250-260 pitch
2 spinners
Ashwin in
Raina in
......that was almost the perfect recipe for India. It is our home ground. So, it is not, by any means, illegal or unsporting to make pitches that suit us. Featherbeds donot suit us, neither do green tops. I am not saying we cant win on those pitches. But the Mortera wicket was ideal for us against Australia. It is the ideal wicket for us to play against most teams except for may be SriLanka. Should we meet the islanders in Mumbai, a green top may be the order of the day for us.
Indian bowling is badly exposed on featherbeds and this was brilliant from the Indian thinktank (if indeed they asked the curator to prepare this kind of wicket). Playing 2 spinners, playing Raina for Yusuf(as we were not able to bat 50 overs in previous games) were again good decisions. The only worry now for India is Munaf Patel. Did we really need him? I guess, the answer was no today.
But looking ahead to the Pak game, the Mohali pitch has traditionally has had something in it for the quicks and we will need Munaf there (though there is still some doubt if he qualifies as a 'quick'!!) Quite ironic, if you think that a few years back he was India's fastest bowler!! (http://www.canadiandesi.com/read.php?TID=736)
The reason Munaf is playing is that he is more economical than Sreesanth and Nehra. He was our 4 bowler today, bowled 7 overs for 44 runs without picking up a wicket. In the Windies game he was our fifth bowler, and bowled 5 overs. Now I would assume that the logic behind not playing Sreesanth is that we can't rely on him completing his 10 overs, given his erratic nature (of bowling!). But between these, Sreesanth is definitely more of a wicket taker. He is more likely to produce the 'magic ball' to give us the break through. So, if Munaf is only bowling 5 over spells, why not play Sreesanth?? That is something for Kirsten, Dhoni and co to think about.
Everything else looks good for us. I cannot see Pakistan defeating us. I know the "cricket...game.....glorious.....uncertainities" but Paki batting is too weak.
Kamran Akmal, Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Razzaq. I really cant see this batting line-up score more than 250 consistently. Umar Gul is their only bowler that will really concern India. I cannot see Afridi picking easy wickets against our batting the way he has against the likes of WIndies, Canada and Kenya.
Unless something dramatic happens, India should beat Pakistan pretty comfortably........
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
World Cups and Champions Trophies
World Cup
England, 1975
In the first edition of the ICC cricket World Cup, the 'Black Cat' and his men were unstoppable. In fact, it was Clive Lloyd, whose counter-attacking 102 off 85 balls set West Indies on the way in the final to 291 in 60 overs. A young Viv Richards scored three run-outs to derail the Australian retort and the West Indies won by seventeen runs to win the first World Cup.
World Cup
England, 1979
It was the West Indies again, who clinched the second edition of World Cup. The unstoppable Vivan Richards hit an unbeaten 138 as the West Indies posted 286. Geoff Boycott and Bearley took almost 40 overs for their opening wicket partnership of 129. Joel 'Big Bird' Garner took five as England folded out for 194.
World Cup
England, 1983
One of the upsets of cricketing history, if not the sporting history. Rank outsiders, India were bowled out for 183 in the final by a West Indian bowling line-up, which consisted of Andy Roberts, Malcom Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding. Looking at the pace quartet, Kapil and India would have taken 183. In a 'nothing to lose' situation, Kapil's Devils bowled the West Indies out for 140 to put India on the cricketing map.
World Cup
India, 1987
For the first time, the World cup moved outside England and the number of overs were reduced from 60 to 50. World champions, World Series champions, hosts and hot favorites, India, went out in the semis to England. Chasing Australia's 253 in the final , Mike Gatting's infamous reverse sweep triggered a collapse as they lost to the Kangaross by seven runs.
World Cup
Australia/New Zealand, 1992
The tournament saw colored clothing and day-night games for the first time. Pakistan would have gone out had rain not intervened in the 13th match of the tournament against England. As history has it, they went on to beat England in the final by 22 runs. Young Wasim Akram came round the wicket to pick two in two to seal England's fate to another defeat in a World Cup Final.
World Cup
India, 1996
Sri Lanka shocked the world, first with their '15-over tactics' and then going on to win the world cup. Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharna set the tone and typified Sri Lanka's apprach in the world cup- fearless, aggresive and nothing-to-lose. Ashanka Gurusinha, Aravinda De Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillakratne and Roshan Mahanama gave the middle order more than just a solid look. If Jayasuriya and Kalu failed, as they did in the semi-final against India, Aravinda would counter-attack and the rest would play around him. Vaas, Wickramasinghe, Murali and Dharmasena, supported by the likes of Jayasuriya and Aravinda formed pretty much the ideal bowling line-up for the sub-continent conditions. They went on to beat Australia in the final by seven wickets, the first time a team batting second won the final of a world cup.
Champions Trophy
Bangladesh, 1998
In the first "non-world-cup" ICC tournament, Jacques Kallis inspired South Africa to a five-wicket win over the West Indies in the final. The young all-rounder from Cape town took five for 30 and then scored 37 to set the Proteas on the way to victory after Philo Wallace had scored a blazing 103 off 102 balls. Earlier, in South Africa's semi-final encounter against Sri Lanka, Kallis smashed 113 (5x4, 5x6) off 100 balls. Murali was hit for 48 runs in six overs.
World Cup
England, 1999
Lance Klusener was unstopabble for South Africa. With three genuine all-rounders (Klusener, Pollock and Kallis), the Proteas were ideally suited to the English conditions. They seemed to be cruising in the tournament, but a Steve Waugh-inspired Australia had other plans. Pakistan, another team with three quality all-rounders (Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram), also had a wily spinner in Saqlain and an express tearaway in Shoaib Akhtar. But Mcgrath, Warne, Waugh and Co. proved to too hot to handle for the men in green. The final turned out to be an anti-climax as Australia steam-rolled Pakistan, winning by eight wickets.
Champions Trophy
Kenya, 2000
A young Indian team, led by a new captain, Saurav Ganguly, comprised of little known, but fearless players like Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. India was the team to watch with an ideal blend of young and experienced players (Sachin, Saurav and Kumble). They shocked Australia and then humbled South Africa in the semi-final. They were running away with the game in the final before they were hit by this thing called Chris Cairns. The burly, curly-haired all-rounder first bowled a frugal spell of 10-2-40-0 when the Indian openers were running away with the game. He then walked in at the fall of the third wicket and scored a belligerent unbeaten 102 to take the Black Caps to an unlikely victory.
Champions Trophy
Sri Lanka, 2002
Shoaib Malik became the first player to be give out LBW by the third umpire in the inaugural game against Sri Lanka.
By this time, India were on a roll. An aggressive skipper (Ganguly), a stable yet explosive batting line-up (Sachin, Saurav, Sehwag, Dravid) at the top,a young middle-order(Yuvraj, Kaif), quality spinners (Harbhajan, Kumble) and a good attack led by Zaheer. They had most things of what a good team should have. They were on the back of an amazing Natwest series win in England, where they beat the hosts by two wickets chasing 326. They were well and truly on the way to victory in the final after restricting Sri Lanka to under 250. Rain gods smiled on the hosts and saved their day. Ironically, the exact same thing happened the next day in the replay and India had to share the series with Sri Lanka.
World Cup
South Africa, 2003
The World cup moved to the African continent for the first time. Only two teams could have stopped the Aussie juggernaut in the eight edition of the World cup. One was Pakistan (because they are Pakistan!) and the other was India, with its wealthy batting line-up. Pakistan, being Pakistan, were knocked out in the first round! The impressive Indian sprint was halted by the Aussies in the final. Ponting and Martyn made the most of a nervous Indian bowling line-up to post a mammoth 359 after India put Australia in to bat! Even desperate Indian prayers for rain, which was their last hope, were not answered and India was bowled out for 234.
Champions Trophy
England, 2004
When Ian Bradshaw strode out to the center in the final, England had reduced West Indies to 147-8. By the time he came out, he and wicket-keeper Browne had put on 70 runs and West Indies surpassed Englands' 217. An amazing victory, which unfortunately, turned out to be a flash in the pan rather than a West Indies revival.
Champions Trophy
India, 2006
Contrary to expectation, this tournament was marked by low totals (forerunner to this world cup?). Teams defended scores of around 200 successfully. In one of the preliminary games, Jerome Taylor took a hat-trick, when the Aussies were chasing 225 for victory, to bowl West Indies to victory. Unfortunately for them, there was no such drama in the final. Australia bowled West Indies out for 116 and chased it down. The final will also be remembered for Ponting pushing the Indian chief guest off the stage during the presentation ceremony.
World Cup
West Indies, 2007
The first World cup in the Carribean will, unfortunately, be remembered for the death of Bob Woolmer. India's exit from the World cup in the first round meant that the viewership reduced drastically. None of this affected the Australians. They went on to hammer Sri Lanka in the final, thanks to a whirlwind 149 off 104 balls from Gilchrist. Ponting, Gilchrist and McGrath completed a hat-trick of World cups.
T20 World Cup
South Africa, 2007
India and Pakistan had a chance to revive themselves after first round exits in the World cup earlier that year. Revive themselves, they certainly did. In the first round encounter between the two teams, India won in a bowl-out after the two teams had tied. The final seemed to be heading to a similar result. Chasing 157 to win, Pakistan needed 12 to win off the last over. When the equation got down to six off four, Misbah attempted a 'Marillier' over short-fine-leg. He forgot that there is a Mallu in every corner of the world. Sreesanth took the catch and India won by five runs to send the nation into delirium.
T20 World Cup
England, 2009
Pakistan was surrounded by all sorts of off-field controversies. Change of captains, players being threatened, match-fixing allegations, terrorist attacks on touring teams. It was typical of them to go on to win the second edition of the T20 World cup in such circumstances. Afridi was the hero for Pakistan, both with bat and the ball. The all-rounder hit an unbeaten half-century in the final to take them to an easy eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
Champions Trophy
South Africa, 2009
Ponting and Watson inspired Australia to yet another major trophy. Australia made a mockery of England's 258 in the semi-final, winning by nine wickets. Watson and Ponting scored centuries to take their team home after England recovered through Tim Bresnan's 80 to take them to 258. In the other semi-final, New Zealand beat Pakistan. Watson scored another century in the final to guide them to a six-wicket victory.
T20 World Cup
West Indies, 2009
Mike Hussey reminded everyone of the 'Australianism' to pull off an amazing come-from-behind victory in the semi-final over Pakistan. He hit Saeed Ajmal for 19 in the last over of the match to take the Aussies home. But, it was Collingwood's England who had the last laugh, winning their first major trophy after beating Australia in the final. Man of the Series, Kevin Pieterson was in fine form. His 47 off 31 balls in the final helped England overhaul Australia's 147.
source: cricketweb.net
England, 1975
In the first edition of the ICC cricket World Cup, the 'Black Cat' and his men were unstoppable. In fact, it was Clive Lloyd, whose counter-attacking 102 off 85 balls set West Indies on the way in the final to 291 in 60 overs. A young Viv Richards scored three run-outs to derail the Australian retort and the West Indies won by seventeen runs to win the first World Cup.
World Cup
England, 1979
It was the West Indies again, who clinched the second edition of World Cup. The unstoppable Vivan Richards hit an unbeaten 138 as the West Indies posted 286. Geoff Boycott and Bearley took almost 40 overs for their opening wicket partnership of 129. Joel 'Big Bird' Garner took five as England folded out for 194.
World Cup
England, 1983
One of the upsets of cricketing history, if not the sporting history. Rank outsiders, India were bowled out for 183 in the final by a West Indian bowling line-up, which consisted of Andy Roberts, Malcom Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding. Looking at the pace quartet, Kapil and India would have taken 183. In a 'nothing to lose' situation, Kapil's Devils bowled the West Indies out for 140 to put India on the cricketing map.
World Cup
India, 1987
For the first time, the World cup moved outside England and the number of overs were reduced from 60 to 50. World champions, World Series champions, hosts and hot favorites, India, went out in the semis to England. Chasing Australia's 253 in the final , Mike Gatting's infamous reverse sweep triggered a collapse as they lost to the Kangaross by seven runs.
World Cup
Australia/New Zealand, 1992
The tournament saw colored clothing and day-night games for the first time. Pakistan would have gone out had rain not intervened in the 13th match of the tournament against England. As history has it, they went on to beat England in the final by 22 runs. Young Wasim Akram came round the wicket to pick two in two to seal England's fate to another defeat in a World Cup Final.
World Cup
India, 1996
Sri Lanka shocked the world, first with their '15-over tactics' and then going on to win the world cup. Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharna set the tone and typified Sri Lanka's apprach in the world cup- fearless, aggresive and nothing-to-lose. Ashanka Gurusinha, Aravinda De Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillakratne and Roshan Mahanama gave the middle order more than just a solid look. If Jayasuriya and Kalu failed, as they did in the semi-final against India, Aravinda would counter-attack and the rest would play around him. Vaas, Wickramasinghe, Murali and Dharmasena, supported by the likes of Jayasuriya and Aravinda formed pretty much the ideal bowling line-up for the sub-continent conditions. They went on to beat Australia in the final by seven wickets, the first time a team batting second won the final of a world cup.
Champions Trophy
Bangladesh, 1998
In the first "non-world-cup" ICC tournament, Jacques Kallis inspired South Africa to a five-wicket win over the West Indies in the final. The young all-rounder from Cape town took five for 30 and then scored 37 to set the Proteas on the way to victory after Philo Wallace had scored a blazing 103 off 102 balls. Earlier, in South Africa's semi-final encounter against Sri Lanka, Kallis smashed 113 (5x4, 5x6) off 100 balls. Murali was hit for 48 runs in six overs.
World Cup
England, 1999
Lance Klusener was unstopabble for South Africa. With three genuine all-rounders (Klusener, Pollock and Kallis), the Proteas were ideally suited to the English conditions. They seemed to be cruising in the tournament, but a Steve Waugh-inspired Australia had other plans. Pakistan, another team with three quality all-rounders (Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram), also had a wily spinner in Saqlain and an express tearaway in Shoaib Akhtar. But Mcgrath, Warne, Waugh and Co. proved to too hot to handle for the men in green. The final turned out to be an anti-climax as Australia steam-rolled Pakistan, winning by eight wickets.
Champions Trophy
Kenya, 2000
A young Indian team, led by a new captain, Saurav Ganguly, comprised of little known, but fearless players like Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. India was the team to watch with an ideal blend of young and experienced players (Sachin, Saurav and Kumble). They shocked Australia and then humbled South Africa in the semi-final. They were running away with the game in the final before they were hit by this thing called Chris Cairns. The burly, curly-haired all-rounder first bowled a frugal spell of 10-2-40-0 when the Indian openers were running away with the game. He then walked in at the fall of the third wicket and scored a belligerent unbeaten 102 to take the Black Caps to an unlikely victory.
Champions Trophy
Sri Lanka, 2002
Shoaib Malik became the first player to be give out LBW by the third umpire in the inaugural game against Sri Lanka.
By this time, India were on a roll. An aggressive skipper (Ganguly), a stable yet explosive batting line-up (Sachin, Saurav, Sehwag, Dravid) at the top,a young middle-order(Yuvraj, Kaif), quality spinners (Harbhajan, Kumble) and a good attack led by Zaheer. They had most things of what a good team should have. They were on the back of an amazing Natwest series win in England, where they beat the hosts by two wickets chasing 326. They were well and truly on the way to victory in the final after restricting Sri Lanka to under 250. Rain gods smiled on the hosts and saved their day. Ironically, the exact same thing happened the next day in the replay and India had to share the series with Sri Lanka.
World Cup
South Africa, 2003
The World cup moved to the African continent for the first time. Only two teams could have stopped the Aussie juggernaut in the eight edition of the World cup. One was Pakistan (because they are Pakistan!) and the other was India, with its wealthy batting line-up. Pakistan, being Pakistan, were knocked out in the first round! The impressive Indian sprint was halted by the Aussies in the final. Ponting and Martyn made the most of a nervous Indian bowling line-up to post a mammoth 359 after India put Australia in to bat! Even desperate Indian prayers for rain, which was their last hope, were not answered and India was bowled out for 234.
Champions Trophy
England, 2004
When Ian Bradshaw strode out to the center in the final, England had reduced West Indies to 147-8. By the time he came out, he and wicket-keeper Browne had put on 70 runs and West Indies surpassed Englands' 217. An amazing victory, which unfortunately, turned out to be a flash in the pan rather than a West Indies revival.
Champions Trophy
India, 2006
Contrary to expectation, this tournament was marked by low totals (forerunner to this world cup?). Teams defended scores of around 200 successfully. In one of the preliminary games, Jerome Taylor took a hat-trick, when the Aussies were chasing 225 for victory, to bowl West Indies to victory. Unfortunately for them, there was no such drama in the final. Australia bowled West Indies out for 116 and chased it down. The final will also be remembered for Ponting pushing the Indian chief guest off the stage during the presentation ceremony.
World Cup
West Indies, 2007
The first World cup in the Carribean will, unfortunately, be remembered for the death of Bob Woolmer. India's exit from the World cup in the first round meant that the viewership reduced drastically. None of this affected the Australians. They went on to hammer Sri Lanka in the final, thanks to a whirlwind 149 off 104 balls from Gilchrist. Ponting, Gilchrist and McGrath completed a hat-trick of World cups.
T20 World Cup
South Africa, 2007
India and Pakistan had a chance to revive themselves after first round exits in the World cup earlier that year. Revive themselves, they certainly did. In the first round encounter between the two teams, India won in a bowl-out after the two teams had tied. The final seemed to be heading to a similar result. Chasing 157 to win, Pakistan needed 12 to win off the last over. When the equation got down to six off four, Misbah attempted a 'Marillier' over short-fine-leg. He forgot that there is a Mallu in every corner of the world. Sreesanth took the catch and India won by five runs to send the nation into delirium.
T20 World Cup
England, 2009
Pakistan was surrounded by all sorts of off-field controversies. Change of captains, players being threatened, match-fixing allegations, terrorist attacks on touring teams. It was typical of them to go on to win the second edition of the T20 World cup in such circumstances. Afridi was the hero for Pakistan, both with bat and the ball. The all-rounder hit an unbeaten half-century in the final to take them to an easy eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
Champions Trophy
South Africa, 2009
Ponting and Watson inspired Australia to yet another major trophy. Australia made a mockery of England's 258 in the semi-final, winning by nine wickets. Watson and Ponting scored centuries to take their team home after England recovered through Tim Bresnan's 80 to take them to 258. In the other semi-final, New Zealand beat Pakistan. Watson scored another century in the final to guide them to a six-wicket victory.
T20 World Cup
West Indies, 2009
Mike Hussey reminded everyone of the 'Australianism' to pull off an amazing come-from-behind victory in the semi-final over Pakistan. He hit Saeed Ajmal for 19 in the last over of the match to take the Aussies home. But, it was Collingwood's England who had the last laugh, winning their first major trophy after beating Australia in the final. Man of the Series, Kevin Pieterson was in fine form. His 47 off 31 balls in the final helped England overhaul Australia's 147.
source: cricketweb.net
Friday, March 13, 2009
Adventure Sports:: SwatTV Roadies 1.0 :: Future of Pakistan
Hi I am your host Mullah Omar
Welcome to the SwatTV Roadies 1.0. 2012 marks the first year of Roadies being organized in Pakistan.
First a brief history of SWAT TV ::
Last year various international satellite channels pulled out of Pakistan citing security reasons.So SWAT region decided to launch their own channel on the lines of MTv. Its a music channel where we show folk, rock and everykind of music. Motto of the channel is to spread jihadi music. As we all know music is everywhere, we can generate music from anything so we have positioned ourselves as the only channel showing music from bullets, tanks, grenades. Practice in training camps is shown live as we feel there can be no better music then the sound of bullets hitting the targets.
TRP of the channel touched new heights when we showed live second mutiny in as many as 3 years by Bangladeshi Rifles group. For two whole days our viewers listened to the sound of bullets, tanks rolling on Dhaka Roads. SwatTV was the first to show the whole incident infact our cameras were in place 2 hours before the event started as we have our network of reporters spread everywhere.
We have got exclusive rights of showing missile launch by North Korea in July 2012. One team is on way to Sri Lanka to meet the LTTE to get rights to show live attempt by LTTE to regain its lost area in Sri Lanka.
Before continuing further its time for a short commercial break::
(Companies selling military warfare and related equipments are given discount of 25%)
[
Ringa Ringa Rocks Ringa Ringa Rocks
SWAT Rocks .small big diagonal horizontal rocks SWAT Rocks
Buy SWAT rocks to be used during stone pelting spectacle
Buy 5 get 2 free
Ringa Ringa Rocks Ringa Ringa Rocks
]
Welcome back to Al Qaeda SwatTV Roadies 1.0.
Further about the channel, Swat TV has generated huge interest and we are planning to launch the channel in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran in a year or two.
Now about the Roadies.Since we got the idea of the show from a bald man in India (the most dangerous place in the world), we are getting thousands of enquires from the youth.
We have got large number of sponsors. Main sponsor is Al Qaeda, other being
Mulla Umar Consultancy Services .. "Consult us before killing",
Lahore Powder ... "For that heightened feeling",
Toiba Oil - "Keeps your guns shinning"
and Swat Rocks - "For easy throws".
We have got 10 participants from different regions and first edition is an international one with participants from Afghanistan and Bangladesh also.
And for the participants everything will be unexpected, i.e expect the unexpected, there will be real stunts, killings, gun battles, and many more adventure sports tests.
Winner will get straight entry into the next planned mission of Al Qaeda at an unspecified location.
I will not reveal all the details as it is SwatTV Roadies 1.0 Expect the Unexpected
Till then its goodbye from all of us here at SwatTV Roadies 1.0
Welcome to the SwatTV Roadies 1.0. 2012 marks the first year of Roadies being organized in Pakistan.
First a brief history of SWAT TV ::
Last year various international satellite channels pulled out of Pakistan citing security reasons.So SWAT region decided to launch their own channel on the lines of MTv. Its a music channel where we show folk, rock and everykind of music. Motto of the channel is to spread jihadi music. As we all know music is everywhere, we can generate music from anything so we have positioned ourselves as the only channel showing music from bullets, tanks, grenades. Practice in training camps is shown live as we feel there can be no better music then the sound of bullets hitting the targets.
TRP of the channel touched new heights when we showed live second mutiny in as many as 3 years by Bangladeshi Rifles group. For two whole days our viewers listened to the sound of bullets, tanks rolling on Dhaka Roads. SwatTV was the first to show the whole incident infact our cameras were in place 2 hours before the event started as we have our network of reporters spread everywhere.
We have got exclusive rights of showing missile launch by North Korea in July 2012. One team is on way to Sri Lanka to meet the LTTE to get rights to show live attempt by LTTE to regain its lost area in Sri Lanka.
Before continuing further its time for a short commercial break::
(Companies selling military warfare and related equipments are given discount of 25%)
[
Ringa Ringa Rocks Ringa Ringa Rocks
SWAT Rocks .small big diagonal horizontal rocks SWAT Rocks
Buy SWAT rocks to be used during stone pelting spectacle
Buy 5 get 2 free
Ringa Ringa Rocks Ringa Ringa Rocks
]
Welcome back to Al Qaeda SwatTV Roadies 1.0.
Further about the channel, Swat TV has generated huge interest and we are planning to launch the channel in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran in a year or two.
Now about the Roadies.Since we got the idea of the show from a bald man in India (the most dangerous place in the world), we are getting thousands of enquires from the youth.
We have got large number of sponsors. Main sponsor is Al Qaeda, other being
Mulla Umar Consultancy Services .. "Consult us before killing",
Lahore Powder ... "For that heightened feeling",
Toiba Oil - "Keeps your guns shinning"
and Swat Rocks - "For easy throws".
We have got 10 participants from different regions and first edition is an international one with participants from Afghanistan and Bangladesh also.
And for the participants everything will be unexpected, i.e expect the unexpected, there will be real stunts, killings, gun battles, and many more adventure sports tests.
Winner will get straight entry into the next planned mission of Al Qaeda at an unspecified location.
I will not reveal all the details as it is SwatTV Roadies 1.0 Expect the Unexpected
Till then its goodbye from all of us here at SwatTV Roadies 1.0
ps: Some people are not able to intrepret it and saying that its a sports blog and I should write only sports related posts. I feel the post is very much related to sports and such scenario can take place in future in Pakistan, we are seeing what is happening there and sports be it cricket or anything may not be possible in that country. So it is like a dark humor which has some bitter reality in it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
India - Pakistan Rivalry will no longer the same
All of us remember Ajay Jadeja smashing Waqar Yunis all around the ground , Venkatesh Prasad showing Aamir Sohail direction of pavillion after getting him bowled, India loosing test match by 12 runs after Sachin got out. There are many such countless memories related to India and Paksitan matches.
Pakistan is the place where we got two great cricketers of all time. Kapil Dev made his debut under Bishen Singh Bedi in Pakistan and Sachin Tendulkar smashed great abdul quadir in the same country to signal his arrival in the cricketing world.
Saeed Anwar smashed Indian bowling specially Anil Kumble all around to make 194 highest run score in ODI till now. No one can forget Anil Kumble taking perfect ten against our arch rivals at Kotla. People of Lahore and Pakistan in all welcoming the Indians when cricketing ties resumed after 12 years in late 90's.
These are the memories which will come to every cricket lover mind when India Pakistan topic is thrown open.
But things have changed in the past few years. India-Pakistan rivalry is no longer the same. We enjoy India-Australia and Australia-SA now. Pakistan is no longer the travelling destination for
cricket teams. There are many cricketers who in their entire careers never travelled to that nation. Matthew Hayden is one of them.
Pakistani players are no longer the same as they used to be before. They are portraying the changing mindset of the nation. My cricket loving elders never saw Pakistani players doing namaaz on the ground, having long beards. Imran Khan , Waqar Yunis and Majid Khan they all used to be clean shaven and they never mixed religious sentiments with gentleman's game. In the past 5-6 years we have seen cricketers with longish beards , starting their talks with long religious gestures, reflecting the true picture of pakistan. I am not saying its is wrong to be religious but it should be balanced properly with the game.
We all know Pakistan is living in medieval times now. How some morons who potray themselves as saviour of Islam are ruining the nation. Women rights are no longer the same, I just heard in news that giving voter id cards to women is unislamic to certain extremists.
Relationships no longer will be the same. Rivalry will never be the same again. India has moved far ahead of its neighbours both socially and economically. I dont see any one having the same emotions and feelings while watching India-Pakistan match if it ever takes place in future.
Same thing might have happened during Russia-USA cold war era. No American can forget Bobby Fisher, but as America started moving ahead emotions were no longer the same.
We also now in the same stage we know that Pakistan is now a failed state waiting to erupt. Some people may say common public in Pakistan have suffered at the hands of failed army and politicians. But I believe general public is also at fault. What is elite educated class doing there, what are students doing there. Not all students are into this extremism thing. Pakistan needs a revolution and only students can bring that now. I am not going into details of whom to blame.
Point is sports between India-Pakistan will no longer be the same
I think you all will agree to this.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Its Official Now : Tour to Pakistan Off
The news which all of India was expecting is official now, tour to Pakistan in Jan has been called off. Government of India asked the BCCI not to proceed with the tour to Pakistan.
Tour was planned from Jan -13 to Feb - 19 consisting of 3 Tests, 5 one dayers and 1 Twenty20. Pakistan is set to loose 20 million dollars. This is a big loss for near bankrupt PCB.
Our neighbors have not played a single test in the whole of 2008 and they played around 22 odi's only.
It is a good measure from India and we should take more such measures which were earlier known as confidence building measures. India with its foreign policy should try to isolate Pakistan more since the Mumbai Attacks.
Tour was planned from Jan -13 to Feb - 19 consisting of 3 Tests, 5 one dayers and 1 Twenty20. Pakistan is set to loose 20 million dollars. This is a big loss for near bankrupt PCB.
Our neighbors have not played a single test in the whole of 2008 and they played around 22 odi's only.
It is a good measure from India and we should take more such measures which were earlier known as confidence building measures. India with its foreign policy should try to isolate Pakistan more since the Mumbai Attacks.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Good Luck Kumble
Though a bit late as the test has already been started but still better late then never, we wish good luck to kumble for his first test as captain.
We at penthegame were the first one to predict that ' kumble will be made captain' because we always believed that kumble deserve more then what he has been given till now.
In the poll conducted we got 199 votes though there were some hard core dada fans polling for him many times.
I believe that series against pakistan will be cakewalk for the Indians as Pakistani team is missing the aggression required to win the series.
Regular meetings between the two teams is slowly deteriorating the passion which used to be there when India Pakistan used to meet.
Real test for kumble will come in the series against Australia and I am eagerly waiting for that series.
Will write about the ICL soon :)
We at penthegame were the first one to predict that ' kumble will be made captain' because we always believed that kumble deserve more then what he has been given till now.
In the poll conducted we got 199 votes though there were some hard core dada fans polling for him many times.
I believe that series against pakistan will be cakewalk for the Indians as Pakistani team is missing the aggression required to win the series.
Regular meetings between the two teams is slowly deteriorating the passion which used to be there when India Pakistan used to meet.
Real test for kumble will come in the series against Australia and I am eagerly waiting for that series.
Will write about the ICL soon :)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Bhains Ki Taang, We Won!!!
It was the Great Indian Wet Dream, having an India-Pakistan WorldCup final, and surely proved to be one. Starting with the resolution this tournament has been quite up on its sex quotient. This was twenty twenty is all about, its what Sex and Violence do to frigid cinema, its all about adding that extra much needed masala to a great game going through its worst phase after a uber-boring World Cup and suppa-disappointing Champion's Trophy last year.
It hits back badly on purists, most notably the well known Greg Chappell, last employed on the post of decimator of Indian Cricket Team, the one who thought Tendulkar lacked attitude and skill, Pathan is always low on confidence and I won't mention what he did to my favourite cricketer Dada. According to that guy this is just hitting, I just pity him now that this team which doesn't include his favourite player Suresh Raina (wtf) won the world Cup without the coach.
Match Day
Superstitions, a Mallu Star, a Mazdur and a back in Form Pathan
Venue- Quark's Den
Edibles- Veg Puffs, thums Up, Some Desi Namkeen, Some Haldiram stuff and those cheesy chips by Lays (which give me a nauseating hit)
Match started on a poor note, our Match routine which involved,
- a can of Kingfisher for the quark.
- a bottle of Knock Out again for quark.
- a bottle of Fosters/Budweiser for Daisy. ( no Fosters in Australian Match)
- Mast Mirchi Bhajji worth Rs.15.00
was missing. As if this was not enough our sitting arrangements were much more varied then the previous ones and I think that lead ton
Although the Pakistani Bowling was superb. Main mast moments were the opening sequence(run out appeal against Yusuf Pathan), six hit again by him and Rohit Sharma's mast knock. I like this guy because his favourite dish is Kanda Poha which his family was telling the recipe on AajTak. I love Poha(also called Pouva someweher). Just one of many reasons why I simply adore Shara-Pova ;-)...
The second one was the real thing, RP was up right from the word go, it just took an innovative profanity(read Mayawati ka Bhai) to generate that spark and make him pick up the first wicket.
Sreesanth according to me was the real match winner for us, offlate we have compared him to a dangai (rowdy or something, the one involved actively in riots) who can't even throw stones properly. They are all over the place. The Mallu Star is as unpredictable as one could get. Ok he is a match winner if can bowl well, but that rarely happens as it happened against
Anyway in case these kinds of bowlers are more popularly known as Rhythm bowlers, who bowl when they are Rhythm, utter crap, even I can bowl 6 yorkers an over if I am in Rhythm. Also I think Agression is OK as long as you have stuff within, a samosa without aloo can't even become a papdi.
So such a bowler didn't even hear to all the profanities flying all around the room like charms were in Howgarts (refer final few chapters The Deathly Hallows). In came a new idea to call on Sankatmochan and a round of Hanauman Chalisa brought calm and produced a maiden and another good over.
Similar chants were fixed for each and every bowler,
- Irfan- Jai Dada, with dashes of Jai Dona-Dada
- Sreesanth- Hanuman Chalisa
- Bhajji- Nothing really worked, we tried everything from Jai Siddhu to Jai Monty Panessar to Jai Bhajji himself.
- Joginder- Main Mazdur mujhe devo ki basti se kya- "Ramdhari Singh Dinkar". Refer Bal Bharti NCERT, Class VII. It seems people identified him as a Mazdur from that poem.
We were damn superstitious with sitting arrangements fixed, a particular person locked inside a room and me diving at every lofted bowl to the foot of TV stand.
Anyway all this crap somehow worked till the deadly bhajji over and then it were the Indians who won the game. Although I should Pakistanis were an awesome side. Misab is surely the new age Miandad (he almost did a name change from Joginder to Chetan...)
The end would have been surely a disastrous one, all the mantras failed in final four overs, so our brave Sreesanth didn't find his Rhythm and jerked of few forgettable ones. He took a wicket later with a sensible one. RP's next over was again a mast one.
Then came the final one, I have backed Joginder throughout this tournament, according to me belongs to the league of Gavin Larsen/Chris Harris kinda bowlers who can suck of the runs in the middle overs for opposition by their slow line length bowling. Although when his first wide happened, I thought its over, and then a six and it WAS over.
The End couldn't have been this bigger, bigger than the Jim Morrison the end or a Hindi Cinema The End. Or much ironical as Sreesanth held on to an awesome catch (whatever it be it was still awesome for me). In the words of one of my friends company mate,
Misbah thought he was sending the ball to a place where there was no one. He did not know that there is a Malayali in every corner of the world!!!
Anyhow no qualms against Sreesanth as of now, he is the part of the best cricketing moment we ever witnessed. Pathan's comeback has been the most delightful thing which happened, amazing comeback to prove his strength as a bowler and fowl all attempts made by Chappel to destroy his career. Also RP has been awesome throughout the tournament. all in all our bowling looked nice and quite non-scrappy.
What we witnessed was the Best Blue Film ever with 11 Men in Blue completely You-Know-What the pakistanis...
Post Match
It was surreal, completely unbelievable, we were dancing, hugging each other, the neighbours and their kids came out to the balconies, everyone was dancing running around, firecrakcers all around, millions of SMS's being sent around. And when Dhoni lifted the Cup, it was just so GREAT.
Shoaib Malik's post match comments etc...hmm, they were extremely disappointingly. I won't reiterate the same but with so much ire back home it must have been something to avoid it.
Aur Main Ban
Dhoni is here to stay, after Dada he looks the only guy who suits the job. Dravid's captaincy should be forgotten as a pathetic phase in Indian Cricket(though I don't have anything against Dravid the batsman). Dhoni is calm on field, he TALKS, shows less of emotional jhol jhaal, has loads of ads under his tummy (he too has one) and quite unlike most of the Captain brigade he is much more fit.
He has lead
What Next???
Nothing let us roll our Aussies in India, about Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar I won't comment much, but for people already starting to shout in favour me not so much in agreement with them.
All in all a great victory and a moment to cherish throughout our lifetime. But all this makes the next year for me and few of my friends so much difficult following celibacy as fallout of the victory.
Never mind anything for the country...:)
Pics from WorldTwentyTwenty
Technorati Tags: Cricket, TwentyTwentyWorldCup, Final, India, Pakistan, Dhoni
Shoaib Malik and his remarks
This comment cannot be attributed to the poor english of the pakistani captain but this was intentional.
First of all, I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world,” Malik said at the awards ceremony on Monday night.
Islamist pakistani cricket team this is what I can interpret from this statement. Earlier the team under Inzy used to show its religious side by praying on the field and doing other Islamic rituals but now they have openly declared that they only play for Islam.
How will Dinesh Kaneria , Iftikar Rao and other not Muslim players react to this i don't know. Above all this statement has shown that sentiments of people of other religions who support their cricket team have no value.
Shoaib Malik your please remember that India has more Muslims that your country. Though there is no gainsaying that many muslims in India support the pakistani cricket team. Many time my colleagues who stay near Jama Masjid area have told me how the muslims play crackers when India looses. When Pakistan defeated the NZ in the semis sweets were distributed in the area. When you congratulate a Muslim (not all but there are few like this) on India victory they will feel sad.
But I reckon these unpatriotic people to be very few in India the supporters of the India will be far more then those not supporting.
This islamic sentiments and jehadi feelings will surely lead the whole pakistan to doom few years down the line. You don't have a political stability you allow militants to grow in your county. Though under General Pervez your country has grown because of his dictatorship but the same militants who were allowed to grow as they had to attacks other nations will attack your country in few years and spell doom.
You represent your self as a Islamist first not as a pakistani and this is the real difference between you and us. (Chak De !!!) The Indian team members see themselves as Indian first then from different states and the religion would be the least in their mind I am sure.
Cricket Unites India and Cricket has now Divided the unsecularized Pakistan
Hail the Team and Hail the Indians
Technorati Tags
Twenty20 T20 WorldCup SouthAfrica Pakistan India Islam ShoaibMalik
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
India comes to PARTY!!!
ChakDe took another toll on Indian junta as India lifted Inaugural Tournament of World T20 championship.
The contest couldn't be more even...no match would have witnessed more turning points, lesser to mention there couldn't be a final more closer than this. Nobody can single-out an individual effort, as it was an altogether India's party who held their nerve in this there-couldn't-be-more-surprises encounter, and came out victorious & worthy of the occasion.
The bunch of youngsters had their high-time learning moment in South Africa, as the whole world witnessed them coming out of shell under the inspired leadership of Mahinder Singh Dhoni who has helped India reignite that fire that we once saw in Dada's men. Regarded as one of the weakest combination in the tournament, supposedly these boys had nothing to loose. Not only they have defied their critics, the whole nation couldn't be more proud of them as they retained their supremacy over Pakistan twice in the tournament. Shoaib Malik's side who looked like another good team into making after their dismal show in 2007 WC (ala India), showed a better character and were a deserving second-best in the tournament.
Even a 1000 words or 1000 pictures would be less to define this nail-biting encounter between the teams who eliminated (South Africa, Australia) & (New Zealand, Sri Lanka) apiece on their way to the finals. And what a match---where Asif started with his normal routine of taking wickets (Point-to-Mention, Yousuf Pathan got off the mark after hitting him for SIX)---Gambhir composure helped him anchor the innings in the middle order using some lightening footwork---Hafeez restricting Yuvraj (who went without hitting a six today [plus] strike rate < 100)---Gul taking out late scalps with his consistent yorkers---Rohit Sharma again providing a cameo burst of late.
But Dhoni's men meant only business today. Not wanting to be left behind, Pakistan innings
witnessed many if-else moments. Rudra was at his nominal best as he got rid of Hafeez n Akmal early---But this doesn't stop Nazir who carried an injury from semis agains NZ and was denied the runner two balls before he was run-out---followed by dollies from Joginder Sharma being left away by Younus before himself giving one to Yousuf Pathan---then some decent shuffling of pace n spin from Irfan Pathan to get rid of Afridi especially (in the same over in which Shoaib Malik also departed)---then came one defining moment when Misbah-Ul-Haq hit Bhajji for 3 sixes in an over followed by Tanvir hitting another 2 off Sreesanth in next over. Dhoni played his trump card with RP Singh bowling penultimate over to reduce Pakistan to 9 wickets followed by Joginder Sharma with only 13 needed off last over. He was hit for a six off full toss and then came that scoop which could have been a four off even Bhajji but with that over pitch delivery from Joginder Sharma sans pace rise high in the air and even cameraman expected it to reach the boundary as he kept his camera high but it landed safely in the hands of Sreesanth who started (rather restarted) the joy among Indian camp as they all celebrated this occasion by doing a lap of honour around the ground carrying Indian flags high.
There couldn't be a better turning point.
The tournament also proved to be fruitful for the comeback trio of Sehwag-Bhajji-Pathan. Now is the time to let go off the fireworks, champagne all around, big hit slogans before it gets down convincingly among Indian camp as they are deservingly crowned as Champions today against a really good show being put up by their neighbours. Hope this win helps India secure a better future of Indian Cricket, as we treasure this one for the rest of our lives (ala Dhoni).
Images: cricinfo
Videos: dipvid
Technorati Tags: India, Pakistan, Twenty20, T20 World Cup
The contest couldn't be more even...no match would have witnessed more turning points, lesser to mention there couldn't be a final more closer than this. Nobody can single-out an individual effort, as it was an altogether India's party who held their nerve in this there-couldn't-be-more-surprises encounter, and came out victorious & worthy of the occasion.
The bunch of youngsters had their high-time learning moment in South Africa, as the whole world witnessed them coming out of shell under the inspired leadership of Mahinder Singh Dhoni who has helped India reignite that fire that we once saw in Dada's men. Regarded as one of the weakest combination in the tournament, supposedly these boys had nothing to loose. Not only they have defied their critics, the whole nation couldn't be more proud of them as they retained their supremacy over Pakistan twice in the tournament. Shoaib Malik's side who looked like another good team into making after their dismal show in 2007 WC (ala India), showed a better character and were a deserving second-best in the tournament.
Even a 1000 words or 1000 pictures would be less to define this nail-biting encounter between the teams who eliminated (South Africa, Australia) & (New Zealand, Sri Lanka) apiece on their way to the finals. And what a match---where Asif started with his normal routine of taking wickets (Point-to-Mention, Yousuf Pathan got off the mark after hitting him for SIX)---Gambhir composure helped him anchor the innings in the middle order using some lightening footwork---Hafeez restricting Yuvraj (who went without hitting a six today [plus] strike rate < 100)---Gul taking out late scalps with his consistent yorkers---Rohit Sharma again providing a cameo burst of late.
But Dhoni's men meant only business today. Not wanting to be left behind, Pakistan innings
witnessed many if-else moments. Rudra was at his nominal best as he got rid of Hafeez n Akmal early---But this doesn't stop Nazir who carried an injury from semis agains NZ and was denied the runner two balls before he was run-out---followed by dollies from Joginder Sharma being left away by Younus before himself giving one to Yousuf Pathan---then some decent shuffling of pace n spin from Irfan Pathan to get rid of Afridi especially (in the same over in which Shoaib Malik also departed)---then came one defining moment when Misbah-Ul-Haq hit Bhajji for 3 sixes in an over followed by Tanvir hitting another 2 off Sreesanth in next over. Dhoni played his trump card with RP Singh bowling penultimate over to reduce Pakistan to 9 wickets followed by Joginder Sharma with only 13 needed off last over. He was hit for a six off full toss and then came that scoop which could have been a four off even Bhajji but with that over pitch delivery from Joginder Sharma sans pace rise high in the air and even cameraman expected it to reach the boundary as he kept his camera high but it landed safely in the hands of Sreesanth who started (rather restarted) the joy among Indian camp as they all celebrated this occasion by doing a lap of honour around the ground carrying Indian flags high.There couldn't be a better turning point.
The tournament also proved to be fruitful for the comeback trio of Sehwag-Bhajji-Pathan. Now is the time to let go off the fireworks, champagne all around, big hit slogans before it gets down convincingly among Indian camp as they are deservingly crowned as Champions today against a really good show being put up by their neighbours. Hope this win helps India secure a better future of Indian Cricket, as we treasure this one for the rest of our lives (ala Dhoni).
Images: cricinfo
Videos: dipvid
Technorati Tags: India, Pakistan, Twenty20, T20 World Cup
Monday, March 19, 2007
Bob Woolmer passes away
Pakistan cricket coach, Bob Woolmer died in a Kingston Hotel on Sunday. Woolmer, 58, was discovered lying on the floor of his room, with vomit around him, at 10.45 AM and was taken by ambulance to University Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, at 11.50 AM.
Pakistan team manager Talat Ali, their trainer Murray Stevenson and assistant manager Asad Mustafa went with Woolmer to the hospital where he was given medical attention.
Woolmer was last seen in public when he addressed the post-match media conference after his team's defeat to Ireland at Sabina Park.
He made 1059 runs at 33.09 in Tests, with three hundreds, and also took four wickets at 74.75. In all first-class cricket, mainly with Kent but also in South African state cricket, he scored 15772 runs at 33.55 and took 420 wickets at 25.87.
His coaching career started at Warwickshire, and he immediately made an impact as the county won a string of trophies in the early 1990s. That led to him being appointed by South Africa in 1994 and then, after a spell as the ICC's High Performance Manager, with Pakistan.
Image Source : Cricinfo
Technorati Tags: Bob Woolmer, Cricket, World Cup, Pakistan, Jamaica
Pakistan team manager Talat Ali, their trainer Murray Stevenson and assistant manager Asad Mustafa went with Woolmer to the hospital where he was given medical attention.Woolmer was last seen in public when he addressed the post-match media conference after his team's defeat to Ireland at Sabina Park.
He made 1059 runs at 33.09 in Tests, with three hundreds, and also took four wickets at 74.75. In all first-class cricket, mainly with Kent but also in South African state cricket, he scored 15772 runs at 33.55 and took 420 wickets at 25.87.
His coaching career started at Warwickshire, and he immediately made an impact as the county won a string of trophies in the early 1990s. That led to him being appointed by South Africa in 1994 and then, after a spell as the ICC's High Performance Manager, with Pakistan.
Image Source : Cricinfo
Technorati Tags: Bob Woolmer, Cricket, World Cup, Pakistan, Jamaica
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Off we Go the West Indies Way...
West Indies kick started the World cup with a convincing 54 run victory over Pakistan. Surely I lost a bet yesterday as I was sure that Pakistan would win.
It was heartening to see the awesome atmosphere in the ground and it just suited the Windies team as the Home Support added to the Victory celebrations. Jamaica sizzled in all colours and it just the refreshing breath that World Cup wanted after a rather dull Champions Trophy last year.
The West Indies innings was entertaining one with Samuels and then Dwayne Smith hitting some nice blows to Pakistani Spinners. Even Lara and Sarwan chipped in.
Pakistani innings was going nicely with Inzy and Youhana playing well but when they fell and Kamran akmal too got out in the dreaded over for Pakistanis then Shoaib Malik was stranded alone.
I won't say that West Indies are the favorites but surely they are capable of huge upsets and with the Home support behind them it surely is going to be a joyride.
Techonarti Tags: World Cup, Cricket, West Indies, Pakistan
It was heartening to see the awesome atmosphere in the ground and it just suited the Windies team as the Home Support added to the Victory celebrations. Jamaica sizzled in all colours and it just the refreshing breath that World Cup wanted after a rather dull Champions Trophy last year.
The West Indies innings was entertaining one with Samuels and then Dwayne Smith hitting some nice blows to Pakistani Spinners. Even Lara and Sarwan chipped in.
Pakistani innings was going nicely with Inzy and Youhana playing well but when they fell and Kamran akmal too got out in the dreaded over for Pakistanis then Shoaib Malik was stranded alone.
I won't say that West Indies are the favorites but surely they are capable of huge upsets and with the Home support behind them it surely is going to be a joyride.
Techonarti Tags: World Cup, Cricket, West Indies, Pakistan
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Memoria - I
How many times we get sporting treats that become part of our hard disk, the memories of those moments never fade away. A last minute goal, or a diving catch by a slow fielder, a long volley in a long five set game, or a run out resulting a tie. Too much to handle and too difficult to forget. And the best part is the boomerang action of these events; they visit us strongly and make us feel great about those moments of great excitement. So, we will try to take you on a ride of nostalgia and do the necessary brushing up (ahh, frankly saying its just a feel good drug that we inject to ourselves as we love to talk about the games we have seen.)
1996 World Cup quarter Final
Bangalore India ) won the toss and like we kids always did, India
Indians are loyal, they try to give the audience complete worth for their money and when Pak batters came to bat, it looked that Indians will find it difficult to stop Sohail and Anwar as they piled up runs in the restriction overs. And then came the moment, do i need to even mention it? You are already seeing it so clearly in your eyes, that four, that bat flash, that inside edge, that dislodging of bail and that showing him the route. Was too much for a 13 year old at least (I knew my mom would kill me for science exam and I knew I can't miss this match, It's
The amout of happiness that one day gave me is unexplainable. We were on roads like everyone else on our dear Bajaj Chetak eating sweets, ohh, what a festival. We look back and say "those were the times" and I still feel “There is more to come".
Image Source : Rediff
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Aao Dikhaye Tumhe Hair ka Funda
Shilpa Shetty's success in Big Brother and in particular after the racial saga has given some hope to the beleagured Darrell Hair. Ex elite panel umpire is planning to sue the ICC and Pakistan Cricket Board for racial discrimination, according to the BBC. In a incongruous way hair has said that he's being persecuted because he's white.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf replied to this :
Maybe worth a glance,
Technorati Tags: ICC, DarrellHair, PCB
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf replied to this :
"I am just flabbergasted. This is the most preposterous thing I've heard, when our lawyer told me we had received a letter from his solicitors accusing the ICC of racial discrimination and naming the Pakistan Cricket Board as a party to this issue. Mr Hair was removed from the ICC panel of umpires because of his bad umpiring and poor judgement. I think this is probably another manifestation of Mr Hair's mental status. I daresay it sounds almost as if he's not only just very impetuous or stubborn, if he made a mistake a man should have stood up and said 'I made a mistake'. For him earlier to have also asked for a half a million dollars during the incident and saying 'look, give me this money and I will simply walk away', and now suing the ICC and naming the PCB as a party for racial discrimination, smacks to me of another bit of, perhaps, opportunism.''Hair is arguing that he got sacked while fellow umpire and West Indian Billy Doctrove got off scott free proves that he was fired for being white. Ashraf's response to this:
"That is even worse. I read that and just laughed out aloud because it is crass for him to say a black West Indian umpire was let off when he was a white man therefore he was charged. This (race) has nothing to do with it. Mr Hair was the senior umpire and he actually took over that Oval cricket match. I was present there. We have brought to the ICC even before many instances in which Mr Hair had almost brought Test cricket into disrepute by making decisions that were impetuous, hasty, ill-considered and without any basis of fact. And that is why ultimately he had it coming from his umpiring standpoint.''Stop being boorish Hair. There are no takers for these allegations. You will not be getting the hoola like Shilpa and also sorry no companies are interested in you for advertising their products. Sorry Hair this funda will fail.
Maybe worth a glance,
- (quotes) cricket-blog
- FoxSports
Technorati Tags: ICC, DarrellHair, PCB
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Cricket Update
SAF goes 1-0 up against Pakistan
The first Test match between the SAF n Pakistan gives the former an edge over the latter in a hard fought battle. The pitch that keeps on deteriorating asked too much from the Proteas in their second innings to win the game. But a solid unbeaten stand between Amla n Kallis made it all look very easy.Deciding to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan looked forward to post some decent score on board. But apart from Hameed's 65, Younis's 68 n Inzy's 42, no other batsmen showed any fight as Ntini takes five-for. South Africans survived the early threats as Smith continues to disappoint. It was left to Amla n star of series agains India, Prince to build the inning as they made 71 n 138 respectively. Gibbs pounced on the opportunity and contributed 94. On day 3, they were already 104 runs ahead of Pakistan with Asif provided the only positive display with his 5/89
Not wanting to loose this one, the Pakistan started their second inning positively as they trailed by only 1 run at the end of day 3. Knowing it wud be crucial two sessions on day 4, Proteas managed to get major breakthroughs. Inzy did the same mistake what Dravid n Sachin did in last test. As he was seen more keen on spending more n more time on wicket without caring much of scoring rate. Consequently from 103/2, Pakistan crawled its way to 199/7. But the tailenders had some other plans in their mind. They exploited the attacking field put up by Smith and suddenly the runs started coming in 4s n 6s as they take the total past 300.
Asking South African to score 199 for victory, Inzy was looking forward to some good fight from his bowlers especially Kaneria who could have exploited the rough on the pitch to his benefits. But it was only Asif who provided the breakthrough by taking De Villiers n nightwatchman Harris, with the seasonal bowler Hameed getting rid of Smith in last over of day 4. But this could hardly prevent Amla n Kallis as they successfully chased the target, despite of rain threats that ruined the first session on day 5. The other positive to come out for Proteas from this match was Paul Harris who no doubt proved to be a better spinner than Kaneria by exploiting the rough and never for once he disappointed his captain by not taking the wickets whenever asked to.Pakistan First Innings: 313 all out (Younis 68, Hameed 65, Ntini 5/83)
SAF First Innings: 417 all out (Prince 138, Gibbs 94, Amla 71, Asif 5/89)
Pakistan Second Innings: 302 all out (Farhat 68, Nazir 40, Harris 4/46)
SAF Second Innings: 199/3 (Amla 64*, Kallis 60*, Asif 2/56)
Gibbs banned for two tests
In an uncanny event that happens during the first Test Match between SAF n Pak saw Gibbs guilty for making abusive comments about a section of the crowd. He was justifyingly punished for the same in account of which he will miss the remainder of the series. Immediately after this, the South African board (CSA) called for a disciplinary hearing and has asked Gibbs to report to commisstioner at the earliest opportunity. Though news has just poured in from CSA that Gibbs will appeal against this ban, in an event of which this hearing is being postponed till the ICC appeal process is completed.
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