Vandalism gets back in

The BCCI has insulted the pride of Maharashtra by aborting the tournament named after Professor D.B. Deodhar," a party spokesman said. "If the decision is not reversed, Shiv Sena will not allow a single IPL match in the state.

Welcome Shivsena onboard BCCi!!!

Now if you drop Rohit Sharma from the team, then this lads would come up and say "Mumbai pride hurt".

As if we didnot have enough madness from media, one more unwanted guests who want to cash in the CRICKET cow. How fickle is the pride of this state that gets a dent on a miniscule event. Amazing.

Settling the Debate on Tendulkar

Right this times when we all know Tendulkar is once in a century phenomenon there are few questions being raised on his effectiveness in the ODIs and Tests. I have seen people get confused. He is a better Test player alwys since Pakistan 89, but no he wasnt a great ODI player since 1989. No no, he was great in fact he had shown things to come in his early days.

Oh yeah, post 2000 he doesnt play fast innings, he is an anchor, he should bat 4, he shouldnt open, he is slow now, ijnured and seflish. (Spell mistakes intended).

All this opinions right from a pan shop owner in Mumbai to a suave business head, every body has their opinions on Tendulkar. For me there is no doubt that he is the best of the business. He is better than Bradman or better than even Richards. Bradman played Ashes most of his time and scored 80% of runs against same opposition England. Richards faltered in his last few years and his average almost dropped below 50 (50.21 to end).

Critics suggest he didnt play better innings in 2000s. Is being aggressive the only benchmark to judge a batsman great ? Critics forget the role he has played in shaping up the careers of his peers and younger lot. Ask Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Laxman (1996) how they have benefited by the presence of Tendulkar in their dressing rooms or even the middle when this lads struggled. not many remember the 126 Sachin played in Chennai Test of the 2001 Test series which actually helped India win the series.

Count in the innings India's two best batsmen of all times played together in 1990s and 200s. They share the record for most runs for 3rd wicket partnerships. And for me their contributions is not to be taken in isolation but in inclusion. Count their contributions together. Tendulkar and Dravid have not competed against each other, they have helped each other, learnt a lot with each other.

There has been no ego between Tendulkar and Dravid as there has been previous greats like Kapil and Gavaskar or Imran Khan or Miandad. Had there been ego in this 2 legends, the Indian test fortunes wouldnt have turned from ridiculously disgusting of 1990s to a glowing path breaking 2000s.

It was the batting by Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman followed by captaincy of Ganguly helped with the bowing of Anil in this decade that has led to the combination India has today in Tests. We can loathe the ODI or T20 teams, but its very difficult to shred the Test team.

And this couldnt have been possible due to the presence of Tendulkar for so long in the dressing room and the middle.

To me and many alike me he is the GREATEST ever. For those who he is not, I dont bother.

Pakistan start favorites

.....with Murali out to injury and Mendis being eased out by the green champions in the Test series beginning today.

Key Players :

Sri Lanka :

1. Mendis : Leader of the pack. First test without Murali. 26 wkts against best batting line up of world is year back now. New series, new Mendis.
2. Blabba King : If he just speaks or he also bats remains to be seen. First series after resigning. Would be due for a failure after so called bull run in last 12 Tests.
3. Sangakara : Is he keeping with Pras out ? Dunno. But his batting would be key.
4. Samarweera : The hot suave Test batsman for Lanka. Was in form of life before .......Would be keen to see how he comes back.

Pakistan :

1. Younis Khan : Their best batsman. How he leads in longer format would be interesting.
2. Yousuf : I want him to fail and then bump out of the international scene forever. Opportunist and a disgrace to the team ethics.
3. Umar Gul : He is Q with name beginning with U than O. Consistent and in red hot form. How he reverse swings in Tests would be keen to watch.
4. Ajmal : Debutant. Would need to edge the Gujju spinner. Dont bowl Doosras man, else there would be no Watson here to give a stupid excuse this time.

For health of Test cricket I wish there are sporting wickets, no big partnership records, even contests between bat and ball. Finally result in all 3 Tests with no dull batting draws. Please. And Sanga, please take a diff route than previous captains to not play batting draws.....

A note to Rohit IPL Sharma

Mr Rohit Sharma,

A self righteous individual would take a call now and offer the captain to get himself dropped and fly out the first taxi or cruise back to Borivali(W), contact the local coach and get a few nets in Azad Maidan or even CCI club or for that matter any local Gymkhana in your own surroundings, get a few lads to bowl you underarm, hit a few sixes, smash some windows, get some hits from the fellow society dwellers and then prepare for a long grind in the domestic cricket and pray that in a year or 2, if you regain your never existing silken touch and your spot is still up for grabs by 2010, then you should come back or else we have decided to remove you out of our system.

Its tad unfortunate that you exist in the team even now after long haul of listless performances and its a test of our patience that we have to see your disgusting lovelorn face every time 1 or 3 wkts fall. Dude, the Fashion week is around the corner and then there are lots of hot chics in South Mumbai party circuit or if you cant afford them there are lots of dance bars too open even now in Mumbai suburbs. A lot of them in Dahisar, few minutes walk from your place. You would certainly find few there. After all a cricketer is even a hot property right now. You dont have hunger for runs, albeit other hunger(s) would get satisfied and by chance if you still make it to the Champs Trophy team (you never know DBV could plant you anywhere, even on moon's cricket team) at least you would look happy and I would be able to curse you openly seeing your face.

Right now you look remorse and sad, so i feel pity on you. Right now you look like a daily waged labourer who travels free of cost in Mumbai locals. Hell no, even he pays. What do you do? Do nothing and still grab those fat pay cheques. IPL, tour fee, ad contracts, fashion show invites and stuff. But did you know kid, all this lasts till the runs from your bat flow. If you dream of Rakhi Sawant when you bat, you are gonna get what Rakhi Sawant gets. Bhai, yeh jo IPL ka contract hai na, yeh bhi tab tak hai jub tak aapke paas runs hai. Runs nahi banaoge to ICL bhi nahi lega tumhe mere dost. Fir kisi bridge ke neeche khade hokar tum apne Mumbai Ranji mate ko nahi kah paoge "mere paas gadi hai bangla hai south mumbai flat hai tumhare paas kya hai". And he would reply "Rohit tum aur mai isi Borivali national park ke fly over ke neeche se chale the kisi cricket ground ki aur. Fir tum kaha pahuch gaye aur me kaha chal pada. Aaj tumhare pass yeh sab hai mere bhai, lekin mere paas INDIA CAP aur IPL CONTRACT hai". Tab kya karoge dost? yeah Mahesh Bhatt jaroor koi movie de dega tumhe.

Bhai hume maaf karo aur aapko dekhne ka jo hume majboori hai nee use door karo. Jao bhai kahi aur jao. Wo Kandivali kanda poha club me captain ki vacancy hai, waha kheloge ? Mast captain banke? Gimme a buzz if you want to.

Delhi ne bana di Opening Jodi

If Sehwag returns soon and Nehra retains his place till then it would be a rare occurence that Delhi de mustande would open bowling and batting for India. Who said Delhi was no longer a power house ?

Bret Lee seals his spot

6/76 almost seals the spot for Bret Lee. Almost in. Final XI. Well done Binga. Get more Pommie wickets and the Ashes would be back in Aussie fold in England in 8 years.

Sachin Tendulkar -- early days of ODI career.

There was post on Krish’s blog about the early history of Sachin Tendulkar - - the ODI batsman. I believe his earlier career prior to 1996 world cup can be divided to 2 parts :

1) 1989 – 1994 When he was the baby of the team and took time to be the batsman he is. The time when he usually batted lower the order (usually 5 or 6).

2) 1994 – 1996 Till the world cup when he really got into groove of scoring 100s at regular intervals.

I wont say much on post 1996 history as we all know how he turned himself to a greatest batsmen of all times in ODIs. Ok if you ask me he is the greatest in Tests too. No Don Bradman.

Back to the topic. He began his innings in ODIs with a duck and took time to set his feet in the ODIs. When he came on to the scene, Indians played hopeless ODI cricket. Kapil Dev was on a decline and Prabhakar was staging a comeback. A year later Kumble debuted but he didn’t become a regular feature in ODIs until 1993. For that matter Tests too (1992 SA tour, 6-for in Jo’ burg). One thing Tendulkar showed in earlier days was the promise and he fulfilled those promises he showed in 1^st few years. India didn’t play that many ODIs then and a century in ODIs by an Indian was a rarity. 300s were never touched. 299-4 was the highest India had made until 1996.

During those days the 15 over restrictions didn’t exist until 1992 World Cup when Greatbatch turned the tides in astonishing World Cup campaign. 1990 was a lean year for India in cricket with only ODi series wins coming in India vs SL and then against England (thanks to Azhar’s batting). 1991 was another lean year when India didn’t play much of cricket except few Sharjah trips and then the SA comeback series which India won 2-1. It was in end of 1991 Sachin really came in his own in both forms of the game. The twin centuries in Tests at Sydney and Perth were classics and only shining gems besides Shastri’s 206 and Azhar’s hundred in Adelaide. India lost the Test series 0-4 and the B&H series 0-2 to Australia. That was the first series when Tendulkar the bowler gained limelight. His 2 wkts in Perth ODI against WI in 41^st over to earn a classic tie defending 126.

1992 World Cup saw what Tendulkar would be in coming years when he top scored for India with 284 runs in 8 matches in what was a horrible campaign. During this days he used to come at 5 or 6 in the ODIs. Vinod Kambli was more fancied than this man and he rose to heights quicker than the man only to fall even sooner. Manjrekar was another promising batsman who never delivered what he had. Siddhu was good in home series, cropper abroad. Jadeja was another young player during those days.

1994 was when Tendulkar scored his first 100 in ODIs. 6 years and 78 games later. Against his fav opposition Australia. 110 runs in 130 balls. Krish suggested he was slow in the innings. I counter the fact. He had a SR of 84 runs per 100 balls. During those days his career SR was 77 runs per 100 balls and he had just started opening 3 months earlier against NZ (2-2). After this series Singer Cup in SL, the next assignment was the WI home ODI series which India won 4-1 and then the tri-series involving WI and NZ, which India won again. He partnered Jadeja on the top and scored 2 more 100s in the same year. 1995 was another lean year for India in ODIs and then it was 1996. 3 hundreds in World cup followed by Sharjah and then the England tour. Sachin Tendulkar then was already a legend in making and he started getting to the peak in 1998 – the year which saw the demolition of Shane Warne in Tests and ODIs by the great man.

So in run up to the 1996 world cup Tendulkar evolved to the ODi batsman he was. And the major factors for this were :

1) Batting lower down the order (5 or 6). Finisher role wasn’t carved then. So he didn’t get that many balls to bat long. Whatever he got he made most out of it. 11 fiftees in 78 games was a testimony to that. One 50 every 7 innings wasn’t bad for a 5 or 6 batsman.

2) Less ODIs played by India. The fact that he played only 78 ODIs in 6 years was a testimony to the fact that India didn’t play much ODIs that age. Remember it was 1996 that began the times when India ended up playing 30+ ODIs every year. Tendulkar has never been dropped from any team in his entire career. His first ODi miss was his 185^th ODI in 1998.

3) If somebody says Tendulkar was slow in earlier 90s then it is a cruel joke. He has had a SR of 86 for his ODI career. He batted in opening slot for most part since 1994 and has scored more runs than anybody on that slot. He negotiated swing, pace and spin with ease. Whenever he scored 100 India mostly won (37 100s of 42 are in winning cause). He was more attacking of the opening pair of Him and Ganguly (1996 – 2007). We got to understand one fact that in early 90s the Odis were not as high scoring as they are now. 270 then was winning score 9 of 10 times.

So its very wrong to say Tendulkar was slow in his early days in ODIs. That’s the 2^nd face of the coin for you for Sachin Tendulkar – the ODI batsman.

Sunny Uvach....

When this man speaks, yyou gotta listen. Bang on the head. Straight point. (Courtesy : www.cricinfo.com)

Sunil Gavaskar: "The worrying factor is far too many youngsters see IPL as the be all and end all." has joined the debate over the IPL by saying young players should aim for the India cap instead of being lured by the riches of the league. Various influential cricket figures, including India's coach Gary Kirsten, have warned against the rising importance of the IPL in world cricket.

"Today, parents are encouraging their children to take up cricket as a career option because of the IPL and the amount of money it provides. But the worrying factor is far too many youngsters see IPL as the be all and end all," Gavaskar, a member of the IPL's governing council, said while delivering the Dilip Sardesai Memorial Lecture in Mumbai.

Gavaskar said the IPL could not be their ultimate goal and pointed out the worrying trend among young cricketers to pull out of domestic matches in order to be injury-free ahead of the tournament. "A lot of players miss out on domestic cricket before the IPL to avoid injuries. That is what we have to be very very careful about, the IPL
being seen as the be all and end all, not the India cap," Gavaskar said.

He also advised cricket authorities to guard the youngsters against the unbelievable amount of money being paid to even inexperienced players in the IPL. "The other thing to guard against is players in the age group of 19-22 going the wrong way [because of the money factor]. Younger players get carried away by fame, publicity and success," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar added that the IPL was not to blame for India's debacle at the ICC World Twenty20. "I don't think IPL can be conceived in any other way," he said. "The home and away concept is so essential to it. This time it was played in South Africa, even there this (concept) worked. Our team got outplayed (in the World T20). I would not look too much into it."

India's batsmen had their weakness against the short ball exposed in England, and in the ongoing ODI series in West Indies, but Gavaskar felt this was not a long-term problem. "There's a lot of cricket (that has) been played where there were not many short balls, and so the balance tends to be on the front foot," he said. "Then when suddenly there are short pitched deliveries, you couldn't adjust to it. I think that's what happened (to the Indian team). I think there need not be too much concern about it."

Outburst!!

A series kicks off in the Emerald Isle on 4th July, the American Independence day :). Pakistan vs Sri Lanka. Supposedly and allegdlelly 2 countries I am bitter on and hate. I dont say that, but few of the readers of the blog feel so. Why ? Cos I dont like the way Pak and SL play Test cricket. Thats it.

I dont like the way few Indians play their cricket. This is pretty human. Every body have their own choices and dislikes. Dont they ? But no, nobody points fingers to them. Its easy to come down here, read the stuff, then in the end brand me as a hater and then walk off. And then spread the word. Result people read me, but they dont drop their comments. Reasons : I lack analysis. Really ?

I have been following cricket now for 23 years. My first memory is of the victory of World Series in Australia in 1985. And till date I have memory of every game itched in my memory India has played. Yeah every ODi, every Test. From the onset of Azharuddin to retirement of Gavaskar to the confused 1987 - 89 until Sachin Tendulkar came on the horizon to the 1990s when the trio of Anil, Dravid and Ganguly burtst on the scene alongside 2000s when Sehwag, Harbhajan and Yuvraj came in to the disgusting days of Sharma and Pathan Y.

Whosoever claims that i lack facts or stats I have a hearty laugh. I openly challenge anybody to have a quiz with me on the facts and the stats and the trivia. I promise i wont need any reference to statsguru or any other cricket encyclopedia.

People call players names. They have fan following. if i call few people names who play cricket, i get hate stuff. Fake One down player to Mr Useless or whatever, thats fine. I should not name anybody. Now if any body in SL finds burning effigies in India a bit crazy, then he voices his opinion freely. If I do it, I am a hater.

Amazing standards to judge a blog. People threaten to sue me. People teach me power of analysis. I would hardly blog on Pakistan vs SL test series. Cos the brand of cricket thats played in Test series in SL doesnt appeal me similarly as way India plays doesnt appeal to few many. And I want to write as freely as I can on this blog. I dont care much about what people brand me or my blog as. I care much about my quality of writing, which is not at all poor, which is not at all cheap.

I would rather suggest the silent, regular and occasional reader to read this content without any prejudice or any malacious intent. I repeat this blog is just about cricket. Politics or racial / religious content has no place here. So if you could enjoy this blog with freedom, you are most welcome, but if you read this and spread wrong word about me, then you are not welcome here. Better find some other place except this.

Run up to Ashes -- English Way

Bonding at unknown locations is all fine. Screaming great camaradrie (*) in dressing room is all fine. Calling self as Ashes favorites is all right. Hiring an ex-Aussie coach known for his IPLantics is all right. But there is one bottom line which English team are ignoring / forgetting / overseeing that the series as huge as Ashes is being won in the field. On the field. With the personnel on the field.

Every time we hear the same crap from English that they are well placed to win, every time they are thumped royally. 2005 was an abberation(*). Performance against Warwicks doesnt inspire much confidence. Whereas in the enemy camp, Mr Cricket has got some sort of form back.

Cant wait for 6 more days to see Ashes kicked off.