The whole package.

“God has been kind,” says Kohli, holding the Man of the Match after his Scintillating 78 off 61 deliveries and picking up the wicket of the Captain, Mohammad Hafeez. Rameez Raja managed to make him blush by mentioning his brilliant form in the last 24 months.

A genuine smile, an aura of humility was all that was seen, coming from his face.

Pakistan went in with an unchanged side after winning the toss and electing to bat first, a move which was questioned by experts. They had three spinners in their squad and lacked pace, except for Umar Gul.

India made a few major changes by bringing in Sehwag and Balaji and leaving out both Harbajan and Chawla. The decision to leave Harbajan raised many eyebrows but MS did not look like he cared. Balaji was brought in because of his experience and was in a tough spot, having to prove his selection.

Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir walked in and Zaheer was seen warming up. The game was on. Pakistan was off to a wonderful start, cracking a few boundaries in the first over. Pathan came in for the second over and showed how much depth he could provide to the bowling squad. It was a peach of a delivery and ball hit pad and the next thing we know, Nazir, the in form batsman walking back to the pavilion, beaten by Pathan’s  in-swinger.

 

India came back strongly after the first three overs where they gave 30 odd runs. Bajaji kept the ball low and made the batsmen uncomfortable. Afridi walked in after Nazir and had a huge responsibility on his shoulder to take his team home. A few deliveries were thrashed to the boundary but before long, Balaji stuck again, bowling a short ball. Afridi, pulled the short ball and was caught at deep by Raina.  Pathan and Balaji looked formidable and the Pakistani Batsmen were going into a shell. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals and Pakistan was never able to establish a decent Partnership. They were fumbling at a 59 for 5 when the Mr. Dependable, Shoaib Malik came out and he along with Umar Akmal steadied the boat for Pakistan. They reached the 100 run mark during the 15^th over and at the same time, lost Malik, Ashwin coming in and picking up the wicket when it was needed the most. Yuvraj picked up two wickets in the middle overs, both caught behind by Dhoni. “If looks could kill” was all I could think of when I saw his reactions and his fist pumps after those two wickets. Balaji silently made Dhoni and the rest of India realize that he was the most experienced and the most lethal bowler when it came to slow pitches by taking 3 wickets.

From there the Pakistanis crumbled and were all out for a distressing 128.

The ball was not coming on to the bat, it laid low and Indians made full use of the slow pitch. The bowlers came back strongly after their miserable performance against Australia. The vibe on field was ruthless and the fielding displayed by the players was worth watching.

India came out to bat. The fearsome pair of Gambhir and Sehwag came out. Sehwag looked up at the sky, touched the boundary rope and raised it to his heart. He had a point to make today. He had to show that he was a class player and he had a position in the playing 11. He was cautious at the beginning. He even ducked for a few short balls by Gul. Gambhir was taken out by the 20 year old Raza Hasan in the second ball of the over and Pakistan were, well, how to put it - Very much in the game. Sehwag and Kohli steadied the innings for India and scored off the loose balls. Sehwag was making his point. He was doing it slowly, but he was doing it surely. He was taken out by a lose delivery by Shahid Afridi. He lofted the ball into the air and a very good catch was taken by Umar Gul at the deep.

Kohli and Yuvraj saw India through, with a mixture of caution and aggression. Kohli was at his supreme best, scoring 8 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.

The game ended with 18 balls remaining.

India is back in contention for the Semi- finals and they made it in style.

P.S: Pakistan are yet to open their account against India in T20 World Cup.

Until the next match,

"Dismal" is an understatement.

The toss was won, India decided to bat and everything in Colombo seemed perfect. The weather, the three-spinners-Indian squad, the pumped up atmosphere, the determined looking players, the comprehensive victory against England four days back. But what nobody anticipated was the total whiplash by the mighty Australians.

India started out well, scoring a respectable 69 in the first 10 overs. Pathan and Gambhir were asked to open and Pathan looked firm. Gambhir lost his wicket to a Cummins- football- run out. Virat Kohli came next and the ODI player of the year succumbed to a short ball by Cummins and whipped it into the air, giving Christian an easy catch. The match was even till the 10th over. What developed in the last 10 overs is something no Indian fan would like to remember. Wickets fell one after the other and before long India were crumbling at 75 for 5. Dhoni and Raina tried to stabilize the innings, but were choked by the brilliant fielding and bowling by the Australians. They failed to let any loose balls by and India ended at 140 for 7 after the 20 overs.

Brad Hogg, at the age of 41 bowled and fielded like a 20 year old. Watson was at his supreme best, taking 3 wickets. Cummins, proved to be a lethal pacer and rattled the Indian batting line up.

It was a dismal batting performance by the Indian Team.

Watson and Warner walked out 10 minutes later. Ashwin was tossed the ball. From there, there was no looking back for Australia. The bowling was off, the fielding was drab, the whole vibe of the Indian Team was that of depression and negativity. The bowling was not spot on and Watson and Warner batted Beautifully. Watson was at his supreme best and it was a delight to watch those mid wicket sixes and the huge boundaries.


Watson was dismissed by Yuvraj Singh, at the end of the Australian Innings, thereby making the Aussie win a little less awesome. Australia reached the target with 9 wickets in hand and 6 overs to spare.

Indians are currently last in the table and have an abysmal -2.331 run rate, going into the match against Pakistan on Sunday.

Watson was given the man of the match for his scintillating half century and 3 wickets.

Until the next match,

Aishwarya Kumar.

IS THE FUTURE OF CRICKET IN SAFE HANDS?

                                                                                                                                                April 2012.

                

From crashing out of the world cup in 2007 to lifting the same cup in 2011 to facing white wash in the 2012 Australia series, India has seen it all. Once being afraid to even walk into their own houses due to fear of being pelted by eggs and tomatoes by the frenzied Indian crowd to proudly marching up the roads of India after being crowned the world champions, team India has gone through so much. When analyzing the performance of the team in the past four years it is sad to note that a drastic dip in form of the top three bricks of Indian cricket. Though the team has been performing consistently inside the sub continent, their temperament and consistency when it came to performing in the other continents is dismal. The bouncy and fast wickets outside the subcontinent make it difficult for the Indian batsmen and bowlers to cope. The younger generations are not being trained to face these fast pitches which will create a big hole in the future of Indian cricket. Bounce was never India’s strong point and when faced by tantalizing fast bowlers like Starc, Dale Steyn, Harris, Stuart Broad, they falter and give up. The integrity that the Indian team once had is missing and this makes it even more difficult for them to come back after a humiliating defeat. Once a strong team and the team to defeat, India now looks vulnerable. Who should be blamed for this drop in India’s form? Should it be the present coach of the Indian cricket team Duncan Fletcher or the out of form Captain M.S.Dhoni?

         When Gary Kirsten took over as coach after India’s disastrous world cup in 2007, he methodically corrected every aspect of India’s performance; he showed them what it feels like to win. He was a silent spectator, never seen in the spot light. He gave importance to improving the team’s performance drastically. He was seen enjoying each player’s performance in the side lines, silently taking down notes for improvement. When his tenure as the coach came to an end and when he decided to go back to South Africa to at last spend time with his family, there was a slight doubt arising in the minds of the people if the successor would be able to pull of the quality of team that Kirsten gave us. Duncan Fletcher took over and India began to feel the pain of losing Gary Kirsten. The integrity which was the greatest strength of the team went missing. The selectors started panicking seeing the sudden dip in the form of the team’s performance. Though they showed sparks of victory here and there like the success against West Indies in West Indies in May 2011 immediately after Gary Kirsten stepped down, there were no real signs of epic victory. The two other victories that came during Fletcher’s tenure was also inside India where team India defeated the west indies in the ODI and test series and England in the ODI series.  The inconsistency clearly leaves one question in all our heads: will the team rise again?

Aishwarya Kumar.

England gets the spin scare of its life!

The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sprang a bouncer at everybody, including the experts by making four changes to the existing Indian team for the Group A match against England. Top guns like Zaheer, Sehwag and Ashwin were rested. Ashok Dinda, Piyush Chawla and Harbajan filled their places. The opening slot was presumed to be given to Virat kohli. Dhoni once again surprised us by brining Pathan up the order and making him open. What conspired was one amazing all round performance by the Indians.

India once again lost the toss and were put to bat by Stuart Broad. England had made just one change, bringing in Tim Bresnan in the place of Samit Patel.

Coming out to bat, the Indians were cautious and scored off the lose balls. Gambir looked determined and his shots, though a little rusty, seemed quite reassuring. Pathan started off well but lost his wicket early on in the innings. Virat Kohli came in at number 3 and showed the world what a man in supreme form can do. He smashed even the decent balls through cover and piled in a lot of runs. Gambir and Kohli built quite an interesting partnership early on in the innings and made sure that India maintained the eight-run-per-over mark.

Kohli then miscalculated a short ball and was caught at the deep, leaving the crease scoring 40. It was then the responsibility of Gambir to take the innings forward. Rohit Sharma was sent in next and he also proved to be a valuable asset in the middle overs.

Greame Swann bowled brilliantly and after Gambir was taken out for 45, the Indians struggled. Dhoni and Sharma could not keep the momentum going and the run rate dipped. Between ten to fifteen overs very few runs were scored and India reached 120 odd at the end of fifteenth over, making it an uphill task for the players at the crease and the players yet to come to bat sensibly.

The last five overs saw the blitzkrieg of Rohit Sharma who, after steadying the innings in the middle overs thrashed almost all the deliveries to the boundary line.

The last two overs were productive for India. They ended their innings at a respectable score of 170, despite the wobbly score early on in the innings.

The English men fielded intensely and did not let the runs flow by. If not for the last few overs of respectable batting, India would not have seen the score that they did.

When England came out to bat, hell broke lose. Nothing went right for them and before long they had lost two wickets for a meager 24. Pathan breached their defenses and took two wickets in the two overs that he bowled. After four overs, they were struggling to place the ball at the right places. Spinners came in and England’s nightmare continued. Harbajan from one end and Piyush from another squeezed the air out of their existence. The ball swung and spun beautifully and it was a treat to watch such radiant bowling. Harbajan picked up four wickets for just 12 runs in the four overs that he bowled. Piyush also has to be given credit for his patient and awe inspiring bowling. England were all out for a paltry 80, thereby making it their lowest total in an international T20 game, the previous being 88 against West Indies.

India won by a comprehensive 90 runs and will go into the super eights with great momentum and brilliant playing options.

Harbajan received the Man of the Match for his aggressive bowling.

India will face the problem of plenty in making their choices for the super eights and we will have to wait and watch if Dhoni has any more surprises in store for us.

Till the next India Match,

Die Hard Cricket Enthusiast,

Aishwarya Kumar.

Lousy Start.

India made a lousy beginning in this year's edition of the T20 world cup. Losing the toss and put to bat first, India lost Sehwag and Gambir early. Virat and Yuvraj stabilized the innings and kept the boat running for quite a while before Yuvraj fell. Kohli scored 50 off 39 balls before losing his wicket, getting caught at the deep. If not for the horrendous fielding by the Afghans, Indians would have ended their innings poorly. Thanks to the infinite drops, India stumbled it's way to 159, thereby setting the Afhgans a respectable target of 160.

Except for some sparks here and there, the batting was shaky and not up to the standards.

When the Afghans came out to bat, they were decent and smashed the loose balls to the boundary. But they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Yuvraj bowled splendidly, taking 3 wickets in the four overs that he bowled. He had tears in his eyes after taking his first wicket. It was such an emotional moment. Balaji came back strongly after his disappointing performance in the warm up match against Pakistan and took three wickets, giving just 19 runs in the process.

The match was tight up to the point where the sixth wicket was lost.

It was then an all India match, though the Afghans kept giving us those one off nervous moments by scoring off the loose balls.

India being one of the top teams cannot afford to be complacent and give their best even when it comes to teams like Afghanistan.

Aishwarya Kumar.

The man who taught us the art of patience.

Patience is an art. It is the most difficult of all arts. It is the most respected of all arts. It is the most difficult to master. The master of patience will have nothing to fear. He will have nothing to worry about. This master will find his place in the hearts of all human beings. He will live and make other people see life. He will pour his heart and soul out for the cause of other people and will live to show what it takes to respect and be respected.

      From "Jammy" to "the wall" to "Mr. Dependable", Rahul Dravid has come a long way. He has built a wall in the hearts of the people and never once did he shatter the wall of trust that millions of people built in their hearts for him. A small, cute boy he was when he first walked into the field in the year 1996 against the mighty Lankans. He has transformed into a soft leader, an amazing architect of the game, the irreplaceable aspect of the team, the wonderful beginner of the sport, the scintillating striker of the ball, the mesmerizing defender, the biggest and most enthralling wall of the country, of the world. Now, it is the pain of reality that stands before us: his 20 years of cricketing carrier is over. The wall will never come back to protect us, to soothe our anxious mind during times of India's struggle, to stand there and be there for us. He has gone for good, a decision well taken, but he has left behind a gaping hole in the hearts of millions of people, me included.

         Not once did the over nosy media find fault with his personal life, not once was he scrutinized for wrong doings, not once was he reprimanded for carrying out something which he shouldn't have. A man will become totally brilliant only when his skills are accompanied by the best of character and the most diligent of manners and behavior. His respect for mankind, especially women, is what places him millions of miles apart from the common man.

        Yes, apart from being a cricketer he is a father, a husband, a son and a grandson, but what he has left behind in the annals of history is a combination of all the traits of a wonderful person and a man whose footsteps will be followed but in vain by millions of his ardent fans.

         Moved to tears we were, when the news of his retirement came out. He was calm and composed, never once losing his cool. But the people around him and the infinite fans watching in front of the television sets found unanswerable tears falling from their eyes, unable to fathom the degree of the loss. This is one of the biggest losses to the history of cricket and it has created such a deep impact on the minds of the people that it has been rendered impossible for them to come out of the shock of the loss. Sure, people will eventually move on and live a life without Dravid, but will never be able to stop themselves from thinking of him at every turn of their lives.

       Mahan sages tell that life is a circle- Man is born, he lives, cherishes and then perishes, but in this case, Rahul Dravid will never perish. He will live in our hearts for ever, even after he is gone.

Aishwarya Kumar. 

The surreal feel.

 And the game begins..

There are people who feel so strongly for a certain thing that sometimes it over powers them, controls them and makes them lose sense. They feel so lost without it, as is like their life is miserable or incomplete without it. That is the way I feel about cricket. I know this is a clichéd sentence, but I have to use it here.

Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God.

I feel so possessive about the sport that there are very few people who can actually get a proper response from me on the subject when they come to me to talk about it. It is like my own baby that I don't like anybody ever coming close to it.

This feeling is rather dangerous, I tell you. Cricket is such a huge thing in our country that every Tom, Dick and Harry is seen or heard talking about it. It infuriates me to no end when I hear random comments about cricket or a player in particular. It sometimes gets so annoying that I can feel my pulse quickening.

So, for a person like me, I take it very personally when a random person who doesn't know what a leg slip is, or what a beamer is, comes to me and says that he/she is going for a match or has gone for a match. It gets worse when someone come up to me and says "Oh I have met Ashwin. I know he is a cricketer, but what exactly does he specialize in?"

Hell breaks loose inside of me. Every inch of me wants to just catch hold of that person's neck and snap it.

I used to always think that there was some jinx when it came to me meeting players or going for a match. Never have I seen a player in person. Never have I gone for a match (the whole concept of watching a match in the stadium was alien as far as my family was concerned). It seemed like I was always at the wrong place at the right time.

Then came September 11th. The day that will go into the annals of my history for sure. Match tickets were in my hand, amazing people were around me, and I was standing in front of the stadium. It was happening, at last.

The experience was enthralling. Everybody around you is so pumped up that it is impossible to actually sit down for one whole minute. When Yuvraj made his entry into the field, the crowd went insane. I have never seen people hyperventilating like that, ever before. The whole of five hours were spent screaming and enjoying.

The fist pumps, the high fives, the hugs, the jubilation, the sadness, it was a complete package.

Yuvraj and Kohli were so close to the fence that at one point I just wanted to scream and jump over the fence and hug them.

Nidheya and I went so mad that we screeched our hearts out. We screamed so much that Virat actually heard us and waved at us. After this Nidheya said "It is disheartening that to them we are just another face in the crowd." But I felt that we were THE faces after that wave.

Yuvraj did a Bhangra jig for the crowd. The crowd's noise levels reached a new peak.

Just as everything seemed perfect, things got even better. My role model, my God, my teacher, my inspiration, Harsha Bhogle, walked past our stand. My whole body shook with excitement. I just looked at him. It was all I could do. I understood what being speechless meant at that moment of my life. People were roaring around us. He gave a jovial smile, turned around, coat in hand, and waved at us. I was still looking at him as he walked past. I was contented. I saw Harsha. I saw my inspiration.

All in all, it was the best experience of my life. I will cherish it and replay it, over and over again, for a very long time to come.

Aishwarya Kumar.