Seam, Swing, Bounce-Gone!!!

For a normal office goer 136/9 in 38.1 overs would have been the expected return gift from the Indian batsmen on a bouncy Centurion track, the only problem however is that such gifts were usually served during an Alan Donald led bowling attack in 1996/97 and for the records India were not the first ranked team in the world either. Its 2010 now, India boast the number one ranking , the best batting line up in the world with 30,000 plus runs of experience but it still seems that under seamer friendly conditions the balls that once bounced in Durban are finding its way to Centurion. After Steyn and Morkel’s antics the Indian supporters would have expected the South African batsmen to face some chin music from their opposition but in the end the result was a run marathon where the South African batsmen were seemingly giving their wickets to the highest bidding bowlers on a 100 run barter system. The age old question again loops up- Are Indian pacers capable of taking wickets? There may be a five for around the corner for a Sreesanth or an Ishant maybe; but is it sufficient for a team like India to win test matches on a constant and regular basis? Where do our seam prodigies go? It’s definitely not good seeing an youngster like Jaydev Unadkat barge into the team and then going through all the paces rigorously only to bowl at 125 kmph against a class batting line up. Obviously most bowling greats would say that compromising on pace improves one’s line and length but it’s high time to attain perfection, to look forward to bowlers like Shane Bond, Brett Lee, Dale Steyn etc who have all attained the right mix to take wickets. The Plan ‘B’ is obviously lacking in the Indian bowling department, they seem to be somewhere in Bermuda Triangle when it comes to handling pressure and the majority of the opposition’s brunt as was the case in Centurion. The 22 yard strip definitely wasn’t a one which demanded 136 from India and 620/4 dec from South Africa within a span of two days. Whatever maybe the case one thing is for sure the Indians need one heck of a ride to manage this wild African Safari.

Soham Sarkhel

SPOT-FIXING IN PAKISTAN’S TOUR OF ENGLAND

SPOT-FIXING IN PAKISTAN’S TOUR OF ENGLAND

SPECULATIONS

The fourth test match in the ongoing Pakistan’s tour of England has thrown up some shocking facts to say the least. Some of the facts have already cropped up during the investigation process but some are still in the dark. Here are some of the possibilities in the scandal:
WHAT WE KNOW: Mazhar Majeed – the Pakistani agent spot fixed two no balls for certain which is evident from the videos that were surfaced by the British newspaper News of the World – one that was delivered by Mohammed Aamer on the first ball of the third over and the other by Mohammed Asif on the last ball of the 10th over. The actual match videos show them overstepping by at least a feet.

SPECULATION: Now in the course of the innings Mohammed Asif bowled a total of 2 no balls whereas Mohammed Aamer bowled 4 no balls and 8 more were bowled by Wahab Riaz. Mohammed Aamer bowled the no balls in (2.1, 18.3, 88.3, 112.3) overs during the England innings. According to the video proof – in the first two no balls he overstepped by at least a foot. Now the question is whether the third and fourth no balls were spot fixed or not as it adds a whole new dimension because after 38.4 overs England were tottering at 102/7 and if the third no ball was indeed fixed then it gives a clear hint to the fact that Pakistan manipulated the match so that it lasts at least till the 89th over which is a very subtle shift from spot fixing to match fixing.

POINTS THAT ADD UP TO THE SPECULATION:
1) After the fall of the 7th wicket Aamer continued for only two more overs.

2) Mohammed Aamer went off the field after the 45th over.

3) After the fall of the 7th wicket only 6 overs were bowled by Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamer out of the next 60.

4) The inexperienced pair of Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal were given to bowl after 4 overs of the fall of the 7th wicket allowing the batsmen to settle in.

5) No introduction of Mohammed Aamer into the attack after tea which is again very surprising given the fact that he was the main strike bowler of the team.

The above points do give a hint that perhaps there was something more than spot fixing, maybe the spot fixing led to match fixing but what exactly happened only God knows or maybe Majeed knows.

Soham Sarkhel

Belgium Grand Prix 2010
Preview

Torque, acceleration, angular momentum, gravity – all of these concepts may help if you are a student going to give an examination but perhaps not when you have that steering wheel lodged between your palms and a sly glance at your speedometer shows it hovering around 320kmph. No need to call for the pits though as it’s not for us but the Vettels, the Alonsos and the Hamiltons to prove their mettle and to show their merit on the second half of the season as Formula One resumes after the four week summer break with the Belgium Grand Prix.


The Spa Francorchamps is a very demanding circuit for the drivers and is known to produce classics throughout its history; the steep gradients are more like hillocks and the famous corners like Eau Rouge sets the adrenaline pumping, the most of the track requires a driver pressing on the pedal for a longer period of time, the track also requires a medium to high downforce due to medium to highspeed corners and low speed chicanes; throw in a few gearbox failures, susceptible climate and a surprise coup in the positions like the Force India did last year and we might be in for a scorcher of a ride with the championship being so delicately placed. The difference between the top of the Driver’s Championship Mark Webber and the 5th placed Fernando Alonso is a mere 20 points with Hamilton, Vettel and Button feeling up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively. In the constructor’s championship Red Bull Racing is at the top with 312 points owing to the superlative performance of their drivers Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel but snapping on their heels is McLaren-Mercedes on 304 points with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button riding the team’s fortunes and a win here for any of the top 5 drivers could potentially see them go first.




The Red Bull Racing has a superior chassis which has given them an advantage in almost all of the circuits but its Renault engine may fail to support it this time owing to the long straights, the Ferrari team on the other hand will hold the advantage due to its engine power and they have also been able to catch up with the F-duct and the diffuser system but then again the form of Fernando Alonso has been a bit of a worry for them. One would say McLaren-Mercedes is the most balanced team out of the whole lot but one gets the feeling that this race will more be about grits, confidence, grabbing chances and holding on to them rather than the car specifications helping out the drivers. So, don’t be surprised if you see a certain man named Michael Schumacher smiling his way to the podium for the 7th time in Spa for all you know this maybe the rise of the legend again.

Soham Sarkhel

A LEGEND NAMED MURALI

Slanted action, grotesque facial expression, a final push, the sound of the timber followed by the complementary smile; this is the Muralitharan we have known for the past 18 years, a master class on field and a champion off it. Murali as he is known popularly has been the face of Sri Lankan cricket for the past 15 years; spinning his team to the World Cup victory in 1996 and also establishing his team as a major force in the international cricket. In the process he broke all possible bowling records, not that he cared for them but his infatuation with cricket had driven him that far.



Murali started his career from the Tamil Union and Athletic Club in 1990 and within two years barged into the Sri Lankan team against the touring Australian side, his first scalp being Craig McDermott but it was the wicket of Tom Moody that brought him to the limelight; a ball pitching two feet outside the off stump to which Moody shouldered his arms and bang went the ball disturbing his leg stump, this was just the start of something legendary, something huge in the annals of cricketing history. As Murali harbored from strength to strength he went on to become the leading Sri Lankan wicket taker within 4 years of his debut. Not only did he get wickets but he got them with in consummate ease and almost at will. The angular run up building up to his delivery acted as a perfect decoy to the batsmen, there was an element of treachery in his deliveries; it pitched outside off lured the batsmen into the drives and then the ball skitted and turned viciously at right angles to disturb the bails. If his ultra ‘off spins’ were not enough the ‘doosra’ was an even deadlier addition to his repertoire, the ‘doosra’ instead of turning the conventional way from left to right spun the other way round and with it most of the times the match itself.


Then again not every story is perfect, Murali was called by Australian umpire Darrell Hair during the 1995 Boxing Day test and 10 days later in an ODI against West Indies by one more Australian umpire Ross Emerson for ‘throwing’ instead of ‘bowling’ the ball which led to his bowling action coming under heavy scrutiny and side by side earned him a tag of a ‘chucker’ by the Australian crowd but then it was Murali they were dealing with, the furore off the field was matched by an even more delightful bowling display on it, he became the first Sri Lankan bowler to cross 100 wicket in Test cricket against New Zealand in the 1997 series. His action was officially given the clean chit in 1996 and 1999 by ICC. Murali during this period was almost impossible to play especially in the subcontinent though many believed he would not be able to recreate the same magic outside it but then came the 1998 Oval match against England where he took 9-65 in 54.2 overs and suddenly the spotlight turned to him and after that there was no looking back.


Murali’s success was not only a product of his own bowling but also because of a certain man named Shane Warne; both of them were arguably the best spin bowlers cricket had ever seen, it was not the destination but it was the journey to it which made the contest even more pleasurable- the record for the highest number of wickets in Test cricket. Murali was the first to break the record when he captured Mluleki Nkala for his 520th scalp breaking Courtney Walsh’s record but then a shoulder surgery sidelined him from Test cricket and Warne joined into the party surpassing Murali’s then record of 532 wickets, he then became the first bowler to reach 700 wickets and retired at a tally of 708. Murali reclaimed the top spot after capturing the wicket of Paul Collingwood and he achieved the feat in 116 tests twenty nine matches less than his counterpart Warne. In his last match before retiring he needed 8 wickets to complete his 800 wicket mark and being the champion that he is, he finished his career on the highest possible note by getting the wicket of Pragyan Ojha, completing the 800 wicket mark and also getting a wicket of the last ball of his career; a perfect finish for a perfect man.



The most imminent question that pop ups after the retirement of Murali is who is going to replace him? Are the Mendises, the Harbhajans and the Swanns potent enough to continue the legacy? As a cricket fan one would be gunning for a yes but somewhere at the back of your brain you know that the wickets will no longer come at that frantic pace, the ball will no longer spit from one side of the pitch to the other, the innocuous grin will no longer come after taking the wicket, the man from Kandy would no longer be seen, the man who was a champion, the man who was a legend, the man named MURALI.

Soham Sarkhel

Harakiri at Harare

Zimbabwe 197 for 3 (Taylor 74, Masakadza 66) beat India 194 for 9 (Jadeja 51, Lamb 3-45) by seven wickets




In what should be a telling blow to Indian cricket team's morale just before the Asia Cup, Zimbabwe once again proved a point to the ICC of it's long gone existence as a Test team by resounding a thumping win over India by seven wickets at Harare. The win not only solidifies Zimbabwe's position at the top of the table but also means that India may face an unceremonious exit from the tournament unless and until they beat Sri-Lanka hands down with a bonus point which seems as unlikely as a bridge player receiving an all spade 13-card hand.

Indian fans on the other hand may well be alarmed by the signs of the re-emergence of the '1980's slow start' during the opening overs of the match. A classic wait 'n' watch battle ensued between the openers and the bowlers which would have got some rave reviews from the old hardcore WCW fans.Both the openers waited for the non-existent 'loose deliveries' and hence even after 16 overs they managed to put up a score of only 58 runs having said that no credits are to be taken from the Zimbabweans they did the basics right, even without a frontline pace bowler they were able to tighten the noose on the Indian batsmen with their highly disciplined spin attack.The pitch resembled a facile 1990 Kanpur track,however the Indian batsmen treated it like it belonged to Durban and the Indian bowlers like Sialkot.

If the batsmen failed to do their job then the bowlers replied by saying-'We can do it even better'. The opening pair of Taylor and Masakadza grabbed them by their necks and made them pay for some pretty ordinary stuff.The openers raced away to a 128 run opening stand in 26 overs killing the run chase before even it started.Eventually Taibu and skipper Chigumbura finished the job with 70 deliveries to spare and in the process earned their side a crucial bonus point which may well just be the deciding factor.

In short poor batting coupled by even poorer bowling,throw in two more run outs in the mix and suddenly it seems like Deja vous for the Indians.


Did someone one say----World Cup 2011??????


Soham Sarkhel