CRICKET FAN

2024-04-21T13:40:00.000+05:30

My World Cup Squad | 2024 T20Is

My Playing XI

Rohith Sharma
Virat Kohli
Surya Kumar Yadav
Sanju Samson
Rinku Singh
Hardik Pandya
Axar Patel
Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah
Mayank Yadav
Mohsin Khan

Rest of the Squad

Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yuzvendra Chahal
Shivam Dube
Arshdeep Singh

Reserves

Mohamed Siraj
Ravindra Jadeja
Dinesh Karthick
Subhman Gill

Choice of Fast Bowlers

If this is one-day world cup or test-match squad, Bumrah, Shammi and Siraj are automatic picks. But T20s require different skillsets. Shammi is injured and does not boast great T20 record either.

Bowlers	Inn	Balls	Runs	Eco	SR	Avg
Siraj (I)	10	228	334	8.78	19.0	27.83
Siraj (D)	126	2700	3741	8.31	18.3	25.44
Arshdeep (I)	44	899	1294	8.63	14.5	20.87
Arshdeep (D)	125	2619	3695	8.46	17.0	23.99
Avesh Khan (I)	19	398	618	9.31	20.9	32.52
Avesh Khan (D)	103	2220	3095	8.36	18.1	25.36
Shammi (I)	23	477	711	8.94	19.8	29.62
Shammi (D)	156	3363	4604	8.21	17.7	24.23
Mohsin (D)	48	1008	1198	7.13	15.0	17.88
Mayank Yadav (D)	12	228	241	6.34	12.6	13.38
Deepak Chahar (I)	25	540	747	8.30	17.4	24.09
Deepak Chahar (D)	143	3066	3985	7.79	18.4	24.00

*D - Domestic, *I - International

The above stats clearly indicate most of the Indian fast bowlers leak runs in T20 internationals. It is worth trying Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan. Mayank Yadav has history of injuries. But he has both speed and control. Most importantly he takes crucial wickets.

Choice of Wicket Keepers

Rishab Pant, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthick are primary contenders. Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel were contenders few weeks earlier, but their form and consistency is lacking. Rishab Pant T20 and one-day records are not as spectacular as Test cricket. He has limited range of scoring shots in shorter form of cricket. Sanju Samson has reasonably better ODI record. His international T20 records are not that great. But he seems to have improved. Then we have Dinesh Karthick. Based on team structure, I would prefer Samson.

All-Rounders

We need a fast bowling all-rounder at 6. Hardik Pandya is struggling with both bat and ball. We don't have too many options. Shivam Dube has not bowled much recently. But he pick himself as a batter.

We need someone like Yuvaraj, Sachin or Shewag, who could bowl spin. But again, we don't have much options. Most of the current top-order batsmen are one-dimensional. We need spin-bowling all-rounder at 7, we have Jadeja. But his batting strike rate in T20s are not ideal. Axar Patel has better T20 credentials than Jadeja. I would pick Axar ahead of Jadeja.

My World Cup Squad | 2019

2019-03-30T20:43:00.000+05:30

My XI

Rest of the squad

Reserves/Standby

Does backup fast bowling options look thin?

Bumrah, Bhuvi, and Shammi pick themselves up. Rest of the fast bowling resources does not look promising as of now. For 4th fast bowling option in the squad, my choice would be Umesh Yadav purely for his experience over others.

Why Shreyas Iyer was not given enough chances compared to others?

Yuvraj Singh was our biggest match-winner. After his decline, many players were tried for the middle order positions: Rahane, Rayadu, KL Rahul, S Iyer, M Pandey, etc. To be fair Rayadu did well in the opportunities given to him. He is considered to be a slow-mover in the field. Whether he can come good in difficult conditions? KL Rahul was promoted as the next big thing. But the performance column does not look good despite some handsome performances initially. We all know about Rahane's class. But he was considered to be struggling in slower-pitches. Then there is a question: What is his suitable batting position? He himself needs to partially blamed for his fall.

SS Iyer had some good scores in India 'A' tours and domestic circuit. My choice for No.4 would be SS Iyer.

All Rounders & Additional Bowling Options

The problem with the current Indian team is that no top order batsman can bowl a few overs except K Jadhav. Earlier we used to have Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvi, Ganguly bowling few overs regularly. A lot of current players are either one-dimensional or bits and pieces players like V Shankar, K Pandya etc. Hardik Pandya is an interesting case. At least in shorter versions, he can be a close to a genuine all-rounder. Whether he will be fit enough and last the entire World Cup tournament. Even if he is fit, whether he will be consistent with bat and ball. V Shankar in his limited opportunities looks decent with bat and a good fielder. As of now, most of us are sceptical about his bowling despite his last over heroics against Australia in the recently concluded one-day series. And there are better batsmen available than him and so he can't be picked as a specialist batsman.

India’s Overseas Victories during Sachin’s Era

2012-01-18T20:11:00.000+05:30

This article tries to give the statistics of India’s victorious performances abroad. It also compares how India fare with other teams. The statistics given here does not include performances against Bangladesh & Zimbabwe. The stats include matches from Sachin Tendulkar’s debut till December 25, 2011.

India’s Overseas Victories during Sachin’s Era

S.No.	Match	Top Scorer		Top Wicket Taker		MoM	Captain	Comments
S.No.	Match	I	II	I	II	MoM	Captain	Comments
1.	vs Srilanka, SSC, Colombo, 2^nd Test, 1993 I: Ind 366/10 II: SL 254/10 III: Ind 359/4 decl IV: SL 236/10	Kambli - 125 Sidhu - 82	Sidhu -104 Sachin – 104*	Kumble – 5/87 Prabhakar – 3/43	Prabhakar- 3/49 Kumble – 3/85	Manoj Prabhakar Bat: 4 & 95 Ball: 3/43 & 3/85	Azhar	India won the 3 Match Test series 1-0.
2.	vs Srilanka, Kandy, 2nd Test, 2001 I: SL 274/10 II: Ind 232/10 III: SL 221/10 IV: Ind 264/3	S.Ramesh -47 Harbhajan - 44	Ganguly – 98* Dravid - 75	Zaheer – 3/62 V.Prasad – 2/52	V.Prasad – 5/72 Zaheer – 4/76	Ganguly Bat: 18 & 98* Ball: 2/69 & 0/21	Ganguly	India lost the 3 Match Test series 1-2. Sachin & Laxman missed this series due to injuries.
3.	vs WI, Port of Spain, 2nd Test, 2002 I: Ind 339/10 II: WI 245/10 III: 218/10 IV: 275/10	Sachin – 117 Laxman - 69	Ganguly -75* Laxman- 74	Srinath – 3/71 Zaheer – 2/47	Srinath- 3/69 Nehra- 3/72	Laxman 69 & 74	Ganguly	India lost the 5 Match Test Series 1-2.
4.	vs England,Headingley, Leeds, 3rd Test, 2002 I: Ind 628/8 decl II: Eng 273/10 III: Eng 309/10	Sachin – 193 Dravid – 148 Ganguly- 128	DNB	Harbhajan – 3/40 Kumble – 3/93	Kumble – 4/66 Bangar – 2/54	Dravid 148	Ganguly	India drew the 4 Match Test Series 1-1.
5.	vs Aus, Adelaide Oval, 2nd Test, 2003 I: Aus 556/10 II: Ind 523/10 III: Aus 196/10 IV: Ind 233/6	Dravid- 233 Laxman - 148	Dravid – 72* Sehwag - 47	Kumble – 5/154 Nehra – 2/115	Agarkar – 6/41 Sachin – 2/36	Dravid 233 & 72*	Ganguly	India drew the 4 Match Test Series 1-1.
6.	vs Pak, Multan, Ist Test, 2004 I: Ind 675/5 decl II: Pak 407/10 III: Pak 216/10	Sehwag – 309 Sachin – 194*	DNB	Irfan – 4/100 Sachin – 2/36	Kumble – 6/72 Irfan – 2/26	Sehwag 309	Dravid	India won the 3 Match Test Series 2-1.
7.	vs Pak, Rawalpindi, 3rd Test, 2004 I: Pak 224/10 II: Ind 600/10 III: Pak 245/10	Dravid – 270 Ganguly - 77	DNB	Balaji – 4/63 Irfan – 2/49	Kumble – 4/47 Balaji – 3/108	Dravid 270	Ganguly	India won the 3 Match Test Series 2-1.
8.	vs WI, Sabina Park, Kingston, 4th Test, 2006 I: Ind 200/10 II: WI 103/10 III: Ind 171/10 IV: WI 219/10	Dravid – 81 Kumble - 45	Dravid – 68 Dhoni -19	Harbhajan – 5/19 Sreesanth – 2/34	Kumble – 6/78 Sreesanth – 3/38	Dravid 81 & 68	Dravid	India won the 4 Match Test Series 1-0. Sachin missed the Test Series due to injury & Ganguly was dropped for the series.
9.	vs SA, Johannesburg, Ist Test, 2006 I: Ind 249/10 II: SA 84/10 III: Ind 236/10 IV: SA 278/10	Ganguly – 51* Sachin - 44	Laxman – 73 Sehwag - 33	Sreesanth – 5/40 Kumble – 2/2	Kumble – 3/54 Sreesanth – 3/59	Sreesanth 5/40 & 3/59	Dravid	India lost the 3 Match Test Series 1-2.
10.	vs England, TrentBridge, Nottingham, 2nd Test, 2007 I: Eng 198/10 II: Ind 481/10 III: Eng 355/10 IV: Ind 73/3	Sachin – 91 Ganguly - 79	Karthik – 22 Jaffer - 22	Zaheer – 4/59 Kumble – 3/32	Zaheer – 5/75 Kumble – 3/104	Zaheer 4/59 & 5/75	Dravid	India won the 3 Match Test Series 1-0.
11.	vs Aus, Perth, 3rd Test, 2008 I: Ind 330/10 II: Aus 212/10 III: Ind 294/10 IV: Aus 340/10	Dravid – 93 Sachin - 71	Laxman – 79 Pathan - 46	RP. Singh – 4/68 Ishant – 2/34	Irfan – 3/54 Sehwag – 2/24	Irfan Bat: 28 & 46 Ball: 2/63 & 3/54	Kumble	India lost the 4 Match Test Series 1-2.
12.	vs SL, Galle, 2nd Test, 2008 I: Ind 329/10 II: SL 292/10 III: 269/10 IV: SL 136/10	Sehwag – 201* Gambhir - 56	Gambhir – 74 Sehwag - 50	Harbhajan – 6/102 Kumble – 3/81	Harbhajan – 4/51 Ishant – 3/20	Sehwag 201* & 50	Kumble	India lost the 3 Match Test Series 1-2.
13.	vs NZ, Hamilton, Ist Test, 2009 I: NZ 279/10 II: Ind 520/10 III: NZ 279/10 IV: Ind 39/0	Sachin – 160 Gambhir - 72	Gambhir – 30 Dravid -8	Ishant – 4/73 Munaf – 3/60	Harbhajan – 6/63 Munaf – 2/60	Sachin 160	Dhoni	India won the 3 Match Test Series 1-0.
14.	vs SL, PSS, Colombo, 3rd Test, 2010 I: SL 425/10 II: Ind 436/10 III: SL 267/10 IV: Ind 258/5	Sehwag – 109 Raina - 62	Laxman – 103* Sachin - 54	Ojha – 4/115 Ishant – 3/72	Mishra – 3/47 Sehwag – 3/51	Laxman 56 & 103*	Dhoni	India drew the 3 Match Test Series 1-1.
15.	vs SA, Durban, 2nd Test, 2010 I: Ind 205/10 II: SA 131/10 III: Ind 228/10 IV: SA 215/10	Laxman – 38 Dhoni - 35	Laxman – 96 Sehwag - 32	Harbhajan – 4/10 Zaheer – 3/36	Sreesanth – 3/45 Zaheer – 3/57	Laxman 38 & 96	Dhoni	India drew the 3 Match Test Series 1-1.
16.	vs WI, Sabina Park, Kingston, Ist Test, 2011 I: Ind 246/10 II: WI 173/10 III: Ind 252/10 IV: WI 262/10	Raina – 82 Harbhajan - 70	Dravid – 112 Mishra - 28	Ishant – 3/29 Praveen – 3/38	Praveen – 3/42 Ishant – 3/81	Dravid 40 & 112	Dhoni	India won the 3 Match Test Series 1-0.

Man of the Match in Overseas Victories

S.No.	Players	Number of MoMs
	Rahul Dravid	5
	VVS Laxman	3
	V Sehwag	2
	Sachin Tendulkar	1
	S Ganguly	1
	Zaheer Khan	1
	Sreesanth	1
	Irfan Pathan	1
	Manoj Prabhakar	1

Break-up of Victories

S.No.	Opposition	Matches Played	Matches Won	Matches Drawn	Matches Lost	Win/Loss Ratio
	Srilanka	15	4	6	5	0.80
	West Indies	17	3	11	3	1.00
	Pakistan	10	2	6	2	1.00
	England	17	2	8	7	0.28
	Australia	16	2	4	10	0.20
	South Africa	15	2	6	7	0.28
	NewZealand	11	1	6	4	0.25
	Total	101	16	47	38	0.42

Other Team’s Performances Overseas

S.No.	Teams	Matches Played	Matches Won	Matches Drawn	Matches Lost	Win/Loss Ratio
	Australia	111	52	26	33	1.57
	SouthAfrica	81	27	27	27	1.00
	Pakistan	88	27	22	39	0.69
	England	112	27	38	47	0.57
	India	101	16	47	38	0.42
	Srilanka	73	11	24	38	0.28
	West Indies	95	13	22	60	0.21
	NewZealand	73	7	27	39	0.17

Reasons for India’s Poor Performance in England

2011-08-15T19:03:00.003+05:30

What are the reasons behind India’s poor performance in ongoing Test series? Is it because of IPL? Is it because of poor injury management? Is it because of lack of professionalism displayed by players, selectors & board? Is it because of genuine lack of bench strength? Is it because of poor vision by selectors?

Well, IPL immediately after the World Cup did not give Team India time to either rejoice their triumph or given some space to refresh their mind. A long World Cup would have taken heavy toll on the player’s physical and mental energies. I would like to remind the comments of Paddy Upton, Team India’s former mental conditioning coach, for poor performance of Team India. Sehwag, Gambhir and Zaheer Khan carrying niggles aggravated their injuries. They should have made a strong decision and stayed away from this year’s IPL.

I never seen Michael Hussey, McGrath, Steyn or Kallis playing straightaway into an International match after coming from injury layoff. They ensure their match fitness by playing atleast two or three first-class matches. Then only they make themselves available for selections. But see the likes of Gambhir, Sehwag and Zaheer Khan playing for India without any proper warm-up matches. This shows clear lack of professionalism from Indian Cricketers, especially the gen next. I would request Indian players to ape the professionalism of Aussies not their on-field antics.

Selectors and Team management does not seems to know who their next set of best players are. Badrinath should be playing ahead of Raina and Kohli at No.6. But he was not given enough chance to prove his worth. Munaf should be playing ahead of inconsistent Sreesanth. Why no proper backup opener was not included in the squad for tough tour like this with fitness conditions of regular openers? It actually forced Dravid and Laxman to bat out of their usual positions and affected stability of the whole batting order.

Why selectors are playing musical chairs with Ishant, Munaf, Mithun, RP Singh, Sreesanth and others? I can understand selector’s dilemma and desperation. But they should have identified group of fast bowlers by now and groomed them.

How long Harbhajan will be persisted with despite his continuous mediocre performances with the ball? There has been another musical chair going on among spinners. Identify the spinners and groom them.

Will BCCI, Selectors and coaches work in a coordinating manner to monitor and manage the workload and fitness level of players? Are selectors listening to physios and coaches suggestions on fitness program for individual players?

Will BCCI display proper care and diligence so that tours to countries like Australia, NewZealand, South Africa and England have enough warm-up matches planned before the start of the Test series?

Very Very Special Innings Helps India to Square the Series

2010-08-08T07:42:00.000+05:30

VVS Laxman’s match-winning innings secured victory for India in the third and final Test match at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo.

India spinners came good in the second innings of the final Test match to put India in a winnable position. Sehwag led the way by picking the openers. Infact he was the best Indian spinner on view in this series.

Scorecard: India vs Srilanka, III Test, P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo, 2010

Scorecard: India vs Srilanka, II Test, SSC, Colombo, 2010

Scorecard: India vs Srilanka, I Test, Galle, 2010

India restricted Srilanka to 425 in the first innings. This was possible due to improved performance from Indian bowlers and aiding pitch. Sehwag scored a blitzkrieg century. Sachin, VVS Laxman and Raina played a good hand. Tail-enders played well to pass the Srilanka’s first innings score. Somehow Srilankan batsmen came a cropper against Indian spinners in the second innings. Indians started chasing the score badly. But Sachin and Laxman steadied the chase well. Then Raina ably supported VVS to see India through.

Brilliant Sehwag

Sehwag was brilliant throughout the series. Unfortunately he got out at wrong moment atleast couple of times; one in the second innings of the first Test and another in the second innings of last Test. Indian success these days are proportional to Sehwag’s success at the top. He came good with ball also. He was better than regular spinners.

Evergreen Master

Sachin become the most capped player in the Test Cricket in the third and final Test match of this series. He scored wonderful double century in the second Test match to save that match after Srilanka made a huge score above 600. He came with crucial contributions in both innings of final Test match in securing India a win.

Good Debut by Raina

Raina used the opportunity given to him very well. He became the latest Indian batsman to score debut century after Sehwag did in 2001. He came up with good scores in both the innings of final Test match and helping India to a series leveling victory. He may be suspect against short-pitched bowling. But he stands out from rest of the batsmen of his generation through sheer performance in all available opportunities. Hopefully he improves in each and every outing.

Lackluster Indian Bowling

Indian team is beginning to feel the after effects of Anil Kumble’s retirement. India’s bowling worries were compounded by Zaheer Khan’s injury as well. Harbhajan was very ordinary in the series. Fortunately he was injured and unavailable for the final Test match. Only few years back it appeared that we had bunch of good pace bowlers. But nobody is on the scene now. Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma all promised very well. But no one among them established himself as the leading pace bowler consistently. Abimanyu Mithun was impressive in this series. I hope atleast he will establish himself as a strike force for a long run.

Murali Bids Adieu

Muralidharan retired from Test Cricket in the first Test match of this series. He finished with 800 Test wickets. His record won’t be broken for years. Srilanka will miss him definitely. It was felt in the both innings of the last Test match. I salute this wonderful cricketer.

World Cup Twenty20 Debacle

2010-05-14T22:12:00.000+05:30

India failed to reach the last four of the Twenty20 World Cup twice in succession. Besides that they were also failed to reach semis of ICC Champions Trophy held in South Africa. The prime reason the experts point out for the debacle is the same: ‘Indian batsmen’s weakness against short-stuff’. But I don’t agree with that reasoning completely. Let me come to that point later.

In my view, the reasons for the defeat were: i) Team India didn’t get good starts while batting ii) Team’s main batsman Yuvraj was out of sorts iii) The team was playing with too many bits and pieces players and iv) Fast bowlers were not penetrative.

Gambhir was coming into the tournament slightly out of sorts. He had just then recovered from an injury and did not infuse confidence going into the tournament. He was Team India’s leading batsmen in all formats for past couple of seasons. His lack of form was one of the major factors. Sehwag’s replacement Murali Vijay, who had a fantastic IPL, did not reproduce his form in the world cup. So, Team India suffered on the opening front.

Yuvraj is Team India’s best batsman in both shorter and shortest format. He was totally out of sorts in IPL. His form and fitness was a major concern going into the tournament. Indian team lacked the killer instinct and the momentum which he brings to the team.

Next thing is Dhoni’s adamance in persisting with bits and pieces players like Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja. They are neither proper batsmen nor bowlers. Atleast Yusuf has the ability to turn on a game on his day. But it was not done often in International Cricket. Only genuine all-rounder available in our country at this moment is Irfan Pathan. I don’t know why Dhoni is not backing him. Agreed, Irfan’s primary skill – bowling had waned over the years. But he is a special talent and should be backed by the selectors and team management. Well, India should have played three seamers and Piyush Chawla in Barbados instead of these bits and pieces players. Only in previous game against Proteas Chawla was doing well. Dhoni should remember that he is captaining Team India and not Kiwi’s team.

Zaheer was totally out of sorts. Nehra was the only pacer looking like taking wickets. Unfortunately, he was clobbered for six off the last ball of the match, which resulted in Srilanka’s win. India have good crop of pace bowlers but most of them are either out of form or not fit.

Coming to the issue of Indian batsmen’s weakness against short-pitch stuff, Indian batsmen are traditionally suspect against short-pitch stuff. Then, what is the solution? It is all about adapting to different conditions. Only Rahul and Sachin among current crop of batsmen are very good against short-pitch stuffs. For some strange reasons they are not part of Twenty20 setup and moreover Rahul is no more part of one-day scheme of things as well. Though Sehwag is not good with pull and hook, he had lot of success with upper cuts. That is an attacking option for the fellow Indian batsmen to follow. Indian batsmen should remember what Greg Chappell told Ganguly about playing short stuff. One will receive only one legal short-stuff per over. So, don’t expect short-stuff all the time. Of course one should be immediately adapted to general bounce of the pitch.

Rahul Dravid – The Visionary

2010-03-21T12:51:00.000+05:30

He is the chief architect of Team India’s Cricketing Success amongst more visible Demi-Gods, Maharajas, Prince and Captain Cools. He is the man who brought Professionalism to Indian set-up. Despite all his contributions to Team India he was not getting his due recognition and adulation. 50 years from now, I hope he gets more adulation and recognition than Demi-Gods, Maharajas, Captain Cools and Prince, which he truly deserves. Here are some off-the field Cricketing exploits of this gentleman.

Incident - 1

This man got stick for his choice of team selection during the auction of first IPL tournament. The team that was selected at his behest was termed as Test Team. The players he selected during the auction were Kumble, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Mark Boucher, Chanderpaul, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer and others. Today Kallis is cynosure of all eyes in this IPL – edition 3. Steyn, who had a couple of quite IPL seasons, is firing on all cylinders. Cameron White, Twenty-20 specialist, was a flop in previous editions but now he is the vice-captain of his country’s Twnty-20 team. He is at peak of his prowess. He is yet to play a match in this edition since he was away for the national duties. At this juncture of IPL-3, the Bangalore Royal Challengers are looking ominous.

Incident – 2

He was playing for Kent in the English county. John Wright was the director of coaching there. He recommended John Wright’s name to the BCCI. John Wright was the most successful coach of Team India before Kirsten arrived. He along with likes of Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble. Laxman, Srinath and Sehwag laid foundation for the team which is now number 1 in the Test Rankings.

Incident – 3

After the debacle of 2007 world cup, to rebuild the team he was instrumental in bringing Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad to the coaching team. They made significant contribution towards team’s success. They were later removed citing the poor performance of the team in bowling and fielding and that is a different story. But nobody can deny the need for specialist bowling and fielding coaches in this age and contribution of Robin and Venkatesh Prasad.

Incident – 4

He was also responsible for creating Category D in players pay contract in addition to earlier three categories. Fringe players are included in this pay category. The pay pie is not only shared by big guns and also by deserving fringe players. It was acknowledged by an official in BCCI Top brass.

There are many more…

India Sustains Number 1 Test Rankings

2010-02-22T18:47:00.003+05:30

India drew the two-test series 1-1 by winning the second test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata by an innings and 57 runs. With this India maintains its No.1 ranking and wins a cash prize of 1 million dollars.

SCORECARD: India vs South Africa, I Test, Nagpur, 2010

SCORECARD: India vs South Africa, II Test, Kolkata, 2010

Amla’s Heroics

Hashim Amla scored centuries in all the three opportunities he got. His double century at Nagpur ensured the Proteas a strong score to put pressure on injury-hit weakened Indian batting line-up. After his side was reduced to 6 for 2 by Zaheer Khan, he along with fluent Kallis forged a record partnership against India in India. He almost won this test series for his side with his excellent stubborn act in the second innings of Kolkata test. But his effort was undone by his peers. They found wanting when their team needed them most. Anyhow Proteas can’t shed their Choker’s tag.

Steyn’s Incisive Spell

India batsmen were clearly rattled by Steyn’s pace and swing in Nagpur. It is always nice to see a Fast bowler operating in that fashion. After the retirement (Test Cricket) of Bond’s injury-hit career, in Steyn we have a genuine fast bowler. Like he said before this series, the pitch does not matter to a fast bowler with genuine pace and swing. Actually his spell decimated Indians from that Nagpur match more than anything else.

Sehwag’s Blitzkrieg & Sachin’s Master Class

Sehwag and Sachin’s tons in the first innings went in vain due to lack of support from other end. But in the second test they forged an excellent partnership which took India to a safe position. South African bowlers who were looking menacing in the first test looked clueless in the Kolkata test against Sehwag’s onslaught and Sachin’s Master class.

VVS & Dhoni

VVS Laxman, who missed the first test due to an injury, boosted the struggling India batting line-up. His mere presence in the middle-order gave the Indian team a calming assurance. He and Captain Dhoni took India to a position where they can dictate terms against opposition.

Bhajji Comes Good

Zaheer Khan was bowling without much support from other Indian bowlers. Bhajji, who had a horrible first test, was suddenly firing on all cylinders. He reduced Proteas to a paltry score. He again comes good in the second innings. He was ably supported by Amit Mishra in the second innings. Infact Mishra was the one who struck vital blows for India.

This test series throws few interesting observation. One: India always struggled against genuine talent. Second, Proteas always faltered at important moments. Indians were clearly rattled by Steyn’s talent (pace and swing). In the past, India always struggled against likes of Mendis, Akthar, Afridi, Bond and others when they were first encountered. On successive encounters Indian players became more comfortable against some of them. Everyone knew the preparation Sachin had put on to tackle Warne before the test series started in 1998-99. So, Indian batters were always comfortable against Warne. Second observation is a most well known thing. Another interesting observation is that against all oppositions, India mostly struggled against South Africans. Even against Australia, they have fair amount of success. What may be the reason?