One all!

Unless god intervenes, either by reincarnating himself in the form of one or more of the South African batsmen, or more simply, be letting torrents of rain wash away Indian dreams, the result of the second test between India and South Africa is a foregone conclusion at the end of day 3.

Yet again, the epic battle for world domination between these two great warriors, fought on grounds that conjure Mahabharat like visions of thunderbolts flying through the air and dust rising high from the stomping of brave foot soldiers, ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. The senseless mandarins of the BCCI and the puppets of Zuma that allowed this travesty (of a two test series between the top two sides) to pass, should be lined up and tortured by being made to watch videos of the 3 test series between India and Sri Lanka for atleast 8 consecutive days.

Why 8? Because in revenge too, there must be justice. And since 8 days of riveting test match cricket is what they gave us (game over tomorrow?), it is our responsibility, nay our moral duty, to give these power mongering, public hating monsters, 8 days of watching Indian batsmen ground the Sri Lankan tigers to dust (as a complete aside, would it not have been great fun if the Dhoni saving 1,411 tigers ad was aired at the same time as the Indian batsmen were pummelling the Sri Lankan tigers? Also, how does one arrive at this exact number of 1,411 - is there a roll call every morning, a prediction from a forest official who fancies himself to be somewhat of a nostradamus, or some other form of the great Indian rope trick???)

And despite previous predictions going horribly wrong, I yet again dare a prediction - this game will be over by the end of the day tomorrow, with the Indian spinners ripping through South Africa after Khan has finished de-energizing his bunny Smith.

Nouveau Fab

Crests and troughs, rise and fall - a feature in most..

Fuck it, Sick Boy said it best, didn't he?

"Well, at one time, you've got it, and then you lose it, and it's gone forever. All walks of life: George Best, for example. Had it, lost it. Or David Bowie, or Lou Reed..."

Now he can add Australia to the list. That's it. I have joined the army of people singing dirges for Australian cricket. Long may it push daisies.

Simulataneous to its demise, is the rise of another superpower. Looks like South Africa are finally beginning to fulfill the promise of Kepler, Peter Kirsten, Andrew Hudson, Brian McMillan, Cullinan, Gary etc. The newest in fab batting line-ups. The FabFour for cricket fans born after 1997.

Graeme Smith: Has seen the worst, and now close to leading a side crafted in his own image to the best of times.
A B De: Has proved everyone that he is already much much better than Rhodes. Has done it in India which seems to be some kind of benchmark for white batsmen. And has done well against the Australian and English bowling attacks.
Hashim Amla: Beard. Wrists. Zen.
J P Duminy: Too early? Pencilled in for future fabness.

Virile Saurav

Ganguly's batting at Kanpur was a measured repartee to critics, and even I have done that occasionally, who have always questioned his spine. Now his fans have one of the great Indian knocks to hold up when his determination/virility/team-play/skill is questioned. He came to the crease after Morne had a piece of Dravid's finger and his wicket, and while he was at the other end, Laxman played inside the line to one that pitched on leg and took off and middle - Morkel at work again. Given how the pitch was behaving, and given that the Indian batting has over the last couple of years been guilty of permitting easy momentum shifts, Ganguly was phenomenal - driving out of the rough, fearless in coming down the track, and almost chanceless against the quicks.
Sreesanth had a fantastic opening to the third days play. Not only did his batting deprive Smith of any initiative, his bowling was also quite spectacular, outshining Ishant Sharma for the first time.
Could the South Africans have done better? Maybe, if Smith and Kallis hadn't let things drift for that long in the second innings, if Ashwell had taken a few more risks.
Any sense criticizing the pitch? Maybe, but only on the grounds that the match did not last full five days. Predictably, when something was in it for the bowlers, it made for exciting cricket. It also threw mud on the giant strides that the South Africans seemed to have taken in learning how to play spin effectively.
Did they choke? Yes. The Indian tail wagged longer than at any point in the series on a crumbling pitch on the decider.

Letter to Smith

Dear Grame Smith,

Either you don't know, or if you know, then shame on you. Either you know that Paul Harris is the feeblest of spinners who does not stand a chance against Virender Sehwag, and so you lowered him into the shallow end by asking him to bowl a restrictive, disgraceful line to him, in which case it is okay, but then now we know that you know that Harris is not very great. The other option then, is that you know that Harris is capable of the occasional special ball, but you were shittin your pants scared wondering how much he will leak if he came around the stumps and actually tried to GET A WICKET. In that case, shame on you, Graeme Smith for asking your lone spinner to come over the stumps first thing in the morning, in Chennai. Okay, it is a flat track, but you did have 500 runs to play with.

Frustrated,

Spirit of Cricket Future.

Two at the Top

One of cricket's most enduring records is on the verge of being broken. It was under seige a couple of years back, but Sehwag and Dravid fell short. Smith and the other dude have come a few steps closer, but have to wait for the final assault on the peak.