another boring draw on dead pitch and the knives are out...
every other voice is either mourning the death of test cricket or seeing it...
but to me test cricket is already in bad shape...
before you jump on me with already out knives...
please wait a moment...
zimbabwe aren't playing test cricket...i doubt (no, fear) they will...
bangladesh resolutely sticking to infancy level...
nz is exploring new lows every time they play test...
...and west indies ensuring there is a tough competition with nz even for this...
pak is either seeing tours getting canceled or busy issuing threats of doing same...
SL had most thrilling test series in oz where they at last found a man who can stand against them...
england recently invented a new cure of insomnia...but still won next best 'ashes' defeating nz...
pretty 'good' health i must say...isn't it...?
Test Cricket Health...
shared by straight point on Monday, March 31, 2008
Kaif's Back !!??
shared by straight point on Monday, March 31, 2008
or is it...?
Thanks Soulberry for mentioning my blogpost 'a case for kaif' in which we discussed kaif way back when there was not even a hint of this in the air...
all i wanted to say is put beautifully by Soulberry already in his post here...needless to say that i have nothing more to add...just wishing him luck!!
he has also raised a very good point against hastening up youngster's (like rohit sharma) in longer form of game...
go there, its worth a visit...
Some Gandhigiri and 'Brutal' Sehwag
shared by straight point on Friday, March 28, 2008
first of all let me try some 'Gandhigiri' here...
thanks to DD who thinks that test matches are of no 'national importance'...so we are privileged to see india playing some timbaktoo in an ODI but...
thanks to my cable tv guy...who just recently showed most explosive and most enthralling ODI series between SA and Bangladesh live on neo...but....
if you are feeling my sentiments (and frustration) than please send them a flower...from my side....they need it...
thanks in advance!!
back to sehwag...
apart from this is fastest triple hundred in test cricket history...
apart from he is only third batter other than sir don bradman and lara to have scored triple century more than once...
apart from the fact that his last 10 centuries are all above 150 (a feat achieved by no one in the history of test cricket)
apart from he has individally scored more than 250 in a day (highest being 273, when denis compton scored 273 in 1954) ...source cricinfo...
the most interesting aspects of sehwag's tripple hundred marathon innings ...to me...was how sehwag scored that crucial single after every big hit or two...
since i was following the match by cricinfo live commentary...there were numerous instances when sehwag scored a boundary or two followed by 'the single' ...
the way he was batting and the mood he was in he could have easily given in to the temptation of going for another...how he controlled that temptation and cooled himself off at non striker's end is something new to me as far as sehwag's approach to this innings goes...
watch out bowlers around world...its not only brutal force you have to cope with...but now you have to also cope with cool and calculated brutal force...he wont give it too easily...
once again congrats sehwag!! congrats india!! and congratulation to all cricket fans across world!!
but don't forget to send a flower...
cheers!!
Quarter Finals VS Super6
shared by straight point on Friday, March 21, 2008
back to business...
Recently ICC seems to OKed the return of Quarter final format in world cup 2011...apparently in their bid to shorten the duration of tournament....
my fellow blogger Aashrey of Long Hop (actually his post inspired this post) has given his own arguments in its favor...
but i have my doubts whether its a good move...
we should not forget why quarters format was dropped in first place...
team could win all matches comprehensively in league stage...one bad game...you pack your bags and go back home...no chance to redeem yourself...no chance to regain lost ground...it can happen to any team...
while super6 gives you THAT chance...
the guard against that one possible bad day...
...after all one want to see cracker of games competed by bests...(not fortunates)...
i think we are over-reacting to the boringly long last world cup by putting blame on super6 format...
do you agree with me?
Enjoy !!
shared by straight point on Friday, March 14, 2008
IPL - Cricket Ka Karamyudh!!
Kolkata Knight(s)
Reflections...
shared by straight point on Wednesday, March 05, 2008
So mission oz is done and dusted with...
if there was any more motivation needed by our team to win finals straight this tour provided every bit of it...
while previewing CB series i said that this series is going to be first step towards long journey... that it will be very important series for team india coz our selector showed lots of courage by selecting youngsters for this tough series...
i also wished that if not for anybody this team should succeed for sake of selectors...they gambled big time against tide...and needed assurance in the form or favorable results...but we not only succeeded but went far ahead of everybody's imagination and won in straight sets!!
i am not good at in depth analysis so here are some facts which caught my imagination...
- dhoni has made this team the reflection of his self...care free yet not lost...focused without taking undue pressure...cool but composed...
he not only takes risks but owns them...thats why he made hero out of first joginder (though with some luck) and secondly with praveen kumar...how many would have thrown the new ball to him to bowl at guys like hayden, gilchrist, ponting...in pressure cooker finals...
for me he is the man of the series coz not only he scored at crucial time for india...he handled and guided his team to win which his more pedigreed predecessors failed to do so...
- teams spirit is at all time high and one instance at second final displayed it so aptly when harbhajan took the wicket of symonds...everybody flocked harbhajan and covered his face for his expressions then could have created another crap headlines in oz media...
- Our bowling has taken huge leap...with ishant undoubtedly being the find of the tour...i bet opposition team will think twice before giving us green tops...
if only we can look after bowlers well...we will win more matches overseas as well as home and onus is also on BCCI to not let this momentum go waist and prepare sporting pitches for SA tour without even iota of doubt...no more dead tracks for me...
- some one (most preferably kirsten with team management) please sit with sehwag and most importantly yuvraj and tell them in no uncertain terms what is expected from them coz sachin is not going to be around forever and they must put their hands up and behave responsibly as senior guys to take our team to next level...
thats why this time i had not sympathy for sehwag when he was left out coz he invited his exclusion by blowing away his good form...
they have let team down on so many occasions...refusing to heed to put team cause first for the flair of their 'natural play'...if the batsman of stature of sachin can do it...no reason why they cant do it...
- by blunting binga in consecutive finals india has exposed a significant weakness for other team to cash on that if you don't loose wickets specially to lee their bowling lacks penetration and almost looks pedestrian...
if i were CA i will be deeply disturbed by this...coz they keep on harping about lack of quality spinners but do they have good pace bowling too??? its an urgent question before them the answer of which they need very quickly...
take well deserved rest, but be focussed guys...coz we tend to loose all momentum during breaks...
.
Breathless!!
shared by straight point on Tuesday, March 04, 2008
We have won!!! and how!! what a final!!
my first wishes to dhoni, selectors, all youngsters and sachin
...and last but not least...
thanks kumble for instilling the belief in team that this oz team can be beaten...(don't look surprised)...
what a special gift you all have given us...i am feeling like its been a poetic justice...after all they have to go through this summer...
more after a while...enjoy!!
how i want gambhir, yuvraj and rohit to line up...
shared by straight point on Tuesday, March 04, 2008
and kick their a@@ till they are sore like hell and ask them to repeatedly say we wont gift our wickets like this...
special treatment should be given to yuvraj coz he is vice captain and he just dont seem to care about this fact...
i mean what they think they were doing there...oz were on mat...laid low waiting for their fate helplessly and what you do...offer them life on platter...
if not for anything they should have respected the fact that on other end there was a person who seem to be on the mission of life with great resolute and what they only needed to do was to be with him and support him in his mission...
irrespective of result of today's final...they needed to be told this lesson...much the same way as i mentioned earlier
do you agree...??
How to diffuse a potential bomb...
shared by straight point on Monday, March 03, 2008
if there is needed a text book example of how to diffuse a potentially explosive situation...everybody look no further but yesterday's match between oz and india...
specially 'left minded' players like sree, harbhajan, hayden, symonds, ponting etc...
i wanted to write oz players name first but wanted to sound impartial and also its my attempt for not being charged 'sarcastic point' so quickly again!!
when lee bowled that famous-by-now-unintentional beamer to sachin world cricket froze for few seconds...me for sure...
i started to fear worse.
first thought which came to my mind apart from sachin's well being was....is this the final nail on coffin of oz-india cricketing relations which are touching new heights of low by each day!!
how will sachin react...
but within next few seconds i was smiling again...
coz when binga came to him with customary apology (did he had any choice??) and offered sachin his hand sachin too shook hands with lee and there were smiles all around...
though with the benefit of hindsight...i wonder if he too had choice either for the fear of another 'unintentional' beamer ;-)
it took the character of sachin that the ticking bomb was diffused instantly...all moved on to cricket as if nothing happened...and my respect for sachin grew manifold...
but there lies the lesson to one and all...specially to those set of left minded players...
for we all know them coz they all have played great cricket and we all want to remember them exactly for the same reason...
is it too much to ask for...??
