Thursday, March 22, 2007

India v Sri Lanka, And what rides on it

So this Friday is the clash that will determine if India goes thru to the super 8's or not. It will determine if the big hearted tigers from Bangladesh will get to show the world that beating India was not a fluke. It will determine if not one, but two minnows(Ireland being the other) will most unexpectedly make it to the next stage.
Interestingly, there is more to it than meets the eye. In cricket at least, the mantra is simple : Big Bucks are where the Indian team is involved. Massive travelling support, TV deals, sponsorships ride on how far down the road the Indian team goes. The super eights schedule was drawn up long time before the tournament started. Ridiculous as it may sound, it was based upon the ODI rankings as of April 2005(huh!!!). Teams were labeled team 1 and team2 in their respective groups based on these rankings. In group B's case, India was team2, or B2 and SL was B1. Even if India were to win all their games, they would still be B2. From one perspective, it does'nt really matter if you are B1 or B2 since you are gonna have to play all the rest of the teams in the fray in the super 8s. But what this kind of system allowed the organizers to do was to draw up a schedule of the super 8s in advance. Allowed them the luxury to conveniently schedule the "marquee" games on weekends and public holidays. And needless to say, most of these marquee games involved India. India's clashes with Pakistan, Australia and South Africa were definitely mouth watering on paper and so were set to be played on weekends. Taking the ICC's word for it, companies have already rolled out big bucks for advertising slots on these gamedays. In-ground advertising has been booked way in advance. Ticket sales soared, Indian people from overseas, especially the US, made arrangements for their travel and stay at the venues in question.
All these people might already be looking for ways to get out of what can very well be a mess.
But if they are not, then god help them. Because one thing we can be sure of - A Bangladesh v Ireland Super 8s game is not going to attract quite the same number of people as an India v Pak game would have.
Pakistan may be out of the picture, but the Indians do still have an outstreched arm in it. What are their chances? what would it take to get past the marauding Lankans. Lets examine..
What I personally feel is that ideally, India should be batting first and setting a target. Two reasons, the pressure while chasing with their survival in the competetion on the line may be too much for the Indian batsmen to deal with, secondly, Sri Lanka's middle over bowlers sometimes just get impossible to score quickly off. Then again, I am saying this with absolutely no knowledge of the picth and weather conditions. If they get a green top and overcast skies, messers Vass and Malinga can wreak havoc. All said, I still feel that chasing would be too much to take(for me sitting and watching too).
About the team composition, I was proved wrong by Kumble last time around. But then it was only Bermuda. Right from the begining, i was not a big fan of Kumble's inclusion in the squad. Always felt Bhajji is a more attacking bowler. Also, what counts against Kumble is that the Lankans have always played him well. The problems at the top of the order are still present. Would they drop Uthapa for Kartik? would they open with Sehwag? I think putting Kartik in the line of fire for this one will not be a good idea. Either they should stick with Uthapa or, and this might be a long shot, bring in Pathan for Uthapa.
All questions will be answered this Friday. Unfortunately, I will only be able to follow the game and not watch it(damn them having the WC in the same time zone).

As all sporting previews end.. "May the best team win"..err.. I beg to differ..

"MAY INDIA WIN"


otherwise, all those people queing up for the India-Pak game, be ready to watch Ireland-Bangladesh's EPIC battle.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Of fallen powerhouses and deceased coaches

What a dramatic week in the world cup. India and Pakistan losing to minnows and Gibbs hitting six sixes and of course, the sad news of Bob Woolmers passing away. It was the last news that the cricket world found hard to digest. And yet, this piece of news is inevitably going to get pushed further and further back in the pecking order. It will take a while for everyone to realize how big a loss this is to the cricket world. It will take a while for the Pakistan team to get used to the fact that their coach has not been fired, has'nt quit, has'nt lost it in the wilderness that pakistan cricket politics is, but has actually passed away.... It is a sad sad loss for cricket in general, May his soul rest in peace.

But as they say, the games must go on, and gone they have indeed. Black armbands and minutes silence and all. There have been incidents in the history of sport of events being continued unhindered, which, in my personal opinion is the right thing to do. Not only does it bear testimony to the tenacious nature of sport and of those involved, but also proves that sport is like any other thing in life, and it must move on. Inspite of the no less than 9 Israili athletes being murdered in what has come to be known as the Munich Massacre, the 1972 Olympics still went on. When the plane carrying the whole Manchester United football team back home crashed , killing most of them, Man U continued the season and actually went on to make it to the finals of the prestigious FA cup. The Pakistan team now owes it to Woolmer for all he gave to them during his tenure as their coach. It might be too late for them in this world cup, but they will have more chances after this. and they need to pick themselves up and perform again.

Getting back to news from the field now. India lost to Bangladesh and India's own overconfidence. Yes, it was over confidence, and nothing else. Lets face it, India lacks consistency. And this just does not allow them to walk with a swagger no matter how hot a winning streak they are on. Having steamrolled the hosts in a warm up game, some of the guys I think just took if for granted that the Bangladesh game would be a walk in the park. This is what eventually cost them the game and left them to bear the brunt of the fickle minded fans back home. True, they did wake up and resume business yesterday against an attack worthy of a club side, but I hope, really do hope that they do not carry anything from this game into the game against Sri Lanka.
I dont know why people talk of Australians as being on the decline. Inspite of a bad record right before the world cup, I still think they are favourites. I think their batting is just way to strong and their bowling, even though not venomous, is enough to get the job done. I think australia will complete a hattrick of world cup wins quite comfortably.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka are being talked about as contenders. And to an extent that is true. I think both of them have a good all round side. though I seriously doubt New Zealand's top order batting, their lower middle order of Oram,McCullum and Styris is formidable. Of course, there is the up and coming Ross Taylor. As for Flemming, sorry but i never consider him much of a batsman.
England being touted as one of the tournaments surprise packages is, well.. simply put.. crap!!
less said the better about them, they are going nowhere, thats for sure.
So the way its looking right now, I think Australia and South Africa would the faves, in that order. But that little hope that India has, wish it takes them farther into the competetion.