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.

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."

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?

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?

Australian Batsman Dancing Down on Chennai Pitch

Cowan tripped by Ashwin

Clarke towards his Century By dancing down the pitch

On a reddish Chennai Pitch at about 30 degree Celsius, Australian batsman were dancing down the pitch. And the best was done by Micheal Clark. He scored a brilliant hundred today against India and scoring more than 7000 runs in his test career. Cowan was the first man to go and then Australia lost quick wickets today. Although Harbhajan Singh was playing his 100th test match but the star of the day from Indian side was Ashwin picking up six wickets and giving India there first break through. Australia Captain in reply played a confident innings of 103 and is still on crease. He was given a strong support by MC Henriques who scored a valuable 68 runs. Great effort by a bowler. Fast bowlers were remain wicket less today and were expensive. Australia in the end make the day for them self by scoring 316/7. The most used technique by batsman from Australia was to play spinners on the front foot. Cowan tries to play Ashwin on front foot but was stumped by MS Dhoni. On the other hand Mikey played some sweet shots and make sure spinners to remain unsettled by coming on front foot. He dances down the wicket to get his century. His foot work was really a lesson for other Australian batsman for the remaining series. The first day belongs to Ashwin for his good spin bowling and Michael Clarke for his wonderful footwork and dancing down the pitch.

Pakistan ICC test ranking is in danger

Pakistan had a wonderful cricket season last year in test cricket. They only lost a single test match out of six. This year Pakistan currently lost 2/2 against a top quality side-SA. Now, if they also lose the last one against SA starting tomorrow then Pakistan ICC test ranking may be in danger. They will jump from fourth position to fifth. However no worries for SA if they lose against Pakistan they will remain number one.

Also the worry part for Pakistan team is there position may be effected if India win against Australia. The series will be also starting from tomorrow, and it will be a four test match series. And if suppose Australia win the test match then England's Position might be in danger. So the rivals are indirectly competing against each other for the position in ICC test ranking.

South Africa will earn the prize money of $450,000 for holding and securing top position in ICC test ranking. While the remaining three position depends upon the result of Australia vs India and also the last test match of  Pak Vs SA. The nation that claims second position in ICC test ranking at the cut-off date(April 1, 2013) will pick up $350,000, while the team finishing third will collect $250,000 and fourth takes home $150,000.

Sachin Tendulkar crosses 25000 runs mark

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar just few days ago crosses the mark of 25000 runs in domestic cricket. He achieved this mark by scoring a confident knock of 140* against Rest Of India. Although Mumbai lost the match but this was one of the good moment out of the match for Mumbai.

He is not the first batsman to achieve this landmark like what he does in the international arena but still a magnificent achievement of his high profile career. He has scored 81 centuries in domestic cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar was looking out of touch against England series and in the mean time he has announce his retirement from ODI format. He came back to domestic cricket and now he looks phenomenal. His inning against ROI was a superb knock.

His knock is an alarming sign for Aussie bowlers as he hardly gave the chance to bowler to get over him. And in the conditions of India it will be a difficult task for the Aussie bowlers to do the same as they were doing against West Indians in their home ground.    

Well the time will tell how will Tendulkar Perform against Australia?

Khan, Kumar and Kulasekara Unplayable From New Ball

Bowling requires a great physical effort and it needs a lot of fitness. But it is not enough to pick wickets. It is also not necessary that a bowler should have some devilish looks to under pressed the batsman . Khan, Kumar and Kulasekra don't look so horrible at all.

Khan, Kumar and Kulasekra

However they are the ones who have been well aware of their strengths i.e bowling sharp in-swingers to right hand batsman. Also they can bowl the other one pretty well. Perhaps, they are not as fast as those who bowl with them from the other end- Irfan, Malinga and Sharma. But they make sure that the batsman may find himself helpless against them. They have really make the life of batsman completely horrible when they come out to face them. Whether, it is Nasir Jamshed who scored two centuries against India recently, was forced to avoid playing B. Kumar as he picked him on the first ball in a T-20 match. Also he is more known in Indian team of picking Tendulkar on duck in domestic match.Also, Indian team whose well known top order collapsed by brilliant bowling of Junaid Khan. And today, N. Kulasekara who pick up fifer against Australian and restrict them on 74. Thanks to Aussie tail as they resist a bit to score more than 70 which is their previous lowest total in an ODI.

The three of them become pretty difficult to read from the new ball. As they bowl in and out with out changing anything in their action which may assist the batsman to play them. N. Kulasekra is not any new entry in Srilankan line-up like the other two, he has been bowling splendid well since couple of years for Srilankans. His disciplinary bowling is an extra advantage which you may not found in the other two. And that is because he is an experienced campaigner. But that is for sure they both will learn quickly as the time passes.

Also on the other hand you can't forget there partners which look deadly from their stances. Malinga's hair and slingy action, Sharma's hair (it may some times give him problem more than others) and his good height. lastly but the latest, extra ordinary height and bowls consistently with 140+ kph bowler- Muhammad Irfan. They definitely support them from the other end. Perhaps, sometime more than that. But in Test Cricket format we will find that Khan, Kumar and Kulasekra (he is doing that) supporting others from their discipline which is the key of bowling in test cricket.

Pakistan Win The Series With third ODI Left

Dhoni should be drop from captaincy.... What the hell Kholi is doing? Jadega is just a million dollar lost? And bla bla bla... But no one says that Pakistan team played better. Playing in Eden Garden in front of huge support of Indian crowd by two openers and creating a partnership of 141, don't you think that's an extra ordinary effort from Pakistani openers. Muhammad Hafeez, well he is turning out to be a great asset in all formats for Pakistan. He is performing in T-20's, ODI's as well in test matches. He is really keeping himself on the top of the performing chart. Another fine knock of Nasir Jamshed, he is turning out to be a lethal weapon against India. He has scored three consecutive centuries in the last three meetings of Pakistan against India in ODI's. Both of them provide a solid start but as the wicket of Hafeez fall Pakistan team unable to go with the run-rate of six and they in the end manage to score of 250. Younus Khan was given out which was big blunder by umpire-VA Kulkarni. Indian team looks pretty solid on paper but Pakistani bowlers were on fire as they have put India for 102/6 in the first ODI and this time they did the same they create such a phenomenal pressure that they were once again 103/6. And the total of 250 was looking 350 for them. Dhoni who wants some one to come out and support him but he was loosing partners. Raina tried to give him some support but he was unable to do that and was stumped thanks to Kamran Akmal. Indian team all out if 165. Ishant Sharma should be given credit as he tries his level best to defend yorkers. Dhoni once again un-castled in the series up till now.
A question is raised in Indian media that if he(Dhoni) has such a great average than why he plays at 7. He should come at 3 or 4. But another question arise is what is India's best batsman Virat is doing at 3. He has scored more than thousand runs last year. He should take the charge. Some one says that it was because that the matches India has played in last year were in the friendly condition and that's why he scored. But still the way he has played in Australia against Srilanka was superb. Also against Pakistan in Asia Cup in which Jamshed scored a ton and his ton was in vain. Indian is running short in the bowling line-up that's for sure but in Eden garden it was a fine effort by the bowlers so this time there batsman should perform but unfortunately for India that doesn't happen. For Misbah and his team it will be a great booster before they will play against South Africa in their home. But one more thing they should keep in mind is Indian team is in their worst time period. There top quality bowlers are injured like ZAK, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar.... and so on. So the bowling line up was very easy as it was only Ishant who was bowling Pakistan second time. Dinda and B. Kumar were new against Pakistan. Also Indians have lost Tendulkar from their batting line-up, although he was also not in his best form but he will always be a pressure for Pakistan team. So Indian team looks pretty an ordinary team. On the other hand Pakistan they were playing with a set and gelled team. Younus Khan's experience was really helpful for all the Pakistan players as he has played one of the brilliant innings of his career in India. But when it comes to South Africa it will not be as easy as they have to beat world's best team also the way their bowlers are thrashing New-Zealand team it will not be as easy for Pakistan team to play against them in their home condition as of Indian condition. 

Still third ODI left between the two rivals and the series will be end. PCB and BCCI is planning to have a series like Ashes in future under the name of Gandhi-Jinnah Cup (The leaders of both the nation) in alternate years. Let see how they will come out with such a plan as they have a very long event like IPL going every year. Mean while Pakistan leading the series 2-0 with third ODI left. 
Congratulations to Pakistan they have won their first match of this year. Also they won the first and last match of the previous year.

Chacha of Pakistan Cricket Not in Indian Series

Today Pakistan cricket team won a match quite satisfyingly without any big resistance from Indian bowling line-up. Nasir put a second consecutive ton against India and Junaid Khan who setup Pakistan on a winning track by cracking the top batting order of Indian team.But what was missing from Pakistan's side? The thing which was missing is the old man holding a Pakistan's flag and cheering up for Pakistan Cricket team.It is the appreciation which is completely missed in Indo-Pak Cricket for Pakistan. Appreciation works a lot for a person playing; he gets a moral booster from a distance of around 80 to 100 metres from a old boy.

Chacha Of Pakistan Cricket

   There is also another cheering guy with a big mustache who supported Pakistan many times when Pakistan played in Dubai. He is also getting popular. But there is not only about these two person more than that there are too few people in the crowd who supports Pakistan. Even in T-20 matches there was blue every where in the audience. Perhaps there is a problem of sponsorships given to them. May be there is no one to sponsor him this time unfortunately at the stage where he is very much required. 

Well the series will be ended in the next week and his absence will be missed in the series by Pakistan cricketers.

Pak Vs India Second T20 Match Report

Another great T20 match between Pakistan and India. This time it was India who were the winning team and level the series 1-1.

The match was played in Ahmadabad; many Gujarati's attended as many dwell there. Pakistan team won the toss and elected to field first. The match started in evening and Indian this time workout on their plans. They started decently kept their cool. They don't went for the partnership they just tickle the score board with the run-rate of 7 and half. Then they both were unable to hit biggies and lost wickets. Rahaane 28 of 26 and Gambhir 21 of 11. Virat Kholi came alongside Yuvraj Singh, both have got plenty overs to bat on but Kholi was run out of a fine throw of Saeed Ajmal from backward short leg. Muhammad Irfan bowled his last over in the mid of an inning and he bowls Yuvraj Singh a good yorker which hits him on his toe. May be that was a wake-up call for him and actually that happens. He pulled 7 huge sixes of which 6 went on deep mid wicket. Thanks to Pakistani bowlers who bowls him on his stronger area. He was supported well by Dhoni who scored 33 of 23 balls. India put on a huge score considering a weak batting line up of Pakistan of 193.
Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers who pick 4 wickets on a slow track. Muhammad Irfan was economical although he didn't pick any wicket but only give 20 runs in his four over spell.

It was like Pakistan team is out of the match as they have never chase such a huge total in T-20 plus the batting of Pakistan put themselves in deep trouble in first T-20 Match. But it was a splendid start by the openers. They provided a decent start and made handsome partnership of 74 in 59 balls. Then the Professor came he played a good knock of 55 of just 26 balls which was the demand of the match. Umar Akmal once again unavailable for the depth overs and he throws his wicket. He scored 24 of 17 having one six and a boundary. Afridi once again failed to stand on the wish of Pakistan's crowd he scored 5 of 11 balls. The target was such a huge that Pakistan required 20 runs in the last 6 balls. Perhaps Pakistan could achieve that if they may have a set batsman but they were running out of wickets. And in last India won comfortably by 11 runs. Dinda picks 3 wickets who was pick of the bowlers as he pick Akmal Brothers and Hafeez who could be dangerous in the last over of the match. Shoaib Malik was there to address but since he was new on the crease so he may find himself unable to play huge hits which were the requirements.

Cricket Extra:

*Yuvraj 72 off 36 balls was splendor which helped India alot in scoring a biggie. He was the Man of the Match.

*Muhammad Hafeez 55 of 26 ball. Although it was in vain but in a series that is a danger sign for the opponents for the upcoming one day series starting from Sunday.

*Will Muhammad Irfan be considered for ODI series against India?

*Virender Sehwag will be the part of ODI series. He will be treat to watch against Pakistan. Pakistan team will be joine by experienced players like Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in the batting order.

*Pakistan team will be a different team under a different captain against India in ODI series.

*Will Zulfiquar Babar do his debut against India? Perhaps he should be in team 11 in the second T-20 match. As there was nothing for fast bowlers though the leading wicket takers from both the sides were fast bowlers. 

*May be we will find two specialist spinners in ODI's. Mishra and Aswin from India, Babar and Ajmal for Pakistan.

                                                          

                                                       Summary of the Series 

	Pakistan	India
Highest Scorer	Muhammad Hafeez 110(61,55)	AM Rahanne 82(10,72)
Highest Wicket taker	Umar Gul 7(3,4)	B Kumar 4(3,1) A Dinda  4(1,3)
Number of Sixes	12  (5,7)	10(3,7)
Number of Fours	29(9,20)	27(10,17)
Number of Dot balls	93(57,36)	88(45,33)
Best Bowling Figure	Umar Gul (4-37)	B Kumar (3-9)
Best Batting Figure	Muhammad Hafeez 61	Yuvraj Singh 72
Power Play	22/3, 54/0	37/0, 48/1
Highest Partnership	100 runs in 80 balls Shoaib Malik & Muhammad Hafeez	77 runs in 65 balls AK Rahanne & Gautam Ghambir
Man of the Match	Muhammad Hafeez (1st T-20)	Yuvraj Singh (2nd T-20)
Man of the Series	Muhammad Hafeez

Best of Luck for the ODI's to India and Pakistan.