Spineless and Insipid

.. those are the only words which come into my mind to describe the performance of the #1 test cricket team in the world.

The situation gets worse with the selectors confirming their mindlessness, yet again, after selecting the squad for the 2nd test.

Raina (batsman), Karthik (wk), Sreesanth (bowler) -------> coming in for:

Tyagi (bowler), Saha (wk), Abhimanyu Mithun (bowler)

Saha's omission is understandable. What are Mithun and Tyagi dropped for? They didn't even play the test match! Considering that Sreesanth is just coming off an injury, and of course, Ishant Sharma seems to have lost it, it just compounds the nonsense! Given the fact that Mithun has been in good form, his selection would have been the right thing to do in the 2nd Test Match. He would have provided a good wicket taking option - what with Harbhajan Singh's and Amit Mishra's performances in this match.

Are they also accepting that Karthik is the first backup 'keeper/batsman for Dhoni? What was Saha selected for? No idea about the selectors' though process here.

Suresh Raina's selection seems to be the "safe" thing to do right now. Here too, the selectors have gone with international experience, than actually thinking about Raina's overall skills. Raina's problems with the short ball are so well known now, one can write a novel. I am not too sure this was the right thing to do.

Who else then, if it wasn't going to be Raina?

Options:

Cheteshwar Pujara

Manish Pandey

Virat Kohli

Abhishek Nayar

HEAVY scorers in the domestic setup. Enough said.

What went wrong in this test match? Plenty:

1) Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan and Amit Mishra being rendered almost useless. No excuses. Ishant Sharma needs to look at the way Morkel bowled.

2) Sehwag's dismissal in the first innings - I think his reaction after his dismissal said it all. This was the catalyst to our now famous collapse.

3) Sehwag's dismissal in the second innings - if at all I had any sympathy for him after his dismissal in the first innings, all that just went up in thin air with his irresponsible shot in the 2nd innings.

4) Murali Vijay's dismissal against the run of play, playing a sweep shot against a left-arm over the wicket spinner, given the situation - not done.

5) Tendulkar was determined to fight in the 2nd innings, but unlucky, however, the question arises again, was it a needless shot?

6) For all those people who are baying for Dravid's and Laxman's spots in the Test team, eat this.

I don't see how India is going to salvage this series. Laxman's probable return at Kolkata could prove to be a big difference. I hope to see a turnaround in the application of the Indian batsmen, otherwise, it would just end up proving that these folks don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

My ideal playing XI for the 2nd Test Match would have been:

1) Sehwag

2) Gambhir

3) Vijay

4) Tendulkar

5) Laxman/Pujara (given his technique)

6) Badrinath

7) Dhoni

8) Harbhajan

9) Zaheer

10) Mithun

11) Sreesanth/Mishra/Ojha depending on the wicket.

Ratings:

Sehwag - 6 for the century annulled by a stupid shot, and a stupid shot repeated in the 2nd innings.

Gambhir - 2 - Pace too hot to handle.

Vijay - 4 - threw it away in the 2nd innings.

Tendulkar - 7 - Unlucky. Showed what he's made of in the 2nd innings until that freak dismissal.

Badrinath - 5 - Good fighting fifty in the 1st, needless waft in the 2nd innings.

Dhoni - 3 - Hardly any contribution in this match, tried to stick around in the 2nd innings.

Saha - 3 - Stuck around in the 2nd innings, but I won't be too surprised if this is going to be his first and last test match.

Harbhajan - 2 - Listless and ineffective.

Mishra - 3 - Inconsistent but also a little unlucky.

Ishant Sharma - 1 - less said the better.

Zaheer Khan - 5 - the only Indian bowler on view, who looked like taking wickets.

Time to put your hands up fellers. The championship is at stake.

All the best @ Kolkata.

-V

Selection conundrums

I wonder at the logic behind the BCCI selection panel sometimes - selecting players who are never even the first-choice back-ups for existing specialists, be it batsmen/bowlers/wicket-keepers.

The logic astounded me even more, because Wriddhiman Saha was given an opportunity ahead of Dinesh Karthik in the squad for the 1st Test Match against South Africa. Not to take anything away from Saha who has been pretty consistent throughout this first-class season, but Karthik has been even more consistent, and figures do not lie - what with his twin 150+ scores in the Duleep Trophy final which concluded today.

Given the fact that Karthik had just one test to show his mettle against Bangladesh, it doesn't mean that you go ahead and dump him for the series against South Africa - where are you achieving consistency and maintaining the bench strength?

And yes, Murphy struck on the 1st Test Match's warm-up session. Rohit Sharma, who all along, hasn't done enough to merit his place and play consistently in the Ranji Trophy, (barring an unbeaten 309 against Gujarat, which made his average look god-like), when people like Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara have been scoring runs for fun, eventually got injured during the warm-up session.

So who replaces him? Wriddhiman Saha. A bloke who's primarily known for his keeping and lower-order batting, becomes Laxman's replacement, who's a thoroughbred, out and out batsman.

Even if one took Dinesh Karthik into consideration just for his batting, one could always argue that Karthik was more meritorious of selection.

Here's where the short sight of the selectors is seen glaringly.

Either way, India have to live with all the facts of this test match:

1) No Dravid, no Laxman or even an equivalent replacement.

2) A wicketkeeper batting at #6.

3) 2 spinners, one who doesn't have the patience to utilize a pitch which is tailor-made for him, and the other who's learning his trade, but doesn't seem to be gifted enough to trouble batsmen at the highest level, and lacks consistency.

4) 1 fast bowler who's in a rich vein of form, another, who thought he rediscovered his form, only to get back to his old ways.

5) 2 South African batsmen scoring big unbeaten centuries, ending the first day at 291/2, after being 6/2.

6) Another day to try and bowl South Africa under 400.

None of these signs are encouraging. I don't see how India can save this test match, forget winning it, given these dearth of resources.

I predict South Africa to amass a score of 500+ and declare tomorrow evening, unless points 3 and 4 totally backfire against me, or the batsmen themselves gift their wickets away, something which is not likely to happen.

The key to the Indian batting will undoubtedly be the openers - Sehwag and Gambhir. Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar (Who's going to shepherd this batting line-up around, and I guess it's maybe the first time, in a long while, that he has had to play amidst people who are extremely raw to test cricket), Badrinath will have to shore up the batting, with atleast 2 of the 5 getting big hundreds and the rest chipping in with useful knocks and partnerships.

More to follow tomorrow.

Cheers,

V

Injuries, selection dilemmas and an obvious victory

To make things really simple, I will be talking about 3 things:

1) The just concluded 2nd Test Match between India and Bangladesh.

2) The injuries caused during the course of the test match.

3) Selection dilemmas due to these injuries for the series against the South Africans.

2nd Test Match, India vs Bangladesh:

The result was not in any doubt after India got a 311 run lead - thanks to a couple of centuries from Dravid and Tendulkar (#45, there you go Mr.Ponting, 6 more for you to catch up), with Gambhir and Dhoni providing support. There was going to be just 1 victor after that.

Yes, Tamim Iqbal did play a blinder, though on another day, he could have gotten out without getting too many runs on the board. He definitely has talent, but needs to mature and be selective in his shot selection.

Zaheer Khan's bowling with the old ball over the past couple of years has been a revelation. If anything, after Kumble's retirement, he has been the key wicket taker for India.

Inconsistencies and not being able to finish the job off with the bowling seems to be a thorn in the flesh right now. It was the same case when Bangladesh were 51/5 in the first innings (absolutely no business in giving them 233 runs). The pitch did ease out in the 2nd innings of the Bangladeshi batting, making the bowlers' job a little tougher. Tamim Iqbal rode his luck while it lasted, Junaid Siddique seemed to be the more assured of the two.

Bangladesh has a good nucleus in place right now. It needs to develop on this to become a bigger force in world cricket.

My player ratings:

Sehwag - 6 A few of his customary thwacks, and getting out to a short ball. Cramping him for space.. something for the South Africans to think about?

Gambhir - 7 Got out to a very good ball, another short one though. Gambhir will have to be in a situation to anticipate a barrage of short balls from the Proteas if he has to continue his good form.

Dravid - 9 A typical Dravid innings, looked good to get more until that nasty bouncer. He has equalled Sir Donald Bradman, in case you folks didn't notice.

Tendulkar - 8 Another century goes into his piggy bank. Not entirely convincing though, a couple of chances here and there. But we will take a Sachin test century however it comes these days, won't we?

Murali Vijay - 7 A blinder of a catch in the 2nd innings (one-handed @ 2nd slip), and an assured 30 in the first innings, until he threw it away. Looks good to replace or give Yuvraj Singh a VERY GOOD run for his money for the #6 spot.

Yuvraj Singh - DNF (Did not feature).

MS Dhoni - 8 Good captaincy and a typically unorthodox 89 in the first innings. If anything, was let down a little by his inconsistent bowlers.

Harbhajan Singh - 2 Did nothing of note in this test match, be it batting or bowling. Generally seemed to have lacked control.

Zaheer Khan - 9 Almost single handedly carried the Indian bowling attack on his shoulders, ending the match with 10 wickets. And can one forget that 3 wicket over? Brilliant reverse swing bowling. Deserved both the man of the match and the series awards.

Pragyan Ojha - 6 Was crucial in the 2nd innings with his flight and nagging line. Took a couple of crucial wickets.

Ishant Sharma - 6 Bowled well in the first innings, responsible for snaring the top order. Nothing much of note in the 2nd innings.

Injury updates:

I remember this line from a friend of mine - why do Karnataka players fall prey to jaw fractures?

If you're wondering who these players are: Kumble and now, Dravid. Who can forget Kumble's warrior-like effort in the West Indies? Still gives me goose bumps.

Quoting a few lines:

"May 12, 2002

Broken jaw, what broken jaw?

Nursing a broken jaw - heavily strapped up, with bands going around his jaw, over his head and across the back of it - takes the field on the third day of the fourth Test at St. John's and sends down 14 numbing overs, dismissing Brian Lara lbw with one that rips from off. None can deny the efforts of Kumble, whose grit and resolve are there for all to see. The match ends in a tepid draw, and Kumble flies home - a hero, no less - to have his jaw sorted out. "

Now that Dravid is injured, and it may be medically unlikely for him to feature in the South Africa series, let's jump to the next topic.

Selection Dilemmas for the South African Test Series:

We have Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj and Sreesanth injured. I personally don't think it makes much of a difference with the latter 2 being injured right now. With Dravid and Laxman though, it's a big deal.

I assume that atleast Laxman will be able to make it to the tests. I doubt if Dravid/Yuvraj/Sreesanth will take any part. More info here http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/content/current/story/446005.html

So, that brings us to the next interesting portion. #3 and #6 up for grabs. Who's gonna take it?

Murali Vijay is by far the #1 candidate for the #3 slot. I don't see any competition here. He could walk in blindfolded. And I still think that he should play for India in Test Matches instead of Yuvraj Singh @ #6.

#6 opens up possibilities. My front-runner would be Subramaniam Badrinath. Let's face it - atleast for a first-class average of 58.63, this guy deserves a chance. He has always been in the reserves during the test matches pretty recently as well, so I don't think there could be other competitors for this. If at all any, it would be Virat Kohli/Manish Pandey/Suresh Raina/Mohammad Kaif/Abhishek Nayar (yes, he's just scored 259 against North Zone in the Duleep trophy http://www.cricinfo.com/duleeptrophy2009-10/content/story/445991.html), and of course, if Laxman also cannot make it, the choice will be between the above 5 people, and I have a feeling it might go to Virat Kohli.

My playing XI would be:

1) Sehwag

2) Gambhir

3) Murali Vijay

4) Sachin Tendulkar

5) VVS Laxman

6) Subramaniam Badrinath

7) MS Dhoni

8) Harbhajan Singh

9) Zaheer Khan

10) Ishant Sharma

11) Pragyan Ojha.

With the crisis in South African cricket, one could question the mental make up of the side - but I don't see it as a big factor http://www.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/current/story/445957.html

Instead, I would imagine that the South Africans would be licking their lips in anticipation to have a real good go at an injury-ridden Indian side, which is clinging on to it's #1 ranking, and desperately doesn't want to let go.

Desperate situations demand desperate measures, sometimes, heroes are also unearthed. Could we see the future of the Indian batting middle order at display starting the 6th of February 2010?

Time will tell.

Cheers,

V

India win the first test against Bangladesh.. by no means comprehensively!

When we look at Bangladesh's score of 301 all out today, you can't help but wonder - if Tamim Iqbal or Shakib Al Hasan had applied themselves a little more, could the story have been any different? Would they have been able to save the match, atleast? What with Mushfiqur Rahim's first century?

(India have made the habit of giving a lot of "firsts" to new players. A "first"/"debut" century/5 wicket haul etc. You want to make a debut or get back into form, play against us. We won't bite).

Given the rather mediocre performance of the Indian bowling contingent, barring Ishant Sharma, (who seems to be coming back into some sort of form, what with his natural incoming delivery and all that), I would maybe lean towards Bangladesh saving the match. I think they can only get better from here, with more experience.

India is doing the right thing, winning test matches. As the numero uno Test side in the world, it's imperative that the winning streak continues. So, if you look at it purely from a result perspective, the Indians would be happy - with a big positive being Ishant Sharma.

Looks like Virender Sehwag has learnt quite a bit about what to say during press conferences. His post-match press conference was anything but feisty. He seemed pretty dismissive to comment on the "ordinary team" bit, but after being prodded a little more, he made a statement in a very matter-of-factly manner. Asked whether he felt Bangladesh could now take 20 Indian wickets, Sehwag's answer came pat: "No. They can't. They still didn't get 20 wickets."

Uh yes, at face value, that is right, and nobody can argue with that. Yes, Sehwag can thank his bowlers a lot, for bowling Bangladesh out in the first innings largely, http://www.cricinfo.com/bdeshvind2010/content/current/story/445312.html

and for responding aggressively during the 2nd innings, although a little tardy with accuracy. If it weren't for Tendulkar's century and Ishant/Zaheer's performance in this match, the result could have been VERY different.

MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh look set to take their places in the 2nd Test match beginning on the 24th of Jan. I anticipate Murali Vijay to take VVS Laxman's place. (Laxman's injured and is returning home http://www.cricinfo.com/bdeshvind2010/content/current/story/445312.html )

It will be interesting to see if Sreesanth continues to keep his place in the 2nd Test Match, he's carrying a hamstring injury and his performance in the first test was rather inconsistent.

My player ratings for India through this Test Match:

1) Gambhir - 8/10 --> Match winning 100, 5th consecutive as well, in the 2nd innings.

2) Sehwag - 6/10 --> Decent captaincy, nothing to drive home about, and an OK match as a batsman.

3) Rahul Dravid - 5/10 --> Didn't do much with the bat, but his catching was exemplary.

4) Sachin Tendulkar - 8/10 --> Again, a match winning effort in the 1st innings, goes 5 clear of Ponting. Yay.

5) VVS Laxman - 7/10 --> Important unbeaten knock of 69 in the 2nd innings. Almost solely responsible for taking the total beyond 400.

6) Yuvraj Singh - 2/10 --> Did nothing of note in batting/bowling/fielding. Seems to be the weak link in the test side.

7) Dinesh Karthik - 5/10 --> Tidy with the gloves, not too much of a contribution with the bat. Dhoni should take his place in the 2nd test match.

8) Amit Mishra - 6/10 --> Important wickets and an equally important 50 in the 2nd innings. Could have been a little more tidier with the ball.

9) Zaheer Khan - 6/10 --> Inconsistent, but nevertheless got crucial breakthroughs in the 1st and 2nd innings.

10) Ishant Sharma - 7/10 --> The surprise pack of the match for me. Seems to be getting back into rhythm, with his trademark inswingers.

11) Sreesanth - 3/10 --> Very inconsistent, dogged by a hamstring injury in the 2nd innings. Needs to show a lot more consistency if he wants to keep Ishant out.

That's it from me. Signing off until next time!

Cheers,

V

The big IPL auction drama

Ok, let's face it.

There are only 2 reasons for any Pakistani player not to feature in the 3rd Season of the IPL:

1) The tension brewing politically between Pakistan and India. (no one can doubt this).

2) Because of the tension, none of the franchise owners want to put their money on Pakistani players. Visa issues, NOCs, security, what not!

How this came about could be anybody's guess. "Informal" government "orders" &, conversations of influence amongst franchisees, etc.

Yes, it's a body blow to the biggest commercial stage of cricket, not having the World T20 champions around.

Yes, it's wrong to pull the wool over the eyes of the public, by saying that it's the franchise owner's decision, yada yada.

It's all out in the open and it's obvious. Media channels - stop making it a big deal. The country isn't filled with fools. Everyone knows the truth - look at the 2 points above.

Instead, let's look at the difference it's making to people like:

1) Kieron Pollard - 750k USD. (Mumbai Indians)

2) Kemar Roach - 720K USD. (Deccan Chargers)

3) Wayne Parnell - 610K USD. (Delhi Daredevils)

Budding young cricketers who would be overjoyed when they get the news. It would be making a huge difference to their lives, yet, it's upto them to perform and keep their feet firmly rooted on the ground.

For more info about the remaining players sold, check this out http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/445020.html

I'd imagine that Eoin Morgan's acquisition wouldn't make much of a difference to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have 4 overseas players who consistently play in the eleven. Kallis, Ross Taylor, Mark Boucher and Roelof Van der Merwe. It's difficult to think when he'd get to play in the eleven, unless there's an injury or if one of the players gets to rest for a game or two.

This would be my playing 11:

1) Uthappa

2) Kallis

3) Rahul Dravid

4) Ross Taylor

5) Manish Pandey

6) Virat Kohli

7) Mark Boucher

8) Roelof Van der Merwe

9) Praveen Kumar

10) R Vinay Kumar

11) Anil Kumble (c)

12th man: Abhimanyu Mithun

Have more opinions? Leave me a comment.

India vs Bangladesh - Day 3:

It's a pity that a leg spinner ends up bowling 5 no-balls in a test match, during a bowl of 16+ overs. Hope Amit Mishra irons these chinks out.

Overall, it has been an OK day for India. Bowling out Bangladesh for 242, (could have been much lesser) and getting to stumps at 122/1.

I was really baffled at Sehwag's inability to keep a thirdman, even after it was bombarded almost throughout the day. I guess we lost atleast 60-70 runs in that area overall.

I anticipate India to declare tomorrow, leave Bangladesh approximately 20-25 overs to bat - meaning, that India should be able to bat for 60+ overs, score around 250+ runs, leaving Bangladesh close to 400 to get. The minimum score to declare at (in case rain/bad light intervenes) would be 320, so that they can get in a good number of overs at the Bangladeshis by the end of day's play.

I still wouldn't rate Sehwag's captaincy or his ability to think. His dismissal and his captaincy today were proofs. It's difficult to expect anything else really. One would hope that he garners around 10% of sense on the way, and he'd make his already awesome record, look a lot more awesome and he'd win a lot more matches for India. I hope he figures a way out of the mess he almost created a day before the test match through his press conference.

All in all, an exciting day at the IPL auction, marred by controversy. I hope this settles down in a day or two, because there's no point to it.

Cheers,

V

Sehwag shouldn't confuse his style of batting with his style of communication with the Press..

AKA "Look before you leap" OR "Be smart while talking about things which could have possible repercussions".

A very quotable quote from Virender Sehwag, India's stand-in captain for the first test against Bangladesh - it went something like this "Bangladesh are an ordinary side because they are not capable of taking 20 wickets in a Test Match". Now I don't know if this was meant to say "taking 20 wickets against "India" in a Test Match" or whether it was "taking 20 wickets against ANY COUNTRY in a Test Match", but, we can safely say, that somewhere in the midst of Chittagong in Bangladesh, a certain man is safely tucked away in his room, with mostly Sachin Tendulkar to thank, and maybe, just maybe get away with it.

The point is, that Sehwag could have been more judicious in choosing his words during press conferences. You pull it off, you look superb, but if you don't, you tend to look like a mouse trying to find the next darkest place to hide. This isn't like his batting, there are reputations of a lot more people at stake. And life chooses the strangest moments in life to bite you on the bum.

Frankly speaking, I feel we haven't reached a stage where we can strut our stuff and holler "Bring it on". We have barely been #1 in Tests for a month now. Australia have been there and done that, they know how to keep it going, they can afford to talk that way. Everyone knows that they do look silly once in a while when they talk big and lose, but they win more often than not.

So, the bum is almost half-way bitten. Here's what happened:

1) Gambhir and Sehwag got off to a rollicking start. But right after lunch, Shakib Al Hasan got Sehwag in a tangle for 3 deliveries on the trot, Sehwag lost patience, hit the next ball in the air, into the waiting hands of the extra cover fielder. Shakib was more than happy (and how!) to see him go. Gambhir went next, with a careless shot outside the off-stump. This airy-fairy shot (as ol' Geoff Boycott would say) has become the most common mode of dismissal for Indian batsmen. Please surprise me.

2) Dravid and Tendulkar at the crease. Dravid was looking solid, until he played all over a full length ball by the ever exuberant and grunting (almost Maria Sharapova like) Shahadat Hossain. Tendulkar was looking solid, grafting and wasn't going for his shots. The little master had read the situation well.

3) Laxman and Tendulkar at the crease - Laxman looked edgy throughout. His mode of dismissal was quite unlucky, but an unnecessary shot nevertheless, given the situation.

4) In walks Yuvraj Singh. Scratched around, lobbed a full toss straight into the hands of the mid-on fielder. He needs to be given a break, asked to work on his fitness and agility, Subramaniam Badrinath/Murali Vijay should take his place. The Kings XI Punjab have noticed this and have made Kumar Sangakkara the captain. Good decision.

5) Dinesh Karthik at the crease, catching practice to slip. Another airy-fairy shot outside the off-stump. He will be doing his #2 wicket-keeping chances for India extreme harm if he continues in this vein.

6) Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra - nothing much was expected.

7) Sachin Tendulkar - 76* at stumps, crosses 13000 Test Runs, gives a mature and dignified press conference (guess he didn't have a choice). Plays the innings of a responsible senior player in the team, guiding the ship to a somewhat "iffy" total. http://www.cricinfo.com/bdeshvind2010/content/current/story/444613.html

It's going to be interesting on Day 2. I give Bangladesh every chance of bowling India out under 250. (or even lesser). It will all be down to the Indian bowling contingent to live up to the rank of the #1 country in Test Matches.

Elsewhere, South Africa emerged from their hibernation to give England a sound thrashing and managed to square the series 1-1. If anybody had given me this prediction before the series had started, I would have asked him to take the next available flight to Pluto. So England should be happy. http://www.cricinfo.com/rsaveng09/content/current/story/444573.html

India - watch out for a resurgent South Africa. How you play against them will be a reflection of your strengths and of course, weaknesses.

Pakistan has only the rain to hope for, to avoid a 3-0 series whitewash. I don't even want to put the link here, because it's not worth it.

The IPL auction is just a couple of days away. Waiting eagerly for the new acquisitions! Watch this space for more....

Cheers,

V

Guts, glory and heartbreak.. all in one

If anyone missed the Ranji Trophy final today, well, I have nothing to say to you.

Because you missed the greatest ever advertisement for the longer version of the game in India for quite sometime.

Curators from all over India - this one goes out to you guys. Make pitches like these.

More about the match itself, Ganesh Satish and Manish Pandey almost took Karnataka to a glorious win over Mumbai. I had surmised earlier on Facebook to a friend, that if these guys were able to get a 100 runs before the next guy could come in, this match would be of some viewing.

And bingo. It happened.

Manish Pandey has had a wonderful season this year, and I think it's not going to be too long before he gets a chance to don national colours - with his excellent fielding ability, (if you haven't seen it, here goes --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQAD_ygfS_g) and of course, his belligerent batting. It was also heart-warming to see him use his intelligence, and pace his innings beautifully.

Let us not underestimate Ganesh Satish's innings. Sticking like glue at one end, and just giving Pandey the strike. If it weren't for him, Pandey wouldn't have been able to play freely.

Just when it looked like Karnataka almost had it in it's bag, the unthinkable happened. Pandey played at one turning away from Iqbal Abdulla, caught in 2 minds and was caught at slip. Cannot fault him for the stroke though, it was a pretty good piece of bowling.

Also thanks to Amiesh Saheba for giving Amit Verma out when there was D A Y L I G H T between bat and ball. I think this decision cost Karnataka the match, given the fact that they lost only by 6 runs. After Srinivas Venkataraghavan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasaraghavan_Venkataraghavan), I haven't seen a single good quality umpire produced by India.

Dhawal Kulkarni made up for his excruciating number of no-balls in the match (14+) by bowling a couple of PEACH deliveries to get rid of Stuart Binny and Vinay Kumar. Ajit Agarkar was inconsistent, but managed to pick up 5 wickets in the end. I think overall in this match, the rub of the green went Mumbai's way. And if the world had it's way, then maybe this match could have been awarded to both teams, simply because of the stupendous cricket they played.

Test Cricket in India (and I suppose elsewhere) will be alive and well after the people in charge take important notes from this match. What an exhibition of cricket!

If India had shown half the guts and intelligence Karnataka showed today, the result of the Idea Cup could have been different.

After this performance, and since I am not convinced with the kind of fast bowlers India is fielding in ODIs, I would be inclined to think that Agarkar deserves one last chance. What with his slippery pace and the talent to bowl yorkers. He even gives an option with his batting. I think he would be better than Sreesanth atleast at this point in time.

Elsewhere, we had Australia marauding Pakistan, finishing with 302/3 at the end of the first day's play http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvpak09/engine/current/match/406201.html . Ricky Ponting, let off on 0, made sure that the Pakistanis paid with 137*, with Michael Clarke giving him good support on 111*.

On a lighter note, trust the Pakistanis to give Ponting a chance to get to Tendulkar's century tally. :D

With England having won the toss and electing to bat on what seemed to be a juicy Wanderers wicket, the unthinkable happened (ha!). They were all out for 180, Dale Steyn picking up a 5fer and Morne Morkel getting 3. South Africa 29/0 at stumps - I would say, well on course to squaring the series, given the fact that Graham Onions isn't playing this test match and hence there's no chance of him leaving a sour taste in the Proteas's mouth. (pun intended) http://www.cricinfo.com/rsaveng09/engine/current/match/387573.html

All in all, a riveting day of cricket, and some unanswered questions and possibilities.

Cheers,

V