Chennai Super Kings crushed Punjab Kings XI in the 2nd semi-finals of the first edition of the IPL. Yet again it was a one sided game and full marks to CSK for some spectacular performance in all the department of the game. Ntini bowled his heart out and as usual Goni bowled some superb overs in the start and sealed the fate of Punjab Kings XI. I am sure CSK planned well to restrict S.Marsh, bringing in Murali with the new ball and creating some doubt in the batsmen, followed by some superb fielding and catching. Murali's catch to see the back of Yuvraj was great effort and seeing Ntini a fast bowler throwing himself to save the boundary and bouncing back to throw Pathan out is just amazing and shows the kind of commitment and how well the team jells. After losing too many quick wickets Punjab never came back into the game.The gesture by pathan throwing the bat to break few things in the stadium (sure few glass panes would have been broken in the dressing room) shows that they have lost the game there and had no heart to fight back.
Raina and Patel played some great shorts and showed that they can perform in pressure conditions. The drubbing against the RCB chasing 120+ has served the team well to keep their heads cool and play normal cricket and not get over confident.Its sad that Vidyut had to get out early, this has been the big problem with the TamilNadu cricketers, there is lot of talent but fail to perform on the big stage where performances will get noticed.Over all it was professional performance by the Chennai Super Kings.
Its true that in this format of cricket, one cannot count on the past performances and every game is a new game and the performance on that day makes the winner and loser. Doni and V.B Chandra also shares the same view and in fact V.B feels that the game changes every few deliveries. It has been disappointing to see one-sided games in both the semi-finals and wishing to see some high scoring in the finals and all that depends more on the grounds men rather than the players, if the wicket is going to play true it should be a great game.
Rajasthan has a slight edge over Chennai with upbeat on confidence and all the important members of the squad are in form (except kaif) and shane leading from the front with lot of energy should do lot of good to the team, having said that cricket is a game of luck and Doni has plenty of that so anything can happen :-)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Shane(s) Dream Run Continues
It was a no contest in the 1st semi-finals of the IPL and was a disappointing display by the Delhi Daredeviles. Nothing much to write about the match, it was some brilliant performance from the hard hitting Rajasthan batsmen combined with disciplined bowling and some brilliant catching made it too easy for the Rajsthan to win the game.Delhi lost the game half way into the first session, they were not in control of the bowling and dropped some simple chances which did no good to the team to fight back. As usual Sehwag failed to fire in the crunch games and the team never looked to give a fight from the dismissal of Gambhir.
Shane Watson is having a dream run in the IPL and playing his best cricket ever. He has been consistent with the bat and the ball and the confidence is translated to the other members of the team with some great motivation from the coach and captain Warne. They combine so well as a team that it seems that they cannot go wrong. The Wankade pitch was playing true and the ball came on to the bat nicely and the hard hitting batsmen took total advantage of the same and made merry with some great hits from Shane Watson and Y.Pathan.
No prediction or gut feel :-) for today's 2nd semi-finals, from the overall performances in the league stage Punjab starts as favorites. Chennai has a slight psychological advantage of winning both the games in the league stage but Punjab has played some good cricket since then. Punjab has a very strong batting line up and with S.Marsh going great guns, it takes some miraculous performance from the Chennai to win this contest. I wish the 2nd semi-finals is closely contested and not like the disappointing 1st semi-finals.
Shane Watson is having a dream run in the IPL and playing his best cricket ever. He has been consistent with the bat and the ball and the confidence is translated to the other members of the team with some great motivation from the coach and captain Warne. They combine so well as a team that it seems that they cannot go wrong. The Wankade pitch was playing true and the ball came on to the bat nicely and the hard hitting batsmen took total advantage of the same and made merry with some great hits from Shane Watson and Y.Pathan.
No prediction or gut feel :-) for today's 2nd semi-finals, from the overall performances in the league stage Punjab starts as favorites. Chennai has a slight psychological advantage of winning both the games in the league stage but Punjab has played some good cricket since then. Punjab has a very strong batting line up and with S.Marsh going great guns, it takes some miraculous performance from the Chennai to win this contest. I wish the 2nd semi-finals is closely contested and not like the disappointing 1st semi-finals.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Its Delhi Today !!!!!
I am sure the whole of India is eagerly waiting for the 1st semi-finals to start tonight. Its going to be a tight contest with both the teams evenly balanced and the key players in good form. Taking the Wankade pitch into consideration, I feel Delhi has a good chance to win this contest. The pitch has favored good seam bowling in the league phase and with Asif and McGrath spear heading the attack its not going to be easy for Smith and Asnodkar to belt the ball as they have been doing in the tournament. Smith will be handy but i am not confident that he can raise the run-rate at will. If todays pitch plays good for seam bowlers, its not going to be easy for Rajasthan batsmen (except kaif) as all of them are good stroke players and would like the ball to come on to the bat. As for as Delhi batting is concerned, they have batsmen who play the waiting game in Gowtham and Dhavan, even though Shewag is the key batsmen for delhi, they have good bits and pieces cricketers in Karthik,Dhilshan,Maroof who can chip in with some good hitting in the end overs.
If its going to be belter of a pitch, its advantage Rajasthan as they have the most power hitting players in Asnodkar, Y.Pathan, Watson, Jadeja, Warne and Tanver. Rajasthan has also given ample rest to the top players like Smith,Tanver and Warner himself not playing the last league match should be fresh to play in the semi-finals. As for as Delhi is concerned, batting is their strength and if Shewag clicks i am sure no score will be too big to chase. If Delhi wins the toss, they should bowl first and restrict Rajasthan to 170-180 and chase the total comfortably with players in form like Gambhir,Dhavan should chip in with good contribution. I feel it will be advantage for the Rajasthan side if they bowl first, as Delhi does not have the bowling line up to restrict scores even over 180+. The only problem with the Rajasthan side is, they have not been pushed to the corner in the tournament yet, hence might not react quickly on pressure conditions. Take into consideration that they were not fancied in the early stages of the tournament, so there is no pressure but now they are the favorites and the whole world is expecting to see Rajasthan win, thats a huge huge pressure on the side.
My Gut feeling says that Delhi will win this game and move to the Finals, don't ask me why Delhi :-)
If its going to be belter of a pitch, its advantage Rajasthan as they have the most power hitting players in Asnodkar, Y.Pathan, Watson, Jadeja, Warne and Tanver. Rajasthan has also given ample rest to the top players like Smith,Tanver and Warner himself not playing the last league match should be fresh to play in the semi-finals. As for as Delhi is concerned, batting is their strength and if Shewag clicks i am sure no score will be too big to chase. If Delhi wins the toss, they should bowl first and restrict Rajasthan to 170-180 and chase the total comfortably with players in form like Gambhir,Dhavan should chip in with good contribution. I feel it will be advantage for the Rajasthan side if they bowl first, as Delhi does not have the bowling line up to restrict scores even over 180+. The only problem with the Rajasthan side is, they have not been pushed to the corner in the tournament yet, hence might not react quickly on pressure conditions. Take into consideration that they were not fancied in the early stages of the tournament, so there is no pressure but now they are the favorites and the whole world is expecting to see Rajasthan win, thats a huge huge pressure on the side.
My Gut feeling says that Delhi will win this game and move to the Finals, don't ask me why Delhi :-)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
True Cricket -- Test Cricket
IPL took all the front page space and news headlines in the country with very little space left for other sports and also for other format of cricket - Test Cricket. Two good matches involving England vs NewZeland and Australia vs West Indies ended last week with some spectacular performances. England chasing 290+ in the fourth innings to win over NewZeland and Australia as usual starting the series with a win.
Strauss match winning hundred in the 4 th innings overshadowed RussTaylor's 158 and Vettori's 5 wickets in the England 1st innings. Ponting scored a brilliant 150+ and Symonds came up with scores of 70+ in both the innings to win the game for Australia. Chanderpaul's fighting hundred in the 1st innings went in vain as Clark bowled his heart out to take 5 wickets in the 2nd innings to secure victory for the Australians.
Shaun Marsh Find of IPL
Coming back to IPL, Shaun Marsh going great guns with 500+ runs in 10 matches, KXIP has benefited immensely with his dream run. He has played some brilliant knock and what makes him so special is, he did not slog but played some superb shots from the book. IPL was meant to bring out the best young talent in the country, I am not sure if india has gained much but Australia found a great batsmen in Marsh. He is already in the Australian one day squad and hope veteran Hayden will make way for the youngster in other format of the game (Test Cricket). Its just amazing that, he bats lower middle order for his state (Western Australia) and has just been comfortable opening and got adjusted to the sub-continent conditions.
Strauss match winning hundred in the 4 th innings overshadowed RussTaylor's 158 and Vettori's 5 wickets in the England 1st innings. Ponting scored a brilliant 150+ and Symonds came up with scores of 70+ in both the innings to win the game for Australia. Chanderpaul's fighting hundred in the 1st innings went in vain as Clark bowled his heart out to take 5 wickets in the 2nd innings to secure victory for the Australians.
Shaun Marsh Find of IPL
Coming back to IPL, Shaun Marsh going great guns with 500+ runs in 10 matches, KXIP has benefited immensely with his dream run. He has played some brilliant knock and what makes him so special is, he did not slog but played some superb shots from the book. IPL was meant to bring out the best young talent in the country, I am not sure if india has gained much but Australia found a great batsmen in Marsh. He is already in the Australian one day squad and hope veteran Hayden will make way for the youngster in other format of the game (Test Cricket). Its just amazing that, he bats lower middle order for his state (Western Australia) and has just been comfortable opening and got adjusted to the sub-continent conditions.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Advantage Chennai Super Kings
After some nail bitting moments in the end overs finally Chennai Super Kings has made it to the semi-finals and up against the Kings XI Punjab. CSK enjoys clear advantage over KXIP as CSK has won both the matches in the league. Delhi meets Rajasthan in the other semi-finals and it should be a good contest.
Ntini and Goni bowled some very good overs in the start and as usual well supported by Murali and Balaji in the end to restrict DC to 147 and Raina came good with some good partnership with dhoni to finish of the game with a majestic six. CSK could have won the match much earlier if the openers had played their part well, Parthiv and Fleming has not performed consistently well in the early overs and hope they will come good in the semi-finals.
In the post match interview, dhoni's comments on the bowlers does not stand good. CSK has bowled well in most of the games and restricted the opposition to below 160-180, In my opinion the batsmen has not been playing that well, they have not dominated the proceedings of the game after Hayden and Hussey left. It has been a struggle for the CSK to reach scores of 160+ and hope we don't forget the brushing against the RCB. I also don't understand why he should drop Vidyut who has shown glimpses of character with some good knocks, i dont think there is any chance for Abhinav to prove any thing in this format when he is not going to bowl and bat lower in the order. CSK think tank needs to work on a strategy and play with the full strength and stop experimenting.
I am sure Kings XI Punjab is going to come back with a vengeance to beat CSK after losing both the league games and Preety Zinta will be pulling the Mumbai crowd to support her team with her celebrity status. Its sad that the semi-finals and finals host city team Mumbai Indians is out of the tournament.
Its going to be a power packed week-end for the Indian Cricket enthusiasts and the whole of India as IPL has attracted the whole family to the stadium or hooked up to the TV sets to watch the games.
Ntini and Goni bowled some very good overs in the start and as usual well supported by Murali and Balaji in the end to restrict DC to 147 and Raina came good with some good partnership with dhoni to finish of the game with a majestic six. CSK could have won the match much earlier if the openers had played their part well, Parthiv and Fleming has not performed consistently well in the early overs and hope they will come good in the semi-finals.
In the post match interview, dhoni's comments on the bowlers does not stand good. CSK has bowled well in most of the games and restricted the opposition to below 160-180, In my opinion the batsmen has not been playing that well, they have not dominated the proceedings of the game after Hayden and Hussey left. It has been a struggle for the CSK to reach scores of 160+ and hope we don't forget the brushing against the RCB. I also don't understand why he should drop Vidyut who has shown glimpses of character with some good knocks, i dont think there is any chance for Abhinav to prove any thing in this format when he is not going to bowl and bat lower in the order. CSK think tank needs to work on a strategy and play with the full strength and stop experimenting.
I am sure Kings XI Punjab is going to come back with a vengeance to beat CSK after losing both the league games and Preety Zinta will be pulling the Mumbai crowd to support her team with her celebrity status. Its sad that the semi-finals and finals host city team Mumbai Indians is out of the tournament.
Its going to be a power packed week-end for the Indian Cricket enthusiasts and the whole of India as IPL has attracted the whole family to the stadium or hooked up to the TV sets to watch the games.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Mumbai Praying for DC Victory
Whole of Mumbai and Mumbai supporters all over india have started praying for DC to win over CSK today to keep their chance to make it to the semi-finals alive. If CSK loses the match against DC and MI wins the contest against BRC, MI will make it to the semi-finals. Its really heartening to see Delhi(DD) making to the semi-finals, they played some very good cricket and was unfortunate to lose points due to rain and some close finishes going against them. I am sure this team has the best combination and will fight till the end.
RR has proved once again that they are a bunch of cool headed guys to perform in the crunch, the partnership between Jadeja and Niraj Patel was clear indication of how well they execute their plan and the confidence in the team. Given that the experienced players like Jayasurya and Fernando panicking, these youngsters have proved very cool in critical stages of the game.
I live in chennai and naturally support CSK and praying for a win against the DC. After seeing CSK losing against the BRC, i think not all are good in the dressing team, the coach has come out in the open at a very critical time of the tournament to say that he will be surprised to see his team in the semi-finals. These comments may bring the best out of the team but i dont think this is the only way to bring the best out the team. I still feel CSK has an edge over the DC as CSK has showed some character to fight, where as DC has been losing all the games played in their home ground.
PS: I was traveling over the last week-end and could not post much, sorry about that.
RR has proved once again that they are a bunch of cool headed guys to perform in the crunch, the partnership between Jadeja and Niraj Patel was clear indication of how well they execute their plan and the confidence in the team. Given that the experienced players like Jayasurya and Fernando panicking, these youngsters have proved very cool in critical stages of the game.
I live in chennai and naturally support CSK and praying for a win against the DC. After seeing CSK losing against the BRC, i think not all are good in the dressing team, the coach has come out in the open at a very critical time of the tournament to say that he will be surprised to see his team in the semi-finals. These comments may bring the best out of the team but i dont think this is the only way to bring the best out the team. I still feel CSK has an edge over the DC as CSK has showed some character to fight, where as DC has been losing all the games played in their home ground.
PS: I was traveling over the last week-end and could not post much, sorry about that.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
CSK - Pathetic Display
RCB win against CSK has put the semi-final contenders wide open with four teams (CSK,KKR,DD,MI) fighting for the 3rd and 4th slot with Rajasthan and Punjab have already taken the 1st and 2nd slot respectively. Mumbai Indians has 3 more games left and 2 wins will put them into the 3rd spot. The fight for the 4th spot is wide open between CSK,KKR and DD.
It was pathetic display and the teams over confidence has put them in a precarious scenario now that they have to win both the matches to avoid the run-rate deciding the slot for the semi-finals. CSK has to play Rajasthan and Deccan Chargers now and they are also sitting in the last position as far as the run-rate is concerned. After restricting the RCB to a paltry 127 it was dismal performance from the CSK batsmen to throw away the match from 85-2 at one stage.
Its a wake up call and should serve well for the team to get back to the basics soon if they have to be in the contention for the semi-finals. CSK strength is batting and failing in that is disappointing, Doni have to make some changes in the top with Parthiv Patel not able to score beyond 20+ and Flemming can play a supportive role and has not dominated the bowling yet. I feel CSK needs to bring in some kind of a surprise element into the team bringing in new faces in the coming games and also use players like Vidyut in the top rather than experiment with the youngster at this stage of the tournament.
It was pathetic display and the teams over confidence has put them in a precarious scenario now that they have to win both the matches to avoid the run-rate deciding the slot for the semi-finals. CSK has to play Rajasthan and Deccan Chargers now and they are also sitting in the last position as far as the run-rate is concerned. After restricting the RCB to a paltry 127 it was dismal performance from the CSK batsmen to throw away the match from 85-2 at one stage.
Its a wake up call and should serve well for the team to get back to the basics soon if they have to be in the contention for the semi-finals. CSK strength is batting and failing in that is disappointing, Doni have to make some changes in the top with Parthiv Patel not able to score beyond 20+ and Flemming can play a supportive role and has not dominated the bowling yet. I feel CSK needs to bring in some kind of a surprise element into the team bringing in new faces in the coming games and also use players like Vidyut in the top rather than experiment with the youngster at this stage of the tournament.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
IPL - Associated Branding
Its interesting to observe that the brands associated with the teams are big hit and the reach it has got is phenomenal. A six year old remembers the brand Spice to point out its Yuvraj and Sreesanth team, its Nokia to point its SRK and Dada's team. At the same time he also gets a bit confused with the Royal Challenge branding for both Rajasthan and the Bangalore teams. Rajasthan has tied up with the Royal Challenge brand as their sponsor and prominently displayed in the back of their T-Shirts, Mallaya can take some respite that Rajasthan is in great form and have made it to the semi-finals.
Two flamboyant owners of the IPL teams, Mallaya and SRK have made news for all the wrong reasons. Both are successful in their own rights in all that they have ventured into and failure of their teams to make it to the semi-finals has not gone well with these men. Mallaya blamed the media for the twisted reports and now SRK is in a spat with his teams leader dada for not making to the teams launch party for tie-up with a web-site, and dada not responding for SRK request for entertainment tax rebate. Its all the more surprising that SRK was suggesting Dada to bowl first in the game against Chennai and also has given total control to the coach rather than to Dada. I am sure all this is not going to help them restructure the team for the next edition.
Two flamboyant owners of the IPL teams, Mallaya and SRK have made news for all the wrong reasons. Both are successful in their own rights in all that they have ventured into and failure of their teams to make it to the semi-finals has not gone well with these men. Mallaya blamed the media for the twisted reports and now SRK is in a spat with his teams leader dada for not making to the teams launch party for tie-up with a web-site, and dada not responding for SRK request for entertainment tax rebate. Its all the more surprising that SRK was suggesting Dada to bowl first in the game against Chennai and also has given total control to the coach rather than to Dada. I am sure all this is not going to help them restructure the team for the next edition.
Monday, May 19, 2008
IPL - Stage for Foul & Abusive Language
After watching some of the games in the IPL, I have started to believe that there is nothing called Code of Conduct and the fair play points are the last in priority for the teams. McGrath has been great through out the tournament with some great exhibition of fast bowling, having said that he has not cooled off even after retirement on issues with umpiring decisions and following arguments with the batsmen. Last night McGrath's appeal for caught behind against Bangalore batsmen chipli was turned down and McGrath started abusing the batsmen for not walking and was saying all sorts of things against the youngster. It was total mistake by the umpire but the on field behavior of such great cricketer does not serve as a good example for the budding young cricketers watching the sport in millions.
Almost all the games had such instances of bowlers yelling at the batsmen when a boundary or six is hit or when he takes a wicket. The TV cameras are good enough to catch the foul language quite clearly and i am not sure what the match referees are doing. IPL has been a wonderful opportunity for the retired cricketers as officially enjoying payed holiday, ignoring the job on hand. Playing hard is good for the sport but playing foul is not good at all, IMHO specially the bowlers are the most who use abusive language.
Hope IPL will learn from this edition and take corrective measures in the future editions.
Almost all the games had such instances of bowlers yelling at the batsmen when a boundary or six is hit or when he takes a wicket. The TV cameras are good enough to catch the foul language quite clearly and i am not sure what the match referees are doing. IPL has been a wonderful opportunity for the retired cricketers as officially enjoying payed holiday, ignoring the job on hand. Playing hard is good for the sport but playing foul is not good at all, IMHO specially the bowlers are the most who use abusive language.
Hope IPL will learn from this edition and take corrective measures in the future editions.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Fight for the 4th Slot
After some interesting and breathtaking finishes in the IPL matches, Rajasthan,Punjab & Chennai have already made it to the semi-finals comfortably.Rajasthan have won 8 of 10 matches, Punjab has won 7 of 10 and Chennai has won 7 of 11.
The other contenders for the 4th slot is between, Kolkata,Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai has got the advantage as they have already won 6 of 10, where as Kolkata and Delhi have won only 5 of 11 matches. The matches between Delhi vs Kolkata and Delhi vs Mumbai could prove to be crucial. Mumbai is well placed as they will be playing the last match against Bangalore and in case of points tie, they will be in a position to plan for better run rate.
I strongly feel that Mumbai will make it to the semi-final and the 4th slot will be fought between Chennai and Mumbai on run-rate basis.
Its really unfortunate that rain has decided the result on the very crucial matches of the IPL. Delhi would have won the match against Punjab if there was full game to be played. Even in Kolkata vs Chennai game Chennai was really fortunate to have reached 55 for no loss in 8 overs as a catch was dropped in the 8th over and the last ball boundary. Team India lucky mascot Dhoni continues to enjoy his good fortunes with the Chennai Super Kings too.
One aspect on the field has made me feel that some thing is not all that correct with the lighting on the IPL matches. I am not sure on the statistics but at least 30-40 catches would have been dropped in IPL and most of them are high catches and the so called safe pair of hands have dropped them. It could also be because of power hitting in T20, that even if the ball is mis-hit it travels lot of distance up before it descends back to the fielder which makes it difficult to hold the catches.
The other contenders for the 4th slot is between, Kolkata,Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai has got the advantage as they have already won 6 of 10, where as Kolkata and Delhi have won only 5 of 11 matches. The matches between Delhi vs Kolkata and Delhi vs Mumbai could prove to be crucial. Mumbai is well placed as they will be playing the last match against Bangalore and in case of points tie, they will be in a position to plan for better run rate.
I strongly feel that Mumbai will make it to the semi-final and the 4th slot will be fought between Chennai and Mumbai on run-rate basis.
Its really unfortunate that rain has decided the result on the very crucial matches of the IPL. Delhi would have won the match against Punjab if there was full game to be played. Even in Kolkata vs Chennai game Chennai was really fortunate to have reached 55 for no loss in 8 overs as a catch was dropped in the 8th over and the last ball boundary. Team India lucky mascot Dhoni continues to enjoy his good fortunes with the Chennai Super Kings too.
One aspect on the field has made me feel that some thing is not all that correct with the lighting on the IPL matches. I am not sure on the statistics but at least 30-40 catches would have been dropped in IPL and most of them are high catches and the so called safe pair of hands have dropped them. It could also be because of power hitting in T20, that even if the ball is mis-hit it travels lot of distance up before it descends back to the fielder which makes it difficult to hold the catches.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Controversy == Akhtar
As you all must be aware of the no contest in wankade last night, it was true professional display of some great performance from the Mumbai Indians. As observed earlier they are a force to watch out and they might thrash any team on their day. Given that Jayasurya is peaking in form at the right time and Pollock is just doing great and Sachin id due for the big one. I think MI has a very good chance of making it to the last four, If they make it they have the biggest advantage of playing in the home grounds (both semi-finals and finals) with full support from the Mumbai Crowd.
Akhtar is back in news for all the wrong reasons, caught into yet another controversy of carrying empty syringe. I am sure more than the privilege of watching some high speed bowling, he is going to be an issue for the KKR owners and the IPL management. IPL is now forced to initiate surprise drug tests and put into a quandary to answering the un friendly media.
Its good that Mallya has come out with support to Dravid and team sensing that his earlier comments on team selection has not any good to the team and come out with total support to dravid and team and has accused the media for twisted reports. May be its too little too late for at least this edition of the IPL, but i am sure he has learnt a few lessons from the MI owners on how to deal with failures, after all IPL is sport and not totally business.
Akhtar is back in news for all the wrong reasons, caught into yet another controversy of carrying empty syringe. I am sure more than the privilege of watching some high speed bowling, he is going to be an issue for the KKR owners and the IPL management. IPL is now forced to initiate surprise drug tests and put into a quandary to answering the un friendly media.
Its good that Mallya has come out with support to Dravid and team sensing that his earlier comments on team selection has not any good to the team and come out with total support to dravid and team and has accused the media for twisted reports. May be its too little too late for at least this edition of the IPL, but i am sure he has learnt a few lessons from the MI owners on how to deal with failures, after all IPL is sport and not totally business.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Eng vs NZ Test series --- IPL
It was yet another drubbing for the DC and welcome win for the DD after loosing 4 games in a row. It was yet another brilliant knock from Gambhir and Dawan. Then the DD bowlers stuck to their task well and as usual the DC star cricketers in Gibbs,Afridi,Styris,Gili all showed some spark but failed to play a sensible long innings to take the team to victory. Its time that the owners of DC are going to come out in the open with their share of frustration on the lack luster performance.
I was also watching the match between England and the Newzeland Ist test and it was real treat to watch some good cricket. The whether conditions were suitable for swing bowling and the conditions were exploited well by the England fast bowlers. It was real good contest between good bowling and some resilient batting from McCullam and Oram, for purists it was a great start to the new season of some good cricket from the slam bang T20 games. The same McCullam who scored 150+ in the inaugural match of the IPL played some good cricketing shorts and showed patience and character playing against some good seam bowling. In fact i was missing quite a few overs in the IPL game to watch this wonderful contest between bat and ball.
Coming back to IPL, as i mentioned in the previous post the stage is set for some good contests with DD also winning 5 matches, the line up for semi-final is wide open.
I was also watching the match between England and the Newzeland Ist test and it was real treat to watch some good cricket. The whether conditions were suitable for swing bowling and the conditions were exploited well by the England fast bowlers. It was real good contest between good bowling and some resilient batting from McCullam and Oram, for purists it was a great start to the new season of some good cricket from the slam bang T20 games. The same McCullam who scored 150+ in the inaugural match of the IPL played some good cricketing shorts and showed patience and character playing against some good seam bowling. In fact i was missing quite a few overs in the IPL game to watch this wonderful contest between bat and ball.
Coming back to IPL, as i mentioned in the previous post the stage is set for some good contests with DD also winning 5 matches, the line up for semi-final is wide open.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Jayasurya's Knock Inspired by Sachin
Jayasurya came up with one of the striking knock in the IPL and brought back memories of his hay days. Jayasurya was not really firing much in the IPL and I am sure he must have been inspired by the presence of Sachin in the non strikers end. Once again it goes with out doubt that the presence of Sachin in the playing XI makes a huge difference.
CSK bowlers had no clue on how to stop Jayasurya, and just gave up with out any fight. Its obvious that there is not many options in this version of the game to come back after scoring 150+ and giving away 70+ in the first six overs. Mumbai Indians are just peaking in form in the right time of the tournament and i will not be surprised if they reach the Final and win the IPL. MI is little weak in its bowling but the star studded batting line up can chase any total on their day.
We are into the most interesting stage of IPL tournament with 6 of the 8 teams fighting for a place in the Semi-Final line up.
CSK bowlers had no clue on how to stop Jayasurya, and just gave up with out any fight. Its obvious that there is not many options in this version of the game to come back after scoring 150+ and giving away 70+ in the first six overs. Mumbai Indians are just peaking in form in the right time of the tournament and i will not be surprised if they reach the Final and win the IPL. MI is little weak in its bowling but the star studded batting line up can chase any total on their day.
We are into the most interesting stage of IPL tournament with 6 of the 8 teams fighting for a place in the Semi-Final line up.
Akhtar == Speed
It was a great contest between KKR and DD in eden gardens yesterday. Akhtar proved that even though the game is loaded in favor of the batsmen, its possible that bowlers can win games.
Akhtar looked like a lion out of the cage after months of starvation, the lighting pace he bowled through out the three overs he bowled was just too good for the DD batsmen. Akhtar was averaging 148 kmph which under the heat and noise is just too good. If McGrath was full of disciplined bowling, Akhtar was sheer pace and both the great fast bowlers just proved to the fellow bowlers that skillful bowling can trouble batsmen even in T20 cricket.
IMHO Akhtar should not have been allowed to play in the IPL, how can a player be banned for five years and suspend the ban to make sure he takes part in the IPL??. I just feel characters like Gail,Ambrose,Flintoff,Warne,Botham,Ponting are important to keep the game interesting but getting into controversies time and again in the game like Akhtar should not be taken lightly. After all this IPL was meant to give good exposure to the young Indian cricketers. Akhtar can be a great inspiration for young fast bowlers but should not try to emulate the unwarented on and off field behavior.
Akhtar looked like a lion out of the cage after months of starvation, the lighting pace he bowled through out the three overs he bowled was just too good for the DD batsmen. Akhtar was averaging 148 kmph which under the heat and noise is just too good. If McGrath was full of disciplined bowling, Akhtar was sheer pace and both the great fast bowlers just proved to the fellow bowlers that skillful bowling can trouble batsmen even in T20 cricket.
IMHO Akhtar should not have been allowed to play in the IPL, how can a player be banned for five years and suspend the ban to make sure he takes part in the IPL??. I just feel characters like Gail,Ambrose,Flintoff,Warne,Botham,Ponting are important to keep the game interesting but getting into controversies time and again in the game like Akhtar should not be taken lightly. After all this IPL was meant to give good exposure to the young Indian cricketers. Akhtar can be a great inspiration for young fast bowlers but should not try to emulate the unwarented on and off field behavior.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Poor Dravid --
Its sad that Bangalore Royal Challenge team is last in the IPL points table and its even more bad that the off field controversies have taken to the front page news item.
Its very sad that a player of Dravid's caliber should be in the center of the storm for non cricketing aspects. I am sure that he will not lead or get associated with the Banglore Royal Challenge team for the next years IPL tournament. As a cricketer myself can understand how painful it could be for Dravid when the team management let you and your team down during the course of the tournament. All this could have been sorted out with in, rather than letting things goes out in the open. This is not going to do any good for the teams performance in the future games. After all cricket is a game and not business and loosing is part of the sport.
Its very unprofessional for Mallya such a successful business man to rock his own team in the middle of the tournament and come out with such unsportive statements. Its true that any body will get frustrated to see his team loose all the time and find reasons for the defeat rather than fight to perform better but making dravid a scape goat here is not going help him either.
I fail to understand why he should have agreed to the list of players dravid selected, if he is not happy with the list and knowledgeable enough to pick the list of his own, who stopped him ?? After all he is funding the team and owns the team. It does not reflect good on the successful business man and also shows how he would deal with his core teams on failure. Cricket is not truly business, its a sport. Few teams get to winning ways quicker and few take some time.
I think Mallya can learn a few things from the Mumbai Indians team owners (Mukesh Ambani) on how to handle failures.
Its very sad that a player of Dravid's caliber should be in the center of the storm for non cricketing aspects. I am sure that he will not lead or get associated with the Banglore Royal Challenge team for the next years IPL tournament. As a cricketer myself can understand how painful it could be for Dravid when the team management let you and your team down during the course of the tournament. All this could have been sorted out with in, rather than letting things goes out in the open. This is not going to do any good for the teams performance in the future games. After all cricket is a game and not business and loosing is part of the sport.
Its very unprofessional for Mallya such a successful business man to rock his own team in the middle of the tournament and come out with such unsportive statements. Its true that any body will get frustrated to see his team loose all the time and find reasons for the defeat rather than fight to perform better but making dravid a scape goat here is not going help him either.
I fail to understand why he should have agreed to the list of players dravid selected, if he is not happy with the list and knowledgeable enough to pick the list of his own, who stopped him ?? After all he is funding the team and owns the team. It does not reflect good on the successful business man and also shows how he would deal with his core teams on failure. Cricket is not truly business, its a sport. Few teams get to winning ways quicker and few take some time.
I think Mallya can learn a few things from the Mumbai Indians team owners (Mukesh Ambani) on how to handle failures.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Ganguly -- Team India Coach
Great knock by Ganguly in the on going IPL against the Deccan Chargers, he has once again proved for himself that he is great fighter and come back from poor form and pull back his team to victory.
Ganguly has been a great leader for indian cricket. When he took over the captaincy, Team India had big names like Sachin,Kumble,Srinath,Dravid etc but was struggling to play as a team and some how found ways to loose games from winning position. Ganguly never feared on introducing youngsters and giving them confidence by providing ample opportunity, guys like Sehwag,Yuvraj,Harbajan,Zaheer blossomed under his captaincy and Team India won games at home and away.
I am sure none of us could forget the T-Shirt stripping show in lords shows how aggressive and passionate he was on winning games for Team India. Given that he is almost in his last few years of playing competitive cricket, I feel he will make a great Coach for Team India given his ability to bring out the best from the players and tone youngsters as great match winners.
If BCCI backs Ganguly as a Coach for Team India, I am sure he will bring back glory to Indian Cricket.
Ganguly has been a great leader for indian cricket. When he took over the captaincy, Team India had big names like Sachin,Kumble,Srinath,Dravid etc but was struggling to play as a team and some how found ways to loose games from winning position. Ganguly never feared on introducing youngsters and giving them confidence by providing ample opportunity, guys like Sehwag,Yuvraj,Harbajan,Zaheer blossomed under his captaincy and Team India won games at home and away.
I am sure none of us could forget the T-Shirt stripping show in lords shows how aggressive and passionate he was on winning games for Team India. Given that he is almost in his last few years of playing competitive cricket, I feel he will make a great Coach for Team India given his ability to bring out the best from the players and tone youngsters as great match winners.
If BCCI backs Ganguly as a Coach for Team India, I am sure he will bring back glory to Indian Cricket.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Great Times Ahead for Indian Cricket
People who watch Mumbai Indians games would know the kind of frenzy the T20 games has created with the Indian Business Tycoons. Can you imagine Mukesh Ambani the richest indian with so many commitments makes sure that he attends the games his team plays and also applauds the players. Nitu Ambani is even more active jumping and clapping for every four,six scored and wicket taken by the Mumbai Indians. You can understand the commitment from them that they have not insisted on Sachin to take part in the games even though their teams were loosing matches. They understand how important Sachin is for Indian Cricket.
I am sure all this interest is not going to stop with the T20 games, its a great platform for the BCCI to bring in corporates to support and play a active part in the games development. I am confident the people who run cricket in india are smart enough to get the best from this big corporate houses to support the game and make sure that cricketers at all levels (domestic) are benefited.
Great times ahead for Indian Cricket ...
I am sure all this interest is not going to stop with the T20 games, its a great platform for the BCCI to bring in corporates to support and play a active part in the games development. I am confident the people who run cricket in india are smart enough to get the best from this big corporate houses to support the game and make sure that cricketers at all levels (domestic) are benefited.
Great times ahead for Indian Cricket ...
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tough on Cricketers
I had the privilege of watching the ChennaiSuperKings vs HyderabadDeccanChargers and i just loved every movement of the match in spite of the flop show by CSK.
I feel pity for the cricketers to toil in such hot and humid conditions, we were not even able to sit in the stands in the heat.
The great MAC stadium which has produced some great games was changed into an Live Rock Concert stadium with full fledged bands,lights of all colors, mega size speakers and offcource the dancing cheer girls. For each and every ball, the speakers will open up and shout the latest gana song in full sound not to mention when a four or six is scored. Its just great to notice that in spite of so much of noise and distractions (cheer girls) the players got to concentrate and perform. As you know the T20 even a few balls can change the course of the game , its too much pressure on the players and I feel its very very tough on the players.
I feel the IPL organizers should schedule the games during feb-march and not in the hot conditions, this period is summer for whole of India and i am not sure why IPL chose this time of year for this tournament. I will not be surprised, if few players go unfit due to the immense pressure and heat.
For the spectator, yes its just great. Finish your work by 7-7.30 in the evening and enjoy the game like a evening show movie. I am sure BCCI and IPL will learn from this edition of IPL and change things for the Good of the Spectators and the Players.
I feel pity for the cricketers to toil in such hot and humid conditions, we were not even able to sit in the stands in the heat.
The great MAC stadium which has produced some great games was changed into an Live Rock Concert stadium with full fledged bands,lights of all colors, mega size speakers and offcource the dancing cheer girls. For each and every ball, the speakers will open up and shout the latest gana song in full sound not to mention when a four or six is scored. Its just great to notice that in spite of so much of noise and distractions (cheer girls) the players got to concentrate and perform. As you know the T20 even a few balls can change the course of the game , its too much pressure on the players and I feel its very very tough on the players.
I feel the IPL organizers should schedule the games during feb-march and not in the hot conditions, this period is summer for whole of India and i am not sure why IPL chose this time of year for this tournament. I will not be surprised, if few players go unfit due to the immense pressure and heat.
For the spectator, yes its just great. Finish your work by 7-7.30 in the evening and enjoy the game like a evening show movie. I am sure BCCI and IPL will learn from this edition of IPL and change things for the Good of the Spectators and the Players.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Harbajan - Shrisanth
Its Just 2 weeks into IPL and you see that we already have issues with Team India.
We also feel let down by the so called great cricketers, i just don't understand how these youngsters get things wrong with sharing the dressing room with the greats like Sachin, Kumble, Dravid. If the younger cricketers don't learn from these great legends i doubt if these guys will ever learn sportsmanship.
There is a big difference between playing hard and playing foul, We could see the same wrong foul play creeping into even Ishant Sharma the new star in cricket india showing faces and glaring at batsmen when hit for couple of fours.
Wish he learns from people like Sachin, who in his 20 years of carrier has not been in the news for wrong reasons and its the same for Kumble and Dravid, If our youngsters don't learn from these great men them i an really afraid that Cricket in India will die slowly.
We also feel let down by the so called great cricketers, i just don't understand how these youngsters get things wrong with sharing the dressing room with the greats like Sachin, Kumble, Dravid. If the younger cricketers don't learn from these great legends i doubt if these guys will ever learn sportsmanship.
There is a big difference between playing hard and playing foul, We could see the same wrong foul play creeping into even Ishant Sharma the new star in cricket india showing faces and glaring at batsmen when hit for couple of fours.
Wish he learns from people like Sachin, who in his 20 years of carrier has not been in the news for wrong reasons and its the same for Kumble and Dravid, If our youngsters don't learn from these great men them i an really afraid that Cricket in India will die slowly.
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