How would it be when the shortest format of cricket be reduced to even more shorter one when there is a rain interruption or a bad light ?And this is no different gesture anymore.The game has seen such matches very common off late.I wonder what the sponsorers or the players or even the fans get by watching such a horrible match.Had rain not interrupted the T20 game between the West Indies and South Africa late last year,we could have had South Africa enter the record books for putting up the lowest total in the international T20 format.
And when the T20 was launched in 2005,at the same time,the ODI rules were modified by terming a rain hit match producing a result if the team batting second has played 20 overs or more.And if this is a common gesture in ODIs,imagine what would be the difference between T20s and ODIs?If not for the big hitting it the T20s,the situation would no longer be any different.If there's some brains shown in avoiding a situation of a tie by enforcing a bowl-out method in T20s,I wish something must be done in order to save matches from being abandoned due to bad weather.
In the recent past,the second match between England and New Zealand,the match had to be abandoned because England failed to bowl just one over.And coming to the recent Australia-West Indies,it looks like Australia fall behind in luck when it comes to this format of cricket.The luck that has been favouring Australia in ODIs and tests is not doing the same when it comes to T20 game.Else why would a formidable team in Australia lose to a completely out of form West Indies?To a team that couldn't even defend a 200+ total against South Africa and lose to Bangladesh in the very next game (in the inaugural T20 world Cup)?
None of the Australian well known players (viz Ponting,Lee,Hussey,Clarke) were found at the crease.Instead lesser known names like Ronchi was made to take on the West Indian bowlers.Some under estimating?Hmm..might be..god knows..It looks like the IPL has deceived the selectors who went in for S E Marsh and David Hussey.
Well..if their body language is taken a close look at,it seems as though the Australians are satisfied with their dominance of ODI and test and giving T20 a pass.And congrats Australia on getting back to the top spot jointly with South Africa.
If one could go through the third ODI between England and New Zealand at Bristol on 21st,it is a rare feat in today's cricket,which is completely filled with big six hitting-where only batting records are being bettered and more harsh rules being imposed on bowlers.Only the huge sixes being cheered by the fans/crowd watching out there.And only home team taking a wicket being given a clap.People only want a batsman in Sachin Tendulkar and not a spin wizard in Shane Warne or a line striking bowler in Glenn McGrath.
The recent encounter between England and New Zealand provided some relief to atleast me if not others watching the match.The only irritation came from the cable operator- who gave an scratchy signal,rendering an unclear vision.But,thats another issue.So chuk it!The match was a fantastic one,for it kept the audiences guessing everytime a ball was bowled and a wicket was found tumbling.
And as far as the discussion regarding the match goes,all credits for the New Zealand team-who were found to play their entire quota of 50 overs allotted.Despite losing wickets at regular intervals,when they were found reeling at 110-7.Kudos to Kyle Mills who at over a run-a-ball was found making 47 runs with no one to back him at the other end.With 2 biggies and 5 fours in his 40 ball knock.And later went on to take 2 wickets giving 42 runs.An economy of 4.2 runs an over- when the overall run rate was somewhere around 3+.Bad!!
The match saw an all invincible batsmen running for covers.Trying all that extra bit to play their full 50 overs.Guessing each and every time a bowler took to his heels.And what is the fun in a team scoring a 300+ total every now and then and that total being chased down by its opponent.In the last four to five years the record has been bettered three times-after Australia successfully chased down 329 runs against South Africa,to be bettered by New Zealand four years later and after that one comes the daddy of 'em all.The greatest ODI in the history-the maiden 400+ total by Australia chased down by South Africa.Hmm..thats was really a treat to watch.
And in between the aforementioned matches,there were two instances where New Zealand overtook Australia's 330+ total,twice did Pakistan chase down a mammoth total by India.But,in the recent past,how many of you people witnessed matches involving defending small totals?The match in the closest proximity that I can point out is the second finals of the CB series 2008 where India successfully defended a comparatively small total in 259.
Finally concluding,I would like to wind off this post by suggesting the a perfect series or a match would be that in which there is an equal tough fight between both the batsmen and the bowlers.And not to forget the fielders.It should be a display of the players' talent rather than the odds favouring only a bunch of them irrespective of weather they are talented or not.
Hmm..from the least couple of months or so,the man who has been in the news was found to be Shoaib Akthar.But,now it seems another fellow Pakistani cricketer has taken a share in what is now another scandal in Pakistan cricket.The man is Mohd Asif.And mind you it is the second time the man has stepped into this controversy of doping.And Wah!Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)-for the second time in succession is trying to cover Mohd Asif for an act that is supposed to have been critisised in the most harsh way possible.But,look at what the PCB is upto?
When it came to banning Shoaib Akthar for up to 5 years along with a fine of around Rs 200 crore,the PCB once again failed to disclose the misdeeds done by Shoaib Akthar.It was the same PCB that held hand in hand with Shoaib Akthar when it came to his illegal bowling action. But,always makes news for making the same Shoaib Akthar a scape goat whenever possible.Probably for the third time I believe!
And,now when the ICC detains Mohd Asif in Dubai,alleging him of doping charges,the PCB is nowhere near to joining and seeing to that the truth never dies.One can imagine the multi standards of the PCB.Is this the kind of motivation the the PCB gives its upcoming younger cricket players?Well..if there is an Australia who can do things whatever they want when they are at the receiving ends,one has to also take into consideration that there is also a PCB that supports its players even when they are found to be guilty of something they have to be ashamed of.
With the match between Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders being washed out due to rain,I feel it is a wrong statement to cite rain as a factor for shattering the dreams of the Kolkata Knight Riders' of entering the semi finals of the Indian Premier League.Even if there were no rains,a Kolkata win was just an illusion I feel.All that they could do was to start with a bang in the first encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and continue with a series of losses to all the major teams.
Had the match between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders been played,all eyes would have been on Delhi Daredevils team that was charging forward compared to the Kolkata Knight Riders.Well,amazingly,rain has favoured the perfect team.And the Delhi Dare Devils seem to be the team that has the capacity to make it to the last four.But,still my vote would go in the favour of the Mumbai Indians-for they seem to be playing better cricket compared to someone like Chennai Super Kings.
Of the four so called icon players,two of them have given up the hopes of making into the big stage.Only two others in Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians are proving something worth.It would be worth noting the soft target provided for the Kolkata knight Riders by Royal Challengers Bangalore,which saw Brendon McCullum making most of them.But,when it comes to the really mattering stage in Delhi Daredevils and the Kings XI Punjab or even the Rajasthan Royals,sorry to say this.The Kolkata Knight Riders are no where near the mark of victory.
And what much difference would have it made,had the match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils been played.Another loss for the Kolkata Knight Riders and a disappointment for Kolkata Knight Riders' fans.Alas!the fans have something to take home though if not the memories of the match.Guess what?Exactly!The cheerleaders.Ha ha ha..
It is really hard to believe in my own eyes at the end of the match,the scoreboard of which read: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 14 runs.This never seemed so when I watched the Chennai Super Kings charging towards the small target of 127.And that too at an astonishing pace when they were found charging at 60/0 and later 85/2.And finally 112/8 after the end of their quota of 20 overs.
Much more amazing was that of Anil Kumble's feat of 3/14 which is the best as far as the Royal Challengers were concerned.Its a dilemma weather to say Royal Challengers as losers or to cite Chennai Super Kings as winners.Because,neither the pitch was found to deceive the batsmen nor there was any resistance from the Royal Challengers Bangalore team to restrict the Chennai Super Kings not even to chase successfully a modest total of 127.
Not being able to that when they were in a comfortable position at 60/0 and later at 85/2.Only three people were found to put up scores of 10+.And Parthiv Patel's effort taking more balls than the runs he scored.I feel it is a perfect answer to the ego of the Chennal Super Kings for having dominated the tournament for some part of it and also for under estimating their opponents in Royal Challengers Bangalore.
A hare and the tortoise race i can say.What?
Well everyone knows the spat that happened in the clash between the Mumbai indians and Kings XI Punjab.That was the spat between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth (where Sreesanth was slapped by Harbhajan Singh which in turn led to Harbhajan Singh being suspended for the rest of the IPL matches).And this time also the result was the same as long as the clashing teams in Mumbai Indians and kings XI Punjab were considered.
Well the only thing that was different when compared to the earlier clash was that, this time the Mumbai Indians were seen putting up some sort of effort as against last time where,Mumbai Indians could manage to score only 116 for the loss of 9 wickets in response to Kings XI Punjab's 182.However this time,the match came close until the last ball was bowled.Unfortunately,the first bowl out of the tournament never happened till date.
But,as far as the Kings XI Punjab team were considered,it was only two men who took charge of their batting.Shaun Marsh and Pomersbach who when their scores were totaled in addition to the extras (12) summed to 172 out of the team total of 189. Meaning only 17 runs being scored by the remaining batsmen.But,what more could have been done with the Mumbai Indians reluctantly not being able to let-alone chasing down,but also failing to break the long standing partnership between the two.
Some patience in the last over by the Mumbai Indians would have helped solve matters to a greater extent I believe.As many as 4 run-outs,out of which two happened in the last over.One of Ashish Nehra (who risked by converting an impossible two into a three) and that of Chitnis (who hurried in taking a double when only one was on the cards).All these happening when a waist high full toss was bowled in the first ball of the last over.Still,the opportunity could not been utilized by the Mumbai Indians despite a handy half century from Sachin Tendulkar and the blistering works of Sanath Jayasuriya.
The only positives being that the audience who had gathered out there were able to watch some thrilling encounter.Still,we miss you "HARBHAJAN SINGH".
Well it looked as though Sourav Ganguly couldn't get out of the first meeting with the Rajasthan Royals-the captain of whom slammed Ganguly of sacrificing the spirit of the game when he appealed against a suspicious catch claimed to have been taken by Greame Smith.Congrats! Ganguly won that encouter.And once again "ONLY THAT ENCOUNTER".Lets not talk or cast our eyes on the result of that match.This was what happened in the first meeting between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals.
This devil never stopped the Kolkata Knight Riders for the second time as well as the Kolkata Knight Riders though this time not owing to any controversial appeals,but some self destruction by them when they missed two run out chances in the Rajasthan Royals' innings.And this time Ganguly had no one to take the blame.Some though not good batting,it was a good recovery from the Kolkata Knight Riders.From 59/2 after 10 overs to 147 at the end of the innings.
But,one familiar face and name continues to hit our senses is that of Yousuf Pathan.I feel that he's probably the best bargain in the IPL.Bought for $0.475M,this amount never went to drains. Rather it was returned with compound interest I believe.Once again failing to break his own record of scoring the fastest fifty for yet another time.And this time another big one would have seen the record bettered by 2 balls.And before this,the same chap was found to take a crucial wicket of David Hussey (who enjoyed the distinction of being the highest six hitter until Sanath Jayasuriya overtook his tally )
After this match,the one name that would be in the betters' as well as the cheering fans would be Yousuf Pathan.
Hmm..when the name Royal Challengers come to someone's mind one thing is for sure..either they are considered to be talentless,unlucky,not hard working..etc...But, if one could watch the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Daredevils,one difference that could be seen is that the Delhi Daredevils were found to make a tough going when the going got to be tougher and tougher.This was what the Royal Challengers Bangalore were found lacking.Throughout the tournament,all that the Royal Challengers could manage was a shuffle in their batting order and nothing else.Also some selfishness in the bowling department wherein there was a leading bowler in Zaheer Khan who emerged as one of the leading wicket takers though not helping his team win or even save some face for his team.
And this time in the match against Delhi Daredevils,Oh!what a fantastic position they were in when they had a 24 run last over courtesy:Misbah-Ul-Haq.Though not a decent total posted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore,there's no rule that it shouldn't have been defended.Likewise,the best example being the Kolkata Knight Riders who rattled the stumps of the same Delhi Daredevils when the total they were defending was a handy 134.What's something special in Shoaib is that his hand bends legally and that shouldn't have been a major threat-because the same bowler was shown the gallows by Sanath Jayasuriya against Mumbai Indians.
Now,I guess the debate of the hour is the lack of a batsman of the caliber of Jayasuriya?Why are the likes of Jacques Kallis and Misbah (who nearly pulled off a win in the finals of the T20 finals) there for?
And coming to the latter part of the same,a complete control after Sehwag left should have made much use of.For,the Delhi Daredevils were struggling at 123/4 (3 wickets for 33 runs).But...?
All eyes on how to make Anil Kumble a scape goat now have to look out for someone else as the team had him ending up with figures of 2/18 off his allotted 4 overs.A test like stats.Wow!And at last,it is too much late for Goswamy.And Virender Sehwag is really worth the praise for he led the Delhi Daredevils courtesy:19 ball 47.Yet once again missing out on scoring the fastest IPL fifty.So Sad!!!
Some occasions occur rarely.And in cricket one of the rare occasions is the one match in which there is a team effort as against a cricket game in which even in the winning team there is only a one man show.And this is most of the case in a losing team.But,in the game involving Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers,one could see a team effort on the part of the Mumbai Indians,as all of the known batsmen were found to make a mark in the match.Starting from Sanath Jayasuriya,until Shah,almost everyone did what best they could have done with the bat.
Sanath Jayasuriya became the highest six hitter in the tournament with 20 big hits so far.The top scorer in the Mumbai Indians side was Abhisheik Nayar who scored only a handy 38 runs off 24 balls.But,the overall scorecard of the Mumbai Indians read 178/7 at the end of their alloted 20 overs.The run rate being almost 9.0 runs an over.Which is decent a decent one in the T20 format and that too in a team where none of them could manage a 50+ score.And when it came to the batting of Deccan Chargers,it was as usual.Lose couple of quick wickets and then towards the fag end of the innings,the prevailing batsmen can be seen only as though trying to draw a test match.
Shahid Afridi couldn't continue the good work he was found doing in the first three overs in the fourth over.It would raise eye-brows if one hears that Afridi's first three overs cost just 9 runs until he was blasted by Bravo for 14 runs in his fourth and the 16th over of the match.And when it came to his batting,the scoring was only in the minds of the fans of Shahid Afridi who are so far almost dejected.
An all round performance from Dwayne Bravo who scored a handy 30 off 17 balls with a couple of boundaries and an equal number of sixes.And in the second innings when it was his turn to take the ball into his hands,he never did a Virender Sehwag (who cost 22 runs in his only over against Kings XI Punjab).But,took 3 wickets giving away
24 runs from 4 overs.
The last time when the same two teams faced each other,the ball was on the Deccan Chargers' court owing to which Adam Gilchrist blasted a 42 ball hundred which was the then fastest hundred of the tournament.There it was a one man show unlike in the second round.But,Mumbai should have found it relaxing after it gave back Deccan Chargers what they (Deccan Chargers) had given them in the first meeting.
Well with the T20 game of cricket itself lasting so short duration,imagine what would the situation be if there is a case of a bad weather,or heavy downpours as it happened during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders which was eventually won by the as usual Chennai Super Kings.One fact that has to be noticed here is that whenever there is a necessity for the Duckworth-Lewis method to take over,the team that would be in favour would at most of the times be the team which has been the upper hand in the series.Like it happened in the South Africa-Sri Lanka match in the 2003 WC which was awarded to Sri Lanka though it was South Africa who was in need of one.And the next bast example that I can give is the semis of the same in which Australia (who held the upper hand through the tournament) ended winners.
Coming to this match,the Kolkata Knight Riders didn't do a debacle as it was done by the Delhi Daredevils in the previous encounter.But,the fate of the Kolkata Knight Riders had different plans.Though not an extraordinary innings,a decent one from the blades of Salman Butt,followed by an OK like game from Das.But,some hats off to Makhaya Ntini who got yet another hattrick in the tournament.An unknowing one.None of them even Ntini didn't realize that he had done something special with the ball.
The tournament is turning out to be a special one ..something that even the World Cup that comes once in every four years dosen't have.The tournament has so far witnessed five fastest centuries with each one of them breaking the previous record with the number of balls taken into consideration.And the tournament has so far seen three hattricks.The number of such feats in the world is at the most two in the 2003 edition (which had Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas & Australia's Brett Lee).
But,still I wish the Duckworth Lewis method should not be used to predict the match results which would give rise to yet another format of the game.Probably a T10 match.
