Sep

30

What Drama!

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I have fallen in love with that phrase here in Manchester.

And Drama was exactly what this Champions Trophy has been.

Moreso today than on any other day.

Before Pakistan took the field against Australia this morning, a number of things would have been going through their mind.

Do we want to play New Zealand, our favorite bunnies, in the semi finals?

Do we want to play our semi final against England at Centurion to give our batsmen a better chance?

Do we want India to qualify to the semi finals?

Do we want to make sure Australia is out of the Champions Trophy?

There were plenty of options for the Pakistanis to explore.

But all was dependent on which Pakistan turned out today.

I’m still not sure which one did.

They started their innings very well with a decent opening stand; even after Afridi’s departure Akmal kept going.

Once he left though the innings kind of fell apart; they never lost wickets, the batsmen were out there in the middle but batting was quite tough.

Or did Pakistan make it tough for themselves wanting to play New Zealand and ensuring India’s exit?

The playing it safe, not going for aerial shots, keeping the scoring rate low, all looked a bit intentional, didn’t it?

Pakistan set the Aussies a modest total and Australia’s start seemed like the match would be over at the half way mark.

Mohammad Asif, returning to the international fold after over a year and a half was made to look like a medium pacer by Watson and Paine.

Australia seemed to be cruising home and into the semi finals, and Pakistan did not seem to mind it.

But then came the twist.

Mohammad Asif showed why Pakistan and the world had missed him.

Saeed Ajmal showed why he’s the best off spinner around today.

Rana Naveed showed why he was drafted back as soon as he cancelled his ICL contract.

The Pakistanis were suddenly all over the Australians.

And the Aussies had no idea what hit them.

What was happening now? Did Pakistan suddenly realise that they would rather play a semi final at Centurion? Did the BCCI wire some funds to CA? Did Pakistan want to do India a favor?

Wickets fell, Pakistan started to look sharp, Australia started to fall apart, and the gap between runs required and balls left started to decrease.

The Indians’ hearts would have been thumping hard while all this was going down.

It was one of those rare days when a billion Indians were hoping and praying for Pakistan to win; particularly after what their team had done to the West Indies.

Pakistan had all of a sudden raised the hope of all those Indians.

But at the end it was just false hope; Brett Lee and Hauritz remained calm and scraped home off the final delivery of the match.

That sealed Australia’s path to the semi finals and India’s exit from the Champions Trophy.

What a match it was though!

Full of excitement, nervousness, entertainment, and Drama!

It was an awesome fightback from Pakistan; quite a reminder of what Pakistan was like in the 1990s when they used to make comebacks from all sorts of situations to win games.

It was a close win for Australia but Pakistan will not mind it.

Instead they will take a hell of a lot of confidence into the semi finals, where they face their favorite semi final bunny – New Zealand!

Think 1992, think 1999, think 2007.

3 out of the 4 times that Pakistan has reached the final of a major ICC event, they have done so by beating New Zealand in the semi final.

So they would definitely be fancying their chances.

Pakistan looks well settled, the batting is coming together, the bowling has been awesome throughout the Champions Trophy, and the team has a good problem of figuring out their final XI with a number of players in form and vying for the same spot.

Always a healthy problem to have.

As I said before, the Champions Trophy has been great advertisement for ODI cricket, and I feel the business end of the competition will be even better!

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Sep

30

Akram to join KKR camp in Gurgaon

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Former Pakistan speedster Wasim Akram will join the Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp, which begins in Gurgaon Oct 1.

“He will join the KKR camp at Gurgaon to oversee the proceedings,” former KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly said at the Eden Gardens here Tuesday.

However, as Akram will be busy doing commentary for the ongoing Champions trophy, where the final is slated for Oct 5, he will join the KKR camp only in the later stages.

The camp is scheduled to continue till Oct 8. Till Akram joins, Ganguly will be in charge of the camp.

However, leading Bengal players are unlikely to attend the camp as the cricket Association Bengal has organised a Challengers tournament to give some match practice to the players ahead of the gruelling season. Thus, L.R. Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Eklakh Ahmed and Avik Chowdhury will miss the camp.

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Sep

30

Cash rewards for Pakistani cricketers if they win Champions Trophy

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Pakistani cricketers will be showered with huge cash rewards if they go on to win the ICC Champions trophy in South Africa, a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Monday.

According to Wasim Bari, the PCB chief operating officer, the players will be flooded with rewards if they win their second International Cricket Council (ICC) event after having won the World Twenty20 earlier this year.

“Winning the Champions Trophy would be a huge achievement and the board will ensure that the players are duly rewarded,” said Bari, a former Pakistan test wicketkeeper.

Pakistani players earned millions after winning the World Twenty20 title in England last June.

Pakistan are one of the only two leading teams along with England yet to win the Champions Trophy.

This time Pakistan are in a good position to aim for its maiden crown after having won its first two Pool A matches against West Indies and neighbours India.

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Sep

30

India Vs West Indies – "India seek divine intervention"

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India will be hoping for some divine intervention when they take on the West Indies in their last Group A match at the Wanderers here on Wednesday, in their bid to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.
India are virtually out of the tournament after their Monday’s must-win match against defending champions Australia was washed out.
Now India can only wait and watch as their progress hinges on several factors.

Even if they beat the West Indies in the day-night encounter, they have to hope that Pakistan beat Australia by a huge margin in the day match at the Centurion.
Nothing went right for India in the tournament and only a miracle can save them from making an early exit in the second consecutive International Cricket Council (ICC) event in the year. If their performance against Pakistan was below par, it was nature’s betrayal which forced them to split points with Australia.
But India have all but to blame themselves for their lacklustre performance in the tournament. Indian bowlers, barring Ashish Nehra, were out of sort in both the matches while the bastmen couldn’t convert the starts they got against Pakistan.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he would be keenly following Wednesday’s Pakistan-Australia clash.
‘We would delay our team selection. It depends on how the match is progressing. If we need to strengthen our batting we would do so. If we need the bowling to get stronger, we would do that,’ Dhoni said.
‘Not only the coach and the support staff, even the seniors need to chip in with their advice. Unfortunately, not everything is in your hands. Lot of things need to happen: Pakistan to win, we to beat West Indies and the net run-rate.
‘We are cheering for Pakistan as they play a day game. We will know where we stand when we go out. Hopefully Pakistan win,’ said Dhoni.
On India’s performance in the ongoing tournament, Dhoni blamed his bowlers for the poor show.
‘We batted in only one game so you can’t say the batting has let us down. But we have bowled twice and we are not bowling that well. Yesterday (against Australia), the bowlers were much better, they were neither too short nor too full. But we have to admit we didn’t bowl that well,’ he said.

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Sep

30

Pakistan Vs Australia – "We would have an advantage"

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Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reckons that having played a match at the slow Centurion track will give his team a distinct advantage over Pakistan in their must-win ICC Champions Trophy encounter tomorrow. Ponting said there was no margin for errors in such crucial games and his tem had prepared well to beat Pakistan for a place in the semi-finals.
“It would be easier (for us) if Pakistan were to do so though we are preparing as if we would face their best team in the park. We can beat them and directly qualify,” said Ponting when asked about reports that Pakistan would be fielding their B side in tomorrow’s game.

If Australia wins tomorrow’s first game, the match between India and the West Indies would lose all relevance, and Ponting said he would want his side’s semi-final hopes to be decided by their own work. “There is no margin or error.
If it gets rain affected tomorrow or not, the destiny is in our hands. If we don’t make it to the semifinals, we would be disappointed.
“We have prepared very well. We have had very good last few weeks.
We want to be the number one side of the world and that’s why we prepare the way we do,” he said at a press conference here.

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Sep

30

Pak Vs Australia – Pakistan to field reserve players

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Pakistan Vs AustraliaPakistan skipper Younus Khan confirmed India’s worst fears by admitting that his side would field their reserve players in tomorrow’s ICC Champions Trophy game against Australia at Centurion. “We will make a few changes, some are forced.
Imran Nazir has a broken finger. Mohammad Asif deserves a look in, so do Fawad Alam and Iftikhar Rao.

They need to be brought in. Some changes would certainly be made,” said Younus ahead of tomorrow’s game.
Younus himself is battling with a fractured right finger but lamented mockingly that nobody in his side wants to give him a rest. He though pooh-poohed the claim that Pakistan would look to lose against Australia tomorrow and dump India out of the tournament.
“Me as a person don’t think in that manner. Given a choice, I would love to have an India-Pakistan final.”
We saw at Centurion the other night when the two sides played. It was the only game in this tournament where the stands were jam-packed.
Everyone wants to watch an India-Pakistan game. “It’s critical for players too.”
I made my mark against India and was quickly accepted. Same happens for India if a young player of theirs makes a mark against us,” Younus said.

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Sep

29

Tendulkar injury a worry for India

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Ahead of the must-win match against Australia here Monday, it is Sachin Tendulkar’s injury that is worrying India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni revealed after their 54-run loss to Pakistan Saturday evening that India missed a part-time bowler. He said he couldn’t use Tendulkar since the batting maestro is suffering from a shoulder injury. The shoulder has troubled Tendulkar from a long time.

Dhoni looked uncomfortable when asked about Tendulkar’s injury.

“Tendulkar has a shoulder injury and he can’t consistently bowl. He is our main batsman and we don’t want him injured,” he said.

Injuries have plagued India off late with Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan already ruled out of the side.

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Sep

29

India Vs Australia: Do-or-die match in Champions Trophy

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After a dissapointing loss against Pakistan, India will take on defending champions Australia in a must-win Champions Trophy Group A game at SuperSport Park here Monday.

World No.1 India could have won the match against Pakistan but missed the presence of of a part-time bowler. It is now time for India to regroup and come out with a better game plan against Australia.

But skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has quite a few problems to sort out before his boys take the field Monday. His frontline bowlers, too, had failed to click against Pakistan.

The Indians didn’t bowl according to the set field and allowed the Pakistani batsmen to score freely on both sides of the wicket. They can’t afford the same mistake against Australia.

So furious was Dhoni with their performance that he said his front line bowlers were reduced to just part-timers.

“It seemed we had three or four part-time bowlers. You cannot set a field for bad bowling,” he maintained.

Given the slowness of the SuperSport Park track, Dhoni may opt for an extra spinner in leggie Amit Mishra in place of an unimpressive Rudra Pratap Singh. The India captain is also likely to go in with an extra batsman and all-rounder in Abhishek Nayar, who can be useful with his medium pace and may come in for Virat Kohli.

India also need to think about their batting. Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina all got starts but failed to convert them into big scores while chasing a 300-plus target.

Dhoni would also hope Dravid is fit for the game against Australia. Dravid injured himself while stretching to reach the crease during his run-out dismissal.

For Australia, it will be a tricky task to adjust to a slow SuperSport track from a pacy Wanderers strip.

Australia are better placed than India, but their win against the West Indies was far from being impressive.

The depleted West Indies team put up a spirited performance but the defending champions survived the scare.

The Australian middle-order has been wobbly but the return of vice captain Michael Clarke will strengthen the line-up.

The formidable Ausssie bowling attack, spearheaded by Brett Lee, will also be put to test against India. While Lee and Mitchell Johnson can be deadly with their swing, Peter Siddle can cause some damage with his raw pace.

e stage is perfect for the world No.1 and No.2 to fight it out for the top spot.

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Sep

29

The ODI game lives on Courtesy the Champions Trophy

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I was given a lot of stick when I said that South Africa is not going to reach the semi finals of the Champions Trophy.

Many said that I was underestimating them.
I even explained why I thought that South Africa did not have it in them to get to the semis, let alone the distance to lift the trophy.
Even then I was doubted.
I admit that I was not entirely right by saying Sri Lanka and New Zealand will go through from Group B, but I was right about South Africa!
Why they are labelled favorites before every such tournament is beyond my understanding.
Anyway, enough on them.
Something more important that this Champions Trophy has shown is that the 50-over game lives; and it will continue to live strongly.
Just as long as the format is appropriate.
7 ODI series, 55 day long world cups, meaningless triangulars like the Compaq series; all that doesn’t work.
But a Champions Trophy, involving the world’s top 8 sides, that crowns a champion at the end of 2 weeks works absolutely fine.
The tournament has been exhilarating to say the least.
Every single game has been competitive and exciting with very few dull moments.
So anyone who was thinking that the ODI game was on its last legs, needs to think again.
And the ICC seriously need to re-think the World Cup format.
For me the Champions Trophy has already been a success; it’ll be even better if 3 out of my 4 predictions for the semi finalists come true; and even better if Pakistan go the distance!
Still a few big games left, hence surely this competition will only get better near its climax.

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Sep

28

Champions League CL T20 – Otago Volts

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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..

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Sep

27

Pakistan vs India – FINALLY!

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The Fans

In 2004 when Pakistan and India finally decided to put aside their political differences and get on to the cricket field, there was an overdose of Pakistan vs India cricket.

Tours took place every year with an abundance of test matches and ODIs.
Many at the time felt that the euphoria surrounding the battle between the arch rivals was deteriorating due to the overdose.
But then cricket was once again put on the back burner last year as relations between the neighbors soured.
It has been over a year since Pakistan and India clashed in an international match; the last ODI being the Super 4 game of the Asia Cup in July last year.
The long wait for the fans, however, is almost over!
In about 8 hours Pakistan will take on India in the 6th match of the Champions Trophy, and I cannot wait for it to start.
The T20 warm up match between the two sides before the start of the World Twenty20 was an indication of the buzz that is created when Pakistan and India take on each other on the cricket field.
It also showed what the cricket world had been missing for so long.
That was only a warm up and it arguably had a larger crowd than any of the World Twenty20 matches.
Come tomorrow and Centurion will be buzzing!
The world in fact will be buzzing in front of their televisions.
Here in Manchester, I will watch the game with a dozen Indians; sadly there are hardly any Pakistanis in my program so it will be 1 of me and tons of them.
The last time I watched a Pakistan vs India match on TV with Indians, Saeed Anwar scored 194; that has got to be a good sign.
The Players
With the firepower of Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh missing from the Indian line up, they will be relying heavily on the experienced duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Ironically, Pakistan will be depending more on their inexperienced duo of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer, both of whom will be playing against India for the very first time.
The pressure will test both of them.
Another player expected to return to the international fold today is Mohammad Asif.
That has been another long wait.
Pakistan has missed Asif with the new ball for almost two years now, but against India he is expected to make his return.
Hopefully one, from which he never looks back.
The Teams

Both the teams look very balanced so to pick a winner at this point is almost impossible.
I do, however feel that Pakistan has the edge and that is not an emotional thought; they have already played a match and won it, they did well in the warm up games winning both of them, and the team seems to be eager to prove a point.
India, on the other hand, lost their warm up game to New Zealand, and will take the field today for the first time in this Champions Trophy.
Hence, Pakistan does have an advantage, but to take full opportunity of that, their seniors will have to come to the party.
Umar Akmal cannot do all the scoring, nor can Aamer pick up all the wickets.
The Outcome
Its a crucial game for both Pakistan and India.
The team that wins is more likely to go ahead into the semi finals at the expense of the other (assuming that Australia wins all and West Indies loses all); so the pressure is going to be at its maximum.
More than a year’s wait, the return of Mohammad Asif, crunch game, Pakistan vs India, the Champions Trophy; it can’t get bigger than that!
Its been a long wait and I can’t wait anymore for it to be over.
Let the match begin!

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