World T20 2009 – A Reflection

First things first….. Congratulations Pakistan. They won because they deserved to win. They played an expressive brand of cricket & played to their strengths. Congratulations to Sri Lanka as well. Sangakkara as captain was absolutely marvellous. The way he conducted his team’s proceedings was reminiscent of MSD’s world cup winning campaign last time. But only one team gets to win & this time it was Younis Khan & Co.

The two teams that played the final were the teams that needed it most, truly. Both countries were torn by internal strife, terror & domestic unrest. The people of these two nations needed something to keep them together, something to unite them against this onslaught of evil. And again it was provided by the game we love most. Cricket again bridged barriers to bring people & nations together. In the centenary year of the ICC, the spirit of cricket surely lives on. This is why I play this game & love it so much. For me, these two teams playing the final was absolutely apt. Their people needed strength & their teams gave it to them. Bravo, Pakistan & Lanka.

This world cup will mean so much to the people of Pakistan. Ripped apart by civil war & terrorism & their own government’s inability to combat them, this victory will give cheer to a sad nation. Add to this the erstwhile PCB & it’s totally hopeless band of bureaucrats who bungled up their issues so badly I doubt they’ll ever host a ICC tournament again. Confusion reigns in the PCB & I very sincerely hope this trophy will knock some sense into their heads, though I’m not too optimistic.

There are a few things I observed in this tournament which were very interesting & should be discussed. One, this edition saw far superior cricket than the first one. The reason, I believe, is because this was a bowler’s T20 world cup. The teams which shone were the ones which had a varied attack & a large dependence on spin. Afridi & Ajmal for Pakistan, van der Merwe & Botha for the Proteas & of course, Murali & Mendis for the Lankans being the stand out ones. These are all very different & contrasting slow bowlers, some of them totally unorthodox. They mesmerized batsmen from all teams & fewer batting records were broken. I think this is very good for the game & this trend should continue. Great job from the English ground staff.

Two, overconfidence is definitely the way if you wanna lose in T20. Opening match, for example. The English thought the Dutch were here to make up the numbers & got a thrashing so severe it knocked them senseless. I loved the match. It was my favourite of the tournament. There’s something so romantic in the underdog, isn’t it?? Collingwood’s shocked face at the press conference after the match was priceless. Did he think the Dutch came to have a drink & go home? They are a serious cricket team, Colly. Underestimate them at your own peril. Same with the Irish. They are fast becoming a superior side. Hope the ICC’s looking to speed them through to full membership status. I’d love to see them play test cricket.

Three, T20 will serve as the perfect tool to market our game worldwide. The ICC should use it as a way to get more countries to play the game, so our game can go truly global. Test cricket is surely the pinnacle, but T20 brings people together & it should be used in that way, as a platform to introduce our game to new frontiers.

A Pakistani fan, jubilant after his team’s win, shouted at the cameras, “Where is India now???” after the game. A bit undiplomatic I know, but saying that made him very happy. I would like to answer that question for him, with the reasons of our exit as I see it. We were the most fancied team of the tournament, favourites to defend our trophy. What went wrong? Coach Kirsten said that fatigue was a very important factor. Skipper MSD denied it. But I believe our Coach hit the nail on the head. No Pakistani player featured in the IPL but they won, didn’t they?? They were fresh & were able to concentrate. The IPL schedule is too crowded with too many matches in too little time. The strain on our players is just too much. The strain is more mental than physical. Our guys just aren’t fresh enough. Add this to injuries sustained during the event & we were really on the backfoot. Even now, on the tour to the Caribbean, I believe our team is not fully fit to go. The injuries caused due to the unforgiving IPL schedule will haunt us there too.

The BCCI is milking our players for all they’re worth. I enjoy the IPL surely, but I’d like to see fewer matches & less of the freaking “strategy time outs” type things thought up with the sole reason of raking in more money. Come on guys, see some sense, isn’t it obvious?? Our boys are tired. Give them a break. Find a balance otherwise our international tournaments are gonna suffer.

IPL season 2 – The Overview

Sorry people I’m late this time. But Engineering exams at university aren’t easy by any means & my final semester exams were as taxing as ever. But that doesn’t mean I missed any of the action. It was good fun, wasn’t it?? I had to finish all my studies before the late afternoon start of the double headers, though.  

First let’s analyse season 2 with season 1. Season 1 was far better (according to me, contradict me if u like). But the cricket was top class. I was disappointed with the crowds in the middle of the tournament, but that couldn’t be helped. The time outs were rubbish, only meant to squeeze in some more ads & as a result the cricket suffered. Everything else was on cue & very acceptable.

Now let’s analyse the teams performances. KKR, by far the worst, seemingly coz of a lack of vision & leadership. Dada may be a mediocre player you haughty fool (Buchanan), but our Dada is an amazing leader of men & you half  lost the tournament when you took him out. McCullum was never a good captain but it wasn’t his fault either. The blame is to lie squarely on the skinny feet of John Buchanan whom I believe is the most stupid coach of any sporting team on the face of this planet. A kid can tell you Mortaza is a better player than Angelo Matthews. SRK, really I thought you knew better cricket but you turned out to be another Dada basher. Suck on the loss, you deserve it coz of what you did to my former captain.

Sorry for the language above but I grew up watching Dada play & I can’t stand it when everyone takes pot shots at him, even when they know zip about our game. All other teams were pretty good though, Mumbai losing coz of their dependence on Sachin & Sanath, Punjab through sheer bad luck & Rajasthan, I really don’t know why. They played quality cricket & I loved it.

The IPL was a tournament meant  for developing young Indian players & giving them a big platform. Until now, apart from BRC ’s Manish Pandey, the only team giving us consistent young players is RR. Credit to Warney & Co. All the other big performances are coming from overseas players or our own established players. Get a move on, guys.

Now to the top 4 teams. CSK fired well but lost due to a singular problem. Their overseas allrounders Oram & Morkel didn’t fire throughout the tournament. Jakati was impressive among the newcomers. Tyagi & Vijay were good as well. BRC came through due to Jumbo’s experienced leadership. I wasn’t the least bit surprised. After playing so much, you would expect him to know a bit about leadership & strategy. DC were the better side in the tournament, starting so well & holding their nerve to win the season. DD were by far the best side, with a line up that threatened to hit 300 in 20 overs. Add a certain Dirk Nannes & they were almost unbeatable. But T20s are unpredictable games & they lost in a good semi final to the Chargers due to a single knock. 

The final was a great game & the closing ceremony was spectacular. But somehow the masala of the first season was missing, at least for me. I’m looking forward to the Champions League in October, but for now I’ll have to make do with the English domestic T20 cup, far less glamour but good cricket nevertheless. The T20 world cup beckons……. Oh.. it’s gonna be a great holiday…..

India’s tour of NZ- The Tests

The T20s went to the Kiwis, the ODIs to the tourists. T20s are really just entertainment shows which any team, provided its good on that day, can win. ODIs are the next level where you need considerably more skill & wits & execution to win. But even ODIs can be won against a better side if you have the drive.

Test matches are another thing entirely. No mediocre side can convincingly win a test match against a better team by just pure luck. That’s just plain impossible. To win tests a team needs to take 20 wickets & also have the class, character & temperament to bat at least 2 days. That’s why our game is different from other games. A test match is a great judge of a player’s character & his patience as much a test of his technique & skill. It is here that experience gives you an added advantage. And it is here that the Kiwis lost the series. Add to that the fact that the tracks were not typical Kiwi bowling tracks but sadly, batting tracks. I don’t envy the bowlers at all, they had to bowl to one of the best batting line ups ever in world cricket, with almost 40000 runs between them. To bowl to Dravid, Sachin & Veeru in a test match is a nightmare & a honour at the same time for any bowler. The Black caps needed to be at the top of their game to even play catch up to this team.

And sadly, they failed. Zaheer is a bowler in form, India’s spearhead in all forms. Harbhajan’s class shone brilliantly. Ishant is learning fast & the others are playing well. The Kiwi batting is immensely talented, make no mistake about that, but their inexperience let them down against an attack thats firing on all cylinders..

The first test, the only one with a result was as convincing as can be. Good performances from all the Indians involved led to the win. The second test on the featherbed at Napier led to runs & runs. Ryder starred with Taylor for the home side showcasing their immense talent. A couple of county seasons for both of them would make them test match batsmen of the highest caliber. But at this time, they are good only for these type of knocks. But the knock of the match was from player of the series Gautam Gambhir. Displaying grit & patience that I thought he never possessed, he produced an epic 600 minute innings that saved the match for the Indians. Possibly, it saved the series itself. That innings shouted Dravid all the way. It was an innings typical of the Wall.  This series saw the birth of a new Gambhir & damn, I’m excited. The third test ended in a stalemate with Dhoni’s defensiveness being strange. Anyway, the series was won. Top performers were Gambhir, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Dravid & Laxman. For the Kiwis, Ryder, Taylor & Danny Vettori shone.

Dhoni brought home another overseas trophy. The Black Caps need not lose heart here. The team they faced was far superior. Bring Bond back & revamp the selection process guys. You wont get anywhere like this.

India’s tour of NZ- The ODIs

This article comes a bit late on my blog but college took it’s toll on my blogging time, so better late than never, right?? Anyway the one dayers were pretty enjoyable, though for the most part one sided. These teams are not by any stretch of imagination evenly matched. The famed Indian top order came good, and on the small Kiwi grounds, they made merry, slamming top bowlers like Mills & Vettori to oblivion. Especially Mills in the 3rd ODI, when he was simply battered to submission. But the Kiwis are known for the fight in them , & they did fight back, but they couldn’t bring all their players together, like they managed to do in the T20s. The last ODI was the only blemish for India in an otherwise flawless one day series. Dhoni was happy, Viru was happy, Sachin was in form & India was happy.

Only thing that nibbles at me is the pitches. This series was made out to be an acid test for this team but alas! These were not the typical Kiwi tracks that barely allowed 200 to be scored. Why did they have to make batting tracks??  I was hoping for a series in which the ball dominates the bat, but bowlers like me have not a say in this world! It’s depressing to see even the famous Kiwi tracks becoming like this.

Terror attacks my game

It’s exactly a week since the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore & I still am not able to get over it. Until now the perception was that terror would never target the game that the subcontinent loves so much. Well, that view has now been rudely shattered. I believed that too. I always thought that cricket was immune to such gore. This was due to the reasoning that we just loved the game too much. I was sitting in college thinking about our chances in the 2nd ODI when a friend who’d gone to the computer lab to get an update on the score ran back saying that Lankan cricketers have been attacked & its all over the news. My first reaction was disbelief & then shock. Slowly news trickled in that everyone was safe & Sangakkara & Samaraweera were the ones most injured. These are the world’s most decent & well respected cricketers. Attacks on sportsmen just cannot be tolerated. These people came to Pakistan to end its isolation on the international arena. But now this has been Pakistan’s downfall. I don’t see any international cricket in Pakistan for at least 2 yrs, that is, if the conditions don’t improve.

First the injuries, Thilan has a bullet in his thigh. Hopefully he’ll be back in about 2 months. All others were relatively lucky that no career threatening injury occured. Sanga’s shoulder should be ok too, judging from reports. Mendis & Paranavitana are fine as well. Mahela looked shell shocked at Colombo airport on his return.

But I was just as shocked by Pakistan’s reaction. The Pakistan board & politicians & the media reacted in the cheapest manner possible. The board washed their hands off the matter saying that the government was responsible for the security. Where was the security, you fools?? If a group of terrorists is able to come & tactically situate themselves on vantage points with a truckload of weapons at their disposal on the eve of a sensitive game in one of your main towns without anyone even having a hint, how will you protect a touring party?? With what assurances will you call another team to tour?? This team came to help you when the world wouldn’t…. & this is how you treat them!!! Shame on you.            What if something had happened? What if we’d lost Sanga or Mahela ,you bastards, then what would you’ve said?

The politicians went back to what they always do-blame India. One fool openly blamed India on national tv, claiming RAW was responsible. So what if RAW was responsible, you old hypocrite?? It’s your job to protect them. You failed. If you can’t protect them against a government agency against which you’ve a counter intelligence apparatus,how the hell will you protect them against organised guerrilas?? The media joined in this propoganda as well. Sure, blame us all you want, it’s not gonna do you a speck of good. Forget cricket in your country for the time being you dumba@#%s.

The losers in this whole scenario are the cricket lovers of Pakistan. This country produced players like Imran Khan, Akram, Miandad, Waqar among others. Because of the downright foolishness & incompetency of their board & a government weakened from within, they stand humiliated & ashamed before the cricketing world for no fault of their own.

The PCB is as pathetic as the Pakistan government in the sense that it sill believes it has control over events concerning it. I’m happy my team didn’t tour Pakistan & I’m mighty glad I’m not a Pakistani.