Here we go again. India takes on Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and whatever the outcome, these clashes are never short of excitement and going by reports from South Africa, a full house is on the cards. It is bound to be a good contest but on current form, the Indians should go through.

The injury to Yuvraj Singh was most unfortunate but these things can happen to anyone. After all you have to train hard to be ready for these games and at times, these freak injuries do happen. Yuvi’s absence will be a big blow, more so if we consider that the team has already lost Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

Yuvi has been prolific in the middle order, the manner in which he takes on the opposition bowlers and finishes games off being a rare ability. His bowling will also be missed. On these pitches at the Centurion, his left-arm spin would have been most handy.

In any case, injury-forced absences are part of the modern game and while Yuvraj will be missed, this team is good enough to carry on and do well.

The team will welcome the return of Gautam Gambhir. He will partner Sachin Tendulkar at the top and the left-right combine can be more than a handful for any opposition.

For his part, Sachin has been in tremendous form. It’s amazing that someone who has played 20 years of top-flight cricket continues to play with the same passion. His preparation before each game continues to be of the same intensity as ever and he’s always so busy in the practice sessions. Sachin cannot stand still at one place and if he’s not batting, he’s bowling, if doing neither, he’s knocking around elsewhere.

Yuvi’s absence will add that much extra pressure on Sachin, Rahul Dravid and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team will look to Sachin and Rahul to lay a sound platform at the top of the order.

But this is also an opportunity for Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan to step up. They may be joined in the middle order by either Dinesh Karthik or Virat Kohli and this is a chance for some of them to seize.

I would also look at playing a second spinner in Amit Mishra. The Centurion pitch usually takes turn and Mishra is an option the Indians should consider.

On Thursday, I saw Rudolf van der Merwe bowl and the first thing that struck me was that the fastish spinners, those that hit the deck should get some purchase from the strip.

Which means, that the tall Yusuf, who like Merwe, bowls a flattish trajectory, albeit from a great height, should do well. Of course, this being a day-night match, the pitch will behave much better. Early morning starts at the Centurion are always difficult for the batsmen.

Talking about starts, how can one forget the sensational start to the tour for the Indians? There is one sure thing about team dossiers — they always get leaked.

On a consistent basis, what is meant for the team and to be kept within the dressing room, always gets out to public scrutiny and it was no different this time.

AP

Raring to go... India skipper M. S. Dhoni at a press conference ahead of the Champions Trophy in Johannesburg.

The ICC Champions Trophy has proved to be the launch pad for some cricketers apart from providing some high quality contests in the past. The 2000 edition (it was called the ICC knockout tournament then) saw the emergence of Yuvraj Singh, who has since gone on to become one of the most feared batsmen in international cricket.

The ascendancy of Yuvraj Singh coincided with the rise of Sourav Ganguly’s stature as a captain, but in a span of nine years things have come to such an extent that the 2009 Champions Trophy has failed to create the buzz that the previous editions had. At a time when the ODI format is fighting for survival, the success and following that the 2009 Champions Trophy achieves will serve as a benchmark for the administrators to decide on the future of the 50-over game.

However, from the cricketers’ point of view, the Champions Trophy will provide South Africa, the host, another chance of getting rid of its infamous and irksome ‘chokers’ tag. South Africa is on top of the ICC rankings but it can all change within the next fortnight.

Graeme Smith will be keen to ensure that his side remains at the top just as Mahendra Singh Dhoni will strive to take India to the top. The Indians are bracketed with Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies in Group A; one wonders whether the tag of ‘group of death’ is justified.

The Australians have not been at their best despite their near whitewash of England in the seven-match one-day series. Pakistan can be as inconsistent as only it can be. The West Indies is not expected to take the world by storm though it can always stunt other teams’ progress. Team India has its share of issues too, but its form in the last couple of seasons has been excellent and the recent victory in the Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka would serve as a morale booster. The absence of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan will be felt in South Africa where experience will come in handy. And with the Indian skipper making it obvious that he is unhappy with his team’s fielding and bowling, there is lot of work to be done for the Indians.

The main point of interest will be the kind of surfaces that are produced for the Champions Trophy. Since the tournament is being played at the start of the summer in South Africa, one can hope to see the bowlers having a level playing field. And with only two venues earmarked for the entire tournament, there could be some joy for the spinners as well towards the final stages. But if CSA (Cricket South Africa) provides flat tracks as they did in the 2003 World Cup, it will be akin to issuing a death warrant to one-day cricket. The batsmen had a rollicking time in the 2003 World Cup, but people even today remember the low-scoring close encounter between India and England as against the matches with tall scores in that tournament. To watch a side pile up runs all the time and that too over a period of 3½ hours, will only be as interesting and as realistic as a WWE bout.

The format of the Champions Trophy this year does not provide the teams with any cushion for a bad outing as the sides hoping to qualify have to win two out of the three games in the league stage. With the Indians banking heavily on their batting, it becomes paramount that the top order gets into the act straightaway. The return of Gautam Gambhir will give India the extra muscle at the top and there is no better recipe than a left-right combination to unsettle the bowlers.

India will depend on its experienced batsmen to deliver and it will be reasonable to presume that they will not be given many opportunities to drive. The Indian batsmen’s shot-making ability off the back foot will be probed and tested by the Australian and Pakistani fast bowlers. It remains to be seen if the forcing shots off the back foot will be employed with enough conviction and felicity, as therein lies the key to put up runs on the board.

While the success of the Indians will depend on the improvements they make to their bowling and fielding, the survival of the ODI version of the game will depend on the excitement and the quality of cricket that will unfold in the Champions Trophy. The quality of cricket hinges on the nature of the tracks available and CSA has to strike a delicate balance in ensuring that the pitches are not heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen or bowlers.

One other important factor will be the performance of the host nation as its success will be imperative if the spectators are to turn up at the venues. Team India will have its share of support but given the current scenario, the administrators will be desperate to see full house for the matches right through the tournament. CSA is renowned for its organisational abilities, but this time it is faced with the biggest challenge of keeping the waning format of the game alive. Then, of course, there is only so much any one organisation can do and it is up to the teams participating to keep the ball rolling.

Andrew Flintoff has a long-term strategy for his future and that is something you cannot say about many people in cricket.

Well before big Freddie announced his retirement from Test cricket he made sure that the rest of his life was going to be shaped by the one person he knew understood his needs and inner wishes.

Himself, in other words.

He made the announcement of his farewell to Test cricket during the Ashes series which ensured that he would not be troubled by questions about his future and then, quietly but quickly, filled in the plans for his transition from a county based England international player to a full-time freelance.

These plans were not just formulated by Flintoff. He has, for most of his career, been guided by two men he is sure have his best interests at heart. One is the golf players’ manager Chubby Chandler and the other is his former Lancashire and England team-mate Neil Fairbrother. Now he has added another pal to the growing number of Flintoff’s people.

Chandler has a raft of sporting personalities who rely on his good sense and judgement to guide their lives and the fact that you never read of arguments in their camp must indicate that his words hit the right spot most of the time.

He appointed Fairbrother to be Flintoff’s minder and there we have a completely different story.

You may remember there was a time when Freddie did not always behave in an entirely appropriate way, when he had a drink or three too many and when he was inclined to indulge in whatever adventures came into his mind first.

Sometimes it was a television interview when he was not completely in control of his output of words, sometimes it was an attempt to follow the Christopher Columbus route round the Caribbean in a pedalo.

Fairbrother, a calm character with infinite patience, usually found himself in the firing line when these incidents occurred but he has fought on and I suspect he and Freddie have an understanding about these adventures. They will not stop but they are becoming rarer; perhaps the young Turk in Freddie is growing into an adult Turk. Those with a love of a good laugh may say more’s the pity but Fairbrother may not think so.

At one of their many meetings it was also agreed that Flintoff — with book contracts, requests for interviews and articles to deal with — needed public relations help. Typically he chose a man he has known most of his life: Myles Hodgson, who was a young reporter at Old Trafford when Flintoff joined Lancashire and who has been a friend ever since.

They are both in their own way Lancashire lads, with accents that betray their northern roots, a quiet sense of humour that allows them to look on the brighter side of life and a loyalty which knows no bounds.

(My own affinity with Myles goes back to the childhood of my now grown up children. They went to the same school as Myles while I worked alongside his father Derek right through from provincial journalism to national newspapers. I stepped into Derek’s shoes when I began my cricket journey in 1982; I count him as one of my best friends in a profession with a competitive element that does not always help long-term friendship.)

Myles has already helped Freddie write two or three books and there is another coming out shortly. I sometimes grin to myself when I see him referred to as “Flintoff’s spokesman.” It will be a greatly changed life for the man who was never stretched as an agency reporter churning out yards of copy at lunch, tea and close of play. I hope he finds it a lot more rewarding. He ought to for, as Flintoff holidays in Dubai to recover from his knee operation and offers his advice to the United Arab Emirates side, he is at the beginning of a cricket revolution.

Flintoff has announced — through Myles, of course — that he has turned down the England offer of a one-day contract and that in future he will be a freelance. He will play for whoever offers the best price; Lancashire, if his knee is up to the workload, England if they ask politely, one of the IPL sides if they come up with the right cash and, if my forecaster’s eye is in form, one of the new city teams which may replace the creaking old county, provincial and state sides.

I know his scheme is bound to succeed because of the number of die-hard, conservative traditionalists who have warned just how dangerous this decision must be. They are the same voices, 30 years ago, who railed against Packer, one-day cricket, coloured clothing, and the wearing of helmets.

People hate change. It makes them think outside the box. Cricket people see change to the basic structure of the game as religious zealots used to regard the Reformation. “It is heresy,” they bellow, “and if you just hang on a minute I will think of a reason why.”

Flintoff is not a thinking person; he is action man in spades. But in this case he has made a move which will resonate with players all round the world. They like this genial man but at the same time they recognise that cricket cannot continue as it is, with an over-filled fixture list, a growing number of players folding with injuries and the continual pressure from television in particular for more startling performances.

Just let me offer one hint about the way cricket is gobbling up players and spitting them out. County sides used to have more than their share of men in their 40s, some in their 50s. Not any more. The volume of work, the pressure, the physical effort involved means that retirement at 35 is almost a certainty.

Most of these Flintoff ideas will have filtered through to Freddie from Chandler, Hodgson and Fairbrother but he bears the responsibility for them because he is the figurehead, the blond haired giant by who all rise or fall.

His decision to go freelance may also be the most important move forward in the history of the game. Good luck, Freddie, you are going to need it but at least you have the right team behind you.

P. V. SIVAKUMAR

“Talking, talking, talking… it makes you tired,” said Javagal Srinath at the lunch break of the BCCI Match Referees’ Seminar at the Cricket Centre in Mumbai recently. The former India fast bowler was all candour while speaking to ‘Sportstar’ on a variety of subjects, including the BCCI’s mandate to umpires to penalise bowlers with suspect action from the 2009-10 season. Srinath is on a special review panel to deal with bowlers with suspect action. An ICC Match Referee, Srinath is on the panel for the Champions Trophy.

Excerpts from the interview:

Question: It’s been three years since you were appointed as an ICC Match Referee. There are certain aspects of cricket of which you must have a better insight now, including player behaviour?

Answer: More than the players, I am intrigued with the formats of the game. I was so sceptical about Twenty20, but the way it’s taken over the world, it has truly changed the dimensions of cricket. The more you grow into the match referee’s job, the more you try to understand the rules, the way it should be interpreted. It gives you more clarity on the process of interpretation of the rules.

It also gives one an insight into the psyche of the players, their thought process, their cultural background, what makes them do certain things, their habits, particularly their ground habits. In the last three years, the deeper I have gone into cricket, I have found out many things that were new to me. You try to understand the rules of the game very practically. I always played the game within the rules, never went on the fringe to give a chance for people to fault me. Everything has to align with the spirit of the game and it gives ample opportunities to interpret the laws accordingly.

The implementation of the rules is not necessarily by the book, but by taking into account the situations and the other intangibles we see with respect to a particular case. It’s quite challenging. More or less all the captains and players are aware of the rules and regulations.

Now, Indian cricket. India is starting another season without the leader of the pace pack, Zaheer Khan. He did not take part in the Sri Lanka Tri-series and is also going to miss the Champions Trophy and the seven-match series against Australia. How does the captain look at the situation ?

For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it’s important to forge a fast bowling combination. Unfortunately, Zaheer is missing out. Ashish Nehra, a reasonably good guy, has chipped in. If he stays fit and delivers it will be good. For Dhoni to say that these are the three guys who will be there for the next couple of years and to work on them would be very crucial. Unfortunately, there is a new combination in Ishant Sharma, R. P. Singh and Nehra and the constant is only Ishant. Nehra is in and out, R. P. Singh is up and down in form. I hope these three form a string and start working as a team.

It’s taken nearly 10 years (65 Tests/210 wickets and 162 one-day internationals/225 wickets) for Zaheer to come to grips with his bowling…

I think he made a mistake by not going to play County cricket in England in the early part of his career. If he had done that, it would have been a different story altogether. He made it too late (playing County cricket). Nevertheless, he has understood what it is. As you grow older the body starts falling apart; but you have a wealth of experience. Now the question is will the body be able to carry out your commands. Zaheer would have struck a balance when he was strong, had the zest and when he would have gained that experience playing County cricket. And his cricket at the age of 26/27 would have been very smooth and on the fast track. He has already missed out a year and he knows what to do, but his body would not allow him to do that.

Two years ago it was his ankle and now it’s his shoulder. He has already cut down on pace…

It’s quite natural. I don’t think he should compromise on pace; it will always come back. He’s in the right hands of Mark Ferguson in South Africa. He would find it quite challenging to come back, but his consistency will be important. The more he plays, the more effective will he be. He should be physically fit to be picked again. He should not have major problems with his knees and shoulders. When he comes back we should never see Zaheer erring in line or length or changing his thought process with respect to international cricket. These are the areas he can manage.

The return of Nehra has reflected his patience and also told the world that he’s worthy of a place in the Indian team. John Wright felt that he had genuine wicket- taking deliveries in international cricket?

Ashish Nehra has always looked good to be in the team and in the XI. But to pick him in the XI has always been a problem. I think in the last two years he understood that there’s not much time left for him and that he has to really work hard to get into the side. A good thing I have seen in Nehra in the last two years is his affinity to play the longer version of the game, something which he did not show in the initial part of his career. That’s where the growth and consistency are. He has avoided all the short cuts and if he’s fit, he’s going to bowl well for India.

Nehra can be a deadly bowler if he is fit, and can promise to play for four years with consistency. Zaheer has been the best so far among the lefties. RP, I think, has an uncanny ability to take wickets. He is a sharp bowler. He looks innocuous, but he can bowl some wicket-taking deliveries, too.

What’s the template for a seamer to keep fit and also maintain good form? Commitment is also of primary importance?

K.R. DEEPAK

Zaheer Khan is missing out because of injury, but Ishant Sharma has managed the first two years of his career really well.

No one can bring you fitness. Fitness translates into commitment, to attitude and long term vision of your career. One cannot say he is fit only for one-day matches. Then your mind is not fit. You have to play for 10 years and in all forms of the game and take a break when you are tired. This is how one should start thinking. For that to happen, play the four- and five-day games, get your body pumped up to last the longer version of the game. Then the performance in one-day and Twenty20 would come naturally.

Commitment comes from the longer version of the game. It all depends on how well you bowl on the second day, third spell. That’s where the commitment shows for a bowler and the team. I would never consider an individual as a good bowler if he keeps on playing one-day matches and performs only now and then. That’s the reason why I have never appreciated somebody bowling well in one-day matches in a few games, and then saying he had an off-day and then a few off-days, if he has had a bad series. If one plays Test cricket, there will be lot of consistency in one-day matches. That’s where Ishant has managed the first two years of his international career very well because he was playing a lot of four- and five-day games and also a good number of one-day internationals. That’s where the balance is. Show me a player who has played only one-day internationals for a long time. He will always be in trouble, he would not have played for more than eight to nine months.

Zaheer, R. P. Singh, Nehra, Praveen Kumar, L. Balaji, Munaf Patel, Sudeep Tyagi, Pradeep Sangwan, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Dhaval Kulkarni and of course S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan are the established and promising bowlers on the scene. How should the BCCI go about in maintaining them all in good physical health?

Fast bowling conditioning is very important. I would definitely see it as a great idea to run a camp, at least twice a year, for the fast bowlers of India playing in the Ranji Trophy. I think Bharat Arun is doing that at the NCA. That has to happen quite consistently. Once that happens, one will see a lot of improvement. There is this tall fast bowler Abhishek Singh from Delhi. I was very impressed with him at the MRF camp. I even told Bharat Arun to take him to the NCA. These are all raw talent that needs a bit of honing.

The retirement of Kumble has left a big vacuum, but nonetheless he has left space for someone like Harbhajan Singh to attempt and fill it. They are two bowlers of different temperament; one an out and out student of the game and riveted to his work and the other whose temperament can be questioned?

Of course, Harbhajan is capable of doing that. Harbhajan’s 330 wickets in 77 Tests is no joke. He’s almost on a par with Kumble, who at that stage (77 Tests) had 355 wickets. So many people question his temperament, but still he is able to take wickets. He’s still off and on in the news, but I think he has really evolved as a player and I am pleased with his performance. He still has that kid stuff in him and the boiling blood. That’s okay. From a cricketing point he is definitely ready to get into the shoes of Anil Kumble.

Do you think Amit Mishra has the potential to make it big? He has massive experience in first-class cricket and wickets too and he has shown perseverance?

He is very promising and he really came off well taking five wickets against Australia. He’s to be persisted with. Harbhajan and Mishra together could be a great combination on Indian wickets. Only time will tell how this pair can really synergise their efforts. For me Test match performance is the key. Harbhajan and Mishra have done that in Test matches. One requires different skill sets to play international cricket; first-class cricket only conditions a player. There’s a huge difference between first-class and Test cricket.

After Venkatapathy Raju, Pragyan Ojha has emerged?

It’s unfair to judge anybody on one-day performance. I want Ojha to play a lot of four- and five-day games and take wickets. That will be crucial for me.

It’s important for the Indian attack to work as a group now with new faces?

It’s very true. But more than the spinners, it’s the fast bowlers who need to work together. Too much of chopping and changing, players going in and out and injuries will never provide the balance in your bowling department. The fast bowlers attack from the front, so they have to be really good.

What has been the impact of Twenty20 on bowlers ?

I think we are coming to terms with Twenty20 and how it affects the other two formats. I strongly feel that the mindset of each player playing Twenty20 should be very strong. Whatever happens in the shortest version should be set aside and one should wear a different hat when playing Test and one-day cricket.

S. SUBRAMANIUM

Harbhajan Singh has the ability to fill the vacuum created by Anil Kumble’s retirement.

Your pick of international seamers?

Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad, in the form now, and Ishant Sharma.

The pitch plays its part in cricket, but taking the pitch out of the equation how should budding fast bowlers work to be successful?

Forget the pitches in India. In India you will never get a good wicket to bowl. If you are pitch-dependent, you will never be a good bowler in India. Probably you will play first-class cricket. My advice to young fast bowlers is, “be independent of the wicket and sustain yourself.” That will build skills. First of all I would look at the number of overs a bowler bowls in first-class cricket. If he is bowling a whole lot of overs that’s the guy you need to look at. If someone bowls four or five overs in the morning session and another four or five in the evening, there’s no point in him playing cricket. He’s just filling a space.

Michael Atherton says serious practice on the morning of a match should be reviewed by teams in order to avoid injuries. Probably because of what happened to Matt Prior (Leeds Test) and Joe Denly?

That’s because of the freak incidents I guess. We have played a lot of football and other games. One can be injured riding a cycle, or while getting down the stairs. One has to be careful. One has to play a different sport to break the boredom. One can also walk and slip.

The BCCI has asked the umpires to call bowlers who infringe the law (throwing). It’s going to be tough on the umpires?

In the last two years there have been many cases of bowlers breaching the law. The umpires have been inefficient. They are not doing their job. Everybody is scared to call someone for chucking. That’s unfair because you are not allowing a bowler with a clean action to come into the team. Bowling with an illegal action is not acceptable. The umpires have to call them now. Our committee has decided that the umpire should be pulled up straightaway if he does not do his job properly.

The Compaq Cup, a week-long tri-series that was impossible to get excessively excited about, was a lot of things to a lot of people. An occasion for the title sponsor to unveil, during an underwhelming launch ceremony, the world’s first digital trophy, an LCD screen mounted on silverware to register the victor’s moment of glory; a chance for the Indian board to assist — purely philanthropically of course — Sri Lanka Cricket, which thereafter was at pains to point out how grateful it was to its benefactor for involving the most lucrative team in world cricket. And also an opportunity for India, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand to log game time before the Champions Trophy, not in conditions similar to South Africa, but who bothers with such piffle?

Apparently, some do. A telling moment occurred during the launch ceremony when Kumar Sangakkara was asked what the point of the tournament was — would it help Sri Lanka prepare for the Champions Trophy? Sangakkara smiled wryly at Daniel Vettori, who returned it with a knowing smile of his own, and said, “You can evaluate where you stand in your own conditions.

“If it has an effect other than (building) momentum and confidence is hard to say. The conditions will be different in South Africa; we’ll play a different combination as well.” Then, as if realising he had also to make the appropriate noises, added, “But yes, it’s always satisfying to win.”

Vettori did slightly better in selling the series, saying India added a lot to the tournament, not merely in giving his team two difficult opponents, but also in enhancing the spectacle. India, forced because of the Corporate Trophy back home to play back-to-back matches in Sri Lanka, had the opportunity to become number one in the world. This it did — for 24 hours — thanks to a comfortable win over New Zealand in its league game. The win was preceded by an impressive show of intent. Within two hours of arriving at the Taj Samudra, its hotel of choice, the Indian team was at the Premadasa Stadium, practising.

Unlike a majority of the net sessions under Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach, it wasn’t optional. Unfortunately for Gautam Gambhir, it was his only session of the tour — the left-handed opener aggravated a groin injury he had sustained in the Corporate Trophy, leaving India without two of its three preferred men at the top, Virender Sehwag not making the trip because of a shoulder injury. Besides the skill-work in the nets, the team worked hard on its fielding in the practice sessions. Fat good it did them, for some of the fielding, particularly in the final, came packaged with a laughter track.

But we get ahead of ourselves. Any cricket tournament has its moments, even one as seemingly pointless as the Compaq Cup. New Zealand, which suffered heavy losses, had, on the face of it, few things to celebrate. Shane Bond’s reintroduction to one-day cricket went well, however. Although not powering yet at full steam, Bond showed encouraging signs. His first spell in the opening game of the tournament was a display of control: he stepped up the pace on occasion, but he largely bowled within himself. The rhythm of the run-up and the smoothness of delivery was alluring, even if the backdrop of the grimy Premadasa Stadium detracted slightly from the visual.

The bowler of express pace is a unique animal, to be savoured at every opportunity. Bond may not touch the high pace he delivered as matter of routine in his pomp, but he is compelling viewing nevertheless. He adds a dimension to New Zealand the Kiwis haven’t often had in the past; one hopes his last few years in international cricket bring him as much joy as he has to fans around the world.

Sri Lanka has had its troubles in one-day cricket — a peculiar (but not inexplicable) occurrence, for the side has done well in Test cricket in this period. Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby, an old boy reinventing himself and a youngster making his name, showed they might help resolve Sri Lanka’s middle-order problem.

Samaraweera’s century in the first game against New Zealand was an innings of sound construction. Perhaps it was helped by the simple instruction he was given: “Play as you would in a Test match”. Samaraweera literally did — for the first half of his innings.

But after he had familiarised himself with the slow pace of the wicket, he unveiled strokes both orthodox and heretical that were exceptional in their timing. But in crafting the innings, Samaraweera strained his hamstring and played no further part in the competition. Kandamby, whose batting has resonances of Arjuna Ranatunga’s methods, made two half-centuries. The first was a deftly paced knock that hurt India late in the league match; the second was a stubborn (if fortunate) stay that threatened India’s hold on the final. In both, Chamara Kapugedera featured as a side-act.

“The middle order has just started clicking,” said Sangakkara, reviewing the tournament. “At the end of the day every single batsman must be responsible for his performance. I think we have just spoken about clearer plans for everyone. We are on the right track to build from here. Thilina and Chamara showed some guts and character in the final. They showed if you are willing to do the difficult things, to play out of your comfort zone, you can achieve a lot.”

India had an interesting tournament. The victory that temporarily placed M.S. Dhoni’s men on top of the world was followed by a crushing defeat to Sri Lanka, in which Angelo Mathews’ off-cutters under lights embarrassed India’s batsmen. “It’s one of the worst games any side can have, losing this way,” Dhoni said after the game. “You don’t get too many such games in a season. The only thing that went well is the warm-up. Hope it’s the start and the end of it. Beginning at the toss nothing went right; we just weren’t good enough in any of the departments. It isn’t easy to fix one reason, it’s a combination of so many things. In a venue like this, the toss is 60 per cent of the game, but having said that, we should have done better.”

Dhoni won the toss in the final, and Sachin Tendulkar appeared to engineer a comfortable victory. The great man’s 44th century in ODIs, which was also his fourth at the Premadasa Stadium, his eighth against Sri Lanka, and his sixth in tournament finals, was an innings befitting the occasion. He began by timing the new ball sweetly, out-manoeuvring Sangakkara and the Sri Lankan bowlers who were trying to trap him on the drive. Then, as the ball softened, he placed it where the fielders weren’t and earned his runs the hard way. “The conditions were very tough. It was hot and humid, it was draining,” said Tendulkar. “We had to fight both the Sri Lankan team and the conditions. Physically it isn’t easy playing three games in four days, and to score runs you have to run, you have to be out there for over 40 overs. I would definitely rate this century as one of the best.”

Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh turned in half-centuries, but Sri Lanka, thanks to a blistering start, stayed with the run-rate. India’s fielding nearly cost it. But, as they often have in crunch situations over the last two years, India’s cricketers found a way.

Suresh Raina contributed a crucial spell in the context of the game — the sort of effort that often goes unnoticed. Harbhajan Singh, who had bowled exceptionally in defeat in the previous game, dismissed the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kandamby in his five-wicket haul. Tendulkar, who had watched the Sri Lankan innings from the dressing room after suffering from cramps, said the current side was one of the best Indian teams he had been part of. “We had good players earlier also, but we have more match-winners now,” he said.

“These are extremely talented guys with bat and ball. And they have delivered at the crunch. They are match-winners, that’s what this team is about. There will be the odd hiccup when things don’t go our way. But this is definitely one of the best teams I’ve been part of.”

THE SCORES

Match 1, Colombo, September 8, 2009. Sri Lanka 216 for 7 (T. Samaraweera 104, A. Mathews 51, S. Bond three for 43) beat New Zealand 119 (G. Elliott 41, L. Malinga four for 28).

Match 2, Colombo, September 11, 2009. New Zealand 155 (A. Nehra three for 24, Yuvraj Singh three for 31) lost to India 156 for four (S. Tendulkar 46, S. Raina 45 not out).

Match 3, Colombo, September 12, 2009. Sri Lanka 307 for six (S. Jayasuriya 98, T. Kandamby 91 not out) beat India 168 (R. Dravid 47, A. Mathews six for 20).

Final, Colombo, September 14, 2009. India won by 46 runs.

India: Rahul Dravid c Dilshan b Jayasuriya 39; Sachin Tendulkar lbw b Mendis 138; M. S. Dhoni c Kandamby b Malinga 56; Yuvraj Singh (not out) 56; Yusuf Pathan c Kapugedera b Thushara 0; Suresh Raina c Kulasekara b Thushara 8; Virat Kohli (not out) 2; Extras: (b-1, w-18, nb-1) 20. Total (for five wickets in 50 overs) 319.

Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2-205, 3-276, 4-277, 5-302.

Sri Lanka bowling: Nuwan Kulasekara 8-0-38-0; Thilan Thushara 10-0-71-2; Lasith Malinga 10-0-81-1; Ajantha Mendis 10-0-70-1; Sanath Jayasuriya 9-0-43-1; Angelo Mathews 3-0-15-0.

Sri Lanka: Tillekaratne Dilshan b Harbhajan Singh 42; Sanath Jayasuriya c Nehra b Pathan 36; Mahela Jayawardene c & b Harbhajan Singh 1; Kumar Sangakkara hit wicket b R. P. Singh 33; Thilan Thushara b Sharma 15; Angelo Mathews c Raina b Yuvraj Singh 14; Thilina Kandamby b Harbhajan Singh 66; Chamara Kapugedera c Dhoni b Raina 35; Nuwan Kulasekara (not out) 9; Lasith Malinga c & b Harbhajan Singh 0; Ajantha Mendis st Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh 7; Extras (lb-3, w-11, nb-1) 15. Total (in 46.4 overs) 273.

Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-76, 3-85, 4-108, 5-131, 6-182, 7-252, 8-264, 9-264.

India bowling: Ashish Nehra 7-0-43-0; Ishant Sharma 7-0-51-1; R.P. Singh 5-0-34-1; Harbhajan Singh 9.4-0-56-5; Yusuf Pathan 4-0-36-1; Yuvraj Singh 6-0-24-1; Suresh Raina 8-0-26-1.

Harbhajan Singh... at his best he is overwhelming.

Harbhajan Singh has been Indian cricket’s most compelling enigma of the last decade. Just 29, he has 330 Test wickets and 216 ODI wickets, suggesting there’s greatness in the making. But before last August he hadn’t imposed his will on contests as often as a bowler of his immense physical talent is expected to. He had had moments of course — moments where he had shown mastery of his craft and that special ability to make things happen. But there had been other occasions, which had constituted a large part of his career, where he had seemed listless, unimaginative, and inclined to the defensive when attacked.

The least charitable of his critics — and of these there are many, for he inspires extreme reactions — argued that he was an average bowler with an acute awareness of when cheap wickets could be had; he had, they reasoned, made the most of India’s leanness of spin talent to build his career. There is little truth in this argument, but even his strongest supporters will concede that Harbhajan hasn’t fulfilled his potential.

Fortunately the signs over the last year have been encouraging. The reading of these signs requires a précis however, and it will be ventured hereforth. At his best, Harbhajan is overwhelming, his bowling charged with an energy not common to a spinner. Although not classical in delivery or method, the off-spinner has customised the craft to suit his strengths: the snap in his action allows him access to large quantities of over-spin, and consequently abrupt dip and sharp bounce. His greatest strength is his ability to find turn at a pace quicker than the classical off-spinner. The result is a weighted, whip-lashed off-break whose flight is tauter than convention — but not flat.

But the profusion of overs-specific cricket — and his team’s demands in these versions — seemed to turn him into a bowler more intent on economy than creative attack. The yorker, speared in at indecorous speed so it slipped under the batsman’s bat-swing, became his stock in trade. That it served the purpose seemed to cost his bowling — a spinner’s action is always vulnerable to bad habits; when thrown so spectacularly out of whack as is the case when yorkers have to be cranked out, the exertions of delivery can wear out the action’s groove.

The precis out of the way, let’s read the signs. A pivotal event occurred during the Galle Test last August. Harbhajan registered his first 10-wicket haul outside India, but it was the manner more than the achievement that was significant. Several of the themes of that performance have since repeated both in Test and one-day cricket (and to a lesser degree in Twenty20 cricket as well). His willingness to explore the option of attacking from around the wicket, not something he had embraced in the past, was striking.

It’s a method that was used to excellent effect in New Zealand and the recently concluded Compaq Cup tri-series. From this angle, his wrist-spun doosra doubled in potency. Harbhajan’s slant from over the wicket, arising from a tendency not to get close to the stumps, doesn’t always do the delivery justice. In one-day cricket, with the batsmen keen to score, the doosra from over the wicket has claimed victims, for they are apt to reach for the ball. But quality Test batsmen, who saw it for what it was from the hand, often left it on line. But it wasn’t as easy from around the wicket, particularly when the ball pitched on middle and off, for the batsman had then to play. The batsman had no way to estimate how the surface would take spin, so every stroke made when not to the pitch of the ball was one of hopeful speculation. The angle from around also made more perilous the off-break that having failed to land on the seam skids on.

Harbhajan hasn’t merely varied his angle of attack over the last year. He has varied flight and trajectory as well, slowing his deliveries so they have time to establish a grip in the soil loosened by the bowlers’ footfalls. In Sri Lanka recently, it was this tendency that was most marked. Brought on to arrest Sanath Jayasuriya’s rapid getaway in the league match of the Compaq Cup, Harbhajan aired his off-breaks like moth-eaten eiderdowns during spring cleaning. At times, he simply advanced the point of release so the delivery had loop.

Harbhajan has also employed to great effect the top-spinner, bowled by hooking his index finger across a straight seam so it comes out of his hand with every opportunity to land on the seam and skip. On occasion he has scrambled the seam instead of canting it at the off-break’s angle so it does little off the straight. One such delivery, quickened on its way, fetched the vital wicket of the plundering Tillakaratne Dilshan in the final of the Compaq Cup.

The numbers confirm this improvement. Before the Galle Test, he had in the three preceding years taken his wickets at nearly 38 runs (average) and 12 overs (strike-rate) per wicket. In his last 10 Tests (including Galle) he has 53 wickets at an average of 25.58 and a strike-rate of 59.8 (which translates to less then 10 overs). In ODIs this year, his average and strike-rate are 29.71 and 32.9 respectively, which are a noteworthy improvement over the previous three years (average: 36.53; strike-rate: 50.3).

It’s tempting to hypothesise that Harbhajan is back on track, his misdemeanours of the past (the Symonds affair, Slapgate) behind him. To do so would be simplistic; there is no way to establish causality. (Besides, his bowling wasn’t any more off-track during these episodes than it was just prior to it).

It does appear, however, that he is more comfortable in his bowling skin these days. The insecurity has faded. As a result, he has bowled with greater freedom; he is not as deeply dismayed when hit. Not only has he been better able to shape contests, he has also been able to handle the responsibility of being India’s lead spinner in all formats. If he manages more of the same, trusting his physical skill over the doubting voice of the mind, greatness will be his.