Indian Cricket since 1996

In a four part series, I plan to break down India's journey since the Wills World Cup 1996 to the eve of the 2011 World Cup due in South Asia next year. My initiation into Cricket was way back in 1992 just when Benson & Hedges Cricket World Cup of 1992 was about to begin. I remember waking up to India losing close games to Australia and England. Remember the India vs Pakistan game which we won where Tendulkar scored a 54 and took a few wickets.

Wills World Cup 1996

But let me here talk about Indian cricket in the last 15 years beginning from the Wills World Cup of 1996 in the sub continent. Lead by Azharuddin, India were one of the fancied teams in the competition being the main hosts. The league phases were breezy with the exception of a blip against Australia where a poor finish cost us the match and of course when Jayasuriya took the game away from us while chasing 271. The quarter final against Pakistan still remains one of the most talked about games in ODI cricket. India out did Pakistan to book a place in the last 4 where Sri Lanka had the last laugh on a slow turner. Sachin Tendulkar announced himself as THE MAN to watch out for in the future scoring 523 runs aided by two centuries. Anil Kumble snapped 15 wickets and was the highest wicket taker of the competition.

1996

Soon after the World Cup we toured England in the series where Dravid & Ganguly made their test debuts. English bowlers had Indians in a web early in the swinging conditions. Tendulkar was the lone ranger scoring a counter attacking hundred against the like of Peter Marin, Dominic Cork, Chris Lewis & Min Patel. Dravid & Ganguly made their debuts in the Second Test at Lords and thus was the beginning of one of the most ruthless middle orders in Test Cricket. Singer Cup in Sri Lanka participated by India, Australia, Zimbabwe & the hosts Sri Lanka was won by the hosts as they continued their fine form from the World Cup. India then beat Australia on a belter in Delhi in the one off test where Nayan Mongia scored a patient 152. India had South Africa on the mat on slow turners at Ahmedabad and Kanpur. Srinath was the star in Ahmedabad where he snared 6 for 21 to skittle out the Proteas for 90 odd in their chase of 110. Azhar was the star of the series, with two centuries, one in Calcutta and one in Kanpur. His ton in Calcutta was complemented by a fine 88 by Kumble but wasnt enough against the efforts of Hudson, Kirsten, Cullinan and Klusener who took 8 for 64 on debut. The three-pronged spin attack lead by Kumble and supported by Srinath were too hot to handle for SA and India went on to win the series 2-1. India had earlier also won the Titan Cup against Australia & South Africa. The series is remembered as the first time when the Ganguly-Tendulkar opening pair was forged.

1997

India's successes were to be short lived. Early next year in 1997 when India toured South Africa for a three test series, India bowled out SA for 235 at Durban on the first day and in return got shot out for 66 & 100. Indian batsmen were exposed to raw pace and some fine use of conditions by the African attack led by Donald, supported by Pollock, McMillan & Klusener. The second test had two heroic performances by Tendulkar & Azhar who scored a ton each but their efforts werent enough for India to avoid another defeat at Cape Town. In the third test at Johannesburg, Dravid century in both innings almost took India to the post. Cullinan's stubborn stand with Klusener & Symcox and rains saved the day for the Proteas. Indian bowling looked partially strong with Srinath & Prasad showing ability to fire on pitches abroad. Kumble was always the potent force we needed at home. But we lacked a back up seamer to support Prasad-Srinath. The Standard Bank Tri Series with Zimbabwe as the third team took place. India as expected reached the finals and in a riveting contest between bat & ball where a meek Dravid clubbed Donald for a mighty six, India lost to SA.

India had yet again in South Africa lost the first match of the series, a trend which was just beginning to set in after their loss to England at Birmingham in the first test.

India then toured the "not so very mighty" West Indies. India was expected to do really well in the Caribbean. Their batting line up looked ominous. But they lost Srinath right before the 5 match series and he was replaced by Abbey Kuruvilla to lead the attack with Prasad. In an otherwise drab series India was in a position to win in the third test at Barbados with 120 to win on the last day. India fell short by 38 runs and was a big blow to their confidence. This series is also remembered for the one where Sidhu scored his only double century at Port of Spain. India also lost the 4 match ODI series 3-1.

Pepsi Independence Cup was held in India participated by India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India beat New Zealand in a game where Tendulkar scored a fine hundred but lost to Sri Lanka and Pakistan and did not even make it to the final. The India-Pakistan encounter at Chennai was the one where Anwar took Indian bowlers to the cleaners and scored the world record individual score of 194. India replied strongly with Dravid scoring his maiden ODI ton but eventually lost.

This was followed by a drab test series against Sri Lanka, where the pitches decided the games' fate. India declared at 537/8. Sri Lanka replied with a record 952/6. Mahanama (215) and Jayasuriya (340) made merry while Rajesh Chauhan, Kumble and Nilesh Kulkarni toiled. Chauhan ended up conceding 278 runs, the maximum by a bowler in a test match. The pitch for the second test was a tad better but the test meandered to a draw. Every top order batsman in either teams scored a century in the series. The ODI series that followed was very keenly competed by both teams but India lost all three matches.

Between two very monotonous India vs Sri Lanka series, India went to Toronto to play Pakistan in the 2nd edition of Sahara Cup. India thrashed Pakistan 4-1 with Sourav Ganguly playing a stellar role in almost every game in the series.

India then played Sri Lanka at home and the result was the same 0-0. The honors were shared in the ODIs too.

1998

After a series of boring India-Sri Lanka matches and a disappointing Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah where India failed to win a single game, India went to Dhaka to play the Independence Cup. Tendulkar was not any more the captain, Azharuddin took back the mantle. Sachin duly obliged the fans with a rollicking 67 off 44 in the shortened match against Pakistan. India dominated the league matches and won the first final, thanks to Tendulkar's terrific 95. India lost the second final after being shot out for 195. In the third final, under overcast conditions and gloomy skies Azhar put Pakistan in. Pakistan scored 314 in 48 overs, as Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar notched up hundreds. The skies were gloomy and so was India's condition in the game. Sachin and Sourav started slowly in the mammonth chase but caught steam with Indians reaching 71 in 8 overs as Sachin looked like he might walk away with the match. With Sachin's eventual dismissal India began to look down the barrel. But, Ganguly(124) and Robin Singh(84) took charge and took India within touching distance of a win. India began losing wickets in a heap and nine were required of the last over. Kanitkar and Srinath rode their luck and brought the equation down to three off two balls. When Kanitkar lofted Saqlain, over mid-wicket for a boundary, the entire nation erupted in unison. India had won yet another famous battle against Pakistan on the cricket field.

The spring of 1998 was when the Mark Taylor lead Australian team came to India looking to conquer its final frontier. Azharuddin lead India with a settled batting line up and Sachin Tendulkar is sublime form. India conceded first innings lead to Australia in the first test match in Chennai following which in the second innings Tendulkar took Shane Warne to the cleaners scoring a fantastic 155 and setting up a win for India. The second match at Calcutta was routine for India. We put up a huge total and let our spinners run amok the Australian batting. India trounced over Australia by an innings. Australia came back to win the 3rd test at Bangalore inspite of a brilliant 177 by Tendulkar. The test series was followed by Pepsi Cup also involving Zimbabwe. Indian batting was in full bloom with each of India's top order batsman scoring a ton in the series. Ajit Agarkar made his debut in the this series and fast proved to be a potent wicket taken. Australia won the ODI series.

Then came an ODI series no cricket fan can easily forget. The series known for two individual knocks by Tendulkar against Australia. His 143* and 134* arent easily erasable from a cricket fan's memory. Sharjah skies were lit up with some glorious fireworks from the champion. His heroics led India to a stunning victory over the Australians and capped a successful summer for India over them.

India made its trophy cabinets richer in 1998 by winning the Coca Cola Cup in India against Kenya & Bangladesh, Singer Akai Nidahas Trophy involving Sri Lanka & New Zealand and the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah against Sri Lanka & Zimbabwe. India's Sahara Cup campaign hit rock bottom with the selectors trying to send good teams to both Sahara Cup and clashing Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur. India ended up losing both. 1998 was also a year when India lost the one off test in Zimbabwe exposing its weakness playing tests abroad again. It was also one of the best years for Sachin Tendulkar. He became the highest century maker in ODIs obliterating Desmond Haynes' 17 centuries. The year ended with another defeat on foreign soil for India against New Zealand in a test series. Honours were shared in the ODI series both teams winning 2 games each.

1999

1999 was a landmark year for neighbouring rivals India and Pakistan. Pakistan toured India for a test series in over a decade and a half, led by Wasim Akram. The first test played at Chennai was a closely contested one which Pakistan eventually won by 16 runs despite a hardworking 136 by Tendulkar in the fourth innings. Second test played at Delhi is engraved in gold in Indian cricket for Kumble snared a perfect ten in Pakistan's second innings handing them a defeat of more than 200 runs. India thought they finally found a stable opener in Sadagopan Ramesh. He had a great debut series facing the likes of Akram, Waqar, Saqlain & Mushtaq Ahmed. After sharing honours in the two match test series, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka headed for the Asian Test Championship. The India, Pakistan encounter of the ATC at Kolkata was see-saw Test match at its best. India had Pakistan on the mat at 26 for 6 in the first innings. Pakistan came back into the match with some good lower order batting and some fiery pace bowling by Shoaib Akhtar who accounted for Tendulkar and Dravid off beautiful in swinging yorkers. A second innings 188 by Saeed Anwar and some fine bowling by Pakistan made sure India was shut out of the game. The India vs Sri Lanka match at Colombo was a drab draw with Jayawardena scoring a fine double hundred.

Test championship was followed by two ODI series in India and Sharjah with India and Pakistan joined by Sri Lanka & England. India reached the finals of both tournaments only to end up second best to Pakistan. India dearly missed Tendulkar's services in both tournaments as he was nursing a back injury and was fighting against time to be fit for the World Cup due in May.

The next part will begin with the World Cup 1999 that was played in England and will have analysis of India matches till the beginning of the 2003 World Cup at South Africa.

Indian Pace Attack: Is the best yet to come?

The West Indian pace quartet of the 70s & 80s, Walsh-Ambrose in the 90s; Thomson-Lillee & McGrath, Lee & Gillespie for Australia; Allan Donald-Shaun Pollock for South Africa; Wasim-Waqar and later Shoaib Akhtar for Pakistan have all been potent new ball handlers & partnerships oppositions have feared and been wary of and have been hugely instrumental in their team’s successes during their careers. India’s fiercest new ball combo, even though they lacked express pace has been of Kapil Dev & Prabhakar who operated together in the late eighties and early nineties. Kapil’s retirement put extra pressure on a young Javagal Srinath; arguably India’s finest produce in the fast bowling department. He was quick, could swing both ways and be intimidating too. Prabhakar’s form dipped and wasn’t anymore the effective bowler who was once Miandad’s nemeses; now concentrated on his new role as an opening batsman. A lanky Venkatesh Prasad shouldered responsibility and Srinath-Prasad combo operated for India from 1996-2000. They will never be counted amongst the best ever; but were hard working and effective for India. Indian cricket, since the retirement of these two have suffered to find one fast bowling combination which would last for more than a year. Zaheer has spearheaded the attack since Srinath’s retirement but with minimal & inconsistent support from the other end.

Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Tinu Yohannan, VRV Singh, L Balaji and many more to add in the ODI format. India, like any other country has produced a battery of pacers but none who seems adept enough to carry forward a big responsibility. Every bowler India tried in this meanwhile has shown initial zest & promise but mysteriously fizzles out.

Irfan Pathan’s yorker to send back Gilchrist in his debut series is still unforgotten and so is his first over hat-trick against Pakistan at Karachi. Irfan started with a bang and was already touted to be the next big thing on the cricketing horizon and he slowly faded out and now doesn’t ever cross the 130 kmph mark let alone finding his in-swinging yorkers. A shoulder injury and subsequent loss of form and confidence could be blamed for his fall.

Munaf Patel even before his domestic debut was touted to be India’s fastest ever. Following his international debut and few successes, he has looked a pale shadow of himself. Fitness issues too have marred his career.

RP Singh began with a bang and promised a great lot following his Man of the Match performance in his debut test against Pakistan but slipped back and now struggles to find rhythm.

Sreesanth remains his mercurial self. Will bowl exceptionally well on his day and concede runs in torrents wicket less on a day that’s not his. More concentration on the game than his antics on field could help him develop further.

And Ishant Sharma, a gawky teen who troubled Ricky Ponting on his home turf and found reputation to be India’s quickest and most exciting bowler in a long time has totally lost confidence and has burrowed into a shell he and his coaches have no clue how to get him out of.

The only able partner Zaheer found has been in Nehra. Nehra, when fit and selected has been an asset to the team in all forms of the game. But fitness has been his undoing since the beginning of his career. We haven’t seen someone like a Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Mohammed Aamer, Lasith Malinga or Dale Steyn. Our bowlers have never been express fast, but they also have lacked wicket taking capabilities. The mysterious shell that Indian pacers take shelter in once established has to be unearthed and found a solution to. It has become a perennial problem for Indian pacers that existed even two decades back in the 80s when exciting fast bowlers like Chetan Sharma, Vivek Razdan, Atul Wassan, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee followed by the likes of Dodda Ganesh, Paras Mhambrey, Abey Kuruvilla, Debashis Mohanty, Harvinder Singh & David Johnson amongst others in the 90s decade showed promise to only fade away soon without trace.

Pakistan, Australia & South Africa on the other hand have been very successful in finding able replacements for their yesteryears’ stars. That’s what makes them strong teams to play against in seaming, bouncy conditions. Indian batsmen are found wanting while countering bounce & swing and they don’t consistently possess a bowling attack that could trouble an opposition on such tracks either. Each team at least has one bowler who can clock up to 85 mph consistently. And India’s search for one such prodigious talent hasn’t borne fruit yet.

India’s march to the top of the table in the Test rankings hasn’t been easy. Tougher than that is going to be how they plan to cement their place there. For that and also the fast approaching 2011 World Cup, India needs a fast bowling attack they can rely on to win matches. Apart from those already in line to support Zaheer; Jaidev Unadkat, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav & Ashok Dinda are youngsters who’ve shown promise, talent and ability to carry forward the baton of fast bowling to the next level for Indian cricket.

The Wizard Retires & World Cup Semis

Muttiah Muralitharan decided to hang his boots after the first test against India at Galle. His wicket tally of 792 wickets is just 8 short of the unimaginable 800. His decision to only quit from Tests might be one consolation for Sri Lanka. One can safely assume that the World Cup 2011 in the subcontinent will be last the world will see of him in international cricket. In a career spanning 2 decades, the journey to say the least hasn’t been an easy going one for the Wizard. The offie had a tough tour down-under in 95-96 and called for throwing by the OZ umpires. He then won the WC in '96 and kept picking wickets in bulk till his tour down under in 98-99. He again was called for throwing when his captain courageous Arjuna Ranatunga stood for him against all odds and handled the situation admirably. Any weaker captain would have wilted under the pressure exerted, but Ranatunga threatened to "walk off" instead in order to stand for his player. There have been plenty of allegations against him starting from people like Bedi, Warne, Dean Jones, Holding and Martin Crowe amongst others. His natural deformity came to his rescue when tested by ICC. But it’s no mean achievement to snare 792 test wickets and 512 ODI wickets even for a man with an improper action.
Controversy or no, Murali will remain to be amongst the best spinners to have ever played the game. His natural deformity came to his rescue when tested by ICC. But it’s no mean achievement to snare 792 test wickets and 512 ODI wickets even for a man with an improper action. His form has been dipping and has been far from his prime in test cricket. Most unforgettable amongst his performances is his 16 for 220 against England at The Oval in 1998. He almost single handedly bowled Sri Lanka to victory. Alec Stewart’s run out denied Murali a perfect ten in that game. All said and done Murali will be missed thoroughly in international cricket. With Murali’s retirement the number of cricketers from the 90s decade are receding from international cricket and surely marks an end of an era. Murali’s tally of 792 wickets is almost as steep and unimaginable as Bradman’s average of 99.94 or Tendulkar’s tally of 93 international centuries.

Holland won 3-2 over Uruguay. Indeed, the Uruguayans clearly missed the strike force of Suarez, (who has been really maligned for his hand ball against Ghana. I think any other footballer would have done the same in that situation). Forlan waged a lone battle up-front. The former Man Utd striker continued his awesome form into the World Cup. He is a versatile and almost a veteran for Uruguay. He will come back, get the ball, pass it, take corners and free-kicks, distribute the ball and most importantly score goals. For all the hype behind people like Barry some other so-called "stars" from Europe, particularly England, Forlan has taught them a lesson as to how to play the game. Why did Manchester United let him go? Indeed, had Suarez been there, this would have been a much tougher game for the Dutch, who got a lucky break on the second goal. Not only was it a deflection, it was also a goal in which Van Persie was fortunate to have been judged off side. He clearly raised his foot, and was thus, "in play" when the ball crept into the Uruguayan goal.

It's like deja vu all over again: Spain 1 – Germany 0.
Paul the Octopus got it right once again, picking Spain and sending the German romantics crashing out of the World Cup…at least until Saturday, when they’ll play Uruguay in their second straight consolation game.

The first half of this game was arguably the best 45 minutes we’ve seen on the international level in the last four years. It was, to the casual observer, boring, tense, slow and rather unproductive. But in truth, it was a chess game being played by two grandmasters; an show of tactical nous and footballing intelligence. The breakthrough came when a flying Puyol broke through the barrier of bodies to crash a header past Manuel Neuer into the back of the net just past the hour mark. From there, the predictable happened: Germany pushed numbers, Spain held and countered on occasion. Ultimately it was Euro 2008 all over again with a 1-0 final score.

Look Back: An IPL 2010 Summary

With the IPL 2010 coming to a close with a stunning finale at DY Patil where Chennai Super Kings emerge winners, downing the league topping Mumbai Indians. Many would feel Mumbai Indians were deserving winners; I do too, only had the championship been an all League one. Chennai Super Kings displayed enormous courage and self belief to defend a modest total in the semi-finals against the big hitting Deccan Chargers. Mumbai too overcame Bangalore with relative ease in the other semi finals. At the end of the day it was the team which kept its nerve had the last laugh.

All teams except Kings XI Punjab seemed to be in contention for a semi final spot till almost the last leg of the league which is a healthy for a competition. Let’s look at how the teams fared, their plusses and their letdowns which halted their semi finals charge.

Chennai Super Kings: The two time semi-finalist, one time finalist, under Dhoni’s capable leadership made it to the finals with a lot of hiccups. Their three match losing streak mid way in the tournament dented their chances but the coming of Aussie sensation Doug Bollinger and coming good of Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina’s consistency and their skipper Dhoni’s tactics took them all the way. Chennai’s spin attack; Murali, Ashwin & Jakati deserve credit for coming good at the right time and spelling doom with some accurate tweaking. In Bollinger’s absence; Balaji, Gony, Tyagi & Joginder came a cropper. Makhaya Ntini not getting a single game was surprising though.

Best Moment: Other the winning the finals, their best moment was Dhoni bludgeoning 16 of the last over and defeating KXIP at Dharamsala.

Forgettable Moment: They would soon want to forget their Tied match against KXIP at Chennai which they eventually lost in the Super Over. It was a game they should have won.

Players for the future: R.Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati

Mumbai Indians: The first time semi finalist & finalist, Mumbai did almost everything right in the league stages of the tournament aided by their captain Sachin Tendulkar’s supreme touch, coming good of youngsters like Tiwary, Rayudu, Pollard and of course a very powerful bowling attack comprising of Zaheer, Malinga & Harbhajan. Tendulkar’s 618 runs fetched him the Orange cap. Their worst spell was the two match losing streak towards the end of the league stage. Even that didn’t jolt their powerful surge to the last. Bravo & Duminy failed to impress in the chances they got. Jayasuriya looked way past his prime. R.Sathish fulfilled his role as a utility player and will be remembered for his run out effort to conclude Yusuf Pathan’s carnage.

Best Moment: Defeating Delhi Daredevils in Delhi by 98 runs was huge. Kieron Pollard’s coming good in the later stages of the tournament after some initial failures bolstered Mumbai.

Forgettable Moment: Losing the finals in home territory must’ve been hard on them.

Players for the future: Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Shikhar Dhawan

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Four consecutive wins after a dull defeat to begin the tournament with, RCB looked sure for a semi final spot until they hit a road block losing 4 out of 5 games in the middle stages of the league. Kallis made strong statements with the bat ending as the 2nd highest scorer with 572 runs. Kumble lead the team inspiringly. Uthappa’s match winning capabilities came to the fore, Steyn was accurate and unfriendly & Vinay Kumar was a revelation. Ross Taylor, Manish Pandey & Virat Kohli’s indifferent form affected Bangalore’s chances. Nevertheless they made it to the Champions League by defeating Deccan Chargers most convincingly. Praveen Kumar’s moment of glory was his hat trick against Rajasthan Royals. He never shone after that.

Best Moment: My favourite RCB performance was their win over KXIP chasing 204. Kallis’ blistering innings of 89* and Uthappa’s sparkling 51 scripted a perfect chase and announced the RCB arrival in IPL 2010.

Forgettable Moment: Their two defeats each to Deccan & Delhi in the league stages hurt them and so did the big loss to Mumbai in their last league match. That set their semifinal date with Mumbai again.

Players for the future: Manish Pandey, Nayan Doshi, Robin Uthappa, Eion Morgan

Deccan Chargers: Once at number 7 on the points table with 5 consecutive losses, Deccan seemed to have lost the plot they scripted last year. Unfortunate to not get to play in their home; Hyderabad, Deccan’s surge to the last four was superb. Their rejuvenation is much credited to the likes of Pragyan Ojha; the Purple cap holder with 21 wickets, Rohit Sharma, Suman, Symonds & Harmeet Singh. Gilchrist’s poorest IPL hurt Deccan Chargers’ chances as they never could get fiery starts from him like before. Kemar Roach’s selection and his eventual participation in two games baffled me. Keeping the experienced Vaas out of the team for most of the tournament looked questionable.

Best Moment: Chaminda Vaas’ brilliant last over in Deccan’s win against Delhi in Delhi which cemented Deccan’s position in the last four was delightful.

Forgettable Moment: Complete surrender against Mumbai in both their games & their abysmal 82 all out against RCB in the 3rd place play off.

Players for the future: Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Harmeet Singh, Mitchell Marsh

Delhi Daredevils: A pre tournament favourite, Delhi was inconsistent to say the least. With the most explosive batting line up, Delhi were the best on paper. Sehwag & Warner’s inconsistency; Dilshan & de Villiers’ indifferent form, Gambhir, Nannes & Nehra’s injury were all contributors to Delhi’s dismal show in IPL 2010. Gambhir’s captaincy showed varied shades ranging from tactical brilliance to sheer lack of common sense. Amit Mishra’s bowling was a huge boost to Delhi. He bowled bravely and brilliantly. Fielding was one area Delhi shone in. They had the best fielding team at their disposal. Warner, de Villiers & Collingwood showed why they are amongst the best fielders around. A team full of stars didn’t live up to the expectations. They were not aided by the pitch at home in Feroze Shah Kotla either. Gambhir made his annoyance with the surface in Delhi quite vocal. Dinesh Karthik was brilliant as a wicket-keeper and a middle order batsman.

Best Moment: David Warner’s superb 100 and his 120 run partnership with Collingwood against KKR in Delhi scripted a fine win for Delhi Daredevils. Few brilliant catches by AB de Villiers and David Warner are amongst the competitions’ best.

Forgettable Moment: 98 run loss to Mumbai Indians in Delhi. Heart breaking 11 run loss to Deccan Chargers in Delhi which halted their title dreams.

Players for the future: David Warner, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav, Sarabjit Ladda, Moises Henriques

Kolkata Knight Riders: An improved performance in comparison to 2009, Kolkata still lacked many aspects of playing as a team. A mystery surrounds this team’s underperformance. Sourav Ganguly was by far the best player in the team which lacks no talent or support staff. Their much hyped purchase Shane Bond was average and failed to rattle batsmen. Angelo Matthews, Owais Shah, David Hussey were effective but not match winning. The real explosive Chris Gayle was mostly missing expect for the game against KXIP. The team missed Brendon McCullum who joined late. Agarkar & Dinda’s performances were good news for the team in the absence of zing in Bond’s bowling.

Best Moment: Ashok Dinda’s fantastic opening spell which sent back Warner & Sehwag to set up a Kolkata win against Delhi in Kolkata. Ganguly’s brilliant ground fielding and catching. David Hussey’s catch of Collingwood is touted to be the best in the competition.

Forgettable Moment: Their loss to KXIP after setting a target of 201 was the low point of their campaign.

Players for the future: Ashok Dinda, Manoj Tiwary, Angelo Matthews, Iqbal Abdulla, Ajantha Mendis

Rajasthan Royals: Started with the reputation of being the most unpredictable side. Low on big names; Rajasthan Royals started their campaign with an almost fantastic win against Mumbai Indians in Mumbai chasing an uphill 212; with Yusuf Pathan scoring a brilliant hundered. After losing their first three games they turned around to win the next four and looked to script another dream run. Losing players like Mascarenhas & Graeme Smith, their progress was halted and became inconsistent. Nonetheless, Rajasthan found a matchwinners in Naman Ojha & Micheal Lumb and good supporting players in Jhunjhunwala, Fazal & Voges. Shane Watson’s late joining hurt Rajasthan which missed an all rounder in Ravindra Jadeja. Their semifinal charge was halted by three defeats at the fag end of the league.

Best Moment: Yusuf Pathan’s superb 100 off 37 balls against Mumbai. Rajasthan Royals clinching a win against Deccan at Nagpur, a game which Rohit Sharma almost took away from them.

Forgettable Moment: Lack luster performances in the last three games of the league. Not even crossing 140 in them hurt Rajasthan. Aditya Dole’s drop catch of Sachin Tendulkar at Jaipur will be remembered.

Players for the future: Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Aditya Dole, Kamran Khan

Kings XI Punjab: Internal conflicts or no; Sangakkara’s team the biggest disappointment of IPL 2010. Their campaign received serious setbacks very early in the tournament. Yuvraj’s indifferent form and attitude was disturbing. His interest seemed to be diminishing as the tournament progressed. The team’s batting relied heavily on Jayawardena, Sangakkara & Irfan Pathan in Yuvraj’s absent performances. Brett Lee’s form too was poor. Giving away 10 runs per over without taking a wicket was truly below par for the Australian spearhead. Bowling relief on Pathan, Chawla & Juan Theron as Sreesanth performance and behavior were both annoying. They never really had a shot at a semifinal spot but their face saving wins at the end might have helped the players in restoring some morale.

Best Moment: The Super Over win against Chennai Super Kings at Chennai was Punjab’s first win and was a nail biter. Their win against Kolkata chasing 200 with Jayawardene scoring a masterly 100 was fabulous.

Forgettable Moment: Sreesanth applauding Micheal Lumb sarcastically after being hit for a four and applauding the umpire for being no balled was poor in taste and totally lacked any sportsmanship. Losing the match after conceding 16 runs from the last over bowled by Pathan to Dhoni against Chennai at Dharamsala must’ve been quite tough.

Players for the future: Piyush Chawla, Adrian Barath, Ravi Bopara

With Mumbai also making it to the semifinals and to the finals eventually, Kolkata remains to be the only team to have not made a semifinal appearance in IPL. Not all’s lost though. Indian Premier League 2011 will begin with 2 new franchises; Kochi & Pune. Players might not remain in the same teams. Another massive round of bidding will be undertaken. But the intensity and fervor will remain the same for this format of the game in India. This might just be the last IPL for legends of the game like Anil Kumble, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shane Warne, and Matthew Hayden. New upcoming talented players will make sure there is no less fun in future IPLs but these legends will be missed for their contribution to the game and the ambassadors they have been of it.

Mysterious Case of The Indian Spinner

Indian cricket team has never been bereft of spinners. Be it the famous spin quartet on the 1970s; Venkat, Bedi, Prasanna & Chandra. 1980s were dominated by Shivlal Yadav, Maninder Singh, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and the mercurial Narendra Hirwani. 1990s saw emergence of Anil Kumble and he was partnered by Venkatapathy Raju, Rajesh Chauhan & Sunil Joshi. Then began in the previous decade a spin partnership every visiting team to India were vary of; Anil Kumble & Harbhajan Singh. No other spinner could imagine a look in during their reign.

But since Kumble's retirement, India has tried many a leg spinner who would partner Harbhajan and even be the lead spinner in the Turbanator's absence; Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Amit Mishra, R.Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja.

Ramesh Powar has fallen out of favour with the selectors as neither his bowling nor his batting are penetrative enough and his fielding too has been a bother. Ravindra Jadeja has made an impression in ODIs with his miserly, effective bowling and hard working batting, but he cant be mistaken for a strike bowler. Piyush Chawla has played two test matches but has been far from convincing and he has lacked variety. Pragyan Ojha was quite impressive in the chances he has got in both ODIs and Tests. His performances till date in T20Is too are encouraging. But most impressive has been Amit Mishra. He has a big heart, doesnt mind tossing it up to the batsman inviting them for the drives and the big shots and most importantly he has been amongst the wickets too. His performances in the ongoing IPL are a testament to that.

But the juggle by the national selectors and the team management in handling these three spinners have been far from impressive. Amit Mishra, after an uninspiring performance against Sri Lanka on a placid wicket at Ahmedabad, where even the legend Muralitharan suffered, was dropped in favour of Ojha who came good in the next two tests. In Bangladesh, Mishra yet again played the first test with a decent outing with the ball and a half century as a nightwatchman with the bat. But he was dropped for the next test in favour of Ojha. And out of the blue he was selected for both the home tests against South Africa. The most baffling bit of selection surely has been Chawla's inclusion in the World Twenty 20 at the cost of in form Mishra who holds the Purple Cap till now in the IPL and Ojha who again has been in top form. The reasoning that Chawla is the better batsman out of the three is a weak one. A bowler needs to be very good at what he does other than the contribution he makes with the bat; Chawla has been extremely ineffective this IPL and hasnt shown any match winning capabilities with the bat either.

Non-exclusion of Amit Mishra at a time when he bowling like a dream could be very disheartening and discouraging. Piyush Chawla on the other hand must make sure he cashes in on this huge oppurtunity. He has been out of contention from the Indian team for almost tow years now. The last he played was in 2008 against Pakistan. His selection has to be justified by strong performances by him for his team Kings XI Punjab, but that too hasnt happened. He has snapped 5 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 60 runs per wicket. His batting, which is apparently the prime reason for his inclusion in the side over Mishra and Ojha too hasnt shored up KXIP when required.

Hoping the Chawla surprises all of us by putting together a string of good performances to justify his selection in the World T20 squad and puts up a good show if he gets a chance at the mega event.

At a time when the art of spin bowling in on the wane from international cricket, India has a problem of plenty in there. Hauritz, Swann, Mendis, Ajmal are expected to be the flag bearers of spin bowling in the coming years. Managing the practitioners of this art is very crucial in upholding the tradition of Indian being amongst the teams with the best spin attack.

Sachin, An Underdog?

Its always so great when an underdog wins!

"First man on the planet to reach 200 and it's the superman from India", croaked Ravi Shastri at the culmination of something very special on Feb 25th 2010.

An underdog is someone at a disadvantage, and expected to lose. And Tendulkar and Superman, will remain underdogs, no matter what they do. Because to 'win', they'll have to perform a miracle greater than their previous miracles. The expectations of His fans are to defeat Lex Luthor's bowling attack at Kryptonitic pitches, save the world, and look cool while doing it. He's a magician pulling a rabbit out of His hat, and the bemused fans calling out for a; 'Blue Whale. Pull out a Blue Whale'.

His detractors are pure blind, but perhaps His fans are worse. Nothing will ever be good enough for them. A solid half century doesn't even elicit an applause anymore. He has to break a world record at least. Or go on and score four hundreds on the trot. Or make a double hundred in an ODI. And that, even that, isnt enough for us. So desperately do we want Him to be God to us.

And it is something beyond batting skills. Others too have shown that brilliance in skill. It is something beyond scintillating stroke play as well. Sehwag scores quicker, made two 300s, and has reached 300 with a six. But we dont want him to be God. Dravid's fight and work ethics have been and will remain an inspiration to India's professional middle class. But we dont want him to be God either.

It is something beyond; much, much beyond. So that there is a knot in our stomachs every time He's on strike. And that knot goes away only when He remains safe after facing each ball. And every boundary He hits is a personal victory, but more importantly, every time He gets out, its a loss much more personal than India losing a match. Why is that? Why is His slightest imperfection so personally relevant, so violently affecting to us?

Tell me how often have we wanted to punch someone brutally when he's criticized or spoken against Him? I reckon thats more of faith and devotion than just fan following.

Maybe, but for my generation the answer has something to do with the visuals we grew up with. Dealing with all the crap that teenage brings along, the visuals were of a short, and at that time, thin, fellow who stood alone against Goliaths of every nature imaginable and faced them with all grit and came back with more than just His and His team's dignity restored. Our meagre cares and concerns paled in comparison, when He defeated the strongest team in the world amidst a crumbling middle order, required run rates sky rocketing like hopes and a sandstorm thrown in for good measure. That was 12 years ago, but I doubt anybody who was privileged enough to witness it, will ever forget it. For, as much as we wanted Him to do it, there was a part of us always paralyzed with the fear that He will get out the next ball. But in those two matches and throughout two decades He kept the hope alive, in face of that fear, when there was every reason to lose it. Sounds pretty God-like to me.

Looking back at His career stats there is no doubt he is in the middle of the purplest patch of his cricketing life. Post the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, He has comeback with vengeance at his detractors and is slowly rattling a few world records (those few which are left) & taking the team to greater heights.

Flavour of the Season: Indian Premier League

No one would debate on being told cricket causes madness in India. What I witnessed on 13th Mar 2010 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, only reiterated facts.

Aided by complementary passes from a generous friend to Mumbai Indians' first game at home versus Rajasthan Royals; I set out to watch my first IPL match. Mumbai Indians had been an under performing team in the previous two editions of IPL and would've wanted to set records straight. Rajasthan Royals on the other hand, Champions in the first edition had slightly lost sting in the second. Reached the venue on time but took a while to get in. The atmosphere was electrifying and one of pure frenzy. Even the scorching sun couldnt dampen spirits of supporters and cricket enthusiasts of all ages swarming the Brabourne Stadium.

Mumbai's favourite cricketing son, Tendulkar's short stay at the crease might have disappointed a few but young turks Tare, Saurabh Tiwary & Ambati Rayudu played some scintillating strokes and kept the Mumbai crowd on their feet and their noise levels at a deafening maximum. Mumbai on a smallish ground reached 212 in their stipulated 20 overs leaving Rajasthan Royals with a mountain and more to climb.

Straying out of the stand during the match interval, I entered the VIP banquet serving complementary snacks and beer. Could it get better? Rajasthan made steady progress towards their target without looking too dangerous. All of a sudden RR found themselves in a pit at 70/4 in 10 overs. Yusuf Pathan then unleashed one of those knocks you see once in a lifetime, not for the grace, patience or silkiness it carried, but for pure brute force, power and aggression. Hitting at will he took Rajasthan to sniffing distance of their target before getting out the only way he could that day; run out! I couldnt resist supporting Rajasthan, the eternal IPL underdog, and Yusuf Pathan in the midst of Mumbai supporters. Yusuf was dismissed for 100 off 37 balls and Rajasthan went on to lose by 4 runs. But what the match did was give IPL and amazing launch. Just the previous day Deccan lost from a winning position in a thriller to Kolkata.

Cans of Kingfisher beer, a riveting encounter and an astounding innings by Yusuf Pathan. Thats exactly what the doctor ordered for every cricket enthusiast in India. Nothing can match the popularity of cricket in India. And that was evident from the scenes at the stadium and outside of it and of course in all the cricket crazy youths and adults rooting and cheering for their favourite franchise in the IPL. Proof that people love cricket and this format comes from the packed houses in the two new venues Ahmedabad and Cuttack and two more soon to be played in. Its a matter of immense pleasure that IPL is going to be played in Himachal Pradesh in the picturesque ground at Dharamsala.

Lalit Modi had envisioned city-based loyalties for IPL franchises. Try how the Kolkata crowd reacts when Tendulkar's in full flow or Chennai crowd's deafening applause when Sehwag unleashes a vintage innings or how spectators in Ahmedabad react when Ganguly is out in the centre. That, for the uninitiated, is Indian cricket!

But amidst all this T20 cricket have we forgotten the real cricket; Test & ODIs? Dare I think so! Test Cricket is here to stay feel all those already a part of their international sides. The negative trend of people opting to become freelancers than playing for their country has begun with Flintoff. How do we stop this slide? Its time IPL got a separate window in a year, without stepping on international commitments the teams have.

Hoping we get to see more riveting encounters like the Punjab vs Chennai one which went into the Super Over stage. Such games, I am sure, arent enjoyed by players as much as the audiences do!