Terrible play by India in batting powerplay

DESPITE lots of criticism and poor game strategies the India team managed to save itself from losing the match against West Indies. India defeated West Indies by 80 runs, which makes them eligible for the quarter finals where India will be facing Australia.

Held at M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, the team set up a low target of mere 268 runs with no wickets remaining.

Just after the match got over cricket experts, post-match, showered their criticism on Indian batsmen.

The Indian team doesn’t seem to be so serious about the world cup. Ace Indian batsmen couldn’t stand tall in front of explosive bowlers from the Windies team.

Ravi rampaul from West Indies shone throughout the first half of the match, grabbing a whopping 5 wickets.

The last 5 wickets of the Indian team fell for a meagre 28 runs. Just as in the previous match against South Africa, the middle order did not work this time as well. Virat kohli and Yuvraj singh saved the team though, but even then, the team could not score much this time.

Virat Kohli scored 59 runs and Yuvraj singh scored an impressive 113 runs for 123 balls and was crowned as the man of the match.

People were expecting another nostalgic performance from the god of cricket - Sachin Tendulkar, but luck failed to be with him and he got dismissed for just 2 runs. People had high hopes from captain M.S. Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, but both walked to the pavilion after scoring 22 runs each.

Yusuf pathan (11), Harbhajan singh (3), and Suresh Raina(4), added to the flop list.

This time bowling was better. All wickets were claimed by Indian bowlers and the windies team collapsed at 188 runs in 43 overs.

The main point of tension in the team is the poor play at the powerplay. Yuvraj singh was dismissed just a ball before the Powerplay was set to begin. And the batsmen who followed performed terribly.

Five wickets fell so easily just for 28 runs. Though India won the match but there were mixed emotions. Indian team’s strategies are not as flawless at it was claimed to be at the beginning. Initially, ace batsmen like sachin and sehwag saved the matches for India and bowling wasn’t strong. This time bowlers showed improvement but middle order seems to tremble at the time of powerplay.

If we follow all the matches that India has played during the world cup, the middle order performed badly and the fall of wickets was frequent and unexpected.

India has to face Australia at the quarter finals, and the Aussies are going to be tough contenders. Luck won’t work for India everytime. The Indian team’s performance on every aspect needs to be sharp this time.

Special emphasis should be on the blunt middle order and better strategies and strong batsmen for powerplays. India has a last chance to nail it and imbibe confidence in the sagging spirits of  Indian cricket fans.

Unless the team members get a better grip on their individual responsibilities, bringing home the cup again might remain to be a dream unfulfilled.

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India to take on Australia in World Cup quarterfinals

THE STAGE is all set on March 24, for an epic encounter between the defending champion vs the anticipated champions in the quarterfinals of the ICC cricket world cup 2011.

Yes, it is official now. With an 80-run win over West Indies (WI) in the last league match of World Cup 2011, it was confirmed that the Indian team will take on Australia in the second quarter finals of the tournament.

In the last league match against WI, India was bowled out for 268 runs in the 50^th over; again losing its last seven wickets for mere 50 runs and the Indian team was not able to bat for its full fifty over third time in a row.

Earlier against South Africa, they had lost their last 9 wickets for 29 runs, and also lost that match.

Dhoni’s strategy against WI is under scrutiny. Cricket experts like Tony Graig are claiming that India was not keen to win the match against Windies so that they could avoid Australia in quarterfinals.

Love it or hate it, India defeated West Indies - making it very clear that its India Vs Australia on 24^th march 2011 at Ahmadabad, where history will be made as India is a crowd favorite for this WC 2011 and will take on the defending champion Australia.

The last time a high profile encounter between both teams took place in the finals of 2003 world cup where Australia destroyed the hopes of India winning their second world cup. India was badly mauled in that match and it is time for a generous payback.

Will India be able to avenge the defeat in the final of the 2003 world cup or will it be a repeat of that match and end all Indian hopes for the world cup 2011? Only time will tell.

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Times Internet bags IPL Internet rights deal

Times Internet Ltd, part of The Times of India group, has won the global Internet,mobile and radio rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament for four years along with broadcast rights for certain territories from 2011 to 2014, having bid Rs 261.6 crore.

Multi Screen Media, which owns the SET and MAX channels, has the Indian Premier League television broadcasting rights for the Indian sub-continent until 2017.

BCCI has been given Green signal to proceed with the tenders by the Supreme Court for new global telecast rights for IPL 2011, beginning from April 8 2011.Earlier BCCI had cancelled World Sports Group media rights, on grounds of improper payment of a facilitation fee worth 4.25 billion. Facilitation fee controversy came to light when World Sports Group India claimed worldwide telecast rights of Indian Premier League from 2008 to 2017, in return for $1 billion. MSM secures broadcasting rights in India from WSG Mauritius.WSG Apart from global TV rights, also had other rights including the Internet, live-streaming with delay and mobile rights.Google Inc’s YouTube platform also signed last year a two-year deal to stream the matches.Global Cricket Ventures got deal from WSG after agreeing to pay BCCI Rs 25 crore annually for the Google deal.

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IPL 2011 to be held in new more rigorous IPL format

IPL 4, which is scheduled to begin from April 8, will see the inclusion of two new teams Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Sahara Pune Warriors. In the new IPL 4, the playing format will also be changed as stated by the IPL governing body.

THE INDIAN Premier League (IPL), 2011, will be contested between ten teams with two new teams added by the BCCI, i.e., Sahara Pune Warriors from Pune and Kochi Tuskers Kerala from Kochi.

IPL 2011 will be played  form April 8 to May 28 2011 with the new format, which was announced by the IPL governing council.

The format is based on last year's domestic T20 Tournament in New Zealand. In new IPL format, there will be total of 74 matches in the IPL 4 Fixtures. Out of these 70 would be league matches and each IPL team will play at least 14 matches, 7 matches will be played at home venue and remaining at away venues.

IPL 2011's new format is as follows:

IPL 2011 Teams will be divided in two groups of five teams each. But IPL Standings table will not be separate.

Each IPL team in the same group will play two matches against each other, on “home-away” ground each, counting to 8 league matches per team.

Each IPL team will play 1 league match each against 4 teams of other group and 2 league matches home or away against the fifth team selected randomly, counting to 6 matches per team. It results in 14 (8+6) games in the league matches before the next playoff round.

All IPL 2011 league matches will count to 70 before 3 playoff matches begin, namely Game A, Game B and Game C.

Top 2 teams in the IPL points table will play each other in first playoff of Game A. Winner of Game A will go straight to the final.

Game B, 2nd playoff will be between teams at third and fourth spot in the IPL standings. Whoever looses Game B will be out of the league.

Game B winner will still need to contest in third playoff Game C against loser of first playoff i.e. Game A for entering into Finals of IPL 2011.

Then, off course, the last match, IPL 2011 Grand Finale, would be played between winner of Game A and Game C.

Preview: Pakistan vs Australia ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match

A PRE-HOLI bash is scheduled to be held this weekend on Saturday, March 19 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo between two quarter finalists from group 'A'.

Pakistan will take on defending champion Australia in the 40th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Australia and Pakistan have met 85 times in one day internationals. Australia has won 52 matches and lost 29 matches. Four matches ended without result - including one tied match. In the Cricket World Cup they have played seven matches, and the record is neck to neck - in favour of Australia by 4-3.
The Ricky Ponting-led Aussies are performing like champions in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. They are the only team who never lost a single match in the ongoing tournament.

The Australian team started their campaign with a 91-run victory against Zimbabwe and seven wickets victory against neighbour New Zealand.
In the third match, due to rain, the Australian winning streak was stopped by Sri Lanka. The match was washed away and both Australia and Sri Lanka shared one point each.

In their fourth match against Kenya, the Australian team won by 60 runs. On March 16 against Canada, the defending ICC Cricket World Cup champion won by seven wickets.
Pakistan, who was considered as an under dog before the commencement of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, won four matches and lost one against New Zealand by 110 runs.

The Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan team has won three matches in a row against Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada by 205 runs, 11 runs and 46 runs respectively.
In their fifth group league match, Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets under the Duckworth–Lewis (D/L) method.
The Pakistan vs Australia match venue R. Premadasa Stadium is mainly known for good batting tracks. However, Muttiah Muralitharan has captured 69 wickets at this stadium. The toss will play an important role at this ground and the captain who will win the toss, is likely to bowl first.

Preview: Bangladesh vs South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match

THE MILLION-DOLLAR question is - will Bangladesh be able to qualify for the quarter finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 from group B? The answer is - definitely, it can. But whether ultimately it will be able to, is another question question though maybe not worth a million dollars.

Bangladesh will qualify only if it wins against strong opponent South Africa in its last group league match on Saturday, March 19, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.
However, the head-to-head record between these two countries is not supporting the claim of Bangladesh about a place in the quarter finals. Co-host of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Bangladesh, had won only one ODI against South Africa in the 13 matches played between them.
Bangladesh lost to India in the inaugural match of the Cricket World Cup 2011 by 87 runs and against West Indies lost by nine wickets. The Bangladeshi scored only 58 runs against the West Indies. They won against Ireland by 27 runs, and against England lost by two wickets, and against Netherlands won by six wickets.
South Africans have eight points from its matches. With a seven-wicket victory against West Indies, the Proteas started their campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. In the next match they beat Netherlands by 231 runs.

In their next match, England beat them by six runs in a low-scoring match. In the next two matches they won against India and Ireland by three wickets and 131 runs respectively.
The Graeme Smith-led South Africans are among the top three favorite contenders for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Their batsmen Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are in a great touch, and fast bowler Dale Styen showed his skill against Indians when he changed the direction of the match in its favour.
Here are the Bangladesh and South Africa squads for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011:
South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (wk).
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal (vice capt), Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Roqibul Hassan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Md Sohrawordi.

Shoaib Akhtar, the Rawalpindi Express, to retire after WC

SHOAIB AKHTAR, popularly known as the 'Rawalpindi Express' will retire after the world cup cricket tournament. According to Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam, the 35-year-old fast bowler has decided to hang his boots after the world cup.

Alam further added that Shoaib Akhtar will make an official statement about his retirement.

Shoaib made his debut in 1997, while playing a test match against the West Indies, and is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game. He took the world by storm by making every batsman to work harder to fend off his quick deliveries.

There were, and there will be fast bowlers such as Shane Bond, Brett Lee and Dale Styen, who have reached the 150 kmph landmark but no one will match the terror generated by Akhtar.

One of the most memorable moments for him in his legendary 14-year career, without any doubt, would be taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar on his very first balll to the little master. His toe clinching yorker took Sachin by surprise taking his middle stump and bringing immense joy to the bowler.

His fast bowling and antics on the ground will be remembered by fans across the world.

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