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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Super India beat Pakistan to book a date with the Lions!!!

India showed its might on the cricket field and won the high profile match against Pakistan in Mohali. India beat Pakistan by 29 runs to book a finals berth against Sri Lanka on Saturday in Mumbai.
The high profile match was presided by the Prime Ministers of both the countries and some high profile politicians from India and a majority of known figures from the Bollywood and Indian Corporate sector.
Dhoni to begin with, won the crucial toss and chose to bat first on a track that looked a bit pacy and good for batting. The team changes were, Nehra was back in for Ashwin.
Batting first, India got off to a terrific start with awesome Sehwag blasting Umar Gul all over the park for boundaries. The Indian run rate was above 8 and Sehwag was on fire. But he was short lived, and got out for a good one by Wahab Riaz for 38 runs which had 9 fours. Tendulkar on the other hand was calm and kept to scoring in his own pace. With Gambhir he put on a 68 run partnership but the wickets kept falling at other end. Gambhir made 27 and Kohli and Yuvraj dint last long. Yuvraj was bowled out for a naught after Kohli and these 2 quick wickets meant a slow run rate between Sachin and Dhoni in their partnership. Sachin Tendulkar looked a lot scratchy all the time and he could not read the spinners that well on a slow track. But surprisingly he almost had 6 lives including a survival on the UDRS, 4 catches dropped by the Pakistan fielders. He made the most of it though and made 85 runs. After these 2 got out, it was Raina who proved his selection once again and made a cameo of 36 from 39 to take India to 260 runs in 50 overs.

Pakistan have never had a good chase under pressure chasing big scores and they were susceptible under pressure as expected and lost the track in the end. They started rather well and were scoring at a good pace and looked like they had no problems at all until Akmal fell in the 9th over and then Hafeez and Asad Shafiq got on for a while for a good partnership and then Yuvraj Singh took 2 quick wickets in quick succession to kick start the Pakistan fall. Hafeez made 43 and Shafiq made 30 runs. Then Kamran Akmal looked most dangerous and made 29 from 24 balls when it was tough to play the Indian bowlers. Younus Khan on the other end was miserable and made 13 runs from 32 balls. In the end 260 was too much for the Pakistan team and a valiant effort in the end by Misbah proved to be a waste. The Indian bowlers, especially Nehra and Munaf Patel bowled well and all five Indian bowlers took 2 wickets each.

India 260 all out (Tendulkar 85,Riaz 5-46)
Pakistan 231 in 49.5 overs (Misbah 57, Nehra 2-33)
India won by 29 runs.
MOM : Sachin Tendulkar.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sri Lanka beats New Zealand to enter the finals.

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Semi Final.
Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets to qualify for the finals and will await the result of India vs Pakistan match tomorrow to know their opponent.
Batting first, New Zealand got quite a slow start and were at a run rate of 4 all the time inside the power plays. McCullum got out trying to sweep the ball and then Jesse Ryder fell for Murali magic. Guptill looked solid for his 39 runs. After this Ross Taylor and Scott Styris put up a good partnership of 77 runs to take NZ close to a possibly good total and a cameo from Williamson made a 250 and above total possible. But Malinga had other plans and he took 2 wickets in the Batting powerplay to kick start the black caps doom. In the end they were all out for a modest 217 in 48.5 overs with Styris being the highest score with a responsible half century. He scored 57 runs in the end. The Black Caps lost last 6 wickets for 25 runs.
Muralitharan took the wicket of Styris off his last ball of his career in Sri Lanka. For Lanka, Malinga and Mendis took 3 wickets each and Murali took 2.

Chasing this, SL never looked troubled and they continued their domination as they did against England in the quarters. This time, Tharanga kicked off the counter attack and hit a massive six off Nathan McCullum and some fours to take SL to a blazing start. He got out after making 30 off 31 balls off a super catch by Jesse Ryder. After his dismissal, Sri Lanka never looked back with captain Kumar Sangakkara joining Dilshan in destroying the chances of the New Zealanders bid for a first finals appearance. They put on a 120 runs partnership with Dilshan scoring 73 runs and Sanga made 54 runs. Then they lost 3 wickets in 9 runs to have a little trouble and NZ tightened the screw. But in the end, Angelo Matthews and Samaraweera took them home and SL won by 5 wickets.


New Zealand 217 off 48.5 overs (Styris 57, Mendis 3-35)
Sri Lanka 220-5  (Dilshan 73, Southee 3-57) won by 5 wickets.

Poonam Pandey will go nude if India wins!!!

Another reason for India to win this World cup!!! Hot Model Poonam Pandey has told that she will go naked if India wins the World Cup.

She told that she will strip if allowed in the field itself, in front of thousands of people! to cheer for the Indian cricket team. The kingfisher calendar girl is candid and has also offered a peep view for players inside the dressing room if allowed. Some motivation for team India!!!

Ricky Ponting quits as captain

Today the Australian captained announced that he will not lead the australian side anymore either in the odi's or test cricket. He has stepped down from his captaincy and he will be available as a batsmen for both the formats of the game. After the world cup debacle, it was expected some drastic change will take place in the Australian side. From now on Michael Clarke will lead the side.
Ponting said on account of the 2013-14 ashes series and 2015 world cup, he does not think he is going to play that far and the team requires a new leadership. He thanked his teammates and he does hope to get a re birth in batting like Sachin Tendulkar.
Ricky has captained Australian side for 228 ODI's, the most by any individual. He has a winning percentage as 76.38% and that is second only to Clive Loyd's tally of 77%. He had won 164 matches, 50 losses, 12 no results and 2 ties. He took over Captaincy from Steve waugh in 2003-04 and has been successful in winning 2 world cups and 2 Champion ship league for the Aussies.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

India vs Pakistan semi final

A dream semi final of India vs Pakistan is what everyone wanted. On March 30,2011, in the world cup 2011, India will lock horns with the Pakistan side in what seems to be the most exciting semifinal for over a decade. Both teams have not played each other in the world cup since 2003 match at centurion where India beat Pak by 6 wickets with Sachin Tendulkar scoring a masterstroke 98 and Yuvraj guided them to a win with a superb half century. In fact the two teams have not faced each other in a odi match since Pakistan in India ODI series in 2007/08. The series was won by India 3-2.
Pakistan has been very much in the game and has been very competitive against India all along except in the World Cups. In world cups, both team have faced each other in 4 matches and all those have been won by India. Pakistan since the time of Akrams, Waqar's has been unable to register a win in the world cup tournaments.
The two teams have been always evenly matched up but all the time, India has had the upper hand. If u consider the 2003 wc itself, ask yourself a question, what was the thing you remember most being an Indian or a Pakistani?? Undoubtedly Sachins upper cuts and his six off the Shoaib Akhtars bowling. It would easily be one of the best innings of the master. His storm took Pakistan out of the world cup but India in the end failed to win the cup.
More than anything, any records or stats its the rivalry that kills and is the most fascinating rivalry in the world of cricket. People might have thought during the course of the bi lateral series in 2008 that the intensity of the two teams has fallen a little, but they will have to re think as this is touted by more than a billion cricket watchers in both these nations as the mother of all battles. There has been political tension since the Mumbai blasts which has added to the intensity of the rivalry. The talks of the two countries have failed but the battle on the cricket ground goes on.
The players from both the team admit that beating each other in the biggest extravaganza of cricket will be the most important thing and moment in their lives. Even MS Dhoni admitted that people might forget if they lose the cup but they think its more important  to win the match anytime. The rivalry and tension between India has been there since 1947 independence and is still carrying on without any signs of it slowing down.
The mother of all battle is the most anticipated battle of this world cup and it will be the most watched match of the wc for sure. Whoever comes of the battle victorious, will be the champion, may not be in terms of winning the tournament but they will certainly be in the hearts of the people of the nation.
The serious aspect of cricket is that, both teams have looked awesome in the tournament so far and the intensity of the clash of the two nations just magnifies the moment and the match itself. The world cup just is getting better and better. Whatever you do, dont miss it.

Shaun Tait retires from ODI's

Troubled Australian fast bowler has announced his retirement from 50 over format of the game to focus and prolong his career. He will from now onwards play only in the T20 internationals.
He had taken 62 wickets in 35 games in odi's with an average of 23.56. The economy rate was 5.19 with a single 4 wicket haul. The reason for retirement has been his body which has failed to coup up with his action which is one of the most stressful action in world cricket.
He told " This is not a decision I have taken lightly but I believe it is the one that will help me prolong my cricketing career through many T20 internationals available".
He also told that his goal was to help the aussies retain the ICC Cricket Worldcup but now that the involvment is finished he will now get a move on in a new direction to focus on the shorter format.
Shaun Tait had announced his retirement after being hit all over by the Indian batsmen in 2008 at Perth and had been in a state of depression before coming back last year.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sri Lanka blast off to the semifinals.

Sri Lanka beat England by 10 wickets to register a superb win and a semifinal spot where they will play New Zealand. The sub continent team had an easy outing without much problems against England as the opening batsmen of Lanka scored a century each to end the England's exciting campaign in the world cup.
Chasing 230 to win in a pitch where the average first innings total was 190, Sri Lankan openers had no problem in securing a win without losing a wicket and this marks a really big win in the quarter finals.
Dilshan and Tharanga scored a century each. Dilshan made 108 off 115 balls while Tharanga made 102 from 122 balls. The English bowlers were hit all over the park by the duo and Swann was the most expensive off the lot. The batsmen had no problem throughout the entire innings and a comprehensive win confirms that Sri Lanka, perhaps is the most favorite team along with India to win the cup.
Earlier, England won the toss and chose to bat first and they started terribly as they were slow to start with and lost 2 wickets for 30 runs. Trott made a superb 86 and along with Morgans half century took the total to 229. Sri Lankan bowling was not as deadly as it had been and they dropped 3 catches off Morgan in the field and allowed England to a 200 past score.
Nonetheless, the way they chased the total shows that 250 or even 300 would have made little difference as the Lankan boys are used to their pitch conditions and it is indeed a very tough task to beat them in their own backyard.

England 229/6 (Trott 86, Muralitharan 2-54)
Sri Lanka 231/0 in 39.3 overs( Dilshan 108*, Tharanga 102*) beat England by 10 wickets.

Friday, March 25, 2011

New Zealand pull off a Houdini!!! Oram and Ryder guide them to a superb win against SA.

The Black caps won the toss and chose to bat first on a pitch where out of last 15 matches, the team batting second had won 10 times. South Africa would have believed this is the best chance they have got and would have backed themselves for a win. Probably only Allan Donald and John Wright were the only 2 guys in the world who would have thought NZ has a chance of winning!!!
Batting first, New Zealand had a bad start losing both their openers in 6 overs with 15 runs on board.Ryder and Taylor, the two most impactful players of the New Zealand played a calming battle and put on a 114 runs partnership to take new zealand to a position of some respect. Williamson finished it in style with 38 runs. Jesse Ryder scored 83 and Taylor made 43 runs. The NZ total was a below par 221 runs.
South Africa were on the spot and had the top hand for most of the match's course and looked set to win it with ease with partnerships between Kallis and Smith and then Kallis and De Villiers. Kallis made 47 runs and AB made 35 and it looked like they would run away with a win as they were 107 for 2 and needed just over a hundred runs for a superb win but the way they folded up was miserable. The main turning point of the match was the superb catch of Kallis by Oram off Tim Southee's bowling near the boundary just charged up the Black Caps and from then on it was NZ on fire. Then they tumbled and lost 6 wickets for 38 runs. They finally folded up for 172 runs. New Zealand won by 49 runs. Oram took 4 wickets and Nathan McCullum took 3. Jesse Ryder's 83 runs under a lot of pressure was worth gold in the end.
New Zealand's fielding was definitely the best so far in the whole tournament and this definitely was one of their best performances ever. Vettori was spot on with all the placements and it was like a fort South Africans could not get loose.

 MOM  :  Jacob Oram.
 South Africa have never won a knock out game in the wc since 1992.
This is New Zealands sixth wc semifinals in 10 appearances.

New Zealand 221 (Ryder 83, Morkel 3-46)
South Africa 172 in 43.2 overs (Kallis 47, Oram 4-39)
New Zealand won by 49 runs

New Zealand v South Africa

This match is probably one of the predictable encounters in this quarterfinals. New Zealand have been in a woeful form in the past year and have been totally messed up in the tournament so far. It has been a long time since they have performed well both with bat and ball in a match against a serious opposition. The problems are a plenty for Vettori and his boys. Vettori is expected to be fit for the big day and that should ensure some confidence in the players. The silver lining has been Tim Southee who has been a revelation in this world cup and Ross Taylor has been scoring heavily every odd match. They desperately need some big innings from McCullum and Jesse Ryder has not been upto his potential. If these 2 players come good with the bat, they can manage the bowling and fielding and can put up a decent fight.
On the other hand South Africans have been very good in the tournament so far. They have showed some good nerves so far and hopefully they will continue their good run. It will make the tournament more interesting. The problem with South Africans has been their inability to read the games in the past, especially big games and big tournaments, the deciders. They have choked and have paid every little penny they can afford so far. But they are confident this time and the team is comprised of big match winners in every department. This will ensure they can perform well but they must keep their head clear if they want to go further. It will break every ones heart if they choke again.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

India wins the battle but the war is yet to be won!!!

The match between Australia and India in Ahmedabad was not less than a war. There was blood, aggression and it went pretty close. Probably the best even match in the whole world cup so far. India in the end were victorious and they finally ended the super run of the super aussies and they have been knocked out of a world cup after 16 years and 3 editions.
Australia won the crucial toss and chose to bat first. The wicket from the first ball itself had some spin and Ashwin opened the bowling for India. Australian openers played it safe and were absolutely great holding on to the wicket and scoring watchfully for almost the entire powerplay1 but Watson lost his patience and finally got bowled out by Ashwin trying a extravagant shot. Haddin scored a half century but the real performance came from the captain Ricky Ponting who was outstanding stepping upto the occassion and was absolutely superb and scored a century. He scored 104 runs and Australia foded up scoring 260 runs in 50 overs. The Indian fielding was absolutely wonderful which seems to happen once a very long time.
India chasing a good total started of really well with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag scored quick runs in the first 5 overs with Tait bowling all over!!. Sehwag got out making 15 runs. Sachin though continued his fine form and made yet another 50 and became the highest scorer this world cup. The real man of the match though was Yuvraj Singh who scored a super half century under pressure and saw India home. He also took 2 wickets while bowling. The best bowler for Australia was Brett Lee yet again as he bowled superbly to the end taunting the Indian batsmen.
Australia 260/6 (50 ov)
India 261/5 (47.4 ov)
India won by 5 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Royal Challengers Bangalore


Home Ground    :  M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Owner               :  Vijay Mallya
Website             :  http://www.royalchallengers.com/
Captain              :  Daniel Vettori

2008 : 7th position
2009 : Runners up
2010 : 3rd position

Players :

Batsmen
  • India Virat Kohli
  • India Saurabh Tiwary
  • Sri Lanka Tillakaratne Dilshan
  • India Cheteshwar Pujara
  • Australia Luke Pomersbach
  • South Africa Rilee Rossouw
  • India Mayank Agarwal
  • India KB Arun Karthik
All Rounders
  • New Zealand Daniel Vettori
  • South Africa Johan van der Wath
  • South Africa Jonathan Vandiar
  • India Asad Pathan
  • India Amit Verma
  • India Raju Bhatkal


Wicket Keepers
  • South Africa AB de Villiers
  • India CM Gautam
Bowlers
  • India Zaheer Khan
  • Australia Dirk Nannes
  • South Africa Charl Langeveldt
  • India Abhimanyu Mithun
  • Sri Lanka Nuwan Pradeep
  • India Sreenath Aravind
  • India Bharath BN
  • India Ryan Ninan
  • India Abrar Kazi




Support Staff
  • Head Coach: South Africa Ray Jennings
  • Bowling Coach:
  • Assistant Head Coach: India Sanath Kumar
  • Physiotherapist: South Africa Evan Speechly
  • Mentor : India Anil Kumble
  • CEO: India Brijesh Patel
  • Manager: India Avinash Vaidya
  • Masseur: India Ramesh Mane
  • Team Analyst: India Prassana Agoram
  • Head Strength And Conditioning Coach : India Basu S
Source :  http://www.wikipedia.org/
    year Played Wins Losses win perc
    2008 14 4 10 28.57
    2009 16 9 7 56.25
    2010 16 8 8 50.00

    The Big Match - India v Australia


    India v Australia
    The second quarter final match of this world cup seems to be the biggest of the match so far. India playing Australia in Ahmedabaad. Its going to be more competitive and extravagant than any of the matches. Tim Nielsen, the coach of the Australian side has touted this to be a mini final with the two teams set to revive the rivalry. It has been a long time since the two played and not much has changed in the two sides. India on one hand will look confident with its top order being in a superlative form and Zaheer bowling really well. They also will have the home advantage and the pressure at home is what the Indian lads enjoy. The expectations are aplenty but so is the talent in the team. The team will probably play 2 spinners as it worked well against the Windies and as Australians have generally struggled against spin. They might also go for this option as other than Zaheer and Munaf, Nehra has been pathetic and Sreesanth is a head ache for the captain.
    The other change might be of Raina making way for Sehwag and thats probably it. Yousuf Pathan has failed many times but his spin bowling has been economical and Dhoni who loves to use his part time bowling options will continue on using him.
    There has been a lot talked about the problems in batting after 40 overs but it is definitely not worth talking as India in their last 3 matches have been in a comfortable score at the end of 40th over and were aiming to score big in the final 10. So whatever Indian players need to do is to keep attacking and hopefully somebody clicks and scores big.


    The Australians are coming from a loss which was quite big as their winning streak came to an end and they will be trying to regroup and think what to do. The Australians unlike Indians are better equipped in these big matches as they have been very successful in the past decade and they know how to play outstandingly in these games. The middle order again has not been upto the mark and Ponting is struggling. Hussey is coming from injury and White has not been comfortable either. Australia will definitely give all their big players a chance and the main confidence booster will be their bowling. Brett Lee has been absolutely fantastic and if he gets some support from the other bowlers it will an uphill task for the Indians. The spin option is a worry as Krejza has not been in his fine touch oflate and Indians might target slow medium pacers and spinners. Even though some might say Indians are under more pressure, the pressure on the aussies is quite the same. They have been in a downward regime in points table and they would be eager to prove themselves as the champions yet again.
    Australia also have the advantage of having beaten the Indian side 7 of 9 times the teams have played in the world cup and in the last 5 years they have played India 15 times and they have won 9 times. They might have been battered and bruised but they still have plenty of spirit and they are still on top in odi rankings.


    Anyways a lot of sparks can be expected from this cracker of a match and hopefully it will be a close encounter. Dont miss it!!!

    Pakistan destroy West Indies to reach semis

    Pakistan literally ripped apart the west indies to reach the semi finals with a bang, beating the latter by 10 wickets. This marks a huge win for the Pakistan team who have been clinical in their performances so far and have been surprisingly consistent.
    Batting first, West Indies showed that they lack quality batsmen for larger formats of the game once again and were losing wickets all the time. Chenderpaul who finally got to play was the only resistance and he scored 44 runs and was unbeaten and he helped the team from humiliation. They could put up only 112 runs on the board and were quite pathetic in their approach. It seems the Windies batsmen think with their hand as they kept on trying to smash and no batsman was able to read the Pakistan quality spin. Afridi again took 4 wickets and his tally improved to a very impressive 21 wickets with an average of atleast 3 wickets per match!!. Umar Gul was good and he took a wicket. Hafeez and Ajmal took 2 each to end the Windies innings.
    The chase also was very easy for the Pakistan team as they reached the target safely without losing any wicket. Hafeez scored 61 and Kamran Akmal 47. Windies bowlers were thrashed all over and they reached the target in just 21 overs.
    The win finally put an end to the Windies misery. Their batsmen can finally return home and think about their 20 overs plan. Its quite obvious that they can only last in the shortest format. Hope they concentrate and learn rather than just showing off their muscles while batting.

    West Indies 112 43.3 overs (Chenderpaul 44*, Afridi 4-30)
    Pakistan 113/0 20.5 overs (Hafeez 61*)
    Pakistan won by 10 wickets (with 175 balls remaining)



    Tuesday, March 22, 2011

    Pakistan v West Indies

    In the first semi finals match which will take place in Mirpur, Bangladesh, Pakistan will be facing West Indies for a semi final spot. The security has been beefed up since the stone throwing incident and West Indies players can feel more safer now.
    Pakistan have not been in a semi final of the world cup since 1999 and will be hoping to make the cut this time. On the other hand West Indies too have not had the privilege of reaching the semis since 1996.
    Both the teams are pretty much capable of self destructing themselves on their days and also can be unpredictably aggressive. This has made a prediction in this match very much impossible.
    Pakistan have found some super form as they have been doing in the recent big tournaments. They are coming from back to back wins and have topped the table with highest points from both the groups. They will be feeling more confident than the Windies who are coming with 2 losses and the loss against India would not have hurt them that much as some key players were missing.
    In the team changes, West Indies will be probably playing Chenderapaul instead of Sarwan and Gayle and Roach will be back. Ravi Rampaul will miss the cut even after his good performance. The big players will be Devon Smith, Gayle and Roach
    On the other hand Pakistan will have the same team and they will rely heavily on Umar Akmal and Misbah to come good. Gul will be the best bet as he has taken 13 wickets so far and is in terrific form. Afridi's spin option is very much needed and he will have to calm the nerves of the younger lot.

    The pitch is expected to be a run fest and there will be high level security all over.
    The semifinals will have a great start as both the teams are as unpredictable as they can be and anything can happen!!!

    Sunday, March 20, 2011

    Quarter Finals Line Up

    March 23   Pakistan v West Indies
    March 24   India v Australia
    March 25   New Zealand v South Africa
    March 26   Sri Lanka v England

    All are Day and Night matches.

    India win by 80 runs. They will play Australia in the Quarters.

    India won the toss and chose to bat first on the Chennai track which had something for everyone. This was proved from the first wicket itself, which fell in the first over itself of Sachin Tendulkar for Ravi Rampaul. He had a look in as Roach was not playing. For India, Sehwag was out of the game and Gambhir opened with the little master but the first 2 wickets fell under 10 overs. Then saved by Yuvraj and Kohli's stand of 122 runs which was a steady stand and both the batsmen got their half centuries. Then Kohli got out after making a watchful 59 while Yuvraj scored his first century in a world cup. It looks like the stylish left hander relishes on big tournament as he has been the most successful player for India. He scored 113 runs off 123 balls but perished at a crucial moment. He was absolutely brilliant with his stroke play and looked be at best of his form in years.  His innings was studded with 10 fours and 2 huge sixes.
    After the 40 overs, India repeated their dismal show as they scored only 59 runs and lost 7 wickets off the last 10 which also included the batting powerplay. It looks like Indian players were not sure whether to go out against the bowlers or bat for the entire quota of overs. They failed to do both and were all out in the last over for 268 runs, probably enough to defend.
    For the West Indies, Ravi was magnificent both with the new ball and the old reverse swinging ball and he finished up with a match haul of 5 for 51 runs. Russel and Pollard on the other end kept a good line and kept pressure. The fielding was patchy at some points with some difficult catches being dropped but overall a very good effort considering they were missing the main stay Kemar Roach.

    Chasing this total, the West Indies started rather well without their star batsman Chris Gayle. Devon Smith was very good and looked at best of form and was hitting boundaries regularly. With his help, Windies got to 90 runs off 15 overs. Smith made 81 runs from 97 balls with 7 fours and a six. He was easily the most comfortable batsman for Windies at crease and was the only one to be so. No other batsmen could have any impact on the Indians and were running back to pavilion quicker and quicker. At 30 overs, they were evenly poised with India with 154 for 2. After that, Zaheer came back and struck immediately with beautiful reverse swing and got Smith out. Once he was out, there was no momentum in the innings and Sarwan at the other end was batting painfully slow and was struggling like a fish out of water. He could not even take singles while the other batsmen were getting bowled over by the Indian bowlers. Finally he perished for 39 runs from 67 balls. Yuvraj Singh the star with the bat today, continued his brilliance with the ball as he took 2 wickets. Zaheer Khan was at his best in his second spell and finished with 3 wickets.

    In the end India won by 80 runs and they will face Australia in the quarter finals and West Indies will play Pakistan.

    India 268 in 49.1 overs (Yuvraj 113, Ravi Rampaul 5 for 51)
    West Indies 188 (D Smith 81, Zaheer 3-26)
    Man of the Match : Yuvraj Singh

    The master practices blind fold !!!

    If the rumor has to believed, it seems Sachin Tendulkar yesterday practiced in nets closing his eyes and still kept on finding the sweet spot. Now we know nothing is impossible for the little man but this is new levels of his abilities!!.
    An under 19 player who was fielding for Sachin in nets told the reporters that The Little Master told the bowlers to bowl quickly and had fielders in short cover and point and tried to pierce gaps. But that is normal right??.
    Not at all, the kid also said that Sachin closed his eyes right before the point of impact of the ball with bat!!!.
    At beginning he hit a few in air and then got a little disappointed but in the second run, he found the sweet spot and the gaps quite often and he practiced like that for sometime. Now that is awesome. Closing eyes and still finding gaps. It seems Sachin has predicted the Windies fielding positions already and was practicing accordingly. The master keeps innovating when we think he is at his peak and nothing beyond to be achieved!!!. Looks like he might hold some surprises.

    The Big Match

    India V/S West Indies
    This match will be for the second place in the points table. The match will be played in Chennai and it will be a d/n venture. Three days remains for the start of the Knockout stage and both teams lack momentum as they have lost the previous matches.
    India are likely to field Raina and Ashwin in place of Nehra and Pathan probably. They might give Pathan another chance. The problem with India is that they overdo what is good and kill it. Pathan was over used probably and was shuffled all over the batting order. After virtually destroying his reputation, now they go for Raina. On the other hand Nehra is a lost cause. Everyone knows his fitness cannot be relied on and he has probably lost more matches for India than winning. This makes sure that the axe will be on him for sure this time. And what's the use if u have a fast bowler who smiles after getting hit for a six!!. If India go in with 2 spinners, the whole equation will change and he will have 3 good bowlers who can contain and take wickets and is the best way forward as there is enough spin on all tracks played so far.
    West Indies on the other hand have had their horrors return to them after a couple of good games. If they think about it, they cant see what went wrong. At one stage being 56 for 1 after 7 overs, they could not chase down 244. They should stop messing around the batting order. And the big player, like Gayle should play a little waiting game. If he can stay for 20 or 25 overs, he can be sure of scoring big. The run rate is not always a concern and they should change the pace in their innings according to the game. The bowling unit has looked deadly accurate and they have been performing outstandingly after the return of Kemar Roach.
    Will it be a clash of the titans or a one side affair? Completely depends on whether Windies will self destruct or not!!

    Saturday, March 19, 2011

    Pakistan end Australia's unbeaten run, finish on top!!!

    Australia's unbeaten tally of 34 world cup matches without a loss was beaten by Pakistan today as they beat them by 4 wickets. Incidentally, the last loss for Australia in world cup came 12 years back at the hands of Pakistan in 1999 world cup. For the previous 2 editions, they had dominated the tournament and the game itself.
    This also marks the end of Australia on top of the points table as Pakistan top the tables.
    Australia chose to bat first and they could only put up 176 runs and they were all out in about 47 overs. The only big partnership was between Haddin and a struggling Ponting of 63 runs. Haddin made 42 and Clarke 34. The middle order dint last long. Umer Gul was at his deadly best and he got 3 wickets for 30 runs. Razzaq took 2 wickets and all other Pakistani bowlers who bowled got a wicket apiece.

    Being all out also put curtains on Australia's another streak where they had not been dismissed for 28 innings.
    Chasing an easy total, Pakistan might have thought it would be easier but Brett Lee was bowling with full steam and he constantly clocked above 145kmph and was very accurate. He took 4 for 28 and was devastating. But all other bowlers were struggling at other end and this helped Pak to seal a victory.
    For Pakistan, Asad Shafiq made a brilliant 46 and he stayed much through Lee's initial spell. Umar Akmal saw them home with yet another finish and he scored 44 and was unbeaten.
    Australia though lost the game, were quite difficult to beat and they did tremendously well in defending such a low score.If they get a little support from the senior pros in the batting, they could probably dominate again.

    Australia 176 all out
    Pakistan 178 for 6 (41 overs) won by 4 wickets

    Bangladesh crashes out of the world cup 2011

    Bangladesh lost to South Africa by a massive 206 runs to crash out of the cwc 2011. It was a tearful farewell for the Bangladesh as fans watched in shock and awe. To start with they had very less chance of beating SA who have looked absolutely devastating to top the points tabe.
    Loss for Bangladesh means a lot of goods for other teams as India, England and West Indies go through to the quarterfinals without having to worry much now. This will be a huge relief for England as they would have been watching this match very keenly.
    For SA who batted  first after winning the toss, three of their batsmen scored half centuries including Kallis, Amla, du Plessis and Smith scored 45 runs. This propelled them to a good score of  284 runs on a track which had green cover.
    Chasing this total, Bangladesh were bundled out for 78 runs with only one batsman, Shakib crossing the double digits. He scored 33 runs in the end and this signaled a dream over for the Bangla boys and the country which had very high expectations. Unlike other wc's, Bangla failed this time to cause any upsets.

    South Africa 284/8 (50 ov)
    Bangladesh 78 (28.0 ov)
    South Africa won by 206 runs

    The game of fortunes

    The match against Bangladesh and South Africa is the most important match of the tournament. It holds the key of quarter finals for 4 teams : India, England, West Indies and Bangladesh. The match which will be played at Bangladesh's home ground will be the last match of both the teams. South Africa whether they win or lose will go to the Quarter finals and this leaves them with wanting a win to maintain the momentum to go the knockouts. And this time, there is no possibility of SA disqualifying in any angle, so they must be relieved.
    Bangladesh on the other hand are in a do or die situation and they must win the game to qualify. A win will take their points tally to 8, along with SA and they qualify. This will automatically eliminate the English side.
    And will leave a must win game for West Indies and India on Sunday. The fortune of 4 teams including themselves lies with the Bangladesh tigers as they get ready for a final showdown, a final roar perhaps to make their presence felt and make one of the other teams eliminated.
    This ensures that the match will be a cracker and will keep you hooked. Dont miss it.

    Bangladesh wins : Bangladesh go through to the quarter finals. England will have to pack their bags.
                                A must game for India and West Indies to qualify.
    South Africa wins: Bangladesh will be eliminated. England, India and West Indies go through.

    Friday, March 18, 2011

    Sri Lanka roars with a huge win over New Zealand!!!

    Sri Lanka won a huge match with a huge margin of 112 runs against New Zealand at Mumbai. This was a big match as it was the last match in the first round for both the teams and they wanted to go to the knock out with momentum and confidence. Sri Lanka were successful in securing the momentum as they sit pretty on top of the table for now. The Lankans won the toss and chose to bat first and followed it up by losing 2 quick wickets in 5 overs. But thats all New Zealand got to enjoy in the whole match. After this, the senior pros Sangakkara and Jayawardene steadied the ship and put on a 145 runs partnership which was the biggest of the day and most entertaning one. Mahela got out for 66 runs and Sanga went on to make a century and made 111 runs. Angelo Mathews powerful hitting put the score past 250 and they finally ended the innings with 265 runs. For NZ, Southee took 3 wickets.
    It was all misery for the black caps who came to bat. They never found any consistency and kept on losing the wickets regularly. Though Sri Lankan fielding was below par with catches being dropped consistently, NZ could not capitalize and their misery was ended by Murali and Mendis who took 4 and 2 wickets respectively. For NZ, Taylor scored 33 runs off the total of 153.


    Sri Lanka 265/9 (50 ov)
    New Zealand 153 (35.0 ov) beaten by 112 runs.

    Ireland end their brilliant campaign with great win...

     Ireland's world cup campaign ended with a superlative 6 wicket win over Netherlands. The star of the day was Sterling for Ireland, who scored a scorching 72 balls 101 runs to secure a comfortable victory over the opposition. This means that Ireland end the points table with 4 points with 2 wins. This has been a very good tournament for them who beat England and had a few close games. 
    Netherlands batted first and they were 4 for 113 at one moment a looked like around 200 or 250 would be good. But Ryan ten Doeschate had other plans. He scored a brilliant century, his second of the tournament and this propelled them to a par score of 306 runs. Ryan scored 106 off 108 balls and Borren scored 84 runs.
    Chasing a big target, Ireland were on top of the game from the beginning and they played powerful cricket, finding boundaries constantly. They raced to 177 runs before losing the first wicket. Stirling innings was studded with 14 fours and 2 huge sixes. N O'Brien saw them home with his timely half century with 14 balls remaining.

    Netherlands 306 (50 ov)
    Ireland 307/4 (47.4 ov)
    Ireland won by 6 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

    Thursday, March 17, 2011

    Shoaib Akhtar announces retirement.

    Shoaib Akhtar, one of the fastest bowlers the game of cricket has ever seen has announced that he will retire from international cricket after the world cup. Akhtar said in a press conference "I have decided to say goodbye. This World Cup is my last and the coming matches in the tournament would be the last few of my international career. Mentally I wanted to continue perhaps forever. But I must make way for youngsters to take over."

    Shoaib Akhtar is 35 years old currently and has been a great quick bowler of this era. The reason for retirement has been his body which is becoming increasingly difficult to co operate with the heavy work load and thus ending a career which has been miffed with both highs and lows.
    Shoaib Akhtar made his test debut in 1997 against West Indies. He shot up to fame with his long run up and a stressful action and the pace that he could generate off it.
    Shoaib Akhtar's career has seen lows with the bowler being linked to drug scandal and some fights with the teammates and with the ball tampering issue. But since his return from 2010, he has bowled superbly and has been the best bet for Pakistan.
    Shoaib says his team mates knew he was retiring but they refused to believe and they are saddened as he has been their partner for a long time. He also believes that bowling to the likes of Ponting, Gilchrist and Lara was his best experience and the 3 balls he bowled to Lara were the best he ever bowled.



    Another thriller for England, another self destruction for West Indies !!! England stay on the hunt

    England won their last match to stay alive in the tournament. They had another nail biting close counter but this time they got help from some quality spin bowling and self  destruction of the Windies to win by 18 runs.
    Batting first England had a pretty good start and they raced off to 120 runs by 21 overs backed by some good batting by Prior and Trott. The middle order after this could not carry on and losing quick wickets put brakes on England attack as they lost Eoin Morgan and Bopara cheaply. Luke wright played well towards the end and this ensured that they get to a respectable total of 243 runs. They were all out though and could not bat the entire 50 overs. For the Windies, Russel took 4 wickets and Bishoo took 3.
    Chasing an average total on a good track, windies batting looked in a tremendous hurry and big hitters came first as Sammy was promoted up the order. Gayle blasted 43 from 21 balls and Sammy scored 41 from 29 balls. Even after losing 3 wickets, Sammy showed no signs of slowing down and this resulted in wickets being fallen at regular intervals and for England to stay in the game. The West Indies trademark self  destruction though started after Sammy got out after 17th over. The West Indies batsmen other than Sarwan showed  no signs of playing the entire 50 overs. They looked like as if they feared batting the entire 50 overs and seemed interested in getting the runs as quickly as possible. Even the final effort by Russel went in vain as Swann took 2 wickets in his last over to draw curtains on the chase that Windies never looked like they were going to make. For England the first 3 wickets were taken by Tredwell who finished with 4 for 48. Swann took 3 wickets and Bopara helped by bowling tight line at the other end.

    England 243 (Trott 47, Russell 4-49) beat
    West Indies 225 (Russell 49, Tredwell 4-48) by 18 runs

    Wednesday, March 16, 2011

    Australia win easily and get through to quarter finals

    Australia registered another win against Canada by 7 wickets which helped them to maintain their unbeaten winning streak in the tournament. They are the only team in this world cup to have not lost a single match and this helped them to get into the knockout stage.
    Canada choosing to bat first though getting a good start faltered to some good bowling by Lee and Krejza to fold up for 211 runs.
    Chasing a target which was below par, the openers did most of the job as Watson scored 94 and Haddin 88 and Australia lost only 3 wickets chasing the target.

    The former world champions dint look clinical or devastating and the fielding and bowling in beginning was rather poor and this caused some irritation and frustration to the Captain Ponting, who lost temper on more than a few occasions.


    Australia 212 for 3 (Watson 94, Haddin 88) beat Canada 211 (Patel 54, Lee 4-46) by seven wickets

    India not favorites anymore???

    Indian team which was touted by every single critic as the most favorable team to win the world cup has been written off now by Sir Viv Richards and Dean Jones.
    To start with Indian bowling has lacked the commitment to control and to take 10 wickets in an innings. The tacky fielding has not helped the cause either.
    The team might or might not make it to the quarter finals and the chances are very slim that they are going to miss the quarter's berth.
    But still can anyone that easily write off a team touted to be the run away favorite at the start of the tournament??
    If India do go through to the knockout stage, which they most likely will, there are several things that will haunt the team and the captain. The bowling most certainly needs a lot of changes, Nehra must be dropped and they should give a chance to Ashwin and Sreesanth. Sree's behavior might be a problem but atleast he will fill the team with more enthusiasm and hunger to win more and the aggressiveness he brings will balance the calmness of Dhoni on field.
    The second thing they should do is, the Captain cool must think more with his head than his instinct. There is no need to change the batting order which looks very solid with Kohli at 4 and then MS,yuvi and Yousuf. Dropping Pathan is not the best option as he can single handedly win the match and on his day there is no one dangerous than him and that means he is a big asset in knockout rounds.
    The fielding cannot improve and we must admit it and try bowling better and getting a few runs while batting.
    The Indian team, though it has not lived upto the expectation as the team to beat has not been too bad either. The draw match against England was quite dominated by India and against South Africa too, India dominated almost for the entire match. Consider if Indian batsmen were a little more sensible and they could have easily scored atleast 30 runs more off the last 10 overs and South Africans were not that convincing chasing. And they will stay as chokers until they reach the finals atleast.
    At this stage, writing off India will be only a fools intuition and Indian team is most dangerous when they are under tremendous pressure. Just a few more little tweaks here and there and they can beat some of the best teams comfortably.

    Thursday, March 10, 2011

    India through to quarter finals

    India won by 5 wickets against Netherlands to get into Quarter finals with 7 points from 4 games. But they struggled to get there as  the weak points of India was evident. Netherlands batting first were bowled out for 189 runs and Zak took 3 wickets. The surprise inclusion was Piyush Chawla and he took 2 wickets finally. H.Singh missed out again without picking a wicket. He has taken only 2 wickets in this world cup and is definitely due for a big spell.
    Chasing this, India started well with a flier start from the batting maestro and Viru. They scored at brisk pace and India raced to 69 for no loss. Then Seelar dismissed both of these batsmen and Yousuf Pathan and Kohli dint last long. A steady partnership between Yuvraj and Gambhir was followed by a partnership between Yuvi and Dhoni to sail them home with 5 wickets to spare.
    Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to reach to 2000 world cup runs.
    Yuvraj Singh scored his 3rd consecutive half century in ODI's.

    Netherlands 189 all out(Borren 38*, Zaheer 3-20)
    India 191 for 5(Yuvraj 51*, Seelaar 3-53) won by 5 wickets

    Tuesday, March 8, 2011

    New Zealand crush Pakistan's unbeaten streak at wc!!!

    Ross Taylor was the hero of the day on his birthday as New Zealand crushed Pakistan by 110 runs. Ross Taylor's blitzkrieg was a 131 runs not out from 124 balls which included 8 fours and 7 huge sixes to his favorite area, leg side.
    Vettori was ruled out for the match and Taylor was the stand in skipper. Other than him Guptill made a good half century in a  steady stage. New Zealand batsmen rather cautiously with Guptill's effort. In the middle overs they just ran singles along with some occasional boundaries and Taylor was clearly struggling his stay. But after the completion of Batting powerplays in the 46th over. From 47th over all hell broke loose on the Pakistani bowlers as Taylor Pounced on them with little mercy. The seventh wicket partnership for NZ fetched 85 runs in 3.4 overs with Oram scoring 25 and Taylor 55 of those runs.This took their total from a below par 210 in 45th over to a superb 295 in 49th over. Ross took 28 runs off Shoaib's over which incidentally is the largest over by far in this wc and then broke the record in the very next over by Razzaq who was smacked for 30 runs!!.Taylor was dropped on naught as he was dropped by Akmal off Shoaib Akthars delivery. Pak really did play a huge price for this mistake.

    Chasing this target, Pakistan could not get their act right even for one moment. They never looked good to chase a good total and were tottering at 76 for 6 and then got graced by a partnership between Razzaq and Kamran to get to 192 eventually. Razzaq top scored with 62 runs.
    For NZ, Southee bowled a good spell and took 3 wickets and Mills, Nathan McCullum and Styris took 2 each.

    New Zealand 302/7 (Taylor 134*, Guptill 57, Gul 3-32) beat
    Pakistan 192 all out in 41.4 overs (Razzaq 62, Southee 3-25) by 110 runs

    Monday, March 7, 2011

    KP out of world cup

    England which has a mixed bag of good and bad moments suffered possibly its worst moment as KP was ruled out of wc and IPL suffering from a hernia. He had been suffering from some groin strain for a while and his ruling as unavailable will bring  more head ache to England as they will have to change the opening pair again. England had a good opening pair with KP and Strauss in the world cup with Pietersen looking in some form and providing good starts in 3 off the 4 matches he had played in. England had not managed to keep a stable opening pair for a long time and this pair looked to end their search.
    Eoin Morgan replaces Kevin Pietersen in English campaign and a lot will depend on who will they open with,along with Strauss.

    Tweak in the " 2.5 m rule of controversy ".

    ICC coming under fire for its 2.5 m rule in UDRS, has tweaked the rule to improve its consistency. It has decided that if the impact for a Batsman is 2.5 meters or above, and the middle of the ball is hitting any part of the middle stump (on hawk eyes prediction that is )it will be declared out. The tweak in the rule came into existence after the unfair ruling of Ian Bell as not out against India.
    ICC must test these rules in some domestic level and think of all possible results and solutions before making them compulsory in high profile world tournaments. Now if this tweak was made before the England VS India match, Bell would have been declared out and India might have won the match. If India in case lose out a spot on the quarterfinals by any chance, the rule and the ICC might itself could be facing more wrath. Hope ICC learns a little from these mistakes and talks some sense into itself before bringing more technology into cricket.
    What the 2.5 m rule says now ??
    "If a not out decision is being reviewed, in order to report that the ball is hitting the stumps, the evidence provided by technology should show that the center of the ball would have hit the stumps on any part of the middle stump"
    Previously it was "within an area demarcated by a line drawn below the lower edge of the bails and down the middle of the outer stumps" that obviously complicated things and made no sense at all.

    Terrific result for England

    England won a thriller against South Africa by six runs helped by Broad who took a superb 4 wicket haul and Anderson who took 2 crucial wickets at a crucial moment.
    England batting first had a bad start losing both the openers in the first over itself. Bopara however helped the sinking ship with Trott. Both these Batsmen made half centuries and helped the team get to 171 runs which proved to be too much for the Proteas.
    Proteas chasing a small target on a spinning track had a really good start with a 63 runs opening stand where they looked to run away with an easy victory. The situation though changed when they slumped to 124 for 4 by 32 overs. It changed even further towards England as the Proteas lost 4 wickets in 4 overs and when they reached 127 runs, they were down by 4 more. Anderson took 2 quick wickets.  Broad who took a couple of openers wickets took two more near the end. Bopara was declared man of the match for his 60 runs in a low scoring game.
    England 171 (Bopara 60, Trott 52, Tahir 4-38)
    beat South Africa 165 (Amla 42, Broad 4-15) by six runs

    Yuvraj Singh stars in india's win

    Yuvraj Singh took his first 5 wicket haul of his career and scored a 50 runs to win the match for India. He became the first player to do so. Viv Richards and Paul Collingwood are the only players to have claimed more than 5 wickets and scored over 100runs in the ODI's.
    The match was interesting as India kept on losing wickets in regular intervals while they were chasing. Yuvraj did spin the ball little but kept on varying the pace and the batsmen kept on making elementary mistakes resulting in very soft dismissals. The 2.5 m rule doesnt seem to leave the cricket alone as a similar review off the Yuvi's delivery resulted in the dismissal of Cusack. The impact was over 2.5 m but it was given out by the on field umpire as it went on to hit the stumps. Got to say to Billy Bowden, If this was out then Ian Bell certainly was.
    India 210 for 5 (Yuvraj 50*)
    beat Ireland 207 (Porterfield 75, Yuvraj 5-31) by five wickets

    Saturday, March 5, 2011

    The Big Match

    Sri Lanka VS Australia

    This is the match of the world cup. There are many rivalries like those between India and Pakistan and Australia and New Zealand, India and Australia which are probably touted as really big ones. The rivalry between Australia and Sri Lanka though always has been played down a little is one of the biggest of the rivalries we can see in the world cups.
    Sri Lanka played Australia and beat them in the finals in 1996 when Australia refused to play the finals in SL due to security concerns and this fired up the Lankans for a wc win.
    In 2007 world cup, Australia beat SL in the finals to lift the world cup. Thus in the two finals Australia have won once and SL once. Shane Watson is the highest run getter for Australia in this world cup but Malinga's bowling has been terrific. Will Australia survive Malinga in the current form he is in?? Thats the big question.
    This match will be a litmus test for Australians who have been unbeaten in the tournament for almost 7 years now.
    Australia will also be looking to get revenge of the beat down by SL in the one day series in their home turf.



    VS Sri Lanka Australia
    In world cups (7)16
    Against each other (71)2247

    In the last 5 matches they have faced each other, Sri Lanka have won 3 matches.



    Friday, March 4, 2011

    West Indies bus got stoned....Bangla says "Oops, sorry, we thought it was our team"

    The west Indies team bus was attacked in the evening by some miscreants who threw stones at the bus.
    No glasses were broken and there were only some cracks in the window. The incident happened after the match while returning to the hotel.
    Police have told that some angry fans thought that it was the Bangladesh team bus!!! but it does not justify their act. Fans must realize that its a game and nothing more in the end.

    Chris Gayle tweeted "This is some bullshit.....Bangladesh stoning our bus!!! Freaking glass Break!!! This is crap,can't believe..what next bullets!!!! Kiss teeth" and

    "This is ridiculous!!! Damn!!! W Cup with so many security an this happen!! Big Joke!!! Trust me I'm not keen here!!! Av players lay flat!!!"

    And the ICC had informed players not to tweet during the course of the world cup, before the beginning of the tournament but it can be expected that ICC wont interfere here.
     Well everyone knew he was not too keen.....may be he should play it down a little. Its not like the hosting country is doing this on purpose. The security is always a issue in some parts of the world and he should try and live with it.

    New Zealand and West Indies register huge wins...

    The big teams beat the minnows of  the game comfortably to register huge wins. New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets while Windies beat Bangla by 9. Zimbabwe scored a 162 runs which was successfully chased without losing a wicket by Guptill and McCullum who scored unbeaten 86 and 76 respectively.
    Bangladesh on the other hand were woefully out of their skin as they folded out for a mere 58 runs within 20 overs as Roach and Sammy took 3 wickets each and Benn took 4 wickets.
    West Indies chased this total comfortably. This was the lowest total by Bangla in ODI's and the fourth lowest in the world cup history. The Bangla boys might be suffering from too much expectations at home.

    rani abhishek kissing scene!!!!


    Wednesday, March 2, 2011

    Kevin O'Brien hits fastest hundred to beat England

    Kevin O'Brien blasted the fastest hundred ever in the world cup in 50 balls to win the match against England and bring glory to Ireland in Bengaluru tonight. Ireland won off the first ball in the last over to complete the highest successful chase ever in the history of the world cups. Brien in the end made a superb 113 from 63 balls which included 13 fours and 6 huge sixes. It was probably one of the best batting displays which included a huge six off Anderson's over, which will definitely get listed in tournaments biggest sixes. At one stage chasing 328 to win, Ireland were 5 for 115 runs. Then the Kevin storm blew off England.
    England who batted first got to a big target of 327 runs . Trott missed out on a century scoring 92 runs while Bell made 81. KP made a half century too. But they were restricted in the final overs, they could have easily gotten 20 to 30 runs extra at one stage.

    England bowling continued to be wayward in an absolutely flat track and their fielding, pathetic dropping around 3 catches which cost them the match. Swann was the only good bowler for England picking up 3 wickets. Swann and KP dint field long as they had some niggles. Towards the end, Broad also had a problem in the Knee. England will have a horrid time if any of their players get injured.
    In the chase, for Ireland, Cusack made 47 runs to build a good partnership with Brien while Mooney finished the innings with a cool head.

    England 327 for 8( Trott 92, Bell 81)
    Ireland 329/7 in 49.1 overs( K Brien 113, Cusack 47, Swann 3-47) beat England by 3 wickets.

    Malinga's toe crushers destroy Kenya

    Malinga took his second hat trick of the world cup becoming the only bowler to have 2 hat tricks in the tournament. His previous was against SA in 2007. Malinga took 6 wickets overall and was the obvious choice for man of the match.
    Kenya batting first lost 2 wickets in 2 overs. Then the Obuya brothers offered lot of resistance batting for 30 overs but they could only manage 92 runs.At this run rate, they never looked good but they did manage to frustrate the Lankans. Malinga then dismantled the tail by taking a hat trick off his last 3 balls destroying the Kenyans completely. His toe crushers were so good that the Kenyan batsmen couldnt even see them before they took out their stumps.
    Chasing 142 runs to win, Lankans did it in style with a quick fire 44 from Dilshan and Tharanga's 67.They completed the chase in 18.4 overs losing just 1 wicket.

    Kenya 142 in 43.4 overs(C Obuya 52,D Obuya 51   Malinga 6 for 38)
    Sri Lanka 146 in 18.4 overs(Dilshan 44, Tharanga 67) won by 9 wickets

    Tuesday, March 1, 2011

    The 2.5m rule of doom

    UDRS which stands for umpire decision review system is a new system which based on technology helps in reviewing a decision given by the on field umpire. The teams will have 2 unsuccessful reviews per innings.
    The system has been under controversy from the word go. First it was ECB which opposed it and then the BCCI got against it. The system got under way as there were not enough boards opposing it.
    In the last match where India played England, Yuvraj bowled a ball which hit Ian Bell's pads and the on field umpire Billy Bowden ruled it as not out. Dhoni referred it and the tv umpire reviewed it and gave the decision back to Billy as the distance between the impact of the ball and the wicket was 2.5m and he ruled it as not out.

    The controversy is the 2.5m rule which says that if a batsman is outside crease for over 2.5m, then the tv umpire can rule it back to the on field umpire and he can choose either to go with his original decision or changing it.
    The gimmick is that the ICC says that hawk eye cant be trusted beyond 2.5 meters.
    If ICC is so sure that the rule cant  be a hundred percent  perfect then why using it? The UDRS in itself is good as it helps minimize the errors of the on field umpires and helps in keeping the game clean and makes it more fair.
    The problem for ICC is the hawk eye which is still not complete and i doubt if it is going to be perfect. ICC instead can use more reliable technologies like the snickometer and hot spot which are a 100pc perfect. Now ICC wants to save some money and that's why they dint install either hot spot or the snicko.
    ICC will have to pay up now with more controversy in the world cup.
    If the on field umpire had given it not out and if there was no review system, the players and the fans would not have gone against the UDRS and there would not have been any controversy as we believe that umpires can err and we can live with it.
    But if ICC wants to use technology, they better use the reliable ones which are already perfect and leave the LBW decisions to luck and the on field umpires accuracy unless there is an edge.

    India's Dilemma!!!

    Indian team has been touted as one of the best in the world cup and a lot of experts say they are one of the favorites to win the world cup. But India's performance in the first two matches has not been what the fans would have hoped for. Of course the win against Bangladesh was a big one in the first match, but it was not the perfect one.
    There are flaws in Indian armoury and everyone can see it. The problem India facing is not a new one, they have had for a very long time. But it becomes only evident when they play matches in competitive tournament.
    A draw against England, not a bad result but it showed India's weekness in team balance.
    Indian batting has been great and it will keep doing great until they start tinkering with the batting order. Dhoni's decision to send Yuvraj at 4 dint work as well as he had hoped for. Ofcourse he can give his prime player some chance and match practice but at what cost? Virat Kohli at 4 could have a better choice.
    The problem is, when Yuvi and MS got out, a lot depended on Yousuf Pathan to deliver the huge sixes in the last 2 overs. But you might say 338 was enough, but as Strauss showed, it was rather too close for comfort.
    Dhoni should stop promoting Yuvi up the order. The batsmen at positions 1 to 4 are perfect at their respective positions. And its Dhoni Yousuf who must hit a few boundaries in the end and not Virat Kohli. Dhoni and Yuvraj coming up the order against England was the difference between India's 370 against Bangla and 338 against England.


    The second problem is bowling. The selection is a huge problem here. Zaheer Khan is a regular and can be trusted completely. But other bowlers are causing big problems for Dhoni. The choice of second and third seamer is becoming more difficult. Nehra can become unfit at any point of the tournament and he is not built to play in long and gruelling cricket. Sreesanth can pick up wickets but he is a huge problem with his wayward line and character.
    The second spinner option doesnt work all the time. If the main spinners go for runs, the part time bowlers, who are  also spinners can be expected to get hit for a few. The hole in the armour is the flat pitches. The pitches must be made to support spin bowling rather than becoming batsmen's paradise. Indian bowlers always struggle to maintain a decent line and length and struggle to pick up wickets.They always depend on some assistance from the pitch and if the pitches become too flat, it will be difficult for India to win matches.
    The fielding, some might say is a problem, but really, they are doing what they have been doing and they have improved a lot. The fielding cannot be trusted but the batting must do a little bit more to provide cushion of 20 to 30 extra runs.
    Whatever they need to sort out its best they do it now itself. Hopefully they sort out their problems and peak at the right moment for the knock out rounds.

    Roach's hatrick propels Windies to a win !!!

    Kemar Roach took 6 wickets which included a hatrick in 32nd over which was incidentally the final over as Netherlands folded out for just 115runs. Cooper was the only one who offered some resistance with a well made 55 runs. Benn, the spinner took 3 important wickets in the early overs to spell doom for Netherland.
    Offered to bat first, by Netherlands on a pitch which kept low but was flat, West Indies made a par score of 330 runs. Gayle was the top scorer with a measured 80 runs off 110 balls which was very unlike him. This provided the much needed stability to the Windies batting line up.
    Pollard blasted the fastest 50 for West Indies, surpassing Lara's record scoring a blistering 60 runs off 27 balls which consisted of 5 fours and 4 huge sixes.

    Zimbabwe win against Canada

    Zimbabwe beat Canada comprehensively by 175 runs. Batting first, they posted a big total of 298 runs losing 9 wickets. The highlight was Captain Taibu's 98 runs and Ervine, who scored 85 to build the highest partnership ever for Zimbabwe with 181 runs. Balaji Rao for Canada took 4 wickets.

    Chasing this target on a spinners friendly track, Canada folded out for 123 runs .Price and Cremer took 3 wickets each. Taibu was the man of the match.