India vs Pakistan, 2007, Third Test, Day Two, Session One
India isn't out of the woods yet and nor is Pakistan out of this match either. Not even after Saurav Ganguly and Yuvraj joined hands to bail out India in spectacular fashion. Yuvraj merits a separate post. Yesterday, I had to push off for a night's worth of work and now I'm too exhausted to find the right words to express my sentiments about that innings. One word may suffice - Laraesque. This opener is about Dada.
[WARNING - Serious and Necessary Rant Alert ]
Saurav's career was almost killed by one man ( for want of a better word at the moment, I'll simply use "man") and his lackey. There's no doubt about the lackey though. This "man" didn't just stop at trying to end Saurav's career...he went ahead and said scurrilious stuff. Ganguly, the Prince of Kokatta, or Maharaj, it's your pick, simply chose to treat this man like a tantrum-throwing brat and refused to slap his a--e with a bankrupting libel suit. This "man" even went on to say that Ganguly was only playing for money, or words to that effect. I mean this was precious coming from a lying manipulator and cheat who didn't deliver on promises. I mean Ganguly playing purely for money? Obviously, this said man was going around the world cheating various cricket associations with deceit only for altruistic purposes...of course Ganguly was playing for money...it's his f---in' career mayte! Of course he was playing for his country...you wouldn't know a whit of self-respect and pride mayte! Cheating, lying manipulators, underarm hydradenatii and public fingering boors (you can keep adding adjectives here and they'll be spot on!) do not know about things like self-respect, national pride, true captaincy and such. All they can think of is their underarm odor and how to vitiate the atmosphere and the game with it. And to top it all, Ganguly had anyway been born into enough money (forget what he has since earned through effort unlike a lazy English lord or Australian heir to a tycoon or an American heiress to a fortune or something like that) this "man" could only obviously envy. He obviously felt threatened by the strength of Ganguly's character as did so many who played as opposition. It was so unexpected from a captain of India....they were expected to simply turn up and be kicked around like decent peacenicks usually are. Ask Lanka, ask Bangladesh...ask former Indian captains.(Pakistan was an exception...they always gave as good as they got...if not more and hence none dared mess around with them). Any captain/player who stood up upset them. remember Gavaskar...you could pick any blog or forum from the web world and you'll find someone carping about him too and trying to denigrate him still...long after his playing days are over.
Of course, there are many misguided fellows who still think that way...one can read such dime comments all over the web in blogs and forums. Ganguly is a pet hate for some fellows because he refused to die. He refused to turn around, bend, and have his backsides spanked like some teams and captains do, by some who are deluded to think they are god's gift to cricket and call the shots. He stood up to them, looked these bullies in the eye, stuck his chin out more surely than these fellows could ever and whipped the veneer of respectability these ugly bullies had put on to mask their reality. Saurav kicked butts and won, in the dens of these very fellows. It was unexpected from an Indian and thse fellows couldn't swallow it, used as they were to spanking teams refusing to match them. Bullies weren't to be humored anymore, it was kickass time. So, Ganguly remains villified and lives as every sort of monster in these beaten bullies.
Dada played for India today...he played for his position in the team ( show me one Hay Den or Hay Rick where playing for the right positions doesn't happen )....Dada played with his protege...encouraging him on. And yes, he played for the money he was being paid. Not like some slippery grog who'd cheat you out of your last penny with sodden lies and blame you for it!
I had to get that off my chest...too long the wums have ruled and spoken as they wanted to without the barest consideration.
[Feel much better now, needed that, but I'll put in appreciation too after the innings]
Back to the test match and let's see how it goes today.
India could still be in trouble if they fold up early. They'd like another 200 runs if possible from the likes od DK, Pathan, Bhajji, Kumble partnering Saurav. Akhtar will matter for Pakistan.
Danish bowled the wrong line...or at least had the wrong field for the line he was bowling to the lefties yesterday...where was the fwd. short leg when he was bowling round the wicket and attacking the middle and leg mostly. Wrond line that...should have been more toward's the lefties' off to matter and bring that silly point into play for the bat-pad. If he wanted to persist with this line, he should have had a fwd.short-leg for the bat-pad. He went for a 150 runs...testimonial to this poor line of attack and field placings by the skipper/bowler combo.
More later...
Confusion.
1 hour ago
8 comments:
Soulberry,
Man! You must have got a load off your chestand if I may add most unSOULBERRY like. :)
you just stole my post mate!! ;-)
all i wanted to say s put here as yo know my feelings on this issue (we even discussed a bit on this if you remember)...
the guy is lucky that he is in a country who still after so much of manipulation and spitting venom continues to provide pastures to him..
Ottayan, Let me tell you a lilttle story.
Yesterday, I was on emergency duty through the night. It tapered down to a less busy one as the night wore on. A patient came in then with a minor surgical problem and was treated. I felt he looked familiar. Anyway, he too didn't appear in any hurry to push off home through the cold and slightly foggy Delhi night. So, we got talking.
Then it dawned upon me that this man and I had played cricket together almost three decades ago! He was younger than I but had streaks of grey. He was now the captain of his organization's team and hoped to make it to a match in Jorhat (Assam) a few days from now.
In one of his cricketing experiences he shared with me, he told me why he once refused to keep a player in the team and why he refused to take up a particular team's offer for a match. He said both that player and the team were abusive....that team (alma mater to some Indian cricketers!) now hardly was a team! They abused and manipulated each other and spoke similarly with the opposition. He said there was no place for abuse and machination within a team or dressing room. Cricket, he said, had no place for such things. I couldn't agree more with him. We went on to catch up with history and discussed current cricket for a while till I had to move on to other things.
Coming back to this post, the world renowned "man" in question did everything opposite to what yesterday night's humble cricketer believed in. And this humble cricketer is a bigger pro than this fancy pants. He ekes a living out of it and feeds his family with it, even at this "ripe" age for a sportsman. he must know a thing or two about team and dressing room ettiquette.
I personally saw Ganguly play at the Kotla against Lanka before he was dropped. He looked to be getting back in form and played a fine innings of 40-odd. If at all, Mr.Fancy Pants might be "thanked" for jolting the comfort zone...no thanks for the rest of it.
Ottayan, Back then, I had a tough time at 606 over Ganguly and Greig. The glee of Australian fans and Englishmen was seen to be believed at Ganguly's downfall...no positive things there, they enjoyed it for its negative manner.
SP, it is sad when a simple cure is available, such a sore is allowed to fester in Indian cricket.
By the way...how about Pathan open and tendulkar and Dhoni come in for DK and Gambhir? We have one extra bowler and longer bat then. (Re: Australia)
Sorry if I upset anyone, but I do have a soft spot for Ganguly.
Soulberry,
Firstly, I enjoyed your rant.Eventhough I am not much of a Ganguly man myself, I pride myself(!!!!)that I respect others opinion (on Ganguly.
Secondly, I dont think you need to apologise. I know( from your blog and your comments on ther blogs) your passion for cricket. It is understandable that you feel strongly about certain issues. I have no problems.
Now thats out of the way, it is good to see him answer his crictics, with another fine innings.
Pathan opening in Australia needs further thought.
Just watching Ishant bowl.
He could be a handful, once he get his line right.
What do you say?
Ishant needs muscle in the right places before he transforms into a spearhead. McGrath was lanky but had plenty of muscle and a computer for a brain. He'd quickly assess the current mood of the player and remember his likes and dislikes and had the metronomic ability to place the ball where he wanted over and over again.
For Ishant to do that, he first needs his body to obey his mind. For that his body needs to be in shape and the mind in a better one. he should be a keen student of the game at the moment if he wishes to progress.
Irfan as opener was just a thought...perhaps flippant. His swing hasn't come back...either nerves/lack of confidence. He'll probably be out of the team anyway despite his batting unless he picks up a stack of wickets tomorrow and later for a reasonable cost.
Actually Ottayan, there was another board I used to frequent - TMSB Exiles after BBC closed down their old boards...unfortunately, there wasn't a much of cricketing spirit there and plenty of bigotry and worse. After struggling through 1500 posts and attempts to present a fair and balanced view of things, I quit in disgust. I still encounter some of the worst from there at other forums. That's why the rant was uncharacteristically heightened. Perhaps yesterday night's extended cricket chat with my former cricketing mate also made me more sensitive to things in the morning. :)
Soulberry,
Somehow I am unable to get going on 606. Maybe since it is the BBC's I get an alien feel.
Yeah, I have gone through the same in a lot of forums and been brow beaten by the 'mobs'.
Been so disappointed that it pushed me to blogging.
Which honestly i slet down as it does not give the satisfaction of engaging in a debate.
Ishant needs to add beef. Irfan as you pointed has lost his swing.
Looks like putting up a fight in Australia is going to be an uphill task.
True Ottayan. 606 has some bright spots of debate, but ever since the new format came in, it's that much more difficult to keep track.
With blogs one misses the immediacy of comment. However, there are two decent forums - Silly Points and Cricket Forum.com, the links to which you'd find in the left hand nav bar under "Pitches I bat On" heading.
Silly Points has been around for a while, started initially by a few of us behind Chinaman's initiative. It took a while getting off and WC 2007 happened. Then, I sort of eased off as it became too Ganguly-centric, even though I'm fond of the player. Now they've found a better balance. Decent folk there...LBW, NSQ, GB, Mikey..and so on.
Criucket Forum might be up your street...more vibrant due to its larger base and naturally, wider variety.
The bowling from both sides has disappointed...India more than Paksitan's. I feel Kumble actually is looking a lesser player than he is.
Ishant bowled a decent spell with the second ball and Pathan still looks like a ODI bowler to me. His body dimensions and dymanics have altered since he first came on. The haven't really helped him in anyway. The sharpness, the energy, the intelligence, of his bowling is missing. We saw a bit of the swing today, but not much.
Bowling is a worry in Oz if Zak and RP do not recover in time. I might just take Ishant along on a hunch.
It'll have to be batting, batting and mor e batting in Oz. That's why I'm veering around to packing the team with batsmanship...depends upon Zak and RP now. Harbhajan looks off...I admit I am disappointed with him.
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