BOOM BOOM INDIA!

India completed a dominating victory against England in the 1st ODI of the ongoing 7 ODI series. India out performed England by far in batting and bowling. Put into bat on a pitch the promised bowlers early swing, Indian openers, Sehwag and Gambhir put up 127 for first wicket. While that was phenomenal, what followed was incredible - Yuvi blasted out 138 runs in just 78 balls. Owing to the efforts of Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvi, India posted the highest ever target against England of 388 runs in 50 overs.

Indian opening bowlers then managed to find all the accuracy and swing that English seamer's were missing. Both Zaheer and Munaf bowled miserly spell's and also bagged 4 wicket's even before the spinners were introduced. After that there was no real hope for England and they folded up for a meagre total of 229 runs in the 38th over - giving India a victory margin of 158 runs.

For me an Indian win was almost a certainty, still the margin of victory was incredible. Reading England's writers before the match and listening to English commentator's before Sehwag and Gambir got the show on the road, one were lead to believe that we are up for a very stiff and competitive series.

David Loyld in particular predicted a almost Australia-India like contest, drawing parallels which were funny at best. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/377984.html?view=transcript In a obvious effort to bring interest in the series and perhaps to dream out aloud, he came up with real good stuff like - Sehwag will be found wanting against England's pace attack (after he has proven himself against likes of Lee in Australia), Zahreer and Bajji can be out focused by playing mind games (last time England tried that with 'jellygate' incident in England, Zaheer came up with a match winning performance), India is vulnerable without Ganguly and Dravid in its ODI team (when was the last time Loyld watched India in a ODI?) etc etc.

Even the commentators during the start of Indian inning's sounded not pleased when Gavaskar or Shiv tried to talk about India's strengths - made one wonder if the English caught up in the 90's or worse the 80's? When Gavaskar tried telling them and the viewers how Gambhir unsettles the bowlers by shuffling across and forward, there was just this silence from his fellow commentator Ian Botham. Botham just said that Freddie (Flintoff) is one of the strongest arms in world cricket. Compare that to the acumen and grace of Ian Chappel - feels like English lack not just on field.

End of the day, if you ask me to select players from this England's side who have the hunger, the edge, the attitude, fit for current Indian side, only two qualify - Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

While this attitude of under estimating India was clearly seen in English writers and commentators, it is only the result of the inferiority complex affecting English cricket. Only when you can see your self as you truly are, can you acknowledge others as they are. In ECB's quest to undermine India's financial superiority, they have forgotten that ultimately all that matters is cricket. In today's world, financial excellence is key to achievement and confidence - you keep your players off IPL, you send them on a gold diggers quest which is more a statement of one millionaire's ego. How do you expect to do all this and have it not affect the confidence of your cricketer's?

Wake up and realise that IPL is not just about money, IPL is a opportunity which will let you recognise your own faceless champions and to see your best tested in the hardest grind of cricket on earth. All cricketing nations who participated in IPL have benefited from it - not just the players, the selectors found more talent pool than was visible previously. And England, you manage to keep your players from such promising and productive venture - hats off! Till you realise your mistake and are able to admit it boldly and without ego, you will always be ridden with self doubts and small satisfactions.

The drum roll started in Rajkot and will continue till Dec 23rd in Mumbai. This is BooM BooM India.

Is Singh the King?

Is problematic prince, finally the King? He has the power, he has the style, he has the eye, the hand and the coordination, he has the rhythm and he has us with him. But naah .. one ingredient missing is consistency. Yuvi once again mesmerized us with what he is, just hope he does it more often. This was emphatic return to the side. 138 from 78 balls is not a child's dream, its a man's destiny. But so has inconsistency been his destiny. This match Yuvi had a platform provided by Sehwag and Gambhir, he had a pitch which warms his heart, the attack lacked decent spin and it has been a while since he blasted - I think all this went to make this knock a bit less special than it deserved to be.

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly : Indian Victory

Dada walked off the field at Nagpur today with his head held high after India's comprehensive victory against Australia. It is so appropriate that Dada decided to call curtains after this Aussie tour and more fitting so because of the victory. Sourav will be ever remembered by how challenging he was as a captain and how shrewd he was - all owing to India's historic wins against the toughest opponent by far - the Australia of Steve Waugh.

If not for Sourav The Brave, our cricket would have been still looking for reasons to explain why it failed overseas.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have learnt how to face up to intimidation and return the favour.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would still be groping in darkness of politics.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have know how to charge ahead fearlessly.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have known what strength of leadership is.
If not for Sourav the Brave, Indian cricket would not have become the formidable force that it is now.

Dada's greatest contribution as every one will agree, is as a captain of Indian cricket team. Azhar got gobbled in match fixing controversy, Tendulkar in spite being individually great wasn't able to handle the pressure. Then came along Sourav. Dada not only led the team without showing pressure, he lead the team in to frontiers never before explored by Indian cricket & the team won where they never have done so before.

Indian cricket has seen many brave and valiant cricketer's, Sunil Gavaskar's bravery in facing West Indian pace attack was great. Kapil Dev's exploits at 1983 world cup were a legend in themselves. Dada is different from them - Dada not only did great things, but the team under him did great things. Yes, he had a great team in Sachin, Anil, Laxman, Dravid and Bajji, but it is very true to say that without Sourav's captaincy, we could have seen great feat's, not great victories.

Sourav's magical batting almost fades away before his captaincy. Who of us can recall who the King of the Offside is? What divine timing? What effortless execution? What astonishing placement? He is the fourth highest run getter in history of Indian cricket.

Still Sourav will live on in Indian cricket memory as the greatest of captains ever to lead Indian cricket team. That is what he has contributed to Indian cricket. Many of the current star's can recall proudly that it was Sourav who backed them in earlier stages of their careers. Sourav showed the world that Indian's are not minnows, importantly still, Sourav showed it to Indian's themselves.It is almost unnecessary to state the win-loss stat's of Sourav as a captain, the impact of his captaincy resonates after he was stripped of it and will keep resonating long after his retirement.

Still, its a pleasure to look at the numbers -49-21-13-15 (captained-won-lost-draw) for his test captaincy. Exceeding all other Indian captains by far, Sourav's numbers reflect his mettle as a captain.

Anil retired and I will recall his great feats whenever another leggie does something magical for India. Sourav retired and I will remember him every time India wins - especially overseas.

That's what Sourav Chandidas Ganguly means to me : an Indian Victory.

Jumbo Take's Off

Anil Kumble announced his retirement from test cricket today. Over a career spanning 18 years and multiple generations of cricketers, Kumble has been India's greatest match winner. 18 years, 132 test matches, 40,850 deliveries and 619 wickets sums his efforts.

Always a gentleman, always giving 100%, a never-say-die warrior, a bowler with immense penetration with an incredible ability to fox the very best.

Over the years, the big man jumping in to his bowling stride and releasing the ball with a fire in his eyes and a determinedly set chin has been so much part of Indian cricket that now it seems as if an era is coming to a quick end. I am not even 30 years old, but somehow with the retirement of Kumble and Sourav's retirement coming up in next test in Nagpur, I feel much more older. I feel as if I am a grand dad who is going to miss all the glory days gone by and will always find fault with the 'new' in Indian cricket. In brief, I think I will be nostalgic. Perhaps the vacuum in my heart just reflects the vacuum in Indian cricket as a result of these greats going off into the dusk of their careers, one by one.

As a personal tribute to this gentle and devastating giants retirement I will try and put words which for me is Kumble: determined, clever, foxy, 100% cricketer, gentleman, delivers always.

Anil Kumble, Indian cricket, millions of Indian fans and world over will miss you. We will miss the assurance your name used to give us, that we have a chance at hitting at the core of the opposition, that we are sure to challenge the adversary, that no one can score against India in free domination, that we have Anil Kumble coming on: BEHOLD THE JUMBO!

A tribute to Anil Kumble: Jumbo

Classical Shining

Its time for the swingers and tweakers to get into act and going by recent past, it will be a fabulous act as well.

Two double hundreds in a mammoth first innings score of 613/7(dec); one from a youngster who has started showing his liking to Aussie cuisine and another a well established veteran whose exploits against the Aussies are legendary. This test shows us how well "India shining", the aggressive vibrant young India, moves hand in hand with the polite but classy India epitomised by the fab4.

Gutam's innings was well planned and aggressive at time's, as seen in the way he got from 99 to a century - by hitting a six; he also showed that he can hold his head still and get to double figures. Laxman's innings of 200 not out, was very dominant in effect but that dominance is almost unseen, you suddenly realise looking at the score card what a devastating bat Laxman is, no arrogance here, only the class of a batsman executing his art in peace with himself and sure in his joy.

Laxman's batting belies logic of the conventional but even purists would never term it unorthodox - Laxman just manages to play the most unbelievable strokes to ball's that have never been played in that manner. Brydon has a question that will better explain what I mean - http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/375998.html

Aussies got to 50 without loss and comfortably so far. Going by common knowledge, Kotla pitch will behave erratically starting sometime tomorrow. What ever might be the pitch, this test every Aussie will be putting a price on his wicket and it will need something special (like they have been so far this series) from the Indian bowlers.This test will most probably end in a Indian win - not that the win will come easy.

A from here on will make Aussies really happy - not that they will acknowledge it though.

Foggy Kotla, Foggier Aussies

Reports of Aussies training hard and seeking advice about leg spin and reverse swing from the Indian past masters of these sublime arts are out in the media. Captain Ponting also claims that Aussies have trained as never before and to perfection and he says his views are backed by those of Steve Waugh. Both Border and Steve Waugh have out out saying that the leggie Krejza must be included in the squad to play in Kotla. Ponting seems to have asked Brett Lee to notch up his speed a bit, and as Brett is already clocking 145KM in nets, a notch up will mean 150KM. But again in Indian conditions without much bounce, just speed will not help the Aussies, they need to swing, both conventional and reverse.

While Bishen Bedi is openly seen coaching Krejza, it seems Manoj Prabhakar has been consulted to help in the reverse swing department. Aussies had special fielding practice aimed at adjusting to the morning and late morning smog that is seen to engulf Kotla, this will especially be critical as the match starts the day after Diwali. All in all it seems Aussies left no stone within reach, uncovered, to tackle the Indians.

This test is not just a series decider for both teams, but much more. If this test ends in a draw then both teams will be disappointed, with much more disappointment in the Indian camp. If India wins, Aussies will be truly disheartened and mostly will end up losing the 4th test. If Aussies win here in Kotla, it will not just be because of Aussies being supreme, but because of mistakes made by Indian players - this Aussie team, let what the preparation be, is just not strong enough to beat India in Kotla. An Aussie win will leave much disappointment in Indian camp; especially it will reflect badly on Kumble.
This test in a way will tell the world if Aussies can remain NO.1 test side for long. If Aussies lose here, with bad performances from Lee, Hayden and Ponting, then they will lose their crown for sure - how long that will remain the only question, given their great big lead in the points table.

While it is understandable that Lee is trying to pick his life back together after a divorce and it is reflecting on his game, the biggest disappointment so far, is from Hayden. Mathew Hayden's game has been built aorund, him dominating the bowlers early into a innings. Over past many years, with strong batting and best bowling to support and justify his recklessness, he has been able to take the fight to the other team. Now with the bowling attack a mere shadow of its past, with Ponting not having answers to Bhajji-Sharma, with Lee down in tatters, with Symmo missing, Hayden's game has been exposed. Hayden's strength always has been his ability to attack without doubt - he tried that in Mohali but became an easy prey. If Hayden needs to be seen as a great fighter and not just a good one, then he has to deliver now, under adversity. Some how I don't see that happening.

Coming to Pointing - its a different story, Ponting is a class act. He has to find his rhythm and get to 30 and then his wicket won't fall cheap. But to get to that 30, Ponting will not only have to counter Sharma and Bhajji, but also the demons of doubt that will be plaguing him. Saying that he is the greatest bat around is futile if he can't deliver when it matters; well he has done that in past, but always in the cosy company of equally gifted mates. Now he has a chance at greatness, if Ponting can win this series with his performances, then he has a chance of his name featuring among the best of the game.
About Lee - straight and simple, he will bounce back. He did not get wickets, but neither he was ever dominated. Ponting did a BIG BIG BIG mistake by not believing in Lee and handing over the ball to the likes of Michael Hussey ahead of Lee. Let what he may say after that, Ponting has disrespected and not supported his best bowler in the time of team's and Lee's personal need. I mean what did Lee do wrong? Not be the match winner he is for one I mean, ONE test? Gimme a break, if that has to be the case, let Ponting bat at 5 and let Clarke bat at 3 and Matt Hayden at hmmn.. 7?
Steve Waugh would have never done this to McGrath - not just because McGrath is McGrath but because pace bowlers are a breed apart and the likes of McGrath and Lee are still rare. On Lee's shoulders rest the fate of Aussie bowling for years to come and you manage to affect the self belief of such a guy for a single bad test? Man I thought Ponting would know better. Ponting should know that, recognising his teams personal needs and combining them into the game plan is the pinnacle of professionalism, well if you can't do that, at least don't slight your ace card.
Lee will come back and he will come back strong, but no thanks to Ponting for that.