Well one could not ever believe if the team that is being placed second in the ICC one day rankings let alone winning a match against a team that is placed third from the last in England,but,could not even put up a formidable batting nor play its allotted 50 overs.Sorry,not even half of it.The South African tem was all out for a mere score of 83 in just 23 overs.Can any one of you believe it!And the man who was responsible for such a devastating spell being the one who got belted for 6 sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh in the inaugural T20 championship.And six catches to a keeper who is not known to be one among the world's best?
Well..I suspect some foul play being involved in the game.For,even when the going was really found to be tough for the South Africans who were batting out there,the incoming batsmen showed no signs of seriousness absolutely whatsoever.Only three of the South African batsmen were found to cross the double digit mark.Despite losing the first ODI by 20 runs,the visitors showed no signs of improvement in the second one dayer.And when it came to the batting of the England side,they never had problems of any sort,for they never lost a wicket and successfully chased down the target in less than 15 overs with a run rate of 6.00 per over.
How come so much difference in performance and that too when the team which has lost is above par with the team that has won.All these happening despite no injury woes to any of the South African players.Did the captaincy of Kevin Pietersen influence to that extent on the South African team?Its really confusing to see the South African team succumb to England bowling so badly even in a pitch that was favoring the batsmen.How?
Has the England team really become so tough to out play or has the South African team lost its balance to out perform the England team.Not once but twice this has hapenned.The last time when the South African team toured England,the result was 5-1 favoring South Africa.Well..the point is not that the same history has to repeat itself.But,atleast some fighting reply would have cooled down things.With as many as 27 overs left to bat in the South African side,the lower order could have done a lot better.But?Well this is only an illusion,but,the suspicion is justified.Sorry to say this.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
A Step Ahead..India
Hmm..with all critics showering the team Indian in spite of a win in the second one day international at Dambulla,it looked as though the impact of this criticism on team India had such an impact that they were desperate to prove a lot of things and this is what they did! If not for the likes of Mahela Jayawardane,the Sri Lankan team had nothing to boast about when their batting was taken into consideration.And what an opening spell ot was by the duo of Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar who rattled the Sri Lankan top order by taking 5 wickets between them.Sri Lanka were reeling at 94/7 after the 27th over and much did one realize that they would cross the 200 mark,which they eventually did.Thanks to some patient batting by Mahela Jayawardane..a captain's knock indeed.
And hats off to all those people who called the pitch at Colombo a batsman's heaven when both the teams out there lost all their ten wickets.And the team that batted first could not even cross the 250 run mark despite the slog over advantage in the late 40 overs.And,the team that batted second..Forget about a batting friendly wicket.The ball was found moving like a cobra towards the end of the second innings itself and,when the match progressed to the second innings the situation was even more worse that the Sri Lankan batsmen had no other choice but to lose wickets.
The going was smooth during the initial phase of the first innings which the Indian batsmen Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made full use of,scoring half centuries each to post a decent total.It was really sad to see Ajantha Mendis miss out on a hattrick after claiming two wickets on successive balls during the fag end of the Indian innings.This really a magic of the toss of the match which Dhoni luckily and effortlessly won and with it the match.Sad that Chaminda Vaas could not grab his wicket number 400 even after an economical spell of 32 runs in 10 overs.
It was amazing that even the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan,upon whom the Sri Lankan team had complete dependence and expectation could not serve even half of what was expected from him.So was the case with Sanath Jayasuriya.Even juniors like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli could not be contained by these experienced bowlers on their own track.Tuff whether to congratulate these youngsters for standing up when the opportunity arose or to condemn the experienced bowlers who could not turn their magic on even these kids.
And hats off to all those people who called the pitch at Colombo a batsman's heaven when both the teams out there lost all their ten wickets.And the team that batted first could not even cross the 250 run mark despite the slog over advantage in the late 40 overs.And,the team that batted second..Forget about a batting friendly wicket.The ball was found moving like a cobra towards the end of the second innings itself and,when the match progressed to the second innings the situation was even more worse that the Sri Lankan batsmen had no other choice but to lose wickets.
The going was smooth during the initial phase of the first innings which the Indian batsmen Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made full use of,scoring half centuries each to post a decent total.It was really sad to see Ajantha Mendis miss out on a hattrick after claiming two wickets on successive balls during the fag end of the Indian innings.This really a magic of the toss of the match which Dhoni luckily and effortlessly won and with it the match.Sad that Chaminda Vaas could not grab his wicket number 400 even after an economical spell of 32 runs in 10 overs.
It was amazing that even the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan,upon whom the Sri Lankan team had complete dependence and expectation could not serve even half of what was expected from him.So was the case with Sanath Jayasuriya.Even juniors like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli could not be contained by these experienced bowlers on their own track.Tuff whether to congratulate these youngsters for standing up when the opportunity arose or to condemn the experienced bowlers who could not turn their magic on even these kids.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sun Starts Rising In Englend Atlast
High hopes of the England cricket team winning the test series was shattered when they lost the first two of the four test match series.Well,this was not expected though from the England team.And when most of us (if not all) thought it would be South Africa who would walk away with the one day series as well.this was only to be deceived.And what a captain the team has chosen!A captain who was found to play his captain's knock in the beginning of his career as captain.The captain also forced Steve Harmison against retiring from one day internationals.Looks like the words of the former England captain Michael Vaughan which said "I want 11 captains on the field" is turning out to be reality.
Pietersen's knock of 90 off just 82 balls in addition to his unbeaten 158 run partnership with Andrew Flintoff in just 21 overs at a run rate of just below an over was one of the finest way to start off his career as a captain.The question at the moment is "how long will he continue to do the good work?".If this continues atleast till the end of the series against South Africa,it would be worth the praise.The trump card of the day for England's batting was that they never lost wickets at regular intervals and batted patiently until it was really time to call the shots.Thus by blasting 94 runs from the last 10 overs.
And if this wasn't enough,the duo also had something to offer with the bat as well.For,both the batsmen who put up a huge partnership of 158,shared 4 wickets between them.Two each to both Pietersen and Flintoff.This coming at a time when the England team just needed.In other words,the England bowlers got crucial wickets whenever they wanted.Whenever the South African batsmen were found to cut loose,even the England bowlers were found cutting.All South African batsmen were found putting up the same performance.Hats off to the team effort.
Every batsman who took to the crease tried his best to over power the England bowlers.The going was easy in the beginning when Smith and Gibbs put up a score of 50 in the first 8 overs and when the second wicket fell, the scoreboard reading 93/2 after 15.4 overs.It was then only that the batting debacle started happening.But,South Africa did what England didn't.Lost wickets at regular intervals and also the match at the end of the day.
It looks like South Africa is the best opponent Pietersen.May be because this is his motherland for,he played the series of his life also against the same team amassing 500+ runs in 2005.
Pietersen's knock of 90 off just 82 balls in addition to his unbeaten 158 run partnership with Andrew Flintoff in just 21 overs at a run rate of just below an over was one of the finest way to start off his career as a captain.The question at the moment is "how long will he continue to do the good work?".If this continues atleast till the end of the series against South Africa,it would be worth the praise.The trump card of the day for England's batting was that they never lost wickets at regular intervals and batted patiently until it was really time to call the shots.Thus by blasting 94 runs from the last 10 overs.
And if this wasn't enough,the duo also had something to offer with the bat as well.For,both the batsmen who put up a huge partnership of 158,shared 4 wickets between them.Two each to both Pietersen and Flintoff.This coming at a time when the England team just needed.In other words,the England bowlers got crucial wickets whenever they wanted.Whenever the South African batsmen were found to cut loose,even the England bowlers were found cutting.All South African batsmen were found putting up the same performance.Hats off to the team effort.
Every batsman who took to the crease tried his best to over power the England bowlers.The going was easy in the beginning when Smith and Gibbs put up a score of 50 in the first 8 overs and when the second wicket fell, the scoreboard reading 93/2 after 15.4 overs.It was then only that the batting debacle started happening.But,South Africa did what England didn't.Lost wickets at regular intervals and also the match at the end of the day.
It looks like South Africa is the best opponent Pietersen.May be because this is his motherland for,he played the series of his life also against the same team amassing 500+ runs in 2005.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Whats Wrong With South Africa?
Well after much drama by Australia and Symonds especially,now,even South Africa has decided to follow suite it looks.How funny?Ha ha ha..I wonder as to whats the issue that continues to haunt these teams from touring Pakistan,when its so called enemy nation in India is least bothered about the security concerns in this so called trouble torn nation?Already,Australia has put off its tour scheduled this year citing the same security concerns.Is it only countries like Australia,South Africa and New Zealand concerned about security and the remaining five teams (excluding Pakistan itself) are least bothered about their security?When fans who are excited to see their heroes are far from being allowed even to take their autographs or photographs,does anyone think that the security issue that is found worrying Australia and co is really justified?
Didn't India and South Africa tour Sri Lanka despite a bomb blast very close to the hotel in which the Indian team lodged?Off course,South Africa did have a problem then too.But,I don't think that things are that horrible that one opts not to take the risk of touring that country.In 2003,South Africa refused to travel Sharjah when U.S forces attacked Iraq,only to be proved to be wrong when Zimbabwe and Kenya who travelled instead of South Africa had no problems absolutely.The same happened when Indian team travelled to Bangladesh in 2005 despite threats especially to Sachin Tendulkar.
I wonder as to which part of the globe is really safe in today's world?There were serial blasts in Jaipur when most of the Australian and South African players were here taking part in the multi million dollar IPL.Some of the Australian and South African players also threatened to pull out.But...?The only manner in which one can support the pull out of nations from Pakistan could be in protest against these inhuman acts by such people,following which such acts could be curbed in future.If this is not the case,I think the issue should not be taken too far.
Though not completely secure,I don't think the situation is so worst.If this is the case,its really interesting and amazing that the ICC is not showing any intrest in shifting the venue despite pull out threats from Pakistan.And how come none of the Indian players nor the BCCI is concerned about the same?I think it would be advisible for teams to stop worrying about security concerns in Pakistan,for such a mega event would be secured to the maximum extent possible.
Didn't India and South Africa tour Sri Lanka despite a bomb blast very close to the hotel in which the Indian team lodged?Off course,South Africa did have a problem then too.But,I don't think that things are that horrible that one opts not to take the risk of touring that country.In 2003,South Africa refused to travel Sharjah when U.S forces attacked Iraq,only to be proved to be wrong when Zimbabwe and Kenya who travelled instead of South Africa had no problems absolutely.The same happened when Indian team travelled to Bangladesh in 2005 despite threats especially to Sachin Tendulkar.
I wonder as to which part of the globe is really safe in today's world?There were serial blasts in Jaipur when most of the Australian and South African players were here taking part in the multi million dollar IPL.Some of the Australian and South African players also threatened to pull out.But...?The only manner in which one can support the pull out of nations from Pakistan could be in protest against these inhuman acts by such people,following which such acts could be curbed in future.If this is not the case,I think the issue should not be taken too far.
Though not completely secure,I don't think the situation is so worst.If this is the case,its really interesting and amazing that the ICC is not showing any intrest in shifting the venue despite pull out threats from Pakistan.And how come none of the Indian players nor the BCCI is concerned about the same?I think it would be advisible for teams to stop worrying about security concerns in Pakistan,for such a mega event would be secured to the maximum extent possible.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Perfect Time To Think Over
Well..it was as though like the saying that goes "All is well that ends well" after the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on Wednesday.But,I feel it is the right time for Dhoni's men to think,for even a modest total in 142 was found to bother the Indian batsmen who lost 7 wickets at crucial times of the match, thus swinging the pendulum each and every moment they went out to bat and the Sri Lankans came in to bowl. This clearly shows that it was Sri Lanka who took home most of the honours of the match at the end of the day.I wish Sri Lanka would have made it to the record books for one of the lowest totals defended.
God knows as what was selectors plans were,when they had to force Dhoni to send in Irfan Pathan and Virat Kohli opening when there were the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who were dropped along with injuries striking key players like Robin Uttappa,Sachin Tendulkar and Goutam Gambhir.Anyway,"KUDOS" to Virat Kohli for striking as many as 6 boundaries in the initial phase of his career. When much is being talked about the brilliant bowling of the Indian side,it is worth mentioning that if not for the likes of Zaheer Khan who took 4-21 by rattling the top order and Praveen Kumar (3-34),the rest were just there to do a formal job of completing the remaining overs.The remaining bowlers' economy read above 4.0 runs an over in comparison with the overall run-rate of 3.68 per over.
It would not have been a disappointment had the Indian team lost even the second encounter.The Sri Lankan bowlers gave away just 4 runs in wides and no-balls compared to 11 wides bowled by the Indian bowlers.It was the captain's knock that helped India see themselves through the match in addition to 27 year old debutant Badrinath who scored an unbeaten 27.
And this time, it was not the magic of Ajantha Mendis that made the Indian batsmen to bother much about.But,it was themselves to blame for their batting debacle.Full marks for Zaheer Khan for a stupendous first spell that sent back Jayawardane ,Sangakkara,Kapugedra and Chamara Silva.Sad that he didn't get a much deserved 5 wicket haul.At the end,it looks like the selectors have to stop trying too much experimenting with the batting order before they make fools out of themselves.
God knows as what was selectors plans were,when they had to force Dhoni to send in Irfan Pathan and Virat Kohli opening when there were the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who were dropped along with injuries striking key players like Robin Uttappa,Sachin Tendulkar and Goutam Gambhir.Anyway,"KUDOS" to Virat Kohli for striking as many as 6 boundaries in the initial phase of his career. When much is being talked about the brilliant bowling of the Indian side,it is worth mentioning that if not for the likes of Zaheer Khan who took 4-21 by rattling the top order and Praveen Kumar (3-34),the rest were just there to do a formal job of completing the remaining overs.The remaining bowlers' economy read above 4.0 runs an over in comparison with the overall run-rate of 3.68 per over.
It would not have been a disappointment had the Indian team lost even the second encounter.The Sri Lankan bowlers gave away just 4 runs in wides and no-balls compared to 11 wides bowled by the Indian bowlers.It was the captain's knock that helped India see themselves through the match in addition to 27 year old debutant Badrinath who scored an unbeaten 27.
And this time, it was not the magic of Ajantha Mendis that made the Indian batsmen to bother much about.But,it was themselves to blame for their batting debacle.Full marks for Zaheer Khan for a stupendous first spell that sent back Jayawardane ,Sangakkara,Kapugedra and Chamara Silva.Sad that he didn't get a much deserved 5 wicket haul.At the end,it looks like the selectors have to stop trying too much experimenting with the batting order before they make fools out of themselves.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Too Much Of Mendis?
Well..in the past three or four months, one devil that continues to haunt the Indian batsmen is Ajantha Mendis. It all started since the Asia cup in Pakistan, where Mendis ended up taking 16 wickets, that included a career best of 6-13 in the finals. This was followed by his record of a 26 wicket tally in the recently concluded test series against India. And in the first one dayer against the same India, this man was found to trouble the Indian batsmen once again, by tackling three batsman, the must watch delivery being that which was bowled to Yuvraj Singh, that deceived the batsman- who,misjudged it to be fairly outside the leg stump, only to realise it too late that the ball was found to straighten. Full marks for this delivery of Ajantha Mendis.
However, this man has off-late been found to show his skills only against India. To remind, there are as many as 9 test playing nations in the cricketing world.No doubt that this man shows all signs of making it big but, it would be wise not to assume too many things for the moment. And coming to the first ODI betwen India and Sri Lanka, in addition to praising Mendis for his devastating spell, isn't it India also who are making it too big in Mendis? Have they really given it all to Mendis, for they are found to come up with all praise for this man whenever they lose, despite this feat being repeated for not once but for the fifth time in succession.
Do the Indian batsmen have any plans to tackle Mendis? Either they (Indians) take the opposition lightly or they come in for full praise for the same rather than think as what could be done regarding the same. Like Anil Kumble- who before the test series bagan, took the same Mendis lightly. This was not the way the Indians were found playing during their tour of Australia earlier this year. The team that had some success against that best team in the world, is now rather giving it up against a team which is placed below in the ICC points table. All that is needed for the moment is their will to win matches. And until this happens, the result will never change I believe.
Some foolishness in the commentary team should also be noticed. This was observed when one of the commentators were found utterring "It looks like Munaf Patel has done the job for his team (after sending back Sangakkara when the score board read 45-2)", and then after a while, "Sri Lanka in deep trouble now...eight more wickets from here onwards would see India through this game..."..I wonder if anyone is unaware of the fact that each team has 10 wickets to go? Anyway thanks commentators for informing us. Thanks a lot..
However, this man has off-late been found to show his skills only against India. To remind, there are as many as 9 test playing nations in the cricketing world.No doubt that this man shows all signs of making it big but, it would be wise not to assume too many things for the moment. And coming to the first ODI betwen India and Sri Lanka, in addition to praising Mendis for his devastating spell, isn't it India also who are making it too big in Mendis? Have they really given it all to Mendis, for they are found to come up with all praise for this man whenever they lose, despite this feat being repeated for not once but for the fifth time in succession.
Do the Indian batsmen have any plans to tackle Mendis? Either they (Indians) take the opposition lightly or they come in for full praise for the same rather than think as what could be done regarding the same. Like Anil Kumble- who before the test series bagan, took the same Mendis lightly. This was not the way the Indians were found playing during their tour of Australia earlier this year. The team that had some success against that best team in the world, is now rather giving it up against a team which is placed below in the ICC points table. All that is needed for the moment is their will to win matches. And until this happens, the result will never change I believe.
Some foolishness in the commentary team should also be noticed. This was observed when one of the commentators were found utterring "It looks like Munaf Patel has done the job for his team (after sending back Sangakkara when the score board read 45-2)", and then after a while, "Sri Lanka in deep trouble now...eight more wickets from here onwards would see India through this game..."..I wonder if anyone is unaware of the fact that each team has 10 wickets to go? Anyway thanks commentators for informing us. Thanks a lot..
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