Tuesday, September 29, 2009

India out of CT, not mathematically

After rains washed away the match between India and Australia, the chances of India making it to the semi finals was even more bleak.. India now have just 1 point from their 2 matches now and just have a game against West Indies..

India lost their opening match to Pakistan by 54 runs.. Throughout the match, India just did not look like taking wickets; the scorecard may not give that view (302 for 9).. Yousuf and Malik added 206 runs in their partnership and India never seemed to attack or look to take wickets.. MSD later in the post match presentation came up with an interesting quote that he had never seen that many runs scored of the cut and that he felt he was 2-3 bowlers short.. Not so difficult to fathom the reason though,the absence of Yuvraj has hurt the team a lot.. Yuvraj has been an integral part of the team for almost a decade now and off late India have depended a lot on his heroics in both ODI and T20s. The ease with which he tackles the bowlers and the elegant drives and hoicks over mid wicket are a treat to watch any day and in a span of 5 overs he has the potential to take the game away from the opposition which not many posses in the world cricket now leave alone India.. Its also his bowling that has developed lately, much of the success owed to MSD who used him more often and at trying situations than his counterparts earlier..

Virender Sehwag is another dashing opening bat whom India have missed in T20 world cup and now in the CT.. Viru may not be as elegant as Yuvi but certainly instills fear in the bowlers.. His mere presence at the crease makes the bowlers panic.. He is shrewd and a good bowler in the turning tracks..

The bowling attack lacks depth and is off color at the moment now.. Ashish Nehra who made a comeback after a great performance in the domestic circuit and in the IPL-2 held in South Africa.. He, after returning to the team, has performed well in the West Indies and in CT too he was the one who looked attacking and also the only bowler who looked like taking wickets..

Ishanth is very poor, hopelessly bad.. The riches from the IPL may have driven him crazy or may be the KKR effect that he simply doesn't look the same bowler who tormented the Aussie great Ponting.. He is way below par and just runs in and drops the ball from his hands.. Pace has dropped, nothing in his bowling now would keep the batsmen on their toes.. Rather, yesterday, the Aussies saw him as a scoring opportunity and got out of the blocks after he was introduced in the 9th over..

RP and Bhajji are in an another world.. No clue as to why they perform well in one tournament and do not perform in the tournament only to come back and perform brilliantly in the IPL..

MSD is true, he is 2-3 bowlers short and is also missing Yuvraj badly..

If Australia beat Pakistan on Wednesday, they'll obviously go through as toppers in their group, while Pakistan will take the second slot. It'll get more complicated, though, if Australia lose to Pakistan and India beat West Indies. Then, the margins of the wins will decide which team joins Pakistan in the last four.

The vital question is the margins of victories. Currently, the difference between the net run-rates of Australia and India appear vast: +1.00 for Australia, -1.08 for India. The good thing from India's point of view, though, is that those numbers have come about on the basis of one match only - the stats from no-result matches are excluded in the calculation of net run rates.

AUS won by 50runs; IND lost by 54 runs..

So, SIMPLE !!!

IND win by 54 runs and AUS lose by 50 runs.. Or IND win by a margin greater than 54 runs and the Aussies lose by a margin greater than 50 runs will ensure that India are through undeserving.. That is to say, if we win by 20 runs, Aus need to lose by 85 runs and more..

Yes, with a bowling attack that is as paltry as India's and a batting that once again is heavily dependent on Sachin's innings and also on Rahul to be the wall anchoring the entire innings.. Its not that they perform once and thats enough, they have to perform in every match for India to do well..

The only positive may be that, India's game is a D/N.. So, the earlier match would be completed by the time the 2nd team comes out to bat..

'If we don't do well, we can pack our bags and leave' - MSD

Monday, September 28, 2009

Champions League CL T20 - Otago Volts


Otago Volts are a New Zealand side..

6 associations that take part in NZ domestic cricket are -
Auckland,
Northern Districts,
Central Districts,
Otago
Wellington and
Canterbury..

2006 T20 tournament was a KKR type in DLF IPL 2 with the volts not winning a single match, 2007 the format of 2 groups was done away with and a round robin was followed and the change worked for the Volts as they ended as runner-up to Auckland Aces.. In 2008, the team did not make it to the finals..

The 2009  T20 competition was held in the month of February and the final on the 1st of March.. The schedule of the series is something that cannot be understood.. Each team at the end of the tournament play 8 matches.. The top 2 in the round robin round qualify for the finals..



                         Played     Won
Lost

Abandoned
Points     NRR

Otago Volts                       8          6
  1
    
   1
      26              1.740



Canterbury Wizards           8          5
  2

   1
      22            -0.021



Auckland Aces                  8          5
  2

   1
      22            -0.062



Wellington Firebirds           8          4
  3

   1
      18            -0.369



Central Stags                     8          1
  6

   1
        6            -0.721



Northern Knights               8          0
  7

   1
        2            -0.738





So, Otago and Canterbury advanced through to the finals which was abandoned due to rain..

Heavy rain and a sodden outfield has gave the umpires no choice but to abandon play without a ball being bowled in the State Twenty20 final between the State Otago Volts and State Canterbury Wizards at University Oval in Dunedin.

Otago was crowned 2008/09 champions after finishing top of the table after the preliminary rounds.
The State Otago Volts were rewarded with the home final after winning six of the seven matches completed in round robin play with the State Canterbury Wizards winning five from seven and sneaking past Auckland on run-rate.


Champions League Twenty20 Team Named
 
Craig Cumming (Captain) - opened the innings for NZ, 13 tests and 11 ODIs not so impressive record.
Neil Broom - RHB, middle order batsman, still new to international arena..

Nick Beard - 20 year old, a slow left-arm spinner and lower-order batsman
Derek de Boorder - second wicket keeper
Ian Butler - handy bowler
Mathew Harvie
Dimitri Mascarenhas -all rounder from England, also played for Rajasthan Royals
Brendon McCullum - probably the only batting star
Nathan McCullum - Brendon's brother who is good lower down the order and bowls useful off-spinners
James McMillan
Warren McSkimming
Aaron Redmond -not a star, but certainly capable of scoring quick runs, high T20 average
Hamish Rutherford
Greg Todd
Neil Wagner
 
 
The support staff with the team will be: George Morris (manager), Mike Hesson (coach), Vaughn Johnson (asst coach), Greg Usherwood (physiotherapist), Chris Donaldson (strength & conditioing), Anthony Bullick (video analyst). 
 
Otago Volts Coach Mike Hesson said “players have made it difficult with the depth in the squad and some difficult decision have had to be made. I am however very pleased with the quality of the squad of 15 we have been able to select. The squad covers all skill groups required and is well suited to Indian conditions.
 


With seven players having international experience and promising youngsters like Nick Beard, Hamish Rutherford (both New Zealand Under 19) and Neil Wagner who has been very impressive since moving to New Zealand we feel the squad has an exciting mix”


 

 

The video below is that of Brendon McCullum scoring 170 in the State Shield finals, 7 sixes and 19 fours.. 



Saturday, September 26, 2009

Champions League CL t20 - Wayamba

Wayamba cricket team is a Sri Lankan first class cricket team based in Kurunegala, that represents North Western Province..

Wayamba means 'North West' in Sinhalese language..

Sri Lankan domestic cricket comprises of Coca Cola Premier Tier A and Tier B limited overs tournament, a Sara tournament and a Donovan Andree tournament for the different sports clubs.. Inter-Provincial tournament is played among the provinces and the Inter Provincial T20 determines the champions.. (the participant in the champions league)..

The teams that take part and the points table of the 2008-2009 play off is pasted below..


.
Teams
M
W
L
BP
POINTS
LEXMARK BASNAHIRA SOUTH
5
5
0
1
21
LANKA BELL WAYAMBA
5
4
1
2
18
MAS KANDURATA
5
3
2
1
13
HIRDARAMANI RUHUNA
5
2
3
2
10
E-WIS BASNAHIRA NORTH
5
1
4
0
4
SCHOOLS XI
5
0
5
0
0


The semi-final play off was
  • Lexmark Basnahira South vs Mas Kandurata- Basnahira South Won By 15 Runs..
 Toss was won by Kandurata and elected to field first.. Basnahira South boasts of players like Dilshan, Rupasinge, Chamara Silva, R.Perera and Bandara.. Wickets kept tumbling and meaningful innings came only from Chamara and the only six was scored by Bandara.. 137 for 9, was a below par score.. Ruchira Perera's 4 wickets rocked the run chase of a team that had Sangakkara, Paranivatana, Weeraratne, Muralitharan and Thushara..
  • Lanka Bell Wayamba vs Hirdaramani Ruhuna- Wayamba won in a bowl out 3-2
 Ruhuna captained by Jayasuriya won the toss and elected to bat in a 15 over match.. Tharanga, Indika De Saram and Malinga were the players to have played for the national side. Bizarre innings that ended at 88 for 7.. Guess what !! The match was even more bizarre.. Wayamba did not even get to bat because of rain at the SSC grounds.. They happened to win the bowl out 3-2.. BIZARRRREEEEE !!!

Finals - Wayamba vs Basnahira South
Capt Dilshan provided an excellent start 66 of 49 balls and Chamara Silva's 41 of 27 balls was more than handy but hey the team  was bowled out for 144.. 4 wickets to Isuru Udana, the bowler who bowls 5 slow balls and the change up ball is a quick one.. Strange but true !! Udawatte, Mubarak, M.Jayawardene, Maharoof, Koushal Lokuarachi were enough to see things off..

Isuru Udana was awarded man of the match and man of the series..


 
 

In Champions League T20,

Placed in group D along with Delhi Daredevils and Victorian Bushrangers..
The side will be a major challenger in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 as its line-up includes some of the best Sri Lankan players. Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Maharoof, Jehan Mubarak, Rangana Herath and Isuru Udana are among the players to watch out for in the side.



Sun Oct 11 (D/N)
 20:00 IST
Group D - Delhi Daredevils v Wayamba
Feroz Shah Kotla, 

Delhi
Tue Oct 13
16:00 IST

Group D - Victoria v Wayamba

Feroz Shah Kotla, 
Delhi



TEAM.. (national players highlighted)

  • Sameera de Zoysa
  • I Amerasinghe
  • C Welegedara - new
  • Mahela Udawatte - used sparingly as opener
  • Isuru Udana - top ball is the fast ball
  • Thissara Perera
  • J Mubarak (C) - came lower down the order in T20 WC, good hitter
  • Ajantha Mendis - mystery man
  • Farveez Maharoof - good all rounder, chose wayamba over daredevils
  • Michael Vandort - decent
  • Rangana Herath - ultra slow left arm 
  • M Jayawardene - the class act
  • S Karunanayake
  • J Kulatunga
  • K Lokuarachchi - hard hitting batsman, handy bowler



Friday, September 25, 2009

Champions League - CL T20

Champions League is yet another brain child of IPL boss Lalit Modi.. This T20 venture is true to its name, that it features the champions of  domestic T20 tournaments in 7 countries and 3 founder countries also have their runner-up in place for the tournament.. So, indeed, it is a league of the champions..

Champions trophy was conceived a year ago by BCCI, CA and CSA..  The BCCI is a founding partner of the tournament, along with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia (CA), with all three countries enjoying joint decision-making control over the multi-nation, multi-club event.. The first edition which was to take place in December, 2008 in India was postponed following terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November as a mark of solidarity with the victims. It was later canceled. The revised dates that were announced was October 8 - 23, 2009.

The inaugural  edition of the CL T20 will be held across 3 venues in India- Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi.. The prize money for the event is a staggering 6million USD with the winners taking USD 2.5 million...


The teams that will compete in the inaugural contest are:

Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils (India);
New South Wales Blues and VB Victorian Bushrangers (Australia);
Cape Cobras and Diamond Eagles (South Africa);
Sussex and  Somerset County Cricket Club (England)
Otago Volts (New Zealand);
Wayamba (Sri Lanka);
Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies) ..

 Two hundred and thirty four players have been named by the dozen participating teams, out of which as many as 110 have played international cricket for their respective nations.Players who represent two teams in CL T20 competitions got to choose which team they will want to play for.. As many as nine cricketers came under this category and the ‘away’ team had to pay a whooping USD200,000 to a player’s home team to actually retain the player’s services.

The format......

The 12 teams have been divided into 4 groups of 3 each.. The top 2 teams from each group move into 2 groups.. the top 4 of these groups play the semi finals..

                

Group Stage

Group A: Deccan Chargers, Somerset, Trinidad & Tobago

Group B: New South Wales, Eagles , Sussex Sharks


Group C: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Cape Cobras and Otago

Group D: Delhi Daredevils, Victoria and Wayamba


Round Robin League Stage

League A: A1, A2, B1, B2

League B: C1, C2, D1, D2

TIME
MATCH
Venue
Thu Oct 8 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group C - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Cape Cobras
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Fri Oct 9
16:00 IST
Group B - Eagles v New South Wales
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Fri Oct 9 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group D - Delhi Daredevils v Victoria
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Sat Oct 10
16:00 IST
Group C - Cape Cobras v Otago
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Sat Oct 10 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group A - Deccan Chargers v Somerset Sabres
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Sun Oct 11
16:00 IST
Group B - New South Wales v Sussex Sharks
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Sun Oct 11 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group D - Delhi Daredevils v Wayamba
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Mon Oct 12
16:00 IST
Group A -  Somerset Sabres v Trinidad & Tobago
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Mon Oct 12 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group C - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Otago
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Tue Oct 13
16:00 IST
Group D - Victoria v Wayamba
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Tue Oct 13 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group B - Eagles v Sussex Sharks
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Wed Oct 14 (D/N)
20:00 IST
Group A - Deccan Chargers v Trinidad & Tobago
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 The teams and their road to CL T20 in the subsequent posts..

Monday, September 21, 2009

Warm up to the Champions trophy

ODIs are dying, T20s are emerging to be best entertainers and the tv channels with broadcasting rights for the tournaments are partly responsible for that..

We all remember that the warm up games leading into the T20 world cup was telecast and an Indo-Pak match was organized just to pull the crowds to the stadium and it was well received..

Here we are, at the mini World cup a 50 over tournament of 8 test playing nations, 15matches and is regarded as a tool to gauge the relevance of the 50 over format and the warm up matches are not being aired.. Not even a live scorecard or news ticker on star cricket, who hold the rights to broadcast ICC events.. And wats making the headlines- 'save ODI'..

New Zealand vs Warriors-  NZ never got going, except for a partnership of 95 between Taylor and Guptill. From being at 210 for 3, they were bowled out for 237.. The Warriors chase also suffered from the lack of substantial partnerships but all their batsmen chipped in with useful contributions. Warriors eventually won in the penultimate over by 2 wickets..

South Africa vs West Indies - Long time since such a one sided affair was seen.. If in the previous game, many got into double figures, in this game, SA top order batsmen all got into 80s..Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy all reached the 80s.. Duminy was the stand-out batsman with 80 off 49 deliveries and Mark Boucher also gave a reminder of his big-hitting skills by smashing 55 off 27 balls; Posted a mammoth 388 that showed how weak Windies are who later were bowled out for 200..

Pakistan vs Srilanka- As if 2 back to back series weren't enough, these 2 teams locked horns once again.. Pakistan were outplayed in the Lankan islands earlier losing both tests and ODIs had a point to prove and they came with a bang, scored 306 after a jittery start, Akmal, Misbah and Umar Akmal scored 50s, and Naved-ul-Hassan picked up 5wickets to bundle the Lankans out for 198..

ALL ON SEPT 18.

Srilanka vs West Indies- Dale Richards and Devon Smith notched up 50s but the M&M of Lanka spun a web around Windies and all they could manage was a paltry 201.. Sri-lanka were steered to victory by a good knock from Jyawardene..

Pakistan vs Warriors- Pakistan, Sri lanka and West Indies had 2 practice matches a piece.. Pakistan came up with another convincing performance.. An unbeaten 130 from Shoaib Malik guided Pakistan to a six-wicket victory against Warriors.. Chasing 262 for victory, Pakis got there with 19 balls to spare.


India vs New Zealand- Neil Broom, Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill scored 50s and NZ scored 301.. Pacers were torn apart and it was the spinners who put on the brakes. 3 wickets to Yusuf Pathan somewhat restricted NZ to just 301.. India had rested Sachin and Harbhajan, so it was upto the make shift opening pair of Karthik and Dravid to start the innings, Dravid was on fire scoring a quick fire 37 of 34 balls but soon the openers were back in the hut.. MSD was (un)characteristically slow, Yuvraj tried to smash the bowling apart but all in vain.. bhishek Nayar provided some fight, scoring a quick 41, which included six fours. New Zealand shared the wickets around with Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond taking two apiece, as India were bowled out in the 41st over..

8 teams, 15 matches, 1 cup.. Let the games begin.. For schedule,see previous post ..

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Champions Trophy- 2009 schedule

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Warm-up Games


Timing
Teams
Venue
Fri 18 Sep
13:00 IST
Warm-up Games – New Zealand v Warriors
LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria
Fri 18 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Warm-up Games – Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Willowmoore Park, Benoni
Fri 18 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Warm-up Games – South Africa v West Indies
Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
Sun 20 Sep
13:00 IST
Warm-up Games – Sri Lanka v West Indies
LC de Villiers Oval, Pretoria
Sun 20 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Warm-up Games – India v New Zealand
Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
Sun 20 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Warm-up Games – Pakistan v Warriors
Willowmoore Park, Benoni

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Fixtures


Timing
Teams
Venue
Tue 22 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group B – Sri Lanka v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 23 Sep (D/N)
18:00IST
Group A – Pakistan v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Thu 24 Sep
13:00 IST
Group B – South Africa v New Zealand
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Fri 25 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group B – England v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sat 26 Sep
13:00 IST
Group A – Australia v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sat 26 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group A – India v Pakistan
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sun 27 Sep
13:00 IST
Group B – New Zealand v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 27 Sep (S/N)
18:00 IST
Group B – England v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Mon 28 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group A – India v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tue 29 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group B – England v New Zealand
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Wed 30 Sep
13:00 IST
Group A – Pakistan v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 30 Sep (D/N)
18:00 IST
Group A – India v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Fri 2 Oct (D/N)
18:00 IST
1st Semi Final – A1 v B2
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sat Oct 3 (D/N)
18:00 IST
2nd Semi Final – A2 v B1
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Mon 5 Oct (D/N)
18:00 IST
Final – 1st Semi Final winner v 2nd Semi Final inner
SuperSport Park, Centurion