Ever since the draw for the Rome Masters was announced, tennis fans all around the world were eagerly waiting for the weekend to arrive, more so for the way the players were grouped. It has been quite a while since a semifinal contest between Nadal and Djoker was ever witnessed and so is the case with the game’s biggest euphoria- “The Fedal Final”, which has been long overdue. However, by the virtue of the uncompromising seeding given to the World No.5, Spanish Armada – in spite of his clear dominance on clay all these years – tennis buffs were assured of this double treat finally.

But just when it looked as though that the Serb and the Spaniard were destined to meet each other in the first of the two semifinals to be held today, World No.6 Tomas Berdych set the tennis stadium ablaze as he shocked the No.1 ranked singles player in a hard fought three-setter, much to the disappointment of every tennis fan. If this upset annoyed the tournament organisers, the other half of the draw has managed to produce a few more shockers right from the beginning of the tournament, courtesy Benoit Paire of France, who reached his first ever semifinal of a Masters event.

So the stage is set now for the four best players of the tournament to exhibit their clay court skills in an endeavour to gain some momentum on their way to French Open which begins on May 26th next week at Roland Garros. Taking into account the current form and accomplishments of the final four, let us do a quick analysis as to who would come on top at the end of both the semifinals.

First Semifinal – Rafael Nadal (5) vs Tomas Berdych (6):

Rafael Nadal

His road to the semifinal, it has to be said, has not been a smooth one for his usual elevated standards. He was made to struggle hard in the round which preceded the quarterfinals where he had to deal with the powerful forehand ground strokes of the multi-talented Ernests Gulbis. Despite being in the receiving end for most part of the match – seeing as much as 59 winners going past him – he managed to weather the storm by some impeccable defensive play which eventually proved too much for the Latvian who ended up making almost equivalent number of unforced errors.

Tomas Berdych

Having defeated Djokovic only once in his career before out of the fourteen meetings till yesterday, he was least expected to surprise the Serb. In fact Novak was in a very commanding position and when he was just a game away from sealing his place in the semifinal, Berdych fought hard from a 5-2 deficit in the second set before taming the 2011 champion at Rome in the decider. The last time when he defeated the Serb it was Rafael Nadal who was waiting for him in the final of Wimbledon 2010 and the situation is no different today as he is about to take on the same man who denied him the maiden grand slam victory at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships, three years back.

Head to Head:
If Berdych has not beaten Djoker in the last three years, the situation is even worse in the case of his head to head against the World No.5 Spaniard. He is yet to taste success against him in the last seven years, going down to him on all surfaces. Out of the 16 matches played between the two – the Czech was able to win only on three occasions, the last of which came in the indoor hard court s of Madrid in 2006.

Who holds the advantage?

First serve is the important weapon of the Czech and if he can follow it up with the good combination of ground strokes he can beat anyone in the world. On clay, especially in Rome, he gets extra time to hit the ball which should be counted as an advantage that could go in his favour. However, if he keeps on missing his first serve and serves well below his standards, Nadal will leave no stone unturned in capitalizing on such blemishes.

Nadal, on his part, should not be worried too much about the 2010 Wimbledon finalist. All he needs to do is to play the same way as he did against Gulbis. His exceptional defense on clay and the top spin that he generates off his forehand will test last year’s Madrid runner up to the limit. Once he keeps moving the Czech and makes him play his game (which he does against almost everyone), he is going to dominate the points from the baseline winning “10 plus shots rallies” most of the time.

Second Semifinal – Roger Federer (3) vs Benoit Paire (36):

Roger Federer:

Though the Swiss Maestro, who is currently ranked No.3 in the world, has won almost all the tournaments of a tennis calendar, the masters event at Rome and Monte Carlo continue to remain elusive for him. A certain Rafael Nadal has always remained as a nemesis for him on clay and it looks like he would continue to be the thorn in his flesh for him this year too, should he reach the final. Helped by Del Potro’s exit, masterminded by none other than his semifinal opponent Benoit Paire, the 17 times grand slam champion is very much likely to enter the final without any problem. He is yet to drop a set in this tournament and has been serving quite well too. In his quarterfinal match against Janowicz yesterday, he fired as many as 11 aces which bailed him out on some important points. He has made fewer errors as compared to his opponent and that helped him in defeating the Polish powerhouse last evening. The road to the semis has been rather easier for him till now and it looks like a “Fedal clash” is just a day away.

Benoit Paire

Benoit Paire, is one of the fastest rising stars in ATP circuit. He is currently ranked No.36 in the world and has had his success against some top players like Marin Cilic and Julien Benneteau, to name a few. His biggest victory came two days ago in the ongoing Rome Masters when he outclassed the world No.7, Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets 6-4 7-6. That triumph over a top 10 player gives us a clear indication that he is not the one who can be taken lightly. He had a terrific start to this season when he reached the semifinals of ATP Chennai open by defeating the Croatian Marin Cilic. Since then, he has started performing steadily which should do his confidence a world of good going into today’s match against Roger Federer. He has streamrolled Marcel Granollers in yesterday’s quarterfinal match 6-1 6-0 and has therefore become the first man to reach Rome’s semifinal this year. It remains to be seen how he handles himself against the great Roger Federer today.

Head to Head

So far, Federer and Paire have played each other twice and no prizes for guessing – it was the Swiss Maestro who came on top on both occasions. However, this is the first time they are going to meet on clay. Incidentally, clay is the favoured surface for the Frenchman and so an upset cannot be ruled out totally today.

Who holds the advantage?

The lethal double handed backhand of Benoit can provide some hard times for the World No.3 Swiss but the latter has enough weapons in his repertoire to deny an upset. If Federer serves work as well as it did yesterday, except for a minor blip which we saw in the opening game of the second set, he would not find any problem in prevailing over his French opponent. Federer seems to be well organized in his movement on the baseline so far and his shots are finding the line as he wanted. It will not be an easier task for Paire who is playing his first masters semis.

Right from the start of the tournament this year, the Madrid clay has been producing many upsets – none bigger than the eviction of the tournament favourite and World No.1, Novak Djokovic, made possible by an impressive performance by the next big thing in tennis, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. The much anticipated Serb vs Spaniard showdown in the final has thus been laid to rest, leaving passionate tennis fans all around the world stunned. The disappointment did not end there as we saw another shocker couple of days ago when the defending champion, Roger Federer, was shown the door in the third round of the tournament when he was dismissed in three sets by Kei Nishikori.

In the midst of all these unbelievable upsets, as undeterred as he has always been on clay, Rafael Nadal has made it to his third successive clay court final this year. Interestingly, this will also be his seventh straight final appearance since his return from a seven-month long injury lay off. Everything seems to be going the Spaniard’s way at the moment and he looks to be the overwhelming favourite to win this year’s tournament with his arch rivals Djokovic and Federer already out of the way.

The two-time Madrid open champion, who last won his title here in 2010 when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets, is all set to meet the country man of the Swiss Maestro, Stanislas Wawrinka, in today’s final. It is always great to see someone making it to the final by defying all odds and the 15th ranked player in the world has done just that. Having done all the hard work which has kept him alive all throughout the tournament till now, he is left to overcome the tournament’s biggest challenge in order to claim the first ever Masters title of his career.

It is surely not going to be an easy job for Stan, who is yet to register a victory against the Spanish Armada, having lost all his previous eight encounters to him. He has to be on his toes throughout the match and has to play out of his skin if he is to cause an upset today. No one expects him to surprise the Spaniard, who is playing on his most preferred surface. But at the same time, the Swiss should have no reason to feel completely let down by the commanding presence of the clay court king on the other side of the net simply because it was only last week he managed to pull off an improbable victory against a certain Spanish Bull, David Ferrer, in the Portugal open. If anything, that triumph should serve as a motivating factor for the Swiss, going into today’s final.

He has 20 wins to show against 8 losses this year so far. One of those defeats came against the current World No.1, Novak Djokovic, in the fourth round of the Australian open which, by no means, can be called a disgrace. He pushed the Serb to the limit during that match, only to lose the contest by a whisker in the final set, 12-10. That match perfectly exemplified the fighting spirit of Stan who managed to stay till the end against his top seeded opponent, before the latter brought his experience and mental toughness to his rescue.

So, this year has been quite a good one so far for the man who has always been living under the shadow of Roger Federer. The 28-year-old has proved to the whole world that he cannot be taken lightly anymore and he has it in him the required weapons to beat any top ranked player in his own den. In fact, no one can doubt his talent. His one-handed backhand is one of the best shots in the world and has been acknowledged as such by former tennis great John McEnroe. So, talent wise, no doubt he is right up there with most of the players who are ranked above him.

Pitted against powerhouses like Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Tomas Berdych, he showed great temperament and class in prevailing over them in the quarter finals and semi finals respectively here in the Madrid Masters. He started off in style by breaking Berdych in the opening game of the first set yesterday with ease. The next set belonged to the Czech who went on to take the lead in the third and final set, 3-1, with a break up. However, the 2008 Beijing doubles champion made a superb comeback, eventually winning the set 6-4. Undoubtedly, he seems to have developed the fortitude to fight till the end.

On the other hand, Rafa is much ahead of anyone in terms of mental toughness, leave alone Wawrinka. He has not been taught to quit since his childhood. Those who have read his autobiography would be aware of the kind of training and ordeal which he was put through by his uncle, Toni Nadal. Having learned to keep the balls in play as far as possible during long rallies, he developed a game perfectly suited for clay courts. So, he has been almost invincible while playing on red dirt. Ever since his comeback, he has won four titles, the maximum by anyone this year – three of which have come on clay. He looks totally unstoppable as of now and so the situation does not augur well for the Swiss.

The southpaw is more determined and motivated to improve his ranking which is pretty much evident from the way he came back after a minor blip in the first set against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals couple of days ago. Having finished off the final set against his compatriot with a bagel, he started his semifinal match against the wild card entrant, Pablos Andujar, with another bagel. When Rafa is in such lethal form, it is impossible for anyone to beat him, especially if the surface happens to be clay.

It is important for Wawrinka to attack the Spaniard right from the word go. He has to use various shots in his repertoire, combining them well, if he is to break the defense of the seven-time French Open champion. The Swiss has always claimed that his favourite surface is clay though he has fared much better on harder courts. So, it is time for us to find out how good he is on clay. Besides, he can gain confidence from the fact that his opponent’s record has not been as impressive in Madrid as it has been on other clay courts like Monte Carlo and Rome.

Given the scenario and the form which he is in, it is not advisable to overlook completely the chances of the 15th ranked Swiss to win the title. However, a victory here is more important for Rafa to add some more points to enhance his ranking before the French Open starts and so he would do everything possible to take his 55th career title. All said and done, I can assure you that the match is not going to yield a result in straight sets, whosoever happens to win it.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win his 23rd Masters title in three sets.

Displaying a clinical performance during last year’s IPL final against the then two-time defending champions Chennai Super Kings, King Khan’s Knight Riders finally managed to lift the trophy for the first time in five attempts. Though the team had been sporting a champion’s look right from the inception of IPL, they did not even reach the semifinal stage till the 2011 edition. So, it was a great effort on the whole by the entire squad which was successful in breaking the long lasting jinx last year.

Though they struggled as a team in the first four seasons, it was in fact their resounding victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore by 140 runs in the first ever IPL match that ultimately set the ball rolling for the cricket’s greatest extravaganza to write an unassailable script for the future. Aided by Brendon Mccullum’s 158 runs off just 73 balls, Knight Riders gave a devastating pounding to Dr. Mallya’s men, bundling them out for just 82 runs. That knock from the New Zealander remained as the highest individual score in all IPLs until a couple of weeks back when it was obliterated by a certain Chris Gayle, batting against a mediocre bowling attack of Pune Warriors India.

In spite of having such an explosive batsman in their squad, it is indeed pathetic to note that he has been overlooked by the team management totally in this year’s IPL. Agreed he had a hamstring injury to start with at the onset of this year’s event, but the sad part is he has been ignored even after he seemed to have recovered from it. By the time he got an opportunity to play for KKR during the last week of April against last year’s losing finalists, Super Kings, his team was already down in the dumps from which recovery had become almost impossible. He was made to spend his time in the dugout all throughout this season and has also been granted an earlier release by his team management. The situation has been no different in the case of Brett Lee too, who has also been not given a regular slot in the team, something that he thoroughly deserves. He has been in and out of the playing XI despite the fact that he started off this IPL by bowling out Unmukt Chand with the very first delivery of the event.

Instead, they have chosen to persevere with the South African all rounder Jacques Kallis. It must be said he is one lucky guy as he is managing to remain in the playing XI despite some ordinary performances with the bat. Critics may still argue that he has been quite effective with the ball, though he owns a modest average of 20.41 with the bat till date, striking at a rate of just over 100 which is unacceptable for a top order batsman. Whoever comes up with such an argument in favour of the South African should understand that he is more of a batting all rounder and so he is expected to contribute more with the willow than with the ball. IPL may have its Narines, Malingas and Steyns but make no mistake about it – T20 is after all a “batsman’s game” and so it is essential for a team contingent to have more players who can swing their bat in a hurry.

But in Kallis’ case, it is very much evident that he has fallen short in this area. He might have taken 13 wickets so far, having played in as many number of games, but that should not influence his presence in the side. Had Brett Lee been used regularly instead of giving him an extended run, not only would he have made a difference by taking more wickets than what the South African has got until now, but also amassed quick-fire 20s and 30s at the end of the innings, which would have benefited his side.

In T20 cricket, where every run is valuable, it is no shame if you are able to score only 20s and 30s, but the real problem with Kallis has been the pace at which he scores them. Little cameos could make a huge difference for a team and that is not something with which you could associate the veteran from Cape Town. He has been consuming not only more balls, but he also gets out when he finally decides to accelerate the flow of runs.

As far as his cricketing abilities as an all rounder are concerned, no one can question his brilliance. While some rate him next only to Sir Garfield Sobers as an all rounder, there are a few who consider him better than the legend from Barbados. He deserves all the accolades for his contribution to cricket on the whole but at the same time he is just not the player who you should be desperate to have if you are the owner of a particular franchise.

The shots that he plays do not seem to be quite connecting with the demands of the shortest version of the game. His favourite shots have been the cover drives on the up, square cut and the little flick off his pads. Those are proper cricketing shots and are not tailor-made for T20s. It is good to possess such elegant shots which are wonderful to watch. In addition to that, as a T20 batsman, you are required to improvise a bit and play some risk taking ones too. We do not often see him doing that, do we?

Leave alone the improvisation part, he has not been showing any signs of aggression too. Seldom have we seen him coming down the wickets to the spinners and very rarely have we witnessed him attempting to pull the bowlers or hoisting them over square leg and mid wicket. As a top order batsman, you are expected to the pace the innings quickly by utilizing the fielding restrictions to the maximum – making it easier for the batsmen to follow. The South African has failed in that area also. Having Kallis in a T20 side is alright if you are able to restrict your opponents under 140, which is not something you can do regularly. But KKR, it seems, have not done their homework right and have played him in all the 13 matches till now and the result is clear. They are officially out of the IPL.

It is sad to note that the fourth highest run getter in Tests has now become a liability for the team. The 37-year-old is not getting any younger either and I must say KKR would be sincerely looking to disown him for the next season – a move which should pay off big time for them, if they do it eventually.

When Roger Federer begins his title defense at Madrid come Wednesday, the 2012 champion would be left wondering if he did win a tournament here last May, judging by the colour of the clay. It was just last year that the court was tested with blue coating, a move proposed by Ion Tiriac – the owner of Madrid event – and has been immediately brought back to its original look this season, following players’ refusal to vouch for their participation. Most of the players, including Djokovic and Nadal, were complaining about the slippery nature of the blue clay which could pose serious injury threats to them. In the end, Tirioc had to accede to the appeals of the players by providing them with the red dirt all over again.

That was a surprise contention by the players because it was told that the surface was made up of the same components with which they used to prepare the normal red clay. In fact, better visibility of the balls for the TV viewers was cited as the prime reason behind the change. If that was the case, then what prompted the players to protest against this innovation? May be the tour organizers chose to hide a few facts with regards to the blue clay and that could be a reason why players were enraged at being asked to play on a surface which did not look convenient to them. All said and done, the Masters event was successfully completed for the first time on blue clay and, more importantly, no one was injured in the process.

Tennis is a very physically demanding sport and hence injury troubles should be viewed as part and parcel of the game. No matter how hard you have trained, it is extremely difficult to ensure an injury-free career considering the busy nature of the tennis calendar which extends beyond 10 months every year. So, just a week long outing on blue clay should not be construed as a serious threat to a star’s career. They are professionals, after all, who should learn to adjust themselves to unfriendly circumstances.

So, should we blame the players for the failure of the trial version brought in last year? Should we say that the players have over-reacted by expressing their unhappiness on the playing surface too soon? To be honest, the players have every right to choose what surface they should be playing on and it is wrong to thrust something upon them.

Most of the clay courts are made of red colour, constructed by crushed bricks. Traditionally, all the clay court Masters plus the French Open at Roland Garros have been played only on the red soil – till last year of course, when the courts in Madrid were painted blue. There also green clay courts (American Clay) which we have been seeing regularly in a WTA event called Family Circle cup. If you have been following US Men’s clay court championships, then you would have seen the maroon-coloured surface  too. So, when there are so many varieties of coloured clay courts, accepted by the players of both the sexes, it needs to be addressed why blue clay alone was forced to be withdrawn just one year after its implementation and why the players were not interested in taking it forward.

When you try finding out the reason for the flop show of blue clay, you would become absolutely sure that the players were not at fault at all. The problem occurred only due to the high-handedness of the ATP and also, to an extent, due to the hastiness of the tour owner who implemented the change quite hurriedly. The changes had been brought forth by them without properly consulting the players and that led to the whole debacle, to be precise.

Even before the commencement of the Madrid Masters on blue clay, both Djokovic and Nadal had their doubts with regards to the newly laid surface. Nadal expressed his dissatisfaction about this then unknown territory and was quoted saying, “There can’t be too much difference between Madrid and Rome.”

The Masters at Madrid and Rome have been played one after the other and so the Spaniard did not like the idea of turning up on two different surfaces in the space of couple of weeks. The current world No.1, Novak Djokovic, was even more vocal and pointed fingers at the ATP for not listening to the players on such critical issues, though he agreed that changes were needed to make the game more interesting.

This is what he had to say, “As far as I know, most of the top players I talked to, nobody agreed. I never played on blue clay. Rafa didn’t. Roger (Federer) didn’t. If you don’t have the top players agreeing on that, it doesn’t make sense for me really,” Djokovic said.

He further said, “It’s going to be interesting to step on the blue clay obviously. I’m not blaming them … But definitely there is a certain rule within the ATP that the president is able to make decisions by himself without having players agree to that.” He finished saying, “That rule has to be changed because it’s not fair.”

Novak was spot-on when he said that the players were taken for granted and were not properly heard.

Was it right on the part of ATP, or for that matter WTA, to forgo the interests of the players before taking such a stand? This was where, I believe, the organizers missed a trick or two. Had they gained the confidence of the players before disclosing the facts about the surface, the blue clay would have been a big success and would have continued even this year too. No one is or was against innovation. And why would they be anyway? All innovations are going to spark the interests of the players and also the audience. Only when there are mis-communications and non disclosure of facts do the innovations and inventions turn hostile.

Even though that it did not go down well with the players, “Blue Clay” was loved by most of the spectators. The oddity of the surface increased the eagerness of the fans and the look of the colour had them spell-bound. Had the surface been corrected – regardless of the colour – in consensus with the players – this Masters event would have become a bigger hit in the tennis calendar in the future.

The Indians who were regulars in the playing XI of that year were prolific run getters too. There was a pocket sized dynamo called Asnodkar who used to open with Greame Smith, resembling the yesteryear player of Sri Lanka, Romesh Kaluwitharana – in every aspect of aggressive stroke making. Then there was a left arm quickie called Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan who was more than a useful bowling all rounder. Unfortunately, Pakistan cricketers have been banned to play in the IPL ever since. And above all, they had the intimidating presence of “red hot” Yousuf Pathan in their ranks, who used to whack any bowling attack at will. The list did not end with it though. A young and reliable Ravindra Jadeja also played his part in the first edition of IPL for Rajasthan Royals.

With all these big names under one roof, Rajasthan was easily the sturdiest of all teams which had competed in IPL’s first edition. From thereon, the team was deprived of the services of most of their IPL winning heroes in the following seasons, which led to the team’s overall debacle. Starting as an underdog in the ongoing Pepsi IPL, Rahul Dravid’s team has been placed currently in the third position in the overall standings, with a very good chance of making it to the play-off stages. In fact, they are tied with Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are placed second, in terms of number of points – although the latter have played one match extra till now. Just two or three wins from here on would ensure them a place in the play-offs and I must be supremely pessimistic to doubt their qualification in the last four, given the way they are playing now.

Here are the top five reasons why I feel Rajasthan Royals can become the champions for the second time in IPL.

1. James Faulkner

Ever since Warne’s wizardry as a leg spinner receded, Royals were found wanting in the bowling department. And since his exit, the team has become a very weak bowling side. They wanted someone in their ranks who could be a strike bowler for them. For the last four seasons, this has been the case. They tried Shaun Tait, who they thought would make the batsmen dance to his tunes but, quite often, he ended up gifting away runs for free by being very wayward. So, after careful introspection, they have brought in James Faulkner by buying him in the auction this year. The man from Down Under is proving to be a perfect replacement for Sohail Tanvir, who was representing the Royals as an all rounder in the first ever IPL. Tanvir was a pretty economical bowler and was also a very useful lower order batsman. Now, with the Tasmanian joining them in this season of the IPL, Dravid’s men seem to have found a match winner who is already holding a purple cup as on today. He would be a big contributor this year for the 2008 IPL champions during their remaining seven matches and play-offs.

2. Ajinkya Rahane is yet to fire

The role Swapnil Asnodkar was doing for Rajasthan in the first IPL has been taken over by Ajinkya Rahane since last year. He has been one of the great finds of last IPL 5 and was knocking on the doors of Indian team for quite some time now. As an aggressive opener, also possessing good technique, he was firing on all cylinders last year, leading his team all the way. But, somehow or the other, he is yet to find his touch as the tournament is in the halfway stage now. This, in fact, should prove beneficial for the Royals since they have been tasting success so far this season despite the fact that their prolific run getter is yet to fire. If Rahane also starts finding his form and succeeds in building strong opening partnerships, then Rajasthan can make a mockery of the other teams – both in setting and chasing targets.

3. The power house called Stuart Binny

Stuart Binny is no doubt a perfectly suited cricketer for the T20 format. He is an attacking batsman and has the ability to punish the bad balls by making them clear the boundary ropes. All said and done, he looked so rusty and circumspect last year that he, quite often, ended up being a victim by playing loose shots. This year, though, with enough experience under his belt, he seems to have gained a lot of confidence. He has not been playing false shots and just like Yosuf Pathan of 2008, the long handle is being used effectively by him. When the ball finds the middle of his bat, there are no boundaries in the world which can be considered as longer. If he continues the same way for the remainder of the tournament, he will provide a perfect platform for Hodge and co in the middle order to enhance the scoring rate.

4. Purple patch of Shane Watson

Last year, when Shane Watson joined the team in the middle of the tournament, it took quite a while for him to discover his touch and by the time he did, he found his side knocked out even before the play-offs. This year, though, the Australian all rounder has been here right from the start of the IPL. After a couple of matches, where he was a bit rusty initially, he has found his touch. He already has scored a hundred and remained not out in the very next match, with a score of 98. This only means he can become even more dangerous. A good start is always important in a T20 match and with this Australian at the top of the order, the scorers will be kept busy all the time.

5. Rahul Dravid’s presence as mentor and captain

This former Indian batting legend seems to have learnt a lot about captaining a T20 side, thanks to his predecessor Shane Warne. Being one of the most respected athletes on and off the field, he seems to have donned the role of the father figure for his team – to which he is also acting as a mentor. His captaincy has been pretty decent till now and with every victory he gets for his side from here on, his leadership qualities will only improve. As a batsman too, he has been excelling well, scoring not less than thirty most of the time. Plus, he has the services of some T20 specialists like Owais Shah and Brad Hodge, with the help of whom he can take the right decisions at the right time.

Rajasthan is gelling well as a team and is acting as a cohesive unit. They have found suitable replacements for all those players who they have lost subsequent to the 2008 triumph. Like I said before, just three more victories will assure them a place in the play-offs, and if they managed entering the last stage, they can surprise any team. Just like the first DLF IPL which was won by the Shane Warne led Royals, this first ever Pepsi IPL can go to the Rahul Dravid led Royals.

For long we have been hailing Australia’s Berdan Tomic and Canada’s Milos Raonic, and to some extent Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, as the players to whom the baton would be passed on once the players of the current era make their exit. The sad part is none of those three have shown any signs of upholding the excellence of the top 10 players of this era. If they are indeed the future stakeholders of men’s tennis, we should have seen a glimpse of their talents by now.

It looks like these three, or for that matter any other fresh talent in the ATP world right now, will come to the forefront only when all the players, who are right now ranked inside the top ten, decide to quit the game. Leave alone Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – players who are are hard to replace, even competing against the lesser guys who do not have even a Masters title to their credit is proving too much for the next generation. This is a bitter truth which needs to be agreed with.

So, what does the situation say about the future of men’s singles? Lawn tennis is a physically demanding sport where players over 30 years of age seldom make merry. It seems to be no different in Federer’s case too as he is left to struggle against the players who are younger than him by five to six years. The same situation will hold good for Nadal, Djoker and Murray too when they reach the age of 30. So, going by the trend, I would rather stop watching ATP events totally since they would have gone insipid by then due to lack of flair and competition.

If you take some of the top professionals – both retired and current  - into account, you would understand why the future of men’s tennis looks very bleak. When the Greek-American, Pete Sampras, won his first Grand Slam in 1990 in New York, he was just 19 and same was the case with Rafael Nadal who was of the same age when he began his romantic affair with Roland Garros. Likewise, the Swiss Maestro Roger Federer was also 19 years of age when he stopped Sampras’ reign at Wimbledon. They went on to become great players of their respective eras, after starting strongly and early.

All the three so-called brightest prospects – Tomic, Raonic and Dimitrov – have crossed their teens already. Yet they are not able to come up with one big win which would boost their respective careers. Losing is not a big deal as no one is invincible. If there is competition between two people, there has to be a loser. But the way the youngsters are facing defeats regularly in the early stages of any event, it leaves very little hope for the future to witness breathtaking tennis. Losses in the preliminary stages of the tournaments, including the opening rounds, have almost become a regular event for these players.

Just three days back in Barcelona, the Australian Tomic was handed a defeat in the second round by Juan Monaco which included a first set bagel. He has been tasting such humiliating defeats against top 20 players for quite a while now. Ranked 46 in the world, the way the things are going for him, it would take a miracle for him to break into top 10. But for the hype generated on account of  his matches against Roger Federer in the last two Australian Opens, his name would have remained unknown to a normal tennis fan even now.

Compared to him, it must be admitted that Raonic has been faring better. So much so that he is ranked no.13 in the world as of now. The only thing which seems to be working well for him has been his thunderous serve, well complimented by powerful forehands. Otherwise, his slow movements on the courts and erroneous backhands, coupled with bad footwork, seem to be taking him nowhere. He too is waiting for his turn for long to make a big impact.

On the whole, the abilities of the top ranked players in men’s tennis look to be much better than those of the future set of players who have just touched their twenties. I can’t help thinking if we have seen already the ultimate talents in tennis in the form of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic which cannot be battered or bettered by anyone. If that is the case, then would we be satisfied upon seeing the other guys make an impact after the retirements of the stalwarts? Let Tomic or Raonic win multiple Grand Slams and overhaul all the existing tennis records. Even then, we would always be left wondering – had the seniors been there, would they have achieved so much?

So, here is a conscious decision that I am going to take. While the future of ATP is looking down the barrel, the women’s tennis is progressing quite well. The WTA seems to have come up with so many young girls who are making amends quite early in their career. Most of them are beginning to look like championship material already. I firmly believe it is WTA and not ATP which will gain momentum and will provide us with many exhilarating contests in the next ten years or so. I will be switching over to watching WTA more closely than ever before once tennis is deprived of the multiple Grand Slam holders of men’s tennis today. The golden era of women’s tennis is going to return soon.

Djokovic vs Nadal: Who will come out on top?

Barring Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, the rest of the top 10 had a horrific outing in the ongoing Monte Carlo masters with stalwarts like Murray, Del Potro and Berdych making their exit before the quarters. Amidst the disappointment of the defeats of seeded players who were expected to do well, it was a welcome sight to see two of the best clay-courters making it to today’s final.

Since several questions were raised regarding Djokovic’s fitness level prior to the start of the tournament, we were left wondering if we would be able to witness the much-anticipated clash between him and the emperor of clay courts – Rafael Nadal. But it is official now. The world No.1 Serb is all set to take on the Spaniard, who is currently placed at No.5 in the ATP rankings. For the second time in two years, the arch-rivals are going to lock horns, thereby promising a blockbuster of a final today. Last year though, it was a fairly one-sided contest, as the Serb succumbed to the southpaw rather meekly. Back then, unable to match his Spanish rival, Djoker could not give us the contest we were hoping for.

The Masters event started rather badly for Nole, who dropped the opening set in the first two rounds against Youzhny and Monaco respectively. However, he came out unscathed, winning his last two matches in straight sets. So, it is quite clear that the Serb has overcome his ankle problems and is in the right shape to compete in the final.

Rafael Nadal, the eight-time defending champion, began his quest for the ninth title by demolishing his compatriots without losing a set. However, his streak was almost snapped a couple of days ago, when his quarter final opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, threatened to hand the Spaniard his first defeat in nine years. No one expected the Bulgarian, better known as “Baby Federer”, to put up any sort of fight against the Spaniard. However, the former surprised everyone by taking the match to the third set. Nadal, with all his experience, somehow managed to prevail in the third and final set. Yesterday’s semifinal was not any easier for the King of Clay. Jo Wilfred Tsonga was trailing 1-5 in the second set and was down in the dumps. It was then that the 26-year-old Spaniard looked out of touch for a moment, and the Frenchman capitalized. The match went into the tie-breaker as a result; and though the match was over in straight sets, it ended as a closely fought one between the two.

While Novak struggled in the earlier rounds, Rafa had to deal with his own struggles at the later stages of the tournament. So, does that mean the Serb has an advantage over the Spaniard? Well, if the match was going to happen on a hard court, perhaps. But unfortunately for the world no.1, this happens to be the clay court season and his opponent in the final is without doubt the greatest clay-courter of all time. Therefore, irrespective of how he has performed in the earlier rounds, Nadal is always going to be the favourite to win the championship for ninth straight time.

Today’s final is the third meeting between the two in Monte Carlo. No prizes for guessing as to who won the first two. Rafael Nadal is undefeated for the last nine years in this surface. This year though, Novak Djokovic looks to be more determined to do well on clay. The fact that he made up his mind to participate in the tournament despite not being fully fit speaks volumes of his determination to get this title under his belt. The Serb has moulded well as a clay-courter in the last couple of years and his clay court record in the last two years has been phenomenal. Out of the five finals which he has contested – all against Rafa – he has won two and lost three. So, it is hard to overlook the Serb’s prowess on clay courts, which seems to be improving every day.

Nadal, since his return from the six month layoff, has been in the finals on four occasions, winning three of them including a Masters title at Indian Wells. His forehand seems to have improved, which makes him a much more dangerous contender than before. Djoker’s plot will be to attack Rafa’s backhand consistently by taking the ball early. He has to frustrate the Spaniard by feeding into his weaker side on a regular basis, hoping that he can force errors out of him. He has to play a waiting game and hope that his opponent makes mistakes. But Nadal is called the “King of Clay” for a reason. He has become more attacking nowadays, and seems to be in better touch as compared to last year. Except for a minor blip against Zeballos on his return from injury, he seems to be faring pretty well. He is the man to beat this year; not just on clay, but on all surfaces. I would be very surprised if Novak can dethrone the Emperor of Clay today.

Prediction: Nadal wins in straight sets.

Tragedy struck Novak Djokovic, as he was gearing up and playing fairly well up until the round of 16 of last year’s Monte Carlo Masters, when he learnt that his beloved grandfather had breathed his last. This year though, he is left to confront another ordeal in the form of an injured ankle which initially declared him a doubtful starter for the tournament. However, shrugging off his physical condition, the world No.1 Serb has still decided to make himself available for the first clay court event starting today. Taking chances despite injury to contest in a tournament is not something a physician would normally recommend. But all said and done, Novak, it seems, has made up his mind to go ahead with it.

So the duel is all set to begin. He is ready to lock horns with the greatest clay courter in the world today, against whom he has a losing head to head record of 2-3 in the last two years on red soil. While Novak demolished him in both Rome and Madrid in 2011, Rafa returned the favour by acquiring a hat-trick of victories over the former in 2012, destroying him in Monte Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros. There is very little to choose between the two this year, considering their performances in the recent past. Although, with regards to experience, the clay court king will still have a slight edge over the current world no.1 player.

The fact that Djoker may not be 100% percent fit going into the beginning of the clay court season, does not augur well for the high octane clash. However, over the period of time, if both turn out to be totally fit, then the intensity of the contest involving the two is sure to yield epic proportions on the clay courts. Nadal is the reigning champion in Monte Carlo, having won it eight times in a row and is also the defending French Open champion, aiming to clinch the title for a record eighth time. When one takes the Spaniard’s records on clay as the benchmark, no one has achieved even five percent of his accomplishments. So, it would be unrealistic on our part to term Novak as the arch rival of the ‘Spanish Armada’ on clay yet. But at the same time it needs to be admitted that he is the only one who looks likely to hand him a defeat on clay courts, especially at Roland Garros.

When Nadal was so impeccable last year, reaching the final of the French Open without dropping a set, it was only Nole who was able to take him on and, in fact, was able to win seven games in a row in the process, before the rain gods played spoilsport. Therefore, there are a few fans of the Serb who still opine that had it not been for the showers, the result would have gone the other way. Likewise, there are others who believe that if the Serb was not beaten by Roger Federer in the semifinals of 2011 Roland Garros, Nadal would not have captured his sixth title in Paris.

Now those were just the presumptions. The fact of the matter is that Novak is yet to be crowned a champion at the French Open. But, like I said before, he is the only one who can give a tough fight to the seven times champion of Paris. Both of them are very fleet-footed when it comes to moving on the courts; both are extremely strong mentally; both use their muscles to good effect; both are gifted with amazing stamina. On the whole, it can be viewed as the battle among equals which makes sports viewing rather interesting. No one would like to see the contests which are sure to yield predictable results. Unless you are a die-hard fan of the Undertaker, you would not like to see a story line always assuring “The Dead Man” of a victory in Wrestle Mania year after year, would you? Every cricket fan in the world would love to see India taking on Pakistan; but would he or she be able to watch an Ind-Zimbabwe match with the same interest?

Sports are fascinating to our eyes only when two people of equal strengths fight with each other. Back in the 70s, the bouts between Ali and Frazier always captured the imagination. We loved the way both exchanged punches with unrelenting resolve. It was always difficult to choose between the two. That’s the sort of rivalry we wish to see in sports. The Djoker – Rafa rivalry is developing into one of those kinds.

So, as the clay court season looks set to begin, it is hard to think beyond these two contesting in the finals of all the tournaments. Perhaps, as it looks now, the draw of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters seems to favour Rafa more. The Spanish Matador should not find it tough to demolish his opponents en route to the final, whereas the world no.1 may have to deal with realistic contenders like his Indian Wells conqueror, Juan Martin Del Potro, before booking a date with the former. Since Nole does not look to be totally fit, the eight-time champion may add one more to his tally comfortably, with due respect to the other guys in the tour.

From Madrid, the competition between the two has the potential to become even more interesting. Unlike last time, the colour of the soil is back to what it was until 2011 and so both Rafa and Nole, who were eliminated quite surprisingly last year, will have loads of things to prove. It could be anyone’s ball game there and since the court may be a bit faster in Madrid, Novak would be having an equal chance of winning on it.

When the ATP Masters move to Rome, whoever wins it would be perfectly motivated to take the French Open title in Paris since the surfaces would be more or less similar in both the places. The rivalry would be at its peak when the clay court Grand Slam starts. The Federers and Del Potros also would be interested in making an impact but they are definitely not going to be labelled as favourites, as it stands now. The time for fire works is just a month away and if both Nole and Nadal are going to be at their best, we would be enjoying some mouth watering rallies.

You were already a four-time grand slam champion at the start of French Open 2005 when Rafael Nadal was just an up and coming star. Unlucky to have been eliminated very early during the previous year’s event at Roland Garros, I was quite confident that you would be back with a vengeance sealing a career grand slam for yourself this time. It was then I first came to know of the Spanish Armada who was making quite a progress in the tournament, prevailing over everyone with ease in the earlier rounds.

Roger Federer holds the winner’s trophy after winning his Gentlemen’s Singles final against Andy Murray on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships (Getty Images)

When it was all set that you would be taking on the Spaniard in one of the semi-finals match, I started to become a bit apprehensive. The Southpaw I thought, had the ability to beat you following his emphatic showing in both the Monte -Carlo and Rome Masters that year. As I was beginning to worry more, I happened to come across a remark made by Juan Carlo Ferrero in one of the newspapers here in India, which read, “If Rafael Nadal is a superman, then what do you call Roger Federer?” That statement made by the former French Open champion, restored my faith. I was totally convinced that you would make it to your first ever French open final, stream-rolling past your semi-final opponent.

My hopes were soon shattered with Nadal’s clay court prowess eventually proving too much for you to handle, as you were denied entry into the final. Since then, you contested in three straight French open finals against your nemesis Nadal, the last of which was in 2008. In fact he made 2008 an unforgettable year for you, literally demolishing you in straight sets – even inflicting a bagel on you in one of them. More so, in the month to follow, he trounced you on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where you had been the defending champion for five years in a row. Not only you were humiliated on the red clay of Roland Garros but also you were made to lose on grass, which is supposed to be your favourite surface. You even went on to lose the following year’s Australian Open, which was played on slower hard courts. So, you lost to him on almost on all the surfaces of the grand slam majors, barring US open.

As a fan, how much more abasement should I need to face? Nadal dominated you almost everywhere with the lone exception of Wimbledon where you still hold a 2-1 winning record against him. Of course I was mightily pleased when you finally won your elusive maiden grand slam title in France, defeating Robin Soderling in straight sets. You also completed the much needed career grand slam. But frankly, I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be when you won in Paris in 2009. You did emerge victorious no doubt but that triumph hardly mattered to me since the win did not come against a man who had been taming you for very long in the clay courts of Roland Garros. In fact, till date you are yet to taste a success against him in the only grand slam, which is played on clay.

Roger Federer feels the pressure during the Men’s Singles Final against Rafael Nadal on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 8, 2008 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

Out of the five meetings you had with him, four of which were in the finals, you were totally outclassed by the 27-year-old, current world No.5. There could be only two reasons for your repeated failures against him. It may just be a mental block which has been preventing you to score a victory against him in Roland Garros or perhaps he is much better than you as a player when the surface is red. Your grand slam record against him looks awfully bad primarily because of the defeats suffered in Paris. As much as I love hailing you as the Greatest of All Time, I prefer to keep such adulations low key simply because you are yet to show the whole world that you can beat him in the French open.

I am a very proud fan. You have almost won every big title in the industry, with Monte Carlo and Rome being the lone exceptions. You may even win another Wimbledon this year, setting an unprecedented record of capturing eight titles there. But then, whatever records you are going to set from hereon will serve no purpose, if you depart from tennis eventually without vanquishing the lion in its own den. I still remember what your good friend Tiger Woods had to say when you surpassed Sampras’ record tally of 14 majors. He said when Nadal was not there you were the best clay courter in the world. Though his words sounded more like an eulogy, the fact remains that you are considered second to someone in a certain situation. As your fan, I can hardly digest it. Just a fortnight ago, I told a like-minded friend that I would love to see you squaring off against Rafa in the quarterfinal stages of the French Open. You know what his immediate reply was? He warned me to be careful before making any such wishes. As a man, who was a bit more practical than me, he was absolutely certain you were not going to make it to the next stage if you are up against the Spaniard on clay. I can’t blame him for that. Can I? The record speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

Roger Federer (L) and Rafael Nadalwith their trophies after the Men’s Singles Final on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 8, 2008 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

So Roger, here is my wish. And this, I’m sure is what millions of fans are also waiting to see. Just one last time, believe in yourself and beat Rafa if you get to meet him in the French open. Both of you may even be drawn in the same half, which means you would be facing him well before the finals. It is not that you have to defeat him in the finals only. You have to do it, wherever the confrontation occurs. If you could do it, we fans wouldn’t mind if you eventually end up losing the French open to someone else in the final. We have been carrying scars of failure for close to a decade and only you can try healing them. It is all in your hands. Please give us a moment to cherish which would linger in our minds forever. We are all there for you Roger.

From a loyal fan.

It has been almost a week now since Andy Murray triumphed at the Sony Open, capturing only his second title of the year. Yet the brutality and intensity that were on display during the course of the final simply refuse to vacate my memory. This baseline slugfest was not something new or unique. For more than a decade or so, since the exit of the great Pete Sampras, baseline camping has been a part and parcel of the game.

In another ten years, the game of tennis is sure to be deprived of two types of artistries – the one-handed backhand and the serve and volley game. As such, even now we hardly find any serve-and-volleyers in men’s tennis. In the women’s game though, this art perished long ago, after Jana Novotna left the scene. Though there are a few players, like Michael Llodra and Mardy Fish (to an extent), still banking on the ‘net approach game’ to survive in tennis, it is going out of fashion, thanks to the numerous baseliners thronging the game. So, tennis fans should expect to watch 20-plus-shots rallies, henceforth. The spectators on the tennis courts are sure to suffer from neck problems.

There is a prevailing thought among certain sections of tennis fans that long rallies are boring to watch. According to them, numerous exchanges from the baseline cannot be termed ‘good tennis’. I have listened to many Federer fans criticizing the likes of Nadal, Djokovic and Murray for their involvment in countless rallies, thereby prolonging the points. Frankly speaking, the players of the current era are helpless. It is difficult for them to do away with the baseline game. For, even a gifted player like Roger Federer, with all the shots in his repertoire, is forced to resort to the baseline game most of the times. So, it needs to be understood that the problem does not lie entirely with the tennis professionals. The core problem, if it has to be termed so, lies with the athletic ability and agility of the young tennis professionals. What can one do when the person at the other end of the court is so good at fetching and keeping the balls in play? No matter how skillful you are at finding angles from anywhere on the baseline, your opponent may still put the ball back in to your court, making you start the rally all over again.

Even if you try going up to the net to finish off the points, the players of the current era are fully equipped to score winners via  effective forehand or backhand passes. We all have seen how Pete Sampras, who is regarded as one of the best serve-and-volleyers the game has seen, was tamed repeatedly by Roger Federer who counter-punched the former’s net approach game by some astonishing passing shots, played off both his forehand and backhand, during their epic fourth round encounter in Wimbledon 2001. Even in the recent Miami final, which I was referring to at the beginning of this article, as much as Ferrer was working with the intention of proceeding to the net after cornering the Brit with his inside out forehands, he had to withdraw mid-way all the time because the fleet-footed Murray was equal to the task, as he fetched the balls earlier than expected.

That’s where Roger Federer, despite possessing one of the beautiful net approach games, too is made to struggle nowadays from the baseline when he is pitted against the other members of top 10. The nature of the game has changed as the players are prepared to run themselves ragged. The stats reflected this, when the distances run by Ferrer and Murray were displayed on the TV screens,  in the best of three sets Miami final. As time goes by, it is quite natural for any sport to attain its own shape based on the requirements of the generation. The current generation believes in doing things which were otherwise dismissed as impossible in the past.

What we see from the current bunch of players is the compulsive defensive game. They have no intention of indulging in meaningless exchanges, but the fact is that they are forced to. As the adage goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, they have no other choice but to churn out points from the baseline. This is the modern game and they have to live with it. They are not going to see the likes of McEnroes, Edbergs and Sampras’ any more. Such players, even if they do pop up, they too have to either resort to the baseline game or be content with leaving the tournaments without a trophy.

So, it is better for tennis fans to love what they see rather than aspiring for something which is not feasible. And really, is baseline tennis that boring? If it really led to boredom, then the game would have become unpopular by now. On the contrary, it is this era that has successfully generated a plethora of fans. In fact, the “Fedal” rivaly of this era is considered as the mother of all rivalries. The fans enjoy watching them play and yet it is puzzling to hear from them that they abhor slugfests. Is it not true that we get goose bumps upon witnessing a tennis marathon, with neither player prepared to concede points easily? We would be lying if we say we do not.

What is the fun in watching a game which showcases no resistance and fightbacks? It is the unyielding passion of the players which makes tennis a very fascinating sport to view. So, rather than harping about the age old traditions, we should now look forward to embracing the game as it is happening right now. The way I see it, baseline slugfests have become the saveur du jour of the tennis world already. The fact of the matter is that the baseline game is not at all boring and in many ways, is much better than the serve and volley routines of yesteryear.

The team of Royal Challengers Bangalore resembles the Indian cricket team of 90s in every sense, due to a striking similarity which binds the two. Just like the “Men in Blue”, who were totally dependent on Sachin Tendulkar for getting them past the victory line in almost all the matches, Dr. Mallya’s men seem to have their hopes rested entirely on the shoulders of Chris Gayle to have a feel of the IPL trophy, which has been eluding them for the last five seasons. Having scored 60% of his team’s total in the very first match of this year’s IPL against Mumbai Indians, the Jamaican batsman has once again proved to the whole world how badly the Virat Kohli led RCB require him to fire every time. One must wait and see how serious his injury is, which was caused by Harbhajan Singh’s collision as he was standing in the non-striker’s end. So important is his presence in the middle that even if he is half fit, the Bangalore team would still like to have him in the playing XI for their match against the Sunrisers.

If you take Gayle’s performance out of the equation, there was nothing to boast about the way the other batsmen have fared against Mumbai Indians, who, by the way, took the field without the “Toe Crusher” Lasith Malinga. This mediocre show by the top order players of RCB should give them very little hope as they prepare for their next big game due to be played in Hyderabad on Sunday. Against a team which comprises bowlers of the caliber of Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra, it is imperative for the RCB batsmen to be pull up their socks and ensure that the wickets are not lost in a hurry. Sunrisers have proved yet again, just like they did last year, that they are capable of defending any score with Steyn spearheading the attack. Leave alone others, even Gayle would be circumspect facing the South African, who, right now, is rated as the best fast bowler in the world.

The Royal Challengers did miss AB De Villiers in their first match against Mumbai as it was evident from the way their inexperienced middle order struggled after losing a couple of wickets. Dilshan, admittedly, was out bowled to a false shot and so were a few young Indian batsmen, including Mayank Agarwal, who left the field without disturbing the scorers much. RCB should right away include De Villiers in the playing XI which, I hope, they would. Last year, it was he who ripped his fellow countryman, Dale Steyn, apart with the help of some bizarre hitting, never seen before. Being the fellow South African, the expert of “Vilscoop” should ideally be preferred batting against Steyn, anyway. His presence could do wonders to the batting line up, which looked rather ordinary in the first game.

Again, if De Villiers is available, then who should he be replacing is the next big question to be answered. Well, if I were Kohli, I would not take even a split second to decide that. Daniel Christian had been a big liability for Deccan Chargers during IPL 5 last season and so it came as a real surprise to learn that Bangalore decided to have him in their squad this year. Very nearly, in fact, Kohli’s men paid the price for their mistake. That one over which he bowled to Dinesh Karthick turned the match in Mumbai’s favour altogether. As a result, the match, which Bangalore should have otherwise won very comfortably, went right down the wire, with the host team, thanks to Vinay Kumar’s efforts, pulling it off with a margin of just 2 runs. Therefore, if the South African batsman comes back for this match, he should be replacing Daniel Christian right away.

The Bangalore team can make one more change by bringing in seasoned campaigner Saurabh Tiwary into the team in lieu of Karun Nair. Tiwary is a powerful southpaw who has the potential to find boundaries at will. If one of the top three overseas batsmen fails to fire, then this Jharkhand cricketer may just be the man who could provide a proper backup.

The wickets in Hyderabad have always been slow and low where the ball may not come on to the bat. So, free flowing strikers like Gayle and Dilshan may not enjoy their stint playing there. They both should make a slow but steady start before cutting loose. If they are able to do that and see off the initial outbursts of Steyn, then tons of runs will be scored by the batsmen to follow. It would be interesting to see what decision Kohli takes if he wins the toss. Should Royal Challengers win it, they should be opting to bat first, because even a decent score like 140 to 150 will be hard for Sunrisers to chase down. But for their captain Sangakkara, the batting order looks totally fragile. Same way, Bangalore, in turn, may struggle chasing down decent scores, when pit against Steyn & Co. All said and done, it should be a good toss to lose.

From the bowling point of view, it would be better for Kohli to opt for Daniel Vettori instead of Muralitharan. Since Sangakkara has a fair idea of how to face the world record holder for most number of wickets in Tests and ODIs, Bangalore can just think of replacing him with Vettori, who can bat a bit too.

Strengths: Batting of Chris Gayle and De Villiers (should he play)
Weaknesses: Innocuous bowling attack, over dependence on Gayle.

RCB’s probable XI against Sun Risers Hyderabad:

Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli(C), AB De Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Arun Karthik (Wk), Murali Kartik, Jaidev Unadakt, Vinay Kumar and Daniel Vettori.

As the champions of the inaugural edition of IPL T20, Rajasthan Royals open up their campaign this year against Delhi Daredevils on the 6th of April, the role of the team’s big fish, Shane Watson, hasn’t been finalized yet. “Will he bowl or not?” looks to be the million dollar question which can only be answered by the Aussie all-rounder himself. As much as “Watto” is known for taking wickets in the shortest version of the game, he is also known for giving away runs and so, it cannot be termed a big loss altogether, if he does not bowl.

Even if Watson abstains from bowling, the team will still have the services of Kevon Cooper, a new find last year. Just when he was proving to be a worthy all-rounder for the Royals last year, he had to take an early flight home due to a grievous injury which he suffered while fielding. Rahul Dravid and his men would be hoping for him to stay fit throughout this season, and if he does well, he would be a regular member of this year’s playing XI. As long as he is able to take wickets, there will not be a need for any other overseas bowler in the team. Owais Shah and Brad Hodge are the other two foreign players who can give a strong look to the team by their explosive batting prowess.

Although Kevin Pietersen is out of the IPL this season, the Daredevils team looks to be a formidable batting line-up with Warner at the top, and Jayawardene to follow. It is quite natural for any opposition skipper to get intimidated upon seeing such dangerous batsmen take guard. So, Dravid may just think of bringing in strike bowlers like Shaun Tait to tighten the screws. To confront the sort of batsmen Delhi has, it would be ideal for the Royals captain to strengthen his own batting order rather than trying to get in bowlers who looked below par last year. Even though Tait is quick, he has the tendency to bowl no-balls, resulting in free hits. So it is better for the visiting team to have him seated on the bench, for the first few matches at least.

The Daredevils team has already earned the title of ‘chokers’ following their ordinary performances in the knockout stages of all IPL seasons. As the bulk of the scoring was done by Pietersen last year, his absence will, no doubt, be sorely felt. Without him in the middle order, Delhi has a big void to fill. So, psychologically, Rajasthan should feel they have a better chance to pull off an upset in their very first match, especially after seeing the way the Delhi batsmen crumbled against Knight Riders in their first match.

It is going to be a 4 pm start on Saturday and therefore, the dew factor is not expected to play a big role. So, the team batting second will not be holding any undue advantage in that sense as gripping the ball will be easy for the bowlers throughout the match. In one of the must win games for Rajasthan last year, where they batted second against Delhi, the pacers – Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav – literally schooled the young Ajinkya Rahane, preventing him from scoring the last few runs when it looked as though Dravid’s men were cruising towards victory. Royals, and more importantly Rahane, would be looking forward to turn the tables this year and kick start the season with a win.

The pitch at Kotla, going by history, will be a placid one – good enough for some pounding by the batsmen. With shorter boundaries at both sides of the wicket, we are in for a run feast. However, the bowling attack of the Daredevils sports a dangerous look. Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra are no ordinary bowlers to take guard against. To counter such a formidable bowling side, it is always advisable to have experienced players batting at the top. Ideally, it would be better for Dravid to accompany Rahane as the other opener. Watson and Menaria can bat at No.3 and No.4, leaving Hodge and Shah to have a stab at the middle overs. In any case, Rajasthan’s captain should opt to bat first and put some runs on the board if he wins the toss, rather than leaving his inexperienced young Indian batsmen to face the lethal quickies while chasing a stiff target.

Sreesanth, the lucky charm for India, can spearhead Rajasthan’s attack along with Siddharth Trivedi and Kevon Cooper. Also, they will have Ajit Chandila who took a hat-trick last year. They may not exactly be the sort of bowlers who could win you matches but this is where Dravid’s capabilities of marshalling his young troops will be tested. After all, it is a T20 game and the chances of getting wickets are aplenty.

Strengths: Experienced top order batsmen and Rahul Dravid’s captaincy.

Weaknesses: Fragile bowling attack and young Indian batsmen.

Rajasthan’s probable XI against Daredevils:

Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid (C), Shane Watson, Ashok Menaria, Owais Shah, Brad Hodge, Shreevats Goswami, Kevon Cooper, Ajit Chandila, Siddharth Trivedi and S Sreesanth

As another Test series has gone by, Sachin Tendulkar, it seems, has decided to keep the cricket world guessing. When he finally decided to step away from ODI cricket on December 23rd last year, it looked all the more obvious that he wanted to continue playing in the longer version of the game for at least a couple more years. So, all eyes were on the Little Master when the home series against Australia began with the first of the four Test matches scheduled to be played in Chennai, which was supposed to his favourite hunting ground.

With no propaganda of “Aane Do” slogan this time around, replaced by a much toned down “Asli Test abhi baaki hai”, India calmly decimated the Aussies, handing them a 4-0 drubbing, thereby clinically completing the revenge in reply to the humiliation suffered Down Under. The things have gone exactly as planned for India and the entire nation is delighted now barring a few, who solely focussed on Sachin’s performance. When every other top order batsman managed to score at least a ton in the four-Test series including Shikhar Dhawan, who made a dream debut, the Master Blaster again had to return empty handed. The only time he came close to reaching a hundred was during his first innings in Chennai where he was sadly dismissed 19 runs short of a century. Since then, the Mumbai batsman has failed to produce any innings of high significance. His last century for India in a Test match came in the new year of 2011 against South Africa and the three figure mark has been eluding him since.

By sweeping the series against the Australians, India’s younger brigade has proved to the entire world that they have the ability to compete at the international level, not relying solely on the batting prowess of old stalwarts. So, with Sehwag and Gambhir already out of the squad, the pressure will be too much on Sachin henceforth to retain his position in the team. Nonetheless, it is not going to be a walk in the park for the selectors to drop someone like the Mumbai batting genius who is rated next only to Sir Don Bradman by most of the cricketing experts. So, although the situation is still not as precarious as it sounds for Sachin Tendulkar, personally it will haunt him a lot – getting dismissed for cheap scores quite frequently.

With his God-like reputation at stake, how long can the man who would be turning 40 this April continue to struggle like a mere mortal? How long can he bear listening to his critics always calling for his head? Here is my take on what might be going through Sachin Tendulkar’s mind at this stage of his career, which needs quick introspection.

1. Have I delayed my retirement?

The other day when I was grilled about my possible retirement plans in a press conference – citing the views of some of the past cricketers – I shot back saying no one should decide anything on behalf of me. I came by myself and I would go only when I wanted. Back then, I was so confident of reinventing my form. Now, looking back, I feel I have probably done a mistake. I should have retired immediately after India won the World Cup. But the love for the game prevented me to pull out of something which I treasured so much, and there was that issue of the 100th ton too.

And not to forget, I had a brilliant year not long ago in 2010 and I also followed it up with two centuries in the 2011 World Cup. So, those things made me think that I had more cricket left in me. I failed to realise that the candles burn brighter when they are about to perish. “Father time” seems to be winning the battle right now. Had I announced my retirement then, I would have had the perfect farewell and that too in my hometown at the conclusion of the World Cup. I might have missed a trick there, leaving me to repent now.

2. Should I do it now?

Whatever has happened, has happened. I do not have a time-machine to go back and correct things. But all I can do now is to reassess my situation and decide accordingly. So, should I retire now? No, I should not be doing it. I can still add to the team’s cause and give my best out there, only a watershed knock is needed maybe.

But, for how long can I test the patience of my fans and more importantly, the selectors? If I decide to hang up my boots at this stage, then whatever efforts I have been putting in to regain my purple patch for the last two years, would become meaningless. I don’t want to make the same mistake that Dravid and Laxman did. I would , as I leave the field playing my last innings, want to leave the team on the back of a monumental win and huge applause. A home series after a win in an away series may be ideal, but India is not going to host a test series any time soon. It will take more than a year for that. Till that time, will I be able to sustain my play at the highest level?

3. Should I be doing it after South African series?

My last hundred in Tests came against South Africa and so I may still go at this year’s end, oozing with confidence, hopeful of scoring a big one. After all, almost all my team mates lack the experience of playing over there. “Law of Averages” can work in both ways. Probably South African tour may just be the one I was waiting for. After repeated failures for the last two years, I may just get back to form over there.

If that happens, I may get an unanimous support for an extended run to play for India. But, it is where I should be careful. I should not get carried away by my exploits, if everything works out fine in South Africa and try prolonging my career any further. Maybe that’s where I should view things pragmatically, considering my growing age, and call it a day, no matter whatever happens. Even if I flopped as a batsman, I should not change my mind. I should be retiring after the South African series. But, will I ever accept quitting the game without making a sound impact? It is easier said than done.

4. Should I leave it to the selectors?

Just like the on-field umpires who are bestowed with the job of ruling a batsman out or not out, it is ultimately the selectors’ job to ascertain if they require a particular player to represent a team or not. So far, if they have been persisting with me, it means that they still have some amount of belief left it me. As long as I am available and they keep on selecting me, I have every right to take the field, wielding my cricket willow. So, why should I ever think about saying goodbye to the game when there are people paid for taking a call on that? My job is to keep on playing and let the selectors take a decision on my future. They may also have their own reservations showing me the door even if I do not fare well. If they also do not drop me, the buck will be passed on to me again. So, when should I retire after all?

5. Should I fight it out for my fans?

I should be grateful to the fans who have been supporting me even in times of distress. Even when I underwent severe pain in my back and my career almost came to a standstill due to the ill effects of tennis elbow, my fans backed me to make a comeback. It is their blessings and wishes which guided me to do well for the last 24 years consistently. Many have even gone to the extent of saying they will stop watching cricket once I am done.

The game of cricket gave me bread and butter and I cannot think of orphaning it. I have my own responsibility of making this game bigger than what it is now. For that to happen, I should eradicate all my negative thoughts and focus on my game. Even if it requires 24 hours of relentless practice, so be it. I love this game and my fans. Till someone from the current Indian team reaches out to fans as much as I did, I should stay in the picture. It is my duty to offer moral support to my team mates. Reaching a level that I am right now in is not a joke and having done that, I have to deal with it. I should not run away from the current situation. I will fight it out and I will do everything possible to get back to my form. It is “over and out.”

Well, those were just my assumptions. Sachin may have his own views, which may differ from the one portrayed here. But one thing is for sure, the thoughts of retirement will be prodding his mind, having batted below par for the last couple of years. For the sake of cricket, I just hope Sachin gets back to his golden days where he used to pummel the bowling attacks at will. Like all fans, I am also eagerly looking forward to the South African tour, scheduled to start in November this year.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author and not Sachin Tendulkar himself.

M.S.Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, undoubtedly, has been the most consistent of all sides which have contested the DLF IPL thus far. Though they have never entered any of the IPL seasons as the favourites to claim the trophy, they have made things happen eventually. Can anyone forget the way Albie Morkel managed to snatch victory from the jaws of certain defeat in a must-win match against Royal Challengers Bangalore last year? Given the fact that CSK has performed so well in all the IPLs held thus far, it is difficult to overlook their chances going into this season too.

From the beginning, Super King’s management seems to be operating with the policy, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” As far as possible, they desist doing frequent chopping and changing as they prefer persisting with their squad more often than not. This, probably, is one of the reasons why they have been able to jell together as a cohesive unit and perform impeccably, day in and day out.

Now it is time for us to briefly analyse how this team has been lined up for this year’s IPL.

Blessings and blows:

Blessed with Dirk Nannes and Mike Hussey:

Talking of changes, this year they have come up with a very important change. No matter how good a team CSK has been all throughout DLF IPL, they had been widely criticized for the lack of incisiveness in their bowling attack. For that very reason, this Chennai-based team has lost most of their matches while failing to defend imposing targets which were otherwise defendable.

Dhoni’s bowling attack would have looked no different this year had they not roped in the Australian pacer, Dirk Nannes, in the auction. Having seen the way the southpaw had bowled before, when he played for Daredevils, Super Kings can hope for at least four good overs every match. He is also very much a wicket-taking bowler who has always been a miser when it comes to giving away runs. He should be considered as the biggest trump card for CSK for this year’s IPL.

The other good thing which has happened for Super Kings is the presence of Mike Hussey for the whole of the tournament. As Mr.Cricket has retired from international cricket, his availability for the entire IPL season is completely assured. Though a shaky starter, once he gets his eye in, he can be devastating to say the least. His commanding presence and experience can ignite a team already packed full of energy and passion.

A big blow in the form of du Plessis’ injury:

MSD and his men would not be amused knowing that they would be missing the services of Faf du Plessis for the first half of the season due to injury. Ever since he made his entry into the side, he has fit in well into the shoes of the destructive former opener Matthew Hayden. He fared pretty well during last year’s IPL before surrendering his opening role to the seasoned campaigner, Mike Hussey, upon his return from national duty. His aggression at the top of the order gave the much needed boost for the two-times champion and so his absence could hurt them a lot.

However, no matter whosoever is absent, they have a better bench strength of overseas and local players to take stock of the situation.

Players to watch out for:

Super Kings have so many match winning players with them. Here is the list of players to watch out for:

Murali Vijay

This Tamil Nadu batsman is in the form of his life. After cracking a faultless century against Mumbai in the Irani trophy, he soon followed it up with back-to-back centuries against the visiting Australian team. He is a very dangerous batsman for the opposition if he finds himself in ravishing form. No ground is big enough if he gets his willow do the talking. With Mike Hussey most likely to be his opening partner, he will be able to pace his innings pretty nicely.

Albie Morkel

This South African all-rounder just needs a couple of overs to change the game entirely on its head. This dashing southpaw bats very low down the order and yet he does what is expected of him by winning matches from unimaginable situations. He requires just a couple of balls to get his eye in and once he does that, it is impossible for anyone to stop him. Virat Kohli can perhaps describe his batting much better.

Ravichandran Ashwin

What more motivation does one require than being adjudged the Man of the Series in a tournament as important as the Border-Gavaskar trophy? This Tamil Nadu spinner has just been conferred with that honour at the conclusion of the Ind-Australia Test series, for having destroyed the men from down under on the turning tracks. The confidence that he will carry going into this year’s IPL will be enormous and so he could really test a few batsmen, especially those from overseas.

Dwayne Bravo

It is true he gives away too many runs as a bowler but he generally makes it up by picking up wickets when they are most needed. Not to mention he is supremely athletic as a fielder. When it comes to batting, he is as devastating as the others in the DLF IPL, let alone Chennai Super Kings. He can come at any position in the batting order and take the attack to the opposition right away. He is a natural stroke player, much like most of his Caribbean contemporaries.

Suresh Raina

Whatever has been said about Dwayne Bravo is applicable to Raina too, except for the fact that most of the times he bats at No.3 or 4. This specialist of the shorter version of the game can play a long innings and can also hit some astonishing shots over long on and mid-wicket. When the balls lands in his slot, he goes for the kill straight away. He can do both the anchoring role and the finishing job, which is a very rare gift a cricketer can possess.

M.S.Dhoni

And last but certainly not the least, it cannot be forgotten that this squad is being captained by a man who just gave a 4-0 drubbing to the Australians, completing the revenge which was eagerly expected by one billion Indians. So, brimming with confidence, he can bring the IPL trophy back to Chennai, if he manages his resources judiciously.

It looks in many ways a winning side, with very little weaknesses to spot. If everything goes well, this team should be the overwhelming favourite to claim the trophy for the unprecedented third time.

The only grey area for the team from Chennai is their bowling which they need to improve, so that they can defend their scores. Otherwise, they are extremely good in other departments of the game.

The Squad:

M.S.Dhoni (capt & wk), Srikkanth Aniruddha, Baba Aparajith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramanian Badrianth, Dwayne Bravo, Akila Dananjaya, Faf du Plessis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, R.Karthikeyan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ben Laughlin, Ronit More, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Suresh Raina, Ankit Rajpoot, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma and Murali Vijay.

Cricket has always been the heart and soul of most of the kids in India. Every kid grows up with the aspiration of becoming a cricketer. While some succeed at doing it, most of them do not. The fortunate ones are those who find a place in the national side. In a country which is packed with more than a billion people, even the cricketers who could represent their state at the Ranji Trophy level should consider themselves rather lucky.

One of those fortunate ones was Tamil Nadu-born cricketer, Vasanth Saravanan. When the Under-19 World Cup was held in South Africa during 1997-98, he was considered one of the brightest prospects for the future. He was in the same squad that had current stalwarts like Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh. Though he was known for his prolific middle order batting, he was no mug with the ball either, adept at rolling his arms over. Unfortunately, the middle order of the Indian team was quite settled during those days, with Dravid and Ganguly performing consistently. Therefore, in spite of some decent performances at the domestic level for Tamil Nadu, he was unable to make it to the Indian cricket team. Later on, he played for Assam, and currently plays for Goa. Recently, I was privileged to contact him and rope him in for an interview for Sportskeeda.

Representing India in any sport should be a dream for anyone. You had a stab at it quite early in your career, when you were picked up to play for India in the Under-19 World Cup. How was your experience? And was it also the first time you travelled abroad for any cricket match?

Yes, it was a dream come true for me to represent India in the Under-19 World Cup. Since I was able to score loads of runs that year, I was quite confident of getting selected. It was a great experience for me to be playing at international venues. In fact, when I was just 15 years of age, I played for a club against the Maldives national team in Maldives, which was my first overseas experience.

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif are some famous names who played alongside you during the Under-19 World Cup. All of you would have obviously become friends. Now that they are very established cricketers for India, do you still get to talk to them, recalling the events of the World Cup?

I am in regular touch with them over the phone, and I also meet them during cricket matches sometimes. I do have a good rapport with all my old pals.

Having been involved in cricket for the last 20 years, how much are you enjoying playing it now? What is it that keeps you going for so long, making you perform consistently?

I love the game, and stand dedicated to it. It is impossible for me to think of a life without cricket. It is this passion which gives me the strength to perform.

What was the best moment of your life, apart from being a part of India’s Under-19 World Cup team?

The best moment of my life has to be in 2003-04. I was one of the top five run-getters during that period in the Ranji Trophy. It gave me enough confidence to scale greater heights. It was at that time of my career when I was interviewed many-a-time on television.

The next big moment arrived when I got selected to play in the ICL, representing the Chennai Super Stars. I was really fortunate to play alongside leading cricketers of the world, like Stuart Law and Inzamam-ul-Haq. In fact, I was very honoured to work under Michael Bevan, who was our coach.

Can you take us through your lightning innings of 34 against the England Under-19 team? It was easily one of your best innings, wasn’t it?

Yes, I clearly remember that knock even now. I had a very good partnership with my captain during that innings. Maybe because my position in the batting line-up kept changing for every match, I was unable to do well on a consistent basis during the World Cup.

The Guru Nanak College had a very good cricket team, and is known for producing great cricketers. In fact, it has one of the best grounds in Chennai. How big was your college’s influence in uplifting your career?

Guru Nanak College did play a huge role in helping me progress. We had our own cricket ground with turf wickets. We were allowed to go there any time for practice. My college management encouraged me very well. They did not mind me skipping classes either for practice sessions.

How different was it to play for Assam, as compared to Tamil Nadu? Also, please talk about an important innings that you played for each of those two teams…

You get different experiences while playing for different teams. Tamil Nadu was more of a professional side, marked by a clean setup, right from the selection of players. I have played for them for 5 years, but I should tell you that each and every time I took guard, I felt like I was just debuting. There was a lot of competition in the team, which was bestowed with great talents.

On the other hand, when I started playing for Assam, I was the most experienced. The scenario was such that the whole team was dependent on me. That feeling made me stronger, and helped me give my best. I captained Assam for two years.

Playing for Tamil Nadu, I got 128 runs against Andhra in one match, which I consider as one of my best innings. We were 4 wickets down for 30, chasing a mammoth target of 330, when I walked in. Similarly for Assam, my 124 runs against Bengal almost won the game for us, and that is why it was also one of my most special innings. That was the time when Assam started winning against bigger teams.

How was your experience playing under the captaincy of Saurav Ganguly for the East Zone? You must have been thrilled to have been playing under his leadership.

It was one of my happiest moments when I played under the captaincy of Dada (Ganguly). He was such a cool person, and used to call me ‘Sarva’. We even played together in the middle, and it was a treat to watch him play from the non-striker’s end. When I whacked 89 runs in less than 100 balls in a game against North Zone which we won outright, he praised me a lot.

Talk about your experience in the Indian Cricket League. You might have had a chance to bat against some quality bowlers from all around the globe.

The ICL was one of the best things to have happened to me. I was very excited to share the dressing room with some of the top cricketers of the world. Initially, I found it very difficult to play the quick deliveries, but at the end of the first season, I was one of the leading batsmen of the tournament. It became easier for me to play them once I started timing the ball.

Who are the best bowlers you have played against in the Ranji Trophy?

Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Rakesh Patel, N.P. Singh from Hyderabad, Ananthapadmanabhan from Kerala, and Ashish Nehra are some of the best bowlers I have played against.

What is your view on T20s, which are being watched widely nowadays? Will Test cricket take a backseat hereafter?

T20s are just meant to entertain people. It is just like watching a movie which you forget very soon. It is Test cricket which ultimately showcases a player’s talent. It develops in you the will to survive, and gives you a special identity.

When you retire, which I am sure is a long way away, what do you plan to do in the field of cricket?

As I have said many times before, I definitely can’t live without cricket. I surely will be associated with the game in some way or the other – may be as a coach or as a selector.

For a section of sports fans, the game of tennis is all about Grand Slams. A few of them, in fact, may not even be aware of the existence of other ATP events, including the Masters 1000. Had any of them watched the celebration that ensued when Del Potro’s shot went long at the conclusion of the men’s finals at Indian Wells Masters held recently, they would have been left wondering if Rafael Nadal had added one more title to his Grand Slam tally.

Such was the jubilation and ecstasy that followed, when the Spaniard realized that he won his first hard court title since the 2010 Japan Open, where he defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils in the final. The year that followed was probably the worst one for Nadal in so many ways, as he was beaten by Serb Novak Djokovic six times in a row – all in the finals of ATP tournaments – including twice in Grand Slams. If that was considered his worst year in terms of number of defeats, then no words would be enough to describe the sort of trauma that the Spanish Armada had to deal with in the following season.

The year 2012 began no differently for the then 10 times Grand Slam champion, as he lost a six-hour marathon, crumbling rather surprisingly in the final set of the Australian Open, despite leading with a break up against Djoker, yet again. Nadal, however, made up for his ordinary hard court performances by rediscovering his dominance on red clay, winning all the tournaments which he contested in. When it looked as though the southpaw was at the peak of his powers, having won his seventh title at Roland Garros after dropping a lone set, his career witnessed a complete twist in the tale.

The two-time Wimbledon champion was trounced by 100th ranked Lukas Rosol in a gruelling five-setter in the second round of the All England Lawn Tennis Championships. The man, who was one of the tournament’s favourites, had to suffer one of the worst defeats of his career in bizarre fashion at a venue where he had been in the finals five times in the past. More so, when everyone was expecting Rafa to come back with a vengeance to defend his Olympics crown, he was unfortunately forced to withdraw from the London bonanza due to a persistent problem in his knees. Thereafter, he was unable to step onto the tennis court for the remainder of the year, raising doubts whether the Spaniard would ever be able to return to his former self again. Though no one was fully aware of the extent of his injury, one could easily guess the intensity of the woes that had put him out of action for more than six months.

When he was all set to make his return in Doha this year, he was again forced to pull out – this time though, owing to a stomach virus. The ailment continued to torment him further, as he had to reluctantly withdraw from participation at the Australian Open. By then, things looked very unsettled for Nadal. When many tennis fans started doubting if they would ever be able to see the Spanish Armada back in the court again, the iron man announced the date of his second coming after a long sabbatical. It was in the clay courts of Chile that he made his re-entry. Things went according to plan for the former world number 1 till he reached the final, where he had booked a date with an Argentine called Horacio Zeballos.

The moment Rafa was vanquished by the low-ranked South American, more ambiguities came invading tennis fans, who developed apprehensions about the future of the Spaniard. Winning a title became all the more necessary at that stage for the eleven times Grand Slam champion to get back his confidence, and he did precisely that. He won not one, but two titles back-to-back – one
in Brazil and the other one in Mexico, harbingering his arrival vociferously. More importantly, the bagel he achieved in the first set against Ferrer almost restored our belief in him.

However, the situation was still not completely convincing. After all, the victories he had accomplished were all on clay, and we knew all too well how good he had been on that surface. Since he had always been next to invincible on the slower clay courts, he has been hailed as the ‘King of Clay’. So, how well he was going to perform on the other surfaces would determine if he was really back to his best. Therefore, it became all the more important for him to lift his performances in the first of the hard court Masters at Indian Wells.

Scheduled to meet his arch-rival Federer in a mouth-watering quarterfinals clash, he had his task cut out, as it was his first hard court tournament since Miami last year. But then, quite unexpectedly, and contrary to many expert predictions, not only did he humble the Swiss master in straight sets, but also went on to win his first hard court tournament, like I said, since the 2010 Japan Open.

By winning his final match against del Potro, the 26-year old Spaniard not only silenced his doubters, but also proved that he is still in the league of the tennis’ bigger men. So, there was no wonder that he celebrated his 22nd Masters victory so vociferously and vocally. His jubilance post victory can only be equated to that of Pat Cash’s maiden triumph at Wimbledon in the 80s. As the winner of career Grand Slam, he had nothing to prove. However, it was imperative for him to record that win in order to assess his future.

This year could not have begun any better for Rafa, who now has bagged three titles out of the four he has attempted. Seeing the way he is playing now, it feels as though he was half asleep when he lost the final at Chile against Zebbalos. So, the seven-time French Open champion is back, and seems to be performing on all court surfaces. Coming back from a long layoff and winning a tournament packed with heavyweights can never be easy, but the determined southpaw did make it happen.

Despite his accomplishments on all three surfaces (hard, clay and grass), we continue to label him as a clay court specialist. We have not stopped calling him the ‘King of Clay’. Of course, he is better than most tennis players in the history of the game, if not all, on clay, but it is incorrect on our part to associate him with one particular surface. Leave alone the fact that he is one of the holders of a career Grand Slam, his resounding performances at this year’s Indian Wells further highlights his all court abilities. It wouldn’t have been easy for only a clay court specialist to conquer something which is not his cup of tea, after staying away from the game for a relatively long duration.

So what is the point in labelling him as the clay court king? He has come a long way, and has fared well in all conditions. It is maybe due to his mind-blowing accomplishments on red soil that we can hail him as an emperor of clay, but we cannot undermine his achievements on other surfaces either. While 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer is yet to taste a victory against him at the French Open, he has outclassed the Swiss maestro once at Wimbledon and twice at the Australian Open. Barring 2011, where he was outsmarted by Djokovic on numerous occasions, he has forever been an immovable object. He has excelled in every court he has stepped on. He has got the right kind of game to suit all surfaces. Though he can be categorized as a moonballer, he can switch to an attacking game whenever required.

He will be turning 27 this year during the French Open, and if he maintains his fitness levels, he looks perfectly fit to play for another 3-4 years. With Roger Federer already into his thirties, Rafa, along with Djokovic, may continue dominating the tennis world. Among these two, the world number 4 Spaniard may enjoy the lion’s share of success if he gets going, though there is just a thin line called mental toughness which could separate them eventually. When Rafa regains his touch, not many would dare betting against him. For tennis’ sake, let us just hope he does not invite anymore injuries.

The last two decades saw five of the world’s greatest batsmen playing together for India in Test cricket. Never before India had the luxury of so many great batsmen serving the national side, all at the same time. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag are the sort of cricketers every team would dream to have. India was so lucky to have realised something which wasn’t even dreamt before.

However one thing which has never changed, as far as Indian cricket is concerned, is the team’s performance overseas. Even at their best in the first decade of the 21st century, though India didn’t surrender as meekly as earlier and had some memorable wins overseas, even with the fabulous five spearheading the batting lineup, a dominant team which could beat any side in their backyard was never assembled. Especially in Test cricket, the team has been enduring a lot of hammering when pitted against the fast bowlers in alien conditions. With Sehwag’s future in the Indian team looking very bleak, having seen the way Dhawan and Vijay were playing on the third day of Mohali Test, it can be stated that Tendulkar is the lone survivor left right now of that ‘fab five’. Apparently in such a situation, it is not going to be possible for India to emerge as the world beaters in Test cricket, at least in the near future. When your premier batsmen averaging over 50 or more cannot guarantee to take you past the victory mark regularly, it would be an exercise in futility to expect the inexperienced lot of the current Indian team to do so.

To be categorized as world beaters, it is not enough if a team is stuffed with players like Dravid and Tendulkar. Yes, they would be excelling in their own departments, in which they are recognized as experts but still there are various other factors, which could lead to the downfall of the team, if they are not jelled together properly. Let me list out the reasons why India can’t be the world beaters in Test cricket.

Tigers at home, lambs overseas:

From time immemorial Indian cricket team has always been referred to as “Tigers at home, lambs overseas.” How bad have India been performing abroad can be known from the fact that in 136 years of Test cricket, a Test series victory down under is still to be tasted. Neither have they been good at playing in South Africa. Wherever the pitches had pace and bounce, Indian batting seemed to have struggled. Having practised predominantly in the slow turning turfs of Indian subcontinent, the batsmen could offer very little resistance when they travel overseas. This has been the case with the team for years, no matter whatsoever the batting order seemed to have looked like.

No quality opening pair:

In this context, automatically one question will start to prod our mind. If the Indian team had so many great batsmen in their lineup – like I said – at the same time, then why should the batting be failing at all? Before posing this question, one should take a look at the type of teams that West Indies of 1980s and Australia, during the last ten decades had with them. Both those teams were regarded as invincible in their own right. Besides the fact that they had very good batsmen in their lineups, who were comfortable playing in all sorts of wickets, they were also blessed with equally good openers at the top of the order.

While Greenidge and Haynes were very solid openers for the Carribean team, Australia had the services of Langer and Hayden who were immensely adept at dominating the bowling. It was never an easy job for the opposition bowlers to make inroads into the middle order with the sort of strong openers that these two teams during their heydays possessed. But in India’s case, the opening combinations have always been fragile. The team simply could not assemble the best opening pair for very long. For a moment it looked as though Sehwag and Gambhir had been providing the right kind of balance, opening the batting for India but even that option did not work out very long in Test cricket. Gambhir’s tendency of poking at deliveries outside the off-stump and Sehwag’s extravagant shot-making had led to the downfall of the opening pair more often than not. For three long years, Gambhir was unable to hit a three figure mark and likewise, Viru has had his own problems at maintaining consistency. As a result, both of them have been left out of the squad which is currently facing the touring Australian team, though Sehwag had been a part of the first two Tests. So, when the middle order gets exposed in a hurry, especially on bouncy tracks, the team gets into a vulnerable state right from the start.

Remedy:

Enough has been said and written about the quality of pitches in the subcontinent. While a few experts advocate for the change in the nature of wickets at first class level, many have been insisting for providing sporting wickets for international matches itself, not bothering about the match results. Unless either of these two things is done, India’s batting would flop most of the times overseas, leaving slender hope for the bowlers to defend a mediocre target.

Lack of practice on hard wickets:

While the neighbouring Pakistan cricket is coming up with fearsome pace bowlers day in and day out, strangely, India is unable to do the same. The only genuine quickies to emerge from India in a long time were Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath and since their retirement, the country hasn’t been able to find a replacement. In case of Srinath, even when the speedster from Karnataka was at his best, he was not able to get good purchase off the wickets abroad. In fact, he had to toil hard in the company of Venkatesh Prasad for over a decade.

No matter how well the pacers from India bowled in alien conditions, they have been unable to come up with match winning spells on a regular basis. A side needs to take twenty wickets to win a Test match, unless and until the other team decides to declare the innings. That ability of bowling out an opposition twice has not been Indian team’s cup of tea. Since the other sides have always practised on harder wickets, the innocuous pace of Indian bowlers has hardly been effective against them. Whenever our pace bowlers were presented with green turfs wherein they could extract extra pace, bounce and movement, they grew over ambitious, trying to overdo things. Due to the inexperience in bowling on fast tracks, the Indian bowlers have not been able to use the wickets to good effect. Even the bouncers which they bowled, seemed to sail well over the batsmen’s head, leaving little chance for them to get intimidated.

Ineffective spinners outside subcontinent:

India cannot even boast nowadays that spin bowling is their strength. Gone are those days when the team had the spin quartet of Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan operating for them. The spinners of such quality can turn the ball on any kind of surfaces and so even in the absence of proper pace attack, they still managed to provide valuable breakthroughs. The current lot of spinners look like doing well only on subcontinental tracks which means they will not be able to do much without the assistance of serious pace bowling at crucial junctures overseas.

Remedy:

Make pitches difficult for the batsmen to survive and score runs. By doing so, one can ignite interest among cricket aspirants to take up fast bowling.

Summing up:

The ‘in’ thing to do is to change the nature of the pitch, as I said before. This is not an easy job though. Even if the wickets are altered, it will take a long time for the Indian cricketers to get themselves prepared to play in a novel atmosphere. Unless the Indian team starts dominating outside subcontinent, it is highly unlikely for them to become world beaters in Test cricket.

However, there have been only a very few individuals in the world of cricket who could thrive well as captains and also as players. Not only have they been at the helm of their respective teams but also have performed when it mattered the most. Their ice chill nature of theirs has often won so many matches for their teams from the brink of disaster.

Let me list out the five best captains’ knocks ever seen or heard in One day Internationals.

5. Ricky Ponting – Intimidation at its best:

Prior to the final, India’s only defeat in the 2003 World Cup came against Australia in the group stages. As it turned out – having performed better than any other side in the competition – the two teams met again in the final. It looked to be the perfect scenario for India to exact revenge on the players from down under in response to the humiliation which they suffered at the beginning of the World Cup. The team from subcontinent won the toss and chose to field first.

Right from the start, Australia maintained a high run rate with the opening duo of Gilchrist and Hayden amassing a 100-runs-partnership in just 13 overs. When Gilchrist got out, Hayden was joined by the Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. In a couple of overs, Haydos too got out, bringing a huge sigh of relief for the Indian team, having sent both the openers back to the pavilion. But little did they expect what was in stored for them then.

Helped by some mediocre bowling by the Indian bowlers, both Ponting and Damien Martyn gathered runs at a brisk rate. The Aussie skipper was particularly severe on all the short pitched balls bowled at him. The footwork of “Punter” was quite impressive and he was coming down the wicket at will, giving the spinners a belting to both sides of the wicket. The hapless Indian attack was put to the sword as Ricky took the innings away from the opposition in a hurry. He was well on his way to set a huge target which would be too much for any team to chase down in a big event such as a World Cup final.

He resembled Viv Richards of yesteryears every bit as the bowlers were subjected to an unprecedented onslaught. He pulverized the Indian bowling attack and hit them all over the park. He was not slogging but was finding the boundaries with proper cricketing shots. Due to his blitzkrieg of an innings, Australia posed an imposing total of 360 to chase for the Indian team. His innings was aided by four 4s and eight towering 6s. He finished his stint in the middle staying unbeaten on 140 off just 121 balls. Australia, I must say, had won the match even before the Indian innings started. The Australian captain was also declared the Man of the Match.

4. Imran Khan – The drive to succeed:

Imran Khan – arguably one of the best captains cricket has ever seen – had a drive to succeed when he captained his team in 1992 World Cup. Ever since the start of the mega event, he wanted to build a hospital in remembrance of his late mother, who he lost due to cancer. The prize money was planned to be donated for that cause. Last time when his team met England in the league stage, they were bowled out for a mere 74 runs on the board. However, rain intervened during the course of English innings, forcing the match to be called off. The match was drawn and the points were shared between the teams.

The same two teams met again in the Final of the World Cup down under. While England were easily one of the two best teams in the competition, the other one being New Zealand, Pakistan were struggling in the league stages before narrowly edging out the other teams to make it to the last four. Courtesy Inzamam’s brilliance in the semifinal against the Kiwis, Pakistan made it to the Final.

Pakistan batted first and disaster struck very early as both the openers were dismissed very cheaply. With pure batsmen like Javed Miandad and an in-form Inzamam waiting to bat, Imran promoted himself up the order to steady the innings. Accompanied by the then veteran of five World Cups, Javed Miandad, he stabilized the innings very well by building up a healthy partnership very smoothly. Their strike rates weren’t noteworthy but they made sure no more further damage was done. After the departure of Miandad, in came the hero of the semifinal against New Zealand. Inzamam played a blinder of an innings, quite suitable for the last few overs of an ODI. Imran did get out at the score of 72 after throwing caution to the winds in the later stage of the innings. In the end, his team left England to chase a tricky score of 250 runs at MCG.

Pakistani bowlers humbled English batsmen by taking wickets at regular intervals, bundling them out for just 227 runs. Quite appropriately, the final wicket of Illingworth was taken by the great captain, with Rameez Raza catching the Englishman out at mid-off.

3. Unseen epic at Tunbridge Wells:

The strike by BBC camera crew could not have come at a worse moment than this. Barring the spectators and the players themselves, none was able to witness the absolute fiesta which transpired during India’s match against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup at Tunbridge Wells. The win was very much essential for India to qualify for the semifinal. It was the perfect English summer where the ball moved and swung appreciably.

Rawson and Kevin Curran ran through the top order pretty quickly and soon the Indian team was found reeling with five wickets down for just 17 runs. Things looked ominous for the team and it required a spirited fightback from a brave heart of the Indian team to set things straight. And who else but the greatest soldier came to the rescue of his team. India’s greatest all-rounder till date, Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj, played the innings of his life to get his country a defendable total from that stage. Firstly, in the company of Roger Binny and then with Syed Kirmani as his partner, Kapil Dev crafted an epic innings. And due to this very fact that this gem of an action packed innings was never captured on camera, this innings would forever remain unseen for coming generations. Fortunate were those who were present at the stadium on that day when the Haryana Hurricane chose to annihilate the underdogs. He finished his innings with the score of 175 runs, having blasted 16 fours and six 6s.

India, thanks to the efforts of Kapil Dev, not only won this match by 31 runs but also went on to win the World Cup, thus becoming the first team to dethrone West Indies from the championship pedestal.

2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Taking responsibility upon his own shoulders:

One shot which has been repeatedly shown on TV for the last two years, since it happened, is Dhoni’s six over long on which won India only its second World Cup in ten attempts. At Wankahde stadium, on a pitch which didn’t offer much to the bowlers, India were able to restrict their opposition to 274 runs, thanks to the brilliant fielding efforts of Yuvraj and Virat Kohli during power plays earlier in the innings. But for those crucial stops, Sri Lanka’s late charge would have gotten them a score of over 300, which would have been much more difficult for the host nation to chase considering that it was a World Cup Final.

Indians began their innings in the most disastrous fashion possible, losing both Sehwag and Sachin with just 31 runs on the board. After getting arguably one of the world’s best batsmen out cheaply, Sri Lanka would have thought that the match was already under their grasp. But Gambhir and Kohli showed some steadiness in pacing the innings quite well, ensuring that the target did not go beyond the reach. When Virat got out, India’s score was 114/3 in 21.4 overs.

When everyone was expecting the man of the World Cup, Yuvraj Singh, to come and mould the innings along with Gambhir, Dhoni sprung a surprise, promoting himself up the order. Without losing his calmness, Dhoni not only showed his class but also his temperament, taking responsibility of getting India across the line upon his own shoulders. He paced his innings quite well alongside Gambhir and kept on manoeuvring the scoreboard with ones and twos. He justified his decision of elevating himself up the order by playing a memorable innings. Had he been dismissed cheaply and India lost the World Cup, the entire universe would have blamed him for coming to bat at No.5 ahead of Yuvraj Singh.

Nevertheless, nothing untoward had happened then and the Indian captain brought his side home with a magnificent six, ending one of his greatest one day innings in style. He might not have scored a hundred but he achieved what was more important for his team. His innings had eight 4s and two 6s in it.

1. Steve Waugh – Mystery words still to be deciphered:

“Mate, you have just dropped the World Cup.” Those were the words, which many believed, had come from the mouth of Steve Waugh when he was dropped by Herschelle Gibbs during the last of the Super Six games at Headingley in 1999 World Cup. After ages, the former Aussie captain denied it saying he did not exactly remember what his remark was. Though the mystery words are yet to be deciphered, the dropped chance by Gibbs did cost South Africa the match eventually. So, even if the Aussie skipper had not said that, the fact remains that South Africa gave away the advantage to Australia by giving Waugh another life in the middle.

South Africa were easily the favourites to win the contest to start with. Riding on Gibbs’ ton, their side posted an imposing score of 271. When you keep in reserve ‘plus 30 runs’ for South African fielding, it was a mammoth target for any team to chase, leave alone Australia who entered the Super Six stage with nil points on the board. It was a must win game for the Aussies to move to the semifinals. However, as the fate would have it, the Kangaroos lost their top three players with just 48 on the board.

As the adage goes, “cometh the hour cometh the man”, the determined captain of the Australian team, Steve Waugh entered the scene. A couple of wickets at that stage would have exposed the lower middle order which was not that strong. But Waugh played a remarkable innings, mixing caution with aggression quite impressively. At one point of time, when he was on 59, he offered a simplest of chances to Gibbs at short mid-wicket, which was lethargically dropped by Gibbs in a casual attempt to celebrate the wicket prematurely even before he had the ball in full control. It was then that the Aussie captain seemed to have said something to the fielder, which still remains a mystery.

Whatever it was, there was no stopping the elder of the Waugh brothers thereon. When the last over was being bowled, Waugh, at the non-striker’s end, was so desperate to take his team to the semifinals that even as Pollock was approaching the popping crease, he started jogging to ensure that the runs were taken, come what may. This one man show helped the boys from down under reach the semifinal with two balls to spare. He finished his herculean task staying unbeaten on 120 from just 110 balls and in the process hitting ten boundaries and two sixes.

Muttiah Muralitharan was once asked if the growing popularity of T20s would mark the end of Test cricket. The world record holder for maximum number of wickets immediately responded by saying that the emergence of T20s could indeed hamper the growth of ODI cricket, whereas the longer version would still survive. He was probably right, because Test cricket, in its every sense, is unique compared to the shorter versions of the game. Or perhaps, just like any other cricketer, the former Sri Lankan off-spinner also wanted the five day format to subsist amidst the gaining popularity of T20s. His answer sounded more like a wish than a prediction.

If you take an outsider’s perspective, both ODIs and T20s provide instant entertainment for them, where the results are known within a few hours time. For cricketers though, the five day game is the ultimate Test of their abilities. All aspiring cricketers await a chance to make their debut in Test cricket. Playing in the longer version of the game means a lot to them, which also earns them prestige and well deserved praise. It is like how you differentiate the Oscar film festival from the Cannes film festival. For the movie buffs, Academy awards are the ultimate recognition, whereas for the film fraternities, the quality remains with Cannes.

Likewise in cricket, if limited overs internationals are meant for the delectation of the masses, then five day formats are meant for the knowledgeable connoisseurs, plus, of course, the cricketers. Even otherwise, Test cricket is something which has to be safeguarded and has to be played more often, as compared to the other formats.

Here are the six reasons as to why Test cricket is by far better than the rest.

1. Something is there for the bowlers all the time:

The shorter versions of the game are tailor-made for the batsmen. Since normal cricket lovers have developed the penchant to see the balls sail over the boundary ropes always, which provide them ample entertainment, the limited overs format (50s and 20s) were created. The hapless bowlers – even best of the lot – are being destroyed as a result. Because of flat tracks, fielding restrictions and limitation of freedom, ODIs and T20 offer little chance for the bowlers to showcase their talent. Only the maximum of ten and four overs are allowed to be bowled by a bowler respectively in ODIs and T20s, whereas no such restriction is imposed in Test match cricket. It is not just the skills of a bowler which earn him wickets in the shorter versions of the game. On the other hand, most of the wickets are taken by bowlers due to the hastiness of the batsmen. In Test cricket though, the bowlers are allowed to bowl any number of overs, at the discretion of the fielding captains. While anything down the leg side is ruled as a wide in limited overs formats, there is no such ruling in Tests. The ICC has been a bit liberal in case of bowling bouncers too, as compared to the other two formats.

While the major part of dismissals in ODIs and T20s occur through mistakes, like “when you miss – I hit”, leading edges, slog sweeps, hitting against the spin, the good balls do the trick more often than not in the longer version.

2. Ball vs bat contests:

In limited overs format, even good balls get thrashed by the batsmen for boundaries and at times doing so – they get out. As far as Test matches are concerned, the good balls are treated with respect. The bowlers try all possible methods to get a batsman out, whereas the latter tries all possible means to deny his wicket to the opposition. The contests between a great fast bowler and the world’s premier batsman have always been worth watching in Test cricket. In ODIs and T20, such contests can rarely be viewed, as most of the times, even a lower order batsman can unleash a major onslaught on world class fast bowlers.

During India’s tour of Australia, when the Indians were subjected to chin music by the Aussie pace attack, it was only Sachin Tendulkar, true to his credibility as one of world’s leading batsmen, who could withstand the fiery spells aimed at him. There was a time when the Little Master took the attack to Glenn McGrath, punishing him for three consecutive boundaries. Seeing the assault inflicted upon his premium fast bowler, Steve Waugh, the then Baggy Green captain, momentarily removed the “Pigeon” from the attack.

I could vividly remember McGrath asking for one more chance to have a go at the Mumbai batting legend, although the request was respectfully turned down by his captain. Till then, the New South Wales bowler had a firm grip on the match situation. He was so brutally demolished in a couple of overs by the master blaster that the captain had no chance but to force a bowling change. That was the sort of competition I was referring to, where a bowler kept a batsman on the defensive only for him to choose to use the long handle to perfection and break the shackles.

You cannot find such intriguing contests on a regular basis in the shorter version of the game. The very fact that cricket is known as the contest between the bat and the ball rules out any possibility of limited overs games being called the real deal.

3. Any type of result is possible; even drawn matches are interesting:

In ODIs, only three results are possible, unless of course a particular match gets abandoned due to natural causes. Such a stalemate is normally known as a “No result.” In case of Tests, you can include “draw” as an additional result, which can be expected. “A draw can occur either due to natural causes like rain, or may be due to the caliber of the batsmen who can preserve their wickets till the time the fifth day’s play gets over.” Just like a win or a loss or for that matter a tie, even draws make an interesting reading in Test matches.

At Eden Park, Auckland, in one of the Tests against England, New Zealand’s No.11 batsman, Danny Morrison, kept on hanging with Nathan Astle for two and a half hours to deny the visitors a well deserved victory. Similarly, South Africa’s best batsman of the 90′s, Daryll Cullinan, gave a spirited fight back, playing alongside the team’s tail-enders to force a draw against India in the Johannesburg Test in 1997. It is never easy to fight till the last when the odds are stacked against you. That is the beauty of Test cricket, where the team which is looking down the barrel can show some sort of resistance, sneaking a draw by battling out quality fast bowlers and spinners purely by the art of defending and leaving.

4. Frequent fluctuations:

Every day of a Test match is divided into three sessions of two hours each. The first session may be dominated by the bowlers and the next session may be dominated by the batsmen. And the third session may go in favour of each team or both. Even if that is not the case, each day can spring a surprise or two by way of frequent fluctuations in the course of the game. One can never easily predict what might happen the next day. The 376-run partnership between V.V.S.Laxman and Rahul Dravid at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2001 was one of those instances which popped up from nowhere when India was reeling the previous day. Fresh days and fresh sessions have the capacity to paint a different picture altogether. Assuming both the overnight batsmen at the crease are our favourites, every bit of a wait from thereon till the next day raises our anxiety, which should be counted as more thrilling than a last ball six in an ODI. Till the fifth day – if the matches go thus far – our hopes never get tarnished, and that is what frequent fluctuations in Test matches bring to us.

5. Only genuinely talented players can flourish in Test cricket:

In the shorter versions of the game, even half talented individuals can whack the bowling, adding runs on to the board. Similarly, even a part timer can get wickets and perhaps even do a hat trick. All the hat tricks in the IPL so far have been from part timers only. The lower order batsmen who enter the crease are always in the urgency of accumulating the flow of runs. It is always a “do or die” situation. So no one can assess the real talent of the players in limited overs games. Only when they enter the Test arena do we come to know about their real talent.

Even lower order batsmen are expected to exhibit their character in Tests. They need to show a bit of responsibility by staying at the crease, not throwing their wickets away. Not all the batsmen can thrive under such a scenario. Only players with genuine batting abilities would be able to withstand and score some runs for their team. Likewise, part timers are not widely used in Test matches because the batsmen may not only score runs off them, but also may easily shield their own wickets without much effort.

Unless you are a real bowler who can swing the ball or perhaps create something out of the pitch, you can never get any purchase at all. You need to be a genuine spinner or a fast bowler to target your opposition batsmen. The part timers are normally used in Test cricket only if the new ball is due in an over or two. Otherwise, no fielding captain can risk using them. Conversely, in the urgency to score more, even the best batsmen in the world get themselves out in ODIs, and the same batsmen – when they play in Tests – are able to give their averages a big boost. So, on the whole, the real talent can be figured out only by seeing the performances of the players in the five day format.

6. Application of mind:

The instant versions of the game are purely played upon instinct rather than application of mind. In Test match cricket, the bowlers have enough time to decide on where to bowl and what to bowl, and similarly as far as the batsmen are concerned, they can decide on what to play and what to leave. Also, the captain can arrive at a better field setting based on the way things are moving. Test match cricket will be purely a cat and mouse game if both the batting and fielding teams start to do well. Mind games have an important role to play in Test match cricket. In limited overs formats, the players do not have so much luxury to conceive an idea and act.

Sadly, the formats which penetrated into the game just as an entertainment have been allowed to dominate the game all these years. The nature of cricket itself is such that only the five day game can do justice to it. The kind of importance countries like England and Australia are giving to Test cricket is not being given by other countries. Unless the viewers understand the nuances and intricacies of the game, they will never come even close to embellishing Test cricket.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely that of the authors and do not reflect the views of SportsKeeda.  

For a tennis player, breaking his opponent’s service is important, but once it is done, it is doubly important that he holds on to his remaining service games. That is how the results of the matches are determined unless and until the set moves to a tie breaker. However, breaking of serves is all the more pivotal in the first three Grand Slams of the year wherein Van Alen’s contribution to the game is not workable in the decider.

When Tomas Berdych broke Federer’s serve in the fifth game of the final set in the second semifinal of Dubai Duty Free tournament two days back, all eyes fell on the Czech to see how he was going to handle his own service game. The third seed responded quite magnificently by unleashing four booming serves, winning the game in the most comfortable manner possible. Though Roger managed to hang on to his serve in the next game in a workmanlike fashion, it was pretty evident he had his back against the wall. The ensuing game saw the Swiss attacking Berdych’s serve ferociously, racing to a 0-30 lead after a successful foray to the net to seal the point, thanks to a backhand volley winner.

The Czech, however, soon rose to the occasion by squaring things up – firing two big serves right down the middle – leaving no chance for the World No.2 Swiss to break back. Then it was all about Berdych. He had to hold on to his serve and he did just that. It was all over in the tenth game of the final set where the Czech lived up to his reputation of churning out big serves at will, powering his way into the final, where he was unfortunately defeated by Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Earlier, during the second set tie breaker, Federer was just a point away from beating the Czech on three occasions but some loose shots from his racquet gave the advantage back to his opponent, who went on to level the match at one set apiece. Just a day before his semifinal, the Swiss master was at his imperious best against Nikolay Daveydenko, having full control of all his trademark shots, raising very little doubts in anyone’s mind about the probability of him reaching the final. But what we saw in the semifinal was the exact opposite. Coming from a set down, Berdych outclassed Fed, matching him shot for shot and taking the match 3-6 7-6 6-4.

Roger is not only a five times Dubai open champion but is also a record holder of 17 Grand Slam titles. Now that brings us to the next question – How many such records does Berdych have? Till date, the Czech has only nine singles titles to his credit – of which none is a Grand Slam. Infact, he won his lone Masters title nine years ago in Paris. No record on paper would provide adequate support for anyone to rank him alongside the likes of Roger Federer, who has so far amassed 76 ATP titles, one lesser than John McEnroe, in his professional career. Interestingly, Berdych has won five of the last eight matches played between the two, having entered the court as an underdog in each one of them.

The 2010 Wimbledon runner-up is by no means an ordinary player. Even Andre Agassi had written in his autobiography that Berdych would be one of the brightest prospects for the future. But he was one of those guys who has clearly underperformed at the end of the day, may be due to lack of attitude or for some other unknown reasons. You cannot be an ordinary player and yet dominate Roger Federer the way he has been doing for the last couple of years.

Even during his Dubai semifinal match against Federer, the commentators mentioned it on more than one occasion that he has been unable to hold on to his advantage during most of his matches, losing out on vital points. That is what his point of concern has been all throughout his career, but certainly it was not so against Federer the other day. Probably the World No.2 Swiss has found a new nemesis altogether. He seems to be struggling against Berdych for quite some time now, like he used to struggle against Nadal.

The Czech’s supremacy over the 17-times Grand Slam champion did not start overnight. The seeds of botheration for the Swiss were first sown during the Australian Open 2009 when he met the Czech in the fourth round at the end of first week. Tomas had an awful head to head record against the Swiss genius prior to that match, having won only once out of their nine previous meetings. But the contest which was supposed to be one-sided, painted a different picture altogether. The Czech muscled his way to winning the first two sets, totally bemusing one of the all time greats. That said – as it had been before – he failed to land that final blow which would have otherwise caused one of the biggest upsets ever in a Grand Slam. But, sadly for him, it was not to be. As expected, Federer pushed himself back into the match and won the next three sets to make his way to the quarterfinal.

Berdych might have lost that match but it was enough for him to gain some sort of confidence to build on the momentum. In Wimbledon, which is considered to be Federer’s second home even now, he shocked the entire world by ousting the then six times Champion in the quarter finals, winning the contest in four sets. That happened during 2010 when he ended up as a runner up for the first time in any Grand Slam event.

Ever since that defeat, the Swiss master has always found it hard to dismiss the big Czech. Like I said, the big Czech has emerged victorious five times out of their last eight meetings. This speaks volumes of how much Berdych has got into the minds of Federer. It looks as though his confidence level grows manifold whenever he sees the Swiss on the other side of the net. The latter’s victories over the Czech in the recent past have never been convincing either. Somehow, things start to happen for him whenever he is facing the Swiss. He has come up with big serves and pulverizing ground strokes whenever he has Federer as his opponent. Last year at the Flushing Meadows, the Swiss star was looking as though he was in a rush to win the US championship for the sixth time in his career but his aspirations were cut short by the big Czech when he confronted him in the quarterfinals. Berdych once again reigned supreme over the great master.

From Federer’s perspective, it is really a sad thing that he has found his new nemesis at this stage of his career where every victory should be gold dust for him. He will be turning 32 come August and therefore he simply cannot afford to lose regularly against a particular player, especially because he has already made it clear that he would be playing only limited tournaments from here on. At this age, all you can try to do is to manage with the existing rivals so that you have no new things to worry. But it is not so in the case of Federer, who has Tomas to contend with in addition to Rafael Nadal. It would be interesting to see what difference the former world No.1 tries bringing into his game so that he can work on dealing with his new nemesis. If he ignores it now, then Slam No.18 will remain a distant dream for him.