Italy reneges its assurance - Mohali Test starts tomorrow..

Individuals may act without integrity, may not keep up words / promises – Nations are expected to act with exemplary honesty… alas, that is not to be – seeing the temerity with which the Italian government has announced that the Marines will not be back !   It is not only the temerity of Italy but the pusillanimity of India that is brazen….   Indian State needs to act strongly and courageously  -  Italian Ambassador to India Daniele Mancini  should be declared persona non grata and asked to leave India if the two Italian marines are not sent back to India to face trial in the next 10 days.  There is news of Indian PM condemning the incident strongly………… but what or how strong is that……… this is not the first time and news channel compare this with Anderson, Quatrochi, Kim Davy and more…………  Mohali also has a history of betrayal

Elsewhere the Mohali Test commences on 14^th Mar 13 under different turbulence.  Way back in Mar 30, 2011, all roads led to Mohali and the airspace was under surveillance; security at major hotels was tight and approach roads were sealed.  The venue had four layers of security personnel including intelligence officials, armed policemen, and elite commandos ~ because it was the WC Semis involving India Pakistan - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani,  watched the match. 

The ground is Punjab Cricket Association stadium at Mohali where IS Bindra ruled the roost for long.   This excellent looking stadium was a swamp in 1992 but now is lush green, with excellent practice facilities, spectator friendly outlook. Mohali is known for its lively pitch and seamer friendly conditions.    Mohali is located in the outskirts of Chandigarh.  The flood lights here  are unconventional compared to other cricket stadiums, in that the light pillars are very low in height.  When most other stadiums have 4 towers, Mohali has 16 smaller flood light towers.  This is because it is close to Indian Air Force base – should we really have a stadium if that poses a hazard that was tried to be answered ??

The city of Mohali is  named after the eldese son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzda Ajit Singh. History has it that when Mughal forces besieged Anandpur in 1705 Ajit Singh, a veteran of many wars,  displayed his qualities of courage and steadfastness.  After a long stalemate, the Mughals assured that they would let the population of the town unharmed and take only the Fort of Anandpur. But they violated – Ajit Singh fought bravely against heavy odds with a small group defying a huge army.  Ajit singh grimly laid his life in the battle.  That is history of the place and India.

In the first ever test played in 1994-95 series, Ashish Kapoor debuted; WI had a slender lead of 56 in the first innings.  Adams played with patient determination, and used his bat more than his pads. Indians were skittled out for a paltry 114 in the last innings to give WI a victory.  In the last tour, when Australia played here, Amit Mishra made his debut took a 5 for and was instrumental in a good victory for the Indians.  

This time, it is a different atmosphere – Aussies are reeling under pressure of 0-2 loss and their Coach has sacked 4 players for not putting up powerpoint  making the job of Clarke easier in selecting the playing XI out of 13.  Continuous losing in professional sport brings the worst out of people. when India kept losing, in fact following another 0-4 at England, India had only one strategy, ‘No Change Policy’ – expecting that past glory would one day pull them out.  It was simply sleepwalking allowing things to take their course.  Australia have made it clear that failing to show intent, discipline and subordination in team meetings is a bigger sin than not performing.

This will be Ishant Sharma's 50th Test and his bowling has been less than ordinary ~ the victory has perhaps given him yet another chance and he should be happy playing in Mohali, where he has better chance to take some wickets.  The Aussie coach has been talking of sending out a strong message as a penal action for behavioural issues and whether he is right can appear different  when viewed in different perspective.  Cricket Australia's chairman, Wally Edwards, said the board was "completely supportive" of the decision taken by the Australian team management, although it has created plenty of debate from the cricket public.

India has axed the cavalier Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay would walk with a new partner – an attacking left-handed batsman, Shikhar Dhawan who might replace Gambhir permanently.   Dhawan shot to prominence during the 2003-04 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, where he was named the Player of the Tournament for scoring 505 runs at 84.16 with three centuries. He has made runs in Ranji and plays IPL too. 

One person left wondering as to what he should do further is of course is the left arm spinner – Pragyan Ojha.. When most of his team members failed miserably against England, he held his own, giving India a fighting chance.  There could be a theory that since Aussies has many left handers, off spin is being preferred but no such theory was floated against England.  The success of Ravindra Jadeja also has contributed to his being left out.  Hard to remember that in the recent 4 test series against England, he took 20 wickets with two 5 wicket hauls and one 4 wicket haul.  In an ideal world, Ojha's would have been the first name on the team sheet; now India plays with 3 spinners, yet his name is not there…………

with regards – S. Sampathkumar.