Brutal Gilly

Delhi DareDevils vs Deccan Chargers

I write this as I watch Adam Gilchrist bat. Oh Boy! This man is unstoppable today. Appears like he’s on a mission today- A mission that probably would last till the conclusion of this year’s IPL. Of course, there also is a probability that DC go down today, but, looking at the way things have shaped up, due to the brilliance of one guy, a loss for DC looks very unlikely.

For folks who have voted for Delhi to be the IPL champs, all I can say is - tough luck guys! Better luck next time round !!

Should Technology Be Used In Cricket? (Written Nov 2007, imported from my previous site)

The ball pitches in line, wraps on the pad, massive appeal to the umpire for a leg before decision, turned down. The bowler, the keeper, the slip cordon & the close in fielders are all perplexed at this decision. How could the umpire falter on this one, argue the commentators. Replays flash from all angles and are very predictive that the batsman was plumb in front!

Haven’t we all seen this situation very frequently? This issue has been discussed over and over again by cricket experts and solutions are sought but, nothing much has changed. Why is ICC so averse on using technology to assist umpires make the correct judgment? This will be of huge benefit to a lot of cricketers, and the players in the dressing room will be spared from watching their unfortunate team mate who was dismissed by a bad decision, throw his cricket equipments in the dressing room in total despair.

One has to feel bad for the umpires though. They, for sure would be trying their best to make the correct judgment and occasionally it happens that they make a wrong decision and see the whole world teaching them lessons on umpiring. This really can be a tough job at times.

Let’s analyze how technology can be used appropriately so that all the involved parties are comfortable with this.

Technology, for the first time was introduced for deciding run outs. Given the speed at which the run outs take place, this came as a sigh of relief to the umpires. The third umpire got introduced & he decided on the run outs after watching a series of slowed down replays on TV.
Technology these days is also used by umpires in those situations where they could not get a clear view of a completed catch. In this case, the third umpire is consulted & he makes the decision for the ground umpires. But, besides this, we haven’t seen technology being used in many other situations. The hawk-eye and the stump microphones keep doing their job for the commentators & the TV audiences. Another interesting technology used in Australia was the still X-Ray image. This is used to see whether the ball has made an impact on the bat before being caught. This image leaves a white impression on that part of the bat (the bat is made dark) where the ball has made contact. This black & white X-ray will surely be one of the most used technologies instead of the stump microphone in the future. The ICC unfortunately doesn’t permit the umpires to use these technologies even though these technologies seem very accurate.

The question is: what is the reason? Why doesn’t the ICC make use of these technologies?
The reasoning that ICC could make is, the umpires are skilled enough to make these decisions and using all the available technologies would make an umpire a puppet on the field. So what are the alternatives? According to me, these technologies can be used but in a limited manner. Consider this: The teams are given 3 opportunities during the tenure of the game to oppose an umpire’s decision and propose to refer the matter to the third umpire. The third umpire will make use of technology and base his decision on the available facts.

To put this in more detail, let’s take an example. Suppose side A is batting first and one of its batsmen gets an unfavorable decision. The captain from the dressing room can signal that the technology be used in this case to make the correct decision. Since the technology has now been used once on behest of the batting captain, he is left with 2 chances now to object an umpire’s decision. He can use this while his team fields as well. In case a close leg before or a caught behind is turned down, he can ask the ground umpire to refer the case to the third umpire. The same applies to side B as well.

If such a provision is made available by the ICC, it will benefit the entire cricket fraternity. The umpires can go with their jobs as usual and the captains won’t have to rue the bad decisions that have been made against them.

For sure technology needs to be used. It can be tried out in domestic cricket before being floated at the international level.

Should Rahul Dravid retire ?(written Nov 2007, imported from my previous site)

This question has been making its rounds since Rahul Dravid resigned from captaincy. After his unceremonious decision to quit captaincy, little would have Dravid expected what lay ahead of him. Of course the selectors did their part of the job in showing Rahul Dravid the axe, but let us not question the selectors point of view. This is not what we want to analyze here. Let us analyze whether it would be good for Dravid to retire at this stage of his career or not!

The first thing that comes to anyone’s mind is the age factor. If we look at the history, it’s very much evident that not many players have pushed themselves beyond the age of 34. This is where Rahul Dravid currently is as far as chronological age is concerned. But for a sportsman I believe in the adage ‘you are as old as you think you are’. This clearly seems to be the philosophy that the three big wigs of Indian cricket Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly & Rahul Dravid seem to be diligently following. Of course there is another cricketer whom we should not be leaving out of the loop: Anil Kumble.

Now the big question that lies in front of Rahul Dravid is whether he should consider retirement, at least from one day format of the game, where there are a lot of young contenders these days. I can never imagine a test team playing without Rahul Dravid at no. 3 in the batting line up. The solidity that Dravid brings to this position is par excellence. There is no doubt that the opposition bowlers might feel that they are missing a trick or two when the ball hits the middle of Dravid’s bat. The rock solid defense which Dravid possesses has earned him the name ‘The Wall’. So I rule out Dravid retiring from Test cricket give the technique & concentration he still greatly exhibits in the longer version of the game.

If currently we suspect some kind of announcement regarding Dravid contemplating retirement, it has to be one day cricket. But the comment which Dravid made immediately after he was dropped from the one day side was ‘we have a long season ahead’. If we are to take a hint from this, it is clearly indicative that Dravid is going to take his time. He for sure has seen Indian cricket better than anyone else & probably knows the selectors will be ringing the calling bell of his house sooner than later. If Saurav Ganguly can stay out of the national team for close to a year and make a startling comeback, we can expect the same from Rahul Dravid.

Only time will tell how things go in the future but one thing is for sure: The oldies of Indian cricket are getting younger by the day. If they have set any challenge among themselves, it would surely not be who scores the most runs but, who retires the last.

The happiness & excitement that these wonderful players have given is a gift. Our generation is blessed with these amazing players and the day any of these cricketers retire, all we should be doing is take off our hats & thank them for the memories they have given us to cherish for a lifetime.

India draws first blood – Beat Pak by 5 wickets(written Nov 2007, imported from my previous site)

What better start would have India asked for than this. India won the opening match against rivals Pakistan in an emphatic fashion & Dhoni & his boys scripted a well designed victory.

Winning the toss is not in one’s control but winning a game surely is. Pakistan won the toss & elected to bat on what looked like a batting paradise. Surely Pakistan would have hoped to set a huge total on this wicket & apply pressure on the Indian batting line up. However thing did not go as planned for Pakistan- they lost their opener Kamran Akmal cheaply. Salman Butt showed some poise & provided a good start to the innings along with vice captain Younis Khan.

The brakes were applied by the Indian spinners & the slowness of the wicket took its toll on the Pakistani batsman. Younis Khan struggled to get going & Salman Butt perished in a run-out after a well made 50. Md Yousuf played an excellent knock of 83 & provided solidity to the Pakistan middle order. Shahid Afridi & Misbah came good with the bat in the end & helped Pakistan reach a total of 239 in 50 overs.

Indian spinners Harbhajan & Kartik topped the bowling the bowling charts in terms of low economy rates & helped restrict Pakistan to a modest total.

The Indian innings was always going to be crucial. Like in mentioned in my pre-series analysis, this fate of this series rests on Indian batting & Pakistani bowling. If either of these departments fire, the outcome will be pretty evident.
Indian batting got off to a shaky start when pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in the third over. Then Pakistan paved the way for an excellent partnership between Ganguly & Gambhir when Gambhir was dropped in consecutive balls of Shoaib Akhtar. This for me was the turning point. Pakistan never looked like winning once this partnership started to flourish.

Later in the innings, Indian captain Dhoni (63) & vice captain Yuvraj (58) took away the game completely from Pakistan. The Indians looked determined with the bat & did not give any opportunity for the opposition bowlers to take their wickets. India coasted to the target with 5 wickets & 3 overs to spare.

Clearly the momentum is with India now after this splendid win over Pakistan. The teams now move over to Mohali to play a day-night game on 8th.


Lets hope the matches in the future are more competitive than being one sided affairs.

Pakistan tour of India, Nov-Dec 2007(Imported from my previous site)

The most awaited cricket series is about to kick off at Guwahati. The old rivals clash again bringing alive the hopes & expectations of millions of cricket lovers around the world. This article provides you with a pre-analysis of the Indo-Pak series. So lets see what could lie ahead of us in the next weeks to come.
India is on a high after winning the inaugural Twenty-20 world cup. What made this world cup triumph more special was that the final victory came against arch rivals Pakistan. This recent past will definitely have a high impact on this series: Pakistan would look to redeem their lost cause & India would like to project that the world cup victory was no fluke.
All said & done regarding T20, the format of the games to be played is critical. Firstly, India take on Pakistan in 5 one day internationals followed by three tests . The recently concluded series for both teams ended on a sad note. Pakistan lost to South Africa on their home ground where as India took a beating against One day champs Aussies.
So this series would ideally begin with no teams expected as favorites. Of course India would have the edge since they have the crowd support in their favour.

The return of Shoaib Akhtar after serving a 13 match ban is a huge advantage to Pakistan. The Indians are susceptible to pace attack & Shoaib has pace in plenty. Shoaib has played a game against SA before arriving to India & he had four scalps in that game. He could be the man who can make a major difference in the result of this series. I personally feel Shoaib is a test match winner. In the shorter version of the game, he could really go for runs. However it needs to be seen how Shoaib Malik (Captain) & Geoff Lawson (Coach) handle the generally flaming Rawalpindi express.

India has its own version of Shoaib Akhtar… His name is Sreesanth. The pace & bounce may not quite match but as far as sledging & tumultuous behavior is concerned, these two guys will be top contenders for this post.

I don’t see much of difference in the compositions of the two teams in the first 2 one dayers. As always has been the case with these two teams, Pakistan look formidable with their bowling line up whereas India always look good with their batting. The critical factor is how everyone performs on a match day.

Two players who will be surely missed will be Inzamam & Rahul Dravid. Both these big wigs wont be playing (Dravid of course may be selected after the first 2 games). Shoaib Akhtar has already mentioned his delight in not seeing Dravid on the ground during the start of the series… This comment definitely could have fallen on the ears of Indian selectors whose decision of dropping Dravid has created disappointment among ex-cricketers & cricket followers alike.

Pakistan & India this time look equally balanced. While Pakistan has lesser experienced players than India in the batting line up, I’m sure they will make it up with their bowling. The pace attack of Akhtar, Umar Gul, Ifthikar Anjum, Sohail Tanvir could spell doom on Indian batting. The reverse could also be true: If Indian batsmen Tendulkar, Sehwag, Ganguly, Yuvraj & Dhoni hit form, the Pakistan bowlers could be hiding for cover.

India has a decent bowling attack (Zaheer, Pathan, Sreesanth, Harbhajan, RP Singh) & Pakistan batting line up also looks solid with players like Younis Khan, Md Yosuf, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Misbah & company. But for me, this series would be a battle between Indian Batsmen & Pakistani Bowlers. If either of these departments fire consistently, the outcome will be pretty evident.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed & expect a rocking series. With Diwali round the corner, expect some fireworks on the field in terms of runs & the aggression.

Hope you like this pre-analysis of the Indo-Pak series. Do post your comments regarding this article.

The training that was……….

I write this as I attend a training on one of the widely used topics in the new team. As a matter of fact, unfortunately, I do not understand the head and tail of what is being preached!!

The training is interesting though: thanks to the kind of participants who have flocked up in the training room.

The most discussed among us is a colleague whom we fondly call ‘the bOngali babu’. Man, this guy has some style. Especially the way he frames and asks his questions, your mind goes ‘wow’!! We love him! Although this guy has serious pronunciation problem, it doesn’t deter him in firing questions back to back.

Uncle forms another important part of this training. We call him uncle coz he basically knows everything. He’s like a back up to the trainer- just in case the trainer fails to answer some ‘cool’ questions (none of them asked by bOngali though- his questions are uncool, if I am to say that). Uncle has his own style quotient. His answers generally start with ‘Let me explain’ or ‘what he meant to ask was’ etc, etc.

There another instance variable in the training. I don’t know his name but he’s the guy with most question’s today (yes, he has overtaken bOngali today). Apparently he looked unhappy with the answers to his questions. Even uncle couldn’t help him today. Take it easy dude- bOngali will answer you someday.

There is another guy who is unexpectedly silent this time around. This guy, if I can call him ‘C’, generally is a very silent and obedient guy. But, suddenly this silent volcano erupts and asks a few thunderous questions and seeks relevant and precise answers. If the answer is too roundabout, he quips ‘that is not what I want’ or ‘I’m not bothered how the framework behaves’. Unique guy I must say. ‘C’ makes us happy though!

Last but not the least, there is a blogger in the training as well. This guy, as the name suggests writes blogs during the training. Not that he is a regular blogger, but he does write occasionally. He believes in his team and feels his team will bail him out of trouble when he faces them. High hopes I should say. But isn’t it ‘hope’ that keeps us alive? Keep Hoping! All the best!