Anand Krishna’s musings

Today is the day when the champion of the inaugural edition of the IPL will be crowned (unless rain interferes). The Rajasthan Royals have been the most consistent team in the tournament and are deserving finalists. The Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, started with a bang, only to taper off towards the middle. Their entry to the semi-finals was itself in part the result of what other teams did/did not, rather than its own steam. However, in yesterday’s semi-final, they completely outplayed the Punjab team and made it to the finals.

Warne’s team has been dealt a serious blow by the injury to Graeme Smith, who, along with Swapnil Asnodkar, has formed what is arguably the most reliable opening pair in the IPL. A solid and quick start is crucial to winning a T20 match, and Warne will be well aware of the handicap his team faces. Dhoni seems more blessed, and his team does not face any apparent injury problems. How well team Chennai capitalizes on Smith’s absence remains to be seen.

As always, may the best team win!

Nearly three decades ago, my grandfather told me a little story. There was this man, who had a pet dog. One day, in a fit of rage, the man picked up a stick and beat the dog. The poor dog dumped right there inside the house. The man had to clean up after the dog. A neighbour, who supposedly watched the entire episode, asked wryly “why beat the dog and why carry the “done”?” In essence, why do something whose outcome will only cause more misery or nuisance- and you have to end up doing something painful or distatsteful to remedy the situation?

I was reminded of this story when I read recently that Vijay Mallya has declared that he has tremendous faith in his team and that he wishes he would get the privilege of sorting things out in the privacy of the dressing room or team meetings. After all, it was Mr Mallya who first spoke to the media about his dissatisfaction with Dravid’s team selection and so on. Dravid, ever the gentleman, simply accepted his franchise owner’s outburst s justified, given the team’s lacklustre performance in the IPL thus far.

Just as Shane Warne alone has not wrought wonders for the Jaipur franchise, the Royal Challengers’ performance cannot be blamed on Dravid alone. In both cases, it is the team that either did or did not consistently deliver. One individual may play a key role on a particular day, but that’s usually it. Sanath’s brilliant century againts Chennai would have been in vain if the bowlers had not bowled well and the fielders had not held catches and effected run-outs. Today’s match, where Dravid scored an uncharecteristically aggressive 75 n.o. (6 sixes and 6 fours, 36 balls) is another example where Dravid has done quite well, but received no support from his team-mates.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if Mr Mallya also treats the managers in his employ in similar fashion, and what attrition rates at the UB Group are.

As owner of the IPL’s Royal Challengers franchiese, Vijay Mallya has every reason to be angry and disappointed; after all, his team has won only 2 of its last 9 matches. And at the time of writing this blog, it is well on the way to losing its 10th match. However, venting his spleen in public, as he has done is not likely to help his cause or indeed, his team’s cause.

Dravid, the captain, is already under severe pressure. His team has not performed to its potential. He himself has done quite well, considering that just some months ago, he declined to play the T20 World Cup in South Africa, saying the format was meant for younger legs. His foreign “mercenaries” - Kallis, Boucher, Steyn, Chanderpaul, Cameron White, Misbah ul Haq et al have not performed as well as Dravid, or indeed, most of us cricket fans living in Bangalore, might have expected. This is in stark contrast to say Shaun Marsh or Shane Watson, who have delivered.

Mr Mallya should have kept his frustration under wraps for some more time, and even better, chosen to expose it in the dressing room or behind closed doors. And though he has today said that he has asked Dravid to focus on the game and forget the unseemly controversy around which players to have picked, the damage has been done. In case you are wondering what I am talking about- Mr Mallya reportedly said yesterday that he had given Dravid and Charu Sharma a free hand, but that the team that was finaly put together was more suitable for test cricket than it was for T20.

Looking ahead, Mr Mallya’s unfortunate comments might well have the following impact:

1. Dravid’s international cricket career may come to a premature end.
2. Dravid may choose to resign as captain of the Royal Challengers. If that happens, who takes over? Boucher? Kallis? Kumble? Zaheer?
3. The franchise will lose its sheen for next season, as few players will be willing to countenance a franchise owner who shoots his mouth off to the media.
4. Foreign players may have second thoughts about signing up for the franchise.
5. Other teams may start worrying about what their franchise owners may or may not say and do.

All in all, a distresing time for the Royal Challengers. And given the bad news for Team Force India on the Formula One circuit, little wonder that Vijay Mallya is fulminating.

Earlier this evening, the Chennai Super Kings led by M S Dhoni trumped Yuvraj Singh’s Kings XI Punjab. (I must say there is a lot of “royalty” playing in the IPL, with as many as 3 of the 8 teams having some form of the words kings or royals in their names)). And what a match it was! After a shaky start, Badrinath and Raina asteadied the innings, with the former playing superbly. Later, Badri was joined by Dhoni, and by the 15th over, it seemed that Yuvraj & Co would again have to chase a taregt of 200+ runs (if I am not wrong, Chennai totted up a mammoth 240 the last time these two teams played- and Punjab scored a creditable 210 or so). And that is when inspired bowling by Sreesanth, Hopes, VRV Singh and Pathan choked Chennai. Badri and Dhoni were both out after scoring 60 runs apiece, and the last 5 overs yielded just over 35 runs.

Punjab too got off to a less-than-great start, losing Hopes to a leg-side delivery from Albie Morkel that, in most cases, would have been dispatched to the ropes. Young Shaun Marsh, the other opener, played some delectable strokes and showed clearly why he is a very exciting prospect for Australia (he has already been selected for the Aussie ODI squad for the Wes Indies tour). They were cruising along at a decent clip when Dhoni brought on L Balaji- he that was destroyer-in-chief during the India’s tour of Pakistan in 2004 (05?). After a long period away from the game due to major fitness problems, Balaji struck body blows, ending with amazing figures of 4-0-24-5. IN the process, he also took the first hat-trick of the IPL (and possibly, T20 cricket) in what was his last over, which also became the last over of the match.

Punjab’s 5 match winning streak has been broken and after a mid-tournament stutter, when Chennai lost 3 matches, they are back to their winning ways, having beaten the Delhi Daredevils last week in what was another humdinger of a match that was decided in the last ball.

At this stage, it is still not clear who will make it to the semi-finals. But I’d have to say that barring major reversals in fortunes over the next two weeks, Punjab, Chennai, Rajasthan and either Delhi or Kolkata will almost ceratinly make it. Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore will bring up the rear.

At the end of the first half of the IPL tournament, Bangalore’s Royal Challengers are at the bottom of the table, having won just two of their seven games (and keeping in mind the net run rate at this time). Based on the likely result of the ongoing Mumbai-Jaipur match (I am reasonably sure Jaipur will lose), Mumbai will have won 3 of its matches. Only Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers are in the same boat as Bangalore- having lost all but 2 of ther games.

On paper, The Royal Challengers, to give the team its official name, was not the weakest. With Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, Jacques Kallis and Kumble, their bowling attack is by no means a pushover. So if Bangalore finds itself in a hole, the credit goes entirely to the batsmen. Barring Ross Taylor, who scored well in the 5 games that he played, none of the team’s batsmen have fired. Jaffer and Dravid looked hopelessly out of their league in the first few games, but therafter, both have picked up (Dravid in the last game scored over 65 runs at a strike rate of 130+). Sadly, that is more than one can say of Virat Kohli, who looks a shadow of the aggressive youngster who captained the Under-19 team to victory at the T20 World Cup barely 6 weeks ago. And while Boucher and Kallis have looked good in parts, neither has displayed the consistency they are generally known for. Misbah too has not looked the match-winner he was for Pakistan during the World Cup in South Africa some months ago. Of course, he got a bad decision- but 5 ducks in a match? That is what the Royal Challengers’ score card showed at their last match. And no team can win from such a hopeless situation- especially in the T20 format where every over must count for at least 6 runs on average.

Too many experiments with the batting order haven’t helped either. And as if that would help, yesterday saw the resignation/sacking of the team’s CEO, Charu Sharma. Whether he resigned or was asked to go (as some seem to sugggest) is not fully clear yet. But suffice it to say that this will only add to the team’s woes and compound the pressure.

Theoretically, the Royal Challengers can still make it to the semi finals. But to do so, they probably need to win maybe 5 or 6 of their next 7 games. And with most being away games, the odds of this are not that great. Although Vijay Mallya does not have brands called Royal Mess or Royal Disasters, both these names describe the Bangalore team’s current status rather well. Don’t get me wrong- I like Dravid as a cricketer. But somewhere along the line, I think he ought to seriously look at the current state of the team and figure out a way of turning things around quickly. Obviously, T20 is not an individual sport; so Dravid by himself cannot do much. It is important for the other 10 players in every game to stand up and be counted. If not, one thing is quite clear- not too many of the current crop of the Royal Challengers will be around in next year’s IPL tournament.

The much hyped DLF IPL premiered as scheduled on April 18th, with lots of fanfare. The inaugural game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore’s Royal Challengers was the most one-sided so far, with Bangalore collapsing. All teams have played at least one game over the past 4 days and most games have been quite entertaining for the paying public. As I watched parts of a couple of the games, I was letting my mind wander about how this short burst of new found camaraderie will play out after the IPL. Several thoughts crossed my mind:

1. Some teams have captains of their national sides or state sides- and naturally bring a lot of experience. The captains of the IPL team will undoubtedly benefit from the advice of their senior team-mates.
2. But just as equally, players will start to get to know each others’ strengths, weaknesses and so on- and that might come in very very handy the next time the players turn out for their respective national sides.
3. An Australian (just to take an example) in Team X may be able to give his team-mates advice on how to bowl to another Australian from Team Y given the latter’s weaknesses. And such knowledge will be useful far beyond the 6 weeks or so of IPL 2008.
4. Players will better understand Indian culture and perhaps Symonds may hear Bhajji (or other Indians) saying “teri maa ki…” or whatever more often. This cultural assimilation may also mean that a Sri Lankan or a New Zealander may become au fait with Hindi phrases and may put this knowledge to good use the next time India plays the Kiwis.
5. The youngsters from India get a terrific chance to play with legends of the day and some from the years just gone by. By observing a McGrath or Shane Warne in action a lot can be learnt.
6. Sadly, not all is as hunky dory as the above. The hectic match schedule and heavy traveling that is needed increases manifold the risk of injury- to Indians and foreigners. For India, which is at the end of the season, this may not be as a big a deal as it is for say the South Africans, who are scheduled to tour England and Australia in the next few months.

All told, I think the IPL is a good platform for T20 and will help breathe life into this form of cricket. I just wish the ICC would define a clear window for next year, so that the teams have their full complement of foreign players to choose from.

The second consecutive test match of this series finished in 3 days. At Ahmedabad, India lost; today at Kanpur, we won. It was a concerted effort, with contributions from everyone. One knew it was probably going to be a special day for India right in the morning, because Sreesanth and Ishant added 37 more runs to extend the first innings lead to 60 very valuable runs. Several snicks went past slip fielders, and some deliveries came dangerously close to the stumps but did no damage.

The frustration of the South Africans was quite visible on their faces, and surely must have carried on into their second innings. Bhajji was introduced fairly early and he took full advantage of the pitch,  ending up as “Man of the Series”  for his haul of 22 or so wickets. As I said in my blog yesterday, if India got the top 4 wickets cheaply, wewould be in with a chance. Graeme Smith displayed his usual determination, and scored was top scorer with 35. But with South Africa reduced to 72 for 4 (effectively, they were 12 for 4), it was never going to be easy. Wickets fell regularly at one end, with only Ashwell Prince unbeaten on 22, off 87 balls. Dhoni rung in some very effective bowling changes, proving yet again that his cricketing instincts are very strong. When he found that Chawla was not very effective, he reposed trust in Sehwag, who eneded the day with 3 wickets for only 12 runs.

The target of 60 to win was not going to be enough (although India had collapsed to 76 all out in the previous test at Ahmedabad). Sehwag seemed to be in a hurry to finish the match inside 10 overs, and scored a quickfire 22 runs in 12 balls before perishing to hit Harris for a third consecutive boundary (or was it a six? I don’t quite recall). Jaffer scored 10 of 11 balls and was out lbw to Morkel. That set the stage for Ganguly (who came in at No. 3) and Dravid (who came on to the field when Jaffer was out) to score the remaining 30 or so runs needed for victory. After many matches, Dravid’s strike rate was a decent 62 (it was even higher than Saurav’s 46) and his 18 runs included 4 boundaries.

India thus retain their No. 2 spot in the ICC rankings (they would have ceded their spot to South Africa had they lost the series).

I guess the stage now shifts to the IPL, which makes its debut in a few days. The composition of the IPL teams makes for stange bed-fellows. Dravid might soon find himself devising strategies and game-plans with Kallis and Boucher; these two South Africans will find themselves playing against their skipper Graeme Smith. Of course, all this will happen only after the first few games have finished, for the news is that the South Africans will fly back home to play in their domestic tournament, before returning to India for the IPL games after 2 weeks. Simialrly, Sachin and Symonds wil both have to collaborate to plot the downfall of their adversaries.

At the end of Day Two, the Kanpur test between India and South Africa is very interestingly poised. South Africa lost all their first innings wickets on Day One for a score of 265, the result of a post-lunch collapse. And although both Sehwag and Jaffer were out early, the Indian middle order fought manfully, and helped India take a slender lead of 23 runs, with one wicket still remaining. The pitch was not easy to bat on, and that is the context in which we must view Saurav Ganguly’s solid 87 (with 9 fours and a huge six off Harris). In fact, the batsman has himself described this as one of his better innings.

There was some heated moments as well, when Steyn and Yuvraj exchanged what were clearly not pleasantries. Yuvraj had hit Steyn for two fours and the bowler was quite annoyed. It took the efforts of Graeme Smith and Ganguly (not to mention the two umpires) to persuade Steyn and Yuvraj to get back to cricket. I wonder if there will be more such verbal duels over the remainder of the match- though I sincerely hope not!

Miracles can and do occur in cricket. Thus, if Sreesanth and Ishant can score another 20-30 runs for the last wicket in the first hour or so, India will feel pretty happy with their performance. A lead of 100 or so would have been very hard for Smith and his men to surmount, given the overall behaviour of the pitch. In fact, the South African coach has been quoted as saying that even a target of 150 in the 4th innings would prove a handful for India.

Let’s see what the morrow has in store for the two teams and their fans. Clearly, India needs to get Smith, McKenzie and Amla out quickly. Not that Kallis, Prince, de Villiers and Boucher can be under-estimated- but just that the top three batters have been most consistent over the past couple of matches. If India is set a target of less than 200 runs, with 1.25 day or so left, we may still square the series.

India pretty much lost the plot- and the match- inside the first hour of Day One of the second cricket test at Ahmedabad. A total of 76 was never going to be enough even against minnows, and the Proteas, who on current form, probably deserve the No 1 spot in test cricket, are anything but minnows. Granted that a majority of this new-look South African team is short on experience in terms of the number of tests compared to the number that most Indian players have played. But experience seems to have counted for nothing on the Motera track. The result: South Africa inflicted a comprehensive defeat, winning the match by an innings and 90 runs with two days to spare.

For Kumble, key players not being 100% match fit was surely a concern at the start of the test. And yes, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini bowled ferociously on Day One. However, nothing can explain the extravagant or lazy shots essayed by many of India’s top order batsmen.

Well done, South Africa! Accurate bowling was followed by some solid batting performances- with Kallis scoring a century and AB de Villiers going one beter to score a double ton. India’s bowling attack looked listless and defanged. It was hard to imagine that many of these same players came together to beat a full-strength Australia in a 5 day cricket match at Perth not so long ago.

Perhaps it is time for a change of guard- at least we will have a plausible excuse for losing. India is now in a must-win situation at Kanpur, where the third and final test match starts next week. South Africa will be high on confidence, and it will take a miracle for India to get out of the hole they’ve dug themselves into.

India capitulated meekly to some disciplined bowling by Ntini and Steyn on Day 4. Starting at 468/1, with Sehwag being in a rampaging mood, one would have been forgiven for thinking that India would take a healthy lead of 150 runs or so by tea and then ask Grame Smith and Neil McKenzie to see off the new ball in the last sessions of a day where they had to brave Chennai’s heat and humidity for most of the day.

But no such thing happened. Sehwag departed early, after being frustrated in his attempts to get the strike by some dour defending by Dravid. Granted that Dravid scored his 25th century and also became only the third test player after Gavaskar and Tendulkar to cross  10,000 runs in test cricket. However, one was left with the feeling that he was not playing for the team- something that vintage Dravid could never have been accused of doing.  Bottomline- India lost 9 wickets with an addition of only about 160 runs to their Day 3 score (playing for most of Day 4) and ended their first innings at 627- a relatively modest lead of 87 runs.

South Africa rose to the challenge and although they lost Smith, Amla and McKenzie were scoring at a pretty brisk pace, ending the day with 131/1- effectively, 44 runs ahead.

Chepauk’s reputation of being a spinner’s track on Days 4 and 5 have so far been belied, and the match seems headed for a draw, with the only excitement coming from Sehwag’s swashbuckling 319.

Till today, Sir Don Bradman and Brian Lara were the only two members of a truly distinguished cricket club: they were the the only two to have scored two triple centuries in test cricket. Today, Virender Sehwag made history by becoming the third member of that elite club. He did so by scoring an imperious 309 n.o. against South Africa at Chennai.
Sehwag also rewrote the record books for at least the following reasons:

1. He overtook VVS Laxman to become the highest Indian run-scorer in a test match in India. Laxman’s epic 281 against Australia at Kolkata a few years ago denied Australia a victory. Let’s see if Sehwag can go one better and actualy help India win.
2. He scored more than 250 runs in one day, which must surely be a pretty rarae feat.
3. He scored the 3rd fastest double ton and the fastest triple ton (beating Hayden’s 300 off 362 balls)
4. I believe his last 10 centuries have all resulted in personal scores higher than 150- which is an unparalleled feat in the annals of cricket.
5. He is India’s only triple century scorer (In fact, he now has two under his belt). This is especially commendable because he has played most of his cricket along with greats like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman.

His performance today is amazing for its sheer speed. His 300 came of just around 280 balls- a strike rate of over 100 in a test match. He scored 41 fours and 5 sixes. That alone comes pretty close to 200 runs!

Accolades came not just from Indian selectors and former cricketers- even South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur described it as the “best test match innings I’ve ever seen”. Shane Warne too was quite liberal with his praise.

Whether he was motivated by Paddy Upton or Gary Kirsten, or he was trying to prove a point to the selectors and Dhoni is a moot question. What is undisputed was that Virender Sehwag, the “Nawab of Najafgarh” aka the “Sultan of Multan” played an absolutely cracker of an innings. He has single-handedly brought India to a point where, if he continues where he left off today and lasts till tea tomorrow, India could even win the match- provided the pitch crumbles and turns, as is widely expected to do on the last day and a half of the test match. Be that as it may, if Sehwag remains unbeaten at tea tomorrow, he will surely overtake Lara’s 400- the highest ever score in test match cricket. Now, wouldn’t that be just terrific?

South Africa ended Day One of the first test against India on 304/4, after winning the toss and electing to bat. A solid start in any circumstances. Neil McKenzie was unlucky to have missed out on a century, and only tomorrow will tell if Hashim Amla will get to his ton, after ending the day on an unbeaten 85.

The flat track at Chepauk was a bowler’s nightmare and India’s pace attack (Sreesanth and R P Singh) went wicketless. The limited success was due entirely to Kumble and Harbhajan.

If we can get a few quick wickets early tomorrow and maybe get them out by tea and bat on till stumps without losing a wicket, I’d say we’d be even. Traditionally, the pitch at Chepauk favours spinners and India will have to bat 4th. Not a fun prospect- especially if we have our backs to the wall.

But well done, Proteas. You can rest easy at least tonight.

And Gary Kirsten- you must be a worried man tonight!

India’s win against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank series is already a few weeks old. It is time to move on. South Africa has arrived in India, after recent successes in Bangladesh and Pakistan before that. The Proteas have proved their ability to play- and win- in “sub-continental” conditions, and India cannot afford to take them lightly.

Sadly, South Africa’s selection policy has kept out Andre Nel. No doubt several black and “coloured” cricketers from South Africa were denied the opportunity to play for their country for much of the late sixties, seventies, eighties and early nineties, under the abhorrent apartheid regime. But is the current policy really not doing the same thing, except that now, it’s the “white” cricketers who are being kept out? Two wrongs can never make a right. The recent selection controversy in South Africa has also resulted in Charl Langeveldt (who was picked ahead of Nel) withdrawing from the tour because he is not in the right frame of mind given the selection fracas (after all, the selectors have all but said that he was in the team because of his colour and not skill- which is hurting to anyone, and Langeveldt is no exception). In the final analysis, South African cricket has lost, as indeed, has the overall game.

Dale Steyn has emerged as South Africa’s frontline fast bowler. In the time since India toured South Africa in 2006 (was it early 2007? I can’t recall), Steyn has acquired pace and he dangerous ability to swing the ball. That he is lethal even on the sub-continent’s flat and dusty wickets is now known. What is unknown for the moment is how India’s top order batsmen negotiate him.

At 27 years of age, Graeme Smith has had almost 5 years at the helm. During this time, he has performed well (and consistently) both as batsman and as captain, proving that young age per se does not preclude a shrewd cricketing brain.

As is often said, getting to the top is easier than staying on top. And India have to beat South Africa if they are to move forward towards achieving the stated ambition of being the top test cricket team in the world.

I am sure cricket fans are in for a treat. As always, may the better team win!

PS: I am sure the visitors will miss the all-round ability that “Polly” (Shaun Pollock) brought to the party.

Amid all the celebrations to mark India’s triumph Down Under, spare a thought for Adam Gilchrist. A sad, unheralded end to a blazing career. How many times has Gilchrist’s willow almost single-handedly decimated rival teams’ morale and strategies. No asking rate seemed too high when Gilchrist was at the crease. Even as a fan of the oft-losing Indian team (gainst Australia), I have marvelled at Gilly’s on-field presence. He was as electrifying behind the stumps as he was in front of them. His tendency to “walk” has been held as a shining example of sportsmanship. He walked even today, his last ODI.
I was quite surprised when Gilchrist did not seem to have said much after the unfortunate goings-on during the Sydney test and its bitter aftermath. Perhaps Gilly did not approve of what his captain and team-mates were doing. Not long after, he announced his retirement. Maybe for him, honour was more important than winning.

Thanks for all the memories, Gilly.  Millions of cricket fans- including yours truly- will miss you.

23 long years of drought have ended. India has won a tri-series tournament in Australia- beating the much-fancied home side. Many of the architects of today’s win were either not born or were toddlers when, under Gavaskar’s captaincy, India last won in 1985. Funnily enough, both Sunny and Shastri, key players in that win, were commentators this time.

In these intervening 23 years, world cricket has seen a major shift, with the once-mighty West Indies steadily ceding their position to the Australians. Border, Taylor, Waugh and most recently, Ponting, have led talented teams to ever-growing pre-eminence.

But in the last couple of years, there have been sporadic but definitive signs that Australia’s dominance may be on the wane. They lost the Ashes, lost tests and ODIs to various teams, including some minnows. And now, in the last week or so, Sri Lanka and then India, have demolished the myth of Australia’s invincibility on the cricket field.

What makes the win sweeter for India is the string of non-cricket controversies that have been associated with almost every game the two teams have played since the Australians toured India last October.

Kumble led he Indians to a creditable performance in the test series, including a win at Perth. After the test series, Dhoni took a huge gamble by opting for youth over experience and big names in his ODI team (Sachin was the lone exception). Happily for Dhoni-and India- the young brigade gelled well as a unit and in the last week, have beaten Sri Lanka and Australia quite convincingly.

All through the tour, several Indian players have said that India is probably the nly side that has consistently challenged the Aussies. Recent performances have validated those statements as more than just bravado or hot air.

Australia is rebuilding its team. But so too is India. And right now, the young Indian team is on top.

Bravo India! Here’s to many more scintillating performances in the coming years.