India’s Tour of SL 2010: It starts with mysteries

Am I the only one to be surprized by Mendis’s exclusion?  He and Murali bowling from either ends gave the famed Tendulkar-Ganguly-Dravid-Laxman laden Indian lineup a run for their money in 2008. It would have been worth it to see how they rack up this time. One wonders if there was some under-the-table BCCI wrestling. One sure hopes not.

Why is Murali retiring after just one Test? Why not play the remaining two of the series?

If there’s one mystery, it’s that the umpire referral system is not be used in the India-SL series. No surprizes there?

India’s tour of Sri Lanka 2008 begins

Yes, it’s finally here. I have been waiting for this India’s tour of Sri Lanka ever since the IPL ended (to be honestly about half-way thru the IPL), and almost feverishly after that Asia cup final which gave Mendis instant fame.

While India returns to its time-tested and experienced lot, I will resume my slightly biased blogging with the occasional pretense of objectivity 😉 Why you may ask? In the recently concluded Kitply and Asia Cup ODI series, I was indifferent, almost anti-Indian, as the team didn’t feel Indian-enough for some reason. But this Indian team is our age-old one and a loved one featuring the Big Three, Fab Four, Fab Five, whatever you want to call it. There is also the added evil joy in the absense of Dhoni (sorry SP and other Dhoni fans).

There’s plenty to excitement in store: umpiring referral, Tendulkar’s record beckoning, Mendis against the famed Indian batsmen, Murali vs. Dravid, Ganguly vs. Vaas (Dada has creamed him the past), Indian spinners and Dinesh Karthik.

So time to cheer. Indiyaah! Indiyaah!

Is Sri Lanka Dravid’s bogey?

There was an article lately on cricketnext about Dravid’s practicing against a spinner who has an action like Murali. Meanwhile, avid Dravid follower and fellow blogger K5-litij has dug up some curious facts here. I was intrigued enough and did my own research and the stats are interesting indeed:

1. Dravid has been dismissed by Murali 5 times, next only to Warne and Shoaib Akthar who have got him 7 and 6 times respectively

2. Dravid’s highest of 107 against Sri Lanka is his least highest-score (against each individual nation)

3. Dravid averages 30.6 against Murali.

Curious, aint it? Perhaps that is why he has said that it’ll be a mistake to focus only on Mendis.

Jokes apart, I would agree with that. Murali poses a definite threat and I also agree with Ottayan, who suggests that Vaas could be the most lethal.

Dream Team XI – ODIs

While watching the bore-fest Asia Cup in fragments, I have been thinking, what would be the best ODI XI ever? I must add here that “ever” for me would probably go back 10 to 12 years, not more than that. Here is my eleven:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Mathew Hayden
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Steve Waugh (c)
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Adam Gilchrist
7. Lance Klusner
8. Wasim Akram
9. Shane Warne
10. Glen McGrath
11. Mutthiah Muralitharan/Anil Kumble

12th man: Allan Donald

Honorable mention: Sourav Ganguly, Waqar Younis

Here is the reasoning behind the selection. The openers must be aggressive run getters. I almost made Sachin the opener, but somehow felt uncomfortable about Hayden and Sachin batting together; nothing serious, it just didn’t seem to fit. Besides, Sehwag as opener, when he doesn’t throw his wicket away can be rather demoralizing to the opposition.

Dravid has always been my dream #3 batsman, one who could steady the batting whether the team is 8-1 or provide spine when on 110-1. I wouldn’t pick anybody else for the part, maybe Ponting (but not on current form) and only if Dravid is unavailable. Waugh at #4 is another dream pick. Besides, Dravid and Waugh batting together would be interesting to watch, that too when the former being an admirer of the latter. I made him captain for his skills and the respect he is likely to get from the team.

It’s hard to pick an ODI side without Tendulkar. Ideally, he should either open or bat at #4. But having picked Waugh, I didn’t think any other position would be apt for him. Yes, Sachin at #5 could prove problematic, given his ordinary stats for #4 in ODIs. But I’m not quite sure what to do here.

Gilchrist plays as wicketkeeper and at #6 is bound to deliver a good amount of punch. Klusner plays as all rounder. The legendary Akram must figure in any dream team for his tact with both the new and old ball. As a better batsman, he bats above Shane Warne, who is another must-pick. I picked Glen McGrath for his impeccable line and length and chose Murali and Kumble to pick from depending upon the kind of variety required. Donald is my 12th man as I assumed we are playing on spinning track. On a green track, I would lose one of the spinners.

Team composition is a bit bat-heavy, especially with Klusner at #7, but these folk to me are legends.

IPL Bangalore vs. Chennai: aka Dravid vs. Dhoni

Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers are up for a stiff one today against Dhoni’s Super Kings with the likes of Hayden, Hussey and Muralitharan in their ranks. Judging by Bangalore’s previous effort, they need to raise the level of their game by several levels.

First and foremost, they need to function as a team. In the match against Rajasthan Royals, captain Dravid looked rather forlorn and his team seemed to have given up even before the second over of Rajasthan’s innings. Even if one were to give the quiet Dravid the benefit of the doubt on not acting perky (seriously, not all perky people are worth their salt), there was no real reason for not including Misbah ul-Haq or for persisting with the largely useless Sunil Joshi.

Secondly, Bangalore need to pace their innings well, keep wickets in hand for the first 5 overs and then think things through from there. Dravid needs to focus on what he does best: the elegant drives. Though that is easier said that done, the average well-wisher’s words of wisdom would be thus: “Captain Dravid, don’t slog! It ain’t working for you!”

As for me, I see this as a senior vs. junior clash and would like to see Dravid get the better of it. A couple of morale boosting victories are bound to help his form-crisis.

Good luck Bangalore and Dravid!