Marketing an Upcoming Bollywood movie + Cricket series featuring India = Jinxed x Disaster

A lot of people state that the IPL is a marriage between cricket & entertainment. It probably is true, given the fact that, these are the 2 most fanatically followed interests in India. Since Indians are infested at various parts of the world, this automatically is spread in different regions, thus making it a global phenomenon. But what this so called marriage between cricket & entertainment has done is, it has given an opportunity for the film marketing gurus to bombard the consumers with some senseless twining between movies & cricket. Yes, this was an untapped opportunity a few decades back. Yes, cricket is the most followed sport in India. Yes, Indians do love it when cricket & movies are brought together on the same platform. But I spot something spookily jinxed, when cricket is used as a platform to market films.

Being a true cricket fan, every one of us find something or some mannerism to beat the jinx. Like, when one of our friends gets up to grab a bottle of water & an Indian batsman scores a six, the thirst-filled friend is forced to stand next to the fridge, who will not be allowed to see the remainder of the deliveries, until the innings gets over, hoping that the batsman keeps scoring sixes. This in other words is called cricket superstitions, where a cricket fan believes that, only because his friend, who went out to get a bottle of water, is the batsman even scoring sixes. You can’t blame a cricket fan who thinks this way. That’s the nature of him & you’ve got to deal with it.  You would wonder, what might be the connection between movies & cricket superstitions. A cricket fan like me can never run short of bizarre findings, explanations & conclusions. Over the last 3 years, I have noticed a trend wherein, if any Hindi movie tie’s up with a sports channel along with a series featuring India, our cricket team has always performed pathetically.  

As mind-numbing as it may sound, I believe that I’ve got my research done. In all the following cases, bar the fact the reach is huge and the movie has the possibility of reaching a wider spectrum apart from its target group. I might have to date you back a couple of years from where I believe it all started. The 2009 series between Australia & India featured in a leading sports channel tied up with a movie called London dreams. One very clear example of how the series can’t be forgotten, but the sponsors can be. India saw disaster in that test series, not that the movie could escape a similar fate. But I’ve often wondered what connects London dreams to an India vs Australia series. That series was action packed, but unfortunately India was on the receiving end. London dreams, clearly gave them no dreams, instead replaced by nightmares.

In 2009, came the Champions Trophy at South Africa. India has always had a positive run in the Champion’s trophy. They were the finalists in 2000 & joint winners in 2002. In came a movie called “All the best”, yet another multi-starrer. The movie was aimed at boosting the moral of the Indians and in turn they trusted the movie to do well. It also featured one of the most expensive songs in the history of Indian cinema. This movie was promoted extensively during the entire champion’s trophy. Where was India in that edition? India were knocked out in the league stages itself. I can still remember how the title song blared its way through the series, especially when India was knocked out in the first stage itself. All the best was indeed not the best.   

In the same year, 2009, India came into England to defend their T20 world cup title. India was considered the favorites & they did look like one, until they took onto the field. Even before the tournament started, we could find the lead pair of that movie, Love Aaj kal, jabbering away to glory, on how they loved cricket. Guess what? The movie did exceedingly well and India’s performance was diametrically opposite. The defending champions were dispelled in the super eight leg of the world cup. They played 3 games & lost all of them. India had won 2 games in the group stage. Those wins came off against Ireland & Bangladesh. Indians were in no mood for love aaj aur kal.

After the first edition of Champions League T20 being cancelled due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the second edition created much excitement. There were 3 teams that participated from the IPL, which were Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils & Royal Challengers Bangalore. This time the jinx followed all the teams from the hosting nation. None of the 3 IPL teams even made it to the finals. The culprit movie this time was “BLUE”. Though I was upset that none of the IPL teams made it, I could find solace in what I think is a happy takeaway. The movie was a bigger disaster than the tournament itself. Movies were soon beginning to catch the cricket “Blues”

There was quite a gap where movies started to tie up with cricket series’ until the Badshah of over kill came into the being. In 2011, the movie “RaOne”, tied up with even with dustbins as a part of their extensive marketing strategy. The champion’s league was not spared either. Though this edition had an IPL team winning the tournament, the defending IPL & CLT20 champions, Chennai Super Kings were ousted. That was a season filled with over kills including the cricket, the Movie – RaOne & Shahrukh Khan himself. The Champions league altogether so alarmingly low turnovers from the spectators, with the stadiums often sporting a ghostly-empty look, much like the theatres for this movie. RaOne turned into NoOne after that. 

The last, but in no means the least, by now you should have guessed which movie has spelled doomsday for the Indian team. The “Agneepath” series, between Australia & India. I don’t need to delve into the details of how badly the Indians have performed in this series. I was telling all my close friends, that even before the series started, I knew that India would do badly and just like a lot of others, they laughed at me. But like one of my friends rightly put it, it would’ve been more apt if it was called, The “Agony-path” series. If they previous series against England wounded us nearly to coma, this series tortured even the ghosts after a traumatized death. So, it is safe to come to the conclusion that, a hindi movie, Agneepath, has duly done its duty.  

This entire analogy might seem a bit weird, crazy or even laughable. But the cricket fan in you, will sub consciously ponder over this bizarre co incidence. The cricket superstition more often than not stands good. But ultimately you’d believe what you want to. On an even lighter side, Spare a thought for the cricketers, the support staff, the selectors & the fan; blame the movie which has tied up with this series (the only thing which is so far saved from the blame game). Thus my hypothesis of Indians faring pathetically, when a hindi movie is tied up with that particular series, is proved right, hence jinxed. So, as a pure cricket fan who believes in cricket superstitions, the next time you see a movie which ties up with an upcoming cricket series featuring India, you know what to do, you know how to think and you know whom to blame !

Indian bowlers open the door, only for the batsman to close it, in what seems like a truncated test yet again !

(Australia vs India, 2nd day, 3rd test match at Perth from Jan 13-17, 2012, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12)

MATCH STATUS

India - 161 & 88/4. Australia - 369. 

India trail by 120 runs with 6 wickets hand in their second innings.

Its just the second day of the 3rd test, and India already have a humiliating defeat in their hands. This is not the first time this series, that India are faced with this situation. After the powerful knock by Warner last night, it was pretty sure that India's chances of winning this test was far beyond sight. On a day, where the Indian bowlers sparkled, the batting failed yet again, to diminish the chances of India saving this test match. With 3 full days remaining, and India having to score 120 more runs to make Australia bat again, are just left with little over half a side remaining. This will be the third time this series, that I'd hope for that unlikely Kolkata miracle to repeat itself.

Australia started off strongly, with Warner continuing his ruthless form, there was another double hundred in the reckoning. This one, a more flamboyant innings filled with fearless shots, played just with sheer power & instinct, much against the comparison of a more smooth & neatly compiled innings of Clarke, in the previous test match. Ed Cowan played the second fiddle to perfection and brought up a much needed 50, to do his spirits a world of good. With the team reaching 200 in 219 balls, India were searching for some divine intervention to save them from this merciless butchering. Umesh Yadav created a spark by removing Cowan, with a beauty that cleaned him up, shattering his thoughts of getting to the 3 figure mark. India sensed an opening there, with a pretty fragile Shaun Marsh at No.3. Marsh's below average form continued, when he knicked an outgoing ball to the slip. 

While Warner rocketed his way to a 150, Ponting at the other end was bowled the best delivery of the day (in my view) by Umesh Yadav, which dismantled his central timber. The morning session pretty much belonged to the Indians, with 3 top order wickets, but Warner still stayed. Briefly after lunch, Warner began to pick his spots and slam the deliveries all over the park. But he failed to connect a ball by Ishant Sharma, thereby scooping it to the long fielder Yadav, who managed to grab the ball without falling over the fence. There was more a sense of relief than celebration in the Indian camp. That was the best chance for India, to go for the kill. And this time they dint make a mess of it. 

Zaheer Khan came back with a  superb spell of swing bowling, claiming 2 quick wickets of Captain Clarke & keeper Haddin. The ball to Clarke was a beauty, which just moved away to take his knick & the most enjoyed one, would be that of Haddin's, especially after a sour exchange of words at the beginning of the test. After brief resistance from Hussey & Siddle, Yadav dealt the striking blows to clean up the tail. Sehwag & Vinay Kumar chipped in with a wicket each, & Australia were bowled out eventually for 369. The last 10 wickets were taken at the cost of 154 runs, which clearly indicates that the bowling department has now, finally had a move on. Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, who claimed a five-for. He bowled terrific lines with a good amount of pace, erred occasionally & but got the wickets to restore some sort of chance for India to save this game. 

The 3rd innings had already begun in the final session of just the second day. That proved, that a result was assured, more in the favor of the team which had the lead. With Australia leading by 208 runs, if at all there was any time that the Indian batting had to come good, it was then. Gambhir & Sehwag opened cautiously. If you were an Indian fan, you'd obviously wonder, "If Warner could play such an innings, what stops Sehwag to out perform him?" I was tricked into thinking the same way, until I  realized the difference between a less inspired bowling attack & the Symphony of the Pace Quartet, bowling seamlessly.  India were to play out the entire session without losing a wicket, to even think of creating a miracle. But Gambhir soon bit the dust, yet again edging a swinging ball to the slip. Micthell Starc was exceptional with his away swing, especially the one's he brings back into the right handers.  

First change Siddle, came into the attack and to immediate effect showed why he is one of the most reliable bowlers that a captain can depend on. His precision was the key in claiming Sehwag's wicket. The ball had squared him up, forcing him to play outside the line of his body & nicking it to the keeper. India lost both their openers cheaply, yet again for a meager 25 runs. India needed runs & needed to occupy the crease most importantly, to provide some hope of saving the embarrassment of an innings defeat.  

The experience of nearly 30,000 runs was in the middle, in the form of Dravid & Sachin. They needed to make their experience count and infuse some inspiration into this quickly surrendering team. Clarke was shuffling his bowlers really well, giving them short spells to make sure their steam din't run out when they come into bowl, mainly in the notion of taking wickets & sealing the game in their favor. Starc was brought back into the attack. In just his second over, he bowled a "Banana"delivery, that swung sharply into Sachin to wrap him on his pads. The first sight was plumb, but Sachin, very unusually was not happy with the decision given & walked off shaking his head showing his disagreement to Aleem Dar's decision. More than the thought of him missing an opportunity to get to his 100th ton yet again, he seemed more disappointed because he was not able to save India from what is to be faced - Humiliation. 

If you're an Indian, you couldn't help, but to hope that the Kolkata miracle is re-performed, when Laxman walked out. Dravid at the other end looked assertive in his foot movement & fended to deliveries that were pitched short of good length. The wicket seems to be holding on well, but for one huge crack. Laxman, with his non committal foot movement, soon crashed the hopes of a miracle by, poking a delivery outside off stump, giving Hilfenhaus his first wicket of this innings. VVS made a long walk back to the pavilion, after scoring a duck. He walked into the shadow filled dressing room, which has much more than just pondering to do. 

Kohli joined Dravid in the middle & though both the batsmen didn't feel at home, they managed to delay the inevitable, unless these 2 able batsmen in the middle play the innings of their lives tomorrow. The bowling was at its usual best, with Micthell Starc bowling the spell of his career so far. A left arm pacer proves lethal, only when he's able to bring the ball back into the right hander, and he was able to do that with much ease.

The Indians would take the first 2 sessions and the bowling did show a lot of intent. The top order batting was yet another let down, with Dravid waging the lone battle. With the bowlers coming one after the other, the day ahead seems respite-less for the Indian batsmen. The question is how far will they be able to push the inevitable. If you are "The hopeful Indian Fan" like me, you 'd ideally want this pair to play atleast until tea & wipe of the deficit to get us the lead. But if you're a realist, you'd be surprised to see India play until tea to save this match.

DAY 2: A pinch of India, in a mouthful of Australia. 

India buried at the infancy of this test match. Warner & Pace Quartet, wreckers-in-chief.

(Australia vs India, 1st day, 3rd test match at Perth from Jan 13-17, 2012, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12)

MATCH STATUS

India - 161, Australia - 149/0. Australia trail by 12 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st Innings

If you're an Indian player or even a fan, the 1st day of the 3rd test match, is much more spookier than the date, "Friday -The 13th" itself. Indians were put through a nightmarish day at Perth, praying for the day's play to get over as soon as possible. If one thought, surrendering to 161 meekly caused a lot of bruises, the Warner blitzkrieg that followed after that was like adding a handful of 'Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (the world's hottest chili) peppered on the bruises. By the end of the day, Australia were just 12 runs behind from India's first innings total, with all the wickets in tact. 

The routine affair of M.S.Dhoni losing the toss continued even in Perth. The much spoken about green-velvet top of 22 yards did look alarmingly menacing, but the way it spanned out during the day reinforces the fact that, looks are deceptive. There was early movement, which was much visible in the innumerable uncomfortable beatens the Indian openers faced. With an all pace attack, the openers had a task on hand. Sehwag, edging one to slips, failed yet again in a very disturbing series so far. Both Harris & Hilfenhaus in their come back trails, bowled superbly with a probing line and length. Siddle was introduced first change & immediately claimed a very unsettled Dravid with an awesome yorker. It was yet another groggy morning, if you'd just switched on the TV then.  

Yet again, Sachin walked in early, under 15 overs, with a thunderous applause and the jinxed monkey sitting on his back. He started off with much elan, especially the straight drives, which raised hopes yet again. But those drives flattered to deceive. Harris, claiming his first wicket on his come back, bowled a fine in-swinger to wrap the master on his pads, which looked out straight away. You could see the frustration on Sachin's face on his way back to the pavilion. Gambhir, though looked assertive in the beginning, played his trademark 'poke' to gift his wicket to Hilfenhaus, the very next over. The top order slumped yet again to 63-4 before lunch. It was becoming a painfully recurring failure of the Indian batsman.     

Kohli, for the first time in the series looked positive, played with maturity and was leaving the ball well. He was ably supported by the, out-of-form Laxman at the other end. These 2 batsmen put up a promising partnership of 70, before the wires snapped from either ends. Jut before tea, Kohli cut an outgoing delivery straight to point & Laxman was consumed at the slips. With both the set batsman failing to convert a start, in what seemed like a very good batting track, India were yet again staring down the barrel at 138/6. With the captain & the bowlers remaining, it was a matter of time before the tail surrendered without a fight for a paltry 161. 

The entire credit would obviously belong to the Pace-quartet of Australia, who were bowling like a perfectly orchestrated symphony. Hilfenhaus - who claimed his 2nd consecutive 5 wicket haul, Harris - the comeback man with much resolve and without much luck, Siddle - the man for whom the battery never runs out & Starc - the rising rookie, with a perfect action. Australia aren't missing Johnson, Cummins, Watson,  or Pattinson, by any stretch.   

Faced by a similar situation, India needed a flurry of wickets upfront to put up a half decent fight on the first day. When Cowan & Warner stayed for a couple of overs, the pitch looked like a batting paradise. It almost seemed like 2 different teams playing on 2 different pitches. Australia were off to a flyer, with their 50 coming up in 7 overs, & Warner's 50 coming of 36 balls. Warner was in brutal mood to punish an uninspired bunch of Indian bowlers. Their line was way off the target, and the width given was gleefully accepted by the Aussie openers. Australia rocketed to their 100 in 14 overs, looked like the batsmen were missing the Big Bash League. Soon after that, the murderous Warner brought up his century in 69 balls, the 4th fastest test century. 

This day was not short of any humiliation for team India, as they were treated with sheer disdain by the ruthless Australians. Both, the batsmen & the bowlers failed to create a mark on the 1st day, more so leaving a huge dent for their chances of winning this test. But this being the game of glorious uncertainties, and me being the ever hopeful Indian fan, would always wait for the next day to see, If there's anything for me to cheer about. 

DAY 1 - It's just one team & it's Australia. 

 

THE FAN WHO IS NOT ?!

Unbearable excitement, Heroes of the world, Flurry of endorsements, Celebrated by media, worshiped by fans, streets filled with cricket & Bragging statuses are the symptoms of a victorious team India. Ruthless headlines, brash comments, provoked fans, mindless panic, senseless sensations by news channels, Insulting statuses, Blowing things out of proportion, Burning effigies, pelting stones & the agonized but ever hopeful fan, are all the symptoms of a poorly performing India. All for what ? For a game of cricket, having an equal probability of Winning and losing?  But when the latter is consistent, the progressive reaction is geometric with an average Indian fan, which pops up a series of self interrogative questions.That can be mainly due to their insane inclination towards this game, where it is treated as a religion by itself.  Is it a bane that, a pure cricket fan has to face the wrath of a prejudiced Indian cricket fan ? Have they lost the ability to look at this game objectively? Given the fact that media plays its part in influencing the frail hearted Indian fan, can we ever take a failure in the truest of its sense ?  

Cricket has always been a sensitive issue, especially with the fans & Media. After a run of poor performances in England & so far in Australia, the players are receiving stern reactions from fans & Media. Though the players enjoy the high during a winning spree, they have to come to terms, when their performance is being questioned at the times of defeats. But the quintessential fact remains that, majority of the Indians have an extremist attitude towards cricket. A win can take the players above their heads & a loss can bring them below their foot. It is also important for the player to come to terms with this fact - India is like that. The average consumer of cricket, looks at this much more than just a sport, and that gives the player much more importance. Probably that's the difference between a country which looks at cricket as a sport & as a religion. The status of demi-god is achieved only when a certain landmark or a heroic act is performed. In such a case, one is made to think about the reasons, when players are in pursuit of their personal milestones. Atleast they've got a goal to play for.

The class has always been there, but the application in the recent tours has been marred by some kind of sub conscious predetermination. The confidence has taken a beating  and the urge for them to come over it is to prove a point. Often that is epitomized with reaching a personal milestone, that helps the team in a winning cause. What that does is, it reassures themselves & the people who follow them about their ability. Thus the responsibility is doubled for an Indian player. You can expect a similar gesture of Michael Clarke being performed by an an Indian (if he got there), but spare a thought for him.   The media & fans would have overcome the fact that he has put the team ahead of the personal milestone, and probe their ways ahead into why he didn't go for the personal milestone. With double standards, a much easier option, the player is bombarded with such force in the media, also the people who follow that media much more than their hearts. A mild reminder that, an Indian cricketer is also a human being, who succumbs to pressure. The amount of pressure and expectations Sachin has carried through the life span of his cricketing career is seriously a super human effort. Only at the times of distress will we even remember Dravid & Laxman. The players who are plagued by it off-late are Sehwag & Dhoni. Though this is their job to perform under pressure & are being well payed for it, they have their own devilish conscious to answer, which in my view is bigger than the media & fans. The media & fans are an added pressure to tackle. 

There is always scope for improvement, but Continuous application of pressure from all directions, often leads to breaking down or destruction. A simple example: When in our school days, all of us are pressurized from all directions, and when it happens continuously we tend to break down at some point. All that we required was some space for retrospection. A strikingly similar situation are faced by Sachin & rest of the Indians. I'm sure the players are made of much stronger substance to tackle this situation. And I'm sure that they will overcome this phase with a fitting reply. I can't help, but to think like the ever hopeful Indian fan. Empathy is something that's quite distanced from us, when it comes to cricket. Though it might seem that the crickets don't require our empathy, trust me it does make a difference & that happens without our knowledge. I'm sure heart of hearts, you wouldn't want to lose a classic player to wavered thoughts & inhuman pressure. The moment we start looking at it objectively, we start to enjoy the game of cricket, applaud the opposition, take it less seriously & express our emotions in a much channelized manner.   

Recently, it has been the Indian captain, M.S.Dhoni, who's been at the receiving end. A large group of the cricket following fraternity are in shock due to this contrasting performance from the India they've seen a year back. There seems to be a sense disbelief that the man who was known as 'Midas' is way to quickly getting into a slump, much against their liking. Not many people would expect this from a man who captained the country to win the Worlc Cup just 10 months back. Constant comparisons between him & Ganguly have risen & I personally have been a part of that. It is easy for a passerby to drop comments at his will, which isn't much weighted by himself. But for a cricket fan, the thought is hauntingly recurring. There's obviously a sea change that has taken place in the way cricket is being played & the way it looked. The mindsets of the cricketers have moves more towards aggression & result oriented thought process. To simply put it, cricket has evolved. But lets come to terms with the teams, Ganguly & MSD have led respectively. With due regards to Ganguly, the team he dealt with had the Invincible middle order (Dravid,Sachin,Laxman & Ganguly himself), with Kumble, Harbhajan & Zaheer khan at their peaks. Peaks might be an understatement. But with MSD, though the invincible middle order more or less stays intact, its the remaining of the team that he's given to rebuild. 

Though MSD has slipped up at key moments, just like any other captain, to term MSD's tenure as a captain to be over, is a bit mind numbing & premature. Yes, he has had a poor run overseas, he has missed the opportune moments, but to propagate talks of the demise of his captaincy is silly, if not insane. The true test of MSD, can be ascertained only when the big guns move away from the tests, when he's given an entire team to build by himself. At the moment, he's in a bit of cusp to jell the experienced and to promote the youth. Though one side of the argument stays, that its not about the loss, but its about the manner in which we lose. Though it is true, these are testing times, where we have gone in with an inexperienced bowling line up & backed up by some poor batting displays. Having said that, this brain was the same brain that was taken as a case study for reactive leadership, but for a normal fan who follows the score only on social networking sites &  takes pride in only victories, Dhoni's leadership will be termed as mere luck. I then realize that Ignorance is bliss & their IQ is naught. 

As a country or a fan, to doubt the ability of a captain who's taken India to different heights in such a short period, especially after the 2007 world cup debacle, you've got to give it to this man. For the calm & composed approach, irrespective of defeat or victory, for speaking his heart out without a full stop, for admitting the mistakes, for encouraging the players, for deciphering a new way of cricket for the generations to come, the least one could give is respect. You can probably dispose the Midas' touch, but you can never dispose Midas himself.   

MATCH REPORT: India Vs Australia, 2nd Test, SCG (03 Jan - 06 Jan), Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12

THE MICHAEL CLARKE TEST MATCH 

Australia completed a terrific victory by an Innings & 68 runs, here at Sydney, which hosted its 100th test, against a pretty demoralized India. Yet another test that has finished under 4 days & the second on the trot this series. Australia & Michael Clarke couldn't have asked for a better start to the New year. In what can be termed as the "Michael Clarke test", the captain powered his team to a comprehensive victory against a meekly inspired Indian team. It was just a matter of time on the 4th day, after Sachin got out at a very crucial moment of the game, just before the new ball was taken. India managed to give a fight on the 4th day, registering their highest test score (400) in foreign soil in their last 8 games. Hilfenhaus completed the formalities with yet another 5 wicket haul, in what couldn't have been a better come back script. 

After a lot of talk on the changed Sydney pitch, M.S.Dhoni finally won a toss & decided to bat on a morning which had a lot of sprite & live. A few critiqued the decision of batting first, but India had to escape unscathed in the first session to prove the decision was right. Unfortunately, India were not able to do it. Gambhir's poor run of form continued & he was claimed a fiery Pattinson, in the first over of the game. Gambhir's performance at the top has been disappointing, as it's been 2 long years without a hundred. The top order failed again, and ell prey to a very young mending Australian bowling attack. The lines were impeccable from the pace trio of Pattinson, Hilfenhaus & Siddle. By lunch India were 72/4. With the much spoken about Indian middle order failing yet again, Captain Dhoni's 50 was the only solace, as the Indians were wrapped up for 191 in under 60 overs. The pace trio, were the wreckers-in-chief, with all the 10 wickets falling between them. 

With a paltry 191 on the board, the Indian bowlers had to stitch up something special to make a contest out of this game. And so it did happen, with Zaheer Khan proving his weight yet again, running through the top order with some classic left-arm swing bowling. The Australian top order made a mess of this modest total, and were in a spot of bother at 37/3, with all the 3 left handers falling prey to Zaheer Khan. We were then poised for yet another well contested game. But little did India know what was coming their way after that. Ex-captain Ponting & the current skipper Clarke came together, and what looked like the perfect, old style Australian counter-attack. With going at 4 runs per over, Clarke & Ponting safely negotiated day 1 at 116/3. 

On the second day, India needed their pacemen to fire, led by Zaheer Khan. But the Aussie pair had other plans in their mind. The under fire Ponting, cut, pull & droe with much aplomb, reminding people of the old ponting & making a statement that he's far from being done. He was ably supported by Clarke, who read the conditions well & rotated the strike very frequently. He played his shot with gay abundance, helped by a very defensive field by Dhoni. The bowling lost the teeth after the first hour of play. The wicket looked like a batting paradise where Ponting & Clarke were in no mood to miss out on that opportunity. Just before lunch, Clarke got to his hundred, much to the ovation of the SCG. It was indeed a captain's knock, that was taking Australia to a big lead. 

    

The first session had gone without a wicket, and the Indian bowlers erred in their lines & more importantly their lengths. With a total of 191, MSD had no choice other than defending. But he did lack the spark to induce a wicket, it simply looked like he was waiting for things to happen. With 2 batsmen in the middle wanting to prove a point to the world that was not going to happen. Soon after lunch, Ponting scrambled across to almost a non existent single on 99 & dived to save his life, to reach his 40th test century. That single clearly showed what that 100 meant to him. Ponting proved yet again why his class is always permanent. Clarke and Ponting made easy work of the Indian bowlers, who looked helpless & hapless. The last 20 overs before the new ball was taken, mainly saw the part timers in operation. Often such a ploy made you wonder if the captain was running short of ideas & inspiration. The 288 run partnership finally came to an end, soon after the new ball was taken, when Ponting square drove a rising delivery to Sachin at point. It was more a relief than celebration for India, by when Clarke had already reached his 150.

Just when they saw a ray of hope with that wicket, entered Mr.Cricket, who opened his account with a punching cover crive to the boundary. Little did India know, that it was just a preview of what was to follow. Hussey & Clarke began to rebuild with some ferocious shots, with the partnership going at almost 6 an over. Hussey, who was under a lot of fire for poor form, was fed into form by the Indian bowlers. He cracked his IPL teammate, Ashwin to 2 consecutive boundaries followed by a six. Through the session none of the Indian bowlers looked even close to picking up a wicket. At the other end, the captain who was in much need of runs, cruised away to his 1st double century with a fascinating display of temperament and cricketing shots.The pitch held firm, so did this partnership which reached a 100 in 107 balls. Hussey scored back to back half centuries & this one played with much more authority and freedom. The Indian bowlers were made to toil hard, with each of them giving away more than 100 runs. Clarke reached his 250, with Australia in a very strong position towards the end of the 2nd day, where the Indians claimed just 1 wicket.

With a demoralizing day behind them, Indians began the 3rd day without much purpose in their bowling. It was short, wide & strayed off the line.  These played into the set Australians, with the score going past 500 and the second double hundred partnership of the innings. Mr.Cricket, Hussey got to his 100, marking a promising start to the new year. Hussey played the perfect second fiddle to Clarke who was on his way to this first triple century. With a flick off Ishant's bowling, Clarke reached this staggering milestone, joining the elite club Bradman, Hayden & Mark Taylor. With more than 2 days at their disposal, Australia reached 600 and was on course for a massive declaration. 

Hussey reached his 150 at the other end, and soon after that the innings was declared to everyone's surprise with Clarke on 329. The time being no factor, Clarke could have gone in pursuit of a personal milestone, and he did look good for it. But he put his team first like a brave soldier, and did not want to waste anymore time with pointlessly scoring runs. He thought a sizable lead of 468 was more than enough for them to get India bowled out with just more than 2 days on hand. That gesture from Clarke, has taken his image as a captain quite a few notches above. The selflessness needed to be rewarded with a well deserved victory.

Indians facing a daunting task to save this test, had play this test with true concentration, grit, temperament, patience and application. All of the previous was found wanted so far in this series. The Indian opener were due & started of positively. The pitch had nothing to assist the bowlers & the batsmen simply had to bide time. Sehwag went early with a slash to point, where Warner pouched this stunner from the air. India's chances of entertaining thoughts of saving this match took a beating then. That showed that clear intent for Australia, as they wanted to get done with test as soon as possible. Gambhir & Dravid came together and did well. Gambhir was more affirmative with his foot movement and positive in presenting the full face of the bat. He wasn't poking the deliveries outside off stump, which has been the case in all the 3 innings so far. For a moment, we were made to believe that something special was possible. But the specialty came from Hilfenhaus, who bowled Dravid through the gap. It needed a terrific deilvery to get a man of such stature out. India did look a bit wobbly towards the end of the day, with Sachin & Gambhir playing for the close of play. The last 10 overs yeilded only 2 runs, and a run was scored after 58 dot balls. Sachin almost pulled one back to the stump, just in the penultimate over of the day. That would have sent shivers down the treasurer of SCG, concerning him with the next day's ticket sales. 

With 2 days left, 365 runs to make Australia bat again and 8 wickets in hand, India needed a miracle to to get out of this rut. Though rains were predicted, the morning waws clear, and Gambhir was the first one to go after a well made 80. Laxman & Sachin threaded a beautiful partnership, entertaining some hopes for a draw. Sachin was yet again on course to his 100th ton, and the turning point of the day occurred then. With just 2 overs to go before the new ball was taken, Man of the match, Clarke took the ball in his hand and bowled a perfect orthodox delivery which spun away from Sachin taking the edge of his bat. The ball hit haddin's gloves & well backed up by Hussey who comleted the catch. Clarke just couldn't go wrong in this test match, as that wicket almost nailed it for Australia & the yet another attempt in the pursuit of his 100th ton. Soon after that it was a procession of wickets, with the middle order not offering much resistance. Laxman was bowled a beauty to disturb his timber, while Kohli looks to give away his spot to Rohit Sharma in the next game. Dhoni's soft dismissal added to the woes of Indians, before they showed some resilience in the lower order with Ashwin making yet another test 50.

It was curtains for India,as they surrendered not without a fight, scoring 400 runs.  The fact that both the teams are in a mending stage of their cricketing growth, it can be said that Australia look a more potent and a confident one. With almost everyone chipping in at some point or the other, Australia is getting back its lethal elements. After defeats against England, South Africa & New zealand, Australia did have a point to prove why they were ruling the world of cricket for more than 2 decades. This game was purely Clarke's individual brilliance facilitating a power packed team performance. Hilfenhaus's form is a great bonus for the already lethal Australian bowling unit. With Ryan Harris available for the Perth test, the choices for selection becomes interesting for Australia. Not to forget the all important Watson, who will be available for selection after this series. This unit looks more a settled one, especially after 2 crushing defeats. Australia still have a long way to go before re building the perfect team, but guess this by itself is proving to be too good for the Indians. With Australia going for a clean sweep, the Indians have more than just an uphill task ahead.  

Postives for the Indians, in the second innings. Finally the batsmen have managed to put up a score of 400 in a test match. With Sachin yet again being the only one in form, the rest of the batting needs to come good as a unit. Splits & starts are not going to help their cause. The indians need to come out of their sub conscious shell of no able to do well in foreign soil. Indian bowlers are able to get the early wickets, but just not able to produce the knock out punch to decimate sides. The bowling though is a bit inexperienced apart from Zaheer & Ishant, have shown some heart & at the same time their inexperience in testing conditions. They were short & wide and putting no pressure whatsoever. Virat Kohli wasted another couple of opportunities & looks like his temperament needs to be in more control. The rush of young blood can also prove disastrous if not well channelized.  Finally, the captain who was spoken as Midas, just going through a rough patch. MSD had missed a few tricks after getting the opposition on 37/3. With over 500 runs scored with just a wicket, he did have to do something special & extra to bring life into a dying Indian unit. He lacked motivation & inspiration with his field set ups, which is so unlikely of him. He persisted with part timers way too much, when the strike bowlers were under utilized. His usual charisma & pro activeness has been missing so far in this series. With India staring at yet another embarrassing series defeat abroad, Dhoni has a of soul searching to do before the Perth test. India need to win the next 2 games to level the series, which needs a sea change of attitude in the players. India were in similar situation the last tour, and went on to win the Perth test. But to entertain repeating the history, the batsmen have to own up to responsibility and give the bowlers some runs to defend with. Now India has to see the remaining tests, as a chance for redemption after such a disappointing loss. India would not want to go down and under, without giving a fight. Thats not MSD style.