member of the Pakistan Cricket Board governing council, suspected India's role in the sub-standard umpiring, leading to Pakistan's defeat against NZ

Laugh out loud on following piece of news from Pakistan. If hanky panky between Butt and Khan was not enough, then this one is baap of all anti - India mindset of the cross border fellas.

"Karachi: A senior Sindh minister Tuesday accused India of influencing umpires to get Pakistan ousted from the Champions Trophy semifinal in South Africa.

Muhammad Ali Shah, the minister for Sports and a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board governing council, suspected India's role in the sub-standard umpiring, leading to Pakistan's defeat against New Zealand.

Champions Trophy 2009

"Definitely, it is clear that India were miffed at not qualifying for the semi-finals after Pakistan lost to Australia and they took their revenge in their own way. They influenced the umpires to favour New Zealand," Shah told reporters.

Australian umpire Simon Taufel had wrongly adjudged Umar Akmal leg-before-wicket at a crucial stage of the match and even admitted to the mistake and apologised later.

Shah said he would not refrain from pressing the PCB to see that the International Cricket Council impose at least a one-year ban on Taufel."

Butt pressed for ban on Broad, now this lad wants Taufel banned. There should be some sanity at least. If you guys lost, accept it with grace.

Laugh it out. It made my day. Had a horrible day in the office.

Australia win the CT

Australia won. Great stuff.

Lack of competition.

Good teams lost before they could challenge Australia.

They defended their title with pretty ease.

Shane Watson scored back to back hundreds. Good for him that he has went uninjured for long time now.

They next go to India. Yes in India to lose the series 2-4 or 2-5.

If they win the series, I would rename my blog "Arm Ball : Greatest fan of Mahelakara Sangawardhene"

Lol. Self inflicted bet. Ache. Good it sounds ?

NZ into finals

700....

Great stuff Danny Boy....

Awesome stuff!!

Wishing an England win

England suffer from Australia nausea in ODIs.

Come anybody else they would thump, but bring on the Aussies. English go in a shell.

2/16 in 4 says it all.

I still wish if England could pull over...That would be a win for romantics as they had originally coiined for a team from South Asia.....

India's exit

So Australia scampered through to the semis killing Indian hopes.

Alright.

Thats the cost of the defeat to former Indians and now Pakistanis.

Exit out of the champions trophy.

Pakistan showed a lot of Sangakara's character to take the battle in the end and spared Ponting not chewing his all nails else he would have got an upset stomach-- julaab.

Lol.

Match was a bit amusing. Australia 4/171 to 8/206. Hajmola khai lekin baat hajam nahi hui.

One game they score 302, next they score 205. Ummmmm. Iqbal Kasim and Sarfaraz Nawaz could be thinking to open their mouth here. I wont be surprised if there are some murmurs in next few days over return of something Lahore Badshahs did.

And Indian channels were bemused over Pakistan's gaddari. Lol. Gaddari ? Kyu bhai ? Why would Pakistan lose for India ? Never in million years. Younis Khan ke against there would have been a fatwa for losing it for "mohajirs" and.......

In the end its India who go out n Australia go in semis.

Dont worry, its very soon for India to take a revenge of that rain curtailed game.

4-2 for India.

For a change, now I would root for England.

There have been suggestions on Dhoni to be sacked. People are furious on his decision to bowl himself or blame bowlers. Yup. An Indian captain is an easy object to be fixed. If he wins he is lucky, if he loses sack him. And make whom the captain ?

A man who is yet to lose a bilateral ODI series or a single Test match yet should be sacked.

Dancing baby made other 30s in 80 balls. He thought he is back to the Tests opener role. Lol.

I now hope this was the last tournament he plays for India and stops jumping for the ball like a dog like he did today morning when the ball seemed to go to the best slipper in the world.....

Niki ben, now Dancing baby is all for you.

Its a 12 ODI home season now. First time in 2009, first time since PC made shambolic announcement on not to provide security for IPL. I wont write the obvious issue here for security reasons here.

December comes and lot of character descends on Indian soil. When the tour would end the character rich men would be bare losing Tests 0-2 and ODIs 1-4 or 0-5.

For now its a month long break for the team to go back to the nets and work out the glitches.....One tournament exit wont make India a bad team.

And for those who are now asking what Gary would now suggest India on "sex", let me say he didnt say that except that some idiot journo in the media twisted what he said.

Dancing baby put me to sleep with his batting, so much so that even 8 or 9 hours after he got out I am yawning.

Me fir se team me aa gaya Niki!!!!

Dancing baby is back as an opener........Hmmmm

For him we should lower the bar like we say a batsman scored X 100s and Y 50s..

We should say 60s and 30s for KKD/DK/DB.

Then yes likes of Rohit Sharma and Dancing Babes would be among the greats of the ODI. And they would thrive when ODIs would be split. 20-20 you see. Just that they would have to bat for 2 times.....

206

Guys head back home.

Just 206 needed for Australia to win and go to the semis.

Younis Khan confirms India;s fears.

I dont feel everything was usual when they batted. Strong hunch that something was unusual. A slight bit.

There should never be a dependency on anyone for your aims and success. It always bounces back.

And thats what precisely its happening....

Something unusual about it

What a day is tomorrow. To see my team through to the semis I would need to wish my second favorite team lose to a team which is my second least favorite.

Juggling of numbers.

I have no hopes. I have assumed India is out.

Less hurt. Less frustration. Less agony.

If Australia go through they are my favorites, if they dont then its India.

But the onus of the early exit would lie on 3 individuals and they would be RP, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.

Not many Indian fans support Pakistan except if you live in those pockets in India where.....but tomorrow would be an exception.

And there are signs that Younis wants to play India in final. Of course, thank you. But dont expect Manmohan Singh to ask his team to lose it to your team again.

30th Sep is never so complex.

Get over it ASAP....

Semis are decided!!

Ok the semi spots are clear.

England and Kiwis go through. Thats it. Kiwis wont go farther.

Sri Lanka is out. Lol.

Pakkies are through.

India is out. Australia are through.

Tomorrow innings break India would know if they are to win the game and still go home or if they are out even if they win.

That is if we have a full game.

Game on to Videocon!!!

Indian journalists, the assholes they are, quizzed Dhoni if he would try suggesting Pak to field their best team to try beat Australia ?

Laughable.

Fast bowling needs immediate attention

Its all over almost for India in the CT, thanks to the rains. Feeble chance yet to qualify for the semis if India beat WI and Pak beat Aus and there is some luck with India. But we dont have that luck, something Pakistan had in 1992 World Cup or Lanka in their botched up 1996 World Cup when they had 3 defaults in the so called World Cup win. Find out instances when we have been benefitted from such instances. I dont recall any in 23 years of watching and following the game.

There was little we could analyse on the game except :

1. Ishant Sharma is not a limited overs bowler. No ODIs and no T20s.
2. Harbhajan Singh should no longer be # 1 choice in ODIs. Who will replace him dont know but this lad no more.

Ashish Nehra is to stay.

Hunt for some new fresh bowlers. fast bowlers to be precise. Do not fall back on tried and failed ones like Munafa, Irfan or anybody like Dhawal Kulkarni who cant step up the gas beyond 125 kph.

What happened to the Royals fast bowler who was discovered by Shane Warne? Whatever his name was, is he cleared of the chucking ?

Why not now do a review of IPL fast bowling successes and give them a lot of chance in the upcoming 12 home ODIs in bid to find a good backup pair for Zaheer Khan and hopefully Ashish Nehra in 2011 WC ?

5 bowlers every time wont be a luxury to go with in the ODIs. WI is an easy option, but I would fancy return of a batting allrounder in the game rather than Ishant Sharma. Who ? No YP. Then who else ? 2 lame ducks. Dinesh Karthik for whom I say

"Naan oru thadava sonna nooru thadava sonna mathiri" that he is no longer a useful batsman or a keeper.

Or Abhishek Nayar ? Dont know. He played decent in the only 1 or 2 ODis he played in Windies.

Something needs to be done real quick about the fast bowling department. And yes no comeback for Sreesanth please.

Sri Lanka thumped.....

Wow man. Sri Lanka lost and now are out of the tournament almost. Character demolished. Great stuff Dannie boy. That gives you a blinker of a chance to get to the semis. Beat England who today should beat Saffa.

If Saffas lose today, Kiwis just need to beat England and if they lose, they go in a tussle with the Lankans and Saffas on NRR which they should have edge on the hosts and characterless men now made bare in back to back defeats....

Keep blabbering Sanga Silva and Mahela Jaywardhene.

I am relaxed that this guys now would shut their ass up and go sit in the corner with mouths taped.

And adios to Sanath Jayasurya.

Day after

So to all Alis, Arafats, Junaids and all such jubilant Pakistan fans who dropped bi on my blog and waited for the next post, so here it goes.

To start with congratulations to Younis Khan for a memorable win.

And as of now the game we lost, the blame goes to the bowlers -- RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma.

Sachin failed, Kohli failed and Yusuf Pathan now has reached the stage where somebodys gotta go to him and say "Dude thanks a ton. Your T20 skills are too good, unfortunately they dont work in ODIs. Out you go. "

Lad hasnt performed since ages and now he is hurting one place in the team. Not sure how good Nayar kid would be, but still that should be the end of Pathan for now.

Harbhajan Singh now has pathetic record of 10 wkts in 15 games. Horrendous.

In the touring party the other fast bowlers are Praveen Kumar. Who is no different than Ishant Sharma in non swinging pitches.

The fast bowling looks like a worry.

And for the critics of Dravid, here is why he is important to the side even now when the IPL stars have loomed large : hhe has patience and persistence. 76 in 102 balls were the difference why India lost by 54 runs and why not by 85 runs.

Still all is not yet lost for the team. Beat Aussies tomorrow which is a possible task if the team gets its combination right.

And why did Kohli come on 4 instead of 5 or 6 ? This are some of the problems which need an urgent fix. Throw the fast bowlers who are just on the reputation of IPL or tests. We need bowlers who could take wickets on any pitch. Something like Srinath and Zaheer do / did.

All is still not lost.

And yes this post would be a disappointment for flamed readers from the neibhourhood who....

Indians made Ajmal Kasab look like a King and the Umar Gul was punctured by 55 runs off his 6 overs. Aamer was made to look like a Wasim Akram.....

England prevail

over feeble Sri Lanka who are spineless on lively tracks. Who are flat track bullies. Give them hard bouncy pitches. They fall like pack of cards.

One more win to England and they are through to the semis.

Good going lads. Keep it up!!

England with a chance to win the game....

So in the end SL did live to their tag of lambs abroad. Make the pitch green and put in more bounce, all the character in SL high flyers -- JayaSuraiya, Mahela and Sanga Prasad evaporates and the lesser folks like Kandamby and Matthews take the center stage and fight a losing battle. 212 could still be a winning target against England just cos they have no KP and Freddie and the Lankans have Mendis who is venom only when a team plays him first time. But then the hype and lullaby surrounding this team's first win is all gone.

Kandamby is their Bevan and Yuvraj in making. Or even Hussey. The lad is underrated, doesnt speak much about the usual processes in their cricket. Quietly delivers. And thats so kewl. Mahela Jayawardhene, the worst speaker, is back to his scoring spree. Thats how he is keeping his place in the team. Amazing man. This lad had 3 ducks in row against BD and Zim last year in ODIs.

England could still lose this game. If they negotiate the Ms well, they could win it but someone will have to bat through. One of Colly and Straussy would need to do it. England are my favorite team after India and Australia.

Jimmy did fire and Swann didnt. Yet Lankans fell for 212. I wont judge England on their recent 1-6 scoreline against the Aussies. They have to win just 3 more sessions of play and they are through to the semis. I am fancying them and Saffers to reach the semis. If England win today, they would make the group interesting should SL beat Kiwis and England beat one of the Kiwis and Saffas.

Yenjai the game and cherish the wikaats Mendhis and Murali, the Jack do not take.

SA trump NZ

Saffers have got back to the track and they are now in contention for the semis. Their next opposition is England, whom we all know the worth of in the ODIs. I would still bet my money on England to go through.

England and New Zealend can beat each other and if any one of them upsets or both upset Sri Lanka, then their result would be keen for knowing who goes through to the next round.

Kiwis are crap. They just have no heart to fight.

Years back Stephen Fleming in a TV ad in India had said "Bada he to Better hai". They should now say "Bada format he to hum bekaar hai". They won the T20s in SL, but lost ODIs and Tests. Thats the same story here.

Wayne Parnell who had a good series against Australia got a 5-for and AB, Amy's favorite saw them through.

Purna would be the happiest fan today on a Saffa win. Aint you lady if you reading this ? Yeah Herschelle Gibbs didnt play but then he should be back in the all important game with England.

Go England go.

Pakistan beat West Indies in a mess up

It was a good scoreline. Pakistan won by 5 wkts. They messed up. 134 was not a huge score. Not at all. Yet the big guns made a mess. In the end the kid Akamal and the Boomer chewing gum saw it in the end that their team gets through the upset.

Misbah, Yusuf, Malik failed and thats just going to raise more brows in their country. Beating West Indies could have been a walk in the park for the Greens, but they are Pakistan. Lest they mess, they wont be the team they are. Mavericks...Their next game is against the Indians. And its not a Friday. Its a Saturday. 2003 / 3/ 1 was also a Saturday. It was Centurion then, its centurion now.

Tendulkar, Dravid, Nehra, Harbhajan were then in blue. Younis, Yusuf, Afridi were in green.

Got to see an agression in Pakistan team, the agression they showed under Wasim Akram, not under Imran Khan. Under Imran Khan, the players were more like soldiers who have taken to whites to fight the "war" against India.

Under Inzy, the Pak team mellowed and that basically gave the likes of Asif and Akhtar a chance to go wild, my view. Dare somebody do that under Akram or Imran, the player would have ended his career. Today serial offenders like Yusuf, Asif, Akhtar continue to play and get away.

Chuck out a few losers from Pakistan team and they should be a good team back to the glory of 90s. And yes PCB too.

Correcting Afridi

Afridi....

So far, luck has been with India. Hopefully, it would all change this time around

Me : Not quite. 2003 wasnt luck. 1999 wasnt luck. 1996 wasnt luck. 1992 wasnt luck.

Afridi :

If they claim themselves to be the best, I would say we are also best. Every team knows its strength. We have a very balanced side. Still, I don't take any side lightly

Nope, India doesnt boast to be the best. They have shortcomings. Bowling is the main worry. They dont have fit Gambhir which makes Dancing baby a default entrant to the team. No Zaheer too.

Few days back Younis Khan had said "ab humara haq hai jeetne ka".

Alright, play it on the field. Better team on the field wins. Past records, political tensions and emotional stuff doesnt matter.

How well you play for 100 overs would matter on 26. And its not a Friday. Last time when India beat Pakistan in a world cup was a Friday. And in 1980s every Sharjah encounter between the two teams was a Friday affair for unknown reasons.

SL win the first game in lottery

........as in D/L method. Plenty of character shown. Bhar bhar ke. I guess character was distributed for free in the flight from Colombo to South Africa. Dilshan continued his form in ODIs, Jayasuriya continued to count one more failure and ticking Mahila to write him off and say that pressure is on the senior pro to perform and show his character.

BAW WAW Mendis took 3 wkts or 4 to prove that Saffers cannot play spin. Is Mendis back ? Ask Pakistanis or Indians. Answer aiwai mil jayega.

Unfortunately for Saffers, time wasnt theirs as AB and Dale Steyn said. Mahila, supposedly an abundance character man sparkled once in a million times and his time was today. So the next games now he would be back to his scoring pattern.

Sanga Singh who is now the "aaankho ka dulara" for every sub continental cricket writer (exclude Indians) was among runs too. I havent digged his post match interview. I saw the scoreline in the office on my iPhone and first word i said was "Damn" when SA scored read 4/121 in 21 overs.

A lot of euphoria has been generated around the statements made by Sanga Singh and people call them as mind games. Whatever they are, they are most boring and repititive. He should learn some new stuff before saying the same stuff which in a short is " We are trying to win every game , have a process and have a long term goals". Give us a breather man. We aint robots to listen to the same shit every time you open your mouth.

Learn something from Dhoni who would be ruthlessly honest in stunning the team, media and fans by quoting that bowling was bad, batting was good, XX player was fine or bad. Ah man. India boosting. Yup.

Saffers, as Q says are hopeless in multi team tournaments. I believe this is one game SA played with SL after 2003 tie game which kicked them out of the tournament and ended Pollock's captaincy.

If thats true 6 years and no game in SA. Alright thats true. SL havent toured SA since 2002. Amazing. Have toured Bangladesh 3 times and Zimbabwe 2 times. No wonder they have inflated averages.

South Africa wont be affected that much as they next play England and New Zealand. SA and SL should be good to go to the semis, though I would hope England and NZ show a bit more character in taking out the character out of the SL team.

CT practice updates

SL's character men failed to show it against Pakistan to lose it by 108 runs. Mahela flopped, Sanga flopped.

Yusuf flopped.

Mendis flopped.

Akmal bros clicked, so did Misbah and Naveed Al Hasan. Who s he ? Is he Rana ? ICL man ?

Other hand NZ lost. West Indies lost.

Perhaps BD would have been better......

Australia would win in another practice game vs England C in England to begin their defence of the title and finally lose it to India in the semi final.

Preview to CT -- 1.

The CT is back. The days of 2000, 2002 are back too. The instances when the Blues reached the finals. No wonder this time around too they are one of the most strong contenders for the elite title.

I predict a India - South Africa final .

Not to forget historically Indians have done too good in ODI tournaments in SA and also their greatest win in T20 came in 2007 in SA itself.

If acclimatising to the conditions go, then nobody better than Indians do it after of course the home team. They just played IPL - 2 here 5 months back :)

Everybody in the Indian team played the IPL and one of them reached the finals. Didnt they. Sachin, Yuvraj, Dravid, Harbhajan and Nehra would cherish the 2003 memories. Especially Nehra when he rocked England in Durban.

India plays Pakistan in Centurion on 26th Sep, the same ground where they royally thumped Pak in 2003 and sent Waqar, Wasim and Anwar out of the cricket career.

The magical 6s to Shoaib from Sachin and Sehwag. The 6s to Wasim Akram. Who can forget that. So who is this time ? Gul ? Or Aamer ?

Let the CT begin. !!