The Reverse Sweep

Virat Kohli points the way forward for India

There was some rare good news for the bedraggled Indian cricket team today. One of their batsmen finally managed to reach three figures in what has turned out to be the most one-sided Test series since India last played a Test series outside the subcontinent.

The even better news was that the identity of the century maker wasn’t one of their veterans rolling back the years for a final hurrah (or even a long awaited 100th international hundred). Nor was it one of the misfiring opening batsmen whose individual run without a Test hundred now extends to 38 innings for Gautam Gambhir and 25 for Virender Sehwag.

Today saw the maiden Test hundred for Virat Kohli and it was a good one too even if it probably won’t avert yet another heavy defeat for his side.

We’ve been quite impressed with Kohli for some time and his success could (and should) herald a radical new selection policy for India. One that should see long-service awards and pats on the back for VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and dare I say it the Little Master himself and their replacement in the side with Kohli's fellow new breeders namely Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

As it has with Kohli it may take some time for the new boys to assimilate to Test cricket, but let’s be frank they cannot do much worse than the incumbents have fared in England and Australia. As an example prior to the Adelaide Test, Gambhir averaged 23.00 in the England and Australia series, Laxman 20.28 and Sehwag 16.09.

It’s time for Indian cricket to move on and Kohli’s hundred may well have pointed the way.

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Australia v India - Who will win?

Twelve months ago it was the Ashes and now this year the schedule has thrown up another fascinating battle down under with India this time the visitors. 

Much of the talk leading up to the 1st Test in Melbourne has been the woes of Australia's batting line-up, which saw them skittled for 47 in Cape Town and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against New Zealand in Hobart.

But another way of looking at it is but for these inexplicable collapses, Australia would have registered 2-0 series wins in South Africa and at home to the Black Caps, which would have been mighty impressive results and would have followed on from the series win in Sri Lanka.

Those three contests have been the first under Michael Clarke and we have been mightily impressed with his skilful, thoughtful and adventurous captaincy. He certainly looks an improvement on Ricky Ponting as skipper.

What about India? Their batting line-up with a man as talented as Virat Kohli at six and Rohit Sharma not even able to get into the XI looks immense, but so it did in England when Rahul Dravid apart they struggled in seaming and swinging conditions against a strong England attack.

Australia's bowling attack is not as good as England's but James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon have made promising starts to their international careers, Peter Siddle seems to relish being the senior member of the attack and Ben Hilfenhaus is reportedly back to his best after disappointing in the Ashes last winter. Then there is the teenage sensation pat Cummins to come back in once he is fit.

India's hopes with the ball rely heavily on the fitness of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Both are struggling with ankle problems and it is hard to see an attack shorn of either or both being able to take 20 wickets. Umesh Yadav looks a good prospect as does Varun Aaron, but asking them to lead the attack at this stage of their careers would be risky to say the least.

So Australia's brittle batting line-up could be set to get some respite and with the selectors picking an opener in Ed Cowan who can actually bat against the moving ball, also recalling the resolute Shaun Marsh and with Shane Watson in reserve from the 2nd Test onwards, it looks set to be a fascinating contest.

So who will win? On paper it looks too close to call. India have drawn their two previous series in Australia and the easiest option here would be to predict another spare of the spoils. But we've got an inkling that Australia will prove the fittest and hungriest side and with Adelaide likely to see a draw, we go for the home side to win the series 2-1. But we've been wrong before...

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Virat Kohli's footballer tendencies

Let’s make one thing clear, we believe that Virat Kohli is an immensely talented batsman here at The Reverse Sweep.

In our view Kohli is at the head of a new generation of Indian batsmen including Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that promises the handover of power from the old guard of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman may be much smoother than once feared.

Neverthless, Kohli’s reaction to his dismissal in the third ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad yesterday was unacceptable. Standing his ground and glaring at the umpire was bad enough, but his mouthing of obscenities and general childish demeanour was more befitting of the type of behaviour seen at Premier League football grounds.

As someone who has grown up with the filthy lucre of the IPL and in the full glare of a cricket obsessed country and media, Kohli lives the luxurious and closeted existence enjoyed by the likes of Wayne Rooney and John Terry.

And just as the behaviour of the England rugby squad has plunged the depths as the rewards and endorsements have gone in the other direction – mirroring their football counterparts, so is the danger for the cricketers of the IPL generation.

Kohli has said on many occasions how his game has benefitted from watching Tendulkar at close quarters and listening to his wise counsel, so he would do well to also heed the example the Little Master sets in terms of his modesty off the pitch and respect for the rich traditions of cricket.

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Rohit Sharma: The Artist formerly known as Nohit

But for naivety and the compusure of last wicket pair Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, West Indies would have accomplished in one game what England couldn't manage in five by beating the World Champions in their own backyard.

The catalyst for India's triumph was the increasingly impressive Rohit Sharma, who skilfully anchored what had appeared to be a forlorn chase with 72 before he fell with just 11 runs required.

For a while it seemed that Sharma, famously dubbed Nohit by his detractors, was going to be a talent unfulfilled. A lack of consistency, a seeming love of the celebrity afforded by the IPL and perhaps a touch too much arrogance all contributed to the man who Shane Warne described as having "all the talent in the world" to be left on the fringes of the Indian side.

But a pair of hundreds in an obscure one-day tournament in Zimbabwe in 2010 hinted that there was some substance to go with the style and his first-class average of 63 tells you that there is talent in abundance. 

Although he missed out on the World Cup squad, his curve has continued to go upwards since thanks to a strong performance in the Caribbean in June and perhaps a defining knock yesterday.

He is in the Test squad for the tour to Australia and along with Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane forms a quartet of immensely promising young Indian batsmen. 

It seems that the man Bored Cricket once amusingly called The Artist formerly known as Nohit, has a chance of becoming a Prince amongst batsmen.

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Is India's future post-Sachin, VVS and Dravid brighter than expected?

 
When Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid put the pads in their kit bags for the last time, India is set for a decline in its fortunes to match that of Australia once Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist amongst others retired. Well that's the script peddled by most commentators anyway.

Its certainly true, that any side would miss three all-time great batsmen such as these especially if they were to retire simultaneously or within a short timespan of each other. But firstly the form of Tendulkar and Laxman at least, who both average over 90 in test cricket this year, would seem to suggest that they have plenty of gas left in the tank.

And perhaps more importantly, it would appear that India has a plethora of young batsmen ready to step into the footsteps of this illustrious trio - Suresh Raina has had a brilliant start to his test career and averages 68 after four matches. Murali Vijay hit a majestic hundred in the recent Bangalore Test and looks a class act. Cheteshwar Pujara looked every inch a batsman with a first-class average of 60 when pitched in at the deep end in his first test. Virat Kohli may not have made his test bow yet, but has looked to have all the ingredients required for the longer form of the game in his outings for the one day side. Even Rohit Sharma looks like he may finally deliver on his obvious promise. And my Indian spies tell me there are others too.

Yes, these five batsmen need to prove they have the games to shine outside the subcontinent. And they certainly need to stay away from the many distractions that now face every young Indian cricketer thanks to the IPL and the celebrity circus, but the future looks brighter than many Indian fans fear.

So, India could yet be set for a long reign as the number one side in the world. The next eighteen months where India play away series in South Africa, England and Australia will go a long way to demonstrating if any changing of the guard sees them reinforce their lofty position or slip away from the summit. Our money is on some of these boys at least becoming men.

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Suresh Raina and his chastened team will be getting plenty of bad press in India in the next few days following their second successive defeat to hosts Zimbabwe in the Triangular One Day Competition. The first match was close, but the second yesterday was an absolute cakewalk for the home team who cantered past the winning post with over 11 overs to spare after restricting India to 194 for nine from their 50 overs.

In India's defence they are without regulars Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who have been rested for the tournament. Any side would miss players of that calibre. They are also without Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. The first two no longer feature in the one day side and if recent history is anything to go by, an out of form, unfit and seemingly uninterested Yuvraj is no real miss.

But even with these players missing, most people would still expect India's supposedly talented new generation to deal easily with Zimbabwe. And it's not if most of the players are inexperienced. Of the team that played yesterday, Dinesh Karthik (44), Suresh Raina (93), Rohit Sharma (45) and Yusuf Pathan (36), have all played over 30 ODIs. Suresh Raina's comment before the tour that his "team had no weakness" is coming back to bite him on his rather portly bum.

Given that some of the same players also disappointed in the recent World T20, it would seem that India does not have much strength in depth to eventually replace the likes of Tendulkar when they finally hang their pads up. Players like Pathan and Karthik have had plenty of chances but don't seem to have what it takes to succeed in international cricket.

We would have put Sharma (below) in that bracket too before his first two one day hundreds came in the first two matches of this tournament. Rohit (or The Artist formerly known as Nohit - as amusingly named by Bored Cricket) is clearly talented but an average of 31 (even with those two hundreds) in over 40 ODI is simply not good enough. Maybe he can kick on from here now that the monkey has been lifted off his back.

We would guess that all this shouldn't affect India too much in the World Cup next year because Dhoni, Sehwag and Sachin et al will return and be the core of the side hoping to win the competition on home soil. But soon after, some of these players may retire completely or at least give up playing ODI. That must be a sobering thought for embarrassed India fans this morning, who will not take mediocrity lightly. They will comfort themselves that at least Raina and Virat Kohli look like they will become very good players. 

A conjurer, some chokers & a new pair of pants

Any England supporter asked to refer to their side's darkest hour in the last few years will point to Adelaide 2006 when Shane Warne conjured up some magic to inspire a collapse to demoralise the losers to such an extent that the series ended up as a 5-0 whitewash. Ponting may have been captain in name on that day, but have no doubt it was Warne who bowled, cajoled and marshalled the Australians to victory.

Having watched some of Rajasthan's games this year, Warne the bowler looked a shadow of his former self and his shoulder appears to be close to completely falling out of its socket. That is hardly surprising as Warne is now a part-time cricketer and full-time poker player and underwear salesman with his Spinners brand. Indeed, like Mike Brearley before him it seemed that Warne was only in the side as a specialist captain. Until last night that is.

Defending 159, Warne looked in trouble as his fellow Australian and part-time cricketer Adam Gilchrist got the Deccan Chargers off to a lightning start. But Warne does not have a reputation as the best test captain Australia never had for nothing and he was not prepared for Rajasthan to lose their record of always successfully defending a score of 150 or more in the IPL.

Warne delayed his introduction until Deccan needed only 68 from 54 balls with seven Chargers still in the hutch and proceeded to roll back the years with a tremendous exhibition of legspin. First, he produced a slider to take Anirudh Singh's outside edge. Then knowing that he had to attack to have any chance of stealing a win, he put a slip and silly point in place and was rewarded with the wicket of the dangerous Dwayne Smith.

The Wizard of Oz was now in his element and despite Deccan needing only 23 off the last 18 balls with five wickets remaining, Warne applied more pressure in his final over (the 18th) by taking out Azhar Bilakhia and Ryan Harris to  produce his best T20 bowling figures of four for 21. Deccan still looked strong favourites though with Rohit Sharma going well and when 13 were taken off the penultimate over from Morne Morkel to leave six required off the last six balls, Warne's heroics looked in vain.

But as so often in the past, Warne's magic rubbed off on others and with the pressure reaching boiling point Siddharth Trivedi proved his mettle whilst Sharma and Deccan disintegrated before everyone's eyes just like the English batsmen at Adelaide. Sharma took a single off the first ball and with Trivedi penalised for a bouncer with the next the equation was down to four off five. RP Singh then swished and missed before miscuing the next to Morkel at mid-on. Sharma then attempted a suicidal second to run out Harmeet Singh and then completed his woe slicing a lofted drive to Abhishek Raut.

Warne had done it again and no doubt he also made some extra cash into the bargain as the shattered Sharma and many of his team-mates will have probably required some new underwear judging by the way they choked.