Posts Tagged ‘South Africa’
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When Srinath made his test debut in 1991 Kapil Dev was almost at the end of his career. Watching Srinath in that tour of Australia was a great experiance as he was by far the fastest Indian bowler at that time. The major problem with Srinath was his stamina in the initial part of his career. He could bowl really quick but always looked tired after a short spell. Srinath was also lucky to have started his career when Kapil was still leading India’s pace attack.
Srinath had a good tour of Australia and was in the team which went on a historic tour to South Africa later. Srinath when he made his debut was different from other Indian bowlers of that time. He was a bowler who hit the deck pretty hard and extracted plenty of bounce using his height and a strong action to his advantage. After the tour of SA, he dissapeared for over a year and returned after Kapil had hung up his boots in the 1994/95 season when WI toured India.
In the initial part of his career Srinath was a one dimensional bowler who mostly bowled in dippers to the right handers which made him very effective against the left handers. Brian Lara always had problems facing Srinath. I guess Srinath was one of the reasons why Brian Lara has a pretty modest record against the Indians. Later in his career Srinath developed a good slower delivery and a leg cutter which made him a more all round bowler at the international level.
Srinath was a perfect team man. His career was shortened due to injuries to his shoulder. Srinath’s career ran parallely with Glenn Mcgrath and Allan Donald. The major disadvantage for Javagal was that he never had the back up which both Mcgrath and Donald enjoyed in their respective teams. Most of the time Srinath was the only pace bowler in the dust bowls of India during the early 90’s when India prepared doctored pitches to suit their spinners.
Srinath lacked any support from the other end till Prasad made his debut in 1996. Srinath could have played more test matches and got more wickets if only India had good pace bowlers to support his initial bursts. He was particulary overbowled during the mid nineties under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar. He picked up his shoulder problem after the tour of SA in 1996/97 as he along with Prasad were the only bowlers who looked like taking any wickets on that tour. Srinath manfully toiled hard bowling long spells in mid and late nineties while the rest of the Indian bowlers except for Prasad turned up with mediocre perfromances abroad.
Srinath never got his due as a player as the Indian media is all about the batsmen in the team. Srinath retired after the 2003 WC without much fanfare. Srinath is only pacemen after Kapil Dev to have picked up 200 test wickets for India and the only Indian fast bowler to pick up 300 one day wickets. He was always a team man and stood up to be counted whenever his captain needed him. Srinath was always my favorite Indian bowler. India now can boast of a formidable pace attack with great bench strength which was not the case in the 90’s.
Srinath’s name may not figure in many “All time X1’s” but still he was one of the best India has ever had. I salute Srinath for his great contribution to Indian cricket and for being a wonderful team man that he was. I also wish him all the best in his new role as the ICC Match Refree. I am sure that he would perform this new role with the same passion and commitment as his did for team India as a player.
Srinath - A team man to the core
When Srinath made his test debut in 1991 Kapil Dev was almost at the end of his career. Watching Srinath in that tour of Australia was a great experiance as he was by far the fastest Indian bowler at that time. The major problem with Srinath was his stamina in the initial part of his career. He could bowl really quick but always looked tired after a short spell. Srinath was also lucky to have started his career when Kapil was still leading India’s pace attack.
Srinath had a good tour of Australia and was in the team which went on a historic tour to South Africa later. Srinath when he made his debut was different from other Indian bowlers of that time. He was a bowler who hit the deck pretty hard and extracted plenty of bounce using his height and a strong action to his advantage. After the tour of SA, he dissapeared for over a year and returned after Kapil had hung up his boots in the 1994/95 season when WI toured India.
In the initial part of his career Srinath was a one dimensional bowler who mostly bowled in dippers to the right handers which made him very effective against the left handers. Brian Lara always had problems facing Srinath. I guess Srinath was one of the reasons why Brian Lara has a pretty modest record against the Indians. Later in his career Srinath developed a good slower delivery and a leg cutter which made him a more all round bowler at the international level.
Srinath was a perfect team man. His career was shortened due to injuries to his shoulder. Srinath’s career ran parallely with Glenn Mcgrath and Allan Donald. The major disadvantage for Javagal was that he never had the back up which both Mcgrath and Donald enjoyed in their respective teams. Most of the time Srinath was the only pace bowler in the dust bowls of India during the early 90’s when India prepared doctored pitches to suit their spinners.
Srinath lacked any support from the other end till Prasad made his debut in 1996. Srinath could have played more test matches and got more wickets if only India had good pace bowlers to support his initial bursts. He was particulary overbowled during the mid nineties under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar. He picked up his shoulder problem after the tour of SA in 1996/97 as he along with Prasad were the only bowlers who looked like taking any wickets on that tour. Srinath manfully toiled hard bowling long spells in mid and late nineties while the rest of the Indian bowlers except for Prasad turned up with mediocre perfromances abroad.
Srinath never got his due as a player as the Indian media is all about the batsmen in the team. Srinath retired after the 2003 WC without much fanfare. Srinath is only pacemen after Kapil Dev to have picked up 200 test wickets for India and the only Indian fast bowler to pick up 300 one day wickets. He was always a team man and stood up to be counted whenever his captain needed him. Srinath was always my favorite Indian bowler. India now can boast of a formidable pace attack with great bench strength which was not the case in the 90’s.
Srinath’s name may not figure in many “All time X1’s” but still he was one of the best India has ever had. I salute Srinath for his great contribution to Indian cricket and for being a wonderful team man that he was. I also wish him all the best in his new role as the ICC Match Refree. I am sure that he would perform this new role with the same passion and commitment as his did for team India as a player.
IPL isnt promoting anything
Posted on: April 10, 2008
The dismal performance by the Indians against the visiting South Africans clearly proves that the players were not ready for this battle. Unfortunately over the past few weeks IPL has been given more media coverage than the current test series. The Indian players talking about their plans about a tournament which has not yet started and which isnt an International fixture either shows their lack of interest in this ongoing test series. The South Africans on the other hand are taking this more seriously and are deservedly ahead in this series dominating both the games played till now.
BCCI’s excuse for IPL is that it will promote cricket, but where? I dont think Twenty20 tournament atleast in India needs any promotion. How many players from Kenya and Bangladesh are part of IPL?So what and where are we promoting cricket?BCCI are just trying make the most of the popularity gained by the latest version of the game in India after the WC win. BCCI has no interest to promote anything by having this tournament. BCCI as a board will become richer and the players who signed up will make money. Other than the two parties mentioned no one is gaining because of this tournament. Players have already started suggesting that this should be part of ICC’s annual schedule which is hilarious as this is not an International tournament.
This is an Indian domestic league which has international players signed up for, similar to county cricket in England. ECB isnt asking ICC to include their Twenty20 league in the International calender. If BCCI is going to have this tournament in the middle nowhere without taking the International calender into consideration then they better be prepared to miss some key players on International duties. This is getting completely out of control. When BCCI started this concept I was totally for it as the concept was completely different for cricket but now I am not able to stand it anymore.
The English players who said that they dont want to be a part of the league want their own domestic tournament adjusted to accomodate IPL. This is just getting ridiculous. Why would ECB reshedule their domestic tournament to accomodate another country’s domestic tournament? Its the players who should decide where they want to play. Which league they want to represent, no board is going to reschedule anything to accomodate a 44 day tournament. The problem is that these ameturish comments have come from players like Kevin Pieterson and Ricky Ponting.
BCCI has made sure that the players themselves are looking forward to IPL more than their International fixtures. Before the Pakistan tour was called off, there were few Australian who were dissapointed that they wouldnt be able to make it to the first edition of this league. The Indians already seem to be more interested in promoting their franchise rather than putting extra hours in practice for an International series. The series against the South Africans was very important for India as this was a follow up to a successful tour down under. A good performance by the home team would have made sure that they would be the undisputed number 2 in test cricket.
The performance in Ahmedabad Shows that we dont deserve that tag. The youngsters should realise that they can score plenty of runs or claim plenty of wickets in IPL but as Kallis rightly put it, only your performance in test cricket will be remembered. There have been lots of players who have great record in domestic cricket but the viewers will only remember the Laras, the Tendulkars or the Kumbles of cricket. Playing for the country gives a player the ultimate satisfaction and that should be the first priority for any cricketer. BCCI might make lots of money and probably the team owners will do too but they have to be careful that they dont bring a divide among the cricket fraternity. Again I stand by my statement that BCCI isnt promoting anything through IPL but just are reiterating the fact that they are the big boss of cricket.
Indians lose the plot
Posted on: April 7, 2008
- In: Cricket | Cricket and Sports | Test | test cricket | Test match
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An inept batting performance by the Indians handed South Africa a 1-0 lead in the 3 match series in Ahmedabad. The Indians were shot out for 76 in the first innings which virtually ended their challenge in the second test match. The Indian batting was clueless against the South African pace bowlers with Dale Steyn living up to his pre series hype.
Steyn and Co bundled out the Indians in couple of sessions on the first day with none of the home team batsmen able to apply themselves on a good batting pitch. Agreed that there was some movement on the first morning but that doesnt justify a score of 76. This is exactly what I was worried about when we started getting those unnecessary statements from the young Indian stars after the Australian tour. The Indian team had no planning either in their batting or when they were on the field.
I guess the hype surrounding IPL is also for sure a reason for this debacle. The team members were seen dancing and enjoying themselves on their franchise launches before this series started and also inbetween the games. This shows that the seriousness required for a series which would have made this team undisputed number 2 in tests was not present. SA on the other hand have worked hard and they deserve this success. Their batting was great and their bowling was very effective on a good batting track.
I guess the youngsters in the Indian team have already been spoilt enough with so much of money through IPL that they are not that interested in tests anymore. This was my exact point when the IPL auctions were going on. The kind of rubbish statements made by the youngsters after the Australian series looks very immature now after this game. You can bet on your bottom dollar that Australia will never put up such a horrible performance anywhere, leave alone at home. Thats what makes them a champion team and they will continue to be there. India does not deserve the number 2 spot and that honour should rightly go to the proteas regardless of the outcome of the series.
I am not saying that based on this one performance but we lack the consistancy associated with the top two spots. Indians need to sort themselves out and get their priorities right. Teams are no more uncomfortable touring the subcontinent and India have to be at the top of their game to win a series at home. Having the IPL starting in 10 days time should not take away the focus from this test series in hand. Test cricket is still the medium through which a player’s greatness will be determined no matter how many IPL games they play. The players need to understand the reason why they got picked up the IPL franchise was due to their performances for their country.
If India wins the last test and squares the series 1-1, it still does not mean that the underlying problems are taken care of. I am sure that the players will come back swinging at the media saying that how they blasted them for losing one game and how they have been unfair to them and all but as far as I am concerned all the critisism towards the team was perfectly valid. I guess the only way the team can command respect from the true cricket lovers in India like myself is by performing well in the International stage. We dont care about the IPL’s and the ICL’s as its not the same as representing your country.
Chennai test ends in a dull draw
Posted on: March 31, 2008
The first test match between India and South Africa ended in a dull draw with the visitors on 331/5 when the play was eventually called off. Except for some great induvidual performances this match was truely one of the most forgettable games in recent times. The only silverlining was provided by Sehwag’s great triple hundred. The innings in itself was great but the way he scored those runs was exceptional.
The Indian team would be really dissapointed the way this test match turned out. Every team would want to put the visiting team to their toughest test in their first test match on the tour but we decided to give them a great batting practice. SA batsmen gained more in this test match than the Indians. With centuries from Mckenzie, Amla and half centuries from others in their top order SA batsmen will be really confident ahead of their second game in Ahmedabad.
The pitch in Chennai was really dissapointing as it provided no help to the bowlers, fast and spin alike. The batsmen from both the teams enjoyed great success as it became difficult for the bowlers to dislodge them. This isnt a great advertisement for test cricket when the Twenty20 is ruling roost in this country. After a wonderful series against the Aussies, this was really a dampner on the games oldest format. Hopefully the Ahmedabad pitch will provide some interesting tussle between bat and ball.
The Indians have some injury concerns ahead of the second test with Sachin Tendulkar being the noteable absentee. India have recalled Mohammed Kaif to replace him but I am afraid he will lose that spot to Yuvraj. For some reason Yuvraj seems to have lot of backing from his team mates and keeps getting chances even though he is very inconsistant in this form of cricket. India could afford to miss Sachin for a home game. In the bowling department RP Singh seemed to be unfit in the first game and looked very ineffective. India would be hoping that Ishant Sharma recovers from his injury. RP singh can have a little bit more time off to make sure that he is completely fit.
India would be hoping that the second test is played on a better surface and will produce some interesting cricket.
Sehwag remained unbeaten on a magnificent 309 (n.o) as records tumbled on the third day of the first test match between India and South Africa in Chennai. This was Sehwag’s second triple hundred making him only the third in the history of test cricket after the legendary Sir. Don Bradman and Brian Lara. Sehwag also became the fastest to the landmark scoring the runs in only 278 deliveries.
South African bowlers toiled hard on a flat pitch and the rate at which the Indian innings has progressed would have given the coach and captain Greame Smith a lot to think about. SA would be hoping to dismiss Sehwag quickly on the fourth day to get the RR down which is more than 4 runs per over for the Indians.
The Indians would be hoping to go ahead by 200 runs by tea and put pressure on the SA batsmen later in the day. Sehwag’s innings was punctuated with 47 hits to the fence which include 5 sixes. This is his second consicutive ton after his match saving hundred against Australia in Adelaide.
All in all it was great day for the Indian team and for the first time it seems like there can be a result in this test match. Much will depend now on the rest of the Indian batting and the spin duo of Anil and Bajji, when SA start their second innings. India are just 72 runs behind with two days to go and 9 wickets in hand. Day 4 promises an exciting day of cricket. But for now lets celebrate one of the finest innings played by an Indian cricketer.
Hashim Amla scored his fourth test century and his first against India as South Africa dominated the second day. The day started with SA on 304/4 with Hashim Amla on an unbeaten 85. He did not waste too much time getting to three figures hammering Sreesanth for three boundries in a row. De villiers played one shot too many to edge a Sreesanth delivery to Dhoni, he made 44. Sreesanth bowled a good spell in the morning troubling the batsmen with pace and movement and looked like the only bowler capable of getting any breakthrough.
After De Villiers departed Boucher joined Amla and after surviving a close LBW appeal, he settled down and scored 70. Amla was clearly the star of the day for the proteas as he made 159 and guided his team to an imposing first innings total of 540. The Indian bowlers struggled in the heat of chennai with the pitch not giving them any assistance. Sehwag and Jaffer survived the new ball against the pace of Dale Steyn but they have a long way to go. Day 3 in a way will decide which way this game will go as a batting collapse by the Indians could hand the advantage to the proteas.
India would be hoping to get close to the SA total and see if they can put some pressure on the visitors on the 4th and 5th days.
SA gain upper hand
Posted on: March 26, 2008
SA on top after day 1 of the first test in Chennai. The SA team finished on 304/4 with Amla unbeaten on 85. The opening pair of Mckenzie and Greame Smith gave the proteas a great start, later captalized by their middle order to finish strongly on day one.
The India bowlers toiled hard on an unresponsive pitch and struggled to control the run flow. RP Singh and Sreesanth started very well with the new ball beating both the SA openers regularly but were unlucky not to dismiss them. Once the early overs were negotaiated the South African batsmen took control and mostly remained untroubled. Anil Kumble and Harbajan claimed two wickets each for the Indians. If there is any truth in Harbajan’s statement after the end of the days play its going to be hard work for the bowlers for the next couple of days.
The Indians would be hoping that they can dismiss SA for less than 500 if possible. Again the onus will be on the spinners.
Cricket takes center stage again
Posted on: March 24, 2008
After all the recent hype and hapoola surrounding the IPL and the Australian tour, focus is back on cricket with the India-South Africa series. In the recent times the youngsters in the Indian team have indulged in too much of trash talk after the series down under. India did well there and the series was controversial, but it should have ended once they landed on the Indian soil. There has been too much of trash talk going on in the media by few Indian players. India has a chance of becoming the number 1 team in the world but we have a long way to go. The series in Australia was just a step closer to the goal and was not the destination. We play Australia, SA, Srilanka and England this year and its going to be a tough season. Australia got the tag of world beaters with consistant performances over a decade and not by winning couple of titles.
South Africa on the other had have remained calm and composed. They havent gone overboard with their comments in the media even though there was one inappropriate one by their cricket chief. SA know that the best way to win a series is on the cricket field and not in papers. India should be happy that the test team is different from the ODI team and the seniors have taken a measured approach when dealing with the media. They all expressed their happiness over the team’s success down under but also spread the word of caution regarding any complacency.
The youngsters should realise that they need not retaliate to any comment made on them in the media. The great example to that was Ishant Sharma replying to John Buchanan’s comment advising him to put on some muscles. There was not need for the same as the former Australian coach was just expressing his opinion while praising his performance down under. Dhoni’s comments on the seniors on the wake of a test series was uncalled for as he was playing with all of them in the same. Even though everyone seems to be backing his comments, the timing of the same is the one causing concern.
Amidst all the media frenzy concerning the IPL and the player auction, the Indian team prepares for their second stern test in the last few months. The team returned with their pride intact after the first one but this will be equally important hurdle for them to cross. Anil Kumble will know that and thankfully he has the experiance of himself, Sachin, Sourav, Laxman and Dravid with him.
I hope that this series lives up to its expectation. India would want to win this series to cap off a great 4 months of cricket.
Cricket takes centerstage again
Posted on: March 24, 2008
- In: Cricket | Cricket and Sports | IPL
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After all the recent hype and hapoola surrounding the IPL and the Australian tour, focus is back on cricket with the India-South Africa series. In the recent times the youngsters in the Indian team have indulged in too much of trash talk after the series down under. India did well there and the series was controversial, but it should have ended once they landed on the Indian soil. There has been too much of trash talk going on in the media by few Indian players. India has a chance of becoming the number 1 team in the world but we have a long way to go. The series in Australia was just a step closer to the goal and was not the destination. We play Australia, SA, Srilanka and England this year and its going to be a tough season. Australia got the tag of world beaters with consistant performances over a decade and not by winning couple of titles.
South Africa on the other had have remained calm and composed. They havent gone overboard with their comments in the media even though there was one inappropriate one by their cricket chief. SA know that the best way to win a series is on the cricket field and not in papers. India should be happy that the test team is different from the ODI team and the seniors have taken a measured approach when dealing with the media. They all expressed their happiness over the team’s success down under but also spread the word of caution regarding any complacency.
The youngsters should realise that they need not retaliate to any comment made on them in the media. The great example to that was Ishant Sharma replying to John Buchanan’s comment advising him to put on some muscles. There was not need for any retaliation as the former Australian coach was just expressing his opinion while praising Ishant’s performance down under. Dhoni’s comments on the seniors on the wake of a test series was uncalled for as he was playing with all of them in the same. Even though everyone seems to be backing his comments, the timing of the same is the one causing concern.
Amidst all the media frenzy concerning the IPL and the player auction, the Indian team prepares for their second stern test in the last few months. The team returned with their pride intact after the first one but the series against the proteas will be an equally important hurdle for them to cross. Anil Kumble will know that and thankfully he has the experiance of himself, Sachin, Sourav, Laxman and Dravid with him.
I hope that this series lives up to its expectation. India would want to win this series to cap off a great 4 months of cricket.
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