even before mumbai indians lost the final of ipl season three... there were talks that ipl should change the format and there should be best of three finals to judge who was the better side...
i never liked this idea...
going by same logic... what about the other two semifinalists who gets knocked out of tournament on the basis of just one bad outing...? do they play thrice with each other to decide who the finalist will be...?
if we revise the format to say the two top teams of the league stage will play three finals to decide which one is better... then it will also mean that most of the team will not fight till end knowing their fate well in advance that they can not be the top two teams... turning many matches into glorified exhibition matches...
the beauty about the existing format is that it warms up as the matches goes by and in the end it becomes really intense coz not many teams can say for sure that they will be the top four teams of the league... so the race is always on to find a place in top four somehow and then wait for other results...
this also keeps the interest of fans going who not only follow the matches their teams playing but also the results of other teams with equal interest if not more... making almost every match meaningful at later stage of the tournament...
it is also not rocket science that probability, hence intensity, will be much more to find a place in top four than say top two teams...
another argument is it is not fair on team who wins almost everything at league stage and then gets knocked out for one bad outing... but when sports (or life) is about being fair...?
just one tweet and two of the most promising people's reputation gets slaughtered by media trials sighting 'sources' though its another matter that these 'sources' goes on vacation as soon as the 'deed' is done... to sight you most recent example...
besides... the promise of unknown is good for any competition... the probability of sudden death keeps the buzz going... knowing you are not going to get second chance... it makes the semifinals and final a breath taking spectacle coz it is a do or die...
finally... if it gives a chance to team like chennai, who were on the verge of packing their bags to home at more than one occasion during league stage of the tournament, to become champion or dream to become champion... then why not...?
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i know you take it to the level of obsession when you are captain...
so rather than i coming hard at you at times... the truth is... it is not as hard as you are on yourself...
mumbai indians are more or less in the semifinals... and so are delhi daredevils...
you won the battle last time but the war is far from over...
however much i would cherish delhi defeating mumbai in your own den... it will not be same without you...
so till then... take care... take it easy...
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sachin's captaincy in ipl for mumbai indians reminds me of his captaincy stints in 90s...
even yesterday he was over the top... animated... expressive... and so volatile... that he was putting his colleagues under undue pressure... goes to show even if the time changes... some things never change...
often his stifling method of captaincy is mistaken for passion... coz i have seen captains leading teams with equal passion but less histrionics in the middle...
its good that mumbai indians are winning so nobody is talking about his captaincy otherwise there would have been many questions raised by now about the way he handles team in the middle...
take it easy sachin... let the boys relax a bit... that does not mean they will do job with less zest and focus... in fact they would do it better if given space to enjoy the challenge at hand...
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this is what sums up the delhi daredevils vs mumbai indians game for me...
if any of the eight teams in the ipl has the best name that defines the team... its delhi daredevils'... for they will always be in pursuit of doing the things in dare devil's ways even if that can be done normally... sensibly...
however well mumbai indians played... and kudos to them for outplaying 3Ds in all departments of game... but i was pissed of at the toss itself... gautam won the toss and handed over the advantage to MIs on platter...
we know that t20 game is too abbreviated a game to let go any advantage that you have over your opponent...
we also know mumbai indians do not have a good record chasing... in fact they have choked to defeat from winning position on many occasions... but no... our devil's will take none of that...
they wanted thrill and they got it... by chasing the leather... and i do not even expect them to learn the lesson...
– title inspiration: homer
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ipl is coming back to india in its third season and the fan in me wants to see sound and safe ipl...
its very crucial season for ipl... not only from the commercial point of view but also to show to the world that cricket in india is as safe as anywhere around in the world...
while security men will be doing their bit but i appeal to all fans and country men that we should treat ourselves as the invisible arm supporting them and should not think that its not our job... we all should be aware and alert to the possibilities of threats and inform the concerning authorities in case of any suspicious person or activity around us... lets have fun but at the same time... be responsible...
so my mantra for IPL3 will be – fun with responsibility...
on fun part... i wish to see this year final between delhi daredevils and mumbai indians purely from the existing rivalry point of view... i tell you if this happens the intensity of the contest will be just unbelievable...
though i will be keeping an eye on our domestic player's performances as well but i can already see manish pandey and yousuf pathan making it really big this season... and i won't be surprised if pandey boards the flight to the caribbean t20 world cup adventure due to happen next...
on bowling front... although some of the most prized caps were fast bowlers in the ipl auction this time... but i believe spinners will again be the key... the summer season has started so i don't think the dew factor will count that much... they will make their presence felt with batsmen hell bent on making most of them...
how i wish that boundary rope stay back to where it belong and not come up (unlike fielders) to kill the fun...
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so MI choked again...
hardly surprising for the one who has been following them since last season...what surprising is that though MI is placed just above the team, KKR, which has been criticized virtually from every corner...yet you don’t find anybody raising finger on mumbai indians...
the reason is not rocket science...who will bell the biggest cat cricket has seen...
sachin ramesh tendulkar...
it is now clear to every team that put any score on board and make MI chase...don’t do anything but to stroll in park coz they are more than willing to dig their own grave...
they are so top heavy that they are crushing their own team...with their sheer weight...
jayasuriya is finding to his disliking that what subtle change in conditions can do to ones batting...but rather than looking to dig it out he is looking to adopt easy route...that is attack...belittling his own vast experience earned by playing international cricket since ages...and hence letting his team down which has shown so much faith in him...
sachin...his is classic example of come what may i won’t leave this coveted spot of opening the innings...while its very very clear that MI want him in middle of innings to guide lesser mortals...specially while chasing...
if the stalwarts like jaya and sachin are struggling in these conditions...one can easily imagine the plight of some inexperience bats who might be playing in such conditions for the first time...and if combating conditions is not enough challenge in itself they have added pressure to score and score fast...no wonder they are caught in two minds...hence panicking...
sachin is putting too much pressure on duminy as well as other middle order bats...when his calm and assured presence in middle will only help soothe some nerves out there...but no...no one can bell this cat...no one can make him see the obvious...no one can make him come down to middle order...even for the team cause...which is facing elimination...
my order for MI, henceforth, will be...
jayasuriya
dhawan
shah
duminy
sachin
bravo
nayyar
harbhajan
raje / zahir (if fit)
kulkarni
malinga
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i think delhi dare devils and mumbai indians has every ingredient in them...to make for a great ipl rivalry to the tune of ashes...
the tradition...
the players...
the platform...
the fans...
and finally the bloggers...
infact during off season...the franchisee of both can arrange 'home' and 'away' series of say 3 matches to cultivate this ipl ashes...which i am sure gonna be far more intense...
what say...?
ps:
i might have given modi another idea to milk money from...but who cares...
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we had three different results yesterday...
wi lost against oz...
kiwi lost against pomers...
and certainly...MIs 'lost it' against warne's RRC...
three defeats...same mindsets...
wi are talking about the positives they can take from the match...
to hell with positives...
they should say how hurting the defeat was...they should be kicking their own @sses...
here was a team, a team who is discovering the inhibitions against dominance they used to enjoy...
a real gutsy player who after getting hit on his head..stands again....scores a century for you...
and your bowlers drop you an honest effort away from famous victory...
what more motivation you want...
some are afraid of loosing...some are of winning...
same with kiwis...
they aptly displayed their age old nemesis...freezing at final hurdle...
all this is ridiculously predictive...
and what more you can say about MIs defeat against my adopted team...
that they are carrying forward the legacy of south africa...?
three close matches...and in all matches they were almost cruising...until that 'moment' stuck them...
i was having discussion with trideep of crickosphere...that it will be interesting to see how sachin will be captaining after taking over from pollock...
and last night confirmed my doubts...
i was taken back to oz tour he was captain of...
he looked so animated...his reaction after taking that catch...yelling on miss fields...bowling etc...throwing his hands in despair...all was same...as old sachin...
he puts enormous pressure on his colleagues being captain...to the point that they start doubting the very things they do good normally...at crucial juncture it always proves costly...
and last night was no different to MIs...
the calmness...the composure he brings to the side being just a player...is starkly opposite to when he dons captain's hat...suddenly he gets transformed in to different person altogether...
last time i used it for dhoni...but that was for positive assessment...
it shows that sachin has not moved an inch as far as captaincy goes...
three defeats...same mindsets...
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