Hello.
England annihilated Team India for the second test match in a row and the margin was bigger this time. We are now 2-0 down in the four-Test series. If we fail to narrow the gap in the next two Tests, we will lose our status as the No 1 Test team in the world. The immediate question is: who is responsible for the twin defeats? It is not so difficult pointing the fingers at the captain, the players and the BCCI.
Only Rahul Dravid and Praveen Kumar have so far impressed me on this tour. Their effort is visible but other players throw it away. Batsmen have played poor shots and bowlers have bowled wrong lengths which has also been coupled with incorrect field placing. I remember making a point in my previous blog that Sehwag was right in playing out IPL till his team had chances of making it to semis and then requesting BCCI to not consider him for less important Carribean tour. I was so wrong. I was then thinking he will make a great impact on the England tour but he has certainly gone amiss. But now his just healed shoulders have even more burden to bear and try to lift the gloomy Indian camp to some sort of success in 3rd test at Edgbaston. Undeniably, so far England have been a better batting and bowling unit than us in these two games.
Now after 2001 test matches I am still trying to figure out what in the name of Holy Lake does the phrase "in the true spirit of cricket" mean?
Dhoni's decision to allow Ian Bell to bat again - after he was adjudged run-out at the stroke of tea - is in the spirit of the game. Going by the letter of the law, once umpires have ruled a batsman out and batsman has already crossed the ropes, he cannot be asked to bat again. But just for the sake of booing crowd and receiving private request from the Strauss and Flower, MS Dhoni rescinded his appeal and allowed Bell to bat after tea. Not surprisingly MS Dhoni received universal applause but lost a tactical advantage. MSD did well to avoid any controversy this time. Anything else would have soured the tour and cricketing ties between the two nations. More importantly, his decision has allowed Team India to stand on high moral ground. What the English or the Aussies would have done in such a situation is irrelevant, India needs to set its own standards.
However the measuring stick should be same for all cricketers and all matches from now and past. I need to ask this how the media or anyone from ECB/ICC say anything about Michael Vaughan's Vaseline remark about V V S Laxman which threatened to ruin the game's spirit. In the 1st test, Kevin Pietersen was supposedly out before he even scored 50, but after scoring a double century he said Dravid is a saint-like figure who didn't even appeal for the catch. KP's conscience must have known he was out and he should have walked, instead he waited in respect of the "spirit of cricket." In the just concluded West Indies tour VVS Laxman was given stumped out when he was just trying to regain his balance after the ball appeared to be dead. India has been in many controversies in high profile overseas tours - Ball tampering & Mike Procter issue in South Africa, Bhajji-Symonds Monkeygate in Australia, Jelly beans incident involving Zaheer Khan and Ian Bell in last England series and numerous ways of sledging that has taken place when Indian team has looked in strong positions. Had Dhoni not taken his appeal back, I am sure this case would have gone to ICC courts and then all cricket experts would have said BCCI has used its financial power once again to influence the decision in their favor.
This incident is just another example of the double standards that Team India has to put up with in what still remains a white man's game. It is high time we put our foot down. Dhoni should have stuck to his appeal despite the English crowd's jeers. Team India should not be subject to double standards, nor should it try to uphold a brown man's burden. Instead we should play the game as hard as the English or Aussies play it.
Cheers until next time... :)
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
$$$SOLD$$$
After months of controversy the Indian Premier League is back with a bang, is more bigger and with renewed vigour and greater transparency this year's IPL bidding process kicked off with familiar and professional auctioneer Richard Madley. The bidding was contested with great intensity and every rupee was spent with a calculated risk and strategy to get the team balance right. This IPL 4 auction warranted some surprises with addition of two new teams to the league as well as many teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers went for clean slate. The others had the financial muscle to pull out big players first and early in the day by bidding aggressively high on the players they wished for. The 10 franchises together bought 113 players at a whopping $63115000 (over 63 million dollars) if my math is correct. Lets have a look at few hits and misses from the bidding room in Bengalaru.
1. Gautam Gambhir sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for a record $2.4 million. He played last season for Delhi Daredevils and he has been in good form for India against Saffers in the recent series. However T20 is a different ball game and he should prove handy with his captaincy skills as well. He was first out of the hat on Day 1 and the franchises went all the way to get their man, eventually the Knights prevailed which I say is a very good buy.
2. Yusuf Pathan sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.1 million. This was the 3rd name out and once again there was aggressive bidding from teams Banaglore, Pune and Kolkata for the most prized asset of T20 cricket. Kolkata won the challenge here as well and paid up solid amount to buy him. He will ofcourse prove to be worth the money he is being paid.
3. Rohit Sharma sold to Mumbai Indians for $2 million. Ohh this one was pulled of by my team Mumbai Indians. Hmm, not one of my wish list but neverthless an Indian player will always help in T20 and Rohit Sharma is a good one at. Hope he can prosper under Tendulkar's wings and set the stage on fire.
4. Dale Steyn goes to Deccan Chargers for $1.2 million. The best bowler in the world at the moment and for 1.2 million, he could be the best business made by Deccan Chargers, the team that won the 2nd IPL season. Again in my eyes this is a very good buy.
5. Saurabh Tiwary to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.6 million. Hmm, there was a bit of controversy surrounding this one as Preity Zinta raised the bid very late on the hammer. It was sighted late by Madley and a few sparks were let out from the Royal Challengers Banglore camp. Until the Jr. Mallya went up and cleared the air with the Punjab team. It was also sad for me to see Saurabh Tiwary go as he had played very well for Mumbai in last season.
That was Day 1 and names like Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara (my 2nd favorite next to Sachin) and monster-hitter Chris Gayle missing out. Day 2 came up with some lesser known players at less base prices. And it was interesting to see how much the team owners knew about them as they set out for bidding process again. Most of the day went smoothly with many players being unsold and franchises waited for the other teams to pour some extra cash on fringe players.
6. Munaf Patel sold to Mumbai Indians for $700,000. Mumbai Indians were one of those that fell into trap of raising the bid price without much intention to buy and eventually had to pay price for it. It all started between Banglore and Delhi from base price of $200000, but Mrs. Ambani suddenly raised her bid at $450000 and Banglore continued their pursuit when they finally called off at $700k. Mumbai Indians team looked flummoxed and they bought Munaf Patel hesitantly in the team. Now thats the magic and unpredictability of an auction!
7. Dan Christian to Deccan Chargers for $900,000. Meanwhile Deccan Chargers were conservative, yet building a strong team with thoughtful approach and buying good players at a very good price. However,one such name cropped who I nor any from my friends or the people in the room had heard of - Dan Christian.Yes, the bidding went on and on for him between the Chargers and Chennai Super Kings. Chargers were laughed off at for their pursuit of Christian, who must have already started celebrating his 2011 Christmas.
8. Mohammad Kaif went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $130,000. He was brought into auction action for 3rd time in the day when he went un-bid for two times. This time he was being called at $100k by Pune's owners and to everyone's surprise Banglore asked $110k. Pune's owner had given up before again bidding $120k. But Bengalaru's Vijay Mallya had the last laugh by buying him for $130k. And thus the auction of IPL Season 4,2011 came to an end.
9. But some huge players missed out on the jamboree that is IPL. Sourav Ganguly's playing career must now come to an end when he was not picked up by his home team Kolkata nor any other franchises as well thought he is worth to go for. Brian Lara who announced he could return for IPL but with less of player and more of mentor role, lessened the chances for himself. Because who wants a mentor, the auction is about players. Another player of massive impact Chris Gayle of West Indies who had recently scored a triple century against Sri Lanka in test series and 32 runs of 1 over in T20 against Australia, he's also the first centurion T20 World Cup. He will be sorely missed. And also missed will be England's Ashes heroes Ian Bell, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Graemme Swann.
10. Two teams - Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors that were left with a purse in excess of a million dollars should feel that these unsold players could haunt them in their sleep if any of those have a good World Cup. Well something is seriously wrong with teams wearing Fly Emirates jersey. They are shy to spend money on transfers. Kings XI Punjab did an Arsenal act by saving almost 2mn dollars in their kitty.
Moral of the story is "However great a player you may be, you need to be playing active cricket."
All the best to Mumbai Indians for IPL 4 and hope players do well and get us the 1st trophy.
1. Gautam Gambhir sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for a record $2.4 million. He played last season for Delhi Daredevils and he has been in good form for India against Saffers in the recent series. However T20 is a different ball game and he should prove handy with his captaincy skills as well. He was first out of the hat on Day 1 and the franchises went all the way to get their man, eventually the Knights prevailed which I say is a very good buy.
2. Yusuf Pathan sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.1 million. This was the 3rd name out and once again there was aggressive bidding from teams Banaglore, Pune and Kolkata for the most prized asset of T20 cricket. Kolkata won the challenge here as well and paid up solid amount to buy him. He will ofcourse prove to be worth the money he is being paid.
3. Rohit Sharma sold to Mumbai Indians for $2 million. Ohh this one was pulled of by my team Mumbai Indians. Hmm, not one of my wish list but neverthless an Indian player will always help in T20 and Rohit Sharma is a good one at. Hope he can prosper under Tendulkar's wings and set the stage on fire.
4. Dale Steyn goes to Deccan Chargers for $1.2 million. The best bowler in the world at the moment and for 1.2 million, he could be the best business made by Deccan Chargers, the team that won the 2nd IPL season. Again in my eyes this is a very good buy.
5. Saurabh Tiwary to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.6 million. Hmm, there was a bit of controversy surrounding this one as Preity Zinta raised the bid very late on the hammer. It was sighted late by Madley and a few sparks were let out from the Royal Challengers Banglore camp. Until the Jr. Mallya went up and cleared the air with the Punjab team. It was also sad for me to see Saurabh Tiwary go as he had played very well for Mumbai in last season.
That was Day 1 and names like Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara (my 2nd favorite next to Sachin) and monster-hitter Chris Gayle missing out. Day 2 came up with some lesser known players at less base prices. And it was interesting to see how much the team owners knew about them as they set out for bidding process again. Most of the day went smoothly with many players being unsold and franchises waited for the other teams to pour some extra cash on fringe players.
6. Munaf Patel sold to Mumbai Indians for $700,000. Mumbai Indians were one of those that fell into trap of raising the bid price without much intention to buy and eventually had to pay price for it. It all started between Banglore and Delhi from base price of $200000, but Mrs. Ambani suddenly raised her bid at $450000 and Banglore continued their pursuit when they finally called off at $700k. Mumbai Indians team looked flummoxed and they bought Munaf Patel hesitantly in the team. Now thats the magic and unpredictability of an auction!
7. Dan Christian to Deccan Chargers for $900,000. Meanwhile Deccan Chargers were conservative, yet building a strong team with thoughtful approach and buying good players at a very good price. However,one such name cropped who I nor any from my friends or the people in the room had heard of - Dan Christian.Yes, the bidding went on and on for him between the Chargers and Chennai Super Kings. Chargers were laughed off at for their pursuit of Christian, who must have already started celebrating his 2011 Christmas.
8. Mohammad Kaif went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $130,000. He was brought into auction action for 3rd time in the day when he went un-bid for two times. This time he was being called at $100k by Pune's owners and to everyone's surprise Banglore asked $110k. Pune's owner had given up before again bidding $120k. But Bengalaru's Vijay Mallya had the last laugh by buying him for $130k. And thus the auction of IPL Season 4,2011 came to an end.
9. But some huge players missed out on the jamboree that is IPL. Sourav Ganguly's playing career must now come to an end when he was not picked up by his home team Kolkata nor any other franchises as well thought he is worth to go for. Brian Lara who announced he could return for IPL but with less of player and more of mentor role, lessened the chances for himself. Because who wants a mentor, the auction is about players. Another player of massive impact Chris Gayle of West Indies who had recently scored a triple century against Sri Lanka in test series and 32 runs of 1 over in T20 against Australia, he's also the first centurion T20 World Cup. He will be sorely missed. And also missed will be England's Ashes heroes Ian Bell, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Graemme Swann.
10. Two teams - Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors that were left with a purse in excess of a million dollars should feel that these unsold players could haunt them in their sleep if any of those have a good World Cup. Well something is seriously wrong with teams wearing Fly Emirates jersey. They are shy to spend money on transfers. Kings XI Punjab did an Arsenal act by saving almost 2mn dollars in their kitty.
Moral of the story is "However great a player you may be, you need to be playing active cricket."
All the best to Mumbai Indians for IPL 4 and hope players do well and get us the 1st trophy.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sachining & Shining
Hello again and a warm welcome to thee. This one is a short blog. I wrote a few weeks back about how bureaucrats are bringing disrepute to country by mismanaging the Games. I feared if India’s a one sport nation. Two weeks later those doubts have been put to rest.
A lot of news hungry section of media sensationalized and brought much malign to the Games. However the artists from India ensured a grand opening ceremony witnessed by thousands in the stadium and many others on television. I only watched it in bits and pieces and some on You Tube and forwarded emails… Reason – Arsenal vs. Chelsea. It is also people like me who do not watch the good things happening around but are first to criticize when things go wrong. But I have made a decent effort to overcome that and have kept a close eye on India’s performance in Games. 32 gold medals and counting… make me feel proud of the athletes. We have achieved more than what we did 8 years ago in Manchester. With medals in Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Athletics and awaiting medals in Table Tennis and Hockey, it clearly shows the youth is participating in all possible games. And who are these winners – most of them from the small towns and cities of the country. Our next aim should be to repeat such performances in Olympics as well and try to beat the Chinese, Americans and Russians in some of the games in which they dominate the world sport. I would urge parents of all youngsters in the country to take up sport seriously as part of academics and encourage them to remain fit and healthy when the events such as these come knocking at the doorstep.
Cricket is Religion and Sachin Tendulkar is GOD. And He once again showed why He is an All Time Legend of a cricketer. Coming into 2nd test match after being named ICC Player of the Year, Sachin showed no signs of high headedness. He did what He does the best; a double century while guiding Vijay to his maiden test hundred. Even the statisticians must have forgotten the count of records that Sachin keeps on adding to his name. He can be compared to Ryan Giggs in this aspect – I once heard that Giggs played his 98471st minute on the pitch and that was published as a club record. Hehe, just joshing. :)
A 2-0 win over the Aussies looks so flattering to be deceived; but it was a hard earned series win which involved huge efforts from the entire team and bowlers especially, Zaheer Khan. He reverse swung the sessions of the match in India’s favor which the Australian bowlers failed to do. The momentum is now with India as we go into ODI series and hope they youngsters come good again. The prep for World Cup 2011 has to begin from now…
Congratulations & Thanks a Ton to All Indian Athletes in Commonwealth Games 2010 and Indian Cricket Team for giving 2 joyous weeks!!!
A Proud Indian.
A lot of news hungry section of media sensationalized and brought much malign to the Games. However the artists from India ensured a grand opening ceremony witnessed by thousands in the stadium and many others on television. I only watched it in bits and pieces and some on You Tube and forwarded emails… Reason – Arsenal vs. Chelsea. It is also people like me who do not watch the good things happening around but are first to criticize when things go wrong. But I have made a decent effort to overcome that and have kept a close eye on India’s performance in Games. 32 gold medals and counting… make me feel proud of the athletes. We have achieved more than what we did 8 years ago in Manchester. With medals in Shooting, Weightlifting, Boxing and Athletics and awaiting medals in Table Tennis and Hockey, it clearly shows the youth is participating in all possible games. And who are these winners – most of them from the small towns and cities of the country. Our next aim should be to repeat such performances in Olympics as well and try to beat the Chinese, Americans and Russians in some of the games in which they dominate the world sport. I would urge parents of all youngsters in the country to take up sport seriously as part of academics and encourage them to remain fit and healthy when the events such as these come knocking at the doorstep.
Cricket is Religion and Sachin Tendulkar is GOD. And He once again showed why He is an All Time Legend of a cricketer. Coming into 2nd test match after being named ICC Player of the Year, Sachin showed no signs of high headedness. He did what He does the best; a double century while guiding Vijay to his maiden test hundred. Even the statisticians must have forgotten the count of records that Sachin keeps on adding to his name. He can be compared to Ryan Giggs in this aspect – I once heard that Giggs played his 98471st minute on the pitch and that was published as a club record. Hehe, just joshing. :)
A 2-0 win over the Aussies looks so flattering to be deceived; but it was a hard earned series win which involved huge efforts from the entire team and bowlers especially, Zaheer Khan. He reverse swung the sessions of the match in India’s favor which the Australian bowlers failed to do. The momentum is now with India as we go into ODI series and hope they youngsters come good again. The prep for World Cup 2011 has to begin from now…
Congratulations & Thanks a Ton to All Indian Athletes in Commonwealth Games 2010 and Indian Cricket Team for giving 2 joyous weeks!!!
A Proud Indian.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Whaddaaplayaaa!!!
Hello readers, Welcome to the 11th edition of my simple blogs. Today I am writing this is in ecstasy. No, I have'nt been taking drugs or have been high on ale, but I just witnessed a heart breaking, nerve wretching and happy ending test match in office breakout area which India won convincingly by more than half a day to spare. Claps. Claps. Claps.
I woke up today morning with a feeling that Sachin will finally deliver when it matters the most and silence his critics. One can't blame the Master - he did his bit with the bat and fell to Bollinger's tact. I left for office dejected having absolutely no hopes on Dhoni pulling it off for us. Well, I had forgotten about one man army against the Aussies, who very recently in Sri Lanka series bailed us out from a similar position chasing 258. The Very Very Special Laxman.
VVS joined Sachin at crease with India still 140 runs behind. Remember Laxman was playing with an injured back. He accumulated runs at fast rate thus taking pressure off Sachin's shoulders. Even after Dhoni's run out; Laxman kept scoring steadily in partnership with Ishant Sharma. Whats up with this lanky bowler, bowled no-balls in both the innings before a dream spell where he picked 3 wickets. Now I gotcha why he bowled no-balls, he had them balls preserved for batting in tense situation. VVS and Ishant took the game away from Australia. Bravado.
In the closing stages of the game, Laxman showed all his emotions on the pitch. It was so apparent that he just wanted to win this game so ever badly for his country. He gestured throwing a bat at Ojha, scolded Raina for hearing his decision before making a call on whether to take a run. All in all, it was a sweet effort from the Hyderabadi batsman to once again pin down Ponting's men. As the winning runs were scored the entire country erupted in joy. The players from dressing room went running to the field to congratulate the heroes. And there I stood in office breakout area, with almost teary moist eyes, murmuring to meself,
"Thanks VVS. Take a bow, my son."
I woke up today morning with a feeling that Sachin will finally deliver when it matters the most and silence his critics. One can't blame the Master - he did his bit with the bat and fell to Bollinger's tact. I left for office dejected having absolutely no hopes on Dhoni pulling it off for us. Well, I had forgotten about one man army against the Aussies, who very recently in Sri Lanka series bailed us out from a similar position chasing 258. The Very Very Special Laxman.
VVS joined Sachin at crease with India still 140 runs behind. Remember Laxman was playing with an injured back. He accumulated runs at fast rate thus taking pressure off Sachin's shoulders. Even after Dhoni's run out; Laxman kept scoring steadily in partnership with Ishant Sharma. Whats up with this lanky bowler, bowled no-balls in both the innings before a dream spell where he picked 3 wickets. Now I gotcha why he bowled no-balls, he had them balls preserved for batting in tense situation. VVS and Ishant took the game away from Australia. Bravado.
In the closing stages of the game, Laxman showed all his emotions on the pitch. It was so apparent that he just wanted to win this game so ever badly for his country. He gestured throwing a bat at Ojha, scolded Raina for hearing his decision before making a call on whether to take a run. All in all, it was a sweet effort from the Hyderabadi batsman to once again pin down Ponting's men. As the winning runs were scored the entire country erupted in joy. The players from dressing room went running to the field to congratulate the heroes. And there I stood in office breakout area, with almost teary moist eyes, murmuring to meself,
"Thanks VVS. Take a bow, my son."
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Technology, Human Errors and Administrators!
Welcome to 9th edition of Keep It Simple blogs. Today I am discussing a serious issue of Technology and Human Errors in Sport. Well, you might have already read a lot about use or misuse of technology on other blogs as well. But we have'nt really yet come to a conclusion. WHY??? What's stopppping us humans from making use of advanced technologies created by us humans for betterment of life???
Controversies are part and parcel of any sport and they add a bit of spice to the contest, no doubt. But we must ensure that it doesnt cost an individual or team's fortune for a bigger cause. Just mention to the Irish about 'Henry' OR ask Lampard 'Why could he not score against the Germans?' You will surely get your answers there. How far and fast have the admins moved to change all this? I think so far we have covered a distance of 2mm @ speed of 0.00004 mm per light year.
I will recount two incidents on the weekend from Stoke vs Tottenham game and India vs Sri Lanka game.
Stoke vs Tottenham Spurs:
Did the ball go in? Yes.
Was referee or linesman in right place to view the incident? Yes.
The Result? Stoke denied a point. May be or may be not, Spurs could have scored a 3rd which we'll never know.
Why was there not much of a fuss after this game? Probably lesser known teams. It is just a league match, it may balance off in course of 38 games.
India vs Sri Lanka:
4 umpiring decisions went against India. Umpires were from Sri Lanka and Pakistan none of who have got a great umpiring record broke the spine of Indian batting. The match was of utmost importance to Indians, win it and qualify for the finals. Yes, the rest of the batting was patchy but was largely due to pressure caused by erroneous umpiring.
The Result? Indian suffered another humiliating defeat and are on brink of exiting from the tri-series cup.
Indian fans Reaction: The reasons umpires Dharmasena & Rauf declared them as "Out" were probably due to excessive appealing from Lankans OR to take revenge of the Randiv incident.
What Next? Do the refs own up the responsibility? When will administrators do something to save the integrity of the sport? Or should we fans take everything in stride and carry on thinking it's not our job to change the system?
Said it before as well and saying now again to the FIFA and ICC Chiefs - Technology is there, bloody well USE IT just like you would use condoms when bedding your precious prostitutes; before your prestige will be at stake.
Go Technology!
Controversies are part and parcel of any sport and they add a bit of spice to the contest, no doubt. But we must ensure that it doesnt cost an individual or team's fortune for a bigger cause. Just mention to the Irish about 'Henry' OR ask Lampard 'Why could he not score against the Germans?' You will surely get your answers there. How far and fast have the admins moved to change all this? I think so far we have covered a distance of 2mm @ speed of 0.00004 mm per light year.
I will recount two incidents on the weekend from Stoke vs Tottenham game and India vs Sri Lanka game.
Stoke vs Tottenham Spurs:
Did the ball go in? Yes.
Was referee or linesman in right place to view the incident? Yes.
The Result? Stoke denied a point. May be or may be not, Spurs could have scored a 3rd which we'll never know.
Why was there not much of a fuss after this game? Probably lesser known teams. It is just a league match, it may balance off in course of 38 games.
India vs Sri Lanka:
4 umpiring decisions went against India. Umpires were from Sri Lanka and Pakistan none of who have got a great umpiring record broke the spine of Indian batting. The match was of utmost importance to Indians, win it and qualify for the finals. Yes, the rest of the batting was patchy but was largely due to pressure caused by erroneous umpiring.
The Result? Indian suffered another humiliating defeat and are on brink of exiting from the tri-series cup.
Indian fans Reaction: The reasons umpires Dharmasena & Rauf declared them as "Out" were probably due to excessive appealing from Lankans OR to take revenge of the Randiv incident.
What Next? Do the refs own up the responsibility? When will administrators do something to save the integrity of the sport? Or should we fans take everything in stride and carry on thinking it's not our job to change the system?
Said it before as well and saying now again to the FIFA and ICC Chiefs - Technology is there, bloody well USE IT just like you would use condoms when bedding your precious prostitutes; before your prestige will be at stake.
Go Technology!
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