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Despite having a small target to defend and not being backed up in the field, India’s U-19 bowlers turned in a magnificent performance
George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur04-Mar-2008
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In September 2007, India’s bowlers played a vital role in the
batsmen-dominated Twenty20 format and won the inaugural World Championship
in South Africa. In Malaysia, a younger set of bowlers ensured that the
Under-19 World Cup, which had threatened to slip away after a batting
failure in the final, was the centre of attraction in the dressing room
during the post-match celebrations. India were undoubtedly a cut above
their opposition in Malaysia and they held their nerve in the final to emerge champions.India’s batsmen did not have a bad day at the Under-19 World Cup, setting
large targets and chasing small totals with minimal fuss, until the final.
Their bowlers had performed efficiently throughout the tournament but
their efforts were over-shadowed by a top-order that consistently
delivered match-winning innings. However, with the trophy at stake, the
batsmen failed against South Africa’s medium-pacers and left the bowlers
only 159 to defend.The challenges facing the bowlers were several. Apart from a low target,
the rain interruption gave South Africa a total that was further reduced
to 116 off 25 overs. A wet outfield resulted in a slippery ball which was
hard to control for the medium-pacers and difficult to grip for the
spinners. And if the difficulties posed by factors outside their control
weren’t enough, the Indians had a shocker in the field: Virat Kohli and
Pradeep Sangwan dropped simple catches and Shreevats Goswami missed three stumpings. To overcome these hurdles and clinch the World Cup by 12 runs was a tremendous effort.To their credit, the bowlers exuded confidence from the start. Body
language is an over-rated term at times but when Siddarth Kaul sprinted
to the middle once the umpires had taken the field for the second innings,
it indicated that India were pumped up and ready to defend the small total.India’s unlikely hero in the final was Ajitesh Argal, who wasn’t part of
India’s U-19 plans until they returned from a tour of South Africa in
December-January. It was felt that the pace-attack needed strengthening
after that series and Argal and Kaul were drafted in.Both bowlers did nothing spectacular with the ball. Argal bowled a tight
line and length and troubled the batsmen with inswing that comes naturally
to him. Kaul kept it full and bowled a straight line that was
difficult to hit, making him especially hard to get after in the final
overs. He also has a short ball which he bowls with a cross seam which is
useful on slower pitches.The early boost, though, was provided by Argal. India bowled 8.4 overs
before the rain delay and during that period he bowled four overs and had
taken 3 for 2. Argal’s bowling isn’t particularly quick nor does he move the
ball exaggeratedly, his effectiveness today was purely because he stuck to
bowling in the clichéd ‘right areas’.India depend a lot on their spinners for, apart from the three front-line
seamers, they have no other medium-pace options. Ravindra Jadeja coped
with the wet ball superbly, bowling quick and fast with the sole view of
restricting the batsman. Iqbal Abdulla, who tends to give the ball more
flight, was equally exceptional and could have had two wickets in his
first over if not for dropped chances. The missed opportunities, however,
appeared to spur them on. Jadeja’s celebration when he had Jonathan
Vandiar caught was a sight: he sprinted all the way down the pitch towards
short third man. Jadeja and Abdulla’s economy-rate of five are among their
most expensive in the tournament but it was well below what South Africa
needed and the lack of boundary balls maintained a steady gap between runs
required and balls left.Before the final, India’s performances of note – barring Sangwan’s
five-for – were all from the batsmen. The bowlers waited until the last
opportunity and ensured that the magnificent work put in over two weeks in
Kuala Lumpur was not undone because of three hours of poor batting.
In time, it will become clear that he had done enough with Pakistan, with South Africa, with Warwickshire, with the ICC and with the game
Osman Samiuddin18-Mar-2007There are occasions when words, or anything else, are not enough. This is one of those occasions.The last time I met Bob Woolmer was shortly before the team left for South Africa, over a seaside dinner, where, with a few other cricket tragics, we dissected the West Indies series, Pakistan openers, slip catching and South Africa. A dodgy stomach apart, he was much as I have known him over a couple of years.Our first real interaction had been on Pakistan’s tour to India at the beginning of 2005 where, in a Vishakapatnam hotel, we talked, with John Wright, about how to deal with erratic players like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq (the gist being it was more in the mind than in the body).In October of that year, a rare bubbly time just before the England series that was to be the highlight of his tenure as Pakistan coach, we had our first prolonged interview. In a lengthy, frank chat in the afternoon Ramadan heat at the National Stadium in Karachi, he said as much on the record as he did off it and a rapport was immediately established. He had been a Wisden columnist and written regularly, which helped.By then, a year into his job – a year of relative calm – he appeared keenly aware of the country’s traditional volatility. He used one of his more prominent catchphrases then: ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, so concentrate on the now,’ and few axioms apply so aptly to Pakistan. He also chirped (god willing) to Pakistan’s prospects in forthcoming encounters, having quickly picked up on the time-honoured Pakistani response to uncertainty.Related
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For a journalist he was a dream: genial, a dry wit and rarely flustered. Above all, he was always accessible, in person, on the phone, via SMS and e-mail. He didn’t tire of talking cricket on and off the field, ready with a quote or three. Beyond cricket I knew little, but I always felt after he left the Pakistan job, I probably would, over time, continents, countries, e-mails and text messages, uncover more.People have noted he was media-savvy and, in light of his own coaching website and a regular stream of articles for various publications, it is difficult to argue. Certainly, he read cricket. He always made sure to tell me I was a crap writer and didn’t know what I was writing about; very occasionally, he pointed out that I might indeed have made a valid point.Signs of what made him one of cricket’s early super-coaches in the mid-90s were still present, in innovative training sessions and a willingness to think beyond the field. He spoke, in our first interview, of how difficult it was to work around the hierarchical structure of cricket in Pakistan, where the oldest player is often captain and difficult to approach for younger players. Touch football, which Pakistan played in most training sessions, was his way of getting youngsters more comfortable in interacting with Inzamam-ul-Haq and thus eventually to working with him on the field.Though it wasn’t remembered recently, he make a difference, for a time, to Pakistan and that is achievement enough. Younger and temperamentally fragile players responded initially to his openness, his shunning of dressing downs and embracing instead of a more open, talk-it-out atmosphere. For a phase, Pakistan bubbled; no factionalism, binding forces aplenty, victories on the field and a captain and coach in sync.What made Bob special: innovative training sessions and a willingness to think beyond the field•Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesSadly, it fell away after the Oval Test, one of the more significant fall-outs from the dressing room fiasco that day being a cooling in relations between Inzamam and Woolmer. Shoaib Akhtar was a more prominent personnel challenge, though Woolmer wasn’t the first and won’t be the last to have discovered that.Outwardly, the sheer madness of the last six months didn’t appear to have worried him – he once reasoned merrily – but underneath that surface who knows. He had thought of resigning in August after the Oval Test, since when matters in Pakistan cricket became only more volatile. His future after the World Cup, he said privately and publicly, was undecided but the prospect of finishing a book on his coaching life, from experiences in South African townships to Lahore via much else, was one priority.No matter now, for what has gone previously, what he did as player or coach, whatever has happened, all of it is irrelevant at this moment. In time, after sorrow and regret, it will become clear that he had done enough with Pakistan, with South Africa, with Warwickshire, with the ICC and with the game to be remembered as an innovative, successful coach and not for a last-game defeat to Ireland. My last interaction with him was through e-mail. He wished me a speedy recovery from illness. I can no longer do the same to him and none of this is nearly enough. God bless your soul, Bob.
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Stats highlights of the third day’s play of the fourth Test between Australia and England at Melbourne
Kanishkaa Balachandran28-Dec-2006
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3 – The number of times Australia have been 4-0 up in an Ashes series after winning the first four games. The first instance was in 1920-21, before sweeping the series 5-0. The second was in 2002-03, though England managed a consolation win in the fifth Test at Sydney.40* – Warne’s score which happens to be his highest at the MCG, his home ground. His previous highest was just 18.56 – Warne’s wicket tally at the MCG, in 11 Tests. He now has over 50 Test wickets in four home venues, his favourite venue being the Gabba where he has 68 wickets at an average of just a shade over 20.17 – The number of Man-of-the-Match awards for Warne in Tests. He is the joint world-record holder with Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. Close on their heels are Jacques Kallis and Muttiah Muralitharan who have 16 each.35 – Glenn McGrath’s duck count after he was dismissed for zero today at the MCG. He was tied with Warne on 34 before the Boxing Day Test and has now moved into second place on the overall list behind Courtney Walsh who has 43.2 – The number of instances Chris Read has effected six dismissals in a Test innings. The first instance was on his debut Test, against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999. This is also the eighth such instance of an England wicketkeeper affecting six or more dismissals in an innings.335 – Runs added by Australia after England had them on the mat at 5 for 84.156 – Andrew Symonds’s highest Test score, which is also the second highest by a number seven batsman at the MCG. The highest remains Don Bradman’s 270, which is a world record.
Many from New Zealand’s squad have played very little T20 cricket in India, while the hosts are on auto-pilot in the shortest format
The Preview by Alagappan Muthu14-Mar-2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)Martin Guptill will need to mind the pace of the Indian pitches first before sending balls into the sky•AFP
The tournament proper is upon us. Its name – Super 10s – says big billing. Its first match caters to the same. India are the heavyweights. New Zealand are the heartthrobs. Considering the World T20 began with fingers dangled at the organisers for their ticketing strategy and the collective anger of the Associates over an unforgiving qualifying round, a blockbuster match between two Full Members at a jam-packed Jamtha cannot arrive sooner.A slice of the hype went missing last December when Brendon McCullum announced his retirement from international cricket. In his stead comes Colin Munro, who has hit the most sixes in a first-class innings and struck New Zealand’s fastest T20 fifty. With Munro, though, comes an asterisk. He has batted only five times in India. Munro managed 19 and 6 for Auckland in the Champions League T20 in 2011 and later made 1,4,1 for New Zealand A against India A in 2013.Very few from New Zealand’s squad have played T20 cricket in Indian conditions. Thirteen of them have played less than 15 games in the country, and the man with the most experience – Ross Taylor, with 46 matches – is coming back after injury.India, on the other hand, have gone on record to say they are on “auto-pilot” in the shortest format thanks to the exposure from the IPL. Their top order is perhaps the strongest in the tournament and you would think with Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya lower down, there is enough of a failsafe should things go wrong. It has worked so far. India have won 10 out of 11 T20I matches since the start of the year.
India: WWWWW (last five completed matches)
New Zealand: WWLWW
Martin Guptill‘s recent white-ball exploits include a double-hundred at the 50-over World Cup and fifty off 19 balls in a T20I. It is perceived that the slow, turning tracks in India may dilute his menace. He doesn’t lack for power – he has a reputation for hitting some monstrous sixes down the ground – but Guptill will need to mind the pace of the pitches first before sending balls into the sky.He’s been rated as a proper batsman, but the highest Yuvraj can bat is at No. 5. He had coped reasonably well on seamer-friendly pitches in Bangladesh and if the time he’s spent at the crease has revived his confidence – and he had said it has – that’s another match-winner in an already powerful batting line-up.
The only reason there may be a change made to India’s Asia Cup-winning XI is if Mohammed Shami has impressed the management enough to squeeze in ahead of Ashish Nehra.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish Nehra/Mohammed ShamiNew Zealand might need to pick between Mitchell Santner and Nathan McCullum as the lead spinner. The other toss up might be between Mitchell McClenaghan, who has been part of an IPL-winning Mumbai Indians team, and Adam Milne.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner/ Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan/ Adan Milne
Rain probably doesn’t strike twice in Nagpur, but it was overcast on the eve of the match and the forecast is said to be partly cloudy on Tuesday. The surfaces in use for the qualifiers here have been dry. Balls have stopped on the batsman a bit – even offcutters from the seam bowlers.
“I suppose whatever build-up that you have, it doesn’t promise success. I think in the international game, it is important that you get your head around changing formats consistently.”
.”They have not paid that much attention to who is in the opposition, who I am bowling to or batting against. They have backed their skills, which they also do in the IPL, and that has been an X-factor for our team in the last few series.”
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Kumble’s progression to 500 wickets
George Binoy11-Mar-2006
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Three months ago, Anil Kumble became the second Indian bowler, after Kapil Dev, to play 100 Tests. Today he became the first to take 500 Test wickets, and joins Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh in an exclusive club.In a country that worships stellar batsmen, Kumble’s matchwinning exploits are soon forgotten and unfavourable comparisons are made with other leading bowlers. But the fact is that Kumble, in his 105th Test, is the second-fastest to the 500 mark in terms of matches played, ahead of Warne, McGrath and Walsh. The only bowler to do it in fewer matches is Murali, who achieved the feat in 87 Tests.
| Bowler | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Avg/SR |
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| Muttiah Muralitharan | 87 | 4970 | 505 | 22.89/59.0 |
| Anil Kumble | 105* | 5493.1 | 501 | 28.87/65.7 |
| Glenn McGrath | 110 | 4286.4 | 509 | 21.01/50.6 |
| Shane Warne | 108 | 5037.1 | 501 | 25.51/60.3 |
| Courtney Walsh | 129 | 4835.1 | 504 | 24.56/57.5 |
*As a matchwinning bowler, Kumble is unparalleled in India. The number of wickets he has in Tests that the team has won is nearly double that of Harbhajan Singh, his closest competitor. Twenty-seven of his 31 five-fors and all eight of his ten-wicket hauls have come in matches that India have either drawn or won.
| Bowler | Matches won | Wickets | Avg/SR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anil Kumble | 35 | 240 | 18.67/ 45.77 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 22 | 122 | 20.55/ 48.81 | BS Chandrasekhar | 14 | 98 | 19.27/ 45.41 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 17 | 97 | 17.65/ 54.03 |
| Kapil Dev | 24 | 90 | 18.3/ 45.27 |
When Kumble first burst on to the scene, opposition batsmen weren’t used to his unique style of bowling – his first 100 wickets came in quick time, at a superb average of 24. As the batsmen gradually got the measure of his bowling, the wickets became harder to accumulate – his next 100 wickets took him 26 matches. Since then, though, he has got them at a pretty quick rate, and now averages 4.77 wickets per Test.
| Wickets | Taken in Test no. | Average at the time | 5w/10w |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-108 | 21 | 24.35 | 6/1 |
| – 204 | 47 | 28.07 | 11/1 |
| – 300 | 66 | 28.04 | 18/4 |
| – 402 | 85 | 28.41 | 24/5 |
| – 501 | 105 | 28.87 | 32/8 |