Rahul Dravid ‘The Wall’ crumbles again

It was the same old story for Rahul Dravid as ‘The Wall’ crumbled under pressure once again. Dravid has been bowled out six times in the ongoing series in Australia. Dravid's dismissal on Wednesday may have seemed unlucky as the delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus bounced higher than usual, hit him on the elbow and bounced back on to the stumps, but the end result was the same: Out bowled four times in succession, reads a report in The Times Of India.

According to the report, experts attribute it to his slowing reflexes or for the simple reason that The Wall has failed to adapt and improvise. If so, what is the team management doing about it, ask the experts.

Another report in the TOI states the Indian players blaming their misadventure Down Under on poor luck. “From coach Duncan Fletcher to skipper MS Dhoni to R Ashwin, all have pleaded helplessness and played the ‘badluck’ card in a bid to stymie criticism. Ishant Sharma, who has rarely bowled two good balls in an over throughout the series, was the latest to take this well-travelled route on Wednesday while trying to explain why India toiled for almost two days on the field here,” says the report.

“But for Perth, we have bowled well. Even here, in Adelaide, we bowled well. The wicket is flat and we have been unlucky. We are bowling in right areas and trying to be patient. We are beating the bat and getting the edges but they are falling short of fielders. You can’t do much. Hopefully, our luck will change,” said Ishant.

In an interesting revelation it has been found that Michael Clarke's double hundred in Adelaide came out of a bat made in Jalandhar. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the Australia skipper got his bat custom made from India. “While the irony would not be missed by the India fans, the Jalandhar-based bat manufacturer, Spartan Sporting Goods, is smiling from ear to ear. It  entered into a three-year contract with Clarke only before the Adelaide Test, and the batsman hammered a big one with the signature MC 329 willow, representing his initials and his unbeaten triple in Sydney,” says the report.

According to a PTI report in The Hindu, Yuvraj Singh is likely to miss the fifth edition of IPL due to treatment of his non-malignant lung tumour and might be out of competitive cricket for about six months. Citing close sources close to the cricketer, Yuvraj is currently in the United States for treatment of his tumour and once it is removed, the recuperation process will start. “Yuvraj went to UK and from there has travelled to the United States for an advanced treatment. The oncologists who will be treating him in the US will take a call on whether he would undergo surgery or any other form of treatment. But that's for sure, he won't be playing in the IPL,” a source in the know of things told PTI.

Coming to domestic cricket, an article in The Hindu credits the success of Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy to involving professionals in the team. “When it won the Ranji Trophy last season, it was considered a fluke. But now by winning it convincingly against Tamil Nadu, it showed that success does not only need meticulous planning but also execution with geometrical precision,” says the article.

Apart from cricket, shuttlers Saurabh Verma and PV Sindhu captured their maiden National titles in the presence of the legendary Prakash Padukone.  According to The Times Of India, Verma, like Padukone did in his era, captured his first national title after humble beginnings that saw him begin his career playing on a makeshift cement court. While it was the Canara Union marriage hall for Padukone, Verma's journey began in an unused library back home in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.

Sindhu, on the other hand, joined the former All England champion in an elite list as the only other 16-year-old National title winner after downing Airports Authority of India's Neha Pandit 21-9, 21-14.

Meanwhile, Pankaj Advani and Sourav Kothari had to battle hard to book their semifinal clash in the Manisha National billiards and snooker championship here on Wednesday. According to The Hindu, Advani, unlucky to lose the first game against Rupesh Shah, made the most of the chances that came his way in the third and fourth games. “Once he found his rhythm in the fifth, Advani piled up an unfinished break of 133 to prove his superiority,” says the report.