The bullring awaits a spectacle

Two vibrant teams, one highly skilled and equally efficient, will take on the other who are a team without superstars - yet supremely confident and are bullish in their attitude. You could easily mistake this to be a clash of the Trans-Tasman rivals: Australia with their all-conquering efficiency vs. New Zealand with their pit-bull like attitude. It is a fascinating rivalry that causes life to come to a standstill in both nations when their teams battle, one where victory leads to jubilation and defeat causes mourning. The Twenty-20 World Cup has in front of it, the best possible final any one could have hoped for: India Vs Pakistan.

The twenty-20 format was completely new to India, a tournament where the likes of Sehwag, Pathan and Harbhajan could hope for a good showing to win their places back, where India could contemplate the harshness of life without the trio. Pakistan had their own problems to contend with: Akhtar was at it again, this time a physical fight within the team. A foreign coach's first assignment. A new captain. Both teams have done, exceedingly well to shed all the baggage behind them and have played some brilliant cricket, which includes the both of them defeating the mighty Australians.

When India's twenty-20 squad was named, after the trio had pulled out, it seemed like Dhoni had got the job by default. Virender Sehwag was just making a comeback. Yuvraj Singh had an amazing year followed by an average one. Dhoni was supposed to be levelheaded, calm and one to lead by example. He has done just that, and more! India have seldom played such fun-filled limited overs cricket. Even under pressure, they refused to crack, always having someone to rise to the occasion. England were supposed to be a tough cookie, just having defeated India 4-3, far more twenty-20 experience than India and a supposedly better all round team. India's batting might came to its fore and England ended yet another world cup campaign with their team in disarray. South Africa were supposed to be the second best team in the tournament, and India's obituaries were being written, "good attempt to reach the super 8, have beaten Pakistan, can go home satisfied..". India recovered from a precarious batting situation, posting a competitive score and backed up their bowlers with the kind of fielding that would have made Rhodes and Gibbs proud. South Africa were choked into submission and were evicted from their own party.

India were now confident, and ready to take on Australia. Australia had already shown signs of weakness, losing to Zimbabwe and Pakistan (Comprehensive defeats). Yuvraj Singh played an innings of such brilliance, walking in at 48/2 in 9 overs, that it could be compared with some of the great limited over innings in world tournaments: Aravinda's 1996 knock vs. India in the semi-finals, Ricky Ponting's 2003 knock vs. India in the Jo'burg finals and Tendulkar's 98 vs. Pakistan at the Centurion. Yuvraj Singh raised his game several notches and India posted a very competitive score. Despite the loss of Gilchrist and Hodge, Hayden and Symonds tried to bully India into submission. It worked for a while, but just when things seemed to be slipping away, Sreesanth rattled Hayden's stumps and Symonds fell to Pathan. 40 from 4 overs would have been considered a cakewalk for Australia, but India were not going to budge. Harbhajan and RP Singh bowled amazing overs, ensuring India a place in the finals.

When Pakistan combine their undoubted flair with efficiency they are the most dangerous team in the world, and they've done just that. They trampled on Australia, blew the Kiwis away and outplayed the in-form Lankans. However, the bowl out defeat to India will be at the back of their minds come tomorrow. India's record of not having lost to them in World cups will be something they would like to set right. The bullring at Jo'burg will come alive tomorrow. The skilled matador will take on a powerful bull. Only one can survive.

World Cup Squad: India

It seems like only yesterday that India's national selectors got together to pick the team for the 2003 world cup. India were in disarray at that stage, with the garden-like substandard pitches in New Zealand denting the confidence of the batsmen, who struggled throughout the tour. India's pace bowlers had a very good time though, and come the world cup were in fine form, barring the world cup final, which we do not want to talk about.

Anyways, within the next fortnight, India's selector would have named their 15-man squad that will aim to retrieve the world cup that we last won 24 years back in England. Before the series began against the West Indies, it felt like the team were back to square one with an outstanding first half of 2006 being followed by some insipid ODI performances in the Caribbean, the champions trophy and South Africa. Yuvraj Singh's absence was deeply felt, and the lack of runs from the young brigade was disappointing to say the least. This led to the recall of Saurav Ganguly, whose fairytale comeback at Nagpur was a delight to watch. Dada has made it against all the odds, back to the national team, and is now a certainty for the world cup.

Batting:

Openers:

While India have moved Sachin Tendulkar down the order citing a lack of experience in the middle order as the cause, I have no doubt whatsoever that the maestro will be reinstated to his rightful place at the top of the order. Tendulkar is still by far India's best one day player, and it is in India's best interest that he opens the innings. The bigger question is who his opening partner should be? The possible options are Saurav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa and Gautham Gambhir. I would be up for reuniting the Tendulkar-Ganguly combination at the top as I think Ganguly is at his best when the fielding restrictions are at place, and he can take on the best in business to get India off to a flying start. It is a tried and tested opening combination, and have the combined experience of almost 25,000 runs and 650 ODIs between them. If the openers get India off to a good start, it gives the likes of Yuvraj, Dhoni and possibly Sehwag to free their arms in the second half of the innings. If the need does arise some point during the tournament for either Saurav or Sachin to bat in the middle then I would choose Robin Uthappa as my third opener. Uthappa has played just four one day internationals but has been in very good form in domestic cricket and has played very well in the limited opportunities he has got so far. Ideally India should give Uthappa a couple more games at the top before moving back to the Tendulkar-Ganguly combination. Saurav and Sachin should be given at least three ODIs vs Srilanka to get back in the groove as an opening combination.

Middle order:

Flexibility will be the key as far as India's middle order is concerned and rather than choosing players for specific positions it would be best to choose the team and adapt the batting order to the situation. Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni would be my three certainties for the middle order spots in the starting eleven with Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Dinesh Kaarthick and Mohammed Kaif competing for the final spot. Dinesh Kaarthick has taken his chances with both hands and performed beyond expectations, and would be a certainty as far as the world cup squad is concerned but I would give him an extended run in the remaining ODIs India have before the world cup before making a call as far as his position in the starting eleven is concerned. It now brings us to the issue of Virender Sehwag. Ever since his test debut Sehwag has been phenomenal as far as his test form is concerned and has contributed with some sparkling one day innings over the years. His off spin is an added bonus as well, and whilst not the quickest on the field, he has taken some outstanding catches. Sehwag is a match winner in the truest sense, and ten overs of Virender Sehwag can not only change the course of a game, but also put it beyond the oppositions reach. His time off should do him a world of good, and provided he makes runs on his comeback against srilanka, he would be my choice to take the missing spot in the middle order. While most of his success has been as opener, his aggressive intent will be invaluable in the middle order when things tend to go off track as far as run rate is concerned. Dinesh Mongia is one player who can feel hard one by the selectors. He played reasonably well in SouthAfrica, and while he certainly didn't set the Thames on fire, his fighting qualities combined with his useful left arm spin should have seen him selected for the home series. Mohammad Kaif had a very good series in the West Indies, making useful runs in the middle order and saving runs on the field. However, a bad run of scores since has pushed him to the sidelines and cast a doubt over his immediate future. Kaif's selecting the squad depends not only upon whether he gets an opportunity vs. the Srilankans, but on the performance of the contenders for the world cup spot.

All rounder:

A single individual never wins a tournament such as the world cup, but if there were one player whose form might well determine India's success at the world cup, it is Irfan Pathan. While his batting has been very good, and improving with each game, his dip in bowling form runs in parallel with India's declining ODI graph last year. Pathan has worked hard at his cricket and done well in the Ranji games. If India can have an in-form Pathan prising out early wickets, it makes a HUGE difference as far as solving the puzzle that is India's team composition. The presence of a genuine all rounder will allow India to play 5 batsmen, a wicket keeper, Pathan and 4 other bowlers. If one of the bowlers has an off day, which can very well happen, India will have a wealth of resources to fall back on in Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Saurav and possibly Sehwag. Whilst they are more than useful 6th and 7th bowlers, it would be a big ask to expect 10 overs from any of them over the entire tournament.

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar are certainties. They have been bowling very well, especially Zaheer Khan, whose county stint has enhanced his skills as an opening bowler. They are more than useful batsmen to have at 8 and have a good throwing arm as well. Harbhajan Singh has been bowling well, and the second spinning post would be a toss up between Anil Kumble and Ramesh Powar. While Anil Kumble offers tons and tons of experience, Ramesh Powar is a useful bat down the order and has been amongst the wickets. I personally feel it is a tough call to make right now and further evidence would be needed in the remaining odis before a decision can be made either way. The remaining seamer's spot is a difficult one for India. Sreesanth, RP Singh and Munaf patel have been a mixed bag so far, with some good performances being overshadowedby fitness problems and inconsistency.

In summary, I believe that barring places, the rest of the squad is in place for the world cup.

My squad would be as follows, with the last two places being decided after the first two Srilanka odis:

1) Sachin Tendulkar (Vice Captain)
2) Saurav Ganguly
3) Yuvraj Singh
4) Virender Sehwag
5) Rahul Dravid (Captain)
6) MS Dhoni (WK)
7) Irfan Pathan
8) Ajit Agarkar
9) Ramesh Powar/ Anil Kumble
10) Zaheer Khan
11) Harbhajan Singh

12) Dinesh Kaarthick (WK)
13) Robin Uthappa
14) Dinesh Mongia/ Mohammad Kaif/ Suresh Raina
15) Munaf Patel/ RP Singh / Sreesanth

The 100 Club

2006 will see the entry of quite a few members into the '100 tests' club.

Anil Kumble recently played his 100th test match at the Kotla, but here is a list of players who will play their 100th test in 2006 (barring injury) :

(Name of player, country, number of tests as of dec 31, 2005)

Ricky Ponting Australia 99
Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka 99
Shaun Pollock South Africa 96
Justin Langer Australia 96
Stephen Fleming New Zealand 96
Jacques Kallis South Africa 95
Rahul Dravid India 94
Shivnarine Chanderpaul Wes Indies 91

Given that there are only 35 players who've reached the elite list so far, it is quite significant and an indicator of the amount of cricket played these days that 8 more players will ,in all probability, join the list this year, a 22.8% increase.

Trivia: Mohammad Azharuddin of India is the only player to be stranded on 99 test matches. Azhar had played 98 tests before South Africa toured India in 1999. He missed the first test due to injury and made a 100 in his 99th test match. Hansie-gate was exposed and Azhar got a life ban, thus leaving him one short of a 100 tests. However, in the process he achieved the feat of scoring a 100 in his first and last test match.

The hardest task of all

"ONE of the most difficult aspects of being Australia's cricket captain is having to tell players when they have missed out on a game or, worse, been dropped from the team. There is simply no easy way to tackle it." - Ricky Ponting, Captain, Australia

Rahul Dravid and India's selectors would do well to take a leaf out of his book in this regard. I repeat something that I've mentioned on numerous occasions: Indian cricket does not respect its heroes in the true sense.

Saurav Ganguly may not be amongst India's top six batsman at the moment. That being the case, if Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell felt the same, there was simply no way he should have been included in the eleven. The team management have the final decision when it comes to the playing XI- home or abroad. Once Saurav was selected for the first test, the selectors should have been gracious enough to give him an extended run with the bat. Forget Saurav Ganguly here. Let us consider a scenario where you have any batsman X . If Yuvraj Singh came into the team as a replacement for Sehwag, then when Sehwag returns it is only fair that Yuvraj makes room for Sehwag to come back. Batsman X, who was in team ahead of Yuvraj, and made two vital contributions of 40 & 39 in the test match, cannnot be dropped in favour of Yuvraj. The unbeaten innings Yuvraj played was definitely a good one, but it was by no means a 'once in a life time innings' nor was it a big hundred- if it is one of these two cases then perhaps the selectors could justify their decision. If they felt that Yuvraj has to be given a proper chance then why did he not get selected in the eleven right at the beginning?

When a player is dropped, all he can do is go back to domestic cricket, make runs and hope to be picked again. Saurav Ganguly did that and got picked in the team. He did not set the Kotla on fire with his performance but it was a good one all the same. Dropping him, was definitely not the right thing to do, as it the selectors have not followed a logical process here. If Saurav Ganguly was good enough to find a place ahead of Yuvraj for the first two tests, then surely he must be good enough for the third. Rahul Dravid praised Saurav's performance in the press conference. A few minutes later the selectors announced the dropping of Ganguly from the team! As always, I am sure that Saurav heard the news from the press rather than from a selector or the captain. Cricket is a great game and needs to have a sense of dignity to it. If Saurav is going to be dropped, Rahul Dravid and the chairman of selectors need to give him a call and explain their actions to him. Saurav Ganguly is no angel, he did have his flaws- but at the end of the day his contribution to Indian cricket is unmatched by any captain so far- and that is something we have to respect- whether one likes it or not.

Madras Blues, Faisalabad Follies , Bcci Blunders

What should have been the great man's record breaking 357th odi ended in a damp manner as the game never started, courtesy the Madras Monsoon. This is the third time in three games that Chennai games are being affected by weather. The first game I'm talking about was the rain affected Chennai Odi Vs NewZealand and the second game was the test match against Australia last year. The game had been heading towards a thrilling finish when rain played spoilsport. The rotation policy used by the BCCI to schedule games defies all logic. How can you think of scheduling three consecutive games in Chennai in October-November, the monsoon season! The public, who are SUPPOSED to be the major players in this game are the biggest losers here with a refund of money not being promised yet! And yet, next time there is a game in Chennai, rest assured there will be a full house, with people flocking the venue to see their heroes in action. The system has to change. The BCCI has to be accountable to the public. Only then can there be improvement in Indian Cricket's structure. The BCCI defy every theory one would have ever learnt in Management school that it is only a matter of time before the decline sets in.

Shahid Afridi-- Powerful, Charismatic , Popular , Aggresive....and the adjectives go on..with a single act of foolishness he has ensured that he will be remembered for the wrong reasons now. In the Second test vs England in Faisalabad, Afridi was found guily of tampering with the pitch during one of the intervals! Roshan Mahanama the match refree let Afridi off with just a three match ban. If One Mr.Saurav C Ganguly battered an eyelid even there was always a ban waiting for him. There were several instances when he has been punished severely for the smallest of mistakes: showing dissent on being dismissed, for India's slow over rate, for time wasting. Afridi manhandles the playing surface and he gets a ban of just three games! A bad precedent to set for people world over. Afridi is now going to be remembered life long for this incident rather than his wonderful hitting or positive attitude. Bob Woolmer did not defend Afridi (he could not have) but said it was in the heat of the 'moment' . Come on Bob, you know better....

Super Stats

Tendulkar might have scored just 2 in the 3rd ODI vs srilanka but during his knock of 2:

* The first ball he faced was the 16,000th Ball he faced in ODI cricket

* The first run he scored was his 11,000th as Opener, the most by an opener in cricket.

Saurav or Dravid?

In a few hours from now India will know who their cricket captain is. Will Dravid continue in his new role or will Saurav be made captain again.

It would not be fair to judge Dravid based on the triangular in Srilanka alone as it is too short a period for any captain to prove his worth. To his credit, Dravid performed well with the bat in the triseries and was on the attack even when India were looking to defend low totals. However, it must be said that the way he handled his bowling resources left a lot to be desired. Inexplicably, mistakes were repeated in two consecutive games against Srilanka and India never gained any momentum in the tournament.

I for one for feel that Saurav Ganguly must be made captain again for it is in India's best interests. It would be very unfair to Saurav if he were dropped from captaincy after one bad series against Pakistan. The selectors had no alternative but to name Dravid captain for the triangular as Saurav had to serve his 4 match ban. At the end of the day its not about Dravid, not about Ganguly, its about who would do a better job in leading India.

A word about India's performance. India's fielding left one with mixed emotions. At times they were quite sharp and effected quite a few run outs. However the ground fielding and catching was pathetic at times with Virendar Sehwag in particular having a horrible time. I also reckon India never managed to get their balance right. If they did play only 6 batsmen, numbers 7 and 8 should be bowlers who can bat. Pathan would be a good number 7 but none of the other bowlers India played in the finals (Zaheer,Nehra,Bhajji,Kumble) would make a good number 8. Ideally India should've played JP Yadav who could bat at 8 and also bowl his quota of overs. Great one day teams cannot be made with one dimensional cricketers. You have got have atleast 2-3 players who can contribute with both bat and ball, and a top fielding outfit. India have some brilliant fielders (Kaif,Yuvraj) and some very average ones.

Greg Chappell must be given some time to settle into the new job, and Zimbabwe will provide India an ideal platform for India to experiment with their combinations and gain momentum ahead of a crucial season. I am confident that India will be able to put their indifferent form behind and Chappell-Ganguly lead India to a new era, one where Team India should aim towards the goal of becoming the best team in the world.