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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Pace-bowling all-rounder Ganapathi Chandrasekar has improved with each match

“I want to be a hero for my State in pressure situations,” he declares. The words are as forthright as the man himself.

Ganapathi Chandrasekar has walked the talk this season. The transformation in the pace-bowling all-rounder as he journeyed from the fringes to the centre-stage has been remarkable.

The 28-year-old cricketer has grown in belief. The feisty cricketer has been all heart and commitment when it matters. “Ganapathi now thinks he can make a real difference to the side. This is important,” says State coach W.V. Raman.

Tamil Nadu was a dominant force in Group ‘A’ of the Ranji Trophy Super League, and Ganapathi put his hand up for the side in critical junctures.

His figures this season during the league phase are impressive. Ganapathi has 18 wickets in seven matches at 21.16. He has also notched up 502 runs at 83.66 with two centuries; only S. Badrinath has scored more runs than Ganapathi in the league for the State this season.

The statistics stand out, but do not tell the complete story. They do not quite reflect the fact that Ganapathi delivered under great duress.

Tamil Nadu had conceded the first innings lead to Himachal Pradesh at Dharamshala. Then, with little hope of forcing a win, the side set Himachal a target of 247 in a maximum of 60 overs.

Enter Ganapathi. He sliced through the Himachal top and middle-order with the new ball and then L. Balaji blew away the tail. The host were bundled out for just 155 in 47.4 overs.

“The mood in the dressing room was electric. There was great joy and relief. I was happy to have played a part. I love challenges,” says Ganapathi.

He relished the sniff of a combat with the willow as well. Tamil Nadu was reeling at 50 for five on day one against Mumbai in Mumbai. Ganapathi joined S. Badrinath in the middle and Read more…

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Over the last year and a half a fairly jovial man and an utterly serious character have come together in positions of power in Indian cricket, leading to some unfortunate insinuations. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, dasher extraordinaire, king of absentmindedness and darling of the media for his forthright, humourous and freeflowing soundbytes took up the unlikely role of chairman of the national selection committee. He did so at a time when N Srinivasan, businessman, power broker and all-round sourpuss (when did anyone last see him smile?) was the secretary of the board.

Even before a major decision could be made, the conspiracy theorists were hard at work, in typical Indian fashion. They’re both from the South, and both Madrasis at that, surely they’d favour one of their own over someone from anywhere else in the country, the whispers went.

Just look at the central contracts handed out – S Badrinath, M Vijay, R Ashwin – and you’d see what was going on. Forget the fact that Badrinath has scored more runs more consistently than anyone in domestic cricket in the past, or that Vijay subsequently played one Test in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir and acquitted himself tidily, or that Ashwin is the most improved offie doing the rounds.

And did you see how they recalled Dravid, asked the gossips. It’s got to be because of his connection to India Cements, which is Srinivasan’s company and owns the IPL team that Srikkanth is brand ambassador of. Well naturally, it could have nothing to do with the 10,000-odd ODI runs Dravid had made or the fact that the inexperienced middle-order batsmen were being dismissed repeatedly in similar fashion, and often failing to bat out 50 overs.

Well, the gossips must have been terribly disappointed on Thursday. Not only did the selectors – convened by Srinivasan and led by Srikkanth – pick a 15-man team that did not include any player from Tamil Nadu, they went one better and included no-one from South India at all. Read more…

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Rest of India batsman Manoj Tiwary left the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium here on Monday cursing his luck.

The fifth and final day of the Irani Cup was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to wet outfield, following heavy overnight rains.

The title was awarded to Rest of India for their 30-run first innings lead over Mumbai.

Tiwary missed out on what would have been his 10th first-class century.

The Bengal left-hander was batting on 80 in Rest’s second innings total of 352 for four on Sunday night.

“Am obviously disappointed at not being able to get those 20 extra runs for the hundred,” Tiwary told Hindustan Times. “A century at the start of the season increases the confidence level for the rest of the season. But that’s okay.”

Tiwary was very well aware of his impressive conversion rate whenever he reached a fifty. In 32 first-class matches before this, the 23-year-old had only three fifties but nine centuries. He might have had his 10th hundred had he played his natural game, which was to play his strokes rather than get into a shell.

“I was thinking about the good conversion rate I have. I wanted to get my 10th century rather than end up with a fourth half-century. Never mind. There is nothing you can do about the weather. I have a lot of Ranji Trophy matches coming and build up my long innings there.”

Tiwary had to play according to the situation when he joined S. Badrinath in the middle on the fourth day on Sunday. “The pitch was very slow. The outfield was slow. We had lost Read more…

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Two contrasting men led Rest of India’s revival with some lovely exhibition of seam bowling. If Sreesanth, of late, is trying to avoid getting into a hyper-aggressive state and tries to remain calm and focused on his craft, Munaf Patel, who is generally laid-back, seems to bowl better when he gets more aggressive. Both hit the right notes today in slightly overcast conditions to turn out impressive performances on what still is a decent batting pitch.

Watching Sreesanth bowl is a fascinating experience. You know what he is capable of in his bowling art - that proud seam and the rest of it - but you also know that he is prone to self-destruction. The entire package is so sizzling that you can never turn your eyes off him when he is on the field.

The day started with that familiar sinking feeling as Sreesanth featured in a newspaper supplement talking about his ambition of acting and his thoughts on marriage. On the ground, though, Sreesanth the bowler turned out in full force.

Right from the start, he was switched on. With Sreesanth, as always, you don’t only notice his bowling but the entire package of quirky traits. Today, those signature self-exhortations at the top of the run-up were not seen too often, nor was there any special celebration on claiming a wicket. Not that there is anything wrong in either trait, but of late, he has been waging a battle within himself to avoid anything that could be seen as evidence against his attitude.

And he didn’t offer any room for criticism of his bowling either. He judged the pitch correctly and knew that full-length was the way to go on this surface. The seam rushed on straight and landed on a good length before cutting either way as the flick of the wrist at the release had wanted it. Sahil Kukreja couldn’t pick him yesterday and his harassment increased today before Sreesanth terminated his misery with a peach that cut in to hit the top of the off stump.

He returned in the afternoon to lead Rest of India’s revival with yet another probing spell. He later said that after his stint under Allan Donald for Warwickshire, he has tried to Read more…

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If you brought it up after the event it would seem like an excuse. To say it before seems like being excessively defensive. But there’s no getting away from the fact that India’s campaign has suffered some serious setbacks in terms of the personnel available to pick the most balanced eleven.

When India arrived in South Africa it was the bowling that was the concern, with Ishant Sharma blowing more cold than hot in the absence of spearhead Zaheer Khan. But now, a closer look at who is available makes you wonder about the batting as well. Consider a full-strength side: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and the luxury of being backed up by either Suresh Raina or Yusuf Pathan.

In the light of Yuvraj’s untimely finger fracture, the situation is completely different. If Tendulkar and Gambhir open, and are followed by Dravid and Dhoni, the rest that follow are all players who are trying to establish themselves in the side or have recently struggled to score consistently. This is not to say that these batsmen cannot do the job, the four mentioned are all more than capable of batting the opposition out of the game on any given day. But what it will do is increase the pressure on these men to score in every game, and that’s not an ideal scenario. What you certainly don’t want is your four best batsmen occupying slots one to four if those that follow are either short on confidence or experience.

Whichever way you look at it, India are one specialist batsman short, with none of Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf or Abhishek Nayar really being able to fill the role.

Virat Kohli, who has been called up as a replacement for the third time in his career, will arrive in South Africa with a job to do, and the sooner he makes it the better.

That said, India have to take a serious look at their overall selection strategy, keeping in mind the busy season ahead. In this case, there were few options for specialist middle-order Read more…

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