India Down Under!

India vs Australia – Test Series, 2011-12

Well Indian team is certainly down currently. The much hyped tour of Indian cricket team to Australia seems to have bombed on the face of all the marketers who named it Agnipath series. After the last tour of Indian team to Australia and the monkeygate episode, India v/s Australia rivalry was pitted to be next big thing cricketing domain. It was supposed to have pipped age old famous rivalries in cricket such as India v/s Pakistan and England v/s Australia. 

However such rivalry is great in cricket when every match played is an exciting contest to watch. Two well balanced teams try to get better of each other. To say the least it should be a match where the opponents feel the heat, irrespective of who wins it in the end. Sadly the current series doesn't seem to be of that calibre. 

The Indians began the series on a very sorry note. 1st Test, played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne ended on Day 4 itself. Australia won the match by 122 runs. It was a hard fought game and Indian bowling was quiet appreciated. Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav got 7 wickets each in the game and India was able to get Aussies all out in both the innings. It was batting which let India down. India managed to score just 169 runs in their 2nd Innings and where all out in just 47.5 over’s. James Pattinson was awarded man of the match for his all round performance in the game.

India vs Australia – 2nd TEST

Indians where expected to bounce back into the series during the 2nd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney which began on 3^rd Jan 2012. Things only went from bad to worse for Indians as Indian team which won the toss and elected to bat was bowled out for 191 runs in their first innings. MS Dhoni along with R Ashwin tried to steady the ship but it looked as if it was too little too late. In the end Dhoni remained not out having scored the only half century in the Indian innings. He made 57 runs of 77 balls.

Good show by Indian bowlers in the previous match had raised the expectations. The raw pace of Yadav and experience of Zaheer and Ishant were expected to deliver the goods at this critical juncture in the match. Zaheer succeeded in delivering what was anticipated, he got 3 quick wickets in the beginning of the innings. Australia where struggling at 37/3 by the end of 9^th over.

But what happened from there on completely changed the paradigm of the game. Australian batsmen completely dominated the game and slaughtered the Indian bowling attack. Ricky Ponting scored his 40^th Test hundred when he succeeded in taking a cheeky single of Ishant’s ball and Zaheer’s throw missed the stumps. Ponting finally got out after scoring 134. Australia by then was in a comfortable position and the scoreboard read 325/4. This was the last wicket to fall in the Australian innings. Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey made sure they make the most of the poor bowling by India. Both batsmen stayed not out on Day 3 when Australia declared the innings having amassed 659 runs having lost just 4 wickets. Michael Clarke made 329 and Hussey 150 runs.

The game has just ended for the day at 12:30 PM IST. Indian team has managed to score 114/2 in 41 over(s). India trails by 354 run(s) at stumps. Gautam Gambhir who got out for duck in the 1^st innings is currently not out at 68* along with Sachin Tendulkar not out at 8*. With 2 more days to go and India still needing 354 runs to make Aussies bat again the scales are tipped in favour of Australia. It would be only a miracle that can now save India from losing this game.

Mumbai Indians make it to CLT20 finals!

Well its official now, CL T20 finals will see two IPL teams fighting for champions glory at Chennai at 8PM on 9th Oct 2011.

Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Somerset by 10 runs in the 2nd semi-finals of ongoing Champions League T20 tournament. No prizes of guessing who was the man in action, it was slinger Malinga!

Lasith Malinga was awarded Man of the match

for his match winning bowling performance, 4/20 of 4 overs.

Mumbai Indians won the toss & elected to bat and scored 160/5 in 20 Overs. They batted well to ensure they set a fighting target. Key contributors were Aiden Blizzard 54 runs of 39 balls and R. Satish 25 runs of 12 balls. 

Somerset who have had a great series fell short by 10 runs chasing the target set by MI. At the end of 20 overs Somerset could only gather 150 runs having lost 7 wickets. Craig Kieswetter made an impressive 62 runs of 46 balls, which included 7 boundaries and 1 six. 

The turning point of the match was the 19th Over when Harbhajan reintroduced James Franklin to bowl. He got the key wickets of Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler in the 19th over. Somerset needed 15 runs of the last over and it looked tough challenge, considering the fact that it was Malinga who bowled the 20th Over. Malinga gave away just 4 runs of his last over and also picked 2 more wickets in addition to 2 wickets he had picked in his earlier spell.

Now on eyes set on the big finals, when Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bangalore. It would be an amazing contest between Bat and Bowl. More than being a RCB Vs MI match, it would be Gayle Vs Malinga.

Royal Challengers Bangalore outdo New South Wales

What a victory! What a match! Red devils of T20 cricket (read Royal Challengers Bangalore) have made it to the CLT20 finals (champion’s league T20). Not once but twice, RCB successfully chased a score above 200 in consecutive games.

David Warner played an amazing knock of 123 runs (68 balls) for New South Wales Blues (NSW).

 

But alas it all went in vain as NSW lost the match to RCB. Superb partnership between Chris Gayle 92 runs (41 balls) and Virat Kohli 84 runs (49 balls) took the game away from NSW. Virat was awarded the man of the match, rightly so as he played sensibly and stood not out till the end of game.

 

The match result RCB 204/4 (18.3) beat NSW 203/2 (20). Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets

Chris Gayle again weaved his magic yet again. In the last game against Red backs he was superb as usual. That game will particularly be remembered for the 6 of the last ball by A Karthik. It was simply splendid. And the game will always stay memorable for RCB. To bounce back from bottom of the table to being a semi-finalist needs some real talent. 

RCB will now play the winner of Mumbai Indians – Somerset game to be played in Chennai on 8^th Oct 2011. The finals of T20 champion’s league will be played on 9^th Oct 2011 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Dravid and Laxman On A Song on Day 4 of India vs West Indies

India gains healthy lead

Well the headline says it all.Dravid and Laxman batted brilliantly on Day 4. Two masters of world cricket known for impeachable skills, style and patience. At the End of Day 4 India where 229/4 in 89 overs. India now lead by 240 runs. It now needs to be seen how soon on Day 5 Dhoni declares the innings. Today being the Last day India will need to grab all 10 wickets to win this match.

On day 4 Dravid yet again proved why he is such a lovely batsmen to watch. And why he is called the WALL. Dravid made 55 crucial rund of 171 balls. He finally got out on Fidel Edwards ball in the 61st over when he was caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip. Laxman stayed not out, end of of day at 72(171 Balls). He is being accompanied by Virat Kohli. Virat was still bating at 26(98 Balls).

Poor Batting by West Indies

The West Indies team seem to be struggling with ball now, having failed with the bat. West Indies where bowled out for 190 in their first innings. Marlon Samuels played well in first Innings scoring 78 (172 Balls) and was not out. However the rest of the West Indies team couldn't do much.Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for India. He bowled brilliantly and returned with figures of 6/55 in first Innings.

Now on 5th and the final day it needs to be seen if the maverick captain Dhoni is able to work his magic. Its going to be tough day for both the teams. West Indies will try hard to draw the game, whereas India would desire nothing but victory.

The game changing factor for the 2nd test was actually the rain. Had it not rained in the last few days, things might have been different and India might have had higher chances of wining the game.

Day 2 India vs West Indies - 2nd TEST

Latest News Day 2 India vs West Indies

When I last saw the scorecard on Ten Sports the score was WI-96/5 in 37 overs. West Indies batsmen at the crease were Marlon Samuels 21(56 balls) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul 18 (60 balls). Ishant Sharma has bowled brilliantly today and taken 2 more wickets, this takes his tally to 3 wickets in this match. West Indies where at 30/3 at end of days play on Day 1. All three Indian pacers Ishant, Praveen Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun picked 1 wicket each on Day 1.

Brilliant Batting By VVS Laxman

Earlier to that Indian team was skittled out at meager 201 runs in just 68 overs on Day 1. Thanks to ever special Laxman’s batting, India was saved of further embarrassment. (Very Very Special) VVS Laxman batted fiercely and scored 85 runs and displayed excellent classic cricket shots in his innings of 146 balls. The only other batsmen who contributed significantly to the Indian score was young gun Suresh Raina 53(105 Balls). The Wall was breached very early in the match and India where struggling at 38/4 in the 26th over of the match. Laxman and Raina stitched together a brilliant partnership of 117 runs for the 5th wicked. However the rest of the team’s performance was highly disappointing.

West Indies bowlers did a good job on day 1 and Ravi Rampaul was pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/38. Fidel Edwards and Devendra Bishoo also picked 3 wickets each and skipper Sammy got the prized wicket of Rahul Dravid.

The wicket seems to be aiding the fast bowlers and it needs to be seen if the Indian bowlers will be able to extract the best out of it. If they can get the West Indies team all out under 150-160 then it would be fantastic. All said and done one thing is for certain; this match will not be a draw. The team which bowls well and bats better is sure to win the game.

India vs West Indies 2nd Test… The Battle Continues…

India vs West Indies 2nd test at Bridgetown in Barbados

Dhoni and his boys are all set to walk into Kensington Oval today to face a downhearted West Indies.  India is already one-up in the three test series after winning the first match and will be hoping to win this one as well and wrap up the series. However it may not be all that easy, after all India have a dubious record of 58-year winless streak since 1953 at this ground. 

The final squad for the match and the choices Dhoni will make are still unclear. With Munaf back in the team having recovered chances are Dhoni might opt for three fast bowlers for this match P. Kumar and Ishant Sharma being the other two pacers. In all probability leg-spinner Amit Mishra will be rested for the 2nd test being played today.

Experts say that the Barbados track is likely to have plenty of bounce and has generally been a result-oriented venue over the past decade. Hope the weather doesn’t play a spoil sport, if everything goes right with rain staying away this match could turn out to be an interesting one.

All eyes will be on Harbhajan Singh, he is just four wickets away from becoming the 3rd Indian bowler to pick 400 wickets.

West Indies Fight Back

On the other hand West Indies will be hoping that  Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul will deliver their best on a wicket that is hard and bouncy. West Indies have decided to play Kirk Edwards in place of form vice-captain and batsman Brendan Nash. Captain Darren Sammy might also have few other surprise changes in mind which he might action before the match begins.

West Indies having lost the 1st test will be looking do well in 2nd Test and win the 2nd Test against India and level the Test Series. But the big question remains will West Indies be able to breach the WALL (Read - Rahul Dravid) and be able to beat India ranked currently World No.1 in Test ranking.

Yet Another victory for world champions India. Lead 2-0 against West Indies

West Indies Falter Again

Suresh Raina and his boys have done it again. The team registered second consecutive victory against the West Indies in the 2nd ODI. Having won the toss Indian skipper chose to bowl. He seemed to have read the pitch right, as West Indies managed only 240 run. Indian bowlers displayed excellent cricketing skills. Amit Mishra was the pick of the bowlers 4/31 with 2 maiden overs. Munaf Patel (3/35) and Yusuf Pathan (2/51) were the other two wicket takers for India. 

West Indian batting was a lot better compared to the first match. Edwards (25 off 28) and Simmons (53 of 84)  added 57 runs for the first wicket. Ramnaresh Sarwan (56 off 90) then added 67 runs along with Simmons for the second wicket. However the loss of Simmons wicket triggered the collapse. Simmons was stumped by P Patel in the 27th over in Y Pathan’s over. West Indies at the end of 50 over’s set a target of 241 runs for India, having lost 9 wickets in all.

India emerge victorious yet again against West Indies

Indian innings was reduced to 37 over’s due to rain and had to make 183 runs. In the end India won by 7 wickets (D/L method). The winning runs came off  Raina’s bat, as he drove the wide pitched up delivery of Rampaul square towards deep backward and picked a couple of runs on the 4th ball of the 34th over. Parthiv Patel made 56 off 64 balls which included 2 fours and 2 sixes. It was Virat Kohli 81 off 103 balls; he batted brilliantly and was the most impressive batsmen for India. This was Virat’s 14th ODI fifty.

All in all it was god game of cricket despite the rains threatening to stall the game. India now leads 2-0 in the 5 match ODI series. The 3rd ODI – India v West Indies will be now played on Sat 11 Jun at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua. India is now Just one win away from winning the series.

India Wins T20 Match Against West Indies

India Beats West Indies

Victory kisses Indian cricket team’s feet in their very first match of their tour to West Indies. What began as a fairly disappointing Innings for a nation that hosts the most talked T20 tournament (Read as IPL) was thankfully not disappointing in the end.  India won the T20 game by 16 runs.

The first half of the Indian Innings was quiet unsatisfactory, Indians were struggling and where 56/4 in the 9th over when they lost skipper Suresh Raina. The in-form skipper could manage only 2 runs in 6 balls; he was caught by Barnwell when he tried to play a ambitious shot of West Indies skipper D Sammy’s ball.

Thanks to Subramaniam Badrinath’s 43 of 37 balls which included 5 boundaries and some good cricket by Mumbai lad Rohit Sharma (26 of 23, 2 sixes) and Harbhajan Singh (15 of 7, 1 Six) India managed to post a decent score of 159 runs in allotted 20 over’s at a loss of 6 wickets. Darren Sammy was the pick of West Indies bowlers with an impressive figure of 4/16.

West Indies Unimpressive With Their Chasing Ability

West Indies failed to chase down the target set by Indian team and could manage only 143 runs loosing 5 wickets in their quota of 20 over’s. Darren Bravo was the highest scorer for West Indies (41 of 41). Christopher Barnwell brilliant knock of 34 runs of just 16 balls which included 1 four and 1 six was bit too late to save the West Indies from losing the game.

Indian bowling attack was a great treat to watch with almost all the bowlers being rewarded with wickets. Harbhajan Singh took two wickets while Praveen Kumar, R Ashwin and Munaf Patel contributed in the win with one wicket each. 

Indian batsmen Badrinath got Man of the Match for his match winning 43 runs. Now all eyes are set on India’s 1st ODI of the tour on Monday, 6th June, 2011 which will be played at the same venue, Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Indian Premier League (IPL) - 4 - Chennai Super Kings the undisputed Champions

Finally it’s curtains down for IPL-4. Reigning champions Chennai Super Kings crushed Royal challengers Bangalore in what seemed like a one side match on Saturday. The 58 –run stupendous victory ensured CSK maintained the supremacy  in IPL by winning the Indian Premier League title second time in a row.

Opening pair of Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey stitched together one of the best partnership of 159-run for the 1st wicket. It’s now the highest partnership for any wicket for CSK.  Murali Vijay’s 95 runs off just 52 balls was a treat to watch for not just the CSK supporters in the stadium but also to the millions of eye balls glued to the television set across the globe.

Chasing the mammoth total 206 runs was quiet a task for RCB. Hopes if any were burned to ash when Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Chris Gayle for a duck in the very first over of RCB innings. Ashwin finished with an impressive 3-16 in his allotted quota of over’s. Gayle’s dismissal triggered what Dhoni would have expected before the match, the collapse of RCB. Within no time RCB was reduced to 70-6 and Saurabh Tiwary’s efforts to bring RCB back into the game found no support in his own team as there were no partnership worthy of any mention. Within no time Bangalore team succumbed to the pressure and the RCB could only manage 147 runs in all.

This edition of Indian Premier League did have some amazing moments. Chris Gayle finished as the highest run-getter with 608 runs from 12 innings. He picked the Golden Player of the tournament award for this edition of IPL. Lasith Malinga the slinger from Lanka ended up being the highest wicket taker with 28 wickets from 16 matches. The rising star award was given to Iqbal Abdulla of Kolkata Knight Riders. He has been a good find this season and I’m sure he will get his due sometime soon to play for the nation if he does well in the domestic season this year.

At a holistic level this season of IPL has been marred with several controversies. They include Shane Warne episode, Injured Gautam Ghambir’s incident and many more. Also there has been a dip in the TRP’s and cricket as a sport has suffered as per many critics. All said and done IPL is now over. All eyes now set on India’s tour of West Indies where many a greenhorns are set to get a chance to play for the nation in upcoming ODI and Test series.

Indian Premier League (IPL) - 4 - T20 Tournament a Kill Joy!

Well when I began this blog I had plenty of stuff about cricket in mind to keep this blog going and then somewhere the line things didn't seem to be falling in place. Tonight as I sit in tranquility and reflect on the days gone by, it all seems to make sense. IPL turned out be a kill joy to my enthusiasm I guess! 

2nd Of April India won the cricket world cup only for the second time since the tornaments inception. A drought ended after 28 years my Dhoni and his men. And then 6 days later IPL 4 began on April 08, Friday 2011, 8 PM IST. Defending champions CSK played KKR in the opening match.

Something wasn't right about IPL this time around. Probably the Indian victory at the world cup had not yet been fully relished by the nation and the tournament with a total of 74 matches in all had begun! Thats the reason I call it Kill joy! However having said that, IPL has been a great opportunity on its own, for a lot of talented lads to showcase their skills. The only thing I wish is IPL could have been more enjoyable had there been a sufficient time gap between the two big events.

Now with 41 days of this tournament having been completed we seem to be approaching the business end of the tournament. The point table as on date as below reflects the top 4 teams likely the make it to the play off ;

Team  (Match Played-Won-Lost-No Result-Points-Net Run Rate)

CSK  (13-9-4-0-18- +0.544)

RCB  (13-8-4-1-17- +0.283) 

MI     (12-8-4-0-16- +0.245) 

KKR (12-7-5-0-14- +0.403)

Priti Zinta's Kings IX Punjab seems to be pushing their luck with a beautiful comeback game against RCB on 17th May with Gilly hitting the purple patch with his superb knock of 106 off just 55 balls. Punjab now has 14 points of 13 matches with a NRR of + 0.271. Cricket is a funny game, one more win for Punjab and a defeat for KKR in their last game against Pune, and Zinta's Kings IX might make it to the playoff. Oh what a disappointment would that be for SRK's team. "Death at the hands of Dada!" That’s what the newspapers will scream! IPL T20 is a funny game, you never know.

As far as my personal favourites for this edition of IPL, well no guesses Royal Challengers Bangalore. No points for guessing why, U can take me out of Bangalore but you can't take Bangalore out of me.... ha ha ha... I owe a lot to that city... fond memories of my growing up years.

Remembering World Cup 1983

The cricket world cup of 1983 was a significant one. They marked a significant shift in cricket's balance of power from England to India. It signified an end of an era for West Indies dominance. It had its share of interesting trivia. , Zimbabwe sold cakes and worked as bouncers to make it to the World Cup. Then they shocked Australia in their first game.

 It was most memorable world cup for our Indian team. 25^th June 1983 was the day Indian cricket team created history. Kapil’s Devil beat the world champions West Indies at Lords. Although Dhoni’s team recreated history in Mumbai, 2011, First world cup victory of 1983 can never be erased from history. First victory will always remain special, just like first love I guess.

 In 1983 world cup 8 teams were participated and total 27 matches were played between these teams. Like all other previous version of World Cup this world cup also played in Group stage and knock out stage.

Group A: England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Group B:West Indies, India, Australia, Zimbabwe

Indian team was quoted 66:1 by bookies before the battle began. A few Zimbabwe hiccups, some Australia demolition and loads of upsets including group win over windies & India had made it to the semi-final.

On 22th June 1983 India faced England in the first semi-final and defeat England by 6 wicket and on the same day in other Semi-Final West Indies defeated Pakistan by 8 Wickets.

On 25th June 1983, not even 20% of Indians were aware of this event taking place as Lords in England got jam-packed for the final showdown. A total of 232,081 fans strolled in, nearly equalling the combined total of past two finals (160,000 for 1975 & 132,000 for 1979).

In the final, on 25th June 1983 India lost the toss and were asked to bat first against a West Indies team that arguably boasted the world's best bowling attack. India Score 183 runs in just 54.4 overs. Only Kris Srikanth (38 from 57 balls) and Mohinder Amarnath (26 from 80 balls) put some significant resistance against West Indies. The likes of Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding ripped through the Indian bating line-up. Only three sixes were hit in the Indian innings, one from Srikanth, one from Sandeep Patil (27 from 29 balls), and one from Madan Lal (17 from 27 balls).

Banana Swing from captain Kapil Dev started second session of 1983 world cup finals. Sandhu took new ball from other end, and foxed Gorden Greenidge with an inswinger. Larry Gomes, Desmond Haynes were followed by Vivian Richards - who wanted to finish the match early. Soon the West Indian batsmen collapsed and ultimately fell short of the target by 43 runs. The Indian spirit was epitomized by an astonishing catch by Kapil Dev who sprinted back 20 yards to latch onto the skier from the marauding blade of the great Viv Richards.

 

As the last West Indian wicket fell in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final, Indian fans present in the ground got crazy and came in the ground to touch their heroes. 

Amarnath was the most economical bowler, conceding just 12 runs from his seven over’s while taking 3 wickets, and was once again awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance.

As the news filtered through to the fans back home, it led to unprecedented scenes of jubilation throughout Delhi and Calcutta and the rest of the country. The 1983 Cricket World Cup was India’s World Cup. Despite their bad performance in first two world cup India emerged as the new cricketing power of the world. They surprise the world and defeated West Indies in Final. 

2011 Cricket World Cup Final

The time on the clock hanging on my wall reads 12:15 PM. Just a couple of hours away from the big clash on earth today. The news papers have been screaming loud so are the news channels, they are calling it clash of the Titans and what not! But the loudest roaring the city will ever witness is going to be the roar of the cricket fans at Wankhede stadium when the Indian team walks into the ground.

The team winning 2011 Cricket World Cup would be taking home a prize money of US$ 3 million, but what’s more important as a die heart fan of cricket it’s the coveted trophy, the sheer joy and superior feeling of being a champion nation.

It’s been a great world cup so far every cricket fan and today is day billions of cricket fans have been waiting for. Indian team trying to recreate history by winning the cup after a gap of 28 years. Hey that’s how long I have been on this earth too. India won the world cup just once so far, that was in 1983. The team are till date called the Kapil's Devils. For it was under his captaincy that India won its 1st world cup title ever.

This world cup has its own share of unforgettable moments. Would like to just walk through them again. Few surprise defeats, a couple of giant killing, and many more.

The biggest upset of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has been the defeat of England by Ireland.

Deadly Malinga (watch out for him today) of Sri Lanka got a hatrick so did Roach from West Indies.

Ireland's Kevin O'Brien made the fastest World Cup Century against England. What a match that one was! Awesome!

India beat Pakistan for the 5th time in a world cup encounter that’s a straight 5-0 record! Can’t just get enough of these Indo-Pak battles can we!

Well I can ramble out many more such memorable moments but I end it all by pointing out to the biggest turning point of WC 2011, the UDRS, how can we forget the Umpire Decision Review System and all its controversies.

So keep watching this blog for many more updates on not just World Cup, but much more. For this is not just about a single match, this blog is all about crazy Cricket!!!!