Indians unable to revive Ponting’s ODI career

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ricky Ponting, whose Test career was given a new lease of life by the Indians earlier this season, couldn’t find as much luck in the ongoing tri-nation ODI series, and he has been dropped for the remainder of the matches.

The Australian right-hander, famous for taking the attack to the opposition for so many years, appeared to have lost his magical touch and found it difficult to sustain the kind of consistency that made him one of the leading batsmen of the world.

His ouster had seemed a matter of time but he somehow discovered a way to score heavily against India at times when he couldn’t even dominate the minnows. It’s quite extraordinary, yet not surprising, that he got runs against India.

It had happened during the 2011 World Cup when he scored a century against India in the quarter-finals without ever looking on top of the bowling. He lost the captaincy but retained a place in the side for the post World Cup era.

He was not in the best of form either in the recent Test series against the same opponents but somehow he got far too many runs than anticipated. Probably he would not have got away with so many close shaves and still be there as he finds more often than not while playing against India.

There were indications that he might do it again because the tri-series also featured India. He was surely at sea and he needed far too many chances than he actually got during his brief knocks.

After being dismissed five times in a row in single digits he has finally been dropped which does serve as an indication that the days of the former Australian batsman in international cricket are limited and his retirement is just round the corner. The scores of 2, 1, 6, 2 and 7 didn’t help his cause although he served as stand-in captain for the injured Michael Clarke in the last two of those matches.

John Inverarity and his fellow selectors, including skipper Clarke, are adamant that Ponting should go on as a Test batsman.

"He made a double-century in his last Test match and we are hoping he remains available for Test cricket, but there can be no guarantees. Ricky is going to consider his future over the next couple of days and talk it over with his family and with his manager. He's wondering whether he retires completely from ODI cricket and then of course there are the implications for Test cricket.” Inverarity was quoted as saying.

"For a man who plays cricket like Ricky has over the last 15 or more years, he has been an integral part of the team in ODIs and Test matches. If he drops out of the ODIs then there is a possible lack of momentum there. There are three Tests in the West Indies, then as I understand it no more Test matches until October-November," he added.

"I spoke with Ricky this morning, I think how he took the news is a measure of the man. He was disappointed and understandably so, but he took it on the chin. He is a gem of a human being, a wonderful bloke, and he takes everything in his stride. He was under enormous pressure two or three months ago, and he never wavered from his dedication. He's a very resilient and wonderful human being,” Inverarity disclosed.

India fail to overcome traditional weaknesses to lose yet another Boxing Day Test

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

India succeeded in fielding their full strength playing eleven in the first Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but could not overcome the traditional weaknesses to lose yet another Boxing Day Test.

With the pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav firing on all cylinders and all their world-class batsmen very much there, India had the best chance to topple the Aussies in their own den. Despite having the game in control for the better part of four days, India lost it by 122 runs.

This was a rare occasion when India didn’t have a pedestrian seam bowler to support the new-ball operators. In fact it was after very long time when they were in possession of a potent pace attack that possessed the capacity to rattle the opponents.

Zaheer, Sharma and Yadav bowled their heart out on the responsive track and they had the Australian batsmen guessing and fending. It was an unusual sight watching the Indian speedsters clocking 150 kilometers per hour consistently.

The Australian batsmen were themselves short of confidence and they were tested by the cracking deliveries that were being hurled at them. The Indian fast bowlers broke the back of Australian batting in both innings. But as we have seen more often than not, the tail-enders spoiled their party.

Starting from the first-ever Test that Indian had played at Lord’s in 1932 they have had a history of letting the opposition off the hook after holding them hostage for a while. The history now repeated itself at Melbourne in 2011.

In both the innings the Australian tail-enders put together crucial runs that proved decisive in the low-scoring game.

India also have had the habit of collapsing against the run of play. They were in complete command of the situation on the second evening when Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar had brought up 200 of the innings for the loss of only two wickets. Who would have believed them getting bowled out for well below 300 from such strong position and confronting inexperienced bowlers.

It was yet another Test match which India dominated but failed to win it. They had themselves to blame for not having exercised total control when they were in a position to do so.

"We thought with a 230-odd runs lead, if we could get them for 240 or 250, that's a very gettable score. But I felt 290-odd was also a score we should have achieved. The wicket was good. It was not like there was too much wear and tear on the wicket. I think the batting line-up flopped in both the innings,” skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni reckoned.

"First innings, we got off to a decent start. We had a kind of a partnership going, after that we needed to capitalize on it. We were not really able to do that, because of which we were close to 50 runs short. In the second innings, wickets kept falling at regular intervals, which meant getting close to 300-odd runs was more and more difficult. Just that we need to get consistent with our batting,” he believed.

Will India thunder Down Under to rewrite history?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

As expected there’s great buzz and excitement on the eve of another Australia-India series. The battle is set to resume with the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne which will be followed by three more Tests before the series of One-day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.

The majority of the contests between the two sides, particularly Test matches, have been fiercely fought ever since India turned it around in Kolkata in 2001. They have been engaged in the most awesome of duels during the last 10 years or so.

What’s in the store for the enthusiasts in both the countries and rest of the cricket fraternity during the next few months? Will we watch another classic series with packed houses in Australia and glued television audience in India?

Will the embattled Aussies, having far too many chinks in their armour, survive the rejuvenated Indians, who have redeemed themselves with consistent performance in their own backyard after having suffered a whitewash in England earlier in the year?

Will India register their first-ever Test series win on the Australian soil? Will the energetic Indian speedsters, possessing venom and accuracy but lacking in experience, bend their backs to make life miserable for the home batsmen? Will the potent but inexperienced spinners come good on their maiden overseas assignment?

These are some of the questions that must be baffling the cricket buffs. On paper the Indians have a formidable batting line-up which has skills, temperament, expertise and most importantly the hunger to pile on the runs. With established batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Gautum Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in their ranks India should not be short of runs during the Test series.

All of them are class acts with proven record in every corner of the world. I don’t think anybody will doubt their capability to get heaps of runs. Even on the Australian tracks where the ball will bounce much more than it does in India, they are expected to be scoring freely. All of them, including Dravid of late, believe in taking the attack to the opposition.

The new crop of Australian fast bowlers looks as sharp and as dangerous to what one is used to watching there but they might be taught a few lessons by the accomplished Indian batsmen, who do have the rare ability to graft. With no Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne to face the Indian batter should be fancying their chances of posting big scores without much hassle.

India would be banking on their batsmen to put them in positions of strength. Their bowlers will obviously stand a greater chance of picking up wickets if they operate with attacking fields rather than been assigned the task of just choking up the runs.

The Australian batting has looked fragile during the ongoing season and they could be put to severe examination by the Indian bowlers on the lively pitches which produce results more often than not. The hosts may still be in trouble if the surfaces assist the spinners. Well India do have probably the best chance ever to rewrite history.

Ponting deriving inspiration from Dravid

By Syed Khalid Mahmood



Ricky Ponting, one of the most prolific run-getters in the game and a former Australian captain, has a reason to derive inspiration from Rahul Dravid, the champion Indian batsman who has overcome a lean patch in most spectacular fashion.



Obviously when you have a long career there are bound to be ups and downs. It’s next to impossible to be consistent all along for 15 years when playing 100 or 150 Test matches. It has become a tougher challenge of late because of the increase in the frequency of match and the excessive workload nearly everyone is subjected to.



The 38-year-old Dravid is a bit lucky in this context because, unlike the 36-year-old Ponting, he has not been a regular member of India’s limited-overs outfits for the past few years. Other than that both these great batsmen have quite a few things in common. Ponting has had to take care of Australian batting in One-day Internationals as well as Twenty20 Internationals.



Both of them have had the knack of fighting it out until the very well. They have set examples for others to follow with batting of the highest class in the toughest of conditions. They have been class act for a very long time, having endured different phases in their illustrious career.



Ponting once was the aggressor when he had the likes of Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh to hang around and take care of occupation of crease. After their retirement with those of Mathew Hayden, Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist, he took the responsibility of spending more time at the wicket.



Ponting, himself a fighter to the core, has revealed having encouraged Dravid to fight through his struggles and continue playing when their sides met in the two-Test series in India last October.



"I remember after our last series in India there was a lot of talk and speculation about Dravid being finished. I actually went and found him at the end of the series and said 'don't you even think about retiring' because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very, very good player. I just said 'don't let them wear you down, don't let them get you down'. I received a similar text message before and after the Ashes from him as well," the former Australian skipper disclosed.



"There are a few who provide an inspiration for batsmen of advancing years. Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis both had a great last year; Dravid is doing well now. It's not only good for guys of my age to see guys doing that, it's good for the younger blokes to see it as well; to know that if you keep doing the right things and working hard, and if you've got talent, then age is not a barrier in our game," Ponting added.



Dravid’s success in 2011 should inspire Ponting, who has been short of runs in Test matches in particular. Both these batting greats have lost none of their passion and retirement doesn’t seem in their plan at the moment. Cricket certainly needs characters like them.