Sports...the other woman in my life!!!

IPL 2010: Delhi Daredevils Preview

2010-03-11T05:26:00.000+05:30

IPL 2010: Delhi Daredevils Preview

2009-05-21T23:55:00.000+05:30

Test cricket needs a leg up!

Is Chris Gayle now bored with the usual routine of his team falling apart against strong oppositions, primarily away from home? Back in the Caribbean, they still have a semblance of a shot at getting something out of a rubber, like against England in March. But when away, visiting these very opposition states, they just tend to fold up, even without a fight. It becomes a bit easier to understand why some one like Gayle would talk about it giving it all up and sounding too bored with the game, especially the one played in whites.
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2009-02-07T01:49:00.000+05:30

Return to the Nineties! - By Chetan Narula

Feb. 4th 2009

Without a semblance of doubt, the nineties were the worst phase for Indian cricket. It was a time when the selectors really didn't know where the team was headed, the captain couldn't really answer the simplest of questions put to him and entry to the team was a revolving door, with umpteen players coming in and going out without any fingers pointed. It is a matter of fact that Mohd. Azhar holds the record for being the Indian captain under whom maximum players made their India debut. Read More

2008-05-08T21:55:00.000+05:30

IPL Diaries!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Half Time Report!!!

So, the first round of the Indian Premier League is done and dusted. Almost all teams have played their seven matches, out of a total of 14 each, and there have been some interesting results. But before one gets to that, we need to take a look at the standings of the teams and remind ourselves as to how it came to transpire, what has indeed transpired.

Teams	Played	Wins	Losses	N/R	Tied	Points	Net Run Rate
*Kings XI Punjab*	7	5	2	0	0	10	+0.442
*Rajasthan Royals*	7	5	2	0	0	10	+0.436
*Delhi* *DareDevils*	6	4	2	0	0	8	+0.761
*Chennai SuperKings*	7	4	3	0	0	8	-0.005
*Mumbai Indians*	7	3	4	0	0	6	-0.455
*Kolkata KnightRiders*	6	2	4	0	0	4	+0.482
*Hyderabad* *Deccan* *Chargers*	7	2	5	0	0	4	-0.011
*Bangalore* *Royal Challengers*	7	2	5	0	0	4	-1.426

In between some great dancing and singing performances, some pretty hot cheerleading (one is very sad that they have to wear body-hugging, full-length outfits in this hot weather, darn the moral police!) and some beating-up of cricketers (that was a brawl, not a slap, if anyone is interested!), the action has been pretty gripping. If one were to say that the IPL has lived upto its billing, then it would not be a lie. Innovative shots, some excellent bowling, shrewd captaincy and good fielding have upped the ante of cricket this summer. And inspite of the heat, no one is complaining.

Coming back to the point, where we see what we are here to see, let us take a look at how the teams have fared so far in the tournament, now that the first round of matches is complete. Only Delhi DareDevils and Kolkata KnightRiders are yet to face each other, but they have already given enough evidence of what they are capable of, in their previous six matches. Here we go:

Kings XI Punjab: Slow starters, they were thrashed by both Chennai and Rajasthan Royals in their first two matches, and were looking for some team bonding since then, but it happens when you have young-but-gifted players from different cultures. Tom Moody has been able to motivate them, but more than that, it was the fiery spell of Brett Lee against Mumbai Indians that truly lifted the teams’ spirit. Ever since then, they have been on a roll, winning five matches in a row, and Preity Zinta is now grinning more than ever.

What they have done right: They play within their limits, especially Irfan Pathan and surprisingly, Sreesanth (maybe it was the slap!). They know that with players missing, top teams will flounder sooner rather than later and thus, with some good performances, they can easily win a few key matches. They have built the momentum at the right time, and with aggressive and confident players in their mix, they are a force to be reckoned with.

What they have done wrong: Their batting is a bit of a worry. They rely heavily on Sangakkara to fire, especially since Yuvraj has been a bit pre-occupied with captaining the side. He, alongwith Jayawardene, needs to up their game a bit. Jayawardene, on his part, needs to help Yuvi with some captaincy tips, when pressure increases.

Rajasthan Royals: Horrible loss first-up, smacked by Delhi DareDevils by ten wickets, and nobody gave them a chance there-after, the Royals from Jaipur have given a fitting reply to all the doubting Thomases, and now look good to challenge the best of the teams. They haven’t lost any players to international commitments and thus, the team-spirit that they have got going can continue in real good ways. It seems that their billing as an under-dog even before the start of the tournament has only helped to fire them up. Watch out!

What they have done right: They made Shane Warne the coach and captain of the team. No one is more pumped up than him on a cricket field and it is no doubt, that he might have been the best Australian captain ever, had his sex-life not propped up at the wrong time. Also, they are not afraid of letting loose their young players, whose energy and talent is vital for winning in this format. Plus the international players they bought have all got hands-full of T20 experience. Did they even do anything wrong?

What they have done wrong: Yes, they did. Two games they batted badly and they lost. This shows that their main weakness is somewhere in batting. Tie them up at the top and they lose their way, trying to force the pace. Both Delhi and Mumbai were able to squeeze them for runs and won their matches. Need some solidity in the middle-order.

Delhi DareDevils: If one is to be believed, then this is the team to beat this summer. No, not because the author is himself from Delhi, (he’s cheering for Kolkata (SRK), if you must know, and a bit for Mumbai, umm, Sachin!), it is simply because in this chitty-chitty bang-bang form of cricket, the Delhi bowlers have stood the tallest. Glenn Mcgrath, Mohammed Asif and Farvez Maharoof have done the unthinkable many times already, restricting batting line-ups and presenting their batsmen with nothing challengeable at all. Backed up by some good fielding and back-up bowlers, they already look the part of semi-finalists, that too comfortably.

What they have done right: They got their auction bids right. Landing up some good bowlers who also think, has served them well. Plus neither of them will be leaving mid-tournament, except Vettori, who is already gone, but that doesn’t seem to be much of a loss. And having Sehwag & Gambhir in the team has only helped, notching up some good run-rates with their help.

What they have done wrong: Sehwag, Gambhir and the lesser-known Shikhar Dhawan have just batted and batted. Guys give some one else a chance. For it is common belief that the Delhi batting in the middle and lower order leaves much to be desired. So if you are the captain against Delhi, bowl first, get the top three out and you will win the match. Ask Mohali and Mumbai, if you don’t believe it.

Chennai Superkings: This is another sad story of players leaving and the team’s one leg being chopped off. Hayden, Oram and Michael Hussey were the pillars of the team, and ever since their departure, Dhoni’s team is free-falling. Pretty much everything they have done has backfired in the last three matches, after actually winning four matches on the trot. Time to think harder, Yum Yus Dhoni.

What they have done right: Nothing, ever since their foreign players left. The ones left behind don’t seem to be that effective. Batting seems to be pretty ordinary, as it has lost much teeth at the top. Bowlers not getting decent totals to defend.

What they have done wrong: See above.

Mumbai Indians: Lost four in a row, then won three consecutively. They are the anti-Chennai team of the IPL. Cricket is as much a game requiring hard work as much it requires luck. And obviously some money is needed too. Now they have been doing the hard work, but hardly have got any luck. Sachin has already missed the first part of the tournament and his return will only boost the players, if nothing else will. They lost some tight matches early on, but seems like they have gotten their grip back.

What they have done right: They actually didn’t do it themselves, Harbhajan did. He slapped (the author still maintains it was a brawl!) Sreesanth and got chucked out of the tournament. That was the moment that lifted this team.

What they have done wrong: Money, they have got aplenty, look at Mukesh Ambani. Seems like he carries a crore as pocket change where ever he goes. But they still didn’t buy the best players available. Why?

Second, naming their team ‘Indians’. Why would Jayasuriya, Pollock and Luke Ronchi be fired up to give their best for a team they will certainly not identify with? That they are still giving their best is down to Ambani’s deep pockets.

Kolkata KnightRiders: It’s all downhill for SRK’s team at the moment. Having won their first two matches, they have now lost four on the trot and unless they are able to stem the rot, the self proclaimed favourites of the tournament won’t be able to make it to the semi-finals. They too have been hit hard with Mcullum and Ponting leaving, while Chris Gayle is lost to injury. Shoaib Akhtar has now joined them, after his ban was lifted, but bowling isn’t exactly the problem. Buck up, Dada!

What they have done right: They got off to a whirl-wind start and thanks to that match their run-rate is quite high. Some more of the same stuff is needed.

What they have done wrong: When the author spoke to their coach, John Buchanan, last Saturday, he said that they weren’t very worried and wouldn’t be looking to change their batting order, unless it was a calamity. That same evening they lost to Kings XI Punjab, their fourth consecutive loss. It’s a calamity now John and Sourav should come down the order.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: Umm, what does one say about a team whose captain himself isn’t qualified enough to play in the tournament. There is an argument doing the rounds that he has been playing well, holding one end up, while the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi go berserk. Well, we don’t need some one holding an end here, and even if we do, a sixth standard student has a better strike rate than Laxman. Plus his captaincy has been thoughtless. He has absolutely no clue as to what is happening around him. They lost after setting a target of more than 200, taking nothing away from Rajasthan Royals, and before that failed to defend 110 on a square turner. Both punishable offences under any cricketing law.

What they have done right: Nothing so far, given that they are the strongest team on paper.

What they have done wrong: Deccan Chronicle made VVS Laxman the captain. He needs to drop himself from the team, yes you read it right!

Bangalore Royal Challengers: The official test team of the IPL. They have not been able to recover from the spanking they received on the opening day. It was such a brutal assault that it might have scarred this team forever. So, it happens in sport. Teams do recover but sometimes a lot of time is needed, however.

Vijay Mallya may have a lot of money, but he has no time. Because men in his position cannot afford to be made to look stupid. And the way, Dravid has gone about assembling his team and then, leading the team, Mallya would be feeling nothing else. Their season is almost over and they need some serious rebuilding to stand a chance next year. All those test players need to go and they have a long list to replace.

What they have done right: Not Applicable

What they have done wrong: Their team sheet reads as such; Dravid, Jaffer, Kallis, Anil Kumble, Sunil Joshi. Does one need say more?

2008-05-05T15:58:00.000+05:30

IPL Diaries!!! – By Chetan Narula.

A Road Less Traveled.

This is one of the few articles that I have written in first person. Ever since gaining experience in my magazine Cricket Today, I have moved away from giving first person accounts, but 3^rd May 2008 was such a day in my life that needs this description.

Almost five years ago, in October 2003, the New Zealand cricket team was in India for a two Test match series, followed by a tri-series also involving Australia. The second test match was played at Mohali from 16^th to 20^th October. I was in my second year in college. By the way, I was doing my Mechanical engineering.

Coming back, it was probably the only weekend that I stayed in hostel during my college days, given that my college was just 200 kms away from Delhi, and not counting any exam days. But even on this weekend, it seemed as though time had stopped in the hostel. Not a soul stirred and it was too damn difficult to even see Saturday go by. And then, like a bolt from the blue, I realized that since I couldn’t go home now, I could still travel 200 kms in the opposite direction and see a cricket match in a stadium for the first time in my life. The decision had been made.

And so, I got up at 5 am the next morning. Put on the India t-shirt I had bought for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, and suddenly it hit me that this is what I had actually bought the tri-coloured piece of cloth for, especially since I had watched the world championship from the confines of my drawing room. With my ‘roomie’ in tow, we traveled by bullock-cart, tractor, truck and bus to reach Chandigarh by 9 in the morning. This was the easy part, for we didn’t have tickets.

Now cricket is a religion in this country, and wherever the Indian team (the demi-gods) is playing, it is but obvious that the crowds will be in a huge number. And so they were. Getting to the ticket window would have lost us about five hours and seeing the rush, it was obvious that it would have proved futile in the end. Not to mention the Punjab Police were getting ready to lathi-charge the maddening crowd. So we tried a more ‘Indian’ way to get in. Bought two tickets, in black, for two hundred bucks. Now, they were five day tickets, which are available for 50 bucks apiece. But even at that price it seemed a bargain.

So far luck had been with us. We got there in time, got the tickets early and at a reasonable price. And we went in, reaching our seats in another half an hour. New Zealand were batting, trying for a healthy lead against the homeside. I saw my hero, Sachin Tendulkar, fielding near the boundary. But unlike others, instead of calling out to him and trying to get him to wave back at us, I simply stood there watching intently, taking this moment in, realizing this was a mere mortal, and not a ‘God’ as we make him out to be.

It was that moment in time that I wondered aloud, as to how will I be able to bridge this gap between a commoner (me) and this God, yet ‘Mortal Genius’. I had already decided that after my engineering, I was going to pursue mass communications and be a news broadcaster/anchor. But somehow it dawned on me that this wasn’t going to be enough, or what I actually wanted to end up doing.

India batted soon enough and Sehwag lit up the day with an awesome hundred, two towering sixes amongst the 130 runs. But the highlight of the day for me was Rahul Dravid’s defensive play. Daryl Tuffey was charging in at full steam and bowled a good length ball. The response was rock solid, the ball hit his bat and like it had literally hit a wall, it just fell to the ground at the batsman’s toes. A truly wonderful moment.

I, however, returned with a heavy heart as Sachin didn’t get a chance to play. Plus the ever poking question as to what to do about the thoughts I had earlier. On the way back, my room-mate stayed back and I took the journey alone, which gave me a lot of time to think. Some facts dawned on me, that I had been watching sports intently now for the last few years. Sacrificing studies, bunking college, returning home mid-week to catch the world cup, incurring the wrath of my parents, still watching cricket everyday, football & David Beckham every weekend, and F1 & Ferrari every alternate weekend. I was eating, drinking and breathing sports action on television, literally living sports. It was then that I decided to make sports my livelihood.

As I mentioned 3^rd May 2008 was a memorable day for me. This was the day that I covered my first match as a sports journalist, and that too at the same ground where I had made this decision, watching Kings XI Punjab taken on Kolkata Knight Riders. The same road was traveled as it was five years ago.

Just that the entry to the stadium, and for that matter, the entire experience was different. The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali has forever, etched a place in my heart.

It felt as if I had finally reached somewhere in my quest, during which I have been lost many a times, not knowing what to do. Sitting in the press box, I saw that there is a new dawn on the horizon but as I look onwards, I do realize one thing. I have miles to go yet before I finally get to sleep.

Note: For the record, we re-sold the two tickets for 100 bucks that day in 2003, to two guys who wanted to see the last day action. I still wonder how many times those two tickets changed hands during those five days.

2008-05-02T10:35:00.000+05:30

OOPS!!!

Hey guys i am really sorry for not updating this blog for the past 10 days. Actually have been very busy with my book release and then its post production work, and now with the May issue of my magazine.

However, now I am free and will be leaving for Mohali today to cover tomorrow's match. So expect an exclusive from there on Sunday.

Apologies again,

Cheers

2008-04-19T13:36:00.000+05:30

IPL Diaries – By Chetan Narula

The Big Bang!!!

One has so often wondered what a spectacle the beginning of the universe might have been. Matter in the form of a point exploding into millions of stars, planets and inter-planetary stuff flying away from each other at a head spinning speed. And sample this in a picturesque setting of the Big Bang. If only we had a picture of it to save as a wallpaper on our desktops.

18^th april 2008 provided us, mere mortals, a chance to witness the Big Bang as it might have happened. The curtains went up on one of the most highly anticipated events in cricket history, nay sports history. For the IPL curtain raiser was anything else but a disappointment. Against a perfect backdrop, the showcase event in Indian cricket was declared open.

That the IPL will be a hit with the fans was somewhat in doubt, say two days ago. But the full house at the Chinnaswamy stadium proved otherwise. Cricket in India is a sacred religion and at one of its biggest carnivals, how could the fans, rather devotees, not pay their homage? That it was going to be a spectacle was always a certainty, given that IPL and entertainment are best buddies already. The Vijay Mallya factor, however, surpassed anything & everything that one could have fathomed, and it will be interesting to see how opening ceremonies will now compare in the near future. He isn’t called the ‘King of Good Times’ for nothing, now is he?

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy provided a spectacular start to the proceedings with some of their hit numbers. Sixteen stilt walkers, eight acrobats who performed gravity-defying stunts on ropes of silk, eight rapellers dressed in the colours of the eight teams skimmed down from the stadium roofs on super-thin wires, and eight bubble dancers spinning & dancing in giant transparent bubbles left spectators in a total trance. But the special cheers were reserved for the Washington Redskin cheerleaders, for obvious reasons, and watching them left one wishing, if only they could be present in all the matches.

Entertainment was the name of the game, so much so, that even with the home team reeling, the local crowd was enjoying the music being played in the stadium. If for once you thought that there would be grim faces, think again, and maybe this is where the IPL will still be found wanting, come the end. For building fan loyalties will need more than such elaborate fanfare, although it remains to be seen what the other home teams can come up with.

Coming to the cricket, yes there was some, mainly from one man alone. Brendon McCullum batted as if he was picking the bat up for the last time in his life. His innings was so belligerent that it is the most terrific hitting the author has ever seen. Not to mention, that one feels that his ferocious attack on the hapless bowlers is yet to sink in. 13 sixes and 10 fours! If it were test cricket or even ODIs, then one can fathom the possibility of some one hitting out in this fashion, fed up with the drab proceedings. But this is T20 for crying out loud, where the ball is supposed to travel in all directions. But to travel like this? It was just simply staggering to watch. One can never claim that 159 will not be overcome as the highest score, but it will take some doing, and our only hope should be that we watch that match as well.

Now that we are talking cricket, away from all the hype and hoopla, it was good to see the spirit in the Kolkata KnightRiders. Ponting was seen hugging Ishant like a brother after he bowled Dravid and this only means that the bitterness of the test series in January will soon be a thing of the past. The Royal Challengers, however, looked forlorn. But if you have just been ravaged the way they were, you too will be wishing you weren’t there.

Of course, Mallya made sure he wasn’t there, atleast not on the television, as King Khan got one across him. The former won’t be too happy about it, especially in wake of the pre-match comments he made. But one can’t see the Royal Challengers do anything of note, if Wasim Jaffer continues to think he is playing test cricket. A strike rate of 40 in T20, when an hour ago, we saw something resembling lightning? Surely one can be forgiven if there is an urge to shoot Jaffer at sight. Kolkata, and for that matter, SRK will be flying high. One can’t begin to imagine the reception that awaits them when they play their next game at Eden Gardens. Shahrukh admitted that he would lose out a lot, if his gamble doesn’t pay off and will have to return to making movies. On the contrary, it seems likely that he will be quitting films soon.

In the previous article, it was stated that the first match will go a long way in predicting which way this tournament is headed. IPL would be a huge hit, this was never under doubt, but now it seems, the tournament will be a bigger hit than humanly thought possible. Welcome to the new age!

2008-04-18T01:48:00.000+05:30

IPL Diaries – By Chetan Narula

A Curtain Raiser

Lights, Camera, Action! On 18^th April 2008, at 7 pm IST, the world will sit witness to a new page being written in the annals of cricket history, when the first season of the Indian Premier League gets underway at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The first match will be played between Royal Challengers and Kolkatta KnightRiders, and it promises to be a mouth watering spectacle, and not just because it pitches the best in business against the best in films.

Yes, it is more than just Vijay Mallya and Shah Rukh Khan pitting their teams against each other, to see whose cricket, and business acumen comes out on top. Let us for a while leave that to the honchos in the European football leagues. Because a sterner test lies ahead for not only the two Fanchise owners, but also, the BCCI and in particular, Lalit Modi, the father of the IPL. For the first match will go a long way in deciding the fate of the multi-million dollar baby.

What one is trying to imply is, that in a jiffy, the IPL won’t become near and dear to the cricket crazy millions of this country. Like any other sane object of entertainment or leisure, this too will only grow from strength to strength, however it needs a major shot in the arm if it needs to do so. Why this so, one is is tempted to ask? Well, to start with, there is no culture of following sports in this country. What sets us apart from the football or cricket traditions followed in other countries, say England, is the simple fact that almost every night after returning from home, these people do not lumber up in bed, or waste their time watching dim-witted family sagas on the television. They actually shell out their hard earned cash to watch their football, cricket or rugby heroes play their rival teams and along with it, guzzle a beer or two.

No, one is not making a case of higher alcohol consumption here, instead what is being highlighted is the way that these long standing football cultures have been built. Teams like Manchester United and Arsenal were formed hundreds of years ago and they have since developed into multi-million dollar clubs, who now own academies as well as some of the world’s best footballers. While they didn’t grow over one season alone, the international competition was born out of the rivalries of the clubs. And, then of course, there came the money. The IPL, instead, is a case of the process being reversed. Take international rivalries and put them in the not so enthralling scenario of domestic cricket, to make it more appealing to the average Indian fan. And all this made possible, only by pumping in humongous wads of currency notes.

Here, one is trying to bring out the biggest headache that the IPL, or the franchises rather, will face, to the fore. And that is to pull away the couch potatoes from, well, their couches. To ask the middle class man to spend upto 250 bucks on a match ticket for seven matches over a period of forty odd days, is something they don’t normally do, not even on four consecutive weekends of a month, irrespective of the ever increasing GDP. And this brings us to the cards played by the BCCI, in order to lure the common man out of his home to the stadium nearest to him.

Go international, whenever in doubt in cricket, just go international. And that is precisely what the board did, and before them, Zee Group’s ICL. Getting foreign players to play in these twenty20 leagues is a well judged move. After all, these players starve for the kind of money there is in Indian cricket, especially New Zealand cricket, who are so cash strapped that as many as 15 players, current and retired are playing in the two leagues combined.

So much so, that some players have taken an early retirement from their budding international careers to play T20 in the dust of India. Shaun Pollock, Adam Gilchrist, Stephen Fleming are just a few of the prominent names. Maybe at their age, international cricket was actually getting too much for them. But what about some one like Justin Kemp or Lou Vincent, who are not even 30, and by virtue of playing in ICL cant play international cricket now. The latter, at one time, even complaining of depression, did the whiff of money make it all go away?

International players, after all, may not be the answer to the dilemma faced by the organizers. Consider this, in a match between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians, you will be expected to cheer for Mohd. Asif against Sachin Tendulkar, or, Sanath Jayasuriya against Sehwag. Is that really possible? Will a Delhi fan ever do that, or for that matter, a Mumbaikar? Cricketers in India are demi-gods, the game is a religion and taking it to the masses, while there are no international rivalries involved, is something the masses will be apprehensive of. It has been tried before, the Premier Hockey League being a prime example, but then that is hockey and it doesn’t exactly set the fans’ imagination on fire.

All this is going to test the patience of the men (and one woman) who have bought the franchises. For these are the platforms on which the revenue generation models will be developed. For the IPL is nothing but a business opportunity for these spendthrifts, and considering a very old saying, they will want to reap more than they have sown. Ticket prices will need to be at a premium; for only then the common man will make the effort to watch the matches live. Only then will the huge stadiums be full to capacity and only then, will the whole venture be successful. Another option is to market the merchandise but given that it takes years to build fan followings, one wonders how much will they sell. One other option is to follow the Kolkatta Franchise model and put everything in the Eden Gardens, up for sale.

Talking about SRK, the talk shifts to the first match and there are many expectations. There are going to be eight international players, eight young stars ready to make a mark and not to forget stalwarts like Ganguly and Dravid, who will be the first ones to experience this new chapter in cricket history. The biggest point, however, is the way the match is expected to be played out. If it is a close one, or a high scoring one, and maybe someone is kind enough to hit four-five consecutive sixes, then we have a tournament on our hands.

Even then, there will be dark clouds hanging over the fate of the tournament. Events like these take a long time to settle in. Fan following is not created overnight inspite of the huge amount of money. Nor are the heroes jeered against so easily. But such is the beauty of sport that such incidences have occurred. In the last football world cup in 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo got Wayne Rooney sent off, Portugal beat England, and yet, today the former’s popularity charts in England are tearing up the roof. Similarly, there will be millions who will be tuning in to watch and you never know what to expect from the unpredictable game of cricket.

Lights, Camera, Action! Let the drama begin!

2007-11-02T02:57:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

What's the fuss all about???

So Rahul Dravid gets dropped (or rested, whichever way one wants to look at it) from the ODI squad and there’s a huge hullabaloo about it all over. Yes, a player of his stature has not found a place in the team which is worrying, but that’s a different proposition altogether. More important is the fact however, that this man was captain of this very team about until two months back. Suddenly, he will be sitting in his drawing room and watch the team play their arch-rivals. What changed is what he ought to be thinking.

What changed is something that will be looked at towards the end. Right now, it is important to wonder about the implications of the decision. By no way, one is suggesting that the decision is wrong, or right, for that matter. Everything needs time to marinate, more so, everything in Indian cricket. So, again, what might be the implications?

No strength in the middle order, for one. Who will Dhoni look up to when Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd. Asif rip apart the top order, in an early morning start? Or when chasing a big target, the team loses a few quick wickets, and begins to meander from its path. And of course, he will be missed every time, Sehwag is found napping at first slip. Though, let it be clear, that by no way, “The Wall” is being made to look indispensable here.

For everything has a sell-by date. More so, the kind of cricket Dravid plays, when the country has just taken to T20, like fish to water. Thus, Sehwag, Uthappa and Ganguly could all drop down the order. Rohit Sharma can be groomed for the job too. The point is, with two big series coming up, should Dravid have been the one taking the fall?

Maybe yes, since he was out-of-touch, inspite of what people say. One won’t use the word ‘form’ in his case, simply because, players such as him, don’t have anything called form in their dictionary. But even by those standards, he has had a less than mediocre 2007. One ODI innings in England, though, isn’t enough anymore it seems, nor are the tons of runs he has scored over the past decade. That said, maybe no, is another option. What is Ganguly still doing in the team when his 100-plus-balls-innings aren’t helping the team either? Is this a hint for Dada too, come the next selection meeting?

So far, it seems to be a simple enough logic to drop (err rest) him. Let him sit out for two matches. Let him clear his head and in the meanwhile, we will get to see some youngsters tried out. So, why all the noise then? Are all the retired cricketers and so called ‘cricket pundits’ failing to see the simple but obvious cricketing logic behind this? If no, then they are simply ignorant, inspite of having been there and done that. If yes, then what is forcing them to do so?

The answer is a simple phone call. Dilip Vengsarkar returning the favor to his ex-captain, as even Dravid chose not to inform him of his resignation. Now, while one is laughing his/her head off at this egotistical gesture by two grown ups, some objectivity is required to look at it, whatever way you look at it. Rahul Dravid is rested for two matches and is not even given a deserved courtesy call, inspite of his services to the country for the past decade. Obviously this rang a million bells of some conspiracy everywhere, when there is none. For the Karnataka player is getting what we know as tit-for-tat.

For simplification purposes, let us consider an army captain, who has just won a minor battle at the front. But he’s all fed up with the monitoring of his ways by his superiors and, in Dravid’s case, the constant media & public glare. At the end of it, while his immediate superior is away at another front, the captain goes to the head-quarters and puts in his papers. Then he calmly walks away, as if nothing has happened. The immediate superior isn’t informed and gets to know through alternative means. What is he supposed to do?

Well, in the army, the superior won’t greet the captain, the next time he sees him. He would be shot, called a traitor, if he already hasn’t been. One is not suggesting anything similar in this case, but the fact is that what goes around comes around. You simply can’t relinquish the second most important post in India (the prime minister’s being the most important one, one thinks) and walk-off without absolutely no rhyme or reason. Thanks to the huge media presence, Vengsarkar was directly seen as the reason for the same.

It is no hidden fact that the two didn’t see eye-to-eye on many occasions previously, be it team’s selection or the coach’s. And this seems to have been the last straw. Plus the Mumbai lobby theory. Or previously, the Bengal lobby theory. And the fact that Sachin Tendulkar who maybe rightly named test captain, will also be incarcerated under this same logic, is a sad testimonial to the affairs of Indian cricket.

Now before the average Indian fan gets ahead of himself, it has to be cleared out that he might actually return for the next three ODIs. Consider India trailing 2-0 and the picture will be more than obvious then. Already, Pakistan have started rubbing it in, it being Dravid’s absence. Anyways, he is still very much a part of the test plan, no doubt about that, and obviously, when Down Under, will be part of the ODI ones as well, as the pitches will demand it. But then again, parameter seems to be the criteria now and he will have to perform, something he is very much capable of.

As promised, towards the end, we discuss, what changed in Dravid’s life? The simple fact that he let go of the second most powerful job coupled with his spiraling-down performances and obviously rubbing some one as important as the selection committee wrong. Getting away with murder would have been easier.

2007-11-02T02:47:00.001+05:30

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Did the best man win???

Sport can be real cruel sometimes. Lewis Hamilton found that out the wrong way, first in China and then in Brazil. It can be pretty hard when you have been leading the world driver s championship from the second race onwards, only to see it slip away in the last race. But that said, his competitors have been there and done that. Kimi Raikkonen, third time lucky this year, has previously twice tripped at the last hurdle. Of course, one can now add Fernando Alonso to that list as well. Read More.

2007-10-19T02:58:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

The beginning of the end???

India beat Australia in the last match of the recently concluded ODI series. The least it brought to the average Indian fan was a satisfactory smile and maybe the hope that their beloved team would do much better in the times to come. For one man though, it brought nothing more than some nail-biting memories from the late-90s, frustration and a bit of disappointment. That man is the ex-India captain, Rahul Dravid.

‘The Wall’ was told, on the eve of the match, that he wasn’t in the playing eleven and as usual, this has struck a discord amongst the many “pundits” across the girth of this nation. Some would argue that it was a wrong decision, some would still try and bask the team in the wake of their T20 triumph, and thus justify it as the right way to go. But which of the two is right? Are they both right? Or are they both equally wrong? No one knows, yet.

On hindsight, it was a good decision. Dravid, given his past accolades, has done little of notice this season. He had a mediocre series in England, where for the first time in recent memory, the team won a test series without a sizeable contribution from him, the 90-ball-12-runs notwithstanding. The ODIs were no better and then the shell shocking decision to relinquish the captaincy. The point here is, was that decision supposed to get him in-form? Maybe, may be not.

What made this particular decision to leave him out, look ridiculous, was that they played Dinesh Karthik instead of him. Had dinesh gone on to score some valuable runs and helped India score a half decent win, maybe then the team think tank would have been spot on. But as we all know, that all decisions don’t come out right always. Not every time, can Dhoni expect to throw the ball to some one like Joginder Sharma and expect him to win the match. Sooner or later, it is bound to backfire.

Why, one may ask? Class is the answer. As the age old saying goes, class is permanent, form is temporary. Or may be it is the other way round. The point is that on any given day, some one like Rahul Dravid will always bring more quality to the side than any of the Dinesh Karthiks or Rohit Sharmas. The only thing that the team management or even the selectors need to do is, select on the basis of merit. And thus, finally one can rest the debate by concluding that, on the basis of current form and the fact that it as after all a dead rubber, the “dropping” or “resting”, (whatever you would want to call it) was justified.

However, the debate doesn’t end here. Rameez Raja goes on to say that all the big three of Indian cricket should only play ODIs. Wasim Akram will agree as well as might some others. Dilip Vengsarkar, head of the selection committee being amongst them. But they, for all their money’s worth, are wrong.

There is no denying that the three are ageing, rather quickly it seems. But the only countable win that came in the series, came because of the seniors. If some one were to say that the team is capable of winning without them, then there is serious doubt over that person’s cricketing intellect. T20 is one thing but both in the tests & ODIs, their experience is valuable. With the series against Pakistan and then Australia down under just round the corner, it is for sure that once again the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly will prove their detractors wrong.

But, again, there is some shade to their path forward. The trio must understand that now the patience of both the selectors as well as the public runs thinner than it ever did. Constant performance is the only requisite and past laurels are, well, past laurels. Also, they must pick and choose their matches more often. For example, in the coming months, there might be a few ‘dead’ ties, which they would do well to skip on their own and not only give the youngsters a chance, but get themselves energized too. The fact that they were not considered for the Challengers Trophy can only be a boon to them, if one is capable enough to read between the lines.

It is beyond doubt that they have the required temperament. They are, after all, the three best batsmen in either forms of the game. They have to believe that their time is not yet up and also that they still have a lot to offer to Indian cricket. The end is yet far, far away.

And, make no mistake, each of the three has earned the right to decide for themselves, when they want to bid adieu. One only hopes that they know when it is time. But more than that, one prays that the rest, who are around them, don’t make that decision for them.

2007-10-17T02:37:00.000+05:30

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Anticipating a thriller…

Sport cannot get more ironical than this. The very same year Formula One earned a bad name because of Stepneygate and the very ethics of the teams being questioned the world over, it will still however, witness one of the greatest spectacles in the history of motorsport, come Sunday. All those very same people who doubted its very basis the world over will tune in to watch Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso win the title.

Formula 1 could have done without the spy saga but, lets be honest, it needed this tight race for the championship as a shot in the arm, especially after the great Michael Schumacher left us fans (read F1) at tenterhooks last season. In the words of none other than Bernie Eccelstone himself, the sport needed a saviour. And so, thank god for Lewis Hamilton. Err, shouldn’t we thank Ron Dennis?

Indeed Hamilton will be thanking his mentor, his second father or team principal, whatever he calls him. From a very young age, Ron has nurtured this driver to see this day, when he would bring back glory to his team and finally end Mclaren’s quest for their own Schumacher. And as we stand just three days away from a historic grand prix weekend, the signs are truly ominous for this to happen.

Quite simply, Hamilton has the numbers in his favour to drive conservatively and win the title, come race day. Alonso has already stated that he needs a miracle to win the WDC for a third time running and obviously then, Kimi needs more than a miracle. But if we leave aside the points for one second, is it really possible that a rookie could pull off such a huge upset in his very first year in the sport?

May be yes, may be not. He has the talent and more importantly the car to do the needful. But maybe not, because Hamilton has shown that he can wilt under pressure. That happened first at his home race in Britain, where at Silverstone, he first almost lost out his track position to the Finn and then eventually did lose it when he made his first error in the pits. It is only logical that the pressure will only increase on him considering that atleast every British fan of the sport will be rooting for him on Sunday.

Add to it the fact that he has never raced at Interlagos. Yes, he has the famed Mclaren simulator at his aid and of course, has spent time on his PlayStation as well. But after all, if that were the real thing, then aren’t we all world champions in our own right? The point is on an unknown circuit, under pressure from two rivals, and of course, adding the rain factor to it, the situation suddenly doesn’t look really rosy from here. If one is to consider the only two races where he hasn’t scored points this season, Nurburgring and Shanghai, we see only one common factor, rain.

There is always the argument however, that he won in the rain at Fuji. Yes, he did, but let’s just put that in perspective. Half that race was driven behind the safety car. And of course, Ferrari’s big foul up with the intermediate tyres cost them the race. When Kimi began his charge in the later stages at Fuji, he looked unstoppable. The other factor is that both in Germany and in China, Hamilton failed to look after his tyres in the mix of dry and wet, which ultimately proved critical.

Even then Fernando Alonso would say that his chances are no good. This is because Mclaren will provide both their drivers with equal opportunity. Yes, the very same thing the Spaniard has not desired the whole season. Again if it weren’t for Ron’s ethics, he wouldn’t be here. Simply because, after blackmailing your own team, one doesn’t usually get away without any punishment. But he did. And that might just come back to haunt Dennis.

For there is no way that one sees Fernando Alonso driving for the Silver Arrows next season. So will the Spaniard do the unthinkable and be overtly aggressive on the race track? The first corner at Brazil is a bit squeezed for space and obviously in the wet, things will only be trickier. The big question is if at all Alonso is that desperate to leave Mclaren or hurt them so badly that he will jeopardize both his and Lewis’ chances? If yes, then certainly there is no place for him at Woking next year.

Did one mention two rivals for Lewis earlier? Well make it three. Because Kimi will only win if there is Felippe Massa playing the supporting acts. Even then things aren’t exactly cut out for the Iceman. He has to come first, and then hope that Alonso finishes no higher than third, and even then Hamilton has to be sixth or lower. Indeed a tough ask but then stranger things have happened in sport.

There is only one guarantee though. That is, we will have a champion, even after all that has happened this year. Which one, that’s a question, even the most hallowed punters or pundits of the sport will avoid.

2007-10-14T03:27:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

About time, we had a new coach…

On 4^th April 2007, Greg Chappell resigned from the post of the Indian cricket team’s coach after an embarrassing early exit from the ODI world cup. 190 days later, the Indian team still doesn’t have its new coach selected as yet.

Everybody has witnessed the drama that unfolded since Chappell’s exit. Just for refreshing the memory, Dav Whatmore was supposed to be the favourite to replace the Aussie, but somewhere something went wrong and he wasn’t short listed after the initial round of discussions held by the coach selecting committee. Then, as if pulling rabbits out of the hat, the BCCI invited Graham Ford and John Emburey for an interview. Ford agreed principally only to later refuse, adding yet another mysterious chapter to Indian cricket history.

So finally some sense prevailed and the BCCI then invited applications via advertisement for the coach’s post, the way it is supposed to be done. Some 20 ‘coaches’ have applied, among them being, Chandrakant Pandit, Richard Done, Tim Boon, Kepler Wessels and Martin Crowe. But rumour has it that the Board is unhappy with the ‘lack of quality among the current applicants’, the process is yet to proceed beyond the application stage.

Anyhow, the team went to England without a coach, won the T20 world cup and is now facing the ODI world champions at home without one too, so one can only imagine how long it will actually be before one sees a new face in control of the team. The point is that it needs to be done fast, the selection of the coach that is. Simply, because it will only get tougher for the team in the months to come as first our arch rivals come calling and then the looming tour down-under. But why suddenly does one feel the need for a person-in-charge? The answer follows hence.

There is no doubt that the seniors ought to command deserved respect from the juniors and the juniors should be only too happy to give it, if they are treated well in return as well as given their due. Although the captain has commented about how invaluable the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly actually is, to the team, the selectors don’t seem to be agreeing whole heartedly. Which, in turn is not surprising, as when was the last time, the selection committee agreed with the Indian captain?

This time, however, it could lead to a fairly more troublesome situation. Clearly, any sensible cricket follower would be foolish to write off the trio just because we won the T20 without them. But that doesn’t mean that they should be playing all possible matches. The time has come in Indian cricket, thankfully, when rotation of players becomes a focal point. And this is where the new coach could be the most useful. With a younger captain asking the seniors to sit out games, even the inconsequential ones, or the selectors wielding their axes, would be in nobody’s interests. Although all three are seasoned campaigners and experienced enough, only a coach can make them understand as well as advice on which matches they should play or, well, skip without hurting any sentiments.

The next point emanates from the point above. Dhoni is a bold captain no doubt, but he’s become one in a very short span in international cricket. He’s been successful in an even shorter span so naturally all eyes are on him. Not only of the Indians’ but the opponents’ as well. What remains to be seen is how he will cope with the pressure as all Indian captains traditionally begin to lose it within a year of ascertaining captaincy. Be it Azhar, Sachin, Dravid or even Dada, all have suffered sooner rather than later. Dhoni’s troubles have already begun as the team trails Australia at home, so the sooner the coach comes to relieve some pressure and responsibility, the better.

Australians are at the pinnacle of not only this sport, but mostly in all the sports they participate in. no wonder the opposition and especially the captain feels tremendous pressure against them. and dhoni is beginning to feel it. A couple of tosses have gone wrong coupled with a few decisions as well. But this is no report card on his captaincy, not yet. The point is that something as important as the batting order hasn’t been sorted out is a cause for concern. Why is dravid scratching around at no.5 or why isn’t dhoni coming in at no.3? why isn’t gambhir opening despite the fact that either of tendulkar or ganguly, are capable enough of dropping down to the middle. Some one needs to be assertive enough to take a stand on this and clearly the team management is currently not upto it.

Then there is the small matter of the overall responsibility of the team, their conduct and their on/off field antics. Venkatesh Prasad and robin singh might be doing a fine job but they are at best support staff. If some one like sreesanth continues with his monkey antics on the field, somebody s got to pull his reigns in at some point or the other. Dropping him is no solution as he has a wonderful bowling brain and we need to rest the overburdened bowlers. In short, this is just another case in point which demands an immediate arrival of a coach.

The overall bone of contention is that as we progress in the season, the pressure on the team is only going to mount. With the success in the tests in England and then in south Africa, maybe the board feels the team could go on a bit longer. But what they fail to understand is that the team is being supported at the moment by the home fans. This will not work in Australia as they will need some one to take off all the steam in pressure cooker like conditions. But even before that against the Pakistanis, even the fans might not be so forgiving if the team meanders at home against them. the Indian public, after all, does have a fickle memory.

The above discussed questions, all need to be answered and quick. Although the team management might be scratching their brains over these issues, it s amply clear that we really need some one who does this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He is called the coach.

2007-10-11T21:15:00.000+05:30

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

2007: A Tainted Title.

With one hand on the World Driver’s Championship after his win in the Japanese grand prix, Lewis Hamilton will be busy making arrangements for a lavish party after the last two races. The same can be said of Ferrari, who are already the constructors champions, again. Both parties will be expectedly prolific with loads of well dressed people, some great music, tasty caviar and bubbling champagne. Read more...

2007-10-11T20:49:00.001+05:30

Bon Jour...

hey people...i am back...after a long hiatus, m back where i belong. bt all this while i have been upto other stuff too. started writing fr Cricket Today magazine and another website. was getting a bit bored writing reports based articles for my new blog page, so decided it was time for a home coming. just want to add that there will be some changes around here, as in will be referring some articles back n forth from my other ventures. needless to say, will be updating this blog as soon as possible.

counting on ur never ending support,

happy reading,

chetan.

2007-06-02T16:10:00.000+05:30

Adieu...for now...

hey people...thanx fr all ur support n time n comments et all...really appreciate ur inputs to help me achieve what i set out to...

now its time i took the next step...so this address is off from now on...now will be writing in a whole new medium...the address is An evening @ a Sports Bar...

lookin forward fr ur support there too...

thanx,

chetan.

2007-05-12T00:48:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

An Unforgettable Tournament.

This world cup will never be forgotten.

Because simply put, the premier event of the International Cricket Council failed to ignite the passion and the zeal of a cricket world cup, say as a football world cup does. True football is a far reaching game, more famous than cricket, more nations play it than cricket. But then the way the tournament was administered, it doesn’t give a very good impression to those nations who are trying to learn the game or even adopt it.

Because even though the stadiums were quite good, well located and the facilities were good enough, the travel arrangements and the spacing of the matches was so uneven that traveling band of fans had to make a zillion arrangements to catch their teams in action. So many of them decided to stay put in one of the islands and then watch the matches that were being held there. If in a world cup, you can’t follow your team around to support it, what’s the point?

Because the ICC designed such a long tournament, that just thinking about it makes you yawn. The group matches were increased by increasing the number of teams and subsequently the number of groups. It is alright to increase the number of teams since this is the showpiece event of cricket, but there could be a more logical planning put in place. The first round of matches took two and a half weeks to be completed. On many occasions only one match was being played per day. This meant that a 51 match tournament took 6 weeks to complete. If the ICC is serious about expanding the game and bringing more teams to the world cup, we need something better than this. In the same scenario, if we had like 32 teams participating as in a football world cup, it would take approximately 6 months to complete a cricket world cup.

Because the ICC is just too greedy became increasingly evident during this world cup. the tournament was too long by any standards and this was done not keeping in mind the interest of the spectators, but its own. Only two matches per day was the limit so as to generate as much revenue from the television audiences all over the world. They have to understand that even the millions sitting at home will only tune in if the tournament progresses at a healthy rate and does not stagnate. Thus atleast the first round matches should have been done and dusted within a week or so. Playing four matches per day that is. They surely had the stadiums available. Which brings us to the on field spectators.

Because the ICC even managed to drive away the coolest cricket fans away from the grounds. They managed to drive away the most fanatic supporters away in India during the Champions trophy by pricing the tickets too high. One thought that they might have learnt their lessons then. But no was the answer as again the ticket prices were exorbitantly high. Rates of the range of 100 US$ per head were common in almost all matches and it was no surprise that the spectators kept away from the grounds. Congratulations to the ICC to have achieved something which is quite difficult in the Carribean, i.e keeping the calypso away from the cricket.

Because this world cup saw two great cricketing powers go down in shambles. India and Pakistan both returning after the first round itself, dealing the ICC and the sponsors a huge loss speculated to be to the tune of Rs.1500 crores. Not to mention cricket lost a lot of sheen in the next few weeks. On the other hand, teams like Bangladesh and Ireland brought a new look to the second round of the cricket world cup showing that the opposition quality in ODIs is just a myth. Bangladesh actually raised a few eyebrows as they highlighted the uncertainty of the game that is cricket, first beating India and then South Africa, and then losing to Ireland, who themselves had already taught Pakistan a lesson or two.

Because the other teams in the fray also managed to catch the headlines as almost all lost form in the middle of the tournament. Though they didn’t exactly choke, the South Africans’ loss of form especially their middle order just became a riddle they could not solve. New Zealand started well and even reached the semi finals only to fizzle out. England and West Indies were, well there to complete the numbers, as they bowed out without ever staking a serious claim to a semi final berth. The West Indian loss hurt the tournament greatly as the home side s fortunes were seen as a last hope to revive the tournament with a spark. While Sri Lanka looked like the only team to mount a serious threat to the Australians, but that debate too was put to rest by one Adam Gilchrist.

Because Australia continued their domination of world cricket by winning an unprecedented third straight title. 28 matches unbeaten in three world cup editions. It will take a lot of brain scratching to find another such run of domination in any other sport by a single team, maybe Ferrari and Michael Schumacher in Formula 1. But in F1, it’s all dependent on the machinery too as proven last year in Japan when Schumacher’s car blew up. Here it’s this team that is the machinery and this machine just doesn’t stop. It’s well oiled and isn’t getting rusted any sooner. Plus the spare parts which will replace the old ones are just as good. This mean machine will continue to roll on many opponents for the years to come. 2011 is merely four years away.

Because sadly too many stalwarts played their last world cup and there was only one sufferer, the game. Inzamam-ul-Haq was the first to go, accompanied by Anil Kumble. Brian Lara was the next big casualty as the West Indians could not even muster enough grit to hand him a final winning good bye. Champions like him deserve to go out on a high and that’s what exactly the Australians gave to Glenn McGrath. The Pigeon could not have asked for more than the trophy and the man-of-the-series award. Cricket is poorer post world cup 2007.

Because the world cup finally came to an end, albeit a dramatic one. Actually many had lost hope it would. But a farce of a tournament ended in a farce. A rain curtailed game, 38 overs a side and the last three overs played out in pitch black darkness, not to mention the drama which preceded that. It proved beyond doubt that the best four umpires in the game and the best match refree in cricket had little knowledge as to the rules of the game. The Australians were shocked to hear that they will have to come out again the next day to bowl 3 overs and it was the presence of mind shown by the two skippers that the match finally ended. The match should have ended earlier when the Sri Lankans accepted bad light and saved cricket from this embarrassment. If the ICC wants to project a good image of the game in countries it is trying to get a foot in, it was a poor advertisement of it.

Because cricket eventually claimed a life. Yes it killed someone for reasons not yet entirely known. And there is doubt if they will ever be known. Was he killed because he was about to blow the whistle on the match fixing saga or was it something to do with the book he was writing on the religion creeping up in the Pakistani team. Or was it merely the act of fanatic fans upset with the loss to Ireland. By the way, Ireland’s national academy was coached by Bob Woolmer under ICC’s programme to increase the game’s reach. Who ever it was, whatever the reason might be, he is gone. The man who gave cricket so much, even his life, it’s such a pity he got only death in return.

This world cup will never be forgotten.

2007-05-01T01:04:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Australia blow Sri Lanka away……..

Swish, swoosh, zoom, whiz, thump, slam, bang. That’s all the noise the menacing blade of Adam Gilchrist (still a wooden bat) made as it thumped the Sri Lankan bowling to all parts of the ground. After the carnage was over, when Gilchrist finally got out to an unforgettable 149, there was only one question remaining. Why was Mahela Jayawardene smiling after the toss?

The Sri Lankan skipper might have gone out for toss expecting a good day. After all it was the world cup final and they were the second best team in the tournament. But for all the talk about the pitch and its bounce, Jayawardene actually didn’t know what to do. In reality, it was more like he wanted to lose the toss and let Australia decide. His wish came true and one wonders now, is he regretting wishing that?

Of course he is. Take a look at these statistics. First ten overs yielded 46 runs for no loss as Australia batted first in a rain curtailed 38 over game after Ricky Ponting won the toss. There were only two power plays to be executed and the Sri Lankans delayed the second one for nine overs after the first one. End result? Those 9 overs were smashed for 89 runs. No Sri Lankan bowler gave away less than 6 runs an over. Everything they tried went waste. The ball did not swing in the hands of Vaas, Malinga or Fernando. Neither did it spin in the hands of Murali or Dilshan. All it did was visit the boundary in quick succession as the Australian wicket-keeper launched the most brutal attack this (otherwise boring) tournament has seen. Inspite of his indifferent form in the tournament, only he could do it on such a grand stage, what Adam Gilchrist did. He scored a majestic ton of only 72 balls. His first ever century in three world cups played. He ended with 149 runs off 104 balls with 13 fours and 8 sixes. A savage batting display indeed.

The Sri Lankans didn’t do much wrong though. They fielded well and even bowled well. The simple fact that Hayden who has notched over 600 runs in the tournament struggled is testimony enough. Or that Ponting and Symonds failed to score at a run-a-ball only shows that it was the special magic of Gilly that failed the Sri Lankans. Not that they could do anything about it. Or that it wasn’t enough to win Australia its third straight world cup.

The only thing that stood between Australia and glory was well, their mental strength. And we know this side is mentally as well as physically tough. But it had been done before. Remember the best ODI ever played? South Africa doing the unimaginable and what bigger stage than the world cup final to do the same but by Sri Lanka. It all depended on how Jayasuriya would play and the support he would be getting from the other batsmen. Well they tried and for a moment, when Sangakkara and Sanath were batting, they were actually ahead of the Aussies on score comparison. However it wasn’t to be. The rain gods intervened and so did the D/L method, virtually putting the match beyond the reach of the Lankans. Almost as if even the Gods wanted Australia to lift the trophy too, such has been their domination.

And so it ended, but not without another twist. This time a farce being played out after the Sri Lankans had accepted bad light. What it shows is that the players have more knowledge about the game than the officials governing it. But let’s leave it to that and look at the positive side. The Australians got to celebrate twice. And if you do think about it, wasn’t it deserved?

Another stalwart of the game walks away into the shade. Glenn McGrath bid farewell to the game and what a farewell it was. A third straight world cup win, four consecutive appearances in the world cup finals, above 500 test wickets, he’s done it all. And to top it up, he was voted the man-of-the-series. We will miss you Pigeon.

29 matches, that’s how long this unbeaten run in the world cups has lasted. The Australians were last beaten in the 1999 world cup by Pakistan in a league match. When the next defeat will come, only God knows. Can we bet on it to be in 2011?

2007-04-28T19:58:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

World Cup Final: Defending Champions v/s Dark Horses

This world cup could not have had a more perfect final. The defending champions, Australia, on the cusp of history, a third straight world cup, a record in the making and a chance to get even for the defeat in the 1996 final. The dark horses, Sri Lanka, a great run to the final, the second best team in the world cup, easily the most tactical team too and of course the chance to complete a double on Australia in world cup finals. Doesn’t get better than this.

But it is not the past that matters for this match and that is what both the captains have to understand. Easier said than done, of course, but more so in the case of Ricky Ponting than Mahela Jayawardene. The Australian captain believes that it is the heavy defeats his team incurs on the opposition that gives his team the confidence they have and display on the field. Yes agreed, any win does you a world of good and adds to your momentum. But the truth is that the Aussies haven’t really been tested. The semi final against South Africa was supposed to be the tough one for them, but it didn’t happen. Of course, they deposed off the Proteas with disdain but again, what happens when this team is stretched?

They tend to meander and lose, is the answer. It has been done before and will be done again. No doubt about that, but will it be this match? It might be. Because in the super eight match against the Aussies, the Sri Lankans might have lost but they came away with smiles and of course a tactical advantage. And that is where Mahela Jayawardene has really put his hands up. The move of not playing his front line bowlers in that match might just pay off. Malinga was injured and both Vaas & Murali were rested. Vaas is a dodgy customer any given day and Malinga has well, set this world cup on fire, with his slinging deliveries. But it’s the Murali factor that matters most tomorrow. Yes it matters on any other day too for Sri Lanka to win but not more than this, has it mattered ever.

The last time Australia played Muralitharan for a whole series was well, quite a long time back. He didn’t visit them in 2004 for the tests and then after that played the VB series in 2006. Since then the two sides haven’t met for a while. Why this is going to be a factor is evident from the group stage match against India. Murali and Vaas didn’t tour India prior to the world cup and here they became literally unplayable. And consider that the Indians, their world cup debacle notwithstanding, are far better players of spin than the Aussies. Point is that Murali’s guile is unplayable if you haven’t faced him for a while.

While the fact that the Sri Lankan bowling will be bearing a totally different look from the one that played the super eight match, the batting will be the same. And that is where the Aussies probably have a head on. Their bowling led by Glenn McGrath is quite competent on any day and if it is the world cup final, you would certainly root for them. It is going to be the last match for the Pigeon and unlike Lara and Inzamam, he would certainly want to go out on a high. And what better than winning the world cup for a third straight time. The pitch at Barbados is expected to have good pace and bounce which could only mean that the Aussie pace battery will be smiling even before the match starts. And as we have seen in this tournament, the ball does move a bit in the mornings before it settles down for the day. And again, the Sri Lankan batting seems more circumspect than the Aussie line up.

The Lankan batsmen have done well throughout but they have not come out on tops as many times it would like to. Against good quality attacks of South Africa and Australia, they came up short. A repeat of that in the final and they can kiss the trophy good bye. The Aussies haven’t been tested as mentioned earlier and Hayden & co. couldn’t have faced a sterner test in the final. Given that Ponting wants to set a target most of the times than chase, both the teams’ batting will have to click. The first to blink will be the one to lose.

Key players will be the stalwarts of the respective teams. Hayden, Ponting and McGrath hold the Aussie keys but its time Gilchrist set this world cup on fire. For the Sri Lankans, Sanath Jayasuriya is up for one last hurrah and then of course there is Vaas and Murali. Throw in a bit of Clarke and Symonds plus Malinga and Sangakkara, it’s a fine concoction for the biggest cricket match in four years.

The last time a team was on the verge of winning a hat trick of world cups, Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in 1983, they were upset by the underdogs, India. Again in 1996, Australia were firm favourites to lift the cup, only to be beaten by the 66/1 underdogs, Sri Lankans. A repeat is on the cards. It’s the defending champions versus the underdogs. It’s game on.

2007-03-24T23:03:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

When a nightmare became reality……

The television crew in Queen’s Park Oval is really cruel. As the last wickets of the day were falling, the joyful faces of the Bangladeshi team were being beamed all over the world. So were the despondent faces in the Indian dressing room. The world watched as the Bangladeshi dreams came true as also India’s biggest nightmare.

For the first time since God knows when, an Indian captain won the toss and made the right decision in a crunch match. Winning the toss and using the pitch first where the ball would surely seam and swing. And it did. Zaheer, Agarkar and Munaf turned magicians in their initial spells. Yes the very same three who had been tamed by the Bangladeshis and troubled by the Bermudans. The Sri Lankans could not put bat to ball in the first ten overs. The only proper shot that comes to mind is the one where Tharanga cover drove Zaheer in the air for four. Rest all were either mistimed or edges which didn’t find the fielders.

For the first time in the competition, the Indian bowling had come into its own. Zaheer swinging it both ways and Munaf holding a tight line. Even Agarkar found his rhythm at just the right time. Jayasuriya left early, and so did Jayawardene. But just two wickets for all the laudable efforts put in? Yes lady luck has been not with us on this tour. Maybe they need to bring their wives the next time. Lankan wives were here, seen dancing all along.

It is very rare that something goes totally right for the Indians on the field. And the fact that our highly rated spinner wasn’t upto the mark proves just that. The fact that he was playing in Kumble’s place can never be justified. Yes the Sri Lankans have been successful against him, but every match is a new match. On hind sight, if Kumble would have been bowling to the inexperienced Lankan middle order, things might have been different. Harbhajan, it seems, is content in bowling out his quota by containing the opposition, taking wickets is something he doesn’t feel the need for. What India needed from him, were 10 overs which could deliver two wickets. What if they would come at a cost of 50 runs. He gave away 53 anyways.

Coming to the fifth bowler, it sometimes is beyond belief what Rahul Dravid is thinking. Giving the ball to Ganguly, who quite frankly hasn’t bowled that much recently, was very questionable. I know he snapped up Sangakkara, but let us be frank. That was more because the Lankan keeper played a stupid shot rather than the bowler doing anything magical. For me that was a mistake. Sehwag should have come on to bowl as Harbhajan was proving to be ineffective. However it was the maestro Tendulkar brought into the attack.

The reason why Dravid has failed to impress me as a captain is because he tends to over do things. Sachin bowled his six overs beautifully and the fifth bowler’s quota was up. No need to bowl him when you have three pace bowlers who were in fine rhythm today. But to see Sachin bowl those extra two overs, while there were new batsmen at the crease, was like watching some one commit hara kiri. Two costly overs and the Sri Lankan total was over 250. Something we didn’t want, talk about psychological advantage that is. It is one thing starting your run chase with required rate of 4.9 or something and absolutely another with the asking rate being 5.1. The psychology is different.

And it was clear, what it did to the Lankan mentality. Vaas bowled off cutters to Uthappa and his genuine balls to Ganguly. Which brings us to the pathetic display of batting by the Indians. Ganguly is an opener who has clearly forgotten what opening is all about. He used 120 balls for 60 against the Bangladeshis, a 114 for 80 odd against the Bermudans and 23 here for 7 runs. He didn’t rotate the strike and it not only brought pressure on subsequent batsmen, it brought pressure on Uthappa too. The young batsman was very unlucky to be caught like that, but then as I said, lady luck wasn’t at all with us.

Ganguly departed next trying to break the shackles, he himself had binded on the team. And what a blinder Murali took. Moments like these lift the entire team, much like the catch, Dhoni had taken earlier in the day to dismiss Jayawardene. Even the Indians fielded superbly well. Coming back, Tendulkar came to the crease with a million hopes on him. Nothing new about that. Except that this is not his position. This isn’t playing from where he has become the fear of the bowlers. This is no.4, where he is under pressure. A position where Dilhara Fernando, a bowler who has played only 3 matches in the last 15 months is able to dictate terms to him. And the result was all there to see. Again lady luck was found wanting. On any other day, that edge would have missed the leg stump and gone for four. But not this day. Not this day.

Sehwag played an unusual knock. Waiting for the loose ball and biding his time. Could it be his day? Could the new Sehwag save India the blushes. But what he can do with the bat, surely Murali can do better with the ball. And then we saw a master class. Open off side, with a slip in place, bowling round the wickets and bowling just the doosras. Murali is a champion bowler and here was the moment where Jayawardene proved his mettle as a better captain. The spinner was doing the trick for Lanka something Bhajji had failed to do for the Indians. The bounce and turn the young off spinner got in his first over must have delighted both Kumble and Murali. Sadly only one used the resources.

One after another, the batsmen departed. Sehwag could not counter Murali s guile, nor could Dhoni. Yuvraj, one of the best runners in the team, chose this day to misjudge a run. Only “The Wall” showed them how to bat. How to score runs under pressure. How to stand alone in the face of adversity. And as he showed us, there were no devils in the pitch. Sadly the decision to bowl first was again undone by the pressure under which the mighty Indian batting line up wilted again.

India can still qualify if Bernuda beat Bangladesh. But that’s more like a case of if the mouse Jerry had been a cat, he would have been Tom. The losses will be huge. Almost to the tune of 1500 crores. Take for example the Pepsi “Cheer India” bands launched only two days ago. Who is going to buy them now? And for what? It is all in the hands of the merry Bermudans. Sadly praying for a miracle is something we do in every world cup. I had just hoped this time it would be different.

Last but not the least, a devastated Dravid answered Laxman Sivaramakrishnan’s questions at the presentation. His last words to the Indian captain were “Better luck next time”. 2011 seems very far off from here.

2007-03-21T13:11:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

A lot to worry about……

If they think they have redeemed themselves with the win over Bermuda, then Dravid and company are mistaken. They may have gotten two points and some confidence going but as far as positives are concerned, that’s about it in terms of what we got out of the match. Confidence does play a major role in international cricket and it is good that the team got some before the vital clash against Sri Lanka but as we know things in Indian cricket turn around faster than tides.

Yes we scored the maximum number of runs in an innings in a world cup match. Yes Sehwag stroked to a ton and the rest also came to the party. Yes we scored the highest margin of victory in an ODI ever. But does that really matter? I mean it was against Bermuda who aren’t exactly even the best amongst the minnows. Err, we encountered better ones recently remember?

To drive home my point, we will take the above points into consideration as to why the team management may be making a mistake they got anything else out of this game. Because as far as I am concerned, India is still closer to the exit door rather than the gate to super 8.

It is very difficult to understand what is happening to Virender Sehwag’s career at this stage. Surely as far as the world cup is concerned, he has cemented his place in the side for the rest of the matches (one or more, remains to be seen). But then again he hasn’t proved any of his critics wrong with this knock. Will you bet on him to fire against Sri Lanka or other even better attacks given that the Bermudan bowlers were at best military medium? I won’t, given his tendency to relax until the donkey is on his back again.

Not that this necessarily means he will fail against the Lankans. Sehwag if you plan to, please don’t. And same goes for the others as well. The way they batted is well, like the way they ought to have batted against the Bangladeshis. Not paying much respect to the bowlers. And that is where Sourav Ganguly, in particular, is going wrong. It is one thing when the team management asks you to hold up one end and try to bat out the innings but then it is totally another thing to pay respect to the Bermudans and play 114 balls for 80 odd runs. What are you waiting for Mr. Ganguly? 50 overs to be up? Get a move on with your strike rate sir, because as happened with Bangladesh, so will happen with other teams who surely have better bowling options. They will strangle you for runs and then choke you to death. If our neighbours could do it, surely it can happen again. So Dada, please unleash the stroke maker the world knows you to be. Atleast, in the match against Sri Lankans.

Then again the middle order didn’t get the quality time it needs to play well. Sachin and Yuvraj are proving to be two important cogs in the middle-order wheel no doubt, and their performances will give much heart to the think tank. But Dhoni continues to struggle like he did last on last year’s tour and Dravid hasn’t spent much time either on the field. Another worrying point is Robin Uthappa’s dry run. Surely this will give the management to ponder a lot as to whether or not to include Dinesh Karthik in the eleven on the 23rd.

However these are the least of our worries. If we can’t get Bermuda out cheaply, and have already failed to bowl the Bangladeshis out, then let us be frank, our attack is pedestrian at best. Save for the efforts of Zaheer, this bowling performance will be giving the team management and the fans alike, sleepless nights. Agarkar can’t bowl straight, its either the legs of the batsmen or short of length giving too much room. Munaf is expensive in his second spell. And if Kumble struggles against the batsmen of Bermuda, with Harbhajan not too effective against the Bangladeshis, then we have a serious problem on our hands.

Because we do not have a bowling attack that can defend low totals or bowl out opposition cheaply. The performance in the two matches surely proves the practice matches’ results worth less. If we look at the bowling reserves, we have Sreesanth and Pathan only to look at. Sreesanth has the knack of picking up wickets but his economy rate makes Agarkar look like the world’s best bowler. Plus Pathan isn’t in the right frame of mind as of now. If they play him, will he play as an all-rounder, a bowler or a batsman? Surely nobody is there to explain it to him, as the past suggests. Also there is none to backup the spinners. They are among the best in the world, remember? If they are struggling, what chances do Powar and company have, right? That’s no justification, which means the team balance is questionable. Again Pathan’s form could have been the key. But as some one might say, the selectors’ hands were tied.

The only bowlers who seem to have done well are the part timers. In whatever bowling they have done, Sehwag and Tendulkar have impressed. But they have been brought on very late. Sehwag came on when the Bangladeshis required less than 30 runs to win, but still ended up taking two wickets. Sachin was nearly unplayable yesterday where as the Bermudans played Kumble with aplomb. This in fact questions the attitude of the team. Do they not know the run-rate factor could prove crucial? Then why not show some urgency to bowl out a not-so-decent batting line-up quickly. In the match against our neighbours, the shoulders drooped once they were past 130. I mean do they even have the right attitude to win the world cup? And what was the coach doing cooling off in the pavilion, when he should be sending out messages to get things going.

Even if India qualifies for the super 8, these latter points put a big question mark on the ability and desire to win the cup. I know the team is taking one match at a time and not get ahead of themselves at this time, when it is absolutely necessary to beat Sri Lanka. But even to do that, they need to find some answers. And they need to find them quick.

2007-03-20T18:08:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – by Chetan Narula.

The worst day in Indian cricket.

Shock, awe, terror, trepidation, despair, misery, gloom, anguish, dejection, despondency, indignation, resentment, antipathy. All these together do not reflect my mood. I am still at a loss for words. Exactly what an average Indian cricket fan must be feeling because his favourite team in the world just lost to Bangladesh, a minnow given the gigantic proportions of the cup.

Unbelievable as it may sound, but it is true. Indians did wake up on Sunday hoping that the previous night had been a nightmare. But once the television sets were switched on again, the dreaded truth lay bare in front of them. We had just lost to our neighbours, who are quite young in international cricket, given the amount of cricket Sachin Tendulkar alone has played. But it all went waste. It all went waste.

As much as I would like to harp about Bangladesh being fabulous in every department, for once I cannot control my emotions as a fan and thus will leave that analysis to a more neutral person. For the record, however, Bangladesh restricted India to a paltry 191. The ferocious Indian batting line up could not handle the pace of Mashrafe Mortaza, and the best players of spin could not handle three left arm slow bowlers. And then three under-21 players came out and stroked their way to 50s as if to mock the Indian bowlers, while they easily chased down the target. It cannot get worse than this.

What we will do is take a look one by one at the Indian players who played their part in arguably the worst defeat for Indian cricket ever. Worst, because this is the world cup. It is one thing losing to them otherwise, but in the big tournament, it is a different matter.

Greg Chappell for one has to understand that. We are not some guinea pigs sir, that you keep on experimenting with us till your last breath as Indian coach. I mean come on now, what was Robin Uthappa doing at no.3. Either you play an opener in the opener’s slot or you play a middle order batsman Dinesh Karthick there. Even sehwag and ganguly could have come at no.3 because they have quite a bit of experience and have done well at the top in the middle.

Rahul Dravid: Only God knows when an Indian captain will learn to choose the correct option after winning the toss. Sourav did it in 2003, and now this. I mean they were here last year weren’t they? Don’t they know the ball swings early on in the Carribean? And with Zaheer, Munaf and Agarkar in the side, did he really want to bowl when the wicket had eased out for batting, especially when we were playing just one specialist spinner? Answer up Dravid.

Virender Sehwag: What do you say to this man, who has defied all previous history, in taking if not his place in the team, then atleast his wicket for granted. I mean, you may be a triple tonner in tests sir, but the shot you got out to, is worthy only of gully cricket. No place for that sort of stuff in the international arena. I don’t see a place for him in the team altogether, but it is Dravid who has to open his eyes. But I am quite sure that on his bowling prowess he will make the cut against Bermuda. Talk about blasphemy.

Sachin tendulkar: You are the best batsman in the world. The one with the best technique to attack or defend as you please. You are the Bradman of this era. But there is another thing that you are. The inventor of new ways to get out. Driving on a ball that turns in, get an inside edge, ball hits the pad, and keeper messes up before finally catching it. We have seen it all Sachin. The question is, are we ever going to see you lift a world cup?

MS Dhoni, Harbhajan: Ducks? That’s what they score when the previous day, all the news channels carried out news how the Indian lower order was practicing power hitting. A bit more introspection required especially from Dhoni. Karthik is waiting in the wings and we know that the think tank likes to experiment.

Zaheer, Munaf, Agarkar: Not much fault with them except that they were bowling too much on the batsmen’s legs or too short of length. But then again, the way the Bangladeshis batted, clearly they disturbed their line and length. Bowling on a placid track, didn’t help either.

Ganguly, Yuvraj: Nothing much they did wrong or nothing else they could have done. Except that Ganguly ought to have shown some urgency early on in his innings. Plus one can’t also really blame Uthappa for what happened. He is meant to play attacking shots. We will also take into account his inexperience.

Why we lost was because these highly experienced and talented men just could not get their act right. The powerplays brought runs in a trickle, so much so only 24 runs were scored in the first 10 overs. Ganguly took 120 balls to score his fifty. Yes he was the lone man standing but a bit more urgency than the safety first approach could have been beneficial. Plus what is it with Sachin and left arm bowlers? Add Abdur Razzak to the list of Giles, Jayasuriya and Raymond price. And last but not the least, 5 wickets for 2 runs is the stuff dreams are made of. Bangladeshi ones I am sure. My memory betrays me if I try to even recall a similar streak of Indian dismissals.

All is not lost yet unlike in Pakistan’s case. We can still qualify but it is not in our hands alone. Sri Lanka’s run rate is too high and Bangladesh will play Bermuda last. Not only we have to win the last two matches comfortably but also pray that Sri Lanka beat the living daylights out of Bangladesh, so much so that their run rate becomes irreparable against Bermuda. Our fate is no more in our hands.

The thought of India out of the world cup in the first round, is an edgy one. Ask the advertisers if the fans’ condition is not enough proof. But it is not an improbable one. If that happens, it will surely surpass this as the worst day in our cricketing history. As a fan, I am mentally scarred by this loss forever. Not ready for the next one just yet. Not yet.

2007-03-18T19:24:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

West Indies draw First Blood.

Brian Lara calls it overcoming stage fright or calming the big match nerves. Call it whatever you may, it is a fact that the hosts have gotten off to the best possible start in the tournament, more so after the practice match disaster against India. Ladies and gentlemen, the world cup is alive and kicking.

It was the most important match of their group, given that the rest of the two teams, Ireland and Zimbabawe are minnows and they are not expected to make the cut for the super 8. So the opening day of the world cup carnival saw a battle for the precious points which will be carried over to the next round. Inzamam called the toss correctly and chose to field. And this is when things started to go wrong for the Pakistanis.

Pakistan have to know their strengths and weaknesses. Their bowling is weak, they simply have to accept that. So batting first might not have been a bad idea. See out the new ball carefully, and then allow the likes of Youhana and Inzy to take charge. Plus the team selection wasn’t upto the mark either. With the likes of Lara, Samuels and Bravo in the side, how could they even think of playing Kaneria, a leg spinner? Especially when, some one as experienced as Azhar Mahmood was cooling his heels in the pavilion.

But Pakistan is, well, Pakistan. They don’t believe in anything anybody says. Just do what they do. And so began Umar Gul with his good line and length and Rana Hasan with a mix of quick and slow deliveries. Gayle’s innings ended rather quickly and brought out Sarwan, who himself looked like he wanted to go back quickly. He managed to survive a dropped chance on his first ball, then played some horrendous shots and luckily managed to stabilize the innings with Chanderpaul. The latter was quite slow off the blocks and maintained that turtle pace throughout his innings, scoring 19 of 63 balls. Once Sarwan was snapped up for 49, Younis Khan latching on this time, it was all still to be done for the Windies.

In walked Lara and Samuels, their 91 run partnership taking the Windies to a platform to launch the final assault. But just as they were beginning to cut lose, Lara edged it and Samuels skied one. The last heroic of the day were still left to come and thanks to Dwayne Smith, they managed to reach a comfortable 241. A 15 ball 32 runs innings well supported by the lower order.

Smith’s heroics didn’t stop there. Pakistan were too dependent on their top order to fire. But that didn’t materialize. The West Indian opening bowlers, Powell, Colleymore and Taylor set them up with some tight stuff, bowling a nagging line and length. And when Smith and Bravo mixed it up cleverly with their military medium stuff, Pakistan just had no answers. He scalped Youhana, Inzamam and Kamran Akmal, three important cogs of their middle order wheel. Quite clearly, a man-of-the-match performance from the youngster.

In a match where all of Lara’s prayers were answered, his call to the youngsters of the team to stand up and deliver answered, Inzamam discovered that he still has plenty on his plate. The only bright spark of the match for them was the way Umar Gul shouldered the responsibility of leading the attack, the tight line bowled by Iftikhar Anjum in the middle overs and the defiant innings played by Shoaib Malik. They need some answers quick. With Afridi still out for the match against Ireland, they could try out Shoaib at the top, to stabilize things, which will also allow them to play Azhar Mahmood. The all rounder needs to warm up since it is more or less guaranteed that his services will be called for in the super 8. And by all means, they have to shed their unpredictability, and win against the minnows of their group. An upset there would not even allow them to return home.

The West Indies too can’t rest on their laurels from this game. Much is still to be done. They should try out some other combinations in the coming matches and have options in hand for the sterner tests ahead.

The calypso carnival has begun and it could not have had a better start.

2007-03-15T21:04:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: South Africa – My Favourites.

The very fact that South Africa are the team billed to win the World Cup 2007 goes to show how open this year’s tournament is. The biggest chokers in the game are the number one team in the world and given their reputation in the previous editions, all other teams can rub their hands in glee that they are going to have more than a decent shot at cricket’s ultimate prize.

Let us take a look at the team representing South Africa in the world cup: Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus. Yes this is the team which has displaced the Aussies from their perch for the first time ever since the ICC rankings were conceived. It is not only because Australia have fumbled in the recent past. No sir, because to even match the Aussies you have to play out of your skins. To beat them, you have to better even that effort.

It is actually a wonder, how the rise and fall of these two teams is totally co-related. We move back to the Hansie Cronje era for some flashback. They did very well in the group stages in 1996 while Australia were struggling. But as the knock out stage arrived, it was the Africans who were on the early flight back home. The Aussies reached the finals only to be denied by the Lankans. In 1999, their contrasting luck could not have treaded a more convergent path. Doing well again in the group stages, they were really upstaged by the Aussies, first in the super six (ask Gibbs) and then in the semi final (ask Klusener). The figure of Hansie Cronje staring out of the pavilion windows can still be seen at Edgebaston, some say. Coming back to the point, the Aussies had struggled in the group stages of that tournament too.

If there is something called luck in cricket (I believe there is), then the equation between South Africa and Australia started turning round in 2003. The Aussies did well throughout the tournament and lifted the crown once again, where as the Proteas could not even manage a super six place. But the real turn around came in what is termed as the best ODI ever. The one in which Australia scored 434 and lost. It is on that day, I believe, that the South Africans lost the “chokers” tag. Steve Waugh, you heard me right.

No team has had such an ideal run through to the world cup in terms of good performances and building players’ confidence. Defeating India and Pakistan back to back in ODIs could not have provided a better background. All their major players are in great form, have enjoyed a good hit in the middle and the bowlers have done well in the field. Herschelle gibbs is one of their most important players and his flexible performances all over the batting order can only boost the morale of the team. We all know that Kallis, Prince, de Villiers can bat. Add to that the fire power of Justin Kemp & Mark Boucher and a pretty decent batting line up is what you get.

The bowling has come into its own too. Shaun Pollock looks like ready to make amends for 2003. Ntini and Nel are bowling with venom and Charles Langeveldt can be a handful any day. Ask Australia. It is funny how I keep referring to them again and again. More so to the greatest ODI ever. Simply put, two individuals came to the fore that day. And may have removed South Africa’s scars forever. And maybe given the Kangaroos some.

I have already mentioned Gibbs. His coming of age was in this match. After coming in at one down, the way he waded into the opposition was simply mind blowing. But it was one other individual who made the difference. Who will make the difference in the West Indies too. Who like captains before him, will not allow them to choke. Graeme Smith is a boon to this team. His batting skills coupled with his sharp tactical acumen have brought those sunshine days back to the South Africans, along time after Cronje has been gone. However it is his never say die attitude that was so aptly highlighted in the match against Australia that lifted the team like no other occasion. It is that day, that performance, that win which will go a long way in determining this year’s winner.

They are not without weaknesses though. The one major point being that all their major successes have come on fast bouncy pitches at home. On slow tracks in India, in the Champions trophy, they were still struggling. Since the pitches will most probably be the same, they better adapt fast. And this is where players like Kallis and Prince will be the most handy as they are the best players of spin in their team. The other problem is that they have Australia in their group. Which makes that clash all the more interesting because of the rule of carrying points forward.

They are the team to beat in this tournament. But unlike the tournaments before this, they have it in them to finally lift the cricket world cup for the first time in their history.

My verdict: My money is on them. Don’t prove me wrong Smith & company.

2007-03-14T19:57:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: Australia – The “Beatable” Champions.

It wasn’t surprising that Australia won the world cup in 1999, given the resolve that they showed to win the tournament. Neither was it surprising that they won in 2003, given that they were the best team on view and steam rolled every one into submission. It’s just that it would be very surprising if they won in 2007.

No I am not talking through my hat. But before I give you my reasons for it, let us take a look at the team participating in the world cup: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (wk), Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin (wk), Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson. When you start reading the names, your very bones will quiver if you are a bowler, but if you are a batsman, you will fancy your chances.

Still think I am crazy? Well to bring down a team of Australia’s caliber, I need some statistics. And that is exactly what’s on the menu. After their world cup victory in 2003, the Aussies have played 117 ODIs in the past four years. Out of these, they have lost 28 and tied 1. However, this still means that they have won 75 percent of their matches. But its in the manner that they have lost these 28 matches is what tells you about the chink in the armory of the Australians for the first time in decades. We shall dissect the losses now.

17 matches have been lost when the Kangaroos have tried defending their totals. That’s like 60 percent. Even the tied match against England was the one where they were defending 197. We go way back in 2003/04 to their Sri Lankan tour, to find that their nine consecutive defeats were all batting first. Further more, except for one instance, the Aussies had scored 220+ in all those games. In that particular streak, they also lost to New Zealand when the kiwis chased a then world record of 331. Also, they have failed to defend 300+ four times, including the mammoth 434 in South Africa.

What’s more disturbing is the fact that out of these 17 losses, nine have come in the last one year. And all those four heavy defeats are included in these nine losses. This clearly points out one glaring fallacy in this Australian side. They simply can’t defend their scores. Which in turn, is attributed to their poor bowling attack. Yes, we have come to that point in Australian cricketing history which will be known as the post Warne/McGrath era. The one in which they will be dependent on their batting to bail them out in most of the situations.

I mean look at their team sheet. Barring McGrath, you don’t see one name capable enough to carry the burden of defending targets. Brett Lee is out injured, which is going to be a very big blow to them. Because with him missing the action, they can only be assured of ten good overs from the Pigeon. About the rest we know what can happen to them. We saw South Africa, then England and lately New Zealand do it to them. Under pressure they have caved in again and again. I mean Tait and Mitchell Johnson don’t have the experience, Brad Hogg isn’t exactly Warne or even Stuart Macgill, for that matter. The Aussies are really missing some one to hold out the middle overs and with Symonds’ fitness in doubt, there is cause for concern. Bracken did I hear you say? Well he’s been around for a while but his presence doesn’t exactly cause oppositions to lose their sleep.

And so we come to the strong point of the team. Their batting. The indomitable Hayden, the swashbuckling Gilchrist, the mercurial Ponting, the dependable Hussey, the determined Michael Clarke and the burly Symonds. Enough to make any opposition wet their pants. The fact that Ponting himself stated that they would like to chase rather than defend, tells you that this is one captain who knows his strengths and weaknesses well. Plus you could argue that the team that played in New Zealand wasn’t a strong Aussie side. Let me make this very clear that six out of those 11 players will start the first match against Scotland on 14th March.

Injuries are something which could really upset the Aussie applecart. Symonds is still weak in the arm, Hayden is under fitness clouds too. They have already lost Lee a week before departure. Any more injuries and Ponting might feel like throwing in the towel. The most important factor however is going to be Andrew Symonds. He is the one who gives them the balance. Ten overs and a reliable bat who knows how to accustom himself to the situation. Plus he is no slouch in the field either. If he stays fit, the team has it in them to do well. Without him, they are a touch lost.

Adam Gilchrist is in his last world cup probably. So is Hayden and McGrath has already announced his retirement. After these three go, the future for Australia is somewhat uncertain. But right now, their concentration has to be on the cup. A hat trick of victories will do them immense good and prepare the young lot for the challenges ahead too.

The one point that can go against my arguments is that they have won around 46 matches batting first. That is a 72 percent success rate. But quite a few of those matches were a couple of years back. The recent trend is worrisome. And just for that reason, this world cup is the most open ever.

My verdict: If you are the opposition, win the toss & ask them to bat. Sooner or later, they will falter.

2007-03-13T21:58:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: India – The Romantic’s Champions.

Twenty years after they won the world cup, India entered the finals in South Africa in 2003, but only managed to deceive the world. They lost to the only team who could beat them in that edition, Australia. Four years hence, they take on the world again in a bid to bring the cup home after a long time.

And they can actually do it this time. Ever since the “process” began under guru Greg Chappell, they have been through a lot of ups and downs to finally achieve what they aspired to. Atleast what Chappell aspired to. Select the best fifteen for the tournament in the Carribean. And they are: Rahul Dravid (capt), Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel. No surprises or so you may think, except the fact that Sehwag managed to book a flight and that many will be debating the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik.

Sehwag’s inclusion was always under doubt. His horrendous tour in South Africa not withstanding, it is said that Rahul Dravid lobbied extra hard for his inclusion. Why won’t he? After all, he is the only triple tonner in India. But that is in tests for crying out loud. There he has the advantage of open field spaces and not so in the ODI arena where he is cramped for space more and more nowadays, especially when his non-existent technique has been sorted out. Plus the way he got out in the ODI against Sri Lanka when after so long he had got off to a start, only shows how much he values his wicket Mr. Dravid. For me, he was a no inclusion in the side based on this dismissal alone. But then India is not having a problem of plenty at present.

That is the stellar difference between the team of 2003 and the team of 2007. That’s the difference between Ganguly and Dravid as captain, or for that matter, John Wright and Greg Chappell. Chappell might have tried his best but lets be frank, the bench strength is poor. So much so that, we can’t even find proper replacements for Kaif or Raina when they are not good enough any more. That we have to fall back upon Dinesh Karthik as a batsman to bolster our middle order? Which brings us to the point that this actually is not a bad choice on hind sight. What if Dhoni gets injured? That he needs to miss a game of unimportance, say against Bermuda, in order to be fit for an important one in the super 8 stage. Atleast we know that Karthik won’t be a traveller like Parthiv Patel in 2003.

That’s because Sehwag’s form will be a barrier to his selection in the playing eleven. I don’t predict him starting more than three matches in the tournament on his reputation. After that form will be considered, as on this basis Karthik has a stronger case. Maybe a fourth start as a spin bowler. But no more, unless he performs. Why am I comparing an opening bat with a middle order one? Because simply put, India’s opening pair for the cup is fixed in terms of Ganguly and Uthappa. I won’t harp about Ganguly’s masterly comeback, just that it is going to have far reaching and calming effects on a young Uthappa.

Yes Tendulkar is no more required at the top. And the good point is that he agrees with it. He took to it as fish takes to water, in the last two home series. The middle order hasn’t borne this safe and settled look for so long, so much so that my memory betrays me. With Yuvraj, Dravid and Dhoni still to come, it won’t be a bad idea to let him play at no.3 because whatever some anti-Sachin fans may say, he still is our best batsman and is only logical to allow him as many overs to bat as possible. Dravid can do a fine job at no.5 as he has showed us so many times. I don’t think that this is either Tendulkar’s or Dravid’s last world cup, as many may think. I mean how can they not play in 2011 at home is beyond me. But that is another issue. Because for one player, it is definitely his last ODI outing.

Nobody in the world has proved his credentials more often than Anil Kumble. 800+ plus wickets in international cricket and we still have a selector questioning his inclusion in the team to West Indies. I mean come on now. On any day he is better than the likes of Romesh Powar and Murali Karthik, given that Harbhajan Singh is a certainty in the side. the rest of the bowling attack looks formidable on paper atleast. Zaheer, Agarkar, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel have been doing a good job all this while and if past performances are anything to go by, they would continue doing so. Never after Kapil Dev and Srinath, had I thought the Indian fast bowling scenario would look so good.

Nowadays no talk of an Indian bowling line up is complete without mentioning Irfan Pathan as according to many team members themselves, he is the one who gives the side a balance. True, but only if he bowls & bats both, and not just the latter. My two pence to the think tank, he is as dispensable as Sehwag.

No talk of India’s chances at a world cup is complete without discussing Tendulkar’s past exploits. And this alone makes him the most important cog in the Indian wheel at the cup. Even after the tournament is over, he will have a lot to offer to the side but since this is the most open tournament in years, I am putting my money on him to produce the fireworks again. It is the best chance for him to silence his critics by collecting the missing feather in his crown.

Past form sees the team on a world record run of 17 successful run chases to the lows of defeats in Windies, Kuala Lumpur and of course the Champions trophy at home. Add to that, the thrashing in South Africa and you will almost question their contendership for the cup. But as the two series wins at home proved, the Indian public does have a fickle memory.

As guru Greg said, it’s all about reaching the semi-finals. In this particular tournament, it is. After that any team can do anything. An Indian team in form and high on confidence then becomes more than a romantic’s champion.

My verdict – They have the gift, can they do it? Fingers crossed. Come on guys, I wasn’t even born in 1983.

2007-03-13T19:38:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: New Zealand – The Incredibles.

New Zealand are as good as any other international team in the world today. They match Australia in aggression, India in passion, England in defiance and South Africa in talent. Frankly speaking, possessing all these qualities sometimes actually makes them the best team in the world. Then what on earth makes them the biggest under achievers in world cricket?

Finding an answer to this will be my quest as I take a look at their chances in this year’s tournament. But as always we need to take a look at the fifteen players sent to West Indies 2007: Stephen Fleming (capt), Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum (wk), Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent. No big surprises except that Daryl Tuffey returns after a long break from the game due to injury.

The talent has always been there, so has been able leadership under Stephen Fleming. But sometimes able opponents, as in 1996 or in 1999, and sometimes silly decisions, like not playing in Zimbabwe and Kenya in 2003, have cost them in the big tournament. So much so that the ICC knock out trophy in 1998 is the only major trophy they have won in international cricket. Surely as the sun goes down on a number of Kiwi players’ careers after the world cup, they have to muster enough mental strength to give it one final push.

Mental strength I say? You must be surprised that while all other teams have been lacking in some department or the other, is it just the non-physical aspect which is missing in New Zealand’s case. Yes is the answer. Simply put, they have the appetite for big games, as their recent resurgence against Australia has shown us. However what they lack is the will power to succeed against the lesser teams.

A classic case comes to rest in the 2003 world cup. They beat South Africa in front of their home crowd and then were simply not upto the mark against the rest of the teams. In the super six stages they were a pale shadow of themselves and were consequently out of the cup. Or if we want a recent example, how about the escapades against Australia in the recently concluded Chappell-Haddlee trophy. There they could beat the living daylights out of the Aussies but couldn’t put it across a demoralized English side in the preceding CB series.

The fact that they just switch off their minds is the biggest reason why they won’t win the cup inspite being one of the favourites to reach the semi finals. Simply put, they might have played the biggest game of the tournament already and thus won’t be able to recharge themselves enough to compete well on a particular day. And that is why even the shrewdest captain in the world, Stephen Fleming, is not much of a success.

Fleming has been their trump card for many years and will again be so in this year’s cup. The reason is plain enough. Not only is the man a brilliant tactician but also a useful bat. His contributions have been all captain’s knocks or what you might call, leading from the front. He has always derived immense motivation in playing for his country. This is his swan song. Most probably he will not be there to play in 2011, and that is where his motivation will come from this time around. The point is can that be reflected onto the team?

The Kiwis are a team of bits and pieces players of the highest quality, unlike any other team in the world. Probably this is one factor that sets them apart. As a result, this team never hinges on a particular individual. And that is why apart from the skipper, a number of players will want to make themselves counted. Shane bond is one such player. Injuries of all kinds have always haunted his career and nobody than him knows this better that he is playing his last world cup. He has it in him to shake and stir the world but he needs companionship. Which in turn, will be provided by none other than Daniel Vettori, who will be marshalling the spin bowling department. Needless to say, even he knows this might be a last world stage outing.

The batting looks decent enough. As mentioned they are all bits and pieces players and you never know who is going to strike form next. One day they may be out on ducks and the next, they might just end up chasing 350+. Lou Vincent is an able opening bat and the new finds, Mason and Ross Taylor showcased what they are capable of against the Aussies. The fact that they have three all-rounders in Scott Styris, Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram forming their middle order, you will know that no total is safe, especially on the placid tracks in the Carribean. Add to it, the swashing blade of Brendon McCullum, and the batting bears a finished look.

Recent form only re-iterates the fact that they have it in them t reach the semi-finals. They have had the better of both Sri Lanka and West Indies at home, before struggling in the Champions trophy. The fact that they could not reach the tri-series finals in Australia and then beat the Aussies 3-0 at home only shows their supremacy at their home grounds. It’s their ability to perform outside their comfort zone is what will matter the most.

Simply put its all in the mind of the Kiwis.

My verdict – They will succumb to their mental pressure.

2007-03-10T19:00:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: West Indies – The Hosts.

The West Indies go into the cricket World Cup 2007 aware of one fact that unlike any other major sport in the world, in cricket, the hosts have never won the world cup. In the past eight editions, all hosts have tried and only one comes close. Sri Lanka in 1996. But they were the co-hosts and will only be considered if cricket forever remains without the headline, “And the world cup has been claimed by the hosts this time around.”

Sad but true is the fact that this time too, like the previous editions, the hosts will not make the cut. Yes we have all heard the same thing before, that the West Indies are no more that force to reckon with. I mean, come on now. Cant you just judge these 11 players on their on merit. Well that’s what I intend to do. However we need to know who the chosen ones are. Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard.

A decent team on paper you would say with the right mix of experience and youth. Some very good players and some decent players. The sort of balance you might say is required for winning the cup. But they won’t win the cup. Many reasons for that but as has always been the case, we will take them one by one. First of all the expectations. Cricket in this part of the world is a second religion after only the NBA. But make no mistake the fans are as fanatic as you will find in the sub-continent. All this only makes them the people’s favourite, without proper rhyme or reason as to, are they fit enough to make the semi-finals. Too much hype and hoopla will only add to all the pressure there is already on the players, who know they are the home team.

To win this world cup, all you need is a batting line up which can chase down a target of 350. That essentially means you can actually afford to have half decent bowlers in your squad and get away with murder. And that is exactly what they intend to do. With a batting line up which sees the likes of Chris Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul being supported by the inimitable Brian Lara, you know that they are capable of chasing even the tallest targets. Add to that the guile of Bravo, Samuels and Ramdin on their home grounds and you get reassured about their ability to chase.

It’s their ability to defend that I am worried about. They are only as good as any other average team in the field and their bowling attack, as already mentioned is good enough to be taken for 300+ on a decent batting pitch. Bradshaw, Colleymore, Taylor and Powell do not exactly strike fear into the hearts of the opponents on any given day. No comparisons people, but this is true. The one person who ought to have been considered could have been was Fidel Edwards given his raw pace, but his tendency to break down must have been a deterrent.

So far we have discussed the various capabilities of this squad and I must confess that time and again, I have called them good enough. So is the home team pressure enough to say that they won’t win the cup. For all you might know, it might have an opposite reaction. But still I maintain that they won’t win it. Why? Simply put because other teams have better players in both the categories than them. They have bowlers who do give away runs almost every alternate game but also have the tendency to win you some tight matches or defend low scores, ala England. Or the batsmen, they might be good on paper but they have never actually chased down 320+ in the recent memory. eg. New Zealand.

The point I want to make is very clear. They have the gift but it is not enough to win atleast this time around. But cricket as we know is a very unpredictable game. Every thing is going as you say or plan and then suddenly some one just takes it onto him to disrupt your apple cart. And that man in their squad is the dangerous Chris Gayle. He knows the grounds very well. Bats like an indomitable ice man and bowls shrewdly. He could be the one to turn around their fortunes. For the Windies to fire time and again and especially in the second round, he has to be in the form of his life. It doesn’t get any opportunistic than this for some one like him.

Doesn’t mean that Lara is not important. That is actually not possible. Such is the stature of the man. However the role he has to play this time round is totally different. His current stint as captain has been remarkably different than his earlier ones. However the team still has shown suicidal tendencies under pressure. From many a winning position they have taken the plunge. He is the one who can resurrect that. A bit more leading from the front required from the man, which might mean him batting down at 7 or even 8 in the order. Something he has done in the past season quite a few times.

Peeping onto their form book for 2006-07, we see them reverberating between crests and troughs. From the loss in New Zealand to the home win against the Indians to the finals in Champions trophy to again the bottom against Pakistan and the last few games against India, they have had exactly what you call a mixed season, giving at all times mixed signals as to their chances for the big one. Proving all the above correct.

The match against Pakistan, the tournament opener will be their most crucial one. Winning this one would set the tempo for a great tournament for them. Lose it and they will be watching quite a lot of the tournament from the sidelines.

My verdict – The hosts have never won the cup. This headline will remain the same.

2007-03-09T21:19:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the world stage: Sri Lanka – The Underdogs.

The last time Sri Lanka was regarded the clear under dogs for the cricket World Cup was way back in 1996. Bookmakers had put their chances to 66/1 and we know the end result of that tournament. The Lankans shocked the world with their slam bang approach and great quality spin bowling to lift the trophy, much to the chagrin of the cricketing world. A new force had been born. And it was a force to reckon with.

However ten years is a long time. Much has changed in Sri Lankan cricket, as in the case of all other teams. But the change I am going to discuss is more related to on the field activities rather than the political battles being fought in the Sri Lankan board. So let us first take a look at the team sent to the West Indies: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara.

You compare this team with the ’96 champions and the biggest problem which glares right back at you is probably the biggest reason why they won’t win the cup. They just don’t have that flair. Let’s admit it. Arjuna Ranatunga’s team had that distinct capability to pull a rabbit out of any hat. Be it the (in)famous Kolkatta semi-final, where they were 1/2 in the first over and the rest we know. Or the final in Lahore where they chased down 240+, a feat never achieved before in any previous final. Even much before that, when they made Manoj Prabhakar and the rest of the Indian attack eat out of their hands in a league match in Delhi.

It was as if they were making a point. After West Indies and Australia refused to play in Sri Lanka in the 1996 tournament, the resoluteness showed by the team in proving to the world that they deserved every bit of the credit they got, is historical. But this is not the only reason why they won’t win this time. The other big difference being the leadership. Mahela jayawardene is no Ranatunga. Or for that matter nobody in the present team is as mercurial as the former captain. And that matters why? Because at times like in the semi final at Eden Gardens, you have to lead from the front. Or like Steve Waugh in 1999, you have to rise to the challenge and beat South Africa in the super six to make your team advance. Jayawardene might be the best guy to lead the Lankans into battle as of now, but no, he doesn’t have the makings of a world cup winning captain.

Of course the rest of the team also matters. But there too the story isn’t exactly rosy. The middle order is almost non-existent. It is not like when Roshan Mahanama and the invincible Aravinda de Silva used to take charge and save them from disaster ten years ago. Atapattu’s ODI credentials are still not proven although he is near the end of his career. Tilaktratne Dilshan and Russell Arnold are good players but within their limitations. Sangakkara is the dashing batsman of the team and much will depend on him and his “non-existent” consistency. He needs to be in a purple patch for the Sri Lankan middle order to work. And again, Jayawardene doesn’t exactly score when he needs to.

However, the most important player in the tournament in 1996 is still very much there and as was then, he needs to play out of his skin to make the rest of the Lankans believe that they can go all the way. Sanath Jayasuriya has to replicate the form he showed in England last year. It is going to be his swansong and he knows it. Can his aged shoulders once more take the huge responsibility of guiding his team’s boat of fortune?

The bowling as always is in the hands of two great stalwarts who like Jayasuriya will be playing their last cup finals. Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas have been great for Lankan cricket as individuals and as a hunting pair, but recent trends show that when their 20 overs end, that’s where the problem begins. Malinga, Maharoof and Bandara aren’t exactly in the same class and runs will be taken off them, and that too in plenty, believe me. And that’s why not sending the two great bowlers to India for the recent ODIs is going to prove a mistake.

Their most important match too is against the Indians on 17th march. And had they gone there and taken some wickets, even the Indians would have been wary of them. They (the Indians) were in the midst of building their team, remember? A few questions posed by these two wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. But now the whole ball game is different. As in Pakistan’s case, a win that day is of utmost importance because the points are carried forward.

Talking about recent form, they have won seventy percent of their matches last year. From the 5-0 white wash to the Champions trophy, where they were unlucky not to progress, to the drawn series in New Zealand. The only misfit is the loss to India and that too right before the big tournament. That makes the mistake of not playing Vaas and Murali all the more obvious. But this is exactly the situation where the coach, Tom Moody steps in. He has to make them forget the loss and look ahead to the big one. The way he did when they were smacked by India 6-1 in 2005. He was a key to their reversal of fortunes. Can he do it again?

My verdict – Good guys finish last. Don’t think the old saying is going to change much.

2007-03-07T17:38:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: Pakistan – The Unpredictables.

If ever Ekta Kapoor wanted to make a television soap on the melodrama in the cricketing world, she doesn’t need to write a script. All she needs to do is follow the fortunes of the Pakistan cricket team for six months and she will get enough antics to keep that soap series running for weeks.

The problem however is that no one in Pakistan is complaining. It has always been like this, some will say, why bother? Yes but its time for the world cup. Better pull your socks up and try and win it. But don’t be surprised if they reply that since it is the world cup year, let’s have a bit more of the drama. And believe me, by making more news off the field than on it this past season, they have done just that.

Taking a look at the fifteen who are currently in the West Indies preparing for the tournament: Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mehmood, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Yasar Arafat, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, you will find two names missing, those of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. Two players on whom the bowling attack hinges. The very same duo, who have been embroiled in the doping controversy for the past six months.

Actually nobody knows what the whole mess is about. Did Shoaib really slap Woolmer in Jaipur? Did Asif really get into crowd trouble in a party in India and get into trouble, in which Akhtar was party too (pun unintended)? Or is it just ego issues again with inzamam? Is it really that they have failed the drug tests? One thing is for sure, that we will never know. Because this is cricket in Pakistan and probably they themselves don’t know. Unless that or how else do you explain that these two were first implicated in a doping scandal, then banned, then the bans overturned and played in South Africa and then again, didn’t bother to show up for the tests before their departure for the world cup. Or is it that they are really injured?

Whatever the reasons might be, we know that the Pakistan bowling is depleted. If we study the history of their cricket, it is quite clear that pace is their strength. The batting just revolves around it and spinners, except one or two quite good ones, were never that a big factor. That’s the way Pakistan plays its cricket. Now it has to change. It has to find the strike bowlers in the likes of Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Sami. Both don’t make the first team on existing form. Plus Umar Gul’s fitness is still under the scanner as is Sami’s.

In this melee, the bowler who might just land in the Carribean unnoticed is Danish kaneria. The leg spinner has been seldom part of the ODI plans of Woolmer and Inzamam, featuring in less than 20 ODIs so far. His selection is not a surprise anymore because Pakistan has so far failed to fill up Saqlain Mushtaq’s shoes in the shorter version of the game.

And this is the one place the all-rounders would have been valuable. Pakistan has always supported its fast bowlers by able players who bowl first or second change and bat aggressively down the order. Abdur razzaq however got injured at the worst possible moment, in the nets just before leaving. His replacement Azhar Mehmood though a good player when in mood, is clearly an old horse and should have been resting at home. The biggest blow however is Shahid Afridi not playing the first two matches because of suspension.

By the time Afridi returns, they would have already played the West Indies and since the points are carried forward to the next round, this is one reason why the Pakistanis’ world cup might end early. In this edition, carrying points forward in the next round is of utmost importance, when all the best teams will play each other (presumably). And that is exactly where the batsmen have to step up. Only Yousuf Youhana looks a safe bet considering his past year’s run, where as Inzamam remains his mercurial self. Younis Khan is still finding his feet in the ODIs. Plus like all sub continent teams, they are fiddling with their opening combination. Shoaib Malik could come in handy at the top of the order but what Imran Nazir is doing in the team, after a whole year in the wilderness, only god knows.

So much so that even Moin Khan offered to come out of retirement. At what position Moin? If one position in the team is safe, that is of Kamran Akmal, the keeper. And why do you want to de-stabilize that? Guess controversies and Pakistan cricket go hand in hand. If we check the run in to the tournament over the last season, we will see them losing to India at home and then the big debacle in England. The ODIs were lost somewhere in the aftermath. The Champions trophy was bogged down under the doping fiasco but somehow managed to save face against the West Indies at home. However, just when things started looking up, the thrashing in South Africa undid all that.

Clearly, this team has had very little or no preparation at all. Very unlike a Bob Woolmer team. But then Woolmer didn’t know what he was getting into when he took up the job. Inspite of all this, the Pakistanis are a threat. Exactly what anybody in the world will say this, whatever be their form or present state of affairs. They are a sleeping volcano which can erupt anytime. Bob Woolmer knows atleast that. The big question is: can he ignite them?

My Verdict: They won’t win the cup but I am not betting my life on that.

2007-03-04T21:24:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: England – The Outsiders.

If there were ever an English team capable of winning the World Cup of the sport they gave birth to, it was the team that won the Ashes in 2005. Sadly that team exists today only in bits and pieces and that too in shambles after a 5-0 thrashing down under. But that was the long version of the game, you must be wondering why I am talking about that. The point being that team stuck it up to the world’s best team not only in the tests but also the ODIs preceding that.

But does it really matter if they win this edition of the cup or not? As I recall many English dailies claimed in 2005 that they had not recovered a long coveted series but won the biggest prize world cricket had to offer. So I ask why bother about Windies 2007? Simply put, because they were put back in their places this Australian summer blanked all over the place in the tests. But again this is not about the longer version of the game. As they took some respite back home by winning the CB series, some English bookies had the audacity of making them 2nd favourites for the big tournament. What were they thinking?

Before we discuss their fortunes, past or future, any further, let’s take a look at the team they are sending to the Caribbean: Michael Vaughan (capt), Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Nixon (wk), Ravinder Bopara, Jamie Dalrymple, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood.

Quite a bit of change from the team who were a thorn in the Aussie backside, it’s really sad that somebody as good as Marcus Trescothick is not in the team. But then his breakdown will not be the last one we will see in the over-loaded world of cricket and so the selectors have been tied for long. But more than this it’s the injuries that cause the most concern. Michael Vaughan might not have scored an ODI ton yet, but if he is fit, he has to play because frankly speaking he is the best captain they had after probably Mike Gatting. Plus that also allows you to free up Freddie Flintoff’s mind and if free that mind can cause a lot of terror. So Vaughan’s fitness is the biggest issue for England. If he is fit, there’s no telling what this team can do, ala 2005.

But in his absence, they don’t have to stick with Flintoff as captain, do they? Andrew Strauss was being groomed too and after all wasn’t it under Freddie that they were blanked down under? Well here’s where the problem gets more complex, what do you do when Strauss loses form or confidence. He doesn’t have either right now and this meant trying out a plethora of opening combinations in the ODIs in Australia. And that is where the English selectors have failed yet again. Mal Loye who put both the Aussie and Kiwi attacks to the sword, would have been a good choice upfront but he is not even in the team. An unknown Ravi Bopara replaces him as he is in their words, more suited to the requirements. Oops I say.

As much as I am happy that another player of Indian origins makes it to the English team, I have to say untried players have atleast no place in the big tournament. If not more, he could have been the standby for Vaughan, a role Loye is playing. Plus the bowling in the West Indies has to be specialist to have any chance and not bits and pieces. Guess him being an “allrounder” and Loye just a pure batsman went against him. The bowling looks fine on paper, I mean good enough to be spanked all over, because that is what we will see most of the time. One addition could have been the mercurial Stephen Harmison, but his retirement from the short version is a deterrent. Sadly, a man of his talent wasn’t given more chances either by the selectors or by himself.

One player who could have made a difference would have been Vikram Solanki. No I don’t want to see an English team with as many Indian origin players possible. The point is that while the English team was hounded more or less everywhere they went this last season (home matches included), he was busy playing for Rajasthan in the Indian domestic league. And it doesn’t exactly take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the experience he gained there will help out in the Caribbean as the conditions will almost be similar.

Considering 2006-07, the high points for this team were of course winning the CB series and well, that’s about it. The lowest being when they were thrashed 5-0 at home by the rampaging Sri Lankans (read Sanath Jayasuriya). However all that can be changed at Saint Lucia where they will play all their group matches. The match against New Zealand on 16th March would go far to determine where they end up in this tournament. Win it, and they gain the momentum & more importantly, the confidence to reach the semis. Lose it and please book your early tickets to England.

My verdict: Book your early tickets home.

2007-03-03T15:44:00.000+05:30

Flying Lap!!! – By Chetan Narula.

A Heady Mix…

Never has the winter testing by F1 teams created so much interest and curiosity among the millions of fans world wide. Call it effectively the “last Schumacher effect” if you may. In leaving the sport too, the man has only made it more appealing. Bernie Eccelstone could not have asked for more.

The reason that Schumacher is no more on the starting grid means that a certain number of races will now be open for other drivers, which otherwise he would have won. But his leaving the sport has more far reaching consequences than that. The most important one, being the arrival of Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari and the debate of the number one driver being sparked again in the scuderia pits. But before we get into that, there is the whole matter of testing times to discuss. And that for a change has nothing to do with one Michael Schumacher.

The most important test of the season at the Sakhir circuit, Bahrain got over this weekend and it is now very clear that we have an impending face off for the championship between Ferrari and Mclaren-Mercedes. The Woking based outfit have evolved their season strategy around Fernando Alonso and at Barcelona before this test, they were awesomely quick. Even the young Lewis Hamilton blew away the competition at the Spanish track which included two burning Ferraris.

But then Mclaren’s persistent problem of consistency caught up with them as soon as they started testing their race specs. And when Ferrari did exactly that at the desert circuit, they appeared the team to beat for the rest of the year. This was expected as they are still on the Bridgestones where as all the other front runners have to cope up. So much so that this could be the difference between Kimi being the number 1 or 2 at Ferrari this season.

Yes that is exactly what the whole world must be thinking ever since Fellipe Massa broke the track record at the Bahrain tests this past week. The fact that he has been with Ferrari for ages given that he used to test for them previously while Kimi has practically driven all his life on the Michelins, it is no surprise that they have been at most been separated by a second. What else do you put this down to, in testing, when there is no race or fuel strategy and the drivers are more or less trying to achieve only good test mileage at the end of the day.

Massa has also spent a year with Schumacher, watching the way he worked with the mechanics and took part in the setting up of the car, how he was as much a part of the pit crew as all others. Kimi all through his career has been alien to this concept. Another point which could be the difference in performance ever since his arrival there. Make no mistake Massa might actually make this season his own.

So where does that leave Fernando Alonso? The current world champion is the third favourite to win the title? Well as preposterous as the thought might be, it is true. Many reasons are doing the rounds for this belief. Ferrari’s pace and Mclaren’s consistency are the foremost. Testing is one thing but it’s the race weekends when the engines have to last. The signs are good but with Mclaren-Mercedes you never know. And this is where the third point, probably the most important one, emerges from.

All these years at Mclaren, have given Kimi his most potent weapon. His unpredictability. Be it qualifying last and finishing first in 2005, or driving an incompetent Mclaren last year superbly, the Flying Finn never ceases to astonish. His move to Ferrari is the only one in his career which anybody could have predicted. So we can safely presume that while the constructor’s championship is a two way race, it will still largely depend on the race to the driver’s crown which will, without doubt face a three pronged charge as of now. Throw in an exciting young number 2 driver at Mclaren and you will find quite a twist in this tale.

Can’t presumably end this without talking about the rest of them. Renault are struggling for pace and a race winning driver, Toyota for consistency, Williams for good quality consistent engines, BMW again for consistency, Red Bull for lack of good designing (ironically, their design engineer is the highest paid in the business), while the back benchers, i.e. Super Aguri, Torro Rosso and Spyker from a lack of testing mileage.

And oh, did I mention Honda? Well they too are struggling to find form be it pace or consistency. But unlike the rest they are doing nothing about it. Just fooling around in a “green Google earth” livery. The Honda circus is complete.

2007-03-03T13:16:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: A Preview.

Cricket’s premier event, the ICC World Cup 2007, is just eleven days away and the excitement in the sub continent air is enough to give you goose bumps, even though the action is on the opposite end of the world. The West Indies are hosting this quadrennial event this time as the most coveted trophy in world cricket moves to the American continent for the first time ever. Not surprisingly the calypso beat is already in rhythm.

So is it going to be better than the last edition hosted in South Africa in 2003? Well that’s a high standard to beat, especially as the previous two editions in England in 1999 and in the Indian sub-continent in 1996, were termed as failures in terms of managing the event given its gargantuan proportions, the latter termed a near disaster. Serious questions have always been raised every time before any major event, more so with cricket because as the ICC s global drive moves into high gear, they are breaking new ground literally. Plus comments from somebody as esteemed as Michael Holding, begs you to ponder over this question time and again.

But as much as I would like to talk about the stadiums and grounds being developed and the nature of the pitches, et all, this is not about it. Because there is a change in the wind this time around. The question which goes unanswered every time around for the past four world cup editions at least, or rather the question nobody bothers to spend time over can no longer be denied it’s due. Who is going to win this year’s cricket world cup? No the answer is not Australia. Surprised? I guess so. But that is exactly why every other point becomes irrelevant.

This article will not discuss why the Aussies won’t win a third consecutive champions’ crown. The essence of this article series is to discuss the teams participating in the event and their chances. Where they have gone wrong in their selections and what are their strong points. And no, I am not going to begin with the favourites. It is going to be a countdown to the dissection of the teams, as to who amongst them in my opinion is going to lift this year’s trophy.

Since the purpose of this article series is clear, I will be utilizing the remaining few lines discussing the fortunes of the minnows who are just there to add up the numbers, Scotland, the Netherlands, Bermuda, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ireland and Canada. Frankly speaking, counting two test playing nations among them seriously puts the name “World Cup” in a quandary. The point being that how many of these teams will be progressing as the top two teams from their respective groups, pitted against the might of the remaining test playing nations. None would be a consensus everywhere you would go.

This then seriously questions the grouping system being used in this edition of cricket’s premier tournament. Is it merely to increase the number of matches and generate even more revenue? From this far off, yes it appears only that. How else do you justify including four teams who don’t even play cricket on a regular basis to be playing in the world cup? This in itself labels the globalization efforts of the ICC as a sham. Vicious circle of questions, isn’t it?

Eleven days, and we will start getting the answers.

2006-12-30T21:18:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Done And Dusted…….

Australia have won back the coveted Ashes series with a whopping 206 runs win over England in the third test at Perth. The fact that they achieved it when for the first time England looked like posing a threat to them, just underlines their dominance not only their traditional rivals but also their dominance in world cricket.

Finally, the team selection was spot on for England as they included Monty Panesar in place of the ineffective Ashley Giles. And it actually proved to be a master stroke as the kangaroos were bowled out for 244. Monty achieved something which even the world’s best spinner (arguably), Shane Warne, hasn’t achieved at Perth. Yes shane warne has never taken a five wicket haul at Perth. And the “English Turbanator” was ably supported by Stephen Harmison who finds form as unpredictably as he loses it.

But since the English have only done one right thing per test in this series, the script could not be changed. From here on things only got worse. First they were bowled out for 214 and must have realized then, that to put the Aussies under pressure, they have to be consistent in all aspects of the game. Because they are strong in every department. As Mcgrath and co. collectively ran through the English line up, the initiative was again wrested back from them and with more than three days to go, this could be anybody’s game.

What happened after that has already gone down in the history books. England were simply put, blown away. And the blowing wasn’t done until a certain Adam Gilchrist arrived at the crease. Much before that however, the Aussie batsmen were fortifying the advantage provided by the bowlers. Hayden found his lost touch while Ponting continued his fine form, both scoring fine half centuries. Hussey and Clarke continued as if they were still in Adelaide, striking well deserved tons.

After tea on the third day, Australia were 365/5. Strong position you would say, but needed that last flourish. Enter Gilchrist. And the rest as mentioned is history. The English attack was taken to the cleaners as Gilly smashed a 57 ball century, missing the fastest test ton milestone of Sir Vivian Richards by two balls.

Lightning as they say can strike twice at the same place sometimes. Remember the century in a session against Zimbabwe at the same ground when hayden scored 380? Only two people in the cricketing world are possible of such a feat. One is retired, the smiling assassin, Vivian Richards and the other is Adam Gilchrist. He must be a very satisfied man now, having left his mark on this series.

Is it absolutely necessary to mention the English response? Guess so. For the record, Alistair cook scored a defiant century, with Ian Bell supporting him. In the end there was a slight flourish from Flintoff, something that is quite rare nowadays. Except that, the rest were bundled out quite easily to close their innings at 350.

The urn is back where it belongs. The English can only hope its not another two decades before they can lay their hands on it again.

2006-12-30T21:13:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Surprise!!! Surprise!!!

Much to the chagrin of the South African captain Graeme Smith (and of the South African cricket fans alike), India won the first test at Johannesbourg by a big margin of 123 runs. Yes the same Indian team which was traumatized 4-0 in the ODIs.

Same team, yes, save a few minor changes. Like the return of the old guard under Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to the batting order giving it that look of invincibility again. Atleast on paper. Another change was in the form of self belief which was lacking in the one day series. A young fast bowler from Kerala broke the shackles of that mauling and taught the South Africans a less or two in their own teachings.

It all began with India winning the toss for the first time on this tour. Bright omens you would say. Brave decision I say. For again the openers were back in no time. Sehwag especially needs to find a new excuse now. Then Tendulkar and Dravid strung up a partnership for the third wicket which I would say was going to prove very crucial for India’s fortunes in the match. Sachin for once was batting again like the prodigy we knew him to be. Getting behind the ball and playing some delightful strokes off both the front and the back foot

But the real grit and determination was displayed by none other than our own “Dada”. It is not the runs he scored but the manner in which he scored them is what would identify this as Sourav Ganguly’s third coming. India ended at 249, a somewhat respectful score after the ODIs debacle. The stage was then set for a stylish south Indian bowler.

No other words can describe what transpired. South Africa were skittled out for 84 as Sresaanth mesmerized them with swing and pace on a lively wicket. How could the Indians score so much when the home side faltered. Simple answer is sticking to the basics of line and length. Sreesanth did more. He pitched the ball up rather than bowling short most of the time which Pollock and co. were guilty of.

The second Indian essay was again effective thanks mainly to the efforts of Laxman who showed how to bat on the two paced Wanderers wicket. He was ably supported by Zaheer who struck some lusty blows near the end. Zaheer has really enjoyed his time on this tour. India set South Africa 402 to chase down. In doing so they set up the first Indian test win on the Proteas soil.

And when finally they did get it, there was more joy than relief. For they had been playing quite well up to this tour, it was just the results which were not coming. This win will go a long way in resurrecting the belief which was completely lost by this team.

The match however, belonged to only one individual in spite of the team effort visible. S. Sreeanth has now indeed come a long way although he has not played even 10 tests. Bowling well in the Caribbean and then being dropped for the Champions trophy was a bitter blow. But the way he has shaped up on recall can only give heart to the likes of Zaheer and Ganguly, both playing superbly well on their respective comebacks. But it was Sreesanth’s match and nobody can take it from him. That audacious six of Andre Nel and the ensuing (by now) famous jig have further ensured that.

Rest assured the Proteas will come back very hard at the Indians in Durban and Cape Town. There is no other option. Otherwise Graeme Smith and co. will find no place to hide. Atleast not in South Africa.

2006-12-28T21:03:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Hara-kiri Redefined…….

I could never understand how Australia scored 500 plus runs in the first innings of the test at Adelaide against India in the 2001 series and lost the match. That is something that doesn’t happen too often in cricket. But lightning can sometimes strike twice at the same place. Only this time the Aussies were not at the receiving end.

The theory of matting the opposition and them squishing them on the same mat applies to all teams. The English however did little in this match that one would call prudence or even gave a hint that they wanted to win the match, forget about saving the prized urn. And that is why if England lose this series, which they eventually will, I wont be surprised to see the heads of Duncan Fletcher and Andrew Flintoff (as captain) roll. For they have failed both in the team selection or the motivation.

Ponting’s decision to not enforce the follow on in the first test seemed to have rubbed off on them as Collingwood and Pieterson first piled on the runs on the first day and then, misery on the kangaroos the second day. However as mentioned earlier that was about all they did right. For what on earth are u thinking if you declare at a score of 551/6 with three days still left?

Cricketing logic right? Bat yourself into a safe position and then give your bowlers a decent chance. But then I ask you, what is a safe score against this Aussie side, boasting of Hayden, Langer, Ponting and the fearsome Gilchrist and that too against a half decent bowling attack. Well 551 is not and that is exactly what they proved. They chased down the English total but finished up at 513 themselves, with quite an innings from Michael Clarke.

India beat Australia here in 2001 because they shot them out in the second innings for a paltry score. And that is exactly what they themselves did. I can’t remember when Warne and co. failed twice in a match. And so the Poms were bowled out for a miserable 129, a total lead of 165 runs. The Australians were required to chase them down in ODI fashion in a minimum of 36 overs. Again what is impossible for these Aussies, you might ask. Exactly, as Hussey played a blinder worth 61 and guided them home. And that’s 2-0 up in the series.

What went wrong after scoring 551? Simply put questionable team selection. Why oh, why is Monty Panesar not in the team? If they won’t play two spinners here, then what are they waiting for, Perth? Only Adelaide and Sydney give you the comfort of playing two spinners in Australia. This was their chance as Monty has been touted as the weapon in the English arsenal this season. And he has lived up to that billing so far. Plus the reason given that Giles could add those extra runs was cancelled out by the foolish declaration. And that’s why a visit to employment exchange has been predicted for the coach and the captain. Flintoff by the way is a shadow of the “Botham Re-incarnation” we saw last year and needs to fire badly for the English to have a semblance of a chance in the next three matches.

The urn is almost back in Aussie hands. They have tasted blood, there is no stopping them now.

2006-12-03T10:45:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Ponting’s Blunder.....

The first ashes test at the Gabba, Brisbane finished after it followed a script that I would say almost every cricket follower expected. It has set the tone for the rest of the series which in all probability will end up in an Australian win. But then strange things have happened in cricket and England’s ashes win last year was one of them.

If you for one second think that I am implying that England do have a chance in this series, then your thinking as of that particular one second is right. Why, why you may cry out, have I gone mad? Of course cricketing logic says that England are going home empty handed, after a seemingly possible 5-0 rout. But then I argue, that cricketing logic says that when you have the opposition on the mat you go after them. You squish them on the same mat and then bury them under it. Ricky Ponting did every thing except that.

Many Australian ex-cricketers have called Ponting a very friendly captain, somebody who has not been able to keep up the “Aussie captains’ legacy”. The list includes Steve Waugh and Allan border, themselves ex-captains and of course the ones opponent teams “feared” the most. Fear here doesn’t mean that you shiver and wet your pants, but here in cricketing terms it implies that these were the ferocious Australian captains who would use their near invincible teams to just maul the opposition. Session after session, the Australians would go after the opponent teams and yes, when they would have them on the mat, they would squish them and bury them under it.

Let us take a look at what exactly went wrong for Australia in a test match they won by more than 200 runs. First day of the test and Ponting’s bat did the talking again. Unless the bat of one Sachin Tendulkar starts talking soon too, we are looking at the player who may end up scoring the highest number of test centuries. Second day and the position is further fortified by Ponting and Hussey ,and later by Mcgrath’s fiery spell which had England reeling at 53/3 in reply to a huge total of 600 runs.

Day three and Mcgrath continues to terrorize the Poms and ends up with six wickets. England are shot out for a meager 157 and the Aussies are on top. But what happens after that is what you call a shoddy strategy. A decision that might have greater after effects than ever felt from any other such decision. Ponting elects to bat again and pile on the runs. Motive is to pressurize the English under a mountain of runs and give them two days to bat out. Near impossible you would say. Almost happened I say.

The reason why I say that England can save this series is because of that decision. Not following on gave them the time to regroup their batting and approach the second innings total with relaxation. It gave them time to spend at the crease and that has now gotten both Collingwood and Pieterson into form, who ground out fine 90 plus scores. Other batsmen got that important time in the middle but most importantly they were able to battle on and take the match into the last day. If you have not forgotten, this battling approach is what stung the Aussies last time around.

Why I join the those who call Ponting soft? Simply put was he afraid that England might do what India did in Calcutta. That match is fresh beyond belief in the Aussie memory. Or was he simply resting the bowlers. Whatever the reason may be, it is something previous captains might not have done. Questions have been raised of that decision and if the English batsmen now stick it up to the Australian bowlers from now on, one knows where to put the blame.

Ponting unknowingly may have woken a dormant volcano, one whose lava has already burnt him once last year.

2006-11-29T20:25:00.000+05:30

Goal Post!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Its all about winning now……

Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson and his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho had a 200 pounds bottle of wine after the 1-1 draw at old Trafford this Sunday. Irony is that only one of them will be opening champagne bottles at the end of the season.

Why will it again be Chelsea? Because simply put Man U blew their best chance of the season to gain a 6 point advantage over the defending champions. You are 1-0 up on your turf and letting that slip away was the big mistake. But was it really a mistake or it just had to happen. After all its only Chelsea that can go down by a goal and come back in the second half and swamp the midfield. So much so that the Blues’ possession in the second half was a staggering 70 percent which contributed to an overall 61% match possession. Yes only Chelsea is capable of such a thing in world football at the moment.

Why it won’t be Manchester United? Simply because they have to play away at Arsenal, Liverpool, and of course Chelsea. Arsenal might be a dicey game to predict, because that is what the Gunners have become ever since they left Highbury. Unpredictable on even their home turf. Liverpool is another sad story at the moment. True they can’t seem to win away from Anfield but against United and at home would be a different story altogether. Plus their home form has been not that bad. Last but the most important is the trip to Chelsea. The mere fact that they haven’t lost at Stamford Bridge in the premier league under Mourinho is scary enough if you are a Reds’ fan but add to it the pressure of season ending games and one will understand why Sir Alex’s young team is going to struggle.

So what many may say? That’s just three matches, nine points. But one can be forgiven to think so. These are nine big points. Who can today bet that Man U will get nine out of nine, or six out of nine or even three out of these nine at stake. And that’s what puts the title race in to perspective this year. The Christmas period is right on the doorstep and this is un-chartered territory for this Chelsea side which has never trailed before. Sort of a challenge for Jose one would say and believe me they will go all out.

Chelsea has had their share of bad luck this season. One of their key strikers is not firing, there is even talk of sending Shevchenko back to Italy. Ballack hasn’t settled down either and only God knows when Cech is going to return to the Chelsea defense. Plus they have already lost two games this season and I am pretty sure this number will not rise again.

Manchester United has just lost the one game against Arsenal at home and frankly speaking this is what worries me. Imagine a Tottenham or Bolton side going ahead against them and then just laying down their lives to defend it. These sort of games happen in the league almost every year and there is no telling when it might not be your day. Plus their defense is as solid as only Van de Saar, with no knowing when Ferdinand and others might just fowl up. And they have been known to foul up, especially Ferdinand.

Of course the scenario could happen to Chelsea too but I think it has already happened to them twice this season. The chances of lightning striking a third time at the same place are quite rare as compared to say, striking down United for the first time. Plus how many times do Terry, Carvalho and co. leak goals as compared to the United defense and you will get your answer. Compare the attacking options, and Chelsea is ahead still. Ferguson may go gaga over Saha and co. but deep inside he knows his only reliable bet is Rooney. With Chelsea goals have come from Geremi, Terry and Carvalho. Add Drogba who simply can’t stop scoring plus Joe Cole, Robben and Lampard with a touch more form. Scary isn’t it and I haven’t even mentioned, what if Shevchenko finds his touch.

All is not lost though. The best part is that they still lead Chelsea by three points and with the transfer window opening up soon, Manchester united can reinforce their squad by adding Fernando Torres and Owen Hargreaves, although these might just end up as rumours.

But one thing is for sure. By drawing that game, Jose has played his move and is setting up Ferguson for a check mate. The onus, nay pressure, to respond and prevent it, is on Manchester United.

2006-11-29T17:10:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Get your battle fatigues on.…..

Before you read this article I must warn you that you should not expect any comments regarding the 91 run rout at Durban or the mauling in Cape Town. No I haven t got any words for those two matches in my dictionary. It’s the next two I am bothered about.

India is in their favourite position once again. And yes I expect some great things from them in the next two ODIs. You must be thinking that I am talking through my hat. But no. You see the Indian cricket team is cornered again and this is the exact frame of mind they work best in. It has happened before when they were routed on the tour to New Zealand and came out with flying colors in the world cup. So it is actually good Chappell sir that the politicians are talking as they somehow manage to inspire your boys to deliver their best, which you have somehow failed to do in the current series.

Talking about the resources available to the team at the moment and Zimbabwe looks a much better squad in comparison. Dravid’s injury could not have come at a worse moment and it is up to Sehwag and Sachin now to resurrect the sagging Indian fortunes. But the big question is how long can you rely on Sehwag, if at all. Somebody who has been hiding his poor form under the cover of his “natural game” now finds the reins of the team in his hands. An out of form captain and a team reeling under tremendous pressure reminds us of a year back when Ganguly was forced to relinquish his throne. So again I ask, should Sehwag be the one leading the team at the moment?

Returning to the resources part, VVS Laxman has been sent to reinforce the team in the absence of Dravid and again one can question that logic. Somebody deemed unfit for ODIs is again picked to act as a saviour, and again you could question Greg’s team selection policy during the past year. My sympathies go out to the poor Hyderabadi batsman. In no certain terms am I saying that he should be in the ODI squad (he cant field anywhere except the slips, for god’s sake), my point being that if he is drafted in to the squad and if we lose again which we will, its his head which will roll and that is very unfair to him as a player. But who says Indian cricket is fair? Ask Sourav or even Kumble.

Mention Kumble and we come to bowling department, which surprisingly has done much better than the famed batting line up. Sure the fast bowlers have only fired in spells but they have been good spells. Zaheer is back to his best and Kumble is giving him good support in the middle overs. What they need is for some one else to stand up and be counted. Pathan for example, it has been a long time since he bowled a good spell or two. Harbhajan has looked below par so far but the pitch at Port Elizabeth is drier than even the Cape Town strip so you may never know. Grapevine is that Sreesanth may get a look in which might not be a bad move given that Munaf is injured and Agarkar is back to his getting spanked ways.

Much is not expected from Mongia and Raina even if they play, but Jaffer might get a look in again if the team decides to drop Tendulkar to number 4. This is one move which might just lend the batting the teeth it has been missing so far. All in all here’s hoping for a face saving win. Is that too much to ask? Ok, I will rephrase, guys give us a respectable defeat.

2006-11-22T18:13:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Prelude to the Ashes……

I have been watching cricket since 1991, and the only major achievement of the English cricket team all this while has been, well the Ashes series they won last year. So much so that many English dailies called it the biggest prize in world cricket, ironically overlooking the World Cup, a tournament they started and have never won. You might argue that they had an amazing run of “achievements” when they beat both Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their own dens, but almost the whole of Britain would agree that they were mere blotches.

So now let us get realistic as to how much chance do they have of taking back the prized urn. None if you are an Australian but luckily for the English, not every one in world cricket is. The romantic cricket fan would really love to see them give it back to the Aussies like they did last year, but then a realistic fan would grimace at the difference b/w the English side this time and the Ashes winner last year.

Much has changed since then. The Ashes winning side of last year had just come back from a successful tour of the Caribbean. The players were all fit, in-form and geared up for the battles ahead. Plus they had already stuck it up to the Aussies in the pre-test ODI series. This time though, it is different. Half the side has changed, due to injuries (Michael Vaughan, Simon Jones), poor form or breaking down due to excessive cricket (Trescothick). The three names I have mentioned here will be the most missed by the English fans as the tour goes on. Their absence means that Strauss, Pieterson, Flintoff and Harmison will have to be the beasts of burden and that puts additional pressure on Flintoff as captain.

But the major disadvantage this time will be the run in they have had before the tour down under. They were bruised and battered not only in India, but also humiliated at home against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Only their test performances at home would give them a splinter of hope. But the early form in the practice matches in Australia suggests that they are ready to be blown away both by the bat and the ball.

Much has changed in the Australian camp too, since then. Albeit only minor changes, but significant changes. The Aussies last year were all conquering and needed a jolt of some sort as many would argue that a bit of complacency was creeping in. Plus they had lost Mcgrath and the batsmen’s form mid-series and nobody stood up to support Warne’s efforts. This time though, it is different. All their players are in form thanks to good outings in both Kuala Lampur and the Champions trophy in India. The team is again a heady mix of youth and experience and the old guns, Mcgrath, Gilchrist and Warne are charged up because this might be their last chance at redemption. Add to that the revenge of Ponting’s bat, the zing of Symmonds, Clarke and Martyn, or the nip of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, and I bet if anybody would want to be a part of the touring English party.

The English team has arrived for the Ashes at a really horrible time given their resources, mental strength or form, or should I say the lack of them. The point is if they do consider the Ashes a greater prize than the World Cup itself, it would be really hard for them to give it up.

2006-11-21T21:47:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Hope the omens are wrong…..

You don’t need to be an alchemist to understand the omens if you are an Indian cricket fan. You can just take a look at the state of affairs and contemplate what the result might be at the end of a particular tour. Something of this sort happened to me this Sunday when rain washed away the first ODI of the series b/w India and South Africa.

It reminds me of the team of the mid-90s, first under Azharuddin and then under Sachin. Capitulation without a fight or at the first sight of a green wicket was a major identity of the then Indian team. But all that had changed albeit for a short time. Sourav Ganguly and John Wright had forged a mentally strong unit which had put even the Aussies to shame in their own den. However much has gone wrong since then.

A certain Greg Chappell has come along and Dravid has been made captain. The point here is not what they achieved last year in the form of some really sweet victories. It is what the team has become of late that must be bothering the average Indian fan, especially with the World Cup almost in sight. Reeling under the “experimentation” and “process more important than result” theories, the famed and once feared Indian batting line up has again become prey to the terror of uncertainty and green tops.

But that was revealed only when the team reached South Africa and lost to not the South African A team, but a young fast bowler who didn’t believe the new notion that Indians do not fear green tops. And now the whole world knows again.

The seeds of a “forthcoming disastrous” tour were sown much before the team even left the Indian shores. No official team kit was made available and that is an apathy given the multi million dollar contracts we have with Nike and Pantaloons. Furthermore, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar were reprimanded for missing the team meetings & official photograph before the team departure. And then as we saw the famed batting line up fail, only Rahul Dravid stood up with a gritty half century. Bad omens did I hear some one say?

One would argue that not even one match has been played as yet on this tour and I am labeling it a failure. You see I have history as reference and that is the long sad history of disastrous Indian foreign tours, and three of them to South Africa. So its no wonder the way Indians smiled when rains arrived at Johannesburg, gives me a feeling of déjà vu.

All is not lost though. This is but a mere figment of imagination that India will again return empty handed from their sojourn. This is a mere peep into the future. It is still very much in the hands of the team to return as champions from this tour. The bowling will have additional zip with the return of Kumble and Zaheer. The batting given more time in the middle will find its lost nip, I am sure. The only point is their time starts now. The think tank has to make the right decisions in the absence of Yuvraj, regarding the batting order and of course, the batting position of Irfan Pathan. You can’t be serious about your World Cup prospects if he still comes out at no.3 even in South Africa. Much is in the hands of Sachin, Sehwag and Dravid with the middle order in the hands of Dhoni and Kaif.

Yes the tour is actually yet to start. But since it might not rain every time, this could soon become a very hard and long tour for our beloved cricket team.

2006-11-21T20:20:00.000+05:30

Goal Post!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Chelsea-Man U on collision course…..

The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson is celebrating his twentieth year at the helm of Manchester United’s affairs can only re-affirm his resolution to bring down Chelsea this season. And for that he is certainly on the right path. Come November 26th, when Chelsea visit Old Trafford, the premier league will come to a standstill as the two top teams will go at it hammer and tongs, to take pole position in the premiership, going into the busy and tougher Christmas season.

Chelsea has steam rolled the competition in the last two years of their domination of the English league. However, some sports enthusiasts might say that the red devils did run Jose’s team till the end last season, but I would say Sir Alex was living a dream. Chasing a Chelsea side, which loses as much as it snows in the gulf, the red devils conceded defeat by a good nine points.

However much has changed since the first two years. The element of surprise which Jose Mourinho brought to the league in the first year and the resolve which saw them winning consecutive titles, both of them are a thing of the past. The fact that Chelsea in spite of Abramovich’s millions has not been able to win the champions league, has stung Mourinho a lot and the way he has built his team this season, his prime motive seems to be capturing the champions league crown.

And Manchester United are not complaining. Sir Alex’s only wants reclaim what many would say is rightfully his, the premiership crown. However there is pressure to better their previous year’s Champions league efforts too. That is altogether a different point that no one is betting on them to win it. So all Manchester united need to do is concentrate on their premiership run and the Champions league will take care of itself. This might sound as paradoxical to many, but that’s the way it is. Ferguson cannot afford another season without a big win, certainly not without a premier league win.

And for this they needed the right start to their season. For many past years we have seen Man Utd come from behind to claim the title, after getting their act together in the Christmas period. Since they are habitual of doing so in the winter period, they needed to raise their pre-Christmas game. And that’s exactly what they have done.

Without Nistelrooy it was always going to be difficult. But a re-molded midfield with Carrick as the central man and Solskajaer supporting Saha, the jigsaw seems to be finally fitting. Add to that the recent run in form of Rooney and we know why Man Utd is the team to beat. This stupendous team work has seen them gain not only their best start to a season under Sir Alex, but also a crucial 3 point lead going into this Sunday’s clash.

No doubt a lot is at stake for Chelsea. They have already lost two matches this season and a third loss so soon would only severely dent their chances of regaining a third consecutive title. The road ahead for both the teams is only going to be tougher as we enter the crucial Christmas period and without any disdain, I can say that Man Utd with a lead going into December is as good as handing them the premier league trophy on a platter.

This Chelsea side is under pressure, like it has never been before.

2006-11-10T22:33:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

So, who actually won (from) the Champions Trophy?

The Champions trophy or the mini World Cup (who ever coined this term was right, given its existing format) is finally over. And the beneficiaries are not many. Actually it’s the number of casualties that bothers me. And cricket, my dear game, was the biggest loser.

For sheer destruction of a game that it looks after, the ICC wins the Oscar hands down from among the rest of the in-charge organizations. If ever the Champions trophy was to be the second jewel among cricket events after the world cup, that logic has gone straight out of the window. For one the scheduling of the tournament was horrific, given that the home team played its first two matches at a gap of eleven days and Sri Lanka played all its matches before even the last two games of its group were up.

And that brings us to the groups. The first two editions of the Champions trophy were actually examples of what the ICC should do,i.e follow a successful knockout format. But the fact that they keep changing it, again re-iterates my point that they should be officially recognized as the worst organization ever.

This actually brings us to the other organization involved, the BCCI. They exactly didn’t perform miracles, but seldom can you do anything about anything when the big bosses are twisting your arm. We are talking about the ticket prices, over which we had the Speed v/s Modi wars. When you yourself drive away the spectators from the ground by pricing the tickets sky high, how can we take the game forward among the masses? Plus this being an ICC tournament, the BCCI will also get only a piece of the huge TV rights owned by the world body.

The one place where the BCCI could have avoided any malice was the pitches. For long the Indian pitches have been talked about, being too spinner friendly, favoring only one side. They could have done well to make good competitive tracks, helpful to all, batsmen, spinners, fast bowlers, et all. But no, it takes two to tango.

The complete sufferer in this melee, were the spectators. You could not go to watch inconsequential matches at the grounds for that would burn a hole in your pocket, and thus the attendance was low. So much so that only the home team matches had full houses. Even the final could not muster a crowd worthy of the second biggest tournament in cricket. Add to that, the dubious nature of the wickets. True the grounds men did not have enough time to prepare the wickets fully. But doesn’t that challenge the schedule and the timing of the tournament again?

After every major tournament, we have the teams in transition. Players who have failed are discarded and new ones tried out. The ones who were successful are given fresh challenges. In these terms too, the tournament failed to excite anybody. Only odd individual performances by Chris Gayle, Farveez Maharoof and Jerome Taylor ignited your imagination. So much so that even the Aussies lacked their natural swagger.

The hosts could have triggered at least the home crowds to frenzy but their early exit dealt away any of those theories. England suffered another ODI debacle and their Ashes challenge is now under question. Sri Lanka lost out due to some poor scheduling even though they played the second highest number of matches after the West Indies, who by the way are now a team revived, proving that their wins back home and in Kuala Lampur were no flukes. South Africa and New Zealand made it to the semi finals but would they term this as a success? I doubt. The biggest losers were the Pakistanis. Their cricket is currently in stormy seas and thus the banning of their premier fast bowlers comes as only yet another chapter to this sorry saga. To them, though, it means that their world cup hopes are severely dented. Lastly it is not even worth mentioning Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Before I end, lets talk abut the Aussies. The kangaroos have finally got the monkey of Champions trophy off their back and look fully prepared for an all out Ashes assault. So all in all, there was actually only one winner in this edition of the mini world cup. Australia. Not surprising, as they usually win everything cricket has to offer.

2006-11-09T22:56:00.000+05:30

Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Mr. Chappell, stop experimenting…….

The time to honour the Indians as world cup contenders is over, and with the tournament just four months away, a big reality check is needed. The match against Australia clearly proved that the think tank is clearly short of ideas and is finding solace only in experimentation. Yes, experimentation lost us the match and the chance to reclaim the Champions trophy.

Clearly the decision to send Mongia to bat at number 3 was a blunder. When Tendulkar departed, the Indians were scoring at 5 an over and against teams like Australia you need to maintain that to post a good total. The momentum was all theirs to lose. And lose they did. Why send in a batsman, who you can’t say is in great form, who would surely feel the big match pressure, especially when you have arguably the world’s best bat at no.3, Dravid and also another run grafter in Kaif in the side, both capable of scoring at a run a ball. Mongia groped away for runs and the kangaroos were able to get their bowling back into rhythm and strangle the Indians beyond recovery.

True you had to play Mongia when Yuvraj was out and playing him also meant that we played a spin bowling batsman, in place of Romesh Powar. I am not getting into the selection issues, because I sincerely think that they got this one right, but, and that’s a big but, time has passed rather too quickly for Greg sir.

It has been more than a year that Chappell took over the reins of the side against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka last year, and since then the experimentation hasn’t stopped. True, two years before the world cup, you should begin to identify players who are going to try and win the cup for you, and test them at various positions. It seems more and more to me that the Indian think tank is applying Liverpool’s manager Rafael Benitez’s approach of changing and chopping the side every game. For your information, Rafael hasn’t started with the same team in 99 consecutive matches.

Voices were already raised when the team didn’t win in the Windies this year, that the players were quite insecure that no fixed position has been given to them. And believe me its true. Just by saying the role of each player is clearly defined and communicated by the evening before the match is just not enough. It may be so for the Australians but Greg has to realize that he is coaching India.

Comparisons are imminent, so let me make one too. Its not that John Wright and Sourav Ganguly didn’t gamble at all, but they did stop it right before the world cup and the players were quite settled into their roles during the tournament. Dravid and guru Greg have just carried things too far.

Sure the team is plagued by other worries as well, bowling, fielding et all. But concentrating on our so called strength would make it possible to set up totals & defend them, plus give the confidence to chase the targets. I am sure the selectors have identified the core which will be going to the world cup, its time their roles were made more clear and please oh please stop this experimentation.

With 15 ODIs against South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies in the run up to the world cup, there is still cause for hope. After all, with regards to cricket, isn’t that what we do?