A Thrilling End!

The final test match of the year for India as well as England is poised for a thrilling finish. The match is in balance right now it is possible for anything to happen tomorrow.

It all depends on who comes out on a attacking frame of mind tomorrow as time will play a crucial issue. We have seen delays in start due to fog for all these four days so a delay is expected even tomorrow. If England gets early wickets and wrap up Indian innings anything below 300 then they will have a chance to win provided they bat well.

Indians on the other hand, if they score some quick runs and declare at around lunch, with the kind of form the Indian bowlers are in, they would have enough time to bowl England out and seal the series. I can't wait for tomorrow as it is going to be really interesting and entertaining!

Indians in full Control!

The second and final test match between India and England is going on in Mohali. It is the 4th day of the match and clearly the Indians are in full control of the match. They're leading by 151 runs with an innings to go for both teams.

Eventhough a draw would be enough for the Indians to seal the series, they would be looking to win the match thereby ending a very disappointing tour for England. They have already lost the ODI series 5-0 and losing the test series also 2-0 would bring their morale down ahead their series against West Indies.

The OZ power!

While all focus has been on India vs England Test series, the top two ranked nations are playing what is turning out to be a great match. Australia clearly dominated the match for almost all sessions except the last when South Africa made a stunning come back. South Africa were set a challenging target of 414 runs with a day and 2 sessions. Smith and Amla played brilliantly to give South Africa a great start guided them to situation where a win seems likely for them now.

Just when South Africa seemed to take control of the match, Johnson struck for the Aussies removing the in form Smith. That actually broke the partnership and Amla didn't last long either as he lost his wicket to Brett Lee. I feel now the match is in balance and whoever performs tomorrow will emerge as the winners.

It is do or die situation!

Yes I am talking about England's situation in the second test match played in Mohali. After getting solid a start, thanks to Gambhir and Dravid, Indians are looking comfortable and piling up the runs. England did show signs of comeback when they took quick wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S Laxman but Yuvraj Singh and M.S Dhoni has consolidated the innings and been getting the needed runs.

It won't affect the Indians much even if the game ends in a draw as they have already won the 1st Test match in Chennai. This means that for England, it is a must win match to level the series. Anything other than a win would compile the misery for England as they already were beaten in the ODI Series 5-0.

The great Wall of India

"The wall is back". I am pretty sure most of my readers would know who I mean by wall. It is none other than Rahul Dravid. After going through a bad patch in his cricketing carrier, he seemed to have found his touch back as he scored a half century in the test match against England.

Although he had a nervous start and couple of close calls of getting out, he managed to get the momentum going as he played some brilliant shots. His innings was somewhat slow as he recorded strike rate of less than 40 per 100 balls but nevertheless it stabilized the Indian innings after the loss of Virender Sehwag early. I believe India would be stepping up a gear looking to increase the scoring rate after the steady start today. England on the other hand would be looking to take early wickets and put India under pressure.

The battle continues....

The second test match between England and India starts tomorrow. This will be the final match of the series and thus England would be hoping to level the series while India would look to seal a 2-0 whitewash.

The first match was one that would remain in everyone's mind for the fact that India created history by chasing the highest 4th innings total in sub-continent wicket. India start as favorites but cricket is a strange game as anyone on their day can win. England would be looking for some consolidation because they failed to register a win even in the One Day series losing that 5-0.

I am really looking forward to watch the match just like everyone else in India, I believe. :)

Clasico and Classy Viru!

Entertainment at its best. That was just to summarize my entire day's experience today. It started as early as 2.30 am in the morning. The El Clasico was a class of its own. Attacking football at its best. I was sitting right at the edge of my sofa watching each and every moment of the game with great interest. I thought Real Madrid had the best chance in the first half when a 1-1 chance was left begging. Eventually Barcelona managed to squeeze in two late goals to seal an impressive win that extended their lead at the top of the table and looking good to win this year's championship.

Next up was the cricket match. For four full days England dominated each and every sessions and had actually given India a mountain to climb in the final innings but then with Sehwag in the team nobody ever can write India off. For a moment it looked as though it was a twenty-twenty match. He scored 80 odd runs at a blistering pace putting India in a position they never hoped to be in. Although it is still tough, Sehwag's innings has given India slight hopes of clinching the match provided a decent response from other batsmen.

It had been a great day thanks to all that I have mentioned.

Crack in the Wall!!

As much as I used to love Dravid's technique, I am forced to agree that time has come for him to call it a day. He has been great in the past without any doubt but he is going through the worst patch in his player carrier.

His average has been pretty low both in the Sri Lanka series as well as the home series against the Aussies. His poor forms comes no only through his bat but also in the slip position where he is missing sitters. Very clearly his confidence is low and I personally feel it is about time for him to quit before he is forced out.

I usually say form is temporary but class is permanent but whether this applies to Dravid's case, I doubt!

Reality Faced

The reality is faced. The 1st session of the cricket match between India and England just got over. After winning the toss, England dominated the session without losing a wicket and scoring 64 runs. Their two opening batsmen Andrew Strauss and Allister Cook built a steady partnership in spite of starting slow.

They invaded the pace attack of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma brilliantly which actually forced M S Dhoni, indian skipper to bring on the spin attack as early as the 20th over. That didn't really change the cause as both the English batsmen played the spinners with ease.

More to follow.... :)

Galacticos Failure!

The first thing that strikes our mind upon hearing this term is Real Madrid. They were the inventors of this famous word that basically refers to the purchase of a star player. Even though it combines to form a mouth-watering team on paper, success was never guaranteed. Those times the team had all the ingredients or the capability to conquer everything.

Just imagine how would a team be consisting of players like David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Raul Gonzales, Casillas. These players all formed the Galacticos. But to everyone's surprise they never managed to put on a consistent performance thereby proving to the world that having star players in the team doesn't guarentee success.

Another famous example which I noticed regarding this matter was during the IPL season. Take into consideration Rajasthan royals and Deccan Chargers. Deccan Chargers were filled with star players like Adam Gilchrist, Symonds, Afridi, Gibbs who are prooven players in the world cricket but where did they end up?

Now take Rajasthan Royals, apart from Shane Warne who also lacked some good international cricket due to his retirement, they never had a "star" player but they managed to win the league with very good collective team performance. I hope I have given enough evidence to show that Galacticos if not always, most of the time fails. :)

Let us salute our DADA!!

It was the end of Border-Gavaskar trophy. India deservedly won the series 2-0. They completely outplayed the Aussies in all departments and clinched the series much to the delight of all the fans.

It was a memorable series for several factors. This series was the last for Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly as they announced their retirement upon conclusion of the series. Plenty of emotions were seen and felt as both of them were really well established in the Indian cricket team

Sourav Ganguly also called as DADA by his faithfuls has been the most successful captain for the Indian Team. He has led the team to several tour victories as well as the home series. He was also one of the most stylish left-hand batsman the world has every witnessed after Brian Lara. His shots are simply a treat to watch as it will be filled with elegance and brilliance. Not many in the world play spinners well but he has been one exception. He did have problems towards the end of his carrier but he never allowed that to grow as he made a stunning comeback in the South Africa-India series performing consistently in that.

The decision of him retiring after this series was really shocking for all his faithfuls as he has been performing well and will be missed but maybe he wanted to end his carrier on a high note and thus it might have influenced him on making this decision. Nevertheless let us all salute this living legend for all his services given to the game of cricket.

Rohit to the rescue!!

Rohit Sharma is one of the growing Indian cricketer. Sharma is a right-handed middle-order batsman and an occasional right-arm offbreak bowler.

Having started his international playing career at the age of 20, Sharma quickly exhibited his athletic fielding and cool temperament to compliment his solid batting technique. Many analysts to be a permanent fixture on the Indian cricket team peg him. Sharma eventually made his mark at the international stage on 20 September 2007, when he lead India to victory by scoring an unbeaten 50 (which came off 40 deliveries) against South Africa in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

The win reserved India a berth in the semifinals of the tournament. At one stage India was 61-4, but his partnership of 85 runs with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped India to post a total of 153-5. He was eventually declared Man of the Match. Sharma then proceeded to score 30 runs off 16 balls in the final against Pakistan. Sharma scored his maiden ODI half-century against Pakistan, at Jaipur on 18 November 2007 and was selected as part of India's 16-man squad for the CB series in Australia. Here, he scored 235 runs at an average of 33.57 with 2 fifties, including his score of 66 in the 1st final at Sydney.