The West Indian cricketers as well as fans would have now got used to losing matches or may they have got used to the same long back and it is now been realized by me. Whatever, it has to be considered as the ill fate of world cricket that a team that has had three world cup finals out of which they have won two against the strongest nations of that time is now found itself in shambles. One cannot recall the last time they came above Bangladesh or Zimbabwe in one day cricket and above Bangladesh in test cricket.
May be in the coming future, Bangladesh is going to overtake West Indies in both tests as well as ODIs. It should not matter to the West Indies Cricket Board as to whom it is playing as no matter which team travels to which country, the result is the same. West Indies lose the match by so many runs or so many wickets. And then West Indies lose the series something-0. This is the West Indies team which has had three ICC champions trophy finals which no other team in the world has been able to do. Not even by Australia.
In the beginning of the tournament, the West Indies captain Chris Gayle had threatened his fellow teammates of losing their spot in the squad in case they fail to show a decent performance. It is no doubt that the performance of the West Indies team is found to improve match by match when every match sees the West Indies team losing by a smaller margin compared to their loss in the previous game they played. This time as well, for the 1st time in this series, the West Indies were able to bowl out the Proteas well before the 50 overs.
But, the other side of the coin is also that the West Indies team lost all their 10 wickets against South Africa for the third consecutive time in this series. For the first time in this series, the West Indies team were able to bowl out the South Africans for a score less than 250. And also for the first time in this series, the West Indies lost all their ten wickets for a score less than 200 and just above 150. A line of 175 on the board would be ideal to judge the West Indies, which would still see them fall short by 18 runs.
Showing posts with label Kieron Pollard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kieron Pollard. Show all posts
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Amazing!
Well at one stage in the tournament, even though the Mumbai Indians were on a run, winning most of the games they came across, most of them were Sachin Tendulkar oriented who scored most of the runs for the Mumbai Indians, having the man of the match in 4 matches out of the 13 games he played and 10 which his team won. Moreover, if not for Sachin Tendulkar, there was not even a single international batsman in the Mumbai Indians squad after Sanath Jayasuriya was shown the benches to warm despite the fact that it is summer in India. Just joking!
When the West Indian 22 year old fresh face was purchased in this year's IPL auction, most of them thought that to be a bad investment and would harldy make it to the playing XI only to be deceived. For the second time in a row, this 22 year old was solely responsible for his team's success and this matterred more in the semis which didn't halt the Mumbai Indians' run in the tournament. Much to everyone's surprise, when Sachin Tendulkar wanted to lose the match against KKR, he rested Kieron Pollard who would have otherwise seen his team end up victorious.
Unlike Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard's contribution didn't last only with the bat but also with the ball when he had 3 wickets against his name in the semi finals yesterday giving away just 17 runs at over 4 runs an over. Regular bowlers like Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan conceded more runs and took less number of wickets compared to this part time fast bowler. Perhabs! He was the only West Indian who shone in this year's IPL second to not even Chris Gayle. Of course, hardly any players from the West Indies have made it, with Chanderapaul, Sarwan opting otherwise.
When it came to nig hitting for the Mumbai Indians this season, one and the only player who comes to people's minds would obviously be Kieron Pollard though there was Harbhajan Singh who had an innings of 49 runs from 18 balls. But, this was nothing when compared to Pollard's 13 ball 45 runs against the Delhi Daredevils at Mumbai. With the West Indian team losing out on many occasions owing to lack of performance by most of its players, Kieron Pollard can be of some delight watching him in the upcoming T20 world cup and that too at Caribbean. Wonderful!
When the West Indian 22 year old fresh face was purchased in this year's IPL auction, most of them thought that to be a bad investment and would harldy make it to the playing XI only to be deceived. For the second time in a row, this 22 year old was solely responsible for his team's success and this matterred more in the semis which didn't halt the Mumbai Indians' run in the tournament. Much to everyone's surprise, when Sachin Tendulkar wanted to lose the match against KKR, he rested Kieron Pollard who would have otherwise seen his team end up victorious.
Unlike Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard's contribution didn't last only with the bat but also with the ball when he had 3 wickets against his name in the semi finals yesterday giving away just 17 runs at over 4 runs an over. Regular bowlers like Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan conceded more runs and took less number of wickets compared to this part time fast bowler. Perhabs! He was the only West Indian who shone in this year's IPL second to not even Chris Gayle. Of course, hardly any players from the West Indies have made it, with Chanderapaul, Sarwan opting otherwise.
When it came to nig hitting for the Mumbai Indians this season, one and the only player who comes to people's minds would obviously be Kieron Pollard though there was Harbhajan Singh who had an innings of 49 runs from 18 balls. But, this was nothing when compared to Pollard's 13 ball 45 runs against the Delhi Daredevils at Mumbai. With the West Indian team losing out on many occasions owing to lack of performance by most of its players, Kieron Pollard can be of some delight watching him in the upcoming T20 world cup and that too at Caribbean. Wonderful!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A 4-1 prediction doesn't even turn out to be 1-4
Finally, yesterday Australia complete the formality by winning the fifth and the final one dayer against the West Indies by 125 runs at Melbourne. I wish one has to go through the statement that the West Indies captain Chris Gayle gave prior to the series that West Indies would win the series 4-1 against Australia. Was Chris Gayle that innocent to make such statements or did he expect fools to be out there listening to him jobless? Or, did he predict the loss to be 4-1 favoring West Indies? But, even that didn't happen. So, what was Chris Gayle saying?
May be Gayle included the warm up game against PM XI that West Indies won convincingly. In that game, Chris Gayle scored 146 runs with a strike of over 150. But, still that ends the result to be 1-5. Or, was Chris Gayle gifted with a sixth sense that made him predict a wash out in one of the 5 games that were scheduled as a part of the series? Forget about winning, the West Indies didn't even come close to winning one in the four games that was held. Starting from game 1 played at Melbourne, West Indies set to chase 257 for victory didn't even score 150.
And, in the 2nd one dayer played at the Adelaide Oval, the target of 171 imposed by Chris Gayle's men was surpassed in just above 26 overs. Added to that, West Indies didn't even play 40 overs correctly to claim something to have been achieved by them. And, in the 3rd one dayer scheduled at Sydney, major cricketing sites blame the rain to have played a spoilsport and deny the West Indies a would be possible win. All statements being made by considering the total of 225 put up by Australia on the board. Though a total of 225 is modest, it doesn't hold true as far as the West Indies is concerned.
One has to wonder as to how come a team that has not been able to cross 200 in the earlier games that it has played manages to chase 225. Then, in the 4th one dayer at Brisbane, West Indies, despite losing the game yet again to Australia put up a comparatively better performance when the team scored 274 runs on the board. This was the first time the West Indies put up a total in excess of 200 in the series and was also the first time the West Indies played the complete quota of 50 overs that they were entitle to play. And the fifth ODI is well in front of us. So, what is Gayle's say about the T20 games scheduled?
May be Gayle included the warm up game against PM XI that West Indies won convincingly. In that game, Chris Gayle scored 146 runs with a strike of over 150. But, still that ends the result to be 1-5. Or, was Chris Gayle gifted with a sixth sense that made him predict a wash out in one of the 5 games that were scheduled as a part of the series? Forget about winning, the West Indies didn't even come close to winning one in the four games that was held. Starting from game 1 played at Melbourne, West Indies set to chase 257 for victory didn't even score 150.
And, in the 2nd one dayer played at the Adelaide Oval, the target of 171 imposed by Chris Gayle's men was surpassed in just above 26 overs. Added to that, West Indies didn't even play 40 overs correctly to claim something to have been achieved by them. And, in the 3rd one dayer scheduled at Sydney, major cricketing sites blame the rain to have played a spoilsport and deny the West Indies a would be possible win. All statements being made by considering the total of 225 put up by Australia on the board. Though a total of 225 is modest, it doesn't hold true as far as the West Indies is concerned.
One has to wonder as to how come a team that has not been able to cross 200 in the earlier games that it has played manages to chase 225. Then, in the 4th one dayer at Brisbane, West Indies, despite losing the game yet again to Australia put up a comparatively better performance when the team scored 274 runs on the board. This was the first time the West Indies put up a total in excess of 200 in the series and was also the first time the West Indies played the complete quota of 50 overs that they were entitle to play. And the fifth ODI is well in front of us. So, what is Gayle's say about the T20 games scheduled?
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