Winning is everything

Last night's win over England in the 6th ODI at The Oval was remarkable in more ways than one.

Typically, when the team batting first does an amazing job in the finishing overs, these heroics end up being the difference between the winner and the loser. 51 runs off the last 3 overs and 30 in the last 5 balls is a dream end to the innings in most circumstances.

Secondly, given India's fickle record in chasing of late, anything was possible despite a great start.

It's been a while since rookies have raised their hands and demanded to be counted.

In the end, thanks Rahul & gang for a great show. And thanks Sachin for beginning to look like the old Sachin. Thanks Robin Utthappa for finishing the game. And for saving Yuvraj the blushes!!

Forget it! India won the series.

Cricket analysts will argue till cows come home about whether Rahul Dravid did the right thing by not enforcing the follow-on on England in the Oval Test. He is our captain and comes with a great cricketing brain. Let's credit him with the flexibility to decide what's best for the team. All of us have the advantage of looking back now but Dravid had to make the decision then - at that moment.

The fact remains that India won the Test series - after 21 years. This is the most important statistics future will remember. I would only say - 1-0 is good enough - 2-0 would have been great but no problem. :-)

India is beginning to believe in itself

After another eventful day at the Oval today, it seems certain that England will be forced to follow on tomorrow morning. With only one more wicket left and 139 runs to get to avoid the follow on, I wouldn't give England a chance of the improbable task of making India bat before they bat a second time in this Test.

The pitch didn't seem to have changed from the one India batted on yesterday but I believe the difference was the way Indian bowlers went about their task. They knew where their field was and bowled with purpose. This is a change from what we used to see earlier - an attitude to give up because there was an excuse - the docile pitch.

Like I said in my earlier post yesterday, a big score is a huge motivation and it is definitely helping the bowlers' confidence. Batsmen have to realise this fact and none more than the famed 'Fab Four' although the ones who scored the three highest scores in the Indian innings were not part of the Fab Four. This is good news for those who have been worrying about what would happen to Indian batting lineup once the 30+ cricketers retired.

Away from cricket, Sania has been making news recently regularly beating players ranked above her - the more talked about being the victory over Swiss Miss Martina Hingis. While the victory run was halted yesterday by a player ranked lower than her, the fact remains that Sania is beginning to get noticed by the Top 10 players. She is getting to play them more often and I am sure the upsets we saw in the last week will now be regular news as long as Sania keeps herself fit.

And what is happening to hockey? No great shakes here I am afraid but Chak De India is bang on target. Wouldn't it be nice to see the victory of Indian hockey team - men or women - in the World Cup Final some time soon?

One more flash in the pan?

With the boys doing well in England (as of now, it looks like they cannot lose the Oval test with such a huge first innings score) and the interest in cricket coming back after the World Cup debacle, I do hope this is not one more of the performance blips that we have got so used to with the Indian cricket team.

Historically, the team has been lacking consistency and Dravid's biggest mandate would be to continue the good run for a long time to come. For a change, the batting maestros are beginning to click together. And when there is a big score on the board, the bowlers can experiment and try a few innovations. Apart from the belief in themselves (which was characterised by none more than Zaheer in Trentbridge), the reassurance of the lead on the score board does inject loads of energy and enthusiasm in the bowlers.

Watching the action on TV, one can very clearly see that the team is enjoying its cricket. And that's the way it should be. In sports or at work, one will never excel if one does not enjoy what one is doing.

Good going, India. Keep up the good show.

An open letter to Rahul Dravid

Dear Rahul,

Very few in this country will have as enviable a task as you have. You carry the hopes and aspirations of a billion Indians. Why are we so hungry to savour success? If you ask me, there's a simple social background. India as a country has always been ravaged by the attacking foreigners and as a result we have grown wary of 'losing'. This mindset has been passed on through the centuries and as a result, while we do not have many victories to celebate, when they come, we are overjoyed and we hero-worship people who made it happen.

You will now know why the Indian cricketers could do nothing wrong after the 1983 World Cup. Because that triumph was a vindication of the dreams of the Indians that we could win in world stage too. As a result, one win amidst several defeats is also welcomed with open arms.

You will agree that the Indian cricket team has been like the proverbial character - "when she's good, she's very very good and when she's bad, she's horrid". It is time the team gets the consistency of a world beater and you have proven in the recent two series that the present team has in it to be a very competitive side which can demolish the opposition.

Rahul - I have admired you ever since you started playing for Karnataka and the way you inched your way up through the crisis of being labelled as no-good for ODIs to now captain the national side. You have had an amazing career and I do hope that 2007 will bring the biggest Cup one can ever hold, in your hands.

Only you will know what it means to carry the burden of the prayers of a billion Indians but we know that you and your team will pull off some memorable wins in this edition of the World Cup including hopefully in the finals.

You people know what best has to be done on the cricket field. Off the field, I can only advise one thing - "Play to Win". Never ever lose hope. When the country is with you, you can't!!

All the best and bring the Cup home.

Dhruv
on behalf of the billion Indians