Well the moment a team scores 118, anybody who would have had his bet on that particular team would have to leave the stadium or switch off his television sets. And may be that was what fans of Pune Warriors who would have bet their money on that team been doing yesterday after they crashed to a 7 wicket loss at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders. At such a run rate, the Pune Warriors couldn't even manage to win a 50 over match let alone a 20 over one. Very rarely does a team win matches defending 118.
The highest individual score happened to be from the blades of Yuvraj Singh who scored 24 which only he could boast of. One can just consider Yuvraj Singh as a topper among failures. I just cannot understand why Kolkata Knight Riders could not get the Pune Warriors all out. There were three more wickets left in the Pune Warriors' kitty. It is not always that the win or loss that matters but the way a match has been won or lost needless to be said. Pune Warriors were as though they just wanted to convince their fans saying that they were playing for the 1st time.
Pune Warriors might have been playing for the first time in the IPL but certainly, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Jesse Ryder etc have featured in all three previous editions of the tournament. This is Sourav Ganguly's third match in the IPL and this has been his second under rated performance after scoring a naught in the game against Deccan Chargers. One has to definitely appreciate the efforts of the Kolkata captain who bought in 8 of his bowlers knowing that the Pune Warriors were at their knees. The entire Pune Warriors' innings consisted of just one six from the blades of Ganguly.
Whatever, Sourav Ganguly would have been a happy man despite the results of the game because, the team which eventually won was Ganguly's home team while had the Pune Warriors won, that would be the team which Ganguly is now representing. The total of 118 hardly requires any team work where finishing the job is more of a formality than any sort of achievement. Still, there was Gautam Gambhir who scored the lone half century of the match aided with an all round performance by Yousuf Pathan who grabbed 2 wickets and then went on to score the winning runs for his team.
Showing posts with label Yuvraj Singh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yuvraj Singh. Show all posts
Friday, 20 May 2011
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Just Yuvraj Singh for Pune
Well the rules of the game of cricket suggests that every team is supposed to have 11 players and may be that is the reason why ten out of the eleven players from the Pune Warriors side are seen making it to the squad with only Yuvraj Singh doing the talking with the bat. One can just have a look at the scorecard of yesterday's match between Pune Warriors and Chennai Superkings which obviously was won by the defending champions. There are the likes of Monish Mishra, Manish Pandey, Robin Uttappa etc who could have done a lot with the bat but didn't.
If not for Yuvraj Singh's 62, the next best performance was Robin Uttappa's 31 which was exactly half of what Yuvraj Singh could manage. Then comes Jesse Ryder's 19 and beyond that, the scores can only take the space on the page and nothing else. If the 62 runs scored by Yuvraj Singh is stripped from the scorecard of Pune Warriors, then the total of the same turn out to be 69 which is the total put up by the remaining 7 batsmen who made it to the crease and not to forget the 5 extra runs. That makes the total 69-5=64.
Had the remaining batsmen mentioned contributed up to their mark, then the scorecard would have read something different than what is the case. One can see Raina returning with one of the best bowling figures with the ball when he gave away runs at a rate of just 5 runs an over. Unfortunately, Raina was given one over short, when he deserved to bowl an extra over thus completing his quota of four overs. One can see three overs bowled maiden in the game with two of them being from the Pune Warriors and making it worse, the bowler who gave away the winning runs bowled one of them.
It would not be wrong to say that the overs bowled maiden by the Pune Warriors team was awarded by the Chennai Superkings for, the batsmen from the Chennai team showed no signs of feat which usually results in overs going without a run being scored. Needless to be said, the Chennai Superkings reached the target with 8 wickets to spare and just three balls remaining. Does this speak of the pressure the Chennai Superkings were facing during their run chase becomes a different question altogether. Eventually, 7 bowlers from the Pune Warriors side could not contain two batsmen from the Chenai superkings side.
If not for Yuvraj Singh's 62, the next best performance was Robin Uttappa's 31 which was exactly half of what Yuvraj Singh could manage. Then comes Jesse Ryder's 19 and beyond that, the scores can only take the space on the page and nothing else. If the 62 runs scored by Yuvraj Singh is stripped from the scorecard of Pune Warriors, then the total of the same turn out to be 69 which is the total put up by the remaining 7 batsmen who made it to the crease and not to forget the 5 extra runs. That makes the total 69-5=64.
Had the remaining batsmen mentioned contributed up to their mark, then the scorecard would have read something different than what is the case. One can see Raina returning with one of the best bowling figures with the ball when he gave away runs at a rate of just 5 runs an over. Unfortunately, Raina was given one over short, when he deserved to bowl an extra over thus completing his quota of four overs. One can see three overs bowled maiden in the game with two of them being from the Pune Warriors and making it worse, the bowler who gave away the winning runs bowled one of them.
It would not be wrong to say that the overs bowled maiden by the Pune Warriors team was awarded by the Chennai Superkings for, the batsmen from the Chennai team showed no signs of feat which usually results in overs going without a run being scored. Needless to be said, the Chennai Superkings reached the target with 8 wickets to spare and just three balls remaining. Does this speak of the pressure the Chennai Superkings were facing during their run chase becomes a different question altogether. Eventually, 7 bowlers from the Pune Warriors side could not contain two batsmen from the Chenai superkings side.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
A mixture of batting and bowling
This match should go down as one of the best game this year's IPL has ever witnessed whatsoever. Just imagine a team piling up runs at a rate of just under 7.5 runs an over and is able to defend the same successfully and that too by a decent margin and doesn't bowl the opposition all out like it happens most of the time in limited overs game. This was what the Chennai Super Kings were found doing last night with the Pune Warriors being at the receiving end. Neither did the Pune Warriors lose all their ten wickets nor did they end on the winning side.
The only way thought of to be to defend a total of 142 in a T20 game is to bowl the opposition with restricting them to a lesser total would be out of question. And, as a rare chance that happens, the match would be a close encounter unlike what happened in yesterday's encounter between the Chennai Super Kings and the Pune Warriors. The entire match saw only one batsman scoring a half century with Australia's Mike Hussey being the hero of the match. Of course, a batsman from a team scoring 142 can hardly be expected to score a half century.
Making it still worse, a team with a total of 117 runs towards the end of the innings can have a batsman scoring a half century only in dreams and dreams rarely come true. One can take look at the bowling chart of both the teams playing with both the teams resorting to 6 bowlers, two of whom who bowl 2 overs and the remaining bowlers bowling their full quota of 4 overs each. One can forgive the Deccan Chargers in last night's game against Mumbai Indians but not the Pune Warriors in yesterday's game. A team with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and co should put up a decent performance.
The Pune Warriors were gifted with players like Jesse Ryder, Manish Pandey, Robin Uttappa, Yuvraj Singh etc who can do a lot with the at and on the other hand, they do not have the bowlers who can tackle the opposition batsmen. This is evident with the scorecard showing Rohith Sharma and Alfonso Thomas bowling four overs when Rohith Sharma can be expected to entertain the fans with the bat. Likewise, if not for Mike Hussey, no one really stood up to the occasion for the Chennai Superkings. One can imagine had there been no Mike Hussey what would or might have happened to the Chennai Super Kings.
The only way thought of to be to defend a total of 142 in a T20 game is to bowl the opposition with restricting them to a lesser total would be out of question. And, as a rare chance that happens, the match would be a close encounter unlike what happened in yesterday's encounter between the Chennai Super Kings and the Pune Warriors. The entire match saw only one batsman scoring a half century with Australia's Mike Hussey being the hero of the match. Of course, a batsman from a team scoring 142 can hardly be expected to score a half century.
Making it still worse, a team with a total of 117 runs towards the end of the innings can have a batsman scoring a half century only in dreams and dreams rarely come true. One can take look at the bowling chart of both the teams playing with both the teams resorting to 6 bowlers, two of whom who bowl 2 overs and the remaining bowlers bowling their full quota of 4 overs each. One can forgive the Deccan Chargers in last night's game against Mumbai Indians but not the Pune Warriors in yesterday's game. A team with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and co should put up a decent performance.
The Pune Warriors were gifted with players like Jesse Ryder, Manish Pandey, Robin Uttappa, Yuvraj Singh etc who can do a lot with the at and on the other hand, they do not have the bowlers who can tackle the opposition batsmen. This is evident with the scorecard showing Rohith Sharma and Alfonso Thomas bowling four overs when Rohith Sharma can be expected to entertain the fans with the bat. Likewise, if not for Mike Hussey, no one really stood up to the occasion for the Chennai Superkings. One can imagine had there been no Mike Hussey what would or might have happened to the Chennai Super Kings.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Shivering Mumbai
Well, if anybody thinks twice on having their bet on new teams, one has to think no further because this is IPL and not some international cricket tournament. We understand that in international games but for a few, it is always the test laying nations that have an upper hand while the non-test playing nation has to compromise with just the participation. But, this is not the case regarding tournaments like the IPL where the new team if not for making their first appearance is not short of any talent with big names like Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth still making rounds.
Recently, the Delhi Daredevils had a run for their money against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and yesterday, Mumbai Indians had to wait until the last delivery to be bowled to achieve the so-called granted victory. If the batting of the Pune Warriors was thought to be below par, then either the Mumbai Indians' batting should also come under scrutiny for taking it to the ultimate delivery or else, the bowlers of the Pune Warriors should walk out with all the applause for making the batsmen under Sachin Tendulkar struggle under pressure. Both batting and bowling are vital parts of the game.
One has to think about the way the batsmen from the Pune Warriors went out with them losing their wickets with 5 of their batmen failing to get past the ten run mark and with 4 others making it just above 10 to see to that they don't get into the single digit club whatsoever. Putting it simple, only Robin Uttappa had a game when he scored 45 runs to see the total go past above 100 but still ended with a run rate below 6.0 runs an over. As though that was not enough, the Mumbai Indians also played the same way.
The efforts of the Pune needs applause with their captain Yuvraj bringing in 7 of his bowlers to bowl with three of them finishing their full quota of 4 overs. This worked to a greater extent when though the Mumbai team never lost wickets, they took it to the ultimate delivery of the match to score that winning run needless to be said. Point to be noted was that Murali Karthik and Parnell who gave away runs at the rate of over 7.0 runs an over were given four overs while Shrikant Wagh and Rohith Sharma who were among the wicket-takers were given 3 and 2 overs respectively.
Recently, the Delhi Daredevils had a run for their money against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and yesterday, Mumbai Indians had to wait until the last delivery to be bowled to achieve the so-called granted victory. If the batting of the Pune Warriors was thought to be below par, then either the Mumbai Indians' batting should also come under scrutiny for taking it to the ultimate delivery or else, the bowlers of the Pune Warriors should walk out with all the applause for making the batsmen under Sachin Tendulkar struggle under pressure. Both batting and bowling are vital parts of the game.
One has to think about the way the batsmen from the Pune Warriors went out with them losing their wickets with 5 of their batmen failing to get past the ten run mark and with 4 others making it just above 10 to see to that they don't get into the single digit club whatsoever. Putting it simple, only Robin Uttappa had a game when he scored 45 runs to see the total go past above 100 but still ended with a run rate below 6.0 runs an over. As though that was not enough, the Mumbai Indians also played the same way.
The efforts of the Pune needs applause with their captain Yuvraj bringing in 7 of his bowlers to bowl with three of them finishing their full quota of 4 overs. This worked to a greater extent when though the Mumbai team never lost wickets, they took it to the ultimate delivery of the match to score that winning run needless to be said. Point to be noted was that Murali Karthik and Parnell who gave away runs at the rate of over 7.0 runs an over were given four overs while Shrikant Wagh and Rohith Sharma who were among the wicket-takers were given 3 and 2 overs respectively.
Monday, 18 April 2011
So, Delhi are there in the race!
Well it would have been a mismatch had the Delhi team lost out this time with them being the highlights of the tournament in the past three editions of the Indian Premier League. The Delhi Daredevils made it to the semi-finals of the tournament in the first two editions of the tournament and unluckily lost the plot in the semi-finals to Hyderabad in 2009. This time, the Delhi team was as though they would be the first to finish off the tournament and head back home with Virender Sehwag cursing over his misfortune. But, it looks like they are back in the game after yesterday's win over Pune.
The Delhi Daredevils scripted a miraculous turnaround with them chasing down the highest total of the tournament so far surpassing the Kings XI Punjab's victory over Chennai Super Kings where they successfully chased down 188 runs on the board at Mohali. That was the first wonder of the tournament which was done by a team which has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. And, after that feat, the Delhi Daredevils have done this yesterday at Mumbai. It was not a one man show from the Delhi Daredevils team with all the 9 batsmen contributing to the success of the team.
Of course, keeping in mind the total of the Pune Warriors, a score of 187 was a tough one to chase and the reason for that was the charging done by Yuvraj Singh and Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh who played a captain's knock. Though this was not sufficient to achieve a victory, that was more than sufficient to give the Pune Warriors' captain- Yuvraj Singh the man of the match award. There was also Jesse Ryder who scored 60 runs at the rate of 222.0 for every hundred balls he faced off just 27 balls with 5 sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
But, the Pune Warriors lacked the team work that was present in the Delhi Daredevils team with at least 7 out of the nine batsmen making it count for their team. The highest individual score for the Delhi Daredevils was 46 scored by David Warner followed by Virender Sehwag's 37. But, neither David Warner nor Shahbaz Nadeem (for his bowling) was awarded the man of the match. If number of sixes scored should be considered, then the Pune Warriors win with them having 11 hits out of the ground compared to the 9 hit by the Pune Warriors. In the end, the Delhi team can be bet upon.
The Delhi Daredevils scripted a miraculous turnaround with them chasing down the highest total of the tournament so far surpassing the Kings XI Punjab's victory over Chennai Super Kings where they successfully chased down 188 runs on the board at Mohali. That was the first wonder of the tournament which was done by a team which has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. And, after that feat, the Delhi Daredevils have done this yesterday at Mumbai. It was not a one man show from the Delhi Daredevils team with all the 9 batsmen contributing to the success of the team.
Of course, keeping in mind the total of the Pune Warriors, a score of 187 was a tough one to chase and the reason for that was the charging done by Yuvraj Singh and Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh who played a captain's knock. Though this was not sufficient to achieve a victory, that was more than sufficient to give the Pune Warriors' captain- Yuvraj Singh the man of the match award. There was also Jesse Ryder who scored 60 runs at the rate of 222.0 for every hundred balls he faced off just 27 balls with 5 sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
But, the Pune Warriors lacked the team work that was present in the Delhi Daredevils team with at least 7 out of the nine batsmen making it count for their team. The highest individual score for the Delhi Daredevils was 46 scored by David Warner followed by Virender Sehwag's 37. But, neither David Warner nor Shahbaz Nadeem (for his bowling) was awarded the man of the match. If number of sixes scored should be considered, then the Pune Warriors win with them having 11 hits out of the ground compared to the 9 hit by the Pune Warriors. In the end, the Delhi team can be bet upon.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
A totally flawless final
Well I just cannot recall a finals between two teams captained by played who also keep wickets for their side. This time I saw it when Kumara Sangakkara for Sri Lanka and Mahendra Singh Dhoni did it for India in the finals. On one side, being an Indian I was rejoicing the Indian victory which came home after 28 years surpassing a silver jubilee in between and on the other hand, I had complete pity for Mahela Jayawardane to have ended on the losing side despite scoring a century. No one scored a century for India despite them being victorious.
This was a rare finals not only because it was India who won the trophy but for the fact that both teams fought it out hard to win the trophy which was eventually awarded to one team that played a slight better cricket. Sri Lanka did well to pileup 274 runs on the board which should have been a winning total for sure. But, needless to be said, Dhoni and team had different plans. I just cannot forget the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the team for the sixth world cup. Someone like Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Inzamam Ul Haq never enjoyed this.
Despite being extraordinary players of their era, they never got to lift the world cup. One can look into the last three world cup finals which were all won by Australia and were one sided games. It would not have been a prized prediction for anyone who would have bet on Australia after Pakistan were bowled out for 132 in 1999. And then in 2003, a total of 359 would have never be chased even with ten Sachin Tendulkars in the side against a team with McGrath and co bowling. If McGrath stuck to his line and length, Lee did the damage.
Exactly four years later in the Caribbean, India was replaced by Sri Lanka and Ricky Ponting was replaced by Adam Gilchrist. Every world cup final set up a new record for Australia. In 1999, Pakistan were bowled out for the lowest total in a world cup final. Then in 2003, Indian bowlers were belted for the highest total, the largest margin of victory and the fastest hundred in a world cup final. Four years later, Adam Gilchrist blasted the fastest hundred in a world cup finals bettering Ponting's record by 2 balls and the highest individual score in a world cup final.
This was a rare finals not only because it was India who won the trophy but for the fact that both teams fought it out hard to win the trophy which was eventually awarded to one team that played a slight better cricket. Sri Lanka did well to pileup 274 runs on the board which should have been a winning total for sure. But, needless to be said, Dhoni and team had different plans. I just cannot forget the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the team for the sixth world cup. Someone like Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Inzamam Ul Haq never enjoyed this.
Despite being extraordinary players of their era, they never got to lift the world cup. One can look into the last three world cup finals which were all won by Australia and were one sided games. It would not have been a prized prediction for anyone who would have bet on Australia after Pakistan were bowled out for 132 in 1999. And then in 2003, a total of 359 would have never be chased even with ten Sachin Tendulkars in the side against a team with McGrath and co bowling. If McGrath stuck to his line and length, Lee did the damage.
Exactly four years later in the Caribbean, India was replaced by Sri Lanka and Ricky Ponting was replaced by Adam Gilchrist. Every world cup final set up a new record for Australia. In 1999, Pakistan were bowled out for the lowest total in a world cup final. Then in 2003, Indian bowlers were belted for the highest total, the largest margin of victory and the fastest hundred in a world cup final. Four years later, Adam Gilchrist blasted the fastest hundred in a world cup finals bettering Ponting's record by 2 balls and the highest individual score in a world cup final.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Luck strikes India at the right time
Well there have been two games in this tournament where India should have won and eventually lost. Those are the game against England and South Africa where India lost the plot mid-way defending a decent total. Despite those two huge losses, the Indian players in every department were no short of their body language and guts. They did everything well till yesterday's game against the Aussies which was their win against the team after 24 years. Had the even took place a year later, may be India would have celebrated a silver-jubilee of their win over the four-time world champions.
India had last won a game against Australia in world cups in the 1987 edition where the Mahammed Azharuddin-led team India beat the to-be world champions by 59 runs though they lost their other encounter against the Aussies by 1 run in the same tournament. Since then, India has been at the receiving end of the Aussies as many as 5 times. Coming to the tournament, in that match against England, India did very well to get to 338 powered with a hundred by Sachin Tendulkar but eventually not only lost all their ten wickets but an opportunity to win as well.
Though India lost 9 wickets for less than 30 runs and failed to play their complete quota of 50 overs, a score of 297 was not a bad one at all. The score was more than enough for the Proteas to shed their sweat. Had the Proteas been that tough to face, they should not have lost 7 wickets and played until the last over en-route to their successful run chase. That was the second bad luck that struck team India. One need not consider their win against West Indies to be a luck favoring India for West Indies are a team that only Holland can fear.
You can see from the scorecard about the panic that the Aussies had with not even a single bowler happening to bowl his complete quota of ten overs. The Aussies could extract only 1 over maiden when Brett Lee happened to be the lucky guy this time. Likewise, there were four bowlers from India to have completed their full quota of ten overs that included the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. There were three bowlers from India to have been better than the four from Australia. Concluding the post, did the Aussies take the Indians for granted or was Dhoni lucky to have this his?
India had last won a game against Australia in world cups in the 1987 edition where the Mahammed Azharuddin-led team India beat the to-be world champions by 59 runs though they lost their other encounter against the Aussies by 1 run in the same tournament. Since then, India has been at the receiving end of the Aussies as many as 5 times. Coming to the tournament, in that match against England, India did very well to get to 338 powered with a hundred by Sachin Tendulkar but eventually not only lost all their ten wickets but an opportunity to win as well.
Though India lost 9 wickets for less than 30 runs and failed to play their complete quota of 50 overs, a score of 297 was not a bad one at all. The score was more than enough for the Proteas to shed their sweat. Had the Proteas been that tough to face, they should not have lost 7 wickets and played until the last over en-route to their successful run chase. That was the second bad luck that struck team India. One need not consider their win against West Indies to be a luck favoring India for West Indies are a team that only Holland can fear.
You can see from the scorecard about the panic that the Aussies had with not even a single bowler happening to bowl his complete quota of ten overs. The Aussies could extract only 1 over maiden when Brett Lee happened to be the lucky guy this time. Likewise, there were four bowlers from India to have completed their full quota of ten overs that included the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. There were three bowlers from India to have been better than the four from Australia. Concluding the post, did the Aussies take the Indians for granted or was Dhoni lucky to have this his?
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Back to the pavilion
Well after the game between Pakistan and New Zealand got over a couple of days back, things have returned back to what they were with India beating Netherlands yesterday by 5 wickets. Though India have had to face the music in matches against England and with matches against South Africa and West Indies yet to happen, all that is left for we viewers is to wait and watch for these encounters. On the other hand, the match between Sri Lanka and Australia was washed off and South Africa spoiled all viewers' hopes against England when they failed to chase 172.
In that match against Holland, India lost 5 wickets which was not at all necessary keeping in mind the opposition they were facing. Holland are yet to win a game in this world cup and their dream can only be hoped to relish against Ireland at the fag end of the pool matches. On the other side of the tournament, even Kenya are yet to win a game with Canada already having opening their account and their hopes lie in that game against Zimbabwe. Anyways, those games are just for the sake of time pass with big games lined up in succession.
Something that the Holland team can realize is that five of their batsmen came up with decent scores with them crossing the 20 run mark. That can be the only achievement for a team like Holland who have not won a single match in the 1996 world cup-the time when they started playing cricket at the international level. Coincidentally, even Kenya started their world cup campaign in the same year 1996 and have been featuring themselves since then in all world cups. However, Holland missed out in the 1999 edition. But, that can hardly draw anybody's attention no matter what.
India could make this match theirs by having in Piyush Chawla who could not have entered the world cup at any other time. He was not a part of the game against Bangladesh and got belted against Ireland for 7 runs an over compared to the overall run-rate of 4 an over. A part time bowler in Yuvraj Singh happened to be the most successful bowler with a half century and 5 wickets to his credit. But keeping in mind Yuvraj's experience and Piyush's area of expertise, both stand at the same level. At the end, the match was just a walk over for Indians who registered another win.
In that match against Holland, India lost 5 wickets which was not at all necessary keeping in mind the opposition they were facing. Holland are yet to win a game in this world cup and their dream can only be hoped to relish against Ireland at the fag end of the pool matches. On the other side of the tournament, even Kenya are yet to win a game with Canada already having opening their account and their hopes lie in that game against Zimbabwe. Anyways, those games are just for the sake of time pass with big games lined up in succession.
Something that the Holland team can realize is that five of their batsmen came up with decent scores with them crossing the 20 run mark. That can be the only achievement for a team like Holland who have not won a single match in the 1996 world cup-the time when they started playing cricket at the international level. Coincidentally, even Kenya started their world cup campaign in the same year 1996 and have been featuring themselves since then in all world cups. However, Holland missed out in the 1999 edition. But, that can hardly draw anybody's attention no matter what.
India could make this match theirs by having in Piyush Chawla who could not have entered the world cup at any other time. He was not a part of the game against Bangladesh and got belted against Ireland for 7 runs an over compared to the overall run-rate of 4 an over. A part time bowler in Yuvraj Singh happened to be the most successful bowler with a half century and 5 wickets to his credit. But keeping in mind Yuvraj's experience and Piyush's area of expertise, both stand at the same level. At the end, the match was just a walk over for Indians who registered another win.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Proving Sachin Tendulkar unlucky?
Well many a times there have been situation when Sachin Tendulkar scores a century and team India fails to emerge on the winning side which brings up the next day's headline that the star batsman is unlucky for his team whenever he scores a hundred. May be that was the reason why India beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 2003 world cup when Sachin Tendulkar got out at 98 and 97 respectively. May be that was the reason why Sachin's nervous nineties happened to be lucky for India when India won that match if superstitions are to be believed.
I remember India losing the match against Pakistan in 2004 when India were chasing a target of 330 and India ended their innings at 317 with Sachin Tendulkar scoring 141. There could be many cases similar to this in his 400+ vast one day history. However, I personally don't go along with that stupid theory that a particular batsman scores a hundred and the team loses for, more runs on the board or individually, more are the chances of that particular team wining. Yesterday, India had absolutely no reasons to lose the game when at one stage they were looking forward to a total of 400+.
Though there can be some reasons for India not being able to end up victorious, absolutely no one can forgive the Indian team losing all their ten wickets in a span of 3.5 overs and with 305 runs on the board. That was the time of the innings when the batsmen had to step forward and take charge rather than losing wickets as though it was a cycle stand effect. And, if that was not enough, a total of 339 was a defendable one with strike bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. It is difficult to figure out what went wrong with India when neither their batting nor their bowling had to complain.
Was the England team that strong that the Indians could not withstand their blows despite being on the home side? Was Struass someone greater as a batsman compared to Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag. I can sense some weakness in the bowling department of team India which made them struggle against Bangladesh as well in the opening encounter despite scoring a total of 370 on the board. Finally, I pity England first for not being able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and second for falling by just one run from making it to the history books which would have been the most successful run chase in world cups.
I remember India losing the match against Pakistan in 2004 when India were chasing a target of 330 and India ended their innings at 317 with Sachin Tendulkar scoring 141. There could be many cases similar to this in his 400+ vast one day history. However, I personally don't go along with that stupid theory that a particular batsman scores a hundred and the team loses for, more runs on the board or individually, more are the chances of that particular team wining. Yesterday, India had absolutely no reasons to lose the game when at one stage they were looking forward to a total of 400+.
Though there can be some reasons for India not being able to end up victorious, absolutely no one can forgive the Indian team losing all their ten wickets in a span of 3.5 overs and with 305 runs on the board. That was the time of the innings when the batsmen had to step forward and take charge rather than losing wickets as though it was a cycle stand effect. And, if that was not enough, a total of 339 was a defendable one with strike bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. It is difficult to figure out what went wrong with India when neither their batting nor their bowling had to complain.
Was the England team that strong that the Indians could not withstand their blows despite being on the home side? Was Struass someone greater as a batsman compared to Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag. I can sense some weakness in the bowling department of team India which made them struggle against Bangladesh as well in the opening encounter despite scoring a total of 370 on the board. Finally, I pity England first for not being able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and second for falling by just one run from making it to the history books which would have been the most successful run chase in world cups.
Monday, 3 May 2010
No2 for India
For the third consecutive time, India have got into the super eights stage of a world T20 tournament without losing a single game in its league stage. In 2007, India had beaten Scotland (taken for granted) and Pakistan while in 2009 India beat Bangladesh and Ireland to reach the super eights of the tournament. Now, as expected by all, India beat Afghanistan a couple of days back and yesterday they beat South Africa to keep the tempo moving. It was interesting too India battle Afghanistan today and face South Africa tomorrow. The games involving India were held back to back.However, no one complains with India winning both the matches effectively and with it being a T20 game, even if two games involving one team is held on the same day doesn't matter. Indian batsmen never had problems of any sort when Suresh Raina did most of the scoring becoming the first Indian to score a century in a T20 international. Of course, there is no Sachin Tendulkar playing T20 cricket to score a century there. Anyways, with that apart, the match had only notable contributions from Yuvraj Singh and Raina who with the rest only filling the vacancies that were relevant.
It is not anybody's fault with Dhoni hardly getting anything to play and his score was an unbeaten 16 runs off 6 balls with one six and a boundary. Raina and Yuvraj together played 90 balls which was 75% of the match. It shouldn't matter who played with every batsman having his day. Whatever, it was foolish for Smith to stick to the six bowler formula when four bowlers bowled their quota. Whatever, chasing 187 is a tough job though Kallis on the top had the Indian bowlers running for cover when he struck 73 from 54 balls. May be that was too slow for T20 cricket especially when chasing.
Kallis stood for nine overs scoring at less than 9 runs an over which is quintessential in T20 cricket. Guys who came in later namely AB deVilliers, Morkel and Boucher scored quick runs but not enough ones to secure a victory. It was because of those batsmen that South Africa crossed the 170 run mark with the margin of victory limited to 14 runs. Towards, as there would be a man of the match who is responsible for his team's victory, there would also be a man who would be solely responsible for his team's defeat and it was Kallis in yesterday's match.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
RCB ahead of KXIP in all aspects
Well hardly anyone on earth would have anticipated the Royal Challengers Bangalore to not only win the match against the Kumara Sangakkara led Kings XI Punjab but also chase a mammoth total of 204 runs by losing just 2 wickets in the process. Such a match can hardly be found anywhere in the history books concerning cricket. The Kings XI captain Kumara Sangakkara was found bringing in 7 of his bowlers, none of whom could settle things for his team. This I heard was just the second time that the Royal Challengers have won a match against the Kings XI Punjab in the history of the IPL.
And, the way they have done it is just superb and nothing else. None of the 7 bowlers who had the the ball in their hands from the Kings XI Punjab were found bowling their full quota of 4 overs. That was the fears that Jacques Kallis injected in the minds of the bowlers of Kings XI Punjab. It was a more or less a one handed effort from Jacques Kallis that ensured not only of a Royal Challengers win but also ensured that the Kings XI Punjab team will go into the next match without a win in their hands in the current edition of the IPL.
One has to indeed raise his eyebrows for the coincidences that are found taking place in the match. If there were a team in Kings XI Punjab who are yet to win a match in the current edition of the IPL as stated above, there is a batsman in Jacques who is yet to lose his wicket in the current edition of the IPL. If at all someone os to be blamed for the debacle of the Kings XI Punjab as far as their match against Royal Challengers is to be considered, it has to be only the fortune of the KXIP team and no one else.
The Kings XI Punjab batsmen did each and everything they could to ensure that they stay on the top by piling up a mammoth 203 runs on the board losing just three wickets en-route. But, not only did they end up as the losing team but also, could not take more than two wickets off the RCB batsmen. The pitch no doubt was a paradise for batsmen but, had that been the case, the Kings XI captain Kumara Sangakkara should not have chosen to bat first after winning the toss. And, with a batsman like Kallis there in the opposition, nothing good can be guaranteed.
And, the way they have done it is just superb and nothing else. None of the 7 bowlers who had the the ball in their hands from the Kings XI Punjab were found bowling their full quota of 4 overs. That was the fears that Jacques Kallis injected in the minds of the bowlers of Kings XI Punjab. It was a more or less a one handed effort from Jacques Kallis that ensured not only of a Royal Challengers win but also ensured that the Kings XI Punjab team will go into the next match without a win in their hands in the current edition of the IPL.
One has to indeed raise his eyebrows for the coincidences that are found taking place in the match. If there were a team in Kings XI Punjab who are yet to win a match in the current edition of the IPL as stated above, there is a batsman in Jacques who is yet to lose his wicket in the current edition of the IPL. If at all someone os to be blamed for the debacle of the Kings XI Punjab as far as their match against Royal Challengers is to be considered, it has to be only the fortune of the KXIP team and no one else.
The Kings XI Punjab batsmen did each and everything they could to ensure that they stay on the top by piling up a mammoth 203 runs on the board losing just three wickets en-route. But, not only did they end up as the losing team but also, could not take more than two wickets off the RCB batsmen. The pitch no doubt was a paradise for batsmen but, had that been the case, the Kings XI captain Kumara Sangakkara should not have chosen to bat first after winning the toss. And, with a batsman like Kallis there in the opposition, nothing good can be guaranteed.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Can Kings XI change their fate as well !!!
If one goes through the scorecard of the Kings XI Punjab's batting innings, one would be surprised to see the presence of batsmen who had individual scores of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 which can hardly be the case in any other matches. There was also a batsman who scored a 0. It was the lack of the presence of a batsman who returned back to the pavilion by scoring 1 run which spoiled the party which would have otherwise seen the team consisting players who scored individual scores ranging from 0 to 6. In both the innings, there were opening batsmen, one of whom scored a half century and the other returned scoring a single digit score.
This is one way of the Kings XI team entertaining their fans by showing them different number games. Anyways, coming to the match the Kings XI Punjab team had just three players who could post individual scores above which is evident by now given their number games earlier in the post. The other number along with the one mentioned above is that there were 13 extras bowled and 15 runs were scored by Sreesanth. Then, the captain Kumara Sangakkara scored 17 runs and Irfan Pathan scored 21 runs. Had there been a batsman scoring 19 runs, a series would have happened with each number differing the preceding number by 2.
Earlier, Kumara Sangakkara was made the captain of the side which was a good move, taking into account his experience as captain of the Sri Lankan team though he has hardly been successful. Sangakkara was a better choice as captain compared to Yuvraj Singh who is yet to wear the captain's crown be it for India or for his Ranji team. But, what can one do when the fate of a team can hardly be changed? Perhaps! Yuvraj Singh was successful in taking his team to the semis of the tournament which was a result of crashing out of Mumbai Indians side owing to their last match being abandoned against KKR.
Kings XI Punjab were one of the teams to have been knocked out of the IPL by a single team on two occasions when they were outplayed by the Chennai Super Kings in both editions of the IPL. A run rate of 7.62 would have been just fine, had it been in a 50 overs game but not in a T20 game which demands atleast 9 runs an over on an average. All that the Delhi Daredevils were expected to do was to just stand for 20 overs with some effort of their own combined with the extras bowled by the Kings XI team and some loose bowling from the opposition. For a change, Sreesanth was found not only bowling his full quota of 4 overs but also turning out to the most economical bowler after Yuvraj Singh when his bowling figures read 4-0-24-2.
This is one way of the Kings XI team entertaining their fans by showing them different number games. Anyways, coming to the match the Kings XI Punjab team had just three players who could post individual scores above which is evident by now given their number games earlier in the post. The other number along with the one mentioned above is that there were 13 extras bowled and 15 runs were scored by Sreesanth. Then, the captain Kumara Sangakkara scored 17 runs and Irfan Pathan scored 21 runs. Had there been a batsman scoring 19 runs, a series would have happened with each number differing the preceding number by 2.
Earlier, Kumara Sangakkara was made the captain of the side which was a good move, taking into account his experience as captain of the Sri Lankan team though he has hardly been successful. Sangakkara was a better choice as captain compared to Yuvraj Singh who is yet to wear the captain's crown be it for India or for his Ranji team. But, what can one do when the fate of a team can hardly be changed? Perhaps! Yuvraj Singh was successful in taking his team to the semis of the tournament which was a result of crashing out of Mumbai Indians side owing to their last match being abandoned against KKR.
Kings XI Punjab were one of the teams to have been knocked out of the IPL by a single team on two occasions when they were outplayed by the Chennai Super Kings in both editions of the IPL. A run rate of 7.62 would have been just fine, had it been in a 50 overs game but not in a T20 game which demands atleast 9 runs an over on an average. All that the Delhi Daredevils were expected to do was to just stand for 20 overs with some effort of their own combined with the extras bowled by the Kings XI team and some loose bowling from the opposition. For a change, Sreesanth was found not only bowling his full quota of 4 overs but also turning out to the most economical bowler after Yuvraj Singh when his bowling figures read 4-0-24-2.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Patented Records
Well, yesterday in the third day of the 1st test match between India and South Africa, SachinTendulkar recorded his 47th test hundred and Virender Sehwag his 19th test hundred, which is not the discussion here. But, Sehwag's feat of 100 in just 87 balls is one. It has been almost a decade since the newspapers make headlines whenever Sachin Tendulkar scores a hundred. On the otherhand, whenever Sachin Tendulkar used to get out in his nineties, that used to make headlines. So, would be Sehwag whenever he scores a fastest hundred or a fastest double hundred.
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
Monday, 11 January 2010
Did Sri Lanka desperately lose the match?
Well this was rather anticipated in the earlier game between India and Sri Lanka when Sri Lanka had a struggling but a satisfactory win against India in the first encounter at Dhaka. It took Sri Lanka nerves to go past the total of 280 that was required by Sri Lanka to win that game. But, despite losing that encounter, the body language of the Indian players were as though they were least bothered and were sure to give it back to the Sri Lankans with compound interest in the next game which they actually did. Indians were as though they had not lost anything and their best was still awaiting.
Sri Lanka were nowhere in the scene when Indian batsmen were repeatedly sending the ball rolling over the ropes which saw them go past the total of 213 runs in just 32.4 overs. Any batsmen who made it to the crease took to the Sri Lankan bowling with utmost confidence. It was no Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh who have made news previously for their big hitting capabilities but rather it was Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir who took the Sri Lankan bowlers for a ride at Dhaka. For the 3rd time in the recent past, Virat Kohli was found belting the opposition with confidence.
Three of the four batsmen who made it to the crease returned with strike rates of 100+ and the same number of batsmen returned with scores averaging more than 50 that included Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli. There was only one bowler from the Sri Lankan side who was found bowling his full quota of 10 overs namely Suranga Lakmal. This was the 1st time that Lakmal's name was heard in international cricket (atleast as far as I am concerned) and statistics suggest that the man under discussion is just 6 ODIs old. One has to wonder as to what on earth made Sangakkara go in for Lakmal with the likes of Welegedra and co being there around.
Moreover, Lakmal was the costliest of all bowlers who returned with figures of 0/75 from his 10 overs. Added to this was the fact that the pitch was a batsman's paradise which saw all the Indian batsmen who made it to the crease face the Sri Lankan bowlers with confidence (as mentioned earlier) . However, on that pitch as well the Sri Lankan batsmen were found flattering as though it was another Kotla. The next costliest on the list happened to be Welegedra who returned with figures of 0/51 from 5.4 overs and still was shown confidence from Sangakkara. A number 8 batsman in Randhiv is seen scoring 56 which doesn't happen with the top order. Nothing fishy?
Sri Lanka were nowhere in the scene when Indian batsmen were repeatedly sending the ball rolling over the ropes which saw them go past the total of 213 runs in just 32.4 overs. Any batsmen who made it to the crease took to the Sri Lankan bowling with utmost confidence. It was no Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh who have made news previously for their big hitting capabilities but rather it was Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir who took the Sri Lankan bowlers for a ride at Dhaka. For the 3rd time in the recent past, Virat Kohli was found belting the opposition with confidence.
Three of the four batsmen who made it to the crease returned with strike rates of 100+ and the same number of batsmen returned with scores averaging more than 50 that included Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli. There was only one bowler from the Sri Lankan side who was found bowling his full quota of 10 overs namely Suranga Lakmal. This was the 1st time that Lakmal's name was heard in international cricket (atleast as far as I am concerned) and statistics suggest that the man under discussion is just 6 ODIs old. One has to wonder as to what on earth made Sangakkara go in for Lakmal with the likes of Welegedra and co being there around.
Moreover, Lakmal was the costliest of all bowlers who returned with figures of 0/75 from his 10 overs. Added to this was the fact that the pitch was a batsman's paradise which saw all the Indian batsmen who made it to the crease face the Sri Lankan bowlers with confidence (as mentioned earlier) . However, on that pitch as well the Sri Lankan batsmen were found flattering as though it was another Kotla. The next costliest on the list happened to be Welegedra who returned with figures of 0/51 from 5.4 overs and still was shown confidence from Sangakkara. A number 8 batsman in Randhiv is seen scoring 56 which doesn't happen with the top order. Nothing fishy?
Friday, 8 January 2010
Indian players' roles reversed!!!
Who is to be blamed when a team puts up a mammoth total and yet has to compromise by being on the losing side? Bangladesh did well to put a massive total (atleast as far as the standards of international cricket in Bangladesh is considered) against India when they scored a team total of 296 on the board only to lose the match by a huge margin of 6 wickets. Bangladesh's efforts would not have gone unrewarded had they bought India close to winning the match by making them bat for close to 50 overs and in the process get atleast 8 Indian batsmen out.
Moreover, it was no Yuvraj Singh or Virender Sehwag who proved to threaten the Bangladeshi outfit but it was some lesser known batsmen in Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and of course the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (though who is not considered a chick in international cricket) . The Bangladeshi bowlers were able to get the wickets of in form and dangerous batsmen - Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir who could contribute just 31 runs of the 297 scored by India at the end of the innings. And, Yuvraj Singh returned back to the pavilion scoring only one run. Still, the odds favored India and that went on to become a reality.
India was at one stage found to be reeling at 51 runs on the board with three batsmen making their way back to the pavilion. The odds should have started doubting about India making it to the target which still didn't. The odds still favored India. However, the batsmen who cashed in on the offer was the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who scored another century which earned him the man of the match award which he pertly deserved. Even in the bowling department, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was found bringing in Yuvraj Singh to bowl 10 overs.
On the other hand, frontline bowlers namely Harbhajan Singh, Aashish Nehra, Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan were found to bowl less than their quota of 10 overs. This may have been the reason for Bangladesh ending their innings scoring at a rate of just less than 6 runs an over. It was no doubt Yuvraj Singh who was the most economical of them all but, the decision of Dhoni to toss the ball repeatedly to a part time bowler with 5 main bowlers resting on the field draws a different conclusion. It is confusing to see the Bangladeshi bowlers belting all Indian bowlers with the esxception of Yuvraj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja.So was the case when Bangladesh could get the frontline batsmen out and surrender to new comers. How???
Moreover, it was no Yuvraj Singh or Virender Sehwag who proved to threaten the Bangladeshi outfit but it was some lesser known batsmen in Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and of course the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (though who is not considered a chick in international cricket) . The Bangladeshi bowlers were able to get the wickets of in form and dangerous batsmen - Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir who could contribute just 31 runs of the 297 scored by India at the end of the innings. And, Yuvraj Singh returned back to the pavilion scoring only one run. Still, the odds favored India and that went on to become a reality.
India was at one stage found to be reeling at 51 runs on the board with three batsmen making their way back to the pavilion. The odds should have started doubting about India making it to the target which still didn't. The odds still favored India. However, the batsmen who cashed in on the offer was the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who scored another century which earned him the man of the match award which he pertly deserved. Even in the bowling department, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was found bringing in Yuvraj Singh to bowl 10 overs.
On the other hand, frontline bowlers namely Harbhajan Singh, Aashish Nehra, Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan were found to bowl less than their quota of 10 overs. This may have been the reason for Bangladesh ending their innings scoring at a rate of just less than 6 runs an over. It was no doubt Yuvraj Singh who was the most economical of them all but, the decision of Dhoni to toss the ball repeatedly to a part time bowler with 5 main bowlers resting on the field draws a different conclusion. It is confusing to see the Bangladeshi bowlers belting all Indian bowlers with the esxception of Yuvraj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja.So was the case when Bangladesh could get the frontline batsmen out and surrender to new comers. How???
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Dropping Catches Becomes A Boon For Team India
Yesterday, in the second T20 international at Mohali, it is believed that the Indian fieldsmen dropped as many as 5 catches which eventually saw the Sri Lankan batsmen piling up a mammoth 206 runs on the board. However, as the saying goes "All is well that ends well", India managed to not only snatch a win in the second T20 international at Mohali but also prove a lot by recording the highest run chase in T20 internationals surpassing the 208 run chase by South Africa against the West Indies in the inaugural edition of the T20 world cup where Chris Gayle scored the maiden T20 hundred as a matter of fact.
Just imagine had India taken all the chances by not dropping any catches, then the Sri Lankan total would have been somewhere in the range of 150 at the most, chasing which would have been just another moderate chase whatsoever. This doesn't mean that dropping catches are welcome. However, the other side of the coin also says that even the Sri Lankan batsmen were no less when it came to giving lives to the Indian batsmen and that too, dropping the catch of which would prove and did prove too costly for the Sri Lankans. In addition to dropping catches, there were a couple of miss run-out chances as well.
It is believed that Sanath Jayasuriya missed out on a run out chance of Virender Sehwag when he failed to break the stumps at mid-on when Sehwag was just on 14 then. Then comes the the drop catch by Chamara Kapugedra at long-on when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on just 1 then. Finally, the drop catch off Tilekeratne Dilshan at the slips when Yuvraj was on 40 made a complete mess of the Sri Lankan fielding. It is quite evident from the scoreboard regarding the damage done by Virender Sehwag, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh that would have made the Sri Lankan batsmen kick themselves.
So, it is quite evident that even the Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders had a great role to play in India's highest run chase in T20 internationals at Mohali. Moreover, in addition to the drop catches, the Sri Lankan batsmen were found going in for unnecessary lofted shots that saw the end of Jayawardane, Jayasinghe and Sangakkara which would have otherwise seen Sri Lanka's total boost even more. Further, the Sri Lankan bowlers were never found striking the right line, length and adding to that were no variation of pace by any of the Sri Lankan bowlers. The Sri Lankan spin department consisted of Dilshan and Jayasuriya, luckily none of whom were given the ball.
Just imagine had India taken all the chances by not dropping any catches, then the Sri Lankan total would have been somewhere in the range of 150 at the most, chasing which would have been just another moderate chase whatsoever. This doesn't mean that dropping catches are welcome. However, the other side of the coin also says that even the Sri Lankan batsmen were no less when it came to giving lives to the Indian batsmen and that too, dropping the catch of which would prove and did prove too costly for the Sri Lankans. In addition to dropping catches, there were a couple of miss run-out chances as well.
It is believed that Sanath Jayasuriya missed out on a run out chance of Virender Sehwag when he failed to break the stumps at mid-on when Sehwag was just on 14 then. Then comes the the drop catch by Chamara Kapugedra at long-on when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on just 1 then. Finally, the drop catch off Tilekeratne Dilshan at the slips when Yuvraj was on 40 made a complete mess of the Sri Lankan fielding. It is quite evident from the scoreboard regarding the damage done by Virender Sehwag, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh that would have made the Sri Lankan batsmen kick themselves.
So, it is quite evident that even the Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders had a great role to play in India's highest run chase in T20 internationals at Mohali. Moreover, in addition to the drop catches, the Sri Lankan batsmen were found going in for unnecessary lofted shots that saw the end of Jayawardane, Jayasinghe and Sangakkara which would have otherwise seen Sri Lanka's total boost even more. Further, the Sri Lankan bowlers were never found striking the right line, length and adding to that were no variation of pace by any of the Sri Lankan bowlers. The Sri Lankan spin department consisted of Dilshan and Jayasuriya, luckily none of whom were given the ball.
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Yuvraj Singh Does Combo of Sachin & Sehwag!!!
Well last night the way someone like Yuvraj Singh batted was just another instance of a matured cricketer who not only was able to post yet another fastest half century but also claim three important wickets that even the frontline bowlers like Aashish Nehra was not found to do. But, at the end of the day one question that remains unanswered is "Why didn't Dhoni give Yuvraj Singh another over to see him complete his quota of 4 overs?" This once again reminded his fans the way he blasted 6 sixes off one over off Stuart Broad in the inaugural edition of T20 world cup.
However, all these things are not something unknown to even lesser known cricket fans. But, something that can raise the eyebrows of atleast a few cricket fans who want something unique and different, here it is. This was Yuvraj Singh's fifth half century and stands in the third place when it comes to the fastest fifties behind none other than Yuvraj himself. This was Yuvraj Singh's third fastest fifty behind his 12-ball half century against England and a 20-ball fifty against Australia in the next match in the same tournament. Inbetween these two comes the 19-ball half centuries by another Indian Gautam Gambhir and jointly with Australia's David Warner.
Moreover, yesterday was Yuvraj Singh's birthday which he made it even more special with his dual knocks of a 25-ball unbeaten 60 and bowling figures of 3/23 from 3 overs at just above 7 runs an over. This has to remind anyone of Sachin Tendulkar when he blasted his second consecutive hundred when he scored 134 at Sharjah to give Australia their first defeat in that tournament after they had earlier won all matches against India and New Zealand. That was Sachin Tendulkar's 25th birthday which is remembered even today and will be remembered for as long as earth exists.
This was what Yuvraj Singh did on his 28th birthday though he doesn't enjoy the fan following that Sachin enjoys, a note on this is worth mentioning. One thing that Yuvraj Singh would feel glad about is that he could do it in front of his own people at Mohali. And the fastest fifties of Yuvraj Singh mentioned above, reminds us of Virender Sehwag in tests who has had two of the three fastest triple hundreds and recently became the batsman to score the fastest 250 in tests. Virender Sehwag had five of the top ten fastest double hundreds at positions 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 which Yuvraj partially enjoys when it comes to scoring the fastest fifties in T20 internationals.
However, all these things are not something unknown to even lesser known cricket fans. But, something that can raise the eyebrows of atleast a few cricket fans who want something unique and different, here it is. This was Yuvraj Singh's fifth half century and stands in the third place when it comes to the fastest fifties behind none other than Yuvraj himself. This was Yuvraj Singh's third fastest fifty behind his 12-ball half century against England and a 20-ball fifty against Australia in the next match in the same tournament. Inbetween these two comes the 19-ball half centuries by another Indian Gautam Gambhir and jointly with Australia's David Warner.
Moreover, yesterday was Yuvraj Singh's birthday which he made it even more special with his dual knocks of a 25-ball unbeaten 60 and bowling figures of 3/23 from 3 overs at just above 7 runs an over. This has to remind anyone of Sachin Tendulkar when he blasted his second consecutive hundred when he scored 134 at Sharjah to give Australia their first defeat in that tournament after they had earlier won all matches against India and New Zealand. That was Sachin Tendulkar's 25th birthday which is remembered even today and will be remembered for as long as earth exists.
This was what Yuvraj Singh did on his 28th birthday though he doesn't enjoy the fan following that Sachin enjoys, a note on this is worth mentioning. One thing that Yuvraj Singh would feel glad about is that he could do it in front of his own people at Mohali. And the fastest fifties of Yuvraj Singh mentioned above, reminds us of Virender Sehwag in tests who has had two of the three fastest triple hundreds and recently became the batsman to score the fastest 250 in tests. Virender Sehwag had five of the top ten fastest double hundreds at positions 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 which Yuvraj partially enjoys when it comes to scoring the fastest fifties in T20 internationals.
Saturday, 27 June 2009
A Wake Up Call For Indians
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.
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.
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???
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.
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