India has just scored an emphatic 2-0 victory over Bangladesh. Barring the opening day of the two-Test series that witnessed a middle-order collapse, India were pretty much on top for most of the series.

      Nonetheless, the series also exposed certain chinks in our armour. We need to work on them as sterner test awaits us against South Africa beginning with the first Test on February 6. After all, the series is being billed as the battle for the champion Test team in the world.

      1. Middle-order batting:  Due to injuries, our middle order is suddenly looking brittle. Ok, we have Tendulkar in great nick. But Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj are likely to miss the first Test. Indications are Yuvraj will miss the entire Test series. So what do we do?

      I think India has adequate bench strength. The question is whether the selectors will go for the real guys or opt for their favourites. If the selectors think that Dinesh Karthik, that little darling of the five wise men, will shore up the middle order, then God help India.

      Sure, we need experience. But I am not saying, call back Ganguly. Or even Mohammed Kaif.

      I have four fresh names: Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath, Manish Pandey and Manoj Tiwary. The last three are among the finest fielders in India.

      Pujara and Badrinath are the two unluckiest cricketers in India today. Each of them has scored centuries by dozens. Badrinath, especially, has also proved his worth during India A tours abroad. Obviously either the selectors don't like his face or they know about a major chink in his batting that nobody else can find on television. I know he is 29 but so what? Even Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey made his Test debut at 30.

      Both Badrinath and Pujara are tailor-made for Test cricket. They have solid defence, decent footwork and play the ball on merit. They can graft and build a long, patient innings. Surely, both deserve a chance.

      Pandey and Tiwary are two of a kind. Both have the game to succeed on the big stage. After his recent stunning ton in the Ranji Trophy, Pandey is high on confidence too. Tiwary has fallen off the mindmap. But his 102 off 123 balls for East Zone against Central Zone, shows Read more...

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Over four wonderful days in Mysore last week, Indian cricket reconnected with its romantic past. With every season, the past recedes further and the romance is strengthened by distance. We remember things that never happened, recall events through the filter of fantasy. Heroes of the past are larger than life; the triumphs they authored take on a hue that current successes will take a long time to match.

Yet, except for the detail that Karnataka failed to win the title, the Ranji Trophy final was probably the best the team was involved in. Especially since unlike in the past triumphs, the heroes were future stars rather than established players. But it was more than that. For one, there was more action, more excitement than in the entire one-day tournament that was being held around the same time in Bangladesh.

The final was at the other end of the scale from the IPL – it needed no gimmicks, no hype, no commentators paid to sing its praises. Spectators didn’t have to be enticed into the stadium with promises of heart-stopping action on field and off it. There were no cheer leaders, and yet fans clung on to trees, occupied nearby structures, hung on to every available space.

More importantly – a throwback to an earlier era – they cheered good cricket from both teams. After Ajit Agarkar’s final catch, there was a stunned silence where disappointment, relief (from tension), excitement were all nicely mixed. The faces said it all. And then there was spontaneous applause, as the visiting team were given a standing ovation.

It is tempting to say that the Ranji final transported us back into a more innocent time but that would be taking it too far. This was no innocent knock in the park; some of the player behaviour was appalling. The teams played hard, and sought to take every advantage in the modern fashion. Quick reaction from the umpires and the match referee might have kept the emotions of an Agarkar in check. There was too the terrible sight of a team lining up to hurl abuse at a dismissed batsman.

But when this match is recalled years from now, it will not be the player behaviour or the official weaknesses that will be recalled, but the quality of the batting and bowling, and Read more…

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A Bollywood scriptwriter could not have done a better job. Two 12-yearold boys meet in Bangalore as they get their first break for the state.

One is a dasher who has modelled his game on Virender Sehwag, from audacious crisp hitting down to the hop-skip run-up off-spin.

The other idolises Rahul Dravid, cover-drives elegantly and works the ball off his hips like a pro, the perfect foil to the daredevil.

The two then rise through the ranks and open the batting for India in a World Cup.

Meet Mayank Agarwal and K.L. Rahul, the Karnataka boys who tucked into the Hong Kong attack like it was a hot serving of bisibelebhath (a South Indian rice preparation) on a cold, rainy day.

The target was not big and the attack fairly pedestrian, but with the serious threat of rain, the chance that lost points would make India’s match against England a must-win, and a tricky pitch that was up and down, the stage was set. Thankfully, the actors did not fluff their lines.

Agarwal, stockily built and exuding power, reminds you of a boxer waiting for the bell to ring so he can get stuck into his opponent.

As soon as the ball is in his range, and that’s a pretty broad one, he gets stuck in. Driving fearlessly on the up, with the gift of timing, he effortlessly and regularly hits sixes over extra cover, and provided an example on Sunday. His favourite shot, though, is the cut, and it’s easy to see why, given how effortless his strokes look.

“The timing and aggression are a gift I’ve been given by God,” says the student of Jain College in Bangalore, whose alumnus include Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey.

“Today I just played my natural game. Rahul kept telling me to play the ball on merit and Read more…

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As Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid prepare to leave the stage, the young pretenders are waiting in the wings

Sachin Tendulkar was 17 when he lit up the Summer of Graham (Gooch) with a match-saving 119 not out at Old Trafford. It was his first Test century, in his ninth match. Nearly two-and-a-half years later, the 23-year-old Brian Charles Lara had the old-timers harking back to Sir Garfield Sobers as he stroked a magnificent 277 at the SCG. It was his fifth Test in the maroon cap. Half a decade later, Ricky Ponting was a year younger when he played his sixth Test. His maiden Test hundred (127) and a 268-run partnership with Matthew Elliott were pivotal in deciding the destination of the little urn.

Last week, two 19-year-olds from opposite sides of the world made brilliant debut hundreds on either side of the Tasman Sea. Adrian Barath’s effort was one of the few bright spots in an another depressing West Indian performance away from home, while Umar Akmal’s technique and poise couldn’t quite save Pakistan in a fascinating Test at Dunedin.

Both have been talked about for a while. Barath was considered special by no less than Lara himself, and those who watched the Champions League Twenty20 in October quickly discovered what the fuss was about. Even in a form of the game where the ugly mow over midwicket is the default option, it was noticeable how much time he had to play his strokes and how beautifully he executed them. The Hyderabad crowds that grew up watching stylists such as ML Jaisimha and Mohammad Azharuddin took to him in a big way, just as they did to the rest of the Trinidad & Tobago side.

Umar had also been cherry-picked from the Under-19 side. Long before he made his debut, those that followed domestic cricket in Pakistan were talking of how he was even better than Kamran, his older brother who also keeps wicket. Lest it be forgotten, Kamran made one of the great centuries of our age, taking Pakistan from 0 for 3 and 39 for 6 to victory against India Read more…

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So, IPL 2 has finally drawn to an end. Cricket junkies needn't despair; they'll soon get their next fix from the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, here's a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek look at the highs and lows of this year's tournament. Finds of the tournament: Manish Pandey and Shadab Jakati. A lot more will surely be heard of these two young men. And Dirk Nannes, while no spring chicken, had a dream IPL debut right up till the semi-final, where it all went horribly wrong for him and Delhi Daredevils. Read more...

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