Like I said, a happy end makes a difference to the whole story and all the characters in it. At the end of the first day’s play when England were two hundred and plenty for four, I wanted to sack the pace ‘attack’. When you need Sourav Ganguly to take the first wicket and Anil Kumble to take the second (after giving away more than two hundred runs), three specialist seamers begin to seem extravagant. RP Singh was high on my list of least favoured bowlers. I found his run-up and follow-through deliberate to the point of absurdity: why, I wondered, did he bowl fast if he was worried that some body part was about to fall off? And when Dinesh Karthik put down Andrew Strauss, he was lucky I had forgotten the Cruciatus curse or he’d still be writhing at point.

By the end of the second day it was clear to me that I had been right about our seamers all along: they were the fulcrum of our side, the pivot on which the team’s fortune’s turned. To get England out for under 300 with a fielding side like ours amounted to genius; which is more than you could say for our batsmen. Karthik batted as well as he had caught and Rahul Dravid died defending so you could say he didn’t throw his wicket away but since he hadn’t scored very many it wasn’t much of a consolation.

By the time we crawled to 200 all out, I had demoted MS Dhoni to Jharkhand’s second XI. To be out, nudging a short ball to slip, like someone providing catching practice, made me wonder what Dravid thought he was doing with two wicketkeepers in the same side. Three if you counted the captain himself. They should have left Dhoni at home given that he was a specialist batsman, a subcontinental specialist. His batting technique was so homespun, it looked home-made.

By the time the fourth day was done, I was vindicated in my early faith in RP Singh, especially in the tiger-like litheness of his bowling action. After he had torn the heart out of the English middle order I could see the Wasim Akram in him - the same effortless rhythm and the same capacity to slip in the lethal bouncer. Dravid’s terminal decline continued apace and while Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly got a few, it was clear to my unsentimental eye that the sun had set on our galacticos. In terms of bad selection, the 2007 tour of England was proving to be the batting equivalent of the bowling disaster of Pakistan tour in 1978 when we dispatched our great, storied spinners for one tour too many, only to have them slaughtered by the Pakistan batsmen, led by Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad.

	When RP Singh tore out the heart of the English middle order, his bowling, with its effortless rhythm and capacity to slip in the lethal bouncer, resembled that of Wasim Akram's © Getty Images

How much a day, especially a rain-curtailed day, can change things! VVS Laxman’s 39 doesn’t sound like much but when you think of how much it must have helped us reach that moment when the light turned and we returned to the pavilion, with a wicket left, you see at once what a doughty knock it was. And you have to make allowances for the man: that short ball from the brutishly tall Chris Tremlett kept decidedly low. Yes, it did hit the top of the stumps but given where it bounced, in a just world and off a true pitch, it would have sailed over them. And even Ganguly, with 30 runs in the first innings and 40 in the second, had done his bit. Tendulkar, too had shown intent: slashing and pulling, looking like the aggressive Tendulkar we once knew and loved. And come to think of it, Dravid wasn’t out at all. Even the English commentators pointed out that he had been hit outside the line.

Yes, it had been a wonderful Test match. Given the advantage of surprise that England had, in fielding a brand-new pace attack about which the Indian batsmen knew little if anything, it was creditable that India survived the ambush. On a normal ground, the teams would have lost much more time and it wouldn’t have come down to this last wicket drama that English sports writers (and, I regret to report, some Indian writers too) have made so much of. The match would have been drawn as a matter of course. I think the Indian management, perhaps Chandu Borde himself, ought to register a discreet complaint that the Indian team hadn’t been briefed by the ECB on their new, fast-draining grounds. Shouldn’t the speed of drainage have been specified under the playing conditions? Still, a draw was a fair result. Going into the second Test, given the Indian team’s experience and its champion middle order, I would have to say as a neutral critic, that India start favourites.

This post is adapted from an article published in the Telegraph, Kolkata.

'I think the Indian management, perhaps Chandu Borde himself, ought to register a discreet complaint that the Indian team hadn’t been briefed by the ECB on their new, fast-draining grounds. Shouldn’t the speed of drainage have been specified under the playing conditions'

Are you for real?!?!

I seriously hope these are tongue in cheek statements. Given the amount of whinging that emanates from the sub continent whenever anything doesn't go the 'right way', it has become very hard to know what to take seriously and what is a joke.

If those comments are not intended as a joke, then you have my sympathies because I just don't know how you can get through life with such a mentality ... it really would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. Although I suppose congratulations are in order, you've just taken ridiculous whining and unfathomable excuses to a whole new level!

What utter drivel!!!

Mukul, you're getting sarcastic and cynical. But then, who wouldn't.

Well...all i can say is a bad performance is being hailed as a good one, esp considering that the new engliash attck about which the batsman knew nothing and as a result got ambushed showed much more character than the character shown by the vaunted indian batting line up. And yes, MS Dhoni did play a good knock, but is he not in the team for his batting and supposed to play such knocks on a regular basis rather than one off innings? Considering that his wicket keeping is notches below dinesh karthick's? It would be better said that while there were glimpses of character shown by the Indian batting, it would reaaly need to put their hands up and support their bowlers,and not JUST rely on the bowlers.

Delightful take Mukul
Reminds me of all the occasions when I have thought that commentating is the most risk-free job. React to what is happening at the moment and always enjoy the benefit of hindsight. If we have all these know-all ex-players as commentators, the TV companies owe it to the viewer to record their comments at different stages in the match and play it all out in the end. It might just cut out some of the cockiness and the complete memory loss of how these 'giants' played in similar situations in their playing days.

haha Mukul mate, now tell us what you really think...

huh...what do you mean?

Great Job ! Mr kesavan , you really have a sense of humour. By the way Steve Bucknor should not been stupefied but rather should have been subjected to the cruciatus curse for always ditching India in dire straits. At least the man will show some expressions on the field. I know I am being cruel but this is the only way to get the man to smile or at least show some agony. Anyway India's 'You Know who' should now take some responsibility and show to the world that he really is the greatest Wizard -er- Batsman in the world. Otherwise that title will always remain with Albus Brian Dumbeldore .

Well done for using your wizarding skills Mukul! I had him under the Imperius Curse, and made him take the players off the field for bad light..

What is this with India and Wasim Akram ? Every Idian left arm bowler has to be India's answer to Wasim Akram. Whether it was Nehra, Zaheer, then Pathan and now RP Singh ? Its simple to understand really, no one makes bowlers like Wasim anymore.

all the english and indian channels are making a big deal of how a raw young pace attack derailed indias middle order. some of the english journalists are almost getting poetic about it. but all that is just rubbish. india has never done well overseas, especially in the first test and come out with a draw especially in swinging conditions is a very very good result. if karthik had taken that catch of strauss, the script of this could have been very different. when your best fielder drops a dolly you can only curse your luck!!
all in all a very good tense match which finished with a very good result for india. the indian news media should be given a course to understand cricket test matches better and also have more knowledge of the history of indian cricket.
when wi manages to draw the test match with only one wicket left, the fault is with indian bowlers. when india do the same against england, the english are all over the place celebrating a moral victory. it is not certainly not easy being an indian cricketer!!

The lords test match has only confirmed Indian team battings over dependence on Rahul Dravid`s batting form outside the sub continent,it only reveals Indian top orders capability to put runs on boards without Dravids contributions with the bat which is not so easily recognised by Indias star struck media and fans,this has been the case since 6-7 years now,Dravid can be criticised for his lack of runs in SA and now in this test but the results also reveal how thin the batting is without his runs.As you mentioned the others in the batting line up are capable of only a 30 or a 40 which might eventually save their place in the side but not win or draw matches.I only hope Dravid fires with the bat in this series if not only rain can save this series as it happened at Lords.The next match is in Trent Bridge where Dravid got the first of his 3 hundrends in 2002,I wait in anticipation that the skipper finds his groove.

Great Wrirting Sir. One of the best written articles on a game i have read so far. I thnk most of the fans echo ur sentiments. On a day when our players do well, they look like angels but when they have bad days which unfortunately are maximum when overseas, we can disect and find fault with any of the players or for that matter any boday associated with indian cricket, board to management to concerned players
Thoroughly enjoyed ur article.
Cheers

Nice article. Gives a humourous account of how a typical Indian fan would have felt at different stages of the test match.

even if we had not drawn, we got more out of the test , rp, dk, md and our most hardworking captain dravid, dravid knows there are sports lover who understands what he has been for our team and what he has been quitely doing for the team and will keep on doing. never mind the hyper media and ever loving hyper fans. its not about win or loss . its about the test and the sport. and never mind the gods, its about the new kids on the block learning . and may they keep on doing it . and they saved the test to while they were at it.

Laxmans Innings Was absoloutely Priceless

India Should never ever field a team 20 20 odi or test which does not include the name VVS

"... whipped out my wand and yelled “Stupefy!” That stopped him."

Mr. Kesavan, you outdo yourself with every new article. Congratulations on another fantastically written piece.

How are those sour grapes tasting Mr Kesavan?

Mukul,as you rightly point out our batting galacticos have reached their use by date and unless replacements are found fast we will be in a real soup.How about trying out Rohith Sharma at Trnet Bridge?

Let's fact it folks. Though it's a draw on paper but is it realy a draw? I don't think so.

You've got it all wrong! You can't stupefy him, for one thing I didn't see a flash of red light, and another you make no mention of having said "enervate" to wake him up. I think you needed the confundus charm instead.

Oh yeah, and we really did deserve to lose that match, although I'm not complaining the rain came to save us.

The sun has indeed set on the Fearsome Four - Sachin/Dravid/Tendulkar and Laxman. I shudder to think how these would fare against the Aussie bowlers in their Tour Down Under later this year.

I thing I have noticed is that all out-of-form players use India to bounce back to form - be it Jayasurya or Tamim Iqbal in Batting, Daryl Tuffey or Jimmy Anderson in Bowling

this article is seriously embarassing. i couldn't stop laughing, clutching my stomach and gasping for air. and i'm at work. as i said, bloody embarassing.

I agree with Skat, this is complete, unadulterated drivel! Is this supposed to be a expert's analytical take on the Test? How can you justify the complete capitulation of the 'Holy Trinity', the leather hunt on the first day, the white towel thrown at rookie second string pacers and the eager, yearning look to the leaden skies by India's finest?? I thought them pathetic and Mr. Kesavan, if you are an honest Indian fan you would say the same.

excuses, excuses mukul... and the harry potter take.. just lame! typical!. next time, write some sense

The article is great, but by far the funniest parts are the comments made by those readers who had no clue of the tone of the writing and took it all literally!

Truly a sense of humour and ability to decipher irony are even rarer than cases of the enire Indian middle order clicking together in the same match!

hey great article!
This is sattire at its best. Oh how I thought of Geoffry Boycott so many times while reading this blog!

Terrific piece of writing, Mr. Kesavan. An accurate depiction of fickle Indian cricket fans who praise their heroes to the skies when they do well and savage them when they don't...often in the course of the same match. Too bad that some of your readers didn't recognise it for the parody that it was.

I agree Shan! The comments by some morons are even funnier than the article. Absolute lack of being able to understand sarcasm and wit.

Great article that had me chuckling all along :)

A comment for Nath, if I may, if you can't tell the difference between a firm tongue in cheek & highly entertaining article such as this and someone sounding off and whingeing then I am truly disappointed for you.

Even I say the same, Mukul. On the 4th day Ian Botham came up with a whether report from the MET Office which read that it will be a cloudy day with some dark cloud covering the skies, and it could well rain at around 4 PM, which exactly is the time when the light was offered. So, just one batsman had to stay out there and wait for the rain to come, Dhoni did that, that´s it! Even if by one wicket, but we have saved it.

there seems to be a great urge by indian and foreign media to diss indian players at the slightest opportunity!! in all this hoopla about davids (english bowlers) slaying goliaths (indian batsmen), what the media seems to have conveniently missed out that a bunch of subcontinental pacemen bowling well only in patches managed to winkle out english batsmen playing in home conditions for less than 300 in both innings. and if KP had not got his century ...

With so much being written about how lucky were to escape unscathed at Lords, how the rub of the green went over the five days needs to be seen. On day 1 we lost the toss and England piled up a big score in bright sunshine till the weather turned murky. We pulled back a shade in getting 4 wickets by stumps on day one. On day 2, we scythed through the English batting in cloudy and fickle weather, with Sreeshanth at the peak of his histrionics. We lost 4 wickets on the same day for a little over 100 and were bowled out 97 in arrears on day three. On a rain curtailed day England lost 3 by close of play, causing us to believe that a first innings repeat was in store. Day 4 was Lord's in brilliant sunshine, with not a hin of moisture. Pieterson savaged up in these conditions. They were bowled out, leaving us to get 380 to win.We lost 4 wickets by close, 2 of them of Dravid and Tendulkar to dodgy decisions. On the last day it was cloudy with even the scent of rain as Laxman and Dhoni battled. We even thought that Eden gardens 2001 was about to be re-enacted at Lords. The English bowlers relished the weather and took 9 wickets till the rains came. The point that emerges is that luck favoured England all through except in the last two hours. It is against this background that one should see how well team India acquitted themselves, not in the pompousness of the English media.

Wonder why so many people are actually taking this article seriously. Maybe Mr. Kesavan's delightful sense of humour totally went over their heads.. like R.P.Singh's short ones..maybe the author should seriously consider humourous writing - India's answer to P.G.W

HaHa! Good sense of Humor Mukul. Great take on the average fan's fluctuating emotions as the match progressed. Surely one of your better articles! Keep it up.

Agree with Shan. Ashfaq bhai, Mukul is only joking when he says RP is Wasim-like. India knows: forget Wasim, if any Indian bowler even comes close to Waqar, we will be ecstatic.. Cheers!

You got to be kidding Woody Venkat. This kind of attitude is what leads to our teams downfall - Hero Worship.VVS should have stayed there till the end with Dhoni to have merited such a comment.As far as I am concerned nobody did anything out of the ordinary. It was an ordinary exhibition of batting totally overshadowed by exemplary English bowling. The whole team has to regroup and do better in the next test.

Mukul although I understand the sarcasm, this is also a pointer to people not to live their lives in total pessimism. Whatever happens in life, one should be able to look at it from a positive persepctive as well. That's part of our culture. If the players acquire the frame of mind of most journalists, they are better off returning home rather than play the next test.

roflol, i completely agree with shan, the comments are really funny.seriously these guys can't read between the lines..

Nice article BTW. expressing the fluctuating moods of every cricket fan.. keep it up Mukul

Oh yeah! haha, The Indian batsmen saved the day, and my backside is a fire engine :P

Delightfully entertaining, MK. And yes, I jive with what Shan, Rajesh, Jatin, Satyajit and a couple others have said above..
On a side note, I unwittingly intercepted a clandestine communique on the morning of the last rain-curtailed day. Thought I will share it with you guys:
/**START*/
An update: Sharad Shower, India rain chief, will head the International Council of Rain Gods for two test-years and then hand over charge to Arid Morgan, according to an understanding reached between the two at St. John's Wood today.
Oh and another update: To celebrate the watermark deal, Sharad Shower has decided to rain on Arid Morgan's party at Lords. Arid Morgan was caught off guard saying "All's wet that ends wet.."
/*END**/

what a crappy article?

Great article!...good sense of humor....although tongue in cheek the optimism shines thru...

hope the galacticos rise up and perform next match

we need to show england the mountain of runs isnt a mirage....

Well I do understand this is sarcasm, but very corny and misleading. RP Singh just took three or four wickets and KP still went on to register a hundred. I don't know why but India has a habit of making kings out of average joes. Comparison to Wasim is the icing on the cake.

Mr. Kesavan...how dare you take a humorous view on this? India drew the match fair and square. You have obviously been influenced by the sensationalist Indian and British press. I recommend you read articles written by more discerning writers like, for instance, "All's well that ends in rain" by Mukul Kesavan.

Completely pathetic on the of those who did not pick up on the tone and humour. Finally, someone who writes about the game using the correct tone; humorous and light.

... hilarious

A disappointing attempt at humour. The only point consistently made in the article is writer's emotional turmoils throughout the course of the match. That can be humourous but the flow is missing and suddenly there is serious talk when it comes to defending your favorite player Laxman.

On a separate note, the following points need to be made regarding Indian performance in the first test:

1. The failure of the middle order including Dravid and Tendulkar under pressure situations. We had the same problem in South Africa. We keep blaming the support staff, but it is the main characters who need to get their acts together.

2. We are constantly under pressure against the bolwers. We need to be more aggressive against the likes of Anderson and Monty.

3. It was a great effort in the second innings to save the match. Granted there was the weather, but everyone knew it wasn't likely the match to go beyond the tea interval. India did play 96 overs in the second innings. Usually we come up just a little short under these conditions (such as the second test in South Africa). But this time we were able to save the test and Dhoni deserves much credit for that.

Its funny how half the ... reading this article failed to identify the sarcasm in it...tells you a little bit about how well the English know their English!

Its funny how half the morons reading this article failed to identify the sarcasm in it...tells you a little bit about how well the English know their English!

hahaha, that was one of your more funnier posts.it betrays a lot about you.1)you are a passionate man, though not necessarily about anything elae in life than cricket;i have seen ice-cold, robotic surgeons go gaga when cricket is mentioned. 2) it betrays you to be a fellow potter-maniac.a word of advice though: when you start thinking you can do the cruciatus curse, you must know that you have had an overkill of potter!!!

Mukul, how about a walk to the BCCI office? A few "Avada Kedarva"s ought to do it, wot?

Awesome article Mukul , reflects exactly how an average Indian fan thot during the match ! I totally agree with you and just hope the fab3 come back to form !

Have most of your readers lost their sense of humour? Well done, Mr Kesavan...I have scored several centuries for Tendulkar by praying continuously with hands clasped together while he was batting.
If you can stupefy Bucknor, all India's problems will cease.

Wow!!! We muugles sure are in awe..Hats of to you Mukul for such a faboulous article...Next time please cast some spells on our grt bats or give our fields some those quidditch brooms..maybe the nimbus2000!!!

Very well written, Mukul. And kudos to you for finally swallowing the bitter pill about VVS. That must have been really hard to do. Yes, given how he didn't belong with the other galacticos even on the 2002 tour, one suspects he might not be the best player in English conditions after all. He must be the only Indian batsman to have played over 80 test matches and never been invited by a county.
I hope he makes me sick with foot mouthosis after friday.

nice article... it was humourous to an extent.
Imp thing here is the result - I thnk we indians are too fixated with everything but the end result. We were able to draw this test which is the only thing that matters.
Consider the courange that VVS and Dhoni showed in applying themselves. We forget one thing - Luck only favours the brave. I believe we will win this series... PROVE ME WRONG IF YOU CAN BRITS...

Ah! Then it rained on fifth day. And it proves that God is on our side or always against the English, at least when it comes to sports. It all started when Maradona used “God’s Hand” to secure an important victory against England in one of the past world cups. And if I am an English fan I would not rant against God’s wishes.

A good entertaining piece Mukul. What a change among those boring expert clinical analysis which passes as commentary.

Dear Mukul, on a side note, do you think the order of middle-order needs a bit of fine tuning. Don't you think VVS is wasted at No6 ? I think moving him up a little in the batting order can do the trick, for ex, swapping with Ganguly's position ?

I think this is a humourous masterpiece summing up all emotions felt by us lot, for and against our chaps, the elements,steve bucknor, the biased media etc etc. Superb Mr Kesavan.

The thing about Bucknor is that, with age and incompetency, he has to pull that on the field what every man has to pull in life most of the while: an act. Delay the decision and people would know that you are thinking. If the appeals end up convincing enough, raise the finger. Otherwise shake the head, the bowler wasn't enthusiastic enough.
I am sure there is a science behind getting the 'finger' from Bucknor. For instance, if you are as tall as bucknor, the sound waves travel horizontally taking the shortest distance to bucknor and hence the loudest sound. It hurts the most, and Bucknor, well, obliges and shows the finger. How long can a man take it? Otherwise, hard luck, but find the angle that maximizes the sound when it reaches Bucknor.
I bet the Australians have already worked on that...

The most pathetic part about the big guns of indian batting line-up in the first test match was that their rivals are playing without their regular seam bowlers like Harmison, Hoggard, Flintof, etc., Nice article, though.

A question of mindset...

Mukul, the problem with being Indian is that we accept mediocrity. When will we realise that a gritty 30 or a fighting 40 or even an attractive 35 is just not good enough? When a batsman has put in the hard yards to get to a 30 or a 40, they have to guts it out and make it stick. The Aussies believe in this ethic all the time. They put a high price on their wicket 'once they get in'. It is a mindset thing. And that is why they are a champion side. Laxman has been making attractive 40s for far too long. These need to be converted into big ones that grind the opposition. It is not enough to start the car and travel 2 kilometres. The foot has got to be on the pedal and it needs to stay there. In the end analysis, in the second dig, Laxman did get a gritty 39 and Ganguly did make a fighting 40. A mediocrity-led mindset will argue that they were terrific. A champions-mindset will cry out that that was just not good enough.

I can't see why everyone is yelling at Mukul. Can't you see that he's just expressing what goes on in the rapidly vacillating mind of the typical Indian fan? It's satire guys - not a neutral analysis. Take it like it's meant to be. I guess a lot of people are still in the dark. Lumos!

Ok seriously, arnt you all just very very frustrated by what happened at Lords, Lets face it, we(india) deserved to lose the game, but the stupid weather interrupted again. SURELY, there is enough money now in the game for atleast a few indoor stadiums in every country, why is Telstra Dome the only one yet ? WHY ICC ? WHy ?? everyone deserve to watch some cricket when they wake up early/stay up late and not have to pray to rain gods to stay away, its not fair on the public, not fair on players who prepare so hard. ICC needs to start using all the money they have from massive tv rights and give us a guarantee of some cricket. only way that can be done is to have indoor stadiums, PLS PLS LISTEN to this coz it makes sense.!!!! ARGH,

Atticus, if you bothered to read Mukul's bio you would see that he is the first to admit he is no expert. He brings a light-hearted satirical viewpoint to proceedings. Refreshing, different & funny (if you have a sense of humour, that is).

Agree with the last comment that this Mukul Kesavan knows nothing whatsoever about the game.P.Subramani -England were also on the end of some rough decisions.Sreesanth was plumb lbw and only Bucknor amd the biased Indian media could not see that.
Even worse is the smug satisfied tone of Bhogle and Gavaskar as they gloat on Tendulkar and Ganguly scoring runs against England's second-string pace attack that nearly won the game for them at Lords.Lucky India!! No doubt conditions will again be difficult when Engalnd bat in their 2nd innings.

Rain or no rain the news papers will say the first test was a draw. Why look for negatives when there is no need.
India has always been poor starters in England and whenever we have NOT lost the first test , even if escaping narrowly with weather assisted draws , they have comes back with strong performances.
On the other hand we love to criticise for the sake of it and easily forget the number of matches where India should have won but were drawn because of the weather helping the opposition so lets accept the fact that in the long run it all evens out !! Even to reach the safety of the tea interval needed good cool headed batting under pressure from VVS and Dhoni which are the positives that India can take out of an otherwise not so brilliant display.
And on hind sight this was what ignited the team to the now acheived win at Trent Bridge. And for all the 'senior player ' bashers a gentle reminder in the form of good display from Sachin , Saurav and VVS would have surely been a bitter pill to swallow !!
Jelly Beans or no jelly beans Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers . What a dream run this much maligned performer is having . Looking forward to some exciting cricket at the Oval. Complacency should be the last thing on the indian mind. Good victories have been followed by poor defeats in many of India's recent overseas trips. But times are changing and with lots of cricket for India in the next 12-15 months good times are waiting!!! Did some one say World cup?? whats that?? isnt that four years away!!!That would surely be the reaction from the Indian cricket fan if and when India comes home with the Pataudi Trophy after this series .Cheers India ... nothing tastes as good as a win over the Poms in their back yard does it??

Mukul,

Did you listen to Ian Chappell and David Lloyd talk about the next superstars? You know who these two wise guys came up with...Monty Panesar, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Ashraful etc. Do these guys even understand what 'Superstar' means? How ridiculous is that list. If these are it, I don't see any good future for world cricket. It's almost like these two guys had nothing better to do and just randomly talked about some names that popped into their heads. Don't get me wrong, they are all fine players, but Superstars!!!!, give me a break. Kevin Pietersen, sure. But these other guys don't have superstar qualities about them.

Wonderful piece,but I can praise it now only becuse India has won the 2nd match.Otherwise,I would have harboured a small grudge agaisnt you for subtly disparaging our jawans.Eagerly awaiting,your review for the second match now.And please,a more sober one this time.

I wish I could 'stupefy' Indian selectors! At the end of the day, despite handsome contributions by all, the 2nd test was won by three 'oldies': Zaheer, Sachin and Sourav!

Mukul, when you write a piece like this one, you should put up a warning at the top that reads
** Not for the humor impaired **

All through the blog, I felt like I was listening to my wife. She has this uncanny ability to determine that a cricketer is terrible and shouldnt even be playing for the local village team OR that a cricketer is terrific and would have found a place in the Australian team any day (for her, a cricketer's greatness is measured by whether he would find a place in the Australian eleven) based on how the cricketer has performed in the last half hour :-)

'Scenes from a spectaror's life' - indeed!!

Again to stress your "victory" was against England's second-string pace attack.
Hope the poms stuff you at the Oval to shut you up for a while!!!

Funny article....thanks :-)

As someone who had predicted an 0-3 wipeout for India followed by the disgraceful "retirements" of the famed middle order (barring Dravid), I suppose I have lots of egg on my face. 1-0 up with one more to go - wow! Of course, the pessimist in me says we'll blow the Oval test (the batsmen will, not the bowlers, whom I had earlier described as pea-shooters, and who look a lot better now) and the series will be squared 1-1. That is, all things considered, not an unfair final result given the abilities of the two teams in question. The best comment I've read on Indian cricket lately came as an SMS filed in by one Singh (sorry, I've forgotten his first name) after the first test in response to a TV channel's question about the much-hyped abilities of the Indian middle order. Mr Singh's terse and tart assessment: "I don't know if they are under-achievers, but they are certainly over-rated." Nice - and to the point. And, btw, nice piece by MK on the rapidly shifting emotions of the average Indian fan during a Test. Pity more of us Desis can't recognize irony when it stares us in the face. Cheers - and on to the Oval where I am hoping for the best but fearing the worst.