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.