CT---> Post 1

Well the first week of CT has seen some pretty good and unpredictable cricket. SA has been knocked out and SL is on the brink (two of the pre-tournament favorites). England coming after the 6-1 mauling at the hand of Aussies, have done very well while NZ is also a strong contender to get to semis.

Coming to the Indian team (and it is rather painful to talk about it), we are all but out of the tournament. Theoretically speaking, India does have a decent chance but practically speaking those chances are very slim. And with the current form and talent, we do not deserve to get into semis either. So I would be mighty surprised if we manage to get there.
The problems with the Indian team start with the bowling itself. RP is kind of one dimensional bowler (at least presently) and Ishant Sharma is very low on confidence and form (I am being very generous here). And Bhajji Singh is still basking in the glory of his last fiver which he took in the Compaq Cup final. These bowlers were responsible for Pakistan being able to post 303 and things did not look too good when we were playing Australia today. Overall the standard of bowling is something that makes you cry as an Indian supporter (I am sure I would have been a better bowler had I decided to pursue a career in cricket). The only positive was to see Nehra bowling a good line and getting among wickets and Amit Mishra’s leg spin bowling. The whole bowling department needs a revamp and I think RP and Ishant are going back to domestic cricket for some time now. Sreesanth and Balaji would be making their comebacks (and may be Munaf) against the Aussies when India play them, I believe.

However, the Indian batting which has traditionally been very strong also failed in the game against Pakistan and I doubt whether we would have flourished against Aussies as well. Sachin did little justice to his experience and talent when he fulfilled a 17 year old fast bowler’s wish and Kohli sa’ab was not just up to the task. Dhoni was trapped leg before while he was strolling on the pitch and Yousuf Pathan continues to prove that he just lacks the intent and the determination needed to succeed at international level. Gambhir batted in a beautiful manner and made me feel that atleast there is something to cheer about and so did Dravid and Raina. It was good to see that Dravid knew exactly what his role was and did that to near perfection. Had Raina stayed there for a bit more, things may have been different but who knows. And we also boast of a tail where atleast three batsmen (RP, Nehra and Ishant) do not even know how to hold a bat properly. Of course, the team was handicapped by the absence of Viru and Yuvi but we simply cannot claim to be #1 if we are to depend on a couple of players.
Indian selectors must realise that we need to develop a pool of players who are fit and strong enough to play international cricket. Just think over this, we all know that Yousuf Pathan would most likely not fire under pressure and still he plays in the team. In a country where you have more than 110 crore people, a huge cricket fan base and having IPL like talent finder events, it is shameful that we are struggling to get into semis (we are not getting there). There should be a strict policy of perform or perish and there should be strong competition for even seniors to get into the team. They should be constantly challenged by the younger lot and nobody should take his place for granted.
I wish the selection committee led by Kris Srikanth takes some bold decisions when they pick the team for the next series against Australia (which I doubt).

A little mention for Graeme Smith and his lion-hearted innings against England, something which will be etched in my mind for quite some time. He batted like a champion and perhaps deserves all the applause especially for a team which has crashed out of CT.

Stay tuned for the rest of CT and I would love to see someone like England or NZ to lift the cup. England have played beautifully for the first two matches and let’s see if they can carry the same momentum forward. Pakistan may just do what they have been uttering in their press conferences while Aussies are always a force to reckon.
I would love to be proved wrong in my predictions and would even offer an apology to my team if something contrary to what I have said does happen, but I doubt if that will happen.May the best team win !!

India lifts COMPAQ CUP

A masterly performance by India in the final of Compaq Cup against Sri Lanka saw them lift the trophy and take the honours in this tri-nation tournament. That this triumph comes after the early round exit in the T20 World Cup can only add to the joy of cricket crazy Indian population. Moreover, India also continues to be a consistent performer in ODIs throughout this year and the team does deserve applause.

After the win over NZ and loss to SL in the prelims, it was not going to be easy for India to come back into the finals. But Dhoni called the toss correctly and that is something which would have really pleased him. Sri Lanka is really a strange place to play especially when you are in a day-night contest. Over the past couple of years, the number of times when teams batting second have successfully chased a decent total has really gone down. And hence a lot does depend on the toss. (Also lends support to some theory which Tendular put forward…some 25 over innings…I am sure he was jokingJ). Anyways, India left out Mr. Dinu Karthik after his indifferent performances and brought in Kohli sa’ab. While that was a decent thing to do, the team management showed great vision in asking Dravid to open with Tendulkar.
It is after all a tournament final (matches where Indian record has been pretty bad) and asking a young kid (Kohli sa’ab) to open was definitely not the right thing to do. So the duo of Sachin and Dravid opened the innings and did very well in fact. They kept the scoreboard moving with singles and doubles but did not hesitate to punish the loose ball either. Sachin was at his best with wonderful shorts being played through the covers in particular while Dravid was particularly severe on short stuff either pulling or cutting the same to the boundaries. Dravid even welcomed Mendis with a six (kind of misfield as well) but Indian score started to look really good at that stage. Then came Jayasuriya Uncle and bowled a really slow ball to get rid of Dravid. Dravid departed for a well made 39 and by then he had laid a perfect platform with Sachin from where India could harbour hopes of posting a really challenging total.
Dhoni entered the stage and again that was a really courageous move. He could have failed as well but that did not really bother him and that is what makes him special. People call him “lucky” but I would say that he is a brave guy. Dhoni and Sachin played in a really special manner, collecting singles and doubles and picking up a few boundaries when they were on offer. Sachin batted with tremendous application and reached his 44th ODI hundred. What a feat, man!! Kudos to this special character for an innings of grit under extremely trying circumstances (extreme hot and humid weather, slow pitches and Lanka’s slow bowlers with Uncle Jayasuriya leading the pack). Dhoni went after making a useful 56. While he scored at a decent pace, he also ensured that India did not loose any wickets in the middle overs and therefore had a perfect launch pad to start an assault at some stage in the later part of the innings. Yuvraj came and settled down with Sachin (by then he was using a runnner). Sachin did delay the assault a bit more than expected but it did come in a splendid fashion. Mendis was hit for a six and two reverse swept fours before Sachin eventually got out for a strokeful 138. Yuvraj kept one end while the others came and left but with useful hits from Yuvi and co, India reached a total of 319. 319 was a pretty huge score and it was always going to be too much to chase for SL.

Indian score was built around Sachin and as I have written earlier as well, no words can do justice to the service Sachin has done to Indian cricket. Dravid’s return to ODIs is also pretty successful and it is always good to see a person of his calibre doing well. Dravid is someone who has done everything he has been asked to do (ask him to open the innings, to come at #7 or to keep wickets, the man’s a complete team guy). Dhoni and Yuvraj are the stalwarts of the present times who are supposed to take Indian cricket to greater heights in the future.

After India finished their batting, the general feeling was it is only a matter of time when India lifts the trophy. But India were in for a shock especially with Dilshan and Jayasuriya Uncle hitting the ball to all parts of ground. The fast bowling was pathetic and all of the fast bowlers were willing to run and just bowl. A dropped catch of Uncle did not help either. Finally, it was Bhajji who brought the downfall of dangerous Dilshan (he is really a dangerous batsman, believe me—I don’t praise Lankans so easily J) and later Mahela in his next over. While the Lankans still kept pace with the asking run rate (in fact they were much ahead of it initially), the wickets started to tumble. Uncle went soon after and the score read 85/3 in 11 overs. With three of your really main players back and more than 225 to get, I knew Lanka won’t be able to manage it. Thushara (promoted as pinch hitter) came and hit a few boundaries but then departed and so did Matthews a bit later. So at 131/5, only one team would have won (Teams do win from such positions as well like the Natwest cup final when Yuvi and Kaif combined to demolish the English) but chances of such improbable events are always rare. The fast bowlers did not bowl a decent line or length at all so it was left to India’s slow bowlers (remember it is slow bowlers and NOT spinners). Yuvraj and Raina bowled 14 overs amongst themselves and conceded only 50 while they also managed to get 2 wicktes. Yusuf Pathan got rid of the dangerous Uncle but was very expensive. Bhajji was at his best and picked wickets exactly when a team’s strike bowler should be picking. The pacers were disappointing and so was the level of fielding (run-outs, stumping and catches put down). It was the combined bowling of Bhajji-Yuvi-Raina that brought the Lankan scoring to a halt and with wickets tumbling, Indi won by 46 runs. The batting helped India win this tournament though among the bowlers only Bhajji Singh looked like a bowler of international standard. (Do not count Yuvi or Raina here because slow bowlers like them can only succeed here. Just like Lanka used to employ a lot of its slow bowlers, choke the runs and then win such finals but nobody heard of such bowlers outside Lanka).
So coming up is the Champions trophy and I am sure that would generate a lot of interest. India plays Pakistan, Australia and WI in its pool and it would be a quite a challenge to play in S.Africa. India has fond memories of S.Africa for sure and I am putting my money on India (I simply love India playing in S.Africa, that’s where a lot of our famous victories have come). Let’s wish our team all the luck for the CT and congratulate them on their success in the Compaq Cup.