Battles of the Beleagured Captains, Bollywood, Paki Powers, & Leading Stumpers

Battle of the Beleagured Captains

One of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, captains of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers respectively, will come out on top tomorrow.

Old friends and team mates, both of them have looked out of place in 20-20 cricket.

Apart from their last innings in the Indian Premier League, they have seemed all at sea at the crease failing to adjust their games to this form of cricket and on top, their captaincy has also been anything but inspiring.

They come head to head tomorrow.

Will they be able to produce a 20-20 innings? Which one will lift their team out of the losing rut they are in? Which one of them will redeem themself tomorrow?

Battle of the Bollywood

Kolkata Knight Riders won their first 2 matches of the Indian Premier League. Kings XI Punjab lost their first 2.

Then KKR lost their next 3 matches on the trot. And KXIP won their next 3.

Shahrukh Khan is obviously disappointed at the losses but I'm sure he's hurting a lot at the fact that Preity Zinta's team has gone ahead of his in the points table. No one likes losing you see, and moreso no man likes losing to a woman. Specially not a Bollywood one.

It gets better tomorrow as SRK's Kolkata Knight Riders take on Preity's Kings XI Punjab.

Will SRK have the last laugh as he always does? Or will Zinta continue smiling and hugging her players?

Battle of the Paki Powers

Misbah Ul Haq will finally get his chance for RCB tomorrow. Or so I hope. I think common sense will finally prevail in the RCB camp and Misbah will be given his first taste of the IPL since Ross Taylor has made his way to the land of the Queen.

Misbah will be up against a team mate though - the Chargers' Shahid Afridi.

Not only are the 2 the most powerful hitters Pakistan have, they both are Pakistan's most successful 20-20 players as well. Misbah is the 2nd highest run scorer in all 20-20 Internationals, while Afridi is the highest wicket taker; and both were instrumental in taking Pakistan to the final of the 20-20 World Cup last year.

It will be a great watch if Afridi is given the ball when Misbah is in full flow. Will Afridi be able to stop Misbah? Or will Afridi bear the brunt of Misbah's blade like Harbhajan and all other spinners have?

Battle of the Leading Stumpers

One tops the most dismissals list in test cricket and the other tops the ODI one. One is second on the test dismissals list and the other is second on the ODI one. One is arguably the best wicketkeeper to play cricket, while the other definitely the best keeper batsman ever.

Both have come against each other a number of times for South Africa and Australia, but tomorrow one takes the field for RCB and the other for the Deccan Chargers.

Its Mark Boucher up against Adam Gilchrist.

Watch out for Gilchrist and Gibbs going great guns against Steyn with Boucher behind the stumps and Kallis at 1st slip. Where else but the IPL.

All this and more at the IPL Double Header starting at 1030am GMT.

(Note to Uncle J: 4 thoughts in 1 post, only for you. I could have done 4)

Clash of the Titans

Before the start of the Indian Premier League the prospects of watching a team led by VVS Laxman and including Gilchrist, Afridi, Gibbs, and Vaas taking on a team led by Yuvraj Singh and comprising of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Irfan Pathan would have been nothing less than a Clash of the Titans.

The Deccan Chargers and the Kings from Punjab though have had less than ideal starts to their campaign.

Both teams lost their first few matches but have picked up recently with the Chargers winning their last one convincingly and the Kings winning their last two.

Its a downer that both teams have lost Symonds and Lee since the 2 going toe to toe, or for that matter, Lee bowling to Gilchrist would have been gruelling contests to watch. And Sreesanth also misses his chance of a bowl to Symonds.

But the match still involves some exciting stuff to watch out for:

• Adam Gilchrist and Herchelle Gibbs opening the batting - Pathan & Co. will be trembling at just the thought of this.


• Vaas bowling to the Lankan batting supremos - King Sanga and Jayawardene.


• A battle of the Indian bowling attack - Pathan on one side, RP on the other. Both have attacked for India before. They have for the U19 team as well. Here they are on opposing sides.


• Ajitesh Argal, India's U19 pacer could come in for Lee - he is an exciting prospect.


• RP bowling to Yuvi with Sanga behind the stumps. And Vaasy bowling to Sanga and Gilchrist behind the stumps.


• Will Sreesanth get into Gilly's face? Or is he a changed man after the slap?


• Everyones been waiting for Afridi to fire. After watching Symonds and Gilchrist blaze away, Afridi is raring to go. We could be in for a treat of he fires after Gilly and Gibbs.

This and Preity Zinta and a whole lot more at 2:30PM GMT.

(one of our readers and an ardent admirer of Ms. Zinta pointed out that I had been spelling her name wrong. I made a conscious effort to get it right this time round)

D3 Power, Mixed Feelings, Need for Inspiration, & Tomorrow's Biggie

The Delhi Daredevils are Very vEry veRy verY VERY strong.

2 matches, 2 wins, and no one below number 3 has got a hit in the middle yet.

This is due to the exact same reason I pointed out right after the Indian Premier League auctions - the Daredevils have managed to pack their side with a powerful Indian batting line up. With Sehwag, Gambhir, and Dhawan in the top order followed by Kathik and Tiwary in the middle, very few bowling line ups will be able to contain these men.

I haven't even talked about the International recruits yet.

Glenn McGrath didn't take any wickets today but the 2 men who consider him to be their idol, Mohammad Asif and Ferveez Maharoof, wrecked the Deccan Chargers' top order with 2 wickets each. The 4th international player Shoaib Malik wasn't even required to do anything.

This is the strength of the Delhi Daredevils.

Mixed Feelings
5 days into the tournament and I am experiencing the first feeling of mixed loyalties associated with the IPL.

Thus far I have pledged my support to the Knight Riders solely based on my support for King Khan and the excitement associated with Ganguly, Ponting, Gayle, Ishant Sharma, and Shoaib Akhtar being in the same team. Akhtar hasn't arrived and the Daredevils have decided that Malik and Asif are starters in their XI.

The Daredevils are playing outstanding cricket and with Sehwag in the kind of form that he showed today in a 41 ball 94, its hard not cheer them on.

So am I shifting loyalties?

Nope. I'm rooting for a Daredevils vs Knight Riders tie for the finals. And I'm also rooting for more exciting cricket from both.

There were some more mixed feelings during the match as well. I didn't like it when Rohit Sharma smashed Asif over long on for 6. But when he did it to Mahroof, I didn't really mind it and actually enjoyed his decimation of the bowler. The same happened when Sehwag hit Afridi for a 6 over long off and then went on to destroy Symonds with a patterned sequence of 4,6,4,6,4,6!!!

But then thats the excitement associated with the IPL.

Skippers Need to Inspire
The Deccan Chargers along with Kings XI Punjab have lost both their matches. Along with Mumbai Indians, they are the only teams yet to win a match.

Before the tournament started, the Chargers and the Punjabis looked like one of the strongest teams on paper. However thus far, the matches have shown that putting together a bunch of international stars does not make a team. Their key problem, in my view, has been the uninspirational leadership of Laxman and Yuvraj.

To make a mark in the tournament, the captains will have to lift their teams. There are a lot of matches left in the league stages but both teams need to make an impact sooner rather than later. Both will lose key players in Symonds, Hayden, Hopes, and Lee for the last 2 weeks of the league, which will make it tougher for them to come back in the later stages.

At least Yuvraj needs to do something. I don't want to see Priety in tears.

Another Big One
The IPL extravanganza marches on tomorrow with the Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai's Super Kings. Its Sachin's team against the team of the man he recommended to the selectors as India's captain - Dhoni!

More on this tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Hey Day for T20 Lovers

Three T20 matches will be played out today and the cricket fan will be spoilt for choice.

Here's a brief preview of the 3 matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers
Indian Premier League Match 4, 10:30 GMT, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

The Knight Riders will be playing their first match at home. I would like to see if their performance in the 1st game can bring a 100,000 people to the Eden Gardens. Can you imagine the atmosphere if they do? After demolishing a weak Bangalore side, they go up against the mighty Deccan Chargers led by VVS Laxman who will be making his IPL debut on his favorite ground.

The Knight Riders will probably go in with the same line up as Gayle and Umar Gul still haven't arrived.

The Chargers are one of the strongest IPL line ups I reckon. Gilchrist, Symonds, Styris, Rohit Sharma, Laxman - thats some batting power there. Even without Afridi and Gibbs, their batting looks very strong. Their attack lacks variety though with 3 left arm seamers in RP, Vaas, and Zoysa and McCullum may be licking his lips after what he did to Zaheer Khan.

This has the potential to be a cracker of a match. For the bloggers, this match pits my favorite team, the Knight Riders, against Uncle J Rod's. That surely is an intriguing battle.

Other battles to watch out for:

1. Ponting batting while Gichrist keeps wicket.
2. Symonds bowling to Ponting.
3. Ishant Sharma bowling to Laxman.
4. Prince of Kolkata (Ganguly's home) taking on King of Kolkata (Laxman's 287).

Pakistan vs Bangladesh
Only T20 International, 1:00PM GMT, National Stadium, Karachi

After being whitewashed 5-0 in the ODIs the Bengalis would be looking to save some face and go back home with something positive. They are an exciting T20 team and should be able to give Pakistan a tougher fight than they did in the ODIs.

Who am I kidding? This will be another one sided match I think with little interest from the viewers. I believe everyone will watch this he way I will - flipping to the channel during an IPL commercial break.

The only interesting thing here is that the PCB have yet again dropped Mohammad Yousuf from the line up. And Younis Khan continues to be there.


Mumbi Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Indian Premier League Match 5, 2:30PM GMT, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

After a mauling in their first match, Rahul Dravid's men will be looking to put up a better performance against Sachin Tendulkar's Indians. I wonder how Jayasuriya, Pollock, Luke Ronchi, Dwayne Bravo, Loots Bosman, Dilhara Fernando, Ashwell Prince, Dominic Thornely, and Malinga feel playing for a team called the Indians. Hmmm.

The opening combination of Sachin and Jayasuriya is an explosive one and I can't wait for the 2 to take the field together. Sachin is still doubtful but I hope he plays. With Steyn and Bracken still missing the Royal Challengers will have a tough time containing these 2. With Uthappa and Bravo in the line up as well, the Indians could post a huge total.

Bangalore's batting would be stronger today with the in form Chanderpaul joining them but I think they have another tough day ahead.

Battles to watch out for:

1. Pollock bowling to Kallis and Boucher.
2. Praveen and Zaheer bowling to Sachin.
3. Harbhajan bowling to Dravid.
4. Pollock batting and Boucher keeping wicket.
5. Bravo bowling to Chanderpaul.

Have a good day T20 lovers. Keep coming back for more on the IPL.

Selectorial Headache or a Mathematical Problem?

Come tomorrow and the 8 IPL franchisees will be getting together to bid for the cricketers they want in their teams.

Sounds fun doesn't it? - after all the only thing required is a suitcase full of dollars and knowledge about the players available. That can't be difficult can it? All 8 franchisees have truck loads of dollars and they know their cricketers.

But its not as simple as it sounds. There are certain restrictions in place which have given this IPL player auction the image of a mathematical problem rather than a selectorial headache.

You have to spend a minimum of $3.3 million but can't go above $5 million.

You have to choose 8 international players

You have to choose 4 under 22 players

You have to choose 4 players from the local catchment areas

You can choose as many Indian players as you like

You cannot have more than 2 Australian players in the same team

You cannot choose Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, or Yuvraj unless you are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, or Mohali respectively. The same is being requested for Laxman (Hyderabad) and Sehwag (Delhi).

The above mentioned Icon players will earn 15% more than your highest paid cricketer

Not to downgrade the mathematical abilities of the cricketers and bollywood celebrities involved but probably they would be better of hiring an investment banker or a Fantasy Cricket expert.

Those of you who play the several fantasy cricket games on the web would be familiar with such selectorial headaches - fixed budget to use, best players priced too highly to fit into one team, restrictions on number of bowlers, batsmen, and allrounders, restrictions from which country they are from, and so on. Its a dream come true for us fantasy cricket lovers to see the best being auctioned for real dollars unlike the imaginary numbers we play with on ESPN's Super Selector or Cricinfo Fantasy.

An Investment Banker will also be useful - he would develop a model showcasing the different combinations and permutations needed to get the best team fulfilling the whole criteria and one that will ensure returns on the money spent.

Note to SRK and Preity Zinta: I am an investment banker and quite good at fantasy cricket and for you I will work for FREE! (All I require is a visa to India and a flight there tonight, I will pull an allnighter to develop a team and a bid for the auction tomorrow)

So the question is who do you choose? How do you garantee you get the players you want? What is the combination that will get you the crowds and win matches at the same time? Given that its a 20-20 tournament, do you choose senior and exerienced cricketers or rising young ones? Your XI is only allowed to field 4 international cricketers but you can have 8 in your squad - how do you come up with a good mix? How big can you go on your bid for Shane Warne or Glen McGrath given that you have to pay 15% higher to your Icon? Will Hayden make a good opening partner with Saurav or Sachin? Do you want Gilchrist or Dhoni?

What is the Optimal Solution?

I told you, its more like mathematics!

India in Australia: Reflections

The series is over with a bit of an anti climatic end - there was no result in the final match of the series, dousing all hopes of India leveling the series. Sure India and Sehwag fought well to hold on for a draw and for the Aussies drawing a game is probably probably as bad as losing it. The Indians can hold some comfort in that. They can also be proud of fighting well and keeping the series alive right till the end. In the end the Australians did win the series and were deserving winners. Here are some of my takeaways:

Maybe its just me, but the series win doesnt feel as satisfying as it could have been. The specter of Sydney still looms over the series win, especially with the Harbhajan hearing commencing shortly. The inclusion of new stump mike recordings/transcripts adds another bizarre dimension - every time you wonder if the ICC can screw up some more, they prove you wrong!

Is it just me of is Gilchrist's retirement a shock to all of us? He has definitely given Pakistanis and Indians many many nightmares but Im still sad to see him go so unexpectedly. For me that historic turnaround in Hobart where Australia chased down a record 369 with Gilchrist hitting a century was a defining moment. The Pakistani attack had Waqar, Wasim, Shoaib, Saqlain and 369 on the board- how much better can it get? The Indians have their own share of Gilly nightmares, specially the world cup ones. Sure, I respect and understand Gilchrist's rationale for bowing out while on top - that is what true champions do. But his announcement seems very hasty - his family didnt even know until the 4th Test was in progress... I just wonder if the events of the Sydney test had anything to do with his decision. I dont want to speculate, but a reflective, honest chap like Gilchrist may no longer want to play as hard with the "win at all costs" mentality of Ponting. Im curious to see what he says in the days to come. Hats off to one of the best ever - I salute you for giving us some great memories and for bowing out on your own terms.

The final thing that caught my attention is that playing Australia definitely brings out the best in India - whether it is at home or away. Lifting your game and challenging the best is an admirable quality to have. I read on cricinfo that the tally reads 6-5 in Australia's favor if you look at recent matches- cricket is definitely the benefactor in this contest. I hope that the next generation of Indian and Australian cricketers keep this context alive, but within the spirit of the game. For every Laxman there must be hundreds of youngster's taking up cricket. But for every Sydney there must be a few who ask - is it worth it?

Finally, Ponting's observation that India is going to lose many of its most experienced cricketer's is an interesting one. He backs up Australia to emerge from such losses because of the quality of the domestic Australian cricket scene - you can argue that they have already done ok after losing Warne, McGrath, Langer, Martyn. But what about India? For so long the focus has been on producing quality fast bowlers like neighboring Pakistan - have they neglected the batting department? You can see very good fast bowlers like Ishant Sharma emerge out of the system. But if you look at the batting, judging from the opening woes, the signs look ominous. Who will fill in for Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar, Dravid? At the same time if you look into the Indian domestic scene I am fearful that the wham-bam IPLs and ICLs with all their money will take talent away from the longer version of the game. Its not a final judgement - just a fear.

-Obaid

India 161-4 chasing 276 - Day 4 at the Kotla

Which test match am I watching? The same one that you guys are. The way the events have unfolded during the first 3 days of this dramatic test, the above score line looks more than likely for tomorrow. Read on to see why.

Aamir Sohail said that all non-fans of test cricket need to watch this test match to change their mind. I agree cent percent! Another day off, and I managed to catch a full days of action, which did not diappoint even for a second. What a test match its turning out to be. Up and down and still anybody's game.

The India-Pakistan series has definitely lived up to its hype of being bigger than the Ashes. An Australian and an English cricket fan agree to this - 2 men from Australia and England have flown to India all the way from Tokyo to witness this test series. Why are they supporting India though? Surely Pakistan is the more exciting team. Not better, I said exciting.

A few observations from today:

1. I still don't know what the commentators are smoking.
   
2. The new Kaneria has got some coaching tips from Shane Warne. Shorter run up, hardly a googly, more of the straighter faster delivery, 4 wickets for less than 60 - thats not the Kaneria I know.
   
3. Laxman can be atheletic in the field, and so can Ganguly - more time for Yuvi on the bench.
   
4. Finally catches in the slips - both of spinners.
   
5. More often than not Pakistan's openers fail and the middle order is left to do damage control. Rarely when the openers put up a good stand, the middle order collapses.
   
6. Misbah still fancies Harbhajan Singh.
   
7. Rameez Raja fancies Ranjan Madugalle.
   
8. 9 wickets to fall in the day and only 1 to a pacer.
   
9. Yousuf was the first Asian cricketer to be sponsored by Gray Nicolls. Kamran Akmal is the second. Why?
   
10. Anil Kumble, after 117 test matches, decided its time to get some variety into his run up.
    
11. Rameez Raja does not like Bruce Yardley.
    
12. Bruce Yardley's mom is 88 years old and likes poker.
    
13. Shoaib Akhtar loves his new soft toy.
    
14. Day 1: 210 runs and 8 wickets. Day 2: 249 runs and 8 wickets. Day 3: 260 runs and 9 wickets. At this rate day 4 will end with India on 161-4 chasing 276 leaving an exciting day 5 of cricket.

What Have the Commentators been Smoking? - Day 2 at the Kotla

Friday is a day off in the Middle East so I woke up early in the morning to catch the LIVE action, hoping for a Misbah 100. That was not to happen, but I sure did enjoy the cricket throughout the day. I think India is slightly ahead at the end of day 2 but only slightly.

Here are some of the key things that I noticed during the day:

1. Ul Haqs playing for Pakistan will always manage to find the strangest ways of getting out.
   
2. Dravid wants his ODI spot back.
   
3. Best way to Ganguly out: Bowl a wide one and let him smash it for 4 and then bowl one coming into him - he would either play it on to the stumps or to the slips.
   
4. Mohd. Yousuf is a better fielder in test cricket than ODIs.
   
5. No one has been out caught in the slips in 2 days of cricket.
   
6. 20-20 cricket can be the stepping stone for new test players - examples: Misbah and Sohail Tanvir.
   
7. Geoff Lawson has his heart with Pakistan.
   
8. I still don't know what the commentators are smoking. Pakistan lost 5 wickets between lunch and tea yesterday, India lost 4 today and yet Rameez, Arun Lal, Bishop, Yardley & Co. keep saying that the 2nd session is the best time to bat.
   
9. The post tea session is the best time for batting. Pakistan lost no wickets yesterday and India lost only 1 today.
   
10. Malik has used Kaneria better than all other former captains he's bowled under.
    
11. Yuvraj Singh will have to continue bringing the drinks during test matches. Laxman's career is far from over and Ganguly is India's 3rd pacer.
    
12. Not only do umpires help Kumble get wickets at the Kotla (1999), they also help him stay at the crease (2007).