India gifting top spot to England

When Mahendra Singh Dhoni's high riding Indians arrived in England, expectations were high, both among the Indians as well as the global cricket fraternity. Dhoni and team were expected to bust the home team's invincible bubble and also thwart their ambition of beating India. The goal was to grab the number one spot as the best Test cricketing nation in world cricket.

But as the results of the First Two Tests prove, where England have thrashed the daylights out of them, the Indians have failed to maintain their reputation in the established game and are near to handing the champions title to England on a platter. Pity when one considers that they made every Asian proud by becoming top dogs in Test cricket playing exciting and eye catching cricket.

Unless they make a determined effort to raise their game in all departments in the next Two Tests, they will fly back a sad lot which will not be to the liking of their supporters back home to whom cricket is religion and Sachin Tendulkar is a demi-god.

Surfeit of cricket

Admitted that the Indians have been fed on a surfeit of cricket, especially the "slap bang" game 50-over World Cup and Twenty20. It is somewhat difficult to get this out of one's system by the flip of a switch, and then cotton onto what the game cricket is all about Test cricket.

It is apparent that they cannot shed the " hammer every ball" technique and fit into a more conservative mould that is required for Test cricket.

We do not grudge the Indian cricketers the mega dollars they earned in winning the 2011 World Cup and from the lucrative Twenty20 tournament. But it is also apparent that the mega dollars are weighing heavily on them going by the slow or non-movement of feet when playing Test cricket which is so very essential to succeed in the longer version of the game.

It is also apparent that their cricketers are not paying attention and are not concerned of maintaining their hard won status in the longer version of the game.

Mind boggling dollars

This may be because the established game does not spin in the mind boggling dollars like the limited over versions does. And so their lack of interest. In the two Test matches played, their approach has been a one-day style and not the style required for Test cricket.

Test cricket requires that, especially the batsmen settle down to concentrating, staying at the wicket for long periods and building big scores. But other than for veterans Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar none of the other batsmen seem able to follow the two veterans and play like them.

Skipper Dhoni has been a poor example. When India were well on top in the first innings of the Second Test at 267 for 5, a lead of 46 after dismissing England for 221, Dhoni played the rash shot.

He just stood and belted without getting his foot to the pitch of the ball and gifted a catch. This signalled the beginning of the end of the Indians victory push that could have helped them win the Test and square the series with two to go.

Former India skipper Rahul Dravid with two centuries under his belt is the only Indian playing with responsibility. Others will do well to take a lesson from him.

For England Stuart Broad who looked ordinary against Sri Lanka has been a revelation. He has improved tremendously as his batting and bowling shows. His hat-trick was well deserved.

Shastri bowls Hussein

In this column I had reason to take the Sky TV cricket commentators to task for their continuous biased comments on the game, blindly blowing the trumpets of their own players. They over-did this during Sri Lanka's tour of England and were irritating listening to.

In so doing I also predicted that they will not have it easy when the Indian cricket team tours England and when up against commentators such as Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Boghale. And so it was when Ravi Shastri took on Nasser Hussein and put Hussein in place.

Apparently it all happened after a talk show where Hussein had held forth on the part use of the Umpire Decision Referral System by India in the on-going Test series against England and taking the Indians to task for not agreeing to play the full UDRS inclusive of the LBW rule.

In the on-going series, the Indians have said no to the LBW decisions for referral. Hussein's grouse was that it should not be so and that the Indians play to the full system. In a subsequent reply Shastri had taken the stance that India had every right to say no to whatever they wished in the UDRS.

Misunderstood

Apparently Hussein had misunderstood what Shastri had said and when doing commentary together on STAR CRICKET, Hussein who seemed to have been offended, opened the topic and took on Shastri saying that he never intended to offend any team and that Shastri in his comments had apparently taken shots at Hussein.

But Shastri did not cringe. In no uncertain terms he hit back at Hussein, and kept repeating what he had said to the effect that India has the right to say no to the LBW rule in the UDRS because the Indians are convinced that the rule is not 100 per cent perfect and that had at no stage in his comments offended Hussein.

Hussein seemed to have eaten humble pie, because he kept on repeating what he had said trying to calm down Shastri who did not seem to care less.

Hussein and company have always had their way. True that England born Hussein has been an England Captain. But that does not mean that he can ride roughshod on other commentators.

As for us, Ravi Shastri the former Indian Captain won the duel and in doing so stood up tall and was an example to other commentators not to cow down. Harsha Bhogale who took his turn behind the mike next, cooled things down with a little bit of light banter.

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