India v/s England....Many battles within a Grand Battle!!!!

The moment has finally arrived....all the talks, speculations n controversies come to an end & let the matches begin....& we turn on the television sets & wait for the coin to be tossed....Crunch time....

Like two former champion heavyweights now consigned to the undercard, India and England come into this series desperate to recapture former glories. Both have declined sharply since respectively attaining the No. 1 Test ranking and, while South Africa and Australia have taken top billing, they find themselves at a crossroads: win this series and they earn another shot at the big time; lose and they face some awkward questions.

How do you assess a cricketing rivalry? By how well matched the two protagonists are? Through head-to-head numbers? Or is the whole concept of rivalry something more visceral, to do with the intensity and excitement that make encounters unforgettable?

At first glance, the series should not be close. India are unbeaten at home in eight years; England have not won a series in India for 28 years and, since then, have only won one of 11 Tests. England's record against spin is hardly promising, either.

Yet, despite all that, England may never have a better opportunity to beat India in India. It is not just that India are a side in transition - they have already lost VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid - but the form and fitness of several of remaining players is under scrutiny.

Perhaps that explains why India have taken some remarkable risks in the run-up to this series. The policy of denying England access to high-quality spin or turning wickets does mean that England will go into the Test lacking match practise in one key part of the game, but it has also allowed them the chance to gain form and confidence. Every one of the top seven has passed 50 at least once.

Each year, you see at least a dozen pedestrian Test hundreds that won’t be remembered the following week. Laxman played two of the greatest innings of the past decade – 73 against Australia at Mohali when he could barely walk, leave alone bend, and a 96 at Kingsmead, when no other batsman crossed 40. Many Test centuries aren’t fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as those two innings.

But what if England set a challenging first innings total and utilise the crumbling pitch when they bowl? What if England's seamers gain as much from the surface as India's spinners? What if Swann enjoys the best of the conditions? India's tactics are not those of a side that truly believes in its own ability. If they did, they would surely prepare the best possible cricketing surface and back themselves to prevail.

T20 cricket- Down the fast lane....

Now that the people from the movies have done what they are best at, the IPL can focus on what it is best at- Cricket. Eventually, though, the IPL will have to blossom as a cricket tournament. There is razzmatazz around a lot of sporting events, but the NBA is all about good Basketball, EPL is about good Football and the IPL will have to deliver good cricket, which, to be fair, it largely has so far.

Every season brings with it fresh challenges and the IPL will have to retain one of its strongest assets- the unpredictability of results. Everything has to be fair & square. The outcome of the toss must not have a greater impact on the game as sometimes, the game is lost at the toss itself. The new rule by the IPL governing body states that there are efforts going on to reduce the so called "Home Advantage" by preparing neutral pitches to play on, which to be honest is nothing more than the flooding home crowd which spurs the players to put that extra bit of effort at the home venue. 

All leagues will inevitably produce a division between the richer clubs and their more middle-class cousins, and we can already see this happening in IPL, with player retention & trades, but the future lies in each club believing at the start that it can win the tournament. T20 as a format, has luckily produced many tight finishes, but it is still a worry. With short term skills being valuable in this format, I wonder what the future of test cricket has to offer with the emergence of IPL and hence, the after effects e.g: Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga , etc are only concentrating on the limited overs format.

The one thing that IPL has helped develop is the never say die attitude within players no matter what the situation of the game is. We can see captains bringing the fielders inside the circle even after the powerplays are over. The best way to win matches is by scoring runs & taking wickets. Also, the Groundsmen are to be held accountable for some matches that are played on pitches which are docile and flat as a pancake.Clearly, You cannot have flat wickets or those which limit good cricket, but the basic element of cricket. to be able to win on different surfaces must be retained.

What we love is a cricket match, and everything that the beautiful expression stands for, not a batting festival. T20 cricket cannot look like the last reel of a Hindi movie, where the good guys ( the batsmen) are beating the daylights out of the bad guys (the bowlers). All of a sudden, there is an alarming preference for taking all the pace of the ball in contrast to 5 years ago, when people thought that the slow bowlers (spinners especially) would be taken to the cleaners. It would be a great sight to see the ball zip off the wicket. One good example was, in last year's IPL , Dale Steyn & Ishant Sharma ripped off the batting line-up of the then existing Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which was equally pleasing to the eyes.

I am looking forward to some good things this year, Good pitches and good outfields; boundaries where they should be, not at an arm's length; young kids coming through and surprising us with their audacity; tickets priced reasonably so that everyone can come to the ground and enjoy cricket.

And since we are all sentimental somewhere deep down our heart, We would like to see Sachin, Sourav & Rahul give us moments of joy. Though playing for different teams; teams whom we may not support; but let us support the Legends of Indian Cricket and cheer them on while we actually can.

I wish this IPL has in store for us; abundance of good quality cricket & that would be the real testimonial to this wonderful game of Cricket!!!!