India vs Australia (Warm Up Game)

Aussies Demolished

A bright and sunny day at Cardiff and the match between two giants was about to begin. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after winning the toss elected to have a bat first. The Indian batting innings was can be divided into two parts according to me. 

Indian Innings.

Karthik celebrates his century

Part 1 : Battle for Runs

Well you can say the Indian innings did not get the best of starts. M.Vijay  departed in the 3rd over of the innings. He was out LBW bowled by Mitchell Starc. India were 4/1. In came Virat Kohli, the centurion of the previous match, but even the centurion failed today as he departed for just 9 runs. OUT caught behind by Wade bowled by Starc. Next up was Rohit Sharma. He hit two lusty fours to gain confidence and was looking good and easy at the crease but alas! he wanted to play with a ball swinging inside and unluckily chops it on to his stumps. The ball would have missed by a long way had he left it alone. India now were 39/3 and in came the Chennai Savior Suresh Raina but he too did not trouble the scorers much and had a duck attached beside his name at the score board. Wickets kept on falling and Dhawan stood on one side watching it but  he too lost his patience at the end and played a rather strange pull short toward mid on only to be caught in the 30 yard circle giving Jhonson his first wicket. Now the score card read 55/5 and now you can clearly understand why this part is named as battle for runs.

But as we know, every cloud has a silver lining. Infact the Indian team had two. Mahenda Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik.

Part 2 : Battle for Wickets

This part of our story has two heroes. The two wicket keeper batsman of India. Dinesh and Dhoni (D2). So as we saw the Australians celebrate the 5 wickets, we also saw some very gloomy and desperate faces in the Aussie side for the next 30.2 overs.

These two put up a partnership of 211 for the sixth wicket before Dhoni departed for an astounding 91 of 77 balls innings. Karthik remained unbeaten on 146 of 140 balls. These two manhandled the Australian attack and sent them to every parts of the ground. I doubt if any part was left to be hit inside the ground. Dhoni before departing made sure that this partnership had done the damage required. Jadeja at the end played a mini cameo making 14 of just six balls to make sure India crossed the 300 mark. Dinesh Karthik in his 146 run innings hit 17x4 and 1x6 and Dhoni hit 6x4 and 4x6. May i remind you that Karthik was dropped on 110 by the skipper George Bailey which made 30+ runs difference in the total.

At the end India put up a huge total of 308/6 ,thanks to Karthik and Dhoni

McCay and Starc got 2 wickets each and 1 each for Jhoonson and Faulkner.

Australian Innings

Australian innings for me was full of boredom. 9 Australians could not even make it to the double digit figures. The top scorer was Adam Voges who made 23 of 49 balls and second best by Phill Hughes who made 14. The rest just came in and went away. At the end Australia could only manage 65 runs and lost by a humongous margin of 243 runs. I've really never seen Aussies losing so bad before. Four of the 11 batsman were OUT by chopping the ball on to their stumps. Pity!!

Star of Indian bowling was Umesh Yadav who rattled the top order taking a five wicket haul. His final figures being 18/5 in 5 overs. Ishant Sharma took 3 for 11 runs and Ashwin got 1 wicket. Indian pacers truly played to their potential today.  Just the right time for Indian pacers to get into good rhythm. The only concern for India is the top order which as failed not once but twice. But Dhawan and Vijay are match winners, So you never know. 

#Best of Luck to India for the tournament

India Vs Australia

Pre match predictions

A charged up Indian side will clash with a rather down in morale side. India who won it's first practice game against Sri Lanka will look forward to win it's second practice game and be brimmed with confidence before the commencement of the tournament. Australia on the other hand after loosing 4-0 in the test series against India will be looking forward to cover that scar by defeating India today. Whereas India will look forward to make that streak 5-0. But not to forget it's a one day match so you never know. The last match between these two was played at Sydney Cricket Ground in the Commonwealth Bank Series 2012, and Australia thrashed India by a big margin of 87 runs.

Also to note that the recent side of Australia though a young one is a well balanced side. The opening of the Aussies will be powered by the hard hitter Watson and Warner and the middle order will be anchored by the experienced captain Michael Clarke along with George Bailey, Phill Hughes and Mathew Wade. The role lower order all rounders of team will be played by Glen Maxwell the million dollar baby and James Faulkner. And the tail enders also have some good and clean hitters viz. Clint McCay, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Stark. The fast bowling department will be under Mitchell Jhonson and Mitchell Stark along with Mitchell Marsh and Shane Watson ans spin will be lead by Xavier Doherty and moat probably Maxwell.

On the other hand I feel Indian squad is a better balanced side in terms of batting and spin bowling. The only concern for the Indian squad will be it's pace department. Indian pacers were taken for plenty against their first practice match so they would also wish to make a strong comeback and prove their selection worth. The Indian top order though failed in the first test will likely be eager to make a strong comeback. Not to forget how Shikhar Dhawan manhandled the Australian pace ans spin attack on his test debut. So the Indian top order wil be decorated by the likes of Dhawan, Vijay, Kohli and Raina. The middle order will be supported by Karthik, Sharma and Dhoni. Allrounders like Jadeja and Ashwin will be pretty handy at the lower order and tail enders like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra will play some small cameos. Pace department will be handled by Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav while spinners Ashwin, Mishra and Jadeja will have the responsibility of tangling the Aussie Batsman in their spin web.

Lastly to conclude, it's a 50% game per side. Both sides are nearly equal and difficult to choose from. So stick to your television sets ans enjoy the mega match.

England Vs New Zealand

New Zealand wins as Guptill creates History.

Yet another century from the New Zealander Martin Guptil helped the Kiwis to register their second ODI victory against the Englishmen. Guptill who top scored in the match was the man of the match. Guptill's score of 189* is his personal best and also the highest score in ODI by any New Zealand batsman. His 189 of 155 balls included 19 fours and 2 huge maximums. He also equalled the record of Sir Vivian Richards who in 1984 made 189 in a 55 over match.

Martin who scored a century in the first match and also the second match helped his team register two consecutive wins and lead the 3 match series by 2-0. This will surely heal the wounds of defeat of the test series. Batting first New Zealand with the valiant knock from Guptill along with Ross Taylor's 60, McCullum's quick 40 and Williamson's sensible 55 posted a huge total of 359 for the loss of just three wickets. Anderson got two wickets and Swann got one.

England had to chase down a difficult target, but with the bating lineup they had, it was quite possible.If England wanted to win they would have had to break it's previous best chase of 306 against Pakistan in Karachi But sadly today was not their day. In the first innings where every pair of the kiwi team had good partnerships, in this innings no one had it. Johnathan Trott was the one who stood on one end as an anchor and watched his team mates depart regularly. Trott made unbeaten 109 but did not get the required support from the other end. Alastair Cook(34), Joe Root(28), James Anderson(28), Ian Bell(25) and Eoin Morgan(21) contributed. At the end England could only manage to make 273 in 44.1 overs. Michelle McCulligan took 3 wickets, Williamson got 2 and 1 each for Mills, Breswell, Nathan McCullum and Elliot.

New Zealand's 359 against England is it's highest against this team. The previous best being 340 at Napier in 2008. Martin Guptill broke the record of his country man Luke Vincent who before this match with his 172 runs innings held the record for highest runs by a Kiwi. He made 172 against Zimmabave in 2005 at Bulavaio. Guptill now holds the record for the fourth highest runs scored by a batsman in an ODI innings. With this win New Zealand has made it clear that they will not be an easy team to get away with in this Champions Trophy. On the other side England is now desperate for a win before the commencement of the tournament to boost it's confidence.

India vs Sri lanka Practice match

Practice match at Birmingham

A chilly morning at Birmingham and cold winds blowing, made every one feel that this day would favor the bowlers. But what happened in the next 7 and a half hours was worth watching.

The bowlers of both the team were found looking for shelter. And the wicket became a batsman's paradise. On the morning Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. From the very first over it looked to be Sri Lanka's game as the openers Dilshan and Perera smashed the Indian bowlers to every part of the ground. A century partnership between these two ensured that their team made a huge total on the board.Dilshan made 84 and Perera scored 82. After this they retired to let their other teammates have a bat on this track. After this Sangakara, Jayavardhane, Thisara and Chandimal played some cameos to help their team score 333/3. A huge total was put forward for Indian batsmen.

India did not get the best of starts and lost Shikhar Dhawan for 1 run. Next was M.Vijay who fell for just 18 runs. Rohit Sharma who had an exemplary IPL season could not do justice to his T20 form and fell for just 5 runs. Raina and Kohli had a small but good partnership but Raina fell for 34 runs as he was bowled by Senanaike. At 110/4 India looked on backfoot and in trouble. But the new batsman Karthik and Kohli had other plans. They first played slowly and sensibly and then accelerated at the right time. Kohli completed his century in just 86 balls and made 144 before getting to a slower ball. But before getting out he ensured that his 186 run partnership with the birthday boy Karthik helped India to register it's first win. Karthik too completed his century in 80 something balls and made 108 runs and finished the game with a four towards off side. Dhoni also made 18 runs and had an unbeaten 41 run partnership with Karthik.
Though this was a practice match, this win will boost the confidence of Indian team and it's batsman.

The only concern for both teams will be the bowling department which has to click along with the batting unit if they wish to win this prestigious trophy.

Media Vs Dhoni And Champions Trophy

The maniac Media
After the completion of IPL games, the media now has a new target. It has now targeted Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Indian captain who is always calm and cool in nature has lately been in the target of the media.

The press conference by BCCI included a team of BCCI along with the Indian captain to answer the questions of media. But the media were in a different mood. Unlike the press conferences, where one asks about the team strategies and about the players included, this press conference saw the reporters raising the questions of fixing again.

One of the reporters asked Dhoni "Sir, the audience standing outside is demanding an answer, they want to know that, can you ensure them that there will be no players indulged in fixing in this champions trophy?"
A dejected captain just smiled at the question. The team manager then asked the reporters no to ask such questions
What i personally feel is that this is the wrong time for such questions. The team is in good form and going to play the Champions Trophy this june to England. Instead of asking these questions, one should support Indian players. After all you can not stop players if they feel money is more important than playing for nation.

Team leaves for London

The Indian squad left for London on Wednesday. The squad comprises of 15 members. The England pitches unlike the flat and turning wickets of India are hard and bouncy and will help the seamers. So high expectations are with the young Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Vinay Kumar. Moreover Dhawan who tore apart the Australian attack in his very first test match will have the spot light of Indian innings on him. India who were out of the Champions League 2009 even though they lost just one match, will be keen to forget the past and defeat their opponents on every occasion because this is a short span game. You win it, you're safe and if you loose, you're in danger. Indian team will play two practice matches before facing South Africa on 6th june. The practice matches are scheduled on 1st and 4th june. So lets hope MSD brings this cup and complete his and India's trophy collection which misses this trophy.


Cheers Readers. :)

Gurunath Meiyappan

The rotten apple

There goes a proverb "A rotten apple can destroy thee whole lot". So is the case with the Owner of Chennai super kings "Gurunath Meiyappan". The team which gained respect and honor because of it's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is now under the spotlight of fixing.

According to reports, Meiyappan was involved in many match fixings and his friend who helped him in this business was the "Not so Famous" film star Vindu Dara Singh. Together they are believed to have fixed many matches.

Gurunath also happens to be the son-in-law of the BCCI chairman Mr N.Srinivasan. Is not it a matter of shame? Mumbai police arrested Gurunath on charges of Fraud, Forgery and Cheating. He was the one who used to disclose his team's strategies to the bookies and fixers.

The joint commissioner of Mumbai police Mr Himanshu Roy said that he has been in custody and has been interrogated in details about his links and involvement in these fixed matches and he will be produced in front of court within 24 hours of custody as per court laws.

Gurunath in Police custody

What this whole scenario has done, is put a question mark on the position of Srinivasan. According to some of the news channels, Srinivasan might loose his post as the BCCI chairman if he is found involved in it.

There was also a question mark on CSK playing the finals, but CSK fans are happy as they are seeing their fav. team playing the finals. This has surely been the most shocking and controversial news among all the 6 IPL so far. Whatever be the conclusion, Gurunath and his circle are bound to receive some legal punishment under court's law. And the most disappointing part is that it has put a big question mark on the fate of IPL 7.

# Now we see how a dishonest person, costs the whole team and the IPL. Sad to see these rich people begging like lame beggars for more money.

Pepsi IPL 2013 Finals (Pay per View)

Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians

At the starting of the Pepsi IPL 2013, those who predicted that Chennai Super kings would step into the finals are totally correct. Though for Mumbai ot has been a mixed bag till the captaincy of Ponting but after Rohit Sharma got the responsibility of captaincy, it has been a whole new Mumbai side. After Rohit came into captaincy Mumbai won many a matches on the trot with R.Sharma leading from the front, not only as a captain but also as a batsman. He is among the top 5 run getters this season.

The Mumbai team with 22 points, i.e. 11 wins out of 16 and Chennai Super kings also with 22 points have made it to the Finals.

Chennai who won against Mumbai got the direct ticket to Finals. But Mumbai had to defeat the winner of the eliminator match which was played between the "Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad" and so did Mumbai.

The past evening i.e. on 24th May, Mumbai faced Rajasthan and defeated them to earn their way to the finals. Now these two teams were at the top of the table at the end of the league stage. So one can say that these two teams deserved to be in the finals. 

Now whoever wins the finals, it is sure that it will be an Indian captain holding the shining golden cup. Be it Dhoni or be it Rohit. They both have managed their troops efficiently which has helped them to pave their way to finals.

Amongst the controversies and presence of fixing, these two teams have made sure that none of this affects their game. Though the Co-Owner of the CSK team is believed to be a part of this fixing controversies, the CSK have still managed to keep their calm and perform their best.

Now to mention some of the names of players who contributed to their respective teams.

Chennai:

1. Dwayne Bravo : Current Purple cap holder. Has bowled efficiently, picking up wickets at the right intervals. Though his bowling average is a bit high still he has proved to be a gem to this team.

2. Mohit Sharma : This young cricketer has attracted everyone's attention. The medium pacer has played not only an important role but a match winning role in CSK's league stages. No matter who the Opposition is, he will take a run up and bowl good length  deliveries difficult to score off. He was the man whom Dhoni could trust blindfolded.

3. Chris Morris: The young South African pacer with his performance has surely brought on him the spotlight. He performed whenever the captain needed him. Most remarkable was the last over against Kolkata Knight Riders where he had to defend 19 runs against Morgan and Pathan and he gave away just 4 runs. He was surely a "worth bought" player for the CSK.

4. Michael Hussey : Mr. Cricket, the name given to this player. Be it the first over, be it the last over, if you loose your length a bit, this man punished you by hitting elegant boundaries and lofted sixes. The current Orange cap holder was scored more than 700 runs this IPL and will probably retain this cap at the end of this season.

5. Suresh Raina : What if the opening batsman failed to give a good start? What if we need 15 runs an over? What if we need to get a momentum at the end of the innings?
This man has all the answers. Boundaries do not matter once this man gets his rhythm . He is the pacemaker of this team who accelerates the run rate and brings in the momentum needed to score big totals. He with his brilliant performances has helped CSK on numerous occasions to register easy wins.

6. M.S Dhoni : Going Going and Goneee....This is what the board displays once he hits a six. 88 m, 90 m boundaries ? No problem, Call M.S D and he will clear them all. Truly the man with the golden touch. % finals out of 6 and 2 titles is what this captain has achieved. Comes in at the end of the innings and shifts the gears to increase the momentum. And talk of captaincy, field placement, wicket keeping, fair play,etc etc. This man has answers to all these questions. 

The best allrounder for me.(#Though he do not bowl (>_<). )

Mumbai:

1.  Mitchell Jhonson : The express bowler has performed upto his name. Though this unlucky fella did not get selected in the Ashes series, but still he has proved why he is one of the best pacer in the world. Bowling wicket to wicket and picking up wickets at the right time has been the story with this bowler. One of the reason why Mumbai has made it to the finals.

2. Kieron Pollard : People say catches win matches, and this man proves it. Place him wherever you want and then watch an extremely difficult catch being converted into a simple one. One can forget most of the catches but not the one he took to dismiss Marsh and Dhoni. Those two were absolute blinders. Need a fifth bowler or a regular bowler, call this Caribbean guy. Want to accelerate the innings? Send this guy. One of the better allrounders of the cricketing world.

3. Harbhajjan Singh : Like Gangnam style? Pacifier dance? or Bhangra? or all of these? Well this player can perform all those. Each wicket he takes, not only entertains him but also the crowd. The lost spinner seems to gain back his form at the right time. The class spinner has bowled excellently in high pressure games and gave away very few runs and grabbed important wickets too.

4. Dwayne Smith : The madman of cricket. Dwayne smith with some of his blazing  terrifying innings. Why am i saying terrifying? Because when he hits the balls, no fielder dares stop it.

How can one forget the blazing 28ball 68 run innings against the CSK. If this man gets going, beware CSK.

5. Rohit Sharma : Captain Mumbai. Helped his team to recover when they were in need of some desperate wins. Played some crucial innings throughout this IPL to help his team win. High hopes will abide by him in the finals.

6. Dinesh Karthik :The wicket keeper bats man who started the IPL 6 brilliantly but then gradually slowed down a bit.But credit must be given to him because in the league matches he was the one because of whom Mumbai registered some important wins. During the first few league matches, this guy seemed unstoppable as he scored quick runs and converted them to 50s,60s and 70s. But gradually he slowed down. But who knows maybe if he fires in the Finals Mumbai could well lift the cup. 

Players to watch for :

CSK: MSD,Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Hussey, Bravo, Raina

MI    : D. Smith, Rohit Sharma, Malinga, Jhonson, Harbhajjan

Verdict

Both the teams have performed well and have brought justice to their owners. The players in both the team are in sublime form and one can expect a nail biting game in the finals.

For me the battle will be CSK : 55%

                                          MI     : 45%

#P.S : Sorry Mumbai fans.

Probable team:

CSK : MSD (c), M. Hussey, S. Raina, M.Vijay, D.Bravo, R.Ashwin, R.Jadeja, A.Morkel, C.Morris, MSharma, and S.Badrinath.

MI : R.Sharma(c), A.Tare, D.Smith, D.Karthik, H.Singh, L.Maliga, M.Jhonson, K.Pollard, A.Rayadu, R.Dhavan, P.Ojha.

CSK vs RCB

Match No. 70

Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

All the Bangalore fans had their hearts in their mouth when it was raining heavily in Bengaluru. What if the rain did not stop? What if RCB could not play this match? Could they still qualify for the Qualifiers? were some questions being asked around.

All answers were dependent on the match. But to their relief the rain stopped and we had our first reduced over match of this edition's IPL. It was an 8 Over game per side.

The captain Virat Kohli and the Coach Rey Jennings were looking very desperate and tensed before the start of the match. They were rightly so because it was the most important match of this season for the.

Why? Because this would give them a hope to be in the play offs. The only hurdle in their way was the rain. And the happiness was clearly seen on everyone's faces as soon as the rain stopped.

The toss took place at 22:40 (local time) and CSK won the toss and decided to field first, which seemed a good option as the opposition had Gayle, Kohli and Devilliers as their hard hitters, perfect for this occasion.

First Innings ( RCB Batting)

Virat Kohli plays a shot during his 56 run score

The First over of the match was bowled by R.Ashwin. A brave yet risky decission taken by the Indian and the CSKian Skipper MS Dhoni, but to his pleasure this over was a decent one as Ashwin just conceded 6 runs. The first ball gripped the surface and turned sharply towards Kohli and left him astound. It felt as if rain had it's effect on the pitch and it would be difficult to score runs on this pitch. But who knew that a storm was about to come after the rain.

The Second over was bowled by Chris Morris which conceded 11 runs. In this over Gayle hit a mistimed shot which landed for a six on he off side.

The Third over was bowled by Ashwin and this over unleashed the Kohli storm as he sent two balls for FOUR over deep mid wicket and straight mid wicket and a lofted SIX straight down the ground. This over conceded 16 runs in total.

The Fourth over was bowled by Chris Morris. May be Dhoni bowled out Ashwin and Morris in the first four because he wanted wickets? Well whatever may be the reason Morris bowled his last ove conceding 13 runs of it and again Kohli bagged a boundary and a SIX from this over . At the half way stage the scorecard read 46/0 with Kohli [33 of 17 balls (4x4, 2x6)] and Gayle [9 of 7 balls( 1x6 )]

The Fifth over was given to the West Indian young pacer Jason Holder.

This was the beginning of the carnage about to come. The first three balls just conceded 2 runs but BOOM the fourth was a slower short ball, Gayle picked it up early and launched it over deep mid wicket for a SIX. The next ball was on to the pads, easy work for Gayle as he flicks it away for a SIX almost into the second tier. The last ball of the over was a bouncer but wasn't executed properly by the bowler and Gayle made it three in a row as he hit this one in the same area as the previous two.Holder went for 20 of his over.

The Sixth over was bowled by Dwayne Bavo, Dhoni's rescue man. He could have got wicket of his first ball but a difficult chance dropped by Dhoni as Kohli got an outside edge for 1 run. Will this be a turning point in the game?

But not to worry because he gets a wicket of his second ball as Gayle hits it hard straight to M.Hussey. RCB now 1 down for 67.

In came De-villiers who made his intentions clear by hitting a FOUR of the very first ball. Another FOUR by Kohli in this over as he hits a slog sweep toward long on. This over went for 10 runs but got the important wicket of Chris Gayle.

The seventh over was the responsibility of one the newest finds of this year's IPL. Mohit Sharma. Mohit Sharma to De Villiers, and De Villiers is OUT as he mistimes a slower delivery and gets caught by Sir Ravindra Jadeja. The next three balls conceded two runs including a WIDE. But the last three balls were dispatched for three consecutive FOURS as Moises Henriqes took on the charge.

The last over was given to Bravo, Dhoni hoping to end the innings with a wicket or two. Kohli batting on [40 of 23 balls (5x4, 2x6)]. The first two balls were kept towardds the off stump and Kohli charging in could not get to it. The third ball, Kohli waits for it to come on to the bat and Whack!!! a cracking shot for SIX. The next ball appeal from Bravo for caught behind. No reaction from Dhoni or the Umpire. Fifth ball of the over, full length delivery, Kohl hits it for a SIX and that's his FIFTY. What an innings from the young captain. And that too at the right time, when his team needed him. The last ball goes for another FOUR. 

So this ends the proceedings of the first innings. Kohli unbeaten on 56 of 29 balls (6x4, 4x6)

and Moises Henriques 12* 3 balls (3x4).

The score for the RCB is 106/2 from 8.0 overs. Very difficult for Chennai. And remember Kohli was dropped when he was on 34.

Second Innings(CSK Batting)

Chasing a stiff target of 107 runs, CSK fans wished they saw their Captain Dhoni to open the innings but instead it was the usual pair which opened up. Michael Hussey with Murli Vijay.

The proceeding started with Rampaul having the ball in his hand ready to charge in.

First ball of the second innings and Hussey  pulls it for a FOUR of the first delivery. The next ballgot an inside edge for one run and just kissed the leg stump but the bails did not come off. Sheer Luck for Hussey. The next four balls just conceded three singles making the score 8/0 off the first over. Not a very good start when you are chasing.

Welcome Zaheer Khan who is playing only is second match in this edition's IPL. And what time and way to announce his arrival as he gets Hussey and Raina in two consecutive deliveries. Hussey tries to cut the ball but ends up sending it to the keeper's gloves and Raina played a loose shot to end his stay. Raina goes for a duck, Out caught by Vinay Kumar. The score read 11/2 after the second over and the visiting side were in all sorts of trouble.

Next came in Unadkat to bowl his first over. What a delivery first ball, Pitched in the good length area from round the wicket and going away from the right hander. The first five deliveries just conceded 4 runs. Chennai in trouble now. The run rate climbing upto 18 runs. The last ball was hit for a FOUR by Vijay to loosen  up some pressure. But CSK needed more of them, atleast three every over to stay in touch with the required run rate.

The fourth over was also devoid of any sort of excitement except Bravo hitting a SIX of the 5th ball and getting OUT on the very next ball, to make the score 29/3 after 4 overs.Now Chennai were in real trouble as the required run rate had climbed up to 19.75, close to 20 runs an over.

The fifth over too was a quite one and only saw one boundary hit by Murli Vijay. The Kings were making it harder every ball. The run rate was pacing up high all the time. At the end of the 5th over the score was 37/3 with 71 required of 18 balls at 23.66 runs an over. Four sixes an over is what CSK needed to Win it on from here.

The sixth over by RP singh. Last hope for CSKK to Target and get 25-30 runs of an over. First ball sails over the top for a SIX. Beautiful shot by Vijay. Next ball: Ooopsss, a bad place to get hurt. M.Vijay gets Hit by the ball below the waist. The next ball, single by dhoni to bring Vijay back to strike. Fourth ball of the over goes for another SIX, and the Last ball for a four by Dhoni making it 19 off the over. Still not good enough by the Kings.

Now the equation was clear as CSK needs 52 runs of the last 2 overs making it 26 rpo.
The first ball of the 5th over bowled by Rampaul. and that's OUT. Vijay tries to nudge it towards on side. The ball goes high after getting an inside edge, Gayle calls for it and takes an easy catch to dismiss Vijay who goes for 32 or 19 balls (2x4 , 2x6).
The next three deliveries conceded 4 runs viz 1,2,1 respectively. 
And then Boom a MASSIVE SIX by Dhoni. What a shot. 105 meters.
The next ball was a wide and then a single of the last ball making it 12 runs of that Rampaul over.

The last over under way. Bowler = Zaheer.
Now only two results possible.
1.RCB wins
2.RCB wins by a big margin
CSK needed 40 runs of the last over and if no NO BALLS were bowled and 6 sixes were hit, still CSK would have landed 4 runs Short of victory.

Ball 1 : low fulltoss, Inside edge for FOUR
Ball 2 : Low full toss again, Sails over mid wicket region for a SIX
Ball 3 : No Run
Ball 4 : Bouncer to Dhoni, Connects it, but Caught at deep square leg by Unadkat. Dhoni                                                       
             Departs for 24 of 10 balls (2x4 , 2x6)
Ball 5 : Sir Jadeja sends the ball towards mid off for FOUR
Ball 6 : Sir Jadeja gifts his wicket to Zaheer Khan who takes a good fast catch of his own ball.

And the final result was that RCB beat CSK by 24 runs. A good margin of victory which will improve their net run rate.

The only HURDLE for RCB!!

After the handsome win over CSK, RCB still needs a bit of luck to qualify for the play offs and the last hurdle to this is the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

At present RCB and SRH both have 18 points. But RCB is a spot above the SRH because of their better net run rate.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's net run rate is in negative so it can not afford to loose it's last game. Now the end of IPL has beecome more interesting than one would have thought. The fourth spot is available to any one among the two teams i.e. RCB or SRH and it all depends on today's match. If Kolkata Knight Riders defeat the Sunrisers then Bangalore gets the ticket to play offs but if Hyderabad wins then it will have 20 points and it will comfortably overtake Royal Challengers who have 18 points with no more games to play.

At the post match presentation Virat in a Sarcastic manner said that "I'll personally call Gautam and ask him to win the match".

Amongst the Controversies IPL has still given us enough enjoyment and memories . And hope the best team wins. Foe now Best of Luck to RCB and Hyderabad who will be looking forward to today's  matches.

IPL Spot fixing

Spot Fixing : Nothing New

 Spot fixing is a term which has always been in the shadows of Cricket. Though it creeps up once in a while, but whenever it creeps up it puts a question mark on the image of this gentleman's game.

India is a country where cricket is believed to be a religion and the cricketers the "God".

In this country it would turn out to be a shock for the cricket lovers if they found out their country players are involved in this business

Similar thing happened a few days back when three players of the IPL team Rajasthan Royals, were found guilty of spot fixing

The players were 

1. Shantakuamaran Sreesanth

2. Ajith Chandila

3. Ankit chavahn.

It was a dooms day for the most beloved game of India. 

IPL is a game which is related to Money, Luxury, glamour and controversies. But after the new addition f spot fixing to it's name, it has become a game which sees it's future looming around dark clouds. The fans who would stand in the scorching heat just to see a glimpse of their favorite players are now using the same dedication to put up marches against this Money involved IPL games.

Many places were seen crowded with public having boards which said "Ban IPL Games in India". 

Is it the only solution to this?
Banning the games which gives new names to Indian cricket? 

(We will come to this topic later)

For now the details of these three players who were found guilty of spot fixing.

1. Ajith Chandila

Ajith Chandila

The first incidence of spot fixing was found in the match between Pune Warriors India vs Rajasthan Royals. In this match the Bookies asked Ajith Chandila to bowl an over for 14 runs. He wa asked to untuck his jersey from trousers to give a signal to the bookies for betting.He did give away 14 runs but forgot to give away the pre-planned signals for the bookies to bet on. So the bookies asked him to return all the advance money he was given. This saw the first fixing in this IPL.He was given an offer of 20 lakhs to do so.

2. S. Sreesanth

S.Sreesanth

The second case of spot fixing involved a well known cricketer who also represented the Indian side. This guy had passion, Anger and pace. The necessary ingredients of a good fast bowler. But this poor guy was either injured or always involved in controversies. Starting with the dance after hitting a six of a South African bowler to the slap he received from Harbhajjan Singh, this player had always some heat around him. But no one would have thought that an established cricketer like him could be involved in a case like this.
He  was supposed to put a towel in his trousers before bowling his over so that the bookies get a signal and get time to bet, he did it and even warmed up a bit to give bookie some extra time and bowled an over of 13 runs against Kings XI Punjab.He was given 40 lakhs to do so. He could have been a good fast bowler, had he concentrated on his bowling skills rather than Money making skills. But never the less he will have enough time to think about his mistakes sitting in the prison.

3. Ankit Chavhan

Ankit Chavhan

Another rising name in Indian cricket, Ankit Chavhan was asked to bowl an over of 14 runs too.According to reports he was approached by Ajith Chandila and Chandila asked him to do so for the bookies. The signal that was to be given by Chavhan was by rotating his wrist band on the fiels before bowling. He gave away 15 runs to the openers Glen Maxwell and Aditya Taare in the third over of the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. He was offered an amount of 60 lakhs. He gave away only 2 runs in his first over. 

Dooms day for Indian Cricket

The days May 5th , May 9th and May 15th could be termed as dooms day for Indian cricket and IPL. In the presence of great players like S.Tendulkar,Adam Gillchrist, Rahul Dravid and many more, these three days say the players giving more importance to money rather than their respect and team. It is well a matter of Shame for these players who earn lakhs of rupees in the IPL but still think that's not enough. Because of them it's the Indian Image which has to suffer. Few years back when the Pakistani players were alleged for spot fixing, many Indian voices were raised for criticism but now? It is our players who did the same. Now it's our turn to put zips on our mouth and keep on listening the criticism by the reporters.

Now the question arises "Is there any punishment for this?" Well the answer depends on the Cricket board and the police officials. If they want , these players can get sentenced upto 5 years of imprisonment and life long ban on playing any matches(be it international or domestic).

Well whether they get punishment or not, the stain of a fixer and a corrupt player will always be remembered with their name. They will not be remembered for their contributions anymore.

If in future i ask somene "Do you know Sreesanth?" I would expect an answer like "Yes, that Indian fast bowler who bowled exceptionally well against the Aussies in his debut test series."

But instead i may get an answer as  "Yes, that cricketer involved in fixing. I remember him".

Nobody will remember the catch Sreesanth took to dismiss Misbah of Joginder Sharma's ball to help India win the innaugral T20. No one will remember Ajith Chandilla's Hattrick in IPL 4 plaing for RR. But what they will remember is that they disrespected the value and importance of Cricket for money. They will always be called Losers. 

As is said in a proverb "It just takes a moment to wash away all the good works you did all the way". And NO ONE WILL KNOW IT BETTER THAN THE PLAYERS THEMSELVES.

The Indians were highly disappointed by the happenings. These Indians can bear anything but not the dis respect of the game they think as their religion.

An angry crowd demands Justice with the Gentleman's game.

How is fixing done and what is it?

Spot fixing is the influencing of a particular part of a game. That means a particular time. I this the bookies or fixers ask the players to perform according to what they say and in return they give the players money.
For example An over of a match can be fixed, A batsman can deliberately be OUT, A bowler can intentionally bowl a NO Ball etc. These little parts contribute to the big network of fixing. These are so secretly done that sometimes they are unnoticed.

Players are asked to give signs before completing their quota.

Verdict

The most sad part of spot fixing is the disrespect that's suffered by the team members and Captains. Even sometimes honest and good players are suspected after these happenings. So this is a real disregard to the game and the images of players.

The aftermaths are even disastrous. The players involved live a life of shame a=nd their image may never improve in front of the public.

FIXING

BCCI and ICC are trying their best to put a stop to these. But it's the players who needs to be responsible enough to understand the consequences and the falsity of this bad network of fixing.

< NO TO FIXING >

This is what players should do. Why live a life of regrets when you get so much respect from your country. I respect the Legends like S.Tendulkar, S.Ganguly , A.Kumble, Gilchrist, Ponting, Kapil dev etc on whom no one could even point a finger. For me they are the national heroes of Cricket. 
Every player should be like them. 








Please leave your precious comments readers

Bowling gambles in IPL 2013

Ipl Bowling gambles taken by the captains.

So as we all know IPL is in it's midway stage right now. But during all these days there have been many unusual strategies applied by the captains of teams to try something different to either break partnership or stop the flow of runs. While some gambles have worked in favor of the captains, there are also some which proved to be disastrous and unimaginable. IPL has always been a league where you find astonishing things like a tail ender hitting Slinga Malinga for a six or a debutant taking the wicket of renowned players.

But as we all know 

"Yeh IPL hai boss. Yaha kuch bhi ho sakta hai"

Now coming to the topic, leaving apart the successful gambles, here i'll write down the top 5 disastrous bowling gambles in Pepsi IPL 2013 up till now.

5.Bad day Mr.Finch

 This incident had to be on our list. Because on this day many records were broken. One this day it was raining sixes and fours in the M. Chinnaswamy stadium and the bowlers were found running here and there to find shelter. The epic knock of 175* by Christopher Henry Gayle will always be remembered by every person who watched it. Even if we forget it there is a team which will never forget it "The Pune Warriors India" and especially their Captain "Aaron Finch" who will always remember this day as a nightmare. 

The match started with a quiet first over by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and in the second over Rain stopped play. But when play resumed it started to rain again but this time it was raining Sixes from the bat of the "Bowler murderer" Gayle. All the bowlers except Luke wright and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar gave plenty of runs to Gayle as a gift.
Then came the time when the PWI captain Aaron Finch took the gamble and decided to bowl. But this just added salt to the injury of the team because Gayle didn't even spare the opposition captain. This over went for 29 and is the highest runs in an over in this season. The reason why i call it a gamble is because he should have given the ball to the more experienced Yuvraj or Mortaza. At least it could have saved 8-10 runs. Well Pune didn't have to loose anything so this gamble can be called legitimate.

4.Wright's Wrong Line & Length

The high tension match just went down to the last over. PWI after a superb innings by Aaron Finch and a blazing cameo by Luke Wright posted a mammoth looking 185 on board. 

Wright who scored 34 runs of just 10 balls didn't show the same miracle in bowling but still was given the responsibility of last over by the captain Aaron Finch.

On the crease were the two set batsmen who had a century partnership between them.

The match went down to the last over and Punjab required 16 of the last over. Luke wright conceded 4 runs of the first 3 balls and then a six by Miller and Punjab was back in the game.
Now 6 runs require on 2 balls. All wright had to do was bowl a yorker or outside the line of off stump. But poor Wright gave a juicy little fulltoss and Miller creamed it for a massive six. All Wright could do was to go to the dressing room and  forget this day where he was the hero with the bat and zero with the ball. And all Finch could do was to go back to the dressing room and think about "The WRONG decision of sending WRIGHT"

3.Bhajji's Nightmare

Starting a T20 match with a spinner is always a gamble and it works 3 odd times out of 10. But surely it did not work that day. The match between Mumbai and Kolkata. Both the teams lost their previous two matches and were in need of a desperate win. 

This time Mumbai had a new captain Rohit Sharma captaining his side for the first time. Kolkata came in to bat and Yusuf was out with Gambhir. 

Sharma gave the first over to Harbhajjan and the rest that happened was as follows.On Strike : Yusuf Pathan

1st Ball     : Edge past slip for 4 runs

2nd Ball    :Slog sweep for 4 runs

3rd Ball    :Conventional sweep for 4 runs

4th ball     :Six over sight screen

5th ball     :NO ball + 1 run
6th ball     :Six over long on by Gambhir (Free Hit)

7th ball     :No run

At least the seventh ball would have pleased  Harbhajjan who was never manhandled so bad before. To sum it up, this time opening with a spinner failed big time.

2.Not sensible Mr. Sensible

Among the Hussey brothers Mike Hussey is known as Mr. Consistent and David Hussey as Mr. Sensible. Our story revolves around Mr. Sensible A.K.A David Hussey.

The match between KXIP and MI was evenly poised till the 19th over in the first innings. After the end of 19th over the score read 147 runs. Since Gillchrist was not playing this match so Hussey was the captain. All the pacers had completed their 4 overs quota. So hussey was left with the choice of Chawla or himself. Chawla though bowled 2 overs at an economy of 12 runs an over would have been the better choice but Hussey took the responsibility on his own. 

He bowled the last over and on crease were Pollard and Rohit Sharma.
The first ball disappeared for six, and so did two other balls of that over and to end his misery Mumbai ended with 174 runs with Rohit Sharma grossing 27 runs of the last over. 

Hussey who went for 5 runs in his first over thought it would be better for him to bowl the last but he was proved wrong so the big gamble ended up on a disastrous note.

And thus we can say that this decision was no Sensible from Mr. Sensible. 

1.Black day for Cameron White

Ashish Reddy.

With the valiant efforts of Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Reddy the Sunrisers Hyderabad reached a respectable score of 159. The Sunriser's bowling was a mixed bag. The spinners bowled excellently and gave their captain 3 wickets conceding just  34  runs oh 8 overs. Karan Sharma bowled brilliantly and bowled the most economic over of IPL 2013 conceding just 8 runs of his 4 overs and with one maiden.
The last two overs required 28 runs with Sir Jadeja and MS Dhoni on crease. The second last over bowled by Dale Steyn conceded 13 runs but got the wicket of Jadeja.
Now White had one over left with Darren Samy but instead he gave the ball to Ashish Reddy which proved to be a failure.

The last over required 15 runs. Poor Reddy who wasn't given the ball in between 19 overs stood in front of the best finisher defending 15 runs.
Bowls the first ball. Called wide. That was the pressure on the bowler.

Second ball or say first legal delivery  slower one from back of the hand, Dhoni swings and misses. Still as cool as cucumber is the CSK captain.

Third ball similar to the previous one but this time Dhoni didn'i miss. He connects and smashes a huge six.

Fourth ball Bowls it way down leg side. Dhoni gets some bat on it and it goes for four. Poor Reddy now feels the shear pressure.

Fifth ball Dhoni hits it hard straight down the ground and it's a four. Captain cool did it again. What an innings.

So this time not sending the more experienced Sammy and instead sending the young Reddy failed and SRH will feel they could have won it.

Change in dates of some Matches in IPL 6

One can say this is one of the most Controversial IPL.
First the removal of Deccan Chargers,then the Sri Lankans not playing matches in Chennai and now
Due to recent Elections in Karnataka,the dates of some of the matches have been changed.

1. KXIP vs DD – shifted from 23/4 (8:00 pm, Mohali) to 16/5 (8:00 pm, Dharamshala)

2. SH vs DD – stays on 4/5 – moves from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Hyderabad

3. RCB vs KXIP – shifted from 4/5 (8:00 pm, Bengaluru) to 14/5 (4:00 pm, Bengaluru)

4. RCB vs SH – shifted from 6/5 (8:00 pm, Bengaluru) to 9/4 (4:00 pm, Bengaluru)

5. DD vs KXIP – shifted from 13/5 (4:00 pm, Delhi) to 23/4 (8:00 pm, Delhi)

6. KKR vs PWI – shifted from 14/5 (8:00 pm, Ranchi) to 15/5 (4:00 pm, Ranchi)

7. KXIP vs RCB – shifted from 16/5 (4:00 pm, Dharamshala) to 6/5 (8:00 pm, Mohali)

8. CSK vs DD   – shifted from 16/5 (8:00 pm, Chennai) to 14/5 (8:00 pm, Chennai)

9. RCB vs CSK  – shifted from 19/5 (4:00 pm, Bengaluru) to 18/5 (8:00 pm, Bengaluru)

10. PWI vs DD  – shifted from 18/5 (8:00 pm, Pune) to 19/5 (4:00 pm, Pune)