Umpire Dar, Rahul Dravid and a catastrophe

By John Cheeran
A small mistake leads to a catastrophe.
A silly decision by umpire Aleem Dar against Rahul Dravid on Friday morning in Nagpur has done just that.
With India beginning the day at 131 for one and Dravid and opener Wasim Jaffer playing sensibly only an outrageous decision such as the lbw verdict when the ball was very much moving outside leg stump could have wrecked India’s progress.
That made an average bowler like Matthew Hoggard a demon.
Had Dravid, the best batsman in Indian side, I must say much better than Sachin Tendulkar now, stayed at the wicket for more than an hour, the events would have taken a different course.
A bad decision, a loose shot from Jaffer and a good ball to VVS Laxman, had India in trouble.
Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Kaif laboured around then letting the English bowlers have the upper edge. It is a pity that Tendulkar cannot take charge of the innings when situation warrants so.
It was unbelievable to watch England skipper Andrew Flintoff attack with, at times with four slips, on what was considered to be a track that should assist spinners.
And it all began with umpire Dar wagging his finger against Rahul Dravid.