A roundup of 2016 cricket

Hello and wishing you a happy new year 2017!

What better way to ring in a new year than to ramble about cricket from the year just gone by? Here are some notes about what I liked from the world of test cricket from the second half (or last quarter?) of 2016.

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As a cricket fan, the past few months have been embarrassingly rich. A veritable buffet of fine games, emerging heroes, exciting finishes and pleasant upsets. One couldn’t really ask for more; although waking up early (or staying up late) to take in the entertainment was certainly not easy.

As an Indian cricket fan, the India New Zealand series was a good appetizer. But the only lowlight of the series was the toss. The win toss-bat first-win formula did take away a bit of sheen off the 3-0 score line. Although I would say that the series itself was well contested, India was never found fighting to save a match. Cricket is the only game that throws up an “intense, nail-biting draw” and the lack of a fighting session where a team hangs on by their nails was a bit disappointing. And the unease that grips a fan that the pundits of the cricketing world will write this off as another dust bowl triumph even before, ahem, the dust had settled doesn’t help one bit.

The series that really set the tone was, of course, the 3-0 romp of South Africa against Australia. Any team that can compete on an equal footing against Australia – forget winning – in their own backyard deserves respects. But a visiting team tearing them Aussies a new one down under isn’t something that people of a certain age remember since the marauding buccaneers roamed the cricketing world. That the Springboks did this without the services of AB D and losing Dale Steyn dramatically midway through the first test sweetens the deal further. A victory at either MCG or the Gabba would have been nicer but I’ll take the 2-1 result as such. Take a bow guys.  And that Bavuma-Warner run out??

And when you thought that things couldn’t be any more acceptable came the 1-1 surprise in Bangladesh. The B’s producing limited over victories are no longer termed upsets. They are quietly shedding their “giant killers” tag, routinely snatching a victory here and giving a scare there. I’m not calling those a fluke but test cricket is certainly a sterner examination. A test victory cannot be achieved by merely lady luck flashing her smile at you – she better be wearing a toothy grin over many days. That B’desh managed to pull off a victory against a top tier test team right after a defeat is truly commendable. I was particularly impressed by Mehedi Hasan who proved to be a handful to the touring Englishmen.

The five tests against England set many things right for the Indian fan. First, some revenge (even if served cold) for the 3-1 drubbing in 2014. Second, I don’t know if Kohli had done something to upset them, but the Gods of the toss world finally decided to favor the visitors. So India winning the tests after losing multiple tosses took away that element of “what-if” from the equation (a.k.a one excuse less). In the end it was a great contest between bat and ball. So what if the bat was in Kohli’s hands and the cherry in Ashwin’s? The positives for India were many. The Kohli-Ashwin form, the lower order chipping in with runs, the Dravid-Kumble conduit to identify and blood the right talent from domestic circuit and the problem of excess be it openers (Vijay, Rahul, Parthiv, Gautham and err…Rohit Sharma) keepers (Saha, Parthiv) or spinners (Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra – all three of them staking a deserved claim for all-rounder). I was super elated by Karun’s knock more for the sweep shots than the big score he piled up. Indian batsmen using their feet against spin is a common sight, less so the sweep shot. To see an Indian bat sweeping fluently was a sight to behold. On the same note, these are early days and sterner tests lie ahead. Good luck young man! The only two points of concern for India would be Ashwin’s ability to be among wickets abroad and our batting unit’s performance against the short/moving ball. I read somewhere that Kohli was considering a county stint ahead of a tour of the UK: professionalism flows forth from the captain! P.S: Kudos to the TNCA for getting the Chepauk stadium match ready after the fury of Varda.

The best fare, however, was reserved for the very last few days of the calendar. The first test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane will be recorded in history as having been won by Australia. But the drama that it provided, particularly on day five, was something that the people that watched it unfold will not forget any time soon. Call it the magic of test cricket or a virulent hatred for Aussie cricket, but I was robustly rooting for Pakistan for two full days. Ending up 40 short in a valiant chase of 490 on day five at the Gabba somehow summarizes Paksitan better than any length of prose or any set of statistics. And following up that performance (and cricketing world’s brownie points) with a good old collapse on day five of the Boxing day test? Pakistan’s brand of cricket has changed very little over the years. 

Thank you Viru!

Behind fearlessness is usually a clear mind. A mind intent on keeping things simple. A mind unhindered by the weight of tradition, protocol or what went before. A mind that could come up with its own religion and a sense of what is right or not. Sehwag’s game betrayed his possession of such a mind – tranquil, strong and brutal. The body then became a mere instrument. The hand-eye coordination, the fluid strokeplay and the marauding batsmanship simply flowed forth. Natural. Destined. 

Opening, so we were told, was a fine art. An elite profession strictly earmarked for the products of textbooks to pursue. Temperament, the willingness to see off the shine and guarding the wicket were minimum virtues expected of any aspirant. And into this altar Sehwag bludgeoned his way and broke down all traditions. To put it simply, he played street cricket at the highest level wearing whites and a floppy hat. And he did this right from his debut till the very end. Against the best bowlers. And on pitches of all varieties. There was no slowing down, adapting, changing gears or accumulating. See ball, hit ball.

That he paid little attention to the context of the game perhaps let him play his natural game. And this is exactly why watching his innings unfold was possibly the reason behind my first grey hairs. A waft outside the offstump produced the same grin as did a clean straight drive down the ground. An upper cut over third man? This was the first man whose score in the nineties made me a wreck half way across the globe. Thankfully, though his nineties were plenty, they were all short lived. 

Muddling through numbers to understand his legacy would be futile. His impact lies entwined in the intangibles. Opposing captains delaying their declarations. Bowlers finding their plans in shatters. Opponents redefining a safe target after every over. Necessitating unorthodox field placements. Captains ringing in bowling changes with a prayer. Runs per minute would be a better measure for his batting gave his bowling colleagues not only more runs but also additional time. And above all, shrugging off the label of a "Sachin clone" to create a name for his own. 

Viv Richards is perhaps the only man that merits comparison with Sehwag. Viv “The King” was unmistakably a showman. His game was as sublime as it was arrogant. The famous “stagger” betrayed a nonchalance. And the gum chewing oozed irreverence. His persona was perhaps as feared as was his violent strokeplay. Whereas with Sehwag, there was only the earnestness of a workman. Nothing more, nothing less. In the hands of Viv, the bat was a sword while in Sehwag’s it was more an axe.

His methods may have made purists squirm. There were whispers about technique, foot work and weaknesses against the short ball. But his career bears testimony to his genius. Sehwag changed the job description of a test opener and left his stamp on the game to be truly counted among the best to have played the sport. And, although unsung, he truly did it his way.

Thank you for the memories.

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With Sehwag's retirement (and Zaheer's), an era in Indian cricket comes to an end. For they are the last two players that were, how do I put this...older than me. From now on, whenever I watch the men  boys in blue on TV, I will feel old. Sigh.

India vs. Australia 4th Test at the SCG

The series was settled. The trophy had already been prized out of our hands. India had only pride to play for. Which perhaps explains the large scale changes made to the line up. Dropping Pujara was a baffling decision, given that he was looking increasingly assured with every outing. But you can slice up the batting order any different way but it is merely lipstick on a pig as long as the bowling line up reads Yadav, Shami and Buvi.

Welcome to another episode of the Aussie openers accepting the largesse of the Indian trundlers. An hour into the first morning, Kohli was perhaps thinking of spreading out the field or turning to his part timers. Not an easy thing for any test captain within the first session. Especially if you have an aggressive image to maintain. Watching Warner bat, I realize how it must have been for opposition teams/fans when Sehwag was in full slow. Melbourne 2003? Multan 2004? And mind you, he was facing far more potent attacks than Warner and Rogers have faced in this series. With the average defying Smith helping himself to yet another century, it looked that Australia might only need to bat once.

Thankfully, for once, towards the fag end of the series, the Indian tail showed up. Up in the order, Rahul shook off his debut nerves and compiled a neat century. One could understand when he simply collapsed on Kohli's shoulders after reaching the century. I liked his defence and showed that he may possess the temperament required of a test opener. By the looks of it, India may well have stumbled upon a working opening combination. However, India will miss the services of Sehwag who played without fear, took the fight to the opposition, kept the scoreboard ticking and in the process, provided belief and confidence to the rest of the team. The tail put up over a 100 runs and more importantly spent time in the middle. And on day 5, hung by the nails, dug their heels in and refused to be rolled over.

If the first innings bowling made one grimace, watching the Indian bowlers being taken to the cleaners in Australia's second innings was beyond words. Embarrassing doesn't even begin to describe it. What was the plan? What was the field? And what were they doing? I find it difficult to believe that this is the best talent available. I'm not sure what was happening between overs  - as I was watching the Indian TV feed that believes that an ad should come on when the bowler completes his follow through on the sixth legal delivery - but I could hardly see any discussion or chat going on between the captain and his bowlers or amongst the bowlers themselves. A word of encouragement or a pat on the shoulder was never seen and the bowlers appeared to be merely going through the motions. Although, in all honesty, there is not much that can be coaxed out of a bowling unit that has steadfastly refused to bowl to a set field throughout the series. Or even land balls in a good area consistently.

The prospect of India batting last on a deteriorating Sydney wicket will always evoke memories of 2008. Of close in fielders, high stakes, emotional battles, close calls and at the end of it all, another Indian defeat. With a 300 plus target this time, an Aussie win or a tense draw was on the cards in that order. After the Adelaide chase, there is now enough doubt in the Aussie camp that Smith preferred to ensure safety first rather than a bold declaration in both Melbourne and Sydney. Steve Waugh or Ponting, I'm sure, would have had a go at the Indians for a few overs on day four. Batting for a draw calls for special reserves of concentration, gumption and a better reading of the match. And it was pleasing to see the Indians tackle everything that the Aussies threw at them and ensured that the final scorecard didn't worsen than 2-0.

On the evidence of this series, the current Indian bowling cannot contain set batsmen on flat wickets. This group cannot clean up the tail quickly or cheaply either. The batting riches is really heartening to see and may bode well for the future. But with the profligacy of the bowlers, the big scores are becoming less useful. And as cliched as it may sound, no matter how deep we can bat, 20 opposotion wickets win test matches.

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After a long hiatus from blogging - more due to laziness than anything else - I'm pleased at this effort of four posts. Let me see if I can do one more on the entire series from an Indian fan perspective. I wish to keep posting something often. Let me see if the Blogging Gods are kind enough :)

India vs. Australia 3rd Test at the MCG

Boxing day. Summer in the southern hemisphere. The occasion can be overwhelming. It is after all being played at the MCG. Few grounds around the world can be counted as a member of the squad. A twelfth man playing a hand in the proceedings. The Eden Gardens with 100,000 electrified Bengalis for instance. Kingsmead, Durban: a cauldron with a green mamba in the middle. And the MCG. Australia vs. India is a contest worthy of the venue. And here's a fantastic piece on the "G". I haven't read a better summation of a cricket ground and what it embodies.

5-216 to 10-530. When the dust settles on this series, one of the crucial differences between the teams would be the contribution of the bowlers. With the bat. In a fast evolving world, the role of the tail end batsman has been recast. No more prodding. No more heaving. No more blind swings. Ever since Gillespie made 201, the tail. is expected to wag. And put a price on wickets 7 trough 10. With some style too. And when an attack as potent as ours with a penchant for giving career lifelines to weak batsmen is in operation, the last four can make merry.What looked like an even first day made way for a very one-sided second with Smith and co. piling on the runs while the Indians looked rather resigned, waiting for things to happen. If bowlers are paid by the hour, our fast men can retire already.

Day 3 would have been a treat to watch for any Indian fan. After a sedate start, Kohli and Rahane ran the Aussie attack ragged. Calling it mere domination wouldn't be accurate. The passage of play when the two of them were toying with Johnson was a pleasure that we are rarely afforded when abroad. We have had individual shows. We have seen dogged partnerships. But the sight of two batsmen in India caps pulling and hooking at will while keeping the score ticking at a fast clip? Delectable.

The bowling gave a slightly better account of themselves in the second innings and was actually able to keep things quiet for an extended period. Although the wickets column doesn't back this up, Ishant was the better bowler in both the innings, managing to hold things up at one end. He is good but the attack as a whole is not good enough.

In the end, it was India's batting show at Adelaide that almost took us home that weighed on Australia's mind in delaying the declaration till the fifth morning. That helped us save this test eventually. Smith admitted to not wanting to give India even a sniff. That was a first that went against the win at all cost attitude we are used to. So was the curious declaration with four overs to go and a scrappy Dhoni and Ashwin at the crease. I suspect whether a Steve Waugh or a Ponting or even Clarke would have shook hands in that situation.

Fact of life: Test cricket is not a slowed down version of T20. Skills being a given, it takes a certain temperament and a mindset to succeed in this format. The ability to read a situation with a long term view and adapt accordingly is something team India will need to focus on.

Quick note on India's new found aggression. Being aggressive is OK. Standing up is great. But being annoying is not. Let the bat do the talking. Let the ball ask the tough questions. They are louder. They are convincing, Sledging, banter and mind games are not required for bringing out the competitive face of any cricketer. "Sledging within limits" - a concept that is being bandied about by both teams - is an idiocy. Where is the line? Who draws it? And why is there a code of conduct then?  This team would be better off if they tone down their current flavor of on field aggression which seems to border on the comic.

India vs. Australia 1st Test at the Adelaide Oval

I'm not emotionally invested in this team as I used to be with teams of the past. When no player in the squad is older than you are, this is what happens I suppose. And I'm certainly not following the game with the same intensity from earlier days. But cometh the hour, cometh the toss, when people in white turn up on the green, I'm automatically drawn to the TV computer. I followed the score over four days. And I had to watch the live stream on day five. And when it was over, my wife couldn't understand why I was having a long face on a Friday night.

First off, what a game! It had all the ingredients of a great India-Australia test: sad but high drama in the days leading up, great teams (at least on paper), the beautiful Adelaide oval, fantastic weather except for day 3, some on field banter and an intense contest that came down to the final hour on the last day.

The better team won. The team that deserved to win, even if only ever so slightly more, eventually prevailed. I would have preferred India to romp home with Kohli finishing it off with a boundary. It would have been a great start to the tour. But it was really pleasing to see the way they approached the total. At the start, with Dhawan and Che Pu (Thanks cricinfo!) back in the pavilion, an Aussie win seemed inevitable. But the way Vijay and Virat went about chipping away at the target, it seemed the game was being played on a different surface. Lyon did bother Vijay but not Kohli. There were no demons in the strip. The scoreboard kept ticking and suddenly there was hope. As the second session progressed, a victory seemed within reach. An Indian victory. But this is Australia. We are playing against a team that is ruthless. Relentless. And can hang in there by their nails just a bit longer than the opponent. Five wickets for 38 runs. In 10 overs. And as the dust settled, it was the usual result. 1-0 Australia.

To win in Australia takes something special. It isn't over until it is. I'm not sure if it is the land or the people but time and space appear to be stretched out just a touch. If you are shooting for the draw, the final day seems just a bit dragged out. If you aim to play out the day, the hours seem a tad longer than 60 minutes. The men in the baggy green caps seem to possess that extra bit of time to go at you relentlessly. If you aim for the win, the boundaries seem to be pushed back. The ground seems to have grown and the Aussies can easily cover it. There is always a safe pair of hands under the catches. And there is always someone to extract a bit more out of the pitch than you could.

To state an obvious fact of life, bowlers win test matches. Based on what was on display, I doubt this bowling unit has enough firepower to take 20 Australian wickets. Or even bowl them out at least once, Michael Clarke's bad back notwithstanding. Nathan Lyon proved to be the difference between the two sides. And what a performance. I don't think Karn would have been able to exploit the surface like Nathan did even if we had bowled last. This format calls for all round excellence and I suspect the bowlers may be a baggage to carry on this tour.

There was a time not so distant in the past when my generation was used to watching spectacular collapses. And the team going through the motions of a tour. It was called the nineties. The nineties of the walking dead. There would be that Sachin's one-man show book ended by mediocre capitulation. There wouldn't be even a semblance of a fight to call it a contest. Game after game. Yet another knock that would be described by R Mohan as "valiant", "in vain" in the next day's papers. Things changed in this century. Ganguly helped turn things around with the help of a better team. A group that actually began to believe in being able to compete. To be able to fight and give it back as good as it got. And this current team has managed to not fall into the old habits. I haven't watched Kohli in action very much. I'm limited to reading about him, catching up on earlier performances. But I think the team can scale great heights under him. He had spoken about aggression and intent before the game began. While they were missing when we were leather hunting, it came out in full splendor on day five. I hope this team has the mettle to rally around this guy. And that Kohli does not end up becoming the 21st century version of Sachin.

I now look forward to Brisbane. I look forward to another fight. Another contest. And I hope India becomes deserving to win at the Gabba and beyond. Good luck guys!