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One-Day Mataram

Deconstructing the gentleman's game


India Wins!!

India has done it!!

After a 22 year wait, India scores a win over Australia on Australian soil. Victory doesn't come sweeter than this!!

And what a way to win! Dravid and Agarkar, the two men who played the biggest part in this historic test win were at the crease when the winning runs were scored. How apt!

Moreover, one cannot forget the contribution by VVS Laxman. His century in the first innings was important, no doubt, but more important was his contribution in the second innings where he scored 32 quick runs which ensured that the game was taken away from the Aussies who had put their foot in the door by dismissing Tendulkar. Hats off to Laxman!!

And oh, btw, I couldn't help but think that Agarkar's 6 victims yesterday were a revenge for the 6 ducks he had to suffer the last time he played Test matches in Australia! An eye for an eye... a wicket for a duck! ;-)

Well done Team India!!

Mindgames... contd.

Continuing with the psyching out strategy that Australians employ on visiting teams, Shane Warne warned that Ganguly will have to face a lot of chin music on the tour of Australia. Knowing Ganguly's weakness against the short-pitched stuff, it looks certain that Ganguly would be subjected to lot of bouncers that would have him hopping all over the crease. His brief stints out in the middle during the warm-up matches have not inspired any confidence, either in him or in us!!

Going one step further, Justin Langer has openly declared that Australia wants to demoralise the Indians by going after their bowling in the first test itself. He cites the example of the World Cup final where a calculated onslaught by the Aussie openers had all but finished the Indian threat in the first over of the match itself! But even though this may be true, I feel that the Indians should bowl first if they win the toss tomorrow. One reason for that is the grass on the pitch. It will help the Indian bowlers and might just give them the boost that they need to get fired up. Moreover, the Indian batting line-up, on a green wicket on the first day of a test match, is not something to look forward to!! So, it is best that Indian bowlers should bite the bullet and go all out after the Aussie openers!!

Mindgames

Australian leg-spinner, Stuart McGill has fired the first salvo of challenge at Sachin Tendulkar by claiming that Lara is better than Sachin.
"He ( Tendulkar ) is certainly a huge challenge but if you speak to most of the spin bowlers around the world, Brian Lara is the one."
And the response from Sachin Tendulkar, I expect, would be in the language that he so loves to speak - the language of the willow!! Too long has Sachin Tendulkar let average bowlers dictate terms to him in recent times. It is time that he put them in their place.