Cricket: Melbourne test Day 3

Its end of day three and possible twelve wickets or 200 runs and more would decide a keenly contested test match. It looks at least for now that it is Indians match to loose. I would also add that Aussies have their noses in front. It wont be a cake walk for India. It is always tough when u have runs on the board. India looked really good at one stage with the score reading 214 for 2. They finished with 282 all out within the first session of day three. You can sing bravado about Indian bowling, but the fact is we are against the odds and Aus camp will be a bit more at ease. Indians have a tendency to collapse in a heap, ref: first innings of this test. The fans on the other end would feel the other team has the upper hand. The uncertain cricket to follow has just pumped up the nervous excitement.

Sachin and the magic number.

The hundredth hundred may be playing on his mind, it may not. One more century would make him superlative. He is the best of his generation. He is the best Indian batsman ever. He is a genuine gentlemen and there is very little that public has seen of him that they didn't like. He has lived under an undiluted spotlight for better part of his adult life. He got into cricket at an age when you and me seek freedom without responsibility. He gave up both. I have this amazing sense of gratitude towards guys humility. It is simply impossible for anyone else to pull it off when you have earned so much fame and praise, all deserving off course.

I have seen a few centuries of his and seen him play since I can remember. But I hardly remember any century in which he starts flourish, you string of boundaries, punches on the off side, blistering square drive and flicks and get his century. I long to see centuries, when he is a bit circumspect and builds on his innings. Tendulkar settling in first and then decimating the bowlers, collecting boundaries and growing in confidence. It almost seem unacceptable to me that he will get a century with gusto and flourish like the one which was on display on day two of the Melbourne Test. It was delighting never the less.

Deja Vu in Melbourne

The Indian fan is witness to a collapse of Indian batting previously at The MCG too. It was a nasty one, Sehwag was brutal that day. India all out when they look to drive the advantage home wasn't to be. Aus cruised to victory. Indian bowlers however are looking good. Umesh Yadav is taking wickets, Ishant Sharma will get paid for hard-work sooner rather than later. Indian bowlers riding on self destruct tendencies of Aus batsman capitalized. It was 24/4 at one point before Ponting & Hussey chose to perform rather than parish. The tide turned the runs flowed.

Three aces.

Yadav had claimed first three wickets to fall in the first innings, accounted for Aussie top order again in the second innings. Cowan, warner and Marsh came saw went. Ishant had Clarke. This bought the two people like to face axe (but shouldn't). Ponting and Hussey attacked and defended and restrained the Indian bowling and set course for a competitive fourth innings total for the Indians to chase. . The target is approaching 250. Aussies would like to add a bit more. Indians will look to restraint. It makes for a good Test series.

Sore thumb rule

If two innings have been completed by the end of the third day, you tend to get the direction in which test is likely to head. It is hard to decide those. Indian collapse followed by Aus collapse makes for a jittery viewing if you are an Indian fan. Sehwag will do everything to amplify these jitters. Aus will try to push it beyond 250 may be beyond three hundred. If it is 275 in last five sessions of play to remain. Its just the tendency of collapse that you need to guard again.

Reemphasizing the change in The Menu.

It can be easily concluded about what kind of life you have by the priorities we follow. One we set the goal it is easier to aim. If scoring runs is the goal for the team than batting order should be one of the priority, the right batting order should be one of the priorities. I would love to see Laxman at three, Dravid at four and Tendulkar at five, Dhoni at six and Kohli at seven. It guards against possible collapse, it covers Kohli fallibility it adds to Dhoni since he would have at least one experienced batsman to play with. Tendulkar and Dravid would provide solidity. It would challenge Laxman to add a bit of caution and tightening up his game.

I wish to see changes in Aus line up as well. Hussey is there best bat for sometime now. He like Dravid has a complete game, well suited to play of either foot against all kind of bowling under various condition and score runs competently. He should be batting at three, Clarke at four, Ponting at five. Marsh at six.

It is easy to say Indians will come all out blazing. They need to dismiss Aussies as soon as they can and then chart a course where each batsman should take responsibility to be at the crease when the time comes to finish the game. I hope Yadav gets five tomorrow. I hope its a good match and it sets the right tone for the new years. It will be a good test match to follow.

Cricket: Preview India vs Aus

India tour to Australia has kicked off with a couple of practice matches. Its was so magnanimous of BCCI to let a batch of our players leave early and gift them two matches, guess thats what early Xmas gifts resemble. I don't know if the Board thing or our players, but we don't consider practice matches much on to do list of a tour. India's previous tours to South Africa, West Indies and England being the latest one, have seen us in pretty embarrassing situations, in South Africa we lost the match in the first session, the pitch turned docile after Indian innings and every SAf batsman helped himself with runs and form. West Indies we were 5 wickets down for peanuts the then Man in form with th Bat, Harbhajan and guess who Suresh Raina bailed us out, if it was any other set of players in the opposition we would have been decimated. England saw us winning nothing except a couple of mini sessions between lunch and the following drinks break. I hope fortunes have changed.

Fit? Fine.

India vs Aus is no more the marquee series per se. But for an Indian fan (here, me :P) and players in the team there should be enough spice to compel me (read us) to follow. Its fitness rather than form on this tour that will be the key to the series. It is the key to any series but for us this is the one. You can go out of form and inform in the middle of the game but if you are down on fitness. You can go into a series with an indifferent form and pull of some magical performances but it would be difficult to go into a series with your fitness in the wrong direction of slope. Then Aus is a big country to travel with injuries. Sehwag, you don't know, before you get up on Boxing day he may already playing 50 of 30 balls. Gambhir next to stay put. Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar have all done well against Australia at home and away when Aussies were at peak of the game in the last decade or so. Laxman is just primed for runs. Sachin is a ton away from ton of tons, wonder if anyone has noticed it. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have to fight it out for now exclusive so bereft batting order. But Kohli may get a look in before Rohit Sharma. Dhonis batting may just be under a more stern observation. 

Zaheer is coming out of long injury lay off, Ishant seems to be jumping a skipping rope between Am-I-injured-or-Am-I-not. Umesh, Ashwin and Ojha are yet to play in Aus. Irfan Pathan is not selected for some reason. Praveen Kumar wont be there. He did well in West Indies and England and did enough to be considered a decent test bowler. If there is swing he will do it. Bhajji and Sreesanth have been sent home for a long family vacation. Ashwin should fancy a chance against Aussies who have traditionally felt the pinch from the off spinners from Laker, Jasu Patel, Bhajji, Murali, Swann have done well against Australia. I for one would have love to see, Ishant and Bhajji bowling in tandem to Ricky Ponting. Ishant beating the inside edge with Ponting on the back foot, Bhajji beats the outside edge with Ponting coming forward. But then we have to savour what we get. Zaheer Khan is the keep simply because he has played just three test match in Australia. He is has to last the whole tour and keep taking wickets. He is vital to the outcome of the series from Indian perspective

Down Under - getting out of the rot.

Aussies now find themselves thin on talent and aptitude. It is (obviously) hard to replace guess who have entered history of the game. I don't know for how long Haddin may play, there are a few injured players, not suggesting Indians don't have their share of worries. Aussies have worries of their own. Its only Bangladesh and West Indies who have lost more matches. Ponting seems to the punter who out of tricks, but then the harder you want to pray of Indians winning this tour, they more you got to hope that Ponting doesn't get into form. Hussey is another player who can keep ticking, best brains in Aussie line up Watson is not played so that is a dream bonus. Why wasn't Warner scripted couple of years back is the question? Phill Jacques is a joke. Hilfenhaus makes a come back. Siddle will look to sizzle again, rest of the Aussie bowling is something I don't know about. I must add though, I am looking forward to Lyon vs Dhoni.

There are some key duels you want to see, Sehwag vs the cover point or third-man fielder. Dravid & Tendulkar old (oldest) war horses vs greenhorn Aussie rookie bowlers. Gambhir vs bad luck and ill form. Zaheer vs fitness. Ricky Ponting vs Ashwin. Hussey vs Zaheer. Umesh Yadav needs to adapt quickly and be counted. I am just wondering is Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar should all swap places. It's an idea that has caught my fancy. I wonder if it would make sens to have Laxman at three, Dravid at four and Tendulkar at five. Dhoni vs Haddin. 

The contemplation.

I am contemplating either a daily blog or after at the end of each innings.for  this tour especially for the days test matches played. There is one thing that I pray for, is series to be free of any possible controversy. The most important question for me will they employ DRS?

Blog: Some of all parts

It has been a while since posted a blog posted, the archives suggest it was more than a couple of months back. I have never been too busy to blog but always too lazy to blog. India's impressive run in ODI and Test continues. Indias hocket team did well too. Its not a good time to be a well renown, artistic, creative exponent personality. Death is the lifes biggest game changer, so said Steve Jobs. Dev Anand (actor, producer), may his soul rest in peace, Bhupen Hazarika (singer , musician) Dr Hargobind Khurana (scientist), Mario Miranda (cartoonist) left us wanting a bit more of creativity, but I guess life will go on. It may go on even after particle we know has been annihilated into oblivion, whenever future takes birth as present.

What do you mean (to do) ?

Then there is at times a nagging feeling wondering if everything we experience or observe is a distraction from what we are really meant to do. Its ok to be poignant as we think of things whenever we do, after getting free from what we are paid to do. At times you wonder if there is ever a hell and heaven, not challenging anyone or any authority here. It is times when we do good,we feel good and a blanket of bliss wraps us and everything seems divine. It is when we do something stupid which may result in unfavourable occurances, may be in the mind and not physically and then we feel kicking yourself or aiming to punch our own nose ( painting a bulls eyes before that?) then we ill feeling, unease gripping us and stiffle us till all is resolved and you choose to move on with whatever it was before.

Just do it - kick yourself

The last thing I kicked myself was not to place enough money, here my meager savings in a provident fund or a postal account, I waited on opportune stock market condition, realizing albeit late that you have to work out a favourable condition at most times,e.g. getting up on time on a weekday and making sure you well prepared for a vendor meeting, other suitable examples warmly welcome here. Its not often the return which has to be taken account, its the will to invest that gives the best returns. Yes, I must confess I have deep interest in drawing parallels among many things in my life, I do it with introspection. I may have been chided often as being a philosopher, I wish I was one.

But then the kingdom of our own minds is so hard to to conquer, harder to administer (keep in check) and hardest to traverse (here master). Does it help if everything can be written down in black and white? It is hard to accept that life gets harder with ever passing second and one of a our endeavours is to make it simpler. Anyone who think this isn't a double whammy? You agree with yourself, with people, you disagree, you may less than willingly accept only to e proven right or wrong about notion. The secret is to keep learning and learn how to apply it next when similar set of choices, under similar circumstances appear.

Cheese dip & economy

They talked about double dip recession when we were just stepping into one, the recession ended so did the highs and we our in our second dip, the nearest flip may not be around for quiet some time. The stock market among many so things is reflection of confidence of investor in that particular market. The Indian Government with some marvellous efforts looks like running the biggest Ponzi scheme ever known to us. The Gov has taken us from feeling hopeful about the future to being hapless. about the present  I didn't vote for it, hence paying taxes while having pizza hurts the body and dents the mind. If the markets are to be believed and currency charts to be accepted,we being taken to a cliff, we may stabilize is sense prevails. If cometh the hour,cometh the men; then the time is just about right. The less said bout the government the better, when its the next time we all get an opportunity to vote, may God's good sense prevail on everybody. In India what we considered here as God given divine right are frugal privileges cherished by a few people in many parts of the world, dont have to far and beyond just look at our neighbouring countries.

The challenge as ever is to think fairly and do it correctly. The conscience is the best mattress and hunger is the best sauce. The damp squib which FB has done is to no more allow blog post to directly update as noes, precisely where syncing twitter with FB helps.

Cricket Sehwag the Audacious

The game of cricket is said to be one of golden uncertainities, Sehwag is embodiment of that saying. Its Sehwag audacity and bovine nonchalance  towards batting that makes his batting more captivating. He has been described as King of Entertainment (Never mind if Ramiz Raja). It is safe to safe sehwag been a big game changer in fortunes of Indian cricket since he has arrived on the scene. Yes he is audacious, its either none or all from Sehwag.

My Audacious XI

This wasn't an original part of the blog post. But let me suggest an all time audacious Eleven. The "audacity" would be see it to believe it performance. Its like they drag their feet to to this 4 mile replay race and end up doing it as good and easy as a walk in the park. So here is my audacious Test/ODI/T20 eleven, based on players I have seen playing in last 10 years or so, there could have been equally maverick player earlier too  but my team would consists of Sehwag, Gayle, Gibbs, Lara, Afridi, Gilchrist, Flintoff, Warne, Murali, Shoaib and  Bond

Sehwag the audacious.

Sehwag one of te most audacious batsman the game has scene in this generation. He would go on the record and say 200 in ODI is no big deal only to find himself in the worst slump of form (&fitness) to be dropped and then not even selected for the previous Aussie tour, only to come back from no where and just announce his arrival with commanding some may say decimating form. His stroke play is unique so is his mindset, he is always looking to score runs, preferable make those runs without running around too much. He prefers getting over the line with a boundary, he like to start his innings with a boundary. He greets every new bowler with a boundary if not hitting it over the boundary. In the world cup earlier this year, he face first delivery of the innings and dispatched it for a boundary, he did that in every match. Sehwag in this innings too greeted all the bowlers with the boundary. Sehwag either delights or dismay. The deal is if he is around for 40 overs or so,you wont return feeling bored, I am also talking about Test matches here.

There are so many factors/variables when a batsman goes out to bat, weather conditions, pitch, type of bowling, type of cricket ball, opposition, form and fitness, situation of the game, ya ba da ba doo; ya ba da ba doo, Sehwag just dusts these things away with his bat and if it is in his area, he will smash it and he will keep smashing and dispatching it away all day for good. Sehwag been a bit off the boil for ages now, since his surgery  following IPL. He missed couple of tours. His return in England saw him bag a pair. There wasnt much joy when Sehwag is not smashing it all over. There is tour to Australia which is coming up next, Sehwag's form with the bat may just prove vital to tilt the balance in our favour. It is good to get him run and a good match practice before the big tour.

The cast of Sehwag show.

Indian batsman werent reaping riches of runs as supply seem to have run dry. Sehwag often wanders into oor form only to hunt the treasure chest of runs back. The famed never mind depleted batting order came to the party in time. Sehwag and Gambhir got going. It seems to the untrainted eye, that sehwag provides the power, Gambhir the direction. Gambhir is no slouch with the bat, if you get thrilled seeing Sehwag, Gambhir dazzles with inspiring strokes. The two took India to 176, before run out claimed Gambhir. India kept a right left combnation going. Sehwag was on song, all Raina had to do was to keep Sehwag company, it the middle overs Indians seemed to be in cruise control. Sammy played his cards but Sehwag had the aces.

Raina got a much reprieved 50 giving Sehwag company. Sehwag scored a double, most by a captain. India registered their huge total. The game was sealed, only West Indies had to come forward and do the formalities.

The spinners picked wickets. The West Indies lost the match by 153 runs and lost the series 1-3. The next match is academic. The most seniors players should opt for an early flight to Australia.