Will Harbhajan's dream be relished?

Well it is or has always been an accepted theory that only batsmen make good captains while bowlers rarely get the chance to captain their side. This was the case some 7 years back when Sourav Ganguly was forced to opt out of the tournament against Pakistan and Rahul Dravid was made the captain of the then Indian side which saw wins in the first test followed by a defeat in the second. However, Ganguly returned back for the third test which saw India register another innings win against arch rivals-Pakistan. Then, there were two batsmen who captained the Indian side.

That tournament was famous for Virender Sehwag's (India's) maiden triple hundred when he smashed all the Pakistani bowlers-Saqlain especially all over the ground at Multan. That apart, coming to the point, news on the web is that the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is keen to captain the Indian side which is now on its all time high after their world cup win exactly two months back. But, his dream seems far from being relished when it has been only batsmen who are found to captain the side. However, the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori becomes an exception. Or else, no other bowler seems to hold the tag.

The other side of the debate also has wicket keepers making good captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Similarly there were quite a few players like Andy Flower and Moin Khan who captained their side as well as kept wickets. But, the lone sufferers have been the bowlers and of course fielders. But, with known fielders hardly available and no other name but Jonty Rhodes making it to the list, fielders can be kept out of the list. Of course, even Jonty Rhodes didn't captain the South African side. Another bowler who made it to the elite list was Shaun Pollock.

Or else, the names which captained their sides were Shahid Afridi, Andrew Struass, Dhoni, Chris Gayle etc who were all batsmen or rather all-rounders, Dhoni being a wicketkeeping allrounder. But, despite being successful bowlers, players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Javgal Srinath etc never got a chance to captain their side. There have been successful bowlers like Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev etc who have been successful captains. And someone like Sachin Tendulkar is the worst captain India has ever seen no matter how gr8 a batsman he is. With the trends showing no signs of reversing, the question left unanswered is whether Harbhajan's dream ever be relished

If I was SRT, I'd have retired

Well the latest abuzz in the cricket world is that Sachin Tendulkar will continue to play international cricket despite winning the world cup. This would definitely bring cheers on all Tendulkar fans who can still see the master blaster doing what he has been since the past 22 years in international cricket. What is more is that Tendulkar will play in both tests as well as one day internationals and God knows how long. It is an undisputed fact that Tendulkar is not the one who runs behind easy money. Moreover, it is not we who decides when Sachin Tendulkar should retire.

But, one thing as fans of the great legend, it would be nice to see Sachin Tendulkar ending his career on a high like Glenn McGrath did so after winning the Ashes 5-0 and the 2007 world cup 11-0. So was the case with Shane Warne when his last 5 test matches saw him become the 1st bowler to grab 700 wickets in test cricket. But, the Indian speedstar-Javagal Srinath didn't have that sort of retirement when his last one day international saw him get belted by Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn in the finals of the 2003 world cup.

Srinath was belted for 87 runs in that match at Centurion. Javagal Srinath didn't take a wicket in his finals test match against West Indies as well. Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar's West Indian counterpart-Brian Lara had a disappointing end to his international career when his team lost five major games in the super eight stage of the 2007 world cup at home. Lara was a part of the West Indian team that didn't feature in the super sixes of the 1999 and 2003 world cups. I pray God that no legend gets such a bad farewell like Lara which made him hang his boots permanently not even considering the IPL.

Sir Vivian Richards-who was a part of the West Indies team which was a world beating side played his last in 1991 and didn't wait to see his team crash out of the 1992 world cup which didn't even make it to the semi-finals despite the presence of Lara, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and Richie Richardson. In case Tendulkar retires after say India lose in the ICC champions trophy, that would be a sad farewell for a deserving cricketer. And in case Tendulkar retires after scoring his 100^th ton, the world will see him only as a person who did everything to get into the record books.

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 2^nd 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 5^th 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.

Is Mohali (India) the right venue to host semis?

Well as an Indian and an avid cricket fan, I am also eagerly looking forward to the fifth India-Pakistan match in world cups (barring T20 world cups and ICC champions trophies). This will be the second time Pakistan will have to tour India to play a match against the hosts after the famous 1996 world cup quarter finals played at Bangalore which was Javed Miandad's last show on the international stage. Needless to be said, India won that battle by 39 runs despite a threatening start from the Pakistani openers namely Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail who saw Pakistan reach 113/1 after 13 overs.

Anyway, that is history and then things were not that serious as is the case now. Things were not anticipated then in the match at Bangalore, with India winning the match unlike what happened in the semi-finals against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens. Now, Pakistan is once again cursed to tour the venue which he last prefers to. So would be the case for India, for whom the ghosts of the 1996 semi-finals might haunt again in case they give a sign a being defeated. This has happened earlier in a tri nation tournament with Pakistan having a high upper hand and people start hurling bottles on Pakistan players.

Luckily for captains of both teams, there was no India-Pakistan match until 1992 which averted something similar in 1987. In 1996, though there was nothing unexpected in the quarter-finals at Bangalore, what happened in the semi-finals was nothing compared to what would have happened had India won that semi-finals against Sri Lanka. The finals of the 1996 world cup was held at Lahore which might have made the then India captain Mohammed Azharuddin think many times before winning the semis. Anything might have happened had India toured Pakistan for the finals in case India managed to do so. Though this was not the reason for the defeat, it cannot be completely ruled out.

Since then, Pakistan has never been a venue for any world cup tournaments be it the world cup, the T20 world cup or the ICC champions trophy. Pakistan has been canceled to host an ICC champions trophy in 2008, which was canceled completely with the ICC not deciding on the venue to host the tournament that year. And then, this time Pakistan was denied to host any matches of the ongoing world cup which would have made Indians smile to a greater extent compared to other countries. Afridi may just think upon going back to Pakistan rather than be the target for bottles and paper rockets gifted by angry fans for having his team trounce India.

One can just see paint colors in Afridi's face with dilemma whether to go in for the kill or save his life from people's anger.

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 4^th 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 8^th 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.

A tough task for India

Well on one hand if as an Indian I rejoice my team's victory over the West Indies, on the other hand, troubles begin or have set to begin for team India for, their victory over the West Indies in yesterday's game means that India finish at number three after South Africa and England, with the West Indies finishing at number four. As a result, India will now have to face Australia who are positioned at number 3 after Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the group A points table. This is a difficult task for India who have thrashed by the Aussies 5 times since 1992 world cup.

Of course, the Aussies were unbeatable in 2003 when India lost to them twice. And, as for all bright faces to cheer for, India has been beating Pakistan since 1992 world cup. No matter whether Pakistanis are crowned the world champions (in 1992 world cup) or have been declared the runners-up (in the 1999 world cup), their record against India in world cups is nothing but a zero. Moreover, India can play Pakistan better compared to Australia despite Australia being just another team unlike when they were two world cups earlier. Had India lost yesterday's game they would have been paired with Pakistan.

Pakistan has been placed in the number one position in group A after their wins over Australia and Sri Lanka. If this could be a concern for any team about to face Pakistan, it would be worth mentioning their 11 run win over Sri Lanka that involved an uncountable number of misfield and drop catches. Easy catches have been dropped at crucial stages against Sri Lanka. And coming to the match against Australia, Pakistan lost 6 wickets en route to their successful run chase of 177. There was no need to lose so many wickets in chasing such a small total.

India's chances in the quarter finals would be 50-50 with Australia being a decent squad compared to Pakistan keeping the past results apart. If anyone would cite Australia's lack of match winners like in the past two world cups, one has to keep a check on the Indian batsmen who lost 9 wickets for 29 runs against South Africa and tied with England. Both big games were assisted by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 100s in both the games. A win against West Indies is as good as a win against Bangladesh, Holland and Ireland. Accepting facts, past need not repeat itself in India-Pakistan matches also.

I can correlate India's situation to The Simple Life of a Baghag.

The 1996 Indian fortune

Well the last time the world cup was held in the sub continent was in 1996 needless to be said and the cup should have been something special for India which included the highest wicket taker and the highest run getter in the tournament when Anil Kumble took 15 wickets and Sachin Tendulkar scored 523 runs. Another interesting fact is that they not only beat arch rivals Pakistan but also expelled them from the world cup after a thumping 39 run triumph against the sub-continent nation. Finally the semi-finals at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka is worth mentioning which turned out to be a match which yielded no result.

Another interesting fact would be that India never toured any other country despite Pakistan and Sri Lanka being the co-hosts. India started off with their first match against Kenya at Cuttack followed by their match against West Indies at Gwalior. Then, the third match against Australia was played at Mumbai with the fourth against Sri Lanka played at Firozshah Kotla stadium Delhi. Last but not the least the match against Zimbabwe was played at Kanpur. The remaining two matches namely the quarter-finals against Pakistan and semi-finals against Sri Lanka was played at Kolkata (then Calcutta). That was the end of the tournament for India.

Nothing can be done regarding the pool matches which were scheduled in India whenever India was playing. Perhaps! Had the India-Sri Lanka league stage match been held somewhere in Colombo, may be Sri Lanka would have walked away with another win without having had to take to the crease like it happened in the matches between West Indies and Australia against Sri Lanka. Even the league stage matches might have been held either in Pakistan or Sri Lanka and God knows what made the ICC go in for only Indian pitches when Sri Lanka and Pakistan were made to cross the border. For a change, I thinking about nurse's thoughts.

Pakistan played India in Bangalore and Sri Lanka in Delhi and Kolkata. Even the league stage matches for Pakistan were played in Pakistan until the quarter-finals. But, take a look at destiny. India could have qualified in the 4^th place which would have seen it play a team in Karachi which eventually witnessed the biggest upset of the world cup-the West Indies-South Africa match. Likewise, had India emerged on the top, they would have played England in Faisalabad. However, with both semi-finals being held in India, there was no chance for India to move out of the country. Had India qualified to the finals, then, they would have had to tour Pakistan for the match was held in Lahore.

Sri Lanka in 1999

Well that was the world cup where the defending champions Sri Lanka had evoked a lot of interest and expectations among the fans and among the board as well after they had not only won the championship in 1996 but also had done so without losing a single match en route to the final triumph. Sri Lanka was the second nation to do so after the mighty West Indies led by Clive Lloyd in the 1975 and 1979 editions. Sri Lanka was led by Arjuna Ranatunga who was the captain in 1996 world cup as well needless to be said.

In the 1999 world cup all that the Sri Lankans were able to extract from the more or less world cup winning squad was a win against Zimbabwe and Kenya, the least that any test playing nation can be expected to do. Worst come, in the match against Kenya at Southhampton, though Sri Lanka managed a win in that inconsequential match after losing to England, South Africa and England, the man of the match was awarded to Maurice Odumbe of Kenya for scoring 82 runs from 95 balls. In the game against Zimbabwe, Sri lanka lost 6 wickets en route to their successful chase of 198.

Luckily, the man of the match was awarded to a Sri Lankan batsman Marvan Atapattu for reasons not so important here. Going back, in the 1^st game the Sri Lankans faced against England, Sri Lankans were the favorites not only against England but also against any opposition but for RSA. Sri Lankans were bowled out for 204 and the English batsmen chased down the target in 46.5 overs losing just 2 wickets en route. In the next game against South Africa, though not rated as favorites, Sri Lanka would have had it share of betters after RSA was bowled out for 199 with Klusner remaining unbeaten on 52.

But, forget about winning, the Sri Lankans should have thanked their Gods for not having them all out for a score less than 100. A margin of 89 runs chasing 199 on board is just unforgivable. Then comes the game against India where once again, Sri Lanka were termed as favorites but once again thumbs down. Sri Lanka started off on a positive note after scalping the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Sadagoppan Ramesh not before handing themselves to the hands of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. The two contributed together 328 runs with extras apart. Sri Lankans slogan might have been "Welcome to My World"

Sri Lanka were left with no choice but to end up on a winning note in their inconsequential match against Kenya with a lot of compromise.

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 scored his 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 1^st 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 1^st 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.

Kallis breaks Ganguly's record!

Well records mean records and they don't make a difference whether they are for the good reasons or for the bad. And, the case is exactly the same when it comes to the South Africa's most experienced batsman bowler all - rounder when he scored his first double hundred in tests (obviously). Prior to this feat of Kallis, his highest score in test match cricket was 189 which he scored against West Indies way back in the late 2003. With four players in history to have crossed the 300 run mark twice, Kallis feat is well short of reasons to celebrate. But, lots to be satisfied with.

Atleast now, Kallis need not retire with a bad mark that none of his 38 hundreds in test match cricket had a double hundred. One double hundred is better than none of them to his credit whatsoever. Kallis is way ahead compared to the Waugh brothers - viz Mark and Steve with stats suggesting that Steve Waugh had just one double hundred while Mark Waugh had just one score above 150 in tests, let alone double hundreds. So has been the case with the former India captain Sourav Ganguly who scored his first double hundred in his last test match against Pakistan in 2008.

Likewise, the England all - rounder Andrew Flintoff retired from test cricket last year after winning the Ashes without a single double hundred against his name. This was the last thing that was expected from one of the world's most promising all - rounder. Flintoff has been responsible for England's Ashes victory on two occasions. With that apart, few other examples include Sri Lanka's world cup winnings captain Arjuna Ranatunga whose highest individual test score is an unbeaten 135 against Pakistan in his 4^th year of serving his country in international cricket. That score stood as his highest individual score for 13 more years until he called it a day.

If those were regarding batsmen who had limited success with double hundreds, it is strange to know that some lesser known cricketer like Marvan Atapattu had six double hundreds to his credit, with three of them coming against Zimbabwe and one against Bangladesh. Even Sachin Tendulkar has just 5 double hundreds to his name which is one less than what Atapattu could manage. Bowlers like Wasim Akram and Jason Gillespie have one hundreds against their name which puts them on par with Ganguly and Kallis off late when their double hundreds are compared. Finally, I'd like to put an end to this topic by dedicating it to my friend with whom I had all these stats which I've put up and with this I say Happy Birthday Buddha!.

Legalising sports betting would be a good option

Well things are always acted upon too late and this time as well the situation is no different when the Delhi high court thinks about making sports betting legal in India. I can recall the entire world asking for an umpire referral system after the Sydney test debacle in late 2007 in the Border-Gavaskar trophy. The umpire referral system should have been proposed by any of the cricketing greats long back and not wait until the Sydney test episode to happen. Umpires are also human beings like anybody else and are bound to make mistakes. Keeping this fact out of mind was another mistake.

And now as well, the world and especially the Delhi high court had to wait for the spot fixing episode to kick off for it to think of legalizing sports betting in the country. If one would ask me, I'd rather say that sports betting would bring as much thrill as playing the game for which you would give away anything and everything on earth to just watch it live. Legalizing sports betting would not only bring in more revenue to the government but at the same time, make you think in a different way rather than just jumping with joy when your favorite batsman hits a six.

I happened to go through the site Yarnhoj which need not to worry has got nothing to do with sports betting but had everything to distract my attention from the topic. Anyways, that apart with sports betting being made legal in India, in addition to players, even spectators can make money at the same time lose money when the same team gives a bad performance. All this is being written keeping in mind the fact that I myself am a fan of many sports betting sites which is evident from the sidebar of my blog. Not to mention, the same has its own drawbacks.

With sports betting being made legal, though the movement of funds can be tracked effectively, the very same is bound to increase the risk of match fixing. With crores running into sports betting, sparing a few lakhs to settle issues with players would not be a problem for the bookies at all. Of course, in India, with cricket players being one of the highest money makers, that would affect them to a very little extent. But, settling issues with foreign players would also cause equal disrespect to the game. This is no horse racing or club gambling to justify the same in sports betting.

So, just think and proceed!

Are Sri Lanka favorites to win the Asia cup?

They might have done it in the past two editions of the Asia cup in 2008 and 2004 when it was held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively. And, much to anyone's amazement, Sri Lanka faced India in the finals of the mega tournament and once again needless to be said won the same. This time as well, with India being the contenders for the title, the question (though not worth million dollars) is whether Sri Lanka still have the commitment to perform the same task which they did in the previous two editions of the same and a couple of days back?

Sri Lanka managed to beat India by 7 wickets in the league stage encounter of the Asia cup just a couple of days back and then they recently did India out of the race in the tri series involving Zimbabwe as the 3^rd team in Zimbabwe just a month back. At the same time, citing India's chances, India have been beating Sri Lanka since the past two years or so in most of the bilateral series which involved both the teams. Prior to that, India won the tri series involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand which set the scores level for both the teams under discussion when it comes to triangular series.

No matter what the past speaks regarding both teams, one has to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the teams ready to battle it out on the big stage. The guess is not like picking one from a set of Random Images and instead is a prediction as to who stands front to grab the title. Statistics also suggest that India have been the underdogs when it comes to the finals of a tournament containing three or more teams. Some exception to this being the T20 world cup 2007 and as mentioned earlier the tri nation tournament involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

But this time the onus is on India not only for their past performances against Sri Lanka but also due to the fact that they are a better opposition no matter where the game is being played. India is not dependent on any one player like it was some 7 years ago when the absence of Sachin Tendulkar hindered their performance. There are likes of Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj to name a few who can deal with any opposition. Sri Lanka on the other hand are here in the final this time only due to the fact that they are the hosts and have been lucky as the hosts most of the time.

Sehwag has to go

Well if a dashing opener from a team is expected forced to return back from a major tournament, most of the time puts the team in confusion as to whom to go in for in the remaining encounters of the tournament in case the team has to face a tough opponent. However, at times the absence of a similar player becomes a boon for the viewers if not for the team to see a tough fight between the two teams which would otherwise be just another game and just another win for that team. A tough fight can be a treat for the viewers' eyes more than a win or a loss.

Here as well, the situation is almost the same with Virender Sehwag having to opt out of the remaining matches of the Asia cup. There are matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to go for India, before they take on Sri Lanka in the final of the tournament. It was the win against Pakistan that mattered much for India and moreover, a win against Bangladesh is guaranteed if not for some unexpected mishaps like in the world cup 2007. If that would happen, it would be another Extremes case. Anyway that apart, with the presence of Gambhir, Dhoni and Yuvraj Sehwag's absence shouldn't matter much.

All the aforementioned names belong to the list of big hitters provided they are inform on their day. Prior to the ommision of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the Asia cup for reasons not so important here but which hardly drew a response. Out of the two remaining games, one of them being a cakewalk, the other becomes inconsequential with India already having beaten Pakistan in their opening match and with Pakistan losing both their crucial matches against India and Sri Lanka. Bad luck was that both these matches were close encounters for Pakistan with the margin of defeat being 16 runs and 3 wickets.

The absence of Virender Sehwag though deprives the team of a powerful opener, at the same time provides the platform for another batsman to prove his myth on the big stage. There is Virat Kohli, Rohith Sharma etc, all of whom are waiting for a chance to prove themselves and have even done so in the past. But, with the playing squad restricted to just eleven, the rested players will have to wait for their turn either when a match is being played against a weak team or when the match they are playing is of little consequence. Worst come, one of the regular player gets injured.

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?

A good decision by SLC

Well the Sri Lanka Cricket is found to make two major decision regarding the selection for the upcoming Asia cup. One the Sri Lankan selection committee has dropped the veteran opener but exhausted as well at the same time and then also has excluded Ajantha Mendis who, two years ago played a massive part in Sri Lanka's thumping win over India to win as well as retain the Asia cup which was held in Karachi a couple of years back. Of course, even Sanath Jayasuriya's role and contribution was not too less in the last two editions of the Asia cup.

Sanath Jayasuriya scored two hundreds in the Asia cups, both in 2004 and 2008 as well. Coincidentally, Jayasuriya's hundreds in both the editions mentioned came against Bangladesh and India in the second stage of the tournament. Sanath Jayasuriya scored one of the fastest hundreds of that time when he scored a 54 ball century against Bangladesh as mentioned above. However, I personally don't recommend Sanath Jayasuriya's name to be included in this year's Asia cup for reasons best known. One, Jayasuriya who is now aged 40 is not only old but is also too exhausted to be part of the squad.

And secondly, Jayasuriya not only has been off from his blasting days of glory in recent times but was also dropped by the selectors and the captain. Sanath Jayasuriya was dropped for major part of the Indian Premier League earlier this year may be regarding his trouble over his age by Sachin Tendulkar who himself had forgotten that his age was also moving towards dawn by time. That apart, in the world T20 held at the Caribbean, none of the scores Jayasuriya put forwards could prove his myth as a hard hitting batsman that he was some 4 years back.

Finally, Jayasuriya was dropped for the triangular series recently involving India and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe which Sri Lanka won at the cost of a depleted Indian team led by Suresh Raina. Sanath Jayasuriya now holds the record for two out of the top ten fastest hundreds in one day internationals but still deserves to relax with his wife and kids. He holds the world record for hitting the maximum number of sixes in ODI but is made to sit at a place where the ball lands when it is hit for a six. He holds the record for 2^nd highest run getter and 3^rd highest scorer and 2nd highest number of ODIs played. But......time is up.

Too early for Saurabh Tiwary

Well, he has just crossed 20 years of age and his name is finalized for the upcoming Asia cup that involves Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in addition to India. And, the fact that Saurabh Tiwary is chosen by resting Sachin Tendulkar should no doubt make him feel even more great. One need not question the dropping of Yuvraj Singh and resting Sachin Tendulkar for one of the most important series - the Asia cup. This is the cup that will term the strongest team in the subcontinent and luckily, the ICC is found to have made it a regular affair like the Ashes.

This is the fourth Asia cup since 2000 and as mentioned, one can hope this to be a regular event in the ICC's international calender that would take place once in two years. This was not the case previously, when there was one such event in 2000 and another in 2004 and the next in 2008 with a gap of 4 years inbetween. And this one in 2010 has happened after a gap of two years. However, that apart, coming to the inclusion of Saurabh Tiwary, one has to think whether that was a decent choice or not, for the lad has got a long way still.

For the sake, one has to recall the way Parthiv Patel was bought into the international arena which also saw him make it to the world cup in 2003 held in South Africa where India had their 2^nd final. But Parthiv Patel was not the part of the playing eleven despite there being no regular wicket keeper with Rahul Dravid doing the job for his team despite his lack of expertise in that field. And today, one can hardly recall who Parthiv Patel is. The only cricket that he plays is in the Indian Premier League where he has signed up for the Chennai Superkings. Still, one has to notice that Parthiv Patel is not made to keep wickets unless Dhoni goes off.

And, more than calling it a possibility, it is more than certain that Saurabh Tiwary will not be made to feature in the playing eleven. Similar cases have been seen regarding other players like Sourav Ganguly who made his international debut in 1992 only to become the permanent member of the Indian team in 1996 after the world cup. However, the lone player who can be kept out of the list is Sachin Tendulkar who despite making his debut at the age of 16 is still daring the bowlers and may be goes on for another world cup or so.

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 2^nd 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.

Bad scheduling of the IPL finals

The finals of this year's Indian Premier League was scheduled as though the authorities involved had previously known that the Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians would surely make it to the finals this time, if the scheduling of the finals is seen which is held at Mumbai from where Sachin Tendulkar hails. Relax! this has got nothing to do with match fixing and related other stuff. However, when the other side of the coin in given a close look at, it is a bad scheduling when the finals should have been held on Saturday which would have coincided with Sachin Tendulkar's 37^th birthday.

People still remember the way Sachin Tendulkar smashed all the Aussie bowlers that included the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath on this day exactly 12 years ago when he celebrated his 25^th birthday. That was the finals of the tri nation tournament in which Australia had never lost a single ODI after winning both the games against India and New Zealand at Sharjah. Of course, India would have won that game prior to the finals had there been no interruption by dust which reduced the required target by just 10 runs and the number of balls by 24.

Now, there could have been yet another occasion had the IPL authorities scheduled the finals of the tournament today rather than on Sunday. Well, I'm aware of the fact that there is the stand off for the third place to be held between Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore that will decide the team that will make it to the champions league T20 tournament. But, even that could have been settled by having the match played on Sunday or on Friday. It shouldn't matter in case the Deccan Chargers would be playing games back to back with the 2nd semi finals held on Thursday.

However, coming to Sachin Tendulkar's 37^th birthday, I would like to bring it to everyone's notice that Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman in the history of the game to have at present scored more number of centuries in both forms of the game which is more than his age. This record may not last for long with his age bound to go on as long as the earth exists and the number of hundreds scored to be terminated one fine day when he retires. And with Sachin Tendulkar confirming his presence in the upcoming world cup in 2011 due in the sub continent minus Pakistan, he is likely to become the 2^nd player after Pakistan's Javed Miandad to play in 6 world cups.

Prediction reversed

If one could go through the post "beware orange cap holders", cricket avatar had predicted a loss in the semifinals of the Indian Premier League this year in case Sachin Tendulkar retains the orange cap awarded for scoring the maximum number of runs in an IPL tournament. This was done taking into consideration the previous two editions of the IPL wherein the teams which had players wearing the orange cap had to come out of the tournament in the semis itself. One can recall the way the Kings XI Punjab in 2008 and the Chennai Superkings in 2009 breathed last in the semis of the trophy.

This despite having players like Mathew Hayden in 2009 and Shaun Marsh in 2008 who wore the orange cap in that particular editions of the IPL. And then, coming to the purple cap episode that is awarded to the player with the highest wickets in the tournament, coincidentally, in both the editions of the IPL teams having a player wearing the purple ended up victorious. It was the Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and the Deccan Chargers in 2009 who not only won the tournament but also had players wearing the purple cap namely Sohail Tanvir and R P Singh respectively.

However, this prediction not only went wrong this time but also got reversed, after the Mumbai Indians reached the finals of the tournament despite having an orange cap holder in Sachin Tendulkar and, added to that the Deccan Chargers lost the semis to the Chennai Superkings though having Pragyan Ojha who was the purple cap holder in this year's IPL. This has not made me feel sad for my prediction getting wrong but on the other hand has delighted me for the prediction getting reversed exactly. If one goes by the new theory, it should be the Mumbai Indians who should walk away with the trophy.

And this is more likely to happen for reasons needless to be said. However, if the other side of the coin is considered, there was every chance of a team containing a player wearing the orange cap making it t the finals of this year's IPL. Even if the Royal Challengers Bangalore had made it to the finals, Jacques Kallis had every chance to make the orange cap his, with the difference in the runs scored by the two differing by a small margin. Moreover, Sachin Tendulkar had got out scoring just 9 runs in the semi finals, which bought the difference to just 28. However, in case the Deccan Chargers had won yesterday, there would have been a contest between the teams who had an orange cap holder and a purple cap holder in them.

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!