Well the last the Kings XI Punjab team faced the Delhi Daredevils at Delhi, the home team made it count for them by registering a 29 run win over their neighbors. And, much to everyone's surprise this time, the Kings XI Punjab did exactly what the Delhi Daredevils did to them a month ago this time at Dharamsala by the same margin of 29 runs. Thanks to some power hitting by Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh at the top, whose contribution with the bat laid the foundation after their team put up a mammoth total of 170 on the board.
In addition, there was Dinesh Karthik who aided the duo with his handy 27. Like it has always been the case with most of the teams, their captain never seems to experiment with their bowling no matter what. This time as well, James Hopes never got into experiment by opting for just 6 bowlers, four of whom bowled their entire quota of 4 overs. One over that made the difference between a victory and a loss for the Delhi Daredevils was that of Sridharan Sriram whose lone over cost him and his team 25 runs. May be this is the reason why captains don't experiment with their bowling.
Looking at the debacle of the Delhi Daredevils, the reason for the same can be thought of due to the lack of any quality players for them. There was Gautam Gambhir, A B de Villiars and Dilshan who have been picked up by different franchisees this time. Added to that is the absence of Virender Sehwag which creates a deeper hole in the Delhi Daredevils' worries. This time, some big names that can be read in the Delhi Daredevils side would be David Warner and James Hopes. Or else, why would Hopes be captaining his side. Gambhir would have been an asset had it been last time.
There was no batsmen in the Delhi side who scored even a 30. The best score was 29 from the blades of David Warner. Likewise, five bowlers were enough for the Kings XI Punjab to restrict the Delhi batsmen to a score 29 runs less than what the Kings XI Punjab managed. Perhaps! There was no Sriram in the Punjab team to give away 25 runs. Piyush Chawla made his presence felt not only by claiming the man of the match award but also by grabbing 3 wickets at 4.00 runs an over which makes him deserve the honor more than even Valthaty.
Showing posts with label Virender Sehwag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virender Sehwag. Show all posts
Monday, 16 May 2011
Friday, 13 May 2011
Dhoni does a Sehwag
Well we have seen in the past in this edition of the IPL that whenever the Delhi Daredevils perform, it is mainly because of their captain Virender Sehwag. However, yesterday in the match between the Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Superkings, it was the Chennai captain - Mahendra Singh Dhoni who stood for his team when he ended the innings at 176 with his personal contribution being an unbeaten 63 runs off just 31 deliveries. Had it not been for Dhoni's feat, may be the Chennai Superkings might have just ended on the losing side whatsoever. Dhoni has just done a Sehwag.
This time for a change, the home team returned victorious which most of the time doesn't happen to be the case. The scorecard suggests that Dhoni was previousy aided by Suresh Raina, Badrinath and Murali Vijay, both of them being Indians by laying a solid foundation to their mammoth total that was four runs behind the ideal total of 180. Unfortunately, Bravo and Morkel lost out entertaining the facs with their tail end hitting. Though the target of 176 was far more than enough to register a win, the game could have been a little more entertaining. Had there been Sehwag, things would have been different.
It was yet another example of team work by the Chennai Superkings where as mentioned Raina, Dhoni, Murali Vijay and Badrinath contributed for their team's batting success. Similarly, the bowling of the Delhi Daredevils also aided the Chennai batting who didn't experiment with their bowlers. One can sense the late run giving technique of Pathan who went at 10.0 runs an over. It is mysterious that Pathan and Agarkar were allowed to bowl their complete quota of 4 overs despite going in for so many runs while James Hopes was stopped after bowling just two overs. Coming to the Delhi's run chase, they left no stone unturned.
The Delhi Daredevils did everything right to chase down the total of 176 with Naman Ojha, Venugopal Rao, David Warner and Irfan Pathan showing good confidence with the bat but lacked the temperament that Virender Sehwag would have had. The Delhi Daredevils didn't have a Sehwag for a Dhoni. A score of 158 though was not enough to win the game, was more than enough to show that the Delhi Daredevils are still in the race at least for the play offs. At the end there could have been only one winner and that happened to be the Chennai Superkings.
This time for a change, the home team returned victorious which most of the time doesn't happen to be the case. The scorecard suggests that Dhoni was previousy aided by Suresh Raina, Badrinath and Murali Vijay, both of them being Indians by laying a solid foundation to their mammoth total that was four runs behind the ideal total of 180. Unfortunately, Bravo and Morkel lost out entertaining the facs with their tail end hitting. Though the target of 176 was far more than enough to register a win, the game could have been a little more entertaining. Had there been Sehwag, things would have been different.
It was yet another example of team work by the Chennai Superkings where as mentioned Raina, Dhoni, Murali Vijay and Badrinath contributed for their team's batting success. Similarly, the bowling of the Delhi Daredevils also aided the Chennai batting who didn't experiment with their bowlers. One can sense the late run giving technique of Pathan who went at 10.0 runs an over. It is mysterious that Pathan and Agarkar were allowed to bowl their complete quota of 4 overs despite going in for so many runs while James Hopes was stopped after bowling just two overs. Coming to the Delhi's run chase, they left no stone unturned.
The Delhi Daredevils did everything right to chase down the total of 176 with Naman Ojha, Venugopal Rao, David Warner and Irfan Pathan showing good confidence with the bat but lacked the temperament that Virender Sehwag would have had. The Delhi Daredevils didn't have a Sehwag for a Dhoni. A score of 158 though was not enough to win the game, was more than enough to show that the Delhi Daredevils are still in the race at least for the play offs. At the end there could have been only one winner and that happened to be the Chennai Superkings.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
What if Sehwag doesn't score?
Well if the current edition of the Indian Premier League is considered, it is the Delhi Daredevils who are one of the teams that are at the receiving end of their opponent's ego. However, for a change yesterday it was the same Delhi Daredevils aided with the magnificent knock of Virender Sehwag who held the upper hand in their group match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala at Kochi. One thing that can be noted is that the Delhi Daredevils were not playing on their home soil and secondly, it was the same old Virender Sehwag who did the good work for Delhi.
Let us go through the scorecard of yesterday's game between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala which suggests that out of the total score of 157 scored by Delhi, 80 was scored by Sehwag alone single handed. Sehwag scored 80 runs which constitutes more than 50% of the total of 157 that included 16 extras. If this year's edition of the Indian Premier League is given a closer look at with Delhi Daredevils taking the spotlight, the names which make it look big for the team include only Virender Sehwag and David Warner. Other smaller names include Irfan Pathan and Venugopal Rao.
However, keeping in mind yesterday's encounter the Delhi scorecard had no other individual score to boast about if not for Sehwag's 80 as mentioned. The next best score was 22 runs from the blades of Yogesh Nagar. The remaining scores would just be a waste of time and patience. Likewaise, the scorecard of the Kochi Tuskers' batting consisted of decent scores unlike the Delhi team's which was dominated by Sehwag alone. There was Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahela Jayawardane who returned with double figure scores though not so attractive like Virender Sehwag's 80. But, something different was expected from Brendon McCullum.
Like always, both teams who have been the bottom takers of the points table are found to take less experiment with their bowling like it happened yesterday as well when all the both captains there didn't quite experiment with the ball. First, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala had four bowlers who bowled their complete quota and on the other hand, the Delhi Daredevils had four bowlers who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs each with the 5th bowler bowling just one over short of his full quota. May be this is the secret of the teams to have reached the bottom of their points table.
Let us go through the scorecard of yesterday's game between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala which suggests that out of the total score of 157 scored by Delhi, 80 was scored by Sehwag alone single handed. Sehwag scored 80 runs which constitutes more than 50% of the total of 157 that included 16 extras. If this year's edition of the Indian Premier League is given a closer look at with Delhi Daredevils taking the spotlight, the names which make it look big for the team include only Virender Sehwag and David Warner. Other smaller names include Irfan Pathan and Venugopal Rao.
However, keeping in mind yesterday's encounter the Delhi scorecard had no other individual score to boast about if not for Sehwag's 80 as mentioned. The next best score was 22 runs from the blades of Yogesh Nagar. The remaining scores would just be a waste of time and patience. Likewaise, the scorecard of the Kochi Tuskers' batting consisted of decent scores unlike the Delhi team's which was dominated by Sehwag alone. There was Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahela Jayawardane who returned with double figure scores though not so attractive like Virender Sehwag's 80. But, something different was expected from Brendon McCullum.
Like always, both teams who have been the bottom takers of the points table are found to take less experiment with their bowling like it happened yesterday as well when all the both captains there didn't quite experiment with the ball. First, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala had four bowlers who bowled their complete quota and on the other hand, the Delhi Daredevils had four bowlers who bowled their complete quota of 4 overs each with the 5th bowler bowling just one over short of his full quota. May be this is the secret of the teams to have reached the bottom of their points table.
Friday, 29 April 2011
KKR and Delhi swap places
This was yet another loss for Delhi Daredevils on home turf and one has to go through the entire results page to see where the number stands as far as the Delhi Daredevils' loss at home is considered. The present is that the Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 17 runs against the Delhi Daredivels. Just few days before, the Chennai Super Kings took all applause for defending a mere total of 142 against the Pune Warriors when the latter were restricted to just 117 at less than run a ball. This time as well, the total of 148 was not a tough task for Delhi to chase.
Looking at the scorecard, despite being on the winning side, the Kolkta Knight Riders' innings was a one man show dominated by just Manoj Tiwary who scored an unbeaten 61 runs from 47 balls. That effort of his was more than enough for because the Kolkata Knight Riders eventually won the game as stated and Manoj Tiwary was awarded the man of the match. There was neither a supporting innings nor any quickfire from any of the batsmen from the Kolkata Knight Riders' side with the second best being 22 from the blades of Shreevats Goswamy in the beginning of the innings.
Looking at the scorecard once again suggests the lack of experimenting from the Delhi Daredevils side to be responsible for their debacle when they could not chase down 149 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Delhi Daredevils captain-Virender Sehwag bought in just 4 bowlers to bowl the Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite of this, the Delhi Daredevils should be glad that the total didn't shoot past 180. Sehwag could have bought in Yogesh Nagar, Naman Ojha and himself to bowl as a part of experimenting with his bowlers. Notable scores from Kolkata include only Goswami's 22 as mentioned. But, what if that is enough to win the game?
The Kolkata Knight Riders couldn't get the Delhi Batsmen all out with one wicket still left. The approach of the Delhi Daredevils was far from satisfactory with none of the batsmen making it count for the Delhi team. I doubt whether Virender Sehwag's score of 34 which topped the charts should be considered as a captain's innings which not only was the top score of that innings but was also the only score from the Delhi team that went above 30. The Kolkata Knight Riders unlike their opponents bought in 6 bowlers to bowl the Delhi batsmen which worked in restricting them below 148.
Looking at the scorecard, despite being on the winning side, the Kolkta Knight Riders' innings was a one man show dominated by just Manoj Tiwary who scored an unbeaten 61 runs from 47 balls. That effort of his was more than enough for because the Kolkata Knight Riders eventually won the game as stated and Manoj Tiwary was awarded the man of the match. There was neither a supporting innings nor any quickfire from any of the batsmen from the Kolkata Knight Riders' side with the second best being 22 from the blades of Shreevats Goswamy in the beginning of the innings.
Looking at the scorecard once again suggests the lack of experimenting from the Delhi Daredevils side to be responsible for their debacle when they could not chase down 149 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Delhi Daredevils captain-Virender Sehwag bought in just 4 bowlers to bowl the Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite of this, the Delhi Daredevils should be glad that the total didn't shoot past 180. Sehwag could have bought in Yogesh Nagar, Naman Ojha and himself to bowl as a part of experimenting with his bowlers. Notable scores from Kolkata include only Goswami's 22 as mentioned. But, what if that is enough to win the game?
The Kolkata Knight Riders couldn't get the Delhi Batsmen all out with one wicket still left. The approach of the Delhi Daredevils was far from satisfactory with none of the batsmen making it count for the Delhi team. I doubt whether Virender Sehwag's score of 34 which topped the charts should be considered as a captain's innings which not only was the top score of that innings but was also the only score from the Delhi team that went above 30. The Kolkata Knight Riders unlike their opponents bought in 6 bowlers to bowl the Delhi batsmen which worked in restricting them below 148.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Teach them how to defend
Though the total of 160 put up by the Delhi Daredevils yesterday against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at once again Delhi is not a decent total, it should not even be considered a cake walk for any tough opponent whatsoever. Had the same total been piled up by the Delhi team in one of the previous three editions, then that total would have seen them emerge victorious towards the end of the game i most encounters. Once again, the home team is found to be at the receiving end of the opposition's egos. I wish the Delhi team should stop playing on home turf.
A couple of days back, the Chennai Superkings were found defending a mere total of 142 on the board against Pune Warriors which was a game one of its kind for all those who have been following the tournament at least in this edition. The presence of Sehwag, Warner, James Hopes etc should provide a strong platform for the batting line up of the Delhi Daredevils whatsoever. But, what is seen happening is exactly reverse of the same. It has been the batsmen who have been responsible for their debacle. The bowlers, who get little support from the batsmen can do only this much.
Starting with the scorecard of the Delhi daredevils, it was a decent job done in by the batsmen that included Virender Sehwag, James Hopes and Venugopal Rao who showed confidence with the bat. Some decent tags include a quickfire 13 and 16 from Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha respectively. Had they been out giving thus a chance to the forthcoming batsmen, that would not have added to the score in any way with Morkel and Umesh Yadav knowing their limits themselves. This was a tough match for Delhi to lose when all odds were for them. They had no reasons to lose absolutely.
However, it was one man that took the game away from the Delhi Daredevils when Virat Kohli turned the heat back at Delhi when he scored 56 runs from 38 deliveries which proved to be the backbone of their successful run chase. If not for that score, no other individual score from the Royal Challengers Bangalore seems to hit the headlines. Of course, Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire a 26 run from 14 balls at a strike rate of 185.0 which provided the platform for the run chase which eventually happened to be a close encounter. I wish Sehwag should have given one more over to Pathan which could have stopped tongues from wagging.
A couple of days back, the Chennai Superkings were found defending a mere total of 142 on the board against Pune Warriors which was a game one of its kind for all those who have been following the tournament at least in this edition. The presence of Sehwag, Warner, James Hopes etc should provide a strong platform for the batting line up of the Delhi Daredevils whatsoever. But, what is seen happening is exactly reverse of the same. It has been the batsmen who have been responsible for their debacle. The bowlers, who get little support from the batsmen can do only this much.
Starting with the scorecard of the Delhi daredevils, it was a decent job done in by the batsmen that included Virender Sehwag, James Hopes and Venugopal Rao who showed confidence with the bat. Some decent tags include a quickfire 13 and 16 from Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha respectively. Had they been out giving thus a chance to the forthcoming batsmen, that would not have added to the score in any way with Morkel and Umesh Yadav knowing their limits themselves. This was a tough match for Delhi to lose when all odds were for them. They had no reasons to lose absolutely.
However, it was one man that took the game away from the Delhi Daredevils when Virat Kohli turned the heat back at Delhi when he scored 56 runs from 38 deliveries which proved to be the backbone of their successful run chase. If not for that score, no other individual score from the Royal Challengers Bangalore seems to hit the headlines. Of course, Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire a 26 run from 14 balls at a strike rate of 185.0 which provided the platform for the run chase which eventually happened to be a close encounter. I wish Sehwag should have given one more over to Pathan which could have stopped tongues from wagging.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Not enough for Delhi
Well the scorecard of yesterday's game between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab would have made the fans of the Delhi Daredevils team jump in joy. But, before anyone does that, one has to think the way the Delhi team won the match despite scoring such a huge total. One has to I guess remind the Delhi captain-Virender Sehwag the way the Kings XI Punjab successfully chased down 166 against Deccan Chargers and 189 against the Chennai Super Kings. Of course, even the Delhi Daredevils had a run when they chased down 187 against Pune Warriors at Mumbai.
Compared to the score of 180 at 9.0 runs an over the score of 231 stands way apart. But, hen the other team namely the Kings XI Punjab also fell not too far behind with them ending their innings with 202 runs on the board. Had the Delhi team been that strong, then the opposition should have been all out or restricted for somewhere close to 180 giving the Delhi team a victory margin of 51 runs. There is no doubt in the way the Delhi batsmen put pressure on the Punjabi bowlers with them bringing in 7 bowlers to stop Sehwag and Warner from scoring.
The highlight of the game was that every bowler who took to the crease gave away runs at a minimum of 8.0 runs an over. Only two of those bowlers could control and keep the scoring rate to less than 9.0 runs an over which indicates the pitch's batsman friendliness needless to be said. However, the Delhi team saw only 6 bowlers taking it to the crease. But, that decision rewarded the Delhi team for, they eventually won the game needless to be said by a 29 run margin. If the extras on both sides are removed, then the margin of victory reduces to 18 runs.
The Punjab bowlers bowled 14 wides compared to the three by the Delhi Daredevils. However, the million dollar doubt would be that the man of the match was awarded to Warner when there was Virender Sehwag and Shaun Marsh, both of whom shone with the bat. If the winning team concept needs to be considered, then Sehwag scored an equal number of runs compared to Warner but took less number of deliveries, hit more number of boundaries and equal number of sixes with both of them opening the innings for Delhi. Added to that Sehwag captained the side and took three catches on the field.
Compared to the score of 180 at 9.0 runs an over the score of 231 stands way apart. But, hen the other team namely the Kings XI Punjab also fell not too far behind with them ending their innings with 202 runs on the board. Had the Delhi team been that strong, then the opposition should have been all out or restricted for somewhere close to 180 giving the Delhi team a victory margin of 51 runs. There is no doubt in the way the Delhi batsmen put pressure on the Punjabi bowlers with them bringing in 7 bowlers to stop Sehwag and Warner from scoring.
The highlight of the game was that every bowler who took to the crease gave away runs at a minimum of 8.0 runs an over. Only two of those bowlers could control and keep the scoring rate to less than 9.0 runs an over which indicates the pitch's batsman friendliness needless to be said. However, the Delhi team saw only 6 bowlers taking it to the crease. But, that decision rewarded the Delhi team for, they eventually won the game needless to be said by a 29 run margin. If the extras on both sides are removed, then the margin of victory reduces to 18 runs.
The Punjab bowlers bowled 14 wides compared to the three by the Delhi Daredevils. However, the million dollar doubt would be that the man of the match was awarded to Warner when there was Virender Sehwag and Shaun Marsh, both of whom shone with the bat. If the winning team concept needs to be considered, then Sehwag scored an equal number of runs compared to Warner but took less number of deliveries, hit more number of boundaries and equal number of sixes with both of them opening the innings for Delhi. Added to that Sehwag captained the side and took three catches on the field.
Monday, 18 April 2011
So, Delhi are there in the race!
Well it would have been a mismatch had the Delhi team lost out this time with them being the highlights of the tournament in the past three editions of the Indian Premier League. The Delhi Daredevils made it to the semi-finals of the tournament in the first two editions of the tournament and unluckily lost the plot in the semi-finals to Hyderabad in 2009. This time, the Delhi team was as though they would be the first to finish off the tournament and head back home with Virender Sehwag cursing over his misfortune. But, it looks like they are back in the game after yesterday's win over Pune.
The Delhi Daredevils scripted a miraculous turnaround with them chasing down the highest total of the tournament so far surpassing the Kings XI Punjab's victory over Chennai Super Kings where they successfully chased down 188 runs on the board at Mohali. That was the first wonder of the tournament which was done by a team which has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. And, after that feat, the Delhi Daredevils have done this yesterday at Mumbai. It was not a one man show from the Delhi Daredevils team with all the 9 batsmen contributing to the success of the team.
Of course, keeping in mind the total of the Pune Warriors, a score of 187 was a tough one to chase and the reason for that was the charging done by Yuvraj Singh and Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh who played a captain's knock. Though this was not sufficient to achieve a victory, that was more than sufficient to give the Pune Warriors' captain- Yuvraj Singh the man of the match award. There was also Jesse Ryder who scored 60 runs at the rate of 222.0 for every hundred balls he faced off just 27 balls with 5 sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
But, the Pune Warriors lacked the team work that was present in the Delhi Daredevils team with at least 7 out of the nine batsmen making it count for their team. The highest individual score for the Delhi Daredevils was 46 scored by David Warner followed by Virender Sehwag's 37. But, neither David Warner nor Shahbaz Nadeem (for his bowling) was awarded the man of the match. If number of sixes scored should be considered, then the Pune Warriors win with them having 11 hits out of the ground compared to the 9 hit by the Pune Warriors. In the end, the Delhi team can be bet upon.
The Delhi Daredevils scripted a miraculous turnaround with them chasing down the highest total of the tournament so far surpassing the Kings XI Punjab's victory over Chennai Super Kings where they successfully chased down 188 runs on the board at Mohali. That was the first wonder of the tournament which was done by a team which has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons. And, after that feat, the Delhi Daredevils have done this yesterday at Mumbai. It was not a one man show from the Delhi Daredevils team with all the 9 batsmen contributing to the success of the team.
Of course, keeping in mind the total of the Pune Warriors, a score of 187 was a tough one to chase and the reason for that was the charging done by Yuvraj Singh and Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh who played a captain's knock. Though this was not sufficient to achieve a victory, that was more than sufficient to give the Pune Warriors' captain- Yuvraj Singh the man of the match award. There was also Jesse Ryder who scored 60 runs at the rate of 222.0 for every hundred balls he faced off just 27 balls with 5 sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
But, the Pune Warriors lacked the team work that was present in the Delhi Daredevils team with at least 7 out of the nine batsmen making it count for their team. The highest individual score for the Delhi Daredevils was 46 scored by David Warner followed by Virender Sehwag's 37. But, neither David Warner nor Shahbaz Nadeem (for his bowling) was awarded the man of the match. If number of sixes scored should be considered, then the Pune Warriors win with them having 11 hits out of the ground compared to the 9 hit by the Pune Warriors. In the end, the Delhi team can be bet upon.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Way to go Delhi
This time despite only with two games up for the Delhi Daredevils, they are now seem to be lacking luster with two defeats from the two games they have played so far. In their very first encounter with the Mumbai Indians, despite being the home team, the Delhi Daredevils lost all their wickets for just 95 runs on the board which was not something expected from a team that has made it to the semi-finals of the tournament on the previous two occasions. Agreed that the then Delhi team with Sehwag, Gambhir, Jayawardane and AB deVilliars was a totally different team.
Now, it looks like the change in the team has bought a total change in their body language itself with only one or two players having their presence felt. Last time against the Mumbai Indians, the top scorers were Sehwag and some Naman Ojha for scoring a score in excess of 20. If that was a starting trouble that can be thought of, this time the Delhi Daredevils couldn't defend a total in excess of 150. A total of 150, though not sufficient, wasn't not even that bad that it should be chased down so easily. But, the scorecard speaks otherwise.
One can see the lack of pressure on the bowlers of the Rajasthan Royal's side with only five bowlers taking the red cherry in their hands, and not opting for a fifth bowler. There wass also an over maiden by a Rajasthan bowler when Amit Singh was the lucky guy who did the wonder in a T20 game. It was a paradox to see the most experienced bowler (after Shane Warne) get belted for 40 runs at a rate of 10.0 runs an over. Coming to the Daredevils' innings, only two batsmen got to decent scores with Warner and Venugopal Rao doing the scoring.
The case was exactly opposite regarding the Rajasthan Royals with all batsmen doing the job except their opener Amit Paunikar who got out scoring 1 run. Else, a series of double digit scores eventually leading to the target of 152 with 6 wickets in hand. Despite being the underdogs in the match, the Delhi Daredvils team stuck to the stupid strategy of four bowlers, by not trying out anything new. Of course, what better can Sehwag do with their strike bowler-Irfan Pathan getting belted like never before? whatever be the case, Shane Warne's commitment even in his early 40s needs a pat on the back.
Now, it looks like the change in the team has bought a total change in their body language itself with only one or two players having their presence felt. Last time against the Mumbai Indians, the top scorers were Sehwag and some Naman Ojha for scoring a score in excess of 20. If that was a starting trouble that can be thought of, this time the Delhi Daredevils couldn't defend a total in excess of 150. A total of 150, though not sufficient, wasn't not even that bad that it should be chased down so easily. But, the scorecard speaks otherwise.
One can see the lack of pressure on the bowlers of the Rajasthan Royal's side with only five bowlers taking the red cherry in their hands, and not opting for a fifth bowler. There wass also an over maiden by a Rajasthan bowler when Amit Singh was the lucky guy who did the wonder in a T20 game. It was a paradox to see the most experienced bowler (after Shane Warne) get belted for 40 runs at a rate of 10.0 runs an over. Coming to the Daredevils' innings, only two batsmen got to decent scores with Warner and Venugopal Rao doing the scoring.
The case was exactly opposite regarding the Rajasthan Royals with all batsmen doing the job except their opener Amit Paunikar who got out scoring 1 run. Else, a series of double digit scores eventually leading to the target of 152 with 6 wickets in hand. Despite being the underdogs in the match, the Delhi Daredvils team stuck to the stupid strategy of four bowlers, by not trying out anything new. Of course, what better can Sehwag do with their strike bowler-Irfan Pathan getting belted like never before? whatever be the case, Shane Warne's commitment even in his early 40s needs a pat on the back.
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, 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.
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, 26 August 2010
Sehwag: A one man army
Well if one could go through the highlights of yesterday's match between India and New Zealand, had there been no Virender Sehwag, there would not have been India in the finals no matter the devastating spells by the Indian speedsters Ishanth Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra. It was a single handed game played by Sehwag when he belted the Kiwi bowlers the way he wanted by dictating each and everyone of them. With the wickets falling at will one the other end, Sehwag's contribution is indeed noteworthy. The next second digit figure came from the blades of the captain Dhoni.
Dhoni scored 38 runs at a strike rate of just above 50 in the 75 ball innings which he played. at the end of the day, only two others, leaving Sehwag were able to cross double digit with extras contributing 22 of them to be the third highest scorer in the Indian innings. It was a good toss to win the the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni which avoided his team from another 200 run defeat. Had New Zealand batted first, the match would have been a replica of the opening encounter where India lost by 200 runs and yes to Sehwag as well.
Dhoni scored 38 runs at a strike rate of just above 50 in the 75 ball innings which he played. at the end of the day, only two others, leaving Sehwag were able to cross double digit with extras contributing 22 of them to be the third highest scorer in the Indian innings. It was a good toss to win the the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni which avoided his team from another 200 run defeat. Had New Zealand batted first, the match would have been a replica of the opening encounter where India lost by 200 runs and yes to Sehwag as well.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Delhi yet to find a platform
Delhi daredevils are the team who have the hardest hitting batsmen in Virender Sehwag, the batsman who scored the maiden century of the tournament in 2008 in David Warner and the first century scorer in the second edition of the same last year in South Africa. Sad that they are found gasping for a win even against an average team in Deccan Chargers who have to depend upon just one or a couple of their batsmen in case they have to see their team victorious. But, if yesterday's game is considered, the stats look to be reversed for both the Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils as well.
Out of the 8 batsmen who took to the crease from the Deccan Chargers side, as many as five of them were worth the money what they were paid and also worth the hope their captain showed in them when they were selected in the playing eleven. All the five batsmen who came out scoring double figure scores had their strike rates above hundred. This was one of the rare occasions of the Deccan Chargers' innings not being dominated by Adam Gilchrist alone or by Andrew Symonds alone. Instead, in addition there were players like Herschelle Gibbs and Rohith Sharma as well who contributed.
Much to the surprise of everyone, all these five batsmen under discussion had a six to their credit and moreover, all the sixes hit in the Deccan Chargers' innings came from the bats of these five batsmen only with the share of the remaining batsmen beingnegligible zero. So has been the story regarding the number of boundaries hit in the Deccan Chargers' innings. And, this has to be obvious when no other batsman from the Deccan Chargers' side had their individual score go past 3 runs. And if the bowling of the same is considered, 4 out of 5 bowlers who could have bowled their full quota of 4 overs were found doing the same.
Only the remaining four overs were divided between R P Singh and Rohith Sharma. On the Delhi Daredevils side, there were just three of them who could do the job as batsmen with Sehwag surprisingly not being listed. Whenever the Delhi Daredevils' batsmen take to the crease, all eyes would be on Virender Sehwag who in the current edition is found to disappoint either as captain or as batsman. 7 of the 11 batsmen from the Delhi Daredevils side returned back to the pavilion scoring single digit scores and one batsman in Moises Henriques was quite intelligent when he didn't fall into that category of batsmen who scored less than 10 runs when he got out scoring 11 runs so that no fingers point towards him.
Out of the 8 batsmen who took to the crease from the Deccan Chargers side, as many as five of them were worth the money what they were paid and also worth the hope their captain showed in them when they were selected in the playing eleven. All the five batsmen who came out scoring double figure scores had their strike rates above hundred. This was one of the rare occasions of the Deccan Chargers' innings not being dominated by Adam Gilchrist alone or by Andrew Symonds alone. Instead, in addition there were players like Herschelle Gibbs and Rohith Sharma as well who contributed.
Much to the surprise of everyone, all these five batsmen under discussion had a six to their credit and moreover, all the sixes hit in the Deccan Chargers' innings came from the bats of these five batsmen only with the share of the remaining batsmen being
Only the remaining four overs were divided between R P Singh and Rohith Sharma. On the Delhi Daredevils side, there were just three of them who could do the job as batsmen with Sehwag surprisingly not being listed. Whenever the Delhi Daredevils' batsmen take to the crease, all eyes would be on Virender Sehwag who in the current edition is found to disappoint either as captain or as batsman. 7 of the 11 batsmen from the Delhi Daredevils side returned back to the pavilion scoring single digit scores and one batsman in Moises Henriques was quite intelligent when he didn't fall into that category of batsmen who scored less than 10 runs when he got out scoring 11 runs so that no fingers point towards him.
Friday, 19 March 2010
No total is big for Hayden
It was just a matter of time before the orange cap holder in the previous edition of the IPL - Mathew Hayden returned back to his old ways of devastating the bowlers from the opposition especially with his newly acquired mongoose bat. One has to really feel sad for Mathew Hayden for not being able to get a hundred despite having gone until the 90s. At the same time, Hayden also deserves a lot of appreciation for not wasting deliveries in a selfish attempt to get into his hundred by forgetting the remaining ten who'd be at the receiving end of the opposition.
The return of Hayden would be an added advantage to not only the Chennai Superkings but also to the entire IPL that includes millions of spectators - some watching it live on television, some watching the highlights and the remaining coming to the stadium and making their day there. Moreover, it was not against some weak opposition that Hayden kick started his IPL campaign of this year's edition. It was against the Delhi Daredevils who were unlucky to miss the plot in the previous edition at South Africa. It was against a team that had posted a mammoth total of 185 runs on the board.
Had it not been for Hayden, may be the Chennai Superkings would have had yet another loss in this tournament. If one can take trouble to go through the scorecard of the match, if not for Hayden and Raina, no other batsmen really stood upto the Delhi Daredevils' challenge. Not much could be expected from the opener Parthiv Patel who had to return after scoring 6 runs. This was in a way an improved performance form Parthiv Patel considering his scores less than 6 in earlier games he played. Though Vijay's innings suggests that he would have done a fab job after scoring a 6 ball 14, nothing can be guaranteed in the long run.
If the bowling of the CSKs are considered, Suresh Raina's inexperience as a captain could well be felt with the fact that someone like Joginder Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin were given the ball to bowl their entire quota of 4 overs despite going in for over 10 runs an over. On the other hand, experienced bowlers like Laxmipathy Balaji and Albie Morkel were made to bowl just 3 overs which saw them giving runs at the rate of 7 an over and 8 an over respectively. The Delhi Daredevils did a fab job with the entire team contributing to their total of 185. But, had it not been for Hayden, the CSK's fate would have been different.
The return of Hayden would be an added advantage to not only the Chennai Superkings but also to the entire IPL that includes millions of spectators - some watching it live on television, some watching the highlights and the remaining coming to the stadium and making their day there. Moreover, it was not against some weak opposition that Hayden kick started his IPL campaign of this year's edition. It was against the Delhi Daredevils who were unlucky to miss the plot in the previous edition at South Africa. It was against a team that had posted a mammoth total of 185 runs on the board.
Had it not been for Hayden, may be the Chennai Superkings would have had yet another loss in this tournament. If one can take trouble to go through the scorecard of the match, if not for Hayden and Raina, no other batsmen really stood upto the Delhi Daredevils' challenge. Not much could be expected from the opener Parthiv Patel who had to return after scoring 6 runs. This was in a way an improved performance form Parthiv Patel considering his scores less than 6 in earlier games he played. Though Vijay's innings suggests that he would have done a fab job after scoring a 6 ball 14, nothing can be guaranteed in the long run.
If the bowling of the CSKs are considered, Suresh Raina's inexperience as a captain could well be felt with the fact that someone like Joginder Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin were given the ball to bowl their entire quota of 4 overs despite going in for over 10 runs an over. On the other hand, experienced bowlers like Laxmipathy Balaji and Albie Morkel were made to bowl just 3 overs which saw them giving runs at the rate of 7 an over and 8 an over respectively. The Delhi Daredevils did a fab job with the entire team contributing to their total of 185. But, had it not been for Hayden, the CSK's fate would have been different.
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???
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Can Kings XI change their fate as well !!!
If one goes through the scorecard of the Kings XI Punjab's batting innings, one would be surprised to see the presence of batsmen who had individual scores of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 which can hardly be the case in any other matches. There was also a batsman who scored a 0. It was the lack of the presence of a batsman who returned back to the pavilion by scoring 1 run which spoiled the party which would have otherwise seen the team consisting players who scored individual scores ranging from 0 to 6. In both the innings, there were opening batsmen, one of whom scored a half century and the other returned scoring a single digit score.
This is one way of the Kings XI team entertaining their fans by showing them different number games. Anyways, coming to the match the Kings XI Punjab team had just three players who could post individual scores above which is evident by now given their number games earlier in the post. The other number along with the one mentioned above is that there were 13 extras bowled and 15 runs were scored by Sreesanth. Then, the captain Kumara Sangakkara scored 17 runs and Irfan Pathan scored 21 runs. Had there been a batsman scoring 19 runs, a series would have happened with each number differing the preceding number by 2.
Earlier, Kumara Sangakkara was made the captain of the side which was a good move, taking into account his experience as captain of the Sri Lankan team though he has hardly been successful. Sangakkara was a better choice as captain compared to Yuvraj Singh who is yet to wear the captain's crown be it for India or for his Ranji team. But, what can one do when the fate of a team can hardly be changed? Perhaps! Yuvraj Singh was successful in taking his team to the semis of the tournament which was a result of crashing out of Mumbai Indians side owing to their last match being abandoned against KKR.
Kings XI Punjab were one of the teams to have been knocked out of the IPL by a single team on two occasions when they were outplayed by the Chennai Super Kings in both editions of the IPL. A run rate of 7.62 would have been just fine, had it been in a 50 overs game but not in a T20 game which demands atleast 9 runs an over on an average. All that the Delhi Daredevils were expected to do was to just stand for 20 overs with some effort of their own combined with the extras bowled by the Kings XI team and some loose bowling from the opposition. For a change, Sreesanth was found not only bowling his full quota of 4 overs but also turning out to the most economical bowler after Yuvraj Singh when his bowling figures read 4-0-24-2.
This is one way of the Kings XI team entertaining their fans by showing them different number games. Anyways, coming to the match the Kings XI Punjab team had just three players who could post individual scores above which is evident by now given their number games earlier in the post. The other number along with the one mentioned above is that there were 13 extras bowled and 15 runs were scored by Sreesanth. Then, the captain Kumara Sangakkara scored 17 runs and Irfan Pathan scored 21 runs. Had there been a batsman scoring 19 runs, a series would have happened with each number differing the preceding number by 2.
Earlier, Kumara Sangakkara was made the captain of the side which was a good move, taking into account his experience as captain of the Sri Lankan team though he has hardly been successful. Sangakkara was a better choice as captain compared to Yuvraj Singh who is yet to wear the captain's crown be it for India or for his Ranji team. But, what can one do when the fate of a team can hardly be changed? Perhaps! Yuvraj Singh was successful in taking his team to the semis of the tournament which was a result of crashing out of Mumbai Indians side owing to their last match being abandoned against KKR.
Kings XI Punjab were one of the teams to have been knocked out of the IPL by a single team on two occasions when they were outplayed by the Chennai Super Kings in both editions of the IPL. A run rate of 7.62 would have been just fine, had it been in a 50 overs game but not in a T20 game which demands atleast 9 runs an over on an average. All that the Delhi Daredevils were expected to do was to just stand for 20 overs with some effort of their own combined with the extras bowled by the Kings XI team and some loose bowling from the opposition. For a change, Sreesanth was found not only bowling his full quota of 4 overs but also turning out to the most economical bowler after Yuvraj Singh when his bowling figures read 4-0-24-2.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
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 theB-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 5th double hundred and so was Tendulkar when he scored his 4th 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.
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
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 5th double hundred and so was Tendulkar when he scored his 4th 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.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Patented Records
Well, yesterday in the third day of the 1st test match between India and South Africa, SachinTendulkar recorded his 47th test hundred and Virender Sehwag his 19th test hundred, which is not the discussion here. But, Sehwag's feat of 100 in just 87 balls is one. It has been almost a decade since the newspapers make headlines whenever Sachin Tendulkar scores a hundred. On the otherhand, whenever Sachin Tendulkar used to get out in his nineties, that used to make headlines. So, would be Sehwag whenever he scores a fastest hundred or a fastest double hundred.
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
Monday, 15 February 2010
The fate of batting records these days...
In today's world of cricket, it would not be wrong to say that records are created rather than achieved by anyone. The latest one would be the 47th test hundred by none other than SachinTendulkar. Until a decade back, there was only Sunil Gavaskar who had scored more than 30 centuries in test cricket. But, today, there are five others excluding Gavaskar namely SachinTendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Steve Waugh and Mathew Hayden who have scored 30+ hundreds in international test cricket. It was somewhere in late 80s when Gavaskar achieved this feat.
But, the remaining six have done it in the past decade. It took 36 years for someone like Brian Lara to break Gary Sobers' record for the highest test score of 365* and just 6 months to break Mathew Hayden's score of 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. There was a time when the bowler used to bowl the ball at the batsman the way he liked, with no restrictions upon the number of bouncers that a bowler can bowl in an over unlike it is today. There was no rule of a bowlers being prohibited to bowl further incase he bowls a dangerous delivery that is referred to as beamers in today's cricket.
Gone are the days when a test match used to yield results despite a team putting up a 700+ total. Yes, it is possible in today's cricket provided the team should be facing either the West Indies or Bangladesh for that to happen. One has to indeed thank the ICC for banning Zimbabwe from paying test cricket. In today's cricket, a total of 700+ on the board needs no further reason for it to be termed a draw in most of the cases. In today's cricket, a bowlers' main idea is to just bowl maiden overs than to get the opposition out.
No blaming the bowlers when the life for a batsman is made so easy that even tail enders like Harbhajan Singh & Mitchell Johnson can boast of 50+ scores and a debutant like Ravindra Jadeja can take the opposition bowlers for a ride. Batsmen need not bowl if they don't feel like. But, as the team loses wickets, bowlers will have to get in and take to the crese irrespective of whether it is his cup of tea or not. Finally, the bats that are available today can be considered to be those made of springs than willow that was the case a decade ago. The bats have so much power in them that a solid defence can find the ball go past the boundary.
Added to these would be the extended powerplays, batsmen friendly pitches, a free hit off a no ball and the advent of the T20 cricket. This can give rise to a lot of Sachins and Sehwags and less McGraths and Kumbles. Thanks for the entertainment ICC!
But, the remaining six have done it in the past decade. It took 36 years for someone like Brian Lara to break Gary Sobers' record for the highest test score of 365* and just 6 months to break Mathew Hayden's score of 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. There was a time when the bowler used to bowl the ball at the batsman the way he liked, with no restrictions upon the number of bouncers that a bowler can bowl in an over unlike it is today. There was no rule of a bowlers being prohibited to bowl further incase he bowls a dangerous delivery that is referred to as beamers in today's cricket.
Gone are the days when a test match used to yield results despite a team putting up a 700+ total. Yes, it is possible in today's cricket provided the team should be facing either the West Indies or Bangladesh for that to happen. One has to indeed thank the ICC for banning Zimbabwe from paying test cricket. In today's cricket, a total of 700+ on the board needs no further reason for it to be termed a draw in most of the cases. In today's cricket, a bowlers' main idea is to just bowl maiden overs than to get the opposition out.
No blaming the bowlers when the life for a batsman is made so easy that even tail enders like Harbhajan Singh & Mitchell Johnson can boast of 50+ scores and a debutant like Ravindra Jadeja can take the opposition bowlers for a ride. Batsmen need not bowl if they don't feel like. But, as the team loses wickets, bowlers will have to get in and take to the crese irrespective of whether it is his cup of tea or not. Finally, the bats that are available today can be considered to be those made of springs than willow that was the case a decade ago. The bats have so much power in them that a solid defence can find the ball go past the boundary.
Added to these would be the extended powerplays, batsmen friendly pitches, a free hit off a no ball and the advent of the T20 cricket. This can give rise to a lot of Sachins and Sehwags and less McGraths and Kumbles. Thanks for the entertainment ICC!
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
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 1st and the 2nd 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.
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 1st and the 2nd 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.
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