When Sachin Tendulkar overshadowed Rahul Dravid for that one final time

Suyash Srivastava

In their first encounter of the Champions League Twenty 20, Mumbai Indians were up against Rajasthan Royals and the hype of the match reached its crescendo the moment everybody realised it would be the final time Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid will be playing together, though against each other, in a coloured jersey.

Mumbai Indians were high on confidence after winning IPL 2013 while Rajasthan Royals had an uphill task ahead of them as their key players were banned from cricket for their alleged involvement in a spot-fixing scandal that once again shattered the faith of several cricket fans.

But ‘The Wall’ was determined to reunite a side that had seen a lot post IPL 2013, and his players were equally adamant to excel in what was their skipper’s last appearance in a T20 series. They began the tournament with a bang as they thrashed Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians by seven wickets. But Dravid’s contribution with the bat wasn’t much as he was dismissed by Coulter-Nile for just one run. Tendulkar too didn’t play a big innings, but he hit three boundaries during his 17-ball stay and was the spotlight between the two legends.

Dravid was hailed for his leadership skills ever since he took over the captaincy of Rajasthan Royals in a format where he has represented the country on just one occasion. The Royals continued their good show right through the series and much to the delight of many, the finale once again was between Mumbai and Rajasthan that was once again hyped as a Tendulkar vs Dravid contest.


As I stated earlier, it was the last appearance for both the cricketers in a coloured jersey. Only one could witness the fairy-tale ending. And as it has been right through their careers, the Little Master got more applause than The Wall.

Tendulkar got the guard of honour and once again scored 15 runs as compared to Dravid’s 1, both were clean bowled, but Dravid’s wicket was the final nail in the Royals’ coffin and their players looked dejected after failing to give a grand farewell to their skipper, even as Tendulkar was lifted on the shoulders, once again by young Indian cricketers.

While Dravid’s contribution has always been overshadowed by the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman throughout his career, CL T20 2013 was a tournament where he failed miserably with the bat. Nonetheless, only if one could see the selfless devotion he gave to Rajasthan Royals, runs and form won’t matter.

Out of all the teams, one would have least expected the Rajatshan Royals to remain unbeaten till the finale.

I wonder what would have been the viewership of this year’s Champions League in absence of these two legends. There was the Mahi factor that kept a certain section of cricket fans glued to their screens, but the stadiums were jam-packed and people followed the tournament with excitement only because of these two gentlemen.


While the Mumbai Indians dressing room was busy celebrating their consecutive title triumph, somewhere in another part of Feroz Shah Kotla, a dejected Dravid was left wondering what went wrong in the final. Because, as far as commitment is concerned, Dravid gave his 100 percent. The Wall would be contented with his work.

Thanks for all the memories Dravid. Cricket will continue, but it won’t be that much of a gentleman’s game without you.

Mitchell Johnson – still a force to reckon with

Chaitan Papnai

When Mitchell Johnson started his career in 2005/06, many cricket pundits were of the view that he can be the next Dennis Lillee. The left-arm bowler has that extra bit of pace and accuracy to make the best of the batsmen dance to his tunes.

His ability to generate pace even from dead pitches made him the spearhead of Australian bowling for quite some time. But inconsistency plagued his career and on top of it, injuries took their toll as well, which forced him many times in the past to make way for bowlers less talented than him.

When the Australian team was announced for the Indian sojourn for one off T-20 and seven-match ODI series, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson were the only cricketers who had the experience of more than 100 ODI matches – after Michael Clarke, who withdrew from the series due to prolonged back-problem.

Stand-in skipper George Bailey knew that Johnson could deliver even in the batting paradise tracks of sub-continent. And more often than not, the left-arm speedster has delivered for the Kangaroos and result is that a team that looked mediocre before the series, is now leading 2-1 after the first four matches.

To deliver against the batting line up that has players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, that too on featherbed tracks, is always a difficult task for any bowler. Still on these pitches, the 31-year-old is giving a tough time to the Indian batsmen with his fearsome pace and well directed short-pitched deliveries.

He is consistently clocking the speed of 140 plus and bending his back to generate some extra bounce from the placid Indian tracks. In the third match of the series, when Bailey chose to bowl first after winning the toss at Mohali, which was full of runs, Johnson had some different plans against solid Indian batting line-up, that had chased down the mammoth second-highest target of 360 runs quite comfortably to level the series 1-1 in the previous game.

In the third ODI, Sharma and Dhawan, who guided their team to a thumping victory over the Australians, got out cheaply and India were 37 for 2 in seven overs. While in-form Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina were at the crease, other formidable batsmen like Yuvraj, Dhoni and Ravinder Jadeja were waiting for their turn in the pavilion.

In the 13th over of the innings, when Bailey re-introduced his spearhead bowler Johnson into the attack, he didn’t disappoint his skipper. In his second over of that spell, Johnson tried a quick short ball against Raina – who is often criticized for not playing the short ball well, and the southpaw once again went for a half-hearted pull and the ball flew off after kissing the toe of his bat and went towards slips where Watson completed a sharp catch.

In-form Yuvraj was the next batsman to walk in, and the crowd cheered the arrival of their local hero who had been in splendid form. Johnson bowled a cracker of a delivery first up at a speed of 148.8 km/h. A slightly back-of-length delivery at off stump and it nicked the bat of the southpaw and went safely into the gloves of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Yuvi was out for a golden duck and Johnson had given double blow to India off his two consecutive deliveries.

Though he failed to claim a hat-trick, but when his skipper introduced him for his third spell to bowl the 32nd over, he once again tried a short ball to sent Jadeja back in the hut and almost broke the backbone of Indian middle-order.

Later in the Indian innings, when the partnership between Ashwin and Dhoni was looking dangerous, Australian skipper once again used his trump card, and Johnson broke the partnership by taking the wicket of Ashwin. He finished his spell with staggering figures of 4-46 in his ten-over quota.

Johnson used his rich experience of playing against India in India and so far this ageing bowler has exploited it wonderfully in the series.

No one ever doubted his abilities as a fast bowler; it was always his inconsistency and injuries that forced him to sacrifice his place in the Australian squad. Now he is running hard, generating a good pace and more importantly, showing consistency and that’s the reason he has been the talking point before the selection of the Australian team for the return Ashes series.

Recently, legendary former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath stated that Johnson is vital to the nation`s Ashes chances this summer, and that the left-armer must play in the first Test against England. McGrath, who took 563 Test wickets, believes Johnson is the ideal like-for-like replacement for the injured Mitchell Starc, with his performances in the limited-overs series in England and lately India screaming out for a recall.

If Mitchell Johnson gets the selectors call for the return Ashes, then it would surely give the depleted Australian team a bowler that can change the fortunes of the side while playing Down Under.

Seamers still a weak link for India

Chaitan Papnai

Though the Indian team would be high on confidence after its emphatic win over Australia in the second ODI, the perennial problem with seam-bowlers remains to be a worrying factor. Indian seamers are still struggling to stick to the basics in the ongoing series against Aussies, their bowling has been pretty ordinary so far.

In the one-off Twenty20, while batting first Aussie batsmen posted a formidable total of 201 runs. They literally toyed with the Indian bowling attack by hitting boundaries at will. But the comeback man Yuvraj Singh came to their rescue by playing a blistering knock of 77 runs in just 55 balls as India chased the total with six wickets and two balls to spare.

In the first ODI of the seven-match series at Pune, Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. And once again Australian batsmen thrashed Indian bowlers all over the park, especially the Indian seamers — Ishant Sharma and Vinay Kumar — who went for over 7.54 runs in the 16 overs they bowled.


Apart from their poor economy rate, their line and length was another aspect which would have bothered MS Dhoni. Even the Aussie tail-enders scored runs freely off Ishant. In fact, his disastrous bowling in the first ODI compelled commentator Wasim Akram to say that Sharma needs to get better at bowling yorkers. Akram was once Sharma’s coach in the IPL-franchise KKR. India’s famed batting line up collapsed and India lost the game by humiliating 72 runs.

In the second ODI, everyone was expecting that Indian seamers — especially Vinay and Ishant – would learn from their past mistakes and bowl a tighter line and length. But they once again repeated their mistakes which helped Australia to score their highest total on Indian soil surpassing their previous best of 350 four which came at Hyderabad in 2009. The Aussies put up a mammoth total of 359 runs on the board. Once again, both the seamers were expensive and went for over 70 runs each.

Especially in the last ten overs, Indian bowlers looked clueless and conceded 122 runs as George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell sent the Indian players on a leather-hunt.


Their poor bowling performance even annoyed the ‘cool and calm’ Indian skipper MS Dhoni. He stated in the post match ceremony: “We need to improve our bowling. The reason is that if you attempt a yorker and it becomes a low full toss, it’s fine. But if it becomes a waist-high full toss, then the margin is too much. It’s one area we are looking to improve.”

Strike bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, has impressed many with his wicket-taking ability with the new ball. His impeccable line and length and the ability to swing the ball both ways have made him a potent strike bowler. But so far his inability to provide the early breakthroughs in the series has cost India dearly.

Though India has one of the best batting line-ups in the world, but even that can’t guarantee a victory each time their opponents put up a total of over 300 runs.

Third ODI match of the series would be the last chance for Indian seamers to rectify their mistakes and bowl in the right areas not only to stop runs but to pick wickets as well. Otherwise, Indian selectors have to take some definitive steps while announcing the team for the rest of the series by showing the door to a couple of the Indian bowlers. Another danger, especially for Vinay and Ishant is that selectors have a couple of options in the form of Jaidev Unadkat and speedster, Umesh Yadav. So, before it’s too late for the under-performers, they must bounce back in the third ODI which is to be played on Saturday at Mohali – unfortunately a placid track.