Bharat Ratna for Sportspersons?

          The Indian Government has announced that the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, may now awarded to achievers in the field of sport. This has evoked mixed responses from various people. A The Hindu columnist rued the falling cultural standards of the nation, while chess ace Viswanathan Anand was pleased by the news, but being the man he is, not self-obsessed or target-obsessed, stated he was not aiming to earn the prestigious title just yet.
          There are several people deserving of such an honour, though whether another title besides the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is necessary is a question. The one we have to look furthest back in the history books to find is Dhyan Chand. Playing a then popular game at the time our independence stuggle was gaining steam, he was a key figure in India's triumph in three consecutive Olympics. Should he be awarded, it will be a very posthumous and highly deserved decoration.
          Sachin Tendulkar is an inevitable option. Widely regarded as the best batsman in the world today, and controversially best ever by a certain economist, his successful record with the Indian national team and large number of unbroken records earn him the right to stake a claim to the award. Another attribute worth mentioning is that he has almost never been in a major controversy. This keeping in mind that any issue related to this larger-than-life Mumbai man will be blown into unbelievable proportions by the media.
          Another cricketer suggested is Captain Cool - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has won two major tournaments - World Cups in different formats - and retained and regained many series. He is intuitive and level-headed - the kind of person who compels one to love him or hate him. Nothing in between. (Other such compellors include Virender Sehwag, TM Krishna, Kareena Kapoor and Kolaveri Di.)
          Some other names which come to mind as people worthy of an honour like this are PT Usha, Abhinav Bindra, Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi and Viswanathan Anand. But one must keep in mind while selecting candidates that these people will join the band of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, MS Subbulakshmi, APJ Abdul Kalam and Nelson Mandela, one of only two foreigners to receive the honour. And sport being sport, any blemish on the player's name after the awarding will also be a blemish on the award. (Which is also why a posthumous awarding like Dhyan Chand would be safe.)
          This is stirring up different emotions among sportspersons and sport lovers. Just take it in good sport.

Chelsea in a hole

          Historically significant, as one of only four winners of the EPL as it is today, but insignificant as holders of only four titles as opposed to Manchester United's nineteen and Liverpool's eighteen. A great team with quite some matchwinners, but terrible with few superstars and inconsistency. Able to beat Manchester United (last season) but splitting points with Genk in the Champions League. A team of contradictions, that is Chelsea.
          The Blues find themselves in a slump again, not unlike last year's interminable mid-season string of unpleasant results. They are yet to win against a major team in the EPL this season, losing 3-1 to Manchester United, humbled 5-3 by Arsenal and thwarted 2-1 by Liverpool. They even lost to long-term absentees QPR, signalling that this team is in a deep hole.
         They are not a one-man army like Arsenal, who owe their seventh place to Robin van Persie, which is also why Chelsea do not figure in the top scorers list. (Another reason is that Drogba is pretty injury-prone.) The other big striker, Fernando Torres, finds form in fits and starts and is largely off-colour. Their defence typically performs well for the first twenty minutes, then develops extraordinary complacency and is perenially hovering around the half-line and sometimes even indulging in shots. They then get surprised by perfectly onside goals.
          The face of their team, Frank Lampard, is performing well but his age can be seen. He's no youth and the Blues will be hunting for another like him, when he decides to hang up his boots.
          They have money. Like the owner of Manchester City, Roman Abrahamovich too has piles of money from being in an oil-rich area. They too can emulate the rising team assembled from money and skill. They too can pose a threat to the record champions defending their title. They can. But the question is, will they?

A Legend Exits

          It has been nearly a week since one of the greatest cricket writers of our time took his own life, and I am still getting over it.
          He did not embellish his columns with long words tedious to pronounce coded only for the supremely knowledgable. Instead, he used stunningly appropriate words and metaphors that hit the nail on the head. His sentences were not convoluted or unwieldy and in fact they became progressively shorter as his life hurtled towards its sudden end. His pieces were not for lexicographers or etymologists but for anyone who loved the game.
           He found a fantastic way to merge his twin loves, cricket and the English language, and delighted thousands of fans in the process. His batting prowess was considerably overshadowed by his flair for writing, but no matter.
          He steadfastly backed India during the highly charged and concentrated with controversy India-Australia series in 2008 and won himself more admirers in his nation. He was one to stick with a strong stand and coupled with his very influential nature, some transformations in the game were made.
          He had all the reason to continue living, but allegations by the police compelled him to take the final irreversible step. He left the cricket world much richer than it was before he entered the scene.
          Adieu, Peter Roebuck.

Should Federer Retire?

          The big news in the tennis world is that concerning Andy Murray's toppling of Roger Federer, signalling the Swiss monarch's slip outside the top three for the first time since 2003. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is well into his downward curve now, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and to an extent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray proving their superiority over the once-unbeatable FedEx.
         The 30-year-old maestro seems to be planning to pick up another Grand Slam before hanging up his boots, but that seems a bit difficult considering the aforementioned people's form and skill. The last major he won was the Australian Open in January 2010, which is of course a while ago. Retiring in time is important, as a certain racing superstar understood, or did he?
          Take a look at Michael Schumacher, the German 7-time World Champion in Formula One racing. For the last two years of his career, the legend in his iconic red Ferrari was repeatedly finishing second, behind Spain's and Renault's Fernando Alonso. Schumi realised he was no longer the winner he used to be, the famous jump on the top step of the podium was gone, and he announced his retirement at the Monza circuit in Italy, Ferrari's home.
          The second innings, though, has panned out very differently for the star. Sitting in a Mercedes with a  fraction of the speed and power of the Ferrari, the German is doing all he can to get the best out of the car. Alonso occupies the Ferrari alongside Massa, and none of them are podium regulars.
          Schumacher understood when it was time for him to exit the top level. Federer is routinely beaten now, yet he carries on. Perhaps it is a symbol of strength and will to carry on. But unless a legend, a star, retires when he is still good, the lasting impression their career will leave on fans of the game may be quite different from their best performances. Maybe this will apply to Tendulkar too, in a while.

A Day of Clinched Titles

          October 16 was the day of two crownings - the long-anticipated and inevitable awarding of the Formula One World Championship to speedy German Sebastian Vettel and that of the unfancied and depleted Mumbai Indians. While the former raised two trademark fingers in celebration of the double championship win, the Mumbai Indians whom no one gave a chance lifted the Champions League Twenty20 trophy, which incidentally or not looks very much like the UEFA Champions League trophy.
          As I have been mentioning for some time, Sebastian Vettel's place atop the world had been decided for quite a while as he racked up race win after win. Many went to the extent of saying that the real battle was for second place, which too seems to be sealed by the only other contender before Japan, Englishman Jenson Button. Vettel bagged fifteen points when all he needed was one, and could have collected 25 if not for a slightly defective pit stop strategy which was however good enough to earn him the title.
          Few listed Mumbai Indians as a contender before the start of the slam-bang fest. Names such as Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and New South Wales Blues sprung to mind as potential cup-lifters. With a host of injured players, a tired captain who was dropped from the national team and heavy reliance (no pun intended) on a certain seamer with a funny hairstyle and bowling action, Mumbai were anything but favourites. Yet, they beat several other sides with more imposing names on the way to having their name etched on the cup. In the final on a slow turny pitch in Chennai, one of the rarer Indian ones not favouring batsmen, the side pieced together 139 and defended it with purpose against a red team loaded with big men who had not played outside of the run-festival-assisting Bangalore ground. The team captained by Vettori but laying their fortunes on Gayle's form floundered, making a highly insufficient 108. And the Mumbai Indians, their fans and Nita Ambani tasted victory for the first time in their short existence.
          The sporting, particularly cricket and tennis, calendar is getting increasingly packed with more events and this could bore fans and take the essence of the sports out of them, tiring and injuring the players greatly in the process. But watching two crowns being handed out of the same day, as on May 28 (IPL and UEFA Champions League) has a certain fun to it.                                                                           

Vettel on the threshold of history

          Sebastian Vettel has done it again. As opposed to last year, where he snatched his maiden title from stalwarts in the last few races, this year has been all his. He has finished off the podium just once, ironically at his home race in Nurburgring, Germany. He has taken pole position eleven times and stood on the top step of the podium nine times and looks to smash an old record of Schumi's with five races to go.
          He now stands a single point away from a second straight title that would make him the youngest double world champion of all time. The precocious German can only lose the title to Button by failing to score in all the remaining five races, which Button has to win.
          He has adopted an 'It ain't over till it's over' attitude, which is good because complacency is almost always detrimental, as CSK, who haven't been knocked out of a tournament since the distant 2009 IPL in SA, found out the hard way. He will need to finish anywhere above tenth position in Suzuka to enter a small group of double World Champions, which shouldn't be too difficult outside of a crash situation.
         October 9 will see the Japanese Grand Prix, which is a favourite with its curving track that crosses itself. Vettel could opt for the red supersoft tyres which are very helpful for sharp corners but have a low life. The youthful German and his team have got the best out of the unfamiliar new Pirellis.
         In three weeks we will witness the first Indian Grand Prix on the outskirts af the national capital and the promotional events have captured the imagination of race fans in the country already. The World Championship will probably be decided by then but that will not take anything away from the excitement of watching the loud sleek cars zoom past right here in India.
          Young Seb Vettel seems set for a good long successful career and comparisons with his inimitable compatriot Michael Schumacher have begun already. This is a good sign for the speedy young man and his fans.

Controversially Whose?

          So the inimitable Shoaib Akhtar is back in the limelight, for the wrong reasons yet again. This time it's not for tampering with the ball or hitting a teammate but writing a spiteful book.
          The Pakistani speedster claims that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are not match-winners. And that the Little Master was afraid of him. It is quite human to be perturbed by a bowler of that pace, but is rather strange to score 99 international centuries and not win matches for your country, in Tendulkar's case. Maybe Akhtar cannot bear that his rival from a rival nation is a century away from history and regarded as an all-time great alongside the legendary Sir Donald Bradman and has to taint his name in some way.
          Akhtar also states that all bowlers tamper with the ball. There have been many highly successful bowlers who are good fair people who would not resort to cheap tactics. Personally, I find it strange that one is allowed to apply saliva but not dirt on the ball, but even so one man cannot speak for a whole community of bowlers.
          Possibly he is missing all the attention and front-page hogging and has tried a stunt again. He has been pleading people to buy the controversial book and they have. The book has been selling well, probably due to the publicity.
          The point of an autobiography is to narrate your life story and make it accessible to the public, not to spite fellow cricketers and hog the limelight. That seems to be Shoaib Akhtar's idea in releasing Controversially Yours, post a career littered with problems and subsequent bans.

Stick vs Bat

          For a much-needed change, the Indian hockey team has earned more pride than the more famous, wealthy and followed cricket team. While the latter came crashing to earth in England, the former triumphed in the Asian Hockey Champions League in Ordos, China. Our national sport finally seems to be seeing a ray of hope.
          I won't go into the reasons for the trouncing in England, where the Men in Blue came home with nothing but some wins against county sides, it being accepted that injuries and tiredness overcame the side. Not one of the five one-dayers was a full 100 overs - one was abandoned, one was a Duckworth-Lewis tie (not something I have witnessed in thirteen years of life on Earth) and three were claimed by England, again Duckworth-Lewis all. It still beats me how 240 in 40 overs is better than 306 in 50. The run-rate of the former is 6.0 while the latter's is 6.12.
          Contrastingly, a young Indian team travelling to Ordos as underdogs clinched the title, days after their nation was denied the rights to host the World Champions Trophy and consequently failed to qualify. When the national game in in the news, it is seldom without controversy - the players were to be paid a meagre 25,000 rupees as a cash reward - which is less than what one earns after answering four questions on Kaun Banega Crorepati. It is also a small fraction of what the cricketers were paid after their World Cup win back at home, with the states vying to pay higher amounts to the players from their state.
          While the ball-and-stick men fight for a more respectable amount, the ball-and-bat men fly home to feature in the big-cash Champions League Twenty20. I believe it won't be won by any of the tired Indian teams but one of the energized foreign sides. Only time will tell.

Another Post-Mortem

          In the wake of the Indian cricket team's drubbing by England, the country saw a rush of post-mortems and possible reasons from interactions with friends, newspapers, magazines and, most importantly, the television. A particular channel even gave seven possible reasons and conducted a poll to find out what people think was the real one.

          The fact is, it can't be one single cause like 'IPL' or 'injury' or 'careless BCCI'. A combination of all these contributed to India's downfall in England. The team lost the strike bowler, most ruthless albeit unpredictable batsman, star spinner and some others due to injury. That said, had these men given the cash-rich IPL a miss and taken a well-deserved break after the World Cup, they probably would have remained fit through the series. Even our demigod Sachin Tendulkar skippered his side to the last three in the IPL and chose to pass playing for his country in the Caribbean.

          With the absence of a window for the IPL in the ICC calendar, the players are simply playing too much. Dhoni, two-time IPL champ, conveniently chose not to blame it. The men in blue are human too, and choose the big cash over a badly needed break for the sake of family, form and fitness.

The BCCI also need to build a strong B side. The big names of Indian cricket are aging and we do not want to be caught napping when they retire. England is reaping the benefits of a balanced side and we need to learn from them. After all, they just won a series against the World Cup-winning side rather convincingly to say the least.

          Harsha Bhogle said he was looking forward to the ODI clashes. As a supporter of my country's side, I can't honestly agree, but if they step up their game it could be a little less one-sided.

Let the Countdown Begin!

          The countdown to the London Olympics 2012 has begun. And I think many would agree that India is not at all in the best possible position at the moment.

         After all the euphoria and hype around our good showing in the Commonwealth Games in our backyard and the Asiad at our populous neighbour's place, our bubble has been burst rather cruelly. Many of the athletes we liberally glorified are now being tested positive for steroids. The media are looking for whom to blame, their usual job.

          Our national game has two perpetually warring federations. A dozen merger deadlines have come and gone and a single united association still looks distant. The current Indian hockey team looks a faint shadow of the glorious side of the Dhyan Chand time. They finished sixth out of seven at an event in Malaysia and the Olympic scene, if they qualify at all, may not be too different.

          The shooters, wrestlers and boxers look like our best hope, again. If we want an improvement from 2008's 50th place in the medals tally we need some dramatic changes.

What happened to thee, MSD?

          Dhoni just hasn't been the same over the past test. The gutsy, innovative, intuitive and sometimes even impulsive Captain Cool seemed overcome by doubt, opting for a tame draw when the stage seemed set for a fantastic showdown, with 86 runs needed form 90 balls and two fantastic batsmen at the crease.
          If the Chennai Super Kings, again captained by him, can score 205 off 120 balls led by the oscillating M Vijay, surely India, loaded with world-class palyers can go at under a run a ball to seal a series? Fear of a demoralising loss ruled the mind of the World Cup winner, pressing him to shake hands with Darren Sammy and walk off, shocking numerous excited spectators and TV watchers on the way.
          On top of that, Daryl Harper is accusing the man of intimidating the umpire. That a grown man should get intimidated by a simple 'We've had problems with you before', is another thing, but that is unlike Dhoni. The umpire wants the captain to be punished for that silly statement. Now that's funny.
          I hope Dhoni finds his old self back before they begin the examination from England. India have to consolidate themselves on top of the Test rankings, and there's no man better than Dhoni to lead the side there. Facing the resurgent Three Lions with short balls as the side-dish won't be easy and the boys will have to get their act together.

Vettel's Absolute Dominance

          The F1 championship 2011 is as good as decided, with the defending champion Sebastian Vettel winning six out of eight races and finishing second in the other two. The German seems set to retain his title in style, reminiscent of his compatriot and legend Michael Schumacher's dominance at his peak. Sadly, the latter has looked less then a shadow of his earlier self since his return.
          My mind travels back two years, when Jenson Button won six of the first seven races, a minor difference in stats, and went on to win the title. Last year, Mark Webber started really well but lost out to his teammate in the last few races. But this year, Vettel's lead is of such large proportions that even if he holidays in Seychelles and misses two races, he will still be on top of the standings.
          While the 2010 champion is enjoying himself at the top, the 2008 winner seems to be having trouble completing races and allowing others to complete them. Lewis Hamilton, according to Niki Lauda, is endangering lives. It might not be that serious, but he needs to race less crazily and more humanely. Even Vettel was once causing crashes routinely, and was labelled a 'crash kid' before proving his racing prowess.
So the winner is all but decided, and the actual fight now seems to be for second place. But with the new video-game-esque additions and funny points system, things can change.
          The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is due to begin in a few hours. It's an all-Red Bull first row and an all-Ferrari second row. And there are bound to be surprises.

Kvitova's Fine Win

          Not many open their Grand Slam accounts at Wimbledon. Arguably the most prestigious of the four Grand Slams, the Venus Rosewater Dish and the Gentlemen's Singles Trophy are generally claimed by veteran major winners who are really comfortable on grass. But wait, Wimbledon 2011, the 125th championships at the hallowed All England Club, was just proven to be an exception. The charmingly cool Petra Kvitova captured the Ladies' Singles title, after the top seeds all fell one by one.
          Kvitova was only the third Czech woman to walk away with the dish, after the legendary Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna. Both her illustrious compatriots were present at the Centre Court in the box to watch a famous win for their country. Navratilova has nine singles titles at Wimbledon alone, but Kvitova is not aiming as high just yet.
          I didn't expect her to win at all, let alone in straight sets. But Sharapova's weakness when it comes to holding serve was exploited in full by the eventual champion, with fatal consequences to the Russian's dream of a second win at the All England Club. Kvitova was calm and composed after her win, very much unlike Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's wild happiness after simply securing a break point when he didn't even go on to win the match. She went down on her knees after a superb ace, grinning from ear to ear, applauded by her compatriots and an appreciating British crowd.
          Sharapova wasn't downhearted either. Perhaps it had sunk in as she got broken repeatedly through the match. She acknowledged the crowd, then stated she would be back to aim for the big prize. The players did the ceremonial lap of honour, photographed and lauded.
          There's more to come. Hours away is the mouthwatering clash of new World No. 1 in-form Novak Djokovic and holder Rafael Nadal. Both men are confident, but only one will have the last laugh!

The King of Clay and the Queen of Asia

          Nadal has equalled the record of legend Bjorn Borg's six Roland Garros titles and looks well on his way to becoming a legend himself. What more could he want? Surpassing the equally legendary albeit off-touch Federer's 16 Grand Slam titles, probably. But as of now, he's the French Open champion as he was for four years between 2005 and 2008. Halted by Soderling in 2009 and the title snatched away from him briefly by rival and friend Roger Federer, he was back winning the event in 2010 and now, 2011.
          Li Na's story is different. Her title win is the first for her whole continent and with a consistent record this year, there's no reason why she can't pick up another Grand Slam this year. Generally, the French Open is the opening for youngsters and new winners like last year's Francesca Schiavone, though she might not fit everyone's definition of 'young'. The Asian breakthrough has brought joy to her vast and very populated country of China. She pursued badminton when she was young, but she switched to tennis and the results are there for all to see. Not too many would have imagined she would win in such style, dismissing her final opponent, also the defending champion, in straight sets!
          Federer, while yet again being on the wrong side of a final with Nadal, has a little bit to cheer about. Wimbledon, his favourite Grand Slam and the one he has been most successful on, is round the corner. In two weeks the grass mania will be here. Andy Murray, who lost the semifinal in three sets to Nadal, has expressed confidence about the chances of him winning the event. I must say it is possible in the unlikely event that all three big guns will flounder. Wimbledon, unlike Roland Garros, is not known for too many new winners. But there's always a first! The Scot is yet to open his account and might need to work harder.
          One more fortnight for the next Grand Slam.

The Fortress Remains Unbreached

          This couldn't get better for CSK and the fans. Home win - second in a row as well - what more could a CSK diehard ask for? The MAC, unbreached in 2011 so far, was a sea of yellow. (The seats are yellow too!) All-out support for the likeable CSK, who eventually emerged champion. Not a soul left the stadium till the trophy had been handed over and the victory lap finished. Perhaps this wasn't the closest of games, but no one cared. (Except Gavaskar.) All that Chennai wanted to see was a win - and that they did get!
          CSK won the toss and chose to bat. Dhoni always says that anyway, and the Chennai pitch is a slow turner which slows down unbearably as the match progresses. A wise decision anyway. Out came Hussey and Vijay to a roar from the crowd, and neither left for quite a while. They put on the highest opening partnership in the IPL ever - 159 runs. The mammoth partnership featured big shots and energetic running between the wickets. The frantic running seemed to take a toll on Vijay's stamina. Should he have gotten out? Turns out, no. He seemed to get his energy back and made a match-winning 95. Five short of a century, people say. Why don't they look at the fact that it was a brilliant innings, saved for the final? Along with that, Hussey's 63 helped piece together the mammoth stand. Add to that a few chipping-ins from Dhoni and the rest, and a last-ball six from Bravo, and what do you get? The highest total in an IPL final - 205-5. There were two instances of wickets falling from consecutive balls, but that didn't prevent them from reaching 200.
          Ashwin was thrown the new ball. The unusual new-ball off-spinner rewarded Dhoni for his decision, and how! He fooled Gayle, the most feared man in RCB, and Dhoni gleefully pouched the edge. The umpire's lifted finger all but meant they had won. Ashwin also removed the other opener, Mayank Agarwal, on his next over. A flash of hope for RCB in the form of a 32-run partnership by Kohli and AB de Villiers went by, but when Jakati picked up the latter, RCB needed one of the middle-order men to fire up. Saurabh Tiwary played a few shots, but it was too late, the title had slipped out of RCB's grasp for the second time.
          After the last ball of IPL 2011 - a six, incidentally - the crowd erupted in boundless joy. Ashwin expressed his wish to become the Manchester United of the IPL, while Dhoni praised his openers and Ashwin. The various awards were given away - some funny ones, like Best Pitch and Outfield - before the CSK players received their golds and lifted the trophy - again!
          Chennai were deserving winners. They also get to play the Champions League. It is in India, too - will the fortress remain unassailable?

One Down

          There we are - one finalist decided, one to go! And Qualifier 1 was the mother of all thrillers. Looking back, I don't know why I didn't just turn off the television and go to sleep when Chennai Super Kings were 7-2. Was it a will to watch it till the end and thus tune my body clock so I could watch Q2 and the Final without too much of a headache? Or was it - unlikely as it may be - hope?
           Whatever it was, I'm glad I stayed up anyway! Raina's innings made Virat Kohli's look small, while Morkel's effortless sixes made Wankhede look small! The Bangalore innings started fast, with the only blemish being the dismissal of the terrifying Gayle. He fell cheaply again, two times out of three, perhaps diminishing his aura. However, even without the West Indian's help, RCB made 175, riding on Virat Kohli's 70. Stiff target on all tracks. Even stiffer if your openers are gone for just 7.
          Ah, but CSK have got a star No.3! Never take Raina lightly. He delivers when it matters. He made a partnership with the steady Badrinath, then the cool-cucumber skipper Dhoni, then a path-breaking one with big-hitting Morkel that won them the game. Raina's 71 not out saved the Chennai Super Kings embarrassment against their rivals. The 18th and 19th overs went for 40 runs, bringing them withing 12 runs of the target. The last over was bowled by the other skipper Vettori. He's the most economical bowler so far in the IPL. So what? Bring 'im on! A winning six (sounds familiar?) by Morkel and even the normally expressionless South African all-rounder jumped for joy as CSK became the first team to make two consecutive finals.
          Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator to set up a Qualifier 2 with RCB. In doing this, they knocked out Gambhir's side again, (Shahrukh Khan knows this feeling, doesn't he?) and seemed to have regained their form for good. Now whether they can survive RCB is the question. The winner will play CSK in the Final in Chennai. CSK, unbeaten at home, remain the favourites. Can they win two consecutive titles as well?

Fab Four

          With Kings XI Punjab's winning run ended on Saturday, the four qualifiers were finally decided. And deserving ones, too! The league stage's final day couldn't have been better planned. The last-four scrambled for places. With the semifinal-final system phased out, it was better to finish in the top two - you get two chances to make the final. First, Royal Challengers Bangalore hosted Chennai Super Kings for the top spot.
           It was a lacklustre performance by the defending champs - the run rate seldom rose above five and wickets kept falling. Only the skipper Dhoni and second keeper Wriddhiman Saha even reached double figures. The first wicket fell with just seven on the board, and RCB never looked back. Even the usually reliable Badrinath fell cheaply, leaving the hitting work to Dhoni and the all-rounders. The captain hit seventeen runs from the last over to take the score to a moderate 128.
          Though Ashwin removed AB de Villiers in the first over of the chase, Chris Gayle did the job for RCB (have we seen this somewhere before?), winning them the game by eight wickets by way of an unbeaten 75. The only other wicket was that of Virat Kohli.
           Now CSK would have finished third had Kolkata Knight Riders won at home against Mumbai Indians, but a last-ball win for MI helped the 2010 finalist finish third and CSK come second.
Goswami and skipper Gambhir left early in the innings, but Jacques Kallis stabilised things for KKR. Tiwary, Yusuf and ten Doeschate chipped in to help KKR post a challenging 175.
          Tirumalasetti Suman departed early. There was an interesting decision to send Harbhajan Singh to bat at No. 3, so that the better batsmen could be held back till the chase got hotter. It paid off - the off-spinner hit 30 off 29 balls. Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard's cheap wickets did not help the chase, but James Franklin hit an unbeaten 45 that earned him the Man of the Match award. The visitors needed 21 off the last over bowled by the expensive L. Balaji. Franklin hit four fours and a single. Ambati Rayudu needed to hit four runs off the last ball now. He hit a six and the MI team leapt out of the dugout and onto the field. It was a moment of joy - the MI team had finally regained thair form!
          The play-offs promise to be as exciting. Great cricket, unfortunately there will only be one winner!

One G Force Replaces Another

          Wow. Gilchrist just went ballistic on Tuesday night! On a day when we expected Christopher Henry Gayle to do the hitting and add to RCB's winning streak and end Kings XI's hopes, we saw him get caught behind (by Gilly!) without adding any runs to the board. That massive parnership for the second wicket just took the game away from Bangalore. Can a team allow the opposition to score 206 without them intervening even once?
          Of course, no man can build a partnership on his own. Shaun Marsh too played excellently, scoring 79 off just 49 balls. I don't want that to pale into insignificance behind Gilchrist's century. He might have taken time to catch up, but he hit 30 runs off a Johan van der Wath over and that was that. Gilchrist's versatile name was a delight for the person who thinks up the messages for the big screen in the ground. 'Gilliant' and 'Gil-orious' were some of the bright ideas. The former Australian keeper-opener-batsman departed late in the innings after being caught (by Gayle!) to a huge ovation from the enthusiastic Dharamsala crowd.
           The chase started poorly for the away side. Needing nearly 12 runs an over, it dampened their spirits considerably when Gayle was dismissed. It was only the beginning - a steady flow of wickets kept coming. The only considerable partnership was that for the fifth wicket - 29 runs off 3.4 overs. That was all - KXIP never looked back. Piyush Chawla took four wickets for the second consecutive time, aiding the team in dismissing the visitors for just 121. KXIP had won by a massive 111 runs, keeping their last-four hopes alive.
          This only goes to show that when Gayle doesn't have his day, no one in RCB does - CSK could keep this in mind during their next and final league game before the play-offs. RCB has become too dependent on the West Indian.
          Yet another IPL century - I'm loving this!

The Royals Saga

          Rajasthan Royals has had a rollercoaster ride of a tournament. They retained the wily, aging yet still-feared leggie Shane Warne and dangerour all-rounder Shane Watson. They also wisely chose Johan Botha, Ross Taylor and Rahul Dravid at the auction, but the bowling line-up seemed rather untested except for the aforementioned spinner.
          The 2008 champion won their first two games against relatively soft opponents Deccan and Delhi by eight and six wickets respectively, then lost two games against a rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders. Their next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore was washed out, and the teams split points. This gave RR an odd number of points, allowing them to leapfrog teams who had won as many games as them. They then travelled to Mohali and lost to Kings XI Punjab by a good 48 runs.
          RR then began a home winning run that made them look scary and in contention for a last-four spot. They beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors India, all at Jaipur, and the skipper nicknamed the Sawai Mansingh Stadium 'the fortress'. The double-R's visited Chennai, the latter's own fortress where CSK had not lost at all, and RR promptly lost by a good 8 wickets. The 'return leg', five days later, was also won by Chennai, breaking the home winning streak. CSK won by a massive 63 runs, a good margin in all forms of the game. RR then hosted RCB, who were on a roll after Chris Gayle's arrival. Not surprisingly, Bangalore won by a good 9 wickets.
          The Royals were in trouble. A place in the play-offs was highly unlikely. With Shane Warne announcing his retirement for the final time but then getting in trouble for getting upset about their home ground's pitch and using foul language, they would have wanted to send him off on a high, but that seemed unrealistic. RR then went to Indore to play Kochi and got bundled out for a paltry 97, only to see the 'hosts' chase it down in seven overs.
          Quite a tournament these inaugural edition's champs have had so far. And I won't be surprised to see another twist.

European Football Leagues

          The football season in the hub of the sport, Europe is drawing to a close. Many teams have alredy clinched silverware and some are on the brink of their respective titles.
          Borussia Dortmund, who had a big lead for a lot of the season began the series by clinching the German Bundesliga title, leaving Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen to fight for second. Interestingly, Schalke 04 who impressed in the Champions League by reaching the semifinals beating holders Inter Milan on the way, is an unimpressive fourteenth in the German league.
          AC Milan claimed the Scudetto after seven years, breaking a long Inter Milan reign lasting five years. The Rossoneri last won the 2003-04 season.         
Barcelona followed, winning the La Liga in Spain, leading rivals Real Madrid for most part of the season. They won after a draw at Levante.
          Manchester United are on the brink of a record 19th Premier League title. They share the record for 18 championships with Liverpool and just need to draw with Blackburn today or Blackpool next week. In the unlikely scenario that the Red Devils lose both games and second-placed Chelsea win their games, goal difference will decide the winner.
          The fight for the Eredivisie in the Netherlands has down to the wire, with FC Twente leading narrowly by 71 points to Ajax's 70, and PSV Eindhoven has 68 points. There is a virtual final today - Twente and Ajax meet. A win for either team will see it emerge champions, while a draw will see Twente finish as 2010/11 Eredivisie winners.
           Another two weeks and we have the Champions League final upon us too. Ah, football.

The Chennai Fortress

          The Chennai fortress reinforced its reputation as impenetrable after Chennai Super Kings defeated Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. The home side successfully chased down the 2008 champion's 147 without too much of a problem after the visitors lost a flurry of wickets in the end.
          The Royals started off really well, with an amazing partnership between openers Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid, scoring 86, their highest this season, in the first ten overs. They looked well poised for a 180+ total till spinner Shadab Jakati took a stunning return catch to dismiss the Australian for just 32. The procession had begun. Jakati later dismissed the dangerous Johan Botha, while Albie Morkel took wickets off consecutive deliveries to put the pressure on the Royals. Suraj Randiv and R. Ashwin also picked up one each. The visitors were considerably slowed down towards the end, losing six wickets for just 61 runs. The holders had restricted the opponents to a sub-150 total, which is never really too hard to chase.
          Murali Vijay was dismissed early but that didn't hinder the hosts' chase too much, as southpaws Mike Hussey and Suresh Raina put on 137 runs for the second wicket. Raina was dismissed in the penultimate over, but it was too little, too late for the Royals as Mr. Cricket hit the winning runs and further strengthened Chennai's 'unbeatable at home' image.
          This was a crucial game because, Mumbai and Kolkata are very likely to make the top four. I think the remaining two spots will be fought for by Rajasthan, Chennai, Bangalore and Punjab if they mage good use of the games in hand. Again, there are no clear favourites and this could be won by whoever clicks at the right time.
          Who will make it?

The IPL Roundabout

          This IPL is truly open. There was no clear favourite in the beginning, there is no clear favourite now and I wonder whether there ever will be. It seems to be a rule that the teams in the top have simply have to lose to at least one of the teams in the bottom hemisphere. And with not too much difference in the points, a last-gasp win could see you move up five places.
          Pune is a case in point. Armed with a reasonably strong side featuring World Cup Player of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh, they hovered in the top four for a while before slumping to six straight losses and are now rock bottom. The other new side Kochi pulled off three big upsets, namely Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata before losing three consecutive games and are now ninth. Chennai did the opposite - they were second from last after two wins and three losses but after winning home and away against Pune and beating Deccan comfortably at home they rose up to fourth.
         Adam Gilchrist, the captain of Kings XI Punjab, understands that a side should not briefly play really well, top the group and then slump to defeats and then rely on the points gained earlier to earn them a place in the last four. He said he would prefer to top the table later in the league stage.
          The last four stage is more complicated than the traditional semifinals-final method. This year, there will be a 1st vs 2nd positions game (First Qualifer) 3rd vs 4th (Eliminator) then loser of First Qualifier against winner of Eliminator (Second Qualifier). This means that the loser of the First Qualifier will have a chance for redemption if they lose, unlike the old way. However, this system takes time for one to grasp as it is novel, though perhaps more logical.
Looking forward to see some great matches and a deserving winner!

Clasico #1's A Draw

          So, the first of four Clasicos in quick succession has ended in a draw. The match took place at the packed Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, with the crowd going all out for Real. Flags fluttered, banners were held up, the team badge formed with paper. There was a minority of Barca supporters too, but they were outshouted by the Madridistas.           Barcelona kicked off. They kept possession with their short-passing style most of the time, applying pressure on the Whites. Real seemed to find it hard to string many passes together, but created chances led by Cristiano Ronaldo nevertheless. The first scoring opportunity for Barca was created with an uncharacteristically late 18 minutes on the clock.
          That was more or less how it went in the first half, Barca attacking, Real getting possession, entering the attacking half, taking a shot maybe, and Barca regaining the ball and starting over. The pressure was still on Real.
          The hosts kicked off in the second half and seemed to be able to control the ball better. Raul Albiol tackled David Villa unnecessarily harshly in the box, leading to the referee sending him off and awarding Barca a penalty, which Lionel Messi promptly put past Iker Casillas. The latter kept well throughout the game, but when your own teammate and defender turns violent, one can't do much. Messi exulted, and for a while it looked like it was going to be a widely predicted Barcelona victory. But Real, who needed the three points badly, had other ideas.
          They attacked frantically. Marcelo's was one of many penetrations into Barcelona's half, but when he was brought down by a defender and the referee pointed to the spot, a draw was on the cards. Cristiano Ronaldo netted the ball past Victor Valdes to make it 1-1, which was the way it stayed till the end eight minutes later. After the star player's equaliser, both sides pushed forward to get the full three points, but the score didn't change. The final whistle blew and the second La Liga El Clasico had ended in a draw.
          Both goals, from arguably the two best players in the world, were from the spot, which also said something about the quality of defence and keeping. The pressure also made the game a little more ill-tempered than necessary, leading to a lot of players from both sides see yellow. But it was a good and memorable game.
          Three more Clasicos coming up in just over two weeks. I can't wait!

Capsule Cricket

          We are currently witnessing a bonanza of cricket in a capsule. The game started off as five-day, then sixty-over cricket appeared, then was shortened to fifty, then the world saw the appearance of the shortest form of the game, merely twenty overs a side. And in the rare event of a tie, one over will suffice to decide the winner, possibly of an entire tournament. Cricket is trying to emulate football, I suppose. Action packed into ninety short minutes. And it's the most popular sport in the world!
          The IPL proudly and rightly declares about itself - It's Awesome. It's a 240 ball rollercoaster. And it is. An over can turn a game around. The new generation, of which I am a part, does not appreciate dreary five-day games filled with dour defence. No, not at all. The World Cup has proved that one-day cricket's life is yet prolonged, but the future of cricket, I think, is Twenty20. We want a game where the highlights show is as long as the game itself, where the ball is repeatedly whacked into the stands. Elegance is the worry of the older generation. As long as there is action, we're fine.
          We're getting there. Bingles (boring singles), ever present in one-day cricket, are a tiny part of T20, only there to give the strike to the better batsman or keep the strike at the end of an over. They are never continuous, always punctuated by boundaries or wickets. And the ongoing IPL is showing that it is not a batsman-dominated format. The battle between bat and ball is still extant, the only compromise is on cricket that is elegant. That too is kept alive by the stalwarts like Tendulkar and Warne who play the shorter version of the sport.
          Is T20 cricket the ideal format? Maybe not. But it is definitely here to stay.

Long Time No See!

          It's time for us Chennaiites to ditch the blue and don the yellow, for the mother of extravagant cricket carnivals is here! The IPL began yesterday in style - at Chepauk, not far from my own residence, the spectatators were treated to music, dances including SRK dancing to Tamil tunes and a final-over thriller.
          CSK did not get off to the perfect start, not in the least. Murali Vijay hit one to the boundary and attempted one more, only for the ball to be pouched by a Knight. Raina came and stabilized the game, creating a partnership with Aniruddha Srikkanth before departing. Dhoni came in ahead of Badrinath, Styris and Morkel. He played a cameo, scoring off boundaries and left after a to edge was caught by the keeper. Styris came and left, and Morkel arrived to take the score past 150.
          Knight Riders needed 154, which is not too challenging when you have players like Gambhir, Kallis and Yusuf Pathan in the line-up. They started off well, punishing Morkel and Southee. Dhoni stumped Bisla, only to have Yusuf come out. He hit one in the stands before being run out for just 11. Surprise man Tiwary walked out ahead of Gambhir and Morgan. Kallis got his fifty before being caught at short fine leg. Again, Gambhir's entry was delayed as Morgan entered. Raina dismissed him cheaply and Gambhir came on to the field, finally. KKR still had the advantage.
          But when the skipper exited after scoring just one, the match looked like it had turned. They required 33 from three overs, nothing is impossible in T20. The penultimate over was expensive, and the visitors needed 9 off the last over, not too hard at all. Southee came along and bowled three yorkers off the final three balls to seal the game for the hosts. Needing four off the final delivery, Bhatia hit a single. And CSK had not embarrassed themselves by way of  opening with a loss.
          Dhoni already holds the World Cup, IPL, Champions League and No. 1 Test Team. He'll be looking to play like this and do the first ever IPL two-in-a-row.
          Whistle podu!

The Run-Up

          All around me people are talking about the World Cup final. And there's nothing wrong with that, because this event only happens every four years, and it's perfectly human to anticipate it eagerly. And there's India playing to go with it. This is only the third time India is among the two teams left to win. So is the case for their islander opponents - a lot is at stake!
          This is the first all-Asian final since the birth of the event. Fitting, because the centre of the game, like Europe it is for football, has truly shifted from England, its birthplace, to the region where the sport is a religion.
          Somehow, India have been named favourites. I don't think so. Maybe I'm a cynic, but the fact is that in every game, only one of the two main aspects - batting and bowling - has clicked for India. Sri Lanka is not like that - they too have world-class batsmen and superb bowlers. True, their middle-order may not be great, but that's partly because they don't need to be - the top order usually finish it or set it up for the next few to finish it painlessly. SL are also not the kind who forgive mistakes like Pakistan did.
India come into the final with two big snatches to their credit - holders Australia and Pakistan. Sri Lanka however, had it rather easy - England and New Zealand. This could mean two things - that India are fatigued after the two high-octane clashes or that they are confident to pull off a third. Or that Sri Lanka, after stammering against NZ, may falter against India, or are saving the best for the last.
          This tie features two stalwarts who are probably playing their last World Cup games - Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan. It will be a dream to see the latter bowl to the former - if the Indian star hasn't walked off already by the time the spinners begin their reign. The country will want to see Sachin get his 100th 100, the World Cup Final being the perfect stage for that Bradman-esque feat. Murali would also want a final shot at overtaking Glenn McGrath's record of 71 World Cup wickets.
          Two keeper-captains face-off, hoping to lift that trophy. India has the supporters at theWankhede behind them, many of whom bought the tickets for huge prices. While Sri Lanka has has a more reliable side. The teams are playing for the 30th time since June 2008, so there is no question about the teams not knowing each other. What matters is who will finish with a smile, and who will have their head bowed once again. I want to see good cricket, and like the rest of the country - an India win. But it should be a deserved one.
          Who will come good?

And It's a Subcontinent Finale

          So there we are. Two teams from South-East Asia, the Indian subcontinent of which one is India itself, will face-off on Saturday to lift the coveted trophy which has evaded all but Australia since 1996. Both sides will be playing their third finals, the first of which both won, the second both lost, incidentally to Australia in consecutive World Cups. And the third...I just can't wait to find out.
          My, did India make it in style. Turning a game around against a side which has not been beaten so far after being restricted to 260. Sounds familiar? A great start and an exodus? That seems to be the name India have made for themselves. And for a change no longer, the bowling bailed them out. Each man in blue who ever bowled a ball yesterday picked up two green shirted neighbours. Dhoni's decision to go for a 7-4, with erstwhile part-timer Yuvraj being the fifth bowler all on his own, without the helpful support of Yusuf Pathan and fellow part-timers Raina and Sachin if need be was not too shocking, but his idea to dump Ashwin and go for Ashish Nehra, whom most Indians hold a grudge against for that appalling last over against South Africa, was not something that made me too happy. Dhoni takes gambles like this, and at least we'll have someone to blame when we lose and Nehra's ten overs go for seventy runs.
          Far from it. As I mentioned above, he picked up two, perhaps redeeming himself. It was a team effort. Sachin Tendulkar came close to his 100th hundred, but after many catches dropped and an lbw proven wrong, he was finally caught by the skipper on 85. In spite of his flawed and uncharacteristically not very smooth innings, he walked away with the Man of the Match award.
          In the second innings, at points it looked like it could go either way but when India began to steadily remove batsmen, the match looked more or less in India's hands. Misbah played inexplicably slowly till the end. He began to supply the boundaries once the other batsmen like Afridi and the potentially dangerous Umar Akmal departed, but it was too late. Blue had won over green, and our very honourable PM's very honourable guest was upset, not without reason. How the Pakistanis who crossed over to come to Mohali with big hopes only to see the side mess up a chase felt, I don't know.
          Due to Sri Lanka's hiccuppy win over New Zealand earlier, we'll be seeing an across-the-strait final in Mumbai on Saturday. Incidentally, India met Sri Lanka many thousands of years ago, and the 1.2 billion people here will be hoping for the same result, only that Sri Lanka is fielding a much more likable team, so if we lose it'll not be to rakshasas.
          In the poll on the right, not a soul has voted for Sri Lanka. Why? They are one of the two teams left! Whereas India has got around 17 votes! We seem rather confident. This shouldn't become complacency.
          I can't wait for Saturday!

Subcontinent #3's Through

          So there we are. Three of the four semifinalists are from the subcontinent; two are hosts and both will play their semis at home. Sri Lanka went through to the last four after a resounding ten-wicket win over fellow island nation England. You can't score 230 against a team like that and expect to get away with it.
England won the toss and opted to bat. Strauss fell for just 5 early on. Jonathan trott scored 86, while Eoin Morgan, having been dropped thrice and an lbw not given, exhausted his five lives after being caught off Malinga. The Europeans scored an unimpressive 229-8 and needed Sri Lanka to go at under 5 rins an over to get the target.
          A team like England's and a score like 229 cannot hold a side with longstanding openers, experienced middle-order men and tail-enders who will put on runs before ultimately departing. The aforementioned openers Dilshan and Tharanga needed no help at all to chase down the target, punishing even successful bowlers like Swann and Bresnan and not showing any mercy to the less renowned ones. They shot down the not-so-intimidating target with a good 63 balls to spare, even as the keeper-captain Sangakkara padded up, wondering when he would go in and when he realised he didn't need to, stood up and applauded the openers' inevitable centuries, the second of which was clubbed with the win.
          Sri Lanka's semifinal tie is also at home, as is the anticipated India-Pakistan one at Mohali. All the teams need to do is win two consecutive games and they will lift the Cup that Counts.

Oh My God!

           The way is clear.
           India are now the hot favourites. Never mind that their batting collapsed twice consecutively in the league stage. Or that their bowling and fielding are supposedly not up to the mark. The co-host stormed into the semifinals after a spirited game and five-wicket win. They will play unpredictable neighbour Pakistan on Wednesday for a place in the final.
          New Zealand, on the other hand, may not be the kind of side which falls explicitly under the category of teams which 'can win', but when a team beats what was declared as the favourite by Steve Waugh, not to mention the author, one can't help but conclude that they could pull off an unlikely but possible first World Cup victory.
          Today, Sri Lanka and England clash in the last quarterfinal for a semifinal spot, and I'm going for a Sri Lanka victory. If England have a good day, like they did twice in Chennai, then they could go through, but inconsistency is not respected in the knockouts. Murali will also be hoping to get closer to Glenn McGrath's record 71 World Cup wickets.
          All the previous paragraphs are sans any mention of the words 'Australia' and 'South Africa', which have been uttered in the same breath as 'favourite' because the two sides have gone home in their respective directions owing to them going down in thrilling losing causes. I will have to eat my words about the 'chokers' tag, because South Africa are the rightful owners. One more heartbreak was added to their long list, after falling short of New Zealand's unimpressive 221 by 49 runs.
          Earlier, there was an upset of sorts as India beat Australia in Ahmedabad. Australia went at a similar pace throughout the innings, save for some hitting in the end, and posted 260. Such a target is not too hard to defend when you have bowlers of Brett Lee and Shaun Tait's quality. They succeeded in one aspect of bowling, picking up wickets, but the other important aspect, containing runs, was ignored once the fifth wicket fell. Yuvraj Singh, again impressing with an all-round performance, and Suresh Raina successfully brought down the required run rate within easy reach and snapped it up with 14 balls to spare. The last ball was a stylish boundary, and Yuvraj Singh exulted in front of an exhilarated Ahmedabad crowd.
          Of the five teams left, I think only India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are of World Cup-winning calibre. There can still be upsets.
          Today will be exciting - the revealing of the identity of the fourth semifinalist and the green light shown for the awaited F1 season 2011. Have fun!

West Indies are deservingly OUT

          I wonder how the fans at Mirpur would have felt. Many were supporting Pakistan, but did they turn up at the stadium expecting such a lopsided quarterfinal which involved one team getting out for their third lowest total in World Cups and another chasing it down in a few overs?
          West Indies were packed off for a very unimpressive 112 all out in an again unimpressive 43.3 overs. The only survivor and top scorer was Shivnarine Chanderpaul who scored a depressingly slow 44 off 106 balls (caught in the wrong format?) and ran out of partners to at least get a fifty. Explosive hitter Pollard was once again dismissed for only one run. Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal contributed to the Windies' dismal collapse.
          Pakistan had absolutely no trouble in shooting down that humble score. West Indies is not renowned for their bowling attack and failed to pick up even one wicket. Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez scored 47 and 61 each, both unbeaten, and chased down the target effortlessly in just under 21 overs. The Man of the Match award was given to Hafeez for his all-round performance. And West Indies exited the Cricket World Cup yet again.
          Tomorrow, India plays Australia in a mouth-watering second quarterfinal. One team will go through and one will exit. What will be the outcome?

Aussome winning run ends, India finish 2nd

The atmosphere at the MAC was charged. After all, it was a World Cup match featuring India. And West Indies and India are not exactly friendly. The match would decide who will play Pakistan and who will play Australia (the winner, ironically, would play the reigning champs). India were looking to sign off the league stage with a win.
It seemed like half the city was there. There was utter noise outside the stadium, with people cashing on on the extreme support for the home nation by selling various commodities including flags, banners, wristbands and painted faces.
The Indian innings started auspiciously with a wide four. Early in the innings, however, Sachin Tendulkar, a Chennai favourite, walked for a caught behind that was neither called by the umpire, nor easily spotted from the replay. The other opener, Gambhir, too fell not long after. Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli put on a good partnership, but the conclusion began a saddening series of wickets. Yuvraj braved the heat and a bad stomach to complete his hundred - his first in World Cups. India put on the board a not-very-inspiring total of 268, which the West Indies could have easily chased down even without the bombarding Chris Gayle. Ravi Rampaul picked up five.
The West Indies started off fairly okay, but when home boy Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his and the team's first wicket in his first World Cup match, the crowd erupted. Ten overs later, Darren Bravo, Lara lookalike, fell off a Raina delivery. When opener Dwayne Smith fell in the first over of Zaheer Khan's spell, the collapse was triggered. The Caribbean side crashed from 154 for two to 188 all out, the wickets of Pollard, Thomas, Sammy, Russell, Benn, Sarwan and Rampaul each set off a crowd explosion of increasing magnitude as the Boys in Blue inched closer to a win. Pollard's wicket was particularly dramatic because, as a man who on his day could have shot down that target by himself in ten overs, the expectations were set high and when a figure like that falls for just one run, the joy for the opponent and its supporters is unparallelled. The last time he was dismissed so crucially was that memorable wicket in the IPL final when Dhoni placed a man in an unusual fielding position near the bowler and caught the MI hitter. For a change, the much-worshipped Indian batting order collapsed and the bowling attack which many had dismissed had bailed them out.
Earlier, the amazing Australian winning run of 34 World Cup matches was ended by the very team which had beaten it last, in 1999. Ponting was disappointed, not without reason. This meant that World No. 1 Aussies finished third in the group behind Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The QF line up features games between Pakistan and West Indies, Sri Lanka and England, Australia and India and New Zealand and SA, the third of which is mouthwatering. I can't imagine that one of those two will be eliminated on Thursday for good.
Eight teams left. Next week, four. And two. And it boils down to one winner whose name will be etched in history.

Chokers Tag Shifts, 'Minnows' Thrill, Sangakkara and Murali Shine

I think the 'chokers' tag may have changed places. South Africa looked distinctly un-chokish in their last game against India, while West Indies lost from a seemingly winning position to England, who seem to have a penchant for games with interesting endings. England scored a rather mediocre 243 all out in 48.4 overs. Russell, Bishoo and Roach were responsible for dismantling the island nation's line-up. West Indies started off very well, scoring fifty runs in under five overs, but after Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith and his namesake Bravo were dismissed, the side from the Caribbean slowed down. Wickets did not fall continuously till the end. The final four blows were taken for just three runs. West Indies had messed up a chase where a win would have seemed default in the beginning of their innings.
Ireland chased down the what would be in normal circumstances intimidating target of 307 set by the Netherlands with a mere 14 balls to spare. Ryan ten Doeschate's century coupled with Peter Borren's 84 set up the score for Ireland to chase, but Ireland's spirit was amazing. They went at over six runs an over and Paul Stirling scored the second century of the game. He bagged the Man of the Match award, and the Oranje exited the World Cup without having won a single game, which is a shame considering they have some world-class players in their ranks.
Sri Lanka registered a big 112-run win yesterday. Sangakkara sparkled his way to a century, whick frankly is nothing new. They scored a decent 265 runs, and you really can't expect a team like New Zealand to chase that down too easily. Wickets fell like ninepins, four of them and slowing of run-rate thanks to the evergreen Muralitharan. The Kiwis were bowled out for a not-very-respectable 153 in 35 overs. The Man of the Match went to Sangakkara, but I feel it should have gone to Murali.
There are only two league games left, incidentally one of which I will be watching live. Then comes the knockouts, the true test.

India vs SA

This was an anticipated match in many ways. One, they are two teams tipped to win the quadrennial event and landed up in the same group. Two, they just played each other in a five-match one-day series which went down to the wire, SA coming out on top. The crowds were drawn simply because the encounter featured the host.
India won the toss and opted to bat. The start was sublime, setting a new mandatory powerplay best and making the hopes of a nation soar. The large opening partnership of 142 was finally broken when the timber rattled behind Sehwag off a du Plessis delivery. Tendulkar went on to complete his 99th international century, to huge applause. Gambhir arrived, put 69 on the board before departing. India still looked poised to go well past 300 when Dhoni inexplicably sent Yusuf in early. The latter came and left without scoring, triggering a collapse behind him. India, after the good start and all that, was bowled out for 297.
It is never good to score something like that and believe you're safe. Especially when there are men like Amla and Kallis in the opposite team's line-up. The aforementioned hitters scored 61 and 69 respectively, setting the tone. Some of the Indians bowled sensibly, but it wasn't enough. AB de Villiers too scored a half-century. SA were favourites throughout the chase. When wickets began to fall towards the end, the match looked like it was delicately poised and the Indians could have made it, but the Men in Blue left it too late. It boiled down to a very gettable but also very defendable 13 runs off the last over. Dhoni sent the inconsistent Ashish Nehra over Harbhajan Singh for the last over, and the former promply gave away the amount in four balls, of which three were boundaries. Dale Steyn was Man of the Match.
India would like to win their final encounter against WI at Chepauk, beacuse this is a format which requires a team to finish as high in the table as possible. I'm wishing them luck.

Weekend Dhamaka - Quoting ESPN-Star

Wow, this weekend was exciting, though a part of the excitement was washed out. Australia took on Sri Lanka in a replay of last edition's final, which too was marred by the conditions. Sri Lanka batted first, and recovered from the early loss of Dilshan and Tharanga. Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 73, but never got to complete his innings as the heavens opened and the poor Sri Lankan fans in Colombo got to see only 32.5 of the 100 overs they had paid for.
South Africa failed to shake off the 'chokers' tag as they made a mess of what should have been an easy target of 172. England made their humble score after Tahir and Peterson ripped through the batting line-up, with only Bopara and Trott making any attempt to steady the inflow of runs. The African side started their chase well, but some good bowling by the Englishmen meant that SA lost seven wickets for just 21 runs and finished a mere six runs short of their target. The English hopes of a first ever World Cup win, dented after a tie and a loss, were revived!
There was a lot of hype around the India match. True, it's an Associate nation they were playing, but a talented one at that. And an India match is an India match.
India opted to field, and a surprising five-wicket haul by Yuvraj Singh, a part-time spinner included the wicket of record-setter Kevin O'Brien for just 9. Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel also pitched in and got the visitors for 207, a target which a team with a batting line-up like India's should have got in around 35 overs. However, the fiery Sehwag was removed early, which I guess slowed it down considerably. They ambled along the middle overs, losing the occasional wicket. Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh brought the Men in Blue close to the target, and after the skipper's departure, Yusuf Pathan finished the game in his inimitable style. The man of the match was expectedly Yuvi, being the first man to score a fifty and get a five-for in the same match in World Cups.
More dhamaka expected over the next few weeks!

England is Very Upset

       That elusive upset emerged yesterday, in the form of a thrilling three-wicket Ireland win over England. The Englishmen batted decently, as it is very easy to do that at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, but the same can't be said about their bowling. Kevin O'Brien scored the fastest hundred in World Cup cricket, off a neat fifty balls and a nice round strike rate of 200, shattering the previous record of Matthew Hayden's ton off sixty in the previous edition in the Caribbean. Only Graeme Swann bowled remotely well, and his overs were used up early.
An Associate team will not be able to chase down a target of 328 unless the opposing team plays really badly, and that could describe England pretty well. O'Brien and Alex Cusack built up a good partnership, before Cusack sacrificed himself after a misunderstanding over a single. John Mooney came in, and played with a general pattern of many dot balls before a boundary, the fours coming in strange places where neither the bowler not Mooney meant them to go. O'Brien's historic innings came to an end after a convincing run-out. There were only tail-enders left, but the damage was done. The Irish men won with five balls to spare.
England's hopes of winning their first ever World Cup are now dented, after being stretched by the Netherlands, tying a thriller with India and now losing to their European rivals. They will ahve to step up.
Ireland, on the other hand, are high on confidence. They will be playing India next, and will be looking to exploit the hosts' below-par bowling. However, the captain says the top order should improve. They could beat Bangladesh, and if they pull off another upset, over India, South Africa or Windies, then a quarterfinal berth is more or less assured.
The weekend menu is quite interesting, with an Australia - Sri Lanka final replay, South Africa meeting a battered England and India playing Ireland, which, being Indian, I have to watch. A certain TV is going to be on for a long time!
More upsets will be fun, but NOT against India.
That's it for now!

So Who Won? No One!

The India-England match was shifted from the country's most famous cricket ground, the Eden Gardens, to the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, inviting unhappy remarks from a lot of people. Crowds of people thronged the stadium for the tickets, even as it threatened to rain.
If the match was washed out by rain, one point each would have been awarded.
It wasn't. India started off well, Tendulkar scoring a century, his 98th, in his typical style. The others made some partnerships. Suddenly, towards the end of the innings, there was a flurry of wickets, most of them by Tim Bresnan. India never got to finish the innings, the tenth wicket falling off the last ball.
England paced their chase very well. They kept up the run rate and exploited the poor bowling by hitting frequent boundaries. Strauss scored a brilliant 158. However, in the end Zaheer Khan picked up some valuable wickets that gave the hosts a glimmer of hope. They slowed the visitors down a little, and it boiled down to two runs required off the last ball - and England took a characteristic single. The match was tied.
A tie also means a point apiece.
All that nail-biting for nothing?
I don't think so really, because we saw some good cricket. And it's good to speed up the heartbeats once in a while (my ideal).
Shane Warne in fact was the only one who predicted a tie before the match. He was regarded a genius by English captain Andrew Strauss.
India need to get their act together in bowling and fielding if they don't want to embarrass themselves against Ireland next week.
We still need an upset. Pakistan beating Sri Lanka was not all that unexpected, and the islanders are proving themselves favoutrites right now. I'm in fact looking forward to the time a minnow team surprises one of the big guns.
May the most deserving team win! Not necessarily best!
Cheers!

Cricket WC Till Now

The World Cup is now nearly a week old, and there haven't been any upsets yet. Australia won their matches against Zimbabwe and New Zealand comfortably. The Aussies won by 91 runs and 7 wickets respectively. Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait did the honours in the latter match. The defending champions have shown that they really are among the favourites, and their negative results in the two warm-up games are not to be taken seriously.
England were stretched be the Netherlands on Tuesday, chasing down the target of 292 with a mere 8 balls to spare. The Oranje exploited some average bowling to get that intimidating score. Ryan ten Doeschate, recently bought by Kolkata Knight Riders, scored a brilliant hundred. The English batting saved them from an early embarrassment.
Pakistan beat Kenya by a massive 205 runs. They scored a good 317 for 7 and bowled out the Africans for 112. They are not to be judged too quickly, though.
South Africa beat West Indies by 7 wickets on Thursday. They got the Caribbean boys out for just 222 in 47.3 overs and got the required target in 42.5 overs. AB de Villiers joined the century club with an unbeaten century.
We haven't seen any upsets yet. The league stage is for a month, though, and it won't be long, I hope, before a respectable team is shocked.
Ireland is falling apart as I type this. They are a not exactly good 147 for 5.
Some teams have shown sterling displays, while some have been demoralised by early losses. One side will come top.

The WC So Far

The Cricket World Cup is upon us, and three matches are already over (and the fourth is happening as I type). Two days after a spectacular opening ceremony, the first ball of the anticipated quadrennial event was bowled - and hit for a four. India beat co-host Bangladesh by a convincing 87 runs. Virender Sehwag stole the show with his 175, perhaps proving himself as great as Kapil Dev. Virat Kohli scored a century on his World Cup debut, a feat that has been done before, but commendable nevertheless. India posted an intimidating 370. Bangladesh looked good at points, but the Indian bowlers, Harbhajan, Munaf and Zaheer in particular, choked the Bangladesh batting and restricted them to 283.
New Zealand beat Kenya in a grossly one-sided match yesterday. After bowling out the Africans for a mere 69, the Kiwis chased down the total in 8 overs. Kenya will be looking to bounce back against unpredictable Pakistan on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka beat Canada in another lopsided match. The co-hosts won by a whopping 210 runs. They scored 332 for 7, Jayawardene's century the highlight, and bundled out the North Americans for 122, the feared bowling attack doing the honours.
Zimbabwe is stumbling as I type. Not unexpected.
One and a half more months of international cricket, and then comes the IPL. Four more months of relentless cricket. And two teams will lift up trophies in the end. Which teams, is what these four months are all about.

Football Update

European Leagues

Manchester United bounced back from their shock loss to Wolves and beat city rivals Manchester City 2-1 with Rooney scoring a spectacular bicycle kick goal. Chelsea's title hopes were handed the final blow with a goalless draw with Fulham and are now twelve points adrift of leaders Man U.
Barcelona's winning streak was ended as they drew 1-1 with lowly Sporting Gijon. Real Madrid closed the gap between them to five points.
Borussia Dortmund were held again to a draw, while holders Bayern Munich moved up to third place and are within reach of second-placed Mainz, whom they play this weekend.
AC Milan thrashed Parma 4-0 while Napoli beat Roma 2-0. European champions Inter Milan lost to Juventus 1-0. AC Milan are top and are 3 points ahead of Napoli.

Champions League

AC Milan lost to Tottenham 0-1, the lone goal being scored by Peter Crouch. It was a game with lots of fouls and Gennaro Gattusso was particularly ill-tempered throughout. Valencia drew 1-1 with Schalke 04.
Arsenal came from a goal down to shock favourites Barcelona 2-1, Robin van Persie and Arshavin scoring the late goals for the Gunners. Shakhtar Donetsk surprised Roma 3-2.
Next week will be a repeat of last year's final, Inter vs Bayern. Will the result be a repeat too?

Five more days.

Five more days and the biggest ODI tournament is under way. The stadia are all ready (a far cry from last year's CWG!) and some warm-up games have been played. India won a thriller against Australia in a match that had a lot of wickets. India was bundled out for 214, which is not exactly respectable, but suddenly Piyush Chawla turned the game around, picking up four Australian wickets. South Africa won easily against Zimbabwe at Chennai, while New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies also picked up wins.
This format is the same as the 1996 format, which I didn't know much about earlier because I wasn't born then. The teams are in two groups, decided by ranking, and they play all other teams in their group. The top four in each group qualify for the knockouts. This means there will be some mouthwatering clashes and some matches which could be anything but crowd-pullers.
Waugh has said SA are the favourites, and I think so too. Kapil Dev has said India has a very good chance, while Sourav Ganguly is playing safe by not declaring any clear favourites.
Some people say 14's too big a number, but I say it's not enough. Look at the FIFA World Cup. 32 teams, and is it boring or do we see empty stadiums? The FIFA World Cup is special - once every four years and one of the few times when national teams play each other really competitively. There are national cricket matches all the time, so...are we bored? Cricket has a lot to learn from football.
I don't like the Umpire Decision Review System. It gives cricket a very artificial feel. True, umpires are prone to error, but the UDRS is not neat and unobtrusive like the tennis Hawk-Eye.
This is a different World Cup in many ways. Will it be a new winner too?

9 Days to go...

Just over a week to go and the biggest cricketing event is here! I hope that the Indian team gives us some new victorious footage; I am up to my neck with my father recounting 1983 and Kapil's Devils. 1983 has become some sort of a Ramayana in India, and thankfully India is back in the list of probable winners. Steve Waugh predicting an SA win, and so am I. They have an experienced captain in Graeme Smith, a crack all-rounder in Jacques Kallis, solid batsmen in JP Duminy, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers and superb bowlers in quickie Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe who shone in the recent series against India and Morne Morkel. However, India's flat tracks are not the same as SA's bouncy ones, so they will have to adapt a bit.
Holders Australia come back fresh from a 6-1 series thumping of England and will be trying to make it four-in-a-row, but are now being troubled by injuries to key players.
India are playing at home, and this means support but a lot of pressure too. This could be Sachin's last shot at winning the crowning glory for his sparkling career. There is a balance between experienced players like Sachin and younger ones like Virat Kohli.
West Indies have not played in the subcontinent for a while now, and they will need to get used to the tracks and conditions. They have hitters like Pollard which is an asset on batting tracks like these.
Sri Lanka hve good bowlers and decent batsmen, but are not really among the favourites. They are perfectly capable of springing a surprise, though.
England just got beaten really convincingly by the Aussies 1-6, but they too have some quality players and could cause problems for the big guns.
This World Cup features 14 teams, not a big number compared to FIFA World Cup's 32, and there sre contrasting teams, from No. 1 and holders Australia to unranked Canada. In a place like the subcontinent, sparks are sure to fly. When you go for a match, be sure to take a helmet along.
Looking forward to some great cricket, and a deserving winner!

Man U and Chelsea lose!

This weekend's EPL was so exciting! Arsenal quickly built up a 4-0 lead away at Newcastle, but the hosts started a late flurry of goals to draw 4-4. Two of Newcastle's goals were from the penalty mark. Manchester United lost to last-placed giant-killers Wolverhampton 2-1. Nani picked up an early lead for Man U, but Wolves scored two more to add one more to the list of big names they've beaten, which includes Chelsea and Manchester City. Chelsea lost at Stamford Bridge to Liverpool 0-1, the only goal being scored by Raul Meireles. New boy in blue Torres, seemed to forget that he was not playing for Liverpool any more as he put on an uncharacteristically unspectacular show. Chelsea are 10 points adrift of Man U. Manchester City won their match 3-0, Tevez scoring a het-trick on his birthday. Saturday saw a record 41 EPL goals in one day, with, other than the aforementioned 4-4 draw, 5-3 and 3-2 results.

Football Transfers

The January transfer window shut last week, and some big names have moved clubs. Of course, the big signing was of Fernando Torres to Chelsea. The Blues bought El Nino from Liverpool for a record 50 million pounds, making him the fourth most expensive player in history. Torres has remained a thorn in the flesh of the London club for quite a while, and he scored both goals in their last encounter. Interestingly, his debut is against Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool are not short of strikers though, as they bagged Luis Suarez from Ajax and Andy Carroll from Newcastle. Suarez in notorious for his goalline handball against Ghana in the World Cup 2010 and, even more recently, biting an opponent in the Eredivisie. Carroll has scored a lot of goals for Newcastle, and the club seem to be in trouble without him, as they lost 1-0 to Fulham.
Real Madrid bought Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City.

Djokovic won!

So...Djokovic is the Aussie Open champ! He beat Scot Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. I can't say I expected him to win from the start, but he was the better player in the final. Murray too played some good shots, but all the times when he broke the Serb's serve, it was evened out. Murray was not too happy with himself when he made a lot of unforced errors. Murray's mother was present in the crowd, rooting for him and saying 'Come On!'! This is Djokovic's second Grand Slam title. He dedicated the win to his country Serbia, which is having a lot of trouble, and are also the holders of the Davis Cup.

Clijsters wins Women's Singles!

Kim Clijsters has won her second Grand Slam in a row! The Belgian beat China's Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Li Na started off really well, but then seemed to get a little exasperated when Clijsters hit a few good shots. Clijsters in the presentation ceremony thanked a lot of people, and said that now she can really be called 'Aussie Kim'. She has a large fan following in the nation.
The Indian Express was later derailed in the men's doubles final by the Bryan brothers. They were beaten in two sets. Lee-Hesh haven't played Grand Slams together for nearly ten years now however, and reaching the final is a great way to come back. Bhupathi said, after the match, 'It has taken the best team in the world to beat us.' So true!
The men's singles final is starting in a few minutes. I'm gonna support Murray.

AO Semis. FedEx's out!

The semis of the Australian Open are over. The biggest upset that the latest round threw up was, of course, Roger Federer losing in straight sets to World No.3 Novak Djokovic. The Serb came out on top after a facile 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over the Swiss holder. Federer, in the interview after the match, was rather cheerful, stating that he was playing well and in good shape, only Novak was better that day, as opposed to how upset Nadal was after his loss the previous day.
The other men's singles semifinal featured an expected Andy Murray win over David Ferrer. The Spaniard won the first set, but the World No. 5 bounced back quickly, winning the next three sets. The Scot won 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 7-6. The game was full of even breaks.
In the women's singles semifinals, No.1 Caroline Wozniacki lost to Chinese Li Na 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Kim Clijsters beat No. 2 Vera Zvonareva in straight sets. Clijsters is expected to win what she thinks will be her last Australian Open final. She is 27 while ninth seed Li Na is 28.
In the Men's Doubles semis, Paes-Bhupathi beat second-seeded Mirnyi-Nestor in a three-setter. They will be playing the top seeded Bryan twins, who beat Butorac-Rojer, in the final today.
Dulko and Penneta won the Women's doubles event.

NADAL LOST!!!!!!! Round-up of Oz Open Quarters

The biggest shock of the day was, of course, Rafa Nadal going down in straight sets to his countryman David Ferrer. Nadal was obviously not at his best, nor was his health the best, and was pretty shattered when he lost. Hopes of a Rafa Slam were lost. David Ferrer seemed more confident and better, at least today, than the World No. 1.
Andy Murray did not have too much trouble in finishing giant-killer Alex Dolgopolov. The latter had beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling in the previous two rounds, but the Ukrainian could not survive the four-setter against Murray. The Scot will be playing Ferrer in the semis.
Francesca Schiavone, who played in the longest women's match in a Slam, was knocked out by top seed Wozniacki in three sets. Li Na beat Germany's Andrea Petkovic in straight sets. In the semis, Li Na and Wozniacki will be playing each other, while Zvonareva will be playing Clijsters.
The Indian Express beat Llodra/Zimonjic 6-4, 6-4. They'll be playing second-seeded Mirnyi/Nestor in the semis. The Bryan twins won their match in straight sets too, and will be playing Rojer/Butorac for a place in the final.
Nadal refused to give any excuses for his loss to his compatriot. He was evidently in pain throughout the match, but he did not want to retire as he had done last year. He said Ferrer was the better player today (and I agree).
Four people remaining. One winner.

European Leagues Review

Time for some football. Here's a review of the weekend matches in the major European leagues.

English Premier League.

Manchester United pulled off an expected win against Birmingham City 5-0, with Berbatov scoring yet another hat-trick, his third this season, with ever-red Giggs and Nani scoring the other two goals. Chelsea seem to be back in the form they were looking for, with a 4-0 win away at Bolton. Drogba, Anelka, Malouda and Ramires scored for the Blues. Arsenal beat Wigan 3-0 at home, Robin van Persie scoring a hat-trick. Liverpool beat Wolves away 3-0.

La Liga.

Barcelona continued their unbeaten run witha 3-0 win over Racing, Pedro, Messi and Iniesta doing the scoring. Real Madrid remained for points behind with a 1-0 win over Mallorca, the lone goal being netted by Benzema.

Bundesliga.

Holders Bayern Munich moved up to third with a 5-1 win over Kaiserslautern. Leaders Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by Stuttgart. Schalke 04 beat Hannover 96 1-0, while Werder Bremen lost to FC Koln 3-0.

Serie A.

UEFA Champions League holders were beaten 3-1 by Udinese, their first loss under new coach Leonardo.  Leaders AC Milan beat Cesena at home 2-0, while Juventus were held to a goalless draw by Sampdoria. Napoli and Roma won their matches against Bari and Cagliari respectively, while Lazio lost to Bologna 3-1.

Oz Open - Round 4

So........the Round 4 of The Aus Open is over!! The big surprise in the men's singles is Robin Soderling going down to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov. Soderling lost 6-1, 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 2-6 in a closely contested five-setter. The rest of the big names are all in, save for Andy Roddick who went down in straight sets to Chennai Open champ Stan Wawrinka. FedEx played a four-setter against Tommy Robredo. He eventually won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, but dropping three sets in two rounds is not characteristic Federer. Nadal beat No. 15 Marin Cilic in straight sets and is still firm fave to win the title and complete his 'Rafa Slam'.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, The women's singles fourth round featured a marathon match lasting over four-and-a-half hours. Francesca Schiavone came out on top. Top seed Wozniacki, No.2 Zvonareva and #3 Clijsters all made it through to the quarters.
In the third round of the men's doubles, Lee-Hesh beat Granollers-Robredo 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The Indo-Pak Express however went down fighting to Llodra-Zimonjic in three sets.
The players remaining are fewer and the SCORES section in the newspapers shorter. Who will stick it out till the end and claim the title?