Cricket: Dhoni Ton In Vain As Pakistan Beat India In First ODI!

Junaid Khan

Team India never knows a thing when there is seam, swing and green. A cricketing fact that has been proved time and again over the years. There had been lot of rains in Chennai on Saturday and the match on Sunday was in doubt due to wet ground conditions and chances for more showers. Finally the match did start after some delay, but the conditions were still overcast, ground still moist and the wicket green. An ideal situation for the Pakistan fast bowlers in a day match starting in the morning. Pakistan won the toss for the third time in this tour and India faced the usual music right from the start. A perfect display of seam and swing bowling had the Indian stumps in tatters. Junaid Khan started India’s top order collapse by bowling out Sehwag who came into the One Day team just to go back to the pavilion in quick time. The Junaid fury went unabated to root out the stumps of Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh too, and had Rohit Sharma caught. Mohammad Irfan credited himself with the stumps of Gambhir. India were reduced to 29 for 5 in under 10 overs. Any cricket team would find this situation very difficult to recover from and come back into the match.

MS Dhoni

But India captain MS Dhoni nearly did it. First with Raina and then with Ashwin Dhoni started from scratches to build the innings—he took 86 balls to get to his half century and then pressed on the accelerator. At the most crucial time for his team Dhoni hit his 8^th hundred in 212 ODIs and remained not out on 113. India reached 227 for 6 which looked impossible early on. In the final analysis Dhoni managed only to add respectability to the Indian total and the target of 228 for Pakistan was never going to be a winning one. Pakistan captain Misbah’s drop catch of Dhoni saved India from further embarrassment.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma started with a fierce spell of fast bowling reducing Pakistan 21 for 2 in 10 overs, and run getting was proving to be extremely difficult. But India failed to keep up the pressure as Jamshed who laid anchors strongly was let off three times, and the Indian spin and slow bowlers, Ashwin and Yuvraj in particular failed to provide any breakthrough. Younus Khan (58) and Jamshed steadied the innings building a hundred run plus partnership and the solidity of Shoaib Malik (34 not out) in the end guided Pakistan to a rather easy victory with almost two overs to spare. Jamshed achieved a painstaking but rewarding century and he saw his team through remaining not out on 101. The Scorecard:

Pakistan now lead the ODI Series 1-0 defeating India by 6 wickets in the first one day international played in Chennai yesterday. Though featuring on the losing side MS Dhoni was adjudged the Player of the Match for his great efforts. However, playing true to his pitch-and-conditions mindedness Dhoni said after the match that the Chennai pitch played better in the Pakistan innings. Why doesn’t he instead analyze why his team continues to be clueless against seam, swing and green irrespective of where it plays?

The second ODI of the three match India-Pakistan Series is scheduled on January 3 in Kolkata. For the moment it is about ushering in the New Year 2013 and exchange of good wishes on both sides. We wish all our readers a Happy New Year 2013! Of course, on a subdued and sober note due to the tragic circumstances prevailing in the country now as is apparent in these pages.

Tony Greig (1946-2012): Tributes To A Great Cricketer!

We knew him those days only through the radio commentaries whenever India happened to play England. We are talking of the early seventies when television coverage was restricted to mostly New Delhi cricket Tests and there no possibility of any national telecast as there was no terrestrial network through satellites. Cricket came live to our homes only after 1982. Therefore we knew little about his towering 6.6 feet all-round field presence and much lesser about his utterances, antics and entertainment on the field. But even through radio commentaries he made his presence felt particularly in 1974 when England defeated India 3-0 in England with India getting shot out for 42 in the second innings of the Lords Test, and then again during 1976-77 England tour of India known as the John Lever ‘Vaseline’ Series when India lost again 3-1.  As a great cricketer he remained etched in our mind since then and his popularity later as a commentator, when we actually started seeing him, only realized his image for us.

Anthony William‘Tony’ Greig was South Africa born and got adopted for the English national cricket team through his Scottish parentage. He played for England from 1972 to 1977 and captained England from 1975 to 1977. In his brief English career he played 58 Tests (14 as Captain) scoring 3599 runs at an average of 40.4 with eight centuries. As a bowler who could bowl both medium pace and off spin Tony Greig captured 141 wickets with 6 five-wicket hauls. Since the one-day cricket World Cup was started only in 1975 he played just 22 one day internationals with 269 runs and 19 wickets. 

Tony Greig and controversy was made for each other. His utterances and antics created big controversies, but he never failed to entertain the spectators. He was one of the most popular international cricketers on the Indian cricket fields and later the most deft, excitable and delightful commentator. His biggest controversy came when he helped Kerry Packer make the breakaway World Series Cricket and lost his captaincy and place in the English team. Tony Greig became an English cricket commentator based in Australia then onwards.

Tony Greig died in Sydney yesterday following a heart attack. Only two months back he was diagnosed with lung cancer and the great cricketer knew his end was near. But the fighter never gave up his spirit, vitality and jovial nature. He left behind the burden of sorrow and irreparable loss on his fans and fellow cricketers.

Our tributes to the great cricketer, the expert commentator and the born entertainer.

She DIES!

She dies. After 12 painful days of the most advanced medical treatment, care and attention. In New Delhi and then in Singapore. After the whole of India prayed for Her. After the Young India Movement For Change took up Her cause in thousands and thousands pouring onto the streets. After the most powerful dignitaries of the country wanted Her to live. After She wanted to live. Imagine the extent of damage caused to Her frail body by the fiends who are still alive in jail and are looking to get ‘justice’ from the courts over days, months and years to come. Is it just enough to say enough is enough?

She dies. She was a normal girl wanting to live a normal life. But in a country where depraved, sick and malignant males abound in She was born with the fatal disease of existing inside Her female body. Because in a country where people look up to mother Goddesses for blessings you cannot afford to have a female body and move around with it. These vultures are very different from Nature’s. These vultures attack, prey in, suck and feed on even alive bodies. For these the only requirements are that the bodies must be feminine, weak and defenseless.

She dies. Like so many other girls cursed to be born in female bodies in this lustful country. Like the Punjab girl who was gang raped, harassed by the rapists and the police in unison despite complaints lodged and diabolically driven to suicide. Like so many faceless females bodies littering the merciless country’s streets and so-called homes. The patriarchal horrors of the Indian society have just crossed the limits of tolerance.

She dies. The cries and the tributes are raging, pouring in this moment. The President, the Prime Minister and almost all in power and position have expressed their sorrow and paid rich tributes to the Braveheart. They all appealed for calm; because they all know that the continuing protests have just got ignited. As expected, the male dominated police forces reacted only by blocking roads to VIP areas of the national capital. Most reactions in this country are prompted by ‘maleness’ like the son of the President of India who described female protestors as ‘pretty pretty dented and painted women’. The patriarchal chauvinistic mindset has been allowed to live on more than enough.

She dies. Young India has been angry and seething over the last few days. Now it reaches the boiling point. This tremendous angst and anger must not unleash into mindless violence. This nation wide outrage must be converted into boundless energy and that energy must be directed towards shaking and demolishing the pillars of the Indian patriarchy. Women must be restored to positions of respect. Safety must be ensured for them.  The male vultures must be eradicated.

Awaken…India…awaken. Young India is leading you…Now For Change!