Emotional reasons

No team should win a major tournament on emotional reasons or cindrella reasons. Just cos one team has been attacked in a country or just that due to that attack, the country where the attack happened, the cricket dies there, it doesnt mean that both countries should be favorite to win the World T20.

Its a simple reasoning. Perform consistently with bat, ball. Win against strong teams and win the trophy.

Emotional reasons should never propel a team to being termed as favorite. If Pakistan and Sri Lanka have to win the World T20, they would need to fire as a team. Not on the basis of what happened in Lahore 2009.

Cricket is in danger of overkill, and the IPL and its imitators in other countries are playing a major part. We require a formula that preserves the novelty of encounters. The familiarity of combatants will breed contempt among viewers.

I am a fan of T20 and to my surprise I enjoyed last year's IPL tournament. I have been unable to watch this year's tournament because my concern is that Pakistan and its cricketers are being systematically marginalised by certain elements of the international cricket community. The removal of Pakistan's champions from the planned T20 Champions League tournament is further evidence to support that view. I find it hard to watch tournaments from which Pakistan's players have been deliberately excluded.

Contradictions. Paradoxes.

Kamran, you enjoyed last year's IPl cos Pakistan players were part of it and likes of afridi were busy fighting with VVS. You liked then. This year your own PPP government banned your players crossing Wagah to play in India cos the ....................(obvious reasons). So now you dont like IPL.

Damn you man. Pakistan was removed from CT hostage, World cup hostage and now RBC(S) cup champs are kicked out of CL later this year. Rather than pointing this to India or BCCI, go find whats happening in your country. Bombs in Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad and every where. What do you expect ? More attacks like SL on world cricket teams ?

You guys blame India for everything that goes wrong with your cricket, but when it comes to eating a cake of riches, you want to be part of CL or IPL. When your players aint a part of IPL or CL, you hate it. Your cricket players meet with Modi, ex-players call IPL a tamasha. Rameez Raja blames IPL first and then bares his soul in IPL with some ridiculous commentary (along side other commentators).

Your players wanted to be part of ICL. Another Indian thing. Fascination for India doesnt go. You think you can kick us in the back, call us money brokers or whatever, you feel and then you want us to come back and embrace you in IPL or CL.

Say more of this stuff and I am sure BCCI wont pay heed to any PCB requests to help itself out of its mess. Remember BCCI is all powerful with money in its kitty. PCB doesnt have sanity, logic, pratical sense and moreover the money. So if you want us to help you out, keep your damned mouth shut and pack off Butt, Miandad to Swat.

Pakistan doesnt need Yousuf and Razzaq

literally in their squad for Tests or ODIs. It would not only hamper the momentum of the current squad who are used to absence of this 2 ICL stars. I mean it doesnt make any sense for the likes of MoY and Spinach king to retire, comeback, ICL, no ICL, ICL, no ICL and then suddenly they feel good for their country. Just cos there is a change in guard for Pakistan captaincy, MoY wants to come back.

I feel Inti and Qadir should take a hard stance here and shut the door for good on this 2 guys who feel they can get away with anything they can do. But then you dont know which side Butt will land his bum.

A T20 lowdown and high up

Which is the strongest team in the T20Is ? Is it India or Pakistan or Australia or South Africa ?

Or for that matter Sri Lanka or New Zealand ?

India are the defending world champions in the format which they won in 2007 comprehensively. In true Australian way circa 1999.

Having lost to NZ in the Super 8 stage, they needed to win 2 out of 2 games and didn’t they win all and 2 more. 4 in all.

Here is the win loss record for all teams (exclude BD and Zim)

Twenty20 record for each team

Team	Played	Won	Lost
Pakistan	17	13	3 (1 tie)
India	13	7	4 (1 tie + 1 NR)
SL	13	8	5
SA	18	11	7
Aus	21	11	10
WI	11	4	5(2 tie)
NZ	21	8	11(2 tie)
Eng	15	6	9

Pakistan have won 13 games of 17 it has played. Now does that make them the strongest. Well no. 7 of them are against minnows.

Canada, Bangladesh, Kenya and Scotland. Exclude those 6 of them and the record then reads

Pakistan

10

6

3 (1 tie)

Out of this 6, most impressive record is against the Aussies. 2 out of 2 (2007 WC and then in 2009 desert safari). They have favorable record against England (1 out of 1) and New Zealand (1 out of 1)

At par with Sri Lanka (2 out of 4). They are yet to beat India in this format, the biggest parameter to test their strength in any format. 1 of them has been a tie (bowl out went to India for points distribution)

And the most famous T20I match, they lost to their bitter and toughest opponents thanks to an ill timed scoop by Misbah. They are yet to beat SA in this format. They haven’t played WI in any of the games so far.

Not the strongest of the records you see.

Lets take India to the sword.

Played 13. Won 7, lost 4. Out of the 4 , they have lost 3 to one single team – Kiwis. In fact they are yet to beat the Kiwis in this format. They lost the first super 8 game in 2007 and then 2 again in the Kiwi tour in 2009. They have one game washed out against the minnows Scotland, so we are no minnow bashers.

Out of the 7 victories we have, 2 against Aussies, 2 against SA (no loss), 1 against England, 1 against SA and 1 against Pakistan. The other loss came to Australia in 2008 when they were bowled out for a paltry 74.

Strongest ? Not quite. The 3 losses to Kiwis take off the sheen from the claim to be the strongest. Point of concern is since 2007 triumph, the champs have played 5 games, won 2 and lost 3. The only comprehensive win coming against Australia in Brabourne in 2007. They almost lost it against Lanka in 2009, thanks to Pathan bros who got team home.

Sri Lanka

13 played, 8 victories and 5 losses.

Minnow bashing. Yes. 4 against minnows. 4 against good countries. 2 against Pakistan, 1 against England and New Zealand. Err no. Not strong. No no no. Mind ittttttt, they hold the world record in this format too for the highest score. Phew. 260 in World T20 against minnows Kenya. Add 6/952, 443/6 or 8 in Tests and ODIs respectively. Credible.

WI, NZ and England fizz out owing to their on and off record.

We remain with Australia and South Africa. Unfortunately they have pretty on and off record too. Esp Aussies, they started off with a bang this year with 2 of 2 victories down under, thanks to David Warner, but they lost the steam in South Africa and desert safari. Aussies have a 50% ratio here, pretty low by their standards. But we should not forget that they come back hard at a trophy they haven’t won. Go back to Champions trophy, the 2006 edition. They won it comprehensively. It’s a different matter altogether, that this year its going to be India once again as the CT goes to SA and we win almost everything in SA. Won the IPL – 2, The World T20 2007 and almost the WC 2003, the first T20 in SA in Durban. Didn’t we ?

Its more of a day factor, the team that plays well the given day wins, but its to the consistency factor which decides which team remains the strongest. Out of the facts I diagnosed here, it’s a outright result. INDIA. They haven’t won any cheap game, they haven’t lost to major teams except Australia and Kiwis. IMO they are the strongest in the format, but then again only till the next T20 is played.

Main Hoo na

Indian Javed Miandad is back.........

Miandad ka muh band karao, 50 paise inaam pao

I expected it from the Indian cricket board but it was very disappointing to see that no board has spoken out against it,” The News quoted Miandad, as saying. He charged the BCCI of influencing the decisions of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and boards of other cricket playing countries.

“I have realized now that everything can be bought with the power of money. India with the power of its money has earned the support from all stakeholders and we find no one who could listen and support us,”

You should say listen and support me, Javed Blabber Miandad. Not us dude. I guess you should be moving with a clown hat and a tape on your mouth. Enough of it son. You just proving you are a lampoon. Pakistan's Shrikhand.

SP says it with full humor ji. Cost to keep himself quiet. Nothing in this birth ji. he has had this banter against Indians since his playing days. When he used to come to bat, he used to sledge Indians. Thanks the Indians were fickle minded those days, they caved in. This age no one gives an rat's ASS to this dude.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/cricket/13+money+has+subdued+principles+miandad-za-02

More rants.

I believe Pakistan has banned its players from touring India owing to whatever (obvious) reasons, so how come BCCI has a fault here. Speak to MMS dude. MMS as in the Prime minister of India.

Starting XI

IPL is over. Teams are back. India team is back too after being fragmented to ROyals, Kings, Indians(fake), Knight Riders, Chargers and stuff like that. India play their first game in T20 world cup against Bangaladesh, the nemesis who threw them out of the World Cup 2007. Since then a lot has changed. Though BD still aims it can humble the Indians again, I dont think thats possible. As a part of demotivating the BD team, the KKRs played Mourtaza in that IPL game and he got Appam'ed (Sreesanth term for being hit) for 26 runs in final (or 24) over. Asharful didnt get a game until MI's last, so he is pissed too. Pissed and demotivated people dont make great teams.

My starting XI for India's 1st game :

1) Sehwag

2) Gambhir

3) Raina

4) YUvraj

5) Dhoni

6) Sharma

7) Y Pathan

8) I Pathan

9) RP Singh

10) Harbu

11) Zaheer / Praveen (if Zaks is fit)

Can somebody beat this team ? Formidable.

Cricket needs to be sanitized

I hope and believe that with the end of season 2 of IPL the names of Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Shahrukh Khan wont come up in the same breath as cricket. Cricket needs to be sanitized with the dirt this guys left in the soul of the game we adore so much, at times more than ourselves.

In bid to glamorize the cricket, the Bollywood and crap gained a touch too much prominence in the IPL. Remember one thing we always should that, the IPL was successful not cos of the glamor factor of this shitty stars, but due to the game. Due to those stars which have entertained us over the decades. The cricketing stars. Nobody else.

The price tags the cricketers carried was for their performance in the Tests and ODIs. The T20 players were not successful as the old horses or the current ones who are success in ODIs and T20s. Age, experience, retired, non retired doesnt matter. All what matters is cricket, its basics and its primary contests -- bat vs ball, mind vs mind.

Cant wait to witness the cricket in its original form. If game would have continued to have prominence in the IPL, nobody (purists) would have complained. But the sidekicks, goons took over and cricket just lost its relevance.

Arm Ball for renovation

This is a new era and rebirth for Arm Ball. Arm Ball would undergo a major revamp and name change in coming few days. Arm Ball wont go off air for some fickle minded individuals. An exciting summer is up ahead in form of Ashes. And I would gear up myself for following every ball of every Test match of the pinnacle Test series for every Aussie and every Pommy. There has been a cleanup in the blogroll. Would network soon and add new blogs who would be level headed, have cricketing logic and focus on game rather than cities or ignore facts and figures for bias to the particular team or hate a particular nation.

Fake IPL player got me 6k hits in a space of month, best for any of my blog. Before IPL arm ball had 7956 hits. Now its close to 15k hits. Now would aim to get more hits in the future with the power of analysis, logic and comprehension. Regional bias, foul mouthed words, preachers, Shikhandis wont find a place here.

Long live Arm Ball.

England feel they are Ashes favorites

http://content.cricinfo.com/engvwi2009/content/current/story/406228.html

A clean sweep of 2-0 in ODIs and Tests over lowly out of sorts reluctant West Indies makes England feel they are good for Ashes. They feel they are a good bunch and can take on the Aussies and beat them. Aussies aint the same team as they were in 2005. Yet they are good enough to beat England today. If not 5-0 then 3-1 is a certainity, provided they dont play too bad cricket like they did in India and Australia.

True, the selection of Andrew M over Andrew S is a dampner, but they have got enough selection headaches in bowling department. And they would also mull over Mr Cricket. Do they play him or dont play him ? Average drop from 80 to 54 in a year.

English cricket is very fickle. One good performance and they feel they are best in the world. And then the next game, they are ruthlessly brought down to the earth 10 feet deep under.

My Ipl team

My IPL XI.

Openers :

Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden. One of them the super captain and second the damn sexy opener happily into retirement. I wonder would Australia not need him in the Ashes. I feel he should consider going to Aussie colors for the Ashes. Thump the Poms and return back to
happy world of retirement.

Middle Order:

MS, AB DeVilliers, Roy, Yuvraj Singh, Raina

MS as a batsman. He is still good as a batsman and despite not having tasted success in IPL this year, he remains a dangerous batsman in middle order in T20. AB and Roy are automatic picks. Roy for his bowling skills. Remember he turned around the final with 2 back to back wickets in 11th odd over (or 12th or 9th).

Bowling Order :

RP Singh, Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha

Lethal combo. Openers

Final XI contains : 6 batsmen, 3 bowlers, 2 allrounders. 2 part timers.

Final XI

1) Hayden

2) Gilly

3) AB

4) Yuvraj Singh

5) Roy

6) Raina

7) MS

8) Pathan

9) Ojha

10) Kumble

11) RP Singh

Coach : Darren Lehmann

Technical consultant: Shrikhand

Soul of cricket battered with the closing ceremony of IPL

The closing ceremony of IPL proves that the cricket is dead for Modi , for him all is money power, cricket is just nothing for him. After every final, we see the man of the match, man of the series and of course the players sharing the trophy on the dias. But for Modi, this is all irrelevant. He has got some pop singers from US (Akon), a 4 wife President and old age singer of apartheid days. Question is do we need it ? Do we need to see Ms Bollywood here ? Is Bollywood the center stage here or is it the cricket?

I hope this all doesnt happen in World T20. And I also fear that some of the Indian cricketers now (read RP, Pathan junior, Yuvraj) would prefer playing T20 than Tests or ODIs.

Ms Bollywood, IPL ka jalwa, Akon smack are all fuck.

Gimme back the cricket I know. I dont want all this. No no no. No Bollywood or Lolly or Polly or watever wood. I just need the wooden bat and leather ball. Good bye IPL. Thank God, its over to international cricket now. The World T20 should be preponed a week to get rid of this shit. The Modi shit. The Bollywood shit. The money minting shit.

I was happy with big players putting their best part into the game. Symo, Gilly, Gibbs, RP, Kallis and of course Anil. But with the game being ended, the soul of cricket flew away. And nude show of commercialization of game took over. I feel cheated.

With this Kaif dance, the Wanderers has been littered with the shit of Bollywood which goes and pees everywhere. The hugs, kisses, the parties, the wines, the lap shows and of course the behind the scenes. I feel cricket's soul has been raped brutally and hurt beyond repair by Modi. If he has his ways then there would be 2 IPLs every year. No. Not at the expense of international cricket or to prove that BCCI is powerful and ICL is weak.

I would still prefer the old fashioned whites cricket and the colored cricket in ODIs. Cannot wait for the Windies tour and then the Sri Lankan home Test series. Cricket needs resuccrection(spell mistake) right now. From Moditva. From IPL. From Money.

Kumble fetches his man

No world cup final, no Gilchrist fire. Anil Kumble nails his man. Whadda start. Whaada player, Anil Kumble.

Mr Final

2003 World Cup Final

Opponents : India

Gilchrist fires Australia to a great start. A quickfire 66.  Australia scores 2/359. Indian dream crashed.

2007 World Cup Final

Opponents : Sri Lanka

Gilchrist with squash ball in his gloves fires the highest score(140 odd) in a world cup final. Australia win the world cup. Lankan dream crashed.

1999 World Cup final 

Opponents : Pakistan

Gilchrist gets off to a quick start in pursuit of 133 to win the world cup. Pakistani dream crashed. Australia win the world cup.

2009 IPL - 2 Final

Opponents : royal challengers bangalore

Though the importance and scope of this tournament final isnt as grand and wide as  the 3 world cup finals, the man remains same.  Whats he going to do today? Mr Final.

RCB favorites for the finals.

Royal Challengers have been the unlikliest of the entrants in the finals. And theirs has been the cindrella story. Languishing at the bottom of the table in the mid way stage, they have scripted a turnaround in their fortunes. Won 7 out of 9 games. Moved apart the hyped teams, hyped cities and hyped players. The team did basics right, the openers got runs, the middle order fired at times. Bowling clicked and moreover the captain had a great attitude. He didnt have to prove it to anybody his capacity or his mentle.

Manish Pandey, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble have been the stars for RCB. Ross Taylor's innings against KKR(most prolly) turned around the things.

They stand favorites today for the title. and if they win, its just going to be another feather in the cap of Anil Kumble, the fighter and hard spirited cricketer we know. The one whose attitude was the best in the team alongside his batting great peers.

Go RCB.....Purely for delight RD, AK bring watching them.

Quitting on cards

I am contemplating quitting Arm Ball. I was distraught and shaken up after a disgraceful personal attack on me for opposing Mumbai cynicism of a Blogger based in US who like Thackerays vies blindly for Mumbai team. Enough said about him. If all that was based on arguments and analysis, which wasnt of course the case and I was being said not to have it, it was fine. But then it was a barrage of personal attacks from Shrikhand and one of his readers "Raj" on a post in Q's blog.

I am not here to win fans or comments or blindly support a city. For me cricket is bigger than all of this things. And I dont claim to have great writing skills.

So I might go off the blog for good. Last time Sydney defeat made me quit the Tubby's Zooter for long and when i tried to back up the posts few days back, the blog was removed.

Thank you Shrikhand for guiding me to how to blog and nice pointers to shortcomings in me.

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey, you beauty.

Mumbai Indians' loss is RCB gain, the dude played for MUMBAI last season. Today he scores first hundred of IPL-2 (correct me if i m wrong).

Brilliant innings.

The likes of Rahane, Nayar, Takle and Raje Gaje should learn from this lad. Same age group, talent, but the difference in application.

This inning could almost see RCB to the semi final.

Bye Bye Preity. Bye Bye Sreesanth. Cmon Bombay blogger, blog about Pandey....

IPL 's USP

The concept of city based franchisees never appealed to me. It was not only a way to propel the regional feelings but also a way to look the other teams in demeaning light. Cricket teams should always be analyzed on the strength of its composition and collective capabilities than the city based jingoism and nude fights. Some of the IPL games in season 1 and 2 offered me a chance to watch the duals between legends something which wont be possible to see anymore in international cricket.

something which you wont see in the international cricket. We for lifetime have watched Sachin running to Kumble to take his sweater to give it to the umpire or Sehwag thrashing the spinners. But besides nets we haven’t had much chance to see how this batters scale up with the bowlers of their own team. Not just for India but for other teams too. For example how do SL’s best of batsmen in Sanga, Jaya and M Jaya scale up against Murali and Malinga. Ditto for Aussies.

That’s the biggest USP of the IPL. Forget Bollywood, cheerleaders, Lalit Modi, FIP and cities. If I support Delhi because I love Viru and Sehwag blasting off bowlers and if its most balanced team amongst 8, then it should not be a problem given the fact I don’t hail from Delhi and there is no team from my state of origin. But then cricket for me never has been confined to the regions in India. I have liked Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar with same intensity as I have liked Anil Kumble, Dravid from south or Ganguly from East or Sehwag, Gambhir from north and Azharuddin from Hyderabad. For me liking cricket is always based on the skills and the joy he brings to me watching. His batting, his bowling. If that means I support many teams, then who bothers.

I used to see games of MI with equal intensity as the Bombay blogger just cos I got to see Sachin Tendulkar bat. KKR cos I got to see Ganguly bat and pitching in for RCB cos I get to see captain Kumble in action, which wont happen once IPL is over. Bad habits of 19 years of watching Kumble every Test India plays and I see and 13 years of watching Ganguly open the batting every ODI India played or # 5 in Tests just don’t go away in a season.

And if I have to watch this players in action, I rise above the limited city vision, limited regional vision and enjoy the delight I get while watching this greats. Dub me anti – Mumbai or anti-South or pro – North or lack of whatever attribute that it takes to have a “good blogger and popular blogger network part”, I care two hoots on it. Personal attacks, I care two hoots on it. I am here for my love of the game and my version of take on the matters cricketing. That’s what matters. Labels don’t.

FIP discloses himself.

FIP is not a cricket player, neither he is SRK, neither he is a local Indian player. He is a fucking journalist who must have had some insider info and then posted on a blog with intentions to get some cheap publicity.

From his accent he is not an Bong, he is a Bollywood journo with some fucking intentions to spoil the game of cricket. He seems to speak good Hindi and he knows Bollywood stuff. So imho he must be some fly on the wall who attends and follows the SRK.

He ends his RIP speech with KANK. He must be a die hard SRK hater or a lover.

WHatever he was, he has left Cricket bruised and hurt with the unproved allegations of match fixing. He began with pretending himself to be unaware of blog technology (he said he wasnt sure of how to post visitor count) , then as a sidekick player who hasnt got a talent or 2 to play a game or get a game. Yeah right, how can a sick Bollywood journo get a game. He nicknamed all players, he ripped them apart and then his language went on changing. From naive to a smart jackass.

I just wish he is flushed out whenever he is unearthed. I doubt if his identity ever would come across. And if it comes, he wont be alive for long. He might have earned lot of enemies. For sure SRK would be after this thug.

Fuck FIP. Disgrace. I just hope today ownwards FIP wont be mentioned in the traditional cricket. He might be discussed in the "social circuit" by the party hoppers, but thats not what bothers me. I just wish this kind of negative blogging doesnt become a fad for every Test series or a major tournament.

Royals out of the tournament.

Local Indian lads kicked Mumbai Indians out of the IPL 2. And the local Indian lads do it for Rajasthan Royals it too. 4 runs in last over. A single off first, 2 of the next for a misfield and one more off he 3rd ball sends Royals out of the IPL.

An underrated ex Indian player and a something who could be kapil dev but who couldnt be even a Jimmy player do it for Kolkata. KKR would go with some pride, but they would need to look up for their team selection for next season 3. They got to answer why Langveldt wasnt played who made all the difference today. Most probably no Aussie coach, support staff and perhaps no Ganguly too.

Selection errors for RR, dropping of Smith (not sure if he was injured / dropped), poor batting performance and then poor fielding by Indian lads throw Warne magic out of the IPL. Warne joins McCullum and Tendulkar in the list of ousted captains.

Now all depends on the next big game : CSK vs Punjab. CSK favorites but for their poor bowling and even poorer fielding. I hope they dont play Balaji any more.

Viru...

Sehwag. Is he back to 2006 and 2007 days ? he is horrible with the bat. The ball which could have been hit all the way for a six was played straight to the fielder. I am clueless to whats going in Viru's mind. Is he taking IPL too lightly and if he feels he would be back to normalcy in T20 world cup, then i bother two hoots on his form.

His form is really concerning.

Balaji dheere chalna!!

Damn. Whatever it is, Balaji must play no more games in the remainder of the tournament. He is ridiculous. Bowling either full tosses or juicy half volleys. 4 full tosses. 19 runs off the over. Why so blind faith in slow low Balaji? He is past force. Look beyond him. 40 off 3 overs. MS would be furious.!!

And finally KKR win something. Relief for a disgraced team. Somethin finally. Something.

Sri Lanka celebrates

It would be a long night today in Sri Lanka with killing of LTTE chief and a dreaded terrorist. And with his elimination, we hope that the decades old civil war would end and a new age dawns in war torn Emerald Island. Good to see terrorism being crushed brutally. SL waived off the international pressure, gave two hoots to US, UN and of course dickheaded politicians from Tamil Nadu. With the LTTE chief, goes the killer of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Thank GOD, if he was handed over to India, his trial would have gone for 2-3 decades.

Thats the way to be. A hard state, tough state, hard and tough state. Hard state, tough state. Mbangwa in me.

Something India should learn from SL. How to crush the terrorism heads on. Not by dialogue, not by begging, but by killing.

Another day of independence for Sri Lanka.

Semi-finalists and Rameez's commentary

Delhi and Chennai are almost there. Kolkata and Mumbai are nowhere. Rajasthan are on brink. Punjab are inconsistent much contrary to their fighting nature. Deccans are new South Africans in South Africa -- chokers. Bangalore are dark horses despite Kumble and Dravid are fair players and are no horses.

Saurav Ganguly has seen it all, done it all. Can he do it today ?

A shievering Shiva is down there for us.

A stammering Rameez is sucking us.

MS Dhoni, Mr Kewl. Yeah yeah the same man who beat somebody 4-1 and 3-2 in last 2 ODI series :)

Sorry for off the topic. Rameez 's verbal potshots. Sounding almost similar to Mbangwa. Huge time, big time, big time, huge time. Mbangwa style.

So the semis are eye wide open. Delhi vs CSK is tempting proposition for final. Batting might of CSK and misfiring Viru and Gauti. Question is who are going to be other 2 ?

1) Rajasthan are 13. If they win against KKR they go 15. Still no guarantee.

2) Deccan Chargers are 14 with positive NRR. 1 game left to play RBC on last day of league games. One win and they are 16. If they lose, they are on brink as well.

3) KXIP have a game against CSK, their final game after today. I fancy CSK. KXIP should win a game to be in race. If they lose they go out.

4) RCB, they have 2 games left. Must win both to get through. DD and DC. Can fancy beating DC. DD are beatable too. I believe they could make it. If RCB win both games they go in. DC depend then on Royals result against KKR, which they should win.

So my pick:

DD
CSK
RR
RCB

Rameez, you are now stinking. Ganguly, subcontinent player finds tough to go in SA, eyes blinking, trying to concentrate on job. He s got lot of nervous energy Siva.

My ass Kameez, did you even know Ganguly's record in SA ? 2003 success in world cup, 2006 Test series, 2001 tri series. Go check the record mate.

McCullum seems in good nick in chasing 189. Ganguly stuggling and Rameez stinking. Rameez Kameez go away.

Roy's dismissal.

There could be difference of opinions over dismissal of Roy in the game against KXIP. Here is what happened what I saw :

1) Yuvraj bowls. Roy charges and misses.

2) Sangakara fails to collect the ball and whips the bails off. One bail falls, second stays intact. Till this point Roy is not out and yet to make up to the crease.

3) Sanga collects the ball in 2nd attempt, dives and breaks the stumps. 2nd bail falls. Roy falls short of crease. Sanga and team appeal. Third umpire called in.

4) Umpire ruled him out.

No discrepancy here. 1st attempt the ball fell off the gloves, Roy out of the crease. Not out. 2nd attempt, the 2nd bail falls and Roy is given out.

Fair decision and fair play. Thank God no Mumbai involved else lot of moral dosage and cricket rules would have been dished out on dollar blog.

Question for Rohit Sharma

Kudos to Rohit Sharma. The lad from Borivali(W) did it once more almost. Hit clean shots, won 2 games on trot almost single handedly. Great stuff and all those adjectives -- young, special, talented, super and blah blah.

But million dollar question to ask here is will he repeat the same performance for India in T20s and ODIs ? What is that stops him from playing the similar way for indian colors ? Whats in IPL thats not in Indian colors ?

I dont remember barring 66 in CB series 1st final any innings of note from the lad. High time he does for his country too. He wont be remembered that much for IPL as he would be for India. Ditto for Munaf Patel. He grinned, he dived, he caught, he exulted, he ran hard. All for IPL. Contrast that with Munaf for India. Does Warne get the performance out of him which Dravid, Kumble and MS couldnt?

India's Kirris Gayle

In most probability, India's Chris Gayle (shunning Tests for T20) would be Yuvraj Singh given his attitude and his Test record. If and whenever that happens, we shouldnt be surprised. At least I wont be.

And next to follow the suite could be:

1. Sreesanth
2. Irfan Pathan
3. RP Singh

And Pragyan Ojha could never debut in Tests, not that he would not be selected. Just that he might not find 5 days in the field too interesting and economically viable.

I dont say this on any facts or basis of analysis. But on the hunch and a pattern that goes into this lads way of cricket.

650000 dollars go down the drain

$650,000 are worth 24 runs in final over and a match lost from winning stage. More disgrace to an already disgraced state....

Diagnosing Mumbai defeat

End of the road for Mumbai Indians with the defeat against Chennai Super Kings. Pretty flawless performance from Dhoni's men. Tendulkar must be ruing where he went wrong in the tournament. If you ask me, then it was insistence on moles like Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje who played almost every game despite not being in wickets and not contributing in any sorts.

Tinkering with the batting order was another factor that led to the doom. Their best 2 players have to be coming at 1 and 2. Its obvious that the 2 openers they had were the best in the history of the game. Had they persisted with them the story wud have been different. Besides Bravo was on and off.

Zaheer and Bhajji's indifferent form didnt help either. And that bothers me. India's chances in T20 defence lies on this 2 bowlers. Over emphasis on youth of Mumbai led them to dooms. Rahane, Takwale, Nayar and others failed miserably to perform and then there were many players like Kyle Mills left out without a single game.

Not to mention that the team choked when it came to the crunch games. Barking and scoffing at opposition teams / umps didnt help too (bloggers).

MUmbai Indians became 2nd team to be knocked out of the tourney. A team which had 2 of India's main bowlers for T20 defence and they failed to deliver. I wont read much into the performance but then they would need to pull up their socks in World T20.

My take on semifinalists:

1) Delhi
2) Chennai
3) Deccan
4) Rajasthan

Mbangwa

............whats your price to shut your mouth off ? Dude you are plain torture. What a shot. What a fantastic shot. Shot Shot Shot. Constant blabbering. Give a chance to the legend besides you. Sunny must be kicking himself to have seated near you. He has been listening patiently to you. I have lost that patience. I am good to hear singing Kameez Rameez, but no Pommie. He speaks as if its a torture. and its a torture for the listeners. Dude why do you speak a single term 3 times. Do you by any chance watch Ekta Kapoor's K soap operas dude?

Same mistakes

Not sure if Mumbai Indians learnt from their mistakes. They have Bravo and Surya as the opening pair. It should have been Surya and Tendulkar.

PC!!!

The brain behind throwing out IPL out of country lost the election.........Ahh bad luck. He was one of the best and the only best !!!

Miandad praises IPL

Javed speak

I crack up. I wonder what to say. For him everything Indian is joke including the country. For me he is a joker. Remember 1992 or 1982 when he almost beat Dennis Lilli. Two snaps above testify for it.

Javed bhai,

badi gustakhi se kehna pad raha hai ki aapke mulq ke cricketers aapse mel nahi khate. kuch afraz(d) modi se milke IPL me khelna chahte hai kyuki abhi IPL SA me khela jaa raha hai. Kya aap un par koi ban lagwane ki koshish karenge? Un afraz ke naam hai -- Akmal, Tanvir, Gul and sabke pyare Akhtar...

Waise bhai aapka bahut shukriya hume hasane ke liye aur muft manoranjan karne ke liye.

Wow.

That was in Hindi cos Javed is English challenged. It just said that many of his own countrymen cricketers dont concur with him on IPL. Few of them have gone ahead and decided to meet LM to seek options to play in IPL.

Keep them coming Javed, I enjoy your chauvinism just like I do for Desi version of yours (Mumbai version). The video versions of this are:

aND

Wishlist....

Veeru fires and smacks Appam out of the ground. Would love to see Appam Chut*** sledge Veeru and then the response Sehwag gives the overrated bowler. I guess in the past Appam had sledged Sehwag too and got the answer.

Appam is a adopted Punjabi, Sehwag is by birth Jat. So verbals would flow free and unbated. I also wish Sehwag goes out soon. Reverse superstition. You see. Did I mention somewhere that after Saurav and Sachin, Veeru is the man to watch hammering the bowlers. Absolute delight. Whatsoever duration. And the running between wickets is on.

Mahela Speak

"We have played good cricket"

"We have enough firepower to win all the games".

"Every game is crucial"

"We have backed our bowlers. These are good bowlers".

"She is being with the team. Its great to have support from the Zinta babes. Guys are happy right here."

Thats Blabba King for you. Captain or no captain, the jargons dont go away. Can somebody from Sri Lanka tell me if this lad has a MBA degree or he is a manager? Manager speak. Say high words, but dont deliver. Only difference bwteeen manager and Mahela is Mahela can score centuries, managers cannot.

I am wanting to have answers. Can somebody answer me for Mahela?

Mumbai custodian at it again

Another joker performance by the chokers and the lad gets mad on everybody who says mumbai choked. Yeah yeah he is angry that his Mumbai choked, but then he scoffin at everybody who sayin the same thing. Blame it on Warne, blame it on Smithie, blame it on Aleem Dar, blame it on Lalit Modi, but dont blame it on the choker gang of his city -- of which he is the sole custodian and protector from the evil eyes of other bloggers. And belittling other winning teams is a common trait. Ah man, i should not say this. My blog hits are going to go down cos he is an influential blogger around. Polarisation is going to harm me, not him. He might lobby people against me. Having a good life :)

On his blog, on my blog and on Leela's blog. I have no words for this except saying GOD bless him for his narrowed glucomic vision that doesnt make him see the other side of picture...And all for me and my lack of "sanity" and "vocablaryyyyyyyyyyy".

Blogging never got interesting than this stage and this age.

Mumbai Chokers.

Another close contest, another classic, the same result. Mumbai Indians choked. The South Africans of IPL in South Africa. 4 needed off 6 balls with 3 wkts. And who is the bowler down the other end? Warne? Kumble? Malinga? RP ? Heck who? Its Munaf Patel, the least likely to take 3 wkts in a over, although he did take just 1, but had 2 more runouts in his over with little role to play in them. He yorked Nayar man. Yorked. Amazing, reminded me of his heroics in Baroda game against England in 2006 which saw him earn a place in the national team. But then that was a fast Munaf, this one is a slow Munaf.(Edited later, thanks Q for pointing the factual error)

Mumbai Indians didnt deserve to win after the start they made and the game they made out of it when their captain got them in the limelight with another classic. Its been his bad luck that Tendulkar has been surrounded by mediocre players for most part of his career (leave out 2001-2009 India period), once he is out the entire team collapses.

If you look at the culprits of the game : Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yogesh Takle, Rahane, barring Tak(aw)le all are part of Mumbai Ranji team and they are choker gang. Much to the disgrace of the past tradition of this Ranji team. Fuck you guys. Disgrace!!

And it was another Sachin vs Warne moment. What a shame that Tendulkar for first time had to end up on losing side whenever he had better of Warne in the past. All credit to the so called Mumbai's youth brigade. Cheap and waste!!

I am pissed to see Sachin's team losing, but in a way happy that such a team doesnt deserve to win the trophy when we have worthier teams than this choking team sans Tendulkar. He must be mad at his "young lads". This team is now famous to loose close encounters -- look at the results over 2 seasons and you would confirm me.

RCB hold breath to win making tourney wide open!!

Whadda match we had. IPL thrown open again. RCB to number 4. Batting collapses, but they kept their cool and finally Taylor heroics see them through. Whosoever wins the next game, would be 4th and RCB would be 5th. They would keep the top 4 on edge and so would the intensity of IPL remain strong.

In a match where batsmen seemed to be in a rush to run to dug out, the Bangalore batsmen kept their cool and Anil Kumble who led the team so well in the earlier part was a happy man. Peerless Kumble.

Heart goes to MS. Fielding just doesnt get better, though the catches dropping reduced, the ground fielding remained poor especially last ball when Balaji ran the opposite way of the ball.

MS was innovative, he didnt give up and he led from the front. And finally in 129 runs, 63 from Hayden were crucial. What a form he is being in. Superb player.

Can I get rid of Pommie Mbangwa? He speaks as if somebody is keeping a gun over his neck and saying "shoot the shit". Following people suck :

1) Fernando as ever
2) Danny Morrison
3) Pommie Mbangwa and to an extent
4) Robin Jackman

MS is candid as ever. India is superbly safe in his captaincy. No captain can be as candid as he is. Way to go dude.

Test cricket wont die so soon!!

Gayle's comments on Test cricket aint that serious enough to put the future of Test cricket in jeopardy. His comments are pretty insignificant to kick start a debate on the life of Test cricket. Much ado about nothing if you ask me. The Windies greats have gone off the tangent and so has the English media who now have got some canon fodder to write on. Ashes trumpet has been slow and almost non-existent given the way England have been playing all this days, so the Gayle comments have just given them the sound bytes to rant on.

When there are so intense battles like

India vs Australia

India vs Pakistan

Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh and

Australia vs South Africa

not forgetting the Ashes, how can the Test cricket die?

Test cricket isnt weak that it would die on some pretty stupid comments from an irresponsible West Indies skipper. When Test cricket survived Bodyline series, match fixing, ball tampering rows of past, then there is no reason why Test cricket wont survive T20 revolution.

IMHO Gayle's comments are pretty insignificant. We wont be saddened if Gayle retires prematurely from Test cricket, Not even a bit. Thats about it. I dont care much about him. Not at all.

Diwali, Dusshera, Sankranti gift in IPL!!

For those who dont understood Harsha Bhogle's comment on Oram's byes it meant a gift worth Diwali, Dusshera, Sankranti (Indian festivals) to RCB.

Thats some comment Harsha!!

Why didnt Viru open?

Why the fuck in the world didnt Viru Sehwag didnt open? Why why ? He is no middle order player. He likes the smell of new ball and smacks that hard. Missing the classic vintage Viru. Fire up mate. You due for one. 174 the target. Roy and Gilly the key. Go Delhi.

Steve Waugh for KKR ?

Fake IPL player suggests in his blog that next year Steve Waugh would be part of KKR either as player or a coach. Dont know if this is true.

"Talks are on with another former Aussie player with very close ties with our city even as I write this. It seems bringing him on board will help assuage public anger. Also, Sticky has backed the idea of bringing him on. Which also means that Lordie may have no role to play next yr given his own relations (or the lack of it) with the new Messiah being brought in."

Steve Waugh with Udayan. Thank God he has got no nick name as Pedophile Gilly or Sticky Ricky Ponting Something.

FIP is nothing more than sensationalism. He doesnt mention in his blog that if he got a game or not. That strengthens my hunch that the FIP is no body but Ghosh babu himself. Ki bolbo Ghosh bobu?

Delhi Daredevils

...prevail today over Deccans and maintain their top slot. Good thing about today is Viru is back. And he gotta be careful. He is more wanted in T20 WC than this tourney. I dont mind if he stays out of few more games. Is he gonna come # 4 like his mentor ?

MI should be home

easily with Tendulkar scoring a duck. 120 runs shouldnt be a huge task. A run a ball wud work. Let the team do it for the great man. I hate to see him losing. He is just too good to lose anything. Guys, do it for this man right in midst of you.

Plane Bias!!

I hate to say it on this space about any other fellow blogger, but then there has to be some sanity. Plane bias and cynicism should not work and never works. You got to owe it when it deserves. Give the credit when it deserves. A simple act of stupidity by a batsman ignorant of the rules of cricket and being run out by keeper is a natural process. Whats wrong in it? People saw the dismissal on TV and nobody complained except this one.

Everybody was of the view and the premise that the ball wasnt dead. The keeper was just appealing for a caught behind, batsman unaware of where the ball is ran for a run and was promptly run out / stumped. Ball wasnt dead. RR's hopes were dead albeit.

Batsman leaving his wicket under a misapprehension

An umpire shall intervene if satisfied that a batsman, not having been given out, has left his wicket under a misapprehension that he is out. The umpire intervening shall call and signal Dead ball to prevent any further action by the fielding side and shall recall the batsman."

Ball had just reached Gilly's hand and Carlesdine began running. Immediately Gilchrist stumps him or runs him out. Where is the element of doubt? Some biases never go. Hell what? Well and they say I am biased and lack analysis. Enough of it. You wish to come here, then do drop in. No forcing. Two individuals have different thinking, different thought patterns and analysis. If you dont agree with the other individual and then conclude he lacks the analysis is worst way to shy away from any discussion or arguments.

KKR !!

KKR are a disgrace now. Nothing works for them. As a batting team and fielding team. IF batting clicked, the bowling let them down. Ishant Sharma's form concerns me. He has been off color and thats bothering given the assignments ahead. KKR should seriously consider withdrawing from the IPL this season and not demoralize the players who also play for national teams. FIP is useless, he would make few more sensations and then fizz out.

IPL hots up

IPL is now at its glorious uncertain best. Win of RCB further complicates the equation. 4th spot is still an open spot to be grabbed. Here are few combinations:

1) RCB are 5th now. 10 points. 3 games to go. One against CSK, DC and DD. Tough games. But if they play the way they did and win at least 2 games ,they are in for serious challenge. Taylor is in form and so is Boucher. RCB would then end up with 14 points.

2) MI should win today's game. If they do they stay a point ahead of RCB and at par with RR. They go 4. They have good NRR. Positive. KXIP have never lost it against MI, but today they should, they are almost out of the reckoning. But if KXIP win they go 4 at 12.

3) RR would have tough times ahead after yesterday' sloss. Reports say Warne is injured and would miss the rest of the tourney. If thats true, then the RR is at the end of the road. Half their charisma and power to win comes from Warnie. Smith is good skipper but not as good as Warnie.

4) CSK and DD are sure shots for the semis. DC are almost there too. It would be very tough to beat them going forward.

The race for 4th spot is on.

I wish Tendulkar gets a duck today. A big 0. Superstition. Reverse way.

FIP gets a game. Messes it up

Fake IPL player gets a game today, comes at # 3 ahead of David Hussey, makes a mess of the rare chances, goes out for 7.

Now dude you got a game. Now shut your shit up and lay dormant sideways. You should be making high noises only when you perform.

Ajay Jadeja accuses KKR of racism

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4510767.cms

Ajay Jadeja, the notorious naughty "suspicious match fixer" has claimed that the Indians were mistreated by the KKR foreign staff. Also racist comments were passed on the Indian players. What stumps me is how come Ajay Jadeja knows this? Does that mean is Jadeja the fake IPL player or mind behind him?

Did Jadeja go to South Africa and find out the facts? Or did some player speak to him and inform Jadeja? But why Jadeja? In what capacity? This is ridiculous. I mean strange. For cheap sensation you would reap KKR's belaugered player's benefits?

Million dollar question is what is the source of Jadeja's information.

You read it first time on any blog here.

Rameez at it again!!

Ahhhhhhhh Rameez bhai, what are you upto.

Dwyane Smith hits a six and you dont say the word "DLF maximum". You say "What a six". I kept waiting and waiting that the DLF maximum would come up. But it didnt. Welcome change though. May be Lalit Modi and his sponsors would sue you Raza bhai.

Rohit Sharma Syndrome: Dump him

Rohit Sharma, my favorite whipping player. A "talented" Bombay player who is supposed to be next Tendulkar. Alright, let me get to the point. He is selected for T20 player and given his IPL heroics, he would be part of the playing XI also withstanding the fact he wont suffer a form loss.
His IPL record suggests following figures:

M 24
R 645
A 34

34 is the runs per game Rohit Sharma makes in IPL.

His Twenty 20 record reads following:

RG Sharma 2007-2009 39* 36 7 1004 101* 34.62 755 132.98 1 6 2 87 47

His ODI figures are well known.

Reproducing them:

ODIs 37 35 10 680 70* 27.20 939 72.41 0 4 51 5 16 0

27.20 is a 2+ rise in his previous average when i posted his record and asked for his removal. Well the rise is attributed to a 43* in NZ when he played cos Tendulkar was injured (abdomen).

Roy is bowled by Jadeja. RR seems favorite today.

Back to Sharma bhai.

In last year he has played 23 games made 384 runs @ 25.6 with 58 being the highest and only score above 50.

Contrast that to the IPL. He was successful in IPL - 1 and IPL - 2. But when it comes to play for India, he flops.

When he plays for India in T20I his record reads

107 runs in 8 games with 50* vs SA in Super Six as his highest. Besides that 57 runs in 7 games. Take out 30* against Pakistan in the final / league game of T20 world cup and his record then reads 27 in 6.

Not so good record for a man who is said to be talent powerhouse. If you got talent then you gotta find form and make runs in the INTERNATIONAL games. Not in the franchisee games.

His record proves that he is unfit to play for India. In England he made his debut against Scotland / SA in 2007 and scored a 50 in first game (if not wrong). Since then he has failed to deliver.

He should not be part of any game that India plays unless he goes back to the domestic fold and gets some first class runs under his belt. He and Raina rose almost same time to the Indian colors in 2008 tour to Australia when RD and SG were dumped on MS behest. Raina has gone pillar to post in strength. This lad fell prey to the usual distractors like fashion shows, ad shows and of course chicks.

We dont have DBV in selection panel anymore. So if this lad doesnt make up for his tardy numbers in T20 world cup, he wont find himself in the West Indies ODI series and the CT to follow next. There are plenty of replacements available. Mind you i say of 15 or 16 of the touring party. As long as Sachin is around in oDIs, this lad wont play unless somebody else looses form.

I rest my case. Compare his IPL figures to his India figures and you get the drift.

Rameez Raja 's Ranjeet moment of the day

Today Rameez Raja is playing the role of Ranjeet Fernando. You dont believe me or you think I am biased again? Then here is the proof :

When the 2nd wicket for DC fell, Roy came in and Rameez Raja welcomed him with the statement on air while commenting. " Andrew Symonds played a MATCH WINNING innings of 60 against KXIP on saturday".

Really? Lost the plot? I thought DC lost it to KXIP when Bret Lee won the game by hitting winning runs and getting Preity di pappiya and jhappiya. It happens mate. When you spend lot of time with Ranjit in the commentary box, you are due to pick some wrong habits. Never mind as long as this is just a slip of tounge. Would ja correct the statement mate?

Predictions for SUnday

Today's predictions:

BRC over Mumbai
Delhi over KKR.

Sachin to hit a 50 at least. Dravid a 40, Kumble to get a 2 or 3. DADA if he plays a big role from him as well.

Ahh dont bother, last line was a wishlist than a prediction.

And for those who doubt Rahul Dravid's ability in limited form of the game let me tell you he has got 10000 odd runs in 334 games at 40.05 runs per game, he holds record for fastest 50 by an Indian and he was the first finisher the country ever had in ODIs in Ganguly era.

Two more cents from Fake IPL player

IPL player speaks his mind yet again on a match day. He indicates DADA would be playing and opening the batting. He also says he is fumed with the "fixing of the game". That is the test matches being the original game and the timelines reduced from 5 days to 3.5 hour game.

" I want to ask you, why fix matches when you can fix the game? You take a 5-day game, make it into a day game, and then further shorten it to a 3.5 hour game. Throw in scantily dressed dancers, cleavage-showing anchors, beauty contests, dumb ass commentators with stupid jokes. And some seriously good competitive cricketers. And you have a magic potion that can hypnotise 200 Million people for 4 hours every day for more than a month. That 200 Million population has more money in their hands than any betting syndicate in the world. The game's about your time and your money. On the issue of fixed matches, having seen guys like Aila, Sheikh, Lordie, Priest, Deewar from fairly close quarters now, I can tell you that no amount of money can lure them to lose a match intentionally."

Priest -- ??

Sheikh is Warne

Deewar is Rahul

Lordie is Saurav

Aila is Sachin Tendulkar

Finally he gets some whiff of election process and speaks like a politician. Puts up a poll whether to disclose his identity or not. Elections can make a leader out of a player too. Too much of election diaspora poured out by TV this days.

In the end he puts up a word on the way IPL is being run.

One, many of you have questioned the ethicality of this blog, given that I am being paid by Dildo. I don't think so. Dildo's not paying me or anyone else. We are being paid by the 200 Million Indians who are following this tournament. Everybody who has put in money - the tournament organisers, TV channels, team owners etc. - sell rights and properties to brands and earn big profits. The brands, who have already paid millions, put in a few millions more and advertise on every inch they can lay their hands on. Eventually, all you guys who have spent 4-8 hours in front of your TV watching a little bit of cricket and a lot of advertisements go out to the market and purchase the colas, the mobile phones, the clothes, and the potato chips that you didn't really need. And that's how brands make their profit - from every rupee of your hard earned money that you spend on them. So, my friends, Dildo's not paying me. If there's anyone who's paying me, it's you. It's my duty to entertain you. And I am doing the best I can, with the limited talent I have at my disposal.

He is turning to a saint this days, i feel.

Not quite Imran's Pakistan : Imran the cricketer

Somebody said when Imran Khan retired, the soul of Pakistan cricket retired. Later on, the team was marred with ego fights, player scuffles, persona over team issues. Miandad got the license to stamp his authority which he couldnt do after Imran cos Wasim Akram became the captain and then a stupid game of chipping and chopping captains began.

Michael Jeh compares the series against Australia in desert with the teams of yore which Imran Khan led here.

Time for PCB to clean the house

Pic : Is he a new Vodafone ZooZoo? Oldest of them all ?

One more zoozoo act from Ijaz Butt when he sent a legal notice to ICC for stripping Pakistan of its world cup host. Worse, he feels India is behind this step. Yeah right. All ills in world cricket arise out of the BCCI's hut. Isnt it?

Given following facts

1) There are series of bomb blasts and attacks on Pakistan security setup from the millitants ensuring a civil war is on. So how security is going to be arranged for the touring cricketers ?

2) With the terrible events @ Liberty Chowk, where cricket lost its liberty from terrorism, will any country tour Pakistan in the future? And given the fact that no team would travel to Pakistan how would PCB stage the world cup?

3) Whats the final security level going to be delivered to the touring team ? Forget the promises of president level and all that.

4) Will PCB finally take one right step rather than going to the wrong directions?

5) Will any player feel safe to travel to the ground from hotel and back amidst the terror threat?

what all options of cricket in Pakistan are possible?

Nothing unless the PCB administration is dumped. What have they done since the SL team attack?

1) Tried to get Chris Broad banned as he made a eye witness account for the attack.

2) tried to blame India for the srilankan team attacks.

3) Pakistan players were banned from IPL.

4) When the world cup was stripped again India was blamed. The security situation in India was put to question by Miandad and Butt. IPL was blamed.

Not a single step out of this seems to be towards fusing the problem and finding a solution . Cynical steps, looking at India for all its problems and then hoping for support, blaming ICC for its ills and ignoring the problems plaguing its own setup and security setup in Pakistan has all thats being done by PCB.

I am not even saying Butt and Miandad are the biggest enemies for Pakistan cricket. Saying that gives me flak and ire. calling names? Me calling them names is irrelevant. But something relevant is to do a look-in into their own setup and set things right.

Until then Pakistan should forget expecting international cricket returning to its folds. Grow up guys.

Arm Ball 17th on cricket blips

I am right there at 17 at the cricket rankings right here.
JRod at top, Mumbai Homer at 2, Q at 3 and APU at 4.

Congs APU, you deserve to go right at the top. Go APU. But take me to the top as well :). My 17th rank is not bad given the fact that I lack analysis power (per few guys) and almost fail to understand the essence of the arguments (again per few guys)....

Good job dude. Go top!!!

Additional spin options for India

IPL has helped Indian team for the world T20 in the spin department. With Harbu in off mode, the onus lies on Pragyan Ojha who has bowled decently in the tourney so far. Add Viru, Yuvraj the traditional part timers to the ring. And the find of IPL -- Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma (he would certainly play) as spinners. No matter Sharma calls himself now an allrounder after a hatt trick against Mumbai Indians, his bowling skills would be helpful in England. Not to forget Yusuf Pathan.

Ishant Sharma would be a unsure starter in the XI. The fast bowling would be in the hands of Zaheer, RP and Irfan the alrounder. Batting order would be : Veeru, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Sharma, Y Pathan, I Pathan, Harbhajan, Zaheer, RP.

Looks a world beating team already. Gee.

Whadda player!!

Roy, you beauty..

My predictions

Deccan chargers in the 1st game.....

Chennai Super Kings in 2nd game..

Roy is back. And so is Appam. Would be a keen contest. I m sure Roy would hit Appam to even more sixes than what Haydos did

Much ado about nothing!!

Whats wrong if Shane Warne gulped a sip or 2 of the beer in the mid game. Whats so hue and cry about it? Get over the jingoist mentality Indian media :)

Chak De Phatte

Oye Chak De Phatte
Dilli De Patthe :)

Rowdy'ism deflated. Right place pointed and in what a way. Feels orgasmic deliciouly heavenlicious!!!

Khud ko hilwa denge : Mumbai Indians.

With Sachin gone to a freak dismissal, the proudy rowdy Mumbai Indians are down to dumps. Easy woozy doozy walk in the park style win for Delhi Daredevils beckons.

Go Delhi. Top of the table.

Whosoever suggested Ronchi and Duminy to open the innings. I doubt Nayars or Rahanes have that ability to bail the Bambai Indians out of the trouble. Blowing trumpets on a team which has no talent except 4 top international pros and no application is like making an ass of yourself.

Its being showed where Mumbai Indians belong who they are and how they are. Barring skipper, nobody else seems keen to apply themselves. Be it Rahane, Raje, Shahane, Raje or Baje...

4/33 says it all. Chokers, not even them. For choke they need to be in a winnign situation. This lads aint willing to put in efforts to stay and make a game out of it. Most of the local lads of the MI team play fr Mumbai Ranji team. IF this is the talent, then beware of them playing for India. That would be doom for India. Pity that such a team won the Ranji trophy. Contrast this team to the teams of yore which had greats like Sunny Gavaskar, DBV, Ashok Mankad in their ranks and defeating them in the Ranji was like beating Australia in their prime.

The current team is pale shadow of those great teams of the past. If you have the might and the strength in the team, shout and scream. If you dont, get off and sit silent in the corner. If you scream just cos its "MUMBAI" and there is no talent/might in the team, then you make an ass of yourself.

What a pity that the IPL teams of 2 of India's greatest ODI batsmen have been knocked out of the IPL not for their own mistakes but the ridiculous team selections and dearth of the talent. Royals of Rajasthan too doesnt have talent as Mumbai, but those lads are ready to apply themselves, attend to the call of their captain and perform. They have turned the table around after a disappointing start to second season. Unfortunately for mumbai, the lads didnt heed to the captain's call and his inspiration. What more you need than the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room. If the likes of Raina, Sharma, Y Pathan and Yuvraj Singh get inspired from Tendulkar in team's presence, then why the heck this local lads from Mumbai dont get that inspiration from the man.

Rant on Mumbai fans.

Fake IPL player suggests Ganguly rest plan

Dont be surprised to see if Saurav Ganguly is being rested / dropped from the remainder of the KKR games. Fake IPL player suggests the same thing in his latest post on the blog. He also says that there was a confrence call between Buchanan, Shahrukh Khan and the CEO. Dont know how true this is, it would need to be seen in the upcoming games.

The only way to end this farce for Ganguly is to back out and return to India. Right now, right then.

Owe it when it deserves!!

English and Windies coaches have gone on record saying how absence of players playing IPL hampred their preparations to the 1st test in Lords. But what will they got to say that the best performance from both sides came from players who had set the ball on fire in IPL as well. Fidel Edwards for West Indies (Deccan Chargers) and Ravindra Bopara for England (Kings Punjab) were the players in contention..

If you guys attribute failure to IPL, please attribute the success of the players to IPL as well.