IPL4 – THE TEST OF APPETITE!

By Prakash Krishnagiri

With Team India lifting the ICC World Cup on 2nd of April 2011, the focus and attention shifted immediately to IPL4. The players were hardly given time to enjoy their victory. But for a Tea-Party with the President of India, the Indian Players never had a lavish party from the BCCI or even a party by their respective State Associations.

The Players themselves hardly had a day or two to spend with their near and dear, as they flew off to play against each other in the IPL. The stakes in the IPL is so high, that the BCCI and the State Associations of the 10 franchisees just could not think of anything else.

Almost all the players got some kind of cash rewards from their State Governments. Poor Sreesanth and Ashwin were unfortunate not to get any such call from their respective States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I guess, with the two states on the election path, they could not make any such announcements at this time.

With whole of India basking in World Cup Victory and every cricket loving Indian walking with his head high, the feeling was short lived due to the start of IPL 4 within a week after the World Cup finals. Most of the players from the World Cup winning squad are pitted against each other in the IPL.

It will be interesting to see how IPL4 fairs this season after a count of 3 successful seasons. The off-field troubles for Lalit Modi, controversies involving some franchisees and the reshuffling of the Governing council of the IPL; have all brought in some bitterness. In more ways than one a dent has been made to the brand value of IPL. The IPL4, sans party and Lalit Modi, has truly brought the focus back on Cricket. This is good news for the public who love the game of Cricket.

This IPL does not feature Dada, the Prince of Kolkata. Adam Gilchrist who captained Deccan Charges in the last 3 IPLs is leading Kings XI Punjab and Sangakkara who captained Kings XI Punjab is leading Deccan Charges. We have Harbhajan and Andrew Symonds playing for the same side. Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils have hardly any star power except their Captains Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist. Very strange team selections from many of the Franchisees have left us with a sense of suspense on what to expect from their Teams.

Only 2 teams, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have maintained their core team from the last 3 seasons. The rest of them have gone through a major reshuffle and may have to reinvent the winning formula. The two new franchisees Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers need to make their Investment worthwhile. From what we have seen so far, Pune Warriors are right on the button. They seem to have the right balance and have started off impressively. The controversy stricken Kochi Tuskers need to really pull-up their socks and put some wins on the board.

Despite their loss to Chennai Super Kings in the opening encounter, Kolkata Knight Riders have been pretty impressive so far. The Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have all been their usual self. The real disappointment has been the Delhi Daredevils. It is still very early stage of the Tournament with plenty of games to go. It would take some time for teams to understand each other and strike a winning chord.

It is refreshing to see some outstanding fielding in display. The ground fielding of all the teams has been exceptional. The catching has been slightly inconsistent though with some teams dropping simple ones and grabbing unbelievable half-chances.

To add some spice to IPL4, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board has issued a statement requesting Sri Lankan Players, who are selected to represent Sri Lanka for their upcoming England tour, to be present in Sri Lanka by 5th of May to take part in the preparations. This has just ignited once again the Country vs Club issue. If the Sri Lankan Cricketers pull out of IPL, the combinations of the teams will change and so will their chances of winning the cup.

The Indian Cricket Fans are not used to club culture and are just getting used to it, thanks to IPL. The reshuffling of teams has resulted in Franchisees like Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore missing out on their local Superstars. Kings XI Punjab missing out on Yuvraj Singh and Royal Challengers Bangalore losing out Rahul Dravid, Robin Uttappa and Manish Pandey. Deccan Charges have also missed out on their local stars Laxman and Ambati Rayudu, thereby having hardly any local name to boost off. This certainly does not help in building a fan base. Neither does it allow the fans to stick to loyalty.

At a time, when the Indian Team has won the ICC World Cup, it will be a great dilemma for the Indian fans to express loyalty in its fullness and cheer only for their local franchisee. Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag, Zaheer and Harbhajan will be cheered wherever they play in India under any franchisee.

The biggest challenge for the Brand IPL today is IPL itself. IPL4 has to become successful to make sure the Brand Value is restored fully and enhanced a bit, if possible.

The crowd turn-out has been slightly on the lower side in most of the grounds. IPL4 needs a new hero or an underdog to put in great performances. This will help them immensely in drawing more crowds to the stadium.

The first real question now is; are the Indian cricket fans getting an over-dose of cricket?

It is indeed a big test for the Cricket Crazy Indians. Do they have the appetite?

COMETH THE HOUR COMETH THE MAN!

By Prakash Krishnagiri

India beat Sri Lanka in the Finals of the ICC World Cup 2011 on April 2, 2011.  The Indians all over the world erupted in Joy.  From the President of India to the daily wager on the street, all were united in their wish.  Everyone wanted India to win this World Cup and the 15 men in Blue just did that. 

Sport is an amazing activity that bridges caste, creed and enmity of all kinds and puts a big smile, fills hearts with abundance of Joy and leaves life long memories.   In a Country of more than a billion, Cricket was just a culture in 1983 when Kapil’s Devils lifted  India’s first ever World Cup title.  Their victory in 1983 gave birth to ‘Cricket - The Religion’, in India.  The game became more popular in India over the last 28 years, more so, after the first IPL T-20 tournament, and justifiably the euphoria this time was extra-ordinary. 

The celebrations were unprecedented.  Probably the Indian Independence was the only other BIG event that caused countrywide celebration of greater magnitude than this. The decibel levels on the streets were soaring as the night progressed.  Many parties saw the rising of the Sun in the East and still continued.  The Politicians, Bollywood Stars, Ex-Cricketers and Cricket Fans were on the streets, embracing each other and celebrating the moment.

The game started with confusion on who won the toss.  Dhoni flipped the coin and it was ‘Heads’.  Dhoni initially said that he would bat.  Then came, the confusion on what call Kumar Sangakkara made.  The match-referee was not clear on what he heard.  Dhoni’s initial reaction indicates that Dhoni heard Kumar Sangakkara calling it ‘Tails’.  Kumar would have known what he called and this confusion should have been sorted out by the two captains amicably.  Instead, they went for a re-toss.  What a way to start the Final!

On a day when both Captains surprised each other with their team combinations, none of which dictated the course of the game, it boiled down to the one who would lead the team from the front with his performance.  Fortunately for India, Dhoni the batsman was present in the Field on the day when it matters the most. 

Dhoni’s batting form has not been that great in the last 12 months.  But, whenever he has promoted himself, up the order, he has done extremely well.  He has a good record as a Batsman in the Big games, be it the ODIs, IPL or Champions League.  His decision to take the pressure, head-on, considering his form, was indeed a courageous one. 

Dhoni has lot of experience keeping wickets for Murali and playing him in the nets when both these men were playing together for the Chennai Super Kings.  He put that experience in full use and never let Murali dominate the proceedings.  Dhoni was assured and calm and let his emotion only on one occasion during the finishing stages of the game.  A good knock from Dhoni was long overdue and he could not have wished for a better day than this to get into his form. 

No captain has ever lifted a World Cup without making a special performance as Player in atleast one of the Games.  For India, Kapil Dev hit that famous 175 in the 1983 World Cup.  Dhoni who had a dismal World Cup till the Finals, ensured that the tradition of the World Cup was kept. 

He played a very sensible knock under tremendous pressure.  His shots were precise and powerful.  He took a little time to settle down and to gauge the pace of the wicket.  Unlike his previous outings, he picked many singles in the initial phase of this innings.  The Boundaries and Sixers were coming at the right time, releasing the pressure.  Before the Lankans could notice, Dhoni had reached his fifty and only when the match was over, many realized that Dhoni had made 91 in just 79 Balls.

It was truly a special innings from Dhoni. Whether this is enough to silence the critics or not is immaterial now as the World Cup victory overshadows everything.  The critics now are more than happy for winning the World Cup and all of Dhoni’s selection errors and poor batting performances will be ignored.

The Indians are the World Cup Champions now and that is all it matters.  Indians are the only team in the world that has won the 20 Overs, 50 Overs and 60 Overs World Cup Championship.  Only West Indies can equal this record if they manage to win a 20 Overs and 50 Overs World Cup in the Future.

This is the time to enjoy and celebrate.  The men in blue have given the Indians a nice gift for Ugadi.  Let us cherish this moment.

Happy Ugadi !!!

INDIA vs PAKISTAN

By Prakash Krishnagiri

The semi-finals of a world cup, India Vs Pakistan, one would have expected great skills at display befitting the stage.  With Passion and Patriotism running feverishly high, an Indian or a Pakistani was within his rights to expect a great game.

The Who is Who of India poured into the Stadium in support of the Men in Blue.  The movers and shakers of the Indian Parliament made their presence as well.  The stage was made even bigger by the presence of the Indian PM and his Pakistani counterpart.  Such August gathering needed a great game.

At the end of the Game, Team India walked out victorious.  It was not a one-sided match as I thought it would be.  Had one of the two teams entered the ground, fully awake, it would have been a one-sided affair, as I predicted.

The cricket crazy fans of India and Pakistan have dubbed this game as a tense game.  The intensity, no doubt, was very high mainly because of the nature of relationship the two neighbors have.

The cricket that was on display in the Semi-Finals was one of the below-par exhibitions of the game in a Semi-final event.  When teams reach up to the Semi-finals of an event, the standard of the game is expected to be in a much higher level.  Unfortunately, that was not the case in this contest.

The standard of the game was very poor.  Dropped catches, poor fielding, bad bowling, poor batting and poor team selection too, every aspect of the game was found wanting in this contest.  The only exception was Wahab Riaz who gave a stand-out performance, aided at times by poor shot selection of the Indian Batsmen.

Was it the pressure of playing each other?  Or was it just a bad day at work by both the teams?  Surely, no one can answer this.  This game is surely not a showpiece of ODIs.  Many were expecting one or two players from India or Pakistan to stand-up to the occasion and excel with brilliance in clinching the game in their teams favor.  Unfortunately, the game was not scripted that way and the team with lesser unforced errors won the game. 

This world cup has seen some great games like the England-India, England-South Africa, England-Ireland, encounters.  These games restored the credibility of the ODIs and presented a strong case for the continuation of ODIs.  The Indo-Pak encounter was surely a disappointment. 

India won the game but the quality of the game was not worth the Billing.

INDIA VS PAKISTAN - IS IT THE MOTHER OF ALL GAMES?

By Prakash Krishnagiri

India Vs Pakistan in a Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals is the best the fans of both the nations look for.  It is THE final as far as the fans of both the nations are concerned. An Indian wants the Indian Team to win this Semi-final and would not mind even if the Indian Team loses in the World Cup Finals.  Similarly, a Pakistani wants his team to win this Semi-final and would not mind even if the Pakistan Team loses in the World Cup Finals.  The Prime Minister of India is trying to take advantage of the situation and carve a Cricket Diplomacy by inviting the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan to attend the Game.  This cricket match is also tipped as one of the greatest rivalries challenging even the Ashes – England, Australia rivalry.  This match is considered as an unprecedented rivalry in the history of the game.

Well, all of what I have said so far is there out in the Media, which is busy churning out special programs to garner a fair bit of Television Rating Points.  Media, like the politicians, is not an exception to take full advantage of the situation in hand. 

I personally do not endorse any of these theories.  India Vs Pakistan is just another game in the Semi-Finals.  The game is bigger than any player, team and rivalry.  The game has its own way of equalizing things.

The jingoist might say whatever they want but the fact of the matter is, both the teams need a win in the Semi-Finals to enter the Finals.  The Players of the winning team will not be satisfied until they get their hands on the World Cup.  There is no replacement for winning a world cup.

Coming to the rivalry part, it is not clear how these two teams can be termed as equal when their rankings are way apart.  Every Indian or Pakistani who got a chance to speak in front of the camera in the past 72 hours has talked about how the general public likes each other.  The people of both nations share a common lingo, same cuisine and have extended great hospitality whenever the other team has visited them in the recent past.  Now, if the general public has no animosity and love each other so much, why do you dub this as a rivalry.  Shouldn’t it be more of a festival when the two neighbors play the game in the world stage?

The hype is uncalled for and a huge pile of expectation is built on the Players.  This will make the winner of this semi-final game as the conqueror of the World.  Every minimal effort that contributes to the success of the team will be gloried and every failure will be magnified beyond proportions.  It is good that the wise-men in the BCCI and PCB have instructed their players to refrain from reading the Newspapers, listening to Radio and watching Television.

Some people talk about the statistics.  The stats say that India has not lost to Pakistan in the World Cup.  This does not mean anything as it was played by different sets of players in different conditions over these years.  Statistics can help you gain confidence and also lose the same.  The Indians who go by the statistics must also look into the unbeaten match record of Pakistan in Mohali.  Statistics are merely a post-mortem analysis of the game and in no way plays a role in playing the game.  If the perception of Statistics followers is true, then India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and even Australia would not have won the World Cup.  Statistically West Indies won the initial world cups and had a unbeaten record.

The teams that have won the World Cup so far have had their captains contributing a lot and leading from the front.  Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Ricky Ponting have all had contributed heavily in their campaign to World Cup triumph.  Going by this, Afridi’s contribution to his team in this World Cup has been phenomenal.  Sangakara is the only other Captain who has had a great World Cup.  The rest of the Captains have all had an ordinary outing, including MS Dhoni.  If you go by this pattern it would be fair to argue that Pakistan and Sri Lanka should be the deserving Finalists.

On a Captain Vs Captain comparison, none of them have any edge.  The captain cool of India will be countered by emotional Afridi who can lift his whole team.  Dhoni’s cool nature might increase the pressure on the players or help them cool down as well.  It is a big question.  Afridi’s aggression can help his team kill the pressure or help them succumb to it.  This is also a big question. Dhoni’s calm will nullify Afridi’s aggression.  So there is nothing to choose from. 

Now to the politics of it.  The Indian Prime Minister has invited the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan to witness the game along with him in Mohali.  This would be followed by a Dinner.  Analysts call this a master stroke from the PM of India.  What is the big deal in this?  I don’t think it is any harm in inviting them as they are not going to talk about 26/11 or J & K. Unfortunately one of the Premiers is going to be dejected at the end of the Game, as only one side can win.  Many believe that this gesture by the Indian PM is an ice-breaker.  Is it more important for him now to break the Ice with Pakistan or should he be more keen in breaking the ice with the BJP?  As long as the intention is to divert the attention of the Public from the Cash-for-Vote and other issues.

With the parliament not functioning the way it should be over the last 2 sessions, it would have been great had the PM invited L.K. Advani and his top brass to witness the game along with him in Mohali.  What a sight it would be to see Advani and Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj, Rahul Gandhi and Varun Gandhi, Chidambaram and Arun Jaitley sitting next to each other and watching the game together!  Such an act would have surely sent a great message to the whole population of India.  If the two Ambanis also sit together and watch this game, then truly and squarely the Game of Cricket will be a hailed as a peace ambassador!

The Pakistan Team which has been consistently inconsistent has suddenly gone on a roll with very uncharacteristically consistent performance.  Indian Team on the contrary has despite few hiccups have performed reasonably well in this World Cup.  Both these teams on their day can be very dangerous.  This might sound like a great contest but I don’t think so.  It has been drizzling for some time now in Mohali (as I write this).  Rain could play a spoilt sport or one team will dominate the game.  I do not see a close contest.

Is it the mother of the all games? I don’t think so either.  The two countries had the same motherland some years ago.  The word ‘Mother’ is linking these two countries together.

It is just another game and may the best team that performs tomorrow win the game!  All said and done the team that befriends the lady luck tomorrow will march through to the Finals.

USA – ICC AMERICAS U-19 CHAMPIONS

By Prakash Krishnagiri

Cameron Mirza

Standout performances by Cameron Mirza and Gurpreet Sandhu helped USA win the ICC Americas Under-19 Championships recently held in Florida.

The USA team won all their 5 matches to seal the Championship.  It is their second championship title in the last 6 years.  They won the Championship earlier in 2005.

Cameron Mirza was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament for leading the runs chart for the USA with 193 including a magnificent 118 not out against Argentina in the opening game, where he carried the bat through the innings.

Gurpreet Sandhu was the joint leading wicket taker in the Tournament with 12 wickets, including a mesmerizing spell of 5 wickets for 7 runs against Bermuda.

The USA team was a dominant force throughout the Tournament and it was evident when their bowlers bowled out their opposition for totals of 54, 40, and 50 whenever they bowled first.

Though credit of the success goes to the coach, in this case, Robin Singh, the USA coach hardly had 3 days to workout with the boys before the first game.  A good talk, few tips, self-confidence is all that could have been possible for him to provide for the first game.  From there on his presence has made a huge difference to the team in the way they conducted themselves on the field and performed consistently without any complacency.

Image from cricinfo.com

It is good to see that the new coach starting with a bang.  The Players too seem to enjoy his rigorous sessions.  The USA team along with runner-up Canada join, Afghanistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Scotland, Vanuatu and Ireland in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers to be held from July 28 to August 9 in Ireland.  The top six teams will qualify for the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

The Team has got great talent and with a proper coach in Robin, taking charge of the Team, USA will be hoping to qualify for the ICC U-19 world cup for the second time in a row.

Weekend Cricket Management and Readers congratulate the USA U-19 team and wish them good luck for their World Cup qualifiers.

IS DHONI'S HONEYMOON OVER?

By Prakash Krishnagiri


In the good old days, the captain had the final say in the Playing XI and decided on strategies on the field; be it the batting order, field placements or the bowling changes.   In modern day cricket the role of the captain has changed dramatically in the game of cricket

Things are different now-a-days.  The playing XI is no longer a prerogative of the captain of the Team.  The Captain deliberates the issue with his Vice-Captain, Coach and in some cases, few senior members of the Team before deciding on the inclusion and/or exclusion of a Player.

The Strategies and game plan are discussed in the Team meeting and a role is defined for each player.  Every Captain has more than a Plan while taking the field.  The decision to shift Plans is taken on the field depending on the match situation.  Though it might look as if the Captain is making those changes spontaneously, it normally is a result of few consultations with the team ‘Think Tank’ either in-between overs or during drinks breaks. 

The role of the captain in modern-day cricket is only that he is an executor of the plans.  His role also involves man-management and motivation of the Players.  A role perfectly executed by the Prince of Calcutta, Sourav Ganguly.  Very seldom you see captains taking a gamble by making a change or two in the bowling based on their instincts.  The key word here is ‘chance’ as this might or might not work.  The modern-day captain can only be praised for his excellent implementation skills rather than real captaincy skills.

The Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni has never impressed me as a Wicket-keeper or as a Captain.  He was tagged as the Indian Version of Adam Gilchrist for his batting prowess.  His wicket-keeping has improved a bit but still technically falling way short of international standards.

He was lucky to have been made the captain of the Indian team after Anil Kumble.  With seniors and Legends in the team, you really don’t need a good captain to lead the side.  Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Zaheer do not need a captain to tell them what to do.  They are all very senior and experienced when compared to Dhoni.  That is why Dhoni has been more successful in Test Cricket.  The seniors know their roles and have perfect understanding and reading of the match situation.  The real test for Dhoni, the Captain, comes only in the ODIs where he is leading a side consists predominantly of players Junior to him.

Ricky Ponting is going through the same.  He was talked about as one of the Best Captains of Australia.  To lead an Australian side consisting of Langer, Hayden, Martin, Warne, Mc Grath, Gilchrist, Lehman and Gillespie you don’t need any captaincy skills.  For this side, which was at the peak, I would argue that you actually needed a captain only to go and flip the coin at the toss.

The Captain only needs to be lucky to win the important toss and his players perform well on a given day. That is where Ponting and Dhoni came out on top all these days.  Once these two are presented with a young side, their ability to lead a side is under the scanner and they stand exposed.

The experts on the TV Channels might not agree with these known facts.  They are all former international players and they know this too well; but their job as Commentator or Expert will not allow them to say what they really want to say.  An outspoken commentator is yet to take a microphone.  Leading a younger side calls for inter-personal skills, (otherwise known as man-management), providing guidance and motivation where necessary.

Dhoni, looks adamant at times.  His weakness to lead a side consisting of seniors has been his problem right from the day he was appointed Captain of the Indian team.  He was always finding excuses not to include seniors in his team.  He was always saying ‘young legs’ are needed, etc.  See what he made the Board to do – get rid of Ganguli, Laxman and Dravid to a certain extent from his team. 

The persistence with Chawla despite criticisms in the Indian side is a classic example.  He wanted him in the side and therefore he now desperately wants Chawla to succeed to support his decision.   Let us leave the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ on the Team changes.  Dhoni has been very vocal in his criticism on the Indian Fielding.  Why has he decided, time and again, to repeat the same in all the post-match press conferences?  The TV Commentators appreciate him for being man-enough to admit the teams fielding deficiencies.  In full honesty, the teams fielding in this world cup has been far better when compared to the recent past. 

Highlighting the Field lapses, time and again is like trying to put the blame of the poor performance on the Fielding.  This may also be a ploy of Dhoni to get rid of seniors and replace them with young legs without experience and maturity.   Indian Strength has been the batting and they failed us in 3 of the 5 games played so far.  Our bowling should have been competitive enough to defend a 300+ total against England.  The main cause for the loss against the South Africans was not the poor last over bowled by Ashish Nehra but the poor batting from the last 8 Indian batsmen.  In a tight game, small fielding lapses look big.  But not to forget, these games were made tight either by poor batting or poor bowling.  It is our own doing.   Dhoni makes swift dives to make up for his lack of footwork and wicket-keeping skills.  These more often look very spectacular for the shutter boxes.  This exempts him from criticism on the fielding aspect.

Even if we are to forgive him for his fielding comments in the public, the comment he made about the Indian batting in the Presentation party and the Post-match Conference after the loss against South Africa is unpardonable.  Dhoni implied that his batsmen were playing for the Gallery and not for the Team/Country.  This statement in public is not going to make the dressing room a happy place.  Such comments should be made in the Team meetings so that the message is loud and clear to the Batsmen.  To talk it out in the public does not display any man management skills of Dhoni. 

Experts talk about Indian Dressing room atmosphere being so good.  The Dressing room atmosphere of any winning team will be great.  How you pull up after a loss in the dressing room is the most important factor.  To vent it out in the public will only distance Dhoni from his players, including his close ones.

After this comment, I am doubtful if the dressing room atmosphere will be the same.  Dhoni has never answered or talked about his own batting or wicket-keeping performances.  If he is man-enough, as portrayed by the experts, he should have been critical about himself first.  His inability to play with the tail and his willingness to stay in the non-strikers end watching reckless shots being played at the other end are all issues that he needs to address.  In the same situation, Lakshman would have not only shielded the tail but would have constantly encouraged them to hold on.

The Adam Gilchrist of India is now playing more like Rahul Dravid.  His performance in the last year and a half has been very average.  It has been a dozen innings since he had his last half-century and around 26 innings since he hit a hundred.  His last hundred was scored in Jan 2010 against Bangladesh in Dhaka.  In his last 10 ODIs he has scored 12 n.o., 19 n.o, 34, 31, DNB, 5, 2, 5, 38 and 25. 

I don’t think the same scores would have been good enough for any other Batsman to remain in the Indian Side.  We have plenty of examples of good Indian batsmen shown the door after few poor performances.  Dhoni’s place in the Team is questionable.  He is first a player then a Captain.  As a player he has not performed consistently enough in Tests and ODI.  There is so much hype made about his Captaincy, Temperament and being cool headed.  We need the Captain of the Team to perform first as a Player.

If his mistakes in Team Selection, Bowling Changes and Fielding Placements continue, it would be difficult for Dhoni to continue as Captain.  If his batting also deserts him, then it won’t be long before Dhoni is sent back to Domestic Cricket to get back his rhythm.  Dada and Sehwag were sent back to regain form and they came back stronger.

This World Cup performance of India might decide the fate of Dhoni. For now, it seems the Honeymoon for Dhoni is almost over and the real testing life begins.