tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82688289239276939722024-03-13T08:36:05.443+05:30Musings From Silly PointA Peek into the World of CricketThe Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-47797770525387122672008-11-18T10:16:00.002+05:302008-11-18T18:30:29.869+05:30The Dark Knight<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBDkRKTfvS8T8bFiFfb_kQLG8-48G7HgArPJGJsIM179jnZomfZd6yzfdSKeIdOsnwQ7Mf9lPgSWnkB4T1D4cSrzVVY3xMHLW9ghhMY-BiP08h1dslLJ7HXrVCYpdFW9f7Hl4_8BIIok/s1600-h/ganguly2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269841151011989106" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 218px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBDkRKTfvS8T8bFiFfb_kQLG8-48G7HgArPJGJsIM179jnZomfZd6yzfdSKeIdOsnwQ7Mf9lPgSWnkB4T1D4cSrzVVY3xMHLW9ghhMY-BiP08h1dslLJ7HXrVCYpdFW9f7Hl4_8BIIok/s320/ganguly2.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br />It has been a very long time, exactly 7 months to be precise. Along with great changes in the cricketing world there were also personal changes which made me stay away from my blog. Something which I am very regretful about is not being able to write about the events in the IPL, which I can hopefully cover in brief in a later post. There were also the Kitply Cup, the Asia Cup and India’s tour of Sri Lanka. While we lost in the finals of the Kitply Cup and the Asia Cup, we won the ODI series in Sri Lanka after having lost the 3 test match series against the same team 2-1. The recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India vs. Australia test series) and the ongoing India-England ODI series will also be covered in the near future. <p>As all of you know, two of India’s cricket greats called it a day during the Border-Gavaskar <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7TMDaU181t8d710a4DRl7AACnG_ABVmJZvxE_dhN2Aiytb28vzpbuQ0VZbarTAE6db0R_VxnViK1zbsLJDOr8mRrci4kT4nbruph87N4okRfG610OtSz-uri5NQ00fepbvizU37PiM0/s1600-h/84133.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269836985018847442" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 210px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7TMDaU181t8d710a4DRl7AACnG_ABVmJZvxE_dhN2Aiytb28vzpbuQ0VZbarTAE6db0R_VxnViK1zbsLJDOr8mRrci4kT4nbruph87N4okRfG610OtSz-uri5NQ00fepbvizU37PiM0/s320/84133.jpg" border="0" /></a>Trophy. While Sourav Ganguly announced his retirement before the start of the series, Anil Kumble retired immediately after the third test which was held at New Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, which is the same stadium in which Kumble took an amazing 10/74 against Pakistan in 1999. In this post I will cover Sourav Ganguly, not only because he is my favourite Indian cricketer but also because of the man’s enigmatic approach to the game.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDoIhpmG7uo-VbDMwptkpI40BSlBFj4-oR7VaxOVAmNl9Sfadzf7XcT6yjFTzdkmZlj8EAhZeikMbvBWeVd9Gd_Ote6aklfeMpOt2M-LIb20Vn09n8lreEGWP_JstFpQEvi1oZC_1BpA/s1600-h/247430.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269837150024404354" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 210px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDoIhpmG7uo-VbDMwptkpI40BSlBFj4-oR7VaxOVAmNl9Sfadzf7XcT6yjFTzdkmZlj8EAhZeikMbvBWeVd9Gd_Ote6aklfeMpOt2M-LIb20Vn09n8lreEGWP_JstFpQEvi1oZC_1BpA/s320/247430.jpg" border="0" /></a>Let’s rewind back to 1996, when a young Ganguly made his test debut along with Rahul Dravid in the second test at Lord’s, the Mecca of cricket, in a 3 test match series during India’s tour of England. India had to salvage its pride after having been comprehensively beaten in the first test. Ganguly, who made his ODI debut in Australia in 1992, knew it was his only opportunity for making it big as after his ODI debut he had been languishing for 4 long years. He came into bat when India was in a precarious position and with Dravid set up a partnership which helped India draw the match. While Dravid was unfortunate to fall in the 90s, Ganguly hammered a graceful 131, which till date remains the highest score by an Indian on test debut. He also hit a century in the next test and was awarded the Man of the Series. The man from Kolkata was on a roll.</p> <p>These powerful performances also helped him get a place in the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkdQ1npRS8AJSYCrny2b8Q3VjNrkaDFoMzEFgE7-9DJ1eEzPnkUMgmHDxkWRQUctwS4jysrja-RyKGcTugji-VvxU2XMmuYa29rJaTHFRhOKdxtPT6cvUO4CQFVV4R2088ZYrPMIT1Fg/s1600-h/80630.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269837531468760930" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 216px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkdQ1npRS8AJSYCrny2b8Q3VjNrkaDFoMzEFgE7-9DJ1eEzPnkUMgmHDxkWRQUctwS4jysrja-RyKGcTugji-VvxU2XMmuYa29rJaTHFRhOKdxtPT6cvUO4CQFVV4R2088ZYrPMIT1Fg/s320/80630.jpg" border="0" /></a> ODI side and soon he was the opening batsman. He, along with Sachin Tendulkar went on to become what was unarguably the finest and most destructive opening combination in the history of ODIs. In the 1999 World Cup, he played one of the finest ODI knocks ever against Sri Lanka at Taunton. He scored a brilliant 183 against an attack which had the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. Dravid, who scored 145, partnered Ganguly in a massive 318 run stand. It was the first time out of two instances when an ODI partnership has gone beyond 300. (Dravid was involved in the other one as well) Ganguly’s 7 sixes in the match were all massive especially one of Muralitharan, which he hit out of the ground. His innings is India’s the second highest score in World Cup history and was then the highest individual score by an Indian in ODIs.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij2vwkjcNj-Q2QDTkFDMYGQ6HXgp1frcDL0V2Fo-zwv3QQTQzfeoongvSiOYhIzy3JsrS-smJqTgw7OxyAKsSgZWHIpt4_BrX5hkNXxsVdSPSU3giDQ7JOe651Ivq0uOPNg1wMP6zYRo/s1600-h/037567.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269837884663815874" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 275px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiij2vwkjcNj-Q2QDTkFDMYGQ6HXgp1frcDL0V2Fo-zwv3QQTQzfeoongvSiOYhIzy3JsrS-smJqTgw7OxyAKsSgZWHIpt4_BrX5hkNXxsVdSPSU3giDQ7JOe651Ivq0uOPNg1wMP6zYRo/s320/037567.jpg" border="0" /></a>In 1999-2000, Mohd. Azharuddin and Tendulkar were unsuccessful captains in the 1999 World Cup and India’s tour of Australia. After losing to being whitewashed 2-0 by the touring South Africans is February 2000, Tendulkar relinquished captaincy. Ganguly was appointed as captain and he led India to a 3-2 ODI series victory against the South Africans. But the problems were far from over as the match-fixing scandal left Indian cricket in tatters. Ganguly had a tough task as India failed in the Asia Cup 2000, winning only a single game, against minnows Bangladesh, a match in which Ganguly scored an unbeaten 135. After a break of four months or so, India had its next tournament in October 2000; it was the ICC Knockout Trophy in Kenya, also known as the “Mini” World Cup. India’s team ranking in ODIs was so low that it had to play a pre-quarter final against Kenya while teams like Australia were in the quarter final without having played a match. For the tournament, Ganguly decided to field two newcomers- Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. As expected, India won their fixture against Kenya and though Yuvraj didn’t get to bat, Zaheer got 3 wickets, which was a decent first outing. India’s opponent in the quarter final was Australia, which was the highest ranked team even then. India batted first and after a solid opening stand of 50+ by Tendulkar and Ganguly, India faltered. 19 year old Yuvraj came in to bat for the first time at the international stage and he was facing the mighty Aussies but that didn’t seem to stop him from hammering 84. This superb knock was followed by his brilliant fielding with two great diving catches and a superb direct throw to account for Michael Bevan, who is still regarded one of the finest finishers in ODIs. That, along with another wonderful bowling performance by Zaheer helped India defeat the Aussies and reach the semi final where they had to face South Africa. Ganguly led from front in the semi final against the Proteas as he played one of his greatest knocks, an unbeaten 143. I still remember the way he treated Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje- pure class. India thrashed the South Africans but lost the final to New Zealand despite a wonderful 117 by Ganguly, who along with Tendulkar had yet another century stand for the first wicket.</p> <p>In 2001, Steve Waugh’s Aussie “Invincibles” came to India for a 3 match test series after having <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYEfyqdfXIElAv56F1gqgez8fX6Kj0KySdEuVHdulaNek-wz7gd03vwIYKqyaOp8Cx7Y64iMCP5MkQhvqPZAh6USIQQAn7itRVKpWKqCZ34pLTcWtym645I3tWr6MuiC6lGl22mOoFLA/s1600-h/84137.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269838155738596466" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 198px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYEfyqdfXIElAv56F1gqgez8fX6Kj0KySdEuVHdulaNek-wz7gd03vwIYKqyaOp8Cx7Y64iMCP5MkQhvqPZAh6USIQQAn7itRVKpWKqCZ34pLTcWtym645I3tWr6MuiC6lGl22mOoFLA/s320/84137.jpg" border="0" /></a>won 15 consecutive tests, just 2 short of beating West Indies’ record of 16 consecutive wins. India was thrashed in the first test at Mumbai and Australia were level with the West Indies on the record front. The second test was played at one of the world’s finest cricket stadiums which without a doubt is also India’s best- the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Australia started pretty strongly till another of Ganguly’s “recruits”- off-spinner Harbhajan Singh took an astonishing hat-trick, the first by an Indian in tests. That, however, didn’t stop Steve Waugh from scoring a century and helping the Aussies cross 400. When India came out to bat, the Australian bowlers produced a stellar bowling display and the Indians could only score 171 with V.V.S. Laxman scoring 59. India had followed-on and was sent into bat again in the third day. A loss looked imminent. Ganguly and Laxman had a good partnership and when Ganguly fell after having scored 48, the scoreboard read 232/4 and Dravid came out to bat. Laxman had scored his century by the end of the day’s play. What happened on the fourth day was something that nobody would have expected. Laxman and Dravid scripted one of test cricket’s greatest batting revivals and didn’t get out for the entire day! By the time they got out the next day, Laxman had scored 281 which was then the highest score by an Indian in test while Dravid scored a solid 180. While the entire country was heaving a sigh of relief as the match would now be draw, Ganguly decided to declare with the score being 657/7. The entire nation was shocked. People were wondering why any captain would declare when the match was headed towards a draw, a result which would not only stop the rampaging Aussies but also save the Indians the humiliation of a loss. The total was something the Aussies could easily chase down and cricket fans were extremely annoyed with Ganguly for declaring so that the Aussies could win. However, they didn’t know that the Indian skipper had other ideas.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5iRExiHXvNrHqDBiYfqqwOVguS0X_fmqngU3KurLQMxPjMbxFTAuQljAATPlRjlTxBIjdt3lUlYab465TTscsnNmHXzD9D-LeTYAvVAO8PM6HgeT0lGFjb9pR_dvgNkI4gNiXGBIJ_4/s1600-h/84136.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269838312014439442" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 210px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5iRExiHXvNrHqDBiYfqqwOVguS0X_fmqngU3KurLQMxPjMbxFTAuQljAATPlRjlTxBIjdt3lUlYab465TTscsnNmHXzD9D-LeTYAvVAO8PM6HgeT0lGFjb9pR_dvgNkI4gNiXGBIJ_4/s320/84136.jpg" border="0" /></a>The events that transpired over the next two sessions of play that day were absolutely magical. The way Ganguly maneuvered Harbhajan and Tendulkar to pick wickets was amazing. India won the test and hearts all over. It was just the second time in a long time that a team had won after following-on. India also won the third test in Chennai. Sourav Ganguly had done the seemingly impossible task of beating the best team in the world by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. It wasn’t only his on-field tactics that shook the Aussies. He walked out late for the toss and, if he won it, he would walk off on his own after letting the TV interviewer know what India choose to do. Once, after being pulled up by the match referee, he turned up five minutes before the toss- in his tracksuit top. Steve Waugh writes in his book, "<i>You had to give him an 'A' for effort in his attempt to annoy us, and in particular me. It worked to a certain extent.</i>" That was the series which gave rise to the “Big 4” theory. The Legend of Sourav Ganguly had only just begun.</p> <p>The same year, Ganguly scored a superb 98 not out to guide India to its first test series win in Sri Lanka. England came to India in December 2001 and were beaten 1-0 in a three match test series. This was followed by a 6 match ODI series. India had the advantage being 3-1 up in 4 matches. England, however, put up commendable performances to tie the series 3-3. The last game which was played at Mumbai saw India chasing 256. Ganguly scored a wonderful 80 but his dismissal triggered a collapse and when Javagal Srinath was last man out while there were 6 to get in 2 balls, the bowler who got the wicket- Andrew Flintoff went berserk and pulled his shirt off. Ganguly didn’t like that one bit.</p> <p>In July 2002, India reached the final of the Natwest tri-series in England. The third team <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa4c0JqjsPW0d3wTG-8vLFNiiht7mp3FdEYFKJ9hsGXRXxwdF2Rx3tkXFgvoYWQwovw9DYvec98G0aYuxWc7YdX9oW8miEpXECLu75qtvJpSfISOIcjG5-Ro_g5Uqtq5SqaGos2wHroI/s1600-h/SG+with+his+shirt+off+at+Lords.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269838465399830258" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa4c0JqjsPW0d3wTG-8vLFNiiht7mp3FdEYFKJ9hsGXRXxwdF2Rx3tkXFgvoYWQwovw9DYvec98G0aYuxWc7YdX9oW8miEpXECLu75qtvJpSfISOIcjG5-Ro_g5Uqtq5SqaGos2wHroI/s320/SG+with+his+shirt+off+at+Lords.jpg" border="0" /></a>involved was Sri Lanka. The final was between India and England and India had to chase a huge 321 at Lord’s. Ganguly opened with Virender Sehwag who for once had to see Ganguly hammer the bowlers. The massive six which he hit over cover off Flintoff’s bowling is still on my mind. India knocked the first 100 runs in very quick time. Just when things were looking good, Ganguly fell to Alex Tudor for 60 in just 43 balls. India kept losing wickets till Yuvraj built up a partnership with another of Ganguly’s men- Mohd. Kaif. The two of them especially Kaif tormented the English bowlers and India won in the last over of the match. Ganguly went crazy in the pavilion and ripped his shirt off to celebrate the moment and in his excitement forgetting the fact that he was at Lord’s, a ground which makes the game of cricket divine, the very same one on which Kapil Dev’s men won the 1983 World Cup. This is what Sidharth Monga of Cricinfo says about the incident, “<i>Indians, not the least Bengalis, are supposed to be studious, meek, wristy, oriental artists. They are not supposed to make opposition captains wait at the toss, make fielders tie their shoelaces and, worst of all, sledge. There the Indian captain is, at Lord's, no less, waving the shirt he wore a moment ago, shouting four-letter words again and again. With </i><i>Ganguly</i><i>, </i><i>India</i><i>'s aggression goes naked, one of the turning points in the nation's cricketing history.</i>”</p> <p>That day a new cricket team was born, the team which went on to be called “The Men in Blue” and “Team India”, a new breed of players who along with their captain became the toast of the nation.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL9BEg9JOe4TyzSW4U4QKFiWiEM8DGN-TKLrAZhInf5ychyphenhyphen0Ev6Qk0yy7EyLRUxfuW8I5I4hwF0g1-oEin56jvwzrCIb-Un7v33hhxbQkP8bmaEy_y0mGm1p7AxJ7LCcyEZvtDCKzgnA/s1600-h/84138.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269838707675857634" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 232px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL9BEg9JOe4TyzSW4U4QKFiWiEM8DGN-TKLrAZhInf5ychyphenhyphen0Ev6Qk0yy7EyLRUxfuW8I5I4hwF0g1-oEin56jvwzrCIb-Un7v33hhxbQkP8bmaEy_y0mGm1p7AxJ7LCcyEZvtDCKzgnA/s320/84138.jpg" border="0" /></a>The Natwest series was followed by the famous Headingley test in which India won against England by an innings. It was probably the only match in which all three- Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar scored centuries. Ganguly and Tendulkar, in particular went crazy towards the end of the second day. With light fading, it is usually the batsmen who want to go back, but these two hit the bowlers all over the park and after numerous complaints from the bowlers, the umpires called it stumps when they too couldn’t see the ball. Geoffrey Boycott called it “Murder in the Dark”</p> <p>India was a troubled team after a bad tour of New Zealand while they went to play the 2003<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmoAd4Y3Xl1qumqC6r2ZiCxrVTKFtokVoJaRucOwbQdQwaRmHT6lbHMphbuIJxxOlTcqrZhCNg9MXIXYGeRlxdOkIkr5_rv8WEa8FNjkpWTcQef191yQI_WpieFHb2UnQqgaXCQFzF2k/s1600-h/83047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269839190708509730" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 234px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmoAd4Y3Xl1qumqC6r2ZiCxrVTKFtokVoJaRucOwbQdQwaRmHT6lbHMphbuIJxxOlTcqrZhCNg9MXIXYGeRlxdOkIkr5_rv8WEa8FNjkpWTcQef191yQI_WpieFHb2UnQqgaXCQFzF2k/s320/83047.jpg" border="0" /></a> vWorld Cup in South Africa. This affected their performance in their first two league games- against Holland and then Australia. While we won the match against Holland despite a batting failure, we were thrashed by Australia. After this, all hell broke loose back in India. Effigies of Ganguly were burnt, Mohd. Kaif’s house was attacked and many other incidents on similar lines took place and these went on to show to the cricketing community how “Cricket Crazy” the nation was. Ganguly’s men had to pull up their socks and what followed after these two losses was absolute carnage especially on the batting front with Tendulkar and Ganguly flourishing. While Tendulkar ended the tournament as its highest run getter and got the Man of the Tournament award, Ganguly scored 3 centuries to be the second highest run scorer. India won every match until the final frontier- the final, which was against Australia, who won their second consecutive World Cup.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaKkHFLM4lZO0H-Ij-FVZT7vQmRNoWidusMX1cQpGKdd0us4JNncN2QXEIyBwlDbRNvnyjbRk8Lvv9SgVHvkY642qSroNuXQa1wiLaJcxTg_m7jntBQmPHkw_4qgpo63PJMtJ9ASPGeA/s1600-h/048064.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269838989196044706" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 314px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaKkHFLM4lZO0H-Ij-FVZT7vQmRNoWidusMX1cQpGKdd0us4JNncN2QXEIyBwlDbRNvnyjbRk8Lvv9SgVHvkY642qSroNuXQa1wiLaJcxTg_m7jntBQmPHkw_4qgpo63PJMtJ9ASPGeA/s320/048064.jpg" border="0" /></a>When India toured Australia in December 2003, Ganguly was a much hated man in Australia because of his tactics to annoy their team. One major weakness of Ganguly while batting was his inability to face the short ball. There was a time when he could play these deliveries but then he had lost the knack for doing so. The first test was played at the Gabba in Brisbane, one of the fastest pitches in the world and also one which generated a lot of bounce. Australia batted first and were bowled out for 323 after being 262/2 at one stage. India started well but lost three quick wickets, including Dravid and Tendulkar in the space of four balls from Gillespie. In walked Ganguly, carrying a history of grief against the quick stuff, to face the test of his life. His first scoring shot was an edged three to third man, and he swished and missed once against Gillespie a couple of overs later. But for the next few hours there were fours hit all around the wicket, there were sizzling drives and cuts, neat deflections to the leg, and swivelled pulls to balls that were dug into his ribs. It was a gutsy, stirring, emotion- filled hundred, which took the Australians by surprise. Ganguly had been identified as a soft target but, when he was sixth out, India led by six runs and the entire stadium rose to salute him. Sambit Bal writes, “<i>Not only the Australian team, the whole nation, it seems, is after him, and this is test of the captain's mettle. The innings has it all- urgency, emotion, disdain- and sets the pace for the series.</i>” India and Australia tied the four test match series 1-1.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlZSATqPPTh8JUvsIVgNwwBzpR6AeQQ7JlpLZqZBFJ5TZU1kP2Z8jxR1tVPqhRwV_yqbHgs6ZdX2IM8TFJmFeWKEueeFj82aSn3Yt6yboKHZLIsMTQrWyCeYafxR2G0Yu5CiaD91Pftg/s1600-h/84139.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269840692674771634" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 218px; text-align: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlZSATqPPTh8JUvsIVgNwwBzpR6AeQQ7JlpLZqZBFJ5TZU1kP2Z8jxR1tVPqhRwV_yqbHgs6ZdX2IM8TFJmFeWKEueeFj82aSn3Yt6yboKHZLIsMTQrWyCeYafxR2G0Yu5CiaD91Pftg/s320/84139.jpg" border="0" /></a></p> <p>2004 was a year which saw the beginning of the end of Ganguly. After he dropped out of the squad for the Nagpur test at the last minute, people assumed he did so because of the fast and bouncy track that awaited him. India went on to lose the match as the Aussies won their first test series in India after a long time. By mid-2005, his internal skirmish with the then coach Greg Chappell became well known and Ganguly was unceremoniously dropped from the national side and Dravid was made the captain. For the next year or so, the man struggled to prove himself and when he was called back, India were in dire straits after being whitewashed by South Africa at home in the ODI series. The one word that describes the Ganguly who has made a comeback to the Indian side is serene. Batsmen were falling around him, but Ganguly scored a fluent half century and India, inspired by the return of the prodigal son, went on to win the match.</p> <p>After the failure in World Cup 2007, Dravid resigned from the skipper’s post although there was a good tour of England in between and Anil Kumble was made the test captain. In the meantime, a Ganguly selection called Mahendra Singh Dhoni led a young and resurgent Indian outfit to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 2007 and Dhoni was promptly made the captain of the ODI side. Ganguly had a decent ODI series against Australia but faltered against Pakistan. He, however, had no idea that it was to be his last ODI series ever.</p> <p>The test matches with Pakistan were, however, a different story. India’s 1-0 win in the three <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3tiA5VM329AESV4Aper0J580ugBfNXEiFWOttaZkMePmbKqG-d3Fklisc1INeVa2RxGP_DUFKZcjEAsexcsYN-pNHHfXTqPaDL4odV8a0oeLR5t2_FUhW2FB999VnCDax9qEan1rNZg/s1600-h/83484.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269839698608574706" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 242px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3tiA5VM329AESV4Aper0J580ugBfNXEiFWOttaZkMePmbKqG-d3Fklisc1INeVa2RxGP_DUFKZcjEAsexcsYN-pNHHfXTqPaDL4odV8a0oeLR5t2_FUhW2FB999VnCDax9qEan1rNZg/s320/83484.jpg" border="0" /></a>match series was all about Ganguly’s batting. He played superbly and scored two centuries including his maiden double hundred, a magnificent 239 which was scored after India was in trouble at 61/4 in the third test at Bangalore. He scored a brilliant 91 in the second innings. It was the most number of runs made by an Indian in a match i.e. 330. At that time, a popular statement going around was, “<i>If Sourav Ganguly is in form, there's no point bowling to him.</i>” He was deservingly given both- the Man of the Match as well as the Man of the Series. Even his tour to Australia wasn’t all that bad. Sadly, he was dropped from the ODI team and his position in tests was also under scrutiny. This, despite the fact that he had mustered 1200+ forms in both forms of the game in 2007.</p> <p>He scored a brilliant 87 in the Kanpur test against South Africa, to help India tie the series 1-1. He also was quite successful as a batsman in the IPL hitting three superb half centuries but after a failure in the Sri Lanka series, he was dropped from the Irani Cup (the last Ranji trophy winner- Delhi against the Rest of India) side although he did play better than Tendulkar and Dravid. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, Ganguly announced his retirement in October this year saying that the test series against Australia would be his last.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkBc48JfnVXktImYcgfRl-VwwuLIEhMZl4sdggAdu8xVXhTQG_5V4V7_P-P_5af9bYuVF5-phtCj2WBDHjPJjWBYJXb61eUZqhSwxw4n2VFIvUrRNU5e0Q4yxzr6jYlnjTA-5jX3VFRU/s1600-h/95892.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269839968029238930" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkBc48JfnVXktImYcgfRl-VwwuLIEhMZl4sdggAdu8xVXhTQG_5V4V7_P-P_5af9bYuVF5-phtCj2WBDHjPJjWBYJXb61eUZqhSwxw4n2VFIvUrRNU5e0Q4yxzr6jYlnjTA-5jX3VFRU/s320/95892.jpg" border="0" /></a>There was a lot to look forward to considering it was the man’s last series and he didn’t disappoint. Scored a century in the Mohali test and 85 in the first innings of his last test- the one at Nagpur, the very same place where his decline began and against the very same opposition. Sadly, he scored a golden duck in the second innings and that didn’t make people mock him! Instead, people respected him even more by comparing him to the legendary Sir. Donald Bradman who also ended his career with a duck. As a mark of respect, Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was made the test captain after Kumble retired at the end of the Delhi test, gave Ganguly the captaincy in the dying moments of the game on November 10, exactly 10 years after he first captained India in a test match. What better tribute could the man, who according to Damien Fleming, “<i>triggered the rivalry between </i><i>India</i><i> and </i><i>Australia</i><i> and took it to a whole new level.</i>” Get? “<i>If you see the series in </i><i>India</i><i> in 2001 and in </i><i>Australia</i><i> two years later, he gave it back to the champions with his shrewd captaincy,</i>” said Fleming. The series win is an example of how one man’s passion changes the way a team plays. It was the best possible exit for Dada, who ended the series as its seventh highest run scorer with 324 runs at an impressive average of 54. </p> <p>It was the end of the career of a cricketer who was considered the “God of the off side” and was <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A_uKdkp22RFG42Ilyxc0hDxeQAegGdfM3HIvY8yQcaJ4Eog7KVzlICSfDsnkYZw0_J9gJONPhGN7b57tu2p8d7voTx80SyxcD0wTQ3Bws3vjJ-1bKz_gQJ1H450HQbQa9d8BDJnMXN4/s1600-h/95952.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269840144300969282" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 223px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A_uKdkp22RFG42Ilyxc0hDxeQAegGdfM3HIvY8yQcaJ4Eog7KVzlICSfDsnkYZw0_J9gJONPhGN7b57tu2p8d7voTx80SyxcD0wTQ3Bws3vjJ-1bKz_gQJ1H450HQbQa9d8BDJnMXN4/s320/95952.jpg" border="0" /></a>one of the most inspirational leaders of all time, one who reinvented the squad and gave us players like Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Pathan, Zaheer and Dhoni. His records- both as a batsman and a captain speak volumes for themselves as Peter Roebuck writes, “<i>If Anil Kumble was the colossus, Sachin Tendulkar the champion, Rahul Dravid the craftsman, VVS Laxman the sorcerer, then Ganguly was the inspiration.</i>” He also writes, “<i>Throughout he (Ganguly) has toyed with his fate, tempting it to turn its back on him so that once again he could surprise the world with a stunning restoration. Something in him rebelled against the mundane and the sensible. He needed his life to be full of disasters and rescues</i>”<i> </i>This is what Ganguly said about his last innings duck, "<i>I don’t know whether one duck made my career more dramatic. It was dramatic in any case."</i></p> <p>Thus ended the career of Indian cricket’s Dark Knight- a player who was loved and hated in almost equal measure. Cricinfo’s commentary after his dismissal summarizes his career, “<i>A super career has come to an end. Hundred on debut, golden duck in the end…A rainbow in between. Dada, the most fascinating modern Indian cricketer, has played his last innings.</i>”</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Nn-CKm3EZL_uSr2aFOVQZM4IWO055w6poltF1I5VrPVlvDFGrcejoNzudckZcmPnyGmEg5norX0wpvjNDl34A4EkxewX5OJEhSsKzj-pceCfTnmGPzjGQC3e2VgGt-7Gc9ltH4EbwcU/s1600-h/Ganguly+Shirt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269840466741982002" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Nn-CKm3EZL_uSr2aFOVQZM4IWO055w6poltF1I5VrPVlvDFGrcejoNzudckZcmPnyGmEg5norX0wpvjNDl34A4EkxewX5OJEhSsKzj-pceCfTnmGPzjGQC3e2VgGt-7Gc9ltH4EbwcU/s320/Ganguly+Shirt.jpg" border="0" /></a></p> The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-56376066793104055032008-04-18T10:16:00.015+05:302008-04-26T09:49:31.056+05:30First Day First Show of the Indian Premier League- Cricket’s “Cinderella Hour”<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5379byZOTcmkQ8hwJ6R2slfOK6iEpepGxjAJKIWLUpP0y-mJd-tbcVT2ubTIXpNyZnMl8QZYioOLjyfH6RErxXvn7AbHmnZOpYQShL6XudM5LOxbcm-5e3ssUdU42uhYyxaRiYxm0R2g/s1600-h/IPL+Opening+Encounter.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5379byZOTcmkQ8hwJ6R2slfOK6iEpepGxjAJKIWLUpP0y-mJd-tbcVT2ubTIXpNyZnMl8QZYioOLjyfH6RErxXvn7AbHmnZOpYQShL6XudM5LOxbcm-5e3ssUdU42uhYyxaRiYxm0R2g/s320/IPL+Opening+Encounter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190578105699994370" border="0" /></a><br />It has been more than a month since I last posted. I really wanted to write about the VB Series Finals which India won, Sehwag’s magnificent 319 against the South Africans at Chennai, India’s batting disaster at Ahmedabad and their avenging victory at Kanpur. I also wanted to write about the series saving efforts of Sourav Ganguly but college exams prevented me from doing this. As I am also preparing for a major career oriented exam in May, I obviously won’t have much time here.<br /><br />At around 6 pm local time at Bangalore, Cricket is going to see a new chapter, something which is going to create history. After all the hype, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to commence with a bang. There will be a short yet entertaining opening ceremony with acrobats and a performance by the popular music composer trio- Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa before the opening match which is between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. The 12 cheerleaders of the Washington Redskins, known as the “First Ladies of American Football” will also entertain the crowd. Superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, who are also team co-owners will be present too. There will also be speeches by ICC President- Ray Mali , BCCI President- Sharad Pawar and IPL Chairman- Lalit Modi.<br /><br />After the short opening ceremony the organizers plan to switch off the floodlights, thus plunging the stadium into darkness. “Then,” as the CEO of the Bangalore team told Cricinfo, "the spotlights will come on, and focus on the two skippers as they walk out for the toss”<br /><br />Both the skippers- Kolkata’s Sourav Ganguly and Bangalore’s Rahul Dravid, had their test debut in the same match against England at Lords in 1996. They rescued India when the team was in trouble. Dravid got out in the 90s while Ganguly hit a brilliant 131 which happens to be the highest score by an Indian player on test debut. Both have also led the Indian side. While Ganguly has been India’s most successful captain, Dravid will be rather infamously remembered for leading the team when they were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round itself. The question being asked is whether or not Ganguly can beat Dravid in his own backyard. That is a question whose answer we will get by around 11 pm. The Kolkata Knight Riders are the favourites to win the tournament opener with odds of 1.66 while the Bangalore Royal Challengers have odds of 2.10.<br /><br />I expect a very close match. Though the Knight Riders are the stronger team on paper, the Royal Challengers can give them a run for their money. A lot has been said about the Bangalore team and most of it has been negative. I, for instance, have heard people say that the Royal Challengers aren’t a team who can play Twenty20 Cricket in the right way because of their team composition. That may be partly true but then one should always remember that anything can happen in Twenty20 Cricket.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3vai3YN1r0ul_MFF_gd-EV_Xq5dPTxM29fNOBYS-2Mtp1uftxyK1h8X8xhQv9sywohhbvd-tPJne0JH_tKBM4De4MLf6ofcY2DtFpxMpZQzXu0oDhoCQneRfJTCcGBOT3o5nAeu1jV8/s1600-h/316141.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3vai3YN1r0ul_MFF_gd-EV_Xq5dPTxM29fNOBYS-2Mtp1uftxyK1h8X8xhQv9sywohhbvd-tPJne0JH_tKBM4De4MLf6ofcY2DtFpxMpZQzXu0oDhoCQneRfJTCcGBOT3o5nAeu1jV8/s320/316141.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190583637617871634" border="0" /></a>If you look at the Royal Challengers, Rahul Dravid will play a major role in today’s game. Though we can’t expect much from him, he will be a player to look out for. Many people were surprised when he hit a half-century in just 23 balls against New Zealand 5 years ago. I am looking forward to see Zaheer Khan open the bowling for Bangalore with Praveen Kumar. I am not to sure about how Wasim Jaffer will adapt to the T20 format. Another player to look out for will be India’s Under-19 skipper Virat Kohli. I am not too sure about the other local players as I hardly know them. It will be interesting to see their team composition as only 4 overseas players can play in a match. I expect Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Cameron White and Ashley Noffke to make the cut. Boucher is the obvious choice for wicket-keeper and is a very handy batsman too. Kallis will be another major player. I don’t know much about Noffke, who has replaced the injured Nathan Bracken. Bangalore’s trump card has to be Cameron White. White is a specialist in this format of the game and has a record 55-ball Twenty20 century on the English county circuit and with a batting average of 43.90 in this format he's clearly one to watch. He has hit 62 fours and 49 sixes in 546 balls faced in Twenty20 cricket - that's a four or a six every 4.92 balls!<br /><br />Coming to the star studded team of the Kolkata Knight Riders, I surely expect Sourav Ganguly<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfFV9m_WA48fLcbbanOeRdIVyyz7KwHnvvJoRoU_DXTqzSK6NTiTBlASh-Wim8JWMCxSX-CV3aqLg3WxxIp1BDEWQ1OasF9N6r10L_hiuKm1R9O0gvJzdcjlC9td39_0I24J0nLGXGKc/s1600-h/342011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfFV9m_WA48fLcbbanOeRdIVyyz7KwHnvvJoRoU_DXTqzSK6NTiTBlASh-Wim8JWMCxSX-CV3aqLg3WxxIp1BDEWQ1OasF9N6r10L_hiuKm1R9O0gvJzdcjlC9td39_0I24J0nLGXGKc/s320/342011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190583856661203746" border="0" /></a> to lead from front. I am very eager to see him open the batting with Chris Gayle. The last time Chris Gayle played in the first match of a Twenty20 tournament, he blasted a 57-ball 117 against South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 last year; the 10 sixes he struck is the highest in a Twenty20 innings. Ricky Ponting at No. 3 followed by the explosive Brendon McCullum will be major batsmen too. Ishant Sharma, who has undoubtedly been India’s find of the season will be the bowler that the Royal Challengers need to be wary of. Murali Kartik too will be interesting to watch as he has a T20 career economy rate of 5.90 which is very good in this format.<br /><br />As of now, I can only wonder what is to happen this evening as 8 pm or as Cricinfo called it- “Cinderella Hour” approaches. Its quite obvious now that Cricket is never going to be the same.<br /><br />Recommended reading:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.cricketnext.com/news/will-chennai-cheer-if-murali-dismisses-sachin/31038-13-single.html">Dhoni: "Will Chennai cheer if Murali dismisses Sachin?"</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cricketnext.com/news/gangulypontingbuchanan-a-lethal-trio/31023-13.html">McCullum: "Ganguly-Ponting-Buchanan a lethal trio"</a></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIqi_CaG7Jv_MsJGUSPAhpDx1-yX830fLYgpPUI_AN8nrbJDg-FUjom7tIJk7PNePuVJI6b0xEzpTBuLjZbRtE-w7Y4DPuUaYncwuL9yFL_iVRlWmivAa_qOaEth7hjEN9VF1zqW7OwI/s1600-h/IPL+Opening+Encounter.JPG"><br /></a>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-14146653496806181652008-02-29T13:22:00.002+05:302008-03-25T11:48:24.101+05:30Revisiting the ICC World Twenty20 2007I had no intention of posting today but just couldn’t resist writing on February 29 as I certainly don’t want to wait for 4 more years to avail the opportunity. I was thinking about what to write the entire morning as nothing of interest in the game of cricket was underway. After my last post I also didn’t want to sit and criticize the Australian clowns who are playing the Lankans now in a match whose result is purely academic. Then the thought of writing about the best cricketing incidents of 2007 came to my mind, but I decided not to go with it as it would be too time consuming. I also couldn’t write about last year’s World Cup as it was probably the most boring World Cup in the history of the game and it was very controversial too, because of the untimely demise of Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer. That was when I thought of writing about a cricketing event in 2007 which took the cricket fraternity by storm- the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 which was hosted by South Africa. The success of this event was overwhelming even though purists slammed it saying that it would destroy the game completely. The tournament, which was popularly known as the Twenty20 World Cup, was just 13 days long, and it brought the ICC more revenue than the month and a half long World Cup in the West Indies.<br /><br />The first match of the tournament was played between the World Cup hosts West Indies and the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lTy05P7FNaGoQh-TgEfXkgMQw7YXsKnSImlUYplqAmKYKP5kpzZN1gmJezjgMIBYfPFzWNmt7auKMQ0JRAY89aJgNjUOcp9TY09dNdd5lr_JoxK4XAKFfdW10YR9YpuiEPGi6azeTho/s1600-h/79429.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lTy05P7FNaGoQh-TgEfXkgMQw7YXsKnSImlUYplqAmKYKP5kpzZN1gmJezjgMIBYfPFzWNmt7auKMQ0JRAY89aJgNjUOcp9TY09dNdd5lr_JoxK4XAKFfdW10YR9YpuiEPGi6azeTho/s320/79429.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172412074377761570" border="0" /></a> Twenty20 hosts South Africa on September 11, 2007. This match was one of the best matches of the tournament. South Africa won the toss and elected to field first and when the West Indies started batting, South African skipper Graeme Smith realized that his decision was completely wrong. The Windies had got off to a flier and reached 50 without losing a wicket in just 5.2 overs! The carnage wasn’t over as Chris Gayle blasted the South African bowlers all over the place and the Windies brought up their 100 in just 9.4 overs out of which Gayle had notched up 64. The first wicket fell at 145 when D.S. Smith departed for 35. Gayle reached his century, the first in international Twenty20 history off just 50 balls. He got out in the 17th over for a magnificent 117 in 57 deliveries with 7 fours and 10 huge sixes. Windies ended their 20 overs with 205/6. South Africa needed to accelerate from the beginning if they wanted to win and they did just that as the openers knocked off the first 50 runs in just 4.5 overs. In spite of losing 2 wickets, the Proteas also reached 100 in 9.4 overs. Gibbs and Kemp hammered the bowling and the South Africans won in the 17.4 overs. Gayle’s brilliant effort went in vain but that knock is certainly unforgettable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuQLI9CgvM2ZKe1Zj0nGSz8IPVo_6efOCrmCIu7_jfKqjEV_3mve0rOIA8RdsZQBCLtu0vrLg6W2cWo7wew1lrwVNbGRKrFh0j9UVzHayC-s7d5_cS7fVY5oNHOC2LediK_LuEfssoDU/s1600-h/79620.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuQLI9CgvM2ZKe1Zj0nGSz8IPVo_6efOCrmCIu7_jfKqjEV_3mve0rOIA8RdsZQBCLtu0vrLg6W2cWo7wew1lrwVNbGRKrFh0j9UVzHayC-s7d5_cS7fVY5oNHOC2LediK_LuEfssoDU/s320/79620.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172411868219331346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KSz-fGWLO098aOBCAl5EmpJ-f4ii2Ye1bycfktEOK8y0mnL0iB5Sgl_WwrLbvAUt3dO0t8V98bNrQLdiPNs_SN8qAu9dP64-TcSk1C1bV1iZNnBzpqV3aF0iJOCXMShCR_E9zCR6Oc4/s1600-h/79630.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KSz-fGWLO098aOBCAl5EmpJ-f4ii2Ye1bycfktEOK8y0mnL0iB5Sgl_WwrLbvAUt3dO0t8V98bNrQLdiPNs_SN8qAu9dP64-TcSk1C1bV1iZNnBzpqV3aF0iJOCXMShCR_E9zCR6Oc4/s320/79630.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172412284831159090" border="0" /></a>The next match worthy of mention is the India-Pakistan league encounter. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field and the Indians were in deep trouble at 36/4 with Mohd. Asif taking all 4 wickets. Robin Uthappa played one of the best T20 innings under pressure to get India out of trouble. He had scored 50 in 39 balls by the time he was the fifth man out for 82. Dhoni and Pathan hung on and helped in taking India to 141/9. Pakistan was also in a spot of bother at 87/5 but Misbah-ul-Haq played spectacularly and Pakistan had 5 runs to win off 3 balls and had 3 wickets in hand, Misbah was facing Sreesanth and he smashed the ball straight to the boundary for four and brought up his half century. Now it was 1 to win off 2. Sreesanth bowled a well directed bouncer off which Misbah couldn’t take a run. That made it 1 run to win of 1 ball. Sreesanth then fired in a yorker which was played well by Misbah who then scampered for a run and was short of the crease as Uthappa had thrown the ball to Sreesanth who then went on to dislodge the bails. Misbah was run out for 53 off 35 balls and the match was a tie! But T20 rules need a bowl-out to take place in the event of a tie so that there is a winner at the end of the match. India held its nerve and won the bowl-out 3-0 as the Pakistanis missed the stumps on all occasions! India had defeated arch-rival Pakistan in an intense match and the media just couldn’t forget this moment as Dhoni won his first international game as captain.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZ8xa972U9Zi5E7F54NjsFCttNa-zhuoIFGpqCsrI15yy7Nr1ZW7ypGxZz7_zzszusQEkKWSiBagdiAJFASi-6Ou31sEB_XGNIFctOvWCIsvBI6Ni6vtDbuUkr71Gmxb7JmPaOU6diQM/s1600-h/79634.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZ8xa972U9Zi5E7F54NjsFCttNa-zhuoIFGpqCsrI15yy7Nr1ZW7ypGxZz7_zzszusQEkKWSiBagdiAJFASi-6Ou31sEB_XGNIFctOvWCIsvBI6Ni6vtDbuUkr71Gmxb7JmPaOU6diQM/s320/79634.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172412546824164162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFYmTeWJOw83obBfin0oxS1yzVuz9iC7wfU-4Pmd2yE2OqwBDic5hC4btCk2IFLoZOUPDSDXeg0f49b8LAhpz6-A_Khjv6GRNsaxxCnPIt_ABX8WGDRkViAQrG-FbnwaYHXdQewdC2BE/s1600-h/79742.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFYmTeWJOw83obBfin0oxS1yzVuz9iC7wfU-4Pmd2yE2OqwBDic5hC4btCk2IFLoZOUPDSDXeg0f49b8LAhpz6-A_Khjv6GRNsaxxCnPIt_ABX8WGDRkViAQrG-FbnwaYHXdQewdC2BE/s320/79742.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172412929076253522" border="0" /></a>The India vs. New Zealand match was a good one too. New Zealand was put into bat by the Indians and they blasted 190 runs in their 20 overs. The Indian openers started well but the middle-order couldn’t hold on and India lost the match by 10 runs. Gautam Gambhir played well for 51 off 33 and so did his opening partner Sehwag who scored 40 off just 17 balls and was the first Indian wicket to fall.<br /><br />Then there was the match played between Australia and Zimbabwe in which Zimbabwe won! I haven’t been able to write about that match as I don’t have many details about it. There is also the Australia-Bangladesh match which wasn’t very interesting as Australia chased down Bangladesh’s 123 easily. The match, however, had a typical T20 knock by Adam Gilchrist who blasted the Bangladeshi attack for 4 sixes and just 1 four in a 28 ball 43, a superb effort if you ask me.<br /><br />Another interesting match was the one in which Pakistan thrashed Australia by 6 wickets. Australia scored 164/7 in their 20 overs. Pakistan successfully chased the score in 19.1 overs thanks mainly to captain Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq who both made unbeaten half centuries. Malik scored 52 off 38 while Misbah scored 66 in just 42 balls. Misbah’s knock was one of my favourite individual batting efforts in the tournament. Another wonderful innings was by Justin Kemp of South Africa against New Zealand who hit 6 sixes and 6 fours to score an unbeaten 89 off 56 while helping South Africa chase down New Zealand’s 153.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzKjNXr4kIkJ8ynIvIX6BuVvgd7dj0XpPkpXLdrqiy1O_Z9FKv8HcxuHGzF8lAw7SbRfw5u5EYPuU41Z1p1Ylxkys8fnxZ-dpYqdHAyiutO42TmqZ54SX6Z4Tt5oGmGiXHVDEpwyaRgM/s1600-h/79886.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzKjNXr4kIkJ8ynIvIX6BuVvgd7dj0XpPkpXLdrqiy1O_Z9FKv8HcxuHGzF8lAw7SbRfw5u5EYPuU41Z1p1Ylxkys8fnxZ-dpYqdHAyiutO42TmqZ54SX6Z4Tt5oGmGiXHVDEpwyaRgM/s320/79886.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172417434496947250" border="0" /></a>One of the most famous matches has to be the India-England encounter as it was a treat to cricket lovers all over the world. We all know what happened in this match but I will start from the beginning. India won the toss and chose to bat. The Indian openers- Sehwag and Gambhir started cautiously before milking the bowling and had an opening partnership of 136. Sehwag scored 68 off 59 with 4 fours and 3 sixes and Gambhir scored 58 off 41 with 7 fours and a six. Both got out in successive overs and Uthappa followed them back to the pavilion. When Uthappa departed in the seventeenth over, the scorecard read 155/3 and Yuvraj Singh joined Dhoni at the crease. At the end of the eighteenth over Yuvraj had a tiff with Flintoff, at this point Yuvraj was batting on 14 runs in 6 balls, out of which 12 runs had come with the help of 3 fours. When Stuart Broad came into bowl the penultimate over of the Indian innings, Yuvraj greeted him by whacking the first ball for a huge six on the on-side. The next ball too was flicked for six.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuDP1XcNLkDuvlQm4MT_Fvh9PMAobKa24ow7B57HWd6MlhDPT-Rd7cNf7ivk7yeLd5ZhFrcmSNWtG1MCQQG1ngrNUr2-sp5cPuq1xwPcDGSZ32WE-kO7G6CV4kWT3OUXXBEc8kgxsad4/s1600-h/79889.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuDP1XcNLkDuvlQm4MT_Fvh9PMAobKa24ow7B57HWd6MlhDPT-Rd7cNf7ivk7yeLd5ZhFrcmSNWtG1MCQQG1ngrNUr2-sp5cPuq1xwPcDGSZ32WE-kO7G6CV4kWT3OUXXBEc8kgxsad4/s320/79889.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172417679310083138" border="0" /></a> He hit the third and fourth balls for two huge sixes on the off-side. The last two balls were hit for hit for massive sixes as well, both being on the on-side. Yuvraj Singh had become the first player in the history of Twenty20 cricket to hit 6 sixes in an over and the fourth to do so in senior cricket, the others being Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri (who was commentating while Yuvraj achieved the feat) and Herschelle Gibbs (who did it against Holland in the World Cup). Yuvraj also scored the fastest 50 T20 cricket in the process, in fact it was the fastest 50 in any form of the game. Before he got out in the last over of the innings he hit one more six, this time off Flintoff before falling to the same bowler for a brilliant 58 off just 16 balls with 3 fours and 7 towering sixes. He batted for only 15 minutes and his strike rate was a phenomenal 352.50 as India finished with a mammoth 218/4 in their stipulated 20 overs. Ravi Shastri’s statement during the course of his commentary aptly sums up Yuvraj’s heroic effort, “He came in like thunder and leaves with lighting.” The Englishmen came quite close as they ended on 200 as India won by 18 runs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI-3PyUuraMCGNMx4cdz8PfgUJ9zJuS8alL2l-Z1gth60NUvOmWceM4K-21hFu2YTI-cIFVXr_HTQye0nwyQ0zsNmrnxmZXzW_1yhv2n9auRZPfSgdcrfW9g9LybU9hGFUdakdG2mY_4/s1600-h/79962.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI-3PyUuraMCGNMx4cdz8PfgUJ9zJuS8alL2l-Z1gth60NUvOmWceM4K-21hFu2YTI-cIFVXr_HTQye0nwyQ0zsNmrnxmZXzW_1yhv2n9auRZPfSgdcrfW9g9LybU9hGFUdakdG2mY_4/s320/79962.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172414702897746850" border="0" /></a>India’s next match was against the South Africans, who till then were unbeaten in the tournament. India’s hero against England- Yuvraj was unable to play the match due to injury. India chose to bat after winning the toss and were in a lot of trouble the score being 33/3 in 5.1 overs. India lost their fourth wicket in the eleventh over when Uthappa tried to loft Morne Morkel over the top but managed to hit the ball straight to Graeme Smith, the score at that point was 61/4. From here, Dhoni and newcomer Rohit Sharma built a crucial partnership which was broken in the last over of the innings. The fifth wicket partnership between the two was worth 85 runs. The partnership ended when Dhoni was run out for a 33 ball 45. Rohit Sharma held his nerve to hit the last ball of the innings for six to bring up his 50 off 40 balls and also take India to a respectable 153/5. I was backing the South African team to win the game as they are one of my favourite teams. I wanted the result to be such that both India and South Africa qualify for the semi-finals which would mean that New Zealand would be knocked out of the tournament. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as India shocked the Proteas and not only won the game but in the process knocked the Proteas out of the tournament to set up a semi-final clash with the Australians. R.P. Singh bowled remarkably well in this match by picking up 4 wickets for just 13 runs in his 4 overs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2KTDNssfA6kRp_M0YmWXqyFFzZ19X4CSZNNKZilI0NRwRBP4BaGlJq_BiYN3AkEnVV3tg6di8tNzmJL3Bw6atbpkqOA_dHSS-3FdSpwDnLCt-Bio93WJ8tvTPqtQ8Og3WEYrqShvZrI/s1600-h/80021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2KTDNssfA6kRp_M0YmWXqyFFzZ19X4CSZNNKZilI0NRwRBP4BaGlJq_BiYN3AkEnVV3tg6di8tNzmJL3Bw6atbpkqOA_dHSS-3FdSpwDnLCt-Bio93WJ8tvTPqtQ8Og3WEYrqShvZrI/s320/80021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172415213998855090" border="0" /></a>The first semi-final played between Pakistan and New Zealand was pretty much a one sided affair as Pakistan thrashed the Kiwis and reached the finals. However, the second semi-final played between India and Australia was a wonderful match that will never be forgotten. The intensity with which the match was played by both teams was something completely indescribable. India won the toss and elected to bat. India started very cautiously and were 41/2 in the eighth over. Yuvraj, who had missed the last match against the South Africans walked into bat and the entire equation of the match changed. He got off the mark with a six off Stuart Clark, who till then had been the tournament’s best bowler. In the tenth over he hit Brett Lee for the longest six of the tournament, a hit that was 119m long! Uthappa too joined the party but was run out immediately after hitting two consecutive sixes, their partnership was worth 84. Uthappa scored 34 off 28. Yuvraj however continued his assault on the Aussie bowlers bringing up his half century in just 20 balls. By the time he departed in the fifteenth over, India had already made 155 runs. He scored a wonderful 70 runs off only 30 balls <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqHIrdCyzcJ79T7yhLp9wYxEPhEULlWH9WN5WEScvnzBzN5FkXARbQQSfyfLcd3kXh-MZTql60mkqM2AGkor-kODi81DgGefkMkxulnvxf0rNkVAxB6nnGS8uVTbAHhlUEUYwjsW2lVw/s1600-h/80032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqHIrdCyzcJ79T7yhLp9wYxEPhEULlWH9WN5WEScvnzBzN5FkXARbQQSfyfLcd3kXh-MZTql60mkqM2AGkor-kODi81DgGefkMkxulnvxf0rNkVAxB6nnGS8uVTbAHhlUEUYwjsW2lVw/s320/80032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172415926963426274" border="0" /></a>with 5 fours and 5 sixes. Dhoni accelerated towards the end scoring 36 off 18 before he was run out in the penultimate ball of the innings. India had scored 188/5 at the end of their 20 overs. The total was a good one but the Aussies were in no mood to give up, Adam Gilchrist hammered 2 huge sixes of R.P. Singh and was looking dangerous when Sreesanth removed him with a brilliant delivery that knocked back Gilchrist’s stumps. Hodge too didn’t last long and the Australian scoreboard read 68/2 in the ninth over. Symonds joined Hayden at the crease and the two men combined to hammer the hapless Indian bowlers all over the place. Sehwag bowled one over and was hit for 20 runs. When there was no option, skipper Dhoni gave the ball to Sreesanth who still had one over to bowl. He struck immediately by claiming the wicket of Hayden to whom he bowled an absolutely fantastic delivery to shatter Hayden’s stumps. In his 4 overs Sreesanth picked up 2 wickets for just 12 runs, in one of the most economic and spirited bowling performances in the history of international T20 cricket. As far as I know, I don’t think any bowler has managed to get Gilchrist and Hayden bowled in the same match. This was clearly the turning point as the Indian bowlers made inroads from this point and India won the match by 15 runs setting up an India-Pakistan final, something that no one would have imagined when this tournament began.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNT4GuGFuznFIrdLzrPT2Da0GqTqwplDx8FlcHXLFpRGde99GLigHiLohc-ZZeChBadUUPvsf-4CrCyfXER-yqMbHf1qIiqNcUUd-iWhtcQMUOZy9zUTOXW60pag7cK5f-3h5GAL-9PEE/s1600-h/80070.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNT4GuGFuznFIrdLzrPT2Da0GqTqwplDx8FlcHXLFpRGde99GLigHiLohc-ZZeChBadUUPvsf-4CrCyfXER-yqMbHf1qIiqNcUUd-iWhtcQMUOZy9zUTOXW60pag7cK5f-3h5GAL-9PEE/s320/80070.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172416206136300530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ_aBNn2Y334YrjCV5SRjaAKJbzkUbggnCP2hwzUlfVitboG9_O0HyRYSdwHgoN7PfMYodeodm3nSMBBnUTbvRekKFtiqS6dhnipv5LmZMJXLnPQ8skAft_yo1x4kXNGrFmov1pzE90E/s1600-h/80068.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ_aBNn2Y334YrjCV5SRjaAKJbzkUbggnCP2hwzUlfVitboG9_O0HyRYSdwHgoN7PfMYodeodm3nSMBBnUTbvRekKFtiqS6dhnipv5LmZMJXLnPQ8skAft_yo1x4kXNGrFmov1pzE90E/s320/80068.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172416425179632642" border="0" /></a>It was September 24, 2007 as India faced Pakistan in the final of the ICC World Twenty20. The two teams playing were the same two big teams which had been knocked out in the preliminary round of the World Cup in the West Indies and here there were now playing the final of what many called the Twenty20 World Cup. India won the toss as usual and elected to bat. As Sehwag was injured, Yusuf Pathan (Irfan Pathan’s elder brother) got to make his international debut as he came out to open with Gambhir. He was almost run out without facing a ball but that wasn’t to be, he then went on to hit a six off Mohd. Asif in the first over itself but fell to the same bowler after scoring 15 runs in 8 balls. Other than Gautam Gambhir no one could face the Pakistani bowlers with ease. Umar Gul was in very good form after having taken the wickets of Yuvraj and Dhoni. He also got the wicket of Gambhir for a well made 75 of 54 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Gambhir has been the best Indian T20 batsman with 4 half centuries. Rohit Sharma accelerated towards the end and took India to 157/5 of the stipulated 20 overs. Sharma was unbeaten on 30 off 16 balls. R.P. Singh was bowling brilliantly and got the first breakthrough in the first over itself. Imran <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hYwvSw13kzcZMk6JqB0umPwhfJ_G12OkPSWIMhZsHP3zW-d1c0bRy1RS8QX-pLS1jRkzOjOGikD710M3pOilQzXk1leL7YeM2yQ1uJsWDDR2vnKS6JHhn1cFost6nXS00VTDvSxlg1k/s1600-h/80089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hYwvSw13kzcZMk6JqB0umPwhfJ_G12OkPSWIMhZsHP3zW-d1c0bRy1RS8QX-pLS1jRkzOjOGikD710M3pOilQzXk1leL7YeM2yQ1uJsWDDR2vnKS6JHhn1cFost6nXS00VTDvSxlg1k/s320/80089.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172416682877670418" border="0" /></a>Nazir hammered Sreesanth all over the place in the second over but R.P. Singh got Kamran Akmal bowled for a duck in the third over. Akmal got out while attempting to play the pull shot (something which he calls his favourite shot, but I would call his weakness) Just when people thought that Pakistan were in a winning position, India managed to restrict them to 77/6 when Shahid Afridi, who was named the Player of the Tournament fell for a first ball duck as he tried to hit Irfan Pathan out of the ground but only managed to find Sreesanth. But Misbah had other plans as he played very sensibly and kept decreasing the required run-rate. Sohail Tanvir too joined him by scoring 12 runs off 4 balls, the scoring shots for him were 2 huge sixes off Sreesanth who managed to get his wicket too. Seeing that no other player was playing to get Pakistan victory, Misbah decided to take matters into his own hand and hit Harbhajan for 3 sixes in an over. It all came down to the last over- Pakistan had 13 runs to win with a wicket in hand and Dhoni gave the ball to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyVyPLfLulO3__uolrtlWSsMkTazPh-sCxoyA61ktQLB7gXoDJTnoQQmB9nn8slT_Ob99FhZ-ZSUzmkOEWMUUi2eKtRfvixUBGkrXjRYbrFFhyphenhyphenyt1ylXK_8gK3mtvHPfiHoDp64CIeOQ/s1600-h/80129.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyVyPLfLulO3__uolrtlWSsMkTazPh-sCxoyA61ktQLB7gXoDJTnoQQmB9nn8slT_Ob99FhZ-ZSUzmkOEWMUUi2eKtRfvixUBGkrXjRYbrFFhyphenhyphenyt1ylXK_8gK3mtvHPfiHoDp64CIeOQ/s320/80129.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172417185388844066" border="0" /></a>Joginder Sharma who had also bowled the last over against the Aussies. He may have done the trick against the Aussies, but giving him the ball now was a gamble as Misbah was on strike. Joginder started of with a wide and then bowled a dot ball. Pakistan now had 12 runs to win off 5 balls and Misbah was batting on 37. Joginder bowled a full toss and Misbah smashed the ball for a huge six. The pressure was clearly on Joginder as he began his run up to bowl the next delivery. Once the ball came to Misbah, he moved across and scooped it behind the wicket, the ball went up in the air and everyone who was watching the match had their eyes on the ball, which I thought was going for either a four or a six. I was watching the match at a friend’s place and just then I thought what would happen if a fielder came under the ball. Just then, Sreesanth came under the ball and managed to take what was probably the toughest catch in his life. The catch wasn’t difficult, in fact it was a very straightforward one, but Sreesanth would obviously be thinking of many things like what would happen if he spills the catch and it would have been really difficult to concentrate knowing that people all over the world were watching the ball fall down towards him. It was a fantastic finish to a wonderful tournament. I can’t recollect a final match of a tournament being so thrilling. The only instance that I can recollect is India’s victory over England in the Natwest Trophy final at Lords in 2002 when Sourav Ganguly’s men chased down a score in excess of 320 within 50 overs thanks to Mohd. Kaif, Yuvraj and Ganguly himself. India’s victory at the ICC World Twenty20 was on a different level altogether.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxU2zu2-WChcO-WpFlyHRcs2o-dk-yYHcEQbEohO1aDg0ElJrnGtTA8XzEtBSdTWWV5u8GDCl-9PUVwJ4VWAJNKReGldO9bJWk9FasON1S5reB5uZj7Md8vkbvBeqGtZPqeUSTlK1t7w/s1600-h/80084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxU2zu2-WChcO-WpFlyHRcs2o-dk-yYHcEQbEohO1aDg0ElJrnGtTA8XzEtBSdTWWV5u8GDCl-9PUVwJ4VWAJNKReGldO9bJWk9FasON1S5reB5uZj7Md8vkbvBeqGtZPqeUSTlK1t7w/s320/80084.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172418095921910866" border="0" /></a><br />Who would have thought that a team which till the beginning of this tournament has played only one international T20 match would turn out to be the best T20 team in the world? Irfan Pathan was the Man of the Final for his brilliant bowling as he took 3 wickets for just 16 runs in his 4 overs. The team was given a grand welcome when they came back to India (wasn’t that obvious) It is rather strange if you think that India won an ICC tournament without the “Big 3”- Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid playing. Yusuf Pathan, who just played in the final, will have a medal for having been part of a team which won an ICC tournament but the “Big 3” who have contributed a lot to Indian cricket and in fact cricket as a whole don’t have any such accolade. It would be ridiculous to say that these players don’t deserve to keep playing after India’s Twenty20 triumph as ODIs and Tests are a different ball game altogether. That, however, doesn’t mean that the T20 triumph isn’t a big thing, it is and I feel proud to have written a post which reminded me of India’s road to the final and ultimately, their victory in a form of cricket, which till a year back the BCCI thought wasn’t important at all.The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-10532011093014528612008-02-27T23:04:00.008+05:302008-05-08T08:55:24.958+05:30Aussies- An ‘Obnoxious’ Bunch of HooligansBefore I get on with writing about today’s topic, let me tell you readers that my posts are based on the facts. Along with this I also make it a point to give my personal opinion about what I write. Some readers have been voicing their protest over the way I write, I have been told not to write so formally. This advice was given to me after my post about the IPL, which the reader felt was not only long, but too formal and had most of what the papers had and was hence a little taxing to read. I wouldn’t like to name the reader for the reader will obviously know that I am talking about him/her. I am open to personal views but I would like to give an answer to the above complaint. I would like to make it clear to all of you that I also tend to get a little emotional when I voice my personal opinion, you would have noticed this in the very first post on this blog which was about the aftermath of the Sydney test and also in the post which I wrote when Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were dropped from the team for the CB tri-series. As it happens, the reader whom I am talking about doesn’t happen to follow the game much and as the post on the IPL was basically about the money involved and the teams playing in the league, it wasn’t as exciting as a post about action taking place on the field. Also, the post had to be formal as it was mainly about a huge business venture by the BCCI and aren’t all business ventures supposed to be formal?<br /><br />Coming to today’s topic, which is mostly based on personal opinion, I will mostly be writing about<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcCEbyRvylEcONNhsSW_A10E7oINbQchrSLfHRdiBAV7IllPcJ2n4M2aq-npENGH4qtdmQtj55823aI_cfDGdiP4z64B-NgeW8saGz2D5YQVUVjhNHps09d3ieRGm4CL1fN4Ezbb1C0c/s1600-h/87530.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcCEbyRvylEcONNhsSW_A10E7oINbQchrSLfHRdiBAV7IllPcJ2n4M2aq-npENGH4qtdmQtj55823aI_cfDGdiP4z64B-NgeW8saGz2D5YQVUVjhNHps09d3ieRGm4CL1fN4Ezbb1C0c/s320/87530.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172025746817844786" border="0" /></a> the erratic behavior of the Australian Cricket Team. My last post was about the wonderful match between the Indians and the Australians at Sydney on Sunday. I remember having briefly mentioned about there being a tiff between Ishant Sharma and Andrew Symonds when Ishant bowled Symonds with a wonderful slow delivery towards the end of the Australian innings. I also remember calling this a petty issue in my last post, but it so happens that the Match Referee- Jeff Crowe didn’t think of this issue as a petty one and fined Ishant 15% of his match fee. The videos clearly showed that it was Symonds who started the issue but he wasn’t even told a thing!<br /><br />In my opinion Symonds is equally responsible and should be punished too. He was also the one who started the altercation with Harbhajan during the second test at Sydney and even then he got away without a punishment. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30RdMh6PZTSNAvnBVtftx0T-4ylnEF13ZkOHF0zcX30H2xr-y2bG3QbchYyhe0zFKn8ltE0XfyKin0sFCAJEaWng3Do_v2Kx5T-IyzO8cv8JYyadsUef4XQjFrtMoh-qlTrkbo4hPLCU/s1600-h/030202.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30RdMh6PZTSNAvnBVtftx0T-4ylnEF13ZkOHF0zcX30H2xr-y2bG3QbchYyhe0zFKn8ltE0XfyKin0sFCAJEaWng3Do_v2Kx5T-IyzO8cv8JYyadsUef4XQjFrtMoh-qlTrkbo4hPLCU/s320/030202.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172025935796405826" border="0" /></a>Judge Hansen of New Zealand who heard the Harbhajan appeal also mentioned that Symonds was determined to interfere in the banter between Harbhajan and Brett Lee, and that was what led to the entire episode. In response to this statement by Judge Hansen, Symonds wrote in a newspaper that these statements on his integrity made his “blood boil”. This statement clearly shows that Symonds is a person of loose character. This man deserves to be called a monkey, not because he looks like one but also behaves like one. I mean, there is proof that he started the entire thing and even then he believes that people are questioning his integrity! This is absolutely ridiculous!<br /><br />After the Ishant incident, the Indian team manager said that the Australian team has been repeatedly provoking the Indian players, which is obviously the truth. That brings us to the latest issue which occurred yesterday when the Indian team was busy demolishing the Sri Lankans at Hobart. Around the same time, Matthew Hayden was being<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTn7yHoEXLZ0t_uBg2qWPlfj-qvTZmuSHQt3pqo7xlbA3LpccuPODJJBMRFLFBEvwTLq70sy7MdcmIJVZpTM2hMZAJpBfitZZxJsQZT84zY9U1q_VNwlefJITQKNE_-fv8dGRlU-qDiY/s1600-h/330699.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTn7yHoEXLZ0t_uBg2qWPlfj-qvTZmuSHQt3pqo7xlbA3LpccuPODJJBMRFLFBEvwTLq70sy7MdcmIJVZpTM2hMZAJpBfitZZxJsQZT84zY9U1q_VNwlefJITQKNE_-fv8dGRlU-qDiY/s320/330699.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172027056782870098" border="0" /></a> interviewed by a radio station at Brisbane and when asked about what he feels about India lodging a protest with the Match Referee about the Aussies “provoking” them, he said the Indians were probably doing this because they were losing every match to Australia. What a wonderful statement Mr. Hayden! I think he forgot about the thrashing the Aussies received from the Indians at Perth, where they lost in 4 days and even in one of the ODI matches where we destroyed their batting line up. He even went on to call Harbhajan an “obnoxious weed” and also said that he would like to have young Ishant Sharma join him in a ring! The Indians asked Cricket Australia to take action against Hayden and he was reprimanded by Cricket Australia but no fine was imposed on him. Why shouldn’t he be asked to pay a fine? Why were Harbhajan and Ishant punished when there was no proof of anything offensive having been said by then on the pitch? In this case Hayden came on radio and everyone knows what he said and still he is still let off? This isn’t fair at all. I would also like to mention one of the questions the radio jockey asked Hayden, “Why don’t the Indians shut up and play cricket?” Though I am not qualified to give this answer, I would like to tell the RJ to mind her own business. She isn’t qualified to ask this question so she should shut up too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmijn3xpzvSIfvFIMS3rSLm8nuG28WhqYV0ex6Pdcfy6-YWA5_Cph-2xIKH0S4xyRQ5SeIoOelBYGJVklp2K5kCO0UM6fGdHR1lx0GthitK8VqvLCM3sP7AcCruBeOd7PU0Ftc2aX7R4/s1600-h/334771.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmijn3xpzvSIfvFIMS3rSLm8nuG28WhqYV0ex6Pdcfy6-YWA5_Cph-2xIKH0S4xyRQ5SeIoOelBYGJVklp2K5kCO0UM6fGdHR1lx0GthitK8VqvLCM3sP7AcCruBeOd7PU0Ftc2aX7R4/s320/334771.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172027271531234914" border="0" /></a>Now, during the Sydney ODI, there were banners held by the Indian spectators. These banners had messages like “Hyderabad welcomes Symonds” (Symonds will play for Hyderabad in the IPL), which clearly showed that the Indian fans have left the controversies behind and are eager to watch the Aussies play in India. But, I don’t think the Aussie public has forgotten much. When Harbhajan came to bat in the same match, he was booed by the Aussie crowd. The same thing has happened in all the India-Australia matches in this tri-series. I distinctly remember Sunil Gavaskar asking Harsha Bhogle about which team’s fans being more mature during their commentary for the match. Isn’t it obvious that the Indian fans are more mature?<br /><br />I have never really liked Hayden, while many of my friends love the way he plays. I won’t be surprised if they start hating him now. I feel that he is an old fool and should quit the sport as soon as possible. And yes, Brad Hogg retired from International Cricket this morning and he probably did the right thing as we didn’t want to see someone stick his tongue out every other moment play the game. I want to write about something called “The Hogg Theory” which I formulated along with a friend, but I won’t write it as it is a little vulgar in nature. I would also like to end this post by saying that the Aussies are nothing but an ‘obnoxious’ bunch of hooligans who behave like clowns while playing the game. There are exceptions, but it is the majority I am talking about. They should be booed and insulted when they come to India for the IPL as only that can be a fitting reply to these rogues.The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-39667752372729757692008-02-24T22:41:00.001+05:302008-02-27T19:35:00.675+05:30An Endearing Indian LossThe last ever Commonwealth Bank tri-series has been a little boring for me to watch as I haven’t yet seen a good combined batting effort from any team. Although, there have been brilliant partnerships of 150+ between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir in the washed out game against Sri Lanka at Brisbane and between Kumara Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene for the losing cause against India at Adelaide, I personally feel that the batting in the series has otherwise been dull other than Adam Gilchrist’s fabulous century at Perth against the Lankans. I wouldn’t like to take the sheen away from these partnerships as the batting sides were in a precarious situation when these partnerships blossomed. In the first case, India was 86/4 when Dhoni joined centurion Gambhir to rescue India and lead them to a respectable 267/4, which, till today was also the tournament’s highest batting total. In the second case, Sri Lanka was on 6/2 when Sangakarra and Jayawardene came together to stop India from making further inroads. Sangakarra, in fact scored a brilliant 128 which is the highest individual score of the series.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwLphpY4OOgnxX5bhafgt3Ry2fgTrA4EnV0jttOwNHDkLFJr9O3XE4tsjZ1557whWZEMzGBJL2t74XCRgqWfREMG5ufsqzy1UkFvnOo1fZDvm3kDVHpgKxN8xIORTr524M6LeF9Y37Ag/s1600-h/87509.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwLphpY4OOgnxX5bhafgt3Ry2fgTrA4EnV0jttOwNHDkLFJr9O3XE4tsjZ1557whWZEMzGBJL2t74XCRgqWfREMG5ufsqzy1UkFvnOo1fZDvm3kDVHpgKxN8xIORTr524M6LeF9Y37Ag/s320/87509.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171659231488673266" border="0" /></a>In today’s game at Sydney, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first and the Aussie batsmen were in devastating mood. At the end of 10 overs, their score was 92/1! That is a whopping 9.2 runs an over! You can’t blame the bowlers as for the first time in the series we had a pitch suited to batting. Australia would have had an even higher run rate if Gilchrist had been around. Gilchrist fell in the third over to a brilliant catch by Dhoni off Sreesanth. This was probably the best catch of the series till now. However the catch was a little controversial as the gloves Dhoni used didn’t meet ICC specifications (like we are even bothered!) as it had a webbing which enabled him to hold on to the catch (seriously, why did he have to dive then?). Gilchrist scored 16 runs of just 7 balls. Ricky Ponting joined Matthew Hayden and then they continued the attack against the Indian bowlers. Hayden whacked a superb pull off Ishant Sharma for six and Ponting hit Irfan Pathan’s very first ball into the crowd! After the tenth over, they slowed down a bit, but by then the damage had already been done. Hayden departed for a well made 54 after he was brilliantly run out by Rohit Sharma who reacted well in time to throw the ball to Virender Sehwag who whipped the bails off at the non-strikers end. His second wicket partnership with Ponting was worth 110. Then there was 63 run partnership between Ponting and Michael Clarke who fell for 31 to Sehwag.<br /><br />Andrew Symonds came in after Clarke and as Ravi Shastri said during commentary, “played<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoHl-2d_xiZHD8VghiFuq2BPLs3OCuNDAJy5z4W7OLwB8ulG6hONhfyw83xxkkNR3H9yIqgc6iujdk4WfGL2gmJas9vT4SxuFP1zCVgURc7u4s4ijQwnFfeb9TpcGlnI2_CYgLTgO7tE/s1600-h/87529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoHl-2d_xiZHD8VghiFuq2BPLs3OCuNDAJy5z4W7OLwB8ulG6hONhfyw83xxkkNR3H9yIqgc6iujdk4WfGL2gmJas9vT4SxuFP1zCVgURc7u4s4ijQwnFfeb9TpcGlnI2_CYgLTgO7tE/s320/87529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171659489186711042" border="0" /></a> with the freedom of a millionaire!” Ponting scored a wonderful 124 before falling to Sreesanth towards the end of the innings. Symonds fell to a tricky Ishant delivery after scoring a 49 ball 59. There was a tiff between the two, but I wouldn’t like to write about such petty issues. At the end of the stipulated 50 overs, Australia’s scoreboard read 317/7 which was a huge total considering the fact that the second highest score in the series and the only other 240+ total till then was India’s 267 against Sri Lanka at Brisbane.<br /><br />India’s response began on a horrid note as we lost Sachin Tendulkar in the first over itself, Brett Lee getting the major breakthrough. Sehwag and Gambhir hung in for a while but Sehwag’s departure in the ninth over was disastrous as India lost 2 more quick wickets in the from of Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh in a space of 3 overs. By the eleventh over, india was in a miserable situation having scored just 51 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Dhoni joined Gambhir and together they stabilized the innings. Lee’s re-introduction worked immediately as he got Dhoni for 36 and the 98 run partnership between Dhoni and Gambhir came to an end.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncA1Q2o0LBV4xo8SZkTZj_JjLauPFoXWJ1gdRSB8bbM9k7eYZ3WHuhdzOw6dE-mds2wbzyi_RJzQbreto82NfYrF6ZtQyYqu0Akb8GPNrwPcP6WJVLUEmKe4XIhSlw-HSf9jC8URhVxY/s1600-h/87550.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncA1Q2o0LBV4xo8SZkTZj_JjLauPFoXWJ1gdRSB8bbM9k7eYZ3WHuhdzOw6dE-mds2wbzyi_RJzQbreto82NfYrF6ZtQyYqu0Akb8GPNrwPcP6WJVLUEmKe4XIhSlw-HSf9jC8URhVxY/s320/87550.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171659901503571474" border="0" /></a>With the run rate mounting to 10 an over Gambhir found the perfect ally in Robin Uthappa to accelerate the tempo of the innings. Brett Lee began feeling the heat as he bowled 3 consecutive front foot no-balls which meant 3 free hits for India. The first free hit was pounded for a massive straight six by Uthappa. This shot in my opinion, was the best shot of the match. Gambhir, on the other hand played strokes all over the wicket and scored a classy century, the fourth of his career and the second of this series. His best shot was easily, the paddle sweep off Brad Hogg which went for six. When Gambhir fell for 113, the score was 216/6 and Pathan continued the recue act along with Uthappa who was playing brilliantly.<br /><br />By the time Pathan got out, the score was 257/7 in 45 overs.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1hZospr4AKj7kJ2DYtQsK5XwO22rPTGI7Zu3GUz8VaOkeI3ZPu3kuYN3-tTaA6JZc28NoQKkkTGUp96h7Jua61EtmhiXUQb-QzLX7S7sq42uQWd0BhYhz_0ea6da7zGnnDceHZu_nHs/s1600-h/87553.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1hZospr4AKj7kJ2DYtQsK5XwO22rPTGI7Zu3GUz8VaOkeI3ZPu3kuYN3-tTaA6JZc28NoQKkkTGUp96h7Jua61EtmhiXUQb-QzLX7S7sq42uQWd0BhYhz_0ea6da7zGnnDceHZu_nHs/s320/87553.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171660283755660834" border="0" /></a> Harbhajan Singh, who was booed by the immature Aussie crowd as he walked into the field, combined well with Uthappa and scored 20 runs in just 11 balls before he fell to Lee who got Uthappa for 51, in the very next ball after the Harbhajan dismissal. Uthappa had played a fabulous innings off just 46 deliveries and had won many hearts for his gritty knock. India was bowled out for 299 in the first ball of the fiftieth over as Lee finished with a 5 wicket haul. Ricky Ponting was given the Man of the Match for his return to form in ODIs. India may have lost the match, but they did so with dignity with this wonderful performance in what was the closest match of the tournament.The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-43310356855185813952008-02-20T23:57:00.005+05:302008-02-21T17:58:18.549+05:30IPL- The Best Thing To Happen To Professional Cricket?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oPTQQVhMc9A49b_4jaPajpb0ZqViymd-E1S8cFeiTG_ekKVkLccx691LOByxXF6c0kX8oJ0p91CEIxHo0dAw1kXLR1BO92Elc4PIJiEh6tdhzY56dKXvMnf6QkcGdCXWryDFXQURE2g/s1600-h/IndianPremierLeague.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oPTQQVhMc9A49b_4jaPajpb0ZqViymd-E1S8cFeiTG_ekKVkLccx691LOByxXF6c0kX8oJ0p91CEIxHo0dAw1kXLR1BO92Elc4PIJiEh6tdhzY56dKXvMnf6QkcGdCXWryDFXQURE2g/s320/IndianPremierLeague.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169270684211250530" border="0" /></a>It has exactly been a month since I posted my last post and it is rather obvious that I have something quite important to write about. Many cricketing events have taken place in the past month with the last test in the Border- Gavaskar Trophy, the commencement of the Commonwealth Bank tri-series featuring India, Australia and Sri Lanka, the beginning of England’s tour of New Zealand, the South Africa- West Indies ODI series (which was South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock’s last ODI series, one which South Africa won 5-0 with Pollock hitting the winning runs in the final match). Towards the end of January we also had the awarding of the franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the BCCI’s answer to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). Unlike the ICL, the IPL will have ICC backing. The IPL is what I am going to write about today as the auctioning of players took place earlier today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSL2tZM9mPDUbQeu_v1i_3xqe5AgHWwgZiffXWYGEfQ34jv40NspzlUPz2UESbft2X6jLIlIpbulVlPh235MblzbNvBT0q_X1V1xW6uGg1tDxr43U_4S2W6hMeRHJ_8qn2wXrjbHJvTDw/s1600-h/IndianCricketLeague.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSL2tZM9mPDUbQeu_v1i_3xqe5AgHWwgZiffXWYGEfQ34jv40NspzlUPz2UESbft2X6jLIlIpbulVlPh235MblzbNvBT0q_X1V1xW6uGg1tDxr43U_4S2W6hMeRHJ_8qn2wXrjbHJvTDw/s320/IndianCricketLeague.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169273089392936322" border="0" /></a>When the ICL was launched by Subhash Chandra of the Zee Group, it sparked a big debate about the corporatization of cricket like how Kerry Packer had done in the late 1980s with the Word Series of Cricket. The BCCI was quick to label the ICL as a rebel league and disallowed its players to take part in the league, those doing so would permanently lose their place in their Ranji (domestic circuit) teams and as a result wouldn’t be considered for selection for the national team. The BCCI also took another step ahead by not allowing the ICL matches to be played on its grounds. This was seen by many cricket enthusiasts and experts as a very immature decision by the BCCI to maintain its monopoly in Indian cricket. The ICL has till date snapped up many prominent international players like Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Lance Klusener, Imran Farhat, Chris Cairns, Daryl Tuffey, Craig McMillan and more recently, Shane Bond. The Zee Group appointed Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev as the head of the ICL’s organizing committee and the BCCI was quick in disowning him.<br /><br />The ICL was turning out to be a big draw for players with its big money and the lure was simply<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaPsYsYy-Ugoy25oTiBo4LWpZWYa8jR498CaLyKWbdP7fAs4fWIB0vr2xqk_skvcTNvtDmWSHfcW-682tB9m__Eh0MPtfQJZA6US5JV-taDAt1WhLwd4Yue2iSxMZ4YMDkjjjWtxko8c/s1600-h/87320.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaPsYsYy-Ugoy25oTiBo4LWpZWYa8jR498CaLyKWbdP7fAs4fWIB0vr2xqk_skvcTNvtDmWSHfcW-682tB9m__Eh0MPtfQJZA6US5JV-taDAt1WhLwd4Yue2iSxMZ4YMDkjjjWtxko8c/s320/87320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169273471645025682" border="0" /></a> irresistible. The BCCI had to come out with a masterstroke to halt the ICL in its tracks, and it did just that. It announced the IPL, an event similar in format to the ICL, but much bigger. With the ICC backing the IPL, it was bad news for the ICL as all the cricket boards of various nations aligned with the BCCI and disallowed their players from joining the ICL. The ICL’s first tournament was still a success and it was the Chennai Superstars which won the tournament which was basically a Twenty20 tournament.<br /><br />Like the ICL, the IPL also follows the Twenty20 format and has 8 city based franchise teams- Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali and Mumbai. The bidding for the teams was done on January 24. The auction to pick the owners fetched the IPL US$723.59 million, almost double the combined base price of US$400 million. Mumbai was the most expensive team, costing over US$111.9 million. The owners are a mix of the biggest names in business and the Indian Film Industry, popularly known as Bollywood.<br /><br />The franchise owners are as follows with the winning bids are given in brackets-<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaPsYsYy-Ugoy25oTiBo4LWpZWYa8jR498CaLyKWbdP7fAs4fWIB0vr2xqk_skvcTNvtDmWSHfcW-682tB9m__Eh0MPtfQJZA6US5JV-taDAt1WhLwd4Yue2iSxMZ4YMDkjjjWtxko8c/s1600-h/87320.jpg"></a><ul><li>Bangalore- Vijay Mallya’s UB Group (US$ 111.6 million)</li><li>Chennai- India Cements (US$ 91 million)</li><li>Delhi- GMR Group (US$ 84 million)</li><li>Hyderabad- Deccan Chronicle (US$ 107 million)</li><li>Jaipur- Emerging Media- led consortium (US$ 67 million)</li><li>Kolkata- Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment (US$ 75.09 million)</li><li>Mohali- Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Dabur's Mohit Burman (US$ 76 million)</li><li>Mumbai- Mukesh Ambani's Reliance India Limited (US$ 111.9 million)</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiS7JcxHzSc3spGuicaERHmROktVGubaIhMq8c_0_q_so6eH5DPeOs3sBCrt2WP_Lb-0zb83RkAqR8IUarM7LYoj1oNvg0td1OTgsE872a0bUib5ZO0NbbBUEFIyE5XYVizgS9ZcSeBc/s1600-h/87309.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiS7JcxHzSc3spGuicaERHmROktVGubaIhMq8c_0_q_so6eH5DPeOs3sBCrt2WP_Lb-0zb83RkAqR8IUarM7LYoj1oNvg0td1OTgsE872a0bUib5ZO0NbbBUEFIyE5XYVizgS9ZcSeBc/s320/87309.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169273725048096162" border="0" /></a>The BCCI has already made close to US$ 1.75 billion solely from the sale of TV rights ($908 million), promotion ($108 million) and franchises (approximately $700 million). Players are expected to earn close to US$1 million for a three-year contract. With such big names and big money involved, the IPL is clearly the future of cricket.<br /><br />Basically, the IPL is the idea of Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI, and is modeled along the lines of club football in Europe, specifically the English Premier League. He has been appointed the convenor of the IPL. The league will be run by a governing council comprising former Indian captains Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, M.A.K. Pataudi, BCCI office-bearers Rajiv Shukla and Chirayu Amin, Inderjit Singh Bindra, the Punjab Cricket Association president, and Arun Jaitley, the president of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association.<br /><br />When I put the TV on this afternoon, all the news channels were streaming live reports about the ICL auctions. I have given the rules of the auction below-<br /><ol><li>An open auction, with each franchise allowed to bid any number of times for a player. Each franchise should spend a minimum of $3.3 million, but not more than $5 million. </li><li>The bid starts with the annual "base player fee" that has already been fixed by the IPL. This base player fee assumes that the player is available for the entire tournament. This fee will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis, depending on the players' availability. </li><li>The players will be divided into "sets" of approximately 12 each, according to their base player fee, cricketing speciality and expected availability for the opening season. But the bids will start with a set of marquee players like Gilchrist, Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle. A random draw will decide the order in which players go up on the block. </li><li>One designated bidder from each franchise will raise a paddle to indicate a bid, with the bid representing the fee per season to be paid by the franchise to the player. </li><li>No bid can be withdrawn. </li><li>Bid increments have been fixed at $5000 for bids up to $100,000, $10,000 for bids between $100,000 and $250,000, and $25,000 for bids between $250,000 and $500,000. Increments over the $500,000 mark will be at the auctioneer's discretion. </li></ol>Other crucial details include-<br /><ol><li>The minimum "percentage availability" for any player included in the auction will be 25 per cent. Thus, even if a player is expected to be either completely unavailable or only available for less than four of the DLF IPL matches in 2008, 25 per cent of the player fee bid for that player in the auction will count against the $5 million purse. For example, the purchase for $400,000 of a player who is expected to be completely unavailable in 2008 will cause a deduction of $100,000 from the franchise's overall $5 million purse. </li><li>If more than one franchise is interested in signing a particular foreign player from outside the current pool, the IPL's organisers will hold another auction. But Indian players who are not in the pool can be signed at any time. </li><li>Each franchise can only have up to a maximum of two centrally-contracted Australian players in its squad and/or up to a maximum of two Australian players from each state association. </li></ol><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOLejzEFuAYxytjUkMIryknyN4aqvBtnas8_Tc9tgjEKiBgTGglYuzkHyaa2ez7fkXMUUex9uBb_laCL4wYpIxXot7Cu51-ozlKLzhoJZ2jrG-ALUXzcR6X0Pf3R3ZRN4q8p-HSswLjE/s1600-h/87308.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOLejzEFuAYxytjUkMIryknyN4aqvBtnas8_Tc9tgjEKiBgTGglYuzkHyaa2ez7fkXMUUex9uBb_laCL4wYpIxXot7Cu51-ozlKLzhoJZ2jrG-ALUXzcR6X0Pf3R3ZRN4q8p-HSswLjE/s320/87308.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169274377883125186" border="0" /></a>The auction was conducted by veteran auctioneer Richard Madley, the "open bidding" took place behind closed doors inside the Regal Room at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai. About six representatives from each of the eight teams were seated around separate tables with computer screens to track the action. The drama built by this was obviously intense. The auction lasted for around 12 hours.<br /><br />The bidding took place from a pool of 79 cricketers from around the world which included top current players like Dhoni, Ponting, Gilchrist, Shoaib Akhtar, Jayawardene, Jayasuriya, Yuvraj, Hayden and many more. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were not up for auction as they have been given 'iconic' status by the BCCI - which means that they have to represent the city in which they are based which are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mohali and Delhi respectively and they will get 15% more than the next best player in their team. 77 of the 79 players were sold at the base price or above. Mohd. Yousuf of Pakistan and South Africa’s Ashwell Prince were the only players who were withdrawn. The English players weren’t available as the IPL would clash with their domestic season. Aussies Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson have backed out as they want to concentrate more on their international careers.<br /><br />In the first round of bidding, Indian ODI and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi704E31iaw0YMCG39iMr6ZQIsxGeFFFb1KA4fdWhtQn8lur5AnXq1A42ivpHvIclhy0uNKc8P8Y8v5_L1bNOLqYUH0lji7AjaThA4MTHQluY3y5qGHy0ixt6p8IVs4j8CF7JBxMAMVcGA/s1600-h/87322.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi704E31iaw0YMCG39iMr6ZQIsxGeFFFb1KA4fdWhtQn8lur5AnXq1A42ivpHvIclhy0uNKc8P8Y8v5_L1bNOLqYUH0lji7AjaThA4MTHQluY3y5qGHy0ixt6p8IVs4j8CF7JBxMAMVcGA/s320/87322.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169274631286195666" border="0" /></a> bought for a whopping US$1.5 million by the Chennai franchise who also snapped up Sri Lankan spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan for US$600,000. Other players picked in round 1 are Adam Gilchrist has gone to Hyderabad for US$700,000, Mahela Jayawardene to Mohali for US$475,000, Shane Warne to Jaipur for US$450,000 and Shoaib Akhtar to Kolkata for US$425,000.<br /><br />It is absolutely pointless writing about each round in detail as I am sick of typing. So given below are the teams at the end of the bidding process with the price for which the player was bought being given in brackets-<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bangalore:</span> Rahul Dravid (Icon), Anil Kumble (US$500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$450,000), Mark Boucher (US$450,000), Cameron White (US$500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$150,000), Dale Steyn (US$325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (US$200,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chennai:</span> MS Dhoni (US$1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$600,000), Matthew Hayden (US$375,000), Jacob Oram (US$675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$225,000), Albie Morkel (US$675,000), Suresh Raina (US$650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$200,000), Michael Hussey (US$350,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delhi:</span> Virender Sehwag (Icon), Daniel Vettori (US$625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$650,000), AB de Villiers (US$300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$725,000), Glenn McGrath (US$350,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hyderabad:</span> Adam Gilchrist (US$700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$675,000), Scott Styris (US$175,000), VVS Laxman (US$375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$750,000), Chamara Silva (US$100,000), RP Singh (US$875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US$110,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jaipur:</span> Shane Warne (US$450,000), Graeme Smith (US$475,000), Younis Khan (US$225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$675,000), Munaf Patel (US$275,000), Justin Langer (US$200,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kolkata:</span> Sourav Ganguly (Icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$700,000), Chris Gayle (US$800,000), Ajit Agarkar (US$330,000), David Hussey (US$675,000), Ishant Sharma (US$950,000), Murali Kartik (US$425,000), Umar Gul (US$150,000), Tatenda Taibu (US$125,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mohali:</span> Yuvraj Singh (Icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000), Brett Lee (US$900,000), Sreesanth (US$625,000), Irfan Pathan (US$925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$170,000), Piyush Chawla (US$400,000), Simon Katich (US$200,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (US$225,000)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mumbai:</span> Sachin Tendulkar (Icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$150,000), Loots Bosman (US$175,000)</li></ol>At the end of the day 6 players would be getting US$ 1 million or more, the players being Dhoni<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrgdYlpxpX8s38sE_ogIyDdoi9cicl3wPcNWn6AsMJHz5tcgtA_rshyphenhyphengUry6eJAUkZGQZ3h_1nmKDSdKVHaOcFdE7l0twvPMWMqkqu3-WstUe9zOKqvcl9DWkpyj6t8DUQYr_dLiNpqI/s1600-h/87315.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrgdYlpxpX8s38sE_ogIyDdoi9cicl3wPcNWn6AsMJHz5tcgtA_rshyphenhyphengUry6eJAUkZGQZ3h_1nmKDSdKVHaOcFdE7l0twvPMWMqkqu3-WstUe9zOKqvcl9DWkpyj6t8DUQYr_dLiNpqI/s320/87315.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169274107300185522" border="0" /></a> and Symonds (by virtue of the bid) and Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Yuvraj (by virtue if being the Icon player for their franchise and thus getting 115% of the next highest earner in their franchise i.e. Sanath Jayasurya, Ishant Sharma, Jacques Kallis and Irfan Pathan respectively) Ponting and Hayden probably sold for less because of Australia’s tour of Pakistan around the same time this year. Their buyers have devised a wonderful strategy with regard to finances. If Ponting and Hayden play in Pakistan, then they will get just 25% of their IPL salary and if they take part in the IPL they anyway have a lesser cost. Symonds probably sold for much higher as his going to Pakistan was in doubt, with him having decided to skip the tour citing security reasons.<br /><br />Coming to the team composition, I personally feel that Hyderabad and Kolkata have the most balanced sides followed by Chennai, Mohali and Mumbai. The Bangalore and Jaipur teams are quite impressive too. The Delhi team is a little disappointing as I expected more from it.<br /><br />If you look at the players, Mohali stands out if you look at the Twenty20 aspect with batsmen like Yuvraj, Jayawardene, Sangakarra and Sarwan; and bowlers like Sreesanth, Brett Lee and Irfan Pathan. Pathan can also double up as an all-rounder which is an added advantage, Lee can bat too. Hyderabad too is good side with hitters like Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds and Afridi. Laxman can provide the depth in the batting with his immense experience and skill. R.P. Singh and Chaminda Vaas are excellent bowlers and would do a world of good to the Hyderabad franchise.<br /><br />Another interesting aspect will be the opening batsmen for the teams. I expect Tendulkar and Jayasurya to open for Mumbai, they had once opened for Asia XI in a match against the Rest of the World XI in 2000 and had put on a decent opening partnership. Hyderabad will most probably go in with Gilchrist and Gibbs who are both very hard hitting batsmen. Kolkata may have Ganguly and Gayle opening the batting, Gayle is the only player to have scored a century in an international Twenty20 and Ganguly is one of the most elegant players the world has ever seen. Chennai should open with Hayden and Fleming, Jaipur with Graeme Smith and Kamran Akmal or maybe even Langer or Yusuf Pathan (he had opened the batting for India in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 with Gambhir); and Delhi should use Sehwag and Gambhir or De Villiers. Bangalore should open with Dravid and Jaffer and Mohali with Simon Katich and Ramnaresh Sarwan.<br /><br />The IPL will begin on April 18, when Bangalore takes on Kolkata at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The tournament will feature 59 matches in total, the teams playing each other on a home and away basis and will conclude on June 1. Now, all that remains to be seen is how the IPL fairs. Will it change the world of Cricket in a big way? Will the format be accepted world over? These are few of the questions that can only be answered when the tournament gets underway. Till then, one can only hope for the best.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zU6HOc5wx0AKaEsz2T-jv3EAkCNaOhVY0zXz_eAGVbZIRJqPt0QblC7PWlT0Ra044YLagW-kA-y2DFTedEh0F2PPPg-hxUodZpNXrwJB-IU5R6BL4twBhfA6BBEjkxKgfA_KttCqWx4/s1600-h/TogetherAll.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zU6HOc5wx0AKaEsz2T-jv3EAkCNaOhVY0zXz_eAGVbZIRJqPt0QblC7PWlT0Ra044YLagW-kA-y2DFTedEh0F2PPPg-hxUodZpNXrwJB-IU5R6BL4twBhfA6BBEjkxKgfA_KttCqWx4/s320/TogetherAll.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169282637105235426" border="0" /></a>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-81881986938606974942008-01-20T23:18:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:37:13.952+05:30Yet another stupid act by the BCCI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpF1K9k3V37m-bz7zL_j41Wyycw_sAntv_Ze8LRPsEopds5Sm_uf4v9V4IGHHRh2kS0YWw7Y5O9CFE5nlxwGhB0vZDG85MZhn5vi8ZI77VhJZBx0w76hQJIhIYWJWMywuekqAbYSJB4M/s1600-h/hmmm.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpF1K9k3V37m-bz7zL_j41Wyycw_sAntv_Ze8LRPsEopds5Sm_uf4v9V4IGHHRh2kS0YWw7Y5O9CFE5nlxwGhB0vZDG85MZhn5vi8ZI77VhJZBx0w76hQJIhIYWJWMywuekqAbYSJB4M/s320/hmmm.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157596420949426786" border="0" /></a>It has just been a day since India won the hard fought Perth test and the BCCI is back at doing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJERImFS0ZpIdqZsDrWxS__rdSraN4XEq-XOLhHaysCIlLjn0wmGLPgSKMLOXRF36erOwYNlBnTfTR9KdvdWZmYEqi7iK1KoyloqnVCezz5v7JT65_fLiraONFNuVx9RWQ2GLxEflGc-M/s1600-h/81041.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJERImFS0ZpIdqZsDrWxS__rdSraN4XEq-XOLhHaysCIlLjn0wmGLPgSKMLOXRF36erOwYNlBnTfTR9KdvdWZmYEqi7iK1KoyloqnVCezz5v7JT65_fLiraONFNuVx9RWQ2GLxEflGc-M/s320/81041.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157597894123209346" border="0" /></a> what it does best- experimenting. The moment I heard that Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had been left out of the Indian ODI squad for the tri-series involving them, Australia and Sri Lanka, I was shocked. Moreover, they also decided to leave out Murali Kartik from the squad and didn't even bother recalling V.V.S. Laxman. This, in my opinion is a big selection blunder that has been committed by the BCCI. Their alibi is that they want a youthful team that is energetic and consists of good fielders. I agree, that Ganguly hasn't been a remarkable fielder but what about Dravid? Isn't he a good fielder? Another important mistake is not picking Murali Kartik who spun India to victory against Australia by taking 6 wickets in the 7th ODI against Australia at Mumbai last October.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHcZ4ZG_tzNoWvf7u242AcVOfv2j4RhsIvqnriSH-0KyTt5Qk783eCUSuAJJxyJ4uUPVrSH0hB1vWZT_03UOZi24yu1roolRkqZjb5FLAVMatO-rmmKgvH9EPMp7Ydu2_0iq6jBrd_Ec/s1600-h/80930.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHcZ4ZG_tzNoWvf7u242AcVOfv2j4RhsIvqnriSH-0KyTt5Qk783eCUSuAJJxyJ4uUPVrSH0hB1vWZT_03UOZi24yu1roolRkqZjb5FLAVMatO-rmmKgvH9EPMp7Ydu2_0iq6jBrd_Ec/s320/80930.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157600625722409634" border="0" /></a>Dravid didn't play the 7th ODI against Australia and was left out of the ODI squad for the series against Pakistan as well. Though Dravid has a slow scoring rate, he isn't called Mr. Dependable for nothing. On the other hand, Ganguly was India's most successful ODI batsman last year scoring 1240 runs with an average of 45. He also took 7 wickets to go with his wonderful batting. He performed very well after making a comeback and was very good in England. He also played well against the Aussies when they toured India. He also had six partnerships of 100+ for the first wicket with Sachin Tendulkar in ODIS in 2007. The two also happen to be the most successful opening pair in ODI history. Ganguly will be really missed in the games against Sri Lanka as he has a brilliant record against them and is regarded by most cricket experts as the batsman who can play ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan the best. His wonderful knock of 183 against the Lankans at Taunton during the 1999 World Cup is regarded as one of the best knocks in ODI history. Incidentally, it was Dravid who was involved with a huge 318 run partnership for the 2nd wicket with Ganguly. Dravid scored a masterly 145 and both of them shared the man of the match award. The partnership between them was the first 300+ partneship in ODI history and was quite obviously<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfZngtv3xjN2U1SuR9D91K8VHSC9DSsPZUYgYkUF2hkDTZpKGfENOv79bcRJFlNmzk0DSZKrzNurf0-ZtYJJbiL0aU1WPLpDPnsNm_z8O2oTlrEFZ86uB9-xmOC2c8RjJ5wViG8ZOu5I/s1600-h/047862.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfZngtv3xjN2U1SuR9D91K8VHSC9DSsPZUYgYkUF2hkDTZpKGfENOv79bcRJFlNmzk0DSZKrzNurf0-ZtYJJbiL0aU1WPLpDPnsNm_z8O2oTlrEFZ86uB9-xmOC2c8RjJ5wViG8ZOu5I/s320/047862.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157756734898717362" border="0" /></a> the highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs at that time, a record which was broken at Hyderabad 6 months later when Tendulkar and Dravid put on 331 for the 2nd wicket against New Zealand. Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 186, the highest individual score by an Indian batsman (the record was held by Ganguly before this, when he scored 183 in the match mentioned before this) and Dravid stroked a classy 153. It really is surprising to see a player like Ganguly dropped when he is in such good form! The last time India played a ODI series in Australia was in early 2004, Laxman had scored 3 brilliant hundreds- 2 against Australia and 1 against Zimbabwe.<br /><br />Coming in for Ganguly is Suresh Raina, who last played an ODI in January 2007. He doesn't have a very impressive record against <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR3yY8FU0IRoVAzAqz-jPuQQmzv2MfEZSa2niJ-TigArdofNdlNAKnpA_uYDe9iUCNzvak6urQZdErWVu2mLXvN67XmlVFdLph5dn8O0Xp3V6ptNxIs0vPgWoEzVTagPeKb5R4VoEzd0/s1600-h/255280.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR3yY8FU0IRoVAzAqz-jPuQQmzv2MfEZSa2niJ-TigArdofNdlNAKnpA_uYDe9iUCNzvak6urQZdErWVu2mLXvN67XmlVFdLph5dn8O0Xp3V6ptNxIs0vPgWoEzVTagPeKb5R4VoEzd0/s320/255280.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157757486517994178" border="0" /></a>Australia but is a good fielder. Piyush Chawla, who was impressive on last year's tour of England, gets the nod for the second spinner's spot ahead of Murali Kartik. Chawla was preferred because the selectors were of the opinion that a wrist-spinner would be handy on Australian pitches. It is believed that the captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, wanted to stick with a majority of the squad that won the inaugral ICC World Twenty20 last September. Explaining why Ganguly was overlooked, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said, "<span style="font-style: italic;">The emphasis was on fielding abilities and they (the team management) wanted a young fielding side for the series. That's why you see a lot of youngsters in the side.</span>" Well Mr. Shah, if you wanted a good fielder why not take Mohd. Kaif, he is also from the Uttar Pradesh Ranji team like Raina and is a brilliant fielder (probably one of the best in the world)? In fact, Kaif is the captain of the team and has played quite well in the domestic circuit.<br /><br />India's fast-bowling attack will be led by R.P. Singh, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth, who missed the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpNiZUOAkFWVgW55vzwMArkmU9hDiooj1D65WYLBnrygxr5F-6QK3m7Hcxko5JOY8G1JK6F3iTKbNfqdKeXTVRROdv7q-KF7M3W-17oX-gFf8hfQtRLhKt87hzvc8kPJadA32rMRwMLU/s1600-h/79137.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpNiZUOAkFWVgW55vzwMArkmU9hDiooj1D65WYLBnrygxr5F-6QK3m7Hcxko5JOY8G1JK6F3iTKbNfqdKeXTVRROdv7q-KF7M3W-17oX-gFf8hfQtRLhKt87hzvc8kPJadA32rMRwMLU/s320/79137.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157758534490014418" border="0" /></a> Test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Joining them will be Praveen Kumar, who played a ODI in the series against Pakistan. Zaheer Khan hasn't been considered as he is still recovering from the heel injury he got during the first test at Melbourne. The BCCI plans to send him to South Africa for treatment. Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik have also been included. Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf have been placed on standby and will join the squad in case of any injuries.<br /><br />I also feel that the BCCI made a big mistake by announcing the squad for the sole Twenty20 and the tri-series before the fourth test at Adelaide. It may divide the team and disturb the players a lot. News channel sources say that Ganguly and Dravid are highly disappointed at them being left out of the ODI team. Dravid was hoping to make the cut after having played well at Perth and Ganguly was reportedly shocked about the entire incident as he had a wonderful 2007. These 2 players need to keep their cool at Adelaide as they have a big role to play if India are to level the test series.<br /><br />Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar is under fire from many quarters after what I would call an extremely stupid decision. In fact, Navjot Singh Sidhu challenged Vengsarkar on NDTV's cricket talk show "Cricket Controversies". He said that if Vengsarkar can prove Ganguly's exclusion then he (Sidhu) would stop doing whatever he does to earn money. He also said that Raina's experience was nothing compared to Ganguly's and that if India has managed to survive in Australia, it is all because of Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. He went on to say that dropping a player who scored 1200 odd runs in a calendar year amounts to sacrilege as it would not only affect the player psychologically but will also divide the team. It didn't there, Sidhu later said that the selectors didn't know how to treat its heroes. All this shows just how foolish the selectors have been. What needs to be seen is what they can do to counter this outcry.<br /><br />Given below is the squad for the sole Twenty20 and the CB tri-series:<br /><br /><ul><li>Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper)</li><li>Sachin Tendulkar</li><li>Yuvraj Singh</li><li>Virender Sehwag</li><li>Dinesh Karthik</li><li>Robin Uthappa</li><li>Gautam Gambhir</li><li>Suresh Raina</li><li>Rohit Sharma</li><li>Irfan Pathan</li><li>Praveen Kumar</li><li>Ishant Sharma</li><li>S. Sreesanth</li><li>Harbhajan Singh</li><li>Piyush Chawla<br /></li></ul>Standby:<br /><ul><li>Manoj Tiwary</li><li>Yusuf Pathan</li><li>Munaf Patel</li></ul>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-15865957431037163412008-01-19T23:53:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:36:44.361+05:30History repeats itself as the Aussies fall back on the EarthWhen India was playing in the second test against Australia at Kolkata in February, 2001 they were in a big mess. Sourav Ganguly's men had been thrashed by the Steve Waugh led Aussie "invincibles" in less than 4 days in the first test at Mumbai. The Australian team had won a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeXihlKZDkGbjEDk1u6OMQmem68K8RBChGWnMJWslLQE_XW7n5d-Zppj0axV-ceW_OA8UFPoTSOMvZeFUhIW9g0XR82y3xy0Zn8_UDrRuQvPrSmwukXRlw1NebmYziJzcefDCwLEVzsY/s1600-h/049234.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157545778990039442" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeXihlKZDkGbjEDk1u6OMQmem68K8RBChGWnMJWslLQE_XW7n5d-Zppj0axV-ceW_OA8UFPoTSOMvZeFUhIW9g0XR82y3xy0Zn8_UDrRuQvPrSmwukXRlw1NebmYziJzcefDCwLEVzsY/s320/049234.jpg" border="0" /></a> world record 16 consecutive tests till then, the previous record being 11 by the West Indies. Australia played well in the first innings until Harbhajan Singh turned the tide with the first ever hat-trick by an Indian in test cricket. But, in the second innings India was bowled out for under 150, thus following on with only V.V.S. Laxman scoring a gritty half century. What followed was a dream as Laxman scored a magnificent 281 (the highest individual score by an Indian in test cricket at that time) in the second innings and put up a huge partnership with Rahul Dravid who scored a determined 180 to set the Aussies a huge target. The Aussies crumbled to the brilliant bowling display by Harbhajan and Sachin Tendulkar (who scored only 10 runs in both the innings while batting). This ended Australia's winning streak and the Aussies also lost the third test at Chennai handing India the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.<br /><div><div><br />India beat Australia twice in tests after that- at Adelaide in 2003 (another wonderful game) and at Mumbai in 2004, where the Aussies were bowled out for a paltry 93! Other than these two losses, the Aussies lost to the West Indies in 2003 (when the Windies succesfully chase down a mammoth 418 which is the highest target ever chased successfully) and twice to England in 2005 (thus handing over the Ashes to England after a very long time). But, the last for losses mentioned all took place away from home which shows that if there is any country that can beat Australia at home, it surely is India.<br /><br />When the Border-Gavaskar Series started with the Boxing Day test at Melbourne a month back, India was outplayed. The second test at Sydney, however, was a different story altogether. The match was evenly contested but was drowned in controversy over dubious umpiring decisions, the racism issue and unsportsmanlike behaviour by Ricky Ponting's men. After the brouhaha at Sydney, the Indian team had two options- to cancel the series and go back home; or to stay back and fight the Aussies with all their effort, they decided to stay. The first two days of the third test at Perth completely belonged to India, who outplayed the Aussies in every department. The Indian bowlers used the famous Perth pitch better than their Aussie counterparts. The much hyped Shaun Tait was a disaster for the mighty Australians as he wasn't even able to take a single wicket in the match.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mKV62XZmyNoL0HmYYvVRXewpQob72TFua_BucSg_HqkB1Mccq3E4Vchhyd90OF8B7U9hrC5_v-8PZ3cLteE1rlqm1CcW1HQdlWyqc6irt764GlxftBpySJFAlW2kjFUEGf7zmBoMgFI/s1600-h/331852.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mKV62XZmyNoL0HmYYvVRXewpQob72TFua_BucSg_HqkB1Mccq3E4Vchhyd90OF8B7U9hrC5_v-8PZ3cLteE1rlqm1CcW1HQdlWyqc6irt764GlxftBpySJFAlW2kjFUEGf7zmBoMgFI/s320/331852.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157548119747215794" border="0" /></a>The third day's play had its moments. Sehwag continued his assault on the hapless Aussie quickies until he was done in by a brilliant delivery by Stuart Clark which shattered the stumps. The triad of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly fell in quick succession putting India in a spot of bother. Ganguly scored his first duck in about 10 tests as India were 5 down for 150 odd rus. Irfan Pathan who had come in as the Night Watchman hung in for a while and contributed a good 46 runs. He played some wonderful strokes and may well be India's missing link in the middle order. After Pathan's fall, Laxman and Dhoni had a crucial partnership. Dhoni played a good innings of 37 under pressure, he was also succesful in clearing the ropes twice. He fell to Symonds when he miscued a sweep with Gilchrist completing a fine catch. Laxman played wonderfully to be the top scorer with 79. His partnership of 52 for the 9th wicket with the unusually calm R.P. Singh helped India score 294, setting Australia a target of 413. Singh scored a good 30 runs and even cleared the ropes once! Stuart Clark was the best Aussie bowler picking 4/66.<br /><br />Coming to facts and figures regarding chases, the highest successful run chase on Australian soil is 369, when Australia chased down the score against Pakistan at Hobart in 1999. Only thrice in the history of test cricket has a team chased down 400+ runs in the fourth innings- Australia did in the late 1940s against England, India did it in 1974 against Wet Indies and the West Indies chased down a world record 418 against Australia in 2003. Also, the highest fourth innings score at Perth is 341.<br /><br />At the end of the third day's play, Australia was 62/2 with Ponting and Hussey on strike. The openers were done in by Pathan in the second innings too. Kumble was able to extract spin as well as bounce on a pitch that was slowly getting dangerous for the batsmen. The match had been a wonderful one until that moment and the only result that could be ruled out was a draw. If India won from that position, they would halt the Aussie winning streak at 1 again and become the first team to beat Australia in 3 years and the first team to do so on Australian soil in 5 years (the last team to do so was also India). Also, it would be the first instance of a sub-continent team winning at Perth. If Australia won, they would create a new world record of 17 consecutive wins and would have the second highest succesful run chase in tests to their name.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixG6IgayZsTUqb9Y6HyHSVhZZ5JW7soId66k0A1d778vfNcWLHrF4jWq33clCS2ILulYvRbNi23rb0CktUegQ7MY_qcg3GbSfcs-AZX7_JkICxOCq4xYLMI5XQ0NjEyaRYgl4ClAjiD0A/s1600-h/85411.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixG6IgayZsTUqb9Y6HyHSVhZZ5JW7soId66k0A1d778vfNcWLHrF4jWq33clCS2ILulYvRbNi23rb0CktUegQ7MY_qcg3GbSfcs-AZX7_JkICxOCq4xYLMI5XQ0NjEyaRYgl4ClAjiD0A/s320/85411.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157548544948978114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfk_bnz62EspB7wl6Sw9xU7uSWsDahG4RHGKpUROTDcp8LkWSwiG7yQEfPdQmSWYruxd4qmkoxCcXnuWtki_igwMsvd6xY_Q0IHCsOwVNFlKpjeChTOUE1-xw1SjPoHhd-grAATN7RPjs/s1600-h/85441.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfk_bnz62EspB7wl6Sw9xU7uSWsDahG4RHGKpUROTDcp8LkWSwiG7yQEfPdQmSWYruxd4qmkoxCcXnuWtki_igwMsvd6xY_Q0IHCsOwVNFlKpjeChTOUE1-xw1SjPoHhd-grAATN7RPjs/s320/85441.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157548970150740434" border="0" /></a>The fourth day's first session was an extremely interesting one as one saw a brilliant spell of fast bowling from 19 year old Ishant Sharma, who troubled Ponting as if he was one of the best fast bowlers in the world. Ponting appeared extremely uncomfortable facing Ishant and was finally done in by him an over before lunch. That was the only wicket to fall in the first session, but was a big wicket. Ponting scored 45. It was Sehwag who convinced Kumble to let ishant bowl an extra over and he struck immediately. After lunch, R.P. Singh bowled a brilliant ball moving into the left handed Hussey and trapped him in front for 46. Symonds hit Kumble out of the ground but was given LBW to the same bowler in the next ball. Replays showed that the ball had nicked the bat before hitting the pad and Symonds showed his displeasure, but I personally feel that justice was done. Symonds, after all he was the player who wasn't given out when he was 4 times in the Sydney test and also got a wicket which he didn't deserve to have. Kumble, surprisingly, celebrated a lot more than he usually does on getting Symonds wicket. I think that it was in response to Symonds doing the same when he got Kumble's wicket in India's second innings.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoP6FqJdem9mYieq4_pXcn_ScTgle16yO0dv5o4SW02movsadzkcZ5tmHhrG_dBxB_MQZdQvThKhZ7EJe3KP4GbnlmlEqFq4kwF8xCO-gEL46TVUgRoYVhpTPqZgWM6C1gWih0JU-h1BQ/s1600-h/85432.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoP6FqJdem9mYieq4_pXcn_ScTgle16yO0dv5o4SW02movsadzkcZ5tmHhrG_dBxB_MQZdQvThKhZ7EJe3KP4GbnlmlEqFq4kwF8xCO-gEL46TVUgRoYVhpTPqZgWM6C1gWih0JU-h1BQ/s320/85432.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157549421122306546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVB2G0aSB2Cj6ajx4aPJdbhSivJrkgNrfYpvwT3EmwZZwDvuJz8IX9LNCOEj_Itai7aU0mkENiEBfyQmkpFLIYD-cqsiGI0YRk2OMsk_kCwFrLRXBHxkCaHb5vNaZvyjWUV_oYDoLr-40/s1600-h/85435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVB2G0aSB2Cj6ajx4aPJdbhSivJrkgNrfYpvwT3EmwZZwDvuJz8IX9LNCOEj_Itai7aU0mkENiEBfyQmkpFLIYD-cqsiGI0YRk2OMsk_kCwFrLRXBHxkCaHb5vNaZvyjWUV_oYDoLr-40/s320/85435.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157549584331063810" border="0" /></a>Michael Clarke was playing his shots very well and when Gilchrist came in after Symonds, one thought that the fireworks would soon begin. Just then, Kumble decided to give the ball to Sehwag who struck twice in quick succession. Firstly, he bowled Gilchrist round his legs for 15 and got the better of Brett Lee for a duck. Then, Kumble bowled a wonderful delivery which both spun and bounced. Clarke came forward to the ball but was completely bamboozled by this delivery and Dhoni promptly stumped him. Clarke scored a fine 81, which I feel was his coming of age knock. With the fall of Clarke, no recognized Australian batsman was left with the Aussies being 253/8. The tail enders, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Vom1k1tOQmOIA2tUvu7fkVl6tlnFc0EGLHcCNIMT9i22oyH-FGgEhWWaCUoX-N3JQFqsvgKDfUeo8YKPNkqHJKDhJtjYj7g6pWn4uWZDR7eqgCPaSMGeXmz45w1Vg5legBIsy-tTnAw/s1600-h/85442.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Vom1k1tOQmOIA2tUvu7fkVl6tlnFc0EGLHcCNIMT9i22oyH-FGgEhWWaCUoX-N3JQFqsvgKDfUeo8YKPNkqHJKDhJtjYj7g6pWn4uWZDR7eqgCPaSMGeXmz45w1Vg5legBIsy-tTnAw/s320/85442.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157549803374395922" border="0" /></a> Clark frustrated the Indians with a 9th wicket partnership of 73. Clark scored 32 and even hit a six during his knock. Irfan Pathan got the wicket of Clark and the Indians could sniff victory. Johnson continued to frustrate the Indians and scored his first half century. He hit Kumble for 2 huge sixes. However, he did have two reprieves when Kumble bowled him off a no-ball and Sehwag dropped him near the boundary. The catch was a very tough one and Kumble was the unlucky bowler this time too. When the Aussies were 340/9, R.P. Singh breached Shaun Tait's defences and gave India a well desrved victory. Australia was halted by India while going for the 17th win yet again as history repeated itself. I would give most credit to the brilliant bowling by the Indian fast bowlers, who for long haven't shown their skills. Irfan Pathan got the man of the match award for his all round performance. The comeback of Pathan and Sehwag played a big role in India winning the match.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRKGeYxmc7yJbMoemkXb2TFwc2bIN55Z2cDePyaDz4bweg2aVMCcl7XCVZ6UCqAy13PzWxLR74Mfeb1C4d0qqrdj_vx5Ib-7zRSIxmRd5Y9vYEWuLknXn39xn7Bd1fEvBHBKrIcypSYw/s1600-h/85445.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRKGeYxmc7yJbMoemkXb2TFwc2bIN55Z2cDePyaDz4bweg2aVMCcl7XCVZ6UCqAy13PzWxLR74Mfeb1C4d0qqrdj_vx5Ib-7zRSIxmRd5Y9vYEWuLknXn39xn7Bd1fEvBHBKrIcypSYw/s320/85445.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157550005237858850" border="0" /></a>The Indian team has proved to everyone that they made the right decision by staying back after the Sydney test. Many people in the world will now consider India as the main challenger to Australia's supremacy in the game. It was wonderful to see the smirk disappear from Ponting's face and also to see him struggling to play young Ishant Sharma. The Autralians have also been charged 10% of their match fee for their slow over rate. But the loss of the match will probably sting them more than the loss on the pocket. Heres hoping that India carries forward their form into the fourth test at Adelaide, where they won last time round in 2003. Till then, HAPPY PERTH DAY!!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsHb_5W3wixPTb5kARjiaTV9f3fhgoi5JSN2XgHc5XZsMaqpPHzY2GG3lUsTvPIN9OahQkl5c6ztXuN5rudqwW6gkPuDg1GTBvBtw4wnvkEGjhZA-h-bQm0DmnpPtQJmSYyrfkaUyAbk/s1600-h/85461.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsHb_5W3wixPTb5kARjiaTV9f3fhgoi5JSN2XgHc5XZsMaqpPHzY2GG3lUsTvPIN9OahQkl5c6ztXuN5rudqwW6gkPuDg1GTBvBtw4wnvkEGjhZA-h-bQm0DmnpPtQJmSYyrfkaUyAbk/s320/85461.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157550542108770882" border="0" /></a><br />Some wonderful quotes during the course of and after the Perth test:<br /><ul><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">That's another appeal. No it's not, it's a replay.</span>"<br />The excitement at the WACA gets a bit too much for Michael Slater.<br /></li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ek aur over karega?</span>"<br />Anil Kumble asks Ishant Sharma if he'll bowl one more over after having bowled seven. Ishant did and got the wicket of Ricky Ponting on the first ball. It was Virender Sehwag who asked Kumble to let Ishant bowl.<br /></li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">It would have been great if you had been my 600th victim.</span>"<br />Anil Kumble to Adam Gilchrist when the latter congratulated him on his feat.</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadAgGWnUfbEjFVm2EqtD0qvMv3NZZSiGG8cslqzvO9RsQY4Fx-3zjyMwujDLuCKWmB0SdSGteJ7k4KojOhyphenhyphenzDs8DmbOsJabmSMufmV9mfNkscM821eQl72Cja8PfuTXNDfSlbxkqhehQ/s1600-h/85446.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadAgGWnUfbEjFVm2EqtD0qvMv3NZZSiGG8cslqzvO9RsQY4Fx-3zjyMwujDLuCKWmB0SdSGteJ7k4KojOhyphenhyphenzDs8DmbOsJabmSMufmV9mfNkscM821eQl72Cja8PfuTXNDfSlbxkqhehQ/s320/85446.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157550284410733106" border="0" /></a></div></div>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-23159708976886884632008-01-17T23:08:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:36:09.707+05:30A debacle, a farewell and an unbelievable comebackIt has been quite a while since my last post and over the past week I have decided to make this blog a topical one. So now, this blog will be completely dedicated to the game of Cricket and as a result we also have a change in the name<br /><br />The past week was quite an eventful one for the sport- both on the field and off it. It started off<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEJFfcFyhmqPfm-VvHyASyfrTPBCrQLSwX8-h2W7TGEWtNbFQcgWD7MFpx7xK75BrCHjB4RZDhPHu9LW3Wtk4xVvwClmTKstsJ4eo2jCtpgXp1ElrvWP1n_MQS5F8xUimMXMgZD4zIlk/s1600-h/330241.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEJFfcFyhmqPfm-VvHyASyfrTPBCrQLSwX8-h2W7TGEWtNbFQcgWD7MFpx7xK75BrCHjB4RZDhPHu9LW3Wtk4xVvwClmTKstsJ4eo2jCtpgXp1ElrvWP1n_MQS5F8xUimMXMgZD4zIlk/s320/330241.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156494740363165826" border="0" /></a> with South Africa thrashing the West Indies in three and a half days in the third test match between the teams thus taking the series 2-1. South Africa won by a huge margin of an innings and a 100 runs! West Indies was put into bat and were bowled out for a paltry 139 in a little more than a session on the first day thanks mainly to Shaun Pollock's brilliant bowling display. At the end of the first day's play, the Proteas had already put up a 150 run lead and went on to score a lead of 417 by the end of the second day. West Indies batted for a day and a half but that just wasn't enough. For South Africa, skipper Graeme Smith scored a superb 147. A. B. De Villiers and Ashwell Prince also scored centuries with Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis scoring valuable half centuries. It was a terrific display by the Proteas after they had lost the first test. During the course of the match Shaun Pollock announced his retirement. What a wonderful player this man has been. Probably one of the few excellent bowling all rounders in the game.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTVYPVk2RPCof5BYQgyTuFMLeknOCvmji2aCzghloRQCvdk17scl4DfplIXxX-hJChkVdJmhHhDKhoz8cyo_5QSAXJjlDvy2Vrm6hllw0DTtAel4C837thaKhXjvZWZygW2ynkgjbGzo/s1600-h/330855.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTVYPVk2RPCof5BYQgyTuFMLeknOCvmji2aCzghloRQCvdk17scl4DfplIXxX-hJChkVdJmhHhDKhoz8cyo_5QSAXJjlDvy2Vrm6hllw0DTtAel4C837thaKhXjvZWZygW2ynkgjbGzo/s320/330855.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156495066780680338" border="0" /></a>Over the past few days, it was the peace making meeting between Indian captain Anil Kumble and Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting that was in the news. The meeting was presided over by ICC Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle. The meeting went off quite well and the captain's agreement about taking the fielder's word for disputed catches was scrapped. Ricky Ponting also promised to look into his team's on-field behaviour as the ICC reprimanded Cricket Australia for their team's behaviour. In a rather surprising move, India took back all the charges put on Aussie spinner Brad Hogg who had allegedly used foul language on Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the field during the controversial third test in Sydney.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r9C7dZpUz40BCWLpvmlDAeOCuOmNSGYtbxUZNKTwNW22VkwN_IkBiiA8CQ5K51TL9YcegMmYUBQIEqW0niJkH5iquf31VrlyS_u22i6IS247SoEiCE1osbRlLgyFZSpmSzTLjw_GqeQ/s1600-h/85319.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r9C7dZpUz40BCWLpvmlDAeOCuOmNSGYtbxUZNKTwNW22VkwN_IkBiiA8CQ5K51TL9YcegMmYUBQIEqW0niJkH5iquf31VrlyS_u22i6IS247SoEiCE1osbRlLgyFZSpmSzTLjw_GqeQ/s320/85319.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156495646601265314" border="0" /></a>The much anticipated third test between India and Australia started at Perth yesterday and the match is already poised in a very interesting position.Perth has always been a very fast and bouncy track and is feared by batsmen all over the world. As a matter of fact in the 1980s there was an occasion when Australian fast bowling legend Jeff Thompson bowled a bouncer which went over the wicket-keeper's head and pitched just once before reaching the boundary thus giving 4 byes to the batting team! There was a lot of hype before this match and I must say that the pitch hasn't lived up to expectations. That doesn't mean that the pitch wasn't fast and bouncy. A lot was said about young Australian quickie Shaun Tait who finally made it to the playing eleven replacing spinner Brad Hogg. Shaun Tait is currently the fastest bowler in the world (disputed) and everyone expected him to strike the Indian batting line-up hard, but that wasn't to be. Australia played a team with 4 fast bowlers and no specialist spinner as they obviously thought that bounce will play a key role in this match. On the other hand, India took 3 quickies and dropped Harbhajan Singh, one of the 2 specialist spinners. Captain Kumble, who is the other specialist spinner obviously played. There were 2 changes for both the teams. For the Aussies, Tait came in for Hogg and Chris Rogers came in for the injure Mathew Hayden. For India, Irfan Pathan came in for Harbhajan and Virender Sehwag came in for the out of form Yuvraj Singh. Sehwag had score a 79 ball hundred against the ACT Invitational XI in the practice game at Canberra last week. Sehwag's selection meant that he would open with Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid would come back to his normal position as number 3.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvKP2rm_lUtgXMDGzvoRDszUR_663MEs4aErI4rLYdTo7g99MY2g1QnjnPtx1RdKK4TprauR2PLJO7EjpX1lf38PSgUq73y3BxRD2_pFVcnOor7r9WI8WGR-zrBMdw4KURl1b2HJad6A/s1600-h/85261.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvKP2rm_lUtgXMDGzvoRDszUR_663MEs4aErI4rLYdTo7g99MY2g1QnjnPtx1RdKK4TprauR2PLJO7EjpX1lf38PSgUq73y3BxRD2_pFVcnOor7r9WI8WGR-zrBMdw4KURl1b2HJad6A/s320/85261.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156498421150138626" border="0" /></a><br />India won the toss and elected to bat, which experts consider a bold move for a visiting team.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-zAwE7CgHfAkro28NKFv_s-QQnru6SstJkE1cAjoV8_L-FLbH9jkaV_1XZ6Z5OQ1NEZbau1qchzjdQTq0NlDGxldEiAPK9NyWXmViHUkqsiUCBv3H_oe3erxsoqf_tj_aQy_8K1Y0rI/s1600-h/85228.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-zAwE7CgHfAkro28NKFv_s-QQnru6SstJkE1cAjoV8_L-FLbH9jkaV_1XZ6Z5OQ1NEZbau1qchzjdQTq0NlDGxldEiAPK9NyWXmViHUkqsiUCBv3H_oe3erxsoqf_tj_aQy_8K1Y0rI/s320/85228.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156498597243797778" border="0" /></a> India had to play the first half hour extremely carefully and they managed to do just that. Australia had literally packed the slip cordon knowing that the Indians were sure to nick some behind the wicket. The opener's got the best start in the series so far putting up 57 runs for the first wicket. Sehwag was at his belligerent best as he was hitting Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson for boundaries at ease. Unfortunately, he got out just as he was set for a big innings as he nicked Johnson to Adam Gilchrist. He scored 29 of 57 deliveries. It may be quite a small score in tests but it set the foundation for India. Jaffer followed Sehwag to the pavillion soon as he too was caught behind off Lee. With the score reading 59/2, one would have thought that the slide had begun but the partnership that followed put India right back into the game. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar put up 139 runs for the third wicket. Tendulkar was in imperious form as he tackled the bounce with ease after a few initial hiccups. His duel with Lee was something which can be watched again and again. Tendulkar hit 6 of his 9 fours behind the wicket, which itself shows how well he negotiated the very controlled bowling of the Australian bowling. He took a special liking for Shaun Tait, hitting him for some really brilliant boundaries. Tendulkar had scored a brilliant century for the losing side at this very ground 16 years ago. That was the last time the Aussies had played with an all pace attack. The most notable shot that he played during his innings was the late upper cut which he played to perfection after not quite getting the shot earlier in the innings.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDQo4JEPqdxnIqIX-t1lglNTWzOsu-XFa2uZwXqoHY9xAhLK3ld4CPLNKH7MWadHxsJHtb6S5XH02nsVmltKxyN9eBmkp6l5Pp9s__OxmW10Xe9nfjFI9CS1log80Aa39MDEg9NVNEyw/s1600-h/85246.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDQo4JEPqdxnIqIX-t1lglNTWzOsu-XFa2uZwXqoHY9xAhLK3ld4CPLNKH7MWadHxsJHtb6S5XH02nsVmltKxyN9eBmkp6l5Pp9s__OxmW10Xe9nfjFI9CS1log80Aa39MDEg9NVNEyw/s320/85246.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156496497004789954" border="0" /></a>Tendulkar would have surely gone on to make a hundred, but his innings was cut short by a bad LBW decision by Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf. He didn't consider the bounce on the pitch and gave Tendulkar out for a well made 71. Replays clearly showed that the ball would have bounced over the stumps. Ganguly came in next but didn't last for long scoring just 9, his lowest score in a very long time. He hit 2 glorious boundaries and was looking good until he was dismissed by Johnson. The shot was quite good and would have easily gone for four but Mike Hussey pulled off a stunner of a catch. Laxman and Dravid steadied the ship but got out in quick succession playing 2 really terrible shots. Laxman holed out straight to Tait at mid off for 29, the wicket being taken by Lee and Dravid miscued a slog sweep off Andrew Symonds and Ponting took a very easy catch. Dravid scored a brilliant 93. India ended day 1 at 297/6.<br /><br />Day 2 began quite well with India hitting 31 runs with ease until disaster struck as Dhoni was given LBW by Rauf to another very doubtful decision. I recall Ravi Shastri saying that if an umpire turns down LBW appeals of well pitched deliveries at Perth, then he will be right 9 out of 10 times, and I completely agree with him. After that 3 wickets fell for just 2 runs as India went from 328/6 to 330 all out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeFGnciCFbpqBFJNLA4-BIK9nXqsyU71GQrx24WTodTjGE_3da6hTlzGZlX7l9lsOEOPiAiBhZiswKr9-agn6BtrPaVqhXa8td_tU-ee0lWMYuCSPLJS1xaeaYaKp81CdwqyAbGtE3tI/s1600-h/85255.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeFGnciCFbpqBFJNLA4-BIK9nXqsyU71GQrx24WTodTjGE_3da6hTlzGZlX7l9lsOEOPiAiBhZiswKr9-agn6BtrPaVqhXa8td_tU-ee0lWMYuCSPLJS1xaeaYaKp81CdwqyAbGtE3tI/s320/85255.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156498090437656818" border="0" /></a><br />It was expected that Australia would come out with all guns blazing but the Indian bowlers had<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzbgDDG5pPV1hNS6V-5KVBXIa5hgbsnr5zqUeWsXFAw73MGRqJjp_Wxd9L819dZeR5mlOx4OMlKL-Ux_j3IfrURD5jPbgTVxhxdVpK8PlBv2WBWwRS3OGcMSbgEFEMV2rzXlPXdWzEbk/s1600-h/85312.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzbgDDG5pPV1hNS6V-5KVBXIa5hgbsnr5zqUeWsXFAw73MGRqJjp_Wxd9L819dZeR5mlOx4OMlKL-Ux_j3IfrURD5jPbgTVxhxdVpK8PlBv2WBWwRS3OGcMSbgEFEMV2rzXlPXdWzEbk/s320/85312.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156498979495887138" border="0" /></a> something else in mind. Irfan Pathan swung the ball brilliantly and accounted for both the openers- debutant Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques . R.P. Singh bowled a superb delivery to get Hussey out for a duck, his first duck in his career. Ishant Sharma struck twice with the wickets of Ponting and Clarke as Australia were reduced to 61/5. It is rather strange to think that these 2 wicket were Sharma's first wickets in this series. Symonds and Gilchrist performed a counter-attacking resurrection with a 102 run stand as both scored attacking fifties. Symonds had got a reprieve when he had only scored 3 runs when Tendulkar dropped a simple catch at first slip, Pathan being the unlucky bowler. It was Kumble who got the wicket of Symonds and that was his 600th test wicket. He is the third player in the history of the game to have taken 600 or more wickets, the other two being Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Gilchrist hammered three successive fours off R.P. Singh after which Singh surprised him with a superb delivery and Gilchrist was caught behind by Dhoni. Symonds and Gilchrist scored 66 and 55 respectively. The Aussie tail-enders didn't last long and Australia was bowled out for 212 giving India a lead of 118 runs. Dhoni taking 5 catches was quite impressive behind the stumps. R.P. Singh bowled brilliantly taking 4/68.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vDHmFZU1K_rGVMUWmIhsD8LaDEbQbT8ZNwnLTZlfUlapuKsF043c03vVmwNTXwu1xlbhkIUeVKwq5lBasGgI4U2jgSyuEyiQDhwvmmurSXnot32kGHG6tBSo-9BwZ3211bV3fHOgFr0/s1600-h/85310.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vDHmFZU1K_rGVMUWmIhsD8LaDEbQbT8ZNwnLTZlfUlapuKsF043c03vVmwNTXwu1xlbhkIUeVKwq5lBasGgI4U2jgSyuEyiQDhwvmmurSXnot32kGHG6tBSo-9BwZ3211bV3fHOgFr0/s320/85310.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156499417582551346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBW5Za5hKUK28crGFfPuM19miEOiMJtf0f7QIsY8m14G52b2jrSzeCMKjnXShXaGHmmiTLTz_GBLRHYzys84A7IqXaR0tHzhL9q9DdkeTbPHfk9HqJEvR8Gbd5ISTYITVd40Bjkf1WRU/s1600-h/85316.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBW5Za5hKUK28crGFfPuM19miEOiMJtf0f7QIsY8m14G52b2jrSzeCMKjnXShXaGHmmiTLTz_GBLRHYzys84A7IqXaR0tHzhL9q9DdkeTbPHfk9HqJEvR8Gbd5ISTYITVd40Bjkf1WRU/s320/85316.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156499713935294786" border="0" /></a>India got off to a flyer in the second innings, thanks again to Sehwag who as usual was in attacking mood. The openers had put on 45 runs when Clark accounted for Jaffer who was caught behind the wicket yet again. Irfan Pathan was sent in as the Night Watchman and he staved off the Aussie quickies till the end of the days play. India is batting with 52 runs on the board for the loss of a wicket and has extended its lead to 170 runs. Lets see what the third day's play holds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pyzv5vVXE2EXhgokfvRy2JlzgoC-jM76SbCZbiCtI4X2nkUobQGHeboiXFp57ON4RcikagWhxeUZecfb8bD403ygJfd1AksZKAzjiOko-OSqL4NDNOV_I65JV8z_cHb-W4kXlkOPtzM/s1600-h/85314.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pyzv5vVXE2EXhgokfvRy2JlzgoC-jM76SbCZbiCtI4X2nkUobQGHeboiXFp57ON4RcikagWhxeUZecfb8bD403ygJfd1AksZKAzjiOko-OSqL4NDNOV_I65JV8z_cHb-W4kXlkOPtzM/s320/85314.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156500005993070930" border="0" /></a>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-15558807146096081632008-01-09T22:52:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:35:22.983+05:30"The Dubious Cricket Awards", a tennis player's reaction and a day out at the beach<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHI4YpZ6o3dPNZCQEwRKowsE5s0HgR1JLMiJItj6FHwjxXv0BD7h0kiRiKp03OPclAh3Mhl1OlHt-PRTA_LwuIqARomDw-EUZB4KPymrGyOEOJ4FECFF_mpPyxrrMlmwfoOdWrZv27gU/s1600-h/329080.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHI4YpZ6o3dPNZCQEwRKowsE5s0HgR1JLMiJItj6FHwjxXv0BD7h0kiRiKp03OPclAh3Mhl1OlHt-PRTA_LwuIqARomDw-EUZB4KPymrGyOEOJ4FECFF_mpPyxrrMlmwfoOdWrZv27gU/s320/329080.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153527519257051202" border="0" /></a>Well, I never had any intention of posting today but some forwarded stuff regarding the "Sydney Test Fiasco" made its way into my mailbox and I decided to share it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CRICKET AWARDS FOR 2008:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Best Umpire :</span> Ricky Ponting<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Best Australian Players :</span> Steve Bucknor, Mark Benson<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Honest Team :</span> Australia<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Best Actor :</span> Michael Clarke<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Honest Player :</span> Andrew Symonds<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE RACIAL ABUSE INQUIRY:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Characters-</span> Ponting, Symonds (Roy), Harbhajan (Bhajji) and the ICC Match Referee- Mike Procter<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ponting and Co:</span> Harbhajan called Symonds a "monkey"!!! It amounts to racial abuse!!!!<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Procter:</span> Did you call Symonds a "Monkey"?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bhajji:</span> No, I addressed a monkey as "Symonds"<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Procter:</span> So you did<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bhajji :</span> (Silence)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Procter :</span> How dare you insult a monkey.You are now banned for 3 matches.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bhajji :</span> (Sad)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ponting & Co :</span> ????<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ponting :</span> Hey, Roy.What did Procter say?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Symonds :</span> Who cares, he's banned now.You can bat well in the next game.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ponting : </span>No, Anil is also there. Ask Procter whether he can ban him too.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Symonds :</span> We'll see in the next match, if he takes your wicket, we'll complain.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ponting:</span> That is an awesome idea!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrmTvB5xZiNQNKe5f_1VD8afdHIfSn2099LpUSw7ucdTDEbXbITLfE7JhNYFD49bkyNOdHi0VRam0azh7Q9LmJ0lX19LXZzqzNdQZMeM_lDZkbACiLdC9tcQ3WJZsinBsUr5jqq8ijPI/s1600-h/lleytonhewitt_wideweb__470x336,0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrmTvB5xZiNQNKe5f_1VD8afdHIfSn2099LpUSw7ucdTDEbXbITLfE7JhNYFD49bkyNOdHi0VRam0azh7Q9LmJ0lX19LXZzqzNdQZMeM_lDZkbACiLdC9tcQ3WJZsinBsUr5jqq8ijPI/s320/lleytonhewitt_wideweb__470x336,0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153526617313919010" border="0" /></a>There was this weird drama that took place yesterday in a tennis match. Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt complained against umpiring in a match he played with Chris Guccione which Hewitt lost 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2). And the coincidence didn't just end there as the name of the umpire was a guy with the name Steve Ullrich! That is what I call "The Steve Connection"! Empathising with the Indian Cricket Team's complaints he said, "<span style="font-style: italic;">I feel like the cricketers, I think. What's going on with all the refs these days? They're useless!</span>" I agree with you too, Mr. Hewitt and so do many other cricket lovers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGqpY6GnwWIGjSyUuxOOk-Ub4NEe6RwazyzAXEDFcBlTocFrdtagNfAYHZ763uo3M6l8OguOCiD6f6y9DDFx_l5syTBGVEZTL-XyRVyOm9INyzXJabSxeFVY_7Ced6kA_STX7l7pRJDY/s1600-h/84895.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGqpY6GnwWIGjSyUuxOOk-Ub4NEe6RwazyzAXEDFcBlTocFrdtagNfAYHZ763uo3M6l8OguOCiD6f6y9DDFx_l5syTBGVEZTL-XyRVyOm9INyzXJabSxeFVY_7Ced6kA_STX7l7pRJDY/s320/84895.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153528197861883986" border="0" /></a>In the meanwhile, the Indian team finally came out of their hotel room in Sydney and went to the famous Bondi beach where they had a day out after some of their complaints were addressed to by the ICC. This is what Indian skipper Anil Kumble had to say about the media coverage of the outing- "<span style="font-style: italic;">I never thought we played such good beach volleyball. There were about 15 journalists to cover that.</span>" The Indian team has received overwhelming support from a large section of the Australian public and media and are no doubt going to be the followed very closely till the end of the tour.The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-77729929972433731312008-01-08T22:47:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:34:23.935+05:30A Question of Integrity, Arrogance and Racial Slurs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSJsmzGKhOmuCkk2BEFca1UYb1E9ilPiy20LiikBEMXtJ7cWa879pZAzBXSv1Jhtov4F99MTwijOG0GtT27_ItB64jVCka9Hrl0WA7NDgZB3bCtWT0l3v8WPAlJRnpZEkFomJ1hSzK9A/s1600-h/329397.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSJsmzGKhOmuCkk2BEFca1UYb1E9ilPiy20LiikBEMXtJ7cWa879pZAzBXSv1Jhtov4F99MTwijOG0GtT27_ItB64jVCka9Hrl0WA7NDgZB3bCtWT0l3v8WPAlJRnpZEkFomJ1hSzK9A/s320/329397.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153160162114289650" border="0" /></a>It has been about two days since the events at the Sydney Cricket Ground and there is still a lot of speculation surrounding the issue of India being "cheated" of a fair result. The inquiry into Symond's complaint about Harbhajan racially abusing him has a rather weird result- Harbhajan being banned for 3 Tests. Now, you may think why I am calling this "weird" and not "unfair", "shocking" or something more intense. It is just that there are a lot of loopholes in this verdict. It may actually be fair to call this entire affair "unfair"! But instead of doing that, I would like to bring forth some facts regarding the case.<br /><br />According to Symonds, Harbhajan apparently hit Brett Lee during the course of his partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Symonds couldn't take this and hit out at Harbhajan who allegedly called Symonds a "monkey". Now, the umpires had not heard anything (which is quite obvious as they couldn't even hear the ball hitting the bat!) and the ICC Match Referee, Mike Procter too didn't hear a word. Moreover, there wasn't<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNg5is9aloL_SZkhDIWjJfUWtg8mUhwqj24Dpin5UTRkcGRPwRu-xHCtIxyznsMW5AtEtM2Hv11pIheplqEsHhDsEe8F2ipjyq4kc3mBFn-iZGxJSN9tM2ASDgkffUKnlzbyq_maIogw/s1600-h/84786.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNg5is9aloL_SZkhDIWjJfUWtg8mUhwqj24Dpin5UTRkcGRPwRu-xHCtIxyznsMW5AtEtM2Hv11pIheplqEsHhDsEe8F2ipjyq4kc3mBFn-iZGxJSN9tM2ASDgkffUKnlzbyq_maIogw/s320/84786.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154260373821735010" border="0" /></a> any proof- be it audio or video and all that was relied upon by Procter to make this decision was the collective witness account delivered by Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mathew Hayden. Sachin Tendulkar wasn't even asked for a witness account throughout the inquiry which lasted four gruelling hours. As Navjot Singh Sidhu pointed out on a news channel, not listening to a person of Tendulkar's stature, one who has played the game with dignity for 18 years and instead accepting Clarke's word is utter nonsense! Clarke is literally a baby if you compare him to Tendulkar in terms of experience and his integrity too is in doubt after the incident regarding Ganguly's dismissal during the last day's play. His arrogance is just like his captain Ponting, while Ponting keeps saying that the match was played in the right spirit, Clarke still believes that he took Ganguly's catch cleanly, as if the videos are lying!<br /><br />With the overwhelming support for the Indian Cricket Team even by the Australian public, it will be interesting to note where the issue goes from here. In the polls conducted by Australian newspapers a majority of the Aussies feel that the umpires gave India a raw deal and that the Australian team isn't a bunch of sports. Also, most of them feel that Ponting isn't a good ambassador for the game. Peter Roebuck, who is probably the most respected and celebrated cricket<br />writer in the world too gave some really harsh comments about Ponting's captaincy and even went on to say that he should be sacked! He wrote, "<span style="font-style: italic;">In the past few days Ponting has presided over a performance that dragged the game into the pits. He turned a group of professional cricketers into a pack of wild dogs. As much can be told from the conduct of his closest allies in the team. As usual, Matthew Hayden crossed himself upon reaching three figures in his commanding second innings, a gesture he does not perform while wearing the colours of his state. Exactly how he combines his faith with throwing his weight around on the field has long bemused opposing sides, whose fondness for him ran out a long time ago.</span>" He also went on to write, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Beyond comparison it was the ugliest performance put up by an Australian side for 20 years. The only surprising part of it is that the Indians have not packed their bags and gone home. There is no justice for them in this country, nor any manners.</span>"<br /><br />India in return has filed a charge of abuse against Aussie spinner Brad Hogg, who allegedly used foul language on Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the course of the match. Also, the ICC has removed Bucknor as the umpire of the 3rd Test and has replaced him with Billy Bowden. India has also filed an appeal against the decision taken on Harbhajan Singh.<br /><br />Personally, one thing that I won't forget about the television coverage of the match is Sunil Gavaskar's commentary for Star Cricket. Given below are the Youtube links for the comments made by him-<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xz1T9-x6eY&eurl=http://www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideos.aspx?uid=4494415186267582999">Gavaskar furious about Ganguly's dismissal.</a></li><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcbJOkeyKBA&eurl=http://www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideos.aspx?uid=4494415186267582999">Gavaskar commenting on Ricky Ponting's on-field actions.</a></li></ul>Someone on BBC's Cricket Blog wrote this comic news headline when Bucknor was removed as the umpire for the 3rd Test at Perth-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Bucknor out, Hayden doubtful for Perth. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">An Australian side, which is already suffering from the non-availability of key player Mark Benson got another setback today, when star all-rounder Steve Bucknor got banned by the ICC. His partnership with super hero Andrew Symonds and Tricky Ponting has been the foundation of the glorious Australian win. When left handed opener Matthew Hayden got injured, that became a minor concern for Tricky, who can't believe the decision of the ICC to ban his Star All-rounder. Tricky will also have to deal with Harbhajan Singh, who showed the whole world that Tricky has no idea about playing quality spin, and therefore can never be considered in the same class of King Brian Charles Lara or the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.<br /><br /></span>I loved the way he presented his comments. Funny and at the same time conveying how much the umpires helped the Australian cause. Some people actually say that Benson and Bucknor were competing with each other to give favours to Australia! It would also be notable to add that 63% of the readers of the Sydney Morning Herald agreed with Peter Roebuck's stance about Ponting being sacked as captain of the Australian Cricket Team<span style="font-style: italic;">. </span>Now, its time to wait and see the spirit in which the next Test is played.<br /><br />Have a look at the links below for an insight into the farcical affair-<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/arrogant-ponting-must-be-fired/2008/01/07/1199554571883.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1">Peter Roebuck- "<span style="font-style: italic;">Arrogant Ponting must be fired</span>"</a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></li><li><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/aussies-disrespecting-baggy-green-lawson/2008/01/09/1199554700032.html">Geoff Lawson-<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>" <span style="font-style: italic;">Aussies disrespecting baggy green</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>"</a></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/hogg-charged-by-icc/2008/01/09/1199554664667.html">Hogg charged by ICC</a></li><li><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/australians-hypocrites-cry-babies-wasim/2008/01/07/1199554571875.html">Wasim Akram- <span style="font-style: italic;">Australians hypocrites, cry babies</span></a></li><li><a href="http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/329708.html">"<span style="font-style: italic;">Open your eyes, Ricky</span>"</a></li><li><a href="http://www.espnstar.com/studio/columndetails.cmd?id=7021003">ESPN Star Cricket Hard Talk- Boria Majumdar</a></li><li><a href="http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/indvaus/newsdetails.cmd?id=7021366">"<span style="font-style: italic;">ICC 'soften' up after England back India on umpiring issue</span>"</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/08/1199554654309.html?s_rid=smh:top5">Michael Epis- "<span style="font-style: italic;">Why Ponting's heroes just don't appeal to me</span>"</a><br /></li></ul>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268828923927693972.post-89756968165401618082008-01-06T22:30:00.000+05:302008-02-21T08:33:14.448+05:30How Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson contributed to the cause of making Cricket an "un-gentlemanly" game<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WbV5gCtublcIeqtCW1gJEHKPISS9TkO3celf8nsv7MutMNzHx7r_HPtAox2ckRLm6VfnUqg-to9ZLar7Bdv4wQ4XG_DpxLQL0J8xtojdrQDgp5rwvGSP_R_0TYbZ_jWh1PC_SApmIRI/s1600-h/n17272370710_9164.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WbV5gCtublcIeqtCW1gJEHKPISS9TkO3celf8nsv7MutMNzHx7r_HPtAox2ckRLm6VfnUqg-to9ZLar7Bdv4wQ4XG_DpxLQL0J8xtojdrQDgp5rwvGSP_R_0TYbZ_jWh1PC_SApmIRI/s320/n17272370710_9164.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152412176379822050" border="0" /></a>I must say that I wasn't amused by the habit of blogging which many netizens possess and as I write quite a lot I was repeatedly advised by friends and well-wishers to start blogging but I hardly paid heed to them. I just made an account and left it at that. Over the past year I always had a passing thought to actually begin blogging- if not for myself than for others, but something more important always came in my way. After more than a year of procrastinating I finally decided to start blogging. And the reason was my obsession with the game of Cricket (I like it so much that I have made it a proper noun!)<br /><br />My day began on a sour note personally and to forget my own problems I decided to watch the last day's play of the 2nd Test Match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now, for those who don't know- the Border-Gavaskar trophy is the Test Series played between India and Australia and on this occasion India is touring Australia. The first 4 days of the test match have had their moments but what I will remember this Test Match for is for the rather (in)famous umpiring controversy due to some atrocious umpiring by Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson.<br /><br />Now, lets look into each issue in detail:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 1)</span> Ricky Ponting edged a ball bowled by Sourav Ganguly and was caught by wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he was batting on 17 in the first innings. Given not out. Ponting went on to score 55. The decision was made by Mark Benson.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 2)</span> Ponting adjudged LBW to Harbhajan Singh when on 55. He clearly had an inside edge before the ball hit the pads. But that sort of made up for the earlier decision. This decision too was made by Mark Benson.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 3)</span> Andrew Symonds edged a ball to Ishant Sharma and was caught behind when he was on 30. Not given out by Steve Bucknor. Went on to make 162 not out- an expensive mistake.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 4)</span> Symonds was out stumped when he was batting on 48. Not given out by the third umpire. (Can you believe this? The Third Umpire goofs it up!)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 5)</span> Symonds was stumped again in the same innings but umpire Bucknor did not even care to refer it to the Third Umpire!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 6)</span> In India's crucial second innings, Dravid was given caught behind where the ball clearly went off his pad. Bucknor adjudged him out.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Issue 7) </span>An edge off Ganguly's bat went to Michael Clarke. There was a doubt in umpire Benson's mind whether the catch was taken cleanly. Rather than consulting the Square Leg Umpire or the Third Umpire, he consulted Ricky Ponting. Why did he have to do that? Isn't it obvious that Ponting would say that it is out as Sourav Ganguly was the main obstacle in Australia's attempt to win the game?<br /><br />This match also showed to what extent Team Australia can go to achieve their ends. Ricky Ponting had always seemed an arrogant man to me and I must agree to the famous saying- "Looks can be deceptive" But my feelings were limited to Ponting, Hogg, Johnson and Symonds. I never expected the entire team to be nothing but a bunch of cheats who can do absolutely anything to cling on to their "World Champion" tag! The very credibility of Team Australia is in doubt now. When Rahul Dravid got out, it was Adam Gilchrist who had claimed the catch. A few years back when Gilchrist was given not out when he was actually out, Gilchrist walked out of the ground saying that his conscience wouldn't have allowed him to continue batting as he would have been nagged by the fact that he was actually out. That decision by him, made many cricket lovers like me respect the man. After the batsman, it probably is the keeper who knows whether the ball actually nicked the bat or not and for a person of Gilchrist's stature claiming the catch while knowing the truth is shocking, especially after "walking" when he was sure of himself being out!<br /><br />Then comes the instance of Michael Clarke claiming Ganguly's catch. It may be doubtful whether the ball bounced before coming to him or not but he wasn't in "complete control" of the ball after claiming the catch as the ball was clearly touching the ground! Ponting too unsuccessfully tried to claim a similar catch off Dhoni as the "complete control" definition came into view.<br /><br />How can I miss making a comment on Man of the Match Andrew Symonds, who probably was the most fortunate man in the game after being given not out on three occasions when he was actually out and also taking Dravid's wicket in India's second innings, which by now we all know wasn't actually out. On the third day's play he complained to the Match Referee that Harbhajan Singh had "racially abused" him. And as I type news comes in that Harbhajan has been banned for 3 Tests for this very reason. I find it very difficult to judge the credibility of this complaint after all the above events. I feel this is nothing but a "mind game" by the Australians to remove Harbhajan from the attack. The press had reported that none of the umpires on the field had heard any abusing and even then Harbhajan is punished! What proof did the Australian's have? Can't they present it to the outside world to give us a clearer picture?<br /><br />The unfortunate incidents in this test match have pained an entire nation where Cricket is an obsession and has a religious cult-like following! At the end of the day Cricket is the loser. I am deeply pained by this horrendous showing of favours by the umpires to the Australians thus proving that Cricket is not a "Gentleman's Game" anymore.<br /><br />To sum it all up, I would quote what the Indian captain Anil Kumble said about the outcome of the match- "<span style="font-style: italic;">Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game, that's all I can say</span>"<br /><br />Other notable quotes after the match include-<br /><ul><li> "<span style="font-style: italic;">Batsmen usually say to each other '</span><span>you take care of this bowler etc</span><span style="font-style: italic;">'. [In] this match the Indians might have to say '</span><span>you take care of Bucknor, I will take care of Benson</span><span style="font-style: italic;">'.</span>"<br />Ian Chappell on commentary during the final day of the Sydney Test following two doubtful decisions that went against India.</li><li> "<span style="font-style: italic;">I</span><span style="font-style: italic;">f Steve Bucknor walks the streets of Mumbai, he won't be alive for more than an hour.</span>"<br />A comment on a TV debate in India in the aftermath of the Sydney Test. The remark received warm applause.</li><li> "<span style="font-style: italic;">This has been going on in all countries for many years and it's only happening against India and has only been exposed because of TV. There were 12 decisions when we were batting and 12 when we were bowling.</span>"<br />A balanced view on world cricket from an expert on the same show.</li><li><span id="lb_StoryFull" class="Byline">"<span style="font-style: italic;">Umpiring standards have gone down in this match, particularly in Bucknor's case. He is losing his vision and hearing as shown by some of his decisions. I suggest there should be a fitness test for umpires as well.</span>"</span><br />Former Indian Test Cricketer Syed Kirmani.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Sorry I think you have got something wrong. There's no way that I would have grounded that ball and I think if you are actually questioning my integrity in the game, you should not be standing here. What I did in the first innings doesn't that explain the way I play the game. Well okay I am 100 per cent sure of that catch of Dhoni today. As it turned out wasn't that given not out. Am I right or wrong?</span>"<br />Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reacting angrily when asked by Indian reporter if he had cleanly caught Mahendra Singh Dhoni off the bowling of Brad Hogg. A ridiculous comment in my opinion.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">When you pick up a pack of Benson & Hedges you get a statutory warning: '</span>Smoking cigarettes is injurious to health.<span style="font-style: italic;">' From this day on, the firm of Benson & Bucknor may well have to come with some sort of warning. It's a shame when you have to spend more time talking about the umpiring than the wickets taken or the runs scored, but when the errors umpires make play a big role in deciding the course of a game, there's little choice.</span>"<br />Cricinfo's cricket expert Anand Vasu in his post match bulletin.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">The umpires on the field are supposed to be neutral.</span>"<br />Colin Croft starts 2008 with a controversial and ill thought-out on-air comment.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">How can the third umpire not see that? He's not got anything to do other than watch TV!</span>"<br />Sky TV's Charles Colvile offers a blunt take on the third umpire's decision to rule Andrew Symonds not out on a stumping referral.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">I was out when I was 30 - given not out. I can sit here and tell you about some bad decisions as well, but I won't. That's the game.</span>"<br />Andrew Symonds tells it like it is about what went down on day one of the SCG Test.</li><li>"<span style="font-style: italic;">It was a match that will have been relished only by rabid nationalists and others for whom victory and vengeance are the sole reasons for playing sport ... It was a rotten contest that singularly failed to elevate the spirit.</span>"<br />Peter Roebuck delivers his verdict on the second Australia-India Test in the Sydney Morning Herald.<br /></li></ul>Check out the links below for more on this issue-<br /><ul><li><a href="http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ausvind/content/current/story/329405.html">Kumble questions Australia's spirit.</a></li><li><a href="http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ausvind/content/current/story/329392.html">Australia's attitude lacking in appeal.</a></li></ul>The Sentinelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05976518063206782876noreply@blogger.com0