The Third Test

I've been busy over the last couple of weeks and have therefore unfortunately been unable to watch as much of the third test between India and the West Indies as I would have liked. The match turned out to be quite a spectacle and proved yet again as to why test cricket remains the premier format of cricket by a long way. After the West Indies amassed 590 in the first innings and India replied with 482, it looked very much as if the game was going to end in a stalemate. The drama that unfolded on the 4th & the 5th day was quite unexpected.

Ashwin had another very good game and has now surely done enough to cement his place in the side for the immediate future. Expectations have to be realistic with regards to Ashwin and I hope the selectors give him an extended run in the side. It was also good to see young Aaron pick up his maiden 4-for. India have unearthed two young pace bowlers with potential. One hopes that the BCCI has learnt from the numerous mistakes made in the past and manages these youngsters better.

India's inability to chase down a very gettable total raises a few question marks about their batting line-up. Twice in three matches, India have collapsed against a bowling line-up that is hard-working at best. Sehwag was extremely lucky right through this series and yet he has been unable to make the most of it. GG has surprisingly gotten away with a worrying run of poor performances. His ODI form has somehow been able to mask his failures in the longer format of the game. Gambhir's shot selection has been poor and his tendency to open the face of the bat to try and run the ball down to third man is getting him into a lot of trouble in test match cricket.

Virat Kohli, who replaced Yuvraj Singh in the middle order, got some crucial runs in both innings. Kohli is a player with enormous talent. His challenge will be to overcome his technical limitations against the short ball. With Rohit Sharma making runs in domestic cricket, it seems as if the fight for that no#6 position is going to be between these 2.

All in all it was an entertaining series. The West Indians will be happy that they gave India a fight. It's not often that a team comes to India and does that. The West Indians can also take heart from the performances of some of the youngsters. Darren Bravo is fast losing Brian Lara's shadow and is coming into his own quite nicely. Kirk Edwards is another youngster who seems to have the talent to succeed at this level. Darren Sammy continues to perform as a bowler and as a captain. If the West Indies can build a team around some of these promising younger players, all may not be lost as yet.

The Second Test

India wrapped up the second test and therefore the series in convincing fashion at the Eden Gardens. The West Indies did put up a fight in the second innings, but their collapse in the first innings left them with no real chance of competing.

The Dravid-Laxman show

If its the Eden Gardens, it must be the Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman show. Dravid continued on his merry way and later described it as one of the easier hundreds that he has got. He has made 5 hundreds this year and in doing so has equaled his best year statistically, 2002. Laxman scored a hundred after some time, but it was worth the wait. His entire repertoire of  shots was on display and West Indians could do little but watch in awe as the wristy VVS caressed the ball to all corners of his favorite ground.

Marauding MS

Dhoni loves the Eden too. His last 100 was at the same ground in early 2010 against the South Africans. After a couple of lucky reprieves, MS switched on. The situation was tailor-made for MS. India had got off to a good start and a big score was almost assured. All Dhoni needed to do was to speed up the process and he did that in trademark fashion. 

The End of Yuvi?

Another flop show in test cricket for Yuvraj Singh. On a wicket where every Indian batsman looked at home, Yuvraj seemed to be batting on a different surface. After a torturous hour or so, Yuvraj was caught plumb in front by Darren Sammy. He has been axed for the third test and one does wonder whether there's a way back for him. IMO, he's had his chances. Let's give the youngsters a go.

Yadav Impresses

Umesh Yadav impressed one and all in the first test with his pace. He went one step better in the second test. His control was better and he has a bunch of wickets to show for his efforts. The way he got rid of the tail must have gladdened many an Indian heart, given India's perennial problems with removing the tail. Australia are waiting. Injuries permitting, Umesh has already booked himself a place on that plane to Australia. Can he stand up an be counted?

The Master & the Protege

The similarities between Dwayne Bravo and the great Brian Lara have been well documented. Bravo's 100 in the second test took that a step further. Not only does young Bravo bat in a manner reminiscent of the great Trinidadian, his average of 47.05 after 12 tests is exactly what the great man averaged 12 tests into his career. What Lara achieved after that was truly spectacular. Can Bravo tread a similar path?

Some Statistics

I was lucky to have caught most of an incredible game between Australia & South Africa. 47 / 10 I suspect is going to haunt the Aussies for quite some time. What the game did though was open up debate. Is the quality of cricket today as good as it used to be? Admittedly, the wicket assisted fast bowling and bowlers from both sides exploited the conditions quite nicely. But it was certainly not a 21 / 9 wicket. Have players today lost the art of batting time? 

I've never believed that statistics are the only criteria when it comes to judging a player. Nevertheless, most people will agree that statistics generally tell you most of the story if not all of it. For instance, a batsman averaging in the thirties cannot be considered a great player. A player needs to achieve a certain benchmark statistically in order to be considered a great player. That benchmark for batsman is usually an average of 50 or more. This brings me to the point of this article. In the aftermath of the Cape Town test, a lot of people have suggested that averages today are inflated. This is possibly true, although it is impossible to prove this one way or the to other. They have also suggested that sub-continental players are luckier than players from other parts of the world as conditions in the subcontinent tend to favor batsman. 

To test this theory, I looked at the statistics of some of the highest achieving batsman over the last 15 years, both from the subcontinent and away. From the subcontinent, I have included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene. The non subcontinental batsman include Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara & Mathew Hayden. For subcontinental batsman, I have looked at their figures in England, Australia & South Africa, the 3 toughest places for Asian batsman to tour. For the non-subcontinental players, I have looked at their away performances in England, Australia, South Africa  & India. For instance, in evaluating Ricky Ponting, I have looked at his performances against South Africa away, India away & England away. 

Ricky Ponting

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

England         18                1323              44.10         4

India              14                662                26.48         1

South Africa  10                875                48.61         3

Overall          42                2860              39.73        8

Jacques Kallis

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia        12                915                45.75        2

India               9                 760                58.46        3

England         12                 586                29.30       1

Overall          33                2261               44.50      6

Brian Lara

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia        19               1469               41.97        4

South Africa   9                  841               46.72        2

England          15               1268              48.76        4

India              3                   198               33.00        0

Overall          46                3776              42.61      10      

Mathew Hayden

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

England          10               552                 34.50       1

India               11              1027                51.35       2

South Africa   10               624                 34.66       2

Overall           31               2203               40.17      5

Kumar Sangakkara

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia         3                 391                65.16        1

England          9                 520                30.58        1

South Africa   5                 392                39.20        0

Overall          17               1303               44.98       2

Mahela Jayawardene

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia        4                  274                34.25        1

England         10                614                34.11        2

South Africa   5                 314                31.40        0

Overall          19                1202              33.25       3

Rahul Dravid

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia         12               972                48.60        1

England          13              1376               68.80        6

South Africa   11                624               29.71        1

Overall           36              2972               49.03       8

Sachin Tendulkar

Against          Mat             Runs               Avg          100's

Australia         16              1522               58.53        6

England          17              1575               54.31        4

South Africa   15              1161               46.44        5

Overall           48              4258               53.09      15              

If not anything else, the above table certainly highlights the quality of Sachin Tendulkar & Rahul Dravid. Amongst all the batsman evaluated, Tendulkar & Dravid average the highest away from home. Sangakkara & Jayawardene's struggles outside the sub-continent have been well documented and the statistics just vindicate that. It is difficult to rate the Sri Lankan duo as highly as some of the other greats mentioned on this list for that reason alone. However, this does not mean that Sangakkara & Jayawardene are not fine players. If batting in the subcontinent was as easy as people make it out to be, then players from all over the world must enjoy batting there. This is not always the case as Ponting's figures show.

Ricky Ponting's below par average is probably the biggest surprise. Admittedly, his struggles in India have contributed greatly to a mediocre average. However, given his ability to dominate fast bowling, his average record in England and South Africa is a little surprising. Ultimately what is probably true is that a majority of cricketers will perform better in their own conditions.

The First Test

India may have ended up winning the first test against the West Indies fairly comfortably in the end, but it was a game that could have swung either way. It was far from convincing from India and they will need to up the ante in the coming games. There were plenty of sub-plots in what turned out to be a very enjoyable game of cricket.

The Pitch

The pitch prepared for this game was a typical Delhi pitch. The wicket offered no pace or bounce and very rare was the delivery that bounced over the waist. It was far from being an ideal wicket but at the same time probably did not deserve as much criticism as it has got.

Test cricket's greatest strength is its diversity. Batting in Delhi-like conditions is not easy, but there's a reason why it's called test cricket. Test cricket not only tests a batsman's level of skill. It also tests a variety of other attributes like endurance, durability and temperament. The Delhi pitch may not have been the easiest in the world to play shots on, but it managed to enthrall the spectators and that is not something that can be said of a lot of other pitches in the sub-continent.

Team Selection

I thought it was quite strange that Umesh Yadav was handed his debut game on a wicket that was never going to offer him any assistance. Given that the spinners took 16 out of the 20 wickets to fall, I wonder whether it would  have been a better idea to play another spinner instead of Yadav? The good news though was that Yadav managed to pick up a couple of wickets and certainly impressed a lot of people with his pace. If he can get his direction right more often, he is going to be a threat on more helpful surfaces.

The other call India will have to make is what they are going to do with Yuvraj Singh. This test match was Yuvraj's 36th test and you have to wonder just how much is too much? You cannot keep picking Yuvraj based on his ODI performances. It would also make sense to give a youngster a go in home conditions and get his confidence up rather than asking him to slot into the side when the team tours Australia, one of the toughest places in the world to tour.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Waddaplaya ! Chanderpaul's probably been one of the most underrated cricketers of all time. Not only did Chanderpaul prove that there were no demons in the wicket, he scored at a pace that was almost outrageous by his standards. His judgement was incredible and he realized early that he would have to do the bulk of the scoring. What followed was an exhibition of how to bat on slow surfaces.

He has quietly notched up more appearances for the West Indies than anybody else. His average, playing for an ordinary side, hovers near the 50-mark. He has scored runs against all opposition in all conditions. He even has a 69-ball 100 to his name. He may not get the attention that some of his peers do, but let there be no doubt - Chanderpaul without a doubt is one of the finest batsman of his time.

The Right Handed Jimmy Adams?

Kraigg Brathwaite played the kind of innings that Jimmy Adams routinely did on the 1994/95 tour to India. He was watchful and showed enormous powers of concentration. For a kid on his first tour of the subcontinent, the signs are positive. He seems to have the temperament to bat for long periods, a trait that seems to have been lost on a whole generation of West Indian batsman. For the sake of the West Indies, let's hope Brathwaite has more success than Adams did.

A Memorable Comeback

A 6-for on his comeback would have made Pragyan Ojha a happy man. Ojha for some strange reason has been consistently overlooked by the selectors despite seemingly doing quite well every time he has been given an opportunity. It may have taken a long time coming, but Ojha will be pleased with the way his comeback went. On a track were run scoring was always going to be difficult, Ojha's control meant that the pressure was never released when he was bowling. He also managed to get just enough purchase from the wicket to test the batsman.

A Dream Debut

Ashwin's 9 wickets on debut caps what has been a meteoric rise for him. Harbhajan Singh's lack of form has given Ashwin an opportunity and he has grasped it with both hands. He is not a conventional off spinner and relies a lot on variation. It's been a good start but sterner tests await him. Australia are next and on wickets that will not offer too much assistance it will be interesting to see how he goes. From an Indian point of view, the good news is that by grabbing his chance Ashwin has ensured that there is competition for places amongst spinners in the side. Harbhajan Singh now has his work cut out. It is going to be a long road back, but if this inspires him to fight his way back into the side through consistent performances then Indian cricket will be well served.

The Sehwag Factor

Two typically aggressive knocks from Sehwag went a long way in helping India clinch the first test. Sehwag's had an ordinary year and from a personal point of view this was going to be an important series. On a slow wicket that did not encourage shot-making, Sehwag did what he does best. He played the ball very late and picked up a lot of runs behind the wicket. Unlike his record in England or South Africa, which is distinctly ordinary, his record in Australia is quite good. A fit and firing Sehwag in Australia will be a massive boost for team India.

Another Near Miss

Sachin Tendulkar's wait for that elusive 100th international 100 continues. Personally, I don't see what the fuss is about. India's fixation with records & statistics often overshadows the team's performances, which at the end of the day is what it's all about. He may not have got a 100, but he played a fine innings that helped India clinch the test. The mini passage of play at the end of the third day was especially interesting. Rampaul & Edwards bowled with a great deal of accuracy but Dravid and Tendulkar displayed fantastic technique and temperament to see India through to the end of the day. There was nothing fancy. The bat came down as straight as a ramrod and the uneven bounce was negated. It was old fashioned, hard test cricket and it paid dividends.

Another VVS Finish

And he does it again. Another 4th innings classic from VVS. Admittedly. this was in no way as taxing as his recent masterpieces against Sri Lanka or Australia, but when Laxman came out to bat, the West Indies were still very much in the game. Another wicket then and things might have got really interesting. VVS though, in the space of a few overs, put the result beyond doubt. His wrist-work is so good that setting a field for him is impossible. A conventional field may slow the more orthodox players like Dravid or even Tendulkar. Not VVS. From the moment he arrived, the score board rattled along and before the West Indies could figure out what was happening, the result had been decided.