How could this happen!

Well, anyone who reads the title of this post would be thinking it to be regarding South Africa's loss at the hands of India. However, though defending a total of 190 on board shocks everyone, a greater shock is something regarding Sachin Tendulkar having to opt out of the bilateral series owing to a hamstring injury. The reason for shock would not certainly be the absence of Sachin Tendulkar for the remaining four matches against the Proteas but the question here is will Sachin Tendulkar be fit for the upcoming world cup where Sachin Tendulkar is about to make his 6th appearance?

Another feature to be noted is that prior to every world cup, Sachin Tendulkar is found to be rested from the team atleast since the 1999 world cup played in England. Sachin Tendulkar was rested from two triangular series', one involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India and the other involving India, Pakistan and England played at Sharjah. Owing to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, India failed miserably especially in the matches against Pakistan despite there being the presence of Dravid, Azharuddin, Ganguly and Jadeja. And, the bowling department including Srinath, Kumble and Prasad couldn't save face for their team.

It was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in the match against Zimbabwe that proved to be very costly for India which saw them struggle and end their world cup dreams in the super six stage itself of the world cup after their loss to Australia. Sachin Tendulkar had to leave to Mumbai owing to his father's death. With that apart, even prior to the world cup in 2003 at South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the Indian squad in the series against West Indies and New Zealand, both the series which India lost. Sachin Tendulkar's next appearance was in the world cup regarding which nothing needs to be stated in particular.

However, as an exception, prior to the 2007 world cup, Sachin Tendulkar was available for the bilateral series against both Sri Lanka and West Indies and moreover, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the tournament in the series against West Indies no matter for what. This time, though Sachin Tendulkar was thought to be available for the bilateral series against South Africa and now he has to return owing to a hamstring injury as mentioned earlier. Statistics suggest that whenever Sachin Tendulkar was unavailable for tournaments prior to the world cup, India have fared well like in 1999 and 2003 and failed when he was available like in 2007.

Not a bad move

Well finally, some decent decisions are found to be taken by the ICC regarding the mega event namely the world cup that is due to start the coming year. Whatever, the news or the decision, whatever you may call as comes into picture only on or after the 2015 world cup once again thought to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Coming to the matter, the ICC is on a decision to reduce the number of teams for the mega event from the existing 16 to 10, which obviously means showing the gates to the non test playing nations.

However, the list might not include Zimbabwe and Kenya or Ireland for, their performance in international cricket is comparatively satisfactory. Zimbabwe has a history of playing test cricket while Ireland and Kenya have shown to be no less than a test playing nation like Bangladesh or West Indies. Other teams that can be thought of to be shown the gates would be Bermuda, Scotland, Holland, Namibia to name a few though not that important. But, should this decision be criticized by anyone let alone the associate countries? With their role being limited in the event, how do the nations ask for a change not to take place?

If anyone would ask me, I would suggest that the presence of such teams can only ruin the excitement of the world cup nonetheless making way for unwanted politics in the mega event. Since the 1999 world cup, major teams have made it to the next level of the tournament though not deserving to be there. In the 1999 world cup, Zimbabwe made it to the super sixes at the cost of England. India lose their match to Zimbabwe by underestimating them and then South Africa lose to Zimbabwe not before confirming their place in the super sixes. As a result, India had to end their world cup campaign in the super sixes itself.

So was the case in the 2003 world cup when Sri Lanka made much of New Zealand forfeiting their group stage match to Kenya by intentionally losing (may be) to Kenya so that New Zealand faces a tough task ahead. In the 2007 world cup, though there was no room for any such politics, underestimation was at its peak with India and Pakistan paying the price for the same in their league stage match against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. In the super eights of the same, South Africa paid the price by losing to Bangladesh by 67 runs. Are such teams required who can spoil the reputation of the tournament?

Another thing to be noticed is that due to the presence of the minnows, players can make a killing by reserving all their fortunes against these teams. One can remember that the highest team total till date in a world cup - 413 was scored by India against Bermuda in the 2007 edition. In that edition, India didn't even get past the league stage of the tournament. Glenn McGrath's 7/15 happened to be against Namibia in 2003 which cast a bad image on him despite being known for his accuracy. In that version, Sourav Ganguly scored three hundreds all of which came against non test playing nations.

This was equaled to the one scored by Mark Waugh in 1996 where he did the same against India, Kenya and New Zealand. Does the comparison justifies itself?

Why not something different in IPL III?

Well the third edition of the Indian Premier League is about to start and in the next month by this time, it would have already been four days past since the tournament would have begun. However, as usual this time also all eyes are set on the IPL and the excitement is never bound to decline atleast in a couple of years from now onwards. But, what would be the fun without any new aspect in the tournament that cricket fans would be looking to from the start of every year. New year atleast in India since 2008 is not celebrated on 1st of January like in most of the nations but is celebrated on the day the first match of the IPL kicks in.

All this considering that IPL happens every year. On the first day of every new year, the count down for the IPL of that particular year begins. Since 2008-the year the first edition of the IPL was launched, the nature of the tournament is the same even in its 3rd edition as well. It is the same eight teams from India that competite for the championship title and also some mind blowing cash awards. Like in the 1st edition, all the teams play each other twice and that is followed by 2 semi finals and a final that is obvious with every series.

If the mega tournament conducted by the ICC viz the ICC world cup, the T20 championship and the ICC Champions trophy is considered, there as been a regular revision in the format of the tournament after every edition. Until 1983, it was the Prudential world cup played only at England and then in 1987 the Asian continent was given a chance to host. Then, color dresses were introduced since the 1992 world and then came the introduction of non test playing nations and the concept of quarter finals in the Wills world cup 1996. The 1999 & 2003 world cups had super sixes so that no team crashes out due to lack of fortune in the only team it faces.

In 2003 WC, there was a slight change from the 1999 edition, wherein points from victories against non qualifying teams would be carried over to the next stage i.e the super sixes. In the 2007 world cup, there were four groups with 4 teams each and 2 from each would qualify to the super eights so that no team crashes out due to lack of fortune. So has been the cases with the ICC Champions trophy which started as a knock out tournament and a 2nd chance is being given in today's versions. But, this has not been the case with the IPL. Some changes that I would suggest are that there be three finals so that a team gets optimum chance to win the title. There be not more than 2 games played per day so that one get to see all the games. And finallyintroduction of a couple of more teams would be just ideal.

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.

Oh! What An Upset?

My eyes couldn't just believe it!It was as though the curse for the Lahore Badshahs reached its peak on Sunday night,which put an abrupt end to the much awaited cheers by the crowd out there who had all come there to cheer the well deserved Lahore Badshahs who were thought to emerge as ultimate winners of the trophy.But,sadly that was not to be.

Despite a 5 wicket haul by Naved ul Hasan and the match ending up in a thrilling tie,there were 6 balls without a batsman at the other end to decide the fate of the Badshahs.No doubt!The match was between the top two teams of the tournament, with each of them having lost only to each other and outperforming the rest.But,my vote was always for the Badshahs,who were a balanced team unlike the Heroes-who had one or a couple of match winners and were found to succumb under pressure. This was evident when Abdul Razzaq was found to bowl 3 no balls costing 4 runs in the last over of the first finals-when Lahore Badshahs needed 12 runs of 6 balls with 4 wickets in hand.

It is the second instance where the man of the match went to the losing side in case of a T20 tie,after the famous bowl out between India & Pakistan in the inaugural T20 world cup.

And one more thing that I could find was that the second edition of the ICL was much better than the may be last five editions of ICC world cup,which saw minnows like Bangladesh,Zimbabwe,Ireland,Kenya and even the West Indies making it big when compared to teams like India,Pakistan South Africa...some due to politics(as in case of the Zim v SA in 1999 & SL v Ken in 2003),some due to under estimating their opponents(like Pak v Ire & Ind v Ban in 2007,WI v Ken in 1996)...to name a few.

If fans could turn up to support these ICL games,there could be no doubt in having an exciting game of cricket ahead in future.Wat Say?

A Major Upset Waiting to Happen In ICL-II

Well the last time I had posted a topic which was in all praise for the new entrants- Lahore Badshahs,who had been unbeaten until Friday,when Hyderabad Heroes grabbed an upset win by 6 runs to go 1-0 up in the best of three finals of the second edition of the Indian Cricket League.And,if this happens no one on earth i believe would ever forgive or forget the Lahore Badshahs .

That would be the last thing that any true cricket fan would ever want to happen.And another fact is that the team is one of the best contenders for the title,for its completely balanced team consisting of experienced players in Inzy,Mushtaq Ahmed,Azhar Mahmood and others.All of us hope they emerge as Australians of world cricket rather than ending up as the unlucky South Africans-who are found to make a mess of their game whenever it comes to the big stage.

After the initial loss of the Lahore Badshahs to the hands of Hyderabad Heroes,I was found to think of a situation where a team beats each and every opponent it faces,only to lose the finals of the same.One such instance that I can quote is the famous Wills World Cup-1996,where South Africa won all of the 5 games in the league stages before losing to the Windies in the QF.And the same South Africa who won all games in the 1999 edition before losing to Australia in the super sixes & eventually in a tied semis.

Also the same South Africa had won all 6 games against Australia & India in the Titan Cup before losing to India.And some similar exchanges between India & Australia where both did the same to each other,first by Australia to India in the Pepsi tri series involving Zimbabwe,followed by India to Australia involving New Zealand at Sharjah-which is known for the memorable innings of Sachin Tendulkar's back to back hundreds.

Last but not the least,there was a quadrangular series involving South Africa,India, Kenya and Zimbabwe in 1999 at Nairobi and this time it was India who was at the receiving end of South Africa.

Some Lessons To Learn From The Aussies..

Hmm..in the recently concluded commonwealth bank series,Australia had no other option than to lose to India.The debacle was almost expected,as Australians had an ego of suspending players irrespective of their talent and contribution to the team.Some players that come to my mind are..Michael Beaven,Jason Gillespie,Andy Bichel,Bradd Williams and much more..

All Australia did was to maintain the winning combination for reasons god knows.For the instance,Jason Gillespie last played for Australia in the match against Bangladesh,where he surprised everyone by scoring a double hundred inspite of being a nightwatchman.But,the outcome was that he was totally ignored by the selectors for any future tours by Australia.

Then we have Michael Beaven-whose batting average has been one of the best in the world.The man was found to contribute for Australia in crucial situations ,for instance in the world cup semis in 1996 against West Indies and in 1999 against South Africa.In 2003 world cup,it was only the effort of Michael Beaven due to which Australia broke the previous West Indies' record of winning 13 consecutive ODIs.Australia were reeling at 135/8 against England while chasing a target of 205.Then in the super six match against New Zealand,it was Michael Beaven who rescued Australia from 84/7 to 208/9.But,the last this man was found representing for the Australian team was way back in 2004 against Sri Lanka.

In the recently concluded commonwealth Bank Series,there was a need of a Beaven like batsmen during their chase of 259 in the second finals.A Bichael like bowler to support Brett Lee would have been more effective compared to Mitchel Jhonson, James Hopes and Stuart Clarke.

It is now left to the other teams to learn from the Aussie mistakes as well in addition to some from their world dominance.

A Revolution In Indian Cricket!!

Well,the last Tuesday saw India lifting the Commonwealth Bank series 2008 by defeating Australia at Brisbane.The win not only was their first such win in Australia after 23 years, but also an indication of a revolution in Indian cricket I believe!!

Just let us go somewhere 10 years down the lane where India was found to struggle against each and every team in the world.The most annoying of those were the defeats at the hands of arch rivals Pakistan(in the Pepsi Cup 1999 & Coca Cola Sharjah Cup 1999),against whom team India were all but lost.The match used to be declared by the fans over there even before the match begun.The only match winners being Sachin Tendulkar,Mohd Azharuddin,Ajay Jadeja,Robin Singh,Anil kumble,Sourav Ganguly,Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath.With these failing to contribute in their respective areas,India was not only bound to lose,but also fail to give in a good fight against a decent opposition.

Any injuries to one or a couple of players,and India could never find any replacement for those.Some names that could come to my mind as replacements for these people were-Nilesh kulkarni,Nikhil Chopra,Harvinder Singh,Sadagoppan Ramesh,
Debashish Mohanty so on and so forth...none of the names known to today's cricket fans.These people were hardly working,and were the last choices by the selectors. But,nothing else could be done.Believe it or not:Even the Mr Dependable Rahul Dravid was not at his batting best.A keeper in Nayan Mongia was at the cost of a batsman,wherein now India can boast of having a wicketkeeper batsman in M.S.Dhoni.

Any match that India won during those days,would be solely due to the contribution by fellow players as mentioned above.

For example,take the world cup 1999 where India couldn't even win against Zimbabwe due to the absense of Sachin Tendulkar-who had to get back to Mumbai owing to his father's death.It was this loss that put an end to India's hopes of making a run in that World Cup-coz India was forced to win all three matches in the super sixes to book a berth in the semis.A loss against Australia ended the hopes of India's future in that World cup.

But,after Sourav Ganguly was made the skipper,Indian cricket team was all but in a new phase one can say.Some players of the caliber of Yuvraj Singh,Mohd kaif,Zaheer khan,Virender Sehwag....who found some decent success as that of making into the finals of the World Cup in 2003-with only Australia to have beaten them,The Natwest Trophy finals 2002-which India won beating England by chasing a world record score of 325,making into the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 which was forced to be shared with Sri Lanka.

And today,the same Indian team is looking to make history wherever they go.With some match winning players in MS Dhoni,Robin Uttappa,Rohith Sharma,Isanth Sharma,Sreesanth,R P Singh and much more.If not for the disappointing world cup at the caribean,the year was not a bad one for India.India was found winning a test series against England in England(after a span of 20 yrs),against Pakistan -that too after 20+ yrs,the Adelaide test win,Perth test win against Australia....and much more...

And the latest being the T20 championship and the Commonwealth bank series against Australia.And whats more exciting is that team India is finding replacements for these players in case of injuries to one or two of them.This is what is called as a balanced team with absolutely nothing to complain.

"GREAT GOING TEAM INDIA...KEEP IT UP"