Good ol' Indo Pak

Saturday's Asia Cup match between India & Pakistan took one back to the old times. When 270 was considered a very good score in ODIs. And when there used to be a lot of needle on the ground.

Over the years, I think, as India has grown economically stronger & more confident, the players of the cricket team have reflected this in their attitude. While in the 1996 World Cup, Aamer Sohail could flail his bat at Venky while chasing a 'huge' 280ish score in Bangalore with nary a response from the gentle vegetarian, this time it was the Pakis getting it nice and good from the Indians. Good to see .... even though some of the 'action' from the Indians had me squirming.



And the icing on the cake was the penultimate ball victory, courtesy a huge sixer from Bhajji. The perfect way to spend a Saturday evening.

England are T20 champs

Completely contrary to expectations, the Poms managed to dominate their old foes, the Aussies to lift the 2010 T20 World Cup.

It is the 1st win for England in an ICC tournament since the concept of World Cups began in 1975. One has to feel good for them.

Chennai are the 2010 Super Kings

After losing the finals in 2008 and the semi finals in 2009, the IPL's most consisitent side finally bagged the cup this year. It has been the toughest year for them, requiring them to win their last league game to reach the semis - which they duly did thanks to Dhoni's 17 runs in the last over.

Opposite them, were the Mumbai Indians - in awesome form through the tournament with their youngsters (the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary & Shikhar Dhawan) showing sparkling talent, complemented by a good showing from their experienced hands & overseas acquisitions (Malinga, Fernando, Duminy, Sachin, Zaheer, Harbhajan & Pollard). It seemed that everything had finally come together for what has always been the IPL's strongest team on paper.

But then there is the issue of luck. Or captain's luck.

On the one hand was Dhoni - somebody made captain of a T20 side in a World Cup where none of the 'seniors' wanted to put in an appearance. And he went on to win it for the country - part of the reason behind the present day hype for T20. Ever since, he has consolidated his position as one of India's best cricket captains ever in the Test & ODI arenas.

On the other hand - there was Sachin. Great player, legend, God of Indian cricket - but with rotten captain's luck. Sort of like Ganguly's captain's luck in tournament finals - his team could never seem to win!

So while Mumbai Indians were ramming their way through in the league stage of the IPL, there was always this feeling that come crunch time .... something would go wrong. And that is how it transpired. Even though Sachin played with stitches for a torn webbing sustaned 2 days previously, it was not enough. It was a heartbreaking end to one of the best campaigns ever seen in the IPL.

Full marks to Dhoni though - his aura just continues to expand. And this seems to be the correct result keeping in mind that the World T20 - the one that began it all - comes up in a few days time. Dhoni will once again be leading the side with many of the men he commanded in the Super Kings.

Well done & best of luck to Dhoni & his men then - bring it home again, guys!

Sahara Pune Warriors

The logo & name of the newest IPL franchise were revealed today. Looks good.

What now?

The 1st day after 12th of March, when I come back home from work & there isn't a T20 match in progress.

Anyway, the league stage is over. The 4 semi finalists were finalised by the 2nd last league game & Kolkata still had a mathematical chance of making it to the last 4 in the very last game. Yes, this year's IPL has been the most competitive ever.

So here's the final standings before the semis ....


Mumbai Indians are the odds on favorites to win the title this year. They have dominated like no other team in the competition.

Chargers had a fantastic comeback after losing their way during the mid stage. Winning their last 5 games in a row & storming to 2nd place is some feat.

Chennai struggled more than they ever have, but made it to their 3rd consecutive semis appearance.

Bangalore began very well, but floundered later on. Managed a place in the top 4 by the skin of their teeth.

Delhi flattered to deceive. A strong team with weak performances. They don't have my sympathy.

Kolkata had their best showing ever, but messed up during crucial games far too often.

Rajasthan .... well, the 2008 fairytale is well & truly over. And with Warne having played out his last season, things will only get worse.

And finally Punjab .... they really blew it this year .... big time.

IPL 2010 - halfway

Mumbai have been the surprise for me.

Bangalore continue last year's strong form.

Rajasthan started off slow, but are improving.

Delhi play as usual - somewhat consistently.

Deccan have dissapointed after a good start.

Kolkata are better than they were ever, which is still not good enough.

Chennai have been surprisingly bad.

Punjab just don't seem to be in it.

IPL 2010 is go

Wake up at 6. This being a Friday is another initiative. Leave for office by 8:15 am. Swipe in at quarter to 9.

Rajesh has been dropped hints all week, courtesy Nilanjan, that no one's gonna be around by 6 on Friday evening. It's a light load day & passes quickly enough.

Shalini has her 'supplementary' driving test. She passes. Very happy.

I leave at 5:30 on the dot. Traffic is light on the way home. Buy a couple of 'Feast's to celebrate. And am in just before the inauguration.

Kick back. Relax. Shanu rues the upcoming 45 days of non stop T20. But I don't .... not one bit. Heh heh.

The opening ceremony is a damp squib. I mean, who wants to watch UB40, Abba Revival & Lionel Ritchie in this day & age? Lalit Modi might have managed a package deal on the cheap for them.

Kolkata take on Deccan in the opener. The last team of 2009 vs the champions. And Kolkata win! SRK is mercifully missing from the screen for the duration of the match. A good win for KKR nonetheless. I'm somehow inclined to back them for this year.

The ODI Double Ton

24th Feb, 2010. India vs South Africa day-night ODI on at Gwalior. 2nd match of the series with India already 1 up. The Indians had started well & Sachin is playing like he used to in the early 90s, at a strike rate close to 130. Nilanjan keeps pinging updates from time to time over the communicator .... Sachin 50, Sachin 100, Sachin 150. I'm busy working on stored procedures for the Friday deadline.

Evening around 5:30ish. I glance at the score. India have crossed 300. In the 40th over. Sachin is on 184. I ask Nilanjan about the world record. He replies, "194, aaj mil jayega guru". That's it. I leave the cubicle & walk over to where Nilanjan, Vijendra, Cyril & Srini are bunched together. All cricket sites are blocked, they're following the score on ChannelW, which is slow in updates as usual.

By now, there's a buzz in the office. No one's working, everyone's following the score. Soon enough, Sachin crosses Saeed Anwar's 13 year old record .... it's like a load of every self-respecting Indian's chest. Complete strangers handshake congratulations across cubicles .... such is the power of cricket & stature of Tendulkar in India. The wait for the double ton begins.

The internet connections are choked. People get on the phone home. I call Daddy. Yes, he's watching. Dhoni is going ballistic, hogging the strike & dealing in boundaries .... the ball-by-ball reads something like this 644.46. The score is close to 380. Sachin is reportedly suffering from cramps. Only 7 balls to go. Dhoni takes a single of the last ball of the 49th over. There's a collective 'awwww' in the cubicle.

He finally gets strike after yet another Dhoni boundary & with 4 balls to go. Hits a single & gets it. Handshakes all around. Somebody asks his manager, "so where's the party?". Dhoni blasts another & takes the score to 401/3. Who wins the match is only academic now. Indians have got what they've been yearning for all this while.

And as the commentator says, "no one deserves this more than Sachin". The Indian, the cricketer, the legend.

India are #1 in Tests

Dhoni's magical run at the helm continues.

After winning the T20 World Cup and briefly flirting with the top spot in ODIs, team India are now on top of the rankings in Tests as well.

IPL 2 - the pictures

The Champs

And not to forget, the two enduring presences during the course of the tournament .....

.... Fake IPL Player's blog and .....


.... Vodafone's ZooZoos.

IPL 2 - the review

As I write this, Deccan bat against Bangalore in the finals.

Of course, this year the IPl went phoren, and there were quite a few changes - both good and bad. The overall level of the game, I feel, was improved over the 1st year. Matches saw many more close finishes and teams didn't just sail through to the last 4 as they had in 2008. And the number of dropped catches was just amazing - everyone was dropping 'em left, right and center.

Here's what I think of the team performances -


Kolkata Knight Riders - What does one say? These guys were devoutly following Murphy's law, anything and everything that could go wrong for them .... did. They lost at least 5 really close matches and seemed to specialise in giving it up from winning situations. This year's leading whipping boys, by a distance, they require far more astutute thinking & less of Shahrukh's mug for next year.

Mumbai Indians - This team has somehow never appealed to me, but the way they started the tournament this year seemed to hold promise. Malinga was bowling well for them and Dwayne Bravo provided good support. The batting was the weak link though, and the famed combo of Sanath + Sachin just didn't click often enough. Sachin's captaincy too lacked imagination, because of which, there will probably be a change of captaincy next year.

Rajasthan Royals - The champs of the inaugural season went down the path that most had predicted for them last year. They didn't start well, and were inconsistent, with the occasional spark of brilliance showing through in between. Yusuf Pathan and Shane Warne put in some good performances. But what they really missed were Shane Watson & Sohail Tanvir, their trumpcards from last year. Without those two, it was always going to be difficult .... and that's how it proved to be.

Kings XI Punjab - They came heart-breakingly close to making the semis, but it was a case of so near yet so far. Yuvraj performed better with the ball (2 hatricks!) for them than with the bat. Sangakarra and Jayawardene delivered, but mutually exclusively. They unveiled a gem in the form of Yusuf Abdullah riding to several victories on the back of his bowling performances. But in the end, they just couldn't get it all together before the top 4 were finalised.

Chennai Super Kings - Mathew Hayden fired for them almost every match (and got the Orange cap). And yet, they were a shadow of their professional selves from last year. Dhoni's performances and leadership were lacklustre and it showed. The bowlers bowled atrociously at times and Flintoff's million dollar purchase hardly helped. Suresh Raina was often the saving grace. Inspite of all the negatives, they were the second team to confirm their place in the semis. I wonder how?

Delhi Daredevils - By far the best team during the league stage. Racking up win after win after win, they followed some interesting stratergies ..... benching McGrath and playing Dirk Nannes, for every match, being prime among them. Dilshan and A B deVilliers played so very consistently for them & that helped, especially as Sehwag & Gambhir didn't fire too often. It was sad to see them go out of the semis once again like in 2008, since they were the favorites to win this year.

Deccan Chargers - Last year's last ranked team. And this year's revelation. They had the potential last year too .... but chose this edition to gel as a team. Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma, Herschelle Gibbs & Andrew Symonds .... all played well to get them into the semis. Fidel Edwards was super with the fast bowling and Pragyan Ojha with the tweakers. They stormed to 4 victories in their first 4 matches, but lost their way afterwards but not by much. And Gilchrist's demolition job of 85 off 35 in the semis against Delhi was an innings to remember.

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Mallya's boys were the 'test team' of 2008. And going by their run in the 1st half of the league under Pietersen's captaincy, they looked set for an encore. Then Kumble was made captain .... and everything started turning. Win after win followed as they started peaking just when it mattered the most. Kallis, Boucher, Kohli, Kumble .... all contributed in a stunning turnaround for the Reds. Not many had given them a chance of reaching the semis this year, but they have bettered that and are in the finals now. And look like they will win it after restricting Deccan to 143.

IPL 2 is go

IPL becomes NRIPL

.... that's today's Times Of India headline. I think that line captures best the crazy situation where one country's league will be exported bag & baggage to another.

On second thoughts though, it seems a prudent choice. Most people caught the action on TV anyway, & this way, one major security headache during the general elections is thrown out the window. So I guess it's all cool.

Victorious in NZ

The trip to NZ didn't start off well with the 2 straight losses in the T20s.

But, this team has stormed back into contention during the ODIs .... & how! Today's win marks India's maiden ODI series triumph in Kiwiland.


These guys have turned into white-washing specialists. The last few series have seen scorelines such as 5-0 against England; 4-1 against the Lankans & 2-0 against the Aussies. And we are the T20 world champs.

The arrogance of Yuvraj; the calmness of Dhoni; the brutality of Sehwag; the consistency of Gambhir; the demolition jobs by Yusuf; the incisiveness of Zahir; the pace of Ishant .... all of them have come together like never before & even as one watched, this Indian team has metamorphised into a supremely confident pack of hunters.

It's wonderful to watch, yes, but I just hope that they haven't peaked early & carry on like this for a long, long time ..... unlike the numerous false dawns that many an Indian cricket fan has often been witness to until not so long ago.

New colors

MSD & gang posing in Cricket India's new colors for 2009. To me they all look like bars of Rin.

Wonder why they can't come up with something jazzier like the Aussies & Kiwis do year after year?

Thriller20

.... the headlines on cricinfo on a day when the Hussey brothers took Australia to a win over the Kiwis & the Pathans did the same for the T20 world champs in a thrilling run chase versus the Lankans.

9*

MSD's men are on a roll. After blanking England 5-0, it's Sri Lanka who face a series whitewash with 1 match to go.

Incidentally, this is India's longest winning streak in ODIs.

ODI #1

SA have just regained the No. 1 spot in ODI rankings & this cartoon seems apt.

That's Test Cricket for you

The 1st match of a series that wasn't supposed to be. But England decided to return & return they did, with a vengeance. For 3 and a half days they outplayed India in every department to finally set up an imposing 387 as the victory target on a deteriorating Chennai pitch.

And that's when the Indians came into their own. Another savage innings from Sehwag set the tone & Gambhir & Sachin took it on from there. Laxman provided able support. And it finally fell on Yuvraj (who had been flustered into giving up his wicket in the 1st innings), to play an uncharacteristically mature knock, all the while being shepherded by Sachin to take the team home.



It was the 1st time ever(!) in his career that a Sachin century in the 4th innings had contributed to an Indian test victory. The 4th highest winning score while chasing in tests; the highest so on the subcontinent ever! And what a time & backdrop to bring it up!

Slam Biff Bang

Yuvraj's demolition job on England today reminded me of the days back in the 90s when Saeed Anwar & Ijaz Ahmed would run riot opening for Pakistan. Time passes so fast, no?