Art of Winning Key Moments

After the Twenty20 World Cup high, Indians were expected to give the Australians a run for their money in the one day format. Having said that, one was little unsure what kind of an impact will the return of seniors will be on the team, on the field as well as in the dressing room. The expectations from the new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni were high having seen his magical touch with the thinking cap on in the Twenty20 World Cup. But the question remained of how well he will be able to handle the three former captains in the side. Amidst all this a score line of 4-2 in favor of Australia hardly revels you anything, considering that India managed to have Australia on the mat many a times but failed to slice the initiative.

The sixth one day match at Nagpur provides you with more than one occasion where Australia seized the opportunity to bounce back and successfully delivered the knock-out punch. The first of those occasions was when India managed to grab four wickets with 121 on the board in 22 overs. Certainly at this point of time, the initiative was with India before Sreesanth spilled a costly catch from Andrew Symonds on two. This cost India a dear, the muscle man powered his way to his first century against India. This was his fourth score of above 75 in this series.

One of the other occasions in that Aussie innings was when Dhoni handled the ball to Yuvraj Singh, the over cost 15 runs. This happened after an excellent art of spin bowling by Harbajan Singh and Murali Karthik, both managed to apply the pressure by not conceding boundaries.

Neither captain has enjoyed the new rule of mandatory ball change after 34 overs. And this has undoubtedly taken a toll on Indian bowlers. India gave away 102 runs in the last 10 overs, 57 of them coming in the last five. Once again, for the third time in the first half of the match India lost the momentum.

Chasing 300 plus score India was blessed with a century stand from the most successful opening pair of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. The pair added 140 for the first wicket from 25 overs. There on, once again India lost the plot by sending in Irfan Pathan in place of a regular batsman. And in the end overs, the required run rate kept mounting but Indian batsmen couldn’t find boundaries. In the end, India fell short by 18 runs.

Similarly, India got off to good starts but failed to consolidate in the matches played at Bangalore and Kochi. They had Australia at 90 for 4 from 17 overs and 66 for 3 from 16 overs at Bangalore and Kochi respectively. And both those occasions Aussies easily managed a score above 300, clearly shows inconsistency in Indian bowling.

The first ODI was a wash out, but in the second ODI five of the top six Indian batsmen got of to a good start but none of them managed to score a big one.

The Hyderabad ODI saw Yuvraj play a flamboyant knock, but his ton was overshadowed by Aussie brilliance. After 30 overs they had 140 on the board, but runs came thick and fast in the next 20. Aussies managed to pile on another 150 runs in that period.

Australia’s game plan for the Indian batsmen seemed to be the same throughout the series. The Aussie bowlers attacked the off stump channel of the Indian openers and were highly successful in doing so on most of the occasions. Their opening bowlers combined well to haunt the Indian top order getting early breakthroughs, followed by Brad Hogg with his wily spin bowling never allowed Indian scoreboard to tick.

Adam Gilchrist, in one of his columns for a daily before the start of the final ODI in Mumbai mentioned that this is a closely fought series unlike what the score line reads. He said that the Aussies managed to win the key moments. And he is right; they did manage to tilt the balance in their favor every time the situation was even.

India lost the ODI series, but not many Indian fans looked bothered, as all geared up for the much hyped one-off Twenty20 match. A version in which India was crowned World Champions only a few weeks ago, the onus was on the young Indian team to prove that was just for nothing.

Australia taking on World Champions. Now doesn’t that sound odd? Indeed it was and India proved it’s worth the comment by a convincing victory yesterday.

India outplayed Australia in two areas considered to be India’s nightmare. These are running between the wickets and fielding. Such a display has prompted the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting to say that they are willing to play this young Indian team more often in the future. A comment like this can create unwanted pressure and speculations among the Indian news channels, known for their no sense hype.

Spoon feeding them for a chance of speculation was young Robin Uthappa, addressing the pre-match press conference, he said, the dressing room atmosphere is lot more comfortable. What does that really mean? Well, no one knows, and all we have to do is wait for the high voltage Pakistan series to kick start.

Meanwhile, one should not forget the way Australians exhibited their brand of cricket. They have simply mastered the art of winning the 50-50 moments.

Inzamam - The Benevolent Servant of the Game

Pakistan tour of India in 2005, third test match at Bangalore, trailing by 0-1 Pakistan was under tremendous pressure of a second straight series loss to India in a span of one year beckoning. Winning the toss and electing to bat Pakistan lost their openers with just seven runs on the board, walked in the skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq with a cool head. Looking to occupy the crease with Younis Khan for his company, Inzamam started with a cautious fifty, there on he only varied his tempo and not the temperament. He exploded the Indian attack to all corners with some beautiful drives with sheer timing and his trademark back-foot cut. On reaching his 21st century, he was picking singles at will before Lakshmipathy Balaji trapped him leg before first ball of the second day’s play. But by then with Younis Khan, he had put Pakistan well on their way to a series-leveling win. And this is Inzamam at his best for you.

Inzy is a man of strength and delicacy. Powerful hitting should be no surprise, but his sublime touch when on song is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He hates exercising and often looks a passenger on the field, but with a willow in his hands he is Rahul Dravid of Pakistan – the Wall.

There are many other Inzy moments, the 1992 World Cup semi-final knock against New Zealand, the Multan one wicket win over Bangladesh, power steering knock of 122 against India in Karachi ODI where they lost by just 5 runs chasing 350 and a marathon knock of 329 against Kiwis in a test match. Each and everyone of his knock have one thing in common – a calming influence on the scoreboard and a breadth easy dressing room atmosphere.

He led Pakistan with dignity and was successful in earning respect from his boys as well – a rarity in Pakistan dressing room. He had a calming effect on the boys getting them to give their best every time they took the field. His above mentioned knock in Bangalore in his 100th test match brought out the leader in him.

He didn’t have a good physic; with his overweight body led to names such as ‘aloo’ he was a comic character on the field. Popular for his bizarre running between the wickets, he was good in compensating that with his willowy blows. He was the backbone of the Pakistan middle order for a longtime though never had the necessity to be a lone warrior. He was well supported by Javid Miandad, Salim Malik, Imran Khan, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan throughout his career. He neither had the pressure as what Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid face from their fans.

His conversion rate of centuries into a match winning one is also very good compared to some of his compatriots with 17 out of 25 resulting in a win. However, his ODI record isn’t that great, showing a sense of under achievement. Playing 378 ODIs, most for a Pakistani, he only managed 10 centuries with an average a shade under 40. Though he had the potential to anchor an innings, he preferred playing lower down the order and was criticized by many former cricketers for not taking the leading role.

In a long career as his, hardly anyone can escape poor form. He was no exception. He was also dodged with poor form especially during the 2003 World Cup where he managed a mere 16 runs from six innings with Pakistan knocked out in the first round.

On the other hand, he wasn’t always under the good books; he also faced a fair share of criticism and clouded with controversy. He had a few spats with Shoaib Akhtar which resulted in some unrest in the team for sometime. And his last one year of international cricket hasn’t been good either. Defeat at the hands of Ireland sealed the World Cup for Pakistan in the Caribbean, an event overshadowed by Bob Woolmer death. The team was under immense pressure, with being blamed for Woolmer’s death and police enquiry, he passed one of the most difficult phases of his life.

He was also blamed for influencing religion within the team and the last one year one saw more of emotional Inzamam than anything else.

Clearly he shouldn’t be remembered for every thing that has happened in the last one year. For a career that spanned for 15 years it is natural that a stain or two happens to stick on. One has to salute the courage and the greatness in him to fight out all that he came across to sign off with a smile.

Tale of Two Unsung Heroes

Big shoulders and stylish stroke play are their common features. One is the opening bat; the other a strong middle order player, can relish any bowling attack on their respective days. Both playing for different teams, have been in and out of the team throughout their career.

The reasons are plenty; Mathew Hayden who made his debut long ago in 1994 was overshadowed by the presence of players like Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Michel Slater through most of his career. So was the case of our very own VVS Laxman who kick started his career in 1996 played under the shades of Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Their agility on the field was always under the scanner and for the same they were in the side lines of the one-day team for most part of their career.

Everyone have their day of delight, a turning point rather sooner or later in their career. And for these two style icons, the chance to hog the limelight came in 2001 when Australia toured India under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.

Since the day Hayden landed in India, he slog-swept his way to glory by piling 549 runs in that series, then an Australian record for a three match series.

Landing in India, Australians where on a roll, on their winning streak of 15 tests and managed to win their sixteenth in Mumbai trashing India by 10 wickets. It didn’t take any time for ‘Haydos’ to stamp his mark as he steered the Australian first innings with a dominant century. Then he powered his way to a double hundred in Chennai in the final test with some fearless batting where the rest of his teammates struggled against Harbajhan Singh.

Matthew Hayden is 36, yet his eyes have the sharpness of an eagle, highly successful in dispatching the ball to all corners of the ground. It’s raining runs since his latest comeback to the one day team. He scored a whirlwind 181 against Kiwis, an Australian record for the highest individual score in ODIs just before the World Cup. That enabled him to book his tickets for the Caribbean tour. He scored three centuries ending the tournament as the highest run getter with 659 runs. He along with Adam Gilchrist made sure that their team drives in top gear every time they go out to bat. He is already the top run scorer ODIs for the calendar year 2007, way ahead of the rest in the list.

He also managed to top score in the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup which was supposed to be a young men’s game.

All this came from a man who was dropped from both test and ODI teams in the year 2005 and got to play just two ODI since then till 2007. So what is Matthew Hayden’s Strength? Get a closer look again, you will find out that ‘strength’ is his strength. He is very strong in character, both mentally and physically.

Mental strength is VVS Laxman’s forte. He is no different from Hayden, used to many comebacks and managed to make it big the same time along with Hayden in the same series in 2001. His knock in that second innings of the Kolkata test match turned it all, once for ever. His majestic knock of 281 not just helped India to win that test and level the series but they went on to win the series by winning in Chennai as well. Doing so, he beleaguered Steve Waugh’s thought of being invincible Australians stopping the Aussie juggernaut of 16 consecutive test wins.

Hayden, part of two World Cup winning teams, Laxman was overlooked by the selectors should consider himself unlucky.

At his sublime best, watching Laxman play is something that every connoisseur of the game would like to. Wristy and willoy he can grace the cricket field with his wide range of strokes. He belongs to those rare breed of players who are good at hitting the same delivery on either side of the field. And when he does that even the opposition forgets that they are at the receiving end. His presence on the crease is a luxury and at time his stroke play even bettered Tendulkar’s.

Presently a regular in India’s test team when they play with four bowlers finds himself out when they opt for five bowlers. Whatever is the composition of the team that will not be the case when India takes on Australia down under in a couple of months.

His nickname is ‘Very Very Special’ and he stores his special for the Australians. With the tour of down under on the cards it will be no surprise if he makes yet another strong comeback. Watch out!