Carried Over By One Victory!!!

January 19th 2008-India registered its first victory in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.There were cheers all over the world after the Sydney test controversies.An Indian victory worth deserving.Also a sweet revenge for the touring team.But to what avail???Perhabs!the Indians had forgotten that they were still lagging behind the Aussies by 1-2.All they were eying was for a test win and not the series it seemed!!!

It was a must win situation for the Indians when they were to play the fourth test at Adelaide.A ray of hope was however provided by Sachin Tendulkar who scored a 150plus score.None of the recognized batsman viz.,M S Dhoni,Irfan Pathan,Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly failed to deliver.It is really shame on these so called greats of Indian batting who left the team in shackles,untill tail enders like Anil Kumble,Harbhajan Singh and Ishanth Sharma got in and settled things alright for their team.

Had team India got carried over by the win in Adelaide on their last tour?Hmm..nothing can be ruled out.

And the bowlers too share equal blame for giving the Aussies ample time out there-allowing them to get on to good starts,build partnerships and finally take a lead.Though it can be argued that the Aussie batsmen consumed as many as 181 overs compared to India's 152 overs,isn't test cricket concerned with spending time out there in the middle?Isn't it the Indians lack of guts to get them all out earlier in the day??Isn't bowling and fielding a part of the game??

And the funniest of all-the Indian second innings!!My god-what were the Indians trying to do by batting it all untill the end??Have they forgotten the rules of test cricket.One has to look at the way the Pakistanis batted against India at Bangalore in the third test.The match and the series result might say whatever..but each and every moment out there,the Pakistanis tried to win so as to see the series levelled.

Just by blowing the Sydney test controversy out of proportion,the Indians thought the they could get away with everything.Even the hearts of millions of Indian fans all over the world.With winning and losing being another issue,it is the way the teams go out there and play which is appreciated.A little bit of thinking by the Indian team would have acheived the unimaginable-a series levelled,despite the Sydney syndrome.The Indians are satisfied with the tag of being the toughest opponent for Australia.Thats all.

Well Indians...try doing what you can do and not focus on issues about things which you have no control over.howzaat!!!

The Return Of Hayden

After the 3rd day's play at Adelaide between India and Australia,things are pretty clear as to how India could manage a win against the mighty Aussies-that too at a time when they were hungry for their 17th consecutive win.The reason is "Matthew Hayden".Yes..he is the culprit.

The man who scored hundreds against India in the first two tests was forced out of the team owing to a hamstring injury.Indians welcomed this with full hands to restrict their success streak to 16 once again.The WACA ground was something more special for this gentleman,because this was the ground where he scored 380 against Zimbabwe to break Brian Lara's 375 to become the highest individual test scorer-way back in 2003.

The 36yr old from Queensland recorded scores of (124 & 47 at Melbourne),(13&123 at Sydney) and (103 at Adelaide).A whooping tally of 410 runs at an average of 82.0.A much better contender for the man of the series than Brett Lee(in my opinion).Even last time when India put Aussies under pressure in 2003-04,it was not under the likes of Glenn McGrath,Brett Lee.

Adding to the debate,when Australia were beaten by England surprisingly in the 2005 ashes,the matches which England had a last gasp win were without the likes of Glenn McGrath in the 2nd test at Edgbaston and the 4th test at Trent Bridge.In the drawn 3rd and 5th tests,McGrath managed figures of 5/115 at Manchester and (2/72 and 3/85) in The Oval test.

After going through this,it would not be wrong to say that India have at most of the times been lucky than other teams whenever they face Australia.Anyway-the fact is that "if's" and "but's" do not form a part of cricket."JO JEETHA WOHI SIKANDAR"

A Cycle Stand At Superspots Park

West Indies are in no mood to play.Forget about winning against a noted opposition.This reckless has been their batting during their first two matches against South Africa in the home series.A 50 over match that was truncated to 38 overs a side after rain,still losing had been the West Indies' challenge-it looks like.Because even those over could see West Indies losing all ten wickets,with 1 ball to spare.

West Indies' innings saw 4 wickets fall in a space of 9 balls.West Indies' scorecard read from 150/6 after 33.3 overs to 175 all out after 35.5 overs.It was like a fall of cycles in a stand where the entire row falls by the fall of one.With a captain like Bravo,who hardly deserves to be in the team,who exists for the lone reason for lack of replacements,the result cannot be expected to be different in any manner.Shivnaraine Chanderapaul is the only other name that can catch the eyes of the spectators.

A team like Zimbabwe-which is not thought to be in par with the other teams at the moment was found putting in a lot of effort in its tour of Pakistan down under.And even Bangladesh not to mention.The West Indies' are found to lose the match even before they start playing.Well West Indies,the history is wll past behind you.A gully cricket for you guys would be a perfect option!!

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1st ODI Highlightes

Records Galore At Karachi

With all eyes glued to the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy at Australia,please cricket lovers take time to know about other cricket matches as well.Because there is some equally exciting cricketing action going on outside as well.The ongoing South Africa-West Indies series and the lesser known Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan.If there was India who made history at Perth,even Pakistan was no less when it came to making records.

Though the series between Pakistan and minnows Zimbabwe is of less intrest to viewers,that was not the case for players.This was what they showed when they battled it out in Karachi on 21st.The match saw a record of five Pakistani batsmen scoring half centuries.This was a feat never acheived before by any other team.The scores are as follows:

Nasir Jamshed (61)
Younis Khan (79)
Mohammad Yousuf (72)
Shoaib Malik (63)
Misbah-ul-Haq (55 not out)

This was followed by half centuries from Zimbabwean batsmen V.Sibanda(59),C.J.Chibhabha(52) and S.C Williams who scored 51 not out.One more record of scoring eight hundreds was seen at the National stadium Karachi.

Gavaskar or Socrates?

The fact about today's cricket world is that you are not supposed to complain-whatever may come,and especially against the ICC though there's not something but everything wrong going on.If you dare to do so you'll have to face critisisms from all over..and mare fuel to fire if you are from a subcontinent.

This was what happenned to Sunil Gavaskar when he made a harsh but real comment on the ICC and the Aussies -by accusing Procter for going after the word 'White Man' rather than 'Brown Man'after the Sydney test's ugly episode.Though the issue was blown out of proportion,was there any justice done to the Indian team which had to lose even though it was no its fault?If now that the ICC points its fingers at Sunil Gavaskar not only for the present comments but also for the unruly behaviour in the tour of Australia down under in 1981 when he was not happy with the umpire ruling him out leg before and threatned to call off the match,why did the ICC initially deny the removal of Steve Bucknor from the remaining matches untill India forced them to do so?

Hmm..this is arrogance-by calling Mike a 'White Man',but why not look at the other face of the coin?Why not ban or conduct an enquiry into Bucknor case-which may reveal even some ugly faces like that of match fixing and betting to be involved.Wasn't Gavaskar the ICC chair person and dosen't he have the right to speak when a harsh thing is done to his once side?It justs looks like that the ICC wants to put an end to the serious matter by shifting its focus on petty issues like this one.

It would be nice for Gavaskar to read about the famous Socrates who was poisoned to death for the crime of speaking the truth.

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Hey! I Will not Let That Go By Any Chance..

Well-the last review titled -Sir Sachin? seems to have been read by the man himself.Because hours later the man went on to prove once again by notching up his 39th test ton against the mighty Aussies in Adelaide on day 1.Sachin scored an unbeaten 124 on day 1 to see India pile up a decent 309/5 at stumps.Sachin ended up scoring 153(205b;13X4;3X6) before he was out caught by Hogg off Lee.

The man looks unstoppable looking at his current form and his recent comment about his retirement.Who else can be matched along with Sachin when it comes to batting?Even the batting greats of the likes of Brian Lara,Ricky Ponting,Matthew Hayden,Sanath Jayasuriya,Rahul Dravid Sourav Ganguly,Jacques Kallis,Inzamam Ul Haq so on and so forth,are not even half way through when their statistics are compared with this Mumbai Maestro.

A combination of scoring 100 half centuries and fifty hundreds in both forms of the game would be a correct prediction->as quoted by Harsha Bhogle(unknown).Even the greatest of great bowlers(viz,Shane Warne,Wasim Akram,Waqar Younus etc) of the world stand speechless when it comes about Sachin Tendulkar.The one mare aspect about this gentleman is that most of the have come during thode times when the team needed it(for ex:the 136*against Pakistan in 1999 in Chepauk,241* against Australia in Sydney in 2003-04).Hmm..Brown...there's no excuse other than giving the honour to this little master!

Links:
Tendulkar not thinking of retirement
Harsha Bogle said before....
Tendulkar century lifts Indians

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Ian Chappell & Gavaskar's Review of Sachin's Batting
Interview with Sunil Gavaskar
I am not retiring - Sachin

Sir Sachin..??

'Good Morning Sir'

A dialogue from the mega hit "Lage Raho Munna Bhai"->"Hydrabad,Secunderabad,circuitabad","Ahmednagar,Gandhinagar,Munnanagar".A similar saying could go on now also."Sir Bradman,Sir Vivian Richards,Sir Sachin Tendulkar".This would be the ultimate feather on the cap who has dominated almost each and every record when it comes to batting in both forms of the game.The recommendation came neither from Indian politicians nor fans but from British Prime Minister-Gordon Brown.Brown who was on a offcaial tour of India was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Sachin Tendulker is one of the cricketing great from commonwealth nation who very well deserves the honour.This would according to me would be a good move which although is deserving by more players like Murali,the awarding of the honour to Sachin will surely confirm the agreement.It could be nothing better than this to end his faboulous career to end on a high note.What?Say Guys??
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Brown proposes knighthood for Sachin
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No Cell Phone,No TV-Only Fitness Bussiness

Hmmm..Sreeshanth-who was forced to miss out on the four test matches against Australia owing to injury has now undergone ayurvedic treatment at Coiambatore.At the moment his parents wants everything but his son to miss out on the ODI series also involving Sri Lanka-started on Feb 3rd.Thats the reason probably he's out of reach whenever he gets a call on his cell phone.The routine which this Kerala Express is following these days is as follows:

*4:30AM-Wake Up,Suryanamaskaram
*6:00AM-Yogic Exersises including Meditation
*8:00 AM-Breakfast(Idly,Dosa or Pongal)
* 10:00AM-Adhere to fitness manual prescribed by Team India physio John Gloster
*1.00 pm: Lunch
*1.30 pm to 5.00 pm Rest
*5.30 pm Massages with various medicated oils
*7.00 pm: Exercise
*8.00 pm: Supper
*9.30 pm: Lights off

The above schedule shows how busy this Kerala Dude is.This is the reason as to why Sreeshanth didn't use his cell phone nor watch TV for 23 days-as ordered by his parents.Well Sreesanth,we all want you here in Australia.Especially Symonds!!!

Source:I didn't use a phone for 23 days: Sree Santh

Its India All The Time?

Well the Perth test victory for India saw it break the Australian winning streak of 16 unbeaten tests.This was cheered by each and every Australian rival-after its dominance over world cricket,it has created jealous rivals all over the world-isn't it?It was the second time that India did it to the Australians-after they did the same in the home tour way back in 2001.But to everyone's unawareness,India has been on the delivering end most of the times.It was India late last year who put a break for the Aussies' 15th ODI win when they beat them on their home tour at Chandigarh.Aussies have already occupied the first two spots having registered 21 ODI wins in 2003 and 14 in 2007.

Also the unbeaten streak of the South Africans were stopped yet again by India when they beat them at home by 6 wickets at Bangalore.The duckless run streak by Mike Hussey was also broken by Indians at perth when R P Singh got him out for a duck.So one more feather to your cap!

A Boneless Tongue Altogether...

A win at Perth against India would have given the Aussies their consecutive 17th test win.But,to what extent does sentence carry weight.Confused!..Yes,this is a fact.Because the Aussies have already won not only their 17th but 22 tests in without loss.Their last defeat in tests was against arch rivals England way back in August 2005 in the third Ashes test at Trent Bridge-Nottigham.After this defeat,they haven't lost a single test,excepting the two drawn tests against England(At The Oval) and against South Africa at Perth.The list of unbeaten trend of the Aussies is as follows after their loss to England at Trent Bridge:

1. Versus England-Drawn
2. Versus ICC World XI-Won By 210 runs
3. Versus West Indies at Brisbane-won by 379 runs
4. Versus West Indies at Hobart-won by 9 wickets
5. Versus West indies at Adelaide-won by 7 wickets
6. Versus South Africa at Perth-drawn
7. Versus South Africa at Melbourne-won by 184 runs
8. Versus South Africa at Sydney-won by 8 wickets
9. Versus South Africa at Cape Town-won by 7 wickets
10. Versus South Africa at Durban-won by 112 runs
    
11. Versus South Africa at johanessburg-won by 2 wickets
12. Versus Bangladesh at Fatullah-won by 3 wickets
13. Versus Bangladesh at CDS-won by an innings and 80 runs
14. versus England at Brisbane-won by 277 runs
    
15. versus England at Adelaide-won by 6 wickets
    
16. versus England at Perth- runs 206 runs
    
17. versus England at Melbourne-won by won by inns & 99 runs
    
18. versus England at Sydney -won by 10 wickets
19. versus Sri Lanka at Brisbane-won by inns & 40 runs
20. versus Sri Lanka at Hobart-won by 96 runs
21. versus India at melbourne-won by 337 runs
22. versus India at Sydney-won by 122 runs

Well-this shows their(Aussies) dominance in test cricket.Well I agree that the list considers only the ones which have been won & not the drawn ones.

Guys!just lets go two years down the lane i.e in 2005 where South Africa were playing India at Bangalore.It was all cheers for South Africa for it was said that a win here would have seen them equal the 21 unbeaten streak of Australia in 2003.The 20 unbeaten matches never highlighted the abandoned ODI against England earlier that yr.Also the tied one against the same,another abandoned game against West Indies.If the word unbeaten was used,how come it could be compared with the 21 matches that Australians won?

This shows the boneless tongue of everyone who use the word unbeaten and won as they like.Anyway team India-you've done it once again!Congrats!

Bowled Over By The Selectors????

After the historic win at Perth against Australia,it was all cheers to the Indian team as well as the fans here.But that moment didn't last too long.For the selectors threw an axe with a dissappointing act by dropping fellow inform batsmen Sourav Ganguly and 'The Wall'-Rahul Dravid with an intention to give chance to some rarely known faces like Suresh Raina,Yousuf Pathan,Gautham Gambhir,Piyush Chawla so on..

The selectors can be called as dictators rather who do things according to their own wishes and care for nothing be in a disaster-who cares?The reason behind the selection being to give youngsters a chance.But is even Sachin Tendulkar a youngster?I never knew this..Did you?

It looks like the selectors do get some commission if India fares badly we beleive.Probably that was the reason why VVS Laxman was replaced by Dinesh Mongia in 2003 WC.Thats the reason why Parthiv Patel (who had not even featured in state games and India A team untill then) was made to keep wickets untill Dhoni proved his calibre.And the sideling of Anil Kumble(India's highest wicket taker in ODI's) and VVS Laxman in one dayers for so long says it all.

If its not form and fitness then what is it that takes to be a part of the squad?Does anyone know?

With their(selectors') places so confirmed there's no one who dares to ask them in a republic country.Does the selectors consider the players as human beings or puppets-to sack them whenever they wish to do so without any reason?After the slection and ommission,a team as predicted would look like this:

Piyush Chawla

Pankaj Singh

Dinesh Karthik(wk)

Praveen Kumar

Suresh Raina

Robin Uttappa

M S Dhoni(c)

Virender Sehwag

Sachin Tendulker

Harbhajan Singh

Sreeshanth

Well!If things go well,the credit should go to the selectors...Else the axe starts hanging on the senior players especially captain M S Dhoni.God please save the Indian Cricket Team.

Related Links:

Ganguly Dropped as Selectors Focus On Youth

Heavy on youth,light on experience

Sanjay Manjarekar:Time for youth to take over

Don't You Dare Talk About Sportsmanship!

The Sydney test witnessed some ugly twists and turns.The first one of them being the eight wrong umpiring decesions that went in favour of the Aussies.The next one was the unnecessary appeal by Aussies-especially Ricky Ponting,Michael Clarke hesitating to walk after being caught at the slips,Clarke claiming a grounded catch of Sourav Ganguly which was supported by his captain Ricky Ponting.All these led to people questioning about Ricky Ponting's sportsmen spirit.But what aout the wrong decesion by the third umpire who ruled out the stumping of Symonds in favour of the batsman?

There's a saying "A picture is worth a thousand words,a video is worth a thousand pictures".

In such a case what was the excuse that could be given for the bad decesion by the third umpire-Oxenford?

And also Indians who were at their peak in pointing their fingers at Ponting and co,have to take a look at themselves once again.Were Indians playing with the true spirit of the game?Why were the decesions favouring Aussies being blown out of proportion when nobody talked about the wrong decesion given to Ponting when he was judged lbw off a snikked ball?The figures and the match results may say anything.But that's another issue altogether.

And,you Indian fans, players and management what was Ishanth Sharma trying to say about the true sportsmanship when he got into the ground and started asking for gloves when there was some 10 minutes to go-to see a draw by any means?Do you call this sort of Indian attitude a sportsman spirit?

And comming to the talk of the day-the test victory in Perth,which saw two wrong decisions favouring Indians.A clean snikked ball of Andrew Symonds being given out and the ball which was found going above the stumps which was given OUT!Why wasn't any critisisms about those?Just because it is the mighty Aussies which have been at the receiving end?Well thats why the saying goes"Think before you speak"

Related Videos:Australian Fall Of Wickets In Second Innings

Ishanth Sharma asks for gloves

What A Sweet Revange!

It was West Indies in 2oo6,England & Pakistan in 2007 and in the 2008 it is the mighty Aussies for the Indian cricket team,for they beat Australia in their own backyard to once again restrict them of their much awaited 17th test win.Oh!what a moment.

The Indians had shown signs of winning the match right fom the start of the match by taking a 118 run lead in the first innings.Thanks to some beautiful all round performance fron Irfan Pathan folloed by some awsome batting from the old war horses-Sachin,Rahul and Laxman and the absense of inform Matthew Hayden.Ten days after the Sydney test ugly episode,the moment could not have been better than this.Team India gave back the same at Perth.That too with all odds favouring against them,it was indeed a great acheivement.

The test also brought up the 600th wicket for Anil Kumble-who became the third bowler in test history after legendary spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne to acheive the feat.Being a captain and the victory against the world's best ranked team made it all the more special.The victory was the first of its kind by any sub continent team.It was also the first time Austrlia lost a test match at home after the loss to India way back in 2003 at Adelaide.

Of course,it was a sweet revenge for the Indians at the Perth-after the Sydney test was

awarded to the Aussies for all wrong reasons.Harbhajan Singh-who was charged with a racial abuse was seen wandering around the stadium with the tri colour after the win.And at the end,the Perth test once again proved that history repeats itself when India-Australia tests are considered.Lets hope that the 2003 history repeats at the Adelaide Oval.Congrats team India!

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Just A Miss Hussey!

Well if Australia was heading for a straight 17th win in tests,there was Mike Hussey who was chasing a similar feat of having scored maximum number of runs without being out for a duck.The left handed southpaw is now ranked third behind the retired veteran Sri Lankan Aravinda De Silva who has scored 2779 runs before recording a duck in his 45th innings and South African A B DeVilliars-who has scored 2201runs at an averge of 37.31 .But friday's third day play shatterred this dream of Hussey.Much to his agony,Hussey when he drove the ball away from the body off R P Singh to keeper M S Dhoni to be out even before opening his account.With Australia needing a mamoth 413 runs to win the third test,it looks like even this dream of Aussies will be shattered.Else for nothing indians are referred to as Aussie hunters.Isn't it?

A Positive Move By The BCCI

In the recent times,team India has witnessed a series of disappointments regarding the fitness of its players.The recent one being the return of Zaheer Khan back home owing to a heel injury even before the tour had begun.This was not the first of its kind.A series of injuries to players like R P Singh,Sreeshanth,Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni forced Indian captain bring in lesser known talents like Ishanth Sharma,Dinesh Karthik and Yuvraj Singh.

Though the performance of those is in no doubt,it points out the lack of sense in selecting players.It looked like the selection committee does selection only based on performance ,forgetting the other aspect ie the form and consistency of the same.

Things will no longer be the same for team India.The National Cricket Acadamy-Bangalore has come up with a new idea of selecting players who are totally fit for the contest.The players will undergo drills and have their fitness levels monitored before declaring them totally fit for the tour-unlike in the past where the players would submit fitness certificates from their doctors to only come back from the mid of the tour leaving the team in dilemma.

The idea is somewhat a good move by the BCCI lest it avoids players from being spectators in uniform.Well done BCCI!

LINKS:Zaheer Khan Ruled Out Of Remainder Of Australia Tour
NCA to monitor contracted players' Finess

Things Are Very Easy In Indian Cricket?

Hmmm....India were reeling at 60/4 in the third test at Bangalore against arch rivals Pakistan.Then came a man at the crease to put up a 300 run partnership for the 5th wicket which made it to the record books for most good reasons.The man was no other than the "sixer hero" Yuvraj Singh.If that performance was to shape up his career as a test cricketer it was only to be mistaken.

The wonderful effort was followed by as many as "six" flop shows.The series of flop scores are as follows:0&5;12&0;2 & 3.How interesting eh?This is the way it has been going on with the Indian Cricket Team for years altogether.All that is needed is a place in the squad and not to question about their performance.Play one great Innings and you'll be considered.This is the attitude about most Indian players.Well Yuvi!Being dropped from the Perth test i guess he can spend some time with Deepika padukone.Wat?Speak up guys!!!

With the likes of Jason Gillespie,Andy Bichel,Michael Beaven,Shane Watson,Simon Katich and much more who have proved to be match winners in most of the games they've played and still having no option other than to play some domestic cricket or warm the benches,it is a pity that guys like Yuvraj,Wassim Jaffer,Dinesh Karthik etc are finding places in the team despite a series of failures based on one good performance in a bluemoon.Well!Is that the reason why Australia is far ahead of the rest of the world????

Well Done Kumble..

"To err is human,to forgive is devine"->The famous Vivekananda saying had so much imprssion on Anil Kumble that,he practically showed on January 14th by dropping the racial abuse charges against Australian CHINAMAN bowler Brad Hogg.This showed the spirit of a true sportsman which was proved once again by Anil Kumble.

Anil Kumble who took the word B!@#$%d targetted against him and vice captain M S Dhoni lightly, showed his great calibre not only on the field but also off it.The statement was however said sarcastically,but that was not the way it was taken by his counterpart Ricky Ponting when he claimed that Harbhajan had racially abused his team mate Andrew Symonds.In this aspect,he(Kumble) scores over him.Finally,it was the Indian captain who put a full stop to the ugly aftermath of the Sydney test.

With the removal of Steve Bucknor by the ICC on which was a must after the bad umpiring decesions at the SCG,it looks like that was all the Indians needed.With the Harbhajan case still pending before the ICC,the Indians had no reasons to drop charges against Hogg.When asked about it,all he said was that he(Kumble) wanted to concentrate on the upcomming Perth test-where the Australians would be looking foreward for a 17th straight win in tests.

Well the only way to punish the Australians is to stop them from breaking their own record of 16 test wins to score the 17th.All cricket fans from all over the world would be looking foreward to this after the ugly behaviour of the Sydney test.We hope that Ricky Ponting and his men have learnt a lesson to be sportive and not blow things out of proportion.Once again Well done Jumbo!

LINKS:Sanjay Manjrekar: Hurt Australia on the field, not off it
Hogg charged for 'offensive remark'
BCCI welcomes Bucknor's dropping
India withdraw charge against Hogg
Criticism drives Ponting to improve

Three Day Tests??

Ha Ha..just think of tests being reduced from five day affairs to three days.No,i'm not talking about the ACT test against India.But,its the New Zealand-Bangladesh test series that happenned recently that got over in just three days.It just looks like Bangladesh are here to take a tour of New Zealand rather than concentrate on their cricket and try to win matches.A win against non-test playing nations viz..Bermuda,Kenya,Zimbabwe etc in ODI's is all that Bangladesh is satisfied about right now.

With a good coach in Dav Watmore-who was he Sri Lankan coach in the WC 1996,and some good players like Habibul Bashar,captain Mohd Ashraful and co,the Bangladesh Cricket board should not be complaining at all.Though not much is expected from the Bangladesh players,the two defeats against New Zealand is not just reasonable.The two tests got over in three days,with the second one by an innings.Perhabs!Had Bradman played against teams of such calibre,his average would have been well past hundred.Isn't it?

The tests not only show the lack of hardwork in Bangladesh cricket,but also raises questions about the test status being given to them.Seven years after being given test status(Bangladesh were given test status on June 2000),with so much technology in today's cricket,its sad to say that Bangladesh is not performing upto the mark.Bangladesh have so far won only one test drawing five and losing 21.

The game of cricket is not all about winning or losing.Its the performance put up by the players on the field.Having wins against decent teams like India(2),Pakistan,Australia Sri Lanka and offlate South Africa in ODI's,its not the case in tests.The only team against which Bangdesh has won so far is Zimbabwe,along with draws against India,West Indies.

The way it put Australia into trouble in the series in 2005-06,showed up some hopes though it lost the test.And also the match that Bangladesh almost won against Pakistan in 2003-04 if not for the heroics of Inzy shows some satisfaction.With such talent in the team,why isn't it a regular gesture?Why always on bluemoons?

With ICC keen on globalising cricket,theres a lot of hard work for teams like Bangladesh to do.The positive approach in this regard would be to cut down tests from the existing 5 to 3 days in matches involving bangladesh.The other one would be to make them play against teams like Kenya,Bermuda,Zimbabwe etc..

A player is dropped if he dosen't play upto the mark.But what if the entire team is out of form?If nothing works out,just cancel its test status like it did for Zimbabwe.Else the lone suffer is the game of cricket.

LINKS:Bangladesh Cricket Blog
Bangladesh tour of New Zealand 2008
Bangladesh Worthy of test status?
Testing times for Bangladesh
Test Status - after the Ireland 'shock' win over Bangladesh
Ponting queries Bangladesh Test status

How Foolish??

Well..consider a situation where U complete a project for your company pretty earlier but still get blasted by your boss for starting the project late.Yes-this was what the South African captain Greame Smith underwent on january 5th after winning the second test at New Lands-Cape Town.

There was a bitter taste in a sweet victory for Greame Smith's men when they won the second test here by 7-wickets.For his team was fined by the ICC match refree Roshan Mahanama for slow over rate against West Indies.South Africa was found to be just one over short when time allowances were taken into consideration.But,the match was over in just four days giving them a day's break.I think its foolish to have handed over the punishment-coz the thing is done only that they have the right to do so...Anyways,fault is a fault and punishment is a punishment.Never repeat in again!South Africa..Cheers

LINKS:WI-SA Tests
SA fined for slow over-rate
Cape Town

West Indies' Ranked Second Among Test Teams

Guys,take some pains in seeing the ICC test rankings table fom the bottom side.This will see the West Indians placed in the second place.

Hmmm..things dosen't seem to be going too well for the West Indies'.After winning the first test at Port Elizabeth last month-which was not only their first test win on South African soil but also their first test win after losing 14 test matches in a row and drawing six.(West indies had last won a test match way back in 2005 against pakistan in Bridgetown)Alas!they won a test convincingly by 128 runs.But,to only lose the other two without any tough fight.

With the second and the third test ending on the fourth day itself,the West Indians were back on the losing habit.A team which once posed a challenge to their opponents,is now it finding a challenge to win a test match.Ah ha! what a blunder.

With only Bangladesh being placed below the West Indians in the ICC test rankings,things can never get worse than this.After the retirement of fast bowling greats like Ambrose,Walsh and Bishop in the late 90's,there were no takers for their shoes.The retirement of Brian Lara last year made things worse for the West Indians.The Port Elizabeth test was also the West Indies' first away test win against a decent opposition(apart from Zimbabwe & Bangladesh),after winning a match against England way back in June 2000.The record shows 32 defeats out of 45,with eight draws.Ooooops!

The statstic raises doubts about the West Indians dominating the test arena in the 70's.Isn't it?Its high time that Dwayne Bravo's men stand up and show some teeth before matches against West Indies would be just a joker's game.


LABELS:West Indies' Test Performance Port Elizabeth Test ICC Test Rankings WI-SA Test Series

VIDEOS:Port Elizabeth Test

Nothing New With The Aussies!

Switch on any news channel,the one and only thing that is being highlighted is the bad umpiring decisions at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the Second test between India and Australia.The match saw as many as eight wrong decisions in a span of 10 days.Ofcourse its frustrating.But what was new with that!eh.The only difference being the number has gone upto eight this time.And nothing else.The same Australians being favored and that too against Indians-who have been giving Australians a run for their money.

It has been the way things have been going on with the Australians from decades altogether.Since 1992 I've been watching international cricket.The way Australians reached the finals of WC1996 @ Lahore.The way Gibson was given out in the semis when the ball delivered by Shane Warne missed everything except the wicketkeeper's gloves.Next one which still remains in my memories is the thick edge by Mohd Azharuddin at Bangalore that was given leg before by umpires SK Bansal & SK Porel for the ball of Gillespie.The third occasion which I remember is the dismissal of Hansie Cronje(the ball was caught off the pads by MEWaugh off Shane Warne ) in the second Semis of the 1999WC which was given out by Umpire DR Shepherd and S Venkataraghavan (Ind).Australia went on to win the World cup.

The edition goes a long way when it comes to tests involving India and Australia.The first test in 2003-04 series at Brisbane where SR Tendulkar was out leg before off Gillespie raised much doubts about the dismissal-which was shown to be not out by video replays.

Then comes the India Australia series in 2004 which Australia won after a gap of nearly 34 years.The first test itself witnessed as many as four wrong decisions going in the favor of the Aussies.The first one was the leg before decision off Michael Clarke when he was on 92that was ruled out by umpire STEVE BUCKNOR.Later in the same match-Gilchrist comes down the track and drives it hard but straight to the mid off fielder,but only to be given life by the same Buckner.Also the recent Aus-SL second test which saw Kumara Sangakkara given out on 192-by Rudi Koertzen.

Things din't stop in the first innings.It looked like the umpires still had doubt about Australia getting their 34 year dream relished.This was seen by the decision given in favor of Glenn McGrath by awarding him the wicket of Sehwag in the same test which was a thick inside edge that could be heard by 10K odd spectators but not Billy Bowden.Then once again Buckner raising his finger to rule Laxman out for a flipper off Shane Warne.Four wrong decisions favoring the Australians at M Chinnaswamy Stadium saw Australia win the match by 217 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Well Guys!After the Sydney test 2008 it seems that it will not be much longer when Ricky Ponting is clean bowled by a good ball yorker and the umpire nods his head in favor of the batsman.And Sachin being given out when the ball clears the ropes.So lets wait and watch for more miracles by umpires on the field.Bye!


LABELS:2nd semis 1996 WC IND-AUS Titan Cup Aus-SA 1999 WC Semis Brisbane Test 2003
Bangalore Test 2004 Sydney Test 2008

Videos:Kumar Sangakkara - shocking umpire decision on 192 WC final 2007 Sydney Test Dismissals

Number Games At Kolkata

Well!there's a saying in english"Better late Than Never".This is very much true with me.That's because the post that had to be posted months before is being posted now.Thanks to the delay in noticing the feat and my laziness to blog followed by some weak memory.I beg your padorn for the same.Finally,there's the posting.The second test at Kolkata between India and Pakistan from november 30th to december 4th saw some pretty good number games that went unnoticed by a lot many.The number game was that Indian first innings witnessed scores of 111/1,222/2,333/3,444/4 and 555/5..before the innings ended at 616/5.
Isn't this an amazing feat.Now go tell this to all your friends.Bye.....

LABELS:2nd test Kolkata Indo-Pak series 2007 indo-Pak Series history