Semi Final Lapses - Two strong teams Choked on a big day

Pakistan did not do any magic to win the first semi final match. All they had to do was to wait and watch South Africans choke their way to a usual loss in an important encounter. No individual person was responsible for the loss from RSA; rather it’s the entire team which found its way to fall short of the chase by 7 runs.

Earlier in the first innings, they did everything right to restrict Pakistan to a score below 150. After a fantastic start provided by Afridi, who after a long time contributed with the bat. Younis Khan, as a captain puts high price on Shahid Afridi’s batting abilities and its really working for them. After such an innings, Pakistan’s score should have crossed 160 for sure. A brilliant bowling at the death by South Africans made sure that they have to chase an easy target of 149.

South Africa started off really well with Jacques Kallis finding boundaries at will and Greame smith rotating the strike and providing Kallis all the strike needed. One bad shot selection by Smith ensured he mistimed a pull shot into the hands of bowler. Shahid Afridi struck twice in the following over to get rid of Herschelle Gibbs and A B De Villiers cheaply. Herschelle Gibbs had no clue to the delivery from Afridi which picked his off stump. I have to say, the shot made the ball look stupendous. Gibbs played for the leg spin; the ball went on straight and beat the defense of his bat. A B De Villiers pulled the ball onto his stumps.

Then came the worst effort possible; the partnership between Kallis and Duminy was a match losing effort. They both decided in the middle that they should hold wickets in hand for Boucher and Morkel to come and finish in the end. What they could have done is rotated the strikes over and keep the score board ticking along. It was sad to see them pushing the required rate over 10 and no big shots all the while.

One could attribute such a run chase to nothing else other than CHOKING under pressure.

Other Semi final definitely promised a better clash before the match was actually played. Sri Lanka won the toss and T. Dilshan had a completely different plan compared to the rest of his team. The wicket was not at all conducive for the batsmen to play attacking shots. Jayasuriya got out after scoring 24 runs from 37 balls. That tells us the unfriendly nature of the wicket better than anything else. Dilshan is in top form for almost a year now. In the recently concluded IPL tournament and till now in the world cup, Dilshan is topping the batsmen’s list.

Though there were hiccups in the middle overs, Dilshan together with Chamara Silva and others ensured that they took the score past 150 mark. If that was for better, best was yet to come, when Mathews picked up three wickets in one over. All were clean bowled (Got to be kidding): the funny aspect was, it had got nothing to do with pace of Mathews, rather couple were inside edges and one off the pads onto the stumps.

Once they were 3 down for only one run, Chris Gayle was fighting a lone battle and even Chanderpaul and Sarwan could not help Gayle with their talent. Finally when they got all out for 101, the required rate was 13 runs per over and it was humanly impossible to achieve that. Muralidharan picked up 3 wickets and Mendis picked up two wickets.

Its Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan final on Sunday. Sri Lanka is better placed to lift the cup. But Pakistan definitely wants to prove a point to ICC by winning the tournament after the Terror attack episode in their country. They will come out hard on Sri Lankans. It will be an interesting final, though not equivalent to interest created for an India – Pakistan encounter. At this time, I am remembering India – Pakistan last T-20 world cup.

Thanks,

Prashy.

One mistake too many - Champions are Underdogs for Next world cup now

One of the important weaknesses that West Indies has brought out from the top order of Indian batting is “Short Ball and Bouncers”. In both of the completed Super 8 league, Indian top order were exposed to some serious short deliveries, even England Bowlers got the message and were pampering the top order with lots of it. Suresh Raina was the worst affected, when he could not hit the bouncer out of the ground. There were lots of mistimed pull shots from the top 4 batsmen. The fear factor has been created by West Indies and England nicely carried the same strategy into their match against India too. But should the exit be attributed to only this factor? I don’t think so.

During the first innings, Indians could not make things happen either with the ball or in the field against England. Zaheer and Ishant Sharma were pathetic, to say the least, but it was ensured that they get their full quota of overs. R P Singh had bowled 3 overs giving away 13 runs and yet somehow he was overseen by players on field. I mean it should have striked to Dhoni first; also any other player could walk up to Dhoni and say R P had another over to bowl. Both Harbhajan and Ravindra Jadeja had a wonderful outing with the ball. Apart from the two wide deliveries from Harbhajan, his spell was fantastic; considering he bowled two slog overs. Fielding was pathetic, rather it was very sluggish (I have to be very harsh: It really seemed over confident). Fielders like Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, and Yusuf Pathan were fielding with an air of arrogance. England batsmen were picking two runs whenever the ball went towards them in the deep. It was shame to watch, considering it’s a T-20 game and Fielding is such an important aspect.

As the old school of thought says, “Give the initial spell to the bowlers, spend time in the middle and then you can dictate terms to them”. Gambhir was trying to live up to that statement. But he got out at the wrong time which did not help the cause. Ravindra Jadeja came, saw, conquered the crease for a long time to ensure run chase is out of our hands. It’s sad, the way he played, after he has been trained so well to do similar job in T-20s for Rajasthan Royals. I won’t blame Yuvraj because he did nothing wrong. Dhoni and Yusuf were fighting a lost cause, when they were trying to do the impossible. But any viewer would admit only Yusuf Pathan could have brought us out of that mess and not Dhoni, because he has completely forgotten, how to score a Six. Big shots are out of Dhoni’s books.

Dhoni has got few of his moves wrong like not playing Praveen Kumar in the playing eleven. He is a street smart bowler who did really well in IPL. He swings the ball too and England conditions would have been ideal for this bowler. Praveen Kumar is no mug with the bat too. To me, he should have played instead of Ishant against West Indies. R P Singh ended as the best bowler in IPL tournament for Deccan Chargers and Dhoni did not play him in the crucial encounter against West Indies. When he played, he was not completely utilized. Also it was ridiculous to watch Dhoni tossing the ball again and again to Ishant to complete his quota of 4 overs, when he was leaking runs. Ishant Sharma does not possess good Yorkers and slower ones to make his spell look better. His bouncers were sitting nicely for batsmen to hook it or pull it for six. Yusuf Pathan should have come one slot ahead of M S Dhoni so that much needed acceleration would not have got pushed by an over. This particular aspect turned against us for the run chase.

The last match against South Africa was not even considered important for RSA to step into Semi finals. The match was a mere formality and in a square turner wicket, both the teams excelled in the bowling department really well and batting was just not on the cards. Indians can now focus on the one day series in West indies, where the selection will be re looked. Srikanth will definitely ensure that players like Murali Vijay, Badrinath get their chance in the squad.

I want to conclude by saying that Technicality issue (Indians not able to face Bouncers) was not alone the cause for exit from the world cup, but also the team selection and crucial moves (which turned out wrong) added to the cause for the early exit from the world cup. This Indian team is not so bad to lose all the three matches in Super 8 league.

Dhoni should continue to lead the Indian team, but this T-20 world cup will be a hard lesson for him so that he does not meddle with the batting line up too much. Bowling unit is also looking good and nobody can help when Injuries strike a team hard. I meant Virender Sehwag's shoulder injury.

In absence of India, my instinct says that West Indies will lift the cup. But on the day, teams like RSA, Pakistan and Sri Lanka can make any opponents go mad.

Thanks,

Prashy.

West Indies have brought out open India’s Weakness

Dhoni misses Sehwag at the top for sure. Gambhir, in the absence of Sehwag is altogether a different player. He is restricting his normal shot making somehow or at least his authority is absent in the middle. Rohit Sharma is in good form, but when he has a bad day, Indian’s top order collapses for sure, if top order collapses, Indians are having a bad day. Dhoni has not helped the team’s cause by shuffling the batting order in preliminary matches. It only made situation tough for Suresh Raina when he came at the top against West Indies.

Yuvraj’s innings was a legendary innings. An innings like the one he played against West Indies differentiates him from rest of the players in the world. He had to counter attack when the chips are down and at the same time build a partnership with other batsmen playing along. Dhoni failed miserably to stay till the end. Yusuf Pathan is really coming off age. He provided the able support which Yuvi needed at the most crucial juncture. Taking the score past 150 was no mean achievement, when your top order collapses like that.

West Indies’ fielding effort was simply out of the world. The catch to dismiss Gambhir by Simmons was one of the best and tough, simply because he had to run against the ball dropping in no man’s land and to pull it off so simply was stupendous. He took three catches and scored crucial runs and helped to chase down the score by having a partnership with Bravo.

Dwayne Bravo had a fantastic outing on the day. His 4 wickets, along with 66 not out was the best all round effort on the day. Gayle did a fantastic move to send him up the order ahead of Sarwan and Chanderpaul and Bravo grabbed it with both hands and played a blinder to make life difficult for Indians. Chanderpaul stepped in and provided Bravo the accelerator peddle to run through with the match, with lots of balls to spare.

A fantastic match and this has ensured that Indians have to play out of their skins just like the last world cup to come out of misery and be a part of Semi finals.

Lets see, whether they will live up to it.

Thanks,

Prashy.

A Walk through and A Collapse

The match for New Zealand against Ireland was a good practice match for their schedule against a test playing nation. They batted first and could not post a score past 200. It definitely seemed like they were focused to work their way past the target in mind. They fell short by 5 runs. Scott Styris, Redwood, Guptill all had a party in the middle. They were finding boundaries at their whims and fancies. Guptill dispatched couple of sixes way into the crowd and he was enjoying each of his hits beyond the boundary ropes.

Brendon Macullum again missed a golden chance to come good with the bat. But he was simply out of the world with his fielding skills. England ground conditions are so congenial for fielders like Macullum, one should come to the match especially to watch these people dive around and fly in the air to turn some half chances their way. Macullum took a blinder at covers and his two run outs were treat to watch for any cricket lover. The match was never interesting apart from the aspects mentioned above.

Other match of the day was interesting one, where it involved South Africans crushing England to death. England started off pretty badly losing three wickets for cheap runs. Fielding effort of RSA was top class. The catch by Van der merwe to dismiss English key batsmen, Kevin Pietersen was a stupendous effort indeed. Collingwood and Owais Shah put in a decent partnership to steady the ship. But both of them got out in quick succession to leave their team in disarray. They posted 111, which was no way enough to give a fight against South Africans.

Jaques Kallis was clinical with his experienced knock. He remained 59 not out and saw his team through in the low run chase. Gibbs gave a good support. England did pick few of RSA wickets during the end, but never was it close enough to provide a scare to their chase.

England has to play sensibly to create a chance for them in this cup. I actually do not see them in the semi finals simply because of the way they choke under pressure. Though Collingwood and Pietersen try their best to wipe off the criticism, they don’t have the bowlers to do the magic. They are missing Flintoff, who is a world class all rounder no doubt. I get a feeling that England board made him take rest for Ashes Series which is coming up against Aussies in next month. England always prefers their players to give importance to Test game rather than limited over match. T-20 will definitely not be a miss in that case.

South Africans, on the other hand have got their mix perfectly and they are clearly taking it match by match to eye the trophy. At this Juncture, this tournament is poised nicely. RSA are through to Semi finals. Sri Lanka has done themselves good by maintaining a winning streak.

Let’s see, what twists and turns we have in this world cup.

Thanks,

Prashy.

ICC World T-20 2009 – Surprise in early stages

I am more than Happy to re start my blog with much more intense updates of T-20 World cup. World cup has to be more passionate than IPL because of huge emotions involved as supporters of one's nation. For the respective Squad, its much more important, as they are few who have been chosen from their nation's pool of talents to represent and win the cup.

Coming to the tournament in particular, I believe time has gone when there was a practice where one of the teams in the pool just fills the schedule and two definite teams go to the Super 8 stage.

GROUP B :

Holland initially created a slump in England’s camp when they won a close match against them. England had to play out of their skins to win convincingly against Pakistan, which they did it with flair. Thanks to a brilliant batting display by Kevin Pietersen and good bowling performance, especially by Stuart Broad. It did ensure a comprehensive win and made sure that they are through to Super 8 leaving Pakistan to fight with Holland the same way. This particular pool’s matches were so interesting, thanks to Holland for that.

GROUP D:

Scotland was definitely the weak link in this Group. Results did show as per anticipated. South Africa Vs New Zealand was a typical T-20 match, went in to the last ball for the game to be decided. NZ made a mess of the match, credits to RSA for holding their nerve. They cannot reproduce similar performance in Super 8 stage, where they don’t have the option to look back at their performance and correct it. RSA tops this pool and thoroughly deserving too. They do have a great team to take this World cup home.

GROUP C:

Australians, especially Ricky Ponting would have always had a dream of exit when this group did not comprise of a Non – Test team. Both West Indies and Sri Lanka used that fear factor among Australians pretty well and had a good day against Aussies on their respective games. Chris Gayle was at his blistering best, when he smashed 88 which comprised of 6 sixes and as many fours in 50 balls. Jerome Taylor is a good asset for WIs, as he can create the havoc at the top with his Pace attack.

Sri Lanka won solely because of Mendis’ brilliance. Ponting, Watson, Mike Hussey all fell in the hands of Mendis. David Hussey, along with Mitchell Johnson and Bret Lee did post 160 for SL’s run chase. T. Dilshan, who is carrying his stupendous form from IPL, played some hard square cuts and a special scoop shot, which goes right behind the wicket keeper’s head. Kumara Sangakkara played a captain’s knock. He made sure that Aussies felt the pain by his mere presence, while likes of Mubarak could play the big shots at crunch times to show Aussie the gate way home.

They went on to top the group by beating West indies by a good margin. Jayasurya had a fantastic outing along with T. Dilshan. These two openers have to be watched out for, cause on their day, they can brutalise any attack. West Indies did not have a bad day either as they chased down the target really well. Dwyane Bravo is a wonderful all rounder in world cricket at present and he is going to prove his worth in this platform for sure.

GROUP A:

Indians are yet to face tough opponents in this tournament. Bangladesh Vs Ireland match was the one, people would have expected some abnormality. And it was provided by Ireland, when O’ Brien brothers chased a modest 138 runs in 20 overs. Bangladesh was disappointing on the day as they failed to post a score close to 150 or 160, which would have provided their bowlers the mental strength to clean up Ireland.

So, at the end of preliminary rounds, Australia's exit was the biggest shock and Bangladesh, having earned the test status, is paving way for teams like Ireland to join the test playing nation's group by allowing them to move to the next stage of the cup, where Competition is fierce. I actually do not see Ireland upsetting any other team, thereby one match is walk through for certain teams. But, I would be glad if they upset some team's points table thereby India gets a clean chit to Semi finals. :-)

Thanks,

Prashy.

Deccan chargers - Charged all the way

IPL is viewed as a definite marketing tool by Lalit modi and his team. Season 1, the team which was not given any hope by viewers nor money was put into by corporates, went on to win the tournament (Rajasthan Royals). Season 2 had a similar story into it. Hyderabad Deccan chargers, who ended up at eighth place in season 1, went on to win the tournament. If IPL is all about unpredictability, let's all take a calculative move and mention Kolkata Knight riders would be the winners of epidode 3 next year. Lalit Modi is a fantastic Marketing guy and a separate case study could be drawn on him.

Now, about the match in particular, Hyderabad Deccan chargers wanted to win it and it really showed on the entire team that they had a common goal. Be it Gibbs' fighting 53 not out, Symonds' counter attack when the chips are down, Harmeet singh's magic spell and his scintillating catch in the deep, whole fielding effort, Gilchrist's flashy stumping to get rid of Virat kohli who was looking dangerous: there was only one message to the viewers that they wanted to win.

Earlier, Kumble adopted the same strategy of putting the opponents into bat after winning the toss. It was a killer punch move when he brought himself on with the new ball. The intention was to take the pace off and it richly paid dividends. What a way to scalp Gilchrist off the third ball. Kumble ensured that Deccan will set a score which could be easily chasable. After the first over, Kumble removed himself off the attack. Next part was when Symonds came up with a counter attack, which Australians are known for. Again Kumble brought himself onto the attack, this time picking Symonds, unlucky though to pull the ball onto the stumps. Rohit Sharma steadied the ship and just at a time when he was planning for big shots, Kumble deceived him and made Rohit play a false shot and Manish Pandey took a fantastic diving catch in long off. Venugopal Rao in Deccan's team is exactly equivalent to Uthappa in RCB's team. First ball, he tried to loft kumble out of the ground when he clearly knows, that's the last ball of Kumble's spell. You have got to accept that it was a Senseless, Irresponsibe shot.

All this was happening and Herschelle Gibbs was crafting his way to a match saving fifty initially and later was decided as match winning innings, when RCB failed to chase down the score. One of the important lapses of the day was when Rahul Dravid dropped a sitter in slips of Symond's bat edge. RCB's bowling effort was all about Kumble and his switching of bowlers at different stages of the game. Praveen kumar was a dissappointment on the day.

Second innings was all about Gilchrist's men. Their fielding effort was out of the world. Gibbs in Point, Rohit sharma in square cover region and Symonds in covers : What a challenge for RCB's openers to pierce that gap. I remember five boundaries were saved in that region when the new ball was in opeartion. RP Singh and Ryan harris bowled with great fire and precision. Just because a huge wall was built by the three fielders on the off side, Kallis had to pull the ball from wide outside the off stump and he dragged it onto his stumps. A fielding effort can bring a false stroke from the batsmen. Thats an example for the viewers.

Manish Pandey was put into pressure through some verbal spats on the ground and it was irritating to see Symonds walk upto him each and every ball and giving the baby a tough time. He also perished to the first ball bolwed by Ojha. I see Pragyan Ojha ahead of Harbhajan in coming T-20 world cup. Hope Dhoni backs this youngster because this guy is maturing day by day. Van der Merwe provided the much needed big hits to keep RCB in the hunt. He was out to a teaser from Ojha, VD Merwe stepped out and went for a huge six, missed the ball completely and Gilli finished the formalities.

There was great expectations from Rahul Dravid for coming up with another special knock. He got out to an irresponsible shot too. There was no short fine leg to try the paddle shot. He went for it and missed his leg stump. Kumble would have been disappointed with Dravid for sure. The turning point of the match to me was the Flashy stumping to get rid of Virat Kohli. Literally Heart would have skipped a beat while watching it live. Kohli is in striking form and his wicket was more priced than Ross Taylor yesterday. It was sheer brilliance of Gilchrist's glove work which turned the match.

Robin Uthappa could have made use of the opportunity to wipe off the criticism hanging on his head. Instead he chose the easier way out. Heroes emerge out of that situation and Uthappa preferred to be a Zero. R P Singh bowled fantastic last two overs and he was very calm under that extreme tense situation. Harmeet singh proved to Gilchrist and to the world, why he was picked for the important matches than many sitting in the bench. He picked Rahul and Boucher and gave away 23 runs in his 4 overs. Effort was well appreciated by Gilchrist, when he came all the way upto him to Mid off, shook his hands and went back to work.

Great match for cricket lovers, heart breaker for RCB supporters and best way to end for IPL season 2.

I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts during this IPL Season 2. A kind request for whosoever followed my blog to leave a comment about the way it was presented. You are more than welcome to communicate whatever you wish to. I bet it will not stop with this. Next focus would be T-20 world cup. I am happy that I started at the right time where I was provided the opportunity to share lots of stuff.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Clinically operated and removed - RCB through to finals

Credits to the bowling effort of RCB, which ensured a comfortable win against Chennai.

Parthiv patel, for a change was aggresive partner and going great guns. Mathew hayden played second fiddle to Parthiv. Their partnership nicely set the tone for the likes of MS and Raina to come and set a decent score for RCB to chase. MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order to play a steady role till the end. He came ahead of Raina and he was exactly maintaining the momentum needed. Earlier, Mathew Hayden mistimed one of the lofted shots straight into the hands of Manish Pandey off the bowling of R.Vinay kumar. Parthiv Patel immeditely followed behind Hayden.

Dhoni, in his post match interview said, he and Raina got out at wrong times. That's exactly the reason for failing to set a good score. Albie Morkel and Oram had 100 plus strike rates, but from one of them Dhoni expected to have strike rate close to 275, which would have taken the score to 160. Not having enough runs to bowl with, could prove costly as it happened in the crucial match (Semi finals).

Ofcourse, credit should be given to Anil Kumble who mixed his bowlers really well throughout the 20 overs. He exactly used five bowlers of 4 each, which rarely happens in a T-20 game these days. It only explains the role Kumble sets for his top priority bowlers. Winning the toss and bowling first, Kumble couldn't have asked anything better from his bowlers. Praveen Kumar, Kallis and Van der Merwe bowled tight spells of 4 overs at different stages of the game. Kumble has lot of confidence in R.Vinay Kumar, which Kevin pietersen failed to project. He bowled a fantastic last over giving only 6 runs, picking Oram's wicket.

When it comes to RCB's batting effort, the partnership between Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid sealed the match. Kumble knows about Dravid better than anybody else. Two quick wickets, he sends in Rahul to steady the innings and Dravid takes the opportunity and came up with a partnership which was very vital at that stage of the game. He guided Manish Pandey brilliantly. The shot Manish Pandey played to get out shows how much pressure it would be inside. That would tell more the importance of two batsmen putting together a partnership during a run chase.

Dravid played a fantastic innings. He ensured one boundary is got every over and kept the singles and twos rolling. He allowed Manish Pandey to play his natural game through his able guidance. Dravid's trademark on-drives through mid wicket was visible and he provided the urgency required for the run chase throughout his innings. When he got out, he had already set things for Ross taylor and Boucher.

Kumble sent in Virat Kohli ahead of Ross Taylor and Boucher, which tells about this experienced pro, that he has tremendous confidence in his youngters. Its not about big names, but about roles that is set for each individuals. Having shown that confidence, look at what Kohli could do. He came up with crucial sixes to finish the match earlier than Dhoni would have anticipated. Also Kumble did not demoralise Robin Uthappa. He did pick him in the eleven, but he is part of the winning combination. He has kept him in place during his current form. Past records do not matter to Kumble.

My initial post was "Who better than Rahul and Kumble to change Bangalore's fate". Till date, it holds good. They should have one more good day to finish as IPL Season 2 Champions.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Gilli kills Delhi

Anybody who missed the run chase of Deccan chargers against Delhi, missed one of the great innings ever played. Adam Gilchrist may have retired from Australian cricket, but he can never retire from the hearts of millions who would have watched that innings. It was as if he saved his best for such a match.

Deccan chargers had a clear plan in mind about this clash. Atleast we all should accept that they brilliantly executed the plans. Dirk Nannes is undoubtedly the ace bowler for Delhi so far. He was butchered by Gilchrist in his first over. 5 Consecutive boundaries. Each of the shot was better than last one played. A pull shot in front of mid wicket, a classical straight drive, upper cut over point boundary, a copy book cover drive and an elegant on drive. This is best example of showing one's range of strokes in short span of one's innings (5 balls). There is no slogging what so ever. Nannes' spell is disturbed. He was brought into attack again on 11th over after a strategic time out. Symonds was taking the attack to him and butchered him for two boundaries. Sehwag's alternate plans did not come off too.

Ashish Nehra was helped by Herschelle Gibbs, when he played an horrendous shot to get bowled out. Bilakhia was sent up the order to play a support role for Gilli.

Gilchrist continued his flare even better. Pradeep sangwan's first three balls to Gilli disappeared into the fence at a much faster pace than bowled. His six over mid wicket was a blow to all the players on field. Sehwag tried all options to stop Gilchrist. He brought on Dilshan, who bowled one good over by giving away 3 runs from it. Sehwag got a feeling that it might be part time bowler's day. He brought himself on and it turned out to be a disastrous move. An excellent cover drive off a no ball followed by three sixes was the least Sehwag would have anticipated.

There were couple of free hit deliveries on offer, both were dispatched by Gilchrist over the boundary line. Symonds was also in his brutal touch. He scored 24 runs off 15 balls, dispatching a six off Amit mishra. T.Suman played a polished innings along with Rohit Sharma to ensure a comfortable win. Pick of the bowler for Delhi was Amit Mishra on the day.

Earlier, when Delhi batted first, they started off very badly losing two wickets in first over, both Gambhir and Warner out for a duck. Sehwag and Dilshan did the repair work and at the end of the tenth over, Delhi was comfortably placed at 83 for 2. After the strategic time out, Delhi lost Sehwag and that to me, was a crucial blow. Once his wicket fell down, Delhi was focussing on keeping wickets till the end for a final onslaught. That strategy turned disaster for them. AB De villiers got out just when he was trying to accelerate. Dinesh karthik failed to complete their innings on a high. Dilshan lost strike most of the time and his momentum somehow got disturbed. All this added up to posting a score which Deccan would settle for, considering their plans for the chase. 153 was definitely achievable in a way that one of their opening batsmen should play a Gilchrist type innings. They were more than satisfied when Gilchrist himself played a Gilchrist type innings.

I feel sad for Delhi Daredevils because this is the second IPL season in succession they are getting knocked off in semi finals. Probably Mcgrath factor was missing, but inspite of his absence they did win convincingly in previous matches. But Mcgrath is a big match player and Sehwag could have considered him. He mentioned in the interview that he tried everything to stop Gilchrist, but I will end this article by saying he did not try Mcgrath.

Thanks,

Prashy.

A Quick Look at Head to Head scenario in Semi finals

Delhi Daredevils Vs Hyderabad Deccan Chargers

• Two teams with great batting strength all the way.
• Sehwag and Gambhir Vs Gilchrist and Gibbs, Cannot get better and bigger than this. Four great opening batsmen world cricket has seen.
• Middle order of both the team are in good shape. AB De Villiers, Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik have equally achieved what Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Dwayne smith have achieved for Hyderabad
• Nannes and Ashish Nehra is the best Opening bowling pair of this IPL. Whereas RP Singh has struggled all the way to find a good pair opposite him. But Delhi have to watch out for part time bowlers in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma has picked up 11 wickets in this tournament already.
• Pragyan Ojha - Watch out for this lad, as his confidence is so high after he got picked up in India's T-20 squad for world cup.
• Two bowlers from Hyderabad are running neck to neck for best bowler award in IPL season 2. RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha, both are in dream run, so confident about their bowling.
• Deccan should not discount the idea of Mcgrath stepping in for semi finals. They have to back up their plan with this thought too.
• Australians and South africans have the will to deliver at the extreme pressure situations. I mean big matches like semis and finals. So watch out for Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds and Mcgrath (if he plays).
• Dinesh Karthik should be targeted by Deccan, simply for the reason that he can bat along with tail enders and could still score 10 runs per over or more in the end.

Chennai Vs Bangalore

• Dhoni's efficiency Vs Kumble's experience
• Mathew Hayden, Suresh Raina and Dhoni are key to post a huge score for Chennai.
• Kallis, Dravid, Boucher and Ross Taylor are crucial for RCB to win the game.
• Match would be very interesting when the likes of Parthiv Patel, Morkel and Oram come good with the bat for Chennai and similarly if Virat Kohli and Robin Uthappa come good for RCB
• Bowling strengths of the two teams are more or less similar. Albie Morkel for Chennai and Praveen kumar for RCB are very crucial as they both have proved effective with the new ball. They both kept on knocking the openers of opponents.
• Muralidharan vs Kumble is another clash which would be interesting to watch. Both knows the importance of middle overs in a T-20 form. They would be bowling in tandem with other spinners in their respective side to turn the match. Jakati for Chennai has been the best support bowler for Murali, whereas Anil Kumble found Appanna and Van der merwe as able support along with him.
• Manish Pandey's innings of 114 n.o would not have come at a better time for himself. Anil Kumble would be more than happy to send him along with Kallis for opening the innings in Semi finals.
• Both Kumble and Dhoni believe in youngsters delivering the goods. They pep them really nice to come out with stand out performances.
• Jacob Oram could serve Dhoni just like a timed bomb ready to explode during a semi final match. If he has a good day, rest assured RCB will have a bad day.
• Boucher's brilliance has revived RCB from tough situations. He might do that again.
• Mike Hussey is back in the squad for selections. Will Dhoni risk his team mix and bring in Hussey ? Wait and watch. I hope he does not do that.
  

All the above factors mentioned would make the Semi finals really exciting to watch.

I would cherish Chennai lifting the trophy. But we had already noted how evenly matched the teams are and anything could happen from this stage.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Delhi Daredevils - Success suits this team

At the end of their quota of matches, they were unbeatable side. Lets not take into account of one off matches. I meant their tally of 4 losses out of 14. This side has really gelled well as a cohesive unit. Sehwag and Gambhir have struck forms at the right time before the T-20 world cup. Even when they were not doing well in initial matches, they had a fantastic middle order to pile up huge scores. T.Dilshan is in stupendous form throughout so far. A B De villiers is a definite asset to them. Setting a target or chasing down one, AB did it for them. Surprise factor was Dinesh Karthik, who hit purple patch throughout. He was fantastic with his cameos many a time. When Sehwag was missing from certain matches, they had Warner (New Australian sensation) who could join hands with Gambhir and set the tone.

Other than these heroes, they had some domestic names like Mithun Manhas, Manoj Tiwary who grabbed their chances whenever opportunity was provided. One could have easily spotted the domestic guy's performances when it comes to Delhi team's bowling performance in this season 2. Pradeep sangwan is easily my best choice of bowler from Indian domestic scene, for his repeated good performances. He is a smart bowler and I would love to see this guy represent India in future. He has the age by his side. He could have moulded himself with the able support of Glenn Mcgrath, who is sitting in the bench (Much to many viewer's shock, I should say).

Ashish Nehra and Nannes (from Australia) have been the best bowling pair in this IPL so far. Whenever Avishkar Salvi, Yo Mahesh and Rajat Bhatia came in to grab their chance, they proved handy to the bowling unit. Their side was blessed to have Daniel Vettori by their side. He is a true legend and he showed it yet again to the world, what class, he can bring in to the game of cricket.

Glenn Mcgrath and Collingwood (who left the side half way through) did not play in a single match so far. I do not see Sehwag bringing Mcgrath into the side for the semi finals. For the simple reason that he wants his best combination in bowling without Mcgrath. Its a funny statement because I could not picture Mcgrath sitting out of any cricket XI, but here in IPL, he never set foot on the cricket ground for 14 matches. Is Mcgrath fine about it ? Only Sehwag should tell. He is making his team click without Mcgrath's heroics. Mcgrath is behind this success for sure, as he is passing on his experience to domestic bowlers, but anyday I would pay to watch him roll his arms and bring down the stumps.

Fielding effort is also a plus for this champion team. AB De villiers easily leads this fielding side. Warner is quick across the turf. Dilshan is a fantastic outfielder and one of the punters in modern cricket. There are few indians who are young and exuberant and that fills the fielding hiccups. I have to say that Delhi Daredevils is a strong contender for the championship this time.

All they have to do is to have couple more good matches like they had so far, they will see themselves lifting the trophy. But one hiccup on the wrong time, all their effort so far would be bad mouthed by many stating that this team is a Choker. South African team carries the same name when it comes to World cup. I hope Delhi does not want to end up that way.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Rajasthan Royals - Not so Royal against Knight riders

As I had already mentioned in one of my posts, a team which gets all out or loses most of wickets in this T-20 version cannot have a good day as RR found against KKR. Shane Warne and his men really tried hard to stay in the competition. Making them struggle at 45 for 6, while chasing 102 was a tremendous fight. But what they knew and realised was that KKR needed one good partnership to finish on a high. Ajit Agarkar and L R Shukla, much to their own surprise did it for KKR.

Earlier, while batting first, Rajasthan Royals never had a decent partnership. Their running between the wickets was pathetic. Three run outs was unacceptable. One should have observed Shane Warne's reaction when Yusuf Pathan (Warne's trump card) got run out. Warne was so disappointed that some were made to feel that RR lost the match at that moment. He knows his team's strength completely and he started to go through the motion silently. He probably would have expected the unexpected. But it was definitely not his time.

I would like to mention that Shane Warne's influence on Indian cricket has grown multifold and we all should thank IPL for this setup. Who knows, Warne might be fit enough to continue in Season 3 of IPL too. Age is no bar for this legend. He is very strong in mind, just like Anil Kumble for India. I would love to see these two in action again in IPL Season 3. I may be asking them too much to deliver. But they can come back and laugh on my face, if they feel so.

Its good for the tournament in a way that new champions will emerge out of this IPL Season 2. This also ensures that RCB would have to fight only against Kings XI for a place in semi finals. Kings XI, having lost to chennai in their last league are more or less out of the tournament, because RCB should have such a bad day against Deccan, that their run rate falls way below Punjab. I do not see that happening. Also, if RCB wins, they and Deccan are through anyways.

KKR, who was playing to restore their pride, was all keen to win some matches. Last 2 matches, they did play outstanding cricket. Their win definitely sealed the fate of RR. Shah Rukh would be happy that some other owners joined him. He would probably worry about next year's team composition, foreign coach, support staff, some more foreign players who would be in form at that moment, best performers of IPL 2 from KKR.

Few learning curves for Shah rukh would be,

• Stay with the team during tough times.
• Remove John Buchanan out of his team for a better future.
• Talk less with Dada who has the lust for power. I have to justify my point here. Dada did not contribute for KKR in any way. Something is definitely bothering him. I guess its multi captaincy theory, which never came into practice.
• Cheer leaders are no way entertainment for the players, they are entertainment for the public. First Shah rukh should realise that and then he should also not include cricketers to select on them.
• Tough one for him to practice. Still he can lessen the hype for himself and for his team, so that performance improves.

Lets see if he does any of the above mentioned in next season.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Eventful day - Mumbai Knocked out, Chennai confirms Semi finals birth and Deccan chargers hangs on to the ropes before falling off the cliff

At the end of match between Mumbai indians and Chennai super kings, two things got confirmed. Chennai confirming themselves a place in the semi finals and Mumbai knocking themselves out of IPL Season 2. I have to come harsh on Mumbai Indians as I was supporting this team for championship. They had their chances in lot of the matches and they blew it up for lots of reasons which probably they could correct it in IPL season 3. Sachin and Sanath, deadly opening combination followed by one of the best all rounder Bravo, J P Duminy and Abhishek Nayar (Mumbai Sensation), Lasith Malinga, the slinger looked good enough. But Sachin disrupted lots of it as the tournament proceeded along and now they find themselves out. Sad, but no pity - That explains the reaction of supporters of Mumbai.

I have to say, Mumbai also failed to use the wonderful support staff that they had with them. Shaun pollock could have done some magic with the ball himself rather than trying to mould some domestic cricketers. Lasith Malinga and Bravo were good. But domestic bowlers were pretty ordinary. Jonty Rhodes' fielding tips and useful batting tips did not bring out the best in many. As far as fielding, each and every team has faltered, so no big compliants. Batting brilliance of domestic cricketers were missing completely.

Chennai on the other hand is using all these matches to get their combinations right. Their opening pair is still a worry for Dhoni. M. Vijay and Parthiv Patel have been tried back and forth along with Hayden. Once Badrinath was also sent in along with Hayden. It has not clicked so far. They have couple of matches to go and they are in a strong position already. They can try out some options and provide everybody equal opportunity to select themselves for semi finals and finals. Manpreet Goni, Makhaya Ntini would definitely play for the remaining two matches. Jacob Oram could be sent up the order to make him find his lost form. It would be ideal time for him to come good.

Hyderabad Deccan charger's match against KKR was another thriller in this Season. 21 runs off last over, Rohit sharma finishing off with a six off the last ball, was a great sight for any cricketing fan. One should have enormous self confidence to come up with such a performance. One would have put a bet on Symonds finishing the match and when he got out, there was Rohit Sharma who kept everybody stuck to the television like a glue. Something told me that Rohit is going to come up with a special knock. He did not disappoint us. I pity Macullum, not KKR team for this blow over and over again. Somebody takes the responsibility from KKR team in each match to actually hand over the match to the opponents. With this kind of performance, I even think they should not have won even one match.

On the other hand, Deccan chargers have saved themselves the worry of knocking themselves out. Two matches to go for them, one win and chart would be re prepared and their RAC status will vanish and confirmation would be seen.

Gilchrist is also getting his combinations right. He has to play both Gibbs and Symonds in the playing eleven to provide his team a chance for the championship. Right now, he himself is in tremendous striking form. He does not allow the captaincy part to rule his batting methods. Thats a tough one to practice, but Gilchrist is a true master in that.

The tournament is really getting a good shape, if evenly balanced team like Chennai, Delhi, Deccan fight in the semifinals. Lets wait and watch, who will join these three teams in clash of four. My bet is on Rajasthan Royals. But Kings XI and RCB are banging the doors too. This tournament is heading for a great climax.

Thanks,

Prashy.

RCB - Waiting list for Semi finals birth

The tournament is evenly poised and there are three teams genuinely fighting for a berth in semi finals. RCB wonderfully chased down the runs in back to back matches aginst KKR and CSK. The guy who pulled it off for RCB, hands down, was Ross taylor. What a perfect time to put your hand up and say, I Belong here.

KKR could not win the match against RCB after having set one of the toughest run chase in IPL. But their bowlers were utterly disappointing on the day. Ajit Agarkar - Is he ever known for some match winning performance with the ball ? I do not recollect. I do not want to be harsh on Ajit, but oh my god! he is an over rated bowler. How in the GOD's name, he played for India so long, all I could think of, for an answer would be, Saurav Ganguly backing this guy all the time.

Full toss, on top of full toss, feeding to Ross Taylor, who took each of those chances to bludgeon it over the bondary lines. Macullum would have thrown the ball to Ajit Agarkar simply for the reason that Ajit is better equipped to handle such pressure cooker situation and he would have been his obvious choice. What he never realised, all Ajit has in his armoury, is nothing but mediocre full tosses and loads of experience on the same. I remember lots of ODIs where Ajit Agarkar has come up with such abysmal bowling performances in the past. Inspite of him, some youngster could have been moulded by Macullum for the death bowling and his job would have been done.

Credit should not be taken away from Ross taylor and Mark Boucher, two great finishers on the day. Boucher is a guy who was moulded by the south africans for these kind of run chases, to stay in the end and see through the team. Ross taylor had the perfect partner to do just that.

The match against Chennai super kings was half won by RCB in the first innings, when after Hayden's wicket, they stopped the run flow by picking rest of the wickets. You got to have a bad day mostly, when your team gets all out in a T-20 game. Chennai Super kings was at the receiving end this time from RCB. What was so heartening to see is, CSK making a match out of it and pushing RCB to win the match in last but one delivery. It was 130 runs to chase. Again, thanks to Ross taylor, who kept the run chase interesting during tough times.

Virat Kohli had a good partnership with Ross taylor, which set it up for tail enders to finish the match, though not easily. Virat Kohli, in comparison with Robin Uthappa makes a conscious effort to prove his talent to the world. Consistency is the difference between a good player and great player. Virat Kohli will learn it over time. He still has long way to go in his career. He has definitely got the opportunity to do it again and again now. Just play around with Dravid, Kallis, Ross Taylor and Boucher, you know what it takes to achieve the unachievable.

Kumble has got the right mix, he has to believe that Uthappa should click at right time. I would like this team to be part of top 4, if they play the same way. They have got to win the remaining two matches of theirs. We might see them piping Deccan chargers or Rajasthan Royals out of the league. Kings XI punjab is in same position as RCB.

Lets wait and watch for the Top 4.

Thanks,

Prashy.

You have got to learn it from the Australians and South Africans......

Take any form of the game - From a shorter version to longer version, Aussies and South Africans have established aggressive way to play Cricket. They want be on top of the game all the way. When it comes to batting, they will demoralise an attack. Mathey Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson all have made their mark in IPL with some scinitillating knocks already. From South Africa, we have Herschelle Gibbs, AB De Villiers, Boucher, Kallis, Duminy who were awesome too.

Mathey Hayden has never changed his batting methods throughout his career. Whole world has seen the Macho striker in action. Chennai is blessed to have him in their side. Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs opening pair is best in IPL so far. Gilchrist has a good batting technique which he uses to strike the ball hard. With the return of Andrew symonds, the batting order looks ominous for Deccan chargers. Andrew Symonds made an announcement that he belongs in IPL Season 2 by scoring 36 ball 60 runs in his first match. Shane Warne is definitely missing Watson's flair with the bat and ball. These guys never allow the bowlers to dictate terms to them. Counter attack is the best form of defense for these guys.

A B De villiers has already scored an individual hundred in T-20 version. Gibbs has won several matches single handedly for Deccan chargers. J P Duminy has scored 4 fifties already in 8 matches played by Mumbai indians. Boucher and Kallis are the key players along with Dravid, who can keep Bangalore's hope alive.

The thing that one has to learn from these players are not their style of batting, rather the attitude that they carry on field. I am talking about learning part for the youngsters (Domestic) who are blessed to play along with these guys. Out of the names mentioned above, Symonds, AB De villiers, J P Duminy and Herschelle Gibbs, all these guys are tremendous fielders too. Running between the wickets also would be of high standard.

India's bench strength is really growing. IPL has ensured commendable fitness levels amongst Indian players. Though the schedule might question their physical fitness, once the IPL gets over, the youngsters will be able to put into practice everything that they learnt from foreign players.

Guys from West indies are also doing well in IPL. Chris Gayle, Bravo, Dwyane smith and Fidel edwards did well, but not to the extent of Aussies. KP and Flintoff from England, the two highly paid IPL heroes, did not live up to their potential. Collingwood did not get to play a single match. I have to question Sehwag's selection of 11 players here. Maharoof, Glen Mcgrath along with Collingwood has not stepped into a cricket field representing Delhi team. What's running in Sehwag's mind, only he knows. He and Gambhir are backing Nannes and Dilshan, who are effective. In place of these two, Mcgrath and collingwood could have played few matches. Results would not have got a hit anyways, as these two guys know the role expected out of them. I believe, Mcgrath and Collingwood knows their roles better than Sehwag.

Dhoni and his men in the upcoming T-20 world cup will definitely be favourites if they step into a cricket field with a positive attitude and self belief. By sharing dressing rooms with top players from rest of the world, they would have had a different view to the game. Dhoni, by nature has got that australian attitude in-built in him. He could definitely give a sense of direction to all of his team mates.

The 14 member Indian squad that was announced a week earlier is spot on. Each of the player in that list deserves a place in the squad. They all have got the attitude to take on any opponents under any circumstance. Thanks to IPL. The schedule of this event could not have been better for the indian team. Apparently, these 14 have learnt it from Aussies and RSA and right now, together, can destroy Australian and South African team.

Similarly, second wing team is also getting groomed nicely. Apart from the money aspect involved in IPL, I am happy with the way the objectives of indian team is achieved.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Chennai Super Kings - Hot Favourites

For many reasons, I could see Chennai lifting the cup in IPL Season 2.

For starters, they have Mr. Cool captain on their side. M S Dhoni is a wonderful captain in world circuit at present and gives a confidence to viewers that he will always remain as a perfect leader. The obvious reason for the statement is how he has total control over his emotions at any stage of the game. He is a captain who does the hard work of getting to know his resource really well and then how well he understands different versions of the game and strategies required for each. It does not stop there. He understands Opponents strengths really well and plans his moves.

At the end of the match against Rajasthan Royals, Dhoni made a statement in the interview that he needed one of the left hander in his side to tackle Shane Warne really well. That was a wonderful statement, simply for the reason that it did not involve or single out a particular batsmen in the side to take the onus. Idea was thrown open to his left handed batsmen and he was glad that Mathew Hayden could pick up that responsibility and by the time Shane Warne picked up Hayden's wicket, the match was over. Shane warne's thorough focus on Hayden allowed the likes of Badrinath to play a silent killer innings at the other end. At the end of the match, Shane warne would have felt that he had overfocussed on Hayden.

Mathew hayden is in the best of his form. The next in line for an Orange cap in IPL Season 2 is Suresh Raina who is also form Chennai super kings. These two are crucial for Chennai's fate in any of the match played. If they hit purple patch on their day, opponents have to look mediocre. Dhoni's batting woes initially in the tournament is set right when he promoted himself up the order in the match against deccan chargers. Two back to back fifties has created fears in other 7 team's camps.

His use of S. Badrinath for team's benefit was perfect. Whenever two quick wicket falls, he sends in Badri to steady things in the middle. Badrinath has had a wonderful outing till date and his innings to chase down a target against Warne's plans was treat to watch. Albie Morkel still has to show his magic with the bat. Who knows, probably he is holding it for big matches at the end. His bowling is spot on. Jacob Oram, along with Albie morkel could turn match 360 degrees in span of few deliveries.

Oh! Makhaya Ntini is never used in the tournament I guess. He is a force to reckon with. L.Balaji, according to me, is a street smart bowler. His slower ones are tough to pick. Jakati has learnt the nuances and delivers what Dhoni needs. He, along with Muralidharan is picking wickets and stops the run flow at crucial stages of the match. Sudeep Tyagi is a surprise package so far. The day he disappoints, Dhoni will easily switch his option to Manpreet Goni.

Raina puts his hand up, when it comes to fielding efforts. Badrinath is a swift mover too. Oram, Morkel and Balaji are very good boundary liners. That takes care of the fielding woes.

So, All is well for Chennai. Its just that it has to end well.

Go Chennai Go, all the way to the cup.

Prashy.

MUMBAI INDIAN (SACHIN) or MUMBAI INDIANS Failure

Sachin Tendulkar - God of Cricket, desparately tries hard to prove his captaincy worth. If we all go back to early captaincy days, there was always a compliant that Sachin did not have a good enough resource in his side. But IPL season 1 and Season 2 so far has only shown that his leadership is way below the levels expected.

Let's take the match that was played against Delhi daredevils. Sachin Shuffled the batting order in a way it could have never helped his team to fight the odds. Sending himself down the order was not a comfort move, because he has never done that, representing India. As a hardcore fan of Sachin, Least I expected of him was to step down the order and show to the opponents that he is upset about setting a target.

Next, was to send J P Duminy as an opening batsman. Agreed, Duminy is still young in his career, but he has done well in the middle order all these while. To try him in opening slot, when you pretty well know that he is your ace batsmen, was not a smart move as well. Harsha Bhogle, in his commentary, was all supportive for Sachin and his moves. According to me, when the chips are down, a captain should take all the onus on himself and produce a match winning innings. Sachin did not show that colour in IPL season 2. He did play some quality innings in first few matches, but it would show high of his captain's abilities, if he comes up with great knocks and pulls his team to the Semi finals stage. Which, I think is hard for Mumbai Indians.

Sachin, of late has played tremendous innings for India. Its only because, he is enjoying his game. This captaincy is not allowing him to, rather never allowed him to enjoy the game. Captains like Dhoni, Shane Warne, Gilchrist, Ricky ponting always goes by their instincts and that helps a team more. Sachin's strategies will help himself better and in turn his batting. At most it helps the man who plays along with him during a phase of a partnership. But as a captain, he has loads of strategies and ends up picking the wrong one for the situation.

Chennai Super kings are back to winning ways, just because M S Dhoni promoted himself up the order and took it on his own shoulders to fight the odds. Sachin lacks it there. Bringing himself onto the attack and giving away 20 runs in an over at the most crucial juncture of the game will put him low down in front of his own team members.

Apart from captaincy, Mumbai Indians have other issues surrounding them too. There is no special player from domestic who is young and could make things happen for the side. Rajasthan Royals has Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja alongside. Hyderabad Deccan chargers have T. Suman and Rohit Sharma. Chennai has S.Badrinath & Raina. Mumbai has Abhishek Nayar. But Abhishek Nayar has only come good when the team is already in a comfortable position. There are other players like PR Shah, AM Rahane who are no good for Mumbai Indians. Sachin has to rely on himself and foreign players all the time to set a competitive score or chase down a target.

Bowling is other weak link. Only foreign player's contribution has so far won matches for Mumbai Indians. Dwayne Bravo, Sanath Jayasurya, Lasith Malinga are the three bowlers who have bowled their full quota of overs in all the matches that are played in IPL Season 2. J P Duminy has started to bowl too. As far as Mumbai indians, this tournament was always International Premier league. Will Sachin and men turn the tables and be a part of semi finals group ? Let's wait and watch.........

Thanks,

Prashy.

Kuch Kuch NAHIN hota hai...........

Kolkata knight riders is trying hard to come up with a win initially and then to carry on the momentum into the following matches. First step in that is pretty hard to come by their way. Brendon Macullum has not clicked at all in this tournament. Gayle had to play a different role in all the matches since his support at the other end is absent. Dada always has the problem to focus on the game alone. He has been supported by Shahrukh Khan with all the multi captaincy theory, his peace talks with Dada to convince that Macullum would be leading the side. Somewhere deep down in his mind or rather on top of his mind, Dada would be thinking that his opening slot is deprived by the likes of Macullum and Gayle opening in all the matches.

Statements like "Dada is a dude" and "We love Dada! the whole country loves Dada", made by Shahrukh is not influencing Dada to come up with match winning knocks. Shahrukh is a success story always. Cricket is teaching some game to king Khan, how defeat should be handled. There are news spreading that SRK is planning to sell his franchise. One cannot even say that he gave his sincere effort to make this a winning combination.

Macullum is trying to bring the best out of everybody. He is a good captain, but he fails to get the winning combination striking for them. Ishant Sharma is much improved bowler. But he hardly has support from the other end. Ajit Agarkar has come to a state wherein, he does not have anything pushing him to come up with good performances. Some argue that Money involved in this IPL is pushing people to go the extra mile. Examples like Ajit Agarkar proves that Money may not be the moivating factor for beloved sport. Its just not happening for him. Ashish Nehra is another bowler, who tries his level best, but deep down he may think that his comeback is a mere impossibility. Ashok Dinda is not a major contributor.

Last IPL, Ricky ponting & Shoaib Akhtar were part of this side, who took the major chunk of responsibility in their respective departments. I feel Ricky Ponting would have cherished leading this side. Macullum is not leading by example and half the job of Captaincy is taken care effectively, once Captain leads by scoring the runs or picking the wickets (in few cases). Shoaib Akhtar can run through a side in any form of the game. Even in their presence, last time, KKR could not come to semi finals stage.

That makes me wonder whether IPL is a platform designed to show Shahrukh Khan a loser. Once he sells off KKR to somebody, they might find their luck turn towards winning ways. Hardcore Cricket lovers were actually getting frustrated with the involvement of Bollywood celebrities and their verbal spat with some of the cricketing legends. Sunil Gavaskar, for all his experience, would have seen varied set of administration and the way to run a team. Finally Shahrukh Khan learned things by actually undergoing it the tough way. I honestly believe Sunil Gavaskar won the argument finally.

Cricketing brain would still feel that there is an outside chance for KKR to crawl back into the semi finals. Sad news is that Chris Gayle is not available for the entire tournament and as of now, only he is the run scoring machine for KKR.

The time Dada spent for selecting the cheerleaders for the tournament, along with Shahrukh, if only he would have spent it for preparing himself for the tournament, he would have been a force to reckon with. But, all said and done, Dada has always been around with controversy surrounding him.

To summarise, I dont see KKR in semi finals in IPL season 2.

Prashy.

Is Kumble trying to turn the fortune ?

Three consecutive wins for Bangalore royal challengers. KP's sign off for this season opened the gates for some positive vibes within the team I guess.

Kumble is such a positive sportsman, he passes on those vibes to others in the team. He clearly knows his trump cards in all the departments. In Bowling department, he relies on himself first and Praveen kumar to deliver, when the chips are down. In Batting, he relies on Kallis and Boucher to finish the games on a winning note. Rest, who ever stands up on the respective day, he will use them to the fullest.

He definitely comes up with a plan for each and every player in the opposition team. Maybe, KP had plans. But I suppose Kumble puts it into practice more effectively. The match against Kings XI punjab was about holding the nerves and believing that match could turn any time around. Kumble's last but one over was exemplary. Praveen kumar bowled a fantastic last over. These 150 target matches are a real hit considering T-20, as the match heads to a nail biting finish in 95% cases.

Kings XI Punjab were off to a great start with 70 odd runs by not losing a wicket. To pull the match from that state to a 7 run win was good to watch. Kumble deserves applause for exhibiting his calmness under such tense situations. After all, he is an expert in that area. People cannot forget the Sydney test episode against Aussies. Atleast I remember that particular test match for the way Anil Kumble conducted himself after a cheap sportsmanship displayed by every single australian. Considering that, this would be have been a cake walk for Anil kumble and his men.

The match against Mumbai Indians was example of commanding performance. Three wickets from Dillon Du preez (another south african in BRC camp) hit hard on Mumbai indians' dream of piling up runs. I would like to stress on certain killer punch moves handled by Kumble.

1. Having an unorthodox slip position for Sachin tendulkar. It was a 2 and half slip(Not 2nd slip, nor 3rd slip). It worked for them and Rahul Dravid would have cherished taking catch off Sachin's bat in slips.

2. He did not bowl spinners at all before the strategic time out and MI's score read 53 for 3. Thats psychological hit, as Spinners are ruling roost in this tournament.

3. J P Duminy has a problem with short ball. There was an instance when Kallis bowled a short ball to Duminy, both Boucher (from behind the stumps) and Kallis were giving mouthful to J P Duminy about something. It definitely looked like they were knowing JP's weakness and were asking questions. Kumble would have discussed with the likes of Kallis and Boucher about J P Duminy's weakness, as they play together a lot.

4. Having picked Sachin and JP Duminy cheaply for low scores, Kumble ensured that Jayasuriya played a different innings, which helped BRC's cause a lot

5. Kumble is ready to bowl his best bowlers for the day, maximum overs allotted. When he gave away 18 runs from 2 overs, he took himself off the attack. He never bowled again.

All the above aspects mentioned make a good captain. Kumble is defintely one.

Kudos to Kallis and Uthappa to steer the team to a win. Good thing for Robin Uthappa was to come up with a match winning knock. But a day later, he would have felt that the effort did not fetch him a place in the T-20 squad for world cup. I truly believe, the place is taken away from him by none other than Suresh Raina. I mean, last T-20 world cup, Robin Uthappa was part of champions group. This time, Suresh Raina has pipped him out.

Lets see, how far Bangalore Royal challengers will keep us swayed in IPL season 2. I still could not see them in semi finals stage. They have got the momentum going with them. But Chennai, Deccan, Delhi and Rajasthan is my prediction for the semi finals clash. But I might be proved wrong...........

Thanks,

Prashy.

Bangalore Royal Challengers knows the art of losing

Last two matches, Bangalore Royal challengers are showing how to lose from a good winning position. Different players have different roles in ensuring a loss from very comfortable position.

Robin Uthappa, for starters is trying desparately to get a place for himself in India T-20 squad for the forthcoming world cup. Following are the focus areas for him.

1. At the end of 14 matches, overall 100 runs in his kitty
2. He is proving his quality as a wicket keeper too, when Dhoni, Captain of India T-20 could take care of that hands down
3. His worth as a fielder, wherein the captain is trying to hide him somewhere in the field, where the ball might not come. Apparently Kumble is giving some tips to Uthappa before the world cup

He is not helping Bangalore royal challengers a slightest with his presence in the squad.

Kevin Pietersen was looking awesome with his little innings, but this time, he forgot to SWITCH ON his SWITCH HIT. Vettori was too smart for him. KP does not come across a captain who can turn things on, in the field. He goes with the motion. After Kumble & Appanna bowled tight spells in the middle, ensuring required rate crossed ten run mark, KP should have been more active with his bowling mix. I believe he should have used less experienced bowlers during 13 to 16 and likes of Kallis for the end.

Fielding was pathetic, horrible, misplaced. There is no special fielder in Bangalore team. In T-20, a team can win match just because of the valliant fielding effort, as Rajasthan, Deccan chargers are proving match by match. Intensity could be seen to the naked eye. Bangalore Royal challengers' supporters knows which way the match is heading from the start. I bet nobody can disagree with me there.

Kallis and Boucher are real asset to this side. Fielding is not backing Kallis bowling effort. Boucher, in his first match this season knew his teammates' capabilities. His batting would be useful in future matches. Ross Taylor is capable of scoring individual hundred in T-20, but still he has not come good. Jesse ryder is on the wrong side of the tunnel.

Pankaj Kumar is no way a threat to any opposition. Both Sehwag and Gambhir got out in his bowlng trying to hit him out of the park. He does not beat the bat, atleast I do not recollect when he did that in the past. Akhil is a good fast bowler. But gives lot of width to the batsmen, who wait for that loose ball. Appanna seems to be a good prospect. There is another south african left arm spinner, Van der merwe waiting in the ranks.

Overall, I feel the rule posed by IPL Commiittee that only four foreigners should play in the playing eleven, seems to be a bit harsh on Bangalore royal challengers. If its other way around, they might pull off certain wins in the remaining matches to come. Oh, Rahul Dravid was missing from the playing eleven. His expertise would have been missed.

9 more matches to go.

• They could disturb some body else from entering semi finals
• A Consolation win against top seeds/teams
• Making sure that Bangalore does not end up as last team in the pool
• Fair play award

are the options avialble for the team.

Thanks,

Prashy.

Shane Warne - Icon of a different league

Rajasthan Royals match against Kolkata night ryders in IPL Season 2 could only be known for Shane Warne's Captaincy. His ability to make this happen, pushes him to be the best all rounder in business ever. For a change, I enjoyed a cricket match for the way a team was led. I am in search of adjectives to describe this Australian. There were lots of instances during the match, wherein Shane warne guided his men around like a true leader would.



Let me put it differently. This match could be considered as a separate case study for the topic "Leadership".



Instance 1

Believing that 150 is a winning target and making his team believe that he is not joking about his belief.

Instance 2

Starting their second innings with a Spinner, against the likes of Mcullum and Chris gayle. It clicked real good for them. I could notice a forward short leg fielder and a slip in second over bowled by Masceranhus. Why should that be done?. Is it because the ball will hit the inside edge of the bat in a 20-20 game and pop onto forward short leg's hands. Probably its done so that Batsmen will think, "What if that happens ?". Shane Warne instills the batsmen's mind to have negative thoughts, which hinders normal stroke play.



In lieu of that, the so called ordinary bowlers in the side becomes effective. Still, Gayle was taking the attack to these moves posed by Shane Warne. Two sixes in one over from Masceranhus was not helping the team's cause.

Instance 3

When he came into bowl, he had the task of picking Chris Gayle's wicket. His first over went for 5 runs and Yusuf at the other end gave away 17 runs. Shane Warne picked up Chris Gayle in his 2nd over. That left a slight hope in favour of Warne's men. When he accomplished his task of picking Gayle's wicket, he removed himself from the attack.



Genuine fast bowlers in his side, Kamran and Munaf started bowling from 9th over onwards. Its really easy for Shane Warne to switch his bowlers. But for Warne, New ball bowlers could be spinners also.

Instance 4

Almost every ball, he was making some adjustment to the field and asking bowlers to bowl according to it. He makes the changes in a way that the batsmen cannot miss it. Literally he stands right in front of batsmen and makes the moves. Psychological effect is created when each ball a batsmen have to think of his scoring shots. Amazing to watch Shane warne in action !

Instance 5

The action packed moment was the last ball, when Shane Warne dived to his left like a Viper attacking a prey and stopped the ball effecting a run out when they tried to go in for a second run. At this moment, I felt I had watched a true leader in action, showing different colours whatever situation demanded.

The match was pushed to Super over, a new concept in T-20 and he gives the confidence to a young bowler in the side. Kamran, who bowled a fantastic last over taking Dada's wicket, was handed over even precious task to give away minimal runs in one over. Gayle and Mcullum scored 15 runs and it was not at all enough for Yusuf Pathan's onslaught.

Shane Warne shows tremendous confidence in this young team, where there are no big names. He makes all this youngsters a warriors by his sheer leadership.

I bet, many would have missed a true leader in action, had they missed the match.

I hope by reading this, atleast you could catch on some cricketing moments which you missed by not seeing it Live.

Prashy.

Twenty - Twenty cricket is also a bowler friendly game

This particular blog is an effort to highlight key factors of 20-20 version, which might skip an viewer's eye. "The importance of Slow bowlers in 20-20". Cricket is a game with different angles to it and 20-20 is more of an entertainment part. A viewer gets really disappointed if he does not see the ball going over boundary lines at ease. But slow bowlers's job is to avoid such strokes being played and they want their boundary liners to jump, fly, skid, do whatever to make the batsmen earn every run.

IPL Season 2, so far, has shown to viewers how Bowlers can rule the game. Especially the slow bowlers, who takes the pace off the ball. The batsmen have to use all his muscle power to hit a ball which is not coming at the pace expected. Harbhajan, Kumble, Warne, vettori, Muralidharan all are cherishing south african wickets and through their spells, they are turning the match on their heads.

Kings XI Punjab were scoring at 10 runs per over in their rain reduced 12 over match against Delhi daredevils. Vettori, in this three over spell took 3 wickets for 15 runs and made sure, he not only slowed the run rate, but picked up crucial wickets to weaken the opponents. Its always tough for a new batsmen to step in and start belting the bowlers. Openers are exception to this, as new ball comes and hit their bat at a faster pace. Middle order batsmen have to judge the pace of wicket and slow bowlers will be in action during that time. Shorter version of the game will prove even tougher for middle order batsmen to excel as they do not have enough overs in their hands to decide on a target or chase down one. Thats the reason Opening bowlers try to pick up early wickets and dent the opposition in these shorter version very early.

Kumble's five wickets was an exhibition of Maestro reading the slowness of the wickets. He made sure that batsmen were desparately trying to hit him hard, ensuring false strokes from many. In this 20-20 versions, one will not find batsmen getting beaten and losing their wickets. Rather, it would be kind of wickets, where a batsmen gets hold out in the deep off a lofted shots. Shane Warne is a Ripper. He turns the ball in any goddamn wicket. He is a different class altogether. Harbhajan is more focussed towards containing runs and fools the batsmen with his odd Doosraas.

Muthaiah Muralidharan is another spinner, who ensured that Bangalore Royal challengers never came good in the middle overs, where there would have been an outside chance for them to stay alive. Wickets of Pietersen, Uthappa and Bishnoi were classy from him. His spell read 4 overs, 11 runs and 3 wickets. Its a great spell in any version of the game. Pietersen could purchase some wickets in his kitty.

As this tournament proceeds along, we will see more and more of this happening, as there are few grounds in South africa which is being used for this tournament. Same wickets will be used over and over. That explains the wear and tear of these pitches, which only benefits the slow bowlers more. Innings like the one Hayden played against Bangalore Royal challengers are expected more often. But I do want to capture in my blog, certain things which avoids so many similar innings like Hayden's.

I do hope, you enjoyed reading this.

See you again, with some other interesting topic.

Prashy.

Who better than Rahul and Kumble to save Bangalore's Fate ?

"Bangalore Royal challengers Team is not test team any more" - With the inclusion of Kevin Pietersen & Jesse Ryder and with the return of Robin Uthappa, Bangalore Royal challengers is a new look team. This is what the headlines of various newspaper read before the start of their first match.

With due credit to players like Kevin pietersen and Jesse Ryder for their achievement in International circuit, players who ensured a win out of no-where situation for Bangalore was Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. The two old warhorse of Indian team, who values test cricket more than their life brought all their experience and kept the twenty twenty format interesting, I should say. But, going into the next game, again People would still doubt about their abilities for 20-20 game, questioning whether they are an asset to any team ? I want to bring to the forefront of readers how Indian Cricket board has conveyed wrong message about these 2 players to the world (ofcourse considering 20-20 format). Nobody would have told Rahul Dravid how to play under any circumstance. Rahul Dravid's innnings turned Bangalore Royal challenger's fate and made sure IPL season 2 started off well for Bangalore.

I strongly believe that any form of Cricket requires strategies. Rahul Dravid could easily provide the option for a team and its captain, wherin all the batsmen could play around him to build a winning score. Look at what Sachin Tendulkar could provide to Mumbai indians by adopting a similar strategy. He played the role of a Rahul Dravid for Mumbai. Both Mumbai and Bangalore ended up as winners. This is the strategy part I was mentioning earlier. Rahul Dravid's innings was even better in comparison with Sachin's innings. To come up with run a ball innings or even better at a stage, where all doors were shut for Bangalore requires such confidence in self. Rahul Dravid showed what a class act he is!

First part is setting a competitive score and next is to make sure you complete the formalities in other department. Credit to Kevin Pietersen for mixing his bowling options really smart, which ensured a comprehensive win. He knew Bangalore could pull the match only by picking all the ten wickets of Rajasthan Royals. Who better than Anil Kumble could provide that. I never knew Anil Kumble as run containing bowler. He is always a wicket taker and a five-for in 20-20 should shuss all the mouths who doubt his ability in T20 format. Do not forget! this is coming from a man, who has retired from all forms of the game 3 months back. But Kumble and Dravid is deprived more of their contributions for Indian cricket by our cricket board.

There were talks in the prelim shows, whether Rahul Dravid or ANil Kumble should play in the eleven. They proved their worth and as a fan of these two cricketing legends, I am happy that they were instrumental for Bangalore royal challenger's success in defeating Rajasthan royals (Winners of IPL Seaon 1).

Thanks for reading,

Prashy.