Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Sans comment
"Graeme Smith and his boys are going to thump Anil Kumble and his charges."
Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, flags off the pre-tour mind games
Is Dhoni the answer?
I have long been critical of India's captains for their lack of initiative and their propensity to captain by the numbers.
For far too long, captains have either underutilized their resources, not seized on key moments and have let the agenda and the tempo of the game be set by the opposition.
And then, there is MS Dhoni.
I was extremely critical of him when he was first appointed captain ( a compromise candidate a la Azharuddin, thought I). But he is the real deal.
In his first test as captain, like his forays in Twenty20 and Fifty over cricket, he was impressive.
His situational awareness is something I have yet to see from an Indian captain. Tactically too, he was on top of the game, controlling its tempo ( denying the Proteas boundaries in the second essay and thus getting momentum, opening the bowling with Ishant and Harbhajan, the best two bowlers on view in the Proteas first innings) and generally not panicking or letting the game drift when things went south (negating the advantage the Proteas had at 152/1 on the first Day).
Given the difficulty in managing the triple role of captain, wicket keeper and batsman over an extended period of time, does it make sense for Dhoni to give up his gloves when he assumes full time captaincy of the team?
If yes, is he good enough a batsman to warrant a place in the team as a batsman alone?
