Match Review: India vs Australia, World Cup 2011 Quarter final, 24th March, 2011, Montero, Ahmedabad, India.
Result: India bt Australia by 5 wickets.
Australia very clearly looked intimidated playing India in the all crucial knockout quarter final game against India. You didn't see the aggressive mind games being played by Australia before the crucial game.
Even on the field, Australia didn't seem to have the aura associated with them in the past. India on the other hand were really determined and you could see it in their body language that this meant a lot to the Indian team. They were really determined to win, played with a lot of heart and eventually beat the 3 time defending champions.
Overall, it was a fabulous game of cricket, I watched the entire game with my heart in my mouth. This should be one of the greatest cricket matches ever. Watching India play today, they definitely looked world cup champion material. Maybe, it's India's destiny to win the 2011 world cup.
Good luck to the Indian team and hopefully the next match against Pakistan in Mohali will be another cliff hanger. India, I believe will be the favorites to win that game.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
India failed to seize the moment
The India-South Africa world cup group B match in Nagpur on March 19, 2011 was a stunner. India loosing their last 9 wickets for less than 30 runs. From 267/1 to 297 all out.
The match went down to the last over, South Africa needing 14 runs to win in the last over. South Africa doing it with 2 balls to spare.
In every match, there are specific moments to be seized and the team that seizes these moments will usually win the match. India failed to seize two crucial moments, one was just after the 15th over when India were coasting along scoring more than 8 runs an over without taking any risks and they had the opportunity to take the batting power play, they didn't take it. There are times when fear inside you stops you from doing the unconventional and this was the moment India failed to seize the moment and put the cat among the pigeons. Had India taken the powerplay in the 16th over, it would have caught Graeme Smith by surprise and panic would have set in the opposition camp.
The next moment came in the final over of the South African innings when South Africa needed 14 runs to win in one over, MS Dhoni threw the ball to Ashish Nehra instead of his top spinner Harbhajan Singh who had bowled an excellent 48th over. This was hard to understand, MSD looked more like a captain looking to keep his job and play it safe, rather than the fearless captain who won the first edition of the T20 world cup. I don't understand how a bowler can be good enough to bowl the 48th over but not good enough to bowl the 50th over.
What was even more disappointing was the public outcry expressed by the Indian Captain that his batsmen were playing to the gallery rather than their country, this was a poor comment from the Indian Captain reminding me of Sourav Ganguly's quote "the Indian Captain (MS Dhoni) may be quite mature but sometimes he makes immature comments." This was definitely one of those moments.
This was an opportunity for India to humiliate South Africa - the title favorites by defeating them by a huge margin and dent their confidence so much that they may never recover in this world cup. The Indian batsmen tried to do just that and in the process lost their wickets. Even great teams at times have unforeseen batting collapses and there is nothing anybody can do about that. It's part and parcel of the game. But for the captain to unload his frustration on the team could do more bad than good for the team.
The team that seizes it's moments is the team that is going to win the world cup. The more I see of India, the less I feel they are going to win the world cup. My heart wants India to win, I just hope they come out with something special.
This cricket world cup, I just feel it could be one of the unfancied teams that might produce something special. It could be New Zealand or Pakistan or even England. These teams were struggling just before the world cup, New Zealand lost a ODI series 4-0 to Bangladesh and again 5-0 to India, Pakistan with all it's fixing scandals and England had a 6-1 series loss to Australia, one of these teams might wake up one day and say enough is enough, let's make something of it, lets take some risks and do something special. I have a good feeling about New Zealand, they seem to want it really bad, the turn-around might just be around the corner for them. And, don't forget they have a coach (John Wright) who has a great track record, he took India to the 2003 world cup finals. He might want to go one-up here. Not to mention Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, if it is their day, they could win a match single-handidly.
Let's see how the world cup pans out... Good luck to all the teams.
The match went down to the last over, South Africa needing 14 runs to win in the last over. South Africa doing it with 2 balls to spare.
In every match, there are specific moments to be seized and the team that seizes these moments will usually win the match. India failed to seize two crucial moments, one was just after the 15th over when India were coasting along scoring more than 8 runs an over without taking any risks and they had the opportunity to take the batting power play, they didn't take it. There are times when fear inside you stops you from doing the unconventional and this was the moment India failed to seize the moment and put the cat among the pigeons. Had India taken the powerplay in the 16th over, it would have caught Graeme Smith by surprise and panic would have set in the opposition camp.
The next moment came in the final over of the South African innings when South Africa needed 14 runs to win in one over, MS Dhoni threw the ball to Ashish Nehra instead of his top spinner Harbhajan Singh who had bowled an excellent 48th over. This was hard to understand, MSD looked more like a captain looking to keep his job and play it safe, rather than the fearless captain who won the first edition of the T20 world cup. I don't understand how a bowler can be good enough to bowl the 48th over but not good enough to bowl the 50th over.
What was even more disappointing was the public outcry expressed by the Indian Captain that his batsmen were playing to the gallery rather than their country, this was a poor comment from the Indian Captain reminding me of Sourav Ganguly's quote "the Indian Captain (MS Dhoni) may be quite mature but sometimes he makes immature comments." This was definitely one of those moments.
This was an opportunity for India to humiliate South Africa - the title favorites by defeating them by a huge margin and dent their confidence so much that they may never recover in this world cup. The Indian batsmen tried to do just that and in the process lost their wickets. Even great teams at times have unforeseen batting collapses and there is nothing anybody can do about that. It's part and parcel of the game. But for the captain to unload his frustration on the team could do more bad than good for the team.
The team that seizes it's moments is the team that is going to win the world cup. The more I see of India, the less I feel they are going to win the world cup. My heart wants India to win, I just hope they come out with something special.
This cricket world cup, I just feel it could be one of the unfancied teams that might produce something special. It could be New Zealand or Pakistan or even England. These teams were struggling just before the world cup, New Zealand lost a ODI series 4-0 to Bangladesh and again 5-0 to India, Pakistan with all it's fixing scandals and England had a 6-1 series loss to Australia, one of these teams might wake up one day and say enough is enough, let's make something of it, lets take some risks and do something special. I have a good feeling about New Zealand, they seem to want it really bad, the turn-around might just be around the corner for them. And, don't forget they have a coach (John Wright) who has a great track record, he took India to the 2003 world cup finals. He might want to go one-up here. Not to mention Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, if it is their day, they could win a match single-handidly.
Let's see how the world cup pans out... Good luck to all the teams.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Captains need to rethink power plays
Match in review: World Cup 2011, Group B game, India vs England, Feb 24, 2011 at the Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore.
Result: Tie.
The match between India and England was a game where the crowd got their monies worth. India scored 338 in their 50 overs and England in reply also scored 338. India probably never thought any team could score that many runs chasing.
The one area where captains need to rethink their strategy are power plays. When India were going on well, Sachin and Yuvraj were scoring at about 7 or 8 runs an over without taking any risks, India decided to take the batting power play and India ended up loosing a few wickets and this brought England back into the game.
I believe they should have waited and continued batting the way they were until like the 45th over where they could slog at every ball. Captains need to be flexible rather than go with a fixed strategy.
If India's decision on the power play was horrendous, England returned the favor by taking a powerplay around the 40th over to bring India back into the game. Overall, the game ended in a tie and both teams shared points.
Both teams will take positives and negatives from the game. For India, it will be an eye opener, they can no longer believe, they can score big and bat the opposition out. They will have to bowl well.
Result: Tie.
The match between India and England was a game where the crowd got their monies worth. India scored 338 in their 50 overs and England in reply also scored 338. India probably never thought any team could score that many runs chasing.
The one area where captains need to rethink their strategy are power plays. When India were going on well, Sachin and Yuvraj were scoring at about 7 or 8 runs an over without taking any risks, India decided to take the batting power play and India ended up loosing a few wickets and this brought England back into the game.
I believe they should have waited and continued batting the way they were until like the 45th over where they could slog at every ball. Captains need to be flexible rather than go with a fixed strategy.
If India's decision on the power play was horrendous, England returned the favor by taking a powerplay around the 40th over to bring India back into the game. Overall, the game ended in a tie and both teams shared points.
Both teams will take positives and negatives from the game. For India, it will be an eye opener, they can no longer believe, they can score big and bat the opposition out. They will have to bowl well.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Why do India pick injured players?
I just don't get it. When you pick injured players, there is always uncertainity. Especially when there is uncertainity over the injury itself.
This almost always hurts team morale. Dhoni says Gautam Gambhir is not injured, if he isn't injured why didn't he play in the warm up game. Even if he plays in the first game, is he going to be match fit. I doubt it.
Instead of Gambhir, a young player like Rohit Sharma should have been picked. He should have been tried in the opening slot. He may not be as good as gambhir, at least he is match fit.
This almost always hurts team morale. Dhoni says Gautam Gambhir is not injured, if he isn't injured why didn't he play in the warm up game. Even if he plays in the first game, is he going to be match fit. I doubt it.
Instead of Gambhir, a young player like Rohit Sharma should have been picked. He should have been tried in the opening slot. He may not be as good as gambhir, at least he is match fit.
Champions Trophy 2009 Schedule
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England
Sep 22
Group B - South Africa vs Sri Lanka (D/N) Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 23
Group A - Pakistan v West Indies (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 24
Group B - South Africa v New Zealand Centurion
1300 IST
Sep 25
Group B - England v Sri Lanka (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 26
Group A - Australia v West Indies Johannesburg
1300 IST
Sep 26
Group A - India v Pakistan (D/N) Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 27
Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka Johannesburg
1300 IST
Sep 27
Group B - South Africa v England (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 28
Group A - Australia v India (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 29
Group B - England v New Zealand (D/N)Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 30
Group A - Australia v Pakistan, Centurion
1300 IST
Sep 30
Group A - India v West Indies (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Oct 2
1st Semi-Final (D/N) - (A1 v B2) Centurion
1800 IST
Oct 3
2nd Semi-Final (D/N) - (B1 v A2) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Oct 5
Final (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England
Sep 22
Group B - South Africa vs Sri Lanka (D/N) Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 23
Group A - Pakistan v West Indies (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 24
Group B - South Africa v New Zealand Centurion
1300 IST
Sep 25
Group B - England v Sri Lanka (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 26
Group A - Australia v West Indies Johannesburg
1300 IST
Sep 26
Group A - India v Pakistan (D/N) Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 27
Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka Johannesburg
1300 IST
Sep 27
Group B - South Africa v England (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 28
Group A - Australia v India (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Sep 29
Group B - England v New Zealand (D/N)Johannesburg
1800 IST
Sep 30
Group A - Australia v Pakistan, Centurion
1300 IST
Sep 30
Group A - India v West Indies (D/N) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Oct 2
1st Semi-Final (D/N) - (A1 v B2) Centurion
1800 IST
Oct 3
2nd Semi-Final (D/N) - (B1 v A2) Johannesburg
1800 IST
Oct 5
Final (D/N)Centurion
1800 IST
Blue print to make cricket the most popular sport
If cricket has to be the most popular sport in the world, ICC needs to make some radical changes.
1. Scrap the ICC futures program
2. Instead, have a world series like Formula one, or a bunch of grand slams like in tennis.
This is how the world series will work, it will involve two divisions, division 1 and division 2. Division 1 will involve the top 8 teams, every year the team that finishes last gets relegated to division 2 and the team that finishes no 1 in division 2 gets promoted to division 1.
There will be 8 T20 tournaments every read the rest of the article here
1. Scrap the ICC futures program
2. Instead, have a world series like Formula one, or a bunch of grand slams like in tennis.
This is how the world series will work, it will involve two divisions, division 1 and division 2. Division 1 will involve the top 8 teams, every year the team that finishes last gets relegated to division 2 and the team that finishes no 1 in division 2 gets promoted to division 1.
There will be 8 T20 tournaments every read the rest of the article here
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