Well after losing the one day series to the visitors, Sri Lanka should have made up its mind to get up from the land of dreams and bring them into reality whatsoever. But, it looked that the SriLankans never ever wanted that to happen. For, forget about pocketing the T20 game they never did anything seriously in the match to trouble India. The times where India were found reeling was due to the fact that they made a mess of themselves and not because of some beautiful bowling from the Sri Lankan bowlers. So, it would not be wrong if one could say that even this match was one sided.
India winning against all odds has become a habit the day since the Aussie domination has started declining. And the only competent for India being South Africa, a series against the same is no where in the near future. Anyway, thats a different issue altogether. And, coming to the match, a close look at the Sri Lankan scorecard would suggest us that they did play a decent batting. But, is this enough in a T20 game? Just think yourself. India used exactly 5 bowlers who bowled their allotted 4 overs each. Meaning that the Indian captain never required the presense of a part time bowler.
Not exactly. The Sri Lankan batsmen never wanted or never forced Mahendra Singh Dhoni to go in for either Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh to tackle the Sri Lankan batsmen. And instead went in for Ravindra Jadeja who was playing his maiden T20 match. This was the fate of the Sri Lankan team. The Indian bowlers never sufferred at the hands of the Sri Lankan batsmen whatsoever. And neither did the Indian batsmen against the Sri Lankan bowlers. They had plans for every bowler who would make it to the Indian batsmen. If not, what made Mahela Jayawardane go in for seven bowlers?
The only players who never had a ball were the captain himself who seldom bowls and the wicket keeper, whom if you ask him to bowl would show you replays when the ball was given to his hand. But, please don't laugh when that happens. And despite all these, Mahela Jayawardane could not stop the Indian batsmen nor could he stop himself from going first to the presentation party to have a word with Arun Lal. And this I guess was probably the one which prompted him to announce his retirement from captaincy. Not a bad move at all. There is Kumara Sangakkara ready in all aspects. I really pity the Sri Lankan team.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Something Funny indeed
Well all of us are aware of the fate of the second test between the West Indies and England at Antigua, which was abandoned owing to a sandy pitch that got even more worse when the rains poured down. The two test matches have been able to raise eyebrows whatsoever. The first instance being that West Indies unexpectedly won the first test match and that too by a one sided innings. And not only that. West Indies bowled out England out for a partly score of 51, with six of the English batsmen being out for a duck and only Andrew Flintoff could manage to cross the double figure mark.
Had this been the performance by the West Indies team, it would not have made much news, for in the recent past they have been doing that regularly. The last time the West Indies hosted England, they were all out for a score of less than 100 on two occasions. One instance saw the West Indies crumble for a score of just 47, the match in which England's Mathew Hoggard took a hattrick. Then in the same series, the West Indies were all out for 94, which England won by 10 wickets. In that season, England beat the West Indies on 7 out of 8 tests, with one test being drawn (the match where Brian Lara scored 400*).
It is still not clear as to what was responsible for the English debacle in the first. Some blame it on the IPL. But, still I cannot figure out what had the IPL got to do with their debacle in that test. Anyway, coming to the second test, this was the first test that I ever saw where the pitch preparation was so bad. I wonder as to what on earth forced the curator of the pitch to go in for such irresponsible duties, where a pitch becomes so sandy. Had the curators predicted that there would be no rains absolutely and their hidden truth guilt would never ever be exposed?
Nothing can be ruled out in today's world of cricket. This was something similar to the Sydney test controversy in early 2008 where the onfield as well as the third umpire witnessed an eclipse which no other in the world could. Probably, the umpires had gone blind or had they forgotten the rules of the game of cricket is yet to be known. The situation is no different in the second test where a pitch not even suitable for gully cricket is being prepared. Might be that the curators were new to the job of preparing the pitch. This made me burst into laughter.
Had this been the performance by the West Indies team, it would not have made much news, for in the recent past they have been doing that regularly. The last time the West Indies hosted England, they were all out for a score of less than 100 on two occasions. One instance saw the West Indies crumble for a score of just 47, the match in which England's Mathew Hoggard took a hattrick. Then in the same series, the West Indies were all out for 94, which England won by 10 wickets. In that season, England beat the West Indies on 7 out of 8 tests, with one test being drawn (the match where Brian Lara scored 400*).
It is still not clear as to what was responsible for the English debacle in the first. Some blame it on the IPL. But, still I cannot figure out what had the IPL got to do with their debacle in that test. Anyway, coming to the second test, this was the first test that I ever saw where the pitch preparation was so bad. I wonder as to what on earth forced the curator of the pitch to go in for such irresponsible duties, where a pitch becomes so sandy. Had the curators predicted that there would be no rains absolutely and their hidden truth guilt would never ever be exposed?
Nothing can be ruled out in today's world of cricket. This was something similar to the Sydney test controversy in early 2008 where the onfield as well as the third umpire witnessed an eclipse which no other in the world could. Probably, the umpires had gone blind or had they forgotten the rules of the game of cricket is yet to be known. The situation is no different in the second test where a pitch not even suitable for gully cricket is being prepared. Might be that the curators were new to the job of preparing the pitch. This made me burst into laughter.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Consolation To Sri Lanka
Finally, the most unexpected happens for team India as well as for Sri Lanka. India, who were thought to successfully beat the Sri Lankans 5-0 at the end were found to lose the final game at Colombo. And Sri Lanka on the otherhand who thought would lose all five games ended up winning the fifth and final one dayer. And, much to one's surprise Sri Lanka not only won the fifth and the final one day international match at Colombo but also put up a decent total on the board for the Indians to chase. Had this been the first game of the series or even a game wherein Sri Lanka was well alive in the series, things would have been probably different.
The inconsequential aspect turned things around for the Sri Lankans I suppose. Of course Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men would have surely had things to whitewash the Sri Lankans in their mind before going into the last inconsequential game at Colombo. But, if their body language of the Indian players on the field is taken into consideration, that never ever seemed so. I think that this was the one which set the tone for Sri Lanka to avoid being whitewashed at the hands of the Indians. Else, things would have been different I suppose. So, the match could rather be seen as a gift from M S Dhoni to Jayawardane.
It hardly makes any sense to view the match to be won by Sri Lanka. A perfect view would be that India lost the match to Sri Lanka. For, Sri Lankan bowlers who were equipped with Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof could not even contain a debutant Ravindra Jadeja who went on to score his unbeaten maiden half century that was aided with the help of 5 hits to the fence. With this being the case, it would be foolish for one to think that Sri Lankans held an upper hand in this particular match. And how can one ever think such a team to return home with a victory?
Just take a look at the bowlers that the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni used against the Sri Lankans. People like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohith Sharma who were never found to bowl in international cricket were given the ball. And the Indian captain used as many as 8 bowlers, with the captain himself and Gautam Gambhir being exceptions. Now, it is left for you people to decide as to how come the Sri Lankans could manage such a decent target when they were hardly in the game when things really mattered? With such a depleted bowling attack by team India, the Sri Lankand team total should have crossed 400. And 320 is never close to the expected total. I wish the Sri Lankans just cool their heels rather than relishing their victory in the match.
The inconsequential aspect turned things around for the Sri Lankans I suppose. Of course Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men would have surely had things to whitewash the Sri Lankans in their mind before going into the last inconsequential game at Colombo. But, if their body language of the Indian players on the field is taken into consideration, that never ever seemed so. I think that this was the one which set the tone for Sri Lanka to avoid being whitewashed at the hands of the Indians. Else, things would have been different I suppose. So, the match could rather be seen as a gift from M S Dhoni to Jayawardane.
It hardly makes any sense to view the match to be won by Sri Lanka. A perfect view would be that India lost the match to Sri Lanka. For, Sri Lankan bowlers who were equipped with Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof could not even contain a debutant Ravindra Jadeja who went on to score his unbeaten maiden half century that was aided with the help of 5 hits to the fence. With this being the case, it would be foolish for one to think that Sri Lankans held an upper hand in this particular match. And how can one ever think such a team to return home with a victory?
Just take a look at the bowlers that the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni used against the Sri Lankans. People like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohith Sharma who were never found to bowl in international cricket were given the ball. And the Indian captain used as many as 8 bowlers, with the captain himself and Gautam Gambhir being exceptions. Now, it is left for you people to decide as to how come the Sri Lankans could manage such a decent target when they were hardly in the game when things really mattered? With such a depleted bowling attack by team India, the Sri Lankand team total should have crossed 400. And 320 is never close to the expected total. I wish the Sri Lankans just cool their heels rather than relishing their victory in the match.
Sr Lankan Ship Sinks Further
Well one gone then two followed by three and now, it has been four. So, cricket is found to be so boring with the Sri Lankans in the recent past that forget about winning or a decent encounter, even a positive approach to the game is a thing of the past. After looking at the current one day series against, it is still not been able for me to figure out as to how the Sri Lankans could manage a series win against Pakistan off late. Forget about the series against India. Even against some lower based teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were more than enough to pose problems for the Sri Lankans.
More cricket for Sri Lanka at the moment is found to be more worries and nothing else. A team in India scores a massive score of 332 despite winning the series 3-0 and Sri Lanka are least bothered to even chase the target down. All they were found doing was just trying to draw a test match and nothing else. It all lied in the bowling departmant of Sri Lanka where each and every bowler gets belted. All that the match could produce was Muralitharan's 503rd wicket. Thank god that at last Muralitharan found something for him atleast. Finally you've done it Murali!!!
Coming to the match, there was only one bowler in Sanath Jayasuriya who could end up with runs-per-over of 5.6 (less than 6 runs per over). And Sanath Jayasuriya being the one of the bowler to have bowled less than 10 overs raises some doubts about Mahela Jayawardane's captaincy as well as player handling skills. And in the bowling department of the Indians, even part time bowlers like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh can be of some contribution. And new comers like Pragyan Ojha and Yousuf Pathan too pose a threat to the Sri Lankan batsmen I believe. So, what can be said of a team like this?
I wish the Sri Lankans had come to this match to face bowlers like Suresh Raina and Rohith Sharma who are rarely given the ball. Or may be even they could end up successful against the Sri Lankan batsmen who knows? All that was required for Sri Lankans to be found kicking themselves were just three Indian batsmen namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina towards the end of the Indian innings. The aforementioned players added 294 runs and the rest added just 14 runs, with extras having been 25. So, this means that the Sri Lankans were never mentally prepared to return to international cricket by any means. India might have won the series against Sri Lanka but, it has failed in selecting a decent opposition against which a thrill could have been expected.
More cricket for Sri Lanka at the moment is found to be more worries and nothing else. A team in India scores a massive score of 332 despite winning the series 3-0 and Sri Lanka are least bothered to even chase the target down. All they were found doing was just trying to draw a test match and nothing else. It all lied in the bowling departmant of Sri Lanka where each and every bowler gets belted. All that the match could produce was Muralitharan's 503rd wicket. Thank god that at last Muralitharan found something for him atleast. Finally you've done it Murali!!!
Coming to the match, there was only one bowler in Sanath Jayasuriya who could end up with runs-per-over of 5.6 (less than 6 runs per over). And Sanath Jayasuriya being the one of the bowler to have bowled less than 10 overs raises some doubts about Mahela Jayawardane's captaincy as well as player handling skills. And in the bowling department of the Indians, even part time bowlers like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh can be of some contribution. And new comers like Pragyan Ojha and Yousuf Pathan too pose a threat to the Sri Lankan batsmen I believe. So, what can be said of a team like this?
I wish the Sri Lankans had come to this match to face bowlers like Suresh Raina and Rohith Sharma who are rarely given the ball. Or may be even they could end up successful against the Sri Lankan batsmen who knows? All that was required for Sri Lankans to be found kicking themselves were just three Indian batsmen namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina towards the end of the Indian innings. The aforementioned players added 294 runs and the rest added just 14 runs, with extras having been 25. So, this means that the Sri Lankans were never mentally prepared to return to international cricket by any means. India might have won the series against Sri Lanka but, it has failed in selecting a decent opposition against which a thrill could have been expected.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sri Lanka Gives Up The Chase
A loss at the hands of team India in the first one day international at Dambulla makes Sri Lanka more determined to face the challenge in the second one day international, which they end up losing despite a decent team plan in chasing a comparitively low of 257 when they fall just short by 15 runs. So,this time in the third one day international, all eyes should have been on Sri Lanka who were expected after the second one day match to make things difficult for India. And Oh my god!what a surprise? What happened was exactly opposite of their expectation.
Sri Lanka seemed to have all lost even before the match started I guess. For, if not, it would not have been possible for the Indians especially Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag to blast the Sri Lankan bowlers all over the stadium. Lack of planning and prior to this , lack of interest on the Sri Lankan part was India's gain I can say. Loss in the first two one day internationals made Sri Lankans reluctant to go in for the third. A defeat was thought to be on the cards even before the Sri Lankan players stepped into the field.
Just two of the Indian batsmen were more than enough for th Sri Lankan bowlers equipped with Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis (who were thought to be Sri Lanka's main weapons before the series began) to destroy the opposition. And coming to the second part of the match, the Sri Lankan batting absolutely showed no signs of chasing the mammoth total as expected. All that the match could offer was to see some great batting display from the blades of Yuvraj SIngh and Virender Sehwag and Yousuf Pathan towards the fag end of the Indian innings. A little bit of effort from the Sri Lankan batsmen could have made the day for cricket fans.
Now that Sri Lanka have lost the third one day international against India and with it the series as well, it would not be right to expect Sri Lanka to come back and win the next two one day matches for, Sri Lanka never approached the game with a positive mind when things really mattered, a guess would reveal about their approach to the remainder of the series. Probably, Sri Lanka might offer India a 5-0 whitewash. None of the Sri Lankan players are really found equipped with the challenge of destroying the opposition, since rhe day they have been playing against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh late last year. And Muralitharan is yet to get his 500th wicket. When can we expect that?
Sri Lanka seemed to have all lost even before the match started I guess. For, if not, it would not have been possible for the Indians especially Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag to blast the Sri Lankan bowlers all over the stadium. Lack of planning and prior to this , lack of interest on the Sri Lankan part was India's gain I can say. Loss in the first two one day internationals made Sri Lankans reluctant to go in for the third. A defeat was thought to be on the cards even before the Sri Lankan players stepped into the field.
Just two of the Indian batsmen were more than enough for th Sri Lankan bowlers equipped with Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis (who were thought to be Sri Lanka's main weapons before the series began) to destroy the opposition. And coming to the second part of the match, the Sri Lankan batting absolutely showed no signs of chasing the mammoth total as expected. All that the match could offer was to see some great batting display from the blades of Yuvraj SIngh and Virender Sehwag and Yousuf Pathan towards the fag end of the Indian innings. A little bit of effort from the Sri Lankan batsmen could have made the day for cricket fans.
Now that Sri Lanka have lost the third one day international against India and with it the series as well, it would not be right to expect Sri Lanka to come back and win the next two one day matches for, Sri Lanka never approached the game with a positive mind when things really mattered, a guess would reveal about their approach to the remainder of the series. Probably, Sri Lanka might offer India a 5-0 whitewash. None of the Sri Lankan players are really found equipped with the challenge of destroying the opposition, since rhe day they have been playing against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh late last year. And Muralitharan is yet to get his 500th wicket. When can we expect that?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
A Mess Finds Sri Lanka Fall Just Short
After the thrashing that the Sri Lankan cricket team got in the first one day international at Dambulla, the second one day international match between the same saw Sri Lanka getting into the contest to draw something from their opposition. But, at the end of the day, all that the Sri Lankans could end up doing was to just curse themselves for coming so close to winning the game and yet again ending up as losers. This is not professional at their peak. For, the good work went unnoticed and deserving or undeserving Sri Lankans had no other choice but to accept defeat.
Though the second innings started rather shaky, the Sri Lankans continued to battle it out with a century stand between captain Mahela Jayawardane and Kandamby for the fourth wicket. And the equation was always in abalance between both India and Sri Lanka for most part of the game and Sri Lanka could have grabbed away the match at any time possible. But, that never happened. This is called as lack of preparedness on the part of the Sri Lankans. After the fall of Kapugedra, there was no one to lead the tempo going on despite Kandamby at the other end.
All the batsmen who followed Kapugedra ended their innings in a single digit. None of them could support Kandamby who not only lost out on scoring a century, but also was disappointed for ending on the losing side. There were three run outs in the Sri Lankan innings namely that of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Kulashekara, whose contribution with the bat would have seen Sri Lanka through that match. This also meant that Kandamby could not get his hundred for no fault of his. Such hasty decisions at most times could be foolish as it has been in the past. One has to watch out for videos of Australia's Michael Beaven and Steve Waugh who can hold their breath despite wickets falling at the other end.
It is still in the memories of many cricket fans, the way Steve Waugh in the super sixes of the 1999 world cup at England, when his team was reeling at 135/5 chasing a target of 272 against South Africa who were undefeated until then, finally won the match by 5 wickets, which set the tone for the Aussies to win the world cup. And the way Michael Beaven batted despite pressure in the semis of the 1996 as well as 1999 world cup could be of some inspiration. And more recently, New Zealand defeated Australia in the penultimate ball of the innings with just two wickets remaining. Perhaps, had this been the approach of the Sri Lankans, the result would have been different.
Though the second innings started rather shaky, the Sri Lankans continued to battle it out with a century stand between captain Mahela Jayawardane and Kandamby for the fourth wicket. And the equation was always in abalance between both India and Sri Lanka for most part of the game and Sri Lanka could have grabbed away the match at any time possible. But, that never happened. This is called as lack of preparedness on the part of the Sri Lankans. After the fall of Kapugedra, there was no one to lead the tempo going on despite Kandamby at the other end.
All the batsmen who followed Kapugedra ended their innings in a single digit. None of them could support Kandamby who not only lost out on scoring a century, but also was disappointed for ending on the losing side. There were three run outs in the Sri Lankan innings namely that of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Kulashekara, whose contribution with the bat would have seen Sri Lanka through that match. This also meant that Kandamby could not get his hundred for no fault of his. Such hasty decisions at most times could be foolish as it has been in the past. One has to watch out for videos of Australia's Michael Beaven and Steve Waugh who can hold their breath despite wickets falling at the other end.
It is still in the memories of many cricket fans, the way Steve Waugh in the super sixes of the 1999 world cup at England, when his team was reeling at 135/5 chasing a target of 272 against South Africa who were undefeated until then, finally won the match by 5 wickets, which set the tone for the Aussies to win the world cup. And the way Michael Beaven batted despite pressure in the semis of the 1996 as well as 1999 world cup could be of some inspiration. And more recently, New Zealand defeated Australia in the penultimate ball of the innings with just two wickets remaining. Perhaps, had this been the approach of the Sri Lankans, the result would have been different.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Where Have The Remaining Ten Gone?
Well at last, after much of the fuss, the first one day international match between India and SriLanka takes place at Dambulla. But, this as per my view or opinion, is not that great start for the series. For, the series expected a lot of expectations regarding some blistering fireworks from the blades of Sanath Jayasuriya. of course, Sanath Jayasuriya did fire with his bat despite being aged close to 40. But, I think that it is now necessary that one has to remind Sri Lanka that there are as many as eleven players in the team rather than only one man who id supposed to show his greatness with the bat.
From the Indian point of view, I can just relax for, it is my country who has made its day and as expected, India did win the match. But, if one is a real follower of the game of cricket, he would be surely interested in playing or watching someone play good and exciting cricket on the field rather than just wait or pray that his team wins no matter what. And this is what the game of cricket is all about. How can one expect someone to compromise with some thrilling stuff in return for a boring encounter like it happened at the Dambulla in the first one day international? Only three out of seven batsmen out there came out with some decent performances on the field.
could be considered to be a bowler rather than as a batsman. So, in the sense, only Out of the three batsmen whio showcast their skills with the bat, one of them- Farveez MaharoofSanathJayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara were really worth the praise and regarding other batsmen it was just like "fill in the blanks". If such is the performance of the Sri Lankan batsmen on their home ground in Sri Lanka, what else can be expected from them and what is the mistake of the Indians who can well walk away with the victory in their hand from the very first one day international?
If this is the kind of opposition that some team in India, who are riding very high on their confidence after whitewashing England 5-0 in November, it would not be a big task for them to take over the Sri Lankans who are running very very low after their recent loss at the hands of Bangladesh and their dismal performances against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe where Sri Lanka had a last gasp for victory. Sri Lanka never ever tried to correct their mistake and in turn continued to do the same and this is what they have landed with. A rather humiliating defeat against a team which lost miserably in the finals of the Asia cup 2008. So, better luck next time Sri Lankans.
From the Indian point of view, I can just relax for, it is my country who has made its day and as expected, India did win the match. But, if one is a real follower of the game of cricket, he would be surely interested in playing or watching someone play good and exciting cricket on the field rather than just wait or pray that his team wins no matter what. And this is what the game of cricket is all about. How can one expect someone to compromise with some thrilling stuff in return for a boring encounter like it happened at the Dambulla in the first one day international? Only three out of seven batsmen out there came out with some decent performances on the field.
could be considered to be a bowler rather than as a batsman. So, in the sense, only Out of the three batsmen whio showcast their skills with the bat, one of them- Farveez MaharoofSanathJayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara were really worth the praise and regarding other batsmen it was just like "fill in the blanks". If such is the performance of the Sri Lankan batsmen on their home ground in Sri Lanka, what else can be expected from them and what is the mistake of the Indians who can well walk away with the victory in their hand from the very first one day international?
If this is the kind of opposition that some team in India, who are riding very high on their confidence after whitewashing England 5-0 in November, it would not be a big task for them to take over the Sri Lankans who are running very very low after their recent loss at the hands of Bangladesh and their dismal performances against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe where Sri Lanka had a last gasp for victory. Sri Lanka never ever tried to correct their mistake and in turn continued to do the same and this is what they have landed with. A rather humiliating defeat against a team which lost miserably in the finals of the Asia cup 2008. So, better luck next time Sri Lankans.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
India Spoil Pakistan's Party
Well it is still an undisclosed fact as to why did team India ever decide of touring Sri Lanka when the ICC tours calender never had any plans of that sort. Of course there was a void left in the cricketing calender of the BCCI with the tour of Pakistan being sacrificed to the Mumbai terror strikes on 26/11. Anyway, Pakistan after a year long gap gone without any sorts of decent international cricket, had planned well in advance much more earlier than the Indians did, when they decided to go ahead with playing Sri Lanka once the Indian tour got canceled.
Is it a coincidence that India have decided to tour Sri Lanka or is it just that India just wants to seek revenge against Pakistan in whatever way possible? A sweet and non voilent revenge on the Indian counterparts eh? Not bad. This forced the Sri Lankans to end their tour of Pakistan as early as possible. Sri Lanka and Pakistan played the scheduled three one day internationals in a span of just four days. While, in case of other tri nation tournaments, the tour lasts atleast a week if there are two days gap between each one day international match.
If at all the gap left out by the cancellation of India's tour to Pakistan has to be filled, India could have well gone in for some other team like there were the Bangladeshis who were jobless at the moment, very much fresh from their recent exploitation of the weak Sri Lankan team. This assuming that the Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan was booked far earlier compared to the Indians. If not Bangladesh, there were Zimbabwe & South Africa in addition to other non test playing nations. And how come the teams-India & Sri Lanka are found relaxing after every match while as said the Sri Lanka-Pakistan series was decided and concluded hastily?
And why should the void ever be filled, when last year when the ICC Champions Trophy that was to be held in Pakistan was cancelled all the teams over the world were just warming their bodies at home. Neither did the ICC nor did the other cricket nations ever decide about holding other tournaments like, they could have held another series of the IPL. The second in the year 2008. All of a sudden, why such hasty decisions? Now, the test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan has been scheduled on 22nd of this month. But, it would be worth to think about it only after it really happens. I'm sorry. Only when the series gets concluded.
Is it a coincidence that India have decided to tour Sri Lanka or is it just that India just wants to seek revenge against Pakistan in whatever way possible? A sweet and non voilent revenge on the Indian counterparts eh? Not bad. This forced the Sri Lankans to end their tour of Pakistan as early as possible. Sri Lanka and Pakistan played the scheduled three one day internationals in a span of just four days. While, in case of other tri nation tournaments, the tour lasts atleast a week if there are two days gap between each one day international match.
If at all the gap left out by the cancellation of India's tour to Pakistan has to be filled, India could have well gone in for some other team like there were the Bangladeshis who were jobless at the moment, very much fresh from their recent exploitation of the weak Sri Lankan team. This assuming that the Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan was booked far earlier compared to the Indians. If not Bangladesh, there were Zimbabwe & South Africa in addition to other non test playing nations. And how come the teams-India & Sri Lanka are found relaxing after every match while as said the Sri Lanka-Pakistan series was decided and concluded hastily?
And why should the void ever be filled, when last year when the ICC Champions Trophy that was to be held in Pakistan was cancelled all the teams over the world were just warming their bodies at home. Neither did the ICC nor did the other cricket nations ever decide about holding other tournaments like, they could have held another series of the IPL. The second in the year 2008. All of a sudden, why such hasty decisions? Now, the test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan has been scheduled on 22nd of this month. But, it would be worth to think about it only after it really happens. I'm sorry. Only when the series gets concluded.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Finally Pakistan Pay The Price
The third one day international saw Pakistan pay a heavy price for what they have been doing since a year or so. A year long rest proves very crucial for the Pakistanis. For, when they are back to their playing days, they can hardly afford to crack the opposition in any manner in any department of the game. A 234 run defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans is something unbearable whatsoever. For, even the 245 run defeat at the hands of Sri Lankans some nine years ago was unacceptable and this led to so many changes to the then Indian team. Members of the team like Nayan Mongia and Vinod Kanbli never ever tended to look back after sometime from the day they registered this huge defeat.
Pakistan fell just short of making into the record books for having a defeat of the highest margin in one day cricket as far as only the test playing teams of the world are considerd. Of course there have been instances where India imposed a 257 run defeat over Bermuda in the World Cup 2007 and in 2003 world cup, Australia inflicted a mammoth defeat of 256 runs. For the sake of stats, India has the record of inflicting the highest ever margin of defeat against any team in the world. And at the same time, India is the victim of having been beaten by a world record margin despite playing test cricket for years altogether.
It is still not understandable as to what was going on in the minds of the Pakistani cricketers which saw them succumb to such a low total of 75 while Sri Lanka's team total went well past 300. The variation between the performances of these two teams should be indeed given a re think whatsoever. If the past performances between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is taken into consideration, Pakistan should have had an upper hand in this match. Especially after their 8 wicket victory in the first one day international at Karachi. Pakistan have won the last 7 out of the 10 one day matches played against Sri Lanka. The three losses being in the third one dayer in the three match ODI series that followed after the world cup 2007 and two in the current series.
Despite for not having been playing cricket for a year long time, Pakistan managed to beat the West Indies 3-0 during their tout in Abu Dhabi convincingly. Of course they should have and have beaten Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 each. But, it is still not clear as to what happened to the Pakistanis when they faced a team which struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in all the games they have faced each other. It is a wonder for a team to beat Pakistan after having the matches against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in a toss. A loss to Sri Lanka meant the end of theor successful one day campaign of having won 14 one day internationals in a row. Pakistan beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 and the West Indies 3-0 and Sri Lanka in the first encounter before losing the second and third one.
Pakistan fell just short of making into the record books for having a defeat of the highest margin in one day cricket as far as only the test playing teams of the world are considerd. Of course there have been instances where India imposed a 257 run defeat over Bermuda in the World Cup 2007 and in 2003 world cup, Australia inflicted a mammoth defeat of 256 runs. For the sake of stats, India has the record of inflicting the highest ever margin of defeat against any team in the world. And at the same time, India is the victim of having been beaten by a world record margin despite playing test cricket for years altogether.
It is still not understandable as to what was going on in the minds of the Pakistani cricketers which saw them succumb to such a low total of 75 while Sri Lanka's team total went well past 300. The variation between the performances of these two teams should be indeed given a re think whatsoever. If the past performances between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is taken into consideration, Pakistan should have had an upper hand in this match. Especially after their 8 wicket victory in the first one day international at Karachi. Pakistan have won the last 7 out of the 10 one day matches played against Sri Lanka. The three losses being in the third one dayer in the three match ODI series that followed after the world cup 2007 and two in the current series.
Despite for not having been playing cricket for a year long time, Pakistan managed to beat the West Indies 3-0 during their tout in Abu Dhabi convincingly. Of course they should have and have beaten Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 each. But, it is still not clear as to what happened to the Pakistanis when they faced a team which struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in all the games they have faced each other. It is a wonder for a team to beat Pakistan after having the matches against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in a toss. A loss to Sri Lanka meant the end of theor successful one day campaign of having won 14 one day internationals in a row. Pakistan beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 and the West Indies 3-0 and Sri Lanka in the first encounter before losing the second and third one.
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