Dabri could play his first test

Its a bit of pity that Srikanth's injected men are mere replacements and not first choice players in the XI. Neither is Vijay, Dabri or Dinshaw ice cream.

There have been some news or blog posts being written that Vijay might not be playing and Dabri could sneak in the middle order and an extra bowler could play in.

Is the fascination over Dabri for real or just a vague of imagination :P.

Way ahead for Sreesanth

Sreesanth has made a remarkable comeback in the team and its high time he realizes that he needs to take the wickets to be in the limelight and in the page 3 parties and the reality shows.

He had it in him to excel. England 07 and SA 06 showed us that promise, but the theateric persona in him overtook the bowler in him and the bowler got slapped and other things followed. New bowlers came in and went, Santh was overlooked.

Now that he is in the team he should focus on the wickets and bowling. Wickets give the bowlers high and huge. All staring, sledging, send offs are great only when you take wickets and take 3 or 4 or 5 wicket hauls.

Lets hope he turns around the tide this time and fulfills the promise he showed in 2006.

Test cricket in Mumbai

Its an irony that Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium, the original numero uno ground of the city would host a Test match almost same time when it was expected to host a Test last year against visiting Poms.  That could never happen as 11/26 sent the city and the country in shock, anger and grieveing mode.

Its a strange irony that Test cricket returns to Mumbai after 3 years.   Nobody in the current line up in the team has played a Test on this ground, but the most famous first class double hundred in the country came on this ground. Most famous cricketer made it against most famous team with the most famous world spinner in it with most famous captain skippering (patent) the team.

Brabourne, Sachin Tendulkar, Australia, Shane Warne, Mark Taylor , 1998, Mumbai, Ranji champs are the key words that describe the above riddle.

This Test would be a remarkable with Murali playing his last test overseas and possibly his career too.  And what an occasion it would be when Sach would finish 13000 runs in Tests in front of his home crowd.

Kanpur loss and Sangakara's to be fried excuses

So whats the excuse now for Sangakara to put forward for the embarrasing loss in Kanpur ? The pitch was tailor made for his 3 spinners, but they were rendered useless by Indians. Moreso than the spinners, his flat track bull shots were rendered ineffective by reborn Sreesanth and then much flaked Harbhajan in 2nd innings.

Food ? Water ? Pollution ? Bad hotels ? What would be the buzz word Sangakara put forth for the series defeat in Mumbai. I believe his team would stay in renovated Taj and if he would call it bad, then he would be making an ass of himself.

I presume poor Murali would face the ire of the Sri Lankan captain for the loss in Kanpur. India has not been just to Murali in the past and this trip has just carried forward the same. So why single him out and say those useless words on him. Why not say a word or 2 on Mahela Jaywardhena who got run out in the 2nd innings and when team demanded most his runathon he went out.

That confirms my belief that this man plays for records and not for the team. Count the occasions when he has made 100s and how many have helped his team in difficult situations(win or a draw). Very few or  none. Only occasion I recall is Lord's 2006 but then England were devoid of their best bowlers then.

Murali should now retire post Mumbai test. He has achieved everything. He's got close to 800 wkts and 540 odd ODI wkts. No bowler in the vicinity looks good to break that record. So he should respect his body and gracefully retire before Sangakara puts him in a spot and utters his shit on him.

And yes this was a grudge series. Delighted to see Mendis flattened out. To be consistent on the highest level, he should have the urge to go with wkts every time and in every conditions. Something great spinners like Warne, Anil  did.

And when Angelo Matthews (no disregard to him) takes new ball and Dilly Fernando sits out, you got to question the mindset of the rival captain.  What is he trying to achieve ? Killing spirits of cricket.  Saurav puts it right "You cannot win a Test in India with ANgelo Matthews takes the new ball".

Sadly for Lankans, the history wont change.  They would go winless in the Test series. 10 losses in 17 tests would be the scoreline for them after Mumbai.

Umar Akamal

Umar Akamal seems to be a serious talent and if he is kept aloof of the power politics and board mess of Pakistan cricket, he could very well turn out to be the hope Pakistan cricket is looking for.

Include Mohd Aamer in that too.

Big question is do the bosses of Pak cricket need that to happen ? Got to ask Younis's, Yousuf's Maliks, Butt's and Afridi's.

Pakistan lost a brave test and they would rue their top 3 batsmen inept ness to stay put long on the crease.

From what I have seen Umar doesnt seem to be as bugsy and "Danya Danya" screaming like his bada bhai Kamran.

Sreesanth

.......is back :)

With a triple blow.

Coming of age.  :P

Gautam Gambhir

is the hottest man in Indian Test cricket for a year now.  7 centuries in 9 Tests against Australia, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealend is just awesome.

Sehwag and Gambhir are now 507 runs close to being the best opening pair in Indian Test history. And trust me thats a valiant effort in a country which has traditonally struggled for openers after Sunil Gavaskar and to an extent the Surd from Patiala.

Only Gambhir is the traditional opener here and Sehwag is a makeshift opener.

Sehwag demolished Sri Lankan attack and the way he ripped apart the challenge of Muralitharan just shows the value of the man to the Indian cricket. 233 in 41 overs is just awesome effort in the Tests and shows the positive attitude of Indian team in Tests as opposed to negative attitude and mindset of Sri Lankans.

The best of the 2500 odd runs Sehwag and Gambhir have put up have come in last year or so. And given the way they have been making runs, they would soon be counted in one of the best ever opening partnerships. It would contrast to the dominating years of Australia when Langer and Hayden gave big starts to the team and invariably always the Aussies would win.

131 was Sehwag's first century since 147 he made against West Indies in Wankhede, Mumbai in 2002 below 150. Such is the impact of the man. Easily he is the most destructive opener of the world in the Tests right now. Be it Muralitharan, the so called best spinner in the world or Mendis, the so called mystery man or carrom ball man, they have appeared tiny insects before this man.

Awesome effort from the Delhi dashers.

2nd Test : Day 1

I just hope the Kanpur pitch is not as bad as Ahmedabad and the valiant Indian effort is not attributed to blant pitch. I just hope the scoreline is due to the awesome batting effort and not due to the flat track. Too early to say anything on the pitch quality but lets see how pitch behaves.

Shocking to see Amit Mishra being dropped after one bad Test.

First time most probably 2 Hyderabadis would play in Indian team together.

Oh wait, no.  VVS and Azhar did play few times. 1996 Ahmedabad Test vs SA when Lacchu made his debut and few other tests still 2000 when Azhar retired / was banned.

Ideal situation for India would be to bat session and half and score close to 650 runs and then bundle out the characterless men 2 times without having to bother about batting 2nd.

Murali n mendis

Have been brought to ground. After 47 wkts last series the duo has struggled to take wickets.

Sehwag and Gambhir give India flying start

Alright no need for 7-2 field for India, but then Sanga would need it to stem the flow of runs from the Delhi Dashers.

One of them has scored a hundred and the other one has inched towards it.

ODIs back in whites :P

Sehwag scores the long due 100 and all his impatience all this days since coming back now is forgotten. This setups the game as usual and would give a lot of time for the Indians to go make runs at fast pace.

By the by where are voices of colombo blogger? Lost or consumed by LTTE remains :P

Murali reads 0.47 off 8 and Mendis, the mystery man, the carrom ball man reads 0/42 off 4. Lot of character . Right Murali is not struggling. He is rediscovering himself in a new way. Lol.  3 for 270 runs on this trip so far. Sangakara evokes laughter with his match utterances. Murali is evolving in a different way.

Sangakara. LMAO

Kanpur Test Prebiew

If Sri Lanka bat first today and bat long as they usuall like to do without giving a damn to the spectators and the results, then why not go for the 7-2 field as it worked for India in the 2nd Test last year vs Australia.

Shit for Shit.

A word on ongoing Test series

New Zealand are so weak in the batting that they would make Pakistan's seamers appear world class. A team which is led by a ICL rebel who not so long back had put national interests below his selfish aims and has a drug peddler caught red handed 2 times.

Their best man to lead is resting reeling after a player rebellion led by former skipper Shoaib Malik and their next man best to lead doesnt play Tests.

Their tests stats are absymal. Post SA win in 2007 they have failed to win a single test.

They are 6th in the rankings, their so called best spinner is a suspect action. And their leading Test wicket taker Danya Danya (as Kamran screams) is not even playing.

Lets not even talk about the Kiwis. Should we.

England vs South Africa should be a thriller.  India vs Sri Lanka would be damned due to latter's tendency for negative cricket and want for batting records.

Character stocks!!

Character stock of Muralitharan fell down by 224 points and character stock of Mahela Jayawardhene went up by 275.

2nd Test.

............is in Kanpur notorious for Mayawati and some horrendously turning pitches. Remember the drama Saffers did on losing the 3rd Test in 2008. Sri Lanka wont win it even if they have Murali, Mendis or Herath.  And also be ready for some more excuses from Sangakara and more character talk even when SL would lose the Test may be in 4 days time.

Dont know how Brabourne would behave. When last Test match was played there, I did not exist, so not sure how that pitch would behave.

But Lankans have lost it.

Indians are back in the groove in the Test mode. Whatsoever rustiness is now gone. Almost everybody from 1 to 7 have now got runs.  Dravid scored his fluentesht 100 in 3 years, Gambhir got back to runs in super style in Napier mode, Sachin carved out effortless match saving 100 with 50s from Lacchu, Yuvraj and Sehwag who is now long due for his missing 100. Not to forget that MS scored a valuable 100. That helped his team score a decent  426. What  good did HAWWW hundred do ? Boost the average.

By the by, Kanpur had a boring draw in 2004 against SA and then in 2008 they lost it. Long back in 1996 they lost again thanks to a masterclass 163 from Azharuddin giving Tendulkar his only series win as captain against major opposition. Lol.

Bowling remains a bit of worry for India, but given the pitch, the benefit of doubt must go to the erring spinners. They should be back with turn and wickets in Kanpur.

Lol.

India vs Sri Lanka : Day 5

Sangakara has praised the Ahmedabad pitch. Only cynics would praise that. Nothing new in it. He cherishes batting pitches. Tests with no results. Tests with long batting innings is his forte. He finds character in pitches where even Angelo Matthews would pretend to be a Freddie Flintoff for Lanka.

Murali's love with India continues. 3 for 221 in 100 odd overs. 70 runs per wkt out of which 2 were tail enders. He is a spent force now.

What character does Sangakara see in his team ? A  team which bats for 3 and half days and fails to get a team out 2 times to win a Test.  344 runs is the lead and he declares on day 4 2nd half. Isnt 200-250 runs lead not enough ?

Amazing team this. They are the front runners to kill the Test cricket. Mahela Jaywardhene has 9000 odd runs, but is he better than say Garry Sobers or Geoff Boycott or those legends who scored less than him ? Staticstics might project him a very attractive prospect to be called as great, but then has he even scored runs in difficult batting conditions? Except Bangladesh, has his double hundreds won his team Tests outside his country ?

Dravid has 27 hundreds, this guy has 27, Sangakara has 20. Laxman has just 15 and Sehwag has 15. Compare the conditions and pitches for all this hundreds and you'd find the Dravids and Laxmans have scored 100s in all conditions.  Match winning, match saving. Both. One 281 won India the greatest test match it ever played. 270 won India its first Test series in Pakistan.  300 odd runs in WI 2006 got India its first test series win in 35 years.

Compare that figures for Sangakara and Jaywardhena. Except that 191/194 in Australia, its tough to find an innings of substance for this lads. Most of them are made on dead wickets of Sri Lanka.  Bore. Yawn!!!

Thats what SL do to the Test cricket. They make us yawn.

By the by, Indians got out of the woods they were in. And that showed the character the team has. From 4/32 to 426 and then to save the game talks deep about the heart, character and depth the team has.  Just that the curators of Motera are axed for preparing a Premdasa in India.

To keep Tests alive

Stop making dead and bland pitches.

Ban Sri Lankans playing days in and out without getting out.

Who bothers about the world records of 72 years or 100 years.  Closely fought tests are the need of the hour.  We dont need a Test where a wicket keeper scores 148 when on true pitches he averages 20s or even less.

Abuse me or spread bad words about me for writing this, but all batting records in Test cricket (read high scores or wicket partnerships) belong to Sri Lanka. Their brand of Test cricket is different from what India, Australia, SA and England play.

And despite scoring 700 runs or having huge wicket partnerships, they have not won as many tests as they would have liked to.

Batting 2nd in a test long when 400 has been scored in first innings is fine, but for 2 and half days is huge.  71 fours and 2 sixes were hit in SL inns whereas 59 and 2 were the figures for Indians. That sets who was positive and who was not.

Spare out the 4 wickets to swing on day 1, session 1. This test would have been a repeat of Colombo 1997. But I am pretty sure Indians would have batted for day and half (ideally for having a long score) and then would have had a  go at Lankans, but dead pitches wont evenn help anybody.

Motera is notorious for that and Sri Lankans are even more notorious for batting long by boring out the spectators on ground and TV. Its like you switch on the TV expecting some fast runs or interesting duals in Test cricket as they happen, instead you find their 6 or 7 or 8 making 100s or 50s. 

Dont believe me. Google it and you d find it.

700 crossed. 800 eyed

Test Cricket in India was killed again by Sri Lankans. Run-a-thon of no use. 300 for Mahela, 200 for HAPW. Hawwww. Rabba bachao Des nu Lanka ke kahar se.

India vs Sri Lanka : Day 3

Alright Indians have been flattened out. Their spinners didnt take wickets and all that fine. Yeah yeah MSD has lost his aura and India are in danger of 'losing out'  to them.

700 is their new target. HAPW has scored a 100. And MJ, the new MJ is eyeing Lara's record. No problem with it.

And I didnt write anything harsh or illogical to have received so many flaks and abuses from Ding Dongs, Dilips, Vellas.

Fault of Motera. Its been so since ages. Remember 1999 NZ test. Kiwis were able to save the Test in 4th innings with just 3 wkts down.

Even in 2008 since Indians were bundled out early in first innings, the test ended soon else itt was a drawn affair.

This one seems to go to a draw too. 

Fault of the BCCI to prepare flat pitches.

And a team at 4/32 scores 385 in a day. Another team at 3/194 scores 316 in a day. 

You decide who was more positive in batting.  Third day of batting now for them and they are still batting. Records and records.

Remember the swing did the Indians in on first morning, else they would have been able to make 500+ on this flat dead track.

Negative Cricket ke Baap

Negative cricket all the way. Flat pitch, flat intentions and no will to win. Just a plain desire to up the career average. Thats all this guy is all about.

Guess SLC carried Premdasa pitch with them to Motera :)

India vs Sri Lanka : Day 1

The man has proved that he is not finished and he did his job in the conditions he does best. 4/32 and just two more batters to follow. He scored his most fluent century since 2006 and that is his best innings since 2007, the time when he has struggled for runs and form.

He seized Sachin's moment and proved that he is far from being finished. This was an uncharacterstic Dravid innings. Pretty fast and ensuring that he gets the runs on the board along with the run rate to ensure that Lankans are pulled out of the game.

Dropping or axing from the ODIs helped a lot for him as he went to the Ranji arena and scored fluently against Delhi.

He's proved his critics wrong, he;s crossed 11k run mark and extended his career.  He is in typical Dravid mould now and he should bat longer today to ensure that India reach as long as it can to bat the character and reputation guys out of the match. 

Had Dhoni being not out late last day, Indians would have looked good  to score a 500. Right now a lot depends on how Sardaar bats. He has beeen decent in the Tests and India would look forward to him and Zaheer to follow to do an encore of Bangalore 2008 when they outbatted gunning Aussies and that changed the course of the game.

A score more than 450 would ensure that India would not need not to bat longer in the 2nd innings. 

MS and Yuvraj scored runs and thats praiseworthy to see. Yuvraj has been in good form since Saurav retired and he has stepped in well to replace Saurav at the 6.

Dhoni scored his 2nd hundred in Tests and he just got out at wrong time.

Chanaka Walasomething did good job in the morning to root out the cream of Indian Test batting.  Unfortunately he could not get assistance when the batting became easy later in the day.

An interesting day of Test cricket which showed plenty of character in the Indian team. Lol.  DIng Dong -- sing song, keep your comments

An unnecessary comment

....from Sachin Tendulkar on Mumbai being open for all Indians has invited typical criticism from the so called custodians of Mumbai -- the Thackerays. That criticism from the ageing Thackeray has proved that he is gone nuts and he would only lose whatsoever respect  the so called "Marathi Manoos" from Mumbai had for this man.

In simple words if you criticise Sachin Tendulkar in this country when he has said nothing wrong, you would be taken to task or may be even suggested to go take a mental checkup.

Rightly so, Mr BT was criticised by one and all.

For one I also think Sachin should have avoided making this statement, everyone knows that Mumbai is a Mini India and the pulse of the country. Just that Thackeray family doesnt agree that this is the thing. Nobody would buy it and with time everybody would think that they are crazy people gone nuts.

Sachin should avoid making any statement on Mumbai even though he is at no fault, but saying this when the madness on the name of language and regions is ongoing, this kind of things is just not right.

We rever Sachin as a semi-GOD in this country and when people like BT and RT say their crap on language stuff, its a bit disturbing to see this man being dragged in needless controversy.

Reputations are being destroyed

........and truly in this waterloo battlefield for Muttiah Muralitharan. The only way out for him is now to retire. An ageing or tired Murali is now a liability for the team and that reflects in his figures. 1 for 90. Well he could return tomorrow and wipe out the tail, but then it wont alter the notion thats being formed about him that Murali is a spent force and javelin throwing is now a thing of past.

Murali is no Sachin or Warne to be coming of age with growing up.

Or even Dravid.

He was dropped earlier in ODIs and if he continues bowling like this, the bugbear would drop him. And that would be a humiliation for the man who has served SL cricket for 17 years and is the sole famous Lankan on the earth.  He'd certainly not like to be humiliated like Sanath Jayasurya who now would bat at 6 like pre 1996 days.

Go in sunset with dignity Murali. Whatever be the views on your action, the world would still rememeber you as highest wicket taker in the world.

@BugBear : FYI&A.

Preview : India vs SL

He says "Reputations are to be made on this tour"

I say "Reputations, hype and myth would be busted on this tour"

Based on what  the pre-series jibes are, there have been a lot of blabber as usual from the Sangakara and a bit less from MSD.

In fact its always the case. MSD seems to speak a bit less before the series, the opposite captain speaks a lot always.

When it comes to playing on the field, there is a huge difference.

India is riding on 3 consecutive series wins against Australia, England and New Zealand. Sri Lanka have won against lowly Pakistan and NZ in their home yard.

And then all that previous record is all there for them in this country.

Possible pain areas for India :

• Rusty pace attack . Zaheer is back albeit he has played few T20 games. He is playing in a Test match. Ishant Sharma has been off late, but then he is playing in the format that suits him the BEST. Sreesanth, well he is enigma. One of him or Ishant would play.  You never know with him, but I'd love to see him go after Mahela and Sanga, may be even sledge them.
• Amit Mishra hasnt played a Test after Mohali Test 2008 vs England.  
• Bhajan Singh has been off color.

Pain areas for them :

• They dont have an opening pair.  Makeshifts open.
• Mendis is flattened.
• Murali is in his worst year of his career since he became the significant one.
• Herath or Mendis, who would play ?
• Their pace attack is a joke. 120s and 110s something would be pretending they are fast bowlers and try to ball fast.  Cmon ball,  Sehwag is waiting.

Let the action begin. A 0-2 win for SL is in offing. Lol.

Some things never change

Some things never change.

• South Africa choking with the sight of rains
• Sri Lanka's test record in strong Test nations
• Younis Khan's drama
• Pakistan cricket's mess
• Running out of steam for India
• Sreesanth's antics.
• Arm Ball's abuse and insane posts

And of course Sachin Tendulkar's passion for the game. I'd give away all the above things for the last one.

Sachin @ 20. Facts -- 2

Sachin is the pride of the country bereft of the public idols. The so called role models are feeble and bare behind the scenes. Where the morality ends in the so called role models, those who have lots of grey areas within their persona, this man from Mumbai, MH is the tallest and greatest in the century. Not only he has made the country proud but he has also set an example what pride and honor for the country means. What it takes for playing for country and the pride for the cap has to be learnt from the man from Mumbai.

Sachin @ 20 is a celebration of a phenomenon and expressing our gratitude and acknowledgement to have witnessed his gems and marvels over the 20 years. 70% of my life. And for most part more than what they have lived. Lol.

Take a bow. Take a bow. Sachin Tendulkar cometh, cometh the pride and honor that he is an Indian. Nothing is magical and nothing is surreal when he bats. Nothing gives a more high than what he gives for his straight shots or the cover drives.

His long time mate and partner in crime to transform India's fortunes in Tests Saurav sums it up. Nothing more can be said better than what Saurav has said for him.

Having witnessed Saurav and Sachin bat together over 200 ODIs and 100+ Test innings is an experience of lifetime and what more a cricket fan can ask for.

Sachin @ 20. Facts -- 1

Tendulkar was a ball boy in 1987 World Cup in the ill fated semi final in Wankhede when India lost its defence of the World Cup to England. Nobody that time except Sunny knew that Sachin would play the next game India would play in the World Cup.

Ironically enough, the next game India played in the next World Cup was against England in 1992 at Perth and the only time when Botham had better of Sachin. They never met in an international fixture before and after. That also was the last time India lost to England in any world cup. Post that, 1999 and 2003 India have had better of England in the World Cup games.

The winter of 1989 turns 20 on Sunday and that winter, the tour to Pakistan changed the face of world cricket. The star, the icon and a sensation arose on the skies of world cricket which the country knows as Sachin Tendulkar. Its a strange irony that the few greats of Indian cricket have debut against Pakistan and went on to make big. Sachin and Kapil are such examples.

I remember Sachin's 88 in 1990 tour of New Zealend. He came close to being the youngest centurion, but missed the mark by 12 runs. He was overnight on 80 and then the next day he hit 2 boundaries only to fall later to Richard Hadlee (assume). He didnt have to wait longer for his first Test century. He got 117 in Nottingham in the English summer that coincided with the Italia-90.

And then his next 2 centuries were classics. Tour of Australia, the last for the feeble greats like Vengsarkar, Srikanth. India were thumped 0-4 but they came close to wins in Adelaide and Sydney. The 148 he made in Sydney was start of his love affair with the SCG (He scored 2 more hundreds in next 3 tours) and then the master class 118 at WACA when no other player survived the Aussie pace.

Sydney was also the first Test for Shane Warne and nobody knew what he would turn out to be.

Sachin had to wait for close to 4 years for his first century at home and when he hit, he hit in Chennai in the England series of 1993 known for arrival of Anil Kumble and the start of formidable period for India at home (also a period when India won nothing at all abroad). And then one in Mumbai.

England, Sri Lanka and of course Australia are the teams he has scored most of his Test centuries against.

Chennai and Mumbai have been his happy hunting grounds in India.

TBC............

Ruthlessness and Killer instinct

Ian Chappell says that Sachin Tendulkar had little less killer instincts than Brian Lara and that the later was more ruthless in terms of matchwinning ability.

The reality is that Sachin Tendulkar has won his country more matches than what Lara has for his team. Be it ODIs and Tests, the GOD of cricket has more centuries in victories than in the defeats. Only if the stats could prove a point to the atheists, the debate over the worthiness of Tendulkar had been rested long back.

Ponting has supposedly more matches than any of the other 2 greats. But then didnt he have so many other greats in conjunction with him like Steve and Mark Waugh, Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer in batting plus Warne, McGrath and Gillespie in bowling. Contrast that with the Laras and Tendulkars.

Only time Sachin had a settled team to his credit was in this decade when the Fab Five were in their prime and the result was evident in the change in the victory patterns abroad in Tests. The duration of 2002 - till date has been the best for India in terms of victories abroad in Tests. We now have won Tests in almost every country we have toured in. Something which was unimaginable in and till 90s. 90s had Azhar, Manjrekar and Siddhu for assistance to Sachin in first half and then Saurav, Rahul in second half, but then they were in early stages of their career.

Critics point out Chennai 1999 or a Hyderabad 2009 for the so called inability of Sachin to win a game for country, but then they conviniently forget the 2003 World Cup when he got India to the finals and then in 1996 when he got India to the semi finals only to bow out due to a default and a bad decision by match referee. They conviniently forget the 192 he made in Headingley 2002 or the 155 in Chennai vs Australia that first established his supremacy over Shane Warne and that went on till 2007.

We have this discussion on abilities of Sach to win the matches ignoring many facts. We dont consider the team support the guys had -- the greatest guys of this generation -- Lara,Ponting and Tendulkar. Sachin did not score 300s or long 200s as Lara did, but then he was and is consistent in scoring hundreds that have often changed the course of the series. His epic 155* in 4 hours in Chennai established supremacy over Shane Warne and for long time to come kept Aussies at bay from winning a Test series in India.
241 in Sydney or those twin hundreds in last year Series against Australia changed the course of the series. 241 got them close to win the series only to be Bucknor'ed in the end. 116 in Trinidad 2002 got India first victory in WI for 32 years and 4 years later India won their first series in WI in 35 years. His 90s made a huge difference in England 2007 which India won first time in 21 years in England. His 194 in Multan and partnership with Viru got India first taste of victory in the rogue land in 52 years of Test history with them. His 35th century in 2005 got India an upper hand on SL and that helped India shoo away the batting failure of 1st test in Chennai which was rain affected.

His distribution of hundreds is even. He has had hundreds against the best of his generation. He hasnt allowed any bowler except the debutants to get better of him. And the debutants later have got a good lesson from the man. Monty Panesar, Mendis, the Zim spinner (name not recalled) are prime examples how they were given a lesson or two.

The upcoming Test series against the SL would be another example of the domination he would look forth against Mendis who made him score his lowest total in a 3 Test series in his 20 years of Test cricket. The Ahmedabad test would also be his 160th one which would make him 2nd highest Test player in the world.

On a concluding note I'd say that the criticism of Tendulkar is unfair on killer instinct and ruthlessness. May be he has it in aplenty and his team mates dont. For that matter, the young guns, the IPL kids dont have it too.

Challenge for SL

The first Test begins in Ahmedabad on 16th of this month and SL would try to set their winless record right in this country considered "tough to be in for 55 days". And the likes of Murali will try to set their record right who have played for 15 years in India for only 8 tests and taken only 31 wickets.

The key to win a test in India is to bat big and score runs. 400 is a minimum and given India's strong Test batting order, the challenge for Lanka would be to bat bigger and with the trio of Sangakara, Jayawardhena and Samarweera to bat well and score big. How they are to do that, thats another thing.

Thiis guys toured India in 2005 too but failed miserably. Samarweera got dropped after that tour for long time.

I dont know who their openers are and who else are in the middle order besides this 3.

Their bowling looks thin. Except Chuck they dont have anybody who could seem to trouble Indians. And for God's sake Angelo Matthews and company cannot expect to uproot the Indian batting order.....

Pakistan lose another ODI series

Kiwis won the Desert safari 2-1 by beating Pak byy 7 runs. Aamer the batsman tried hard but in vain.

The loss would be a blow to Younis Khan who after all the drama and heroics last month failed to create any magic on the ground.

Just like MSD.

Possible Test XIV

Possible Test 15 :

1. Gambhir
2. Sehwag
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Laxman
6. Yuvraj
7. Dhoni
8. Mishra
9. Harbhajan
10. Zaheer
11. Ishant
12. Nehra
13. ??
14. ??

Who is the extra bowler and who is the extra batsman ? Munaf or Balaji ? Who is the batsman ? Karthik ? He wont play in the XI by any means. Lest MS is injured. But if he is in the team he gives a backup keeper option, which is not needed in India.

3 pacers in India would not be good option. 2 spinners would be needed and Mishra would certainly play all 3 Tests.

The extra batsmen and the only choice available for them is Badrinath.

3 spinners wont be a good idea to be in the team cos only 2 would be playing. I believe 2 batsmen should be named in the team. And hopefully bright performers of the domestic season do come in.

Series loss and the Grudge series

I wont look much into this 'series defeat'. One its against Australia. Two its without India's usual pace attack. So this was coming. Plus there was a collective slump in the batting of the team. Gambhir and Yuvraj were lacklusture.

Tendulkar alone cannot carry the load of batting with some support from the skipper. Raina and Jadeja are yet to arrive totally at the max level. And Bhajji is now a spent force in the ODIs. Praveen Kumar, the batsman plays in dead ODIs and chokes when needed most. Munaf is useless and wont waste more space on him.

A minor hiccup. One failure was due and its good it has come against the Australia.

The grudge series is due to begin in a few days and the character less guys have arrived. Their shit has already begun. Fuck off Sangakara. Nothing is going to change. 8 losses in 14 tests would go to 10 or 11 tests in 17.

By the way I am not going to change my blog name. On name of a loser, no.

And yes as media is now jumping high, Dhoni has not lost his whatever touch. He did not have midas touch, so how would he lose it.

He is as a good captain he is, as he was when he won CB series in 2008 or the 2-0 series against Australia last year. One loss in CT , one bilateral series loss wont make him a bad captain and the team a bad one.

Few individuals would need a push up their ass, once they get it they'd be alright.

And yes Sangakara would be kissing his ass when he would leave the country bruised and hurt with the thumping losses. 0-2 in Tests, 0-2 in T20s and 1-4 in ODIs. So dude play here and dont blabber your shit. Pressure wont be on India, but on a team that has so called best spinner of the world who throws the ball illegally and then goes on to call himself the best. Poor he, he hasnt been able to win a Test for SL in strong countries other than BD or Zim. So chill up Sanga dude. Just chill.

Clarification

Let me put one clarification.

A post on Sachin has made some of my blogger colleagues that this is a jibe on them. I would like to say this is not the case.

And I write about Sachin my thoughts which are not influenced by anyone. I rest my case.

Sachin Sachin Sachin...........Jai ho!!!

DON was greatest of his era. But not the greatest of all times. He did not play against most countries. Not his fault. But then those days England n Australia played most of the cricket. India, NZ, WI and SL played very little cricket. Wait, SL didnt even have first class stature. So bugbears and chucks were non-existent. So were the Pakistanis. That era they were fighting the British to have their own country.

So Mr DON scored 5200 of 7000 - 4 runs against England in 37 tests. 37 of 52 tests were against England. He didnt ever play in WI, NZ, SA and India. Colonialism.

He just scored 29 hundreds and hit less than 10 sixes.

Sachin Tendulkar has scored goddamn 30000 runs with 89 hundreds and 143 fiftees in international cricket. For most part of his career he was single most effective batsman of the team. Even to this day. Take him out of a Test match and Indian batting would stutter.

Its a pity that I have missed his 2 ODI hundreds just cos damn there is no TV here. Fuck. When he bats everybody watches. When he steps on the field people forget their worries, they want him to score 100 in every game he plays. He carries the expectation of billions of people around the world where the cricket is religion for the folks. Who else does that or has done ? He is unique in that way in the 200 years of modern game that he has carried the expectations of a generation and a half.

I pity those people who question his credentials and those who say he lacks killer instincts. If he did lack killer instincts would he have lasted so long ? Would he have scored 89 hundreds ? Would he have played for 20 years ? Godddamn thats for 80% of my life, I have watched this man play. Right from the day when he demolished the idiot Abdul Qadir who took a jibe on him to go drink milk to this day. Poor Qadir was looking for a place to hide where he could pee or vomit.

Being a Sachin Tendulkar is a once in a million years phenomenon. And we should be proud that this man wears tricolor and belongs to the land of India. India. India. No other feeling besides a cricket match and prolly a war against the rogue neibhour evokes such patriotism in this country. Sachin does that. Every time he walks to the crease he spell bounds people. Thats his magic. In a country where there are very less role models he is the tallest of all. He is comparable to Amitabh Bachchan or a Rajnikanth. A Rajnikanth would still be stuck to boundaries of TN or Southern part. Amitabh would be limited within the Hindi belt. This man stands tall everywhere. Chennai loves him as much as the Jaipur as much as the Indore crowd where he scored 10000th ODI run , me being a witness to it or even a Kolkata where people riot 2 times in 3 years when a cheater and a chuck runs him out with fraud. Except a ridiculous boo in 2006, Mumbai loves this man more than the Bollywood stars or the Thackerays.

People in England, Australia and even in bug bear's country Sri Lanka give this man a standing ovation.

Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest cricketer to have played the game till now and for years, millions of years to come. Its so tough to understand him. To understand him, you got to think for a while. Just a while and then trust me you'd fall short of breath. Sachin Tendulkar does that effortlessly.

Jai Ho Sachin!!!!

Sachin answers his critics

The critics of Sachin Tendulkar should now bury their heads in to mud or gutter now that the man has proved he can bat as good as he ever has. The suggestions of retirment for the GOD are premature and mortal.

There have been questions on him being promoted on the top of the order and breaking of successful pair of Gautam Gambhir and Viru Sehwag for 'accomodating' the GOD. How long have been Gambhir and Sehwag being opening ? Just about a year in ODIs ?

Before him its Saurav - Sachin, Saurav - Viru and couple of times dancing babes. So for a man like Tendulkar if the test pair is broken, why so fuss ?

17000 is huge number. Mere mortals cannot reach around the periphery of this figure. 89 hundreds. Talk about him is even futile.

Lets just enjoy the artistery of Tendulkar rather than pointing him out that he doesnt last till the end. What do you expect ? He should shoulder the responsibility of 10 other players ? What are ten other good players for ? If they are not good, then what are they doing in the team ?

Ding Dong ? What about the 19 hundreds this man has scored against the Aussies ? What about the demolition of Warne and McGrath ? 19 hundreds ? Is that a joke ? Go find the answer to this.

Yusuf. LMAO

"
Yousuf’s interpretation of running between the wickets represents a variation on this theme. His baffling strategy is to play the ball straight to a close-in fielder and take off. His vocabulary appears to consist of “yes”, “no”, and “wait” and “let us discuss when we meet in the middle of the pitch”. The result has been enough heart-wrenching run-outs to leave permanent psychological scars on an already jolted fan base.
"

ROTFLMAO on text in RED.

Sachin's GODesque innings

Sachin Tendulkar showed today his status in the modern day cricket. He showed that he stands closese to the sky and no mortal comes near him. Take away all Pontings, Bradmans, Kallis, Laras and others, this man is way above all of them.

20 years hence too he remains the pivot of Indian batting. Its a pride and its a double edged sword. Other batsmen notably the youth and the next gen of Indian batting failed to make three runs which would have been a remarkable victory.

Sachin Tendulkar is GOD of world cricket and he easily surpasses Don Bradman's stature. 89 hundreds is not a joke. His last 3 ODI hundreds have been huge and damn Jadeja and Raina, he would have taken India close to the win, but he fell and the other guys collapsed.

The Praveen Kumars, the Haarbhajans, the Yuvrajs and the Gambhir must learn from the great man the ability to win the matches. This lads get lacs of bucks and they cant stand even for few deliveries. Especially Praveen Kumar ?

Whatever the result was the man proved that he is the KING and the GOD of batting. Move away mortals, the man from Bandra, Mumbai, India's greatest son is the BHAI of World cricket.

Look at the contributions of Yuvraj, Gambhir, Munaf, Nehra, Dhoni and Harbhajan. Not even 30 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar is GOD.

Sangakara prepares for focussed excuses

The excuse kids are to land in Mumbai on Nov 5, 2009 for a full fledged series against India. 3rd in 12 years. In this duration they have visited BD 5 times and Zimbabwe 5 times. They have visited SA once and Australia 2 times. In powerful countries they have won 0 times.

They are not expected to win a single Test this series too. They have already set themselves for an excuse when they lose Tests 0-3 and T20s 0-2. We would be considerate to let them a win ODI as we believe in "Atithi devo bhavah". So when they go back, their leading men would rant character stuff and pride. And they would blame conditions, winter, pitches and food. Food when they would stay in 5 or 7 star hotels in each venue they play.

When they would play a Test on Brabourne, first in 36 on that ground, they would stay in South Mumbai. Food of South Mumbai would be bad ? We can imagine. Wont mention the name of the hotels for obvious reasons (11/26). No country till date has complained about the food in those hotels, this lads even before landing have made noises about the food.

When they go to Ahmedabad, they would face cold. Not like England though, but certainly better than SL. Does SL see cold ? So they would obviously blame cold for the loss. And pitch for the Kanpur test. Lol.

Sangakara is an intelligent man. He has vision. He thought of perfect excuses for the rout.

Weather in Ahmedabad.
Food in Mumbai
Pitches in Kanpur

No other captain would give a precise thought for the excuses before hand. But this lad has. A team which gets 3 new comers every series and drops 4 after every series is looking for a win in the country when they have never won a session in 14 Tests.

More of character rants and pride talk to come in Indian newspapers in next 2 months. Wonder how would Hindi newspapers publish Sangakara's interviews :

"Humari team ka charitra bahut ooche star par hai. Hum chahte he ki hum har match jeete aur apna charitra dikhaye. Humari team yuva hai aur sabka charitra saaf hai".

Lol.

Very Very Ispecial Lacchu

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/432566.html

A refreshing read from one of the most underrated batsman of the Indian history. A 34 year old man speaks his mind on how giving his best against then best in the world gave him real pride. He speaks about how he changed his stand on not to open again for the team or how it hurt when he was ousted from ODI team.

The man who has scored 3 hundreds in Sydney alongside GOD is the man in transition for the Test side of the country when the greats go.

And pride he draws when he looks back at those epic innings of 281, 178 against the Aassies he;d certainly be a real proud man, not a fake bug bear pride who draws it on every victory against minnows. Man i talk about is our own Very Very Ispecial Lacchu pehelwan.