The Lord of the Rings tour - End review

First off, I am mightily impressed with the Kiwis. A good talented batting line up that will only get better with more exposure and their penchant for punching above their weight will see the Kiwis do much better in the near and long terms than what their current ranking suggests.

The big problem is the bowling. Kyle Mills has a confidence issue, Chris Martin is not getting younger, the Blogger is sharp but not penetrative, Southee could be gold in a couple of seasons. Franklin is a wasted spot in the Kiwi line up as his bowling does not have bite and his batting does not have teeth.

Ideally, I would slot someone like Ian Butler ( who was mightily impressive in the T20's) or Jeeten Patel as the extra bowler with Jesse Ryder as the 4th seamer.

Guptill looked good when he attacked the ball, was not quite there with the defense, Macintosh disappointed, Flynn was gutsy without being effective, Ryder is class, Taylor is class, McCullum needs to put a higher price on his wicket. Harry Potter was good and should ideally be at 7, Southee did hit a 77 in his first test innings and could be the #8 with the Blogger, Martin and Butler/Patel making up the tail.

Cricket wise, this tour was far less stressful ( both in terms of reading about the game and watching it) than when India locks horns with the team across the Tasman. And it made for enjoyable viewing.

Would greentops have changed that? I doubt it. India had Balaji and Kulkarni in the squad and whenever the wicket had a little something for the bowlers, the trio of Zaheer, Ishant and Munaf exploited it more than the Kiwi bowlers ( Ryder excepting) did. Also the gulf in class between the two batting sides was yawning. Sure the Kiwis have the potential to get there, but at this moment, the difference is much too much.

The cricket was good, the bonhomie between the teams even better. India won the Test and ODI series, the Kiwis won the T20. Or, in the world of Andy Moles, India edged the series 4-3.

Which is not too shabby for a team ranked 7th in the world.

PS:- Where is Michael Papps?

"Our catching was good"

69.6 Harbhajan Singh to Franklin, no run, dropped by Gambhir flighted on the middle and leg, Franklin gets forward to defend, it bobs away off the bat and pad and Gambhir dives from short leg ,gets his right palm under the ball but couldn't hold on. The bowler and the close-in fielders jump in the air in anticipation before sighing in disappointment

78.6 Tendulkar to McCullum, no run, dropped by Munaf Patel at mid-off. It was the dipping full toss, McCullum is beaten by the dip as he pushes forward to drive.Munaf is slightly late in reacting but rushes forward and lunges out but can only get his fingertips to it,

90.3 Tendulkar to O'Brien, 2 runs, dropped by Ishant at square leg. It was the dipping full toss, swept straight to Ishant, at backward square leg, who makes a right royal mess of it. What a clanger!

And this is only on the last day of the final Test.

Take any of those catches ( the Ishant one especially), and the Indians would have been singing in the rain. Instead, Dhoni will now have to front up and defend why he declared so late and why he did not give his team the opportunity to press on for a win.

For mine, I find no fault in the declaration.Because not only were the Kiwi bowlers leg weary, the fielders too would have felt the effects of being in the field for the better part of 7 days. And like it has been said, a 600 plus score changes the mind set completely with regards to approaching the game( and constructing the innings).

The problem for me is the catching. Close in, out field, the works. And the thing is, for the longest time that I can remember, India may not have been spectacular on the field, but was a very safe catching side. But the standards are slipping.

If India had held on to its catches, this game would have been over much sooner. With the result in India's favor.

That it is not has very little to do with the declaration. And everything to do with butter fingers.