Irani Trophy 2008 Day 1

The two noteworthy dismissals of the day were those of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Rahul Dravid fell to the most exceptional delivery of the day, one which moved almost a foot from outside off-stump, giving Dravid no chance of meeting it. Dravid did not help himself by preparing to play back, instead of pushing out (this might just have gotten him outside off-stump). Dravid was dismissed on the 34th over of the day, and it seemed as though Ishant Sharma was getting appreciable reverse already. I say this because it is unlikely that the ball was still swinging conventionally in the 34th over.

The other noteworthy dismissal was that of VVS Laxman. This is not the first time this year that he has been dismissed trying to play that lofted sweep shot against the off-spinner. He plays it such that it is neither well-lofted, nor along the ground. I suspect that he means to play lofted, but he needs to execute better. For a world class batsman, he has gotten out too often to that kind of unforced error (a recent dismissal against Mendis at Galle comes to mind). Of course, given the way he plays, one ought to expect that he will commit more unforced errors than say Rahul Dravid or Jacques Kallis, but it is my contention that Laxman's success as a Test Match batsman has come about due to his ability cut down on these unforced errors. This has had the effect of sharpening his shot selection.

Given VVS's Irani Trophy record though, he will almost certainly make runs in the second innings. Thats the thing about the regular India Test players. If you look through the Irani Trophy records or even first class records in this decade, you will find that they have invariably been prolific.

The other noteworthy event of the day was Sehwag's decision to ask Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir to open the batting. This, along with Rahul Dravid's decision to open the batting are both healthy signs, for they suggest that both sides are interested in winning the Irani Trophy game. Im almost certain that there will be some serious needle in the game, and there is nothing the Indian Test bowling attack will want more than to make sure that Virender Sehwag fails with the bat in this game. If Sehwag's Delhi beat the Rest Of India, i dare say that Kumble and c0. will never live it down in the Indian dressing room and will be the subject of endless ribbing from the Delhi players - Sehwag, Gambhir and Ishant. Regardless of what some "reporters" might say, this is a game which both sides want to win, and nobody is likely to place any selection related concerns ahead of that basic ambition.

Given that the wicket is likely to break up earlier than normal, Delhi's first innings becomes crucial. I suspect that tomorrow will be Virender Sehwag's day. He has put every bowling attack in the world to sword in recent years. I think one can say with confidence that he wants his turn against the Indian attack.

PS: Since when did the Irani Trophy become the "Irani Cup"? Would it be Ok to say that Australia won the World Trophy in 2007?