Rahul Dravid: India's Perpetual Go To Man

If Indian cricket were a school, Dravid is the front bencher who'd raise his hands for everything the teacher asks the class. Still, he would be shadowed by the brighter, smarter, cheekier others. Since he made his ODI debut in Singapore in 1996 and test debut at Lord's in the same year, many questions have been asked of him, which he in his calm demeanour, has answered with a straight bat.

He was, in his initial years in international cricket, dubbed as a test specialist. He couldn't find gaps, couldn't get the quick singles, failed to up the ante when required and didn't have the all round ability to hold his spot in the team. Thus he was dropped for other options, who too didn't do well enough to keep Dravid out for long. The 1999 World Cup was his watershed moment in ODIs. He was the leading run getter in the tournament with a whopping 461 runs, even though India didn't get to the semi finals. His spectacular stand of 318 against Sri Lanka at Taunton with Ganguly is now more famous for the latter's 183. But, not many would remember it was Dravid who started attacking the Lankan spinners. Most memorable is his six over covers off Muralitharan.

He fell off the selectors' radar yet again in 2001 after a string of poor scores in ODIs. In 2002, the then captain, Sourav Ganguly bestowed faith in him and entrusted in him the task of keeping wickets for the team. This was to be a big challenge for Dravid. He was to bat at no. 5, shepherd the youngsters and the tail and keep wickets for 50 overs. A task he did remarkably well. If in school, Dravid would've been asked to prove his all round worth, even though he's terrific at the one thing he did.

His worth became that of an all rounder in the team. The first series he performed this role in was the historic NatWest Trophy in England in 2002 which India won by 2 wickets. He would continue this role till India found a replacement in Parthiv Patel in 2004.

Dravid performed the role of a vice captain under the astute leadership of Ganguly from 2000 to 2005 and lead the team in the captain's absence. Ganguly's personal form began to falter and the mantle of captaincy fell on Dravid amidst controversial circumstances. It was rumoured, Ganguly was ousted due to his closeness with the coach Chappell. In school, he would've been accused of influencing the class teacher to be made the class monitor.

Under his leadership in Greg Chappell's term as coach, India did very well as a ODI side. Dravid's personal form with the bat was golden. Though the team's resentment towards the coach was visible, it spurred on field only in the 2007 World Cup. India crashed out of the tournament in the league stages. Team's differences with the coach surfaced. Dravid soon resigned as captain and soon found himself out of the ODI team for younger, fresher faces. By now, he had scored over 10000 runs in both forms of the game and had guided youngsters like Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, had record aggregate partnerships with Tendulkar & Ganguly and made a name for himself amongst the legends of the game. All this while, he continued to be the backbone of the Indian test outfit with the nickname 'The Wall'.

Dhoni was made the ODI captain and Kumble the test captain. In a move, many thought was stupid, he was brought back into the ODI team in 2009 for the tri nation cup in Sri Lanka and Champions Trophy in South Africa. India won the former and crashed out in the latter which again resulted in Dravid being dropped.

Just when all seemed rosy for the class, Dravid is roped in to make a difference and he doesn't do too badly in the chances given. He again is subdued for a new face. Frustration for which he never showed on his game. He continued to do his best in every opportunity he got. Played enterprisingly in his IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore's march to the finals in 2009.

Yet again, after India's debacle of a test series in England following the highs of the World Cup win (which Dravid wasn't a part of, not even the probables), Dravid was included in the ODI side, seriously injury ravaged and short on confidence. Dravid, by then, had had enough of this see-saw'ing'. He swiftly accepted his inclusion and announced this as his last limited overs series. His action implied he didn't anymore want to be someone whom selectors could toy around with.

One can confidently say he has a lot more to offer to the Indian test side. His three centuries against England in a series no other Indian could manage a three digit score stands proof for that.

An article on Cricinfo talking about Dravid's career and retirement summed it up in it's headline which read, "The misfit who thrived". He thrived and how! Many a young Indian cricketer and youth would find Dravid as the perfect role model. He is probably the epitome of soft spokenness, selflessness and calm demeanour displayed while playing for a cricket crazy nation like ours.

Being Sachin Tendulkar

Fifteen months ago, post Sachin Tendulkar's epic 200* against South Africa at Gwalior, I wrote an article on how Sachin Tendulkar could be an underdog for the expectations the 1 billion people have from him. Fifteen months hence, after he has accomplished bigger tasks in international cricket, 50 test match centuries, 99 international centuries, World Cup winners' medal, brownwash of the Australians; he still must bow down to the infinite expectations of his fans (and detractors). People call him 'God'. I must know, could even the 'almighty God' live up to the expectations we have from him? 
Everything Tendulkar does, he faces criticism. Scores two hundreds against England & South Africa in the World Cup, India fails to win either of the two matches. Resultant verdict: If Sachin Tendulkar scores a hundred, India won't win the match. How much more hurtful could a comment get? 20+ years of serving the team, 30000+ international runs add 200 odd catches 199 wickets. Young turn Virat Kohli summed up Tendulkar's contribution of Indian cricket after the World Cup final win "Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him." How many of us disagree with him? I for one, can't. Undeniably, Tendulkar has carried India through even its worst phases. The reason for his stardom is his superhero like, lone warrior like image that has captivated the fans. We (some of us) blame him for only aiming for personal milestones and not team/national glory. Milestones are important in one's career. But is that alone sufficient as a motivational factor to prolong a career for over 20 years? Don't think so. It's passion, love for the game (and all that jazz) which makes him the powerful figure that he is today in international cricket and world of sports. 

How much more should he prove on field? He has maintained a spotless image in public glare over 20 years. Now, the media and us fans look for the first opportunity to put his image at test. He has been blamed of choosing IPL over WI tour for he decided to skip the latter to get some rest before the gruelling tour of England. He has been accused of trying to evade taxes. Media reports he claimed he is an actor, not cricketer to get a tax break of Rs 2 crore. Now, my question. How abnormal is it for someone to try and evade taxes? Why make a mountain out of a mole hill? We (fans) titled him 'God'. There were no such 'self proclamations' by the humble man. Why is it so tough for us to digest Sachin Tendulkar, at the end of the day is a human. Not at any point in this article have I said Tendulkar shouldn't be criticized. All I say is, he deserves a little more respect than what is meted out to him by his own fans (us).

Indian Premier League 2011: Almost Glad It's Over

Fourth edition of Indian Premier League has been surely the most dullest of all 4 yet. The 2011 edition had two new team participating which understandably resulted in an increase in the number of matches played. Though 4 best teams in the competition made it to the play offs, there was monotony, boredom and lack of interest in the middle and latter stages of the competition. After the World Cup win, even the appetite for cricket of the insatiable Indian cricket fan was whetted. The 51 day IPL extravaganza was just saturation Indian fans hadn't experienced before.

Chennai Super Kings retained the trophy after clinical performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and rampaging Chris Gayle. Mumbai Indians, after dominating the initial leg of the competition lost their win with a string of losses, yet made it to the play offs. Kolkata Knight Riders, under new leadership of Gautam Gambhir and a good all round team made their first play off in IPL history. Some exhilarating individual performances were witnessed, some exciting new talents were unearthed, some old war horses continued to prove their immense worth, some talented players flopped and some teams came a cropper in a tough competition.

Rahul Sharma surely has been the find of the season. The leg spinner earned repute for his probing line and length and excellent variation very crucial in the T20 format. Iqbal Abdulla, Paul Valthaty, Ashok Menaria, Sreenath Aravind were other domestic talents who made a name for themselves this season. Ravichandra Ashwin, Manoj Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma presented case for themselves for selection with good performances.
Chris Gayle, James Hopes, Micheal Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Doug Bollinger, Lasith Malinga, Adam Gilchrist were surely the best overseas players in the tournament. Their presence in the team made enormous difference to the team's fortunes. A special mention here for Chris Gayle who well and truly changed Royal Challengers Bangalore's fortune with his mighty hitting and calm demeanor. Every time he came on to bat, he lit the stage alight. He missed out in the all important finals but had done enough to instill fear in every bowlers minds.

Indian World Cup heroes Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Harbhajan, Munaf, Yusuf Pathan, Kohli were all backbone of their respective teams. Their presence boosted the team's morale as well as saleability of the team to the fans. Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings benefitted from having more than one member of the World Cup winning Indian team in the squad. Kings XI Punjab & Rajasthan Royals in a way suffered by not having Indian stars or the local flavour in their teams. Kochi Tuskers Kerala had son of the soil, Sreesanth in their team who made up for the lack of other big Indian stars.

Malinga's retirement from tests, Gayle, Bravo & Pollard's omission from WI team against Pakistan for opting IPL to national committments, injuries to Sehwag, Gambhir, Gambhir's decision to play IPL and skip India's tour of WI for treatment re-ignited the debate whether IPL should get a separate window in ICC's Future Tours Programme. Tony Grieg's strong criticism of the IPL and claiming ICC to be highly influenced by BCCI  made a talking point half way though the tournament. Shane Warne's public spat with RCA secretary Sanjay Dixit too made big news. An extremely avoidable issue which was blown in the media by childish behaviour by the champion leg spinner and the administrator.

I strongly opine IPL mustn't get a separate window. Getting that would mean complete domination of BCCI over ICC. Separate window would also result in all T20 leagues around the world requesting for windows in the FTP. ICC must have a stronger say in the happenings in the IPL. Shortening the duration of the tournament and allowing senior players to rest, reduction in travel time between matches and cut down on endorsements which make the player jersey look like trash are amongst the issues players would want ICC to take up with the IPL Governing Council; which by the look of things may never happen.

Author also writes on http://www.isport.in/

MI vs CSK at Wankhede - An IPL 2011 Experience

First ever Guest article on Straight Drives. Shruti Mehta pens her first piece about her experiences at the Mumbai vs Chennai IPL match played at the Wankhede Stadium. 

It’s rare to find a household in India where cricket fever does not exist. I come from one where my younger brother, as every young Indian boy, once aspired to become Sachin Tendulkar. After the introduction of IPL, 4 years back, the atmosphere in my house would be electric, with each one of us choosing our favourite teams and players and cheering on. IPL 3 for me was quite an experience, as not only did I follow it religiously, I also went for 2 matches, including the spectacular finals at the D.Y. Patil stadium. However, the excitement for IPL 4 was dulled after the super exciting World Cup journey of the Indian cricket team.

The teams I decided to support this year are Mumbai Indians (I’m a Mumbaikar), Rajasthan Royals (for my marwadi roots and Dravid love), Pune Warriors (I studied there plus new found love for Yuvraj) and a wee bit support to Delhi (for the Morne Morkel love of course). So I jumped when my cousin called saying he had tickets for MI v/s CSK at Wankhede. 

This being my first visit to Wankhede left me super excited (and of course, the excitement of watching Sachin and Dhoni play live again). The atmosphere was electric with MI fans shouting away. The tickets in the Sachin Tendulkar stand offered a spectacular view and we were all set to scream our lungs out and cheer for the God. MI’s innings started off slow with a brilliant bowling attack by Albie Morkel. It was heart breaking to see Sachin get out so soon and miss the orange cap. Rohit Sharma however, chose this day to prove to others why the Ambanis paid him that huge sum.  Rohit and Ambati set the pitch on fire with their shots. Symonds also made the needed contribution to set up a somewhat achievable total of 164 for Chennai Super Kings.

CSK made a start with a boundary but what stays in my mind is the way Pollard lunged to try and stop that four. That man just stands out anywhere, not only with his height but also his excellent fielding. He just reaches out and grabs the ball where others run behind it. Mike Hussey and Badrinath seemed to have set the momentum in place when out went Hussey and the game swung back in favour of India. Harbhajan Singh was in top form, probably inspired by looking at someone holding a poster saying special ‘Pav bhajji’ for Dhoni with a very cute caricature of Bhajji.

Excellent catches and brilliant fielding led to Harbhajan Singh walking away with 5 wickets and the man of the match. I must mention that every time the commentators talked about the Mumbai Indians fielding, the camera zoomed in on a grinning Jonty Rhodes enjoying the match.

Needless to say, Mumbai Indians won the match, leaving most people in the stadium happy (except the uncle sitting behind us who insisted on abusing the MI team in a most unsporting way). 

Post this match, my interest in IPL this year is slowly coming back. It might not evoke as strong emotions as for the match winning Indian cricket team, but it’s still a joy watching my favourite players on the field. I hope to go back to Wankhede for one of the play off matches. Till then, I will be happy yelling at the TV and cheering for my favorite teams. 

Follow Shruti Mehta on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/shrumehta

Delhi Daredevils: Team Preview & Expectations

Indian Premier League III ended with much fanfare with Chennai defeating Mumbai in the finals. And what followed it was mayhem. Corruption charges, Lalit Modi, endless speculation etc. Chirayu Amin took the post of the Commissioner of the IPL and then took place the auctions of 2011, where two new teams too had a chance to buy players for their team. All teams got reshuffled. Delhi Daredevils, the team I look forward to, retained their marquee man Virender Sehwag. Delhiites will be sad to have lost Gautam Gambhir who will now captain Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sehwag has a strictly good team at his disposal. On paper, he has the most explosive top three in his team in himself, Warner and Aaron Finch, but as we go down the middle order, the team lacks firepower. Travis Birt, youngsters Matthew Wade and Robin Bist who was a part of Rajasthan's Ranji Trophy winning team & Colin Ingram, the bright Protean youngster, will be expected guard the slide if the openers fall early. Middle order could also be manned by India rejects Sridharan Sriram and Venugopal Rao. One big advantage this team has over any other team in this IPL is the presence of many all rounders and utility cricketers. Irfan Pathan, Roelf van der Merwe, James Hopes, Andrew McDonald make for the most lethal lower middle order in the competition. In Naman Ojha, Delhi has a fine wicket keeper option, somehow who can bat explosively and can even open the innings. That gives the captain a lot of options. Spin department is where Delhi is going to suffer the most. Except for van der Merwe and Rajesh Pawar, the team only has a few slow bowlers in reserves. Shahbaz Nadeem maybe tried and might even get the success Shadab Jakati has got for Chennai in the last few editions. Morne Morkel will by far be the captain's go to bowler. One of my favourite Indian bowlers, Agarkar, Salvi, Umesh Yadav and Ashoke Dinda will be Morkel's support with the new ball.

Delhi has a good mix of youth and experience. But what's missing from the team is an assurance. Top order looks promising, but the middle order weak. Pace bowling department looks well equipped, but spin department totally bare. They have all rounders in numbers but none that could change the course of the game like an Afridi, Symonds or Yusuf Pathan. Delhi, looking at the team, on paper it would do enormously well for itself getting into the semi finals. Getting through to the finals and winning it will just be a huge bonus. Chennai, Mumbai, Pune looks the most balanced team in the competition. Delhi, along with Kolkata, Deccan, Bangalore look an unstable unit. Rajasthan, Punjab and Kochi, by the looks of it lack firepower. They don't enough impact players to make an instant difference to the outcome of the match.

Here's to an amazing Indian Premier League 4. 

Dhoni's India Rewrites History - We Are World Champions

Euphoria. Delight. Excitement. Thrill. Tears of joy. Contentment. Sense of achievement.

It was all there on the 2nd of April at the Wankhede. India defeated Sri Lanka in the most keenly contested World Cup finals since 1996. India had done the impossible, by defeating Australia and Pakistan in back to back knock out game in the quarters and semis only to fix a date with the sublime Sri Lankans in the finals. Sri Lanka had clinically dismantled both England and New Zealand in their knock out games coming in to the finals.

There wasn't much to choose from between the two teams in terms of line ups. Both teams were fielding legends on the brink of retirement. Both teams also had supremely talented wicket keeper captains in Dhoni and Sangakkara.  Hard not to bring the 1996 semi finals into focus which India lost in Calcutta after Sri Lankan spinners made a mockery of our middle order. Unpleasant scenes followed, crowds aiming missiles on Lankans, Vinod Kambli crying in the open. None of that was to be this time at the Wankhede. 

Presidents from both nations were in attendance to witness the spectacle. After the fiasco at the toss, Indians were put to field by Sangakkara. Zaheer bowled an excellent opening spell to the circumspect Lankan openers. Wickets stemmed the flow of runs. Jayawardena chose the biggest occasion to make a strong statement, he scored a fabulous 103*. Powerful surge in the slog gave Sri Lanka a confident 274 to defend. Malinga got both Sehwag and Tendulkar in his first spell. The crowd was shunned into silence. But Gambhir, Kohli put up a workmanlike stand to deny Lanka any more success on the trot. After Kohli's dismissal to a profanity spewing Dilshan, Dhoni joined Gambhir in what would now be called one of the moves that is going to be talked about for years to come. Both put on a fine 109 run partnership to almost shut the Islanders from the game. When Dhoni launched Kulasekara's second ball of the penultimate over for a huge six through long on, India couldnt have lost the game. 

The moment was savoured by Dhoni. His eyes set on the ball till it landed in the crowd. The celebrations began. Dhoni did a small jig, collected a stump as souvenir and hugged Yuvraj. Youngsters in the team streamed in to the playing area and huddled Yuvraj and Dhoni. The crowd had gone beserk so had all of India. Crackers went off at the Wankhede and the rest of India. It was Diwali all over again. There were no disagreements here, India was one. Everyone flooded the streets and the ecstasy was evident. Youngsters carried Tendulkar on their shoulders and did a lap of honour. Kohli played a crucial role with his fine 35 in the finals but what he said after the match is what is going to stay in people's minds. Every member acknowledged that the victory was a tribute to Tendulkar. 

Indian cricket team had won the World Cup and so had their 1 billion + fans world over. India had well avenged the 1996 debacle with the Championship win over the same opposition. Every time India takes field in the next four years, they will do so with the tag of World Champions attached. 28 years later India attained that glory. Special mention of valuable contributions made by Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, Laxman and the coach courageous Gary Kirsten towards instilling confidence in this team. 

Common Opponents Face Off In The Biggest Match Ever

The finalists of the ICC World Cup 2011 have played each other 30 times in the last two years. Such has been the frequency of India and Sri Lanka playing against each other that the fans on either side have been heard praying for respite. But here they are, competing at the finals of the biggest cricket tournament. Its the third finals for either side and both have won the World Cup once each. First time ever in the history of World Cups two Asian teams meet each other in the finals. Only fitting, two of the hosts, also two of the most versatile sides have made it to the finals to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Both teams have overcome disappointments and shortcomings on their way to the finals of the Cup. One defeat each in the league stages against South Africa and Pakistan. Lets look at how the teams might be looking at each other's line ups.

India have overcome challenges from Australia and Pakistan in the knock out stages of the tournament. Both teams considered as contenders have stretched the home team but never to a bothersome extent. India's bowling a worry in the league stages looked much improved in their two knock out games. Bowlers seemed to have found some rhythm. Batting, at least to me, isn't a big worry. The power packed Indian batting has had a few uncharacteristic collapses, but I wouldn't read too deep into them. If the Indian batting plays to potential, there is no stopping them. Tendulkar and Sehwag form the crux right on top of the order and both have been in ominous touch. The Lankans must be tiring themselves on the drawing board trying to plot their dismissals.Gambhir though has been amongst runs, hasnt set the stage alight in any of the matches yet. Yuvraj is probably in the phase of his career where he can barely do any wrong. Been excellent with both bat and ball. Winning four Man of the Match awards in the same World Cup is no mean achievement. Zaheer, as expected has been India's lynchpin with the ball. The tournament's 2nd highest wicket taker, Zaheer has foxed  batsmen throughout the Cup with his excellent variations and perfect lengths. India are expected to play both Harbhajan and Ashwin in the finals. Both have looked good when they've bowled together. They together must plan to stifle Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara who've been in excellent touch.

Sri Lanka on the other hand have had it comparatively easy after their defeat to Pakistan in the league stages. They only had to face a weary and almost uninterested looking England in the quarters. Lankan openers pulverised English bowling to take the team home by 10 wickets chasing a modest score of 230. New Zealand's resistance with the bat was poorer but they fought hard with the ball causing a mini collapse, but Lanka won the game by 5 wickets. Both England and New Zealand are traditionally poor players of spin. All Sri Lanka had to do was to spin a spin web around. Sri Lankan top order is in fantastic touch. Middle order though is a spot of bother. Samaraweera and Chamara Silva havent been amongst the runs. Sri Lanka is going to miss Angelo Matthews dearly. He is one player in their ranks capable of changing gears with great ease. Lankan bowling has been quite upto the mark. Murali's fitness though would be a worry. Unless 100% fit, his effectiveness against quality players of spin that Indians are can be questions. Malinga and his yorkers will be something India would be working on though.

Ultimately it is going to come down to how the two teams react to pressure of the situation. Both teams have played innumerable final games against each other. But this surely is a notch above them all. I would say Sri Lanka have a slight edge over India in terms of chances. India after two mentally draining games really need to re focus on this all important game. Sri Lanka have had two breezy wins in the knock outs. They are yet to be stretched in the tournament except for their defeat vs Pakistan over a month back. India on the other hand need to field and bowl as well as they did against Pakistan to pose a challenge to the Lankans.
Both teams have a huge legend in their ranks, one who will play his last ODI tomorrow and the other whose CV has everything but a World Cup medal and is expected to hang his boots in the near future. Muttiah Muralitharan is expected to bowl to Sachin Tendulkar one last time in international cricket. As the cliche' goes, May The Best Team Win.