Dhoni fought- Only Dhoni fought on an "England's day"....

    Thanks to Dhoni, after a long time. Only Dhoni had the guts to take the English bowling attack - only Dhoni. Rest all were mere spectators including the master blaster-Sachin Tendulkar and Mr.Perfect-Rahul Dravid. English bowlers lumped the Indian batsmen but Dhoni held the fight to bring India to a decent score of 224. When the English fast bowlers especially Stuart Broad and TIm Bresnan shared most of the wickets India were 111 for 7 at one time. It was Dhoni's and Praveen Kumars heart to counter attack the England bowlers made all the difference.

And atlast....

 
 Sehwag-thought of as the savior even didn't get enough time to be on the ground. He was dismissed by last two tests hero-Broad in the very first ball of his spell and what Sehwag faced first after return from his injury. India would have smell the danger even in that instant itself. But Gambhir (38) and Dravid stood somehow till lunch. Dravid who got back his favourite number 3 position once again came to the crease with situations similar to an opener prevailing and he did well to manage that. But he could resist the attack only till last ball of the first session.
    Then came Sachin Tendulkar- Master Blaster with some great loud of applause from the crowd that have followed him throughout this series. As soon as he came England skipper Andrew Strauss  immediately recalled his senior most strike bowler James Anderson to target someone he has removed 7 times. And Anderson could have made it to 8 but this time luck didn't hold his side. Then Stuart Broad got the chance to get the outside edge of Sachin - it was for the third time in this series that Broad is dismissing the Master Blaster. Then the rest was all an easy task for the England pace attack. Raina as usual fell before the short pitch delivery, Laxman who lazily flicked to long leg and Mishra edged a drive. But what happened rest was quite unnatural. Dhoni (77) who needed 16 deliveries to open his account and Praveen Kumar (28) counter attacked England bowlers with some crunching drives and haphazard drives. This partnership helped India a lot to reach 224.
   In reply Indian bowlers didn't get anything from the pitch what England seamers have obtained and at stumps England is at 84/0; a perfect start fro the England team in the third test.

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Will Sehwag be the saviour....

   If India have to retain their number 1 ranking in the test cricket, they have to win atleast one test in the remaining two and not only that but also should have a draw in other one. India who got their crushing defeats at Lord's and Trent bridge will definitely have to climb a mountain-uphill task to retain their prime position. India haven't lost three tests in a series since their defeat 3-0 ijn Australia during 1999-2000. While on the other side England could easily seize their number one spot if they could have a draw in  the remaining two. England's supremacy in this series can be easily depicted from the way in which the first two tests were bagged by them. I should have to say that England seized their victory from both the tricky positions.

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The Fortune could swung to either side....

The mighty come back....

    It could be much earlier, to dodge England batting order. But soon after lunch Indian, bowlers changed their plans, what they have done to England top order batsmen. Indian seamers pitched it up and seamed it away from the English batsmen till tea; got the result for it plumbing England to 124/8. But after tea, they inexplicably abandoned plans, they resorted to shorter length with wider balls, this gave Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann to free their arms and scored around seven runs per over that resulted them to a decent score of 221 runs in their first innings.
  At the same time, Indian skipper Dhoni's fielding arrangement also astonished me a bit. Rather then setting up an attacking one he resorted much on defence. This gave more advantage to the England tail-enders. Broad's some shorts went tantalizingly over the Indian fielders while others fell too short. Indian fielders' "snail-like" movement also helped them a lot. Finally a full slaughter from Praveen Kumar ended Swann's anguish at gully. There were no celebrations,only angry relief. Two sessions of good play by the Indian bowlers completely unraveled by these two players in just 12 overs.
  Earlier winning the toss, Dhoni again chosen to field first seeing the mighty conditions prevailing then and bowlers did a fantastic job to back captain's decision. ZaheerKhan's replacement in this test, Sresanth bowled enthusiastically at right places and swung away which wrecked English middle order. Also he joined in formidable alliance with Ishant and Praveen who well utilized their pace and swing. The result was that England were down to 124/8 at tea.
  England bowlers in reply started off flamboyantly as Anderson knicked Indian opener Abhinav Mukund to gully which clearly showed that he didn't learned anything from the Lord's test. At stumps on day-1 Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman carried the Indian first innings score to 24/1 without much loss.

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India - To regain their aura....

  It was always like this. Having lost in the first test match at Lords, in 2011 also the same conditions prevail. Nine years ago, in 2002, Indian team under their most unperturbed captain lost the first test match at Lords. The arrogant people met him at the street told him that they are returning to home. Then Dada replied "Why so soon? Stick on we are going to level the series...." and Dada kept his words probably more than that. India won the third and the fifth test and sealed the series. Now Lords 2011 is lost, England are more stronger than then. On the other side India will loose their bowling spearhead, Zaheer Khan.
   But now, it is already late in this series. Team India is on the verge of extinction from the eminent position of the ladder; if they loss one more. Watching the video of players practicing at Trent Bridge, one thing is clear, having a defeat of 196 runs at Lords had made them more tired than having demoralized. Especially the bowlers, who had to bowl around 210 overs by three bowlers and most interestingly Dhoni used their part time bowlers only in 19 overs and half of was bowled by himself. This led to many controversies even during the test match itself. And due to this action by the captain , the bowlers had to work over time and they dot tired. Apart from this Gambhir was injured and Sachin infected by fever. It's quite relieving for India that both are now fit and said the media that they are fit enough to play in the second test.
   Let's hope for the best from team India and keep their position on the top of the ladder itself....

 

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India sunken in Anderson's fifer....

  A win in the first test match for India was improbable at the beginning of the last day of the test, yet a draw would  have been an incredible result. And for that credible result, Indian batsmen needed a special effort. The key to this was overnight not-out batsmen VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. I thought they will do it as both were tamed under such conditions and are capable of doing so. But both these giants fell before the leader of the English attack James Anderson in a well similar manner. For Anderson it was rising from ashes as he hadn't done anything in the first innings.

  Just look at the wickets Anderson claimed in the second innings and sealed England's victory in the 2000-th test match and the 100-th between India and England. Rahul Dravid,VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. I can say that England's victory in the first test match was a team effort except in the final day were the final nail had to be struck and it was perfectly executed by James Anderson....

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The WALL....

      Whether it may be the plentiful turning or the unpredictable bounce, Rahul Dravid will always be there for  team India- that is why he is called "The Wall" of Indian cricket. His 32nd hundred was a resounding reminder of his value in the Indian cricket team. Also Rahu Dravid's ton gave West Indies an exacting target of 326 runs in the first test. At the end of third day West Indies are 131/3 still they have to score 195 runs to reach the target.

The Great Indian Wall....

       All the credits should be given to Rahul Dravid fro his slow and steady innings. Darren Sammy will be regretting for his simple dropped chance of Dravid, when Dravid was only at 6, even though he was the star of West Indies' bowling with four wickets. The next top scorer in the Indian team was Amit Mishra who scored 28 runs, number ten batsman of the team. Dravid was the patience of  West Indies bowlers in the morning session, as he scored just 23 runs in the first two hours of day three. His overnight partner Virat Kohli didn't last long as he edged the ball to the wicket keeper. Then the first innings hero Suresh Raina also couldn't do anything aven though he hung around for a couple of hours.
     As West Indies introduced Bishoo in to attack both Raina and Dhoni went back to pavilion in quick successions. With Praveen kumar was bowled out, India was having a lead of only 256 with only two wickets to spare. A quick end have raised the Inies hopes but the doggy Dravid shielded the tenth batsman- Amit Mishra and scored 56 vital runs. A flamboyant six from Dravid soon after his 32nd century  reached Indian lead to 300 runs and then Mishra also freed his arms for couple of boundaries. The six by Rahul Dravid is only the 19th of his 261 test innings. Another attempt of Dravid could only bring him  to the man at mid on and set a target for 326 runs fro West Indies.

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Gilly ka "baangda"....

     This is what I like about this man, Adam Gilchrist. Aggressive, violence, and passion....He is still young even in his 40s. Only Gilly can play such an innings ( I dare even Sachin can ). While on the other end Shaun Marsh in his own style....Both of them really "ruined" Bangalore Royal Challengers keeping Punjab Kings XI still in the hunt. Today Punjab Kings XI thrashed Bangalore Royal Challengers  by 111 runs.

Gilly de DHAMAAL....

     It was not Christopher Gayle or Paul Valthaty who cracked Darmasala sky as we all hoped. Truly cricket is a gentleman's gameas the prominent gentleman of modern day cricket really entertained the crowd as he smoked nine sixes. But the the beginning Kings were chocking as they  scored only 30 runs for one wicket in six overs after they decided to bat first. A short ball from Mithun helped Gilly to kick start his whirlwind knock. He also produced the longest six in the tournament, a huge 122 meters of  Langeveldt in the 10-th over o fthe match. With that he fully opened the flood gates. Bangalore become in real vein as Marsh also began his assault in the 15-th over as he smashed Van der Wath for 30 runs. Van der Wath also became the most expensive bowler as he conceded 50 runs as he was well "backed up" by Langeveldt by 48 runs. Adam Gilchrist completed his second IPL century in the third ball of the last over ad was out in the penultimate ball. Till then he scored106 runs of 55 balls and Shaun Marsh scored 79 of 45 balls. Both of them had a highest  partnership in any wicket of 226 runs and that to in 99 balls.

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Sehwag-The One Man Army.

   An incredible century by Delhi Daredevils captain Virendar Sehwag helped them to have a win over Deccan Chargers by four wickets with one over to spare and kept them alive in the hunt. Deccan's opening bowlers Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma fired early in the Daredevil's innings and reduced them to 25 runs for three wickets. But Sehwag was not in a mood to surrender before them as he freed his arms in the sixth over of the innings. In that over of the debutant Ishan Malhotra he scored  23 runs and kept the match alive. In the tenth over Deccan got a very good chance to come back to the match but Ankit Sharma drooped Sehwag's catch as he was there with just 54 runs. If he had taken that catch then I'm sure the match result would have changed.Then Sehwag hadn't any option and he completed all in a jiffy and in a style.He played some sensational shots to which was very much rewarded by the crowd.

   Earlier Deccan Chargers winning the toss elected to bat first which was very much justified by their batsmen and scored a huge total of 175 runs. J P Duminy stars the Deccan's innings as he scored his first half-century (55) runs and had a brilliant partnership with Dan Christian (27) , the duo making 71 runs partnership in 39 balls.

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The BENGAL TIGER is back!!!!

   A very good news for the Dada fans.Sourav Ganguly has been bought by Pune warriors India, will replace Ashish Nehra who have been ruled out of  IPL-4 due to his finger injury.Sourav Ganguly who was unsold even at the end of two auctions has got the lifeline, whose base price was $400,000. Ganguly will join the Pune team ahead of their match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhade stadium on May-4 as the vice captain of the team.

   Pune Warriors are now at the bottom of the table as now they are struggling with six consecutive loses after their first two victories at the initial stage of this season. Pune team officials hope that Ganguly averaging 1031 runs with an average of 28 runs and with a strike rate of 110 could deepen the depth of  batting and help them to recover from the under-performance of their batting order.

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Will DADA be back????

  Now the chances are more for Sourav Ganguly-the most successful captain of Indian cricket team ever; to play in the forth edition of IPL. And that too in my home team Kerala Kochi Tuskers (KTK).Srilankan call back to their players before May 5 paved the way in Dada's favour.I am not sure it's a grape vine or not, but you can truly believe that this news is directly from the KTK desk.But the choice on Sourav Ganguly will depend more on the Mahela Jayawardena's availability to the team.On the other hand BCCI is trying their best to take back their words by Srilankan Cricket Association as most of the funds to the Srilankan cricket Association are from the BCCI.

THE BENGAL TIGER

    Also there was a rumor that Sourav Ganguly will be replaced for Steve Smith,Australian Spinner who was recently ruled out of IPL-4 due to his ankle injury.Also Kochi Tuskers are keen to take Ganguly on board after the kick-off of IPL season 4.Anyway it'll be a cream come true for most of the KTK fans if Sourav Ganguly plays for the team.
     Also I am much more interested in it as then onwards I will be a supporter of my home team Kerala Kochi Tuskers.Let's hope for the best....

I f still you can't believe my words, please go through the link below where you can read it from the official KTK website.
CLICK HERE    

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VALTHATY-Unstoppable....

   Now you can't throw away Paul Valthaty- because his is now that person who turns everything into Gold that he touches.In yesterday's match against the Deccan Chargers Valthaty once again bought his team-Punjab King's  XI the victory but now with his all- round performance.As Deccan Chargers started off their innings quite well as Sangakkara and Shikhar Dawan put up a nice 75 runs partnership for the second wicket,Deccan's highest wicket partnership for any wicket in this season of IPL-4.But after this wicket all went wrong to Deccan as they were very much surprised by Valthaty's split finger slow balls.At that time Deccan Chargers were in a commanding position of  88-1 in just 11 overs, with 8.00 runs per over.But it all went down when Sangakkara and Dawan got out within a short time period of 3 runs.The big-hitter Dan Christian tried to re-build the Deccan innings as he scored 30 runs in 14 balls, in a jiffy.This wicket however imposed some fear in the Kings XI camp.Again Valthaty came to the rescue as he took the wickets of Christian and Amit Mishara in successive deliveries.Since these two wickets were in the last two deliveries of 19-th over Valthaty didn't got the hat-trick.Let's look forward to the next match.

courtsey:http://www.espncricinfo.com

Don't Mess with me....

    When he come to bat the confidence which he gained from bowling was sparkling in his eyes and of course in his batting too.He was in such a terrific mood that he easily found the gaps in the fielding arrangement  and also he was in his best to find the aerial route also.Kings XI  score leaped into 59 for 0 in just 5 overs,the game was all but over.At the other Adam Gichrist was also in fighting mood.He hit Gony to one of the longest six in the tournament and went to fifty in 30 balls.But soon Valthaty overtake his captain in 29 balls.Gilchrist fell at 61 as he was caught at the third man boundary, a great applause from his former home crowd. But Valthaty stayed back with some fine shots before getting out at 75 runs, a total of 195 runs between the dismissals.Then Marsh and Dinesh Karthik had only the job to lead Kings XI to the target which was done with ease by them.

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Paul Valthaty blists.....

     Paul Valthaty-a name so far unheard in the IPL.But today onwards his name will also be there in the top players list.Chasing a massive score of 180 runs in the ninth match of IPL-4 KXIP captain Adam ilchrist and Paul Vathaty gave them a flier as both of them swung their bat all over the ground.It was an all out attack from the Kings Xi openers.In bowling also Praveen Kumar of Kings XI gave them a flying start as he got the wicket of Srikanth Anirudh in the very first ball itself.Also he got the wicket of Suresh Raina in the same over.Definitely a dreamy start for Kings XI.
     Earlier Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist won the toss and elected to bowl whose decision was soon well supported by their bowlers.

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Mumbai Inidans stuns the listless Bangalore Royal Challengers....

       As far as Twenty-20 matches are concerned 7.00 run rate is a below par target one.Once again it made clear that Bangalore has a weak point in their batting and this led to their loss against Mumbai Indiansby 9 wickets.In Mumbai Indians' innings when Sachin Tendulkar became the controller while Ambati Raydu took enforcer role and both of them led the Mumbai to a comfortable win over Bangalore Royal Challengers in their home ground.Most interesting thing in Mumbai's chase is that they never shown even a hint hesitation in their chase as both of them played flawless innings.

Courtsey:http://www.espncricinfo.com

Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Raydu celebrates Mumbai Indians' win

 

 

 

 

        But in comparison,Bangalore had a completely different approach as they were pondered to 19 for 2.Even though Dilshan could a score a half century he was only his shadow.A Bde Villiers also scored some interesting 38 runs but was misjudged to Pollard.This gave chance for Saurabh Tiwary to free his arms and also was able to put Malinga and Harbhajan to the boundaries.Dilshan woke up only in the 20-th over to hit Mallinga a six and posted a fighting total (as expected but it never to be) of 140 runs.But as Sachin and Raydu played some magnificent and unbeaten 110 partnership whipped away the target from the screen....

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FOR THE BILLIONS....

   It was about long 28 years back,even I was not there in this planet....Yes after 28 years Dhoni and his crew recaptured and the history  re-written.The world Cup is back to India after 28 years;the most awaited one.Dhoni once again proved that he is the real "Magician".Mahela Jayawardena's poetic century was well overwhelmed by an iron willed 97 runs from Gautam Gambhir and an occasional 91 runs by the 'Captain Cool' helped team India to have the highest run chase ever in a world cup final .
  Even though India lost their toss and that too after a  much confused one,India had their first power (mandatory power play) with some power-packed performances from the team members.

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"Super Final...."

     Ooph....Even now I'm thinking about what to write in this post? because I have no words to describe  how thrilling the match would be.Yes I am saying the same match which going to place at Mohali  on Wednesday (30-03-2011). The match will be witnessed by a huge number of celebrities from Politics,Bollywood, IPL franchise owners  etc etc....Recently Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also send invitation to Pakistan President and Prime Minister to  be present over the match.Also  Pak Prime Minister Yusouf Gilani have mentioned he that he will be present in the stadium.

     With the days becoming shorter the Mohali stadium near by areas are flooded with cricket fans.Around 1000 Pakistan's are flooding to the region through roadways to witness the match.With the advent of the match black market is also on the high such that even tickets are not available to be sold .I y also reported that no hotel rooms are free near the cricket stadium at Mohali.
  
    Let's see what is gonna happen in Mohali on Wednesday,Anyway I 'm thrilled, eagerly waiting for Wednesday.....

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Once again YUV"RAJ"....

                I think Ricky Ponting is one of the luckiest player in the cricket world.That is why he was able to quit the world cup career with a fine and well remembered century in the Quarter-Final against India at Motera stadium in Ahmedabad. Of course Ricky Ponting had a terrific century  which geared them into a decent score of 260  and in return India started chasing the target with Sachin Tendulkar leading from the front with a fine half century.But it was all done by the imperous Yuvraj  with an awesome innings and led India to a splendid semi final against Pakistan on next Wednesday (30-3-2011) at Mohali.

 

Punjabi se pankha math lein.....

             In the beginning Indian captain Dhoni lost the toss and were forced to field.As all expected Dhoi handed over the new ball to R.Aswin who did well with the new ball and also took the valuable wicket of dangerous Watson.Then came the "Punter".he was under immense pressure which was very clear from his face.But he did well to manage the temper with in himself, and played calmly with great patience.Actually he was the only player who tried to stick on the pitch and so he got the result to his hard work.Also he must be very much relieved as he made the century (104) in a very important match and that too after 18 months since he scored a century in ODI matches.Before him only Haddin gave him a good support and had little partnership with him.After that none of the Aussie batsmen  could posted a good score.Only David Hussey showed some responsibility and scored some quick runs at the end.It's really interesting that  he was there  in the team instead of leg-spinner  Steven Smith.All the bowlers from team India bowled well and all  of them bowled well with Aswin,Zaheer and Yuvraj took two wickets each and helped India to restrict the mighty Australians at a defending total of 260.

Ooph...My century in vein....

            In reply,team India started of well with Sehwag and Sachin in their usual manner.Sehwag as usual tried to hit the ball out of the rope in the first ball itself and he couldn't , but he fulfilled his aim in the very next ball itself.But as usual Sehwag was out after a fine start.But then Sachin and Gambhir led the Indian score towards the target by rotating the strike without much risk .But soon after the half century when Sachin was   diving to his 100-th century , a loose ball outside the off stump from Shaun Tait touched the outside edge and rested in Haddin's gloves.Then came Kohli who also batted well till he got out from a loose full toss from David Hussey.From that Indian batsmen started showing some kind of  hurry-bury as the India middle order began to choke.Dhoni and Gambhir threw away their wickets unnecessarily.But then Raina and Yuvarj  led India to a flamboyant  victory.

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THE CLASH OF TITANS....

      This may be one of  the most awaited match of World Cup 2011,I'm sure.On March 24 when Australia and India face each other , Motera stadium will definitely witness an electrifying crowd and as that much enthusiastic players.Also the Australian coach Tim Nielsen coined  the term "mini-grand final" for Thursday's match.Both the teams will meet each other  after losing each game in their league matches.But at the same time the advantage goes to the visitor's side as they have won nine of the last fifteen matches played in India in the last five years.Also the pressure will be on the host as they are playing in their home ground and their home crowd with the crowd expecting some thing supernatural and complete entertainment from the Indian Cricket Team.

NOW NOR NEVER

     Batting is the main area of concern for both the teams.While Indian top order batsmen is the best that any team can get in this world cup but at the same time the worst too.With Sehwag ,Sachin on the opening followed by Gambhir,Kohli,Yuvraj,Dhoni... any team can dream of.But the problem is that ,their batting powerplay.Indian team didn't perform well in their bating powerplay in this entire world cup. India lost their 9 wickets for just 29 runs in Chennai and 7 for fifty against West Indies.But regarding team India, this not the only area of concern.Team India's bowling is also equally  thinkable about their performances so far in the worldcup.Only there is one bowler in the team who is consistent through out the series and that is none other, Zaheer Khan.Apart from him none other  was able to prove himself to be consistent.Now I just remember what one of my friend said "Team India is playing this world cup with only two players; one is Sachin Tendulkar and the other is Zaheer Khan.

WILL HAVE TO TRY HARD TO RETAIN THE WORLD CUP

    The same batting department also worries the Australian team.Ricky Ponting and White is struggling to score runs.Their bating weaknesses was evident in their last match against Pakistan when they were all out for 176 runs and suffered a lose from the hands of Pakistan.

      

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STARTS WITH A BANG...

Now I am sure, this world cup never won't be like the last one at carebean.In the opening match against Bangladesh, India scored a mammoth total of 370 runs in 50 overs.India's target was very clear even from the very first ball itself,Virendar Sehwag slammed the first ball of the 2011 world cup to the cover boundary.Sehwag was there in the crease till the 48-th over till that he scored 175 runs in just 140 balls.Also he was strongly backed up by Virat Kohli scorin 101 runs from 83 balls.Both these batsmen scored their first century In the world cup and that too magnificiently.Both Sehwag and Kohli showed some extra ordinary performances in the opening match itself and helped India to post a mammoth total.

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