Raina demonstrated his ability as a stand in skipper, but failed to do the job in the final ODI. However it is very obvious that the burden of the role takes a heavy toll on his batting. Again these are early days and he is not Steve Waugh to manage both the roles with élan. Praveen Kumar & Ishanth Sharma expressed their willingness to take the responsibility in the absence of Zaheer and came out in flying colors. Rightly so they were rewarded the national cap in advance for the Test series too. At this point, the foresight of the selectors deserves appreciation. Spin department was dominated by Mishra and Bhajji still found wanting for touch is the statement of reality. Batting looked mostly the tale of two lads Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, while the former missed out a spot in the Test series and the later failed miserably only to find himself out of the squad for the Tour of England. Dhawan, Badrinath and Yusuf Pathan were total flops while Parthiv Patel could not carry on the starts. Saha spent most of their time waiting in the wings.
On the Test Series, Dhoni masterminded the second string side to get the result in favor of guests. Once again Ishanth Sharma and Praveen Kumar lead the show while the batting was mostly dominated by the old war horses. Much to everyone surprise Raina succeeded in the Test arena while Virat’s failure a complete shock. Vijay’s flop show continued and it won’t be a surprise if he waits long time to wear the national jersey. Mukund is still a new kid in the bloke and we need more time to assert him.
Sadly there were not many tons to witness except for Dravid’s. It is a classic example of what a second string sides can bring to the table. Ishant’s man of series performance and Bhajji’s 400 hogged the limelight. If Dhoni demanded a standing ovation for the courageous declaration in the second test, failure to press for victory in the final test is equally bizarre.
Badrinath, Dhawan, Parthiv, Vijay, Yusuf Pathan should make way for new set of folks for the tryouts. Praveen Kumar has made it difficult for Sreesanth and already delayed the arrival of Irfan Pathan.
Overall the Test Series is considered a damp squib. However, Duncan Fletcher should feel happy about his first assignment and the Selectors extension of tenure deserves appreciation.
Bottom line: Oh England!!! Here we come.
Dinesh
Cricket Lover
PS: Unless there is anything compelling to write, meet you during the India’s Tour of England.
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