My eleven for the Sydney test

It is always fun selecting a team, and this being the Indian cricket team, it is funnier still because you know that each selection is probably going to get mud on your face the next time the selected player goes onto the field. However, since that is life for a sports blogger, here goes nothing!

Click here to read the complete post

Patriots game to knock the BCCI's block off for dishonouring country?

When India took the big hit it did in the first test at Melbourne, inevitably one of the reasons trotted out was the "need more time to acclimatise" thingy that we all knew would come up sooner or later. It is so convenient; lose and shout "we need more time", win and say "Rahul played great, Sachin is a genius etc".

Click here to read the complete post

SRT shows the way - what happened to his role in the team?

It was a strange experience watching Tendulkar bat today, on the second day of the 1st test against Australia in Melbourne. He didn't play amazingly as he played in his prime; he didn't play shuffle-poke-prod cricket as he has in his recent past; what he did was back his skills as they exist today and take the attack to the opposition. More than the 65 odd runs he made, it was the way he made them that made an ex-Tendulkar fan glad.

Click here to read complete post

Team man Rahul Dravid bogs down the team

If the Indians have to learn something from the second day of the Melbourne test, let it be this! Being a team man to the core is admirable but when the team man bats as Rahul Dravid did while donning the unfamiliar role of opener on the 2nd day of the test, it is better to be slightly selfish and say "Sorry mate, I don't think I can". The team might fare better for that piece of selfish honesty.

Click here to read the complete post

Ganguly the enigma gets a 100

A toast to Ganguly seems to be the order of the day with all news channels carrying quotes from his teammates, past and present, his family, and his friends. I don't go much for accolades for momentous occasions like 100th test, etc.. because they are filled with a lot of sugar and sweetness, some of it false, but this Is definitely a nice time to look back at the various phases of Ganguly, see how it went and how it could have gone if things had been slightly different.

Click here to read complete post

Sehwag or Yuvraj for the first Test? Both, of course!!!

I talked earlier about Sehwag's inclusion in the Test squad for Australia being a good move on the part of the selectors. However, after seeing him sit out the practice game against Victoria, I wondered if it was just to be a matter of a good pick and nothing else. However, the stars seem to be in his favour, and with some luck, he might be walking out to open in Melbourne.

Click here to read complete post

Pre-Melbourne posts - India's bowling nice and fresh after practice game washout

It's a weird title for the post but I tried to be optimistic about things! Four days to go before the Boxing Day Test, and India have managed a grand total of less than one day's practice on Australian pitches, with the bowlers getting none at all. Frankly, there is no reason for optimism here, but looking at the current bowling attack, I can see a slight silver lining (but only if I peer hard enough).

Click here to read complete post