So finally the rain gods came to the rescue of the Men in Blue at Lords, and we managed to leave London with the series level. For Indian fans though, the fragility of the Indian batting lineup is nothing new. The first test of any series outside the subcontinent has always been our Achilles Hill. Examples are plenty: Edgbaston 1996, Lords 2002, Bloemofontien 2001, Port of Spain 2002. (have not counted Brisbane 1999 and the series against New Zealand in 2002 since we lost everything there). The only abberations have been Johannesburg 2006 and Brisbane 2003 (thanks to Dada's ton and partly the weather there as well). We invariably surrender the intiative in the first test itself, from where it is very difficult, if not impossible, to bounce back (especially in today's 2-test and 3-test series). In light of this, it is truly staggering to have the BCCI reject Dravid's request for extra practice matches before the 1st test of the Australian tour later this year. One can only imagine the plight of India's famed willow-welders having been told to bat first on a quick MCG pitch in front of the Boxing Day crowd. While the BCCI's inclination towards commerce are long known (one famous Marathi scribe always referred to the former BCCI/ICC president as 'Dollarmiya'), denying your team the chance of getting good match practice tantamounts to absolute insensitivity towards the players as well as the fans who invest their time and money in watching good and competitive cricket. Hopefully, Santa will give the Indian batsmen the gift of quick adjustment come this Christmas !!!
Its also quite ironic that the 3 fifties from the Indians in the Lords test came from the supposed weak-links. The 'famed quartet' had a highest score of 40 in the 8 combined innings that they had. So much for the myth of the best line-up in the world !!!
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One great joy of watching the India-England series on Star Cricket (apart from the great picture quality) is to listen to Ian Chappell. Easily one of the best commentators in the business, it is a pleasure to listen to him air his views candidly and unbiasedly (well mostly). In a good article here, he describes how the increasing referrals of decisions to the third umpire are a) robbing the credibility of the two gents on the field and b) again being in batsman's favour (since the bowler cannot request for an lbw appeal turned down by an umpire to be referred). Quite good stuff.
Its also quite ironic that the 3 fifties from the Indians in the Lords test came from the supposed weak-links. The 'famed quartet' had a highest score of 40 in the 8 combined innings that they had. So much for the myth of the best line-up in the world !!!
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One great joy of watching the India-England series on Star Cricket (apart from the great picture quality) is to listen to Ian Chappell. Easily one of the best commentators in the business, it is a pleasure to listen to him air his views candidly and unbiasedly (well mostly). In a good article here, he describes how the increasing referrals of decisions to the third umpire are a) robbing the credibility of the two gents on the field and b) again being in batsman's favour (since the bowler cannot request for an lbw appeal turned down by an umpire to be referred). Quite good stuff.
1 comment:
abay 2nd test kay baad chup kyon hai...god and dada ki tareef bhi kar day
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