The brainchild of BCCI that has led to India's shaky No.1 position
Now, most of you must have got the idea from the title itself. Of course, it is the IPL and Mr.Lalit Modi who have struck again. And they along with the whole BCCI individual giants are encouraging a format, where India doesn't even rank in top 5. Come on BCCI...why do you always have to something atrocious and harmful for the team in your control? Bring in some more tests please :s ...before we, the fans of Indian Cricket break your luxurious, exquisite office made from the money-through-IPL into bits and pieces.
For MSD and Co. somehow provided the icing on the cake by first marking Indian Cricket's 100th test win, and then of course, taking India to numero uno. Now that playing against minnows like Bangladesh is going to give India not even one single point in the table, and with the NZ test series still not confirmed, I doubt if India might even slip to as low as 3 or 4 in the rankings. Possible enough? Isn't it? Here is where, MSD's golden luck will come into play. Don't forget how SL players were left licking their wounds due to the lacking of UDRS. Had it been there, at least the 3rd test could have resulted in a draw. And now in the present and the future, if by god's grace, the Aussies and the Saffas could fail to make amends of the opportunities coming at them, it is going to be Dhoni's luck again.
Still though, credit has to be given to the whole Indian team, not only the one in the present but right from the 90s when our legendary heroes were cementing their place in the side right to youngsters coming in the side and doing well of late. Needless to say, it has been a long journey, and the whole of Indian Cricket deserves to cherish these precious moments. Who knows..kal India No.1 ho ya na ho?
I Told You ! Jersey changed and India lost
It's surely very disappointing to say the least. But this is how Indian team's luck has been going. Jersey changes...India looses ! The first T20 was in any case a disaster but the 2nd wasn't far behind either. Perhaps, the second T20 made the Indian pace attack a bit weaker with Ishant Sharma getting his shoulder injured while fielding. He never returned back on the field. And another disaster that could be in this whole tour for India is Brendon McCullum's sublime form. He is looking unstoppable. While on the other hand, for the first time both the Indian openers(Viru and Gambhir) looked helpless and of course...scoreless.
One of my friend was so frustrated about this loss that he screamed in my ears: "All the Indian wins now look to me a fluke." And maybe he's right. I was there in the school when the match was being played. I managed to get back home when the last ball was about to be bowled. I looked at the full scorecard and was completely shocked. Back in the game...Pathan was taking this run-up and I was praying the god like anything. But it was all too late. Pathan bowled a short one which in my opinion wasn't a bad one. When the ball was hit in the air, my heart just like McCullum was in my mouth. Luckily his heart came down to it's original position while I was still in a state of shock and was cursing Rohit Sharma for dropping that catch. But it wasn't a easy one to pull off.
What this series win has showed is that the Kiwis are one of the best team in this format and why not...they have beaten the world champions twice, in fact thrice(Yes! In all India-New Zealand encounters) counting the T20 world cup victory. Doesn't seem like India can win this T20 world cup. And I would recommend other Indian fans not to expect from their team. You know why ? Just like the inaugural T20 championship where not many had much hope(including me) of Indian victory, Dhoni and his boys proved them wrong. Similarly, if you ask too much from the team, they are obviously going to be in pressure.
Anyway, coming back to the present tour, I would like to see India hit New Zealand back hard in the ODI series.
India vs New Zealand Twenty20 series : The preview
If India is really worried it is probably due to the weather rather than New Zealand. Because of this poor weather the Indians doesn't seem to getting used to the conditions in New Zealand which is completely different than that in India. Obviously, the Kiwis are comparatively inexperienced than the T20 world champions. Though again they do have the home advantage. And to make it higher is the low weather conditions which aren't letting India to practice to get used to the conditions.
Also, India had previously lost to New Zealand in the T20 world cup. Revenge must be on the back of the minds of Dhoni and Co.
Vettori had earlier said that hard hitting guys like Dhoni, the Pathan Bros, Yuvraj, Sehwag can hit the ball easily out of the small grounds in NZ. And one of my friend said: "If Yusuf, Dhoni and Yuvraj can hit the ball out of the grounds in Australia and India,then, even players who aren't known for their big hitting like Gambhir, Rohit Sharma can clear the boundary rope quite easily." And if you look at the big hitters in the Kiwi side, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum are one of the most famous names. But batsmen like Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina have proved that T20 is not just about clearing the park. Instead strike rotating and quick running between the wickets is also very important. And when it comes to quick running and strike rotating, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are probably the best partners doing it regularly followed by their captain M.S. Dhoni.
In my opinion, the key players from both the sides would be -
India - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh(big hitters to entertain the crowd), Pathan Bros(gosh...people would be expecting too much from them after their heroics in the T20 game against Sri Lanka), The bowling duo of Zaheer and Ishant( to see whether they prove good in conditions which are probably favorable to them)
New Zealand - Vettori(one of the best spinner and now the leader of the Kiwis), Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum(big hitters and match-winners), Jacob Oram(one of the finest all-rounder who has the skills to clear the grounds and pitch the bowl in the right areas)
The first T20 game is going to be played tomorrow in Christchurch.
For the full schedule click here.
India vs Sri Lanka T20 - Who has the edge ?:
Alright guys, I am ready to watch today's exciting T20 game between India and Sri Lanka! To me the Indians seems clear favorites(not because I support Indian team but we know what the t20 champions can do). Though nothing can be said about this unpredictable game. You may seem to be thinking - "Okay, now we are going to win it clearly.", and then suddenly your team looses a couple of wickets and with it the chance of winning the match.
It is also going to be the first T20 game being hosted in Lanka, and I am pretty sure, the Lankan fans wouldn't like to go back with disappointment written all over their face.
There were a few surprises given to me by both India as well as Sri Lanka in selection matters. Sri Lankans won't be having Jayawardene and Sangakkara as well as the spinning duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajanta Mendis playing this game. Which means things will get tougher for the stand-in captain Dilshan. Meanwhile in the Indian squad I was expecting a player like Robin Uthappa(form doesn't matter to me in T20 cricket). We can't forget his heroics during India's glorious win in South Africa. The rest of the squad seems pretty much fine and I was expecting this.
Here's my pick of Indian team's playing XI for today's game :
Gautam Gambhir
Virender Sehwag
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
M.S. Dhoni
Yusuf Pathan
Irfan Pathan/Rohit Sharma
Pragyan Ojha
Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma
Praveen Kumar
The Sri Lankan team looks very new to me and since I don't follow Sri Lankan cricket, I am not sure about their line-up. So I leave it to others to pick their playing for both the teams.
The match is going to begin at around 7pm IST(Indian standard time).
Twenty20 game on Facebook -The Review
Thinking of getting bored fears me a lot. After searching very hard for a cricket mmorpg, it seemed I wouldn't find it in near future. But finally I have managed to find one. You can't actually call it Role playing game. But it is good enough to be called a MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game), since it is a multiplayer management game.
So you must be thinking "What is it all about ?". Right ? Get all your friends along on Facebook (Yeah ! That can be counted as a disadvantage, since those aren't on facebook have to go through the trouble of making an account and invite friends). Then click on this link - Twenty20 cricket.
Before starting the game, I would recommend that you first read their Help/FAQ page, so that get to know all the rules and various other things, like how to train your players, buying your own stadium and a lot more.
Once your journey kicks off, you can invite your friends to join this T20 extravaganza. And later you can play against their team as well. Meanwhile, you can challenge other teams and their owners to gain more Money and Training Points (to train your players, after all practice makes you perfect) !
Hayden dropped out of Australia ODI and T20 squad
Australian opener Matthew Hayden has been left out of the 13-man squad for the upcoming ODI and T20 series against South Africa following his poor run.
National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch made it clear that the teams were chosen with an eye on the Twenty20 World Cup later this year and 2011 ODI World Cup and also hinting he could not see Hayden playing a role in the two major events.
Though Hilditch also said that Hayden's omission is not because of his recent performances but rather a strategic decision made by the National Selection Panel as planned for these signature events.
I feel this is perhaps the correct decision for now, as in my opinion, Hayden needs a break before he can make a comeback.
