Dhoni Could Have Done A Lot Many Things

This has of late been the mantra of the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni whenever team India's performance is far below par. Often Dhoni is seen making statements that includes a lot of ifs and buts that can make and break many things in life. This I decided to make a point after I just now heard Dhoni's statement that "We could have bowled tighter" on cricinfo. The first time I heard Dhoni using such worthless words was after India's miserable loss at the hands of Sri Lanka in the finals of the Asia cup 2008 held at Pakistan. A little bit of planning always helps and is Dhoni an exception?

His words never were different after his team's losses in the second world T20 held at England where Dhoni's men had wins only against minnows Bangladesh and Ireland that were followed by a series of losses against England, West Indies and South Africa. There, Dhoni was in for much praise for accepting his mistake whose result was a complete whitewash for his team. This was followed by Dhoni repeating the same statement (may be with a different set of words) in the ICC Champions Trophy where his team could draw only a consolation win from the game against the West Indies.

And perhaps one has to say thanks for not saying that "had we batted against Australia, we would have won". Of course, there is no rule that a team that had not won until then should not win against a team that ended the tournament without losing a single match. Words of Dhoni were no different when his team lost the one day series against Australia 4-2 of late. Had the players put in a little bit of hard work, India would have surely had the series well within their hands. No doubt that India came close to winning matches against against Australia on two occassions. But, isn't it that margin that makes a winner and a loser of the game?

We have in the past seen many captains slamming their respective cricket boards, captains and coaches, batsmen, bowlers and fieldsmen in addition to the weather, the pitch and of course the umpires. One has to really appreciate anyone who accepts his mistake whenever something goes wrong. But, it its nothing but a joke for anyone to repeat the same words again and again when there is hardly any improvement in his team's performance. A sorry this time should be a better performance in the next and not just another sorry. It is not an unknown fact that better things give rise to better performance and Dhoni need not keep on reminding it again and again I suppose.

Get Your Tramadol Here

Have you ever come across a situation where you are in need of a painkiller or any other medicine and that is either not available on time and more so not available at your nearest shop and also at a convenient price? Because I happened to come across a situation worse than the aforementioned one in that I was supposed to get a prescription from a valid physician to get the tramadol hcl and this in addition to the aforementioned problems. It was then I decided to not only put an end to the same but also help my fellow friends who might have witnessed the same problem and for others as well whom I do not want to suffer like I did.

It was after a long but a thorough search through the internet that I got to know about a site that could not only end my woes regarding the same but also help you not face the same that I had to go through. There comes the site where you can buy tramadol bluebook at your convenience and that too without the prescription of any physician mind you. Isn't this really amazing and worth going through? Yes it is of course.

However, one thing that comes free of cost with any medicine is the side effects. And this is one such area that no one on earth has control on. To much of my knowledge, the medicines have a little side effects but, that may not be true for you. Normal side effects include vertigo, sleepiness, headache, anxiety and a lot more. However, in such cases a consultation with your physician would be ideal as per the site advises. And yes, it is recommended that you please discontinue the dose and go through the tramadol side effects - bluebook to come to a decision. Take care.

Is India Lucky or Australia?

Well since last night when the match between India and Australia was abandoned owing to rain, most of the tongues are wagging in either of the team's favor. Some say that it was India who was lucky to have escaped yet another defeat at the hands of the Aussies and keep their fingers crossed when it comes to predicting the semi final spot atleast as far as India is concerned. So is Australia. Needless to be said, India had lost their first match to arch rivals Pakistan by 54 runs at Centurion. Had India lost the one to Australia, their hopes of making it to the semi finals would have surely been shattered.

And, when it comes to Australia, one has to recall the way the Aussies entered the finals of a tri nation tournament way back in 2004 that involved Pakistan and India by not even bowling a single delivery. India had lost their first match to Pakistan and then the match against Australia was forced to be abandoned after being hit by rain (like in the ongoing Champions Trophy). Finally, Australia won the match by 17 runs in a low scoring encounter where Australia successfully defended 192 runs. And this time also, Australia are bound to enjoy the same luck which can see them through to the semis.

Anyway coming to the match between India and Australia, one has to really appreciate the Aussies who were comfortable at 234/4 at the end of the 40^th over despite at one point of time being at 7/1 at the end of the fifth over. Hardly anyone would have expected the Australians to come back so strongly after their initial debacle. The Indian players seemed not to have learnt any lessons from their first defeat to Pakistan when they allowed a 202 run partnership. The match was more towards Australia that that when India is considered. The Australian batsmen got decent and important partnerships whenever they needed.

There was Ishanth Sharma whose bowling is compared by Australian greats to that of Glenn McGrath. And then there was Harbhajan Singh as well along with Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar. No doubt that Ashish Nehra was comparitively impressive with the ball in both the games that India played. Its a wonder as to why someone like Virat Kohli is still making it to the playing eleven when the place of whom can be replaced by a decent all rounder? There was Yousuf Pathan whose luck could well balance between batting and bowling. It looks like India is more desperate to lose matches and get back home as soon as possible.

Indian Selectors Do It Yet Again

Well even before India are yet to play their first match in the ICC Champions trophy 2009, a news that India's dashing opener Yuvraj Singh is ruled out not only for the ICC Champions Trophy but also for six weeks which rules him out of the Champions Trophy completely. Another reason for India to worry is that they have to face their arch rivals Pakistan in their very first game of the Champions Trophy on Sunday. So, there is a lot of task at hand for India and especially for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Anyway, that should not be the reason for worry when there are players like Dravid, Tendulkar and Dhoni out there.

However, the reason for team India to worry is the replacement who has turned out to be Virat Kolhi for reason best known to selectors. When there are so many players out there warming the banches, the inclusion of Virat Kolhi is real mystery. There was Robin Uttappa and Rohith Sharma who are declared well fit for the upcoming Champions League T20 and in addition the reason for the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik is still not clear whatsoever. With the winning combination itself not working for India in their warm up against New Zealand, a re-thinking would help to solve issues regarding selection.

This is not the first time that the Indian selectors have got into such a callous decision. In the world cup 2003 held at South Africa, V V S Laxman was replaced by Dinesh Mongia when the former had scored exceptionally well in the earlier tournaments against West Indies and New Zealand. There was absolutely no reason why Dinesh Mingia was included. So was the case with Mohd kaif whose lone impression was in guiding India to a 2 wicket victory against England in the finals of the NatWest series 2002. Then onwards, Kaif is remembered only for scoring 5 consecutive ducks in the series against Pakistan in 2006.

Then was the dropping of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid which is quite evident to all of us. And people like Sarandeep Singh, Abhijith Kale and Amit Mishra have made it to team India despite their flash in the pan brilliance. Someone like Dinesh Mongia was included in all 11 world cup matches that India played in 2003 world cup to no avail. It was the presense of Sachin Tendulkar that overshadowed his dismal performance. May be that Virat Kolhi not be included in the playing eleven or atleast against crucial matches against Pakistan and Australia. However, Virat Kolhi is not that bad a player if his T20 stats are considered. But, is he the perefect replacement for Yuvi when there were so many in the ranks????Just think.

Aussies Set For A New Record

Well the Australian cricket team may at present not be the number 1 team that it was until recently when the Proteas took over. And after their 2-1 series loss to England in the recently concluded Ashes added fuel to fire when they were stripped off their number 1 status in test cricket also to South Africa. Needless to be said, this has taken a toll on the Australian players and Ricky Ponting especially when he was not only forced to take a short gap after his team's dismal performance but also quit the much hyped T20 cricket. All because of bad luck in addition to bad cricket.

Anyways, coming to the sixth one day international cricket match between England and Australia at Nottingham, as expected, England were thrashed by a whooping 111 runs, the margin coinciding with the top scorer and the man of the match Tim Paine who also scored 111 runs that included 14 hits to the fence and 1 huge one over Long Off. No doubt that there was a life when he was dropped when on 30 by Matt Prior behind the stumps. Anyway, that is almost expected off England whatsoever. They rank the first to make a mess of the game. One has to appreciate the 163 runs partnership between Mike Hussey and the man of the match Tim Paine.

After the match, England looked almost exhausted and got used to such defeats especially against Australia. Since the beginning of the series, starting from the Ashes, England have always been at the receiving end if not for the self destruction made by the Aussie players when they could have well ended up victorious in the very first Ashes test, when a 7th wicket partnership in England's second innings proved too costly for Ponting's men in white. And what all followed suite is well in front of our eyes. What have England got to lose when Australia have no determination to win when the odds favored them?

Well, that is all past, and the future of the Ashes' bitter memory have only made the Aussies strong that is quite evident in the seven match one day international series. With 6 of them already in the Australians' pockets, the seventh one will be a lot more important for Australians especially, since they have lost the Common Wealth Bank series a couple of years back to the same England and in addition to that, in case Australia managed to win this one, they would be the first team in the history of the game of cricket to have won all seven one dayers in a bilateral series. And that is not all for Australia. They will share the number 1 position with South Africa in case they do that. So, who is going to miss that!!!

ICC's Great Concern For Minnows As Well

Whether there are any takers for the match between Ireland and Kenya or not, the ICC looks to be keen in taking both the aforementioned teams for a ride. There have hardly been any sponsors for the above stated match but, some serious issues have popped over regarding the caliber of the game whatsoever. Don't you guys ever ask as to who would benefit from the match that involves solely minnows but just think that the ICC does things just for the cause of the game no matter who would take home what from be it the match or the series at the end.

Anyway, coming to the third and the final one day international between Kenya and Ireland, Ireland were seen whitewashing the Kenyans 3-0 in the recently concluded three match one day series. However, not a news was made in any format be it by the ICC or the news channels. Neither could one see the scorecard of the match that is ought to be a stepping stone for both the teams. Forget about the cricket fans who would have otherwise rushed to the stadiums to cheer for either of the teams or atleast come to see some cricketing action on the field.

It would not be a surprise even if the concerned persons didn't show any sort of interest in marketing the tickets for the match, for the result is well anticipated. I just recall the ICC Champions trophy 2000 that was held in Nairobi (Kenya) where people rushed to the stadiums to watch their favourite team battle it out there. Anyway, some things can never be expected. Still, the third ODI was worth the time spent in watching the same, for there was indeed some blistering stroke play from the blades of the Irish batsmen Paul Stirling who scored a decent 84 runs from 92 balls.

And on the other hand, though not a professional one, the 61 runs scored by Kenya's opening batsmen Maurice Ouma could keep the scorecard ticking each and every moment. Finally, as the rules of the game goes, there could be only one winner and that came out to be Ireland yet again. So, it would not be wrong to say that the Irish have grown harsh enough not only to punch the opposition but also whitewash the same. Else, the third one day international was thought to be Kenya's piece of cake which was finally stole by Ireland. Ireland never went in to give the opposition a consolation win like it happens most of the time when a team takes an unbeatable lead.

Something Ireland Would Be Proud Of

There can be at the most one and only one winner in a cricket match and at times, there could be no winner at all. Such is the case when it comes to the game called cricket. Anyway, coming to the second one day match between Ireland and Kenya held at Dublin, the Kenyan team that are contained with tongue twisting names could hardly prove their myth in international cricket. If at all a team like Kenya can boast of a victory, it should and can be only against teams like Ireland. Well no doubt that they have had wins against India and West Indies, in which case it was India's loss rather than Kenya's win. So is the case for the other team Ireland as well.

In case Ireland can boast of a decent and deserving victory, it has to be a team of the same caliber. And Kenya is one among them. When the match between the aforementioned teams as is is hardly watched by anyone in the world and is on the other side hardly telecast by any channel that boasts of a decent viewership, one can imagine the fate of such matches when the same is hit by bad weather. As usual, the Duckworth Lewis was bought into play that declared the team Ireland who were batting second as winners by 54 runs. Needless to be said, Kenya lost all their wickets for a paltry score of just 175 and should have Ireland chased the total of 175, it would have been a satisfactory victory for Ireland.

However, the match was no less when it came to some cricket action on the field, when the Irish captain William Poterfield got his team off to a flier when he struck three boundaries off one over bowled by Kenya's Thomas Odaya. The same batsman took four boundaries from another over bowled by Kenya's Odhiambo which is a rare feat given the caliber of both the teams battling it out there. There was also a bowler who ended up with figures of 3/40 from 9 overs. In addition, there was a Kenyan batsman who had the Irish bowlers well under his control that saw Kenya raise from 66/4 at one stage to 175 at the end of the innings.

Alex Obanda fought with a 78 ball 59 in the above mentioned situation. Whatever, the only disappointment of the match was that it was reduced owing to the introduction of Duckworth Lewis which at most of the times takes away the thrill of the game. The reason for the ICC to conduct such tournaments was to help the minnows get up and dance to the tunes of stronger teams so that the game of cricket gets globalised with more nations battling it out on the field. But, with the current speed at which Ireland are going, the target is not bound to be achieved in the near future whatsoever.