History in cricket has been evident as to what would happen in case a strong team underestimates or relaxes against a so called weak team. However, Pakistan yesterday got back into the game when they saw Tantenda Taibu and Chigumbura advancing towards the target of 142. In the beginning, Pakistan had a slow start which remained to be slow by scoring runs at just over 7.00 runs an over. After Mohammed Hafeez scored 51 runs at the top of the innings, the next score worth mentioning was that of Umar Akmal who scored 28 runs that too under 6.00 runs an over which might be justified only in ODIs.
Looking at the scorecard, it is evident that the Pakistan was also touring Zimbabwe with an inexperienced team with only Shoaib Malik, having played more than 100 one day internationals. But, that would be more than enough against team like Zimbabwe. Had the same score been put up against some other team like India or England, the result would have been otherwise. On the otherhand, Zimbabwe had 2 batsmen in Tatenda Taibu and Chigumbura who have played more than 100 one dayers. That was just for the sake of trivia which has hardly got anything to do with the match result.
The Zimbabwean captain - Brendan Taylor stuck to the famous five formula when he had just five of his bowlers bowling at the Pakistani batsmen. Though Taylor had experimented with his bowlers, that would have hardly changed the match result. Out of those five bowlers, there was a pick of the bowlers when Kyle Jarvis returned with figures of 4-0-15-3 which was a bowling performance one of its kind. Another feat to be relished was Mohammed Hafeez' efforts of 3-0-11-3 which made him both the top scorer of the match and the most economical bowler as well at the same time.
All that mattered for Zimbabwe which was responsible in them losing to Pakistan was because their top order didn't just cope up with their middle order losing wickets at regular intervals. It is just understandable that Charles Coventry got bowled by Junad Khan with his experience not justifying that. Looking at the scorecard, I wish Mohammed Hafeez should have been given another over when he was the most economical bowler in terms of runs given as well when he gave away runs at a rate of 3.66 an over. If Yasir was to be tried, Misbah-Ul-Haq could have done it replacing Sohail Tanvir.
Showing posts with label Zimbabwe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zimbabwe. Show all posts
Monday, 19 September 2011
Saturday, 17 September 2011
An obvious result for Pakistan
Well as all would have predicted, Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by a whopping 85 runs at Harare yesterday with contributions pouring in from all the batsmen who took it to the crease. There is little to be argued about keeping in mind the caliber of the Zimbabwe team who have made news only for the bad reasons when in 2005 they were stripped off their test status and had a series of losses to Bangladesh, by now who have become Bangladesh's best friend in cricket. Zimbabwe more often play Bangladesh and most of the time it is Bangladesh who walk away with all the honor.
Every year there would be a tour consisting of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh where either of them tour the other country for a full fledged series. This would be a delight for Bangladesh who can boast of a win. Had there been no Zimbabwe, Bangladesh would have lost all the test matches they would have played and may be their test status as well. One can see the scorecard to find the 15 wide deliveries bowled by the Zimbabwean bowlers out of the total of 198. If not for those wides also, Pakistan would have emerged victorious. It was a wrong idea to have Pakistan play Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe are best suited to play lesser known teams like Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Bermuda etc and not some Pakistan. Even against those teams, there are greater chances of Zimbabwe losing with Ireland and Kenya playing better cricket compared to what is expected out from them. There would be no point in looking for mistakes in the Pakistani batting which included contributions from Mohammed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Rameez Raja and Umar Akmal. Had Pakistan used its brains, they would have rested their key players and tried in some lesser known names. But, who can convince the PCB to try that out?
The Zimbabwean batsmen failed to even play their full 20 overs when their innings ended in the 98th ball of the innings after scoring 113 runs. Though that would be something harsh to expect from Zimbabwe, teams like Ireland are found to do wonders. The highest individual score from Zimbabwe happened to be from the blades of Charles Coventry who scored 30 from 13 balls that included four boundaries and one six. Coventry came in at number 7 and Zimbabwe had to wait until the sixth wicket fell. Though a victory over Pakistan is not expected from Zimbabwe, a decent performance is definitely looked forward from them.
Every year there would be a tour consisting of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh where either of them tour the other country for a full fledged series. This would be a delight for Bangladesh who can boast of a win. Had there been no Zimbabwe, Bangladesh would have lost all the test matches they would have played and may be their test status as well. One can see the scorecard to find the 15 wide deliveries bowled by the Zimbabwean bowlers out of the total of 198. If not for those wides also, Pakistan would have emerged victorious. It was a wrong idea to have Pakistan play Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe are best suited to play lesser known teams like Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Bermuda etc and not some Pakistan. Even against those teams, there are greater chances of Zimbabwe losing with Ireland and Kenya playing better cricket compared to what is expected out from them. There would be no point in looking for mistakes in the Pakistani batting which included contributions from Mohammed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Rameez Raja and Umar Akmal. Had Pakistan used its brains, they would have rested their key players and tried in some lesser known names. But, who can convince the PCB to try that out?
The Zimbabwean batsmen failed to even play their full 20 overs when their innings ended in the 98th ball of the innings after scoring 113 runs. Though that would be something harsh to expect from Zimbabwe, teams like Ireland are found to do wonders. The highest individual score from Zimbabwe happened to be from the blades of Charles Coventry who scored 30 from 13 balls that included four boundaries and one six. Coventry came in at number 7 and Zimbabwe had to wait until the sixth wicket fell. Though a victory over Pakistan is not expected from Zimbabwe, a decent performance is definitely looked forward from them.
Monday, 21 March 2011
The best Zimbabwe can do
Well yesterday at Kolkata, Zimbabwe did what best they could do-beat the nation which is yet to win a contest in this tournament when they beat Kenya by a huge margin of 161 runs. For the second time in a world cup, the Kenyans have gone without a win when they first did it in the 1999 edition at England when they lost all their games to India, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Luckily they won a match against Canada in the 2007 world cup in the Caribbean. No one expects Kenya to win big games like they did in 2003.
If our memories are fresh enough, Kenya beat Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the 2003 world cup to become the first non-test playing nation in history to make it to the semi-finals of a world cup. In the 1996 edition, they surprisingly beat the West Indies when they ere under-estimated by them. With that being history now, this time Kenya could not win games against Canada and Zimbabwe when expectations said otherwise. If winning against Sri Lanka in the 2003 world cup is considered to be a sort of a cheap gimmick, then one has to give hats off for the way they tackled India and Australia in the super eights.
Kenya saw Australia reeling at 117/5 chasing 175 and India at 107/4 chasing 227 under lights. In that particular match against Australia, Aasif Karim was awarded the man of the match for returning with figures of 3/7 from 8.2 overs with 6 overs maiden-can you believe it! However, he was the bowler who gave away the winning runs to Australia with a boundary snatched from his 50th delivery. If not for that boundary, his bowling figures read 3/3 from 8.1 overs. Even Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne would have been ashamed of such figures. That was Aasif Karim for you.
Now that Kenya have lost all their six games, especially to Canada and Zimbabwe, it looks like they have gone back to the 1996 world cup since when they had started playing decent cricket. This is the fifth time Kenya are playing in world cups. Canada have played four times out of which three are countable. It was not a decent start for Canada in 1979. Likewise, Scotland have had their third appearance and Holland their fourth with them missing out in 1999. With winning a secondary issue, Kenyans didn't even come close to winning or even give a tough fight when they were bowled out for 147 which was 3 runs less than 150-a milestone score.
If our memories are fresh enough, Kenya beat Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the 2003 world cup to become the first non-test playing nation in history to make it to the semi-finals of a world cup. In the 1996 edition, they surprisingly beat the West Indies when they ere under-estimated by them. With that being history now, this time Kenya could not win games against Canada and Zimbabwe when expectations said otherwise. If winning against Sri Lanka in the 2003 world cup is considered to be a sort of a cheap gimmick, then one has to give hats off for the way they tackled India and Australia in the super eights.
Kenya saw Australia reeling at 117/5 chasing 175 and India at 107/4 chasing 227 under lights. In that particular match against Australia, Aasif Karim was awarded the man of the match for returning with figures of 3/7 from 8.2 overs with 6 overs maiden-can you believe it! However, he was the bowler who gave away the winning runs to Australia with a boundary snatched from his 50th delivery. If not for that boundary, his bowling figures read 3/3 from 8.1 overs. Even Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne would have been ashamed of such figures. That was Aasif Karim for you.
Now that Kenya have lost all their six games, especially to Canada and Zimbabwe, it looks like they have gone back to the 1996 world cup since when they had started playing decent cricket. This is the fifth time Kenya are playing in world cups. Canada have played four times out of which three are countable. It was not a decent start for Canada in 1979. Likewise, Scotland have had their third appearance and Holland their fourth with them missing out in 1999. With winning a secondary issue, Kenyans didn't even come close to winning or even give a tough fight when they were bowled out for 147 which was 3 runs less than 150-a milestone score.
Friday, 11 March 2011
One of the biggest partnerships
Well as I have repeatedly mentioned in my previous posts about the presence of weaker teams and their influence on world records, here is yet another one adding to the list with Sri Lanka putting up a first wicket partnership of 282 on the board at Pallekele yesterday. Once again, SriLanka were enjoying the home team advantage and even if they were not, things would have hardly been any different. However, things were not satisfactory for the home team despite the aforesaid record. I just don't have the patience to search for the highest 1st wicket partnership in world cups.
And even by chance Sri Lanka happen to be the team that boasts fir the highest 1st wicket partnership of yesterday's match against Zimbabwe, that would hardly go down as the best one day innings be it in world cups or otherwise. Sri Lanka have a long way to go in this world cup and their record or performance so far in this tournament is below satisfactory. They lost their group game against Pakistan by 11 runs despite repeated drop chances by Pakistan and then the match against Australia was abandoned with 30 odd over being possible. Their next important game is scheduled against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka as a matter of fact are yet to win a game against Pakistan in world cups. Though they had an upper hand in the abandoned match against Australia, nothing can be said with 100% confidence for, Australia are also not a down to earth team despite not having the services of Glenn McGrath and co. Coming to the game between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, it would be just a waste of time to cite Sri Lanka's win over the African nation since 1992 when they held the world record for the highest run chase in world cups after chasing down 312 on board.
Since then, forget about Sri Lanka winning over Zimbabwe and instead, Zimbabwe's major victory has been against India and South Africa in the 1999 world cup when they made it to the 2nd round of a world cup for the first time in the history of Zimbabwean cricket. Sri Lanka's total of 327 was far less compared to the expectation which should have seen them cross 370. The opening partnership stood for 44 overs and since then Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets. Had it not been for the first wicket partnership, may be Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe would have been a close encounter.
And even by chance Sri Lanka happen to be the team that boasts fir the highest 1st wicket partnership of yesterday's match against Zimbabwe, that would hardly go down as the best one day innings be it in world cups or otherwise. Sri Lanka have a long way to go in this world cup and their record or performance so far in this tournament is below satisfactory. They lost their group game against Pakistan by 11 runs despite repeated drop chances by Pakistan and then the match against Australia was abandoned with 30 odd over being possible. Their next important game is scheduled against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka as a matter of fact are yet to win a game against Pakistan in world cups. Though they had an upper hand in the abandoned match against Australia, nothing can be said with 100% confidence for, Australia are also not a down to earth team despite not having the services of Glenn McGrath and co. Coming to the game between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, it would be just a waste of time to cite Sri Lanka's win over the African nation since 1992 when they held the world record for the highest run chase in world cups after chasing down 312 on board.
Since then, forget about Sri Lanka winning over Zimbabwe and instead, Zimbabwe's major victory has been against India and South Africa in the 1999 world cup when they made it to the 2nd round of a world cup for the first time in the history of Zimbabwean cricket. Sri Lanka's total of 327 was far less compared to the expectation which should have seen them cross 370. The opening partnership stood for 44 overs and since then Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets. Had it not been for the first wicket partnership, may be Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe would have been a close encounter.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
As long as the minnows exist
Well in the 1st encounter, Bangladesh did everything well but at the end lost its way to India en route to a failed chase of 371 runs on the board. Since then, if not for the match between England and Ireland, no other minnow team has ever been able to stand up to the occasion and show their guts. One need not highlight their new entry or lack of cricketing standards to be the reason behind this. Every player has a first time in his life and here it is an entire team that is facing a first time in world cups.
There are teams which have been playing world cup games since more than a decade or so but unable to produce the epected results. Instead, expectations are needed to be changed regarding these teams. Kenya have been playing cricket since the 1996 world cup. One need not cite their victory against West Indies in 1996 and against Sri Lanka in 2003 for it was the other team's loss rather than a Kenyan win. They lost all their four games in 1999 world cup to India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe though nothing different was expected from them, that was obviously not the one.
This is the fourth world cup for Holland since 1996 and Holland have so far won just 2 games out of 14. They won their game against Namibia in 2003 and a game against Scotland in 2007. Of course, no one expectes them to beat teams like South Africa or India but, they can have an upperhand against say Zimbabwe or Kenya. Yesterday as well, New Zealand recorded their 10 wicket win against Zimbabwe adding to another such feat when they can not even ask for a run for their money against other strong teams. New Zealand are yet to win a crunch game in this world cup.
Zimbabwe's hunt was a well justified one when they amassed 162 runs on the board unlike some Kenya or Canada who couldn't get something past a hundred. A ten wicket win for any team brings in a lot of satisfaction but if the opposition is given a closer look at, neither will the team nor the star player be worthy of any praise when the same team or player happens to be a flop against strong nations. One thing that needs to be applauded is that New Zealand didn't go in for the kill right away and instead took time to settle down and have some practice.
There are teams which have been playing world cup games since more than a decade or so but unable to produce the epected results. Instead, expectations are needed to be changed regarding these teams. Kenya have been playing cricket since the 1996 world cup. One need not cite their victory against West Indies in 1996 and against Sri Lanka in 2003 for it was the other team's loss rather than a Kenyan win. They lost all their four games in 1999 world cup to India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe though nothing different was expected from them, that was obviously not the one.
This is the fourth world cup for Holland since 1996 and Holland have so far won just 2 games out of 14. They won their game against Namibia in 2003 and a game against Scotland in 2007. Of course, no one expectes them to beat teams like South Africa or India but, they can have an upperhand against say Zimbabwe or Kenya. Yesterday as well, New Zealand recorded their 10 wicket win against Zimbabwe adding to another such feat when they can not even ask for a run for their money against other strong teams. New Zealand are yet to win a crunch game in this world cup.
Zimbabwe's hunt was a well justified one when they amassed 162 runs on the board unlike some Kenya or Canada who couldn't get something past a hundred. A ten wicket win for any team brings in a lot of satisfaction but if the opposition is given a closer look at, neither will the team nor the star player be worthy of any praise when the same team or player happens to be a flop against strong nations. One thing that needs to be applauded is that New Zealand didn't go in for the kill right away and instead took time to settle down and have some practice.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Australia yet to face the heat
Well, despite the absence of key match winning players like Glenn McGrath and co in the bowling department and Gilchrist and co in the batting, the current Australian team is found winning matches and so was the case yesterday at Ahmedabad when Australia beat Zimbabwe by 91 runs. This can be considered as a formality when the result was as expected. Hardly anybody would have expected Zimbabwe to win the match against Australia or Australia to lose against Zimbabwe. However, as a matter of trivia, Australia have lost to Zimbabwe in the inaugural edition of the T20 world cup in 2007 at South Africa.
Australia are set to play New Zealand, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada before they face Pakistan against whom their real test is all set. Australia have greater chances of winning against Sri Lanka and a definite game against the remaining three though New Zealand can be hoped to give in a tough competition to the Aussies. There would be no doubt that Australia can make it to the quarter-finals even if they win against Kenya and Canada. The real test for Australia is obviously Pakistan and may be Sri Lanka and there can be a sense of wrong grouping of teams for pool matches.
Australia on the outlook hardly have the zest in them to face and to survive South Africans or the Indians despite previous world cups speaking otherwise. Of course, Australia have been able to beat England on 6 out of 7 occasions in the recently concluded Commonwealth Bank series. And, though Pakistan have been at the receiving end of Australia since the past one year or so when Australia thrashed them 3-0 in tests, 5-0 in one dayers and 1-0 in the one-off T20 game in 2010, this time Australia will be facing Pakistan on their more or less home soil with the conditions being almost similar to Pakistan in India.
Had the same match been held four years back when Australia were ripe with the batting-bowling combination which hardly failed, then may be Australia would have seen scoring a total of over 300 and bowling out the Zimbabwean batsmen for somewhere less than 100 or at the most 150. But, this time two things are found haunting Australia with one being their depleted team and the other being that they are playing in the sub-continent where spinners have their say and Aussies are very bad players of spin bowling. So, one has to wait for their games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to see them defeated in world cups.
Australia are set to play New Zealand, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada before they face Pakistan against whom their real test is all set. Australia have greater chances of winning against Sri Lanka and a definite game against the remaining three though New Zealand can be hoped to give in a tough competition to the Aussies. There would be no doubt that Australia can make it to the quarter-finals even if they win against Kenya and Canada. The real test for Australia is obviously Pakistan and may be Sri Lanka and there can be a sense of wrong grouping of teams for pool matches.
Australia on the outlook hardly have the zest in them to face and to survive South Africans or the Indians despite previous world cups speaking otherwise. Of course, Australia have been able to beat England on 6 out of 7 occasions in the recently concluded Commonwealth Bank series. And, though Pakistan have been at the receiving end of Australia since the past one year or so when Australia thrashed them 3-0 in tests, 5-0 in one dayers and 1-0 in the one-off T20 game in 2010, this time Australia will be facing Pakistan on their more or less home soil with the conditions being almost similar to Pakistan in India.
Had the same match been held four years back when Australia were ripe with the batting-bowling combination which hardly failed, then may be Australia would have seen scoring a total of over 300 and bowling out the Zimbabwean batsmen for somewhere less than 100 or at the most 150. But, this time two things are found haunting Australia with one being their depleted team and the other being that they are playing in the sub-continent where spinners have their say and Aussies are very bad players of spin bowling. So, one has to wait for their games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to see them defeated in world cups.
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.
Friday, 27 August 2010
Pak must learn from Zimbabwe
Well in the past decade, there have been three major developments in international cricket with the first one being the granting of test status to Bangladesh, for reasons best known to the ICC alone. The second on the list would be the stripping of the Zimbabwe team of its test status in 2006 owing to the political instability in the country though that had hardly got anything to do with the game of cricket. And then would be the harsh decision on Pakistan which is a deserving one as far as Pakistan is concerned. Pakistan has been the last country for any team to tour.
First it all started with most of the teams from across the world taking a back seat when it came to tour Pakistan, that included the likes of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England and India (of course). As a matter of fact, even Zimbabwe didn't turn up to tour Pakistan though they had shown interest in traveling to that country with little bit of hesitation. When a country whose political stability itself is a matter of question decides to boycott touring Pakistan, nothing specially needs to be said about Pakistan specially. The only team that bravely decided to continue to tour Pakistan was Sri Lanka.
But, that gave answers to all the questions posed by the five teams mentioned above. At that time, even Sri Lanka was not a safe country to head. But, no team ever decided against touring the island. Despite the ICC dropping Pakistan as one of the hosts for the upcoming world cup in 2011, Sri Lanka's bravery to tour the nation needs to be appreciated whatsoever. At last, Pakistan themselves had to boycott their own nation and go to England and play their home series against Australia and England. The situation in Zimbabwe was hardly any different from that in Pakistan.
With the political turmoil in that African country, that was also a country where touring had to be given another thought. Still, there was no hesitation from teams like Kenya and Afghanistan who went on with plans to tour the nation for the intercontinental cup. Now, the latest we hear is that Ireland has decided to go ahead with its tour to Zimbabwe neglecting all fears of the political instability there. One has to recall England boycotting their pool match against Zimbabwe in the 2003 world cup owing to the same reasons. Now, if at all Ireland and Scotland have decided to tour Zimbabwe, then Pakistan will have to do something with the situation in their country.
First it all started with most of the teams from across the world taking a back seat when it came to tour Pakistan, that included the likes of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England and India (of course). As a matter of fact, even Zimbabwe didn't turn up to tour Pakistan though they had shown interest in traveling to that country with little bit of hesitation. When a country whose political stability itself is a matter of question decides to boycott touring Pakistan, nothing specially needs to be said about Pakistan specially. The only team that bravely decided to continue to tour Pakistan was Sri Lanka.
But, that gave answers to all the questions posed by the five teams mentioned above. At that time, even Sri Lanka was not a safe country to head. But, no team ever decided against touring the island. Despite the ICC dropping Pakistan as one of the hosts for the upcoming world cup in 2011, Sri Lanka's bravery to tour the nation needs to be appreciated whatsoever. At last, Pakistan themselves had to boycott their own nation and go to England and play their home series against Australia and England. The situation in Zimbabwe was hardly any different from that in Pakistan.
With the political turmoil in that African country, that was also a country where touring had to be given another thought. Still, there was no hesitation from teams like Kenya and Afghanistan who went on with plans to tour the nation for the intercontinental cup. Now, the latest we hear is that Ireland has decided to go ahead with its tour to Zimbabwe neglecting all fears of the political instability there. One has to recall England boycotting their pool match against Zimbabwe in the 2003 world cup owing to the same reasons. Now, if at all Ireland and Scotland have decided to tour Zimbabwe, then Pakistan will have to do something with the situation in their country.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Rain fond of Zimbabwe
For the second time in the world T20 2010, Zimbabwe have lost out with the D-L method coming in. This does not mean that Zimbabwe would have won the game in case the D-L method had not been enforced. But, this would instead help the Zimbabwe team when it can take excuse saying that the loss was a result of rains pouring in and with it the D-L method being enforced to its cricket board. With that apart, the sole loser in this case would be New Zealand for having to compromise with a victory margin of only 7 runs.It is really unfortunate that rain pours in those games involving minnows where in case of abandonment of the game and dividing of points that follows might just turn out to be a misfortune for the stronger like it happened to the West Indies in the 2003 world cup where their league stage match against Bangladesh got washed away due to rain and points were divided. This forced Kenya to move ahead of West Indies in the points table and with it to the super sixes of that world cup. Yesterday, had the match went on smoothly, New Zealand would have won the game by more than 7 runs.
It is just ridiculous that the shortest version of the game gets reduced to one fourth of its size due to rain. In the earlier encounter between sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe were supposed to reach a certain target in only five overs foiling the Sri Lankan effort which took them to bat for nearly 20 overs. Zimbabwe, with ten wickets in hand could have easily reached the target luckily which did not happen. Yesterday, looking at the batting of the Zimbabwe team, the highest individual score happened to be a mere 21 runs from Tatenda Taibu at the top.
There were no sixes in the entire
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Poor Sri Lanka
One has to regret the fact that rain spoiled Sri Lanka's chances yesterday at Providence when they would have simply wiped out Zimbabwe from the tournament had the D-L method not come to their rescue. No doubt that Sri Lanka did win that encounter against Zimbabwe but, the introduction of the D-L method made matters worse by denying the viewers a chance to watch out for the bowling of Muralitharan and co. Scorecard suggests that even the Sri Lankan batsmen didn't have an easy going when only Jayawardane 's score of 100 spoke. There were only two other batsmen who scored more than 10 runs.The second best score in the Sri Lankan innings was Thisara Perera's 23 and the other batsman who could cross the double figure mark was the number 7 batsman Kapugedra who scored 13. There is no doubt over Sri Lanka winning the match whether rain interrupted the game or not. But, looking at the performance of the Sri Lankan batsmen, that should certainly worry them with big games to come in the next week. One cannot find the reason for Jayasuriya making it to the playing XI at number 6. It was just a waste of space having Jayasuriya in at number 6.
Speaking about the bowling or batting of Zimbabwe team would be another waste of time needless to be said. However, a quick glance suggests that the bowling of the Zimbabwean team was pretty decent with runs equally given by all bowlers with Chigumbura being the top run donor when he gave away runs at 10.50 runs an over. The rest of the bowlers maintained almost the same run rate. But the real enemy of the game was rain which almost threatened to abandon the game. Had the match sailed on smoothly, the margin of victory would have been more than 14 runs.
There is nothing much to write about the batting of Zimbabwe otherwise as well and this time the batting has been swallowed by rain forcing the match to be declared to Sri Lanka. However, one thing that was obvious from the match was that the man of the match could have been none other than Mahela Jayawardane who scored a hundred. That was the only highlight of the Sri Lankan innings with no other batsman from Sri Lanka making it count. One thing that needs to be reconsidered for Sri Lanka is their batting and the second one is the inclusion of Sanath Jayasuriya.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
So, even the West Indies can dominate
The world was all set to forget that at one point of time most of the international records in both the tests ans one day internationals belonged, starting from the fact that they were the first team to win two world cups till Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 400 against England at St Antigua to not only become the highest individual run scorer but also became the only player to score a quadruple hundred. And, if heir recent past is considered, they have lost most of their fan following who are now a days found betting against them be it against any opposition.
And, the West Indies in most of the occasions were in support of that. They have a recent history of faring so badly in all the three formats of the game that whenever West Indies even goes in for a draw, that used to raise eyebrows. This was the case against Australia when the West Indies drew a test match at Adelaide. And, whenever the West Indies were able to snatch, it was at the cost of their opposition who at times underestimated the same. And, this was evident in the second match against Zimbabwe where the West Indies won by 4 wickets chasing just 207 runs.
However, things improved a lot in the third one dayer played at Kingstown where the West Indies took the game away from Zimbabwe in a one sided manner. The West Indies once again showed Zimbabwe that they have been stripped off their test status some five years back. West Indies once again reminded the Zimbabweans that they could not qualify for either the ICC champions trophy or the world T20 last year. In the third one dayer, Zimbabwe were nowhere in the game and the West Indies also showed the fans that atleast at home they can come out victorious.
This time the West Indies team didn't leave any stone unturned when they excelled in all three departments of the game. This was not really evident when the entire West Indies team could not even go past 250 on board when in today's cricket, 300+ also is an average score. And, like always, the West Indies needed the contribution of Shivnarine Chanderapaul to lead the batting though others followed suit. It was then it was realized that the pitch had nothing to offer for the batsmen when there was only one Zimbabwean batsman who was comparatively better than the rest. There was just 1 six in the entire Zimbabwean innings, with the highest individual score being 35.
Once again, the man of the match was awarded to the wrong person who could all do was to extract something which the pitch assisted. The real challenge was to stand and deliver which was possible from Chanderapaul. But, once again the mistake has to be regretted by all.
And, the West Indies in most of the occasions were in support of that. They have a recent history of faring so badly in all the three formats of the game that whenever West Indies even goes in for a draw, that used to raise eyebrows. This was the case against Australia when the West Indies drew a test match at Adelaide. And, whenever the West Indies were able to snatch, it was at the cost of their opposition who at times underestimated the same. And, this was evident in the second match against Zimbabwe where the West Indies won by 4 wickets chasing just 207 runs.
However, things improved a lot in the third one dayer played at Kingstown where the West Indies took the game away from Zimbabwe in a one sided manner. The West Indies once again showed Zimbabwe that they have been stripped off their test status some five years back. West Indies once again reminded the Zimbabweans that they could not qualify for either the ICC champions trophy or the world T20 last year. In the third one dayer, Zimbabwe were nowhere in the game and the West Indies also showed the fans that atleast at home they can come out victorious.
This time the West Indies team didn't leave any stone unturned when they excelled in all three departments of the game. This was not really evident when the entire West Indies team could not even go past 250 on board when in today's cricket, 300+ also is an average score. And, like always, the West Indies needed the contribution of Shivnarine Chanderapaul to lead the batting though others followed suit. It was then it was realized that the pitch had nothing to offer for the batsmen when there was only one Zimbabwean batsman who was comparatively better than the rest. There was just 1 six in the entire Zimbabwean innings, with the highest individual score being 35.
Once again, the man of the match was awarded to the wrong person who could all do was to extract something which the pitch assisted. The real challenge was to stand and deliver which was possible from Chanderapaul. But, once again the mistake has to be regretted by all.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Smiles on West Indian faces
Well finally fans of West Indian cricket can hope to smile after the West Indies registered a rare victory in an international one day match. It doesn't matter against which team the victory came against at present but, it is winning that is important for a team who has got to losing as though it is the sun rise and sun set. However, the victory was not achieved until the last 12 odd balls prior to finishing the match with the West Indies team taking the game until more than the 47th over of the match. And, in the process the West Indies team lost 6 wickets.
This is no big deal whatsoever. As it has been repeatedly mentioned in this post, it is winning at present that is important for the West Indies and not the margin of victory or the way they achieved it. But, the West Indies' efforts were not even that bad either when Chris Gayle and Deonarine scored 153 runs out of the total score of 208 which ensured the West Indian win. Not even Chanderapaul was found at his batting best with that being his only job in international cricket since decades. Whatever, it would be worth mentioning the 21 extras that the Zimbabwean bowlers bowled which aided the West Indian run chase.
Chris Gayle and Deonarine accounted almost 84 percent of the total score of 208 that the West Indies team needed to win. If not for these two, the remaining batmen could not record individual scores more than 10, which ws possible only by Chandrapaul keeping in mind his decade long experience. Had Chandrapaul not been this experienced, may be even his score would have been just a couple. A comparative picture would suggest that the Zimbabwean team had a better batting chart with almost all of them notching up double digit scores. The fact is also that the present Zimbabwean team is more experienced compared to West Indies.
But, the main area that needs some consideration is the man of the match that was awarded to some Deonarine. Scorecard suggests that he was the second highest scorer for the West Indies after Chris Gayle scored 88.It is impossible to find a valid reason for Deonarine being awarded the man of the match. Chris Gayle would have been the ultimate choice after furnishing his role as a captain, opening batsmen and a part time bowler. Not only did Gayle top score at 88 but also took the wicket of the number 3 batsmen- Brendan Taylor and was the lone bowler to have bowled 10 overs for the WI.
This is no big deal whatsoever. As it has been repeatedly mentioned in this post, it is winning at present that is important for the West Indies and not the margin of victory or the way they achieved it. But, the West Indies' efforts were not even that bad either when Chris Gayle and Deonarine scored 153 runs out of the total score of 208 which ensured the West Indian win. Not even Chanderapaul was found at his batting best with that being his only job in international cricket since decades. Whatever, it would be worth mentioning the 21 extras that the Zimbabwean bowlers bowled which aided the West Indian run chase.
Chris Gayle and Deonarine accounted almost 84 percent of the total score of 208 that the West Indies team needed to win. If not for these two, the remaining batmen could not record individual scores more than 10, which ws possible only by Chandrapaul keeping in mind his decade long experience. Had Chandrapaul not been this experienced, may be even his score would have been just a couple. A comparative picture would suggest that the Zimbabwean team had a better batting chart with almost all of them notching up double digit scores. The fact is also that the present Zimbabwean team is more experienced compared to West Indies.
But, the main area that needs some consideration is the man of the match that was awarded to some Deonarine. Scorecard suggests that he was the second highest scorer for the West Indies after Chris Gayle scored 88.It is impossible to find a valid reason for Deonarine being awarded the man of the match. Chris Gayle would have been the ultimate choice after furnishing his role as a captain, opening batsmen and a part time bowler. Not only did Gayle top score at 88 but also took the wicket of the number 3 batsmen- Brendan Taylor and was the lone bowler to have bowled 10 overs for the WI.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Windies lose by only 2 runs
This was one last thing that the West Indies would have wanted to happen when they lost the first match of the 5 match one day series to Zimbabwe at Guyana by 2 runs. This should be no surprise for anyone keeping in mind the caliber of the present West Indies team which can least beat any non test playing nation alone. Chris Gayle must be glad that his team lost only by two runs when predictions had their say that West Indies would lose the game by a mile. In a way, West Indies would have silenced all critics pointing towards them.
The only bowler from the West Indies side who had some sort of success comparatively was Suliemann Benn when he returned with 4 overs maiden with only Miller being able to bowl another over maiden for the entire West Indies team. Though Kieron Pollard was successful in terms of number of wickets bagged, he gave away 59 runs from his ten overs at 5.9 an over which was more than the 5.08 an over that the entire Zimbabwean innings could manage. It was a team combination from the Zimbabwean side with 5 of the 7 Zimbabwean batsmen putting up decent individual scores.
However, this was not the way the West Indian innings started when the top three batsmen in terms of order of making it to the crease saw posting individual scores above 50. However, it was the same old batsmen in Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderapaul who made the job easy for the West Indies team so the the batsmen making it to the crease later in the innings can cash in on the same which didn't really happen. It was a tough task to pick the best from the Zimbabwean bowlers where a bowler who returns with 3 wickets gives away runs at the rate of 12 an over.
And the next best bowler in terms of wickets namely Greg Lamb returns with figures of 6.40 in the 5 overs he bowled. However, irrespective of who gave away how many runs and how many wickets fell, the end result declared Zimbabwe as winners by a margin a 2 runs. After the exit of the top 3 batsmen namely Gayle, Chandrapaul and Adrian Barath there were just 2 scored above 10 with none of them being able to score more than 20. Instead extras had its share of 22 runs which makes it the 4th among top run scorers for the West Indies in the match.
The only bowler from the West Indies side who had some sort of success comparatively was Suliemann Benn when he returned with 4 overs maiden with only Miller being able to bowl another over maiden for the entire West Indies team. Though Kieron Pollard was successful in terms of number of wickets bagged, he gave away 59 runs from his ten overs at 5.9 an over which was more than the 5.08 an over that the entire Zimbabwean innings could manage. It was a team combination from the Zimbabwean side with 5 of the 7 Zimbabwean batsmen putting up decent individual scores.
However, this was not the way the West Indian innings started when the top three batsmen in terms of order of making it to the crease saw posting individual scores above 50. However, it was the same old batsmen in Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderapaul who made the job easy for the West Indies team so the the batsmen making it to the crease later in the innings can cash in on the same which didn't really happen. It was a tough task to pick the best from the Zimbabwean bowlers where a bowler who returns with 3 wickets gives away runs at the rate of 12 an over.
And the next best bowler in terms of wickets namely Greg Lamb returns with figures of 6.40 in the 5 overs he bowled. However, irrespective of who gave away how many runs and how many wickets fell, the end result declared Zimbabwe as winners by a margin a 2 runs. After the exit of the top 3 batsmen namely Gayle, Chandrapaul and Adrian Barath there were just 2 scored above 10 with none of them being able to score more than 20. Instead extras had its share of 22 runs which makes it the 4th among top run scorers for the West Indies in the match.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
After Chris Gayle it is Utseya
Well it has been less than a month when the West Indian captain Chris Gayle was found predicting a 4-1 series win for West Indies despite the fact that Australia had beaten Pakistan (which is a far better outfit than West Indies) 5-0 just weeks prior to that. Now, there is a similar such talk from a Zimbabwean captain Prosper Utseya when he claims that his side can be tough for any opposition prior to the start of the first one day international against West Indies in Georgetown that is due tomorrow. The only difference being that Utseya has a T20 win against West Indies which Chris Gayle didn't have.
However, Chris Gayle didn't even have this base that the Zimbabwe captain had before his statement. As expected, the prediction by Chris Gayle didn't even turn out to be a 1-4 victory for his team. The only motivation that Gayle had that initially and partially supported his words would be the win against PM's XI which was led by Mathew Hayden. But this was far from satisfactory when the full fledged Australian team was considered. However, Utseya's words can make sense taking into account the team they are going to face in the coming month of March viz the West Indies.
In today's cricket, West Indies can be beaten by any team in the world. West Indies has to just try playing the non test playing nations to be surprised. The only ray of hope for the West Indies lying in the fact that they are hosting Zimbabwe where home conditions are guaranteed. But, people who take to betting can do so regarding Zimbabwe which would not be a wrong choice whatsoever. But, the Zimbabwe captain's words sound to be even more appealing than expected. It doesn't look like Utseya has made such a statement by taking into account only the West Indies team but the entire cricketing world.
If Utseya's words have that much meaning, one has to ask him as to how come his team has been stripped from the test status which it was enjoying since more than a decade. Can Utseya cite a reason for Zimbabwe to be excluded from participating in the T20 world cup and also in the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 tough it was held in the African continent? And in case Zimbabwe is included in the list of probables, can Utseya look out for people who would have a bet in favor of his team? The only was the aforementioned things can turn into reality is in cases where the team that is facing Zimbabwe take them lightly and as a result pay the price for the same.
However, Chris Gayle didn't even have this base that the Zimbabwe captain had before his statement. As expected, the prediction by Chris Gayle didn't even turn out to be a 1-4 victory for his team. The only motivation that Gayle had that initially and partially supported his words would be the win against PM's XI which was led by Mathew Hayden. But this was far from satisfactory when the full fledged Australian team was considered. However, Utseya's words can make sense taking into account the team they are going to face in the coming month of March viz the West Indies.
In today's cricket, West Indies can be beaten by any team in the world. West Indies has to just try playing the non test playing nations to be surprised. The only ray of hope for the West Indies lying in the fact that they are hosting Zimbabwe where home conditions are guaranteed. But, people who take to betting can do so regarding Zimbabwe which would not be a wrong choice whatsoever. But, the Zimbabwe captain's words sound to be even more appealing than expected. It doesn't look like Utseya has made such a statement by taking into account only the West Indies team but the entire cricketing world.
If Utseya's words have that much meaning, one has to ask him as to how come his team has been stripped from the test status which it was enjoying since more than a decade. Can Utseya cite a reason for Zimbabwe to be excluded from participating in the T20 world cup and also in the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 tough it was held in the African continent? And in case Zimbabwe is included in the list of probables, can Utseya look out for people who would have a bet in favor of his team? The only was the aforementioned things can turn into reality is in cases where the team that is facing Zimbabwe take them lightly and as a result pay the price for the same.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Zimbabwe took West Indies for granted
If one has to go by the words of the new West Indian captain Ottis Gibson who was found saying that the West Indies team didn't take the Zimbabwe lightly after West Indies lost the only T20 game that they played as a part of the series with Zimbabwe on its tour to the West Indies. The fact at present is that the West Indies are in no mood to take Zimbabwe or any team for that matter lightly. It has to be the opposition that has to take the present West Indies team lightly and at times pay the price for the same.
Even if the opposition takes the West Indies lightly, they can still manage to win a game in a one sided manner. This was evident when the Australian captain Ricky Ponting imposed a follow on upon the West Indies in the 1st test played at Brisbane where Australia had taken a lead of just above 200. The lead, to be exact was 252 runs which hardly makes any captain impose a follow on. It should either be a weak opposition like Bangladesh or there should be a huge margin of lead in case any captain should impose a follow on on the opposition team.
Despite Pakistan failing to win the second test played at Sydney on its tour to OZ after bowling out the Australians for a mere total of 127, the Australian captain Ricky Ponting didn't have the courage to impose a follow on in the 3rd and the final test against Pakistan. This clearly shows that the Australia had taken the West Indies lightly and not the other way round. And if the West Indies didn't take Zimbabwe for granted, can Ottis Gibson give a genuine reason regarding West Indies' loss to Zimbabwe in the T20 game that they played at Trinidad! Is the current WI team so bad that it can't even chase down 105 runs in a T20 game?
Is the West Indies team so bad that it can't even maintain a run rate of 4.0 in a T20 match and that too against a non test playing team in Zimbabwe? Was West Indies playing a test match that was sure to be drawn which saw them losing just 7 wickets. Had all the West Indian batsmen been out, there would have been some lame reason to justify their defeat irrespective of whether anyone believes them or not. The Zimbabwean innings saw 7 of their batsmen scoring ducks which still didn't stop them from winning. Had the WI team taken the Zimbabwean team lightly, still that could have been forgiven. But, if it the other way round, I wish the WI turn their attention towards domestic cricket.
Even if the opposition takes the West Indies lightly, they can still manage to win a game in a one sided manner. This was evident when the Australian captain Ricky Ponting imposed a follow on upon the West Indies in the 1st test played at Brisbane where Australia had taken a lead of just above 200. The lead, to be exact was 252 runs which hardly makes any captain impose a follow on. It should either be a weak opposition like Bangladesh or there should be a huge margin of lead in case any captain should impose a follow on on the opposition team.
Despite Pakistan failing to win the second test played at Sydney on its tour to OZ after bowling out the Australians for a mere total of 127, the Australian captain Ricky Ponting didn't have the courage to impose a follow on in the 3rd and the final test against Pakistan. This clearly shows that the Australia had taken the West Indies lightly and not the other way round. And if the West Indies didn't take Zimbabwe for granted, can Ottis Gibson give a genuine reason regarding West Indies' loss to Zimbabwe in the T20 game that they played at Trinidad! Is the current WI team so bad that it can't even chase down 105 runs in a T20 game?
Is the West Indies team so bad that it can't even maintain a run rate of 4.0 in a T20 match and that too against a non test playing team in Zimbabwe? Was West Indies playing a test match that was sure to be drawn which saw them losing just 7 wickets. Had all the West Indian batsmen been out, there would have been some lame reason to justify their defeat irrespective of whether anyone believes them or not. The Zimbabwean innings saw 7 of their batsmen scoring ducks which still didn't stop them from winning. Had the WI team taken the Zimbabwean team lightly, still that could have been forgiven. But, if it the other way round, I wish the WI turn their attention towards domestic cricket.
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