The Karachi test has just ended- Pakistan having landed the knockout
punch. There will be discussions, and there will be discussions- and
then some more. "Experts" who used to have the killer instinct of
vegetables while they were cricketers will pour in with
their "Raambaand Ilaaj" formulae. An example:
Ravi Shastri: (On cricinfo mobile) To, start with, they(India)don't
have a specialist opening pair.

Question: Isn't it a bit strage to "start with" that ? The bowlers
struggled to get a wicket every hundred runs. Asif is a rookie and
Razzaq is by no means, express (so much for Greg "78 lakh underarm"
Chappel's "extra pace" theory). They managed to rip the Indian
batsmen apart- Sehwag had his middle stump shot out, Sachin was
literally "floored" and Laxman had his furniture rearranged. Was the
track all that dead ?

That's enough on Shastri- he makes me sick.

Rahul Dravid : We will now concentrate on playing the best batsmen
in the best positions.
That's too clear a message to be ignored.
The Indian batting summary on this series:
1) Sehwag: Started with a bang on a featherbed- went from ordinary
to worse when it mattered.
2) Dravid: Back to back hundreds on wickets that were more like
tennis courts minus the grass. When it mattered, he didn't bother
scorers too much.
3) Laxman: Fighting 90 on a very flat wicket. When it mattered-
well.....
4) Tendulkar: So what if he didn't score much- he is god, isn't he-
yeah never mind the humiliating posture- with the off stump missing.
5) Yuvraj: Scored a fine ton when it mattered- runs amidst ruins-
you hoped you saw more of that from others.
6) Sourav: Sorry, you are not invited for the run feast- the captain
will "sacrifice" his spot for you.
Finally came in and took guard when India with the team in a mess.
Battled out manfully in the middle- stemmed the rot. Lost
concentration both times and payed the ultimate price.

THE ULTIMATE PRICE !
Perhaps nobody understands this better than the man himself. He is
no ordinary crickter- he is Sourav Ganguly. He was the second
highest scorer in the side for the game, that is not exactly person
you think of snipping out of the next game- right ? Wrong.

Shastri and Dravid have had similar "first thoughts" on a Test where
not too many things went right for India. The "studious first boy"
grabbed the opportunity and reaped runs on featherbeds. Add to that
the bonus of being called "sacrificial", and "big hearted". Last but
not the least, there was a free gift of somebody getting some more
negative publicity (as if there already was not enough of it)- the
favourite whipping boy of the side he leads.
Then Pakistan made a greentop- and well, Dravid's "big heart" has
ran out of space- it is amply clear now that India will go in with
Gambhir or Jaffer to open the innings. Who will make way for them is
anybody's guess.

But what about "current performance" ? Nobody denied that Sourav was
more comfortable than almost anybody else (except Yuvraj) in the
team on a lively strip against Shoaib's pace. All the trash talking
about his fielding and fitness had to be temporarily put on hold.
How do you drop a guy, so clearly in good touch ?
Well, that's easy- this is how it is going to be:
1) Dravid: Averaged about 80.
2) Sehwag: Averaged about 75.
3) Laxman: Averaged 40 plus.
4) Sachin: Well, didn't we say he is God ?
5) Sourav: Averaged 35.5.

Add to the a dash of "right combination- as per situation" and a
generous sprinkling of "looking to the future" with "a vision of
success". All's well.

When he miscued a pull shot and got out, he threw his gloves in
disgust. What do you expect ? We see him getting humiliated day in
and day out- he lives through it. The moment he hit that shot- he
knew what it would lead to. This was as big an opportunity lost as
he would ever get. Twice. Momentary lapses can mean so much.

What after this ? Well, India will be playing at home once again.
Featherbeds and dustbowls. Spinners. Maybe England will be reduced
to "Ashes". Some more "new look, mentally strong, bubbling with team-
spirit"- like adjectives for the team. And how on earth can a
winning combination be changed ?
And then- ah yes, another overseas series. The way they are going
now- they are pretty likely to find out that Eden Gardens did not
exactly have the greenest wicket in the world. Or that Charl
Langeveldt isn't really MacGrath.
And then -another home series- maybe two- more turners- with luck,
Dravid might even lead India to 20 test victories. Everybody's
happy. And one man would wait in the corner- playing Tripura or
Kerala, desperately waiting for a batsman (maybe two) in the Indian
team to get injured.

But that's enough. I apologise for writing this irritatingly long
piece of garbage. It's hard for you to read (whether you love Sourav
or hate him), it's harder for me to write the tale of humiliation of
my hero- hell, merely following it from a distance makes me weary.

Why am I so obsessed with Sourav ?
The "patriotic cricket fan" on the cricket discussion forums:
Because you are a parochial bastard Bong.
Yes, I am.
And because.......
We never believed we could win Tests in Australia, Pakistan,
England, Windies. We could never believe that Balaji could find the
edge of Inzamam's bat at will (inspite of not being exactly
express). We could not possibly believe that an opener with
no "technique" could put Brett Lee to the sword on Boxing day in
Melbourne. Who could ever have believed that the "indisciplined,
arrogant" boy from Jalandhar would single handedly stall the
Australian jaggernaut ?
My dear "patriotic" friends, I would keep hoping for Sourav to
strike back, as he toils it out in the domestic matches in front of
empty stands.
Because that is what his life and career has taught us.
To believe in miracles.