Let's talk Cricket

  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...