Delhi boys shine at Eden Gardens

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Eden Garden in Kolkata has endured some of the most painful moments in India’s cricket history. It was at this ground where the hosts were knocked over against the run of play in the semifinals of the World Cup in 1996.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya had played that game when the Indians, after having contained the rampaging Sri Lankans, were merrily coasting along until a sensational collapse had turned the tide in a most dramatic fashion.

There was no such drama when India successfully chased down a target of 316, doing it in a most emphatic manner at the same venue 13 years later. There were not that many people sitting at the ground to celebrate the massive victory that sealed the fate of the five-match series.

It were the boys from Delhi, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, who stole the limelight by scoring chanceless centuries. While it was the maiden ODI ton for Kohli, a former India Under-19 captain, the left-handed Gambhir achieved the feat for the seventh time in his career.

They were involved in a magnificent 224-run third wicket stand that adequately made up for the early exit of the celebrated duo of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Their superb effort didn’t put to test the relatively inexperienced middle-order with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh not playing the game for different reasons.

India did have a realistic chance of overtaking the highest ODI total at the Eden Gardens when Sehwag and Tendulkar came out amid thunderous applause. There was silience at the ground a few moments later when both of them perished inside four overs while trying to force Suranga Lakmal who was extracting unusual bounce off the wicket.

Sehwag was looking to extend his purple patch when undone by the one that hurried off the pitch while Tendulkar, also in sublime form, was caught at the edge of the 30-yard circle. He couldn’t keep his off-drive down and he had to pay the price.

Gambhir and Kohli didn’t waste much time in getting their eyes in and they were happy to deal in boundaries with the young Sri Lankan fast bowlers guilty of spraying the ball on both sides of the wicket.

The introduction of spinners applied the brakes as far as the rate of scoring was concerned as both the batsmen were not prepared to take risks. They kept rotating the strike at will and the asking rate was kept around run a ball all along.

They exploded only after reaching their centuries by which time the traget had come down to double digit. Kohli clipped one elgantly over deep mid wicket for the maximum but he was caught right on the fence at long on when he tried to loft a spinner.

Dinesh Karthik was content in passing the strike to the well-set Gambhir who was in complete command of the situation. He brought up his 150 with the winning stroke with 11 deliveries still remaining.

Earlier in the afternoon Sri Lanka’s left-handed over Upul Tharanga had scored his first ODI century in 53 innings and more than three years that allowed his team to post a challenging total. Their cause, however, was helped once more by the fumbling fieldsmen.

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Disjointed HBL hand over title to Karachi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It’s a food of thought for the management of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to decide if they could continue compromising with the indiscipline of their cricketers bring the game as well as the department to disrepute.

The manner in which HBL crashed in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship 2009-10 at the National Stadium, Karachi, brought to light the lack of commitment and motivation.

Karachi Blues emerged triumphant by a staggering margin of 141 runs in what was a low scoring affair and the game was over on the third afternoon with all 40 wickets having fallen in seven and a half session.

Theoritically the match didn’t last even half of the time it was allotted.
Set to score 208, HBL crashed to 66 all out in less than two hours of batting. Remember it was not a Twenty20 game but a five-day final of the premier event of the country known as the National Championship.

Seeing was believing as far as the HBL collpase on the third day was concerned. There was nothing wrong in the pitch whose bounce was hardly anywhere to be classified as uneven or double-paced as a few of the experts speculated after the early finish to the game.

Mohammad Sami (6-38) and Tanvir Ahmed (4-27) bowled their heart out while defending a low total. Both of them generated considerable pace besides extracting movement off the pitch. The ball had obviously not lost its shine because the HBL innings was over in a matter of 21 overs with the duo of Sami and Tanvir completing the rout.

Sami’s performance merited greater recognition because he was also captaining the side. His attacking instincts yielded results as the HBL batsmen succumbed once the 32-run opening partnership was broken.

From 32 for no wicket, with Taufiq Umar and Saleem Elahi having negotiated the early burst, they had slumped to 46 for five at lunch. Not surprisimgly it was all over during the first hour of the afternoon session with the last five wickets tumbling like pack of cards.

HBL had considerable depth and experience in their batting and it had looked a question of just one big partnership to do it for them. But the lack of application on part of the seasoned campaigners let them down and the task was beyond the late-order batsmen.

Much was expected from Younis Khan but he flopped in both outings. As something said if the national selectors had come there to assess his batting form, then he didn’t deserve to be flown to Australia.

The HBL skipper, Hasan Raza, was guilty of playing an outrageous shot. With two fielders on the boundary line behind square he still chose to take the aerial route and was easily plucked at the stroke of lunch. His decision of holding himself back to number six was also talked about as a move to slaughter an inexperienced chap for his own protection. The move didn't work either.

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India’s rare comeback victory

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The capacity crowd at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on December 21 had the pleasure of watching the home side register a rare comeback win in any form of the game. More often than not it are the Indians themselves who let the initiative slip after being in a firm control. But for a change this time they had the Sri Lankans slide after an explosive start.

Virender Sehwag led the team admirably in place of regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had to sit out of the game due to the ban imposed by the ICC. It was in the fitness of things that the acting captain himself provided the breakthrough that turned the tide decisivly in India’s favour.

The Sri Lankans were marching on, taking full advantage of some wayward bowling and the usual sloppy fielding by the hosts. Sehwag deceived his opposite number, Kamar Sangakkara, in flight and even the fumbling Dinesh Karthik was able to complete the stumping.

It’s quite extraordinary how these Indian youngsters make so many fumbles in the field that make the task even more difficult for their bowlers on flat pitches. Karthik, keeping wickets in the absence of Dhoni, was earlier guilty of having made a mess of a run out. He very nearly let that stumping chance go abegging but Sangakkara had danced down the wicket far too ahead to return to the crease.

Karthik was again in focus for the wrong reasons when he failed to hold on to a catch running backwards when Mahela Jayawardene miscued a sweep. Any athletic and alert wicketkeeper at the international level would have grabbed that opportunity.

The Indian bowlers didn’t lose heart with the lack of support from their own fielders and there was no escape route for their opponents. It was a maginficent effort to have bowled out Sri Lanka, scoring at better than run a ball in first 30 overs, for 239 in the 45th over. At 165 for one in the 23rd over they were looking on course of a total far too big.

"With the kind of start they got, I was praying they wouldn't get 350 or 400 on the board. But we were constantly looking to take wickets and Ashish Nehra did a fantastic job during the Powerplay. The credit for this victory ought to go to the bowlers, especially Harbhajan Singh] and Ravindra Jadeja. The wicket was slow and it kept low at times and it helped the spinners a bit,” Sehwag acknowledged.

"My job is to give the team a good start and score as many as I can. I was in good form and I utilised the first 10 overs very well. Sachin Tendulkar then played right through the innings and ensured we won. Overall, this was an excellent team performance,” he commented.

After the cracking start provided by Sehwag, Tendulkar remained undefeated on 96 as India romped home in the 43rd over with seven wickets in hand. Although he missed a hundred but his knock was much more significant being a match-winning effort.

The Man of the Match award, very rightly, was secured by the promising left-arm spinner Jadeja who returned his career-best figures in difficult circumstances.

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India’s sloppy fielding lets Sri Lanka level series

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was yet another close contest and not surprisingly its fate was decided by fielding, an area where the Indians have been found wanting for ages. They have improved in leaps and bounds in other departments of the but they have continued to disappoint in ctaching and ground field.

The Sri Lankans are no pushovers and they are always more than eager to outshine the Indians. The story was no different at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on December 18 when they caught the hosts by the scruff of their neck once more.

Despite the brilliant hundred by Tillakaratne Dilshan and the fighting knock by the limping Angelo Mathews, playing with a runner, the match was wide open until the penultimate over when Zaheer Khan let one ball go right between his legs. At that stage eight runs were needed off nine balls and with not many wickets left it could have gone either way.

After having watched the late Sri Lankan batsmen panic under pressure in similar conditions in only the previous game, the Indians must have fancied their chances of clinching the issue once more when Ashish Nehra, the hero of Rajkot, came down to deliver the penultimate over.

A full toss from Nehra had undone Matthews in the final over in Rajkot so it did make sense to surprise the big fellow with another one. Nehra fired it in and Matthews drove in the direction of mid-on. Zaheer, who had bowled exceptionally well, made a mess of it and the resulting boundary sealed the fate of the match.

Sensing the chance to go 2-0 up in the ODI series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni took his time in setting field and advising his bowlers. But just as you cannot set a field for poor bowling you cannot come out trumps if the fielders let the ball pass between their legs no matter how sound the strategy or the plan may be.

The Indians were always expected to be tested in good batting conditions even after having recovered to post a total in the excess of 300. Remember they had barely got home while defending 414 against the same opponents just three days ago.

The Indian batting powerhouse does have the ability to generate the intensity that can undermine any team in the world. Their bowlers are skilled and fairly experienced now. In fact they have more variety in their bowling than many other countries. Yet they continue to struggle in pulling off victories because inept fielding can undo all the good work very quickly as we witnessed in Nagpur.

It’s really surprising why the Indians are not able to raise the bar in the department of fielding despite having so many brilliant athletes in their folds. They should derive inspiration from veterans like Mahela Jayawardene who move like panthers to cut off boundaries.

The manner in which he saved a certain four while running across from long off was a classic example of professionalism and commitment. Dhoni’s straight drive was nothing short of a trace of bullet but the former Sri Lankan skipper dived near the fence and kept the score down to just one.

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Inept fielding can undo Indian batsmen’s great work

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Indians came perilously close to conceding the first One-day International of their five-match series at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot on December 15 even after having posted their highest-ever ODI total.

The relief on the face of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was obvious when he had come out to have a few words with Ravi Shastri who was conducting the presentation ceremony at the ground.

While recognizing the great spells from left-arm bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, that saved the day for India, Dhoni minced no words in stating that it wasn’t the greatest day in the field where they very nearly lost the match while defending a massive total.

You didn’t need to be an expert to assess the situation. It was Indian’s pathetic fielding that let them down and all but undid the great work of their batsmen. They would have brought the schoolboys to shame such horrible was their display in the field.

Although the Captain Cool had not spoken about the lapses in the field that day but he has come out in the open as his team prepares for the second game in Nagpur on December 18.

Dhoni has expressed concerns at the fielding and he has every reason to feel worried from the performance of his teammates who were guilty of dropping three sitters at Rajkot after having spilled a dozen or so catches in the Twenty20 Internationals besides making mess of numerous run-out opportunities.

"We were fielding well in patches and not dropping catches at the international level. You may drop the odd difficult catch but straightforward chances need to be taken. In the last three-four games we have dropped a lot of regulation catches. Of course it bothers me,” Dhoni admitted.

"At the same time it will be solved at some point because of the effort that we are putting in. We are hoping we don't drop catches in this game," he observed.

Dhoni was not shorts of words in praising the brilliant bowling at the death by the duo of Zaheer and Nehra that saved India’s blushes at Rajkot.

"It was one of the best in the past year. I have always said we had not been very consistent with the death bowling. In the last game, in the last five overs we gave away only 27 runs. It was a very good effort. Ashish Nehra bowled five overs in a row. There was a bit of reverse swing going which actually helped us a bit,” the skipper said.

"Normally you don't get wickets like that. It was not a big ground with the straight boundary not more than 60-65 yards. Since the wicket was so nice, it was easy for the batsmen to clear the field. It's important not to give easy singles," he added.

"In the last T20 game here there was good bounce. The wicket for the match looks like good and flat. I had a conversation with the curator," Dhoni concluded.

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Zaheer, Nehra bowl India to thrilling victory

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was the day of batters at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot on December 15 where as many as 825 runs were plundered in 100 overs in the first One-day International between India and Sri Lanka but it were the bowlers who had the last laugh.

Left-arm quickies Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, who had gone for plenty in their earlier spells, returned to bowl exceptionally well under pressure to guide India to a victory that had looked extremely unlikely a short while earlier.

Both the left-armers, having leaked far too many runs in their opening overs, were right on money in the closing stages of the game to bring the crowd back to life. Remember the boundaries had rained all day and the bowlers had been belted to all parts of the ground. To bowl tightly under these circumstances of quite an accomplishment and both Zaheer and Nehra deserved the credit for rising to the occasion.

The Indians, as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted in the presentation ceremony, were guilty of not getting enough runs in their final overs despite the blistering start. They were expected to post a much higher total than what they achieved after having raised the 300 of their innings in 34.1 overs for the loss of only wicket.

India have had this tendency of not making the most of the slog overs and very rarely have they amassed the quantum of runs that’s normally expected from any other team in the final stages of the innings. How would they justify getting only 114 runs in the last 16 overs of the innings after having being 300 for one.

Virender Sehwag led the charge in the usual manner of his, blasting 146 off 102 balls. Useful contributions from Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni laid the foundation for a gigantic total. None of the middle-order batsmen could make a significant contribution and the Sri Lankans had every reason to feel pleased after having contained India to 414 in 50 overs.

Set to score 415 on the flattest of tracks, the Sri Lankans were helped by sloppy fielding that made the bowlers suffer more than anticipated. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga's 188-run opening stand wasn’t unexpected the manner in which the Indians were letting the ball go past them.

Kumar Sangakarra tormented the Indians with a breezy 90 off 40 balls but there was more likelihood of a comfortable Sri Lankan victory rather than the hosts pulling it back.

The drama, however, began when the Sri Lankan captain chose to take the batting powerplay. He himself became the first casualty and then Harbhajan Singh got two key wickets including that of Dilshan who made 160 off 124 balls.

The match had become wide open after the mini-collapse but the half century sixth wicket partnership between Thilina Kandamby and Angelo Mathews put Sri Lanka back on top.

The Indians fielded marginally better in the last two overs. Zaheer was literally unplayable in the penultimate over the match, yielding only four runs and resulting in two run outs. Nehra, entrusted with the job of delivering the final over with 11 needed, bowled magnificently to win the day for India.

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Well deserved ICC recognition for Ahmed Mustafa

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ahmed Mustafa is one of the very few persons to richly deserve the ICC centenary medal awarded upon the recommendation of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He happens to be one of the winners of the medal to be presented by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to 1000 special volunteers from all over the world in recognition for their contribution to the sport.

Ahmed Mustafa is certainly one of those people having dedicated their lifetime to develop the game at the grassroots and nurture the stars of the future. He’s credited to have produced three Test cricketers, Azam Khan, Faisal Iqbal and Owais Shah, who had not even entered their teens at the time of joining his Cricket Coaching Centre (CCC).

The CCC, his labour of love, has helped many other kids fulfill their ambition of playing first-class cricket. The likes of Ali Hussain Rizvi, Mohammad Masroor, Saad Wasim, Mohammad Javed, Maisam Hasnain and Fahad Iqbal had to be grateful to the training they received at the CCC to build their career.

Ahmed Mustafa himself was an aggressive top-order batsman who was not afraid to attack the bowling in an era when the occupation of crease used to be the name of the game. He was one of the contemporaries of the great Hanif Mohammad, whose batting technique was second to none.

Having played for Karachi and made quite an impression, he narrowly missed getting the Pakistan cap because of a tragic road accident. He was in contention for a slot in the national squad when the motorcycle he was riding crashed into a heavy vehicle that caused serious damage to his legs.

He remained associated with the game all along and created a sensation by founding the first-ever cricket academy of the country by the name of Cricket Coaching Centre (CCC) in July 1987.

What a great service to the game he did by having established the CCC! The boys from all over Karachi rushed in to avail the opportunity. Ahmed Mustafa set tough guidelines for selecting the boys for grooming and training. He didn’t believe in doing it for the purpose of public relations. Neither did he approve the idea of making money from coaching as all the services at the CCC were provided free of cost to the trainees.

The CCC has completed two decades of its existence. In fact it has been there for more than 22 years now. Its silver jubilee is not very far away. Ahmed Mustafa has managed to keep the institution afloat, with the support of his like-minded friends, despite the heaviest of odds.

Although laid low by his deteriorating health during the last couple of years, he has still been working with missionary zeal to contribute his bit in the cricket development by running the CCC with limited resources at his disposal.

Quite a few coaching academies have come into prominence in the recent past but it’s the CCC, founded by Ahmed Mustafa, meriting special mention for having pioneered the idea.

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Salahuddin reckons India’s batting too good

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s former chief selector and an ex-Test all-rounder, Salahuddin Ahmed, has reckoned that India happen to be the only cricket team in the world capable of winning a match at the strength of their batting.

“Yes India’s batting right now is simply too good for every format of the game. In cricket you generally need greater strength in your bowling department to engineer victories but this current Indian side has the rare capability of manufacturing wins primarily through their batsmen,” Salahuddin, respected for his clarity of thought and depth of knowledge, remarked after watching India down Sri Lanka with consummate ease in the end in the second Twenty20 International in Mohali on December 12.

“The Indian batsmen have mastered the craft. They hardly invent shots of their own. Rather they have perfected the art of dominating the bowlers by wisely executing the pure cricketing shots. Their current lot is incredibly talented and there is a fierce competition for every batting position,” he remarked.

“Look what happened in Mohali tonight. The target of 207 in 20 overs wasn’t a piece of cake. They needed to play to their potential to do it and they did exactly that to level the series,” Salahuddin pointed out.

“Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided them the usual bright start. Both of them have been in terrific form and they complement each other very well. When Gambhir departed, Sehwag took over. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chipped in with a flurry of big shots that allowed India to remain on top of the game,” he commented.

“Finally it was the birthday boy Yuvraj Singh who took the responsibility of guiding his team to victory in front of his home crowd. It was yet another dashing knock from the left-hander who looks like improving with every outing. He has every shot in the book and he is not afraid to come down the wicket to loft the ball,” Salahuddin observed.


“It was a Twenty20 game, a format in which India have been least successful in the recent times. They have been more consistent in One-day Internationals and Test matches, mainly because of the accomplishments of their batsmen. They owe their success to their batters with the bowlers providing the supporting role,” he felt.

“The Indians have the most formidable batting line-up for Test matches where they have the specialists like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who are well versed in occupying the crease for long time. With the flamboyance of Sehwag and Gambhir up the order and the dashers like Yuvraj and Dhoni to follow the big five it’s obviously a nightmare for any bowling side more often than not,” Salahuddin continued.

“Just have a look at their record in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. They were able to compile totals in the excess of 600 in the last two Tests. In fact they had crossed 600 for the loss of only four wickets or so on both occasions. Not surprisingly the Indians went on to win both games and there was not much Kumar Sangakkara could have done to prevent the inevitable,” he concluded.

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