116 Days!

When Australia played New Zealand at Sydney in the first ODI of the Chappel-Hadlee Series on March 13, 2020 – there was no one in the stands, and the fielding team had to climb on to the empty galleries to fetch the ball hit for sixes. It reminded me of our childhood days when the ball popped out of the boundary usually landed in the marshy land in the neighbourhood, and the entire fielding team would go searching for the ball. Sheer Nostalgia!

Well, Nostalgia is good, and we had a good measure of it dished out for 116 days – it was memorable for a few days watching the best of World Cups, Best of IPLs, Best of Test Cricket, Best of ODI – but how long? There is not as much fun in watching a movie a second time when you already know the climax, and the suspense gets revealed.

For 116 days, after the series was abandoned following the first match at Sydney, the cricket aficionados like me craved for Live Cricket. And Finally, We have it Live on Television today - International Cricket Returns!  

Just like that last match 116 days ago, there won’t be any crowd in the stands, when West Indies take on hosts England at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Southampton on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

There will be roar for sure – While most may argue, including the West Indian Legend Brian Lara, that the result is a foregone conclusion - It’s Live Cricket folks – and it’s time to sit back and enjoy!

I don’t care if there is a ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball, I don’t care if there are no trademark English crowds in the stands that Boo the opposition. I don’t care that there won’t be high-five celebrations, I don’t mind if the teams go on their knees or not in solidarity of a global protest. I also don’t mind Joe Root being on a personal leave and making way for Ben Stokes to lead the England team for the first time.

The wait has been too long – and today, I am not talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the teams.  I am not going to discuss the batting and bowling combinations or the team line ups!

I am just looking forward to watching the players in white flannels with the wicket-keeper standing behind as the opening over is bowled – Fours Slips, a Gully, Point and Forward Short-leg – Let the game begin – LIVE!

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Pics: Internet

Kabaddi… Kabaddi… Kabaddi…

Domestic leagues aren’t doing any good for national sports

The English Premier League hosts some of the best footballers the world over. In the recently concluded FIFA World cup England was the only team to have every player in its squad affiliated to one or the other EPL club. They had some of the best names in the business and multi million contracts that did more than justice to their skills. The end result, the British team could not break the jinx of winning the most coveted sporting trophy in 52 years. Marquee names like Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina have shelves full of Spanish Premier league accomplishments, but don’t have a National title to their name.

In the year 2007, the inaugural ICC T20 World cup changed the landscape of Twenty20 cricket across the world. India who was rank outsider - with a barely any domestic T20 setup in the country owing to BCCI apathy – lifted the title beating arch rivals Pakistan.

That year also saw the launch of the most extravagant sporting league the Indian Premier League (IPL), which opened doors to the World to compete alongside India's T20 champions. In the following tournaments Pakistan, England, West Indies (twice) and Sri Lanka won it and India never regained the World T20 title.

Going into the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, India had never lost a single men’s Kabaddi match at the Games. India had won the men's Kabaddi gold in all the earlier seven Asiad after the sport was introduced in 1990 in Beijing. Earlier last week, that record was broken when they lost a group stage match to South Korea, the team somehow reached the quarters. However, that loss did not prove to be an aberration all fans had hoped for, as Iran pulled off a massive upset, beating the seven-time defending champions 18-27 in the semi-final. India will now have to settle for bronze alongside Pakistan who lost to South Korea in the other semifinal.

It’s pertinent to note that the Pro Kabaddi League, a professional-level Kabaddi league in India, was launched in 2014 with much fanfare. From the first year the sport garnered massive following and soon waning viewers on TV away from the much-maligned cricket viewership. The doors were opened to international players to participate alongside the Indian stalwarts. Pro Kabaddi regulars South Korea's Jang Kun Lee and Lee Dong Geon, and Iranian defenders Fazel Atracheli and Abozar Mighani knew the Indian game much better now.

The Indian team which had PKL stars like Ajay Thakur, Pardeep Narwal, Rahul Chaudhari, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Mohit Chhillar, Sandeep Narwal will return home without the Asian Games Gold and soon lock horns again in the professional league. 

Is professionalism killing the sportsmen’s national aspirations?

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Pics Courtesy: Internet

Heartbreak at Edgbaston!

The team is as good as the captain is, the oft repeated cliché does not hold good now. Here was a skipper who played out of his skin and gave it everything in both innings to make a match out of it. Skipper Virat Kohli single handedly held the Indian batting afloat in the face of some pathetic spineless display by the much over rated top and middle order of Shikar Dhawan, KL Rahul and the now-almost-over-the-hill Ajinkya Rahane. Not that the Tamil Nadu duo of Murali Vijay or Dinesh Karthik did much with the bat either.  

To begin with, it was baffling to see the reliable No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara being dropped in favour of a T20 specialist Rahul, and Playing on a dry English wicket with 4 seamers? Indian think tank led by a sleeping-in-public Ravi Shastri has a few explanations to make. It surely was great game of cricket. A hard fought win for the home team. Spare a thought for the Indian bowling attack, they did well almost throughout, barring the early celebration-leading-to-complacency at the fall of the 7th English wicket in the 2nd Innings. From 87/7 Sam Curran, Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad together added close to 90 invaluable runs that made the eventual Target of 194 much stiffer than a possible 120 that India were eyeing for a likely fourth innings clincher.

The Edgbaston wicket, unlike many of the Indian wickets will not come under scrutiny, but the 32 run win will not be a cushion for England as they move to the 2nd Test.

Among the positives, Kohli apart, the bowling of Ashwin, Ishant Sharma and Shami will have to be strengthened with the addition of either Kuldeep Yadav or Ravindra Jadeja. The latter will come in handy as a lower order batsman too. Time to rethink the combination for the Mecca of Cricket. Lord's London beckons - Can India square the series? 

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Pic: Internet

S10M03

The Gambhir-Lynn show – a one sided affair!

Another match with shabby fielding – dropped catches

Praveen Kumar and Shadab Jakati bowled better than Shivil Kaushik, Dhawal Kulkarni, MS Gony and Dwayne Smith, but what was Raina thinking when he didn’t have James Faulkner in the starting XI?

The Gujarat Lions bowlers just waited to be hit around the park as Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn toyed with the ball. The Aussie in particular was severe in treating the bowlers with disdain, picking 8 sixes and the Man of the match.

Kolkata Knight Riders have set the pace for the race to higher NRR in style, this match will ensure they stay ahead in the event of equal points in the table.

Rajkot dished out yet another humiliating 10 wicket loss to the hosts, after that Warner-Dhawan hiding last year.

However, a heartening feature of the Gujarat innings was the form of Dinesh Karthik, who has been a revelation this year in the domestic circuit. Leading his team, Tamil Nadu, two national trophies, the wicket keeper batsman surely had his morale high and is bound to knock on the doors of the selectors for the Champions trophy if he continues to perform thus.

Like the earlier matches Suresh Raina benefitted from few dropped catches and pedestrian fielding to post a half century.

Fielding in the shortest version of the game plays a very important part, what with a few runs saved and crucial run-outs effected changing the course of the game and the eventual results. Coaches have their task cut out in ensuring the players keep their nerve in the face of pressure and concentrated on their fielding as much as their bowling and batting.

Brief Scores:
Gujarat Lions 183 for 4 (Raina 68, Karthik 47, Kuldeep 2-25) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 184 for 0 (Lynn 93*, Gambhir 76*) by 10 wickets

Man of the Match: Chris Lynn

S10M02

Bowler management comes to the fore!

6664611 – Seems a phone number straight out of an Australia telephone directory.

Well, almost but then those were the numbers that had an impact on the game at Pune where the home team skipper learnt a lesson or two in bowler management, same goes for the Rohit Sharma too!

Four sixes and a four were what Hardik Pandya scored off the last over to take Mumbai Indians to a respectable 184 from an almost uncompetitive 154. While the power hitting skill of the batsman is not at all in doubt, it speaks more about the thoughtless bowling of hapless Ashoke Dinda.

It’s really a wonder how captains haven’t read a bit of history of their team mates who have been extremely charitable in the end overs. Dinda has been an average bowler in all the years in IPL and has some very forgettable performances in the death overs.

While the spectators get a treat when batsman go hammer and tongs at bowlers for the adjective-redefining-display giant screens that scream Humungous or Mammoth, it also puts to shade some extraordinary bowling of the likes of Imran Tahir, Adam Zampa and Rajat Bhatia, who quite literally had the visitors on the mat.

To his credit Steve Smith redeemed his composure from the brutal assault on his senses (avoiding the phrase ‘brain fade’ here) by scoring the required runs at the end with much aplomb. 

The Rising Pune Supergiants must also thank Ajinkya Rahane who set the ball rolling with his classy innings that kept the required run rate in check throughout.

As much as Dinda was a bad choice for the last over, Rohit Sharma too must have rued the fact that he used up his frontline bowlers early to be left with an injured Kieron Pollard to bowl the last over, when 13 had to be defended.

Skippers need to do a bit of homework to get their game plan right, more so in the bowler management department, and of course the ground fielding too.

There was couple of outstanding catches in the match, one each from both sides with Mayank Agarwal and Nitish Rana put in great diving efforts. But then just two matches and this edition of IPL is already being remembered for the number of sitters being put down. Catches that have gone begging have had immense impact on the result, with both the Man-of-the match performers being the prime beneficiaries.

Brief Scores

Rising Pune Supergiant 187 for 3 (Smith 84*, Rahane 60) beat Mumbai Indians 184 for 8 (Buttler 38, Hardik 35*, Tahir 3-28, Bhatia 2-14) by seven wickets

Man of the Match: Steve Smith

S10M01

Defending champions begin with a bang!

SunRisers Hyderabad repeat 2016 final to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener

When Yuvraj Singh hit a boundary to get to his half century, the crowd roared in appreciation, but off the same ball, at the other end was another half century that told a different story. Yuvraj’s 51 came off 23 balls, while Aniket Choudhary took just 21 balls to reach exactly 51 runs taken of his bowling. RCB’s cup of woe was full with its wayward bowling and some ordinary fielding.

The Rajiv Gandhi International stadium at Uppal, Hyderabad wore a carnival atmosphere as the entire stadium bathed in a sea of Orange and Red, yes the visitors too had ample support as seen in the loud cheers for the Chris Gayle sixes.

David Warner lost the toss but didn’t lose the opportunity to hit a six off a free hit, batting first. However his stay at the crease was short-lived, his opening partner Shikar Dhawan who started slowly compensated with four boundaries in a Watson over to up the ante.

The free hitting Moises Henriques was only overshadowed by the arrival of the evening’s crowd favourite Yuvraj Singh. In the absence of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Yuvi garnered the maximum cheer for his batting, catching and also for his wave to the crowd from the boundary while fielding.

The cool breezy night also belonged to the SRH bowlers Bhuvaneshwar, Ben Cutting and Ashish Nehra all bowling with discipline and success. But the loudest appreciation came for the IPL debutant Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan who picked up a wicket in his first over and added one more to cement his place for the future games.

  

A 200 plus score in the season opener is just a taste of things to come in a run-feast of a tournament.

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 207 for 4 (Yuvraj 62, Henriques 52, Chahal 1-22) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 172 (Gayle 32, Bhuvneshwar 2-27, Rashid 2-36) by 35 runs.

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh. 

Lights… Camera… Action…!

S10M01 

The Season 10 of the most popular Indian Soap Opera is here.

The Indian Premier League – Cricket’s biggest entertainment-cum-sports extravaganza provides a platform for not just the Indian actors but quite a few stars from across the World to showcase their talent.

A few hours away from Match 1 between the defending champions Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) and the last year runner up Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and the excitement is palpable.

There has been lot of talk in the media about is IPL losing its sheen? Are the injuries to Indian national players, including the captain Virat Kohli robbing the tournament of its interest? The answer to both is a firm NO.

The world’s most popular and most followed Twenty20 tournament has always been one that threw up many surprises. It’s not all about the established international names, but some unknown /ones who stand up to be counted and shine bright. Among a few names that immediately come to mind are Paul Valthaty, Sanju Samson and Pravin Tambe. There have many more… Yes, they may have not gone on to don the national colours or consistently make headlines, but they ensured that the surprise element is sustained.

While Test cricket continues to be the prima donna and the connoisseur’s delight, the shortest form of the game is quite a hit across the world and in an era that is governed by smart phones and news in 140 characters – T20 is surely the answer to keep the interest in the game going.

While there are no pre-tournament favourites yet, unlike the Chennai Super Kings of yore who always started as one, the eternal bridesmaid RCB is a strong contender for its maiden title. Don’t write off the twin two-time champions Kolkota Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians to make it three, nor the mercurial Kings XI or the unpredictable Delhi Daredevils to open their account. The outgoing teams of the year Rising Pune giants and last year’s table toppers Gujarat Lions too have it in them to create equal opportunities.

As I key in these words, 2 hours away from the inaugural ceremony before the match, my daughter and nephew are ready and waiting for me to take them to Uppal, where I will cheer for my home team SRH. I firmly believe the David Warner side is well balanced to retain the title.

Yes, I am predicting a SunRisers encore!

Bring the Game On !!!