VKpedia

India are chasing 499 for victory. We have two days to get there, to rewrite Test history. But one man can write a script totally unexpected – Rahul Dravid.

At stumps on day 3, Dravid was batting on 3 off 30 deliveries, a scoring rate well above that in the previous inning, where he managed to bore everyone (including his own self, possibly) by helping himself to 5 runs off 66 deliveries. At a strike rate of 1 from 12 deliveries, Dravid is probably aiming to bat out the next 180 overs and guide India to an unexpected draw.

But no, this is not about statistics.

India’s scoring rate shows, nay, exposes our lack of confidence in taking on the Aussies. We are giving the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Brad Hogg much more respect than their bowling deserves. On the contrary, the Aussies approach every Test match as if it were a one-day contest. They strive to maintain a run rate of around 4, which requires them to be aggressive. This pushes the opposition on to the back foot, and secondly gives the Aussies fighting totals quick, which lends their bowlers a platform to work with.

Over the past few years, the Australians have used this aggression-submission technique to transform cricket into a different kind of sport. Technique and artistry, once the hallmarks of the “gentleman’s game”, have been replaced by improvisation and brute force. Which also explains why we prefer watching MS Dhoni to VVS Laxman. And as sport is a result-oriented business, winning is everything.

The Indian cricket team might be World Twenty20 champions. But if we are to seriously challenge Australia in the other forms of the sport, submissive cricket is not going to get us anywhere. While blooding the team with youngsters is important, it is more important to infuse in them more aggression and killer instinct that has made the formidable Aussies the team to beat.

A Texan billionaire has pledged $100 million over a period of three years to improve the game of cricket in the Caribbean. Allen Stanford believes that the expanded Stanford 20/20 tournament to be held in early 2008 will be a “life-changing experience”.

The prizemoney up for grabs is $2.9 million. That is huge for a domestic competition. (The overall prizemoney for World Cup 2007 was around $5 million.)

Sorry, Team Bangladesh, for the earlier post. And thank you very much for putting cricket first!

For all the talk about getting the right combination and infusing young blood, India’s squad for the World Cup is just plain old fare.

I would pity the selectors though. They really had little choice, and once you saw Sehwag’s name on the sheet, you knew they had thrown in their towels. Here is a man who was dropped for consistently underperforming. He comes back against Sri Lanka. India are in a strong position. He plays with such infectious diffidence and gets out cheap. (Honestly, one felt pity for Najafgarh’s favourite son. He was more comfortable back in the dressing room than in the middle.) Next day, he is queuing up to collect his flight ticket to the Caribbean. More on Sehwag’s selection here…

If you had watched the Rajkot game, you would have seen a marked difference between Sehwag’s approach and that of Dinesh Karthik. Karthik played with so much more confidence you always knew India would coast home if he were around. Some would argue “But Sehwag was short of confidence, because he had been dropped!” Pray how does diffidence help him at all? What if he is just that in the World Cup? Sehwag’s selection is because he is good fielder and can get a few overs through easily. If he bats well, I would count that as a plus.

Rajdeep Sardesai, in his usual come-slap-me style, asked Mohinder Amarnath this evening, “Do you think Dinesh Karthik is one of India’s seven best batsmen?”, as if Karthik had been picked to fulfil Tamil Nadu’s quota in the national side. Bloody hell, put your stats on the stove, Rajdeep. Here is a young chap who’s playing with such maturity and has won a few tight games for India. In terms of form, consistency, dependability, and technique, he is currently next only to the masterly trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly. And did you not read Chappell’s comments on Karthik? Rajdeep, don’t waste airtime like a twat.

I would have liked the selectors to have tried out VVS Laxman for the World Cup selections. But Chappell’s belief that Laxman is only a Test batsman effectively sealed it. But did not Sreesanth evoke similar comments?