I think I have already read 3 reviews on Tendulkar’s
problems with getting bowled and if his time has come. Funnily, each one of
them has shown full faith in his ability to iron out the flaws and come out
stronger than ever. Let us also consider that Tendulkar’s last test century was
against South Africa in January 2011. 16 tests have gone since then, Sachin
playing in 13 of those, and 11 centuries have been scored by Indian batsmen in
this period, one even by Ashwin, and strikingly 5 by one RS Dravid! All in all
it makes it one of the driest periods in Sachin’s career.
I am a big Tendulkar fan. He is the one because of which I
started following this great game. And no matter how bad a phase he has been
going through, my faith in him has never wavered. Yes, he didn’t have enough 4th
innings performances in bailing India out- something which he has corrected
over the last 5-6 years, and yes, he is blocking a youngster’s place in the
eleven. But, is there a young batsman in this country who has given
performances to stake or even deserve a claim in the XI? Kohli did and Dravid
gracefully retired. I still feel there was no debate for Laxman’s place with the
no. 6 slot still unclaimed. But maybe the constant controversy forced him to
retire.
As mentioned before, I did find the reaction of critics
quite funny. It’s because it seems like everyone is now too scared to write the
little master off. They did this mistake in 2007-2008 when almost everyone,
even respected writers and experts like Ian Chappell and Sanjay
Manjrekar wrote their obituaries telling it’s time for Sachin to retire, and
then Sachin responded with 2 breath taking years in 2009 and 2010, capping them
off with a World Cup win in 2011. The turnaround was so stunning that it seemed
for the last 1 year no one had the courage to speak a word even with the
100th century struggle continuing. Now, it feels they are obliged to
speak. But each one is choosing their words carefully, with no one looking for
another ‘egg-in-the-face’ moment. It’s all too interesting from an outside
perspective- because, if anything Sachin’s struggles in 2008 were of far lesser
magnitude than they are now.
If you look at the figures, they would prove so. Though the
average is lower back in 2006, but what’s worth noting is that 12 of the 14
tests were played in the subcontinent and on extremely low and slow pitches
with most of them resulting in pretty average team scores. In that light, the
average of 34 still looks decent. In contrast, 8 of the 13 tests currently are
overseas. Especially in Australia, in the later part of the series, Sachin
really struggled for his touch.
| Span |
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
BF |
SR |
100 |
50 |
0 |
4s |
6s |
| 2005-2006 |
14 |
22 |
1 |
711 |
109 |
33.9 |
1508 |
47.1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
108 |
1 |
| Feb 2011- Now |
13 |
24 |
0 |
841 |
94 |
35 |
1581 |
53.2 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
113 |
3 |
For now, the critics are
quiet. Sachin’s powerful response last time might keep them quiet for some more
time. If runs still don’t come, we might find these same people asking him to
retire soon. Not that Sachin would care. He knows best when the time is right.
RISE OF MSD?
The other thing I wanted to talk about in this section was
about MS Dhoni’s response to the retirements of Dravid and Laxman. Before the
series started, I thought this might just bring more responsibility on Dhoni (I
won’t use the word ‘pressure’- because for MSD there seems no pressure ever),
partly because he had a role to play in their faster-than-usual retirements.
With no Laxman at 6, and a struggling Raina there to go with Kohli, he might just
be expected to bail India out more regularly than usual. He has started well
with 2 50s and a 48*.
A big part in MSD coming of age in ODI cricket was the usual
inexperienced look of the batting line up, where he was generally in the crease
too early, or he was expected to shepherd the innings to a good total. Though
his average had always remained at pretty unbelievable levels, but his
consistency in scoring has been in sync with him having to move down the order
and holding his own in the middle order. His exceptional run of form against England
last year in ODIs, when it seemed most others were struggling, and he remained
unbeaten throughout the 10 ODIs against England is a case in point. But in tests, the unbreachable ODI avatar gives way to a tentative prodding one.
At least in home conditions, MSD might just gain the
consistency we expected from him. Since his debut, only once has he scored 3 consecutive 50+ scores. Otherwise, he has generally been disappointing. In overseas condition, whether he has the
technique to survive against decent pace bowling, that’s a question that
remains to be answered. Often people ask him to play like Gilchrist, but to
keen cricket observers, it would easily be noticed that Gilchrist had a strong
technique against quality pace bowling. Yes, later on in his career, Flintoff
and co did show a potential weakness by going around the wicket to him, but
still not many bowlers could produce that skill level.
Maybe it’s
just a mind thing with him. Let’s hope he shows the same consistency again!
That would bode well for this new look India!
