir has been declared unfit for the last test match between SL and India. It seems that the most probable selection would be Murali Vijay who is reputed to have a decent technique and is a full-time opener. However, it might be a wise idea to try-out Virat Kohli who has been piling on the runs in the domestic games. Yes, he did not do very well in the limited opportunities he got in the recent one-dayers, but he does look like a player who is meant to play international cricket. Just about a season back, he was asked to open in a series against the Lankans, and he adapted to the challenge. He has just scored another double century for Delhi and his current form should not be ignored. This way, the selectors would be preparing one player who could also open in the ODIs in case Sehewag, Sachin or Gambhir get injured.