ASHES

Aaj to khatiya yahin gadegi…..

So the time has come. To seek revenge. It’s what I have waited for the last 9 months and more. One of my favourite films Don, had this song which comes to my mind – Jiska mujhe, tha intezaar, jiske liye dil, tha bekarar. Who ghadi aa gayi aa gayi…The Australians are now cornered. They are at full strength and yet they are unable to put it across and Rajasthan Cricket Assoc. XI side. This is going to be a mouth watering cricket series. Hang on boys and girls. But first the other major happening of the last 48 hours.

The other thing jiska mujhe tha intezaar – Saurav Ganguly quits international cricket. The wait is finally over. The man has got some wisdom, albeit borrowed, to decide what’s best for him and the team at the same time. Well everyone is saying that he is going so at least be polite to him now. So let me try, but I don’t promise anything. The only time I really wanted him to score runs was, one when he was batting at Taunton, as it were the nets at eden garden and he was closing on a double hundred….but he got out. The second time when he was batting against sri lanka in the world cup 2007. He dint just get out, he wasted balls and then got out.

As a captain, he was good. But he turned from good to bad, when he was disposed from captaincy. With every offence to many Bengalis, they are whimsical. They wouldn’t listen to anyone and do what they want to do. While this is not such a bad thing, they are also against any kind of growth of people around them, if they don’t get a share of it. If mamta banerji is not enough to exemplify that, Shorav does it for Bengal. He couldn’t stand the site of someone captaining India and actually excelling in it. In fact doing better than him. Still I think there are some positives that he brought to Indian cricket as a captain and as a one day batsman. Really if you look at how India will remember Ganguly you don’t get one pivotal moment. Maybe his hundred on debut at Lords. He was hardly inspirational in the field. I can’t think of a test inning that helped India win or save a game on its own. Maybe the coca cola cup in Dhaka, the final, but even there a certain Hrishikehsh Kanitkar will take the cake. His pivotal moments are actually the following:

1. his denial to carry drinks on his first tour in Australia in 1991-92
2. his naked shirt waving in the lords balcony
3. his ugly spat with Greg Chappel
4. and the sabotage of India’s world cup hopes in 2007

But I think his announcement of retirement could not be better timed. VRS or not, I think he is going to give it to the Aussies one last time. I think ganguly will now play as if there is no tomorrow and he will beat the shit out of the Lees and the Johnsons. Lucky McGain got a shoulder injury, his career is safe now. But I feel sorry for Cameroon White. I mean he is already playing for the Bangalore RCs. How bad could things be. The Indian batting will murder him, if he dares to step in. Krejza might cause some concern with ishant Sharma, but all the rest of the Indian squad, including Munaf Patel are capable of handling him.

So for Australia, it’s up to Lee, Johnson and Clark. Well don’t count too much on them, not from the evidence of the BP XI game. If Sehwag cuts lose tomorrow, it could be a long day for the Aussies. The batting looks okish. Katich and Hussey will do well, because all left-handers do well against India. Ponting will do some stuff, so will Clarke. Who is the sixth batsman? This is the check mate for Australia, with Haddin at 7 it’s a lost cause. When Kumble will zip through his flippers, the tail will come to their aukaad instantly. Ofcourse, Ishant vs Ricky will be fun to watch, so will be Bhajji vs Clarke. Lee vs Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar vs. Ricky Ponting bowling left arm and the most fun will be to see Laxman cream the so called spinners to all corners of the ground.

Its time to give it back and hell we are going to give it back. Anil bhai the whole country is behind you. We will cheer every run the team scores and every ball that we bowl. In so many years I have seen cricket, never have I felt this confident that India will win the series against Australia. This is the perfect moment. Loha Garam hai, Maar do Hathauda!

Labels: Cricket