Oh ho ho..

I'm not posting much here - I presume its just normal for me to stop blogging, I just get bored I guess, presumably by the lack of interesting stuff to post. However, this one's a cracker. We all know Freddie Flintoff is back and if you've missed what you did to Jacques Kallis the other day at Edgbaston, you've just got lucky with this clip. For a change, there are a couple of most exciting Test matches going around, but this short stint from the Big Fred is worth more than just a single watch.

At Last..Cricket in whites

I was so relieved to read the proceedings in Lords where the 1st Test between England and Kiwis took place. But at the same time, I was a little baffled since the headlines on most websites instead chose to continue putting IPL on center stage. Well, am not against IPL as such or for that matter the cheerleaders, but the fact is that its been going for a touch too long now. Entertainment's good, but only if its within check. IPL is growing or rather being promoted rather uninhibitedly.

Well, no doubt that most cricket watchers wouldn't have known about the potential of some of the Indian domestic players without IPL, since BCCI has (in)advertently done all it can to kill the biggest domestic tournament of the country - the Ranji Trophy. Its quite mystifying to think that they were never able to schedule the domestic tournaments at a time when all the national squad players were available all this while, and now they have managed to stitch together a tournament which is dictating the international calendar, which could only be potentially matched by the World Cup. Money can do wonders and perhaps Modi and co. and too busy minting it to take note of that. Accepted..

People are comparing the Packer revolution to IPL - a question which would probably be answered in the time to come. I just hope the answer doesn't turn out to be true, since it probably would prompt all wannabe Rahul Dravids to instead have the likes of Afridi as their mentor. Funny as it might sound.

Further, if the folks at the top think that they'd soon be seeing the fanaticism of the crowds supporting their own teams, then I pity the people of other states.. Well, one never knows but BCCI may come up with any team.. the Bhopali Blunders!

Finally, it arrived..

..it indeed did. Nine years is a long time, but then when it came, it was all the more sweet. Few would remember that the last time he hit a ton in a winning final was against the Zims in 1999. He's been there all this while, scoring runs at a scorching rate, but when it came to the finals, it looked as though the law of averages seem to catch up with him. Perhaps it did him this time as well, probably this time the other way around, since he hadn't scored many in the earlier games.

Fantastic knock, which was not as imposing as the one Hayden played earlier in the day, but it was balanced. Talk about cricket being played as much in the mind as outside. There weren't many outrageous punches off the backfoot or the booming straight drives, instead what we saw was creative batsmanship at his best. This was mind over matter and no brownie points for guessing who won.

Being an ardent fan that I am, I was literally praying that India wins the toss and bats first at the SCG, since I've hardly seen teams chasing successfully on that ground. The pitch gets a lot slower and lower as the day progresses, and although the ground is at its magnificent best under the lights, it has more often than not been a burial ground for the chasers. But at last it changed..

A great game all in all - the Aussies showed why they are the best fielding side in the world yet again which meant that the Indians had to chase an extra 25 runs. They did and with the master there to see it till the end, it was all the more beautiful. I'm not saying that the Aussies are past their prime or anything else. There's still daylight between them and the others, but its good to see a few teams at least take the game by the scuff of the neck and give them a fight. After all any game needs two 'teams' to make it a contest.

I really expect Gabba to be everything but SCG in terms of the pitch. Indians are one up, and the Aussies are a bit wounded. Some fellow Aussie bloggers want their team to hit the deserts once again as they did when John Buchanan was the coach to strengthen them up. Interesting.. all I have to say is ask Stephen Waugh first - he'd have some scary stories about the desert storm he witnessed way back in the summer of '98 at Sharjah!

Brett Lee-ing all the way..

I don't know why he's nick named Bing; he doesn't resemble his namesake Chandler Bing even an inch. Not by his features and definitely not by his antics. But Brett "the threat" Lee's definitely a show stealer, much akin to the popular soap Friends character.

Though this year's Allan Border medal had quite a few phenomenal candidates as always, but perhaps no one deserved it more than Lee, who's taken the mantle of leading Australia's attack with utmost ease from his ever so glorious predecessors. McGrath and Warne formed the lynchpin of this champion side but once they left, there were question marks all over the place over who's going to carry them forward. Brett Lee's been there for almost a decade now, but what we've seen from him in the last couple of seasons has been nothing short of exemplary. Ask Ricky Ponting, and he'll let you know that the first name that comes into his mind whenever they need wickets is just one. The most brilliant part is that he delivers.. and does so invariably.

70 wickets in the last year, he's not given an inch whether it comes to the longer or the shorter format of the game. He has perhaps never been so consistent and he knows it. There have been times when others have been pretty ordinary and there's a tendency of the senior pro to be reduced to a workhorse. Rest assured, when it comes to BL, all you can expect is 90 odd miles an hour boomerangs being delivered and some twitchy nerves among the guys facing him. Talk about being right on the money.

When he first emerged onto the scene in the Boxing Day Test against the Indians in 1999, there was this guy who had some serious pace, but with a doubtable action and nervy temper. Though he bagged a fiver in his first match, but troubles with his action and fitness never really let him take off the way he would have liked. But champions never really 'say die' and his second transformation has been an absolute revelation. He uses his artillery much more wisely and is not just about throttling half trackers at the tail enders. Pit him against a Sachin Tendulkar and you won't probably find a bowler who can bowl better.

He wasn't known to be shy of hurtling beamers on the batsmen when things weren't going well, but in the past few years, he's perhaps gained the honor of being the most well behaved Aussie on the field. Perhaps both the sides need to take a cue from their mate, who knows exactly how to mix aggression and the game without creating a lump. Temper's fittingly taken the backseat and now we see a player who thoroughly enjoys the game even when the chips are down.

Admirable, Athletic, Super Fit and Exciting.. This package has definitely all the ingredients to be amongst the best.

A Few Wise Men..

Watching live games on the ground is a helluva experience for a few, but for the unfortunate rest, the only savior is the television stacked in the corner of the room. But for them, blessing comes in disguise as they are not just able to view the happenings in the middle, but also listen to the thoughts of some of the best people who have been involved with the game. I didn't use the phrase who have played the game at the highest level, since there are some brilliant exceptions. I've been thinking on posting this since quite a while and it was long due. So here's my list of whom I really love listening to, the guys who can turn even some of the most boring games into pretty entertainers.. here are a few wise men -

1. Mark Nicholas - "By Heaven" doesn't sound even close to being blasphemous when he says that. For me, he's just the best in the business whether it comes to expressing elation or regret. The fact that he's the only commentator in the Channel 9 team who's not played international cricket pays a testimony to the respect he gathers in that pretty exclusive group. Watching Lee bowl to Sach with MN behind the mic is an absolute treat. Sorry for you fellas who see the game live at the grounds..

2. Richie Benaud - Well, I'm sure most of you would put him on the top spot, but for me he comes at a close second, just a little behind Mark Nicholas. The absolute pundit of the game, who ones famously said, "Captaincy is ninety per cent luck and ten per cent skill, but don't try it without that ten per cent". Without a doubt, the most respected cricket commentator, few would argue his credibility on passing any judgement. He's been one of the best Aussie skippers and been there, seen all..

3. Tony Cozier - No one probably knows Caribbean cricket better than him. I still believe he could have been the best of 'em all had he been involved with say, the Australian cricket. The decline in West Indian cricket, both in quality and interest probably attributes more than anything else in him dropping to the third place. I loved his comment, "Even God would have found it difficult to play that", when Malinga nailed Vettori with an absolute toe crusher.

4. Tony Greig - Needless to say, one of the most animated commentators around, he can even inject excitement into a Aussies-Kenya encounter! Not many would forget him during the Sach twin blows in Sharjah against the Aussies. It was at times difficult to comprehend whether TG himself was hitting them all over the park. The one who was was offered the 'job for life' by Kerry Packer as a commentator for Nine's cricket coverage, he's really carved a place for himself as one of the best ever.

5. Michael Holding - A quite man with an extremely good insight into the game, he's more different than anyone else in the above lot. Doesn't crack too many jokes and with the least of animations, its just a pleasure listening to him, since you know that he just won't make any blunders behind the mic. To the point and often accurate, he still stays true to his 'quite stealthy' run-up before delivering the knockout punch.

6. Geoffrey Boycott - Controversy's the name of this man, and some of the stuff that he says might seem outrageous to a few and humorous to the rest. Yorkshire's accent has never been this famous before. His 'momma' still takes most of the catches and hits most of the runs and we often see a 'poof' of dust when she's playing. Some characters are made for this game. He might have been one of the dullest around with the bat in his hand, but he's an absolute rock star with the microphone now.

7.  Ian Chappell - If Michael Hussey's the Mr. Cricket on the field, he's the same off the field. As his twin, he craves for perfection, but balances it just about perfectly with humor. Probably one of those people who know the game as good as anyone else, he doesn't shy away from hitting the nail on the head when it comes to passing his comments. I've never found him going over the top and he really forms one of the core pillars of the Channel 9 club.

8. Bill Lawry - I'd include him just for the energy.. just for the its all happening here and bang and Its a ripper.. If excitement's the sole criterion, he'd rank on top of my list with Tony Greig a close second. There are times, when I find him really going over the top, at times pro Aussie, but whatever, Bill still goes for the kill..

9. Barry Richards - No list can be complete with the great Barry Richards. He falls into the same category as Ian Chappell - perfectionist. The best thing about him is that I've never found him biased in his comments about the game. Indian Protean encounters for some reason lack a bit of fizz in the commentary box, but for Barry Richards, who makes you sit up and listen to him.

10. Ravi Shastri - Well, some might argue that Sunny Gavaskar should have been there, but my pick would be RS. The way he's becoming increasingly good at his job as a broadcaster is commendable. The fact that he's so close to the Indian players help him immensely in passing judgements sitting in that air conditioned box and with his accent and control over the language, he's bound to appeal to the english speaking audience sooner than later. Brilliantly humorous, I'm sure he'll rise up the ranks in the years to come.

Sadly, I decided to limit my list to just ten of them. There were a few others who really were very close to being included but then, it had to be just 10. Harsha Bhogle, Mike Haysman, David Lloyd and Mark Taylor were some of them. Bhogle for his sincerity as a broadcaster and his trivia about this game, Haysman for the Bill Lawrish excitement, Lloyd for his humor and Mark Taylor 'tubby' for analysis. Well, this is it.. These gentlemen behind the microphones are as much as a treat to listen to as watching one of those Warnie rippers or Sach's maximums!

Share your list, and in the meanwhile, here's what Bill Lawry's has to say on an absolute ripper of a catch..

Indian Sports Journalism.. trenched..

“Generally speaking, the best people nowadays go into journalism, the second best into business, the rubbish into politics and the shits into law”

                                                                    - Auberon Waugh

Well, no offence and I don't intend to be disrespectful to any law folks and instead through this post I'll contribute my bit in elevating them at least a step, 'coz I think that some of the sports journalists in India are giving them a tough fight for the last position.

Heroes and Gods one day and Villains the next. Sometimes its hard for me to remember and dig deep into my brain cells to remember when was the T20 World Cup?  Was it really last year? It wasn't too long when the team was being lauded and loaded with all kinds of metaphors for winning the championship. This was in the year when India earlier failed miserably on the South African tour and the big names in the team were being constantly asked some serious questions. A breath of fresh air comes in with the T20 and suddenly the Indian Press found new Gods who "should have been" long back drafted into the team. Insane celebrations followed and instead of putting in some critical happenings around the world on the front page, all that followed were interviews.. not just of the players but also of their families! Cut short to early 2008 now..

The same team arrives in Melbourne and finds themselves out of place after being skittled out for a paltry 74. Agreed it was disappointing, but what followed from the Indian media was just over the top. The news and the websites were flooded with columns degrading the same bunch of players whom they adored just a championship back. All of this is just so insane and uncalled for? They blew it over the top the first time when they won and now they just bury them a million yards deep when they fail. All of this - just to grab attention!

The silliest part of all this is that most of the writers of such columns don't seem to know a damn about the game. The Times of India was considered to be one of the newspapers that defined the new India, but its sports section is unbearable.  The ever increasing number of news channels aren't helping the cause and in fact are sometimes even embarrassing to watch. I just wish that in such a vibrant country where sports is a passion, some sense is restored to these wannabe journalists. I still visit the Sydney Morning Herald or The Australian or for that matter The Times to catch up on the likes of Peter Roebuck, Peter Lalor and Simon Wilde. How I wish, I didn't need to do that! But looks like its still going to take quite sometime before the guys doing the job get their heads straight.

Good 'ol Sportstar has always been my ultra favorite for its articles.. sad I just don't get enough time to read them now.

Adios Baggy Green Number 381...

The two formats of cricket have often led to players being tagged as a 'one-day' specialist or a 'test match' specialist. In the past we've also seen radically different teams and even different captains for the t wo versions. However, for some players it just doesn't matter. Further, some have even gone a couple of notches ahead and through their incredible actions have managed to bridge a bit of a gap between the two. Fewer belong to such an exclusive league more than the man who's donned the baggy green 381 - Adam Gilchrist.

'Gilly' or 'Church' as he's also known, has probably been one of the greatest all time cricketers to have played the game. Without a doubt, the best wicketkeeper batsman of all times, he's redefined the position of a No. 7 bat in the team. No more can an opposition breathe a sigh of relief when they get the Aussies 5 down, coz' they know that the next man taking guard probably hits the ball harder than anyone else in the game. For the purists, he averages almost 48 with the bat. Did I mention his strike rate? It stands at 81.97 (courtesy Cricinfo stats). To drop a comparison factor, his skipper Ricky Ponting strikes at 80.68 in the ODI version of the game!

Almost everyone falls into the trap of labeling him as a batsman-wicketkeeper rather than a keeper-batsman, which baffles me to no extent, since here's a chap who's recorded the maximum number of dismissals in test cricket. Now, if he still belongs to the latter category, that's quite a hefty bonus, isn't it? They say that Warne could bowl a different delivery every over - leg breaks, zooters, wrong 'uns, flippers, fizzers, whatever. Realistically speaking, if its difficult for a batsman to pick them up, how 'bout the wicketkeeper who even has to anticipate the various edges of the bat that the ball can brush. Yes, he might have dropped a few, some even sitters, but that's what this sport is all about. In fact, to call him one of the chief architects of the Australian juggernaut in last decade or so wouldn't be outrageous at all.

Ian Healy was good, perhaps one of the greatest glovesman to have played this game. Filling his boots wasn't easy and now when Brad Haddin sees Gilchrist's boots, I'm sure he'll find them even bigger!

Thank you Adam Gilchrist, for it was an absolute privilege watching you play, be it  behind or in front of the stumps, for you never ceased to entertain us with the way you played the game. We've seen  you in whites and in the funky yellow, but its the the sight or your baggy green that will be sorely missed.

The 39th Roar..

The first international match I watched live at the grounds was during the WC '96, when India played Sri Lanka in Delhi. I was lucky enough to be a ball boy in the game and unlucky enough to see Indians lose against a blinder of a counter-attack by Sri Lankans. It did hurt me, though just a little, for I had already witnessed a majestic 137 from Sach's blade. Its one thing to see the batsman murdering the opposition on the television, but radically different when you see it happening in strict real time from the boundary lines. I still can't forget his flick shot off Murali which just made the ball disappear somewhere over the deep mid-wicket fence. That experience of watching the master play barely a few 60 yards away (yeah, Kotla's pretty small) was quite unbelievable. Perhaps thats the reason he gets a standing ovation at whatever ground he plays on, and its all the more awe inspiring to see that happening when India is having an away game. Its the sheer joy and pleasure of watching this guy bat and play the way he does, for it so often results in a 'Whoa, beautiful" in unison from folks around you.

Adelaide was a belter of a pitch, the moment I saw the first ball, I knew that winning the toss and batting first on this beauty of a track was an absolute bonus. I know that teams in the past have posted huge totals batting first and yet faltered in their second stint. Last year's Ashes pays a testimony to that. But then, that was England, isn't it? ;) Collingwood did hit an incredible double ton, but the question pops up again - would you pay to watch a Sach ton or a Collingwood double? No offence to C'wood, but I'm sure the percentages would be tilted for the former and the great Sir Don Bradman would have been one of them. That's what he brings to the game - unbiased people who just want to watch him bat, even though it might mean getting runs scored against their own team.

Yeah, the fact that his average of low 16s against the Aussies in the second innings is quite ordinary and that he should have indeed batted the Aussies out of the game at Perth and even perhaps saved the one at the SCG. Underachieved.. well, I have to agree on that. That's the perhaps the only blemish on an otherwise quite a 'wow' career and which might make the difference in him being called Sir Sachin in the future after all. But that doesn't matter at times like these, when you see a chap who's played and survived 18 years of international cricket, still come down the track and absolutely hammer that one on top of the sight   screen. I hope this is not his last hurrah down under. Its quite unrealistic and perhaps unjustified to ask this man to perform time and again and how often does he come out with flying colors. Biased or foolish or absurd, whatever, but I just don't want to see the master hanging his boots.. not now.. not this year.. perhaps never..

There are not many things that give me goosebumps. The national anthem with the flying tricolor would be one. Guessing the other is a little difficult - the choices being his trademark on drive.. or the tiptoed punch of the backfoot through cover point.. I guess I need more time to decide on that.

Requiem for a Dream..

To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.
                                                          William Shakespeare

It took me a hard time to really nail down to this particular quote to define what I feel. If cricket was at its crossroads a week back and it was only a dreadful dream of landing up at the WACA, Perth and losing it well within the stipulated end of a Test match. Well, the game did end well before 5 days, but wait.. did someone say that Australians 17th consecutive win would be a walk in the park!

Whacked at the WACA or call it the Perth Punch, I'm sure they'll be tons of phrases which would be framed soon before the final test gets underway at the Adelaide Oval. But, for now, let's just live in this dream, for its not often that the hunters become the hunted in their own den.

Comebacks have always been a style statement, Irfan Pathan couldn't have asked for more, with a supremely confident 46 in the 2nd innings and his effort with the ball. The swing seems to be getting back and the consistency graph is on the scale upwards. The best feeling a new ball bowler can have is when he can make the ball really talk. The big 3 failed miserably when it mattered the most, but the Very Very Superspecial guy always reserves his best against the Aussies. There weren't any demons in the pitch and neither was the big Curtly firing those red cherries, but it still worked. That's why I call it a dream. I won't dare say bring on Adelaide, perhaps 'coz I don't really give a damn.. atleast for now..

WACA and the Three de Bruijns in the Countin'

Just an interesting analysis about the dice sequence problem that I came across. Long but worth a read, since its bound to wake up a few dying cells in your brain.

Further, its an interesting day's play today at the WACA and it remains to be seen if India will finally seize the advantage against the Aussies or squander it away as it so often does. Call it paranoia, but I still can't count the Aussies out of this game. Even though they might be trailing by 170 odd, but how often have we seen this bunch assert themselves out of nowhere. No matter what happens, but leave all your bread and butter and stay glued to the television sets, coz its not too often that the wicked heat of Perth gets to the Australians. Rest assured, if its 41 degrees in the city, its way higher out there at the center. Somehow Sehwag seems all so crucial in this game and I'm not sure if Lee's faced a tighter test in the past year or so before. With WACA gradually getting close to its pacy prime and with virtually no hopes of an Indian win prior to the start, it'll be interesting to see if Lee delivers or the pressure of performing gets to him.

Whatever said and done, the game has been a surprise to most.. and a exciting one for me in a pleasant sense. :)

'Cricket' at Crossroads

India arrived down under and its been a while since I've been so glued to the happenings since their arrival there. After all, it would perhaps be the last time when the great Indian middle order (at least on paper) would be taking on the baggy greens at their soil. Expectations were huge and fireworks beckoned and man.. have we seen them!

Benson-Bucknor, Roy-Bhajji, Kumble-Ponting et al - looks like the stars of this flick called 'Not cricket, but everything beyond' was a cracker, in literal terms, to the extent that the fissures and the cracks made to this game during the first week of this brand new year are bound to have the most defining repercussions the game has ever seen. Did I say fireworks? Try finding a better term!

The cricket was pretty exceptional with the majestic wrists of Lax and Sach providing to be an entertainment unmatched by any blockbuster. Lee continues to add on to my admiration for him and we all saw what Stuart Clark can do. Well, forgive me for not mentioning Hussey or Symo for the obvious reasons.

More than a week since the Sydney test, but the drama continues to unfold. Didn't I write earlier that the ICC have been increasingly getting better at writing scripts and they continue to do so.

Rewind the tapes to Oval last year when Pietersen was given out caught behind when the wicketkeeper claimed the catch when it clearly bounced before. Pietersen walks and the Sky Sports flashes the entire replay in slow motion from various angles that very instant, prompting the umpires to call him back. I wonder what was Channel 9 doing here! The walk from the center back to pavilion at SCG is a pretty long one, isn't it?

Anyways, how great it would be if India gets back really hard at the WACA..I wish Aerosmith's Dream On turns into Tony Greig's Its All Happening here!

An ol' one.. but a classic!

I just came across this video where Harsha Bhogle talks about Tendulkar in an MBA school. Even if one is not a cricket fanatic, there's much to learn about work ethic from this master craftsman..

Back for Good!

Time flies by and boy, does it fly fast! It just doesn't seem as though a semester is over, and it just was freaking crazy and way too much happened during this course.
No time at all a couple of days back, and now I've got this luxury of watching back to back episodes of Prison Break, writing a blog and even.. doing nothing! Well, I kinda hated this life a few months back, but how badly I needed this for now.

India won, but damn, it was one of the most irrelevant series ever played. It was only sad to see how the arch rivals match-up is just losing all its fizz. It was not just the dull results, but the manner in which the game was played that was disappointing. Well, though I'll be up in sheer anticipation of watching India meet the Aussies down under, but deep inside I'm pretty sure that facing the likes of Lee and co. on the bouncy tracks won't be a trivial task. Add to that misery of the Indian attack and you are left wondering that all that the team can do best is bat for 5 days. Less than a couple of weeks left and it would be interesting to see how the boxing day opens. Sometimes I wonder if the real essence of this series lies in seeing the master perform for one last time down under. There have been numerous articles in the Australian dailies citing how the Aussie crowds would be fortunate enough this summer again to watch him effortlessly switch between spanking backfoot punches and elegant on the rise cover drives! I hope they don't get disappointed..

I've not seen much of John Cusack and can barely recall Runaway Jury, Identity, Con Air and couple others of his flicks. 1408 showed why he's damn good at his job. A li'l scary and fun at the same time, 1408 is pretty gripping right from the start, though am still wondering what the heck was Samuel L. Jackson doing in that nitty role of his. Talk about wasted talent..

I've not been keeping up to date with the tech news and its barely been a couple of days since I was done with my semester. Replication systems and security was all that I could think till then. I didn't give much to Grad school, but sometimes its imperative that you return to the best papers in systems to actually get a feel of whats happening on the application layer. Three years of work in the applications side didn't give much insight on what allows you to build 'em, 3 months of extensive reading in systems did give me a fair idea though!

Another couple of weeks..

No time at all for now, am just nearing the end of my first semester. I'll be back with a bang though sometime later with renewed energy. Damn.. sounds cliched, ain't it?
As the tour down under draws near, the aussie papers have started beaming about our man..

Ct Dravid B Kumble

Ain't got a lot of time for the next few days to post anything here, though I do find time to catch up on stuff somehow. The arch rivals are playing but we are yet to see some real quality cricket and by 'quality' I don't imply the closeness of the matches! It's quite amazing the kind of benchmarks the Aussies were setting barely a couple of weeks ago in the 'purely' cricketing aspects of the game.

Rahul Dravid abandoning the skipper's job was quite unexpected but I guess no one other than Anil Kumble would have been more fitting to fill the abdicated throne. Sachin Tendulkar might be the best batsman to have ever played for India, but when it comes to winning the longer version, few games would go without mentioning critical performances by the men from Karnataka. Such has been their impact on Indian Cricket, sadly most of which has never got its due.

S. Dinakar at his usual best here taking a sneak peek on how the leggie being made the captain should hold out to be a wise decision. I just loved the last line of the story.

Spare me the Glare!

Crowd Taunts, verbal chats, brushing shoulders and intimidating glares - A perfect script to get the game going with the least emphasis on getting the game right! Its pretty inquisitive of the way things have been happening in this game and looks like a new script writer has been appointed to spice up things. A question however pops up - Is it really called for?
Cracking up Australia is not that easy. Andre Nel would have learnt that a couple of years back when Gilly whacked him to all corners of the ground after his antics. He even got a taste of his own against India, though Sreesanth's terpsichore in reply probably overshadowed the entire match itself. No doubt, its fun, though once a while. It becomes quite annoying after that!
Subtle humor with a pinch of sledging is brilliant and I'm not sure if anyone barring the likes of Graeme Hick would really argue with that. But not everyone is good at it, and then comes the case of crossing that 'thin' line when it becomes seriously objectionable. Isn't that happening too often these days? We all know that there is a lot of chatter going around that 22 yards but then to do it gracefully is an art in itself.
Indians were never really good at it, barring a few smart blokes, whom you can count on one hand (The name of Ravi Shastri instantly comes into my mind). However, there has been a substantial change in the past decade or so and this was much evident when Ganguly was at the helm of affairs. He definitely caused a few jitters in Steve Waugh's tummy when the Aussies had come down to India 2000-01.
Things have been changing since then. Aggression is suddenly becoming more important than your numbers. Sreesanth is perhaps a classic example of this. I'm not against giving it back to the Aussies, but then an overdose of the same doesn't really carry any meaning, and especially when you are not able to back your words with deeds. With the recent developments in the Indo-Aus series, its pretty clear that the upcoming tour to Down Under would probably be a make-or-break series for quite a few Indian players. We've all seen how 'generous' the crowds Down under can get, leave alone the 'mates'!
However, ICC would probably be relishing seeing all this. There's a touch of 'soccerial' behavior thats sneaking in this game, driving even the 'relatively' passive folks to hoot for their players. Lets see if these gimmics on display highlight fierce competitiveness or should be ignored as mere buncombe.