T20 World Cup Preview - Group C

Thursday, April 29, 2010 , , , , , , No Comments

Group C should be interesting. Indians and South Africans have played a lot of cricket recently, starting from the Test and ODI series before the IPL. They haven't had a lot of time to rest, and the rapidly growing up Afghanistan will hope to take advantage of this.

South Africa


Squad - Graeme Smith (c), Jacques Kallis, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Rusty Theron, Roelof van der Merwe.

Key Players - Kallis was the second highest run-getter in the IPL, but he tapered off towards the end and his low strike rate began to hurt BRC. He's a classy player and can definitely bounce back, though. Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman at the top can win matches single-handedly if they get going. Dale Steyn has been superb in the IPL and will play a crucial role as the spearhead of the bowling attack. The spin attack of van der Merwe and Botha will be important in controlling the middle overs and as lower-order batsman.

Watch out for - JP Duminy had a see-saw time with the Mumbai Indians. When he came out as a finisher, he played a couple of aggressive innings, but when he was needed to bat longer in the middle overs he struggled on slow pitches. Gibbs was never in top form either, but he scored a few. With two openers in Smith and Bosman and another possible one in Kallis, will he get a chance to play? Albie Morkel has always saved his best efforts for his country and he will be a key-figure in all departments.

How far they will go: Can definitely make the semis, but they are also likely to struggle against spin. They will need great starts throughout the tournament. They also wouldn't like to hear the C word. Yes, "choke".



India


Squad - Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, R Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma.

I've been itching to do this one for sometime now, but I resisted the urge to skip the order and spew. Anyway, I don't have a lot of spewing to do now, I've decided low expectations is the way to go. I'll still be watching every game and criticizing them in my head (and possibly here) but in the end I won't be too disappointed, unless they lose to the Afghanis and get knocked out in the 1st round or something.

Key Players - Gautam Gambhir has been in good form and as the sole experienced opener, he will be extremely important at the top - both for his ability to score big and do it quick. Dhoni is also in fine form, and I'm talking about both the batting and the captaincy. Yuvraj Singh is an immense power-up in the middle and late overs so he needs to fire. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra are the bowlers who can get early wickets and bowl yorkers at the death. Harbhajan is the lone spinner (I don't count Yusuf / Jadeja as spinners).

Watch out for - Suresh Raina was fantastic in the IPL, but he needs to convert that into better performances for India. Ditto, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma. Yusuf wasn't great in the IPL, so I don't expect much from him. Vinay Kumar may have done well at home, but better batsman may well make him disappear. I do think Chawla has it in him to perform (not just the International Cricket Captain talking). That is, if he plays.

How far they will go - Without Sehwag, with the under-performing Yuvraj and Yusuf and with my low-expectations idea, the second round is what I think.



Afghanistan


Squad - Nawroz Mangal (c), Mohammad Nabi, Karim Sadiq, Mirwais Ashraf, Rais Ahmadzai, Dawlat Ahmadzai, Mohammad Shahzad, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Noor Ali, Asghar Stanikzai, Shahpoor Zadran, Shabir Noori, Sayed Nasrat, Shafiq Shafaq.

They've had a fairytale rise in international cricket and will want to get atleast one win against a major side. Y'know, just for fun. And since they're in the same group, why not against South Africa? Unlikely, but it would be a hoot nevertheless.

Key Players - Hmm? I'll probably learn more after watching their game against India.

Watch out for - Dawlat Ahmadzai. Just a wild name I threw out there. Possibly because he took four wickets against the Irish. Or was that someone else? Anyway, his first name means 'wealth'. Everyone loves wealth.

How far they will go: Group stage. Maybe second round, but not at India's expense. Of course I'd say that.

One to go.

T20 World Cup Preview - Group B

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 , , , , , , No Comments

Group B contains two teams that are usually considered as dark horses. Or in New Zealand's case, sheepguys. No, not really, but they are the teams that are always said to have a chance of winning, but are never the favourites. There, I just defined 'dark horses'.

Zimbabwe is also in this group. (it had to be on a new line or no one would pay attention. I barely did)

Sri Lanka


Squad - Kumar Sangakkara (c), Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Chanaka Welagedara, Chamara Kapugedara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chinthaka Jayasinghe.

Sri Lanka were the runners-up last year (it was just last year!) and they will want to go one better this time around, and they definitely have the players to pursue it. India and Pakistan are the cup's past winners, so it has been subcontinental teams that have been the best, the Lankans will be inspired by this. They also play their best cricket on islands, so the Caribbean may feel like home to them (superb logic, innit?).

Key Players - The bowling attack is enviable, some would call it scary. They have M&M&M&M, three of which are lethal and two of which are in superb form and one of which used to have an awesome afro. Mahela Jayawardene was fantastic in the second half of the IPL, but the question is, will he get to open? Sangakarra looked like he had found his touch in the last few games he played and will be a crucial player in whichever position he plays.

Watch out for - Sanath Jayasuriya. He hasn't had the best of times; his once super-quick reflexes seem to have slowed down. He was dropped from the Mumbai Indians side after failing to make contributions, and with Mahela doing well his position could be at risk. His opening partner Dilshan also struggled in the IPL and looked very mojo-less. Thissara Perera barely got a game for Chennai and served up several full-tosses, but he has done better for his country and will be a lower-order threat. There are some newbies in the squad - Dinesh Chandimal is a backup keeper and Chintakha Jayasinghe is a medium-pace bowling all-rounder. Hmm.


How far they will go - Should surely make the semis, though their batting needs to be able to support their bowling.

New Zealand


Squad - Daniel Vettori (c), Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Aaron Redmond, Jacob Oram, Gareth Hopkins, Rob Nicol, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Shane Bond, Ian Butler.

You see the first five names in their squad and you know that they have a great batting lineup capable of big things. They didn't do very well last year - as usual, they thrashed the minnows Ireland and Scotland, and didn't win any other matches against the better sides. The batsmen like a bit of pace to smack, and they may not get this in the Carribbean. They'll probably cream Zimbabwe and lose to Sri Lanka, but I'm not making any predictions.

Key Players - Jesse Ryder and B-Mac at the top have provided many a blazing start, not many against quality attacks. Ross Taylor looked out-of-sorts in the IPL, but feed him in his legside arc and you will disappear. Dictator Dan is the man for a collapse and the lone spinner. In my opinion, he's definitely among the top 3 T20 bowlers, and everyone's favourite member of the fuzz, Shane Bond, is around too.

Watch out for - Does anyone else think Scott Styris and Jacob Oram are past their sell-by-date? Rob Nicol, the other all-rounder who bowls medium-pace, has a great T20 record, though he may have limited chances to impress.

How far they will go - History suggests they will reach the second stage and bow out. Knowing New Zealand, I would be wise to ignore history. They haven't won a world cup before (ODI included) and they will see this as a good opportunity to win one

Zimbabwe


Squad - Prosper Utseya (c), Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Andy Blignaut, Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu, Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma, Craig Ervine.

The minnows of this group will be looking to spring a surprise. They really won't.

Key Players - Their spinners have been effective of late, and in the Caribbean too. Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Ray Price and Greg Lamb will look to choke their opponents. Elton Chigumbura is very handy with ball and bat.

Watch out for - Andy Blignaut, the hard-hitting all-rounder, is making another comeback. Yay. Timycen Maruma, is another 'International Cricket Captain' pick, I doubt he'll get to play though.

How far they'll go - New Zealand and Sri Lanka always thrash the minnows, they're not the choking sort and will try to rack up as much as possible. Group stage exit.

Two down, two to go.

Still, Mumbai Indians > Chennai Super Kings

Sunday, April 25, 2010 , , , No Comments

The IPL is over for the year. Chennai Super Kings are the champs, by virtue of winning one match, the final. The Mumbai Indians dominated the entire season, and booked their place in the semis quite early. Chennai barely made it, and only did so because Sangakarra said, "Hey, Sreesanth isn't here, so why don't I toss the ball to the next most hittable bowler!"

Anyway, I'd prefer not to dwell further on Sachin's brain-fart in keeping Pollard out too late, so let's see how my pre-season predictions fare against the final positions.

          Team                              My Prediction    Final position

Kolkata Knight Riders                      6th                      6th
Rajasthan Royals                              8th                      7th
Deccan Chargers                               3rd                      4th
Kings XI Punjab                                 5th                      8th
Chennai Super Kings                   Runner-up           Champs
Delhi Daredevils                             Champs                 5th
Royal Challengers Bangalore             4th                    3rd
Mumbai Indians                                  5th               Runner-up

Not too bad, my KKR foresight was spot-on, and my major miscalculations were about Punjab, Delhi and Mumbai. Oh well.

Players whose stock rose include: Murali Vijay, Saurabh Tiwary, Naman Ojha, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, T Suman, Michael Lumb, Vinay Kumar, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Harmeet Singh (as a legspinner), Rusty Theron, Iqbal Abdulla.

Special mention: Umesh Yadav consistently hit the 140 kph mark. How long until he becomes a 130-er who bowls short? I guess he's lucky not to be in the spotlight.

Players who sank (and stank): Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Matthew Hayden, Yusuf Pathan (to some extent), Adam Gilchrist (too many quickfire 15's and ducks), Ishant Sharma, Sanath Jayasuriya, Manpreet Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, RP Singh, T Dilshan.

And that's a wrap, on to the World Cup.

T20 World Cup Preview: Group A

Saturday, April 24, 2010 , , , , , , No Comments

Right. So the T20 World Cup is only a week away, and with this mini-break from the IPL, it only seems appropriate to start posting about it. Rather than do the 'one team a post' thing which would take ages, I'll be doing it group-by-group. And staying true to the alphabet, I begin with Group A, which consists of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia. This being the only group to have three test teams, you could somewhat call it the "group of death", or "Qu'est-ce que c'est, le cricket?" as the French say.

Pakistan


Squad - Shahid Afridi (c), Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam, Hammad Azam, Kamran Akmal, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammed Aamer, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Hafeez, Mohammed Sami, Saeed Ajmal, Salman Butt, Umar Akmal.

The defending champions are one of the most unpredictable teams - they could play like champs one day and chimps the next, but in this format they are always in the game. Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved may be missing, but this squad is full of talented players, many of them suited to T20. Shahid Afridi may be a total nutjob, but he seems to be able to inspire his team.

Key players - Afridi stepped up with the bat to help Pakistan win the cup last year - will he retain his maturity or switch back to crazy-mode? His bowling will be effective either way. Abdul Razzaq is a top all-rounder, and Misbah's experience is invaluable. The pace trio of Aamer, Asif and Sami (should he play) is good enough to contain any team upfront, while Ajmal is miserly in the middle overs.

Watch out for - Hammad Azam featured for Pakistan in the U-19 version of the tournament and was considered to be talented enough to make the cut. His first-class record doesn't reveal too much, but he is a medium-pace bowling all-rounder who also opens the batting. Umar Akmal has begun his career well (cricket-wise, that is) but we haven't seen him in a while. Will he continue his good run?

How far they will go - Provided there are no hiccups against Bangladesh, they should make the second round. May struggle to go beyond that.

Bangladesh


Squad - Shakib Al-Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammed Ashraful, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Syed Rasel, Tamim Iqbal.

They have improved vastly, there's no doubt about that, but they still lose to other test nations regularly. Regardless, this is T20 and the Banglas have a reputation of being giant-killers. One such victory in the group stage and they could be through to the second round, so it would be unwise to count them out.

Key Players - Shakib is one of the best all-rounders in the world, and he is currently Bangladesh's best batsman and bowler. Add that to the captaincy and you have all the ingredients for immense pressure, especially for a 23-year old. Will he crack or flourish under it? Time will tell. Tamim Iqbal is their most consistent batsman, and he can provide great starts for Bangladesh if he gets an opener who will stick around with him. Mahmudullah has been a consistent lower-order batsman, but he may have to be moved up the order to have more of an impact.

Watch out for - Mashrafe Mortaza was leading the pace attack not too long ago, and was even named captain, but he was then out for a long time, so it has to be seen how well he'll do on his comeback. Also, the interestingly named Suhrawadi Shuvo should be observed. He's 21, and may seem like just another of Bangladesh's fafillion lefty spinners, but he was the most successful bowler for Bangladesh in my International Cricket Captain game, so he's good. According to the game Piyush Chawla took over a 1000 test wickets and scored around 10 test hundreds, so maybe not the best way to judge player abililty.

How far they will go - Their only option is to beat Pakistan to progress to the second round, I can't see them doing any better than that.

Australia


Squad - Michael Clarke (c), Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

This a team full of match-winners. This is the only world tournament that they haven't won, so they'll be itching to add the trophy to their overflowing cabinet (which I sometimes wish would fall on the entire team). They are vulnerable though, everyone is in T20.

Key Players - The pace attack. Brett Lee is in doubt (yeah, that damn IPL), but the super quick trio of Tait, Nannes and Johnson should be tough to handle for any team. They are weak in the spin department, so Hauritz and Steve Smith will both be under scrutiny. Shane Watson and David Warner will be crucial at the top, because the middle order may be susceptible to choking.

Watch out for - Michael Clarke's T20 batting. He has never looked cut out for this format, and his "slug, not slog" approach can put the other batsmen (Husseys, White) under pressure to play the big shots from the word go. Something they are very good at, I may add.

How far they will go - If the batsmen hit their stride they could well be the champs, as the bowlers are capable of defending smaller scores as well. However, the middle order bowlers could let them down - Watson has been whipped in the IPL and the spinners are inexperienced and untested.

One down, three to go.

IPL Semifinal 1 Preview - Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 , , , , , No Comments

Now that KKR's campaign is over (I'm leading the Interblogactic IPL Battle table, btw), I can finally concentrate on the team I really support - the Mumbai Indians. They have been the standout team this season, leading the table from the start and not losing grip. This has been mainly due to the the players they acquired pre-season and their backing of the Indian players. Dhawan has been a more preferred opener than Jayasuriya, which was something I really wanted for this team. Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu took everyone by storm in their opening match and they have generally been key players in the middle order, as Sachin prefers to use internationals Duminy, Bravo and Pollard for late boosts in the innings. I'm also glad to see that Ryan McLaren was given a role this season, as both he and Graham Napier have been underused despite their T20 'specialist' tag. The rest of the bowling is star-studded - Zak, Slinga and Harby can do no wrong. The three of them (and Pollard) have all taken more than ten wickets this season.

RCB, on the other hand, have been iffy this season. They kicked off the season in great fashion, and were Mumbai's closest competitors for the top spot for atleast half the season. That's the period during which Pandey and Kallis were getting them off to flyers, Uthappa and Kohli were getting the quick runs and the others didn't have to bat. The lack of time in the middle for the lower order - Dravid, Morgan and Boucher - affected them when the top order began to stutter. Kallis/Pandey losing their fizz, the arrival of KP, Taylor and White coincided with the team's Kumars starting to get some stick - all the ingredients of a losing run. The team structure had to be rebuilt quickly, which it did. Steyn upped the ante and KP became the lynchpin of the line-up as RCB hung on to fourth place.

As for today's match, MI's big guns will return, though there remain question marks about who will play the roles of keeper, lower order all-rounder, and back-up international seamer. Aditya Tare and Chandan Madan are specialist keepers but they have been as ordinary behind the stumps as Rayudu, which suggests that the latter will don the gloves again. Dilhara Fernando and Ryan McLaren will compete for the international bowler's position, though McLaren's recent tidy effort and ability with the bat should increase his chances of playing. Nayar, Murtaza and Sathish are the choices for Indian all-rounder. Nayar is the superior batsman by far, so playing Sathish would be a little pointless. If MI want a second spinner, Murtaza would be a good option, especially considering KP's recent travails with the lefty spinners. But if Duminy is playing (and not Bravo), then MI may not see the need for another spinner and Nayar will play.

This is the line-up I would play:

Sachin Tendulkar (c)
Shikhar Dhawan
Saurabh Tiwary
Ambati Rayudu (wk)
Jean-Paul Duminy
Kieron Pollard
Abhishek Nayar
Harbhajan Singh
Ryan McLaren
Zaheer Khan
Lasith Malinga

RCB will most likely play the side they did in their last game, even though they were soundly thrashed by Mumbai a game before that. They will hope that Kallis and Pandey can rise to the occasion, but Uthappa, Dravid, KP and Kohli are all in decent enough form. They may replace an out-of-sorts Taylor with Cam White, but that's unlikely because Ross is such a big game-changer. Kumble, Steyn and Vinay Kumar will play, but RCB will toy with the idea of bringing PK back should the conditions favour swing, because that's his forte. Pankaj Singh should retain his place otherwise.

The likely line-up:

Manish Pandey
Jacques Kallis
Kevin Pieterson
Rahul Dravid
Ross Taylor
Robin Uthappa
Virat Kohli
Praveen Kumar
Dale Steyn
Vinay Kumar
Anil Kumble

Mumbai Indians for the win.

MI give KKR a "see you next year" gift

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 , , , , , No Comments

In the last match of the IPL's league stage, the Mumbai Indians rested half their side, including Sachin Tendulkar. This move will benefit them fitness-wise in their semi-final today, but will it affect their rhythm and momentum? I hope not.

Mumbai struggled to get to 133, made possible only by Tiwary's 46 up the order and Rayudu's late fireworks. Duminy was clearly uncomfortable on the slow pitch, and Bravo's poor form continued. For KKR, Bond, Kartik, Unadkat and Dinda kept it tight and did not allow free scoring, while their chase was completely hiccup-free as Ganguly, McCullum and Dave Hussey took their time to get there. But they did.

That victory left KKR in sixth place, although they remain tied on 14 points with three other teams, bogged down by only run rate. This is a good indication of what their problems were this season - failure to win big and failure to avoid losing by a big margin.

This brings us to the semifinals. The Mumbai Indians will play the Royal Challengers Bangalore today, that post is to follow soon. The other clash is between the Chennai Super Kings and the Deccan Chargers, sure to be another cracker.

The semifinals, this is the time when fans, who've gotten sick of the cricket overload and decided to rest, will wake up. Just like me.

KKR knock RR out, but can't avoid elimination

Monday, April 19, 2010 , , , , , , , , No Comments

A sort-of commanding win over the Rajasthan Royals kept KKR's chances of making the semifinals, but Chennai's fantastic Dhoni-driven final-over victory over the Kings XI Punjab has more or less demolished any hopes they may have had. Hopes of making the semis, that is, not their other hopes - I'm sure they're all in good mental health and not in any way scarred beyond recovery.

An excellent team effort in the field kept RR to 132 despite a strong start provided by Shane Watson, who opened for them. All of KKR's bowlers picked up wickets and conceded less than 8 an over, with Jaydev Unadkat being named man of the match for his threefer.

In reply, Kamran Khan removed Gayle and McCullum in one over, after which Ganguly and Pujara steadily built a partnership before opening up later to secure a one-sided victory with 23 balls to go.

Ideally, they should have chased this small target a lot sooner to boost their NRR, which could have left the door to the semis still open - however, their only option now is to secure a massive victory over the Mumbai Indians. As famous violinist Louis d'Argent once said, "Non. Ce n'est pas possible."

So we now know which teams are in the semis and in what positions, finally. The Mumbai Indians are on top, as they have been all season. The Deccan Chargers move up to second after beating the Delhi Daredevils for their fifth win in a row. The Chennai Super Kings are in third place after their last-over thriller, while the Royals Challengers Bangalore should hang on to fourth place unless MI fields an under-12 side against KKR.

If KKR had an under-12 side, would Agarkar play for them?

KKR edge closer to elimination. Or as they call it, 'vacation'.

Saturday, April 17, 2010 , , , , , , No Comments

The post-match presentation.

Ravi Shastri: What do you have to say about the loss this time, Sourav?
Sourav Ganguly: Strategy.
RS: What's that?
SG: Strategy. That was a strategic loss.
RS: And what exactly is a 'strategic loss'?
SG: Simple enough. Dav -
RS: Whatmore?
SG: Yes, him. So Dav -
RS: Whatmore! Haha, I love saying it.
SG: Aaaanyway, I sat down with the coach and we noticed that our trend for the last seven matches was LWLWLWL. We just wanted to break the pattern, so we figured if we lost this match against CSK, then we'd have two losses in a row. That means we would be certain to compensate for that by winning the last two games, which we need to do anyway. And also for Delhi to win the next one and for Deccan and Chennai to lose their games. Not complex at all.
RS: Why not just plan to win all three of your last games?
SG: Heh heh, who do you think we are, Mumbai?

That's what I believe happened, since this was a pretty decent thrashing dished out by CSK. KKR was 19-4 inside four overs, then they crawled to 92/5 by the 16th over before a late charge by Mathews and Shukla managed to set a target of 140, which CSK chased down with 39 balls to spare. Raina played a blinder and Vijay notched up another 50. The KKR bowling was torn to bits - you know you've got issues when Agarkar has the best figures.

KKR are still alive, though the terrible NRR means that even if they win both their remaining matches (against RR and MI), they are still not safe, and they are also relying heavily on other teams' results.

This would still be their best season so far, either way.

Another loss after another win, how surprising

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 , , , , , , No Comments

The post-match presentation:


Ravi Shastri: So what happened, Sourav?
Sourav Ganguly: About what?
RS: The match. The one you just lost?
SG: Oh. Yes. the boys played pretty well -
RS: No you didn't.
SG: You didn't let me finish, foga. I was going to say: The boys played well... NOT! The team was absolutely rubbish and just pathetic. Terrible fielding.
RS: You dropped a catch too, right in the first over.
SG: Er, yes, I broke a fingernail.
Dav Whatmore: That's perfectly understandable.
RS: Sourav, you have the coach's support. 'What more' could you ask for? *snicker*
SG: Oh, brother.
RS: Don't you mean 'oh, Dada'? You know, because you're Bengali. *booming laughter*
Rishabh: This skit's getting longer and lamer, time to end it.

That's how much attention I paid to the RCB v KKR game. If you had trouble getting some of the stuff above, here's some reading to catch up on it.

The gist of it: Ganguly, Gayle and B-Mac provided a great start to get KKR to 103/1 in the 12th over before the middle order threw it away.

Dinda was great with the ball, so was Agarkar initially, as KKR gained the upper hand for the first 10 overs, but Dravid and Uthappa took advantage of some poor fielding to smash their way home. Example: Uthappa plays a reverse-sweep, Ishant misjudges it and it goes for six. He sweeps and reverse-sweeps the next three balls for ten more runs.

Vinay Kumar was man of the match for his threefer, but I'd have given to Dravid because his innings was awesome to watch, unlike Uthappa's hoicks.

End of line for KKR if they don't beat CSK today, likewise for CSK.

New post on World Cricket Watch

Monday, April 12, 2010 , , , No Comments

I recently wrote a guest post for World Cricket Watch, a nice little round-up of the Interblogactic IPL Battle.

It can be seen here.

That's all this post is about.

KKR pull off surprise win, are still surprised

Saturday, April 10, 2010 , , , , , , , , , No Comments

Ravi Shastri: How do you feel about the victory, Sourav?

Saurav Ganguly (dazed): We won.

RS: And how does it feel?

SG: Hmm? We won. We won! Hahaha!

RS: One does get the feeling...

SG: Shut up, don't spoil it (takes shirt off)

I can think of one two very important phases in this match, that possibly indicated that KKR were on the 'inspired' side of the coin today, and not the 'crap' one.

The first phase was when they were batting, and Gayle wasn't getting the boundaries, Ganguly was. The old Ganguly, stepping out, backing away and hitting the ball through the offside - his perennial strengths. He dealt with The Great Ceiling (new Maharoof nick) very easily, and even hit Dictator Dan for three fours in an over. You won't hear this very often, but Ganguly was being the aggressor so that Gayle could find his rhythm.

They both got out soon after another, Gayle for 40 and Ganguly for 56, and B-Mac for a quickfire 6, but KKR still managed 181 (something they have been doing with no fuss) after some late mayhem from Manoj Tiwary and Angelo Mathews.

Then came the second key phase of the match - Ashok Dinda's first over of the innings. He bowled a succession of quick, skiddy dot balls at David Warner, finally hitting the stumps off the fifth ball to end Pitbull's misery. Considering the highly jumpy nature of his run-up, the skiddiness is pretty weird, but it works for him.

Some Viru-Gauti magic threatened to end the match early, but Ganguly was an old livewire on the field and he ran out the latter part of that duo with a direct hit. Sehwag blazed away a while longer, but his dismissal was the starting point of a middle-order collapse, with Sri Lankan rookie huntsman Mendis and leftie spinner Iqbal Abdulla in the thick of the action.

No one actually knows what KKR's chances of making the semis are, as they've settled into a comfortably unpredictable rhythm. If they win all their matches, they stand a good chance of qualifying for the semis, and in the words of Kurt Cobain, "Well, never mind."

They play BRC today.

Not quite there

Friday, April 09, 2010 , , , No Comments

A few days ago, the folks at World Cricket Watch unveiled their '40 most exciting cricket blogs on the web'.

I didn't make it, of course - I don't think this blog is too easy to find, and the name doesn't exactly scream 'cricket'. In fact, I'd love to hear someone actually scream 'cricket', I've never heard it happen, and it would make a decent change from hearing Ravi Shastri scream about cricket.

Anyway, I am now on the "Exciting Cricket Blogs and Recommended Reading from Our Users You Should Definitely Check Out…" list, right after the important ones. Not quite the achievement I've worked hardest for, considering all I had to do was ask to be in it. But they were kind enough to heed my request (thanks Wes for also contributing).

This has only been a full-time cricket blog for a few months, and I aim to be on more lists, because I like lists, they're fun to read.

On a random note, corn pink slander bugle pastel macadamia.

Outclassed and outplayed

Tuesday, April 06, 2010 , , , , , , , No Comments

This one's touch and go - simple enough to explain. By the way, I'm talking about KKR v KXIP, the second leg.

KKR did very well to get to 200, bolstered by Gaylestorm's 88 from 42 (with 8 sixes), and he had great support on either side from Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary, both of whom scored 30-odd each. 30-odd is a weird term - what if the number is even? Like 32 or 38, are those 30-even scores?

Anyway, a major feature of KKR's innings was Bopara disappearing for 33 runs in one over, surprisingly the most expensive over in the IPL's history, considering both Gibbs and Yuvraj are in it - this also explains why no one buys Broad or van Bunge. So Bopara got slammed for four consecutive sixes and then, like a masochist, sprayed it for five wides. Powar was fantastic - he finished his spell inside the first 11 overs and had the measure of the lefties at the top. KKR scored 122 runs in the last nine overs after the all-round (haha) spinner had finished his four.

That wasn't enough on an easy pitch, though. Jayawardene, playing in his favoured position as an opener (he does it for his state side), let loose and manufactured a sublime innings full of graceful cricketing shots, nary a slog in sight. He has me being all poetic (for my standards) - if you haven't checked out his innings, I suggest you do so as soon as possible. Hey, in fact, I'll post it right here. Sanga and Yuvraj aided him in this chase and they showed glimpses of their best form, which does not bode well for RR tomorrow. All the KKR bowlers were rubbish, save for Bond. Same old, same old. They play Delhi tomorrow, and their win-one, lose-one trend is probably going to break, this time with two losses in a row. Brendon McCullum may be brought in, but the batting is OK if you ask me - hell, you know it too.

Right, just watch this.

Note: The video went all 'copyright' on me so here's the link to it.

"Who's your Dada?!" screams Ganguly

Saturday, April 03, 2010 , , , , , No Comments

I'm good at bringing out the negatives, so I will say that this could have been much worse.

I'll tell you why.

Maybe Gilly felt sympathy for Ganguly, maybe it was just Dada's day. Only that could explain how Roach repeatedly fed him short and wide stuff on the offside, stuff that he would put away if he was blindfolded and stuffed in the trunk of  SRK's car. Another thing that went his way - when he was looking great and in form and timing it and all that crap, Ojha continued to bowl one end. Ojha. A left-arm spinner. The kind Ganguly makes a meal out of. In fact, he serves them at his restaurant, the Food Pavilion.

Anyway, he ended on a princely 88 off 54, and it was great to see him get out caught at the boundary, rather than those tame lobs to the infield. Or getting bowled off wides.

And how annoying that the day the skipper fires, the rest of the batsmen disappoint. Gayle, Pujara, Tiwary all failed. Young Hussey stuck around, so awed at watching Ganguly bat so well that he only ran singles for most of his innings. At least he accelerated later, and by that time the boundaries were flowing.

181 was a tough cookie on a slow pitch, but Deccan had a rollicking start provided by Gilly and the bald eagle. Gilly was probably smug having avoided getting out to the first-over spinner Parmar, when he fell to Agarkar. And that's the joke for the paragraph.

Gibbs slowed down after that, and the momentum Monish Mishra briefly gave them was lost for a while. Roy kept them in the hunt, but some impeccable stuff from Bond and Kartik got all him all 'unable to time it, raaaaar' after which he couldn't even hit Agarkar's full tosses. Mathews, since he doesn't exist, bowled some quiet overs and went unnoticed.

The best of news - B-Mac will probably play the next game, and barring Bond, any of the foreign players (Gayle, Young Hussey, Mathews) can be replaced.

After this match, I have deduced that Agarkar is the spirit of the team. He is the essence of random form.

Also, a joke that I found.

Today's cricket headlines

Thursday, April 01, 2010 , , No Comments

  • India pick new squad for the T20 WC, this time including Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag have been dropped due to their erratic form. [Criclines]
  • Dirk Nannes defers back to the Netherlands [Mashsport]
  • Wasim and Waqar come out of retirement, get fined by the PCB for doing so, retire in protest. [Pakpost]
  • Preity Zinta has sold her share in the Kings XI Punjab to Daniel Vettori, making it the second team that he controls. [Indinews]
  • Brett Lee to collaborate with Harbhajan Singh on a song tentatively titled "Haan main tumhara obnoxious weed hoon". [Desimusicfirst]
  • Ramesh Powar trips and falls, bounces back up. [Betterbelieveitnews]