Last day, last show, big 3 flop

There’s a huge billboard featuring Rahul Dravid on the outer walls of Tavern Stand here. “I am so honoured to have made my debut at Lord’s.

There’s a huge billboard featuring Rahul Dravid on the outer walls of Tavern Stand here. “I am so honoured to have made my debut at Lord’s. It was an enormous occasion. You are immersed in history as soon as you walk through the Grace Road Gates,” it says.

But today, when Dravid walked back through the Gates for what is definitely the last time in his career, he was shaking his head in disappointment. A 95 in his first outing at Lord’s (he made his Test debut here along with Sourav Ganguly, who scored a brilliant century) and a duck in his last venture here on a controversial decision — there can be few bigger ironies in cricket.

His dismissal looked questionable as the Flintoff delivery did not touch his bat, but umpire Aleem Dar thought otherwise.

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In the Mecca of Cricket, the current Lord, Sachin Tendulkar, was unusually quiet today. He tried a few shots to break the shackles imposed by a well-planned England attack. But the stigma of failing on a big occasion stuck to him today too. He was also done in by umpire Dar. The noise was of his bat brushing the pad, but it was enough to convince Dar that he was out. But the sound came well before the pitched-up delivery from Andrew Flintoff went past agonisingly close to his bat. ‘Close’, of course, is the operative word here.

It has happened a number of times on this tour, and it happened again to Tendulkar. It seems that in this tour, the best of the umpires have given the worst decisions against Team India. India had so far only had a word with ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama on the umpiring debacles — it was iterated again last evening. And after this morning’s Flintoff spell, the team has decided to lodge an official complaint.

“Yes, we will complain to the ICC match referee, that’s the best we can do, and we will,” Indian team manager Rajeev Shukla told The Sunday Express.

And then there was Ganguly—a far cry from his majestic Test debut here. He missed, he edged, he took a blow on the head, hit a few mysteriously amusing shots, and then gave a tame offer to Flintoff at slip off James Anderson. The Royal Bengal Tiger, whose immortal roar at the Lord’s balcony is etched into the memory of every cricket fan, went back quietly today.

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Sadly, the big trio of Indian cricket, each with an enviable career record, went out with a whimper. That, perhaps, is the biggest irony.

Police personnel seen to control the situation during a massive protest over the statehood demand and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, in Leh on Wednesday. (ANI Video Grab)

Statehood protest takes violent turn in Ladakh, BJP office set ablaze in Leh

India3 hr ago

Protests in Ladakh turned violent as students and youth organisations demanded statehood and Sixth Schedule status. Two elderly protesters fainted, prompting a shutdown call. A BJP office and security vehicle were set on fire. Activist Sonam Wangchuk urged for a peaceful approach. The demand for Sixth Schedule status is due to Ladakh's tribal-majority population and direct central administration.

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