Super Eights – Everything is super about them!

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ICC World twenty20 Super Eights

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Day 1 of the Super Eights at ICC World Twenty20, and all of a sudden one feels how beautifully and fittingly written are these lines from Urdu poetry – “Aghaz aisa hai to Anjaam kaisa hoga” (if such is the inception, well, what to expect in the end). ICC World Twenty20 2012 has started to come into its own; super eights on day 1 itself has announced a cricket bonanza, which is ready to unwrap in the next two weeks – big time.

Game 1 of the Super eights between Sri Lanka and New Zealand went to super over after the scores ended in a tie. At one stage when Sri Lanka was chasing, around the 17th over, they were looking like chasing the target easily but some really good seam bowling by the Kiwis lead by Tim Southee made a match of it. Eventually however, a brilliant catch from Dilshan turned the fortunes in Sri Lanka’s favour and made sure they got the first two points.

In game 2, the West Indies showed why they are a big contender to win this edition. All through the 40 overs, what stood out was the West Indian spirit. There was no pressure on them whatsoever. They are one side who truly enjoy their game; the dance moves and the run out warnings from the very special Chris Gayle were titillating enough to make you dance along as well.

England looked a bit out of sorts. Though a late burst from Eoin Morgan who went at a strike rate of almost 200 did bring some hope to the Englishmen but his lone effort wasn’t enough. The surprising thing about the English chase was that they only lost four wickets, which means that they had set batsmen at the crease during their chase, and this to an extent raises some doubts on Alex Hales’s ability to pace his innings. Hales scored 68 from 51 balls and that, for an opener, as per the modern standards is somewhat on the slower side, given the fact that he stayed at the crease for almost the whole course of English innings and that too on the Pallekele batting paradise.

Overall, day 1 was full of excitement with two sides who did their basics better than the other two ending up on the winning side. Day 2 brings us two other very big and important group 2 games from Premadasa, Colombo. South Africa takes on Pakistan in the first of these, so be ready for the all greens battle and the battle of South African pace and Pakistan’s spin. Then late evening, India plays Australia which is a big-big game; the war of words have already begun and the sides are raring to go. The coming week promises a lot and it can only get better from here.

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Can Bangladesh spell some magic and stay alive?

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Bangladesh vs. Pakistan

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Alright…So all of you thought till ‘Super Eights’ things would be nice, calm and easy, teams can sing lullabies to each other, try different combinations in order to identify their best eleven and that there won’t be too many twists in the tale. Well, for some teams these imaginations did realize, but fairly tales aren’t told in the ‘group of death’ and here we are ready to witness this face-off tonight; which is all but comfortable for the two sides involved.

Bangladesh would take on Pakistan in last of the Group ‘D’ games (it also happens to be the last game in the ‘Group Stage’), that the ‘Bangla Tigers’ must win and win handsomely to be able to advance into the ‘Super Eights’. Here is the magnitude of this handsomeness – Bangladesh, in case they bat first, must win this game by a margin of at least 36 runs to better Pakistan on net run-rate. If they win by exact 36 runs they would still advance because they’ll be one up head-to-head. If however they happen to chase, number of overs that they’ll get to chase and advance would depend upon how much can Pakistan put on the board. For instance, if Pakistan sets them a target of 150, they must chase it down in 15.4 overs or less. Looks really tough given the way both sides have gone till now in this tournament, but who knows; one good innings or a deadly spell from someone.

If we briefly look at the teams, both sides have match winners on them. For Bangladesh Shakib-Al-Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim can spring a surprise with the bat plus they have some good spinners, their fielding is also very good. Pakistan on the other hand looks better balanced, with their bowling arguably the best of the lot; Saeed Ajmal – the magician, Umal Gul and Shahid Afridi can trouble any batting line-up; and their batting is also coming good of late. Nasir Jamshed in particular is a very good addition to the side. He is a guy to watch out for; his lofted sixes over extra-cover against the Kiwis were spectacular.

For records, of the 44 times these two sides have met, Bangladesh has won only once; that was in the 1999 ICC World Cup. So, Pakistan start as clear favorites but for sure they’ll be under lot of pressure; we know what sort of situation that infamous 1999 loss resulted in; and what we also know is – there is no reason it won’t repeat if they lose tonight.

West Indies play the Irish in a must-win game

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West Indies - Ireland must win game

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They are a tough team, look balanced, have multiple match winners and are a strong contender to win this edition of ICC World Twenty20. Yet, amidst all this, a loss tonight and they could be boarding a flight back to the Caribbean. After losing to the Aussies last Saturday on Duckworth-Lewis, when it rained heavily at Premedasa, West Indies face a must win situation against Ireland. No doubt they’ll come hard at the Irish but in T20 cricket you never know, remember, no underdogs!

If we look at the other groups, they all are more or less decided. So we know which teams from those groups are going to be in the super eights, except may be a potential upset if Pakistan loses heavily to Bangladesh, though that seems highly unlikely; Pakistan has looked good. In group B however we are looking at this do or die game. The question to be asked is – Can West Indies handle these two tonight: ‘pressure of a must-win game’ and ‘the Irish zeal for glory’.

Well, if we compare the two sides and their current form, Windies are a clear winner. The way they batted against Australia was superb and if they can repeat that against Ireland they definitely are a huge challenge for the Iris. They have the big power players in the likes of Gayle, Smith, and Pollard along with the T20 specialist Bravo. Their bowling probably needs a bit of attention as against the Aussies their bowlers gave away too many easy runs. They have to mark their areas to ball; experimenting too much can be risky. They may also consider playing an extra bowler that can bring some balance to their bowling attack; currently they bank extremely heavily on Sunil Narine.

Irish on the other hand have nothing to lose. Though they too are aiming for a super eight spot, the amount of pressure on them in not as much. Even if they put up just about decent performance they should be happy on their way back home. But mind you, they are capable of more; England and Pakistan can tell you that from their past experiences :) . Kevin O’Brien is one guy in their ranks who can really turn it on.

Overall if West Indies can do the basics right, not take too much pressure and play their top game they should win, else we are looking at something very exciting in Colombo tonight.

ICC World Twenty20, there aren’t any underdogs anymore!

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As I am writing this, the very exciting T20 tournament is barely 23hrs and some minutes away from being underway in this very scenic and beautiful island country located in the Indian Ocean. Folks, get ready for some high voltage cricket, the ICC World Twenty20 is here. If some of you have happened to watch the warm-up games you very well know what exactly are we looking at. The warm-up games, where nothing much was at stake, didn’t really look like warm-ups; we saw some very close games, with teams operating at high intensities, wanting to win to gain early momentum…and let me tell you, this tournament is setup quite nicely.

Twenty20: Lockyear Goes Long

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Few years ago when T20 Cricket hit the scene, fans and experts around the world wouldn’t have envisioned it to grow to its current stature. As it stands today, it is no less. The 4thedition of ICC World Twenty20 promises to be gem of a tournament and at the inception it looks so very balanced.

Over the years we have grown up watching sides play each other and invariably, before a particular match, we kind of know the stronger of two sides. With T20s, that has changed enormously. There are NO underdogs now. In the modern day T20s the side that plays better on the day has a huge chance of winning. The format is such, that few overs, a little cameo or an individual brilliance can change the course of a match.

No, we are not writing off the good sides, neither are we challenging the conventional wisdom that if one has to choose between two sides he can; of the two sides, one would have an edge over the other. We however are certainly telling this – ‘this format is not just for the elite’.

The reality is, when you have lesser time on hand, or let us say when you are in a format that requires a team to spend relatively smaller amount of time in the middle, which are basically fewer overs, the skills that really matter to win a game are so much different. Not to disparage good batting and bowling, but a lot of ‘other’ elements come into play and thus, its a totally different ball game.

A ‘Dilshan Scoop’, a ‘Warner’s swich-hit’ or an ‘Ajmal’s teesra’ are some of these ‘other’ elements. And these are the elements that make this format so awesomely fascinating to watch. Run-a-ball is a thing of past. If you are not going at a strike rate of over 130-135 you stand a decent chance of getting dropped the next game. Fast good length balls are not good enough; they are ‘meat and wine’. A T20 bowler must have multiple variations. A slower off-cutter, a regular bouncer, a slow bouncer and a reverse swinging yorker makes a decent portfolio and that is why guys who possess them are extremely successful in this format, someone like an Umar Gul or Lasitha Malinga.

This is different folks and for sure it is immensely thrilling; you never know what to expect. It is this format where a 30-ball hundred isn’t really surprising.

The ICC World Twenty20 2012 announces – There aren’t any underdogs anymore!

Take a bow Yuvraj, you are a true champion!

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Yuvraj Singh at Adelaide Oval

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He was battling a rare germ cell cancer, the fighter was diagnosed with a tumour between his lungs; for him, it was life threatening and for his fans – shocking and awfully heartbreaking. Having gone through intricate medical procedures, after many long and tough months, Yuvraj Singh, arguably the toughest cricketer of our times has made a comeback to international cricket.

In a sportsperson’s life, nothing is worse than the sinking feeling of not being able to take the field and play due to some fatal injury, adverse health conditions or disability. So while Yuvraj’s body had to fight cancer his mind had to conquer this catastrophic feeling. And much to the belief of all his fans and anyone who knows Yuvi even remotely, he did triumph both. While chemotherapy did its bit on cancer, it was Yuvraj’s character, his passion for the game and longing for the cricket field that made him and the world see this day.

It was July 2002 at Lords in the Natwest Series final when the cricketing world witnessed a 20 year old fearless young man taking on a strong English bowling line-up to combat a mammoth target. This kid was Yuvraj Singh and he was helped in his effort by another very talented young cricketer Mohd. Kaif. That day we saw glimpses of the future of Indian cricket, just the way it would shape in the decade to come – intrepid, strong and very talented; through this exciting young cricketer – Yuvraj Singh.

Since that Lords evening in 2002, Yuvraj has played numerous brilliant innings of highest quality and authority to win matches for India in all forms. However his most memorable knock remains from the ICC T20 World Cup game at Kingsmead, Durban against England (he seems to have a special liking for the English) when he hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in an over.

He is a big match player and he has testified this in various major tournaments and yet again in the ICC World Cup 2011. Before the World Cup, he wasn’t in best of the form, but he raised his game and came back strongly to win India the World Cup; and himself – Man of the Tournament.

Winning the World Cup was huge. India danced, India roared, India bled blue. Celebrations were unprecedented and the mood across the country was dazzling. It was like whole of the India celebrating one grand festival. But when the news broke that Yuvraj was playing with symptoms of potential cancer, the world was taken aback. The warrior however was stoic as ever, he had a smile on his face and hope in his eyes.

People, he is back. The resilience he has shown during his terrible times says a lot about this man’s character. Take a bow Yuvraj, you are a true champion!

Test Cricket, the game’s most exciting form

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It all started with this particular form and it still remains most exciting and intriguing. The game of cricket has gone through immense change and has transformed from being a sport played by a handful of players in equally small number of countries to a universally recognized sport. Not just more countries are involved now but the perception about this sport has seen a significant contrast.

Few decades ago, who would have imagined that there would be such a huge viewership of this sport, who would have thought that the players themselves would pre-sell a tournament on TV, creative people alike will write the ‘Mehman-Nawazi’ campaigns and who would have imagined in their wildest of dreams that cricketers, yes cricketers would draw huge money from ad commercial endorsements…they aren’t footballers…

But all this has happened and so much more. Amidst all this however, test match cricket remains as beautiful and exciting as ever. The very fact that you can win a test match only if you have the capability to take 20 wickets, that means you get the opposition out twice in a match makes this form of the game so challenging. Man…you have all the time in the world but you must get them out twice and thus you must scale the ‘Wall’. Well we all know this, by the time Mr. Dravid retired he had made life of the bowlers around the world difficult not because of his ability to score at the quickest rate but because his unmatched talent of staying at the crease and fighting it out.

Another reason that makes Test match cricket extensively exciting is that it is everybody’s game and its not just about fours and sixes. Let’s not forget there are millions of fans who love bowling and fielding too and I bet they all love it when good bowlers run through batting line-ups. If I ask an average cricket follower about his memories of some famous wins of his favorite side, for sure he will mention some test wins. Who can forget VVS Laxman’s marathon innings of 281 at Kolkata or Harbhajan Singh’s back to back match winning spells in the same series or Anil Kumble’s 10 wicket haul at Ferozshah Kotla against the arch rivals Pakistan, Sehwag’s triple hundred at Multan, Tendulkar’s numerous innings…well the list is endless and mind you these efforts that I’ve listed are particularly from Indian players, there are so many more of such performances from players of various other nations which are equally splendid and tell us never ending tales of glory.

In any cricketer’s career, performing well in test cricket is one huge aspiration and it takes a lot to do well at this level.

The shorter forms of the game have arrived and they promise lot of entertainment, but still, nothing can match the excitement of the real cricket – Test Cricket, all whites and red cherry has its own charm !!!WW6PXY4QQTKV

10 Years On, Pakistan aim for a series win against the Aussies

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English: Saeed Ajmal in the field during a 50-...

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It has been 10 years since Pakistan won an ODI series against the Australians. Yes, it was the year 2002 when they last beat the Aussies to win a series. They have a good chance to change these stats when they play at their second home on dry pitches where their spinners can be really dangerous.

Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are scorching hot during this time of the year with temperatures soaring to around 45’C and this can test the fitness of both the sides, especially, Australians’ who aren’t much used to such conditions. More than the heat, its the humidity that really saps a lot out of the players. It is like a sauna in the middle, where the players sweat profusely and with dew cover in the outfield it a two prong battle — outplay the opposition and at the same time fight the dew.

Both sides have won a match each with the decider to be played at Sharjah on Monday-Tuesday night. Australian pacemen ran through the Pakistan batting in the first ODI and after few hiccups in the middle of Aussies innings, the new guns Bailey and Maxwell held their nerve to make sure Australians cross over the line safely. Pakistan’s spinners bowled really well but as the batting again failed to deliver it was little too much of an ask for them.

Pakistan however bounced back in the second ODI, with their spinners, especially the magical off spinner Saeed Ajmal again bowling tremendously well to confine Australians to a modest total of 249. It was followed by a superb almost run-a-ball innings of 97 from Nasir Jamshed who dominated the Aussie attack and Pakistan surpassed the total with more than six overs to spare to set up a comprehensive and convincing victory. For a long time now Pakistan is in search of a genuine opening batsman and it seems with the arrival of Jamshed this wait is over. He just needs to watch out his injuries.

The decider promises to be an exciting contest with both sides looking to end on a high which would give them a psychological advantage ahead of the T20 series. Australia may make a change or two in their line-up by considering playing an additional spinner. For Pakistan, if Afridi recovers from his strain he may come back in place of Rehman whose figures were not too impressive in the last game. Also, with Afridi you have a potential chance of dominating the game if he fires with the bat. Though on that, I rest my case :) !!!WW6PXY4QQTKV

Unmukt Chand – Has he arrived?

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He saved his best for the finals. After an ordinary tournament with the bat, he produced the innings of his life, just when it mattered the most. Unmukt Chand, man of the moment has arrived and this kid is a man for the future.

Indians were looking down the barrel and were under tremendous pressure. But Unmukt has a liking for batting under pressure as he has shown in some of his previous innings too. Much like his name connotes he played with freedom and Aussie had no answers to his shots. Half way into the Indian innings, what looked like a formidable target to chase was surpassed with ease and India won their third ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.

Australians were eyeing their fourth ICC U19 World Cup win and would’ve been disappointed to lose at home. But Unmukt outplayed them, completely. He didn’t take much risk while he was building his innings and nicely did the repair work with Samit Patel and when the game was under their control, man did he cut loose. His sixes were worth watching; especially the one over extra cover that kept going forever.He was the real difference on a day when it was so evenly poised between the two sides.

He is being compared to his Senior Delhi player, Virat Kohli. Well, it is good to appreciate the talent but such comparisons are funny. I mean, why can’t a player be loved for what he is and what he has achieved, why can’t he enjoy this glory and not being subject to some benchmark. I absolutely fail to understand.

He and his team has done the country proud. He and his team deserve all the applause and we can definitely do without unnecessary comparisons.

India loves you Unmukt !!!WW6PXY4QQTKV

Kamran Akmal in Pakistan’s ICC Twenty20 World Cup Squad – PCB’s Condonation

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English: Kamran Akmal keeping wicket for Pakis...

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Kamran Akmal is back in the Pakistan’s squad for the ICC World Twenty20, 2012. The tournament begins on September 18th, 2012. Kamran hasn’t played for Pakistan for over an year now, his last international appearance was in the ICC world cup 2011.

His inclusion would definitely strengthen Pakistan’s batting that is going through a bad phase. This return however has surprised a few because there wasn’t much clarity on his position with International Cricket Council (ICC). Akmal was sent a notice by ICC’s anti-corruption unit and he also got summoned by the integrity committee. He however claims that ICC has cleared him of all the charges.

Pakistan is in Group D with New Zealand and Bangladesh and they look strongest in their group. Two other players who have made a comeback are Abdur Razzaq and Imran Nazir. Nazir being an aggressive opening batsman would look to provide the innings with flying start and Razzaq who has always been a fine all-rounder, very dependable, on his comeback would want to make a point.

Other than India, England and Sri Lanka the team that looks like making an impact is Pakistan given their world class bowling and handy bits and pieces players who are relatively dangerous in the shorter format of the game.

It promises to be an exciting 20-day affair with some quick-fire batting, toe crushing Yorkers and acrobatic fielding displays. And lets not forget the colour and glamour around the ground :D !!!

Pakistan squad for the World Twenty20 2012 in Sri Lanka:

Mohammad Hafeez (Captain), Shoaib Malik, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal (WK), Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir, Asad Shafiq, Raza Hasan, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Sami, Sohail Tanveer, Umar Gul and Dave Whatmore (Coach)WW6PXY4QQTKV