The Wall called Dravid

It is said that if foundation is strong, then the building will never develop cracks. Besides foundation, the pillars and the walls also need to be tough to stand any weather. Indian cricket has always been fortunate to have strong pillars who have always been the mainstay of Indian batting. Be it Vijay Merchant, Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, GR Vishwanath or Dilip Vengsarkar. These batsmen, with their sheer grit and determination, have been always standing tall among ruins and given middle order that strength which helped Indians score many memorable victories.
As the time passed by, these legends had to hang their boots and pass on the mantle to the younger generation. Their successors also did not let them down and carried the torch in the most efficient way. From Sachin Tendulkar to Rahul Dravid to VVS Laxman to Sourav Ganguly, each and everyone played his part in providing strength to the Indian batting. Despite wickets falling at other ends, these played remained glued to the crease and scored hundreds to see the team through.
Dravid, the wonder boy from Bengaluru, entered the cricketing scene when the team was badly in need of a batsman who would withstand any attack in any playing condition. Labelled as the ‘most courageous and consistent bat’ in the Test cricket, ‘Jammy’ as Dravid is affectionately called, proved that he is equally good in the one-day format of the game with his hard work and dedication. Though initially he failed to make his own mark in the short form, he grooved into the ‘system’ as the years passed and was named player of the series in ODIs on many occasions. With his consistent show in all the formats of the Gentleman’s Game at all levels, he was justifiably called as ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket which never cracks.
Even his opponents respected him for his ‘never say die’ attitude. The bowlers used to make changes in their plans once Dravid reached the crease for they were always ‘scared’ of his ability to play every delivery in the most technical way and score at his will. The best part of Jammy was that he always took the criticism positively and improved his game accordingly. Some years ago, when he was sidelined from the ODI team, he never became upset, but worked his way through the team again for the England tour only to announce later that this will be his last tour as the ODI player since he want to concentrate only on Test cricket in the future. Now that The Wall has bid adieu to the ODIs, the Indian cricket seems to be turning to some exciting bunch of youngsters who are ready to jump into his place and carry on the legacy left by him. Let’s hope that someone as good as Dravid cements his place in the team and give Jammy a perfect goodbye. After all, we believe in carrying on the traditions left by our forefathers isn’t it.

It's all about luck

It was around four manths back, when the Men in Blue were crowned the world champions when they thrashed Lankans in the final at revamped Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It was a proud moment for MS Dhoni and his men to carry the World Cup and do the 'thank you' run along the stadium. The day since Dhoni, the man from Ranchi, who had a rather dashing entry into the world cricket, was named captain of the Indian side, led the talented bunch of cricketers with some extraordinary cricketing brain and the luck factor. It seemed that the Lady Luck always kept smiling on Mahi for his men had 'wrested' many victories which otherwise were not so easy for the team. Since he busted into the cricketing scene, he was termed as the destiny's child and never faced 'failures' in his sporting life.
However, the ongoing England series has a contrast story to tell. The same bunch of cricketers who carry the world champions tag, had been literally searching for victories. The Englishmen seems to have beaten Indians on all fronts, be it batting, bowling, fielding, on and off field tactics as well as luck. While some members from the Team India had been 'unlucky' as far as their dismissals on the field is concerned, thanks to UDRS, the others have been fighting to stay fit during the series as they have been niggling certain injuries.
Despite all these happenings, the Captain Cool is trying to maintain his calm and has been putting up a brave front while leading a 'depleted' side that consists of some talented bunch of youngsters who have been knocking the Indian team's doors for the past many years now. And added to this is the inclement weather that has been playing spoilsport in the Team India's chances in the Queen's land. Captain Dhoni must be pondering as to what exactly is going wrong and finding out ways to tackle the issues. He much please the Lady Luck again so as to be on the winning groove and give millions of cricekt crazy Indians something to cheer about. That's the way Mahi.

Did Englishmen ruin India's chances

Did Englishman ruin Team India’s party in England?

Bhalchandra Chorghade

While India celebrated its 65th Independence Day on August 15, just days before, the Team India got a bashing at the hands of Englishmen. The defeat in the third Test was one of the worst for India. With this beating, Dhoni’s men gave a chance to English press as well as former players to ‘express’ their views about how the Britishers are great and Indians are bad. One of the distinguished ex-English cricketers went on to the extent of saying that India doesn’t deserve to be number two in the Test cricket. And remember, he is the same person who went ga ga over the same Indians who ‘battered’ the mighty Australians when they last visited the sub-continent. Love for one’s nation is understandable, but it doesn’t mean that the particular person should go on to say anything what he likes. Freedom of speech is enjoyable when the person expressing his views does not cross the limits. But this man called Sir Geoffrey Boycott has no right to say this since he was a part of English team which was ‘not up to the mark’ according to records and when the current team under Andrew Strauss and mentored by Zimbabwean Andy Flower has been hailed as the best English team ever. So where does Sir Boycott stand?
Everyone tried to ‘explain’ and ‘analyse’ the reasons behind India’s loss. They all have their theories behind the defeat and one of the reasons might be appointment of an Englishman as the Team India’s coach. Considered as one of the best strategist in the world of cricket, Duncan Fletcher was supposed to help Indians understand the climatic and other playing conditions in the Queen’s land, particularly when half the team members have been to the country for the first time. Agreed that the team batted and bowled badly as the result says, but is it not the job of a coach, particularly when he hails from the host country, to prepare his boys for the tour? And he is not new to the team since he had also been to the West Indies where the team ‘managed’ to register series win. A thorough professional as Fletcher is, he was supposed to jump into the coach’s shoes immediately on taking the mantle. Is he and his tactics not to be blamed for the defeat? Or it was a planned move by the game’s administrators. Surprisingly, he was also nowhere to be seen during pre or post match briefings and let Dhoni do all the talking.
This raises many questions in the minds of followers. Do we really need a foreign coach? If yes, was Fletcher the right man to replace Gary Kirsten? Had BCCI deliberately appointed an Englishman as the coach ahead of team’s tour to England? The authorities need to answer these questions in the interest of Indian cricket in general and world cricket in particular. Whatever may be the reason, but it surely ruined Team India’s independence celebrations in the country which ruled them for more than 150 years.
c_bhalchandra@dnaindia.net