ICC World Cup 2011 *Champions*

My Name is Nehra and I am not Alone

    Ah, there's been a lot of hue and cry regarding the final over of the India-South Africa match, that Nehra bowled. People slamming the captain for opting for Nehra over Harbhajan for bowling the 50th over. Harbhajan may or may not have restricted the runs, you never know. Losing was always on the cards when Indians faltered throughout the day. Poor Nehra is being made a punching bag because the match went close(13 reqd off 6 balls). Mainly thanks to the slow cautious batting by Saffers. If you guys remember, Pakistan once required 6 of the last over, chasing 340+ and Nehra bowled really well India won. Again, in this match the first ball was an in-swinging yorker which unfortunately went for four. The second ball was a mighty slog by Peterson. I have compiled a list of duels where similar things happened wherein the best of bowlers got the stick treatment from unknown entities carrying a bat.

• Harbhajan & Aamir – Asia Cup – Akthar got into Bhajji's nerves and he showed the anger on poor Aamir by hoicking him for a huge six.

• Balaji & Akthar – India Tour of Pakistan – The hot guy of India Pakistan (L Balaji) went crazy and smacked Akthar over the long on boundary, broke his willow et al.

• Sreesanth & Nel  – India Tour South Africa – Who can forget the smooth dance moves he showed in front of Nel after that epic six.

• Symcox & Srinath – Titan Cup – Trace walk to the 1990's. Symcox hit Srinath for a 6 so hard that it struck the electronic scoreboard.

• Nayar & Flintoff – IPL – Freddie was the most expensive buys of that season (along with KP) and he was put to shame when Abishek Nayar sent the ball screaming to all parts of the ground. 

Symcox giving it the full treatment.
© Action Photographics

 
    "Cometh the hour, cometh the man." this was certainly not true in any of the cases if you had the ball in hand. In this T20 age of slam-bang cricket brutal hitting, slog shots, or even thick edges helping the ball to the ropes you have to cut some slack for the bowlers and eat the humble pie. For pointers even the slogan (theme song) for the 2011 world  cup is "De ghuma ke" and not "Gilli uda de", its a brutal world and crowd want to see the bats do the talking. Or like MSD would aptly say, "Well of course!".

p.s. - If you guys have some upset moments that you cant seem to forget so easily, feel free to add them in the comments section. Cheers!

Sloshed Prediction-Indian WC'2011 squad.

The big daddy of all the ODI tournaments is just round the corner and its time for their cricket board to send their best 15 to the sub-continent .The strategic,head breaking decisions must have done already and its time for all the boards to announce it in the following week. We have already done it and its time for us to announce it ;). Here's a look at the pick of the top most players from the 30 probables who shall make it to the final 15 . 

OPENERS-Virender Sehwag,Sachin Tendulkar,Gautam Gambhir and Murali Vijay.

Undoubtedly,the opening pair would be Viru and Sachin with Gauti batting 1 down.Considering the recent injury to Sachin means Gambhir shall come back to open with Sehwag.We don't see Murali Vijay making the cut as there are 3 openers already.

MIDDLE ORDER- Virat Kohli,Yuvraj Singh,Rohit Sharma,Suresh Raina,Yusuf Pathan.

I think except for Rohit Sharma, everbody else shall make the cut . Rohit Sharma has't proved much in the recent times for India. Maybe , he loves playing for Deccan Chargers . Yuvi has been useful bowling his pie chuckers and his half century in the previous match made his position strong. Yusuf too has been pretty good with his bowling , though not much with his bat ,except for his blazing ton against the Kiwis at B'lore.Kohli has been in supreme touch of late . Raina, by default is in . 

WICKET-KEEPERS - Mahendra-Captain Cool- Dhoni,Parthiv-Mini bullet-Patel,Wriddhiman-Buddhiman-Saha.

Nothing to say about MSD. There will be a toss up between the other two.Parthiv Patel grabbed the oppurtunity with both his hands scoring consecutive half centuries and impressive keeping , while on the other hand,Saha did not impress with keeping and batting at all. Patel's batting is flexible as he can open and also bat in the middle order.

SPINNERS - Harbhajan-Bhajji-Singh,Pragyan Ojha,Ravichandran Ashwin.

Considering the spin options which the part timers provide , the chance of 2 front-line spinners playing is very less,unless played at very slow tracks .Chances are that , only 2 spinners will be picked in the squad. Bhajji, being an offie, and the off-break options provided by Yusuf and Raina ,chances of Ojha making the cut is more . Sorry Ashwin, not this time around . 

PACERS-Zaheer Khan,Praveen Kumar,Ashish Nehra,Sreesanth,Munaf Patel.

Zaheer has been the leader of the pack. No doubt about him being in the squad . Praveen Kumar has always been consistent. Ashish Nehra has been pretty good in the recent past too, although he has had his fair share of screwups.There is a stiff competiton between Sree and Munaf . Sree was excellent against the Kiwis and ofcourse , in the tests against Saffers . Munaf has been pretty consistent , picking up a wicket or two in every match . But ,we feel Sree might just sneak through.

So that is it . The 15 players have been shortlisted and this is how it looks -

1)Sehwag

2)Sachin

3)Gambhir

4)Kohli

5)Yuvraj

6)MSD

7)Raina

8)Harbhajan

9)Zaheer

10)Nehra

11)Praveen Kumar

12)Parthiv Patel

13)Sreesanth

14)Ojha

15)Yusuf Pathan

Dhoni to enter the wedlock

Yes, you heard it right . Indian Skipper M.S.Dhoni is getting married.It is with his school friend,Sakshi Rawat.They have been in an affair for a couple of years now .The date of the wedding hasn't been decided yet .Their parents thought this was the right time for them to get engaged. It MAYBE because of the rumours about Dhoni and the Indian Celeb ASIN getting closer and having an affair.So,to put off the rumors the engagement must have taken place.It was a very low profile ceremony.Raina,Bhajji and Nehra attended the function.Sakshi Rawat is a hotel management student in Aurangabad.Well, we just hope it does not become a drama  like the Tennis Star Sania Mirza , who called off her engagement with her childhood friend and made one of the most brilliant decisions ,marrying Shoaib Malik. All said and done, we wish Dhoni all the best . Well,its obvious that this news may pierce the heart of his female fans.Don't worry chicks,we heard that Bhajji is single again ;)

Quick Updates : India Vs Pakistan ODI#4

Phew! Its been  hours since the match ended and I am yet to get over it . What a finish !! No wonder Pakistan Vs India gather so many spectators around the world . I can definitely say that Indo Pak rivalry is more than the Oz-Poms ( Cricket rivalry , No Politics here ). The rivalry was truly showcased on the field today when Gauti got hyper yet another time with Kamran 'Butter' Akmal. It reminded me of the Styris -Johnson head bang . Talking of rivalry, how can you keep Bhajji and Akthar out of the scene  . Both of them were involved in an altercation just before the match ended . and There is so much patriotism involved when these two teams meet head to head . So this was the 4th match of the Asia Cup and it was a knock match for the Stanis. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat . Imran Farhat and Salman Butt took strike . Farhat departed early . Malik and Butt steadied the ship. Butt has scored 5 of his 8 centuries against India ( Phew!!) and was looking good for another one . Both of them fell in quick succession and then wickets kept falling , though Afridi did play a cameo scoring 32(25) . It was  Mr. 'Butter'Akmal 51(41) who made use of the batting power play and boosted the score . Eventually,Pakistan were bowled out for 267. It was a tricky target for India ,considering the Poor Lights @ Dambulla . Viru and Gauti opened for India . Viru was looking a fish out of the water. He was struggling to get the ball away . It was a very Un-Sehwag innings . Can you believe it , he scored 10 runs of 32 balls :O.Kohli didn't make a big either . MSD and Gauti put on yet another brilliant partnership of 98 runs . When Indians were looking to seal a comfortable victory , they lost 4 wickets for less than 40 runs , requiring 45+ of the last 5. Raina and Bhajji stole the match away from them. It was a gem of an innings from Raina. He proved that he can bat at any position. The winning shot , the six over the leg side, bought back the images of Javed Miandad and Chetan Sharma . Wonderful innings by Bhajji too , under pressure. He reiterated the fact that SINGH IS KING! Thus, Indians have  successfully butt-kicked Pakistan and Bangladesh out of the series. Its India V SriLanka in the finals.

Match Summary 
Pakistan 267/10 (49.3 overs)
Salman Butt  74(85)                               Praveen Kumar 3/53
Kamran Akmal 51(41)

India 271/7 (49.5 overs)
Gautam Gambhir 83(97)                        Saeed Ajmal 3/56
Mahendra Singh Dhoni 56(71)

India bt Pakistan by 3 wickets

Celebrating Cricket

Wah are celebrating cricket, and what better way than the cricketers showing us how to do in ishtyle!! Weird that, ever wondered how these egoistic super-natural beings let their real selves out in the flow of things.

Exhibit A: Shahid BoOm BOom Afridi - Crickets very own SeX Symbol

C'mon Picky, I mean Ricky celebrate! U just won another trophy, rest is Ashes.

And talking of Ashes, remember when Freddie almost became Jesus!

Gayle trying to be as cool as the Lighting Bolt!

Or have you ever done the Full MONTY!

My eyes bleed with this one.

Some just let the animal in them take over.

Wah are not done with that, Wah will be back with more "Celebrating Cricket". Keep tuning in, till then say "Wah! Cricket".

Captain Cool on Fire

    Dhoni, is on the firing line after India's yet another disastrous performance at the ICC World T20. I don't seem to understand the fact that, why should a captain be blamed, when its a called a "TEAM" game. Isn't the whole team responsible for the loss. Finally, India showed some team work, it was not one or two guys out of form, the whole TEAM looked out of place. Agreed, Indians cant handle short stuff, but how long will they keep saying the same old stuff. It cant be said that India played badly, the opposition played exceptionally well, which made India looks like, cats on a tin roof on a HOT day. What amazes me is the fact that, just few weeks back, when Dhoni lifted the IPL, adulation reached the peak and now they have turned the other way, courtesy : MEDIA. Fitness has definitely been a major concern. After playing 14+ matches in a span of 8 weeks and flying to Carribean two days later can definitely take a toll. People may argue that even foreign players played IPL. The main difference is that not all the International players played 14 games excepting a few. The others players had enough time with them, which was not the case for Indian players. Rightly so, Gary has hit out against the players as well, saying there around 8 people who are overweight to name a few: Yuvraj 'MRF Blimp' Singh, Rohit 'can take a paunch' Sharma and Zaheer 'I may be fit' Khan. Their paunch is EXPLICIT! This has resulted in the team failing in all 3 departments of the game. The batting looked miserable facing pace, bounce, swing. The bowling attack never really attacked or even started to look like one. The fielding for so bad that Afghanistan will be proud of their efforts.

    Right now,  in case Dhoni is dropped, wonder who will replace him... Viru couldn't handle the pressure of Double D's and looked like fish out of water when ever the national duty has beckoned him, he will lose his implanted hair too, if he captains India once again. Gambhir, no way! Earlier, there was captaincy material in him but, post IPL3 he has shown some serious attitude problems and lacks leadership skills. Plus he doesn't know what he is speaking during the presentation. Yuvi and Bhajji, ha ha , Cricket is(was) a  gentleman's game, isn't it? Raina flopped in the IPL so, lets not go there again. Only people left are PK, Zaks, Nehra which seems highly unlikely. Otherwise, Subu-Badrinath / Dinesh Karthik will have to take over the reigns. And that will only make matters worse with Srikkanth being the chairman of selectors. So its better if BCCI stick on to Dhoni rather than looking out for another lame ass.

Ind Saf 2nd Test in Pics

Day 1 - SAF win toss, dominate play



After tea: Ind's spinners rise to the occasion



Day2 - Indian batsman come to the PARTY!




Day3 - Laxman, MSD continue the act as Saffers begin to feel kinky.





Day4 - Rain, Bad lights just 39 overs of play, SAF still have 7 wickets in hand.



Day5 - Final day, SAF lose wickets initially, though Amla continues to frustrate the Indians.



In the end it was race against time for the Indians, Amla kept his cool but, Bhajji struck just moments before close of play taking Morkel's wicket and with that the match. India level series 1-1. Top spot in the ICC World test championship secure.



Excellent exhibition of cricket from both teams.

Indian Squad for 1st two ODI's

Just when no one seemed to be bothered the national selectors have announced the ODI squad for the 1st two ODI's against South Africa. Yuvi remains injured and is ruled out but joining him is Gauti in that injury list. Bhajji wants to share some brother love so he's missing the ODI series as well to attend his sister's marriage. So, lots of seats up for grabs one might think. Here's how they faired.

• IN

Sachin(yes, as he missed the ODI tri-series in B'desh)
Yusuf P (some mad monkey hitting gets him a berth)
Abhishek Nayar (Finally!)
R Ashwin (spinner & Tamil)
PK (Praveen Kumar)




• OUT

Yuvraj (waiting for IPL)
Gambhir (new delicate dolly of the team)
Bhajji (family comes first, country goto H***)
Ishant (picked, dropped, picked again, dropped again...)
Sree (manages to puzzle everyone)
Ojha (ahem.. who? why?)




• Lucky

DK (still there.. backup wk??)
Jadeja (In the news lately for all the wrong reasons, very very lucky indeed)
Tyagi (dint play much, doubtful that will change anytime soon)
Mishra-ji (now the spin leader, No Bhajji, no Ojha PARTY!! :D)




• Unlucky

Pandey (With 2 batting slots open he should have made it purely on merit)
Mithun (If he was chosen in the Test squad, he deserved a chance here.)

So, the team: M S Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayar, Yusuf Pathan and Amit Mishra.

• 1st ODI - 21.Feb - Jaipur
• 2nd ODI - 24.Feb - Gwalior