No losers and winners in the match

At the end of the 5^th one dayer between India and South Africa yesterday, the scoreboard read South Africa win the match by 34 runs of course by the Duckworth - Lewis method and hence the series 3-2. But, the real question is did South Africa emerge victorious or did India lose the game? It was fascinating to see the South African batsmen put up a steady partnership of 97 runs for the 2^nd wicket between Hashim Amla and Morne van Wyk which was followed by a 101 run partnership between Hashim Amla and jean Paul Duminy for the 4^th wicket. South Africa were just 3 down for 231 runs on board at the end of the 42^nd over.

However, despite all these, at the end of their innings, South Africa were 9 down with just 250 on the board meaning just another 19 runs were scored from just above 3 overs losing 6 wickets at a stretch. This in turn shows the lack of discipline of the South African batsmen in the death overs and that too when they were batting on their home pitch. If not for Hashim Amla, Jean Paul Duminy and van Wyk, no other batsman's score was worth any praise. The trio amassed a total of 218 runs with extras contributing 11 runs out of the 250 runs they could manage.

Rain, temporary abandonment of the game in addition to the introduction of the Duckworth - Lewis method should not be the reason for their debacle for even in the previous games as well, South Africa's performance with the bat was not anything different from what it was yesterday. The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bought in 8 of his eleven men to bowl at the Proteas and the scoreboard suggests that runs have been scored from the overs bowled by Suresh Raina, Rohith Sharma, Munaf Patel and Yuvraj Singh, with Munaf Patel being the only noted bowler among the lot.

Though Munaf gave away an expensive 6.42 runs an over, he was successful in scalping 3 wickets which included the price wicket of J P Duminy. And coming to India's point, there was no need for Yousuf Pathan to go for that shot when the required run rate was well below 6 an over and no more batsmen to make up for the loss. India did well to recover from 119/8 at the end of the 23^rd over to 234 all out in the 40^th over. A 68 ball 100 in such a situation is much praise worthy compared to the slow and steady 116 by Hashim Amla.

It was fascinating to see Zaheer's 24 run and a 100 run 9^th wicket partnership with Yousuf Pathan when even noted batsmen like Raina, Rohith Sharma and Yuvraj failed. At the end, winners had a lot of flaws in them while losers took home the real spirit. And, just before the world cup players need to Work At Home.

After failing to chase, RSA fail to defent as well

Well if the second one dayer between India and South Africa at Johannesburg comes in for much criticism from most around the world, the Proteas have yet again made news for the wrong reasons when they failed to win a winning battle which came in defending a rather decent score of 220 on the board with the pitch assisting the bowlers to a greater extent. Some stupid part time bowlers like Yuvraj Singh could control the South African batsmen let alone strike bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Some Munaf Patel who rarely makes it to the 15 member squad makes his day.

This time, India were playing the hosts without another star player - Sachin Tendulkar in addition to the absence of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The total what the Proteas left before the second innings started was a combined effort of half centuries from the blades of Jean Paul Duminy and Faf Du Plessis, the latter who was making his debut appearance in a one day international. Of course, even South Africa was without their key player in Jacques Kallis, but being the hosts and winning the toss, they should have had no reason to defend their defeat once again.

Batting was looking terribly tough taking the way the South African batsmen were struggling after winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, a 5^th wicket partnership of 110 runs between the aforementioned players made all of us feel that the South African players are back in the game which was only half truth. The remaining half being that their bowling was exactly opposite to what their batsmen could manage. The scoreboard which read 200/4 at one point of time in the 45^th over eventually ended by freezing at 220 with the hosts losing all their ten wickets, meaning just 20 runs were added before 6 more wickets fell.

Just a couple of days back, South Africa failed to chase down a mere target of 191 after falling 1 run short. And, what happened in the 3^rd one dayer has well been depicted. Shortly, the Proteas will be heading to the same venue to against which it is seen reeling even without any sort of pressure. However, the South Africans can tend to relax a little bit, for they are not grouped with India in pool A. But, what if South Africa happens to face India in the quarter final which is a knock out affair? They'll be reminded of the 1996 WC.

I wish the South African players Travel the World before they head on to the sub continent to play the game's most respected tournament - the world cup.

Sulieman Benn: A non Aussie sledger

Well whenever the word sledging is heard or is making news, the first name team that comes to everyone's mind is the Aussies starting from Dennis Lillie and Steve Waugh to the present day's players like Brett Lee, Ponting and Hayden. Their sledging is not restricted to on the field alone. Off the field as well, Aussies are masters of sledging which is quite evident from the story of Mathew Hayden calling Harbhajan Singh "an obnoxious weed" some three years down the lane during the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2007-08 and the Commonwealth Bank series that followed. Whatever, that series can be called as mother of sledging.

That series involved everything about sledging starting from the eight umpiring decisions that went wrong and the "monkey" word said to be uttered by Harbhajan Singh at Symonds. Then there was the egg throwing incident on the Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (of course not by any of the Australian players) who had come to participate in the Commonwealth Bank series that followed the 4 match India - Australia tests. Finally the Commonwealth Bank series not only ended with India winning the trophy and Adam Gilchrist & Brad Hogg bidding adieu but also with the incident of a streaker being hit by Andrew Symonds on the field.

Anyways, all these were just a recap of how ugly can sledging can get when it crosses the line and also when it doesn't. However, it seems that it is the birth right of an Australian player to say anything about their opponents and the fact that they have been and are today also unbeatable supports their on field deeds. But, outside the Aussie world as well, sledging has its own share but a bit more ugly one. The list includes India's Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh & Zaheer Khan offlate, Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akthar and the latest to join the list has happened to be West Indian Sulieman Benn.

This is the 2^nd time that the West Indian has been seen making news for the wrong reasons, after he was first time banned for doing so in the three match test series against Australia late last year when he had an on field spat with the Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson. This time again, the West Indian is found doing the same and is penalized by none other than the West Indian captain Chris Gayle who asked him to leave the field after the captain decided that Benn was not needed anymore. Though being unable to make a mark in cricket, such things can easily make Benn make headlines.

Chennai 2004 or Kolkata 2001?

This was the stadium where play was called off temperately in the 4^th one dayer between India and Sri Lanka after bad light threatened to deny India another win against Sri Lanka which finally didn't happen. That was regarding the flood lights. But, this time it is regarding the day light that threatened India to compromise with a draw when victory for team India was well on the cards. With just 157 minutes of play possible, not much was expected but South Africans would be dancing the whole night with already a win in their hands. Smith will have rejoiced a lot more with his wicket not being claimed by Zaheer this time.

For a change, it was Amit Mishra who got Smith leg before with the South African captain scoring 20 runs when a 200 was expected out of him. May be that Zaheer was sick of getting Smith every time he bowled. South African batsmen could manage to score 131 runs despite losing 3 wickets and that too at regular intervals. This was far too less compared to 357 runs that they were to score in case they needed to avoid an innings defeat. But, the score was too much in the 157 minutes that was played on the day. But, the main spoilsport was of course the bad light.

With India facing summer, there should have been scorching heat and no signs of rain whatsoever. But, the height of misfortune for India demanded a dim sunlight with which the players could just manage to miss the scorching heat on the ground. This has left with South Africa to just battle it out with 7 wickets in hand and India to claim the remaining 7 wickets in case they were to assure the world of their number one test status. Still, the upper hand lies with India, given the pitch in the fifth day of a test match. But, the weather can still come in the way of Indian victory and that'll be what Smith and co. would be looking forward to.

This reminds me of the Chennai test between India and Australia, where India had lost their first test in Bangalore and had a firm grip in the 2^nd test at Chennai to make the 4 match series of the Border-Gavaskar trophy 1-1 with 2 more matches to go. India did well with Anil Kumble returning with figures of 13-141 at the end of the 4th day's play and India needed 219 runs to win out of which 10 runs were already scored. But, misery stuck India when the entire 5th day was washed off by rain without a single delivery being bowled. This was the match that paved the way for Australian victory on Indian soil after 34 years. Australia later won the next test and India the 5th to make the series 1-2.

Garden turns forest for the Proteas

Well the cricket stadium at Kolkata can be mistaken by any innocent people to be a garden as the name Eden Garden suggests. But, yesterday, the South Africans not only got deceived in their minds but also felt it practically after their team had an initial run, only to find themselves kicking at the end of the day. The team which was at one stage 218/2 at the end of the 52nd over, at an astonishing run rate of over 4.0 (which is far better compared to the standards of test cricket) had to end the day losing just one wicket less than an unofficial declare.

It was the same Hashim Amla along with Petersen who belted the Indian bowling with power and experience of their previous victory in the tournament. Hashim Amla belted 114 and on the other hand, it was debutant Alviro Nathan petersen who scored his hundred as well. This would have and should have put enormous pressure upon the Indian bowlers players, especially with the fact that they had lost the Nagpur test and were lagging behind in the test series. Added to that would be the fact that India will have to let go its number 1 position in test cricket which it has been holding since past 2 series'.

It is hard to digest losing something that he has been holding for so long and something which he has rarely held in his life. Team India belong to the 2nd category, for they held on to the number 1 position in test cricket which wasn't possible atleast as long as Tendulkar has been around in Indian cricket. When a debutant in Petersen can notch up a hundred and that too at a venue far away from home, questions would surely start raising in people's minds regarding the fate of the match despite there being 4 more days and atleast 2 more innings to go.

Finally, at the end of the day, the extras had its say when it held the position number 3 when it comes to the highest individual scores in the South African innings. Indian bowlers bowled 26 extras, that was bettered by only two centurions mentioned above. The match didn't start in any different manner, when Smith once again lost his battle to Zaheer Khan after scoring 4 runs. The bowler got his price of 4 wickets and as expected and mentioned in one of my earlier posts, Harbhajan Singh did the damage that he could. It would be nice to see as to who would come forward to take the blame for the 1st day's debacle of the South African batting.

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.

Bangladesh comfortable against India

In the past one month or so, there have been three test series' namely the ones between South Africa & England, Australia & Pakistan and India & Bangladesh offlate. As expected, the winners were South Africa(morally), Australia and India respectively. Coincidentally, the three winners mentioned belong to the top three positions in ICC's test cricket ratings. However, the performance of the three winning teams do the opposite of what the ratings has to say. The top rated India have a last gasp victory against Bangladesh, the Proteas who are rated at the second position were better than India, first for coming close to winning matches on 2 occasions and winning the fourth test rather convincingly.

And Australia, who are placed at number 3 finished off their test series victory in style by (needless to be said) a 3-0 margin against Pakistan, with the second test victory being the highlight of them all. South Africa and Australia were hosting their opponents and India to be different was hosted by Bangladesh, which need not be highlighted specially. The 3^rd test between Australia & Pakistan and the 4^th test between South Africa & England ended in just 4 days while the one between India & Bangladesh went until the fifth and last day. All expectations turning upside down.

All would have kept their finger crossed regarding the series' between South Africa & England and Australia & Pakistan regarding the days the respective teams would emerge victorious. But, regarding India & Bangladesh, expectations regarding India drawing off a win well before 5^th day, which went on till the end of the 4^th day (which still was less than 5 days though). South Africa beat England by an innings and so would have Australia had Ponting imposed a follow-on. But, that was not-to-be regarding India. India should have beaten Bangladesh by an innings. Luckily, atleast India went on to win by 10- wickets.

India needed the efforts of the age old Sachin and Dravid to post a big total against a team which should have seen Dhoni resting the seniors and playing some younger talent. On the bowling part, a 10 year experienced Zaheer khan had to bail out India in the second innings, which should have been done by some Murali Vijay. Top scorer of the match turned out to be Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal who scored 151 compared to Sachin's 143. Dhoni was forced to hand the ball to Sehwag & Yuvraj who were less an option in tests. One has to wonder as to what would have been the situation had India faced some stronger teams like Pakistan or England? And what if Dravid, Sachin & Zaheer not been in place?

One side of the coin also suggests that India might have taken the Bangladeshis lightly for which they had to compromise with a 10 wicket victory, which would have otherwise been an innings win. Also, Laxman and Sreesanth had to make a return trip sooner than their team mates that disturbed the combination. But, since the start of the tri series, one thing that is to be noticed is that Bangladesh have been comfortable facing India than any other team (Sri Lanka in this case).

Reminding India's Position in test cricket

Well it was India in the end who walked away with a victory against an ever rising Bangladesh team after crushing the hosts by 113 runs at Chittagong. Though good for any winning team, my question is how far can that victory be relished if true spirits of the game of cricket is concerned? India had to wait until the end of the fifth day of the test match to finalize its win over Bangladesh. India needed the same age old player in Sachin Tendulkar to register a win the the mentioned test. India played Bangladesh the way there are at present expected to play some team like South Africa or Australia.

India was found putting a better performance against stronger teams like the ones mentioned above. Is it due to the fact that they were playing Bangladesh that India took the opposition lightly or was it the over confidence that they had won all their test series' last year that India had to gasp for victory? India, taking into account its number one position in test cricket, had to walk away with an innings win in the Chittagong test that didn't happen. India had a lead of just 1 run in their first innings which speaks for itself about the rating team India is found enjoying.

If Sachin Tendulkar's and Virender Sehwag's score out of the lot is deducted, India's team total would read just 86 runs, that included 13 extras as well. There were two bowlers who picked up 5 wickets each (Shahadat Hossain and Sakib Ali Hasan) and the best part being that they belonged to the Bangladesh team, against which any team can take any sorts of risk. Bangladesh is one such team in international cricket against which any captain (may be West Indies & Zimbabwe barred) need not think twice in imposing a follow on. And India makes the match against the same Bangladesh a memorable won by winning it on the last day.

It was the same India a couple or years back who had drawn a test match against Bangladesh at the same venue, when India ended their first innings scoring 387 runs on board, out of which Ganguly scored 100 and Tendulkar scored 101. It was the match where India succumbed to 100/6 before declaring the second innings. That match finally ended in a draw as mentioned, with the man of the match being given to Mashrafe Mortazaof Bangladesh for his 79 runs in the first innings. However, newspapers blame it on the rain that ended India's fortunes in that game, which is totally not supported by the scorecard. Scorecard suggests that rain had come to India's rescue.

Finally, it would not be a tough call regarding the second test against Bangladesh to be played at Dhaka a couple of days later. But, India's performance in the Chittagong test would once again remind India's rating in test cricket, where at present is at number 1 by hooks or crooks.