Australia marched home today to their 15th consecutive Test victory after soundly thrashing India in the Boxing Day test at Melbourne. The much-anticipated and hyped duel petered out to a no-contest as the rampaging Aussies handed the touring Indians a swift fall from grace on the back of the visitors' first series win against Pakistan at home in 27 long years.
India's much vaunted batting lineup folded up for less than 200 in both innings as a good show by the bowlers went in vain. In a match in which they were competitive for all of 1 day, the Indians would do well to realize that once you've got the Aussies on the mat, you've got to keep 'em there, no matter what.
However that didn't happen as the advantage was surrendered with a poor batting display: the Dravids, the Laxmans, the Tendulkars, the Gangulys and the Dhonis managing all of 196 and 161 among themselves...surely, they could do better.
The curious Rahul Dravid saga gets murkier by the moment....appointed captain after then coach Greg Chappell's huge public showdown with you-know-who, accused of playing into the very same wily old coach's hands, leading the side on a forgettable World Cup campaign, controversially resigning after the successful England tour, being axed from the one day side and now being thrust into the opener's slot to do the dirty work of wearing out the brand new Kookaburra so that the others can work on their averages while smacking the thing to all parts of the ground.
What the team management has to realize is that the opening position is a specialist one...you might have a few successes with the odd makeshift opener (read Dinesh Kaarthick in England ) but that will not save you from trouble against better sides in the world. So while Dravid, the gentleman that he is, may agree to bat wherever the team wants him to, playing makeshift openers against Australia won't get them too far I'm afraid. Rahul is best suited for the no.3 slot and it's no secret. So to play him upfront, just so that Yuvraj can get into the side is sheer myopia, nothing else.
And probably the most bemusing aspect of this opening dilemna is that man called Virender Sehwag. Picture this: the man doesn't figure in the 24 probables list, then mysteriously gets called up for the tour in the 16 man squad, is one of the three genuine openers in the squad : Wasim Jaffer (the regular) and Gautam Gambhir (injured ) being the other two, doesn't play the warm up tie, ditto for the first test as he cools his heels in the dressing room while the others face the heat: both on and off the field ! I wonder what is he in the squad for? Just making up the numbers, presumably. Well good for him...there won't be any skin off his back while the rest will have tough questions to face ! Maybe all that's missing now is maa-ke-haath-ki kheer!
And so as we look forward to the New Year's test at Sydney, it begs the question: will India rise from the Ashes like the Phoenix did, or will it once again pummel to even greater depths ?
I, for one, hope it's the former and not the latter.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
'Guru' Greg's pearls of wisdom
You would be forgiven for thinking that poor old Gregory Chappell was the most tortured soul in India during his eventful 2 year tenure as the national team's coach from mid 2005 to March this year.The ''Guru'' had to suffer,what according to him,was racial abuse from hostile crowds and furthermore had to make do with an ''old and selfish'' team which had been handed to him for the much publicized but eventually disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign.
The Australian,whose tumultuous stint as coach was marred by a massive spat with then captain Sourav Ganguly,the shocking descent of India's form in ODI's and less so in Tests,allegations of disrespect to crowds,leaks of confidential team talks and fears of factions within the team has made the above allegations in his new documentary titled ''Guru Greg'' to be telecast on Australia's ABC TV next week.
Chappell had resigned as India's coach after the ill-fated World Cup adventure in the Caribbean this March.Recently,the BCCI had extended an invitation to the former coach to be the mentor for young kids at Rajasthan's cricket academy and not surprisingly,now that the Aussie has accepted the invitation,it is understandable that the ''master strategist'' would seek to downplay his comments.
Australian newspaper ''The Herald Sun'' has this to say about him...''But despite the disillusionment and the many frustrations, he is still trying to help a nation in which cricket is treated like a religion. ''
And Chappell himself offers re-assuring words...''If they give us a free hand, which they are, I think we can set something up that will help them."
Ah profound kindness, thy name is Greg Chappell !
While some of his observations about the obvious presence of politics and lack of professionalism in India's cricket administration is undeniable, the truth remains that Greg Chappell,inspite of his ''vision'' and revolutionary coaching techniques failed to transform a bunch of talented youngsters and experienced statesmen into a force to reckon with,despite promising to do so from the very outset.
And perhaps the most distasteful thing to happen was that after the early World Cup exit,he washed his hands of the entire debacle,declining to accept responsibility.Surely the ''Guru'' could do better.
Moving on, one of my pet peeves has always been seeing the way in which world champions Australia conduct themselves on and off the field.While admittedly, no other side in the world can match up to Aussies in terms of sheer cricketing talent,application and dominance as their record over the last decade only proves; it's high time that the Aussies got a hold on their distasteful attitude which smacks of cockiness, arrogance and narcissism.
Surely fans can expect the champs to maintain an attitude that is truely representative of how a champion side should conduct itself.
Their captain Ricky Ponting has been crying hoarse over lack of competition from other teams and how the crowds haven't been turning up in large numbers to watch Test cricket at their grounds due to complete dominance by the champs over other teams in recent times.The Australians would do well to remember that the last Test defeat that they faced at home was against India in 2003-04.
The Sri Lankans haven't been able to challenge the Australians so far this summer.Let's see if the touring Indians can change the trend and put some of the inflated Aussie egos in place.
The Australian,whose tumultuous stint as coach was marred by a massive spat with then captain Sourav Ganguly,the shocking descent of India's form in ODI's and less so in Tests,allegations of disrespect to crowds,leaks of confidential team talks and fears of factions within the team has made the above allegations in his new documentary titled ''Guru Greg'' to be telecast on Australia's ABC TV next week.
Chappell had resigned as India's coach after the ill-fated World Cup adventure in the Caribbean this March.Recently,the BCCI had extended an invitation to the former coach to be the mentor for young kids at Rajasthan's cricket academy and not surprisingly,now that the Aussie has accepted the invitation,it is understandable that the ''master strategist'' would seek to downplay his comments.
Australian newspaper ''The Herald Sun'' has this to say about him...''But despite the disillusionment and the many frustrations, he is still trying to help a nation in which cricket is treated like a religion. ''
And Chappell himself offers re-assuring words...''If they give us a free hand, which they are, I think we can set something up that will help them."
Ah profound kindness, thy name is Greg Chappell !
While some of his observations about the obvious presence of politics and lack of professionalism in India's cricket administration is undeniable, the truth remains that Greg Chappell,inspite of his ''vision'' and revolutionary coaching techniques failed to transform a bunch of talented youngsters and experienced statesmen into a force to reckon with,despite promising to do so from the very outset.
And perhaps the most distasteful thing to happen was that after the early World Cup exit,he washed his hands of the entire debacle,declining to accept responsibility.Surely the ''Guru'' could do better.
Moving on, one of my pet peeves has always been seeing the way in which world champions Australia conduct themselves on and off the field.While admittedly, no other side in the world can match up to Aussies in terms of sheer cricketing talent,application and dominance as their record over the last decade only proves; it's high time that the Aussies got a hold on their distasteful attitude which smacks of cockiness, arrogance and narcissism.
Surely fans can expect the champs to maintain an attitude that is truely representative of how a champion side should conduct itself.
Their captain Ricky Ponting has been crying hoarse over lack of competition from other teams and how the crowds haven't been turning up in large numbers to watch Test cricket at their grounds due to complete dominance by the champs over other teams in recent times.The Australians would do well to remember that the last Test defeat that they faced at home was against India in 2003-04.
The Sri Lankans haven't been able to challenge the Australians so far this summer.Let's see if the touring Indians can change the trend and put some of the inflated Aussie egos in place.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Captain, oh captain !
Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly turned down the offer to be India's new Test captain.The apparent explanation given by an unnamed source attributes the development to '' some personal reason.''
The development will surely come as a surprise to the BCCI which was to name the Test captain for the upcoming tests against Pakistan and the tour to Australia later in the winter.Evidently it was by and large assumed that Tendulkar would accept the job but his refusal has thrown up some interesting possibilities.
Tendulkar's previous stint as captain was dismal with just 4 wins in 25 tests,a success ratio of a meagre 16%.More importantly each of the 4 wins came at home with not a single overseas win.In fact when India toured Australia in 1999/00 under Tendulkar's captaincy,they were whitewashed 3-0,not an impressive record considering that the Aussies will host India in a month's time.
Other possible reasons might include the worry that captaincy would affect his batting.However this might not be true as Tendulkar's average while captaining in tests is 51.35,marginally lower than his overall average of 54+.
With Sachin bowing out of the race,newly crowned ODI and T20 captain M.S.Dhoni is the frontrunner for one of the toughest jobs in world cricket.Dhoni however is not too experienced in the longest version of the game, with just 20 Test caps and a single century against Pakistan in 2006.
However with Dravid stepping down as captain after the England tour and Ganguly unlikely to be looked at,one might say that there is no other viable candidate for the job.The veteran leggie Anil Kumble had recently said that he would accept captaincy if given the honour.He might have an outside chance of making it.Kumble has no previous experience of captaincy,except a lone ODI against England in 2001,in which he led India for the first and last time.
It would be fair to say that the team would not have found itself in such an embarrasing situation had Rahul Dravid not stepped down as captain after the tour of England this August.It might be recalled that Tendulkar had led the side against Sussex at Chelmsford in a practice game during the same tour.Incidentally,he had also scored a sparkling 170 odd knock during the same match.
The development will surely come as a surprise to the BCCI which was to name the Test captain for the upcoming tests against Pakistan and the tour to Australia later in the winter.Evidently it was by and large assumed that Tendulkar would accept the job but his refusal has thrown up some interesting possibilities.
Tendulkar's previous stint as captain was dismal with just 4 wins in 25 tests,a success ratio of a meagre 16%.More importantly each of the 4 wins came at home with not a single overseas win.In fact when India toured Australia in 1999/00 under Tendulkar's captaincy,they were whitewashed 3-0,not an impressive record considering that the Aussies will host India in a month's time.
Other possible reasons might include the worry that captaincy would affect his batting.However this might not be true as Tendulkar's average while captaining in tests is 51.35,marginally lower than his overall average of 54+.
With Sachin bowing out of the race,newly crowned ODI and T20 captain M.S.Dhoni is the frontrunner for one of the toughest jobs in world cricket.Dhoni however is not too experienced in the longest version of the game, with just 20 Test caps and a single century against Pakistan in 2006.
However with Dravid stepping down as captain after the England tour and Ganguly unlikely to be looked at,one might say that there is no other viable candidate for the job.The veteran leggie Anil Kumble had recently said that he would accept captaincy if given the honour.He might have an outside chance of making it.Kumble has no previous experience of captaincy,except a lone ODI against England in 2001,in which he led India for the first and last time.
It would be fair to say that the team would not have found itself in such an embarrasing situation had Rahul Dravid not stepped down as captain after the tour of England this August.It might be recalled that Tendulkar had led the side against Sussex at Chelmsford in a practice game during the same tour.Incidentally,he had also scored a sparkling 170 odd knock during the same match.
The Inside Dope
To the delight of my millions of fans all around the world, I'm back! Okay okay,thank me later....i promise you that i'll take time out of my busy schedule to interact with you guys right after i handle those shutterbugs outside my house,dying to photograph me....Hey you!Get off the lawn..........
Speaking of shutterbugs,one woman in the news recently was former world no.1 Martina Hingis...she must be used to the cameras wanting the pretty girl to pose for them!
However things aren't looking too rosy for her right now,with her admission that she tested positive for cocaine this Wimbledon...though she denies ever taking banned substances.
Its sickening to see the regularity with which these dope stories make their way into the sporting world...just last month we had Marion Jones admitting to taking banned substances,Floyd Landis' case is still fresh in our memories,Cricket has seen its doping controversies too with Shane Warne,Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif being in the dock.
The WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) has to take serious note of these issues because using performance enhancing drugs to gain advantage over fellow sportspersons is just unacceptable behaviour.period.Sports are probably as old as man himself and to see it come to ruins because of a few people who consider doping as a fair means to achieve success would be terrible,to say the least.
Speaking of shutterbugs,one woman in the news recently was former world no.1 Martina Hingis...she must be used to the cameras wanting the pretty girl to pose for them!
However things aren't looking too rosy for her right now,with her admission that she tested positive for cocaine this Wimbledon...though she denies ever taking banned substances.
Its sickening to see the regularity with which these dope stories make their way into the sporting world...just last month we had Marion Jones admitting to taking banned substances,Floyd Landis' case is still fresh in our memories,Cricket has seen its doping controversies too with Shane Warne,Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif being in the dock.
The WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) has to take serious note of these issues because using performance enhancing drugs to gain advantage over fellow sportspersons is just unacceptable behaviour.period.Sports are probably as old as man himself and to see it come to ruins because of a few people who consider doping as a fair means to achieve success would be terrible,to say the least.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Paakramaan !!!!
Okay so let me start off with something that i absolutely cannot live without-the game of glorious uncertainties - Cricket!
And when an Indian talks about cricket,you probably cannot expect him to go on about anything other than what according to him,is the greatest rivalry in the game-INDIA v PAKISTAN !
Yeah,yeah,i know-it's been done to death-how the subcontinent gears up for an extravaganza whenever the two sides lock horns,how the traffic comes to a standstill (exception-Mumbai,the traffic is always at a standstill here !) , how each game is regarded as a matter of national pride, how soldiers stationed on either side of the border let their counterparts know who's the boss after their side wins,blah,blah,blah......and more blah!
However (and this is a big however,) this does not take away from the fact that for an ordinary Indian and i imagine for the ordinary Pakistani as well,nothing beats the sight of their respective team defeating the other.....so believe me when i say that this is the game to watch out for !
And when an Indian talks about cricket,you probably cannot expect him to go on about anything other than what according to him,is the greatest rivalry in the game-INDIA v PAKISTAN !
Yeah,yeah,i know-it's been done to death-how the subcontinent gears up for an extravaganza whenever the two sides lock horns,how the traffic comes to a standstill (exception-Mumbai,the traffic is always at a standstill here !) , how each game is regarded as a matter of national pride, how soldiers stationed on either side of the border let their counterparts know who's the boss after their side wins,blah,blah,blah......and more blah!
However (and this is a big however,) this does not take away from the fact that for an ordinary Indian and i imagine for the ordinary Pakistani as well,nothing beats the sight of their respective team defeating the other.....so believe me when i say that this is the game to watch out for !
Getting started
Well people,welcome to my blog! (Couldn't think of a more imaginative beginning!)
So basically what you can expect from me here is : no particular thing as such because i won't blog about just one particular thing.So it won't be a blog on sports,politics,news or any other topic.What i WILL tell you about however,are things that i face in my day-to-day life and issues that are close to my heart.
So here it goes (Wish me luck!)........
So basically what you can expect from me here is : no particular thing as such because i won't blog about just one particular thing.So it won't be a blog on sports,politics,news or any other topic.What i WILL tell you about however,are things that i face in my day-to-day life and issues that are close to my heart.
So here it goes (Wish me luck!)........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Table Tennis Tournament