Jumbo's Journey

If cricket fans are asked about whom they think is the biggest trier in Indian cricket then majority of answer will be one cricketer who injured his jaw and went on to get one of the best batsman of his era next day. Anil Kumble has always been a great trier and it is fitting that he got to captain the country at the fading end of his career.

During the last test of the Pakistan series when the pitch was not offering much spin to the bowlers but had uneven bounce, the thinking cricketer bowled seam up and took India to the brink of victory. It was heartening to see this for people who have followed him and find him experimenting and getting success even at this phase of his career. Even in the Boxing Day test he changed his run up and put forward some questions to the batsmen.

The way he puts prize on his wicket is not a new thing to the opposition but the hundred which he scored in Oval was fabulous. Consider the fact that it was the only century an Indian scored in that series will only increase its value. Warne will definitely envy his leg spinning counterpart’s hundred as he himself missed the milestone by a single run some years back against the kiwis.

His captaincy hasn’t been as fabulous as his bowling but he can be given some benefit of doubt because of the opposition he is facing and the resources he is having. But the way he supported his subordinate during the Sydney controversy is really commendable.

When he takes field to play at WACA in his 124th Test match he will be just 1 wicket away from 600 test wickets. It will be personal milestone for him but next week he will want his team to perform and beat everyone’s expectation in such hard times.


My Favorite Five Kumble Moments

1. His 10/74 against Pakistan (Kotla) in 1999
2. His 110 against England (Oval) in 2007
3. His 6/12 against Westindies (Eden Gardens) in 1993
4. His 52 run partnership with Srinath (Chinnaswamy) against Australia in 1996
5. 2002 Antigua Test against West Indies

Mistake that cost us the Sydney test

Before the start of the series Kumble and Ponting came to a mutual understanding on inconclusive catches. If a catch were taken, the word of the fielder who took the catch would be taken as the last word. Ponting himself showed sportsmanship on the second day when he informed that he had not taken Dravid's catch. But on the final day Michael Clark got rid of Saurav while the replays showed that it was not out. Ponting also tried to get rid of Dhoni were also it was clear that he had grassed the ball. India had fallen prey to a great tactic from the Australians. It is not a secret that Indians are not great fielders as Australians and it was not the right thing by the team management to agree on such an understanding.

The Australian media targeted Yuvraj after the first test saying that the Team Management had doubts regarding his attitude. It was a widely circulated news and the Indian team manager was late in denying this report. The damage was done before it was denied. Yuvraj's confidence was dealt a serious blow and that was there to be seen the way he fielded and batted in the match.

Now the Indian media, and Board are backing the team. But it’s too late because the team needed their backing sometime back. The money minded board didn’t give the team enough practice before the start of the first test which made us 1-0 down. They haven’t appointed a media manager who can handle matters related to the media and appraise media whenever appropriate. The Indian media didn’t back the team and published the spicy news about Yuvi so as to increase their TRP. Hope everyone learn from these mistakes and take some corrective measures for the betterment of Indian Cricket.

Get Ready For the Action to Begin

The tour down under has begun and it is the usual way in which an Indian overseas tour starts, the high profile Indian batting line up struggling in overseas condition. All the talk of the great Indian middle order is looking lame. Yes, we have the best middle order in the world even better than the Aussies but Aussies have a great opening pair who seldom exposes their middle order to the new ball. It's very difficult to understand the logic behind why only one warm up game was scheduled in such an important series. It’s hard to understand BCCI’s logic behind this.

I would have given India a 30-70 chance of doing well in the series if the boy from my town was in the team. But Sreesanth's injury has left India’s fast bowling resource look bleak. The aggressiveness that he brings in to the test team will be missed. When the chips are down he has come with important breakthroughs. R P Singh has a big role to play as a support to Zaheer. India will most probably go into the first test with 3 fast bowlers and Kumble. The third fast bowler slot is still not decided and it would be good to have Ishant sharma in the team rather than the centurion Pathan. Bhajji will come into play in the spin assisting tracks of Adelaide and Sydney later in the series.

Time only can tell whether Dravid's promotion to open the innings will fire or not. But when the post mortem of the series is done this will be a major talking point. Jaffer has been in good touch in his return to international cricket scoring two double hundreds but this time it is a different ball game. The rest of the batting effort will depend on how our openers perform. In our last tour Akash Chopra (Surprisingly chosen ahead of the then inform S Ramesh) and Sehwag got India of to good starts which helped India pile huge runs in the series. Now comes the question of the X-Factor Sehwag. Injuries and poor Jaffer form can give a way to Sehwag entering the playing eleven. It will be hard for the team management to ignore a player of his caliber. Australians would definitely not like to see him in the team and memories of the last Boxing Day test would haunt them.

To swim against the tide one should take some calculated risk. Like bringing in Sreesanth into the sixteen if he proves his fitness in the pate semifinal for Kerala next week. He will be a good addition to the team as he can be tested in the two-day practice match before the Perth test. India can also surprise Australia by gambling Sehwag in the first test can catch them off guard. It would be interesting to see what gamble the team management takes to surprise the world champions.

Coming to the Australians their inexperienced bowling attack stood up against the Lankans last month. But Lankans did not put them under lot of pressure. It would be interesting to see how they react when teams put them under pressure. It will be a toss up between Shaun Tait and Brad Hogg with India’s vulnerability against pace making Tait’s case stronger. The drop in pitch could sway the decision but that is unlikely. Hogg will come into picture in spinner friendly Adelaide and Sydney. Aussie batting looks settled and threatening with all the players in form.

The series preview excites us and hopefully it will be a cracker. A record 70000 crowd for India-Australia test match is expected in MCG on Boxing Day and Aussies public will be hoping to see some competitive cricket at last this summer. Let's wait and see how it unfolds.