Kane Williamson’s World: What if India had dared to embrace it themselves

What’s left to write? Is there anything unsaid? Kane Williamson is on his way to cricketing sainthood. People who don’t know him want to buy him a beer. Does he drink beer? Won’t he be happier with some oriental herbal tea concoction of his own?

As all three, Williamson, teacup and saucer levitate on some higher plain.

As he strokes his beard a tad, contemplating the slowest, most precise way to partake of the tea. Waiting for it to cool down to an accessible warmth, wherein a sip is followed by yet another sip and still another sip – not too dissimilar to all those dots he played out at the beginning of his innings. Waiting for the ball to cool down. For his bat to warm up. For bat and ball to be paired at an equitable temperature. For singles to follow dots, for twos to follow singles and so on.

The coolness of Williamson moulds with his warmth. There is neither searing heat nor icy cold. It’s a balance that sinks itself in the journey; a journey that lasts 100 overs – or if need be, 102 overs.

Uncertainty and an early wicket embrace the preparation. That it’s time to embark on that arduous uphill trek with a millstone to boot. There would be something lacking if it weren’t so.

So 29/1 in 6.1 overs builds almost lackadaisically to 102 in the 23^rd over. Williamson falls for 30. After the semifinals, another innings built on denial. Against India, Williamson started his climb at 1/1 in the fourth over.

Sometimes, the burden is more, sometimes less, sometimes it may appear to be missing; but it’s Williamson’s acceptance of this burden that makes it so much less cumbersome. Almost Cumberbatch cool on the contrary.

With paltry strike rates of 70 and 56, Williamson led an ascent in the two knockouts. Scores of 67 and 30, at three, in a team score of 241 and 239 – with those boulders of patience, Williamson won the world, nearly the World Cup.

His opposing No 3s wangled 9(22) and 1(6) in the knockouts.

Somewhere in his preparation, was a prior understanding and acceptance, a nullifying of greed, that contrarian scores will be enough.

Last year, I attended a presentation by journalist Paul Salopek on his multiyear, 21,000-mile walk across the world in the footsteps of our forebears. He was still standing, walking and talking after all those miles; with more to go.

In focus was Slow journalism an offshoot of the Slow Movement. Carl Honroé, a commentator on the “Slow Movement,” writes that, “Today we are addicted to speed, to cramming more and more into every minute. Every moment of the day feels like a race against the clock, a dash to a finish line that we never seem to reach.”

It appears that somewhere down the line, Kane Williamson and a few others have not just rediscovered Slow Cricket but given weight to its importance in the shorter formats of cricket.

Kane Williamson, man of the series in the 2019 edition of the World Cup with a tournament strike rate of 75.

And by the look of it, he still had some time on his hands. There was no finish line he had to catch.

Before the tournament, it often struck me that in its quest for one-day and T20 top order batsmen, India was missing a trick to play a Test mainstay. India’s first match was on June 5, still early in the English summer.

As the injuries struck, and the No 4 position remained largely unresolved, I still had hope that they may look the other way.

With two wicketkeepers and two leggies in the playing eleven, none of who were gun fielders, would India dare to accommodate a specialist top order Test batsman even though fielding wasn’t his strong suit?

What if he was one of the best leavers of the cricket ball? What if his edges hid from the seeking, moving ball?

In hindsight, it’s those leaves that were not to be that ate India in the semifinals. Rohit edged, Rahul edged, Kohli nearly edged. India edged out of the contest at 24/4.

Cheteshwar Pujara has played 5 ODIs in all, from August 2013 to June 2014. The numbers are not flattering.

He was the man of the series in India’s maiden Test series win in Australia.

Pujara’s Test numbers are not too dissimilar to those of Williamson’s – he’s played 68 to the Kiwi’s 72 Tests; his batting average is 51 to Williamson’s 53; and a strike rate of 46 to Kane’s 51.

Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav may not play for India again. At best, they were lower middle order. Unlikely Vijay Shankar will turn up either. Wasn’t he lower middle order himself?

Before this World Cup, like Pujara, Rishabh Pant had also played just 5 ODIs. He was more a lower middle order batsman who was being shoehorned as India’s No. 4. A book called Great Expectations could be written on what India expected of Pant and Pant alone. But that’s another story.

The story here is that most likely Rohit Sharma will make the playing XI in the first Test vs West Indies on 3^rd August. A Test career with enough stops and starts to make a rainy World Cup day in England proud, Rohit’s ODI form translates into Test picks.

Nearly six years since his debut for those 27 Tests. (with a lion’s share of the innings at No. 6 and 5)

What if the selectors had shown the same belief in a top order Test batsman who’s accustomed to playing the moving ball?

Guess we’ll never know.

Then again, a journalist asked Kane Williamson if he would play MS Dhoni in his XI for the World Cup semis. Would’ve been interesting to have heard his reply for Cheteshwar Pujara in his XI?

Or for that matter, Ajinkya Rahane?

But then that would’ve been plain, old fashioned. And Indian cricket doesn’t have the time for that kind of thing.

First published here

Read more...

Return

Why it's beyond Rashid Khan vs CSK

It's Dhoni vs Williamson and Moody vs Fleming. 

Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell. 3/19.

MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo. 2/11

Those are Rashid Khan’s wickets and match analysis in SRH’s two play-offs.

Before that, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali, 3/27. Like Dhoni, Kohli too was castled. As was AB de Villiers in RCB’s first match against Rashid Khan.

Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, 2/23. Lokesh Rahul, Karun Kair, R Ashwin, 3/19.

SRH vs MI – SRH 118 all out, MI 87 all out. Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, 2/11. He also knocked Jos Buttler over twice.

Rashid’s 21 wickets after 16 matches at 6.78 runs per over barely convey the terror that accompanies his bowling. While many overseas players continue to be suspect against spin, it’s the big-ticket Indian names that have looked dazed when facing Rashid.

Few, if any, have dominated him as Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu in the IPL. In the playoffs between SRH and CSK, Rayudu was demoted to tackle Rashid; a first ball dismissal to Siddarth Kaul meant he never faced the Afghan. That day, not even Rashid’s 2/11 (Dhoni, Bravo) could stop CSK – the Finals, like that match, will also be played at the Wankhede.

In the Eliminator against KKR, Kane Williamson made three changes to his side from their previous game. Who turns up in the final could be of little impact, as their mainstays are clearly defined.

It’ll be down to Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball; Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson with the bat. And by the look of it, Rashid again, with the bat, and in the field.

Though SRH hardly seem like a team in a hurry to change anything too dramatically – their greatest accomplishment, much like CSK, is not to panic.

This was all too obvious when KKR dug into their bowling in the power play; even when the quicks were bleeding at 12 runs and over, with Bhuvi being ripped into, Williamson did not panic – he did not allow his hand to be forced; he did not bring Rashid on in the power play.

Lesser teams and captains would’ve rushed Rashid in on the first sound of alarm bells. Instead, Williamson stayed secure, that no matter how hard Lynn and Narine went early on, later, when the squeeze was on in earnest, with Rashid on, it would resemble yet another familiar SRH defence.

Forget attack, most batsmen this IPL, have been clueless to even block out Rashid. The sight of two close-in fielders all but terrified Andre Russell. It was Rashid’s last over. The game was still up in the air. Russell surviving Rashid could well have been the game, and the flight to Mumbai. Instead, the pressure choked him, his bat spat a catch to Dhawan at slip.

As for CSK, the game may not be Rashid. The eliminator against KKR was Rashid’s biggest showing – he knocked a team single-handedly, first by his mere presence, next, with the bat, then with the ball, and when not bowling, running out Rana, catching Gill and Mavi.

But how hard will it be for Dhoni’s CSK to demystify Rashid – play like just another leggie, when by all counts, he’s not just another leggie. Can they negate his aura? Could batsmen ever do that with Warne even when he wasn’t at his best? And what when he was?

No matter what is said indoors or done in the nets, they won’t be facing Rashid in the nets. He won’t be there to prepare them for those AK 47 stares. Those mocking smiles. “I might be 19, but I’ve got you right where I want you, in my video game, and guess what, the remote’s with me, and you are playing on my terms”.

Conditions apply however. Both teams have obvious flaws and similar strengths – both refuse to blink first. Both refuse to panic. Why would they, look at the leadership, on the field, off it? Much as it will be Dhoni vs Williamson, it will be Moody vs Fleming.

Much as it will be Rayudu vs Rashid or even CSK vs Rashid, it will also be which team picks fewer passengers. To play fringe players that have an added, often unseen utility, such as fielding or catching, can often turn a match on its head.

Look at Glenn Maxwell in DD’s last match against MI. Not only did his two boundary assists hand two dollies to Trent Boult, his 22(18) opening the batting, appeared to be longer than he had batted all season.

Whether SRH pick Manish Pandey or CSK drop Harbhajan Singh (who did not bowl an over in his last match) could in a small way define who lifts what at the end of Sunday night’s final.

But it really is Rashid vs CSK. Unless one of them doesn’t turn up at all.

First published here

Read more...

Return

Why Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers should not play in the same team

When AB does those things, like plucking white balls, one-handed out of thin air, the world goes nuts. And that silly smile sits on Virat’s face – there is contentment. His world is at peace. He may even have attained nirvana at that precise moment. He’s sitting in the RCB dugout but for all you know, he could be in McLeodganj with the Dalai Lama.

Often Virat is in the middle, and he can speak to his buddy after yet another of AB’s Do-Not-Try-This-At Home feats. The glow on Virat’s face is nothing short of a girl marrying her bearded Prince charming.

At no point has Virat tried to hide his fanboy awe of AB. Why would he? How could he? How could anyone? The very reason you pick AB de Villiers in your team is for such superhuman feats.  

It’s another thing that such superhuman feats will always have a downside – they will make everyone around, including Virat, far less. There’s no way you can match AB, so why not just roll over and die? Or do nothing. He’ll take care of it. He’s a superhuman after all.

And while AB can string together some fantastic strokes and catches, he is but a foot-soldier in the team. He is not RCB’s captain, Virat is.

Virat, in his own way, can be quite a superhuman. But by now, don’t we know that in the superhero hierarchy, there is the super superhero, and his flunky? While AB was being referred to as Superman and Spiderman (the latter by Virat too), India’s cricketing superhero was enjoying way too much shade.

There isn’t much between Virat and AB in terms of runs this IPL – while the captain played all 14 league matches (530 runs, averaging 48.18, striking at 139.10), the Superman was unwell for two (480 runs, averaging 53.33, striking at 174.54). While the difference in strike rates is 35+, Virat’s strike rate was still way above par.

While both Virat and AB had an indifferent 2017 season, they both were in supreme form in 2016 where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the finals.

A final in which current SRH skipper, Kane Williamson did not feature. He played six of SRH’s 17 matches that season. The then captain, David Warner, played all matches, leading SRH to the IPL trophy.

In 2017, Williamson played seven matches but upped his strike rate from 101 to 151, his batting average too more than doubled from 20.66 to 42.66. Warner, though, was in another zone (combining the best of Kohli and de Villiers) - scoring 848 runs at a strike rate of 151.42, at an average of 60.57 in 2016; averaging 58.27, striking at 141 in 2017.

Williamson, though, had moved in from the sidelines. This season when Warner was unavailable, Williamson led SRH to the play-offs as table toppers. 661 runs, average of 60 at a strike rate of 143.

Forget the numbers for a moment, and stand the four cricketers alongside each other. What do you see? Warner captain, Williamson vice-captain? AB superman, and Virat?

While Virat’s role has always been similar to that of Warner’s, to bat high up (if not open) and go on to bat through the innings with varying degrees of acceleration; it is AB’s brilliance that has been a distraction – not just for the captain but for the team on a whole.

In the shade of AB’s brilliance, RCB has underachieved yet again under Virat’s captaincy. It may sound downright preposterous but for RCB to come together as a team, they may have to split the most beautiful pairing in the IPL.

Virat may make a far better captain when he is trying to dismiss AB with the ball. The awe will be intact, (as it no doubt was in the last Test series) but there will be a far greater focus – a competition between the two, which can only happen when the two play against each other. As team mates, Virat almost seems to shudder from the limelight. And that is pretty much going against the grain.

Of course, there are other ways to do it too, go about the auctions smartly but that’s asking too much of royally challenged Bangalore.

First published here

Read more...

Return