Beyond the Blues

Firstly I must apologise for not having written anything last week. There was an important game and plenty to share, but somehow I couldn't find enough time to sit down to write. The main reason for this was that it was a close friend's birthday week and my own too. Please don't rack your brains trying to understand the term “birthday week”. Till last year I was in the same boat, but now I know. The idea is that besides celebrating your birthday on your birthday itself, you do something special - from watching a movie to meeting up for a coffee - everyday of the week till your birthday. So the cricket in the morning and the birthday-week celebrations in the evening kept me away from the computer. Sorry about it.

Coming back to the first game of the season, against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited from Pakistan, we decided to bat first after having won the toss on a greenish wicket. Opinions differed as to whether we should have batted or bowled first, but we decided to trust the efficiency of the Kotla track, a good batting surface. The decision backfired, and backfired big time. As you'd expect from the quicker men across the border, they moved the ball around and used the conditions beautifully. Cloud cover and fading light also helped their cause, and accentuated our grief. One of the guys, Imran Ali, got a rare hat-trick and we were bundled out for a meagre 134 in our first innings.

There was something in the track for the fast bowlers, but not enough to restrict them to fewer than 134. We did manage to get breakthroughs at regular intervals, and that kept the scoring-rate in check. There was something identical about all their batsmen, their keenness to go after every short-pitched delivery bowled at them. Almost every batsman in their team was a compulsive hooker regardless of whether he played it well or not. This, perhaps, showed the typical mindset of how cricket is played in Pakistan. They're an aggressive lot, and it shows in the game too. But whether they have the skill to match their aggression is a totally different issue.

Hi folks,

Our first game of the season starts on Monday, when we take on Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited from Pakistan for the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in Delhi. We've spent the last couple of weeks preparing for this match, keeping in mind the demands of a first-class game. The first phase of our camp focused on the physical aspect, and we pushed ourselves a lot harder in the training sessions. Not that the skills were ignored, but often we would hit the nets with slightly tired limbs. The idea is to get into top physical condition to ensure that we last the rigours of a four-day match.

Barring Gautam [Gambhir], Viru [Virender Sehwag] and Ishant [Sharma], none of us has played the longer version since the last game of last season. We've been involved in active cricket, but it has only been in the shorter version of the game where the physical demand is very different. Shorter versions require a more dynamic approach, which is based on speed, while the longer version requires the endurance to last 90 overs a day, for four to five days. Batting in the longer version requires more adjustment in the head, but bowlers have their job cut out. Unlike bowling four and 10 overs in Twenty20s and ODIs respectively, they're in for a long haul. They must send down at least 15 to 20 overs a day, and in different and longer spells.

We faced a slight hiccup in our preparation as rain decided to play spoilsport.The rain came down in the night, and unfortunately, it blew away the covers, leaving the practice wickets completely drenched. We couldn't get a hit for a couple of days, and were reduced to focusing on the physical aspect once again.

Hi everyone

The new season of domestic cricket kicks off next week when Delhi, my team, take on the champion team from Pakistan at the Kotla. To be honest it seems like only yesterday that we were packing our bags after the last game of the IPL, but that's the way cricket is these days. We are certainly not complaining, though. The more cricket we get to play (we being those playing first-class cricket), the more opportunities we get to perform and get noticed, meanwhile also earning a bit of money, which is vital for a first-class cricketer.