Monday, January 22, 2007

It's Cricket Again !

When I said I was happy to see Virender Sehwag out of the team, I was not wrong. Today I enjoyed the 1st ODI between West-Indies and India and not even once I missed Sehwag.

All of them … Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin, Dhoni and Dravid kept the score card moving by playing brilliant shots (Sachin’s strike rate of 81.57% being the lowest of the lot) and as per the commentator, today’s score 338 for 3 was India’s highest against West-Indies.

It was a great comeback for Ganguly (unfortunate run out at 98) but here, I would like to mention Gambhir’s effort. He made excellent 69 runs at a strike rate of 92%. If he continues like this then there is very little chance of Sehwag making a re-entry. Gambhir has talent and any day a better fielder than Sehwag. He confidently played shots and it was a delight to watch two left-handers in action. The first over itself produced 16 runs. Only one thing disappointed me about Gambhir ... his ‘laddu’ catch to Samuels on the bowling of Chris Gayle.

Something about Dhoni. Today also, his number of sixes overshot his fours. Like Sehwag he is a powerful player and likes to send the ball across the boundary. But one added advantage to Dhoni is his defensive shots. Yes, at times when the team needs to retain wickets, this young lad from Jharkhand has shown his capabilities as a defensive player very unlike Sehwag who would have touched a ball outside the off stump in a suicidal manner.
Dravid again played good shots (strike rate 154%) including a four off a yorker, which to me is a very difficult task. Dwayne Smith tried a similar shot off Agrakar’s bowling but was clean bowled. Both Dhoni and Dravid made 30 runs in 2 overs and in the last 5 overs they collected as many as 70 runs.

So, today both the umpires Suresh Shastri and Billy Bowden (I like watching him signaling for a six) :)) had to do a lot of hands up (total 16 sixes). Also, poor Suresh Shastri kept falling down ‘Dhammm’ on the ground.
Today was not Sreesanth’s day though he took a wicket and ran Bradshaw out on his own bowling. Sreesanth is a bowler with aggression, confidence, passion and a different attitude. At least 25 times I must have seen his on the field dance after hitting Nel for a six. When other bowlers cut their shoes at the front, he has different sized shoes for both his feet and for a very valid reason.

Lara had started playing a big game but intelligent bowling by Sachin saw Brian Lara stumped out. Lara had come out of the crease to hit the ball, seeing this Sachin bowled at a wider angle which Lara couldn’t even touch and so was stumped.
Man of the match was Chandrapaul for his excellent 149 runs. Have you ever noticed the stickers below his eyes ? Oh he earns through those eye catching stickers. They have become so much a part of his personality that I think I’ll have difficulty in recognizing him if he comes without them. :))

Current song- Chandni re jhoom – Kishore

21 comments:

Keshi said...

Cuckoo ur a true cricket babe...wow!

Keshi.

Sigma said...

Cricket on Monday morning ! Wow !!
This time I should certainly get the proze for being the early bird :-D

Prashanth M said...

It was a total team effort.. Good to see Gangs back with a bang...

But there is a saying in Kannada which goes like this - Tiger inside the house and a mouse on the road - say state os of our Indian team. in SA or WI its 5-0 loss. and at home its 4-0 or 3-1 win :)!!

Cuckoo said...

Keshi,
Oh yeah, that I am. ;)

Sigma,
Congrats !!! You did manage this time. :D

Alok,
Very Good afternoon. :)
Oh yes, it was good but the margin was just 14 runs. And we’ll have to maintain the same spirit till at least World Cup which is not very far now.

Prashanth,
It was good to see the team effort.
there is a saying in Kannada which goes like this - Tiger inside the house and a mouse on the road… Is it ? There is equivalent one in Hindi as well. LOLL your profile picture scares me off :P

Sunil Parashar said...

Oh!! Cricket again!!:)

Oneis very enthusiastic about Cricket..:).
But you know I never watch this game. :(

Aditi said...

I was unable to watch the match... our cable isnt up and running yet
#$@T%#%%

Cuckoo said...

Sunil,
Oh yes, cricket again ! I am aware of your ignorance :P

Aditi,
Awwww !! Hope it is up by 24th, next match.

Leziblogger said...

Who wouldn't like to talk about cricket?

Well, I didn't see the match but yeah, feels good that we've won, though narrowly!

Two things from me:

1. Rarely one sees such innings from Dravid, eh?

2. Chanderpaul's stickers are probably as noteworthy as his stance. Very surprised to see someone standing so 'tedha' scoring so many runs! The way he stands reminds me of some of the rickshawallas who also sit 'tedha' while driving!

Mridula said...

I hope the form will continue, I remeber too many slides after initial good performances. But I should try not to be cynical. This was a good game.

Cuckoo said...

Leziblogger,
First things first, I'll call you Lazy.. a short and sweet name. :) Or you suggest a short name.
Yes, the win was narrow. That means we have a tough time ahead. It is good in a way.

Rarely one sees such innings from Dravid, eh?.. Agreed. But he has changed a lot if you compare any of his innings of pre 2000 era.
Chanderpaul ?? Ha Ha..

Mridula,
I agree. :)

Sugarlips said...

Me sad birdie cuz I didn't
buy the series :( its so damn expensive...I think I'll be enjoying
highlights later on :( until then your blog is the buoy will save me :)

Stay Beautiful...!!

Expression ! said...

Nice analysis Cuckoo.But unfortunately I am not a big fan of Cricket!

Cuckoo said...

SugarLips,
Ha Ha... you are most welcome. Thanks for dropping by.

Sharda,
Yes, I am aware of that. But I am. :))
Thanks for dropping by.

All Is Whole said...

From your comments i would say:
"Defintely a Tea Drinker" ;-)

Go0d explanation.

Cuckoo said...

Prashant,
Thank you. Make your visits more frequent na.

"Chai Piyo Mast Jiyo !!" ;)

Prax said...

A little bird came and told me, somewhere in the blog world.. there is a Mandira in the making... :-)

SiD said...

U were the lucky one to have seen the match.. i was just 'reading' the match on cricbuzz and shouting(and abusing cable wala) on reading SIX a number of times during last 4 -5 overs!!!
the fact that dravid had more strike rate than dhoni says something about the skipper... he can hit and hot hard when reqd...
just nit picking on ur post...i don't think the % is used while mentioning strike rate!!

Anonymous said...

You got it! now let's see how they do tomorrow. A good opening pair is must for world cup and hope 2G give us that pair.

I see you wrote that poem in hindi in previous post.

Cuckoo said...

PM,
The little bird was a little wrong. Mandira doesn't know cricket, she's a showpiece out there.
Cuckoo birdie is much better than her in all departments. :)

SiD,
Awwww, that's sad. Hope it will be ok for today's match.
About Dravid ? Yes, he has changed a lot from what he was a few years back.

i don't think the % is used while mentioning strike rate!!.. Nice observation. Well, in some places I had typed with % so to bring in similarity I did for all !
See this. (batting) a percentage equal to the number of runs scored by a batsman divided by the number of balls faced.
I think we can use it. Waise, SiD ji aap Bhawnao ko Samjho. :P

Tarun,
Yes, I agree with you.

I see you wrote that poem in hindi in previous post.. All thanks to you for giving me the site. :)

Prax said...

not that i follow cricket as much as you do, but this joke is a good one which came during the world cup days...
Charu: So India has to chase 269. What do you think Mandira, Will India win?
Mandira: Oh yes we will win, we will win by more than 25 runs!!!

Leziblogger said...

You can call me whatever is ok with you! Like Kalidasa once said ' What is there in a name?' (Yeah, it's a PJ, I know!!)