Back after long gap

My last post on this blog was in May 09, Now its Oct 09. Was out of action for really long time....and was in a pursuit of a different goal. And since that has been postponed, am back to the pitch.

Yesterday's win over Auz was emphatic. It was great watching Dhoni hit aussies all over the fence. Super innings Dhoni.....a captain's knock and that to a new record of highest score by a captain against the kangarooooos......

Karbo,larbo.......jaabo

This is what going to happen with Kolkata Knight Riders. The King Khan's team is placed at the bottom of the points table. The other backbencher teams (both Royals) have improved their performance and moved ahead. The big guns Gayle and Mc Cullum have not come up as expected. Dada is not at his best. He played a good knock against Rajasthan Royals but unluckily got out just when the team needed him. We all know what happened after that. (Yusuf Pathan and the Super Over).

The problem lies at team management. Give the captaincy back to Ganguly and see how the team leaps back. Ganguly is good at managing the team as a unit. Just look at his record as a captain. He is cutout fot that position. Buchanan and previously Chapell have always found fault with dada. They are the actual cause for his and teams' decline.

IPL version 2.0 released

The much awaited IPL season 2 has taken off with a bang. A few good knocks and shocks have already been witnessed. The Rajasthan Royals have straight away created a record for themselves. The record which no team ever wishes to break. The record for the lowest ever total in IPL T20. The absence of Tanvir, Watson is hurting them.

Many of the players remind me of Button. No, not the F1 speedster Jenson Button, its Benjamin Button of Curious Case....Senior players like Shane Warne, Kumble, Hayden....are awesome to watch, who says they have retired, Look at the passion in them, they are playing superbly. Many more are lined up to explode, cant wait to see Gilly, McGrath, and ofcourse our own dada, to follow their footsteps.

Blame it on....

After winning 4th ODI comfortably, India lost the 5th ODI comfortably. While 4th ODI will be remembered as Sehwag's masterpiece, 5th ODI can be remembered as Rohit Sharma's disaster at crease.

Sharma who is struggling in form, was responsible for Sehwag's wicket. This was echoed by kiwi commentators. He made Sehwag wait at non-striker's end while he practiced his shots. had he taken a few singles, rotated strike, Sehwag (who seemed desperate and itching to bat) might have gone to play another good innings. I guess this's the opinion of many. Also, he was involved in two run outs. He took a lot of time to score 43, Seems he has started practicing for the upcoming test matches from the last ODI itself. I guess whether he is in test sqad or not.

i said its coming

In my last post, I predicted that a score around 400 is coming and it came .... with a bang. We are now 2 up against kiwis and tomorrows match will be fun. The third ODI was a high scoring match. 392 was a huge score. Thanks to master blaster, he was at his peak, he was marvelous. His absence from 4th ODI might give an advantage to Kiwis

India vs New Zealand vs Rain

Sheh.....Rain has washed off second ODI. India was placed in a excellent position and had a good chance to take 2-0 lead. Tendulkar, who looked dull initially (played a supporting actor's role when Sehwag was the main hero) was back in action with a score of 61(69). Its really a good sign for Team India. At one time, the projected score was 400 (at 10 per over). With all the players in good form, it seems a big score is just a match away.

Wise decision

Indian Govt decision not to send our team as a repercussion of 26/11 Mumbai, proved to be lucky for our players. If the attack were on Indian team's convoy, the situation would have been worse. There would have been huge uproar among all Indians for action. With general elections just months away, Indian Govt would have reacted strongly.

Already there are talks of postponing/rescheduling the IPL due to security reasons. Given the resurgence of extremists in our neighbouring country, and elections round the corner, its going to be tough time for a decision on IPL.

Dhoni surprised all

India won the first ODI through Duckworth Lewis Method. Contrary to the T20 matches, the team's batting looked confident. Dhoni promoted himself to one down, surprising everyone, played his natural game. But still this was far from how he used to play during his initial days. Though he didnt hit any sixers, he kept the scoreboard ticking with his singles and doubles. In the T20 matches, he was trying his best to hit the ball (hard, as usual), but couldnt time them, thus many of the strokes turned out to be ground shots. With four more matches lined up let us wait to see "Dhoni ki Dhulai"

Are they insane ???

Oh GOD whats happening....This is really shocking. The Sri Lankan team's convoy which is touring Pakistan was attacked by terrorists. The reports indicate some players ( Sangakara, Samaraveera, Mendis, Jayawardene, Vaas, Tharanga ) were injured and admitted in hospitals. By the grace of God all are OK and discharged. However, some Policemen who were on duty protecting the convoy lost their lives. May their souls rest in peace.

The tour has been cancelled and players called back at the earliest. Its really horrible, what do the terrorists want to prove?? Terrorism has reached a new high. Its first time that cricket players have been targetted. The attack was quite similar to 26/11 Mumbai.

Meanwhile, India scored 273-4 out of 38 overs, yes the match was restricted to 38 overs due to bad weather conditions. Sehwag started well (77), gave a good platform, Raina played superbly (66), hitting big sixes. Dhoni played a captain's knock (84) helping India reach that score. Tendulkar had a start but couldnt build his innings. Hoping to see him do magic in the upcoming matches.

Expecting India to win the match !!!!

IPL bonanza

IPL season's gonna start this April. Two months of complete entertainment, 2 months of big hits, 2 months of high scoring matches is just 40 days away.

Big stars of the Cricketing world will be clashing with each other, along with them, fresh raw talent is going to be discovered. It will be real delight to watch them all in action.

The complete schedule of IPL matches is at:

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/scheduleipl09.html

Kyle Mills back in action

New Zealand ODI squad for the first 3 matches has been announced. Kyle Mills is back having recovered from an injury. He is currently ranked 4th in ICC Bowling Rankings.

Apart from bowling, he has the ability to accelerate the score during slog overs. His addition in team will definitely bring an advantage to the already strong Kiwis.

Hot hotter hottest

Yes, from being hot for some time....the climate here in Chennai is going to the next phase, it is becoming hotter. Yesterday was the second hottest day in February since 1927. Mercury touched 35.6 degrees Celsius.

To cope up, drink plenty of water, coconut water, lemon juice etc. It will help in balancing the water content in our body.

Delhi-6 Movie

This movie has a good concept....but fails to bring in emotions. It depicts how loosely we are all bound together. Nonsense and illogical theories from communal people can break apart the thread which unites us. How usually friendly people can become foes.

Abhishek Bachhan, American Indian (or Indian American) puts his life in danger to clear the mentality of the people and at the same time wins his newly found love.

This movie is set in old city (Chandni Chowk area) of Delhi. Must see for all those who have lived some part of their lives in Delhi....Its like refreshing your old memories.

They deserved it !!!

Well well well....We were millimeters away from winning the match...It was so closely contested. With India putting just 149 on board, and a strong reply from New Zealand (Mc Cullum butchered our pace attack) meant game over for us. But that was turned upside down when Irfan Pathan took two crucial wickets on successive deliveries. Everyone saw light at the end of tunnel. It all boiled down to 12 runs from the last over. Two McCullums were on crease. All went fine untill Brendon hit two fours and the situation was 1 from 1. Now all the fielders were in the ring. Brendon hit the ball in the air towards short on...Rohit Sharma ran backwards...slowed down a bit (misjudgement)...leapt to take the catch alas....couldnt hold it completely. India lost the thriller with whisker. This was a perfect example why they say "CATCHES WIN MATCHES"

T20 match

The second T20 match between India and New Zealand is hours away. The first match was a real entertainer. Lots of big sixes (well it was a small rugby ground) were hit effortlessly. Touch it...and it flies away. Yuvi.....had he played for some time we could have seen the score run similar to the meter at a petrol pump.

Well wait and see tomorrow's (err...today's) match.

The complete schedule for India's Tour of New Zealand is at:

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/schedule.html


Lets see what happens in the second match.