Thursday, February 18, 2010

Old is still Gold

Come on, fans of slam bang T20 cricket, what would you say of the outcome of the India South Africa test series. Any form of cricket can't get more nail biting than the one displayed by both teams in the recently concluded series. If Dale Steyn hogged the limelight at Nagpur, Bhajji and Zak did it for India at Kolkatta. Of course not to forget the heroics of Viru, Sachin, MSD and VVS.

More than action packed thrill, it is the slow nature of the game that builds the anxiety and the excitement. If T20 can give you high speed thrills, test cricket proved yet another time, the older bro hasn't stayed back in providing thrills and turn around of events. After the 1st 2 sessions of day 1 of the second test, nobody in their wildest imagination would have thought that South Africa would succumb to India like this. Such is the nature and format of the game. Providing equal opportunities for all every player, be it a bowler or a batsman.

If Steyn and Morkel could trouble the Indian batsmen with their raw speed and grenade like bouncers, Bhajji and Amit gave them back with their cuts and turns. To bat in the Kolkatta pitch on the fifth day was always doomed and South Africa would have thought that it would be India, who would be doing that. But the game went the other way. But the curators of this pitch should be given due credit, for preparing a pitch that held on for 5 days of intense cricket and that too was run over by Ishant so many times.

I am neither happy nor sad with the outcome of the match. But I am happy for test cricket, as it still generates lot of excitement. You could call me a purist or an old timer. But as it is taught since our younger days, Old is still Gold.

One word for selectors: Murali Vijay and Badrinath still need a few more chances to prove their mettle. International cricket is a lot more different from domestic cricket. The level of game completely changes when a player having scored tons of runs in the domestic circuit is made to rub shoulders with their international colleagues. The reason being, India's domestic games are not played in world class conditions. So both these players need some more time to prove their mettle.
And for heaven sake, please give Ishanth Sharma some rest. He is grave danger of being among injuries. For the first time, we have a fast bowler who is lanky and fast. Continuous cricket and lots of T20 games could ruin his confidence.

Team India not only you finished on top of the table, but you saved the series too. Kudos to all those players.

Thanks for Karthik for reminding about Hashim Amla.

India had always created great stars. Did you think in the Indian team? No I am talking about the opposition. Hayden, Collingwood, Nasser Hussain, Saeed Anwar, Misbah-Ul-Haq, Younus Khan and more all became to be great players, after Indian cricketers made a nobody into super stars. In every tournament, there is one person in the opposition, a dark horse, who always remains a thorn in the flesh. Indian bowlers just don't have a clue of what to do or how to get him out. So is Hashim Amla. I think the Indians bowlers had plans for the likes of Smith, ABD, Prince, JPD and in the due course forgot about this guy. Amla didn't play like a Cricketer. He stood at the crease like a warrior wielding a sword in his hands, denying India the much needed victory and saving the numero uno status. Hats off to you man. It remains to be seen how he fares in the ODI series, now that Smith is made to sit out.
 


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