Pathan and Bhajji helped India in clinching cliffhanger at Capetown

There was time in Indian innings when 5 players including captain MS Dhoni were sitting in dressing room and scoreboard was showing just 93 runs in reply to the Proteas total of 220 runs. In came Yususf Pathan and blew away the South African attack with his hurricane innings and opened the door for Team India to win the match from virtually impossible situation. Although Pathan got out when India was in delicate position but Bhajji finished the job with the help of Nehra and Zaheer and sealed the victory for India. Pathan declared Man of the Match in his first game in South Africa after cooling his heels in dressing room during the first 2 ODIs. He has also hinted to MS Dhoni about the big error which Dhoni had committed by not playing him in first two ODIs.

India bowled out Proteas for 220 runs after losing the toss and it was Zaheer, Harbhajan and Munaf who did fantastic job by restricting Proteas. Proteas kept losing wickets at regular intervals but one steady partnership of 110 runs between JP Duminy and debutant Faf DuPlessis helped South Africa to post respectable total. I must say DuPlessis really played very well under pressure and scored brilliant half-century.DuPlessis was the dominant partner in that partnership and it never looked like that he was making his debut in this match. South Africa really found a great talent in DuPlessis. DuPlessis replaced Miller in this match and justified his selection. Smith played scratchy innings of 43 at the top before getting out but apart from Smith, Duminy and DuPlessis, none of the South African batsmen succeeded in making any impact. I must give credit to the Indian bowlers especially Zaheer, Harbhajan and Munaf as they bowled brilliantly and never allowed Proteas to get off the hook. 

India opened with Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay. Rohit looked scratchy in this innings and never looked comfortable even after spending reasonable time on the crease and finally got out on personal 23 runs. Vijay failed once again and increased the pressure on rest of the batsmen. Raina played good hand of 37 and did crucial partnership of 70 odd runs with Yusuf Pathan which helped India in consolidating their position after poor start. Although Raina panicked bit early and threw his wicket. Morkel, Steyn and Tsotsobe bowled very well especially Morkel was virutally unplayable throughout the match. He bowled superb line and length. He used his height very well in extracting bounce from the low wicket. Botha bowled very well till that one over in which Yusuf Pathan took him on and hit 3 sixes and accumulated 19 runs. Botha will not forget that over for long time and I feel that over proved turning point of this match.Parnell also failed to impress his captain as he bowled poorly. Over all India did very  well in the match but for them worry is the form of their top-order batsmen. Kohli played one good knock so far, Yuvraj is also sailing in the same boat as Kohli. Raina till date failed to play big innings on this tour so far. So plenty of problems in store for Dhoni and needs to be rectified if India wants to win the series in South Africa for the first time. Although India is leading the series 2-1 but not to forget both the matches they won were very close. So team's think tank have to do some work on the batting of our top-order batsmen otherwise I will not be surprised if India lose this series after leading it.

Well what to say about Murali Vijay. I feel he is immensely lucky to be in the team due to the injuries to our main player. I believe he don't have  any future in International Cricket. He is in the team  till now only because of the Chairman of Selector's love for him as both of them hails from same zone, state and city. There are  lot of talented players in our domestic cricket and they are not getting much chances or seldom they get the chance then they are dropped after one or two failures or lose their place because of players like Murali Vijay who keep getting regular chances even after failures. We have talented players in Robin Uttahppa, Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Bhubneshwar Kumar, Abhishek Nayar and list continues but these players always overlooked and thats the great irony of Indian Cricket because Indian Cricket is in trap of zonal bias and quota system. I give example of Saurabh Tiwary, this guy did very well in whatever chances he got in International cricket yet he is out of the team. 

Today Capetown will witness crucial encounter between Team India and Proteas

After long debate on World Cup selection between all the TV channels, selectors and citizens,  finally 15 men selected to represent the country in what we call Olympics of Cricket. I believe now we have to stop debating on the team selected and start supporting the men who are selected to do the job and hope that these men will bring glory and happiness for us. 

Now its time to focus on the ongoing series between India and South Africa. Series is levelled after India's victory in Johannesburg and what a cracker of the game that was. India clinched cliffhanger by holding the nerves and once again Proteas proved chokers. Now focus is on 3rd ODI in Capetown. It is crucial game for both the teams in terms of series win. Both the teams will be keen to win this encounter and whoever emerged as winner will be having clear advantage of winning the series because winning team have to win just one match out of the remaining two and losing team have to win both the matches to win the series.

If we talk about Team India then I must say their confidence will be sky high after that last victory but with this  confidence they are also facing lot of problems in terms of injury to the key players. Sehwag, Gambhir and Praveen Kumar were already out before the series commencement. Team India also got big shock in last ODI as Sachin Tendulkar also got injured and ruled out of the series. So problems are plenty for MS Dhoni and this reduces the chances of Team India to win today's ODI. M.Vijay, the another opener who is in team is not in good form and his hghest score in International ODIs is just 33 with paltry career average of 19. Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma are also struggling with their form. Ashish Nehra is struggling with line and length. In first 2 ODIs Yusuf Pathan was not included but he will certainly play in today's game. I feel Dhoni have to drop Vijay and pick Parthiv Patel to open the batting. Parthiv being a left hander and Kohli being a right hander will also create problems for the opposition bowlers in terms of adjusting their line and length to the left -right combination. Also not to forget that Team India failed to play out their entire 50 overs in both the matches and that is also an area of concern for the team's think tank

Now talking about Proteas I believe they have settled opening pair in Smith and Amla. Both Amla and Smith have 50 + scores under their belt in the series and both are in good form. Smith almost won the last match for Proteas as he played superb knock of 77 but dismissed by Munaf Patel at crucial time. However middle-order of Proteas is a big concern because Kallis is injured and both Ingram and Miller failed to create any impact in the series so far. DeVilliers is in good form and that is positive sign for Proteas. I believe Ingram and Miller are definitely looking to cement their place in the side by putting good effort in today's match because this is a golden opportunity for them. In terms of bowling and fielding, Proteas are far superior and stronger than Team India. Trio of Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe are in good form and also created lot of impact in both the matches by not allowing Team India to play out their entire 50 overs. Off-spinner Botha also supported this trio by holding one end and bowled tightly in the series. Parnell I feel is the only bowler who did not live upto the expectations so far but he has done reasonably well. 

Overall, I believe Proteas hold better chance to win today's game and also the series because Team India have the confidence but don't have enough resources to back their high confidence. This series is also very important in terms of gaining confidence for next month's mega-event ICC Cricket World Cup. Whichever team wins here will go into ICC Cricket World Cup with great momentum and confidence under their belt.

Preview: India V/S South Africa ODI Series 2011

Team India will take on South Africa in ODI series starting today in Durban after great drawn test series and  win in one off PRO-T20 match over South Africa. Confidence of Team India will be sky high after drawn test series and win in T20 match. On the other hand, South Africa is a very strong team, especially in their home conditions and will put all the efforts to win the one-day series.

This series is very important for both the team in terms of preparing for the World Cup. This is last chance for both the teams to check their playing combinations and find out which will give them edge in World Cup. In short, this series is the dress-rehearsal of the World Cup for both  teams. Both the teams also suffering from injury problems to some of their key players and that will also play crucial role in outcome of the series. 

Talking about Team India, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir already returned home just after test series. Later on Praveen Kumar also got injured during T20 match and he also returned home. According to the sources, Sreesanth is also suffering from tennis elbow and doubtful for the series. So Team India is left with only three fast bowlers and will be bolstered to an extent when Ishant Sharma joins them in day or two as a replacement for Praveen Kumar but I feel selectors made a mistake by sending Ishant Sharma back because he was not in good form in test series so it would have been  better on the part of selectors if they had picked up Umesh Yadav instead of Ishant Sharma. Umesh is very good prospect in fast bowling for India as he is very sharp  and have more pace then any other Indian fast bowler. 

When we talk about injury then sometimes these injuries also help us in finding new combinations and provide great chance to the replacement players to do well and cement their place in the team. So its a great opportunity for  Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay to prove themselves and cement their place in World Cup squad. So golden opportunity for these youngsters to prove themselves ahead of World Cup and cement their place for World Cup.

On the other hand South Africa is also struggling with injuries to their key players. Kallis is out for two weeks and probably miss first two ODIs. Captian Smith, Steyn and Morkel are also having little niggles and doubtful for the first ODI. South Africa will give chance to Collin Ingram and David Miller who did well for them in series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in absence of big names. They will also field Pakistan born leg-spinner Imran Tahir in this series to check out his skills. So this series will going to be a wonderful opportunity for all these youngsters to prove themselves.

Looking at the Indian squad and South African squad, I believe Proteas have less problems with injury compared to India and in that respect Proteas will start as favourites to win the series. Indian record is also not that great in South Africa as they managed to win only 3 ODIs and on last tour they lost the series 0-4 to the hosts. 

This series will also help Harbajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to complete 250 wickets in ODIs. Currently Harbahjan is 8 short of 250 wickets and Zaheer is 7 short of 250 wickets. 'God of Cricket' Sachin Tendulkar also have the opportunity to complete century of centuries as he is 3 short of this great landmark and also have the opportunity to complete half-century of centuries in ODIs as he is just 4 short of this landmark.

As we all saw in test series history did not matter much and I hope Team India continue its good performance of test series and T20 into ODIs as well and create new history. Its also provides a chance to Team India to become No.1 ranked team in ODIs if they beat South Africa 4-1. Currently Australia is No.1 in ODIs and Team India is No.2. Whichever team win this ODI series, will go into the World Cup with lot of confidence behind them.

Sachin Tendulkar: Curriculum Vitae

OBJECTIVE [i]

To seek career challenges keeping in view my past achievements and future goals. And to set new industry benchmarks in everything I endeavour.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 International Cricketer: Indian National Cricket Team [1989 onwards]

 First Class Cricketer: Mumbai, West Zone, Yorkshire [1988 onwards]

 Junior Cricketer: Shardashram School, Bombay U-15, West Zone U-15 [1985-1988].

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

 Indian Cricket Team: 1996-1997; 1999-2000.

 Others: Mumbai, West Zone, Mumbai Indians, etc. [Various Times]

KEY OPERATIONS & MISSIONS UNDERTAKEN

1. 664* — Enough said. [Mumbai, 1988]

2. 114* — Rescue mission against Spiteful Yellow Men on Green Earth. [Perth, 1991]

3. 523 runs — Mission My World Cup. [India, 1996]

4. 155* — Operation Deflate Warne [Chennai, 1998]

5. 143 & 134 — Operation Desert Storm [Sharjah, 1998]

6. 136 — Rescue Mission against the Vile Green Warriors on Dusty Earth [Chennai, 1999]

7. 98 — Operation Tame Vile Green Warriors [Centurion, 2003]

8. 672 runs — Mission My World Cup II. [South Africa, 2003]

9. 241* and 60* — Mission Avoid Cover Drive [Sydney, 2004]

10. 117* and 93 — Operation Slay Goliath [Sydney & Brisbane, 2008]

11. 103* — Mission Heal Mumbai [Chennai, 2008]

12. 200* — Mt 200 [Gwalior 2010]

OTHER MAJOR INITIATIVES

1. 122 — Mission Hold The Empire [Edgbaston, 1996]

2. 126 — Operation Protect Final Frontier [Chennai, 2001]

3. 117 — Operation Kings of Queens Park [Port of Spain, 2002]

4. 193 — Mission Conquer Leeds [Leeds, 2002]

5. 194* — Mission Sultan of Multan [Multan, 2004]

6. 111* — Half-centurion in Centurion [Centurion, 2010]

CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE

1. 119* — Operation Bat Till Bedtime [Manchester, 1990]

2. 82 — Mission Find New Opener [Christchurch, 1993]

3. 1-0-3-0 — Operation Hold South Africa [Kolkata, 1993]

4. 169 — Operation Counterattack [Cape Town, 1996]

5. 140* — Operation This Is For You, Father [Bristol, 1999]

6. 175 — Mission Save Series [Hyderabad, 2009]

7. 146 — Mission Series Win [Capetown, 2011]

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Hundreds on Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.

2. India‟s youngest Test and ODI cricketer at age 16 years, 207 days.

3. Most runs in Tests and ODIs (14,513 and 17,598).

4. Most hundreds in Tests and ODIs (50 and 46).

5. Most ODI appearances (442)

6. Most Tests appearances (175).

7. 20 hundreds against Australia, the best team of my era.

8. 1894 runs and 9 hundreds in ODIs in 1998, a record.

9. 7 Test hundreds and 1543 Test runs in 2010, an Indian record.

10. 1796 runs in five World Cups.

11. Only cricketer with the 150 wickets and 15,000 runs „double‟ in ODIs.

12. First cricketer to score 40 and 50 Test hundreds.

13. First cricketer to score 20, 30 and 40 ODI hundreds.

OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS

I have interests in the food and beverages industry. I partly own two restaurants in Mumbai:

 Tendulkar‟s (Colaba, 2002).

 Sachin‟s (Mulund, 2004).

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

 PhD in Cricket.

 Secondary School, Shardashram Vidhya Mandir, Mumbai.

PATENTS

I‟ve mastered nearly every cricket stroke in the book, but have a special reputation for these.

1. The Thunderous Bowler-Decapitating Straight Drive

2. Back-foot Punch Through Cover

3. Acute Paddle Sweep

4. Slog Sweep Against Turning Leg-Break

5. Effortless Wristy Flick Through Square Leg

6. Point-Killing Square Cut

PASSIONS

Cars & Racing: I love fast driving. I also own a Ferrari 360 Modena.

Food: I am a foodie with a fondness for seafood.

Music: I enjoy collecting music. Some of my favourites are Kishore Kumar, Mark Knopfler, MLTR.

AWARDS

1. Arjuna Award [1994]

2. Wisden Cricketer of the Year: [1997]

3. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna [1997-98]

4. Padma Shri [1999]

5. Player of the Tournament, World Cup [2003]

6. ICC Gary Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of The Year [2010]

7. ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007, 2008

8. ICC World Test XI: 2009, 2010

9. Rajiv Gandhi Award for Sports [2005]

10. Padma Vibhushan [2008]

11. Man of Match Awards: 74

 ODIs: 61 times

 Tests: 14 times

12. Man of the Series Awards: 19

a. ODIs: 15

b. Tests: 5

MAJOR CITATIONS

1. “AB, this little prick will make more runs than you.” — Merv Hughes to Allan Border. [1991]

2. “This kid bats just like I did.” — Donald Bradman, World Greatest Batsman. Ever. [1998]

3. “I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He is the best batsman I‟ve ever bowled to.” — Shane Warne, World‟s Greatest Leg Spinner. [1998]

4. “Shit, I‟m sick of this *$#%!” — Michael Kasprowicz, Australia‟s Fast Bowler. [1998]

5. “He will end up with 50 tons in each form of the game.” — Wasim Akram, World‟s Greatest Left-arm Pacer. [2002]

6. “Jaanta hai tooney kiska catch chhoda hai?” — Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq. [2003]

7. “All we need is 11 Sachins.” — Paul Strang, Zimbabwe Leg Spinner. [1996]

8. “Cricket is our religion, Sachin is our god.” — [Repeated ad nauseum by millions of fans].

9. “Nothing bad can happen to us if we‟re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.” — Hashim Amla, South Africa Batsman. [2004]

10. “The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter. As Matthew Parris wondered of Barack Obama in these pages recently, is he human?” — Michael Atherton, Former England Captain. [2008]

11. “I have seen God; he bats at No. 4 for India.” — Matthew Hayden, Australia Opener. [2008]

12. “There will never be another Sachin.” — Muttiah Muralitharan, World‟s Most Successful Bowler. [2009]

13. “If I‟ve to bowl to Sachin, I‟ll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.” Dennis Lille, Cricket‟s McEnroe & Fast Bowling Legend. [Undated]

14. “Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara.” — Glenn McGrath, Australia‟s Most Successful Pace Bowler. [Undated]

15. “Sachin is a genius. I‟m a mere mortal.” — Brian Lara, Tendulkar‟s Greatest Frenemy. [Undated]

16. “I haven‟t seen Bradman playing, but I have seen Sachin. To me, he himself is a milestone, and the best cricketer in the world.” — Sourav Ganguly, India‟s most successful captain

17. “Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well.” — Sambit Bal, Editor, Cricinfo

MAJOR BIOGRAPHIES

1. Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman [by Gulu Ezekiel]

2. The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar [by Gulu Ezekiel]

3. Sachin Tendulkar — A Definitive Biography [by Vaibhav Purandare]

4. Sachin Tendulkar — Masterful [by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla]

5. Tendulkar Opus [by Opus Media Group]

MEDIA COVERAGE

Are you kidding me?

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Fluent in English, Hindi and Marathi.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Date of birth: April 24, 1973

Hometown: Mumbai

Family: Wife Anjali, daughter Sara, son Arjun.

EARNINGS

Approximately Rs 60 crore annually (That‟s Rs 600,000,000 or USD 13 million or GBP 7.8 million or Euro 8.7 million).

Sachin Tendulkar

Mumbai, December 21, 2010

Note: This CV hasn’t been authorised by Sachin Tendulkar or his representatives. It was compiled with help from various cricket news sources by AR Hemant, a journalist with Yahoo! Cricket. [Last updated: 

December 21, 2010].

Sachin Tendulkar, Bandra, Mumbai, India. On Twitter: @sachin_rt

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly-Real DADA and priceless hero of Indian Cricket

It is an old saying "When going gets tough, tough gets going" and it fits perfectly to the 'Bengal Tiger' Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. Whenever people considered him down and out , he rose from the ashes and conquered the world. This is the magic of our very own beloved DADA. 

Dada made his debut in the year 1992 and then dropped after playing one series on account of poor performance in Australia where he got the limited opportunity to showcase his talent but at that time nobody was knowing that Sourav Chandidas Ganguly will make grand re-entry in the International Cricket after 4 years and becomes the 'Maharaj' of Indian Cricket for next decade and half. He re-entered International Cricket in 1996 and made his test debut in England with scoring brilliant century on debut in 'Mecca of Cricket' Lords, a rare feat and dream achievement for any cricketer and followed it with another century in next test match on that tour.

He played for Team India as a player till 1999 after his re-entry in 1996 and played under the captaincy of Mohd. Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar. While Mohd. Azharuddin caught on the wrong side of match-fixing saga and Sachin Tendulkar refused the captaincy of  the team in trouble times of Indian Cricket. In that turbulent times, Team India was in all kind of mess and there was no ray of hope in sight for this Indian team. In that trouble time Sourav Ganguly aka DADA accepted the captaincy of the team and helped the Indian Cricket in a big way to come out of that crisis and made Indian Cricket most sought after property in World Cricket. 

He kept his team and country above himself and I must say he is the first captain in the history of Indian Cricket who promoted and backed talented players rather than going for players from his state or zone.Hardly any cricketer from his state or zone played in his captaincy. He always believed in talent and always had the neck of picking up and backing up talented players. Whoever players he picked and backed are still playing in Team India and performing very well for the country. Even MS Dhoni made his debut under his captaincy and he gave him chance against Pakistan to showcase his batting skills after Dhoni's poor debut in Bangladesh tour and rest is history. Today we are talking about India's No.1 status or ranking in World Cricket but it was  Sourav Ganguly who laid the foundation of this great achievement. Today if MS Dhoni is successful captain then  credit goes to Sourav Ganguly because he build this team. He was the one, who taught us to win outside sub-continent and how take on the world. If Indian Cricket is rated highly today, it is all because of Sourav Ganguly's vision and hard-work. He is still the most successful captain in Indian Cricket.

Ganguly always lead from the front and always stood by his peers during their trouble times. Who can forget his century in GABBA Brisbane in 1992 when he scored century in the first test match of the series against Australia and set the tone for the series. It was first time when Team India drew the series in Australia in 20 years. He also lead the team to the finals of Cricket World-Cup and became second captain in the history of Indian Cricket to do so after Kapil Dev and that too in South Africa which is known for its fast and bouncy pitches.You can understand his greatness as a leader from the fact that Harbhajan Singh still says that 'eveything he has achieved  today in International Cricket is because of the Sourav Ganguly and he owes a lot to him'. 

Yuvraj Singh was dropped by the selectors but it was Ganguly who backed him and brought him in the team against the wishes of the selectors. At that time Yuvraj Singh said 'I can die for this captain'. How can we forget the situation of VVS Laxman who was always in and out of the team till 2000, it was Ganguly who backed him in a big way and given him confidence by making him permanent member of this team. It was Sourav Ganguly who backed Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra in their trouble times and stood with them firmly. DADA in-fact vacated the opening slot for Virender Sehwag selflessly in benefit of the team and batted on No.3 position in later half of his career. Tell me which Indian player or captain let go his successful batting slot for his peer or team-mate? I believe nobody can do that except DADA and thats why he is great because he always thought about the team and not about himself. Had he thought about himself then his personal batting record would have become more strong but he always played for the team and not for himself.

There was lot of questions raised on his batting ability as well. He was considered vulnerable against short-pitched bowling but he never thought so and his records speaks itself in his favour. He was the first overseas player who hit back-to-back hundreds in VB series in Australia. He scored runs in all the countries. I feel as a batsmen he would have definitely crossed 10000 run mark in test cricket if he had not captained the Indian side but still his test record is brilliant from any standards. His ODI record is second best to the Sachin Tendulkar and he stands second to the Sachin Tendulkar in terms of ODI centuries. His pairing of opening the batting with Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs is considered as most successful pairing in International Cricket so far.Rahul Dravid once quoted him as 'God of Off-side' in respect to his elegant stroke-making capabilities on the off-side which sums up his batting talent.

Even today most of the Indian players who are playing in the team worships Sourav Ganguly because of the way Ganguly backed them in their trouble times and helped them to build their careers.He has achieved so much in his career that he has become priceless hero of Indian cricket in terms of his services to the Indian Cricket. Today if KKR has dumped him then it is not DADA's loss. I feel KKR lost one of the best brains of Indian Cricket. It is a big loss to KKR because he was highest run-getter for them in last year's IPL. When talking about his pricing and bidding in auction, I feel nobody can ever assess the value of this great servant and legend of Indian Cricket and its good that franchisees did not bid for him because this man is priceless and will remain in our hearts as a great legend and true fighter and a person who taught us how to turn torrid times in good times. 

Lastly, he retired from International Cricket in 2008 but till today Indian Cricket and Indian Test Team failed to find his replacement who can fill his boot. Indian Team tried Raina, Pujara, Yuvraj Singh,etc.in this period but none of them filled the boots of Sourav Ganguly and that one batting slot in Indian Team is still vacant. So I feel it is very difficult to replace Sourav Ganguly. He is still much better player then some of the youngsters playing for the country. I am great fan of this man simply because of his fighting capabilities and tough mindset. He is still DADA of Indian cricket and will remain forever. He is immortal legend of Indian Cricket.

Moments of India V/S South Africa Test Series 2011

Test series between India and South Africa ended in tame draw and nothing dramatic happened on the last day of the final test match at Newlands, Capetown. I feel India missed big opportunity of winning the series for the first time in South Africa when they reduced hosts for 98 for 5 but failed to put that final effort and eventually South Africa succeeded in saving the test match with the help of Jacques Kallis and tailenders. But  I must mention that, South African captain Smith also missed the opportunity of winning the test match by not declaring on 4th day evening. Had he declared on 4th day evening and put India into bat  for atleast 10 overs then I feel India would have been struggled to save this match. Anyways both the team missed the opportunity of winning and I must say it was the big opportunity loss for India rather than South Africa.

 Highlights of the test series.

Indian Highlights:

1.    India lost badly at Centurion and once again started the series on losing note.

2.    India won the test match in Durban which is considered to a one of the fastest pitch of the world.

3.    Dhoni's mis-fortune with the toss continues in this series as well, as he lost the toss in Centurion and 

       Durban. Dhoni also missed the opportunity of winning the series because of wrong tactics.

4.    Sehwag struggled badly on this tour as Proteas kept him quite by turning his strength into weakness.

5.    Tendulkar completed his 50th test century during the series and go on to score 51st ton as well and

       ended with highest runs under his kitty from the Indian side.

6.    Zhaeer Khan provided teeth to the luck-lustre Indian bowling with his return in Durban Test.

7.    VVS Laxman as usual played crucial role for Team India in Durban Test and played critical innings and 

       helped India to win test match.

8.    Harbhajan Singh is the surprise of the series as he ended with highest wickets tally from Indian side with

       15 wickets.

9.    Raina continued his poor form in this series as well and have to work hard on his technique. 

10. Impressed with Chetheswar Pujara as he showed great technique although he didn't score  too many 

      runs but I feel he have it in him to play at International level.

11. First time Team India drew the series in South Africa.

12. First time Team India won in Durban but failed to break jinx of winning the series in South Africa.

13. Ishant Sharma is the big disappointment of the series as he was expected to do well on fast and bouncy

      pitches of South Africa.

14. To me Rahul Dravid is not a failure in this series because he played crucial innings in second and third 

      match and got out on best of the deliveries of the series.

15. Its a great achievement for the team to retain their No.1 ranking and first time not losing the series in 

     South Africa.

16. Gautam Gambhir played crucial role in this series by scoring  3 half-centuries on crucial times.

South African Highlights:

1.  Jacques Kallis score three hundreds in the series and become first South African player to score centuries 

     in both innings of test match on home soil. 

2. Jacques Kallis also named Man of the Match and Man of the Series for being highest scorer among all the     

    players from both sides.

3. South Africa first time failed to win the series on home soil against India.

4. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were proved  most lethal  bowlers of the series in terms of pace and 

    pace and wickets.

5. Dale Steyn is the highest wicket-taker of this series with 21 wickets under his kitty.

6. Hashim Amla and AB DeVilliers played crucial role in Proteas victory at Centurion. AB Delvilliers also 

    scored fastest century of the series and fastest by any South African player.

7. Greame Smith once again became Zaheer's bunny as Zaheer dismissed him twice in the series.

8. From South African side Paul Harris emerged as big disappoinment as he failed to create any pressure 

    on Team India.

9. Tsotsobe backed his two premier bowlers nicely in last tow test matches after failing to make any impact

    in first test match at Centurion.

10. Greame Smith was quite lucky with the toss as he won toss in two test matches out of three.

Overall very good series and this series has proved that Team India can play well on bouncy and seaming wickets and win the match as well. Now focus will be on lone T20 and One-Day Series. Will India continue their good performance?

   

Poor captaincy by Dhoni and great batting from Kallis resulted into India's loss

I must admit here that captaincy of MS Dhoni  was very poor in terms of field placings and applying pressure on Proteas.  When you get 5 wickets of the team for less than hundred then as a captain you are expected to attack the opposition batsmen but to everybody's surprise MS Dhoni set the defensive field and allowed Proteas  to take advantage and pile up big runs and throw India out of the contest. Kallis started brilliantly with his strategy as he played reverse sweep to the great effect against Harbhajan Singh at the start of his innings and unsettled the spinner but I must say had Dhoni put Silly Mid-off, Short Gully, Leg Slip and Forward Short-leg together and persisted with that field then I feel Proteas would have been bowled out cheaply  but Dhoni operated with only Forward Short-leg and lone slip and paid the penalty of losing the match.

I feel result of this match is already out yesterday itself and it has gone  in the favour of Proteas. I am not criticising Dhoni today but I am regularly criticise him on his defensive tactics. Although he has not lost any test series till now but that don't hide his deficiency as captain because he failed to keep the pressure on opposition team even when opposition team is down and out and this allows opposition to come-back in the match and make it difficult for India to win the match. Match is over in Newlands and winner is South Africa. Hats-off to that man great Kallis who stood firmly on the crease and given gift of victory with little help from Boucher and tailenders. 

I feel Dhoni also failed in motivating Sreesanth who was the start performer of the first innings. Dhoni's body language is also very defensive all the time and he try to show the world that he is gentlemen but this is International Cricket and you have show aggression and sieze the initiative. I feel Ganguly was far better captain then Dhoni in terms of motivating his players and getting best out of them. Remember, Harbhajan was having same attitude problem as Sreesanth is having at the start of his career but Ganguly managed Harbhajan properly by backing him and turned him into world-class spinner. I think Dhoni have to meet Ganguly and learn how to keep body language aggressive when you are playing for your country,. It is tough International Cricket.

Climax will going to be a thriller at Newlands

Well, What a game of cricket on display at Newlands Capetown. High quality cricket witnessed in last 3 days at Newlands and it is heading towards cracker of the climax. Indeed a great joy for cricket lovers and great advertisement for test cricket. After watching this test match I feel nobody will say test match is boring or useless. I believe we have to congratulate the curator of the Newlands who prepared such fantastic pitch which had everything in it for everybody. It supported fast bowlers on frist 3 days. It had something in it for batsmen also who were ready to grind themselves and wanted to stay on wicket. Next two  days this ground will witness high quality drama where fortunes keep continuing to float and we will see more high quality cricket. This match is  proving to be great tussle between two great cricketing nations.

Both Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar showed that why they are far superior then other batsmen in world cricket as both displayed their batting skills to the fullest on this pitch and scored brilliant hundreds. Both were, dropped, beaten, struggled but both accomplished their job. Sachin Tendulkar scored his 51st century and now 3 away from hundred international centuries. Kallis equalled the Ponting's record and now on second spot with 39 centuries. I feel the way these two legends are batting at the moment, I am quite confident that both will hold most of the records of cricket at the end of their respective careers and those records will be far away from any other cricketer.

Now talking about bowling, I think Steyn and Sreesanth were outstanding and virtually unplayable on some occasions. Both Steyn and Sreesanth bowled with aggression and fire with superb control on line and length. The ball which removed the off-stump of Prince was  outstanding ball from Sreesanth and the Steyn bowled unplayable delivery to Pujara which caught Pujara plumb in front of wicket. Steyn is really a threat to the batsmen in world cricket and his ability to swing the ball is incredible. I feel he is having great wrist and hand position  which helps him in putting the bowl on exact place where he visualise to bowl. 

Indeed this test match is turning out to be a fantastic test match and I feel at this stage it is in favour of South Africa more than India simply because Proteas have far more potent bowling attack and they will put good score on the board today. Pitch will going to deteriorate further and it will be difficult to bat on Day-5 pitch and India will bat on Day-5 pitch. So whatever score Proteas put on board will become impossible to chase for Team India  and I feel that crucial partnership of last 3 wickets between tailenders and Kallis in first innings, where they added more than 90 runs will play crucial  in result of this match.

As far as I am concerned match is over for India and they will end on losing side in this test match after fighting for first 3 days.

Proteas in commanding position at Newlands as India struggled to score runs

At the end of Day-2 of Newlands test match, I feel Proteas have upper hand as they are still 220 runs ahead and the way they are bowling they will get India out way before their score. Bowling is tight and runs are not coming easily and pitch is also every now and then creating problems and with India 2 down for 142, I feel India in trouble as both the batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir got beaten and dropped many times and never looked comfortable against hostile bowling of Proteas.

At the start of Day-2 Sreesanth kept the hopes alive for Team India with his superb bowling but Kallis and tailenders in Morkel, Harris and Tsotsobe frustrated Team India for last few wickets and scored extra 90 runs and that extra 90 runs are crucial in this game. As I mentioned in yesterday's post that Kallis will get hundred that actually happened and Kallis scored big and brilliant 39th hundred of his career and pour the water on the hopes of Team India of bundling out proteas for small total. Kallis played great innings and  this innings of his gave the edge to Proteas. Kallis also equalled the record of 39 centuries of Ponting and now sharing the No.2 position with Ponting in terms of centuries. Kallis is really a great all-rounder. It is unforutnate that he picked up injury during the innings and now can't bowl or field anymore but he did his job for his team and given them position of winning.

Team India started poorly in response to Proteas mammoth score. Sehwag and Dravid got out before 29 runs on the board and it looked like yet another batting collapse on cards but somehow Gambhir and Tendulkar stabilized the Indian innings but both were never looked comfortable against hostile bowling of Steyn , Morkel and Tsotsobe. Rahul Dravid was unlucky to get run-out but his dismissal really a fantastic display of athleticism from DeVilliers. Proteas controlled the run flow and kept the Gambhir and Tendulkar under-pressure. Gambhir's innings was really very scratchy and he is lucky enough to survive the day. I feel, the way Proteas bowled yesterday, if they continue in same way then I feel they will be on top at the end of Day-3 and I believe they are looking good to win this test-match. Its advantage Proteas. I am sure, on Day-3 Team India will lose two-three wickets upfront in first session itself and will be bundled out cheaply.

The approach of Team India in this innings suggests that they are playing for survival because they never tried to dominate the bowling even after doing century partnership for 4th wicket. They also allowed Harris to bowl tightly and didn't show any intent of scoring runs atleast on the bowling of Paul Harris. This clearly suggests the mindset of Team India and I feel approach is not good. They are allowing Proteas to dominate the proceedings and increase pressure which will result into loss of wickets.

Preview: 3rd and Final India V/s South Africa Test Match, Newlands(Capetown)

Team India, fresh from the victory of Kingmead(Durban) will take on wounded Proteas in 3rd and final series decider test match at Newlands(Capetown) from tomorrow. This test match will definitely have a great climax in making considering the performances of both teams in last two test matches of the series. A mouth-watering contest in offer for cricket lovers if weather will not interrupt. Proteas are desperate to take on Team India after humiliating defeat at Durban.

If the words of Newlands curator  is to be believed then pitch will going to favour batsmen means it will turn out to be a high-scoring game and batsmen will make merry on this ground for next five days and bowlers will suffer badly after dominating partially first test match full second test match. 

TEAM INDIA

• ADVANTAGES

1. Return of Gautam Gambhir to the team will boost the chances of good start up-front.

2. Bowlers especially, Zaheer,  Harbhajan, and Sreesanth looks confident after their good performances in Durban. 

3. Batsmen will relishto play on this pitch which is similar to sub-continent pitches which will not  have lateral movement and will  assist spinners as well.

4. Laxman and Dhoni are in good form with bat.

5. Catching was impressive in Durban and expected to be the same at Capetown.

6. Confidence of last match victory. 

• DISADVANTAGES

1. Poor batting form of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

2. Poor bowling form of Ishant Sharma

3. Poor ground fielding.

4. Failure of Sachin Tendulkar in Durban.

5. Batting friendly pitch will not suit Indian bowlers.

6. Poor record from previous outings at Newlands. Its 2-0 in favour of Proteas.

7. Consistent poor luck of Dhoni with the toss.

SOUTH AFRICA

• ADVANTAGES

1. Known home-conditions.

2. Batting friendly pitch.

3. Superb form of pace bowlers Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe. Morkel and Steyn have more  pace than Indian bowlers which will help them to extract more from the batting friendly pitch.

4. Good batting form of all the batsmen.

5. Superb ground fielding and catching.

6. Support of home crowd.

7. Good winning record at Newlands. 

• DISADVANTAGES

1. Paul Harris: Average spin bowler, a big weakness of African armoury.
2. Failure of Kallis in Durban.
3. Smith's vulnerabilty against Zaheer Khan.
4. Pressure of defeat in Durban.

I feel Proteas must drop Paul Harris and include Wayne Parnell in their line-up and go with all pace attack. Parnell is also handy batsmen down the order. On the other hand i feel must drop Ishant Sharma looking at his poor performance in first two test  matches and include Umesh Yadav who is  very quick  and sharp compared to other Indian bowlers. Series is at stake for India and it is golden chance for India to win its first ever test series in South Africa.

So looking at over all advantages and dis-advantages of both the teams it looks like Proteas are better contenders to win the final test match and will win test series 2-1 as per my assessment.