Cricket: India Look To Clinch ODI Series Against England At Mohali Tomorrow!

With two back to back one sided victories India have taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI cricket series against England. The last win in MS Dhoni’s hometown Ranchi was the most resounding one. One was in some bit of a doubt when Dhoni won the toss and put England in, but who would understand the Ranchi pitch behavior better than Dhoni himself! The Indian bowlers rallied behind a resolutely positive skipper to skittle England all out for 155 in the 43^rdover. With a rejuvenated Team India the chase was a forgone conclusion as they romped home with nearly 22 overs to spare. The biggest plus of the match for India was Virat Kohli who roared back into form with a masterful 77 not out with 9 fours and 2 sixes. To the great delight of the home crowds Dhoni came in to hit the winning stroke remaining not out one more time at 10. India won the match by 7 wickets. After a long phase of indifferent performances, team selection issues and reported division within the team, India now look set to clinch the Series at Mohali tomorrow in the fourth one day international against England. For the victorious English captain the Test Series Alistair Cook tomorrow’s game is a must win to entertain any hope of adding to history made in India against India.

The India Vs Pakistan Sports Fallout!

Meanwhile, the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan troops and then Pakistan’s continual denying tactics tremendously soured the relations between the two neighbors and had a profound impact in the arena of sports-particularly harming Pakistan interests. Just when Hockey India tried to take Indian hockey out of the abyss and floated Hockey India League (HIL) with IPL like auction and franchises all 9 Pakistan players were asked to return home—a few of whom featured in Mumbai Magicians franchise. The Women World Cup Cricket Tournament was to be an entirely Mumbai affair with all the matches to be played here from 31^stJanuary. After the LOC incident the venue of the tournament was in the balance with the Indian cricket board asking the ICC to take the final call. Eventually all matches involving Pakistan were shifted out of Mumbai. The Mumbai sore of 26/11 terror attack became bitterer and expectedly no chances were taken.  

Cricket and Hockey: A Mixed Sunday For India!

India fielded a full-strength team today against Australia in its do or die match in Sydney. But, when you concentrate on rotation-experimentation instead of trying to win matches, when your ego-play gets prominence over cricket and when you mess up things unnecessarily even God does not help you when you finally wake up to reality. Team India exemplified that fully today in the tenth match of the CB Series one-day cricket played in Australia.

They wanted Zaheer Khan desperately today, but he was declared unfit. When he was fit you did not consider taking him! Even then, the Indian bowlers did a decent job getting Aus restricted to 252/9 in allotted fifty overs—a total that was very gettable. This time captain handed over the ball too to the vice captain Sehwag who obliged him with three wickets bowling the last over of the Aussie innings too. For the first time the Indian captain placed his full faith in the big three of top order. But it came too late.

Sehwag failed again with the bat getting out to the Demolition Man Hilfenhaus. Tendulkars’s run-out was the most tragic incident of the match. After that failure after failure including both seniors and youngsters with bowler Ashwin getting the highest individual score of 26! God thought you just did not deserve to go any further in the tournament.

And yes! India is out of the CB Series except for an improbable technicality of winning their last match against Sri Lanka with a bonus point and hoping that Aus beat SL in the last league match of the tournament.

Team India must learn its bitter lessons from this devastating Australian tour. It’s now or never for them if they really mean to improve their performance overseas.

Meantime great news from Indian hockey—the national sports of India! Indian Hockey Team qualified for playing in the London Olympics thumping France 8-1 in the Olympic Qualifier final today evening in New Delhi. Yes, the past king of hockey now has to qualify now-a-days for the Olympics by playing a tournament involving six teams! They won all their matches in the tournament and now are set to figure in London Olympic 2012 Hockey. Yesterday, the dream of playing in the London Olympics was cruelly broken for Indian Women’s Hockey Team when they lost against South Africa.

Hurray for the National Sport of India! And, shame for the cricket billionaires who care the least for their country India!

Money! Money! Money! It’s Not Cricket, But Hockey!

The Indian Hockey Team won the inaugural Asian Hockey Championship held in China beating arch rivals Pakistan. And the championship for money started anew.

The Hockey players came home triumphant, but they thought celebrations were not up to the mark—that is say—to the level of cricket triumphs! They were felicitated in a ministerial level function, but mayhem followed. They were given cash incentives of 25,000 rupees each (just above 500 dollars) which the players indignantly rejected. The Indian Hockey federation haplessly cited ‘no money’ as the reason and sent an S0S to the Indian sports minister. Immediately in the afternoon yesterday the minister hiked the amount to 150,000 rupees each along with 2.5 million rupees offered by a state government.

The hockey players were righteously angry. Recently, the world cup cricket winning Indian players were given 20 million rupees each along with many add-on thrown in by many connected with the game. At least give us something that can compare a little with the cricket money, they seemed to say. For a cricket match the cricketers get 200,000 rupees each while the hockey ones get a pathetic 1800 rupees per match! It was after all a question of adding one or two more zeros! While Team India actually makes zeros galore in some series performance or the other the money inflow hardly ebbs. And more importantly, the money-spinning T20 game always lurks around the corner to add the much desired zeros!

One star player of the hockey championship, Yuvraj Valmiki, lives in 16 by 16 slum hutment with no electricity in uptown Mumbai. Now things are rolling for Yuvraj (getting closer to the cricket Yuvraj?) with city corporations, local and regional politicians and many other organizations fully mobilized to help him out.

The Maharashtra government too yesterday announced a cash prize of 1 million rupees to the hockey pauper.

Yes, the sports inequalities in India are just like the income assets and wealth inequalities. But, you must thank only cricket powered by the richest cricket board of the world. The game of cricket sets the precedents to be demanded asked for and desired by the other sports fraternities. If cricketers were not given monumental incentives would the hockey players have succeeded in getting whatever they have got now?

It’s a question of money which is a follower of cricket which is again a follower of money! Don’t be funny and complain! The Championship of Money is only likely to hot up!