India hang on as Kumble retires

The third test ended in dull draw after the bowlers from both the teams were unable to force a result. The Indian team after scoring 613 in their first innings dropped too many catches to let Australia off the hook to allow them to reach 577 in reply. Once that happened it was almost sure that this test would head for a draw and it did. The Indians were guilty of dropping too many chances on a pitch which was offering slow turn to the spinners. Sehwag was India’s most successful bowler in the Australian first innings taking 5 wickets.

The Indian batting though held on for a draw on the 5th day as the Australians had an outside chance of winning the test match. The Indian batsmen scored freely against an inconsistant Australian bowling in the first innings to set up the game in favor of the hosts. The bowlers bowled with lot of heart on a pitch which offered very little assistance. If only the fielders had held on to few of the chances created by their bowlers, probably we could have eneded up with a closer result. Ishant and Zaheer were good once again without luck. Anil was injured early in the Australian first innings after bowling 9 ineffective overs but Mishra troubled the Australians with his variations.

Sehwag was called upon to replace Anil, who had to leave the field with an injured thumb and used the conditions the best among all the bowlers on view. He accounted for 3 of the 4 Australian wickets to fall on the third day. Micheal Clarke, hayden and Ponting made valuable contributions to propel Australia to 577 in their first innings. Even though the test match ended in a draw it will always be remembered for being the last one played by one of the greatest cricketers India have ever produced. Anil Kumble surprised one and all by his sudden decision to quit on the 5th day of the test match. Kumble later said that the injury prompted him to take the decision.

Kumble had been subjected to media pressure after Amit Mishra’s successful debut in the Mohali test and no one can deny that it played a small part in his decision to retire. Kumble’s career spanned for over 16 years and he became the highest wicket taker for India overtaking Kapil’s tally of 434. Anil now finishes with 619 wickets which is the all time third highest tally in test cricket behind Shane Warne and Muralitharan. Kumble was a fierce competitor on the cricket field and a soft spoken induvidual off it.

India for sure will miss this great legend but as the old saying goes “Every good thing must come to an end”. I wish Kumble all the best for the future and thank him for providing us with lots of moments to cheer during his illustrious career. Good Bye to India’s greatest match winner.

Ganguly to quit after the Australian series

The decision by the new selection panel to include Ganguly in the test squad for the upcoming series against the Australians was received by everyone with lots of speculation. Lots of media members even described it as a chance for Sourav to make a dignified exit from the International scene. Looking at what has eventually transpired I wouldnt be surprised if that news did not contain an element of truth in it.

Ganguly’s decision to quit after the Australian series has given him a chance to make a dignified exit from the Indian team which not many of his seniors have enjoyed in the past. Indian team always had its players either kicked out or banned in the past decade or so. Ganguly though has made a smart decision by announcing his retirement before the series has begun. Ganguly has been a wonderful player for India and most importantly was a great leader of men.

He took over the reigns in the year 2000 when the Indian team was plagued by match fixing scandals. He along with John Wright instilled lot of self belief in the team. Under his captaincy India improved their dismal overseas record and started winning on the foriegn soil. He deservedly still remains India’s most successful captain. Ganguly’s decline started somewhere in the mid of 2004 and continued till couple of years back till he made an inspired comeback in the series against the South Africans.

Sourav deserved one last hurrah in the Indian team and I hope that the selectors play him for the entire series. I salute Sourav for his great contribution to Indian cricket. He was a great batsmen and an important cog in the Indian batting wheel for more than decade. It will be hard to imagine a team without our Dada. I wish Ganguly a great last series and hopefully will it be a winning one. I wish that Ganguly will have what Steve Waugh did not have in his last series, a win.

Good Bye Dada! Thanks for everything.