Cricket World Cup T20: India Just Manage To Beat Spirited Afghanistan!

Yuvraj Singh Takes Crucial Wickets!

India struggled to beat Afghanistan in their first match of the ICC World Cup Twenty20 in Sri Lanka yesterday in Colombo. When finally they won by 23 runs it was not at all worthy of the current one-day Champions. 

India huffed and puffed to 159 for the loss of five wickets in allotted 20 overs with the openers Gambhir and Sehwag failing again. The pitch could be a valid reason, because the Australia-Ireland match was played in the same track a little earlier. Just to exploit the wear and tear of the pitch Afghanistan must have decided to send India in after winning the toss. But equally important was the sheer pace of Afghan pacer Shapoor Jadran who accounted for the both the openers and the energy of a spirited Afghan team. The openers departed for just 22 runs on the board in the 5^th over. Yuvraj Singh in his second major comeback match made 18 off 20 balls with one six. They could have reduced India to 79 for 5 if the catches were taken and fewer extras conceded. There was just a solitary half century by the ever dependable Virat Kohli in the Indian innings. Raina made a neat 38 and Dhoni added a quick-fire 18 off 9 balls to set a somewhat respectable target of 160 to win for Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan started in a whirlwind fashion notching up 27 runs in the fourth over when Balaji struck for India. But the momentum was never lost though wickets started to fall at regular intervals and in the form of a gallant Mohammad Nabi (31) Afghanistan kept fighting to the end. Slow and spin bowling had the better of the Afghans as Yuvraj Singh exhibited his all-round abilities by capturing three wickets at a crucial juncture. The comeback medium pacer Balaji too came up with three wickets and R Ashwin got two scalps. Finally India just managed to win by 23 runs and the underdogs Afghanistan proved its point very emphatically to the cricketing world. The Scorecard:

 

Indian captain Dhoni would still be a worried man on his team’s batting and bowling against a qualifying team. India has almost ensured a place in the Super8, but they must set things right in the match against England on September 23 to get ready for the final stage. Man of the match Virat Kohli cannot be expected to come to the team’s rescue every time. Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan continue to be big worries too. 

The results in ICC World Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament so far: * On the first day that is September 18 hosts Sri Lanka crushed Zimbabwe by 92 runs riding on the incredible performance of spinner Ajantah Mendis who created T20 history by capturing 6 wickets for 8 runs in 4 overs. Scores: SL 182/4 and Zimbabwe 100 all out in 17.3 overs. * On September 19 Australia registered an easy win on qualifying Ireland by 7 wickets. Scores: Ireland 23/7 & Australia 125/3 in 15.1 overs.

Cricket World Cup T20: All Out War In Warm-Up Match As Pakistan Thump India!

Match winning 92 by Kamran Akmal

As anticipated an all out war broke out at the warm-up T20 cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo today in the run-up to the ICC World Cup T20 tournament starting tomorrow. In line with the epic cricket wars between the archrivals even this insignificant practice match whipped up passion and tension in cricket lovers. Amidst ups and downs finally Pakistan emerged triumphant beating India by five wickets with nearly an over to spare. 

India elected to bat winning the toss and lost Gambhir early. Sehwag too could not get going after a good start and it was the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year Virat Kohli again who took command. With Rohit Sharma Virat crafted a partnership of 127 runs to take the total score to 185/3 and set a challenging target of 186 runs for Pakistan. Virat remained unbeaten on 75 off only 47 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. As in the practice match against Sri Lanka that India won comfortably Rohit came good here too scoring 56 runs off 40 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Except for Saeed Ajmal Pakistan bowlers failed to rein in the Indian batsmen.

Pakistan started well, but the same old story of unpredictability almost repeated itself with the team reduced to 91/5 in the 12^th over thanks only to terrific bowling by R Ashwin who finished with an incredible figure of 4 wickets for 23 runs in 4 overs. At that stage Pakistan needed 86 runs in 51 balls and India had the best chance to force a win. But keeper Kamran Akmal had better ideas as he tore the Indian bowlers apart and raced to an unbeaten 92 superlative runs off only 50 balls with 5 fours and 6 huge sixes. With an equally belligerent former Pak captain Shoaib Malik (quick fire 37 off 18) Akmal led his team to victory not losing any more wicket with 5 balls to spare. The Scorecard:

As the ICC World Cup T20 starts tomorrow India has cause to worry about failing to contain Pakistan with five frontline bowlers including the comeback man Harbhajan Singh. Irfan Pathan who seemed to have continued his terrific form in the last practice match against Sri Lanka failed miserably today. Another worry being India’s over-dependence on Virat Kohli his super batting form notwithstanding. For the pluses Rohit Sharma seems to have found form at last and that the sub-continental conditions would favor India.

India, Sri Lanka and South Africa are the hot favorites for the title, but in this shortest format of the game any weak team is immensely capable of surprising the biggies. Besides, Pakistan as ever with its glorious unpredictability, West Indies with Chris Gayle back, defending champions England though without Kevin Pietersen, sharp as ever cricket by New Zealand and yet to be beaten by India in T20 history, and even supposed minnows Bangladesh—all have their chances to win the title. Australia who could never make it good in T20 and lost the practice match to England is the darkest of all horses!

Tomorrow hosts Sri Lanka play Zimbabwe in the inaugural match. India play their first match against largely unknown Afghanistan on the 19^th. A combination of league and round robin the tournament is little complicated. Two top teams from four groups go to the Super 8s. The Super 8s stage consists of the top two teams from each group of the group stage. Even at this level the teams are split into two groups, Groups E and F. Group E will consist of the top seed from Groups A and C, and the second seed of groups B and D. Group F will consist of the top seed from Groups B and D, and the second seed of groups A and C. Thanks to the rules number of matches gets reduced and the chances of archrivals like India and Pakistan meeting each other at this stage is uncertain.

With nations and national pride involved the shortest format of cricket, normally used for commercial purposes, the ICC World Cup T20 2012 in Sri Lanka is eagerly awaited and is expected to be keenly fought.

Indian Retail Opened Up For FDI: The Day After Diesel Price Hike!

The economist in Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, has finally decided to take control of the country’s economy and growth, and end the nearly one-year-long policy plus reforms paralysis politically enforced by the opportunist opposition parties as well as the allies of the ruling coalition. Undaunted by the countywide rallies and protests against the diesel price hike on September 13, 2012 Dr. Singh captained his government along to push through the reforms further the very next day. Goodness for the country’s economy and future growth prospects in a global perspective must be kept beyond politics and political fortunes of the government; he seemed to have decided upon.

In a landmark decision on the evening of September 14, 2012 the Government of India approved the much opposed 51% FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in the over $500 billion Indian multi-brand retail market and 49% FDI in the misery-ridden Indian aviation sector. The FDI cap for the Broadcasting sector has also been raised from the current 49% to 74%. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has justified this decision and the diesel price hike as much needed reforms to rescue the country’s economy from stagnating growth and the fears of being termed junk by the international credit rating agencies. But still the reforms were not imposed on all states leaving the governments free to allow FDI or not in their respective states.

The markets immediately responded to the diesel price hike buoyantly. The industrialists, business experts and the economists hailed both of the courageous steps as the much awaited policy reforms to sail the economy out of the present crisis. Many of the experts dismissed common perceptions that marginal and small retailers will go out of business, global giants will make profits at the expense of indigenous entrepreneurs and farmers will be adversely affected as completely unfounded. They pointed out that in various advanced countries where the multi-brand giants opened shops the small retailers continued to exist, that in a global economy no country could afford to go back to self-reliant policies and that the farmers in fact stand to benefit getting better prices for their crops in the absence of the middlemen.

But unfortunately the opposition political parties and allies do not want anything good happen to the country at the moment, because at the moment they only want to capitalize on the crisis-ridden government and want to come to power forcing early elections. They are not ready even to debate the possibilities as was corroborated by their tactics to stall the entire monsoon session of the Indian Parliament. They are sure of victory, because they represent the middlemen and moneylenders who exploit and loot the farmers often driving them to suicides; because they represent all the unscrupulous traders who adulterate our food serving poison on our plates; because they represent all the apathetic and comfort loving middle classes who spend thousands at restaurants and bars but grimacing at the 20 bucks to be paid as taxes and who swoop down on the cinema multiplexes or most expensive shopping complexes spending dirty sums and yet bargaining with the local vegetable vendors for a buck and because they represent all the gullible masses, their largest vote banks and divided on caste or religion or language or whatever lines, who know little politics and much less economics. 

Of course, one cannot be damn sure about all possible benefits or losses of reforms at the moment and therefore befitting a perfect democracy the people can elect their beloved leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mamata Bannerji and a whole lot of aspiring others into power. Their beloved leaders will never let them down, because they will oblige by never raising the fuel prices again or will try even reducing; because they will oblige by never allowing foreign investors enter the country; because they will oblige all their vested interest groups and protect them viciously. If finally, the worst economic crisis of the millennium engulfs the country and threatens the very existence of the masses they will simply pass on the blame to their predecessors and lead the masses again on protests.

At the moment if a political leader says that going back to the good old days of the barter system would be beneficial for all the democratic people would hardly get the difference!