Friday, December 15, 2006

Tigers to Fight at Bull Ring


With just few hours away from the start of the first test match between India and South Africa, the men in blue are yet to find out solutions for the ‘n’ number of questions lying before them.

They are now in a pathetic situation where they have lost track of where they are and how to proceed further. With world cup just a few months away, the team management is now facing a huge challenge ahead of them and this test series will certainly play a significant role in terms of preparation and selection.

It is not often that Indians have managed to win a tour match, so the resounding win against the fairly competitive Rest of South Africa side should lift the spirits in the Indian camp.

The attack looks like it can deliver goods. Zaheer Khan is in prime from after shortening his run-up and is able to trouble the South African top order consistently. He has provided India with break through whenever necessary throughout this tour. With Sreesanth and VRV Singh being included in the playing eleven it is very clear that Indians want to have some raw pace in their bowling line up. Who knows VRV Singh might be the trump card for the Indians!

Above all, ‘man of commitment’ Kumble can be very handy. When the odds are against him, when people had ruled out the hopes of him being successful abroad, he had proved that he can be devastating by finishing the series as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in just 3 tests that he played against Australia in 2003-04.

What India needs is a gallant performance form one of their players which can lift the morale of the side and can set the tone for the rest of the series. Yes, it is something similar to what had happened in Australia two years back where Sourav Ganguly played one of the best knocks of his career to take India to a competitive total of 409. What that innings did was it induced confidence among players which resulted in all of them performing well throughout the series. This enabled India to score the first win in 22 years down under!!

More importantly the top order needs to fire. This is one of the most vital areas in test cricket. Both Shewag and Jaffer are looking out of sorts but now its time for them to deliver. Their form with the bat is going to be crucial. The return of Rahul Dravid is a welcome sign for the team. He has been the backbone of the Indian batting for a decade now and whenever he performs India have done well and went on to win matches.

The return of veterans like Sourav and Laxman will bolster the India batting and now it looks like a solid batting line-up at least on paper. If India can put a good fighting total on the board then this series may come alive.

The bottom line - Players performing will definitely catch the selector’s eye and will get their tickets booked for West Indies.

3 comments:

Branded Devil said...

hey i did read ur previous blog too......so dada is back and he has been there till the end.....is this really a comeback? or just for sometime?

well in this blog you talked about the trum card......trust me In the Indian cricket team, u vl never know who will play how? the person from whom u r expecting my get bowled on a duck whereas a substitute may hit a six.....its simply unpredictable

And now with shreesanth atleast we can hope for a good dance on the pitch if not at all a good match......well i m not really a good cricket fan to comment on this ....but this is what I think----Bhavna

Tony Stanley said...

Hello Ram....
Your blog looks imprerssive da...
all the best da !

T E Narasimhan said...

pretty good job man nicely written i think you started walking toward your destinaton..........nicely written framed with the pics.......though i am not interested in cricket your write-up was bit interesting esp about the Indian team how they are and what they should.....i wish chappel see your blog......

good luck and keep writing once again congrats!!!!