Last man Standing

Two in Two. The Indians have one two test matches in succession chasing decent scores in the fourth innings. And both of them has one thing in common. It is the master from Hyderabad - VVS, who has been doing regularly what no Indian Batsman has been able to do including Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (apart from the lone test match against England). No wonder he is considered Very Very Special by the Australians...

However this time around it was pleasing to see that even the younger players like Ishant were willing to fight it out in the middle. Ishant did not play one rash shot and concentrated so well for the 90 odd balls that he faced.. He was in that zone where nothing seemed impossible. Did the Australians bowl well - Yes they did !! Well enough to dislodge Tendulkar and the other Batters.

 

Watching all young players play the IPL and CL it seems many are satisfied with the money and fame that they have. However to sustain those kind of rewards they will have to do well in the longer format because ultimately test cricket is REAL Cricket. The rest is just entertaintment...

Common wealth brings cheers !!!

It has been a great week for the Indian Sports Lover.

To everybody's surprise and amazement the CWG opened without any embarassment. However it is sad that many street vendors were asked to leave for security reasons.

However, coming back to sports, the CWG opening ceremony announced the economic might of India in grand style. A lot of money was spent and was clearly visible. The stadium looked beautiful with all the lights and the facilities .. and who can forget the large balloon (Aerostat) in the center. Some of the performances were great although I would have liked a few more individual performances from the country's legends.

Kalmadi, inspite of his shoddy organisational skills and foot in the mouth disease was there and even he got some cheers after he finished his speech.

I was so surprised when the Pakistan contingent got a loud applause followed by Australia and England. Of course the biggest was reserved for the 600 odd strong Indian contingent. It was indeed refreshing to see 60000 people cheering the poor cousins of the country's cricketers.

With India having started on a strong note and having won quite a lot of medals in the opening 3 days, I would love to see us finishing in the top 3 at the end of the Games.

Wishing the Indian players success...

The Short and Short of it

Whoof!! what a feeling it is to face a new ball going past ur ears and u have no clue.
Coming from school level cricketers this sounds funny and adventurous. But Sadly this is the case for most of the Indian Batsmen who have been brought up on flat beauties. Balls seldom rise to waist levels and so heavy bats can be used to put them away.
But when the faster bowlers from countries like Australia, England and South Africa, who are blessed with extra pace, dig it in we our bravehearts almost faint. I agree that our batsmen are not cowards but lazy - yes they are.
It is so humiliating for every cricket loving Indian to see Indian Batsmen getting bullied by the fast bowlers who know our weakness.But still players who are getting so many opportunities to play at the highest levels avoid practicing to play the short ball. It is clear from the way they face the ball. Their feet movement is unsure and they expect every ball to be short pitched, they go under, dive or sometimes even play the hook and pull and get new helmets for the next match...

So plz Wake up Duds!!!

Clash of the Titans

South Africans are here again; hungry and looking forward to taking back something most experts believe is rightfully theirs - the No. 1 spot in Test Cricket.
They have one of the best fast bowling attack and have a smart spinner in Botha who can be handy in the Indian conditions. Their Batsmen have been doing well and have scored heavily in the recent Test series with England. The fielding as usual is top class and would not give an inch to the opposition.
But what goes for them the most is their past record in India. The last time they were here they got caught in the Sehwag Thunderstorm but managed to win the next test easily demolishing the famed Indian batting line up. India managed to win the deciding test by preparing a turner but could not convince anyone of their batting against quality bowling.

However India has done well for some time now in Test cricket and the batsmen look in decent form if not great form.The likes of Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are excellent strokemakers and the master is there to provide solidity to the middle order. Rahul's absence may not have much impact if the openers do well. However the choice of the No 3 Bat would be interesting to see.
The bowling looks better with Zaheer in and new spinners getting a look. However, it is Harbhajan's form that is worrying. He has not performed well and clearly is low on confidence. He has to do better or make room for someone fresh.
India's secret weapon can be Mithun who has done really well in his brief career. He almost won the game for Karnataka in the Ranji Finals.

Last but not the least Indian fielding, which has hit an all time low especially catching, has to be solid. Catches have to be taken and singles stopped to prevent the rotation of strike.

The South Africans are without a coach and India has a South African coach!!

I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that India wins and wins on good sporting wickets which last the distance. Let there be some good cricket and the best team will win.