Having pulled off easy victory over Bangladesh & a cliffhanger with Pakistan, Indian team displayed great show with bat & bowl to such an extent that even the lankan tigers failed to make any mark. The Indian team made all the right moves & srilankans who until now were looking dangerous surrendered meekly in final of Asia Cup 2010. Having lent an embarrassing defeat to the Indians just two days ago, Srilankans seem to got complacent & lost the plot very badly in the final.

India posting 268/6 in 50 overs challenged Srilanka to conquer it under the flood-lights. Srilanka in reply was never allowed to even a decent start as M.S Dhoni filled the inner ring with strategic field placements. Even singles were dried as the young Indian put an impressive & one of their best fielding effort in recent times. The bowlers kept bowling a tight line & took the advantage of strong breeze sweeping through the ground. Srilankan chase tottered as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals & no substantial partnerships building whatsoever in their innings. Nuwan Kulasekara & Chamara Kapugedera gave a tiny shimmering hope to the srilankan camp during batting powerplay but Ravindra Jadega eventually struck gold by getting Kulasekera stumped by M.S Dhoni. Eventually Srilanka were bowled out in the 45th over as India went to win by 81 runs.

Smiles spread across the Indian camps as they won deservedly the Asia Cup 2010 in 15 years. With Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag & Yuvraj Singh set to return to the Indian camp, the 2011 cricket world cup seems a possible dream for team India now. They do have a few chinks in their armor but with still time to go they would be looking to plug them up & give the nation a more bigger occasion to celebrate in the coming year.

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The second match today in the double header between Rajasthan Royals & Mumbai Indians was a game which all teams were keeping a tab on. It was a crucial game as a win in this game for Mumbai Indians would guarantee them a definite spot in the semi-finals. It was going to be a cracker of a game as Mumbai Indians after their dream start to IPL 2010 lost their last two games against teams which they would have thought to win quite easily.

Winning the toss, Shane Warne the Rajasthan Royals skipper elected to field. Mumbai Indians though opening with the dangerous duo of Sanath Jayasuriya & Sachin Tendulkar failed to make early inroads as Jayasuriya & Ambati Rayadu perished in the second over itself leaving Sachin Tendulkar & Jean Paul Duminy to do the repairing work. Both of them obliged & rose to the occassion putting a slow yet steady partnership which built the foundation to go berserk in the final overs. Sachin survived a simple drop by Aditya Dole when the master was on 45. In the end, Sachin scored a handsome 89 off 59 balls(Not Out) which saw Mumbai Indians finish at 174/5, a score which looked highly improbable at one stage.

Rajasthan Royals coming into bat needed to get a great start to reach the target on a slow dewy ?  Jaipur pitch. However Zaheer Khan & Dhawal Kulkarni bowled a superb line to tame the Royals. Both the openers were sent into pavilion much early which allowed the needed run rate to climb at a blistering pace. The batsmen tried to force the things but only managed to throw away wickets cheaply in the form of three runouts which explained the plight of the royals. The run rate was never under control of the royals. When Yusuf Pathan perished the delight on the face of Harbhajan Singh & his other Mumbai Indians colleagues was a sight to cherish. They knew it was all over for the Shane Warne & his co. Few big hits by Aditya Dole were of no use as it was just a matter of time until Mumbai Indians rejoiced having securing a spot in the semi-finals of the DLF IPL 2010. Finally Rajasthan Royals ended up at 137/8 in their 20 overs thus lending Mumbai a fairly comfortable victory.

This comprehensive victory for the Mumbai Indians was a crucial since this not only takes them into the semis but also gives them room to test their bench strength in the upcoming matches when the other teams are concentrating more on gaining a spot in the semis. This defeat was the sole one for Rajasthan at their home ground who until have been undefeated. Man of Match was awarded to Sachin Tendulkar for his brilliant knock which played a crucial role in not only winning the match but making Mumbai Indians go into the semi finals for the first time in the DLF IPL. With this knock, Sachin Tendulkar takes over the Orange Cap from Jacques Kallis & also crosses the 500 runs mark in DLF IPL 2010. Now its time to see how Mumbai Indians plan their future journey in IPL 2010. Is this the year for the Mumbai Indians? Only time will tell as we move on closer to the climax of DLF IPL 2010. Stay Tuned!

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After winning the toss, the Srilankan captain decided to bat. The decision was easy considering the openers going through the best phase of their careers. Tillekaratne Dilshan, the man who clobbered Indian bowlers all over the park was once again expected to deliver in the deciding game for the srilankans. Virender Sehwag, Indian captain added in a pre-match interview that to win the match we need to keep a check on Dilshan. Much to his delight his fellow bowlers obliged with a tight length keeping Dilshan in check. This made him to take a chance & thus he was caught when pulling one in the third man region. Virat Kohli took a superb forward diving catch to dismiss Tillekaratne Dilshan.  Sanath Jayasuriya return to the side was smooth as he guided the very first ball he faced to the fence. He played fine shots but succumbed to Zaheer Khan outswinger. Sachin Tendulkar positioned cleverly in the first slip took a superb low catch. Upul Tharanga made the most of a dropped chance by Ashish Nehra & went ahead to score a ton. Some run-a-ball cameos by the middle order & poor bowling by the Indians saw Srilanka crossing the 300 mark inspite of a slow start.

To conquer the mammoth target of 316 runs, India needed a brisk start from Virender Sehwag & Sachin Tendulkar.  Ironically both the openers failed to make any mark leaving fears of another embarrassing defeat. Enter, Gautam Gambhir & Virat Kohli. The duo worked in tandem to repair the innings with a 224 run partnership. Virat Kohli scored his first maiden century & that too when his country needed it.  The srilankans bowlers tried best but none of them could do anything & in the end failed to defend such a big target. The credit goes to Gautam Gambhir & Virat Kohli who kept cool after coming at a sensitive stage. Their 200+ run stand comprised of 100 singles which signify risk free cricket. Owing to this the run-rate never grew beyond 7 R.P.O. Virat Kohli failed after getting to his ton but by that time India were already sniffing victory. The rest of the runs were knocked off by Dinesh Karthik & Gautam Gambhir. Gautam Gambhir reached 150 with a boundary which also sealed the match for India. India reached the target with 7 wickets in hand & with 11 balls to spare.

The win was special as it was achieved without their two star players – Yuvraj Singh & M.S Dhoni. Virender Sehwag would be a happy man as he marshalled his troops very well in two games & improving his stats as a captain by winning 4 out of 7 games played. Man-of-Match went to Gautam Gambhir who requested it to be awarded to Virat Kohli for getting his first maiden ton. Best bowler was awarded to Zaheer Khan who picked up two wickets in his 10 overs at an economy of 4.90. Now the last match in this 5 match ODI series is to be played on 27^th Decemeber on Sunday wherein India will look to keep their winning streak while Srilanka will play for pride.

Also with this post, I complete one hundred posts on my blog. A moment of joy & satisfaction for me. Looking forward to feeding you with more posts in coming times. Thanks for your support & co-operation. Wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year 2010.

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The Indian batting order know for its great depth due to vastly experienced players came to the party & piled up the highest score ever by India i.e. 726-9d. After grabbing a lead of 333 runs on the third day, it was clear that there could be only one winner at this point – India. Having to bat for two days, Sri Lankan did their best to score 274/6, just 59 runs behind the Indian total. But still India seemed to be in total control as they had to just pick up four wickets in order to complete a historic win. They did just that with ease today morning. Kumar Sangakkara the one man standing between India & victory succumbed to Zaheer Khan in his very first over today. Once he felled the tail didn’t wag much & gave India a victory by an innings & 24 runs. Zaheer khan finished with a five wicket haul. Muttaih Muralitharan was the final wicket to fell when he was trying to slog off Harbhajan Singh but spooning a simple catch to M.S Dhoni. M.S Dhoni took the catch & then threw the ball high into the air & thus celebrations began all over the park.

Speaking at the post match ceremony, M.S Dhoni (Indian Captain) was very happy with the way his team performed. He had accolades for Virender Sehwag who scored 293 runs to help India take past the Srilankan total of first innings with ease. He even added that the real tough job of maintaining the position starts now. Meanwhile Sachin Tendulkar was happy too as India became the no.1 team & exclaimed how long we (team) have been waiting for it to happen. Kumar Sangakkara confessed that it was a tough journey but finally the Indians outdid us in all the three departments. He again praised Viru for his magnificent knock which took the game away from the Lankans. The man-of-match & man-of-series both were awarded to Virender Sehwag.

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Indian Premiere League : Season 2 is here. After going International (South Africa) this year, the Indian Premier League showed the same if not more close finish & nail biting action than it’s first season. The very first match, was played today between last year’s runnerup “Chennai Super Kings” & the “Mumbai Indians”.

It was a match which everybody awaited, presumably more by the Mumbai Indians since it was a return of Sachin Tendulkar who missed seven matches the last IPL season. The toss was won by Chennai Super King’s skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni & he elected to bowl. Sachin Tendulkar seemed unperturbed at the loss of toss & he led the Mumbai Indians from the front. Scoring was difficult in the early over’s, as there was dodgy bounce off the track. Sachin Tendulkar structured his innings with caution & aggression which rewarded him in the end with a valuable 59 notout. The Mumbai Indians lost wickets in the process, but it was never of a worry as most of time they were maintaining a healthy runrate. A late flurry of sixes from Abhishek Nayar saw India innings closing up for 166/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Scoring 167 runs on this track was never going to be easy for the Chennai Super Kings. To make the matter worst, they lost wicket of the very second ball of their innings with the scoreboard reading zero. The second breakthrough too came within a short time after which there was a 50+ runs stand between Mathew Hayden & Andrew Flintoff. The two big men showed a great promise to steal the match from the Mumbai Indians, but then Andrew Flintoff was shown way back to the pavilion. As soon as Flintoff departed, he made way to the Big Hitter M.S Dhoni. The two again threatened but then Mathew Hayden got out at the wrong time leaving Dhoni stranded alone. The next batsmen didn’t helped the cause & though Dhoni stood still at one end, saw his partners tumbling like piece of cards. A huge credit goes to the Mumbai Indian bowlers who bowled a much disciplined line & never gave any room for the batsmen to whack them out of the stadium.

Harbhajan Singh & Sanath Jayasuriya in the middle bowled exceptionally well, to keep the run flow under tab. Lasith Malinga was unstoppable in this match, taking three crucial wickets & maintaining a superb economy rate less than 4 R.P.O which is damn good in a T20 match. Zaheer Khan too bowled brilliantly & provided strength to the Mumbai Indian pace attack. The bowling of Mumbai Indians was spot on today, which took away the match from the Chennai Super Kings. Chennai Super Kings needed 24 runs in the last over, which seemed very difficult. M.S Dhoni the lone battler finally succumbed to Lasith Malinga in the final over of the match & Chennai lost the match by a huge margin of 19 runs.

This win will surely boost the morale of the Mumbai Indians. They not only defeated the runner up’s of the last IPL season but that too very comfortably. Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged Man-of-Match for his valuable innings of 59(Not Out) which helped Mumbai Indians register their first victory in the IPL 2.

I am happy with the way Mumbai Indians performed. I thank the whole team for making us proud & I wish them success in the upcoming matches.

Duniya hila do Mumbai Indians !

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It’s official, India is out of the T20 World Cup 2009. The team which won the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 is out this time not even reaching the semifinal stage in the tournament. Last time there was no pressure, nobody even expected India to win & they did just that. From there on formed a team which started dominating in the all forms of the game. A team which played great cricket & was ready to take on any opposition. A team which was slowly but surely gearing towards their dream – Emerging triumph in World Cup 2011.

Entering T20 World Cup 2009, Team India appeared on a high as all its players were in top notch form coming from the recently concluded DLF IPL 2009. Everybody expected India to easily triumph again & it only got exagerrated by commercials citing “Yeh Cup Kahi Nahi Jayega” i.e. Team India will easily defend their T20 Champions title. Again a team who has a skipper like Mahendra Singh Dhoni can’t go wrong. This man has shown immense talent & has marshalled the team excellently, made some magical moves & was once again expected to do just the same.

But as the saying goes “Don’t build castles in air” got in Team India’s dream of defending their World T20 Champions title. Last night, the match between India & England needed India to win in order to progress in the tournament ahead. England a team which got defeated by a nothing of a team – Ireland in their previous match & was not expected to come strong. At least not when the whole Lord’s was packed to the brim with Indian fans and only a handful of english supporters.

Things began on a good note for Team India as they snared one wicket quickly but then failed to capitalise on it and gave Ravi Bhopara & Kevin Pieterson the control keys. The duo obliged in no time & made a 50 run stand which helped England propel to a defendable total of 153. Coming to bat, Rohit Sharma failed miserably pulling a short delivery onto his stumps. Suresh Raina was uneasy playing short pitched deliveries which had troubled India in their previous game against the West Indies, which they lost. Eventually he too succumbed & it marked the surprise entry of Ravindra Jadega. A player who Team India did not play in their previous games in T20 WC & was sent to bat at a tight situation. No wonder, the tension got to him & displayed an amateur batting performance which according to analyst’s costed Team India the match & ultimately the T20 World Cup T20.

In the end, Team India lost by a margin of 3 runs. Silence descended over the Lords & also in the homes of thousands of Indians. The media started with their favourite work of pointing out the match culprit. Today was no different as I heard a lot from Indian fans bad mouthing M.S Dhoni & even the Team as a whole. I hate such fans who at first show immense confidence but later backslash when the team disappoints. Though its surely not easy to digest the bitter defeat but instead of criticising one should take it as a part of the game – One team will win while the other loses. The winner deserves it fully & the loser should not lose heart, that’s the mantra.

I have been running away from putting any fuel to this fire which is tarnishing the image of Team India. As a staunch Indian supporter, I did felt a bit bad about the defeat but I do not hold any particular individual responsible for the loss. I know this is the team has the capability & will definitely outshine everyone else in the future.

Chak De India !!

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Winning the toss, Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to bowl first. Deccan Chargers opened with their seasoned pro Adam Gilchrist along with Hershelle Gibbs. Gilly could not turn on the magic he displayed in last match & got out clean bowled for a duck off Anil Kumble. This early breakthrough charged up the Royal Challengers & they made the most of it. Heavyweights – Andrew Symonds, Sunny Suman, Rohit Sharma could not play a big part & scored 33,10 & 24 respectively. Hershelle Gibbs(53 runs off 48 balls, not out) anchored himself at one end but that was not enough to get Deccan Chargers to a big score. In the end, the Deccan Chargers managed just 143 runs. Yes that’s right, just 144 to get at a rate of 7.2 R.P.O. All the credit goes to Anil Kumble who scalped 4 wickets giving just 16 runs while Vinay Kumar took 2 wickets which prevented Deccan Chargers going berserk.

Opening the innings with Jacques Kallis & Manish Pandey, Royal Challengers Bangalore appeared in a cautious mode. They got off to a slow start just as Deccan Chargers but they failed to find a player who could keep their innings together as Gibbs did for Deccans. The wickets fell at regular intervals but still the game was in perfect balance. There were also those moments in the game when the fortunes kept dwindling. Both the dugouts appeared tensed throughout as the game went down the wire. Last over demanded 15 runs but Royal Challengers Bangalore felt short by 6 runs as R.P Singh the purple cap holder bowled another top class over. What followed then was worth a watch as the Deccan Chargers rushed all around the park and celebrated their victory with huge enthusiasm. Adam Gilchrist & his camp then started their victory sprint round the Wanderers which was full of energy & vigour. The energy was splendid & even I could realise how wonderful it must be when you come from bottom of the table & go on to win the tournament. Adam Gilchrist was awarded the golden player award while Rohit Sharma got the U3 Player of the tournament.

On the other side, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Anil Kumble banged his bat after they lost displayed the frustration. The Royals could do nothing but accept the defeat & then go along to shake hands with the victorious Deccan Chargers. On positive side, they must note that it wasn’t a bad defeat since they kept fighting till the very end. After all in a game, one side has to lose so the other side to emerge victorious. Anil Kumble (Man-of-Match today) is a strong man & he will take this defeat in his pride. If one looks back, they too showed a remarkable progress as they rose from seventh poition (last year) to the second position in IPL 2009.

Post match there was a huge closing ceremony arranged. It provided ample entertainment for the big crowd gathered at the stadium and also for the stressed out players. Highlights of the event were the cool lamps sent off in the night sky, a rock on performance from the one & only Akon. Akon performed to all time hits like Smack that, Beautiful, Right Now (Na Na Na) which kept all the crowd cheering & screaming. He even went & performed standing on the boundary fence shaking hands with people & entertaining them with his sweet voice. As usual there were the lasers which always look beautiful at night time. Katrina Kaif performed to Jai Ho by Pussycat Dolls clad in a beautiful white dress which was breathetaking. She appeared a bit upset over their loss but she did mesmerize a lot under her magical spell. Then there was also an Indian African Fusion which was performed brillianlty & lived up to it’s name in a true manner. Fireworks lit up the sky once the performance was done in similar fashion like the ones lit during Olympics games. An array of hilarious , shocking, sad, mischievous moments were played back which brought back the memories of the wodnerful IPL 2009 which just unfolded in the short period of one month.

One could not ask for more. Intense cricket for a month followed by a well conducted closing ceremony is sheer brilliance. All credit goes to the South African organisers, they managed all things well & embraced the Indian Premiere League in their country with open hearts. I enjoyed this years IPL to the hilt inspite of my favourite Mumbai Indians not putting up a good show. As always, the hope is always there in my heart that they will bounce back the next year. Also I feel I would be able to experience the IPL 2010 live here in India. As I end up this post, there is Mumbai Indians anthem playing in the background. Gearing up for the IPL 2010

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Bangalore won the toss & selected to field first. Pathiv Patel & Mathew Hayden opened the batting for Chennai Super Kings. Both the openers looked in good form & knocked runs at a pace faster than light. Thus Chennai Super Kings got to 50 in just 32 balls. Later in the sixth over, Mathew Hayden (26 off 19 deliveries) got caught out off Vinay Kumar. After a while, Parthiv Patel lost his way as he fell victim to Jacques Kallis getting trapped before the wickets. It was time to steady the Chennai ship after losing two quick wickets & that’s what M.S Dhoni & Suresh Raina did. Though they succeeded in repairing the early damage but the side-effects came in the form of a slow scoring rate. As the innings was nearing its end Suresh Raina fell to Vinay Kumar & was back scoring just 20 runs. Suresh Raina will surely be disappointed as his team needed him to fire in this crucial semifinal. The cool customer – M.S Dhoni (28 off 30 deliveries) felled in the 18^th over as he went to hit a big shot off Van der Merve. Jacob Oram & Albie Morkel continued but were unable to get the big shots going. Jacob Oram was eventually caught in the final over of the match by Robin Uthappa & Chennai Super Kings just managed to get to 146/5. A decent score again considering the batting strength of Chennai but in T20 you never know till you bowl the last ball. We have seen many times teams scoring a low total & in the end emerging victorious.

Royal Challengers Bangalore needed to go at a modest 7.3 R.P.O to get to this moderate target. They began their run chase with Jacques Kallis & Manish Pandey. Jacques Kallis did not last long & perished in the very second over scoring just 9 odd runs. Manish Pandey began Bangalore run chase with a high note as he showed his aggressive intent right from the start. His knock of 48 helped Bangalore as the run rate never seemed to be climbing up. Van der Merwe failed to make any signifcant impact & was out sfor two. Meanwhile, the Indian Wall as he is referred Rahul Dravid came to the party tonight. He mixed caution with aggression & made a valuable 44 off 39 balls which kept Bangalore with a good chance of disappointing the men in yellow. The Chennai bowlers lacked lustre today & to add to their worries even there were fielding mishaps. Only Muttiah Muralitharan kept things tight but he did not got the expected support from his fellow mates. The final runs were knocked off comfortably by Virat Kohli (24 off 17 deliveries) & Ross Taylor (17 off 12 deliveries) as Royal Challengers Bangalore comfortably cruised home. As expected, Manish Pandey was Man-of-Match for his valuable knock early in the innings, which set the stage for a comortable victory.

In the end, Chennai Super Kings would be utterly disappointed as they failed to shine in any of the department tomorrow. Dhoni’s face at the end showed it all as the shoulder’s of his team-mates drooped & it felt as they were just waiting for the match to get over & go home. On the other hand, Anil Kumble would be a proud man as he once again brought his experience to his aid. From seventh position last year to finals this year, nobody would have dreamed about it. With this we have the Grand IPL 2009 Finale tomorrow in which Deccan Chargers will take over Royal Challengers Bangalore. It will be a perfect sunday bash as both the teams have risen from ashes to glory. So on which side are you putting your money in the final – Is it the Deadly Deccan Chargers or the Radical Royal Challengers Bangalore? It’s going to be a cracker of a final. Get done with your appointments early in the day & sit back to enjoy the mega final of the DLF IPL 2009.

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