Howzzat!

The parthiv debacle

...in the end the chennai test was an anticlimax. As the rival camps licked their lips in anticipation of a victory , the rain god wanted no nonsense. He came showering down turning the chepauk greens into a swamp , a meadow where the cherubic sheperd(and Rudy) didnt want his sheeps to graze.

Dissapointment was an under-statement. Agony and frustration were close contenders for the word that would describe the emotions of the men in blue. Interestingly , the green and gold men would also have the same emotions coursing through them. Thats paradoxical isnt it?. But that was exactly how the match was poised....delicately on a needle tip.

So what are the learnings? In spite of a spell binding effort by sehwag and a match - saving/winning effort by martyn , the name thats pops up in my mind is that of a man who keeps the wickets for the indians. And not only for the bad reasons. In a world of miniaturisation , parthiv seems to have endorsed the trend even in his physique and talent behind the stumps. New bettings are starting , 'what are the odds of parthiv holding on to the ball?'. I dont want to show the odds , highly dissapointing for an indian fan. Now this little guy takes a few paces and stands in front of the stumps , and lo! , a complete transformation!. He becomes a gutsy match winning batsman. This transformation produces a dilema for the captain.

Parthiv i guess is just about to complete his teens and his job is to keep wickets and bat. But , the question is , what is the net score? If he can score a great 50 under pressure and drop a few batsmen who go on to make a 50 or a hundred then his net score , i am sorry to say , is way below the zero mark. Continuing with him is a grave mistake. I am not harsh on this guy , i am just putting things in perspective. Indians need to groom him , of course , but not at the expense of international victories. He has got a problem with his technique when it comes to keeping and he 's got to correct it. the best way is to go back to the academy or domestic cricket and get it sorted. The indians must ensure that he doesnt go out of reckoning like so many players who had taken a break from international cricket.

posted by Tyagarajan S @ 12:53:00 AM