Any mistake only becomes big in retrospect and not at the moment. When Kapil caught Viv Richards at Lord's surely nobody would have thought India had the upper hand and will go on to win the world cup. The most realistic thought would have been, now the match would go beyond 40 overs possibly. But WI lost the match and then in retrospect that catch became crucial. Surely Viv neednt have played that shot....He had all day to score a century!!!
Or take the case of the semi finals in World Cup 92-the dubious rain rule which robbed SA from going to the final, one of the culprits for 22runs - 1 ball was SA themselves by bowling only 45 overs in the stipulated time.
When Azhar won the toss and decided to field in 96 semi final, and India got two wickets in the first over, nobody was complaining, but when Sachin got out, and the wicket started turning square everybody started complaining that Azhar should have batted. Azhar had history(he had won the previous two finals batting first with Kumble being deadly) and the chance to change things but he didnt. If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch there probably wouldnt have been an Aus-SA semifinal in the first case, because Steve was the only one who was holding the innings.
If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch we wouldnt have had a heartstopping semi final, so we should be thanking him for that!!!
Lets take another Steve Waugh What if moment in the same series you quoted. Steve Waugh handling the ball in Chennai, Aus were 347/3 with Hayden and Waugh batting beautifully...take that into the context of the series... For all that Hesh has said about the Kolkata test match, Waugh asking India to follow on is also a What if moment!!!
Dean Jones said that he had many oppurtunities to take two runs but took only one because he wanted to conserve energy during the chennai test 86... Nobody complained at that time, nobody would do after the match either, but Jones himself feels if he had converted just one oppurtunity it would have been enough.
I can quote you a comment Robin Jackman said when Razzaq dropped Tendulkar on 32 in 2003 world cup... "How crucial is this gonna be in deciding the fate of this match?"
We all know how crucial that was!!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
How critical was that Steve Waugh's dropped catch?
In my response to Ramki’s what if’s in cricket, Ramki made the following comment: “Both of us missed gibbs dropping steve waugh...surely that is a what if moment?"
Surely that is a what if moment? You gotta be kidding… If that is a “what if” moment then almost half of the dropped catches in the history of cricket is a “what if” moment. The biggest problem with that incident is that it got its hype not so much for its criticality in that match but rather a retrospective romanticisation of it after the semi final ended in a tie. Admittedly it was a great innings under pressure and if Gibbs had caught it, it could have been curtains for Australia in that world cup. But it could have been the same against India too. What if Sachin had played a blinder in that chase and took the game away from Aussies! The equation for Australia was simple – win every match in the super six stage to reach the semi final and that’s what they did.
Now once the semi final spots were known, Steve Waugh’s innings was sunk – it had no more value (well, almost!). In an Australia vs South Africa semi final in a world cup how many of us would put our money on a tie for a result? It could so easily have been another of the South African humiliation by Australia or yet another Zulu show which could have taken the game away from Australia (and he almost did!) Now what happened on this occasion was not only that a highly improbable event happened but that combined with some amazingly complicated rules of the tournament ensured that Australia got through to the finals. Let us not forget the fact that SA didn’t lose the semi-final!
Because Steve Waugh’s innings helped Australia win the previous match against SA in the super six stage which helped them get through to the finals as they had a superior head to head record (as per the tournament rules!) that it got hyped even further. And only in retrospect did that Gibbs’ dropped chance seem to be so expensive! “You just dropped the WC mate”* became such a legendary story but that would have looked so foolish if Australia had lost the semi final! This is almost like the butterfly effect in Chaos Theory but surprisingly a lot of people bought into that story…
*Apparently Steve Waugh had made a similar comment “you just dropped the test match mate” to Sourav Ganguly in that famous Kolkata test in 2001 when he dropped Steve Waugh at leg slip early in his innings and we all know the result of that match!
Surely that is a what if moment? You gotta be kidding… If that is a “what if” moment then almost half of the dropped catches in the history of cricket is a “what if” moment. The biggest problem with that incident is that it got its hype not so much for its criticality in that match but rather a retrospective romanticisation of it after the semi final ended in a tie. Admittedly it was a great innings under pressure and if Gibbs had caught it, it could have been curtains for Australia in that world cup. But it could have been the same against India too. What if Sachin had played a blinder in that chase and took the game away from Aussies! The equation for Australia was simple – win every match in the super six stage to reach the semi final and that’s what they did.
Now once the semi final spots were known, Steve Waugh’s innings was sunk – it had no more value (well, almost!). In an Australia vs South Africa semi final in a world cup how many of us would put our money on a tie for a result? It could so easily have been another of the South African humiliation by Australia or yet another Zulu show which could have taken the game away from Australia (and he almost did!) Now what happened on this occasion was not only that a highly improbable event happened but that combined with some amazingly complicated rules of the tournament ensured that Australia got through to the finals. Let us not forget the fact that SA didn’t lose the semi-final!
Because Steve Waugh’s innings helped Australia win the previous match against SA in the super six stage which helped them get through to the finals as they had a superior head to head record (as per the tournament rules!) that it got hyped even further. And only in retrospect did that Gibbs’ dropped chance seem to be so expensive! “You just dropped the WC mate”* became such a legendary story but that would have looked so foolish if Australia had lost the semi final! This is almost like the butterfly effect in Chaos Theory but surprisingly a lot of people bought into that story…
*Apparently Steve Waugh had made a similar comment “you just dropped the test match mate” to Sourav Ganguly in that famous Kolkata test in 2001 when he dropped Steve Waugh at leg slip early in his innings and we all know the result of that match!
Monday, October 26, 2009
I can't believe my eyes...
Let Ramki come back with his all time dream team. In the meanwhile I can't wait to discuss about the 20 greatest Indian cricketers of all time picked by 30 eminent cricket journalists and ex-cricketers in the first edition of Sports Illustrated Indian edition. Before I could jump into one choice which had me absolutely dumbstruck, let me give the list here:
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Kapil Dev
3. Sunil Gavaskar
4. Anil Kumble
5. Rahul Dravid
6. Vinoo Mankad
7. M.A.K.Pataudi
8. Virender Sehwag
9. Bishan Singh Bedi
10. C.K.Nayudu
11. Vijay Hazare
12. Sourav Ganguly
13. B.S.Chandrasekhar
14. Vijay Merchant
15. Gundappa Viswanath
16. Subash Gupte
17. M.S.Dhoni
18. V.V.S.Laxman
19. E.A.S.Prasanna
20. Mohd.Azharuddin
To begin with, I have a few points to disagree with on this list. As big as Pataudi's influence on Indian Cricket is, does he deserve a spot ahead of the spin trio or Sehwag? Can a genuine batsman without a test century and with a test average of 25 be considered one of the top 10 cricketers that India has ever produced? I have read a lot about the legendary stories of C.K.Nayudu but with due respect to him, we shouldn't have taken him into consideration at all for compiling such a list. One can argue the same about Vijay Merchant but whatever record he has is still good enough and add that to the "what he could have been had he not belonged to the world war II era" factor. Back that up with his first class record which is second only to the Don - I would even argue that he deserves a higher spot than No.14 that he's been given.
Eventhough I disagree with these selections,I must also confess that I understand that the eminent panel considered these players standing in the game especially in Indian Cricket during their respective eras and based their evaluation on that. Also I have the disadvantage of being much younger, so I can't claim to have seen them and argue against these selections. But one selection which as I mentioned before had me completely dumbstruck was M.S.Dhoni at 17, ahead of Laxman, Prasanna and Azhar!!! I can't believe my eyes...I reckon even Dhoni would be shocked to see this...
Dhoni is a great ODI batsman with the numbers to back up his reputation and a very good captain too. But this list should be and is primarily picked on performances in test cricket. Thats why its no surprise that Yuvraj Singh has missed out. Also none of the players' have been downgraded from their deserving standing because of poor ODI performances. Except for Sourav and Dhoni none in the list have a superior ODI record as compared to Tests, but standalone Sourav's test record is damn good and his captaincy also weighed heavily in his favour and despite that he is positioned at 12. So surely ODI cricket is not given too much weightage in this selection process.
Now let's come to the more pertinent question - How good a test cricketer is Dhoni? He's just starting to find his feet in this format even though he's been in the team for 4 years now. A couple of match saving efforts in Pak and England and two memorable attacking innings against Australia at home - these are the highlights of his career. I think even Matt Prior or Geraint Jones would have such a test match CV! This is not to dilute Dhoni's credentials as a test batsman - I would back him to end his test career with a much improved record and a lot more match winnings innings under his belt. But standing today, he is an average test cricketer despite considering his wicket keeping responsibilities.
Compare that with Azhar's 22 hundreds (some masterpieces in there) and 6215 runs at an average of 45.03 and we are not even talking about his style and grace and extraordinary fielding. And his captaincy record is not too bad either. If the argument is about him being a match fixer, then he shouldn't have been considered for selection in the first place and if he was then he should be given his due. If I disagree vehemently with Dhoni being ahead of Azhar, I would disagree with him being better than Laxman even more - its a joke! And I think Ian Chappell would be more disappointed on seeing Dhoni being rated ahead of Prasanna than Prasanna himself!
Really what's it with Dhoni? There's so much hype about him and his captaincy that I can't quite comprehend! I have always liked his batting and his captaincy has been good in general but to heap so much praise on him so early in his career is a puzzle that I can't quite solve...What's the hurry guys? Let's wait to see if he fulfils his early promise and if he does then we have enough time to felicitate him, celebrate him, include him in the all time greatest Indian team, all this and much more but if and only if he goes onto fulfil his promise!
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Kapil Dev
3. Sunil Gavaskar
4. Anil Kumble
5. Rahul Dravid
6. Vinoo Mankad
7. M.A.K.Pataudi
8. Virender Sehwag
9. Bishan Singh Bedi
10. C.K.Nayudu
11. Vijay Hazare
12. Sourav Ganguly
13. B.S.Chandrasekhar
14. Vijay Merchant
15. Gundappa Viswanath
16. Subash Gupte
17. M.S.Dhoni
18. V.V.S.Laxman
19. E.A.S.Prasanna
20. Mohd.Azharuddin
To begin with, I have a few points to disagree with on this list. As big as Pataudi's influence on Indian Cricket is, does he deserve a spot ahead of the spin trio or Sehwag? Can a genuine batsman without a test century and with a test average of 25 be considered one of the top 10 cricketers that India has ever produced? I have read a lot about the legendary stories of C.K.Nayudu but with due respect to him, we shouldn't have taken him into consideration at all for compiling such a list. One can argue the same about Vijay Merchant but whatever record he has is still good enough and add that to the "what he could have been had he not belonged to the world war II era" factor. Back that up with his first class record which is second only to the Don - I would even argue that he deserves a higher spot than No.14 that he's been given.
Eventhough I disagree with these selections,I must also confess that I understand that the eminent panel considered these players standing in the game especially in Indian Cricket during their respective eras and based their evaluation on that. Also I have the disadvantage of being much younger, so I can't claim to have seen them and argue against these selections. But one selection which as I mentioned before had me completely dumbstruck was M.S.Dhoni at 17, ahead of Laxman, Prasanna and Azhar!!! I can't believe my eyes...I reckon even Dhoni would be shocked to see this...
Dhoni is a great ODI batsman with the numbers to back up his reputation and a very good captain too. But this list should be and is primarily picked on performances in test cricket. Thats why its no surprise that Yuvraj Singh has missed out. Also none of the players' have been downgraded from their deserving standing because of poor ODI performances. Except for Sourav and Dhoni none in the list have a superior ODI record as compared to Tests, but standalone Sourav's test record is damn good and his captaincy also weighed heavily in his favour and despite that he is positioned at 12. So surely ODI cricket is not given too much weightage in this selection process.
Now let's come to the more pertinent question - How good a test cricketer is Dhoni? He's just starting to find his feet in this format even though he's been in the team for 4 years now. A couple of match saving efforts in Pak and England and two memorable attacking innings against Australia at home - these are the highlights of his career. I think even Matt Prior or Geraint Jones would have such a test match CV! This is not to dilute Dhoni's credentials as a test batsman - I would back him to end his test career with a much improved record and a lot more match winnings innings under his belt. But standing today, he is an average test cricketer despite considering his wicket keeping responsibilities.
Compare that with Azhar's 22 hundreds (some masterpieces in there) and 6215 runs at an average of 45.03 and we are not even talking about his style and grace and extraordinary fielding. And his captaincy record is not too bad either. If the argument is about him being a match fixer, then he shouldn't have been considered for selection in the first place and if he was then he should be given his due. If I disagree vehemently with Dhoni being ahead of Azhar, I would disagree with him being better than Laxman even more - its a joke! And I think Ian Chappell would be more disappointed on seeing Dhoni being rated ahead of Prasanna than Prasanna himself!
Really what's it with Dhoni? There's so much hype about him and his captaincy that I can't quite comprehend! I have always liked his batting and his captaincy has been good in general but to heap so much praise on him so early in his career is a puzzle that I can't quite solve...What's the hurry guys? Let's wait to see if he fulfils his early promise and if he does then we have enough time to felicitate him, celebrate him, include him in the all time greatest Indian team, all this and much more but if and only if he goes onto fulfil his promise!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Would it have been any different?
Dude, Whats unfair in this? Do you think my team would have been any different even if we didn't speak for 5 years. Except for Bevan everyone in your team was also in consideration in my team - including Moin Khan! So the only thing unfair was I picked the team before you did! I dont think you were discussing Lara or Deano or Bond the other day. Any team that you and I pick independently, at least 5 or 6 players will be common and probably around 3 players we'll surely disagree on.... So what are you complaining about. Let's fix it. Forget my team, you come out with your all time best ODI team without any constraints - pick whoever you want to, then I'll come with mine.
PS: BTW I forgot to mention my captain for the ODI team, it is Shane Warne! And if any of you think its because of his exploits in IPL, pleaseeeeee. For the short span that he was the captain of Australia during C&B tri-series between Aus, Eng and SL in 1998-99, Taylor's legacy of positive attacking captaincy appeared to continue in Australian Cricket and the results were attractive too with 10 wins out of 11 ODI's. If he had behaved a little better, he would have been the captain of the Australian team during its most glorious phase.
PS: BTW I forgot to mention my captain for the ODI team, it is Shane Warne! And if any of you think its because of his exploits in IPL, pleaseeeeee. For the short span that he was the captain of Australia during C&B tri-series between Aus, Eng and SL in 1998-99, Taylor's legacy of positive attacking captaincy appeared to continue in Australian Cricket and the results were attractive too with 10 wins out of 11 ODI's. If he had behaved a little better, he would have been the captain of the Australian team during its most glorious phase.
Friday, October 23, 2009
This is unfair!!!!!
Well, What can I say? This guy just wrote the top order I was discussing with him the other day.....MY TOP ORDER!!!!!!!!! And now he is asking me to put together a team to challenge his "all time odi XI"... ho ho ho!!!
Hmmmm....... all right..here we go...
Sanath Jayasuriya- When this guy gets going, there are exactly two batsmen in ODI to match him for stroke play(who by the way are in the other team, no marks for guessing who they are!!!!!) and only one batsman to match his audacity(no marks for guessing who that is either!!). A guy who could change a match with his all round ability.
Mark Waugh- Definition of lazy elegance. This guy makes it all look so easy...whether bowling medium pace(which he used to early in his career) spin, pouching unbelievable catches, those back foot cover drives that only Sachin or Lara can rival and those powerful hits down the ground(just ask Darren Gough or Vettori...launched them respectively at Headingley and the Perth roof!!!)
Miandad- Your loss is my gain..... De Silva would have been a shoo in for No.3 on the basis of just one innings he played in the semi final against India....and being an Indian does not stop me from watching it again and again.....but since you picked him..I would go for this guy, who has atleast 4 orthodox shots and 3 unorthodox shots for every delivery. Someone, who could be Bevan or Klusener depending on the situation and do the job as if its a stroll in the park...
Martin Crowe- Anybody who saw Crowe in full flow during WC 92 wouldnt doubt this pick. Pity, his career was cut short by injury.
Bevan- Who else but St.Michael? The best one day finisher next only to Zulu.
Kapil Dev- Chris Cairns, Imran gave a very tough fight, but two things put this man up in front...1. He is an Indian( come on man...i am a selector now..I have to be biased, its cliche!!!) 2. Is definitely a better bowler than the other two in ODIs.
Jonty Rhodes- Crowe at first slip, Waugh at second slip, Jonty at point, Jayasuriya at cover, Bevan at mid on, Wow....
Moin Khan- Another surprise pick for some, but a clutch player, who always comes good in pressure situations, not to mention a brilliant wicket keeper.
Saqlain Mushtaq- One ball to Damien Martyn was enough for this....The ball pitched middle and leg and took the top of off stump, like a leg break....This guy has one of the best strike rates in ODI cricket.
Ambrose- I would pick Ambrose, even if I am selecting a football team! From a whole array of West Indian bowlers, why this man? He could be economical like Mcgrath and he would get wickets like Waqar, plus a handy lower order batsman.
Waqar Younis- If Ambrose can get wickets like Waqar, why do u need Waqar? Simply because its Waqar!!! Only one word defines Waqar perfectly- inevitability. You know, he is gonna bowl full, you know its gonna pitch round about off and middle, you know its gonna be fast and swinging, you know you would have already kept your bat perfectly in line, but its inevitable!!! the ball is going to hit the stumps or pads!!! Bowls like a millionaire but the one bowler, opposition batsman pray that he shouldnt be on song!!!!
12th Man- Chris Cairns- He could just about fit in anywhere in the team....
P.S- Yes, my team is definitely weaker than yours....but remember 1983???
And the next time we pick teams like the way its done in backyard cricket, alternatively....
Hmmmm....... all right..here we go...
Sanath Jayasuriya- When this guy gets going, there are exactly two batsmen in ODI to match him for stroke play(who by the way are in the other team, no marks for guessing who they are!!!!!) and only one batsman to match his audacity(no marks for guessing who that is either!!). A guy who could change a match with his all round ability.
Mark Waugh- Definition of lazy elegance. This guy makes it all look so easy...whether bowling medium pace(which he used to early in his career) spin, pouching unbelievable catches, those back foot cover drives that only Sachin or Lara can rival and those powerful hits down the ground(just ask Darren Gough or Vettori...launched them respectively at Headingley and the Perth roof!!!)
Miandad- Your loss is my gain..... De Silva would have been a shoo in for No.3 on the basis of just one innings he played in the semi final against India....and being an Indian does not stop me from watching it again and again.....but since you picked him..I would go for this guy, who has atleast 4 orthodox shots and 3 unorthodox shots for every delivery. Someone, who could be Bevan or Klusener depending on the situation and do the job as if its a stroll in the park...
Martin Crowe- Anybody who saw Crowe in full flow during WC 92 wouldnt doubt this pick. Pity, his career was cut short by injury.
Bevan- Who else but St.Michael? The best one day finisher next only to Zulu.
Kapil Dev- Chris Cairns, Imran gave a very tough fight, but two things put this man up in front...1. He is an Indian( come on man...i am a selector now..I have to be biased, its cliche!!!) 2. Is definitely a better bowler than the other two in ODIs.
Jonty Rhodes- Crowe at first slip, Waugh at second slip, Jonty at point, Jayasuriya at cover, Bevan at mid on, Wow....
Moin Khan- Another surprise pick for some, but a clutch player, who always comes good in pressure situations, not to mention a brilliant wicket keeper.
Saqlain Mushtaq- One ball to Damien Martyn was enough for this....The ball pitched middle and leg and took the top of off stump, like a leg break....This guy has one of the best strike rates in ODI cricket.
Ambrose- I would pick Ambrose, even if I am selecting a football team! From a whole array of West Indian bowlers, why this man? He could be economical like Mcgrath and he would get wickets like Waqar, plus a handy lower order batsman.
Waqar Younis- If Ambrose can get wickets like Waqar, why do u need Waqar? Simply because its Waqar!!! Only one word defines Waqar perfectly- inevitability. You know, he is gonna bowl full, you know its gonna pitch round about off and middle, you know its gonna be fast and swinging, you know you would have already kept your bat perfectly in line, but its inevitable!!! the ball is going to hit the stumps or pads!!! Bowls like a millionaire but the one bowler, opposition batsman pray that he shouldnt be on song!!!!
12th Man- Chris Cairns- He could just about fit in anywhere in the team....
P.S- Yes, my team is definitely weaker than yours....but remember 1983???
And the next time we pick teams like the way its done in backyard cricket, alternatively....
All time Dream ODI team
At a time when the existence of ODI format is in serious question, lets give it due respect. So as a continuation to the all time dream test team, here is my all time dream ODI team:
Sachin Tendulkar – Need I say more?
Adam Gilchrist – It’s a pity that Greenidge, Haynes or Jayasuriya miss out but that’s what Gily has done to the game!
Viv Richards – As great as he is in Test Cricket, he is even greater in ODI cricket!
Brian Lara – I know his ODI record in the second half of his career was not as illuminating as the first half, but really how can I not pick Brian? The only person whom I would drop Brian for in any team is Sachin and he’s already there…
Aravinda De Silva – Was a toss up between Miandad and De Silva but went with De silva for no real reason actually! Most underrated of the modern greats probably rightfully too for the number of times he used to throw his wicket away in the early part of his career. But he more than made up for it in the second half of his career.
Dean Jones: The quintessential ODI middle order batsman who can either pierce or clear the field comfortably even in the middle overs. Infact he was an ODI batsman far ahead of his times during his playing days…
Lance Klusenser: To say that there has not been a greater finisher in ODI cricket is not an exaggeration at all and to say that there will never be another finisher like him is not blasphemous either!
Wasim Akram: Over the wicket or around the wicket, new ball or old ball, opening the bowling or bowling at the death – Akram will always be my first choice fast bowler…
Shane Warne: It had to be Warne – I have not seen a greater spinner in ODI cricket. Murali was not even in contention since he is unfathomably defensive for such a great bowler in ODI cricket.
Michael Holding: The wisden in its introduction to Holding says “No-one in the game has bowled faster” and let me comfortably add that no-one in the game has bowled better either…
Shane Bond: If one bowler could single handedly decimate one of the greatest teams of all time consistently, then he ought to be picked ahead of even Joel Garner……
12 the man: Joel Garner. Would rely on Klusener, Richards and Sachin to manage the 5th bowler’s quota between them on most occasions, but if I need to go in with 5 bowlers then would swap De Silva or Deano with Garner.
Sachin Tendulkar – Need I say more?
Adam Gilchrist – It’s a pity that Greenidge, Haynes or Jayasuriya miss out but that’s what Gily has done to the game!
Viv Richards – As great as he is in Test Cricket, he is even greater in ODI cricket!
Brian Lara – I know his ODI record in the second half of his career was not as illuminating as the first half, but really how can I not pick Brian? The only person whom I would drop Brian for in any team is Sachin and he’s already there…
Aravinda De Silva – Was a toss up between Miandad and De Silva but went with De silva for no real reason actually! Most underrated of the modern greats probably rightfully too for the number of times he used to throw his wicket away in the early part of his career. But he more than made up for it in the second half of his career.
Dean Jones: The quintessential ODI middle order batsman who can either pierce or clear the field comfortably even in the middle overs. Infact he was an ODI batsman far ahead of his times during his playing days…
Lance Klusenser: To say that there has not been a greater finisher in ODI cricket is not an exaggeration at all and to say that there will never be another finisher like him is not blasphemous either!
Wasim Akram: Over the wicket or around the wicket, new ball or old ball, opening the bowling or bowling at the death – Akram will always be my first choice fast bowler…
Shane Warne: It had to be Warne – I have not seen a greater spinner in ODI cricket. Murali was not even in contention since he is unfathomably defensive for such a great bowler in ODI cricket.
Michael Holding: The wisden in its introduction to Holding says “No-one in the game has bowled faster” and let me comfortably add that no-one in the game has bowled better either…
Shane Bond: If one bowler could single handedly decimate one of the greatest teams of all time consistently, then he ought to be picked ahead of even Joel Garner……
12 the man: Joel Garner. Would rely on Klusener, Richards and Sachin to manage the 5th bowler’s quota between them on most occasions, but if I need to go in with 5 bowlers then would swap De Silva or Deano with Garner.
What if....my version
Like I had the first mover advantage in the previous topic, you have it this time which makes my task relatively tougher. You have picked the cream of our cricket watching career already – but really that’s a silly excuse isn’t it?
This is mine:
1.What if Indo-Pak partition didn’t happen?
2.What if Shane Warne was born in India?
3.What if Sachin had connected that doosra from Saqlain cleanly?
4.What if BC Cooray didn’t come in the way of that Richardson’s thunderbolt of a sweep?
5.What if India had been knocked out in the first round of T20 World Cup in SA?
6.What if Healy had caught that Lara’s outside edge in Bridgetown?
7.What if that scoop of Kasprowicz was dropped by Geraint Jones?
8.What if Walsh wasn’t such a wonderful sportsman (remember he didn’t mankad Saleem Jaffar in the 1987 WC which cost them a semi-final berth)
9.What if Barry Richards had a long career (and did a Hussey)? – so that we would have known the real greatness of the man!
10.What if Steve Bucknor didn’t turn both deaf and blind at once in Sydney?
These are surely not my top 10 what if’s, but these are the 10 most spontaneous ones as of now…
This is mine:
1.What if Indo-Pak partition didn’t happen?
2.What if Shane Warne was born in India?
3.What if Sachin had connected that doosra from Saqlain cleanly?
4.What if BC Cooray didn’t come in the way of that Richardson’s thunderbolt of a sweep?
5.What if India had been knocked out in the first round of T20 World Cup in SA?
6.What if Healy had caught that Lara’s outside edge in Bridgetown?
7.What if that scoop of Kasprowicz was dropped by Geraint Jones?
8.What if Walsh wasn’t such a wonderful sportsman (remember he didn’t mankad Saleem Jaffar in the 1987 WC which cost them a semi-final berth)
9.What if Barry Richards had a long career (and did a Hussey)? – so that we would have known the real greatness of the man!
10.What if Steve Bucknor didn’t turn both deaf and blind at once in Sydney?
These are surely not my top 10 what if’s, but these are the 10 most spontaneous ones as of now…
Let us talk cricket
One day, some of my friends and colleagues in office casually started a chain of mails on my all time dream XI, which ran into more than 30 loops by which time we realized that except for 4 or 5 of us no one else in the long mailing list responded. Then we thought we can’t afford to continue this - one, we were spamming their official mail boxes unnecessarily during work hours, and two, we gave the impression to the passive participants in the mailing list that we were jobless – however true that might be, is not a smart thing to admit on official mail ids!
So we decided to move to a blog where we’ll discuss on everything under the sun that has to do with Cricket and started this blog: http://letustalkcricket.blogspot.com So, if you are this almost great cricketer so long as someone hasn’t played with you or seen you play, if you think you know more cricket than most of the legends of the game, if you had spent more time in talking cricket than playing during your upbringing days, you are most welcome to join us in the blog!
So we decided to move to a blog where we’ll discuss on everything under the sun that has to do with Cricket and started this blog: http://letustalkcricket.blogspot.com So, if you are this almost great cricketer so long as someone hasn’t played with you or seen you play, if you think you know more cricket than most of the legends of the game, if you had spent more time in talking cricket than playing during your upbringing days, you are most welcome to join us in the blog!
What if..........
“The greatest of all mysteries is What if”, writes Forsyth in his book The Odessa File.
As the book is about the Holocaust, that’s a big what if. This comes in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. What if Kennedy had gone in the car with the roof closed?
How would have that changed the history of the world? What if the Nazis had won the second world war? These are questions for which you would never know the answers unless, you believe in parallel universes where u have a different version of the events going on.
So what has that got to do with cricket? Well, here are my ten biggest What ifs in cricket.
1. What if Viv Richards hadn’t played “that shot” or connected cleanly?
2. What if Donald had run instantly in the last over?
3. What if rain hadn’t intervened during the SA-England semi final WC 92?
4. What if Ravi Shastri had refused to take the single of the fourth ball of the final over leaving him two balls to get two runs at Chennai?
5. What if Gatting had come down the track and connected the slow looping leg break on the full?
6. What if Azhar had opted to bat in the semi final of WC 96?
7. What if Mcgrath hadn’t stepped on the ball before Edgbaston ’05?
8. What if Steve Waugh had opted to bat in the second innings of Calcutta Test?
9. What if Kapil Dev had chosen someone else other than Chetan Sharma to bowl the last over?
10. What if Mike Gatting had not played the reverse sweep?
So what are your what ifs?????
As the book is about the Holocaust, that’s a big what if. This comes in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. What if Kennedy had gone in the car with the roof closed?
How would have that changed the history of the world? What if the Nazis had won the second world war? These are questions for which you would never know the answers unless, you believe in parallel universes where u have a different version of the events going on.
So what has that got to do with cricket? Well, here are my ten biggest What ifs in cricket.
1. What if Viv Richards hadn’t played “that shot” or connected cleanly?
2. What if Donald had run instantly in the last over?
3. What if rain hadn’t intervened during the SA-England semi final WC 92?
4. What if Ravi Shastri had refused to take the single of the fourth ball of the final over leaving him two balls to get two runs at Chennai?
5. What if Gatting had come down the track and connected the slow looping leg break on the full?
6. What if Azhar had opted to bat in the semi final of WC 96?
7. What if Mcgrath hadn’t stepped on the ball before Edgbaston ’05?
8. What if Steve Waugh had opted to bat in the second innings of Calcutta Test?
9. What if Kapil Dev had chosen someone else other than Chetan Sharma to bowl the last over?
10. What if Mike Gatting had not played the reverse sweep?
So what are your what ifs?????
My team's batting is weak???
I wouldnt accept your statement that your bowling attack is weaker than mine, just for the sake that I have Imran. Sobers can double up both as a pace bowler and a spinner, and he can provide more than an adequate back up for the other 4. When you got Holding, Lillee, Akram and Murali, what difference is it gonna make who the fifth bowler is?
Which brings us to the other statement you made that my batting is weaker. Lets just analyse that a little bit. You have Gavaskar, Taylor, Richards, Sachin, Lara, Sobers, Gilli and Akram, considering his batting abilities are very underrated.
Why is my line up weaker than this?
You are probably saying this because of my middle order, consisting of Border, Dravid,Sangakkara, Imran who wouldnt be on par with your line up ( come on man, who can rival Viv, Sach and Brian) but i wouldnt call them weak.
I am thinking of posting an all time one day XI.....
Which brings us to the other statement you made that my batting is weaker. Lets just analyse that a little bit. You have Gavaskar, Taylor, Richards, Sachin, Lara, Sobers, Gilli and Akram, considering his batting abilities are very underrated.
Why is my line up weaker than this?
You are probably saying this because of my middle order, consisting of Border, Dravid,Sangakkara, Imran who wouldnt be on par with your line up ( come on man, who can rival Viv, Sach and Brian) but i wouldnt call them weak.
I am thinking of posting an all time one day XI.....
Mouth watering contest....
That’s the way to respond. Oh boy, that bowling line up is scary, Imran is the killer pick there. I gave a slot to Taylor purely for his captaincy but that seems to be a little too luxurious in retrospect. But then I expect him to compensate for that by handling Murali better than any other captain who has handled him before. Remember he brought the best out of Warne by setting attacking fields and encouraging him to bowl an attacking line and length. If there was a weakness that I could point out in a near flawless career, it was that Murali tended to get defensive too soon. I am sure that under Taylor’s captaincy that would never happen, which would make him more potent.
Compared to your bowling line up, mine looks a little weak purely for the fact that I have only 4 genuine bowlers (for all my respect for Sobers, I cant see him as a consistent match winning bowler) whereas you have 5 absolute match winners with the ball – Imran provides such a great balance along with his leadership qualities – How did I miss him???
But my batting line up has a clear edge over yours. It would make a great contest man. Now that you have picked a 12th man (indirectly helping me to resurrect the balance of my team a bit), let me also pick one. I would go for Richie Benaud – a great leg spinner who doesn’t quite get his due in the modern day media only because of their obsession with Shane Warne and a very handy batsman too. Add that to the fact that he was a brilliant tactician as well. – So when I feel I need a better balance I’ll swap a batsman with Benaud.
Let the games begin...
Compared to your bowling line up, mine looks a little weak purely for the fact that I have only 4 genuine bowlers (for all my respect for Sobers, I cant see him as a consistent match winning bowler) whereas you have 5 absolute match winners with the ball – Imran provides such a great balance along with his leadership qualities – How did I miss him???
But my batting line up has a clear edge over yours. It would make a great contest man. Now that you have picked a 12th man (indirectly helping me to resurrect the balance of my team a bit), let me also pick one. I would go for Richie Benaud – a great leg spinner who doesn’t quite get his due in the modern day media only because of their obsession with Shane Warne and a very handy batsman too. Add that to the fact that he was a brilliant tactician as well. – So when I feel I need a better balance I’ll swap a batsman with Benaud.
Let the games begin...
Thursday, October 22, 2009
All time best!!!!
I have tried to pick a team that doesnt have the players whom hesh picked, as my aim was to pick an all star XI which would challenge hesh's XI...Here we go...
Greenidge-Poor man's Viv Richards.....He didnt have that swagger,charisma and he didnt bowl, those are the only differences.
Sehwag- Probably the best man to terrorise, Holding, Akram, Lillee and Murali.....
Bradman- I can only say one thing...thank you for not picking him...
Border-VC- Street fighter to the core....
Dravid- Once again thank you!!!!!!
Sangakkara- If it isnt gilli..its sanga!!!!
Imran-Captain --- somebody who could change the state of the game, by example, or by
tactics....both in batting and in bowling...border and imran, plotting to get somebody like Viv or Lara.. Wow!!!
Marshall---A fast bowler with a spinner's brain.....Playing alongside, holding, roberts, and then in the latter half with walsh and ambrose and still getting 376 wickets is no mean feat!!!
Roberts---Sunny said once, that he would rather face holding than roberts..and thats enough....
Warne---- Well.... lets just say...he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!!.
Ambrose--- Stone cold assassin.....
12th man-Kumble-somebody who is intense enough to put his concentration absolutely on the water and towels he is gonna deliver....will definitely be needed..and on a spinning track...with Warne...beautiful....( I know u didnt pick a 12th man and thats why i picked Kumble, bcos I know you would hve picked him!!!!!)
So ready for the game???
Let's get started - My all time Dream XI
To start the blog on an auspicious note, I am starting with a post that I wrote a couple of years ago.... Feel free to agree or disagree with the choices, but more importantly, come out with a team - your best XI that can take this team on.
All time Dream XI
What does a cricket enthusiast do when he is utterly jobless? Well, what else? Select an all time dream cricket team, which doesn’t have any meaning or relevance. Now that I am jobless, I decided to come out with my dream team of all time.
Here it is:
Sunil Gavaskar: Epitome of a test opener. Has all the patience in the world to wear a fast bowler out and has the repertoire of shots to then cash in on it.
Mark Taylor: Should have been Sehwag purely on batting merit. But then I need my dream captain for my dream team.
Viv Richards: For the sheer intimidation factor!
Sachin Tendulkar: By God He’s God!
Brian Lara: The most gifted talent to have wielded the willow ever.
Gary Sobers: Its gotta be Sobers! The most natural cricketer.
Adam Gilchrist: The sight of Gilly walking out to bat after dismissing such a top order can be the most disheartening sight for any bowling attack.
Wasim Akram: The left hand of god!
Michael Holding: Wow! The Rolls Royce. Arguably the greatest fast bowler of ‘em all. If you doubt it ask Geoffrey Boycott!!!
Dennis Lillee: The most complete fast bowler.
Muttiah Muralitharan: The Magician who’s conquered all teams and conditions except the Prince of Trinidad. But, then how does it matter when the Prince is his teammate!
Is any team game enough to take us on?
All time Dream XI
What does a cricket enthusiast do when he is utterly jobless? Well, what else? Select an all time dream cricket team, which doesn’t have any meaning or relevance. Now that I am jobless, I decided to come out with my dream team of all time.
Here it is:
Sunil Gavaskar: Epitome of a test opener. Has all the patience in the world to wear a fast bowler out and has the repertoire of shots to then cash in on it.
Mark Taylor: Should have been Sehwag purely on batting merit. But then I need my dream captain for my dream team.
Viv Richards: For the sheer intimidation factor!
Sachin Tendulkar: By God He’s God!
Brian Lara: The most gifted talent to have wielded the willow ever.
Gary Sobers: Its gotta be Sobers! The most natural cricketer.
Adam Gilchrist: The sight of Gilly walking out to bat after dismissing such a top order can be the most disheartening sight for any bowling attack.
Wasim Akram: The left hand of god!
Michael Holding: Wow! The Rolls Royce. Arguably the greatest fast bowler of ‘em all. If you doubt it ask Geoffrey Boycott!!!
Dennis Lillee: The most complete fast bowler.
Muttiah Muralitharan: The Magician who’s conquered all teams and conditions except the Prince of Trinidad. But, then how does it matter when the Prince is his teammate!
Is any team game enough to take us on?
Lets talk cricket
IF YOU ARE THIS ALMOST GREAT CRICKETER SO LONG AS SOMEONE HASN'T PLAYED WITH YOU OR SEEN YOU PLAY, IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW MORE CRICKET THAN MOST OF THE LEGENDS OF THE GAME, IF YOU SPENT MORE TIME IN TALKING CRICKET THAN PLAYING DURING YOUR UPBRINGING DAYS THEN THIS IS SURELY THE PLACE FOR YOU.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The adrenalin factor!
The best part of my everyday life is the two hours from 6 AM to 8 AM that I spend in paying Badminton in Lal Bahadur Stadium. LB was not too long ago the most prominent badminton center in the country outside of Prakash Padukone Academy. But since the setting up of Gopi Chand Academy it has lost a bit of its prominence as a lot of the established players moved over there but nevertheless LB continues to be a critical center in the Indian Badminton Scene.
The number of young players who wake up early in the morning to be here for training is absolutely heart warming. Hailing from Hyderabad, these guys are certainly not short on inspiration, what with Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, Jwala Gutta and Gopi Chand being household names here. I always reach the venue a good half an hour before my slot just so that I could watch the young kids practice with refreshing passion. It sort of takes me back in time when I used to dream of making it big as a cricketer – a dream which remained just that!
Today I was watching a singles game between two very young boys who must be no more than 12 years old. The match was played with hardly anyone watching as others were busy playing their game. Since I had a wrist injury I chose to be a spectator for today and I am so glad I was. One of the two boys (since I don’t know his name – let me call him the “the little champ”) was playing such exceptional badminton that I wish I could have taken his autograph! He was a natural athlete who covered the court like a gazelle, hit the gaps with the precision of a surgeon and carried himself around with the attitude of a guy who’s so sure of his skills. If I was so impressed after watching him for 2 games, what followed later made me a little wonder struck.
When these two boys started the 3rd game, a group of 5 coaches came and sat near the court. While discussing their next state tournament itinerary, they also kept a keen eye on this game. They were observing the mistakes that the little champ’s opponent was making – “doesn’t have the power to consistently hit the back of the court”, “doesn’t hit the gaps”, “keeps feeding him on the middle of the court” and so on.
When all this was unfolding I just noticed that the little champ upped the ante this game as compared to the previous 2 games by a few notches. As all the coaches were here, a lot more people gathered near the court. The more the number of people watching the game, the more the little champ raised his game. Oh boy was he loving the attention! In a matter of minutes he was able to make the coaches shift the topic from the opponent’s weakness to this guy’s all round game. I wonder if he would have pushed himself so much especially against an opponent who he could have beaten comfortably even otherwise, if not for so many people watching the game! It's unbelievable that such is the effect of adrenalin rush that a live audience can fill a sport with.
If the adrenalin can get to the young guy when 10 people were watching the game, imagine what must be going through Sachin’s mind when he enters the crease and the whole stadium erupts, singing that famous “Sachin, Sachin” Slogan! It must be insane...
The number of young players who wake up early in the morning to be here for training is absolutely heart warming. Hailing from Hyderabad, these guys are certainly not short on inspiration, what with Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, Jwala Gutta and Gopi Chand being household names here. I always reach the venue a good half an hour before my slot just so that I could watch the young kids practice with refreshing passion. It sort of takes me back in time when I used to dream of making it big as a cricketer – a dream which remained just that!
Today I was watching a singles game between two very young boys who must be no more than 12 years old. The match was played with hardly anyone watching as others were busy playing their game. Since I had a wrist injury I chose to be a spectator for today and I am so glad I was. One of the two boys (since I don’t know his name – let me call him the “the little champ”) was playing such exceptional badminton that I wish I could have taken his autograph! He was a natural athlete who covered the court like a gazelle, hit the gaps with the precision of a surgeon and carried himself around with the attitude of a guy who’s so sure of his skills. If I was so impressed after watching him for 2 games, what followed later made me a little wonder struck.
When these two boys started the 3rd game, a group of 5 coaches came and sat near the court. While discussing their next state tournament itinerary, they also kept a keen eye on this game. They were observing the mistakes that the little champ’s opponent was making – “doesn’t have the power to consistently hit the back of the court”, “doesn’t hit the gaps”, “keeps feeding him on the middle of the court” and so on.
When all this was unfolding I just noticed that the little champ upped the ante this game as compared to the previous 2 games by a few notches. As all the coaches were here, a lot more people gathered near the court. The more the number of people watching the game, the more the little champ raised his game. Oh boy was he loving the attention! In a matter of minutes he was able to make the coaches shift the topic from the opponent’s weakness to this guy’s all round game. I wonder if he would have pushed himself so much especially against an opponent who he could have beaten comfortably even otherwise, if not for so many people watching the game! It's unbelievable that such is the effect of adrenalin rush that a live audience can fill a sport with.
If the adrenalin can get to the young guy when 10 people were watching the game, imagine what must be going through Sachin’s mind when he enters the crease and the whole stadium erupts, singing that famous “Sachin, Sachin” Slogan! It must be insane...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
What's the point?
Read this recent article by Makarand Waingankar in “The Hindu” on Sachin Tendulkar’s match winning ability! I wonder if anyone could write a more pointless article than this. I have never really liked his writing, so I don’t take him too seriously at the best of times, but on this occasion he seems to have surpassed himself.
Here he is comparing the match winning abilities of Inzamam and Ponting with Sachin but why leave out Lara – the man who’s figured in the most number of losing causes in history despite having a deadly bowling attack at his disposal in the first half of his career. And his argument that Inzamam also played for a weaker team like Sachin but he has a greater percentage of centuries scored in winning causes is just ridiculous. For a good part of Inzamam’s career they had the two W’s spitting venom on the cricket field and for India outside of Kumble (more so at home), did we have any consistent match winning bowlers at all? You win matches by taking 20 wickets, not by scoring triple hundreds…
Here he is comparing the match winning abilities of Inzamam and Ponting with Sachin but why leave out Lara – the man who’s figured in the most number of losing causes in history despite having a deadly bowling attack at his disposal in the first half of his career. And his argument that Inzamam also played for a weaker team like Sachin but he has a greater percentage of centuries scored in winning causes is just ridiculous. For a good part of Inzamam’s career they had the two W’s spitting venom on the cricket field and for India outside of Kumble (more so at home), did we have any consistent match winning bowlers at all? You win matches by taking 20 wickets, not by scoring triple hundreds…
Friday, July 31, 2009
Cricket in the “Corridor of Uncertainty”
If the world economy is going through an extraordinary crisis after years of excess post the sub-prime debacle, Cricket seems to be going through a crisis of its own post the widespread acceptance of T-20 cricket. Is T-20 format the sub-prime (not literally though) of the cricket world is anybody’s guess! But cricket’s crisis seems to be rather unique. Just when the whole world was entering a recession, cricket discovered its real big money potential through – first the stupendously successful T-20world cup and then the “fill up whatever adjective you want” IPL.
Everyone (except Lalit Modi & co) is in acceptance of the fact that Cricket is in a crisis. But there’s anything but agreement when it comes to the cause of the crisis and more so with how to fix it! ICC thinks the solution lies in having 4 day test matches – I never knew David Morgan had such a great sense of humour. Allan Donald thinks it’s got to do with the balance between bat and ball – soon there’ll be a ball-tampering coach in all teams. Chris Gayle thinks that we should leave it to individuals to decide about their priorities and not get too sentimental about the good old test cricket. Oh boy…. What is the problem?
There’s a general perception that it’s all because of the new new format of the game. Infact it’s a little surprising that most people have expressed their concerns on the death of test cricket just when its going through its most healthy period in a long long time – it’s been mouth watering stuff with 3 top teams competing for the champion’s crown with no clear winner. Surely T-20 is not a threat to test cricket, in fact they are as good as 2 different sports for them to cannibalize each other!
T-20 is a welcome addition to an already rich sport and it’s probably cricket’s best bet in globalizing itself. It’s also made cricketers richer and greedier too. Chris Gayle reaching the test series in England two days before the match was ripping the soul of cricket. At the same time, it’s had a huge positive influence on the game; it brought the family audience back to the stadium along with a lot of first timers too. Not to forget the fact that it’s been a platform where spinners have reestablished themselves after their impotency started telling in ODI cricket of late – What was the last match winning spell from spinner that one can remember in ODI cricket? Ironically it has redressed the balance between bat and ball in its own way though we feared the contrary to happen. Surely it cannot be the rise of T-20 alone.
But what about the scheduling – are we killing the golden goose? How could you have a T-20 world cup barely a week after IPL – which in its current avatar is much bigger than the world cup. Oh, by the way, there’s going to be another world cup in 10 month’s time! There’s also the champions trophy and the small matter of what used to be the pinnacle event in cricket – the ODI world cup in 2011. I never ever imagined in my wildest of dreams that I would grow tired of watching cricket one day and oh boy is it becoming true! ICC needs to badly hire Operations Research experts (i.e., by their standards, which apparently could be done by a X grade student!) to fix their scheduling problem – Obviously, it requires knowledge of rocket science to figure out the distance between June 2009 and April 2010 is less than one year!
And that monster called IPL? This has been the cause of all the problems in cricket! It’s infused obscene amount of money into the game that is tempting cricketers to choose between the nation and money. What an irony – there is crisis the world over for lack of money and in cricket the crisis seems to be because of excess money! Flintoff has preferred T-20 over test cricket, Vettori has expressed the dilemmas of his team members when choosing to sign the national contract knowing a test series is clashing with the IPL, and we all know Gayle’s take on this whole issue – for him, it’s a non-issue!
But for all the large scale bad-mouthing of IPL, no one would disagree with the fact that it is simply the most spectacular cricket tournament outside of Test Cricket. For a sport in want of greater acceptance outside its traditional avenues, there cannot be a better showcase of the game than IPL to the newer audience especially in the most instantly appealing format of the game. Having said that, the monopoly that IPL is becoming to be in the cricket economy needs to be seriously controlled and regulated but does the ICC have the backbone to do it – we all know the answer!
So what is the solution? I have no idea. The problem seems to be multi-layered with a lot interactions across layers. But if you ask me, this is what I would suggest. Forget ODI cricket, dedicate a month for IPL and a week for Champions League in a yearly calendar. Schedule full test series between the top test nations and shorter series between unmatched teams, start playing bilateral T-20 series and have T-20 world cup once in two years. Strip Zimbabwe of its full member status – the most effective way to control the monopoly ways of BCCI and Mr. Lalit Modi. And pray for peace in Pakistan…
PS: For the problem of the big money of IPL luring cricketers to retire early from test cricket, let me assure that only money is capable of fixing the problem it creates – no regulation, moral science lessons or jingoistic patriotism can do it. The “how” of it, will be part of the next post.
Everyone (except Lalit Modi & co) is in acceptance of the fact that Cricket is in a crisis. But there’s anything but agreement when it comes to the cause of the crisis and more so with how to fix it! ICC thinks the solution lies in having 4 day test matches – I never knew David Morgan had such a great sense of humour. Allan Donald thinks it’s got to do with the balance between bat and ball – soon there’ll be a ball-tampering coach in all teams. Chris Gayle thinks that we should leave it to individuals to decide about their priorities and not get too sentimental about the good old test cricket. Oh boy…. What is the problem?
There’s a general perception that it’s all because of the new new format of the game. Infact it’s a little surprising that most people have expressed their concerns on the death of test cricket just when its going through its most healthy period in a long long time – it’s been mouth watering stuff with 3 top teams competing for the champion’s crown with no clear winner. Surely T-20 is not a threat to test cricket, in fact they are as good as 2 different sports for them to cannibalize each other!
T-20 is a welcome addition to an already rich sport and it’s probably cricket’s best bet in globalizing itself. It’s also made cricketers richer and greedier too. Chris Gayle reaching the test series in England two days before the match was ripping the soul of cricket. At the same time, it’s had a huge positive influence on the game; it brought the family audience back to the stadium along with a lot of first timers too. Not to forget the fact that it’s been a platform where spinners have reestablished themselves after their impotency started telling in ODI cricket of late – What was the last match winning spell from spinner that one can remember in ODI cricket? Ironically it has redressed the balance between bat and ball in its own way though we feared the contrary to happen. Surely it cannot be the rise of T-20 alone.
But what about the scheduling – are we killing the golden goose? How could you have a T-20 world cup barely a week after IPL – which in its current avatar is much bigger than the world cup. Oh, by the way, there’s going to be another world cup in 10 month’s time! There’s also the champions trophy and the small matter of what used to be the pinnacle event in cricket – the ODI world cup in 2011. I never ever imagined in my wildest of dreams that I would grow tired of watching cricket one day and oh boy is it becoming true! ICC needs to badly hire Operations Research experts (i.e., by their standards, which apparently could be done by a X grade student!) to fix their scheduling problem – Obviously, it requires knowledge of rocket science to figure out the distance between June 2009 and April 2010 is less than one year!
And that monster called IPL? This has been the cause of all the problems in cricket! It’s infused obscene amount of money into the game that is tempting cricketers to choose between the nation and money. What an irony – there is crisis the world over for lack of money and in cricket the crisis seems to be because of excess money! Flintoff has preferred T-20 over test cricket, Vettori has expressed the dilemmas of his team members when choosing to sign the national contract knowing a test series is clashing with the IPL, and we all know Gayle’s take on this whole issue – for him, it’s a non-issue!
But for all the large scale bad-mouthing of IPL, no one would disagree with the fact that it is simply the most spectacular cricket tournament outside of Test Cricket. For a sport in want of greater acceptance outside its traditional avenues, there cannot be a better showcase of the game than IPL to the newer audience especially in the most instantly appealing format of the game. Having said that, the monopoly that IPL is becoming to be in the cricket economy needs to be seriously controlled and regulated but does the ICC have the backbone to do it – we all know the answer!
So what is the solution? I have no idea. The problem seems to be multi-layered with a lot interactions across layers. But if you ask me, this is what I would suggest. Forget ODI cricket, dedicate a month for IPL and a week for Champions League in a yearly calendar. Schedule full test series between the top test nations and shorter series between unmatched teams, start playing bilateral T-20 series and have T-20 world cup once in two years. Strip Zimbabwe of its full member status – the most effective way to control the monopoly ways of BCCI and Mr. Lalit Modi. And pray for peace in Pakistan…
PS: For the problem of the big money of IPL luring cricketers to retire early from test cricket, let me assure that only money is capable of fixing the problem it creates – no regulation, moral science lessons or jingoistic patriotism can do it. The “how” of it, will be part of the next post.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Who would you want to bat for your life?
Disclaimer: I am a complete believer in the popular phrase - “Statistics are like mini-skirts, what they reveal is interesting but what they hide is vital”
It’s always a dicey proposition to make a science out of an art. But for good or bad, we as cricket fans have internalized it so much that we cannot leave statistics out of our evaluation of any player or team. Now that we have decided to live with it, let’s use numbers from as many dimensions as possible to arrive at a statistically more fair evaluation of a player.
Typically the statistic that’s most abused in cricket is a batsman’s average. The first class in most statistics course start with this question on cricket - Does higher average translate into better consistency? That’s when the professor would introduce the concept of Standard Deviation, which is nothing but a measurement of risk. Very simply put, it measures the variability from the expected score (which is the average) – higher the variability higher the risk! For an intuitive explanation of this concept, click here
But the Standard Deviation is so overhyped a concept that once a lateral thinking guru told me that most cricket followers mistake average as a proxy for greatness when it should ideally be Standard Deviation! Does a batsman who scores 10 runs every time he bats more great than Sachin or Lara, because he is very very consistent – no variability at all! So standalone Standard Deviation may not be of great help, but when used along with the average, it gives a potent number (a crude version of what is famously called “Sharpe Ratio” in the world of finance). Let’s call this the consistency index – it gives the average of a batsman per unit of risk. “The higher the average per unit risk, the more reliable the batsman is” is not a bad doctrine to believe in.
In fact, if I remember right, S.Rajesh of Cricinfo had done a similar exercise a few years back for Cricinfo Magazine where he had calculated the consistency index for all great batsmen to arrive at statistically the most consistent of them all. In this exercise, I am trying to build on his work and add more dimensions to the analysis to possibly get a more complete picture. Since I don’t have the advantage of having access to a comprehensive database like S.Rajesh, I would restrict this analysis to a shortlist of batsman whom I have had the privilege of watching in my cricket following career of the past 2 decades. This list is completely my personal choice of batsmen who have staked a claim to be the best in the world at different points in time. And they are – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Peterson, Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, and Adam Gilchrist. Just for novelty factor, added Sunil Gavaskar to the mix as well!
Now to begin with, let’s use the primitive method of comparing them on averages.
Average 1
Ponting 56.31
Sachin 54.73
Kallis 54.66
Lara 52.89
Dravid 52.39
Gavaskar 51.12
Sehwag 50.82
Peterson 50.82
Hayden 50.74
Gilchrist 47.61
Ponting is clearly leading the pack with a good lead over Tendulkar. Kallis is a hairline behind Tendulkar, with Lara and Dravid completing the top 5. Gilchrist might seem like a strange pick amongst the very best in the last 2 decades, but as I said before it’s a completely personal choice with no quantitative criteria to select the list.
The “Not out” factor
The problem with using average is that it is easily maneuvered by “Not Outs”. So if Lara scores a 400 and finishes not out, it can boost his average by almost 2 runs across his career. There was a phase in which Tendulkar scored nearly 700 runs without getting dismissed. Very rarely a batsman staying not out makes a critical difference to the fortunes of the team. Would it have made any difference to Team India if Tendulkar got out for 241 against Australia in Sydney? So let’s look at the averages by discounting the “Not outs”. Average will be nothing but total number of runs by the number of times the batsman has ventured out to bat. Let’s call this Average 2.
Average 2
Lara 51.52
Ponting 49.78
Sehwag 49.05
Sachin 48.98
Peterson 48.85
Gavaskar 47.30
Hayden 46.88
Kallis 46.50
Dravid 46.21
Gilchrist 40.66
Oh…what a difference this makes. It disturbs the order of the entire list with the exception of Gilchrist. Lara jumps up from fourth place to first place and that despite a 400 N.O against his name! Sehwag climbs up four positions to move from 7th to 3rd in this list. Kallis moves down five positions from 3 to 8.
Let’s quantify the “Not Out” factor for each of these batsmen and see who the biggest beneficiary of it is:
The “Not Out” factor
Kallis 8.16
Gilchrist 6.95
Ponting 6.54
Dravid 6.18
Sachin 5.75
Hayden 3.86
Gavaskar 3.82
Peterson 1.97
Sehwag 1.77
Lara 1.37
There you go, Kallis has nearly a good tail-ender’s average added to his Average 2 courtesy his unfinished innings. Gilchrist’s record as a batsman is well enhanced by the number of not outs in his career. Look at the bottom of the list there; its not at all surprising to find Sehwag there, but Lara enjoys the least benefit of not being dismissed. The amazing aspect of this list is that five of the top 6 batsmen in this list bat at either 3 or 4 (infact except Tendulkar, the rest of them bat at no.3) and have still finished as “Not out” with sizeable scores – oh boy do these guys hate getting dismissed!
Having seen both the statistic, it’s fair to say that both are fair and unfair in their own ways. So let’s use both of them to compute the consistency index and see what difference it makes in the final analysis.
Risk – Variability of expected value
Let’s look at our measurement of risk for each of these batsmen – Standard Deviation.
Standard Deviation
Gilchrist 43.66
Kallis 44.19
Peterson 48.43
Dravid 48.51
Gavaskar 50.08
Hayden 50.57
Ponting 51.01
Sachin 52.41
Lara 62.37
Sehwag 62.77
If I have to go by what the renowned lateral thinking guru said, then Gilchrist is the least risky or in other words the most consistent batsmen of this lot – now then, can you believe it? Is Tendulkar a less consistent batsman than Gilchrist – Even Gilchrist would dismiss it as a joke! But watch out the last 2 names there at the bottom, can you disagree with that? So, Standard Deviation as a stand alone measure also offers some interesting insights. But let’s refine it further; let’s see what consistency index tells us…
Consistency Index (Average/Standard Deviation)
Using Average 1
Consistency Index – 1
Kallis 1.24
Ponting 1.10
Gilchrist 1.09
Dravid 1.08
Peterson 1.05
Sachin 1.04
Gavaskar 1.02
Hayden 1.00
Lara 0.85
Sehwag 0.81
Using Average 2
Consistency index – 2
Kallis 1.05
Peterson 1.01
Ponting 0.98
Dravid 0.95
Gavaskar 0.94
Sachin 0.93
Gilchrist 0.93
Hayden 0.93
Lara 0.83
Sehwag 0.78
Who would you want to bat for your life? If you believe in numbers, you will not look beyond Jacques Kallis – Take “Not outs”, discount “Not outs”, do whatever, but Kallis stands tall in the consistency index towering over the rest. And is anyone surprised by the 2 names in the bottom at all? It seems to be an apt reflection of their style of batting – high risk, high return! Except for Gilchrist, the positions of the rest of the batsmen don’t change much whether you factor in the Not out’s or not. Gilchrist seems to be enjoying the privilege of being number 7 on the batting order with too many “Not out” innings in his kitty.
This completes the first part of the two-part analysis; let’s get a little more whacky in the second part, which I promise will be a much shorter one.
Note: All the data used for the analysis are as on March 18, 2009
It’s always a dicey proposition to make a science out of an art. But for good or bad, we as cricket fans have internalized it so much that we cannot leave statistics out of our evaluation of any player or team. Now that we have decided to live with it, let’s use numbers from as many dimensions as possible to arrive at a statistically more fair evaluation of a player.
Typically the statistic that’s most abused in cricket is a batsman’s average. The first class in most statistics course start with this question on cricket - Does higher average translate into better consistency? That’s when the professor would introduce the concept of Standard Deviation, which is nothing but a measurement of risk. Very simply put, it measures the variability from the expected score (which is the average) – higher the variability higher the risk! For an intuitive explanation of this concept, click here
But the Standard Deviation is so overhyped a concept that once a lateral thinking guru told me that most cricket followers mistake average as a proxy for greatness when it should ideally be Standard Deviation! Does a batsman who scores 10 runs every time he bats more great than Sachin or Lara, because he is very very consistent – no variability at all! So standalone Standard Deviation may not be of great help, but when used along with the average, it gives a potent number (a crude version of what is famously called “Sharpe Ratio” in the world of finance). Let’s call this the consistency index – it gives the average of a batsman per unit of risk. “The higher the average per unit risk, the more reliable the batsman is” is not a bad doctrine to believe in.
In fact, if I remember right, S.Rajesh of Cricinfo had done a similar exercise a few years back for Cricinfo Magazine where he had calculated the consistency index for all great batsmen to arrive at statistically the most consistent of them all. In this exercise, I am trying to build on his work and add more dimensions to the analysis to possibly get a more complete picture. Since I don’t have the advantage of having access to a comprehensive database like S.Rajesh, I would restrict this analysis to a shortlist of batsman whom I have had the privilege of watching in my cricket following career of the past 2 decades. This list is completely my personal choice of batsmen who have staked a claim to be the best in the world at different points in time. And they are – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Peterson, Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, and Adam Gilchrist. Just for novelty factor, added Sunil Gavaskar to the mix as well!
Now to begin with, let’s use the primitive method of comparing them on averages.
Average 1
Ponting 56.31
Sachin 54.73
Kallis 54.66
Lara 52.89
Dravid 52.39
Gavaskar 51.12
Sehwag 50.82
Peterson 50.82
Hayden 50.74
Gilchrist 47.61
Ponting is clearly leading the pack with a good lead over Tendulkar. Kallis is a hairline behind Tendulkar, with Lara and Dravid completing the top 5. Gilchrist might seem like a strange pick amongst the very best in the last 2 decades, but as I said before it’s a completely personal choice with no quantitative criteria to select the list.
The “Not out” factor
The problem with using average is that it is easily maneuvered by “Not Outs”. So if Lara scores a 400 and finishes not out, it can boost his average by almost 2 runs across his career. There was a phase in which Tendulkar scored nearly 700 runs without getting dismissed. Very rarely a batsman staying not out makes a critical difference to the fortunes of the team. Would it have made any difference to Team India if Tendulkar got out for 241 against Australia in Sydney? So let’s look at the averages by discounting the “Not outs”. Average will be nothing but total number of runs by the number of times the batsman has ventured out to bat. Let’s call this Average 2.
Average 2
Lara 51.52
Ponting 49.78
Sehwag 49.05
Sachin 48.98
Peterson 48.85
Gavaskar 47.30
Hayden 46.88
Kallis 46.50
Dravid 46.21
Gilchrist 40.66
Oh…what a difference this makes. It disturbs the order of the entire list with the exception of Gilchrist. Lara jumps up from fourth place to first place and that despite a 400 N.O against his name! Sehwag climbs up four positions to move from 7th to 3rd in this list. Kallis moves down five positions from 3 to 8.
Let’s quantify the “Not Out” factor for each of these batsmen and see who the biggest beneficiary of it is:
The “Not Out” factor
Kallis 8.16
Gilchrist 6.95
Ponting 6.54
Dravid 6.18
Sachin 5.75
Hayden 3.86
Gavaskar 3.82
Peterson 1.97
Sehwag 1.77
Lara 1.37
There you go, Kallis has nearly a good tail-ender’s average added to his Average 2 courtesy his unfinished innings. Gilchrist’s record as a batsman is well enhanced by the number of not outs in his career. Look at the bottom of the list there; its not at all surprising to find Sehwag there, but Lara enjoys the least benefit of not being dismissed. The amazing aspect of this list is that five of the top 6 batsmen in this list bat at either 3 or 4 (infact except Tendulkar, the rest of them bat at no.3) and have still finished as “Not out” with sizeable scores – oh boy do these guys hate getting dismissed!
Having seen both the statistic, it’s fair to say that both are fair and unfair in their own ways. So let’s use both of them to compute the consistency index and see what difference it makes in the final analysis.
Risk – Variability of expected value
Let’s look at our measurement of risk for each of these batsmen – Standard Deviation.
Standard Deviation
Gilchrist 43.66
Kallis 44.19
Peterson 48.43
Dravid 48.51
Gavaskar 50.08
Hayden 50.57
Ponting 51.01
Sachin 52.41
Lara 62.37
Sehwag 62.77
If I have to go by what the renowned lateral thinking guru said, then Gilchrist is the least risky or in other words the most consistent batsmen of this lot – now then, can you believe it? Is Tendulkar a less consistent batsman than Gilchrist – Even Gilchrist would dismiss it as a joke! But watch out the last 2 names there at the bottom, can you disagree with that? So, Standard Deviation as a stand alone measure also offers some interesting insights. But let’s refine it further; let’s see what consistency index tells us…
Consistency Index (Average/Standard Deviation)
Using Average 1
Consistency Index – 1
Kallis 1.24
Ponting 1.10
Gilchrist 1.09
Dravid 1.08
Peterson 1.05
Sachin 1.04
Gavaskar 1.02
Hayden 1.00
Lara 0.85
Sehwag 0.81
Using Average 2
Consistency index – 2
Kallis 1.05
Peterson 1.01
Ponting 0.98
Dravid 0.95
Gavaskar 0.94
Sachin 0.93
Gilchrist 0.93
Hayden 0.93
Lara 0.83
Sehwag 0.78
Who would you want to bat for your life? If you believe in numbers, you will not look beyond Jacques Kallis – Take “Not outs”, discount “Not outs”, do whatever, but Kallis stands tall in the consistency index towering over the rest. And is anyone surprised by the 2 names in the bottom at all? It seems to be an apt reflection of their style of batting – high risk, high return! Except for Gilchrist, the positions of the rest of the batsmen don’t change much whether you factor in the Not out’s or not. Gilchrist seems to be enjoying the privilege of being number 7 on the batting order with too many “Not out” innings in his kitty.
This completes the first part of the two-part analysis; let’s get a little more whacky in the second part, which I promise will be a much shorter one.
Note: All the data used for the analysis are as on March 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Finally....... I got internet connection
Oh......... Finally I got internet at home after 2 months of struggle. Hopefully should start blogging regularly from hereon.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
IPL Days 23 to 29: One week is a lot of time in IPL!
With a hectic time at office, it’s been hard to find time to catch up with all the matches last week. The IPL with its jam packed schedule is not only testing the endurance of players but the fans too! I wonder how exhausted all of us will be, come the T-20 world cup!
It’s been a week of fluctuating fortunes with literally every team except Delhi and KKR standing unsure of their future course in the tournament till Saturday. The Delhi juggernaut continued to roll on with the odd hiccup against Kings’ XI and KKR have improved from losing badly to coming close but still not able to close out a match. CSK has stamped their authority back in the tournament with 5 consecutive victories but put themselves in a vulnerable position going into the match against Mumbai Indians by losing to B’lore in the earlier match.
In the meanwhile Mumbai have continued their “one step forward, one and half steps back" campaign in this IPL. But at the end of Saturday’s games, 2 semi-final spots seem to have been finalized and with Mumbai losing the do or die battle against CSK, 2 teams are surely eliminated. And amazingly B’lore is still in with a chance. Its gonna be fun to see Deccan, Rajasthan, B’lore and Kings’ XI fight it out for the remaining 2 semi-final spots.
It’s been a bizarre week. Deccan lost a match which it had in its bag against Mumbai. Mumbai did the same against Rajasthan Royals! And just what should KKR do to win a game? They did everything right against B’lore till Ross Taylor came out and played an absolute blinder to get B’lore out of jail and he did a repeat act (a less thrilling one though) against Mumbai too to keep B’lore’s hopes afloat.
But nothing was quite as bizarre as the match between Deccan and KKR. With 21 runs required off the last over, all the camera focus was on the KKR dug out – finally they were about to pull of a win. And then McCullum commits a blunder which would be remembered for long – has only 3 fielders inside the circle for the first ball off the last over and Rohit doesn’t make his life any better by belting it for a boundary. Amazingly Mccullum seemed to be suggesting to the umpire that it should have been called a dead ball!
With 16 runs required off 6 balls, Deccan would have fancied their chances especially with the classy Rohit Sharma on strike. Just as luck would have it, Mortaza bowled a full toss which Rohit deposited on top of a stand some 115 meters away. This was the decisive blow which sucked any little life left out of KKR. Then Rohit played a lovely cover drive for four and an audacious pull for a six when all that was required was a single to finish off the match. I have said it many times before and wouldn’t mind saying that again – he is simply the best young batsman in the country right now. Can’t wait for him to get a test berth!
Whoever makes it to the semi-finals, I would love to see a Delhi-Chennai final!
It’s been a week of fluctuating fortunes with literally every team except Delhi and KKR standing unsure of their future course in the tournament till Saturday. The Delhi juggernaut continued to roll on with the odd hiccup against Kings’ XI and KKR have improved from losing badly to coming close but still not able to close out a match. CSK has stamped their authority back in the tournament with 5 consecutive victories but put themselves in a vulnerable position going into the match against Mumbai Indians by losing to B’lore in the earlier match.
In the meanwhile Mumbai have continued their “one step forward, one and half steps back" campaign in this IPL. But at the end of Saturday’s games, 2 semi-final spots seem to have been finalized and with Mumbai losing the do or die battle against CSK, 2 teams are surely eliminated. And amazingly B’lore is still in with a chance. Its gonna be fun to see Deccan, Rajasthan, B’lore and Kings’ XI fight it out for the remaining 2 semi-final spots.
It’s been a bizarre week. Deccan lost a match which it had in its bag against Mumbai. Mumbai did the same against Rajasthan Royals! And just what should KKR do to win a game? They did everything right against B’lore till Ross Taylor came out and played an absolute blinder to get B’lore out of jail and he did a repeat act (a less thrilling one though) against Mumbai too to keep B’lore’s hopes afloat.
But nothing was quite as bizarre as the match between Deccan and KKR. With 21 runs required off the last over, all the camera focus was on the KKR dug out – finally they were about to pull of a win. And then McCullum commits a blunder which would be remembered for long – has only 3 fielders inside the circle for the first ball off the last over and Rohit doesn’t make his life any better by belting it for a boundary. Amazingly Mccullum seemed to be suggesting to the umpire that it should have been called a dead ball!
With 16 runs required off 6 balls, Deccan would have fancied their chances especially with the classy Rohit Sharma on strike. Just as luck would have it, Mortaza bowled a full toss which Rohit deposited on top of a stand some 115 meters away. This was the decisive blow which sucked any little life left out of KKR. Then Rohit played a lovely cover drive for four and an audacious pull for a six when all that was required was a single to finish off the match. I have said it many times before and wouldn’t mind saying that again – he is simply the best young batsman in the country right now. Can’t wait for him to get a test berth!
Whoever makes it to the semi-finals, I would love to see a Delhi-Chennai final!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
IPL Day 22: Of grit and graceful grit
In the match between the last year’s finalists, the competition started even before the first ball was bowled with Warnie hurling a bouncer at Dhoni by calling Chennai poor chasers at the toss. Not the one to duck ungainly at the bouncer, Dhoni added more spice by saying that Rajasthan Royals will be under pressure to put up a big total against CSK’s strong batting line up.
After yet another first over dismissal from Albie Morkel, CSK built on the pressure to ensure that Rajasthan Royals didn’t get away to a great start. After a patient 3o from Graeme Smith, some lusty hitting from Ravinder Jadeja in the middle and a cameo from Shane Warne ensured that RR put a decent enough total to make a match of it.
With Hayden continuing his rich vein of form, it looked like CSK will cruise through easily despite the loss of Vijay and Raina by the 6th over. Then came Warnie and bowled a mesmerizing over to Badri which would have given the CSK dug out a few uncomfortable moments. Having watched it from the other end, Hayden took it upon himself to take the attack to his ex-teammate and how well he did it. First he reverse swept Warnie for a four, but what followed was pure genius. In a pitch which was stopping a bit after pitching, turning square, against the ever so wily Warnie, Haydos walks down the pitch with the calmness of a monk and whacks it over long on for a six. And amidst all this not a thought of failure!
Having survived the Warne scare, Badri grew in confidence at the other end and scored 18 runs off an over from Shane Harwood. First he moved inside the line to lift the ball over fine leg for a six, then steered a boundary wide off point, helped himself for a boundary on the on side when the bowler erred in line and finished off with a cheeky little upper cut over the keeper’s head. The match was almost settled in that over. But Warnie came back and got Hayden stumped down the leg side to give RR some hope. But Badri ensured that CSK romped home without any more damage. It was a fine display of gritty batting from Badri after being made to look clueless against Warne and he admitted just as much in the post match conference too!
But the match wasn’t over yet. Just like how it started before the first ball was bowled, it ended after the last ball was bowled. Shane Warne comes out to the post match conference and says they were 20 runs short and Dhoni claims they gave away 20 runs too many!
In the first match of the day, Deccan were off to a flier only to lose their way mid way through but Symonds on his comeback match resurrected the slide beautifully. He handed out a special treatment to Sreesanth especially and with Venugopal Rao playing a nice little cameo, Deccan put up a competitive 168 on the board.
Kings’ XI got off to rollicking start with Sohal displaying his weird brand of cricket - moving away from the stumps almost all the time and trying to clear the off-side field. He did it astonishingly well and when the bowler chased him, dispatched the ball over fine leg for a six too. Just when Kings’ XI looked like running away with the match, Gilly brought on his man with the golden arm – Rohit Sharma. And Rohit struck in his over not once but twice, dismissing both Sohal and Katich in the same over. In came Yuvraj and Sangakkara and cruised along at a fair clip until a moment of brain freeze resulted in Sanga paddle sweeping Shoaib Maqsusi onto his stumps. Immediately after, Yuvraj too seemed to have gotten a brain freeze when he played an ungainly pull of a ball which stopped a bit after pitching to give a skier to Gilly. Going into the Strategy break, Gilly should have backed themselves to win.
But Mahela had other ideas. With 82 required from 10 overs, asked Irfan to refrain from doing anything silly and motored along at a fair clip for the next few overs. He lost Irfan along the way and was involved in a run out soon after but that didn’t seem to deter him too much though. Just when the run rate seemed to be climbing to more than comfortable levels, Mahela upped the tempo by tonking Suman over mid-wicket for a six and then came down the next ball and thwarted it over long-on for another six and continued the assault into Ojha's next over too by hitting him to square leg for another four. A couple of balls later, a slight indecision and cramps resulted in his run-out. But Brett Lee and Piyush Chawla ensured that Mahela’s dismissal wasn’t regretted.
The beauty of Mahela’s innings was that under so much pressure, he summoned all his grit but didn’t look ungainly for one moment through the innings.
After yet another first over dismissal from Albie Morkel, CSK built on the pressure to ensure that Rajasthan Royals didn’t get away to a great start. After a patient 3o from Graeme Smith, some lusty hitting from Ravinder Jadeja in the middle and a cameo from Shane Warne ensured that RR put a decent enough total to make a match of it.
With Hayden continuing his rich vein of form, it looked like CSK will cruise through easily despite the loss of Vijay and Raina by the 6th over. Then came Warnie and bowled a mesmerizing over to Badri which would have given the CSK dug out a few uncomfortable moments. Having watched it from the other end, Hayden took it upon himself to take the attack to his ex-teammate and how well he did it. First he reverse swept Warnie for a four, but what followed was pure genius. In a pitch which was stopping a bit after pitching, turning square, against the ever so wily Warnie, Haydos walks down the pitch with the calmness of a monk and whacks it over long on for a six. And amidst all this not a thought of failure!
Having survived the Warne scare, Badri grew in confidence at the other end and scored 18 runs off an over from Shane Harwood. First he moved inside the line to lift the ball over fine leg for a six, then steered a boundary wide off point, helped himself for a boundary on the on side when the bowler erred in line and finished off with a cheeky little upper cut over the keeper’s head. The match was almost settled in that over. But Warnie came back and got Hayden stumped down the leg side to give RR some hope. But Badri ensured that CSK romped home without any more damage. It was a fine display of gritty batting from Badri after being made to look clueless against Warne and he admitted just as much in the post match conference too!
But the match wasn’t over yet. Just like how it started before the first ball was bowled, it ended after the last ball was bowled. Shane Warne comes out to the post match conference and says they were 20 runs short and Dhoni claims they gave away 20 runs too many!
In the first match of the day, Deccan were off to a flier only to lose their way mid way through but Symonds on his comeback match resurrected the slide beautifully. He handed out a special treatment to Sreesanth especially and with Venugopal Rao playing a nice little cameo, Deccan put up a competitive 168 on the board.
Kings’ XI got off to rollicking start with Sohal displaying his weird brand of cricket - moving away from the stumps almost all the time and trying to clear the off-side field. He did it astonishingly well and when the bowler chased him, dispatched the ball over fine leg for a six too. Just when Kings’ XI looked like running away with the match, Gilly brought on his man with the golden arm – Rohit Sharma. And Rohit struck in his over not once but twice, dismissing both Sohal and Katich in the same over. In came Yuvraj and Sangakkara and cruised along at a fair clip until a moment of brain freeze resulted in Sanga paddle sweeping Shoaib Maqsusi onto his stumps. Immediately after, Yuvraj too seemed to have gotten a brain freeze when he played an ungainly pull of a ball which stopped a bit after pitching to give a skier to Gilly. Going into the Strategy break, Gilly should have backed themselves to win.
But Mahela had other ideas. With 82 required from 10 overs, asked Irfan to refrain from doing anything silly and motored along at a fair clip for the next few overs. He lost Irfan along the way and was involved in a run out soon after but that didn’t seem to deter him too much though. Just when the run rate seemed to be climbing to more than comfortable levels, Mahela upped the tempo by tonking Suman over mid-wicket for a six and then came down the next ball and thwarted it over long-on for another six and continued the assault into Ojha's next over too by hitting him to square leg for another four. A couple of balls later, a slight indecision and cramps resulted in his run-out. But Brett Lee and Piyush Chawla ensured that Mahela’s dismissal wasn’t regretted.
The beauty of Mahela’s innings was that under so much pressure, he summoned all his grit but didn’t look ungainly for one moment through the innings.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
IPL Day 21: Dominant Delhi
After a good start to the tournament, Mumbai Indians have lost their steam in the business stages of the tournament. As a desperate measure to change their fortunes, tinkered with what is arguably their biggest strength – Sachin and Sanath opening the innings. With Sanath not playing, Sachin brought himself down the order promoting Ronchi and Duminy to open the innings. With both openers not disturbing the scorers Mumbai were on the back foot straightaway and except for Bravo no one really made an impact. The writing was on the wall once Mumbai put up such a mediocre score against a strong Delhi batting line up.
But Mumbai still made a match of it with some very tight bowling from Dhaval Kulkarni and JP Duminy too. Just as they were pushing the match to the edge and with spinners doing well, Sachin took a gamble of bowling himself for an over and went away for 19 runs. It was all over then. AB has been making fast strides to move from just being a good batsman to a great batsman since the beginning of this season in Australia and his fine display in IPL so far is further proof of that. Since the beginning Delhi has looked the best team in the competition and after 35 matches, they are still the team to beat.
But Mumbai still made a match of it with some very tight bowling from Dhaval Kulkarni and JP Duminy too. Just as they were pushing the match to the edge and with spinners doing well, Sachin took a gamble of bowling himself for an over and went away for 19 runs. It was all over then. AB has been making fast strides to move from just being a good batsman to a great batsman since the beginning of this season in Australia and his fine display in IPL so far is further proof of that. Since the beginning Delhi has looked the best team in the competition and after 35 matches, they are still the team to beat.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
IPL Day 20: Mouthwatering stuff
Just what motivates a man of 37 years, retired from all forms of the game except IPL and has achieved almost everything that young cricketers would dream of. What else does he have to prove and to who? These are questions of mere mortals, to men like Haydos, they simply do what they are meant to do – compete hard, bloody hard. In this kind of a form, it doesn’t look like he’s gonna handover the orange cap to anyone almost through the length of the tournament.
The greatest pleasure of watching Hayden over the years has been his arrogant style of walking down the pitch against bowlers of all kind and depositing that red cherry over the stands. I can never forget one shot that he played against Shoaib Akhtar in Morroco in a one-day international. When most batsmen instinctively tend to go back against the pace of Shoaib Akhtar, this man walks down almost a quarter of the track and hits Shoaib’s thunderbolt out of the ground and doesn’t even bother to look up the ball and rather checks the edge of his bat! Its almost like spitting at the bowler – oh… this is what you’ve got – is it?
Today Haydos was in that kind of a mood, dancing down against the spinners and thwarting them out of the ground and that one-handed six of Sreesanth was probably the shot of the day (till I changed my opinion on seeing Mahela’s six against Murali). As if that’s not enough headache for Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni joined in the party too. That one over against VRV Singh, Dhoni flat batted a square cut for a six over point, then hit a home run and followed that up with a forehand smash to mid-wicket. Rain or no rain, CSK gave themselves the best chance of winning by posting a mammoth total.
King’s XI started off rather badly with Sohal gifting his wicket away.That didn’t deter Katich much though; he was in a mood to make a match of it and he was smashing the CSK bowlers - both spinners and fast bowlers, all around the park. Just when he was starting to look dangerous, played a horrendous shot to gift his wicket to a loosener from Balaji. Yuvraj at the other end was in his elements from the beginning smashing Murali for a huge six and when he tried to replicate that again, Goni generously continued Chennai’s catch dropping tradition in this IPL!Yuvraj rubbed salt into CSK's wounds by hitting the biggest six of IPL soon after. And with an in-form Mahela for company, the chase was certainly on.
If Hayden at his belligerent best scored at a strike rate of 153, Mahela bettered that in his own silky grace style. He started off by reverse sweeping his country man for a boundary and that inside out six over cover against Murali was straight out of heaven, but equally effective were his exploits against Balaji especially that flat pull for a six. Yuvraj and Mahela put together a 50 run partnership in next to no time and just when CSK were looking like losing control of the match, Dhoni brought in Suresh Raina out of nowhere to bowl the 15th and 17th overs and he did exactly what his captain wanted him to do – choked up the runs. And Balaji bowled an icy cool final over to close out the match.
BTW there was one match earlier in the day right? I guess Rajasthan Royals won against a not so Royal Challengers!
The greatest pleasure of watching Hayden over the years has been his arrogant style of walking down the pitch against bowlers of all kind and depositing that red cherry over the stands. I can never forget one shot that he played against Shoaib Akhtar in Morroco in a one-day international. When most batsmen instinctively tend to go back against the pace of Shoaib Akhtar, this man walks down almost a quarter of the track and hits Shoaib’s thunderbolt out of the ground and doesn’t even bother to look up the ball and rather checks the edge of his bat! Its almost like spitting at the bowler – oh… this is what you’ve got – is it?
Today Haydos was in that kind of a mood, dancing down against the spinners and thwarting them out of the ground and that one-handed six of Sreesanth was probably the shot of the day (till I changed my opinion on seeing Mahela’s six against Murali). As if that’s not enough headache for Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni joined in the party too. That one over against VRV Singh, Dhoni flat batted a square cut for a six over point, then hit a home run and followed that up with a forehand smash to mid-wicket. Rain or no rain, CSK gave themselves the best chance of winning by posting a mammoth total.
King’s XI started off rather badly with Sohal gifting his wicket away.That didn’t deter Katich much though; he was in a mood to make a match of it and he was smashing the CSK bowlers - both spinners and fast bowlers, all around the park. Just when he was starting to look dangerous, played a horrendous shot to gift his wicket to a loosener from Balaji. Yuvraj at the other end was in his elements from the beginning smashing Murali for a huge six and when he tried to replicate that again, Goni generously continued Chennai’s catch dropping tradition in this IPL!Yuvraj rubbed salt into CSK's wounds by hitting the biggest six of IPL soon after. And with an in-form Mahela for company, the chase was certainly on.
If Hayden at his belligerent best scored at a strike rate of 153, Mahela bettered that in his own silky grace style. He started off by reverse sweeping his country man for a boundary and that inside out six over cover against Murali was straight out of heaven, but equally effective were his exploits against Balaji especially that flat pull for a six. Yuvraj and Mahela put together a 50 run partnership in next to no time and just when CSK were looking like losing control of the match, Dhoni brought in Suresh Raina out of nowhere to bowl the 15th and 17th overs and he did exactly what his captain wanted him to do – choked up the runs. And Balaji bowled an icy cool final over to close out the match.
BTW there was one match earlier in the day right? I guess Rajasthan Royals won against a not so Royal Challengers!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
IPL Day 19: Rohit Sharma steals the show
Deccan looked every bit like the team which had lost 3 matches on the trot. They didn’t look like winning it till Mumbai pressed the panic button. Gibbs consumed nearly an over to get out without scoring and Gilly couldn’t set the world on fire either. A sensible innings from the classy Rohit Sharma and a useful cameo from Venugopal rao helped Deccan post 145 on the board.
R.P.Singh has had no inhibitions in expressing his love for the SA wickets both on the field and off it. It’s not difficult to understand the reason though. He had a very good T-20 world cup and now has had a terrific IPL too. As if to celebrate his comeback to the Indian team for the T-20 world cup, he removed Sanath and Sachin in successive deliveries and got back the purple cap too! With Mumbai on the back foot straightaway, it required all the solidity of Duminy to pave their way back into the match. And just when they seemed to be cruising along, Bravo holed out to long off.
After the fall of Bravo, it was a Rohit Sharma show all the way. He picked up the second hat-trick of this IPL to finish with figures of 4 for 6 off 2 overs. What’s about these pie-chuckers and hat-trick in this IPL? Once Duminy was gone, Mumbai had no hope left.
R.P.Singh has had no inhibitions in expressing his love for the SA wickets both on the field and off it. It’s not difficult to understand the reason though. He had a very good T-20 world cup and now has had a terrific IPL too. As if to celebrate his comeback to the Indian team for the T-20 world cup, he removed Sanath and Sachin in successive deliveries and got back the purple cap too! With Mumbai on the back foot straightaway, it required all the solidity of Duminy to pave their way back into the match. And just when they seemed to be cruising along, Bravo holed out to long off.
After the fall of Bravo, it was a Rohit Sharma show all the way. He picked up the second hat-trick of this IPL to finish with figures of 4 for 6 off 2 overs. What’s about these pie-chuckers and hat-trick in this IPL? Once Duminy was gone, Mumbai had no hope left.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
IPL Day 18: Royal Rajasthan and hapless KKR
Everytime RR had been categorized as favorites they have lost and every time they were written off they have comeback – the team’s character seems to be an extension of the captain’s. Oh boy did their openers come out blazing today! Where was Naman Ojha all this while? He launched into Ramesh Powar even before the bowler could warm up which set the tone for the match.
Graeme Smith, who’s had a quiet tournament by his standards couldn’t have timed his return to form better. If he played the second fiddle to perfection in the previous match, he was at his belligerent best today. Then Ravinder Jadeja came out and showed us why Shane Warne rates him so high. It was a blitzkrieg that sucked whatever little life was left out of King’s XI.
With the tournament’s highest score to chase, King’s XI badly needed a flying start and once that wasn’t to be, they were going down the hill all the time. Yuvraj provided a bit of fireworks at the end but it was too little too late. And where does Shane Warne scout for fast bowling talent? Amit Singh gave a good account of himself in a quality spell. It’s exciting to see domestic players expressing themselves on such a grand stage.
And the second match of the day had no surprises with KKR looking as clueless on the field as they have been with the bat and ball so far in this tournament. For once McCullum got going and with van Wyk providing the much needed inspiration for KKR at the top of the order, there was some hope of making a turnaround in their fortunes.
But that little hope faded away completely in a hopeless display of fielding. And Delhi were anyways too strong to be overwhelmed by a just about par total. Delhi has looked the best team on paper since beginning and they are doing their reputation no harm by being ruthless on the field so far in this IPL.
Graeme Smith, who’s had a quiet tournament by his standards couldn’t have timed his return to form better. If he played the second fiddle to perfection in the previous match, he was at his belligerent best today. Then Ravinder Jadeja came out and showed us why Shane Warne rates him so high. It was a blitzkrieg that sucked whatever little life was left out of King’s XI.
With the tournament’s highest score to chase, King’s XI badly needed a flying start and once that wasn’t to be, they were going down the hill all the time. Yuvraj provided a bit of fireworks at the end but it was too little too late. And where does Shane Warne scout for fast bowling talent? Amit Singh gave a good account of himself in a quality spell. It’s exciting to see domestic players expressing themselves on such a grand stage.
And the second match of the day had no surprises with KKR looking as clueless on the field as they have been with the bat and ball so far in this tournament. For once McCullum got going and with van Wyk providing the much needed inspiration for KKR at the top of the order, there was some hope of making a turnaround in their fortunes.
But that little hope faded away completely in a hopeless display of fielding. And Delhi were anyways too strong to be overwhelmed by a just about par total. Delhi has looked the best team on paper since beginning and they are doing their reputation no harm by being ruthless on the field so far in this IPL.
Monday, May 4, 2009
IPL Day 17: CSK bulldozes past Deccan
Just by looking at the scorecard, if you can figure out how dominant CSK was against the Deccan Chargers, watching CSK’s fielding would have told you that the result could have been much worse for Deccan. In what must be rated as one of the funniest moments on a cricket field, Shadab Jakati did everything he could to avoid effecting what must one of the easiest run-out chances ever. It was such a comedy of errors that even Courtney Walsh would have been embarrassed to see! Add that to the near half a dozen dropped chances…
Albeit a poor show on the field, CSK bulldozed past Deccan with consummate ease. After yet another blazing start from Matt Hayden, Dhoni came into his own for the first time in this tournament. His belligerence is not something new to us, but that farmer’s club straight back past the bowler was some sight. Is that wrist or something else? There was the trademark down the track heave over mid wicket and the Kapil Dev resembling pull too in an innings which befittingly got Dhoni a MOM award. And like always Suresh Raina played his part to the “T”.
If there is any team which is capable of chasing down Chennai’s mammoth total, Deccan is one of them. But it was curtains for them even before it began with Gilly walking back to the pavilion after the very first ball of the innings. And Sudeep Tyagi continued to impress with a beauty to get rid of the dangerous Gibbs. There was nothing special from the Very Very Special Laxman too.
From 1 for 3 (3 wickets for one run) chasing 179, Deccan needed a miracle to get back into the match, they almost got half of it, a quarter from Dwayne Smith’s maverick batting and a quarter from CSK’s amusing fielding! Jakati cashed in on good work done by Tyagi and Morkel with his second consecutive four wicket haul. There’s something about Goan’s and IPL. It was Asnodkar last year and Jakati this year who earned himself a release from the obscurity of domestic cricket! Hopefully more such men emerge…
Albeit a poor show on the field, CSK bulldozed past Deccan with consummate ease. After yet another blazing start from Matt Hayden, Dhoni came into his own for the first time in this tournament. His belligerence is not something new to us, but that farmer’s club straight back past the bowler was some sight. Is that wrist or something else? There was the trademark down the track heave over mid wicket and the Kapil Dev resembling pull too in an innings which befittingly got Dhoni a MOM award. And like always Suresh Raina played his part to the “T”.
If there is any team which is capable of chasing down Chennai’s mammoth total, Deccan is one of them. But it was curtains for them even before it began with Gilly walking back to the pavilion after the very first ball of the innings. And Sudeep Tyagi continued to impress with a beauty to get rid of the dangerous Gibbs. There was nothing special from the Very Very Special Laxman too.
From 1 for 3 (3 wickets for one run) chasing 179, Deccan needed a miracle to get back into the match, they almost got half of it, a quarter from Dwayne Smith’s maverick batting and a quarter from CSK’s amusing fielding! Jakati cashed in on good work done by Tyagi and Morkel with his second consecutive four wicket haul. There’s something about Goan’s and IPL. It was Asnodkar last year and Jakati this year who earned himself a release from the obscurity of domestic cricket! Hopefully more such men emerge…
Sunday, May 3, 2009
IPL Day 16: Royal Challengers are back….
Royal Challengers turned in their most professional performance yet in their IPL history against Mumbai Indians. To restrict Mumbai to less than 150 was crucial given the fact that Mumbai arguably has the best bowling attack in the tournament. The newcomer Du Preez ensured that Mumbai didn’t get much momentum upfront by dismissing 3 top order batsmen in no time including the crucial scalp of Sachin. Jayasuriya and Bravo repaired the early damage to an extent and posted a competitive score on the board. With Mumbai’s strong bowling line up and B’lore’s perennial opening woes, Sachin would have felt comfortable going into the innings break.
Like they have done in almost every match of IPL, B’lore came out with yet another opening pair – Jaffer and Kallis. But Jaffer didn’t last long which brought in the man who was playing for the opponents in the last year’s IPL! Uthappa has had a forgettable tournament so far, but he set a few things right today. With Kallis taking on Malinga & co in a classy counter attacking innings, Uthappa was content on playing himself in. And once he was set, launched into the second string bowling of Mumbai big time. An in-form Uthappa is great news for the team which is slowly but surely on the ascendancy in this tournament. After such a thoroughly professional victory, it takes a brave man to rule B’lore out of contention for one of the semi-final spots.
In the first match of the day, it was an all too familiar story for KKR. After a rather nervous start, KKR looked to be going down even without a fight till Brad Hodge took it upon himself to put on a challenging score on the board. He really carried on his rich vein of form from the last match and played a very good innings. He’s the only batsman in KKR to have got a fifty (2 of them now) in this IPL! Even though commentators were creating artificial excitement about the last ball finish, Punjab never looked like losing it or to put it more appropriately, KKR never looked like winning it. And they don’t look like winning too many more in this tournament. First fix the team guys, captaincy comes later…….
Like they have done in almost every match of IPL, B’lore came out with yet another opening pair – Jaffer and Kallis. But Jaffer didn’t last long which brought in the man who was playing for the opponents in the last year’s IPL! Uthappa has had a forgettable tournament so far, but he set a few things right today. With Kallis taking on Malinga & co in a classy counter attacking innings, Uthappa was content on playing himself in. And once he was set, launched into the second string bowling of Mumbai big time. An in-form Uthappa is great news for the team which is slowly but surely on the ascendancy in this tournament. After such a thoroughly professional victory, it takes a brave man to rule B’lore out of contention for one of the semi-final spots.
In the first match of the day, it was an all too familiar story for KKR. After a rather nervous start, KKR looked to be going down even without a fight till Brad Hodge took it upon himself to put on a challenging score on the board. He really carried on his rich vein of form from the last match and played a very good innings. He’s the only batsman in KKR to have got a fifty (2 of them now) in this IPL! Even though commentators were creating artificial excitement about the last ball finish, Punjab never looked like losing it or to put it more appropriately, KKR never looked like winning it. And they don’t look like winning too many more in this tournament. First fix the team guys, captaincy comes later…….
Saturday, May 2, 2009
IPL Days 9 to 15: Hectic time……..
It’s been a hectic time at office…….. So couldn’t catch up with most of the matches this week leave alone having the time to write about ‘em. My thoughts on watching bits and pieces of the matches this week:
Oh boy did Sachin and Sanath turn the clock back by a decade against KKR. As if KKR didn’t have enough problems to contend with, these two veterans decided to put on a show and what an astounding show it turned out to be! It was such an audacious assault that KKR didn't quite recover from the shock when they came out to bat too and folded like a pack of cards. For all the magic of spin wizards and the breathtaking finishes by Yousuf Pathan, watching Sachin bat the way he did against KKR was probably the most satisfying aspect of this IPL so far. I know I am being biased here but I can’t be anything else with Sachin! The way Sachin smashed Ishant for a six over mid-wicket was a picture stolen straight out of Nairobi….
Not only is Sachin turning the clock as a batsman but also as a captain too. After a superlative start with Jayasuriya ended in the match against KKR, Harbhajan came in as a pinch hitter and smashed a few too. He so loves the idea of a pinch hitter that he sent Bhajji at no.3 in the next match as well. A decade back when he was captaining India, Srinath was almost a permanent No.3 against SA in a ODI series…… What’s even worse was in a home test match against NZ; he didn’t enforce the follow on reasoning that his bowlers needed rest so that they could come back fresh in the 4th innings to bowl NZ out. Then he sends Srinath at No.3 in the second innings as a pinch hitter – what a way to rest your strike bowler!
Just what is Yousuf Pathan made of? He’s turning out to be a one man army for RR. To come in at 64 for 5 in 11 overs with 81 required from the remaining 9 overs, against arguably the best team in the tournament, he put on a royal show of breathtaking stroke play and what more he finishes with a over and half to spare! One more wicket at that stage would have been curtains for RR but there’s no such negativity in Yousuf Pathan’s thought process. A good part of that credit should go to Shane Warne too who’s given him the space and liberty to play his natural game under all circumstances. I wonder if there’s a more dangerous batsman in this tournament at the moment. He’s almost a poor man’s Richards at the moment…..
Sanga’s hunch…. Chasing 120, Mumbai would have fancied their chances going into the break but after a top order collapse with the scoreboard reading 12 for 3 in 4.1 overs; it required every ounce of the skill and grit of JP Duminy to pull the match back in Mumbai’s favour. Just as he was doing it, Yuvraj left the field with an injury handing over the captaincy reins to Sanga. With 19 runs required from 2 overs and a rock solid Duminy still at the crease, Sanga gave the ball to Abdullah for the penultimate over. And as he was walking back to his mark, changed his mind and tossed the ball to Piyush Chawla who had given away 19 runs in his 2 overs. And did Piyush justify his captain’s faith on him! Apart from getting Bhajji’s wicket, he only gave away 7 runs of the over making life easier for Abdullah. But Duminy almost spoilt the show for Abdullah with a heave over midwicket which had some of the Mumbai Indians owners’ friends jumping in joy only to realize later that it had found the fielder’s hands….
Could this be the turning point for B’lore? For a team which has an extraordinary ability to dig itself into trouble, the way they kept coming back against Kings’ XI despite Yuvraj’s heroics with both the bat and the ball was refreshing. Ian Chappell often says that Kumble is one of fiercest competitors on a cricket field that he’s seen. And if anyone thought he wouldn’t be the same competitor post retirement, just watch the video clips of him celebrating Yuvraj’s and Sangakkara’s dismissal. After a nervous victory over KKR, this victory from the jaws of defeat would have given a lot of confidence to Mallya’s boys. Hopefully they make it count.
CSK is inching their way back after a rather disappointing start to the tournament. Finally Dhoni realized that Badri is a top-order batsman and one of the best going around in domestic cricket at that! Is Balaji making a comeback here…..For a guy who couldn’t bowl for nearly 2 years, his performances in the Ranji Trophy last season and this IPL so far have been very impressive indeed. He’s still not the same bowler as he was against Pakistan 3 years ago but the fact that he’s reached this stage from a near hopeless situation is commendable. And does Raina love his time in IPL! What a blinder of an innings he played against RR. He almost single-handedly won the match for CSK. And with Sudeep Tyagi and Jakati settling in well in the team, hopefully Dhoni shouldn’t complain too much about his bowling any more. And if Dhoni could find some form, CSK has both the skill and the character to go all the way.
Is Lasith Malinga the most valuable player in this IPL so far? Or is it Yousuf Pathan?
Oh boy did Sachin and Sanath turn the clock back by a decade against KKR. As if KKR didn’t have enough problems to contend with, these two veterans decided to put on a show and what an astounding show it turned out to be! It was such an audacious assault that KKR didn't quite recover from the shock when they came out to bat too and folded like a pack of cards. For all the magic of spin wizards and the breathtaking finishes by Yousuf Pathan, watching Sachin bat the way he did against KKR was probably the most satisfying aspect of this IPL so far. I know I am being biased here but I can’t be anything else with Sachin! The way Sachin smashed Ishant for a six over mid-wicket was a picture stolen straight out of Nairobi….
Not only is Sachin turning the clock as a batsman but also as a captain too. After a superlative start with Jayasuriya ended in the match against KKR, Harbhajan came in as a pinch hitter and smashed a few too. He so loves the idea of a pinch hitter that he sent Bhajji at no.3 in the next match as well. A decade back when he was captaining India, Srinath was almost a permanent No.3 against SA in a ODI series…… What’s even worse was in a home test match against NZ; he didn’t enforce the follow on reasoning that his bowlers needed rest so that they could come back fresh in the 4th innings to bowl NZ out. Then he sends Srinath at No.3 in the second innings as a pinch hitter – what a way to rest your strike bowler!
Just what is Yousuf Pathan made of? He’s turning out to be a one man army for RR. To come in at 64 for 5 in 11 overs with 81 required from the remaining 9 overs, against arguably the best team in the tournament, he put on a royal show of breathtaking stroke play and what more he finishes with a over and half to spare! One more wicket at that stage would have been curtains for RR but there’s no such negativity in Yousuf Pathan’s thought process. A good part of that credit should go to Shane Warne too who’s given him the space and liberty to play his natural game under all circumstances. I wonder if there’s a more dangerous batsman in this tournament at the moment. He’s almost a poor man’s Richards at the moment…..
Sanga’s hunch…. Chasing 120, Mumbai would have fancied their chances going into the break but after a top order collapse with the scoreboard reading 12 for 3 in 4.1 overs; it required every ounce of the skill and grit of JP Duminy to pull the match back in Mumbai’s favour. Just as he was doing it, Yuvraj left the field with an injury handing over the captaincy reins to Sanga. With 19 runs required from 2 overs and a rock solid Duminy still at the crease, Sanga gave the ball to Abdullah for the penultimate over. And as he was walking back to his mark, changed his mind and tossed the ball to Piyush Chawla who had given away 19 runs in his 2 overs. And did Piyush justify his captain’s faith on him! Apart from getting Bhajji’s wicket, he only gave away 7 runs of the over making life easier for Abdullah. But Duminy almost spoilt the show for Abdullah with a heave over midwicket which had some of the Mumbai Indians owners’ friends jumping in joy only to realize later that it had found the fielder’s hands….
Could this be the turning point for B’lore? For a team which has an extraordinary ability to dig itself into trouble, the way they kept coming back against Kings’ XI despite Yuvraj’s heroics with both the bat and the ball was refreshing. Ian Chappell often says that Kumble is one of fiercest competitors on a cricket field that he’s seen. And if anyone thought he wouldn’t be the same competitor post retirement, just watch the video clips of him celebrating Yuvraj’s and Sangakkara’s dismissal. After a nervous victory over KKR, this victory from the jaws of defeat would have given a lot of confidence to Mallya’s boys. Hopefully they make it count.
CSK is inching their way back after a rather disappointing start to the tournament. Finally Dhoni realized that Badri is a top-order batsman and one of the best going around in domestic cricket at that! Is Balaji making a comeback here…..For a guy who couldn’t bowl for nearly 2 years, his performances in the Ranji Trophy last season and this IPL so far have been very impressive indeed. He’s still not the same bowler as he was against Pakistan 3 years ago but the fact that he’s reached this stage from a near hopeless situation is commendable. And does Raina love his time in IPL! What a blinder of an innings he played against RR. He almost single-handedly won the match for CSK. And with Sudeep Tyagi and Jakati settling in well in the team, hopefully Dhoni shouldn’t complain too much about his bowling any more. And if Dhoni could find some form, CSK has both the skill and the character to go all the way.
Is Lasith Malinga the most valuable player in this IPL so far? Or is it Yousuf Pathan?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
IPL Day 8: What a comeback!
Deccan Chargers have been charging ahead in this IPL. Being counted as favorites and finishing at the bottom of the table in the last year’s IPL, Deccan Chargers had more than a few questions to answer at the beginning of this season and how well they have answered them. With 3 on 3, they have given themselves a great chance to qualify for the semi-finals. After another power start from Gilly and Gibbs, Deccan lost its way in the last 7 overs making only 40 odd runs and losing 7 wickets. It’s a weakness that might prove costly towards the business stages of the tournament. Its got a too top heavy batting line up and still a relatively moderate bowling attack. But for now they are bulldozing past everyone.
With Sachin pacing the innings like a computer and tutoring Duminy along the way, it was all set for another tight finish but as has often been the case in this year’s IPL, the whole equation changed after the tactical break. And then Mumbai lost the momentum and never looked like winning it once Sachin departed.
I am delighted to know that Sachin has expressed his displeasure over the tactical time out along with others. It’s a real shame that such a gimmick has been entertained for commercial considerations. It might bring additional dynamics into play and might even make the game more entertaining but the bottom line is that it’s a fake one. If Sachin’s views are not taken seriously to review this tactical timeout, then be assured that nothing else can make Lalit Modi change his mind.
With Sachin pacing the innings like a computer and tutoring Duminy along the way, it was all set for another tight finish but as has often been the case in this year’s IPL, the whole equation changed after the tactical break. And then Mumbai lost the momentum and never looked like winning it once Sachin departed.
I am delighted to know that Sachin has expressed his displeasure over the tactical time out along with others. It’s a real shame that such a gimmick has been entertained for commercial considerations. It might bring additional dynamics into play and might even make the game more entertaining but the bottom line is that it’s a fake one. If Sachin’s views are not taken seriously to review this tactical timeout, then be assured that nothing else can make Lalit Modi change his mind.
IPL Day 7: Oh poor B’lore….
Just what should B’lore do to win? I almost feel sorry for them but somehow they don’t look like a team – I take a slight sadistic pleasure in thinking that Mallya deserves such a team for his juvenile reactions in the last season! With Uthappa and KP failing once again, the responsibility of resurrecting the innings fell on the broad shoulders of Kallis and he did it in his own style. With 3 of the 4 overseas stars doing well, finally Royal Challengers put a competitive total on the board. But that proved to be inadequate.
With the Punjabi munda from England in top form and solid support from Sanga and Yuvi, Kings’ XI cruised to overcome their target. A well-deserved victory for Kings’ XI after two successive rain-curtailed matches.
With the Punjabi munda from England in top form and solid support from Sanga and Yuvi, Kings’ XI cruised to overcome their target. A well-deserved victory for Kings’ XI after two successive rain-curtailed matches.
IPL Day 6: Royal Feast
What a day of cricket it was. If the first match between CSK and Delhi was a humdinger, the second match between RR and KKR was an absolute edge of the seat thriller. This is by far the best day in IPL 2009 so far. A.B played the near perfect T20 innings with some help from butter fingers of CSK and Dilshan played a typically spunky innings to set a huge target for CSK. But what went a little unnoticed in the whole carnage is that L.Balaji returned with figures of 3 for 19 in 4 overs when the innings run-rate for Delhi was 9.45!
After a characteristically aggressive start by Hayden and Raina, CSK were looking all set to overhaul the target but Delhi bowlers pulled the momentum back beautifully by picking up crucial wickets at the death. But I still expected Albie to pull it off but it wasn’t to be. I wonder why Badri is wasted at 7 in every match – Only Dhoni knows why!
The second match had it all. There could not have been a better advertisement for T20 and IPL in particular. After the fall of 2 quick wickets, Yousuf Pathan did what he does best – attack without a second thought. He did that fairly successfully till Mendis was brought onto the attack. With Mendis picking both Graeme Smith and Yousuf Pathan quickly it looked like RR wouldn’t have enough on the board to defend. But the blitzkrieg in the final over by Raut changed it all.
When KKR batted, Warned opted for the most unusual pair to share the new ball – Yousuf Pathan and Mascrenhas! It was a gamble which paid off reasonably well with the wicket of McCullum and a sedate run rate. But Gayle at the other end was threatening to take the match away from RR by striking a few towering sixes. But as ever, Warne struck the crucial blow by sucking Gayle into a false shot. And with Hodge and Shukla falling soon, in came Dada with a determination that was last seen in his comeback in SA after the Greg Chappell forced exile. And just as he did in SA then, played a blinder to get KKR’s innings back on track along with Yashpal Singh.
The crucial point came with Warne’s obsessive idea of bowling short to Ganguly. And when Munaf obliged his captain and also overstepped, Dada played a pre-determined pull for a six and then hit a typically Dada inside out shot over covers for another six in the free hit. With 13 runs off one ball, the required run rate was brought down to more manageable levels. Sourav’s constant chatting with Yashpal asking him not to do anything silly with the match virtually in the bag showed how badly he wanted to win it for KKR. But when Warne tossed one high and wide, Yashpal did exactly what Sourav asked him to refrain from doing!
With one over left and seven runs needed, my money was still on KKR. In an inspired piece of captaincy, Warne threw the ball to the 18 year old Kamran Khan to bowl the last over in such a high pressure situation. And what a super over it turned out to be, followed by another super over – this time literally!
I am so glad that the obscene “bowl-out” has been done away with and replaced by the super over.
After a characteristically aggressive start by Hayden and Raina, CSK were looking all set to overhaul the target but Delhi bowlers pulled the momentum back beautifully by picking up crucial wickets at the death. But I still expected Albie to pull it off but it wasn’t to be. I wonder why Badri is wasted at 7 in every match – Only Dhoni knows why!
The second match had it all. There could not have been a better advertisement for T20 and IPL in particular. After the fall of 2 quick wickets, Yousuf Pathan did what he does best – attack without a second thought. He did that fairly successfully till Mendis was brought onto the attack. With Mendis picking both Graeme Smith and Yousuf Pathan quickly it looked like RR wouldn’t have enough on the board to defend. But the blitzkrieg in the final over by Raut changed it all.
When KKR batted, Warned opted for the most unusual pair to share the new ball – Yousuf Pathan and Mascrenhas! It was a gamble which paid off reasonably well with the wicket of McCullum and a sedate run rate. But Gayle at the other end was threatening to take the match away from RR by striking a few towering sixes. But as ever, Warne struck the crucial blow by sucking Gayle into a false shot. And with Hodge and Shukla falling soon, in came Dada with a determination that was last seen in his comeback in SA after the Greg Chappell forced exile. And just as he did in SA then, played a blinder to get KKR’s innings back on track along with Yashpal Singh.
The crucial point came with Warne’s obsessive idea of bowling short to Ganguly. And when Munaf obliged his captain and also overstepped, Dada played a pre-determined pull for a six and then hit a typically Dada inside out shot over covers for another six in the free hit. With 13 runs off one ball, the required run rate was brought down to more manageable levels. Sourav’s constant chatting with Yashpal asking him not to do anything silly with the match virtually in the bag showed how badly he wanted to win it for KKR. But when Warne tossed one high and wide, Yashpal did exactly what Sourav asked him to refrain from doing!
With one over left and seven runs needed, my money was still on KKR. In an inspired piece of captaincy, Warne threw the ball to the 18 year old Kamran Khan to bowl the last over in such a high pressure situation. And what a super over it turned out to be, followed by another super over – this time literally!
I am so glad that the obscene “bowl-out” has been done away with and replaced by the super over.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
IPL Day 5: Blast from the past and into the future too
The way Gilchrist was blasting the bowlers all over the park shouldn’t have surprised us too much. But if the word going around is to be believed that he played only one T-20 match in between last year’s IPL and this year’s, it should have been surprising but it still wasn’t. That’s the aura of the man. No matter what the constraints are, you still expect Gilly to be the same.
You can sense Gilly is in top form when he starts pulling good length deliveries and we had a few of them yesterday. He plays audacious square cuts, cover drives beautifully and smacks a few across the line, but its his ability to pick up the length of the delivery early and quickly rock back to pull fuller length deliveries is what sets him apart from others. As a bowler there’s just no safe area to bowl to Gilly. How Michael Clarke would be wishing Gilly was in Abu Dhabi and not in SA!
If Gilly’s innings was blast from the past what followed was a blast into the future. I am a huge fan of Rohit Sharma. To me he is the best young India batsman going around and surely deserves a test spot ahead of Yuvraj Singh. He oozes with class, can play spin and pace with equal ease and most importantly he seems to have that extra time in playing his shots. He’s also of that rare breed that spends time in settling down even in a T-20 match and has the ability to up the tempo at will. And he did it against no less a bowler than Anil Kumble when he hit him for 3 sixes in an over just when you were wondering if he was consuming too many deliveries. Except for that last six against Kumble, none of his shots would have been out of place in test cricket as well. At the end of the game his scoring rate is no different from an out and out dasher.
I can’t wait for him to be inducted into the test team, so that he’s ready to inherit the no.4 from Sachin whenever he decides to hang up his boots. Even in ODIs he’s been given the odd chance but dumped immediately. With such a talent, you are better off making the mistake of giving one chance too many than one chance too few. Mr.Srikanth – Are you listening?
And just what’s wrong with B’lore? They have got some fabulous individual talent and a reasonably good bowling attack but somehow they are not able to click as a team. It’s got something to do with the franchise’s mindset. First they made Charu Sharma a scapegoat, then the owner almost openly disowned the team, and then the club paid a fortune to acquire KP for this season as if that was the panacea for all their problems. Along the way Ray Jennings was hired and he had his share of taking a dig at the seniors in the team! There’s been a consistent search for that individual weak point but no talks about cohesiveness of the team. In a team sport, if the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts, then no part is worth a fortune.
You can sense Gilly is in top form when he starts pulling good length deliveries and we had a few of them yesterday. He plays audacious square cuts, cover drives beautifully and smacks a few across the line, but its his ability to pick up the length of the delivery early and quickly rock back to pull fuller length deliveries is what sets him apart from others. As a bowler there’s just no safe area to bowl to Gilly. How Michael Clarke would be wishing Gilly was in Abu Dhabi and not in SA!
If Gilly’s innings was blast from the past what followed was a blast into the future. I am a huge fan of Rohit Sharma. To me he is the best young India batsman going around and surely deserves a test spot ahead of Yuvraj Singh. He oozes with class, can play spin and pace with equal ease and most importantly he seems to have that extra time in playing his shots. He’s also of that rare breed that spends time in settling down even in a T-20 match and has the ability to up the tempo at will. And he did it against no less a bowler than Anil Kumble when he hit him for 3 sixes in an over just when you were wondering if he was consuming too many deliveries. Except for that last six against Kumble, none of his shots would have been out of place in test cricket as well. At the end of the game his scoring rate is no different from an out and out dasher.
I can’t wait for him to be inducted into the test team, so that he’s ready to inherit the no.4 from Sachin whenever he decides to hang up his boots. Even in ODIs he’s been given the odd chance but dumped immediately. With such a talent, you are better off making the mistake of giving one chance too many than one chance too few. Mr.Srikanth – Are you listening?
And just what’s wrong with B’lore? They have got some fabulous individual talent and a reasonably good bowling attack but somehow they are not able to click as a team. It’s got something to do with the franchise’s mindset. First they made Charu Sharma a scapegoat, then the owner almost openly disowned the team, and then the club paid a fortune to acquire KP for this season as if that was the panacea for all their problems. Along the way Ray Jennings was hired and he had his share of taking a dig at the seniors in the team! There’s been a consistent search for that individual weak point but no talks about cohesiveness of the team. In a team sport, if the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts, then no part is worth a fortune.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
IPL Day 4: Frustrating...
Why are they so desperate to get a result? A match with no result is no crime or shame. Agreed that KKR might have still won the game with Gayle playing as well as he did. But as we have seen so many times before in Cricket and more so in this IPL that the momentum can shift anytime. But sadly King’s XI didn’t even get a chance to come back. This is their second successive loss in rain-shortened matches. The first game against Delhi was an absolute lottery and this one is not much better. I feel sorry for King’s XI ...
IPL Day 3 - Magically, Murali
If you are a CSK supporter, you couldn’t have asked for a better show. It was a delight to watch Matt Hayden back in his elements even after retirement. It was a typically muscular innings from Hayden, which ensured CSK were off to a blistering start. If not for the mix-up with Raina he would have ensured CSK batted B’lore out of the match. What if he didn’t? Murali ensured that wasn’t regretted.
After a move, which was destined to fail (opening with Praveen Kumar), B’lore threatened for a while with Kallis hitting a few classy boundaries. The pitch was so true that our mortal cricketing instincts would have told us that B’lore would mount a serious chase especially with Pieterson and Dravid still to come. But Murali had other ideas! It was a magical spell from him.
Coming around the wicket and with the ability to turn the ball square both ways, he’s as canny as it gets. As if guessing between a big spinning off break or a doosra wasn’t tough enough, Pieterson encounters a ball pitching on the middle and still uncertain about the movement, offers a prod and the ball holds its line, evades the bat and catches him plumb in front. He was so confused that he ended up asking the umpire if there was some bat in it! But what followed was the real scene-stealer.
Having seen Pieterson’s dismissal from the non-striker’s end, Robin Uthappa appeared well equipped not to fall prey to the same trick. And what does Murali do? Without much change in the trajectory he bowls a similar ball again but its similar only till it pitches and after pitching it does a Shane Warne to leave Uthappa out of his crease searching for the ball and Dhoni does the rest. This is craftsmanship of the highest order. This dismissal of Uthappa and Shane Warne’s magic against Akhil has been the standout moments of IPL so far. Hopefully more magic lies ahead…
After a move, which was destined to fail (opening with Praveen Kumar), B’lore threatened for a while with Kallis hitting a few classy boundaries. The pitch was so true that our mortal cricketing instincts would have told us that B’lore would mount a serious chase especially with Pieterson and Dravid still to come. But Murali had other ideas! It was a magical spell from him.
Coming around the wicket and with the ability to turn the ball square both ways, he’s as canny as it gets. As if guessing between a big spinning off break or a doosra wasn’t tough enough, Pieterson encounters a ball pitching on the middle and still uncertain about the movement, offers a prod and the ball holds its line, evades the bat and catches him plumb in front. He was so confused that he ended up asking the umpire if there was some bat in it! But what followed was the real scene-stealer.
Having seen Pieterson’s dismissal from the non-striker’s end, Robin Uthappa appeared well equipped not to fall prey to the same trick. And what does Murali do? Without much change in the trajectory he bowls a similar ball again but its similar only till it pitches and after pitching it does a Shane Warne to leave Uthappa out of his crease searching for the ball and Dhoni does the rest. This is craftsmanship of the highest order. This dismissal of Uthappa and Shane Warne’s magic against Akhil has been the standout moments of IPL so far. Hopefully more magic lies ahead…
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
IPL Day 2: Ambivalence is the word
There’s so much to love about IPL. But it’s just as easy to detest it too. If first day was refreshing with good quality cricket on display, the second day was proof of the extreme shameless commercialization of the game. Cricket has been a game where even after 5 days of hard intense cricket, we may not get a result but in the T-20 the administrators have been very desperate to get a result somehow or the other.
There’s no shame in having a game with no result and more so in a lengthy tournament like IPL. The desperation with which a result was achieved in the Delhi Vs King’s XI match was ripping the soul of the game. If twenty overs for each side are not possible, then the match ought to be either cancelled or rescheduled no matter the commercial ramifications of doing so.
If this was appalling, the fact that they stuck to the “tactical time-out” for ads despite rain shortening the match was obscene. And then I saw the sight, which I feared the most – the boundary ropes were brought in by almost 10 yards!!! It’s worse than reservations.
I don’t know who gives the idea to administrators that more boundaries mean more entertainment for the audience. And can anyone tell the commentators that cricket lexicon hasn’t been officially changed yet. A six still remains a six and not a DLF maximum and WTF is a citi moment of success (BTW Citi bank was struggling to survive not too long ago). I wish I never buy a DLF house or bank with Citibank ever in my life – the very mention of those names get me worked up.
I had recently asked Prof. Aswath Damodaran (Professor – Corporate Finance and Valuation in Stern School of Business, New York University) about his views on IPL. His response sums the problem with IPL:
“I must confess that I stopped following cricket about 25 years ago... I used to be an avid cricket fan and I have followed the IPL only in passing. I think the key with professional sports is to maintain the illusion that it is only a game (and not a business). The fans know that they are being taken along for a ride, but they are willing to go along. I think the problem with the IPL is that it does not even bother to preserve the illusion...”
There’s no shame in having a game with no result and more so in a lengthy tournament like IPL. The desperation with which a result was achieved in the Delhi Vs King’s XI match was ripping the soul of the game. If twenty overs for each side are not possible, then the match ought to be either cancelled or rescheduled no matter the commercial ramifications of doing so.
If this was appalling, the fact that they stuck to the “tactical time-out” for ads despite rain shortening the match was obscene. And then I saw the sight, which I feared the most – the boundary ropes were brought in by almost 10 yards!!! It’s worse than reservations.
I don’t know who gives the idea to administrators that more boundaries mean more entertainment for the audience. And can anyone tell the commentators that cricket lexicon hasn’t been officially changed yet. A six still remains a six and not a DLF maximum and WTF is a citi moment of success (BTW Citi bank was struggling to survive not too long ago). I wish I never buy a DLF house or bank with Citibank ever in my life – the very mention of those names get me worked up.
I had recently asked Prof. Aswath Damodaran (Professor – Corporate Finance and Valuation in Stern School of Business, New York University) about his views on IPL. His response sums the problem with IPL:
“I must confess that I stopped following cricket about 25 years ago... I used to be an avid cricket fan and I have followed the IPL only in passing. I think the key with professional sports is to maintain the illusion that it is only a game (and not a business). The fans know that they are being taken along for a ride, but they are willing to go along. I think the problem with the IPL is that it does not even bother to preserve the illusion...”
Saturday, April 18, 2009
IPL: Day 1
What a contrasting start we had for IPL 2009 as compared to last year. If McCullum set the field ablaze to kickstart the last IPL, this time it was the calm, measured and composed innings from Sachin which gave a good account of how this year’s IPL might shape up. If day 1 is anything to go by, we are in for a real feast with a fair contest between bat and ball.
Today was an anti-thesis of most theories floated around about IPL and T-20 cricket. It was supposed to be a youngster’s game but the stars for today were Sachin, Dravid, Warne and Kumble! And the money the franchise spends determines the kind of talent at their disposal. FYI Abhishek Nayar was bought for $40k last year and revised to $100k this year! What a difference he made. In my opinion his was the innings which took the game away from CSK. It’s a delightful feeling that such a cameo was not the status quo but a special effort which tilted the balance of the match. I just hope that it continues to remain an even contest between the bat and ball throughout the tournament.
But the moment of the day belonged to that showman again – Shane Warne. The way he made Virat Kohli look like a novice was comfortably outdone by the way he mesmerised Akhil in an over of masterful leg spin. He sets him up beautifully for the flipper only for the umpire to disagree, then he bowls an absolute beauty to clean up Akhil with the ball drifting in in the air and turning away sharply after pitching to disturb the timber leaving the batsman dumbstruck.
The final word for the day has to be on Rahul Dravid. It was typically Dravid, reconstructing the innings after a top order collapse. But what was more special is that he did it at the pace that T-20 cricket demands but with all the style and grace that we generally associate with Test Cricket. It was a little funny to see Dravid getting so animated on the field. But afer all the non-sense that he went through last year, its easier to understand that he wanted to prove a point as much to himself as to the critics. And Jumbo helped himself to a 5 for. I wonder what Mr.Mallya has to say now?
Today was an anti-thesis of most theories floated around about IPL and T-20 cricket. It was supposed to be a youngster’s game but the stars for today were Sachin, Dravid, Warne and Kumble! And the money the franchise spends determines the kind of talent at their disposal. FYI Abhishek Nayar was bought for $40k last year and revised to $100k this year! What a difference he made. In my opinion his was the innings which took the game away from CSK. It’s a delightful feeling that such a cameo was not the status quo but a special effort which tilted the balance of the match. I just hope that it continues to remain an even contest between the bat and ball throughout the tournament.
But the moment of the day belonged to that showman again – Shane Warne. The way he made Virat Kohli look like a novice was comfortably outdone by the way he mesmerised Akhil in an over of masterful leg spin. He sets him up beautifully for the flipper only for the umpire to disagree, then he bowls an absolute beauty to clean up Akhil with the ball drifting in in the air and turning away sharply after pitching to disturb the timber leaving the batsman dumbstruck.
The final word for the day has to be on Rahul Dravid. It was typically Dravid, reconstructing the innings after a top order collapse. But what was more special is that he did it at the pace that T-20 cricket demands but with all the style and grace that we generally associate with Test Cricket. It was a little funny to see Dravid getting so animated on the field. But afer all the non-sense that he went through last year, its easier to understand that he wanted to prove a point as much to himself as to the critics. And Jumbo helped himself to a 5 for. I wonder what Mr.Mallya has to say now?
The spectacle is about to begin
Oh finally…. IPL is all set to begin.
For want of time, will settle for twitter style updates for now:
I hope the crowd turn out is good throughout and really really hope that boundaries are not shortened this time and some sanity prevails in the commentary box. Lets call a six a six and not a DLF and Lalit Modi is no moses please…………….
Otherwise I hope the second edition continues from where the first edition ended as far as the quality of cricket is concerned.
Its always a dicey proposition to pick a favourite out of such evenly matched teams especially in this format of the game. Its still fun doing it though. My favourites for winning the second IPL are Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils.
I just hope B’lore makes it to the semi-final stage atleast this year. Last year they were badly let down by their owner after a couple of losses. Surely Rahul Dravid and co deserved greater respect and support. Lets not forget they had one of the best bowling line-ups with Zaheer, Steyn, Bracken, Praveen Kumar and Anil Kumble.
Just for the sheer excitement of watching Shahrukh celebrate, I wish KKR does well too…
But being a quintessential Chennaite, I have only one team to support except when Sachin is batting!!!
For want of time, will settle for twitter style updates for now:
I hope the crowd turn out is good throughout and really really hope that boundaries are not shortened this time and some sanity prevails in the commentary box. Lets call a six a six and not a DLF and Lalit Modi is no moses please…………….
Otherwise I hope the second edition continues from where the first edition ended as far as the quality of cricket is concerned.
Its always a dicey proposition to pick a favourite out of such evenly matched teams especially in this format of the game. Its still fun doing it though. My favourites for winning the second IPL are Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils.
I just hope B’lore makes it to the semi-final stage atleast this year. Last year they were badly let down by their owner after a couple of losses. Surely Rahul Dravid and co deserved greater respect and support. Lets not forget they had one of the best bowling line-ups with Zaheer, Steyn, Bracken, Praveen Kumar and Anil Kumble.
Just for the sheer excitement of watching Shahrukh celebrate, I wish KKR does well too…
But being a quintessential Chennaite, I have only one team to support except when Sachin is batting!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
How I wish IPL was covered by ESPNSTAR!
How I wish IPL was covered by ESPNSTAR now that another of my favourite commentators -- Sanjay Manjrekar, has also joined the team. I always thought Sanjay was underutilized by Tensports by making him the host and not the expert commentator. And in ESPNSTAR with Harsha playing the perfect host, it would be refreshing to hear Sanjay's impeccable views and analysis on the game which after a few centuries of existence is still evolving and evolving at a faster pace than ever before! I had written something about the Voice of Indian Cricket in praise of Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar a couple of years back. I thought its a good time to reproduce that here now that both will be working as part of the same team:
The Voice of Indian Cricket
I remember Harsha Bhogle once saying that when Sunny padded up for his innings as a commentator, he wanted to become the “Voice of Indian Cricket” like Tony Cozier is to West Indian Cricket. For all my respect for Sunny, I can at the most see him as the face of Indian Cricket and not quite the voice of Indian cricket. I used to wonder if the man who narrated Sunny’s wish himself was a better fit for that tag. For someone who started radio commentary when he was just a school student, he could seamlessly alternate between radio and TV commentary. His writings on cricket make you wonder if Peter Roebuck is over rated and has a few fan clubs in the cricket mad countries – India & Australia, Harsha Bhogle seems to be fitting the bill perfectly as the “Voice of Indian Cricket”
But then, how can a guy who hasn’t played competitive cricket beyond the university level be called the “Voice of Indian Cricket”? .So what if Tony Cozier was never a competent cricketer and still be called the “Voice of West Indies Cricket’. Probably West Indies didn’t have any good cricketer turned commentators during that time. But India certainly has no dearth of cricketers turned commentators (by the way is there any well known cricketer who hasn’t turned a commentator yet?) and that too very competent ones. Ravi, Sunny, LS, Sidhu, Sanjay and the list goes on. Why can’t one of them in this long list be called the “Voice….’.For someone who loves his dose of channel 9 commentary, I am not particularly a great fan of most of these commentators except for Sanjay (He’s a class act). It is too stereotypical for my liking. I can almost predict what they would say depending on the match situation.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s foray into TV commentary brought a whiff of fresh air for the Indian viewer who cherished his dose of honest and intellectual commentary. In my opinion, he’s the best Indian ‘cricketer turned commentator’ by some distance. He’s made tremendous strides as a commentator. I remember watching him on TV in his first year as a commentator; he seemed to be literally hero-worshiping Sachin and somehow could never find a flaw in Sachin, even when almost everyone else seemed to be thinking otherwise. Sometimes he appeared to be too much in awe of some of the personalities like the Chappell brothers for him to even disagree with them. But then as he grew in stature he shed his inhibitions of his personal preferences and grew more neutral in his perspective.
The Sanjay Manjrekar of now is a dream of a commentator with neither a put on accent nor a complicated vocabulary. His knowledge of the game is immaculate, his views and insights on the game are absolutely unbiased and grounded on sound cricketing logic and his writings on the game are the one of an honest man who knows and cares about his sport. I remember an interview of Sanjay by Harsha Bhogle in ESPN, in which Harsha said that Sanjay’s the most honest cricketer that he’s seen, to which Sanjay replied that it’s the only way he knows to live. He does not mind questioning Sachin’s attitude (and also the repercussions of doing that), doesn’t believe that regional selection committees have been as big a problem for India’s lack of success as the lack of skill and doesn’t mince words when it comes to the question of an even contest between the bat and the ball.
I’ve put my case forward. Harsha Bhogle or Sanjay Manjrekar – Who’s the “Voice of Indian Cricket”? Take your pick. Whom would I go for? If competency as a cricketer is not brought into the equation, I would go for Harsha Bhogle and if competency as a cricketer is important then, I can’t think of anyone beyond Sanjay Manjrekar.
Harsha and Sanjay – Thanks a ton for making cricket watching a better experience!
The Voice of Indian Cricket
I remember Harsha Bhogle once saying that when Sunny padded up for his innings as a commentator, he wanted to become the “Voice of Indian Cricket” like Tony Cozier is to West Indian Cricket. For all my respect for Sunny, I can at the most see him as the face of Indian Cricket and not quite the voice of Indian cricket. I used to wonder if the man who narrated Sunny’s wish himself was a better fit for that tag. For someone who started radio commentary when he was just a school student, he could seamlessly alternate between radio and TV commentary. His writings on cricket make you wonder if Peter Roebuck is over rated and has a few fan clubs in the cricket mad countries – India & Australia, Harsha Bhogle seems to be fitting the bill perfectly as the “Voice of Indian Cricket”
But then, how can a guy who hasn’t played competitive cricket beyond the university level be called the “Voice of Indian Cricket”? .So what if Tony Cozier was never a competent cricketer and still be called the “Voice of West Indies Cricket’. Probably West Indies didn’t have any good cricketer turned commentators during that time. But India certainly has no dearth of cricketers turned commentators (by the way is there any well known cricketer who hasn’t turned a commentator yet?) and that too very competent ones. Ravi, Sunny, LS, Sidhu, Sanjay and the list goes on. Why can’t one of them in this long list be called the “Voice….’.For someone who loves his dose of channel 9 commentary, I am not particularly a great fan of most of these commentators except for Sanjay (He’s a class act). It is too stereotypical for my liking. I can almost predict what they would say depending on the match situation.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s foray into TV commentary brought a whiff of fresh air for the Indian viewer who cherished his dose of honest and intellectual commentary. In my opinion, he’s the best Indian ‘cricketer turned commentator’ by some distance. He’s made tremendous strides as a commentator. I remember watching him on TV in his first year as a commentator; he seemed to be literally hero-worshiping Sachin and somehow could never find a flaw in Sachin, even when almost everyone else seemed to be thinking otherwise. Sometimes he appeared to be too much in awe of some of the personalities like the Chappell brothers for him to even disagree with them. But then as he grew in stature he shed his inhibitions of his personal preferences and grew more neutral in his perspective.
The Sanjay Manjrekar of now is a dream of a commentator with neither a put on accent nor a complicated vocabulary. His knowledge of the game is immaculate, his views and insights on the game are absolutely unbiased and grounded on sound cricketing logic and his writings on the game are the one of an honest man who knows and cares about his sport. I remember an interview of Sanjay by Harsha Bhogle in ESPN, in which Harsha said that Sanjay’s the most honest cricketer that he’s seen, to which Sanjay replied that it’s the only way he knows to live. He does not mind questioning Sachin’s attitude (and also the repercussions of doing that), doesn’t believe that regional selection committees have been as big a problem for India’s lack of success as the lack of skill and doesn’t mince words when it comes to the question of an even contest between the bat and the ball.
I’ve put my case forward. Harsha Bhogle or Sanjay Manjrekar – Who’s the “Voice of Indian Cricket”? Take your pick. Whom would I go for? If competency as a cricketer is not brought into the equation, I would go for Harsha Bhogle and if competency as a cricketer is important then, I can’t think of anyone beyond Sanjay Manjrekar.
Harsha and Sanjay – Thanks a ton for making cricket watching a better experience!
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