Time to Show Our Mettle

Yes, we have lost the first test badly. Yes, we have not acquitted ourselves the way a World No. 1 Test team should.

The sight an Indian fan did not want to see - England's victory huddle :-| (Source: Cricinfo)

Irrespective of whether we like it or not, and whatever be the entirely avoidable and unfortunate reasons behind this, but it is indeed a fact that for the Indian cricket team fits the tag of 'poor, slow starters' to almost every Test series (abroad). Perhaps this tag applies to us even more strongly than a certain 'cho_ _ _s' tag attributed to a prominent team from the southern part of a continent.

However, this is the time when our time needs us the most. They did not set the stage afire alright, but they did not really disgrace themselves either, even in defeat.

On that contrary, I was in fact happy with the way we went for Lunch on Day 4 (when Ishant had rocked England bigtime - the most ardent English fan too would have been jittery for them, then) and even at Tea on Day 5, when we still had 5 wickets in hand for the final session, with Dhoni and Raina at the crease. I am not sure about the others, but I seriously reckoned we could have salvaged a draw with a little more luck (weather) and application. Considering we were always short of our premier bowler, I would never want to give the stick to our cricketers, that too for not trying hard enough. And as I have always maintained, I am fine even with a defeat, as long as our team has put in every possible effort and not made silly/already committed mistakes.

Despite the largely forgettable performance by India, I do believe, though, that we still have it in us to upset the English applecart. Don't forget, this is an Indian team, that is not only used to coming back from behind, but is also a team that never gives up, and is not dependent too heavily on any one individual now, unlike the last two decades. Even the figures show we do manage to bounce back remarkably well after our first Test.

Having said that, it's truly going to be a test of our mettle, to mount back-to-back wins now from a very confident English side, with all bases covered.

Now for my Nobel-winning Eureka-statement of the day: The best and only way to defeat England, is to make sure that we pick our best cricketers (purely by form and as per pitch conditions).

In that regard, I believe it is high time we dispense with Mr. Harbhajan Singh w.e.f. NOW.

My reason: No, I am never a one-test or even a one-series critic. Show me the last time Bhajji bowled India to victory in a Test on his own, even before the current Test/series. Forget humans, even Google might struggle conjuring up the relevant match stats.

Yes, he is a big name (and in all probability, Mr. MSD's favorite will not be left to cool his heels), and is also a handy No.8 but I want to tell him and his admirers just this -
Har bhajan apna karenge, dear Bhajji tere liye...

...batting toh aa rayi hai lekin, ye bhi dekhna wickets din mein kitne liye.

Anyway, as I said, what I wish/think is immaterial as long as the captain/selector(s) do not think so too. I do not expect Dhoni to drop him - and I'd love to be proved wrong if Bhajji just goes on to bowl India to a win. However, my discomfort arises from the fact that not only has he not managed to be among the wickets, he has not even looked like taking/deserving a wicket. Even lower-order batsmen have played him with ease, even smacking him around with disdain.

Which is why, I would rather go with a Mishra instead of him. Why, I'd even drop Mukund to make way for Yuvraj too - he would not only bolster our batting but also add to our bowling with his left-arm spin. Again, though, it's not a selection I see happening in all practicality.

Yes, I am sorry to sacrifice a specialist opener who has actually acquitted himself well, but I wanted to include a left-arm spinner really, even at the cost of my specialist opener. Having said that, I would not mind too much even if this change is not made. But I do want Bhajji replaced with Mishra.

And, since this is my blog, I'd like to use this space to write about exactly what/who I believe are the personnel I can trust the most to do the job in the 2nd Test:

  1. Gautam Gambhir

  2. Abhinav Mukund

  3. Rahul Dravid

  4. Sachin Tendulkar

  5. VVS Laxman

  6. Suresh Raina

  7. MS Dhoni

  8. Praveen Kumar

  9. Amit Mishra

10. Ishant Sharma

11. Munaf Patel/S Sreesanth

Come on, India!!

It's time we showed why we are the World No. 1 side.

Let's silence the likes of Donald, Boycott, and Warne. For good.

Jai Ho!!

There you go again!

'Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.' - Tamas.

Right then, so it's another anguish-laden post, in reaction to another set of serial blasts in Mumbai. And as i had said earlier, I'm afraid it might only end up being just another date/anniversary of yet another terror attack, in the years to come.
I hope I am wrong but I am yet to see/notice any incident/action by the Government that can make me change my view.
All I can do is to just hope and wait for our Government to finally, kindly, please for Goddamn sake, - please, please - act!! Actually, come to think of it, act it does, but not the 'act' where 'act' is a verb, but where it is an adjective.
So dear heartless leaders, please stop the charade, relieve us of your bhaashans and found-again resolves, and just, only - ACT: TAKE QUICK, SWIFT ACTION AGAINST THE CULPRITS.

Right now, this is our typical cycle:
Blast > Govt issues the customary press release > Strongly condemns the heinous and unforgivable terrorist attack > Reaffirms tokenisms of ensuring justice and re-re-pledges war against terror > Re-re-re-warns terrorist networks of dire consequences, if repeated > Hails the much-abused 'spirit' of Mumbai and Mumbaikars > No Real Actions/Lessons > Blast..

I believe none of us wants to hear about Mumbai's spirit and resilience anymore. It's time we said enough is enough. And said just that, no more. Instead, for a change, can we please act on the culprits ASAP - atleast on known offenders like Kasab?
I want to read about how we put our foot down on this, like US did with Osama and Saddam.

We have no control over what others (terrorists) can do. But we can for sure control what we can do, instead of just spewing platitudes and offering ceremonial wreaths. Has even one terror attack (of even the smallest magnitude) occurred on US soil, post-9/11?
Touchwood for that, but has that happened just because of sheer coincidence or no effort or only due to press releases issued by the White House?

The least we can and should do is to set such a precedent that nobody ever dares to cast an evil eye on even one of our citizens, ever. 
Alas, we can only hope, wish, and pray.