The Chuckster is back

The Chuckster is a changed man. Marriage and a honeymoon almost makes him forget the pain of the test series defeat to Australia. Not totally, but almost.

Anyway, what is past is past. India won the final test and brought a little bit of respectability to the series scoreline. About the whining about the pitch by the Aussies, they should take some time and look at the replays of the dismissals. The pitch may have been difficult but most of the dismissals were due to bad shots or good fielding etc.

Finally about Ganguly's 2 match suspension (as of right now, the ICC has suspended the suspension, thus making him free to play the SA series), it was long overdue. If one looks at all the matches of the Indian team over the past two years or so, more often than not, they are behind the time schedule and not by a small margin either. Rather than cursing his luck at being suspended, Ganguly might be better served wondering how he escaped for so long. See, point is that there is a rule and it has been enforced here. Yes, this rule is not enforced uniformly across all matches across all match referees etc, but if one guy implements it correctly and the others don't, I don't think the guy doing the right thing oughta be cussed, really. It oughta be the other chaps who don't follow the rules who should be given the stick.

Anyway, poor Dinesh Mongia. After hitting a ton and considering Ganguly's suspension, he must really have fancied his chances but with the ban being put on hold, his knock has no value except as a reminder when more injuries occur.

Ramesh's knock in the same tour opener was disappointing. Ramesh has had a rought time of it in the past and many would say for no fault of his but then he can either sit and cry about it or can make his way back to the second opener's slot. The only way to do it is scoring big and he just blew a chance. He isn't getting any younger and he would do better to grab such opportunities when they come. Else some day in the future, he will be sitting at home with a warm cup of tea and wondering about "what if ....".

BTW, anyone who hasn't yet ... take a look at the new SA sensation named Amla. With his bald head and huge beard, he makes Saeed Anwar (after his religious thingy set in) look smart.

Good to be back.

Cheers

The Chuckster