Lalit Modi - Sell Cricket, but not by questioning Test cricket

Following are the Opinions about Test cricket by Lalit Modi.

• 'Test cricket must go day-night to survive'
• 'Twenty20 cricket, unlike its Test equivalent, can reach new markets in America and China'
• 'We are only a two-year-old league but we had close to 3.8 billion eyeballs last year. I use that phrase every time a person sits down and watches an IPL game live or on TV – that's an 'eyeball'

For Lalit Modi, its all to do with number of people watching the matches Live or on Television. He wants to sell Cricket. My point is that he should project Cricket ahead of some other sports like Football or Hockey and should not make comparisons between a shorter version and longer version of the game. Imagine the implications of Test match cricket played in a White ball, flood lights, colour clothing, dew factor; very thought of it makes me laugh. Lets say that this will be put into practice, next question that would probably hit the mind of Mr. Modi is, 'why not make it happen at neutral venues ?'. The pride factor for an Indian team walking into Test arenas like Perth or Headingley and emerging victorious would be lost forever, if such things happen. Will Modi question that these venues should also host night version of Test cricket. He will never stop.

For me, I feel that he is addressing a wrong question altogether. It should be, how to make India play result oriented test matches more often than drawn matches. Places like Australia, West Indies, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Test cricket is watched by audiences with the same Zeal as they would watch any version of the game. A concept of Boxing day test match in Australia can pool in crowds from all over the country and stadium will be jam-packed from the first delivery of a test match. Lord's test matches will attract so many eyeballs (phrase used by Lalit Modi) as and when its played. Lets not forget the recently concluded test match series in South africa between England and RSA, where all the four match series were closely fought, couple of matches were drawn by England and the last ball, last wicket decided the fate. We cannot get a better advertisement for test cricket? No lights were required to pull the crowds that time. I was stuck to the television, till last ball was bowled. West Indies' crowd is also passionate about the Test cricket format.

If Lalit Modi wants to capture new markets like America, they already have Baseball, which they invented to counter cricket. China may be a potential market for viewership. Lalit Modi knows his product, which he is trying to Globalise. I simply cannot understand why he is commenting about Test cricket, which is more associated with Cricket since time immemorial. Lalit Modi has enormous lust to make his product sell worldwide. If he is going to succeed, it can be through T-20 version, agreed! but test cricket survival will take care of itself. All this while, Test cricket was played and suddenly T-20 version comes in and test cricket death is talked about. It sounds funny. Lalit Modi did not vote for T-20 version to be a solution for longer version survival. But then T-20's enormous success has made him feel that Test cricket is nearing its death. I dont believe in that argument.

Another controversial topic I foresee in this T-20 version, especially in IPL tournaments, there is a great chance of Match-fixing issue popping up. Who could say no to this ? We all know how Indian cricket struggled due to match fixing scandal and revival was itself a great story. Saurav Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble and M S Dhoni have all ensured that Money stays out of the game and Passion for the game is instilled in the minds of youngsters, who wants to wear Indian cap. Tournaments like IPL throws so much money on the players, the player's priority is shifting. Andrew Flintoff quit Test cricket for England and there is no doubt that he will make himself available for IPL without fail, cause the money involved is huge. Flintoff is such an allrounder, he became well known for his excellence achieved in Ashes. World cricket will miss him now.

I guess Lalit Modi reads this post and channelise his thoughts to sell the product but not by degrading one of its child. Test cricket will always be there and nobody can mourn....

Thanks,

Prashy.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE LIVING LEGEND - SR TENDULKAR

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - A Magical name it has become. Most suited for Adjectives pouring his way. For most of his fans, its a tough question to answer, when somebody asks, "Which is Sachin's best knock ever ?". Most of us can make it easy by mentioning the last knock he played, as it remains in our mind afresh. Ofcourse, 98 against Pakistan in world cup match (ODI) stands right on top of the list for me. As for the test innings, it has got to be 136 against Pakistan at Chennai, simply for the enormous pressure he would have underwent while facing each and every ball. I picked up these two favourites to drive home a point across. In the ODI innings mentioned above, if we all could refresh our memory, Yuvraj and Dravid had 100 run partnership to seal the match for us, whereas in the latter, once Sachin got out, Pakistan took four indian wickets and we could not hit 14 runs. Critics blamed Sachin on that day, whereas he corrected the fate and remained not out and ensured we chase down successfully against England in same venue 9 years later.

Sachin never repeats a blunder. He was not a successful captain apart from his successful series win at Toronto, I am mentioning about the 4-1 series victory over Pakistan. The most critical decision Sachin has taken in his Cricketing career is not to fall for the captaincy trap again. He prefers the role of a Mentor, Senior experienced pro in the team and he has done that with utmost efficiency. If I know him really well as a fan, he kept his eye on two records for sure, one to beat Gavaskar's 34 hundreds and second, to become highest run scorer in tests. This he focussed hard to achieve because he had such a respect for other little master. Once he achieved the second feet, he never looked back. As far as ODIs are concerned, I never got a feeling that he was focussing on records. One has to be kidding if they mention that Sachin was behind some records in ODIs.

A double hundred in ODIs was not discussed even when Sachin was playing demolition cricket in his early years. Who would have thought that he would achieve it when he is 36 yrs old. Sachin always kept Statiscians busy, but hardly he knew that the same Statisticians would turn some figures against Sachin's character on field. I have always observed Sachin being very modest, humble and dedicating his top class knocks to society, examples being Mumbai terror attack victims, double hundred to the people of india, His hundred in 1999 world cup against Kenya dedicated to his father's soul, 2003 world cup knocks to people of india after India showed mediocre performances in first two matches of world cup. His 175 knock against Aussies revived the spirit of ODI cricket after T-20 questioned longer versions of the game. Foreign tour victories, series victories in Australia, Sri Lanka, West indies, No 1 test team ranking. What else this guy has to prove ? Still the critics might hit back at him stating that he has not won the world cup for us and Australia and South africa are unconquered in Test series victories. I sincerely feel that Sachin would be part of those teams also. All we have to do is wait and watch.

I only want the critics to acknowledge the world class performer. Do we ever have replacements for players like Sachin or Dravid ? I dont think so. Recently Dravid has written an article about BCCI scheduling less test matches and likes of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma mishandling their priorities. These guys measure their talks and if their suggestions are taken well, there will be replacements for Sachin and Dravid.

The recent double hundred was another master class indeed and already it made the world speak up about it. The entire cricketing fraternity, Sachin's childhood coach, fans! everybody has commented about it. For me, Its just not about his double hundred. Its the way he could differentiate himself from rest of others in the indian team, who are, on an average 10 years younger to him. What a dressing room it would be, for the likes of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit sharma, Yusuf pathan, Ravindra jadeja, Dinesh karthik, M Vijay & S. Badrinath to share with Universe's best batsmen Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Its a proud moment for all the indians when he stepped onto the cricket field 21 years before. Till date, the entertainment never died down and I bet Sachin's personal agenda is to win the world cup for us next year. I am so confident that he is going to achieve it too under Dhoni's able leadership.

Thanks,

Prashy.

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.