2011 WishList

Wishlist for 2011:

This is a big year for Indian cricket given the fact that it plays World Cup in home turf a month and half from now. Plus it tours away countries where it has a realistic chances to win series. In 2 of those countries India has already won the last series it played and in the 3rd one, its the best chance to win a series first time after deprived of it by ugly Steve Bucknor.

India tours England, West Indies and Australia this year. First time away tours in such a bulk after 2007.

The progress India has made in last few years which led to its incarnation being the top test team of the world would be tested this year and i hope it comes out with flying  colors. Dravid wont be around after SA series for sure and that would mean Che Pujara / M Vijay would move to the 3 and again Yuvraj would compete with Raina for 6.

India would play the world cup in its turf where it would be the team best suited to go all the distance as it would have a knowledge of the conditions and pitches all over the grounds its going to play. And it would be heartbreaking if a team like Sri Lanka wins the world cup in India. This is the best chance to avenge that 1996 defeat in Eden Gardens.  A world cup win in Mumbai and hopefully a Sachin 100 would be dream come true. But more than Sachin 100, its going to be a world cup win thats going to be more wishful.

The contest of the year wont be SL vs Aus or SL vs ?? but India vs England in England. That would be the best chance for England to try and win a series against India in 14 years. And if that happens then may be then Gough and Vuaghan would get some credit to their bullcrap!!

But first things first, a Capetown victory would be the first one on the agenda and start of the best things thats destined to come to Indian cricket.

Vaughan joins Gough in coughing shit!!!

England are obsessed with India being the number 1 test side in the world. I think the englishmen aint able to digest this fact. 

After Gough gobbled yesterday, today its chance of Michael Vaughan to poke some shit on how India is an ageing side. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Vaughan-tips-England-to-replace-ageing-India-as-Tests-best/articleshow/7197298.cms

Read more on this link.

What Englishmen think about us, it hardly matters to us. We have been the top ranked side for over a year now and if it was fluke, they would have been displaced within a few series. 

England retained the Ashes, fine. Speak good about them, we wont complaint and wont care. But why drag the Indian side in this. 

SL without Murali

There were a lot of retirements from the Test cricket this year. Like Ryan Sidebottom, Shane Bond and all. Biggest of them was Muttaih Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. When he was around, SL were invincibles at home and continued to lamb abroad. Now with him no more bagging the whites, they are still continuing to play Test cricket and finding it difficult to win a test match cos they dont have the luxury to take 20 wikats anymore.

Evidence: they failed to bowl out India and West Indies in subsequent 5 Test matches after Murali retired. So much pissed off was Sangakara, that he called this tests as worst of his life. He'd be making runs in tons and thousands on flat pancake pitches in Lanka, but those runs wont count as they wont get him 20 wickets required to win the test match. Next year end they are slotted to tour SA by year end and SA have great chance to end the irritating habit of losing Boxing Day tests in Durban.

So why is SL even planning to play Test cricket? They dont have the bowlers to take 20 wkts and to hide this inefficiency the likes of Paravarariritana, Sangakara, Samarweera and of course the baap of them all Jayawardhena continue to make runs and bat longer. Much like gully cricket when a rowdy team refused to declare and continued to bully the lesser teams or touring teams in the home "gully".

2010 they played 6 tests and won just 1. They did not play against BD as they refused to tour SL every 2nd or 3rd month.

Now they are planning a test series against Pakistan. However hopeless Pakistan might be against other teams, but when it comes to SL, some of their bowlers -- known or debutants manage to get heapfuul of wickets.

Wasim Akram took 2 hattricks in Tests, all against SL in back to back tests.

Top cricket moments 2010

Top cricketing moments of 2010 for India :

1.  Sachin hitting 200 in Gwalior ODI

2.  Sachin's fabulous run in the tests when he scored close to 1400 runs, 7 centuries, 2 double hundreds and crossed 14000 run mark.

3.  VVS Laxman's awesome smashing 4th innings batting streaks in Sri Lanka, India and South Africa.

4.  India's 3 consecutive Test wins chasing a target in SL and India.

5.  Asia cup win in 15 years in SL.

6.  Suresh Raina's 100 in T20Is

7.  Sehwag's awesome form in Tests

8.  Dropping of Jadeja for SA series

9.  A 2-0 whitewash of Australia

10. An unbeaten home season, 2nd time in 3 years.

There were a few failures too:

1.  T20 failure 2nd time in running.

2.  Poor tri series in Zimbabwe and SL.

3.  Loss to SL in 2 tri series finals

4.  Allowing Chuck to get past 800 wickets.

5.  Fluctuating ODI form in the first half of the year.

6.  Fielding a weakened side with an obsession for Jadeja, Vijay, Sharma and Boss DK.

7.  IPL mess

8.  Allowing losers like Sangakara to score heavily against us.

9.  Centurion loss

10.  Poor bowling in slog overs

India played 14 tests this year and this was the record:

Lost 3.

Won 8

Drew 3.

This was the highest number of tests any team played in this year along side England.

Sachin and Sehwag were the topmost run getters in Tests for all teams.  The next 2 are Englishmen in Trott and Cook. The next 2 are Saffers in Amla and Kallis.

In bowling Swann took 64 and Steyn took 60 wickets.  Anderson and Morkel were next and Zaheer took 47 in 11 with an awesome average of 21.97.

In the ODIs India and BD played most ODIs. India played 27, won 17 and lost 10. They are on a 6 match winning streak now.  England played 17 and won 12. Lanka played 22 and won 15.  SA lost just 4 ODIs, 2 of them to India at the start of the year. Australia  won 16 and lost 8. Pakistan won just 5 and lost 13. 4 of them were against Eng and SA.

Amla was the top scorer in ODIs followed by Virat Kohli, AB, Dilshan and Keyes.

Gough dont cough shit!!!

"For me, we're the best team in the world at this moment. I've watched the South Africa-India series and I see nothing to worry about. India are fantastic in their own country and have some great individuals but I'd fancy this England side to beat them every day of the week,"

This words of wisdom are from a man who missed more Tests than he played. From a man who chickened out of the Ashes 2002 and was never successful abroad or home. So poor was the standard of the team during his playing days that he was considered their best bowler and probably he still holds the most ODI wickets for England. 

He is talking probably nosense shit out of sheer chivalry ignoring the facts, figures and history. If England were to  beat India every day of the week, then what stopped them from beating India in a TEST series home and away for good 14 years.  14 years is a goddamn long period. It took 14 years for India to shed off the Durban monkey off its back, but probably it would take more 14 years for England to beat India in a TEST series. 

Now almost everybody of this playing 11 were part of the Chennai Test in 2008 which England lost despite setting a formidable target of 387.  Swann debuted in that series, they had almost same batting unit -- Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Prior and of course no Gough.

Gough dont cough!!!

England have just retained the Ashes in Australia, they have not won the series in Australia. England conquered Australia when the later was at its weakest in last 17 odd years. India gave hard fight to Australia in Australia in 2003 and 2007 when they were at their peak of the powers and had their greats playing. India was at almost even with Australia when it came to battling out the tests. 

On the other hand before 2005 Ashes which England won cos there was no McGrath in the tests which they won, they were pathetic travellers. Long back in 2000s start they were labelled worst Test playing nation just for their spectacular collapses in the tests home and away.  They were whitewashed 0-5 in last Ashes campaign. 

They have lost to India, South Africa at home in last 3 years. Wins only against pathetic Test playing teams like West Indies, Pakistan and of course Bangladesh but not before Tamim Iqbal did kam tamam in 2 consecutive Tests...

What shit Gough is talking about? Perhaps he needs to go back to school to learn the history and mathematics. Or perhaps he needs to have his vision checked to get rid of colonial hangover.

SA allege that Steve Davis was drunk going into Durban Test

Saffers like SriLanka are now coming up with a novel excuse for their loss in Durban Test. They aint blaming rains, weather, UDRS or the BCCI. They are blaming an Australian for their defeat.

The SA manager has come up with a weird finding that the umpire Steve Davis was drunk on Christmas day and he went into the test as drunk.  Now if he was drunk on evening before, how could he be still under the influence of alcohol good 10 hrs later?

And the reason for the ire on poor Davis is that he gave the so called dubious decisions to Boucher and DeVilliers in the 2nd innings of the Durban test.

Good lord they never or least faced Steve Bucknor at one of the ends else they would have been mad and they would have come up with some real weird allegations.

Like Sri Lanka, South Africa are not good losers.

By the way if Bucknor did not stand up in Sydney tests of 2004 and 2008, India would have won 2 series in Australia much before South Africa did in 2008.

Remember his decisions!!!!

Cricketing World

Pakistan have won the last T20 and avoided a clean sweep in NZ. They also ended the 6 match losing streak in T20s. And this time the Palak Paneer guy came good again with allround effort.

I am bit skeptical of planning PCB had for the team in the run up to the World Cup. 3 T20s and 2 tests in addition to 6 ODIs. Whats the meaning of 3 T20s? What purpose does it serve?

By the way they are the only team who have to give the 30 names for WC provisional squad. And they are hung up as Kakkumal, Shoaib Mirza and Danis Kaneria meet PCB's "integrity committee to decide over their future in cricket. Now what happens and what would happen is anybody's guess in Pak cricket.

Zim and BD are done playing their last games before the world cup and they sit idle for the next 43 days in the run up to the World Cup.

And perhaps SL and WI too.

SL are still a "formidable" side going to World Cup. I dont believe this. They are always formidable, they are always romantic side, they are fairy tale and what not. They have not played any serious cricket for over a month since that dubious and fart win over Aus in ODI series in Aus.  Yet they are formidable. For a change you have not heard from Sanga in long time. So have I. And thats good.

The rest of cricketing fraternity is busy playing Tests or ODI cricket.

Australia are moaning about Ashes loss and how useless Ponting is now. England have everything revolving around Ashes and they dont seem to think beyond Ashes. Perhaps they should stop playing cricket in between Ashes series.  Yet they want to be # 1. And Collingwood could be on his way out from Tests at least.

Clarke is the captain for the Sydney test and most probably for long term too. He is having a rut in the batting department and that has invited a lot of doubts over his choice of captaincy.

The Australian batting is no more formidable as it used to over  2 years before.

Katich or Hughes do not inspire confidence. Watson makes 50 but does not convert 100s. Ponting stopped making 100s since long time. Hussey is the only batsman, Clarke is metrofexual and Steven Smith as # 6 is fart.

Compare that to the likes of Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Gilchrist as good as 2007.  More than the batters they are missing Shane Warne, Gillespie and of course Glenn McGraw (Bill Lawry style).

Wont be a surprise if they lose the world cup in India next year.

Possible semi finalists:

1. India.

2. England

3. South Africa

4. Australia / Pakistan if neither of this teams implode or explode.

1 more day of 2010 and I would finish off 4th year of cricket blogging starting 2007.  Pretty good journey from a world cup to world cup.

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.

Durban test at a cliffhanger moment

The Durban test is at a very critical juncture where it could be anybody's Test. Its India who needs 7 wickets and its South Africa who needs 192 runs. 


SA have their 2 best batsmen on the crease in form of Kallis and AB. And India would love to have both of them as soon as possible to enforce a win and level the series. 


The key men for India would be indeed Zaheer and Harbhajan. Of course Ishant and Sreesanth would be there but they wont be as consistent as the former two and they would certainly be looking to shed their waywardness on the most important day of this series. 


A couple of wickets or 3 in the first session with not many runs given away would be a thing India would expect. And 70-90 runs with 1 wicket or 2 would be something South Africa would be looking to. 


In the end its going to be those crucial moments which would decide  who would win the game. The team which would seize and give nothing away would win this test match. And it would be great for Dhoni if he  tapes Sreesanth so that he does not piss anybody off and none of remaining Saffers plays a match winning innings.

IPL blame game has started

The PCB had been quite since long time. Since long time they had been doing nothing that would evoke laughters. And now they have done it. 

The typical blame game has started with PCB blaming India on lack of Pakistanis in the IPL auction to be followed next January.