Three years back in 2008 when the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League kick started, all eyes were glued to the television sets as though a major encounter would happen in the days to come. During that time, the sport was at its peak with the T20 version of the game having a high run with things like the ICL and the ICC world T20 having their say. Things remained the same until last year when there were takers for almost every game. But, the spirit happens to be no more or rather has got faded to a great extent.
There were players like Mathew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne etc who had retired from international cricket but could be seen in tournaments like the IPL then. But slowly and steadily, all the aforementioned players started departing from the tournament one by one. And people like Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne have lost their glorious days. Someone like Mathew Hayden played his last game in IPL 2010 which was famous for his mongoose bat. Glenn Mcgrath has been shown the gates from Delhi Daredevils after the inaugural edition when his style of play suited only the longer formats of the game.
Sanath Jayasuriya, despite his fireworks was forced to warm the benches in last year's IPL and has never been chosen by any franchisee in this year. Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Brendon McCullum etc are not the big hitters of the ball once they were. There were hardly any century scorers in the tournament though there were three batsmen who had amassed more than 500 runs. Only players from India are showing the spirit and enthusiasm since 2008. The list includes Sachin Tendukar, Suresh Raina, Dhoni etc to name a few. Overseas players include Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh and Chris Gayle.
The first blow came when Anil Kumble pulled himself out of the tournament. Added to that would be the fact that players have changed sides after they were picked up by a different franchisee. Chris Gayle had earlier played for Kolkata while Dravid played for Bangalore. So would be the case with Gilchrist, Gambhir, Ganguly, Muralitharan. Top spinners like Shane Warne and Muralitharan have been just ordinary players. In the years to come, there will be players like Gilchrist, Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar etc who will be missing from action. Shane Warne has already called it a day. With all these, will the IPL still be accepted by all?
Showing posts with label Sachin Tendulkar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sachin Tendulkar. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Monday, 30 May 2011
Chris Gayle unparalleled in IPL 2011
Anyone who can go through the batting charts of this year's IPL would be amazed to find Chris Gayle on the top of the list in most of the batting records starting from the highest run getter in the tournament to the maximum umber of ducks. Yes, Gayle has two ducks to his credit which is luckily equaled by so many like Gilchrist, Sangakkara, McCullum etc but not exceeded. In a way, Gayle happens to be the king of them to have scored two ducks playing in 12 games which is more than any other batsmen who has scored two ducks in the tournament.
Other than this bad record, Gayle is the only other batsman in the history of the IPL after Sachin Tendulkar to have aggregated more than 600 runs in a single edition. Sachin Tendulkar did it last year when he had amassed 618 runs from 15 matches. Both of them were awarded the man of the series with both of them ending up as runners-up. Added to that, the tally of 44 sixes is far ahead of any other batsmen in this year's IPL. The second highest six hitter in the tournament happens to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni with 23 hits out of the ground.
The next major contribution from Gayle happens to be the fact that Gayle had two hundreds which was more than anybody else. In fact, only Gayle has managed to score 2 hundreds. Then we have Gayle once again having a strike rate of 183.13 and an average of 67.55 which is more than anybody else in the series needless to be said. Chris Gayle's tally of 56 boundaries was the second best only to Sachin Tendulkar who has 67 hits to the fence. However, Sachin Tendulkar has attained that feat from 16 games compared to 12 played by Chris Gayle.
Had Gayle played equal number of games as Sachin Tendulkar did, there was every possibility that Gayle would have overtaken Sachin Tendulkar's tally with 11 more hits. However, Gayle falls to the third position (shared by many) with Badrinath top scoring with 5 half centuries followed by 4 half centuries by Virat Kohli. However, with both 50s and 100s put together, Chris Gayle's tally is equaled by Badrinath. Coming to the end, Gayle was is the fastest to reach 600 runs in an IPL when he did it in 11 games compared to Sachn Tendulkar who took 15 in 2010.
Other than this bad record, Gayle is the only other batsman in the history of the IPL after Sachin Tendulkar to have aggregated more than 600 runs in a single edition. Sachin Tendulkar did it last year when he had amassed 618 runs from 15 matches. Both of them were awarded the man of the series with both of them ending up as runners-up. Added to that, the tally of 44 sixes is far ahead of any other batsmen in this year's IPL. The second highest six hitter in the tournament happens to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni with 23 hits out of the ground.
The next major contribution from Gayle happens to be the fact that Gayle had two hundreds which was more than anybody else. In fact, only Gayle has managed to score 2 hundreds. Then we have Gayle once again having a strike rate of 183.13 and an average of 67.55 which is more than anybody else in the series needless to be said. Chris Gayle's tally of 56 boundaries was the second best only to Sachin Tendulkar who has 67 hits to the fence. However, Sachin Tendulkar has attained that feat from 16 games compared to 12 played by Chris Gayle.
Had Gayle played equal number of games as Sachin Tendulkar did, there was every possibility that Gayle would have overtaken Sachin Tendulkar's tally with 11 more hits. However, Gayle falls to the third position (shared by many) with Badrinath top scoring with 5 half centuries followed by 4 half centuries by Virat Kohli. However, with both 50s and 100s put together, Chris Gayle's tally is equaled by Badrinath. Coming to the end, Gayle was is the fastest to reach 600 runs in an IPL when he did it in 11 games compared to Sachn Tendulkar who took 15 in 2010.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Result comes as expected
Well as all of us (or at least most of us) expected, the result of yesterday's match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians ended as per plan which relied on Chris Gayle. We have repeatedly on our blog cited the chances of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in case Gayle is able to continue or not. If Gayle could keep up his momentum then the RCB win or else no. Exactly the same happened when Gayle scored 89 runs to demilitarize the Mumbai Indians whose lone satisfaction was Sachin Tendulkar's 40 runs which was the highest any Mumbai batsmen could score.
Added to Chris Gayle, there was Mayank Agarwal and AB deVilliars who supported Gayle in his big hitting. In fact, it was Chris Gayle who allowed Mayank Agarwal to relax by taking most of the responsibility on his shoulders. Of course, AB deVilliars came after Gayle was dismissed. By then, he had scored 89 runs at the rate of almost two runs for every ball he faced. There can be no words that can praise Chris Gayle at the moment. If Gayle's devastating batting was one way, there were confused bowlers from Mumbai side. Sachin Tendulkar didn't take the risk of trying another bowler.
As usual, Lasith Malinga was the strike bowler for the Mumbai Indians who though didn't take any wicket could contain runs when his stats suggest that Malinga was the least expensive bowlers who gave away runs at the rate of 6.00 runs an opver from his quota of 4 overs. Sachin Tendulkar made a mistake by handing the ball to Rohith Sharma who went for 14 runs his lone over. With someone like Gayle striking at his best, this was something uncalled for. Whatever, Mumbai Indians had nothing to fear about because a defeat was always on the cards for them.
It was just fascinating to see Sachin Tendulkar trying too many things to settle scores with Gayle's team, one of which was bringing in Harbhajan Singh at number 3 after Bizzard got out. Of course, Harbhajan Singh had a promising start when he hit one huge six outside the ground off the bowling of Mithun, three deliveries after striking a boundary of the same bowler. But, i the end all that he could manage was a mere 13 runs. That was the first six of the Mumbai Indians and the next one came off the bat of Lasith Malinga who was in at number 10.
Added to Chris Gayle, there was Mayank Agarwal and AB deVilliars who supported Gayle in his big hitting. In fact, it was Chris Gayle who allowed Mayank Agarwal to relax by taking most of the responsibility on his shoulders. Of course, AB deVilliars came after Gayle was dismissed. By then, he had scored 89 runs at the rate of almost two runs for every ball he faced. There can be no words that can praise Chris Gayle at the moment. If Gayle's devastating batting was one way, there were confused bowlers from Mumbai side. Sachin Tendulkar didn't take the risk of trying another bowler.
As usual, Lasith Malinga was the strike bowler for the Mumbai Indians who though didn't take any wicket could contain runs when his stats suggest that Malinga was the least expensive bowlers who gave away runs at the rate of 6.00 runs an opver from his quota of 4 overs. Sachin Tendulkar made a mistake by handing the ball to Rohith Sharma who went for 14 runs his lone over. With someone like Gayle striking at his best, this was something uncalled for. Whatever, Mumbai Indians had nothing to fear about because a defeat was always on the cards for them.
It was just fascinating to see Sachin Tendulkar trying too many things to settle scores with Gayle's team, one of which was bringing in Harbhajan Singh at number 3 after Bizzard got out. Of course, Harbhajan Singh had a promising start when he hit one huge six outside the ground off the bowling of Mithun, three deliveries after striking a boundary of the same bowler. But, i the end all that he could manage was a mere 13 runs. That was the first six of the Mumbai Indians and the next one came off the bat of Lasith Malinga who was in at number 10.
Friday, 27 May 2011
IT all depends on Gayle
Well when there is no one but Chris Gayle who can do the big hitting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and making it still worse, Gayle has been known to take the full responsibility for the same, he can be considered the most important player for the RCB much more than the captain and the wicketkeeper. We have discussed the issue several times on this blog regarding what would happen to the Royal Challengers in case Chris Gayle fails to dominate with the bat. And, not making it too boring, the topic shifts to the forthcoming games in the IPL.
There are two more games to go in this edition of the IPL namely the final and before that the 2nd qualifying final between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers that is scheduled in the next 24 hours from now at Chennai. With Chennai being a neutral venue, there cannot be any home team advantage or any curse of being the home team like it has happened in this edition of the IPL. As we have already mentioned, the winner of the second qualifying final would completely depend on Gayle though there are the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga etc in the Mumbai Indians' squad.
It is Chris Gayle who now holds the record for the most runs in this year's IPL which in turn makes him wear the orange cap. Limiting our discussion about Gayle for the moment, one can observe the bad timing of the break between the final and tomorrow's match between the Mumbai Indians and RCB. There should have been a break after the second qualifying final between the aforementioned teams before the final is played. But instead, a break can be found between the second qualifying final and the elimination finals (between KKR and MI). Is this also for the sake of change?
Another thing that one needs to notice is that the final of the tournament is held on a Saturday rather than on Sunday when there would be more viewers glued to their television sets on that holiday. As a matter of fact, the finals of the world cup 2011 was also held on a Saturday reserving Sunday for all fans to rejoice their favorite team's victory. Coming back to the tournament, the CSK have a chance of winning the trophy for the second time but, against who they'll be doing it is still awaited. If it is against RCB, that will be their 4th meeting in this IPL alone.
There are two more games to go in this edition of the IPL namely the final and before that the 2nd qualifying final between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers that is scheduled in the next 24 hours from now at Chennai. With Chennai being a neutral venue, there cannot be any home team advantage or any curse of being the home team like it has happened in this edition of the IPL. As we have already mentioned, the winner of the second qualifying final would completely depend on Gayle though there are the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga etc in the Mumbai Indians' squad.
It is Chris Gayle who now holds the record for the most runs in this year's IPL which in turn makes him wear the orange cap. Limiting our discussion about Gayle for the moment, one can observe the bad timing of the break between the final and tomorrow's match between the Mumbai Indians and RCB. There should have been a break after the second qualifying final between the aforementioned teams before the final is played. But instead, a break can be found between the second qualifying final and the elimination finals (between KKR and MI). Is this also for the sake of change?
Another thing that one needs to notice is that the final of the tournament is held on a Saturday rather than on Sunday when there would be more viewers glued to their television sets on that holiday. As a matter of fact, the finals of the world cup 2011 was also held on a Saturday reserving Sunday for all fans to rejoice their favorite team's victory. Coming back to the tournament, the CSK have a chance of winning the trophy for the second time but, against who they'll be doing it is still awaited. If it is against RCB, that will be their 4th meeting in this IPL alone.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Shane Watt-son Mega Watt performance
Well one sight on yesterday's match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals suggests that the Rajasthan Royals would have an easy won the match. But, I wonder how many of them would have thought the Rajasthan Royals would have won the match without losing even a single wicket and Shane Watson belting a 47 ball 89 run. The moment the Mumbai Indians ended their innings for 133 on the board, it was more or less understood that they would end up losing. But, something which was not thought about was the even with Lasith Malinga they couldn't grab a single wicket.
There were two Mumbaikars in Rohith Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar who did something for the Mumbai Indians' side by emerging as the top batsmen of the game scoring 31 and 58 respectively. But, as it already evident by now, that was of no use to the team. All that those scores could do was to save the face for the Mumbai Indians without which the total would not have even crossed 100. One has to wonder why the Mumbai Indians preserved 5 wickets when no one had the guts to belt the bowling of the opposition. Why was Franklin sent ahead of Symonds?
Symonds was a bigger hitter than Franklin and Harbhajan. One has to applaud the Rajasthan Royals' captain for experimenting with his bowlers and at the same time criticize him for failing in his experiment. There were four bowlers from the Rajasthan Royals' side who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs and much to anyone's surprise, they all ended up successful. But, the ones who didn't get to complete their full quota of 4 overs, namely Siddhart Trivedi, Maneria and Amit Singh bowled the costliest of over giving away runs at the rate of 9.00, 10.00 and 12.00 runs respectively.
However, there is not much that can be written about the batting performance of the Rajasthan Royals which was finished by just two batsmen - Dravid and Watson. Watson's 47 ball 89 might not be of that great interest but, his combo of 3 wickets and 89 runs definitely falls into the best of all-round performances. There were 7 over to spare for the Rajasthan Royals which could have been compensated in case of a rain affected match. With this, Shane Warne could be last match in the IPL and he has outplayed his famous rival-Sachin Tendulkar. Just a gr8 way to finish a splendid career.
There were two Mumbaikars in Rohith Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar who did something for the Mumbai Indians' side by emerging as the top batsmen of the game scoring 31 and 58 respectively. But, as it already evident by now, that was of no use to the team. All that those scores could do was to save the face for the Mumbai Indians without which the total would not have even crossed 100. One has to wonder why the Mumbai Indians preserved 5 wickets when no one had the guts to belt the bowling of the opposition. Why was Franklin sent ahead of Symonds?
Symonds was a bigger hitter than Franklin and Harbhajan. One has to applaud the Rajasthan Royals' captain for experimenting with his bowlers and at the same time criticize him for failing in his experiment. There were four bowlers from the Rajasthan Royals' side who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs and much to anyone's surprise, they all ended up successful. But, the ones who didn't get to complete their full quota of 4 overs, namely Siddhart Trivedi, Maneria and Amit Singh bowled the costliest of over giving away runs at the rate of 9.00, 10.00 and 12.00 runs respectively.
However, there is not much that can be written about the batting performance of the Rajasthan Royals which was finished by just two batsmen - Dravid and Watson. Watson's 47 ball 89 might not be of that great interest but, his combo of 3 wickets and 89 runs definitely falls into the best of all-round performances. There were 7 over to spare for the Rajasthan Royals which could have been compensated in case of a rain affected match. With this, Shane Warne could be last match in the IPL and he has outplayed his famous rival-Sachin Tendulkar. Just a gr8 way to finish a splendid career.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
How can 1 win over 11
Well it is obvious that a team where 11 players contribute to their team would walk out with all the applause the match can bring in. And, yesterday as well things were hardly different in the game between the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Mumbai. Well it should not be confused with the fact that Mumbai won because they were playing on their home soil. This could be the match for all people who would like to find flaw in Sachin Tendulkar who scored an individual 51 at the cost of his team's total. After Jacobs, Sachin Tendulkar had the least strike rate.
Sachin Tendulkar played 45 balls before getting out on 51 at a strike rate of 137.83 while Ambati Rayudu scored the same amount of runs playing 8 balls less than what Sachin Tendulkar took. Both have to come under the scanner for, the innings didn't include a quickfire that is quintessential in a T20 game especially the IPL for in addition to the team losing the match, the audience would be deceived of an action on the field. Though the batsmen who came in next didn't play a long innings like Sachin Tendulkar and Rayudu, they added to the entertainment.
Kieron Pollard and Rohith Sharma despite getting out on low scores of 20 and 18 respectively did the same at strike rates of 181 and 163 respectively. The next to have come in were Andrew Symonds and Suman. Well not having our discussion regarding Suman, Symonds would have well been an asset with him being the biggest of all the hitters out there in the Mumbai Indians side. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga would also have added to the action. Had Sachin Tendukar and Ambati Rayudu thought otherwise, the score towards the end would have shot past 180 or may be even more.
Speaking team work, it was evident why the Kings XI Punjab despite the presence of Adam Gilchrist, David Warner, David Hussey etc ended up on the losing side for their lack of team work. All those aforementioned players were among the top big hitters in IPL but not yesterday at Mumbai. If not for Shaun Marsh who scored 61, no other batsmen showed any toughness on the crease. One can sense the selfishness of Paul Valthaty who scored 33 runs at a strike rate of 86.87 when the situation demanded 150+ runs for every 100 legal deliveries. Finally, lack of team work saw he team lose and viceversa.
Sachin Tendulkar played 45 balls before getting out on 51 at a strike rate of 137.83 while Ambati Rayudu scored the same amount of runs playing 8 balls less than what Sachin Tendulkar took. Both have to come under the scanner for, the innings didn't include a quickfire that is quintessential in a T20 game especially the IPL for in addition to the team losing the match, the audience would be deceived of an action on the field. Though the batsmen who came in next didn't play a long innings like Sachin Tendulkar and Rayudu, they added to the entertainment.
Kieron Pollard and Rohith Sharma despite getting out on low scores of 20 and 18 respectively did the same at strike rates of 181 and 163 respectively. The next to have come in were Andrew Symonds and Suman. Well not having our discussion regarding Suman, Symonds would have well been an asset with him being the biggest of all the hitters out there in the Mumbai Indians side. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga would also have added to the action. Had Sachin Tendukar and Ambati Rayudu thought otherwise, the score towards the end would have shot past 180 or may be even more.
Speaking team work, it was evident why the Kings XI Punjab despite the presence of Adam Gilchrist, David Warner, David Hussey etc ended up on the losing side for their lack of team work. All those aforementioned players were among the top big hitters in IPL but not yesterday at Mumbai. If not for Shaun Marsh who scored 61, no other batsmen showed any toughness on the crease. One can sense the selfishness of Paul Valthaty who scored 33 runs at a strike rate of 86.87 when the situation demanded 150+ runs for every 100 legal deliveries. Finally, lack of team work saw he team lose and viceversa.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Deccan Chargers slinged!
Well, the two players who have been any franchise's bargain in this year's IPL is no doubt Chris Gayle who was bagged by the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the second one is Lasith Malinga whose devastating spells were evident for the second time yesterday in the match against the Deccan Chargers on their home ground. Not even Sachin Tendulkar has been the pick of the players in this year's IPL. With that apart, in the game between the Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers, Lasith Malinga was outstanding needless to be said. This was not because he scalped 3 wickets from the Deccan Chargers.
If one can take some pains and go through the scorecard, not only did Lasith malinga scalp three wickets from the Deccan Chargers' side but also had them single handed. Two of his three wickets had the batsmen bowled while the third batsmen was caught and bowled by Lasith Malinga seeing that Malinga gets no help from any of the fielders or the wicket keeper. Added to that, Malinga had the Deccan Chargers' batsman-Cameron White run out. This brings down four wickets from the Deccan Chargers side by Lasith Malinga alone meaning Lasith Malinga has 50% of the Hyderabad wickets.
Moving away temporarily from Lasith Malinga, one can see from the scorecard that the Deccan Chargers used just five bowlers to bowl their full quota of 4 overs without opting for any other option. This always becomes the stepping stone for a loss by a team which has no guts to experiment with their bowlers. I have cited teams bringing in 7 to 8 bowlers when the going gets tough but, that is not any sort of criticism whatsoever. Though the playing XI of the Deccan Chargers lacks any well known bowlers, Barath Chilipi and Ravi Teja might have been worth a trial.
Similar to bowling, more batsmen making it to the crease means more pressure on the batting team and that was evident when all batsmen from the Deccan Chargers were found making it to the crease. One has to wonder why the word "home team" keeps on making rounds with most of the time in this IPL, it has been the home team that succumbs to pressure no matter what. The list is dominated by Delhi and Hyderabad to a greater extent. If the bowling of the Deccan Chargers brings in worries, so does their batting. If not for Sangakkara, no other batsman is found to hit the headlines for the right reasons.
If one can take some pains and go through the scorecard, not only did Lasith malinga scalp three wickets from the Deccan Chargers' side but also had them single handed. Two of his three wickets had the batsmen bowled while the third batsmen was caught and bowled by Lasith Malinga seeing that Malinga gets no help from any of the fielders or the wicket keeper. Added to that, Malinga had the Deccan Chargers' batsman-Cameron White run out. This brings down four wickets from the Deccan Chargers side by Lasith Malinga alone meaning Lasith Malinga has 50% of the Hyderabad wickets.
Moving away temporarily from Lasith Malinga, one can see from the scorecard that the Deccan Chargers used just five bowlers to bowl their full quota of 4 overs without opting for any other option. This always becomes the stepping stone for a loss by a team which has no guts to experiment with their bowlers. I have cited teams bringing in 7 to 8 bowlers when the going gets tough but, that is not any sort of criticism whatsoever. Though the playing XI of the Deccan Chargers lacks any well known bowlers, Barath Chilipi and Ravi Teja might have been worth a trial.
Similar to bowling, more batsmen making it to the crease means more pressure on the batting team and that was evident when all batsmen from the Deccan Chargers were found making it to the crease. One has to wonder why the word "home team" keeps on making rounds with most of the time in this IPL, it has been the home team that succumbs to pressure no matter what. The list is dominated by Delhi and Hyderabad to a greater extent. If the bowling of the Deccan Chargers brings in worries, so does their batting. If not for Sangakkara, no other batsman is found to hit the headlines for the right reasons.
Monday, 11 April 2011
This is just the beginning
As the rules of the game of cricket go, there has to be one winner and the other team has to end up on the losing side no matter what. This saying is not for matches that result in a tie or those games which get abandoned by no matter what once again. Most of you might not even accept the encounter between the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils yesterday at Delhi when the Delhi team got out for just 95 runs. Should one forgive Virender Sehwag for starting the inning so brightly that even the best batsman on earth would have got scared.
One would have thought Sehwag to hit a double century rather than the entire team not even getting to the one hundred mark. A score of 95 by a team captained by a dashing opener like Sehwag and with members like David Warner and Irfan Pathan should have atleast scored runs at a rate f 6.0 runs an over. One has to wonder about the team which speaks of no other hard hitting batsman if not for their captain. There was some Venugopal Rao who makes his appearance flt only once in a year and that would be the IPL in case that happens.
Despite the fact that the entire Delhi team got bundled out for a mere total of just 95 on board, one has to no doubt appreciate the fact that the Delhi Daredevils had hit more sixes compared to the Mumbai Indians. The Delhi Daredevils' innings saw two hits out of the ground, with one of them being from the bat of Virender Sehwag and the other one being from some Naman Ojha, the profile of whom can be viewed on cricinfo if interested. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indins had just one six from Sachin Tendulkar who fell short of a half century by 4 runs.
Though not necessary, all the batsmen from the Mumbai Indians had their strike rates below hundred which can be taken the way you wish. Would it be right to suggest that the pitch was tough for batsmen? I don't think so, keeping in mind the was the Mumbai Indians played without losing their cool. Of course, who doesn't keep his cool chasing down just 96 on board? One has to appreciate the series of 0s and 8s in the Delhi Daredevils' innings with five batsmen getting out for naught and two of them scoring 8 runs. But, there is a long way to for both teams.
One would have thought Sehwag to hit a double century rather than the entire team not even getting to the one hundred mark. A score of 95 by a team captained by a dashing opener like Sehwag and with members like David Warner and Irfan Pathan should have atleast scored runs at a rate f 6.0 runs an over. One has to wonder about the team which speaks of no other hard hitting batsman if not for their captain. There was some Venugopal Rao who makes his appearance flt only once in a year and that would be the IPL in case that happens.
Despite the fact that the entire Delhi team got bundled out for a mere total of just 95 on board, one has to no doubt appreciate the fact that the Delhi Daredevils had hit more sixes compared to the Mumbai Indians. The Delhi Daredevils' innings saw two hits out of the ground, with one of them being from the bat of Virender Sehwag and the other one being from some Naman Ojha, the profile of whom can be viewed on cricinfo if interested. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indins had just one six from Sachin Tendulkar who fell short of a half century by 4 runs.
Though not necessary, all the batsmen from the Mumbai Indians had their strike rates below hundred which can be taken the way you wish. Would it be right to suggest that the pitch was tough for batsmen? I don't think so, keeping in mind the was the Mumbai Indians played without losing their cool. Of course, who doesn't keep his cool chasing down just 96 on board? One has to appreciate the series of 0s and 8s in the Delhi Daredevils' innings with five batsmen getting out for naught and two of them scoring 8 runs. But, there is a long way to for both teams.
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.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Drop catches and the tournament will drop your team
Well one can imagine the drop catch of the Kiwi big-hitting batsman Ross Taylor in the league stages of the tournament in the match between Pakistan and New Zealand at an unimportant venue. Ross Taylor was solely responsible in bringing up a total in excess of 300 when he blasted 92 runs of the last 4 overs at a rate of over 20 runs an over. That was the first defeat that Pakistan had in this tournament but was hard to come to terms with whatsoever. That was Pakistan's first defeat to New Zealand since 1979 world cup in world cups.
And then I can cite the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka where top batsmen were repeatedly dropped by poor Pakistani fielders which though didn't stop Pakistan from emerging victorious but reduced the margin to victory restricting the same to just ten runs. Many claim that to be a close encounter for Sri Lanka that could have gone anybody's way. But, anybody who would have watched the match ball-by-ball would conclude that it was Pakistan's drop chances that reduced the margin of victory to ten instead of 50. Thse two games never bothered Pakistan for those were league stage games.
There was always a chance for Pakistan to come back into the tournament when all was not lost. They had won the match against Sri Lanka and later on in the world cup tournament beat Australia which saw them top the charts in group A ahead of Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia. Then in the quarter-finals, beating West Indies was not a tough task for anyone. But, the real test for Pakistan would be in the match against India where they have been ousted for the third time by their arch-rivals India. I'm not citing their 5-0 loss to India in world cups.
India knocked out Pakistan in the 1996 world cup when they registered a 39 run win despite a 113 run 1st wicket partnership between Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar in 13 overs. Then came the match in 2003 which was famous for a drop catch of Sachin Tendulkar off a Wasim Akram delivery by Abdul Razzaq which spoiled their hopes of entering the super-sixes. Yesterday, another series of drop catches was observed when Sachin Tendulkar himself was dropped four times with Sehwag being given a chance. With all these, chasing 261 should not have been difficult for Pakistan. May be Pakistan wanted to go home early.
And then I can cite the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka where top batsmen were repeatedly dropped by poor Pakistani fielders which though didn't stop Pakistan from emerging victorious but reduced the margin to victory restricting the same to just ten runs. Many claim that to be a close encounter for Sri Lanka that could have gone anybody's way. But, anybody who would have watched the match ball-by-ball would conclude that it was Pakistan's drop chances that reduced the margin of victory to ten instead of 50. Thse two games never bothered Pakistan for those were league stage games.
There was always a chance for Pakistan to come back into the tournament when all was not lost. They had won the match against Sri Lanka and later on in the world cup tournament beat Australia which saw them top the charts in group A ahead of Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia. Then in the quarter-finals, beating West Indies was not a tough task for anyone. But, the real test for Pakistan would be in the match against India where they have been ousted for the third time by their arch-rivals India. I'm not citing their 5-0 loss to India in world cups.
India knocked out Pakistan in the 1996 world cup when they registered a 39 run win despite a 113 run 1st wicket partnership between Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar in 13 overs. Then came the match in 2003 which was famous for a drop catch of Sachin Tendulkar off a Wasim Akram delivery by Abdul Razzaq which spoiled their hopes of entering the super-sixes. Yesterday, another series of drop catches was observed when Sachin Tendulkar himself was dropped four times with Sehwag being given a chance. With all these, chasing 261 should not have been difficult for Pakistan. May be Pakistan wanted to go home early.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
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 40th 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.
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 40th 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.
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.
Friday, 17 September 2010
To boost one's confidence
There are teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who might just make one's life in many ways though their contribution to international is negligible. The teams mentioned above are one such teams against whom a victory is guaranteed unlike the case with the other 7 teams out there. In case some team happens to encounter either of the teams mentioned and in case that happens in a season where the ICC is bound to reconsider the teams' ratings, then, the team facing Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would have to consider itself lucky for, because of that their rating would definitely continue to raise.
I can recall the way South Africa made it to the number spot in ICC's test rankings in the late 2007 by beating the West Indies and Bangladesh with Australia losing to India in the Border - Gavaskar trophy. Similar to this, in yesterday's encounter between the Mumbai Indians and the Guyana team, the Mumbai Indians needed absolutely no effort needed to overthrow their opponents. Starting from Sachin Tendulkar and Kieron Pollard, everyone made their contribution felt if not for Saurabh Tiwary who got out for a naught. Of course, even Ambati Rayudu scored a mere 4 but that was towards the fag end of the innings.
Lack of game planning was evident in yesterday's match with the Guynese captain - Ramnaresh Sarwan opting for not more than 5 bowlers who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs each. A little bit of risk taking usually helps in getting back into the game and if that doesn't, nothing to worry. Atleast the captain would be satisfied that he made use of the options available to him to the fullest extent whatsoever. The Guyanese innings saw just two hits out of the ground compared to 9 alone by the man of the match Kieron Pollard alone in a T20 game.
I had totally forgotten until now that Guayana was facing a team that stood on the top in this year's IPL and had international players like Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and Lasith Malinga to name a few. Despite ending up on the losing side, one has to give the Guyanese a pat on their back one, for scoring a decent 153 with over 7.5 an over and two, for not losing all ten wickets in a failed run chase. Only Christopher Barnwell was found ending up with a strike rate of more than 150 compared to three from the Mumbai Indians' side.
I can recall the way South Africa made it to the number spot in ICC's test rankings in the late 2007 by beating the West Indies and Bangladesh with Australia losing to India in the Border - Gavaskar trophy. Similar to this, in yesterday's encounter between the Mumbai Indians and the Guyana team, the Mumbai Indians needed absolutely no effort needed to overthrow their opponents. Starting from Sachin Tendulkar and Kieron Pollard, everyone made their contribution felt if not for Saurabh Tiwary who got out for a naught. Of course, even Ambati Rayudu scored a mere 4 but that was towards the fag end of the innings.
Lack of game planning was evident in yesterday's match with the Guynese captain - Ramnaresh Sarwan opting for not more than 5 bowlers who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs each. A little bit of risk taking usually helps in getting back into the game and if that doesn't, nothing to worry. Atleast the captain would be satisfied that he made use of the options available to him to the fullest extent whatsoever. The Guyanese innings saw just two hits out of the ground compared to 9 alone by the man of the match Kieron Pollard alone in a T20 game.
I had totally forgotten until now that Guayana was facing a team that stood on the top in this year's IPL and had international players like Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and Lasith Malinga to name a few. Despite ending up on the losing side, one has to give the Guyanese a pat on their back one, for scoring a decent 153 with over 7.5 an over and two, for not losing all ten wickets in a failed run chase. Only Christopher Barnwell was found ending up with a strike rate of more than 150 compared to three from the Mumbai Indians' side.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Any total is chasable in T20
Well it would not be a surprise for any team to have pulled off a stunning win against any team in T20 games. Mumbai Indians might have been the team that was on the top in the third edition of the Indian Premier League that was concluded some 5 months back. But, how can it consider itself comfortable with just 180 on board with 200+ totals being successfully chased down repeatedly. There should not be anything peculiar in any team that is found chasing 180 on board. Despite all odds, on fact to be noticed is that the Mumbai Indians' team didn't have even a single score above 50.
Well, that is not an area of concern for either of the teams out there. At the end of the day it is who wins and who loses and South Australia have made the better of the day by beating the Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets rather deserving. Unlike the Mumbai Indians' inings, the South Australian team had their openers post individual scores in excess of 50 with Michael Klinger and Daniel Harris scoring 50 and 56 respectively. By the end, Daniel Harris was awarded the man of the match for scoring just 6 runs above his opening partner which can seem to be a race for that as well.
There were no other contenders for the man of the match award with no bowler managing to take more than 2 wickets. Ali Murtaza and Lasith Malinga happened to top the bowling charts with two scalps against their names each with Aaron O'Brien doing the same for the South Australians. But these performances were not able to fetch either of the three the man of the match award with little coming from the willow and obviously the preference going to them. Despite a run rate of 9 an over, there were hardly any individual batting performances from both the teams.
Well, that is not an area of concern for either of the teams out there. At the end of the day it is who wins and who loses and South Australia have made the better of the day by beating the Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets rather deserving. Unlike the Mumbai Indians' inings, the South Australian team had their openers post individual scores in excess of 50 with Michael Klinger and Daniel Harris scoring 50 and 56 respectively. By the end, Daniel Harris was awarded the man of the match for scoring just 6 runs above his opening partner which can seem to be a race for that as well.
There were no other contenders for the man of the match award with no bowler managing to take more than 2 wickets. Ali Murtaza and Lasith Malinga happened to top the bowling charts with two scalps against their names each with Aaron O'Brien doing the same for the South Australians. But these performances were not able to fetch either of the three the man of the match award with little coming from the willow and obviously the preference going to them. Despite a run rate of 9 an over, there were hardly any individual batting performances from both the teams.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
The curse of 299
Well yesterday in the finals of the triangular series between India and Sri Lanka at Dambulla, not only did India suffer a loss in yet another finals of a tournament involving three nations or more but, also collapsed while chasing a total of 300, with Sri Lanka closing in on 299. This was the same score at which ten years back India slumped to their worst ever defeat in one dayers when they lost all their ten wickets for 54 runs while chasing the same target of 299. That match was a memorable one for Sanath Jayasuriya's epic knock of 189.
Similarly, the series being memorable one for Muttiah Muralitharan when he took 7 wickets giving away 30 runs in a game in the league stage of the tournament once again against India. That was the third time in history of one day cricket that a bowler had taken 7 wickets after Pakistan's Aqib Javed and West Indies' Windson Davis (who took 7/41) . For the second time in that series, India was at the receiving end of a bowler who took 7 wickets. The venue was Sharjah in both the occasions which makes it even more delightful for team India.
As a matter of fact, India and England are the only teams against which two bowlers have taken a 7 wicket haul. The other teams that have had it one are Zimbabwe against whom Chaminda Vass took 8/19 and Windson Davis taking 7/41 as mentioned above against Australia. As a matter of fact, no one has been able to take even a 7 wicket haul against Bangladesh. Anyways, coming to yesterday's match, this was a time when chasing even 350 should not have been tough atleast for India which didn't happen. One thing that is to be noticed is that this was India's second loss to Sri Lanka in the finals of a tri nation trophy.
Last time when India met Sri Lanka in the finals of the Asia cup, India won the match and prior to that, Sri Lanka won the finals in the triangular series late last year which also involved New Zealand. Of course, India didn't enter the finals of the tri nation tournament involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. It is now a difficult task for anyone to hold the number of games played between India and Sri Lanka since 2008. Any tournament that stands canceled is found to be compensated by an India-Sri Lanka series. May be that is the reason Sachin Tendulkar was dropped despite there being fears of a series loss.
Similarly, the series being memorable one for Muttiah Muralitharan when he took 7 wickets giving away 30 runs in a game in the league stage of the tournament once again against India. That was the third time in history of one day cricket that a bowler had taken 7 wickets after Pakistan's Aqib Javed and West Indies' Windson Davis (who took 7/41) . For the second time in that series, India was at the receiving end of a bowler who took 7 wickets. The venue was Sharjah in both the occasions which makes it even more delightful for team India.
As a matter of fact, India and England are the only teams against which two bowlers have taken a 7 wicket haul. The other teams that have had it one are Zimbabwe against whom Chaminda Vass took 8/19 and Windson Davis taking 7/41 as mentioned above against Australia. As a matter of fact, no one has been able to take even a 7 wicket haul against Bangladesh. Anyways, coming to yesterday's match, this was a time when chasing even 350 should not have been tough atleast for India which didn't happen. One thing that is to be noticed is that this was India's second loss to Sri Lanka in the finals of a tri nation trophy.
Last time when India met Sri Lanka in the finals of the Asia cup, India won the match and prior to that, Sri Lanka won the finals in the triangular series late last year which also involved New Zealand. Of course, India didn't enter the finals of the tri nation tournament involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. It is now a difficult task for anyone to hold the number of games played between India and Sri Lanka since 2008. Any tournament that stands canceled is found to be compensated by an India-Sri Lanka series. May be that is the reason Sachin Tendulkar was dropped despite there being fears of a series loss.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
IPL 2010 - Perfectly Indian
Though the name of the multimillion dollar Indian Premier League suggests that it has more of an Indian flavor in it, this had not been the case so far in the earlier two editions that were played. Indians had to wait for three editions of the tournament to get some Indian flavor in the tournament. In both the earlier editions of the Indian Premier League, the winners happened to be the team which was captained by Australian legends namely Shane Warne who lifted the trophy in the inaugural edition in 2008 and Adam Gilchrist who held the title for Deccan Chargers in 2009.
However, as a consolation the runners up happened to be those teams which were captained by Indian players namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2008 and Anil Kumble in 2009 when the Chennai Superkings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore made it there in 2008 and 2009 respectively. And this time in 2010, both the winners as well as the Runners up happened to be teams which were captained by Indian players with Sachin Tendulkar captaining the Mumbai Indians side which finished as runners up and Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Superkings finishing as winners of the trophy. Likewise, it was an Indian led Chennai Superkings who reached the finals of an IPL twice.
In the earlier editions of the IPL the man with the highest aggregate of runs happened not only to be a non Indian but also was an Australia in Shaun Marsh in 2008 who amassed 616 runs and Mathew Hayden in 2009 who surpassed 500 runs. But, this time it was an Indian in Sachin Tendulkar who returned as the highest run getter in the tournament after he amassed 618 runs to become the highest run getter in the tournament. And, when it comes to the player with maximum number of wickets, India has been lucky enough when this has been owned by an Indian on two occasions.
If not for Sohail Tanvir in 2008, the remaining two editions of the Indian Premier League has seen an Indian in R P Singh and Pragyan Ojha returning as the leading wicket takers in the 2009 and 2010 edition of the IPL respectively. And, when it comes to the players who have scored maximum number of sixes in the tournament, the number stands at a mind blowing 5 among the top ten leading six hitters in the tournament with Robin Uttappa topping the charts with 27 such hits. Others who have made it there are Vinay Kumar, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Yousuf Pathan.
The batsman who has scored the fastest hundred in an IPL is yet another Indian in Yousuf Pathan who did it against Mumbai Indians when he scored the same in 37 deliveries.
However, as a consolation the runners up happened to be those teams which were captained by Indian players namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2008 and Anil Kumble in 2009 when the Chennai Superkings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore made it there in 2008 and 2009 respectively. And this time in 2010, both the winners as well as the Runners up happened to be teams which were captained by Indian players with Sachin Tendulkar captaining the Mumbai Indians side which finished as runners up and Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Superkings finishing as winners of the trophy. Likewise, it was an Indian led Chennai Superkings who reached the finals of an IPL twice.
In the earlier editions of the IPL the man with the highest aggregate of runs happened not only to be a non Indian but also was an Australia in Shaun Marsh in 2008 who amassed 616 runs and Mathew Hayden in 2009 who surpassed 500 runs. But, this time it was an Indian in Sachin Tendulkar who returned as the highest run getter in the tournament after he amassed 618 runs to become the highest run getter in the tournament. And, when it comes to the player with maximum number of wickets, India has been lucky enough when this has been owned by an Indian on two occasions.
If not for Sohail Tanvir in 2008, the remaining two editions of the Indian Premier League has seen an Indian in R P Singh and Pragyan Ojha returning as the leading wicket takers in the 2009 and 2010 edition of the IPL respectively. And, when it comes to the players who have scored maximum number of sixes in the tournament, the number stands at a mind blowing 5 among the top ten leading six hitters in the tournament with Robin Uttappa topping the charts with 27 such hits. Others who have made it there are Vinay Kumar, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Yousuf Pathan.
The batsman who has scored the fastest hundred in an IPL is yet another Indian in Yousuf Pathan who did it against Mumbai Indians when he scored the same in 37 deliveries.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Back to the pavilion
Well this happens every year after the Indian Premier League gets over. The duration of close to two months which hosted the Indian Premier League not only was successful in showing a spectacular cricketing action on the field but was also responsible in showing the Indian sub continent as a world rather than as a country like it is after the IPL got over. In these two months of cricket's calender, most of the international players played just for one country nevermind that they played for different Indian cities but as a country it was India for which everyone was found playing.
Now, three days after the finals of the tournament which happened to be between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Superkings the players will have to go back to their respective teams to serve their international duties. Players like Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist who were seen picking up the willow even after their retirement from international cricket a couple of years back will now have to either play for their domestic team or else get back to some stuff like commentating or coaching young legs but would rarely be seen playing for any team or coming in front of the world for what they are known and have been known in their playing days.
The Mumbai crowd who would have cheered Sachin Tendulkar for his mind blowing batting will now have to dream "had Sachin Tendulkar been around in the upcoming T20 world cup" and worse come be contented with that. So would be the fans of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. And, players like Robin Uttappa, Virender Sehwag and Ambati Rayudu will have to be seen next year only with the selection committee picking Piyush Chawla for reason not evident to common man and is restricted only to the BCCI. In a way, players will also be losing a lot as said above.
And, finally the Chennai crowd who would have in the two months cheered the Sri Lankan off spinner - Muttiah Muralitharan will now have to make up their mind that he gets belted by some Yuvraj Singh or Rohit Sharma when India play Sri Lanka. So would be the case regarding Australia's Shane Watson, whom the Rajasthan Royals would now want to go back without scoring when he picks up his bat against India. Other such players who'd be rejoiced after being done so for their good performance until now will be New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, Shane Bond to name a few.
Now, three days after the finals of the tournament which happened to be between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Superkings the players will have to go back to their respective teams to serve their international duties. Players like Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist who were seen picking up the willow even after their retirement from international cricket a couple of years back will now have to either play for their domestic team or else get back to some stuff like commentating or coaching young legs but would rarely be seen playing for any team or coming in front of the world for what they are known and have been known in their playing days.
The Mumbai crowd who would have cheered Sachin Tendulkar for his mind blowing batting will now have to dream "had Sachin Tendulkar been around in the upcoming T20 world cup" and worse come be contented with that. So would be the fans of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. And, players like Robin Uttappa, Virender Sehwag and Ambati Rayudu will have to be seen next year only with the selection committee picking Piyush Chawla for reason not evident to common man and is restricted only to the BCCI. In a way, players will also be losing a lot as said above.
And, finally the Chennai crowd who would have in the two months cheered the Sri Lankan off spinner - Muttiah Muralitharan will now have to make up their mind that he gets belted by some Yuvraj Singh or Rohit Sharma when India play Sri Lanka. So would be the case regarding Australia's Shane Watson, whom the Rajasthan Royals would now want to go back without scoring when he picks up his bat against India. Other such players who'd be rejoiced after being done so for their good performance until now will be New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, Shane Bond to name a few.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
The fate of a depleted KKR
Well it has been the trademark of the Kolkata Knight Riders to reserve wickets and go in for a final assault which is yet to become a reality. Even in yesterday's game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians, the Kolkata Knight Riders lost just 3 wickets in the 20 overs that they played only to pile up a mere 155 runs on the board and eventually end up on the losing side. If not for his captaincy, Sourav Ganguly should stand nowhere when it comes to rescuing his team which was evident when he scored just 31 runs from 34 deliveries at a strike of less than 100.
This strike can be appreciated had it been in a one day international. But, this is not the time to remind anyone that Ganguly was playing a T20 game where his experience is less than some Piyush Chawla who is at present half his age. But, if common sense speaks, Ganguly should have taken the decision to take charge of his team by going for big shots rather than steadily increasing the pace after ducking in the initial part of his batting. No one would account Ganguly for hitting 5 boundaries but would surely point their fingers for not hitting even a single ball out of the ground.
If the other side of the coin is also given a close look at, it would be quite evident when the KKR team hardly had any hard hitting batsmen with only Chris Gayle and to some extent Ganguly being an exception. Had I been in place of Ganguly, I would have opted to choose Brad Hodge instead of Angelo Mathews and Shukla over Saha or Harpreet Singh. One has to wonder from where did this Harpreet Singh come from when the KKR squad doesn't mention his name. On the other side, even the bowlers from KKR had no momentum in them to trouble the Mumbai Indians' batsmen.
One cannot cite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar to have increased pressure on the KKR side for, Sachin is as good as anybody else as far as T20 cricket is considered though there might be a lot of contradictions to this. Shane Bond and Ishanth Sharma should have shown their caliber for the money what they were paid and the expectations they had drawn from their fans. But, they were the bowlers who ended up with the highest economy rate when both of them returned with a run rate of over 10 runs an over. Shane Bond was not even made to bowl his full quota of 4 overs. The only area where KKR can boast over MI is that they hit 2 sixes compared to only one from the MI side.
This strike can be appreciated had it been in a one day international. But, this is not the time to remind anyone that Ganguly was playing a T20 game where his experience is less than some Piyush Chawla who is at present half his age. But, if common sense speaks, Ganguly should have taken the decision to take charge of his team by going for big shots rather than steadily increasing the pace after ducking in the initial part of his batting. No one would account Ganguly for hitting 5 boundaries but would surely point their fingers for not hitting even a single ball out of the ground.
If the other side of the coin is also given a close look at, it would be quite evident when the KKR team hardly had any hard hitting batsmen with only Chris Gayle and to some extent Ganguly being an exception. Had I been in place of Ganguly, I would have opted to choose Brad Hodge instead of Angelo Mathews and Shukla over Saha or Harpreet Singh. One has to wonder from where did this Harpreet Singh come from when the KKR squad doesn't mention his name. On the other side, even the bowlers from KKR had no momentum in them to trouble the Mumbai Indians' batsmen.
One cannot cite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar to have increased pressure on the KKR side for, Sachin is as good as anybody else as far as T20 cricket is considered though there might be a lot of contradictions to this. Shane Bond and Ishanth Sharma should have shown their caliber for the money what they were paid and the expectations they had drawn from their fans. But, they were the bowlers who ended up with the highest economy rate when both of them returned with a run rate of over 10 runs an over. Shane Bond was not even made to bowl his full quota of 4 overs. The only area where KKR can boast over MI is that they hit 2 sixes compared to only one from the MI side.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Mumbai's day out
Well this is quite usual in the T20 format of cricket and more so when it comes to the Indian Premier League when a team that ended on a high note in the previous edition of the same is found getting belted by a team that finds no place in comparison with the other team. And this was once again the case when the Mumbai Indians beat the Delhi Daredevils by a whooping 98 runs which could be the case in test matches and one day cricket and not in a T20 game and that too in IPL. But, scorecard suggests otherwise.
No total should have seemed to trouble or even put in some pressure on the Delhi Daredevils especially on Virender Sehwag who cares to nobody when it comes to a tempting delivery. And, Sehwag did exactly that when he scored or rather hammered a 16 ball 26 with a strike rate of more than 150. And neither was Dinesh Karthik or Maharoof anyway less when it came to belting the ball which they did with a mind blowing strike but was nowhere when it came to the number of runs scored. All that they could do was to just wait and see what the batsman coming in next would do.
After the exit of Dinesh Karthik who scored a 6 ball 16 runs with a strike rate of 233, no other batsman from the Delhidaredevils really stood up to the Mumbai Indians' bowling. It was fascinating to see well known bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga going in for runs when part time bowlers like Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Bravo did a fab job with the ball. There were just 2 bowlers from the Mumbai Indians' side who bowled their full quota of 4 overs viz Sanath Jayasuriya and Kieron Pollard, both of whom have less to say with the ball.
But, such unusual incidents have been part and parcel of the IPL. It was a shame for the Delhi Daredevils who not only lost the game by a large margin but also couldn't play their complete quota of 20 overs when they lost their 10th wicket with still 21 legal deliveries remaining. Only Farveez Maharoof was able to hit a couple of shots outside the boundary in the entire Delhi Daredevils' innings. Not even Sehwag could do that. And, one has to notice the presence of Maharoof who was included as a bowler but was not given the ball and was the lone six hitter in the innings. Any explanations???
No total should have seemed to trouble or even put in some pressure on the Delhi Daredevils especially on Virender Sehwag who cares to nobody when it comes to a tempting delivery. And, Sehwag did exactly that when he scored or rather hammered a 16 ball 26 with a strike rate of more than 150. And neither was Dinesh Karthik or Maharoof anyway less when it came to belting the ball which they did with a mind blowing strike but was nowhere when it came to the number of runs scored. All that they could do was to just wait and see what the batsman coming in next would do.
After the exit of Dinesh Karthik who scored a 6 ball 16 runs with a strike rate of 233, no other batsman from the Delhidaredevils really stood up to the Mumbai Indians' bowling. It was fascinating to see well known bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga going in for runs when part time bowlers like Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Bravo did a fab job with the ball. There were just 2 bowlers from the Mumbai Indians' side who bowled their full quota of 4 overs viz Sanath Jayasuriya and Kieron Pollard, both of whom have less to say with the ball.
But, such unusual incidents have been part and parcel of the IPL. It was a shame for the Delhi Daredevils who not only lost the game by a large margin but also couldn't play their complete quota of 20 overs when they lost their 10th wicket with still 21 legal deliveries remaining. Only Farveez Maharoof was able to hit a couple of shots outside the boundary in the entire Delhi Daredevils' innings. Not even Sehwag could do that. And, one has to notice the presence of Maharoof who was included as a bowler but was not given the ball and was the lone six hitter in the innings. Any explanations???
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
400* in tests and 200* in ODIs: The new landmarks
This was perhaps the only record that Sachin Tendulkar had not made his own. I remember the way Sachin Tendulkar was looking helplessly in that particular match against Pakistan at Chennai that played more than a decade back when Pakistan's Saeed Anwar belted Anil Kumble for three consecutive sixes enroute to his 194. Finally, it was in the bowling off Sachin TendulkarSaeed Anwar's dream run came to an end when he was 6 runs short of scoring a double hundred. May be Sachin had told this to himself that these 6 runs would be scored by "me" which turned into a reality yesterday when he scored the world's first double hundred.
People would have gone sick looking the way Sachin Tendulkar scoring hundreds the way sun rises and sets every day. But, it would be wrong to consider this a hundred. The ICC and all major cricket websites must open a new column in batting records indicating the number of double hundreds scored by a batsman, which would at present contain only one name-SachinRamesh Tendulkar. The record, until yesterday was against a player who had achieved it by an unfair means when Saeed Anwar had a runner when his individual score was 70 and had no problems when he took to front foot to send Anil Kumble out of the ground on 3 successive occasions.
It is a bad fortune of the record that it remained unbroken until last August when Charles Coventry notched an unbeaten 194 which is considered to be better than the one set up by Saeed Anwar for the fact the the Zimbabwean batsman remained unbeaten. Finally, the unfair record set up by Saeed Anwar will never ever pop up as the highest individual score in one day internationals anymore. For, the score of 200* by Sachin Tendulkar is not only the highest individual score by a batsman in one dayers but also a new landmark called the double hundred that'll be the one for ever.
In case by a freak chance someone is able to overtake Sachin's record, still Sachin Tendulkar will be the man to have first scored a double hundred. And no one would highlight Saeed Anwar as the first batsman to have crossed the 190s. This can no doubt be considered to be in par with the unbeaten knock of 400 by Brian Lara against England which became another mark in test cricket. If the difference between these two batsmen is that one player plays right handed and the other left handed, similarities exist with both batsmen using a MRF bat. So cool isn't it!!
People would have gone sick looking the way Sachin Tendulkar scoring hundreds the way sun rises and sets every day. But, it would be wrong to consider this a hundred. The ICC and all major cricket websites must open a new column in batting records indicating the number of double hundreds scored by a batsman, which would at present contain only one name-SachinRamesh Tendulkar. The record, until yesterday was against a player who had achieved it by an unfair means when Saeed Anwar had a runner when his individual score was 70 and had no problems when he took to front foot to send Anil Kumble out of the ground on 3 successive occasions.
It is a bad fortune of the record that it remained unbroken until last August when Charles Coventry notched an unbeaten 194 which is considered to be better than the one set up by Saeed Anwar for the fact the the Zimbabwean batsman remained unbeaten. Finally, the unfair record set up by Saeed Anwar will never ever pop up as the highest individual score in one day internationals anymore. For, the score of 200* by Sachin Tendulkar is not only the highest individual score by a batsman in one dayers but also a new landmark called the double hundred that'll be the one for ever.
In case by a freak chance someone is able to overtake Sachin's record, still Sachin Tendulkar will be the man to have first scored a double hundred. And no one would highlight Saeed Anwar as the first batsman to have crossed the 190s. This can no doubt be considered to be in par with the unbeaten knock of 400 by Brian Lara against England which became another mark in test cricket. If the difference between these two batsmen is that one player plays right handed and the other left handed, similarities exist with both batsmen using a MRF bat. So cool isn't it!!
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