And the English Boys get Floored

In what was a spectacular all round performance by the Men in Blue, there were a few moments worth remembering. This blog post will mostly be about those moments which made us jump, made us want to throw stuff at our players, made us immensely proud of them, made us feel angry, made us proud of India, made us smile so broad that anybody looking at us would call us weird (not that I care!), made us race back to hostel after the match with such speed that it surprised even us (Okay, that applies only to me!), made us unbelievably patriotic.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's spell: You can just keep bowling and keep surprising the top most batsmen in the world, can't you? You played with the ball, swung it beautifully and scared the living hell out of the English top order. If I was asked to name one emerging pace bowler with a lot of potential and future, I would most definitely name you.



Ravindra Jadeja's double wicket over: Jadeja, you needed only a few days to shut all the critics and make thousands of fans scream your name out. The bowling was impeccable and Patel and Kieswetter were in for major shocks as they totally misread his deliveries. The former was waved goodbye after a stunning delivery, catching him off guard, hitting his pad while the latter just gaped at the bowler and then at the stumps as he stood there, totally missing the length. Jadeja has decided that he has had enough from the fans and from the critics. He proved them wrong, both with the bat and the ball in the previous match and with the  stunning 6 over spell in this match.



Rahane's stump goes for a walk: Steven Finn, you continue to amaze me. Your height, your yorkers, your well-planned bouncers remind me of Lee and Shoaib. My heart does the exact same step with these three bowlers, hence the comparision. Rahane, you deserved that "off stump going for a walk" (run, rather!) thing because to face a bowler as fast and lethal as Finn, you need confidence, which you clearly miss.



Virat's cover drives: I was bowled. He was pure bliss to watch. The first two boundaries were rusty and the placements were a bit off. But the cover drive just made up for those two shots. It did not end there. Your confidence grew and you were more sensible in your shot selection. Then, there was the huge bouncer which you tried to duck, but unfortunately, Finn, the hulk was much taller and the bouncer was way too into the body to miss and you drew your bat out in the last moment, which propelled the ball over the keeper, towards the boundary. But what I loved the most was the difference in the way you looked at the whole innings. It was a welcome change to see cheeky grins and wide smiles instead of your usual cuss words.



Overall, we saw a fine game of cricket played at Ranchi today, what with the newly inaugurated stadium and the insane people (some of them hanging from trees to catch a glimpse of the match!).

This is one game which made me think, "There you go, losers. This is for all those people who failed to support India when they were going through a tough phase."

It is not the support that they receive at times of their glory that matters, what matters is the trust and comfort they receive at times of failure and distress.

- Forever a cricket fan,

Aishwarya Kumar.

The Devastating Truth

I was waiting to watch you play, to see your smile, to cheer as you scored those beautiful boundaries and sixes, to watch you live at least once in my life time, to fulfill my greatest dream, to jump, scream and bleed blue as you bring glory to the nation, but the wish goes unfulfilled. You are not playing the Pakistan series.

I am not ashamed to say that tears were pouring out of my eyes when I read the media release stating your retirement. I have grown up watching you play, I have grown up defending you, I have grown up reading about you, I have grown up fighting for you and believing in you when nobody else did, I have grown up watching your best innings on loop, I have grown up praying for you, I have grown up trusting blindly that you can not retire and that it cannot be possible. Because I believed that you would never stop, that you would play on forever.

There are a lot of people out there who didn’t like you, who didn’t trust you and who made it look like you were playing only for yourself, but I assure you that I have always believed in you, I have always knew that you did what was best for the team, for India.

I hated the fact that every news channel, while discussing the issue of your retirement, showed images and videos of your downfall, your missed chances, your failures. If there is one person who deserves a good farewell, it is you and I am sorry that these people could not understand that basic fact.

I can not believe the fact that I will no longer watch you in blue, cruising India towards victory. It is so natural to imagine you in the playing eleven, as easy as breathing that the thought that you will no longer be there to support the youngsters, to help them in their thirst for victory is very difficult to digest.

I know that you have played for long, I know that you need this time off, both physically and psychologically and that it is rather selfish on my part to expect you to keep playing but I cannot help the fact that there is a hollowness in me, so heavy and at the same time so empty that it has left me speechless.

I started watching cricket when you smashed Akthar all over the ground in the 2003 world cup. There is no looking back from then. Every series, every match has been special and I can’t believe that you won’t be a part of all that anymore.

I know that I will see you in white, still playing, still grinning, still making history but the ODI squad will definitely miss you but more than all that, the world of cricket will miss its God, its creator, its Guru.

Aishwarya Kumar

Jubilant Despite the Loss

The morning dawned murky and annoying. My mind was elsewhere. My friends were on the field while I had to sit at home and watch the match on the idiot box. There was a great longing in me but there was also happiness for my friends. Nothing comes my way easy and I have always had to strive and struggle even for the simplest of things. So I ain’t complaining.

From 17 without loss to 24 for 5, the Indian top order collapsed, leaving all of us shocked beyond words. I wanted a Sehwag blitzkrieg, I wanted a Kohli showdown but never once did I expect the top order to tumble down. Least of all, I didn’t expect the Indian Captain to bring about the change in the score card. Just when I thought that the game was done for, Dhoni walked out to the middle with a determined expression on his face. The phrases “from then there was no looking back” “it was a smasher of an innings” definitely do not hold good because this innings was way more than all of that. This was an innings which was spread across for more than forty overs and this was an innings which required every sweat of his, every ounce of his energy. The fact that he gave his everything to give India a chance to fight was worth watching. There was nothing left of him, the cramps were taking a toll of him but there he was, pushing the singles to doubles and never once letting go of the chance to get an additional run.

With Raina and Ashwin, he slowly built up the Indian innings. Fifty turned to hundred and hundred to one hundred and fifty. There were ten overs left and the Indian fans oozed hope and support.

The Indian innings came to an end after a hundred which is worth remembering in a long time because this was a century which saw the beauty of commitment, which saw the wonderfulness of patience, which saw the magnificence of a leader, which saw the radiance of a true performer.

These words are not out of the fact that he was successful today. I have and always had great respect for Dhoni but I disliked the fact that people never saw the dip in his form in the past two years. He has done a lot for Indian cricket; there is no doubt about that. My only qualm was that he was standing up to his potential.

If there is one other thing that I am proud of after today, it would definitely have to be the Indian seam bowlers. When Bhuvaneswar Kumar breached Mohammad Hafeez’s defense in the first ball of the first over of the Pakistan innings, I was left speechless. There was swing, there was movement and there was amazing dynamics.

Ishant Sharma hit the deck hard and Ashoke Dinda proved that he was a worthy addition to the Indian bowling line up. The ball swung and created a lot of trouble for the Pakistani batsmen but they were smart enough to learn from the Indian mistake and that was to see the new ball through. Once that was done, I knew for certain that the game was theirs. The ball came onto the bat nicely after that and all they had to do was stick to the 4 run an over strategy which was what they did. Nasir Jamshed played a brilliant knock which almost overshadowed the Indian Captain’s innings. He stayed throughout the Pakistan innings and took the game away from India.

When Dhoni was announced the Man of the Match, there was pride in his eyes and I knew then that he was looking at more than this particular match. The top order failed miserably, no doubt about that but there is nothing major to worry about that because when they click, they can be lethal. One worrying factor about the Indian team was the seam line up and today proved that we have gems whom we can be proud of.

From,

Not an analyst, but a fan.

Aishwarya Kumar. 

Indians Lacked Flare

Virat kohli's blitzkrieg, Dhoni's sudden charisma, Raina's persistent batting, Yuvraj's resilient bowling are the only four good things that can be taken out of the 2nd T20 between India and England. The rest of the Indian team need a good punch in the stomach to awaken them.

The fielding was breathtakingly annoying, the bowling was amazingly lousy apart from Yuvraj's sole effort to save the match from slipping away and the batting could definitely have been better.

Awana definitely would be cursing himself and if I am not wrong having a sleepless night remembering the dropped catch which might easily have toppled the charts. Michel Lumb's grimace turned into a grin when he realized the second lease of life that he was given and he sure made good use of it. He made sure that he stayed till a reasonable period of time, setting up the stage for the rest of the batsmen to take over.



Eoin Morgan gave the Indian's a nightmare, what with his breathtaking looks and his easy fours and sixes. The finishing six was so beautiful that I forgot who I was supporting for one whole minute, just enjoying the beauty of the shot.

Is it only me or is Yuvraj looking even more handsome now a days? Okay, I think I am straying away from the topic. It was a delight to watch him spin the ball the way he did. When he lured Lumb out of the crease and deceived him, I was speechless. Yuvraj was at the peak of his bowling form and I was glad. The LBW was equally beautiful and the glint in his eyes after picking up the third wicket spoke wonders.



One nightmare that I was unfortunate enough to watch today was the dismal fielding by India. Even Kohli and Raina disappointed. The throws were wild and the pick ups were dreadful.

Indian pacers lacked the flare and gave too much of length and space and the English batsmen made full use of it, sweeping and pulling the balls away to the boundary.

Overall, this was most definitely not a good game of cricket. But credit has to be given to the England team for the athleticism on the field and their gritty performance with the bat which saw them through in the end.

Six wickets in two matches is huge and huger still is the Man of the Series. Let the Charismatic performance continue!

Aishwarya Kumar.

Overdose of Cricket?

One of the most scary parts of playing continuous cricket is the weariness factor. The players are being put through 9 months of continuous cricket and this is not doing them any good. Few of the key factors of consistent performance are good rest and regeneration of body stamina and strength. On watching Champion's League T20, one thing is clear. The players are struggling and they are struggling big time. There is no punch, there is no vibe, there is no kick to any of the matches that has happened so far. Playing for the sake of playing is clearly seen and it hurts to see them play this way. Cricket should be played from the heart and not from anywhere else. A player would be able to give his beat only if he is totally fit and his mind is totally into the game. If that is missing then the soul itself is missing.

Gambhir, one of the most lethal player India has seen is struggling. He is not able to time the balls well and his shot selections are shaky. He needs to go get some solid net sessions and that is not going to happen if he spends the whole of the month playing T20 cricket. In the name of entertainment, I feel that T20 cricket is being overdone and the players are not getting sufficient net practices and healthy recuperation time.

Gambhir is just one example. There are many such players who are not in their elements right now and this will be clearly seen in the test series against England starting this November. If the team is not fresh and all ready for the season, it will be clearly seen in their performance and the overall performance of the team and that is something which the BCCI and the selectors have to think about before bundling the players off to play for the Champions League.

Shane Watson was called back by the Australian Cricket Board to practice and get accustomed to the bigger format of the game as Australia will be taking on South Africa next month. Though I felt bad that I would not see him anymore in CLT20, on thinking hard I felt that the decision to call him back to practice for the upcoming test matches was a well thought out one and it will obviously help him and the team in the larger format of the game.

Everything is not about T20. It is a format which came up recently and it is a format which needs no foot work, no book shots, no well laid out plan, no strategy. It is a format which needs hard hitters. Though it has become important in today's world, test cricket will remain the true representative of the Gentleman's Game followed by ODI cricket.

-Aishwarya Kumar

2007, a year of /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

If you are, by any chance wondering what that weird title means, you don't have to anymore. It is basically the line which runs across the screen of a heart rate monitor. Up-down, up-down, up-down.

Though this post might be highly irrelevant at this point, I somehow remembered 2007 today and a wonderful feeling crept over me. Though it was a disastrous year at the World Cup ( One day International), the first thing that came to my mind as memories of that year flashed before my eyes was the T20 world cup at South Africa.

India was thrashed and made into an ugly batter at the ODI world cup in April that year. Rahul Dravid's men had to sneak back home at the dead of the night because of the shocking first round exit at the world cup. The whole world had expected them to perform, had expected them to step up and the team was studded with diamonds as rich as the Kimberly itself. Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Yuvraj, M.S, Kumble. the world's best and most celebrated players failed to deliver and India was packed home at the first stage by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Many things happened at once. India gave away its super eights spot to Bangladesh,  Australia lifted the biggie, World T20 World Cup was announced to be held in South Africa later that year.

After India came back home, all hopes were lost. Indian fans were so heartbroken that they did not follow the game with the same vigor or enthusiasm. The BCCI took some rather drastic measures. The players' right to act in advertisements was plucked from them and they were asked to train more vigorously. It was obvious that the BCCI were feeling the heat and they were dumping it all on the players' heads.

T20 came and all the biggies stood aside to give the youngsters a fair chance. This was well received by the Indian fanbase who also felt that the shortest format of the game needs hard hitters and young blood. An entirely new squad with M.S.Dhoni as the captain/wicket keeper was announced. There were hard hitters like Uthappa, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh who could topple the game in India's favor if given a chance.

The team travelled to South Africa with the least of expectations. There were no pooja's performed for them, there was no big send-off, there was no hype, there was nothing. They were leaving for the World Cup and there was calmness around them. The huge burden of pressure was taken off them. All they had to do now was stand up and perform, show the country that they were still the most lethal team in the world and that is exactly what they did.

The young team was a delight to watch. Right from the Group D match against Pakistan, there were two things that were predominant- Determination and unity. The group match against Pakistan ended in a tie and the umpires called for a bowl out. Three bowlers were chosen from either of the team to bowl to the stumps and the team with the maximum hits was to be the winner. Uthappa, Sehwag and Bhajji came out for India. The ball turned and spun beautifully. The boys were so eccentric that it was contagious. Soon I was jumping up and down my seat, praying for our victory. Uthappa's bow to the audience after taking out the middle stump was the highlight of the whole bowl out. The Indians clearly looked more comfortable and even superior to the Pakistanis in the bowl out arena.

After taking the bowl out and subsequently the match, the Indians went ahead to the super eights. They had to face the likes of South Africa, New Zealand and England to have any chances of going in to the semis.

The memory of the India-New Zealand encounter is rather hazy. All I remember is that India did not make it and lost by a small margin of 10 runs. The chances of India qualifying to the semis now depended on two wins in the two matches that we had and it was against the mighty South Africans and the unpredictable English.

We clashed against England first and the whole of India was overjoyed. The Sixer Singh was out in the crease and he was thrashing the England bowlers. Stuart Broad was the bowler and Ravi Shashtri was the commentator when the almost impossible thing happened.

6 off every ball. 2 of them were on the off side and 4 were on the leg side, if I am not mistaken. The mid wicket sixes made me feel as if I was eating huge chunks of vanilla ice cream at the same time. That chilling sensation deep down in the stomach was all that I felt after Yuvraj responded to a provocation by Flintoff right before the over.

"Its six, six, six and its balle, balle, balle." Ravi Shashtri was commenting like he was egging Yuvi on for more. It was a pleasure to watch Yuvraj bat and Ravi comment with such intensity and dedication.

The match was won and all that was needed was a victory against the chokers. The Proteas were in brilliant form and Greame Smith was leading a potential team. Indians batted first and put up a decent 153 on board. The blitzkrieg started then. R.P.Singh came out and bowled beautiful in-swingers which bamboozled the Proteas batting order. They collapsed and before long, the Indians were celebrating. It was euphoria in Durban as the whole of the Indian camp danced in jubilation-they had made it to the semi finals, they had proved themselves.

I was on my way to Chennai for my quarterly holidays when the Australia-India semi final was slated. I could not handle the pressure. I still remember watching the match in every station possible. I could not sleep the whole night and kept tossing and turning. There was an elderly looking man who was listening to the radio alerts of the match. I just could not hold myself and asked him for the score update. When I heard that Yuvraj had scored a wonderful 70 off 30, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew then that we had a chance and a very good one. India had raced to a 188 after Yuvraj's innings. The Australian team fought valiantly but simply could not get past the Indian score.

We had beaten Australia, in Jo'Burg and we had beaten them smart. I reached my Gramps' place and was so exhilarated that I could barely wait for the finals. The Pakistanis had made it against the New Zealanders in the other semi finals and were looking strong.

The day of the finals came. I was clutching my granddad's hands and I was praying so loudly that he kept giving me weird looks. All through the game I kept hitting him and punching him for every wicket, every boundary, every six. Misbah reverse swept the ball to deep leg and Sreesanth took a shaky catch to give India it's first T20 world cup victory.

I was awe-struck, I was over joyed and above all, I felt happy that we had proved ourselves. The critics had to stop their non-stop criticism about the Indian players. We did what I call the "undoing act." After September 2007, people forgot the ODI world cup debacle, the fans never once questioned the cricketers' capability. The underdogs had performed and performed like legends.

-Aishwarya Kumar. 

Abundance of bounce, spin and swing at Centurion

The ball was scything past the batsmen, the in swingers were hurting their unprotected body parts, the Naraine spin was just baffling their minds into believing that they were in India, rather than in a hard core South African cricket ground.



The Delhi Daredevils' bowling was a delight to watch as they sliced through the defenses of KKR and made them look petty. Pathan's in swingers were dot on while Balaji was bowling way outside the stumps and hardly causing any concern to the Delhi batsmen. His full tosses lower down the innings gave 61 runs in the last few overs for the Delhi Daredevils, ensuring a comfortable and determined target of 161 for them to defend.





The bowling by DD was spot on as the balls swung, spun and danced in front of the batsmen's eyes. All they were able to do was stare at the variations in the deliveries with surprise and amazement. The delhi Daredevils had it very easy as they reduced KKR to a mere 108.



Pathan was given the MoM for his brilliant bowling. Unmukt Chand stepped up and showed that he is a force to reckon with. I know that these are early days, but I get the feeling that there is a Kohli in him, which, if unleashed, will prove to be costly for any team playing against him.



- Aishwarya Kumar.