IPL-2021: The Last Of The MSD?

The MSD of Indian and world cricket has been a phenomenon in terms of aggression yet simple approach, skillful captaincy in all three formats of the game, unorthodox right-hand batsman with raw yet powerful hitting, one of the best examples in wicket-keeping in world cricket, one of the fastest runners between the wickets and always smiling and composed in the field. MSD simplified means the one and the only—Mahendra Singh Dhoni. On October 15, 2021 in the IPL-2021 final in Dubai which was MSD’s 300^thmatch Dhoni led his franchise CSK (Chennai Super Kings), since 2008, to its 4^thChampion title defeating KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) convincingly by 27 runs. The earlier title wins under Dhoni’s captaincy were in 2010, 2011 and 2018.

 

There have been rumors floating around in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) about the 40-year-old star cricketer’s retirement after IPL-2021 which seems realistic now that he has played the 300^thmatch and also winning the title, creating a moment of glory in leaving. However, the unpredictable, as far as retirement is concerned, cricketer has denied all rumors and made it clear that if not as the captain of CSK he’d continue to be available as a player. After the final encounter of the IPL-2021 MS Dhoni also said that with two new teams coming for the auctions for IPL-2022 the best of interests for CSK would naturally be kept in mind and the Indian cricket board BCCI would be the final authority to decide on his position or place in the team. If he retires indeed then we have seen the last of the MSD here in Dubai, and unfortunately we missed seeing him bat as it was not necessary for him and there was also the rare drop of a catch behind by someone who is never known for such lapses. But fortunately, we had again seen him in the role of a ‘finisher’ in the Qualifier-1 where he hit the required 13 runs in the last over to take CSK straight into the Final, defeating DC (Delhi Capitals), the top team in the points table.

 

As for the IPL-2021 Final Dhoni’s CSK almost sealed the encounter when its top four batsmen took the winds out of KKR—the batting explosion led by opener Faf du Plessis with 86 runs off just 59 balls and significant contributions by opener Rituraj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali—posted a mammoth total of 192 runs on the board. KKR, the team that performed brilliantly in the UAE leg of the tournament, basically consists of 5 or 6 contributing players—the two consistent openers of Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer, the three spinners of Narine, Chakravarthy and Shakib (a late addition in the absence of the unpredictable Andre Russel), and pacer Mavi, at times joined by batsman Rana. All others, unfortunately, were more of liabilities than assets including most prominently the KKR captain Eoin Morgan and wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik—their glaring inability to lead the team when required. In the Final too, despite an opening partnership of 91 runs in good time, the following batsmen failed miserably including Narine on whom the team depends as a batsman too. Also, the point to be mentioned here is that KKR played most of their matches in the relatively sluggish pitches of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, and won mostly low scoring matches, their trio of spinners and Mavi restricting the oppositions to less than 150 most often. The high-scoring match on an easy pitch the CSK total score was literally beyond KKR standards.

 

Coming back to the MSD phenomenon, we still remember him as the long-haired young boy from a small town Ranch in Bihar, running enthusiastically around the field—hitting the ball very hard, keeping the wickets and even bowling on rare occasions. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was selected for Team India in 2004 for the shorter format (ODI) and made his Test debut the next year. In 2007 he took over captaincy from Rahul Dravid in the ODI format and became the Test captain too in 2008 taking over from Anil Kumble. The disastrous result in the ICC Cricket World Cup-2007 when India was eliminated at the league stage was a huge setback for Dhoni; but in the same year in the inaugural ICC Cricket World Cup T20, named as its captain too, Dhoni led the team to his first ICC World Cup defeating Pakistan in the Final. MSD played 90 Tests amassing nearly 5000 runs with a healthy average of 38, 6 centuries, a double century (the highest of his career at 224) and 33 fifties. In 2013 under his captaincy India became the first team in 40 years to have whitewashed Australia 4-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in India. During his tenure India occupied the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for the first time. He brought aggression into the team, paradigm shifting the team’s usual ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’ to ‘snatching victory from the jaws of defeat’.

 

In the ODI format (one-day international) MSD played 350 matches and amassed more than 10000 glorious runs, the fourth Indian to do so, with 10 centuries, 73 half-centuries and an amazing average of 50.53 (his highest and a memorable score of 183 against Sri Lanka in 2005).  He also became the first wicket-keeper in the world to complete the 100^th stumpings. MSD raced to his second ICC World Cup by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup-2011 in India by holding the fort in the Final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai forming a winning partnership with Yuvraj Singh, and the ecstasy that followed that we cannot ever forget. His third ICC World Cup came in 2013 when India won the ICC Champions Trophy -2013 played in England, first started by the ICC as a knockout tournament and called the Mini World Cup, post-2017 it got replaced the T20 World Cup), defeating the hosts in the Final that got reduced to 20 overs each due to rains. So, MSD became the only Indian captain to win all the ICC World Cups, apart from two Asia Cup victories. In the T20I format, Dhoni played 98 matches amassing 1612 runs with a healthy average of 37 and two half-centuries.

 

The MSD phenomenon has been getting tremendous praise both nationally and internationally by famous cricketers. He has earned the title of ‘Captain Cool’ for his simplicity and easy manners on the field, and is also known for his ‘helicopter shot’ signifying his raw hitting power and unorthodox approach to the game. He initially started as a lower order batsman, but was promoted to the top order thanks to his prowess and utility, and then settled more or less as a middle-order batsman. He has been given the honor of figuring in the ICC World Test IX 3 times as captain, a record 8 times in the ICC World ODI IX of which 5 times as captain of the team along with ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and in 2009. In India, the modest boy from Ranchi won Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007, Indian civil honors Padmashri in 2009 and Padma Bhushan in 2018.

 

The MSD phenomenon has not been without its share of ups and downs, criticisms, controversy and unpredictable behavior. He suddenly laid down his captaincy from the ODI format ahead of a series in 2017 making himself still available as a player. More dramatically, he announced his retirement from Test cricket amidst a Test Series in Australia in 2014-15 leaving it all to Virat Kohli to handle. He retired from all formats of international cricket on 15^th August, 2020, perhaps prompted by his famous run-out against New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup-2019 thus failing to ‘finish’ the match, and the aftermath of his non-selection for the international matches by the BCCI. Dhoni had also been criticized by his moves to oust the stalwarts of Team India one by one bringing in new blood, of course seemingly favoring some players, and of late for his inability to accelerate in batting. In the aftermath of the World Cup-2007 disaster for India Dhoni’s Ranchi residence was vandalized by perhaps disappointed fans. His IPL franchise CSK was involved in a bitter match-fixing controversy that started in 2013 for which the franchise was banned for two years in 2015, and Dhoni was purchased by Pune for one year after that. In 2018 he came back to lead CSK again and won the third Championship title that year.

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains in UAE for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup T20-2021 where he will play his role as a ‘mentor’ or ‘mental conditioner’ for Team India. No one could be better positioned for this role. He has been known to be very close to India captain Virat Kohli (who has recently announced his stepping-down as captain from the T20 format after the World Cup), and the latter gained immensely as captain from Dhoni’s guidance on the field as MSD was still playing for the team in the shorter formats. In actuality, nobody would ever tire of watching the MSD phenomenon in some kind of a role, playing on the field or otherwise. Such is this player of cricket who has continuously been showered love and affection throughout India and elsewhere.

Indian Cricket: A Tale Of The Tails That Nails MS Dhoni!

When Team India loses half of its batsmen in a particular test match it is always all over. The Indian tail never manages to wag—meaning the tail-enders invariably fail to take the score on leading to a batting collapse and more often than not surrendering the match from a possible winning position. And when Team India manages to grab half of the opposition batsmen in a particular test match it only gives the charge back to the opposition thus more often than not surrendering the match. When these two lethal syndromes combine there is always a largely one-sided verdict against India. These ‘tail’-oriented maladies are responsible for most of the away defeats and six consecutive Test Series losses abroad suffered by India since 2011 including two white washes at the hands of England and Australia. This is responsible for the most successful ever Indian cricket captain to finally step down from Test cricket. A captain who gave India No.1 position in ICC’s Test rankings in 2009 for the first time ever and India continued there for 18 months.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket in Melbourne on 30^th December, 2014 after saving the third Test against Australia and conceding the Series—a decision that was expected for a long while, but not at all expected the way it had happened. Most of the away defeats under Dhoni’s leadership had the ‘could have been Indian wins or draws’ written all over and that was why his Test captaincy was questioned again and again. His apparently defensive fielding tactics, perplexing bowling changes and inability to go for the kill blemished his Test career. He had created two contrasting records—crafted 27 wins in 60 Tests making him the most winning Indian captain and at the same time won just 6 of the 30 away Tests making him the most losing abroad Indian captain ever.

Last time Team India went to England (2014) they first created history at Lords and then just surrendered the Series 1-3 thanks to the ‘tail’ and other vulnerable factors. Earlier, the South Africa tour was also no better with possible winning chances neutralized. From that time onwards the question of Dhoni continuing as Test captain raged. But then, there were other factors, because MS Dhoni had excellent records in the other formats of the game. He brought two World Cup titles—one in the one-day format after 28 years in 2011 and the other in T20 format in 2007—for the country and maintained his absolute stranglehold in the shorter formats as the captain.

However, thanks to the celebrated cricket clout of N Srinivasan-BCCI-Dhoni-IPL-CSK fame nobody could have dethroned him even from Test captaincy and therefore there was more of arrogance rather than pragmatism or acceptance in his decision to retire suddenly. We talked about traces of arrogance in Dhoni as far back as 2009 and those traces grew into full fledged arrogance over the years. Notwithstanding the tough proceedings of the Supreme Court’s into the ‘conflict of interest’ of the IPL the clout still remains in the shorter formats and Dhoni would continue to captain India there. Having said that arguments offered by some that Dhoni should be sacked by the BCCI from captaincy in all formats due to the arrogance and high-handedness of his decision to retire are not justified. The greatest captain of Indian cricket team still has a lot in him to deliver for India.

Indian cricket is just like that. Now the next focus is on the World Cup-2015 and happenings in the Indian dressing room would decide how successfully Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads India from here on. Team India manager Ravi Shastri said after the historic Melbourne Test that in about a few months the young and aggressive Indian cricket team would start delivering in all formats of the game. He clearly indicated his confidence in Virat Kohli as the next captain. At the moment, being positive and pragmatic about the this great game of cricket would augur well for the Indian cricket team.

Team India Crowned World Champions!

Finally in the Grand Finale Team India played truly to its potential and won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in great style! The Team scoffed at the idea of depending on one or two stalwarts and blazed away to an astounding victory celebrations for which do not seem to end and justifiably so. After 28 years, first team in world cup history to win it as hosts, first team to win chasing in excess of 250 runs and on! Captain Cool also known as the Great Gambler showed why he is indeed the best Indian Captain of all times. Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a masterstroke by promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj and finally delivered with the bat with such determination to win and such obsession that the World Cup had to come running for his country and of course for the living legend Sachin Tendulkar. Forget his decisions or gambling now, his disarming smile and humbleness make the win more memorable.

Superb fielding and terrific bowling by Zaheer Khan in particular never allowed Sri Lanka to run away for a 300 plus total. Thanks to a brilliant century by Mahela Jaywardene and 63 runs in the last five batting powerplay overs Sri Lanka reached 274 which seemed to worry a lot of Indian supporters and which was accepted by Sri Lanka as the invincible platform for their second title. The potential Indian batting strength was just conveniently forgotten. 

To make matters more worrying India lost Sehwag in the second ball of the innings in similar fashion as in the Pak encounter. Sachin showed with a few blazing shots that he was there to stay. But he also went for 18 with a reeling total at 31 for 2. Gautam Gambhir though had different designs and a sound strategy against Murlidharan in particular who was never allowed to settle down to his intensity. With able support from Virat Kohli Gambhir laid the foundation for victory and then Kohli went at 114 for 3, still a fifty-fifty situation. In came the Captain and proceeded with ruthless precision, absolute power and spectacular brilliance. Gambhir threw his wicket with just three run short of what would have been a unforgettable century. He still deserved the Man of the Match award, but Dhoni’s determined and brilliant effort of 91 not out sealed it in his favor.

With Yuvraj Captain Cool clinically completed Mission World Cup 2011 and brought home at home the second glorious honors by dispatching the second ball of the penultimate over to a roaring six. And history was made at the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai.

A sweet revenge for the incredibly cruel defeat in the semi final of WC 1996 at Kolkata by the Sri Lankans. Sweeter, because Team India refused to fall prey to the suffocating bowling tactics of Sri Lanka as has been the trend over the years in sluggish conditions.  Sri Lanka celebrated the fall of Tendulkar like in WC Football match and maybe took it as the final step towards victory. But Indian batting in full flow is capable of conquering all opposition of the world. 

 

What a match! What a victory! Just continue celebrating! 

Mohali—Epic Saga of Pressure Chances and Surprises!

A typical India-Pakistan encounter with the teams not performing to their true potential, but very true to the pressure and nerves. Eternal rivals meeting in a rare face-to-face apart, it was also a World Cup semi final which is normally tougher than the Final and watched by two Prime Ministers taking cricket to the noble goal of achieving lasting friendship between the two countries. There were pleasant surprises all around—Indian and Pakistani fans watching and cheering their teams sitting together, sweet friendly smiles and chats between the rival players on field, slogans around the stadium announcing ‘India and Pakistan are friends forever’ and so on.

India won the toss and there was the shocker nobody on earth expected. Ashwin was replaced by an out-of-sorts Nehra who was condemned for his last disastrous over against South Africa. But the real point of debate was ‘how you dare changing a winning combination against the Champions Australia’! It defied all logic! It had been evident that all pitches in this tournament behaved almost the same way—becoming slower and the ball not coming on to the bat as the ball gets older. Dhoni who learnt the hard way to include Ashwin and Raina committed a mistake again which could have haunted him all his life.

True to their batting strength India started in a whirlwind fashion with Sehwag going great guns, but Pakistan true to their strength bowled superbly. The greatest batsman of the world had to struggle making his shots. And, true to their unpredictability Pakistan fielded like school boys dropping catches and converting singles into fours all around apart from dropping the master four times making Afridi agonized both as the skipper and as a bowler. Surprises here again—most consistent Umar Gul throughout this world cup failed miserably in all his spells and the cricket experts and commentators shouting for a 300 plus total even after seeing how the pitch behaved. Thanks to the excellent spells by young Wahab Riaz and the spinners India were finally restricted to 260 for 9. Only Sunil Gavaskar said, in a WC semi final chasing a total of over or at least 250 was not going to be easy at all and that too involving India and Pakistan.

And for a change India bowled superbly and with tremendous discipline not allowing an extra till the 37^th over supported by keen fielding. Nehra too bowled passionately rescuing Dhoni from possible embarrassment. It was such a complete effort that only five bowlers were used and they all shared two wickets each!

Pakistan seemed to be cruising at one stage in spite of the bowling effort and slowing pitch, but then their batting surprises started surfacing. Confident Hafeez committed harakiri trying a weird shot, main batsman Younus Khan who did not field well too earlier failed miserably. And Misbah was the greatest mystery of missed opportunities! He progressed at an inexplicable sluggish rate hardly trying to be aggressive. He allowed the run rate keep on mounting. As the last man standing Misbah finally played his huge hits in the last two overs and that was outrageously too late. The biggest surprise of all—why the batting powerplay  was not taken when Razzak joined Misbah and even when the skipper Afridi himself joined the mystery at a more crucial juncture where a few lusty hits could have made the match go either way.

Pakistani fans are hugely disappointed no doubt, but they are accepting it in the true spirit of the game and friendship. But Pakistani team cannot escape answering such basic questions. Another puzzle for me, why Afridi is trying to be only a bowler and coming at no. 8? Nobody could ever forget what he did as a devastating batsman in many  memorable matches. Pakistan need him desperately as a batsman too.

Meantime huge celebrations are going on all over India! It was a Diwali night last night here in Mumbai. Team India is coming to Mumbai to play the Final against Sri Lanka on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Sri Lanka defeated a fighting New Zealand in the first semi final in Colombo on Tuesday. Both teams are making their third appearances in world cup finals and whoever win it will be their second Cup.

Security is a bigger concern in Mumbai and unprecedented arrangements are being made. We are sure, cricket will defeat terror most convincingly. Cheers!

Battle Lines Drawn! Epic Clash at Mohali on Wednesday!

England disappointed sorely and Sri Lanka won in style at the last quarter final clash at Colombo. Despite rare Sri Lankan lapses on the field England could not set a competitive target. And Sri Lanka made a mockery of the 230 run target achieving it without any loss of wickets and nearly 11 overs to spare. Like South Africa now England too must indulge in an intense introspection.

Battle lines drawn now: Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand on March 29 at Colombo, Ist Semi Final.

India Vs Pakistan on March 30 at Mohali, 2nd Semi Final.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has in a way become an Asia Cup with three Asian teams making it to the semis! Barring a continuing NZ upsurge the final is going to be all Asian and if any Asian team wins it that will be its 2nd title.

All ways lead now to Mohali! Clash of the arch rivals! The Epic war! Some channel calls it the Mother of all Battles! Yes, it is indeed the biggest occasion involving the two countries rarely playing each other in recent times and that too in India! Preliminary skirmishes have already begun preparing for the War! Pak skipper Afridi had  warned that they are not going to let Tendulkar score his century of centuries. Cricket experts have been fighting it out possibly across all the news channels of the subcontinent. Now, with Prime Ministers of both the countries watching the battle the clash has attained one more dimension--call it cricket diplomacy. Everything makes the pressure on both the teams extremely extreme!

If India win they will do it mostly on batting strength to be supported by inspired spells from Zaheer, Ashwin and Harbhajan and fielding standards set against Australia. If Pakistan win it will be on their bowling strength to be supported by inspired innings from the top order batsmen and a fielding above mediocre level. World Cup and Mohalli records are in favor of India. With Indian crowds and Pakistani crowds desperately wanting their respective teams win notwithstanding, whoever wins it will be the ultimate victory for the game of cricket. For both India and Pakistan this is the Final and both countries are expected to impose a virtual curfew across streets work and life.

Countdown begins now! The clock is ticking maybe not fast enough! Wait watch and GO!

Now Hot Favorites South Africa Knocked Out!

South Africa choked again! They must seriously consider this malady. Big occasions, big matches and knockout stages are continuing nightmares for them. Another World Cup gone! Fours years will be long wait before they hope to team up and say.' We are no longer 'chokers'.'  Okay, New Zealand tonight outplayed them, but the scrappy target of 222 set before South Africa was immensely gettable. This is the point they should take it forward from in a determined frame of mind never to choke again.

Though hailed as a major upset in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 this was not unexpected. I had been saying all the way and also yesterday that New Zealand was fully capable of winning on its day. NZ did not set a huge target, but their tremendous fielding combined with some inspired bowling finished a mindless performance by South Africa. Sluggish Dhaka pitch also helped, but that factor helped SA too in restricting NZ.

Champions gone yesterday! Clinically proficient favorites gone today! Who will ask for the return tickets tomorrow? England or Sri Lanka? Nobody can dare make a guess Colombo conditions notwithstanding! My advice-- the eventual winner should never for a moment heave a sigh of relief at the prospect of meeting NZ in the first semi final on March 29.

Meantime, the Indian Prime Minister today decided to be a part of the spectators at Mohali for the gigantic Ind-Pak encounter. The Prime Minister also invited the Pak President and Prime Minister over and the invitation was reportedly welcomed in Pakistan. Reports further say that Ind-Pak bilateral talks may benefit from this mega sporting event. Let cricket be the binding force. Let cricket defeat terror.

Team India Knock Australia Out Of World Cup 2011!

I said in one of my posts earlier that somebody needed to stop Australia before they ran away with the ICC Cricket World Cup for the fifth time! Pakistan stopped them! Team India knocked them out tonight! Incredible, but truly so and magnificently too! 

More significantly, now India meet Pakistan the semi final at Mohali on March 30. If today's match was a huge one and hugely hyped, the Mohali one will be a gigantic match and a gigantic hype may be also be inadequate! Eternal rivals clash in a big one and words are not enough to describe the sensation. But one thing is sure, one nation of the subcontinent is going to figure in the final and Sri Lanka may even make it total.

Finally, India bowled better, fielded better and Dhoni shuffled his bowlers better. He also made the right decision bringing in Raina which was strongly suggested in my earlier post on SA disaster. But what's Dhoni doing with the bat? It remains a worry. Only his sweating sweltering ad keeps on coming consistently again and again! Gautam Gambhir messed up running between wicket with Yuvjaj giving the Aussies throwing practice three times and getting hopelessly out the third time. From a winning 166 for 2 India landed up at 186 for 5 which was really tense considering Indian batting collapses in the last matches. But Raina came in at that pressure moment  and his handling of the situation was the real difference between Raina and Pathan.

And Yuvraj Singh! What a match winner he has been! All round consistent performances with four half centuries and more than 10 wickets in this world cup.  He batted fielded and bowled brilliantly today and more importantly saw India through this well deserved victory. I say well deserved, because India deserved to win all its matches including that against England and SA. But internal individual factors prevented that. Noting of that now. Now for two more breathtaking matches and hopefully the World Cup!

Positives are: bowling & fielding getting better, captaincy getting better, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Raina batting wonderfully. Sehwag and Kohli are ready to fire next! Maybe Dhoni too! Zaheer, Ashwin bowling wonderfully. Harbhajan needs to adopt a wicket taking habit fast. How is Pakistan feeling? Maybe Afridi will speak out in a day or two!

South Africa take on New Zealand tomorrow at Dhaka. New Zealand could make it real tough for SA. After today's thriller we expect more exciting encounters. You know preparing for the gigantic one!

Finally Pakistan Stops Australia! Bangladesh Let England In!

It had to be Pakistan! Pakistan was trounced by New Zealand who in turn was beaten squarely by Australia. And now Pakistan ends Australia's run of unbeaten World Cup matches since 1999. They have topped Group A followed by Sri Lanka, Australia and NZ. But hardly anything can be said about what they are going to do in the first QF. You saw how Afridi got out today with the team needing him urgently at that moment and balls remaining were nearly three times more than the runs needed! Pakistan need to be a little more predictable or a little consistent if they want their second title.

Bangladesh who caused a major upset defeating England crashed out today doing immense favors to none other then England only! Though they are still with the same points as West Indies, their net runrate is so bad that it is not even mathematically possible to make it if West Indies is defeated tomorrow.

India is likely to meet Australia in QF if they defeat WI tomorrow and take the second spot in Group B. If they lose less heavily they are most likely to take the third spot due to better NRR than England and will face Sri Lanka in QF. Hardly any choice. The mantra must be only 'win' from here onwards. If they still have their sights on the World Cup they cannot afford to lose any more match.

All major eight teams are in the knockout stage. If there was a super league here it would have been a mouth watering proposition. But alas! Only seven matches from QF onwards will decide the final winner. But these seven matches are going to be big big ones with every team capable of winning on its day. If WI is defeated tomorrow Pakistan will meet WI in QF and that will be a match of glorious unpredictability! You can expect everything--the best or the worst.And of course, watch out for England who were beaten by minnows Ireland and Bangladesh, but tied India with an impossible target and beat the hot favorites South Africa!

Start howling for your favorite teams and enjoy!

England Stays In QF Contention! Is India In or Out?

You must thank England for making every match it played very close and exciting. It will be a tragedy if they bow out of the world cup. They were in dire straits when their match against West Indies threatened to go out of their reach at several points. Finally England prevailed and got WI all out for 225, 18 short of the England total. So, for the moment they stay in contention for a birth in quarter finals (QF).

There are many possibilities as who out of England, WI and Bangladesh makes it to QF. First let’s take a look at the Group B points table:

Group B - Standings

Rank	Teams	P	W	L	NR	T	Points	NRR
1	South Africa	5	4	1	0	0	8	+1.606
2	India	5	3	1	0	1	7	+0.768
3	England	6	3	2	0	1	7	+0.072
4	West Indies	5	3	2	0	0	6	+1.650
5	Bangladesh	5	3	2	0	0	6	-0.765
6	Ireland	5	1	4	0	0	2	-0.881
7	Netherland	5	0	5	0	0	0	-2.386

If Bangladesh manages to beat SA they will be through with clear 8 points and England will sail through only if India beat WI. If WI win England will be out as they have a poor net runrate. If Bangladesh loses which is the more likely eventuality England will qualify irrespective of Ind-WI result.

Some controversy is created by different reports saying India is not yet confirmed for QF birth. Well, due to Group B complications there evolved a mathematical possibility of India crashing out. If Bangladesh win against SA and WI beat India very heavily then only India may go out, but it is very unlikely. Even if the first case materializes the second one will be very hard to achieve, because Indian batsmen have scored big totals in every match though always falling short by 30-50 runs, and so it will be almost impossible for WI to win by big margins.

India is virtually in the knockout stage as announced here earlier or else where. But the problem is it needs just one match to get knocked out. The crux remains that India must regroup quickly and give inspired performance to still be favorites.

A Thriller India Never Deserved To Win!

Because, from a position of supreme command, an incredible opening partnership, 99th international hundred from a master you got to a situation of 9 overs, 9 wickets and 29 runs. The matter of absolute shame is that you failed to bat through 50 overs yet again after you boast of batting strength and opt for 7 batsmen! After getting into an incredible position with 8.5 runrate you surrender the psychological advantage squarely to the opposition.

And yet, they could have won with 13 needed off the last over. But, the great skipper gave the ball to Nehra, about whom it is not even clear if he is fit or not. And not to Harbhajan who bowled excellent, fielded excellent, involved in catching and run outs and was a live wire on the field.

Time now for Raina to come in, time now for five main bowlers and time now for underplaying so called batting prowess. So far only two or three batsmen delivered in almost all matches. With so many powerful batsmen around batting order shuffling always follows. Why to send Pathan when you have proven batsmen like Kohli and Yuvraj. Somehow compelling them to go for only sixes and fours and sacrificing their wickets. If 360 was unrealistic 330 was immensely possible if they managed to bat through.

Very unfortunate that India is going backwards to a team of individual brilliance and no total effort or follow up. That they nearly won the match was thanks to total involvement of Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Kohli, Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan and substitute Raina. Skipper Dhoni was just nowhere in the match except for doing all the wrong things.

No, this is not the team who can go on to winning the world cup. I had rated them high in my writings praising them for the ability to snatch win from the jaws of defeat and the will to win. But now I have changed my opinion as the team has gone into regressive mindset. Prove me wrong!

True to the tremendous hype about this India-South Africa league encounter the match indeed was a thriller going down the wire all the way.

Team India Hiccups Into Quarter Finals!

India win by five wickets with more than 13 overs to spare. But Netherlands made them labor for the win. Not convincing Team India! Top celebrated batsmen fell in heaps. Thanks to Yuvraj Singh who stars in both of the last  wins.  There are questions all the way...

If unfit Nehra could be tested then why not test the  sitting spinner Ashwin as well. If you are not giving him a chance against the minnows when you are planning to cap him or not at all. Chawla is hardly doing anything except being Dhoni's favorite. Sreesanth was dumped for just one bad spell that too in the very first match and was also rewarded with rebukes. That aggressive fellow has a lot to contribute to Team India's fortune or how would you know if not tested at all. Why the same standards not being applied to Chawla too? Or is the thinking other way round? First ensure QF birth and then go on with the experimenting! Meaning you want to experiment against the likes of South Africa and West Indies! While whole of India knew Team India would easily make it to the QFs how come the Indian skipper himself had all the doubts! And,don't you know at the QF stage you need just one match to get knocked out of the World Cup!

Things are not looking good. Experiment or no experiment Saturday's match against SA will be crucial for proving Team India's credentials, if any, and the performance in that match will set the future prospects in a meaningful perspective. It's not that you have to win the World Cup, there cannot be any compulsion. But you must give it a serious try utilizing all your talent and expertise available. You must never leave scope for regrets after the event is over.

This is the biggest cricketing event of the world, Realize it and keep the personal likes and dislikes on the shelves. Answer all the questions with your unquestionable performance. Time is running out!

The Wonder That Is...England!

They nearly lost to minnows Netherlands. Chased a target of 339 runs against favorites India successfully--resulting in a tie. They set a target of 328 against minnows Ireland...and LOST! They set a pathetic target of 172 against mighty South Africa...and WON!

England is living dangerously and so they could be immensely dangerous to any side--particularly in the knockout stage. If they happen to meet Australia in the quarters I would bet they win! Basically or potentially they are a very strong side and now is fast accumulating the Pakistanish unpredictability! This is a deadly combination. Beware, all team captains! They have nothing to lose, but everything to win the World Cup..once!

Meantime the saga of ineffectual matches continue. Barring a few rather debilitating possible upsets by the minnows everybody knows which four top teams of each group go to the quarters. By the time you have all the top teams together it will be over in a whiff. Then why suffer the ordeal!

For cricket crazy Indians, Team India will play minnows Netherlands on 9th. Then the big one against South Africa on 12th. After an excruciating break of over a week they play the last big match against West Indies on 20th. And then the knockout begins.

A Rare Tie! But With Such Bowling Forget Winning World Cup!

A target of 339 is huge one for any team on earth. Team India set that today going all out (literally) for runs against England in a world cup Group B league match today. It was good seeing India making the efforts for amassing maximum possible runs. Sachin Tendulkar gifted a sterling innings with five huge sixes making another record of scoring maximum centuries in world cups. He has now scored 98 international centuries including Tests. But that innings almost or has gone waste. Most of the later Indian batsmen tried to hit only sixes rather than looking for singles and twos. Learn guys learn!

Chasing a target of mammoth 339 England was never seen to be under any kind of pressure except for the last ten overs when Zaheer Khan delivered taking three quick wickets. They were going merry taking runs at will, so impotent was the Indian bowling. And, India opted for only four specialist bowlers out of which Chawla and Harbhajan were always suspect. In fact England spinners bowled much better than the hyped Indian ones.

This is not the way for thinking about winning the world cup. At this standard India will have to score at least 500 runs against the likes of South Africa, Australia, Sir Lanka or Pakistan and still not be sure about winning. Fielding is also listless. Act now or forget about winning the Cup. You cannot put pressure on a team after scoring 338, then how come you dare think about winning. At the knockout stage you will be knocked out against any team. Yes, South Africa chased 434 successfully against Australia, but that was only one match in a bilateral one-day series and not world cup.

Feeling sorry for England, they should have won after those incredible innings by Strauss and Trott. Okay they did not lose either.Anyway it was a match going down the wire for crowds who preferred shouting gesticulating and posing for the cameras whenever that came their way.

From tomorrow minnows take over again and we will have to wait till the weekend for big matches.

Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka: Fantastic Cricket!

Pakistan win again in World Cup against Sri Lanka, for the seventh time. SL yet to win a WC match against Pak. This is a very significant win as it was achieved in SL with Lankan home crowds and typical Lankan conditions.

And the cricket was fantastic, giving the first taste of true genuine cricket of the highest order in this World Cup. SL managed to restrict Pak to a total which was achievable though difficult. Then Pak made sure SL could not win, but again SL fought hard and came very close to win it. Both teams played very intense and hard cricket. Pak showed patches of exceptional fielding too apart from batting and bowling. While Misbah excelled with the bat, Afridi was magical with the ball. SL made to struggle for runs. The crowds could not believe what they witnessed.

Now for tomorrow's big match, India Vs England. Team India is still troubled with fitness problems. Somebody said about possibility of rains! The ticket fiasco is threatening to become a scam. If only VVIPs are complemented with tickets then India should never again host a World Cup. It is because of the cricket crazy millions that cricket has become so lucrative in India for the Board, the marketers and the sponsors. If common people are forgotten in the process...well...

Let cricket win tomorrow!

Cricket World Cup So Far...

First week of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. And surprisingly nothing much to write home about. Only minnows in abundance so far. Almost all of the matches extremely one-sided with only England allowing Netherlands to come a little closer perhaps. India-Bangladesh opener had some suspense due to Bangladesh's upset win in 2007 packing India out of that World Cup.

Only two big matches played so far and both unfortunately were one-sided affairs. South Africa thrashed West Indies on 24th and Australia thumped little brother New Zealand in a listless encounter today. The most absorbing one of the week just got over, Bangladesh defeating Ireland by 27 runs in a low scoring match. But one minnow defeating another minnow--does the result make any difference?

On the positive side, South Africa made a good impact. Pakistan came strong with good showing in both batting and bowling. Australia growing stronger with two easy wins and somebody must stop them before they run away with the fifth title!

Pak faces Sri Lanka tomorrow in a crunch match. India take on England in another big match on Sunday. The weekend is packed for you!

But has this World Cup become only weekend excitement? Big matches are very few and sparsely placed. By the time the tournament hots up it's already knockout stage and the knockout stage has just seven matches including the final.

I feel disappointed with the 2011 format. Too many minnows, no super six or super eight or super league. To find out more Read Here! And give your views.

Player Review Decision Welcome!

For ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Player Review Decisions are allowed meaning the captain of the fielding side or the batsman at the crease can appeal to the TV or third umpire for a review of 'out' or 'not out' decisions by making a T sign to the on-field umpire. A team is allowed two unsuccessful review appeals per innings. A review is considered unsuccessful if the third umpire does not reverse the on-field umpire's decision and the decision stands. If a player succeeds in getting the umpire's decision reversed then this will be a successful review and will not count for the limit of two decisions. We have seen today a Canadian batsman successfully reversing his 'out' decision to 'not out' by the third umpire. We have also seen two unsuccessful reviews by Canada against Sri Lanka while fielding.

This facility introduced earlier on a trial basis is most welcome considering the nowadays frequent umpiring mistakes. The rules are also practical. You cannot go on appealing on umpiring decisions as there is a limit of only two unsuccessful reviews per team per innings. But if you are fighting real umpiring menace then you can be successful in your review appeals and the limit of two would not apply. But technology must be sound enough to justify or reverse umpiring decisions.

Now if terrible Australian umpires are operating  Team India need not worry!

Best of Luck Team India! Cricket Climax Now!

ICC World Cup 2011 is about to begin. The inaugural ceremony is taking place at Dacca tonight. The first match is between Team India and Bangladesh on Feb 19. Cricket is set to climax in full glorious uncertainly. All the best to Team India! They have already beaten Australia and thumped NZ in practice matches. Team India has a balanced side with several players vying for a place in the final eleven. Healthy competition will enable them to play the best. Sachin Tendulkar is playing, but Team is not dependent on him. Recent experience show that Team India now has a will to win despite the odds like even after losing nine wickets! No TV viewer can afford to switch off on them any more! They are well equipped to win it!

But the beauty of this world cup is that almost any team can win it! You can hardly write off any. Beaten down Aussies have come again by routing England recently. Sri Lanka can do it sitting strong in its home grounds. Pakistan is Pakistan, always unpredictable. Now under ebullient and gloriously unpredictable skipper Afridi Pakistan can be on the top spot or in the bottom. South Africa is one of favorites, but their recent losses to India in nail biting finishes can have a bearing when they face India. Except for Aussie drubbing England has a good record in recent times and can make it to the top. On a given day West Indies can do two things: win in a majestic one-sided affair or lose equally majestically. Nobody can tell how good or worse they will field or bowl or bat, but potentially more predictable than Pakistan. New Zealand also has in them to rise to the occasion despite all the recent reverses. Not to forget, they are still the best fielding side. Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh can strike anybody unawares!  Three of four minnows left...Canada, Netherlands and Ireland, well, cause for concern?

League matches will be played within the two groups A and B with seven teams each. Four teams will qualify from each group for the quarter finals making it the knockout stage onwards to the semi finals and finally the final in Mumbai.

Hosts India Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are ready,  grounds and pitches are ready and the millions of cricket lovers are ready to celebrate till April 2, 2011.

Let the wonderful game begin in true cricketing style and spirit. Lets enjoy!

World Cup Cricket Hassles: City of Sorrow?

Kolkata, the city of joy (or was it?), is fast turning into probably a city of sorrow. First, the Dada of joy Saurav Ganguly was unceremoniously unbought by Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL-4. No other team considered him either. An icon abandoned.

Now, Eden Gardens Stadium, the Mecca of Cricket in India, is on the verge of being rejected by the ICC for the Ind-Eng World Cup match on Feb 27. In fact, the ICC rejected it outright for non-completion of repair work by the set deadline. But Kolkata being what it is, the panic button was pressed in all possible high and highest centers of power. The ICC President Sharad Pawar had to give an assurance for reconsideration. But, things are in the balance.

The reasons are really beyond understanding. How is it possible? When did you first come to know that World Cup is being organized in the Indian subcontinent? Must be long long back. Then how come possibly the best stadium of the country with the capacity of more than 80 thousand ardent fans ignored like this? No explanations can explain such colossal nonchalance.

Or for the Indian cricket board what could be more important—World Cup or IPL-4? You can make the calculations and arrive at a conclusion as to which could have been expendable. For IPL-4 encounters the Eden Gardens has to be ready. Maybe there is catch in that too! Dada omitted?

Anyway after Commonwealth ShameGames this is another shame for a country priding in the wonderful game of cricket. And with all the money jingling at the cricket board coffers!