Yet another disappointing tournament from the Proteas

As Morne Morkel holed out to Jamie How at long-off, a piece of every Protea supporters hearts died. 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, and now 2011 and still no trophy. Despite new players being recruited into the South African XV from the 2007 format, South Africa could still not prevent an quarter-final elimination to the lowly New Zealand.
To me, with the wealth of support and advice being spurred onto the players, it was almost improbably that the Proteas would choke in yet another World Cup. The (now former) skipper Graeme Smith, key to scorching starts for the Green and Gold, looked scratchy and never capitalized on a twenty or thirty while the veteran Jacques Kallis showed his age averaging a mere 32 in the tournament. AB de Villiers showed his worth as being labled as one of the best one-day batsman on the international stage scoring centuries against West Indies and the Netherlands but will sadly be best remembered for running out South Africa from the World Cup in the quarter-final against New Zealand.

On the bowling front, nothing was to be complained about with every bowler playing their part with perhaps an exception for Johan Botha.

Overall, it was yet another combination of panic and unintelligent cricket when it mattered for the Proteas and with Gary Kirsten – the Indian World Cup winning coach – unlikely to take over the coaching role, SA will have to resort to basics and import youth to the set-up. Players like Rilee Rossouw, Robert Frylinck, Dane Vilas, and others have all proved their worth at domestic level and shouldn’t be kept out for has-beens such as Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.

Jonathan Amler for DieHard Cricket Fans

Why do I love IPL ?

IPL-4 is here, opening on a Friday; on a day most of the movies are released in India and elsewhere.

IPL has a lot in common with movies in India. Cricket and Cinema go together like Viv Richards and Nina Gupta. Howsoever far apart they might be, they do make strangely great bed-fellows. And IPL, is the Masaba of this relation ! A cross breed, yet beautiful and highly successful at a very young age.

Masaba...aah !

A lot of people, Purists, Poms and pushy Aussies have denounced IPL as ‘Not Cricket’.

Michel Holding, one of my childhood favorites declared, “T-20 is not Cricket and Keiron Pollard is not a Cricketer”.

Those who have not got a bite in, blame IPL for ‘Crass Commercialization’ of the ‘Once Beautiful’ game.

Pakistani Cricketers declare they don’t care about IPL and then secretly curse Ijaz Butt.

BCCI declares IPL as clean because they have rid IPL of the corrupting influence of evil Lalit Modi.

But let people heap abuses and denigrate IPL. Let them damn it. Let them condemn it. Let them do anything except ‘ban’ it. That is something nobody will do. Thankfully, because IPL is a ‘Goose that lays Platinum Eggs’. Gold is passe !

It is simple. I love IPL. I always like to give 5 reasons for anything and everything. But when it comes to IPL, I have so many reasons to love IPL, I might run out of space on the web. So I will stick to 11; one each for every team and one for Lalit Modi.

I Love IPL because…

1] I can sleep tight on the previous night of IPL Final. I couldn’t on 1 April 2011 night.

2] Whoever wins the IPL Final, I can celebrate. An Indian team will be winning. If it is Delhi, happy for Viru. If KKR wins, great because Pathan is there. If Mumbai Indians win, Thank You Sachin.

3] My wife and daughter cope up with shorter matches. They thought I was on another planet during the entire World Cup campaign.

4] My temper remains fine even in the worst of situations during IPL. Ashish Nehra can’t ruffle me and I adore Munaf Patel. Piyush Chawla is such a wonderful prodigy after all. And Rahul Dravid can’t draw a match.

5] I don’t have to worry about Sachin’s 100th International Century and then his 50th ODI Century and then his 102 Century and then his 19000 runs in ODIs and 15000 runs in Test Cricket and so on…

6] 92 runs needed of 60 balls doesn’t send my heart rate soaring to 184 in 60 seconds. It remains down, almost like Munaf Patel’s speed. Nothing can change it.

7] Nobody will dare to drop Yusuf Pathan to accommodate Nohit Sharma / Ravindra Jadeja in the team.

8] Ravindra Jadeja can’t lose a match for India, howsoever hard he might try.

9] Suresh Raina will not be bothered by short pitched bowling.

10] Shane Warne can continue to play; perhaps till we celebrate the Silver Jubilee of IPL.

11] And most importantly, Billy Bowden can’t beat India !

And one for the Glamor !

How can we ignore the Glamor quotient ? How can we ignore Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and her sister, SRK, Deepkia and her latest boyfriend and Kingfisher ? And of course the parties and Page-3 crowd and Fake IPL Player ? IPL is GLICKET [Glamor + Cricket]

Hail IPL; the greatest show on Earth !

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans

The Cup Runneth Over

Howzaaat!!!
It’s been 2 days since India lifted the holy grail of cricket, but I’m pretty sure the celebrations are still very much in full swing – as they should be. In fact…I won’t be surprised if India’s population increases by 10%…9 months from now 
After the Proteas’ hiccup at yet another knockout stage, most South Africans were tempted to “switch off” from the World Cup. However, the past month and a bit has definitely restored the 50 over game to its former glory – with India’s spirit, fight and passion leading the charge.

As South Africans we appreciate these attributes and as such, quite a few of us jumped on the Indian bandwagon. In addition, for the couple of months that they were here, we could sense Gary Kirsten was nurturing the goose that would (eventually) lay the golden egg.

It’s for these very reasons that I was so (constructively) critical of India’s performances during the group stage. While I obviously wanted the Proteas to “exorcise their demons”…India’s threat, however, was like that annoying fly which always seems to just bother you in a room full of people.

Sri Lanka’s efforts should not go unnoticed though. As always they played their unique brand of cricket…with their unique brand of players and in Kumar Sangakarra, they have one of the most distinguished cricketers the game has ever seen.

As for the other teams, well let’s see…

• Australia were present, but somehow…they left their “aura of invincibility” back in 2007. Ponting managed to end off the tournament with a bang, but sadly one still feels his best days are behind him. In addition, Australian cricket in general is in a decline and for the benefit of the game, let’s hope this doesn’t continue for too long.

• Pakistan, as always…confused us all with their form during the group stage, but managed to fix this when it mattered most i.e. knockouts. Afridi’s bowling and captaincy was awesome, however, he still bats as if though it’s taboo to receive a dot ball or hitting it along the ground.

• England provided us with the most entertainment, but in the end…even a clown loses energy at the circus. Apart from a quarterfinal thumping at the hands of Sri Lanka, every other game was like one box office hit after the other. Throughout all of this though, Strauss’ prudent captaincy came to the fore and I must admit…I’ve got a new found respect for the guy.

• New Zealand…mmm…they kicked out South Africa, so I really don’t want to praise them, but it has to be said…they’re indeed the “street fighters” of world cricket. They’ll always be the underdogs (except for when they’re playing minnows) and they’re quite comfortable with this label. The way they make the best of the abilities & talent at their disposal is admirable.

• West Indies as I’ve said before are progressively declining. Without Gayle & the Bravo brothers…they’re just as useful as a Japanese holiday voucher. I don’t know what’s more depressing…watching them play or knowing that West Indies cricket is indeed…dead.

• Lastly we have the “minnows”…Ireland and Bangladesh had exciting wins over England and together with (maybe) Zimbabwe…are probably the best of the lot (worse), while Netherlands once again proved Ryan ten Doeschate stands out like an all English-born cricket team. Kenya had a better chance sending their long distance runners, while Canada fielded a world eleven…with disappointing results.

In conclusion…it was an awesome World Cup, which provided us with memorable moments, but also gave us the last opportunity to see the greats of the game in action…Lee, Ponting, Muralitharan, Kallis and of course, his highness…Tendulkar!

So…thanks for supporting and commenting on my blogs during the World Cup and I’ll continue to (hopefully) entertain you all going forward, after all….it’s IPL season 

Sharief ‘Sheriff’ Allie for DieHard Cricket Fans

The Doppelgangers – Part I

Malinga and Naththa (Character of Bollywood Film 'Peepli Live')

Cook and Kaka

Mahi Way: Rear-view Vision of a Victorious Journey !

Feels like it was a dream and then feels like it has come true. No need to pinch oneself.
That six was as Dhoni as Dhoni ever was.

Ever since Praveen ‘Pehelwan’ Kumar got injured and India went in with Piyush, Sreesanth, Munaf and Nehra, I have been vocal in my criticism of selection and the way Team India played. I never gave them a chance of winning actually till the last 2 overs.
Spare a thought for me and many like me. Why did I do what I did ? Very simple. I have said it before. My love, admiration and adulation for Team India is boundless. It is just that it hurts badly when they lose. Even though they have won more often than not in recent years, it still hurts when they lose. Especially so if that happens in the Finals. And India had lost 7 out of the 9 Finals they have played against Sri Lanka before this one.

So if you keep criticizing and finding faults, you have better chances of absorbing the shock of a defeat. And a Win will be that much sweeter. So for all those negatives I spewed about Dhoni and his Blue Blooded Brethren, I am not going to eat crow because I am a vegetarian.

I loved them after they lost 2003 World Cup Finals. I defended them after those two T-20 World Cup disasters. I almost assassinated Greg Chappell after the 2007 World Cup first round exit. And today, I am ecstatic and over the Moon like all fellow Indians.

Turning back, let us take a look at some interesting subplots through the journey that was.

The Journey that was
For India, the journey began with ‘Taming the Bengal Tiger’ at Mirpur. On the way they scratched past the minnows, tied the Poms and stumbled but once against Springboks. Then they regrouped to knock the Kangaroos out. There came the Mother of all matches and the arch enemy was vanquished at Mohali. The road show came to a grand finale in Mumbai where they signed off “Slaying the Lions” !

Current Affairs
Dean Jones said, “Dhoni is dreaming if he thinks India can win”. Border thought Sri Lanka will be too strong for India and Steve Waugh rated Sri Lanka as favorites. Mark Taylor declared after India’s win against Pakistan that Pakistan had better chances of beating Sri Lanka but India would be easy meat for the Lankan Lions. Only Ricky Ponting declared after his team’s quarterfinal debacle that India will not only beat Pakistan in Semifinals but will also go onto win the World Cup. It was 4 former Australian Stars vs 1 Current Captain.
Moral of the Story: Current Opinion matters because you’ve seen the balls on ground, not on LCD TV !

Toss ka Boss : Caught Cheating ?

Sanga: Tails I Win, Heads I win Too !

Sanga perhaps cheated,
Pushpakumara bleated.
All the others Tweeted,
And Dhoni just Batted !
Okay, You take the Toss,
That’ll be the only Loss,
For me, nothing is gross.
In the end, I am the Boss !

And the Spirit of Cricket literally went for a ‘Toss’ once again in an India – Sri Lanka match after la affaire Randiv !

Sehwagging: 175 – 0 in Six weeks
Viru ‘Revenge’ Sehwag started the proceedings with such a flourish against Bangladesh that all our middle order batsmen became complacent. His 175 curtain raiser spoiled them and there were too many collapses. So Viru decided enough is enough and went downhill. He creamed Gul in the semi-final before Riaz fixed him and Indian batting crippled after that. So Viru opened with a ‘duck’ in the Finals and Gautam and Mahi came to party !

Awful Taufel
This man must be rated the best Umpire of all times. In an era when the job is coming under increasing scrutiny, this man stands ‘tall and handsome’. He had 11 Challenges against his on field calls. 10 were correct and the eleventh was inconclusive. The benefit of doubt always goes to batsmen. Not very fair ! Aleem Dar too was fabulous.

Day of Poonam Pandey
India did win. We all know that and Rajnikant has confirmed that what we saw on Saturday actually was a full length highlight of the match he watched on Friday the First of April. So where is Poonam Pandey ? We are waiting for the date and the day !

Best Team need not Win
South Africa by far were the best team this time around. They had the fabulous top-4 and Duminy at 5 and a cool Du Plessis. Their fielding has always been class act. Nothing special about it. Most importantly they had the finest variety of bowling attack. Two world class quickies. One classic leg spinner. One nice left arm spinner and then Botha. How on earth can one team be so unlucky in knock out stages ?

The Series of the Man
Thousands of short messages and emails did the rounds questioning his fitness, flair and form. Runs were hard to come. In spite of making fun of his fitness, I had predicted before the Cup that India’s fortunes will rest on the fitness and form of ‘One Man’. 4 Man of the matches. Runs in crunch moments. 2 successful chases under lights and tremendous stress. Wickets whenever his Captain asked him to bowl. What more can a man do ? This world cup was about 2 Individuals. Shahid Khan Afridi went out due to his batting follies. Yuvraj Singh made this World Cup his own with a magnificent All Round show ! Take a Bow Yuvi, you deserve all the accolades !

About Pakistan and Shahid Afridi
Pakistan played very good Cricket. They came across a well knit bunch who played for their Talisman like Captain Shahid Khan Afridi. I would have loved to see them in final. Alas ! They had just 2 bad days. Given some kind of support, they will go a long way. And please throw Senator Rehaman Malik into dungeons along with Ijaz Butt.

About Minnows
All about Ryan ten Doeschate, Ireland, 2 successful 300+ chases, Kevin O’Brien, fastest World Cup Century, George Dockrell, Paul Stirling and too many useless matches. Give Ireland more exposure and perhaps a Test Status by 2015 should be theirs.

About some Great Men
Some really great men have played their last world cup matches. Ricky Ponting left a heart broken man with his winning streak broken. Murali left without much of an impact when it mattered. Sachin had his moments and charmed lives. He fell at the doorstep of history. But his team didn’t let him down for once. He will walk away a contented man.

At another level, Sehwag, Brett Lee, Kallis, Peitersen, Strauss, Collingwood, Dilshan, Mahela, Sanga, Zaheer Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan and Hussey too might have played their last world cup matches. Malinga has declared he might not play another world cup.

Cricket will find new Stars and Brand Ambassadors for the Future. Virat Kohli, Umar Akmal, Tharanga, ABDV and many more will come. But we will miss the ‘Greats’ mentioned above. Especially 2015 World Cup might open as the first World Cup in 23 years not to feature a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar !

And a Solemn Wish
Let us all make a solemn wish that Pakistan will find a genuine Wicket Keeper before the 2015 World Cup !

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans

Quote Hanger of World Cup 2011

Woke up late, feeling like a World Champion with six pack abs and a bulging biceps. Then a look into the mirror brought me down to earth. I am what I was yesterday, a day older. Life goes on, but feels much better !
The feeling is still sinking in as Gambhir said. There was Cricket, a lot of Cricket and more Cricket. There also was a moment when the Spirit of Cricket that went for a toss.

There were Comments, Commentators and Commentweeters. And then there was Sidhu !

I thought of making a list of my favorite quotable quotes of this World Cup 2011. And then I saw this !

“Sachin carried the burden of nation for 21 years, the least we could do was carry him”

So said Virat Kohli !

Nothing more needs to be said. No Cricketer ever has said anything better.

Sachin stands ‘Viratified’ !

The End !

All is Well !

Thank You Sachin !

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans