West Indies vs South Africa

West Indies and South Africa played out the first game in Northern India of the world cup and it was being played in the capital city of India and the home ground of Delhi trio -- Sehwag, Gambhir and Kohli. The same ground which had itself banned from hosting international games in Dec 2009 hosted a match today and did so well. The Ferozshah Kotla, the ground which has its own legacy and has 2 record milestones achieved on this ground : Kumble's 10 and Sachin's 35th Test 100 in 1999 and 2005 respectively.

Back to this match, the Windies started off well to race to 1/114 and then losing wickets in "clusters" as Darren Sammy later said and Nasser Hussein said on the air.  Barring Darren Bravo's 73 and his brother's 40 none could go onto make a big score as AB did later and that was the difference between 222 and 272.  The likes of Gayle, Sarwan and Chandu failed and there went the Windies chance to stamp the authority over the Saffers.

The Windies were also done in by debutant spinner Imran Tahir's 4/41 figures in his debut game. He bowled with subtle control and variation, turned the ball square and along side Johan Botha controlled the Windies run making spree. South Africa are taking the spin bowling a bit too seriously when they opened the bowling with Botha and played 3 spinners.

223 was not going to be a score that would have scared SA, but they did for a while when they lost Amla and Kallis early with just 20 on the board, WI sensed some victory but AB jolted them with a fine 100. He knows the ground in and out as he has played 2 IPLs here for Delhi Daredevils in 2008 and 2010.  Smith was scratchy given he was ill and Duminy played a perfect partner to the 4th wicket partnership that saw SA home.

SA remain 2nd on the group behind India on NRR and they now wait another week to play their next game against Netherlands.

Positives for SA :

• Spin bowling especially Johan Botha opening
• Imran Tahir's promising debut
• Dale Steyn's late overs burst
• AB Devilliers form

Positivies for WI :

• Darren Bravo's batting
• Suleiman Benn opening the attack and getting the turn
• Kemar Roach

Besides they have a man called Chandu Paul in their team who doesnt make runs when needed, doesnt pace his innings, yet finds himself in top 10 of every ICC ranking. Weird!!!

Team Preview : South Africa

In the ongoing series of team preview, this is the turn of South Africa today. South Africa, the perennial chokers and unlucky ones in the World Cup and similar tournaments. They threaten to walk away with the title every time they begin their campaign, but they fizz out when it matters or as they say they peak out too soon.  This time its going to be no different. The preview of the things to come was very much visible when they lost 2 games to India from winning positions and the fact that they have not won any ODI series convincingly against strong teams since Australia 2009.

Current Form

They started 2009 with a bang by defeating Australia 4-1 away and 3-2 home after losing the test series. They won against Zimbabwe and West Indies in this duration 5-0 and 5-0 and that inflates their winning score of 26-13. Take this 10 wins and that reads 16-13.  They lost in the CT in their own backyard and lost to England 1-2 followed by a 1-2 defeat in India in 2010.

After that they won against India and Pakistan 3-2 but not before stuttering and fumbling till the final game of the series.

World Cup record

1992 : Semi final exit owing to the disastrous rain rule which left them to chase 21 off 1 ball when the rain stuck.

1996 : Quarter final exit to a master class from Brian Lara after having won all 5 league games convincingly. First signs of choking.

1999: Semi final exit thanks to the epic defeats to Australia in Super 6 and then the tied semi - final. Thanks to the master class from Lance Clusener, they came close witin a run to go the finals, but Donald panicked and the rest is history, Herchelle Gibbs dropped that sitter from Steve Waugh in the super 6 clash and since then SA lost its steam in the world cups till date.

2003 : Again choked in the must win game against Sri Lanka. Mark Boucher wrongly interpreted the D/L rule and when they needed 1 run to go through the next round, he defended the last ball only to find that they are out of the world cup. Earlier, they had lost to NZ in a high scoring game and the tied game with Lanka meant they crashed out in the first round itself in their own world cup. Shaun Pollock lost his captaincy and Graeme Smith, 22  was elevated to the captaincy which he shall quit post 2011 world cup.

2007 : Peaked too early and when it mattered lost to Australia in the semi-final by bundling out to a sub 150 score. They scored big in the league and the super 8 stage, but when it mattered they choked and exited in the semis.

Team

Smith, Amla, Kallis, AB Devilliers, Duminy, Faf Du, Ingram, Morne Van Vyk, Steyn, Morkel Morne, Tahir, Tsotsobe, Parnell, Botha, Robbie Pieterson

Opening:

Smith and Amla form a terrific opening partnership given the form Amla is in over last couple of years. This pair ranks one of the best opening pairs in the world cup after the most prolific pair of Tendulkar - Sehwag.

Middle Order:

With Kallis not around in the ODI series against India in SA, the middle order looked shaky, brittle and the tail was a bit long. Kallis would do well to regain his # spot and also play up as a bowler who could bowl close to his quota of overs.  AB and Duminy would be dangerous at 4 and 5 with 2 of Ingram, Morne Van Vyk and Faf Du occupying 6 and 7. Faf Du impressed in the only game he played before the squad was announced. AB has been in prolific ODI form over last few seasons, so the team would look forth for some runs in the tournament which matters the most.

Bowling:

SA has got the best bowler of the world in Tests in their ranks, but he has not played that many games to qualify as threatening in the ODIs as well. But given any day he can still extract the pace out of placid flat tracks, he would be dangerous.  Morne Morkel is the support cast to the hero Dale Steyn and the conditions in the subcontinent would be as such that one of Parnell and Tsotsobe would play at most of the times. ALso its possible that neither could play as Kallis can be the 3rd seamer and the next 2 bowling spots would be occupied by the spinners.

Tahir, Pietersen and Botha are the spinners in the team. Tahir is unknown commodity and the other 2 are at their best, restrictive bowlers. Neither of them would be expected to play an attacking spinner role. Smith and Duminy would roll over their arms when and if required.

Expectations:

On paper, SA look balanced team and Ponting has classified SA as one of the team to look for, but in the given reality South Africa could do well only if they gave up choking and raised their game when required.

A quarter final entry looks easy but after that its going to be how they play on the given day.

Match days:

 2/24 vs WI, 

 3/3 vs Netherlands at Mohali (SA fast bowlers would love this), 

 3/6 vs England, 

 3/12 vs India (Nagpur, Dale Steyn would have fond memories of this ground), 

 3/15 vs Ireland

 and 3/19 vs BD (SA would look for revenge against BD as would India)

THings around Durban Win

The Durban Test is conquered and the daemons of 14 years have been buried. And this was done on "one of the greenest ever tracks" we played on. This test was won by a team whose bowlers had a ? on "ability to take 20 wickets".  14 years back, the Donald and Pollock company had buried India for 100 and 66 and that was the worst display by the team ever since I started watching cricket.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman were part of that team.

But this team is different. This team is the top ranked team of the world and if there were any questions on the rank, they must be buried now. India bounced back in style on a green track on which Smith and co "have grew up on", yet they have lost last 3 tests in 3 years on Kingsmead.

The likes of Robin Jackman, Shaun Pollock and others were shut up hard when they saw how Zaheer and Harbhajan rolled Saffers for 131 in first innings on a "not so 131 looking pitch".

Shameful isnt it.

Losing in one's own backyard in conditions suiting the home team is a shame.

India has downplayed every achievement it has in past few years abroad. They have now won every where. And given the current form and situations, they should easily win in West Indies and Australia. A good contest would be in offing against England who are pipped for # 1.

England have not won a series against India home and away in 14 years. And so has South Africa in 4 years.

Zaheer, Laxman, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Pujara and of course Ishant Sharma wrote the script for the victory. Presence of Zaheer Khan showed how much he is valuable to the Indian team. The attack looks potent from average and insipid. Only if Ishant Sharma could discover the form and passion of Australia 08 India's new ball attack would be better than it is right now.

Kallis jumping to form a reverse C would be the marquee vintage image of this series and for years to come. How could he not play short ball? He has grew up in such conditions. And so did Graeme Smith. He got out to a miscued pull off a short ball of short tempered Freesanth.  Only after pointing a bat to him after there was a personal thing between him and Freesanth.

I wont complaint. The situations leading to Cape Town test are similar to 2007 when India lost out on the day 3 and day 4 when Lord Harris strangulated Sachin and Dravid and after a Kallisque effort, SA won by 6 wkts. That was a Jaffer test and a Ganguly series. Coud not believe that Sehwag batted at 7 and BossDK batted at 2.

India had won at Joburg, lost at Durban then. This time lost in Centurion, won in Durban.

If Capetown is won, then this would be the best test series win of the decade. In a land which has tormented the cricket for last 17 years and has made mortals of greats. A 2-1 India would be a fitting result.

Response to Graeme Smith 's questioning India's # 1 status

Ok this reading compels me to write a post.

India are top team in the Tests in the world for more than a year now. And this has not come down to India just cos of the mathematical formulae that go beyond calculating the ICC rankings and all. The results home and away reflect the consistency India has had over past 3 years starting England 2007 or perhaps before than that.  India reached # 1 ranking last year and has hung to it for 1 year and counting now. Its not like South Africa who reached # 1 in both formats of the game and slipped no later than they reached.  

There have been verbal volleys from the coach and the captain of SA how India have to win to prove their # 1 ranking. What if India wins? What if SA lose yet again to take 20 wickets? They failed to take 20 wickets in consecutive tests against weaker Pakistan which had no Yusuf in their ranks. They have not won a Test series at home beyond last 2 series. They drew against England and lost to Australia just after they won in Australia.

Same Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel failed to shut out the Pakistani batsmen in Sheikhland, who had been bruised and hurt by England in England and in Australia before.

"We've been touching the No. 1 and 2 spot for the past two-and-a-half-years and we've played some good cricket around the world. We pride ourselves on big series like this one". Smith says. But they have not clung on to that spot. They are not even 1, 2 or 3 in ODIs.

Their batters have been getting big runs every where but they have choked when it came to hitting the nail hard to win a series. They won in Nagpur in India but lost in Kolkata. So if they are tough nuts why did they lose out in India 2 times after winning first test every time. Why did they fail to dismiss Pakistan 2 times in 2 tests in last series they played?

Last year they drew against England but 2 times out of 3 in first 3 tests they were in winning positions but failed out to take last English wicket to win 3-1. So who is tough and who deserves a # 1?

India or South Africa?

India have consistently won test matches in absence of first choice bowlers most part of the times. They've found out somebody in the bwoling department who stands out and delivers.

In batting they have made 400 runs in 7 consecutive games and passed 300 in one of every 25 Tests they have played in since 2008. They have not lost a series in last 2 and half years.

South Africa have not won a Test series in their own backyard in 2 years, their own conditions pacy and bouncy aiding their fast bowlers, they still failed to take 20 wickets every Test they played. Their batsmen plundered runs, but their bowlers lacked the firepower to take 20 wickets consistently.

On the other hand India -- having a so called "world class bowling attack" have taken 20 wickets in alien conditions and in supporting conditions. They won in SL, when SA were blanked 0-3. They won in NZ. India saved test matches, won test matches, chased targets in 4th innings, won convincingly, made huge scores in first or second innings of a test giving enough time to their depleted bowlers to take 20 wickets.

If Sehwag does not do it, then Dravid does, if not Dravid then Laxman. Sachin always performs.

And whats this hype about the dislike for short balls? Who fails against them? Sachin? Dravid? Laxman? Sehwag?  If its just 2 batsmen -- Gambhir and Raina who are prone to short balls, then why label the entire team as succeptible to the short stuff. Try short stuff against Sehwag. Once or twice you might succeed, but be ready to face the music then. Remember 319? Remember this year's Kolkata test?

Does South Africa invite that awe which Australia had? They've never won in SL, India. They last won in India 10 years back and since then they have lost 1 and drew 2. They were blanked 0-3 in dead pitches of SL 4 years back.

Australia consistently whitewashed them this decade home and away until 2008 when they won 2-1 but lost the home series 1-2. They won in England but drew in home. They failed to shut out Pakistan who are at their weakest in terms of batting in their history.

It'd be better if Smith has a look at the side he's got and then do a pot shot to India. India has experienced customers who are too good to fall in this verbal childish trap of so called mind games. Focus on the play in the middle dude and not on the verbal volleys.

Coach captain fiasco in Saffa

One more coach has walked the fire of getting axed with relations being damaged beyond repair with the captain.

Mickey Arthur has supposedly resigned as Saffa coach due to strain with Graeme Smith after the series draw with England.

Another coach crucified due to the ego clash after Peter Moores and Kevin Pieterson.

And Mahek for you : if you dont like any post, why personal mud slinging. Attack the post, not the poster. One saintly advice for  you (not sure you are guy or a gal).  Else the best advice for you is do not drop by. But do not abuse please. 

England vs SA : Preview

England and  South Africa are heading for another tussle which would see a lot of needle from the crowd and the Saffa players.

Thanks to the half the number of players in  England team from Saffa land. Most prominent among them to be Strauss, Trott and Kevin Pieterson.

Graeme Smith has already predicted that crowd would rally against KP owing to later's outburst against quota system in SA cricket.

Given the backdrop and given the lovey dovey relations Smith, Strauss enjoy and Smith, KP enjoy, this series could be acrimonious as India - Australia 2008. Actually that would be good for Test cricket.

Need crowd to rally behind some players and get the atmosphere vibrant.

English are the favorites for the series win as they come post an Ashes win. Saffers havent played Test cricket in 9 months and a lot of their players havent played first class either. They have been jerks in the ODIs they played so far. So England would be favorites to go in the series starting 12/16.

Players to watch for :

England :

1. KP
2. Strauss
3. Trott
   
4. Swann   : can he spin in fast conditions ?

South Africa

1. Graeme Smith : Best test player and the man to lead. How he plays in 4th innings would be a big factor when Saffa chase. He has been the best in the 4th innings in last few years.
2. Ntini : Only the 7th fast bowler to play 100 Tests and 3rd Saffer fast bowler. How he plays would be a big factor cos he hasnt been that effective off late.
3. AB  : Bloggers' favorite and supposedly the "cutest" one. 

My prediction : England to win with a selfish motive that if Saffa win India dont remain on top.  

Man of the hour

Man of the hour :

Let me tell you who is not.

No Samarweera or Bug bear...

No Mendis who was huge last year this tem.

No Younis Khan or Boom Boom womanizer.

No Fab Four group member. No Indian either.

Its somebody unfamiliar. Somebody who won the Ashes yet wasnt given the credit. Who was disgraced by every blogger all over the world.

I bet my 10 cents on his team and his team is in the semi finals.

He is Andrew Strauss.

One day he recalls a loser when he was out.

Second day he denies a real hero a runner when he needed the most.

Graeme Smith is second. Angelo Matthews is first.

I would beat the heat out of Strauss for denying Smith a runner.

Smith is a real hero. Forgot his heroics in Sydney last innings ? Out with bat in a broken hand ? Time and again he has been the lone ranger in his team's wins and defeats.

So the man of the moment is Gream C Smith. Poorna wont like it. But she has to. Real heroes are liked by everybody.

And I noticed my blog isnt so popular in Sri Lanka. I have noticed in google that they say something about me in their local language.

What do i say ? Something which Dancing baby adores :

'Naan oru thadava sonna nooru thadava sonna mathiri" Sri Lanka s a boring team to watch and so is their cricket in the backyard where no body cheers on boundaries but just a boring band keeps playing....

Raj and Prabhu can decode wot i wrote in the quotes above. Rajanikanth dialouge which says If i say it once, its like saying it 100 times. Lol. That I think would be my punch line of the blog.

Btw, the man of the hour is Graeme Smith for his heroics yet again.

Dhakkan vs Dhakkan

Dhakkan gets a Dhakkan. RP gets his IPL team mate Gibbsie. Time for Zaks to get his bunny Smithie :)

World T20 thus far.

I was away from the world of cricket and internet travelling to a distant land. So missed the LIVE action of World T20. However, the excitement is just about unfolding with the 7 games being over and results being a mixed bag. 4 teams have almost made it to the Super 8 stage and 2 would be decided almost today. Not an open format though, the IPL was more closer than this when the final 4 were decided in the last league game. The minnows have had it, the stronger teams have been punched hard on their face, the world champs have began emphatically and the runners up are in the dangers of being knocked out in the first round itself.

The world t20 began with a very exciting result when Netherlands beat England by 4/6 wkts in the tourney opener. English media was quick to rub the loss as the worst ever and blackest day in the history of 195 years of Lord’s. Too quick though, when in their next do – or – die league game, England thumped Pakistan by 48 runs, which is a big margin in T20. This result means England are through to the super 8s. And today Pakistan would need to win big against Netherlands. So that’s two fold a task. Win and win big.

SA and NZ had no difficulty in brushing aside Scotland who began well surprisingly in the rain shortened game on Saturday. This 2 sides are through to the next round and the winner of the tie between this 2 teams would decide the groups, the teams go in. SA have looked the most convincing team in the tournament thus far, though they played against a weak side. That has been the SA story. Start well, win all the games and then choke when it matters the most. Hope that this time, Graeme Smith would have different script for his team.

India beat Bangladesh convincingly by 25 runs though the critics would have their share of Dhoni bashing when he struggled to hit the ball. Ojha looked strong and Bhajan deceived. Zaheer was rusty. The way India played as a team sounds warning to the other teams in Super 8 stage that it would be very tough to beat this team. The only matter of concern is when Sehwag returns, who goes out?

Australia have suffered a great deal with the loss of Roy and perhaps they should have thought if sending back Roy was a wise move or it was an battle of egos between Roy and Pups. They face a do or die situation tonight and if they lose, they would be out for the first time in 17 years in the first round itself in any ICC tournament. (1992 World cup being the last). Ponting and Watson disappointed in the batting, Lee was treated like a school kid by Gayle during his 50 ball 88. Australia still might get through the Super 8 stage given they play SL who have been lackluster in the run up to the tournament. Australia have very little time in their hands to turn around the things. If SL lose, they still have a game to go against WI to make up for the loss.

One word on Pakistan. You cannot expect a team which has not won a single game in the tour to scamper through and go to the finals. Be it for cricketing reason or be it the emotional reasons. Pakistan have been simply rubbish over the tour. They have had no plans, they have had no will to play through. Emotional outbursts over Lahore wont always buy them a cover for their shabby performance. If they have to show their might, they have to show in the cricketing paradigms. “I have no idea why our fielders are unable to field properly. Maybe they are under certain pressure. It is not as if we are not working hard but we are not just getting it right for reasons unknown to me.” This kind of answers are lamentable. And then this one “"Even if Butt scored 28 as an opener we'll have to think about him [for the next game] because of his fielding,". Public outcry no no. He has demotivated the opener. And then this one “Kamran Akmal is a senior batsman but he can't somehow take the responsibility. We need a senior guy in the top order who can play the anchor role”. Rustiness and lack of cricket won’t be an excuse to cover their below par performances for long. Another loss and the entire Pakistan team could be renewed including the ouster of selection committee and the PCB management. That’s how it’s always been across the border. For me they were never the side who looked good to go to semis. Why doesn’t Younis Khan go up the order at 3 and anchor the innings. # 5 is bit too low for this man, who is unfortunately the best batsman of the team. Will he take the leads ?

I fancy Ireland beat Bangladesh and Australia beat Sri Lanka.

Captains speak

Captains speak. Here is what the captains of prominent teams got to speak on their chances on the World T20 trophy :

Paul Collingwood, England:

We've got to be brave to win a tournament like this," Collingwood told reporters at Lord's. "We have to have the belief that we can win as a team, but we also have to have belief in our own ability in the middle. Twenty20 cricket is not an exact science, so you have to think on your feet in the middle. Sometimes it only takes one person, and we've got a lot of match winners, so I really do believe we can surprise a few people. I'm not going to say we are going to win it, but we have to believe we can win it." A lot of our momentum comes from results, because when you're winning things are very easy," Playing at home could be an added pressure but we're not taking it like that," said Collingwood. "We've got an advantage in many ways, we know what the wickets are all about here, and we're very excited about playing in front of our own crowds. No England cricket team has won an ICC tournament before so we have a three-week period here for us as a team to hopefully put that right."

My verdict: Long hopes to win the ICC T20 tourney, but that won’t come with half an eye on Ashes and one fourth of the other on T20. I fail to understand the obsession of England with Ashes time and again. They don’t win it too often. They used to win 2 odd tests in an Ashes series in 90s, in 2000s except for 2005, they have never won 2 tests in a single Ashes series and yet they speak so high. Even today they speak of momentum and results after beating a reluctant West Indies in home in 2 Tests and 2 ODIs. Not to forget that the same team had failed to win a single test in tour to West Indies.

Happy to make it to the Super Eights as second team from the group. They have Holland and Pakistan in their group, good for their tendency to self destruct.

Younis Khan, Pakistan

It is special to be back on the world stage. Especially in Twenty20s, and especially in England. We are suffering from not playing regularly, and no-one is coming to Pakistan, but all the time in the last few months I have been talking to the boys, and telling them to do well [in this tournament]. There are a lot of media here, and [if we succeed] we'll be well on our way to our mission, so to speak. It's very important for us. If you don't play regularly, you don't have that match fitness. But the beauty of international cricket is that it is changing all the time in different conditions, so we feel fresh and will do well in England, ins’hallah. That's the main reason I'm happy to be in England. Our fans are fantastic back home, they are lovers of T20, and now it's dependent on us to prove ourselves. If we play good cricket it will be good for our nation. These days the whole nation is depressed, and only cricket [can lift it]. If we play good and win something, they will cheer. To finish in the top four, my nation will come again and start cheering. But it was fantastic to be a part of that team in the final. Some guys were crying at the end, but in T20 everything can change. My confidence is that I'll take this trophy to Pakistan, but if the plan works ins'hallah it'll be an achievement for us to finish in the top four.

Yeah, nobody wants to play in Pakistan. But citing that so many times to provide a root cause for the team to play for is weak. It’s just a big tournament and doesn’t matter where the Pak team is coming from. Fans, home, England, situations, prove, play well, all are jargons. Nothing matters when you step on to the field mate. It’s just the bat, ball and mind games that matter in the rub of the green. No emotions, no distraction. Emotional reasons would never help Pakistan win the tournament. Fans back home and across world would anyway cheer for Pakistan for their reputation and not for what happens to them in the tournament. Does Younis want to say that his fans won’t cheer his team in league games and Super 8s ? (Line in red). Downgrading the chances. From being a finalist to a somehow semi-finalist this year in order to cheer up the fans.

My verdict : Not sure how would they perform. Too many distractions for the lads. Rants of JM, IB and coming home of ICL rebels might affect the motivation of lesser and debutants players who have replaced Rana, Razzaq and MoYo. As a result the performance couldn’t be up to the expected levels. Yet they are Pakistan. Can do anything on their day. Score 300 in a game or get dismissed for 30. Watch out their games with a pinch of salt.

Md Asharful, Bangladesh

In this form of the game any side can beat the other," Asharful told reporters at Lord's. "We defeated the West Indies in the last World T20 in South Africa and progressed to the Super Eight. Our main goal is to repeat that and if we beat India, who are the world champions, in the first match then we will fancy our chances of doing well against the top sides and making the semi-finals even. We have come here one week early, had three games against New Zealand, Holland and Scotland and the boys have done well," he said. "We are confident and there are two tough games against Australia tomorrow and Sri Lanka the day after. So that's a nice build-up to the main tournament. It was only in the last over that MM did badly. Otherwise I thought he was okay. But I know he'll be back. He is that type of a player. He always does well against India”

My verdict: Play out 20 overs in batting first mate and then hope to beat India. It’s not every day an Indian team has a 16 March 2007 as its match day. So just relax and look out to play for 20 full overs of batting and bowling. Once you do that, we would look to what you want to say. A semi-final berth looks a ginger for monkey like dream. So mate, dream on.

Graeme Smith, South Africa

It would be lovely if we could be successful in this tournament or any ICC tournament that is coming up, "We have had an incredible period in the last 16 months and the team has achieved so much. The confidence is good and we are excited about playing this tournament with the chance to go out and express ourselves. I think there is a lot more talent, flair and confidence among this team than ever before. It would be lovely if we could be successful in this tournament or any ICC tournament that is coming up,". "We have had an incredible period in the last 16 months and the team has achieved so much. The confidence is good and we are excited about playing this tournament with the chance to go out and express ourselves. I think there is a lot more talent, flair and confidence among this team than ever before.

My verdict: Choking is one issue Saffers have infamously carried on from ICC tournaments across years. 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups and 2007 World T20 are prime examples. That’s something which would always lower Saffers reputation as world beaters. They have had an incredible success in Tests and Odis over last 2 years, but their failure to win a World Cup rankles and perhaps this is a chance they can do it. But the form of captain would be a worry which also led to the loss of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

Next stage: Australia, India, New Zealand captains.

Royals score a royal victory

Whoa, whata win. Royals are truly back and how. Highest score of the tourney. And who scored the max. Smithie and naman Ojha. Yipee. He is my hometown guy. He has come big. Way to go Ojha bhiya :). the city would be happier tomorrow. Celebrations have begun back home and the media frenzy would be soon reaching ur place......

5 sixes. The opening partnership was the key and boy they scored the max in the tourney. Smith fired the way we know him. And then jadeja celebrated the inclusion in the team with a 12 ball 33. For KXP nobody except Yuvraj fired and thats where the team lost. No biggie from SL fired, no Katto, nobody fired.

Warnie continued his magic. And who is A Singh. 3 for 9 in 4. Awesome!! Royals go to # 2 with this win and the IPL looks like last year with last year finalists occupying top 2 spots. However if DD win their game against disgraceful KKR, they go on the top with 10 points in 7 games. No Veeru and Vettos today.

Biggest Losers: Current week.

Presenting the topmost losers from the cricketing world on and off the field, something for whom we would have little sympathies. Here I go:

5. Ricky Ponting: had a poor series in South Africa with no big runs coming out of his bat. A bowler scored a Test 100 and a 96, whereas the outspoken captain couldnt even cross 83 after the Wanderers Test.

4. Graeme Smith: Brought back to the earth after a high 2008. Suffered broken hand 2 times, suffered loss of form, lost the games he captained and now he returns to the ODI team injured. Unfortunately his dream of playing ruthless cricket against Aussies failed. His team choked once again when it came to hit the final nail in the coffin for the Aussies to dislodge them from the #1 rankings.

3. PCB : At best a sissy crying baby. Putting more energies in getting the match referees and the umpires banned who spoke of the lax security in Lahore. Almost looks like a beggar now who is going around the world asking the teams to play in Pakistan and then perhaps get attacked....Ijaz Butt being the loose talker.

2. Steve Bucknower: His umpiring howlers against India are well known. Gave a parting shot that BCCI used money power to remove him from the Perth Test, 2008. That could have been as insane statement as his decisions against the Indian batsmen. No wonder he got a blob in the post series assesment in 2003 from the Indian skipper in the Australian series.

1. Joint winners: John Dyson and PC. John Dyson for his horrendous miscalculation which handed England first win of the winter / summer and created a mockery of himself. PC, the minister who kicked the IPL out of the country for his inability to provide the "security" to the glitz of IPL.

Aussies prevail.

Australia had it. The ranking was preserved. Not that it mattered to its fans. But it did to its critics. And yes critics were floored again as were the Saffers. Saffers just don’t have in it them to maintain a consistent run to beat the top notch teams. Win against Aussies in 2 games and then falling flat 3 times in row. That just sparked Aussies. And perhaps that means the end of road for the likes of Roy and Shane Watson for now. The likes of Hughes, North, Siddle and McDonald have provided a spark to the team which was lacking in India and the home season. They are the future stars of the Australian cricket and would have a long Test careers ahead of them. The stars of the Aussie triumph – JPD, Steyn, Amla, Morkel and Smith, all faded out. Kallis was never a match winner. He never had that fear imbibing quality in opposition team in him.

Australia had rookies, Saffers had so called best attack in the world, which just chickened out in its own home yard. Johannesburg is now the Perth for Saffers. 2 consecutive Test losses for them on the ground. There is one more test to go and doesn’t matter if Australia lose. They showed it to the world that they rule the world and it was also displayed huge words the only team that can take them on is India. India and South Africa won series against them this season. But then Saffers have lost 3 tests, winning 2. India has won 2 and lost none. They have now won 3 in last 5 tests and drew 2. That proves once more the worthy contenders for Test top spot is India. And there is no qualms in that. Rankings doesn’t matter here. Win or lose, India would always remain the best bet to beat Aussies now.

Ponting ’s real test would start now in his ability to lead the team through the transition. It won’t be possible for them to win every Test they play as they did before, but if they could even achieve 60% of their earlier success, they would be happy to enter the transition phase.

Bryan Coverdale puts this perspective very gently here

Whatta Test match

Australia bowled out for 352 from 4/303. In reply Saffers realing at 4/6. Smith retired hurt, virtually that’s 4. That’s superb Test cricket by Australia. Who said they would be losers.

Australia has upper hand

Australia lost a bit of their intensity this morning with madness setting in their camp. Much of that credit to Kallis the bowler and the fielder. 75 runs in to the first session and 8 wkts lost. Thanks to Haddin and Hughes, they still sit 420 runs ahead than Saffers. Yet they won’t feel secure given the ease with which Saffers chased down 415 in Perth. Amazing is the history. It gives jitters not to the team but to the supporters. SA would bat in the 4^th innings and Graeme Smith is the undisputed king of 4^th innings 100s. So he would still like to back himself up for the heroic innings. Few more runs from the last pair on the wicket would be a bonus and would mean more pressure on the Saffers. They would have max 4.5 – 5 sessions to save / win / lose the game. Not long back India defeated them in Jo’burg by 278 runs, now its turn of Aussies to beat them and go 1-0 up.

Aussies were touted to be the underdogs and weaker links amidst the 2 teams. Though their batting worries haven’t been resolved, the bowling attack gives them a hope. Lee and Clark would be back by Ashes. And till then if Siddle and Hilfenhaus make steady progress, the Aussies would look good for another Ashes triumph. Mitch Johnson is touted to be the next Aussie great alrounder, though that’s a bit of far stretched imagination. Alright, he is having good times. But still he needs to do that consistently. This has been a riveting test match, much to the hype and hoopla created before. However I still don’t feel that SA are deservers to upstage Aussies from # 1 throne. Its still India who deserve more than the Saffers just cos they were able to beat Australia when the later had its strengths at peak and had the best of talent which is now retired. Saffers in that era failed to win a single test match home and away, let alone win a series. India in that duration won 2, lost 2 and drew 1. No other team came close to that record. I am a chauvinistic, but then there are facts to prove. I would always rant for the support of Indian test team which for now doesn’t have the young buggers in. I don’t know how it would be when the Raina would be # 3, Sharma (if) would be # 4 and some other dude would be # 5. Yuvraj has seen it all, so its very unlikely that he would like to lose the focus and so his test spot. The young buggers who have all seen is nothing but easy money and fame would falter away when they would be put under pressure of 5 days. I don’t think so the likes of Raina and Sharma are Test class.

Meanwhile the action resumes in Jo’burg. Go Aussies.

Updates on SA- Aus Test series and my bet with Achettup

Hey doesn’t cricket seem to be a great leveler. Over confident Indians brought down in a format where they are world champs and have played their last game before they go to the defence of the title they won 2 years back. I would hate to see Indians do a 1987 in 2009. And the other one is for Graeme Smith. Man of the series in Australia for his heroics, falls for a duck. Australia is in a soup at 38/3 on day 1. And then 182/5. A debutant scores a 100, Haddin scores a 50 and then Mitch Johnson enjoys himself in the middle to remain stranded for 96*. Wow, he has now a test average of 32. Way greater than Pidge and Lee.

SA stuttered at 5/2. The heroes of down under series were back in hut in a flash and then boy. Kallis gone too but with a selfish milestone. DeVilliers and McKenzie still on crease though, but still. I am on course for a victory in the bet with Achettup. 2-1 or 3-0 for Australia or even 1-0 or 2-0, I win. Any other scoreline than the ones here I lose.

So its kinda back to the old world order. Australia thumping Saffers and Indians being blowed away by star less Kiwis. Gotta ask for Sharma and Raina, how much beer they had and how many babes they wandered with ?

Dream on

“Our focus is on playing better cricket than Australia in this series and if we can really beat them at home it will be a comprehensive beating of Australia home and away,". "That's something that we really want to achieve. They were able to do it against us for a period of time and we feel that we're capable of doing it but it's going to be tough work. It's a sign of the success that we've had if we do get there [to No. 1]. We basically can look at ourselves and say we've earned that ranking through good results, through winning on pretty much every continent over the last period of time. That's a really good, satisfying feeling for any team, for any player”

Dream on. Wishful thinking doesn’t always come true. 2-1 away victory was a flash in the pan. A storm in the cup of tea. Last 2 series results in SA read 0-3 and 1-2 for SA. This would be no different. 2-1 to Australia and Achettup, our bet begins today. You see Ponting is gonna swarm Smith out of his feet and regain the lost glory. Bingo!! Go Aussies.

Morning bunch of cricket developments round the globe!!

Hayden bungled up in the Tests this season and he was persisted with entire season.

He was axed from ODI squad and the T20 squad……….

Now he wants to go back to his family, ease off and decide what to do next. Cling on or exit.

Similar to what Virender Sehwag had in 2007 when he suffered loss of form in ODIs and was sacked from Tests and in effective lost the chance of being the skipper for good.

Pieterson and Moores were shown the door in English cricket after the rift came out in open……

Guess this is the time to wash out the dirty linen in public…………

KP – Moores rift in England and Fraudlingam Raju in India…………

England go a step back in appointing Strauss the skipper for WI tour…..They don’t have anybody else who is sure to play all 3 forms of game except Pieterson…

3 yrs back we had a rift in skipper and coach, coach prevailed to screw us further and skipper was fired. Later on coach was fired and skipper returned back for a fairytale return and even fairytaler farewell.

And then we almost had a Pieterson style rift between MS and selectors over RP Singh!!

Graeme Smith is the man of moment and SAFs are the team of moment……Romantics’ favorite……Showered with accolades for beating world champs in their own den. But then was that domination ? Did they dominate right through ? Did they send fear and shiver amongst the opposition ?

Frankly speaking the lineup of McKenzie, Amla, Kallis, Prince / Duminy and DeVillers doesn’t sound scary as this one :

Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, TENDULKAR, Laxman and Yuvraj………

Put Smith in and yet this doesn’t sound scary J

Nope not convincing……

SAFs cant be long term Test champs even if they uproot the Aussies……

Fingers crossed for more surprising developments………

And yes across the border, Akhtar won the contract, but not sure how long he would be up there and even bigger question is how many matches he would play ? Injury, fights, ego battles and conflicts might create a roadblock for him!!!

Malik remains captain for another year when they play SL home and away, tour Australia later in the year and go to England to play T20 world championship!!! Let them get good amount of cricket!!! Yeah they should get…..

What a gripping Test series!!

What a test match……..

It had everything of a classic suspense thriller of a Bollywood movie………

Villain in Ponting, an injured hero in Graeme Smith, Ntini as heroine who bore all the brunt of the sidekicks of the villain (read bowlers) and finally the villain won by 104 runs……….

Spirit of cricket was retained on the same ground where it was hurt and bruised a year ago………

Aussies remain number 1, the real winner today was CRICKET, TEST to be precise…….

Who needs IPL or ICL or T20 ?

Give me TEST CRICKET more, more and more!!!!!

And Graeme Smith – whadda man!!! Absolute hero!!!

Millions of applause to him!!!!!!

Adios Hayden!!

Contrasting Test matches

Down Under :

Australia declare with a lead of 375 with SAfs given 3 and a half sessions to try and sweep Aussies 3-0. An interesting Test match in line with no Smith and no spinner in Aussie ranks. Hussey and Katich slow down the pace. Ponting and Haydos fall for speeding up the things. I feel Hayden should continue his career. They don’t need another rookie in Saf in February. Punter declaration a perfect example of Test cricket, how it should be. No liking for milestones and whatever. Just try to play for lost pride and revive some reputation by winning a dead rubber Test match.

In the days when Aussies would have their luck, they would have won MCG and WACA test. And today rather than fighting to avoid 0-3 defeat, they would have been glaring for a 3-0 series win over the SAfs. Game of cricket is a great leveler. Just last year, the Aussies were on a rampage killing the spirits of the game in the same venue by appealing against everything and anything. Of course the recipients were Indians and the umps were Benson and Bucknor.

I have been an Aussie follower since the 1991 days when India toured them and the commentary, quality of grounds almost took me by surprise. Since then after India, I have been following them. And I want them to win the Test and go for a kill in South Africa. Perhaps all they need to do is remind the Safs of the WC 99 and 07 defeats.

Saf opening with Morkel proved to be disastrous. They should remember that there is no Smith this time. Perhaps selfish Kallis holds the key as he also needs few runs to get past 10k runs.

Neighborhood :

Updates : Sri Lanka won by 475 runs -- fifth highest margin ever. Yet another record, yet another milestone against poor cricketing nations all set to loose their Test status. Guess what follows next ? A tri-series against BD and Zim...Needless to say how many more records would tumble......

SL lead Bangladesh by 620+ runs and yet are batting on and on. Perhaps waiting for Kapugedra 100 and Vass 50. Inexplicable tactics this. They just play for records and figures. They feast on minnows. They boost their batting and bowling averages against the likes of BD and Zim. When they would find no other team to tour, they would happily tour BD and Zim. Set milestones and then listen the MJ blabber that they found out lot of positives and build upon the team. Only to loose against the good teams. This team for sure kills the spirits of the game. No wonder this team holds most of highest batting score records in T20, ODIs and Tests, yet don’t look to be the top on the rankings.

Perhaps 421 BD scored would have scared the insecure SL skipper. What are they going to achieve out of this ? Simple record of victory by highest margin. Few useless 100s and cheap wickets. Or rather wikats. Here are some of the reactions out of SL fans :

Anika: "Surely, 623 runs is about 150 runs past where they probably should have declared. What happens if it rains or some bad light interferes. Mahela is only increasing the chances of a draw."

Hamish: "Mahela should take a leaf out of Ricky Ponting's book and make a sporting declaration. And you wonder why people are defecting to the 20/20 version of the game."

Anandha: "Mahela is a different captain. He may wants his batsmen to have some good batting practice because there will be a few back-to-back to cricket ahead for SL. I don't blame on him giving opportunities to his batsmen to have a go with the bat."

SL fans are used to the negativity their team propogates. I remember the 952 they scored against us in 1997. That was a torture. Indians lost their wkts for fast scoring rate. SL went on batting and batting and batting. Even Vaas scored 71 and MJ debuted in that test match. Attapattu was the only one to have missed out as he was bowled first ball to Nilesh Kulkarni. What was the usage ? Just batting records. 2^nd innings, Murali and Mendis would run through the hapless Bangaladeshis and then they would celebrate the rise in rankings.

Disgusting and irritating to see this Lankans bat and play…………Perhaps they should take a leaf out of Ponting’s book.