RaviSez

Almost a year ago, I wrote a post about Tendulkar's opportunity to do what Gavaskar couldn't complete -- winning an test within inches from defeat. Tendulkar couldn't deliver then, neither could the rest of the Indian team. The current test in Mumbai offers him a fresh chance: to redeem himself in front of his home crowd that was thoroughly dissatisfied with him. I, for one, do not believe he got boo-ed in Mumbai like the media says and would rather go with a more credible source, who was actually in the stands and wrote this. Indian cricket followers aren't that naive; they just do not diss the man. Granted, they might have been waiting for so long for him to perform in front of them and when the time did come, and the man tottered around for half hour scoring one run and getting out, they have every reason to throw a fit. But still he's their lad, somebody they've seen him perform for more than half of his life span.

So here's a chance to shut his detractors up. He doesn't have to make a century or score the winning runs. But a fair contribution and that's all the fans ask for. Now, what is fair contribution? We'll see about that tomorrow.

I am a little saddened to see Laxman left out for the match today. I think that's the end of his career. The next series is a while away and I don't think he stands a chance. Kaif will be picked when the team gets back to the six specialist batsmen mode. There is very little Laxman did wrong in the past few months and to see him out of the team is agonizing.

Only when I was going through an scorecard for this match that was played in the Steel plant colony in Vizag, that I realized that Rahul Dravid played in it and that I might have seen him play in that match. Little did I realilze then, that a future Indian captain went unnoticed and he would go on to play hundred test matches; that match was all about Anil Kumble who we were all excited to see because he had already made a debut with the Indian team. A few years later I saw him on TV playing in what I think was the first champions trophy; this time it was all about Vikram Rathore, the golden boy at that time who stole the limelight and who played a test before Dravid did. Dravid debuted in the next test along with his pal Saurav Ganguly; now it's Saurav's turn to steal the thunder with a debut century and Dravid missed the mark by five runs. I think there are several occassions of which the most famous second best knock was with Laxman in Kolkata. The media called him bridesmaid and such. I notice one thing here: consistency. Whether it's the best knock or not -- he gave his best in all situations.

Then it turned around. I don't know how the transformation came. He picked up the wicket-keeping gloves just to stay in the one-day team when they called him unfit for ODIs. Suddenly he came from being the second best to becomig the best. He scored centuries at will but most importantly contributed everytime in an Indian win. I was never a fan of Rahul Dravid but I greatly respect this man for the way he plays the game. He commands it.

Yesterday, on my trip back from Houston, armed with my own distractions, the magazine in the seat pocket in front of me went unnoticed for more than half the duration of the flight. When I restlessly shuffled in the seat, running out of options to entertain myself, I picked it up. The first image that flashed my mind was some desi dude leaving his filmfare behind. But no, it was a crisp copy of the American Airlines magazine with Ms.Roy on the cover. That's it. I am moving back to United Airlines.