A surprise on the first day itself

Well hardly anyone would have expected the team that finished last in the previous years' edition of the Indian Premier League to beat the team that won the championship the same year. Things started the same way as expected for the Kolkata Knight Riders when they lost 2 wickets even before the scoreboard had something to read. It was fascinating to see the first two wickets falling when the score was zero and the next two wickets falling when the score was 31. And, what happened following that is well aware from the scoreboard itself which is needless to be said I suppose.

The Kolkata Knight Riders did exceptionally well to see their team go past 150 runs when at one stage even a 100 on the board would have made the players of the Kolkata Knight Riders feel satisfied for the fact that atleast they can bowl 10 overs to the Deccan Chargers who had the likes of Gilchrist and Symonds in their ranks. The run rate when the fourth wicket fell was just above 6 an over which eventually happened to be over 8.0 an over. All thanks to the two men out there namely- Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews who put up an unbeaten 131 run partnership.

Angelo Mathews was found to be a failure in the bilateral series between Sri Lanka and India which was played a couple of months back. But, this time he was the man who ensured a turnaround to his team which not only won the game but also Mathews was awarded the man of the match. It is nonetheless another case of underestimating the opposition from the Deccan Chargers who had anticipated a win against the Kolkata Knight Riders even before the match had begun. And, finally they had to pay the price for the same. A close look at the KKR squad doesn't reveal any strong batting names.

The only batsmen who can be thought of to have a huge fan following them were Sourav Ganguly and Brad Hodge, both of whom departed at early stages of their innings. Following them were Pujara who did what was expected off him when he went back runless. On the other hand, the Deccan Chargers had the likes of Gilchrist, Rohith Sharma, Symonds and Gibbs, all of whom were thought to be big hitters. Likewise, only Gilchrist & Symonds would have been enough for any opposition which didn't happen in the 1st match. So was the case with the KKR's bowling which had no decent names if not for Ishanth and Langeveldt and that too compared to the other bowlers of KKR.

And, the Deccan Chargers had Symonds, Vass and Ojha who have played international matches before but could not bail their team out yesterday. THis is the magic of T20 cricket and more so in the IPL.

Indians Haven't Learnt From The Past

Well as the fear was still on, the most unexpected happened as far as the Indian team is concerned. Rain interrupts the match which has finally been forced to be declared as a draw, thus bringing all the good work from the Indian players and Gautam Gambhir especially to an abrupt end. Although nothing could be done regarding the pouring showers, something could have really been done by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in particular to see India sneek a 2-0 triumph. But, unfortunately that never meant so at Wellington. More of the blame from me would be on M.S.Dhoni for such a debacle.

For, this is not the first time that India have been a part of such an anti climax. Atleast not so if the past one year or so is taken into consideration for India. The last time, in the recent past, I still remember in the second test match against England in December last year, India lost an opportunity to win the series 2-0 and instead won it by 1-0. In the second test at Mohali, India imposed a target of 453 on the fifth, which was always threatened by showers to play a spoilsport and which actually happened. And the result as expected was accepted.

Despite rain interruptions since day 1 of that test match at Mohali, there was no point in imposing a mammoth target of 453, with just few hours of play left. A target of 453 would mean to England to be an impossible target which the England team eventually decided not to go chasing it. Likewise, if a feasible target was imposed, England would have made an attempt to chase down that target and a few tricks from the Indian bowlers would have got them the match. The thinking from Mahendra Singh Dhoni was no different this time either at Welington.

The game was in favor of team India since day 1. Not only did India score a decent 379, but also bowled the New Zealand side for a low score of 197, in the process taking a lead of 182 runs. This was the scenario at the end of the second day's play. So, with three more days of play still left and with hints of rain very much on the cards, a little bit of thinking from Dhoni was expected. A lesser target of somewhere around say 450 would have been ideal, taking into account the batting strength of the New Zealand side. Also, if not for Zaheer Khan, none of the Indian bowlers viz Ishanth Sharma, Munaf Patel were found bowling with a determination. Someone like Sachin was able to capture 2 wickets and the so called frontline bowlers could not do so.

So, it was not just rain that spoilt India's chance of taking a 2-0 win but also on the Indian team to a greater extent.

Aussies Indeed Underdogs!

Well..the first test between India and Australia at Bangalore might have ended in a draw according to the record books.But,we feel that it was India who had an upper hand in most parts of the game.Not only because of the presence of quality spin bowlers,but due to the presence of some genuine pace bowling from Ishanth Sharma and Zaheer Khan.The worry that was found to haunt the Aussies before they started with the tour was the tracks that were thought to favor the spinners.But,neither Anil Kumble nor Harbhajan Singh proved to be a threat to the Aussie bowling.A bad decision in the first innings gifted Harbhajan his only wicket in the innings.Courtesy A M Saheba-who raised his finger for a delivery that was found to miss the leg stump.

But,what do the Aussie batsmen have to say about Ishanth Sharma and Zaheer Khan who troubled them regularly?With both innings proving to be lucky for Zaheer to have got Matthew Hayden.And Ishanth Sharma getting Ricky ponting.A mixture of good and bad luck when it came to the Aussie batting.But,their bowling had absolutely nothing to complain about.A decent squad of Brett Lee, Shane Watson, Mitchell Jhonson and Stuart Clarke.And now don't say this was an inexperienced side altogether.Cameroon White was above expectations as he had the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the second innings.He was not given the ball for most part of the first innings.He bowled only 13 overs which was the least bowled by any bowler in the first innings.

It was just funny to watch the balls roll over the ropes from the bat of Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.The culprits in the game were not the India's fab five.Anil Kumble not being able to take a single wicket,VVS Laxman out for a duck in the first innings,only Dravid and Ganguly had some decent knocks and not to forget Tendulkar's 49 in the second.All mistimed shots of Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan crossing the boundary!I wonder how come the Aussie bowlers couldn't contain theses tail enders when they were in a commanding position after getting the top six out quickly?It looked like the Aussies got carried away with the initial success.

Can any one believe that it was Zaheer Khan the top scorer for India in the first innings and Harbhajan the second?This is the second time in succession that Australia has not been able to snatch a test victory against India with Ricky Ponting scoring a hundred.Its really a joke that the worlds best test team could not contain tailenders who are left to bat it out there without any batsman to support them.No variation in neither line,length or pace from the Aussie bowlers was another notable point.Wish the present Aussie bowlers learn some tips from Glenn McGrath who had a variety in his line and length.Some proper game planning by the Australian team and Ricky Ponting in particular would have bought a result to the first test I suppose.

Indian Fast Bowlers-Just An Illusion?

With the past three to four decades taken into consideration,it can be said that India has produced one of the best fast bowling bunch in the recent times.With bowlers like Sreesanth,R P Singh,Ishanth Sharma,Zaheer Khan & Munaf Patel,it looks as though India have found the best quartlet of fast bowlers required to win a match.

No doubt that these people have in them a killer instinct to win matches in all three forms of the game,at home as well as outside.But,the question is as to what are these players' guarantee?Most of these fast bowlers are found to miss major tours either due to an injury or otherwise owing to lack of form.

If the recent past is to be taken into consideration,Zaheer Khan missing out on his tour to Australia is still fresh in the minds of the selectors.And adding to the fire is that the man is not available for the series against South Africa also.The man was found to dismiss South African batsman Greame Smith on four occasions during his tour to South Africa in 2006.

Then we have the great Sreesanth who was forced to miss the Australian test series and then the turn was of R P Singh's who was not even fit to be trained at the NCA-Bangalore.Now comes the daddy of them all who made news for the fastest ball bowled by an Indian-Ishanth Sharma.Only to be sacked by the selectors for the ongoing tour against Sough Africa.And the only man left over is Munaf patel who is at most of the times found to struggle with his line and length.Perhaps!the lucky of 'em all I can say because he can atleast make an entry into the playing XI only to be proved out of form by the opposition batsmen.

Well..one has to learn from the age old bowlers like Srinath,Venkatesh Prasad,Manoj Prabhakar,Kapil Dev..as to how fit they were.The team hardly missed their services due to any injuries.

Dhoni's Comment On Seniors:Just An Ego..

After the T20 world championship win at South Africa,followed by a maiden series win in Australia,it seems as though Dhoni has got wings that could let him even fly in the air.This was from the statement he made on the selection of junior players over the senior ones.

Was that the result what Dhoni wanted in the T20 match in Melbourne?Well,as I said,there was nothing to worry about in my earlier posts.Lets take the Commonwealth bank Series itself,which provoked Dhoni to make the statement.Some awesome performance that I can highlight is the bowling of Ishanth Sharma-to win the first encounter against the Aussies,Praveen Kumar-who won a match against each Sri Lanka as well as Australia,& finally M S Dhoni who played some decent knocks to help India through.

But,what about the rest?Robin Uttappa who had just two decent knocks,Yuvraj Singh-who had just one score of 50+,Piyush Chawla,Sreesanth and much more players who were hardly of any weight.

But,Sachin's knock that helped India win on both occasions.And for the information, how come the contributions of Sourav & Dravid being taken lightly just because the youngsters did a fair job?And is Dhoni ready to take the blame for the young team's debacle caused by his decisions?Well..if Dhoni's predictions come true,I would suggest him to be an astrologer rather than a cricketer!!What Dhoni??

Commonwealth Bank Series 2008-The Ugliest in History?

Last Tuesday saw the commonwealth Bank series coming to an end,with India clinching the trophy after winning the first two of the three finals.This was the end of the most ugliest series ever seen in international cricket.Even the games played between arch rivals for example Australia vs England,India vs Pakistan hadn't seen as much bad blood as seen in this series.

First of them being the bad umpiring decisions from fellow umpires-Mark Benson & Steve Bucknor,followed by some unnecessary appealing from the Australians-especially from Ricky Ponting for the catch of Sourav Ganguly.Next comes the uttering of the "M-word" from Harbhajan Singh to Andrew Symonds in the very same Sydney test.The episode posed a threat of India withdrawing from the tour,untill Harbhajan's punishment was reduced to a petty fine.

Finally there was some relief for the Indians after they won the Perth Test.Once again in the fourth test at Adelaide,the Indians showed that they are no less compared to the Aussies when it comes to make an issue,for they were found to settle with a draw by batting the entire fifth day and not allowing the Australian batsmen to take to the crease.

Then came the Commonwealth bank series which also feature Sri Lanka.Even the Sri Lankans were not spared.An incident of throwing eggs at Muttiah Muralitharan just showed that the Aussies are just untolerable!

Then comes the situation where Symonds appeals for a grounded catch of Chamara Silva in the third ODI.Then the Ishanth sharma showing Symonds the way to the pevilion.Shortly there was Matthew Hayden who called Harbhajan Singh "An Obnoxious weed" in a radio interview.

All these episodes could be forgiven,but for this ugly one.A man getting naked and entering into the ground in not one,but in both the final games between India and Australia-wherein the security men had to get a towel.

Even is this also a trick by the Australian fans to get the attention off from the onfield action?Hmm..it can never get worse than this I believe...With Australia looking anxious about their security concerns during their tour of Pakistan shortly,the entire world has seen the security given to sub continent teams-India & Sri lanka.

Putting the past behind us,lets all hope that these ugly incidents never occur in future cricket tournaments.Else,the cricket stadium can rather be called a kindergarten- where little children quarrel over petty issues.

What a Man!!!

A slight flashback into the Indo-Pak bilateral series in late 2007,in the third test at Bangalore,a man who was just making his debut was found breaking the Pakistani egos and frustatin them with his accurate bowling-by picking up his maiden 5-wicket haul and that too at a time when the team just needed it.That was also the day when a new star was born.The man is ISHANTH SHARMA.

Overlooked by the selectors for including him in the 15 member squad,destiny favoured this 19 year old lad from Delhi with injuries to fellow pacers-Shreesanth and Zaheer Khan.But,all credit to this man who welcomed the opportunity with full hands.

The way he troubled the Australian batsmen with his sheer pace and accuracy,was just unbeleivable.The man once again reminded me about the great Australian fast bowler-Glenn
McGrath who retired earlier last year after a successful world cup campaign.McGrath was known for his variation and accuracy-leaving the batsmen in dilemma weather to play the ball or leave it!

The way this man could strike at consistent pace of 140 plus was amazing.Adding to his pride is his height meauring 6'4".The man was found frequently getting the ball to move towards the batsmen.If properly trained and fit,Ishanth can do wonders for his team.We wish him all the best for his career that has a long way to go from here onwards.Well Done!!!