Road to Redemption?

               As the tenth wicket of a crumbling Australian batting line up fell to the vicious spin of R. Ashwin, a smiling Dhoni pumped his fist and uprooted a stump for his souvenir collection. The Indian skipper is usually sang-froid, but on this particular afternoon his face did not betray his emotions. After whitewashes in England and Australia, failure in qualifying for the finals of the Commonwealth Bank series and the Asia Cup, a mediocre performance in the T20 World Cup and defeats suffered at the hands of England and Pakistan at home, the sky was falling. Dhoni was lucky to have kept his job and he knew that the Border-Gavaskar series was probably his last chance to prove his mettle as a captain. With a convincing 2-0 lead and the manner in which Team India has dealt with the Aussies, we are seeing flashes of our glory days, aren’t we?

                After the memorable 2011 World Cup final, this is the first time that our side has looked exuberant and positive. The batting clicked, the tweakers exploited the visitors’ Achilles heel- spin bowling, and the captain played a sensational knock-  a double hundred at a strike rate north of 85 bears eloquent testimony to this. Field placing was positive and the skipper looked to attack from the onset. At number three, India has found an ideal replacement for Rahul Dravid. Cheteshwar Pujara’s gargantuan knock was a touch of class and a stamp of authority. With a no-holds-barred display of exquisite cover drives, crafty square cuts and sublime straight drives, the spectator could just sit and admire. A solid defence, the correct technique to negotiate hostile fast bowling, the ability to put the bad ball away every time- Pujara bears all the hallmarks of a perfect Test batsman, even as he needs to improve the hook shot which proved to be his undoing in an otherwise unblemished innings. Murali Vijay justified his selection with a magnificent century and steadied the ship with Pujara after the early departure of Sehwag. For those castigating Sachin Tendulkar and saying that he is past his prime, the Little Master played a knock of 81 in the first test which had the typical Tendulkar finesse written all over it. It’s confounding- each time you write him off and the guy hits right between the eyes. To say that he’s a legend would be an understatement. R Ashwin has learnt his lessons after the drubbing by the English. There was a marked difference in his deliveries in this series and the one against England. He did not try to bowl too many fancy deliveries but focused on his line and length instead, with a carom ball or two slipped in between, so that most of his deliveries hit the wicket. No wonder he is the leading wicket taker even as he continues to torment the Australian batting line-up with his guile and impeccable length. Ravindra Jadeja has justified his selection ahead of Pragyan Ojha by providing excellent support to Ashwin from the other end. The spinners, operating in tandem,  have wreaked havoc among the Australian ranks and it will be interesting to see how the Aussie think-tank,  crippled due to dearth of quality spin options and experienced batsmen,  copes with the spin menace.

                Though things are looking hunky-dory at the moment, one swallow does not make a summer. There are issues waiting to be addressed.

THE OPENING COMBINATION

                                The openers have failed consistently, both home and abroad. The opening partnership is crucial in putting up a huge score on the board and the early departure of the openers puts pressure on the middle order. With Sehwag and Gambhir having faced the axe, it will be important that the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan improve their game realise their potential in order to build a strong and aggressive opening combination.

BACK THE SKIPPER, HE’S OUR BEST BET!

                Two consecutive whitewashes abroad and in 9 out of 10 cases, the captain is likely to be sacked. However, MS Dhoni found an ally in BCCI President N. Srinivasan who intervened and helped him keep his place. Looking at the stellar performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy so far, it seems that the maverick skipper is regaining his Midas touch. And let’s face it- do we have a better leader? MS Dhoni should continue to lead the side. Apart from being a smart captain, he is also a dangerous batsman and a reliable wicket-keeper.

VULNERABILITY TO FAST BOWLING

                One chink in the armour which was conspicuous after the shambolic displays in England and Australia was our susceptibility to genuine and hostile fast bowling. Our batsmen are peppered with short pitched stuff and the whole batting line-up capitulates. Indian batsmen are in dire need of improving their technique against bouncers. More warm-up games prior to away tours, more India ‘A’ tours and hours of practice will go a long way in ensuring that we put up a good fight and do not meekly surrender on green pitches.

THE INDIAN PACE BATTERY

                Barring a couple, India doesn't have fast bowlers who can hit the 145 kmph mark consistently and make the best use of the new ball. In comparison to our foreign counterparts, Indian fast bowling looks pedestrian. This proves to be a liability on foreign soil many a time.

MANAGING THE TRANSITION

                With the Holy Trinity of Indian cricket- Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly having already walked into the sunset, Sachin Tendulkar remains the only one in the pantheon to continue playing. Even he has retired from ODIs and the onus is on the younger players to shoulder the responsibilities and carry the legacy forward. Ours is a team in transition and the support staff must make sure that the senior players are phased out smoothly and young blood is infused regularly in the side. Creating a pool of 25 competitive players is essential so that they are given ample opportunities abroad and a winning combination is constituted which can not only thrash visiting sides at home but also bring laurels to the country abroad.

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Amish-tified!

The Oath of the Vayuputras, the third and final installation of bestselling author Amish’s Shiva Trilogy hit the stands last week. Having waited tolerantly for two whole months after pre-ordering it, I received my copy on the morning of its release date, and completed it in three days, given my demanding schedule. It would've taken just a couple of hours if I wasn’t a regular college-going kid. But alas! The hectic time-table at IIT Bombay lets me have just a handful of hours’ worth of time-out, most of which are required to catch sleep. It’s been a few days since I completed the book, and today I finally get the time to blog about it.

Why I like the Shiva Trilogy

It is not a period drama, it isn’t mythology either. Amish has shaped a different world altogether. He has fused them both to create a fascinating pastiche, which gets the reader to think. For example, I found myself asking, did the Yamuna actually flow into the Saraswati before? Or did the Hindi word ‘maayka’ originate from the name of the city where womenfolk delivered their babies?

The trilogy tells the story of Shiva, the Mahadev, who is depicted, not as an almighty deity but as a simple mortal, flesh and bone. In the prologue, Amish explains how it is one’s karma which makes him a God. And that is exactly what Shiva’s journey through the country embodies him into. There are no thunderbolt throwing or fire spewing super humans, but simple men (and women), firing arrows and swinging swords. It is that rawness of the action that appeals to me.

The trilogy is a grand journey, one that provokes some questions and answers some others. It makes one glad that he chose to be a part of the voyage.

A befitting finale, Vayuputras

Don't worry, no spoilers here!
The third book in a trilogy would be prone to some pretty high expectations. Questions need to be answered; the buffs must be able to find some closure. And delivering amidst such hype is one hell of a task. But Vayuputras does not disappoint.
Starting off just where the previous book The Secret of the Nagas ends, the reader comes across a startling revelation at the very beginning. Evil is at large, and according to the prophecy, the Neelkanth has to stop it. But when the great Evil is so deep rooted, so largely prevalent, how can one get rid of it without causing the outbreak of anarchy? And moreover, spearheading Evil's cause is someone highly powerful and highly influential. Against towering odds, Shiva undertakes the enormous task of wiping the said Evil from the face of the earth. And the great war has consequences even before the first arrow is fired. People face tough choices. Whether to choose between something one knows is right and something one is meant to do was never an easy decision.

New characters come in. The Vayuputras are a tribe settled in the West, who are obliged by oath, to help the Neelkanth but are not certain about the genuineness of Shiva. Vasudev Gopal, the chief of the Vasudevs stands by Shiva, providing unflinching support. All the characters, the new as well as the old, are written with impeccable understanding. Action sparks off from every page.

I found myself rooting for characters, flinching when they were stabbed, and shaking off tears when they died. The trivia about tribes like the Aten and the Lamas, the reverse definitions of good and evil in the west, etc. was stuff I particularly enjoyed reading about. Once through with the 570 pages, I was left with a melancholy feeling, overwhelmed by the turn of events nearing the climax.

The Oath of the Vayuputras was an epic in itself. Living up to the hype, it was one thrilling page-turner. There were times I read a hundred pages in one go, without stopping for pee-breaks.

With renowned writers like Deepak Chopra and Sandipan Deb praising the book, it won’t be long before Vayuputras too sells a million copies. The trilogy is more than worth a read.

Har Har Mahadev!

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