Cricket Tournaments

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.

Three games, three heroes

It was a disappointing end to the one-day series for India. They had a great chance to score a whitewash against the South Africans for the first time, but they preferred to rest their key players and tested out the bench strength, which resulted in a rather one-sided victory for the Proteas. Yet, the matter of the fact was that India won the series rather handsomely and there were some memorable performances even in such a short series. Presenting a rewind of top three performances of the series.

Game 1, Jaipur

Jadeja’s all-round act (22 and 2/29)

In a high-scoring game, where most of the batters were at ease, it was Ravindra Jadeja’s tight left-arm spin that made the difference. The Indian pacers, Ashish Nehra and S. Sreesanth went for plenty, and though they did pick up three wickets among themselves, they also ensured that South Africa stayed in the hunt. On the contrary, Jadeja not only kept the runs down, but also picked up two wickets, crucial ones at that, to derail the Proteas’ chase of 299. He cut short one-day specialist Herschelle Gibbs’ promising knock and later cleaned up AB de Villiers, who was also looking dangerous.

His cameo with the bat towards the fag end of the innings also came in handy, considering that India ended up winning by a solitary run, thanks to a late surge by the African tail. Jadeja is certainly turning out to be a good utility player for India.

Game 2, Gwalior

Sachin makes history (200 not out)

This was Sachin Tendulkar’s show all the way. Virender Sehwag fell early after India won the toss and batted. But, that did not deter the Indian master. He went on the rampage from the word go and the carnage did not stop till the very end. Come pace or spin, Sachin had an answer to every trick of the South African bowlers. He cut, pull, drove and lofted the bowlers with disdain on a ground that seemed too small for the Indian giant.

Dale Steyn, who destroyed India in the opening Test, was despatched for 89 from his quota of overs. Worse, Wayne Parnell went for 95. The others weren’t spared either. Charl Langeveldt went for a somewhat respectable 70 while Kallis and Duminy combined to leak over the 80. The Sachin magic was very much at display in Gwalior.

There were other handsome contributions in the game as well. Dinesh Karthik registered his highest ODI score of 79 while Dhoni slammed a hurricane like 68 not out. A B de Villiers too impressed with his sublime ton, but the match with undoubtedly be remembered for the indelible Sachin Tendulkar touch.

Game 3, Ahmedabad

de Villiers winning ton (102 not out)

The series was gone. However, the South Africans still had a lot to play for. After all they had never been blanked by India in a one-day series. And that record will stand, albeit with a little help from India themselves. They decided not to field a full-strength and de Villiers decided to take full toll of the inexperienced Indian attack. His 59 ball 102 included 11 hits to the fence and 3 over it. It was as if he was avenging the humiliation meted out to them at Gwalior, with great support from skipper Kallis.
The Indian bowling figures read similar to those of the Proteas in the previous game. Here was Sreesanth’s chance to lead the attack, but he failed miserably, conceding 83 in nine overs. As such, much couldn’t be expected from rookies Sudeep Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun. All were slammed. The de Villiers magic was in full bloom and the Indians had no answer to it.

India has had it all when it’s come to the number of pacers in their ranks but, none of them with the exception of Zaheer khan has been able to perform consistently and more importantly economically at the international level. In the last ten years we have seen these cricketers sweat it out without much success:

• Praveen Kumar
• Ishant Sharma
• Munaf Patel
• Ashish Nehra
• S Shreesanth
• Irfan pathan
• L balaji
• Sudeep Tyagi
• Ashoke Dinda
• RP Singh
• Ajit Agarkar
• VRV Singh

All these bowlers be it after injury or after a certain lay off seem to have either lost their pace or swing or their length. Something has definitely gone wrong. India has used all these bowlers in the last 5 years. None of them are a permanent fixture in the Indian team currently. To add to this Abhimanyu Mithun (taking nothing away from the youngster) has been added to the squad for the South African series. Starting right from the beginning

Praveen Kumar: This young man has a good set of skills in his kit bag. However, the only thing missing is the pace. He is still a handful and is perhaps the only bowler out of the above who can swing the new ball both ways. As far he is concerned more consistent performances in the domestic level along with pitching the ball up to the batsman could help him.

Ishant Sharma: This young lanky pacer burst on to the scenes in Australia troubling the likes of Ricky ponting and Matthew Hayden. However, after that golden year of his he seems to have lost out on all the pace he had. The nip back in to the batsman seems to be missing and the rhythm is just gone so much so that he was dropped for most part of the 2009 season in the Indian sub-continent. He needs to get his focus right and that will only happen if the training gets more intense.

Munaf Patel: Perhaps India’s most steady bowler. But, the thing that’s hitting him the most amongst competition is his inability with the willow in hand along with his miserable fielding performances. I still believe that Munaf would have been a regular in the Indian XI had his fielding been of decent standards. Munaf needs to come up with a couple of striking performances so that he is back in the reckoning.

Ashish Nehra: He played his last ODI in about 4 years in September 2005 against arch rivals Pakistan. After that he has suffered several ankle injuries hits and misses. He finally with his good performance with the Delhi daredevils in the IPL West Indies in the absence of Zaheer khan and assumed the role of the strike bowler pretty well. He provided good performances until the back end of the year where his form started to drop and he started to leak runs

S Shreesanth: India’s antic boy—S shreesanth has shown a lot of promise but delivered very little. Barring his performance in South Africa in 2006 shreesanth hasn’t made one series his own. The pacer needs to calm his antics down a little and pay more attention on getting his out swingers going at decent pace.

Irfan Pathan: India’s lost wonder boy. No one knows where he is—after one of the best debuts he could ask for irfan pathan has found himself wanting and is clueless what to do next. After showing himself as India’s next big thing Irfan pathan’s actual performance on the field has left a lot to be desired. The sad thing for irfan is that the selectors have lost hope in him and was seen missing from India’s top 30 squad for the champions trophy. Pathan seriously needs to get his act together and come up with a strong performance in this year’s IPL and show not just the selectors but the entire nation that he is still world class.

L Balaji: Balaji has seen misfortune like no other. After a wonderful start to his career down under that took shape in Pakistan in 2004-2005 balaji looked one for the future. However, after his wonderful tour of Pakistan he was hit by an injury spade which has haunted him ever since then. He did manage to make a comeback which perhaps was his last go and that failure certainly does not hold good for him. His future unfortunately looks a grim one.

RP Singh: RP Singh very similar to Irfan Pathan lost his swing and pace after a decent start to his career. However, the good thing for RP has been his performances in the IPL which has helped him gain a spot not once but twice although he seems to throw it away after that. Another good IPL performance should hold him in good stead and RP must make sure he grabs the next Indian chance he gets which might not be too far considering his colleagues bowling form.

Ajit Agarkar: Once, India’s young and only bowling prospect. Agarkar delivered for a lot of years. He has always been a wicket taker but his backdrop has been his leakage of runs which in this era will not do. Agarkar was a pretty handy bat down the order too with a top score of 95. The selectors seem to have look past Agarkar and its up to Agarkar who has to come up with some strong performances in order to be back in the reckoning.

Sudeep Tyagi, Ashoke Dinda and VRV Singh: the three of them put together have only played a handful of matches. Out of the three Sudeep Tyagi looks the most likely for an Indian future and rightly so. The young pacer very similar to Ishant Sharma has to make sure that the pressure and success of international cricket doesn’t get to him. As far as the other two are concerned they need to continue the good work and give good performances in both the IPL and the ranji trophy.

India have their batting sorted; but the bowling continues to be a big worry. Zaheer khan seems to be the only one to be missing in the list due to his continual strong performances in spite of all his injuries. The long and short of it is that: You need 20 wickets to win test matches on a continuous basis. In comparison to top ranked teams Australia seem to have a super pace battery with Johnson , Lee, Clark, Bracken, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Bollinger, McKay, Tait and now Harris all rearing to go and firing on all cylinders when fit.

As experts say gyms and training is all worthwhile but the only thing that helps bowlers is spending hours and hours at the nets doing nothing but BOWLING!!!

When India take on Sri Lanka in the tri-series game on Sunday, they would hope to push for a win and guarantee their place in the final. But things wouldn’t be all that easy in spite of their recent triumphs against Lanka. This is because Sri Lanka have been the best of the three teams in the tournament so far and their unbeaten record stands testimony to it. India, on the other hand, India have been horribly ragged, especially with the ball. Not that their batting performance has been especially great. In both the games they have been in deep trouble. If not for MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, they might well have ended up embarrassing themselves against Bangladesh after the loss to Sri Lanka.

Sadly, the toss has been a hugely influential factor in the series. And even the half-an-hour early start hasn’t it made much difference. In all the games, the team batting first has won and unless the trend changes, this tournament will end up being quite a farcical one. Having said that, Sri Lanka might try the experiment of bowling with the wet ball given a chance considering they are already through to the final. Ironically, it would also present India with their best chance of handing Lanka their first defeat of the tournament and securing their berth for the finals.

Whether they bat or bowl first, the fact remains that India’s bowling needs to show marked improvements. Zaheer Khan has been India’s bowling spearhead for a while now, but he certainly hasn’t been at his best since the start of the series against Lanka in India. Probably, he needs a break to recharge his batteries. It’s the opposite case with Ashish Nehra. Having made a strong comeback into the side and cementing has place as the second seamer, Nehra now has to prove his consistency. To be fair to the left-arm seamer, he hasn’t had the best of conditions to bowl. Still, a cricketer with his experience will be expected to do better. Harbhajan Singh’s inconsistency in recent times has been baffling, and a real cause for worry. One can’t predict what he will dish out on Sunday so better wait and watch.

Speaking of India’s batters, Kohli, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been among the runs while Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina too have made useful contributions. One the one hand, India would want these men to continue firing and on the other hand will hope for the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to explode in the manner we all know they can. That would solve a few problems for India.

Sri Lanka too would want their good batting form to continue. They would be boosted by the return of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Even in his absence, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene came up with the goods (read centuries), which is a great sign for the side. Their bowling effort has been commendable as well with Chanaka Welegedara being especially potent while spinner Suraj Randiv is improving with every game.
With two well-matched sides, one can only hope and pray that the toss doesn’t end up hampering either team once again.

Sanity was restored to cricket at Nagpur as the scores returned to the usual 300-bracket from the extraordinary 400 plus totals achieved at Rajkot. But, there was no shortage of drama here too as the match once again went down to the wire. Yet again, it seemed Sri Lanka would throw it away after being in a commanding position for most part of the chase. However, an unimpressive bowling effort and some slack fielding in the closing stages combined to let Lanka off the hook in the end. For the visitors, Angelo Mathews (37*) played a brisk cameo, batting with a runner towards the fag end of the innings, to ensure the Lankans did not repeat the mistakes made in the first game.

Earlier, it was Tillakaratne Dilshan who once again set up the chase of 302 perfectly for Sri Lanka, notching up his second blistering ton in as many games and fifth overall. Like in the first game, he got excellent support from his opening partner Upul Tharanga. The duo batted as if they were continuing from where they finished at Rajkot. All the bowlers were taken to the cleaners from the very start of the innings. Zaheer Khan was pulverized, as were Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar. Most of Dilshan’s big strokes came hitting on the up, either straight down on the ground or over mid-on and mid-off. It was a typical Dilshan effort which saw the Lankans race past fifty in the 7th over. At the other end, Tharanga played his part well, finding the boundaries every time width was offered to him as the duo registered their second century partnership in consecutive matches.

With the Lankan openers going great guns, MS Dhoni had to turn to Harbhajan Singh as early as the 8th over. But Dilshan took a liking to him as well, playing mind games with him. At times he trudged down the ground to the spinner and on other occasions, he stayed back and nudged or cut the bowler for boundaries behind square. Eventually though, it was Harbhajan who got the breakthrough, beating Tharanga in the flight and having him caught in the slips. Dilshan then helped India’s cause by running out his captain Kumar Sangakkara for 21.

The match continued to ebb and flow from there on with Nehra cleaning up Dilshan for a magnificent 123 with a perfectly-directed yorker. At the other end, Zaheer delivered three big strikes in his final spell to keep India in the hunt. Ironically, his erroneous fielding lapses in the penultimate over settled the matter in favour of the visitors.

Batting first after winning the toss, India rode on a lucky century from skipper Dhoni – he was let off on more than one occasion – and half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to post 301 for 7. This after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell cheaply and Sachin Tendulkar failed to convert a good start. The recall of Ajantha Mendis benefited Lanka while debutant spinner Suraj Randiv was more than impressive, picking up three crucial scalps. India still ended up with a fighting total. But the kind of form Dilshan is in, no total can be termed match-winning. He missed out on the man of the match award by a whisker at Rajkot, but at Nagpur there were no two choices.

At St Lucia on 3rd July, constant interruptions came as a bane for the Indies and boon for India. In the 3rd ODI of Degicel series India won the rain reduced match according to Duckworth-Lewis method against West Indies leading the series by 2-1. Dhoni holding the nerve firm knocked unbeaten 46 runs guiding India to the victory.

West Indies came to bat first, it was much to their ill fate the constant rain interruptions often lead to discontinuation and regular reduction of overs and runs. Decision was taken by India to put the Indies to bat; decision came as determining factor of the match result and as India anticipated Indies innings were adversely affected by rain.

With the rain interruption of more the 2 hours the game was reduced to 41 overs. Indies powerful opener Chris Gayle came to bat and with his fastidious spree of runs knocked 27 runs off 14 balls which was Indies score also. But as Gayle faced 13 ball rain again interrupted and match has to be put at stop. After a while reducing the overs further to 39 overs, Gayle returned to the pitch, just  on the 14th ball he succumbed to Ashish Nehra(5-21-3wk) delivery being caught behind.

During the Indies innings match was twice again has to be suspended for a while reducing it further to 36 overs then eventual to 27 overs. Despite constant rain intervention Ramnaresh Sarwan on the second wicket blasted 63 runs off 59 balls with 5 boundaries and 1 maximum. Rest onwards Runak Morton (22), Shiv Chanderpaul (15), Dwayne Bravo (19), Darren Bravo (15), Jerome Talyor (2) and not out Denesh Ramdin (14) contributed to the scoreboard aggregating to 186 runs off 27 overs.

Ashish Nehra bowling was the most impressive he was able to beat important batsmen (Gayle, Chanderpaul, Bravo)of Indies. Harbhajan Singh swept away 2 wickets with spin damaging more to Indies; Yusuf Pathan took 1 wicket and rest the Indian bowlers performance was average.

India came to bat to pursue 186 runs target off 27 overs. India score found solid base with the ferocious knocks by Dinesh Karthink (47 runs off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 runs off 38 balls) in the top order. Due to fifth rain intervention for indefinite period in the 14th over made it more easier for the India to chase.  After the resumption runs were reduced to 159 runs according to Duckworth-Lewis method and runs left were 64 runs off 51 balls still having 9 wickets in hand it came as a clear advantage to India. Yuvraj Singh (2) and Rohit Sharma (11) were inexpensive even though Indian innings were smooth because of Dhoni’s firm hold of his nerve and aggression leaded India to victory.

West Indies bowlers were not able to put the impressive show as in last match. Bravo, Bernard and Benn took 1-1 wickets.

In the penultimate over when victory seemed far for India, Dhoni ravaged in the last over leading the India in series with 2-1.