An intriguing contest has built up between India and South Africa, with the intensity found on the field of play rather than in the stands

Dileep Premachandran05-Feb-2010With so few teams in the fray at the highest level, cricket suffers in comparison to other sports when it comes to rivalries. The Ashes, with more than a century of history and tradition, has retained its hallowed status, while other head-to-head contests have ebbed and flowed with the passage of time. For four decades, from the time that Sir Frank Worrell’s side captivated Australia in 1960-61, the tussle for the trophy that came to bear his name was often memorable and fiercely fought. Then, the West Indies went into decline, and the lustre was lost.There was never a shortage of spice when India or Pakistan played England, with those of subcontinental origin spectacularly failing the Tebbitt Test at venues like Headingley and The Oval. There was more than a bit of the coloniser-versus-colonised about those contests, and Indian and Pakistani victories (1986 and 1992, in particular) saw some chips drop off a few shoulders.The unlikeliest rivalry to take shape in recent times though has been that between India and Australia. Long before Monkeygate, Sydney, Steve Bucknor and alleged planes on the tarmac, there had been some needle. Australia’s golden generation of the 1970s never toured India, and the complaints of their predecessors about the hardships of touring are still raised each time there’s a flashpoint.At some point in the 1990s, around the time that the West Indies started to fade, India started figuring out how to play Australia. And while others continued to be swept away by the baggy-green tide, the Indians stood their ground. Apart from one disastrous tour in 1999-2000, ruined by appalling selection as much as anything else, India have fought Australia to a standstill on more than one occasion.There are intriguing facets to these Indo-Australian jousts. One country has produced the finest cricketers and teams, from the days of Spofforth, through Trumper, Armstrong, Bradman and the Chappells, to Ponting. The other has the world’s largest captive audience for the game. India’s fascination with Twenty20 cricket and the lack of passion for the longer version of the game is often overstated. There were capacity crowds for the Ranji Trophy final in Mysore, which suggests that the board needs to think again about where it schedules games in future.But what of India and South Africa? In the early days, there were no cricketing ties, with India playing a prominent role in the justified isolation of apartheid South Africa. After Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison in Paarl in February 1990, it was the Indian board that helped accelerate South African cricket’s return to the international fold. Without the BCCI championing the United Cricket Board’s cause, it’s unlikely that Kepler Wessels’ side would have played, and made such an impact, at the World Cup in 1992.The bilateral series that followed was characterised by some bland safety-first cricket, and decided by the pace and fury of Allan Donald at Port Elizabeth. Wessels’ bat made contact with Kapil Dev’s shin after the controversial “Mankaded” dismissal of Peter Kirsten, but even that incident created nothing like the sort of animosity seen after Sydney.India seldom did themselves justice in the southern cape, and it took a long time for the South African public to think of them as a half-decent side. Even when individuals dazzled, as Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin did in Cape Town (1996), the collective showing was dismal. That, of course, was the tour in which India made 100 and 66 in Durban.Even on Indian soil, the South Africans found ways to be competitive. But for a splendid spell from Javagal Srinath at Motera in the first Test of the ’96-’97 series, Cronje’s side might have walked away with series honours. Gary Kirsten’s resolute batting had set the stage for a mammoth win at the Eden Gardens and the visitors had shown that even without a great spinner in the ranks, their pace bowlers had the nous to adjust and even thrive on slow-and-low pitches.By their next tour, with Donald once again rampant, the pace men had perfected their subcontinent strategy. Having prevailed in a tense contest at the Wankhede in Mumbai – a pitch that was given the wire-brush treatment, no less – they were far too good for India in Bangalore. It should have gone down in the annals as one of South Africa’s greatest triumphs – no team had won in India since Pakistan edged a series by 16 runs in 1987 – but instead it was obscured by the match-fixing scandal that claimed prominent victims on both sides of the divide.The Mike Denness affair cast a pall over India’s subsequent tour of South Africa, though once again the hosts were far too good out on the field. It was only three years ago, on a Wanderers pitch that Mickey Arthur had reckoned would be tailor-made for his quicks, that India’s cricketers finally went some distance towards solving the puzzle. Sreesanth’s pelvic thrusts with bat-in-hand might be the memorable image from that game, but it was his outswing bowling that saw South Africa routed for just 84 in the first innings. It was a series that hung in the balance right up to the final session, when Jacques Kallis’ composure and poise saw the home side home in the shadow of Table Mountain.South Africa will be tested by Indian spin, but keeping the camp harmonious will be as much of a challenge•AFPZaheer Khan’s tussles with Graeme Smith formed a fascinating sub-text to that series, and Smith’s revival in the final three innings played a huge part in his team’s come-from-behind victory. The return series in India was shared, with both sides winning convincingly in contrasting conditions. South Africa bowled India out for 76 on a well-grassed pitch in Ahmedabad, and were then at the receiving end of a spin ambush in Kanpur. But while the matches were hard-fought and the South Africans were none too happy with the Green Park surface, there was an absence of the malice that had taken the sheen off India’s series in Australia.Even three years ago, neither of these sides would have imagined that they would leave Australia in the shade, at least as far as the rankings are concerned. South Africa came back from hopeless positions at both Perth and Melbourne to win the series, but then discovered that climbing to the top was a lot easier than staying there. Australia continued with their tradition of handing out beatings to South Africa in the Cape, and the ordinary run continued against England later in the year.India, in contrast, have built on the confidence engendered by a comprehensive home series win against the Australians. England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been defeated since, and the manner in which they fought back to draw games at Napier and Ahmedabad was indicative of the belief that courses through the ranks. Already without Rahul Dravid, they might be deprived of VVS Laxman’s services as well, but those that take their places are unlikely to freeze in the face of a pace barrage.South Africa will be tested by Indian spin, but keeping the camp harmonious will be as much of a challenge. Makhaya Ntini, the team’s lone black icon, is fading, and it’ll be intriguing to see if politics plays much of a part in team selection over the next fortnight. Transformation certainly has provided benefits, with Hashim Amla, blooded on the tour here in 2004, now established as an integral part of the top order.These two teams spent more than a decade in Australia’s shadow, and it’ll be fascinating to see which of them is best equipped to try and cling to the top branches. Both have a battle-hardened core, and youngsters with huge potential. What neither has yet discovered is the ruthlessness that was the hallmark of the great West Indian and Australian sides. Natural allies less than two decades ago, and still great friends at board level, the players must now focus on a new rivalry. For decades now, the sight of the green Pakistani or Australian cap was enough to fire up those in India blue. Now the endeavour will be to be similarly aroused by a different shade of green.In recent times, clashes with Australia and Pakistan have been marred by distressing levels of jingoism. That’s unlikely to be the case here, with the intensity found on the field of play rather than in the stands. Given that the alternate appears to be monkey noises or chants of “Pakistan hai hai”, it’s perhaps better that way.

Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Comforting moment of the day
On the flattest of pitches at Motera, Tim McIntosh had made a pair, falling to Zaheer Khan both times. He had faced no other bowler in the match. Today, on a juicier surface in Hyderabad, McIntosh remained strokeless in the opening exchanges against Zaheer and played out two maiden overs. The moment he finally got to face another bowler, though, off the last ball of the sixth over, McIntosh strode forward and drove Sreesanth through covers for four. The confidence had clearly grown, for when he faced his 15th delivery from Zaheer, McIntosh played a square drive through point – his first scoring shot off the bowler.Let-off of the day
Martin Guptill had blown it. Dropped for the disastrous tour of Bangladesh, and not selected to play at Motera, he had got his chance in Hyderabad and he had blown it, by nicking Sreesanth to MS Dhoni. He had nearly walked off the ground and Ross Taylor had almost reached the pitch when word reached him that Sreesanth had over-stepped and the umpire Kumar Dharmasena had checked with the third umpire late. Guptill wore a sheepish smile as he walked past Taylor towards the middle to resume his innings. He would get another lucky break soon after, when Dhoni failed to catch an edge, and he made his luck count.Unexpected shot of the day
New Zealand had seen off the new ball, hit only five fours and were chugging along at fewer than three an over in the first 20. The discussions had switched to whether the threatening clouds would cause a rain interruption when Guptill put the cricket back in focus by taking a neat step down to Harbhajan Singh and lofting him over the long-on boundary. The attack came out of nowhere and its follow-through was full but not lavish. A graceful pick-me-up the session needed.Nuisance of the day
Play being held up by malfunctioning sight-screens is perhaps the most annoying interruption in cricket. How hard can it be to put a well-oiled sight-screen in place? Before the second over began after lunch, the sight-screen at the North End decided to act up. It refused to change from displaying the sponsor advertisement to white, and at one stage it showed one half of two logos. Having failed to fix it, the groundstaff attempted to move it out of the batsman’s view by wheeling it to one side. It refused to budge though. There was little choice but to turn violent and, with a couple of shoves, the groundstaff toppled the stubborn sight-screen onto its back and out of view. It had served little purpose anyway because the region behind it was draped with white sheets.Over-dressed fielder of the day
In the 60th over during the final session, McIntosh went back to a long-hop from Harbhajan and cut hard towards cover-point, where the ball was intercepted by a fielder. Nothing unusual about it, except the fielder was wearing a helmet and shin pads. Gautam Gambhir had been stationed at short leg for new batsman Taylor and didn’t bother shedding the extra gear when he was moved to cover-point for McIntosh. Just as well he didn’t have to chase anything.Revelation of the day
McIntosh is a big batsman, taller than Dhoni, who was crouched behind him for the entire day. And yet he almost never showed any sign of power. McIntosh scored 25 runs in the morning session, 30 in the second and toiled for them. Virender Sehwag had come close to 100 in the first in Ahmedabad. And then McIntosh played an astonishing stroke. Shelving the steers, glances and economical drives that had brought him five fours, he took two steps forward to Pragyan Ojha and lifted him over the midwicket boundary. At first it appeared as though the ball might just clear the in-field – so light was his touch – but it went the distance.Landmark of the day
When McIntosh drove Harbhajan to deep mid-on to reach his century, the first by a New Zealand opener away from home since Stephen Fleming at Trent Bridge in 2004, there was initially little applause. Only when he raised his arms aloft and celebrated the achievement did the spectators realise and give him a cheer. The fault was not theirs, though, because the scoreboard at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium shows only the team’s total and no scores for individual batsmen. McIntosh was obviously counting.

The allrounder, playing his first game of the tournament, made sure his name remains in the selection mix with a disciplined bowling effort that earned him a maiden five-wicket haul

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla22-Aug-2010When usually talking about a match-winning Sri Lankan bowling performance, it’s all about the unconventional. Unorthodox actions, mystery bowling, doosras. On Sunday, though, it was old-fashioned line-and-length bowling with hardly any frills that undid India. The sturdily-built allrounder Thisara Perera, playing his first game of the tournament, made sure his name remains in the selection mix with a disciplined bowling effort that earned him a maiden five-wicket haul.Previously, the only impact on the international circuit made by Perera, a 21-year-old who had seven wickets at 44.85 coming into the game, was through a couple of hard-hitting cameos which gave him an eye-popping strike-rate of 136.26.He was under plenty of pressure coming into the match, given the strong competition for places in the Sri Lankan team. Angelo Mathews has already sealed one fast-bowling allrounder’s spot, and with Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekera also being automatic picks, Perera is restricted to being the fourth quick bowler in the team. For that he has to beat the likes of Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara and Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka’s allrounder of choice till a couple of years ago. Then there are upcoming allrounders like Jeevan Mendis to deal with, and vying for the No. 7 slot are yet another bunch of contenders.If that was weighing on Perera’s shoulders, he would have been buoyed by the slightly fortuitous wicket of Suresh Raina as early as his second delivery. There wasn’t any prodigious movement for him but he worked up a decent pace, up to the mid-130s, for the bulk of his spell.There was more encouragement in his second over, tricking Indian captain MS Dhoni into nicking a couple of deliveries past the keeper to third man. After the top-order flopped, Dhoni was the batsman Indian fans put their faith in to right the nosediving innings. It wasn’t to be as Perera had him caught behind for 10 in his third over, when Dhoni waltzed down the track and tried to work the ball from well outside off to the leg side.Sri Lanka and Perera were cock-a-hoop with India at 71 for 5, but things were to get even better for both very soon. Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar went for ducks off consecutive deliveries, and Perera found himself on a hat-trick, which Ashish Nehra managed to avert, much to the boisterous Sunday crowd’s disappointment.They were cheering again when Perera rounded off his dream day with a lovely delivery to clean up Ishant Sharma and complete a five-for. Kumar Sangakkara was thrilled the experiment to pick Perera paid off. “It was not just the conditions, we knew there was a bit of rain about, we also wanted to lengthen our batting a bit,” Sangakkara said after the match. “He is also a quality seamer, very successful against India in all his outings, so we thought it would be the right move, and it really worked for us.”Perera is yet another product of Sri Lanka’s famed school system, winning a string of prestigious awards for St Joseph’s College in their annual Big Matches against traditional rivals St Peter’s College and, as a result, earning places on Sri Lanka’s squad to the Under-19 World Cups in 2006 and 2008. Next stop was the Colts Cricket Club, where an unbeaten 113 with eight sixes followed by a five-wicket haul in a Premier Championship match against Moors Sports Club last December expedited his entry to the national team.Today’s performance marks the highlight of a success-filled career so far, but as Sangakkara stressed at the post-match conference, consistency is what needs to be achieved. Pitches like the ones in Dambulla may allow for a seam-heavy attack but on more traditional subcontinental tracks, unless he continues to make a compelling case, Perera will be overlooked.Maharoof’s recent form should be a cautionary tale; he took a hat-trick on course to a five-wicket haul against India in the Asia Cup, but after just one more failure – an anonymous performance in the final of the tournament – he has been shunted out of the squad.

Greg Chappell performed superbly in different conditions against all opposition, and remains the best No. 4 batsman Australia have produced

S Rajesh28-Nov-2010Even among the many outstanding talents that Australia have produced, Greg Chappell remains special. He achieved fabulous numbers as a batsman, scoring over 7000 runs in Tests and more than 1400 in the World Series Supertests at 50-plus averages, but with Chappell, the process was as fulfilling as the outcome: his sheer grace and technical excellence at the crease meant watching him bat was an exhilarating experience, no matter how many he scored. His all-round strokeplay helped him adjust to the demand of one-day internationals quite easily too, as he averaged more than 40 and scored three hundreds in 74 games.There were more arrows to his bow, though. With his medium pace he took 47 Test wickets – including a solitary five-wicket haul in Sydney against Pakistan – and 72 ODI ones. Chappell also led Australia in 48 Tests, of which they won 21, and held 122 catches, mostly in the slips, where he excelled.It was as a batsman, however, that he truly stood out. A feat he will forever he remembered for is scoring hundreds in his first and last Test matches. He started with a bang, scoring 108 against England in Perth, and finished even more emphatically, with 182 against Pakistan in Sydney. Only three others – Reggie Duff and Bill Ponsford of Australia, and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin – have achieved this feat, but Chappell remains the only one to have batted just one innings in each of those matches. His last knock helped him go past Don Bradman’s Australian record for most Test runs and made him the first from his country to the 7000-mark, while the three catches he took made him the most prolific catcher among non-wicketkeepers.The Chappell name was a familiar one for Australians even before Greg entered the scene – his brother Ian was already an established Test player – and Greg ensured he lived up to expectations right from his debut. In fact, one of the features of his career was his consistency: in the 12 calendar years in which he played more than one Test, he averaged more than 40 in every year except his first; in 21 series of three or more Tests, only five times did his average dip below 40. Similarly his record against and in each country was wonderfully consistent: his lowest average against an opposition was 45.94, versus England; against everyone else it exceeded 50. His lowest in a country was again in England (40.80); in every other country it was more than 48.Thanks to his consistency, Chappell’s cumulative stats graphs show no major peaks or troughs. After 44 Tests his average was 55.78, and it stayed within the narrow band between 52.50 and 56 through the rest of his career. Chappell himself believed that World Series Cricket toughened him considerably and made him a better cricketer, but in terms of averages the difference was negligible.

Throughout his career Chappell had a sense for the big occasion. The hundred on debut is the obvious example, but his next century came in his debut innings at Lord’s: a fine 131, the only hundred of the match, which helped Australia to an eight-wicket win. It was to be his only Test century in eight innings at the ground. When he took over as captain, Chappell celebrated by scoring 123 and 109 not out in another eight-wicket win, this time against West Indies at the Gabba. Four years later, when he returned from Packer exile, Chappell nearly repeated the feat against the same opponents at the same ground, scoring 74 and 124.Despite playing during a period when there were several high-quality bowlers around, Chappell finished with an average of almost 54. During the 15 years he played, only one batsman – Pakistan’s Javed Miandad – scored more than 4000 runs at a higher average. How tough batting was in that era can be gleaned from the fact that only five batsmen scored more than 4000 runs at an average of more than 50.

With his brother Ian, Greg Chappell was part of a formidable Australian batting combination at Nos. 3 and 4. In the 43 matches they played together, the two Chappells amassed more than 7000 runs at a combined average of 52.10, with 23 centuries between them. At The Oval in 1972, they became the first pair of brothers to score hundreds in the same innings of a Test, when Ian made 118 and Greg 113 in a five-wicket win. Less than two years later, in Wellington, they became the first pair of brothers to score centuries in innings of a Test, with Greg scoring 247 not out and 133, and Ian 145 and 121.Through much of his career Greg batted at No. 4, and it was clearly the position that brought out the best in him. He batted at No. 3 on 38 occasions, mostly after Ian retired, but only managed an average of 43.39, with five hundreds and as many ducks, including two golden ones in successive Tests when he was in the midst of a terrible slump in 1981-82.As a No. 4 batsman, though, his stats were outstanding, as he scored more than 4300 runs at an average of almost 60. In the entire history of Test cricket only two batsmen – Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene – have scored 4000-plus runs at a higher average. Among Australian No. 4 batsmen, Greg clearly has the best stats: Mark Waugh has scored more runs but at an average of less than 43, while Allan Border’s eight hundreds in 88 innings compare poorly with Greg’s 15 in 86.

As mentioned earlier, Chappell began his captaincy stint with a century in each innings, and thereafter maintained a pretty high level with the bat, not allowing the extra burden to impact his run-making ability. In the 48 Tests he captained in, Chappell averaged more than 55; in the 39 Tests when he didn’t lead, he averaged less than 52. Chappell is one of only seven batsmen to score more than 4000 runs as captain, and among those seven only Brian Lara has a higher average.

Of the 87 Tests he played, Australia won 38, and in those games Chappell’s contributions were immense: he scored more than 3500 runs at an average exceeding 70. Like in his overall Test career, his first and last innings in wins were also centuries. As the table below shows, his numbers in wins are among the best in the game.

Forty percent of the Tests Chappell played were against traditional rivals England. He had his share of victories in those battles, scoring five hundreds in the 13 Tests Australia won, but overall his stats against England were slightly below par: against an overall average of almost 54, his average against England slipped to under 46 overall, and to 40.80 in England. Not surprisingly the two bowlers who dismissed him most often are both from England – Derek Underwood (13) and Bob Willis (nine). Despite those relatively average stats, Chappell remains the fifth-highest run-getter for Australia against England, and only Steve Waugh and Don Bradman have more centuries against them.His other great battles came against the pace attack of West Indies, including some of his best and worst moments. In the home series in 1975-76, Chappell scored 702 runs at an average of 117; his aggregate is the highest by an Australian in a series against West Indies, and the fourth-highest by any batsman against them. In 1981-82, though, the story was completely different, as Chappell managed 86 runs in six innings, which included two first-ball ducks. That was easily his worst performance in a series.Chappell’s battles against the West Indies pace attack extended beyond the Test scene; he tackled them in the Supertests in World Series Cricket as well, and performed superbly. In 14 matches he averaged more than 56, which was significantly more than any other Australian batsman.

Chappell’s move to Queensland from South Australia in 1973-74 helped his new home state enormously, but another huge benefit was that it familiarised him with the conditions at the Gabba, the Test venue in Queensland. In seven Tests there, he struck five centuries and four fifties. Only Bradman scored more than 1000 runs at a higher average at a single venue. However, at the Adelaide Oval, the Test venue for South Australia, Chappell struggled, scoring only one century in 19 innings, and averaging less than 36. It was clearly his least favourite, in terms of numbers, of all home venues.

Chappell played only 74 ODIs, but was clearly at home in the format. His tally of 2331 runs doesn’t seem like a lot today, but when he played his last game, in April 1983, he was the leading run-getter in the format, and the only one with more than 2000 runs. Both his average (40.18) and his strike rate (75.70) were very acceptable too. Arguably his finest ODI innings was at The Oval, in a challenging run-chase: England scored 242 in a 55-over game, and Chappell’s unbeaten 125 guided Australia home with two wickets and 10 balls to spare. Apart from opener Richie Robinson, who scored 70, no other batsman scored more than 12, but Chappell stayed firm even as wickets fell around him.He could be pretty useful with the ball too, as the Indians found out in Sydney in 1981, when Chappell’s spell of 5 for 15 skittled them out for 63. The fact that he won nine Man-of-the-Match awards in 74 ODIs indicates just how comfortable he was with the format. Chappell also led Australia to 21 wins in 49 ODIs, and he performed much better when he led (average 45.21) than when he didn’t (30.65), but his ODI captaincy will probably only be remembered for that underarm incident in Melbourne in 1981, when he instructed his brother, Trevor, to roll the ball along the ground when New Zealand needed seven off one ball.

Two books on have created a light industry. The shelves are full of books by and about the imperishable Johnners. We have been taken countless times behind the scenes at , most recently by Peter Baxter. The programme even, for a while, created its own travelling roadshow. But while these two new books are both diverting and highly readable, the former reminds us of the danger of falling into the self-mythologising trap; of believing it is somehow bigger than the game it is there to celebrate.Jonathan Agnew’s book is a curious hybrid: a heartfelt tribute to the author’s friend and mentor,Brian Johnston, but also a ball-by- ball account of Agnew’s own transformation from Leicestershire paceman to frontman. On both subjects it has many interesting things to say. Agnew faithfully recalls BJ’s love of pranks, and verbal mischief (at one point the Pakistan fast bowler Asif Mahood Spoonerishly became “Massive Arsehood”) while noting his reluctance ever to talk about his wartime heroism. When it comes to his own career, Agnew rather poignantly says that he played for England when he probably shouldn’t have and didn’t play when he probably should have.For all its split purpose, I enjoyed Agnew’s book; and it is fascinating to get a glimpse of the occasional tension behind the bubbly bonhomie of dinner erupted in chaos with a fierce row between Fred Trueman and Micky Stewart and when Pat Murphy’s refusal to toast the Queen nearly prompted Johnston’s resignation.Harmony was quickly restored and soon settled down again. But Agnew unwittingly puts his finger on the problem facing it today when he writes: ” rather than the other way round. In an extraordinary passage Agnew attacks UDRS (Umpire Decision Review System) on the grounds that “it kills the commentary stone dead”. I’d have thought it’s more important that on-field errors should be rectified than that commentators should have to suffer momentary inconvenience. As a personal tribute to Johnston, Agnew’s book is admirable; but it also illustrates, with no fewer than 18 pages on the well-documented “leg-over” joke, the danger of , a memo went round saying, “Under no circumstances must the BBC Television Centre be used for the purposes of entertainment”. One or two of the interviews fall flat when read: John Paul Getty Jr simply emerges as a loyal fan and even Agnew’s encounter with Lily Allen, which caused a stir at the time, is not that remarkable on the page. But the bulk of the interviews are richly revealing. Henry Blofeld proves totally at ease with Dennis Skinner who is rightly impassioned about the sale of school cricket fields, Agnew gets Stephen Fry to talk eloquently about the links between cricket and the English language and, best of all, the underrated Simon Mann relishes an abrasive encounter with Piers Morgan who tests to the limit the theory that cricket lovers are invariably nice people; in fact, reading that interview I was reminded of Fry’s wicked definition of “countryside” as “killing Piers Morgan”. But the joy of Baxter’s book is that it communicates a love of cricket and shows why, whatever its flaws, we still need .Thanks Johnners
by Jonathan Agnew
Blue Door (hardback)
244pp, £20

The Best Views from the Boundary
by Compiled by Peter Baxter
Corinthian Books (hardback)
312pp, £14.99

You’ve got to have the stomach for Delhi – in more ways than one

Peter English18-Nov-2010Two weeks in Delhi was both too long and nowhere near enough. It’s that sort of city. Or cities, new and old. At the same time, the place is maddening, inspiring, suffocating and unforgettable. To Westerners it’s most famous for its severe treatment of visiting bellies; for locals it’s a place of historical wonderment that has become a bit busy. Like much of India, a traveller’s experience depends on what he wants to see.From the sixth floor of a simple hotel next to the chaotic station, it was possible to view a huge chunk of the city. Emotional conflict was a feature of the trip. Some moments I couldn’t stop looking at the slums, full of hungry people, living next to rubbish and with the mind-altering soundtrack of hundreds of nimble auto-rickshaws. Then, peering further away, there was a magical mosque, with its bulbs and minarets almost floating towards the clouds. A beautiful building, literally breathtaking, whatever your religion – and it wasn’t on any sightseeing list.One of the things Delhi does best is buildings. For travellers, arming yourself with a copy of William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns is a good start. Head to the Red Fort, the centrepiece of Old Delhi, and stare. It was here that the Australians posed for their World Cup team photo in 1987, the front row sitting up tall, with hands on knees, in front of the mighty sandstone walls. Attempting a two-man version of the shot didn’t feel that silly.Once inside, stay there for a day. Laze, gaze and read. If you stay towards dusk, when the haze creeps back in, the colours of the walls change and the shadows broaden from the structures that used to house harems, royal meetings, riches and battles. My biggest regret of the fortnight there was being at the fort for less than an hour because we had to go to dinner at the Australian embassy.Bird fly around the Jama Masjid•AFPLike in London, Paris or New York, stunning buildings are everywhere. The auto-rickshaws offer excellent viewing with their open sides, and the bouncy seats of the Ambassador taxis help raise you that little bit higher. Ask the driver to slow down when nearing the Presidential Palace and India Gate, which were both designed by Edwin Lutyens, the English architect. The roundabout of Connaught Place is always worth a couple of circles, on the inner and outer rings.My favourite structure of them all was Qutub Minar in south Delhi, a 72m tower built around the 12th century. Originally put up for protection, it now stands in a quiet garden, protected by its world heritage listing, and visited by locals and tourists who wonder how such a perfect structure could have been built so long ago. If you hire a driver – or you go with a local mate – it’s possible to do Qutub Minar, the Lotus Temple, and the Red Fort in a day, although most travel in Delhi is measured in hours.It is an exhausting city – tiring and polluted, yet rewarding. The Lotus Temple is a domed building that has similarities to the Sydney Opera House and is home to followers of the Bahai faith. Raj Ghat, which is not far from the cricket ground, is the memorial to Gandhi, and translations of his outlook are signposted in many languages.With all this amazing architecture, the Feroz Shah Kotla is a huge letdown. Delhi was my base for a fortnight, with stays in bustling Karol Bagh, the more relaxed Green Park, and the accommodation near the station. There were also visits to the other world of the team’s hotel, an oasis of luxury. It was a shame to spend six of those days at the Kotla, as it’s known locally.Built on a fortress – it’s virtually impossible for touring teams to succeed there as well – the ground is surrounded by some ruins, but is not enchanting. It’s a hotch-potch of stadiums, some not facing directly at the pitch, much like the Gabba before its redevelopment. Entry was via a dirt path with hessian barriers, giving the feel of a music-festival trek at the end of a weekend, and then past the back of the stands and through many security checks. By the end of the game my knees were bruised from bumping against the seat in front.A plane flies over the world heritage site of Qutub Minar•AFPThe pitch, traditionally helpful to the spinners, has been poor recently too. (It was here that Anil Kumble dismissed all ten Pakistan batsmen in 1998-99.) The Australians don’t like the venue much either, having won only one Test there, in 1959-60, and two ODIs in 1998 (one of those was against Zimbabwe). Usually they get to spend a long time in the field, like when Cameron White was the No.1 spinner in 2008 and Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman posted double-centuries.If you’re fortunate you’ll get to watch with a friend, and you’ll be even luckier if that person is a local. Stay close and get taken to the restaurants with the best , or eat with them at home. That sort of experience is a travel treasure, and I still remember the midnight feast spent discussing India’s literature beyond Aravind Adiga and Arundhati Roy.As a western tourist, some days the beauty of Delhi is moving, and other times the harshness is hard to stomach. But just like the athletes and visitors who opened their eyes and minds during the Commonwealth Games, there is plenty to enjoy in a city of contrasts.

Ireland’s upset of England has turned their match against India into a much-awaited game, and one that could have telling consequences on the Cluster of Calamity that is Group B

Sharda Ugra in Bangalore04-Mar-2011The summer is racing towards Bangalore but temperatures inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium are dropping from the highs of the India v England contest last week. One bunch of stands has been cleared of chairs, the concrete bleachers are back and the capacity of the ground has gone up from 38,000 to 39, 221, with half available for public sale. There are no laathi charges outside the stadium, no crowds thronging the gates and tickets for the match are all sold out.The build-up to India v Ireland would have been quieter had it not been for Wednesday’s upset and the general churning in Group B that has sent this Cluster of Calamity into a state of flux at the start of the third week of the World Cup.Suddenly, India v Ireland on Sunday is a match where the Indians must hit the ground at full stride and the Irish cannot afford to slip for fear of being condemned for having celebrated far too much on the days following their victory over England.Ireland put out allrounder John Mooney and a short burst of Wednesday’s hero Kevin O’Brien for the waiting cameramen and reporters on Friday; the Indians stayed true to the BCCI’s intentions to have their players available in only diet-sized bites, once the day before a match and then an hour after each match is over. At one stage, there was a strong rumour that given the high demand for interviews of Yusuf Pathan’s newly-acquired talking parrots, the two birds would be forced to turn up for the media conference. At the first sign of television cameras, it is reliably learnt, that the parrots just fled, or rather, flew.An Indian net session can often represent a film clip from cuckoo land, but that is being disrespectful to a bunch of the country’s most elite high-performance athletes, who showed off multi-disciplinary skills on Friday. The team arrived at the ground about 90 minutes behind the schedule announced earlier and set themselves up for a long practice session. In a development that will gladden the hearts of their devoted fans and cantankerous punditry, a fielding session under lights was planned. India’s practice began with a 20-minute lockdown in their changing room, and when they did emerge, an hour of football was followed by a group of the players gathering to perform the Usain Bolt pose for the cameras. The Jamaican sprinter calls it his, “To Di World” pose. Given that India’s fielders are not really entitled to send out such messages to anyone, the move may be a psychological ploy to rev up the team’s happiness index and also confuse the Irish: that among their slow-moving rivals on Sunday, champion sprinters lurk dangerously.Fielding is the area where the Indians will have to up their game against a team which can be matched with both bat and ball. No matter how many they make, it is what the Indians will leak in the field that will always hold them back. Dhoni had thrown his hands up after the tie against England when he said, “I don’t think we can improve the fielding very much because we have got quite a few slow fielders in the side … you need to realise your strengths and definitely fielding is not a big part of it.”It is why India must decide whether to pack in a side that can score runs or bring in the extra wicket-taker. The somewhat brittle, though effective, Ashish Nehra is rumoured to be fit again but for him to be in the XI, India must leave out either Piyush Chawla or pack the side with five specialist bowlers and give Yusuf Pathan a chance to spend time with the parrots. If India do play five bowlers, it will be an act of much boldness and a slightly heavier responsibility on its big-ticket batsmen. They have had a week’s break after each of their two matches so far, but now go into three matches in seven games, and no matter what the big tickets do, it is India’s foot soldiers who will be sweating.Runs are, once again, expected to burst forth from the Chinnaswamy Stadium wicket, where the last three international matches have generated an average of 328 runs per innings. In these three games, two teams have successfully chased scores of above 300 with India and England entangled in a tie. All that can be done to generate an extra twirl of turn on the wicket, which is what the Indians must now be slightly desperate for, is to keep the wicket dry by not watering it. Yet how much the wicket can be changed is all a question of degree. Who gets to decide what that degree is, will be known the moment the first innings of Sunday’s match is complete.

A statistical analysis of the trends across the four 500-Test periods

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan20-Jul-2011Exponential increase in the number of matches
The most noticeable trend has been the proliferation of Test matches in recent times. While the 1000th match was played only as far back as 1984, nearly 107 years after the first match in 1877, the next 1000 matches have been played in 27 years at a rate of nearly 37 Tests per year. The first 500-Test period was spread across 83 years (10 years lost due to war) with an average of just over six Tests per year, while the second and third set of 500 Tests were played in 24 and 16 years respectively. However, the rate of Tests per year in the second (20) and third periods (31) is much lower than the extraordinary rate of nearly 45 Tests per year in the last 11 years.Better batting conditions
In the early phase of Test cricket, a number of matches were played on uncovered pitches, and hence the period witnessed a number of low-scoring games. In 408 completed team innings before the first World War (1877-1913), there were 53 scores below 100 (13% of total completed innings). In contrast, in the last phase of 500 Tests (2000-2011), teams have been bowled out for less than 100 on only 43 occasions out of 1265 completed innings (3.3%). Till the turn of the 19th century, teams were scoring at just over 22 runs per wicket, a figure that gradually rose to over 33 in the 1920s. Except for the 1950s, the runs-per-wicket figure has generally remained above 30 in every decade after the 1920s. In matches before the first World War (1877-1913), the average rate of hundreds was one every 36 innings, whereas in the second phase of the first 500-Test period (1914-1960), centuries were scored at a much quicker rate of one every 20 innings. As batting got a lot easier in the subsequent decades, centuries were scored at a rate of one every 20 innings in the second and third 500-Test periods. In the fourth one, the innings-per-century figure is the lowest (17.02), a rate nearly 20% quicker than the overall average (20.39).The other major change has been the scoring rate. What used to hover around the 2.50 mark till the mid-1980s has soared to more than 3.20 runs per over, thanks largely to the advent of limited-overs cricket.

• Don Bradman scored 29 centuries in 80 Tests (innings-per-century figure of 2.75). Among batsmen who have scored at least 15 centuries, Clyde Walcott (4.93), Herbert Sutcliffe (5.25) and Everton Weekes (5.40) follow Bradman. Tendulkar is fifth, with a century every 5.68 innings.
• Bradman also has the best conversion rate of fifties to centuries (hundreds to fifties ratio of 2.23 ) followed by Walcott (1.07) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1.04).
• Charles Bannerman’s innings of 165 out of a team total of 245 in the first Test constituted 67.34% of the completed team total. This still remains a record for the highest percentage of runs in a completed team innings.
• In the second 500-Test period, 12 batsmen scored 2000-plus runs against a particular opposition. Among these batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar has the best average (65.45 against West Indies) followed by Ken Barrington and Garry Sobers, who have averages of 63.96 and 61.28 against Australia and England respectively.

*Result percentage on the rise
The reduction in the number of drawn Tests has been one of the biggest changes in Test cricket over the last decade. In the 499 Tests that have been played since June 16, 2000, only 128 have been drawn, which is a percentage of 25.65. That’s easily the lowest among the four periods. In particular, the percentages have been very low for matches played in Australia and South Africa – in both cases they’re well under 20%. Steve Waugh, who led Australia in 57 Tests, won 41 and drew just seven (12%).Only eight of the 129 Tests played in Australia between 1877 and 1960 were drawn, but this was mainly to do with the fact that most Tests played in Australia in the years before the second World War were Timeless Tests. A few matches in England, West Indies and South Africa were also played to the finish, but these do not significantly affect the draw percentages in those countries. The runs-per-wicket figure was highest in the West Indies and India in this period, which also corresponds with fairly high draw percentages in these countries (54% and 46%).Even after the Timeless Test concept was abandoned, the draw percentage in Australia continued to stay much lower than in other countries. In the second 500-Test period, India and Pakistan had the highest averages and draw percentages. West Indies’ top-class bowling attack meant that the draw percentage in the Caribbean fell rapidly in the 1980s and early 1990s, but over the last decade it has gone up again.

• Clive Lloyd led West Indies to 23 away wins in Tests, the most by an individual captain. Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh are joint second, with 19 wins each.
• Among head-to-head contests that have featured at least 20 matches, the lowest draw percentage is 21.29% in Australia-West Indies Tests followed by Australia-South Africa (21.68%).
• There have been eight occasions when teams have reversed a lead of 200 runs or more at the end of the second innings and gone on to win the match. Apart from the 2006 Oval Test which was forfeited, the highest deficits overcome have been 291 by Australia against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1992 and 274 by India against Australia in Kolkata in 2001.

** The low draw percentage in Australia in the first period is predominantly due to the Timeless Tests.
* In the second period (1960-1984), only ten Tests were played in Sri Lanka, of which two were draws.Australia’s dominance and West Indies’ sharp fall

In the initial years when Australia and England were the dominant sides, matches against the other weaker sides, including South Africa, India and West Indies, were hardly challenging. While England dominated the head-to-head contests before the first World War, Australia were the better side between the wars predominantly due to the extraordinary batting achievements of Bradman, who scored 15 centuries at an average of 91.42 against England in the same period. In the years after the second World War, West Indies became a force to contend with and set the precedent for a highly-successful period by contesting a closely fought series in Australia in 1960-61. West Indies completely dominated the second half of the 1970s, and the 1980s. They won two consecutive series against England by 5-0 margins in 1984 and 1985-86 and did not lose a single Test series between 1980 and 1995. Following their historic series win in the Caribbean in 1995, Australia embarked on a remarkable run. They maintained a win-loss ratio of 3.37 in matches played since 2000, and set a record for winning 16 consecutive Tests on two different occasions.Until Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy, India were a dominant side in home Tests, but a very poor team in away matches. Following their return from the ban, South Africa dominated every team except Australia before finally winning their first ever Test series in Australia in 2008-09. On the other hand, West Indies endured a torrid time in the 2000s with their win-loss ratio of 0.23 among the worst in cricket history. Australia, by far, have been the most successful team across the four periods and their high average difference (difference between batting and bowling averages) and excellent win-loss ratio shows how strong they have been.

• Between 1980 and 1995, West Indies played in 29 series without a single series defeat, a record for most consecutive Test series played without a single series defeat. Australia are second with 16 consecutive series between 2001 and 2005 without defeat.
• Among teams that have played at least 20 matches at a particular venue, Pakistan have the best win-loss ratio of 10.50 in Karachi (21 wins and two losses). Australia are next, with a win-loss ratio of 4.00 in Brisbane (32 wins and eight losses).
• Australia have successfully chased 300-plus targets on eight occasions, the most by any team. West Indies are second, having achieved the feat on five occasions.

Spin back in favour
A combination of uncovered pitches and quality spinners meant that spin contributed significantly to the wickets tally in the first 500-Test period. Nearly 34% of the total wickets fell to spinners, and almost 14% to bowlers who bowled a mix of pace and spin. The classification of bowlers was much more distinct and acccurate in later years, and hence the low percentage of wickets contributed by the bowlers in the ‘mixed/unknown’ category. From the second 500-Test period onwards, pace bowlers dominated the wickets tally and picked up over 60% of the total wickets to fall. In the period between 1984 to 2000 (Tests 1001-1500), pitches were more pace-friendly, and there was a dearth of quality spinners. As a result, the role of spin was drastically reduced and fast bowlers picked up more than twice as many wickets as spinners in that period. However, the presence of Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan ensured that the contribution of spinners rose again to nearly 33% in the last 500-Test period.

After the first period of 500 Tests (1877-1960), most grounds in Australia and England offered little support for spinners. In the years before the first World War, five of the top ten bowlers were spinners, and the success for spinners continued in the years between the two World Wars. Between 1914 and 1939, Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly formed a highly potent spin combination for Australia. They picked up over 65% (169 out of 259) wickets to fall in the 15 matches they played together between the wars. Hedley Verity, a victim of the Second World War, was another outstanding spinner in the same period. He dismissed Don Bradman eight times in 17 Tests, the most times that Bradman has been dismissed by a bowler. However, spinners lost the hold in the second 500-Test period. Their percentage contribution fell under 30 in Australia and just over 21 in England. Pace bowlers dominated the wickets tally in New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies too in the same period. India and Pakistan, however, remained the best for spin, with spinners picking up over 47% of the total wickets in these two countries. The spin quartet from India picked up 853 wickets, contributing over 18% of the total wickets picked up by spinners in the same period.Even as spinners’ contribution fell in England and South Africa in the subsequent phase (1984-2000), the corresponding number rose to nearly 55% in India. The rise of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the late 1980s meant that pace once again dominated the scene in Pakistan. Warne, who made his debut in 1992, picked up nearly half the total number of wickets that fell to spinners in Australia in Tests between 1992 and 2000. Muralitharan, Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker, was utterly dominant in home Tests. He picked up 364 wickets in 48 Tests at an average just over 18 in the fourth 500-Test period. In the 1970s and 1980s, West Indies relied almost exclusively on pace, as only 16% of wickets fell to spin. But with the quality of their pace attack declining and the pitches becoming more docile, spinners were much more effective on West Indian tracks in later years and picked up close to 30% of the total wickets.

• Muralitharan is the only bowler to pick up 100-plus wickets at a single venue. Remarkably, he has achieved the feat at three different venues (SSC, Kandy and Galle).
• Shane Warne has picked up 195 wickets against England, the most by a bowler against an opponent. Dennis Lillee and Curtly Ambrose are next, with 167 and 154 wickets respectively against England.
• Javagal Srinath holds the record for the best match bowling performance in a defeat with 13 for 132 against Pakistan in Kolkata in 1999.

West Indies have created opportunities in both of their last two matches, but perhaps the memory of winning against a big team is too hazy for them to remember how to get over the line

Dileep Premachandran at the MA Chidambaram Stadium20-Mar-2011In May 2006, after India had edged a close game in Jamaica at the start of the one-day series, Greg Chappell, then the coach, suggested that West Indies had forgotten how to win. It prompted a furious response, and some West Indies players indicated that it had been the inspiration for a rousing comeback that sealed the series 4-1.Those were hardly glory days for West Indies – the subsequent Test series was lost in Kingston – but continuing poor results have meant that even the players have begun to acknowledge that the winning habit is a hazy memory.The task at Chepauk was not a straightforward run chase, especially with no Chris Gayle at the top of the order. But having done the hard work, with Devon Smith particularly impressive in crafting 81, the match was there to be won. When you are 154 for 2, needing less than a run a ball from the last 20 overs, it takes some pretty inept batting to throw it away.Darren Sammy is now as used to answering the collapse question as he is to losing tosses. “We created another opportunity, but couldn’t capitalise,” he said wearily. “It’s a good thing it didn’t happen in the knockout stage. If it had, we would be going home. It is worrying for us, but I back the calibre of players that we have.”Smith is exempt from criticism, bowled by a beautiful slower delivery from Zaheer Khan, but as India scented an opportunity, West Indies drilled holes instead of plugging leaks. Kieron Pollard, batting with a dislocated finger, went for the glory shot before he’d settled, and Sammy was run out in a comedy of errors involving him, Suresh Raina and Munaf Patel.Those left showed no inclination to take the game to the wire, and Ramnaresh Sarwan’s desperate swipe at Zaheer in the batting Powerplay summed up the collective lack of belief. There have been murmurs about the exclusion of Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the last two games, but it’s optimistic to see a man averaging 23.33 in the tournament, with a strike-rate of 58.82, as the panacea to batting ills.Ravi Rampaul’s five-wicket haul was one of the few positives from the game for West Indies•AFPSpare a thought for Ravi Rampaul. A benchwarmer until fever ruled Kemar Roach out, he produced a magnificent spell of bowling on a pitch that offered little more than some early bounce. Back in June 2009, when West Indies last beat a top-ranking nation [India, in Jamaica], Rampaul had taken 4 for 37. On Sunday, he topped that with 5 for 51.The reverse-swing special to get rid of a well-set Virat Kohli was eye-catching, as was the yorker with which he nailed Yusuf Pathan. It was yet another reminder to the line-and-length school of coaching that bending your back and bowling genuinely quick comes with its own rewards.Afterwards, Sammy admitted that Rampaul’s performance was one of the few things to take away from the defeat. “He has been on the bench, but he’s come in and grabbed his opportunity with both hands. That’s what you want from your team setup.”What you don’t want is to give dangerous batsmen too many reprieves. “We got success early on, and could have had Yuvraj [Singh] too,” Sammy said. “I was the culprit who dropped him both times.”Yuvraj had made just 9 and 13 when those chances went down, and his 122-run partnership with Kohli transformed the game. With Pakistan having played one of their best games of the tournament against Australia, such generosity is likely to be severely punished in Mirpur on Wednesday, when West Indies face them in the first quarter-final.Sammy is well aware of the threat. “Their captain [Shahid Afridi] has been performing, and some of the others have too. Hopefully, they’ll have their bad match against us, and we’ll bring our A game.”It’s been a long time since anyone saw it. But as they head to Bangladesh, the players could do worse than ask Richie Richardson, the manager, to tell them about 1996. Then too, West Indies qualified fourth out of their group and were given next to no chance against a rampant South Africa.A Brian Lara epic followed, and Sammy will hope that a fit-again Chris Gayle or a Darren Bravo can emulate him as a once-great side tries to rediscover the winning feeling.

What India’s bowlers have lacked is the man to drive them onwards, to give their pack direction

Sharda Ugra at Edgbaston11-Aug-2011The instant that captured India’s day at Edgbaston came right at the end. On the first ball of the last over in the technicolour glow of an English summer evening. Having dropped Eoin Morgan off a simple chance at first slip, Rahul Dravid, immovable batsman, unflappable man, tore the blue India cap off his head and flung it to the ground. Flung it like he wanted it to drill a hole in the ground. Flung it like he wanted to dive into that hole after it.It wasn’t a muted gesture of controlled despair or an invisible pang of disappointment. It was pure fury; rage boiling over. It was the second catch Dravid had dropped in the day, it was the third by India and the second time Morgan had been given a life. It was the culmination of what had been a day of pure melee for the Indians: they conceded 372 runs, dropped three simple chances and the first of only three wickets to fall had come off a no-ball that was missed by the umpires, from a spinner who had infuriatingly sent down eight no-balls.Thursday drove India’s men over the edge, made them act out of character. While Dravid’s finale was tempestuous, Sreesanth theatrics dissipated. Savagely pulled by Alastair Cook for a boundary for being short and wide for his first over with a new ball, Sreesanth adopted the game’s pose of baffled enquiry. In Indian dance terminology, you can call it the teapot mudra. Hands on hips, complete annoyance on face. It was untidy, confused and comic, much like India were in the field.England scored at more than four an over on a wicket that was easing and began to show the first signs of turn towards the end of the day; they are 232 runs ahead, have enough wickets in the bag, and for the first time in the series, had their innings set up more than handsomely by their openers. The Indians know it needn’t have been this way but the reason that it is, lies within as much as it does in England’s bowling. There have been two points in this series where India’s bowling has been completely unlike Thursday. In those two phases, they have stood up to full height and looked on the other side of ragged, despite carrying old legs in the field and not many runs to go with.The first was at Lord’s when Ishant Sharma ripped out the heart of England’s middle order on the fourth morning, leaving them at 5 for 67 at lunch. The second came at Trent Bridge, with England at 8 for 124. It is the time when escape hatches need to be slammed shut, air needs to be knocked out of lungs and it is where turnarounds begin. It is what competitive teams do and what No. 1 teams have in their DNA. It is as Harsha Bhogle described it on his Time Out show, cricket’s version of the break-point that champion capitalise on almost instinctively.In being unable to do so not once but twice, India have displayed a fallibility that, regardless of the result of the series or the No.1 ranking, is now their bauble of burden. What the bowlers have lacked at times like these is the man to drive them onwards, to give their pack direction. Not the senior pros or even the captain, but one of their own.There would no doubt have been moments in the day when the bowlers’ minds would have strayed to the man who was not on the field. The talismanic Zaheer Khan was not merely wicket-taker but pack-leader, fire-starter, advisor, and aide. Against West Indies, Zaheer’s second-in-commands, the capable and skilled Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar did more than adequately. Against a team one notch higher though, the demands have been doubly severe and the outcomes half as fruitful.Ishant and Praveen’s labours in England have been wince-inducing: Ishant has bowled 130 overs, Praveen 150 while Sreesanth has played only one Test so far, and bowled 68. Already the India’s main frontline bowlers have bowled more overs than the two leading Indians did in the 2007 series in England. Then Zaheer bowled 136.2 to mark his career-breakthrough 18 wickets and Anil Kumble, second highest wicket-taker along with Anderson at 14, sent down 143.4. RP Singh who just strolled over to Edgbaston with a smile on his face was partner to Zaheer in 2007, bowling 92 overs and taking 12. It is not as if the team of 2007 was bubbling with optimism; they had come off a poor World Cup, were without Virender Sehwag, full stop, and no successor to Greg Chappell as coach. They weren’t expected to win, none of their frontline batsmen scored a century in the three Tests, but at the end, India won the series 1-0. Their seam bowling attack however was a few notches higher in one critical element than the current group: pace.Kumble, who is following the series from his home in Bangalore, can see how tired his former team-mates are by the sheer load but, for all his sympathy, says it is the top-class Test bowler’s lot. “As a bowler, you’ll have to get to a level where bowling 30 overs in a day is routine. You have to get into that mindset. You have to be prepared to have days like India had today, where nothing will go your way, where you won’t get a wicket.” What happens away from the field of play must then kick in and Kumble says the best solution is self-analysis. “Analyse what you did, what could you have done different, see if setting different fields helps. Think about changing something. If you don’t do then you’re just going through the motions.”It is the time, Kumble says when the young player, the new bowler of ambition and desire must push himself further, stretch his ambitions. “At this level, the talent is more or less the same. It is the desire that makes a difference. You have to tell yourself that out of the four bowlers, you want to become the No.1 that the captain turns to. How you want to go up the ranks is up to you.” Don’t look for one person to be your leader and yourself as the support cast, he often told his younger mates. Go and become that leader.It is what Zaheer was able to do in 2007, after a lousy first day at Lord’s. Since that series, he has taken 131 of his 273 wickets. Since the team’s No.1 ranking, Zaheer has played in 11 out of India’s 18 Tests before this England series and taken 53 wickets. He is missed now because in 2007, he pushed himself forward to become the No.1 man. What India’s bowling is without today is a leader. Not the if-only man, the man who could have been, but someone in its ranks who, at the bottom of his heart, with all due respect, actually really wants to push Zaheer Khan off his perch.