Silly Point

Old is still Gold

2010-02-18T20:04:00.001-08:00

Come on, fans of slam bang T20 cricket, what would you say of the outcome of the India South Africa test series. Any form of cricket can't get more nail biting than the one displayed by both teams in the recently concluded series. If Dale Steyn hogged the limelight at Nagpur, Bhajji and Zak did it for India at Kolkatta. Of course not to forget the heroics of Viru, Sachin, MSD and VVS.

More than action packed thrill, it is the slow nature of the game that builds the anxiety and the excitement. If T20 can give you high speed thrills, test cricket proved yet another time, the older bro hasn't stayed back in providing thrills and turn around of events. After the 1st 2 sessions of day 1 of the second test, nobody in their wildest imagination would have thought that South Africa would succumb to India like this. Such is the nature and format of the game. Providing equal opportunities for all every player, be it a bowler or a batsman.

If Steyn and Morkel could trouble the Indian batsmen with their raw speed and grenade like bouncers, Bhajji and Amit gave them back with their cuts and turns. To bat in the Kolkatta pitch on the fifth day was always doomed and South Africa would have thought that it would be India, who would be doing that. But the game went the other way. But the curators of this pitch should be given due credit, for preparing a pitch that held on for 5 days of intense cricket and that too was run over by Ishant so many times.

I am neither happy nor sad with the outcome of the match. But I am happy for test cricket, as it still generates lot of excitement. You could call me a purist or an old timer. But as it is taught since our younger days, Old is still Gold.

One word for selectors: Murali Vijay and Badrinath still need a few more chances to prove their mettle. International cricket is a lot more different from domestic cricket. The level of game completely changes when a player having scored tons of runs in the domestic circuit is made to rub shoulders with their international colleagues. The reason being, India's domestic games are not played in world class conditions. So both these players need some more time to prove their mettle.

And for heaven sake, please give Ishanth Sharma some rest. He is grave danger of being among injuries. For the first time, we have a fast bowler who is lanky and fast. Continuous cricket and lots of T20 games could ruin his confidence.

Team India not only you finished on top of the table, but you saved the series too. Kudos to all those players.

Thanks for Karthik for reminding about Hashim Amla.

India had always created great stars. Did you think in the Indian team? No I am talking about the opposition. Hayden, Collingwood, Nasser Hussain, Saeed Anwar, Misbah-Ul-Haq, Younus Khan and more all became to be great players, after Indian cricketers made a nobody into super stars. In every tournament, there is one person in the opposition, a dark horse, who always remains a thorn in the flesh. Indian bowlers just don't have a clue of what to do or how to get him out. So is Hashim Amla. I think the Indians bowlers had plans for the likes of Smith, ABD, Prince, JPD and in the due course forgot about this guy. Amla didn't play like a Cricketer. He stood at the crease like a warrior wielding a sword in his hands, denying India the much needed victory and saving the numero uno status. Hats off to you man. It remains to be seen how he fares in the ODI series, now that Smith is made to sit out.

What is the Use of the Numero Uno Tag?

2009-12-07T03:25:00.000-08:00

The Lok Sabha has congratulated the Indian Team for being crowned as Numero Uno in Test Cricket. While I can't stay away from cherishing this newly acclaimed tag, I am just amused to see, how long are we going to enjoy this? I don't see anyn considerable amount of Test Cricket being played by India in the next 11 months. There is a just a two test series against Bangladesh and not sure how much pride is the current Indian team going to gain by beating a team like Bangladesh.

Teams like Australia, South Africa England play test cricket all round the year. South Africa could topple India from its new found status in just a mere few weeks. So can Australia who are taking on West Indies on home turf. England has also got its Test Cricket calendar full for the coming year.

With a Cricket administrating body which shows interest only to make money by promoting tournaments like IPL and show no effort in boosting the test cricket which is very much implicit from the quality of pitches being made, I don't see a point in celebrating the numero uno status in Test Cricket.

If the BCCI really wants to protect the Test Cricket in its current form, it should play atleast 12 test matches in a year which should include a full series (which has 5 test matches) and create sporting wickets, which are not just conducive to batsmen to play their shots. Test Cricket is revived not because of the dull draws it is known for. But for the results, it produces after 5 days of intense battle.

Let the BCCI do something to improve the number of test matches it makes its players to play. Then let it celebrate the Numero Uno status.

A nothing test

2009-11-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

One of the most irritating aspect of the cricket is, the draw in a 5-day match without any contest. And thats what really happened in the first test between India and Srilanka. Except for the first session of this match there is no contest between bat and ball at all. Bat is way beyond the ball and both the sides become tired chasing it. No hope for the bowlers with that cherry on their hand. All their efforts is just waste when the pitch is made of a marble with no real turn or bounce.

But their is also no denying that the skill of all the bowlers were really questionable. No bowler was able to apply pressure on the batsmen constantly and forced him to make a mistake. If they bowl 4 good deliveries to create pressure, then the last 2 balls were real looseners with goes for boundaries. Both the experienced spinners Harbhajan and Muralidharan appeared clueless throughout the match. Not even a half chance was created which clearly underlines how they applied themselves.

And both the captains lacked imagination and didn't shown any kind of aggressiveness. Just when an experienced batsmen comes to a crease they has a deep square leg, fine leg, deep point or Sweeper cover. In test matches the priority must be given to take wickets and not to stem the flow of runs. How can you win without taking 20 wickets? Due to this in and out field the batsmen scored singles without any risk and dominated the whole game.

At last this test happened just for personal record of the batsmen. But due credit must be given to Dravid, Dhoni, Dilshan, Mahela, Prasanna, Sachin and Gambhir for their unwavered concentration while playing those mammoth innings. If Indian batsmen scored under some pressure, Srilankan batsmen amassed runs and almost created a result out of nothing.

Hope the second test has better pitch and most importantly gives a result. Else the Test cricket will have no takers.

PS: Another terrible thing is, the timing of these test matches. Usually they are scheduled in a way they fall in the weekends. But for the first time I have seen a match played in weekdays. Already the crowd coming for tests is less and by this, those little support will also be gone and the ICC's aim of popularizing the game will be dream.

Indo - Aussies One day Series (2009-10) - I

2009-10-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

First 2 matches of the 7 match ODI series between India and Australia was finished with each team picking up a win. Briefing of the first and second matches are below:

FIRST ODI:

Ponting won the toss and decided to bat first which was a surprising decision as many would have thought about exploiting the conditions in a day match. But Ponting seemed to be determined to put a huge score on board and pressurize the Indians, which was perfectly executed by the Australian batsmen. Even though Australia lost the wicket of Shane Watson to an incoming delivery of Nehra, Ponting and new wicket-keeper Tim Paine mixed the caution and aggression to score the runs at healthier pace. Their job was made easy with Indians bowlers spraying the ball all around the pitch. Only one who were in control was Ishant Sharma who claimed the wicket of Paine when he scored exactly 50. White came in next but struggled a lot in adapting to Indian conditions but Ponting on the other hand kept finding the boundaries. Dhoni bring in Harbhajan to stem the runs but he was completely off-colour. Erring in both line and length, Ponting picked up easy runs. The man who done the job for Dhoni in the middle overs was Ravindra Jadeja with his clever use of crease, pace and length. He put the brakes for Australian run-rate and picked up the wicket of Australian captain Ponting with a gem of a delivery which was well flighted pitching in the leg stump and spun a little to hit at the back pad of Ponting which is in front of the middle stump.

But Hussey came in and played a typical Hussey innings which is scoring at a scorching pace with minimum risk. White too found his touch a little and compensated for the initial dot balls. He got out after his fifty but Hussey carried on and thrashed Indian bowlers in the death overs to reach a formidable score of 292, a tough ask on a deteriorating Vadhora pitch. Expect Jadeja and Ishant in first spell and last over no one bowled with purpose.

Indian chase for this mammoth total begin with boundary from the first ball of Lee. Sehwag didn't showed any sign of discomfort in his first international outing after 4 months. He picked up 2 boundaries in the first over of Lee but couldn't carry on as both Lee and Siddle bowled a tight line to free his arms and he eventually got out for 13 by trying to flick a ball to on-side which is moving away from him. Sachin too didn't long last sent back to pavilion by the brilliant catch by Ponting at short cover of the bowling of Watson. Gambhir and Kohli joined hands to rescue the Indian innings but couldn't score freely due to the disciplined bowling of the Australians. After getting into 20s, Kohli perished while trying to hit Hauritz for a 6. Gambhir on the other end, kept running hard and picked some boundaries. Dhoni came in but he too can't score quickly and when India took the batting powerplay, it has already lost Gambhir(68) and in powerplay overs lost Dhoni and Raina and there ended the Indian hopes. The last recognized batsman Jadeja was also out cheaply but Praveen kumar and Harbhajan Singh revived the Indian hopes with some beautiful stroke play. With Lee opting out of bowling due to a sore ankle, Ponting's headache started with each of his bowlers going for runs and India reached a position where the match was for India if it scores 29 runs off 12 balls. And Watson's next over was plundered for 20 runs. Last over was bowled by Siddle, who got back his senses and stick to the line and bowled the destructor-in-chief Harbhajan with that India's revived hopes ended and lost the match by 4 runs.

Indian batsmen can't take any good from this match except Gambhir because its Praveen and Bhajji who pulled back this game miraculously and fought till the end. And its a clinical performance from Australians from the moment Ponting won the toss except for the last 5 overs of the match when his bowlers took to cleaners.

Second ODI:

Again Ponting won the toss but decided to field first considering the dew factor in evening and he didn't consider the firepower of this Indian batting line-up on a flat batting track. Indians went into the acceleration mode and didn't took off it and scored a mammoth score 354 with Dhoni leading the charge with 123 ably supported by the two left handers, in the middle overs by Gambhir and at the end by Raina.

With Lee out of the game, Australian attack lost some of its teeth and Sehwag captured on it and played a little cameo at the top before getting out for 40 runs from 31 balls. Sachin lost his wicket by some brilliant bowling from Siddle. Yuvraj promised a lot on his return but perished to brilliant reflex catch by Hilfenhaus of his own bowling. Then Dhoni and Gambhir partnered together to kept the run-rate above 6 with very minimal risk. And unfortunate mix-up cost the wicket of Gambhir(76) who is well set. But Dhoni showed his ruthlessness in his batting in the last 10 overs which Australian bowlers will find hard to forget especially Johnson. He killed his short ball and banged a shot straight down the ground in consecutive deliveries. Raina joined the party towards the end of the innings and scored his 50.

354 is always a big total to get anyday and with ball moving enough under the lights made the life difficult for Australian batsmen. Praveen Kumar was completely a different bowlers when ball is swinging and he claimed 2 top order wickets of Tim Paine and Ponting. Ishant bowled a gem of a delivery which kicked off from short of length and surprised Watson with both pace and bounce only made him to poke the ball to first slip. With 45/3 in 10 overs match was almost in India's pocket but this is Australian team, we have to remember. But nobody was able to score at the asking rate and only contribution came from Hussey who was then castled by a wonderful delivery by Jadeja. When formalities are finished, Australians were bowled out by 254 handing Indian a 99-run victory.

Indians didn't put a foot wrong in this match and perfectly demolished the injury-hit Australian side. Except Hussey and Siddle nobody can take any kind of thing from this match in Australian side.

THIRD ODI - PREVIEW:

With Tim Paine, Hopes and Lee unavailable due to injuries, India starts as a favorites. Australian injury list was kept growing match by match with Lee being flying back home and he will be unavailable for rest of the series. This is a huge blow and Paine too injured. In this case, Shaun Marsh will open with Watson and may Bollinger will replace the erratic Hilfenhaus.

India has no such worries and a full strength squad is available for them. The match is going to be played in Ferosha Kotla whose pitch is keeping very low which means any team can win this match.

Players to watch out for:

Sachin: Still to play a big innings in this series, which means something is around soon.

Jadeja: He already bowled superbly in both his previous outings and with pitch is keeping low in Kotla, he can be dangerous with his arm balls.

Shaun Marsh: He caught the imagination in first IPL and now he is again to going to open. His success is very critical not only for him but also for Australia.

India's best chance

2009-06-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

India bowlers especially spinners and RP Singh have done well to restrict England to a chaseable 154. It could have been worse if Jadeja didn't got that 2 wickets of Bopara and Peiterson at the right time this score could have swelled to 170. Jadega had a very good scalping 2 wickets, a catch and I have witnessed some brilliant fielding from him. He just fields like a man on some mission and his throws were like bullets aimed at the stumps. England seemed to be running away with the game when they were 70/1 @ 10 overs with both Bopara and Peiterson well set. The promotion of Maschernas didn't worked as he was just crawling for 25 from 27 balls. Unless for occasional very wide deliveries Harbhajan bowled well in the last overs.

Both Zaheer and Ishant got hammered but RP singh cleverly bowled his bouncers and contained from one end. I am off to watch the second innings. India has started well with Rohit and Gambhir ticking away the runs and it's enough to chase down 153.

More action awaits

2009-06-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

The next phase of the T20 world cup has started with very less number of shocking exits. To many Bangladesh’s exit is too shocking than Australia’s. The way Aussies have played made them a deserved candidate for the elimination. They have been outplayed in both of their matches and no one would ever see them as vulnerable as they are now. And in the other group, Bangladesh who played upto their potential against their Asian rivals India seemed to miss the plot against Ireland and were thrown out of the tournament. In the other groups expected teams(Scotland and Netherland) were made their exit and made Super 8 into an exciting one.

So now the teams are again splitted into 2 groups: Group E(India, England, West Indies and South Africa) and Group F(Pakistan, Srilanka, Ireland and New Zealand). So to qualify each team must win atleast 2 matches and the competition seems to be tougher in Group E as there were no minnows. Each team was capable of beating every other team on their day. But with the exposure and team balance in T20, India and South Africa were seemed to go to Semi-finals. West Indies hopes are lies with Chris Gayle. If he fires, then they can win. There are times even if he fires, they will let down by their extra-‘ordinary’ bowling. So it’s like one man show. As far as England was concerned, they have a decent team and they have to put collective performance. Nobody in their team were seemed to be a match winner, who can take the game away from opposition single-handedly. But for India and South Africa they are in plenty, so both England and West Indies must play well to go to semis.

In the other group, the bigger teams can breathe easier as they have Ireland in their group. It will be tough fight between Pakistan, Srilanka and New Zealand. But having the kind of players readily suited for this T20 format, New Zealand seems to be favorite to move to semis easily. Srilanka too playing very well with their top order was firing and their bowling seems to be tighter than other teams. So they can make the semis by playing to their potential. But the most unpredictable of all the teams, Pakistan is in this group. They have match winners. But they don’t know what is meant by collective effort means and they are wasting Misbah by making him play in No.6 and No.7. If they really want to go to Semis they must plan purposefully and should stick by it. Ireland…. If they make semis, then that will be biggest happening in this tournament. Nothing to mention more.

It’s time to enjoy more quality matches. Stay tuned.

Rules over look Common Sense

2009-06-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka defeated West Indies convincingly alright. But there was a debatable decision by umpires Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden. Sarwan hit a lofted shot and Angelo Mathews caught the ball within the boundary ropes. But he was not in complete control of his balance and went beyond the boundary ropes. But he had enough common sense to lob the ball into the air before he crossed over the boundary rope. After crossing the boundary ropes, he saw that the ball he had lobbed is about to fall beyond the boundary, which would mean that he had actually thrown the ball to give the batsman 6 runs. So what he did, he again jumped and while he was in air, flicked the ball back into the play area. It was amazing display of presence of mind, under those tense circumstances. Umpires consulted the 3rd umpire as well and came to the conclusion that since the fielder was not in the ground, which touching the ball, it was not a six, even though the boundary lines had been cleared. Hence only 3 runs were awarded, which the batsman had run.

To me, the umpires' decision just didn't make sense at all. If umpires decision can be taken as it is, then consider this scenario. The batsman hits a lofted shot. The fielder on the boundary knows that it is going to clear the boundary. So what he does is, crosses the boundary ropes and when the ball reaches him, he jumps in the air and lobs it back into the play area. Or Worst he jumps and lobs the ball to another player, while he is in air. How would the umpires deal with such a scenario?

The umpires didn't apply common sense in the case of Angelo Mathews' acrobatic fielding. Even though he had lobbed the ball while in air, he should have come back to the play area before lobbing the ball, which he didn't. That being the case, it should have been awarded six runs to the batsman. Had the West Indies, scored 2-3 runs less than Sri Lanka's score, this horrendous decision of Umpires would have deprived them of a victory.

Wish ICC amend such loop holes in the laws of the game, which are like our Constitution.

Bye Bye Aussies

2009-06-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had completed writing this post and was just waiting to click the publish button. It is now official. Aussies are out of the T20 World Cup. Can't remember the last time, the Aussies made an early exit. To my knowledge it was in Kenya way back in 2000 in the second edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. So the Aussies have been handed over 2 consecutive defeats and they are out of the tournament, without adding a victory against their name.

James Sutherland, the CEO of Cricket Australia would be scratching his head, whether forcing his players not to play the IPL was a wise decision.

It has been a day of eliminations with Bangladesh also making an exit from the tournament.

Cheers to Sri Lanka for eliminating the Australians from the World Cup. Ponting may have to think about bringing back Haydos and Gilly atleast for the shortened version of the game.

Bye Bye Australia.

England Still in the Hunt

2009-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

When Doeschate and Schiferli scampered for a second run, courtesy an overthrow from Stuart Broad, English Cricket fans would have thought, England was going to exit out of the tournament without a victory to their name. That was the moment, when Stuart Broad became 'Stupid' Broad. Thank God, English Cricket doesn't have a fan following like the English Football club. Otherwise, Lords Cricket Ground would have looked like a Bihar or Uttar Pradesh State Assembly.

The match against Pakistan was a do or die for England. What they wanted was not just a win, but a convincing one and that too against the last time runners up. Odds were very much stacked against England. But, little did they know that they were also playing against a bunch of guys, who never applied their brains, while going about the chase.

Pakistan should have worked a clear strategy, for not just beating England, but also a contingency plan to stay in the competition, if their plan A to win backfired. If Pakistan team management spends little more time in strategy making than offering only Namaz (I don't want to offend anyone), they could have made England's staying in the competition much more tougher. But they just squandered an opportunity. A close finish or a finish closer to the English target could have ensured that a win against Netherlands is enough. By losing in a big way to England, Pakistan have found themselves in the hot seat, with fire already in their butts.

I remember a match of Australia Vs South Africa, were South Africa required to deny Australia a bonus point so as to ensure a place in the final of a tournament. They set the target, which would deny Australia the bonus point, instead of going for a full fledged win. By having such a strategy, they lost the game, but not the tournament. They reached the finals, which was their motive.

Now England has to do, is to sit back and watch Pakistan take up Netherlands and even if Netherlands lose, the margin by which Pakistan lost, would definitely haunt them from going to the next level. Remember in 2007 T20 world cup South Africa lost just one match and they were out. Pakistan has to now work out, what should be the rate at which they should defeat the Netherlands. I hope they have the algos installed in their laptops to do a simple calculation, which actually is more complicated to them .

Nice way to take off

2009-06-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

India kickstarted their campaign to defend their title in a perfect note, beating Bangladesh comfortably. Though it looked like comfortable, some individual brilliance of Yuvraj Singh and Ojha is required to script this win. Dhoni won the toss and continued the trend of last WC by choosing to set a target. In the absence of Sehwag, Rohit opened the innings along with Gambhir both started well and raced away to 50 but after the Rohit’s wicket the run rate started to dip as both Dhoni and Gambhir were never in a mood to accelerate. So it’s a boon when they both got out by 14^th and 16^th over. Bangladesh slow bowlers done well in keeping them quiet… no no.. very quiet. Then came Yurvaj, effortlessly hitting sixes at will and took the game away from Bangladesh. He killed their bowlers with some great hitting. With Irfan hitting a six and four in the last over means that India reaching a par total of 180 on that pitch.

Bangladesh started off well with taking on both Zaheer and Irfan to cleaners and seemed to be racing away. Especially Siddique was doing more damage. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammed Ashraful fell cheaply but didn’t wasted balls. But in came Ojha took 2 important wickets in his first over scalping both dangerous Shakib-ul-hasan and Siddique. And that’s the curtains for Bangladesh as there are no players who can score at the required rate and they ended up at 155. Ojha got 4 wickets for his clever bowling and Yuvraj took a brilliant forward diving catch while the dismissal of Mahmaddullah.

It’s still a puzzle why Dhoni coming in at No.3 and halting the momentum. He has done the same with CSK. He has Raina in his team who is in good form but he promotes himself up and halts the momentum. Its better if he comes down the order and allows explosive players like Raina and Yuvraj to play more overs. Maybe he thinks about right-left combination much. But it will bring no good if there is no hint of aggressiveness.

Australia Gayled over

2009-06-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing fascinates me more than an Australian loss. Despite Wst Indies' woeful fielding and letting Australia put up 169, they just demolished the mighty Australian bowling. Just couldn't stop feeling so happy to see the panic stricken face of Ponting. Sidhu would have commented that Ponting looked like a kid in a topless bar. He just couldn't hide the disappointment in his face.

About the West Indian innings, my god, Chris Gayle played, as if a huge gayle wind had washed the Australian shores. King Khan would have definitely rued today. After seeing Gayle's innings, he would have definitely thought, why didn't he play like this a month back and that too in batsman friendly tracks.

Aggressive is not just the word to describe his innings. Is it beserk or blietkrieg, call it with whatever adjective and adverb you want to add. It was just an amazing innings. As in tennis, where players carry a spare ball for a second serve, it would be better for the umpires to carry some used balls, when they stand out in a West Indies match.

Australia are now definitely sitting on top of a furnace, with fire in their butts. They now face Sri Lanka,who can't be discounted. Not only have West Indies played out Australia, but what they have ensured is that the difference in the net run rate is that of between Heaven and Earth. Should there be a triangular contest, where Australia beat Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka beat West Indies, this loss might haunt them in a big way. Just can't wait to see Ponting and his guys take the first flight back home.

No Skill Only Nerve

2009-06-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

T20 World Cup in England got off to a soggy start. But there was no shortage of entertainment and absolutely no sogginess in the way, underdogs Netherlands, went about their chasing to beat England and that too in the last over. What a ripper of a match to the start of a tournament? I should say that the team, which held the nerve until the last moment won the game on the day. And of course England just didn't have the nerve to pull of a victory.

The English fielding was woeful. I could at least count 5 throws not being collected and Stuart Broad himself missing at least 4 opportunities in the ultimate over. When Stuart Broad had bowled 5 balls, conceding just 5 runs, it was a very good over until then. But he just didn't hold his nerve to have forced a tie, by just stopping the ball. Had the match gone to the super over, England would have psychologically felt better. Not sure, what Collingwood had told Broad when he bowled the last ball. Or didn't he tell anything anything to Broad at all?

Though England lost the match, just cant discount the fact in which Netherlands went about chasing a decent total of 160+. De Grooth batted like a champion batsman, with support from other batsman. The Deutch bowling was also pretty good, in the second half. And they held the nerve in the final phase of their chasing. The batting was not great. There was little skill in display in their batting. But it was the nerve that mattered, more than skill.

Will India do it again???

2009-06-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Again the T20 world cup is back, and for the first time I am seeing India going into the cricket’s one of the biggest tournaments as defending champions. Last time no one expected them to lift the cup and they surprised themselves and the whole world. But this time they can’t surprise anyone as they have one of the strongest team for this format with all of them being match winners and termed as favorites to lift the cup again. Others were also not behind with South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan was breathing down the India’s neck to grab the cup from India. Let me see what makes India favorites and what not.

Strengths:

Strongest batting line-up with big hitters from No.1 to No.7.
Nice combination of pace, spin and part-time bowlers with lot of variety.
Very young side with lot of energy. Most of them were brilliant fielders.
Dhoni’s intuitive and cool leadership.

Weaknesses:

All the players were coming after a Long and demanding IPL.
If Dhoni unfortunately injures means, no reserve wicket-keeper and leader of his quality.
No perfect all-rounder who can be relied upon.
Injury to Zaheer and Sehwag.
Drift between Sehwag and Dhoni.

Key Players:

Rohit has hit the form at the right time and he was pacing his innings well now.
Raina too was in great form who can take on any attack and tear it apart.
Ojha will be man to look out for. He is spinning the ball a lot and very cleverly flighting and varying his pace. The good thing he knows how to fox a set batsmen a real quality of agood spinner.
As always Yuvraj, not in the best of the form but still India’s trump card in middle overs. His sheer power will take the ball not beyond the ropes but beyond the stadium.
Zaheer khan and Ishant sharma: Best pace duo any team want to have.

All I am hoping is, India has the strongest team and must retain the cup. As a cricket fan I am hoping for this tournament having lot of interesting matches. All the best to India :)

The Ultimate Leveller

2009-05-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Few would have thought last year's bottom of the barrel would make it to the finals for this year's IPL. There were leadership changes in both the teams. Even half through this year's edition, Bangalore had no clue on how to win a match, after upsetting Rajasthan. But as purists say, sticking to the basics, had paid them off in a big way. Hyderabad ran away from the beginning, before Rajasthan could stop them. They are riding high with in-form Gilly and inconsistent Gibbs. Gilly, Gibbs and Symo combination is enough to take on any team. Added to that the disciplined bowling of RP and Ojha.

For Bangalore, there had been stars for each game. Ross Taylor blasted off KKR, Rahul Dravid came up good against Rajasthan Royals, even the worst performer of RCB Robin Uthappa came good against the pre-tournament favourites, Mumbai Indians. What is more startling is the local talent Manish Pandey. Nobody had even heard about him, until he blasted off a century, (the only Indian centurion in the 2 IPLs) and despatched the balls beyond the ropes against CSK. RCB would bank on him in a big way. Pity that India announced its team for the T20 world cup, before IPL ended.

If at all the matches failed to raise the levels of adrenalin being pumped, the results table did provide that excitement. Every team took the top spot atleast once, with the last match still deciding who would make it to the top 4. Two teams that were written off had made it to the finals and it is this uncertainity that keeps the game going. Whoever wins, I would be glad.

First week of IPL - Part I

2009-04-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

One week has been passed in IPL and still we couldn’t find who will surely make the semi-finals. Last year it was pretty clear that who all will go to semi-finals after first week. There are plenty of surprises this time around with unexpected teams looking stronger than what many have assumed and the teams which ruled the last year’s edition biting the dust. After one week this is my opinion on how the teams fared till now and will fare from now on:

Bangalore Royal Challengers:

Till now:

Started off with an thumping victory against the defending, depleted champions Royal Challengers but after that it’s the same old story of last edition with strings of losses. They are not able to pick their eleven perfectly which compounds their problem. Their in-form batsmen were Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, who are still considered by many as test batsmen. Their bowling too not an imposing and many would still wonder why they are leaving out Dale steyn while picking up the eleven. Their top 3 didn’t done enough and Robin Uthappa was a clear failure with both gloves and most importantly as an opening batsmen.

From now:

The future isn’t bright with Dravid returned to India and Pieterson too returning to his national side by next week, they don’t have players as back-up. With the lack of fire power at the top order and no sting in bowling attack I am expecting the same script like the one in last year.

Look out for:

Kallis - Getting to the terms of T20 in batting.

Boucher – With Pieterson leaving, he will be back as wicket-keeper and we can expect some fire works from him.

Virat Kohli – Looking good at the lower order. Time to move him up.

Chennai Super Kings:

Till now:

A reversal of results, for the last year finalists with 2 losses in 3 games. If they have lost the first game to the far more superiorly played Mumbai Indians, in the second game they have given a clinical performance to shut out Challenge from Royal Challengers. But they were edged out by Delhi, to be precise by AB de Villiers and Dilshan in the 3^rd match. If we see the reason for that, their batting was not firing collectively. Only Mathew Hayden and Suresh Raina were able to play big shots. Others were not able to cope up with the needs of T20. And in bowling too, CSK has to improve a lot. They relied on Freddie, but he can’t do anything in favor for them. He is one of the biggest failures in this IPL as he already packed up due to injury. Balaji and Muralidharan were bowled well. Except for them bowling looks very ordinary. Dhoni’s leadership is not inspiring and he is making too many mistakes in giving overs to his bowlers.

From now:

They can be happy by the fact that their squad will be at the full strength till the end of this tournament. All the batsmen in their line-up were proven ones, so its about striking the form for them. If their batting gets going means they are unstoppable and Dhoni must use his bowlers well. Taking Joginder Sharma in playing eleven and giving 1 over to him justifies nothing. And also he must understand that Badri was not a No.7 batsman. He must promote him up the order.

Look out for:

Hayden – It’s really hard to believe that this man was retired. With Australia team was in patchy form, there must be something running through the Australian selectors mind.

Muralidharan: With the pitches aiding assistance to the spinners, his 4 overs will determine the prospects of Chennai.

Raina: He is giving starts but now its time for him to stay till the end finish the job as many of his team members were yet to find the form.

Delhi Daredevils:

Till now:

A team with a clean sheet in the tournament. 2 win out of 2 matches and they seem to be good for more with the depth of their batting. In the first match they have got through with some top bowling by Vettori and power hitting by Sehwag. In the second match, though they have lost their openers early, dilshan and de Villiers shown that it’s not a 2-man team with their lusty hitting all over the ground. Not much to say about their bowling as they are being thrashed except Vettori. But their batting sees them through.

From now:

Their batting power is enough to see them through the leagues. The real problem will be when they enter into semi – finals. Many were still wondering why they have not fielding Mcgrath in playing eleven.

Look out for:

AB de Villiers: He has shown what he is capable of, in the match against CSK. Expect more fireworks from him.

Virender Sehwag: Everybody knows how he will play. The damage caused by him will be proportional to the amount of time he spends in the field.

Dilshan: A big-hitter, quick runner makes him a complete T20 batsman. He is proving his worth.

Deccan Chargers:

Till now:

They were doing what Rajasthan Royals have done in the last tournament. Written off by many, they are upto the predictions made on them during last year. All their batsmen were in-form and their bowling is one of the strongest in the tournament with RP Singh, Edwards and Ojha in the line-up. They have good all – rounders too. In the first match they have thrashed the hopeless KKR and in the second match they have again thrashed the minnows RCB. Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma has been the reason behind the clinical second win.

From now:

Fidel Edwards will leave in a week and they have to rely heavily on RP Singh for early wickets. Ojha has been really good in this tournament. Deceiving the batsmen with his flight and also very economical. In the last IPL itself, he had a great success and he is continuing here. Their batting is looking great with Gilchrist and Gibbs at the top. They also have Rohit Sharma in the middle and Ravi teja and Venu at the lower order makes this batting line-up a perfect one for T20. So there are clearly heading for semi – finals unless their players go completely off the form like last year.

Watch out for:

Ojha: This man is one of the left arm slow bowlers we have seen in shorter format. A reliable spinner.

Gilchrist: If he gets going, then his team will follow suit.

Rohit Sharma: He has a liking for IPL. He is being consistent in both the editions.

Part - II with the analysis of other teams will be published tomorrow.

IPL Time

2009-04-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

It is yet another IPL season, and this time it is South Africa who have got the opportunity to show case the biggest cricketing event, only next to the world cups. Not sure, whether even the last T20 world cup churned out so many spectators and so much fanfare. Yesterday featured the Match-10 of the tournament and man, what a finish. It was the first nail biting and dramatic end of any match played so far. Even the Chennai-Delhi match's fate was decided, once Freddie got out. Anyway, the tournament is underway and each team has a long way to go.

If Lalit Modi had to battle with the Indian Government to get security clearance, he has to fight a different battle here. It is with the rain gods. Not a single day passes, without an inherent threat with the heavens opening up. My much awaited show off between Sachin and Shane was a disaster. Not a single ball was bowled. Hope, we get to see a battle Royale between the two again.

I am trying my best to write before each match, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the teams playing on that day. Anyway, it is much better than doing a post mortem analysis.

Today Yuvraj's Kings XI Punjab are taking on Bangalore Royal Challengers. The RC guys have got it completely wrong after their first shocking victory against Rajasthan. Other than Rahul Dravid, nobody seems to be in any kind of a form, let alone score some big runs. The inclusion of Jesse and Ross from the Kiwi camp hasn't brought any result so far. Poor Mallya, somebody seems to be ill advising him. KP, the co-owner of the costliest player tag is yet to make any impact with the bat. He has only managed to get a warning for showing dissent. Poor fellow, the ghosts of the Indian and West Indian tours are still haunting him. Poor guy, tries too much to emulate Shane Warne in leading a bunch of players with lot of star value.

I think Ray Jennings has got some kind of an inclination towards South African players, otherwise, who would prefer Kallis over Cameroon White. Poor White could neither gain the confidence of Australians. A T20 specialist brought to India to play test matches, just for the credential that he can turn the ball 2 inches, his confidence shattered, now he finds his place only in the RC dug out.

Robin Uthappa is yet another flop so far. He has no clue of how to play the moving ball. Could only wack some air with the bat and when he finds the ball in the middle of the bat, oh boy, he finds some fielder as well.

The only glimmering hope for RC is Dravid, a big surprise for everyone but not for me. He is atleast living upto thinking that Test cricketers can still play T20 better. Think he is a making a statement to 20 world cup probables. But what could he possibly do, when half of the team is back in the dug out and he is expected to dig the team out of danger. A typical role for him, but he doesn't have the luxury to get his toe clamped to the crease as in a test match. The match ends before he begins to cut lose. May be, he should be playing a parallel game before coming to the middle.

As of today, Bangalore Chennai and Kolkatta all sail the same boat. Played 3, won 1, lost 2. If RC wins this match, they get pushed into the top 4. They have to do some serious changes at the top of the order. Open with someone like Virat Kohli. If someone with a stature of Parthiv Patel can whack Dale Steyn for a Six, Kohli could atleast clear the infield and scamper for a two.Bring Uthappa at the end. He would be happy not to play the boomeranging ball. Bring in Dravid at No.3. That is the position beat suited for him and the team as well. Kallis should make way for Cameroon White. No need to play him even after KP had left for international duty. Jennings can learn at least one thing from the Davis Cup. 'Non-playing captain'. A toss could decide between Jesse and Ross. I prefer Jesse over Ross, for he has taken some wickets. The only bowling hope for RC is Dale Steyn.

Punjab team can be written off from the contest. Other than Ravi Bopara and Yuvraj, nobody promises. Their bowling is in pieces. I think somebody had done a reverese encouragement of Irfan Pathan by pipping him to be the next Wasim Akram. Poor guy, he took this wrong advice and gave up his swing bowling. Today, he is not even a shadow of what he was 3 years ago.

Let us see, what happens tonight.

The Joy of Watching a Sachin Tendulkar Century

2009-03-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Watching cricket being played in New Zealand had always been demanding. Until the last tour of India, it had required lot of mental toughness, as India had always failed to conquer this part of the cricketing world. It also requires loss of sleep. Having worked non-stop for more than 10 days, my body badly wanted some rest. But my mind had other priorities. Before the start of this tour itself, I had believed that this Indian team is far better than the other Indian teams that visited this nice beautiful country on the eastern most part of the world. Even though the T20 games were a bit of a disappointment, the ODI's provided much needed relief and the icing on the cake was the winning of the series, the first ever by any Indian team.

But test cricket in the Kiwi country had always been a tough proposition. New Zealand had always great bowlers and some one or the other would turn up for the team every time. Richard Hadlee, Ivan Chatfield, Shane Bond, Danny Morrison, Shane Bond Darryl Tuffey had always proved nemesis to the visiting Indian team. Even the umpires had also contributed to a great extent to New Zealand's victories. But that was not the case in this tour. Having bundled the New Zealand batsmen under 300, Indian batsmen didn't have much of a threat from any of the New Zealand bowlers. Despite getting some good movement in the air, the New Zealand bowlers offered no threat to the in-form batsmen. What wouldn't fascinate a die-hard cricket fan than a good solid batting display and add to that a convincing Sachin Tendulkar Ton.

Sachin Tendulkar over the past few years had always played second fiddle to other players. He had been assigned the job of making other batsmen play around him. This was the role that Rahul Dravid had done splendidly throughout his cricketing career. Even if Tendulkar had scored a decent score, it was overshadowed by some other batsman's charismatic batting. Be it the century he scored against Australia at Sydney and Adelaide or the one he got in Nagpur, there were other things in the match that subdued Sachin's innings.

But in this innings of Sachin, we could see the vintage Sachin who would destroy the opposition bowlers. The best of the shots was the backfoot punch in the region between point and cover. It is not an easy shot to play, considering the bounce of the wicket and Sachin's small stature. Make small mistake, the ball would loop in the air, offering an easy chance for the fielders in the slip or at point. But that was not the case when Tendulkar plays it with so much of authority. Other than the life he was provided when being at 15, it was a blemishless innings, with an air of authority and class.

If he had rotated the strike, gave more strike to the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni et al in the ODIs, he held his innings beautifully and forced Yuvi and Dhoni to rotate the strike. After a long time, Sachin had played the innings to his terms, instead of the guy at the other end.

Despite having worked for more than 12 hours for 10 consecutive days, I just couldn't resist the desire of watching Tendulkar's innings even if it required to lose some sleep and get up at 3 in the early morning. The joy of watching of a Sachin Tendulkar's century is just uncomparable. I can atleast proudly say that I had been a witness to each run that Sachin scored to reach his 42nd Test Ton.

Cricket's Blackest Day

2009-03-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

Until recently, I had held the Trevor Chappel's infamous under-arm bowling to New Zealand as the blackest day for Cricket. It involved only Cricketers. Cricket has suffered a lot, Starting the Kerry Packer's rebel Australian Cricket, South Africa alienated from International Cricket for practising apartheid, non-Asian cricketing teams declining to visit Sri Lanka in the 1996 world cup, Pakistan unable to host any series due to the American war in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan not touring each other for more than a decade, due to cross-border terrorism and the list goes on.

Only very recently, did Pakistan began to host visiting cricketing teams despite the New Zealand cricket team, narrowly escaped a deadly bomb blast in the hotel in which they had stayed. England had to abandon the Indian One Day International series, due to the terrorist attack in Mumbai and even the Champions League Trophy was also abandoned due to the attack. But, never had the cricketers been in the direct line of fire. Never had they been attacked or victimised, until today, when terrorists began opening fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

India should have toured Pakistan, earlier this year. But for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, even the central Government, without assessing the security arrangements would have given a go ahead for the Pakistan tour. Let us not forget, the Indian Cricket team, had just been to Pakistan to play the ICC Asia Cup tournament.

Cricketers are better prepared to face deadly beemars from fast bowlers, but certainly not the bullets from a terrorists guns. After all, what do the terrorists want is nobody's guess. When a country like India had declined to tour on security grounds (this is the official reason given, if not this is the real reason), what is the compulsion for Sri Lanka to arrange for a tour in the last moment? The claim by the Sri Lankan Cricket board is that the board stands to gain 10 million USD with this tour. Aren't the lives of the cricketers more precious?

With this dastardly act of terror, Pakistan stands to lose a long way. The ICC champions trophy, which was supposed to have been held in 2008 was postponed to 2009. But now, it wouldn't be held in Pakistan. No Cricketing team would Pakistan until today's incidents remain in their minds. Pakistan is a co-host of the 2011 World Cup. The ICC has already begun considering Pakistan to be a venue of a few matches. If other cricket teams decline to visit Pakistan, then Pakistan Cricket team has to choose neutral venues like Sharjah (though I differ from the fact that this is a neutral venue for Pakistan) to play its future series. This not only means that there is a loss of revenue for the already ailing Pakistan Cricket board, but it has to spend a lot in organising the cricket matches in venues like Sharjah. Until then, let us hope, let there be no more terrorist attach in any part of the world on anybody.

Let us pray for the speedy recovery for the cricketers who have been injured. Let the souls of those brave policemen, who gave up their lives in their mission of saving the cricketers rest in peace. Let God give their families strength to recoup from this irrecoverable loss.

A Wake up Call

2009-02-25T01:04:00.000-08:00

When India embarked on the New Zealand tour, everyone had tipped India to be the favourites to win both the T20, ODI and the Test series. Even the New Zealand coach had expressed his view that India are the favourites. But looking at the way in which Dhoni and his boys took played the first T20 international, it looks like India has got complacent. Let us not forget that New Zealand literally gave Australia a run for their money in their own backyard. The Australian series was tied at 2-2 and the T20 match was a close one, but for the favours of the rain God, Australia wouldn't have won. So what did really go wrong for India in the first T20 match?

The main reason for the Indian team to taste success in this format is the game has been the attitude to keep wickets and go for thebig shots in the last 12 overs. Ideally, the first 8 overs should be played at 7-8 as the run rate, without losing any wicket. It then lays a very good platform for the batsmen coming in for the onslaught. This is the formula that was adopted in all the matches in the T20 world Cup. Even against Australia, India had scored only 5 an over after 8 overs. But with wickets in hand, it really does give an opportunity for the batsmen to follow.

Where as in this match, Gautam Gambhir started with a flurry of shots. The first ball he faced, he walked down the pitch and wanted to hoist the ball. But he just couldn't succeed. He still hadn't calmed down after Sehwag slammed 3 successive sixes. Ideally Gambhir should have rotated the strike and given more to Sehwag. Agreed, Gambhir has been in excellent form. But this is a new game, totally new conditions. Just doesn't make sense to slog it out in the first over.

Yuvraj Singh is known to have a weakness against slower bowlers. Before even settling, he played an awful shot to be trapped in front. Television replays might suggest that the ball pitched outside leg, but poor umpires, they don't have rulers to see, whether the ball pitched outside leg or not. ICC might come up with a crease marking wicket to wicket, which the umpires can use while adjudging LBWs.

At some point of time, India were awfully 73 for the loss of 5 wickets. No wicket was a genuinely earned wicket. Indians had thrown away their wickets going after some reckless batting. Looking at the pitch, which was a batting paradise, any batsman would have been enticed to go after the bowling, but when 2 wickets had fallen within the power play, Indians should have just played a couple of overs quitely.

Rohit Sharma proved yet again that he is more of a hype than genuine hope. Despite some gutsy hitting by Raina, the score of 163 couldn't have been reached.

Chasing 163 on a wicket like this and a ground, which is as much the size of a municipal ground in Indian streets is always going to easy for any team. Ishant sharma was really unlucky, when the umpire didn't raise his finger for Guptill. It may not have been written in the law book to give out for padding balls pitched outside off stump, but umpires these days are very strict while adjudging LBWs for such cases. The ball Ishant bowled to Guptill was a beauty of a delivery, pitched outside off, swung in and hit him just outside off. Any other Umpire would have raised his hand but the NZ umpire, didn't. There is a long standing record of Kiwi umpires being partial to their home team. Sunil Gavaskar wouldn't disgree, for he had to appeal to the umpire to declare a batsman out, when he bowled.

Another let down of the game was Irfan Pathan. Normally, India always missed the 5th bowler. But in this game, even the 4th bowler was missed. Irfan either sprayed the ball to legs of the batsmen or gave width on the offside. He didn't even match the shadow of what he was 3 years ago. His strength has been his banana loop inswinger coming into the batsmen. But the kookaboora ball never swung. It is high time, he goes back to nets to get his zip back, or India would still suffer for keeping him in the side.

Nevertheless, there are more games to the tour and India has another opportunity to maintain the reputation of the World Champs in T20 cricket. It is a wake up call.

Srilanka Thrashed

2009-02-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

In a game, in which the one who blinks will lose the game, Srilanka kept on blinking, and lost the series by the margin 4 – 1 to a far more superior Indian team. The only time they came close to winning was during 2nd ODI, but then also they have put a great fight back to come close. I don’t think that India has played some great cricket, but they had done enough to beat Srilanka comprehensively. Srilanka has won the last ODI not because of their great cricket but due to the complacency and care-free attitude of the Indian team.

Even before the series was started, India was the favorites even though Srilanka has beaten Pakistan in Pakistan. The only question that needed an answer was how the Indian batsmen will handle mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis. And the answer given by Indian batsmen was there is no mystery with this spinner. It’s all history. I am wondering how this was happened. Six months before, they are not able to read him. Now they were hitting him to all parts of the ground. Was he lost his magic or they have overcome the jinx? I think Mendis has to do something different as he was now handled by the batsmen very easily. Even in Pakistan, he doesn’t look like picking the wickets.

Indian Performance:

Clicked:

India’s victory in this series was mainly because of the rampaging form of their batsmen. No need to point anyone for these victories. Because each one of them have put their hands up when the situation raised. Everybody has got atleast a 50 or 100 to their name. The spectacular thing was happened during 3rd ODI, when Sehwag and Yuvraj, one of the most devastating batsmen in all forms of the game, joined together and plundered the Srilankan bowling. That is the least thing any opposition captain does want to happen. They have scored at 8 runs/over and reduced the ODI into a T20. Yuvraj has been consistent throughout the series, while Sehwag was as destructing as ever, but throwing his wicket too early was a cause of concern. Gambhir was in brilliant form, scored a 60+ in first ODI and then a mammoth 150 during the 4th ODI to secure the win for India. Dhoni played responsibly without much risk in all games and ensured that the game was not going beyond India’s reach. What more important is, he kept himself cool during tense situations as a captain. Once again he led the team well. Yusuf Pathan was played some good innings here and there and bowled well in patches.

Even though India has won comprehensively there is lot of areas to improve. Bowling was not upto the mark. They have done just enough to grab the series. Even the ever consistent Zaheer Khan has been taken for runs. Ishant too must work on his variations. Ojha has come good in some games. I think with some more games he will improve his flight and variation. With some part-time spinners India has managed somewhat well to restrict the Srilankans. The injury prone Munaf Patel once again turned to bed instead of ground.

Failed:

The place given to Rohit Sharma in this Indian team was a debatable one. After playing in 30+ ODIs he still can’t find his feet. He was an exceptional talent, accepted. But how can you keep a batsman who was failing continuously. In this series also, each time a chance has been given he wasted them. The only innings in which he played well was on last year's CB series final. Another one is Suresh Raina. He has all kind of beautiful shots in his armory and the way he losing wicket after scoring some 30 or 40 runs doesn't argur well. He was becoming more of a utility player than a complete batsman. Irfan Pathan also lost his swinging ability and it's time to find a better all-rounder who was able to bowl this quota of 10-overs without any fuss.

Srilankan Performance:

The main problem with Srilanka was they were still dependent on the old warhorses Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas and the world record holder Muthiah Muralidharan. They were not able to find suitable players for the rest of the team and they were struggling in a big time against a quality opposition, which was not at their best.

Clicked:

Jayasuriya was always a thorn in the flesh of the Indian bowlers. This time he made them bleed but he was not as sharp as he used to be. He scored a century in the first match and set the tempo for one consolidation win. He was ably supported at the top by Dilshan who was showing the signs of becoming a permanent opener for Srilanka with his big scores. But he needs to consistent to prove himself. This is a mixed series for him with runs scored in some matches and got out for some rash shots at times. Kumar Sangakkara was a in-form batsman for Srilanka, but the problem for them was, he was the only one who was in-form and he couldn't lift the spirits of this Srilankan team to win a match before losing the series. Mahela Jayawardene has found some form in the middle of the series and captained well this below average team. With most of the players in his team were out-of-form, the going is tough for him. Nuwan Kulasekara was the only bowler who seemed to have kind of idea of what to bowl at the Indian batsman. He was a thinking bowler and will be the lead bowler for Srilanka for the years to come. Kandamby also shoவின் ing glimpses of Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva in his batting. But he has work hard on his fitness else he will lose his place this fast paced ODIs.

Failed:

Bowling was a complete disaster for Srilanka with even Muralidharan was failed. India batsmen were handled him in a fearlessly which made him to look like an ordinary bowler. Mendis who was touted as a next big thing in world cricket was given a alarm signal to improve his cerenditals to shine at the world stage. Not much can be said about their fast bowling. Thushara was fast but lacked the control so can be said to other Srilankan fast bowlers. They have missed the accuracy of Vaas dearly, but he couldn't saved this Srilankan team. Batsmen who are not mentioned in the Clicked column can be taken as failed for granted.

Srilanka can only get consolidation from the below fact that they were not beaten by a side which was equal to them. But a team which was far superior in look, the way they play and which was thriving to become a top team in the world. There are problem aplenty for them and they must have known by now.

Well played India. Kudos to you.

Is Sachin shying away from T20 Cricket???

2009-02-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

T20 cricket is here to stay and has already proved that this format of cricket is the most entertaining format, the millions of dollars being pumped in as advertisements bearing testimony to the earlier statement. T20 has found fan followers from children to elders and women too, who were very much content with soap serials which would make your eyes go moist. IPL 2008 topped all TRP ratings in the summer season and the entire Indian film industry postponed all of their summer releases, fearing poor turn outs at the cinema halls. But there is one man, who has constantly distanced himself from this format. He is none other than the Demi – God of Indian Cricket, Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar gave a new dimension to play the first 15 overs of One Day cricket. It was his sharp cricketing acumen, which created a new rule to maximize those overs. But ever since the T20 format has been conceived, Sachin has played only one T20 International match against South Africa way back in 2006. India has since then played a World Cup, 2 matches against Australia one each in India and in Australia and India. The T20 match against Sri Lanka is the 3^rd match after the World Cup. But Tendulkar has not featured in any of these matches. Sachin is believed to have left Sri Lanka before the start of the match itself.

Tendulkar volunteered to excluded from the T20 team and hasn’t been keen to be part of any of the other matches. While other leading international players like Sanath Jayasurya, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden had all featured in the T20 world cup, Sachin didn’t.

So why is Tendulkar, the run machine shying away from T20 matches? Is he afraid of the fact that the media would go all tongs together, if he failed. Sachin does take a little while , say 10 balls to settle down and start making his shots. Does he feel that 10 balls are too much to settle down? Does he feel that he would be compared with his lesser experienced team mates, who might outscore him? Or does he feel that T20 is masala cricket, which purists don’t hold in high esteem and that’s why he doesn’t want to play this? Then he shouldn’t be even featuring in IPL. Or does Mahendra Singh Dhoni feel Tendulkar to be a burden in T20 games?

Whatever be the reason, it seems that Sachin Tendulkar is distancing himself from T20 cricket. I am an ardent fan of Tendulkar, and love to see him smash the balls outside the stadium and show that he is still a player having the fire in him.

A New Star for Australia

2009-01-11T02:08:00.000-08:00

The T20 International match between Australia and South Africa is still going on, as I write this post and South Africa are able to restrict Australia to 183 in the 2o overs. But Australia wouldn't have got to this level but for the efforts for the new comer David Warner. He set the pace for a huuuge first innings score. He was scoring at will. Started in the 3rd over, hitting Ntini for 2 fours and 2 sixes. In comes Dale Steyn after 4 overs and he is being greeted with a Six over fine leg, and then comes the shot of the innings in the next ball.

No fast bowler likes to be hit for a six, that too, the first ball he bowls. Having hit by rookie batsman Warner for a six, Steyn bangs in a short ball on the bouncy MCG turf and expects Warner duck for this. But Warner was well prepared for this ploy and heaves Steyn's short ball for a huge six over mid wicket. The ball landed more than 20 rows into the stands. Had this any other ball, umpires would have forgotten about this and would have gone for another ball.

Warner scored at will, running hard with his partners and making his partners like Ricky Ponting to complete a two, which would have been only a single. David Warner hit 7 fours and 6 sixers on his way to 83 of just 42 balls and the 43rd he faced, he fell to a catch at long on. That too would have been a six in any other ground. But not at MCG.

But for this heroic effort of David Warner, Australia would have been panting for runs. More salt would have been rubbed on their faces, as they lost 9 wickets in getting their 183. The next best score was 21 from Ricky Ponting.

David Warner plays for New South Wales. He hasn't played any international cricket, nor any first class cricket as well. Just 7 one day games for New South Wales are his only cricketing experience. He just showed no fear of facing deadly bowlers like Ntini and Steyn. Australia have produced yet another star.

Just heard that he has been signed by Delhi Dare Devils for the 2009 edition of the IPL. Let Lalit Modi be prepared to arrange for more extra balls, as the shots of Warner could well land up in the near by gutters thanks to the smaller size and reduced boundaries of IPL venues.

Thank You Kumble

2008-11-02T02:37:00.001-08:00

After bowling his heart out for 18 years, the legendary Anil Kumble has at last announced his retirement from International cricket. After Amit Mishra took a 5 wicket haul in his debut test and Dhoni led India to crush the Australians in the second test, the pressure was always on on Anil Kumble to call it a day.
Thanks a lot Anil for entertaining us for such a long time. You deserved a better exit.

Where is fair play in Cricket?

2008-10-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sunil Gavaskar made a revelation that the ICC match referee Chris Broad is racially biased against Asian cricketers, for he has fined, Zaheer Khan 80% match fee alleging that he abused Mathew Hayden. Well, Suni Gavaskar might have been correct, but hasn't Zaheer Khan really breached the spirit of the sport. In a sport, there is obviously a winner and a loser. But sport is no war. There is no loss of life, other than ego.

It isn't fair to sledge just because the other team does so. But better replies can be given with the bat and ball, than with the mouth. All players need to take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar, as I don't remember a single occasion, in which he has ever sledged or shown any gestures against the opposition. Even when Brett Lee bowled a beemar at him, the ball approaching his face at a speed of 140 kph, he took on his shoulder and just rubbed it off. He didn't even stare at Brett Lee. But the reply was given 2 balls later, when he made the fielder fetch the ball from beyond the boundary ropes.

On another occasion, when India were facing South Africa, Sachin and Ganguly, were going great guns. Andrew Nel was brought into attack. After bowling every ball, he ran all the way upto the batsman had eye ball to eye ball contact, frowned and returned to his bowling mark. Ganguly was unsettled and began to play some wild shots of Andrew Nel. This is exactly what Andrew had wanted. To unsettle the opposition player psychologically and he had gained a partial victory as well.

Sachin switched ends he just paid back Andrew Nel by making the South African fielders do some leather hunting. No wild shots, just firm push through point and straight past the diving mid on fielder. This time, it was Nel who got unsettled and began to bowl eratically giving 4 wides.

The game itself is a true leveller. Players like Zaheer Khan should take a leaf out of Sachin's book and try to practise it, instead of getting involving in verbal fights. Please bring back fair play into cricket. Let cricket remain a gentleman's game.

Salute to the Master

2008-10-17T03:38:00.000-07:00

"This kid is going to make more runs than you AB", this is what Merv Hughes remarked to Allan Border the then Australian captain about Sachin Tendulkar. Few would have considered his remark. But today, when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, eclipsed Brian Lara's record of being the highest run getter in Test cricket, an entire nation was elated. Breaking records is not new to Tendulkar, as he has the highest number of runs, centuries, match et al inthe limited overs cricket. But in test cricket, other than the maximum centuries scored, he didn't have until today, no other record.

What an occasion and what an opposition to outscore the highest run getter in Test cricket. We all salute you Mr. Sachin Tendulkar.

It is all about Defeating, rather than Winning

2008-10-13T20:46:00.001-07:00

Any sport is about winning the game. Teams and individual always want to win. But test cricket, which is often termed as a slow and boring show is all about defeat. It is all about sustaining the endurance for 5 days to defeat the opponent. In an one day international match or in T20 the latest form of cricket, a team can win the match by performing better than the other team. But in test cricket, a team can't claim to be the winner, if it hasn't defeated the other team.

In an ODI or in a T20, a team doesn't have to necessarily defeat the other team to be a winner. It is all about scoring runs within the allotted overs and trying to contain the opposition in not allowing to overscore. But the ball game is completely different in test cricket. It is all about posting a target in excess of what the other team coudl get and conquering all batsmen as well. That's why a required run rate of 4.5 in a test cricket, is still very much a difficult target to achieve, which is considered to be a lower than average required run rate in an ODI or in a T20 game.

Test cricket is the best arena to display a team's endurance and skills. It provides a level playing field for all the players in the team, be it batsmen or bowlers. In a race between a prowling panther and a deer, the deer might outrun the panther for a few minutes initially, with its speed. But it is the endurance of the panther which enables it to conquer the deer. The panther hasn't won over the deer. For the deer had outrun the panther. But the panther defeats the deer in its hunt. That's why purists still rate test cricket as the epitome of any form of cricket. Other shorter forms of cricket can still be glamorous. But the swing of the game, that happens in a test cricket has no parallel in any other format of the game.

A test match is not said to be won, if a team doesn't conquer all 10 batsmen in both innings, inspite of posting a target in excess of what the opponent could score. Great teams defeat the opponent to gain a victory. Newspapers should change their headlines to say that "Team XXX defeated Team YYY", when it comes to test cricket. It is much more than just a game.

A Golden Opportunity

2008-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

It would have been quite a bit of a surprise, when Saurav Ganguly was also named in the list of people selected for the upcoming 4 test series against Australia. The entire media has written off Saurav Ganguly, when he was dropped for the Irani Trophy. Worst he didn't even feature in the 'A' team, taking up New Zealand. But this kind of a come back is not new to Ganguly, for having observed sanyaaas from international cricket for more than a year, made an amazing comeback against South Africa. In an ad campaign, he would say, "My name is Saurav Ganguly. Bhule tho naheen". Very few would have thought that he will be given a second chance.

But the Bengali southpaw not only came back to the Indian National team, he even went on make his first double century in test cricket against Pakistan. But his scores against Sri Lanka and his performances in Australia and IPL didn't prompt the selectors to pick him for the Irani Trophy. But the new selection panel headed by Srikaanth has brought him back to the Indian team. This is a golden opportunity for Saurav Ganguly.

This is not an opportunity for Ganguly to prove his mettle as a batsman with more cricket still left in him. But to use this opportunity to announce his retirement and take a graceful exit from International Cricket. No matter whatever form he is in, how many runs he scores in this series against Australia, Ganguly has given more to Cricket. Only under his captaincy did India win the ICC champions trophy (joint winners with Sri Lanka), and were runners up in ICC Champions trophy and the world cup as well. India even won the Natwest Series under his captaincy. He has got the credit of stopping the Aussie jaggernaut from posting the 17th straight test victory. After giving so much to Indian cricket, it is time up to hang his boots now. He has to set an example to other senior cricketers to make way for budding youngsters.

Other than Sunil Gavaskar, I couldn't think of any other cricketer who has announced his retirement and played his last match. All past captains of India, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Vengsakar, Srikaanth, Azharuddin were sidelined from Indian cricket and they had to make an unceremonious exit from Cricket. Ganguly having served Indian Cricked for over a period of more than a decade should take a feather from the Aussie's cap, who have the habit of announcing their retirement before playing their final series. In fact Australia lost great players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn in one series. They all had announced their retirement before playing their last match.

A cricketer commands respect not only by playing well, but also by timing of his retirement. Ganguly by announcing his retirement will command more respect from the fans and media and other co-players. The selectors have created an avenue for Ganguly to make his own exit, rather than being sidelined and thrown away from the Indian National Team. Having retired, he can nurture the next generation guys and also concentrate more on domestic and of course IPL, which is more remunerative.

It is time up for you Dada. Thanks a lot for entertaining us so long.

Time up for the seniors

2008-08-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

It can be undoubtedly said that the Sri Lankans took away the 1st day honours in the deciding test. Much was said about the pitch, with its green top, which could assist swing bowling, but it appeared to me as a belter of a track, after all the Sri Lankans also know about their batting limitations and India's newly developed skills in fast bowling.

The famed middle order once again were not just upto the mark. The debutant bowler Dammika Prasad had done his homework, in producing that kind of deliveries, for which Dravid and Tendulkar are the most vulnerable. The delivery, which comes in to the batsman and straightens after pitching has been daunting these two batting prodigies for ages together. And they both succumbed to the same delivery. Once the top order was cleaned up, Ajantha Mendis had a roll over on the Indian middle order, which has never looked so vulnerable.

Is it time for a whole sale revamp for the Indian test team as well? There isn't just any camaraderie in the team. This team is just a collection of raw individual talents, which hasn't fired as a cohesive unit in the recent past. The so called fab five are brought in only for the test series and taken away for the other formats of the game.

As history has taught us, cricket is a team game. Individual blocks of raw talent isn't just enough to be a great team. The team needs to work as a cohesive unit. The cohesion, which is seen in the team led by Dhoni is not just there in the one led by Kumble. This team can always be a team most feared by Australia, as they can only cause upsets every now and then. But could never be a team to exhibit consistent winning performances.

One last word to the fab five. They should learn from the Australians how to call it a day, when they are at the peak of their career. They would be doing a huge disgrace to themselves, if they are forcefully removed from all forms of the game. They have held the Indian team on their shoulders for a long time and have given India great victories at Kolkatta, Adelaide, Perth, Trent Bridge, Headingley, Barbodas, Port Of Spain, Johannesburg etc. Now they should have a graceful exit from the game. It is time up to hang their boots.

Can India do it??

2008-08-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

When Anil Kumble goes for toss with his counterpart Mahela Jayawardane tomorrow at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium, the one thought that would pre-occupy him is, "Can We do it again?"

The team composition hasn't changed much between the one that beat Australia in the famous Border Gavaskar Series of 2001, when Saurav's men rallied from behind to stop the Aussies making it 17 straight successive test victories. Though Kumble wasn't in the Indian team then, the core of the team still remains the same with Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Bhajji.

Having said so, the Indians toured Sri Lanka in July Aug 2001 and lost the 3rd test from a similar situation. A brilliant 96 from Ganguly in the 4th innings enabled an Indian victory in the second test before squandering the 3rd test. To add to the woes, the Indian batting line up hasn't produced anything beyound 329.

The pitch is supposed to play a crucial part in this test, with the groundsmen preparing a green top, fully known with the thought that Indians are very much vulnerable on a pitch that suits pace bounce and swing. But a matter a caution to the Lankans as well. India has won tset matches in the recent past in Perth, Johannesburg, Trent Bridge against a far better seam attack than what the Sri Lankans have in Vaas and Kulasekara. If at all Sri Lanka wants to win the test match, they should go with their strengths which is spin bowling. Maybe another leggie like Bandara can add more armoury in place of kulasekara, who hasn't done anything worth in this series so far.

Indians should have some definite plans to counter the Menacing Mendis and Muralitharan. Not just one plan, but sevaral plans, so that if one plan fails, there are other plans to fall back to. Never in the past has any Indian batting lineup been so vulnerable to spin bowling. The Lankans have given the Indians the taste of their own stuff. Traditionally, visiting teams dance to the turning balls of Indian spinners, where as Indian batters would clobber the visiting spinners. For the first time, history has been reversed.

Let us wait and see, whether India hold on to their position of being the second best Test playing nation.

The Menacing Mendis

2008-08-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Much was spoken about Ajantha Mendis, son of former Sri Lanka cricket Captain, Duleep Mendis before he could make an international test debut. A.Mendis, unlike his father has chosen to be a bowler rather being a batsman and has already hogged limelight in the internation cricket arena both in One Day International and in Test cricket. Indians who have built a reputation of playing spin bowlers better than their fast bowling colleagues have so far been dancing Mendis' tunes.

Mendis broke the top and middle order of the Indian batting line up in the Asia Cup final, and that too when Sehwag was going great guns blazing every ball all around the park. In fact Mendis castled Sehwag in the very first ball, which was a quicker one. There has been no turning back for this young spinner who is still continuing to torment the Indians in the on going Idea test series.

The trick to Mendis' spin lies in the way he holds the cricket ball. Traditionally spinners have used their wrist to do leg spin and fingers to create off spin. It is this theory with which batsman look out for the way in which any bowler releases the cricket ball. But Mendis holds the ball and gives a push as if, he is flicking a carrom striker. With the same arm action, he creates leg spin as well as off spin, which keeps the batsman guessing.

Also his run upto the crease, which makes the batsman to think as to what pace the ball is going to be bowled at them. Looking at his run up, it would be anybody's guess that the ball would reach the batsman at a pace close to 100 Kph. But it is his deceptive speed and skid that does all the trick. The ball apparently reaches the batsman at 80-85 Kph which creates so much of confusion in the batsman's mind as to whether to go forward and play it on the front foot or take a foot back and play it on the back foot. But at times, the ball reaches the batsman at 100 Kph. Quite often, it is this confusion that traps most of the batsman right in front or leave the line of the ball. The dismissal of Laxman in the second inninigs of the second test at Galle exactly happened in this fashion. He was in 2 minds as to how to play the ball, which was bowled at a pace closer to 100 Kph.

The line Mendis bowls is also impeccable. When a seasoned bowler like Harbhajan Singh is spraying the ball outside the leg stump, creating problems for the wicket keeper, Mendis bowls wicket to wicket, which gives little room for the batsman to freeze arms. In this small battle against Indians, Mendis has been greatly successful. That too against a batting line up, which has won famous test cricket victories.

But Mendis has to be a bit careful while playing on spinner unfriendly pitches. This kind of carrom coin flicking action might not work everywhere. Batsman can come down the wicket and can negotiate the spin very successfully. It now remains to see, as to how he scales his bowling, while playing against great teams like Australia and South Africa outside the sub-continent.

Atlast a Win, But

2008-08-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

India may have clinched the second test in the on-going Idea test cricket series against Sri Lanka. But this win certainly didn't come in the most convincing way, looking at the kind of Cricket, the Indians displayed, against a team, which didn't have any other armoury other than 2 spinners and of course a sedate and turning pitch to bank on.

The kind of scores, the Indians put up in both the Innings were certainly not the one to be proud of, given the kind of batting line up, the Indians had. As Sidhu says, the records, which the famed Indian line up has, did reveal more of their weakness against a quality spinner than what it should have hidden. Never in the recent past have all the 4 batting genius have displayed collective efforts in putting up a big score against any team in the recent past.

The one man who made all the difference between the teams were Virender Sehwag. His kind of cricket reminds of George Bernard Shaw's famous quote, "Men See things as they are and Say Why? I dream things that never were and say why not?" It is this attitude of Sehwag, as to why not attack the Sri Lankan bowling, which gave the kind of opening, the Indian team badly wanted. In that process, Virender Sehwag was only the second batsman next to Gavaskar to have carried on his bat scoring a double century and that too in adverse conditions.

While accolading Sehwag, due credit should be given to Gautam Gambhir, who ably supported Sehwag in his quest. However, it is too early to answer the ever haunting question "Has India at last found the right opening combination for the longer format?"

Despite the win, Team test cricket India (I think this is how, we need to address the team, given that there are 2 more teams for the 50-50 and T20 formats) has got to do some serious introspection on how to counter "The Menacing Mendis". Gary Kirsten has got to think out of the box, to counter the variety of spin bowling Mendis has displayed so far. The ball which got Gambhir out in the second innings is no way second to the Shane Warne ball, that castled Mike Gatting around his legs. If this guy can turn the ball away from a batsman, for more than 3 foot, he is the man, whom Sri Lanka has to nurture in the long run. Quite a few batsman would have thought that they are happy to have retired from International Cricket, before Mendis appeared on the internation scene.

Anyway congratulations to the Indian team on levelling the series. The last time, India toured Sri Lanka, the result of the series was exactly similar to the current situation. Hope India doesn't squander away this hard earned Win. Winning the series against Sri Lanka is a must to prove that the earlier wins against Australia, South Africa and England were not just fluke.