Off Stump

As always, the Indian media has a tendency to go overboard after a big win, especially one against Australia. And this time journos from other countries are joining in too. So now on the back of one (admittedly very comprehensive) win, India are suddenly world-beaters and the Aussies are chumps headed for a drop like the West Indies in the mid-90s. Funny what people write nowadays to generate copy :-) Now, I was pretty chuffed at the way India played and the way they dominated the match right from the onset. I've never seen them play with so much steel and verve at the same time over five days, so yes if they keep playing like this, they will be the team to beat. But that's a big if. The last time they won two tests in a row in a series was back in 2005 against Sri Lanka (at home of course). And the last time they won two in a row against Australia was back in 2001 in that epic series. So, before writing obituaries of Australian dominance and anointing India as the next world c...

So we're at the halfway point of the series and so far its been enthralling, even if the cricket hasn't always been. The most pleasing aspect has been that is has been so unpredictable and that most of the pre-series predictions have turned out to be totally wrong. I think this is what makes Test cricket so fascinating for me as a sport, something that the one-day and T20 formats (though they have their own thrills) are never quite able to showcase. The Indians have played far better and much more as a team than I expected them to. They usually start all series somewhat sluggishly (akin to how I start a week sometimes ;-)) so its good to see that they picked themselves up starting with Harbhajan and Zaheer's batting in the first innings in Bangalore and haven't looked back since. Zaheer, along with Ishant Sharma, has also been instrumental in knocking down the pre-series expectation that the Aussie pace attack would outshine the Indian duo. Its been great to see the two...

The recent change of the selection committee brought to mind once again how under-rated Vengsarkar was as a batsman. To an extent, justifiably I suppose given that his record (overall and abroad particularly) definitely doesn't let one classify him as a great batsman. He probably wouldn't even make my Indian top 5 of all time. But he was a valuable player at a time when we didn't have that many batsmen to support Gavaskar and Vishwanath (given the shabby treatment that Mohinder Amarnath always received) and always did his utmost to rise above his limitations as a player. My memories of him will always be of a player who struggled in the West Indies and Australia but that is only because I happened to start watching cricket at a time when he was nearing the end of his career. More recently, he's been the best selector that India has had in some time and is greatly responsible for India's recovery as a one-day team and in India having a pool of pace bowlers to pick fr...

So after all the many weeks of hype, the first Test between India and Australia starts in a week's time. Its been a while since I saw some quality cricket on TV so am definitely looking forward to it. In terms of the two teams, I think they are more evenly matched than ever in the recent past which makes picking a winner incredibly hard. And interestingly, the gap has been closed because the Indian bowling attack's stronger than its been in a while and the Aussie one has grown weaker at the same time. Brett Lee's form will probably be one of the deciding factors of the series as will Harbhajan's. To me they are the key bowlers on either side with the rest having to provide strong, steady support. As for the batting, the pressure will certainly be on the Indian veterans and I for one think that they'll be up to the task and surprise a few people. Dravid is my bet to perform the best amongst the four but I think they'll all come through ok. The key for India in th...

All the ruckus around how the Fab Four (Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman) plus Kumble are finished and showed be shown the door en masse is so typical of the Indian cricket fans and media. This is not a case in their defence but I think the issue needs to be looked at logically and the right cricketing decision made. Of the five, Tendulkar is the only one who remains in the ODI team and I think its time he realised that since he's not going to play in the 2011 World Cup, this is as good a time as any to retire from ODIs. Playing ODIs can only lead to more injuries for him and more importantly he really doesn't have anything left to achieve in that format of the game. The Test team is an entirely different kettle of fish though, for a couple of reasons. One, the next series is against the Aussies, which is no time to make wholesale changes to the team. Secondly, even after the series against Australia, I think at least Tendulkar and Laxman need to be in the Test team for a ...

After a fair bit of rumination on what the first post on my first personal blog should be about, I decided that it couldn’t be about anything other than my favourite XI. From the time I started following (or obsessing as some would say) about the game, I’ve always made lists of XIs of different kinds. One of the first books on cricket I bought was called ‘The Book of Cricket Lists’ and that was what started me off. Left Handed XIs, Bespectacled XIs, Tomato-hating XIs (ok I made that last one up :-)), but you get the point. So another XI it shall be. A few notes before I start the list. I’ve restricted the list to players I’ve seen in action, hence the post 1990 bias. Also, these are not necessarily my favourite eleven players of all time. Picking a balanced playing XI necessitates having two openers, three or four middle-order batsmen, a wicketkeeper and four or five bowlers. So within these limitations, these guys are amongst my favourite players. And of course, I’ve picked a Test XI....