A Refreshing Change

After the unfortunate death of Phil Hughes a couple of weeks ago, cricket and moreover the Australians needed a game to overcome the bereavement of their close teammate. And boy what a match it was! As Bill Lawry would say - “What a ripper!”.

Even though India lost the game, they can look back and take heart from the fight they put up on the last day. It was the sort of effort fans have been hoping for the last few years. The previous tours to South Africa, New Zealand and England had few occasions when India were on top, but they just didn't have the skills required to finish the game.

Kohli's positive attitude is a refreshing change. On a last day deteriorating wicket he instilled belief in the team to chase down a record score at the Adelaide Oval. One can easily envisage the approach the team would have taken under Dhoni's captaincy. Maybe India could have escaped with a draw, but having seen the team's batting overseas over the last 4 years, a draw too would have been a remote possibility.

Was there a difference in terms of results under Kohli's watch? Probably no. For all the aggressive play Kohli has talked about, India were able to take only 12 wickets in the game. A few of them were taken when Australia were just looking to score quick runs. Unless there is a remarkable improvement in the bowling, a change of captaincy may not bring a drastic improvement. Michael Clarke too, despite having a potent attack and a positive mindset has an extremely poor record in Asia.

But what gives hope for India, is Kohli's never say die spirit to try and win matches. At this point, India probably can compete overseas only with such an attitude. Choosing a leg spinner showed intent on trying to take wickets which is a welcoming change from playing Jadeja who at best can be a containing bowler. Given Lyon's success, should India have played Ashwin in hindsight? I believe India's best chance of taking 20 wickets is by playing 2 spinners. The question arises if Ashwin is a good enough bowler overseas. I feel it's too early to judge. After the horrendous first tour in 2011 he has been given just 3 test matches overseas, with the last two with hardly any score to defend. Kumble took almost a decade to be an effective bowler overseas. Harbhajan Singh has had sporadic success in between, but was largely unsuccessful. Unless Ashwin or any other spinner for that matter is given the time to develop, there is no way he will be effective. Whether Karn Sharma and Ashwin are among the best 2 spinners in the country is up for debate. Ashwin is more than a handy batsman and given Rohit's and Dhawan's lacklustre performance overseas, he could easily slot into the number 7 position.

With Dhoni being the appointed captain, there is not even a remote possibility of Kohli captaining in the remaining matches. Will changing the captain make a difference? That remains to be seen, but atleast when a captain speaks out confidently and leads from the front, there definitely can be a change in the mindset.

Dhoni has for long been harping about concentrating on the process rather the results. The team's outlook on the last day should be the process he must aim for. Even if India goes on to lose 4-0, fans would atleast like to see a fighting performance rather than meekly losing the game in 3 days.

Let the bat and ball do the talking!

The Indian Premier League, which has been promoted more as an entertainment show (going as per the television advertisements) than a cricket series, has had its fair share of drama over the years some of which has helped to attract a greater audience attention. IPL edition 6 has had some wonderful close matches so far, but as expected it hasn’t gone down without any controversy. The recent Kohli vs Gambhir duel on the field or Kohli’s remark about the booing crowd at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai raises some serious disciplinary issues.

Passion vs. Aggression? Are they interrelated or is there a fine line separating the two. It is interesting to note that a considerable number of fans consider a player who is more expressive as the one who shows a lot of passion and aggression in the game. When things were going well for team India, Dhoni’s cool outlook was given a lot of credit for his excellent handling of the team, but when they were on a losing streak these were the same reasons given for India’s poor performance. It was said, he takes it too casual and doesn’t really show the kind of aggression needed to change a team’s fortune. Kohli was hailed as the captain India badly needed to take them out of the dire situation. There were no doubts of his skills as a batsman, but people viewed that with his aggressive streak he could be the next generation captain for India.

But looking at the way the IPL has progressed the question arises if Kohli is the right man to lead India in the future? His aggressive bursts in the field for any misfield or poor execution of the bowlers can be demoralizing for a player. Will he able to mentor a junior player and pass on his suggestions to a senior player in an equably respectable way? It is too early to judge a player of Kohli’s class, and there is no doubt that all the anger which he expresses on the field is due to the passion he has for doing well for the team. But here arises the dilemma. How much is too much? As of now his performances at the international level have been outstanding which has allowed him to get away with all his antics on the field. At some point or the other in his career, there is bound to be a stage where his performances will dip, and that’s when his character will be tested.

The likes of Gambhir and Kohli getting animated when their plans don’t go right or getting into a duel don’t augur well for the game. There is no harm in a little bit of banter between players of the two teams and in fact at times it even increases the playing intensity of the game. Some of the greatest duels in the game have happened after a verbal too! Having said that it is important that with a large number of youngsters following the game, it is necessary that they are taught the good aspects of the game which includes on field conduct as well. The pillars of the game Dravid, Kumble, Tendulkar, and Hussey have shown how to play the game hard but with exemplary conduct on the field.

The recent on field spat between Gambhir and Dravid, left Gambhirs stocks decline even more. Even if he was just trying to suggest Dravid that probably he should talk to Watson about his behavior rather than to Bisla, his aggressive past, has put him in bad light whether he was right or wrong.

With the IPL being extremely popular among the younger generations, players have to realize, that they not only play for the team to win, but also are ambassadors of the game who inspire the next generations of cricketers. As the theme song of the IPL goes by Isko sirf dekhne ka nahi(It is not just to be seen) it is a tournament, where new fans get to learn and take up interest in the game as well. How they conduct themselves on the field may define how the next set grows up.

T20...A Specialist's game?

Recently concluded was the 4^th edition of the T20 World Cup, but a lot has changed since the inaugural tournament in 2007. Back then, T20 was a relatively new format with most teams not really sure of what to expect. With India winning the 1^st edition, it led to the creation of the IPL and with that the number of T20 matches being played has spiraled up. With 5 years of serious international T20 being played, it probably is a good time to analyze how the game has evolved, and see which players have had more impact than others.

With the advent of the IPL, there have been a lot of players who have made their name in domestic T20 games and have been fast tracked into their national sides. Keiron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Warner are some of the names which come into one’s mind immediately. They have performed exceptionally well in domestic leagues around the world, but let’s just have a look at who are the players who are the most successful at the international level.

Table Showing List of Batsmen with highest averages in International T20 with minimum runs 300

Player Name	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
ML Hayden (Aus)	9	308	51.33	143.92
A Symonds (Aus)	11	337	48.14	169.34
CH Gayle (WI)	28	976	39.04	148.32
V Kohli (India)	14	463	38.58	129.32
MEK Hussey (Aus)	30	721	37.94	136.29
KP Pietersen (Eng)	36	1176	37.93	141.51
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)	34	788	37.52	110.2
BB McCullum (NZ)	53	1655	36.77	135.65
EJG Morgan (Eng)	30	758	36.09	131.59
JH Kallis (SA)	23	666	35.05	119.35

Table Showing List of Bowlers with Best economy rates (Minimum wickets taken 20)

Player Name	Matches	Wickets	Economy Rate	Strike Rate
DL Vettori (NZ)	33	37	5.61	20.7
BAW Mendis (SL)	26	51	5.85	11.6
Saeed Ajmal (Pak)	48	69	6.13	15.4
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	56	62	6.22	20.4
DW Steyn (SA)	28	37	6.36	16.2
GP Swann (Eng)	39	51	6.36	15.8
Harbhajan Singh (India)	25	22	6.36	24.5
J Botha (SA)	40	37	6.37	20.9
NL McCullum (NZ)	39	40	6.47	16.2
Abdur Razzak (Ban)	23	35	6.69	15.2

One look at this list and you can realize that hardly any of the T20 specialists have topped the charts in either bowling or batting. The trend continues in this World Cup too. The leading run scorers and wicket takers apart from Luke Wright and Balaji are regular fixtures in the Test sides as well.  Having said this, we will have a look at the overall career stats of popular T20 players. By popular I mean players who have earned a place in their respective national sides through performances in domestic T20 games.

Player Name	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Luke Wright	32	568	19.58	135.88
Keiron Pollard	26	409	18.68	146.07
Imran Nazir	24	500	21.73	135.13
Craig Kieswetter	25	526	21.91	111.91
Richard Levi	11	231	25.66	155.02

Looking at these stats, one can infer that they haven’t really been consistent. They have had their impact matches for which they have been brought in for, but largely they haven’t been able to put up a series of good scores.  I just had a glance at their first class performances and it’s nothing to write home about.

Maybe it has got to do something with their not so consistent performances in T20 as well. At the international level, they will find bowlers of the highest caliber and if they haven’t mastered the art of playing the long innings, they might be found wanting. There might be just 20 overs, it may not look like it’s a lot, but when you have quality bowlers at the top, sometimes it’s best to weather off the storm and capitalize in the end. It is best illustrated in the Super 8 group match between Australia and South Africa. Shane Watson saw off the initial testing overs of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and then went absolutely berserk.

Before T20 became popular there were a lot of players who were termed as ODI specialists such as Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Ajay Jadeja, Nathan Bracken, etc. Having said so most of these successful players were always good at first class level and at a minimum were always under review for Test selections. Pollard, Levi, Kieswetter definitely do not belong to this category.

One might argue, after seeing Pollard’s knock against Australia in the semi-finals showing that he has the X-factor in him to win games. I don’t question his ability which is obvious to see, but does he have the temperament to play a long innings in T20? In the semis there were only 2-3 overs left when he came out to bat, he had only one way to bat at that stage, but if there comes a point where he comes in to bat as early as 6^th or 7^th over, will he be able to adjust accordingly?

Looking at the top bowlers in T20, other than Afridi, all are regulars in the Test team. It shows once again if you have learnt to get wickets in first class cricket, the chances of performing in the shortest format of the game also hold true.  Cricket is a simple game, and its best to keep it that way. Probably someone like Jade Dernbach should realize this, for all his variations he has got; he hasn’t been able to hit consistent lengths regularly which has resulted in not so satisfactory performances.

David Warner leads the next generation of cricketers who have started of playing T20 matches before first class games. He has been reasonably successful so far, though his weakness against spinners has been well documented. It will be interesting to see how the young brigade performs in the long run. Ravichandran Ashwin of India, probably their only specialist T20 bowler, rose to stardom after some stellar performances in the IPL. But one must not forget that he was a steady performer in first class cricket before making his name in the glitz and glamour of IPL.

Few years ago, it was said that if you are good enough to play Test cricket, you definitely can play T20. It looked like a joke then; but then looking at the way the game has progressed it is very much the reality. Exciting times ahead - it would be interesting to see if this trend continues.