India's new Bucknor??

However nice a person may Kumar Dharmasena be, as an Indian cricket fan, you can’t help but despise him. And this goes a long way back, right to 1996 World Cup semi-final where he, along with Sanath Jayasuriya was India’s destroyer in chief.

And he is back, it seems. This time as an umpire.  It seemed as though he made his intentions clear in his very first match, his very first lbw decision, as he adjudged Sachin Tendulkar out, when the replays clearly showed it otherwise.

Cut to 22^nd August, same venue (where else, in Dambulla) and he was on fire again. First up was Virendra Sehwag. Kulasekara’s delivery nipped back off the seam and hit Sehwag’s pads. One could see his off-stump, a glimpse of the middle stump, it had struck on his knee roll, still Dharmasena didn’t  see any reason to give the batsman the benefit of doubt(as is normally the case with lbws, until you are absolutely sure that it is hitting the wickets, umpires don’t give them) and ruled him out.

Next up was Karthik. He poked at a Kulasekara delivery, Sangakkara, after missing a lollipop take off Randiv in the previous match, took it comfortably. Even on the first glance one couldn’t hear a thing, but it seemed Dharmasena was all ears for any Sri Lankan appeals, and gave Karthik out immediately.

Then came Suresh Raina. He poked at a Mathews delivery. Sri Lankans went up immediately, but again, there wasn’t much of a noise and for me, Asad Rauf correctly denied the Lankans. Although the Snicko did show a very, very slight tickle, it was very different from the clear deflection there is in these cases.

Gutted as the Sri Lankans were, they couldn’t wait to appeal to Dharmasena!! Next over, Raina missed a ball even more clearly than the previous one, but things were different this time round. The man in question was Dharmasena, and up went his finger, though at this point, not to my surprise.

And to wrap things up, just as Yuvraj was breaking loose, Asad Rauf adjudged him lbw even though the impact was outside off-stump.

One more thing. I can’t help wondering that under Sangakkara’s regime, Sri Lankans seem to have dumped their Spirit of Cricket award winning play and they bear a strong resemblance to the 2007 Aussie outfit that played out the Sydney test drama to perfection. The voracious way they were appealing, even though it was absolutely clear that the batsman was safe, if it was referee Mike Dennis, things would’ve been interesting!!!  No one is asking them not to appeal, but fans are not fools that they can’t see it, can’t feel the over-aggression which the Lankans have come to display. Which strengthens my argument of stopping Ind-SL matches for at least 2 years. Why should we go and help SL board make money, when we, in return are getting this??

I am not defending India’s poor play, but if there are no Sachin, Gambhir, Harbhajan, Zaheer and umpires like Dharmasena have a great day, invariably, defeat will be ours.

Until now, it has been yet another pointless series that has only added to player fatigue. In addition to the short ball, Rohit Sharma has discovered yet another flaw-that of planting his front foot right across the stumps.  If someone like Mathews can exploit that, then good luck Rohit versus the likes of Steyn, Anderson, Asif. None of our youngsters have rose to the occasion-in our only win so far, it was the experience of Sehwag and Dhoni that got us through.  Enough chances have been given to Karthik and Vijay, now it is time for Robin Uthappa to be India’s reserve one-day opener.  

Of course, I don’t think it will work if there is a certain Kumar Dharmasena umpiring

Ind SL test

A victory, richly deserved, came India’s way after 4 and half days of exciting TEST match cricket (yes- today, and what was played out 10 days ago at the SSC are part of the same game).

 Considering the  Sri Lankan batting performance in the 2^nd innings, it was pretty much clear that as the day moved on, the ball became softer, bowlers started tiring, and the batsmen, whoever they may be, had a much easier time, provided they were ready to put a price on their wicket. Of course with a 5^th day pitch, a target to chase and already 3 wickets down, it was a different ball game when India was batting. But even then, although many people thought it was 75-25 or even 90-10 in favour of Sri Lanka at the end of 4^th day, I thought that there was a distinct chance of the same 4th day story repeating on the final day of the series.

But, it was even better. The master, as usual, wanted to take India home, and it was he who blunted the initial Lankan onslaught. Speaking of the onslaught, it wasn’t exactly one. Many, me included, thought that Sangakkara would start with Randiv and Lasith ‘Slinga’ Malinga first up. If I had been the fielding captain, I would have told Malinga to bowl 3 overs of 140 plus deliveries, without worrying at all about the runs he may concede, but just shake the batsmen up. The control and penetration was always going to be available from Randiv at the other end. But, he went with Welegedara, who, one must say, bowled well, but didn’t look like getting Sachin’s wicket. Some were of the opinion that Sanga wanted to create rough areas near the right –arm batsman’s off stump using Welegedara’s footmarks, but to prepare for the future by wasting the present, is not exactly, prudence personified. And he paid the price. Tendulkar, save the bat pad chance which was grassed by Dilshan, settled in nicely. He looked in no trouble at all, and after an hour or so, when Malinga was finally introduced, didn’t look threatening at all.

Sometimes, Lakshman has to bat with the tail and because he isn’t adept at doing so, remains stranded at one end, for want of better support. Today was his chance. To bat with Sachin, play well, and take India home.  And, he did just that. He was looking to score runs from the onset, and his strike rate was actually better than the maestro’s. He faced his nemesis, Ajantha Mendis, who hasn’t been the same threat he was 2 years ago, quite well. India also scored around 40-50% of their morning session runs, in singles, which was good to see. In short, it was skilled batting, combined with over 200 test matches between them, which enabled the duo to take India to relative safety at 162-4.

The back spasms which have caused troubles for Lakshman many times in the past, returned post lunch.  There was a break in the middle, when the physio had to attend to Lakshman.  And Sachin fell prey sweeping a harmless Randiv ball just 2 balls after the break. How many times have we seen that? Won’t the master, holding the record for most number of tests played, have known? Of course he would have. What happens in such cases is a mind-body disconnect. After long periods of concentration in which the body responds exactly as per the minds instructions, after a break, of course one tells to oneself, “Be careful, concentrate”, but the body, doesn’t exactly respond. It acts on reflex, only after some time, does the body once again attune itself with the mind.

With still 81 runs to win, Lankans were still in it with a chance, with Raina, playing only his second test, coming to the crease.  Nerves got the better of him as he slashed a wide Malinga delivery, and next ball, charged down the wicket only to be narrowly beaten!!! Many will say that, oh, he was playing his ‘natural’ game, aggressive game, but he would be the first person to say he wasn’t doing so. But, although he mellowed down a bit, he made his runs at fair clip, was selective in his approach and not downright aggressive. His 41 n.o. was a good innings, played under pressure.

One is tempted to ask, would the result have been different if Murali was there? I think yes. Because all Randiv needed was some support and potency from the other end, which would have been in abundance had Murali been there. If both had been bowling in tandem, the breakthrough would surely have been there, particularly in the morning session. And, one wicket would have surely led to another, as was the case with Sri Lanka on the 4^th day. But, again, would we have been saying this had Dilshan caught the sharp chance that came his way? Probably not.  In all probabilities, Sri Lankans would have won if that catch had been taken. I think ultimately, it comes down to these chances at this level. Invariably, bowlers will bowl well, batsmen will play well, the fielders too, will FIELD well, but who will convert the chances that comes one’s way? And who won’t? That ultimately proves to be the difference between teams at this level. Dhoni missed Sanga’s catch in the 1^st innings of the 1^st test; Laxman too couldn’t latch on to a sharp Paranavitana slash in the same innings. Ultimately, India lost the test. It would have been a different story if those chances were taken. The saying ‘catches win matches’ is a far more important and prominent one than what it is perceived presently.

So, an under strength Indian team beat the full strength Sri Lankans to level the series 1-1, preventing further damage to their No.  1 spot. Really, this team has to be commended for this fight back, for to win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka without Zak, Bhajji and Gambhir after you are 1-0 down, is not a Sunday morning task. Kudos to team India!!!