CB Series - a roundup of names and games
March 5th 2008 12:02
Centre Stage!
India victorious
The Gabba resounded with cheers and exploded in colours. The cheers sounded very much like 'Chak De..' and the colours for the most part looked Saffron, White and Green. For an onlooker that would have been surprising. It is no secret that not many people gave this very young Indian team a chance to get to the finals leave alone trumping the Aussies comprehensively in the best of three finals. But well, were these people in for a surprise or what?
Yes, the Indians are the 2008 CB Series winners and they got there by authoritatively beating the world champions Australia 2-0 in consecutive finals - not needing the 3rd game at all.
Team Australia - names and games
Lets take a look at a few of the Australian and Indian personnel, their performances and some thoughts about how the Indians actually managed to trump the world champion team at their own game.
Batting travails
For Australia - the lead up to the finals was something that they would have liked for the most part. That loss to India and the unexpected loss to Sri Lanka in their last league game were the only aberrations in what was otherwise a performance almost in keeping with their rating. Why do I say almost? In just about every game the Australian batting has failed. The top order has been failing very consistently and coupled with Ponting's horrendous run of scores, this is putting enormous pressure on the middle order every game. In fact even in the games that they won, they won due to their bowling and fielding abilities. And there is only so much that your bowlers and fielders can do if the batsmen are failing consistently. In the finals this lacuna just caught up with them and the bowlers and fielders for once (well, twice, if you insist) failed to backup and perform out of their skin.
About the only game where the batting looked its part was when they smashed India for over 300 runs in a league match. It was a batting beauty alright but then you would expect the seasoned Australian batting lineup to come good regardless of the wicket and conditions.
Mathew Hayden has been making news for all the wrong reasons during this ODI series. But sadly he has not been able to score that defining innings. Even when he got useful starts he frittered it away in the middle overs. His belligerence and power is still indisputably there. However his lumbering slowness between the wickets has shown him up on at least 2 occasions in this series. Even in the 2nd finals it was his run out where he just could not turn around quickly and get back into the crease which was the turning point. Hayden and Symonds were going quite well. For a change Hayden was even defending deliveries and playing a mostly risk free game. But things just did not go the way of the burly left hander.
Considering that Gilchrist is no longer there to partner Hayden at the top, Australia have a huge, almost monumental problem to tackle. To be fair, they have tackled such problems before, but this time it remains to be seen who they use at the top for ODIs. The fact compounding this whole issue is that Hayden himself is no spring chicken at 35 years and Australia would do well to groom new ODI openers.
Gilchrist's game this series has mostly been about aggression. It has come off in a couple of games - even spectacularly as in that game against Sri Lanka where he scored an ultra quick 80 odd runs. But otherwise, he has fallen consistently to the new ball.
Ponting has had a woeful series right through this summer by any standards leave alone his lofty ones. That he mans the all important No. 3 position only compounds issues for Australia. There are already sounds about his captaincy credentials but I am not sure that those are applicable or valid. He still led the team well inspite of various controversies and his bowling changes and the fielding setup have always been good and innovative. But the sooner he bounces back to batting form, the better it would be for him in terms of silencing such criticism.
James Hopes is playing in this Australian team as a full allrounder. What this means is that Australia has only 3 genuine batsmen after the openers and Ponting - Clarke, Symonds and Hussey, in that order. Clarke has managed to look the part of a No. 4 batsman although Australia would have preferred more runs from him and Hussey has done a fair job at No. 6 with his busy if unobtrusive play. But Symonds has been far from convincing in his forays to the batting crease. Time and time again, he has displayed his weakness against genuine fast bowling. Ishant Sharma has had a whale of a time against Symonds right through this ODI series. And it is not as if he is very strong against swing or spin bowling either. He is a powerful batsman who can clear grounds with enormous ease. But I do get the feeling that he is batting a couple of slots above his natural position in the batting order. In any case I would bat Hussey above Symonds in this Australian batting order. And despite Hopes' heroics in the second final, Australia look very light on the batting front.
It must be accepted though, that this lightness is only evident because of the failure from the top 3 blokes to raise a significant score. But then the poor form of these three players who formed the top 3 was not an unknown factor going into the CB Series.
The Australian bowling
Brett Lee was second to none throughout this Australian summer. That he was able to keep on a tight leash as menacing and skilful a batsman as Sachin Tendulkar shows his skills and execution up in good light. While has has always had the pace to trouble top batsmen, he has not in the past had the consistency. But with more responsibility given, he has risen up to the task and has been a fearsome spearhead for Australia. He has been Ponting's go-to man whenever he needed wickets and he has not disapointed at all.
And his slow outswinger is one of the most distinctive deliveries in world cricket. I dont think there is anybody else who can bowl this particular delivery. And this has put many a batsman in strife.
James Hopes, while being vastly underrated, has actually done a sterling job for Australia with the ball. He has been accurate, fast enough and intelligent enough to not let the Indian batsmen get away at any point. He is not somebody who you would sit up and notice. But then he is a performer thorugh and through. He deserves a lot of credit for the way Australia maintained tight control over the opposition score even after the new ball burst.
The rest of the bowling though was disappointing. Mitchell Johnson after a stellar Test series has become largely one dimensional. It is very evident that he is going to take the ball away from the right hander. So, even if he does generate consistently searing pace, he is being predictable and easy to handle. Towards the end of the series, Tendulkar was able to easily play those delectable back cuts over the keeper and the slips for many boundaries. That was solely due to his predictability. He seriously needs to develop variations if he wishes to remain a power in world cricket.
Stuart Clark has been metronomic yes. But his lack of pace has caught up with him and allowed batsmen to innovate. In the early part of the series he was still in his element with his back of a length bowling and his leg cutters. But increasingly it looks like he may not be the best 3rd seamer for Australia - in Tests or ODIs. But to give him credit, he is a very skilful and intelligent bowler and just might come back roaring to quieten all aspersions against him.
Brad Hogg has got Yuvraj Singh's number. Apart from that, he did not really impress. Considering that he is retiring after this series, Australia has serious worries on the spin bowling front too. It just goes to show that when the worries come, they always come in droves. Now, this would add onto the worry that Ponting already has about the opening position in ODIs.
Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds performed adequately as change bowlers with Clarke being rather effective in the second final. But there were no match turning spells from either of them. Curiously enough Ponting tended to underbowl Symonds throughout this series.
Make no mistake - it is the Australians' bowling which got them to the finals in the first place. But in the process of getting there, the threads were frayed and were visible for all to see. Except for Brett Lee, there was nobody who really threatened India in the two final games. Which brings us to the 'freshness factor'.
The 'freshness' factor
What would make for very interesting reading is the fact that Australia did not have a really different set of personnel for the ODI games while India preferred a whole new look. With the tour stretching for over 2 months and being hounded with controversies and hearings and what not, this is sure to have taken a toll on the players.
If you look at Australia the following players who featured in the ODIs were also part of the Test squad - Mathew Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, Clarke, Symonds, Hussey, Hogg, Johnson, Clark and Lee. James Hopes was the only new face that Australia called up for their ODI side.
Maybe this was what made the difference. The Test players did look jaded with more than 2 months of hard effort. In complete contrast the Indian team had a whole new look. Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina (even though he did not get to play), Munaf Patel, Sreesanth - all of these players were there just for the ODI tournament. And at the end of the series, these players' freshness paid off. That these players were all young helped to an extent. But what was visible to anybody who had the interest and inclination to see it was that these youngsters could bat and/or bowl. Yes sir, that they could.
Indian ingenuity & Core cricket skills
There is a reason why there is a lot of noise being made in India about this particular series win. Apart from the fact that this was achieved overseas and that we got to the summit after comprehensively beating the world champion team twice in the finals - it was also very significant that this was the first time perhaps that India had gone on without a few of its stalwarts - notably Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly. Instead young and talented players were preferred. And these youngsters delivered - confidently and in style. One gets the impression that a lot of this is due to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unfailing and unflagging support to the youngsters and his unflappable temperament at all times. Again, these are all very atypical characteristics in an Indian captain. He is rarely seen to be agitated, angry, disappointed or sulking on the cricket field. And believe me those are hard things (not) to do when you are leading the Indian cricket team!
Before we take a look at the Indian personnel, it is important that we recognize this victory as the confirmation of the skill and confidence levels of the younger players. There was a tendency at the start of the series to put the selection of these younger players down to their athleticism, fielding and running between wickets. But these were not what won India games. It was the fact that these youngsters could take up the cudgels and bat in the positions that were vacated by modern day giants like Ganguly and Dravid and still hold their own. Uthappa, towards the end of the series, looked very promising while opening the batting with Sachin Tendulkar. And Rohit Sharma has impressed one and all with his shot range, timing and elegance at No. 4/5. This coupled with the fact that we had penetration in the bowling courtesy the still young but lion hearted and immensely skilful Ishant Sharma, the persevering and talented Praveen Kumar, the wily young legspinner Piyush Chawla and Sreesanth too. He was not at his best in this series. But when he got his chance in the second final in place of Ishant Sharma, he made it count. He should in fact have got Hayden out twice early on and this could have resulted in an even more comprehensive victory for India.
And to be honest, Rohit Sharma was the only young lad who impressed in the field. Gautam Gambhir who has been in the ODI setup for some time now and the captain Dhoni too were magnificent between the wickets. Dhoni was brilliant behind the wickets and it was probably only that missed catch off Hayden in the second finals which was the only blemish as far as the keeping goes.
The core cricket skills of these young lads were laudable and this holds a lot of promise for India in the future.
Team India - names and games
As far as the Indian personnel and performances go, Tendulkar, who had had a quiet series up until the last few games, really made his class and experience count. In fact it was Tendulkar who was the difference between the two sides in both the finals. In the first one he scored a brilliant unbeaten 117 and in the second he was out in the 90s after pacing his innings beautifully to setup India's charge. To think that people still criticize this maestro's performance goes to show how much we expect of him. Even though he appears superhuman when essaying shots of such rare beauty we must still remember that he is human - very much so. And allow him his rare moments of failure.
Sehwag was a huge disappointment throughout the ODI series. A lot was expected of him but somehow he never did click in a big way. I did think however that he could have been tried at No. 4 to add more meat to that middle order. Nevertheless Sehwag has only himself to blame for his poor performances in this series.
Robin Uthappa - leaving that one half century in that game when India almost chased down that 300 plus score against the Aussies was not his usual belligerent self in the series. But this was before the finals. In typical instinctive sytle, Dhoni asked the young batsman who is actually an opener for his state team to don the pads and partner Tendulkar. This resulted in a half century stand in the first final and a 94 run stand in the second final. As things go, his partnership with Sachin and these runs along with the weathering of the new ball attack made a huge difference. Uthappa has extremely hard hands and when he brings his bat down even without a followthrough, the ball fairly screams off the face of his bat to the boundary. Conversely, when the ball is moving, his edges too would carry to the slips and behind the wicket. He does have areas to tighten up but still it is to his credit that he made use of the chance given to him and shone through when it mattered for his team.
Gautam Gambhir has been the standout performer as far as the Indian batting is concerned. He has had two centuries in this series and has played spin and pace with equal panache. Some of his square driving and cutting has been vintage. For a long time the pull shot has been his nemesis and he would be happy that the monkey is off his back this series. He has played a few pull shots - none more rasping and authoritative than the one he played off Brett lee - in front of square too.
Just as much as Gambhir has been the standout performer in the batting department, Rohit Sharma has been the revelation. In one of his first major international tournaments he has been very highly regarded by his captain and teammates. He has been given the coveted No. 4 position. Although there has been a bit of Russian Roulette played for that position between him and Yuvraj, he has come out after Gambhir on most occasions. And he has impressed. Even when he scored those 30s there was no doubting his talent. And with that solid and mature beyond his years 66 that he crafted in the first finals, India had come up with an answer to the middle order question.
Yuvraj Singh has failed to stamp this series with his name. He had a few sweet shots, had has had a few massive and powerful ones. But he has not really spent too much time at the crease. Nevertheless it was evident how ODIs brought out a different man - Yuvraj in blue was a much better batsman than the Yuvraj in whites. And this writer firmly believes that if he carries through the same aggression and positive outlook to the Test game, he stands to gain a lot more than what he came up with in the Test series against Australia. However it must be mentioned that his play against spin is bordering on being called pathetic. He has to find some quick answers for his difficult in reading and playing spin. And he should have no difficulty in rustling up a few net bowlers to bowl to him in his home country and help him improve his play in this direction.
Captain/Batsman/Wicket keeper - a winner all the way
Mahendra Singh Dhoni - the captain, wicketkeeper and India's go-to man when the chips are down even in the batting department. He has juggled many roles and has performed effectively in every one of them. He deserves every bit all credit and accolades that come his way. Late in the series, he had a few fitness concerns but hopefully they are nothing long term and he can be there for India. In this series he has often had to come in with the top order failing and he has done a remarkable job of building up the innings calmly in ones and twos and threes rather than aggressive seeking the boundary. He has been able to adjust his game according to the needs of the situation and that is remarkable considering that Dhoni himself is not exactly a veteran. He is very much a youngster himself. But he is precociously talented and has a fine head on his shoulders. He has a long way to go and I have no doubt that the selectors headed by Vengsarkar have made the right decision of having him as the ODI captain.
His batting does have limitations - as in he does not have too many options when there is fast medium bowling short of length without giving him much room. But then, he can only grow from here and he has handled everything thrown at him with poise and a cool head. If he was not able to dispatch the ball for boundaries well, then he has rotated the strike. And that is all I would ever ask of a late middle order wicket keeper batsman. And I have no doubts that this man can grow into a very effective, trend setting (in the manner of Gilchrist) batsman-wicket keeper.
The Indian bowling
The bowlers have all put their hand up at various parts of the series. Ishant Sharma has been the standout performer by a long way though. He has bowled with venom, pace and verve. He has created many wicket taking opportunities and sometimes the fact that he was bowling from one end helped the bowler from the other end secure the breakthroughs. We have been aching and pining for such a bowler for a long long time now. Now that we have a regular arsenal of fast medium bowlers, we should be able to manage their workloads and be able to field good combinations of fast men for the series in the near future. Irfan Pathan has not really shone in this tournament but his left arm bowling is nothing to be sneered at. He is a skilled practitioner and has enough tricks up his sleeve to bounce back. His last over in the second final also showed the faith the captain had in him.
That leaves us with the spinners and the surprise medium pace bowling package - Praveen Kumar.
Harbhajan Singh has been a defensive bowler right through this Australian summer. But still he manages to grab wickets - such is his charisma. Also he has good control over the ball and can trouble somebody like Ponting with his always-at-you line. Even in this ODI series his line has tended to be middle and leg for the most part with as less air as possible. It was only in the couple of finals that he had chosen to flight the ball. The results were there for everybody to see. Sometimes he focusses on the doosra so much that he fails to bowl the traditional off spinner. And because of his high arm action, he tends to get more overspin than side spin on the ball. So, while he will get extra bounce on most surfaces, this will not be backed up by big spin. But to his credit he improved in the last two finals games and made himself be counted.
And to his immense credit, he never let events off the field affect his performances on the field. That is no small feat. Harbhajan is a feisty but indomitable Sardar. And the combination works in the team's favour - most times.
Piyush Chawla was seen only in two games. But both of those were finals. Now, that is a mark of high belief from his captain. This youngster can only improve from here. He has all the tricks up his sleeve and he is only knocking 20 years of age. His extremely economical return in the first final stood him in good stead and got him selected for the second one. His bowling arm though needs to be a bit rounder and lower for him to get more side spin on the ball. Also that is the only way he can get the ball to actually drift in the air. Right now, the ball is coming in because of the angle of his approach. If he can make these changes, it will make a huge difference and can push him into contention for a Test spot too.
Now we come to Praveen Kumar - in many ways he is nondescript. If somebody were to tell you that he is only 21 years of age, you would not believe. He does not look that young. But he is.
His bowling too is nothing special - when you look at it. But his returns are special without a doubt. Two four wicket hauls when it really mattered for the team is nothing to be laughed at. He is a good, accurate swing bowler who can move the ball both ways. And he also has exceedingly good technique, releasing the ball almost exactly under the umpire's eyes. While he will not terrify batsmen with speed, his movement and control over line and length makes it tough for them to collar him. But what is really appreciable is his ability to stay focussed on the job without getting overawed by the fact that he has been entrusted with opening the innings in an international game - that too, in the finals of an international game against the world champions. He just went through with his game and produced the results. India needs more of these calm and cool customers.
While there are claims being made about him being an allrounder, his batting skills have yet to be seen at the international level. His bowling will be under much scrutiny in the upcoming games, but he has proved that he is equal to the task and has discipline and skill to consistently swing the ball regardless of the occasion or the opposition.
Summing it all up
Summing it all up, there used to be a time when there was talk about the Australian second team being a good match to international sides. Such was their depth and pool of talent. The situation is far from that now. The seniors are finding it hard going - in all forms of the game, be it Tests, ODIs or T20. There used to be a chasm between the level at which the Australian team plays and the level which the rest of the teams attained. Now, that chasm is not so deep. The distance between levels is not so great. Make no mistake - the Australians are still the world champions and it would be foolish to write them off as spiralling into decline just yet. But the signs are there, undeniably.
But what must be said for the international cricket community and the spectators is the fact that this chasm was not bridged by the other teams lifting their levels up for the most part. The distance was bridged because Australia themselves are lagging behind.
Let that not take any credit whatsoever from India's comprehensive win. That Australia could not showcase its best game must not take the sheen off India's win. Because it is India's all-the-time-at-you style game that never allowed the Australians to recover, regroup and attack.
What one can be sure of though is that the next match-up between these two teams would be volatile, electrifying, high voltage - you name it...
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