AGEING LEGACIES: SACHIN TENDULKAR AND MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

The noun form of the word ‘age’ varies with the same ‘age’ when used in the verbal form. One talks about a prolonged period of time (noun) whereas the other points to the process of getting old (verb). I looked at these two meanings and felt there is several a miles separating the two. How confused one can be if we mix one another; more so when we use the term inappropriately.

This article was prompted after having watched Michael Schumacher showing certain glimpses of his past racing career in the recent races. He retired in 2006 and he did go on a high; who can forget his breathtaking overtaking manoeuvre on Kimi Raikkonen at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix at his last race (at that time) with just few laps to go. I am a fan of his driving ever since I started watching Formula One in late 90’s. He made a surprise move in 2009 when he decided to come out of his retirement to have a go at the races beginning 2010. Brink of touching 41 (in 2009), who would have given him a chance? This isn’t a just a sport, F1 is a huge business where P&L are calculated like any other ruthless corporations. Mercedes after having decided to go on their own (earlier they supplied just the engines) roped in Nico Rosberg and the well known German in the form of Michael Schumacher, a German family well established. Yes, it was Ross Brawn’s idea (who is the team principal at Mercedes), but he doesn’t own the team. Unless agreed at the top level, Michael could not have returned to the team where he first started his racing career (He was with Mercedes before F1). So where did age play a role? In a sport where reflexes are paramount, what expectations did the Mercedes management have when they signed him?

91 GP victories were a thing of the past so were his record breaking pole positions and breathtaking fastest laps – all he had was experience and joie de vivre when it came to racing. He had everything to lose after what he had achieved in that sport. Now he was willing to give up all just for the sake of racing. Certainly there were more people whose decisions mattered most also were on the same track. So a new life for a legend (we have seen Michael Jordan doing it) and in the third year (after having started racing in 2010) – for the first time he is showing the signs that he is competitive and his car is getting better (He had his share of bad lucks with the engine failures and car problems in 2010, 2011 and at the start of 2012 season). It seems he does not care much about reputation, if he would have like any other normal investor would do in the market – he would have chosen to play it safe. Which person would risk such a reputation?

On a similar note while I am talking about one of my favourite sporting personality, in a striking distance I find a similarity to my other favourite – Sachin Tendulkar. Ever since the 2011 England tour debacle, I have been hearing a lot of them telling him to quit playing cricket.  Each time he refuses to – So what, our people will have different strategies to pin him down. The voodoo of 100 hundreds was created and it reached such huge proportions that, every failure became a platform for mockery and more criticism. I have a simple funda – let him decide as he is sensible enough to decide what’s good for Indian cricket. Being patriotic doesn't mean being awake at all the times, it is about being awake when it matters the most. Indian cricket is still going through a transition phase. They reached #1 while in transition, make no mistake. A lot of players came in, had their moments and result – India won. Now the formula doesn't work anymore, you know why? There was nothing so called a formula. It just happened as we were treated to one triumph after the other which culminated with the World Cup. Coming back to Sachin, he is good nine months shy of turning 40. Now this brings back to my first point – What does 40 signify? Is it a mere number? I would say – yes, in its true definition, as there are other parameters for ageing. 

While Sachin can never inspire a generation of teenagers in the current situation, he has given hope for a lot of others, especially people of his age. Agreed, no selector or a BCCI administrator would dare axing him from the team – a privilege no other sportsman has ever had in my lifetime. I know someday he would retire – that day I only hope the Indian team doesn’t feel the void left by him. Looking at our present set up, I have not seen a cricketer to have maintained a certain degree of authority. They have just been replacements, not because they are worthy, but they happen to be our next generation of players. In a team sport, it isn’t about individual brilliance; it’s about individual contributions for the greater cause. If one fails, the others must step up. Sadly in the past one year, it is the stepping up which has been a problem. The recent India ‘A’ tour to West Indies was a learning curve and frankly only more of such learning curves can bring out a player(s) who can knock the doors of Indian team selection consistently. It is not about just giving a chance at the top level, it has to be a matter of choice.

Michael was three when he first raced using the kart built by his father and Sachin had already picked up the cricket bat by the time he was five. It has been a long journey for both of them and bulk of it was spent to excel in their respective sporting arenas, a case of choosing the sport over their personal lives and reputation.

Michael has had his moments off the track for a brief time (though he was still consulting with Ferrari post retirement) and Sachin has started speaking about things about life beyond cricket.

BCCI has made few changes from this season onwards and it certainly looks like a positive move. Cricket wise, it is going to be a crucial six to eight months with three teams (New Zealand, England and Australia) touring India for Tests. Add Pakistan for ODI’s and T20’s, you will see a lot of things happening and who knows, we might come across an announcement, a good-bye at the conclusion of this Indian cricket season. 

Irrespective of whether there are worthy replacements, he will be gone. But for now – his market value has not diminished (a true indicator of one’s form these days) and he continues to play, while Michael continues to race as they both are giving finishing touches to their unique legacy forts. 

SPAIN CREATES HISTORY AND LOOKS GOOD FOR MORE

Three Sundays ago on the night of 10th June, these two teams (Spain and Italy) played out what I called then a boring draw. I was in that mood that day, and I was not taking the defence to show up. But it did and it didn’t surprise me as two of the best goal keepers were on the field. My favourites Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon – it is a treat to watch them defend their territory and fight it out like gladiators; yet at the same time a pain to see one out do the other. Football do needs a winner eventually. Thankfully football isn’t close to any boxing match, but should it go to the penalties, the knockout punch will be felt. And so, after three weeks of entertaining football, I saw these two teams again on a Sunday night, this time it was for the championships. 

It was 1920 at the Belgium city of Antwerp when Spain last won against Italy straight in a high-profile encounter. That was the year of Olympics and if we do not include penalties, you can safely say it has indeed been a long time. I didn’t want this to change and like the previous edition of Euro, I wanted these two teams to settle it out on penalty shootouts. It wasn’t to be as Spain proved to be very strong and too good for the Italians. 

I have not seen a more dominant side in football for a period that involves three major competitions. France had it in them during their run when they won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro and Brazil prior to that. In 21st century, towards the end of the decade, the side more famously known as the “La Roja” showed their initial signs as world beaters. 

So what makes this side so special? You only have to look at the players in the squad and any ardent football fan will tell you, the names do ring a bell in their heads, all the time. The Barcelona players are at the moment in the league of their own. Though Real Madrid showed little signs of a fight back, they are still few miles behind. Collectively, the core of the team that makes Barcelona, the world’s most feared team happens to be the core of this Spanish team. Add Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, David Silva, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and Sergio Ramos, you have a combination that looks deadly. 

In European football among nations, only Germany had come close with respect to the consistency and on their day, they certainly looked like cup favourites. Something was missing, you can call it the X-factor or ‘mojo’, and they couldn’t quite finish the way they start the tournament. 

In my opinion, after France (1998-2000) I see this team to be the most feared and dominant team in the recent years. France had shown what a bunch of individual genius’s could do when they combined talents and gelled together. I saw a similar pattern here with the current Spanish team and if the last three tournaments were anything to go by, they look pretty solid to retain the World Cup as well. 

Credit goes to Del Bosque, the coach of this team to have come with a different tactic in the absence of David Villa, the country’s leading goal scorer. The formation of 4-3-3 did work wonders as the highly skilled mid-fielders and their tiki-taka style of play ensured genuine strikers like Fernando Torres and Pedro Rodriguez coming only as substitutes. 

Strikes from David Silva, Jordi Alba and late strikes from Torres and Juan Mata made sure Iker Casillas lifting his side’s second successive Euro trophy and country’s third overall (they had won in 1964) and thereby joined Germany as the only two countries to be triple European champions. 

It was at Vienna; nearly four years ago this team took a step towards the peak of world football. They still are at the top, with World Cup 2010 in their kitty and the 2012 Euro Championships. The beauty of this game is that it has never allowed a team to be at the pinnacle for long. It has always given other sides to stake a claim for the top prize. With the Euro 2012 win, Spain is looking good to change this trend. We have to go back to Chile 1962 when Brazil successfully defended their World Cup title. It has been 50 years and we are yet to see a back-to-back champion. It has happened in Euro for the first time and time will only tell; as in two years, the attention shifts to Brazil and all the eyes will be on this team to see history being made. 

WORKING WITH RAHUL DRAVID

Over the past two months I happened to live in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. Work being for IPL this season I was excited for many reasons. More so, this being a new venue for me and secondly the team which is based out of Jaipur is being captained by one of my two idols in cricket. Yes, the name is that of Rahul Dravid.

He retired not so long ago this year and what would you expect from a retired legend in IPL? More importantly, what would be Rahul expecting from himself. He was replacing Shane Warne as the captain, who had made an impact with the team and was pivotal in Rajasthan Royals winning the inaugural IPL title in 2008. Expectations and comparisons were being made, but the Wall was composed as he openly talked about his expectations for the season. He wanted to win and more importantly he wanted him and his team to perform well and keep getting better as the season progressed. 

Sawai Mansingh Stadium, the venue for Rajasthan Royals proved to be a good one with Royals winning their first three home matches. Ajinkya Rahane had found sublime touch and in the company of Rahul Dravid gave RR decent starts on a consistent basis.

Personally this piece is more on Dravid. I have never seen him being more vocal and animated on the field. He wanted to lead by example and so he did; be it with the bat or on the field, he was always there. Even when they had a string of defeats he was very clear on accepting where they went wrong instead of looking for excuses. Such a quality in a person is indeed admirable and how can you wish such a guy to lose a game? It was really hard.

Coming from Bangalore I do admit having a soft corner for the RCB team. On the night when Rahane scored a hundred in front of a packed Chinnaswamy stadium, i felt I was supporting Dravid, the local lad than the local team. Trust me, it wasn’t easy but over the past two years working with the league has helped me overcome this fact. Though I am not a passionate fan of RCB anymore, I do like them to win the title someday and this year I had a feeling RR deserved it, more so for Dravid.

The one run loss in Delhi didn’t help the cause and I feel personally that did affect RR mentally. Something went amiss though the team displayed strong character, it was evident somewhere it did affect them. And so after playing 14 matches in the league, it all came down to the last two matches. One at Hyderabad against Deccan Chargers and the other against Mumbai Indians at home in Jaipur.

I was looking forward to the match against the Chargers and in a way thought it would be a walk in the park. Upsets are common in sports and today what was witnessed is just another example as to why living in present is the best approach in sports, no matter how much one plans. Royals lost and so did I for a while. I didn’t want to work on the last match seeing the sad faces of the RR management team. Play-offs were this close and yet the defeat today has made it look so far. They don’t deserve to be placed seventh on the table, but such has been this season that there was very little margin for any errors.

I am not sure if Rahul will be back next year. It is entirely upto him as he looks forward to his first real break from cricket post-retirement. He might have not won the title this year, but surely he ensured his team would be known as the well behaved team in IPL 5. Few more days to go and then our paths might not cross the way it has been in the last few weeks. But the memory shall be there – Of the chats (though very little) we had, those pleasantries exchanged on a regular basis and just the way he went about playing cricket on the field; it was different, yet the flavour remained the same. It was just cooked differently.

The season is over for the RR team and I am not thinking beyond the 72^nd match of IPL. That will be the last match for RR and they will be just playing for pride, a win to wrap up a missed opportunity season.

Out of many memories, this one would last for some time. My niece Meghna is three years of age and over past one year has taken some interest to cricket. Not bad for a Swiss resident and this time in Jaipur she finally managed to get herself a cricket bat. A proper GM bat specially designed for young aged cricketers. Destiny; with few hours left for her to fly back, I found Dravid quietly eating his dinner as I entered the restaurant to have my dinner. He was kind enough to sign the bat for the little girl and that bat wasn’t just any bat after that moment. I am certain my niece had no idea what had just happened, but she will someday if at all she takes up cricket more seriously.

I have had some of the best times in Jaipur this year and fittingly did manage to find some time to know more of the city and got an opportunity to meet people and have an understanding of how they perceived this sport. And one among them was Dravid. 

Till next time, Rahul.... 

100 HUNDREDS IS JUST A NUMBER

It was a day of introspection and honestly I didn't think much about the game (India- Bangladesh) as I had work and safely thought India would win the match. It was late in the night when I checked for scores. India had lost the match and I didn’t think much after that.

Earlier in the day, I had a meeting scheduled at 4 pm with some cricket officials. My manager and I were on time to catch up on few pending issues. Most of them were busy watching cricket and why not I thought. Tendulkar was batting on 89 and it was 5 minutes past four. We sat and thought to ourselves, the meeting would be delayed. I was in a way wanting to watch Sachin bat, like I always do.  If work takes precedence; then I wouldn’t mind switching off as I know I can watch the highlights package. But it so happens I end up being there whenever he has scored a hundred.  That very moment I thought to myself he is going to score a hundred. Ten minutes hence, boss and I had finished our cup of tea but the century wouldn’t come.

Strangely enough all the officials got up and were ready to leave the hall. I was surprised by this act of theirs and in that moment I stood up too (Gosh, what was I thinking????). My boss intervened and said – “Guys, we can do this after he scores a hundred”. Slightly assured everyone got back to their respective chairs and so we continued watching the match. I wondered in between the deliveries about the decision to sit and watch the game and was surprised I actually was ready to leave the hall. My thoughts were interrupted by Sachin’s eagerness to take the quick singles. I had never seen him that nervous and believe me I have watched him bat for a long time in my life. For once I felt he wanted to achieve his milestone in order to attain salvation. This so called ‘100^th hundred’ was hurting him and the only way out was to score it. Only a hundred would have given him the freedom and he had 99 of them; but the elusive one was all that mattered. The rest didn’t matter.

Twenty minutes past four and I see him score a boundary and now I was certain he would score. He reached 99 and my thoughts went back to the run out in Ireland, caught behind twice against Pakistan and England. My gut told me he would get it this time. I took out my phone and wanted to record this moment. Two short videos were all I managed to take as he wasn’t able to get that single. Over gone and he had to wait for some more time and everybody had to wait for some more time. Shortly the moment arrived as he promptly nudged the ball to the leg-side, jogged for a single and there you go. His celebrations were minimal but it did carry a point. He pointed his hand to the Indian flag on his helmet and that said it all.

Frankly I didn’t react much and to be honest I wasn’t overly bothered that he achieved something great. I was quietly happy for him and delighted to have witnessed in what might go down as one of the historical moments in cricket. We all got up, did the stadium recce and on our way back saw the local press going bizarre. It was Jaipur and one had press asking questions like - “How do you feel about Sachin scoring his 100^th hundred?” I couldn’t hear much as the fire crackers were being burst and next thing I was being stuffed with ladoos, not one but two big ones.

Now, what does this Tendulkar hundred mean?

I have heard a lot of things written and said over the last one year. I was delighted to see his hunger to score runs and his willingness to score the big runs. He still has the passion to play and personally I feel his absence will be felt whenever he chooses to retire. It isn’t the first time in cricket or in a particular team such a situation has occurred; nevertheless his retirement is going to pinch a little extra. Team India should not be affected but the way I will look at cricket will be interesting. I haven’t quite seen cricket without Tendulkar. I know he has been sporadic over the last few years but he was always there and continues to be there. Till when, to be honest I am not thinking much about it at the moment.

I chose to look back on the journey that took him to his 100 hundreds. In my room lazing down, switching channels lying down on a sofa, I flashed back to those moments I remember of Sachin. It is too many to be honest. From the day of shaking his hand as an eight year old and keeping a collection of his photos that appeared in various magazines till the time listening to him speaking about his fears and the worst feelings he had to endure during his playing career last year after the World Cup victory. It was just too much to remember as I eased myself into the present world.

Before going to bed, I asked myself a question – Will I still wake up like I did not so long ago to watch him bat? Or now that he has achieved the milestone, will I take it easy? What a silly question, I thought?

Like him, even I have grown and in this phase of my development I have learnt to celebrate the happy moments in a silent manner. I have read and heard a lot of comparisons of Tendulkar with other cricketers, then this bloke isn’t just another person from the block. He had worthy peers and yet with this milestone (all to himself), he seems to be in zone where he is peerless. The three digit club in the international hundreds column is all his and from the looks of how cricket is going to evolve, it would take some beating to emulate such an achievement. Records are meant to be broken, yet Bradman’s record average is untouched and seems very unlikely to be matched; now this worthy successor of Bradman from Mumbai has just done something very similar. Every rule has an exception; in cricket we now seem to have two exceptions.

In an era where I have been lucky to watch the brute of Ponting, the class of Lara, the toughness of Steve Waugh, the versatility of Kallis and the presence of Wall, none has impressed to the extent Sachin has. There may have been a lot of reasons to this, but one thing that stands out to me is – I have never seen any other cricketer in my generation who has enjoyed the game better than Sachin; this ability of his stands out in a world where we constantly look for reasons or situations to enjoy our life.

Should he retire - another question I am constantly asked being his fan? I feel as his fan, he should never retire. But retiring is a part of every athlete’s career.

Sachin chose to play cricket, work those extra hours in honing the skills, practicing constantly in the nets, to sacrifice the normal teen and adult life, to have managed to come back from career threatening injuries, to modify his technique in combating any errors, learn from the failures and going after his dreams, maintaining integrity, dignity and controversy free life .

When a person has managed to choose many different things that has helped cricket and to an extent a sense of delight to most Indians and cricket lovers across the world, isn’t it right to let Sachin to make that all important final decision? 

ADELAIDE – SCENE OF THE INDIAN WHITE WASH

Letting the chances go by, suffering and finally humiliation; Summing the theme of the first 3 Tests Team India came into the 4^th Test having a long gap and one wonders if there could have been a 3-day match organized just to keep the cricket flowing instead of having nets alone. Did we overlook this gap when the schedule was drawn up?

Reality as it stood in Adelaide; with one test to go there was nothing much to lose since the Border-Gavaskar trophy was already taken. Winning the dead rubber would only salvage some pride but not repair the dents.

M.S Dhoni who was banned for this Test for over-rate issues gets time to plan mentally for the T-20 and the ODI series while Sehwag, the stand-by captain had hopes of continuing his good record as captain. Prior to this match, Adelaide has been dear and kind to the Indian team in the recent past, having won in 2003/04 season and dominant for most parts in 2007/08 season. This time the scene was different and any result has no bearing to the morale of the team, as the damage had already been done. Any positives out of this test will be an indicator as to what where the team is headed or if at all there is light at the end of this dark tunnel.

Michael Clarke winning the toss on a good batting track had every intention of keeping Indians on the field for long; not surprisingly he opted to bat. Ashwin was back in the team replacing for Vinay Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha would keep for the first time in Tests after having made his debut earlier in 2010 as a batsman. Did India miss a trick by not opting Ojha instead of a third seamer?

Indians had a good start as Australians found themselves in a situation like the previous Tests;  losing the top order and only to have two of their in-form batsman making the rescue act. It was time for the sequel of ‘Pup and the Punter Show’ – and the show went on much to the frustration of Indian fans and delight to all the Australians. Runs flowed continuously for 95 overs, spanning close to 400 minutes which yielding 386 runs in the process. For people who love records, this partnership was for statistical delight – the partnership was the highest for India-Australia Tests for any wicket. The selectors must be patting themselves for having kept Ponting in the team, as it weren’t to his revival Australians would have struggled to post those big totals which has been the difference between the two teams in the entire series.

Captaincy must be a great thing; ask Clarke and he will vouch for it as he is in the best form of his life. Not sure if it has to do with lack of penetration by Indian bowlers or really good quality batting. From what I have seen from the series, it was clearly evident Indian bowling lacked penetration at crucial junctures and intensity was missing when partnerships were built. Barring Melbourne Test, India never looked like picking 20 wickets and the failure of batting didn’t help the bowlers either as Clarke went on to make another double hundred and thereby became the first captain to hit a triple and double hundred in the same series.

It isn’t a pleasing sight when you are a fan and even the most cynical Indian fan would not have anticipated the extent the Australians have been drubbing the bowling attack in this series. It has been just three innings and those three innings have seriously dented the confidence of the bowling attack; This in spite of having the luxury of having injury free bowlers, unlike in England. The misery finally ended with Ryan Harris hitting a six off Ashwin and Clarke declared the innings  after his team posted 604 runs in little over five sessions of play.

What do you expect from the Indian batting this around? All I knew for a fact that, if Australia were to win the Test, Indians have to be dismissed twice. With 21 overs left on the second day and three more days, I hoped one brave act from our line-up. Sehwag blazed away scoring boundaries before getting out to Siddle. Not to mention, India did manage to get their highest opening partnership of the series, a meager 26 runs. Enter Rahul Dravid, a run later the brick was disturbed yet again. I am no expert talking about his technique and I shall only say, he is a much better player than this. Not often I have got this feeling, but in this series, I felt Dravid looked like getting out on most occasions whenever he came out to bat. I was speechless when he was beaten and was left with no explanation as the replays kept showing him getting bowled.  The feeling only got worse when the broadcaster displayed all his previous dismissals in the series.  Another day, I was left with wondering – Will the third day be the day?

On the third morning, barely the Republic parade had started; Indian batting line-up had a parade of their own losing five wickets for just over an hundred on board. A republic day hundred was what the whole of India hoped for, but it didn’t happen from the bat of Sachin. Gambhir and Laxman soon left and it seemed even a good batting track wouldn’t be of much assistance to the mental state of the Indian team. Will be there another low score? and by this time I was used to getting up early and watching India perform badly with the bat.

Kohli and Saha, a fresh pair was a pleasant sight to watch. For the first time, there was some intent and purpose in the way they batted. The pair went on to add 114 runs before an error of judgment from Saha at the stroke of tea; almost went through a session wicket less. Almost!!

With wickets  falling at the other end there were some anxious moments whether or not Kohli would score India’s first century of the tour. He got there finally and erupted like a wounded gladiator having just won a hard fought battle. His hundred was redemption of sorts, a personal victory more than anything else. His maiden hundred will be the highlight of the tour and a glimmer of hope for the batting line-up that someone stood up and made it big while for many the pride was lost in their final playing days.

It wasn’t a green top wicket - the batting order was disturbed by sheer discipline and Indians were lost all the wickets for 272. Clarke didn’t impose the follow-on; with the pitch still good to bat coupled with the heat, it wasn’t such a bad idea to give the strike bowlers some rest for a session or two before going all out on the Indian line-up.

It will be the final showdown in Australia for many of the batsmen and they will have no option but to save the match, avoid another white wash in less than six months or wilt away in the heat of the battle. But they had to wait as Australians opted to bat for some time.

Bowlers again stuck to their task and picked up the first three wickets easily. Barring the Perth massacre, the Australian top-order has rarely troubled the Indians. In quest for quick runs, the resurgent Aussies went after the bowling with Ponting having another good hit and showed no signs of being under pressure. Clarke declaring with a lead of 500 and with little over five sessions to bat out, the Indian batting was merely a formality as one expected nothing but a miracle to avoid the whitewash.

Looking at the batting scores posted in the series, even the highly regarded optimists wouldn’t have bet on India winning this Test. Logic!!! But cricket in the past has defied logic and has shown miracles don’t just happen on ice. I hoped for one last glory with track being flat. Frankly the finale started on a low note with Gambhir getting out cheaply as Sehwag opened up his attacking instincts with boundaries coming at ease. It was the first innings at Melbourne did Sehwag last play such a knock and when Lyon tried to strangle him for runs, the stand-by captain could not resist the temptation for too long and mistimed a full toss to Ricky Ponting.

Sachin Tendulkar in what seems like his final outing in Australia came to the crease with no expectations whatsoever. Or was that an exaggeration from my side? The 100^th hundred talks had taken a back seat ever since India’s surrender at Perth. But expectations are like nails, they keep growing and can only be cut, trimmed from time to time but can never eliminate it. His hundred would have appeased few on the ground who had a tough time supporting the Indian team. Indians were the favourites coming into this series and never played like the ones with the top tag. The procession soon followed first with Dravid getting out to a wide delivery and then Sachin trying to defend Lyon’s ball gave a easy catch to short leg. Irrespective of what had happened to the little master, he was given a standing ovation send off for the memories of 20 years. As he walked back to the pavilion having had the worst Australian series individually, he must have wondered how life seems like a full circle. India had lost 4-0 when he had first toured Australia and now in what seems like his last tour, India were in the brink of losing 4-0. He has seen much better days and who knows he might make another trip to Australia, if form and body holds up.

VVS Laxman and Kohli put on some resistance before Lyon managed to induce a false stroke from Laxman and was out caught at short mid-wicket. Surely, I saw Laxman to have played his last innings in Australia. His career took a notice when he made that hundred 12 years ago at Sydney. It feels a curtain has been drawn and he has all the time to decide in the coming months as to where his career and life was headed.

With few overs to go in the day, Ishant Sharma walked in as a night watchman. The decision to protect the night watchman proved costly for Kohli as he was short of the crease when he tried to take a tricky single. With four wickets and a day to go, the question was how long the tail resistance would last?

The final four wickets could add only 35 runs and India had their second whitewash in as many away series. Not only they plummeted to number three in the Test rankings, it was a hard fact to believe that they are still ahead of Australia in the ICC Official rankings, although they are just ahead on mere technical basis. Later in the day with England losing to Pakistan on a spin-friendly track, I asked myself as to who really is Numero Uno at the moment?  It would take few more series and years to find a team which is suited to play in all conditions.

A few of the players likes of Dravid and Laxman would not be there for the ODI series, but the bulk of the squad will be boosted by few fresh minded ones who have come to Australia for the two T20 matches and a tri-series with Sri Lanka as the third team. The outlook will be different as India would like to repeat the heroics of 2008 when they won the tri-series. Will they perform as expected from World Champions ? or Would the white wash have an impact on the psyche going into the shorter versions of the game?  Time will tell 

PERTH: THE NADIR OF INDIAN BATTING

The wait was over and I was ecstatic to have woken up 15 minutes prior to the match and to see Indians batting first. “What better way to start a morning?” – I thought as I went to wash my face. It was 15 minutes past five and my mind went ahead of imagining India bat for the next two days and how I could sit at home on two non-working days just to watch the Indian batting line-up piling up the runs. Then the Buddha moment hit me – “Think only on the present and not ahead”. 

Ambling through the first few overs of the Test match Indians lost Sehwag and Dravid while Gambhir at the other end had decided he was not going to get out easily.  He was kept company by Tendulkar who hit three of the best drives one can see – one straight, an on-drive and to demonstrate his prowess on the off-side a cover drive which silenced all the demons people had to say about the pitch prior to the match. Both teams having opted for an all pace attack must have thought, have we made a right decision? It didn’t look like when Tendulkar was at the crease. Ryan Harris brought back after a fiery first spell took the prized wicket just when the master looked good for a big knock. Gambhir soon followed after having resisted the temptation outside the off-stump,  finally succumbed and nicked one to the keeper. Well, it isn’t the ideal start as India went into lunch on the first day after having inserted into bat by Michael Clarke.

The talk prior to the match was about giving youngsters a chance and the news of Rohit Sharma replacing VVS did the rounds. Well, Rohit will have to wait for his opportunity as Laxman retained his place and now had the responsibility to steer India to a decent total. He had Virat Kohli by his side and both looked good resurrecting the innings with 68 runs being added to their partnership. Kohli made his first major error of the day when he misread the length and ballooned his drive to Warner at deep point. And soon Laxman went for 31 following the dismissal of Kohli who made an impressive 44. With six wickets down, out came Ranganatha Vinay Kumar for the first time donning the Indian whites and thus became the latest entrant to the Test team. His brief stay at the crease yielded 5 runs and nine runs later Indians found themselves to be dismissed for 161.

At this point I felt embarrassed and I quite didn’t know how to react and I had a strong reason for this. It wasn’t just the collapse that made me feel exasperated but the manner in which the batting collapses have been taking place on the foreign soil. I cannot recall during my lifetime such a dismal performance overseas and the last time India lost consecutive six matches abroad, my mom was just nine years old. Now seriously there is an issue and the persistent problems over the past six months can’t be ignored or overlooked. With peanuts on the board to defend, bowlers had another shock in the manner David Warner went about his innings. He dominated right from the start and by the time the day ended he had a century to his name, Australia were 12 runs behind and having 10 wickets intact and to make matters worse only 23 overs were bowled. Can this get more worse? To give credit, where its due it reminded how Sehwag went about his innings and Warner, being Sehwag’s team mate at Delhi Daredevils showed what he is capable of. A product of T20, Warner showed it to the world 20-20 after all isn’t such a bad thing to cricket.

A new day comes with a new beginning never mind the scars that Indians carried coming into the second day. With pitch still assisting the bowlers, there was every possibility Indians could have turned it around. Not until a double century stand and gritty 65 by Ed Cowan, bowlers managed to take the first wicket. Umesh Yadav, easily the find of the series from India’s perspective took three quick wickets, Indians were in with a chance for a comeback. Dhoni persisted with Zaheer, Ishant and Yadav and the trio ensured Australians didn’t repeat their batting heroics of Sydney. At the stroke of tea,  Aussies were bowled out for 369 with Yadav claiming his first five wicket haul and Vinay Kumar his first scalp in Tests.

The final session of the second day, Indians did well to restrict the lead to 208 runs considering the way Warner destroyed the bowling on his way to a splendid 180. Having got the best start of this series, Gambhir got out to a bouncer from Starc while scoreboard was just 24. Sehwag got a peach from Siddle and that had top two run-getters in the world at the crease. From the looks of it, it wasn’t easy and it was only matter of time where another wicket would fall; that moment occurred on the 17^th over when Starc was brought back after previously having bowled just an over, had Tendulkar plumb in front and Indians were three down.

The 10 year entertaining history of India-Australia Tests were started by the pair of Laxman and Dravid. It was their partnership  in Kolkata in 2001 that changed the course of the future bi-lateral series between the two cricket loving countries.  They had a huge task in hand. As the adage goes, “History repeats” – Will it be again them as they did in Kolkata, Adelaide etc?

For the sake of pride if not anything, India needed this pair to defend, cut the deficit and ensure the team reach a position from where they could have challenged for a win and come back into the series. My mind went too far ahead twice in as much days and before I could calm myself back to the reality, I saw Laxman edging to third slip Marsh and the man, I mean ‘The Man, the troubleshooter, the specialist’ was gone. Out for a duck, walking back to the pavilion in a manner as I have never seen him do. Did he just play his last stroke in international cricket?

It was just too much to take and that’s when the other side of reality hit me. If suffering is what makes India take strong steps ahead (referring to 2007 loss at the World Cup, 3-0 loss to Australia in 1999/2000 and followed by 2-0 loss at home to South Africa in 2000) so be it. Let this team suffer for the future’s sake as somewhere down the line we have to think about improving even while being on a winning streak. We love to live in the history and I am no different but somewhere the fascination shouldn’t overlook the present reality, that if not given a serious thought will hamper future’s growth.

With such thoughts I went to bed and no matter what the result (Was I still hoping for India’s victory??). A gritty fight by Kohli and Dravid raised the hopes of a fight back and the dreams were washed away when Dravid and Dhoni got out quickly. It was a matter of time and would have just been a consolation if Indians managed to make Australia bat again. With 43 runs behind and four wickets in hand it looked possible going into lunch. Post-lunch all it took the Oz bowlers was 20 balls to dismiss India for 171 and hand them a second consecutive innings defeat. Kohli the lone warrior among the batters managed to score more than 100 runs (both innings) in this Test.

How many times in the past two away series we hoped India would show their magic with the bat? The number goes to 14 at the end of this Test. The teams are allowed for missing out on runs and big scores occasionally; what sort of a Tests is it, if we do not have few collapses once in a while to spice up the match? But there were one too many in the past six months and the Perth test to me was the nadir of this current Indian batting line-up. Reality seriously bites and I am just a humble cricket fan.

The vision of taking the top spot was a long process which started when Ganguly was made the captain and had John Wright as India’s first foreign coach. It took nine years to achieve the feat. After taking the top spot, BCCI did their best to accommodate as many tours as possible with top teams to retain the #1 spot in the past two years, removed the DRS for Indian tests at the behest of some senior players and provided all the facilities possible for the players to win matches. Somewhere things have gone wrong and it looked all the more clear since the World Cup triumph. Class is permanent and this team has many class players and the solution isn’t just about dropping seniors and replacing them with juniors, it is beyond it. It is about a process.

Moving forward, a vision must be put in place if Indians have any hope of reclaiming the top spot. A phase-out plan for seniors, injection of youth, horses for courses and maintenance of workloads  of cricketers. This isn’t a new territory, Indian ODI team went through the transition phase brilliantly post the early World cup exit in 2007; and with a well structured foresight Test cricket will also be in good shape. As Indian players have plenty of time till the next Test to introspect,  I am getting reminded of few lines from the song ‘Measure of a Man’ sung by Elton John -

“There comes a time when castles fall
And all that's left is shifting in the sand
You're out of time, you're out of place
Look at your face

That's the measure of a man

You've come full circle, now you're home
Without the gold, without the chrome
And this is where you've always been
You had to lose so you could win
And rise above your troubles while you can

Now you can love, now you can lose
Now you can choose
That's the measure of a man”

The fourth Test at Adelaide starts in nine days and with series 3-0 down, I hope some pride can be restored by winning the Test (oh really?). Ok, at least,  Can we not try avoiding the second white wash in as many away tours?

PERTH – WILL THIS BE THE SCENE OF A GREAT INDIAN FIGHTBACK?

Last time when Indians arrived in Perth the score line read 0-2 to Australia and this time it is no different; at least with respect to the score line. Apart from 2-0 deficit there aren’t any similar situations as last time India lost the Sydney match which bolstered India’s purpose of the whole tour. It galvanized the entire team and the result – more determined performance which resulted in winning the Test match in a venue, considered alien to the sub-continent teams.

Twenty years ago Perth Test match showcased the world about a 18 year old teenager who had the temerity to take on the big boys of Aussie bowling attack. He isn’t the teenager anymore but comes to this week’s Test match being one of the game’s greatest and more importantly the in-form batsman in the present touring squad. Expectations have only multiplied in the last twenty years and the talk of the town is surrounding his century and nothing else.  For a change how about we focus all the attention towards India and their chances of winning the Test match?

Just to give a historical perspective – The ground at Perth is named after the owners - Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA). The venue known for its intense heat is cooled by the afternoon breeze sweeping along the Swan River,  famously known as the ‘The Freemantle Doctor’.  Though the stadium was built in the late 19^th century, international cricket was never scheduled for a good 80 years owing to transportation problems. Since this is located far end from the cricketing hub, it needed an airport and scheduled flights to Perth to make it accessible for international cricket. It finally happened in the year 1970 when Australia took on England. The highlight of the first match - Sensational arrival of Greg Chappell into the international arena by scoring a century on debut.

Perth had to wait for another four years as the second match was played in 1974; since then the Test matches at W.A.C.A  has been a regular feature in the Australian test match calendar.

Knowing as the fast bowler’s paradise – The ground at W.A.C.A has been traditionally known as a surface that assists fast bowling and good stroke play. Termed the ‘fastest track’ in the world, there has been many intriguing contests with bat and ball over the last 38 test matches it has hosted.

India first played at this ground in 1977 against an Australian side that was weakened owing to disputes,  many first choice players had with the Australian cricket board over Kerry Packer issue. Having batted well in both the innings with centuries to Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath in the second innings, Australia won the Test match chasing 342 runs by two wickets. India had a great chance of recording their first victory on Australian soil at Perth but the bowlers could not penetrate at crucial junctures. However India won the next two matches at Melbourne and Sydney to make it 2-2 before losing the decider at Adelaide.

Two trips to Australia were made one each in 1980/81 and 1985/86 which saw the performance of the Indian team being very solid drawing the series each time, that also included the famous Melbourne Test win. None of the test series featured Perth as the venue and it was not until 1991/92 season Perth was featured again and also a five test match series.

In 1992, with few weeks to go for the World Cup Indians came to Perth to play the final Test. They were trailing 3-0 and with the fast bowlers Australia had in their squad, 4-0 was a very probable result. Sachin Tendulkar made the headlines in the world cricketing circles with a resounding 114 which featured 16 boundaries and bulk of them coming from square of the wicket. Apart from this, this Test also had a moment of celebration, a consolatory one for Kapil Dev who became the 2^nd bowler at that time to take 400 wickets when he trapped Mark Taylor in front of the wickets. Going into the last day, India had all their wickets in tact; though victory was too far to think of (442 runs) a fight was expected and things were on track for the fight back with Indian openers putting up their best partnership of the series (82). It is the habit of losing wickets in a heap that hampered India’s progress as the Aussie quicks spearheaded by Mike Whitney and the debutant Paul Reiffel ended India’s resistance two hours after the fall of first wicket. Though India displayed some individual brilliance at different occasions in that series,  none were consistent enough to enforce a respectable draw or a victory.

In the next two series in Australia, Perth was given a miss and it was only in the January of 2008 one got to see a Test match between these two nations return to this ground. The build-up to the Test match was enormous with India having threatened to boycott from the series if the umpires Steve Bucknor wasn’t replaced for the Test match.  Harbhajan Singh was not playing and there was a comeback of sorts for Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan.  Both made a impact on this Test with quick runs coming at the top and Pathan finding the swing and discipline to take wickets at regular intervals. Pathan was the Man of the Match for a performance which made India the first Asian team to win a Test match at Perth. The match had other highlights - Ishant Sharma’s spell on the 4^th day to Ricky Ponting is remembered till date, Anil Kumble taking his 600^th Test wicket and more importantly India winning the Test match and thereby stalling the hopes of Ponting taking the 17^th Test victory in a row. Though India could not win the next Test match and thereby level the series the spirit was well admired even by the Australian public and ex-cricketers.

January 2012 - The attention shifts to M.S Dhoni and his troops with comparisons being drawn from the team’s performance in 2008. Dhoni was the vice-captain back then which included most of the current players. Will he draw some inspiration from that victory? Will he show aggression that is required in such situations in a place like Australia?

“How much truth can a team bear, how much truth can a team dare? ... that became for me more and more the real measure of value.” - a personalized quote of Friedrich Nietzsche

Next week, things will become clear regarding the bounce back ability of this current Indian team, which not so long ago was rated as the number one Test team in the world.