IPL 6 - India XI

The IPL season is now over and amongst all the murk, the Chennai Super Kings have faltered at the final hurdle. Sachin Tendulkar does the wise thing and retires from T20 cricket, being carried off by his jubilant Mumbai mates at the Eden Gardens. I'd posted a handpicked all-star XI a few days back. The team generated fair amount of enthusiasm and there were calls that I also make an all Indian XI for the IPL 6 season. There is no guessing how hard this one was. With all the stars going around, hogging the limelight, Indians are left with little time in the spotlight. However, there were one or two names that broke barriers and raised eyebrows. So on popular demand, here's my India XI:

1. Shikhar Dhawan:

(Mat: 10, Runs: 311, HS: 73*, SR: 122.92, 50s: 3)

Few Indian openers at the IPL 6 flourished consistently enough to make an impact. It was all about the Gayles and the Husseys and to a certain extent, Dwayne Smith as well. The big Indian guns Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were miserable failures, although Sehwag did make a cameo 95* the moment Sir Viv Richards arrived at the Delhi dugout. But Shikhar Dhawan was by far the most successful India opener, pipping his Sunrisers partner Parthiv Patel to make my India XI.

2. Rahul Dravid (c)

Shooting at the Wall: Rahul Dravid at a presser

(Mat: 18, Runs: 471, HS: 65, SR: 110.82, 50s: 4)

A disputable decision to have Rahul open the batting alongside Shikhar Dhawan but his captaincy over the season has proven to be too valuable for the Rajasthan Royals to ignore. Going at a decent strike rate and standing solid as a rock (as always) Dravid bags the captaincy tag here, as he did in the all-star XI and is a worthy candidate to play the sheet anchor's role while the others go crazy around him. His calming influence in the top order will be more than handy.

3. Virat Kohli

(Mat: 16, Runs: 634, HS: 99, SR: 138.73, 50s: 6)

Kohli was made 12th man in the all-star XI, missing out to the magic hitting of David Miller, but there was no doubt in my mind that he'd be at No. 3 in the India XI. Kohli is a useful asset in any side in world cricket and his steady batting alongside the storm that was Chris Gayle and the genius that was AB de Villiers carried the Royal Challengers through the tournament.

4. Suresh Raina

(Mat: 18, Runs: 548, HS: 100*, SR: 150.13, 100s: 1, 50s: 4)

Arguably the best Indian T20 batsman, Raina's fireworks combined with Mike Hussey's class took CSK all the way to their fifth finals. With Raina and Hussey falling cheaply in the finals, CSK found themselves in a real hole. Testimony to the importance of Suresh Raina in the Chennai setup.

5. Rohit Sharma

(Mat: 19, Runs: 538, HS: 79*, SR: 131.54, 50s: 4)

The IPL-winning captain finds a place at No. 5. For many years now, Rohit Sharma has earned himself the reputation of being the Golden Boy who never discovered himself. In a competitive playfield, Rohit Sharma has lost out to many lesser talented batsmen in Team India. But along with Dinesh Karthik, the captain lent stability to the Mumbai Indians' middle order, allowing Kieron Pollard to burst out at the other end.

6. MS Dhoni (wk)

Helicopter: MS Dhoni taking flight

(Mat: 18, Runs: 461, HS: 67*, SR: 162.89, 50s: 4, Ct: 15, St: 2)

No doubts on this one. Best wicketkeeper in the world, best limited overs batsman, coolest customer in world cricket. MS Dhoni decides when a match should end and how. Unfortunately, he dropped himself far too low down the order in the finals (a decision he has made on too many occasions now) and found himself having only Ravi Ashwin for company. He's the finisher of this India XI. Hopefully, Rahul Dravid will send him in earlier in crunch situations!

7. Ravindra Jadeja

(Mat: 18, Runs: 201, HS: 38*, SR: 148.88, Wkts: 13, BB: 3/20, Ave: 24.84, Econ: 7.48)

This was a decision between Jadeja's bowling magic versus Stuart Binny's hitting prowess, but Sir Jadeja's golden arm helps him take the all-rounder's position. Jadeja's batting hasn't quite fired in the recent past. However, considering his exploits with the ball and the strength of the batting order here, Sir pips Stuart Binny to take the No. 7 spot.

8. Vinay Kumar

(Mat: 16, Wkts: 23, BB: 3/18, Ave: 21.43, Econ: 8.19)

VK did a grand job for the RCB, bowling his heart out each time he got the ball from Virat Kohli. In a side that was otherwise far too dependent on the batting, Vinay Kumar provided some moments of magic with Ravi Rampaul, saving matches, taking wickets and prolonging games into the super over. He also had the purple cap on his head for a little while.

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

(Mat: 16, Wkts: 13, BB: 3/18, Ave: 28.53, Econ: 6.50)

Like I'd mentioned in my all-star XI, when Chris Gayle went bonkers at the Chinnaswamy during his 175*, Bhuvi walked off the field with seemingly unreal figures: 4-0-23-0. In other words, an economy rate of 5.75. To know the obvious significance of that performance, check the scorecard. But for Bhuvi, perhaps RCB would have made 300 that night! That wasn't a one-off occurrence. Bhuvi's now famous swing bowling abilities kept pinch hitters at bay for the Pune Warriors all through the season, helping them finish one above the bottom rung. He'll be a handful with the new ball for sure!

10. Amit Mishra

(Mat: 17, Wkts: 21, BB: 4/19, Ave: 18.76, Econ: 6.35, 4w: 1)

Amit Mishra's name is no surprise here. Having made it to the all-star XI along with Sunil Narine, Mishra will now shoulder spin bowling responsibilities with Ravindra Jadeja. His new found confidence from the Sunrisers' fruitful season certainly would help him on the field!

Super King: Mohit Sharma

11. Mohit Sharma

(Mat: 15, Wkts: 20, BB: 3/10, Ave: 16.30, Econ: 6.43)

The only real surprise perhaps in this India XI lineup. Indian seamers have never really been the most threatening at the IPL, save perhaps the odd moments of magic from Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. But for the CSK, as Andy Bichel had said, Mohit Sharma was the big find. With good broad shoulders and a nice easy run-up to boot, Mohit ended up taking a mind blowing 20 wickets in his debut season from 15 games at a commendable average. Easily the find of the season.

12th Man: Dinesh Karthik

(Mat: 19, Runs: 510, HS: 86, SR: 124.08, 50s: 2, Ct: 12, St: 2)

As was the case with Virat Kohli in the all-star XI, Dinesh Karthik is perhaps unlucky to find himself as the 12th man of this team. However, given Raina's and Rohit Sharma's greater consistency in the tournament and MS Dhoni's natural wicketkeeping abilities, Karthik - as is often his case in Team India - will have to stay satisfied on the bench for the while. Unless, of course, Rahul Dravid decides to draft him into the playing eleven!

IPL 6 - My XI

It's becoming customary now to name IPL XIs at the end of each season. I did this last season so I'm going to try and do it again. Remarkably though, choosing an IPL XI seems harder this season than it seemed last year. There were roller coasters in store and surprises everywhere. 2012 table toppers took the wooden spoon and the defending champions didn't even make the playoffs. There are two more games to go in this year's IPL - the Qualifier II and the Final - but I've decided to go in with my XI now anyway. Readers must take note that to condense 9 teams down to 11 players is hard work. And I've also made an exception to the four-foreigners-only rule in order to do justice to those who put their best foot forward irrespective of nationality. So here goes -

1. Christopher Gayle

Hail the Pirate: Chris Gayle after his 33-ball 100

(Mat: 16, Runs: 708, HS: 175*, SR: 156.29, 100s: 1, 50s: 4)

A no-brainer, for the second time in a row. Only a very adamant hater of Chris Gayle (how can you hate this man?!) can keep this Jamaican bully out of his T20 XI anywhere in the world. For the record though, I'm becoming a greater admirer of Chris Gayle with every passing day! Leave alone his Stick Cricket style 175* that made the Pune Warriors look like a bunch of toddlers trying to have fun in the park; what makes Gayle special to me is the amount of calm he brings to the crease in the adrenaline junkie's world of T20. Being an opening partner to Chris Gayle must be quite some experience, I'm sure!

2. Michael Hussey

(Mat: 16, Runs: 732, HS: 95, SR: 129.78, 50s: 6)

I'd mentioned last season that choosing Chris Gayle's opening partner was a hard one. Mr. Cricket just made that job a whole lot easier for me this time round. Who said old men can't play T20? This recently retired Aussie is 38 years old for all those who thought he's only 25. He's not the bully that Chris Gayle is, nor the grafter that is Rahul Dravid. What makes Mike Hussey special is his ability to adapt and invent to all forms of cricket, anywhere, anytime. After a long drawn battle with Chris Gayle for the orange cap, this Australian legend finally snatched it and for that, I put him in as his opening partner. Meanwhile, some young Australian men are on their flight to England, looking for a man who can win them back the Ashes.

3. Rahul Dravid (c)

(Mat: 17, Runs: 428, HS: 65, SR: 110.30, 50s: 4)

Many were surprised when I included Rahul Dravid as my captain last year. Be prepared to be shell-shocked because I've retained him for the second time in a row. When Twenty20 was invented back in England, the last person they had in mind as a possible exponent of this game was Rahul Dravid. For four years, he struggled in the IPL, facing flak and being written off. But then he bounced back to show the world why he's such a legend. Dravid's captaincy of the Rajasthan Royals has been inspirational to say the least. Inheriting from Shane Warne perhaps the most underwhelming squad in the IPL, Dravid has reinvented his old tentative leadership tendencies to become a more free-wheeling, self-believing captain, taking his side into the playoffs quite comfortably. What Dravid has done particularly well this season is to divide responsibilities equally on all, thereby allowing the big Shane Watson to play more freely. His uninhibited faith in young kids like Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny and James Faulkner has been quite a revelation. He's now officially in charge of my XI!

Devil's Food: de Villiers feeding on some bowling

4. AB de Villiers

(Mat: 14, Runs: 360, HS: 64, SR: 164.38, 50s: 2)

He's been retained for the second time in a row, once again a no-brainer. If there's one man who can do it all on a cricket field, it's AB de Villiers. Want to bat out two days and save a Test match? Call AB de Villiers. Want to tonk Dale Steyn around the park in the dying hours of a T20 match? Call AB de Villiers. Want a safe pair of hands and an athletic live wire at backward point? Call AB de Villiers. Injured your wicketkeeper and want someone to take on the big gloves? Call AB de Villiers. I had a good mind to make AB de Villiers my wicketkeeper for the second season on the trot but then decided that there's another wicketkeeper who deserves that role more. But it's a privilege to have a finisher of the class of ABD in your side and now I can call 17 for all kinds of emergency!

5. MS Dhoni (wk)

(Mat: 17, Runs: 398, HS: 67*, SR: 167.22, 50s: 3, Ct: 13, St: 2)

Here comes the world's finest wicketkeeping genius! Two World Cup wins, five IPL finals, two trophies (the third one will be played out for on Sunday), a Champions League cup - this man has got to be the most prolific captain that India has ever had. In fact, some may say it's criminal for me not to make him my captain! But for Rahul Dravid's brilliance with a little known team, MSD would have made it to the tag. The jury's out on which one of the two is the better captain of IPL-6. All said and done, MSD and ABD are a formidable pair of finishers to have in any side in the world, in any form of the game.

6. David Miller

(Mat: 12, Runs: 418, HS: 101*, SR: 164.56, 100s: 1, 50s: 3)

Surprise, surprise! I had quite some dilemma in my mind taking a call on this one. It was Dinesh Karthik vs David Miller, although not for the same role. If DK were in my side, he'd probably bat higher up the order, pushing ABD and MSD to 5 and 6. Karthik got off to an absolute flyer this season, piling on runs and agony on the opposition. His feats were particularly remarkable given that he managed to rescue the Mumbai Indians each time the legends at the top had let them down. But then Ponting benched himself and almost eerily, the fuse blew out for Dinesh Karthik. Miller, on the other hand, gave the Punjab team some great moments in the season and even poked fun at cricketing logic by snatching away a lost game from the RCB and becoming one of the reasons Chris Gayle couldn't go into the playoffs. For those odd moments of magic, Miller takes the pinch hitter's position.

7. Dwayne Bravo

(Mat: 17, Runs: 106, HS: 23*, SR: 117.77, Wkts: 28, BB: 3/9, Ave: 16.25, Econ: 7.77)  

Coming to No. 7, I needed an all-rounder who was equally adept at batting and bowling. Dwayne Bravo wasn't the most natural choice with Thisara Perera competing with him. However, after much thought, I decided that Bravo had the better season, particularly with the ball. Picking up 28 wickets at a remarkable average, Bravo, along with Chris Morris and Mohit Sharma, was one of the reasons Chennai were able to inflict the opposition with some fair amount of shock on the field. His economy rate has been pretty decent as well, considering that he has bowled a fair bit at the death. Add to that Bravo's electric fielding and innovative dancing skills and you have a more than handy all-rounder in your side.

8. James Faulkner

(Mat: 15, Wkts: 27, BB: 5/16, Ave: 14.48, Econ: 6.60, 5w: 2)

When Chris Gayle was tearing apart the Pune Warriors bowling in that miracle of an innings in Bangalore, there was one man who walked off the field with his head held high and his reputation intact - Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvi was fantastic all through the season for the faltering Warriors but he just ever so narrowly missed out to one of the many gold mines that Rahul Dravid unearthed at the Rajasthan Royals. I remember first watching James Faulkner play as a young rookie for Tasmania in the Aussie domestic circuit. He was zippy off the surface although the ball was almost always off the radar - much like Ashok Dinda now for Pune and India. But something happened to the same old James Faulkner when he joined the Rajasthan Royals. The ball was back in the working zone of the radar and wickets were falling everywhere. Taking five-wicket hauls in a T20 match is hard work with only 4 overs allotted per bowler. But James Faulkner made use of those 24 balls for Rahul Dravid like no one else ever had. Besides, Dravid also said that Faulkner can bat!

Game Turner: Amit Mishra

9. Amit Mishra

(Mat: 17, Wkts: 21, BB: 4/19, Ave: 18.76, Econ: 6.35, 4w: 1)

One of the unfortunate stories of Indian cricket has been that of Amit Mishra. For most part of his childhood days, it seemed like Amit Mishra would grow to be the replacement that India needed for Anil Kumble. And so it was that when Kumble retired, Mishra was promptly brought into the Indian team in his place. Strangely however, young Amit Mishra disappointed and, with the rise of Ravichandran Ashwin, was dumped from the Indian team altogether. That hasn't stopped Mishra from using his tools at the IPL. With the first man to take all of three hattricks in the league, Mishra has made big news and was one of the engines of the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling this season. Now that he's back in the Indian team, he's also debuting on my XI.

10. Sunil Narine

(Mat: 16, Wkts: 22, BB: 4/13, Ave: 15.90, Econ: 5.46, 4w: 2)

The mohawk was the only thing that was saving face for the Kolkata Knight Riders this season with the defending champions quickly falling into oblivion. Perhaps the only reason he doesn't have the purple cap on his head is because most batsmen were too wary of giving away their wicket to the wily Trinidadian. For the record, Sunil Narine has never given away more than 5.50 runs per over in an IPL season yet, and this is Twenty20 cricket that we're talking about - a place where spinners were thought to be sitting ducks. With Amit Mishra at one end and Sunil Narine at the other, I wish batsmen the very best at posting anything more than a humiliating total. Mohawk's second season in my XI on the trot.

11. Dale Steyn

(Mat: 17, Wkts: 19, BB: 3/11, Ave: 20.21, Econ: 5.66) 

I started with the Gayle storm and will now end with the Dale storm. Sunrisers Hyderabad are extremely happy with their run this season and they can't be more grateful to anyone than they are to Dale Steyn. Running in like a bullet and delivering cannon balls at opposing batsmen, Steyn Gun has held his side in good stead wherever they've gone and whomever they've played. In fact, having Dale Steyn in their side pampered the Sunrisers' batsmen so much that they didn't need to score more than 140 on most occasions!

12th Man: Virat Kohli

(Mat: 16, Runs: 634, HS: 99, SR: 138.73, 50s: 6)

I didn't have a twelfth man in my XI last season but I thought it imperative this time around because Virat Kohli would be a terribly notable miss to the team. It was difficult to make room for him in the starting eleven, it being a bit too batting heavy to start with anyway. Putting in Virat Kohli as the 12th man doesn't mean he's the Glenn Maxwell of the team. Kohli's role here would be more than to carry drinks to the players on the field. Undoubtedly, he's one of Indian cricket's young sensations and has had a fruitful season, perhaps overshadowed by Chris Gayle's pyrotechnics at the opposite end. So maybe I should have drafted him in place of David Miller up there? Well, I'll leave that call to Rahul Dravid. After all, why should I have such a legendary captain if I make all the decisions myself?

When Players Fix

Only a day or two ago, I thought my next blog post would be on how inspiring Rahul Dravid's Rajasthan Royals have been. But even as I sat down to type this one out, some of his mates set the serpents out in the open. So here I am having to vent my thoughts on some of the most unpleasant moments in world sport when I could have so easily gone on about Dravid's fantastic acclimatization to T20 cricket and the Royals' fine teamwork in the IPL-6.

Anyone who says that he didn't expect there to be the odd accusations of spot fixing in the IPL was only deluding himself. It's always been there in the air: talk of how corrupt a corporate tournament where young kids just out of school rake in the moolah can get. It wasn't cricket, they said. It was just another form of Bollywood-style entertainment. But it was entertainment nonetheless. You still got to see Chris Gayle blowing bowlers away. You still got to see Sunil Narine foxing batsmen in the middle. You still got to see the odd brilliance from Kieron Pollard and David Miller. You also found new talent in the form of Ravi Ashwin and 'Sir' Jadeja. Even those who are born sceptical and believe from the bottom of their hearts that the IPL is ever so vulnerable to fixing turn on their television sets each evening to unwind and watch some slam-bang. Yes, for all you know, what you're watching may be scripted. But then when you think about it, so are the movies! Yes, it's not sport. But well, it still is entertainment!

What is surprising and hurtful though is that a young man oozing with talent - someone who foxed the likes of Alastair Cook and Jacques Kallis in the hostile environs of England and South Africa and someone who was seen to be aspiring a comeback to the national squad - would betray the finest gentleman in world cricket. One really would feel for Rahul Dravid tonight. He doesn't deserve to be in this at all.

Why is the IPL so vulnerable to fixing?

Caught in a fix: Sreesanth on his way out

Personally, as temperamental as Shantakumaran Sreesanth may be, I'd never in the wildest of my dreams imagined that he'd throw away his career in such a trifling. But perhaps he was frustrated. Perhaps he was miffed at having been overlooked in favor of comrade Irfan Pathan for the Champions Trophy in England. And perhaps he wasn't as optimistic as the rest of us and thought his India career was now truly over.

Those harboring that last thought are precisely those who are most vulnerable to be booked by the bookie. There are so many of them out there in the IPL. First things first, there is little sentimental value to loyalty in the IPL. In the IPL, a sportsman becomes a corporate employee - not something you'd want in the ideal and certainly not something a sportsman should get used to. You can't expect a young man from Jharkhand or Uttar Pradesh to identify himself with the red and gold of a Vijay Mallya owned team based in Bangalore as he would perhaps with the colours of Team India. So lest this young man is Vijay Mallya's good friend or falls in love with his adopted city in a matter of days, where is the loyalty?

The good thing with young men though is that they are highly ambitious and always roam in search of moments of childhood fantasy. The force of motivation then comes from the fact that turning in a series of good performances for the Chennai Super Kings or Rajasthan Royals may see you gain the coveted India jersey. And thus were born the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja - symbols of the IPL's true success in unearthing latent talent. But what if age has caught up with you? In modern cricket's intense competitiveness, a zillion Indian players are lost in the domestic circuit. These men, on the wrong side of 25 or 30 are the most vulnerable to fixing. Seeing that there is little to lose and in the quest for some quick extra bucks, many second or third tier Indians outside the international spotlight are easily netted by crafty bookies for their cause.

The troubling part for the ever-passionate Indian cricket fan is that it's really difficult to grasp the idea that the IPL always was and always will be a corporate tournament. The IPL was never meant to grow into the competitive play field that club football is. Never mind the Gayle storms and Dale storms, you still want to see every man on the field give everything he's got every ball he bats, bowls or fields. That's the true essence of sport. It's "unscripted entertainment". Is this sport then?

Why I watch the IPL

Unlike its counterpart in the football world and elsewhere, club cricket took an extremely long time to find public favor as compared to international cricket. In fact, cricket is one of those few 'high-profile' sports today that has had far larger and more enthusiastic following when played at the international level rather than at the club level. Are cricket fans more nationalistic then? Perhaps.

Cricket is a game that's largely limited to the Commonwealth of nations - former British colonies who try to show their former masters that they're better at it than they are. Not many people alive today would take keen interest in reading about the first ever international game of cricket played. No, it wasn't the famous game between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In fact, the first game of international cricket ever played was in the year of 1844 in the unlikely city of New York (most things worthwhile seem to happen there somehow) between the unheard of national teams of the United States of America and Canada. But that's not how it was marketed; the game was billed to be between "the United States of America and the British Empire's Canadian Province." The Empire won by 23 runs.

The famous game at the MCG was in fact the first ever test match played - in 1877. Australia, of course, won that game. And then came the Don Bradman era of the Invincibles. Part of the reason Sir Don was so popular in all parts of the British Empire - except England, of course - was because he stood for exactly what cricket enthusiasts in the colonies wanted to show - that they can play the game far better than their rulers. The rivalry has diversified thereafter and nations of the Commonwealth now slug it out against each other with great intensity - particularly India and Pakistan - every time they have a point to prove to the other.

T20 cricket has brought about a change in the cricketing world, helping the growth of club cricket courtesy of domestic leagues like the IPL and the Big Bash. The old-timers have complained about the loss of nationalistic feelings on the cricket field, the divisive nature of regionalistic sentiments (especially in India), and even at times about the danger of 'match fixing' brought about by the infinite amount of cash out on play. They talk of how the good old 'gentleman's game' is becoming more materialistic and less traditional, almost mocking its great legacy built over the better part of two centuries. They also talk of how young talent is corrupted by being exposed to the waves and fortunes of high-speed T20.

Childhood Fantasy: Mumbai's Ponting-Tendulkar pair

As a fan who is often wont to side with the old-school, I to a large extent agree with these old-timers. But it doesn't stop me from watching the IPL. If anything at all, it only turns me from being a fan to being a spectator. I'm the old cricket-loving Indian nationalist who puts the pride of my motherland over the fortunes of a Kolkata team that has a South African in it or a Bangalore squad that has a West Indian dominating it. But it still doesn't stop me from watching the IPL. Because there are a number of things that the IPL and T20 in general give me that classic old international cricket doesn't: the throb of fast-paced entertainment. Nowhere else will I be able to see Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar walking out with bats in hand together. Nowhere else will I get to see Dale Steyn furiously peppering Jacques Kallis with hard-core bouncers. Nowhere else will I also get to witness Lasith Malinga and Chris Gayle expressing their talent without the pressures of international rivalry and an over-nationalistic media behind them. There is a certain thrill in watching the game merely for taking in the splendid joys of a bunch of legends showcasing their class. Compare if you'd like Rahul Dravid's free-wheeling captaincy of the Rajasthan Royals as opposed to his constricted, tentative leadership of Team India.

So I may not love Gautam Gambhir's Kolkata Knight Riders as much as I love MS Dhoni's Team India. I certainly won't express frustration over KKR's failures as I do with Team India's downfalls. And that's how it's supposed to be. The latter has far more history behind it than the former. The latter also directly represents my nation, my people and myself. But it doesn't really mean that I shouldn't watch the former, just for the kicks of uninhibited
entertainment.

MS Dhoni finally finds his team

Customs are that you can never predict where Indian cricket would be headed. Just days after rolling in the mud, one comprehensive defeat after the other, MS Dhoni's blue boys pull off a historic never-before Test series whitewash against the cricketing superpowers Australia. It doesn't take much to realize how unusual this is - the last and only time Australia lost a Test series 4-0 was in South Africa, way back in 1969-70 under Bill Lawry; and India has never in history won all Tests in a tour. Bill Lawry later gave way to the effervescent Ian Chappell as captain of the Australian team. But although Michael Clarke's place in the side isn't under scrutiny in this case (in fact, he's probably the only one whose place is for certain after this tour), his Indian counterpart has ticked off most of the tasks put in front of him after a horrible end to 2012.

Blue Boys of New: Dhoni seems to have found his team

At the start of this tour, Dhoni had headaches everywhere - his openers were withering, his middle order was brittle and his famed spin cupboard was looking bare. Gambhir and Sehwag were living on past glory and there seemed to be no replacements to them. In a brave move, the selectors decided to omit Gautam Gambhir and brought in Murali Vijay in his place. The Tamil Nadu mainstay stumbled in the first game and it seemed like India's top-order woes would never end. Cheteshwar Pujara, meanwhile, was settling in to the all important No. 3 slot and was doing reasonably well. But come Hyderabad and Murali Vijay reinvented himself, piling on 370 runs in a massive partnership alongside Pujara, even as Sehwag continued to choke. Vijay's new-found confidence gave the selectors the leverage they needed to now bench Virender Sehwag himself. In his place came another Delhi boy, Shikhar Dhawan. Coming in at the age of 27, Dhawan was not what you would call a "young man" in general. He was one of those people waiting outside the side, kept away by heavy names. In Mohali, Dhawan created history with a fiery 187, flaying the hapless Australian side in what was the fastest Test century by a debutant in history. The top three were now settled and Tendulkar's fading sheen was less noticeable with Vijay and Pujara virtually finishing off each match together. Yet, every time Vijay and Pujara got out, the middle order seemed to subside, with the exception of MS Dhoni's 224 in Chennai - a mercenary's brute innings that wounded the collective Aussie psyche irreparably.

Bowling was the woe against England. Trusting India's age-old talent in producing trendsetting spinners, Dhoni laid out dustbowls against the English everywhere, from Mumbai to Kolkata. In a classic case of irony, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar outbowled Ravichandran Ashwin and gang. There seemed to be a need to sort out Ashwin's many technical downfalls. When the Aussies came, he had transformed himself - bowling with far more flight and guile than ever before. Ravindra Jadeja for his part proved a revelation with subtle variations between the one that spun and the one that didn't. In fact, he was so very effective that by the end of the tour, Harbhajan Singh was made rather obsolete! The swing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in handy every now and then too. Yet, pace bowling remains Dhoni's biggest headache ahead of more overseas cricket.

Despite the gaps in the middle order and question marks over pace bowling, MS Dhoni seems to have done what he needed to do following repeated failures - to identify a pool of players and persist with them. Dhoni decided to persist with Ashwin, Jadeja and Vijay and reaped rewards against a crumbling opposition. In many ways, MS Dhoni seems to remind me of Imran Khan, the headmaster-like World Cup winning captain of Pakistan. Like Dhoni, Imran Khan too thrived as captain when at the helm of a team of youngsters where all were below him and none above. He proved instrumental in building the legendary careers of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Now that Dhoni has identified his team, maybe he can build a few legendary careers himself too!

Spin tricks make Test cricket classic

How odd cricket is! After casting aspersions on their spinners only a month or two ago following England's triumphant walloping of their former colony, the Indians trumped an arguably more intimidating Australian outfit on yet another dustbowl in Chennai. It seems that spinning a web around the 'Roos is considerably easier than doing it to the Poms. And Australia shall now really have to pull off something extraordinary in the coming days to avoid further embarrassment ahead of the Ashes.

Turning the Tide: The Aussies were 'spun out'

The great thing to have come out of recent test cricket in India is further proof that cricket still is unique in being so vastly diverse a game. How one team dominating in a particular part of the world is so easily thwarted a few thousand miles away is so intriguing and exciting. The purists in Australia and England so often harp about how cricket in India is so "farcical", sidelining the traditional excitement of pace bowling and making cricket so boring and dreary. To many purists in the Westernized world, test cricket in India is essentially a game played in "slow motion" on "slow tracks" where the ball refuses to go to the batsman and the batsman tires in despair against the turning, twisting leather - so much in contrast to the tall, intimidating paceman steaming in on a "green top", threatening to take out the head of any soft-hearted batsman 22 yards away!

What the contrasting performances of the touring English and Australian batsmen has shown is so very different. The England team, desperate for a win and well aware of the dusty pitches the Indians were laying out for them, went on a countrywide hunt ahead of the tour looking for potential weapons and pulled out Monty Singh Panesar back from the graves, along with a certain unassuming Joseph Root from good old Yorkshire. The Australians, on the other hand, stayed true to their traditional strengths and vowed to bring along an extra-charged pace battery to the subcontinent, although including the off-spin of Nathan Lyon for academic purposes.

The Poms struggled in their first outing in Ahmedabad after keeping out Monty Panesar from the playing squad, but on correcting their mistakes in the dustbowls of Mumbai and Kolkata, reaped rewards that few of their ancestors had ever tasted before. It was England's most emphatic show of strength in India since the Battle of Plassey and the joy was more than evident. The star cast of England didn't just include their new-found spin twins Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar; in fact a more predominant performer in the tournament was their eternally classic captain Alastair Cook. Digging deep and grinding long, Captain Cook earned much accolade for his sense of application in alien conditions.

Cook's batting exploits throughout the tour was a fitting answer to the Western purists. He showed how classic test cricket is when a batsman patiently grafts the twisting, twirling ball, countering the spinner's tricks with a few of his own. The Indians had few questions to ask the English captain as he played on their patience and wore down their minds. The Australians in contrast so far have adopted their 'natural game', summoning courage and aggression with the hope of hitting the Indian spinners out of the game. The disdain hasn't worked.

Judging from their first game, the Aussies have much to learn about adapting to modern cricket's diverse playfields. They might also have to take a leaf or two out of Captain Cook's book. Test cricket in India is now the real deal. Playing spin isn't all about "slow motion" hurling or easy slogging. It's about beating the opponent in the mind. And that's what makes it ever so classic.

Is the Nawab already done?

Amongst all of world sport's most renowned, celebrated, decorated, scrutinized and news-making individuals, Virender Sehwag stands out. Sehwag is the kind of guy who can be furiously talked about irrespective of whether he's on the field or outside it - in team meetings around the world, selection committees across the country and opinion articles from all around the spectrum. What makes Sehwag special is his ability to be the eternal tick-ticking time bomb. He can be equally dangerous to his own team as to the opposition. He is both a captain's most lethal weapon as well as his greatest liability, all at the same time. In many ways, Sehwag is the most prime example of oxymorons one can ever come across - lazy yet efficient, destructive yet vulnerable, awkward yet terrifying.

Packing Up?: Virender Sehwag

It didn't take Sehwag too much time to tell the world, and particularly myself, that he was meant to be the next big thing of world cricket history. It was Bloemfontein, early November, 2001. The South African pace attack of Pollock, Hayward, Kallis and Ntini was feasting on the Indian batsmen, sending down hostile swinging deliveries at furious pace. Very quickly, the Indians subsided to 68/4 with Tendulkar hapless at the non-striker's end. Then came the debutant Delhi dasher. Few had heard of him and his technique, if there was any, seemed to suggest that the Indian selectors were surely out of their minds giving this man a Test debut in alien South Africa. But history was on its way. Sehwag, wielding his willow like an axe, butchered each bowler running in to him and sent the South Africans on a nationwide leather hunt. Balls travelled far and wide as Tendulkar and Sehwag turned an impending disaster into a fair lot of 397 runs. The world hailed the centurion Sehwag as the new age Vivian Richards. Sir Viv himself paid homage to a star - "He's simply magnificent."

Years later, Sehwag took his 'axe' around the world, hacking bowlers into submission, sending balls into the sea. A particular innings of 195 against Steve Waugh's largely unblemished Australians in Melbourne was described by Ian Chappell as the "second best innings I've ever seen in my life. That was the best Australian side ever and he absolutely demolished them."

100 Tests, 2 triple hundreds (nearly three) and close to 17000 international runs later, Virender Sehwag is sitting on the bench outside. Bowlers around the world might heave a sigh of relief, but to Sehwag lovers around the world, irrespective of whether Sehwag is done now or not, his career shall always be about the difference between what could have been and what is. There is no reason to Sehwag's inconsistencies with the bat - not the pitch, not the weather, not the opposition. Sehwag's weaknesses are the strangest. He's one of those people who can plunder hundreds of runs in a day in particular conditions and come out the next day to get dismissed the first ball in a totally identical situation. Many say it's callousness. Others say it's laziness. Gregory Chappell, his former India coach and life-long admirer, reckons it's simply the lack of willingness to work hard enough. "Sehwag is so naturally talented that he's never really had to work too hard to do the things he does."

Is he really? One will never know what it feels like to be Virender Sehwag. He holds all aces to the outcome of a match. He throws the dice and either team falls. Perhaps that's what makes Sehwag so exciting - the unpredictability. A match is never lost or won before Sehwag is done. He backs himself to keep it simple. Batting to him is the exercise of putting willow on leather and sending the latter as far as possible. There are no unnecessary complications; no ifs-and-buts; no question marks; no game plans; no extensions.

Maybe Sehwag isn't done yet. It's extremely difficult for any team in the world to keep a player like Virender Sehwag in the reserves for too long. You can't ignore him even if you do hate him. Often, it's impossible to hate him. He revolutionized batsmanship and got rid of cricket's excesses and complexities. I can't wait to see him back. To me, there is no flavour in cricket without Virender Sehwag.