Pakistan fragile batting in ICC Champions trophy

It was disappointing to see the way Pakistan team played in ICC Champions trophy. The main cause of there loss is heavily burdened on Pakistan batting. In all the three matches they score less than 200.  The top scorer from Pakistan side is Misbah-ul-Haq. Pakistan who never loss against India in this tournament lost against them without any sort of resistance. The match against India, Pakistan itself went in to the shallows when they scored only 70 runs in 19 overs and came to know that match is reduced to 40 overs. Indian bowlers bowled pretty well and were getting the results from time to time. In the other side if we see Indian team who is standing so strongly is due to having the strongest batting line-up in the whole ICC Champions trophy. Despite of not having Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and few others. Every batsman of Indian team is busy proving why they are chosen instead of them. Dhawan and Karthik has extended the future of Indian batting line-up. Dhawan scored two centuries uptill now in ICC Champions trophy. More than that they both have sidelined Kholi, Raina and Dhoni who are the most consistent players in the team. One thing that I am still amazed and not clear that we starts with 30 possible players for ICC Champions trophy and then we shrink to 15 an then out of 15 we chose 11 players at a time but still we can't find batters who could a scored 200+ runs altogether.

There had been a dozens of debates on how to improve Pakistan batting line-up and how to bring solid batsman. Pakistan team looks horrible when I see there is not a single batsman who has the ability to hit at least three balls out of the park in an over. Even after the introduction and induction of T-20 cricket, it is horrible to see the amount of balls a Pakistani batsman consumed in their innings. Pakistan have introduced a lot of aggressive players like Ahmed Shehzad, Shahzaib Hasan, Umer Akmal, Owais Zia and they were all sidelined by giving a statement that they played irresponsible shot and lost their wicket or their is still a flaw in their techniques. But you can not deny from the fact that they are the requirements of the modern ODI cricket where you need them. Talking about the fresh players who have one of the sound batting technique like Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor, Azhar Ali, Nasir Jamshed and Asad Shafiq they are not given a proper chance apart of Shafiq. 

Fawad Alam who in his first test match was used as an opener and scored 168 runs against Srilanka and in the third(last match played up till now) test match played at one down where the most experienced players should bat had played against New Zealand and tried to resist Shane Bond in alien conditions. He played as a middle order batsman against England in ODI's when Pakistan batting line-up was in crisis. He also have the experience of playing in UAE and Pakistan will play in UAE this year possibly against the same team South Africa. Instead of reviving the career of Younus Khan, Soaib Malik and others he should be given the chance. He averages almost 56 in first class. He should be taken in to confidence for the series in Dubai and if he plays well in UAE he should be given chance to play in Srilanka where he scored a century in his test début.

Nasir Jamshed has now become the back bone of batting line-up of Pakistan but still needs to prove by scoring centuries against strong bowling opponents. He will learn it as soon as he gathers experience. Talking about the aggreive fresh players like Ahmed Shehzad and Shahzaib Hasan. Shehzad who has played in WC-2011 and has played with Chris Gayle in BPL and scored a ton in a match. He is more popular then all the 11 players who played against India. Its not because of his popularity he should be included in to the team but it is because of the way he plays. I know he is a bit irresponsible but has scored two centuries and that shows he can create a huge impact as soon he is given the license. Pakistan bowling line-up was regarded as the most impact line-up of bowlers but with its fragile batting line-up they can never win a tournament like CT#13 where there is always a do or die situation.  

Asad Shafiq needs to score a couple of centuries in ODI's so that he could count his name as the high profile batsman or else it will take only seconds to sideline a player like him. He is no doubt plays according to situation but still needs to furnish himself for the modern ODI cricket. Umer Akmal, he is more than any other batsman in Pakistan batting options but still needs to prove which he is failing to do. I hope when he gets the second chance he will burst out.         

 

Here are the few batting options which Pakistan team need to consider for WC-2015. 

Nasir Jamshed

Ahmed Shehzad

Asad Shafiq

Fawaad Alam

Umer Akmal

I am not seeing Misbah to play WC-2015 so does it mean we need to prepare a captain for Pakistan team for WC-2015?

Unfortunately there are other things out side cricket and batting which they and you know better than me. Pakistani players earn quite much but it looks a peanut in front of other world players earnings. Also Pakistani players are not treated in the same manner as the other players do in case of spot fixing. No, Cricket is being played in Pakistan since 2009.  I just hope that it is not the reason for Pakistan fragile batting line-up or else Cricket in Pakistan is in deep trouble.

Pakistan Vs Ireland: KJ O'Brien once again become a hero

Apart of two players and trophy look at the cloud

25 overs were bowled by spinners in which Saeed Ajmal bowled ten overs where as Malik and Hafeez bowled 6 and 9 overs respectively. Ehsan Adil was counted in the team as third fast bowling option who bowled 3 overs. I haven't seen Shoaib Malik bowling six overs on Indian pitches recently and this time he was asked to do that.

There is no doubt that Irish chase down very well. O'Brien once again become hero against Pakistan for Irish. He scored quick 84 runs and tie the match which was out of expectations.O for Irish.One thing to highlight is that Pakistan team rarely play in a condition where temperature is about 10 degree centigrade in Summer. This normally is the winter season in Sub Continent.

The conditions were worst for Cricket, too much interruption of rain spoil the match momentum. But the decision of hiring Saeed Ajmal for the last over was more worst than the weather. He was failed in the T-20 world Cup in West Indies in which Australia want 17 runs in the last over. Perhaps, Hussey was not present and the over bowled by Ajmal was not too bad, yesterday. He gave only two runs in his first three balls. But, KJ O'Brien was determined and he hit a six and a boundary in the remaining balls and tie the match. I believe Pakistan is the only team in the world who is bowling with a spinner in depth overs despite the presence of Ehasn Adil. Saeed Ajmal is really a gifted spinner with numerous qualities but its just the captain who demanded too much from him.

The good news from the match was Pakistan middle order didn't collapse and was steady in whole match. Asad Shafiq scored 84 runs which is currently the highest runs he has scored in an ODI match. Muhammad Hafeez was brilliant with the bat, He scored a responsible inning of 122* and helped Pakistan to place a total of 266. He was the only person in the match who scored highest runs and picked two wickets with an economy rate of 3.77. The other batters didn't impressed that much.

Pakistan will play one more ODI against Ireland and two warmup matches before Champions trophy. I think its good if Pakistan is getting tough opponents like Irish before the start of Champions trophy. As the group contains one of the teams which have one of the best ODI players in the world.

Will history repeat in IPL?

Can Rajasthan Royals do it again in IPL-2013? Photo from Dawn

After a responsible inning by Bradd Hodge, Rajasthan royals were able to cruise in to the Qualifier 2. There they will meet Mumbai Indians who have lost against the most successful team of IPL-Chennai Super Kings.

It was surprising to see Mumbai Indians losing the match against Super Kings since they win against them two times this season very easily. One of my friend tweeted,' All teams work hard to play CSK in to the finals'. So, there position is very much confirmed :P. 

Mumbai Indians still have the chance to qualify for the finals for the first time. For that, they have to win against Rajasthan Royals in tomorrow's Qualifying match no.2.  Rajasthan has made in to final in the very first IPL and won the IPL trophy at the very last ball. It's look like history will repeat in IPL. The captain of Rahul Dravid has clearly said that, ' All pressure on Mumbai Indians not on us'.

MILLION DOLLAR KID:

Mumbai bought the most expensive player in this season Glenn Maxwell. He has not performed the way Mumbai was expecting it from him to do in IPL. Let see if he will be considered in the match or not. Last year Ravinder Jadega was the most expensive player though CSK didn't win that year but he has become one of the influential player in CSK side with the ball. Specially he is use to break partnerships.

Dravid Eyes On IPL Trophy:

Rahul Dravid looked very confident after winning the match against one of the best bowling side of IPL Sun risers Hyderabad. Although Rajasthan Royals don't have players who play for India consistently. But, the foreign players are working very hard; Faulkner, Bradd Hodge and Watson specially giving their best.  His confidence looks very high and it looked as Rajasthan will win the tomorrow's fixture and reach to the final.

Will History Repeat:  

In IPL edition-1 the two final teams were Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. The way Rajasthan Royals playing and fighting with the pressure of spot fixing and banned on their players, it seems that they have get a chance to prove themselves and they will meet CSK in to the finals. Last time it was under the captaincy of Shane Warne who lead RR and win the IPL trophy for them. This time it is Dravid and the way he is talking in the press and media and his team is performing with such a confidence it seems they gonna win this title once again.

Best Pakistani Batting Performance in ICC Champions Trophy

No.3 Muhammad Yousuf

It was the same match in which Rana Naved-ul-hasn took four crucial wickets. Pakistan team was given a taget of  200 runs thanks to Dravid who batted well at number 5. The target was not big nor tough. But it was the India and Pakistan match which made it interesting. 

Pakistan team like wise India didn't get the good start but there was target to achieve in the mind of Pakistan camp. Pakistan lose three wickets under forty runs. After the wicket of Yasir Hameed, Pakistan most stylish batsman Muhammad Yousuf came to bat. 

It was a requirement of time that someone who could stay there on crease and absorbs India Pakistan pressure. Yousuf copy the script and Inzamam support him well. Later on Shahid Afridi played a cameo innings of 25 runs of 12 balls. Yousuf scored a not out innings of 81* and cruise Pakistan to three wickets win in the end. In his inning he scored five boundaries and one six on AjitAgarkar. Pakistan will play against India next month on the same ground in which Yousuf played a winning inning. This time there is no Yousuf, no Inzamam and no Shahid Afridi. Let see what happens.

No.2 Muhammad Yousuf:

Once again it's Muhammad Yousuf with same opponent India in ICC Champions trophy at Centurion. Pakistan team this time bat first and like wise they start losing quick wickets. Pakistan team were 65/3 when Muhammad Yousuf entered in the ground. The ground had good memories for batsman. It was the reqirement for Pakistan team to place a healthy total. Indian batting line-up who has chase the target of 274 on the same ground against Pakistan in World cup 2003 and having same key batsmans present in the line up. Tendulkar, Sehwag and Dravid. Muhammad Yousuf with Shoaib Malik played a wonderful knock of 87 and place Pakistan to a stable position. This was one of the best knock by a stylish batsman of cricket in ICC Champions trophy against rivalry India.

Surprisingly Rahul Dravid also played the best knock from India side of 76 but was in vain.

No.1 Shoaib Malik:

Talking about the match of ICC Champions trophy against India, how can we forget the Man of the Match Shoaib Malik. This boy more or less play well against India. He in that match played a match winning knock of 128 runs of 126 balls hitting 16 fours and no six. The surprising thing was no Pakistani batsman had hit a six in that match. It was highest 4th wicket partnership  from Pakistan side of 206.And which cruised Pakistan to a confident win of 54 runs. He is one of the batsman in the world who has batted at all the position. He is regarded as one of the best fielder and ODI player in Pakistani team. There will be an eye on his performance specially against India in Edgbaston next month in group matches.

This time we will see how Pakistan batsman will play in English conditions. Responsibility should be taken by Muhammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq and Nasir Jamshed. Pakistan team looks in-experienced in the absence of Younus Khan and Muhammad Yousuf. Let us see how ShoaibMalik perform especially against India.Also how Muhammad  Hafeez face Dale Steyn,against South Africa. Cheers   

Best Pakistani Bowling Performance in ICC Champions Trophy

No.3 Muhammad Aamer(3/24):

It was at Johannesburg West Indies won the toss and decided to bat first. Pakistani bowlers were enthusiast and highly determined to perform better since they won the T-20 world cup freshly. Muhammad Aamer picked his first wicket of the match in the last ball of his first over. After a while he took his second wicket of T.M Dowlin. He pitches the ball out side off and it was turn in sharply. West Indies top order was crumbled and they were only managed to score 133. At that time West Indies was playing with their weakest team of the history. Their was no Gayle, Pollard, Narine and Bravo. Let us see how Pakistan play against West Indies in group matches next month.

No.2 Shahid Khan Afridi(5/11):

Afridi in this match bowl with the speed more than the average speed of a medium fast bowler. Although Kenya lost only two wickets till 67 but after a while the curtains of Kenya batting fall down when Afridi came. In this match eight wickets were taken by the spinners. 5 by Afridi and 3 by Shoaib Malik. This is Shahid Khan Afridi's second best performance. Afridi wrecked the batting line up by his performance from his quick spinning bowling.  Shahid Afridi is the only Pakistani player who has taken five wickets in ICC Champions trophy.

No.1 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan(4/25):

One of the best bowling performance by Pakistani bowler in ICC Champions trophy against India. It was Pakistan vs India match at Edgbaston. Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-haq won the toss and chose to field first. The bowler proves the decision of the skipper and took early wickets. Soon whole Indian team was collapse. Naved steals the wicket of Sehwag and Laxman and India were 73/5. Then it was the 'Wall of India' Rahul Dravid who stood in front of Pakistan fast bowlers and played a resisting knock of 67. At once it looked that India will score 220+. But it was the day of Rana Naved he took the wicket of Rahul Dravid and restricted India on 200. Rana Naved took 4 wickets and give 25 runs.

This year ICC Champions trophy-2013 Pakistani bowlers have big roleto play. Pakistan team has got spinner who is right now best in theworld i.e 'Saeed Ajmal'. Pakistan team has got the tallest fast bowler  in the history of cricket 'Muhammad Irfan'. His performances will be closely watched by Cricket Gurus in thisyear ICC Champions trophy. Pakistan team has one of the best bowlers but the problem is the inexperienced  in the fast bowling lineup in the absence of Gul that can be a turning point.

Brian Lara hitted on the neck in ICC Champions Trophy 2004

It was 2004 ICC Champions trophy second semi final between Pakistan and West Indies at Rose Bowl, Southampton. Pakistan team won the toss and decided to bat first. They batted poorly and managed to put only a target of 131. Inzamam was the highest scorer from Pakistan side who scored 21. West Indies in reply come to bat and batted aggressively. Shoaib Akhtar in that match hardly delivers less then 85 mph. It was 14th over second delivery Lara was facing Rawalpindi Express and the bowl came to him like a bullet train and hit him brutally on his neck and he fell down immediately. Shoaib Akhtar runs towards Lara very early and for the moment every body were static. Even you will be if you see the below video.

 

Brian Lara took off from the field. It emerged later that as Lara had walked out to bat, Shoaib had greeted him with a cheery "I'm going to kill you." West Indies cruises to the final by winning it with 7 wickets in hand and won the champions trophy in the end. But Pakistan and West Indies will remember it more then a semifinal and Champions trophy. 

Saeed Anwar scored 194 on this day against India

It was Pepsi Independence Cup sixth match, Pakistan team won the toss and decided to bat first. No body knew that some one will break the previous record of Viv Richards unbeaten 189 against England at Old Trafford. It was baking heat of Chennai when Saeed Anwar was beating. In his inning of 194 in 144 balls he scored 22 fours and 5 sixes with the strike rate of 133.

A Supporting Hand:

In the present Shahid Khan Afridi is known as the striker of Pakistan Cricket team. He assisted Saeed Anwar by acting as a runner from 19th over to the end of his innings as Anwar was dehydrated. Many journalist believe that it was Shahid Afridi who is mainly responsible for this inning since it was a sweltering heat of Chennai and he did all the running work. But the journalist forget that it was India and Pakistan playing against each other and playing like that in such pressure is really meant to be an outstanding inning. Anwar himself said: "To beat India in India is something special. Only we know the pressure we were subjected to back at home after our loss at Bangalore in the World Cup."  Also in the same match Tendulkar assisted Rahul Dravid as a runner( for a short while). Dravid also scored a hundred in that match. 

Hatrick of Sixes:

Saeed Anwar hit three sixes in a row to Anil Kumble in this outstanding innings. According to Sachin Tendulkar: 'Saeed Anwar's 194 innings was the best I have ever seen.' Pakistan team scored 327 with the loss of five wickets. Anwar was caught at fine leg by Sourav Gangully in 47th over. In reply Indian team whose batting have always been strength scored 292 all out in 49.2 overs. Aaqib Javed took five wickets.  

"Saeed Anwar was awarded Man of the Match for his marvelous inning."

Venues of Champions Trophy

England will be organizing the last ICC Champions trophy. Champions Trophy will be played in three grounds of England; The Oval, Cardiff and Edgbaston. The stadiums has got the capacity of 14-25 thousand people. And it is also the attraction places of England.

The Oval:

The home of Surrey Cricket Academy and the second cricket ground to hold a international cricket test match. There is also another stadium with the name Kensington Oval in West Indies but this one is 'The Oval'. The pitch condition of this ground is not hard for batsman while the bowlers will get a swing. As you can see in the above table which shows that hard work will give good result. As the bowler picked 6 wickets in a match while a batsman score 141*. This shows its an ideal track to bat on. Pakistan team will play its two out of three games here against West Indies and South Africa. There is one good and bad memory attach with this ground. The good memory is the 240 runs by Zaheer Abbas in 1974 while the bad memory is of the fixing of 4th test match between Pakistan and England which was later cleared while England was called the winner. Pakistan pace bowler Umar Gul has the best ODI figure in this ground but he is not in the squad due to injury. The ground will host first semi final on 6/19/2013.

Sophia Gardens Cardiff:

This ground don't have rich history. This Ground host the first test match in 2009. The ground is the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. Its condition is primarily depend upon weather if weather is sunny then it will support batsman and if it is cloudy and moisture then it will support the bowlers. The ground will host the second semi final. Pakistan team has no group matches in this ground. In the past they have played two T-20's and have lost both of them due to poor batting.

Edgbaston:

 The crowd is no stranger to Asian teams specially Pakistan and India. Both of them will find huge support when they contest against each other in the ICC Champions trophy. The Ground is the home of Warwickshire county cricket club. The pitch don't give great support to fast bowler the spinner will find assist at this ground. Pakistan team will play their match against rivalry India which will be the biggest match of ICC champions trophy.  Also it will host the match between England vs Australia. The ground will also host the final of ICC Champions trophy which will going to take place at 6/23/2013.

Chennai vs Mumbai will be a mouthwatering match

This season Mumbai looks a much better team then of Chennai Super Kings. They have won quite comprehensively against Chennai in both the meeting. Chennai on the other hand is one of the most successful team in the last five season and this season too. They have won two IPL trophies, have come in to the finals four times and has played in qualifying round every season and this year too.

On paper Chennai and Mumbai both looks a balance team.Both have quality of local boys and good amount and quality of foreign players. Why I believe it will be a mouthwatering match between Mumbai and Chennai. Because of this..

The team which will lose will get second chance as they will jump down to Eliminator but both of them will try to win the match and jump to final. Match will take place on Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium Dehli- a neutral ground for both the teams. Chennai looks to be more experienced then Mumbai in the pressure matches. Chennai has been leading by one captain and that is Indian National team captain Mahender Singh Dhoni whereas MI was lead by Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Ponting and now Sharma. It will be a good contest to see between Sharma and Dhoni as if Sharma does well he can be consider as the future captain of Indian team. As Kholi and Gambhir has been technically good but they have other issues.May be there is a small probability of Ponting to lead in crucial matches who has tons of experience in crucial and pressure matches. But looks to me it has low chances since Rohit Sharma is doing pretty good. So let us see who does well ? Is it Chennai with its experienced captain or is it Mumbai Indians with its new captain?

Why Should Kallis play in ICC Champions Trophy?

Kallis is regarded as one of the best all rounders in the world of cricket. Averaging around 56 in test cricket being one of the highest and picked 288 wickets is totally a magnificent accomplishments altogether. He gives his hundred percent for whom he played whether it's for Royal Challengers Banglore, Kolkata Knight Riders or its national side South Africa. But the big news is he is not playing in the last ICC Champions trophy. Although he has decided to miss the ICC Champions trophy but here are the things he can achieve if he play in the last ICC Champions trophy.

Most Runs in ICC Champions trophy: 

At the moment its Chris Gayle who has scored 695 runs in ICC Champions trophy whereas Jacques Kallis scored 653 runs in ICC Champions trophy. Considering the form of Gayle in IPL it is difficult to say that Kallis may beat his record. Looks like it will be Chris Gayle who will keep that record with him.

Most Wickets in ICC Champions Trophy:

Murlitharan who has picked 24 wickets and is the leading wicket taker in CT-13. Kallis is way down at fourth and has picked 20 wickets. He could achieve this by taking only 5 more in ICC Champions trophy. Chris Gayle can also jump up to the top in this contest as he has picked 17 wickets in ICC Champions trophy. Lasith Malinga can achieve this feat as he has 15 wickets of this champions trophy in his pocket. Also his chances are much brighter than that of Gayle since he is a front pacer + conditions suits pace bowler + he has the ability to attack on new comer right from the first ball. So his chances look bright.Other fast bowler who can achieve this are Anderson(10) and Broad(10). Saeed Ajmal(8) has the best average in Champions trophy and also regarded as the best spinner in the world. May be a spinner replace a spinner. 

Most Matches in ICC Champions Trophy:

Currently it is Jayasuriya(20) who has played the most matches in Champions trophy. This record was most easy to break as Kallis need only 3 matches to equal the recod of Jayasuriya and if South Africa would qualified for the semi final in the presence of Kallis. This record will easily be achieved by Jayawardane(18).

Well these records doesn't matter much but it would make him the best player of ICC Champions trophy (biggest tournament after ODI World Cup) from bat and ball which is really an honor altogether.

ICC Champions Trophy-2013 Groups and Fixture

ICC Champions trophy is the most awaited event of this year. The exciting thing about it is that it will be the last champions trophy to be played and every one is excited that who will uplift this trophy. The ICC Champions trophy is starting from June-6-2013. Top eight teams of ICC rankings are participating in this mini world cup.

Before the start of this tournament some warm-up matches will be played. Since England and New Zealand are playing against each other in English conditions so they will not play any of them. According to the fixtures Srilanka will play three warm-up matches and South Africa will be playing only one warm-up match. The other teams Pakistan,India, West Indies and Australia will play two warm-up matches. Some of the warm-up matches will be telecast live on Sports channel.

The warmup matches will definitely give some sort of help to sub-continent teams as they struggle playing in English conditions. The exciting fixture will be the match of Pakistan vs South Africa. Because they will be playing against each other in the group matches. And recently they have played against each other so it will create a healthy contest between these two teams. Though South Africa looks more consistent then Pakistan in the past. But in big tournaments Pakistan team looked more confident then South Africans.

Teams are divided in two groups. Both Groups look balance. In Group A England can give tough time in their conditions where as the past record of New Zealand and Australia in Champions trophy is also very good. In Group B South Africa looks the strongest of all whereas India and Pakistan are considered to be one of the best ODI teams in the world. West Indies in the recent past has become one of the toughest competitor. They have got many individuals who have played eminent role in IPL for their team like Gayle, Pollar, Bravo, Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Dwayne Smith and all of them are in the team so they will give a tough competition to others. To me Group-B is the toughest under recent performances of the teams whereas Group-A looks toughest if we consider team performances in past champions trophies.

The first Group match will be played between India and South Africa in Cardiff on June/6/2013 wheras another Group B match will be played on the very next day. There is no gap in the group matches. The top two teams of both the group will reach in to semi finals which will be played in Oval and Sophia Gardens. The final of this last ICC Champions trophy will be played on June/23/2013 in Birmingham.

Tickets of Indian matches in ICC Champions Trophy are sold out completely

I just watch out in the ICC Champions trophy e-ticketing website and came to know that all tickets of India matches are sold out. The one of Pakistan Vs India took less then an hour to get completely sold. Other than that England Vs Australia is also completely booked, that was expected.

The matches whose tickets were completely sold out are:

It is also surprising to see that one of the semi final ticket is not completely sold out. The ticket for the semi final match ranges from 35-55 euros. Even the team hosting the champions trophy has only one match completely sold out and that is against rivalry Australia. It looks like India will finding a good amount of support in England more than England.

Prediction of IPL-6 Champion

Only four matches are left to decide who will be the champion in IPL-6. Last time it was Kolka Knight Riders who win their first IPL trophy. This year they are standing at seventh position in the IPL-6.

Mumbai and Chennai will get the second chance if they lose to one another in tomorrow's Qualifying Match where as no chance for Sun Risers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals if they lose in the match which is to be played day after tomorrow. Lets look at one of the teams.

Chennai Super Kings:

It is one of the most successful team in IPL. From start to present they have won two out of five tournaments of IPL. They have reach in to finals four times. They have won all the semi-finals up till now except the one against RCB in IPL-2. So there chances look much brighter than the other teams of IPL.  The two players of CSK are not too far to achieve Orange and Purple cap i.e Mike Hussey and Dwayne Bravo respectively.  M.S Dhoni didn;t played a heroic innings in this season up till now. According to the stats this teams looks to knock out all the other teams. But the time will tell! 

Players to watch: M.S Dhoni, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichander Ashwin and Ravinder Jadeja

Rajasthan Royals:

They were the champions of the first IPL  under the leadership of  Shane Warne. But after that they have never showed a blasting performance like that. Once again they have got the chance to prove them self as the best. They have got much changes from the start to now. Also the incident of spot fixing on their players have put a psychological pressure on them. It holds many difficulties for RR to win IPL-6. They have to win against the other three teams to lift the trophy.

Players to watch: Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Rahanne, Brad Hodge, Trivedi and Rahul Dravid

Sun-risers Hyderabad:

The city has won an IPL trophy in the past under a leadership of Adam Gilchrist. This time it is Cameron white with a new team-Sun Risers Hyderabad. Though it was Sangakarra in the start of IPL-6 who was given the duty but he was unable to deliver from his bat the required performance. They were regarded as the underdogs and have surprised all the other teams from their performances.  They have achieved more than what they have dreamed off in the start of the season of this year IPL.

Players to watch: Dale Steyn, Cameron white, Darren Sammy, Shikar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma and Parthiv Patel

Mumbai Indians:

Of all the above teams Mumbai Indians have never won an IPL in the past. Also they have never been in to the IPL's final. A promising team having one of the best local players. Also their middle order looks more stable then of the other. Currently Rohit Sharma is doing the captaincy and doing it pretty well with some good batting knocks. The duty of captaincy was first given to Ricky Ponting but he didn't deliver well from his bat. From the past stats this team looks pretty ordinary but their level of game in this year IPL looks at the top then the other remaining teams.

Players to watch: Lasith Malinga, Kieren Pollard, Johnson, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Harbajhan Singh and Pragyan Ojha

My pick out of the four is Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

Which team do you think will lift the trophy in this year IPL and become the champions?

Adam Gilchrist signed off from IPL in Gangnam Style

You have seen Gayle, Darren Sammy and other players doing various moves or performing Gangnam style. Yesterday, it was a former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist who was playing his last match of  IPL and astonished every one by picking first wicket in his very first ball in IPL.
Mumbai Indians who have won the toss and decided to give KXI Punjab batting. Gilly only scored 5 runs and it was unpleasant to see such a fine player ending his career by scoring only 5 in the last match. It is also notified that he has lead Deccan Charges in second edition of IPL and march them victorious in that edition.
Gilly's stats in IPL are:

The way Mumbai Indians middle order collapse it was pretty distinct that King's XI Punjab has full control on the match. But it was not an ideal end for a batsman like gilchrist. He has scored two hundred's in IPL, caught plenty of catches and scored eleven fifties. Also a trophy of IPL. What he doesn't achieved was a single wicket. Alas! he picked the wicket of Harbajhan Singh and signs off permanently from IPL in Gangnam Style. Gilchrist this year performance was not fill with wonderful knocks but his ability of producing performances from others were astonishing. His act of jubilance will always be remembered in IPL history.

 

Ricky Ponting: Will he be consider for Do or Die Matches?

Ricky Ponting who is not in the team 11 of Mumbai Indians currently but is in the news because of his french beard. His team is performing well in IPL and has qualified for the semi-finals in the IPL.

I am not sure to whom he is inspired off in the team as none of them has beard on their faces. Before his beard arrived he was in the news all around the world for his marvelous catch which he took against Dehli Daredevils. But his batting is not up to the standards of Gayle, Pollard, Warner and many of them.Other than him Mumbai Indians have got Kieren Pollard who is a wonderful fielder and a good late order batsman.

It seems like Mumbai Indians will not play with Ponting in do or die games though I am bit surprised why he was not given a chance in the last match against Kings XI Punjab. But who knows he may be chosen for those critical matches. His captaincy can be the edge factor for which he can be consider for this year IPL semis and if qualified for the finals also

He will not create any sort of disturbance like the way Gayle does but he will surely create some panic and shock the opposition  from his fielding and captaincy.



                                 

Pakistan Squad For ICC Champions Trophy 2013

Pakistan
Nasir Jamshed
Mohammad Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Kamran Akmal
Misbah-ul-Haq (c)
Shoaib Malik
Asad Shafiq
Saeed Ajmal
Junaid Khan
M. Irfan
Asad Ali
Wahab Riaz
Umer Amin
Abdul Rehman
Ehsan Adil 
Shahid Afridi, Umer Akmal and Younus Khan are not chosen for the ICC Champions trophy 2013. Many fans will definitely be dishearten from this decision specially the one of Afridi. But we have to belief in the fact that it is not the star power who will bring Champions trophy, its the over all team performance which do so. 


Bowlers are the key for the Champions Trophy:

Bowlers will definitely play a crucial role. In every match the performance of each bowler will matter more than the batsman. Considering the opening pair of Muhammad Irfan and Junaid Khan and in the middle overs Muhammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan bowling looks very competent. Apart of these bowlers there are other handy options for Pakistan like Ehsan Adil, Wahab Riaz, Asad Ali and Abdul Rehman who could support the crew. Against West Indies, Pakistan should go with two specialist spinners if conditions are not too good for fast bowlers. 

Bowlers need a bit support from Batsman:

Muhammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed are the pillars of Pakistan batting in this champions trophy. Also a complete charge is given to Asad Shafiq in the middle order who has got the talent to do so but needs to prove it. Chances are that Kamran will go one down in few matches rather than Asad Shafiq. Possiblity of Imran Farhat to play at number three. There is also Umer Amin who can play at lower middle order. He has improved himself a lot in past couple of months lets see how he performs if he get the charge. Shoaib Malik is one of those player who can turn the whole match in both the ways so he needs to work hard as far as his batting is concern. May be Misbah will ask him to bowl few overs also. Pakistan bowling has got full potential to restrict the opponents under 200. But Pakistan batting also need to support bowlers. If Pakistan bowler fails to restrict the opponent under 250 it becomes very much difficult for batsman to chase it which can be the problem against India and South Africa. May be also West Indies because the way Gayle,Pollard, Smith and Bravo are playing in IPL they can give tough time to Pakistan bowling line-up.