Never to be forgotten: England tour of India

That sweet taste of victory was clearly seen on the face of Alistair Cook and his Team. 28 years is a long wait. England is going to cherish this victory for a long time. It means a lot and we Indians know it. (Rahul Dravid and Team won a series on English soil after 23 years!) That was special then! This is special now! Meanwhile, back home, there is a plethora of mistakes. What went right for India? Nothing. What went wrong? Here is the list:

A Captain sails the ship. To the harbor or in the storm; is a matter of choice.

Captain Alistair Cook celebrates his TON

Virender Sehwag: scores a TON in the first match and then, is not able to reach double digits. This is exactly how an opener should not play

Gautam Gambhir: blame him, complain against him. Play for self or play for team, winning is a distant dream.

Cheteshwar Pujara: A new kid on the block who started very well but was unfortunate. Wrong decisions marred his performance. Long way to go. 

Sachin Tendulkar: for he knows what he has to do, he'll let his action speak.

Virat Kohli: He loses his form at the start of the series and gets it back in the end; literally the end.

MS Dhoni: enough said. You did something that changed Team India's good luck to better. Can you do anything that turns bad luck in to good luck?

Yuvraj Singh: I don't get it. No one has performed well. But he is the only one sacked. And worst still, replaced by Jadeja. Probably that makes his sacking even more questionable. Yuvi may not be awesome, but Jadeja is not even an option.

All in all, the No. 6 remains empty since Ganguly left it.

R Ashwin: started as a spinner, and now, he is in the team because of his batting skills. No complaints. If only he could win it!

Zaheer Khan is sacked, Umesh Yadav is injured. We are still searching for that 1 bowler who is our answer to JImmy and Finn. Ishant Sharma? Ya right. 

Pragyan Ojha: the only saving grace of this series. But the pitch-bitch has done its witch in Nagpur. Maybe he needs to change some tactics. 

Piyush Chawla: He is the RP Singh of this tour. From rags to riches; at least Chawla picked some wickets and has a puppy face.

Umpires have gone wrong. Pitches have been a let-down. But England have survived. And won. Keeping Motera aside, England looked better in every sense: batting, bowling, fielding, planning, determination and even good looks.

Make a spinning-pitch, Monty Panesar takes the glory in Mumbai. Make a neutral pitch, result-less pitch, James Anderson managed to break through. Spinner had to be a match-winner, Monty did it. Number 4 had to score runs, Kevin Pieterson did it. Captain had to shine, Alistair Cook did it. Openers were the key, Nick Compton found his form. Middle order had to sustain, Bell, Trott, Prior and Root did it. Repeating myself, but every player put his 100% efforts to make that dream come true. No Indian player was even half close to match the standards of these guys. Literally.

Team England celebrates dismissal of Yuvraj Singh

Nothing worked in favor for India. And it is our fault. While “in-form” players are hatching eggs on benches, we are continuing with the legacy of archives.

Why is it that we cannot take bold steps? How much it will affect to bring 6 to 8 changes in a Team? Surely not more than a loss; which by the way, we already have.

And if I missed it before, here is last praise for our coach Duncan Fletcher. Well done! You managed to help England win in India after 28 years.

James Anderson celebrates after taking Sachin Tendulkar's wicket

With this, I end my Test series. Team England have won it, fair and square. We were no match to their hard-work and "thirst" to win. World may or may not end by 21st Dec, spirits of India's Test Cricket lovers has surely been put into coma.

Worst still, this budding phase of the Team looks stagnant. Players may be good in first class cricket, but that does not assure International level performance. So who is going to work on this issue?

Will we ever get those 2 fast bowlers who, with the help of Ashwin and Ojha, will rip apart "in-form" batting line-up of Australia in February?

Will our batsmen score Test Hundreds against that cracking pace attack of Australia?

4-0. And again. No revenge. Not even close.

Images courtesy: www.espncricinfo.com

India vs Pakistan: Game won!

How did it start? And how did it end! Indian supporters would have never thought of this perfect finish against their staunch enemies.

As usual, MS Dhoni lost the toss and Misbah Ul Haq elected to bat first. His decision was a perfect 300+. The way Mohammed Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed started, it looked like Indian bowlers needed to go back and practice hard. Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan were being smothered. Ashok Dinda was probably playing his last match for Team India. 50, 100, 150, 200... Pak score was climbing at 6+ RPO with all 10 wickets in hand. Then came R Ashwin and S Raina to bowl spin. But no luck. Rohit Sharma too tried luck with the white flake, in vain. The Master Blaster too failed to pick any wicket. The senior Pathan, Yusuf bhai, also could not create any magic with the ball. 

All 8 bowlers were hammered. 35 overs, 220 runs and Pak was surely winning this one at that rate. Excellent batting by the Pak openers scoring a TON each. They kept their cool and played calm. But their scoring rate never fell below 5 RPO. So much so was the setback for the spectators that we started missing our Mohali’s bowling line-up “Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel and Yuvraj Singh” None of them were playing today!

And then we issued a formal offer “Just in from BCCI: Whoever, if at all, takes a wicket will be given 3-year contract by an IPL team of their choice!”

It worked, Finally, stars smiled at Ashwin and he got Jamshed. Guess Ashwin is happy with CSK, so our offer goes null. But scoring didn’t pause for Pak. But we did see a fabulous catch by Suresh Raina and another marvelous catch by Virat Kohli. Wickets fell, runs came and then, at the end of 50 overs, Pak was at 329-6.

They hit:

27 FOURS = 108 runs

2 SIXES    = 12 runs

Total: 120 runs came of just 29 balls.

Praveen Kumar and Ashok Dinda bagged 2 wickets each while Irfan Pathan and R Ashwin got 1 each.  

Of course everyone was missing Virender Sehwag a lot. That score of 330 would be possible only if we have our firing cannon in action. Little did we know that we’ll win it with 13 balls to spare!

Yes! We won! And how? It wasn’t a dream start at all! Gautam Gambhir OUT on zero meant the end of any chances to win!

On crease were, the most experienced player of Indian Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and probably, his only successor, Virat Kohli. Experienced shots from one end and powerful knocks from the other end. There was no looking back. Virat Kohli kept scoring at a faster rate, Sachin guided him and together they added 133 runs on board. After scoring 52, Sachin Paaji fell the victim to Saeed Ajmal and it was another heart break for Indian supporters.

But to everyone’s surprise, Rohit Sharma came in and didn’t leave the crease so soon. He played slow, his natural game. He took time to acclimatize to the bowling attack and then, hit some very powerful shots. He perfectly complemented Virat Kohli in the biggest run chase of the Indian Cricketing history. Together they scored 172 runs, the biggest 3^rd wicket partnership. Team India was at 307-2 and needed only 23 runs to win from 26 balls when Rohit Sharma hit an unwanted shot over long on and got OUT at 68 runs. Virat Kohli was on 150* and going strong. We all wanted him to score 200 and join the league of big names of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Well, that didn’t happen and Virat Kohli got OUT at 183.

But the number, 183, has its own significance:

Indian batsmen who scored 183 have went on to become a successful captain
S Ganguly - 183 vs Sri Lanka 99 WC
MS Dhoni - 183* vs Sri Lanka 2005
Now V Kohli - 183 vs Pak 2012 So can we safely say that Virat Kohli is the captain in the making?

Back to match, of course, Raina and Dhoni finished the match! Captain cool hit the FOUR and that marked India’s successful run chase at 330 in just 48.5 overs.

This is how we scored: 

34 FOURS = 136 runs

4 SIXES = 24 runs

Total = 160 runs from just 38 balls.

India vs Pakistan matches are never just about Cricket. It involves a lot of emotions and fights and arguments and excitement too! This match had its charm too!

329 + 330 = 659 runs scored in 587 balls; total 3 centuries were scored and 10 wickets fell.

This match also meant that Indian Cricket was developing. Clearly the bowlers have a lot of homework to do. They need more guidance from the seniors. They need to put a lot of hard-work and efforts. Our weakest department needs revamping. We have potential players and this is the perfect time to groom them.  

The batsmen are readying themselves to take up bigger responsibilities and relive the senior from the worries. This means the future of Indian Cricket is going in safe hands and it is time to pass the baton!

It is the transition phase and ups and downs are bound to happen. We win some, we lose some. But what we learn from these matches will play a bigger role in the coming years of Cricket to play.

Indis vs Australia: Sunday: 19th Feb, 2012

Point: Australia was hurt. They lost badly against Sri Lanka. And the wounded tigers were on prowl. They left no stone unturned to win this match. So they did. Won it, and in style! Here are again, my views:

Australia's bowler BW Hilfenhaus ripped apart Indian batting line-up on Sunday at Brisbane in the Commonwealth Bank Series ODI by picking 5-33 wickets.

Along with excellent bowling from Brett Lee, who picked up 3-49 wickets, they restricted India at 178-10 winning the match by 110 runs. 

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Starting steady, they scored 51 runs in the first 10 overs without losing a wicket. Both Forrest and M Hussey scored a half century before falling victims to Irfan Pathan. The last ten overs turned the face of the game. 101 runs were scored and Australia put up a total of 288-5 runs. 

Rohit Sharma dropped 2 very important catches. To join him, Umesh Yadav too, dropped an easy catch. If that wasn't enough, the umpire decision was reversed; by the umpire himself!!  First time, we saw Dhoni upset and angry. He literally argued with the on-field umpires. This is just an answer to all those who feel Dhoni is defensive! Boss, he is NOT! 

A funny instance was when Virat Kohli took a smart catch and silenced the spectators by pointing to them as shown in the picture! No exchange of bad-words happened so, no fine paid!  

In reply, India's top order failed to deliver and India lost the first 4 wickets in quick succession. Too much of reliance on Gauti and Sachin paaji, but they both went back to pavillion very fast. 

Virat Kohli looked good, played steady. He was OUT with probably what looked like a catch. Well, I doubt if it was a genuine one.

My words fail to express the incompetence shown by Rohit Sharma in the entire series. Not that he is not good, but we have better players who can easily replace him. Manoj Tiwary definitely deserves a chance now.

Only MS Dhoni, captain cool, scored a decent 56 runs. But this did not avoid the inevitable defeat for Team India as they succumbed at 178 runs losing the match by 110 runs.

Well, not playing Ashwin didn't make a big difference either. Australia were too good in all areas and showed the character right from the start. 

Adding salt to wounds, Team India's highest scorer MS Dhoni, faced the ban for the next match against Sri Lanka on 21st Feb, 2012 for slow over-rate. This is the second time in the tour that he is facing the ban. The first being the ban for the 4th Test at Adelaide for the same reason.

As extra affair: Because of bad form, the standing captain Ricky Ponting, has been “rested” from the next match(es). The era of the legendary batsman-captain is on the verge of decline…

Ponting has been the show stealer for a very long time for Australian cricket. Alas! Every good thing comes to an end…

BW Hilfenhaus received MOM for his superb bowling picking 5-for. Also, this put Australia back on top in the points table. Now, we will see Parthiv Patel in the next game as our wicket-keeper. And hopefully, a win too! 

Images courtesy: www.espncricinfo.com 

India vs SL: On the Valentine's Day! No heart breaks!

Really.. No heart breaks! And the super happy moment was when the team was announced! Sachin paaji back in playing 11 in place for Sehwag (per rotation policy!). The surprise entry of Irfan Pathan for Zaheer Khan! (Finally, Irfan got a match!).. As usual, SL won the toss and decided to bat first... Trust me, I knew we would win.. Biased Indian mentality! 

Rotation Policy: Team India will rotate their seniors: Gauti, Sachin and Sehwag in the playing 11 to allow inclusion of the younger players giving them opportunity to play! Smart move or no? Well, that is a big debate!! 

Back to the action: What a match! Who would expect the end that way? Specially when we started so well.. We bagged 2 wickets in the first 10 overs. 1 by R Vinay Kumar and the 2nd by Irfan Pathan. Steady start! The match went very slow till Sangakarra's wicket fell. Then, Chandimal handled the SL innings strongly scoring 81 runs from 91 balls with a strong support from the captain Jayawardene. 

After scoring 43 runs, Jayawardene fell the victim of R Vinay Kumar. Following his suit, Chandimal immediately got out to R Ashwin. Then, SL crawled to decent score of 236-9 in 50 overs. 

Kinda didn't watch many overs as it was getting boring too! :P :P 

Team India's start was the same. We lost an early wicket of Sachin scoring only 15 runs. Same with Virat Kohli, out on 15 runs. Ditto Rohit Sharma, 15 runs. In came Raina. But he too could not deliver and continued to be out of form getting out at 8 runs. In came, captain cool who kept his calm and gave good support to Gauti who was scoring very well for India. 

An unfortunate incident came when Gauti was on 91. A small mis-match by captain Dhoni led to Gauti's RUN-OUT. Infact, Dhoni accepted the fault in the post-match presentation. But this was the highest partnership for Team India: 60 runs. By this, Team India was 178-5. Jadeja failed to bat longer than 3 runs.

Next over by Malinga: first ball: Ashwin mis-timed it; the ball was in the air for a long time; but as the fate would be, Sangakarra dropped it! 1 life for Ashwin. Second was the DOT Ball. In the 3rd ball, Ashwin hit direct catch to the fielder extra cover. And who did not love that SIX by Irfan Pathan? Well that SIX was a no-ball too! My question is who can risk a full-toss ball at such crucial stage? (Every1 jumped off their seats at this 1!). And the next ball, Irfan Pathan sacrificed his wicket in the 49th over to save Dhoni in a RUN OUT. Bravo, as we must say! 

While I may sound like a commentator from ESPN, I cannot help it.. The match was such a ball-by-ball thrill to see.. Work left aside, all I knew was.. We have to win!! 

Vinay Kumar came next. In the last over.. Team India needed 9 runs of 6 balls. Dhoni to face Malinga! 2 runs, 1 run, 1 run, 1run and OUT! Vinay Kumar goes RUN OUT. Dhoni on strike again. 4 runs in 1 ball. Umesh comes in and just has to run! Malinga throws an almost wide ball. Dhoni hits it at extra cover, fielder stops it at sweeper cover. Till then, we have run 3 runs.... And it's a Tie! 

What? Yes! It is a Tie! .. An amazing thriller to say.. The match ended in a Tie on a Valentine's Day; simply means No Heart-Break! .. Each team got 2 points and MSD got MOM for his calm-headed approach in this tense situation! 

A special mention to Devengere Express aka Vinay Kumar. He is improving by every match and is delivering his 100%. While Umesh Yadav is said to be the find of the Tour, Vinay Kumar too, is making a mark in the Team. So far, he is also the highest wicket taker in the CB series. 

It is also a series of continuous non-performance for Rohit Sharma and might get replaced by Manoj Tiwari in the next match. Well, he is trying and he has got good number of chances too. Probably not the right time. 

Captain cool has again proved how being calm pays of well. In the earlier match, he was called a freak by the Aus captain Clarke! Simply put, that is his strength and that is his weapon!  

All-in-all, Well played both teams! Well done..! 

UV, Dhoni, Bhajji!! Part 1

Ya so! To begin with! Blah blah blah...!!!

I was on FB (as usual) searching for something imp that will gimme a reason to not study! Exams are on and studying during exams, is hell boring!

I just happened to check Reebok as they have a paid ad on FB and I own a precious pair of RBK shoes!A contest on WC, 1 more! Shucks yaar! Its 3 weeks now! Get over it, ppl! Even Players have moved on...

But as usual out of sheer nothing-to-do attitude, I posted my "precious comments" on HOW DID I FEEL WHEN DHONI HIT THE SIX! And even uploaded a pic where I was holding India ka flag and sitting on the car! And I knew with my kind of luck and more than 3 million users on FB; winning is like searching for a seat in a 7:01 pm dadar local!

Next day, I see my name as 1 of the winners! Wow! So?? Now what?? I wasnt even aware of the prize (really difficult to digest!!)!Then I get an email from Mr. Ajay Chhabra telling you are the lucky 1 who gets to meet UV and Dhoni!

Then the bulb glows over my head! Ting - the bells ring! And guess what, I go blank! Yaa.. I have never seen a cricketer without the screen in between!I reply to the mail telling yes, yes, yes! M going to come.. When is it? Where is it? Really? Both of them? No prank right?

Too bad, I didnt trust Reebok! Hahaha..!!

What happens next is the history.... Coming soon!!!