Where to now RD?

India's unexpected victory in the third test was crafted by a sublime innings from VVS. VVS is the kind of player you pay money to watch and when in form it is difficult to think of a more attractive batsman in world cricket. Amidst all the jubilation of this rather unexpected win, it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. There are still a number of questions that hover over this side, and India still remain some way away from being a world beater.

One of those questions is the form of Rahul Dravid. Dravid over the years has undoubtedly set in stone his place as one of India's all time greats. Many of India's greatest triumphs (Headingly, Adelaide, Rawalpindi, Jamaica) were due to fantastic knocks by India's Mr. Dependable. Even in Perth, where India pulled of a stunning win after being two down in a controversial series, it was Dravid who top scored despite looking a shade uncomfortable. His value to the side has never been in question - until now that is.

Judging someone of Dravid's caliber after one or two failures is ludicrous. The fact is though that over the last 2-3 years, Dravid has looked increasingly uncomfortable. Consistency has always been Dravid's calling card - that very consistency seems to have deserted him. There has still been the odd good knock - but they are becoming fewer and further in between.

The form of the other members of the middle order has increased the pressure on Dravid. Tendulkar has scored 5 hundreds in 7 tests since the start of this year and Laxman averages nearly 90 in 2010. The selectors will certainly want to give Dravid as many opportunities as possible for him to find form. However, how much is too much?

India play Australia next - an opponent against whom Dravid played arguably his greatest ever innings. The last time Australia came to India, 2 years ago, Dravid had a torrid time. Another poor series, and time may well and truly be out. The whole of India will be hoping that Dravid manages to recover from the current slump ASAP. A tour to South Africa awaits at the end of the year - and the prospect of somebody else striding out at no:3 certainly makes me jittery.

Time for Change

At the end of day 2 in Colombo, 737 runs have been scored and 4 wickets have gone down. If we had any doubts as to why test cricket is struggling, those figures have the answer. Cricket is meant to be a game between bat and ball. The moment the role of the bowling is undermined, it becomes a contest between bat and bat, and that is just not cricket.

The recent series between Australia & Pakistan was absolutely riveting because conditions ensured that the bowlers were always in the game. Low scoring matches may not attract as many advertisers, but it often provides for scintillating cricket. Isn't that the point after all? Commercial interests have dictated the way the game is governed for too long. For test cricket to survive and flourish, this has to stop.

I also struggle to understand what is to be gained by starting a match on a Monday morning. How difficult is it to ensure that the scheduling is done in such a manner that the cricket lover has every opportunity of going for the game?

Coming to the match, bad pitch or otherwise, India need to start worrying big time about their lack of bowling resources. The most worrying aspect is that India are missing only 1 first team regular in Zaheer Khan. A country that once had a quality spinner in almost every Ranji team, is today unable to find a single bowler capable of bowling consistently at the international level. Changes need to be made right from the grassroots level, if things are going to improve.

Young spinners need to be encouraged to flight the ball more. T-20 cricket prevents spinners from flighting the ball, and flight is a finger spinner's biggest weapon. The focus swings more and more in favor of containment rather than aggression. Fast bowlers have not been spared either. An Ishant Sharma who so impressed in Australia should have been made to focus on the test format. He should have been given adequate breaks and should have been allowed to learn as much as he could about his own bowling. Instead he was playing meaningless T-20 games that did nothing to either enhance his skill as a bowler or to help him gain in confidence.

India are very unlikely to take anything away from this series. Lessons, though, have to be learnt. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are remote.

India Overrun

Defeat is acceptable, the appalling lack of any kind of fighting spirit is not. To say India were comprehensively outplayed would still be understating things to a great extent. It was a thrashing - the kind of thrashing from which India have little or no chance of recovering. Discounting the minnows, this is probably the worst bowling line-up in international cricket at the moment. Mithun is 1 test old and should be encouraged. The others have a lot to answer for. On the same wicket on which Murali & Herath looked so threatening, the Indians could hardly muster a whimper.

The batting was not much better. The much famed batting line-up crumbled like a house of cards under pressure. Sehwag & Tendulkar (in the second innings) apart, the others got everything wrong. The entire approach was incorrect and that was perhaps what was most disappointing. After India failed to avoid the follow on, Gambhir played another loose shot to get himself out. Second time in the same match - no lessons learnt. Dravid walked in with a whole host of expectations resting on his normally broad shoulders. Dravid's approach though was mystifying, though, not unexpected. Many a time in pressure situations the Indians seem to go into a shell. Yes it was important to bat time, but it was just as important to score runs. Tendulkar has also been guilty of going into a shell from time to time in the past. But this time he got it right. He refused to let the bowlers settle and was always on the lookout for scoring opportunities. When he did get out, he got out to a genuinely good delivery. Dravid's approach, however, was to stonewall. Given the amount of time that was left in the game, the approach was never going to work.

Nothing was expected from Yuvraj Singh and after a stroked filled half century in the first innings, normal service seems to have been resumed. Nevertheless, the first innings half century has probably cemented his test place for the next two years!

VVS batted well but really needs to re-think his strategy when batting with the tail. No risks are taken, and invariably the first ball of the over is punched into the many gaps left purposely unplugged by the opposing captain, and the single taken, leaving the tailender to negotiate the rest of the over.

India go into the next test having been outplayed in every department. A massive improvement is needed if India even hope to compete in the next test at Colombo. Barring a miracle, though, expect, weather permitting, another comfortable win for SL.

SL - India Day 1

Most previews before the game came to the conclusion that it was going to be SL's test series to lose. At the end of day 1, those predictions seem perfectly justified. India might be ranked no1 in tests, but with a bowling line up as toothless as the one currently on display, those rankings are unlikely to last for much longer.

India's first mistake was made even before a ball was bowled. After losing both Zaheer and Sreesanth due to injuries, the think tank should have strengthened the already weak bowling resources. Given the experience of the Indian batting line up, India should have made the bold decision to go in with five specialist bowlers. Having said that, the bowlers at the moment seem so poor that even playing eleven bowlers may not have made too much of a difference. Nevertheless, the chance had to be taken.

SL at home have always been a difficult side to beat. India have not won a series in SL for seventeen long years, and the early signs suggest that the wait may have to be prolonged even further. The only positive on a eminently forgettable day for the Indian bowlers was the fight that was displayed by Abhimanyu Mithun. Mithun troubled both openers early on and was unlucky to not have Dilshan out lbw. He toiled manfully the whole day and in conditions that offer a bit more for the seamers, he might be a handful. Harbhajan was clearly unwell and played only because there are no other options available.

The bowler that disappointed the most was undoubtedly Ishant Sharma. Sharma's stocks have been in free fall since his impressive debut series against Australia two years ago. His pace seems to have disappeared. Every over has a minimum of 2 bad deliveries that were duly dispatched by the batsman. Tragic, it might be, but the time has probably come for Ishant to be left out of the Indian squad for a while atleast. Maybe some time away from the harsh scrutiny of international cricket, will help him re-find the ability that once marked him as a special talent.

Ojha was also largely unimpressive. He bowled a poor line - pitching the ball on middle and leg with the ball turning further towards the on side. The point of bowling this line is completely lost on me. This series is an ideal opportunity for Ojha or Mishra to cement their place in the squad as the second spinner. A performance like this will do Ojha no favors.

If India have any hope of even competing in this series, then I guess that hope lies squarely on the shoulders of Virender Sehwag. If Sehwag has a good series and scores some big runs, it might just put the Sri Lankans under a little bit of pressure. With the bowling line up we have, however, the Sri Lankans are likely to cruise.

Aggression from Afridi

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/diffstrokes/archives/2010/07/the_case_for_the_attack.php

That's an interesting piece by Mike Holmans, where he defends Shahid Afridi's entertaining but ultimately flawed performance in the first innings. I wonder if he still believes that Afridi went out there with a 'plan' after watching him bat in the second innings. I understand where Holmans is coming from, but having watched Afridi play over the years, I don't think there is any thinking involved in his batting. I do agree that in the first innings at least, it was probably the right way to go, but what about second time around then?

Afridi defenders, like Holmans, often come up with the 'natural game' defense. His natural game is to attack, there's no point in him hanging around because if he does he's going to get out sooner rather than later etc etc. I think that's a load of bull****. I find this whole Afridi can't bat like Rahul Dravid, so he's justified in swinging at everything really amusing. There are plenty of aggressive players in international cricket. The secret is not going into a shell or 'hanging around' but shot selection. In today's day and age, even tail enders who swing at everything are rarely forgiven. So when a batsman, that too captain goes out and plays like that, its beyond redemption.

The 20 year Myth

After Bangladesh beat England in the 2nd ODI on Saturday, Bangladeshi fans made their feelings clear regarding criticism directed against their team. A popular sentiment seems to be that other nations took a long time to record their first wins and therefore Bangladesh are on the right track. Rafique, a blogger from Bangladesh has this to say:

"Don't forget that India took 20 years to win their first test match. Bangladesh have won 4-5 test matches in their first 10 years, not to mention ODI successes against every test playing nation on the planet. Any criticism against the tigers should be made after taking this into account".

Statistically, he's right. India won their first test match in 1952, 20 years after their first test in 1932. Dig a littler deeper though and a different picture emerges. India played just 7 tests between 1932-1936, and none at all between 1936-1946. When India eventually recorded their first win, in the summer of 1952, it was only their 25th attempt. Their first 24 tests resulted in 12 defeats and 12 draws. Not bad at all for a team completely new to international test cricket. It must also be remembered that in those early days, India played just three teams namely England, Australia & the West Indies. All three were very strong sides.

Bangladesh by contrast have played 68 matches in their first 10 years, winning just three. These three victories have come against an un-fancied Zimbabwe and two against a West Indies side missing its entire first team. It is also interesting to note that Bangladesh have managed to draw only 6 out of their 68 tests and have suffered a whopping 59 losses during this period.

Cricket will be the winner if Bangladesh were to go on and become a strong competitive side. The reality though, is that the destination is still far far away. Repeatedly stating myths and taking comfort from them, is still not going to make them true.

Well bowled Murali!

Mutiah Muralitharan will forever ignite debate. I must admit that when I saw him bowl for the first time, I believed he chucked. It is almost impossible for the human eye to believe otherwise. Scientific technology though, has a funny way of tearing down myths. After a thorough scientific research, it was found that every bowler bent his elbow to a certain degree when bowling. The ICC therefore modified the law to allow a permissible limit, within which a bowler could operate. Muralitharan's action operates within those limits and with that the matter must rest.

As a bowler Murali has been a champion. His records, like Bradman, will in all probability never be broken. Murali was SL's goto man and has bowled more overs than anybody in the history of the game. Any SL match would more often than not see Murali wheel away at one end for almost the entire innings. Whilst Murali was a fine bowler in most conditions, in SL he was often unplayable. The extravagant turn that he could extract from the deadest of surfaces remains one of cricket's great sights.

Perhaps the only blemish was the number of wickets collected against Zimbabwe & Bangladesh, the perennial whipping boys of international cricket. But using this against him would be churlish given his outstanding record against the better sides.

Was it the right time to go? I would say yes. The last year has not been good for Murali. The turn is still there but the bite that he used to generate from surfaces is missing. Virender Sehwag's onslaught in the Mumbai test was probably the last straw. Murali was part of spin's golden generation (along with Warne and Kumble). The other two have gone and Murali is on his way out. Well bowled Murali, you will be missed.