The Reverse Sweep

India: Tigers at home; pussies away

Whilst Brad Haddin would do well to look at his own form before casting aspersions on the fragility or otherwise of India he may have a point - albeit a crass and clumsily made one. Just by crunching a few numbers it is plain to see that whilst India have been the fiercest of tigers in the subcontinent over the past couple of years they are the meekest and most submissive of pussy cats when they play overseas.

 

When India ascended to the number one spot in the Test rankings many said that the tours to South Africa, England and Australia would tell us whether that lofty status was justified. Whilst they emerged with a creditable draw against the Proteas they have lost six out of six thus far in England and Australia. Here are a few numbers that illustrate why:

 

263

India's average total in their last 21 completed or declared innings in overseas Tests taking in tours to South Africa, West Indies, England and now Australia. During this time they have only reached 400 twice - in the second innings at Centurion and Sydney - and both ultimately proved futile as India still lost by an innings each time. Their overall record in these 12 Tests is won two, lost seven (including four by an innings) and drawn three and they have lost the last six by heavy margins. 

 

461

By contrast, India's average total in their last 19 completed or declared innings on the subcontinent taking in home series against Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies plus trips to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is almost 200 runs higher. They topped 700 twice (both against Sri Lanka) and fared much better in these 16 Tests with 11 wins, 1 defeat and 4 draws. 

 

30.23

Combined batting average of India's top seven in the last four overseas series (see full list). The tale of woe is stark with Gambhir (average 32), Laxman (31), Dhoni (29), Raina (23), Sehwag (21) and Kohli (13) all failing to justify their talent and high billing. Only Tendulkar (52) and Dravid (45) can hold their heads high and these two are also the only centurions with Dravid hitting four and Tendulkar two. The other batsmen who have filled the top seven positions for India on these four tours have failed to record even one century in their combined 122 visits to the crease.

 

40.58

The combined bowling average for the aformentioned four tours with only Zaheer Khan (23) and Praveen Kumar (26) registering averages below 36. The rest of the bowlers have been practically rendered impotent with Ishant Sharma (37 - despite a successful tour of the Caribbean), Harbhajan (36), Sreesanth (51), Amit Mishra (62), Umesh Yadav (43) and Ravichandran Ashwin (75) all registering averages that their batting colleagues would yearn for. The collective strike rate is even more staggeringly bad with each wicket coming at a crippling 72 deliveries. Opposing batsmen have feasted on pickings this easy with Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Jacques Kallis all registering double hundreds and in Michael Clarke's case a triple hundred.

 

33

The number of Test innings since an Indian opener other than Dravid (who scored tons at Trent Bridge and The Oval as an emergency opener) last scored a hundred. You have to go all the way back to the 1st Test at Ahmedabad at the start of November 2010 when Sehwag struck a characteristically brutal 173 off 199 balls against New Zealand. Since then Sehwag has gone 22 Test innings without reaching three figures whilst regular partner Gambhir's famine is a positively biblical 35 innings.

 

0

The number of Test series India has won In Australia, a statistic that will remain unchanged for at least another four years following defeats in Melbourne and Sydney. 

 

As such it would be hardly surprising if confidence is not high in the Indian camp ahead of the 3rd Test on a fast and bouncy WACA track tomorrow.

Where next?

Annus mirabilis: The best Test XI of 2011

Annus horribilis: The Worst Test XI of 2011

2nd Test: Australia vs India - India marks out of 10

2nd Test: Australia vs India - Australia marks out of 10

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

India's batting line-up and Goebbels's big lie

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Annus horribilis: the worst Test XI of 2011

We've already selected our best Test XI of 2011, but perhaps this collection of cricketers who suffered an annus horribilis in the ultimate form of the game in 2011 should provoke much more hilarity:

Phil Hughes (404 runs at 26.93): Despite a hundred against Sri Lanka and an attractive 80 odd in Johannesburg, 2011 was a horrendous year for Australia’s erstwhile Test opener. His year went from bad to worse with the four out of four caught Guptill bowled Martin dismissals in the series with New Zealand likely to prove his international cricket epitaph. Some get sent to Switzerland when their condition is terminal, Hughes has been sent to Worcestershire instead to convalesce.

Gautam Gambhir (470 runs at 31.33): We could just as easily have picked Virender Sehwag who actually had a lower average than his opening partner in 2011 and only had a top Test score of 67, but that seemed to border on the sacrilegious so Gambhir it is. No Test hundreds and a year sprinkled with injury, injudicious shots, a growing tentativeness outside off-stump and a lack of weddings to attend. The ghastliness of his year was summed up when he suffered concussion when failing to catch Kevin Pietersen. In truth, Gambhir looked concussed most times he came to the crease in Tests in 2011.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (83 runs at 10.37): A traumatic year for the experienced Sarwan with a top score of 23 and just 83 runs from his eight visits to the crease preceding his inevitable axing. With tyros such as Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards shining it seems unlikely that the cultured Sarwan will be sighted in the maroon West Indian cap again.  

Mahela Jayawardene (517 runs at 24.61): It may have been the year of his 10,000th Test run and a sparkling century in the World Cup Final, but in terms of Test cricket it was an annus horribilis for the silky smooth Jayawardene with just one hundred in ten Tests mirroring his country’s slide down the rankings. Have the eyes gone?

Jesse Ryder (97 runs at 12.12): Three ducks and just 97 runs in eight innings meant that 2011 was a year when the larger than life Kiwi ate more pies, sunk more tinnies and wore more inches around his generous waist than he scored Test runs.

Suresh Raina (337 runs at 25.92): Rarely has an international cricketer looked more uncomfortable against the short ball than Raina did in England last summer. So much so that by the end of the series, England barely bothered celebrating his inevitably quick demise each time he strode to the wicket.

Brad Haddin (335 runs at 20.93): A year in which the iron-gloved keeper was for once better behind the stumps than he was in front of them – not that there was any discernible improvement in his shoddy keeping. With the bat there were several reckless and irresponsible dismissals none more so than in the ignominious 2nd innings collapses in Cape Town and Hobart. A nation prays that Tim Paine’s hands make the swiftest of recoveries.

Harbhajan Singh (20 wickets at 38.05): He may have been part of the World Cup winning side, but 2011 saw his decline as a Test match bowler accelerate until injury and the emergence of Ashwin consigned him to the sidelines. Having his car robbed in December just about summed up a dismal year for the supposed Turbanator.

Mitchell Johnson (13 wickets at 56.61): Johnson is not a figure of ridicule for nothing – just look at that bowling average, which is even worse when his strike rate in 2011 of a wicket every 92 deliveries is taken into account. Outbowled by an 18 year old debutant with just a handful of first-class appearances in Johannesburg, injury and the emergence of James Pattinson, the aforementioned Patrick Cummins and a rejuvenated Ben Hilfenhaus means that Johnson should have plenty of time to rest that injured foot.

Sreesanth (13 wickets at 52.76): Speaking of figures of ridicule, Sreesanth was the least impressive of an impotent Indian bowling line-up in England over the summer. Doesn’t take many wickets, leaks runs at over four runs an over and seems to have lost any semblance of pace. Likely to join his best pal Harbhajan on the sidelines for some time and perhaps forever.

Kemar Roach (7 wickets at 55.14): If you thought Johnson’s strike rate of 92 was bad try Roach’s performance of a wicket every 99 deliveries in 2011. Whilst there’s no doubting his talent, the suggestions of some that he should replace captain Darren Sammy in the West Indian Test XI seem at best misplaced and at worst downright foolish.

Finally, a special mention to our 12th man - RP Singh who was called up from the beach to replace the injured Zaheer Khan in England and subsequently looked a shadow (albeit twice the side and half the speed) of the bowler who performed so well four years earlier when he played in the final match of the series at The Oval and took 0/134.

Where next?

The worst Test XI of 2010

The best Test XI of 2011

The best Test XI of 2010

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

Check out some of our other Cricket XIs: They also played cricket, Rugger Buggers, Cricketing Criminals , A team of cricketers that died young, The Worst Australia Ashes XI of the last 30 years, The Worst England Ashes XI of the last 30 years  

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India have found some bowlers

As India stumbled from heavy defeat to even heavier defeat during a traumatic summer in England one thing seemed very clear: the bowling cupboard was emptier than the contents of Wayne Rooney's head.

With Zaheer Khan injured, Harbhajan way past his best and Ishant Sharma even more inconsistent than usual, it was left to the wholehearted but lacking in pace Praveen Kumar to lead the attack. 

But after three Tests against an improving but brittle West Indies despair has turned into optimism as suddenly the cupboard is filling up faster than the supermarket shelves at Waitrose ahead of Christmas.

Harbhajan has finally been put out to pasture and Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha collected 42 wickets at 23 between them in the three Tests against the boys from the Caribbean.

They've also discovered that rariry of rarities in a country of over a billion souls - not one but two promising fast bowlers. The emergence of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron means that the likes of Sreesanth and Munaf Patel will be able to concentrate on the IPL and that RP Singh can return to the beach from whence he was summoned during the English expedition.

With Praveen returning from a well-earned rest, Zaheer (hopefully) from injury and Ishant fired up by the prospect of finishing Ricky Ponting's Test career, India suddenly look a different proposition.

The series against a transitional Australia under its new regime looks a thrilling prospect.

Where next?

Mumbai's thrilling final ball draw shows the true value of Test cricket

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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England v India: India series marks out of 10

Gautam Gambhir – 2 (102 runs at 17.00): Missed Trent Bridge because of injury and suffered concussion when making a complete mess of holding on to a skier from KP at The Oval. In between his batting against the short ball bordered on the shambolic making a mockery of a Test average of over 50.

Virender Sehwag – 2 (41 runs at 10.25): Was rushed back from his shoulder operation prematurely and bagged a king pair at Edgbaston. His brief second innings cameo at The Oval couldn’t hide the fact that he looked unfit and completely disinterested. 

Abinhav Mukund – 3 (64 runs at 16.00): Stood in for Sehwag in the first two Tests and looked a decent prospect when compiling 49 at Lord’s. Needs to work on his technique against the short ball and would be well advised to book into a masterclass from Dravid.

Rahul Dravid – 9 (461 runs at 76.83): Magnificent. Foisted into an openers role he despises from where he scored two brilliant hundreds – including becoming only the third Indian to carry his bat in the first innings at The Oval. Added a third hundred from his customary role as first drop at Lord’s and scored 23% of India’s runs in the series – it would have been even more but for a couple of dodgy umpiring decisions. Looked a better keeper than his captain when Dhoni had a bowl at Lord’s.

Sachin Tendulkar – 6 (273 runs at 34.12): Has the Little Master ever looked so uncomfortable on a cricket field? England’s pacemen bowled brilliantly to him and it wasn’t until the final day of the series that we saw close to the real Tendulkar. That 100th hundred eluded him, but don’t be surprised to see the milestone reached in the forthcoming ODI series.

VVS Laxman – 4 (182 runs at 22.75): A huge disappointment. Got a few starts and reached 50 twice but was unable to go on each time. Threw his wicket away a couple of times after he’d played himself in (most shockingly in the first innings at Edgbaston) and was castled twice by a couple of Anderson jaffas.

Suresh Raina – 2 (105 runs at 13.12, 4 wickets at 62.75): Apart from a battling 78 at Lord’s, Raina scored just 27 runs in his other seven innings and concluded the series with a tortuous pair at The Oval that spanned 42 excruciating balls. Everyone knew before the series that he would struggle against the short ball, but the reality was even worse. At least looked like he was trying in the field.

Yuvraj Singh – 4 (70 runs at 35.00, 1 wicket at 52.00): Played just the one match at Trent Bridge and rode some early good fortune to hit an impressive 62 in the first innings before becoming another victim of the short ball in the second. Injury ruled him out of the rest of the series thereafter.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 3 (220 runs at 31.42, 13 catches): His previously impressive record of not losing a series as captain was shattered. Disappointed with the bat – two defiant fifties at Edgbaston apart, looked like an amateur with the gloves and made several strange bowling changes and field placings.

Harbhajan Singh – 1 (2 wickets at 143.50, 58 runs at 14.50): Disastrous. Took only two wickets in the series and went at over four runs per over and was then promptly injured at Trent Bridge.

Amit Mishra – 4 (3 wickets at 106.66, 153 runs at 38.25): Looked more of a batsman than a bowler especially at The Oval where he featured in India’s highest partnership of the series with Tendulkar. His bowling lacked variety and thought, and like Harbhajan went at around four runs per over.

Praveen Kumar – 7 (15 wickets at 29.53, 110 runs at 18.33): Consistently impressed with the ball, threw himself around in the field and enjoyed himself with the bat – he hit the most sixes on either side. The only Indian bowler who can hold his head up high – what he lacks in pace he more than makes up for with know-how.

Ishant Sharma – 4 (11 wickets at 58.18, 24 runs at 4.00): Frustratingly inconsistent with the ball – his spell on the fourth morning at Lord’s was sensational and nearly turned the match India’s way. But a series bowling average approaching 60 and a strike rate of a wicket every 95 balls tells a pretty woeful story.

Sreesanth – 3 (8 wickets at 61.62, 18 runs at 4.50): Mr four ball disappointed after bursting into the series on the first day at Trent Bridge where he helped reduce England to 124 for eight. Down on pace and lacking the fire of the 2007 model.

Zaheer Khan – 4 (2 wickets at 9.00): For half of the first day at the series it looked like Zaheer was set to repeat his decisive role from 2007 snaring both openers and causing Trott and Pietersen no end of problems. Then after 13.3 overs it was all over and so as it turned out were India’s hopes.

RP Singh – 1 (0 wickets for 118 runs, 25 runs at 12.50): Atrocious. Came in for the injured Kumar at The Oval and extended his run without a Test wicket to 71 overs and 367 runs, put in a comical display in the field and left a bemused Munaf Patel (who unlike Singh had been named in the original squad) looking on from the sidelines wondering what he had done wrong.

Where next?

England v India: England series marks out of 10

4th Test: The Oval - England marks out of 10

3rd Test: Edgbaston - India marks out of 10

3rd Test: Edgbaston - England marks out of 10

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - India marks out of 10

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - India marks out of 10

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Read all our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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4th Test: The Oval - India marks out of 10

Virender Sehwag – 4: So disinterested in proceedings that he left the field due to a headache, but at least lasted past the first over when he batted a second time - unfurling some of his trademark explosive strokes before being suckered by Swann.

Gautam Gambhir – 2: Made such a hash of attempting to catch a Pietersen skier that he suffered concussion in the process and had to bat down the order in both innings. Perhaps that is why he more closely resembled a fearful tailender than an opening batsman with an average over 50.

Rahul Dravid – 9: Became only the third Indian batsman to carry his bat as he was forced into the emergency opener role once again. Put the rest of the Indian batsmen to shame with his application, determination and fight. The only way England could get him out was through an umpiring error and the third umpire duly obliged with a bizarre decision.

Sachin Tendulkar – 7: Given a going over once again by England’s pacemen in the first innings where Broad had the temerity to hit the Little Master on the helmet. Had more lives than a particularly fortunate cat in the second until his luck ran out with a dubious leg before just nine runs short of that magical 100th hundred.

VVS Laxman – 4: Elevated again to his favoured number three position but failed both times. A great batsman but one that struggles to produce his best on England’s bouncier and seam-friendly Test wickets.

Suresh Raina – 2: No marks for his batting after a tortuously long drawn out pair covering 29 balls in the first innings and 13 second time around. After a torrid time against England’s fast men it was Swann that got him in both innings this time – even if the second of those was clearly not out. Took a smart caught and bowled to remove KP and at least showed some desire in the field.

MS Dhoni – 2: His work with the gloves was once again abysmal although captaining this attack must be a traumatic distraction. Disappointing with the bat this time with his wild drive in the second innings being horribly irresponsible.

Amit Mishra – 6: A better batsman than bowler on this showing after he followed up an ineffectual nought for 170 with two defiant knocks of 43 and 84 putting most of his top order batting colleagues to shame.

Ishant Sharma – 5: Mr Inconsistency once again after he faded badly after good opening spells on the first and second days. Failed in his nightwatchman duties.

RP Singh – 1: Now has nought for 367 from his last 71 overs in Tests and looked a shadow (albeit a more portly one) of the bowler who impressed so much in 2007. His fielding was even worse and ranked in the downright embarrassing category. Gets one mark for his breezy 25 in the first innings.

Sreesanth – 4: Must have earned the sobriquet of Mr Four Ball by now given that he bowls so many of them. At least he got three wickets though after another liquorice allsorts display with the ball.

Where next?

4th Test: The Oval - England marks out of 10

3rd Test: Edgbaston - India marks out of 10

3rd Test: Edgbaston - England marks out of 10

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - India marks out of 10

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - India marks out of 10

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Read all our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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3rd Test: Edgbaston - India marks out of 10

Gautam Gambhir – 4: Started well on the first morning before somewhat unluckily playing on to Bresnan. Outdone by the superlative Anderson second time around.

Virender Sehwag – 0: A King Pair means the great one fails to trouble the scorers here too. Lackadaisical performance in the field epitomised India’s malaise. It was a huge gamble to pick him and it failed badly, but at 2-0 down did India have any other choice?

Rahul Dravid – 5: No hundred this time, but it took the ball of the match from Bresnan to get through The Wall in the first innings. Failure to refer his second innings dismissal confirmed the state of India’s shellshock.

Sachin Tendulkar – 5: Tentative in the first innings when he was tormented by a tremendous over from Anderson. On the receiving end of the unluckiest dismissal in cricket when in full flow second time around just as that elusive 100th hundred looked a distinct possibility.

VVS Laxman – 4: Terrible shot to be dismissed when well set on day one before enduring a torrid time at the hands of Anderson when India batted a second time.

Suresh Raina – 2: He clearly has talent but his Test career will be brief unless he learns to play the short ball. Looked mentally shot after being dismissed by Swann in the 2nd innings.

MS Dhoni – 6: Sloppy with the gloves again and some of his captaincy decisions were frankly baffling, but at least found some belated form with the bat in the shape of two defiant fifties.

Amit Mishra – 5: Bowled tidily enough and got plenty of turn, but lacked the guile, nous and variation necessary to trouble the England batsmen. Where was the googly? An improvement on the Harbhajan Singh of Lord’s and Trent Bridge though.

Praveen Kumar – 7: Bowled his heart out and kept throwing himself around in the field. Put the top order batsmen to shame with two entertaining innings. The only one who can hold his head up high after this performance. If only India had eleven Kumar’s…

Ishant Sharma – 3: Like Raina, Ishant clearly has talent – his pre-lunch spell at Lord’s on day four provided ample evidence of that. However, here it looked like he was simply going through the motions and bowling on a different surface to England’s impressive pace trio.

Sreesanth – 2: If the eccentric Sreesanth is a Test quality bowler than I am the King of England. Lacks pace, control and brains even if his effort cannot be faulted.

Where next?

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - India marks out of 10

2nd Test: Trent Bridge - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - England marks out of 10

1st Test: Lord's - India marks out of 10

The rehabilitation of Stuart Broad

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Watching three masters at work in Cape Town

 
We've not seen as much of the South Africa-India series as we would have liked - the small matter of the Ashes has put paid to that for this success-starved England fan.

But what we have seen has been utterly engrossing, even if the battle for supremacy between the top two sides in the world really should be a five rather than three test series.

India's fightback from the walloping they took at Centurion has been mightily impressive and saved the BCCI from some embarrassment. How they believed that the side could turn up for their first venture outside the subcontinent for 18 months to play the second best side in the world with their previous poor record in South Africa was beyond belief.

But there is resilience as well as quality in this Indian side, helped in no small part by some of itstop-class players. On a minefield in Durban, VVS Laxman once again showed he is the master of the second innings with a brilliant 96 and Zaheer Khan returned to add canninessto the bowling attack and coaxed much improved performances from Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma.

However, the best aspect of this series has been watching three absolute masters of their craft go about their business. No more so than in the current series decider at Cape Town. Sachin Tendulkarenjoyed an Annus Mirabilis in 2010 and it looks like extending into 2011 if his magnificent 146 here is anything to go by.

India faced a real challenge in replying to South Africa's 362, but Tendulkar played an absolute gem of an innings especially because he had to contend with more out-of-this-world bowling from Dale Steyn.

In his last Test at Newlands, Steyn bowled an outstanding spell of bowling to Paul Collingwood with the new ball, but somehow failed to get the wicket that probably would have led to victory for South Africa. He has been similarly brilliant against India with new and old ball and showed just why he is far and away the best fast bowler in the world. Indeed, Steyn is so good that he has the best strike rate of any bowler in history to have taken more than 100 test wickets - withthe exception of George Lohmann, who played at a time when bowlers held sway just as much as batsmen do today.

But Tendulkar's mastery in handling Steyn helped India eke out a two-run first-innings lead and when South Africa slipped to 130/6, India looked like they would record a series win in South Africa for the first time. Step forward Jacques Kallis. Not content with scoring his first double hundred in Tests at Centurion, or 161 in the 1st innings here, Kallis played an innings equally as brilliant as Tendulkar in marshalling a rearguard from the tail and in the process recording his 40th Test hundred. 

South Africa now look the side most likely to win a pulsating match and the series, although the draw is most likely as Steyn has not been well supported by his bowling colleagues. But whateverthe outcome, watching Kallis, Steyn and Tendulkar at work in this test match has been like having Beethoven, Mozart and Bach all gathered in your living room for a one-off exclusive concert. Let the music play.

Where next?

The best Test XI of 2010

The worst Test XI of 2010

Heroes: VVS Laxman

Dale Steyn: irrefutably the best bowler in the world

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

India vs New Zealand: 2nd Test: India marks out of 10

 
Yet again India's lack of punch with the ball prevented them from overcoming New Zealand after Harbhajan's second successive hundred had given his side a 122 run lead. With their main strike bowler Zaheer Khan lame, India were more or less impotent, although credit must be given to Brendon McCullum for his double hundred and the likes of Kane Williamson for the sterling support they offered (see New Zealand marks out of 10 here)

India now go into the final test at Nagpur on Saturday under some pressure to record the victory that will give them the series. Here's how they rated at Hyderabad.

Gautam Gambhir - 6: Will have been relieved to have got his first fifty for six tests but will have been furious with himself for the leg side dismissal that wrecked all his hard work.

Virender Sehwag - 8: Missed a hundred in the first innings after an injudicious slog sweep against Vettori led to nothing but the dreaded death rattle. But two fifties in the match is not exactly a poor return.

Rahul Dravid - 6: Outdone by Southee after a typically dogged knock - it's not often you see The Wall missing a straight one.

Sachin Tendulkar - 4: A very strange innings indeed from the Little Master and a dismissal most unbecoming of him. If his poor series continues at Nagpur, expect Vettori's phone to be ringing from all the other international captains on the circuit.

VVS Laxman - 7: A combination of finally playing a Test on his home ground and some tight New Zealand bowling meant that this was one of Laxman's more circumspect innings. Will have been disappointed not to turn his patient 75 into a hundred in front of his adoring public.

Suresh Raina - 3: A dreadful dismissal suggests Raina has a lot of work to do before he can justifiably call himself a test batsman. Chipped in with a couple of wickets in the second innings.

MS Dhoni - 3: Dismissed after being beaten in the flight by Vettori to continue his recent struggles with the bat. Not his most inspiring performance as captain either.

Harbhajan Singh - 9: At this rate they'll be calling him an all-rounder after his second successive hundred made it 295 runs in the series. Bowled excellently in the first innings but his poor recent form returned in the second. Now has 31 wickets at 44.7 from his last nine Tests and he's needed more than 97 balls for each of those wickets. That's not good enough for a bowler of Harbhajan's ability.

Zaheer Khan - 7: Is out of Nagpur with a dodgy groin and without him India were devoid of ideas. Bowled well in the first innings and now has 41 test wickets at 22.92 this year - that is close to superhuman given all of his efforts have been on subcontinental wickets.

Pragyan Ojha - 5: Three wickets in 74 overs tells you everything you need to know. Now has 28 wickets at 46.96 from eight games in 2010 with a woeful strike rate of 100.3. How India miss Kumble. Maybe it is time for Mishra or Ashwin to be given a chance?

Sreesanth - 6: Batted well to help his old sparring partner Harbhajan to his hundred and gave everything with the ball. Is probably already dreaming of bowling on the more receptive South African pitches in a few weeks.

Where next?

1st Test ratings: New Zealand and India

Sachin Tendulkar's Annus Mirabilis

Heroes: VVS Laxman

India vs Australia: 2nd Test: India marks out of 10

 
India reinforced their position as the number one ranked test side in the world ahead of a testing 18 months when they will play away series in South Africa, England and Australia. Given the form of Sachin Tendulkar and the emergence here of young players like Murali Vijay and debutant Cheteshwar Pujara, India seem well positioned to take on this triple challenge.

So with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy retained after what in the end proved an easy win, how did the Indian XI rate on the Reverse Sweep marks out of ten scale?

Murali Vijay - 9: Played the support role perfectly in that huge partnership with Tendulkar and was rewarded with a deserved maiden test ton. Then provided impetuous to the run chase in the second innings despite the early loss of Sehwag. With Gambhir's weakness against the short ball likely to be tested in the next 18 months, Vijay could get an extended run in the side at some point.

Virender Sehwag - 5: So he is human after all. Cheap dismissal after typical brutal 30 in the first innings was followed by another second innings failure. Don't worry Sehwag lovers, the next run-a-ball hundred is probably just around the corner.

Rahul Dravid - 5: Made a poor mistake to get out to Johnson again in the first innings and was then shoved down the order in the second before seeing India over the line in partnership with Sachin. Pujara's emergence could yet hasten Dravid's march to the exit door.

Sachin Tendulkar - 10: A supreme double hundred in the first innings saw the Little Master past 14,000 test runs. Incredible. The icing on the cake was the unbeaten fifty in the second innings as his Annus Mirabilis continued. How can you not give him a ten after that performance?

Cheteshwar Pujara - 8: Bounced back from getting a shooter three balls into his first test innings to impress hugely when promoted to three in the second. Given he has a first-class average of 60, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised he looked so composed. Dravid's successor looks to have been identified.

Suresh Raina - 6: Batted well enough for his 32 before falling to a sucker punch when Ponting moved long on into the circle and Raina then promptly holed out next ball to the new mid on. More difficult assignments await. Will be delighted to have snared Ponting as his first test wicket.

MS Dhoni - 6: Kept much better than he did at Mohali without ever looking entirely convincing and made a patient 30 in his only innings. His status as a captain continues to grow. 

Harbhajan Singh - 7: Six wickets in the match, with all but one being a top order batsman and his bowling was tidy enough. Still doesn't look like the Harbhajan of old though and his batting seems to have travelled rapidly downhill.

Zaheer Khan - 7: India's one genuine world-class seamer was again on form on an unhelpful pitch and deserved more than his four wickets. Will be relishing the regular opportunities to bowl on pitches outside the subcontinent in the next 18 months.

Pragyan Ojha - 7: Bowled much better and with more threat than he did at Mohali and was duly rewarded with six wickets in the match. Looks to be a good, if not outstanding spinner.

Sreesanth - 5: We're not convinced by Sreesanth. If he is India's third best seamer after Zaheer and Ishant, it doesn't say much for the rest. Grabbed two second innings wickets after taking none in a poor display first time around.

Where next?

1st Test: Mohali - India marks out of 10 

The best Indian test XI 1980-2010

Zeroes: Vinod Kambli

Prince Dilshan and the Pauper

This post is an appeal from someone called King Kumar. We at the Reverse Sweep are more than happy to oblige what is obviously a very important cause.

"I am appealing for help because our opening batsman Tilli Dilshan has gone missing and been replaced with an impostor who doesn't know one end of the bat from the other.

If any of you have seen the film 'The Prince and the Pauper' or read the book by Mark Twain, you'll have some idea of what our team is going through. In the film, as Henry VIII of England lies dying, his heir the nine year old Edward Tudor comes across a peasant boy who is his doppelganger. Being young boys, they decide it would be a great jape to swap places and the audience is left on tenterhooks waiting to see if the peasant boy will be crowned King as Edward VI.

The same has happened to our cricket team. Over the last year, we promoted Tilli to open the batting in all forms of the game. Prior to that he had been a useful but inconsistent middle-order batsman and electric fielder. But he was a revelation as opener. He invented new cricketing strokes, scored centuries at will in all forms of the game; and in test cricket his strike rate was unequalled by all except a certain Virender Sehwag. He even was announced as a graduate form the Sehwag School for batting.

We first thought something was wrong in the IPL. You see Tilli plays for the Delhi Daredevils and he (or as it turns out, the imposter) only scored 44 runs from six innings with two ducks and an average of seven. But I just thought that it was a case of bad form after a stellar year, and to be honest I had my own problems with my Kings side.

But now I know that the real Tilli has gone missing. We've flown to the West Indies for a little tournament and yesterday we played New Sheepland. The impostor played and managed to score 3 off 19 balls. The real Tilli would have scored 40 runs in that time. That was the irrefutable proof we needed.

So, please cricket fans around the world, please can you help us find our Tilli. And I have a reward for you if you do - I'll give you person who finds Tilli two of my Kings players Sree Rant and Fat Boy Yuv - I think you know who I mean."

The A-Z of IPL3 - Part 2 of 3

Just as a quick recap, with the regular season ended and only the semi-finals and final to go, now seemed an apt time to summarise our thoughts on our first experience of the IPL. We haven’t watched every game. In fact we haven’t even watched half of them, but we have seen enough to present our take on IPL3 in the form of an A-Z, with A-I yesterday, J-Q today and then R-Z tomorrow.

So without further ado...

Jacques

As in Kallis. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but other than you know who Kallis is the highest run scorer in IPL3. Whilst kamikaze batsmen like Robin Uthappa or Yusuf Pathan grab the headlines, Kallis just goes quietly about his business of piling up the runs. At the end of the regular season, Kallis had scored 542 runs at 54.20 and a strike rate of 119.64. This included an incredible start to the competition when he hit 264 runs in his first four innings without getting out. Although, he couldn't maintain this incredible start, he is arguably the main reason why Bangalore are in the semi-finals. Kallis has provided irrefutable proof that he is just as good at T20 as he is at ODI and test cricket - truly a man for all formats.

 

Kochigate

When Kochi was announced as one of the two new IPL franchises on March 21 no-one could have predicted the hailstorm that would follow. But then a chain of events began when Lalit Modi questioned the shareholders behind the Kochi IPL franchise on his Twitter account and revealed ownership details. Since then the situation has spiralled with taxmen visiting the IPL offices in Mumbai and India's junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor resigning over allegations of a conflict of interest in his mentoring the consortium behind the Kochi bid. Kochigate could lead to the unthinkable - the removal of Lalit Modi as IPL commissioner. Just like the blanket advertising, it is sad that this controversy is increasingly overshadowing the cricket.

 

Lalit

Which leads nicely on to Lalit Modi himself. His IPL3 began with a rather drab opening ceremony where he reinforced his aims of world domination by stating that he saw "the IPL becoming bigger than the NFL, the NBA, the English Premier League." The swagger and smugness remained as the season unfurled and whenever the cameras panned to Modi he wore a self-satisfied smile not seen since the Duke of Wellington left Waterloo for the last time. Much of the success of the IPL and the Champions League is down to Modi, but it seems his arrogance may have got the better of him with Kochigate threatening to bring him down or at the very least curtail his powers. I wonder how omnipresent he will be in IPL4?

 

Money

From our perspective, the IPL is as much about money and power as it is about cricket. Indeed, the bidding war for the two new franchises, which eventually went to Kochi and Pune for a combined value in excess of $700m, was more than the original eight franchises combined. The players are paid astronomical salaries for up to six weeks work and with a new player auction due before IPL4, these sums could soon surpass their football counterparts. As an example of the vast sums on offer, Damien Martyn was paid $100,000 for his one match for Rajasthan, which amounted to only 24 balls and 19 runs.

 

Never-ending

Or so it seemed. Up until the final match of the regular season between Kolkata and Mumbai on Monday, there was at least one match per day since the tournament kicked off on 12 March. The matches seemed to blend into one at certain points and our enthusiasm certainly started to wane after a few weeks. Next year it could be even worse as there will be ten teams instead of eight and assuming the same format that means 94 matches instead of 60. That seems too many to us.

 

Orwell

Once again Lalit Modi makes an appearance. This time for the bizarre reprimand handed out to Gautam Gambhir. Following his side's facile 67 run victory over Rajasthan, Gambhir described his victims as ordinary, which was refreshingly honest given the usual mundane nature of post match interviews. For some reason, Modi took offence to this and and reported Gambhir, with the Delhi skipper ending up pleading guilty to a level one offence. Sinister and Orwellian.

 

Pakistan

Pakistan was the country that dare not speakth its name in IPL3. For reasons that appeared to be entirely political, the Pakistani players included in the auction prior to the season attracted no bids and as such, no Pakistan players participated in IPL3. Even if Pakistan cricket is in the doldrums at the moment, the likes of Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal and the Mohammads Amir and Aamer deserved to display their wares on the big stage. Here's hoping that the situation is resolved in time for IPL4.

 

Queer

Ok we were struggling to find something for Q, so we have to opt for the queer antics of the madman Sreesanth. If he wasn't being carted for runs at nearly ten an over, or benchwarming for the worst team in the competition, he was and not for the first time getting into trouble with umpires. Sarcastically clapping umpires and batsmen is not clever and Sreesanth may find himself without a franchise next season.

 

Tune in tomorrow for the final instalment, as we go from R-Z.

   

  

 

The phenomenon of the spinner who transgresses the line

Those who read my previous post will know that I combined feeding my 14 month old son this morning with watching the Bangladesh-India test match.

When I tuned in the volatile Sreesanth was bowling a regular series of no-balls. Coming from a man who once cried when Harbhajan gave him a slap, I was not unduly surprised.

Sreesanth is also a fast bowler and it is understandable that from time to time a bowler who is steaming in will occasionally overstep.

Spinners on the other hand have no real excuse. A few steps and a couple of skips at a leisurely pace should not result in a slow bowler bowling a no-ball.

Amit Mishra obviously does not agree. Although he eventually took four Bangladeshi wickets, he also managed to bowl five no-balls in only sixteen overs.

Did he adjust his run up after the first, second or even third no ball? No of course, he didn't. He just carried on his merry way and managed to bowl a fourth and a fifth much to the chagrin of his normally cool as a cucumber skipper Virender Sehwag.

And then I remembered that I have recently seen another 'spinner' with the same problem. Nathan Hauritz.

You would have thought that his competition with Paul Harris to not be the most shit spinner in test cricket would have meant that the last thing Hauritz would want to do would be to bowl a regular supply of no balls.

Apparently not. Every time I watch him bowl he continually bowls no balls in pretty much every spell.

To be fair he has seen off Harris with some aplomb and unaccountably has managed to take 29 wickets in the six tests against the West Indies and Pakistan. Maybe he is better than everyone thinks including himself? Time will tell.

Anyway, I reckon there should be a new rule - if a spinner bowls a no ball it should result in a free hit and a forfeit of a pint of beer to their exasperated skipper. That would certainly be good for the crowds and the after match entertainment, as well as preventing spinners like Hauritz and Mishra from being so damn lazy.

Mahmudallah and Rahim at feeding time

Whilst working at home this morning, I had to give my 14 month old son his breakfast. Faced with a choice of 'Walter and Dude' on Baby TV or the Bangladesh-India test, I opted for the latter.

My son was so hungry, he wouldn't have cared if I had opted for 'Vampire Killers From Hell' or other such nonsense.

Anyway when we tuned into the action from Chittagong all seemed predictable.

Despite bowling India out for 243, Bangladesh were struggling at 120/6 with all thier big guns gone - even if their big guns are actually rather small pistols.

The wonderfully named Mahmudallah and wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim were batting. And Sreesanth and Amit Mishra were bowling a lot of no balls and some rubbish.

The two Bangladeshi lads eagerly tucked in and also accumulated steadily against the brilliant Zaheer and the erratic Ishant, and helped their side to close in on the Indian 1st innings score.

Although the partnership of 108 was ended when Rahim went for a careless slog off Mishra it did help Bangladesh to a total of 242 and put their side very much in the ball game with two days to play.

No doubt the powerful Indian batting line-up will pull away but along with the excellent Shakib, it would appear that Bangladesh are at last becoming more competitive.

Kind of makes you ask why England have decided it is a good idea to rest their skipper and appoint Captain Cook for their tour of Bangladesh in February and March.

We all know what fate befell the last Captain Cook.

Speaking of eating, Alexander (my son) scoffed all of his porridge up staring avidly at the cricket, which is doubly good!