It's In TeH GaMe !!!

Last time they did their best, yet they could not save their team from the clutches of defeat. This time, they'd overpowered their performance from their previous game along with another Mohammad, who is leading their team in a strange manner. In blogging circles, he's better known as MoYo.

In all, a fantastic game played by Pakistan. They pretty much outplayed NZ especially with MoAa(Aamer) and MoAs(Asif) blowing the Kiwi batsmen like 10 skittles(of course 1 remains unbeaten in the end).

Now there is a lot to ponder about for Dan and his boys before they take the field in Napier on Dec 11. How are they going to fight complacency as predicted by Vettori. Oh and how are they going to counter the Pakistani duo of MoAa and MoAs?

Meanwhile there is some more disappointing news for NZ as Ian O'Brien is retiring from international cricket only to make a living in UK. Sigh...the beard goes :(

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Yes you've heard it right, India might have lost a chance to grab the first place in the ODI's but they don't want to lose their chance to the first place in the highest version- Tests. If Sehwag's blow was not enough, Sri Lanka lost their way in the afternoon session fourth day of the third test at Mumbai. A win here and the Indian side will deservedly go to the top. Though Sangakara is still standing firm at the crease and Sri Lanka trailing only by 60 odd runs, India seem to have complete control of the match. This Indian side is daring and energetic as compared to others. India do deserve the top spot because of their recent performances. This third test will surely make it to the record books, even if India lose, simply because of the various records set in this wonderful test. Test matches are taking place all over the world(India, Australia, New Zealand) and all of them telling us that Test is not dead for sure. Those who have been fortunate enough to see Sehwag's innings would have wondered thet why was Twenty-20 made when we can have much better in the tests. Well going back to our main focus- India V/s Sri Lanka where India have a wonderful chance to clinch the top spot in ICC Test Rankings, India can show the world what is their test team made of. :)

Till then lets hope for the best and India win the match and with that the first spot.

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Test Cricket is certainly not dead. Sometimes it can just be a nail-biter too. And fine example is the 1^st Test between Pakistan and New Zealand. So...T20 and Lalit Modi can and have to wait. And so can One day Internationals. The Vettori led and coached inexperienced team managed to get better of Pakistan in time. I pity Umar Akmal though. A veteran from Pakistan could have blamed the pitch for deteriorating or anything wrong happening, but this young boy has spoken everything with his bat. This shows the failure of rest of the batsmen to chase a score as low as 250 runs. These many runs are certainly considered low in test matches.

Vettori must have got thousands of hugs from his female physio now. Poor fella!

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Mohammad Asif has made a wonderful comeback to Test cricket, and with his counterpart- the young sensation Mohammad Aamer, he managed to destroy the New Zealand batting order. Unlike the first innings where Vettori and his boys made better of the Pakistani bowlers, both Asif and Aamer wre very good and bowled good lines. This new Pakistani bowling lineup seems to be very good. Both the Mohammads have the ability to swing and seam the ball, but what Mohammad Aamer is doing for his country at such a young age is really remarkable. He has really proved himself and Asif requires no introduction. Though Pakistan have lost the match because of some great bowling by the New Zealanders, one can say that this new bowling pair is looking very dangerous. This pair has the ability to match India's recent successful bowling pair of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. The two Mohammads can do it for Pakistan and I wish them all the very best for the rest of the series.

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What a shame for the top order and what a game going on! A result is foreseen this time around. I would rather like India to go for a win than slowing down things and playing just for a draw. India's 1st innings is almost over other than (if)the last partnership between Ishant and Munaf can take the score to 450+ runs, it would be a merry and a cherry on the the cake served(I mean the efforts) by MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and SRT. Congrats to Ian O'Brien for taking his 50 wickets. He continues to show a fine package of disciplined line and length bowling mixed with some fine pace.

From India's perspective what really hurt me the most was the middle order slump just after the Tea. But it's good to see MSD back in the side and why not? He has shown his worth by scoring a half century. Bhajji has again showed that he can bat and mat his counterparts. And as the cricinfo.com commentators said, Vettori would really be hopping madly back in the dressing room after failing to stop the Indian tail wag and score runs heavily. Definitely, the Kiwis have underestimated Harbhajan and Co.

A few records were tumbled down on this day and another one which is regarding this blog is that Crick-O marks it's 100th post with this one adding to the total.

Now moving forward to expectations from India for Day 2 all I can say is 'reverse swing'. That's it. Chilly, windy conditions are perfect for the Indian seamers to get the bowl to swing and once again prove their mettle after being hammered in the 2nd test. But again, DON'T Underestimate Harbhajan Singh.

While many of the Indian supporters would be wanting to see the 100th test win for India, it would be too early to say anything, at least after looking the mauling Indian bowlers received in Napier.

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Bravo!! What a courageous performance from the Indian batsmen, especially Gautam Gambhir. Toiling for more than 11 hours under the hot sun is never easy. This makes me remind of Gautam's own surname(Gambhir) which in Hindi means serious, which he remained throughout his innings of 137. It's one of the most spectacular comebacks I have ever seen or heard of. Seriously, not many would have expected a draw once the bails were dislodged by the umpires to call it stumps on Day 3. And again, India has proved the majority wrong. That majority who would have put their money on Kiwis must be thinking how in this world did New Zealand manage to loose their best chance to level the series?


Jesse Ryder's efforts were in vain and nearly drained. After all he himself expressed his disappointment over this draw.

As an Indian what's good to see is first this draw; second the top and middle order is back in form; India can't loose the series now; Dhoni would probably be back for the final game.

Anyways, here are the analysis of the three departments in this game:

1. Batting - India: Very much neutral given the slump in the first innings and the strong comeback in the second innings. And as I have said, the middle order is fired up now that Yuvraj Singh is looking back in form. Sehwag was the only concern in this game, but I know leading India is not easy, and so he did have some pressure on him to anchor both the innings.

New Zealand: They still have some issues that are urgently needed to be rectified. The top still hasn't settled down. However, it was their middle order that not only helped them bounce from 23/3 to post a mammoth total of 619 runs but also has been a reason to cheer about. Ryder looks solid and to break at. Ross Taylor looked classy throughout his 151. Now even the captain himself is looking dangerous.

2. Bowling - India: Once the catches were dropped the New Zealand batsmen offered no resistance whatsoever. Ruthlessly they hammered the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground. The Indian think-tank would surely be wondering how they can stop Ryder. Precisely speaking, I thought that it was only Zak and Ishant who looked good but the third seamer again seems to be troubling India. In my opinion India should try swapping Munaf with Balaji or maybe go in with a spinner which would mean Amit Mishra getting to play his first game. Whatever it really is, the sloppy fielding has definitely let the bowlers down.

New Zealand: First a superb bowling performance which ended the first three days of the game in their pockets. And the next two were disastrous. Again, sloppy fielding even from New Zealand helped India get away with a draw. Chris Martin was clearly the star of the attack and has probably justified his selection. Franklin looked dangerous, Vettori was at his usual best. O'Brien was speedy. So should I say Jeetan Patel was spinny? Ahoy!!! True indeed. But then what went wrong all of them in the second innings? Was it the solid defense of the batsmen or the disastrous catching?

3. Fielding - India: Extremely disappointing. A bunch of butter-fingers truly.

New Zealand: Their's wasn't to good as well. They dropped many sitters. The worst one was on the final day when Ian O'Brien dropped Gambhir. Though it wouldn't have hurt the Kiwis too much but the catch was simply a sitter which even I would have held on 9 out of 10 times.

Both the teams do have a lot to think. It seems that India will not give the Black Caps any hope and chance of drawing the series. If India let their golden series win after 40 years go down it would be a shame. While New Zealand have nothing to loose from here on, India won't like to go down in the final test match to as well as their golden series win after 40 years slip away.

I am really looking forward for the third match that will begin on 3rd April.

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Yet again, India is showing their true domination and is near to tear all those records which suggests the smashing that previous Indian teams have received before in New Zealand. The bowling department has probably found a fitting bowling attack and especially the 3rd seamer in Munaf Patel. Tendulkar has probably blunted all those fingers pointing his retirement and form.

While on the other hand, the only bright rays of light for the Black Caps has been the all rounder, Jesse Ryder and Chris Martin's superb bowling. New Zealand nearly looks out of the game and they would now have to play the catch-up game in order to save the match.

Here's an extract from the day's play by cricinfo.com

Walk on
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni cut a wide delivery from Iain O'Brien, Ryder pulled off another athletic effort at gully, diving to his right this time, and claimed a low one-handed catch. Dhoni refused to walk, and was told by the crowd to "walk mate". Replays showed the ball might have touched the ground before reaching Ryder's hand. Dhoni was booed when the not-out decision was finally made. Three balls later, he went for a hook, gloved it, and walked right away. This time he was cheered.

This is hilarious. I do remember the Australian crowd doing the same to Indians during their tour late in 2007-08. In my opinion this is ridiculous, though of course, you do want to see your team win. But you can call it almost unfair. After all, Dhoni himself walks out so many times even when the umpires are doubtful whether it is out or not. He(or in fact any Indian batsman) has never ever refused to walk when they know they are out(a rare case if it is false).

Well anyway, here's another rare case -

Four for all
When Munaf Patel went down on his knee, and swept Daniel Vettori with one hand to the square-leg boundary to get off the mark, he became the ninth Indian batsman in the innings to start scoring with a boundary. Tendulkar and VVS Laxman started with one and two respectively.

Can anyone tell me if it has ever happened before?

The star of the day, Sachin has got another post in his name, this time from Naked Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar Exposed!

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Seems tough! Their main in-form bowler Ian Butler is on the bed and will be there for the whole series. Anyway, there's still one ray of light that has the power to spark and turn the game for the Kiwis - Daniel Vettori. And one more advantage for them is Tendulkar's injury. I guess that should be at least average to save the series. Other thing is that they have to work hard for victory. If they still can't, then all is lost for sure.

I wonder who would be in for Tendulkar ? Is it going to be Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Karthik or maybe Ravindra Jadeja. My choice would be clearly Irfan Pathan as he would clearly add a bowling option as well as batting. This would create a balance as well. Also, it's time to get back Ishant back in side. And give some rest to Munaf.

I don't exactly know about the Black Caps when it comes to replacements and their squad as I am not a keen follower of them. Please suggest it yourself.

I would like to end this post with this quote by Rudyard Kipling from his poem 'If' which goes for both the teams :

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

Then and only then would you achieve your golden aim - The Game!

This last line was added by me myself though I know it won't do any justice to those real words of Kipling.

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Oh and finally I managed to watch the full game(I was suffering from severe fever so I didn't go to school today). Finally, it is a relieve on the face of the Indian fans as their team beat NZ by 53 runs(thanks to the D/L method).

The Kiwis looked totally helpless today. They were off colour and failed to make a mark in any of the department. The rain started to pour down heavily in Napier and the game was reduced to 38 overs a side. Viru was at his usual best. He hammered the bowlers all over the small ground. Tendulkar as I had said before wasn't really able to concentrate. After Tendulkar was out I, in fact most of those watching this game would have expected Gambhir at No.3. But the captain Dhoni promoted himself at that one of the most important slot and did wonders along with Sehwag who was later dismissed by the Black Caps captain Vettori. Then came Yuvraj in the middle who couldn't do much and was run out on a paltry 2 of 13 balls. Bringing himself(MSD) and his deputy at the top clearly showed the intentions of the Indians to go after the ball even in the middle overs. In my opinion that wasn't a good move. Number 3 and number 4 are that kind of positions which requires(and in fact gives them the power) the batsmen to control the pace of their team's innings. I would have preferred to bring either Raina or Gambhir at No.4 as this would have created a balance between aggressive hitting and singles and doubles. But Dhoni was in some other mood. He rather himself was first settling down by rotating strike with Raina who scored a solid 66 of just 39 balls which was the turning point of the Men in Blue's innings. India ended their batting with 273 runs on the board with the loss of 4 wickets at the average of 7.18 runs per over. Awesome ! Isn't it ?!

There was more to come. The hero for NZ in both the T20s - Brendon McCullum was caught for a duck. The scoreboard read 111-4 in 20.5 overs when it started to rain again. The match was now reduced to 28 overs and the new target set for the Black Caps was 216 runs. Perhaps, one would say that the rain made things difficult for the islanders. It surely did. The pressure revolved around Martin Guptill to score as quickly as possible. But the Indian bowlers, especially Harbhajan Singh had different ideas. The 24th over of the Kiwi innings was a dream over for Bhajji. He quickly dismissed Guptill, Neil Broom and Mills to reduce the New Zealand from 132-5 to 132-8. Soon it was all over for Vettori's men in black. They ended their run chase managing 162 runs with the loss of 9 wickets.

Finally, the Indian team seems to have settled down well and are reading the conditions well! There's a lot more to think for Vettori and his team.

India leads the series 1-0 winning the first game tonight.

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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.

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They are at it again. Somebody said right about the present situation of cricket in India :

"Morons are on the run and are ruining the game"

BCCI has again proved why they are the stupidest board of the game. The Indian team ODI jersey is simply getting darker and darker!


One might wonder if the Men in Blue would turn Men in Black. Who knows ? Maybe, by the time I pass out my school, the Indian jersey could turn just around the color of the Black Caps(New Zealand). The New ODI Jersey

Maybe you are rich BCCI, but remember that recession might hit you as well!

Alright, now to be honest I am seriously worried about the growing hype around the team. Why ? Because whenever the hype grows up, the Indian team goes down. And to add to the woes is this new Indian cricket team look. Whoever the designer of this new look is, in my opinion he/she can be criticized as well as praise about. Criticized because of this dull, fugly look and praised because as Dhoni said,"Hopefully, this one won't get too dirty and this would save the laundry charges as well"!

Maybe I am being superstitious, but I am seriously afraid that NZ tour might be a disaster as World Cup 07 was when before it started, the Indian team jersey got another new look.

Yuvi's a good model indeed !

Throughout this presentation, Yuvraj was at his hilarious best, and this pose of him explains it all. Harsha Bhogle, who was the host of this event kept the audience in good humour with his Q & A sessions with MSD, Yuvi, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Kartik and Rohit Sharma. Yuvi chose to add 'ask Dhoni' to a few of his replies. For instance when asked if he was happy with his batting position at No.4, he said: "Very happy, but you have to ask Dhoni. He decides the batting line-up."

In any case, even as I am ending this post, the fear of a disasterous tour of NZ is still looming large on my mind.

Anyway, I wish India the very best for their tour. Go India !!

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That's the question that many of my friends ask me over Ricky Ponting's future with Australia. This is one of the worst period he's ever going through. As often the case is, whenever a team is going through bad times, the captain is the first one to be slammed.

The Australian selectors have decided to rest Ponting for the second one day international (and perhaps he might be rested for the whole series) against the Kiwis after the tired captain lead his team to four continuous ODI defeats. This also means that Michael Clarke, who was rested for the first game against the Kiwis due to an injured thumb, would lead the side in the upcoming game(s) against New Zealand.

In my opinion, this is a significant move by the selectors as it would groom Michael Clarke a lot as a captain, and obviously this might reduce some burden from Ponting's shoulder.

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India has added a T20 and an extra test game to their tour of NZ.

The Indian team will arrive in New Zealand on Feb. 10, eight days earlier than scheduled, with the first tour match being the extra Twenty20 game in Christchurch on Feb. 25.

I would say that this rescheduling has made the tour more interesting.

And here is the new schedule for the tour of NZ -

Feb. 25 - Twenty20 International, Christchurch

Feb. 27 - Twenty20 International, Wellington

March 3 - 1st ODI, Napier

March 6 - 2nd ODI, Wellington

March 8 - 3rd ODI, Christchurch

March 11 - 4th ODI, Hamilton

March 14 - 5th ODI, Auckland

March 18-22 First Test, Hamilton

March 26-30 Second Test, Napier

April 3-7 Third Test, Wellington

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