Category: Cricket

First ODI: Pak wins close match

It was a tough and exciting match. Ultimately India lost firstly because of D-L and secondly because India’s batting in the last five overs failed miserably. The Indian fieldng overall was brilliant. Sachin’s uncharacteristic yet productive knock ended prematurely, robbing India of his presence for the final onslaught. He had only himself to blame for a needless reverse sweep. Crtics could argue that relieved at having reached a landmark Sachin momentarily forgot that he had a bigger responsibility of keeping one end up till the end.

Murali Karthik appears to be hopelessly short on confidence and seems terrified to bowl to the Pak batsman. Its best to give him a rest irrespective of whether Bhajji is available or not. In his very first over, Mallik launched him for a straight six followed by a four.

I thought Mohammed Asif deserved the MoM award. He bowled brilliantly on a batting pitch and troubled all the batsman he bowled to in addition the three wickets he picked up.

The after match interviews were interesting. All Pak players appear to be taking English lessons. To start with, many of them seem to thank Allah in English unlike before.

Inzy’s interview was hilarious. When asked about his dismissal he innocently said, “I don’t understand these rules. Last time (referring to his Faisalabad dismissal against England) I didn’t touch the ball and they said I was out! This time I touched the ball and still they say I am out!”

Rameez Raja’s commentary is way too biased. The guy comes across as being so excited or upset depending on the Pak situation. Someone needs to tell him that commentators need to at least appear and sound neutral.

First ODI: Pak vs. India

India put up a fine batting performance. Having sent in all its big strikers up the order India sorely missed a big hitter at the finish. I think India did the right thing with regard to the batting order. Unfortunately for India Sachin succumbed to a poor decision. He definitely appeared set to play the entire 50 overs.
A true bowling all rounder (like Romesh Powar) could have helped India pick up an additional 20-30 runs.

It remains to be seen if India can survive the Pak aggression as they chase. The total is definitely within the reach of the Pak team. Depends entirely on India’s ability to pick up quick wickets.

Ganguly and Retirement

Ganguly has no plans to retire apparently. Sure, he can continue but please stick o Ranji trophy and other domestic tournaments.

He actually batted quite well against Pak but he is expected to do much more and help the side. He claims to have done his part because he was involved in 100 run partnerships. Thank you very much. This simply ain’t enough, Dada.

Day 4: Pak crush India

India suffered a huniliating defeat at the hands of their arch rivals Pak. Hats off to Pak for a spirited performance. Woolmer deserves a lot of credit for forging a winning combination.

It was a classic test of resilience and character for the star studded Indian batting side, and sadly, they failed miserably. As an ardent ricket fan more than a few thoughts come to mind (not to mention the frustration!)

  • First and fore most comes a look at India’s so-called batting strength. Too much revolves around Viru and Dravid. If both these guys fail chances of India putting up a decent show are very suspect.
  • Maybe its time to clean up the middle order. This will involve some tough calls. Ganguly has probably played his last Test and needs a break. With a fighting century, Yuvraj has earned his middle order spot. VVS has been repeatedly getting bowled or lbw to the same incoming delivery that its proabably time for the selectors to seriously evaluate his spot in the team. There is no shortage of bench strength — S. Sriram, Venugopal Rao, Hemang Badani come to mind and there are many more out there.
  • Sachin needs to make up his mind about preserving himself to survive longer. He has to pick between ODIs and Test. Getting clean bowled twice in a Test match when he seemed well set is a sure sign of decline for the master batsman. I hope he bows out gracefully rather be forced out like Ganguly. He definitely has plenty of cricket left in him but he can’t score 60 runs in three innings and expect to have a permanent place in the team.
  • Players in form must be given a chance when they are in peak form. India lost a good opportunity to try out Wasim Jaffer.
  • Chappell certainly has a point about Shoaib Akhtar chucking. Check out this video and decide for yourself. The short ball he bowled to get Sachin out in the last World Cup certainly looked suspect and this one her just confirms his tendency to chuck intermittently, especially when he ends in his bouncers.
  • India’s bowling is very weak and unreliable. India is in desperate need of a tearaway fast bowler. Its time to bring in some new comers to the Test side and give Agarkar (in particular) and Zaheer Khan a break. VRV Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth etc. might be worth trying out.

Day 4: Pak vs India

India is very very likely to lose the Test. India should at least put up a fight before losing. It would be sad to see the match end in 4 days! Full marks to Pak for a fine batting display and some spirited bowling in the first innings.

Day 2: Pak have the Upper Hand

India seems to have slowly lost the advantage after Irfan’s fine opening day hat-trick. As always India let Pak tail enders make big scores and frittered away a solid start. To make matters worse the batting failed miserably leaving the tailenders with the responsibility of reducing the leading. Dada blew a golden chance to respond to his critics. Maybe he’ll grab a bunch of wickets and become a hero overnight 🙂

At this stage, Pak definitely have the upper hand. A target of over 300 will be hard to chase in the last innings. As things stand now a Pak victory appears to be likely. At least this Test appears headed for a result. That’s a relief in itself.

Team India for the ODIs against Pak

Ganguly was not included in the team. Fine. I think it was a good decision.

But why two spinners Karthik and Bhajji after the thulping Indian spinners have been subjected to on those dead Pak pitches? India is never going to play two spinners and either one who plays is bound to be thrashed by Afridi and co. It would have made sense to play a spinner all rounder like Romesh Powar (who has had a very good domestic season) who can provide the slog needed in the last few overs. I think they should have picked Murali and Romesh Powar and given Bhajji a break. Otherwise I think India has picked a good team. It would have been nice to see VRV Singh (India’s fastest rightnow apparently) in the team, but I believe that he is injured.

Third Test: Pak vs. India, Dada’s Golden Opp.

Finally, an interesting Test match!

Great hat-trick by Pathan! Followed by some terrific batting from Pak, particularly Kamran Akmal.

Sachin seems to be struggling once again. Abdul Razzack seems to be a permanent danger for him. He is been bowled by the same bowler more times than probably any other? Moin Khan thinks Sachin is finished! (“Sachin’s controversial dismissal reminded me of a few batsmen who preferred walking off the pitch on their legs rather than being carried away on stretchers when the great Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were at their brilliant best.” – Moin Khan reckons that Tendulkar bottled it at Faisalabad.) Sachin has done little this series to prove that he isn’t.

Dada has a golden opportunity to make a big score and bid farewell in style. In the interest of Indian cricket, I hope he makes a decent score and announces his retirement! (what are the odds of that happening? 🙂

Ganguly to return to 11?

Check out this piece about a possible return of Ganguly to the Indian team. It makes no sense to include Ganguly when the seamers have done a decent job in the Faisalabad Test. It makes sense to drop Bhajji and play Agarkar. His bowling is definitely a better asset to the team than Ganguly’s bowling!

Drop Bhajji for Lahore Test

Pak wickets suck! The famous Indian spinners Prasanna, Bedi and Chandra saw their careers come to an end after the Pak tour. India should not let the same happen to Bhajji. He is a class bowler struggling on dead pitches. India should rest him for the next Test and play 4 seamers instead. If the pitch turns out to be a turning track, Kumble is always there to take advantage of it.

It might make sense to try out Wasim Jaffer as opener and rest Yuvraj. He is probably used being in and out of the team by now 🙂 If India does not test Wasim Jaffer then they will going into the next series against England without solving the opening problem, if one can call it that.