No two ways about it: I favour the spoken word over the written one. And given a chance I would have articulated myself here in ‘talk’ rather than ‘write’. Almost like www.cricinfo.com where you have options to both listen and read. My guess is Ian Chappell has his analysis taped first, and then his flunky jots it down on a PC. And don’t we all know how the Chappells love to talk.
Anyway, I’m no different. At 4 pm when All India Radio (A.I.R.) buzzed me to drop by and yap about the Indian team selection, I swiftly swung into action. But breaking news on the channels wasn’t exactly path breaking – pretty much the same scrolls, with the same fifteen names. What next? Get on to the aforementioned website and lap up everybody’s take. Not a bad idea, ol’ sport!
Made my notes. Simon says became Dravid says – “key 6-7 players, specific roles, not manage but Smart”…and so on. And yeah, no Powar! Sehwag’s in. Kaif’s out. Kumble’s in. Raina’s out. The stuff that will keep a nation busy if WC 07 goes down the toilet. Ok, we’re done. Time to go.
Wait, need to gargle – don’t want my voice all cracked up while we’re Kaif-ing away about the fielding lacks. But then radio’s pluses far outweigh the minuses - no makeup, no blinding lights, and you can dress real sloppy and nobody will notice. I swapped my faded tracks for faded jeans. Now it really was time to go.
I was at the A.I.R. Gate No. 1. Bang opposite the glorious RBI Bank babes’ statues. As I peered through the gate, the fatalistic last RDB-Radio station scene flashed through my head. And just then, the guard swung open the gate – he’d been tipped off to allow car no. 3391 in. Yeah, that sure felt good. Entry into a ‘No Entry’ area.
So, here I was at the reception area replete with antiquated radios; another world really, before we got gaga over CDs. Made a mental note to take the old Philips warhorse out. And then a wait in the VIP area; liked that, specially the sign that read V.I.P room. Also, I was alone there. Assumed I was the only V.I.P. in all of A.I.R. But then, it was 6 pm.
Contract signed, we were cracking ready. Sports’ journo, Rajaraman and I were going to talk team selection, first in Hindi, then in English. The studio was not what I expected – as there were no visible mikes. The mike was undercover, literally – hidden well within the table.
Beyond the corner glass wall, the producer gave me the go-ahead. And while we rambled on about Dravid, Pathan and Powar, I made a few keen observations – 1) How sports’ fanatics can rattle off a team of fifteen players with similar calm and devotion as the Gayatri Mantra. 2) How certain names are spoken in tandem – like Kaif and Raina, Harbhajan and Kumble, Saurav and Sachin, Chappell and Dravid; while others like Pathan and Powar are uttered in isolation - How one’s selection and the other’s omission were going to be hot topics. 4) How, if you follow the game sincerely, chances are, you will have the trappings of a selector sans zonal bias. 5) And how, talking about cricket, be it on radio, TV, the moon, or here, is always delightful. Like Raj said, “it’s like a living room conversation.” And I think, you can take cricket out of the living room; but you can never take the living room out of cricket. For the armchair critic, there’s nothing more relaxing. Therapeutic almost.
That it sure was. 10 minutes in Hindi wrapped, we dived into 15 of English. After which, we walked to our cars, still talking about the team. The selection was done. The show was over. But we weren’t through yet. When we said our goodbyes, the soundbytes of V.V.S. Laxman were still abuzz in my ears. When I drove out, I started calculating the possible eleven from the fifteen. It struck me: I was saying the names aloud. And must resemble some freak from that T.V. show, “Motormouth”. That however didn’t deter me from name-calling.
February 26, 2007
February 15, 2007
World Cup Blues.
Pathan’s Puzzle. Spinner’s dilemma.
If it was the Indian XV versus that of another team’s, chances are, our bench strength won’t take us far. Luckily, it’s not fifteen players that decide a game’s outcome. It’s eleven. And for India to harbour any real ambitions in the World Cup they will have to be even more ruthless choosing the final eleven then they have been with this squad of fifteen.
At present, to figure out the final eleven isn’t that easy. Our fast bowlers aren’t even Jonty Rhodes wannabes when it comes to dexterity leave alone match fitness. Ironic, since it was an injury that prematurely cut short Rhodes last World Cup. And talking about World Cup surprises, wasn’t it Dravid who vindicated himself as wicket keeper against all odds? But without digressing any further, and sticking with the quicks and their fitness, looks like India will play two, if not three quicks in most games. That there are five fast bowling options (Munaf Patel, Agarkar, Zaheer, Sreesanth and Pathan) India may have to rest at least two. Or is that so? Can India luxuriate in playing Pathan, first as a batsman (in a floating position), and then as the 5th/6th bowling option? Will Chappell’s much rued experiments finally come to fruition?
There’s no hiding the fact that Pathan was supposed to be India’s Joker (a much maligned Siddhuism for a multi-faceted cricketer) - who would fit into every conceivable scheme. So, even if Pathan doesn’t bowl more than 4-5 overs, as an aggressive Left Handed Batsman (LHB) at least he can add another dimension to a side that’s heavily packed with Right Handed Batsmen (RHB). Without Yuvraj and Ganguly in the South Africa one-day series, India’s RHBs were sitting ducks for Pollock, Ntini and even the mercurial Nel. If that didn’t teach us anything, what will? And when Pathan did bat in the first-class games, he was the by far the best Indian bat on display. That when rookies like Morkel were knocking the stuffing out of the gods.
But how do you fit Pathan in as a lower-middle-order batsman, and the 5th/6th change bowler? This implies, in addition to Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj, (the four untouchables) and one wicketkeeper, India can play either Robin Uthappa or Virender Sehwag.
Either this, or 1) Do not play a specialist spinner and have Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj chip in with Pathan for twenty overs. This might be dicey, but in a sense it replicates the West Indies and Pakistani models for the World Cup wherein the team packs in at least 8 batsmen /all-rounders, and only three specialist bowlers. In these teams, there’s no specialist spinner, and the likes of Gayle, Samuels (for West Indies); and Afridi, Malik, Hafeez (for Pak) fill in the 5th and 6th bowlers’ spot. Apart from England (Monty Panesar), New Zealand (Daniel Vettori) and at times Australia (Brad Hogg), teams are now reluctant to play specialist spinners in one-day games. Why does Pakistan’s leading leg-spinner not play ODIs anymore? Did one-day-cricket compel Saqlain Mustaq to bowl faster and forget his craft? Will Harbhajan be the doosra Saqlain? Is one-day cricket just not meant to be for specialist spinners?
Back to the Pathan puzzle - 2) Play only two specialist fast quicks plus Pathan and one specialist spinner. This could be even dicier, as not even Pathan knows his present bowling form.
3) Wait for players to breakdown and fail fitness tests – going by the Rajkot game, and the team’s fragile fitness, this could be a distinct possibility.
Then again, India could (that nasty word again) experiment – adopt a ruthless horses-for- courses approach. Against Asian teams that are not spin-shy, go with the extra fast bowler. And if India makes it to the Super 8s against non-Asian teams, go in with the extra specialist spinner. Who knows what might happen? And if India does indeed play Australia again, at any stage, they must not make the same mistake as four years back. And that was to attack Australia with pace. That too, half cooked medium fare. Who knows, the once acclaimed spin-twins might have one last trick in the bag. For, if India is going anywhere in this World Cup it will be thanks to spin. Whose fingers will tweak India’s fortunes is anybody’s guess.
February 01, 2007
“For you, a hundred times over.”
(appeared in The Hindustan Times, 7th February, 2007)
You hardly expect an ex-English captain, from recent times, to plug the virtues of one-day hundreds. More so, if the man in question is Nasser Hussain, who scored his first and last one-day hundred versus India in that blessed NatWest “326 run-chase” Final. But that’s Nasser Hussain for you, on air. Amazing what you don’t have, needles you the most – and that’s the deal with England – just not enough players scoring one-day hundreds. Ok, there was one player – Marcus Trescothick. And Hussain never failed to impress upon viewers the importance of Tresco’s twelve gems. After Mr. T, England lucked out with Kevin Pietersen, who has scored some unbelievable hundreds – one of a last ball too. But that’s only two players out of an ever-changing batting lineup. Worse, without these two big guns, England’s truly in the dumps down-under. It’s another matter that Tresco and KP have only fifteen hundreds between them. And out of the present lot, only Flintoff (3) and Collingwood (2) have scored hundreds. Incredibly, the other ex captain, Michael Vaughan has an ODI high (and dry) of 90.
Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist from the coach’s support staff to highlight the criticality of a one-day hundred. Let’s take Tendulkar’s 100 not out from Vadodara (31st January, 2007) as a pointer; victory aside, what did the century achieve?
1) Defined the innings for 25 overs. 2) With Sachin set, the D company (Dravid and Dhoni) played their natural game 3) Increased confidence in dressing room to delirious levels - even the hapless Pathan was smiling; support staff was waving. 4) Increased frustration in the fielding side – dropped catches, missfields, confused tactics – even Gayle didn’t bowl his full quota 5) blocked fall of wickets – India lost only 3 wickets and scored heavily in the last 10 – compared to previous game where both Dravid and Tendulkar fell for half centuries, and India collapsed subsequently. 6) Man of the Match and Man of the Series for Mr. Sachin Tendulkar (Mister being a new addition in the roll call) – prior to this, he had scored a sketchy sixty odd in a lost game, and three wickets from two games 7) A flat screen tv and a bike for SRT
It can be argued that Tendulkar scored his hundred on the last ball, and as such, his knock had less impact on India’s innings, than a more prolific 150 plus score that defines the complete innings. But then, may be this 76 ball-bazooka was Sachin’s way of staking claim for his favourite openers’ slot. Also, SRT opening is a sure shot way to bat Sehwag in the middle order. Not to forget, Veeru the extra spinner. But what about the unstoppable Uthappa? Will he not be played for a few games (against Lanka), and like Dinesh Karthik, public memory will relegate him to the Kaifs and Powars. Out of sight, out of mind, out of team…
Whatever it be, with the 41st one-day hundred and a soft-spoken yet somewhat hurt post-match interview – a jab at not caring what x, y and z thought, and how he knows his game; at least Sachin gave his thoughts much needed expression. And like Nasser Hussain will tell you (remember his jersey-number finger pointing to the media enclosure at Lord’s NatWest Final)– there’s no better time, than after a well-made hundred. Then again, Saurav Ganguly might disagree about post-100 disclosures, as would Greg Chappell.
On the flip side, in spite of this comeback hundred, there now exists an insurmountable gap between SRT and his once blindly unified fan base.
Once upon a time when Sachin Tendulkar scored his magnificent hundreds, you could almost hear him promise us, “For you, a hundred times over”. And we willed him on and he himself. And everything was so damn achievable. The fifty test 100s that SMG spoke about – and how he would personally spank Sachin if he scored any less. And we laughed in unison, because we believed in the joke. We didn’t think it was a joke.
Today, even though most believe he may not score many more 100s, should one doubt his intent? Questioning his intent is a slap at our belief and everything we once believed in. A slap on Sachin - The miracle boy. The magic man. The injured mortal. And any good cricketer will tell you, the timings just not right. You either believe or you have never watched Sachin Tendulkar bat. Get a life.
You hardly expect an ex-English captain, from recent times, to plug the virtues of one-day hundreds. More so, if the man in question is Nasser Hussain, who scored his first and last one-day hundred versus India in that blessed NatWest “326 run-chase” Final. But that’s Nasser Hussain for you, on air. Amazing what you don’t have, needles you the most – and that’s the deal with England – just not enough players scoring one-day hundreds. Ok, there was one player – Marcus Trescothick. And Hussain never failed to impress upon viewers the importance of Tresco’s twelve gems. After Mr. T, England lucked out with Kevin Pietersen, who has scored some unbelievable hundreds – one of a last ball too. But that’s only two players out of an ever-changing batting lineup. Worse, without these two big guns, England’s truly in the dumps down-under. It’s another matter that Tresco and KP have only fifteen hundreds between them. And out of the present lot, only Flintoff (3) and Collingwood (2) have scored hundreds. Incredibly, the other ex captain, Michael Vaughan has an ODI high (and dry) of 90.
Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist from the coach’s support staff to highlight the criticality of a one-day hundred. Let’s take Tendulkar’s 100 not out from Vadodara (31st January, 2007) as a pointer; victory aside, what did the century achieve?
1) Defined the innings for 25 overs. 2) With Sachin set, the D company (Dravid and Dhoni) played their natural game 3) Increased confidence in dressing room to delirious levels - even the hapless Pathan was smiling; support staff was waving. 4) Increased frustration in the fielding side – dropped catches, missfields, confused tactics – even Gayle didn’t bowl his full quota 5) blocked fall of wickets – India lost only 3 wickets and scored heavily in the last 10 – compared to previous game where both Dravid and Tendulkar fell for half centuries, and India collapsed subsequently. 6) Man of the Match and Man of the Series for Mr. Sachin Tendulkar (Mister being a new addition in the roll call) – prior to this, he had scored a sketchy sixty odd in a lost game, and three wickets from two games 7) A flat screen tv and a bike for SRT
It can be argued that Tendulkar scored his hundred on the last ball, and as such, his knock had less impact on India’s innings, than a more prolific 150 plus score that defines the complete innings. But then, may be this 76 ball-bazooka was Sachin’s way of staking claim for his favourite openers’ slot. Also, SRT opening is a sure shot way to bat Sehwag in the middle order. Not to forget, Veeru the extra spinner. But what about the unstoppable Uthappa? Will he not be played for a few games (against Lanka), and like Dinesh Karthik, public memory will relegate him to the Kaifs and Powars. Out of sight, out of mind, out of team…
Whatever it be, with the 41st one-day hundred and a soft-spoken yet somewhat hurt post-match interview – a jab at not caring what x, y and z thought, and how he knows his game; at least Sachin gave his thoughts much needed expression. And like Nasser Hussain will tell you (remember his jersey-number finger pointing to the media enclosure at Lord’s NatWest Final)– there’s no better time, than after a well-made hundred. Then again, Saurav Ganguly might disagree about post-100 disclosures, as would Greg Chappell.
On the flip side, in spite of this comeback hundred, there now exists an insurmountable gap between SRT and his once blindly unified fan base.
Once upon a time when Sachin Tendulkar scored his magnificent hundreds, you could almost hear him promise us, “For you, a hundred times over”. And we willed him on and he himself. And everything was so damn achievable. The fifty test 100s that SMG spoke about – and how he would personally spank Sachin if he scored any less. And we laughed in unison, because we believed in the joke. We didn’t think it was a joke.
Today, even though most believe he may not score many more 100s, should one doubt his intent? Questioning his intent is a slap at our belief and everything we once believed in. A slap on Sachin - The miracle boy. The magic man. The injured mortal. And any good cricketer will tell you, the timings just not right. You either believe or you have never watched Sachin Tendulkar bat. Get a life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
