I don't think the chokers tag is well suited for South Africa since the 2003 world cup when they were hardly the team that anybody would have wanted to beat. I can still remember the then South African captain-Shaun Pollock being given an over short in their 1st game against West Indies which was solely South Africa's fault for maintaining a slow over rate bowling first. And then there was the match against New Zealand where though South Africa managed a satisfactory 307 provided by Herschelle Gibbs, Stephen Fleming's men also had equal zest in them to fight it out on the field.
New Zealand were given a revised target of 229 runs from 39 overs which was still over run a ball. All odds supported New Zealand despite South Africa having scored a 300+ total for, the Kiwis lost just one wicket en route to their successful run chase. The last was the game against Sri Lanka where a wrong signal from the stands ended the match in a draw and with it the South African dream not only in the world cup but also to reach the super sixes. Sri Lanka did their part of the game best by not relying on their wins against West Indies and New Zealand alone.
Atapattu did a fab job scoring 124* from 118 balls showing equal fight rather than just being a team that would cash out from the bad luck that the Proteas are believed to be cursed with. So was the case in 2007 when South Africans were far from being the favorites. With a miserable loss to Australia twice that included a complete surrender to Glenn McGrath in the semi-finals and New Zealand along with a clueless loss to Bangladesh, it was lack of the presence of India and Pakistan that saw South Africa in the semi-finals. I just cannot tell you My view on anything and everything under the sun.
The South Africans were favorites to win the cup only in the 1996 and 1999 editions where they had beaten all opponents in the league stages until they lost the plot in the knock out games against West Indies and Australia. This time, the South Africans have to consider themselves lucky to have ended up as the top team beating India and West Indies. A loss against England chasing 173 cannot be justified and neither can the loss yesterday against the Kiwis with the likes of Smith, deVilliars and Kallis. South Africa are gifted with the most promising squad even better than Sri Lanka and India. But, lack of commitment needs a heavy payment.
Showing posts with label Jacob Oram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob Oram. Show all posts
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Big guns yet to fire in this IPL
It doesn't matter for the audience if Shane Warne doesn't get the ball to turn like it used to happen in the Ashes. There is no one complaining if Sachin Tendulkar doesn't get a hundred in the IPL or becomes the highest run getter like he has done in the 2003 world cup in South Africa. But, if someone like Virender Sehwag fails to hit a six in almost every match, the fans are disappointed outside Delhi as well. And much to anybody's surprise, this has been going on for the past three weeks in the current edition of the IPL.
The big guns from whom fire crackers are expected happen to be Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh etc to name a few. However, none of them have kept up their word which they meant when they were paid huge sums. Sanath Jayasuriya can be given an excuse with Sachin Tendulkar not making up his mind to include him in the playing XI. And, there have been quite a few players like Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram who can be as punishing with the bat as they can get. But, injuries have overpowered them once again unfortunately.
And then, there is McCullum and Ross Taylor who have made their entry into the IPL just a day back after finishing their full fledged series against Australia. Though Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are found doing justice to the money paid to them and the expectations the fans have had in them, their nature of play can hardly be paralleled with someone like Gilchrist or Symonds. So far Gilchrist has had just one score above 50 and an aggregate of 118 runs from 8 games played so far. And, when it comes to Symonds, his record is just above Gilchrist's with the batsman scoring 2 half centuries and aggregating 232 runs but at a strike rate of 122 compared to 174 by Gilchrist.
Then we have Sehwag whose fastest fifty against Chennai Super Kings was overshadowed by 6 innings with scores less than 20. And, when it comes to Mathew Hayden who held the orange cap in the last season of the IPL, the only highlight this time would be the score of 93 he scored against Delhi Daredevils. And, nothing needs to be specially said about Yuvraj Singh who has had series of scores as follows: 4, 9, 4, 43, 15, 24, 2 and 36 which total upto 137 from the 8 games he has played so far. There have been situations in the past as well when a few or may be most of the expected batsmen disappoint. But, this time it is all the expected batsmen who have disappointed without any exceptions.
The big guns from whom fire crackers are expected happen to be Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh etc to name a few. However, none of them have kept up their word which they meant when they were paid huge sums. Sanath Jayasuriya can be given an excuse with Sachin Tendulkar not making up his mind to include him in the playing XI. And, there have been quite a few players like Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram who can be as punishing with the bat as they can get. But, injuries have overpowered them once again unfortunately.
And then, there is McCullum and Ross Taylor who have made their entry into the IPL just a day back after finishing their full fledged series against Australia. Though Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are found doing justice to the money paid to them and the expectations the fans have had in them, their nature of play can hardly be paralleled with someone like Gilchrist or Symonds. So far Gilchrist has had just one score above 50 and an aggregate of 118 runs from 8 games played so far. And, when it comes to Symonds, his record is just above Gilchrist's with the batsman scoring 2 half centuries and aggregating 232 runs but at a strike rate of 122 compared to 174 by Gilchrist.
Then we have Sehwag whose fastest fifty against Chennai Super Kings was overshadowed by 6 innings with scores less than 20. And, when it comes to Mathew Hayden who held the orange cap in the last season of the IPL, the only highlight this time would be the score of 93 he scored against Delhi Daredevils. And, nothing needs to be specially said about Yuvraj Singh who has had series of scores as follows: 4, 9, 4, 43, 15, 24, 2 and 36 which total upto 137 from the 8 games he has played so far. There have been situations in the past as well when a few or may be most of the expected batsmen disappoint. But, this time it is all the expected batsmen who have disappointed without any exceptions.
Friday, February 12, 2010
How a series against Bangladesh can count..
If the recently concluded one day series between Bangladesh and New Zealand is taken into consideration, scorecards of the matches suggests the way the performance of the New Zealand team has been deteriorating as the series progressed. In the first ODI at Napier, New Zealand were found playing the game with full excitement, when they beat the opposition by 146 after imposing a target of 339 to win and the Bangladeshi batsmen could hardly cross 200 runs on board. Then comes the 2nd ODI at Dunedin where New Zealand reach the target of 185 in over 27 overs losing 5 wickets.
Then, in the 3rd ODI played at Christchurch, New Zealand as expected did beat Bangladesh by a margin which was in no means satisfactory. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their run chase of 244 runs for victory. In the first ODI, New Zealand did everything possible on earth to contain the Bangladeshi batsmen first to put up a mammoth score of 336 on the board and then bowl out Bangladesh for 190. Then, in the 2nd ODI, the performance of the New Zealand team was comparatively below par. Though they won the game to take an unbeatable lead in the series, New Zealand should have bowled out the Bangladeshi batsmen all out; instead, Bangladesh played their full quota of 50 overs.
On the otherhand, New Zealand should have not lost 5 wickets to chase a target which was below 200. Finally, in the 3rd ODI at Christchurch, New Zealand lost 7 wickets during their successful run chase of 241. For the first time in the tournament, Bangladesh could manage a total of more than 200. And, New Zealand had their worst win in the series when they lost 7 wickets. It is not an unknown fact that playing Bangladesh is just a formality and nothing else atleast as far as the New Zealand team is considered. But, now it is also a curse to play Bangladesh I suppose.
Hardly any team would take Bangladesh as a noted opposition though they are granted test status in international cricket. It is no big thing for any team to win or crush a team like Bangladesh. But, a loss against the same can make headlines. But, now a days, teams take a casual route to beat Bangladesh which at times are mistaken to be a tough fight imposed by Bangladesh which would not be the case actually. Teams have now started thinking wise when facing Bangladesh, with the batsmen thinking of playing some distinct shots against the Bangladeshi bowlers and the bowlers tossing the ball in a different manner to the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Teams rather than resting some of their key players have took to this sort of technique while facing Bangladesh. And, this could be more than a warm up game when New Zealand are set to face the Aussies next month.
Then, in the 3rd ODI played at Christchurch, New Zealand as expected did beat Bangladesh by a margin which was in no means satisfactory. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their run chase of 244 runs for victory. In the first ODI, New Zealand did everything possible on earth to contain the Bangladeshi batsmen first to put up a mammoth score of 336 on the board and then bowl out Bangladesh for 190. Then, in the 2nd ODI, the performance of the New Zealand team was comparatively below par. Though they won the game to take an unbeatable lead in the series, New Zealand should have bowled out the Bangladeshi batsmen all out; instead, Bangladesh played their full quota of 50 overs.
On the otherhand, New Zealand should have not lost 5 wickets to chase a target which was below 200. Finally, in the 3rd ODI at Christchurch, New Zealand lost 7 wickets during their successful run chase of 241. For the first time in the tournament, Bangladesh could manage a total of more than 200. And, New Zealand had their worst win in the series when they lost 7 wickets. It is not an unknown fact that playing Bangladesh is just a formality and nothing else atleast as far as the New Zealand team is considered. But, now it is also a curse to play Bangladesh I suppose.
Hardly any team would take Bangladesh as a noted opposition though they are granted test status in international cricket. It is no big thing for any team to win or crush a team like Bangladesh. But, a loss against the same can make headlines. But, now a days, teams take a casual route to beat Bangladesh which at times are mistaken to be a tough fight imposed by Bangladesh which would not be the case actually. Teams have now started thinking wise when facing Bangladesh, with the batsmen thinking of playing some distinct shots against the Bangladeshi bowlers and the bowlers tossing the ball in a different manner to the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Teams rather than resting some of their key players have took to this sort of technique while facing Bangladesh. And, this could be more than a warm up game when New Zealand are set to face the Aussies next month.
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