It is nothing but a well sought after loss to England when they couldn't even come close to the target of 272 despite at one stage of the game being in a comfortable position at 129-0. With such a start, most of the teams in the ICC's list would have played a spoilsport to a team that had plans to whitewash their opposition rather than support the same. Keeping that initial grip apart, England could manage only 47 runs from 15 overs at a run-rate of just over 3.00 runs an over. One has to doubt whether it was the same England who whitewashed India on their previous tour.
With such a dismal performance, it is difficult to say where the problem lies with England. Was it because of the fact that the powerplay got over which was responsible for their batting debacle or was it that the Indian bowlers got their rhythm only after the 21st over or last but not the least, if not for their openers, no one had come prepared for the game? One can understand the problem the English batsmen have playing spin bowling under sub-continent conditions. But, if someone like Ashwin and Jadeja can tackle players with a decade old experience, there can be little said about such team.
There were the likes of Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara who could have done a bit to save some face for their team. Earlier as well, things didn't go on as smoothly for the Indian batsmen when Gautam Gambhir and Rahane had to be patient when facing the new ball. In the end, it was Dhoni's quickfire 75* runs that saw the Indian total cross the 250 run mark. In my opinion, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should have been the man of the match along with Ravindra Jadeja. But, Jadeja was also not a bad choice for the award.
First of all, it was a wrong decision to allow the hosts to bat on a pitch that was tough for the batsmen which was evident when hard hitting batsmen like Dhoni and Gambhir had to fight with patience initially until the could settle down. Due to that mistake from Alistair Cook, Dhoni and with that India got the advantage of slog overs towards the end of the innings which Dhoni efficiently used. But still, losing 9 wickets for 47 runs speaks it all for England to have got used to losing or donated the match to India. With a T20 game left, one has to see whether India can make it 6-0.
Showing posts with label Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
No total is big for Dhoni's men
It is now a matter of past that India have won the series after won the third ODI at Mohali yesterday when they were the favorites to not only win the series but also to whitewash the England team that is touring the sub-continent nation. Yesterday, needless to be said, India beat England after chasing a total in excess of 300 for yet another time. It is non countable the number of times India have successfully chased down a 300+ total in one dayers. The only difference between the third ODI and the previous two one dayers was that this time England put up a better performance with the bat.
For a change, Alistair Cook who did the damage to a little extent with the bat was found to crash when he fell with the scoreboard reading just 8 runs with his contribution being 3. However, the incoming batsmen did a fab job by bringing up a total of 298 which may was the maximum the English batsmen could manage at least in this series. But, needless to be said, that total was too less for the likes of Dhoni, Jadeja and co when they had the target with four balls to go and with 5 wickets still in hand.
It is obvious for someone like Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli to inflict a damage on the opposition bowlers. But,for a change, even some Ajinkya Rahane was able to do the same along with a decent support given by Parthiv Patel from the other end. Rahane scored 91 which was his maiden effort that won a match for India and was awarded the man of the match. Earlier in the day, it is not sure whether Dhoni was experimenting with his bowlers when he repeatedly tossed the ball to Umesh Yadav who went in for over 7.00 runs an over.
Luckily, for Dhoni and India, all those bowlers who did not bowl their full quota of 10 overs had a wicket against their name when Kohli, Vinay Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja returned with a wicket each. The England captain was never found taking any sort of risk when he didn't hand the ball to Ravi Bopara despite going for just 4.00 runs an over. Four bowlers from England completed their quota of 10 overs which proved costly for them. Everything apart, if someone like Rahane, Parthiv Patel etc start scoring quick runs, the caliber of the England has to come under scrutiny.
For a change, Alistair Cook who did the damage to a little extent with the bat was found to crash when he fell with the scoreboard reading just 8 runs with his contribution being 3. However, the incoming batsmen did a fab job by bringing up a total of 298 which may was the maximum the English batsmen could manage at least in this series. But, needless to be said, that total was too less for the likes of Dhoni, Jadeja and co when they had the target with four balls to go and with 5 wickets still in hand.
It is obvious for someone like Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli to inflict a damage on the opposition bowlers. But,for a change, even some Ajinkya Rahane was able to do the same along with a decent support given by Parthiv Patel from the other end. Rahane scored 91 which was his maiden effort that won a match for India and was awarded the man of the match. Earlier in the day, it is not sure whether Dhoni was experimenting with his bowlers when he repeatedly tossed the ball to Umesh Yadav who went in for over 7.00 runs an over.
Luckily, for Dhoni and India, all those bowlers who did not bowl their full quota of 10 overs had a wicket against their name when Kohli, Vinay Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja returned with a wicket each. The England captain was never found taking any sort of risk when he didn't hand the ball to Ravi Bopara despite going for just 4.00 runs an over. Four bowlers from England completed their quota of 10 overs which proved costly for them. Everything apart, if someone like Rahane, Parthiv Patel etc start scoring quick runs, the caliber of the England has to come under scrutiny.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sweet revenge 1 for India
It is needless to be said about the way Indians will take on the English team on their return series to India where they are scheduled to play 5 one dayers and one T20 game. Luckily for England, there will be no test matches to worry about. Had this been something similar to the Ashes, they would have retained the title for a mere 2 months before surrendering the same to India. Yesterday, at Hyderabad India registered a first win against England by 126 runs which was more than any margin of victory for both teams in the last two series played against each other.
The English bowlers had absolutely no answers to the helicopter shot by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who top scored with 87 and was awarded the man of the match. There were contributions from other batsmen as well that included Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Gautam Gambhir to a greater extent. The only bowler from England who tasted success a little bit was Graeme Swann who had an over maiden and a wicket to his name. Of course, even Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach also returned with a wicket but were at the same time belted for more than 6.0 runs an over.
If the batsmen did their work by scoring runs and keeping the scoreboard ticking, even the bowlers were not short of performing their duty when no bowler bowled his complete quota of 10 overs and still saw all 10 wickets from England tumbling as though it was a day 5 of a test match. If not for Alistair Cook, no other batsmen had a worthy contribution with the bat though Jonathan Trott stayed there at the crease for a decent amount of time. 6 out of the eleven English batsmen who made it to the crease (obviously) returned back scoring single digit scores.
England's innings got over with close to 15 overs of their game still to go. Scorecard suggests that only Praveen Kumar had an over maiden under his name though other bowlers were no short in tackling their opposition. Umesh Yadav was the most expensive bowler who gave away runs at a rate of 6.40 runs an over which can be forgiven, given India's victory over the trouble torn team and with Umesh Yadav being in his early cricketing days. The first six in the English innings came from the blades of the number 10 batsman - Steven Finn who luckily remained unbeaten.
The English bowlers had absolutely no answers to the helicopter shot by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who top scored with 87 and was awarded the man of the match. There were contributions from other batsmen as well that included Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Gautam Gambhir to a greater extent. The only bowler from England who tasted success a little bit was Graeme Swann who had an over maiden and a wicket to his name. Of course, even Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach also returned with a wicket but were at the same time belted for more than 6.0 runs an over.
If the batsmen did their work by scoring runs and keeping the scoreboard ticking, even the bowlers were not short of performing their duty when no bowler bowled his complete quota of 10 overs and still saw all 10 wickets from England tumbling as though it was a day 5 of a test match. If not for Alistair Cook, no other batsmen had a worthy contribution with the bat though Jonathan Trott stayed there at the crease for a decent amount of time. 6 out of the eleven English batsmen who made it to the crease (obviously) returned back scoring single digit scores.
England's innings got over with close to 15 overs of their game still to go. Scorecard suggests that only Praveen Kumar had an over maiden under his name though other bowlers were no short in tackling their opposition. Umesh Yadav was the most expensive bowler who gave away runs at a rate of 6.40 runs an over which can be forgiven, given India's victory over the trouble torn team and with Umesh Yadav being in his early cricketing days. The first six in the English innings came from the blades of the number 10 batsman - Steven Finn who luckily remained unbeaten.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
I will always put club before country:Gambhir
Well with so much money and fame involved by being an Indian cricketer, anybody would like to become one. If one doe not get my idea clearly, then referring to Parthiv Patel, Sreesanth etc will prove worthy. One can easily guess why Sreesanth is famous for when his bowling has got nothing to do with the news what he makes for. It is not only these two but the entire lot of Indian cricketers who are bagging good money by featuring themselves in ads and playing in the IPL. No doubt that India won the ICC world cup this year by beating Sri Lanka.
But, more than just talent and support from their fans, it was the money that fascinated the Indian players to do something more for themselves keeping in mind the rewards they get in case they manage to do it big. Of course, that is obvious that everything needs an inspiration and with the Indian players enjoying such a kind of inspiration should not be underestimated for, they bought home something which no other team has been able to since the past 28 years. So has been the case some 4 years ago when the same team lifted the world T20 at South Africa.
It was only after he big money started after the team's victory in the world T20 that India started winning games when they won the Commonwealth Bank series in 2007/08 and a bilateral series against Pakistan. Now, Gautam Gambhir has preferred to lean towards his country rather than his club cricket despite his words speaking opposite from the actions what he has taken. A player who has pulled himself out of the tour to West Indies owing to a shoulder injury had no problems playing in the IPL. So was the case with Dhoni who wanted a break from cricket only after the IPL got over last year.
Last year as well after the IPL got over, most of the Indian players called themselves off from the triangular tour involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which India failed to make it to the finals despite Zimbabwe being an easy target. India have to learn lessons from Australia who even after their world cup triumph in 2003 had their full fledged squad that toured the West Indies soon after. The list included all hit names like Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn, Hayden etc who had every reason to take a break from cricket after playing for so long successfully. Even Sri Lanka fares better in this aspect.
But, more than just talent and support from their fans, it was the money that fascinated the Indian players to do something more for themselves keeping in mind the rewards they get in case they manage to do it big. Of course, that is obvious that everything needs an inspiration and with the Indian players enjoying such a kind of inspiration should not be underestimated for, they bought home something which no other team has been able to since the past 28 years. So has been the case some 4 years ago when the same team lifted the world T20 at South Africa.
It was only after he big money started after the team's victory in the world T20 that India started winning games when they won the Commonwealth Bank series in 2007/08 and a bilateral series against Pakistan. Now, Gautam Gambhir has preferred to lean towards his country rather than his club cricket despite his words speaking opposite from the actions what he has taken. A player who has pulled himself out of the tour to West Indies owing to a shoulder injury had no problems playing in the IPL. So was the case with Dhoni who wanted a break from cricket only after the IPL got over last year.
Last year as well after the IPL got over, most of the Indian players called themselves off from the triangular tour involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which India failed to make it to the finals despite Zimbabwe being an easy target. India have to learn lessons from Australia who even after their world cup triumph in 2003 had their full fledged squad that toured the West Indies soon after. The list included all hit names like Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn, Hayden etc who had every reason to take a break from cricket after playing for so long successfully. Even Sri Lanka fares better in this aspect.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Is Dhoni the new Ricky Ponting?
Well yesterday, the Indian captain and to be more precise at present, the Chennai Superkings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is all set to take the stage in the finals of the Indian Premier League for the third time and second time in succession. Likewise, he is the only captain and his team is the only team (obviously) to have made it to the semi finals (qualifiers this time around) of an IPL. This was something that only Dhoni can boast of and nobody else. Dhoni has all reasons and his team all the odds to make it two in a row.
With just four editions of the Indian Premier League gone and with ten teams at present to compete, there are teams in the waiting as well to gain atleast one such title. Dhoni on one side should be lucky to have beaten the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the right time when just a couple of days ago the same RCB destroyed the Chennai Superkings by 8 wickets. The venue hardly matters when the country is foreign to all non Indian players and local to players from India who have played in almost every venue that hosted matches in the IPL.
It was just more than a month ago that India-under the captaincy of the same Dhoni won the world cup at Wankhade stadium that set so many records and just 8 months ago that lifted the champions league trophy where they met the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-finals like yesterday. Notable feathers in Dhoni's cap would be the inaugural edition of the world T20 at South Africa, runners-up in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, winners in the 2010 IPL and finalists of the current edition of the IPL (which would see them may be as runners-up or winners).
I can just correlate this feat of Dhoni's to the former Aussie captain-Ricky Ponting who has has many tournament wins against his name when he captained the Australian team since the retirement of Steve Waugh in 2002. Notable achievements of Ponting include the two major world cup titles in 2003 and 2007, two ICC champions trophies in 2006 and 2009, beating India (in India) 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2004, 5-0 whitewash of England in Ashes 2007 and finally winning 21 one dayers at a stretch and 16 consecutive test matches. This can rarely be paralleled but one can see a glimpse of the same in Dhoni.
With just four editions of the Indian Premier League gone and with ten teams at present to compete, there are teams in the waiting as well to gain atleast one such title. Dhoni on one side should be lucky to have beaten the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the right time when just a couple of days ago the same RCB destroyed the Chennai Superkings by 8 wickets. The venue hardly matters when the country is foreign to all non Indian players and local to players from India who have played in almost every venue that hosted matches in the IPL.
It was just more than a month ago that India-under the captaincy of the same Dhoni won the world cup at Wankhade stadium that set so many records and just 8 months ago that lifted the champions league trophy where they met the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-finals like yesterday. Notable feathers in Dhoni's cap would be the inaugural edition of the world T20 at South Africa, runners-up in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, winners in the 2010 IPL and finalists of the current edition of the IPL (which would see them may be as runners-up or winners).
I can just correlate this feat of Dhoni's to the former Aussie captain-Ricky Ponting who has has many tournament wins against his name when he captained the Australian team since the retirement of Steve Waugh in 2002. Notable achievements of Ponting include the two major world cup titles in 2003 and 2007, two ICC champions trophies in 2006 and 2009, beating India (in India) 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2004, 5-0 whitewash of England in Ashes 2007 and finally winning 21 one dayers at a stretch and 16 consecutive test matches. This can rarely be paralleled but one can see a glimpse of the same in Dhoni.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Will Pakistan experiment or play serious?
It has been less than a month since Pakistan inflicted a crushing defeat on the West Indies when the touring team lost all 10 wickets for a mere score of 113 on the board and on the other hand failing to strike even a single time. Of course, even England lost the match to Sri Lanka by 10 wickets despite England putting up a total in excess of 200 in the quarter finals. May be, had the West Indies scored above 200, a Pakistani wicket would have made it to the score card. That was just another loss for West Indies and nothing more.
With that apart, news and schedule has it that Pakistan is set to tour West Indies or are already in the country that is facing a lot of trouble in cricket. No prices for guessing the result of the series for even a kid can claim that West Indies are set to lose the series or worst come, may end the tournament without even a single win in both test as well as one day cricket. Couple of days back, news had its say that Gayle may be unavailable for the series, with the current West Indian squad speaking otherwise.
One can see the names of Chanderapaul and Sarwan along with Gayle. In addition to the presence of Chris Gayle and co, one can expect the return of Marlon Samuels for people who are familiar with the name and a chance for people who don't to get to know who this average cricketer is. Since Samuels is not some Mohammed Asif or Shane Warne, his return would hardly bother anyone-not even the WICB. But, the million dollar question is whether Pakistan will go ahead with a full fledged team to face the enemy or will they experiment with their players?
Had I been the Pakistani selector, I would have rested some or most of the key players from the tour though the series is away from home. Teams like Zimbabwe and West Indies (but rarely Bangladesh) can prove to be of some use to viewers only when key players and inform players take a break. Than, one can see a balanced match wherein both teams fight it out on the field. I remember Dhoni resting Schin Tendulkar in one of the games to see how things work with the absence of a star player. That was the reason for Australia to dominate the world cricket for so many years.
With that apart, news and schedule has it that Pakistan is set to tour West Indies or are already in the country that is facing a lot of trouble in cricket. No prices for guessing the result of the series for even a kid can claim that West Indies are set to lose the series or worst come, may end the tournament without even a single win in both test as well as one day cricket. Couple of days back, news had its say that Gayle may be unavailable for the series, with the current West Indian squad speaking otherwise.
One can see the names of Chanderapaul and Sarwan along with Gayle. In addition to the presence of Chris Gayle and co, one can expect the return of Marlon Samuels for people who are familiar with the name and a chance for people who don't to get to know who this average cricketer is. Since Samuels is not some Mohammed Asif or Shane Warne, his return would hardly bother anyone-not even the WICB. But, the million dollar question is whether Pakistan will go ahead with a full fledged team to face the enemy or will they experiment with their players?
Had I been the Pakistani selector, I would have rested some or most of the key players from the tour though the series is away from home. Teams like Zimbabwe and West Indies (but rarely Bangladesh) can prove to be of some use to viewers only when key players and inform players take a break. Than, one can see a balanced match wherein both teams fight it out on the field. I remember Dhoni resting Schin Tendulkar in one of the games to see how things work with the absence of a star player. That was the reason for Australia to dominate the world cricket for so many years.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Pakistan's dream bigger than the world cup
Well it was just 6 days after the 10th edition of the ICC world cup got over that the multi million dollar IPL kicked in and no doubt, this time as well the excitement happens to be the same despite the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Anil Kumble missing out. Likewise, such a grand event can happen only in a cricket crazy land like India and may be a little bit in Pakistan that too if it is equivalent to an Indo-Pak match. Or else, the flavor seems to be missing in most part of the globe with people hardly finding any time outside their busy schedule to watch a game that lasts for 6 hours.
One can imagine if all people in the world go jobless and cricket crazy at the same time, what would happen to these cricketers. It was evident in the recently concluded ICC cricket world cup the way teams like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand lost their way inbetween. There was Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting etc from Australia with the South African squad involving Jacques Kallis, A B deVilliars to name a few. But their world cup dreams never lasted more than the quarter finals. The aforementioned teams were better ones compared to New Zealand, who went a step ahead to make it to the semi-finals.
The sole reason for such a debacle can be nothing but the lack of motivation that the teams from the sub-continent were found to be enjoying. Sri Lanka didn't rely on Muttiah Muralitharan and they dropped Chaminda Vass and Jayasuriya from the world cup squad despite their statistics speaking strongly for them. But, the main news other than these is that Pakistan wants to launch a cricket league of its own may be naming it as the PPL. The name itself rivals the IPL with India being replaced by Pakistan. Is this in return for what the team franchisee have done regarding Pakistani players?
Is this owing to the reason that India are the arch rivals of Pakistan and don't want to be anyway behind them at least in cricket? As said earlier, Pakistan is also a strong cricket crazy nation like India and hosting a similar league there would not be a bad idea. Will the current players from the Sri Lankan team feature themselves in the tournament who have experienced the worst on their last tour to the country? Will players from Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies and South Africa undo the precaution what they did when they were to tour Pakistan earlier? But, one thing can be a good idea- hold the tournament somewhere else outside Pakistan.
Btw shall we move on with farmers' markets?
Btw shall we move on with farmers' markets?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Kapil's achievement unparalleled
Well it is all cheers for the Indian captain M S Dhoni who once again bought back the world cup which kept on changing hands with Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka before India could have its turn. Now, India, along with Australia is the only team to have won world cups with both black & white as well as color dress. That should not make news for, a black and white dress will never be reintroduced in international one day cricket, let alone in world cups. Winning a world cup is no doubt a dream for a life of a cricketer and Dhoni has done just that.
But, this should not overshadow the achievement of Kapil Dev's men in white some 28 years down the lane. In fact, that was an achievement that is even more prominent but hardly spoken about compared to Dhoni's. The Indian team came out victorious in the 1983 world cup with all odds not only favoring West Indies but at the same time closing all hopes for team India. That was the West Indian side with the likes of Vivian Richards, a match for whom is not even found in Sachin Tendulkar. Beating that team is worth more compared to what Dhoni's team have done now.
Back then, India were not even favorites to make it to the semi finals of the 1983 world cup, let alone winning a major title. India, in that world cup beat teams like England and Australia in addition to West Indies which were also competitive opponents. On the other hand, the West Indies were not only fresh from their previous two world cup victories but were undefeated like the Aussies in the last two editions of the same. Sangakkara's Sri Lanka comes nowhere when compared to Clive Lloyd's West Indies. Though no home team has won a world cup earlier, playing in foreign pitches has to be tough compared to home conditions.
No one world have dropped Sunil Gavaskar or Mohinder Amarnath four time like Sachin Tendulkar was dropped in the semi-finals of this world cup. Had India beaten Australia in the 2003 WC finals, that could have been considered to be in par with Kapil's achievement. Of course, a world cup win is a dream come true for any captain as said earlier.Lot would have predicted India to win the world cup this time unlike in 1983. Finally, cricket then was not a millionaire maker or celeb donor. Only guts and glory counted in those days unlike now. Hope this isn't mistaken with any IT Tech Talk.
But, this should not overshadow the achievement of Kapil Dev's men in white some 28 years down the lane. In fact, that was an achievement that is even more prominent but hardly spoken about compared to Dhoni's. The Indian team came out victorious in the 1983 world cup with all odds not only favoring West Indies but at the same time closing all hopes for team India. That was the West Indian side with the likes of Vivian Richards, a match for whom is not even found in Sachin Tendulkar. Beating that team is worth more compared to what Dhoni's team have done now.
Back then, India were not even favorites to make it to the semi finals of the 1983 world cup, let alone winning a major title. India, in that world cup beat teams like England and Australia in addition to West Indies which were also competitive opponents. On the other hand, the West Indies were not only fresh from their previous two world cup victories but were undefeated like the Aussies in the last two editions of the same. Sangakkara's Sri Lanka comes nowhere when compared to Clive Lloyd's West Indies. Though no home team has won a world cup earlier, playing in foreign pitches has to be tough compared to home conditions.
No one world have dropped Sunil Gavaskar or Mohinder Amarnath four time like Sachin Tendulkar was dropped in the semi-finals of this world cup. Had India beaten Australia in the 2003 WC finals, that could have been considered to be in par with Kapil's achievement. Of course, a world cup win is a dream come true for any captain as said earlier.Lot would have predicted India to win the world cup this time unlike in 1983. Finally, cricket then was not a millionaire maker or celeb donor. Only guts and glory counted in those days unlike now. Hope this isn't mistaken with any IT Tech Talk.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
A final worth watching
Well as an Indian, I should be glad to see my team country lift the ICC cricket world cup for the 2nd time. At last, India have won another world cup and that too after the color dress was introduced in one day cricket. Pakistan and Sri Lanka had previously won their world cups in 1992 and 1996 wearing color dress and India was deprived of such prestige which happened to be true yesterday after their 6 wicket win over Sri Lanka at Mumbai. As a result, India became the 1st nation to win a world cup on home soil.
But, my post here is regarding the finals of world cups which have been one sided since the past three editions when Aussies were totally unbeatable. The case was partly similar in 1996 as well when the third Sri Lankan wicket of Ashanka Gurusinha fell when they were closing in on the target of 241 set by Australia. Australia was totally outplayed. This time, both the teams should consistency and finally since there can be just one winner, Sri Lanka had to be satisfied with the runners-up tag. A total of 274 was a decent one to both chase or defend unlike in previous 3 WC finals.
I can still recall the way Shane Warne demolished the Pakistani batting line up consisting of Saeed Anwar and co in the finals of the 1999 world cup where Pakistan were dismissed for 132-the lowest total in the finals of a world cup. Even Scotland and Bangladesh were able to score 181 and 178 respectively in their matches against Australia. The entire match lasted for just 59 overs meaning just about half an hour after one innings would have got over. Had this been known before hand, may be the finals might have been held soon after the 2nd semi-finals would have got over.
Then comes the 2003 finals where after Australia had piled up a mammoth 359 losing just 2 wickets not before inflicting a 100+ run partnership, the only question that was awaited was "by how many runs would Australia win?" and "how long would the Indian innings last?". So was the case in 2007 . Sri Lanka should be lucky that the match didn't last 50 overs which would have otherwise seen a target in excess of 359 that was imposed against India in 2003. Still, the fastest hundred in the world cup final happened to be broken and so was the highest individual score in the world cup final.Don't forget to check out the Army Blog.
But, my post here is regarding the finals of world cups which have been one sided since the past three editions when Aussies were totally unbeatable. The case was partly similar in 1996 as well when the third Sri Lankan wicket of Ashanka Gurusinha fell when they were closing in on the target of 241 set by Australia. Australia was totally outplayed. This time, both the teams should consistency and finally since there can be just one winner, Sri Lanka had to be satisfied with the runners-up tag. A total of 274 was a decent one to both chase or defend unlike in previous 3 WC finals.
I can still recall the way Shane Warne demolished the Pakistani batting line up consisting of Saeed Anwar and co in the finals of the 1999 world cup where Pakistan were dismissed for 132-the lowest total in the finals of a world cup. Even Scotland and Bangladesh were able to score 181 and 178 respectively in their matches against Australia. The entire match lasted for just 59 overs meaning just about half an hour after one innings would have got over. Had this been known before hand, may be the finals might have been held soon after the 2nd semi-finals would have got over.
Then comes the 2003 finals where after Australia had piled up a mammoth 359 losing just 2 wickets not before inflicting a 100+ run partnership, the only question that was awaited was "by how many runs would Australia win?" and "how long would the Indian innings last?". So was the case in 2007 . Sri Lanka should be lucky that the match didn't last 50 overs which would have otherwise seen a target in excess of 359 that was imposed against India in 2003. Still, the fastest hundred in the world cup final happened to be broken and so was the highest individual score in the world cup final.Don't forget to check out the Army Blog.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Did India win or Pakistan lose?
This was one threat that Pakistan would have been facing with the semi-finals being held at an Indian venue. Pakistan, though would have been physically fit to face their arch-rivals, are not so mentally. The Pakistan players might have well prepared themselves for their assault of Indian players on the field but not with the crowd off the same. Afridi and co can only send the ball rolling across the ropes or above the heads but not bottles and paper rockets. Stopping the Indian batsmen consisting of Sachin and co would be much easier than to stop water bottles from striking the deep fielders.
Verbal abuses from say Sreesanth can be stopped by the match officials but not from spectators who'd be waiting for a Pakistani batsman to step out of the dressing room. I wish Andrew Symonds would be the right person to tell you what happened in the finals ODI against India in the seven match one day series in 2007 when viewers got him out for a duck. Sri Lankan team led by Arjuna Ranatunga in 1996 semi-finals would be the right person to convince Afridi as to what to do in India and what not to do. All these if Pakistan is on the verge of victory.
This was the 2nd time a world cup semi-final was held in Mohali after Australia played West Indies in 1996. With that being a secondary issue, coming to the point, though India won their 5th world cup match against Pakistan, explanation regarding dropping of 6 catches is still not satisfactory. No foolish fielder on earth would ever drop Sachin Tendulkar four times and that too in a world cup semi-final match. Pakistani players did everything to see their team lose without giving anybody a chance to point their fingers towards their performance on the field. Afridi's cleverness deserves a lot of applause.
Big partnerships between Hafeez & Shafiq, and Misbah & Umar Akmal stay live and get broken when the situation demanded. A total of 261 can be chased down by India against Australia in quarter-finals but not by Pakistan in semi-finals. There would be a 5 wicket-taker from Pakistan and all Indian bowlers end up with no more than two wickets. That was a rare match where spinner stuns a sub-continent nation with 4 wickets and 1 over maiden. But at the end, the situation is better than what would have happened had India toured Pakistan for any match let alone the semi-finals of a world tournament.
The match might have bought both health and wealth for Afridi with them traveling back safely to Pakistan.
Verbal abuses from say Sreesanth can be stopped by the match officials but not from spectators who'd be waiting for a Pakistani batsman to step out of the dressing room. I wish Andrew Symonds would be the right person to tell you what happened in the finals ODI against India in the seven match one day series in 2007 when viewers got him out for a duck. Sri Lankan team led by Arjuna Ranatunga in 1996 semi-finals would be the right person to convince Afridi as to what to do in India and what not to do. All these if Pakistan is on the verge of victory.
This was the 2nd time a world cup semi-final was held in Mohali after Australia played West Indies in 1996. With that being a secondary issue, coming to the point, though India won their 5th world cup match against Pakistan, explanation regarding dropping of 6 catches is still not satisfactory. No foolish fielder on earth would ever drop Sachin Tendulkar four times and that too in a world cup semi-final match. Pakistani players did everything to see their team lose without giving anybody a chance to point their fingers towards their performance on the field. Afridi's cleverness deserves a lot of applause.
Big partnerships between Hafeez & Shafiq, and Misbah & Umar Akmal stay live and get broken when the situation demanded. A total of 261 can be chased down by India against Australia in quarter-finals but not by Pakistan in semi-finals. There would be a 5 wicket-taker from Pakistan and all Indian bowlers end up with no more than two wickets. That was a rare match where spinner stuns a sub-continent nation with 4 wickets and 1 over maiden. But at the end, the situation is better than what would have happened had India toured Pakistan for any match let alone the semi-finals of a world tournament.
The match might have bought both health and wealth for Afridi with them traveling back safely to Pakistan.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sub-continent ghosts and not hosts for Australia
Well the sub-continent teams namely India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have always been a nightmare for the Western countries namely Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, England and South Africa. The main reason for this is the fact that the spinners from the sub-continent are far more gifted compared to players from the rest mentioned above. This has been the reason for Steve Waugh's dream to be shattered every time he and his team led Australia would tour India to play a test series. The only conquest Steve Waugh wasn't successful in doing was a test series win over India in India.
However, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have not been that troublesome to Australia and Steve Waugh has had wins against them on their home soil. And, this time in the world cup, it was the three sub-continent teams which played havoc in Ponting's third appearance as captain. Ponting managed what no Australian captain had managed to since 1987 when India last won a game against Australia by 56 runs under the captaincy of Azharuddin. Since 1992, Australia have managed 5 wins against India and no losses at all. But now, for the 1st time since the color dress was introduced in world cup, Australia have lost to India.
All knew that Australia was not at their best of cricket but no one would have predicted that they would end their dream of lifting 4th world cup in a row in the quarter-finals itself. At least a semi-final berth for Australia would have stopped all haters' tongues from wagging and the ACB's head to think like never before. The last time Australia ever lost a match was against Pakistan in 1999 when Pakistan were lucky to have survived a 10 run win over Steve Waugh's men. Perhaps! Had this world cup not been held in the sub-continent, may be Australia would not have fared this bad.
But, Australia and Ponting mainly is not the one who decides who hosts the tournament. Just when Australia would have been celebrating the 8th anniversary of their emphatic win over India in 2003 world cup final, Ponting had to think of what would he face the next day with him having to face the same team but with a depleted side. Talking about Australia's relationship with the sub-continent, Sri Lanka was the team to have stopped Australia's winning streak after the match was abandoned. Let me remind you guys the difference between won and unbeaten. Pakistan stopped their unbeaten streak by a 4 wicket win and finally India broke their world cup dreams after their 5 wicket win yesterday.
For all those crazy cricket fans in India who left their business, women, career, jobs, family, travel to watch India battle it out, it was worth the sacrifice.
However, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have not been that troublesome to Australia and Steve Waugh has had wins against them on their home soil. And, this time in the world cup, it was the three sub-continent teams which played havoc in Ponting's third appearance as captain. Ponting managed what no Australian captain had managed to since 1987 when India last won a game against Australia by 56 runs under the captaincy of Azharuddin. Since 1992, Australia have managed 5 wins against India and no losses at all. But now, for the 1st time since the color dress was introduced in world cup, Australia have lost to India.
All knew that Australia was not at their best of cricket but no one would have predicted that they would end their dream of lifting 4th world cup in a row in the quarter-finals itself. At least a semi-final berth for Australia would have stopped all haters' tongues from wagging and the ACB's head to think like never before. The last time Australia ever lost a match was against Pakistan in 1999 when Pakistan were lucky to have survived a 10 run win over Steve Waugh's men. Perhaps! Had this world cup not been held in the sub-continent, may be Australia would not have fared this bad.
But, Australia and Ponting mainly is not the one who decides who hosts the tournament. Just when Australia would have been celebrating the 8th anniversary of their emphatic win over India in 2003 world cup final, Ponting had to think of what would he face the next day with him having to face the same team but with a depleted side. Talking about Australia's relationship with the sub-continent, Sri Lanka was the team to have stopped Australia's winning streak after the match was abandoned. Let me remind you guys the difference between won and unbeaten. Pakistan stopped their unbeaten streak by a 4 wicket win and finally India broke their world cup dreams after their 5 wicket win yesterday.
For all those crazy cricket fans in India who left their business, women, career, jobs, family, travel to watch India battle it out, it was worth the sacrifice.
Monday, January 24, 2011
No losers and winners in the match
At the end of the 5th one dayer between India and South Africa yesterday, the scoreboard read South Africa win the match by 34 runs of course by the Duckworth - Lewis method and hence the series 3-2. But, the real question is did South Africa emerge victorious or did India lose the game? It was fascinating to see the South African batsmen put up a steady partnership of 97 runs for the 2nd wicket between Hashim Amla and Morne van Wyk which was followed by a 101 run partnership between Hashim Amla and jean Paul Duminy for the 4th wicket. South Africa were just 3 down for 231 runs on board at the end of the 42nd over.
However, despite all these, at the end of their innings, South Africa were 9 down with just 250 on the board meaning just another 19 runs were scored from just above 3 overs losing 6 wickets at a stretch. This in turn shows the lack of discipline of the South African batsmen in the death overs and that too when they were batting on their home pitch. If not for Hashim Amla, Jean Paul Duminy and van Wyk, no other batsman's score was worth any praise. The trio amassed a total of 218 runs with extras contributing 11 runs out of the 250 runs they could manage.
Rain, temporary abandonment of the game in addition to the introduction of the Duckworth - Lewis method should not be the reason for their debacle for even in the previous games as well, South Africa's performance with the bat was not anything different from what it was yesterday. The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bought in 8 of his eleven men to bowl at the Proteas and the scoreboard suggests that runs have been scored from the overs bowled by Suresh Raina, Rohith Sharma, Munaf Patel and Yuvraj Singh, with Munaf Patel being the only noted bowler among the lot.
Though Munaf gave away an expensive 6.42 runs an over, he was successful in scalping 3 wickets which included the price wicket of J P Duminy. And coming to India's point, there was no need for Yousuf Pathan to go for that shot when the required run rate was well below 6 an over and no more batsmen to make up for the loss. India did well to recover from 119/8 at the end of the 23rd over to 234 all out in the 40th over. A 68 ball 100 in such a situation is much praise worthy compared to the slow and steady 116 by Hashim Amla.
It was fascinating to see Zaheer's 24 run and a 100 run 9th wicket partnership with Yousuf Pathan when even noted batsmen like Raina, Rohith Sharma and Yuvraj failed. At the end, winners had a lot of flaws in them while losers took home the real spirit. And, just before the world cup players need to Work At Home.
However, despite all these, at the end of their innings, South Africa were 9 down with just 250 on the board meaning just another 19 runs were scored from just above 3 overs losing 6 wickets at a stretch. This in turn shows the lack of discipline of the South African batsmen in the death overs and that too when they were batting on their home pitch. If not for Hashim Amla, Jean Paul Duminy and van Wyk, no other batsman's score was worth any praise. The trio amassed a total of 218 runs with extras contributing 11 runs out of the 250 runs they could manage.
Rain, temporary abandonment of the game in addition to the introduction of the Duckworth - Lewis method should not be the reason for their debacle for even in the previous games as well, South Africa's performance with the bat was not anything different from what it was yesterday. The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bought in 8 of his eleven men to bowl at the Proteas and the scoreboard suggests that runs have been scored from the overs bowled by Suresh Raina, Rohith Sharma, Munaf Patel and Yuvraj Singh, with Munaf Patel being the only noted bowler among the lot.
Though Munaf gave away an expensive 6.42 runs an over, he was successful in scalping 3 wickets which included the price wicket of J P Duminy. And coming to India's point, there was no need for Yousuf Pathan to go for that shot when the required run rate was well below 6 an over and no more batsmen to make up for the loss. India did well to recover from 119/8 at the end of the 23rd over to 234 all out in the 40th over. A 68 ball 100 in such a situation is much praise worthy compared to the slow and steady 116 by Hashim Amla.
It was fascinating to see Zaheer's 24 run and a 100 run 9th wicket partnership with Yousuf Pathan when even noted batsmen like Raina, Rohith Sharma and Yuvraj failed. At the end, winners had a lot of flaws in them while losers took home the real spirit. And, just before the world cup players need to Work At Home.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
After failing to chase, RSA fail to defent as well
Well if the second one dayer between India and South Africa at Johannesburg comes in for much criticism from most around the world, the Proteas have yet again made news for the wrong reasons when they failed to win a winning battle which came in defending a rather decent score of 220 on the board with the pitch assisting the bowlers to a greater extent. Some stupid part time bowlers like Yuvraj Singh could control the South African batsmen let alone strike bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Some Munaf Patel who rarely makes it to the 15 member squad makes his day.
This time, India were playing the hosts without another star player - Sachin Tendulkar in addition to the absence of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The total what the Proteas left before the second innings started was a combined effort of half centuries from the blades of Jean Paul Duminy and Faf Du Plessis, the latter who was making his debut appearance in a one day international. Of course, even South Africa was without their key player in Jacques Kallis, but being the hosts and winning the toss, they should have had no reason to defend their defeat once again.
Batting was looking terribly tough taking the way the South African batsmen were struggling after winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, a 5th wicket partnership of 110 runs between the aforementioned players made all of us feel that the South African players are back in the game which was only half truth. The remaining half being that their bowling was exactly opposite to what their batsmen could manage. The scoreboard which read 200/4 at one point of time in the 45th over eventually ended by freezing at 220 with the hosts losing all their ten wickets, meaning just 20 runs were added before 6 more wickets fell.
Just a couple of days back, South Africa failed to chase down a mere target of 191 after falling 1 run short. And, what happened in the 3rd one dayer has well been depicted. Shortly, the Proteas will be heading to the same venue to against which it is seen reeling even without any sort of pressure. However, the South Africans can tend to relax a little bit, for they are not grouped with India in pool A. But, what if South Africa happens to face India in the quarter final which is a knock out affair? They'll be reminded of the 1996 WC.
I wish the South African players Travel the World before they head on to the sub continent to play the game's most respected tournament - the world cup.
This time, India were playing the hosts without another star player - Sachin Tendulkar in addition to the absence of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The total what the Proteas left before the second innings started was a combined effort of half centuries from the blades of Jean Paul Duminy and Faf Du Plessis, the latter who was making his debut appearance in a one day international. Of course, even South Africa was without their key player in Jacques Kallis, but being the hosts and winning the toss, they should have had no reason to defend their defeat once again.
Batting was looking terribly tough taking the way the South African batsmen were struggling after winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, a 5th wicket partnership of 110 runs between the aforementioned players made all of us feel that the South African players are back in the game which was only half truth. The remaining half being that their bowling was exactly opposite to what their batsmen could manage. The scoreboard which read 200/4 at one point of time in the 45th over eventually ended by freezing at 220 with the hosts losing all their ten wickets, meaning just 20 runs were added before 6 more wickets fell.
Just a couple of days back, South Africa failed to chase down a mere target of 191 after falling 1 run short. And, what happened in the 3rd one dayer has well been depicted. Shortly, the Proteas will be heading to the same venue to against which it is seen reeling even without any sort of pressure. However, the South Africans can tend to relax a little bit, for they are not grouped with India in pool A. But, what if South Africa happens to face India in the quarter final which is a knock out affair? They'll be reminded of the 1996 WC.
I wish the South African players Travel the World before they head on to the sub continent to play the game's most respected tournament - the world cup.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Why doesn't Dhoni include bowlers as well?
Well if one has the patience to go through the latest article in one of the major cricket website, Dhoni seeks more from his batsmen after their humiliating loss in the first one dayer against and in South Africa a couple of days back. However, if Dhoni is indeed serious about the words what he says, it was not only the batsmen who were involved in the mishap but the bowlers as well who allowed the hosts to pile up 289 runs on the board. But, Dhoni's words don't seem to concern the bowlers in any way. Well, there's no one disputing.
If Dhoni's personal contribution in the match is concerned, he could manage a handy 25 runs from 35 balls which included a once again handy 33 run partnership in the mere total of 154 which was 135 runs less than the total piled up by the hosts - South Africa. Though this was far from sufficient, Dhoni's part is well appreciated in moving the tempo forward when batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay and Rohith Sharma failed to do their bit. But, still, my personal opinion was that Dhoni's words were uncalled for and a suggestion would ask him to visit the site - Good Health & You
Well, Dhoni should not take this match too seriously for, it is evident that Dhoni's men were facing the South Africans on their own soil unlike their previous home tours against Australia and New Zealand. This was the first one dayer and a defeat doesn't seem to be the end of all with a major even scheduled in 5 weeks from now onwards. Luckily, Dhoni's men will be facing most of their opponents on their home soil which would add to the advantage with most of the players being in form. A loss in the 1st match may turn out to be victory in the remaining four.
India have managed to draw the last test when a loss was thought to be in hand. They won the only T20 game scheduled in Durban all in South Africa. Dhoni needs to realize that India were playing South Africa without the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and with out of form players like Yuvraj Singh. With so much advantages and chances that India have had and are likely to have, Dhoni should not bother much about the loss which are one out of 20. For every 20 wins, India loses one match and if that lone match draws a lot of criticism, such ideas have to be totally ignored.
If Dhoni's personal contribution in the match is concerned, he could manage a handy 25 runs from 35 balls which included a once again handy 33 run partnership in the mere total of 154 which was 135 runs less than the total piled up by the hosts - South Africa. Though this was far from sufficient, Dhoni's part is well appreciated in moving the tempo forward when batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay and Rohith Sharma failed to do their bit. But, still, my personal opinion was that Dhoni's words were uncalled for and a suggestion would ask him to visit the site - Good Health & You
Well, Dhoni should not take this match too seriously for, it is evident that Dhoni's men were facing the South Africans on their own soil unlike their previous home tours against Australia and New Zealand. This was the first one dayer and a defeat doesn't seem to be the end of all with a major even scheduled in 5 weeks from now onwards. Luckily, Dhoni's men will be facing most of their opponents on their home soil which would add to the advantage with most of the players being in form. A loss in the 1st match may turn out to be victory in the remaining four.
India have managed to draw the last test when a loss was thought to be in hand. They won the only T20 game scheduled in Durban all in South Africa. Dhoni needs to realize that India were playing South Africa without the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and with out of form players like Yuvraj Singh. With so much advantages and chances that India have had and are likely to have, Dhoni should not bother much about the loss which are one out of 20. For every 20 wins, India loses one match and if that lone match draws a lot of criticism, such ideas have to be totally ignored.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A gift for South Africa
Well this has always been the case with test matches between India and South Africa be it in India or in South Africa. So far a neutral venue for such a series has not happened. Coming to the point, this time as well, like usual India have lost the first test against South Africa which is evident from the scorecard. This is the second time in the year that the two countries are facing each other for a full fledged series that involves test, one day and T20 games. Of course, who can forget the earlier encounter this year between the two countries?
One need not be reminded the way Hashim Amla from South Africa emerged the most economical player with the bat by remaining not out in all but one occasion and needless to be said specially was awarded the man of the series. And, coming to the big occasion, this was the series where Sachin Tendulkar scoredhis the first double century in the history of one day or limited overs cricket. Well, past is past and in the ongoing series in South Africa, India have started on a bad note by losing the 1st test by an innings margin. But, is this the end of all?
Bad need not be bad always for, it is the bad first that turns into good later. For more details, you can approach the cathara beneath the maskara though this has got nothing to do with yesterday's match. For onlookers, team India fared very badly especially when the margin of defeat reads an innings and 25 runs. But, I wish you think once again! India are touring South Africa which is a totally different experience considering their recent tours against Australia and New Zealand which were played at home with limited success. India should have won all three tests against new Zealand.
With the venue being new to team India, initial hiccups can be given an excuse for, the world champions Australia couldn't draw even a single match during the recently concluded Border - Gavaskar trophy. In the first innings where India scored 136, more than the South African bowling line up, it was India's newness to the country and the pitch which was evident in the second innings when India fought until the end by amassing 459 runs despite ending on the losing side. Taking the 1st innings into consideration, India should have failed even more miserably. But, there was Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dravid in addition to Sachin Tendulkar who showed confidence.
India did lose the match but gained a lot in terms of experience and confidence.
One need not be reminded the way Hashim Amla from South Africa emerged the most economical player with the bat by remaining not out in all but one occasion and needless to be said specially was awarded the man of the series. And, coming to the big occasion, this was the series where Sachin Tendulkar scored
Bad need not be bad always for, it is the bad first that turns into good later. For more details, you can approach the cathara beneath the maskara though this has got nothing to do with yesterday's match. For onlookers, team India fared very badly especially when the margin of defeat reads an innings and 25 runs. But, I wish you think once again! India are touring South Africa which is a totally different experience considering their recent tours against Australia and New Zealand which were played at home with limited success. India should have won all three tests against new Zealand.
With the venue being new to team India, initial hiccups can be given an excuse for, the world champions Australia couldn't draw even a single match during the recently concluded Border - Gavaskar trophy. In the first innings where India scored 136, more than the South African bowling line up, it was India's newness to the country and the pitch which was evident in the second innings when India fought until the end by amassing 459 runs despite ending on the losing side. Taking the 1st innings into consideration, India should have failed even more miserably. But, there was Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dravid in addition to Sachin Tendulkar who showed confidence.
India did lose the match but gained a lot in terms of experience and confidence.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Why link this with the past
Well, if the latest article on one of the leading cricket websites are to be believed, the world gossip has now found to have shifted from movies and politics to cricket as well or may be it has happened long back and is seen offlate. Rumors suggest that India's recent win over arch rivals Pakistan was a revenge for the loss they attained in last year's ICC Champions trophy. If in case, that holds true, should that mean that India would have lost that one dayer in the Asia cup, had they won that battle in the champions trophy 2009?
Though georgetownksa has got nothing to do with the current post, I'd like to irritate you guys a bit but not before I get back to my topic which makes news for no reasons, be it good or bad. There is no reason for the win over Pakistan to be linked with India's loss to Pakistan in the champions trophy for, India lost to Australia as well in that same edition and had returned with just a consolation win against the West Indies who were fresh from their 3-0 loss at the hands of Bangladesh which was followed by a 2-0 defeat in the test series.
Pakistan has always been a team to beat for India and so is the case for Pakistan who consider India as the team to beat. This doesn't and shouldn't matter for either teams regardless of whether they had won the last encounter or not. One can take lessons from Australia who thrashed the English team 5-0 in the Ashes 2006 and not yielding to just a 3-0, 3-1 etc like victories. Thanks to the combined efforts of Glenn McGrath and co in the bowling department and Gilchrist and co in the batting department. However, what happened in the later episode is a secondary issue.
India had little reasons to beat Pakistan in the 2003 world cup after India had until then lost to just one opponent (obviously Australia). India had won the matches against England and Zimbabwe before facing Pakistan at Centurion. But, that would have made enter into the super sixes with the need to win all three games in case they needed to make it to the semi finals of the tournament. Coincidentally, India managed to win all three games against Sri Lanka, Kenya and New Zealand in the super sixes of the 2003 world cup. Still, why did India win all three when two wins could have seen them through to the semis? Rubbish isn't it?
Though georgetownksa has got nothing to do with the current post, I'd like to irritate you guys a bit but not before I get back to my topic which makes news for no reasons, be it good or bad. There is no reason for the win over Pakistan to be linked with India's loss to Pakistan in the champions trophy for, India lost to Australia as well in that same edition and had returned with just a consolation win against the West Indies who were fresh from their 3-0 loss at the hands of Bangladesh which was followed by a 2-0 defeat in the test series.
Pakistan has always been a team to beat for India and so is the case for Pakistan who consider India as the team to beat. This doesn't and shouldn't matter for either teams regardless of whether they had won the last encounter or not. One can take lessons from Australia who thrashed the English team 5-0 in the Ashes 2006 and not yielding to just a 3-0, 3-1 etc like victories. Thanks to the combined efforts of Glenn McGrath and co in the bowling department and Gilchrist and co in the batting department. However, what happened in the later episode is a secondary issue.
India had little reasons to beat Pakistan in the 2003 world cup after India had until then lost to just one opponent (obviously Australia). India had won the matches against England and Zimbabwe before facing Pakistan at Centurion. But, that would have made enter into the super sixes with the need to win all three games in case they needed to make it to the semi finals of the tournament. Coincidentally, India managed to win all three games against Sri Lanka, Kenya and New Zealand in the super sixes of the 2003 world cup. Still, why did India win all three when two wins could have seen them through to the semis? Rubbish isn't it?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Was the resting of players justified?
I can still remember the way India lost the second one dayer to Bangladesh in 2005 when the then captain Rahul Dravid decided to rest most of the experienced players by underestimating the Bangladeshi players and paid the price for the same by losing the match by 11 runs. In fact that was India's first ever defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. And now once again, the Indian selectors did the same mistake by resting all the players who are experienced thinking that it can bring out the best out of the youngsters. As a result of this, once again India paid the price.
India not only lost their final match against Sri Lanka but also lost two matches rather unexpectedly to Zimbabwe, the team against which a victory was assumed before hand by the Indians and failed to make it to the finals of the tri nation tournament. Until now, team India was ill fated when they used to enter the finals of a multi nation tournament and lose there. But now, they have failed to get past the league stage itself. All thanks to the selectors who not only gave the youngsters a chance but also gave Zimbabwe a chance to enter the finals of the tri nation tournament which it rarely deserves.
Despite not deserving to be there, Zimbabwe was seen in the super sixes of two world cups in 1999 and 2003. Anyways, with that being secondary, the matter of the hour is that the BCCI did nothing good by resting the seniors starting from Sachin Tendulkar to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team should have seen atleast a few of the experienced lads making it to the squad like yuvraj Singh, who would be making it to the playing XI after a long time snce he has battled injuries off late. So would have been the case with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag for whom this could have been a refresher series after their absence recently.
Following the series under discussion, there is a mega event scheduled with India taking on Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia cup which happens once in every two years since it was decided in 2008. With the BCCI resting the experienced players, there is every possibility that the Asia cup may turn a nightmare for both the players as well as the BCCI in case India lose to either if the strong teams or not to be surprised, even Bangladesh. Added to this would be the T20 world cup ghost that would continue to haunt the Indian team wherever they go until they find a breakthrough.
India not only lost their final match against Sri Lanka but also lost two matches rather unexpectedly to Zimbabwe, the team against which a victory was assumed before hand by the Indians and failed to make it to the finals of the tri nation tournament. Until now, team India was ill fated when they used to enter the finals of a multi nation tournament and lose there. But now, they have failed to get past the league stage itself. All thanks to the selectors who not only gave the youngsters a chance but also gave Zimbabwe a chance to enter the finals of the tri nation tournament which it rarely deserves.
Despite not deserving to be there, Zimbabwe was seen in the super sixes of two world cups in 1999 and 2003. Anyways, with that being secondary, the matter of the hour is that the BCCI did nothing good by resting the seniors starting from Sachin Tendulkar to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team should have seen atleast a few of the experienced lads making it to the squad like yuvraj Singh, who would be making it to the playing XI after a long time snce he has battled injuries off late. So would have been the case with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag for whom this could have been a refresher series after their absence recently.
Following the series under discussion, there is a mega event scheduled with India taking on Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia cup which happens once in every two years since it was decided in 2008. With the BCCI resting the experienced players, there is every possibility that the Asia cup may turn a nightmare for both the players as well as the BCCI in case India lose to either if the strong teams or not to be surprised, even Bangladesh. Added to this would be the T20 world cup ghost that would continue to haunt the Indian team wherever they go until they find a breakthrough.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Why is Raina being made the captain?
Well it is not a breaking news about Dhoni's praise and confidence he has in the upcoming cricketer Suresh Raina which saw Dhoni allowing Raina to captain the Chennai Superkings side in the IPL a month back. But, one has to imagine whether Dhoni's selection of the captain in his replacement is justified in case Dhoni is responsible in making Raina captain the Indian side for the tri nation tournament involving Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe? Or did the selectors show faith in Raina upon Dhoni's choice as mentioned above? In either case, there are better people than Raina who could be given the reins.
One may not agree with me if I say that Suresh Raina still needs to find a platform for himself in the team as a player before he can think of stepping into the shoes of a captain. Not because of his failures in some parts of the team but for the only reason that there are better people and more experienced people than Raina who are eligible to lead the side. Of course, the list does not include Sachin Tendulkar who has shown to be exactly opposite as a captin compared to what he was and what he is as a player.
There are batsmen like Rohith Sharma whose caliber in the Indian team as a batsman is similar to what Raina enjoys. The only difference between the both being that Raina bats left handed while Rohith Sharma bats right handed. Both of them have had equal number of ups and downs in their cricket career. Or else, there are players like Dinesh Karthik who can replace Dhoni as a keeper but would not be a fair choice as a captain instead of Dhoni. And one more fascinating thing about the squad is that the vice captain of India will be Virat Kohli.
There is no doubt that these players have the potential in them both as batsmen and as captain to take the team forward. I thought of mentioning Yuvraj Singh but found that his name misses from the squad set to tour Zimbabwe. My sincere apologies for that. Other choices as captain would be Amit Mishra and Yousuf Pathan both of whom are equally talented and experienced like Suresh Raina. No doubt that not much would be expected from Suresh Raina when his team would return from Zimbabwe. There is no doubt that India will make it to the finals and in case they lose, it would be another loss in a final and nothing more.
One may not agree with me if I say that Suresh Raina still needs to find a platform for himself in the team as a player before he can think of stepping into the shoes of a captain. Not because of his failures in some parts of the team but for the only reason that there are better people and more experienced people than Raina who are eligible to lead the side. Of course, the list does not include Sachin Tendulkar who has shown to be exactly opposite as a captin compared to what he was and what he is as a player.
There are batsmen like Rohith Sharma whose caliber in the Indian team as a batsman is similar to what Raina enjoys. The only difference between the both being that Raina bats left handed while Rohith Sharma bats right handed. Both of them have had equal number of ups and downs in their cricket career. Or else, there are players like Dinesh Karthik who can replace Dhoni as a keeper but would not be a fair choice as a captain instead of Dhoni. And one more fascinating thing about the squad is that the vice captain of India will be Virat Kohli.
There is no doubt that these players have the potential in them both as batsmen and as captain to take the team forward. I thought of mentioning Yuvraj Singh but found that his name misses from the squad set to tour Zimbabwe. My sincere apologies for that. Other choices as captain would be Amit Mishra and Yousuf Pathan both of whom are equally talented and experienced like Suresh Raina. No doubt that not much would be expected from Suresh Raina when his team would return from Zimbabwe. There is no doubt that India will make it to the finals and in case they lose, it would be another loss in a final and nothing more.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sachin Tendulkar at the receiving end
This was one last chance for Sachin Tendulkar to showcase his talent as a captain and would have been great when he was captaining a side where he not only was born and bought up but also learnt how to play cricket. But, when he once again lost in the finals of the IPL, he would be considered as one of the worst captains India has ever seen though that is not really the case. Sachin was successful in winning 10 out of the 14 13 games he featured in, if the encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders is omitted from the list in this year's IPL.
Sachin Tendulkar was responsible for 5 of the 10 wins which constitute 50% of the wins that the Mumbai Indians had and then for a team with just one international batsman to make it to the top of the table is really something great. However, his dropping of Sanath Jayasuriya would always go down as a bad or ugly decision as far as critics go. Jayasuriya would have played a role as a hard hitting batsmen who would have taken the number of international batsmen in the side to two. Added to that would have been is left arm orthodox which is better than someone like Kieron Pollard's medium fast.
Any captain who is set to face the team to which he has lost earlier and that too in the knock out stages of the tournament is indeed unlucky. And, Sachin Tendulkar is one such unlucky chap and more so when he lost in front of his own people. The Mumbai Indians faced the RCB in the semis and the Chennai Superkings in the finals, both of whom had beaten them earlier in the league stages. I remember the Pakistan team in the 2nd world T20 last year where it faced Sri Lanka against whom they had suffered a defeat in the super eights but won the finals convincingly.
Sachin Tendulkar was the captain of the Titan cup in 1996 which India won after beating a South African team which until then had remained unbeaten in the tournament. South Africa had won three games each against India & Australia before losing to India in the finals. Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar was a part and the architect of the Indian team that beat Australia in the Sharjah cup in 1998 after Australia had won all of its league stage games against the Kiwis and India. Though Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians didn't win all the matches in the league stage, they were the table toppers and losing out in the finals really hurts not only Sachin Tendulkar and Mumbai but also to all cricket fans.
Unlike our prediction, the winning team this time neither had a player wearing the Purple cap not the orange cap. Apologies for that.
Sachin Tendulkar was responsible for 5 of the 10 wins which constitute 50% of the wins that the Mumbai Indians had and then for a team with just one international batsman to make it to the top of the table is really something great. However, his dropping of Sanath Jayasuriya would always go down as a bad or ugly decision as far as critics go. Jayasuriya would have played a role as a hard hitting batsmen who would have taken the number of international batsmen in the side to two. Added to that would have been is left arm orthodox which is better than someone like Kieron Pollard's medium fast.
Any captain who is set to face the team to which he has lost earlier and that too in the knock out stages of the tournament is indeed unlucky. And, Sachin Tendulkar is one such unlucky chap and more so when he lost in front of his own people. The Mumbai Indians faced the RCB in the semis and the Chennai Superkings in the finals, both of whom had beaten them earlier in the league stages. I remember the Pakistan team in the 2nd world T20 last year where it faced Sri Lanka against whom they had suffered a defeat in the super eights but won the finals convincingly.
Sachin Tendulkar was the captain of the Titan cup in 1996 which India won after beating a South African team which until then had remained unbeaten in the tournament. South Africa had won three games each against India & Australia before losing to India in the finals. Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar was a part and the architect of the Indian team that beat Australia in the Sharjah cup in 1998 after Australia had won all of its league stage games against the Kiwis and India. Though Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians didn't win all the matches in the league stage, they were the table toppers and losing out in the finals really hurts not only Sachin Tendulkar and Mumbai but also to all cricket fans.
Unlike our prediction, the winning team this time neither had a player wearing the Purple cap not the orange cap. Apologies for that.
Monday, April 19, 2010
KUDOS to the Chennai SuperKings
Well one has to really appreciate the efforts of the Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings after they won their last game against table toppers Kings XI Punjab by 6 wickets. One can relax the matter by saying that the Chennai Superkings did it against a team that finished in the 8th position of the points table which could be the worst possible position in this year's edition of the Indian Premier League. However, one should not forget that, though the Kings XI Punjab team were placed in the last position, they put up a mammoth total of 192 on the board, thus leaving the Chennai team with a tough task to face.
Nevermind that the Punjab team had lost all opportunities to make it to the last four of the tournament, but a win in the inconsequential games towards the fag end of the league stage of the tournament would give them some relief not only to the players but also to their franchisees and their fans. On the other hand, this was a do or die match for the Chennai Superkings, failing which they would have seen themselves catching up with their opposition namely their Kings XI Punjab by not making it to the semis. Moreover, it was a captain's knock which led to the Chennai team's success.
Hardly anyone would have thought that the Chennai Superkings would make it to the semis after most of the important players from the team had to return back home or warm the benches after injuries got better of them earlier in the tournament. The list includes players like Andrew Flintoff who was the highest bid considering all foreign players and Jacob Oram who is another all rounder along with the likes of Mike Hussey to name a few. Likewise, even the captain - Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to sit out from a few matches owing to injury, having Raina as their captain.
Despite the pressure for Dhoni's team to perform, they showed no signs of fear chasing a mammoth total of 193 runs imposed by the Kings XI Punjab. The Chennai team lost just 4 wickets enroute to their successful run chase which speaks for their confidence in their team and their captain as well. Just a night before the Chennai made the mammoth total of 193 look easy and gettable, the Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to go past 140 runs chasing the very same total of 192 against the Mumbai Indians despite getting Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. As a matter of statistics, the Chennai will be making to the semis of an IPL for the 3rd consecutive time.
Nevermind that the Punjab team had lost all opportunities to make it to the last four of the tournament, but a win in the inconsequential games towards the fag end of the league stage of the tournament would give them some relief not only to the players but also to their franchisees and their fans. On the other hand, this was a do or die match for the Chennai Superkings, failing which they would have seen themselves catching up with their opposition namely their Kings XI Punjab by not making it to the semis. Moreover, it was a captain's knock which led to the Chennai team's success.
Hardly anyone would have thought that the Chennai Superkings would make it to the semis after most of the important players from the team had to return back home or warm the benches after injuries got better of them earlier in the tournament. The list includes players like Andrew Flintoff who was the highest bid considering all foreign players and Jacob Oram who is another all rounder along with the likes of Mike Hussey to name a few. Likewise, even the captain - Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to sit out from a few matches owing to injury, having Raina as their captain.
Despite the pressure for Dhoni's team to perform, they showed no signs of fear chasing a mammoth total of 193 runs imposed by the Kings XI Punjab. The Chennai team lost just 4 wickets enroute to their successful run chase which speaks for their confidence in their team and their captain as well. Just a night before the Chennai made the mammoth total of 193 look easy and gettable, the Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to go past 140 runs chasing the very same total of 192 against the Mumbai Indians despite getting Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. As a matter of statistics, the Chennai will be making to the semis of an IPL for the 3rd consecutive time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)