The Comeback - Possible ?

Flashback to the infamous Ganguly-Chappell saga ( 2005-06 ). Form dips, controversy, media and other pressures, "drop dada" campaigns etc......

Dada in a pensive mood

He was dropped from the side but he proved the critics who believed that cricket in him is over. What a comeback it was.
Read "Tribute to Dada" to know more about it...

As they say history repeats itself, now in a similar situation is another cricket great Ricky Ponting. A silent beginning, rise from lower middle order to No.3 in batting. From being a tiny man, he amassed runs and stood tall for Aussies. Hailed as one of the modern greats, second only to Sachin in records. He has an impressive record as captain, most of which now being attributed to the presence of legends in the team. Ponting now a mere mortal.

Crying ?? -- Almost.

Dismal form. Cannot play the rising ball. Age catching up. Team in disarray. Calls for Ponting to quit.
Some are even predicting that he has already played his last, I do not want to imagine so. Cricket is so cruel that it more often than not doesn't let its greats script their departure from the game. The next assignment for Aussies is in next August against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and since the domestic season will come to an end before the world cup gets over, its difficult for him to improve/adjust his batting and become the man of whom he is a mere shadow now...

This brings us to the question - Is he ready for a comeback ? Are we ready to witness another comeback aka Dada ?
Ganguly showed trmendous application and concentration and improved his batting so well and played much better than he ever had in the past. If Ponting were to do anything like that or even a little lesser than that he could quit on a high or to put it - script his exit.

Or as Ian Chappel puts it - Ponting past his use-by-date...

boring draw

Draw.............. Dreaded word in test matches..

Dead Pitch, slow poison to test matches.. Why bother supporting the idea of a Test championship when you're doing your best to kill off the oldest form of the game?

DRAW is a special feature of the tests.. A team must lose all wickets to give an outright win to the opposition.. 99-9 chasing 400 for win is also a draw..

Some of the most remembered test matches have been great drawn games.. The most recent being the nail biting finish at Cardiff in Ashes.. Panesar and Anderson had batted out almost an hour to ensure a draw in the 1st test match against Aussies which was considered equal to a win with the crowd roaring when the umpires called off play at the end of the stipulated time..

As far as I can remember, in Australia India has drawn a game in Gabba 2003, Sydney 2004, Sydney 2008.. I think those are the only 3 drawn games, or SAF may have drawn a game sometime.. Such is the result oriented pitches they have been producing over the past 5-6 years..

In England and New Zealand, the draws are mostly decided by wet conditions and rains..

Astonishingly, England since Jan 01,2004 has played in 42 tests and in the same time the busiest country India has featured in 27 home tests only.. 11 of the 42 tests have been a draw in England..  7 of those have been due to time wasted by bad light or rain or wet out field.. 2 instances of close calls, when India had lost 9 wickets and MS Dhoni helped India save the Lord's test match, the famous Ashes match where Lee and McGrath saw off the final few overs..

Ironically, majority of the draws have been in the tour opener at Lord's, London - 6 ..

West Indies also have 12 draws in their home..

one due to Lara's mammoth 400*..

double centuries from chanderpaul and Hinds and rain stoppage ended a match in draw..

Gayle storm of 317, 3 more from WI; 4 centuries from SA and they still had time to play 30 overs in 2nd innings.. Ironically, for SA all 11 players bowled in the match..

last wicket was not dislodged on 2 occasions.. rain on 3 occasions.

Largely, West Indies has been a batting paradise.. Scores of 580s, 600s, 750s have been the culprits in draws.. 5 of the draws has been against England..

12 draws in INDIA too, adding the draw in Ahmedabad test against Lanka 2 days back..

7 of those have been on dead pitches.. Centuries galore.. No holding back..
2 no play possible on 2-3days due to rains in Chennai.. Dead wickets assisted by bad light in the remaining 3 cases..
These 12 draws have been among the worst games ever played, mindless batting exhibitions on surfaces where the bowlers were neutered the moment the new ball lost its shine.
The pitch looked good enough to last another week- was a common comment..  Ganguly in his article has written that another test match could be played on the Motera wicket ,Ahmedabad after Murali could do no damage on the 5th day too..

There's nothing wrong with a surface being batsman-friendly initially, as long as it deteriorates over the course of a game.. There's nothing wrong in a pitch being spinner friendly either, but the match referees take it the other way that the pitch is a minefield.. What if all wickets were taken by the faster bowlers, is the pitch to bouncy ?? Why not call off then!!

This is a series where the No. 1 ranking is at stake. You'd think that results mattered. India are content with being world leaders: at signing TV deals and producing sub-standard pitches..

sachin at 20

Today, Sachin finishes 20 years in the International circuit..


ST holds all records at stake from batting perspective.. Be it the highest run getter in tests, ODIs, maximum number of 100s in ODI and tests, highest individual score for India in ODIs etc.....................................

20-20.. Lets try listing 20 best memories of ST in these 20 years..

Sachin Tendulkar has been playing top-class cricket for 20 years and he's still producing blistering innings, still looking hungry, still demolishing attacks, still a prized wicket, still a proud competitor. He has not merely been around for two decades. From his first outing to his most recent effort, a stunning 175 in Hyderabad, he has been a great batsman. Longevity counts amongst his strengths. Twenty years! It's a heck of a long time, and it's gone in the blink of an eye.From an attacking batsman in the 90s to a class player in the 2000s, the transformation has been brilliant. The one batsman who knows his body, he changed his style of batting to suit the needs very quickly.. The 100s of late, barring the 175, has been classy.. At no point we would feel that he is scoring, yet so nonchalantly he notches up that elusive 3 figure mark..

1. FIRST SIGHT
            Sachin's 600+ stand with Vinod Kambli in the school level competition.. Playing for Sharadashram VidyaMandir, ST and Kambli each scored triple hundred.. It was apparently broken 15 years later..

2. FIRST TEST
           This day, that year.. Exactly 20yrs ago at Karachi ST making his debut had to face the likes of Akram, Waqar, Imran Khan in his first test match, getting hit on the head. Yet, that kid was ready to come onto the front foot.. He scored a 50 in his 2nd test match itself..

3.FIRST 100 IN OZ
           Everybody talks of this as his best 100.. Setting: Perth,'92 .. Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel formed the attack on the bouncy Perth wicket.. Sachin scored 114..

4. LAST OVER- HERO CUP 1993
          I remember this, South Africa needed 6 runs of the last over and ST was handed the ball.. The game was in Calcutta, Eden Gardens.. ST tied them down to just 3 runs and India advanced to the finals.. Finals was against Windies where Kumble took 6-12 to ensure an Indian win..

5. FIRST TIME OPENING THE INNINGS
           Sachin in a recent interview spoke about this. Sidhu was injured and couldn't play.. ST was till then batting at 6. He asked the captain and coach to give him one chance to bat up the order and that he was confident of doing well. If he were to fail, he would never come back again.. He was confident of hitting over the in field in the initial field restriction overs.. Sachin scored 82 of 49 balls against New Zealand.. Opening slot was his ever since..

6. TITAN CUP BANGALORE and MUMBAI- 1996
           Sachin played amazingly for his 88 but got out at the wrong time, India needed 52 runs with 2 wickets in hand.. Srinath and Kumble, local lads set up the win.. The match went almost to midnight, ST won the man of the match award.. In Mumbai, Ind vs SA finals.. Sachin held aloft a round shield..

7. WORLD CUP -1996
           India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka hosted the 96 Wills cricket world cup.. India reached the semi finals purely on Sachin's brilliance.. With 523 runs at 87.16, is the highest scorer in the World Cup..

8. WARNE'S NIGHTMARE 
           Shane Warne had nightmares bowling to Sachin.. India vs Australia test series in 1998.. India won that series 2-1.. He employed slog sweeps and deposited Warne over mid wicket for six time and again..


9. SHARJAH 1997/98
           The one knock that no one will forget.. Two centuries back to back, 143 to ensure India is through to the finals of the Coca Cola cup.. 134 in the finals to ensure India wins it.. It was the first time a cricket tournament in Sharjah did not feature Pakistan. Both the 100s came against Australia and he single handedly won the matches for India.

10. HAILED AS/BY THE DON
            Don Bradman's 90th birthday, Sachin and Warne were invited.. Don said Sachin's batting reminded him of his own batting.. The visuals of Don and Sachin playing a straight drive were shown over and over again in all TV channels..

11. BACK STRAIN and a HEARTBREAK

            Indo-Pak series after a long time, India needed 271 to win in the Chennai test.. Sachin was battling a severe back ache but batted superbly to score 136.. The famous lap sweep came during this test match.. Chennai was witnessing yet another classic from ST.. But a heartbreak was waiting for him, India slumped to defeat.. He was awarded man of the match but did not come to receive it as he was crying in the dressing room..

12. 1999 WORLD CUP
            India were in England to play the 1999 world cup and as usual the hopes rested on Sachin's shoulders.. There was a sad news, his father passed away.. He flew back to India to do the last rites.. Surprisingly, Sachin came back to wear India colours and played for India.. That was amazing spirit.. He scored 140 against Kenya on his return..

13. 2001 SOUTH AFRICA SERIES
             It was the series where ST started playing a new shot.. Upper cut over the slips to negotiate the bouncers.. The series where the match referee was Mike Dennes.. ( Remember!) Sachin and others were called for ball tampering and faced one test ban.. The 3rd test match was an unofficial one, and the star played..

14.  STUMPED FOR THE FIRST TIME
             England and Ashley Giles adopted negative strategy bowling down the leg side to tie Sachin down.. It was their only way to get him out they thought, as they had no faith in themselves to get the master out by fair means..


15. 2003 WORLD CUP, 98 vs PAKISTAN
            2003 world cup began badly with a loss to Australia and scrapped to a win over Holland.. Indian fans were fuming, burnt effigies of the players, pelted stones at their homes in India, painted them black.. Sachin came out and addressed the media asking fans to maintain calm and giving a hope that India would do well.. Under Ganguly, India had a great time in the world cup.. Scores 673 runs at 61.18 in the World Cup, taking India to within a win of the world crown. His 98 against Pakistan in an exceptionally anticipated match is one of the best knocks by an Indian in a World Cup. Attacked the Pakistan bowlers from the 1st ball.. Hoisted Akhtar  for a six over 3rd man.. Australia are champions, but he is named Man of the Series.

16. ROBBED OF 200
            Dravid declared when Sachin was on 194. ST for the 1st time expressed his displeasure in the public.. India went on to win the series, 309 from Viru in Multan.. Ganguly axed. The series saw everything, also India's first series win in Pakistan soil..

17. CENTURIES TO REMEMBER
             A patient 241 in Sydney 2004, minimal off side shots, leading to a draw in the test match and the series..No. 35 against Sri Lanka in Delhi took him past Gavaskar.. His first century in more than two years and 19 Tests, against opposition other than Bangladesh, SCG 2008.. Coveted 100s in the finals..
CB series final, India reached finals thanks to brilliant captaincy from MSD. Ponting wrongly talked of not needing a 3rd final and Sachin obliged.. 114 in Sydney in a 240 run chase, a 91 in the 2nd final ensured India win without having to play the 3rd finals as per Ponting's desire.

18: TWIN RECORDS
            Drives Shane Warne down the ground to score a significant single signaling an entry in the 10000 club.. Celebrates it by scoring 139.. From there on every 1000 run mark, he is the first. Latest one being first one to score 17000 runs..
            Steers Peter Siddle down to third man to become the highest run getter in tests going past Lara.. Hails this as his best record as it took him 19 years to get there.. Scored 12000 in tests..

19. 100 IN CHASING
            Mumbai carnage 26/11.. England's tour was cut short and India couldn't complete a 7-0 whitewash.. It was great of England to come back to play the tests.. Chennai again.. Chennai crowd are blessed indeed.. Yet another class act from Sachin. This time it wasn't a smashing innings.. India's 387 run chase was set up by Viru's brilliance overnight and on the 5th day after quick wickets Sachin and Yuvraj's partnership saw India through.. A paddle sweep that took India to victory and Sachin to his 100..

20. 175 vs AUSTRALIA, HYDERABAD
             May be he has a record in this too.. Maximum heartbreaks after an amazing knock.. Chasing 350 runs to win isn't easy by any standards.. Sachin had not scored big for sometime and a 100 was beckoning.. He chose this stage.. Scored half of the target himself.. Scintillating performance, words will do no good to describe this knock.. Salute the master..

English teams at CL T20

Kent's 145 was not enough to stop Somerset from reaching the finals..
Northants 136 almost proved to be enough to gain access to CL T20 but Murray Goodwin's steady and calm innings took Sussex past 136 with 2 balls to spare..

Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres entered the Final of Twenty-20 cup thereby earning a place in the Champions League T20..

A $6million jackpot is up for grabs - read the news.. The focus from the finals was slowly shifting to CL T20..
2 semis and a final on the same day was some treat to the fans.. But all three matches on the same day robs us of the fun too.. If its played on 2 days or even 3 days, it keeps the excitement and thrill that much longer and makes it a great weekend..

After play started at 11.30 in the morning with the 1st semi final, the action shifted to the final at 7.30pm..

No show from Goodwin this time around, but a late flurry of boundaries from Yasir Arafat and explosive knock from Dwyane Smith ensured a total of 172 for 7.. Chasing 172 itself is a big task, added to it is the pressure of finals.. So, 172, could look like 190.. Somerset saw 2 contrasting innings Marcus Trescothick  33 from 15 deliveries and de Bruyn 22 of 32 deliveries and eventually slumped to 109 all out, losing their last six wickets for just five runs.

IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE :

Somerset Sabres

Placed in group A with Deccan Chargers and Trinidad..

The first game is on Saturday 10th October when the Sabres will take on Deccan Chargers in Hyderbad and the Sabres second game is against Trinidad and Tobago which will be played at Bangalore on Monday October 12th..

Langer would captain the side, Trescothick whose mental and physical condition forced him out of international tours and has  kept him out of the England squad despite being a prolific run getter in the domestic tournaments is lured  by the ????? (money or whatever) to tour India, de Bruyn except for the dismal finals is in good form..Batsman Jos Buttler, who also keeps wicket and who at just 19 is the youngest member of the party. Arul Suppaiah, Malaysian born has been impressive..

TEAM ::: 

Justin Langer (capt),

Marcus Trescothick,

Zander de Bruyn,

Omari Banks,

James Hildreth,

Craig Kieswetter,

Pete Trego,

Arul Suppiah,

Alfonso Thomas,

Max Waller,

Charl Willoughby,

Wes Durston,

Mark Turner,

Jos Buttler,

Ben Phillips.

Sussex Sharks
Placed in a non-IPL group, Group B, with Diamond Eagles and NSW Blues.. 


Led by Michael Yardy, the team has a lot of all rounders and players with experience at the international level too.. This might well be the group to look out for as all the teams are evenly matched.. 

Dwyane Smith has opted to play for Sussex ahead of the Chargers.. Luke Wright, Martin-Jenkins, Yasir Arafat are excellent all round talents.. Chawla has been impressive in both the IPLs, Ed Joyce needs to introduction.. James Kirtley will be remembered for both his swing bowling and for his one handed catch of Ganguly in Natwest ODIs 2001.. A young side, with many players in their early 20s.. 



Michael Yardy (capt),
Dwayne Smith, 
Luke Wright, 
James Kirtley, 
Piyush Chawla, 
Ed Joyce, 
Joe Gatting, 
Robin Martin-Jenkins, 
William Beer, 
Andrew Hodd, 
Christopher Nash, 
Ben Brown, 
Rory Hamilton-Brown, 
Yasir Arafat, 
Chad Keegan.

Champions Trophy 2000 - part 2

Click here for PART 1

 

PRE QFs - 

• India vs Kenya, 
• England vs Bangladesh, 
• West Indies vs Sri Lanka...

India won the toss and chose to bowl first. Batting first, Kenya were restricted to 208 for nine in 50 overs. The total was never going to be one to pose any problems for the Indians and thanks to skipper Sourav Ganguly's 66 and Rahul Dravid's unbeaten 68, they romped home with eight wickets and 7.3 overs to spare.. Kumble received MoM for 2-22 in 10 overs..

Similarly, England faced little opposition from Bangladesh emerging winners by eight wickets with 6.1 overs to spare. Bangladesh did well in getting 232 for eight in 50 overs but against ordinary bowling, Alec Stewart (87 not out) and skipper Nasser Hussain (95) had little difficulty in negotiating some ordinary bowling during their second wicket partnership of 175 runs. 

A stroke-filled 132 by opener Avishka Gunawardene and his third wicket stand of 160 runs with Mahela Jayawardene (72) saw Sri Lanka post 287 for six in 50 overs, a total that proved to be too formidable for the West Indies who were dismissed for 179 in 46.4 overs.

This meant that the Quarter Finals line up stood like-

• India vs Australia

• Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

• New Zealand vs Zimbabwe

• England vs South Africa

The quarterfinals were marked by three one-sided results but the pulsating Australia-India game made up for this. Australia were firm favorites but this was a rejuvenated Indian side, under the captaincy of Ganguly and including three potentially fine players in newcomers Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Vijay Dahiya. After Australia made the early inroads, a breath-taking innings from Yuvraj saw India wrest the initiative and the advantage thereafter stayed with India.

The left-hander hit 84 off 80 balls treating the pace of McGrath, Lee and Gillespie with utter disdain. India ultimately posted a challenging total of 265 for nine in 50 overs. Then it was the turn of another youngster to strike. Bowling with hostility, Zaheer Khan removed Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh and some fine work by the varied attack, backed up by some superb work in the field in which Yuvraj was outstanding saw Australia bowled out for 245 in the 47th over. 

SriLanka's batting was dismal, Wasim Akram and Azhar Mahmood took 3wickets each to topple Lanka who were bowled out for 194.. Pakistan reached the target in 43.5 overs on the back of a century from Saeed Anwar.. 

After the initial loss of 4 wickets for 120, 85 from Twose and 52 from Craig McMillan enabled NZ to reach 265.. ZIM did not have the experience to post a win after being in a similar situation, 108-4, to post a win.. 4 wickets from Paul Wiseman sealed a win for NZ.. ZIM all out for 201..

Similarly, England were no match for South Africa's professional allround skills. Graeme Hick top-scored with a 65 but England's total of 182 in 44.1 overs was always going to be inadequate. South Africa with Jacques Kallis (78 not out) and Boeta Dippenaar (65) figuring in an unbroken third wicket partnership of 132 runs romped home with 11.5 overs to spare.

SEMI-FINALS
India vs South Africa
Pakistan vs New Zealand

Anwar hit a second successive hundred (104), after a mini collapse Akram and Razzaq helped Pakistan score 252 in 49.2 overs against New Zealand. Azhar Mahmood, then, reduced the Kiwis to 15 for two but Nathan Astle (49) and Roger Twose (87) initiated a recovery process by adding 135 runs for the third wicket. Pakistan came back strongly and had a distinct edge when New Zealand were 187 for six. However, Craig McMillan (51) and Scott Styris (26) figured in an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 66 runs to steer New Zealand home amidst much excitement with one over to spare. Shane O' Connor's 5 wicket haul earned him the MoM..

The 2nd SF which many thought would go South Africa's way had some surprises.. Ganguly posted a run a ball 141 which had 11 fours and 6 sixes against an attack that comprised of Pollock, Donald, Kallis, Telemachus, Klusener.. Though Donald and Pollock were economical, Kallis and Telemachus were torn apart and as Ganguly was at the crease, SA captain was even reluctant to bowl his spinner Boje who duly got hit for 26 in 2 overs.. Result a mamoth total of 295.. SA innings suffered an early jolt as Zak removed Hall ( the famous in swinging yorker, swinging into the legs and uprooted the stumps), and then went reeling to 50-4.. India took wickets consistently and that put an end to SA's journey in the tournament..

FINALS
India locked horns with NZ for the title clash..

Cairns, returning bravely from a knee injury, won the match with an inspirational century that resuscitated a failing run-chase and carried New Zealand to one of their proudest moments. They certainly had to win this one the hard way, after Ganguly and Tendulkar had opened with 141 in just 26.3 overs. However, Tendulkar was stranded by a bad call and, while Ganguly carried on to his second successive hundred, 135 from the final 25 overs represented diminishing returns. 264 for six in 50 overs.  Trusting in their deep batting order, New Zealand were aggressive from the start. 37 for two and later132 for five - New Zealand were gasping for breath.. It was now that Harris joined Cairns for a cool-headed partnership of 122. Though the required run-rate continued to climb, Cairns refused to be fazed. He hit two sixes, one a glorious straight drive off Kumble into the red clay of the car park in the 47th over, and ultimately the winning run with just two balls remaining.

 

  

 

Champions Trophy Classic -2000 (1)

The 2000 event was held at Nairobi, Kenya with 11 teams participating in the knock out format of the tournament..

Since there were 11 teams, 6 teams competed for 3 spots.. Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and Zimbabwe were confirmed of their participation and the remaining three spots was to be filled by a play off between India, Kenya, Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies..


 Schedule :

Pre Quarter Finals	Match
Match1 :Oct 3	India vs Kenya
Match2: Oct 4	Sri Lanka vs West Indies
Match3: Oct 5	Bangladesh vs England
Quarter finals
Match4: Oct 7	AUS vs Winners of Match1
Match5: Oct 8	PAK vs Match2 winners
Match6: Oct 9	NZ vs ZIM
Match7: Oct 10	SA vs Match3 winners
Semi Finals
SF1 : Oct 11	Match5 v Match6 winners
SF2 : Oct 13	Match4 vs Match7 winners
Finals
Oct 15	SF1 vs SF2 winners
16th October	Reserve day for Final (not required)

 Squads: 


Australia : Steve Waugh(capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Mark Higgs, Jason Gillespie, Ian          Harvey,  Brett Lee, Shane Lee, Damien Martyn ,Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting ,Andrew Symonds, Mark Waugh,  Brad Young..
  Shane Warne and Collin Miller withdrew due to injuries..

Bangladesh: Naimur Rahman(capt), Khaled Mashud, Javed Omar,  Shahriar hossain, Habibul Bashar, Akram Khan, Aminul Islam, Enamul Hoque, Al Sahariar Rokon, Hasibul Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Manjural Islam, Mushfique Rahman, Ranjan Das..

England: Nasser Hussain(capt), Alec Stewart, Mark Alleyne, Andy Caddick, Mark Ealham, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff, Darren Gough, Mathew Hoggard, Vikram Solanki, Graeme Hick, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Paul Grayson, Craig White..
     Allan Mullaly and Nick Knight originally in the squad missed out due to injury replaced by Hoggard and Solanki..

India: Sourav Ganguly(capt), Vijay Dahiya, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Rahul Dravid,Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sridharan Sriram, Anil Kumble ,Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Hemang Badani, Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh..

Kenya: Maurice Odumbe(capt), Steve Tikolo, K.Otieno, Thomas Odoya, Ravindu Shah, C. Otieno, A.Suji, M.Suji, HS Modi, M Sheikh, LN.Onyango, P.Ochieng, J.Ababu, Jimmy Kamande..

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming(capt), Geoff Allot, Nathan Astle, Paul Wiseman, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Craig McMillan , Roger Twose, Dion Nash, Adam Parore, Chris Nevin, Craig Spearman, Scott Styris, Glen Sulzberger..
Daniel Vettori was injured and left out..

Pakistan: Moin Khan(capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Saleem Elahi, Yousuf Youhana, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Faisal Iqbal, Arshad Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Ijaz Ahmed..

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya(capt), Marvan Atapattu, M.Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Wickramasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Russel Arnold, Avishka Gunawardene, Upul Chandana, Muthiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Upashantha, Nuwan Zoysa..

South Africa: Shaun Pollock(capt), Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Allan Donald, Jaques Kallis, Andrew Hall, Shafeik Abrahams, Lance Klusener, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Boeta Dippenaar, Makhaya Ntini, Roger Telemachus, Jony Rhodes..

West Indies: Jimmy Adams(capt), Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara, Wavell Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, A.Haniff, Marlon Samuels, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Courtney Browne, Nixon Mclean, Colin Stuart, Mervin Dillon, LR.Williams, K.Jeremy..

Zimbabwe: Heath Streak(capt), Guy Whittal, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle,
Mpumelo Mbangwa, Mleleki Nkala, Gavin Rennie, Henry Olanga, Paul Strang, Mark Vermuluen, Dirk Viljoen,Craig Wishart..

Champions Trophy - 1998

ICC Champions trophy was earlier the ICC Knock out tournament in 1998 and 2000, played amongst the test playing nations..

1998 edition was played in Bangladesh.. 9 test playing nations were there, so it had to be reduced to 8 with a decider played between one test nation and Zimbabwe.. New Zealand won that match and was the 8th team to participate in that event..

This edition was organized at the 11th hour as floods threatened to pull the tournament out of Bangladesh..

Read earlier post on the team squads and the fixtures..

 

1st QF: England v South Africa

South Africa won by 6 wickets (with 20 balls remaining)

England 281/7 (50 ov); South Africa 283/4 (46.4 ov)

• Hollioke coming at no.7 scored 83* after Symcox opened the bowling..
• Cullinan, Cronje and Rhodes' half centuries sealed the match.. 
• Cullinan was Man of the match..
• Benkenstein and Alan Dawson made their debuts for their respective sides..

2nd QF: New Zealand v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets (with 51 balls remaining)

New Zealand 188 (49.5 ov); Sri Lanka 191/5 (41.3 ov)

• 3 run outs and 5 wickets to the spinners ended the NZ innings.. 
• Sri Lanka were in a spot of bother losing 3 wickets for 5 runs to be rescued by Kaluwitharana and Ranatunga.. 
• Ranatunga was Man of the match for a knock of 90*..
  

3rd QF: Australia v India

India won by 44 runs

India 307/8 (50 ov); Australia 263 (48.1 ov)

 

•  Ganguly and Azharuddin went early.. Dravid scored 48, Jadeja ended the innings with a brilliant 71 off 65 runs..
• Not to forget the innings of Sachin, 141 off 128. He got run out in the 46th over.. Truly amazing innings.. 
• Aussie had good contribution from Mark Waugh but Tendulkar's 4 wickets meant that India had to win..
• And no prizes for guessing that Sachin was Man of the match..
  

4th QF: Pakistan v West Indies

West Indies won by 30 runs

West Indies 289/9 (50 ov); Pakistan 259/9 (50 ov)

• Phillo Wallace scored more than a run a ball 79..
• Wasim's bowling at the death restricted Windies to 289..
• Ijaz Ahmed and Saleem Elahi were the lone performers and Keith Athurton's 4-for ended Pak's tournament..
• Keith Athurton had earlier in the day scored 33 runs earning him the Man of the match award..
  

1st SF: South Africa v Sri Lanka

South Africa won by 92 runs (D/L method)

South Africa 240/7 (39/39 ov); Sri Lanka 132 (23.4/34 ov)

• Rain curtailed match- 39 overs.. 
• South Africa rode to 240 for 7 on the back of a brilliant century from Kallis
• Sri Lanka were given a revised target of 224 in 34 overs but they were all out for 132 with Symcox and Elworthy taking 3 each..
• Kallis was MoM..
  

2nd SF: India v West Indies

West Indies won by 6 wickets (with 18 balls remaining)

India 242/6 (50 ov); West Indies 245/4 (47 ov)

• Much expected match as India looked to win to reach the finals..
• Tendulkar got out early that jolted India.. 
• Ganguly scored 83 and Robin Singh 73* but a slow inings from Dravid and a strike rate of 77 from Ganguly meant that India reached only 242..
• Windies reached the target with 3 overs to spare on the back of 60 from Lara and 74 from Shiv Chanderpaul..
• India knocked out and Dillon was adjudged MoM for his 3 for..
  

Final: South Africa v West Indies

South Africa won by 4 wickets (with 18 balls remaining)

West Indies 245 (49.3 ov); South Africa 248/6 (47 ov)

• Big stage- Windies into a final after a long time.. and South Africa had to prove a point winning at a big stage after their come back into international arena..
• 100 from Wallace, 49 from Hooper and 5-for from Kallis ended Windies'innings at 245..
• Gritty knock from Cronje after a great start made SA win the trophy with 3 overs to spare..
• Player of the match and series was Kallis..
  

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	25 October
	England	281/7
					30 October
	South Africa	283/4
					South Africa	240/7
	26 October
					Sri Lanka	132/10
	New Zealand	188/10
									1 November
	Sri Lanka	191/5
									South Africa	248/6
	28 October
									West Indies	245/10
	India	307/8
					31 October
	Australia	263/10
					India	242/6
	29 October
					West Indies	245/4
	West Indies	289/9
	Pakistan	259/9

Highest team total - 

India 307 vs AUS..

WI 289 vs PAK 

Highest run getter- 

Philo Wallace -221 

Jaques Kallis -164 

Winner

South Africa

Player of the Series

Jaques Kallis

Champions trophy classics - 1998

ICC Champions trophy began as a knock out tournament in the year 1998.. It is conducted once in two years and is touted as the mini world cup..

ICC Knock out trophy 1998 was called WILLS International Cup..

The ICC decided to award the tournament to Bangladesh to promote the game in that nation. One the worst ever floods of the region  threatened to ruin the tournament. However, the tournament eventually went ahead in Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Cricket Board promised to donate 10% of the gate money to the Prime Minister's Fund for flood reflief.

The tournament was intended to be held in a direct knock-out format for all the test playing countries of the time. There were 9 countries eligible which meant that 2 countries would play a qualifier knockout to determine the final 8 teams. Initially, it was announced that the 9 teams would be ranked according to the 1996 Cricket World Cup seeding. However, the draw eventually released appeared to have been tweaked in favor of some of the team with bigger fan following.



According to the final fixtures, New Zealand had to play Zimbabwe to qualify for the main draw.

Match Schedule

Date -1998               Match

24 October          1. New Zealand v Zimbabwe  :: Qualifiers

Quarter Finals
25 October          2. England v South Africa
26 October          3. Sri Lanka v New Zealand
28 October          4. Australia v India
29 October          5. Pakistan v West Indies

Semi Finals
30 October          6. winner of QF 1 vs QF 2
31 October          7. winner of QF 3 vs QF 4

Final
1 November          8. winner of SF 1 vs SF 2
2 November          Reserve Day

All matches at Bangabandhu National Stadium

Australian Squad

• Steve Waugh (captain),
• Mark Waugh (vice-captain),  
• Michael Bevan, 
• Damien Fleming, 
• Adam Gilchrist, 
• Brendon Julian, 
• Michael Kasprowicz, 
• Darren Lehmann,
• Damien Martyn, 
• Glenn McGrath, 
• Ricky Ponting, 
• Gavin Robertson, 
• Andrew Symonds, 
• Brad Young.

England Squad

• *AJ Hollioake
• ID Austin
• AD Brown
• DR Brown
• MA Ealham
• NH Fairbrother
• MV Fleming
• AF Giles
• GA Hick
• NV Knight
• GD Lloyd
• PJ Martin
• RC Russell
• CEW Silverwood 

New Zealand Squad

• *SP Fleming
• GI Allott
• NJ Astle
• MD Bailey
• MD Bell
• SB Doull
• CZ Harris
• MJ Horne
• CD McMillan
• SB O'Connor
• AC Parore
• AR Tait
• DL Vettori
• PJ Wiseman 

Pakistan Squad

•  *Aamer Sohail
• Akhtar Safraz
• Ijaz Ahmed
• Saleem Malik
• Yousuf Youhana
• Moin Khan
• Shahid Afridi
• Wasim Akram
• Shoaib Akhtar
• Saqlain Mushtaq
• Arshad Khan
• Aaqib Javed
• Saleem Elahi
• Azhar Mahmood 

South African Squad

• *WJ Cronje
• DM Benkenstein
• N Boje
• MV Boucher
• DN Crookes
• DJ Cullinan
• AC Dawson
• S Elworthy
• JH Kallis
• G Kirsten
• M Ntini
• SM Pollock
• JN Rhodes
• PL Symcox 

Sri Lankan Squad

• Arjuna Ranatunga, Capt
• Aravinda De Silva, VC
• Roshan Mahanama
• Hashan Tillakeratne
• Sanath Jayasuriya
• +Romesh Kaluwitharana
• Mavan Atapattu
• Mutiah Muralitharan
• Chaminda Vaas
• Avishka Gunawardene
• Upul Chandana
• Nuwan Zoysa
• Pramodya Wikramasinghe
• Kumara Dharmasena 

West Indies Squad

• *BC Lara
• KLT Arthurton
• S Chanderpaul
• M Dillon
• CL Hooper
• RD Jacobs
• CB Lambert
• RN Lewis
• NAM McLean
• NC McGarrell
• PV Simmons
• PA Wallace
• SC Williams
• RD King 

Zimbabwe Squad

*ADR Campbell +A Flower GJ Rennie GW Flower CB Wishart MW Goodwin CN Evans PA Strang HH Streak NC Johnson M Mbangwa AR Whittall HK Olonga AG Huckle

Indian Squad

• *M Azharuddin
• A Jadeja
• SR Tendulkar
• SC Ganguly
• RR Singh
• +NR Mongia
• A Kumble
• SB Joshi
• BKV Prasad
• AB Agarkar
• J Srinath
• R Dravid
• VVS Laxman
• N Chopra

The matches and results in the next post..

Tough to keep dada out

News doing rounds that Dada is in race to become the president of BCCI by 2014. If it happens then he will be heading the same board that criticized him, ridiculed him and harassed him.. He could then become the most powerful man in the cricketing world.. Maharaj of cricket !!

Ganguly looks to be on the administrative side of cricket soon and has said that he wouldn't be averse to taking over such a role..

Cricket in India reached new peaks when the Prince of Kolkata took over the reins of captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar in 2000.

The game had hit staggering lows in the country. The match-fixing scandal had pierced a deep hole in every heart and the team looked incapable of winning and surviving with dignity. And that was when it all changed.
Ganguly led India to an ODI series win against the visiting South Africans soon after taking over. He taught the team to win and play with a certain dignity and self-assurance.

However, the honey-moon period came to a stand-still and his fortunes plummeted to an all time-low when a certain Greg Chappell came in as coach and decided he had had enough of Ganguly. Banished from captaincy and the team, the nation watched Dada made a stunning come back after a year to claim his place in the team.. Mother of all comebacks..

His last Test series against Australia was significant for more reasons than one. That turned out to be his most successful outing against the World Champions, churning out fifties, a hundred and a duck in the last innings.

The most successful Indian captain, the royal Bengal tiger is ready to roar again..

The charismatic cricketer has revealed his plans to contest CAB elections in the near future, which could ultimately set him on his way to the BCCI president's post.. Since, it is East Zone's turn to put up a candidate for the top BCCI  post in 2014, Ganguly's crowning at the helm of affairs looks all the more realistic.

Ganguly said, "I am convinced that I can play a positive role. Having played the game at the highest level and being part of the system, I know what it takes to make a difference.At some point, I will find a way to get into the CAB where people have known me since I was a kid. I have respect for them and I am sure they will appreciate my concern for Bengal cricket and the difference I can make. I am in no hurry.."

Looks like the show is about to start, all over again.

Future of Cricket

Not a prediction, but just observations..

ICC have chalked up plans for 4 day test matches, day-night test matches, two tier test matches to "SAVE" the longest oldest and best form of cricket..

Players like Symonds will now be a part of Deccan Chargers alone and not be playing for his country while the likes of Gayle have made it clear that he likes T20 more than the boring Test matches, the poor crowd turn out for test matches also are having a say in the future of cricket..

Where are we heading?

Test cricket is suffering because the Windies,Bangladesh,New Zealand,Zimbabwe and Pakistan are either at their lowest ebb or weakened teams. The problem lies in politics(Pak,Zim),inexperience(Bangladesh)and more lucrative sport choices(Windies).. It would not be debated if I were to say that IND-PAK test matches have lost their fervor.. Two-tier system may be the answer to this.. But it would be such a sorry state to see Windies relegated to 2nd tier., now that puts the 2nd question in our minds.- What will be the motivation for these players then ? Will there be any crowd pulling after all India, Australia, South Africa are not going to play test cricket with them? Will the teams in tier-1 be willing to tour tier-2 nations for just 5ODIs and an odd T20Is ? Will this then reduce the standard of game that Windies play and if at all they come to the tier-1 will they be found wanting ? These are some serious questions to be answered..

4 day test matches may see more tame draws one feels.. But there is a challenge for the captains here, the lost art of captaincy may be brought back to the fore un-intentionally I must add.. Its the team with a pro-active captain that is going to win matches off 4 days.. The captain's role is going to be all the more important in deciding when the team must declare their innings, when to attack and when to defend.. In all probablity, we would be witnessing the likes of the Ranatungas, the Mark Taylors, Stephen Flemings, Steve Waughs, MSD, Ganguly, Nasser Hussains, Hansie Cronje.. These were the captains who had brought a world of change for their teams with their then innovative thinkings and bowling changes.. I guess we will all go back to this era which only augers well for the game..

The T20s and the IPL have shown that the teams are now more likely to be bowled out inside 20 overs than they are inside 50 says something profoundly rotten about the state of techniques, temperaments and concentration spans, something that augurs horribly ill for the future of Test cricket.. Well, the undiminished productivity of Gilchrist, Kumble and Matthew Hayden has shown that there is life - and a vibrant life  - after international retirement. As Richie Richardson recently remarked, what on earth was Dwayne Bravo doing playing in the IPL when he should have been helping West Indies avoid humiliation in England? Tony Cozier had said that Bravo was playing for the wrong "Indians" ... How long before board contracts are torn up in admission of an unwinnable battle? How long before the notion of the freelance cricketer takes hold?

The advantage T20 has is that since the duration is so short, it brings teams of lesser quality closer to the genuinely talented teams.. ODI needs reforms.. I would suggest playing with 12-13 players, 11 at any given time.. Its not the silly substitution that was followed where the captain gives in writing as to who would be substituted for whom.. This can be dynamic, say Harbhajan has bowled poorly for 5 overs call in Ojha to bowl for some overs.. You can always call Harbhajan back at any time.. Its not a one-time substitute.. A runs for a front foot no ball, 2 runs for the subsequent no-ball in the same over.. Have a eight run hit.. Do away with leg-byes.. Let the powerplays be more dynamic that it needn't be a block of 5 overs but can be split into 2+3 and to be chosen as and when desired.. Negative runs for getting out, a -2 ! -5 to the team if a player gets out on a duck; and all these negatives to hold good only till the target is achieved.. Not that you achieve the target and still are unsure of winning or losing as you could lose a wicket and get ducked by 2 runs..

Need for innovation in ODI.. Tests shall stay as long as the teams are competitive and the pitches are responsive.. Sporting pitches as they call is the need of the hour.. An English wicket should seam around, an Australian one bounce, and an Indian one to turn square.. That would really be the essence of "TEST"..

The No-Ball that lost the match

Its KKR vs DC today.. A must win for DC.. Probably the easiest match they can get under these pressure situations.. SO they are out to win and win comfortably to go up the ladder..

The match began with the usual and useless 1hour chat from a group of hopeless people called commentators.. DC won the toss and elected to bowl..

Umpires RE Koertzen and S Ravi (India)


For much of the innings, Kolkata Knight Riders showed why they have been so far behind the rest of the teams this season. After 14 overs they were plodding along at an inadequate 5.5 runs an over, but the late intervention of David Hussey transformed their innings. On a track on which Sourav Ganguly and Brad Hodge had pottered around for 10 overs without threatening Deccan Chargers, Hussey blasted a 17-ball 43 to revive Kolkata.. Ganguly had one of the most bizarre matches, for the first time in my entire life of watching all forms of cricket, all teams, all matches that had I seen the Lordie mis-time the ball so much.. Sourav who is known for timing the ball so much simply did not get going.. Hodge too was pathetic., two fours at the end makes it look as though he had batted well...

RP Singh, who had been very impressive till then in the tornament and in this match, was no-balled twice ( waist high ) in the 19th over, and was forced off the attack after only one legitimate delivery. When the replacement Harmeet Singh was brought on, Hussey went berserk. He smashed Harmeet for 4,2,2,6, and 6, mainly striking it straight. Twenty-eight came off the over, the most expensive of the tournament, and Kolkata's score had moved towards the 'defendable' zone. One six that was flat batted over the bowler's head onto the stands next to the sight screen was remeniscent of a six in Eden Gardens by the same player Hussey.. A respectable 160 reached..

Gilly smashed the KKRs so much that I thought KKR is done and the match will be over quickly.. But Kartik held it back 4-0-12-1 is an impressive bowling spell even in 50 over game.. Game in balance..

A no ball from Mortaza,superb yorker, Symonds attempts a single after digging it out , Mortaza runs upto the ball picks it up and throws it on to the stumps.. Bingo !! Symmo out... Match changed on its head !! My friend had then sent a message asking me to title the blog as "The no ball that won the match" !!

A day when there were so much happening in kolkata.. First big set back for the Left there in the Indian general elections... And could a improbable win for KKR here be the icing on the cake.. Something to cheer for in Kolkata i thought..

27 of 12 balls.. Agarkar bowls the 19th over.. He has this tendency of throwing it away in the end. Can he avoid that now? He has.. Sealed a win for KKR.. Just 6 runs...

21 of the last and Bangla Tiger gets the ball... Comes running in, the Square leg umpire is sigalling something.. The bowler bowls and Rohit hits it for a four.. A NO BALL signal from the 43 year old S Ravi from square leg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 3 fielders inside the circle !!!!!!!!!!!! OMG !!

Can there be any other way KKR can lose ? And then the last over was messed up..
4NB 1LB 1 6 1Wd 2 4 6

Worst figures for any bowler in IPL 4-0-58-0 .......... And KKR lose yet again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So , hence, therefore, the title of the post is "The no-ball that lost the match" :P

Dada's childhood

A post in some forum.. Pretty funny.. So sharing it here..

Saurav’s parents decided to have a Bengali tutor for him. His tutor would come in the evening, for the classes soon after Saurav returned from school. Young Saurav was very upset at this. Evening was the time for him to kick the football with his para (neighbourhood) friends, and no way was he going to study Bengali sacrificing football. But he was too scared to revolt, before his parents as well. After some hard thinking he came up with a strategy.

He went up to his tutor, and told:

“Sir, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, go on.”

“You seem too tired after your day’s work. Even I come exhausted from school. Why don’t both of us take some rest, before we commence with our studies,” Saurav suggested.

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. Its true we both get very tired, after day’s work”, his teacher observed thoughtfully.

“That’s great Sir. You rest at my room, while i shall go upstairs and take a nap. Then we can start afresh”

Gangulys were a joint family with a palace like mansion. So it was not possible for the family members to take much notice if someone quietly sneaks out of the house. Thus every evening Saurav would hit the football ground, while his parents thought that he was studying in his room.

Funny quotes during IPL-2009

Thats another DLFer.. Its supposed to be a six !!


That's a Citi moment of disaster.. - these two are from Robin Jackman..

He DLF-ed it with ease.. I remember discussing about this in class room.. Again Jackman.

Robin Jackman is referred to as "Jackass" by his fellow mates, and he is supposed to have said "how it would be if I call Mark Nicholas as knickers"...

LOL....

He has managed to clear the deep long-off... - What is DEEP LONG off ? Is it beyond the boundary ?



Two overs remaining. That's 12 balls, folks. - Great enlightenment..

That was a serious shot.. I think this was from Pommie Mbangwa! (correct me if I am wrong )...

Hello Cape Town, are you ready ?? - I think a recorded voice message of "oooooooooooooooooooooo" goes on after that...

The crowd has stayed back to watch the game.. - the camera unfortunately shows an empty stadium... Hardly a handful...

Buchanan, in his warped sense of humour, remarked that even in this (referring to water polo played in team hotel) game we couldn't win. Skipper, who's been seething in anger for the last couple of days, quickly retorted saying, "We're lucky you aren't the coach here 'coz then we'd have definitely lost".-- Fake IPL player..

I am waiting for a day when John Buchchanan blames global warming for our losses.. -- Fake IPL player on KKR's losses...

KKR the best team off the field.. JB snippets--

I am against the rule that allows only 4 foreign players in a team..

Removal of icon player status from the next year itself..

Today, Ramiz Raja - Ganguly will not run, he will only try to score boundaries and sixes-- Ganguly took 3 quick singles in that over...


Ganguly makes this commentator look so foolish (not IPL)

KKR or KR have got it all wrong

History has been witness to many a battle that have been lost because egos got the better of those involved in the contest.

Kolkata Knight Riders, led by Brendon McCullum, have managed only one win out of the six matches they have played so far in SA, with four losses and one 'no result'. Do you think coach Buchanan's multi-captaincy idea has backfired? Also, all is said to be not well within the team. After a fake blogger, the team has sent back Chopra and Bangar back home. May be, Dada will be strong enough a leader to hold the team together and change its fortune.. What we have seen from KR has been just a surrender to the oppositions.. Will Dada change their fortunes if he becomes the captain again?

After the emphatic win triggered by the opening bash of KKR's current captain Brendon McCullum in IPL 2008 nothing has gone right for them... Seriously, one has to explain the logic behind selecting people like Akash Chopra or Sanjay Bangar in this team. Shoaib Akhtar, well, he's spent more time off the field in controversies than on it. Apart from the first match where he could push the gas up to past 150 Kph, he hardly managed a 139Kph in the later encounters. To KKR's advantage David Hussey and Ganguly came to form by the end of the tournament and ended up being in a much better place than they could have (6).. Could have reached semis (undeservedly) if they had won a rain washed match..


IPL 2; Ganguly gets the boot from captaincy, Buchanan (JB) shows why he needed a Mat Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Gilchrist, (in form) Lee and Damien Martin to make the best team in this world. Bring in those names together, even today and you'll get a best team without a coach. He woke up dreaming of a "Multiple Captain" theory, and the KR management added an over-priced Mortaza to his kitty. Not to forget the ennumerable support staff of the team, who have out numbered the players- JB is the director of sports operations, Mathew Mott- Coach, a bowling coach, fielding coach, baseball coach for throwing, physiotherapist, trainer, etc.. Ofcourse, later we found McCullum leading the pack.
And more importantly the decision to drop KOLKATA from kolkata knight riders..

Result: divided faith, since most Indian players will be sympathetic towards their former Captain. Aspirations for many to be a captain, no faith in the coach, Dada sidelined, mood of the team is bad, Fake IPL player...

Making Ganguly the captain may infuse some positive energy amongst his silent supporters within the group, and with the burden off his head, McCullum may start perfroming better..But the enthusiasm may get KKR through 2 to a max of 3 matches. Rest, attribute it to the poor auction and poor team selection.. The captain of KKR is not at the helm of things of the team. He doesnt have any authority on the team composition and team strategy. He doesnt call the shots as is usually the case with a team captain. It is the so-called director of cricket operations JB who is the boss of KKR cricket team..

The team:
Worth mentioning.. You select 54 Indian players, definitely a way forward, take them to SA at the cost of SRK, involve them in practise matches and pick only 14 from them, many of whom are simply not fit for T20.. One must seriously question the wisdom of JB.. May be JB was right, 11 players have a captain so 54 players 5 captains.-his laptop would have done the math for him I feel...
Why do u pick Aakash Chopra, send him to the top of the order and then decide that he "doesn't fit into the scheme of things for T20"..
Was it not known that Chopra is not fit for T20 before even picking him up?
Sanjay Bangar who wasn't even picked for India when we were badly in need of an all rounder gets an IPL ticket as an all rounder, doesn't bowl scores 2 runs and he is duly sent back home..
Wasn't Bangar's credibilities and records in front of you before selecting him for the team ?
Karthik not prefered by JB, Agarkar has to "improve"- drafted into the playing 11 and bowl an over each !! And are not a part of the team after that..
JB's decision or McCullum's ?

Dinda plays against RCB as a specialist bowler and ends up as a specialist fine leg fielder- doesn't bowl a single over! If this is the interest or knowledge that the kiwi has in his team, God save the team..
The wisdom of choosing Mendis to bowl the super over is questionable though not completely incorrect but a bigger error was to make Sourav sit and watch the super over from the dug out when he was the player who had a good knock in the actual game and could have easily taken it into the super over..
Mortaza is paid so heavily only to have a tour of SA, Hodge is picked ahead of him only because he is an aussie !! **** ! In a reply to a question from a reporter on if Ganguly would open the innings in Gayle's absence JB replies-well, we have hodge as an option !!
Charl Langeveldt signed in as his an T20 specialist- not played as yet !

Where is Monish Parmar ? Indulkar ? Azhar's son ? Sourav sarkar ? No backing from the management..

Now, the news is that SRK is upset and is planning to sell his team.

Verdict: As long as John Buchanan and his entire family of support staff are removed from KKR there wont be a difference to KKR's performance even if you make Sourav the captain. Heads should start rolling and they should start rolling now. C'mon SRK do a Mallya (in axing).. First to get the axe should be Buchanan and then his entire family. Until and unless that happens there's no stopping KKR from harnessing the 8th spot this time around. I got to admit its going to be a tough battle for the 8th spot between KKR and RCB.

TRIVIA: Question to all cricket lovers and fans- Name a cricket team that played 3 wicketkeepers in the playing 11.. Please do post the reply in the comment section..

A tribute to Dada Part4: Mother of all comebacks and a humble retirement.

view part1 part2 and part3 at these links...

Many things go wrong in life but not so much and so horrible as it happens with Ganguly.. His dispute with the then coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. Greg Chappell sent an email to the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behavior was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team.

Sourav was not dropped based on his performance. He was dropped, for reasons other than cricket. Whatever it is, if you look at his statistics as a player, do you think he should be dropped ? Isn't there any respect for a senior player ? He has done so much for the team, which has made the whole of India swell with pride. But, the people in selection committee, do whatever they feel. You could easily name a lot of players with poor performances at that time (2005-06). And it was Ganguly who was selected to be dropped, the selection committee made a mockery of themselves and ridiculed Dada.


He was dropped from the ODI side on account of fitness and age and that he did not fit into any role in the side., an angry Bengali public greeted the team bus, chanting and waving banners with anti-Chappell and pro-Ganguly sentiment. Cameras captured greg's middle finger being displayed to the protesters. During the match, the Indian team were booed and the South African batsmen were cheered as they accumulated the runs necessary for a ten-wicket victory. He was then picked for the test squad as an batting ALL-ROUNDER only to be dropped after a single match giving way to kaif.. Dada was overlooked for the subsequent series against England and west indies, juggled in and out of the team on many cases.. Ganguly was humiliated. Comments and suggestions started pouring in asking him to retire and that there was no more chance for him to stage a comeback, he was on the wrong side of the thirties already and he needn't prove his mettle and talent to anyone anymore, he has lost the appetite to score runs, he is fragile, he breaks up the team..

Well, why was he dropped ? Lets analyze..

• Divide and Rule- Ganguly disintegrates the team, applies divide and rule policy.. Yes, it was dada who did it.. brought in viru, yuvi, pathan and kaif- without the backing that dada gave them in their initial days of failure they wouldn't have been in the team.. viru would have still lost all his hairs just playing for Delhi, yuvi would be confined to Mohali and pathan a lost entity.. Is this act disintegrating the team? well, greg says so.. lets accept..
• Job utterly important to his life and finances- Ganguly clings onto the team because that is important to his life and finances. He was born into a family with immense wealth. His father is one of the 5 richest in Kolkata, whose printing business is the 3rd largest in Asia, a family whose annual turnover is nearly 80 crores (says a website).. Yet Guru Greg, with his laptop has found out that it is necessary for "his life and finances". and greg being an honorable man in cricketing fraternity we all will believe it in one go....(no reasoning permitted)
  
• Poor Batting Form- very low average in test cricket. Agreed.. poor form.. the replacement wasn't great., Ganguly dropped for an additional bowler and is then brought back on a green pitch (where additional quickie is not required- pundits said so), asked to open the innings. Performance of many players inclusive of Sachin wasn't that great and to be dropped for Robin Uthappa makes no sense.. Youngsters is the way forward, Kudos to chappel... Hail Guru Greg !!
  

• Poor fitness - Ganguly least interested in fitness drills and exercises.. Very true that the likes of VVS, Rahul, Jaffer, Kumble and others were superb outstanding fielders second only to Jonty Rhodes who could dive and stop a ball from going to the boundary. How I wish there was a video showcasing these people's fielding!! Not that Dada's was any good, but applying the same parameters should have seen the exit more players and not just Ganguly.. Yet, Greg spots only Dada.. And he is to be believed...

But then, we're talking about Ganguly, a warrior who has done it so many times in the past by proving everyone wrong, walking out of the international arena and having a hit almost everyday, away from the public eye, away from the grasp of media. Practice sessions had more intensity and all of it conveyed one thing, his purpose to prove the selectors wrong one more time, and probably one last time.
Lot of people said I should retire but I still feel I have it in me to play those innings again, and perhaps even better ones. Why else would I be fighting to get back into the Indian team?
– On his chances of making a comeback - Nov 2006

And then came an ad of an aerated drink with the lines, "Aap apne Dada ko bhule toh nahin", meaning I hope you people have not forgotten your Dada.



Emotions run high, sympathy pours in and when you see a warrior look this helpless, a man who was known for staging a battle, the Maharaj, was all by himself... Determination to comeback, willingness to prove selectors wrong, an opportunity to show the world that he has cricket left in him, a wish to contribute to the Indian National Cricket team, the thirst for runs, the pride to wear the Indian Blue once again, and moreover, the joy of playing the sport that runs in your blood, the sport that made you a star, the sport that brought fame, the times that the nation cherished under him-

Dada wants to comeback...

Dada promises a comeback...

Dada works hard to come back... And

Dada comes back.........




Air-tickets for South Africa........................................
The "great Guru" Greg picks youngsters in Wasim jaffer, Anil Kumble, ODI specialist in Dinesh Mongia, and a brilliant bowler + an excellent fielder in Munaf Patel.. psst:greg is building a young team for the world cup.. (haa don't question his credibility man, you are weak in math if you say Anil is 36 yrs old he is a energetic youngster fit for ODIs)... India humiliated in the ODIs with the best margin of losing being 80runs...
Ganguly is picked for the Tests.
I was training at the Eden Gardens when a local reporter informed me that I was selected. I am happier than the day I made my debut.
- On his recall for the SA tour

Jet-lagged he was and his legs ached. A shower at the team-hotel and he was quickly transported to the cricket ground.
“Welcome back,” a voice boomed and soon a tall man stretched out his hand. Greg Chappell welcomed Ganguly during the Indian team practice session. The Dada had reached his destination.
one of the most significant handshakes
The signs were clear — the Dada was committed on his comeback.
India are 1 for 2, 37 for 3, 59 for 4 against Rest of South Africa. Ganguly comes in and scores 83 , India win, and take momentum into the Test series.Scores a half-century with the tail in the Jo'burg test as India reach a crucial 249 and bowl South Africa out for 84. They go on to win by 123 runs, but lose in the final Test to squander an opportunity for a rare series win. Ganguly is the leading run-getter for India. A great comeback in ODIs too-98 against WI in Nagpur.. And then, there was nothing stopping this Prince, no looking back as he went on with one good knock after the other, taking his side from positions of discomfort to safety and then to winning positions. A much awaited test 100 in Chittagong.. A lot was made of the Chappell-Ganguly showdown and the confrontation was unfortunate. But it did make Ganguly introspect and return a better batsman and a cricketer. In Ganguly’s comeback, Chappell deserves some credit. The then 35-year-old Ganguly was in the form of his life; he could meddle the ball in sleep. He made runs on pitches with pace and lift in South Africa, conjured a couple of gems when the ball swung around in England and and then the home series against Pakistan was the all-time best for him. His performance in front of the home crowd was never one to be proud of and he came back to smash a wonderful ton against the arch-rivals at the Indian Mecca of Cricket (more importantly, the Royal Bengal Tiger's own den). Double ton was another feat he would have wanted to achieve and he didn't have to wait too long, Bangalore, where the next test was played saw that coming from the bat of Sourav. All in all, it was an unforgettable series for Dada and all his fans, in which he scored the second most number of runs in a 3 match Test series by an Indian batsman. With 534 runs in three Tests at an average of 89, and is the Man of the Series. Ganguly's honeymoon period seemed never ending and his success story went on in the home series against the Proteas too where he scripted a brave 87 on a minefield of a Kanpur pitch to help India draw level in the 3 Test series. It had been a phenomenal year for Sourav where he went on to achieve personal milestones every now and then, his contributions at the same time didn't go in vain as India went on to win quite a lot of matches. It was a glorious 2007 where he ended up as the second highest run-getter in Tests that season, fifth in the ODIs list. He was also named the Asian Cricketer of the Year for the brilliant season. The Aussie tour, ordinary performance.. Viral fever... Dropped from ODI side... You heard it right, rather read it right... The dreaded word "dropped".. Why ?
Dunno... Poor show by the entire team against mendis and murali in the emerald isles, with Sachin and Dravid averaging very less but hey, only Sourav performed badly... The selectors are up with it again- AXE... Sourav dropped.... Not even picked for the Irani Trophy(considered to be a dress rehearsal before the all important Aussie Test series)...

And perhaps this was the time when the former skipper felt that this was it and decided to call it a day.
makes the announcement. "Just one last thing lads, before I leave," he says. "I just want to say that this is going to be my last series. I've decided to quit.(lumps in his throat, emotional) I told my team-mates before coming here. These four Test matches are going to be my last and hopefully we'll go on a winning note."

It's not only the end of Ganguly's career, it's the end of an era.
A fine batsman, by far the best left-hander the nation had seen, a spirited fighter, who fought for himself and his team-mates.
He is etched in the history of Indian cricket not just for what he has achieved on field but for providing the world with a lesson in the fine art of comebacks. It’s a lesson that those sidelined would do well to adapt to their circumstances. He might have been dealt a few knocks in his career but his spirit was never broken. Rather, it egged him onto greater heights. He deserves the credit and the support. This career has been a treat to watch, one to treasure. Thank you Sourav for making cricket watching all the more pleasing during all these years. Thank you Sourav for making the Indian Cricket team what it is today.

I would like to be remembered as someone who has taken Indian cricket forward…someone who tried his best every time he went out to play for the country.I let the boys free. I wanted to lead a bunch of fighters. I was very close to a lot of them and they enjoyed my trust. They knew that I was a man who would not hurt anyone from behind. I did lose my temper when I did not see the boys putting in their effort. I do not mind non performance with effort.... But all my complaints and anger would finish on the field. Off it, my reactions were different. I am very hard on people on the field. But once we are off it, I forget the whole issue and don’t bring it up.
--Dada