T20 at its very, very best: Ind V/s SL 2nd T20
What a match we have had, last time I thought the match displayed a wonderful game of T20 cricket, but today the game was much better. Fortunately, this time India won the match, and that too successfully chasing down such a high total. Just like the last match, this match also witnessed bad fielding, but this time from both the sides. Surprisingly, the good fielders seem to be dropping easy catches. The Indian bowlers failed to save themselves from the rude batting of the Srilankans, and I could not do anything except to praise the batsmen and criticize the bowlers. The Srilankans maintained a good, healthy run rate throughout their innings, and I would like to give the credit to the sloppy Indian fielding. Looks like the new fielding coach doesn't bring in good fielding spirits. Sangakara looked to continue from where he had left in the earlier game, and believe me whichever side you might support, he was a pleasure to watch. Birthday boy Yuvraj played a match winning innings along with the Srilankan bowlers and fielders, who did their best to lose the match. Whatever you may call this game, a batting paradise, fielding nightmare, or whatever, those who witnessed the match live in the stadium had their money worth. One would have surely seen the classic T20 action even in this game and plenty of excitement.
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.
A day of Brothers doing it for their teams
It doesn't happen every day or even every year. First it were the Hussey brothers who batted the Aussies to equalize the equation against the New Zealand setting up a thrilling decider on Friday the 13th. But in my opinion the better ones were the Pathan Brothers who not only saved India from the blushes but also showed why India is one of the best teams in this Twenty20 format.
It wasn't one of the greatest starts for India during bowling to their opposition as well.Irfan Pathan dropped a sitter that was offered by Dilshan when he was yet to open his account. Later Ishant Sharma caught Jayasuriya one handed of Irfan Pathan. He was on a onslaught and he not got out at that time of the game, Sri Lanka could have posted a massive total of over 200 runs. Finally when he got out, things slowed down for Sri Lanka. They ended posting a good total of 171 runs.
During the start of Indian innings when Sehwag and Gambhir got out early, it seemed all over for India. I switched off my T.V. for 10-20 minutes and just to check the position of the game, I started watching the game in Live Simulation on this blog. Yuvraj and Raina shared a partnership of 67 runs between themselves before both of them fell in quick succession. Wickets continued to fall in regular intervals and India were reduced to 116-7 before the Pathan Bros started their onslaught.
Hats off to all four of them (both the Hussey Bros and Pathan Bros) !
Twenty is really the most unpredictable format of the game.
By the way luck is really shinning on Dhoni. Even the tosses go his way and even if they don't, then there are his opposition captains that make a decision favoring Dhoni !
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).
Extra Test, T20 added to India's tour of New Zealand.
India has added a T20 and an extra test game to their 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
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 -
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) !
