By: K. Gautam
Having won the Test Series, I expected India to carry the momentum onto the One Day Series. Sadly, it seems that England has turned the tables, and if India doesn’t get its basics right, it is going to get routed in the rest of the matches.
Rather than lamenting on the availability of a genuine all-rounder (after the loss in the 3rd one day), Dravid should ponder on the sub-standard fielding and running between the wickets, which has been the major difference between the two sides. India almost paid the price for poor fielding and unimaginative bowling at the death in the second one-dayer. Where Paul Collingwood, Kevin Peterson (considered an average fielder), Stuart Broad, Monty Panesar, Ian Bell, and James Anderson have been assets for the England side while fielding, Sourav Ganguly, Munaf Patel, Ramesh Powar, RP Singh, and Zaheer Khan have been very expensive liabilities for India. The running between the wickets has been pathetic, to say the least. To see Sourav Ganguly getting run out in such a clumsy fashion in the first one-dayer must have been very embarrassing for Tendulkar at the other end, and for the entire team. More is expected out of a senior pro like Ganguly, who has 22 limited-overs centuries to his credit.
I believe if India can improve on these areas along with the bowling at the death, they can do better in the rest of the series.
From a very neutral angle, I am really excited about 3 emerging stars from both sides, two of them young – Piyush Chawla and Stuart Broad, and one not so young – Ramesh Powar.
Piyush Chawla at 18 has shown exceptional skills for his age and is a leg-spinner in the Mushtaq Ahmed mode, who turns his googly more than the conventional leg break. He also has an excellent top-spinner (he bowled Kevin Peterson with one in the 2nd one day), which made Shane Warne so lethal. If he can work on his leg breaks, he is definitely going to be someone the batsmen around the world are going to dread. His problem lies in him playing too many one-dayers. The selectors haven’t given him a second look in tests after his not-so-impressive debut in early 2006 against England. They probably want to groom him more before they give him another chance – he after all is still raw. The problem with one-dayers is it can kill the aggressive instinct in a spinner to take wickets, as the primary goal would be to contain the flow of runs. Chawla to his credit hasn’t been too defensive in the one-day matches he has played. He is also a more than useful batsman (left-handed).
Ramesh Powar was probably the most under-rated spinner in the country. Well, not any more. At 29, he is definitely getting better with age, as most spinners do. It is really comical to watch this short, plump, cricketer run on the field - but make no mistake about it, he can do wonders with his well-flighted off-breaks. He had excellent returns in the second and third one dayers of the current one-day series. His batting and fielding however still leave a lot to be desired. He has not lived up to his expectations as an all-rounder, a mantle that he has successfully donned for his state team, Mumbai. If he maintains his fitness and doesn’t lose his aggressiveness, he is going to make it big for India playing for the next 5 or 6 years or even more.
Stuart Broad is the son of former English opener Chris Broad. With Steve Harmison lacking consistency in both form and fitness, he probably is the genuinely quick bowler England is looking for. He has definitely made the Indian batsmen hop in the one-day series. He is fast, aggressive, has a good bouncer and yorker. India was probably lucky he was not included in the test squad. He has been much more impressive than Chris Tremlett, the other newcomer in the England side. At 21, he has age on his side. He is only going to get faster. He also is a hard-hitting left-handed batsman lower down the order.
Hopefully this trio can cement their places in their respective national sides and go onto play for a number of years.
Having won the Test Series, I expected India to carry the momentum onto the One Day Series. Sadly, it seems that England has turned the tables, and if India doesn’t get its basics right, it is going to get routed in the rest of the matches.
Rather than lamenting on the availability of a genuine all-rounder (after the loss in the 3rd one day), Dravid should ponder on the sub-standard fielding and running between the wickets, which has been the major difference between the two sides. India almost paid the price for poor fielding and unimaginative bowling at the death in the second one-dayer. Where Paul Collingwood, Kevin Peterson (considered an average fielder), Stuart Broad, Monty Panesar, Ian Bell, and James Anderson have been assets for the England side while fielding, Sourav Ganguly, Munaf Patel, Ramesh Powar, RP Singh, and Zaheer Khan have been very expensive liabilities for India. The running between the wickets has been pathetic, to say the least. To see Sourav Ganguly getting run out in such a clumsy fashion in the first one-dayer must have been very embarrassing for Tendulkar at the other end, and for the entire team. More is expected out of a senior pro like Ganguly, who has 22 limited-overs centuries to his credit.
I believe if India can improve on these areas along with the bowling at the death, they can do better in the rest of the series.
From a very neutral angle, I am really excited about 3 emerging stars from both sides, two of them young – Piyush Chawla and Stuart Broad, and one not so young – Ramesh Powar.
Piyush Chawla at 18 has shown exceptional skills for his age and is a leg-spinner in the Mushtaq Ahmed mode, who turns his googly more than the conventional leg break. He also has an excellent top-spinner (he bowled Kevin Peterson with one in the 2nd one day), which made Shane Warne so lethal. If he can work on his leg breaks, he is definitely going to be someone the batsmen around the world are going to dread. His problem lies in him playing too many one-dayers. The selectors haven’t given him a second look in tests after his not-so-impressive debut in early 2006 against England. They probably want to groom him more before they give him another chance – he after all is still raw. The problem with one-dayers is it can kill the aggressive instinct in a spinner to take wickets, as the primary goal would be to contain the flow of runs. Chawla to his credit hasn’t been too defensive in the one-day matches he has played. He is also a more than useful batsman (left-handed).
Ramesh Powar was probably the most under-rated spinner in the country. Well, not any more. At 29, he is definitely getting better with age, as most spinners do. It is really comical to watch this short, plump, cricketer run on the field - but make no mistake about it, he can do wonders with his well-flighted off-breaks. He had excellent returns in the second and third one dayers of the current one-day series. His batting and fielding however still leave a lot to be desired. He has not lived up to his expectations as an all-rounder, a mantle that he has successfully donned for his state team, Mumbai. If he maintains his fitness and doesn’t lose his aggressiveness, he is going to make it big for India playing for the next 5 or 6 years or even more.
Stuart Broad is the son of former English opener Chris Broad. With Steve Harmison lacking consistency in both form and fitness, he probably is the genuinely quick bowler England is looking for. He has definitely made the Indian batsmen hop in the one-day series. He is fast, aggressive, has a good bouncer and yorker. India was probably lucky he was not included in the test squad. He has been much more impressive than Chris Tremlett, the other newcomer in the England side. At 21, he has age on his side. He is only going to get faster. He also is a hard-hitting left-handed batsman lower down the order.
Hopefully this trio can cement their places in their respective national sides and go onto play for a number of years.
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