Shhh...It's Cricket!
Ok, this is a cricket post/rant. The cricket infidels will just have to skip it. Saurav Ganguly, after scoring a perfectly respectable 39 and 40 in the last test match against Sri Lanka, has been dropped for the third one. It's a sad decline for SG who, in my view, has done more for Indian cricket in the past five years than Tendulkar and Dravid combined. Sure he may not have been the most talented batsman compared to those two but he had guts (doomed sometimes) and attitude and it is he alone who transformed India from a team that sometimes produced individual brilliance (but more often than not did not) to a team that consistently beat (or held their own) against the best in the world. India are now number 3 in the test rankings in no small part down to SG.
Well, I agree that in the past year, his batting touch seemed to have disappeared and it was sensible to appoint Rahul Dravid as captain, it seems to me that he still has a lot to offer the Indian team - you could see it in the test match just played where he would walk up to the bowlers and give them a hint or two and they would respond with a wicket (e.g. his talking to Pathan on the 4th day). His batting wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad and it held together partnerships which were crucial in their own way. I don't really know what more is needed from him - and to replace him with Wasim Jaffer !!! - average of 29 - already tried and tested and dumped from the team - what is the point...
I've been following cricket for years, especially Indian cricket and Ganguly has got a special place in my cricket obsession. In 1996, Shadi and I went on our first weekend away together to Bristol and I remember having a midday nap in the hotel room watching the 2nd test between India and England at Lords. India were in a bit of trouble but Ganguly (on debut) came in and scored a magnificent century and I realised that SG could be a find for the future. He went on to score another century in his second match and did not look back. In 2000, when Sachin Tendulkar stepped down from the captaincy, SG was made captain. At that time, India were pathetice - Sachin was a genius but couldn't lead his players and his batting had suffered. SG took the worst job in India at the worst possible time. In 2005 we hardly remember how bad it was then with the match fixing scandal and the fact that India hardly won anything outside of India. The cricket team was rather like the Indian tennis players of old, the Amritrajs who, depsite being immensely talented, could never bring themselves to have the killer instinct. SG provided that for India and under him they won 21 test matches and (until the Ashes) India hvae been the only team to match Australia consistently in the past five years.
People often say that the Australian team is ruthless and they dropped Steve Waugh, perhaps the best captain ever. Well, maybe that's true but in 2004 in Sydney Steve Waugh played his last test match (against India) and the match was essentially a five day parade for him. The Aussies, although ruthless, knew what Waugh had contributed to the team and wanted to show him by a standing ovation. SG has got nothing.
This article says it all - ironically written by an English paper (you'd never find anything like this in Indian papers) - I guess it takes someone 'outside' to see SG's value.
To be honest it's put me off watching Indian cricket a bit, something which I never thought I'd say. Sure it's great to watch Sachin or Rahul in flow, but as an act of compelling theatre watching SG struggle against fast bowling and then smiting the spinners for sixes can't be beaten.
For the record, here are my favourite SG innings (not including his debut) - they are not just his centuries but matches where I thought it was a joy to watch him regardless of his score.
3rd match - India v England at Headingly 2002 - SG scores 128 completely unselfish runs in a bid to score quickly. Not just the runs but the final hour on the second day when SG and SRT were offered light and you could SG sneer at the umpire and say that he wanted to stay on - both then belted the bowlers around for about 100 runs in 10 overs. SG's 22 runs off Ashley Giles was a highlight. The Independent called it the "hour that will live forever".
Natwest Final - July 2002 - India v England - although Mohd Kaif and Yuvraj took India home, it wouldn't have been possible without the start given by SG and Virender Sehwag, SG outscoring Sehwag and quicker. 60 runs off 40 balls with some absolutely outrageous strokes.
India v Australia 2004 1st test - India replying to Australia's 474 were 4-2 losing Chopra and Dravid for 0. In came SG and immediately blasted two fours in a row. He took the game to the Aussies and even though he got out on 45 he made a statement through his batting.
There are others of course, like his 144 against Australia in Brisbane after coming in at 63-3, his 183 against Sri Lanka in Taunton in 1999 world cup or his three centuries in the 2003 world cup.
Anyway rant finished and I'll just say that it has left a sour taste in my mouth to see him dropped without a word.
Well, I agree that in the past year, his batting touch seemed to have disappeared and it was sensible to appoint Rahul Dravid as captain, it seems to me that he still has a lot to offer the Indian team - you could see it in the test match just played where he would walk up to the bowlers and give them a hint or two and they would respond with a wicket (e.g. his talking to Pathan on the 4th day). His batting wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad and it held together partnerships which were crucial in their own way. I don't really know what more is needed from him - and to replace him with Wasim Jaffer !!! - average of 29 - already tried and tested and dumped from the team - what is the point...
I've been following cricket for years, especially Indian cricket and Ganguly has got a special place in my cricket obsession. In 1996, Shadi and I went on our first weekend away together to Bristol and I remember having a midday nap in the hotel room watching the 2nd test between India and England at Lords. India were in a bit of trouble but Ganguly (on debut) came in and scored a magnificent century and I realised that SG could be a find for the future. He went on to score another century in his second match and did not look back. In 2000, when Sachin Tendulkar stepped down from the captaincy, SG was made captain. At that time, India were pathetice - Sachin was a genius but couldn't lead his players and his batting had suffered. SG took the worst job in India at the worst possible time. In 2005 we hardly remember how bad it was then with the match fixing scandal and the fact that India hardly won anything outside of India. The cricket team was rather like the Indian tennis players of old, the Amritrajs who, depsite being immensely talented, could never bring themselves to have the killer instinct. SG provided that for India and under him they won 21 test matches and (until the Ashes) India hvae been the only team to match Australia consistently in the past five years.
People often say that the Australian team is ruthless and they dropped Steve Waugh, perhaps the best captain ever. Well, maybe that's true but in 2004 in Sydney Steve Waugh played his last test match (against India) and the match was essentially a five day parade for him. The Aussies, although ruthless, knew what Waugh had contributed to the team and wanted to show him by a standing ovation. SG has got nothing.
This article says it all - ironically written by an English paper (you'd never find anything like this in Indian papers) - I guess it takes someone 'outside' to see SG's value.
To be honest it's put me off watching Indian cricket a bit, something which I never thought I'd say. Sure it's great to watch Sachin or Rahul in flow, but as an act of compelling theatre watching SG struggle against fast bowling and then smiting the spinners for sixes can't be beaten.
For the record, here are my favourite SG innings (not including his debut) - they are not just his centuries but matches where I thought it was a joy to watch him regardless of his score.
3rd match - India v England at Headingly 2002 - SG scores 128 completely unselfish runs in a bid to score quickly. Not just the runs but the final hour on the second day when SG and SRT were offered light and you could SG sneer at the umpire and say that he wanted to stay on - both then belted the bowlers around for about 100 runs in 10 overs. SG's 22 runs off Ashley Giles was a highlight. The Independent called it the "hour that will live forever".
Natwest Final - July 2002 - India v England - although Mohd Kaif and Yuvraj took India home, it wouldn't have been possible without the start given by SG and Virender Sehwag, SG outscoring Sehwag and quicker. 60 runs off 40 balls with some absolutely outrageous strokes.
India v Australia 2004 1st test - India replying to Australia's 474 were 4-2 losing Chopra and Dravid for 0. In came SG and immediately blasted two fours in a row. He took the game to the Aussies and even though he got out on 45 he made a statement through his batting.
There are others of course, like his 144 against Australia in Brisbane after coming in at 63-3, his 183 against Sri Lanka in Taunton in 1999 world cup or his three centuries in the 2003 world cup.
Anyway rant finished and I'll just say that it has left a sour taste in my mouth to see him dropped without a word.
posted by Akash at 5:30 PM
7 Comments:
...Shadi you need to get back to HK - otherwise he'll be digging out archives on the 1956 test match between India v England...
now who's "Sage"?
now
Come on Akers sure there is only one Sage in your life!
hey bob i must admit the cricketing stuff is beyond me but well done on the weblog. best wishes
dave (& veenu) m
Bobby - I'm impressed...so impressed..gonna send your link to Priya...now, with respect to your IPOD idiotness...I'm gonna spank you next week in NYC.
--Ashman
Hey,
Just had a problem logging on to this stupid thing, 'cos all my passwords and usernames are sored in my computer in uni, so i couln't log on easily.
Anyways, on to the real thing, tbh, I am flabbergasted at your original rant about the exclusion of SG. I mean I do understand your feel cheated that he was left out even though he has brought the whole team together in the pastfew years. But for you to go as far as saying that he did more (in the past 5 years), than Tendulkar and Dravid combined is like ridiculing them (ST and RD). The point is that yes, Ganguly has enjoyed most success in cricket in his peak years, wen he used to be called 'dada', and everyone played as a team 'cos they had to prove a point to him. But due to the recent events, the players' focus of attention has shifted from him to the coach (can't remember his name now..bowing my head down in shame). So now, and also in his last few games as a Captain, he lost a bit of a control over his own team.
They don't fear him anymore, no one has to prove a point to him to stay in the team, its all in the hands of coach now. Having said that, I am pretty sure that Dravid will not be as successful captain as Ganguly was, but thats not the point anymore, there's a shifting of power going on between the people above these cricketers. And simply, Ganguly was the wrong person, in a wrong place at a wrong time, and so he got axed.
Remember you can hate him, you can love him, but you can't ignore him (or something like that!!). Though what I would now like to see is a for Dravid lead india to World Cup glory..if thats not too much to ask for. I mean in all fairness, Ganguly is losing his touch now. As an international player, scores of 39 and 40 are not enough. I know that you would counter-attack by saying that everybody has a bad say, but he's been having a pretty bad season, to say the least. And I think that at the moment, he's more of a liability.
Moreover, SG or not, I pity the slow pace at which India plays in a bats in a test match. I mean, except for Sehwag, and Dhoni recently, none of the Indian players have tried to score runs quickly. How can we beat Australia if thats the case. But I do hope that India beats England come March. I have a lot of reputation on stake against my english friends for his test series.
Well, I am trying to make a case here, and I might even be wrong in more than one place. But its worth mentioning that on this tree called 'Indian Cricket' , the ever so arrogant Prince of Calcutta is having an autumn season, and is just about to be blown away forever from these mighty winds called 'BCCI'.
Love
Neeraj.
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