Phew, that was a close shave…!

After having to follow on, India managed to save the second test match at Napier with a reasonable degree of comfort. While Dravid, Sachin and Yuvraj together scored about 175 runs or so, it was Gautam Gambhir’s tenacious knock of 137 runs that was the bedrock of India’s escape from an ignominous defeat. Gambhir battled the Kiwi attack for 2 days to hold up one end when wickets tended to fall at the other (although in Dravid’s case, it was supposedly a poor decision). What is commendable is the young man’s ability to curb his “natural game” and play the role of a sheet anchor. Of course, just as important was Laxman’s unbeaten knock of 125 runs. Laxman scored his runs at a much brisker pace than Gambhir, and spent less time out in the middle. As always, many of his boundaries bore the hallmark of the touch artist that we know Laxman to be.

Think back to stumps on Day 2 and I’ll wager there weren’t too many out there willing to bet on a drawn match! Vettori and his team were understandably disappointed at having been denied victory. But even in this draw, the Kiwis have proved that they are no pushovers. And that should make the third test at Basin Reserve more keenly contested.

My unrequited advice to Kirsten, Dhoni and the others: get to the venue asap and get used to the conditions!

Will pride go before a fall?

The Indian cricket team has done very well over the course of the past 12-18 months. Both at home and away, they have played well- and won with a high degree of consistency.

But they now find themselves in a pickle. At 79/3 (New Zealand declared its first innings at 619/9), India is in a fairly precarious situation. Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj and Dinesh Kaarthick (Dhoni is injured and hence not playing) will have to play out of their skins and score runs briskly even as they preserve wickets. Conceding a lead of anything more than 100 runs will all but shut out chances of a victory- especially if the pitch starts deteriorating tomorrow.

I was struck by the team’s somewhat casual approach to its preparations. Yes, they had creamed the home side at Hamilton a week ago, but to reach the match venue just 18 hours prior to the start of the match and not getting used to the local conditions through practice smacks of arrogance.  Of course, what matters is how the team plays during the 5 days of the test match and not what it does at the nets- but even so, I thought the Indian team could have shown a little more discipline at Napier.

The price of democracy

As the world’s most populous democracy moves closer to elections, I, as a citizen, am getting more and more worried about the political realignments and constantly changing political calculus.

Regional parties have begun to flex their muscles- which is good- but I worry that the leaders of such parties lack the national (forget global) perspective required to lead India at a particulalrly fragile time in its history. At the state level, regional parties are likely to understand the issues and the solutions better. But at the national level, we need leaders who have the vision and courage of conviction.

I do not mean to imply that leaders of regional parties cannot acquire such vision, or that they are incompetent. My fear is that in the next 2-3 years, when we need really good and deft governance, such regional parties will spend more time in fissiparous squabbles with their numerous coalition partners rather than focus on putting India firmly back on the path to 9+% GDP growth. Foreign policy matters too must be managed adroitly, given the instability looming in Pakistan and President Obama’s policies, that might in act, stoke the fires in the short term.

I sincerely hope that this time round, at least the educated voter will exercise his/her franchise carefully, and with due thought to the likely outcome of his/her vote. What is also needed is for us as a nation to vote- and not just cavil and carp about pathetic politicians and poor policies after we have forfeited our chance to influence who forms the next government.

And finally, I fear that all pre-poll rhetoric and posturing notwithstanding, our shameless netas will not flinch to get into the right beds once the results are announced, in order to consummate their marriages of political convenience.

Varun Gandhi’s purported communal statements

Varun Gandhi denies making the statements he has been accused of making. The statements under question were allegedly made at an election meeting. The Congress and its allies naturally want the Election Commission to disqualify him from contesting the elections. Sections of the BJP and its allies say he said nothing wrong; but other sections within the same BJP feel that he has transgressed a thin line and must be reined in.

Only time will tell if the vitriolic, rabble-rousing statements were indeed made by Varun or if they were “doctored”.  What I do not understand is this: if there was video footage of Varun’s address (and there must be, for all TV channels are carrying it), surely it can be easily established if he did or did not say those hurtful things.

India-New Zealand test series

I write this a few hours before the start of the first test between India and New Zealand. Over the last few weeks, India lost narrowly in the T-20 series, but convincingly won te ODI series. The last ODI match was inconsequential in terms of the series result; however, the manner in which India folded up given seaming, bouncy conditions must have gladdened many a New Zealander’s heart.

For India, the performance with the willow (and the none-too-great bowling effort that followed) must have served as an eye-opener. The pitches on which the previous ODIs were played were a far cry from the monsters they encountered in 2002-03. The Indian top order had a ball, and in the process, piled up runs and agony on the seemingly hapless New Zealanders. But that last match must have caused many in the team to squirm rather uncomfortably in their seats. Of course, the Indians have a brand new middle order in Dravid and Laxman. The conditions at Seddon Park (the winningest ground for the home team) are sure to help seam bowling. And the weathermen predict a sunny start with a chance of rain in the next couple of days. So chances are that the team that wins the toss will bat first.

Here’s hoping for a keenly contested series!

The upcoming elections

As election fever rises across the country, politicians are running around trying to strike alliances and forge “fronts”. As always, getting party tickets to contest the polls is proving to be a messy process.  As election-related dramas unfold in various states and parties (and astrologers make their predictions), I am struck by a sense of despair at the lack of political talent. The same old fogeys with their fossilized views on economics, politics, secularism, foreign policy etc are in the fray. The young turks, of whom I certainly expected much, have disappointed. Many of them did not even attend parliament sessions. As someone said, “in a democracy, people get the government they deserve”. How true!

Of course, instead of carping, I should perhaps approach one of the political parties and see if I can get a ticket. After all, I am well-educated, have a world-view, am reasonably articulate, am high on probity and integrity, and understand the basics of economics and technology. Any thoughts on whether I’ll get a ticket?!

Instability in the neighborhood

Over the last few days, the fledgling democracy in Pakistan has come under severe stress. By banning Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif and imposing Governor’s rule in Punjab, President Zardari has weakened democracy. Not surprisingly, the Sharif brothers are spearheading a mass movement that seems to be spreading.

The situation is a double whammy. On the one hand, the Taliban is seen to be making serious inroads into Pakistan across the Afghan border. Parts of he Swat Valley are already believed to be under Taliban control. On the other hand, the fragile deomocracy is on the verge of collapse. The Army Chief, Gen. Kiyani, has already spoken to President Zardari and virtually served him an ultimatum: bring the country back to order quickly or else…

The bigger threat arising from an unstable Pakistan is the effect this is likely to have not just on India, but also on the world. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border has repeatedly been called out as the hotbed of all terrorist activities. Imagine the conflagration that this tinderbox can cause by an ill-advised terror strike anywhere on earth.

India is busy with her own elections and the current government is a “lame duck” at best. Of course, the reality of coalition politics also means that even if a full-fledged government were in power, there is little that it could have done. It is high time that governments that have some leverage in Pakistan step in and prevent the country from returning to military rule. Should that happen, the whole world will be at even greater risk.

“Cricket, meet terror”

The unthinkable has happened. What many feared in private, but dismissed publicly as unlikely, given the Indian sub-continent’s passion for cricket, happened at Lahore yesterday. Terrorists attacked the bus ferrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to the Gaddafi stadium, injuring 6 or 7 of them and killing 5 of the security guards on duty watching over the visiting team.

The sheer audacity of the attack is chilling. Forget the similarities (or lack thereof) with the Mumbai attacks on Nov 26, 2008. Even more shocking is that any terrorist group would gather the courage to launch such an attack on cricketers- many of whom, in terms of pecking order, rank perhaps only after God.

That the cricketing world has gone into a tailspin is understandable. Questions are being raised about playing in Pakistan, whether the World Cup should be held in the sub continent at all (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are  the co-hosts) and now even the second edition of the hugely-popular IPL is under a cloud. To be sure, the IPL uncertainty also has to do with the Lok Sabha polls that were announced yesterday. Given that the polls will be held during April-May, the same time as the IPL, the Indian government fears that its security forces will be stretched. But when IPL’s second season will take off also depends on the foreign players actually turning up to play. Already, rumblings have begun, with various Australians, New Zealanders and Englishmen having spoken about their unwillingness to play in India. The sentiments are understandable, but it is important to keep in mind that the terror elements who perpetrated the attack in Lahore, appear to be very well-organized and may well have the wherewithal to execute similar attacks almost anywhere in the world.