March 2, 2007 - what a day it has been for Indian cricket!
First our senior team takes world champs Aussies to the cleaners in the first final of the tri-series and, then, our Under-19 team defeats South Africa to win the World Cup for the second time.
Not often does one hear of the same country winning two finals in a single day!
One thing that has been evident in both the finals was the attitude and body language of our cricketers. Not even for once, did the Indian players look like losing.
In the CB series final at the SCG, when ‘boxer’ Hadyen and ‘monkey’ Symonds were going great guns, the Indians never lost their cool. They kept the pressure on and, in a great move, Dhoni introduced Bhajji into the attack. Soon, both Hayden and Symonds unleashed a flurry of strokes. It was evident that the only thing they had at the back of their minds was to teach the “little weed” a lesson. But their strategy backfired on them when, in a span of two overs, Bhajji removed both the ‘boxer’ and the ‘monkey’.
After their exit, the rest of the Aussie squad, with the exception of Hussey, departed as soon as they came to the crease. With this defeat, the Indians go one-up in the best of three finals. If India wins the second final at Gabba, Brisbane then Australia would have to be content with sad farewells to Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg, both of whom have announced their retirements.
The other final in Kuala Lumpur was a battle of nerves and India held on to theirs till the end. Bowled out for 159 following a stifling performance by South African bowlers, India responded superbly by blowing the South African top order away before rain intervened. After resumption South Africa never got going and, it was just a matter of time before the Indian bowlers cleaned up the South African middle and lower orders ensuring a superb victory. The Indian team remained unbeaten throughout the series. After 44 matches across seven venues, there is no doubt that the best team was crowned Under-19 World Champions.
These two victories round up what can be called one of the best days for Indian cricket.
Now, we just hope that the senior team beats Aussies in the second final. That would be the perfect icing on the cake.
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Monday, March 03, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
BCCI is a sham!
My last blog in December was about Saurav Ganguly making one of the most amazing comebacks in Indian cricket. Now, after a month, I post my next blog, and it is ironical that this time it’s about Saurav Ganguly being dropped from the Indian One-Day side! Kudos to BCCI for making the beginning of the end of Dada’s ODI career.
After all the “tamasha” of the last fortnight, just when Team India had begun to bond beautifully after the Perth victory, BCCI has ensured that the camaraderie is short-lived.
I was amazed when I first came to know that Saurav Ganguly had been excluded from the ODI side. I can understand Dravid’s and Laxman’s exclusion, but how can a person who has had an average of about 66 in the last year in ODIs be dropped. It’s just a mockery of the selection process.
BCCI says Dada was dropped because he is “not the best of fielder” in the team. Then what’s BCCI’s yardstick for keeping Sachin Tendulkar in the team? Does he get younger with every match he plays or is he one of the best fielders in the team? Sachin is a great batsman, no doubt, but by no means is he a great fielder. He is not anymore athletic than Dravid or Ganguly.
BCCI is nothing but a set of morons. It’s a sham.
I’ve always maintained that Indian selectors are a bunch of jokers. However, what I admire about them is they keep proving this fact time and again. That’s one thing consistent in Indian cricket.
Cheers once again to the (B)oard of (C)ontrol for (C)ircus in (I)ndia.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Indian cricket in 2007: First heartbreak, then victory
The year 2007 was a mixed bag for Indian cricket.
In February, the team landed in West Indies for the World Cup as one of the favourites. But what happened thereafter was, perhaps, the worst for Indian cricket since the 1979 World Cup. However, in 1979 there was at least some consolation – the team was playing in just its 2nd World Cup, the one day format of the game had not yet caught on, and India was pitted against the mighty West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
But what happened in 2007 was nothing short of a disaster. The team had a great batting line-up — probably the best in the world — it had the right blend of youth and experience, and it had fared very well in two previous series at home against West Indies and Sri Lanka just prior to the World Cup.
Even then the World Cup dreams of a million people back home crumbled in the first round itself. Team India was stung by Bangladesh in its first match. In the second, it redeemed its grace somewhat by achieving a victory against minnows Bermuda after scoring a World Cup record score of 413. However, in the third match India was comprehensively beaten by Sri Lanka, and eliminated from the World Cup.
Now, the question was how would Team India rise up from the ashes? Will the fans back home forgive the team for its disastrous World Cup campaign? Will Indian cricket regain its lost glory? If yes, how?
All these questions were answered in September, just seven months after the World Cup disaster. India reached South Africa to participate in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, this time with Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the helm.
No one gave this team a chance. Their three batting superstars - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - were missing and India had played just one Twenty20 match before this. But Dhoni’s boys surprised everyone by winning the tournament after a series of giant-killing acts. En route to the final, India beat Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan (twice).
It was India's first major triumph since winning the 1983 World Cup. Apart from adding a glorious chapter in the history of Indian cricket, the victory also laid to rest demons of the 50-over format of the World Cup.
India cricket in 2007 can be classified as the tale of two dreams - one that fans all over the world wished they never had, and, the other, that the country will never want to wake up from.
Now, all that needs to be done is to continue the victory march in Australia.
In February, the team landed in West Indies for the World Cup as one of the favourites. But what happened thereafter was, perhaps, the worst for Indian cricket since the 1979 World Cup. However, in 1979 there was at least some consolation – the team was playing in just its 2nd World Cup, the one day format of the game had not yet caught on, and India was pitted against the mighty West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
But what happened in 2007 was nothing short of a disaster. The team had a great batting line-up — probably the best in the world — it had the right blend of youth and experience, and it had fared very well in two previous series at home against West Indies and Sri Lanka just prior to the World Cup.
Even then the World Cup dreams of a million people back home crumbled in the first round itself. Team India was stung by Bangladesh in its first match. In the second, it redeemed its grace somewhat by achieving a victory against minnows Bermuda after scoring a World Cup record score of 413. However, in the third match India was comprehensively beaten by Sri Lanka, and eliminated from the World Cup.
Now, the question was how would Team India rise up from the ashes? Will the fans back home forgive the team for its disastrous World Cup campaign? Will Indian cricket regain its lost glory? If yes, how?
All these questions were answered in September, just seven months after the World Cup disaster. India reached South Africa to participate in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, this time with Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the helm.
No one gave this team a chance. Their three batting superstars - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - were missing and India had played just one Twenty20 match before this. But Dhoni’s boys surprised everyone by winning the tournament after a series of giant-killing acts. En route to the final, India beat Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan (twice).
It was India's first major triumph since winning the 1983 World Cup. Apart from adding a glorious chapter in the history of Indian cricket, the victory also laid to rest demons of the 50-over format of the World Cup.
India cricket in 2007 can be classified as the tale of two dreams - one that fans all over the world wished they never had, and, the other, that the country will never want to wake up from.
Now, all that needs to be done is to continue the victory march in Australia.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Goodbye Pujas, hello whoopee
Even as I bid farewell to Maa Durga with a heavy heart, an article in The Telegraph caught my fancy. And I must say, after I finished reading it, the smile, that was evident on my face before Pujo, returned back.
Here goes the article that asks us to “consider 10 things you can do to continue the spirit of festivity”.
Hello, routine
Come, open your eyes. The Goddess is bidding us goodbye and all is well with the world. The loudspeakers are being carted away, the road blocks in the neighbourhood are being dismantled, and the hordes who were camping outside your house are going back home. The mad Puja shopping is over, and you can actually step into a mall without being trampled to dust. All the office babus are getting back to work, albeit a bit reluctantly. Go get all those things done that had been held up because of the Pujas. This is also the time for a good post-Puja bitching session — about what people wore, who romanced whom, lousy gifts and so on. Life interrupted has been resurrected.
Fun galore
But don’t despair — the fun is far from over. Bijoya — with all its wonderful sweets and savouries — starts today, and continues till Kali Puja. If you are a noise-and-light junkie, think of Diwali. Christmas is round the corner, and then there’s the New Year. This is the time for exhibitions — from Lexpo, to the film fest to the event that all of Calcutta waits for, the Book Fair. The first ever Shaadi Vivaha Expo will be held in Calcutta later this month. If you are missing the Puja crowds, traffic snarls and eating dust, just go mela hopping. It’s an extension of the Puja festivity, after all.
Theory of relativity
Was your house looking more and more like an overcrowded railway platform the last few days? No more. The relatives — mashi-pishi-pishey-mesho — are packing their hold-alls. Check the time table and since you can never trust the traffic leave them at the airport or the station well before the expected time of departure. You’ll miss them, no doubt, but how do you measure the pleasure of lounging on a sofa before the television without having a relative tell you to sit up straight?
Brr, it’s fur
Bring out the mittens — it’s started snowing in the upper Himalayas. Those of us trapped here in the near-tropical zone but perpetually pining for our favourite season can gear up for the winter too. The early mornings and late nights provide a foretaste of the season of glory about to start with its mellow sun and notun gur. Let’s hope those of you who indulged yourselves during the pre-Puja shopping spree have left aside respectable funds for new shawls, furry caps and sweaters. For those of us who didn’t, there’s always the credit card.
Howzzat!
Cricketmania couldn’t get any better than in this winter, when Team India are scheduled to bat their way through a choc-a-bloc schedule on the pitch. First, they take on arch rivals Pakistan at home for a five-ODI, three-Test series through November. Then comes their long trip Down Under, where they play four Tests against Australia (again!) and follow that up with a tri-nation ODI series featuring Australia and Sri Lanka. That safely takes care of quality viewing time through January and February. And if you still want more, the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League are both slated to begin sometime in spring 2008, promising plenty of hair-raising domestic action. So grow those nails now, to bite on later.
Play bookworm
Nothing beats the idea of spending idle winter afternoons by burying yourself into the pages of a book you simply can’t have enough of. The first instalment of Amitav Ghosh’s much hyped ‘Ibis Trilogy’, titled Sea of Poppies, will be published by Penguin in early 2008, while HarperCollins is all set to come out with Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis & Sunil Dutt by Kishwar Desai sometime next month. Arundhati Roy is working hard at her book in some quiet corner. And while you wait for that to be published, you can always pick up the Puja editions of the magazines that you didn’t find the time to dig into all these days. So make the most of your spare time now, either at home, or at work — when the boss isn’t looking!
Wonder wanderlust
Those extra compartments called ‘Puja Specials’ that they link to the rears of overnight trains will be gone in a couple of days. And gone — along with them — will be the gangs of balaclava-(read: monkey cap) clad, boisterous ‘toorishts’, who are either perennially paranoid about their children falling off the cliff in the heart of Darjeeling or are energetically (and unsuccessfully) on the lookout for ‘rui maachher jhol’ in Gangtok. So book that quiet holiday you’ve wanted to treat yourself to, without any fear of running into a constipated ‘Bultu Mama’ while catching a spectacular sunrise at Tiger Hill. Or read that long unfinished book while lazing on the sands of Kovalam or Goa, with a chiller for company. The bounties of Nature are for you to savour — the shouting brigade has gone back home!
Bye-bye oldies
Youth is in, and let’s celebrate the coming of age of India’s wanna-do lot. This is the year that’s been set aside for our young — from cricketer M.S. Dhoni to new actors Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Rahul Gandhi is dimpling away, giving the old, toothless neta a run for his money. We don’t have to watch those tired old faces anymore — young India is on the rise, Rahul Dravid notwithstanding.
That’s the ticket
One mother leaves, another returns. Queue up for Madhuri ‘mother-of-two-sons’ Dixit’s new film, Aaja Nachle. Mrs Nene’s comeback film is one of the much-awaited mega films to be released soon. Om Shanti Om — showcasing Shah Rukh’s spectacular six-pack abs — will be out next month, along with Saawariya. You could go see Rani Mukerji in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag too.
Life’s a circle
Count the days — there are only 350 days before the start of Puja 2008. Before you know it, the roads will be clogged, the markets spilling over with people, the beats of dhak drowning out all sounds, and the smell of dhuno in the air. The traffic, the noise, the colours, the food, the excitement, the chaos — everything will be back. And you’ll love it all!
Here goes the article that asks us to “consider 10 things you can do to continue the spirit of festivity”.
Hello, routine
Come, open your eyes. The Goddess is bidding us goodbye and all is well with the world. The loudspeakers are being carted away, the road blocks in the neighbourhood are being dismantled, and the hordes who were camping outside your house are going back home. The mad Puja shopping is over, and you can actually step into a mall without being trampled to dust. All the office babus are getting back to work, albeit a bit reluctantly. Go get all those things done that had been held up because of the Pujas. This is also the time for a good post-Puja bitching session — about what people wore, who romanced whom, lousy gifts and so on. Life interrupted has been resurrected.
Fun galore
But don’t despair — the fun is far from over. Bijoya — with all its wonderful sweets and savouries — starts today, and continues till Kali Puja. If you are a noise-and-light junkie, think of Diwali. Christmas is round the corner, and then there’s the New Year. This is the time for exhibitions — from Lexpo, to the film fest to the event that all of Calcutta waits for, the Book Fair. The first ever Shaadi Vivaha Expo will be held in Calcutta later this month. If you are missing the Puja crowds, traffic snarls and eating dust, just go mela hopping. It’s an extension of the Puja festivity, after all.
Theory of relativity
Was your house looking more and more like an overcrowded railway platform the last few days? No more. The relatives — mashi-pishi-pishey-mesho — are packing their hold-alls. Check the time table and since you can never trust the traffic leave them at the airport or the station well before the expected time of departure. You’ll miss them, no doubt, but how do you measure the pleasure of lounging on a sofa before the television without having a relative tell you to sit up straight?
Brr, it’s fur
Bring out the mittens — it’s started snowing in the upper Himalayas. Those of us trapped here in the near-tropical zone but perpetually pining for our favourite season can gear up for the winter too. The early mornings and late nights provide a foretaste of the season of glory about to start with its mellow sun and notun gur. Let’s hope those of you who indulged yourselves during the pre-Puja shopping spree have left aside respectable funds for new shawls, furry caps and sweaters. For those of us who didn’t, there’s always the credit card.
Howzzat!
Cricketmania couldn’t get any better than in this winter, when Team India are scheduled to bat their way through a choc-a-bloc schedule on the pitch. First, they take on arch rivals Pakistan at home for a five-ODI, three-Test series through November. Then comes their long trip Down Under, where they play four Tests against Australia (again!) and follow that up with a tri-nation ODI series featuring Australia and Sri Lanka. That safely takes care of quality viewing time through January and February. And if you still want more, the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League are both slated to begin sometime in spring 2008, promising plenty of hair-raising domestic action. So grow those nails now, to bite on later.
Play bookworm
Nothing beats the idea of spending idle winter afternoons by burying yourself into the pages of a book you simply can’t have enough of. The first instalment of Amitav Ghosh’s much hyped ‘Ibis Trilogy’, titled Sea of Poppies, will be published by Penguin in early 2008, while HarperCollins is all set to come out with Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis & Sunil Dutt by Kishwar Desai sometime next month. Arundhati Roy is working hard at her book in some quiet corner. And while you wait for that to be published, you can always pick up the Puja editions of the magazines that you didn’t find the time to dig into all these days. So make the most of your spare time now, either at home, or at work — when the boss isn’t looking!
Wonder wanderlust
Those extra compartments called ‘Puja Specials’ that they link to the rears of overnight trains will be gone in a couple of days. And gone — along with them — will be the gangs of balaclava-(read: monkey cap) clad, boisterous ‘toorishts’, who are either perennially paranoid about their children falling off the cliff in the heart of Darjeeling or are energetically (and unsuccessfully) on the lookout for ‘rui maachher jhol’ in Gangtok. So book that quiet holiday you’ve wanted to treat yourself to, without any fear of running into a constipated ‘Bultu Mama’ while catching a spectacular sunrise at Tiger Hill. Or read that long unfinished book while lazing on the sands of Kovalam or Goa, with a chiller for company. The bounties of Nature are for you to savour — the shouting brigade has gone back home!
Bye-bye oldies
Youth is in, and let’s celebrate the coming of age of India’s wanna-do lot. This is the year that’s been set aside for our young — from cricketer M.S. Dhoni to new actors Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Rahul Gandhi is dimpling away, giving the old, toothless neta a run for his money. We don’t have to watch those tired old faces anymore — young India is on the rise, Rahul Dravid notwithstanding.
That’s the ticket
One mother leaves, another returns. Queue up for Madhuri ‘mother-of-two-sons’ Dixit’s new film, Aaja Nachle. Mrs Nene’s comeback film is one of the much-awaited mega films to be released soon. Om Shanti Om — showcasing Shah Rukh’s spectacular six-pack abs — will be out next month, along with Saawariya. You could go see Rani Mukerji in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag too.
Life’s a circle
Count the days — there are only 350 days before the start of Puja 2008. Before you know it, the roads will be clogged, the markets spilling over with people, the beats of dhak drowning out all sounds, and the smell of dhuno in the air. The traffic, the noise, the colours, the food, the excitement, the chaos — everything will be back. And you’ll love it all!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
C'mon India... do it... one last time!
YES! We’ve done it... we’ve avenged the defeat in the 2003 World Cup finals. Kingsmead came to resemble Little India as thousands of Indian flags were waved with abandon. And what more...we ourselves are now in a final... a dream final... an India vs Pakistan final in a World Cup. So what’s if it is a Twenty20 World Cup. A World Cup is a World Cup after all.
In my post on September 11 (Cricket’s latest avatar: Can Team India adapt?), I had mentioned that “The only time that a World Cup was held in South Africa, Team India made it to the finals though the whole nation had written them off after a defeat in the group stages to Australia… and cricket is a funny game. So who knows…”
So far my prediction, or should I say my wish, has come true... Let’s hope this time we go one step further and get back the cup...the cup that matters.
What’s notable about this Indian team is its self belief and fearless attitude. Be it the eccentric Sreesanth, the cool Irfan Pathan, the intense Dinesh Karthik, the calm and responsible Mahendra Singh Dhoni, composed Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh and Joginder Sharma, flashy Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma, or the crown prince Yuvraj Singh... every member in this team has played their part and played it to the best of their abilities so far.
Now they have just one more game to go... perhaps the most important game of their lives as no one had given them a chance in this tournament. It’s time to prove all those critics wrong.
It’s time for the team that made an early exit in the 50-over format of the World Cup in humiliating circumstances just six months ago, to throw everything into the game on Monday afternoon at the Wanderers as they have done so far in this tournament. Nothing short of over 200% intensity would do.
C’mon India... you can do it... one last time.
It will surprise no one if the DJ decides to kick off the festivities with Redemption Song.
In my post on September 11 (Cricket’s latest avatar: Can Team India adapt?), I had mentioned that “The only time that a World Cup was held in South Africa, Team India made it to the finals though the whole nation had written them off after a defeat in the group stages to Australia… and cricket is a funny game. So who knows…”
So far my prediction, or should I say my wish, has come true... Let’s hope this time we go one step further and get back the cup...the cup that matters.
What’s notable about this Indian team is its self belief and fearless attitude. Be it the eccentric Sreesanth, the cool Irfan Pathan, the intense Dinesh Karthik, the calm and responsible Mahendra Singh Dhoni, composed Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh and Joginder Sharma, flashy Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma, or the crown prince Yuvraj Singh... every member in this team has played their part and played it to the best of their abilities so far.
Now they have just one more game to go... perhaps the most important game of their lives as no one had given them a chance in this tournament. It’s time to prove all those critics wrong.
It’s time for the team that made an early exit in the 50-over format of the World Cup in humiliating circumstances just six months ago, to throw everything into the game on Monday afternoon at the Wanderers as they have done so far in this tournament. Nothing short of over 200% intensity would do.
C’mon India... you can do it... one last time.
It will surprise no one if the DJ decides to kick off the festivities with Redemption Song.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Cricket’s latest avatar: Can Team India adapt?
It’s just a couple of hours before the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup kicks off in South Africa. The Proteas are virtually living on a prayer… that’s the only way they can hope to break the World Cup jinx and not let it again be a case of “so near yet so far”.
On the other hand, the Aussies look all set to continue their domination and add another World Cup to their enviable kitty.
That brings us to the question “Where does Team India stand?”
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already asked fans back home not to expect too much. Does that mean he is giving it up even before the tournament gets underway?
I would say “no”. On the contrary, I feel Dhoni is being practical.
First of all, India has very little experience in this format of the game. Secondly, without the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan and with Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh under pressure to perform, it won’t be cakewalk for India. That’s the reason I say Dhoni is being practical and not raising false hopes.
So let’s sit back, relax and enjoy the newest avatar of cricket for the next fortnight… let the game win.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
The only time that a World Cup was held in South Africa, Team India made it to the finals though the whole nation had written them off after a defeat in the group stages to Australia… and cricket is a funny game.
So who knows…
On the other hand, the Aussies look all set to continue their domination and add another World Cup to their enviable kitty.
That brings us to the question “Where does Team India stand?”
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already asked fans back home not to expect too much. Does that mean he is giving it up even before the tournament gets underway?
I would say “no”. On the contrary, I feel Dhoni is being practical.
First of all, India has very little experience in this format of the game. Secondly, without the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan and with Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh under pressure to perform, it won’t be cakewalk for India. That’s the reason I say Dhoni is being practical and not raising false hopes.
So let’s sit back, relax and enjoy the newest avatar of cricket for the next fortnight… let the game win.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
The only time that a World Cup was held in South Africa, Team India made it to the finals though the whole nation had written them off after a defeat in the group stages to Australia… and cricket is a funny game.
So who knows…
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