Catastrophe @ Cape Town.....

Now that Indians had escaped with a defeat and NR on 2 of the liveliest pitches gave me some good hope for this match. Things seem to have started off on a good note for the Indian team. First there was the SA selection fiasco with a fuming Graeme Smith. Whosoever witnessed the scene will now know that selections politics are just not restricted to the teams from the sub continent. I was convinced that things were finally changing for India. I thought this was the best chance India had to turn things around.

  1. Zaheer’s Initial Burst: It was a mind boggling first over. Smith & Kallis were both priced of by Zaheer within the space of 4 balls. What a start I thought. Zaheer, later in the same spell got the best of Bosman. Finally, I felt that the India bowlers were getting their act together.
  1. Awful Agarkar: Ajit Agarkar is an apt example of unfulfilled talent, despite having got enough opportunities to come up trumps. When he first hit the international scene, there was a huge hype created around him being the all rounder India was looking for. He has lived up to the billing on handful occasions. It was no different in Cape Town. He was all over the place, either dishing out juicy half volleys or pitching it short. The result was just awful.
  1. Pathetic Pathan: Irfan Pathan was our reply to Wasim Akram. His swing bowling was a revelation in his first few years on the international scene. When he first burst into the international scene in Australia in 2003, he had both the swing and the pace. He could get the bowl to prodigiously swing back into the right hander batsmen at pace upwards of 140 kmph. He was all aggression and confidence personified. For the last year or so, the swing and the pace have disappeared and so has the confidence too. His performance was just ordinary on the day.

  1. Klassy Kumble: For Kumble, it was just another day in the park. His miserly spell of 10 overs for just twenty four runs was just out of the ordinary. Here is a performer, who last played an ODI more than a year back. How badly India missed Kumble in West Indies and Champions Trophy. Test cricket or ODI, a person with a proven track record (mind you, he is India’s highest wicket taker in both forms of the game) as Kumble, should always be in the playing 11, barring an injury or a serious dip in form.

  1. Just – In Kemp could have been Just Out: At 72/6, with their innings in total doldrums, Kemp join hands with Pollock to begin with and at a later stage with Hall to maul the Indian bowling. Kemp was dropped by Sachin of his own bowling, when the score card read 108/6. It was a miss that cost India the match and maybe even the series. The Indian team grassed 5 catches. It has left me wondering, whether the fielding drills that the team goes through serves any purpose. By what we saw, it doesn’t. Kemp made an amazing 100 and Hall (whose inclusion against Nel had Smith searing) contributed a precious 50. India’s largesse helped SA pile a winning total of 270 odd runs.

  1. India Never In Hunt: Sehwag’s upper cut of Pollock landed straight in the hands of Hall @ third man. Sachin’s pull was snapped by Bosman of Pollock. Kaif came, played well to get into double figures and got bowled of Pollock. Dinesh Karthick was played in this match as a specialist batsman @ #5. He is a wicket keeper who can contribute with the bat. Having him as a specialist batsman just showed how badly Mongia and Raina had accounted for themselves. Karthick fought it out in the middle and tried his best to play the pace bowlers with a degree of composure. He looked good till his inexperience against a bowler like Ntini got the better of him. Mongia & Raina need to learn a few things about batting from Karthick.

  1. D Company: Now that India was facing another humiliating defeat it was for the D Company (Dravid – Dhoni combine) to give some respectability. Dravid showed all his detractors (if any) why he is called “The Great Wall Of India”. Dhoni was his usual self. The six he hit of Ntini was a treat to watch. The fact that it was just the fourth ball he faced made it look better. It was Dravid’s determination and Dhoni’s daring display of batsmanship that made the impossible look possible. Just when things were beginning to look up, Dhoni was caught smartly by Bosman of Kallis at the deep square leg boundary. With his dismissal, down went India’s chances of making a match of SA’s total.

What happened next is just not even worth a mention. India again lost by a whopping 100 odd runs.

Indian team has to do some serious rethinking of their strategies now. Munaf is injured and so is Dravid. Dravid is ruled out of the ODI series. His replacement is VVS Laxman. A month ago, our Selection Committee Chairman, Mr. Vengasarkar had opined that Laxman was just not fit enough to play ODI. How Laxman proved otherwise in a month’s time, is surprising.

KP’s Winning Combo:

1. Sehwag to open with Mongia (we don’t have any other batsmen to play with).

2. Kaif @ one down and Sachin to follow.

3. Dinesh Karthick @ 5 followed by Dhoni @ 6.

4. Irfan Pathan @ 7 gives us batting depth. The team may want to tinker with an idea of sending him upfront to just give India a head start.

5. Agarkar to be dropped and Sreesanth included. Harbhajan (despite his lack of form in the 2 matches) to be retained. Kumble and Zaheer to complete the bowling attack.

6. In addition to these, Indian team needs to exhibit some “passion to perform” (DB credit cards could do them some good).

Come India – Dikha Do, SA ko Hila do!!!!!!

PLEASE DON’T BLAME GREG CHAPPELL FOR THESE DEFEATS. HE IS THE BEST COACH OUR SPOILT BRATS COULD HAVE GOT!!!!

LET US WISH THAT THE “TEAM INDIA” GETS ITS ACT TOGETHER IN THE FOURTH ODI…….

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