The last test match at ARG produced a draw. Little fun in draws usually at the ARG when you think of the boring ones we have had there. This one was different though. The match had two of three results possible, an Indian victory and a draw, which made it exciting till the last ball.
We saw Dave Mohammed take revenge for the bashing Dhoni gave him yesterday, adding to the legend of the guy with the cool name. Dave, or tadpole, as he is more popularly know by his cult following, kept making runs. That didn’t cause the torture though. The constant play and miss, topped by the stumping miss by Dhoni was the real sweet revenge.
My take - Firstly, Lara had no business interfering. Umpire’s decisions should be respected. Sadly though, Lara is likely to get away with a match fee cut, if at all, and nothing more.
Secondly, in the perspective of the match, it shouldn’t really matter as it is unlikely to come to six runs to decide the test match. So Dhoni did the right thing by ending the controversy then and there. Cricket can be funny and it will be hilarious if it ends up being a close thriller and those 6 runs could have had an impact.
In other cricket stuff, Murali has wielded his magic over the English once again. Read Zainub Razvi’s review of the match here.
I have been a huge Wasim Jaffer fan since forever. He has had a strange career really. For many seasons, he kept piling the runs but wasn’t picked. Then, when he was picked for his first stint in the team, he wasn’t in the best of form. He was also shown up against movement, paricularly versus the English. You have to make the little of the smallest opportunities you get in Indian cricket as there are so many players competing for spots.
Various sections of the media have highlighted how India has been superb of late in the one day arena. A few aspects have to be noted, though. India hasn’t faced the tough challenges till now. So it is too early to go euphoric over recent run of one day cricket victories. If any thing, we have we have even failed in instances where we shouldn’t have. With all due respect to the English side, why couldn’t India win convincingly versus an English side at home with half the English side missing? Time is asked because we are a young side. We were a young side in respects like bowling but weren’t the English side young and inexperienced as well?
Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of India’s test series in the West Indies. The decision was to be taken after a fitness test today. The decision has now been taken and it has been announced to the public.
…a well-placed source informed he’s going to make the Test squad.
“Sachin will be in the West Indies for the four-Test series… That’s a certainty,” the gentleman told The Telegraph on Monday.
It is evident now that however well placed the source, it wasn’t that well placed to provide the leak. Such reporting means that a newspaper can claim next day we told you so if the decision goes along the lines of their well placed sources. If it does not, they can always explain - that is if they bother to explain.
Now I am not questioning Telegraph’s credibility here. I am questioning why such an item makes a newspaper even if we assume it is from well placed sources? Shouldn’t statements be quoted only if people are named? Else it only leads to speculation and can encourage creation of false news all across by every other sports media. Not on according to me despite the obvious selling potential of such news, regardless of whether real or fabricated.
