Friday, December 08, 2006
Is Indian Cricket in struggling??
Just as things seem to be going well for Indian cricket ........... Over the recent past there were many upheavels mostly off the Field. After a success pak series Indian coach John Wright called it a day and the former Australian great player Greg Chappell took on the coaching responsiblity. First it was the Ganguly the new coach having issues, then after matters were settled with Ganguly gone and Dravid taking over the captain reigns, some promising new commers on the side in the like of Dhoni, Indian cricket was sailing smoothly, but for injuries keeping Sachin, Zaheer and Harbhajan out of the team for periods of time. Most recently the Sehwag's removal as vice captain and departure of the "Wall" from scene due to injuries. India has turned back to the likes of VVS Laxman and Ganguly. Not to forget the terrible form Sehwag is in, India seems to be struggling. By no means undermining the ablilty of fine players like Ganguly and Laxman. They along with Sachin and Dravid during the hay days have given even Australia the run for their money. The memorable innings that VVS played at Kolkata to win the match was the iceing on the cake. That team looked likely to win the World cup last time.
The Indian team that played well the during the last World Cup, did poorly to say the least this time in the one day series which recently concluded in SA against them. Different cricket pundits have their opinions! The clean sweep of the ODI series......... By no means SA's game play can be undermined. Hmmmmmmmmm
The last time right before the World Cup India toured the South African subcontinent and played much to the disappointment of the Indian cricket fans! But came back with a Bang during the World Cup. Will history repeat itself! Only time will tell what is in store for Indians in 2007 World Cup in the caribbean islands.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Sri lanka hosts Indian Oil Cup Triangular one day series.
The cricket teams for the Indian Oil Cup being played in Sri Lanka are as follows:
Sri Lanka
Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran.
India
Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, Jai P Yadav, Mahendra Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra.
West Indies
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Ryan Ramdass, Xavier Marshall, Sylvester Joseph, Runako Morton, Narsingh Deonarine, Denesh Ramdin, Omari Banks, Tino Best, Daren Powell, Jermaine Lawson, Ricardo Powell, Kerry Jeremy, Dwayne Smith, Deighton Butler.
The First match
Each team plays the other team twice and the final cricket match will be played between the top two teams. Though all teams are capable of winning the Cup, the odds favors the home team. The first cricket ODI match was a low scoring match between India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka won the cricket match by 3 wickets and a couple of overs to spare. Without Ganguly and Sachin the Indian team batting is not as strong. But the bright side of this is a few youngsters get to prove themselves or show their talent. In the first match India failed to capitalize on the absence of Vaas and Zoysa. As usual Murali did the most damage, India scored a mere 205/9 in 50 overs, with Dravid the only player scoring a fifty. Both Kaif and Yuvraj did not contibute, Shewag was also dismissed cheaply. VVS Laxman's absence ( out due to injury) also did not help India's cause. Venugopal Rao and Suresh Raina got a break, and V Rao did well to score 38 ( 74 balls). Though Sri Lanka were in a bit of bother at 112/5, Jayasuriya turned things around for Sri Lanka to win the match, scoring 43 (50 balls). With one win Sri Lanka have now a good start to the tournament. India plays West Indies on the 31st and have to put on a good show to stay competitive.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies
It all seems too fresh, I am refering to the Cricket World Cup 2003 hosted by South Africa. The India vs
Pakistan match, the Kenyans going beyond the first round, and of course the India v Australia Final match, in which the Australians beat India fair and square. Well the next Cricket World Cup is here! Played every four years, this time is going to be the hosted by the West Indies in 2007. Even though it is too early to start speculating or predicting about the chances of different teams taking the Cup home, it is worth while to look at where things stand now. The World Cup groups are given in the table. The venues for the cricket matches are Kingston Jamaica, St Lucia, Trindad & Tobago Antigua, Guyana, Grenada and Barbados. The hosts play Pakistan in the opening match of the tournament (Group D) at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica on 13 March. The final will take place at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on 28 April. Each team plays the other in the four groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 8 stage where teams will play each of the remaining teams - except the team that advanced from their own group. The top four go to the semifinal and then the top two will play the final. Also interesting to see based on past performance and the group team composition, Group D seems the most competitive, with West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Group B is also a tough group to be in with Srilanka, India and Bangladesh. Group C has some competition too with England, New Zealand and Kenya as the strong teams. Group A looks all for Australia and South Africa to go to the Super 8 stage. All the Cricket Fans around the globe would be certainly looking forward to this event in the Caribbean.
Australia Carries Natwest Challenge
Australia beats England in the next two cricket matches to win the Natwest Challenge. Down 0-1 they beat England by 7 wickets in the 2nd cricket match. In the 3rd cricket match Australia beat England by 8 wickets. Starting of with a 1-0 lead England lost to the Aussies 2-1 in the Natwest Challenge. The Star performers for Australia were Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist with the bat and Brett Lee with the ball. Brett Lee took 5/41 (man of the match) restricted England to a score of 223-8. Flintoff scored 87 his score highest against Australia. Ponting (111) shared a third-wicket stand of 120 with Damien Martyn, who was 39 not out as his side reached a target of 224 with six overs remaining. In the Final match Gilchrist scored a match winning century of only 101 balls.Final Scores 2nd cricket match Australia won the toss and decided to field England 223 for 8 (50.0 overs) A Flintoff 87 (112) B Lee 41/5 Australia 224 for 3 (44.2 overs) Ponting 111(115).
Final Score 3rd cricket match Australia won the toss and decided to field England: 228-7 ( 50.0 overs ) K P Pietersen 74 (84) J N Gillespie 44/3 Australia: 229-2 ( 34.5 overs ) A C Gilchrist not out 121(101).
