Blog Posts by AR Hemant

(During the course of the third Test between India and the West Indies at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai we’ll post live updates, analysis, reader comments and reactions. Please hit F5 periodically for new posts.)

---

Stumps, Day 3 - India 281-3 - Before individual milestones take over, the bigger picture stands as thus: India are still 110 runs from avoiding the follow-on mark. But given the docile nature of this pitch, a stalemate is the most likely outcome in Mumbai.

Tendulkar had raced to 26 off 31. The highlight shot of his innings was the uppercut for six off Fidel Edwards, immediately after Edwards beat him with a short ball first thing after lunch. But since then, Tendulkar has dragged on painfully slowly, finishing the day with 41 more runs off 102 balls.

As Sanjay Manjrekar said, "He's made too much of an issue about Bishoo."

This would hardly rate as one of Tendulkar's better knocks. But hardcore fans may disagree. They

Read More »from Day 3 at the Wankhede

There are two visuals on my screen. Both of them have Vinod Kambli in tears.

In the first, he’s walking off the park. Fifteen years ago, that image helped us register that our World Cup dream had come to a painful end. In the other, he’s telling us why the dream may have ended. But that's the problem: it was 15 years ago.

"I would never betray my country, betray my team. Today my heart feels lighter because ... that 1996 match... I would never forget it in my life... because after that match, my career was finished off... shit...," Kambli told a news channel in broken sentences before hiding his teary face from the camera. What incentive did he have to air his case, however weak, on national television?

Kambli suggests that Mohammad Azharuddin's infamous decision to field in the World Cup semifinal was not what the team (according to Kambli) had agreed on, and therefore something was amiss.

The

Read More »from Why Vinod? And Why Now?

In an epic day of cricket at Newlands, Cape Town, several records were shattered - but not in a manner the two teams would appreciate.

Australia folded for 47 in their second innings, a collapse so dramatic, it took only a few minutes for South Africa's supporters to get over the fact that their team had made just 96.

It was a day that belonged more in the 19th century, when such collapses were more commonplace due to uncovered wickets and lack of protective gear for batsmen.

Not Since 1896...

In this extraordinary day, 23 wickets fell, with both teams batting twice. Australia completed their first innings by losing two wickets today. South Africa went to lunch at 49-1.

By the end of the noon session, 12 more wickets had fallen on both sides, for 60 runs.

Eight more wickets fell in the evening session, but only one on the South African side, displaying that it wasn't the

Read More »from Record-breaking Day in Cape Town

Lifeless wicket. Poor turn-out. Dour play. An epic mismatch. The first Test of the season couldn't be more underwhelming.

THE FLAVOUR of the Australia summer is pace. A young tearaway in Pat Cummins has been discovered. And there’s no doubt Australia would play to their strengths when India come visiting later this year. The hard and quick wickets will suit their pace arsenal that has grown impressively in their years of transition.

Meanwhile, at the Kotla Stadium, India are playing West Indies on a surface as lifeless as Mars – the sort of wicket you’d never expect to play on in a Test in Australia. The quality of opposition also reflects on how poorly India tend to build towards fixtures that matter.

In their last 10 years of touring, the only major Test team West Indies have beaten is South Africa, once. Having played them plenty of times this year, India would be aware of the obvious weaknesses of West Indies. Hence this home

Read More »from Does Anyone Care About The Delhi Test?

(During the course of the first Test between India and West Indies at the Kotla, we'll post live updates, analysis, reader comments and reactions. Please hit F5 periodically for new posts.)

---

5.05 pm - West Indies are effectively 116-2 and the ball's doing funny things, shooting along the surface one ball, gripping and turning the next. India opened at both ends with spinners, a rarity, and managed to get both West Indian openers. Unless there's another one of their famous collapses tomorrow, they're firmly in front at this point.

A lead of 200 would prove extremely difficult to chase. For India, the key is Pragyan Ojha who has been relentlessly accurate and patient.

---

4.10 pm - India 209 all out. Everything that could go wrong for India today has. The fantastic part of West Indies' bowling effort is that they had to take about 12-13 wickets today, given the many lives Gambhir and Sehwag had in the 30 minutes before lunch.

Dravid, let down again by his colleagues, battled on for 54 and

Read More »from Day 2 at the Kotla

(During the course of the first Test between India and West Indies at the Kotla, we'll post live updates, analysis, reader comments and reactions. Please hit F5 periodically for new posts.)

---

They got Brathwaite but India couldn't get Chanderpaul out. West Indies are 256-5, and if not for him, it would have been a lot worse. India's sloppy bowling in the evening also eased West Indies' scoring after their slow start. Ojha and Ashwin have all five wickets, but they need to run through the tail quickly. India have to bat fourth, and given how the wicket has played, they need to stop the visitors from running away with the momentum.

4.00 pm - India's old foe has done it again. Chanderpaul has completed his seventh hundred against his favourite opponents. Given the conditions, the slow nature of the wicket and the troublesome spot West Indies were in, this is a top-class hundred.

On a day, everyone else has struggled to get the ball off the square, Chanderpaul has needed just 144 balls to

Read More »from Day 1 at the Kotla

Match Coverage: Scores | Action Images | Match Report | Stats: Dhoni's unique wicketkeeping feat

9.32 pm - 126 runs is the margin of victory. India have posted their second biggest win over England in ODIs, thus ending a winless streak of 11 games this year, and four at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

England's collapse was so swift, we've barely had time to pause for breath. From 111-2, they've lost 63-8, with Ashwin and Jadeja sharing six wickets.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for joining us and sharing your views.

---

9 pm - Spoke too soon. England are in disarray, and by the looks of it, this ODI series will be a contest between their batsmen and India's spinners.

At the moment, the traffic is one way. England are 126-6. Jadeja has 3-17 and Ashwin 1-19. Trott, Bairstow and Bopara have fallen in quick time, all displaying poor technique against spin.

Ashwin's carrom ball and straighter one is troubling England.

Read More »from 1st ODI, Hyderabad

First of all, let's give India's selectors credit where it is due. Harbhajan Singh had to go. Young players had to come in.

Bringing in youngsters wasn't optional any more, given the injuries to first-choice players. But a message had to be sent out that fitness is key to selection. So far, well done.

Harbhajan has gone from match-winner to passenger. He had done little to be in the Indian team this year. [We know why he was still around].

But if one must pick a problem with his much-deserved axing, it is this: why has he been dropped for only two games? Is he magically expected to return to form in the two-three Challenger Trophy matches?

If not, a better idea would have been to give him a longer break from playing for India — while telling him what he needs to do to earn back his place.

Then There's Ashish Nehra

Despite the faults we find with Nehra, he is India's leading ODI wicket-taker since 2009. After dropping off the radar for four years, Nehra returned in 2009, took 65

Read More »from India’s ODI Squad: Some Unanswered Questions