Be careful what you wish for..

Its 5:00 AM here in UK and the second test is just about to start. We have already had some excitement in the form of the announcement of the teams. The teams are exactly as I had wished for, 5 bowlers and a debut to a new leg spinner from India - Piyush Chawla. Hopefully for the good of Indian cricket and cricket in general, he will be a star debutant. From the little footage shown of Chawla playing in the under 19 world cup, he seems a big spinner of the ball with a googly that turns more than Harbhajan's off spinner.

The other major decision for me is shock dropping of VVS Laxman. I am a big fan of Laxman and believe he has played some of the best innings ever played by an Indian. Everyone remembers his 280 in Kolkata. That innings certainly defined Laxman. But the ones people tend to forget and I consider more important are his centuries on the Australian tour of 2004. The centuries in Adelaide and Sydney.

In the Adelaide match, Laxman made a fabulous 148, after india were 85 / 4. He was involved in a 300+ run partnership with Dravid. The innings was certainly a great innings, containing all the shots and scored at such a pace that India could win even after conceding 550+ runs. Do refresh your memory with this mini scorecard from Cricinfo.

1 Aus 556    127     - L 2nd Test  Aus v Ind 2003/04 [1673]
2 Ind 523    161.5   - W
3 Aus 196     56.2   - L
4 Ind 233/6   72.4 230 W

The above innings was overshadowed only by the one at Sydney. Laxman made 178 of the most beautiful runs when Sachin at the other end was playing the most disciplined innings at the other end. They were involved in a 380 run partnership that ensured that we would not loose the series and may even win it. This partnership was significant for the contrast of the two innings. Laxman and Sachin seemed to be playing on totally different pitches. Sachin being circumspect, eschewing all risks and playing only leg side shots. In contrast, Laxman was fluid, shots all around the park, scoring at a fast rate as a result taking the pressure off Sachin. I still remember some shots from this innings - most notably a cover drive off Brett Lee on the second morning and a straight drive that sped past the bowler even before he had completed his run up (Also remember Sunil Gavaskar's oh oh oh comment to describe this shot). Match summary from Cricinfo to refresh your memory.

1 Ind 705/7d 187.3   - D 4th Test  Aus v Ind 2003/04 [1680]
2 Aus 474    117.5   - D
3 Ind 211/2d  43.2   - D
4 Aus 357/6   94   443 D

In the 2004 series, Laxman being involved in two 300+ partnerships was remarkable. This is probably a record of some kind.

There were certainly other innings, most notably another one at Sydney where he made 167 out of a team total of 261, a match we lost. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to comment on this innings as I could not watch it.

I hope that this does not signal the end for Laxman. Hopefully, we will be able to witness some more magical Laxman innings. However, there is an uneasy feeling that he may have played his last match. Sometimes, getting what you wished for may not be the best thing...

Onto Mohali.. 0-0

So.. after the first test, the England team showed India that they would be far tougher competition than previously thought.


There were several excellent performances. However, for me the performance that made all the difference was Paul Collingwood's century in the first innings. If that innings had not materialized, I am sure that England would have crashed to a heavy defeat.


The test also showed why India are a very good side. With the Ganguly issue finally seeming to die down, the Indians seemed a much settled side without any differences and a single leader - Rahul Dravid. Earlier, I had been very skeptical of making Dravid the captain, mostly because of the fear that we will loose our best batsman to the pressures of captaincy. Now after about half season, it is clear that captaincy has not affected his batting adversely. It could even have improved it as he seems a lot more confident and positive now.


India's atrocious attempt at victory late in the match, I believe, helped them save the match more easily than otherwise. Imagine a scenerio where after tea, with the dismissal of Dravid, instead of Pathan, Tendulkar had walked out. The English team would have attacked him with his greatest weakness, playing defensively to left arm bowlers. There would have been a good chance that he would have been dismissed early and from then on, England with their tails up would have attacked furiously and could have caused a collapse. The fact that the Indians pretended to go for the win spread the field with only 3 people inside the circle(if there was one) and no men in attacking positions making it easier for us to save the game. It also gave England a huge scare and did not allow them to get a "Winning Draw" (commentators terminalogy).

Onto the next test then, Mohali - is a a venue where a draw is more likely. The results at Mohali from Cricinfo -

WI  won  243 runs   won  1st n  3rd Test  Ind v WI  1994/95 [1278]
-   draw -          -    -   n  1st Test  Ind v SL  1997/98 [1385]
-   draw -          -    -   n  1st Test  Ind v NZ  1999/00 [1462]
Ind won  10 wickets won  2nd n  1st Test  Ind v Eng 2001/02 [1574]
-   draw -          -    -   y  2nd Test  Ind v NZ  2003/04 [1662]
-   draw -          -    -   n  1st Test  Ind v Pak 2004/05 [1738]

This gives India a slight psychological edge to India as their only win at this venue has come against England.


I think India should get Munaf Patel into the team. We have been hearing about this bowler for about 2-3 years now and he did exceptionally well in the warm up game. Left to me, I would replace Kaif with Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan with Munaf Patel. However, I think the team management thinks it is mandatory to play Yuvraj. Hence most probably Yuvraj will replace Kaif and that will be the only change. Hopefully the team management will be bold enough to attack with 5 bowlers.

Should be another fascinating test match..