Well after their T20 world cup debacle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's words seemed to be too tough on the players for, they had to perform or else perish in the coming one day series against the West Indies. And adding to this was the fact that the services of fellow players like Zaheer Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina would be missed would just add fuel to fire and nothing less. One can remember the last two tours by team India-the previous one being the world cup 2007 where there is nothing to say about team India and prior to that was in 2006 where India lost the ODI series 1-4. However, the test series was won by a margin 1-0.
And in the first ODI of the series, no doubt that a complete batting team effort by the Indian batsmen at Kingston needs some applause. Yuvraj Singh has become a popular name in most of India's victories in ODIs and T20s and also in many close encounters. And the other batsmen were also not too far behind. There was Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself who came back after a series of flops in the IPL and the T20 world cup, in addition with Yousuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Dinesh Karthik. However, the point that is to be noticed is that dsespite scoring a mammoth 339, the team won by just 20 runs as against the expected margin of some 100 runs.
If this was the case, either the pitch is supposed to be a batsman's paradise or else it was a below par performance by the Indian bowlers who let the batsmen score at will. The scoreboard suggests that there was a 44 run eighth wicket partnership between Ramdin and Bernard meaning even the tail end batsmen could score runs freely. If not for Harbhajan Singh, none of remaining 6 of the Indian bowlers had the courage to bowl all their 10 overs. So, it wouldn't be wrong to say that India needs to improve a lot. If this is the bowling what India would be having, another 1-3 loss can said to be on the cards.
For, the West Indies team is packed with batsmen than bowlers. The West Indies team has eight batsmen and any sort of loose bowling from the Indian side would be nothing other than "asking for trouble". Of course..India have an upper hand in winning the series compared to the West Indies' poor run in the last decade. However, keeping all the factors in hand, a decent move by Dhoni would make things easier for India I suppose. An initial loss is not the only wake up call that one can expect. Such close encounters also are referred to wake up calls for, not everytime are the teams so lucky to survive a close call.
Showing posts with label T20 world Cup 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label T20 world Cup 2009. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Friday, 26 June 2009
Indian Fairytale Regarding their T20 Loss
Even after almost a week being passed by since the second T20 championship got over with Pakistan winning the title, the focus of team India, Indian news channels, the BCCI or even the fans for that matter have not yet come out of the trauma regarding the reason for the shocking exit of team India from the world T20 championship. However, the reasons what most of us hear regarding team India's exit could be just worth a laugh I can say. One has to really praise the aforementioned for the curious reasons what they cite. I just think whether this is all that the board has to say or is there anything else that is left over?
Common reasons cited by the board or the Indian captain M S Dhoni include the Indian Premier League, which on one side didn't give them enough time to practice for the T20 world cup and on the other hand took too much from the Indian players which made them feel almost exhausted by the time the world T20 championship began. The other reason includes the Sehwag issue which some say took a toll especially on Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself, only later to be proved that Dhoni himself was solely responsible for Sehwag's inclusion despite the fact that he had a shoulder injury.
Some minds even suggest that the Indian team had underestimated the other teams especially South Africa and England owing to the fact that India had beaten them in the crucial stages of the inaugural edition of the same in 2007. But, don't you guys think that all these reasons are just to satisfy the critics? C'mon guys..let us go back to the 2007 edition of the same when team India ended up victorious despite all the odds being against them. All of a sudden, the senior trio of Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar call themselves off from the inaugural edition which makes the selection committee crack its brains.
The Indian team that headed to the world cup in 2007 was without a fulltime coach and still India comes out victorious. After their initial loss to New Zealand, despite being in a must win position, India beat South Africa and England and also the semis against Australia, when they were still afresh from their 2007 world cup victory. If all these are considered, things were a better off this time in England when compared to that in 2007 in South Africa. Meaning India should have either lost the one in 2007 or else won this time in 2009. Otherwise, can it be assumed that their T20 win in 2007 was a fluke?
Such double standards by anyone for that matter can just make one laugh and nothing else. A better approach would be to silence all the critics by winning the upcoming tournaments viz the West Indies tour and the ICC Champions trophy.
Common reasons cited by the board or the Indian captain M S Dhoni include the Indian Premier League, which on one side didn't give them enough time to practice for the T20 world cup and on the other hand took too much from the Indian players which made them feel almost exhausted by the time the world T20 championship began. The other reason includes the Sehwag issue which some say took a toll especially on Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself, only later to be proved that Dhoni himself was solely responsible for Sehwag's inclusion despite the fact that he had a shoulder injury.
Some minds even suggest that the Indian team had underestimated the other teams especially South Africa and England owing to the fact that India had beaten them in the crucial stages of the inaugural edition of the same in 2007. But, don't you guys think that all these reasons are just to satisfy the critics? C'mon guys..let us go back to the 2007 edition of the same when team India ended up victorious despite all the odds being against them. All of a sudden, the senior trio of Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar call themselves off from the inaugural edition which makes the selection committee crack its brains.
The Indian team that headed to the world cup in 2007 was without a fulltime coach and still India comes out victorious. After their initial loss to New Zealand, despite being in a must win position, India beat South Africa and England and also the semis against Australia, when they were still afresh from their 2007 world cup victory. If all these are considered, things were a better off this time in England when compared to that in 2007 in South Africa. Meaning India should have either lost the one in 2007 or else won this time in 2009. Otherwise, can it be assumed that their T20 win in 2007 was a fluke?
Such double standards by anyone for that matter can just make one laugh and nothing else. A better approach would be to silence all the critics by winning the upcoming tournaments viz the West Indies tour and the ICC Champions trophy.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Do South Africa Choke or its a Joke?
Everytime the South African cricket team get on the ground to play in any international cricket major, be it the ICC cricket world cup, the ICC Champions Trophy or the T20 World Championship, South Africa come out with the tag titled "chokers" on them. Needless to be said, after their re-entry into international cricket in 1992 after their so called apartheid issue, South Africa are said to be on the receiving end of the bad luck. True that there is nothing wrong with that if things are given a glance since from the 1992 world cup. This has found haunting even today.
If a deep thinking is put into the performance of the South African team since the 1992 world cup when it was ruled by Kepler Wessels, no doubt that they had satisfactory wins against strong teams like Australia, Pakistan (who ended up as champions later), India and Sri Lanka and were indeed one of the contestants to lift the trophy. But, the fact is that they had lost to England by 3 wickets in a rain affected match at Melbourne. In addition to this, they had loss against New Zealand as well. And the bad luck was that they had to fight the same England team to which it had lost earlier in the tournament.
Then comes the 1996 world cup where South Africa had its famous five victories against Pakistan, England, Holland, New Zealand and UAE before it lost to West Indies in the quarter finals. But, did the South African team play the West Indies team prior to this in the tournament? "No" is the answer. With that being the case, how could one consider that it was injustice that South Africa could never proceed further? And not to forget that South Africa won the inaugural ICC CHampions Trophy held in Dhaka in 1998 after they beat the West Indies by 4 wickets.
Then comes the famous 1999 world cup which was yet another disappointment for the South African fans and players in particular. South Africa had wins against India, Sri Lanka, England and Kenya in the league stages, which was followed by wins against Pakistan and New Zealand in the super sixes. But, one should not forget the legal losses at the hands of Zimbabwe and Australia in the super sixes. Who is responsible for the drop catch of Steve Waugh by Herscelle Gibbs? And this time the bad luck was that South Africa, like in the 1992 world cup met the same team (Australia) to which it had lost earlier. Then in the ICC champions trophy 2000, South Africa was not the team to beat for, they were nowhere in the game against India where they lost by 94 runs. The match solely belonged to Sourav Ganguly and India.
Then, in the ICC Champions trophy 2002, if the loss to India in the semis was a close gesture, so was South Africa's last ball win in the group match against West Indies. In 2003 world cup, despite being the hosts, they had lost to West Indies and New Zealand before a tie against Sri lanka. It was a mistake that they just ducked the ball when a single was essential. The match was a memorable one for "Marvan Atapattu who scored a magnificient 124 off 118 balls" and not for South Africa. The day solely belonged to Sri Lanka. And in 2007 WC, one can recall the way they lost to Australia (in the group stage), New zealand and Bangladesh (in super eights). The cup was Australia's right and the Proteas were nowhere close to it.
The ones that need a clarification was the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 & 2004, T20 World Cups 2007 & 2009. In the CT 2006, bad luck struck Australia when they lost to Windies in the close encounter in the initial stages. It was OZ that were favourites and not the Proteas. And so was the case in 2004 when they lost to West Indies in the semis where both RSA and WI had come with an equal probablity of winning. In 2007 T20 WC, South Africa may have won against England, WI & NZ but, India was totally a different game. And if that was the cause for their exit, that means that their earlier victories weren't satisfactory. So was the case in T20 WC semis against Pakistan. Win against some other team does not guarentee a win against Pakistan.
After these analysis, one can say that in all the aforementioned cases, RSA had lost to either that team which it had not encountered earlier or it had lost to the same team to wich it had lost earlier. hurray! I have been successful in removing the "CHOKERS" tag from RSA.
If a deep thinking is put into the performance of the South African team since the 1992 world cup when it was ruled by Kepler Wessels, no doubt that they had satisfactory wins against strong teams like Australia, Pakistan (who ended up as champions later), India and Sri Lanka and were indeed one of the contestants to lift the trophy. But, the fact is that they had lost to England by 3 wickets in a rain affected match at Melbourne. In addition to this, they had loss against New Zealand as well. And the bad luck was that they had to fight the same England team to which it had lost earlier in the tournament.
Then comes the 1996 world cup where South Africa had its famous five victories against Pakistan, England, Holland, New Zealand and UAE before it lost to West Indies in the quarter finals. But, did the South African team play the West Indies team prior to this in the tournament? "No" is the answer. With that being the case, how could one consider that it was injustice that South Africa could never proceed further? And not to forget that South Africa won the inaugural ICC CHampions Trophy held in Dhaka in 1998 after they beat the West Indies by 4 wickets.
Then comes the famous 1999 world cup which was yet another disappointment for the South African fans and players in particular. South Africa had wins against India, Sri Lanka, England and Kenya in the league stages, which was followed by wins against Pakistan and New Zealand in the super sixes. But, one should not forget the legal losses at the hands of Zimbabwe and Australia in the super sixes. Who is responsible for the drop catch of Steve Waugh by Herscelle Gibbs? And this time the bad luck was that South Africa, like in the 1992 world cup met the same team (Australia) to which it had lost earlier. Then in the ICC champions trophy 2000, South Africa was not the team to beat for, they were nowhere in the game against India where they lost by 94 runs. The match solely belonged to Sourav Ganguly and India.
Then, in the ICC Champions trophy 2002, if the loss to India in the semis was a close gesture, so was South Africa's last ball win in the group match against West Indies. In 2003 world cup, despite being the hosts, they had lost to West Indies and New Zealand before a tie against Sri lanka. It was a mistake that they just ducked the ball when a single was essential. The match was a memorable one for "Marvan Atapattu who scored a magnificient 124 off 118 balls" and not for South Africa. The day solely belonged to Sri Lanka. And in 2007 WC, one can recall the way they lost to Australia (in the group stage), New zealand and Bangladesh (in super eights). The cup was Australia's right and the Proteas were nowhere close to it.
The ones that need a clarification was the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 & 2004, T20 World Cups 2007 & 2009. In the CT 2006, bad luck struck Australia when they lost to Windies in the close encounter in the initial stages. It was OZ that were favourites and not the Proteas. And so was the case in 2004 when they lost to West Indies in the semis where both RSA and WI had come with an equal probablity of winning. In 2007 T20 WC, South Africa may have won against England, WI & NZ but, India was totally a different game. And if that was the cause for their exit, that means that their earlier victories weren't satisfactory. So was the case in T20 WC semis against Pakistan. Win against some other team does not guarentee a win against Pakistan.
After these analysis, one can say that in all the aforementioned cases, RSA had lost to either that team which it had not encountered earlier or it had lost to the same team to wich it had lost earlier. hurray! I have been successful in removing the "CHOKERS" tag from RSA.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Why Are Indian Cricket Fans' Reactions Not Justified
After team India's shocking exit from the world T20 tournament that was recently concluded in England, the team has come in for some expected criticism not only from the Indian news channels, fans, yesteryear cricketing greats and even the hardcore fans of Indian cricket. Added to this was the fact that most of the cricket blogs like mine have also been doing that ever since the Indian team lost against England in particular and more so after they lost to the Proteas. Not only did the aforementioned groups condemn the way the Indian team performed in the second T20 world cup but at the same time, I could find the same condemning the way the cricket fans back home reacted to this.
The hardcore cricket fans from India were making news for taking to funerals of the Indian cricket team, burning of effigies, shouting slogans in an attempt to condemn their performance which were some of the many reactions that the fans back home showed. This came in for much criticism from everyone including some cricket blogs that I do not intend in mentioning here. But, my question is "How far are these condemnations really justified?" If there has to be no one to condemn the bad show by the Indian cricket players, then the other side of the coin suggests that the Indian team were not at all the contenders for the title.
Just a year and a half ago, the same cricket team had returned back along with the title "T20 World Champions" under their belts and for the same team not being able to even make it to the semis a year and a half later indeed deserves to be at the receiving end of the anger of its fans. Forget about winning the title or even making it to the semis, the team could not even win a game in the super eights. All that the Indian team could manage were wins against minnows Ireland and Bangladesh. Is that all the Indian team is capable of doing? When the entire city of Mumbai could take to the streets leaving all their work just to celebrate the nation's victory, the same team should also be ready for the criticism that the fans show when they return hopeless.
Forget about some other sports in India. Even if one keeps his view only for cricket, not all cricketers are greeted with the same smile that the international team has been enjoying. A win or a loss for a state team assures no reaction from the crowd. Neither was the U-19 world cup greeted the way the T20 champions were in 2007. Of course, even the T20 world cup winning side was awarded cash like the senior team were. The Indian team were awarded cash rewards for winning the Commonwealth Bank series in 2008 which was not at all a special one. And when it comes to Women's cricket team, I'm sure that not all are aware that there exists a women's cricket team in India.
Oh! C'mon...even I do not support such voilence like pelting stones on houses of cricketers or giving sleepless nights for the families of the same. But as long as the border is not crossed, burning effigies, taking it to the streets and shouting slogans cannot be condemned.
The hardcore cricket fans from India were making news for taking to funerals of the Indian cricket team, burning of effigies, shouting slogans in an attempt to condemn their performance which were some of the many reactions that the fans back home showed. This came in for much criticism from everyone including some cricket blogs that I do not intend in mentioning here. But, my question is "How far are these condemnations really justified?" If there has to be no one to condemn the bad show by the Indian cricket players, then the other side of the coin suggests that the Indian team were not at all the contenders for the title.
Just a year and a half ago, the same cricket team had returned back along with the title "T20 World Champions" under their belts and for the same team not being able to even make it to the semis a year and a half later indeed deserves to be at the receiving end of the anger of its fans. Forget about winning the title or even making it to the semis, the team could not even win a game in the super eights. All that the Indian team could manage were wins against minnows Ireland and Bangladesh. Is that all the Indian team is capable of doing? When the entire city of Mumbai could take to the streets leaving all their work just to celebrate the nation's victory, the same team should also be ready for the criticism that the fans show when they return hopeless.
Forget about some other sports in India. Even if one keeps his view only for cricket, not all cricketers are greeted with the same smile that the international team has been enjoying. A win or a loss for a state team assures no reaction from the crowd. Neither was the U-19 world cup greeted the way the T20 champions were in 2007. Of course, even the T20 world cup winning side was awarded cash like the senior team were. The Indian team were awarded cash rewards for winning the Commonwealth Bank series in 2008 which was not at all a special one. And when it comes to Women's cricket team, I'm sure that not all are aware that there exists a women's cricket team in India.
Oh! C'mon...even I do not support such voilence like pelting stones on houses of cricketers or giving sleepless nights for the families of the same. But as long as the border is not crossed, burning effigies, taking it to the streets and shouting slogans cannot be condemned.
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Bad Luck Yet Again For Pakistan
Well after their triumph in the T20 world cup finals on Sunday, most all of the Pakistani cricket fans would have rejoiced their team's victory by getting crazy. Of course..who on earth would not like to do so when something major has happened unexpectedly for Pakistan after 17 long years. After winning the world cup in 1992 that was held in Australia/New Zealand, Pakistan have just managed to enter the finals of two major ICC sponsored events when they were lucky to make it to the finals of the world cup in 1999 and then they entered the finals of the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007.
If anyone gives me an opportunity to have a say, I'd rather say that this is Pakistan's first ever major cricket title sponsored by the ICC. The 1992 world cup was just a fluke. Oh! C'mon..let us just go back to the league stages of the Benson & Hedges world cup 1992 where Pakistan had losses against arch rivals India, South Africa and West Indies. Pakistan until then had wins only against Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Of course not to mention the win against Zimbabwe. The match against England was a virtual knock out between Pakistan and Australia. Victory for England meant that Pakistan gets knocked out and Australia advance to the semis.
And much to one's surprise, Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry score of 74 which would have sealed Pakistan's fortunes. But, it was rain that came to Pakistan's rescue that day. And the rest that followed is well in front of our eyes. Anyway, that was a better result for, had Pakistan lost to England, the 2007 world cup win for Australia would have been their fifth world cup and 6 world cup finals in succession. And in 1999, Pakistan won matches against West Indies and Australia in a close finish only to lose to South Africa and India in the super six stage. It was the victory in league stage that helped Pakistan enter the semis. Pakistan had to win just 1 match to advance further to the semis and there was Zimbabwe to that came to their rescue.
Now, this victory is bound to remove the fluke tag from Pakistan. Pakistan beat two teams in Sri Lanka and South Africa who were unbeaten until then in the tournament. May be that, had some other team like say Australia had made it to the super 8 stage in place of Ireland, Pakistan would have had problems after their loss to Sri Lanka. But, that luck could be overpowered by their semi final win against the Proteas. However, their days of glory are numbered. They can enjoy being the T20 champions only until next April when another world T20 championship kicks off in the Caribbean. Meaning Pakistan can remain as T20 champions for only 10 months unless they win the next competition as well. And in the mean time we have the ICC Champions Trophy in September and incase Pakistan loses, that will surely overshadow their T20 win.
If anyone gives me an opportunity to have a say, I'd rather say that this is Pakistan's first ever major cricket title sponsored by the ICC. The 1992 world cup was just a fluke. Oh! C'mon..let us just go back to the league stages of the Benson & Hedges world cup 1992 where Pakistan had losses against arch rivals India, South Africa and West Indies. Pakistan until then had wins only against Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Of course not to mention the win against Zimbabwe. The match against England was a virtual knock out between Pakistan and Australia. Victory for England meant that Pakistan gets knocked out and Australia advance to the semis.
And much to one's surprise, Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry score of 74 which would have sealed Pakistan's fortunes. But, it was rain that came to Pakistan's rescue that day. And the rest that followed is well in front of our eyes. Anyway, that was a better result for, had Pakistan lost to England, the 2007 world cup win for Australia would have been their fifth world cup and 6 world cup finals in succession. And in 1999, Pakistan won matches against West Indies and Australia in a close finish only to lose to South Africa and India in the super six stage. It was the victory in league stage that helped Pakistan enter the semis. Pakistan had to win just 1 match to advance further to the semis and there was Zimbabwe to that came to their rescue.
Now, this victory is bound to remove the fluke tag from Pakistan. Pakistan beat two teams in Sri Lanka and South Africa who were unbeaten until then in the tournament. May be that, had some other team like say Australia had made it to the super 8 stage in place of Ireland, Pakistan would have had problems after their loss to Sri Lanka. But, that luck could be overpowered by their semi final win against the Proteas. However, their days of glory are numbered. They can enjoy being the T20 champions only until next April when another world T20 championship kicks off in the Caribbean. Meaning Pakistan can remain as T20 champions for only 10 months unless they win the next competition as well. And in the mean time we have the ICC Champions Trophy in September and incase Pakistan loses, that will surely overshadow their T20 win.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Reasons For Sri Lanka To Smile As Well
No one, after being unbeaten until then would be happy after losing a match when it really mattered. No one on earth would continue smiling after losing to a team against which it had won in its previous encounter. Pakistan in this tournament had lost matches against England and Sri Lanka prior to lifting the trophy. And Sri Lanka, needless to be said had won all of its earlier matches with some worth mentioning teams being West Indies (twice), Australia, Pakistan and New Zeland. However, Sri Lanka's win over minnows Ireland can never be counted as a victory not only for Ireland's inexperience but due to the fact that it was a close encounter when Sri Lanka should have gone in for a clean sweep.
And on the other hand, the wins that Pakistan have tasted are worth rejoicing. They had a clean sweep against New Zealand & Ireland and a close encounter with South Africa. But, that close win against South Africa was also as good as a clean sweep, when most of the odds had opted for South Africa to advance further and more so because that was a semi finals of a world cup. Not to mention, it was a clean sweep for Pakistan yesterday as well in the finals of the world T20. In the earlier game between the 2 teams, it was all because of the start given to Sri Lanka by their openers that they ended victorious. Sri Lanka had scored 80 runs in the first 8 overs, with the final score reading 150.
Sri Lanka were never in the game from the beginning. At one stage of the match, it was as though Sri Lanka would not even be able to put on 100 runs on the board after the scoreboard read 26/3 at the end of the fourth over. The highest run getter of the tournament Tilakeratne Dilshan was out for a duck and so was Jehan Mubarak. On the other hand, Pakistanlost their first wicket at a score of 48 (a score when Sri Lanka had lost 3 wickets as said earlier). Nonetheless, Pakistan never ever showed any signs of pressure at any moment in the match. All the four batsmen who made it to the crease did what best they could do.
Despite losing the tournament, Sri Lankan captain should feel a little bit satisfied that his team never lost out on his face. They put up a decent total of 138 and lost only 6 wickets after at one stage being at 70/6 at the end of the 13th over. Meaning 68 runs in the last 7 overs at a run rate of just less than 10 an over. Perhaps! Some initial contribution from either Dilshan, Mubarak and Jayasuriya would have made the finals more challenging. And one more thing that Sangakkara should be proud about is that he has taken his team unbeaten to the finals of the world cup just few months after taking over from Jayawardane as the Sri Lankan captain. Finally, Dilshan was handed the man of the series award should add another feather to Sri Lanka's cap.
And on the other hand, the wins that Pakistan have tasted are worth rejoicing. They had a clean sweep against New Zealand & Ireland and a close encounter with South Africa. But, that close win against South Africa was also as good as a clean sweep, when most of the odds had opted for South Africa to advance further and more so because that was a semi finals of a world cup. Not to mention, it was a clean sweep for Pakistan yesterday as well in the finals of the world T20. In the earlier game between the 2 teams, it was all because of the start given to Sri Lanka by their openers that they ended victorious. Sri Lanka had scored 80 runs in the first 8 overs, with the final score reading 150.
Sri Lanka were never in the game from the beginning. At one stage of the match, it was as though Sri Lanka would not even be able to put on 100 runs on the board after the scoreboard read 26/3 at the end of the fourth over. The highest run getter of the tournament Tilakeratne Dilshan was out for a duck and so was Jehan Mubarak. On the other hand, Pakistanlost their first wicket at a score of 48 (a score when Sri Lanka had lost 3 wickets as said earlier). Nonetheless, Pakistan never ever showed any signs of pressure at any moment in the match. All the four batsmen who made it to the crease did what best they could do.
Despite losing the tournament, Sri Lankan captain should feel a little bit satisfied that his team never lost out on his face. They put up a decent total of 138 and lost only 6 wickets after at one stage being at 70/6 at the end of the 13th over. Meaning 68 runs in the last 7 overs at a run rate of just less than 10 an over. Perhaps! Some initial contribution from either Dilshan, Mubarak and Jayasuriya would have made the finals more challenging. And one more thing that Sangakkara should be proud about is that he has taken his team unbeaten to the finals of the world cup just few months after taking over from Jayawardane as the Sri Lankan captain. Finally, Dilshan was handed the man of the series award should add another feather to Sri Lanka's cap.
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Another Final Between 2 Sub Continent Teams
Well what a relation is the one between the top run getter in the ongoing T20 world cup and the Sri Lankan team! Tilekeratne Dilshan not only became the top run getter in the world cup but, in yesterday's semifinal match against the West Indies, he remained unbeaten throughout the Sri Lankan innings which is referred to as "carrying the bat throughout the innings" in cricket terms. After their win against the West Indies in the semifinals, Sri Lanka become the second team in this tournament who have been unbeaten in this world cup and to face Pakistan after the Proteas. For the 2nd time in succession, the final is a contest between two sub continent nations.
And if the body language of the Pakistani players is taken, they are in no mood to compromise. May be that Sri Lanka have earlier in the super eights match beaten Pakistan, but the finals is obviously a different game. Remember, in the 1999 world cup in England, Pakistan had in their league stages of the tournament beaten Steve Waugh's men by 10 runs and later in the finals of the same, Pakistan were no where in the game when they took on Australia for the second time in the series. And this time as well, the situation is no different either if not for Pakistan who would be at the delivering end.
And I would cast my vote solely to Pakistan with 100% confidence of them lifting the world cup. This I had done even before the world cup had began-believe it or not. And in the match against Sri Lanka, it was just a formality for them. The West Indies had lost the game when they had to chase down 158. And I wonder as to how come the West Indians could lose 3 wickets in the first over in the semi final of thetournament world cup? When South Africa couldn't win against Pakistan despite being unbeaten in the tournament until then, it would be stupid to consider West Indies to win against Sri Lanka.
After the second semi finals of the T20 world cup 2009, my memories date back to the 1996 world cup where both South Africa and Sri Lanka had been unbeaten throughout the series and South Africa crashes out of the tournament after their shocking loss to the West Indies and Sri Lanka end up victorious. Now, Sri Lanka have just reached the finals of the tournament. But, my heart still goes out to Pakistan for coming back so strongly after losing to England and Sri Lanka long before all gates seemed to be closed for them. If history is taken, both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have an equal chance of lifting the world cup. So, at the moment the only thing left for us is to just wait and watch.
And if the body language of the Pakistani players is taken, they are in no mood to compromise. May be that Sri Lanka have earlier in the super eights match beaten Pakistan, but the finals is obviously a different game. Remember, in the 1999 world cup in England, Pakistan had in their league stages of the tournament beaten Steve Waugh's men by 10 runs and later in the finals of the same, Pakistan were no where in the game when they took on Australia for the second time in the series. And this time as well, the situation is no different either if not for Pakistan who would be at the delivering end.
And I would cast my vote solely to Pakistan with 100% confidence of them lifting the world cup. This I had done even before the world cup had began-believe it or not. And in the match against Sri Lanka, it was just a formality for them. The West Indies had lost the game when they had to chase down 158. And I wonder as to how come the West Indians could lose 3 wickets in the first over in the semi final of the
After the second semi finals of the T20 world cup 2009, my memories date back to the 1996 world cup where both South Africa and Sri Lanka had been unbeaten throughout the series and South Africa crashes out of the tournament after their shocking loss to the West Indies and Sri Lanka end up victorious. Now, Sri Lanka have just reached the finals of the tournament. But, my heart still goes out to Pakistan for coming back so strongly after losing to England and Sri Lanka long before all gates seemed to be closed for them. If history is taken, both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have an equal chance of lifting the world cup. So, at the moment the only thing left for us is to just wait and watch.
Friday, 19 June 2009
South Africa's Loss Not A Big Issue
Well most of the viewers of the first T20 final of the ongoing T20 world cup between South Africa and Pakistan would be cursing the South African players for getting eliminated yet again from a mega event after being unbeaten until then in the tournament. However, if one would ask me regarding the same, I say that there was nothing official in the South Africa's defeat over Pakistan. The T20 format of the game itself is like that. This is no test or an one day international match for anyone to expect something like this. Nothing can be taken for granted in this game's format.
South Africa have never been the favourites of the T20 world cup. Not even after the wins against say West Indies, New Zealand or even India for that matter was convincing in this tournament. The win against the West Indies saw the West Indies' batting dominated only by one batsman who scored 77. It was a 1 run win for the Proteas against New Zealand. Agreed that a win is a win irrespective of the margin of the same whatsoever. The only convincing victory for South Africa was against England where the Proteas could breathe easy after their 7 wicket win. They never faced either Australia, Sri Lanka or Pakistan to prove their myth in this world cup.
Rather than taking conclusions from their previous losses at crucial stages of any ICC sponsored mega events, it would be better for one to take into consideration the way the South Africans have played their game off late and where they stand in the T20 ratings. They were placed well below Australia, India and England in the latest T20 ratings. On the other hand, Pakistan played better cricket comparitively if not for their losses against Sri Lanka and England. The game of cricket is not only about winning or losing but the way the players show their class in the game. And when it came to class, the Pakistan were way ahead of South Africa.
It would not be right to say that the Proteas got carried away after their success until then. Despite losing to England and Sri Lanka back to back, Pakistan never let the opposition cut loose and pulled a one sided victory from Ireland and New Zealand. Both the teams were no where in the picture when Umar Gul sent devastating spells and Shahid Afridi got the ball to turn. There was Gibbs, De Villiars and Morkel who could have done the job for the Proteas which was not the case. And what sort of a team is South Africa who could not contain a part time bowler like Afridi? It was the losses against England & Sri Lanka that made Pakistan wake up from sleep and the victories for South Africa to only remain temperory favourites.
I think that South Africa did deserve to lose and Pakistan to advance to the finals for the second time in a T20 world cup.
South Africa have never been the favourites of the T20 world cup. Not even after the wins against say West Indies, New Zealand or even India for that matter was convincing in this tournament. The win against the West Indies saw the West Indies' batting dominated only by one batsman who scored 77. It was a 1 run win for the Proteas against New Zealand. Agreed that a win is a win irrespective of the margin of the same whatsoever. The only convincing victory for South Africa was against England where the Proteas could breathe easy after their 7 wicket win. They never faced either Australia, Sri Lanka or Pakistan to prove their myth in this world cup.
Rather than taking conclusions from their previous losses at crucial stages of any ICC sponsored mega events, it would be better for one to take into consideration the way the South Africans have played their game off late and where they stand in the T20 ratings. They were placed well below Australia, India and England in the latest T20 ratings. On the other hand, Pakistan played better cricket comparitively if not for their losses against Sri Lanka and England. The game of cricket is not only about winning or losing but the way the players show their class in the game. And when it came to class, the Pakistan were way ahead of South Africa.
It would not be right to say that the Proteas got carried away after their success until then. Despite losing to England and Sri Lanka back to back, Pakistan never let the opposition cut loose and pulled a one sided victory from Ireland and New Zealand. Both the teams were no where in the picture when Umar Gul sent devastating spells and Shahid Afridi got the ball to turn. There was Gibbs, De Villiars and Morkel who could have done the job for the Proteas which was not the case. And what sort of a team is South Africa who could not contain a part time bowler like Afridi? It was the losses against England & Sri Lanka that made Pakistan wake up from sleep and the victories for South Africa to only remain temperory favourites.
I think that South Africa did deserve to lose and Pakistan to advance to the finals for the second time in a T20 world cup.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Something Else Haunting Team India?
Well this has been the debate of all news channels not only regarding the shocking exit of team India from the T20 world cup, but also losing all the three matches that the team faced. Adding to that was the fact that Virender Sehwag's shoulder injury was not well dealt with by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This was confirmed when Dhoni publicly admitted of having the fact that the services of Virender Sehwag is bould to miss the T20 world, indicating that his injury was a serious one. This just added fuel to fire and nothing else. Anyway, Dhoni did no good by keeping the Sehwag issue secret. And it is still not clear as to what was going on in the minds of Dhoni when he included Sehwag despite being aware of his injury.
Even without Virender Sehwag, the Indian team could have made it to the semi finals. And if this would not have been the case as some may think it to be, they should not have lost all the three matches they played. There was Yuvraj Singh, Rohith Sharma, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni himself who could have made for the absense of Virender Sehwag. And on the other hand, there were also decent bowlers like Harbhajan, Irfan Pathan and R P Singh. Having such players in his team, the absense of Virender Sehwag would have hardly made any difference I guess.
I wish one take a glance at the Australian team way back in 2003 when they lost key players like Steve Waugh (who retired months b4 the WC), Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Shane Watson and still not only won the world cup but also won all the 11 matches they played. And if one blames the Indian Premier League for this debacle of the team, I say that it is nothing but foolishness. Had IPL been the reason behind India's downfall, then wasn't there anyone in India who got that idea before the IPL began? And had anyone knew that before hand, any reason for their silence? I say that the IPL provided some match practice for the Indian players (in particular) prior to the world T20.
News channels suggested us that the Indian players were reluctant to go out and practice cricket prior to matches against England and West Indies. Perhaps! This might to a greater extent have taken a toll on the performance of the Indian team. Anyway, the reason for that is not the disscussion at the moment. However, I feel that it was the bad grouping of teams that to some extent led to the bad performance of team India. India were grouped along with Ireland and Bangladesh against whom winning was not a big task. If the reason of Australian early elimination was due to the fact that they were grouped along with strong teams viz West Indies and Sri Lanka, so was India who were grouped along with minnows.
It looked as though India never needed a tough match practice before facing either Ireland or Bangladesh. Their entry into super eights was confirmed and so was their wins against both the teams. Had India faced any strong team, even a loss would have gived them a wake up call regarding the way they were supposed to approach a tournament that featured all the major cricket playing nations of the world. So is ICC the new culprit???
Even without Virender Sehwag, the Indian team could have made it to the semi finals. And if this would not have been the case as some may think it to be, they should not have lost all the three matches they played. There was Yuvraj Singh, Rohith Sharma, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni himself who could have made for the absense of Virender Sehwag. And on the other hand, there were also decent bowlers like Harbhajan, Irfan Pathan and R P Singh. Having such players in his team, the absense of Virender Sehwag would have hardly made any difference I guess.
I wish one take a glance at the Australian team way back in 2003 when they lost key players like Steve Waugh (who retired months b4 the WC), Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Shane Watson and still not only won the world cup but also won all the 11 matches they played. And if one blames the Indian Premier League for this debacle of the team, I say that it is nothing but foolishness. Had IPL been the reason behind India's downfall, then wasn't there anyone in India who got that idea before the IPL began? And had anyone knew that before hand, any reason for their silence? I say that the IPL provided some match practice for the Indian players (in particular) prior to the world T20.
News channels suggested us that the Indian players were reluctant to go out and practice cricket prior to matches against England and West Indies. Perhaps! This might to a greater extent have taken a toll on the performance of the Indian team. Anyway, the reason for that is not the disscussion at the moment. However, I feel that it was the bad grouping of teams that to some extent led to the bad performance of team India. India were grouped along with Ireland and Bangladesh against whom winning was not a big task. If the reason of Australian early elimination was due to the fact that they were grouped along with strong teams viz West Indies and Sri Lanka, so was India who were grouped along with minnows.
It looked as though India never needed a tough match practice before facing either Ireland or Bangladesh. Their entry into super eights was confirmed and so was their wins against both the teams. Had India faced any strong team, even a loss would have gived them a wake up call regarding the way they were supposed to approach a tournament that featured all the major cricket playing nations of the world. So is ICC the new culprit???
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
A Total Confusion In Team India
Well the last and the final match of the ICC T20 world super eight between India and South Africa was not only a formality for both the teams playing out there but at the end of the day, one could come to the conclusion that the opposite of India is South Africa. For, if South Africa had won all three matches in the super eight stage, the other team namely India lost all of its three matches that it played in the super eight. Whether India could have won the match or not being a different issue altogether, there was no reason as to why South Africa despite being cautious in their batting could not cross 150 run mark.
The South African team lost just 5 wickets at the end of their batting innings. And there was a time in the South African batting innings when they had been without a boundary for as many as 55 balls. And the entire South African batting never saw the ball clearing the ropes. On the other hand, team India could do this on two occasions, one by Harbhajan Singh and the other by Yuvraj Singh. Though India could not as a team score more runs than South Africa, they could score more number of sixes and bowl just one wide delivery as compared to the 4 wides bowled by South African bowlers.
After the match against South Africa, the Indian team join hands with New Zealand who could just beat minnow teams like Ireland and Bangladesh and that too in the initial and inconsequential stage of the tournament. New Zealand had wins only against Ireland and Scotland and were no match either for Pakistan or for Sri Lanka. In fact, Ireland could pose some trouble for Sri Lanka than the New Zealand could do. However, India came close to winning matches against both South Africa and England where the margin of victory was too little. A little bit of initiative from Dhoni as a captain and as a batsman could have made things comfortable for team India I suppose.
Both South Africa and India in this particular match were playing for pride with India trying to convince its fans back home with a consolation win and South Africa maintaining their winning streak and extend their winning tally to 7 in a row (2 against Australia,1 each against India, West Indies, New Zealand, England & Scotland). It was fascinating to see the strike bowlers for India viz Zaheer Khan R P Singh being dictated by the South African batsmen while lesser known bowlers in Suresh Raina taking the wicket of Jean Paul Duminy. Yuvraj bowled 4 overs while Zaheer bowled 3 and R P Singh bowled just 2. Nevermind Dhoni for not giving the ball to the hands of R P Singh.
Similarly, Harbhajan Singh scored a six and a four when Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Dhoni himself could not cross the double digit mark successsively. I think that this is the ghost haunting India and in turn responsible for their debacle in this world cup. Bowlers are forced to turn batsmen and batsmen need to take wickets. Should one feel happy for the batting skills of bowlers or is there a need to make the players realize where their real talent lies is still an unanswered question.
The South African team lost just 5 wickets at the end of their batting innings. And there was a time in the South African batting innings when they had been without a boundary for as many as 55 balls. And the entire South African batting never saw the ball clearing the ropes. On the other hand, team India could do this on two occasions, one by Harbhajan Singh and the other by Yuvraj Singh. Though India could not as a team score more runs than South Africa, they could score more number of sixes and bowl just one wide delivery as compared to the 4 wides bowled by South African bowlers.
After the match against South Africa, the Indian team join hands with New Zealand who could just beat minnow teams like Ireland and Bangladesh and that too in the initial and inconsequential stage of the tournament. New Zealand had wins only against Ireland and Scotland and were no match either for Pakistan or for Sri Lanka. In fact, Ireland could pose some trouble for Sri Lanka than the New Zealand could do. However, India came close to winning matches against both South Africa and England where the margin of victory was too little. A little bit of initiative from Dhoni as a captain and as a batsman could have made things comfortable for team India I suppose.
Both South Africa and India in this particular match were playing for pride with India trying to convince its fans back home with a consolation win and South Africa maintaining their winning streak and extend their winning tally to 7 in a row (2 against Australia,1 each against India, West Indies, New Zealand, England & Scotland). It was fascinating to see the strike bowlers for India viz Zaheer Khan R P Singh being dictated by the South African batsmen while lesser known bowlers in Suresh Raina taking the wicket of Jean Paul Duminy. Yuvraj bowled 4 overs while Zaheer bowled 3 and R P Singh bowled just 2. Nevermind Dhoni for not giving the ball to the hands of R P Singh.
Similarly, Harbhajan Singh scored a six and a four when Yousuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Dhoni himself could not cross the double digit mark successsively. I think that this is the ghost haunting India and in turn responsible for their debacle in this world cup. Bowlers are forced to turn batsmen and batsmen need to take wickets. Should one feel happy for the batting skills of bowlers or is there a need to make the players realize where their real talent lies is still an unanswered question.
New Zealand Fast..But Not Steady
The match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand could rather be considered as the second quarter finals of the T20- world cup, with the first quarter finals being between West Indies and England on Monday. It was a curse for any team to have won all of its previous matches and still be under test. This was what Sri Lanka was facing yesterday when they took on New Zealand. The Sri Lankans should consider themselves lucky to have won the encounter against New Zealand and in the process make it to the semis. Not at all..I am not talking about the way the Sri Lankans played their game yesterday. I just compared this Sri Lankan team to the South African team that was eliminated after losing to India in the inaugural edition.
The loss for South Africa against India in 2007 was their first ever loss in that series. But, unfortunately, that particular loss proved to be too costly for the Proteas. Until then, the Proteas had wins against West Indies, Bangladesh (not to mention), New Zealand and England. This time it was Sri Lanka in that position. But, the way they put all that behind them and finally emerged victorious indeed deserves a praise. For, if the New Zealand batting was taken into consideration initially, they almost threatened to upset the Sri Lankan team who had until then been unbeaten. But, there was Mendis.
The match looked as though Sanath Jayasuriya wants to make it to the record books for the wrong reasons in this format of the game as well when he was out for a duck. Jayasuriya holds the record for most ducks in one day internationals. However, if not for the loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, none of the Sri Lankan batsmen followed suite. Of course..Chamara Silva was also not too much impressive either. But, the ones who followed him thereafter did a fab job for Sri Lanka needless to be said. There was Sangakkara and Jayawardane who held the nerves tight for Sri Lanka until the 18th over, leaving the remaining batsmen in Mubarak & Mathews with not too much to worry about.
However, the New Zealand were never in any mood to compromise either when they took 20 runs off the second over bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya. If the debacle that Sanath provided with the bat for Sri Lanka was not enough, this was in addition to the woes. But, the courage that Sangakkara showed when he handed over the ball back to Sanath Jayasuriya towards the end indeed needs some cheers. This was a gr8 risk taken by Sangakkara, for had Jayasuriya continued from where he had left in the 2nd over, all fingers would have pointed towards him.I remember the then Sri Lankan captain Jaywardane handing over the ball to Jayasuriya when his stats never supported him. At the end, Jayasuriya had yet another black feather to his cap when he became the bowler to concede the maximum number of runs after bowling 4 overs.
Sanath Jayasuriya in that match gave away 64 runs from his allotted 4 overs. If not for the 2nd over and the one which Malinga bowled giving away 14 runs, the rest of the overs were decent.There were four batsmen in the New Zealand who had scored 2 runs, with 8 of them scoring single digit scores.
The loss for South Africa against India in 2007 was their first ever loss in that series. But, unfortunately, that particular loss proved to be too costly for the Proteas. Until then, the Proteas had wins against West Indies, Bangladesh (not to mention), New Zealand and England. This time it was Sri Lanka in that position. But, the way they put all that behind them and finally emerged victorious indeed deserves a praise. For, if the New Zealand batting was taken into consideration initially, they almost threatened to upset the Sri Lankan team who had until then been unbeaten. But, there was Mendis.
The match looked as though Sanath Jayasuriya wants to make it to the record books for the wrong reasons in this format of the game as well when he was out for a duck. Jayasuriya holds the record for most ducks in one day internationals. However, if not for the loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, none of the Sri Lankan batsmen followed suite. Of course..Chamara Silva was also not too much impressive either. But, the ones who followed him thereafter did a fab job for Sri Lanka needless to be said. There was Sangakkara and Jayawardane who held the nerves tight for Sri Lanka until the 18th over, leaving the remaining batsmen in Mubarak & Mathews with not too much to worry about.
However, the New Zealand were never in any mood to compromise either when they took 20 runs off the second over bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya. If the debacle that Sanath provided with the bat for Sri Lanka was not enough, this was in addition to the woes. But, the courage that Sangakkara showed when he handed over the ball back to Sanath Jayasuriya towards the end indeed needs some cheers. This was a gr8 risk taken by Sangakkara, for had Jayasuriya continued from where he had left in the 2nd over, all fingers would have pointed towards him.I remember the then Sri Lankan captain Jaywardane handing over the ball to Jayasuriya when his stats never supported him. At the end, Jayasuriya had yet another black feather to his cap when he became the bowler to concede the maximum number of runs after bowling 4 overs.
Sanath Jayasuriya in that match gave away 64 runs from his allotted 4 overs. If not for the 2nd over and the one which Malinga bowled giving away 14 runs, the rest of the overs were decent.There were four batsmen in the New Zealand who had scored 2 runs, with 8 of them scoring single digit scores.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
A Virtual Quater Final and so Boring?
The match between the West Indies and England was as good as a quarter final wherein the team which wins would advance to the next round and the team that loses would have to forfeit all hopes of winning the tournament anymore. At the end of the day, it was the west Indies who came out victorious but, not in a manner that most of us would agree. Of course, nothing could be done for the showers that pour down. But, a lot more can still be done for the teams out there to see to that they play 20 overs of cricket uninterrupted by weather. Had it been a one day match, nothing could be done much. At the most, the match could be played fresh the next day.
However, the T20 format of the game is not bound to this condition. A delay of even 3 to 4 hours can still ensure justified cricket, without denying either of the team of its overs or the powerplay. In other words, I don't see the Duckworth-Lewis playing such an important role in the T20 game. One can as well wait for the showers to completely pour down and then start the play afresh. And that too in such a competition that involves all the major cricket playing nations from the world, the Duckworth-Lewis can never satisfy all. Perhaps! Even the West Indies would not have been satisfied despite winning and advancing to the semis.
It was ad to see all the hard work that England put in to put up a decent total of 161 on the board going in vain. The man of the match was not given to either Ravi Bopara who struck a magnificient half century aided with 5 hits to the fence or to Kevin Pietersen who scored 31 runs with a strike rate 164, but was given to Ramnaresh Sarwan first for belonging to the winning team and then for scoring 19 runs at a strike rate of 211. Don't you guys think that it is just foolish to shorten the shortest version of the game of cricket? If the rules for T20 are same as that for ODI, the T20 can rather be called as a reduced version of fifty overs cricket.
Some twenty years back, the one day match used to be played for 60 overs a side, which was then reduced to 55 overs a side. And now the same is played with each team having been prepared to bowl 50 overs. I don't see the T20 format as something special if not for the fact that a team bowls just 20 overs and in some cases, the boundary is shortened. If such is the thiking, there could be four other formats of cricket namely 60-60, 55-55, ODI and the T20. In case the game of T20 is to be enjoyed by the fans all over, I suggest that the ICC drop the Duckworth-Lewis method from this format. When the ICC can come out with a solution in case of matches ending up in a tie, I don't find the reason for ICC to go in for the same D-L method in T20 as well.
However, the T20 format of the game is not bound to this condition. A delay of even 3 to 4 hours can still ensure justified cricket, without denying either of the team of its overs or the powerplay. In other words, I don't see the Duckworth-Lewis playing such an important role in the T20 game. One can as well wait for the showers to completely pour down and then start the play afresh. And that too in such a competition that involves all the major cricket playing nations from the world, the Duckworth-Lewis can never satisfy all. Perhaps! Even the West Indies would not have been satisfied despite winning and advancing to the semis.
It was ad to see all the hard work that England put in to put up a decent total of 161 on the board going in vain. The man of the match was not given to either Ravi Bopara who struck a magnificient half century aided with 5 hits to the fence or to Kevin Pietersen who scored 31 runs with a strike rate 164, but was given to Ramnaresh Sarwan first for belonging to the winning team and then for scoring 19 runs at a strike rate of 211. Don't you guys think that it is just foolish to shorten the shortest version of the game of cricket? If the rules for T20 are same as that for ODI, the T20 can rather be called as a reduced version of fifty overs cricket.
Some twenty years back, the one day match used to be played for 60 overs a side, which was then reduced to 55 overs a side. And now the same is played with each team having been prepared to bowl 50 overs. I don't see the T20 format as something special if not for the fact that a team bowls just 20 overs and in some cases, the boundary is shortened. If such is the thiking, there could be four other formats of cricket namely 60-60, 55-55, ODI and the T20. In case the game of T20 is to be enjoyed by the fans all over, I suggest that the ICC drop the Duckworth-Lewis method from this format. When the ICC can come out with a solution in case of matches ending up in a tie, I don't find the reason for ICC to go in for the same D-L method in T20 as well.
Pakistan Makes Full Use of The Advantage
Well the match between Ireland and Pakistan played last night was as expected won by Pakistan, who in the process made it to the semi finals of the ongoing T20 world for the second time, after making it in South Africa last time a couple of years back. However, things are not difficult for any test playing nation when there are teams like Ireland around. For a better picture regarding the caliber of the Pakistan team, one has to consider the matches against stronger teams like Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England. Pakistan lost to these teams barring New Zealand. Both Sri Lanka and England came out better than Pakistan on that day.
Anyway, that is a forgotten issue at the moment. And in the match between Pakistan and Ireland, it was a rather decent game played by the Irish there, for they never gave up their chase like the New Zealand did. In the super eight of the ICC T20, the Irish have displayed a comparitively better performance when compared to New Zealand not only in their match against Pakistan but otherwise also. Being a test playing nation, New Zealand were all out for a partly score of 99 and the Irish managed to go up to 120 with a wicket still in their hand. One need not be reminded that Ireland had defeated Pakistan in the ICC world cup 2007.
All that the New Zealand team could manage was a win against minnows Ireland and Scotland. And most of the odds favor Sri Lanka in their last encounter of the world cup this season. I wish New Zealand recall the thrashing given by Sanath Jayasuriya in the inaugural edition of the same. New Zealand were no match for any test playing nation even then. It was shrude luck that landed New Zealand in the semis. New Zealand entered the semis at the cost of South Africa or in other words, South Africa's loss was New Zealand's gain. It was good to see an Irish batsman score 40.
Had it not been for Ireland, things would have surely been tough for Pakistan and may be that in place of India or Australia, Pakistan would have been eliminated. This could be taken from the game played against strong teams. It was the same luck that helped Pakistan win the 1992 world cup in Australia/New Zealand when at one point of time they were not even the favourites to make it to the semis. And in the semis against New Zealand, it was only after Inzamam stepped in that Pakistan could hope of a final berth. And this time as well, Pakistan have defeated only one test playing nation in New Zealand. The real task for Pakistan is in the semis.
Anyway, that is a forgotten issue at the moment. And in the match between Pakistan and Ireland, it was a rather decent game played by the Irish there, for they never gave up their chase like the New Zealand did. In the super eight of the ICC T20, the Irish have displayed a comparitively better performance when compared to New Zealand not only in their match against Pakistan but otherwise also. Being a test playing nation, New Zealand were all out for a partly score of 99 and the Irish managed to go up to 120 with a wicket still in their hand. One need not be reminded that Ireland had defeated Pakistan in the ICC world cup 2007.
All that the New Zealand team could manage was a win against minnows Ireland and Scotland. And most of the odds favor Sri Lanka in their last encounter of the world cup this season. I wish New Zealand recall the thrashing given by Sanath Jayasuriya in the inaugural edition of the same. New Zealand were no match for any test playing nation even then. It was shrude luck that landed New Zealand in the semis. New Zealand entered the semis at the cost of South Africa or in other words, South Africa's loss was New Zealand's gain. It was good to see an Irish batsman score 40.
Had it not been for Ireland, things would have surely been tough for Pakistan and may be that in place of India or Australia, Pakistan would have been eliminated. This could be taken from the game played against strong teams. It was the same luck that helped Pakistan win the 1992 world cup in Australia/New Zealand when at one point of time they were not even the favourites to make it to the semis. And in the semis against New Zealand, it was only after Inzamam stepped in that Pakistan could hope of a final berth. And this time as well, Pakistan have defeated only one test playing nation in New Zealand. The real task for Pakistan is in the semis.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
South Africa As A Team
Well last night, in the first encounter of the day namely the match between the West Indies and South Africa, South Africa not only maintained their winning habit and in the process continue their winning streak to be one of the teams in the tournament that have been unbeaten so far, but also showed the world once again that cricket is a game consisting of eleven players and not just a bowler and a batsman like the West Indies did. If one could give a close look at the scorecard of the match between the West Indies and South Africa, it could be easily observed that if not for Lendi Simmons, none of the West Indian batsmen really stood to the challenge.
Out of the score of 163 put up on the board by the West Indies, 77 of them solely belonged to Lendi Simmons. Meaning that the remaining eight batsmen put up a mere 86 runs at just above 10 a piece. It was frustrating to see just three of the West Indian batsmen cross the double digit mark, with one of them (Suliemann Benn) being a tail ender. There were solid batsmen in Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chandrapaul who could have shown their powers with the willow. But, unfortunately that was not the case. Had one of these aforementioned batsmen stood to the Proteas' bowling, the result might have been different I guess.
With just one batsman firing, the West Indies came so close to the target of 185 imposed by South Africa, one can imagine as to what would have happened had atleast another batsman (if not all) had taken the West Indies' charge. On the other hand, the South African batting was not dominated by a single batsman but there were 6 South African batsmen who crossed double figures. A combined effort by the South African batsmen put up a tough total on the board. Of course, the bowling department was dominated by Wayne Parnell who took 4 wickets giving away 13 runs from his allotted 4 overs.
However, Jaques Kallis, Johan Botha and Albie Morkel returned with a run rate of above 10 an over as compared to the 8.5 by the West Indies team at the end of their batting innings. Last time also, South Africa had won their first encounter against England, following it with a win against New Zealand. This time in the place of New Zealand there are West Indies. Later on, the Proteas, like the last time will have to play India who are also facing England & South Africa like last time. Here too New Zealand being replaced by the West Indies. If the things go as per guess, the semi finals should read India vs Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs West Indies. Let us see.
Out of the score of 163 put up on the board by the West Indies, 77 of them solely belonged to Lendi Simmons. Meaning that the remaining eight batsmen put up a mere 86 runs at just above 10 a piece. It was frustrating to see just three of the West Indian batsmen cross the double digit mark, with one of them (Suliemann Benn) being a tail ender. There were solid batsmen in Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chandrapaul who could have shown their powers with the willow. But, unfortunately that was not the case. Had one of these aforementioned batsmen stood to the Proteas' bowling, the result might have been different I guess.
With just one batsman firing, the West Indies came so close to the target of 185 imposed by South Africa, one can imagine as to what would have happened had atleast another batsman (if not all) had taken the West Indies' charge. On the other hand, the South African batting was not dominated by a single batsman but there were 6 South African batsmen who crossed double figures. A combined effort by the South African batsmen put up a tough total on the board. Of course, the bowling department was dominated by Wayne Parnell who took 4 wickets giving away 13 runs from his allotted 4 overs.
However, Jaques Kallis, Johan Botha and Albie Morkel returned with a run rate of above 10 an over as compared to the 8.5 by the West Indies team at the end of their batting innings. Last time also, South Africa had won their first encounter against England, following it with a win against New Zealand. This time in the place of New Zealand there are West Indies. Later on, the Proteas, like the last time will have to play India who are also facing England & South Africa like last time. Here too New Zealand being replaced by the West Indies. If the things go as per guess, the semi finals should read India vs Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs West Indies. Let us see.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
New Zealand Unfit For T20?
Well last night, I had written a post regarding Sri Lanka's advance to the semis at the cost of Ireland and Pakistan (may be), with New Zealand being the other team to get qualify to the semi finals, given their good run rate and the unpredictable cricket from Pakistan side. But, after yesterday's match between Pakistan and New Zealand, it is almost confirmed that New Zealand can no more hope to go to the finals of the tournament. Perhaps! A win against Sri Lanka can grant them a place in the semis provided conditions apply. First of all, Sri Lanka should win against Ireland with a bad NRR and lose against New Zealand as well.
It has been a long way back since New Zealand has beaten Sri Lanka in any international tournament sponsored by the ICC, be it the world cup, T20 Championship or even the ICC Champions Trophy. I remember New Zealand last beating Sri Lanka in a mega event in the Benson & Hedges world 1992 played in Hamilton. After that, the two teams met in the Champions trophy 1998 where Arjuna Ranatunga's men made the better off New Zealand (probably under Adam Parore). There were no contests between New Zealand & Sri Lanka in the 1996 or 1999 WC. Then in 2003 WC, Sri Lanka beat NZ by 47 runs and later in 2007, SL beat NZ twice.
Likewise, even Sri Lanka had never beaten Pakistan in any major ICC event. Perhaps! Sri Lanka had never faced Pakistan after the 1992 world cup until 2007. However Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the CT 2006 and then in the T20 world cup in 2007. Anyway, coming to the match between Pakistan and New Zealand, New Zealand were found to be in the game only in the first over of their batting, where Brendon McCullum blasted 16 runs aided with twi hits to the fence. And the rest of the match, especially the New Zealand's batting is all about Umar Gul. who devastated the New Zealand batting returning with figures of 5/6. Such figures are available only in the matches involving a minnow and a test playing nation barring Bangladesh.
This is I guess the lowest total in a T20 world cup by a test playing nation after Bangladesh were bowled out for 83 in the inconsequential match against Sri Lanka. It was amazing to see only three batsmen crossing the double digit mark in a match that could prove too costly for New Zealand. On the other hand, Pakistan chased the total of 99 in 13 overs. C'mon how could this be such a one sided affair? In the beginning, New Zealand threatened to steal the show after blasting 16 runs. Then, gradually the run rate dropped to 8.0 in the third with the loss of 1st wicket and finally, neither could New Zealand cross the 100 run mark nor could they play their full quota of 20 over nor could they maintain a run a ball run rate.
I wish the ICC make norms for a team to qualify for T20s like it has been done for the tests. Just kidding!!!
It has been a long way back since New Zealand has beaten Sri Lanka in any international tournament sponsored by the ICC, be it the world cup, T20 Championship or even the ICC Champions Trophy. I remember New Zealand last beating Sri Lanka in a mega event in the Benson & Hedges world 1992 played in Hamilton. After that, the two teams met in the Champions trophy 1998 where Arjuna Ranatunga's men made the better off New Zealand (probably under Adam Parore). There were no contests between New Zealand & Sri Lanka in the 1996 or 1999 WC. Then in 2003 WC, Sri Lanka beat NZ by 47 runs and later in 2007, SL beat NZ twice.
Likewise, even Sri Lanka had never beaten Pakistan in any major ICC event. Perhaps! Sri Lanka had never faced Pakistan after the 1992 world cup until 2007. However Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the CT 2006 and then in the T20 world cup in 2007. Anyway, coming to the match between Pakistan and New Zealand, New Zealand were found to be in the game only in the first over of their batting, where Brendon McCullum blasted 16 runs aided with twi hits to the fence. And the rest of the match, especially the New Zealand's batting is all about Umar Gul. who devastated the New Zealand batting returning with figures of 5/6. Such figures are available only in the matches involving a minnow and a test playing nation barring Bangladesh.
This is I guess the lowest total in a T20 world cup by a test playing nation after Bangladesh were bowled out for 83 in the inconsequential match against Sri Lanka. It was amazing to see only three batsmen crossing the double digit mark in a match that could prove too costly for New Zealand. On the other hand, Pakistan chased the total of 99 in 13 overs. C'mon how could this be such a one sided affair? In the beginning, New Zealand threatened to steal the show after blasting 16 runs. Then, gradually the run rate dropped to 8.0 in the third with the loss of 1st wicket and finally, neither could New Zealand cross the 100 run mark nor could they play their full quota of 20 over nor could they maintain a run a ball run rate.
I wish the ICC make norms for a team to qualify for T20s like it has been done for the tests. Just kidding!!!
Friday, 12 June 2009
A Tough Task For India
Until yesterday, I never knew that the bond between India and Pakistan was so strong indeed. If Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka earlier in the day yesterday, later the same night, its rival India also lost their first match of the super eight of the ICC T20 world cup against the West Indies. If the previous edition of the ICC T20 world cup is to be taken, both the teams entered the finals of the same by losing just one game in the series until India snatched a 5 run win over Pakistan in the finals. India had lot a match against by 5 runs in their super eight opener and Pakistan to India in a bowl out which is needless to be said.
In the 2007 world cup in the West Indies, Pakistan was eliminated from the world cup after their loss to West Indies and then to Ireland. This was followed by the exit of team India who on the other hand lost to Bangladesh and then to Sri Lanka. In 1987, both India and Pakistan lost in the semis of the Reliance world cup. Pakistan lost their match against Australia and India to England. Anyway let us chuck this topic for the moment. Coming to the game between India and the West Indies, I could rather say that it was a good show put up by team India but it fell short of luck that Sri Lanka had earlier in the day in their match against Pakistan.
If not for the initial hiccups, the Indian team did well to contain the West Indian bowlers by scoring a decent 153 on the board. May be if the trio viz Gautam Gambhir, Rohith Sharma and Suresh Raina had gone in for some matured thinking, the total could have had a 20-30 extra runs. This showed the reckless shots that the so called stars of the Indian batting line up displayed the last night. Of course, the catch of Suresh Raina by the wicket keeper-DineshRamdin was just superb and so was the catch of Gautam Gambhir by Simmons in the deep. Perhaps! Had the stunning catch of Yuvraj been taken, there would have been a different mindset in the camp if not for a different result.
And at last, the three consecutive fours by Harbhajan in the last 3 balls showed that India were no less of batting talent. Even last time, India started their super eight campaign with a loss to New Zealand and were eventually termed the world champions of the T20. Perhaps! This time the task is a little bit more difficult especially for India after their loss to West Indies. This was the first major encounter for India this season after they had beaten minnows-Ireland and Bangladesh thanks to the bad scheduling of the event. This time as well, South Africa are on a roll after having been unbeaten so far. Oh! Yes..how can one forget the way Indians tamed the Proteas last season when the odds were against them?
This time England cannot be taken for granted despite being the underdogs for, they host the tournament and have a home team advantage. However, it would not be a wrong guess to call the shots favoring India. But, there are West Indies who are in no mood to compromise either. Unlike the other pool that has Ireland, this pool has a contest between three teams viz India, South Africa & West Indies and a little bit of England. The other pool has a contest between only Pakistan & New Zealand.
In the 2007 world cup in the West Indies, Pakistan was eliminated from the world cup after their loss to West Indies and then to Ireland. This was followed by the exit of team India who on the other hand lost to Bangladesh and then to Sri Lanka. In 1987, both India and Pakistan lost in the semis of the Reliance world cup. Pakistan lost their match against Australia and India to England. Anyway let us chuck this topic for the moment. Coming to the game between India and the West Indies, I could rather say that it was a good show put up by team India but it fell short of luck that Sri Lanka had earlier in the day in their match against Pakistan.
If not for the initial hiccups, the Indian team did well to contain the West Indian bowlers by scoring a decent 153 on the board. May be if the trio viz Gautam Gambhir, Rohith Sharma and Suresh Raina had gone in for some matured thinking, the total could have had a 20-30 extra runs. This showed the reckless shots that the so called stars of the Indian batting line up displayed the last night. Of course, the catch of Suresh Raina by the wicket keeper-DineshRamdin was just superb and so was the catch of Gautam Gambhir by Simmons in the deep. Perhaps! Had the stunning catch of Yuvraj been taken, there would have been a different mindset in the camp if not for a different result.
And at last, the three consecutive fours by Harbhajan in the last 3 balls showed that India were no less of batting talent. Even last time, India started their super eight campaign with a loss to New Zealand and were eventually termed the world champions of the T20. Perhaps! This time the task is a little bit more difficult especially for India after their loss to West Indies. This was the first major encounter for India this season after they had beaten minnows-Ireland and Bangladesh thanks to the bad scheduling of the event. This time as well, South Africa are on a roll after having been unbeaten so far. Oh! Yes..how can one forget the way Indians tamed the Proteas last season when the odds were against them?
This time England cannot be taken for granted despite being the underdogs for, they host the tournament and have a home team advantage. However, it would not be a wrong guess to call the shots favoring India. But, there are West Indies who are in no mood to compromise either. Unlike the other pool that has Ireland, this pool has a contest between three teams viz India, South Africa & West Indies and a little bit of England. The other pool has a contest between only Pakistan & New Zealand.
Sri Lanka Make It To The Semis
Well two wins out of the three matches in the super eight stage of the ongoing T20 world cup in England would see that particular team through to the semi finals of the same. And now since Sri Lanka have won their first super eight match against Pakistan, they have not only come closer to blocking the semi final berth but also have made it almost theirs, for a win against minnows Ireland is taken for granted unless the ghost doesn't haunt them. For that matter, Sri Lanka have a better chance of making it three in all, with the odds favoring Sri Lanka against New Zealand as well.
It was all because of the opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilakeratne Dilshan who put on 80 runs on the board at the end of the 8th over, thus making full use of the powerplays and the lack of cricketing experience of the Pakistan team who have not been found playing serious cricket since the past one year or so. If not for these two, the mission would not have been accomplished no matter what the Sri Lankan bowlers had to say. For, the remaining 12 overs could fetch just a mere 70 runs at a run rate of just less than 6.0 an over.
The scores that followed after the dismissal of Mahela Jayawardane read 8, 5, 9*, 0 & 2, with just a boundary inbetween that came after 7 overs. The lone six of the game came from the bat of Sanath Jayasuriya (which is as obvious) and after the fall of Mahela Jayawardane, only two boundaries were seen in the Sri Lankan innings. On the other hand, the Pakistani batsmen showed a better class if not for their initial loss of Salman Butt who was out for a duck. The trio viz Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah threatened to take the game away from the Sri Lankans. I am indeed sorry to say that the Pakistani team was inexperienced to take on any other major team of the tournament.
This victory of Sri Lanka against Pakistan was the first one (for Sri Lanka against Pakistan) in any ICC Cricket tournament till date. They had lost to Pakistan in the 2007 edition of the T20 world cup held at South Africa after Sanath Jayasuriya went in for 64 runs from his four overs. And prior to that was Sri Lanka's loss to Pakistan ion the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 and before that it was in 1992 where Sri Lanka once again had lost to Pakistan. Since the 1992 world cup held at Australia/New Zealand, Sri Lanka have never faced Pakistan till date.
A knock out before the semis is expected in the match between Pakistan and New Zealand not to forget the run rate which would decide who would go in to the semis.
It was all because of the opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilakeratne Dilshan who put on 80 runs on the board at the end of the 8th over, thus making full use of the powerplays and the lack of cricketing experience of the Pakistan team who have not been found playing serious cricket since the past one year or so. If not for these two, the mission would not have been accomplished no matter what the Sri Lankan bowlers had to say. For, the remaining 12 overs could fetch just a mere 70 runs at a run rate of just less than 6.0 an over.
The scores that followed after the dismissal of Mahela Jayawardane read 8, 5, 9*, 0 & 2, with just a boundary inbetween that came after 7 overs. The lone six of the game came from the bat of Sanath Jayasuriya (which is as obvious) and after the fall of Mahela Jayawardane, only two boundaries were seen in the Sri Lankan innings. On the other hand, the Pakistani batsmen showed a better class if not for their initial loss of Salman Butt who was out for a duck. The trio viz Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah threatened to take the game away from the Sri Lankans. I am indeed sorry to say that the Pakistani team was inexperienced to take on any other major team of the tournament.
This victory of Sri Lanka against Pakistan was the first one (for Sri Lanka against Pakistan) in any ICC Cricket tournament till date. They had lost to Pakistan in the 2007 edition of the T20 world cup held at South Africa after Sanath Jayasuriya went in for 64 runs from his four overs. And prior to that was Sri Lanka's loss to Pakistan ion the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 and before that it was in 1992 where Sri Lanka once again had lost to Pakistan. Since the 1992 world cup held at Australia/New Zealand, Sri Lanka have never faced Pakistan till date.
A knock out before the semis is expected in the match between Pakistan and New Zealand not to forget the run rate which would decide who would go in to the semis.
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