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India Em-'Powar'ed, India's Youth Policy,
Raina's Chase and the Official Biker... |
Mar 31, 2006 (From the
Cricket Journal)
Having snatched victory from the jaws of a
certain defeat, India went into this game as a
confident side, knowing what they wanted to do.
The onus was surely on England to create a
feeling about themselves that they could compete
in this form of the game against the hosts. With
Powar replacing RP Singh (a good move in my
opinion because the latter looks nothing but a 'dibbly-dobbly'
guy with some pace), strategy prevailed and
two-spinners on this dusty Faridabad wicket,
would be quite a task for the Poms to handle. In
the end, India prevailed in what looked like a
nervy encounter and quite worthily, taken a
2-zip lead in the 7 match ODI series. Here are
some musings from the Faridabad encounter...
India Em-'Powar'ed...
 At
last, one feels that the hunt for India's
compatible second spinner in ODIs is seemingly
over. Ramesh Powar was handed a perfect
opportunity in the 2nd ODI and even though he
could not grab a catch (Strauss on 27) off his
own bowling, he surely grabbed his chance as a
part of this side. India in the recent past have
tried several others like Murali Kartik and of
course the old warhorse Anil Kumble, but the
recent loss of form for Kartik and Kumble's aged
make-up not in Chappell's scheme of things at
the moment, it was an important game for the
Mumbai offie. What makes Powar an effective ODI
bowler is his variations - in line, length,
trajectory and indeed speed. Early wickets do
help any bowler for that matter, but an
impeccable line and length coupled with patience
is what saw Powar through. It was imperative for
him to perform today purely because of the fact
that his showings in the last four games he
played weren't encouraging enough. I always
believed that he has a crucial role to play in
Indian cricket and add his lusty batting at the
lower part of the innings and Powar seems a
invaluable player. Perhaps the dawn has just
begun with this stellar performance and
Faridabad. Knowing Ravan (a nickname his Mumbai
team-mates have given him for his huge fetish
for food) he has a cool head on his shoulders
and one certainly hopes and wishes that he be
given regular chances to prove his mettle.
India's Youth Policy
Persistence with youth seems the way ahead for
Indian cricket. And indeed, this way is leading
to smoother roads. At 92/5, most of us
'fickle-minded' Indian fans would've written the
team off. But thanks to some young thought
processes and indeed unquestioned talent, there
is surely a sense of belief emerging not solely
from the player himself, but also the fans. I do
not quite want to be an Economist, quoting
statistics about the youth in India and stuff,
but as far as cricket is concerned a team with
an average age of 25 is surely worth a mention.
The emergence of a 'young brigade' so to say has
had an immense impact on India's recent
successful one-day run. This is a side, that at
least appears to have rid away with the concept
of 'Choking' and a testament to this fact would
be the last 14 out of the 16 wins coming through
chases. With Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Suresh
Raina, RP Singh and of course Irfan Pathan
coming through the ranks successfully, age is
slowly getting out of the equation. That of
course highlights the difference playing two
seasons of first class cricket can make to a
young cricketer. Thus far, thus good and as an
observer of the Chappellian comrades, the policy
of blending youth with a touch of experience is
the only way Indian cricket can take the 'Giant'
leap into the next level.
Raina's Chase
 The
situation was pretty precarious when this young
man walked into bat. With India reeling at 80
for 4 and later 92 for 5, it almost needed a
near-miracle to pull it off. It was a
fascinating inning played by Suresh Raina today
and what was more pleasing than seeing the young
man seeing the chase through the last ball.
There are 3 Ts that most experts look out for in
a young player - Talent, Temperament and
Technique and add another T when it comes to
Raina - Timing/Touch. It was indeed an
encouraging sign as a cricket watcher to see
Raina get his timing spot-on when batsmen as
good as Flintoff and Pietersen (earlier) were
struggling. Responsibility often gets the best
out of you as a person, and Raina for sure
succeeded with greater burden of pressure. His
shot-selection pretty much summed up his
innings, that one might describe as one with
class, yet a tinge of cheekiness. He picked his
spot as and when he desired and what better time
to get a boundary than the first ball of any
over. Believe you me, it eases the pressure for
the rest of the 4 or 5 balls. Being involved in
a match-winning partnership and producing a
virtual chase of his own would probably do him
loads of good and I surely hope that the Team
Management look after this chap with a great
degree of care and even though it is too early
to say, let me put my hand up and predict him to
lead India one-day !
The Official Biker
 He's
India's man behind the stumps, an important part
of the batting line-up and that apart an added
responsibility has been ushered onto Mahendra
Singh Dhoni - the team's official biker. For the
second time today, MS Dhoni took the victory lap
on Suresh Raina's brand new TVS Apache. And let
me tell you, its not a bad idea to do something
that would please his sponsors (He is sponsored
by TVS). For a man who often publicly professes
his passion for biking, its a responsibility he
sure would be thriving on ! And who knows, 2
rides gone, 5 more to go. Lets hope Dhoni gets
the last ride !
Over to Goa for the 3rd ODI !
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