In
In places like
Triplicane, and elsewhere in the Nation, cricket is spoken in street
corners for hours passionately with each one voicing their opinion, backed by
the statistics tweaked to their choice. Now
the India WI match at Chepauk is intriguingly poised, with WI steadily chasing
an ordinary Indian total. Once
again it was the collapse of the famed batting line up. With both the
teams having qualified, the match’s result may not be extremely significant
but………. A match is a match and a win is most sought after under all
circumstances – that is the feeling of an ardent cricket fan.
Indians have won
against Bangladesh , Ireland and Netherlands England
But the bowling front
has been disheartening. The
bowlers looks incapable of defending whatever be the total. All the teams have scored freely
against us. At this stage [around 18 overs bowled in India West Indies Match] -- this is what Indian bowlers have performed...
Player
|
Mat
|
Overs
|
Mdns
|
Runs
|
Wkts
|
Ave
|
Econ
|
S Sreesanth
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
53
|
0
|
-
|
10.6
|
A Nehra
|
2
|
13.4
|
1
|
87
|
1
|
87
|
6.36
|
PP Chawla
|
3
|
28
|
0
|
174
|
4
|
43.5
|
6.21
|
SK Raina
|
1*
|
2
|
0
|
12
|
1
|
12
|
6
|
MM Patel
|
5*
|
34.5
|
0
|
208
|
9
|
23.11
|
5.97
|
Yuvraj Singh
|
6*
|
41
|
1
|
209
|
7
|
29.85
|
5.09
|
YK Pathan
|
6*
|
31
|
2
|
149
|
1
|
149
|
4.8
|
Harbhajan Singh
|
6*
|
52
|
1
|
235
|
5
|
47
|
4.51
|
R Ashwin
|
1*
|
8
|
0
|
36
|
1
|
36
|
4.5
|
Z Khan
|
6*
|
47.4
|
1
|
210
|
12
|
17.5
|
4.4
|
Sreesanth went out of
favour with that 5 over spell in the first match. Nehra is almost out of the tournament
after that final over against SA. Chawla
was favoured with 3 and has bled 174 runs in his 28; the much talked man – who
was once touted as pacey but bowls less than 140, moves lazily on field, hailed
to be economical – Munaf Patel has given away 208 in 35 overs at an average of
23.11 and at an economy rate close to 6. The main spinner Bhaji struggled to
take wicket even on a turner. Overall he has taken 5 being the mainstay – given
235 in 52 overs at an average of 47 and an economy rate of 4.51.
Well, all along, once
thought the squad is selected on merits and those in the squad are eligible to be selected and expected
to be good enough to be in the playing XI. But the master batsman who played for India
In his column titled
“So-called Experts are complicating things” he has to state the following :
-
Cricket is such a
passion in India that every boy and his aunt will have an opinion on it.It is
this following that makes for the big bucks that come into the game,for
advertisers know that any India match,even if its an unimportant one,will get
watched and discussed threadbare.
In such a situation,any
product or brand that they are trying to promote will get noticed by the large
majority.The game itself lends to advertising breaks which other faster,quicker
and more exciting sports dont have,and thats why cricket gets more ad revenue
than other sports.What such a following also does is that it makes for plenty
of experts who know what is good for Indian cricket more than those whose job
it is to run the game.
So the five selectors
who are chosen by the BCCI or the skipper who is selected by these selectors
dont know according to these experts how to do their jobs.After the loss to
South Africa,Mahendra Singh Dhoni,who had not put a foot wrong so far according
to most,is now accused of being stubborn and having his own agenda.From now on
everything he does will have a negative adjective before it.If India does win
the World Cup,then all will be forgiven but the image of Dhoni has taken a bit
of a beating.
It all boils down to
the non-inclusion of R.Ashwin,who according to all these experts is the
magician who will win the World Cup with his spin bowling.That is actually a
great spin by those who want him in the team and the pressure on Dhoni is such
that he will probably relent and include him in the eleven.Ashwin is a fine
prospect,of that there is little doubt.What Dhoni,Kirsten and the seniors (and
make no mistake,the seniors have a big say) would be thinking is whether India
should have two off- spinners,not to forget Yusuf Pathan who can also bowl
decent off-spin himself.The variety they were looking for is in the wrist spin
of Piyush Chawla who after bowling well in the warm-up matches has got smashed
like the other bowlers whenever India has not been able to defend the total
they have put up.Chawla has been singled out because the experts want
Ashwin.Remember these experts wanted Greg Chappell as Indias coach too.
Be that as it
may,Chawlas days are pretty much numbered because not too many have the courage
to go against public sentiment and right now his self-confidence is so low that
it makes eminent sense to include Ashwin because he comes across as a pretty
self-assured bloke and gives the impression of being able to handle the huge
pressure that he will be under.He will be bowling to a West Indian team with a
few left-handers,but he showed in the series against New Zealand that he can
bowl to anyone.
The ball that is talked
about is the carrom ball,which he bowls with a flick of his forefinger.But if
he can replicate the ball with which he got the last wicket against New Zealand
in Chennai then not just Chawla but even Harbhajan will have to watch out.That
was a real fizzer of a delivery that not only looped but bounced and stung off
the pitch and the No.11 batsman was hopelessly inadequate to deal with it.It
was delivery that would have made that old fox Erapalli Prasanna proud.
It is quite clear now
that four seamers is a luxury India
Dear Sunny – on whom is
your ire directed ? why
have a veiled fight – the man whose confidence would have been shattered is the
subject of your column – R Ashwin. Tell
honestly, whether Ashwin deserves to be in the line up. If not, why was he selected in the
first place, by the very same selectors of BCCI who have found your approbation
now. And is not common
sense or ordinary thinking of ordinary mortals that non-performers would be
replaced by the reserve strength.
There can be talk about
commentator burn-out but you want to say that there should not be anything
about the players, even if they do not perform. What a logic, Sir. In long tournaments the stamina and
fitness apart from performance do ensure
selection is common sense.
Well after all that you
wrote, Ashwin was selected finally. It
was not as if all expected that a single bowler would turn the match in a
single over. Not many
bowlers are capable and still lesser have come closer to doing that.
The game plan suddenly
was to open with hitherto neglected Ashwin and with 1 slip in place. That was after another shambolic show
in the end overs which is now a days becoming a regularity. Smith and Edwards opened and Ashwin
bowled to Smith. The 4th ball was flicked for a single. Not a match spinning one but atleast
the better first over in the WC for India
At the time of posting,
Ashwin bowled 8 on the trot, conceded 36 and took a wicket. Sunil, your straight drive was a treat
to watch but some times your words are not so straight or so it appears
Regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
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