Cricket Tournaments

The same guy refused to walk out when the IPL final took place, yet nothing was said or raised then. For now, when he decides to walk, the alter form of god is bestowed upon him.
A lot has been made of Sachin Tendulkar’s walk the other day against the West Indies at chennai. Along with this, analogies to Ricky Ponting’s stay at the wicket, only depicting the yawning difference that exists between their personalities.

Ponting was not wrong, but Sachin was right!

Something that began way back in 2003 when Adam Gilchrist walked in the semi finals in Sri Lanka, the spirit of the game has come into question especially since two of the generation’s greatest cricketers went their own ways in what they believed to be right.

But has this always been the case?

Indubitably with Ponting, the Australian captain was never the one to walk, it was the umpire’s decision that set him moving. Ponting was pretty candid in admitting the same too. He said “There were no doubts about the nick, I knew I hit it, but as always I wait for the umpire to give me out. That’s the way I’ve always played the game.”

However, the conundrum here is with Sachin. Sachin has not been the alter form of God, all the time, at least when it comes to walking. In the decisive Commonwealth bank first final down under in 07-08 season, Sachin nicked one straight through to Adam Gilchrist. Replays confirmed Sachin had indeed got a nick.

Another instance of the same, was the IPL final. Sachin nicked one through to Dhoni and despite the latter’s regressive appealing, Tendulkar looked the other way playing down the incident. Once again, replays suggested that Sachin had hit the cover of the ball, yet, stay put. It is hard to lay forth anything in the great man’s defense, despite this, his act against the West Indies was indeed laudable.

He is human after all, the best the world will ever see. Never showcase out one’s weakness by comparisons, for statistics don’t add up equivalently to the titles won. That’s something that truly does lie by Ponting’s side.

A chase of 146 shouldn’t have proved all difficult for the Delhi Daredevils even on the slow turner at the Ferozshah Kotla. After all, the home side possessed one of the most potent batting line-ups in the tournament. However, a sense of complacency and some extremely charged-up bowling by the Deccan Chargers led to their downfall as the visiting side advanced to the semi-finals.

Delhi lost their top four with only 39 on the board. And the rut never stopped. There was an unexpected fight towards the end when Ashish Nehra joined Paul Collingwood to feature in an undefeated eighth wicket stand of 48. Deccan still got home by a comfortable margin of 11 runs.

Looking back at the game, it was one knock which stood out as the difference between the two sides. Like Deccan, Delhi too had got off to a promising start with the ball. At one stage, the batting side were struggling at 66 for 4 after Adam Gilchrist won the toss and decided to take first strike.

Delhi were comfortably on top when Andrew Symonds decided to take charge. He lofted the ball with consummate ease against the slower bowlers and, in the process, helped Deccan gain some momentum. Amit Mishra, Paul Collingwood as well as Tillakaratne Dilshan were slammed for sixes.

He hit five in all en route to a scintillating 34-ball 54. During this phase, he was well supported by rookie Mitchell Marsh. The youngster’s contribution of 13 from 19 balls may look ungainly in the scorecard. But, in the context of the game, it was precious. His most significant contribution was handing the strike over to Symonds, which was the need of the hour for Deccan.

Once Symonds fell though Delhi got themselves back on track. The bowlers conceded less than a run-a-ball in the last five overs to restrict Deccan’s mini-resurrection. Like at the end, the home side were sensational with the ball in the early part of the innings too.

The out of sorts Gilchrist was once again consumed early by Ashish Nehra while Umesh Yadav’s extreme pace did the trick for him. The bowler’s speed was too much to handle even for the in-form T Suman and Rohit Sharma, the former had his stumps shattered while the latter edged one behind the wickets.

At the halfway stage, Delhi would have fancied their chances to booking their semis berth. But, they only have themselves to blame for letting a golden opportunity pass by. Virender Sehwag was given a reprieve very early in the innings when Rohit Sharma spilled a tough chance off Chaminda Vaas’ bowling.

The same combination though combined to end Sehwag’s short stay at the crease not much later. Disappointingly, David Warner and Dilshan fell to rash strokes. The left-hander flirted outside the off-stump while the Sri Lankan went for a predetermined lap sweep, which saw him being trapped in front off Harmeet Singh’s bowling.

Coming in at 25 for 3, there was extreme pressure on the skipper. But, this time even Gautam Gambhir couldn’t bail the side out. With the pressure mounting, Mithun Manhas was run-out for 23 following a mix-up with Collingwood. Clearly, Delhi had underestimated Deccan’s bowling prowess. And by the time they realized this, it was too late. Collingwood did smash a few big ones towards the end, as did Nehra. But, after the initial disaster, they were always fighting a losing battle.

A scintillating, unbeaten 93 by Mahela Jayawardene was overpowered by an equally brilliant 68 not out by Rohit Sharma as the Deccan Chargers chased down a tough target of 175 set by the Kings XI Punjab at the scenic setting in Dharmasala. Rohit and T Suman joined forces after their team got off to a rapid start, at 54 for 2 in seventh over.

And, by the time, Piyush Chawla managed to have Suman caught behind for 43 (from 31 balls), the score had progressed to 120 in the 14th over. There were some anxious moments for Deccan after Suman’s dismissal. But, Rohit batted with great maturity to see his side through.

The beauty of the partnership between Suman and Rohit was that they attacked from the word go and never let the bowlers get on top of them. Both batted with supreme confidence, which came courtesy their successes in the recent games. They were especially severe on the seamers, lofting them with ease.

Neither among Vikramjeet Malik, Irfan Pathan or Shalabh Srivastava could make any kind of an impression. Pathan did strike early, getting the big scalp of the struggling opposition skipper Adam Gilchrist. Unfortunately for Punjab, he was the man to let Deccan off the hook when things got tight towards the end. Rohit took a liking to him, driving him with ease on the off-side and plucking twos and also lofting him for a magnificent six to level the score.

Suman, on the other hand, struck to his tried and tested formula of his inside out strokes and succeeded yet again. In all, he hit three fours and three sixes, supporting Deccan perfectly as they went about approaching the target in an aggressive manner. Kumar Sangakkara tried to distract the duo by constantly chopping and changing the bowling. But, it did not work as both the batsmen looked well-settled at the crease.

Eventually, it needed one from Chawla that turned away to end Suman’s resistance. Soon, Juan Theron cleaned up Andrew Symonds for 4 with one that kept low. But, Sharma ensured that there were no more hiccups. A couple of lusty blows by 18-year-old Mitchell Marsh helped as they registered a five-wicket win and kept their hopes of progressing to the semis very much alive.

Sharma’s genius undid some splendid work by Jayawardene earlier in the day. The former Sri Lankan skipper was in his elements once again after Gilchrist won the toss and inserted the opposition in. Punjab got off to the worst possible start as Shaun Marsh edged a superb outswinger from Ryan Harris first ball. However, that only brought a fired up Sangakkara to the crease.

Taking on RP Singh and Marsh, Sangakkara got Punjab into a position of strength. He did not slog but struck to his natural game, timing the ball to perfection. Thanks to his blistering half-century, Punjab raced to 87 in the 12th over, before indiscretion got the better of him, a predetermined reverse sweep was lapped up by Pragyan Ojha.

Following the skipper’s dismissal, Jayawardene’s bat fell silent and Yuvraj Singh’s lack of form did not help either. But, once Jayawardene broke the shackles dispatching Marsh to the fence, there was no looking back. He punched five consecutive fours off RP Singh to lift Punjab to 174 for 3. At the break, it seemed a competitive score. And, but for Rohit’s blaze, it could have been a match-winning one.

Harbhajan Singh has always been a capable bat, but he hasn’t done well enough to be categorized as an all-rounder. Against Deccan Chargers though, he came up with a truly all-round effort to lead Mumbai Indians to yet another victory.

First, it was his blistering knock of 49 not out from a mere 18 balls that saw Mumbai garner as many as 52 runs in the last three overs. The late onslaught meant they ended on an impressive 172 after struggling at 119 for 7 following Sachin Tendulkar’s crucial dismissal.

Buoyed by his awesome effort with the bat, Harbhajan, who was asked to open the bowling by Sachin, the removed Adam Gilchrist in the very first over. It was a methodical execution as Harbhajan Singh went round the wicket and denied any width to Gilchrist, who tried to cut one, but the sharp edge found an agile Sachin in the slips.

The celebrations to follow said it all. Harbhajan added the wickets of T Suman and Jaskaran Singh too later in the day to end with match-winning figures of 3 for 31. But, surely this time it was his batting effort which made the bigger difference and saw Mumbai romp home by 41 runs.

After being put into bat by Gilchrist, Mumbai made a steady start, but failed to maintain the momentum. Shikhar Dhawan was trapped in front of the stumps for 8 by a brilliant Jaskaran yorker. And, Deccan thereafter ensured that they had Mumbai on the mat, despite Sachin’ presence at one end. R P Singh was especially lethal, sending back Dwayne Bravo and Saurabh Tiwary in the same over. At 68 for 3, Sachin needed a dependable partner.

Unfortunately, all he could do was helplessly wait and watch as one batsman after the other ditched him. Young Ambati Rayadu went for a senseless slog against left-arm Pragyan Ojha and was stranded mid-way down the pitch. R Satish did not do any better, also falling prey to Ojha.

At this stage, Mumbai needed Kieron Pollard to show why he is ‘worth’ so much. Instead, he top-edged a short one from Jaskaran to leave Mumbai in further strife.

All this while, Sachin continued to find the gaps and the boundaries at will, without taking any risks at all. It was yet another illustration that there is place for sane play even in 20-20. With nine wonderfully timed boundaries, Sachin raised his fourth 50 in the IPL.

The pressure of accelerating the scoring though got to his and RP Singh had his third scalp. When Sachin departed, Deccan’s morale was sky-high. But, not for long as Harbhajan’s blitz grounded them.

The late momentum gained saw Mumbai take the field with renewed vigour. And the results were instantly visible. Gilchrist’s loss did not help Deccan’s cause, but they still had a batting line-up good enough to overhaul the total. It wasn’t too be though.

Herschelle Gibbs’ brief flurry of 27 from 16, which comprised two typically wristy sixes, gave them hope. But, once he was dismissed off a high full toss from Zaheer Khan, the innings crumbed. Rohit Sharma held things together for a while. However, for the second game running, it wasn’t enough. They needed someone to do a Harbhajan. But, the man was in the opposition.

Well, the whole of the cricketing fraternity is asking are the Aussies still invincible? The answer is no. Australia are certainly no more invincible but are and will definitely be a very competitive team. With experienced pro’s retiring from the international circuit in a hurry Australia find themselves in barren land. But, most experts feel that the Aussies have handled this situation much better than any other team would have handled it.

It’s clearly seen that Australia are found wanting in India (test matches). With Andrew Symonds too out due to controversy Australia find themselves in a hole with large shoes to fill in.

Many Australian news papers asked for the recall of Andrew Symonds but Australia have always had strong disciplinary rules and do not mind sacrificing on a couple of series so as to dominate 10 years. It could be debated out that India too will have to face a similar situation in the near future with respect to test match cricket as India will be playing without the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble also known as the “Fab Five”.

Australia are missing their bowling attack more than ever. Australia virtually do not have anyone on the spin bowling front. The batting department still has most of their key players but the retirement of so many greats (Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Glen McGrath, and Shane Warne) has hurt Australia psychologically more than anything. Also, called the bad boys of cricket build up the name for themselves by taking a dig at their opponents before every key game.

On a balance Australia known to be having one of the best cricket training systems should be able to make up as the Australian bench strength can never be questioned!!

This is was a piece I wrote a year and a half back. Looking at it now, Australia indeed do have the best cricket systems across the world. After the disappointing ashes loss in 2009 Australia seem to have finally got their players to gel along in both the ODI as well as the Test format.

Australia’s record after the ashes speaks for itself:

• Australia VS England –NatWest series.

Result: 6-1 to Australia
• Champions trophy
Result: 4-0 to Australia
Champions
• Australia VS India in India
Result: 4-2 to Australia

Season at home

• Australia VS West Indies (Tests)
Result: 2-0 to Australia
• Australia VS Pakistan (Tests)
Result: 3-0 to Australia
• Australia VS Pakistan
Result: Unassailable lead of 3-0 (2 to go)

Australia have proved their credentials in all facets of the game. They now have a very good spinner in Nathan Hauritz. A young and consistent pace attack in Bollinger, Siddle, Hilfenhaus with Mitchell Johnson the potential attack leader. Australia have found a replacement to controversial all rounder Andrew Symonds. Cameron white stamped his authority on international cricket when he took that no.3 position in England in place of Ponting.

India have lost out on two of their 5 champions in Ganguly and Kumble. The batting line up still looks a solid one but, the question arises whether India will be able to cope with the loss of the Fab 5 like how Australia did?