Will Harbhajan's dream be relished?

Well it is or has always been an accepted theory that only batsmen make good captains while bowlers rarely get the chance to captain their side. This was the case some 7 years back when Sourav Ganguly was forced to opt out of the tournament against Pakistan and Rahul Dravid was made the captain of the then Indian side which saw wins in the first test followed by a defeat in the second. However, Ganguly returned back for the third test which saw India register another innings win against arch rivals-Pakistan. Then, there were two batsmen who captained the Indian side.

That tournament was famous for Virender Sehwag's (India's) maiden triple hundred when he smashed all the Pakistani bowlers-Saqlain especially all over the ground at Multan. That apart, coming to the point, news on the web is that the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is keen to captain the Indian side which is now on its all time high after their world cup win exactly two months back. But, his dream seems far from being relished when it has been only batsmen who are found to captain the side. However, the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori becomes an exception. Or else, no other bowler seems to hold the tag.

The other side of the debate also has wicket keepers making good captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Similarly there were quite a few players like Andy Flower and Moin Khan who captained their side as well as kept wickets. But, the lone sufferers have been the bowlers and of course fielders. But, with known fielders hardly available and no other name but Jonty Rhodes making it to the list, fielders can be kept out of the list. Of course, even Jonty Rhodes didn't captain the South African side. Another bowler who made it to the elite list was Shaun Pollock.

Or else, the names which captained their sides were Shahid Afridi, Andrew Struass, Dhoni, Chris Gayle etc who were all batsmen or rather all-rounders, Dhoni being a wicketkeeping allrounder. But, despite being successful bowlers, players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Javgal Srinath etc never got a chance to captain their side. There have been successful bowlers like Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev etc who have been successful captains. And someone like Sachin Tendulkar is the worst captain India has ever seen no matter how gr8 a batsman he is. With the trends showing no signs of reversing, the question left unanswered is whether Harbhajan's dream ever be relished

A gift for South Africa

Well this has always been the case with test matches between India and South Africa be it in India or in South Africa. So far a neutral venue for such a series has not happened. Coming to the point, this time as well, like usual India have lost the first test against South Africa which is evident from the scorecard. This is the second time in the year that the two countries are facing each other for a full fledged series that involves test, one day and T20 games. Of course, who can forget the earlier encounter this year between the two countries?

One need not be reminded the way Hashim Amla from South Africa emerged the most economical player with the bat by remaining not out in all but one occasion and needless to be said specially was awarded the man of the series. And, coming to the big occasion, this was the series where Sachin Tendulkar scored his the first double century in the history of one day or limited overs cricket. Well, past is past and in the ongoing series in South Africa, India have started on a bad note by losing the 1^st test by an innings margin. But, is this the end of all?

Bad need not be bad always for, it is the bad first that turns into good later. For more details, you can approach the cathara beneath the maskara though this has got nothing to do with yesterday's match. For onlookers, team India fared very badly especially when the margin of defeat reads an innings and 25 runs. But, I wish you think once again! India are touring South Africa which is a totally different experience considering their recent tours against Australia and New Zealand which were played at home with limited success. India should have won all three tests against new Zealand.

With the venue being new to team India, initial hiccups can be given an excuse for, the world champions Australia couldn't draw even a single match during the recently concluded Border - Gavaskar trophy. In the first innings where India scored 136, more than the South African bowling line up, it was India's newness to the country and the pitch which was evident in the second innings when India fought until the end by amassing 459 runs despite ending on the losing side. Taking the 1^st innings into consideration, India should have failed even more miserably. But, there was Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dravid in addition to Sachin Tendulkar who showed confidence.

India did lose the match but gained a lot in terms of experience and confidence.

Sehwag and New Zealand

Well yesterday, needless to be said, Virender Sehwag scored his latest hundred against New Zealand, a team against which Sehwag had not only scored his maiden ton of his international career in ODIs but also one of the top ten of the fastest hundred at that time. Sehwag's ton, at that time was second best only to Mohammed Azharuddin who had scored a 63 ball hundred against the same New Zealand way back in the early 90s. Virender Sehwag now has five out of his 12 hundreds against New Zealand in one dayers. This can once again prove Viru to be a perfect player for Kiwis.

Back in test match cricket, Virender Sehwag has three out of six double hundreds against Pakistan and that too three in a row in the three series' that were played between the countries between 2004-05 to 2006-07. Virender Sehwag was not a part of the squad of the Indian team that toured Pakistan in 2007 which would have otherwise seen him notch up yet another double century against Pakistan if at all history is to repeat itself. So, Sehwag can be considered as a rare Indian batsman who can silence the Pakistani players who were haunting the Indian side since the rivalry began.

Similar stories exist when V V S Laxman's test history against Australia is given a close look at with both his double hundreds pointing towards Australia. It doesn't matter that both the double hundreds of Laxman have come on home ground no matter that the Eden Gardens innings was an epic in Laxman's test cricket history. Otherwise also, Laxman has scores like 178, 167 and 148 against Australia in Australia. His performance against other teams has been less than satisfactory compared to the ones against Australia. So has been Laxman's hundreds in one dayers where he has four out of the six hundreds against Australia.

Similarly, Brian Lara has a special liking towards Australia and England when history suggests that he has two triple hundreds against England and two double hundreds against Australia though his team used to finish in the losing side. His performance against other teams is well above satisfactory which speaks for him. Lara has double hundreds against all teams except India and New Zealand. So, his liking towards one particular team can be restricted to only England considering the two triple hundreds he has scored against. Coming to Sehwag's issue, the tri series involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand always fascinates Sehwag.

Are Sri Lanka favorites to win the Asia cup?

They might have done it in the past two editions of the Asia cup in 2008 and 2004 when it was held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively. And, much to anyone's amazement, Sri Lanka faced India in the finals of the mega tournament and once again needless to be said won the same. This time as well, with India being the contenders for the title, the question (though not worth million dollars) is whether Sri Lanka still have the commitment to perform the same task which they did in the previous two editions of the same and a couple of days back?

Sri Lanka managed to beat India by 7 wickets in the league stage encounter of the Asia cup just a couple of days back and then they recently did India out of the race in the tri series involving Zimbabwe as the 3^rd team in Zimbabwe just a month back. At the same time, citing India's chances, India have been beating Sri Lanka since the past two years or so in most of the bilateral series which involved both the teams. Prior to that, India won the tri series involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand which set the scores level for both the teams under discussion when it comes to triangular series.

No matter what the past speaks regarding both teams, one has to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the teams ready to battle it out on the big stage. The guess is not like picking one from a set of Random Images and instead is a prediction as to who stands front to grab the title. Statistics also suggest that India have been the underdogs when it comes to the finals of a tournament containing three or more teams. Some exception to this being the T20 world cup 2007 and as mentioned earlier the tri nation tournament involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

But this time the onus is on India not only for their past performances against Sri Lanka but also due to the fact that they are a better opposition no matter where the game is being played. India is not dependent on any one player like it was some 7 years ago when the absence of Sachin Tendulkar hindered their performance. There are likes of Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj to name a few who can deal with any opposition. Sri Lanka on the other hand are here in the final this time only due to the fact that they are the hosts and have been lucky as the hosts most of the time.

Sehwag has to go

Well if a dashing opener from a team is expected forced to return back from a major tournament, most of the time puts the team in confusion as to whom to go in for in the remaining encounters of the tournament in case the team has to face a tough opponent. However, at times the absence of a similar player becomes a boon for the viewers if not for the team to see a tough fight between the two teams which would otherwise be just another game and just another win for that team. A tough fight can be a treat for the viewers' eyes more than a win or a loss.

Here as well, the situation is almost the same with Virender Sehwag having to opt out of the remaining matches of the Asia cup. There are matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to go for India, before they take on Sri Lanka in the final of the tournament. It was the win against Pakistan that mattered much for India and moreover, a win against Bangladesh is guaranteed if not for some unexpected mishaps like in the world cup 2007. If that would happen, it would be another Extremes case. Anyway that apart, with the presence of Gambhir, Dhoni and Yuvraj Sehwag's absence shouldn't matter much.

All the aforementioned names belong to the list of big hitters provided they are inform on their day. Prior to the ommision of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the Asia cup for reasons not so important here but which hardly drew a response. Out of the two remaining games, one of them being a cakewalk, the other becomes inconsequential with India already having beaten Pakistan in their opening match and with Pakistan losing both their crucial matches against India and Sri Lanka. Bad luck was that both these matches were close encounters for Pakistan with the margin of defeat being 16 runs and 3 wickets.

The absence of Virender Sehwag though deprives the team of a powerful opener, at the same time provides the platform for another batsman to prove his myth on the big stage. There is Virat Kohli, Rohith Sharma etc, all of whom are waiting for a chance to prove themselves and have even done so in the past. But, with the playing squad restricted to just eleven, the rested players will have to wait for their turn either when a match is being played against a weak team or when the match they are playing is of little consequence. Worst come, one of the regular player gets injured.

Was the resting of players justified?

I can still remember the way India lost the second one dayer to Bangladesh in 2005 when the then captain Rahul Dravid decided to rest most of the experienced players by underestimating the Bangladeshi players and paid the price for the same by losing the match by 11 runs. In fact that was India's first ever defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. And now once again, the Indian selectors did the same mistake by resting all the players who are experienced thinking that it can bring out the best out of the youngsters. As a result of this, once again India paid the price.

India not only lost their final match against Sri Lanka but also lost two matches rather unexpectedly to Zimbabwe, the team against which a victory was assumed before hand by the Indians and failed to make it to the finals of the tri nation tournament. Until now, team India was ill fated when they used to enter the finals of a multi nation tournament and lose there. But now, they have failed to get past the league stage itself. All thanks to the selectors who not only gave the youngsters a chance but also gave Zimbabwe a chance to enter the finals of the tri nation tournament which it rarely deserves.

Despite not deserving to be there, Zimbabwe was seen in the super sixes of two world cups in 1999 and 2003. Anyways, with that being secondary, the matter of the hour is that the BCCI did nothing good by resting the seniors starting from Sachin Tendulkar to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team should have seen atleast a few of the experienced lads making it to the squad like yuvraj Singh, who would be making it to the playing XI after a long time snce he has battled injuries off late. So would have been the case with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag for whom this could have been a refresher series after their absence recently.

Following the series under discussion, there is a mega event scheduled with India taking on Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia cup which happens once in every two years since it was decided in 2008. With the BCCI resting the experienced players, there is every possibility that the Asia cup may turn a nightmare for both the players as well as the BCCI in case India lose to either if the strong teams or not to be surprised, even Bangladesh. Added to this would be the T20 world cup ghost that would continue to haunt the Indian team wherever they go until they find a breakthrough.

IPL teams captained by non-T20s

If I'm not mistaken, IPL is filled with the joys of T20 cricket. However, if the captains of all their eight teams featuring in the Indian Premier League since its inaugural launch in 2008 are considered, they have been less captained by T20 specialists and more by test and ODI specialists. In 2008, there were players namely Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag who were termed as icon players and were entitled for a pay of 115% of the highest paid player in that particular squad. V V S Laxman was also termed as an icon player who rejected that offer so that no problems occur in terms of the team's budget.

If not for Virender Sehwag, no other player has made a name for himself in T20 cricket. None of the remaining 4 icon players have featured even in a single T20 game for India to be crowned as an icon player. Moreover, Anil Kumble had quit all forms of cricket a year before the IPL was even thought about. The fun factor in them is that they are not only found playing T20 in the IPL but also found captaining the same. It is not that these players are not fit to play in the the IPL or T20 cricket. But, it the fact that they are made to captain something that they have had least interest for.

Added to that is that, even most of the remaining teams are also found following suit when they are captained by non-T20 players. There are at present only 3 teams who are captained by T20 players namely the Chennai Superkings - who are captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Kings XI Punjab - who are captained by Kumara Sangakkara and the Delhi Daredevils - who are captained by Virender Sehwag. The remaining 5 teams are captained by non T20 players. Though Adam Gilchrist has played in the inaugural T20 world cup, he has been more of a test and an ODI batsman rather than a T20 specialist.

And, Rajasthan Royals are being captained by Shane Warne who - forget about having a T20 experience behind him, but has last played limited overs cricket way back in 2003 before he was banned for a year from all types of international cricket. And then, as mentioned earlier, the Royal Challengers are captained by Anil Kumble whose first T20 game was in the IPL. The year 2008 saw the Deccan Chargers team captained by V V S Laxman who has been a forgotten episode when it comes to even limited overs game and is slightly better than Shane Warne. Finally and fortunately, the DCs realized their mistake and crowned Gilchrist as their captain.

Big guns yet to fire in this IPL

It doesn't matter for the audience if Shane Warne doesn't get the ball to turn like it used to happen in the Ashes. There is no one complaining if Sachin Tendulkar doesn't get a hundred in the IPL or becomes the highest run getter like he has done in the 2003 world cup in South Africa. But, if someone like Virender Sehwag fails to hit a six in almost every match, the fans are disappointed outside Delhi as well. And much to anybody's surprise, this has been going on for the past three weeks in the current edition of the IPL.

The big guns from whom fire crackers are expected happen to be Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh etc to name a few. However, none of them have kept up their word which they meant when they were paid huge sums. Sanath Jayasuriya can be given an excuse with Sachin Tendulkar not making up his mind to include him in the playing XI. And, there have been quite a few players like Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram who can be as punishing with the bat as they can get. But, injuries have overpowered them once again unfortunately.

And then, there is McCullum and Ross Taylor who have made their entry into the IPL just a day back after finishing their full fledged series against Australia. Though Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are found doing justice to the money paid to them and the expectations the fans have had in them, their nature of play can hardly be paralleled with someone like Gilchrist or Symonds. So far Gilchrist has had just one score above 50 and an aggregate of 118 runs from 8 games played so far. And, when it comes to Symonds, his record is just above Gilchrist's with the batsman scoring 2 half centuries and aggregating 232 runs but at a strike rate of 122 compared to 174 by Gilchrist.

Then we have Sehwag whose fastest fifty against Chennai Super Kings was overshadowed by 6 innings with scores less than 20. And, when it comes to Mathew Hayden who held the orange cap in the last season of the IPL, the only highlight this time would be the score of 93 he scored against Delhi Daredevils. And, nothing needs to be specially said about Yuvraj Singh who has had series of scores as follows: 4, 9, 4, 43, 15, 24, 2 and 36 which total upto 137 from the 8 games he has played so far. There have been situations in the past as well when a few or may be most of the expected batsmen disappoint. But, this time it is all the expected batsmen who have disappointed without any exceptions.

South Africa can hope to win the last one dayer

The series between India and South Africa is the one between the number two team and the number three team in one day cricket. But, if the series is given a deeper look at, this is not evident from any angles. South Africa are found playing cricket as though they are legally committed to it. There is no sense of seriousness of any sort from the South African players. South Africa should have won the first one dayer played at Jaipur when none of the batsmen played upto the mark and left it to the tail end batsmen who can bowl a yorker but not play one.

South Africa had to rely upon the number 8 and 9 batsmen in Parnell and Steyn who were comparatively better than Mark Boucher, Petersen and Albie Morkel who got out scoring single digit scores. And in the second one dayer, South Africa lost it the moment a score of 401 was out up on the board which is needless to be said. Luckily, South Africa crossed the 200 run mark. But, this time the South Africans need not fear defeat and can consider themselves lucky enough when they will not be bowling to either Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag in the 3^rd ODI scheduled at Ahmedabad.

The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has decided to rest the aforementioned batsmen for the inconsequential match scheduled in Ahmedabad tomorrow. Instead, Dhoni will be playing some new faces like Abhimanyu Mithun, Rohith Sharma and Murali Vijay who are supposed to just get some international exposure in the match against South Africa. One can see the South Africans making fools out of them every time they rejoice during the fall of an Indian wicket without realizing the intention behind Dhoni playing the 3^rd one dayer. However, the opposite of the same is not welcome by anyone when one keeps the smiles off the ground.

However, there will be batsmen like Yousuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Rohith Sharma and Dhoni himself who can prove something with the bat. Dinesh Karthik was no less when he came to batting in the 2^nd one dayer when he scored 79 runs aided with three fulltoss hits to the fence and one need not be reminded specially regarding Rohith Sharma who belted the South African bowling in the inaugural edition of the T20 world cup held at South Africa and flopped their chances of making it to the semis of the same in 2007. Whatever, if South Africa fail to win the 3^rd ODI despite all these chances given by Dhoni, I wish they appeal to the ICC to include them in the list of minnows.

Re-defining thriller

By the way, what is the exact definition of thriller? Atleast, in cricketing terms, thriller refers to a match that was won by a team despite the opposition threatening to close in. But, in the second test between India and South Africa, India won convincingly by an innings and 57 runs that was far ahead of the innings + 6 run victory that South Africa took home in the 1^st test at Nagpur. So, here came the other definition of thriller wherein India despite managing an upper hand in the game had to wait upto 15 minutes before the umpires would have called it all over.

There was no chance of South Africa either winning the match or the match ending in a draw with a minimum of 357 runs to be scored and to have saved atleast 1 wicket at the end of the day that would have also been the end of the match. Hashim Amla did stay at the crease threatening to pull back but not without the aid of the the bad light that had its say on the fourth day of the test match which lasted just 157 minutes. Extras recorded the 2nd best score of the innings with 35 of them being bowled by the Indian bowlers. Kallis, Prince, Duminy, de Villiers and Smith all could manage just above 20s with a hundred being required off them.

It was fantastic to see Hashim Amla's wicket not being able to be taken by any Indian bowler including Harbhajan Singh. Finally, India had to choose the other way of getting back to the game by cutting the tree ( with its roots firmly held by Hashim Amla at one end) from the branches. In this context, India failed miserably. One need not specially highlight the centuries scored by Hashim Amla in all the three innings that he played. However, would have Amla been able to do the same had the 4th day's play not been washed off? Amla batted for more than 8 hours of the day which justifies the man of the series given to him.

But, in no way was Amla eligible for the man of the match when there were the likes of Harbhajan Singh who picked up 5 wickets in the 2^nd innings and 3 in the first. There were Sehwag and Laxman who notched up important half centuries without which the game would not have seen this result. Moreover, it was India who won the match and a man of the match award should have been an Indian and not from the losing team. It was the blunder created by the rest of the South African batsmen than Amla single handedly batting his innings. It is just foolish for a player from team that has sufferred an innings defeat to be given the man-of-the-match award.

Fourth Innings guaranteed

Well, at the end of the 2nd day of the 2^nd test match at Kolkata, India in addition to surpassing the score of 296 runs put up on the board by the Proteas also lost 5 wickets and is bound to lose the 6^th, with Amith Mishra sent in a suicide bomber which is termed a nightwatchman in test cricketing terms. As expected, the 10^th Parnell and wicket partnership of the South African innings didn't last for long despite a series of non promising hits to the fence by the South African tail-endersMorkel. The inevitable for South Africa could only be delayed by an additional 30 runs.

The situation in the second innings of the test match was hardly different from the first innings of the Proteas'. Like the South Africans, it was a two men show in Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, both of whom had three figure scores in the earlier test at Nagpur. So, at the end of day 2 of the test match, there were three batsmen from both the sides put together, who notched up centuries in both the tests. It was yet another flop show from Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir which is needless to be highlighted. Nevermind that India still holds the upper hand in the match.

With someone like Zaheer Khan, who if not anything big can take the wicket of Graeme Smith and Harbhajan Singh whose powerss was evident in the first innings and more so in 2004 when he scrapped 7 South African wickets to take an 8 wicket victory, can snatch the game from the Proteas in case of a tie breaker. The only hopes for team India at the moment would be V V S Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former who could remind himself of the epic knock of 281 like Harbhajan Singh can remind himself about the hattrick he took in that game against Australia.

All these can be dreamt about at the moment only if Dhoni can support Laxman from the other end. And if Dhoni tries to do what he was doing in the first test, then, all that he can achieve is to escape from the blame game and nothing more. It is fascinating to hear that the loss at Nagpur against South Africa was Dhoni's first loss as a captain. Now, hope so that the Kolkata test would not be the first test series loss as a captain for Dhoni. So, one has to wait for another three days to see if the luck factor that Dhoni has been carrying with him after he took over as the captain can combine with the efforts of Harbhajan & Laxman.

Momentum is with RSA

It is needless to be said that a team that has taken an initial lead in the test series be it anywhere on earth will definitely have the momentum and the pressure would obviously be on the opposition. This is more so in the case where the series is a two match affair and a win in the first test would guarantee the opposition atleast a level in the series in case they lose the 2^nd test. This is what the Proteas enjoy at the moment, with South Africa taking an unbeatable lead in the series , a loss in the 2^nd test would only see them level the series and a draw would ensure a series win for the Proteas.

However, some positives that South Africa enjoyed in the first test that was played at Nagpur, which might not be the case at Kolkata should also have been taken by A B de Villiers before making any such comment. India were without a second wall (after Rahul Dravid) in V V S Laxman who is termed to be fit for the second test at Kolkata starting day after on Sunday. The second point is that the Kolkata pitch is hinted to be a turning track, playing on which can be a nightmare for the batsmen from South Africa, which will surely haunt them this time as well.

Though there is hardly any noted spinner in the Indian squad for the exception of Harbhajan Singh, Harbhajan Singh is alone enough to put pressure upon the South African batsmen. Moreover, there is Zaheer Khan, who can bring fresh nightmares for atleast Graeme Smith if not for anything else for, Zaheer Khan has been seen getting Smith out in the past 5 tests and 8 innings that were played. The most recent one where Smith was taken by Zaheer being in the Nagpur test. It was the same venue where South Africa lost to India where Harbhajan Singh took 7 wickets in the 2^nd innings and 2 in the first.

In that match in 2004, spinners took 13 out of the 20 South African wickets, with all 10 wickets in the 2^nd South African innings going to the spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan. In 2008, South Africa succumbed to India's bowling in the 3rd test at Kanpur, with needless to be said spinners made the most of the South African batsmen's weakness. It was after South Africa won the 2^nd test at Ahmedabad that they lost the 3^rd test at Kanpur by 8 wickets. Moreover, the Kanpur test lasted for just 3 days, with the South African 2nd innings lasting just 55.5 overs and 121 runs long. Now, one can guess the momentum that A B de Villiers thinks his team to be enjoying!

Smith's decision justified 100%

Yesterday, I had written about the second day's play between India and South Africa and also raised questions regarding Smith's decision to declare the innings. And, in the 3^rd day's play, Smith has replied to my query in such a way as though he himself had read the post. Smith's decision to declare the innings worked out exactly the way he might have expected to be. India lost 12 wickets on a single day's play, in contrast to South Africa who lost just 4 wickets on day 2 and 2 wickets on day 1. The total of 556 put up by South Africa proved to be too much for India.

Now, another decision has been taken by Smith after he imposed a follow-on on the Indian batsmen after his team took a lead of 325 runs. Added to that, India have lost their openers and one of the noted batsmen in India viz Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir both of whom went for a partly score. Very rarely does a batsman get to play twice on the same day and to get out twice on the same day has to be something great for any batsmen. The only difference in this case is that, it would be for the wrong reasons. Sehwag and Gambhir were the two lucky ones here who got out twice on day 3.

Moreover, Gautam Gambhir got out for the ball of Morne Morkel for the 2^nd time on the same day. Before the start of the series, there were worries for team India regarding playing Murali Vijay, Saha and Badrinath. But, if the 3^rd day's play is taken into consideration, it was Subramanium Badrinath who scored 56 runs which stood 2^nd in the innings after Virender Sehwag scored a hundred. Added to that was the 136 run partnership with Sehwag which formed almost 87% of the Indian score in the 1^st innings. The two along with the extras scored 194 of the 233 runs that was the score towards the end of the innings.

Coincidently, they were the two of the three batsmen from the Indian side who could reach double figure mark though there were 29 extras in the innings. After being at 192/3 at one stage, the remaining 7 wickets fell for a score of just 41 runs. The only thing for the Indian team to feel satisfied at the end of the day is that they maintained a run rate of 3.6 which was slightly more than the run rate of 3.17 maintained by the Proteas in their first innings and that the Indian bowlers bowled just 25 extras compared to the 29 by the South African bowlers. If the proceedings of the match on the 3rd day is considered, it would not be a surprise if the match gets over on the 4^th day itself.

Is Smith confident about his decisions?

As expected at the end of the second day's play between India and South Africa, South Africa did pile up a mammoth total of 556 for the loss of 6 wickets before declaring the innings. However, a close look at the game's play suggests that the South African captain might have erred in declaring the innings with still 4 wickets in hand. If the scorecard of the South African 1^st innings is given a close look at, it is well evident that the pitch might be a pure batting paradise. For, the South Africans lost just 4 wickets on day 2 of the test match.

If not for the opening pair of Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince, none of the South African batsmen had any sorts of problems with the Indian bowlers. As a matter of fact, South Africans have been comparatively bad players of spin compared to the teams from the sub continent. And the scorecard suggests us that the bowler who maintained the worst economy in the first innings happened to be India's leading and most experienced spinner Harbhajan Singh who ended with an economy rate of 3.60. Moreover, Harbhajan had just 1 maiden which was the lowest among the lot with just one over maiden.

A part time off spinner in Sehwag can come out with an equal number of overs maiden, that Harbhajan could do out of his 46 overs. And, who all batted from the South African team, if not for Prince and Smith, every other batsmen came out with good success barring Duminy. However, prior to the series, India were expected to atleast draw the series with the Proteas, in case they needed to stay at the top of the test ratings, which suggests that the pressure is on India though being the hosts. If the South African first innings is considered, they need not worry about losing, for worst come the match might end in a draw. But, is that the spirit of the way a game is supposed to be played?

In one way, Smith's decision to declare the innings can be given a nod for, the Indian team is too short of batsmen if not for the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhoni. Despite the presence of these four, and their capability to score runs, they can hardly be considered to put up a decent partnership that is quintessential in test cricket. India have lost batsmen in Laxman and Dravid, who can stay at the crease for long time that can exhaust the opposition bowlers. Added to that, South Africa have a match winning bowler combination in Dale Steyn, Morkel and Harris along with the experience of Kallis. So, Smith's decision is now in a toss whose result is expected tomorrow.

Count down for India has begun

Needless to be said, the first day of the first test between India and South Africa belonged solely to the Proteas. The only satisfaction for team India was that Zaheer Khan once again haunted the South African captain Graeme Smith when he took his wicket for a score of 6. However, India should have been more cautious about South Africa, who can not only defeat India in the ongoing test series but also throw them from the number one test position that India are now enjoying. It was the same men that played sensible knocks in the warm-up game against the Indian President's Board XI who belted the Indian bowlers.

Some under estimation from the Indian bowlers can be sensed from the way the bowlers especially Ishanth Sharma and Zaheer Khan bowled. Though Zaheer Khan was successful in claiming the wicket of Greame Smith and Ashwell Prince, the line & length that he maintained was not upto the mark. Moreover, replays of the dismissal of Ashwell Prince suggests that the ball from Zaheer Khan hit the arm guard before being caught by the wicket keeper. The decision was in favor of Zaheer Khan which can be called lucky rather than someone's effort. So, all that the Indian bowlers can boast of is one wicket in the entire day.

And, one has to wonder why did Dhoni introduce spin bowling from the 12th over itself, when suggestions say that spin bowling would be effective only after a minimum of 20 overs have been bowled (which is more the case in test matches)? Another fact that needs to be condemned is the inclusion of wicket keeper Saha, who was made to field, when the main motive in including him was to keep wickets. Dhoni may have done the same previously as well regarding Dinesh Karthik but, this time it is more foolish I suppose. What sense does it make in making a proffessional wicketkeeper field?

May be only Dhoni has the answer for that. In the past, Australia have played both Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin, both of whom are meant to keep wickets, but the thing to be noticed was that it was Haddin who kept wickets and not Gilchrist. This was in a tri series in Holland involving Australia, India & Pakistan in 2004. If the way the South African batsmen played is given a close look at, it cannot be ruled out that the pitch may be the one that favors batsmen. If that is the case, one can see Sehwag notching up another triple double hundred atleast. But, if not for Sachin, no other noted test batsman can be seen from the squad.

VVS Laxman speaks!!!

It is good to see that these days some lesser known names like VVS Laxman have started speaking. Until now, hardly one would have seen Laxman coming in front of the television sets and throwing out his opinion. neither has there been any ad that is being promoted by Laxman in his decade long international career, that consisted mostly of test cricket, with a little bit of one day and no T20. even Anil Kumble was hardly seen making it to ads if not for one or two. But, that is a different issue altogether. But, Laxman's appearance would have made a lot eye brows to raise including mine.

It was only after his comment upon India not having enough bench strength when it came to spinners. Someone like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly of the decade old times and that followed by Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Dhoni and Sehwag have been found frequently throwing up their expressions regarding whatever major development happens in Indian cricket. Anyway, coming to the statement given by Laxman that India lacks bench strength when it comes to spinners, isn't Laxman an off-spinner by profession? Why didn't he take to spin bowling, be it part time no matter, like Sehwag & Yuvraj have done? This is what happens when someone who takes to something which he has never done until now.

And, if Laxman's take is given a consideration, India do have some upcoming spinners in Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ohja who have been decent of not extraordinary with the ball. Of course, one cannot expect someone like Anil Kumble to hit the playing XI in the near future. Moreover, Harbhajan Singh has almost 8 years to go on from now onwards, taking into account his age which is 29 at present. Ooops! I forgot to mention the name of Amit Mishra. So, the tally of spinners now stands at 5. And no team on earth has so far played more than 3 spinners maximum.

And a close look at the Indian batting bench strength right now would be just cool. Excluding the top 3 viz Laxman, Sachin & Dravid, the next row consists of Sehwag alone and Dhoni only to a little extent, for a wicketkeeper is quintessential for a team and Dhoni is a better man than Dinesh Karthik when it comes to both keeping wickets and batting. Yuvraj Singh is yet to make a place for himself in test cricket. Of course, there is Gautam Gambhir who is able to promise some good knocks with the bat, which takes the tally of batsmen to just 2 if the batting bench strength is considered.

And when it comes to the fast bowlers' on the cards, except Zaheer Khan, no one else has been able to make a mark. Not even Ishanth Sharma in the recent past. Ishanth's last splendid performance was in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 where he was awarded the man of the series. R P Singh and Sreesanth hardly make it to the playing XI , with Sreesanth battling injuries more than 90% of the time. And Praveen Kumar is more of a slow bowler than to consider him even in the list of a medium pace bowler. Usually, batsmen speak for batsmen and bowlers for bowlers. But, the reason behind Laxman speaking for spin bowlers, when his area i.e batting is also facing a shortage more than the spin department can be best known to Laxman.

I Blame it completely on the bowlers

Well a day after team India's loss at the hands of Sri Lanka, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni makes no delay in starting the blame game by terming all batsmen to be responsible for team India's yet another loss in the finals of a tournament involving three nations or more. My doubt is "Does Dhoni include himself in the list of the batsmen whom he refers to as culprits?" Oh! I had forgotten. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a wicketkeeper isn't it? And why should one refer to him as a batsman which is his secondary commitment. May be he has even bowled a few overs in international cricket.

But, that should not be the issue now. May be that Dhoni considers his 19 ball 14 runs that included three hits to the fence an effort worth mentioning in India's face saving 245 runs on the board. Anyway, that apart, a close look at the scorecard of India's batting line up would reveal that the batting did live upto the mark. Not only for the contributions of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Virender Sehwag whose names get highlighted in the scorecard, but, had it not been for these three, a total of 245 that saved the face for India would be a dream far to relish.

A total of 245 was never easy to chase atleast as far as the Sri Lankan batsmen are considered and more so in today's world where in the last four tournaments, Sri Lanka have managed just one win from each tournament. Sri Lanka took their innings until 9 balls prior to completion of 50 overs with the loss of 6 wickets. None of the batsmen who made it to the crease were found being able to strike the ball confidently. Though there was a wicket falling even before the first runs were scored, India could not continue doing that for another one hour or so. A look at the Indian bowling chart reveals Sreesanth's 72 run gift that should have been more than hundred had the Sri Lankan batsmen been a little more consistent.

Sreesanth gave width outside the off stump in such a way that even the South African bowler Allan Donald would have had the batting innings of his life. Then comes the short pitched, over pitched and full tosses that could have been thrown away by someone with a little better caliber. Bad luck that Ashish Nehra had to leave his journey after bowling just 1.2 overs. And I suggest that one goes through the bowling chart thoroughly so that an idea regarding the Indian bowlers can be got. Dhoni had to rely on someone like Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja who bowled 17.4 overs between them. Had I ben in place of Dhoni, I wouldn't have tossed the ball to Sreesanth who bowled his full quota of 10 (9.3) overs.

I wonder why not did Dhoni hand over the ball to Sehwag and Raina when Yuvraj could bowl! The change in bowling has always been found to slow down the scoring initially. Atleast these were better than Virat Kohli. I wish Dhoni stand in front of the mirror and shower curses so that the stupidity is not repeated atleast in the near future.