Kolkata on a ride

One need not consider the Kolkata Knight Riders to be lucky to have the D-L method being responsible for their win over Warriors last night at Bangalore. Kolkata would have emerged as winners at any cost irrespective of whether there was rain or not. One has to congratulate the Kolkata Knight Riders for coming this far when they were at one stage not even thought to make it to the champions league tournament after being placed fourth in the IPL. Now, the same Kolkata Knight Riders have outraced their competitors namely Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Superkings in the champions league.

A score of 155 put up by the Warriors was far from satisfactory which was easily chasable. In the past in the tournament, the Kolkata Knight Riders have chased down a total of 169 with 9 wickets to spare and few balls left against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Prior to that, they have beaten made 169 against South Australia. Though they lost to South Australia by 19 runs, they managed to go past 150 which was a positive sign. Now, the Warriors had to shed their sweat and blood to reach the total of 155 which was a result of late strikes by Mark Boucher and Colin Ingram.

The Warriors didn't try too many things and settled with a slow ticking of the scorecard. They lost only 4 wickets to do so keeping batsmen like JJ Smuts, Botha and Boje warm the benches. Prior to this match, there was rain which spoiled the previous match between South Australia and Somerset was washed out which gave a hint that the same might happen to the next match as well. Some thinking by the match officials could have made the match a 16 over affair to see both teams complete their innings. There were 29 overs of play meaning, 16 overs per innings was possible with the break reduced appropriately.

Coming to the man of the match debate, it was unfair to give the award to Colin Ingram who scored 61 runs. There is no doubt that his score laid the foundation for Warriors' total but, there were the likes of Kallis and Gambhir whose confidence saw their team total go past the required total by 22 runs. Looking at the way Kallis and Gambhir played, they would have reached the target in just 16 overs with just 72 runs being required off 60 deliveries. The run rate at which the duo were scoring was 8.3 an over and with 9 wickets in hand, the run rate could have only reduced.

A soft target for the KKR

Well with the Kolkata Knight Riders showing their comparatively best performance in this year's Indian Premier League, the opponent which they have been scheduled to play against happened to be another apple pie with the Deccan Chargers crashing once again after failing to get past 169 set by the Kolkata team. Though that was a decent total, that was definitely not a total that could not be chased. With batsmen like Sohal, Sangakkara and Christian in the side the total should have been chased down which as usual didn't happen. However, that is a different issue with ups and downs being prevalent.

It is still a mystery that the home team usually stays at the receiving end of the thrashing that the visiting team gives. This time as well, the situation was hardly different with the home team namely Hyderabad falling short of the target set forward by the visitors namely the Kolkata team. Starting with the Kolkata Knight Riders' innings, the visitors left hardly any stones unturned with all of the six batsmen contributing to the total of 169 which could promise a start or at least save some face for the team. Needless to be said, Yousuf Pathan's 47 was the highlight.

With the results apart, the Kolkata Knight Riders' captain - Gautam Gambhir should reconsider having Jacques Kallis in the playing eleven with his style of play suiting only the South African team and that too only in the longer forms of the game. One can go through the scorecard to see Kallis scoring 30 runs from 31 balls at just run a ball efficiency. This is one of the many times Kallis has been seen dong this. Had there been some blows from the batsmen, the team could have seen Mark Boucher and Yousuf Pathan play a little more than expected.

All fingers point towards Kallis for consuming too many balls en route to his double figure score. So should Eoin Morgon and Manoj Tiwary to a greater extent. Like it has always been happening, the Deccan Chargers' bowlers showed no signs of experimenting with their bowlers with four out of six bowling their full quota of 4 overs and one bowler bowling 3 overs. The bowler with the least economy bowled just one over with Shikar Dhawan being the lucky guy. This doesn'y mean he should have been given another over to spoil his team's chances. But, Amit Mishra could have been given another over.

Kolkata on the top

Well, for all those people who would have had a lot of hesitation in having their bet on Kolkata Knight Riders, this is the answer for their lack of risk taking abilities. Of course, hardly anyone can risk on a team which has been at the bottom of the points table of the last three editions of the Indian Premier League. If not for their loss to the defending champions in the first game, there has been no stopping for the Kolkata Knight Riders whatsoever. There too the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the plot by just 2 runs which can be forgiven.

This time, rather than a victory for the Kolkata Knight Riders, one thing that definitely needs a pat on the back is that they showed no signs of panic neither this was a close encounter which could have gone anybody's way. The entire team work of the Rajasthan Royals was shattered by Kallis and Gambhir duo. One has to take into account the team work of the Rajasthan Royals with Rahul Dravid and co put together a decent score of 159 on he board which was eventually not enough. If not for their wicket keeper, the rest did well for the Rajasthan Royals.

The Rajasthan innings was not dominated by a single batsman unlike the Royal Challengers' innings the day before with onlt Virat Kohli scoring for the RCBs. I wonder whether anybody will ever forget and forgive the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowlers for bowling 19 extras that included 12 wide deliveries which took the score of the Rajasthan Royals to 159. On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals bowled just 3 wides but could not avoid defeat. Had the result been known earlier, may be then Gambhir might not have bought in 7 of his team mates to bowl at Jaipur stadium.

Highlight being that Yousuf pathan bowled just 1 over despite grabbing 2 wicket at 4.0 runs an over. His was the most economical over not only in the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling innings but also in the entire match. But, with Gambhir no giving him another over speaks of his inefficiency.However, had he given few more overs to Yousuf Pathan, may be the man of the match might have been awarded to Yousuf Pathan rather than Gambhir which shows his intelligence as captain. But, with Kolkata Knight Riders cruising to a win without or with little effort, the fans can look out for some juice from the cane.

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.

What does Sachin and India want to prove?

Hmm..this is for the second time in the tournament that India have lost with Sachin Tendulkar scoring a century. But, as most of the tongues wag, I don't blame it on the maestro keeping in mind various superstitions. When cricket is a team game, leaving something completely upon one player is just stupid and a shameful act as well as cowardly. One can go through the scorecard of yesterday's game between India and South Africa at Nagpur to see what actually happened. If not for the opening duo, no other batsmen really stood to the occasion. Of course, Gambhir did.

But, with the likes of Yousuf Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh being there in the team and that too in full form, things should have been a lot better. India were at one stage charging in at 267/1 at the end of the 40^th over at over six an over and with ten more overs still to go. The total seemed to be somewhere close to 400 with all the aforementioned batsmen and tail-end batsmen like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who can do their bit with the bat at the fag end of the innings. Oh! I forgot to mention Kohli.

With such a strong batting line up and with such a great initial start, something much was expected and unfortunately, the total ended 4 runs less than 300. But still, all was not lost with the Indian bowlers being capable of doing things as expected with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra being among top wicket takers for the team. They did well initially when South Africa were at one stage 247/6 after at one stage being at 223/3. 13 runs were needed from the last over and my goodness! I wonder how that was possible under that much pressure!

Failures with both the bat as well as the ball should and must draw all sorts of criticism no matter who scored a hundred or who held their nerves to restrict the opposition when there were 6 other batsmen who got out scoring single digit runs or just above the ten run mark and someone like Ashish Nehra who gave away 65 runs from 8.5 overs at 7 and a half an average that included the last over. I don't discourage Dhoni for giving the last over to Nehra instead I criticize him for under-using his bowlers when Sehwag & Sachin Tendulkar could have bowled.

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.

Finally Sehwag gets his due

India's Virender Sehwag has finally been chosen as the number 1 batsman in test cricket. This was something Sehwag should have achieved long back, the moment he scored his second triple hundred against South Africa last year in the 1st test. Since then and even before that, Sehwag has never looked back whatsoever atleast as far as test cricket is considered. I wonder whether there has been any batsman in test cricket who has scored double hundreds in the frequency with which Sehwag has been doing since 2008 after the feat against Sri Lanka where he scored a double hundred in the 2nd test at Galle?

Sehwag has no 6 double hundreds against his name which is the highest ever by any Indian batsman. Rahul Dravid, who has 5 double hundreds against his name scored his second double ton against New Zealand in late 2003 where he scored 222 runs in the game that was drawn. Dravid scored 3 of his 5 double tons in a span of six months when he scored 233 against Australia at Adelaide followed by 270 against Pakistan three months later. And, it took V V S Laxman almost 8 years before he scored his second double hundred against Australia in the B-G trophy 2008-09.

And when it comes to Sachin Tendulkar who has most of the batting records in international cricket but this one, has one of his double hundred scored against 248* which is coincidentally his highest individual score in test cricket. This was way back in 2005 which is close to 5 years since he has crossed the 200 run mark in tests. The recent double hundreds include only the ones by V V S Laxman and Gambhir in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008-09 excluding Sehwag's. Likewise, Sehwag has scored 3 double hundreds, twice against Sri Lanka and once against South Africa which went on to become a triple hundred.

Dravid was aged above 30 when he scored his 5^th double hundred and so was Tendulkar when he scored his 4^th against Bangladesh. Despite all these feats that keep Sehwag apart from the rest, he had to compromise the number one position in test cricket with someone like Gautam Gambhir for all these years. I bet that Sehwag is the only player who has 6 double hundreds against his name, all of them scored within a span of 6 years from 2004 (when he scored his 1st double triple hundred against Pakistan at Multan) till date. Added to these is the strike rates that he has maintained when scoring these double hundreds.

Selection only partly responsible for India's loss

Well the moment India lost their first test match to South Africa, the first person to whom all the fingers pointed towards happens to be the selection committee, followed by the captain and in some cases the coach. I don't think that anyone reading this post needs to be reminded specially that cricket is a team sport unlike badminton and table tennis. It was of course not a good selection when someone like Saha, Badrinath and Abhimanyu the included in the squad. If the scorecard of the match is given a close look at, Badrinath and Saha did play upto expectations and Abhimanyu was not included in the playing XI.

Not much was expected from Saha and Badrinath but, they did live upto expectations when Badrinath scored 56 in the first innings that included a 40 run partnership along with Sehwag in the first innings. Later on in the second innings, Saha had his say when he scored 36 runs and stood for 150 balls or 30 overs and almost 2 hours at the crease. All these despite not guaranteed a place in the coming test. Even Murali Vijay was pretty decent with the bat when he scored 32 runs in the second innings. Most of the damage was first done by the bowlers when they let the South African bowlers cut loose.

It is justified the way the Indian bowlers despite playing in the home conditions could allow the South African batsmen not only to pile up 556 runs on the board but also allow a 300+ run partnership between Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. If there were no Laxman & Dravid in the squad, there were Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir who could have solved the issue related to batting. Of course, Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with hundreds in the 1^st and the 2^nd innings respectively. But, Dhoni and Gambhir were absolute failures with the bat in the Nagpur test.

In the bowling department, if not for Zaheer Khan's first spell in the first innings, even he was not upto the mark and so were the other bowlers viz Harbhajan, Ishanth Sharma and Amit Mishra. The bowling department indeed requires some or a lot of refinement. For, someone like Sehwag had to bowl as a full time bowler and that too in a test match under the conditions where the South African batsmen were in full bloom. Luckily Sehwag got a wicket which is a different issue altogether. No matter what the first test squad had to say but, the inclusion of someone like Raina and Sreesanth would be just another blunder for, the former is a new comer to tests and the latter battles injuries most of the time.

Where are Bangladesh heading towards?

At the end, and much to Dhoni's fortunes India came back very harsh upon the Bangladeshi bowlers first on day 1 and then on Bangladeshi batsmen when they piled up 459 runs for the loss of 5 wickets at the end of day 2 with the Indian captain yet to declare the innings. One has to just wait and see if India are fortunate enough to secure an innings victory here against Bangladesh and see to that they don't make it to the record books for the wrong reasons. Very few teams in the world have been that unfortunate not to have had an innings win against Bangladesh throughout the series.

However, that doesn't seem so if their approach to the second test is given a close look at. If at all some sort of misfortune has to happen, it has to be in the form of whether playing spoilsport which though not take the game away from the Indians but can reduce the margin of victory. This time also, it was the decade old batsmen in Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar who made heavens for India against Bangladesh with both of them scoring centuries. The Indians scored their runs at the rate of above 4 an over which showed that they never took Bangladesh lightly.

It was really fascinating to see Rahul Dravid scoring a hundred no matter that it came against a weak opposition in Bangladesh. This feat of Dravid once again reminded his fans not to give up hopes of him being known as "the wall" of Indian cricket, which was on the verge of history with Dravid being unable to continue the good work that he was seen doing some couple of years back. A more precise way to express this would be to call Dravid as a silent assassin who doesn't panic the bowlers with his shots but irritates them by holding onto the crease for long.

Added to this were half centuries from the blades of openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. It is not possible to cite which batsman didn't do his job to the perfection and so was the case with the bowlers as well. Putting it simple, there were contributions from Dravid, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Gambhir and Sehwag. All the questions that now needs to be answered is whether India can take the game forward by holding an upperhand for the remaining atleast two days of the test match. And, incase they don't end up winning by an innings, it would be as good as a draw for India.

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 3^rd 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 1^st 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?

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.

Match Slowly Turning Into A Test

Just a day ago, when the Indian batting line up saw as many as five scores above 50, out of which three had scored hundreds, the match was thought to be just another boring draw. But, only to be mistaken. For, the pitch was found to deteriorate on the second day of the test match itself when the remaining eight Indian batsmen could amass just above 200 runs to finish the innings at 642 losing all their 10 wickets. The run-rate at the end of the first day's play read just below 5.0 an over which at the end of the innings reduced to 4.16 to be exact.

Things that followed were just that can be expected an an ideal test match. It looked as though the Sri lankan batsmen were deceived by the pitch when they had assumed the pitch to be a batsman's paradise only to kick themselves at the end of the day. However, things weren't too tough for the Sri Lankan batsmen when they had 9 wickets still to go despite Tilekeratne Dilshan getting out for a duck. Moreover, spin bowlers like Muralitharan were found getting a lot of turn at the fag end of the first innings of team India's batting and so was the way the fast bowlers when they found getting a bit of swing.

This has at present givn the Sri Lankan batting line up consisting of the two Jayawardanes in addition to Samaraweera and Sangakkara a warning not to take the pitch for granted after the Indian batsmen made most out of their first batting after winning the toss. However, not to be mistaken, this was not the way things were going on on the first day's play. Not only that the Indian batsmen viz Gambhir, Sehwag and Dravid got quick runs but also the bowlers were struggling to get some movement off the seam. This is quite evident from the fact that someone like Dravid could maintain a run-rate of 4.0 an over who has made a name "The Wall" for himself.

Finally, after a long time one can expect a test match that can assure a result. The last time India played a test match was against New Zealand in march-April which India won 1-0 in the three match test series. After India had won the first test by 10 wickets, the second test was just another run accumulator with New Zealand belting 613 runs that followed with India 305 and then 476 after allowed to follow on. The third one saw India having an upperhand with New Zealand just avoiding follow-on and also the defeat by a whisker when they were just 2 wickets away from losing the series/test with the scorecard reading 281/8. Atleast now, a test match giving a result can be thought about.

Is The Second Test Heading For A Draw?

Well there was a lot of hues and cry in the first test match between India and Sri Lanka played at Ahmedabad that eventually ended in a draw. After team India posted a mammoth 426 runs on the board with some awesome batting display from the blades of Rahul Dravid and the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all was thought to be in for team India only to be deceived later when an even better show by the touring nation Sri Lanka aided with Mahela Jayawardane's individual contribution of 275 in addition to 154 from another Jayawardane and a decent 110 from the opener Tilekeratne Dilshan not only surpassed India's total of 426 but also recorded Sri Lanka's highest team total against India in India.

And eventually, there was just three innings which ought to have been four in a decent test match. And what more can be done when the pitches are designed in such a manner that can only entertain the crowd when their favourite batsman hits boundries and sixes? India were able to record more than 400 runs in both the innings. There was hardly any thrill in such a match where the result is right in front of our eyes and betting on one particular team would mean disastrous. Such should never be the fate of any crickt match atleast as fas as a test match is considered.

And if the first day of the second test is considered, things are no different. Team India lost just 2 wickets and put up a mammoth total of yet another 400+ with the day's play ending at 417/2 with two Indian batsmen-Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag completing centuries and Dravid batting on 85 along with Sachin Tendulkar. And there is Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh yet to come. One can imagine the fate of the second test as well with such a kind of batting display.

Either there should be more bowlers in the side or else, the pitch has to be prepared in favor of the bowlers so that there can not only be a result at the end of the fifth day or even before that, but also that the batsmen earn their runs rather than the same being gifted for no effort. A ray of hope lies in the fact that Sri Lanka's Tilekeratne Dilshan was out for a duck may raise the hopes of the match yielding a result. This if and only if the Indian bowlers work hard and on the other hand the Sri Lankan batsmen make a fool out of themselves. Lets wait and watch!!!

Give An Inch & Dhoni Will Take A Mile

This was what happened in the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Daredevils at Johannesburg where Dhoni's men beat the Delhi Daredevils team despite a small but a decent total out there. Though the Delhi Daredevils were folding the upper hand in most part of the game, it was the Chennai Super Kings who emerged victorious at the end of the day. This might have happened a lot of times in the IPL but, very rare when it comes to teams like the Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils who have been on the top since the series began.

However, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals have done it more regularly compared to other teams, though the Kings XI Punjab have done it in the last couple of matches. Despite a loss or a gain, the Chennai Super Kings have shown the class as a team that made it to the finals of the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. This was once again proved by the, when they made 180 runs while chasing a massive target of 189 in one of the games. Had it been an ordinary team, the margin of defeat would have been much higher like the one involving the Deccan Chargers or the Kolkata Knight Riders.

If there are any teams out there who are found displaying their class, it is the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. Theses are the two teams who are fighting until their last breath whatsoever. The Delhi Daredevils were lucky to have won the toss and the Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir was also pretty intelligent to opt to field, by getting the pitch conditions right. The pitch was favoring the batsmen for most part of the game and the Delhi team did well to contain the opposition to a chasable 165 runs. Their run chase also never seemed to disappoint though A B Devilliars induced some initial pressure and the top order failed.

There was an unimaginable knock between Dinesh Karthick and David Warner, both of whom posted half centuries with much aggresion and control. This continued until the 16Th over and until then the Delhi Daredevils were just counting the runs to be scored and getting ready to rejoice yet another victory it seemed like. But, it was the wicket of Dinesh Karthik that spoiled the Delhi's party. Had Karthik been sent up in the order, there could have been a better result for the Daredevils, for after the fall of Karthik the rest like AB Devilliars and Dilshan could have finished it off. But, who would have anticipated Karthik's brilliance that was hardly found b4?

This match once again recommends the fans to keep their fingers crossed until the last ball of the IPL finals has been bowled or the last run been scored or last but not the least the last wicket fallen.

Sehwag & Gambhir Going The Uttappa Way

It is just unbelievable in T20 cricket for a team to put up a partnership of an unbeaten 83 runs despite reeling at 64/5 at one point of time. But, that was the fact of the match in the IPL encounter involving the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils. Having achieved that feat against the Delhi Daredevils who were until then unbeaten in the tournament is just another feather in their cap. I all owe it to the series of flop shows from fellow batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag who have been playing this way since the tournament kicked in. Both the batsmen about whom the fans had great expectations have failed miserably.

This I can co relate with the Royal Challengers' batsman Robin Uttappa who was exchanged for Zaheer Khan with the Mumbai Indians but only to feel the heat for Vijay Mallya. Robin Uttappa is one such batsman who has had a series of flops and the list also includes Praveen Kumar and Kevin Pietersen as well in addition. The game that someone like Sehwag plays is indeed a treat to watch. But, with such disappointing knocks, not much could be expected. And one more aspect being that Sehwag is a captain who has led his team to three consecutive wins in this season.

Might be that Sehwag has so far done justice to the Delhi Daredevils team as a captain. But, he does not take any credit for his team's achievements absolutely as a batsman. This was clear after the match against the Rajasthan Royals when the Delhi Daredevils had their first taste of loss. For that matter, the Rajasthan Royals are not at all the team to beat this season depite being the defending champions. Had it not been for the likes of Yousuf Pathan and Greame Smith, the Delhi Daredevils would have made their way to their fourth consecutive victory this season.

Now, the only team in the tournament that has been unbeaten so far is the Deccan Chargers who have won 4 out of their four matches played. And, the teams are now a days fighting the matches with more mateurity than they did last year, when a record created today was broken in the very next match. However, things are not going too good for the Rajasthan Royals who were thrashed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their very first match. And after that, they are found winning only once in every two matches unlike they did last year where they dominated throughout the series like Australia did in the past two world cups.

A Result At Any Cost?

Well if all the three formats of the game of cricket are taken, it shows that it is only the test format that is found doing a little bit of justice to the game of cricket. The test match is followed by the one day internationals and then by the recent entry into the game - the T20 format. For, it is only the test cricket wherein a result of the match is hardly or never influenced by the weather. Of course, if the overall series is taken, then there can be some influence of the weather gods on the series, favoring or spoiling the fortunes of one particular team out there.

Many a times, one day matches are forced to yield a result despite numerous interruptions from the weather. The limit for a one day match to yield a result was reduced to 20 overs a side, which was previously 25 overs, thus increasing the degree of injustice to one team and luck to the other. And it is even more evident in the T20 format of the game, where even 5 overs a side can be found to yield a result, with the third match of the Indian Premier League between the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab proving to yield a result with each team completing 6 overs a side. It would not be too far off for the ICC to term a match that has completed 5 overs to be fit for a result.

Looking at the match, it is just not possible as to who held the upper hand in that game at Cape Town. Both the teams out there were well equipped with what it takes to be the best at the end of the day. Both Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh are destroyers of any bowling attack on their day, which is a well known fact. But, taking a close look at the scorecard of the Kings XI Punjab, it was the lesser known players as usual in Ravi Bopara and Goel who scored in double digits, with Yuvraj Singh being the only experienced among them. The other experienced lot that included Mahela Jayawardane, Irfan Pathan and Kumara Sangakkara had nothing to prove.

And nothing can be said about the batting of the Delhi Daredevils for a 6 over out of 20 would hardly give any decent conclusions. Likewise, Virender Sehwag is as likely to be tempted as his explosiveness is. So, the batsman can get out any time without any second thought. And yes, Gautam Gambhir is a responsible man if his recent past is considered. But, the run out of Yuvraj Singh which was a mishap never made justice for, such things are the last and least expected when the batsman is found going for a kill. Many a times, non strikers favour the opposition by getting his partner run out. And this is what happened in Yuvraj's case when there was no stopping him to belt two 6s.