Sunday, January 29, 2006
Great Opening Day!
Finally some action. Irfan Pathan had an unbelievable first over - a hat-trick to do away with the top three of Pakistan batsmen. The Zaheer and R P Singh chipped in with 2 more and Pakistan was tottering with only half a days' play gone. Then came the superb fightback by Akmal with Akthar and Razzaq. Akmal has heart of a lion!
With a not-that-bad score of 250, Pakistan had to bowl all out and that's what they did. Shoib was at his fieryy best giving Sachin one of the best deliveries a new batsman can get. Asif was also good bowling to his strength and getting his due. With Razzaq getting the big wicket of Sachin, India was in a real bad state at close of play. Yuvraj and Ganguly was at crease and they got lot on their mind for tonight.
Till play begins on the second day, at 0500 GMT/1000 Pakistan time/1030 India time it is goodbye from me @ 22 yards.
With a not-that-bad score of 250, Pakistan had to bowl all out and that's what they did. Shoib was at his fieryy best giving Sachin one of the best deliveries a new batsman can get. Asif was also good bowling to his strength and getting his due. With Razzaq getting the big wicket of Sachin, India was in a real bad state at close of play. Yuvraj and Ganguly was at crease and they got lot on their mind for tonight.
Till play begins on the second day, at 0500 GMT/1000 Pakistan time/1030 India time it is goodbye from me @ 22 yards.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
India v/s Pakistan: Third test
Third test: 28 Jan 2006
Third and final test of Allianz cup starts today. It is the decider and India seems to be holding the trump in a home series for Pakistan..
Rahul Dravid is really great. He said if the pitch is green then we might win, and Pakistan has a better pace attack! Not a lot of word from Inzi – same tune always, we need sporting track, but it never seems to come.
Let’s hope at least this test has a result.
Third and final test of Allianz cup starts today. It is the decider and India seems to be holding the trump in a home series for Pakistan..
Rahul Dravid is really great. He said if the pitch is green then we might win, and Pakistan has a better pace attack! Not a lot of word from Inzi – same tune always, we need sporting track, but it never seems to come.
Let’s hope at least this test has a result.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Bloody farce
Is Pakistan Cricket team Yellow!
What a dreg of series. No one can imagine a worse pitch than in the first test. I was so unhappy with proceedings of next test that I had no wish to post whatever I had in my mind - anyway the language would not be to my liking.
Pakistanis never wished to take on Indians - that's the feeling I get from the second test. No one except Afridi and Shoib, maybe Sami, fast bowlers are never yellow, had the guts to stand upto Indians. These guys are my only loves in Pak team. I loved the team under Akram which won the chennai test, taking a valient effort from Sachin to drains. They fought to the last ball, and that team had my favorite baller - Waqar.
Maybe the third test might be different. Who knows.
Bismillahi rehmanu rahim .... as Inzi says ... WE CAN ONLY HOPE.
What a dreg of series. No one can imagine a worse pitch than in the first test. I was so unhappy with proceedings of next test that I had no wish to post whatever I had in my mind - anyway the language would not be to my liking.
Pakistanis never wished to take on Indians - that's the feeling I get from the second test. No one except Afridi and Shoib, maybe Sami, fast bowlers are never yellow, had the guts to stand upto Indians. These guys are my only loves in Pak team. I loved the team under Akram which won the chennai test, taking a valient effort from Sachin to drains. They fought to the last ball, and that team had my favorite baller - Waqar.
Maybe the third test might be different. Who knows.
Bismillahi rehmanu rahim .... as Inzi says ... WE CAN ONLY HOPE.
Labels: Reporting live
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Superb show!
Ten sports which telecasts the matches live in India has put a lot of money and effort into this series broadcast. They’ve got a whole array of former stars to commentate and have an astute judge of the game, Sanjay Manjrekar on post-session analysis with Nasser Hussain and great Imran Khan. Ramiz Raja, Michael Holding, Dean Jones etc. are others.
The show has got some cool segments like ‘Borderline’ which showcases history of India-Pakistan matches. The music is so good that you just wait for that alone even if you had seen the segment once before.
However the star of the show is the new DARTFISH technology (actually their Stromotion and Simulcam) along with revolutionary video which captures at 1000 images per second i.e. a frame rate of 1000ps. Video of Shoib Akthar in full slow motion is exquisite and also of Anil Kumble. One image which was today’s best was Rahul dropping a Shoib Akthar bouncer which got big on him and the ball trajectory onto ground made nearly 90 degree with horizontal (being a student of engineering is good) that is to say that ball dropped in front of him, soft hands at the best!
I just can’t imagine how beautiful watching Sachin on DARTFISH would be! Whatever be that, I hope Dravid and Sehwag would make me wait a bit longer for my wish to come true.
Kudos to Ten Sports
The show has got some cool segments like ‘Borderline’ which showcases history of India-Pakistan matches. The music is so good that you just wait for that alone even if you had seen the segment once before.
However the star of the show is the new DARTFISH technology (actually their Stromotion and Simulcam) along with revolutionary video which captures at 1000 images per second i.e. a frame rate of 1000ps. Video of Shoib Akthar in full slow motion is exquisite and also of Anil Kumble. One image which was today’s best was Rahul dropping a Shoib Akthar bouncer which got big on him and the ball trajectory onto ground made nearly 90 degree with horizontal (being a student of engineering is good) that is to say that ball dropped in front of him, soft hands at the best!
I just can’t imagine how beautiful watching Sachin on DARTFISH would be! Whatever be that, I hope Dravid and Sehwag would make me wait a bit longer for my wish to come true.
Kudos to Ten Sports
First Test:Day Two .....
Before the Third day begins....
Ganguly’s Catch and Dravid’s Opening were the two most striking events of the day though latter was more or less expected, but the former was totally out of the blue! Going backward and catching with one hand. It stuck to his hand which normally never happens. All of a sudden Greg is all smiles and that’s good. After all, there’s no better fighter than a cornered tiger. This Bengal tiger is eyeing his second comeback and should be allowed all support which does not compromise with the team’s interest. Dravid had to open as there was no specialist opener in the team. This might be good, for Laxman’s in his favorite position – no. 3, and everyone will be glad if this pay off. 679 is a hard target but not unattainable especially in this track.
Of all the topics which Sanjay Manjrekar put to Imran Khan, I liked this one best because the same question had been in my mind since I myself am a fast bowler. The question was why India doesn’t produce a Shoib Akthar or Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis? I never concentrated on my bowling (nor on my fielding or even less on my batting). I was like a natural fast bowler with a good in-cutter and sometimes with a wet ball, I could swing too. Since I never had to work on my balling, I left it like that and here I am with not a single game in three years. This might be the case with many bowlers in India. Sanjay said a point he noted – if asked to a (any) group who is a batsman, who is a bowler, 90% goes to batsmen while a few are left to bowl. The bowlers are the dredgers; they are not given their due most of the time. The case is not of physique or anything else other than psyche. Why waste time when nobody recognizes your contribution? I read in a magazine that in a match with Hindus (pre-independence era), Hindus had a fast bowler, Ram or something, he was considered to be really fast by the English but unfortunately nothing of his legacy is left in India, though in Pakistan it flourished.
On passing note, I believe Pakistan is an equal or even better side than India with a really solid lineup. Like brothers, both are experimenting with makeshift openers when they have specialists waiting to be picked. Whose experiment will yield result? Only time can tell.
More articles:
Pak view - A suspension of disbelief
Indian View - Courage after the disaster
Live Video & Live Audio - Pay and Use (not pay per use)
Courtsey: Cricinfo
Ganguly’s Catch and Dravid’s Opening were the two most striking events of the day though latter was more or less expected, but the former was totally out of the blue! Going backward and catching with one hand. It stuck to his hand which normally never happens. All of a sudden Greg is all smiles and that’s good. After all, there’s no better fighter than a cornered tiger. This Bengal tiger is eyeing his second comeback and should be allowed all support which does not compromise with the team’s interest. Dravid had to open as there was no specialist opener in the team. This might be good, for Laxman’s in his favorite position – no. 3, and everyone will be glad if this pay off. 679 is a hard target but not unattainable especially in this track.
Of all the topics which Sanjay Manjrekar put to Imran Khan, I liked this one best because the same question had been in my mind since I myself am a fast bowler. The question was why India doesn’t produce a Shoib Akthar or Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis? I never concentrated on my bowling (nor on my fielding or even less on my batting). I was like a natural fast bowler with a good in-cutter and sometimes with a wet ball, I could swing too. Since I never had to work on my balling, I left it like that and here I am with not a single game in three years. This might be the case with many bowlers in India. Sanjay said a point he noted – if asked to a (any) group who is a batsman, who is a bowler, 90% goes to batsmen while a few are left to bowl. The bowlers are the dredgers; they are not given their due most of the time. The case is not of physique or anything else other than psyche. Why waste time when nobody recognizes your contribution? I read in a magazine that in a match with Hindus (pre-independence era), Hindus had a fast bowler, Ram or something, he was considered to be really fast by the English but unfortunately nothing of his legacy is left in India, though in Pakistan it flourished.
On passing note, I believe Pakistan is an equal or even better side than India with a really solid lineup. Like brothers, both are experimenting with makeshift openers when they have specialists waiting to be picked. Whose experiment will yield result? Only time can tell.
More articles:
Pak view - A suspension of disbelief
Indian View - Courage after the disaster
Live Video & Live Audio - Pay and Use (not pay per use)
Courtsey: Cricinfo
Lahore Test: Classic start to series for Pakistan
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, January 13-17, 2006
First day was all Pakistan’s, with Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan notching up big scores. Mohammed scored 170+ before lunch on day 2 and Younis Khan, a 199! And it was a torrid 60 seconds or so, but as ever he came out of it on top. A mistake by Shahid Afridi in responding to his call meant he was short of crease; he didn’t even look at Shahid, accepted the dismissal and walked.
I have always seen him egging his team mates on, while batting or on the field. He is not a batsman who is to be put in same class as Inzi but very dangerous because he is a partnership man. He thrives on big partnership and gives all out to his partner, I remember him on one occasion running a dangerous single to get his partner to 50 (or 100) while he himself was on 90s, that calls for selflessness. Now I don’t know what happened just before the match between Dravid, Chappell and Ganguly and with TV channels going 24x7, something looked fishy. If anything goes wrong just because of Ganguly, then God help him.
All this was past after the pair was out in succesive overs. It was Afridi's turn to blaze away, and he did it in style with Akmal giving him solid support or should I say 'a bludgeoning support'. Both scored centuries and Akmal is at crease as I am writing this:)
[Click here for live score]
First day was all Pakistan’s, with Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan notching up big scores. Mohammed scored 170+ before lunch on day 2 and Younis Khan, a 199! And it was a torrid 60 seconds or so, but as ever he came out of it on top. A mistake by Shahid Afridi in responding to his call meant he was short of crease; he didn’t even look at Shahid, accepted the dismissal and walked.
I have always seen him egging his team mates on, while batting or on the field. He is not a batsman who is to be put in same class as Inzi but very dangerous because he is a partnership man. He thrives on big partnership and gives all out to his partner, I remember him on one occasion running a dangerous single to get his partner to 50 (or 100) while he himself was on 90s, that calls for selflessness. Now I don’t know what happened just before the match between Dravid, Chappell and Ganguly and with TV channels going 24x7, something looked fishy. If anything goes wrong just because of Ganguly, then God help him.
All this was past after the pair was out in succesive overs. It was Afridi's turn to blaze away, and he did it in style with Akmal giving him solid support or should I say 'a bludgeoning support'. Both scored centuries and Akmal is at crease as I am writing this:)
[Click here for live score]
Thursday, January 12, 2006
India's Tour to Pakistan: Fixture
TESTS
1st Test - Lahore
Jan 13 - 17
2nd Test - Faisalabad
Jan 21 - 25
3rd Test - Karachi
Jan 29 - Feb 2
ONE DAYERS
1st ODI - Peshawar
Feb 6
2nd ODI - Rawalpindi
Feb 11
3rd ODI - Lahore
Feb 13 (D/N)
4th ODI - Multan
Feb 16 (D/N)
5th ODI - Karachi
Feb 19
1st Test - Lahore
Jan 13 - 17
2nd Test - Faisalabad
Jan 21 - 25
3rd Test - Karachi
Jan 29 - Feb 2
ONE DAYERS
1st ODI - Peshawar
Feb 6
2nd ODI - Rawalpindi
Feb 11
3rd ODI - Lahore
Feb 13 (D/N)
4th ODI - Multan
Feb 16 (D/N)
5th ODI - Karachi
Feb 19
India v/s Pakistan: Battle Royale
Any event between India and Pakistan generates quite a lot of interest among people, be it hockey or football or kabaddi or cricket. To put cricket along with other sports will be blasephemous to the fans because unlike other sports cricket in the subcontinent has a ‘divine’ presence in the minds of people. The matches seem to have taken the form of battles of olden times – when best fighters of opposing armies fight it out rather than shedding many blood of many.
It’s not Just Another Series. An India Pakistan series is built on dreams of nearly one-third of world’s population. In India the euphoria over Ganguly’s selection to the Indian team has not died out. All eyes are on Indian camp to give its final eleven while Pakistan, bubbling with confidence, has already given their final team, and what a strong team. After their fine win over England, Pakistan is all set and rearing to have a go at India with their 100 mph boulders. Indian eleven is a fix except for opener slot – opening partner to Sehwag – Gambhir or Jaffer or Pathan (if Pathan opens then Ganguly might find a place in the team), others Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Agarkar, Kumble, Harbajhan and Pathan all will most likely figure in the final eleven. Inzi has matured as a captain, having the same kind of effect Ponting (who is my fav) or Dravid has on the team. The Pakistan team feels secure with Inzi around as he has lead his team from front, revising many results placed on table before the final ball has been bowled.
Pitch review and pre-match conference has made it clear that pitch will be good for all, and hopefully will stay good for rest of the series. Less grass on pitch is good news or bad news for India only time can tell. Players to watch – Inzi, Akthar, Rana, Naved in Pakistan side and India – well whole of its batting lineup, anyone can be a winner in the top five. The pitch might reverse swing, this is one factor that just dip the scales into Pakistan’s side.
With both teams evenly matched, better matched than last time, this would be one hell of a series!!
As usual with any world cup (be it ICC or FIFA) and an India-Pakistan match, this one is also going to be in middle of my exam season @#$
Prediction: India wins the series.
