It's In TeH GaMe !!!

Summary: It's In TeH GaMe !!!

All about Cricket and MMORPGs !

Come On Windies!

Coming into this test match, this was possibly the best chance Windies had altogether. Now they are facing a tough task ahead with 51 runs more needed and only 1 wicket for Australia to take the series 2-0.

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ODI At Its Quickest:2nd Match

This match was supposed to be played at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh but amidst a hostile political situation in the state, organisers thought better to shift to the New Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

One's' loss is others' gain.....Nagpur stood witness to another action packed (And Runs packed) game between hosts India and Sri Lanka.

India won the toss and elected to bat first, but Dhoni's calculations went wrong as the Delhi Duo ( Viru & Gauti) was dismissed cheaply. Gambhir getting out in a rather byzerk manner as he collided with Chanaka Welagedara failed to reach back to the bowling crease, trying to complete a cheeky single with Sachin. Virat Kohli & Sachin were now left to rebuild the inning, they managed to put on a 62 run stand.

Kohli Completed his fifty but fell soon after on 54. Raina and Dhoni took charge at the middle having a century patnership at nearly run a ball, setting the Indian innings for another 300 + score.No Lankan bowler was spared and debutant S Lakmal (8-0-57-0) hammered the most, a late fury of runs saw India finishing 301-7 & MSD completing another century.

Anyone who the 1st ODI knew that 302 wasent unbeatable. The Lankan start set the platform for a successfull chase, Tharanga (37) & Dilshan (123) having a 102 run stand in just 14 overs,

Tharanga fell first (To Harbhajan), Sangakarra was run-out soon after. Dilshan had a solid patnership with Jayawardene in the middle overs. Dishan & Jayawardene's wickets gave hopes for an Indian comeback, but it wasent to be. Angello Mathews's quickfire 37 (Of 25 balls) took Lanka to the finish line, this being Lanka's 1st successfull 300+ chase in the subcontinent, T Dilshan being adjudged Man Of The Match.

Indian bowling & fielding had its share of problems. All regular bowlers (Exept Jadeja) were taken for runs, Nehra (10-0-72-0) for the most. In addition, Captain MS Dhoni has been banned for 2 ODIs on grounds of slow over rate, Sehwag or Yuvraj set to lead the side in his absence.

Now with the series level at 1-1, the contest is set to be all the more exiting. I can only hope India comes out on the top.

Date Published: Dec 18, 2009 - 10:00 pm

Fast Bowling returns to haunt Ponting

For the first in his career, Ricky Ponting was forced to retire hurt.

First Ishant and now a budding express speedster Kemar Roach from West Indies...a place better known for tall legendary fast bowlers like Ambrose, Walsh, and many more against whom almost every batsman in this world feared to face them. Last two years while facing the fast bowlers have been horrid for the Punter. Coming from amidst all the hype just like Sharma, Roach was expected to do what he has done to Ponting in WACA...rip the batsman's body parts apart.

While Ishant during his long battle against Ricky fired the ball at a torrid pace and bounce mostly towards the chest and the ass, Roach nearly broke Punter's arm. But during both the encounters, Ponting was left hoping and sometimes in pain at the crease. One must appreciate though for the way he was determined to continue playing despite in pain. BRAVO the blunted Punter!

Date Published: Dec 16, 2009 - 7:34 am

T20 at its very, very best: Ind V/s SL 2nd T20

What a match we have had, last time I thought the match displayed a wonderful game of T20 cricket, but today the game was much better. Fortunately, this time India won the match, and that too successfully chasing down such a high total. Just like the last match, this match also witnessed bad fielding, but this time from both the sides. Surprisingly, the good fielders seem to be dropping easy catches. The Indian bowlers failed to save themselves from the rude batting of the Srilankans, and I could not do anything except to praise the batsmen and criticize the bowlers. The Srilankans maintained a good, healthy run rate throughout their innings, and I would like to give the credit to the sloppy Indian fielding. Looks like the new fielding coach doesn't bring in good fielding spirits. Sangakara looked to continue from where he had left in the earlier game, and believe me whichever side you might support, he was a pleasure to watch. Birthday boy Yuvraj played a match winning innings along with the Srilankan bowlers and fielders, who did their best to lose the match. Whatever you may call this game, a batting paradise, fielding nightmare, or whatever, those who witnessed the match live in the stadium had their money worth. One would have surely seen the classic T20 action even in this game and plenty of excitement.

Date Published: Dec 12, 2009 - 9:39 am

A Poem on Sachin

Who said

AnIdle Mind is A Devil's Workshop

A statement which I can prove false. I was sitting idle, so I decided to compose a poem on cricket, wasn't able to do so and wrote one on one of my favourite players- Sachin Tendulkar. Th e poem is not too good, but I believe it is fine as my literature and poetry isn't too good. You might find some useless things, but I had to write something. So please excuse me.

Sachin Tendulkar is my favourite cricketer,
He is also a good wicket- taker.
He runs behind the ball to get his prey,
He seems to get famous day by day.

He is a person whose qualities can't be possessed by anyone,
Out of thousands, he is the only one.
Sachin, casts over everyone a magic spell,
Without him our lives would surely have been hell.

It is hard to believe how easily he sets records for himself,
His opponents are afraid of playing against him, which I've seen myself.
He runs hard and hard to get the 'catch',
The game doesn't get over unless he becomes the "man of the match".

Shanav Kakkar
New Delhi

Date Published: Dec 11, 2009 - 6:19 am

New Blog, New Story

Hello friends, I've got a new blog, but this one is only for people who have interest in social and political issues. My new blog, The Inside Story has a lot to offer and most likely our partner Satya Mathur is going to join me. Unfortunately, Rishabh can't join us because he doesn't take interest in fields other than cricket. I will continue to write cricket articles on Crick-o. So if you do take interest in political and social issues, do visit my blog.

Date Published: Dec 11, 2009 - 4:46 am

T20 at its very best: SL V/s ind 1st T20

As I close the television set in frustration, I can watch the Srilankans celebrating their victory, in the 1st T20 at Nagpur. Irrespective of the result, we surely had a wonderful game of cricket, infact I believe it was among the best T20 matches played by India, the best was surely the 2007 World T20 finals at Johannesburg. Those of you who have been lucky enough to watch the action live on television would have seen how the game managed to put on perfect T20 excitement.

All cricketers gave their 100 percents, the fielder hitting the stumps on more than one occasion, the bowler coming back to the stumps as quick as he can to collect the ball and the batsman diving to save his vital wicket. Though the wicket gave a bit of extra joy to the batsman, the game lost its excitement only in the last few overs.

Some standout performances included those of Kumar Sangakara, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Angelo Mathews, Kapugedara and this time for his bowling, Sanath Jayasuria.
Kumar Sangakara displayed if what class is he made of. His spectacular innings of 78 runs saw 2 sixes and some splendid strokes. His fifty coming of only 21 balls.
And the batting star for India was its latest wall- Gautam Gambhir, whose fifty came even faster-19 balls.His half century was studded with 11 boundaries and those too on consistent basis.
Mathews proved his value for the team once again, while the old man did it again, but this time for his bowling and he snatched the match of India's hands.

At the end of the day, Srilanaka were a better team, infact India was the worse team, dropping catches and losing quick wickets. The butter-fingered fielders dropped many catches and committed many misfields. At a time when Gambhir seemed to be unstoppable, he himself made a mistake and had to part away with his wicket. After his wicket, India completely made a mess of it. I was shocked to see the wickets fall at such a healthy rate. Bowling wasn't a big problem, it was just too good batting by the Srilankans.

I am eagerly waiting for the next T20 and hope India will bounce back in that match.

Date Published: Dec 09, 2009 - 8:32 am

The brainchild of BCCI that has led to India's shaky No.1 position

Now, most of you must have got the idea from the title itself. Of course, it is the IPL and Mr.Lalit Modi who have struck again. And they along with the whole BCCI individual giants are encouraging a format, where India doesn't even rank in top 5. Come on BCCI...why do you always have to something atrocious and harmful for the team in your control? Bring in some more tests please :s ...before we, the fans of Indian Cricket break your luxurious, exquisite office made from the money-through-IPL into bits and pieces.

For MSD and Co. somehow provided the icing on the cake by first marking Indian Cricket's 100^th test win, and then of course, taking India to numero uno. Now that playing against minnows like Bangladesh is going to give India not even one single point in the table, and with the NZ test series still not confirmed, I doubt if India might even slip to as low as 3 or 4 in the rankings. Possible enough? Isn't it? Here is where, MSD's golden luck will come into play. Don't forget how SL players were left licking their wounds due to the lacking of UDRS. Had it been there, at least the 3rd test could have resulted in a draw. And now in the present and the future, if by god's grace, the Aussies and the Saffas could fail to make amends of the opportunities coming at them, it is going to be Dhoni's luck again.

Still though, credit has to be given to the whole Indian team, not only the one in the present but right from the 90s when our legendary heroes were cementing their place in the side right to youngsters coming in the side and doing well of late. Needless to say, it has been a long journey, and the whole of Indian Cricket deserves to cherish these precious moments. Who knows..kal India No.1 ho ya na ho?

Date Published: Dec 07, 2009 - 7:35 am

Mohammads have done it for Pak at last!

Last time they did their best, yet they could not save their team from the clutches of defeat. This time, they'd overpowered their performance from their previous game along with another Mohammad, who is leading their team in a strange manner. In blogging circles, he's better known as MoYo.

In all, a fantastic game played by Pakistan. They pretty much outplayed NZ especially with MoAa(Aamer) and MoAs(Asif) blowing the Kiwi batsmen like 10 skittles(of course 1 remains unbeaten in the end).

Now there is a lot to ponder about for Dan and his boys before they take the field in Napier on Dec 11. How are they going to fight complacency as predicted by Vettori. Oh and how are they going to counter the Pakistani duo of MoAa and MoAs?

Meanwhile there is some more disappointing news for NZ as Ian O'Brien is retiring from international cricket only to make a living in UK. Sigh...the beard goes :(

Date Published: Dec 06, 2009 - 9:47 am

Sehwag-Bowler's Enemy...Viewers Friend

Balls are a Bowlers best friends and to see one's best friend being smashed out mersilessly and repeatedly generates some anger and frustration. Maybe thats why bowlers fear and hate bowling to Virender Sehwag. But you cant blame Sehwag for his bad reputation amoungst the bowlers, because there is only one way in which he knows how to play...That Being The 'Hit Hard & Play Fast' Way...And we shouldn't just pity the Lankans, after all its not the first time that Viru has gone on such a rampage, he's gone past the 300 run mark twice allready..309 (Vs. Pakistan) and 319 (Vs. South Africa).....and we hope more big innings come from his bat in the future. On Friday he got out on 293, just 7 short of 300, but his inning has captured the imagination of people from all over (Exept the Lankans). It seemed that India was playing a prolonged one day international Inning. Sehwag had smashed a lot of balls down the ground in the match....but one Muthiah Murlidharan delivery (The 254th of His inning) got the better of him, he was out Caught & Bowled. He was out, but the match had to go on....and so it did. Dhoni managed to complete a selfish yet elegent 100 as India managed 726-9 Dec. The Lankan Batting fumbled (exept Sangakara) Leaving India just 4 Wickets away from Top Rank in Tests with a days play in hand. But I belive that the match's soul had departed after Sehwag's dismissal and the players are just completing the formalities.

Test cricket has nothing to fear if players like Sehwag are there.....

Date Published: Dec 05, 2009 - 7:07 pm

India Sights Top Rank

Yes you've heard it right, India might have lost a chance to grab the first place in the ODI's but they don't want to lose their chance to the first place in the highest version- Tests. If Sehwag's blow was not enough, Sri Lanka lost their way in the afternoon session fourth day of the third test at Mumbai. A win here and the Indian side will deservedly go to the top. Though Sangakara is still standing firm at the crease and Sri Lanka trailing only by 60 odd runs, India seem to have complete control of the match. This Indian side is daring and energetic as compared to others. India do deserve the top spot because of their recent performances. This third test will surely make it to the record books, even if India lose, simply because of the various records set in this wonderful test. Test matches are taking place all over the world(India, Australia, New Zealand) and all of them telling us that Test is not dead for sure. Those who have been fortunate enough to see Sehwag's innings would have wondered thet why was Twenty-20 made when we can have much better in the tests. Well going back to our main focus- India V/s Sri Lanka where India have a wonderful chance to clinch the top spot in ICC Test Rankings, India can show the world what is their test team made of. :)

Till then lets hope for the best and India win the match and with that the first spot.

Date Published: Dec 05, 2009 - 3:44 am

God, Save Sri Lanka from this Aggressive Assault!

And the one who assaulted them had this to say in the post-day chat:

I just wanted to hit the bad balls.

Lmao! So did the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled only bad deliveries throughout the day? What in your opinion is a good ball Mr.Sehwag? :brow

Once SL was bowled out for near about 400 runs, they must have felt some security within their minds. They might have not thought of Sehwag showing them nightmares in broad daylight.

He is very close to achieve a feat where noone has stepped up yet - 3 triple hundreds. And what more, a chance to break Lara's record individual score. I won't go much into the details of his whammy-jammy innings for it might jinx him again. Oh did I say Jammy? How could I forget him ? For the first time India's run rate didn't go below 5 per over even when he came and batted for at least 130 balls. Is he trying to prove that he can play the ODIs?

One must applaud Vijay's effort as well. He made sure that Gambhir can have a memorable wedding party of his sister.

Yet again, like the last game, this match depends totally on how SL will bat tomorrow(they should, if Viru is there till at least the morning session.)

For now, let's just hail the blaster(yet not the master)!

Date Published: Dec 03, 2009 - 8:26 am

End Of Times Of The ICL?

When did you last watch a live Indian Cricket League (ICL) match on your T.V.? At least not in 2009 I'd guess because the last match that the ICL conducted was on November 26, 2008 between ICL World and ICL Pakistani. The latter managed to win the match but their fellow countrymen (The Terrorists) ensured that it was their last win....Or for that matter their last game. A lot has changed since 26/11 for everyone....The Indian Cricket League hasent been exempted either.

All matches of the ICL World Series (Season 2) had been suspended after the attacks, and action still hasen't resumed. Earlier this year, the BCCI offered amnesty to all players who would terminate their ICL contracts and would start playing in the domestic circuit (The Ranji Trophy,etc). Obviously almost all of the nearly 150 agreed and ditched the ICL. Thats not all, Tim May (The CEO of Federation Of International Cricketers' Association) has recently said that the ICL owes millions of dollars in outstanding payments to its players, officials and support staff.

On the other hand, the players who left the League are proving useful for the respective teams they play for. Punjab, for example, which saw a majority of its players leave for the ICL in 2007, has had a remarkable start in the 09-10 Ranji season. Players like Rohan Gavskar and Ekak Ahmed, both of whom played for the Royal Bengal Tigers, have now joined the Kolkata Knight Riders of the lucrative Indian Premier League.

Clearly, with no matches taking place and most players opting out of it, the future of the ICL is a stub. So, the moral of the story is that the next time you wake up early morning from a dream in which you have created a private cricket league that has overthrown the biggest and richest national cricket board on Earth....Trust me, Switch off the lights and fall asleep again.

Date Published: Dec 01, 2009 - 8:57 am

Bad Luck Amit Mishra! Caption this -

Ever since Sreesanth and Harbhajan are back playing together, Mishra has just been watching them from the sidelines. Though for Mishra's ommision, Ojha is more responsible, but I couldn't resist myself from blaming Freesanth a bit. Even in their friendship talks, Amit is now kept aside like this -

Date Published: Nov 30, 2009 - 9:33 am

Well Done NZ!

Test Cricket is certainly not dead. Sometimes it can just be a nail-biter too. And fine example is the 1^st Test between Pakistan and New Zealand. So...T20 and Lalit Modi can and have to wait. And so can One day Internationals. The Vettori led and coached inexperienced team managed to get better of Pakistan in time. I pity Umar Akmal though. A veteran from Pakistan could have blamed the pitch for deteriorating or anything wrong happening, but this young boy has spoken everything with his bat. This shows the failure of rest of the batsmen to chase a score as low as 250 runs. These many runs are certainly considered low in test matches.

Vettori must have got thousands of hugs from his female physio now. Poor fella!