03 February 2008

Getting all excited

I tend to agree with Unc J Rod when he argues for compulsory intoxication when it comes to really enjoying an entire one-dayer. So it came as a surprise to me when I found myself making an effort to pull myself out of bed on a Sunday. I am excited about this series.
 
No, it’s not about Gilly's retirement. I am already tired of that.
 
I want to watch these guys bat against some of the best ODI bowlers.
 
No, not Gambhir and Uthappa who have been in the team for a while now and should be expected to become more consistent about continuing after getting their eye in. The same goes for Karthik and Raina whenever they get a chance. And certainly not Yuvraj and Dhoni who need to be held accountable for all miserable innings totals. This series will be a fair test of whether their freestroking abandon will hold up, something Sachin was able to do at his peak with several times the expectation on him.
 
I refer to Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary. The captain made his call when he opted for Tiwary ahead of Raina and Karthik, and I only hope he persists with that call.
 
I say hope because Tiwary stood horribly exposed today. Something extremely Dadaesque about his approach to fast short bowling aimed at the throat. And then the yorker and then death. Sharma has something of a Mark Waugh about him. He can look so good, and so calm, but will routinely stand accused of playing a lazy shot when he gets out.
 
Both are in Ozland because of their promise. Enough promise to be in the team ahead of Dravid and Ganguly. And both are being talked up as possible Test replacements for the Fab Four in addition to Badri. Ian Chappel went all gushy wushy when he spoke aboout Sharma, mentioning him in the same sentence as Tendulkar, Lara and Ponting. Having said that, let us hope these two are cut some slack. Give them at least four games on the trot before you give Karthik or Raina a go.  
 
When Tiwary meets Lee the next time, I will be watching.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am like you interested in seeing the youngsters perform.

Tiwary seemed over awed. They may have to persist with him for a couple of more matches to know whether he will ship up.

Rohit impressed me. But he seems to be in T20 mode. He is happy with a well made 30.

BTW. I missed out on our bowling. How were they?

John said...

Hi Ott,
Someone needs to give Rohit some tough luurv before it is too late. Let us see if Dhoni is able to extract the same performances from the youngsters that he was able to do in the T20 World Cup and Kumble was able to do in the Tests.

Our bowling was unplayable for 4 overs before the match was called off. Sharma and Sree were testing. Pathan struggled.

straight point said...

i can safely predict that any team will think twice before giving us green top if we handle our current lot of pacers well...

for batters...have some patience they will come good...do not hang the weight of daily remand...and they will be fine...

Anonymous said...

John... yes, eagerly looking forward to these guys having a decent run... its like a real test to see how good the domestic structure in india is.

Though I must say these lot need a lot of work for tests. No way ready for the big league. If they can get ODIs going well for a year, then it may well be worth a shot.

Jrod said...

I watched two one dayers yesterday, sober, and all i really saw was rain.

TM said...

Neither Tiwari nor Rohit Sharma are going to make it too big- neither has the technique, the eye or the termprament to manage international cricket. Neither seems capable of playing the horizontal bat shots- they seem the perfect tigers at home and deer away. What is with Bengal and the short ball? Maybe something to do with how high those individuals themselves stand....

John said...

Patience, TM. Remember Sharma playing a few gorgeous hooks in the T20 World Cup. Surely that will come out again.