Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Four camerapersons scurry towards the transparent,cola-can-shaped dugouts near the mouth of the visitors dressing room at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium. Sachin Tendulkar,who is about to leave the field and disappear through that mouth,waves an uncertain hand as the shutters simultaneously whirr in rapid-fire mode.
Till now,the bulk of the cricket-related conversations between the camerapersons have revolved around two questions. Initially,before he had come out to deliver a few leg-breaks in centre-wicket practice off a two-step run-up,it had been where is Sachin? The other,still unanswered,is,where is Ricky Ponting?
Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. The two highest run-getters in the history of Test cricket. At last count,their combined tally was 29,215 in the longest format. Add their runs from ODIs and T20Is,and that number climbs to 61,756.
In the first five matches of Mumbai Indians IPL season,Tendulkar has scored 69 runs at an average of 13.80. Ponting has scored 52 at 10.40. Tendulkar has scored his runs at a strike rate of 130.18; Ponting,Mumbais captain,has trudged along at 69.33,which would be considered sedate in 50-over cricket.
As you walk away from the Ferozeshah Kotla past the fortress bearing the same name,Virender Sehwag stares at you from a dozen eye-level hoardings that exhort you to trust in the leader. In each of them,he is flanked by a different pair of his Delhi Daredevils teammates,usually some combination involving two out of Unmukt Chand,Irfan Pathan and,ironically,Mahela Jayawardene,the nominal leader of the side.
Sehwag and Jayawardene fall short of Tendulkar and Ponting in terms of their total bulk of international runs,but not by much. Theyve scored more runs than Tendulkar and Ponting during this IPL season,but not too many more. Sehwag has 54 in three matches at an average of 18.00,Jayawardene 134 in six at 22.33. Like Ponting,with whom he will walk out for the toss on Sunday,Jayawardenes strike rate has been below-par for Twenty20,even if 103.07 doesnt sound as bad as 69.33.
Captains indispensible?
But should Jayawardene and Ponting walk out together for the toss? Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kumar Sangakkara has already set a precedent for this season Daniel Vettori has also done this in the past,when he used to captain Royal Challengers Bangalore by leaving himself out. Their lack of form wouldnt matter quite as much had they been Indian; Ponting and Jayawardene,however,are Australian and Sri Lankan respectively,and directly stand in the way of fielding other foreign players. Glenn Maxwell,who cost Mumbai a million dollars to procure,hasnt yet played a game for them.
Its harder to pinpoint a direct alternative to Jayawardene for Delhi. But were they,for instance,to field Unmukt Chand whose performances so far,to be fair to Jayawardene,scarcely merit such a move instead of Jayawardene,Delhi could potentially play a spin-bowling all-rounder in the form of Johan Botha who has only played three times this season despite impressive bowling returns or Roelof van der Merwe,and add some variety to a fairly samey attack. Delhi sure need this: the runs leaked by their pace-heavy attacks have played a large part in their losing all six of their games so far.
That Tendulkar and Sehwag enjoy a little more breathing room is down largely to their nationality. Tendulkar has shown flashes of form,particularly during his breezy 29-ball 44 against Pune Warriors,but his returns,as seen earlier,are far from pretty. And these returns have exaggerated the ever-present sense of unease that pervades the experience of watching Tendulkar bat in the IPL,of watching a batsman fight against nearly three decades of training his mind and body to obey one maxim never give your wicket away.
Sehwags career has followed a slightly different guiding principle,but even he doesnt look the same batsman anymore,and isnt part of Indias Test and ODI squads. At 34,Sehwag might be the youngest of the four struggling old stagers Tendulkar,who will turn 40 on Wednesday,is the oldest but for that very reason,his struggle is perhaps the most desperate.
