Let's talk Cricket

The recently concluded Test series between England and India, was a big embarrassment for Team India and its fans. After winning the second match at Lord’s, Team India completely surrendered and played as badly as they could. In the end, it turned out be one of the most one-sided battles, as Team India went down without giving it a fight. But now, India will have to forget about the past and concentrate on the upcoming ODI’s. There are 5 ODIs to be played. But, the biggest question is- “Can the change in format change the fortunes of Team India?” In my honest opinion, it isn’t looking likely. The confidence of the team is low, big players like Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, have not been able to adapt to the swinging conditions, and the bowling attack, after bowling endlessly in the five-match Test series, is looking tired. *** Having said this, ODIs have always been India’s most preferred format of the game, specifically overseas, and with the inclusion of some e...

Jacques Kallis announced his retirement today i.e. on 30th July 2014 from all forms of international cricket. Though he will continue playing cricket for KKR in the IPL and for Sydney Thunder in the BBL.  He had earlier retired from tests in December 2013 after a home series against India. He represented in 166 test matches for South Africa scoring 13289 runs with 45 centuries and 58 half centuries with an average of 55.37. He is the first South African to score over 10000 runs in test cricket. However he continued to play ODI's and T20 cricket. Kallis was keen to play the Cricket World Cup 2015, but with his recent form and a poor series against Sri Lanka where he scored just 1, 0 and 4 in 3 innings, he felt that it was over for him. Kallis ends his ODI career with 11579 runs in 328 matches, 17 centuries and 86 half centuries at an average of 44.36. He played 25 T20's scoring 666 runs with 5 fifties. Kallis explained his retirement by saying-  "I realised in Sri Lan...

Going into his hundredth test, which is a great achievement in a cricketers life, Ian Bell has proved be one of the most consistent batsman in the English squad. He made his test debut with a beautifully placed 70 against the West Indies. But this wasn't how the story went for him. There were question marks whether his stomach is up for a battle but he has overcome all that, and going into the hundredth, he is firmly the main man in the England batting middle order. He had to struggle for the first half of his career as in he had averaged only 39.79 in the first 49 matches. But he did not give up and came back strongly with an average of 51.30 in the last 50 matches, and has played positively in his entire career. The overall figure is average for a man, who is going to play his 100th match. He averages 45.24 in 99 matches. Ian Bell will be only the 12th Englishman to have played 100 test match, which is nothing great than glory. Ian Bell, had a dream start to his test career...

 Before the start of the series, Bangladesh skipper expressed disappointment over India's team selection. With India, sending their junior team, Bangladesh skipper had many things to say. Firstly he said "I did not expect, India to take this series so lightly", and then he continued by saying "Remember, if we beat them, we wi ll beat India and not India A". But with the things that have gone so far, Bangladesh, forget winning, but your team is losing against a string team. On the other hand, Suresh Raina had only said "we are not under any pressure, we will enjoy it" and he has enjoyed it. After a loss in the first match, the Bangladeshi fans were delighted, but the happiness stayed only for one half of the match. What happened in the second half, was just extraordinary. Stuart Binny broke Anil Kumble's record, when he took 4-6. Mushfiqur Rahim, the captain after doing everything right in the first half, giving the pace bowlers ample chances and f...

 SA, have a tag with them which they want to riddle out quickly, but it seems to have stuck with them from a long time.  The 1999 WC is one which the South Africans would love to forget.  It all started with Herschelle Gibbs dropping Steve Waugh in the Super 6 stage of the tournament when Australia were chasing 272. Waugh's words to Gibbs were "You've just dropped the World Cup". Australia won the do or die match to qualify for the semis again against South Africa. The target set for South Africa, was just 214, with 9 to win off 6 balls and one wicket remaining, and with the first two balls struck for 4, just 1 was needed off the last 4 deliveries. then came a dot ball, 1 off 3 and a bizarre run out. Donald did not run!! Because Australia had won the previous encounter against South Africa in the Super 6, Australia proceeded to the finals and won the cup! Herschelle Gibbs, Klusener and Donald must have had sleepless nights! From that day, the chokers tag stayed with ...

Looking at Shane Watson, one would say, "wow what a personality" a broad chest with a beautifully shaped muscles and the agression in his eyes, Shane Watson is a player with who will intimidate the opposition just by a look.  Shane Watson debuted for Australia in the year 2002, but he had to be out of action soon due to a lot of injuries.    After a decade since his debut, he is no doubt among the best all rounders. He is considered as the senior most player in the Australian line up, with Australia having some problems in the transition period after the retirement of Ponting and Hussey.  Shane Watson, is one type of an all rounder who you don't see much in cricket. He bats at the top and bowls a medium pace. Another similar type of all rounder is Jacques Kallis of South Africa.  Shane Watson was also a part of the IPL winning squad in the year 2008. Six years later, in 2014, he captained the RR side. It was a time when his Career was taking a huge turn. He...

 After a small break, Indian team gets together for a series against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. Dhoni and Kohli already had some other plans, and made themselves unavailable for the series. The Indian team management decided to make a team for testing the new talented players who performed well at IPL and in the domestic season. Suresh Raina will be the stand-in captain, due to unavailability of both, the captain Dhoni and the Vice captain Kohli.  It was a natural thing that Bangladesh did not like India's team selection. Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh skipper, expressed irritation about the quality of Indian Team selected and he said that he never thought the visitors would take this series so lightly. He also said "We have defeated their best team in the past. They have young team, and despite the standard of the IPL, international cricket is a more difficult stage. And one should not forget, If they lose, India will lose, and not India A" I guess Rahim will love to destro...

What a story it has been for Suresh Raina. Wasn't selected for the Asia Cup, plays a brilliant season of IPL and some beautiful performances in the World T20, he is back in the ODI squad and guess what, he is back as the captain of the side. The team is young. No Dhoni, no Kohli, no Dhawan, no Rohit, no Jadeja, no Ashwin. The most important challenge for Raina is the captaincy. He hasn't been a successful captain so far with 5 losses and 4 wins out of 9, including the 2 losses to Zimbabwe. All he needs to think is about his form of batting. He is in a very good form and enjoys a healthy batting average(70) in Bangladesh. When he bats well, he will get confidence and which will help him to captain better. The next problem for Raina is team selection. Especially, who will bat at no.3? There is Pujara, Saha and Rayudu and even the captain himself Raina. Raina has an exceptional record batting at no.3. Saha gives an advantage of a wicket keeping batsman.  Rayudu was there in th...

 India is touring Bangladesh for 3 ODI's before the start of the Big test against England. The dates of the matches are 15, 17 and 19 June. Dhoni and Kohli have made themselves unavailable for this series which opens the gate for a captain, a new player and a wicket-keeper.  The selectors will be watching the IPL and they must have seen the recent domestic season and based on that the 15 man squad will be decided. Time for some players to make a comeback and prove their worth in the team. Virender Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh have shown some form in this years IPL. Sehwag is yet to fire but he has shown some glimpses of how dangerous he could be once he gets going. The major disappointment in this years IPL has been Shikhar Dhawan. He was out of form in the World T20 2014 too. The selectors sure will be looking forward towards Robin Uthappa as the replacement for a wicket keeper batsman, who is having an awesome IPL this year so far for the KKR. There will be no surprises i...

 The KXIP (Kings XI Punjab) are on a high. The two players who have been very special in thier team are Maxwell and Miller. Both these players have proven to be equal to gold in this years IPL. Glenn Maxwell, who has the orange cap has missed out 4 opportunities to score a hundred, but he is selfless cricketer and thinks as a team and not for himself.   Lets talk about Miller first. 66 off 29 in the last game. over 250+ runs in this years IPL, this guy likes to play in the 'V' i.e. straight, long on, long off, mid-wicket and extra cover regions. Doesn't play much square of the wicket. If I was Gautam Gambhir in today's match, I would have picked Morkel, Kallis and Yadav against Miller. Ask them to bowl 3 out 6 bouncers, not short balls but bouncers. Don't allow him to get down the track and bang you. Try to make him play in the region where is not so comfortable with, i.e. behind and square. With the bouncer, that becomes easy. But on subcontinent, bowling a bounce...

  Yesterday, when the KXIP were batting, You saw two innings- one from Maxwell, which was a power packed innings with some unorthodox hitting. After his wicket, you saw an innings from the KXIP skipper George Bailey who except those last two sixes, played an innings which you got to say was smart innings. Now, Glenn Maxwell is a type of a batsman who likes it heave it over mid wicket and he knows that he will clear the field. He just backs himself against the spinners. While Bailey, yesterday played so smartly that he scored at a strike rate of over 300 without really hitting any power packed stroke. He was looking for the gaps. He played 13 deliveries and out of that 8 disappeared to the boundary (6 fours and 2 sixes). He exactly knew where the fielders are and adjusted his play according to it with perfect timing. He chipped one over the mid off fielder for 4, for me that was the best shot. He played a scoop when the fine leg is inside the circle. He chipped over cover because ...

Well what happened yesterday between Pollard and Starc, wasn't good in the spirit of the game. Emotions running high and losing temper, both the players. The question arises, is cricket really a gentleman's game anymore?   It was started by Starc when he sledged Pollard after he was beaten by a bouncer. Pollard said go back to your bowling mark and bowl the next ball by hand gestures. It should have stopped there. But no, Pollard on purpose left the next delivery coming from Starc and Starc got angry and directed the bowl towards Pollard who had moved towards the leg side. Pollard lost his cool and wanting to throw the bat towards Starc, fortunately the bat slipped through his hands. Umpires came in between, the captain Virat Kohli came in and Pollard started some explanation. The matter got solved. I think both players are equally criminals in this scene. Starc started it and Pollard should have stopped but no, he continues it. I feel action should be taken on both player...

  Yesterday in KKR vs RR match, Andre Russel delivered a variation which I guess no-one would have thought of it before?   Completely fooled the batsman there. He was seeming as if he he was not going to deliver the ball and suddenly the ball comes out and it is considered legal! The batsman, Watson looked surprised and so was I.   According to me, Russel cheated. You cannot fool a batsman like this. I mean cricket is a gentleman's game. These cheap tricks should not be allowed. It should have been a dead ball.  Now, many people started arguing that the batsman also fools the bowler sometimes by playing shots via switch hit and moving in the crease. For me, I think there are variations like the slower delivery, short ball etc. for these strokes to be avoided. And not all batsman have success in hitting these kind of shots. I have only seen Ab De Villiers, Maxwell, Warner, Peitersen and Sachin Tendulkar do that. While what Russel did could be done by any bowler. Yest...

Sorry followers, no more IPL posts.! Will now concentrate on the BIG test i.e India vs England in July.! Goodbye! :)

   Today, it's the match between CSK and KKR.    The CSK ( Chennai Super Kings ). After losing their first game to KXIP, the CSK have comeback well winning 4 out of 4. Looking a good confident side lead by arguably the best captain MSD. Smith and McCullum have provided good starts and this opening pair is the best in this year's tournament. Bowling has been beautiful. Ben hilfenhaus has performed well along with mohit and Ishwar. Nehra might be bighting his nails off for a match, but I am not sure he's gonna get one. Dhoni has shifted his bowlers well. Suresh Raina, Mr. Ipl already has a 50 in this tournament but the CSK fans will love him to play big. Dhoni has finished off beautifully. So a formidable looking side this, are the favorites to win today's match. All are missing the bravo celebration. Get well soon. I will go with no changes from the last match. Why to change the winning combination? Player to watch out for is Suresh Raina.    Now, The ...

  Today, is the battle of the two teams lying at the bottom. While the SRH have managed to win at least 1, the MI, the defending champions are winless so far in the tournament.   The MI (Mumbai Indians) . Poor from the start. Poor at the auctions. Ponting is the advisor for the team, Sachin is the icon for the team, Anil kumble the mentor. Time for these guys to come up and give a motivational speech as SRK did in Chak de India. Today, is their chance to get a win against the vulnerable looking SRH. They tried doing things differently in the last match. Rohit Sharma opened the innings and I liked it. M. Hussey is completely out of form. With, Lendl Simmons is returning for injured Jalaj Saxena, I guess MI should play him or Ben Dunk, the Australian dasher in place of Mike Hussey. But, given the sub continent conditions, I will go with Lendl Simmons. Bowling is also a big concern for them. Lasith Malinga hasn't looked so good, its because of the batting, Bowlers are coming und...

  Today is KKR vs KXIP.   The KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) . With, a win in their last match because of a superb catch by Chris Lynn, the KKR has regained confidence. Moments like these lift the spirit. But the KKR has to think on their batting. Yusuf Pathan hasn't really played a match winning knock for KKR. 3 ducks in 3 matches for Gautam Gambhir, the skipper has put him in a lot of pressure to get back to the Indian Team. Jacques Kallis is the backbone for KKR's batting. The bowling looks formidable, with Sunil Narine  The problem with KKR is that they have been inconsistent and unpredictable. They just got to believe in themselves and play their natural game. Hoping for Gambhir to get off the mark today.! Probable 11- 1. Gautam Gambhir (c)  2. Jacques Kallis 3. Manish Pandey 4. Chris Lynn 5. Robin Uthappa (w) 6. Yusuf Pathan/Debrata Das 7. Suryakumar Yadav- Player to watch out for. 8. R Vinay Kumar 9. Sunil Narine 10. Morne Morkel 11. Umesh Yadav   ...

  These two sides are like rivals in the the IPL, and the MI is the only team to have put on some challenge for the CSK in the IPL so far. These two teams are the traditional heavyweights of the IPL.   The Chennai Super Kings – as is their habit – are gleefully perched in the top half of the table. They were blown away by Kings XI Punjab in their season opener, but came back strongly to outclass Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals. The batting caved in meekly in the previous match against RR, but after useful runs from the lower helped them to a respectable total, the bowlers stepped up to restrict the opposition to 133. No player has top-scored for the Chennai Super Kings more often than Suresh Raina. The southpaw has all the elements needed to succeed in this format; he has all the shots in the book, has the power in his arms, has the gift of timing, isn’t afraid to take the aerial route and has the ability to play either the conservative game or shift gears and get stuc...

    Today, 41 years ago, a little boy was born. The name of the boy was " SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR ". Today is his birthday. Let us recall all the good memories what this man has given us.     He was very passionate about the game from the very start of his life. At 12, he used to play Harris Shield for his school under 17 competition. Scored a century there. At 14, he along with Vinod Kambli put on a record for the highest partnership of 664 runs. At, 15 he made his first class debut with Bombay and it turned out to be a dream debut as he scored a century! And, at the age of only 16, i.e. when he was in his teenage life, he made his debut for India in Karachi against Pakistan. At 17, he scored a beautiful debut century to save the test match at Old Trafford in 1990 .   In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds; in 2003 he aggregated 673 runs in the World Cup, the most in the tournament's history; in 2008 he went past Brian Lar...

  Today, the clash of the best batting line up vs the best bowling line up.    The KXIP ( Kings XI Punjab). What a team. Glenn Maxwell, David Miller have finished it for them. But, if you get these two out cheaply KXIP are in a trouble. Pujara was playing like a test player in the last match. Viru hasn't looked to his best. George Bailey is untested on these conditions. And, they don't have a finisher at no.7 or 8. But, chasing 190+  two times. The bowling needs to improve. Mitchell Johnson, the strike bowler, has given away runs like giving gifts to people. Balaji has looked in all sorts of trouble. It will be interesting to see Maxwell's strategy against Steyn and Mishra. Mishra won't give him dollies to get it swept over mid wickets. Maxwell has to play smartly. If Viru plays today, joins the party of Maxwell and Miller, then the SRH will have no chance. Winning 2 of 2 and that too comprehensively, KXIP are looking confident and a tough to beat side, but today th...

 Today, its time for CSK vs DD Hope all the Monday work is rested by this entertaining match!    The CSK ( Chennai Super Kings).  Not a good start to their campaign, but if u know when Chennai starts their first match with a loss, they comeback beautifully in the tournament. Concerns about D. Bravo's availability in todays game will give a chance to Samuel Badree. He should have played the last match too, Perhaps he would have got Maxwell out early as he did in the WT20. Bowling did not impress last time around, many fielding errors, cost them the match last time. Ashish Nehra should be replaced by Ishwar Pandey. And if Bravo's not playing, Samuel Badree should be played instead of a batsman. Loss of Bravo is huge of Chennai. He bowls yorkers at the death and can bat deep down and score useful runs. CSK will be hoping he is all right and ready to go today. The fielding needs to ameliorate quick time. Dhoni has to keep his best fielders at the right place. Bravo, Rai...

 Today is KXIP vs RR. Let's take a look at the teams first.    The KXIP ( Kings XI Punjab).   Perfect with their batting,this team is one of the favorites to win the cup. The bowling looked hayward in the last match, but the quality of T20 specialists in their team, any target can be chased. Opening with Pujara, the classical and more technical batsman and Virender Sehwag, the dasher, the batting looks set. Viru looked in great touch against CSK till he was bowled. No problems if we get to see a Viru Special today!! The treat for the fans came in the last match was from the no.3 batsman Glenn Maxwell. I won't say he deserved a century, dropped twice but as one says fortune favors the brave, Glenn Maxwell played smartly. Even Ashwin was not left. First ball reverse swept for 4. And then comes in Miller, the Killer and George Bailey. So, these batsman should just play their natural game. Bailey and Miller are not just hitters, they are good runners too, and shuffle t...

    A double header today also. The first match is between the giants RCB vs the poor looking MI.   RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) . Started with a win this season over the DD, this team is looking great, they did not play Gayle in the first match because he was injured during the practice match. But, today Gayle will come back. Not in the best of touches Gayle, but this is IPL. Their batting doesn't look to a problem at all. Even Parthiv Patel played a good hand, lived dangerously, but a good knock, by the pocket sized dynamite. Yuvraj Singh played brilliantly for his 52(29) and replied the critics with his bat. Kohli, the words in this world are less to describe a batsman like Kohli. In the next 10 years, when people will start talking about batting, only 3 names will come and that would be Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. He is a run machine. Nothing for them to get under pressure, play just like the last game and win it. Its not like last season to...

   A double header today, and the first match will be CSK vs KXIP at 4 p.m I.S.T. The teams first.    CSK (Chennai Super Kings). They are the super super kings of the IPL from the first season, winning it 2 times and entering the finals 5 times out of 6 IPL's. Captained by arguably the best captain of all times, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this team are not wrong to be called as the "IPL giants". They have retained 5 players from last season , Suresh Raina, Dhoni, Ashwin, Jadeja and Bravo. Suresh Raina has been the backbone of CSK scoring 400 runs in each IPL and with over 2800 runs IPL, highest so far, he has been the silent killer in that side. Never missed a single match of IPL and CLT20, meaning that he has played every game which the CSK have played. They released Michael Hussey and M Vijay,their opening pair of last season. So, I will go with B. Mcculum and B.Aparijith to open the innings. B.Mcclulum is a natural hitter of the ball and given the powerplay overs to h...

    Today is the game of the star studded team The royal challengers Bangalore.     The 2nd match of IPL 2014. On paper, the RCB is very good looking with players like Gayle Kohli De villers and Yuvraj Singh who was taken for 14cr. The batting looks perfect. Kohli and villers in one team is like Messi and Ronaldo playing for the same club. The favourite to win the cup. Bowling looks a concern for them. The age old murlidaran hasn't played cricket for a long time now. And Mitchell starc goes too expensive. The Indian players should really prove a point here by thier bowling. Varan Aaron ashok dinda hoping to make a comeback should take this opportunity. For me the bowling should be lead by ravi rampant. Swings the bowl from length. The problem with the RCB is that Gayle and yuvi are not looking in good touch, but given the situation, they could prove to be match winners. They also have albie morkel, the all rounder, goes for runs when he bowls but when...

  The opening match of IPL 2014 between MI and KKR at 8am I.S.T in Sheikh Zayed Staium, Abu Dhabi.   Let's start with the teams first. The MI (Mumbai Indians). They had always been a very smart player in the auctions, but this year, I don't think so they have done something special. Corey Anderson is injured. M Hussey hasn't played competitive cricket for a while, but presence of him in the dressing room will be great and will encourage many players. Released players like Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell. So, A tough job is ahead for the MI to defend their title. The bowling department is lead by none other than Lasith Malinga. Harbhjan and Ojha could prove a point with their spin. Zaheer Khan is wanting to make a comeback and the stage is set for him. Medium pacer Jaspreet Bumrah who had a fantastic domestic season, will be the player to watch out for. But, given the T20 arena, it will be interesting to watch how he varies. My playing eleven for todays match will be as...

So, I am here to talk only cricket. And when April is around, only one thing comes to mind, i.e. The Indian Premier League. This is my first blog. IPL is very exiting, I mean all cricket fans will agree to what iI say. Started in the year 2008, IPL is entertainment during vacations and I thank IPL for that.  This years IPL is not going to be more different than the last year. Some players have changed teams but the level of entertainment will go beyond.  Many players will look to impress the selectors and many of them would love to get a recall Indian team. Players like Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir will look to make a mark in this years IPL. Domestic players will see it as an opportunity.  So 8 teams are participating in this contest which involves a huge chunk of money. CSK have won it 2 times, MI one time, KKR one time, Deccan chargers Hyderabad(now sunrisers) one time and RR. In my opinion, The Royal Challengers Bangalore will win it th...