IPL 2: Un-performances: Games 21 to 40

Game 21: Deccan Chargers vs. Delhi Daredevils

DD make heavy weather of their chase, but manage to bring the requirement down to 38 off 24 balls. Not impossible considering the in-form TM Dilshan and the ever-pesky Dinesh Karthik are settled in. This is when Adam Gilchrist throws the ball back to part-timer Venugopal Rao. Rao had just bowled a useful first over for only three runs, but you get a feeling that now is the time for the gentle seamers of Dwayne Smith, but Adam Gilchrist thinks otherwise. And he is left to rue his decision as DD plunder 17 runs off Rao, and thus walk away with the match.

Game 22 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Rajasthan Royals

A revenge match of sorts this is for CSK against last year’s winners RR. And they are going along steadily, reaching 120 for 4 off 17 overs. Not quite overwhelming, but not bad considering the conditions and RR’s relatively thin batting. Shane Warne’s new hero Kamran Khan comes on to bowl over no. 18. Four legal deliveries later, he limps off after conceding 21 runs. Leaving Dwayne Smith to bowl two deliveries, including a free hit. That’s the end of the game as a contest.

Game 23 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Mumbai Indians

It has been the story of this IPL, KKR contriving to lose from all sorts of situations. And with many contributors to their loss, it is difficult to identify match-changing un-performances. In this game, what stands out is Brendom McCullum’s confidence in his own batting form, coming in to bat at No. 6, after Laxmi Ratan Shukla. It is a bigger shocker than Sourav Ganguly’s first ball duck.

Game 24 – King’s XI Punjab vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

You take a hat-trick with your donkey drops and then make a 50 off 34 balls in a chase of 146, and your team still loses. Who would Yuvraj Singh blame? Yusuf Abdulla for conceding 21 runs off his third over (after going for just six in his first two)? The bigger turning point to my mind was the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene. KXP need just 30 runs off 18 balls with seven wickets intact, a position from which even KKR would’ve fancied their chances. But Jayawardene tries one shot too many and holes out, the rest of the KXP team panic and they fall short by eight runs.

Game 25 – Deccan Chargers vs. Rajasthan Royals

Forget the result, forget the fielding lapses towards the end, the un-moment of this game is the decision that sent Lee Carseldine back to the dug-out. Ever heard of anyone being dismissed bat before wicket? And then there is the man of the match decision. Not Abhishek Raut?

Game 26 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils

There must a reason elders advice us not to look the gift horse in the mouth. Well as the CSK spinners bowl, DD is still in a good position after the 17^th over, needing 36 to win in 3 overs with Dinesh Karthik going well. Karthik goes for a big heave off the first ball of the 18^th, but manages to find the fielder. Luckily for him, Badrinath muffs the chance. Considering he got his boundary off the first ball, you would expect Karthik to use a bit of discretion? No, he chances his arm again, but finds a more sure-footed Muralitharan. Game over for DD.

Game 27 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs. King’s XI Punjab

Not one, not two, but so many spilled catches and missed run-outs – KKR looking absolutely abysmal on the field. The last-ball finish suggests a tightness that wasn’t quite there. This was a match of un-moments for KKR.

Game 28 – Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

The un-moment of this game probably belonged to all those commentators and their pre-match predictions. Who would’ve predicted RCB would steamroll MI so brutally? A nine-wicket victory with 11 balls to spare? Come on now, stop dreaming.

Game 29 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Deccan Chargers

It’s a game that almost sent Sivamani into depression as the clatter of wickets either side of DC’s 4^th wicket partnership is so loud it almost drowns out his drum beats.

Game 30 – King’s XI Punjab vs. Rajasthan Royals

The game KXP lost in the first over. Yuvraj imagines that he best captains by blindly following the moves of the more cerebral leaders. So he opens the bowling with spin, in the form of the portly Ramesh Powar. Six balls and sixteen runs later, there is going to be only one winner in this game.

Game 31 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

Another non-fielding day for KKR, and they snapped pretty early in their defence of a rather respectable 154. Ishant Sharma’s second over goes for 17, with shoddy fielding displays from Sourav Ganguly and Ashok Dinda neatly complementing three boundary deliveries. Dinda is so upset he goes for a six off the first ball of the next over and KKR is in familiar territory all over again.

Game 32 – Deccan Chargers vs. Mumbai Indians

Concede a hat-trick to Rohit Sharma, and how are you likely to feel?

Game 33 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Rajasthan Royals

If you lose to RR without Yusuf Pathan playing any role of significance, then you must’ve played really badly. Summed up by the dismissal of Rahul Dravid, caught down the leg-side off the glove for a duck. Coming as it did in the middle of a slide, it only hastened RCB’s collapse.

Game 34 – Chennai Super Kings vs. King’s XI Punjab

You may call it MS Dhoni’s moment, but I choose to call it KXP’s un-moment. They have just smashed Albie Morkel for 19 runs in an over and need a tough but gettable 43 off 24 balls, with Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene at the crease. Dhoni tosses the ball to Suresh Raina, and the KXP heavyweights manage just four singles in the over. The game has swung decisively this time.

Game 35 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians

A sorry total of 116 all out in 20 overs, two wickets in the first over including a run-out, all this was preceded by Mumbai’s big mis-move – Sachin Tendulkar not opening the innings. By betraying his lack of confidence (in himself as also in his middle-order), he also exposes the in-form JP Duminy up at the top. If ever proof was needed that Sachin is not a great captain…

Game 36 – Deccan Chargers vs. King’s XI Punjab

The man who came back. And scored a potentially match-winning 60 not out off 36 balls. And turned the match by conceding 20 runs off his solitary over. Andrew Symonds does take long to make this list.

Game 37 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Rajasthan Royals

It is a rather sedate game, the two champion teams boxing from the margins, more playing each other’s captains than the situation or the conditions. RR score a moderate 140 off their 20 overs. CSK chase steadily, inching up to a situation where they need 44 off 30 balls. Gettable, but by no means a done deal. The other Shane, Harwood, then delivers the killer punch. He runs into an unusually aggressive Badrinath, concedes 20 runs off the over, and hands the game over to CSK.

Game 38 – Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Chasing a challenging but gettable 158 to win, RCB are never in the race. That they score more than ten runs off an over only three times (and the third of these was the 16 in the last over when they required 33) in the entire innings sum up their approach. And then they have a problem if people call them a test team.

Game 39 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

I don’t remember what happened in this game. Does anyone watch KKR matches nowadays?

Game 40 – Deccan Chargers vs. Rajasthan Royals

It is a comfortable victory for DC in the end, but for a large part of the game when DC is batting, the game is evenly poised. At the end of 17 overs, they are 130 for 5, not disastrous but hardly imposing either. One more wicket could’ve meant a chase of about 150 for RR. Siddharth Trivedi comes in, Venugopal Rao pulls a short one, Abhishek Raut misfields, a boundary results. The over goes for 17 and DC motor away to 166, a decisive score in the ultimate analysis.

IPL 2: The first 20 games

A quick look at the key moments in each of the first 20 games of IPL 2.

Game 1 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Mumbai Indians

Yes, Sachin Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar batted well. Yes, Harbhajan Singh bowled a teasing spell to introduce spin into the tournament, but the moment of the game was Matthew Hayden dropping a sitter off Andrew Flintoff. It was Freddie’s first over in the IPL, MI were just 33 for none in 4.4 overs, and catches don’t come easier than that. As it turned out, Sachin went on to score an unbeaten 59, MI finished on 165 for 7 to win by 19 runs and Freddie returned figures of 1 for 44 off 4. He was to go worse later, but this was certainly as inauspicious a start as he could’ve had.

Game 2 – Rajasthan Royals vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

If the runners-up lost in the first game, it was the turn of the defending champions now. And when a team gets bundled out for 58 in 15.4 overs, it’s hard to pick one bad moment. It was batting of the highest ineptitude from Shane Warne’s boys. But if I were to pick one event, I would pick the 20^th over of the RCB innings. Praveen Kumar nabs Rahul Dravid’s wicket, but then gets hit for two successive boundaries off the last two balls. This coupled with the six Dravid hit earlier and a couple of runs elsewhere meant that RCB had 16 runs off the last over. While the total was still a meagre 133 for 8, it gave RCB just a wee bit of momentum. Before the rails came apart in the RR batting.

Game 3 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Kings XI Punjab

A truncated game in the truncated version of the game is hardly meaningful, but the powers-that-be deign it so and so it shall be. Daniel Vettori’s spell surely turned the game around for DD, but I reckon KXP threw it away in over no. 11, when they lost three wickets, two to run outs. Reminded me of the way the Englishmen play their one-day cricket.

Game 4 – Deccan Chargers vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

Notwithstanding their cricket, KKR have perhaps been the most written about team in the tournament. And fittingly enough, they started with an inglorious performance, not least exemplified by an innings of spectacular ineptness from ex-captain Sourav Ganguly – one run of 12 balls. The one over in which Fidel Edwards ran circles around him was a YouTube moment of great bowling meets not-so-great batting. However, rumours that John Buchanan sent a bouquet to Harmeet Singh for dismissing Ganguly are grossly exaggerated.

Game 5 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

After their first matches, this was expected to be a close contest, but when CSK bludgeoned their way to 179 for 5 off 20 overs (though they looked good for more), things looked tight for RCB. And then they sealed their own fate with a classic anti-strategy: they sent a virtual non-batsman in Praveen Kumar as a pinch-hitting opener. He lasted precisely three balls, and predictably RCB never recovered, not from his dismissal but from their own muddled thinking. The game was also characterised by two exquisite reciprocal moments. KP Pietersen brought himself on in the 11^th over of the CSK innings and picked up a wicket off his first ball. And when he came in to bat, he was taken out first ball by Muthiah Muralitharan. Noblesse oblige?

Game 6 – King’s XI Punjab vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

Yuvraj Singh’s bad luck with the weather continued as this turned out to be another truncated game. And since someone had to win, KKR did. But KXP could’ve still fancied their chances if only Karan Goel had held on to a sitter from Chris Gayle. KKR were on a mere seven of 10 balls and Gayle had barely wound up. Which he promptly did with two sixes and two fours in the next three overs.

Game 7 – Mumbai Indians vs. Rajasthan Royals

As one of the commentators rather inanely remarked, Lalit Modi apparently had a conference call with the rain gods but couldn’t convince them to hold off. A washed out game gave the defending champions their first points in this edition of the tournament.

Game 8 – Deccan Chargers vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

After letting DC run away to 184 for 6 off 20 overs, one would’ve expected RCB to show some urgency and momentum in their chase. But when they lost their third wicket for 38, they had already consumed 7.2 overs, which prompted cricinfo to comment, ‘Rahul Dravid walks out to save the follow-on.’ It certainly looked that grim out there.

Game 9 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils

That this was perhaps the first real batting slugfest of the event was a sufficient downer. But when Chennai reached up to 156 for 4 in 15.5 chasing 190, they looked in command. That is when Andrew Flintoff did the rather English thing of getting out when just ahead, and all Albie Morkel could do was watch helplessly as a spate of run outs crash-halted the CSK chase. After going for 50 runs off his four overs earlier, Freddie really was so not the man of the moment here.

Game 10 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals

The first super-over in the competition, this was a game filled with anti-moments. KKR had no business losing this game, but they contrived to do so quite successfully. Munaf Patel did his best to lose it for RR. With KKR struggling a wee bit at 107 for 5 off 15.5 overs and needing a further 44 off 25 balls, Patel managed to concede 13 runs off one ball, a no-ball six and a free-hit six by Sourav Ganguly. However, KKR repaid the compliment when Yashpal Singh perished in a needless death-or-glory shot with eight runs required off eight balls. Surely KKR couldn’t lose from there, he thought. Well, they did manage to knot themselves up and just about managed to tie the game. And then came the super-over and a decisive anti-moment. Now why exactly would you let Ajantha Mendis bowl the super-over to that butcher Yusuf Pathan? Especially when you have the pace of Ishant Sharma in your team? Did Buchanan and his captains forget that an over meant only one over?

Game 11 – Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Admittedly, RCB should have posted a larger total than the 168 they ultimately managed, losing five wickets in three overs towards the end. However, they could’ve still made a fist of it if Rahul Dravid had not made a mess of a simple chance from Kumar Sangakkara. KXP were 59 for 1 in the 8^th over and Sanga held on long enough to set the game up for Ravi Bopara and Yuvraj to finish it off. And oh yes, an Englishman finally played a role in a victory. No no, I don’t mean that was an un-moment.

Game 12 – Deccan Chargers vs. Mumbai Indians

It’s a game that will perhaps make the strategic break famous. Sachin was motoring along, as were MI, closing in on 84 for 1 off 10, needing a further 85. But come over no. 11, and Sachin looked tentative. He almost got out off the first ball, edged the second for a single, nearly yorked himself off the third and then perished off the fourth, scooping the ball to extra-cover. Mumbai came apart from thereon and ended up managing just 72 runs in the second tranche of 10 overs.

Game 13 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR actually did not lose this game. The game was rained off.

Game 14 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

This was a classic anti-game for Jacques Kallis. Why he agreed to open the innings we will perhaps never know, and why he shouldered arms first ball to Dirk Nannes today Kallis himself will perhaps never know. As if that were not bad enough, Kallis also bowled what was possibly the decisive over in the chase. With the match evenly poised, DD requiring 43 off 24 balls, Kallis comes in and concedes 19 runs. Unfortunate he was because one dropped catch translated into a boundary and then a mis-field led to a further boundary. But it was that kind of a day for the South African all-rounder, as he complemented his first ball duck with figures of none for 37 off three overs. His sister wouldn’t have cheered.

Game 15 –Kings XI Punjab vs. Rajasthan Royals

When a team gets restricted to 112 for 7 off 20 overs chasing a rather modest 140 for victory, it is tempting to ascribe some splendid semi-defensive bowling to the winning team. Well as Yuvraj’s team bowled, they were helped by another inept performance from the RR batsmen. Smith looked so out of sorts you wonder why they don’t drop him, the rest of the top order batted as if Irfan Pathan was a left-armed Curtly Ambrose and in the ultimate analysis, even 112 was a flattering score for RR, considering they were six down for 42. Ravindra Jadeja and Shane Warne had some batting practice as the game was long over.

Game 16 – Chennai Super Kings vs. Deccan Chargers

When a team is chasing a rather competitive 166 for victory, and you get a sense that they’ve got the game sewn up after just two overs, what do you make of it? That’s precisely what happened in this game. Adam Gilchrist started off rather sedately with a brace and a brace of boundaries in the first over and then a single. In the second over, Gilly turned the strike over to Gibbs, who after warming up with a boundary, endured a dot ball and a wide before hitting Manpreet Gony for a six and two more boundaries. Two overs, 31 runs, game in the bag. Needless to mention, Gony had no further role to play in the game, he had done his bit.

Game 17 –Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Mumbai Indians

In a game involving KKR, it’s tough to isolate moments of ignominy – they surely are putting in a team effort. If Ganguly’s 16-run over was a depth of misery, the systematic plundering of 28 runs from Mendis’ first two overs was decisive. Not to be left out, Chris Gayle conceded 14 runs off his first over. As for KKR’s batting… what batting?

Game 18 – Delhi Daredevils vs. Rajasthan Royals

Yusuf Pathan finally came good for RR and some one finally got the measure of Daniel Vettori, but the un-performance of this match, strangely enough, comes from the winning team. While Graeme Smith did well to hang around until the end, that he made just 44 runs off 46 balls (yes, a sub-100 strike rate) was telling. He scratched around a bit in the beginning, and one got the feeling he was not hanging around because he knew Yusuf was getting the runs; he just couldn’t do any better.

Game 19 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Another game where both teams tried to lose, but since the rules demand otherwise, only one could. To take all but one ball to chase 140 is almost a defeat, but then if the opponent is KKR, can you lose even if you try? The low point of this game? Well, it was the very first ball of the innings. In a splendid show of confidence in his bowling attack, KP opens the bowling himself. And in the classic spirit of sportsmanship, the opposition skipper obliges, getting out first ball. After that, the match continued only because the organisers dictated so.

Game 20 – King’s XI Punjab vs. Mumbai Indians

Probably the most thrilling low-scoring game of the event so far, with both teams failing to achieve even a run-a-ball score. Very clearly, almost no MI batsman came to the party except JP Duminy. But in the cruel game cricket is, JP also qualifies for the down moment of the game. He brought Mumbai to the brink, a not-so-impossible seven runs off three balls. And this is when he perished, mowing the ball straight down to cow corner.

IPL 2: Back to cricket

When I reflected on the first day of the inaugural IPL last year, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Today, on the first day of IPL 2, I was in a different frame of mind – I wasn’t expecting much from the tournament except some evanescent excitement. So I readied myself for the two games of the day. (Fortunately, and rather quixotically, the opening ceremony was scheduled for after the day’s games, so I happily gave them a miss.)

Unlike last year when there was only one game on the first day, there were two games today: Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians first, followed by defending champions Rajasthan Royals against Royal Challengers Bangalore. MS Dhoni versus Sachin Tendulkar; and Shane Warne versus Kevin Pietersen.

My thoughts after these two encounters?

The heroes of the day were two veterans of the game – Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. They played innings that need building up, that were un-frenzied (Dravid hit one six and Tendulkar none), that were un-Twenty20 like. Theirs were true cricket innings, not what you can expect from the Twenty20-bred cricketer, who just goes bang-bang and hopes that the heavy bats and the shorter boundaries would take care of the rest. The batting on display from the two maestros was pure cricket, pure joy.

The team that batted the best followed three old-fashioned principles – a cautious start where protecting wickets was key (Mumbai Indians scored just 64 in the first ten overs but lost just one wicket), one batsman playing through the innings (Tendulkar scored only 59 but remained unbeaten till the end) and impetus provided by one cameo in the middle (Abhishek Nayar’s 35 off 14 balls including a famous mauling of IPL debutant Andrew Flintoff).

The conditions had something for the bowlers – there was movement, there was bounce and the odd ball gripped the surface. It may not satisfy cricket lovers who came upon the game via Twenty20, but it certainly made for absorbing cricket. The fifth ball of the sixth over of the Rajasthan innings summed up the conditions. It was the medium pacer Vinay Kumar bowling to the South African Twenty20 specialist Tyron Henderson. The ball kicked off a good length outside the off-stump, swung in and swooshed past the nose of the batsman who was trying to bend away. Oh, cricket pure and simple!

If such matches become the norm for IPL 2, then we certainly have a sequel that is better than the original, cricketing terms. But if the shortage of fours and sixes means that the larger viewing mass (the Twenty20 fan as opposed to the cricket fan) might be put off, the organisers may step in and arrange batathons. Until then, let’s enjoy what promises to be a more even contest.

IPL 2: My picks

It begins today, the second edition of the Indian Professional League. One of my teams ought to win. I come from Tamil Nadu, so the Chennai Super Kings is my team. I live in Mumbai, so the Mumbai Indians are not a bad lot in my books. I spent long years in Bangalore, so the Bangalore Royal Challengers don't put me off. Quite a bit of my family is in Hyderabad, so the Deccan Chargers won't offend me if they win. I like defending champions, so the Rajasthan Royals are on. And if one of the others win, well, I always love the underdog.

Will IPL 2 go the way of most sequels? Or will it turn out like Godfather? The next month will tell us. Follow me on @cow_corner as I try to twitter my way through the slam-bang event.

Why KP should go

Those wicked guys at The Spin, are they really Englishmen? Bad enough they support Kevin Pietersen, but in the face of such incontrovertible evidence? After everything that has happened, The Spin argues that England needs to find a way to keep its only consistently genuine star as happy as possible ahead of the Ashes. But why? And at what cost?

The Spin will do well to remember that it operates from the land that introduced the wonderful game to all of us. The one game that embraces defeat as much as, if not more than, victory. It’s about playing the game, ain’t it? It’s about the spirit of the game, did I hear you say? Sign up here for an ECB life membership.

Look at what KP has done. Forget that he gave up his native South Africa and agreed to represent the English. Forget that he averages 51.09 after 50 tests and 46.65 after 91 ODIs, with a strike rate of 87.24. Mere numbers these. Even if they are better than that of any English player on display today. Playing the game is not just about batting and batting well, is it? The English of all people ought to know this better.

Look at what KP has done. He is bestowed the ultimate honour of the land, the English captaincy (rated above the knighthood in certain quarters) and he gives it up for petty reasons as conviction and not seeing eye-to-eye with the coach. So what if he still scores a century at the next opportunity? Hardly proves he is a team man, just plain a selfish one.

Look at what KP has done. He actually wanted to go home for a couple of days between two test matches. And when denied, he turns petulant child and punishes the West Indies with yet another century. Come on now, even the benevolent Englishmen can’t ignore this taunt.

Look at what KP has done. He speaks his mind, even if it is not the same mind as the wise ones who run the game. At the end of a tiring tour, he actually complains of tiredness. Surely he should know better? Surely he realises that cricket is not all about batting, not even batting better than any bugger in sight? It’s an all-round game, especially off the field.

The Spin’s argument is so self-serving it’s pathetic.

Yes, Pietersen contradicts himself; yes, his stream-of-consciousness interview technique throws up headlines; yes, he puts his foot in it. But, boy, can he bat: England's only hope of surprising the resurgent Australians is if he is in the right frame of mind.

What if England, God forbid, win the Ashes? How will they justify it?

Er, who’s the captain now?

(Drat, I knew I missed a trick when I discontinued ‘The future cricket’ series after just five musings. I touched on the toss and just when I was on to something big, I let go. And now this man has beaten me to it. I can’t prove that the idea crossed my mind earlier, so I won’t take him to court but I am compelled to share the conversation I had with John Buchanan sometime last year when I was in Kolkata.)

Me: Hi, John. Good we could catch up like this. I know I don’t have the kind of experience you’ve had, coaching one of the most successful cricket teams ever, but…

John: Hold on there, mate. Just get your sequence right – I wasn’t the coach of the most successful team, I made it the most successful team ever.

Me: Warney had me believe otherwise, just after the 2005 Ashes loss.

John: I knew you’d come to that. Read my book If Better Is Possible to understand the reasons for that defeat. I just let Jamie (Siddons) lose it for us. It was an important stepping stone for him.

Me: Oh yes, I remember reading that book. You also had some convincing explanations for the loss to India in 2001, didn’t you?

John: I don’t quite remember what I said then, my agent said that we needed a compelling explanation, and I think we came up with some reasons that night over a few drinks.

Me: Interesting… any way, John, I wanted to sound you out on an idea I had while I was working on a series of posts on my blog on cricket reforms.

John: Ah, you write a blog, do you? Do you think something like that will help my consulting business? I don’t mind re-releasing my book in the blog format if it helps.

Me: Er, I don’t think I’m quite the best person to answer that, being an amateur blogger myself.

John: Oh ok. I think I’ll check with my agent on this. Thanks for bringing it to my notice. Let’s move on. You were talking of some cricket reforms. What are you thinking?

Me: I am wondering, why should a team have only one captain? I can understand a team having one wicket-keeper, but just as there are three departments in the game, why can’t there be multiple captains?

John: What a crazy idea! Why would you want that?

Me: Well, I was just thinking. There used to be this criticism about bowling captains either under-bowling themselves or over-bowling themselves.

John: Nah, bowling captains are just too fat and obsessed with their cell phones.

Me: And some batting captains are so worried about the team, it tends to affect their personal performance as batsmen.

John: No no, Mark Taylor was a genuinely bad batsman, but go on.

Me: Moreover, nowadays there are so many roles captains have to play – selector, player, media relations…

John: Brand endorsement, representing the country in inane ICC meetings… I get the drift. But I still don’t know how it will work out.

Me: Me neither, but if there is one person who can carry this off, at least on an experimental basis, it’s you I reckon.

John: That is absolutely correct, mate. No one else can even talk of this with a straight face. Hmmm… these Englishmen don’t seem to want to win the Ashes – they’re not calling me to coach their team. They could’ve made good guinea pigs.

Me: Do you think you can perhaps write an article about it and get some views from other experts?

John: No, I’d rather leave copies of the article in hotel rooms accidentally, that strategy works better, but hey, wait! I wonder I can try it out with the Kolkata Knight Riders at the next IPL. I can kill multiple birds with this one stone.

Me: Er, how?

John (visibly excited): I can make Sourav the mascot captain. So he can wear those funny costumes (or may be take his shirt off) and cheer the team. That way I can get rid of him from the eleven. I can get Ponting to do some field placements. Now that should make the game more competitive and push our bowlers hard. Chris Gayle deciding the batting order should pose some problems for the fielding side – he will take so much time with his decisions on the batting order that it will affect the over-rate. Brendon McCullum can do some pitch reading, Brad Hodge can be the captain of the reserves… the possibilities are endless.

Me: Er, that’s quite not what I was thinking…

John: I think I’ve cracked this. This innovation should take the cricket world by storm. I can see the next ICC captain’s conference being held at the pitch at Lord’s, just to ensure there’s enough for all the captains from the different sides. Thanks for being a sounding board for my ideas, mate. You want to pick up the tab?

(To avoid the public glare wherever we go, John and I were in disguise at an undisclosable bar in Kolkata. Hence I cannot prove this conversation happened. Lucky bugger, John!)

The First Test

(On the occasion of the 132^nd birthday of test cricket, I look back at the first test I watched live on television.)

It was the days when I had just got initiated into this game called cricket, the days when the names of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev (G R Vishwanath was my favourite though) were beginning to become familiar when we played street cricket.

I had listened to some radio commentary earlier with some friends, when Pakistan toured India, and to our delight, India won. But the concept of watching cricket on television (and live cricket at that), was still not even a thought in our minds. It was the days when television was not an assumed appliance in all households, at least not whereabouts I lived, this town called Tiruchirapalli, in the heartland of Tamil Nadu.

School closed for Christmas on Friday, 18 December, ‘81 and was scheduled to re-open on Monday, 4 January ‘82. The plan for the fortnight was the usual – play cricket on the streets until we get dirty and tired, come home to wash and eat, repeat process until the sun decides its time to stop. Then sit outside the house of one of us and talk about what we played until it was dinner time. Except that my dad had a surprise in store for me.

It was Sunday evening, and we had just had our dinner. Then my dad said to me, ‘I am going to Kumbakonam on Tuesday. Do you want to come with me?’ I was wondering why I should go to Kumbakonam of all places. Yes, a couple of my uncles lived there, but the children of one were much older than me and those of the other, mere tots. So what will I do there? ‘Raju uncle [the older uncle] has a television at home and you can watch the England-India test match there.’ Ah, now he was talking.

On the evening of Tuesday, 22^nd December, I was packed and all set to travel the 150 kilometres that separated me and a live test match on television. The uncomfortable bus journey barely registered as we reached Raju mama’s home at some nine in the night.

The third test match of the series was due to begin the next day. I remembered reading about India’s victory in the first test. I recalled how I felt Madan Lal was the better bowler in the England second innings because he conceded only 23 runs in 12 overs while Kapil Dev was profligate in giving away 70 runs in 13.2 overs, and they took five wickets each. The difference between dismissing David Gower and Graham Dilley had not sunk in yet. I also remembered the drawn second test for Krish Srikkanth’s first test half century (65 off 88 balls – a rapid-fire innings for those days, especially for that series) and Gavaskar’s monumental if dreadfully slow (even for those days, even for that series) 172.

I woke up on the morning of Wednesday 23 December 1981, bright and eager. My first test of live cricket on television, and I was justifiably excited. Morning coffee, bath, dressing up, brunch, all done by 9.30 am, well in time for the 10 o’clock start.

It didn’t strike me then, but later years made me reflect on it, it seemed like I was not the only one who was excited with the prospect of the test match. Raju uncle’s son, Ashok, much older to me, was also enjoying his Christmas vacation, so he was also all set to watch the game. Ashok’s grandfather also was a cricket freak and he was with us as well. So were a couple of uncle’s assistants (uncle was a lawyer), for whom, I suspect, it was a way to be at work but not work.

So, the clock slowly crawled to 10, and Doordarshan brought cricket to the drawing room. Keith Fletcher won the toss and, expectedly, chose to bat first. Graham Gooch and Geoffrey Boycott were the openers. The little cricket I knew then told me that Gooch was the more watchable of the two. But on that monumental day, there wasn’t much to separate the two. How I wish by that I meant Boycott played aggressively! But no, Gooch decided to emulate his senior partner and ground his way to 71 runs of 176 balls. But even then he outscored his partner, the score being 132 when he got out. Who should succeed him but the Boycott-clone Chris Tavaré, and between the two of them they batted the day out, England finishing on a rather pedestrian 190 for 1, Boycott having inched along to 86 with Tavaré on a relatively quick 25.

It wasn’t a great day of cricket in terms of the action, but for me it was still exciting. Of course, I had a sinking feeling that India won’t be able to win this test. But this was the 1980s, so a draw was still good enough, and I fancied our chances on that front.

Day 2 was relatively breath-taking. Boycott got out soon after reaching his century, and I guess even the English must have felt relieved to see him go, making as he did 105 in 285 balls. But what followed next was even more exciting for me. That stylist, David Gower made his way to the crease, and I was looking forward to some exciting stroke-play from him. But he lasting only three deliveries, falling leg before to Madan Lal. If it was a dodgy decision, Doordarshan didn’t explain overmuch. But two wickets on the same score had me salivating. And I knew Fletcher, who walked in next, was on a second wind, and hence should not be difficult to dislodge. However, it was the featherbed called the Kotla, and Fletcher stayed. Tavaré played perhaps the most aggressive innings of his life as he ended the day with 133 (his maiden test century), having made 108 runs on this day alone – he must’ve gone to confessional that night. With Fletcher making 51 off 107 and then Ian Botham coming in and taking the bowlers on with a frightening innings of 47 not out, England finished the day on a comfortable 428 for 4.

The next day was December 25 and was thus the rest day. It was the longest day of my life until then. Sure the cricket was not riveting, but when there is no cricket, what do you do? I was in a new city, I had no friends, I had no books. It was worse than watching Boycott bat. But, like with all things good or bad, the day got over.

The third day made for good viewing because England kind of collapsed, losing five wickets for 17 runs, Tavaré ending on 149, a career-best as it turned out in the ultimate analysis. To protect Bob Willis from the frightening pace of Madan Lal, Fletcher very kindly declared at 476 for 9. Time for India to bat. Srikkanth started with a boundary, but flattered to deceive, falling for 6 off just four deliveries. Dilip Vengsarkar struggled to 8 off 43 before perishing to Derek Underwood. Gavaskar was marching serenely albeit slowly at the other end when his brother-in-law Vishwanath joined him at 41 for 2. And Vishy was class itself. He lost Gavaskar at 89, but that didn’t deter him as Sandeep Patil joined him. The two were comfortably established as India closed the day on 172 for 3, Vishy on 67 and Patil on 30. Draw was already loudly written on top of this test match.

Day 4 did not start very comfortably for India. Patil perished after adding just a single to his tally, Kirti Azad made a quick 16 and departed, Vishy reached a classy hundred and decided enough’s enough, and Kapil Dev went for 16, out to his all-rounder opponent Botham. At 254 for 7, India was even in danger of being asked to follow on. This was when Syed Kirmani joined a young Ravi Shastri. Neither of them were mugs with the bat, but they weren’t great batsmen either. Shastri was in his early days, and his batting skills hadn’t come to the fore just yet, and Kirmani was but a useful scrapper lower down the order. But today was their day. It wasn’t pretty cricket, but they hung on and took India to 376 for 7 at close, behind England by 100, but close enough to ensure a draw. Shastri not out 48 and Kirmani on a more belligerent 67.

Kirmani fell early on day 5 when that perennial bits-and-pieces man of Indian cricket, Madan Lal joined Shastri with India still 94 runs adrift of England. But the two carried on from where Kirmani left off, and took the score past England’s, before, at 486, Shastri fell to the gentle medium pace of Gooch, seven agonising runs short of what would have been his maiden test century. Immediately afterwards, Madan Lal also fell to Gooch and India ended at 487, a first innings lead of 11. Gooch finished with flattering figures of two for 12 off 8.1 overs. There was just about 90 minutes of play left in the test match, and Gooch and Boycott indulged in some batting practice, stroking 72 off 19 overs (with Gavaskar and Srikkanth turning their arms over as well) before the umpires decided to pull the stumps.

Thus it was, my first test match. Utterly unforgettable, utterly forgettable. Poignantly summed up by who the man of the match was: Christopher James Tavaré. After such a debut, why do I still follow test cricket, you may ask. Well… ask yourself that question too.

The scorecard