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Adelaide test.....end of the Agonypath test series for India.....

2012-01-28T23:27:00.001+05:30

The writing was on the wall....loud & clear.....the Indian Cricket Team was heading towards a complete demolition Down Under & today the test series ended with a 4-0 whitewash. A series that was touted as Agneepath, turned out to be Agonypath, something I was foreboding from the beginning of the series, contrary to the cricket experts all over, who had predicted a possible Indian victory in the Kangaroo land !!! The best batting side on paper against an inexperienced Australian side.....

The final test match at Adelaide, with possibly the best batting track for the Indian batsmen, ended today, the 5th day, in the first session, with Aussies wrapping up a whitewash winning by 298 runs. This was the only test match in the series that went into the fifth day, thanks to Aussie Captain Michael Clarke showing mercy on the hapless Indians by not forcing a follow on.....arguably giving India a faint chance of salvaging some pride !!!!
But this Indian side strangely lacked any desire to perform, leave alone attempt a win.....the famed batting line up was dismal & out of sorts to say the least, the bowling was unimaginative or penetrative, the fielding was pathetic & the captaincy was simply incomprehensible, as the team registered its 8th straight loss overseas.
The batting crossed 400 runs in an innings only once in the series & had only one century from Virat Kohli to show.....all stalwarts from Sehwag to Gambhir to Dravid to Sachin to Laxman to Dhoni....all failed to make any mark. Sachin did show promise early on, batting with poise & Virat Kolhi towards the later part of the series.....but all in all, they were blips in an otherwise utterly forgettable series.
Michael Clarke was justifiably the Man of the Series......

Would India be able to salvage some pride in the three team One day Series ahead ?????? I really have my doubts.....they are against a resurgent & a confident Australia, & Sri Lanka who have fared rather well in their just concluded series against South Africa.
India will have to look up to young rookies & one day specialists like Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwari, Rohit Sharma to make any impression, but somehow the body language of the team uptill now has been far from inspiring.....

15th January' 2012 : Day 3, Perth

2012-01-15T11:49:00.004+05:30

Nothing changed from my match reading at the end of play yesterday. The pair of Dravid & Kohli, did put up some resistance today morning & delayed the inevitable beyond lunch. But that was all they could muster.....a stand of 84 runs. The first hour saw dour defence by the two batsmen, scoring runs as well, as the sunny sunday morning lazed open. But then, Dravid, The Wall over the years for India, has been gradually going downhill...in the 51st over of the innings, with the score at 135, Ryan Harris bowled him yet one more time !!!......gone for a struggling, but well grafted 47 runs. The Indian tail had opened up & the end was well in sight. Dhoni has always struggled in seaming conditions & his stay at the wicket was predictably short. At lunch, Indian score card read 165 for 6, with Virat Kohli fighting at 69 not out, the only interest in the match was to see if India could avoid innings defeat & if Kohli could get to a well deserved hundred. None happened, as after lunch, it was all over in a hurry, with the last 4 wickets gone in a space of just 8 deliveries. India all out for 171 runs....Kolhi the last man out for 75 runs. Australia victorious by one innings & 37 runs !!!. The match over in less than 3 days...... perished & pulverized at Perth......seven straight overseas loss for Dhoni & team....Is India advocating for 3 day test matches !!!!....going by their recent performances, it looks like a good case study. The Indians are looking fatigued mentally.....just giving in without a fight....
With the last test coming up in Adelaide on 24th Jan, India now has to play for pride the series already lost !!! Is that what will motivate India....Sachin's 100th ton, a swansong innings by Dravid or Laxman...return of form by Sehwag & Gautam, a zipping Zaheer ????........too many dreams.....too many hopes & hypes....all possibly ending in ignominious nightmares !!!!!!

For Australia, Hilfenhaus once again had a 4 wicket haul, Siddle took 3 & Starc chipped in with 2. In batting Warner was in his unbridled best.....he certainly is a special talent & an extremely good mix of Hayden & Gilchrist up the order....fearless & powerful in his approach....a joy to watch. An automatic choice for the man of the match. Michael Clarke would certainly be a happy Australian skipper......celebrating over beer Mate !!! truly deserving.
For India, the only gains were Virat Kohli putting up fighting knocks in both innings & Umesh Yadav getting a 5 wicket haul. The batting has been dismal to say the least......time has come for a shake out....heads have to roll...Laxman, Dravid, Sehwag, Gautam, Dhoni & even Sachin.....all have to face critical probe...how long can be continue with this ageing line up & look for personal glories, rather than Country's pride ???? There are good players waiting in the wings.......Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwari, Manish Pandey, even Shikhar Dhawan, & many more.....no dearth of talent for sure !!!....its a question of breeding in talent & allowing them to settle down. Coach Duncan Fletcher also is a question mark....he has neither being inspirational nor tactical.....though to fair to him, its the players who are on the field, & its their performance that determine results.
Dhoni has a unenviable task ahead of him......Captain Cool, just a few months back, lauded as a hero back home, after lifting the World Cup, is right now under tremendous pressure to perform, both as a batsman as well as a Leader.....

14th Jan' 2012 : Day 2, Perth

2012-01-14T19:36:00.019+05:30

There was a hint of fightback by the Indian fielding side, as they clawed back in the game to some extent... though by the end of day's play the batsmen had already frittered away the initiative.

Resuming at 149 for no loss, Warner & Cowan started from where they had left & runs flowed with ease. However, there was discipline in Indian bowling today & with score at 193, Zaheer forced Warner to nick a rising delivery....it could have been an early & much needed breakthrough but Virat Kohli spilled the chance. Cowan at the other end reached his second 50 of the series, & Australia were looking good for a very big score.

But India did fight back & commendably....for once the match looked evenly poised. Hard working Umesh Yadav bent his back & got rich rewards, as Zaheer lend excellent support. Cowan was the first to go & after that the brittle Aussie batting line up crumbled slowly but surely. Once Warner got caught out in the deep for a brilliant 180 runs, the rest caved in quite tamely. 10 wickets gone for just 155 runs.....Umesh Yadav picking up a well deserved 5 wicket haul. The 1st innings lead which looked like going beyond 300-400 runs at the end of yesterday, had stopped at 208 runs...... a thin life line for India to claw back in the game. A huge lead certainly, but in the context of the game thus far, India had done well to breathe a comeback. But sadly, that's all the Indian dream could stretch to. The 3rd session of the day, simply decimated any chances that India might have created.

Coming into bat for the 2nd innings, it was expected that the Indian batting line up will finally live upto the reputation. But it was all pipe dreams.....there was simply no spine....no application......no desire to build. Gambhir, Sehwag, Sachin, Laxman gone....the top order crumbling yet again with a mere 51 runs on board. At the end of days play, Dravid & Kohli were hanging on to dear life, with score at 88 for 4, needing another 120 runs to make Australia bat again. The match certainly out of hands. Its now a matter of time tomorrow. Dravid & Kohli may delay the consequences for a while tomorrow, but I don't see anything else happening, other than an Indian defeat....question is, whether it will be an innings defeat or get Aussies to bat again !!

So tame & insipid has been the batting in this series, against an inexperienced Aussie attack, that questions would certainly come up on the future capabilities. For certain heads would roll.....Laxman...maybe Dravid too....look like staring at the exit door of their illustrious career........

13th January' 2012 : Day 1, Perth ......Friday the 13th....

2012-01-13T15:32:00.009+05:30

Mauled at Melbourne & smashed at Sydney, in the current series, it looks like India would now perish at Perth. The 3rd test match, started today, amidst a lot of media bantering, quite expected after the toothless performance by the Indian contingent thus far. Over the last few days, there have been jibes between the players on either sides, trying to gain a psychological advantage of sorts, but the Indian side looked quite deflated from the beginning.
Toss was won by Michael Clarke & he promptly put the visitors in to bat, on a green wicket, that promised pace & bounce.....obviously wanting to take advantage of the early seam movement. The famed (or shall we say, by now the defamed !!) Indian batting line up meted out abject surrender one more time. By lunch the score read a dismal 63 for 4, with Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid & Sachin all back in the pavilion.....a brief resistance by Virat Kohli & Laxman, stitching a partnership of 68 runs was all that India could muster, in an otherwise insipid display of batsmanship. The side was all out for 161 runs, the innings lasting a mere 60.2 overs. Hilfenhaus had taken 4 wickets, while Siddle took 3, & Starc wrapped the tail with 2.

If the Indian batting made you feel that the Perth pitch was too fast & unplayable, the Australian reply removed doubts of any demons on the 22yards. David Warner & Ed Cowan simply tore into the Indian attack & the ball just flew from the blade to the fence time & again......it seemed more like T20 batting. It was carnage to say the least, as Warner simply shifted gears beyond the control of Dhoni & his hapless men. At the end of the day, the Australians were at 149 for no loss, in a mere 23 overs. Warner having gone past a scorching hundred in a mere 69 deliveries, the fourth fastest ever in test matches, & the fastest by an opener. Immediately after being hit by Umesh Yadav on his helmet, Warner, just took guard & then smote the bowler for a boundary & a six to go past his hundred.....such was the bludgeoning !!! Ed Cowan on the other end kept piling runs quietly, having complied 40 & looking good for a big score.

With Ponting, Clarke, & Hussey to come tomorrow, all having blasted the Indian attack in the last test, it surely looks like a long long leather chase ahead for India. To add to that is the unruffled free flowing & childlike exuberance of Warner's batting......a nightmare for any bowling. A lead of 300-400, maybe more before India comes into bat again.....the script seems very very familiar......Friday the 13th....its all going Down Under for Dhoni & his men.....too fast & too furious

6th Jan' 2012 : Day 4, Sydney

2012-01-06T19:24:00.001+05:30

Yesterday late night, I was flipping through news channels & in one of them, got to hear Harsha Bhogle evaluating India's chances in this match. Smiling ruefully, he said, "While I would want India to bat into day 5 & maybe save the test match, it looks highly improbable as of now. Its pouring right now in Sydney, & I only hope it continues to do so tomorrow as well, to lend India support !!!...hehehehehehe, maybe a Sachin hundred....maybe a fighting knock by Laxman, but the series is well & truly buried for India."
Guess the same sentiments were being echoed by all cricket pundits in unison.
Yesterday, in my match coverage, I had mentioned of possible special knocks by Gambhir or Sachin or Laxman or maybe a century by one of the tailenders or maybe rains !!!!.....trying desperately to believe that miracles of such proportions do happen. Well, all of that happens, when pigs will fly,....dreams unbound.... hahahaaaa !!!!
This series was touted as the best chance for India ever, to defeat Australia Down Under...critics from all over were more than assured,..... almost certain, as Australia got butchered by England in Ashes, lost to South Africa miserably, got beaten by New Zealand just a month ago. The team going through a building process under new Captain Michael Clarke....the batting brittle with Ponting & Hussey struggling to regain form, others being rookies in squad....the bowling ever so inexperienced.......It all looked perfect setting for India to gain the upperhand.
Indian contingent, under Captain Cool Dhoni, with such an invincible batting line up, Zaheer back in action to bolster the bowling attack along with Ashwin, Ishant & Yadav, ......people were even dreaming of an Australian whitewash !!!!
In only eight days of cricket, Michael Clarke's Australian unit has flattened & decimated India to lead 2-0 in the series & now on the contrary, an Indian whitewash Down Under looking a strong possibility.

The day started well for India, in slight overcast conditions, as Sachin broke shackles with fluent drives on the off, & Gautam middling as well. The run rate was more than healthy, as both Hilfenhaus & Pattinson kept leaking runs. I quickly brewed up a strong cup of coffee to beat the early morning yawns & settle down to watch an absorbing battle....but then pipe dreams are sweet but short lived !!! Siddle replaced Hifenhaus in the 8th over of the morning & immediately Gambhir edged to Warner at point....gone for 83 runs, just when he was looking good for a long haul century. Laxman in next was tentative in the beginning, & survived a close call, as Haddin behind missed another sharp chance off Siddle. However, thereafter, both the batsmen started to milk the bowling, showing signs of a probable fightback....At lunch India were a resolute 243 for 3, with Sachin on 70 & Laxman on 44....both looking good & settled in the middle, despite overcast conditions.
So good was the batting, even after lunch that Clarke brought himself in to try & break the partnership, which had already added 100 runs. Sachin was looking all set for his 100th ton & Laxman, having completed his fifty as well was flicking & driving with disdain. Finally the Indian batting was living upto its name...the Aussie bowling was getting tested......if these two could bat out the day, with Virat, Dhoni & Ashwin to follow, a turnaround in the making.......Hmmmm, dreaming again !!!...
In the 79th over the inevitable fall happened. Just when, everyone was warming up to the prospect of Sachin's hundred, Clarke looped one that spun slightly to take the outside edge of Sachin's defensive prod, fly off to deflect keeper Haddin's surprised gloves & nestle in the caving fingers of Hussey at slips. Dreams shattered, as Sachin walked back, out for 80 runs, century yet again elusive & defeat all but certain for India. Everything that Clarke touched in this match was gold & he had got the big man !!!! That was all the Aussie attack needed, & the Indian batting caved in. Next to go was Laxman, bowled by Hilfenhaus for 66 runs, & two overs later Dhoni spooned a catch back to Hilfehaus. Virat Kohli was consumed by Pattinson almost immediately & India were reeling at 286 for 7.
With the match most certainly over now, Ashwin & Zaheer went for some lusty hitting, as sixes & fours rained for a while, before Zaheer got caught by Marsh at point off Siddle....the score zoomed 342 for 8. Tea break was a formality, though Ashwin continued to delay the end with some aggressive hitting. He was the last man out for 62 very well made runs, as Indian innings finally folded for 400 runs. Australia was victorious by an innings & 68 runs. Hilfenhaus had once again picked up a 5 wicket haul.
For India, there were positive batting by Gambhir, Laxman, Ashwin in this innings, while Dravid, Kohli & Dhoni scratched around. Sachin was probably the only one playing comfortably. Bowling looked jaded & out of ideas & fielding, the weakest link, looked tired & blunted. For all the speculations, this Indian outfit, strangely has not displayed the hunger to win. Its surprising to see Dhoni being so meek on the field, the Captain Cool, seems to be running out of ideas & inspirations, as his record in test overseas gets another battering, having lost all the last six matches on the trot, three of them being innings defeats.
For Australia, there were records galore, as Ponting & Hussey stuck form with brilliantly grafted centuries. Skipper Clarke got to his maiden triple hundred unbeaten runs......there were two 250 + runs partnerships in the innings(a test record). The bowling was a little faded in the 2nd innings, but they stuck to their task & discipline to get the results. The team looks very well knit & committed to perform.

The next test match starts from 13th Jan at Perth, which is supposed to the fastest & whackiest of all pitches in Australia. Shane Watson is fit now & may come in place of Shaun Marsh, while Ryan Harris may replace Nathan Lyon. This means the pace attack would be more sharp & varied, adding to India's already cup full of woes. India would most probably drop Virat Kohli to bring in Rohit Sharma.....but it does not inspire any confidence for the visitors, as their batting has let them down miserably.

Man of the Match awarded to Michael Clarke, was unanimous.

5th Jan' 2012 : Day 3, Sydney

2012-01-05T19:55:00.001+05:30

The day proceeded almost as expected, with Australia tightening their noose on the match, & India ending the day, still 354 runs behind, having already lost two wickets.....losing the match almost a certainty.

The day started with theme Pink....in support of the Jane McGrath Foundation( an initiative started by Glen Mcgrath in fond memory of his wife Jane, who died of breast cancer). A large section of the crowd came dressed in colour pink. Ex players like Brett Lee went a step ahead & had also streaked their hair pink along with the dress. The players trooped out, shaking hands with Glen McGrath, handing him pink autographed caps.... it all looked very celebrative.
The first hour of the day saw the overnight batsmen Clarke & Hussey, struggle a bit for runs, as the Indian bowlers were more disciplined in length & line. But then seemingly the grip loosened & the fielders started to appear jaded, as the batsmen started to find the boundaries & runs started to flow. Clarke, in sublime form got to his maiden triple hundred & went on to reach 329, while Hussey got to 150 runs, both unbeaten till the end. At the end of 163 overs, with the score at 659 for 4 & an imposing lead of 468, Clarke called for declaration. Clearly the man was not running for personal milestones, considering he was just 71 runs behind Brian Lara's highest individual score, & batting beautifully till now. He was more keen to give his bowlers enough time to rout the visitors out of the game & series.

India needed a strong opening partnership to create a platform for any possible fightback. But Sehwag got out to a stunning catch by Warner at point off Hilfenhaus, for just 4 runs, bring in Rahul Dravid. Thereafter, both Rahul & Gambhir tried their best to put up a stiff resistance, adding 82 runs in 23 overs & taking the total to 100 run. Gambhir thankfully was more assertive in this innings & timed quite a few boundaries, reaching his first fifty of the series. Just when, it seemed that the pair was settling down for a long partnership, Dravid fell to Hilfenhaus, bowled once again for a grafting 29 runs. Next man in, Sachin Tendulkar, brought murmurs in the crowd.....once again the anticipation of his 100th hundred !!! However, both batsmen went into some kind of a shell, defending gingerly, & the score stuck at 105 for 2 for almost 45 mins, as the bowlers got maidens after maidens. In the final three overs of the day, there was drama, as both the batsmen survived close calls.....Sachin edged Hilfenhaus just over his stumps & Gambhir was dropped by Haddin behind off Pattinson,...a simple regulation catch, as the Indian camp heaved a sigh of relief. At the end of the day, India were at 114 for 2, with Gambhir batting at 68 & Sachin at 8.....surviving to fight another day.

For India, Gambhir has been able to strike some form in this innings & Sachin has been in good nick in this series. Both have survived close calls today, & therefore do not give enough reasons to build confidence. Beyond this, Laxman has been struggling uptill now as has Dhoni & Kohli.....which means, India as of now is staring at the wrong end of the barrel....a defeat almost a certainty. The pitch does not hold demons as demonstrated by the Aussie batsmen, but the mountainous climb of another 354 runs for India seems quite improbable, lest miracles happen.......
What can save India now ????? Would it be rains or would it be an encore by Sachin or Laxman or Gambhir..... or a century by one of the tailenders ???? & India managing to bat out two more days against this disciplined & committed Australian attack ????.....pipe dreams or delusions.....either ways, the first session tomorrow will probably bare the reality.
For me, as a cricket enthusiast like millions across the globe, I look forward to a good game of cricket on the field....waking up at 5.00am would then still make sense......

4th Jan' 2012 : Day 2, Sydney

2012-01-04T20:04:00.001+05:30

Yesterday I had mentioned that India needed quick wickets early in the morning to come back into the game, else Aussies would run away with the controls of the match. The match commentators & various day end match evaluations had predicted an Indian resurgence today, hoping for a collapse of the brittle Australian batting. All such speculations & predictions were dusted to ground as the Indian attack was decimated & blown away to smithereens. At the end of play yesterday, the match was still evenly poised, though Australia had their nose in the front. Today, they simply batted India out of the game....die hard Indian optimists may still debate this by giving example of the 2001 test match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, between these two nations, where India managed victory from the jaws of defeat, but honestly such an encore looks unimaginable & near impossible at this stage!!!!....

Both overnight batsmen, Clarke & Ponting looked confident & comfortable at the crease from the morning, while the Indian bowling looked pedestrian & jaded....as if they had already given up. Dhoni's field placements once again left onlookers confused & the fielders moved around with drooping shoulders, as runs came at a rather fast clip. It was a lethargic, winds-out of sail India on the field, bowlers bowling dollies instead of probing length, with captain Dhoni looking defensive in approach from the beginning, as the Aussies raced ahead, without any trouble.
While Clarke looked in sublime form with superb strokes to remain unbeaten at 251 at the end of the day, his maiden test double hundred, Ponting got to a hard fought 134, his 40th test century, as the partnership added 288 runs. To add misery to the already deflated Indian attack, Hussey, coming in after Ponting's departure scored a quickfire 55 unbeaten runs, adding 157 runs with Clarke, as the innings total reached 482 for 4 in 116 overs......the lead extending to 291 runs, with six wickets intact. India managed to claim only one wicket in the entire day....that of Ricky Ponting, but not before the veteran batsmen had redeemed himself with a well deserved century, his first in almost two years & 33 innings......his anxious wife with their child on her lap, smiling in the pavilion. It must have been really tough for them over the last year or so, as there were questions raised on his ability to perform any further......failure in this series would have certainly meant curtains to his illustrious career.
While Clarke caressed onto his 18th test century, Ponting survived a tentative period in his 90s.....& on 99, he dabbed Ishant Sharma to mid on & scampered for a run, as Zaheer picked up the ball & threw at the wickets...it missed by inches, as Ponting lunged to the crease, a relieved man.....sprawled on the ground, shirt smeared with dirt, a slight smile forming for the champion batsman...finally a century for him !!!

For India now, it looks an uphill task to save the match....a near impossible task, as the Australian batsmen will come back hard tomorrow to add to the total. Clarke, batting beautifully on 251, would be eyeing the first ever individual test 300 runs at this ground & Hussey would surely like to reach his three figure mark.....there is Haddin to follow & then Pattinson & Siddle, both capable to tanking runs. Indian batting card has huge names on paper, but on current form, going through bottomless misery, having failed to go beyond 300 runs even once in the last 11 innings, fails to inspire any confidence......only Sachin looks composed at the crease & is stroking well, but he too is bogged down with the prospect of his 100th century....others have been simply struggling, barring brief patches of brilliance.
The match is just two days old & the lead is already 291 runs, putting the Aussies in the drivers seat to go 2-0 up in the series. It will be a real surprise if they don't.....

3rd Jan' 2012 : Day - 1, Sydney

2012-01-03T19:38:00.025+05:30

The 2nd test match of this series got underway at Sydney, with dismal batting performance, especially from India. Both teams having retained the same squad from the last match, Dhoni won the toss for India & elected to bat on a sun drenched morning at the SCG.

What India needed was a solid opening partnership to lay the foundation, & Gambhir, whose miserable form continued, snicked the 3rd ball of the match from Pattinson to Clarke in the slips, without any runs on the board. Dravid in next, looked in good nick, as Sehwag at the other end, though edgy, got to his usual flair of hitting across the line. However, this did not last long enough to cause damage to the Aussie bowling, who continued to maintain the length & line outside the offstump with occasional short stuff. Dravid perished in the 11th over, flicking Siddle to short leg, as the score read 30 for 2. Tendulkar walked in to a thunderous welcome, the crowd expecting nothing less than a century, & he looked & middled the ball with assurance. Sehwag was the next to go, failing to capitalize on a dropped chance, as Pattinson removed him in the 19th over, caught behind for 30 runs. Laxman too failed, snicking Pattinson to Marsh in the slips shortly, as the score card read a miserable 59 for 4......the top order caving in yet again. Lunch certainly tasted bitter, as India was struggling with Sachin & Virat Kohli at the crease....score reading 72 for 4. Just when Kohli looked like settling down with Sachin into a fine partnership, Siddle removed him caught behind for 23, well made runs, & the total at 95 for 5. All the good work of hanging in for around 40 deliveries gone waste, as skipper Dhoni walked in. Tendulkar playing with aplomb, hitting sweetly timed boundaries, was giving the Indian dressing room reasons to cheer, when out of nowhere, he inside edged Pattinson onto his stumps....the score reading 124 for 6, & all hopes of an Indian batting resurgence going up in smoke.... Dhoni & Ashwin tried their best to delay the collapse & pushed the score to 178. But just before tea, Hilfenhaus removed Ashwin & Zaheer off successive deliveries to reduce India to 178 for 8. The tail lasted only enough for Dhoni to get his fifty, as India was bowled out for a miserable 191 in 60 overs.....Dhoni remaining undefeated for 57 fighting runs, amidst ruins. Pattinsson was the pick of the Aussie attack with 4 for 43, getting able support from Siddle with 3 for 55 & Hilfenhaus with 3 for 51.

After a dismal 1st innings batting performance & letting Australia seemingly run away with reins of the match, the only way for India to get back, was to strike early. The onus was on the experienced Zaheer, & he did just that by removing the dangerous David Warner, in the very first over of the innings. Immediately thereafter, he removed Shaun Marsh & then a little later Ed Cowan.....all the three left handers gone for Australia, as the score read 37 for 3....Zaheer was looking menacing & his figures read an extremely impressive 5-0-23-3.
However, thereafter, veteran Ponting along with skipper Clarke, settled down to lay solidity to the brittle top order, & at the end of day's play, Australian scorecard read a comfortable 116 for 3, just 75 runs behind India's total, .....Ponting on 44 & Clarke on 47 respectively....the partnership already having added 79 runs.
13 wickets have tumbled in the day, with bowlers gaining the upper hand on the 1st day's play...though the pitch did not show any demons....it was poor batting display & inspired bowling efforts from a purist point of view.
Tomorrow's 1st session would probably be very crucial for both the teams. If India manages to break the partnership of Ponting & Clarke early, then they can run through the inexperienced Aussie batting line up, with only Hussey & Haddin to follow & make the match competitive. On the other hand, if the Aussie pair settles into a long stay at the crease, the later batsmen will then most certainly flay the Indian attack for a huge total & then buckle the Indian batting 2nd time over....pitch report says, that the next two days would be ideal for batting !!!! The Kangaroos are tails up as of now....

Lets hope for some good absorbing cricket tomorrow.....

Sydney test - Monkey Gate Scandal revisited !!!

2012-01-02T21:40:00.002+05:30

The 2nd test match of this series starts at the Sydney Cricket Grounds tomorrow 5.00am IST, as 2012 ushers in the 1st test match of the year. The match has huge historical significance, as its going to be the 100th test match on this ground...a long journey of 129 years, since Aussies battled England here in 1882 !!!

The beautiful ground with extremely picturesque surroundings, however, brings back dank & dark memories of the Monkey Gate scandal during the 2007-08 Indian tour Down Under, which led to some ugly spats between the two teams. Harbhajan, batting with Sachin in the middle on the 3rd day of the match got into a verbal duel with Andrew Symonds & other players too got into the muddle.....a major altercation, where Bhajji was accused of using racial language against Symmo....& the umpires on the field had to intervene. Subsequently, Harbhajan was banned for 3 matches by the match referee, Mike Procter, though the ban was later lifted after an appeal by India, as the charges could not be proved conclusively. He was however pressed for lesser charges & fined 50% of his match fees. The match was also marred by some rather poor & controversial decisions by the umpires, Steve Bucknor & Mark Benson, at critical stages of the game, which profited the home side more, as the Aussies went on to win the match by 122 runs. Some of the controversial decisions in the match were :

Symonds was given not out three times at scores of 30, 48 & 148 & he went on to make 162 not out in the Australian 1st innings; Hussey was given not out on scores of 22 & 45 & he went on to make 145 not out in the 2nd innings; Symonds, again in 2nd innings was given not out at score of 0 & he went onto make 61 runs. For India, in the 1st innings, Laxman was given not out when on 16 & he went onto make 109; Sachin was given not out when on 36 & he went onto score 154 not out; but what effected India majorly was when chasing 333 for a victory in the 4th innings of the match, Dravid was given out caught behind at 38, when replays suggested deflection off the pads, & later Ganguly at 51 then given out caught by Clarke in the slips, & Ponting, the Aussie captain on being referred to by umpire Benson confirmed a clean catch, when replays showed the ball having touched the ground... Ponting had also appealed unsuccessfully for another dubious catch against Dhoni.....the spirit of the beautiful game lost, in the frenzy to win !!!!

Australians went onto register their 16th consecutive win, equalling Steve Waugh's record, albeit under dubious & questionable circumstances, as India collapsed dramatically towards the end of the 5th day's play.

The post match aftermath, led India's skipper Kumble to comment, "Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game"...Media lapped up controversies, as the Indian team, bitter with the events, threatened to abandon the series & needed the intervention of ICC to continue.

Umpire Steve Bucknor from Jamaica, having officiated for 120 test matches till then was, unceremoniously dropped from the series by ICC, for erring in crucial decisions in the match. The scars of that match, probably have been dusted over time, as Symonds has already retired from international cricket & Harbhajan has been left behind for this series, & Ponting is struggling to secure his place in the Aussie squad.

On form India are clearly struggling, as their much vaunted batting has been rather brittle. Having lost the opening test at Melbourne, they have to bounce back here to keep the series alive, else they are staring into the dark end of the barrel. Sachin's 100th century still seems to be the focal point, while most of the batsmen are struggling to counter the rising deliveries. Unless the likes of Sehwag & Gambhir at the top & Laxman & Dravid in the middle bat for long, India might struggle to save the test.

The Aussies on the other hand are buoyant & look committed & energetic, though the batting is still to settle down. The green top promises a lot for the pacers, though the pitch looks good for runs.

Early morning wake up call tomorrow to watch a pulsating game.....

2011...the year gone by

2011-12-31T21:31:00.006+05:30

As the evening lit up to celebrating sparkles, people across the globe in their respective time zones, donning their best outfits strode out to join friends & gatherings to dance & rejoice, hugging each other in exuberant bonhomie, waving off 2011 & welcoming 2012......

Sipping a cup of brewing coffee, I sit down to reflect the year that went by......in so many ways, an extremely challenging year.....emotionally, physically, professionally & maybe even spiritually......it has been a roller coaster of events, mostly devastating I guess....one more difficult than the other....am I sounding gloomy & out of tune, on a day, when everyone seems to be in a festive mood???........mind totters into a winding pathway of thoughts....it truly is a struggle to gather words & pen them down.....

The Mid East, especially the Islamic countries, saw numerous political uprisings....January saw protesters demonstrating at Tahrir Square in Cairo leading to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigning from his three decade old tyranny......The Tunisian Govt fell after a month long & violent protests, as the President fled to Saudi Arabia after 23 years of regime....Bahrain witnessed revolts, as the King declared emergency to quell civil unrest....Libyan uprising was bloody & violent spread over months which eventually saw the brutal death of their dictator Muammar Gaddafi & his son.....Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Israel, too experienced uprising of common man against Govt....it was all very violent & bloody....as if some deep rooted rebellion was gushing out.......leaving behind a trail of death & devastation. The most sought after & chased terrorist over a decade, Osama Bin Laden, was finally located & killed by US troops in a small hamlet in Pakistan, bringing to surface, the country's close association with terrorism & its deathly impact.

Nature too was devastating round the year, as earthquakes scaling 9.1 & subsequent tsunami swept east of Japan........floods hit Brazil, ............volcanoes erupted in Chile,........ Thailand, Cambodia & Philippines were inundated by floods,.... quakes in Turkey,....all resulting in numerous losses of human lives & infrastructure.....

The global economy has looked bleak, as Europe & Americas have been struggling for growth....with sensex tanking across. Jobs have been scarce & increments minimal.....the picture has been mostly dismal.

It was also a year of so many farewells.......so many celebrities, who had contributed towards the welfare of the world today, left us....forever : Elizabeth Taylor, the violet eyed hollywood diva; Dev Anand, India's evergreen romantic hero; Shammi Kapur, the Elvis Presley of India; Amy Winehouse, famed singer succumbing to drug abuse; Jagjit Singh, the ghazal maestro with a golden voice; Bhupen Hazarika, the famous singer writer from Assam; Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, classical singer, Bharat Ratna recipient; Sultan Khan, sarangi player; MF Hussain, the controversial painter; Joe Frazier, World Boxing Champion; S Ballesteros, former World No1 golfer; Socrates, Brazilian footballer; MAK Pataudi, better known as Tiger Pataudi of Indian Cricket; Kim Jong, North Korean dictator; Hargobind Khorana, the Nobel Prize winner in medicine; PC Alexander, ex Governor of Maharashtra; Mario Miranda, famous cartoonist; Satya Sai Baba, the spiritual guru from Puttaparthi; Dorjee Khandu, the promising Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, who died in a helicopter crash; & not to forget Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc........& so many more. Each one of them, having contributed so meaningfully to our lives..... It has indeed been a year of losses.....heavy losses...
As a Wall Street sign read " 10 years ago, we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope & Johnny Cash. Now we have no Jobs, no Hope & no Cash!!" ......a true reflection of the year that has been ......

Back in India, the common man rose in unison against Corruption, under the clean shoulders of Anna Hazare, demanding a strong Lokpal Bill......the drama, however continues into the new year, as the Central Govt continues to shamelessly try & thwart the initiatives. The Govt & the opposition are relentless in their own pursuit of political brownie points, as the common man languishes under the burden of inflation, price rise, & false promises.

Mamata Banerjee became the first woman & 11th Chief Minister of West Bengal, ending almost four decades of Left rule......time will tell, if she brings in refreshing & developmental changes, as we look forward in anticipation.

In July, Mumbai again witnessed serial bomb blasts, raising questions on security issues & terrorism. In December, severe negligence of authorities led to fire at AMRI hospital in Kolkata, leading to almost 100 tragic deaths. Nature vent its fury on Sikkim, as quakes left many dead & large scale destruction.

There were few reasons to rejoice as well, as India won the World Cup Cricket in Mumbai after 28 long years of wait, under Dhoni's captaincy, beating Sri Lanka in the finals. India also won the World Kabaddi Championship, as expected. Noida hosted the first ever Formula 1 race in India, won by Sebastian Vettel, which had celebrities from all over the world coming over, in a racing extravaganza...vroooooommmmmm. In Dec, Sehwag flayed the Windies attack to score 219 runs, the highest ever by an individual in an ODI, as Sachin's 100th century eluded him this year.
Also was the song - Kolaveri Di by Dhanush, Rajnikanth's son in law, which had the country & beyond going foot tapping crazy all over....something that I could not fathom....musically its a stupid song, lyrically even stupider.....don't know what caught the fancy & imagination of the youth !!!! Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar was slapped hard by a Sikh youth.....what took anyone so long ????..could anyone repeat the performance plss ?

Phew, the coffee has turned cold & bitter, as it looks like a year gone by, full of challenging circumstances, bitter memories, & I am not even listing down personal experiences of the year....they have been bizarre, even if politely put !!!..... does 2012 bring in better tidings ?? ....only time will tell.
The mind, as for now feels tired & fatigued.....parties just don't excite, & silence beckons ... .almost eerie on impact. Waiting for God ????....Love ????......Peace ???? or just plain simple laughter over a cup of coffee, with someone you love!!!!

On our part, we will optimistically look forward, pray for well being, strive for success & dream.....
Hopefully the coffee will brew & taste better......

29th Dec'2011 : Day 4 Melbourne

2011-12-29T13:29:00.002+05:30

I had said in my parting comment yesterday that chasing anything around 300 runs in this wicket for the final innings would be difficult even for this extremely strong & experienced Indian batting line up.......& it seems, all the experts in the commentary box, the likes of Saurav Ganguly, Wasim Akram, Ian Chappel, Ravi Shastri et all echoed similar sentiments, infact most of them pegged the score around 250.
And as the day unfolded, the Aussie tail wagged & later in the day, the Indian batting collapsed once again, giving Australians the vital 1-0 lead in the series.

Pattinson, coming in at No 10, to join Hussey, showed that he was no bunny with the bat. The 3rd ball of the 2nd over of the day from Yadav was smacked to the boundary through extra cover, signalling his intent & capability very very clearly. At the other end, Hussey too kept the score board ticking, blazing a couple of sweetly timed boundaries off Zaheer to take the lead closer to the 250 mark. But Zaks came back immediately with a splendid delivery to remove the dangerous Hussey, caught behind,...the score reading 197 for 9, & India needing just one more wicket to get started with the chase....the match evenly poised.
But the last pair of Pattinson & Hilfenhaus frustrated the Indian attack & Dhoni looked quite out of ideas, with surprisingly defensive field placing, as vital runs kept adding to the total. It was finally Ishant Sharma in the 77th over, who got Hilfenhaus to edge to Laxman in the slips, as the Aussie innings finally came to an end for 240 runs........as many as 61 runs added since resuming play today, of which 43 came for the last wicket.....Pattinson remaining unbeaten for a splendid 37. Interestingly, even in the 1st innings, he was unbeaten for 18 runs!!! No wonder, he has 1st class century to his credit in the Australian domestic cricket.....he certainly can bat. For the Indians, Yadav had taken 4 wickets, Zaks 3, Ishant 2 & Ashwin 1. The bowling had been quite disciplined & fierce by the pacers.

India needed to chase 292 runs for a victory, & given the way the pitch had behaved till now, & the current Indian batting form, the prospect looked looked rather steep & tough. It needed a strong opening partnership to lay the foundation, & both Sehwag and Gambhir had their task cut out. However, in just the 6th over of the innings, Hilfenhaus got Sehwag to hit straight to Hussey at gully for a mere 7 runs, & scorecard showed 17 for 1.......big big wicket for Australia just before lunch.
After lunch, Siddle claimed Gambhir with a ripping delivery, edging the top end of the bat to slips, & then, a little later Pattinson clean bowled Dravid.......the innings was just 19 overs old & the top three wickets gone, as India tottered to 58 for 3. Tendulkar batted as he did in the 1st innings, confident & aggressive, & needed support at the other end. However, 2nd innings specialist Laxman disappointed, flicking a Pattinson delivery to be caught at short square leg & Virat Kohli getting plumb LBW to Hilfenhaus......India 69 for 5......defeat a certainty. Tendulkar too did not last much longer, driving Siddle uppishly to Hussey at gully for a resolute but inconsequential 32 runs.
Dhoni & Ashwin delayed the inevitable with some belligerent hitting, as India went to tea with score at 117 for 6. After tea, Ashwin top edged Siddle for a simple catch, scoring an enterprising 30, while Zaheer hit a four & six before edging Pattinson to short leg, & Captain Dhoni getting an inside edge from Pattinson to his stumps. The last pair of Ishant Sharma & Umesh Yadav added another 27 runs, before Yadav holed out in the deep. The Indian innings had folded tamely for 169 runs in 48 overs, handing over a 122 runs victory to Australia.

This was India's fifth consecutive defeat in test matches overseas(losing 4-0 to England during summer) as the year comes to an end, certainly a worry for Indian think tank. They need to regroup quickly before the next test begins at Sydney on 3rd Jan'12. The inexperienced & injury prone bowling was rather commendable, with Yadav bowling his heart out & Zaheer along with Ishant supporting well, without any niggle alarms. Ashwin tried too many variations thereby losing on consistency, but he is a class bowler in the making. Fielding was patchy, with catches dropped at crucial stages of the game, but the biggest disappointment was the collective failure of the much vaunted batting line up. Barring Tendulkar & Ashwin in both innings & Dravid & Sehwag in the 1st innings, the rest caved in rather timidly. Dravid got bowled out three times (once to a no ball), which is rare & Gambhir is struggling with his feet movement, while Laxman surprisingly failed to get going against his favourite opponents. Kohli & Dhoni looked all at sea against genuine movement off the seam. The spectre of Sachin getting his 100th century still seems to overburden the focus of the batting nucleus, & this needs to be addressed immediately.
Indians are normally sluggish at the start of any overseas tour, & that builds too much of pressure on the team, thereafter, but this team has a wonderful blend of youth & experience & we all would expect them to bounce back rather strongly. Dhoni needs to show more spunk & enterprise, especially in polishing off the opponents tail.....he seems to be giving away from position of strength too often of late !!!!
For the Australians, return of form at the opportune time for old war horses Ponting & Hussey, would be a welcome sign. Cowan got an interesting & patient fifty on debut & has the makings to take on the vacant opening spot left by Justin Langer, while Warner, a brilliant prospect, needs to curb a bit of his carefree hitting to succeed in this longer version of the game. The faith reposed on Hilfenhaus by bringing him back to the test side proved a brilliant move as he bowled with purpose & pace, brilliantly supported by Pattinson & Siddle.
The team is young & in the process of building for the future & seems to be well disciplined, with loads of talent to fall back on.

The Man of the Match was James Pattinson, the 21 year old good looking hunk from Victoria & deservingly so. As a front line bowler he had match figures of 6 wickets for 108 runs & with the bat scored crucial & unbeaten 55 runs.....certainly a wonderful prospect for Australia ahead. Earlier in the year, he had taken 5 for 27 against the Kiwis on debut & has gone from strength to strength since then. He is strongly built, displays intent & intelligence on the field & can truly become a match winning bowler who can also bat.

See you all at Sydney on 3rd Jan next year & hoping India regroups positively for a fighting series.

28th Dec'2011 : Day 3 Melbourne

2011-12-28T21:23:00.001+05:30

Day 3 in any test match is expected to be the best day for batting. With India starting at 214 for 3, & a solid batting line up to come, most critics predicted a long haul ahead. However, in true traditions of the uncertainties of cricket, the day turned out to be nightmarish for the batsmen.
In the very second ball of the day, with no addition to the score, Hilfenhaus rattled Dravid's off stump to start the slump. The next 7 overs produced only 6 runs, as Siddle consumed Laxman, India's most reliable bat in these conditions, caught behind, with score reading a dismal 221 for 5. Virat Kohli was next to go, caught behind to Hilfenhaus, & then Dhoni edged Hilli to Hussey at gully, as Indian total dipped to 245 for 7. With the new ball taken, the Aussie pacers were all over the famed Indian batting. Ishant, the nightwatchman, having braved the fiery attack for 69 deliveries finally fell to Hilifanhaus, as Zaks was bowled out by Pattinson. Ashwin tried some lusty hits, before Indian innings folded for 282...conceding a lead of 51 runs, as the umpires called Lunch. Had Ashwin & Yadav not added 23 crucial runs for the last wicket, India would have been in further trouble. Hifenhaus claimed 5 wickets, while Siddle & Pattinson claimed 2 apiece. Indians had lost 8 wickets for just 68 runs, allowing the Australians to come back strongly in the game.

The unexpected collapse of the Indian batsmen & a healthy lead of 51 runs probably got the Aussies overconfident, as a resolute Indian side trooped in to filed after lunch. Young Umesh Yadav was all pumped up as he bowled with fierce pace & controlled line, as Zaheer kept the pressure from the other end. Yadav ripped through the Australian batting, getting openers Warner & Cowan in the 7th over & then Shaun Marsh in the 12th over, while Ishant Sharma bowled skipper Clarke in the very next over, as the total read 27 for 4. India were right back in the game, as old warhorse Ponting & Hussey attempted to rebuild the innings.....both under tremendous pressure to perform. The pair worked hard against a probing Indian attack & at tea the score read 81 for 4. Both the batsmen reached individual milestones of well deserved 50s, adding 115 runs in the bargain, as Dhoni kept trying various options to break the partnership. It was finally Zaheer who got the breakthrough, getting Ponting to edge to Sehwag in the gully for a very well made 60 runs, & the downward spiral for the Aussies started again. Zaheer then got Haddin out, Yadav claimed Siddle, while Ashwin got Lyon, as the Australian innings limped to 179 for 8 at the end of the day. Umesh Yadav had bowled brilliantly claiming 4 wickets, while Zaks got 2 & Ishant and Ashwin chipped in with one each. Had Hussey not survived a straightforward catch to Dravid in the slips off Ashwin, it could have been worse for the hosts, who failed to capitalize on a surprise first innings lead.

The day witnessed 15 wickets going down today for just 247 runs, as the Australians lead by 230 runs, with just two wickets in hand. If Hussey, who's batting on 79 invaluable runs, can thwart the Indian bowling till lunch at least & take the lead beyond 300 runs tomorrow, it would advantage Australia, as Indian batting has been brittle in recent times, & barring Dravid & Laxman, there is no genuine 2nd innings player, especially while chasing. If the Indians manage to restrict the lead to around 250 runs, then they should be able to chase successfully. Either ways, this test match, having swung both ways till now in a see saw battle, is heading for a result, which will make the series most interesting ahead.
Join me tomorrow.....

27th Dec'2011 : Day - 2 Melbourne

2011-12-27T15:17:00.001+05:30

Unlike yesterday, it was blue skies, with occasional small fluffs of white clouds whiling by, as bright sun welcomed the players in the middle. Overnight batsmen Siddle & Haddin took stance with score at 277 for 6, as Umesh Yadav marked his run up....two slips & a gully, third man, point, mid off, mid on, long off, deep mid wicket,......day 2 proceedings got underway.
Zaheer, from the other end stuck in his first over(the 2nd over of the day), consuming the ever dangerous Haddin, with an away seaming delivery, kissing the outside edge, & Sehwag at gully gobbling the catch gratefully. In came Pattinson to join Siddle, with Yadav & Zaks bowling in tandem....Next to go was Siddle, with Zaks again finding the nick of the blade & Dhoni behind doing the rest......291 for 8, & both overnight batsmen back in the pavillion. Zaheer had done the job of being the frontline bowler for India. Hilfenhaus in next, hit quite lustily to take Australia past the 300 mark,.....as Zaheer looked like tiring out, & Yadav or Ishant not making much of an impact....drinks break at this stage was certainly a welcome sign for the fielders. Finally spin introduced by Dhoni, provided the breakthrough, as Ashwin lured Hilfenhaus to hole out at long on, where Virat Kohli made no mistakes. The last pair dragged the score to 333, when Ashwin bowled Lyon round the legs....the Aussie 1st innings had lasted 110 overs. An at par score, one would say.

Indian innings started with Gambhir taking strike & Sehwag at the non striker's end....three slips, gully & a short leg, as Pattinson started the bowling in earnest with a maiden. Lunch was round the corner & India had to negotiate three overs, before the break.....Gambhir was edgy, while Sehwag looked his normal self. Hilfenhaus & Pattinson continued pounding after lunch, as Sehwag started to open up. However, he got into a needeless word spat with Pattinson & Siddle, as the Umpire intervened to caution. This must have broken the concentration of Gambhir at the other end, who had been quite edgy till now, & he perished to an edge behind of Hilfenhaus....India score reading 22 for 1 after 8 overs. Sehwag continued as he normally does, hitting clearly & across the line....reaching a scorching 50 in just 59 deliveries. He got a life in the very next over, as Haddin grassed a regulation nick off Pattinson, but could not capitalize on this chance. Pattinson, bowling an extremely good spell, had his revenge, as Sehwag went for a cover drive & edged onto the stumps.....out for a blazing 67 off 83 deliveries.....he had his chances, but could not convert a big score. He however, reached an important milestone, crossing 8000 runs in test cricket, the fifth Indian to do so, till date. At the other end, Dravid seemed to be scratching & getting beaten at regular intervals, but surviving diligently, as Tendulkar walked into the middle to a rapturous crowd....anticipation of a big 100 !!!! With tea break round the corner Hussey induced Tendulkar into an inside edge, which fell just short of the silly mid on, as the Indians across the globe watching would have heaved a sigh of relief.
Whatever, he had for tea, Sachin came back into the middle in a completely different frame of mind, clobbering Siddle for a six, uppercutting over slips, bringing up the 100 for India. Runs started to flow again, as Dravid clawed to a rather inelegant, edgy fifty off 137 deliveries, & Sachin racing to his own in just 55 deliveries....a complete contrast of batting display by the two masters of the game in the middle. 200 runs for India came in the 57th over, as Clarke looked out of ideas to get a wicket. With the day nearing end, he rested his confidence with his best bowlers of the day, Pattinson & Siddle...both bowling their heart out. It was Siddle, who got the crowd roaring back, as he broke through the defensive Wall of Dravid to rattle the off & middle stump......however, Dravid was lucky to escape, as Siddle had overstepped & the Umpire, after consulting the replays, ruled it a No-Ball....heart wrenching decision for a bowler. Siddle continued to torment Dravid with his incisive nipping deliveries, as Pattinson kept the other end tied up with some equally good bowling. Finally Siddle got his reward as he broke through Tendulkar's defence this time, clean bowling him for a brilliantly compiled 73 runs off just 98 balls. It was the last over of the day, as Tendulkar trudged back to the pavilion......the 100th ton still eluding him.

Dravid survived the day, to battle it out in the middle tomorrow, as India closed the day at 214 for 3. For the Indians, Zaks bowled beautifully in the morning & then Sehwag & Tendulkar entertained the crowd with some splendid batting display, though both of them would be disappointed to have missed out on a deserving hundred. For the Aussies, Siddle & Pattinson really bowled superbly & with a bit of luck, & some half chances converted in the field, would have had more wickets to cap the performance.
I would say, at the end of the day, the match is tilted slightly in India's favor, trailing the Aussies by 119 runs with 7 wickets in hand. Tomorrow's first session would be interesting.....how the Aussie pacers use the morning movement off the pitch & how the Indian batting responds. With Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni & Ashwin to come in & Dravid still holding one end up, one would expect India to pile up a healthy 1st innings lead....but then its Cricket....with glorious uncertainties.

Tune in tomorrow morning......

26th Dec'11 : Day -1, Melbourne

2011-12-26T16:54:00.001+05:30

Battle lines drawn, as India take on Australia at MCG, Melbourne on the Boxing Day. The playing XI for India - Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni, Ashwin, Zaheer, Ishant & Yadav, while for Australia - Warner, Cowan, Marsh, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Haddin, Siddle, Pattinson, Lyon & Hilfenhaus.

Toss won by Clarke & he chose to bat on a green wicket. The overcast conditions did promise bounce & seam, as Zaheer took over the red cherry to start the proceedings. Debudante Cowen took stance as the crowd roared, with Warner at the other end. Zaheer, sporting a new hairstyle, looked a little rusty in his opening spell, though Yadav from the other end generated healthy pace. The openers started quite well, with Cowen holding one end & Warner scoring from the other. Warner was just about cutting loose with a six off Yadav, when rains brought the first of the interruptions. Warner, probably in a hurry to score, erred in concentration & immediately on resumption of play, lost his wicket to Yadav, caught behind in the 14th over of the match...a wicket maiden. He was looking menacing in his 37 off 49 deliveries. Next man in Shaun Marsh did not last long, snicking outside the offstump to Yadav, to be caught by Kohli in the gully for a blob. In a spate of two overs, from 46 for no loss, the Aussies were reduced to 46 for 2, as in strode Ricky Ponting, to a buzzing stand. Yadav, buoyed by two quick wickets, was spitting fire & immediately stuck Ponting on the helmet with a rising bouncer, followed by another one....the crowd roared at the prospect of an interesting contest.
Ponting, veteran of many battles, dug in bravely & started to get his timing & strokes, as runs trickled in. Rain interruptions did not waver his concentration & Cowen at the other end held firm. 100 runs for the innings came in the 29th over, as Dhoni kept shuffling his bowlers in short bursts, including Ashwin. 50 for Ponting came in the 38th over, as the crowd rose in approval...the run rate, a healthy 3.62 per over. Cowen got to his 50 in the 43rd over, a brilliant & patient 50 on debut, as the pair had put on 100 invaluable runs.....a little later the team total had crossed 150 runs. Just as it seemed, the resilient Aussies had tamed the Indian attack, Yadav came back with another snorter, rearing up enough to catch the high end of Ponting's bat & an easy edge to Laxman in the slips.....3 down for 159. Ponting gone for a well grafted 62.....surely he would be screaming at himself to let go of making it a big hundred. ......a huge wicket for India, as Yadav's figures read an impressive 11-2-61-3. In walked skipper Michael Clarke, looking resolute. 200 runs on board by 61st over as Cowen & Clarke started to settle down. However, Zaks had other ideas, as he produced a stunner of an over in the 65th. First he got Clarke to edge onto stumps & then immediately in the next delivery had Hussey edge to Dhoni behind.....two very important wickets in the middle to rock Australia back to 206 for 5. Hussey was probably unfortunate, as the ball brushed his sleeves on way to Dhoni, as the Indians appealed successfully....no UDRS for the series meant, umpire's decision stayed......Hussey walked back screaming livid.....just what happens when you are out of form. Two overs later, Cowen's wonderful debut vigil at the center came to an end, edging to Ashwin to Dhoni behind.....a superb 68 runs to start his test career. Looks a good batting prospect for the Aussies ahead....a la Justin Langer mould. Once again, the hotspot did not show any edge, & umpire's decision upheld....
With Siddle & Haddin at the crease, it looked like the Indians would be able to wipe away the tail.....the new ball in the 80th over however did not do any more trick as the Aussies ended the day at 277 for 6, with Haddin at 21 & Siddle at 34, having already added 63 runs to stabilize the innings.....both capable to wielding the willow tomorrow for some useful & crucial runs.
I felt, Dhoni did not or could not close the lid by going all out with his attack at crucial stages. Umesh Yadav bowled with spark & got dividends with 3 wickets, though he was expensive, while Zaheer bowled craftily & got 2 very important wickets to peg the Australian innings back. Ishant was good & bad in spells & Ashwin probably tried too many tricks together. For the opening day, Australia were at the receiving end of the umpiring errors, in absence of UDRS as Hussey & Cowen had to walk back in agony, while Indians celebrated. Ponting was edgy & elegant, but had grafted a solid half century......he would rue missing out on a big innings that could have helped his sagging career as well as his country's cause.
It will be interesting to see how far the Australian tail wags,......anything above 350 would make the match fascinating, as Indians would then be up against some genuine pace bowling & a roaring crowd.

India Down Under 2012 ...Agneepath or Agonypath !!!

2011-12-25T12:12:00.005+05:30

"Good morning & welcome to the MCG....today, on the Boxing Day, India take on the might of the Aussies down under,..... the ground's lush green, light westerly wind blowing across, as the two Captains amble across to the pitch along with the Umpire & Match Referee for the toss......the stands are filling up,....people are streaming in with their beer glasses.....this is Richie Benaud along with my fellow commentator Bill Lawry"......nostalgia fills in as we remember these thickly accentuated words......its been the same over so many years....getting up early morning to switch on the TV & gape at the fascinating contest that ensues...

India vs Australia test series down under, 2012 touted as the "Agneepath Series"......the "Final Frontier".....it doesn't get any bigger, as the two modern era Champion teams lock on for a mouth watering contest.....this time around India under the Midas touch captaincy of Dhoni striving to achieve a series victory Down Under, a feat which has eluded the Indian team till now, while on the other hand the mighty Aussies under the captaincy of Michael Clarke, trying to regain the lost form of invincibility.
Both the sides have been wobbling over the past one year or so. India lost its No1 status to England most horrendously in the summer & the Aussies credibly drew against the Proteas at South Africa & then back home, squandered a lead to draw with New Zealand....both the team's batting coming cropper against some determined bowling by the opposition.
India arguably has the best batting line up in the world today, at least on paper, with the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni, Ashwin, with Rohit Sharma in the reserves.....almost a never ending batting machine, with each one of them having scored at least a century in tests....seemingly invincible, capable of putting up a monumental total or chasing one. Keeping law of averages in mind, even if any three of the batsmen get amongst runs, India can safely combat any bowling....at least on paper. The bowling however looks the weak link......Zaheer & Ishant, the frontline pacers with their freak fitness issues, are a worry, putting immense pressure on rookie Umesh Yadav(a tearaway pacer after a long time). The spin deptt under Ashwin & Ojha are good though, bringing in wonderful variation to test the Aussies.
Aussies currently going through a painful building process, after the retirement of Mcgrath, Warne, Gilchrist, Hayden, Gillespie, Symonds, Langar, Lee, & others. Punter Ponting is struggling with form as is Hussey, & Michael Clarke is the only batsmen with experience in the middle, with Haddin bringing up the rear. Warner, Cowan, Marsh, etc are brilliant talent, but need to establish themselves in the tests. In bowling, Pattinson, Lyon, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, etc are upcoming stars & one will need to see how they perform against the deep batting line up of India.

In all a wonderful contest on cards....a series which can go either way. India probably has the best chance for a series win, if they play to their merits, a possibility they had come tantalizingly close in the last two series, one under Saurav Ganguly in 2003, & the other under Kumble in 2007. India tends to get shrouded by individual milestones, & the agonizing wait for Sachin's 100th century has been troubling India's focus for sometime now. There's no doubt, he will achieve the feat, soon enough, but as of now, this seems to be eating into the teams focus. However, according to me, it will be the batting of Sehwag, Dravid & Laxman, which will determine India's chances along with the bowling of Zaheer & Ashwin......

Awaiting boxing day.....

Week end round up in front of the TV....worth it !!!

2011-12-12T01:27:00.000+05:30

Writing after a long hiatus is always a challenge, & I can feel that. However, the last two & a half weeks turned out to be a good resting for me, with the freak accident rendering me almost speechless for the better part of this time. Books, matches on TV, music, sleep kept my company in between jarred hours of dull throb on the jawline, sometimes bordering around feverish pain.....

Sehwag's double hundred against the hapless Windies was long long overdue. An innings characterised by non other than Sehwag himself, he took off from the word go, tearing into the Windies attack. Runs flowed like a mountain river in rains, as 50 came in 41 deliveries....100 in 69, 150 in 112 & 200 in 140....it was like a blurrrr....& finally when he holed out at long off for 219 off 149 deliveries, there were still 3 overs to go. Had he stayed till the end, he could've well gone past 250 runs !!!!!....simply unbelievable.....& that's what Virender Sehwag is in his approach & capabilities....arguably one of the most destructive batsman of all times, in any format of the game. Today, he holds the highest individual score for India in both ODI & Test matches, & is probably the only one capable of going past Lara's world record of 400 runs.....the only thing he needs to do is to stay & not gift away his wicket !!
Manoj Tiwari too did his bit over the weekend by getting his first ODI hundred in the last match of the series.....an innings played to his potential, getting the MoM award, as Rohit Sharma, with his lazy elegance picked up the Man of the Series award. The next generation batting for India looks good on the capable shoulders of these batsmen along with Virat Kohli, Raina, Pujara & others waiting in the wings.

Down Under, the Aussies were locked in an interesting duel with neighbouring Kiwis......as the Black Caps levelled the series at Hobart in a low scoring match. David Warner's century was in a lost cause, as the Aussies tumbled to a 7 run loss against some exceptional bowling by Bracewell. The new look Aussies under Clarke, have been rather brittle in the middle order over the past few months, crashing to some inexplicable scores, while being on top....including the ignominious 47 all out against the South Africans at Cape Town. While in new rookies, Pattinson, Lyon, Cummins the Aussies have found rhythm in their bowling department, the batting seems to be tottering, with Ponting struggling at the top & Hussey in the middle.
It will be interesting to get up early mornings to watch the series Down Under between India & Australia later this month. Both the sides are undergoing transition & struggling to hit top form.

In soccer, it was the el Classico at La Liga, on Saturday night that kept me awake till the wee hours of the morning & it was worth every second of watching this fascinating contest. Barcelona vs Real Madrid, arguably the best two teams in the world today, is always a mouth watering contest. Playing before the home crowd at Bernabau, Real Madrid shot ahead in the 21st second of the match through a Karim Benzema goal & for the first 25 minutes odd, they were all over the Barca defence....but Ronaldo missed a gilt edged chance to go 2-0 up, as the Catalans slowly came back in the game. A Messi magic in the 30th minute saw, Sanchez equalize for Barca & the game started to open up. The possession play of Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Fabregas, Abidal, Puyol, Dani Alves took over & the magic started to weave....by the end the scoreline showed a convincing 3-1 win for Barca over Real.....it was a superb display of football. Looking forward to more of such encounters between these two bitter rivals over the season....

I shall be back covering the Series Down Under....so keep looking for some intersting play & comments here.....
Cheerio !!!

Mahalaya - Pitru Paksh....the legend

2011-09-27T07:56:00.002+05:30

Today is Mahalaya....marked as the auspicious beginning of Durga Puja, the greatest of the festivals in Bengal. The countdown for festival begins from the Rathayatra when the construction of the Durga idol first begins. From the day of 'Janmastami', everyone eagerly awaits Mahalaya. Mahalaya only marks that the preparations for the Durga Puja has reached the final level and everyone starts counting hours for the ceremony to inaugurate. Mahalaya means Homecoming.
According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga who was married to Lord Siva returns to her paternal residence during the Puja, and this is the preparation for the welcome of the diving homecoming. (to know more in details refer to my previous blog article, "Durga Puja, the mythology, the ritual" written in Oct'09). It is on the dawn of Mahalaya only that the artists, the makers of the Durga idols, paint the eyes of the Goddess. This is known as Chakshudanam, literally meaning - giving eyes. The famous idol makers in Kumartuli or Kumortuli, a popular place in Kolkata, remain very busy with this all the day.

There is also a very interesting legend & story from Mahabharat, the mythological epic, which is of significance. It explains why Pitra Paksh is marked by Daan & Charity. When Karna, died in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, his soul went straight to heaven.
In his lifetime, he was popularly known as Daanveer Karna, & because of this quality & all the good deeds, he earned a place in heaven. It is said that, everyday, after he finished taking his bath & made ritual offerings to Surya Devta (Sun God), if anyone approached him and asked for anything he would give, without any hesitation, even if that meant risking his life. When the war of Kurukshetra was imminent, Karna gave away his Kavach Kundal ( protection shield) to Indra Devta ( King of the Gods), who came in the disguise of a brahmin asking for the Kavach - Kundal as daan(donation), in order to save Arjuna.
So when the soul of Karna transcended to Heaven, amongst many things to enjoy, he was offered gold & jewellery for food. Hungry & astonished at this strange offering, Karna asked Yama, the God of Death & Destiny, "Oh Lord, why dont I get normal food to eat? Why am I given gold & jewellery instead?" Lord Yama said, "My dear Karna, you made such wonderful charities during your lifetime on earth & therefore you are getting them back manifold, but unfortunately you never gave food in the name of your ancestors......you did not perform Shraadhh!! Hence you are deprived of food here". To this Karna said, "But my Lord, I never knew who my ancestors were, till almost the end of my life. I was known as Sutputra, throughout my life. I came to know about my original family, my Pandav Lineage just before the beginning of the war & hence had no time or reason to perform Shraadh. I performed Dharma to the best of my abilities & knowledge."
Lord Yama knew the truth of all the curses Karna had to face in life, & gave Karna the chance to make amends. Legends say that Karna was given permission to come back to earth for a period of 15 days to perform all the rituals that were left unfinished....to offer & donate food & water in the memory of his ancestors. Karna came down to earth & as instructed by Lord Yama, fed many Brahmins & needy persons for 14 days. This period, since then, came to be known as Pitru Paksh. It is believed that these 15 days, the souls of our ancestors are the closest to the orbit of earth, & if we fail to recognise them, they return to their abode unsatisfied & unhappy. The 15 days are named as Pratipath, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Chaturthi, Panchami, Sasti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dwadashi, Trayodashi, Chaturdashi & Sarvapitru Amavasya or the New Moon Day. Mahalaya marks the end of this Pitru Paksh. This is the reason, in the Hindu society, why no elaborate celebrations like wedding, purchasing something prominent like house, vehicle etc is done during these 15 days.

Offerings done on Mahalaya day is also known as Tarpan. Considering the whole of India, there are more than 1008 Pitru Mukti Sthals (ancestor salvation spots), including the well known ones like Varanasi, Prayag, Gaya, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Trambakeshwar, Rameshwaram, Nedungudi, etc. It is said that, in all these Pitru Mukti / Moksha Sthals, the exalted Pitru Devas themselves accept your Tarpan, Arghya & Shraddha offerings at all times, particularly during the Pitru Paksh fortnight.

Om Namah Shivaye.....

Nawab of Pataudi....the original Tiger

2011-09-23T17:40:00.002+05:30

As team India got whitewashed in the recently concluded test series in England, we saw Tiger Pataudi on the podium at Oval for the awards ceremony, watching balefully, as English Captain, Andrew Straus lifted the winning trophy…..The Pataudi Trophy. A trophy named as a mark of respect, after the illustrious contributions made by the Pataudi family(namely Tiger himself & his father, Sr Pataudi) to the game of cricket. As he blamed IPL for India’s miserable defeat to England, little did the world know that Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the Tiger was making his last public appearance.
Suffering from a chronic lung infection for which there is no cure, he finally breathed his last yesterday, the 22nd of Sept 2011, at the age of 70 yrs, leaving behind the world mourning all over. He is survived by his wife Sharmila, his son Saif Ali & two daughters Soha & Saba.

Arguably the greatest Captain India has produced thus far, he was given the leadership role in only his fourth Test, when he was barely 21 years of age, in Barbados in 1962, as the regular captain Nari Contractor was in hospital after getting hit on the head by Charlie Griffith. Pataudi was then the youngest Test captain, a record that held until 2004. Over the years, under his able captaincy, India won nine Tests, and it was during his tenure that the team began to believe it could succeed. The first ever overseas victory for India came under his leadership, when in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1968, India went on to record their first away series victory, beating the Kiwis 3-1, a feat that got Pataudi the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year” award.
In all he played 46 test matches, of which he captained 40, scoring 2793 runs at an healthy average of 35 and made six centuries & 16 half centuries, the highest of which was an unbeaten 203 against England in Delhi in 1964. However, many critics rate his 75, scored on one leg with one eye, against Australia in Melbourne in 1967-68 as his finest batting display. Coming in to bat at 25 for 5 on a green wicket, with a thin drizzle, Pataudi needed a runner because of a pulled hamstring that had kept him out of the previous Test. Unable to play several front-foot shots, & hobbling under pain, he made up by hooking & pulling. By the time he was dismissed, India's total had been lifted to 162. In the second innings, with India facing an innings defeat, Pataudi scored another half-century(85 runs), and added 54 with the No. 10, Ramakant Desai….a test match that India eventually lost by an innings, but would be remembered for his courage & never give up attitude against the marauding Aussies. He was probably India's first batsman to try lofted shots over infield to keep the scorecard ticking, a shot that's used so widely & intelligently by current ODI format champion batsmen like Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Dhoni, Watson etc for maximum benefits.
In a country of dreamers, one imagines, what heights of batting credentials Tiger would have conquered, had he not lost his right eye permanently in a tragic car accident.

At the tender age of 20, a car accident damaged his right eye permanently, denying the Tiger from fully realizing his batting / cricketing potential. This would have snuffed out the ambition and resilience of lesser men, but Tiger took on the challenge to overcome the handicap and play the sport he loved most. (For the record, he was also a terrific hockey and squash player).
The loss of one eye would have been unnerving. He saw most things double and only by trial and error at nets did he come to the conclusion that of the two balls he saw while batting, the real one was the inner one. He would tilt his cap in a manner, which would cover his right eye, thus minimizing the blurred vision as much as possible. Once Ted Dexter, a renowned English batsman, & then captain of Sussex, amazed at Pataudi’s batting capabilities, experimented batting one eyed in the nets. He could not middle a single delivery as the hand eye coordination went wrong every single time. He was astounded as to how MAK had been batting so consistently over the years, despite this serious handicap.

As a Captain, having no pace bowler of significance in his team, he masterminded the use of attacking spin bowling, featuring the famous spin quartet of Bedi, Chandra, Prasanna & Venkat. He backed them up with some of the best close in fielders India has ever produced….the likes of Solkar(arguably the best forward short leg fielder ever), Abid Ali, Wadekar, Venkat, Gavaskar etc, as he himself led by example, being India’s best cover fielder ever, which got him the title of Tiger. He literally prowled the cover area as a proud King…the Tiger. He also had a penchant for discovering talent & supporting them to grow...Gundappa Vishwanath, one of India’s all time greatest batsman was his find. He also captained Sussex & Oxford University.

Pataudi retired in 1975 after West Indies' tour of India. After retirement, Pataudi served as a match referee between 1993 and 1996, officiating in two Tests and ten ODIs, but largely stayed away from cricket administration.

Probably the first of the sports superstars in India, Tiger Pataudi was a debonair handsome man in his heydays, & lived his life King Size, marrying the beautiful film actress Sharmila Tagore in 1969. He was known for his ready wit & humor & was always a popular sought after man in any social gatherings. He was the one-eyed prince from a royal lineage in India, who had out-Englished the English and who helped India master this great colonial game in times to come.

In a world of dwindling Tigers, we all mourn the loss of this regal Tiger, the original Prince of Indian Cricket, Mansur Ali Khan of Pataudi…..May his soul rest in peace.

Life : Amusing Musings....

2011-09-09T14:39:00.001+05:30

Sometimes the best of the planning goes awry, as something more powerful takes over....rendering all efforts meaningless.....its painful yet real, its disturbing yet true, its heartbreaking yet one has to accept the situation & move on......am sure we all experience this phenomenon in life.....
Such experiences tell us, how something else, more powerful more authentic & more capable controls our lives.. decides for us & redefines the meaning of the journey...........Life.
Meticulous planning, elaborate arrangements, study of the situation, gathering resources & taking cue from past experiences is all we can do.....finally whatever unfolds as happenings, is as its supposed to happen.... the more you experience this, the more you realise how miniscule & inadequate is our control over situations. Moments of pleasure gets us ecstatic, while moments of pain gets us morose....its all a happening... whatever begins has to end.....every end presents the face of a new beginning, every beginning signals the finality of an end......

So what does it tell us ???
Life is now....this moment...this fleeting moment !!!......so live it full....live it complete, whatever be the experience........everything else is a product of either residing in the past or bothering about the future....& one fine day, its all over.....this body drops...everything that you held on to, every relation that you had built, every laurel that you had earned....all is left behind....a silent testimony of your existence.....& even that too gets washed away.....in the unending chasm of Time !!!!
The soul....the real You however, travels out...towards the unknown......a new journey begins, again.....with renewed hope, new aspirations.....new destinations.....new story......

Common Man....Anna Hazare....a Moral Victory, finally !!!

2011-08-28T14:32:00.014+05:30

It took 13 days of fasting, losing almost 8kgs of weight, risking the very life of one of the cleanest man in our country, getting the Common Man on streets across cross sections of the society, staging rallies, screaming protests, courting arrests, joining on hunger strike, almost bringing the Country to a standstill…to get the two Houses in Parliament into an unanimous agreement for a strong & independent Lokpal Bill.

Finally it was victory for Team Anna & the Common Man, at least moral & symbolic, as the Govt bowed to this stupendous movement.

Over this dramatic movement that unfolded, we all witnessed political mayhem through all these days, with the Govt started by giving a damn to Anna’s movement…..getting him arrested & removed to Tihar Jail, as their leaders kept hurling allegations, accusations & what not against Anna & his team, while the Opposition, looked at gaining political mileage. For them all, it was just a political brownie....to be contested & won. The various leaders & the party spokesperson on media channels were using politically correct statements, blaming each other, raising the temperature of the sentiments, & claiming clean chit......or shall I say, plain shit!!!! Amazing, how Congress, kept bringing in fresh speakers one after the other, all contorting & convoluting, but essentially diverting the main topic of discussions......from foot in the mouth Manish Tewari, to slippery Kapil Sibal, to ever avoiding eyes of Manmohan Singh, to a clueless & just in - just out Rahul Gandhi, to P Chidambaram, & some more, .........it at times really became distasteful. In fact a group of Baboons is called Congress ...(pls refer to any English dictionary) !!.... now, isnt that symbolic enough?????

However, much to the chagrin of the Govt, as it tried all its tricks to derail the movement, the Common Man had united across the length & breadth of the Country in uprising on the issue of Corruption….this time around there was no stopping !!! It was a completely non violent & apolitical drive ending in the greatest rebuttal of the civil society to the politicians of India.

It was for the first time since independence, that the Voice of the Common Man had won over the representatives in the Parliament….it was indeed history in the making… something, I am sure, we all can be proud of, while, our coming generations would read about it & take inspirations from.

While celebrations across India breaks out as Anna ends his fast, we all need to be cautious & alert. The movement is not over….in fact it has just about begun. Going by our experience of how our politicians behave as turncoats, how this Govt has been known for changing colors like a chameleon, we need to ensure that the pressure is kept through the next few months to ensure the legal application & implementation of the Lokpal Bill.

While I have taken names of some deceitful people, I also need to highlight the courageous & unrelenting efforts of honest people like Arvind Kejriwal, Aruna Roy, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi etc. Sushma Swaraj was a good game changer along with Arun Jaitley & they were able to create substantial pressures on the Govt to take action. From the Govt's side Pranab Mukherjee managed to steal the show by bringing the deadlock to an amicable end. It was heartening to see the likes of Aamir Khan, Raju Hirani, Sonu Nigam come to the stage at Ramlila Grounds & express their solidarity to Anna and also request him to end his fast.......

Jai Hind......Vande Mataram

Team India battered, bruised & broken.....Complete Whitewash !!!!

2011-08-23T21:47:00.004+05:30

21st July to 22nd August 2011…..one month of mayhem for Team India in cricket, as England perfectly utilized home conditions to bludgeon India into submission with a 4-0 whitewash, in a test series which was touted to be the battle of the titans.

The last innings of the series, with India battling to draw the match yesterday, was a perfect example of how India collapsed against a determined & disciplined English attack throughtout the series.

Resuming the day at 129 for 3 with mainstay Dravid already back in the pavillion, and needing another 167 runs to avoid innings defeat, the visitors were looking forward to Sachin for batting out the entire day. The 1st session boosted this confidence, as nighwatchman Amit Mishra put up an ideal foil along with Sachin to defy the English attack, while scoring valuable runs. This was the first & the only session in the entire series, when India had batted without losing a wicket. Just when Indians were beginning to build hope, the perennial collapse was triggered with Mishra’s dismissal. The 144 run stand between the two went waste, as India lost 7 wickets for just 21 runs within the next 15 overs. The whitewash was complete, as India lost by an innings & 8 runs. This was India's worst performance since 1959....

The table below distinctively shows the glaring difference in performance between the two teams :

	England	India
Matches won	4	0
Innings batted	6	8
Teams dismissed	2	8
Aggregate runs	2809	2044
Wickets lost	47	80
Batting average	59.76	25.55
Highest total	710-7d	300
Lowest total	221	158
Most runs	533 (KP Pietersen)	461 (R Dravid)
Highest individual score	294 (AN Cook)	146* (R Dravid)
Centuries	7	3 ( all by Dravid)
Fifties	11	9
0s	4	16
5WI	4	1
Most wickets	25 (SCJ Broad)	15 (Praveen Kumar)
Century stands	10	2

India came to England from West Indies, having won the test series there with a 2nd / 3rd string test side, which according to me built in huge arrogance & overconfidence in the team. As a no 1 test team in the world, under Dhoni’s captaincy, they felt they could handle any situation. There was no planning, no preparation & no strategy on how to handle English conditions. Everyone was talking of Sachin’s 100 century at Lords, & the focus had shifted from strategy to personal milestones. Under the new coaching of Duncan Fletcher & the golden run of Dhoni’s captaincy, progressing from the recent World Cup win in April, India felt secure…..a false sense of security !!!

On the other hand, England had done their homework…..they had planned meticulously. The main players had skipped the IPL to stay fresh & unexposed. They ensured that the pitches suited their bowlers, the batsmen had practiced hard in the county matches & nets & the fielding looked well oiled. Each & every player knew his role & committed wholeheartedly. The reserve bench too was ready to step in. Unlike India, the team was not looking at any individual brilliance or records, but sheer efforts on the field. The English team, throughout the series, batted very very deep, with even tailenders contributing substantially, not allowing Indian bowlers to dominate, but for brief patches. From openers Strauss & Cook to Pieterson, Bell, Morgan, Trott, Prior in the middle order, to Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson bringing up the tail….there was just no respite for the Indian bowlers. Its no wonder that they lost only 47 wickets in the entire series batting six times, while piling up 2809 runs. When they came to bowl, they were disciplined & accurate, giving very little away to the Indian batsmen, scalping 80 wickets, getting the much touted & heavily advertised Indian batting line up all out every single innings, giving away only 2044 runs. Indian innings could not cross 300 runs even a single time. The heavyweights had fallen heavily…..The only Indian who performed against all odds was Rahul Dravid, the silent Wall for Team India over the years. Even at the twilight of his career, Rahul held whatever little semblance of fight India could muster, batting away tirelessly, notching up three superb centuries, all for a losing cause. He silently went on to become the 2nd highest run scorer in tests after Sachin.

India’s cup of woes continued to overflow, as key players kept getting injured at crucial stages of the series, rendering the team toothless. Zaheer, Yuvraj, Bhajji, Gambhir, Praveen Kumar, Sehwag, Ishant, all fell to injuries, as Dhoni, Sachin continued with niggles. Clearly the team management, including the selectors, had not put a proper plan in place. The replacements that were rushed in were woefully out of shape, leave alone form & the result was rubbing further salt to the wound !!! Dhoni’s golden run had stuttered for the first time & real bad……..

While Kevin Pieterson topped the batting charts for England with 533 runs, followed by Ian Bell with 504 runs, Dravid chipped in with 461 runs, followed by Sachin with 273 runs.... Stuart Broad was the Man of the Series picking up 25 wickets & scoring 182 runs, in a wonderful display of alround performance. This is the same bowler, who had been hit for six successive overboundaries by Yuvraj Singh in the T20 World Cup, not very long ago. Shows, what determination & discipline could bring about, as results.

The English team, with this stupendous performance, has not only toppled India to become the new No 1 Test Team, but also pushed India to No 3 slot.......a performance, which England Captain Andrew Strauss along with his team would cherish throughout their lifetime.

Pushed to a corner, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has an uphill task ahead of him. This is his first test series defeat ever as a Captain, & the ignominy of a 4-0 whitewash would certainly rankle him for long. It was not the margin of defeat, but the manner in which the team capitulated, which was shameful & unpardonable.

He has to find a way to resurrect team India for the ODIs ahead & salvage some pride !!!

Jan Lokpal Bill 2011 - Lets Evaluate ........

2011-08-22T20:20:00.002+05:30

Govt’s Draft Lokpal Bill	Jan Lokpal Bill (Anna Hazare supported)
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.	Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a "Competent Authority".	Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will have no police powers and no ability to register an FIR or proceed with criminal investigations	Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.
The CBI and Lokpal will be unconnected.	Lokpal and the anti corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years.	Punishments will be a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of up to life imprisonment.
PM cannot be investigated by Lokpal	PM can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench.
Judiciary is exempt and will be covered by a separate "judicial accountability bill"	Judiciary can be investigated, though high level members may be investigated only with permission of a seven member Lokpal bench
MPs can be investigated, but their conduct within Parliament, such as voting, cannot be investigated	MPs can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench
Lower Bureaucracy - Only Group A officers will be covered	All public servants would be included
The CBI will remain a separate agency	The CBI will be merged into the Lokpal
Removal of Lokpal Members & Chair - Any "aggrieved party" can raise a complaint to the President, who will refer the matter to the CJI(Chief Justice of India).	Any person can bring a complaint to the Supreme Court, who can then recommend removal of any member to the President
Removal of Lokpal Staff & Officers - Lokpal will conduct inquiries into its own behavior	Complaints against Lokpal staff will be handled by independent boards set-up in each state, composed of retired bureaucrats, judges, and civil society members.
Lokayukta - All state anti-corruption agencies would be closed and responsibilities taken over by centralized Lokpal.	Lokakyukta and other local/state anti-corruption agency would remain in place
Protection to Whistleblowers - No protection granted to whistleblowers	Whistleblowers are to be protected by law
Punishment for Corruption - Lokpal can only refer matters to the courts, not take any direct punitive actions. Penalties remain equivalent to those in current law.	Lokpal can either directly impose penalties, or refer the matter to the courts. Penalties can include removal from office, imprisonment, and recovery of assets from those who benefited from the corruption
Investigatory Powers - Lokpal can issue contempt orders, and has the ability to punish those in contempt. No authority to obtain wiretaps, issue rogatory letters, or recruit investigating officers.	Lokpal can obtain wiretaps, issue rogatory letters, and recruit investigating officers. Cannot issue contempt orders
False, frivolous & vexation Complaints - Court system will handle matters of frivolous complaints. Courts can issue fines of Rs 25,000 to 2 lakh	Lokpal can issue fines for frivolous complaints (including frivolous complaints against Lokpal itself), with a maximum penalty of 1 lakh
Scope - Only high-level corruption can be investigated	All charges of corruption can be investigated

The Jan Lokpal Bill aims to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances of citizens, and protect whistle-blowers. If made into into law, the bill would create an independent ombudsman body similar to the Election Commission of India called the Lokpal (Sanskrit: protector of the people). It would be empowered to register and investigate complaints of corruption against politicians and bureaucrats without prior government approval.

The Lokpal Bill was first introduce in Parliament by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 & passed by Lok Sabha in 1969, but subsequently rejected in the Rajya Sabha. Since then, various versions of the bill has been introduced to the Parliament over the last four decades, but none has been passed.

Renewed calls for the bill arose over resentment of the major differences between the draft 2010 Lokpal Bill prepared by the government and that prepared by the members of the associated activists movement — N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India; Lokayukta of Karnataka; Shanti Bhushan; Arvind Kejriwal; Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court; and members of the India Against Corruption movement. The bill's supporters consider existing laws too weak, full of contradictions and insufficiently empowered to combat corruption. On the other hand, critics of the Jan Lokpal Bill argue that the bill attempts to supercede existing constitutional bodies and attempts to create a super-institution with sweeping powers, which can be dangerous for the future of democracy.

Some important features of the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill(Anna Hazare supported) are :

1. To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by Lokayukta at the state level.

2. As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.

3. Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.

4. A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.

5. Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.

6. Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.

7. Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.

8. Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.

9. Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.

10. The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

11. Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.

Drafting Committee :

The drafting committee was officially formed on 8 April 2011. It consisted of the following ten members, including five from the government and five drawn from the civil society. The committee failed to agree on the terms of a compromise bill & the govt introduced its own bill in the parliament in August 2011.

If you notice below, there are five members representing the Govt, but no representations from Opposition. Also, surprisingly, there are no names like Kiran Bedi( retired IPS & Highest ranking Indian Woman), Dr APJ Abdul Kalam(former President of India), TN Seshan ( ex Chief Election Commissioner) Narayan Murthy(Infosys), etc, who have demonstrated adequate capability to be fair & just while handling their office.

Member	Qualification & Status
Pranab Mukherjee	Finance Minister, Co -Chairman
Shanti Bhushan	Former Minister of Law & Justice, Co - Chairman
P. Chidambaram	Minister of Home Affairs
Veerappan Moily	Minister of Corporate Affairs
Kapil Sibal	Minister of Communication & Information Technology
Salman Khurshid	Minister of Law
Anna Hazare	Social Activist
Prashant Bhushan	Lawyer & Social Activist
N. Santosh Hegde	Former Lokayukta (Karnataka)
Arvind Kejriwal	RTI Activist ( Right to Information)

Interestingly, the Lokpal Bill, 2011 was introduced in Lok Sabha on 4 August. It was referred to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Member, Rajya Sabha on 8 August for examination and report within three months. The Standing Committee consists of MPs belonging to 22 political parties, including people like Lalu Prasad Yadav, Amar Singh, Manish Tewari, Ram Vilas Paswan…..people, who we all know & believe are seeped to the bones in corruption !!!! If these people are going to decide on the future & sanctity of the Lokpal Bill, then there is a huge credibility issue. If these are the people who are supposed to give us a Corruption free Country, then even God cannot save us !!!!!!

In all fairness, the Jan Lokpal Bill, at least on paper, shows immense promise & capability to eradicate Corruption, which has eaten into the deepest recesses of our Country & our Society. It deserves a chance to establish its worth. The Bill speaks of making every individual accountable in the Country, & letting no one be above Law….it has strong measures to handle corruption & has well defined processes to implement the same. As opposed to this, the Govt draft seems to be weak & inept & wishy washy…..as expected from this Govt which has failed in its duty to curb Corruption, leave alone eradicate the menace. The expose on the various scams over the last couple of years only strengthens the belief & need for a strong anti Corruption Bill.

Someone like Anna Hazare is staking his life for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill, supported by honest activists like Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi, Spiritual Leaders like Sri Sri RaviShankar, Baba Ramdev & others. The bill has enough ammunition for a start….a fresh start towards building back the Golden days of India. The unprecedented movement across the country by all cross sections of the society over the past few days, only establishes the sanctity of this Bill. Let us continue our support for Anna Hazare.

Jai Hind….

The Uprising of Common Man......

2011-08-18T01:57:00.009+05:30

Its more than 36 hours since Anna Hazare has been taken in custody & moved to Tihar Jail as the protests moved beyond the second day …..the country has come together in an unprecedented support for him, pushing the inept Central Govt already in disarray, on the back foot.

Despite several opportunities to reach a consensus with Anna Hazare and other sections of civil society for the framing of an effective Lokpal Bill, the Central Govt attempted to push through a farce of a Bill. That it misread the national public mood is obvious. People have taken to streets across the country…..be it school children, college goers, office goers, professionals, housewives, industrialists, celebrities, common man, et all…..there have been nonstop peaceful demonstrations, lighting candles, switching off all lights at home/ office from 8.00pm to 9.00pm as a symbolic protest against corruption, fasting…..it has been an unrelenting movement, something which the Centre had not envisaged. Being at Azad Maidan Mumbai, through the evening going into late night for the second day in a row, I witnessed what a country wide stir can achieve. The anti-corruption movement initiated by Anna today is gaining momentum with hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens who are fed up with a system they believe is opaque, corrupt, and driven by greed. Here is a common man who wants to exercise his basic fundamental rights to protest against the rampant corruption that exists in the Govt machinery.

In sheer display of arrogance, the Govt orders the detention of Anna Hazare, even before he began his fast in support of stronger anti-corruption provisions in the Lokpal Bill, which lead to the arrest of a large number of peaceful protesters across the country, mainly in Delhi & Mumbai. No representative government in a democracy can deny citizens their fundamental right to dissent and peaceful protest. Instead of honestly dealing with the issues raised by successive corruption scandals, the UPA government chose to cover up, & when that became unsustainable, it resorted to slurs and dirty tricks, and incrementally raised the level of repression to smother voices demanding accountability and corrective institutional measures.

It was shocking to see our PM shivering like a decaying leaf in the Lok Sabha….still trying to with hold their stand against Anna. It was a mockery to see that even in this moment of crisis, our worthy PM, has to refer to a note sheet to deliver his speech….he cant even speak impromptu….trying as ever to make a “politically correct statement”…..with his so called lawyers, or shall we say liars in support, trying to justify, all their actions. Imagine the headlines “Foreign hand behind Anna’s stir, doubts Congress”….. how ludicrous & bizarre could this get !!! Every action of the UPA Govt over the recent past suggests that they have completely lost it…. The longer they stay in power, the farther our Country will go into the dark ages.

We need to continue our peaceful agitation, till this stupid, insipid, incapable Govt relents & allows a dialogue to begin for a justifiable end to this matter. It’s a dream that our freedom fighters cherished….a dream for which they lay their lives & everything they had…..a dream so simple and true. An India without corruption, a nation to be proud of, a nation called the biggest democracy on earth. A prosperous and stable India with opportunities for all Indians across all sections of the society. A nation that offers its citizens a bright future with chances for the poorest of the poor to lead a life in dignity, with jobs and education for all children. Primary healthcare for all, a functional infrastructure, no illiteracy, a working social welfare system for the needy and poor.

In fact, a strong Lokpal Bill with a rotating jury / committee involving equal representation from every level / strata of the society to watch over every department in the Govt machinery, will put the responsibility and power back with the people. They will get a sense of belonging, while transparency will build a sense of ownership. With active participation, people will understand what efforts go towards every decision and the rationale behind it. It’s a paradigm shift, which arguably will usher more cohesion with less protests, less apathy to public property and more participation in debate for solving problems. In fact it will take off a lot of burden from the government rather than increasing it. It’s a question of belief & faith, once corruption has been eradicated.

Vande Mataram….

Lokpal Bill.... lets make it happen !!!

2011-08-17T02:26:00.034+05:30

In my childhood, I used to listen with awe, as my mother would tell me stories of the freedom movement…..how India, our Motherland, achieved independence from British Raj…..after 200 years of abject slavery…..the sacrifices of innumerable people from all walks of life……just so that you & I could breathe & live in a free country…..

65th year into freedom, today, we are witnessing an unprecedented uprising against the Central Govt across the Country….a fight against corruption….a crusade led by a common man…Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare, popularly known as Anna Hazare(refer to my previous blog on 6th April’11).

There has been country wide support for the 74 year old Anna, whose fast – unto – death movement over the last 24 hours has caught the Govt napping & clueless. He has touched the raw nerves of millions, by demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption, especially against the bureaucratic machinery, which is bleeding us hollow from within. Thousands of supporters, who seem to have lost faith in the current Govt’s capabilities, have taken to the streets across the length & breadth of the country, expressing solidarity behind the movement, courting arrests in large numbers.

It was gratifying to witness the camaraderie of thousands who had come out to assemble at Azad Maidan, in defiance, in support of Anna…..professionals, students, housewives, kids, et all……common, ordinary citizens with extraordinary resolve…..honestly, It felt strange to court arrest….detained under section 68 & 69,…taken away in the police vehicle & then set free !!….maybe a glimpse of what our freedom fighters would have experienced.......

The call for an honest & strong Lokpal Bill, is just a beginning….a movement that will push the Govt to form an autonomous body which will have the authority to make every citizen of the country accountable for their deeds & misdeeds, be it the politicians / ministers or the bureaucrats or anyone else…..something like the Election Commission of India. This body should have equal representation from all walks of life, people like Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi etc, who have dedicated their entire life to the welfare of this Country. Let there be representations from Govt / ministers, politicians, industrialists, professionals, students, spiritual leaders, common man.....et all.....each segment has a right to voice !!! It wont be easy.....it never is....but an honest resolve...an honest attempt to cleanse !!!!

Let us all resolve to make this movement a success....let us all contribute towards eradicating Corruption, that has seeped into the deepest recesses of our Country.....let us sacrifice, but sow seeds of a clean tomorrow....let us all lead towards the awakening !!!!

Vande Mataram !!!!

Faith.....a quality lost in the maze of rationale !!!!

2011-05-01T02:26:00.001+05:30

"If you believe in three hundred & thirty millions of your mythological Gods, & in all the Gods that the foreigners have introduced into your midst, & still have no Faith in yourself, there is no salvation for you. The history of the world is the history of a few men who had Faith in themselves. That Faith calls for the Divinity within. You can do anything. You can strive sufficiently to manifest infinite powers ".....Swami Vivekananda.

Such profound words of wisdom....such deep knowledge for mankind, by a man who demonstrated what Faith could achieve....what powers it contained within!!!!
In today's context, faith is a much maligned word..... it is misquoted, misused, misjudged, misplaced & probably mistaken for a whole lot of fake, feign & frakas!!!!!

Lets go back in time just 50-60 years back. A child would ask his mother an awkward question, " Where did I come from or How was I born?, & the mother would promptly take the child in her arms & blushingly say" I prayed to God for you & God placed you in my arms & told me & your father to bring you up with all our love......so you should listen to us, have faith in God & behave yourself!!" The child would look at his mother with awe, respect & think of God in wonder......whats important is that he would believe his mother's words & accept the explanation in complete & uncluttered faith!!!....next time he visited a temple, he would in all probability bow his head in pure faith & wonder!!! That faith was naive, but full of wonder, it was pure...it had divinity written all over it!!!!

Today's child would smirk at such a reply....he would need a rationale.....a logical explanation..... today's mother would struggle to explain,.....between biology & science !!!!
In earlier times, one would be told, "God is".......& it would be accepted...believed. Today, one would turn around & ask, "Who is God? How does he look?? What makes him a God???..... What is the proof????.... so many questions........so many doubts.....so much of complications !!!!! Nothing seems to be simple.
We all have heard of Eklavya, in Mahabharat(more about him in a later article). He was & is considered to one of the best pupils of all times. As a child, he wanted to learn archery from Dronacharya, the exclusive Guru / teacher of the Kaurav & Pandav princes, but was denied!! But he was not put off. He went to jungle, created a statue of Dronacharya, whom he worshipped with complete faith & belief, took blessings & practised archery on his own. Legend says, that Eklavya in times became a better archer than Arjun, the favourite student of Dronacharya. Eklavya's faith & focus created blessings from even the inanimate statue of Dronacharya.
This is what uncluttered faith & belief can do...... the power of a blessing is more with the receiver than the giver!!!! The deeper the faith, the clearer the belief, more profound is the blessings !!!!
I once read, "Truth needs no proof.....truth is...." Very powerful words. But in today's context, Truth needs proof....everything is evaluated with facts & figures....with logic & explanation.
Today faith is at a premium.....its difficult to trust, leave alone have faith. A child is taught not to trust....not to believe. He is taught to question every thing !!!!
From a time when there was abundance & riches & yet doors did not require locks,.....when neighbours would be united & together through thick & thin,....when faith moved mountains......to today, when we spend so much for security & yet live in an insecure environment,.....we don't know our next door neighbour & yet connect geographies over long distance calls !!!
Times have indeed changed...... Faith is indeed a lost quality!!!!!

Messy - Mourinho....Mesmerising Messi...the game Wins !!!

2011-04-28T07:48:00.001+05:30

Pristine sublime one touch football.....almost a lost art these days, kept alive by a handful of ball players like Messi........skills that keeps an avid follower wide awake, gaping at the idiot box, even at 3.00am in the night. Watching the Champions Cup semifinals yesterday night, the El Classico between arguably the best two teams in Club football today, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, at Bernabau was a treat, though the match was marred by foul play & red cards. Barca won the contest 2-0 in the end.
Just three minutes from full time, Messi picked up a pass, about 50 yards away from the the Real goal line,...turned & dribbled past four bemused defenders, as if toying with them, the ball stuck to his feet like glue, swerved past a lunging Casillas, & rolled the ball into the far end of the post, in slow motion, while stumbling to a fall, as the Barca dugout went delirious......the home crowd stung into silence. Iker Casillas, the beaten goalkeeper could only applaud the move, as a mark of respect to the Footballer of the Year. It was truly a Messi night. It was sheer magic, touch play in symphony.....simply mesmerising.......it brought back memories of the 1986 World Cup, when legendary Argentine Captain Diego Maradona had weaved magic against England & Belgium, as spectators across the globe gaped in awed appreciation.

Under Pep Guardiola's able & inspired coaching, this Barca team has been playing fascinating football over the last three years......short passes, possession football & sudden bursts at the opponent goal, the team looks like a bunch of wizards on the field......"players from a different planet", as football fans & oppositions call them. Valdes in the goal, Pique, Puyol, Busquets, Dani Alves in defence, Xavi, Iniesta(he did not play tonight), Keita, Pedro in midfield, Messi, Villa(has joined the team this season) upfront....each a champion in his own right & a strong reserve bench. It really is a dream team. Its a delight to watch them sprayed all over the ground, running & passing endlessly, controlling the proceedings. It has been rare that they have lost....Guardiola, a player turned coach has been polite & humble, despite dizzying success, & has managed & mentored the team exceptionally. He has created & crafted wonderful football, that his team plays & enjoys. They do lose an odd match in a while, but they learn to accept & move on...playing the game in the best spirits possible....delighting millions of fans world over.
On the other hand is Jose Mourinho, the coach of Real Madrid, the prodigal child of controversy!! One of the most talked about coach in recent times. Almost everyone loves to hate him.....there is always something sinister about him....behind a wry smile, he is always scheming, always trying to get under the skin of the rivals by making pointed comments, taking a dig, always mocking, winning by hook or crook....actually mostly by crook!!! His style of football would always be criticised, as he coaches for destructive football. There is hardly anything beautiful about it. Play hard & physical, commit fouls if needed, but don't let opponents play, float long balls at the rival goal mouth & jostle for space, use set piece movement & win. Barring odd games & set pieces, nothing beautiful at all, but effective alright. To his credit, he has won major tournaments, including Champions Cup last year, when his team Inter Milan defeated Barca in the semis( it was sad to see the beautiful game of football killed). This year too, Real Madrid defeated Barca in the Kings Cup final last week, but the beautiful game killed.
Look at the teams he has coached in the past. Chelsea is now languishing, nowhere to be seen in prominence; Inter Milan(last years champions), defeated comprehensively in the quarters & are struggling in Serie A; Real Madrid, barring the Kings Cup win, are all but out in La Liga & Champions Cup. Each of these teams have very good players, rich in talent, but having been taught to play destructively, they have also destructed their own natural game.....it indeed is a sad loss. Coaches like Mourinho are like devil's family....they can never do anything creative or beautiful.

For the sake of the beautiful game that is football, let the Pep Guardiolas of the world shine, let players like Lionel Messi of the world play to mesmerise us......

Anna Hazare.....Voice of the Common Man !!!!

2011-04-06T23:39:00.011+05:30

It probably needed an injured soldier, Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare to drive this initiative against the inept Govt. The lone survivor from a border exchange of fire during the Indo- Pak 1965 war, who was inspired by Swami Vivekananda decided to quit army & become a social activist.
Anna(as he is popularly known), came to limelight, starting with a movement to eradicate alcoholism from his village, Ralegan Siddhi. Through some tough measures, which included flogging offenders in public who were found in drunken state, even after warnings, Anna managed to remove use or sale of any tobacco, cigarettes, beedies & alcohol in Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar District, Maharshtra. His efforts paid dividents in establishing this as a model village & he was awarded Padma Bhushan by Govt of India in 1992. He motivated villagers to do Shramdaan ( voluntary labour) & was also involved in Watershed development program to build better irrigation system, which eventually led to improved cultivation in more than 70 villages since 1975, in the drought prone Vidharbh region of Maharashtra. He was also involved in diverse activities like improved education, removal of untouchability, milk production, collective marriages, gram sabha, etc, to name a few.
In 1998, during the BJP - Shiv Sena rule, Anna was imprisoned for three months, as he raised his voice against corruption & produced documentary evidence of a minister amassing ill gotten wealth......Anna was however released following a huge public uproar.

With his crusade against the rampaging corruption, Anna has now initiated a movement for the passing of a stronger anti corruption bill in the Parliament. The existing bill seems weak & incapable & hence the demand for a stronger bill.
Over the last so many years, almost everyday, the common man has been subjected to scams after scams....the headlines screams of government officials & politicians gloating their dirty fingers in illegal transactions of money. From Bofors to Swiss bank accounts to 2G spectrum scandal to IPL row to Commonwealth Games to land allotment allegations to vote bank buy outs....thousands of crores of rupees is changing hands in money laundering.......the vicious circle of corruption just seems to spread its ugly tentacles across the length & breadth of the country. The bureaucratic red tapism keeps throttling the common man, as the slimy govt officials fleece the common man of his hard earned money!!!!!
After the Prime Minister rejected his demands, Anna has started his fast - unto - death protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi from 5th April, which has received unprecedented support from all over the country. From students to senior citizens, from actors to activists, from politicians to page 3 celebrities, from executives to bureaucrats, from businessman to common man, from sportsmen to spiritual leaders, from facebook to twitters,.....people from all walks of life have come together in unison to provide support to this movement, as the tottering Centre looks for respite & avenues to negotiate, as usual. There have been protests in all leading cities, with thousands of people coming together in peace march, candle lighting & raising placards against the decaying corrupt situation in the country.
As an outcome of this movement, today, 6th April, Sharad Pawar, resigned from the GoM(group of ministers) formed for reviewing the draft Lokpal bill 2010. Let us hope, there are many more such resignations in days ahead, as corrupt politicians start giving up...bowing to this nation wide movement.

As Anna says, " The dream of India as a strong nation will not be realised without self reliant, self sufficient villages, this can be achieved only through social commitment & involvement of the Common Man".

Let us all join this movement & strengthen the voice raised by Anna Hazare....let us clean our Country from the core.

Vande Mataram.....

World Cup 2011....finally its India....colour Blue reigns Supreme !!

2011-04-04T01:09:00.007+05:30

It may be coincidental....but as I sit to write, I notice, the blog dashboard has the colour Blue with the orange tinge...quite similar to the Indian cricket jersey....my favourite colour has been Blue.....Everyone around seems to be immersed in colour Blue.....as all our Blues are washed away giving rise to a new era of Blue.....such is the impact of winning the ICC World Cup by India.

It was the evening of 25th June'1983, as Kapil's Devils lifted the World Cup at Lords, defeating the marauding West Indies in the finals....a feat which had every cricket fan then, rub his eyes with disbelief. Barring the eleven Indians on the field that day, on one had dared to dream. Defending a paltry score of 183, Kapil Dev ran down the mid wicket to catch an inform Vivian Richards out & the Windies slide began as the dream started to form....it was simply unbelievable. India lifted the Prudential World Cup. I was then a college student, & cricket was still not a religion in India. In Calcutta, at around 11.30 pm in the night, after watching the procedings of the match over a black & white TV, I celebrated India's victory by uncorking a bottle of Limca, as the city was generally asleep by then !!! With that victory, we started to dream, to believe in our potential,....from minnows, we had become potential Champions overnight.

28 years since then, the dream kept getting bigger & bigger,......each edition of the World Cup soared our hopes, the competition amongst playing nations intensified & became larger.....the demand of a billion plus Indians to win back the Cup only strengthened.....in 2003, under Saurav Ganguly, we almost made it at South Africa, where in the finals we got overawed by the situation & were swept away by the Aussies & then 2nd April 2011 got immortalised....in the annals of Indian cricket...for ever !!! Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Men in Blue lifted the World Cup in the backdrop of the flood light washed Wankhade Stadium, as fireworks, blowing trumpets, & frenzied celebrations took centre stage.

2nd April dawned & the streets across the country wore a deserted look from about 1pm, as the whole nation in unison was glued to the screens, of every conceivable size & shape, in huddles of couples to a group to a crowd, cheering, jeering & praying fervently.....everything had come to a virtual standstill.
The Lankans won a controversial toss & elected to bat, as Zaheer opened the attack for India. His opening spell was simply mesmerising with three consecutive maiden overs & the scalp of Upul Tharanga, caught by Sehwag in the slips as the Lankans struggled at 31 for 1 in the first 10 overs. Dilshan, the nemesis of Indian bowling in recent times also perished soon, bowled by Bhajji, just when he was turning dangerous. Sanga & Mahela then slowly built the innings, but just when things were getting under control, Yuvi claimed Sanga, caught behind. Mahela kept the good work going with his quiet & classy elegance, as he was ably assisted by Kulasekara & Perera to bolster the Lankan innings. Mahela reached a masterful century, as Lankans blasted 63 runs from the batting powerplay. While Mahela held one end up with some classic, silken display of batsmanship, Perera hit 22 of just 9 deliveries including a massive six off Zaheer in the last ball as the innings ended at 274 for 6. His stunning 103 off 88 deliveries was testimony to his finesse & capability. Four years ago Mahela had produced another superb hundred against the Kiwis in the semis to take his team to the finals, but this one was more exquisite in application. Good combative total to challenge the mighty Indian batting line up.
The Indian reply could not get any worse, as Sehwag was removed LBW for a duck by the slinging Malinga in the 2nd ball of the innings. When Tendulkar too edged Malinga behind in the 7th over, with score reading 31 for 2, there was a death silence in the stadium, as hands folded to prayers, eyes started to close & heads started to droop. The billion plus prayers across the length & breadth of the country showed signs of response as Gambhir got a much needed reprieve at long off by Kulasekara when at 30. Sanga seemed either too confident or too consumed by the atmosphere, as he missed going for the kill, & Gambhir along with Virat started to pull back the match for India. When Virat was gobbled by Dilshan off an incredible return catch, Dhoni stepped in, much to the surprise & murmur of the crowd. Despite a insipid display till now in the tournament, Dhoni looked calm & confident, & both added 109 runs to take India to the brink of victory when Gambhir got bowled for 97, giving away a glorious chance of a century in the finals. Yuvi in next, along with Dhoni took India home to pull off the highest run chase ever achieved in a World Cup final. Dhoni hit a befitting six to win the match & the tournament, remaining 91 not out of 79 deliveries. It was a good match overall, with India deservingly winning the hurdle.
Dhoni was deservingly the Man of the Match & Yuvraj, the Man of the Series, as Zaheer was the joint top wicket taker of the tournament. For the Lankans, it was Mahela Jayawardene's century in the finals & Dilshan being the top scorer of the tournament, as any consolation. Sangakkara would certainly rue for not pressing the advantage, when India were at 31 for 2, & allowed them to come back in the game.

As most of us lost our voice & senses, screaming for India, the celebrations spilled over to the streets & roads......everyone was ecstatic & delirious with joy unbound....the country was alive & awake till the wee hours of the night, drinking & dancing & soaking in the feeling of being the World Champions. The World Cup is finally ours. Sachin Tendulkar had finally earned the silverware that had eluded him till now. It took him six World Cup campaigns to realise his best cricketing moment, as he tearfully acknowledged the applause & accolades. Meticulous hard work for more than a year by the Indian contingent, under the able guidance & coaching of Gary Kirsten, the lethal leadership of Dhoni, the will to win for Sachin, the never say die attitude, got India the World Cup finally........a celebration that will last at least for the next four years !!!! For Gary, he becomes the first South African to win a World Cup medal, even though it comes as a coach.

Incidentally, during the innings break after Sri Lankans batting, the cameras were purposefully beaming on Rajnikant in the stands, wearing the Indian jersey.....coincidental !!!...well as they say, if Rajnikant...no body can!!! With him rooting for India, there was no way in hell that we would have lost.

PS : Am curious on what happened to Poonam Pandey, the model who had promised to go bare in the Indian dressing room, if India won the Cup. Hmmmm...now that would be interesting to know, with eligible turks like Yuvi, Gautam, Virat, Raina, Yusuf & Sreeshant around !!!

World Cup 2011 .... India vs Sri Lanka - Finals preview !!!

2011-04-01T01:45:00.003+05:30

So India face Sri Lanka in the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011 at the Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday, ie 2nd April, 2011.

With the whole of India & Sri Lanka is going berserk evaluating, analysing, predicting & praying, here are some interesting trivia for my readers :

It is going to be a contest between the highest run getter in the history of international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, for India versus the highest wicket taker in the history of international cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan, for Sri Lanka.
For the first time in the history of World Cup finals, the two rival captains are wicketkeepers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni for India versus Kumara Sangakkara for Sri Lanka.
Both the teams have qualified for the finals of the World Cup 3 times till now, winning once & losing once. Both won the first time they entered the finals & lost the second time. Both incidentally lost to Australia. India won in 1983 & lost in 2003, while Sri Lanka won in 1996 & lost in 2007. This match will decide who goes ahead in statistics.
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the two finalists are from the Sub Continent. This goes a long way to establish the growing strength of cricket in the subcontinent.
No team hosting the World Cup has ever won the Cup. The closest was Sri Lanka when they won the finals against Australia in 1996, at Lahore, Pakistan. Sri Lanka was the co host that time along with India & Pakistan.
Both India & Sri Lanka are the co hosts for this edition of the World Cup along with Bangladesh. This is the first time ever, that the two finalists are also the co hosts.
India will achieve No 1 status in ODI rankings, if they win the World Cup. They already enjoy the No 1 status in Test Team rankings.
In World Cup encounters between them till date, India has won twice, while Sri Lanka has won four times. The last contest in World Cup at Port of Spain, West Indies in 2007 was won by Sri Lanka, when they thrashed India by 69 runs.
The last encounter between India & Sri Lanka in a ODI was on 28th Aug'10 at Dambulla, where Dilshan tore the Indian bowling with a century, & Sri Lanka won by 74 runs.
Dilshan is the leading run scorer in this edition of the World Cup till now with 467 runs. Sachin follows him with 464.
Afridi is the leading wicket taker till now in the tournament with 21 wickets. Zaheer with 18 wickets has the chance to overtake Afridi in the finals.
According to Rajanikanth, if India plays the following players & in the following order, they will win the World Cup - virendeR sehwag, sachin tendulkAr, yuvraJ singh, gautAm gambhir, yusuf pathaN, ms dhonI, virat Kohli, harbhAjan singh, zaheer khaN, s sreesanTh, r asHwin.

Frankly, it is probably & arguably the best two teams which have reached the finals, & the match ahead promises to be a fabulous one. Both the team have enough match winners on their own rights. Both the teams are hungry for a grand finale & would put in all they have to cross the line.
Indians have better batters, as they bat very deep, while Lankans rely too much on their top four to deliver. Their middle order has looked dodgy & could be a concern if put to test. With Angelo Mathews, ruled out due to injury, the middle order would be heavily dependent on Mahela, Chamara Silva & Samaraweera. Indians on the other hand have far too fire power in batting to put up a fighting total or chase one.
In bowling the Lankans on paper have an edge, with Malinga, Murali, & Mendis, but Murali with injury might be struggling & replacement Randiv would be a gamble. They would seriously miss the services of Angela Mathews. Indians, however look better balanced now with Zaheer delivering at the top & Munaf, Nehra, Ashwin & Bhajji restricting well. Nehra may have to sit out due to injury, but then there is enough back up within the team.
In fielding, Indians have been doing rather well in the knockout stages, which is exceptional, but the Lankans are a solid fielding side.
I personally feel, the Lankans would win the toss & elect to bat, wanting to put up a total in excess of 280 & then attack the Indian batting. Dhoni too would prefer to bat first, I believe. If the team batting first scores anything above 275-280, it would well be a winning total. So the batsmen will have to come to the party & someone will have to take the responsibility & play a long innings. A Sachin or a Sehwag or a Yuvi for India as opposed to a Dilshan or a Sanga or a Mahela for the Lankans......each one of them have enough capability to win the match & become a super hero.
Thousands of years ago, as written in the mythological Ramayana, Lord Ram travelled to Lanka to fight & defeat Ravana & win back Sita. Now Sangakkara travels to India to win the World Cup ---- we hope not!!!!!
We all wait to see which shade of Blue prevails, as both the teams are Men in Blue !!!

My prediction would be 52 : 48, slightly tilted towards Sri Lanka. However, like a billion plus Indian fan, I would love to dream that India wins the Cup.....

World Cup 2011 .... India vs Pakistan - 2nd Semifinal !!!

2011-03-31T01:03:00.017+05:30

A billion sighs of relief must have pumped the late evening atmosphere, as the Men in Blue edged out the Men in Green to enter the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011. The match that was billed to be the mother of all contests, of course did not rise to dramatic proportions, as the quality of the game was mediocre, but the environment was electric & the presence of heavyweight politicians & popular faces added to the glitz & tension.
The bookies were holding India as firm favourites, but there seemed to be diplomatic pressures as well. The first one hour of the match gave rise to many speculations, of the match being fixed. When Dhoni dropped an inform Ashwin for Nehra, & chose to bat after winning the toss, eyebrows started to twitch. Sehwag & Sachin started in whirlwind fashion, & Pakistan's best bowler till date in the tournament, Umar Gul seem to lose his rhythm as he got plundered. Shewag took 21 runs from Gul in the 3rd over of the innings & vision of a total in excess of 300 looked imminent. Sachin escaped a vociferous LBW through UDRS & the very next delivery a near stumping chance, as he scratched for runs. At 114 for 1 in 18 overs, India looked set for a very big total, but Riaz brought Pakistan right back in the game by picking up two crucial wickets, getting Virat Kohli & Yuvi of successive deliveries & almost getting Dhoni out caught behind the very next ball. Meanwhile, Sachin kept enjoying lady luck's blessings as buttered fingered Pakistani fielders dropped him four times, at 27, 45, 70 & 81. It was bizarre, as if it was deal between Pakistan & India....." we will let Sachin get his 100th century & you let us win the match!!!" I guess, when Sachin finally got caught out by Afridi for a not so convincing 85, many Indians like me along with the whole of Pakistan heaved a sigh of relief. In the 2003 World Cup at South Africa, when India last met Pakistan, Sachin had mauled Pakistan with a brilliant 97, as opposed to today, when he looked rather patchy. The Indian innings stuttered & spluttered, & finally ended at 260 for 9, thanks to a late assault by Raina along with Bhajji & Zaheer, as everyone of us felt was a good 20-30 runs short. Wahab Riaz, picked by Afridi ahead of Shoaib Akhtar for this match, had responded well to his Captain's faith by picking up 5 wickets for 46 runs & restricting India. Gul was surprisingly smashed all over for 69 runs in 8 overs.

In reply Pakistan was sedate with Hafeez & Kamran Akaml staring the innings. However, Indians on the field held nerves better, as Pakistan collapsed in the run chase. All the bowlers, surprisingly bowled excellently & fielders were committed, & as the pressure kept mounting in the run chase, Dhoni was excellent with field placement & bowling changes. The very fact that India conceded the 1st extras only in the 37th over, reflects the commitment of the players in the field. In between, Umar Akmal was threatening to take the match away from India, hitting 2 sixes off Yuvi. With him at the crease, anything was possible, as Dhoni called Bhajji to bowl. The Turbunator immediately scalped Umar, & with that died Pakistani hopes of a resurgence. Finally Pakistan were bowled out for 231 in the last over of the match, as India celebrated victory by 29 runs. It was India's 5th consecutive win over Pakistan in the World Cup & 1st at Mohali. This also means the end of the road for Shoaib Akhtar, one of the World's best pacer of the modern era, as he has already announced his retirement from international cricket.
The streets of India all across, had thousands spilling out, shouting & ranting & drumming & rejoicing on the Indian victory against arch rivals Pakistan. It was as if we have already won the Cup !!!!

India are now in finals, & would meet Sri Lanka at Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai on 2nd April, Saturday. A final between Men in Blue of different shades !!! India has Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman with the most runs in cricket & Sri Lanka has Muttiah Muralitharan, the bowler with the most wickets in cricket, both at the twilight of their illustrious career, probably playing their last World Cup match.....What a contest on cards...a fitting finale !!!

Man of the Match : Sachin Tendulkar for his 85 runs with the bat. In my view he did not deserve this award, as he scratched for runs & was immensely lucky to get away with 4 missed catches & two close appeals.

World Cup 2011 .... India vs Pakistan - 2nd Semifinal preview !!!

2011-03-29T23:51:00.000+05:30

Billed as the mother of all contests, India take on Pakistan in a extremely high octane semifinal clash at Mohali tomorrow afternoon.
Under Afridi, Pakistan looks like a team reborn, after the various controversies have plagued them for more than a year. There is Shoiab Akhtar, who will retire from international cricket after this tournament, & despite creaking bones, is itching to end it with a glorious win; there is Younis Khan who has to control the middle order & overs for his team; there is Misbah ul Haq, who still smarts from the loss to India in the T20 World Cup finals two years ago, when he could have won for Pakistan; there is Umar & Kamran, the Akmal brothers, who are at their mercurial best one day & pedestrian the other; there is Umar Gul who has been the best pacer in the tournament till now; there is Hafeez & Razzaq who have the talent to win the game on their own, but have not really fired in the tournament till now & then there is Captain Afridi who seems to be getting better & better as a bowler, being the leading wicket taker till now, who can demolish any bowling attack with his savage batting. The team is simply laden with unbridled talent, but also very undisciplined talent. A country, which is perpetually on the verge of a civil war, poverty & terrorism, keeps on producing sportsmen oozing with mercurial talent. They have done well as an unit to reach the semifinals with conviction, having lost only to New Zealand in the group stages.

On the other hand, India has the batting order which would be the envy of any team, as any of the top seven batsmen can win a match on his own self.......Sehwag, Sachin, Gambhir, Yuvi, Dhoni, Virat, Raina / Pathan...each one of them. In bowling Ashwin has been a revelation, as Zaheer seems to be peaking at the right time & Bhajji providing with solidity in the middle overs. Its the 4th & 5th bowler slot that is a problem area, though Yuvi seems to be doing quite well as a back up, & fielding has been a constant worry.
Through the tournament till now, India seem to dazzle but also limp & at times choke, as batsmen have been guilty of not finishing 50 overs quota, bowlers leaking runs, & fielding quite below par. However, the win against champions Australia in the quarterfinals, should a good boost, as India almost did nothing wrong.
The pressures of the match between Pakistan & India & the hype created by the media, is the main concern & who ever holds nerves better will come out smiling. The pitch while being a belter, seems to have something for everyone, & a pressure cooker match like this batting first & getting 280-290 would be
While bookies are rooting for an Indian victory, there are speculations that India might lose the match to gain diplomatic brownies, as the Prime Ministers of both the countries are going to be watching the match in the stadium !!!
Interestingly, India has never won a match in Mohali against Pakistan, while Pakistan has never won a match against India in World Cups so far.

My prediction would be 52 : 48 in favour of India. Lets all keep our fingers crossed & look forward to a glorious game of cricket tomorrow, as the two countries would have come to a virtual stop from 2.30pm.

World Cup 2011 .... Sri Lanka vs New Zealand....semifinals !!!

2011-03-29T23:32:00.001+05:30

So Sri Lanka has made it to the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011 & they will now await the winners of the 2nd semifinals clash between India & Pakistan.

The match at Premadasa Stadium started with New Zealand winning the toss & electing to bat. However, with big hitting McCullum gone in the 8th over, The Kiwis would always find it difficult to get a big score. Though Taylor, Guptill, Styris & Williamson got starts, they could not convert into a big score. While they were well placed at 161 for 3 in 39 overs, a perfect launch pad for the death overs, the batsmen lost control & wickets kept tumbling regularly, as New Zealand stuttered to a total of 217 all out in 49 overs. The last five wickets went for just 13 runs, as Mendis & Malinga ran amok amongst the batsmen. Mutiah Muralitharan claimed the dangerous Scott Styris LBW, with his final delivery on home soil....marking an emotional end to his legendary career !!! The crowd was euphoric as were his team mates. The Kiwis had looked good to cross the 250 mark, but fell way short at 217......certainly 30-40 runs less to put the Sri Lankan batting under any pressure.
Sri Lankan reply was emphatic to start with Tharanga & Dilshan continuing from where they left in the last match. Tharanga lost his wicket to a brilliant catch by Jesse Ryder at point, but Sangakkara & Dilshan looked like cruising to victory, with score at 160 for 1 in the 33rd over. But there was drama at the centre as Dilshan threw away his wicket to another stunning catch by Ryder at point, for a well made 73. Three balls later Mahela was trapped LBW by Vettori, & then Sanga lost his cool to hole out to Styris at third man, as Lanka had lost three crucial wickets for 8 runs in 22 deliveries. Chamara Silva & Samaraweera got into a shell, & suddenly the Kiwis looked lively & spritely on the ground, as the Lankans got themselves into a spot of bother. Chamara Silva played on to Southee, & nerves started to jangle as Angelo Mathews walked in. The Lankan dressing room looked tensed & worried, but Samaraweera along with Mathews managed to romp home, with 13 balls to spare. The Kiwis had managed to come back into the game, & would certainly rue at not having pit up another 20-30 runs, which could have got them closer to victory. It was once more an exit in the semis for them, as Sri Lanka marched into the finals for the 2nd time in succession.
They look a good unit in all departments of the game, with Dilshan, Sanga & Tharanga manning the batting at the top; Murali & Malinga along with Mendis & Mathews bowling well & as a team fielding with alacrity.

Man of the Match : Kumara Sangakkara for his brilliant 54 with the bat, & 3 catches while on the field. He also led his team well through the match, though he was lucky to win, especially after losing his wicket at a very crucial stage.

World Cup 2011 .... Sri Lanka vs New Zealand - 1st Semifinal preview !!!

2011-03-28T21:10:00.000+05:30

Sri Lanka take on New Zealand in the 1st semifinals of the World Cup tomorrow at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

New Zealand is a bits & pieces team, having players like Brenden McCullum, Guptill, Ross Taylor & Jesse Ryder, who on their day can post a big total or chase a big total, with the bat. When this adds to the all round performances of Jacob Oram & Daniel Vettori, the team looks formidable on paper. Add to this, their superlative win against favourites South Africa in the quarterfinals, & you would like to think that they are a strength to reckon with. Their fiedling was like dream against South Africa, where Oram took a fascinating running catch to dismiss Kallis & then Guptill ran out AB de Villiers, one of the fastest runners between the wickets....both the batsmen were well set & were coasting the Proteas to a easy victory when this happened, & the rest of the batsmen collapsed in a surprising heap.
However, the team, has been very very scratchy in their performances over the last one year. They have been thrashed by India, Sri Lanka, & Bangladesh in the subcontinent, & Pakistan also defeated them back home, down under. Some say, they were lucky to be in Group A, to manage a place in the last eight, & then faced South Africa, who have always choked in the knockout stages.
That said, the Kiwis would certainly have to be superlative & sensational to pull out an upset against Sri Lanka, & the country is hoping Daniel Vettori, pulls out a cat from the bag.
In contrast, the Sri Lankans are looking good & confident. They are gelling as a unit & batting, bowling & fielding is stacking up quite nicely. They are a little too dependent on their top four batsmen, but then, these four have been performing regularly & they also have Angelo Mathews, Chamara Silva & Samaraweera drawing up a formidable middle order. Dilshan, Tharanga & Sangakkara are amongst the top five batsmen in this tournament, & they have enough firepower to blow away the Kiwis attack, which lacks depth. Bowling looks facile & strong with Malinga, Kulasekhara bowling well upfront & in the death overs, along with Murali & Mendis finding form. However, Murali struggled with his hamstring injury in the quarters, & there is quite a possibility that he may have to rest. In my opinion, Sri Lankans are formidable without him as well, & the think tank would be well advised to rest Murali & get him fit for the finals. His presence is more important for them in the finals, where, if they reach, they would have to face either Pakistan or India, both of whom are good against spin bowling.

My prediction would be 65 : 35 in favour of Sri Lanka

World Cup 2011 .... Sri Lanka vs England - Quarterfinals !!!

2011-03-27T00:32:00.003+05:30

Thankfully there were no surprises in store for the last quarterfinals between Sri Lanka & England, being played at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After the rude shock of South Africa self destructing themselves against New Zealand in the last match, & a lot of hue & cry amongst bookies that England would win the cup this time around, one was a bit wary on results.
However, Sangakkara led Sri Lankans, ensured there were no rude surprises in store.
England team has been wobbly from the beginning of this tournament & have won matches or lost matches rather unconvincingly up till now. They team looked jaded & tired....maybe a reflection of their mind after overpowering the Aussies in the Ashes....this added with injuries of key players, it was difficult to believe that they would go beyond this stage.
Having won the toss, England decided to bat, but were immediately put on the back foot, with surprise bowler Dilshan claiming Andrew Strauss & then Mathews getting Bell, with score reading 31 for 2 in 9 overs. Trott & Bopara did some damage control & later Morgan & Prior got some lusty hitting, as England limped to 229 runs for 6 wickets. Trott benefited some dropped catches to score 86 runs, with only two boundaries.
For the formidable Sri Lankans this was not a challenging total, unless there were some early loss of wickets. However openers Dilshan & Tharanga, took time to settle down & did not let the English bowlers take any upper hand. they scored when they got a bad delivery & defended when then faced a good one. Runs kept piling & both eventually reached their respective centuries, as Sri Lanka romped home in only the 40th over, without losing a single wicket. It was a complete Lankan domination, as England bade farewell to their Cup aspirations.
Lankans now face New Zealand in the semis, who had earlier shocked South Africa. Again barring a huge rude shock, I don't see anything stopping the Lankans from making it to the finals for the 2nd successive time. They are clearly peaking at the right time & look a happy unit.

Man of the Match : Tilakratne Dlishan for his magnificent 108 unbeaten runs & 1 wicket.

World Cup 2011 .... Sri Lanka vs England - preview !!!

2011-03-25T23:56:00.002+05:30

The last quarterfinals tomorrow is going to be between Sri Lanka & England. On paper, Sri Lanka should win hands down, but after what has happened tonight between South Africa & New Zealand, one would be wary to predict.
The Lankans have an excellent bowling attack, with Murali & Malinga, ably assisted by Kulasekhara, Mendis, Mathews etc, with a good fielding unit to back up. The batting up till now has been a little top heavy, with too much of dependency on Dilshan, Sanga & Mahela. This is also the last World Cup for Murali & he would like to end it in style.
The England team has been huffing & puffing & causing the most of the exciting matches. They have won against South Africa from nowhere, tied up with India, a match they should have won, & lost to Bangladesh. Their entry into quarterfinals does not inspire confidence, but then they have it in them to surprise their opponents. The team is heavily dependent on Andrew Strauss, Trott & Bell for batting. The bowling & fielding is in bits & pieces. Iwth Peterson & Broad injured & back, the team looks rather wobbly.

According to one of my friends, who probably has links with the bookies, however, prediction is for England to win the Cup this time!!!!! I would probably stop talking about cricket if this comes true. I would then believe that matches are rigged, & its the big bucks which determine the results!!!! So for the love of the game, I sincerely hope England loses today, & Sri Lanka go to the semis as a worthy team. However, may the best team on the day win.

My prediction would be 65:35 in favour of Sri Lanka.

World Cup 2011 .... South Africa vs New Zealand - Quarterfinals !!!

2011-03-25T23:13:00.000+05:30

South Africa has done it again, CHOKED at the knockout stages of the World Cup. Clear favourites by all & sundry & easily coasting to victory till about the last 23 overs of the match, team Proteas simply panicked & choked & gifted a World Cup semifinal slot to the Kiwis. It was simply unbelievable & bizarre, as eight wickets fell in a heap for just 64 runs in a space of 20 odd overs.
At the beginning of the match, when Kiwis batting first, lost the dangerous McCullum & Guptill with 6 overs for just 16 runs, it looked like South Africa will steamroll through, & it will be a no contest. But Taylor & Ryder added 114 runs for the 3rd wicket & then the score ambled to 221 run for 8 wickets in 50 overs. For the first time in the tournament, South Africa could not bowl out a side. Was that the premonition that stuck them & they gave away the plot????
Chasing 222 looked easy, even in this spin track & the Proteas had enough firepower. So when they lost inform Amla cheaply & then Smith, the match looked very much in their grip. At 108 for 2 in 24 overs, with Kallis & AB de Villiers in the middle, things looked quite hunky dory for South Africa. One felt that the match would get over quite soon, when CHOKE came into play. In a bizarre twist to the tale, one after the other wickets just fell, in absolute mayhem, and batsmen forgot to bat. The Kiwis, buoyed by a Jacob Oram catch that dismissed Kallis almost at the midwicket boundary, started fielding & bowling as champions. Kallis, AB & Duminy went within a space of 24 balls, & the middle order collapsed. Steyn, Peterson, Botha, Morkel, all of them capable of scoring heftily on their own, looked like caged chicken ready to be grilled.....they looked resigned to fate....as if death was knocking. It was all over before one could gather. New Zealand had stormed into the semifinals with a 49 runs victory over South Africa.
It was probably the belief in the mind that was missing, as South Africa have now not won a single game in the knockout stages for six World Cup tournaments, since 1992.
A team laden with such talent & capability, its surprising that they have not been mentally strong to handle knock out stages...its like a nightmare that never seems to end.....

Man of the Match ; Jacob Oram, for taking 4 wickets with the ball & two splendid catches, which sealed the fate of South Afrcia.

World Cup 2011 .... South Africa vs New Zealand - preview !!!

2011-03-25T07:11:00.001+05:30

South Africa take on New Zealand today in the 3rd quarterfinals of the tournament, being held at Mirpur, Dhaka.
Known to choke at the knock out stages, the Proteas look a better unit this time around. They bat very deep & with conviction though Captain Graeme Smith is yet to fire, the bowling has the firepower both in pace & spin to meet the subcontinent pitches, while fielding has always been their strength. Their only loss in the tournament thus far has been to England in the group stages, where they choked unexpectedly while chasing a rather easy target, but they quickly got the act right & chased successfully against a mighty Indian total to get the rhythm back. That victory would have done the morale a world of good & they seem to be uniting very well & peaking at the right time.
New Zealand, this time around have been scratching & prodding, & have made to the knockout stages rather unconvincingly. Though they defeated Pakistan in the group stages, they don't look the team which will go the distance. With Daniel Vetorri coming back after an injury, the team composition looks better, but not good enough.
Unless the Proteas, self destruct & self defeat themselves, I don't see the Kiwis winning.

My prediction would be a 65 : 35 in favour of South Africa.

World Cup 2011 .... India vs Australia - Quarterfinals !!!

2011-03-25T01:16:00.007+05:30

One Billion hopes of die hard Indians translated into overcoming the Yellow fever in World Cup Cricket, as India convincingly outsmarted & outplayed World Champion Australia at Ahmadabad, a la 'Chak de' episode getting etched in history for a long time coming.
Shane Warne's twitter prediction that Australia will win by 17 runs, went abegging, while, Saurav Ganguly's prediction that India will this time prevail came true -- these snippets would probably do a lot of rounds across the length & breadth of the country for the next couple of days, as India goes delirious on this victory.
True Australia is not the same powerhouse as it has been for the last decade, which made them invincible champions for three times in succession; true the team lacked bowling firepower of McGrath & Warne, batting lacked the depth of Gilchrist & Hayden at the top and Symonds & Martyn in the middle; but still Australia has been the no 1 ODI team till now, & beating them out of World Cup surely would make every Indian rejoice.

Ponting won the toss & as expected, decided to bat first. He showed the world the class act that he is by holding the Aussie innings together with a masterful century. He had been in scratchy form till now in the tournament, & when he walked into the middle at the fall of Watson, he did not look confident. But he dug in & held on & played with grit to reach his 30th ODI hundred & mentally challenged the Indian team on field yet again. It was Zaheer & Yuvi getting valuable wickets at crucial stages with the ball, along with able assistance from Ashwin & Bhajji, that restricted Australia to a par score of 260 for 6. They probably fell short by 20-25 runs though.

In reply, India started well, with Sehwag customarily hitting the first boundary & Sachin getting into the stride. The Aussies tried hard, as they usually do, but the Indians looked a better side today, & even when Dhoni perished and India were 5 down with still 70 odd runs to get, Yuvi along with Raina looked confident to take India through. They did not disappoint the vociferous crowd by allowing another middle order collapse, & when Yuvi hit Brett Lee through the covers for the winning boundary, the stadium exploded in joy & cheering. Aussie bowlers lacked bite today, as Tait & Johnson sprayed the ball all over, & Kreiza could not do justice to his spinning ability. As a milestone, while Yuvi went past 8000 runs in ODI, Sachin completed 18000 runs in ODI today, as he got to his 94th half century. Where will this man, nay GOD of cricket stop!!!!! This was also Captain Dhoni's 100 ODI match as a Captain & he would certainly remember this victory till the end of his career.
Indians today were a determined lot, bowling with venom, batting with depth & most importantly and probably fielding to their best abilities. India now moves into the semis to meet Pakistan in what would be another mouth watering contest at Mohali.
A bleeding Bret Lee towards the final overs of the game, epitomised the Aussie spirit of never giving up, but also reflected on how the Champions are a bleeding unit now going downhill. Despite a brilliant century by Captain Ponting, this could well be his last ODI match, & certainly his last World Cup match. Hats off to a Champion cricketer, who carried the Aussie baggy green cap rather well. That he was blessed with an extremely gifted & talented bunch of world beating cricketers, when Steve Waugh handed over the captaincy to him, he certainly had marshalled his resources well. However, I have always disliked Ponting for his unsportsmanlike behaviour over the years. Even today, he forced the Umpires to have a relook when he took a bounced catch off Gambhir. He likes sledging & putting pressure on the opposition & Umpires, & would like to win by hook or crook, without a qualm, a typical Australian. On the other hand, our Sachin walked again today after Tait got him, as he did in the last match against West Indies. This Australian team will now probably have to build back brick by brick, as Allan Border had done for them way back in 1987, & Border will always be one of the very respected Aussie cricketer, for playing the game straight, like Adam Gilchrist & very unlike Ponting or Greg Chappell.
Life really comes in a full circle.

Man of the Match : Yuvraj Singh for his unbeaten 57 runs to take India to victory & 2 wickets for 44 runs while bowling. This is his 4th Man of the Match award in the tournament, as he is currently the Most Valued Player of the tournament with one hundred, 3 fifties & 11 wickets till now.

World Cup 2011 .... India vs Australia - preview !!!

2011-03-23T22:23:00.002+05:30

India takes on Australia tomorrow at Motera, Ahmedabad in the 2nd quarterfinals, a match that is being billed as the titanic clash of the tournament. For Australia it is a case or stamping their World Cup authority while for India, it is a case of revenge from the 2003 World Cup final's loss. Both the teams would have wanted this clash to happen on 2nd April, at Mumbai in the finals, but are now slated against each other in quarterfinals.
Going by present form, Australia is certainly not a clear favourite. In batting they have only Shane Watson along with Haddin at the top, & to a lesser extent Michael Clarke, who have found some form. Captain Ricky Ponting is clearly struggling to score, while, Cameron White is yet to fire in the death overs. Inclusion of Mike Hussey certainly adds depth to this fragile batting line up, but this team lacks the hunger & fire power which has kept the Aussies as Champs over the last three World Cup events. In bowling, Brett Lee seems to have found his lost rhythm & is bowling beautifully. But he is not backed enough by Shaun Tait or Johnson or Watson to blow away a strong opposition. Aussies would do well to include David Hussey in place of Cameron White to bolster their middle order & also get a spinning option.
India on the other hand has an exceptionally strong batting line up, & even if three out of seven batsmen score, they would have put up a huge total. Sachin & Sehwag are amongst the top four batsmen in the tournament so far & Yuvraj Singh seems to be finding his silken touch just about at the right time. Add to that the presence of Gambhir, Dhoni, Virat & Yusuf or Raina.....it indeed is a potent line up, with each one having the capacity to win the match on his own. However, the worry is that the team has not been able to bat the full quota of 50 overs, & there have been too many collapses in the last few matches. Also, the use of batting power play has been miserable. In bowling, barring the exception of Zaheer, who spearheads, India has looked weak & vulnerable. Bhajji has been good in patches & Nehra & Munaf have been below par. The inclusion of Ashwin should boost the bowling, as he brings in an unknown element for the Aussies to tackle.
India's bane has been fielding, & as Dhoni rightly says, we cannot improve overnight. Therefore, as a unit, we need to bat deep & score runs & then allow the bowlers to add pressure on opposition to crumble. We need to play to our strength. For Sachin, it is his last chance to win the elusive World Cup & he would be really fired up to perform. However, Sehwag is still nursing an injury & may have to sit out, which is a jolt to Indian hopes.

India has to win the toss & bat first & put up a total beyond 280 runs, which means, one of the top order batsman has to play a long innings & score a hundred. Then & only then can they pressurise the Aussies to crack, as Ashwin, Bhajji can then make good use of the turning track, with Zaheer doing some early damage. For Aussies, they would also like to bat first & put up a total that their pace battery can defend.
Both teams have a struggling middle order..... one has a potent opening pair, while the other is in bits & pieces,......one has a good pace attack while the other has better spinning options,.....one has an athletic fielding unit, while the other is struggling. In all both the teams are plagued with inconsistencies, but have the fire power to go the distance. It will certainly depend on who holds the nerves better. The Aussies known for their sledging, have already started, with Ponting taking a dig at Sachin. While Australia will take courage from World Cup history, India would remember the warm up match before this tournament at Bangalore, when they comprehensively defeated the Aussies, with spin.
In their last encounter at the World Cup finals 2003 at Johannesburg, South Africa, Aussies had clearly mauled the Indians. Zaheer, Nehra & Bhajji in bowling were blasted to all corners by Hayden & Gilchrist first & later by Ponting & Martyn, though Bhajji managed 2 wickets. In batting Sachin had an off day & Yuvi fell short after a start. It was only Sehwag who fought out manly, as India lost the match by 125 runs, a defeat which still rankles in the mind of the Indians. Ponting would clearly carry memories of that match for mental support & build up. We had lost a great opportunity to defeat the Aussies that day & win the Cup, but we got too carried away & overawed by the occasion.
History does favour the Aussies, as India has won only once in seven matches against the Aussies in a World Cup, & that too way back in 1987. Also, India has lost their last four games at Motera, three of them batting first. However, in a crunch match like this, home advantage does matter, as the deafening roar from the crowd should fire the Indians on field & distraught the Aussies. Its now once again the Men in Blue against the baggy green & yellow Aussies from Down Under.

Despite history, my prediction would be 60 : 40 in favour of Indians.

World Cup 2011 .... Pakistan vs West Indies - Quarterfinals !!!

2011-03-23T21:37:00.001+05:30

West Indies won the toss & chose to bat. However, they got into trouble immediately, as Umar Gul removed the dangerous Gayle & Hafeez removed Smith & Bravo, within the first 6 overs, as the score card read a dismal 17 for 3. All the top three batsmen back in the pavilion, as Sarwan & Chanderpaul were left with a huge task of resurrecting the innings. It was probably too much to ask from the two veterans, & their best efforts could only delay the inevitable. After Sarwan fell, it was a sorry tale of wickets falling to spinners, as Chanderpaul hung on to one end with sheer grit. In the 37th over the score read 100 for 8. The final score was 112 in 43.3 overs, with old warhorse Chanderpaul left stranded at 44 unbeaten runs. This was a sorry display of applications from the Windies batters, as Afridi in his rediscovered diva as a bowler in the tournament claimed 4 wickets for just 30 runs to rip through the innings. Hafeez who opened the bowling with spin, ended with dream figures of 2 for 16 in 10 overs. Since winning the toss, nothing went right for the West Indies. It was a sorry parade of batsmen back in pavilion as Gayle, Bravo, Smith, Pollard, Sammy, Thomas, all got out with practically nothing on board. The first ball of the match was cut to point boundary by Smith & then Gayle hit two good boundaries. But the Windies batting faltered to deceive, as wickets simply tumbled. Sarwan & Chanderpaul resisted for a while, with practically no runs getting added on, & Pakistan tightening the shackles. Once Sarwan fell, it was a downward spiral.

Reply for Pakistan could not have been easier, as Hafeez & Kamran Akmal raced to 43 for no loss in 5 overs. The target too little too easy to be bothered with. Pakistan romped home in just 21 overs, without losing a wicket. Hafeez completed a well deserved fifty, ending with unbeaten 61 runs, while Kamran Akmal kept him good company with 47 runs. In the end a very easy victory for Pakistan, as they storm into the semi finals, looking more than dangerous now. Even the batting that had earlier looked brittle, has come good today. For the bowlers, there was hardly a target to defend & they needed early inroads which did not happen, as Hafeez & Akmal played without any pressures. In the end it was a blatant one sided affair for Pakistan, which would give them huge confidence going into the semifinals. They would now await the winner of the titanic clash between hosts India & champions Australia, scheduled for tomorrow.

For West Indies, it was a disappointing day, as nothing at all worked for them. Batting let them down miserably after Umar Gul had removed the dangerous Gayle, & Sammy as a leader failed to inspire a team which had potential match winners. It was a question of combining as a unit, which did not happen.

Man of the Match : Mohammed Hafeez for his excellent bowling initially & then the half century with the bat.

World Cup 2011 .... Pakistan vs West Indies - preview !!!

2011-03-23T01:08:00.003+05:30

Today is going to be a match between the two most unpredictable teams in the quarterfinal line ups....Pakistan vs West Indies.

Pakistan arrived for the world Cup on the backdrop of match fixing scandals, where three of their key players were slapped a ban by the ICC. To add to this was the Captain controversy. The country, itself has been strife with politics, terrorism imbroglio of late. Despite all of this, the team oozes with talent & confidence. On their day, they can probably maul the best team on earth with ridiculous ease. Under Afridi, the team has been combining well & have surprised a lot of cricketing pundits by achieving the top slot of Group A, beating the mighty Aussies & favourite Sri Lankans. Their only loss was to New Zealand, where they just crumbled in the run chase. In batting, Pakistan has looked a little vulnerable & indecisive. It revolves around the Akmal brothers, Younis Khan & Misbah, & though there have been glimpses of brilliance, none of them have shown consistency as yet to gain confidence. However in bowling, Pakistan has a wonderful combination. Umar Gul along with Shoaib & Razzak in pace & then Afridi & Hafeez with spin looks a potent unit. Afridi has been a revelation with his bowling, being the leading wicket taker of the tournament thus far. If they manage to win this match, they would be supremely confident to go the distance.

On the other hand, the Windies have been blow hot & blow cold. They pulled out incredible defeats against England & India from nowhere. Any other team would have laughed their way to victory, & yet the Windies just crumpled. The batting is far too dependent on the outcome of Gayle & Pollard. However, they have good batting talent in Darren Bravo, a la Lara reminisce & Devon Smith, along with the experience of Chanderpaul & Sarwan. Bowling looks good with Roach, Rampaul, Russell in pace & Benn and Bishoo in spin. They need to believe in their capabilities & demonstrate that intensity on field. They would need to play out of their skin to defeat the mercurial Pakistanis.

In my assessment, if Windies bat first & put up a total in access of 260 runs, they should be able to put pressure on Pakistan & have a good chance of winning. However, this would mean Gayle has to bat long & Pollard has to do a final assault, while Bravo & Williams need to hold the innings together. If they fail to do so, Pakistan would walk away with the match. They have too much of arsenal in their kitty to prevail.

I feel its a 65:35 in favour of Pakistan for this match.

World Cup 2011 .... Quarterfinal line ups !!!

2011-03-22T01:44:00.002+05:30

The month long league saga is over....the minnows have been eliminated. There have been a few close matches, Ireland amongst all lesser teams, impressed all & sundry with their capabilities on the field. This team should surely do much better in the next edition of world Cup, as long as they keep their intensity going. Stage is now set for the battle of the Champion contenders, as the knock out quarterfinals start from wednesday :

The fixtures are :
1) Pakistan vs West Indies - 23rd Mar'11 at Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2) India vs Australia - 24th Mar'11 at Motera, Ahmedabad, India
3) South Africa vs New Zealand - 25th Mar'11 at Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
4) Sri Lanka vs England - 26th Mar'11 at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I shall be putting up a pre match review & my assessment on each team's capabilities / chances.

Let the best team win the World Cup......

World Cup 2011 : India vs West Indies...

2011-03-21T00:29:00.021+05:30

India met West Indies at Chennai, for the last match of the group league. The outcome of the match was to decide the quarterfinals line up, & also build in the necessary confidence going into the knockout stage.
Having won the toss on a pitch that was expected to take spin later in the day, India decided to bat first. With Sehwag rested & Ashwin included in place of Nehra, Sachin strode in along with Gambhir.
On the other side, the Windies had surprisingly rested Gayle & Roach, two of their potential match winners & fielded Edwards & Ravi Rampaul.
Sachin went out early, to a thin nick off Rampaul......he actually walked, despite the umpire giving him not out. An excellent gesture towards sportsmanship, as the crowd went silent. Yuvi batted with purpose along with Virat & together they set up a 122 runs partnership, which took India to safety. Yuvi made the most of the two missed chances, as Sammy dropped him twice, once at 9 & the other at 13, and went on to make a scintillating century, as India posted a total of 268 runs. From a score of 218 for 3 in 42 overs, India collapsed to 268, with the last 7 wickets falling for just 50 runs. The batting powerplay yielded only 28 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, which is obviously a worry for the Indians. Rampaul, made best of his return to the sidein place of the injured Kemar Roach, & bowled excellently to claim 5 wickets for 51 runs. He would certainly now be in contention for the team in the knockout stage.
In reply, buoyed by a good finish with the ball, the Windies came out to bat very positively. Devon Smith led the chase & runs kept coming at a fast clip, as the total reached a commanding 146 for 2 in 27 overs, without any worries. In fact the Indian camp looked hassled & frowns were becoming wider, as Dhoni looked for inspiration form his two front line bowlers, Zaheer & Bhajji. Reposing the confidence, Bhajji managed a maiden over & the Zaheer struck, getting the dangerous Smith out bowled for a brilliant 81. The rest of the batting panicked, & as has been the bane of the Windies batting in recent times, they lost the last 8 wickets for just 34 runs, as India in the final context, won the match by 80 runs. The Windies, had once again made a mess of the chase & lost, as they had conceded the match to England a few days ago. I think, sending Pollard up the order was a bad move, as his early loss cost Windies the match. Maybe a Thomas at that stage would have held the innings well with Sarwan & then Pollard & Sammy could have come in with about 50 -60 runs to chase, & got home with a victory.

For India, the worry has been their batting, the strength are, not sustaining for the full 50 overs, putting enormous pressure on the bowling & fielding, which is not the best in business. The inclusion of Ashwin, would however give Dhoni reasons to cheer, as the off spinner did well in this encounter.
India now faces Australia in the quarterfinals at Motera, Ahmedabad on thursday, & West Indies take on Pakistan on Wednesday.

Man of the Match : Yuvraj was the automatic choice with his 113 runs while batting & also 2 for 18 while bowling. A truly inspiring contribution as an all rounder.

World Cup 2011 : Australia vs Pakistan...

2011-03-19T23:15:00.001+05:30

In the 2nd game of the day, Pakistan took on Australia. Both having already qualified for the next round, the winner would take the top slot of Group A. Ponting won the toss & decided to bat first on a slow double paced wicket. Pakistan looked a determined lot taking field today. there was spunk & agility & the bowlers were disciplined. Umar Gul started bowling an in form Shane Watson in the 5th over, score reading 12 for 1. The Aussies struggled to score from there on, as wickets tumbled. Barring Haddin, who top scored with 42, Clarke, who got 34, & to a lesser extent Smith, later in the order, no one had the measure of the pitch & the mighty Aussies stuttered for the first time in this tournament. They were finally bowled out for a meagre 176 in 46.3 overs. All the bowlers were amongst wickets, & specially Gul who took 3, & Razzak who scalped 2 were simply superb. In this tournament, the Aussies had escaped against the Lankans with a rain truncated draw & today against a quality bowling attack, the batting simply crumbled.

Pakistan started their run chase cautiously, as Kamran Akmal & Md Hafeez took guard in the middle against Tait & Lee. It was Brett Lee who looked in supreme form & he made life real difficult for the batsmen. First he had Hafeez caught & bowled brilliantly & then later had Kamran LBW to reduce the Pakistani innings to 45 for 2 in the 9th over. With little support from the other end for Lee, Asad Safiq & veteran Younis Khan settled down to stitch a partnership. With the match almost slipping away, Ponting once again brought in Lee & he immediately responded by scalping Younis & the Misbah off successive deliveries, caught behind, as the score slipped to 98 for 4 in the 23rd over. In walked Umar Akmal, the younger brother to Kamran & started stroking from the middle of the bat. Along with Asad, he started to take Pakistan to victory, when again there was a twist & Asad got out in the slips to Johnson. Captain Afridi came in & immediately holed out with an irresponsible shot, caught by Brett Lee in the deep & Pakistan were again staring into the barrel. The score was 142 for 6 in the 33rd over, with another 34 runs to get, as Abdul Razzak came in. Ponting tried his best to psyche the batsmen to commit an error, but Umar Akmal unbeaten with 44 runs & Abdul Razzak unbeaten with 20 runs, after some anxious moments, got Pakistan home with a 4 wicket win. The mighty Aussies had finally lost a game in the World Cup after 34 wins. Very coincidentally, their last loss was again to Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup group matches.
For the Aussies, Brett Lee bowled with venom & spirit as he took 4 wickets for just 28 runs, & pushed Pakistan to the limits. However, with practically no support at the other end, & a low score to defend, he could not prevent the Pakistani batsmen from scripting a historic win.
This win takes Pakistan to the top of the Group A, & they will now play the 4th team from group B.

Man of the Match : Umar Akmal for his unbeaten 44 runs & taking Pakistan to a victory.

World Cup 2011 : Bangladesh vs South Africa...

2011-03-19T16:08:00.000+05:30

Bangladesh took on South Africa at Mirpur in a must win match for them to qualify to next round. South Africa, however, having already qualified, decided to rest three key players, AB, Steyn & Morkel for Tsotsobe, Parnell &
Winning the toss, on a pitch which looked to get slow & spin as the match proceeds, South Africa decided to bat in first. Openers Amla & Smith settled down for a solid foundation & added 98 runs, when a sudden rush of blood cost Smith his wicket in the 21st over & then Amla, just after getting to his fifty, played on to Abdur Razzak, with the score at 107 for 2. Next man Duminy looked in good nick, but he too unnecessarily top edged a wayward bouncer to the keeper, with score at 141 for 3 in 30 overs. However, Kallis in the middle kept cool & ensure that the Proteas don't fall in a heap, as the score reached 165 for 3 from 35 overs, at the drinks interval. 200 runs came in the 42nd over, as Kallis & du Plessis combined well in the middle. With Batting Powerplays yet to come, it was a good launching pad for the Proteas.Kallis however fell caught & bowled to Shakib ul Hasan for a workmanlike 69 off 76 deliveries, at the beginning of the Powerplays, with score at 223 for 4 in the 45th over. However, 52 runs came of the powerplays for the loss of 3 wickets, & a late flourish by Peterson, 22 off 9 deliveries, got the Proteas to a imposing total of 284 for 8 in 50 overs.

Bangladesh needed a flourish up the order to make any fight of the target. However, Tsotsobe, getting him first match in had other ideas. He tore into the Bangladeshi batting line up & snared 3 wickets for almost nothing, as the top order simply crumbled. In the 22nd over, Bangladesh were reeling at 58 for 6, with only Skipper Shakib waging a lone battle at one end. Once he got out for a well made 28 runs, the resistance did not last long, as the Proteas were very intent on the field, & Bangladeshi ordeal ended at 78 runs in 28 overs. It was a comprehensive victory for South Africa by 206 runs, as they ended the league games, topping the group with 10 points.
In bowling, Robin Peterson picked up 4 wickets for just 12 runs in 7 overs. For Bangladesh, it was the end of the road, but they surely have some positives to carry from the tournament.

Man of the Match : Tsotsobe for his brilliant 3 wickets for 14 from 5 overs, to destroy any Bangladeshi hope at the beginning of the innings. This was his first match of the tournament & he was bang on the target.

World Cup 2011 : Sri Lanka vs New Zealand....

2011-03-19T02:19:00.000+05:30

At Mumbai Sri Lanka took on New Zealand to decide on the Group A standings. It was also a test of the two teams capabilities ahead of the knock out stages. Batting first the Lankans lost both their openers Tharanga & Dilshan cheaply, with only 19 runs on board in the 5th over. However Captain Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene came together, & stitched a crucial partnership of 145 runs. Mahela was lucky to get the benefit of doubt of a catch taken by Nathan McCullum, in replays, & went on to make 66 runs. Sanga went on to make his century, his first since June 2008, one that took him 64 matches. However, after he was out for 111 in 128 deliveries, in the 42nd over, with score at 210 for 4, the Lankan innings did not flourish & they lost five wickets for just 55 runs. the final score was 265 for 9, & that largely came due to a belligerent 41 unbeaten runs by Angelo Mathews, for just 35 balls, in the end.
For the Kiwis, Southee picked up 3 wickets as Captain Ross Taylor employed eight bowlers in an attempt to stall the Lankan innings.

In reply, New Zealand needed a solid start at the top, which was not to be & the batting faltered against some disciplined bowling. No one could really dig in & build a long partnership, as spinners Murali & Mendis ripped through the middle, taking 6 wickets between them for just 59 runs in 14 overs. The wetness of the pitch made scoring more difficult & finally Kiwis folded for just 153 in just 35 overs.
The Lankans were victorious by 112 runs & ended their group level matches with 8 points. With the last match of the group between Pakistan & Australia yet to come, the Lankans would probably end as 2nd in the group & most likely meet England in the quarterfinals, who just scraped through yesterday, with a win against the Windies. The Kiwis would probably end as the 4th team from the group & meet the 1st team of group B.

Man of the Match : While Murali picked up 4 wickets for just 25 runs & was virtually unplayable today, it was Captain Sangakkara, who became the man of the match for his excellent century & taking the Lankans to safety.

World Cup 2011 : Ireland vs Netherlands...

2011-03-19T02:04:00.001+05:30

In an inconsequential match at Kolkata, Ireland took on Netherlands, in a high scoring affair.
Netherlands batting first, with no pressures scored freely, getting 306 runs in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to a wonderful century by Doeschate, his 2nd in the tournament. He scored a wonderful 106 off 108 deliveries, as there were useful contribution from Captain Borren, who scored 84 off 82 balls, & Barresi scoring 44 runs.
In reply, the Irish batting too relished the conditions, & the opening partnership got 177 runs from just 27 overs, as Captain Porterfield got 68 runs & Stirling got a belligerent 101 in only 72 balls. This was good enough a platform for the next batsmen & the O'Brien brothers, NJ & KJ finished off in style with 14 balls to spare.
It was a clinical finish, as Ireland clearly stamped themselves as the best team amongst the minnows. They should most certainly do better in the next World Cup, as most of their players are regulars in the English County. They certainly entertained the crowd through the tournament & looked good in almost all their matches.

Man of the Match : PR Stirling for his excellent 101 runs helping Ireland to their 2nd victory of the tournament.

World Cup 2011 : West Indies vs England...

2011-03-18T00:49:00.001+05:30

It was a do or die match for England against the mercurial West Indies at Chennai.
England won the toss & elected to bat on a slow wicket. Against a disciplined attack, Andrew Strauss & Matt prior started quite well, putting 48 runs for the opening partnership, before Prior was bowled by Russel in the 10th over. Runs came but wickets fell too, as England limped towards 150 mark in the 32nd over having lost half the side. From there on, it was a late assault by Luke Wright along with Bresnan who pulled the score to 243, before getting all out. Russell & debutant spinner Bishoo, had kept the batsmen in tight control throughout the innings, along with Kemar Roach. Russel finished with 4 wickets, while Bishoo scalped 3 & Roach got 2. For England, it was a par score, though they would have wanted another 25 odd runs more to be secure.

West Indies started their chase in typical Calypso style as Gayle got going. Runs flowed as hapless English bowlers had no clue. 50 runs came in just 29 balls, & Gayle looked in ominous touch. But as has been in the past, he lost cool & got out for 43 runs off just 21 balls in the 7th over, with score reading 58 for1. From there on, runs came but wickets fell as well, & what seemed to be an easy target, became difficult. When Pollard got himself out LBW to Swann, it was 150 for 6 in the 28th over, & England looked good to wrap the match. However, there was further drama, as Russell came to the crease & along with old warhorse Sarwan, took Windies to the doorsteps of victory. In the 42nd over, with just 22 runs required off 54 balls, Russell on 49 & Sarwan on 30, it looked dead & buried for England. But the final twist was yet to come. The Windies could only self destruct themselves, & that's exactly what they did. Strauss looking for divine intervention, turned to spin, with Tredwell & Swann having one over each left. It turned out to be a master stroke, as most inexplicably Windies lost their last 4 wickets for a mere 3 runs in the space of 24 deliveries, leaving England victorious by 18 runs. England can now be almost sure of making it to the quarterfinals with this win, as it is highly improbable that Bangladesh can win against South Africa & that too by a huge margin.
For the Windies, it was another frustrating defeat pulled from the clutches of victory, & they have only themselves to blame for it. They would in most likelihood make to the quarterfinals, due to good net run rate, though they have one more match left against hosts India in the same venue coming Sunday.

Man of the Match : James Tredwell for his match winning bowling of 4 for 48 in 10 overs. This being his first match at World Cup, it was a sterling performance that brought England back into reckoning from the brink of elimination.

World Cup 2011 : Australia vs Canada...

2011-03-17T00:48:00.003+05:30

In a rather inconsequential match, Australia took on Canada at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore today.
Canada, won the toss, decided to bat, & surprisingly batted with gusto against the Aussie pace battery. Patel & Davison opened with a positive note & it was 41 runs in 4 overs, before Davison fell to Lee. Patel kept the big hitting on, as the score raced to 100 in just 16.1 overs. However, it was too good to last, & once Bagai fell at 150 for 3 in the 29th over, the resistance dried up. The innings which had shown glimpses of a fight, started to fade away & in the end, Canada was all out for 211 in the 46th over. Lee had picked up 4 wickets while Kreiza & Tait scalped 2 each. For Canada, Patel hit a whirlwind 54 off just 45 deliveries, which included three massive sixes.
This was too easy a target for the mighty Aussies, given the fact that Canada attack lacks bite. The openers Watson & Haddin enjoyed scoring freely in the middle & when finally Haddin got out for 88 runs, the score read 183 for 1 in the 29th over. Watson missed out on a deserving century, getting out for 94 runs in 90 deliveries, including 4 sixes, & skipper Ponting failed once more with the bat, as Australia romped home in the 35th over, with 7 wickets to spare.
This win ensures a quarterfinal berth for the Aussies, who are now unbeaten in 34 World Cup matches.
Somehow, I feel the Aussies are going to fail in one of the knockout matches ahead. they have yet not been seriously challenged & may crumble under pressure.

Man of the Match : Shane Watson for his 94 runs with the bat, & 1 for 22 with the ball. He is certainly one of the finest all rounders in the game today.

World Cup 2011 : South Africa vs Ireland...

2011-03-15T22:27:00.001+05:30

Finally a World Cup match at the famous Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This one between South Africa, looking to seal the quarterfinal place and Ireland, looking to end the tournament with a high.

Ireland won the toss & put the Proteas into bat. Amla & Smith started well, but did not last long & in the 10th over the score read 52 for 2. Next in van Wyk & Kallis too struggled, as South Africa reached 100 runs for 4 wickets, in the 22nd over. Duminy took charge of the middle order & along with Ingram who had replaced an injured AB de Villiers for this match, scored fluently to take South Africa to safety. When Ingram left for 46 off only 43 balls, missing out on a well deserved fifty, the score read a healthy 204 for 6 in 40 overs, with Batting Power Play still to come. Duminy was now with Botha & together they tore into the bowling attack to take the score to 272 for 7 in 50 overs. Duminy sadly missed his century, getting caught out to a brilliant catch by Kevin O'Brien in the deep, for 99 runs in the last over of the innings. Considering, they were at 117 for 5 around the 27th over, 272 was a good score for South Africa to end up at. Keeping in mind the drift in the air towards the evening in Kolkata, Irish batting could find Steyn & Morkel too hot to handle. For Ireland, every bowler, except Dockrell got hit all over the park.

In reply, Ireland lost their Captain Porterfield in the very 2nd over, as Morkel got him to edge into slips, where Smith made no mistakes, as the score read 8 for 1. Morkel however, dropped a straightforward catch in the very next over at third man off Steyn, as Stirling escaped with a boundary. The dropped chance did not help the Irish batting, as they lost wickets in quick succession, & at the drinks interval the score read, 67 for 4, in 15 overs, the required run rate going beyond 6 per over. With Kevin O'Brien getting out in the 3rd & Wilson in the 5th delivery of the 22nd over, at 92 for 6, Ireland were staring into the barrel, without respite. In fact it would have been worse, had Kallis not dropped Mooney in the last delivery of the same Peterson over. Wickets kept falling ahead as well, & in the final outcome, Ireland were all out for 141 in the 34th over. No Irish coffee to savour today, as South Africa completed a convincing win by 131 runs, & assured themselves of a quarterfinal berth, with one match against West Indies still pending. They seem to be peaking well in this tournament, & look good to go the distance.

Man of the Match : JP Duminy for his selfless 99 runs, which took the South African innings total to safety.

Land of the Rising Sun or TSunami.....

2011-03-15T08:42:00.000+05:30

Millions across the world watched with growing fear & concern, as the devastating earthquake & tsunami hit Japan's fragile landscape last friday in the afternoon. The 8.9 Richter scale quake, which centered around the east coast of Japan, located off Miyagi Prefecture, has caused unfathomable damage to lives, infrastructure & economy. The extent of the loss is yet to be ascertained & would surely take months to do so, as survivors are grappling with the situation at hand.
Shocking pictures on TV, as if in slow motion, showed huge waves gushing in & then flowing like lava across the land, wash away anything & everything, consuming buildings, vehicles, ships etc in their path. Huge walls of water from the ocean, sweeping across rice fields, engulfing entire towns, dragging huge houses & tossing vehicles of all shapes & sizes like toys. It was like what you see in Hollywood movies, only this was real....very very real....& very very scary.
Ariel views showed smoke bellowing from high rises, as fire broke out, adding to the chaos. To add to all of this has been the explosions in the Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to widespread fear of radiation hazards, the extent of which could be more serious than the Chernobyl disaster !!!

People of Japan are probably facing their biggest challenge & disaster since World War 2, as they still carry the scars of the Hiroshima / Nagasaki carnage. From that nuclear holocaust & aftermath for generations, they had practically built themselves into one of the super powers of the World, which even the mighty Americans came to admire & accept. A land that has always been prone to natural calamities, a thin strip on the Pacific prone to volcanic eruptions, quakes, & what nots, with hardly any natural resources to fall back on, Japan houses one of the calmest bunch of people. More than 70% of land in Japan is forests, mountains & unsuitable for agricultural, industrial or residential use. As a result, habitation is mainly located in the coastal areas, with high population densities. Yet, we witness a gentle bow, a gentle smile, a quiet resolve of steel,......Japanese are a lesson to the world, an example of how to handle crisis. Even in this scale of calamity, they are orderly & composed. News clippings show, how they are patiently queueing up for basic needs like water, food & medicines, as authorities manage distribution across the strife areas. There are thousand of people who have gone missing, already thousands dead in the debris, a huge hole in their economy & an uncertain future ahead to tackle. It is simply amazing that Japanese in various parts of the world continue their Social developmental activities & commitments, despite, their own country under such duress & in such difficult times.
As I write this article, news trickle of another aftershock; another blast at the Fukushima reactor site. Something like this would have been crippling in any other part of the world. But Japs have immense reservoir of patience, courage & faith. The authorities are attempting to cool the reactors with sea water, knowing fully well that these reactors would have to be abandoned for good.
With thousands of people getting evacuated, there is an obvious shortage in supply of essentials like water, food, medicines, blankets & electricity. The authorities are announcing sustained blackouts to conserve power, which needs to be saved for the relief activities. Yet people keep faith in their authorities, they keep faith in their God. There is no sign of loot or arson or corruption. They are all willing to share the burden of the calamity. Such stoic calm & discipline....completely unheard or experienced of, especially in a disaster of this proportion. This is what would make Japan rise out of the ashes once again, & reach the zenith. I share their belief ....I share their faith !!!!

We the people in India & the rest of the world need to join hands together in helping Japan in this moment of crisis, in any form that we can. I personally would be happy to associate myself with any relief operations there. Meanwhile, let us all pray for a speedy recovery & normalcy, because prayer connects, & is very powerful !!

Hats off to the people in Japan.....the Land of the Rising ~~Sun~~ Tsunami !!!!!

World Cup 2011 : Pakistan vs Zimbabwe...

2011-03-15T01:11:00.001+05:30

In a rain curtailed match at Pallekele, Pakistan overcame little resistance from Zimbabwe to post a 7 wickets win, by D/L method.
Batting first, Zimbabwe could manage only 151 runs in 39.4 overs, losing 7 wickets, thanks largely to a fighting 52 by Ervine & 32 not out by Chigumbura, as Umar Gul restricted their scoring with a haul of 3 for 36. The Zimbabwean batting could never take off, & the overcast conditions did not help either.
Batting second, on a D/L target, Pakistan though made heavy weather initially, but had little difficulty in reaching the target of 164 runs. Shafiq with an unbeaten 78 & Hafeez with 49 runs, ensured that the team in green reach the target without much of a bother. The only blemish was Captain Afridi, promoting himself up the order, could not get useful batting practice.

This win takes Pakistan safely into the quarterfinals.
Man of the Match : Umar Gul for his 3 for 36.

World Cup 2011 : Bangladesh vs Netherlands...

2011-03-14T22:51:00.001+05:30

It was a buoyant Bangladesh taking to Netherlands at Chittagong, where they had scripted a historic victory against a much fancied England, three days back.
Netherlands won the toss & elected to bat. However, a rejuvenated Bangladeshi bowling was accurate & nagging, as the slow pitch assisted the spinners. Shafiul Islam, after his batting heroics from the last match, was lethal with his seam bowling today & completely strangulated the Dutch scoring. Wickets tumbled under pressure & it was only Doeschate, who stood amidst the ruins for Netherlands with an unbeaten 53, as they crashed to 160 all out in 46.2 overs. While Shafiul was unlucky not to get a wicket despite being brilliant with the ball, his counterpart Abdur Razzak took 3 for 29, as the team in Orange struggled throughout.

In reply, Bangladesh lost their mercurial opener Tamim with no score on board in the 1st over, but Imrul Keyes along with Junaid steadied the ship & did not allow the Dutch bowling to cause any more concerns, taking the score to 92, before Junaid got out. Keyes remained unbeaten with a patient 73 runs, as Bangladesh romped home with a 6 wicket win in 41.2 overs. It was a clinical effort by the hosts & now they have 6 points in their kitty with a match against South Africa left, & a sniff of a chance for the next round. If England loses to West Indies, surely the Bengal tigers are in the quarterfinals.

Man of the Match : Imrul Keyes for his 73 unbeaten runs & taking Bangladesh to a victory. This being his back to back Man of the Match award.

World Cup 2011 : Australia vs Kenya...

2011-03-14T00:57:00.000+05:30

Australia took on lowly placed Kenya at Bangalore, with an obvious plan of getting as much batting practice as possible. So winning the toss by Ponting, meant batting first, & almost everyone, expect Cameron White got some useful time in the middle. Haddin, Clarke & newly joined Mike Hussey, got good fifties under their belt, while others too got a chance to wield the willow. For the fifth wicket, Hussey joined Clarke in a wonderful 114 runs partnership, which must have given the Aussie camp a lot of confidence with their middle order line up. The final score was 324 for 6.
The target was too steep for Kenya to cause any concern to the Aussie attack, & soon the score read 36 for 3 in the 10th over. However, Obuya put a stiff resistance along with Mishra & took the score to 161, when Mishra unfortunately got run out. He made a brilliant 72 off 89 balls. Obuya was finally left stranded at 98, missing out on a century he so richly deserved, as the innings folded for 264 runs. Kenyans can take pride at fighting so courageously against the World Champions & not giving up till the end. The match ended with Australia winning by 60 runs.
The Aussies have maintained their unbeaten record for the 33rd match in World Cup now.

Man of the Match : Collins Obuya for his outstanding & fighting knock of 98 unbeaten runs. He had also taken 1 for 33 while bowling for Kenya.

World Cup 2011 : New Zealand vs Canada...

2011-03-13T22:44:00.000+05:30

Weekend matches were a bit of a bore, as New Zealand took on Canada at Mumbai. Canada won the toss & elected to field, as McCullum & Guptill took stance at the crease. The Canadian attack had no teeth to bite into the Kiwis batting, as runs were score in gay abandon. McCullum got his hundred, his first in World Cup, while Ross Taylor got his fifty, & then the late order assault in the death overs, saw a total of 358 for 6. The Batting Powerplay yielded 74 runs, as the last 10 overs cost Canada 122 runs, too much for them to chase.
In reply Canada were in deep trouble with score reading 4 for 2, before Bagai & Patel resurrected the innings. Bagai went on to make a spirited 84, his highest in World Cup, & along with Jimmy Hansra put up 125 runs for the fourth wicket. Hansra was cramping & he retired hurt for 53, as the spirited Canadian reply started to fade. Hansra came back to bat again & remained unbeaten for 70 runs, as Canada finally got to 261 for 9, losing the match by 97 runs.

Man of the Match : Brendon McCullum for his 101 runs.

World Cup 2011 : India vs South Africa...

2011-03-12T01:24:00.003+05:30

India took on South Africa at Nagpur today, in what has been billed as one of the most explosive matches of the tournament. A win for India would give them a definite top berth in the quarterfinals, & a win for the Proteas, would give them the necessary turn around after their shocking loss to England, & help remove the tag of Chockers.
India won the toss & chose to bat first, on what looked like a flat track. Sachin & Sehwag were in a murderous mood, as they went hammer & tongs against the South African attack. Runs flowed like a gushing river, as Steyn, Morkel, Kallis, all were blown apart to all corners of the ground. 50 runs came in just the 7th over, & 100 came in the 12th over. Sehwag had raced to his fifty in just 44 balls, & Sachin too went past the same, in only 33balls. When Sehwag was bowled, trying a lazy cut, it was 142 for 1 in the 18th over. Gambhir came in & he too settled into a good rhythm. At the 2nd drinks interval, India was sitting pretty at 215 runs for 1, in 32 overs, as runs piled on relentlessly. Sachin eventually got his 48th ODI hundred & 99th overall, in the 36th over, as the crowd roared in delight. Gambhir got his fifty in the very next delivery, as the hapless South Africans looked on. The 100 partnership came in 115 balls, as the score now read 243 for 1 in 37 overs. What a wonderful launching pad for batsmen to follow. Tendulkar finally relented, getting out to Morkel, at point for a brilliant 111 in 101 balls. With Batting Powerplays on, in came Yusuf Pathan. In the very next over, Gambhir too holed out in the deep. Next to go was Pathan for a duck, with Smith plucking out a catch at mid off. Yuvi hoicked a big six off Botha, but attempting another, holed out at long off. The powerplays yielded just 30 runs but importantly conceded 4 wickets for India. the score now 283 for 5 in 43 overs. Virat Kohli got caught & bowled to Peterson, as the score slid to 286 for 6. Wickets kept tumbling one after the other in a shocking heap, & India got shot out for 296 all out in 48.4 overs. They were 266 for 1 at one stage & looked good to cross at least 350, & most inexplicably got all out for 296......9 wickets for just 30 runs, how more bizarre could it get!!!!!. Dale Steyn picked up 5 wickets for 50 runs. South Africa went into the innings break, feeling much better, after the pounding they took from Sachin, Sehwag & Gambhir early on.

In reply, South Africa needed a solid start & thats waht they aimed at, as Smith & Amla walked in. Zaheer as usual was very accurate & runs were hard to come by. Smith was consumed by Zaheer in the 9th over, bunny as usual. Amla & Kallis steadied the innings, both getting their half centuries & took the score past 100, but the run rate kept increasing, as runs were a toil & Indians seemed determined. However AB de Villiers came in & the score started to get a move on, as he too got a well deserved fifty. He fell to a brilliant catch in the deep by Kohli, as he threatened to take the match away from the Indians. Every wicket down was getting cheered by the capacity crowd, but each batsmen looked determined to fight, & no one looked like panicking, which has been the bane of the Proteas over the years. While the run rate mounted to over 9 an over, the batsmen still kept their cool & did nothing stupid. It was as if the Proteas batting had a clear game plan, which they executed to near perfection. At the end of 47th over, South Africa still needed 31 runs, & they had Botha & du Plessis in the middle. Botha hit Patel for 14 runs in the 48th over, but was caught out by a brilliant Raina in the deep, leaving the target of 17 runs from 12. In the next over, Zaheer was cool as a cucumber & conceded only 4 runs. Dhoni chose Nehra to bowl the final over as 13 runs were needed. But Nehra disappointed, as Peterson smote him all around with two boundaries & a six & the Proteas had romped home with 2 balls to spare. They had put the chokers tag to rest, at least for some time into the future now.
This loss should hurt India, as they seemed to be determined to lose. Barring the first 30 odd overs of the match, when Sachin, Sehwag & Gambhir were toying with the bowling, the Indians were just not in the game. Contrastingly, while India lost 4 wickets for a mere 30 runs in the batting powerplay, the South Africans scored 52 runs losing just 1 wicket. In a battle of nerves & Chokers tag, the Proteas had prevailed over the Indians.

India's bowling & fielding was always a worry, but now its famed batting is also showing nervous signs of brittleness. Its ok to lose a match, but manner of loss should hurt the Indians. Dhoni would have to do something special to rejuvenate the unit. For Sachin, it was one more century wasted in a losing cause. He along with Sehwag & later Zaheer were the only Indians today who were at par on the ground.

Man of the Match : Dale Steyn for his 5 wickets haul to orchestrate the Indian batting collapse & bring the Proteas back in the game.

World Cup 2011 : Bangladesh vs England...

2011-03-11T23:42:00.002+05:30

Hosts Bangladesh took on England, at Chittagong, with both sides desperate for a victory to stay in the reckoning of the tournament. Shakib ul Hasan won the toss & put England to bat. The decision turned out to be good, as the English batsmen found it difficult to force the pace. Proir & Strauss struggled early on, & runs were hard to come by. Wickets fell to pressure & suddenly it was 53 for 3 in the 17th over, with Strauss, Prior & Bell back in the pavillion. Eoin Morgan, who replaced injured Peiterson, along with Trott started the building act & took the score to a respectable 162 before getting out in the 39th over. He contributed a well made 63 in 72 balls, before a brilliant catch in the deep by Imrul Keyes got him out. Batting Powerplay was taken in the 42nd over, as Bopara joined Trott. With pressure building, Trott fell, for a neat 67 to Shakib, as the score read 182 for 5. Bopara, the last match's hero was the next to go, as the England batting started to stutter. It was 195 for 6 in the 45th over, as Collingwood stepped in, surprisingly at no8. 200 runs came up in the 46th over, as the Batting Powerplay had yielded 33 runs for 2 wickets. Swann was out next, trying to force the pace, caught & bowled by Shakib, & then Rubel Hossain claimed Bresnan. Collingwood was getting wasted at the runners up end, as wickets kept falling, & finally England were all out for 225 runs. For Bnagladesh, Abdur Razzak was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 32 in 10 overs, with able assistance from Naem Islam, Shakib & others.
This does not look like a 300 runs pitch & Bangladesh would need Tamim to fire at the top & need a win to remain in the contention.

Bangladesh started their reply in whirlwind fashion, as Tamim tore into the English attack. The first 7 overs yielded 46 runs, as Strauss turned to his probably best bowler Greame Swann. It was however Bresnan who made the first breakthrough, as he bowled the dangerous Tamim for a quickfire 38 in 26 balls, as the score read 52 for 1 in the 9th over. Two more wickets fell quickly, & at the end of 15 overs, the score read 75 for 3. It was now upto Captain Shakib ul Hassan to take him team ahead towards victory. Kayes eventually got to his fifty & looked like coasting, when a horrid run out cost his wicket, as Bangladesh score read 156 for 4 in 32 overs. It was a gift to the harried English players on the field, as Mushfiqur came in. Runs simply dried, as for 25 deliveries, there were just 5 runs scored. Pressure got to Bangladeshi skipper & he was bowled by Swann, as the score crawled to 162 for 5. The match was even now, as runs were hard to come by. Someone would have had to score for the hosts, as wickets were falling in a heap. It was suddenly 166 for 7 in 38.1 overs, still 60 runs to get. Ajmal Shahzad had picked up 3 wickets to get England right back in the game. Since the dismissal of Keyes, only 11 runs had been added, as 4 important wickets were lost. At 169 for 8 in the 40th over, it seemed done & dusted for Bangladesh, as crowds started to thin away. But for the 9th pair there was drama in store. From nowhere, came the spirited Shafiul Islam & Mahmudullah & rose like Sphinx. Both defied the English attack & also scored precious runs. Shafiul especially was severe & scored runs from almost nowhere, as the pair added 58 runs in 9.2 overs to take Bangladesh to a completely improbable win by 2 wickets, with 6 balls to spare. A belief that took them home & brought them right back in the tournament. A very close match, where the Bengal tigers got the better of the English. Shafiul was carried to the pavilion on the shoulders of his team mates, as the grounds men joyously did a lap of honour.
This means now, the Group B opens up now, & the toss up for the 4th team could be well between Bangladesh & England.

Man of the Match : Imrul Keyes for his very important 60 runs, & the catch to dismiss Eon Morgan, when England were going strong. However, I would have wanted Shafiul to get this award for not giving up & batting like a dream to get his side a victory.

World Cup 2011 : West Indies vs Ireland

2011-03-11T22:33:00.003+05:30

West Indies met giant killers Ireland at Mohali today, in what was a do or die for both the teams. Ireland won the toss, & keeping in mind their brilliant run chase victory against the England, they chose to field. For the Windies, mercurial Gayle was out with an injury & veteran Chanderpaul opened the innings with Devon Smith. Both were cautious at the beginning to ensure that there are no collapses, & runs came in a trickle. The opening pair, put up 89 valuable runs, before Chanderpaul was caught by Porterfield off Kevin O'Brien, for a well made 35. Next man Darren Bravo failed to add to the total, & was out in the same over for a duck, leaving the score at 89 for 2. Sarvan, in next, tried to build with Smith & took the score to 130, before getting out in the 32nd over. It looked like another Windies collapse, as runs were hard to come by & wickets were falling. Big man Pollard came in next & batting power play was taken. This paid off for the Windies, as Pollard smashed the Irish attack all over the park, as he does, & along with Smith at the other end also getting a momentum, 57 runs came in the power play. Suddenly the score was looking good & Pollard in ominous form. However, Smith fell against the run of play, just after getting his maiden hundred, with the score at 218 for 4 in the 43rd over. The Windies looked poised for a huge total, but just after Smith, Captain Sammy & then keeper Thomas too fell in quick succession & suddenly the innings started to stutter. Pollard looked the only hope, as the score read 248 for 6 at the end of 47 overs. 48th over was huge, as Pollard launched into Kevin O'Brien hitting two sixes & a four, as the over yielded 20 runs. Pollard had marched into his 90s, looking in murderous form. But in the very next over from Mooney, Pollard holed out at long off for an outstanding 94 off just 55 deliveries, inclusive of 5 massive sixes. Russell, in his debut was bowled the very next delivery, & again the Windies innings stuttered, with score at 267 for 8. What looked good for a total in excess of 300, finally ended at 275, all out. 4 wickets had fallen in the last two overs, including that of Pollard which restricted the innings.
For Ireland Kevin though expensive, picked up 4 wickets for 71 runs & Mooney got 2. The Windies innings revolved around Devon Smith with 107 from 133 balls, Keiron Pollard with 94 magnificent runs off just 55 balls & old warhorse Chanderpaul with patient 35 off 62 balls up the order.

The Ireland run chase got into trouble early on as Stirling was plucked by Sammy off Benn, with total reading 6 for 1 in the 2nd over. However, Captain Porterfield & Joyce steadied the innings & at the end of 10 overs, the score read, 40 for 1, as Ireland cautiously approached their run chase. However Porterfield was out soon in the 12th over, with the score at 42 for 2. Neil O'Brien was out for 25, as the score read 86 for 3. 100 runs for the innings came in the 24th over, as Joyce steadied the ship with Wilson at the other end. At drinks it was 148 for 3 in 36 overs, a good launching pad for the Irish to overhaul the Windies target. However, Joyce fell for a very well complied 84, as the score read 177 for 4 in the 38th over. Ireland still needed another 99 runs from 75 deliveries with 6 wickets in hand & Kevin walking in. However, KOB could not light up the stadium, as he fell prey to a Sammy delivery & Pollard took a marvellous catch.....187 for 5, as Cusack walked in. It was now 85 runs to get in 60 deliveries, with 5 wickets in hand. Sammy got the well set Wilson LBW in the 42nd over, as referral confirmed the decision. The score 199 for 6, & the asking rate at 9.62. Benn claimed Cusack in the next over, as Thomas behind fumbled but in the end made a smart stumping. 200 runs came on board in the 43rd over, as the target was now 75 runs from 42 deliveries. However, the resistance kept depleting, as Botha got run out by Sammy. Finally it was all over in the 49th over, as Benn picked up his 4th wicket bowling out Dockrell, & the Irish challenge ended at 231 runs all out. The Irish camp would be sore about the decision which sent back a set Wilson, though it was going to be an uphill task even then. The Windies had registered a sound victory with 44 runs, even in the absence of Chris Gayle & are now looking good to reach the quarterfinals.

Man of the Match : Keiron Pollard for his superb 94 runs with the bat.

World Cup 2011 : Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe

2011-03-11T01:27:00.001+05:30

Sri Lanka took on Zimbabwe at Pallekele, with a clear intent of cementing the quarterfinal slot. Zimbabwe won the toss & elected to field, a decision, they would have rued later. Both Tharanga & Dilshan came into bat with clear intentions of hitting out. The platform was there for takings, as these two launched into a weak Zimbabwean attack. 77 runs came in the first 10 overs, & at the first drinks break, the score read 106 for no loss in the 17th over, as Dilshan was going berserk. His 50 came in 43 balls. Tharanga soon completed his fifty, as the Lankans raced to 150 in the 25th over. Dilshan posted his century in 95 balls, as 200 of the innings came up. At the 2nd drinks break, the Zimbabwean attack was still looking for the 1st wicket, & the score was 217 for no loss in 36 overs. Tharanga soon completed his century as well, & the opening partnership carnage continued against the hapless bowling attack till the 45th over, when Tharanga got out to a tired lofted shot in the deep. The opening partnership had amassed 282 runs, falling short of the highest ever opening of 286 runs. Dilshan probably lost his rhythm & interest in the innings after that & he too holed out in the deep in the very next over. By the he had mauled the bowling for a fabulous 144 off just 131 balls. Wickets started to fall regularly now, as the innings approached end & finally the score ended at 327 for 6. A mammoth total for Zimbabwe to chase. For Zimbabwe, Mpofu was the most expensive bowler, though impressive as well, as he took 4 wickets for 62 runs, in 7 overs.

The reply was strong & purposeful, as Brendon Taylor & Chakabva stitched a brilliant partnership for the opening wicket. When the 1st wicket fell at 116, as Murali bowled Chakabva, the pressure of the target got to the batting, & wickets started to crumble against a probing Lankan attack. Taylor left for a brilliant 80 off just 72 balls, with the total at 132 for 3 in the 25th over, & with him went away the zeal to put up a fight. The team was all out for 188 in the 39th over, as Dilshan chanced his arm with the ball as well. He claimed 4 wickets for a mere 4 runs in 3 overs, to severe the batting card. Murali chipped in with 3 wickets & Angelo Mathew picked up 2. It was all over, with the Lankans victorious by 139 runs. A berth in the quarterfinals assured now.

Man of the Match : Without a doubt, Tilakratna Dilshan for his 144 runs with the bat & 4 wickets with the ball. He is now finding form, which is going to be extremely important for the Lankan cause.

World Cup 2011 : India vs Netherlands...

2011-03-09T23:59:00.001+05:30

India took on Netherlands at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi, clearly looking at a win to cement place in the quarterfinals. Borren won the toss for Netherlands & elected to bat in a sluggish pitch. The watchful batting paid dividends, as the score crossed 50 runs in the 14th over, with out a loss. However, as spin was introduced, Piyush Chawla claimed Szwarczynski immediately, with the score at 56 for 1. Baressi got out soon after & Doeschate also did not last long, as the innings started to stutter. it was 100 for 4 in the 30th over & 151 for 8 in he 43rd over. Captain Borren used the long handle to hit out & Bukhari to chipped in for the 9th wicket to take the score to 189 all out in the 47th over.
In bowling Zaheer, as usual was accurate & quick, claiming 3 for 20 runs, while Yuvi & Chawla chipped in with two wickets apiece.

The chase looked easy & simple, but the Indians made quite a heavy weather of the same. Sehwag got out in the 8th over, for 39 in 26 deliveries & Sachin left in the 11th over for 27 off 22 deliveries. Both scoring quickly but did not last long. Pathan, Gambhir & Kohli too left after making decent starts, as the innings stood at 139 for 5 in the 24th over. Finally, Yuvi along with Captain Dhoni took the team to victory in 37 overs, for 5 wickets, as Yuvi got his successive fifty, as Dhoni laboured to keep ends in control.
The victory takes India to the top of the group B, & assures the quarterfinal berth.

Man of the Match : Yuvraj Singh for his 51 unbeaten runs in 73 balls & 2 wickets haul while bowling. Satisfactory & decent but not really illuminating, as a performance.

World Cup 2011 : New Zealand vs Pakistan...

2011-03-08T23:34:00.001+05:30

New Zealand took on Pakistan at Pallekele Stadium, Sri Lanka, knowing fully well, that a loss here could upset their World Cup campaign ahead. When Vetorri won the toss, he was clear about batting first & putting up a total.
As Mucullum & Guptill walked into the middle, Shoaib started the bowling for Pakistan. McCullum smote the 3rd ball of that match for a huge six, but the very next delivery knocked his off stump, as the men in green huddled in delight. The danger man was gone, without much damage. How & Guptill pushed the score to 55 in the 13th over, when How got out LBW to Umar Gul, for a scratchy 4. Taylor came in next, & looked set for a big score. Guptill completed his fifty & the got out, with the score reading 112 for 3 in the 29th over. Franklin fell immediately after, as Ross Taylor took charge. With Styris, Nathan & Oram lending him the much needed support, Taylor made the Pakistani attack pay for loose deliveries, as runs started to leak. Taylor remained not out till the end for a brilliant 131 in just 124 deliveries, including 7 over boundaries, as the total reached a formidable 302 for 7. The 47th over by Shoaib Akhtar was murdered by Taylor for 28runs. Every bowler, barring Umar Gul was hit all over the park. For the 7th wicket partnership between Oram & Taylor, 50 runs came in just 15 deliveries. Gul had impressive figures of 3 for 32 in his 10 overs. Kamran behind the stumps had a horrendous day.
Reply by Pakistan was simply disastrous, as wickets tumbled like nine pins. By the 18th over it was 66 for 6. Against a 300 + target to chase, the batting on display was unbelievably brittle. Some late order long handle by Abdul Razzaq brought some semblance to the score, as it went past 100 & then 150. Razzaq ended with a fighting 62 & Umar Gul contributed a meaningful 34 unbeaten runs, but it was all over as Pakistan innings folded for a paltry 192 all out. Southee took 3 wickets, while, Mills, Nathan & Styris claimed 2 apiece.
This Pakistani team is very good on a day & equally bad the other. Very very unpredictable.

Man of the Match : Ross Taylor for his brilliant 131 unbeaten runs.

World Cup 2011 : India vs Ireland...

2011-03-06T23:47:00.001+05:30

India took on giant killers Ireland at Bangalore today. It was a packed stadium, after the Irish team's stupendous victory over England. Having won the toss, Dhoni chose to field.
Zaheer started the proceedings for India, & got immediate purchase from the pitch, as he forced Porterfield to nick one to slip in the very 3rd delivery of the match. Yusuf Pathan missed the catch, as the first run came on board. However, Zaheer, coming full steam bowled Stirling, in the very next delivery, as the crowd roared to life. In the 3rd over, Zaheer, had Joyce nicking one again, & Dhoni made no mistake behind, the score reading 9 for 2. Ireland looked in trouble, but did not give up. Porterfield along with Neil O'Brien, started to build a partnership & took the score past 100 in the 23rd over. Neil however, fell prey to a brilliant run out by Kohli for a well made 46, in the 27th over & the score at 122 for 3. With spin introduced, runs were difficult to come by, & Yuvi with his spin cast a spell over the Irish batsmen. Hero of the last match, Kevin O'Brien fell to a return catch to Yuvi, failing to control the shot, & the slide started. From a situation, where 250 looked well on the cards, the Ireland innings ended at 207, in the 48th over. Captain Porterfield contributed with a valiant 75. Most of the wickets fell to soft dismissals, as the Indian bowling lacked punch. It was Yuvi with a record haul of 5 for 31 along with Zaheer with 3 for 30, that tamed the Irish batters. These two had saved India, from an otherwise ordinary bowling effort.

Indian reply was hard fought, as Sehwag & Gambhir failed at the top. Tendulkar too got LBW playing a sweep shot, & the score read 87 for 3 in the 21st over. The Irish fielders were livewire on the ground, & runs were hard to come by. Kohli got run out needlessly, after a misunderstanding with Yuvi, & the score was 100 for 4 in the 24th over....match on. However, Yuvi along with Dhoni & later with Yusuf Pathan got India home, victorious. Pathan, actually eased the pressure with 3 massive sixes, as Yuvi patiently completed a well deserved half century. In the end, target was achieved in the 46th over, & India had won the game by 5 wickets. Yuvi became the first ever player to claim 5 wickets, his career best effort in ODIs, & score fifty runs in one match, in a World Cup encounter. Viv Richards & Paul Collingwood are the only two players, who have claimed 5 wickets & have scored a century in World Cup.

Man of the Match : Yuvraj Singh was the obvious choice with 5 wickets haul & a half century.

World Cup 2011 : South Africa vs England...

2011-03-06T17:57:00.005+05:30

Weekend Dhamaka with South Africans taking on England at Chennai.

Strauss won the toss for England & decided to bat first. The decision backfired in the very first over, as Graeme Smith got Peterson to open the attack with spin. The 3rd delivery consumed the English Captain & in form Andrew Strauss for a duck as he holed out to AB at deep midwicket, & then in the last delivery of the over, Peiterson snicked the ball to Kallis standing at slip. Double blow for England as the score read, 3 for 2. In the 5th over again it was Peterson, as he claimed Ian Bell, caught & bowled, with score tottering at 15 for 3. Next in Bopara & Trott struggled as runs were hard to come by, but they grimly held the wicket. However, in the 30th over, just after he had reached his fifty, Trott fell, caught & bowled to Tahir, with score at 114 for 4. Bopara continued to fight & eventually got to his well deserved fifty, but the fall of wickets continued. At the end of 40 overs, it was 149 for 6, when batting power play was taken. However, it did not improve anything for the English batters, as wickets tumbled, with Tahir claiming two in the 44th over. Swann did hit some lusty blows towards the end, & finally the innings came to an end at 171, in the 46th over.
Barring Trott, Bopara & Swann, no one looked comfortable in the middle, as England slumped against a very disciplined attack.
For the Proteas, Imran Tahir claimed 4 wickets, as Peterson got 3, Morkel 2 & Steyn got 1, as Captain Smith used as many as 7 bowlers.

In reply, the Proteas started cautiously, & for the 1st wicket, added 63 runs, before Smith was caught behind off Swann for 22. Amla was the next to go, bowled by Broad for a well made 42, as the score was 75 for 2 in the 18th over. Kallis's poor form continued as he scratched for his 15, before getting out with score at 82. AB de Villiers & du Plessis joined in the middle to resurrect the innings, & the South African camp looked headed comfortably to victory, but there was more drama in the game. In the 32nd over, AB was bowled by Anderson, & then du Plessis was smartly run out, & Duminy was bowled by Anderson again....all this in the spate of 11 deliveries, without a run added. The score was 124 for 6. Peterson too was caught behind soon after, reducing the score to 127 for 7 in 37 overs. The chokers tag was coming to haunt the Proteas again.....pressure getting to the batting line up, & suddenly looking extremely brittle. Dale Styen in with van Wyk batted with resolute & added 33 runs to revive the innings. But Wyk bowled by Bresnan in the 47th over, tilted the match back & then in then in the next over, Stuart Broad cleaned the Proteas resistance getting both Steyn & Morkel, as South Africa were left stranded at 165. In the end England victorious by 6 runs. Phew, what a match.
Disappointing to see South Africa crumble under pressure yet again. At one stage they were well on top with 124 for 3 in 31 overs, but they choked yet again to lose the game like this. Understandably, the pitch was not very conducive to batting, but then you are expected to take that in stride. for England it was a do or die match, & they came winners, mostly due to a much improved bowling performance.

Man of the Match : Surprisingly Ravi Bopara for his match top score of 60 runs. I would have felt that Stuart Broad should have earned this award for bowling England to victory with his very crucial 4 for 15 in just 6.4 overs.

World Cup 2011 : Australia vs Sri Lanka...

2011-03-05T21:55:00.001+05:30

Sri Lanka against Australia...a mouth watering contest, between the two finalists from the last World Cup in the Caribeans, ending in a tame tie due to rain.

Sangakkara won the toss & elected to bat, with a clear intention of putting up a formidable total & then challenge the reigning Champions. Brett Lee & Shaun Tait started the bowling for the visitors, as Dilshan & Tharanga took guard at the centre. In the 2nd over itself there was enough evidence of the fierce competition between the two teams. Tait steaming in to Dilshan & getting dispatched for a boundary....immediate exchange of heated words.....however, Dilshan lost the fight as he edged one to Cameroon White in the 2nd slip. It was 6 for 1, as the Aussies huddled for a mini victory. Next man in Sanga, decided to take the fight to the Aussies, as Tharanga tried keeping things quiet at the other end. However, in the 7th over, Steve Smith took a blinder, as Tharanga cut Lee towards point....it was a stunner of a catch, & suddenly, the Lankans were on the back foot, score reading 31 for 2. At crease the most experienced Lankan pair, Sanga & Mahela, obviously had a tough task of building the innings.
However, Mahela fell to a brilliant run out orchestrated by Steve Smith against the run of play & the Lankans looked in a spot of bother with the score at 75 for 3 in the 16th over. As Samaraweera came in & joined Captain Sanga in the middle, the sky was turning dark, with prospects of rain imminent.
Anyways, Sanga completed his fifty in style , as rain started to pour in. By the 33rd over the score read 146 for 3, with Sanga on 73 & Samarweera at 34, looking at a recovery. However, rain forced the Umpires to call off play, & that was that for the day. The match finally abandoned as a tie. A shame to lose this match to weather conditions, as it had all the makings of a humdinger.

World Cup 2011 : West Indies vs Bangladesh...

2011-03-04T23:08:00.000+05:30

West Indies against Bangladesh at Mirpur was expected to be a close encounter, as both the teams needed a win to consolidate progress to next stage.
Shakib Ul Hasan won the toss, much to the roar of the crowd & elected to bat. Having defeated Ireland last week in a low scoring thriller, Bangladesh were expected to stretch the Windies attack. However, the din in the stadium simply vanished into a hushed silence, as the 3rd delivery of the match from Roach, was nicked by Tamim to Sammy in the 2nd slip for a duck. This kind of let the cat amongst the pigeons, as the Bangladeshi batsmen went one after the other, in harakiri. barring Junaid Siddique, who made 25 & Ashraful who made 11, no one reached double figures. In a mere 18.5 overs, the hosts were all out for a shameful 58. Lowest total ever by a Full Member nation in the World Cup. The Windies needed the services of only three bowlers, Roach who took 3 for 19, Benn who took 4 for 18 & Captain Sammy who chipped in with 3 for 21.

In reply, the Windies wrapped up the proceedings in 12.2 overs, losing one wicket, that of Devon Smith. Gayle hit a breezy 37 off 36 deliveries to complete the mis - match.
With England's loss to Ireland, the winner of this match would be quite firmly placed to reach the quarterfinals.

Man of the Match : Kemar Roach for his fiery 3 for 19 in just 6 overs. His 2nd award in successive matches.

World Cup 2011 : New Zealand vs Zimbabwe...

2011-03-04T22:06:00.002+05:30

New Zealand against Zimbabwe at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmadabad.
Zimbabwe won the toss & elected to bat, but got off to a disastrous start, losing Coventry in the 2nd over run out by Bennett, with just 2 runs on the board. They never recovered from this & wickets tumbled one after the other. In the 15th over, they were reduced to a miserable 46 for 5, with only opener Taylor valiantly fighting from one end. Some late order fightback by Utseya, Cremer, Lamb & Price took the score past 150, & finally it was 162 all out in the 47th over. Taylor top scored with 44. For the Kiwis, Southee picked up 3 wickets for 29 runs, while, Mills & Vettori scalped 2 each.

In reply, openers, Guptill & McCullum, batted cautiously initially to ensure, there are no nasty hiccups, & later accelerated to run home a thumping victory by 10 wickets, in 33.3 overs. Guptill was unbeaten at 86, while McCullum made 76 not out. Both batted with ease, as the Zimbabwean attack failed to make any mark.

Man of the Match : MJ Guptill for his 86 off 108 balls.

World Cup 2011 : Pakistan vs Canada...

2011-03-03T23:58:00.000+05:30

Pakistan against Canada at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, a match expected to be a cake walk for the maverick Pakistanis.
Afridi won the toss & elected to bat, with the idea of putting up a big score & get necessary batting practice for the whole of 50 overs. After their easy victory over Kenya and an impressive upset victory over the Lankans, they decided to rest Shoaib Akhtar from this game. However, it was probably overconfidence that spilled over onto the batsmen & they started losing wickets to a resurgent Canadian attack. Openers, Md Hafeez left for 11, with score at 16 for 1 in the 4th over & Ahmed Shehzad got out for 12 with score at 42 for 2 in the 9th over. Younis Khan & Kamran Akmal did not last long either, & suddenly it was 67 for 4 in the 16th over. Misbah & Umar Akmal put up some kind of resistance & took the score to 140, when, in the 35th over, Umar got out LBW to Balaji Rao for a well made 48 off 68 deliveries, missing out on what would have been a deserving fifty. In walked Captain Afridi, with a clear intent of hitting out of trouble. However, as I have said earlier about the Pakistan side. They are brilliant one day & mediocre just the next day. Afridi, Misbah, Razzaq & Riaz fell one after the other...as if in a heap. The final score showed a poor 184 all out in the 43rd over, & this was inclusive of 24 extras !!! The Canadian attack had managed to bowl out a strong but complacent Pakistani side with 8 overs to spare. Baidwan with 3 wickets & Cheema, Balaji Rao and Hansra clipping two apiece. The last four wickets had gone for just 3 runs, as the Canadian attack made good use of the overcast conditions.

Though the target was not too steep, it was Canada's frail batting order against a top quality Pakistan attack, even in the absence of Shoiab Akhtar. As was expected, wickets fell cheaply. First to go was Gunasekhara, LBW to Umar Gul with score reading 16 for 1 in the 4th over. In the very next over, NR Kumar fell to Abdul Razzaq, with the score at 16 for 2. By the end of 12th over, the score was 30 for 2, as Bagai & Surkari struggled to keep wickets intact, runs being hard to come. Bagai fell with the total at 44, & it looked curtains for Canada. But for the 4th wicket, Surkari & Hansra stayed firm on the wicket taking the score to 104. The bowling looked jaded at that stage, & it looked to be a good contest. However, Afridi decided to take over the bowling & suddenly the match turned on its head. Wickets fell like nine pins, as Afridi ran through the Canadian defence taking 5 wickets in a jiffy.....it was 5 wickets for just 23 runs. It was all over with Canada shot out for 138. Pakistan wins by 46 runs. Three in a row for them, & now a berth in the last eight looks certain.

Man of the Match : Who else but Shahid Afridi....he is now the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 14 wickets.

World Cup 2011 : South Africa vs Netherlands...

2011-03-03T22:55:00.003+05:30

South Africa against Netherlands at Mohali, Chandigarh.
Borren won the toss for Netherlands & decided to put South Africa into bat, maybe prompted by the overcast conditions. His decision, was vindicated by his bowlers, who got purchase out of the wicket, & the Proteas struggled early on. Greame Smith, looked scratchy from the beginning & in the 13th over lost his leg stump to Loots, with score reading 51 for 1. Next man Kallis, did not survive long either & in the 16th over it was 58 for 2. Hashim Amla, having survived a scratchy start, along with AB de Villiers now started to build the innings. 100 runs for South Africa came in the 23rd over, & 150 in the 34th. Meanwhile, Amla & AB had registered their individual half centuries, & the partnership blossomed, as 100 runs for the 3rd wicket came in 98 deliveries. Amla duly completed his century in 121 balls, in the 40th over, as the partnership swelled to 150 runs in 141 deliveries. Batting powerplay was taken in the 42nd over, as the Proteas looked at piling on the run rate. Floodgates opened as AB took to bowling. His century came in mere 88 deliveries, including a huge six, as he overtook Amla shortly. The 44th over went for 25 runs, as AB was on a rampage, with 3 sixes. Runs flowed, as the hapless Dutch fielders could only retrieve the ball from the boundary. Against the run of play, Amla got out in the 45th over, for a well compiled 113 off 130 balls, caught at point. the score read 279 for 3. The pair had added 221 runs & taken South Africa to a commanding position. AB followed soon after, getting run out going for a near impossible 2nd run, but by then he had already smashed 134 from 98 deliveries, with 14 boundaries & 4 massive sixes. The batting powerplay had realised 69 runs for 2 wickets, as team Orangie was breathing in relief seeing the dismissal of AB de Villiers. 300 runs for the innings came in the 47th over, as Duminy & Plessis were completing the finishing act. 48th over produced 22 runs, the 49th 12 runs & the 50th over produced 20 runs, as Duminy went berserk, hitting 40 off just 15 deliveries, with 2 boundaries & 4 sixes before holing out in the deep midwicket boundary. The 5th wicket partnership had gathered 66 runs from just 25 deliveries. The innings finally ended at 351 for 5.
For all the fairy tales of yesterday, when Irish storm in the form of Kevin O'Brien had consumed the English attack, I dare say, the Netherlands would find it extremely difficult to overtake this target, against a very potent bowling of South Africa.

The reply from the Dutch team was cautious, as they lost Kervezee for 10 at 26 for 1 in the 6th over & Cooper for 9 at 46 for 2 in the 12th over, both to Kallis. In between, Barresi escaped, as Morkel put down an easy catch at mid on. The Dutch reply was looking rather shaky, & at the end of 15 overs, the score stood at 55 for 2, with the asking rate at almost 8.50.....extremely difficult to achieve, unless someone plays a maverick role. Spin introduced in the 17th over, slowed the run chase further, as the batsmen were unable to make big hits. In the 22nd over, Zuiderent hit Peterson for a six over midwicket, but fell the very next delivery, out LBW, with the score at 81 for 3, & in the very next over, Duminy consumed Barresi, for a well made 44 off 65 balls, as the score reached 83 for 4. Doeschate & Grooth were the next in, but failed to make any impact, as Steyn got Doeschate, with the score tottering at 100 for 5 in the 28th over, asking rate having climbed to almost 12 an over. The pressure of the chase, got to the batsmen, as one wicket after the other fell. At the end of 33 overs, the score read a dismal 111 for 8....the match as good as over. Imran Tahir, the mystery spinner for Proteas, wrapped up the innings in the 35th over, with two LBWs, as the score ended at 120. For South Africa, all the bowlers looked good & mean in their spells, with Tahir picking up 3 wickets, while Peterson & Kallis chipped in with two apiece.
South Africa victorious by a huge 231 runs. They now have two impressive wins from two outings, & are looking good & sure to reach the next stage. Would they be able to keep their momentum going, is the question that would cross every mind, as the team is looking to shed their eternal chokers tag !!!

Man of the Match : Undoubtedly AB de Villiers for his fascinating 134 from just 98 deliveries.

World Cup 2011 : England vs Ireland...

2011-03-02T23:23:00.004+05:30

England against Ireland, today was supposed to be a regular one sided affair....a certain win for England, by most. Especially, after England's out of the world performance in their last match against India, at the same venue, one hardly gave the Irish team any chance.

Well Andrew Stauss won the toss for England & elected to bat. Carrying the good form from their last match, both Strauss & Peiterson started middling the ball & score raced to 72 for no loss in the first 10 overs. Strauss was the first to go for 34 off 37 deliveries with score at 91 in the 14th over & Peiterson followed soon after with a well made 59 off 50 balls, with score at 111 for 2 in the 17th over. However, this did not bring down the scoring rate, & next in Trott & Bell, tore apart the Irish attack, pushing the score to 278, before Bell fell for a brilliant 81 off 86. Trott also lost his wicket soon at 288, in the 45th over. The final score soared to a healthy 327 for 8.
For Ireland, Mooney had fought hard to pick up 4 wickets for 63. Everyone watching the match, at that stage, felt it was a sure shot English victory. It looked too steep a total to chase for Ireland.
The Irish chase started disastrously, with Captain Porterfield bowled by Anderson in the first ball, with no run on the board. Stirling, in next fought it out with Joyce & took the score to 62, before falling for a well made 34 off 28 deliveries. By the 25th over, the score was reading 111 for 5, still more than 200 runs to get, it looked an impossible target. As they say, "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. "
This is when probably Kevin O'Brien & Cusack, took over with nerves & intent of steel. The partnership was aggressive from the word go, as 50 runs came up in 31 balls, & 100 runs in just 61. Kevin had reached his 50 in 30 balls, with 3 massive sixes. While, Strauss was running out of ideas, these two batsmen in the middle kept hitting out. Miserable fielding by the Englishmen helped the Irish cause, as catches were dropped galore, by butter finger English fielders. The bowlers, too added to the misery by maintaining a poor length & line, as the score mounted. When Cusack finally ran himself out, selflessly, it was 273 for 6 in the 42nd over. Target now, only 55 runs off 51 deliveries...very very gettable. In came Mooney, as cool as the moon, as England were still in with a chance. A few dot balls, & the pressure was mounting, when Mooney started hitting boundaries & along with Kevin took Ireland to sniffing distance of victory, when Kevin was run out. 12 runs from 12 when Kevin ran himself out. But by then history had been made. The burly Kevin O'Brien had smashed the English attack to shreds, in reaching an unbelievable 113 off just 63 balls. Century in only 50 balls....a World Cup record, previous one was by the big man Mathew Hayden. Kevin has also hit the longest six of the tournament till now, a huge 107 meters!!!
Ireland had defeated a completely bewildered England by 3 wickets with 5 deliveries still to spare. It was the highest run chase victory in a World Cup match. All one could say was Phew !! What a match..... certainly an Irish coffee delight.....strong & delectably tasty...ummmm....The Irish party would certainly go late into the morning....& why not????, after all, this is what dreams are made of......
The World Cup is now really heating up...& in good measures....

Man of the Match : Kevin O'Brein for his fantafabulous 113 for 63 deliveries, with 5 sixes.

World Cup 2011 : Sri Lanka vs Kenya...

2011-03-01T23:43:00.002+05:30

Today's match was between Sri Lanka & Kenya. Kenya having lost their previous two matches & not looking good & Sri Lanka, smarting from their loss to Pakistan in the previous match at the same venue in Colombo.

Kenya won the toss & elected to bat. The Lankans had drafted in Malinga in this game for the much needed match practice, as he would have to be a very important & potent part of their bowling attack.
The openers got out very quickly, one to Kulasekara & the other to Malinga, with the score showing 8 for 2 in 3 overs. Howver, next in Obuya brothers dug in & to their credit, partnered almost 100 runs, before Malinga again came in & clipped one in the 32nd over, to peg back the score at 102 for 3. Veteran Steve Tikolo also did not last long. He smashed Angelo Mathews to point region, where Dilshan plucked him out of thin air. It was a superb catch for dismissal & the score read 120 for 4. Wickets kept tumbling one after the other, as Malinga ran through the innings with his slinging yorkers. In the end Kenya folded for a paltry 142 in 44 overs, with Malinga ending with figures of 6 for 38 in 7.4 overs, including a hat trick, his second in World Cup. What a beginning for him in this World Cup, as the crowd was in raptures. Barring the two Obuya brothers, making fifty each, no one else managed a double figure mark.

Reply by the Lankans was whirlwind as expected. Dilshan came with a mindset of smashing each & every delivery. He & Tharanga put up 72 runs in 8.2 overs for the opening partnership, as Kenyan bowlers looked clueless. Dilshan got out trying to force the pace, that was not necessary, for 44 runs off 30 deliveries. In came Sangakkara & along with Tharanga, look the team past the target in 18.4 overs. In the end Tharanga was unbeaten at 67 from 59 balls & Sanga at 27 from 24. They had 188 balls to spare, & it was a convincing victory for the Lankans. Dilshan, will have to put his head down & play till at least 35-40 overs to ensure that Sri Lanka does well with stronger opponents ahead in the tournament.

Man of the Match : Without a doubt Lasith Malinga, for his figures of 6 for 38, including a hat trick. The only bowler as yet to claim two hat tricks in World Cup arena.

World Cup 2011 : West Indies vs Netherlands...

2011-02-28T23:57:00.034+05:30

West Indies against Netherlands at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi.

Borren won the toss for the Dutch & put the Windies into bat. Devon Smith & Chris Gayle came into open the innings. Gayle was watchful at the beginning, & he took 24 deliveries to find his first boundary, as Smith at the other end started to blaze. 50 runs came in the 10th over & 100 in the 17th over, with a better than run a ball strike rate. Smith left for 53 off 51 deliveries, bringing in new sensation Darren Bravo, who started striking sweetly from the first delivery. he hit two towering sixes, but did not finally make it big, as he got out for 30 off 38. Gayle at the other end had started to hit out along with Sarvan. The score reached 196 in the 37th over, when Gayle holed out for a well made 80 off 110 balls......very unlike Gayle, but today he contributed with a big score. The scoring till now had been decent, as big man Pollard strolled into the middle. Batting powerplay was taken as he came in & Pollard made every delivery count. He was his ruthless best & pounded the Netherlands attack to shreds. His 50 came in just 23 deliveries, with four hits to the boundary & four towering sixes. By the time he got out in the 48th over for a whirlwind 60 off 27 balls, the total score had reached 312 for 7. The final score read 330 for 8, as Sarvan missed out on a half century. For once the Windies had displayed the Calypso flair of batting that the world so loved to see.
The Dutch attack was patchy, & lacked both intent & purpose, that they had displayed against England in their first match.

In their run chase, Netherlands were immediately in trouble, as the wicketkeeper Barresi got out in the 2nd over to Roach, the score reading 2 for 1. The second to go was Kervezee, stumpted for 14 by Benn, with the total at 26 for 2. In came the centurion of the last match, Doeschate, with a grim face. However, this was not his day, as Benn got him plumb LBW in front of the leg stump, & the referral confirmed the same. It was now 34 for 3. Roach claimed the 4th wicket in the very next over, & the Dutch were reeling at 35 for 4. The next to follow was Grooth, & now half the side is back in the pavilion for a mere 36 runs 7 it was only 11 overs. In the 15th over, the score reached 50. The sixth wicket partnership added another 57 runs, which in the final score turned out to be the best partnership. Once Mudassar Bukhari was out in the 30th over, Roach just cleaned the tail with a hat trick & Netherlands was all out at 115 in the 32nd over.
Windies victorious by 215 runs.
A good match for the Windies, with their top order clicking with the bat & then the bowling wrapping off the opposition with almost 18 overs to spare.

Man of the Match : Kemar Roach for his 6 for 27 in 8.3 overs, including a hat trick.

World Cup 2011 : Zimbabwe vs Canada...

2011-02-28T22:06:00.000+05:30

Zimbabwe against Canada at Nagpur, was supposed to be the fight between the minnows.
Zimbabwe won the toss & elected to bat and immediately got into trouble losing both the openers within 4 overs with score reading 7 runs for 2 wickets. However, Tatenda Taibu & Ervine, the next batsmen in dug in to build a partnership. Both batted with authority & thrashed the Canadian attack, putting on 181 runs on board. When Ervine was finally caught behind by Bagai, he had put on 85 invaluable runs for just 81 deliveries. Taibu did not last long after that & holed out to Davison for a brilliant 98 of 99 deliveries, in the 34th over.....he missed, what would have been a well deserved hundred. The late order too contributed with the long handle & the final score was a huge 298 for 9 in 50 overs.

This chase would obviously be extremely steep for Canada & the batsmen just could not take the pressure. It was more of a parade, with batsmen in & out.....as the score limped along. Finally it was all over in 43 overs, with the score of 123. The Zimbabwean bowlers enjoyed the cushion of a large total & Price, Cremer, Utseya & Lamb all were amongst wickets.
It was a big win for Zimbabwe by 175 runs.

Man of the Match ; Tatenda Taibu, the wicketkeeper batsman for Zimbabwe for his brilliant 98.

World Cup 2011 : India vs England...

2011-02-27T23:40:00.002+05:30

India against England today at Bangalore - expected to a big match & what a humdinger it turned out to be.

Dhoni won the toss & as expected decided to bat first, with Sachin & Sehwag coming in to start the innings. Sehwag was circumspect today & his timing was not the best. But he batted the way he does & after a quickfire 35of 26 deliveries, he nicked Bresnan behind, with the score reading 46 for 1 in the 8th over. Next man Gambhir, however settled down quickly & looked to hit over the top, with regularity. 50 came up in the 9th over & the drinks, the score was 96 for 1 in 17 overs. Sachin looked sublime, & hit the first six of the match, straight over the bowler's head, into the stands.....100 up for the team at almost a run a ball, with the crowd going wild. The partnership prospered & by the time Gambhir was bowled by Swann in the 30th over, he had made his half century. 200 for India came in 34th over, 250 in the 41st over & 300 in the 46th, as runs just flowed. Sachin went on to register yet another century, which included 5 sixes, timing the ball as sweetly as ever. This was his 5th century in the World Cup, most by any batsmen, & his 47th ODI ton. A vintage performance indeed....
Yuvi too contributed with a half century & Dhoni also hit well. When Yuvi got out in the 46th over, it was 305 for 4 & with Pathan & Virat to come in, we all were looking at some real fireworks. However, Tim Bresnan bowled his heart out & caused a mini collapse, folding the Indian innings for 338 all out, still a very formidable total to chase. India should have got at least 25-30 runs more, but still a big total. While all other bowlers were spanked all over the park, Bresnan ended with 5 for 48 in his 10 overs. Anderson gave 91 runs in his 10 overs, probably the highest ever by an English bowler in the World Cup.

For the chase, Kevin Peiterson strolled in with Captain Andrew Strauss for England, & the first delivery was clipped to the square leg boundary, as Zaheer opened the Indian attack. The pair looked steady & purposeful, as they combined aggression with caution, taking the score to 68 before Munaf Patel took a blinder return catch to dismiss the ever dangerous Peiterson. In came Trott & immediately settled down with his Skipper. Spin introduced in the 11th over, with Chawla & Bhajji at both ends. At drinks, at the end of 16th over, the score read 110 for 1, with Strauss having reached his fifty. The scoring was doing a healthy 6.79 run rate. But just after the drinks, Piyush Chawla got the breakthrough, getting Trott plumb in front of the wicket. The turning point in the game was probably in the 25th over, when Ian Bell survived a LBW appeal to Yuvi. India's review appeal was put down as the impact was more than 2.5 meters from the stumps. A technical error, but the ball was surely hitting the stumps, according to the hawk eye.
This let off probably got England the momentum, & both the batsmen punished the Indian bowling. Straus got his hundred & then his 150, as bell got to his half century. at the end of 40 overs, England were well on course of their target with 272 for 2. They needed another 67 runs off the last 10 overs....very very gettable.
Batting powerplay was taken in the 43rd over, with every Indian on the ground begging for a wicket. Zaheer provided with the much needed breakthrough, getting Bell caught by Kohli for an excellent In the very next delivery Zaheer got Strauss out LBW as well...score 281 for 4. Strauss gone for a magnificent 158 Zaheer had brought India back in the match. With fielders brought in singles became difficult to get & the pressure was back eith England, as the crowd roared. Zaheer in his next over, bowled Collingwood & the game was slowly drifting away from England. All in the spate of 3 overs.....just 5 runs & three crucial wickets. The Powerplay had got England only 25 runs at the cost of 4 crucial wickets. Yardy was the next to go, caught by Sehwag off Patel. Score 307 for 7. In the 49th over, Bresnan took on to Chawla & hit two sixes, but got bowled in the last delivery. A good cameo of 14 from 9 deliveries.
Last over with 14 runs to win. Shahzad & Swann managed 12 off 5 deliveries & needed 2 runs in the last ball. Finally the score ended at 338 for 8....a tie !!!
A match which India just managed to escape with a tie & the English team managed not to win. The best game of the tournament till now.

Man of the Match : Andrew Strauss for his outstanding 158 runs, which brought England an almost improbable victory.

World Cup 2011 : Sri Lanka vs Pakistan...

2011-02-26T23:20:00.000+05:30

Today's match Sri Lanka against Pakistan - all the materials for a humdinger & so it was.
Afridi won the toss for Pakistan & elected to bat on a sun drenched pitch at Colombo, a track that is anticipated to spin later in the day.
Mohammad Hafeez & Ahmed Shehzad strolled in to open the innings. For Sri Lanka, it was surprising to rest Malinga again, especially for such a crucial match. Lets all hope, the pacer's injury is not any concern!!!
The openers were off to a sedate start, before Shehzad nicked one from Perera behind in the 6th over, with the score reading 28 for 1. In came Kamran Akmal, with clear intentions of hitting. On the other side, Hafeez too looked in good form, hitting Kulasekara for a six & four, as the score started to mount. 50 came in the 9th over, as Akmal drove one to the cover fence, with effortless ease. The partnership was looking good for Pakistan, with score at 65 for 1 at end of 10th over....a healthy run rate.
In the 13th over, with spin introduced, against the run of the play, Hafeez was run out.....needlessly. 100 of the innings came in the 19th over, but with spinners at both ends, scoring came down. Kamran, too needlessly danced down the wicket, missed the flight to Herath, to be stumped out for a well made 39.....a good start wasted. By the end of 25 overs the score read 123 for 3, with Younis Khan & Misbah Ul Haq trying to build. Younis got to his 41st fifty, as the score reached 170 for 3 in the 35th over. A good platform to launch, with big hitters yet to come. Quality cricketing shots by both the batters, took the score past 200 in the 39th over. Finally while Misbah reached his fifty, Younis, in a effort to increase the run rate got out to a well made 72 off 76 deliveries. 213 for 4. Kumal Akmal next in did not do much & holed out Murali to Dilshan in the deep. 238 for 5. Captain Afridi next in, with batting power plays on. This improved the scoring a bit, but Afridi went for 16 off 12 deliveries, caught by Dilshan. The innings finally folded for 277 for 6. Misbah remaining unbeaten for a very well made 83 off 91. Certainly a good total for this kind of a match.
Of the bowlers, Mural was his meagre best with 1 for 35 in his 10 overs.

In such a pressure game, the chase would never be easy. Srilankan openers Dilshan & Tharanga got off to a slow start, reaching just 42 runs in 10 overs. The 12th over went for 16 runs off Umar Gul & the score moved to 64, as Afridi introduced spin into the attack. This produced immediate results, as Tharanga pulled one from Hafeez to be caught at mid off in the 15th over for 33 runs. The first wicket had added 76 runs. Dlishan didnt last long either. Afridi bowled him in the 18th over, as the score read 88 for 2.....at this stage Pakistan were 92 for 2.... Match on. It was now upto Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene to build a partnership in the middle. However, that was not to be. Shoaib Akhtar, who had been bowling consistently over 140 kmph in the match, bowled him, & started his aeroplane run!!!. Match slightly tilted towards Pakistan. Next to go was Samaraweera, stumpted Akmal, bowled Afridi. - 96 for 4. 100 came in the 23rd over, as Sanga looked set for a big score. Batting Powerplay taken in the over brought some momentum to the score with 35 runs added. This was aided by some very poor wicket keeping by Akmal who failed two simple stumping chances & Rahman dropped a sitter in the deep. However, Sangakkara finally holed out in the deep for a well made 49 runs. It was Afridi's 300th ODI wicket...exceptional performance !!!169 for 5 & required run rate more than 9 at this stage. Angela Mathews did his best to improve the run rate, but he too perished to a Afridi delivery holing out to long off. 208 for 6. Stiil 70 required from 38 deliveries. Thisara Perera joined Chamara Silva in the middle. Afridi ended his bowling with a magnificent 4 for 33 in 10 overs. Silva reached his 50 in 73 deliveries. At the end of 45 overs, the score 223 for 6, with 55 runs required from 30 deliveries. Shoaib Akhtar, back in attack gave runs but managed to bowl out Perera....score 232 for 7. Next over & Silva gets stumpted by Kamran off Rehman. Score 232 for 8 & match slipping out of Sri Lanka. Kulasekara tried his best, but his 24 runs of 14 deliveries were not enough & finally it was Pakistan winning by 11 runs. It was Sri Lanka's first loss at home in the World Cup. This was certainly an upset in the tournament. A match that had lived up to its billing.
Afridi & Akhtar were exceptional in bowling getting wickets at crucial stages of the innings, & restricting Sri Lanka to 266 for 9....11 runs short. This Pakistan side is definitely a dangerous team for ths World Cup.

Man of the Match : Shahid Afridi for his brilliant performance with ball, decent batting & solid captaincy under pressure.

World Cup 2011 : Bangladesh vs Ireland...

2011-02-25T23:50:00.056+05:30

A match between two lowly placed teams in the tournament - host Bangladesh against Ireland.

Bangladesh won the toss & elected to bat. The openers Tamim Iqbal & Imrul Kayes got off to a flying start, getting past 50 runs in the 6th over. It was the fastest fifty for any team in this World Cup up till now. But once Kayes fell with the score at 53, it started a downward spiral for the hosts. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals & never got back the grip in the game. There were brief fight backs by Mushfiqur Rehman, Shakib Hassan, Raqibul Hasan & Naeem Islam, all of whom got a start, but could not build on the same. The innings limped & crawled & finally ended at 205 all out in the last over. Having won the toss & electing to bat, one would have expected the hosts to put up a big total, given the fact that they started off so well. They certainly should have reached a 250 mark, considering, that were playing on home turf & were on top of the game, initially.
The bowling for the Irish team was quite disciplined & Botha, ended up with figures of 3 for 32 runs, while Dockrell was very economic, with 2 for 23 in his full quota of 10 overs.

Ireland in reply, could not capitalise on the low target. Probably the occasion got to them, as the Bangladeshi fielders approached to defend with gusto. By the 10th over the visitors were reduced to 36 for 2, with Captain Porterfield back in the pavillion. The O'Brien brothers, NJ & KJ, along with Botha tried their best to put up a fight & take their Ireland to victory, but, fell short, as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Just midway through their innings, crossing 100 for 4, Ireland looked in control, but only briefly. With the O'Brien brothers out, the fight went out as well, & the innings finally folded at 178, in the 45th over.
Bangladesh had avenged their defeat to Ireland in the previous World Cup. Shafiul Islam destroyed the Irish batting line up with impressive figures of 4 for 21 in 8 overs. This has been the best figures by a Bangladeshi bowler in the World Cups till now. The bowlers had held their line & nerves to contain the visitors. They actually brought Bangladesh in the match, after the batsmen had lost the initiative early on. The crowd was obviously boisterous & thunderous in applause.

Man of the Match : Tamim Iqbal for his 44 in 43 balls for Bangladesh. Not a good choice, according to me. Tamim got out in the 12th over of the match, with score reading 68 for 3. Not a happy position at all.
I would have chosen Shafiul Islam who destroyed the Irish batting with his 4 for 21, as that's what brought in the victory for the hosts.

World Cup 2011 : Australia vs New Zealand...

2011-02-25T23:36:00.002+05:30

This match was billed to be a cracker - Australia against New Zealand, but it finally ended in a whimper. Both had won their first match rather convincingly, & their age old rivalry down under has been a folklore over the years.
Ponting won the toss & put the Kiwis to bat. McCullum started in whirlwind fashion, as always, but again, like in most of the times, he got out trying to up the scoring. 16 runs off 12 deliveries would make a good strike rate, but not enough for the team. Wickets tumbled thereafter quite regularly, & by the 17th over, New Zealand were tottering at a dismal 73 for 6. Nathan McCullum, Vettori & How put up some resistance & managed to take the total to 206 finally. Certainly a below par performance. Its surprising to see such a good one day batting side on paper, crumble so easily. I would say, lack of application & resolve. They have been quite pathetic over the last few months.
For the Aussies, the bowling was sharp & accurate. Lee was right on the target, but had only one wicket to show. However, Johnson picked up 4 & Tait claimed 3 wickets.

In reply, Australia started fluently with both Haddin & Watson getting into the groove. The bowling did not have enough bite & the target was simple. By the end of 10 overs, the Aussies were sitting pretty at 74 for no loss. The batting by these two continued to prosper & both the openers registered their half centuries in even time. First to go was Haddin, against the run of play. He holed out to Franklin off Bennett for a well made 55. The score read 133 for 1. Probably, his dismissal got Watson distracted as well, & two balls later, he was bowled by a slower. The score reading 133 for 2......two big wickets in one over, but maybe too late in the day for the Kiwis. Next on crease were the Captain Ponting & his deputy Clarke. Ponting however didn't last long & was stupidly stumped out for 12. However there were no more rude shocks for the Aussies, & they scampered home to win the match with 7 wickets & 96 balls to spare. It was a resounding win in the end.

Man of the Match : Mitchell Johnson for his figures of 4 wickets for 33 runs.

World Cup 2011 : South Africa vs West Indies...

2011-02-24T22:02:00.000+05:30

First real big match of the tournament at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi - firm favourites South Africa against former Champions West Indies.

Greame Smith won the toss & decided to put the Windies into bat. His decision payed off almost immediately, as the flamboyant Gayle got out in the 1st over itself to an innocuous spin of Botha, with score reading 2 for1. However, the Windies did not crumble under this huge setback & Darren Bravo(cousin to legendary Brian Lara) along with Devon Smith started building the innings. Bravo, rated by many as the next big thing in the Calypso batting order, hit out hard at the Proteas bowling attack & got to his half century with a huge six off Imran Tahir in the 16th over. However, once Bravo fell in the 24th over for a brilliant 73, Smith & Sarvan fell in quick succession, leaving the Windies lurching at 120 for 4 in the 27th over. Dwayne Bravo & Chanderpaul took on from there to resurrect the innings. Just when things were getting under control Bravo got run out to an impossible run, with the score at 179 for 5 in the 38th over. He had contributed a well made 40 off 37 deliveries. Chanderpaul was the next to go, trying to force the pace of the innings. At the end of the 42nd over the score read 212 for 6. The Windies had 142 dot balls played till then, which is almost half the total deliveries - not a healthy sign at all.
The innings lost momentum from here & wickets fell in regular intervals. Pollard on whom a lot depended got out to Steyn for a duck & the innings finally ended for a score of 222 in the 48th over, a double Nelson, in cricketing parlance. The last 5 wickets fell for just 13 runs in the space of 6 overs. Barring Darren Bravo, Devon Smith, Chanderpaul & Dwayne Bravo, all of whom got good starts but could not convert into a big score, all others failed. For the Proteas, Steyn & Imran Tahir did the damage with the ball. Tahir, the spin surprise from South Africa on his debut match, did very well to end with figures of 4 for 41.

In reply, South Africa started in cavalier fashion, but soon got into trouble. Amla gone for 14 & Kallis for 4, with the score reading a dismal 20 for 2 in 5 overs. Two top batsmen back in the dressing room & the chokers tag looming large. Greame Smith got into the sheet anchor's role & AB de Villiers took on the attack, moving the score to 73 for 2 at the end of 15 overs, the partnership adding 53 runs in 10 overs. The partnership extended to 119 runs, when Smith was bowled by Pollard for a well made 45 runs.
Next man in was Duminy, & he too got into the groove soon enough. The batting looked easy, with the Windies attack looking dazed & listless. With Dwayne Bravo leaving the field, after injuring his knee, Darren Sammy as a captain looked completely out of ideas. A light drizzle stopped the game for a while, with South Africa well ahead in the D/L average.
Anyways, when play resumed, AB strolled into his century in the 39th over. It turned out to be the fastest century by a South African...surprising !!! There seemed to be no tearing hurry as the batsmen preferred to stay at the crease & get in more batting practice.
In the end, it was a comfortable win for the Proteas by 7 wickets with more than 7 overs to spare. AB remained unbeaten with a match winning 107, with Duminy keeping company with a well made 42.
For the Windies, the bowling looks quite ordinary & may be their bane in the competition. Its only their batting which might win them matches, but then Gayle & Pollard will have to come good along with Sarvan & the young rookies.

Man of the Match : AB de Villiers for a brilliant century.

World Cup 2011 : Pakistan vs Kenya...

2011-02-24T01:03:00.001+05:30

This match was between the eternal mavericks of the game Pakistan & minnows Kenya. Winning the toss, Afridi wisely chose to bat first, & his batters did not disappoint him. Though the openers fell early, with score reading a dismal 12 for 2 in 7 overs, the middle order took over firmly. The initial nervousness was dealt with & Kamran Akmal along with veteran Younis Khan took centre stage & runs started flowing. after them Misbah along with Umar Akmal, made merry of the Kenyan attack & the run tempo kept climbing. In the end it was a massive 317 for 7 in the full quota of 50 overs. All the four middle order getting half centuries, with Umar Akmal topping with a breezy 71 off just 52 deliveries. Extras played a big role with a total of 46 vital runs. Kenyans had been rather tardy in this.

The reply by the Kenyans was poor as expected. This team lacks a solid player in the middle to calm nerves & build partnerships. The innings never took off, as wickets kept falling intermittently & within 33 overs it was all over. The Kenyans were all out for a paltry 112. the match was over. Afridi, who had a very brief stay during batting ran amok the Kenyan batting order with his fastish spin & claimed 5 wickets for just 16 runs in 8 overs.

Afridi looked cool & in control as a captain. The bowlers bowled well & the batsmen in the middle order look to be in form. This team is capable of surprises for sure.

Man of the Match : Umar Akmal for the match top score of 71 runs.

World Cup 2011 : England vs Netherlands...

2011-02-23T01:17:00.000+05:30

Today's match between England & minnows Netherlands turned out to be a near nightmare for the Barmy Army. Nagpur, also known as the Orange City, was truly Orange in colour today.
Netherlands won the toss & decided to bat in. The openers were a tad circumspect at the beginning, but as the innings progressed, so did the spirits. After the two openers departed, the centre stage was taken over by Cooper & Doeschate. Cooper departed for a well made 47, with the total at 136 for 3 in the 29th over. It was match on from there. Doeschate dug into the English bowling, & along with Grooth & later with Borren tore apart the attack. Batting Powerplay yielded 50 runs, as Netherlands prospered. Doeschate got a well deserved hundred, which included three towering sixes & the innings finally ended at 292 for 6 in the full quota of 50 overs. The English fielding was dreadful. they leaked runs & missed sitters. Bowling was all over the place, barring Swann, who did get some respect from the batsmen & everyone else was punished. The Dutch did pack a surprise for the English fans.

England in reply started purposefully, with Strauss & Peiterson stroking well. It was good to see them take things positively, & at the end of 10 overs, the score read 54 for no loss. Peiterson perished for 39 in the 18th over & Strauss left in the 30th over for a well made 88, the score reading 166 for 2 at that stage. Trott, Bell & then Colingwood & Bopara ensured that England cruised home with six wickets & 8 deliveries to spare. It was a close run for the English fans. With four overs left, they still had 33 runs to get & it could have been an upset, if the Netherlands had a quality bowler in the death overs. For the Dutch team, Doeschate excelled again with the ball after his batting displays, & claimed 2 for 47 in his quota of 10 overs. A truly splendid all round performance, which had England on the mat for the major part of the match. A close shave for the Barmy Army.

Man of the Match : Ten Doeschate for his scintillating century & all round performance. Truly deserving.