03.21.09
India Win – One Down, Two To Go
What a spectacular sight for the Indian fans around the world? We have been showcased with a truely professional show by the Indian team. Right from Day One, they’ve been on top of the New Zealand team and never let them bounce back to change the balance of the game. The seamers took the advantage on the First day sending six Kiwi batsmen into the pavilion in the first session itself. Thanks to Zak and Ishant Sharma. The duo seem to enjoy each others’ company. The hosts had no way of getting back from there on.
Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder played superb century knocks, but it didn’t seem enough as they managed only 279. Indians then sent the Kiwis on a leather hunt. There was contributions form everyone. Sachin was at his best hitting almost every delivery out of the middle of his bat. He got company from almost everyone. Rahul Dravid also looked comfortable and scored a half century. He deserved a century for his sheer class. But none the less, the job had been done.
It was a great sight to watch Sachin play his straight drives and the back-foot punches with such ease. Except for the delivery that got him, he never made one mistake. He, I think, has missed the opportunity of scoring a double hundred for the second time in this series, the first being during the ODI series. Zaheer Khan chipped in with a 51* and that took India past the 500 runs mark.
Even during the second innings, the bowlers were up to the mark. They did everything right and took wickets at regular intervals without letting the Kiwis build a partnership. Harbhajan produced his best spell away from home picking up six wickets that left the Kiwis gasping. They had no answer to the turbanator. For the first time ever, I found Munaf Patel impressive. Even he chipped in with couple of wickets. More than the wickets, it was his discipline and consistent pace that impressed me the most. India was set a target of 39 which they scored off in no time. The game came to a close in under four days and thats impressive. We have outclassed them in every department of the game.
Dhoni magic still seems to be working and it is a very good sign. With almost every batsmen in the top 6 looking in good shape, the Kiwis have a lot of work to do.We will see a lot more changes in the Kiwi line up for the second test and if the weather permits, we should have a good contest on the cards. We can expect another run feast during the next test mainly because of the form that the batsmen form both the teams (mostly Indians) are showcasing.
03.10.09
Australia Stay On Top
Australians have crushed the South Africans again to have sealed the series. The Australians were greatly helped by the performance of the debutante Phillip Hughes who scored a century in each innings making him the youngest to have achieved the feat. Ricky Ponting was all praise for the rookie who seems to be the future for them. Mitchell Johnson was at his usual best in both the innings and helped pick wickets at crucial junctures during the game. Australians can finally be relieved for sometime now.
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03.09.09
When The Batsmen Ruled, The Sixes Rained!!!
Christchurch did see an amazing display of Batsmanship. The crowd couldn’t have asked for more. The climate, for once, was amazing and it was something that all of us had been waiting for. MSD again won the toss and decided to bat first. Sehwag fell early without being able to make the most of the splendid wicket. The ground looked small and I felt that Indians won’t score so much after Sehwag departed.
Gambhir walked in and he didn’t look his usual self. He looked very scratchy and he was not even able to put the bad balls through the gap. He looked completely out of touch. I was not surprised to see him get out to such a weak shot. Then came the turn in the tide. Tendulkar joined hands with Yuvraj Singh and the duo just did everything right. They kept clobbering runs of every over at an alarming rate.
Yuvraj made the best use of the small dimensions and kept clearing the rope every now and then. The duo were particularly deadly during the third power play during which they managed to score 78 runs off 5 overs!!! But Yuvraj fell 13 runs short of the century. By then the damage was done and the platform was set for a big score. Later Dhoni took over from Yuvraj and joined hands with the Little Master.
Tendulkar reached his first centuryin New Zealand at almost run a ball and then completely changed gears. He went from strength to strength and he looked like the vintage Tendulkar. He was set to score a 200, but then he got injured and retired after an amazing knock of 163*. Raina then came in and smashed a 18 ball 38 to ensure that the scoring rate didn’t fall.
In the last two overs, the Kiwis came back and ensured to keep India under 400. Clearly they missed Daniel Vettori and it showed. New Zealand also started off briskly and Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum seemed to take the game away from the Indians. Both scored at more than run a ball and Ryder was ruthless. He smashed his ton off just 71 balls. The duop put on 164 for the first wicket. After that they collapsed to 217/7. The tailenders then took the game alarmingly close. Kyle Mills scored a 50 in about 25 odd balls to put them back on track. But his dismissal opened the gates again.
The Kiwis were caught 53 runs short of the target. Clearly Brendon McCullum had a tough day as the Captain. A total of 31 sixes were scored in the game ( India – 18, New Zealand – 13 ) which is the new record. The total runs scored in the game stands second only to the 400+ chase that South Africa made against Australia. Many more records also tumbled in due course. Tendulkar was adjudged the Man Of The Match.
01.28.09
ECB’s Green Signal
Finally the ECB has agreed to send its players for a three-week period for this edition of IPL. The IPL governing body wanted the English players to sign a contract for two years and the ECB have given their approval to the top seeds in the English line-up. What more can we ask for seeing KP and Freddie probably take on each other if they play for different sides?? The last phase of auction is scheduled for the 6th of February and until then, we can keep making some random guesses of who’ll end up in which team. It is learnt that 9 English players will be available for the auction. Keep guessing!!!
