14 August 2007

Finale

A fitting finale, for a series that has been on edge since Day 1. And like much that went before, the final day too would jerk itself into life whenever the match threatened to retreat into sleep. And so there was a stunning catch from VVS, a crucial drop from the captain, some fiery spells from Sreesanth, Kumble asking question after question and Tendulkar producing some of the big turners ever seen at the Oval.
1-0 is how we will remember this series in a few months time. Ten years from now, we will remember Dravid as the inheritor of Kapil's 21-year old legacy and not for a decision that sealed the fate of this series.
Cricinfo usually prepares a report card for players once the series is over. Here is a vague prediction:

High scores: 8/10 to 10/10
Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni

Medium : 5/10 to 7/10
VVS Laxman, Dinesh Karthik (could've scored higher without the dropped catches), Anil Kumble (somehow all the talk about Kumble on the fourth innings at the Oval just didn't come through), Rahul Dravid (gets additional marks for some good captaincy throughout)

Low: 3/10 to 4/10
Wasim Jaffer (though he played some crucial knocks, he never played to his potential for scoring huge hundreds) , Sreesanth (for all his antics, he did come through in the final innings at the Oval!)

Very low: 0/10 to 2/10
No one. And that is why this team remained unchanged over three matches.

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