Self Beliefakara

As I feared, the man has started his rants.

Just that this time character is replaced by self belief.

"There's a lot to be taken out of the way we played these games," he said. "It's fantastic. We played the way we believed we could coming here. It was just a case of us fighting to convert every opportunity and tonight I thought it was a great all-round performance."

It means a lot," he said. "This is a stage we always wanted to get to where everyone does what is asked of them and you can't ask any more of the players. They have grown in stature and self-belief. Sri Lankan cricket seems to be in really good hands going forward

So what have they done really?

Just won 2 games on trot against a struggling Australian side that has half of its energy diverted to Ashes and the other half on who's going to be the Australian captain. How seriously they are viewing this series is evident from te fact that Ponting is taken out of the ODI side to play in a Shield game to prepare for Ashes.

And  the Nanga is going gung ho on a win against depleted side.

They have won 1 T20 and 2 ODIs. Thats it. They have not won a Test series or a single Test in Australia. So whats the hype and noise all about?

Why do we find only this guy shouting out loud in the media ? No other captain speaks as much as he does. Not even Afridi or a Ponting, He has got a fetish for the chirpy and vogue statements in the media. He makes it and makes an ass of himself.

West Indies would be blanked 0-3 and 0-2(3) in the ODI series and Test series back their home, thanks to the depletion they suffer from. Yet he would come out with how good the victory was.

Open cricinfo and his pig sized face would be up in the front climbing Sydney harbor or poking a tuchyap smile. Loser!!

Characterawardhene

Get ready to bear the talk how great Lankans are from their captain once Australia lose this one too.

Happy Diwali

Today is Diwali. 

Wishing all the readers, critics, silent stalkers and haters a very prosperous Diwali and a lightening year ahead. Especially to Lankan readers, may their darkness of mind go away and be lighten with hope and optimism for Indian victory and their team's loss in Eden Gardens in semis.

Have a safe and prosperous diwali. And a year of hope, happiness and prosperity for the country and its cricket.

Predictions

Sri Lanka and Pakistan play today but not against each other.

I bet Pakistan would play exciting cricket while Lankans would suck upto their negative brand of krikat by bowling negative line down the wikat.

I'd pick Australia and Pakistan as today's winners. 

And hope Nanga gets out on 0.

Hail Dravid for his 30th century

Dravid jokes are common on twitter and blogs.

Some of them being "comparison to Chandupaul" and "no privacy as he finds fielders".

You gotta give him some space of his own. He has had a horrible 2010 by his standards and he is trying hard to come out of it. Efforts were fruitful right away with him scoring his 30th 100 and moving to the elite group of 30+ 100s in Test cricket. He struggled initially but once he was set in, he didnt fall and he stuck another hundred at Motera. Last year around same time he had scripted a comeback from the hole when Welagedara something too 4 early wickets to reduce India at 4/32.

From what it is reported in the cricketing sites it seems that he is keen to end his slump and find form. There are evidences that he has found some bit of form, but he needs some space and he be left alone to find some runs which would be very valuable in quest to win first Test series in the Saffaland next month.

The tweeters and bloggers do not have patience on anybody except Sanga. They are ready to digest any rant and $hit from that guy but they aint ready to have some patience to see Dravid watch all the way to his 30th 100.

The day Dravid finds that he is no longer feeling a belonging sense to the topmost level, he would step down and none of us would ever need to put any pressure on the lad. He is that kind of man with highest integrity. But then such have been the 5 men who have transformed Indian cricket in the 2000s.

Its very crucial to have Dravid in the Test setup for another year or so when India plays in West Indies, England and Australia and those would be marquee series to save the # 1 ranking and also initiate the transition from the greatest middle order to an inexperienced one albeit talented one with couple of contenders coming good in the limited opportunities they have got in past few months owing to whatever reasons.

Patience in the T20 era is a bygone virtue and it lasts only with the selected few who are ready to watch the glorious men just for the love of the game. I am one of them.

Tracking Jadeja and Bosseshwar in Ranji

Here is tracking the usual culprits of Indian cricket in the premier domestic tournament.

I would be tracking the usual list of backdoor entrants and Srikanth's favorites along sides useless players in batting and bowling.

Beginning with the blog's favorite player:

Dinesh Karthik aka Bhosadeshwar:

The lad is Tamil Nadu captain and he continued to fail with the bat. He made just 4 off 10 balls and was once again out poking a ball outside off to the wicket keeper.  Failure again.

Subbu Dabrinath

Made 83 in the game against Assam and this innings wont be of much importance as there are 3 contenders for the no 6 spot in Test team.

Junior Cheekanth

Made 95 while opening the innings. So this indicates that he is going to replace Vijay as substitute player in Test team.  He could also return to ODI team as # 7 as he plays in the middle order for Chennai Super Kings in IPL.

Ravinder Jadeja

Most hated player in Indian cricket. Took 4/189 and made 40 runs. Enough.

Virat Kohli

Prospective Test player comes good with 173 in game against Bengal at Kotla and proves he is in good nick continuing ahead of the ODI century vs #1 team in world. Once he was out the Delhi lads lost 4 for 34 allowing Bengal tigers an entry again to the match.

Rohit Sharma

Fat, useless, junk.

Made 93 and then threw his wicket away to Sir Shree Ravinder Jadeja.

Che Pujara is not playing as he is on Indian duty.

Yuvraj Singh

Made 52 and 24 in the game against UP and those runs wont be enough to win his # 6 spot again in the Tests.

Irfan Pathan is not playing due to back injury.

That completes the day 1 of tracking the players I love and hate.

Lanka Win takes character stocks to high

I find it frustrating to find early morning that Sri Lanka won.

Damn. Australia cant win anything.

Sri Lanka won with 1 wicket with some "magical" innings from Malinga and the cribber tantrum thrower Angelo Mathews (I remember 2 times he threw tantrums when he collided with a player and when out threw bat and stuff).

Good job. Series win on the horizon.

But also on the horizon is the blabbering and rants from SangaNanga and Mahela Mahila in their press confrences and blogs respectively.

SangaNanga has already begun savioring the magical and awesome win vs Australia as he finds Australia a very great place to come to. Today MCG looked like it was a Sri Lankan ground. Yuck...those boring grounds when the fans just dance on the boring drumming and band playing in the background.

The problem with Sri Lankan assesment is that they think that every win in any format takes the to another plane/level in the game and their performers are world class.  They do not have a core set of players they stick to .

They chuck players too soon and bring new players every new series. They continue playing weak teams and if not weak teams, they have India playing them.  Their main batsmen continue to be SangaNanga, Mahela Blabba, Dilshan and in bowling only Randi is sure of a spot in the test team. Rest they keep chopping, frying, changing. Their next big thing soon become thing of past in a matter of series. Masaraweera, Mendha, Lahiru Timmu, Paragraph and so many others have come and gone. So tough to remember all their players except 5 or 6.

They'd still go the quarters or semis in the world cup cos they are going to play their most games at the Lankan backwaters where any foren team can hardly win thanks to the slow low wikats and strangling tactics by the bowlers who since their inception learn to bowl negative lines.

This team can never be an exciting team. Pakistan for all its fallacies and evils are still a team to watch cos we dont know what they'd come upto.

Loser Talk

2 back to back ODIs, 2 back to back exciting ODIs. Only difference in the winners.  Pakistan won on Sunday, Saffas won on Tuesday.

Pak won by 1 wkt, SA won by 2 wkts.

The results could have been alternate.  Yet both this teams choked once.

Now the 4th ODI ownwards the story would be normal. Pak thrashing by big margin.

There is such a talk in the bookie circle that next 2 ODIs Pak are going to lose big.  Also some bookies are believed to be betting on possible return of Shoaib Sania Mirza Malik in the ODI series for NZ.

One notorious lad for every series and then dump.

MoYo for England, Younis for Saffa, Malik for NZ. Who knows Butt junior might come up for World Cup had PCB imposed a ban on him, but its ICC.

SA have 7 ODIs to play before WC, India has got 10. NZ has got 10, Pak has got 7. Australia have got 8. England have got just 5. Sri Lanka have got 6.

Sri Lanka are quietly confident, Pakistan are loudly and quietly rowdy, Saffa are world known chokers, India are in league of its own, Kiwis are new Bangladesh, England is occupied with Ashes. Australia is caught up between Ponting and Clarke, with a desparation to win something.

Sri Lanka are expecting they would win 3-0 against Aussies and then every day we'd need to listen how good their players are coming up. I bet Thilina Masaraweera would play the world cup and none of Tharanga, Jayasurya, Chandimal, Lahiru Timmu(something), Maharoof would not be playing the world cup. Count Mendis Bow wow in that list too now that cheater Randi is the 2nd spinner who has grown leaps and bounds to become their main Test spinner since Chuck retired.

Ok enough of Sri Lanka bashing. Man I enjoy it.

Back home in Ranji trophy it was a battle of 2 losers. And biggest loser got the wicket of bigger loser.

Bigger loser, the fat man, the Borivli guy threw it away with a wild slog to the IPL cheat and ended up reprimanded from his captain who himself made yet another 100. Alas no Dilip Vengsarkar is watching you mian.

The biggest loser is strong contender for # 7 and bigger loser is contender for # 6 in ODI world cup team.

Biggest loser is next Gary Sobers, bigger loser is next Sachin Tendulkar.

Biggest loser took 4 for 189 runs in 56 overs. And he has got a double hundred too. 232*.

And he is also batting on 16 off 24. He would score big runs tomorrow and claim for # 7 spot in the upcoming Kiwi series.

He is Ravinder Useless Jadeja. Bigger loser is Rohit Sharma.

Ok so thats enough of bashing my 2 favorite cricketing entities:

1. Sri Lanka

2. Ravi Jadeja

Tomorrow its' Ijaz Butt's turn. His video blasting reporters on Lahore airport is ultimate one and my piece of entertaintment whenever I am deeply engrossed in work in the office. Thats good enough to make anyone laugh.

Champions of Negativity

It was pathetic to see Australia lose to Sri Lanka and their cheater take 3-25 to stifle Aussies on a bouncy wicket of reputation.

SL won and  promptly the verbal dosage of how good a Sri Lankan team is and how rich they are in character has begun from their 2 main batsmen.  Yuck!!! Every single game they win, their rants start and they are out to prove how good the Sri Lankan flavor of cricket is.

Surely they are good. But only in negative stuff.

Our and their # 7

Pakistan's # 7 is Razzaq, India's # 7 is Tiwary / NA/ Jadeja.

Yet India wins more often than Pakistan does. Tiwary and Jadeja are nobodies before the mercurial ability of Razzaq, who for unknown reasons was pushed off the main radar of Stani team.

Pakistan dont have a system to test a player for any spot, India has.

Pakistan selectors are subjected to whims of Ijaz Butt, India's selectors (for most part) have their own vision formed mostly after consulting coach and captain.

Pakistan's main batting lineup is as good as its civilian government, India's batting order is much like the democracy (however we still do not like the ruling party). Volatile and strong respectively.

But the fortunes of # 7 player decides the distance a team would go in the world cup.

Razzaq still does not know if he would be still part of this team in Kiwi series or in the world cup. For that matter no one knows if this XI would be the one playing its first game. Only constant thing in their cricket setup is the Ijaz Butt factor.

My point of view on this post is : Pakistan have found their # 7 for now through a gamble and India's selectors have not been able to find one throughout 2 years despite much hit and trial.

Virat Kohli after that 100 against Austalia needs a longer run in the team and he should edge all other contenders unless there is a real allrounder coming in. A real allrounder in India is just one : Irfan Pathan, but he is out injured his back.

So Virat Kohli must be given an experimental run in the spot he is likely to play in the world cup. Hopefully in the home series vs India.