India outclass Australia again

I fondly remember the blog I wrote when my favorite cricketer Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid retired. I mentioned the famous Eden Test match against Australia (no memoir about Rahul Dravid could be complete without the mention of this test match) and compared it to Sholay – something that happens once in a lifetime. When I wrote that, I was pretty sure that chances of being able to see something like that in my life as a cricket fan remain bleak. Boy, how wrong was I!!!

India achieved a remarkable feat by being able to beat Australia in their den for the second time in succession. In 2018-19, cricket pundits (I mean ex-cricketers from Australia) were quick to state that it was a second-string Australian team that was beaten 2-1 by India (should have been 3-1 but for the persistent rain in Sydney) but could they, or someone else for that matter, come up with an excuse now?

Secondly, while we as Indian cricket fans are all delighted as how India won the series and beat Australia 2-1 after losing the first test (36-all out will now be remembered for all the right reasons), I believe a lot of us have overlooked the enormity of what was achieved today. Scoring 324 runs on a day 5 pitch against a very good Australian bowling attack requires some really special skill and will.

To begin with, India started this game with a collection of 11 fit men who could take the field and don the Indian jersey. But as soon as I noticed the playing XI, I could not stop admiring the courage that was on display. The series is tied, the forecast shows rain, so normally teams would try to strengthen their batting line-up and hope that they can escape with a draw. This is what Indian teams have done in the past and it is only since Kohli took charge that there has been a tendency to play 5 bowlers, which has also helped in the emergence of genuine all-rounders in the form of Pandya and Jadeja. So, perhaps the foundation of playing attacking cricket was laid in 2014 even though it meant that in the current scenario, India had to hand debuts to players who had stayed in Australia to bowl in nets.

Batting wise India had a decent combination – Rohit and Gill at the top, the rock solid Pujara at 1 down, Rahane at 2 down, Mayank and Pant, Sundar and Thakur, and lastly three bowlers i.e. proper tailenders. It was debated if the team management made an error by selecting Sundar in place of the much-experienced Kuldeep (who happens to be the only one who did not get a game on this tour) but the justification was that Washington offers some support to the lower order. I actually did not really buy this argument, and am so happy that I was wrong.

As India started to bowl on day 1, it was clear that despite the inexperience, there will be no dearth of effort and this attitude allowed India to stay in the game despite losing Saini to an injury and a couple of dropped catches. The score read 274-5 at the end of the day with Paine and Green occupying the crease and looking good to take the team to a 400-plus total. However, throughout the day, the Indian bowlers stick to their task and never let the batsmen off the hook. As the day finished, it was clear that the bowlers have kept India in the game and a fresh burst on the following day might keep Australia under check. This is indeed what happened as Australia was reduced to 315-8 on day 2, and some swinging of the bat by Australian tailenders took them to 369 – the highest total in the series by either side. Again, 369 is a good total, not enormous but something that simply cannot be overcome without some serious contributions from the opposing batsmen.

When India came out to bat, all eyes were on the opening combo of Rohit and Gill who had held India in good stead in the previous test in Sydney. Gill had a rare off-day and was dismissed soon but Rohit continued to flourish until a miscue off Lyon brought down the fall of his wicket. Whether the shot was reckless or simply an expression of aggression that did not materialize could be debated but needless to mention, it did put India on backfoot as they ended the day at 62-2.

When play started on Day 3, it was obvious that the contest between Indian batsmen and Australian bowling will decide the outcome of the series. Cricket fans had pinned their hopes on Rahane (after his century at MCG), Pujara (the rock-solid anchor at 1 down) and also on Pant who was coming off with a stupendous 97. However, after being reduced to 186-6 with all the batsmen getting starts and somehow throwing it away, India found two very unlikely heroes in Thakur and Sundar. The duo batted with such freedom and style that you would be tempted to believe that somehow, we had travelled back in time and were watching Ganguly and Dravid making their debuts in Lords. This was THE phase when the game swung in India’s favor. Before that, it was all about trying hard, staying in the game and ensuring that you do not fall behind too much but this 123-run partnership ensured that India’s first innings total was in the vicinity of Australia’s total, and this made the entire test series a two-innings two-days affair. As I mentioned before, some of the shots Thakur and Sundar played were stylish but the one I would not forget and narrate to my grandkids is the slog-sweep by Sundar off Lyon, and then not even bothering to look where the ball ended.

At this point, I started to see similarities between Adelaide 2003 and this test, the script was more similar than dissimilar. In Adelaide, India had managed to come very close to Australian first innings total after being reduced to 84/4 at one stage (thanks to Laxman and Dravid), and then Agarkar ran through the Australian innings (not to forget a couple of special wickets by Tendulkar – brilliantly caught by Dravid in the slips) to set up a very gettable target. So, basically, I was hoping (read praying) that someone would run through the Australian batting line-up in a similar fashion. That seemed to be hard as Australia started very positively with Warner getting his mojo back and the openers really wanted to force the pace that would allow the Australians to declare and give ample time to bowl India out. However, from 89 for no loss at one point, Australia were soon 123-4, thanks to the never-say-die attitude of the Indian bowlers and this meant that Australia could not really risk going on an offensive (lest they lose all their wickets in the process) and also slowed down the pace of scoring. Smith batted well for his 55, was supported by Paine and Green but the reluctance of Australia to declare (which never came despite the weather forecast not being so promising) clearly meant that Paine knew his team had not scored enough to even ensure a draw, forget a win.

Eventually, Australia were all out for 297. Mohd Siraj got his maiden fifer while Thakur took 4 wickets, and this was yet another superlative bowling performance because test wickets are always hard to get and have to be earned. Rohit and Gill showed up to open the Indian innings but play on day 4 was cut short, meaning that India needed 324 on the final day to win.

Before I talk about day 5, I would briefly mention that at the end of day 4, the overall outlook regarding this game as far as India’s chances were concerned was rather pessimistic. Ponting declared that there are enough overs, the pitch is misbehaving and that the Indian resistance will eventually give way to an Australian victory. I remember reading the headlines on cricinfo which stated that Australia needs 10 wickets on final day, as if an Indian win was never a realistic possibility.

India started the day 5 as they chased history (no team had successfully chased 200+ at this venue) and it was after all, the Australian fortress that had not been breached in the past 32 years. As Rohit departed quite soon, the chances of an Indian win also received a jolt because Rohit is a free-flowing batsman and with him around, there is an assurance that the score board would keep moving. His dismissal bought Pujara to the crease who has received plenty of flak in this series for his slow batting but he simply does not seem to care. He just comes, and blocks and ties one end up even if that meant taking blows practically everywhere on his body. On the other hand, we had the pleasure of watching Gill who is clearly the find of the tour. He made plenty of runs but more importantly, he looks so comfortable as he bats and scores at a brisk pace (something that has not happened since Sehwag left the scene). So, while Pujara was able to hold one end up, Gill was all style, class and runs as he got to his 50 in quick time. As the extended-session one ended on day 5, India had scored 79 runs, so at that point it was not clear if India was really going after the target.

However, all their intentions were made clear as India started the next session with a bang. Runs came thick and fast, Pujara was able to get a few boundaries and Gill seemed to get into some sort of overdrive as 20 runs came from an over from Starc. Gill was eventually dismissed by Lyon on 91 (what a pity that he could not get to a well-deserving hundred) but that did not seem to matter so much. Rahane came and played some shots and was dismissed for 24 but by then it was clear that India would either win or lose fighting but they simply won’t settle for a draw. 

The dismissal of Rahane brought Pant to the crease and he has been a revelation in the past couple of games. Pujara and Pant kept the score board moving with an occasional boundary, signaling the intent and thereby putting the Australian bowlers under the pump. Pujara was eventually dismissed for a well-made 56 which brought Mayank to the crease. But by then Pant had gotten into his zone and it was clear that if he stays long enough, he would get India home. Mayank’s brief stay was not so fruitful but his departure was a blessing in disguise as this brought the first innings hero Sundar to the forefront. This was a game that he had bossed and how could India win without some finishing touches from him. While the entire batting line-up barring Rohit made meaningful contributions to this total (including Rahane because his brisk 24 had set the tempo), the partnership between Sundar and Pant was the one that took India home. At one stage, India had needed 53 off 10 overs that soon became 50 off 8. It was at this point that Sundar took over and hammered 11 off a Cummins’ over and this is where the game swung again. This was followed by another 15-run over and then it became apparent that it is a matter of time now. There were a couple of hiccups as Sundar gifted his wicket to Lyon (a needless reverse sweep) and Thakur did not last long either but Pant kept scoring and deservingly hit the winning boundary.

This was followed by wild celebrations and congratulatory messages poured in from all over the world. Vaughan who had prematurely predicted a 4-0 whitewash and conceded that he was wrong while the Australian coach Langer admitted that the lesson he had learnt was to never underestimate the Indian team.

Cummins deservingly won the Man of the Series award while Pant walked away with the Man of the Match trophy. For the second time in succession, Pant has produced an innings (that too in the fourth innings of a Test match) that has changed the course of the game. I hope he will also take this confidence to the shorter version of the game and translate his potential into some match-winning memorable performances. I also hope that Gill will continue to blossom into a fine opener and perhaps a number 4 batsman for the limited overs team. 

I could go on and on but to conclude, this series has been a talent-unearthing operation for India and the returns have been very promising. The team stood up when they were down and out and nobody gave them a chance of competing, let alone winning. However, to compete in that manner and to ultimately emerge as winners is the stuff that legends are made of, and it has been a privilege for the Indian cricket fans to witness these memorable performances. Looking forward to the home series against England.

India strikes back, level series 1-1

India comprehensively beat Australia in the second test at Melbourne and this remains one of the greatest (or possibly the greatest) come-from-behind overseas wins from the Indian team. I have had the pleasure of following some of these wins (when clearly, I had more time) and these include the one at Headingley in 2002 (an absolute batting master class lead by the great batting trio of Dravid-Sachin-Ganguly) and then the one at Perth in 2008 (an absolute team effort following some ugly incidents in the preceding game). But on both these occasions, India did not get humiliated in the losses that preceded the famous wins. Notably, the things that did suffer some humiliation were the “spirt of cricket”, “integrity” and “neutral umpiring” in Sydney in 2007-08 India’s tour of Australia. Secondly, India did not lose their captain or a key member of their playing XI for personal or professional reasons. So essentially, it was the same bunch of players that regrouped and then just put their best foot forward. Taking all these factors into account, the convincing manner in which the Indian team beat Australia at MCG will remain a story that I will perhaps narrate to my grandkids.

In the past, I used to do a 5-day summarized match report but since I do not follow the game as extensively as I used to, I would try to cover the match by stating some facts and little battles that resulted in this famous win:

1. Australia has a very fragile top order. Home sides often get away with these shortcomings especially when they had bulldozed their opposition for an all-time low of 36 which would automatically imply that the opposition is very low on confidence. But some of Australian batsmen are anything but Australian, I would say. For instance, Burns does not seem to be fit for Test cricket at the moment and Wade might have some returns to show but he is anything but a Test opener. Smith will seek a return to form soon and Labuschagne is perhaps the one-eyed king among the blind. So, when none from your top 4 is firing, you are clearly going to be outplayed. The tragedy was somehow averted by a 2nd innings batting collapse in Adelaide but this time the Australian batting has been well and truly exposed.
2. India happens to have a world class bowling attack. Sometimes I tend to believe that India is over-investing in their fast bowlers. This means that Indian team manangement is quickly trying out new fast bowlers. In the current tour, we have seen Natrajan and Mohd Siraj make their debuts, albeit in different formats. Then there is Saini who is warming the bench, and while he may be a work in progress, there is no doubt that he has made to the team because of his ability to bowl quick. Overall, there is now a “pool” of fast bowlers, so clearly this investment is paying off. Natrajan was a revelation in T20s and so was Siraj in this Test (more on him in a while).
3. The Indian batting did “pretty” well in their first innings. I would say “pretty” because at some point I believed that India would get to 400 (which is easily the new match-winning first innings total in the modern version of 5-day cricket). Gill made a strokeful 45, Pant played a nice little cameo and Jadeja came up with a match-defining innings and partnership with Rahane. No words can do justice to the quality of the innings that Rahane played. He came to bat when the chips were down but trusted his game and then went on to score a century that will be applauded and remembered by cricket fans for a long long time. The duo then also settled the nerves as India chased a smallish total in the 4th innings and Rahane so fittingly (like Rahul Dravid at Adelaide in 2003) hit the winning runs.
4. The bowling unit did tremendously well as a team. Cricket is after all a team sport and to succeed at the highest level, it is important that the players complement each other. To begin with, there were no dropped catches (barring one from Pant) and no bowler went wicketless in the game. The fact that India played with 4 bowlers as Umesh got injured pretty early in the second innings and yet were able to bowl Australia out for 200 speaks volumes about the strength and the character of this bowling unit. Bumrah and Siraj were exceptional but so was Ashwin, and Jadeja – what a character. The moment you drop him, he will come back roaring in the next game and ensure that he won’t be dropped again. He has sealed the allrounder’s spot regardless of the opposition and the venue for the time being and the team management will have a tough task on their hands once Pandya is fully fit and back in the team.
5. Lastly, some people will claim that India got a bit lucky but first of all, fortune favors the brave. Secondly, what people claim as a stroke of luck is simply the problem of making elementary errors by the opposition that will cost them the game. India had exactly the same problem in the first innings in the Adelaide test when they dropped catches which clearly changed the complexion of the game. The 36-all out was a freak accident that could happen to a good team, and unfortunately India were at the receiving end. To be able to recover from this freak accident, then show up in the next game without your regular captain (and the best batsman) and two premier fast bowlers, and then beat your opposition convincingly is simply marvellous.

At the end of this game, my heart goes out to Mohd Siraj who may not have come to terms with the loss of his father yet but came up with a match-winning performance in his debut test. India is also lucky to have Bumrah as the leader of the pack. And I am so happy to see Ashwin shutting the mouth of all those who have doubted his ability when playing overseas.

So, after the first two games with parity being achieved, we could look at the remaining two tests as a two-match series, and the stakes remain high. Australia would come back harder and might be bolstered by the return of Warner. Smith also acknowledged that Ashwin has got the better of him in this series and he would like to settle the scores with him (badla Jatt da 😉), so the threat is real (Main darrrr gaya, says Ashwin 😂). Australian bowling has been brilliant but when your batters don’t show up, they make the entire team look awful. Happened to India in the first test and has now happened to the Australian side.

Looking forward to the next game in Sydney.

India crash out of the World Cup 2019

India’s campaign at the World Cup 2019 ended today with a defeat at the hands of New Zealand. While it was a pretty successful campaign and the team can hold its head high, the ending was rather a bit abrupt and very few would have anticipated a loss at the semi-final stage against New Zealand. Keep in mind that New Zealand is a team that many people thought was lucky to scrap through and it is only a matter of time before they would crash out.

So, what went wrong? Obviously, the batting. India had depended on their top order for far too long. With Rohit in sublime touch and Kohli providing ample support at one-down, the middle order was never tested and this was always a cause of concern. India were also unlucky to lose a big tournament player i.e. Shikhar Dhawan pretty much at the beginning of the tournament and this upset the plans a bit as well. However, there was never a plan for the middle order. And the selectors (famously led by MSK Prasad) had been hoping and praying that the top order will come out good all the time.

How else could you explain Vijay Shankar playing as a specialist #4? I do understand that he is a good batsman and can be a decent bowler but in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup, you just do not put someone as inexperienced as him in the #4 slot. The situation further down the order has been even more chaotic. MSD normally shows up at #5 but for reasons best known to the duo of Kohli-Shastri, he was demoted to #7 today. Then you have Kedhar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik in the team as well but they were also never properly handled.

I find the case of Karthik even more bizarre. After his match-winning knock against Bangladesh in the T20 tournament last year, it was expected that he will get a longer run in the team and given his experience, would most likely walk in the team as a middle/lower order batsman. However, this was never the case. I do not have the numbers but it is evident that he did not enjoy the confidence of the captain and hence was neither given enough opportunities nor utilized properly.

The team management did persist with Rayudu who seemed to be a permanent #4 but then form deserted him at the most inappropriate time (both for him as well as the team) and he could not make the cut for the final 15. What followed was even more non-sensical and ultimately ended with his retirement.

Lastly, the curious case of Lokesh Rahul. He was supposed to play as a middle order batsman but then Dhawan’s injury meant that he will open the innings. He did his job with a fair degree of success but overall never really exploded and was a huge disappointment today :(

On the plus side, Pant showed promise and hopefully will be given a few more chances but most importantly, will grab this opportunity with both hands. Pandya also batted reasonably well throughout the tournament and these two should form the core of the future Indian batting line-up i.e. the middle order. I am not sure who else will play for India but given the fact that Kedhar and Dinesh are not too young, I hope the selectors look for long-term solutions than some temporary ones.

We also had a pretty strong bowling line-up. Bumrah continued to impress while Bhuvi and Shami also had reasonably good touranment. I have to say that the much-hyped duo of Chahal and Kuldeep did not live up to the expectations. Seeing Santner bowler for NZ, you had to feel that Chahal perhaps gave one of his sub-standard performances in this game. My heart goes out to Ravinder Jadeja though and while I have never been a fan of his, I have to say that this was a game that he almost single-handedly won for India. Bowled beautifully, fielded like he always does (as Harsha Bhogle once said- I would pay simply to watch him field) and then pulled India out of the hole and nearly took the team home. Well played Sir and I hope you will continue to flourish as an ODI-player and win more matches for India in the near future.

Lastly, it is a loss that is hard to accept. India had a strong team which had ample resources to hide its inadequacies. India were also the over-whelming favorites and had topped the table, so were expected to get to the final at least. But thanks to Ravinder Jadeja, fans like me will still look back at this game with fondness.
Good luck to the team for the next ventures.

India hit back, level the series 2-2

It has been a few years since I updated my blog. I have to admit that there have been no exciting games either (barring the World Cup earlier this year), the overall performance by Team India has pretty mediocre, the players we all loved to watch have retired (incidentally two of my favorites retired in the past 2 weeks) and I have got busy with my life (all this is relative to the period between 2009-2011 when I was really active with my blog). But we are in the middle of an exciting ODI series against a World-class team and so; I thought this was a good time to stage a comeback.

Now about today’s match: Even before the match began, I had the feeling that Team India cannot disappoint its fans so easily. A victory for South Africa today would have meant that the series was decided and that there was pretty much nothing to play for in the next ODI. That would look pretty bad for a team that is a “force” in the limited overs cricket, and so India played their “A” game today and made sure that we have a mouth watering contest to look for in a couple of days’ time (To the media – please do not quote me out of context and report that I have said that the match was fixed J).

MS Dhoni won the toss and not surprisingly opted to bat first. No team has been able to chase successfully in the series so far and the trend continued. Rohit Sharma (when I started my blog which was a good 6.5 years ago, I had not thought that Rohit would be someone that I would really like to watch) and Shikhar Dhawan (who is having a miserable series so far) opened the innings for India but the opening stand was rather short lived. India was two down pretty early on in the innings (35/2 in the 8^th over) and a somewhat familiar batting performance looked on cards (no really big partnerships and limping to a 250 odd total) but that was not the case. Kohli arrived at the crease like a man on a mission and the ever-dependable Rahane gave him good company. The duo punished anything that was loose and the running between the wickets was quick and prompt. As a result, India soon marched to a position from where they could put pressure on the bowlers instead of being forced to play a subdued game. Injuries to Morkel and Duminy did not help SA’s case either but you have to remember that India is not playing with their #1 spinner either, so in some sense it has evened out.

Rahane departed much against the run of play (139/3 in the 26^th over) and that brought Suresh Raina to the crease. Again, a good move by Dhoni to send an out-of-form batsman earlier in the innings; let him settle down a bit and then go berserk towards the end. Raina struggled to time the ball initially but the fluency of Kohli made things easier for him and eventually he got going. Kohli got to his century in style (was that a tribute to Sehwag?) and it was wonderful innings – not too many boundaries to show off but that makes it even more special. He was willing to grind it out and make uneasy runs for the team when it needed the most from its #1 batsman. Kohli was also going through a rather lean phase and this century marks his return to the form, this also makes things interesting for the upcoming test series. Raina made a useful quick 50 before departing and his return to form is another useful outcome of the game. Questions have been asked about his place and his utility even though I have always believed that Raina is a must for India in limited overs cricket. Dhoni came in and tried a few strokes, none of which materialized. Kohli was also suffering from cramps and he struggled through the last 5 overs of Indian innings, nevertheless him staying at the crease was still better than letting some one as inexperienced as Axar Patel come to bat and not knowing what to do really. SA pulled back things magnificently towards the last 5 overs of (they conceded something like 18 runs in the last 4 overs) and the final score on the board was definitely underwhelming but without any doubt very competitive.

This is not for the first time though that India has managed to end up with a total that seems atleast 20 runs short if not more given their progress during the 35-45 overs. The first two games of the World Cup (India vs Pak and India vs South Africa) very pretty much the same in this regard when India did really well during the middle overs and looked all set for a 350ish total but fell well short. While it is indeed a cause of concern and facebook has been filled with posts regarding how Dhoni has lost his mojo and how he should contemplate retirement etc., isn’t it really interesting that India has managed to win all the three games that I have been talking about? This of course is not a reason to justify the lack of a late flourish at the end of innings, it is just a fact that tells us how good India has been at times when they have even made up for the absence of this very vital end-of-innings-acceleration.

A total of 300 was always going to be challenging and if SA were to really give India a worry (which they did, courtesy of the superman AB DeVilliers), keeping wickets intact as well as keeping the run rate manageable was going to be the key (Isn’t it stating the obvious? Of course it is, everyone does that – Sunil Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle, LSRK J), that did not happen though. Mohit Sharma snapped Amla early on in the innings (he has not the set the series on fire but I am pretty sure and worried at the same time that he will more than make up for it in the test series), and I must admit that Mohit Sharma is a very useful bowler, every time I see him I am impressed (well, the only times I have seen him are the World Cup games). What is disappointing at the same time though is, why does he not push himself to become a great fast bowler? With age and form on his side, he should be going all out and be THE fast bowler that India needs (we have had enough of Praveens and Munafs and Balajis and Gonys, we need a Srinath or a Zaheer). Anyways, the other opener, Quinton de Kock began in his usual fashion and while it seems that his love affair with the Indian bowling would continue, that was not to be. Bhajji got rid of him with a delivery that is an off-spinner’s delight – turn, bounce and THE EDGE snapped in slips. Seeing the opposition two down for 60 odd while chasing 300 is always a happy feeling (Games like Natwest final 2002 do not take place with a high frequency). It got worse for SA as Faf du and Miller did not contribute much either and then it was left for the superhuman AB DeVilliers. There is probably no pitch or bowling unit that can stop him for scoring freely and the innings he played today was a testimony to the same. However, the absence of partnerships did really hurt SA and with wickets falling at the other end, it was only a matter of time before he would be induced to play a false stroke, which he duly did but not before scoring a magnificent hundred (which was deservingly applauded by Kohli later). The bowling was pretty good and expectedly; the spinners did the bulk of the damage before Bhuvan wrapped it up with 3 wickets (which made him look a better bowler). Mohit Sharma bowled a controlled line and the trio of Axar, Bhajji and Mishra played the subcontinent spinners role to perfection – dry the runs and induce false strokes. Bhajji in particular was a joy to watch (he always is when he gets going) and it does look like that he is back (I hope he does not fall out of favour soon).

Overall, it was good game of cricket and now the stage is set for the final showdown – the decider that takes place in Mumbai on Sunday and it will be one contest that we all look forward to. May be the best team win before the TEST series begins.

Score card (courtesy: CricBuzz)

The saga of “Rahul Dravid”

The last time I wrote a blog was almost an year ago, when India won the World Cup at Wankhede. A lot of things have changed since the night of 2^nd April, 2011. Unfortunately, a lot of those things have changed for worse, like India losing their last eight overseas tests in a row. Rahul Dravid stood out in the first four of these tests like a pillar or “The Wall” as he has been famously known. However, he flopped so miserably in the last four and it is no surprise that he has decided to call it a day.

I can write pages and pages about RD and that would still not suffice but I will try to pen down few instances and facts that might explain that why every true cricket lover is going to miss Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid made his debut for India in some Asia cup like event after the World Cup in 1996 in Padang, Singapore. I still remember watching him on TV and wondering who this guy is and what he is up to. He did not last long enough though in his first ODI. Nevertheless India did not qualify for the finals of that tournament and I thought we might never hear of these two guys again (the other one was Vikram Rathore who had managed to impress the selectors). That was not to be since RD was selected for the Indian tour to England in the summer of 1996, and boy, what an eventful summer that was. India did not shine against the English but there are plenty of things that have made the series memorable for me. The arrival of RD and Dada was the highlight of the tour. I also do remember a story that I read in India Today some 12 years ago. When India was playing at Lords, Venkatesh Prasad and RD were at Mecca of Cricket for the first time in their lives. They came to know that if a batsman hits a century or a bowler takes a fiver, he gets his name on the board of honour in the dressing room at Lords. Venky and RD talked to each other and said “Lets strive to get there”. RD missed his century by 5 runs but Venky actually got there. Another highlight of the tour was Sidhu announcing his retirement following a spat with Azharuddin and Harsha Bhogle making an impression with his commentary.

RD had a wonderful tour and became a near permanent member for India subsequently, though his ODI skills were always under the scanner. India toured South Africa in December 1996 and RD’s skill against the pace bowling was evident when he top-scored for India with 27* when the entire team was bundled for a paltry 66 in Kingsmead. Overall, India did no harm to their reputation of poor tourists as they lost the first test quickly and the second one too (though there was an interesting phase in the second one when SRT and Azhar launched a counter-attack against the SA pacers and both got to their centuries). However, the third test was a moment of glory when RD hit his maiden test century and followed it up with an equally brilliant 80 in the second innings. India could not win the match as the weather and the umpires (not to forget Daryll Cullinan’s century) conspired to deny India a victory.

RD also had a pretty good ODI series in SA and made rapid strides to be amongst the starting XI for any game that India played. RD had arrived.

The next superlative performance that I remember was when India toured NZ in December 1998. RD became one of the few Indians to have hit two centuries in two innings of the same test. India still lost the test series while the ODI series was drawn (2-2, if I am not wrong). However, it was during this tour that RD became a permanent member of the ODI team. RD did not disappoint his fans as he went on to become the highest run getter (with 461 runs) in the WC in the summer of 1999, though it was Lance Klusener who stole the thunder.

As India took on the Aussies in 2001 (something that was known as the final frontier to Steve Waugh’s invincibles), RD was going through a period of rather wretched form. On the other hand, Laxman, who probably was having the best time of his life, was promoted to #3 while Dravid was demoted to #6. Following on in the second test at Kolkata and already 4 down, the duo stood together for over a day to deny and deflate the Aussies attack, which until that point had virtually looked unstoppable. The 4^th day of Eden test is almost like “Sholay”, something which happens once in many many years. And Prem Panicker wrote on rediff “If it is possible for RD and VVS Laxman to bat for an entire day, then it might also be possible for me to walk on water and convert a jugful of that water into sparkling champagne”.

The World Cup of 2003: RD as the wicketkeeper-batsman:

The only thing people remember about the Natwest series of 2002 was the Dada moment, bare-chested and waving his shirt in the balcony of Lords as the entire team ran to hug Md. Kaif in the middle. Dada made a statement and so did Yuvi and Kaif. However, something that I still remember is the fact that RD started to keep wickets from this series (more on a continuous basis, before that wicket-keeping was an on/off thing). This allowed the team management to play an extra batsman, and with Sachin, Dada, Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvi, Laxman/Mongia and Kaif, the team did resemble a batting powerhouse. That was a huge step that RD took, again all in the interests of the team. RD also had an amazing test series where he amassed close to 600 runs.

As India went into the WC, they looked a rather battered and bruised team coming from NZ (where they had lost the test series 2-0 and ODI series 5-2). As if that was not enough, they struggled to beat Holland in the first game and then got all out for 125 against Australia. Effigies were burnt and colas and other products were boycotted, as is the norm in India. However, the team regrouped and went from strength to strength. RD kept wickets and batted the way he does- solidly. Nobody can forget the innings that Sachin played against Pak but not many people would remember that it was the hundred run partnership between RD and Yuvi that eventually took India home. India lost the final to Australia but overall it was a pretty successful campaign.

In the next 12 months that followed, RD had two very successful tours to Australia and Pakistan, the latter being the place where he has scored his highest test score (270) in the decider test. Overall, India enjoyed their golden period as the team did quite well under the Dada-Wright combination; RD’s contribution during this period was immense.

RD: the captain

However, all good things must come to an end so did the golden age, for once. John Wright bid goodbye to India and Greg Chappell (or Guru Greg as the Indian media fondly called him) walked in as the new coach. Dada’s form as a batsman had touched an all time low and Chappell made it clear that the time had come for Ganguly to go. Ganguly was axed as the captain and later as a batsman too. Dravid, who was indeed the natural successor to Dada, became the captain. India did enjoy moderate success under RD like winning the test series against the WI for the first time in 35 years in 2006. The period also saw the emergence of MS Dhoni, whom Chappell had already labelled as the next big thing in international cricket. However, the first round exit in the WC in 2007 was a huge blow to RD as a captain. What followed thereafter was quite chaotic with Chappell quitting as the blame game began. RD did not resign as the captain immediately after as he led India to a historic test series victory against England in England in 2007. However, he had only delayed his decision to quit, probably wanting to resign on a high than after a failure. He immediately announced his decision to quit as the captain once the England tour finished. It was quite an interesting period in the history of Indian cricket as the selectors appointed MS Dhoni as the captain for the inaugural World T20 event in SA. The older brigade comprising Dada, SRT and RD opted out of the T20 event and India, famously led by Dhoni went on to win the trophy. However as India played tests, at no point did RD’s form dip or he became a liability to the team. Instead, he stood there, as solid as a rock and became a role model to the youngsters. It is no surprise that Indian media, so famous for sensationalizing things, were never able to write anything remotely mischievous about RD.

India started on a new journey as Anil Kumble became the test captain while Dhoni led the team in ODIs. RD was considered too old for ODIs and hence was no longer a part of the Indian ODI squad. His test form also started to deteriorate and RD was no longer the ever bankable batsman for a while. However, he fought through this rather lean phase in his career and still did reasonably well. The fact that he was recalled to the ODI side for the one of the many series that India has played against Lanka and the subsequent Champions trophy in 2009 showed that the selectors never doubted his ability in ODIs either. He was only sidelined for the supposedly bright stars (like Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa) but these bright stars never shone like a star. Instead, they were mere fuljhadis.

Post Champions trophy, RD was again dropped from the ODI side since India were not scheduled to play a challenging ODI series (say in SA or in Australia). RD continued to turn up for India for tests and did quite well though he did not match the usual standards that he had set. Quite expectedly, he was not a part of the WC winning squad in 2011 which is quite saddening actually. He had one of the best tours of his lifetime when India toured England in the summer of 2011. India were whitewashed 4-0 in the test series but only one MAN stood tall amongst the ruins.

As always he was a team man and did all that he could do in the interests of the team. Opened the batting, made all the runs and stood in the slips to grab any edges (there were not many though, thanks to the pathetic bowling). One moment deserves special mention is the last test in the England, though. He opened the batting for India, carried his bat right through the innings and as India followed on, he was there to open again. Honestly, it was a moment of disbelief to me. How could the team management expect so much from a mere mortal? As if that was not enough, the selectors also named him in the squad for the ODIs and the lone T20 that India were scheduled to play in England. RD obviously was not amused and announced his retirement from the ODIs, but only after fulfilling the assignment that he was given.

Thereafter he played for India against the WI in India and against the Aussies in Australia. His last series turned out to be a huge disappointment unfortunately. He hardly scored anything and by the time the series finished, I had little doubt that RD will ever play for India again, especially given his nature and no-nonsense approach. He announced his retirement this morning, putting a full stop to a glorious era.

RD has enticed us as much as with his batting as he has with his immaculate behaviour (whether on or off field) and his true sense of sportsmanship.

Personally, if I have idolised any player, not just for his skills but also for his overall personality, RD has topped the list (Kumble probably is the next). RD is also the most selfless player that I have seen playing for India and it is highly unlikely that I will see someone else like him in my lifetime. Respect is the only word that comes to my mind when I think about all the contribution that he has made to Indian cricket. He may have been overshadowed so many times while playing for India (by Sourav Ganguly in Taunton or by Sachin Tendulkar at Headingley or byVVS Laxman in Kolkata) but I can assure you that he has won many more hearts.

You are truly a legend, Sir and you will be sorely missed. Wishing you all the best in all your future endeavours.

Disclaimer: Most of the facts that I have stated here are based on my memory, I did not bother to google the same. There might be minor errors here and there (like umpiring errorsJ ). As I finished this, I also realised that I forgot to mention the catches that RD has taken in slips. Will probably need to write a follow up to this blog.