India South Africa Test series Match 2 Day 2

• Why on the earth did Mahendra Singh Dhoni - the India captain, send a night watchman? I am never a fan of those. Its a sign of fear and flawed logic. If Dhoni can't stay for long at the crease, how can some worse batter do it?


• The South African bowling attack was really shattered today. Sehwag toyed with them. And Sachin dismantled them slowly. What a pair!


• Wayne Parnell does not deserve a place in this team. Maybe the old war-horse Mkhaya Ntini will replace him in future series


• What a waste of opportunity by M. Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath! Suddenly, the future Indian batting generation looks weak again


• Should India not win this match from this point, they would deserve a fast dropdown from rankings. The match is now perfectly setup for a clinical finish for them. Will they have the killer punch? The knock-out strength?


• Or will the coming-back-from-behind champion attitude be demonstrated by the champion Test cricket team - The Proteas?


• Sehwag and Gambhir took some really awesome singles in the morning. That's the key to their success, I think. What an anti climax that their stand had to be broken by a run-out!


• Great crowd at the Eden Gardens, Kolkatta. Way to go...

Cricket: India Vs. South Africa 2nd Test Match - Day 1 @ Eden Gardens, Kolkatta

My quotes:

• Why did Pieterson come in as an opener when Aswell Prince was in the line up? It proves that Prince is the non-preferred opener. Not good for the team balance.


• One of the most famous turnarounds. 8 wickets in 50 runs! No wonder that they call this team Chockers :-)


• Talking about Bunnies of opener captains, Graeme Smith is the biggest bunny that I can remember. More than Darryl Cullinan of Shane Warne. Hats of to ZAKS.


• Zaheer Khan, match after match, looks like a better and better bowler. OLD WINE :-) Much like Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath. Very un-like Anil Kumble :-)


• Harbhajan Singh also keeps making comebacks. Another great bowler in the team


• India still miss an all-rounder. Even he is a national level and not international class, he must be given a chance in Tests. Candidates? Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Yousuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar. Anyone else? I always believe in Long Term Vs. Short and Higher Risks for Higher Returns. Got to make the difficult choice sometimes. I am hugely disappointed that Dhoni has not tried it yet.


• Hats off to Ishant Sharma for being the rawdy fast bowler that every good team so desperately needs


• Is Amit Mishra good enough to deserve so many chances in Tests? Or are there no other good enough spinners in India anymore? Why not Ramesh Powar?

India South Africa Test 1 Day 4

Comments:
- Only one team played like Champions and deserved to be one.
- The all rounder question has come back to haunt India again.
- Dhoni has lost a game. And has fortunately not given any excuses.
- Selectors have admitted a mistake and have now moved on.
- If Dinesh Karthick has been selected now, in the 2nd Test, then why was he not selected in the First?
- Sreesanth is back in the Indian cricket team - despite doing nothing of note in the last 2 months! Inexplicable!
- Why is Yousuf Pathan not in the team?
- Only two players from India had the fire in the belly to reach 3 figures. Sehwag & Sachin. But they both got out after reaching 100. Whereas the 2 centurions from South Africa made it big - and that was the difference in the two teams.
- What type of pitch will it be? Minefield? Dead rubber? Even? Or a fast one!
- If this does not motivate the India Cricket Test team, then nothing else can. 0-1 down. Test championship up for grabs. Home record on the brink of collapsing. It is NOW or NEVER.

Cheers!

India Vs. South Africa 1st Test Day 3

Interesting bullets:

• Sehwag deserves to be a strong contender for the player of the last decade. More on that later, in some other blog post.


• Dale Steyn is the best bowler in the world at the moment. Hands Down.


• Golden Words: Getting out caught behind the stumps is always less embarrassing than getting bowled - leaving the ball.


• The worst way to end the day for the ever so successful Sehwag is to send him to the face the press when all others in the team are too ashamed to face them.


• What is the worst quote of the year (already!)? "I was trying to smell the ball - that's why I bit it". Second worst: "The new ball was very helpful. It started to suddenly move around. The seam came off and then it swung like hell" from Dayle Steyn. Why on the earth would you say such thing when you have taken 8 wickets in a day? Can someone coach them Media Management? Not to reveal all the secrets?


• Not that the NEW-BALL episode is a controversy yet, but where are all the rules? And the rule makers? And the Ball Makers? Why do you need to change the ball every so often? Why is a replacement ball so different than the routine ball, that it can change the course of the match/series?


• Can India save this yet? Yes they can. Will they save this one? They might.


• Can India win this yet? They have, in the past. They still can. But they may not... Based on first 3 days, they don't deserve to!


• What do champion teams do when they are down and out? They gather all their reserve energies, dig deep and bounce back. Is India a Champion team? Will their 9 batsmen play out then (minimum) 9 to 10 hours? . . .

India South Africa 1st Test @ Nagpur Day 2

My comments:

• Who selects the playing 11 for India? Selection panel / team management (including captain Dhoni, Coach Kirsten and Vice captain Sehwag)?


• The bowlers did not bowl good enough to get 10 wickets. But did they disappoint? Were they BAD? Even on the 2nd day, at least 2 chances were dropped, one plumb LBW missed. Its all so pathetic. India's fielding has plummeted in the recent past. They deserve a kick from the board (and by they, I also mean the coaches)


• Has Sachin stopped bowling? Why?


• Kallis was too slow. Looks like he was shooting for a draw instead of going for the kill. 3 runs or so per over is so 1990's! I feel that it is this difference between South Africa and other good teams (sometimes India and Australia) that becomes a hurdle in their way of becoming champions. Lack of Knockout Punch


• Where has the Active Sports option in DTH gone? Tata Sky, are you listening?


• AB Devilliers looks like the next star for South Africa. After JP Duminy has failed after achieving the stardom. ABD showed great attitude today, I think he can become a future captain.

India South Africa 1st Test Match @ Nagpur - Day 1

A few observations

• Rohit Sharma likes football more than Cricket


• Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra can turn the ball, but cannot get wickets even on a turning pitch @ Home


• South Africa 2 down for 6 in 6 overs. And then no wicket the whole day! What a classic...


• India drop 1.5 half chances. Add these 2 wickets, pressure, good fielding and count in one more. 300 for 5 would have been a 50-50% score


• Don't worry about who is playing and who is not. If India are to save this match, they must score (At least) 500 in the first innings


• Why don't India play/groom an All Rounder like Abhishek Nayar? Would have been so useful to have a fifth (legitimate) bowler on such a hard day in the field
  
• Kallis is THE BEST


• Hashim Amla has turned out to be an under-rated out-performer


• All Indian bowlers lacked teeth except Zaks-Zaheer-Khan who was good at the start of the day.


• Empty stands on a weekend in a much-anticipated Test match? Disappointing...

India - South Africa Test Series

- World No 1 Vs. World No 2
- Best opening new ball pair vs. Best openers in the last few years
- Two very good, smart, successful and young captains against each other

What a mouth watering contest!

My prediction:
I think with Dravid out and with a struggling bowling unit (except Zaks) India will find it tough to beat South Africa. They will concentrate all energies against India after England, Arthur Gate and Board craziness. Their team looks fit and raring to go - with a good mix of youth and experience.

If India do manage to beat them, though, they will deserve the tag of Champions!

3 cheers to Cricket...

Cricket: What will happen to One Day Internationals

ICC World 20-20
Indian Premier League
Champions League
Domestic 20-20 competitions
County 40-40 championships
The iconic Ashes Test series between England and Australia

The media has already proclaimed itself as the jury and announced its verdict. That this format has almost expired. Obituaries have been written in columns in papers and on web pages. One of the best in the game - Sachin Tendulkar - has led a group that proposes radical changes to the format. The question is very interesting:

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE ODIs?


Let's consider why this debate has come in. Here are some reasons in my opinion:

1. A completely mis-managed World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies. High ticket prices, long format, too many teams, went on for too long.
2. Players not too enthusiastic about the ODIs. They either want to milk the cash cow (T20) or take up the biggest challenge of Test cricket.
3. Long drawn bilateral one day series. e.g. Australia in England - 7 matches in September 2009. Australia in India - 7 matches in October - November 2009. Its just too much of the same thing between 2 teams.
4. Complete lack of innovation and initiatives by ICC.

Here are my comments on the issue. And a few ideas on what ICC and boards should do to take the ODIs forward:

1. ODIs will not be wiped out so easily. Reason - It gives TV advertisers 7 hours of duration during which they can catch the eyeballs during every over-break.
2. Twenty-20 cricket will actually make Fifty-over cricket more interesting. Batsmen will be more aggressive in intent. All rounders and good fielders will make hay. All these will attract more crowds and viewership.
3. At the same time, ICC and boards should take the following measures to make sure that the interest is alive and kicking in all 3 formats of the game.
4. Abandon the Future Tours Programme so that it will free up more productive time for other formats and competitions.
5. Introduce stricter rules to make captains improve the over rates.
6. Innovate a bit here, a bit there. E.g. the two 5-over power plays in the ODIs are almost fixed. Bowlers take it during 11-15 overs & batsmen after 40.
7. Use a revolving 12th person in some way.
8. Balance the BAT vs. BALL by allowing more bouncers per over. Or going back to the back foot line no-ball rule.
9. If it is required, reduce it to 40 overs a side. And experiment with it. Measure the response. Float a few new ideas. Be open to the fact that Change is the only thing Permanent.

I don't think that things have come to such a stage where something radical needs to be done. But if the ICC sits back and does nothing (which it has been doing for so many decades), then the things might come to that stage sometime soon.

Till that time, enjoy 50-50.

Cheers,
- Ashutosh

India Tonight by Karan Thapar on CNBC TV-18

Hi All. I am back to watching this TV show from Monday through Thursday 10.30 pm. It continues to be my favourite TV show amongst all news channels currently on air. In my opinion, most of the other programming on them, including News and other Talk shows are a waste. They are either showing only Breaking news. Or have too many people talking, which dilutes the discussion.

In this show, Karan interviews 1 to (at the most) 4 people. And hence the intensity is there throughout. Sometimes, the host tries to overpower the invitees. But not as frequently and forcefully like on the other channels/shows.

This week, the show focused on the following topics:

1. Monday - One on one with India's present National Security Adviser M K Narayanan - regarding the controversy about the results of India's Pokhran Nuclear tests in 1999.

2. Tuesday - Regarding how and why is Pakistan handling the Mumbai terror attacks case - the way it is. And is it correct as far as India and relations are concerned? The show also had a fairly strong invitee from Pakistan who was able to defend some points.

3. Wednesday - How the Wakf Boards in many states in India are deliberately misusing the land allocated for development purposes.

4. Thursday - A panel discussion on (again the same topic as #1 above) - how to handle the controversy regarding the questions being raised about the results of India's Nuclear tests, carried out the by the Atal Behari Vajpayee government at Pokhran in 1999.

It feels so good to be back watching the show daily. Kudos to the host, the prgramming team and the channel for keeping up the good work.

Cheers.

"And if you have been, then thanks for watching. Good Bye & Good Night"

India Vs. Sri Lanka Final one day international

IMO, India should test all their bench strength in this match. Which means each of the following players must be given a chance:

- Laxmipathi Balaji
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Rohit Sharma
- Irfan Pathan.

Cheers,
- Ashutosh