The Sachin Tendulkar of the Indian Bowling

It is no secret that the Indian bowling has never looked to threaten any batting line-up in the world at any point of time in their vivid history. Having said this, the Indian bowling ranks have consistently had one bowler who has distinctly stood out and performed brilliantly putting aside the fact that he can by no means depend on the rest of the bowling unit.

The latest on this long list of consistent and outstanding performers on this list is, I am sure you guessed it right; Zaheer Khan!

One is reminded of a rash 25 year old that ran in to bowl to a strong Australian batting line-up in a World Cup final. Zaheer Khan is now a very different bowler and person; he has indeed matured and come a very long way. The Zaheer of today has an excellent control, restraint and has the wonderful knack getting what he wants from the delivery he bowls.

The wide spectrum of frustrated Indian fans who have complained about the pathetic state of the Indian bowling contingent will be surprised to learn the fact that Zaheer Khan currently has the second leading wicket taker behind Shahid Afridi. This, amidst the pressure of having the most incompetent and non-cooperative bowling partners he has to share the ball with. One has to say, Zaheer has shouldered responsibility quite brilliantly.

This World Cup has seen Zaheer come to the rescue over and over again. The first over of most of his second spells with the old ball have been nothing short of phenomenal and have been largely responsible for turning the games in India’s favour.

There are loads of spectacular bowlers out there; Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Lasith Malinga, Kemar Roach, James Anderson, Stuart Broad to name a few; but they all have an undue advantage over Zaheer Khan, they have other competent bowlers to share the burden of responsibility; but what has Zaheer Khan got? – Munaf Patel, Aashish Nehra, Santhakumaran Sreesanth! The only other player who Zaheer can rely on to an extent (as long as the ball is new and shiny) is Praveen Kumar who unfortunately is not playing in this World Cup.

This Zaheer Khan is a person who shoulders responsibility knowing fully well only he can deliver and fish his team out of troubled waters, which made him utter these words; maybe they just slipped, or it came out of pure frustration of lack of support after the match against West Indies: “As a bowling unit, I am doing well”.

This post comes with me fully knowing there maybe a chance some people may be reading this after Zaheer Khan takes a pasting against Australia; but I trust the Sachin Tendulkar of the Indian bowling to not do that!

India vs England

I am all pumped up and excited about this and hope it really lives up to all the expectations and build-up. A cake-walk for India would most definitely not disappoint me, a thrilling win for India would make me very happy; a thrilling win for England would disappoint me and a cake-walk for England would definitely sap out the renewed interest I have found,
What I aim to be doing just about 12  hrs before the start of this cracker of a contest is; a man-to-man comparison. This is of course, assuming India and England play unchanged sides from their respective first games. I also don't see a reason as to why they would want to change the squad (except maybe, Sree)
Ok.. Here goes...

Openers:
Sehwag vs Strauss - Strauss is a good One Day player, Sehwag is a devastating one day player. 'nuff said!

Tendulkar vs Pieterson - Pieterson is a great One Day Player, Tendulkar is God.

Gambhir vs Trott - This is a tough one.. Excellent players... In prime form, very good temperaments.. great application and excellent level of determination.

Kohli vs Bell - Kohli is in a purple patch, Bell is good, but going by current form, Kohli has an edge.

Yuvraj Singh vs Collingwood - Again, a tie.. Both the all-rounders are doing alright with the ball, but with the bat, both are in the middle of a very lean patch; but on his day, Yuvraj Singh can be a bigger threat than Sehwag, a slight edge to Yuvraj Singh.

Dhoni vs Prior - Dhoni wins; a better batsman, but when it comes to keeping wickets; Prior, probably slightly better

Yusuf Pathan vs Bopara - Yusuf Pathan wins hands down.. He has overcome his short ball woes and he can plunder the opponent and run over them in a small matter of two overs.

Harbhajan Singh vs Swann - Harbhajan Singh is probably the better choice here, he is slowly regaining his form and also the better bowler in home conditions and also a bit handy with the bat.

Zaheer Khan vs Broad - Zaheer Khan is definitely the better bowler; Broad is a handy batsman and can hit a few blows down the order.

Sreesanth vs Bresnan - Well, Bresnan is a good bowler and handy batsman too; not counting out Sreesanth though, when he turns up, he really does turn up

Munaf Patel vs Anderson - Munaf has all the luck in the world, but Anderson is the pick in this head-to-head.

Overall, on paper, India look like they can push over England easily. Lots of odds stacked against the Englishmen. But! You never know, an early wicket, a stupid run out, a needless wild swing outside the off stump is all it takes for a strong batting side to collapse!

Here is hoping!

Disappointment!!

A post coming far too late. The tour to SL has been downright depressing for me, with every failure my love for Dravid is just increasing exponentially, for some strange reason I am so wild at Sachin and feeling terribly sorry for Dravid and harbour no feelings for Ganguly. For those who dint know, this is how they feature on my list of favourites:
1) Dravid
1.1) Ganguly
2) Kumble
3) Astle
4) Bond
5) Damien Martyn
6) Laxman
7) Tendulkar
I dont know why, but while coming back from work, I FEARED for Dravid's career, started to wonder whether for the first time in his career, he was gonna be DROPPED for a test series. The thought of the team for Australia test series is frightening. I hope to God, he is picked, shows the rock stuff he is made of and retires. This is the first time I am hoping India succeeds because and only because of an individual (I know thats bad). Dravid needs and DESERVES to be worshipped before he leaves the arena. He deserves to be glorified for the unnoticed deeds he has done to Indian cricket in all forms of the game.
He belongs to the rare breed of cricketers who dare to pull or hook and is the master of the flick; please dont disappoint us Dravid, you dont deserve to be KICKED out. :(

Not satisfied.. but happy!!

we'll get stronger and stronger.. :-) :-)

Blue team's Blues!!

I am not going to vent out my anger or frustration in this blog, mainly because I am not angry, but deeply dejected, disappointed and very badly hurt!!

I always was extremely confident you would go through, I knew before the WC began you would be beaten by B'desh, but I was dreaming of a strong comeback against Bermuda and Sri Lanka. My dear fellas, you never cease to disappoint me, but, something in me just keeps loving you guys, and I still trust, I never lose hope in you, you always have a special place in my heart, ALWAYS!! I keep hoping and praying and even as I type this, I am praying Bermuda will pull an upset and you will do well from there. Oh yes, I definitely am one of those crazy fans who hope till they are woken by the bitter reality.

Well guys, I really cant conclude this saying you tried your best, your best is MMIILLEESS away from what you have done, fortune favours only the brave, I dont think its gonna favour you in the form of Bermuda, because I dont think you deserve it, you know that, dont you?

Hope to see you guys in Antigua and Barbuda on 31st against Australia(or South Africa)!! If not we will start afresh in England.

A deeply hurt,
and a loving fan