(Image courtesy: New Indian Express)There are days when skill, technique, finesse and temperament get blown away by sheer speed and raw adrenalin. L Suresh looks at six such days that are already here…
It is said that there are only three things in life that swing both ways – a Manoj Prabhakar delivery, the sexual orientation of a few and an Indo-Pak one-dayer. If at all science can be applied to identify a pattern to the 95 matches played between the two teams, it has to be the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle – the more precisely a team’s position is determined, the less accurately is the outcome of the match known at any given instant. (Of course, that could exclude bookies – but one is equally uncertain about this as well.) If only the BCCI or the PCB had the foresight, they would have registered the PGA’s tagline of ‘Anything’s possible’ a long time back. (Between a General at one end and a Patron Saint at the other, anything’s still possible, but we’ll leave it at that.)
When differences are settled
Two teams that are both unpredictable, swashbuckling, mercurial and loaded with talent that never quite translates into winning performances. But the similarities don’t stop there. It’s incredible how even the highs and lows of the two nations go hand in hand. They scored a whopping 371 against Sri Lanka. We battered the same opposition for 373 and then bettered that score with a 376 against the Kiwis. They folded to a paltry 43 against the Windies. We gave chase, but were left out of breath at 54 all out against the Lankans.
When differences are settled
Two teams that are both unpredictable, swashbuckling, mercurial and loaded with talent that never quite translates into winning performances. But the similarities don’t stop there. It’s incredible how even the highs and lows of the two nations go hand in hand. They scored a whopping 371 against Sri Lanka. We battered the same opposition for 373 and then bettered that score with a 376 against the Kiwis. They folded to a paltry 43 against the Windies. We gave chase, but were left out of breath at 54 all out against the Lankans.
Even when the ICC began twisting the bowling arms of all cricket-playing nations, both of us had casualties - Shoaib Malik and Harbhajan Singh. And while spinners were being reported for suspect action, the pace bowlers from both teams were reporting at their respective sick bays for pulled muscles, torn ligaments and sore backs.
Where differences set in
Today, they’re ranked 4th in the ICC ODI ratings. We’re 11 points and 4 places behind. The results of matches played between the two teams are no different – while we’ve won 33, they’ve won almost twice that, having scalped us 58 times. Ever since we beat them 3-2 in their backyard, we’ve played them 4 times and have been outplayed the same number of times.
We like our tests better…
Normally India finds it convenient when one dayers are held before the test series… not that it helps them adapt to different versions of the game, but it provides Ganguly with a convenient excuse after a customary loss in the ODI series – ‘we’re a better test side, so we’re looking forward to the test series.’ There’s no such luck this time, with the test series over…
United we stand, collectively we fail
As for India, the series was completely predictable, Ganguly failed, Sehwag shone, Dravid did The Wall – Part 23 and Kumble sent scribes scurrying to the dictionary of cliches to dig out phrases like ‘wine that matures with age’. As for the rest, they simply rode a sinusoidal wave of alternating performances – ranging from the awesome to the awful. What is it about the Indian team that it succeeds in patches, but fails collectively?
Yet again, we didn’t fail to make heroes out of players who were, until recently, auditioning for key roles in their test side. Thanks to this tour, Kamran Akmal will never again have to fight for his place in the team. And Asim Kamal has grabbed the opportunity with both hands (though Inzy would’ve wished he’d done the same with all his catches). Afridi’s place in the test team will never again be questioned (in spite of the fact that he bats ‘like a four-year old’.)
As for India, the series was completely predictable, Ganguly failed, Sehwag shone, Dravid did The Wall – Part 23 and Kumble sent scribes scurrying to the dictionary of cliches to dig out phrases like ‘wine that matures with age’. As for the rest, they simply rode a sinusoidal wave of alternating performances – ranging from the awesome to the awful. What is it about the Indian team that it succeeds in patches, but fails collectively?
Yet again, we didn’t fail to make heroes out of players who were, until recently, auditioning for key roles in their test side. Thanks to this tour, Kamran Akmal will never again have to fight for his place in the team. And Asim Kamal has grabbed the opportunity with both hands (though Inzy would’ve wished he’d done the same with all his catches). Afridi’s place in the test team will never again be questioned (in spite of the fact that he bats ‘like a four-year old’.)
The teams for the one dayers
A non-playing captain. A vice-captain who also keeps. A star batsman who happens to be the highest run-getter in the world. Two young turks who are still riding high on their NatWest conquest. And the Nawab of Najafgarh who truly deserves his place in the team in any form of the game. Obviously that leaves the player who ranges from Very Very Special to Very Very Suspect – and he had to go. One doesn’t dispute the decision. One only wishes a few more accompanied him. And unless Dinesh Mongia bowls like Afridi and Ganguly like Razzaq, one cannot see the superior wisdom of the selectors in leaving India’s spearhead Kumble out.
As for them, well, they have little to complain about. Shoaib Akhtar is not in, so their chances of winning are high. Their batsmen have all been nursed to form by our team and the part-time bowlers have been converted into spearheads. Perhaps the only thing that they are likely to miss is the bowling of Shoaib Malik, but then, one has got to give the Indian team a fighting chance.
A non-playing captain. A vice-captain who also keeps. A star batsman who happens to be the highest run-getter in the world. Two young turks who are still riding high on their NatWest conquest. And the Nawab of Najafgarh who truly deserves his place in the team in any form of the game. Obviously that leaves the player who ranges from Very Very Special to Very Very Suspect – and he had to go. One doesn’t dispute the decision. One only wishes a few more accompanied him. And unless Dinesh Mongia bowls like Afridi and Ganguly like Razzaq, one cannot see the superior wisdom of the selectors in leaving India’s spearhead Kumble out.
As for them, well, they have little to complain about. Shoaib Akhtar is not in, so their chances of winning are high. Their batsmen have all been nursed to form by our team and the part-time bowlers have been converted into spearheads. Perhaps the only thing that they are likely to miss is the bowling of Shoaib Malik, but then, one has got to give the Indian team a fighting chance.
A reshuffled batting line-up: Long after Afridi turns 35 (guess that would be after the 2019 World Cup, right?) and retires, speculations would still be on about his 'demotion' down the order. But it seems to be working – it worked wonders in Australia and against us, when he played a crucial role in slamming the door on our faces in the ICC tournament with his 25 off just 12 balls. Another masterstroke was sending Shoaib Malik at No. 3. It has always worked – at least against India. Power, technique and class be damned, the man is simple, downright effective.
Spinning a success story: A year back, they were dismissed as part-time bowlers. Under Woolmer, Afridi and Shoaib Malik launched an offensive that has been extremely effective against India – surprising considering the fact that Indians are supposed to be the world’s best players of spin. Together they managed 7 for 38 off 10 overs against us in the Videocon Cup in Netherlands. The league match face-off in the ICC tournament and the Asia Cup, and the BCCI Platinum Jubilee Match saw equally spirited performances from the two. Of course, Malik will be playing purely as a batsman in this series, but then it could well be Kaneria and Afridi against Team India.
To scamper or to chase? : While we have, over the decades, alternated between being solid ‘defenders’ and good ‘chasers’, the Pakistani team seems to at ease with both – in the 6 of the 9 matches they’ve won against us in the last year, they’ve won 3 matches batting first and 3 matches batting second.
Spinning a success story: A year back, they were dismissed as part-time bowlers. Under Woolmer, Afridi and Shoaib Malik launched an offensive that has been extremely effective against India – surprising considering the fact that Indians are supposed to be the world’s best players of spin. Together they managed 7 for 38 off 10 overs against us in the Videocon Cup in Netherlands. The league match face-off in the ICC tournament and the Asia Cup, and the BCCI Platinum Jubilee Match saw equally spirited performances from the two. Of course, Malik will be playing purely as a batsman in this series, but then it could well be Kaneria and Afridi against Team India.
To scamper or to chase? : While we have, over the decades, alternated between being solid ‘defenders’ and good ‘chasers’, the Pakistani team seems to at ease with both – in the 6 of the 9 matches they’ve won against us in the last year, they’ve won 3 matches batting first and 3 matches batting second.
While we’re still busy trying to shrug off the tag of chokers and poor chasers, they seem to be focused on a different aspect of the game – winning.
A boundary off the bad ball and a single off the good one: In the beginning, there were frontline batsmen (classic stroke-makers like Gower) and there were pinch-hitters (basically, tailenders like Lance Cairns who could heave wildly and have more hits than misses). Then came along a youngster named Dean Mervyn Jones, who transformed one-day cricket in the 80s with his simple philosophy of wearing the opposition down through singles. Javed Miandad imbibed this philosophy and brought it to Pakistan. Today he has a whole team of batsmen - from Salman Butt to Inzy, Youhana, Younis Khan, Razzaq, Malik and Afridi, who are all stroke-makers capable of scoring at a fast clip.
Now to our side of the story…
For over a year now, when it comes to one-dayers, we seem to be on an octane-powered jet lift in the Petronas Towers, hurtling 452 metres down to street level. With just Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh behind us and with Kenya on the verge of losing their ODI status, it’s rather lonely at the bottom. There was a time when we were No. 2 (had we been Avis, we would’ve tried harder, but then…) and that was ages ago. What followed was a steady slide down to No. 8 – probably the only signs of consistency shown by us in the world of cricket.
So what does it take for one to start at the top and work one’s way down?
A middle (dis) order: When Dravid, Kaif and Yuvraj are in form, it’s hard to lose. And with Sachin and Sehwag firing at the top, on a good day, we can even take on Australia. But our problem is that on a good day, there’s just one good performance (sometimes two) and on a bad day, well, it’s a collective day off for all. If, for a change, we are not searching for openers, then there is a big fight just one place below at No. 3, with Ganguly, Mongia and a recently promoted Kaif vying for the spot.
No spot, no shot: When one reads reports of cricketers sulking because they were moved down the order, one can’t help feeling exasperated. How does it make a difference coming at No. 3 or at No. 4 (or even No. 5 for that matter)? Playing at No. 3, you could come out in the 38th over when the score reads a healthy 190 for 1. And playing at No. 4 you could find yourself in the centre in the 6th over when the score reads 8 for 2. So how does this thing work? What makes it worse is when players attribute their non-scoring performances to this shuffle. As the cliché goes, ‘It happens only in India’.
Spinning out of orbit: None for 57 off 6.2 overs. Two for 14 off 10 overs. Howzzat for extremes? These stats, belonging to Kumble and Harbhajan in two consecutive matches (we lost both) in the NatWest series against England reveal the larger picture – lack of consistency. Unlike the Pakistani team, ours is a team full of part-time spinners – Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Mongia. If only we can take a leaf out of the Sri Lankan Team that won the ’96 World Cup…History has shown that fortune favours the team in which bowlers can bat and batsmen can bowl.
Batting to a field: A phrase found only in our coaching manual. So, while the world over, the bowlers bowl to a field that they set, we do it differently. Our batsmen can be seen playing straight to the fielders. Great shots, flowing drives, exquisite cuts, mighty pulls… all straight to a fielder. So no runs, no rotating strike and no winning total. That takes us to the next issue…
All strike, no rate: The last couple of years have seen Sachin, Sourav and Dravid slowing down perceptibly, in their attempt to play through the innings. This desperate jostling at the top to play sheet anchor not just defies imagination, it also makes mediocre bowlers look world-class, with figures of 3-32 off 10 overs. With Yuvraj found wanting against spinners in recent times and with Kaif having to prop the batting when everyone else fail, it’s only up to Sehwag to step up the score. And if he fails, what follows is a test match in coloured clothing.
Well, this one day series will be neutralising a few things – there are no day-nighters. So there’s no issues of chasing under lights, sighting the ball, the ball getting soggy or the outfield becoming slow. The toss may not make much of a difference either. Not much can happen to a pitch in one day (unless one defied medical science by doctoring the pitch). Nor will there be much dew in the morning, considering the heat wave in most parts of the country.
Tall scores, lusty blows and hapless bowlers are likely to be the order of the day, as the bat dominates the ball and sends the Manhattan and the mercury soaring. By virtue of their faster run-scoring abilities, Pakistani definitely has an edge over India in this one-day series.
From India’s perspective, what we need to remember is that batting first or second will not make a difference.
But winning will.
From India’s perspective, what we need to remember is that batting first or second will not make a difference.
But winning will.
(Appeared in the New Indian Express Sunday Supplement as Final Analysis on 03 April, 2005)
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