INDIA ACCEPTS A WELL DESERVED DEFEAT IN THE FINAL T20 MATCH AT MUMBAI

It is mystery surrounding the defeat.After Yuvraaj Singh had brought the game within Control to force an easy victory over England why all of a sudden,the match turned into a sorry affairs for the spectators at Mumbai is a question which is difficult to get an answer. The pacers Ashok Dinda& Parminder Awana contributed 86 runs out of 178 required by England. This kind of a match ,without changing the Bowler when Suresh Raina is readily Available, is a matter which needs answer .But then ,who bothers to answer when none looked like involved in the bowling .Balls were bowled as a matter of routine& not with eagerness to get wicket.At this rate the Game of Cricket would get ruined itself. Any ways,series not lost is the just one consolation left for the Spectators. In the Batting Department,Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina,Dhoni&Rohit Sharma excelled to take the match to a competitive 177 runs.England had to wait until last ball when they needed 3 runs from 1 ball. Now Arch rivals Pakistan would play their first onedayer at Bangalore on Christmas Day. whether the matches are going to be won by India or Pakistan ,only time can tell! SreedharanMundanat 22 ND December 2012

IndianCricket&Indian Hockey

Since a very long time ,it was India Hockey which dominated the Indian Games.Later on Indian Cricket had joined Hockey&gradually occupied the prominent place replacing Hockey especially in the later two faster version of the Game of cricket.Indian cricket won the word cup twice in the faster version of onedayers consisting of 50overs Later on India also won the World cup of the fastest version of Cricket popularly called TWENTY 20CRICKET orT20Cricket. Surprisingly today, both Indian Kockey &Cricket are at a point of Glory. Indian Hockey the current Asian Cup Champions had an equally surprising win over one of the Asian rivalsJAPAN.In the current Asian Championship of Hockey India had earlier won their first match against another rival CHINA also.But victory over Japan is an event to be proud of simply for the reason that the victory Margin was3 Goals to 1. Yet another surprise is that the overwhelming victory of Indian Cricket over the current Champions England in T20 cricket at a score of 158 over England's157 in just 18 0vers leaving behind 2 precious overs is a matter Indians could remember for a long time to come! Incidentally, tonight is the second &final game of the T20 series is scheduled to take place at the Wankhedes,Mumbai. In the last game,it was Yuvaraajsingh who made the win a reality with his AllRounder abilities. He was adjudged as the Player of the Match. As a good gesture of a Noble Man of Indian Cricket,he deicated the proceedings of this Honour for a NOBLE CAUSE. So let us wish all the Besty to Indian Cricketers to night &also wish they would get oportunity to onnce again to dedicate to another noble cause.There arte plenty of such noble causes in INDIA TODAY. SreedharanMundanat 22nd December2012 17-25 Hrs(IST)

A Sweet Revenge-Yuvraaj Singh begins with a Bang

As a matter of a sweet revenge to the recent debacle in Test Series against England,Yuvrajsingh began the T20 matches last night at Pune with a Bang! In Cricket there is a term "ALL ROUNDER" since the inception of cricket.In naming anyone as an All Rounder the criterion was that he should have proficiency in Batting,Balling&Fielding. But now, after the introduction of the 2 more versions of Cricket ,it would appear , ,the All Rounder status should be afforded only after taking into consideration the proficiency of a player not only in the 3 Departments of the Game but in the 3versi- ons,simultaneously with the departments, as well.If such a criterion is adopted by way of amendment to the rules of Cricket,perhaps there would be very few AllRounders in the World Cricket today &Yuvraaj Singh would get the first rank by virtue of hitting 6 Sixes in an over from Steward Broad of England in the very first T20 World Cup won by India under the Captaincy of M.S.Dhoni. In the first of the T20 matches against England in the current series, England started pretty well with the opening partnership between MJLumb&A.D.Hales until score reached 21 in just 3 overs.But Aswin trapped Lumb in front for a favourable decision ofLBW from the Umpire.Luke Wright joined Hales in the middle.They continued well with a good run rate until England reached 89 in the 11th over.Then came the first Bang from Yuvraaj Singh when he removed Luke Wright for 34 runs well caught by Rahane.score 89/2.Then came the second Bang from Yuvraajsingh when he bowled Hales for 56 runs ie just after an addition of just 10 runs at 99/3 in the 13th over. The third& final Bang came from Yuvraaj singh while England added just one run at 100/4 in the 13th over.This later on ,happened to be the Turning point of the game in favour of India. England, continued their innings strongly until they reached the 19th over when Dinda dismissed the dangerous Samit Patel for 24 again caught by Rahane.The score 138/5.The 3rd,7th,18th &20th overs helped England to reach a challenging score of 157/6, In the meantime Dinda had dismissed Bresnan for a duck caught by Kohli when the score was 139/6 JC.Buttler ,the man in gloves for England, did a good job with 33 runs (not out) with 3 sixes over the fence takingEngland to their final tally of 157/6 India needing 158 runs from 20 overs had a very good beginning from Gautam Gambhir& Rahane.Gambhir did hit a few to the fence&Rahane over the fence.Gambhir made 16& Rahane 19 whwn the first wicket of Gambhir fell at 42.Rahane followedv Gambhir soon after at 44.The score 44/2. This brought Virat Kohli&Yuvraaj together for some time.During this period Kohli made 21from 17 balls&Yuvaraj 38 from 21 balls. Yuvraaj was the first to return to pavilion but before going back he had his praiseworthy contribution of 3 sixes&2 fours.Kohli was not far behingd Yuvaraaj.He had made 2 fours. Yuvaraaj had fell at 93/3&Kohli 110/4 in the 10th&13th overs respectively. India needed yet another48 runs to win. Dhoni&Raina came together .Raina made 26 from 19 balls with 2 good hits one over the fence &the other to the fence.Raina had lost his wicket at 148/5 in the 17th over. Dhoni who assesed the situation well had made24 runs while reaching the target from 21 balls with 2 hits to the fence. Thus when they completed the honourable victory in the first match many fear whether England could react positively with a win for them in the nest match or concede defeat to the Hosts. The victory with more than 2 0vers to spare&the form of the players especially Yuvraaj Singh shoulkd be taken as an indication of something happening to India in their favour! In any case the match at Pune in which the first World Champion beating the Current Champions was indeed a treat to the eyes of many at Pune&those glued to TV sets all over India&abroad. The next encounter is scheduled for 22nd December night.

Finest Gift for Alistair Cook-A good Lesson for India

The England Captain Alistair Cook could,indeed ,enjoy the Birthday Christmas Gift from India.He is the Player of the Test Series also adding more color to their victory. India ,especially the spinners,should take this as a good Lesson from England for the future of India &as matter of fact as a punishment for blackening the reputation India enjoyed all over the world, from Spinners of yesteryears(Bedi,Chandrasekhar,Prasanna,Venkataraghavan,Anil Kumble,Hirwani& many more). But these kind of unfortunate happenings are not unusual in the Game of cricket.This had happened befor in other Nations also. What Indian Cricket should do now?A suitable balancing team of Pacers and spinners should be included in the Team by the selectors.Irfan Pathan is a good choice. Crying foul against the Captain alone should be stopped.It was not Captain M.S.Dhoni alone or a Sachin Tendulkar responsible for the Debacle. At the moment in India, there is no one capable of taking over captaincy except ,perhaps,Virat Kohli.But he needs a lot more experience to gain for accepting the responsibility .The best example is in front of him M.S.Dhoni. Virat Kohli knows better than anyone else how Dhoni as Skipper&Sachin as a player is valuable to the Team.He had said"All these years Sachin had carried us on his shoulders& it is now our turn to carry him on ourShoulders" after winning World Cup at Mumbai on 2nd April 2011.M.S.Dhoni has carried us just for 21 months now.So where&what is the Harm in carrying Indian Cricket for a few more years? To err is human!!Dhoni might have erred.So give him chance to correct himself instead of blaming him&above all Scahin. All the Best to Indian&England Teams in the forthcoming T20&OneDay Internationals series. It looks, the cookies wont crumble! SreedharanMundanat 19th December2012 17-15Hrs(IST)

Manorama Online | Malayalam News | Latest News |-A. Bold comment& Most deserving Gesture for Dhoni

Manorama Online | Malayalam News | Latest News |


The comments from the former Captain & one of the Best Test cricketers in the world.

It is rather surprising to note that the most celebrity former captain of India & his partner

have all of a sudden come forward with their controversial remarks.The same critics have not

yet completed even 21 months since they said differently about Skipper Dhoni of Indian Team.

It is a fact that M.S.Dhoni is an outspoken person.Sometimes people willnhave to behave that

way as a matter of a Skippers right.When he won World Cup bringing unexpected Glory for his

Motherland we didn't hear any kind of voice against him except praises & to some extent

Hero-worships.

Srilankans one of the best cricket playing people of the World especially When they play in

Asian countries were at the brink of establishing victory of yet another World Cup,it was

Skipper Dhoni &Yuvraaj Singh who rose to the occasion & forced a defeat on them in front

of the VVIP Croud & planted kisses on the coveted World Cup for a second time.

In the circumstances ,what Former Skipper Rahul Dravid said is perfectly correct & extremely

Logical.yes! It is not yet time for anyone to take over because no one is available in India

at the moment to take over the responsibility.

Of course, Virat Kohli is one of the Best Batsmen in India today.there is absolutely no

doubt about it.The little Master himself had mentioned this about Virat Kohli.He said

Addressing a Gathering in Mumbai that" The best batsman to follow my tradition & to break my

record is sitting in front of me now & I am sure he would do it one day"Apparently ,he was

Referring to Virat Kohli sitting in front of him.

We can not reasonably expect either the LittleMaster or Virat Kohli himself would endorse t

The views of the former cricketers,the drastic critics,said.

If at all any one likes to point out any lapse on Skipper Dhoni,it was the non inclusion of

Irfan Pathan in the test team.But M.S. Dhoni is not solely responsible for this.

So Skipper Dhoni should continue as long as he feels himself ready to call it a Day!

SreedharanMundanat
19 th December,2012

Root Cause for Indian Debacle--Unfortunate Loss of Poojara's Wicket

The root cause for the Debacle of India at Nagpur could reasonably be attributed to the loss of Thejeswar Poojara's wicket in the most unfortunate manner.This is an inference based on Media Stories. But, these kinds of happenings is nothing new in India.One could,perhaps,observe this kind of instances everywhere in India particularly among the rich.Infights are very common in India paving way for outsiders to derive undue advantages. Perhaps,this must be the reason why Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described India as a land of Unity&Diversity.He has also mentioned about the imperturbability prevailing in Indiaas a tribute to this Holy Nation. So there is no wonder how such matters enter in the Game of Glorious Uncertainty! Incidentally, on the final day of the final Test there had been no obvious resistance from India.To put it in other words,the resistance caused by the unwillingness to win contributed towards the debacle against which, visibly,there had been no attempt to overcome it. England deserved all kinds of praise for taking the match to a drawn one thereby securing the break to 27 year old draught viz a series win in Indian soil. But the way in which they achieved the distinction was somewhat unbecoming of English tradition.Even their Arch rivals in "Ashes" might not have resorted to such a course of action. There was no harm done, had they made a sporting declaration at least one hour after Tea.Obviously, they were not only fearing the capability of Indian Batsmen but lacked confidence in their own Bowlers to force a win against India as well! There wasnt any need to prolong the game so late on the pretext of getting century for IanBell.Finally bell of century rang for him but there was no declaration forth coming. So Indian Captain M.S.Dhoni, towards the end of the final session as if to ramp up the sense of anticlimax handed over the ball to Gautam Gambhir to bowl. Perhaps, this gesture opened the eyes of the England Captain to declare at 352/4. Captain Dhoni promptly offered for a drwn match which was accepted by the England Counterpart. Finally in the post match Interview by the Commentators Captain Cook said,"there is a belief in India that Indian spinners alone could win matches in India&pacers can notdo it. I wanted to prove they are wrong&I did it" Though ,I am not aware of any Indian Captain publicly announce the way Captain Cook said,it is a fact that the spin TRIOChandrasekhar,Bsedi,Prasanna& later on Venkataraghavan had won many matches in India&abroad.Of course there was great reputation for Indians all over the world Perhaps,Alistair Cook was referring the first victory of India over England in the England sioil under the Captaincy of Ajit Wadekar when Chandrasekhar took 6 wickets in an Innings to put an end to England Supremacy. Or was it that prompted him to say so, a plain fact, that India had won two World cups in the past(The latest on 2nd Aopril,2011 at the Wankhedes,Mumbai under the captaincy ofM.S.Dhoni) whereas England are yet to plant kisses on a World Cup? Any ways,This series does appear to be one tending to becoming the reminder of tale of two indegenous Goats fighting & an observer, a Guest Forester deriving advantage out of it!! Congratulations to England&all the best to both Teams India&England to more enthusiastic encounters of of T20 matches&Oneday Internationals starting from the coming Thursday,20th December2012. SreedharanMundanat 17thDecember 2012 17-40Hrs(IST)

Plan by India&England for Fourth Day at Nagpur

The Indian first innings continued from the overnight score of 297/8 this morning. R.Aswin&Pragyan Ojha arrived at the crease They took almost 20 minutes to reach 300 ,the first step needed under the circumstances.Aswin as far as possible kept strike for himself.As soon as they completed 300 Runs,they opened up &started scoring a bit faster.The changed tactics, it seemed, well observed by Captain Alistair Cook who also introduced a new plan of going slow with the game as was obvious from the tactics he employed to discuss with his bowlers very frequently. In the meantime Aswin&Pragyan Ojha continued with scoring.Howeve,Monte Panesar struck on time to put an ed to their patnership by removing Ojha when the score was 317 in the 141st over of the Innings. It was a lucky breakthrough for Monte Panesar.It was not the same expertedness he had shown at Mumbai&Kolkatta.Ojha was out because of a batsman's error .Instead of playing to the Legside of the left hander ,he played on to the offside. Unfortunately the ball took an inner edge &played on to the stumps.Thus he got the just one wicket after bowling 52 overs coceding 81 runs. unlike Mumbai&Kolkatta, his dividend for such a long efforts was just one wicket!! After the fall of Ojha Ishant Sharma joined Aswin .He managed just 2 runs but gave support to Aswin who scored29 runs. When they reached 326 just 4 runs short of England,Dhoni all of a sudden declared , perhaps, after noticing the slow tactics of Alistair Cook&in view of the fact that one hour had already elapsed in scoring just 29 runs. England resumed their second knock. Captain Alistair Cook&NRD Compton started slowly .Cook took 93 balls to score just 13 runs out of a total of 48 runs when he fell well caught by Dhoni Bowled Aswin. It was a better dividend or rather a bonus for the Indians to get Captain Cook out so early.What a paradoxical wicket it was! England continued with Comton&Trott who joined him.Compton fell at 81 in the 47th over trapped in front by Pragyan Ojha. K. Pietersen joined Trott.They together added 13 runs when Pietersen fell to a clever ball from Ravindra Jadeje which he misread to shatter his off stump. England score read 94/3.Pragyan Ojha had dismissed him in the first innings also. Thereafter,Ian Bell joined Trott &continued until stumps finishing at a good score of 161/3.Trott remained not out with 66&Ian Bell with a handy24 runs. Thus the third session belonged to England. Until&Unless England makes a sporting declaration with a lead of maximum 225 runs,there does not appear to have any reasonable chance for India to level the series Or otherwise,India should dismiss England earlier.It is a remote probability for such a happening except a miracle taking place during the second knock of England! So tomorrow is yet another Day on which anything could happen. The only consolation left behond India is the popular saying"Cricket is a Game of Glorious Uncertainty!! SreedharanMundanat 16th December 2012 20-20Hrs(IST)

A Day of Jackpot for India-Uniform pattern of show of Strength by Capt Dhoni&Virat Kohli

Finally, in the final Test match of the series against England at Nagpur ,Luck smiled on India,Players excelled,&Happiness returned to the faces of cricket fans all over India when Capt Dhoni in the Company of Virat Kohli added 198 runs 2 short of 200 partnership of 200 to the overnight score of 87/4.They together continued to the final session after Tea Virat Kohli scored his second century in Test Cricket but fell unfotunately at 269/5in the 117th over when Swann claimed a lucky breakthrough. Ravindra Jadeja joined Dhoni& gave reasonably good support to his captain.He scored 12 runs after facing 31 balls.He fell at 288/6 in the 124th over yet another lucky breakthrough for a tired Anderson. England bowlers struggled to restrict India within 330 without allowing India to lead. In the process when Aswin joined Dhoni it looked India was progressing fast to take a lead today itself.Aswin added 7 runs &faced 27 balls. Dhoni ,however, was very unlucky to give company to Kohli in his century when he himself fell1 run short of 100when his counterpart Alistair Cook had broken his his stumps by a direct throw when Dhoni tried to complete his ton from a quick single.The score 295/7.Piyush Chawla joined Aswin in the middle. But departed rapidly at297/8 at Stumps just after adding 1 run to his credit. Hopefully tomorrow Aswin in the company of Ishant Sharma&Pragyan Ojha mightliquidate the total of 330 of England by addibg 33 precious runs if not taking a reasonable score as he did at Kolkatta when a lead of 40 runs was established. England had also 3 wickets of rheir stewarts before reaching 41 to win. Dhoni though fell at 99,should be proud of taking India out of danger of defeat in the company of Virat Kohli taking their partnership score to 198 for the 5th wicket. The great performance of Dhoni not only helped India to safety but silenced his drastic critics as well. What surprises all cricket fans is the Mystery behind aiming severe criticizm to a strong batsman like Dhoni with tremendous will power,who brought Laurels & Glory to his Motherland when he won the World Cup on 2nd April2011 at the Wankhedes in the company of same Kohli,SRT&Yuvraaj Singh. How these not so wise critics forget the good deed done by Dhoni within a period of not even 2 years.Thankfulness&gratitude are vitues.Getting defeated in a couple of matches is not a sin.Telling even a lie for a noble cause is not a sin but a virtue. But levelling lies against an enthusiastic cricketer is certainly sin.His strong critics should remember this for the sake of this Nation. SreedharanMundanat 15th December19-15Hrs(IST)

Repeat In uncertainty of a Glorious Game-End of Dream?

Unlike other Games,Cricket is a Glorious Game of Uncertainty!It was an uncertain afternoon third session for the Test Match between India andEngland today.It was a session India would like to leave behind as forgettable one! Such was the impact on Indian Batsmen Andersen had produced in the first over of Indian innings when Sehwag was removed for a Duck. After a momentary revival by Poojara&Gambhir,Anderson&Swann again forced severe blows ,as an aftereffect of the first blow in the very first over. As a result,Thejeswar Poojara,Sachin Tendulkar,& Gambhir followed suit of Sehwag surrendering their wickets at 59/2,64/3&71/4 respectively. In dislodging the Indians major part was of Anderson followed by Swan.Anderson claimed all the wickets fell today except that of Thejeswar Poojara which was entrusted to Swann. The individual scores made by Gambhir,Poojara&Tendulkar were 37,26&2 respectively. Virat Kohli&Capt Dhoni were together at the crease for the rest of the day with 11 &8 runs to their credit. So the eventful Day ended with a Sad note for India&happy one for England.England having won at Kolkatta&Mumbai could, perhaps,relax sleep peacefully,whereas Indians will have to cope up with dreadful Nightmares. Tomorrow is yet another Day! A day on which Luck smiling again,fortunes fluctuating,flowers Blossoming&happiness returning for India can not be totally ruled out as Cricket is a Game of Glorious uncertainty! IF ONLY TOMORROW COMES!! SreedharanMundanat 14th December 2012 18-15Hrs(IST)

ROOT attempts Roots in India;PIYUSH CHAWLA routs him

The 2nd Day of Nagpur Test was of ups&downs for both England&India. England as expected scored 300+ though India tried level best to prevent them crossing 300.ButJE ROOT MattPrior,&GP Swan all found their hard earned fifties to establish a a challenging Score of 330 Runs on the board.All the3 batsmen played attractive shots Root 4 fours,Prior 6 fours&Swan 6 fours&2 Sixes .They continued from the overnight 199/5 to 330 allout adding 135 runs in thye second session. Really a courageous Batting display by the Britts especially Swan who made 56 from 91 Balls. But JE Root who tried to esfablish fis roots by making a Century on debut in India found his rout by Piyush Chawla from a caught &Bowled chance. ButROOT can certainly be proud of sharing the honour of TopScorer with K.Pietersen! India in reply began their first innings dangerously.Veerender Sehwag as usual was out in the first over for a Zero bowled by Andersen.Indian score 1-1. Thereafter Gambhir who was joined by Thejeswar Poojara took the score to 32/1 without any further loss of Wicket.How far they could go only time could tell. So at Tea India in mixed mood for the loss of Sehwag&for not adding further to the fall of wickets. SreedharanMundanat 14th December2012 14-25 (IST)

It was an eventful day for both India &England.For India it was a matter to rejoice by capturing 2 wickets each in the pre-lunch&post-lunch sessions. After the fall of Alistair Cook&NRD Compton rather economically for 1&3 runs,Jonathan Trott&K.P.Petiersen looked like building score for England in the post Lunch session. Kevin Pietersen played some beautiful calculated shots to reach the only fifty of the England batsman.However,Jonathan Trott who was giving him expert company to build with some attractive shots all over the ground,fell at 44 clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.The ball was a turning one .But J.Trott misjudged at &left it alone without offering the Bat.The ball which was a sharp one touched the outer edge of the stump & the bails fell to the bground.That was the end of a very important wicket of Trott. This happened in the 50th over of the match.The score102/3.Ian Bell joined Pietersen in the middle.He played 28 balls to score just 1 run.He was the first victim for Piyush Chawla anoth spinner of the Indian squad.The score was 119/4.J.E.Root a debutant joined Pietersen in the 61st over.But just after 6 overs Pietersen himself offered an easy catch to Virat Kohli off Jadeja.This marked the fall of 5th wicket of England with Pietersen on 73.England139/5.Prior joined JERoot. Thus Ishant Sharma&RavindraJadeja collected 2 wickets each&1 by Piyush Chawla. The combination of Root&Prior is carrying out the recovery act for England. Both have crossed 20 in their individual Score. For a debutant ,JE Root is doing an encourageable fine Job for England under the circumstances.Their partnership already produced 45 runs in the 87th over when second New Ball claimed by Dhoni. Minimum overs remaining for the day 2 .But there a lot of time left& the Light has not faded.Whether the match would be prolonged is a matter the time&the Umpires could tell. What surprises me is the fact that why DHONI is not making Extensive use of ASWIN who is his trusted Bowler!!Perhaps,he might be reserving him for the morning tomorrow. A record 97 overs have been bowled today.Score at Stumps199/5 JERoot&MattPrior have added exactly 60 runs. AGlorious day for Indian Bowlers& the England Batsmen Pietersen,Jonathan Trott, JERoot&MattPrior .The most useful Partnership being that of Root&Prior. Tomorrow could be yet another interesting&eventful Day!!. SreedharanMundanat 13th December2012. 16-40Hrs(IST)

India with New faces for the final Encounter

< India introduced new faces to play in the final Eleven.Ravindra Jadeja&Piyush Chavla. 4 spinners have been brought in to play with lone pacer Ishant Sharma. Alistair Cook of England won the Toss& elected to bat. Though the expectation was the Spinners would strike earlier,PragyanOjha&Ishant Sharma were introduced to bowl ,an attack with Spinner&Pacer to start from either end. Whether the decision was right or wrong,the dream of the captain DHONI was fulfilled very early but not from a Spinner.To the surpride of every one Ishant Sharma a very fast pacer, who was not becoming lucky usually,found his wish answered when he removed NRD Compton for just3 runs in the 5th over&Captain cook a single in the 11th over.What a breakthrough for India at the right time&the right way. Ishant deserved all the praise today for bowling proper length&accurate pace to threaten the English Batsmen&finally trapped them in his enormous Pace web. Jonathan Trott&K.Pietersen ,after replacing the openers started cautiously The score just reading 36/2 in the 22nd over. Nothing significant happened.Pietersen&Jonathan Trott continues .And Thats Lunch Score 61/2 from 33 overs. The next two seessions will have to be covered together. What a Glorious morning for India with 2 early wickets in Pocket for the real pacer of India. It seems Luck smiled on him a bit late as compared to other 3 preceding Tests. But when Luck smiles ,it smiles in enchanting spirit!! As evident from the most spectaular wickets of Captain Alistair Cook &Jonathan Trott SreedharanMundanat 13th December2012 11-40Hrs(IST)

Blaming Captain for every Defeat is Unfair

The Former chief of Selectors Krishmachari Srikkant& Dileep Vengsarkar the Chief of selectors just prior to Srikkant were of the opinion that it is unfair to blame the reverse conditions for every defeat. Perhaps,they are supporting Captain Dhoni .Everyone knowing cricket started pouncing upon Captain Dhoni for 2 defeats at Mumbai&Kolkatta. This is not fair.Dhoni is a captain with enthusiasm&strong will Power to rise to any occasion especially in adverse conditions where significant contribution is required. Of course he had such an occasion in the second innings at Kolkatta where every top Batsman had failed.We can not Blame him totally for this.In every cricketer there are strong &lean periods.This was just one of those lean period for Dhoni. But what about Gautam Gambhir who not only failed when situation demanded it but instumental&root cause in the total collapse when he ran out most promising youngster Thejeswar Poojara by attempting a run which wasnt there as well. This wicket of Poojara marked the beginning of the end of Indian second Innings. So Captain Dhoni alone was not the reason for the total debacle. One should conveniently forget the conditions for reversals & try to compensate for the Lapses.What has happened can not be Unhappened.What is done can not be undone. Perhaps,all the sweetest perfumes of Arabia may not be enough to wash away the hands of the sinners.But what happened wass not really sin. It was fate.This should pave way for the triumph in matches ahead!! How Sachin became Master blaster&Little Master?Of course he had talents from childhood.But the real factoor behind his total success was that he got oportunity from the age of 16 for most of the International Exposures.This is a Blessing in Disguise. But Srikkant&Vengsarkar have their own carrier also to show as evidence that Triumphs could be also fateful,Lucky& owing to total TeamSpirit. The Teamspirit is the one lacking in the Indian Team today.India should try to cultivate this hopefully&strongly if She likes to have many more success in the future!!!. Now what is the evidence Srikkant&Vengsarkar could point out to support their opinions? Srikkant had his debut in Test Cricket at Mumbai against England between 27th November 1981 to 1stDecember1981 with one REST DAY in between.The Great Sunil Gavaskar was the captain for India. India in their first innings ,the contribution of Srikkant was a 0&Gavaskar55 Intheir second Innings Srikkant made13&Gavaskar14 England under Captain Fletcher made the score of fitst innings Fletcher 15&3& great Boycott60&3 This match was won by India by Indiaby 138 Runs.(For full score refer to cricket sites) As far as Dileep Vengsarkar is concerned,he had his debut against Newzealand at Aukland betweenJanuary24&January281976 Sunil Gavaskar was the captain for India.&GlennTurner for Newzealand. Newzealand batting first opened with JF Morrison&GMTurner.In their first innings the contribution of Morrison&Turner respectively were46&23 India in their first inningsthe contribution Of openers Vengsarkar&Gavaskar respectively were 7&116. The second innings score of openers for NZ were respectively were23&13 for Morrison &Turner India in reply in their second innings scored 6&35 respectively by Vengsarkar Gavaskar respectively. Eventually,India won by 8 wickets.(For full score card refer to cricket sites) So both Srikkant &Vengsarkar were instrumental for wins on their debut. In other words it was the Team work of India both Bowlers&Batsmen together with significant contribution from Gavaskar that won matches. The members of teamat Mumbai were Kapil Dev,MadanLak,RJ.Sastri,SM.Patel,G.R.Viswanath&Syed Kirmani &for Aukland were S.Amarnath,Syed Kirmani,GRViswanath,BPPatel,S.Venkitaraghavan,M/Amarnath,MadanLal,Prasanna&Chandrasekhar. So if India could play with total Team Spirit WHERIN "TOTAL CO-OPERATION" ,AS IN ALL MATTERS,IS THE KEY WORD FOR SUCCESS!OR INSTEAD, IF FIGHTING AMONG THEM CREEP IN THEN IT COULD LEAD JUST TO TOTAL DISASTER!!! SreedharanMundanat 12-12-12 at 17-45Hrs

Nagpur Test

The final test match between England&India appears to be one in which India would fight for a win according to the gifted spinner Swann of England It looks what Swann said is a possibility but England is in no way a lesser fighters than India. According to Graham Gooch former captain of England ,Alistair Cooks' best form is yet to be seen in India. So the final Test match starting on 13th Dec2012 at Nagpur would be Spectacular for spectators at Nagpur&to those who are going to watch the match glued to Television sets all over India&England. Let us await who is winning Toss&start the encounter between Bat&Ball tomorrow,the 13th of December2012 SreedharanMundanat 12th December2012

DOG TAIL STORY REPEATS!

There is a story about the. Most trusted& faithful Dog that the tail of Dog even if Put in a straight pipe for years together ,when it is taken out it would still remain as curved as ever!Similarly there is yet another story that "carrying water in a pot until dark & breaking it at dawn" These two ,stories or to be more précis these sayings,appears to be true as is evident ,the way way the Indian Team performed at the Eden Gardens Kolkatta on 8thDec 2012. Sehwag ,as usual at the crucial juncture,got himself Bowled at the same score of Lunch.86/1.But the Indian Agony did not end there.Gambhir tried an impossible run which Wasn't there forcing Poojara to respond with the resultPoojara ,who was playing so nice & tactful became the victim of an unwanted run at98/2 Poojara was once again attempting a technically faultless innings. As if the tradition counts & History repeats,Gautam Gambhir was caught behind by Prior off Finn at 103/ Sachin Tendulkar after playing a few technically justifiable balls suddenly fell at 107/4 just after contributing 5 runs. This marked the beginning of the Tragedy for India that too at the Eden Garden where Indian cricket rose from perish. In the 35th over at119/4India looked improving.But alas!In the 37th over Yuvraaj Singh Who was doing a recovery act also fell unfortunately bowled by Anderson.score Card Read 122/5. Captain Dhon joined Kohli.Despite the reputation of Dhoni to fight in such crucial junctures,toneveryone's surprise Dhoni fell at the score of zero without any addition on the scorecard.The score 122/6.The situation at the Eden Garden for Indian cricket Had aggravated. Then came the fall of most precious wicket of Virat Kohli who had prolonged the game until 155" on the board.the fall of Kohli at 155/7 marked total disaster for Indian cricket threatening resonably to an innings defeat at the hands of England. But then itbwas not son easy.A Hero & Saviour came to the crease in the form of an llrounder ASWIN,ONE OF THE BEST SPINNERS& BATSMEN OF INDIA EVER SEEN. ASWIN HAD THE REPUTATION OF BATTING WELL IN DOMESTIC TOURNAMENTS WHICH HE PROVED ON THE 8th& 9th December beyond doubt once again. In the company of Indian Tail Enders Sahirkhan,Ishant Sharma& Ppragyan Ojha ASWIN FOUGHT ENDLESSLY UNTIL HE AVOIDED AN ANTICIPATED INNINGS DEFEAT& successfully posting an envious lead of 40 runs over England The Indian Second Innings perished at 247 when Pragyan Ojha giving support to Aswin For a very long time fell at 247. ASWIN REMAINED NOT OUT & returned to Pavilion unbeaten at 91 to come back to the Eden Gardens to test the Patience of the England Team. ASWIN REMOVED CAPTAIN COOK& Kevin Pietersen the former stumped by Dhoni for just a a single& the later For a duck caught by him off Aswin. Pragyan Ojha added one more wicket making The Britts sweat beyond recognition. The Wicket Pragyan claimed was that of Jonathan Trot for just 3 runs. England, later on won the match scoring 41 runs for the loss of 3 wickets of the STEWARTS OF ENGLAND TEAM. The hero of the day was none other than Aswin with 91 glorious runs to his credit which Not merely avoided an Innings defeat but was highly successful in posting 40 runs lead To fight for the visitors as well. Congratulations to Aswin the hero of 9 th December 2012 at the Eden Gardens Kolkatta. Thus,EDEN GARDENS WITNESSED THE FALL OF INDIAN CRICKET AT THE SAME VENUE WHERE IT HAD WITNESSED THE ARISING OF THE INDIAN CRICKET FROM IT'S DOOM!!!. Now,I am so sure that the Indian cricket would show it's might,strength& Vigour at NAGPUR WHERE INDIA WOULD AVENGE THIS HUMILIATING DEFEAT TO MAKE THE SERIES A LEVELLED ONE THOUGH ,INITIALLY, IT WAS THE INTENTION AND HOPE OF INDIAN CRICKET TO FORCE AN EVENTUAL WHITEWASH ON THE VISITORS SreedharanMundanat 9th December2012 16-35 HRS

VANQUISHING ACTS FROM DHONI

Today there is nothing to report that might give encouragement to the Indians,except, perhaps,the two Vanquishing Acts from Dhoni .The first one was more of a thriller with no results & the second one in the 120 th over when he successfully held Jonathan Trott to a touch& go ball from Ojha.It was a mind turning catch for Indial supporters . Trott had made 87 when the casualty for England happened in the form of second wicket in their first Outing at the Eden Gardens.A sigh of relief for the Indians. Coming back to the first futile Vanquishing Act from Dhoni ,it was just a back throw wicket breaking with excellent reflex action from a Great Captain & Wicket Keeper!Had The ball reached him 10 seconds earlier,The wicket breaking might have been one event Which could enter History Books of Cricket Now it it seems right time for a bit of Nostalgia as nothing is happening significant in the middle. Routine Bowling & routine Batting from From Captain Cook& Pietersen. The Vanquishing Acts from Dhoni reminds me 2nd April 2011 at the Wankhedes,Mumbai India won the Word Cup against all odds ,thanks to the Great Dhoni,Sachin,& Yuvraaj Singh.The Will power of Dhoni & Yuvraaj singh was the essence of the World cup final. Srilankans all set to win was thrown away by the Guts& WillPower of Dhoni& Yuvraaj Singh The result.Sankakkara had to resign from the Captaincy of Srilanka! Is it right to criticize SRT,DHONI& YUVRAAJ SINGH WHO BROUGHT LAURELS TO THEIR MOTHER LAND WITH THIS GLORIOUS WIN SACHIN HAS IN THE FIRST INNINGS SILENCED CRITICS,! Let us come back to the routine in the middle. There was an excellent throw at the wicket of Captain Cook by None other than Virat Kohli to send back Cook to the Pavilion at 190 in the 127 th Over,much to his Disappointment of forgoing a Double Ton.The score 359/3. Pietersen & Bell continues after Tea. Ah! What a lucky Breakthrough for the most deserving pacer of India Ishant Sharma! Bell sent to Pavilion for a indifferent shot to Sharma ,Dhoni taking the edge from him At a very Lower level from the Ground.It looks Eden Garden& Captain Dhoni are getting Back to their true color again. Congratulations more to Dhoni than Sharma who deserved many wickets for his excellent Pace . But usually an unlucky Sharma got his due today! England 395/ Pietersen looks like the Key today.A very hard cricketer to beat.His powerful shots are always treat to the eyes.continues at 403/4 a lead of 87. Beyond 130 lead is Spelling Danger for India. Tight fielding & accurate balling alone could save India Now. 13 1/2 hrs Play in arrears for this match anything is possible. If England goes beyond 500 in this match in their first inningsINDIA will have to Look for saving the match. Here comes the Exit of the most Dangerous Batsman of England Kevin Pieterse India's promising Spinner got him in front for a sharp delivery on the middle stump Of which Pietersen didn't know much.He could have easily driven it straight but Pietersen was a bit late to know about the damage done Any ways,a lucky but most deserving wicket finally for Aswin England 420/4 .144th over in Progress MattPrior joins at the middle who is not much less dangerous than KP. It is a mystery why Dhoni is not remembering his Pal Sachin who was in the 90s Considered as a Partnership breaker.Apart from this SRT HAD A 5 wicket haul agains Australians at Kochi in a onedayer which India won comfortably. Yuvraaj Singh,SRTor Dhoni himself should bowl now as the situation demands it The Gloves can be handed over to Virat Kohli Any ways,the spinners continue.444/5 on board.Here comes 453/6 in the form of Samit Patel with 33to his credit. Sehwag too did a vanquishing act by taking the catch , Unnecessarily Offered by Patel, with his right hand lifting the ball up & then waiting For it to land in his safe hand. A fine catch under the circumstances At 478/6 it looks time is running out for the Indians.Lead is over 160 now to be précis 162. 484/6. Even MrEXTRA too is contributing towards the agony of India 22 at the moment. 488/6 the lead 172. India will have to sweat vigorously to save this match or as a remedial measure go beyond 550 in the second innings .Easier to tell but difficult to do there in the middle tomorrow & day after!!! With 509/6,at Stumps with Swann& Prior going on smoothly ,the fate of India Appears to be rather Desperate unless all the Top Batsmen of India performs. Congratulations to the Vanquishing Act performers Captain Dhoni for taking a LowFloor catch of Jonathan Trott to an edge off Ojha,Virat Kohli for the throw at the Stumps to breakIt from considerable distance to stun Captain Cook who was disappointed Beyond explanation for missing a Double Hundred& finally Sehwag for taking a dancing catch of Samit Patel.Dhoni also did a back throw to break stumps with reflex action though the Batsman was in on time.But the accuracy of the throw was a treat to watch.Perhaps,Adam Gilchrist the most honorable & honest Wicket Keeper of Australia alone could have done Such acts before. All the Best to India& England for yet another day's encounter!. SreedharanMundanat 7th December2012 17-40Hrs(IST)

A DAY OF COOKING TO THEIR TASTE BY ENGLAND

Alistair Cook,England Captain performed a cooking act on Indians according to his taste on his way to his 23rd Test Century.Helpless Indians took 132 overs to dismis Compton at 165/1 when he had his fluent Fifty.he fell at 57 runs to his credit. The Breakthrough by Ojha could help only the impact produces few more successes rapidly.On the contrary, the fate of India hangs in balance swinging more favourbly for England. In the morning Captain MSDhoni took the role of a hero.When the score was stationary at 193/9 for some time,Dhoni with all his might& Guts, as often in critical junctures, despatched Monte Panesar twice over the fence taking score to 309. Thereafter,it was a matter of sticking to the crease as long as possible.Dhoni showed reluctance to go for Singles& doubles to complete his half century.Eventually he got it when he sent to the fence to reach a fitting fluent 52. the scoreboard moved to 316/9. However,next Ball ball from Finn Showed exit to the Captain.It was an unplayable Rising ball which touched the upper end of his bat he raised to avoid it& fell to the Safe hands of Swann. This marked the end to Indians first outing at the Edens at316. Being a moderate challenging score many at the Eden Garden & many all over India glued to TV Sets expected some good fight from the Indians particulary from reverse swinging expert Sahirkhan.But to their utter disappointment there had been no Breakthrough until the 132 nd over when Ojha got a Legbefore decision for a Good ball.the score was an amazing 165/1. The spinners were not as effective as expected from Eden Gardens today as is evident From the treatment Dhoni offered to Panesar & later on from Cook to the Indian Spinners Thus the day belonged to the Captains of both sides, Cook for cooking Indians According to his taste& Dhoni with powerful Smashing with guts towards Monte Panesar. Tomorrow is yet another day of interesting exchanges & by late afternoon we would know On which side the fortune fluctuates. Although England has finished the Day just short of a hundred to be précis,the Eden Garden had many stories to tell in the past extending more consolation to India while England could bank on their old Glory to enact yet again in as much as they could Afford to here But often, History repeats! All the Best to England& India for another hectic Day at Eden Gardens tomorrow. SreedharanMundanat 6 th December 2012 17-00 hrs ( IST) SreedharanMundanat 6th December2012 Hrs(IST)

India well placed at 273/7 on first Day

Despite fall of Batsmen at regular interval some of them not due to fault of them, India looks well placed for a good fight at the Majestic Eden Gardens against England . What could have been a doom for India was avoided by the Greatest Batsman of India,next To Sir Donald Bradman,Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar who made a fluent faultless innings of 76 Runs.He ensured a place for future until he earns his 200 th Test cap. Yuvraj Singh gave strong support to SRT.But fell unfortunately when he looked at his Best.A severe blow to the Hosts. Gautama Gambhir did his part well though indirectly he was initially responsible for the fall of Sehwag. But ,then Sehwag had no need for a third run at that stage when Everything was going well for India. Tomorrow ,if Dhoni& co could be cautious to avoid the impact of morning dews at the Eden garden ,India could go beyond 300 which is enough to rattle the Brits. Anderson was their good Bowler ,whom India should treat respectfully tomorrow early Morning at lest for the first hour. Aswin looked well settled for a showdown but fell unfortunately due to a bit of loss of concentration. The celebration of Monte Panesar by whistling with his fingers at Poojara was very Very much becoming UnEnglish for a team like England,to which the great HGWells belonged to. Monte Panesar should have been taught the basic Ethic lessons of Cricket. According to a rough estimate,the third day late afternoon (7 th December) would Start showing the fluctuation of Fortunes for both Teams.The survival of the fittest Would become the Key word for both India & England Eden Garden had witnessed the Historical Performance from Rahul Dravid& VVSLaxman In the past to give consolation for the Indians All the Best to England & India SreedharanMundanat 5 th December2012 17-30 Hrs. In any case a few Hectic days are on the card for both India& England.

SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR-GEM OF INDIAN CRICKET

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar , the GEM of Indian Cricket,as a childhood cricketer at his school along with the partnership of Vinod Kambli (his classmate)scored record score of over 500runs in his school.That was the first record established by Sachin in Cricket.Both of them continued cricket &later on both turned out into Test Cricketers for India.Sachin a right hander&Kambli a left hander.Both were doing their job well.But Vinod Kambli later on left Cricket behind the reason for which is best known to him. Sachin continued in Cricket successfully& won many a laurels for him&his Motherland. He joined Test Cricket in 1989 at the age of 16 as a debutant in a Test match against Pakistan. in Karachi.This was his first step into the Indian Cricket world. Next month he played his first one day international against the same Pakistan. Sachin continued cricket playing for India for the last 2 decades,except for short periods here&there on account of injury like Tennis Elbow &minor fitness problems very usual for all cricketers.There wasnt a single occasion when he was kept away from Cricket by selectors or the Board. He is regarded as the greatest batsman of India until today without whom the Indian Cricket would not have grown to the level in which India is today! He is the leading rungetter earning more than 15,000 thousand runs in Test Cricket & over 18,000 runs in one dat internationals. It wasw one of the many sweet dreams of Sachin to win a World Cup in the Wankhede Stadium ,his home ground This dream was fulfilled in the 2011 Wordcup when the matches were played in India. On April 2nd 2011 the World Cup was eventually won by India at the wankhedes.He had to play in 6 world cups to achieve this unusual dream. After winning the World Cup at the Wankhedes,his team mate Virat Kohli said"ALL THESE YEARS SACHIN HAD carried us on his shoulders!It is now our turn to carry him around this stadium"Saying this he &team mated took him collectively on their shoulders to take a round around the Stadium. The Prime Minister of India& many prominent personalities were witness to these emotional scenes.A great Tribute to a great Batsman after Sir Donald Bradman! Sachin is also a leading Century maker in International cricket with 100 Centuries to his credirt ,a record which is likely remain in tact for a long time to come!!. He is a Genius and is capable of Controlling the game&the dressing roon of players as he is liked by his Teammates more than anyone else. Sachin Tendulkar has many a Laurels to his credit which also serves as a honour to his Motherland. Some of them are from India.Most prominent is Padmavibhooshan.This incidentally is the second highest Civilian Award accorded by the Government of India. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.This is the highest award given in the field of Sports&Games by the Government of India. He is also the receipient of the ICC Cricketer of the year 2010.He considers this as the Best for his Cricketing Carrier. In 2010 ,he was the first Batsman to break the 200 Runs Barrier in One Day International Cricket. The latest Best Honour he got was from the Prime Minister of Australia who announced that the "ORDER OF AUSTRALIA", an exclusive honour usually conferred upon the Australians alone,was being given to Sachin for his extraordinary Brilliance in the game of Cricket. Yet another rare Honour received by Sachin was the great Gesture from Sir Donald Bradman, greatest of cricket, who invited him to his residence to wish him every endeavour and success in the Game of Cricket! Now, recently some controversies have been generated among a few old time Cricketers &to some extent from the media about the continuation of Sachin in Indian Cricket . They said indirectly that Sachin was not in good form for a few days &should think about eventual retirement himself. Yes! it is true!Sachim himself knows it.Thats why he opined that it is for the selectors to decide his retirement &would abide by their decision.It is also a true fact that every cricketer has some lean period sometimes or other.It is true that for about 10 matches Sachin has not scored a Century or for that matter even a fifty. But, his trusted colleagues Anil Kumble& Rahul Dravid thought differently .Both of them in one voice said it not correct to put pressure on Sachin to retire as he is required for the Indian Cricket more than ever today.Sourav Ganguli,Ravi Sastry, Dhoni &many more had the same view when India won the last World Cup at the Wankhedes Mumbai very recently. Now coming to the most vital point regarding his retirement was that Sachin ,it looks ,had the sweet dream in his mind to earn the 200th Test Cap, the just one honour he left behind in Cricket.If he is allowed to achieve he would become the only one Test cricketer to achieve this special teature&would remain in the History of cricket for a long time to come just like his 100 centuries. He is just 39 year old .He has certainly a few years more or at least yet one more year to play for India.He has already played 192 Test Matches.The Kolkatta Test on 5th December 2012 is his 193rd Test Cap.If allowed to continue, he would complete 194 Tests in the current series against England at Nagpur.I am sure in one of these two Tests remaining for him to appear against England he would successfully break his lean period in Test Cricket.Then just 6 more Tests left for him to earn 200 Caps . In a matter of one year he could play 6 more Tests if everything goes smoothly for him. His dream is legitimate &justfiable for sacrisfying his carrier for earning honours for his Motherland INDIA. Finally Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the GEM of Indian Cricket& the darling of his childhood coach Shri Achrekar deserves this rare honour of 200 TEST CAPS from India. All the best to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on the eve of his appearance in the Kolkatta Test Match at the famous EDEN GARDEN Sreedharan Mundanat 4th December 2012

Mitchell Starc Tests the Patience of South Africans

The final test match as expected is running into a thrilling experience for the Cricket lovers. Australians started with caution with Warner & Covan at the crease yesterday Both finished the day without suffering any damage to their partnership to come back Today for an interesting dwell between Bat & Ball. The first casualty in the form of Warner occurred at 40/1 when Warner Scoring 29 runs. Smith took the catch from a good ball from Philander. Watson joined Covan & looked well settled for a showdown .Watson looked like at his best form with a few nice drives to the fence.But in the 29th over of the second Smith again took a diving catch to an edge from Morkel.Morkel dent the ball very intelligently beating Watson but the catch was much more intelligent than the ball. This was indeed the turning point of the match. Ricky Ponting the Best former Captain of Australiana,who produced the Golden Era of Australian Cricket was the next Batsnman to join Covan. The South Africans offered a standing Ovation to the greatest skipper of Australia& the Best fighter for them to win Two world cups & many an International test matches & One dayyers for his Motherland .He brought Australia to the level of the West Indies in the Olden days of being the Uncrowned king of world Cricket? I earnestly wished Ponting a last hundred today but the controversial pitch of Perth thought differently. He was also out like Watson with an unexpected edge to petersen Jack Kallis again taking a wonderful diving catch Thus ending the final innings of the Greatest Ricky Ponting just for 8 runs.This wicket fell at 102/3 marking the begin- ning of the end of the Australians at Perth. Michale Clark yet another good fighter& Captain of Australia joined Cowan.Both together Prolonged the inevitable for a Long time. But then,Cowann who was playing so well with a fluent fifty to his credit fell unfortunately at 130/4 .That was a big Blow to the Australians.he had made an easy& controlled 53. The most unfortunate wicket of the match fell at 188/5 in the form of captain Clarke When he was efficiently stumped by De Viliiers .Clarke was just half an inch short of his crease from the bat. This wicket confirmed the ruin of Australia in the final deciding Test match. The6 th,7th,8th&9 th Wickets fell rather rapidly in the form of Hussey,Wade,Johnson& Hastings respectively leaving behind Mitchel Starc& NM Leon to face the drama towards their end. But both with the real Australian pride, did not concede a defeat easily.Stark scored the Fastest fifty & the top score of the australian Innings in par with IanBotham& Virender Sehwag .Stark finished at 68(NO)& Leon at 31(out). That marked inevitable end to the Australian Innings giving SA a historical victory over Australians by 309 runs the series & the retaining of the First rank of Test Cricket to the Soth Africans But Mitchel Starc could ,perhaps,remain proud for testing the Patience of the South Africans particulary their seamer Steyn. Congratulations to South Africans . SreedharanMundanat 3rd December 2012 15-15. Hrs( IST)

HUMILIATION FOR THE AUSTRALIANS

Hashim Amla,the most deserving batsman of South Africa fell short of his well deserved double Ton by 4 runs at 196.perhaps an advance adverse award for humiliating the Australians without a fair declaration after getting a lead of over 600 runs! The day started well for the South Africans with Jack Kallis& Amla continuing until KALLIS FELL AT 37 when he hooked a short ball to the fence.But he had done his duty Perfectly before returning to the Pavilion.Yet another one of the Best Batsmen of SA A.B.DeVelliers joined Amla& continued very effectively & very fast in scoring until Amla fell at 196. The score was 436/5 with a lead of 498 Runs. DeVilliers & FduPlessis ,who joined him continued effortlessly when FduPlessis fell at 27 runs at 536/6.DeVilliers continued with Petrsen who joined him but fell at 539/7 Adding just one run in the Total Petersen with no score. DeVilliers continued with the nenw man in Philander.both together added a few invaluable runs ,when DeVilliers all set for a Double Ton ,fell at 537.the score was 557/8. At this stage the lead was 619.SA SHOULD HAVE DECLARED . But they didn't. To bat as though SA decided to play until their eventual end which did happen at The same score Of 569. The lead by SA was an unachievable 632 runs to win in the final innings for the Australians! They,however ,safeguarded all the 10 wickets in tact to come back again to dwell to get yet another 592 runs. How the Australians ,the yesterday's King of Cricket ,is go into cope up with the situation in the last innings of their former champion Ricky Ponting is a Matter TIME ALONE Can TELJL! All the Best to AUSTRALIA& SOUTH AFRICA. SreedharanMundanat 2nd December 2012 16-05 Hrs

THE BEST THRILLER OF 2012-SA vsAUSTRALIA

Three test matches were scheduled to be played between SA&AUSTRALIA in Australian soil The first was to be played at Brisbane from December9 to13 2012, second at Adalide from Dec22 to 26&the third at Perth from Nov30 to December4. The Australian with a win over the series was to wrest the number one rank from holders SA. The first & second matches ended in draw.The second was at the verge of victory for Australia when the South African FduPlessis rose to the occasion as number 9 & went on scoring & remained NOT OUT until the match was over on the final day.Thus giving a rare Chance to make the match a drawn one. Then ,the teams met at Perth to stage the Thriller which would be the deciding match to determine the holder of the first rank in Test match.the winner was to honor as the fir St ranking Team in Test matches. The South Africans after winning the Toss at Perth decided to bat first with their top Batsmen in the Batting line up. But they had to get Allout just for 225.Australians overwhelmed with joy .They began their fist innings.But to their utter surprise ,the were all out for a paltry 163 Ponting ,their best batsman & Skipper in the past,out for just for 4 runs.he had announced his retirement in this match from cricket.A terrible Bow to their one time Captain who took Australia to their Golden period in Cricket.he was in fact the most successful captain for Australia who won World Cup twice under his captaincy. Australia just like the West Indies in olden time was reigning the Cricket World with many a Glorious victories over every cricket Playing Nations. Thus Australians conceded a lead of 62 Runs to SA IN THE FIRST INNINGS . THEY BEGAN THEIR SECOND INNINGS today the second day of the match & finished the day With an encouraging score of 230 for 2 wickets from just 38 overs a run rate over6 thanks to their Skipper Smith with 84(out) & Hashish Amla on 99 at stumps!! jack Kallis who joined Amla at the fall of Smith.Kallis put Amla at 97 without allowing batting fearing that he might fall at the verge of getting his Ton.Kallis scored 17 while Amla added just 2 Runs.the service done to his Pal by Kallis was great. Tomorow morning if everything goes fine for SA ,Amla might get his hard earned Ton & & SA might finish at a mammoth score . The Australians will have to sweat tremendously if they are to enhance their Rank from second to first & at the same time SA WILL HAVE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS TO PLAY WITH A VIEW TO RETAINING THEIR FIRST RANK BY WINNING OVER AUSTRALIANS IN THEIR OWN WINNING PITCH AT PERTH. ONE CAN NOT PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF THE MATCH DESPITE 3 days left since CRICKET IS A GAME OF GLORIOUS UNCERTAINTY. A VICTORY ,HOWEVER,LOOKS LIKE A PROBABILITY FOR THE SOUTH AFRICANS UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. ALL THE BEST TO BOTH SA&AUSTRALIA SreedharanMundanat 1st December2012 17-10 hrs

ANGELO MATHEWS-A cricketer with a flavor of Instinct,Skill& willpower for survival

Angelo Mathews ,a Srilankan Cricketer is famous for his fighting spirit for survival& win.the In the Second test match between Srilanka& Newzealand on the final day Srilankans were in a desperate situation .they needed 256 runs from 3 sessions With 5 of their top batsmen back in Pavilion. Angelo Mathews, once again rose to the occasion&showed his instinct working & put them Into practice despite witnessing his partners falling one by one.He played 2 complet sessions& half an hour more on the fibmnal session. Eventually he fell due to lack of concentration allowing Newzealand a hard-fought Match.The body language of the New Zealanders indicated their relief on their faces. They won the match by 167 runs. Mathews during the course of presence at the crease reduced the huge target of 256 runs to a manageable 168or at least for a probability of making it into a Tame draw. His personal contribution was 84.At least he deserved a ton.But fate of Srilankans thought differently.

A GAME OF CHANCE-A FASCINATING ONE TOO!

After watching the second Cricket Test Match at Wankhedes ,Mumbai on Television I was reluctant to write any more Blog on Cricket due to the miserable performance from Indian Batsmen But then, Cricket is a mindturner &a Glorious game of Uncertainty.It has been proved time&again in various venues all over the world where Cricket is being played. I like to prove this beyond doubt once again. This is, in fact,the reason for this Blog!. A typical example to prove this is yet another Test Match between two leading countries Newzealand&Pakistan staged at Hamilton scheduled to be played on 7,8,9,10&11th January 2011. Newzealand opted to bat first to derive the home advantage effectively. In their First Innings Newzealand was able to score a respectable 275 . Then ,Pakistan started their first innings&scored a slightly better score to finish at 367. Pakistan jut secured a lead of 92 runs. Then came back Newzealand who are well known to be born fighters especially when they play at home. Almost everyone estimated either a draw or a win for Newzealand becaudse they had their leading batsmen like B.Mecculum,Rose Tailor &a few more hard hitters. BGut Alas!on the third day they could just manage just a paltry 110 runs!!! Pakistan,naturally,overjoyed about their performance because they had conceded just a lead of 18 runs needing 19 for them to make a win. Eventualy ,the inevitable had happened giving Pakistan a Glorious win in Newzealand on the 3rd day on 9th Jan2011. Now,let us compare this very recent game with what happened at Wankhedes on 26th November 2012. The match was scheduled to play on 23,24,25,26,&27th November 2012. India opted to bat first after winning the Toss to take advantage of the homeground. India started playing well, thanks to Thejeswar Poojara who was injured later when fielding,who did yet another wonderful performance. India finished 1st innings at a healthy figure of 327 on board. England first outing followed .They did extremely well finishing at 413 taking a lead of just 86 runs. India being one of the Best batting side in the world of Cricket every one including leading commentators&reported a tuff competion&liklyhood of yet another victory for India simply for tyhe reason that Mumbai like Kolkatta rarely winessed defeat for India at Wankhedes. But Alas ! what happened!.India finished their second outing at just 142 on board with an ignorable lead &England eventually on the 4th dayon 26th November. The above two matches are similar on many respects which are obvious not needing any details from me. Now once again it has been proved beyond doubt that "CRICKET IS A GLORIOUS GAME OF UNCERTAINTY" Now ,T%he series not yet finished 2 more Tests &a few games of smaller versions are scheduled until27th of January2013. So friends my earnest wish is that Sachin Tendulkar is needed for India more than ever now.His presence in the team is a must. He has earned every honour in the book of Cricket for his Motherland. It is true that in the last around 10 innings he has not scored many runs.But his technical skill he had exhibited is more than enough to include him He might have an intention in his mind to earn 200 Test Caps to establish yet another record for India,perhaps ,the only one has left behind until now. So let us await Test matches at Kolkatta&Nagpur with Sachin in the squad .There is n change in team as announced. Poojara,Kohli&Yuvraj Singh would ,I am sure,perform their best at Kolkatta&Nagpur to get yet another honour bestowed on thier darling Teammate. All the Best to England&India. SreedharanMundanat 28th November2012 13-50 hrs(IST)

India in Agony&desperation

A lot of expectations were on India in the morning when they conceded just 86 runs at the stroke of lunch at 11-30AM(IST). All the expectations of Indian fan had natural death by the evening. Gloom prevailed over Wankhede&darkness in the ninds of every cricket lover,when they saw all the leading batsmen fell like ripe mangoes or rather like a pack of cards at stumps on day3. A lead of 225 runs could have been sufficient to remove Englishmen as is obvious, the way Monte Panesar a spinner from England did. But whats the use of crying over spilt milk? But these things are not unusual in cricket. This has happenrd all over the cricket playing countries also. Thats why this game is called a "GLORIOUS GAME OF UNCERTAINTY" In 1983 this had happened to the uncrowned king of Cricket WEST INDIES. West Indies was reigning over the cricket world with 3 straight wins in the World CricketCup. They had the skipper Clive Llyod,Vivian Richards,Haynes,Greenidge,Kallicharran,Hall,Griffith,Malcom Marshal&many more in their team. But they lost the World Cup to India who had scored just under 200 runs.It was a topic for discussion for a long time when West could not achieve a target put up by India. In the same World Cup Zimbabwe a team ,even unknown to many then, was about to beat India to knock her out of the Tournament.But then,Kapil Dev the skipper of India rose to the occasion &scored an unbeaten 175 runs which enabled India to reach the final against West Indies. There was none today to rise to the occasion other than Goutam Gambhir ,who is still at the crease with a hard earned 50 . Harbhajan singh is giving company to him to face the inevitable tomorrow. In the last world Cup in in India ,Australia&Srilanka were sure to reach final. But both were defeated by India.India eventually lifted the World Cup.Ricky Ponting and Sangakkara had to resign from captaincy. So anything can happen tomorrow. Let us wish success to this Glorious game of ncertainty. Bye. SreedharanMundanat 25th November 2012 18-25 Hrs(IST)

ERROR IN JUDGEMENT

Sorry Friends. There was a serious error in the Blog of Yesterday on "England'sDay" I was under the wrong impression that England was following on.An effect of getting too much absorbed in Cricket.The First Test Match was still haunting me as otherwise there wasnt any need to afford 500 runs margin to England on 25th November 2012. The error is deeply regretted. As regards the game of today(26th November) the Indian decision to stick to Spinners alone initially gave oportunity for Coock&Pirtersen to smash every ball bowled. It is not known as to whether there was any Dews factor at all at the Wankhedes today. Any ways,the field placement&fielding by Indians gave ample chance for England to score a massive total of413/10 conceding a lead of 86 Runs. Nothwithstanding this,India still has a thin ray of hope to score very fast like England did&if they could make a lead of 225 shortly after lunch tomorrow&declare it could be difficult to meet the target by England The chances of spinners striking rapidly is also possible, depending upon the behaviour of the Wankhede pitch on the final day. If things turn out to be favouring India,a dramatic finish to take a lead of 2-0 in favour of India can not be totally ruled out. Let us hope for the Best&at the same time wish every good luck to England to make this match a forced Tame draw. In this case the lead of India would be in tact at 1-0 in the Test series. The happening in the reverse ,can not be even imagined for the Indians. Once again sorry for yesterday's Error in judgement yesterday SreedharanMundanat 26th November2012, 14-50 hrs(IST)

England's Day

Today ,though Indian spinners claimed 2 important wickets,belonged to England.KPietersen&CaptainCook

were allowed to build&set up to a healthy total of178/2 at stumps.

It seems these Cookies wont crumble easily

The day started interestingly for India.Dhoni continued with his trusted BowlersSahir Khan,Ojha&Aswin

until24 overs 52/0 for theb visitors.Then he introduced the Turbanator who bowled few overs steadily

&economically


all of a sudden Dhon,it seems,decided to give rest to Aswin&reintroduced Ojha In the second ball of his

second ball of his first over in the nrw spell,Ojha struck a severe blow by trapping in front to remove

Compton at 66/1Compton walked back desperately to the pavilion.

Jonathan Trott reached crease  as number3 .He was also removed  by Ojha shortly after for a duck

well caught by Sehwag off an outside edge.England were 68/2.

Therafter until stumps it was rather an exhibition of Agony for India as Cook&Pietersen started building up.

A few firm appeals for LBW were rejected by the Umpires adding insult to injury to the Indians.

India bowled a total of 65 overs to establish the partnership between Cook&Pietersen.

Englans looks all set to make a mammoth Score with Bell yet to step in.

But the morning dews at Wankhede,could help to write a different story  tomorrow, asSahirKhan&

company might be expecting  to  work overtime .

In any case,England  not making a mammoth score  over 500,India could still hope for a victorious

second Test match in Mumbai, the birthplace of Indian Cricket.In other words, India should ensure that

England is not allowed to make more than 173 runs tomorrow.

All the Best to  England&India

                                               SreedharanMundanat
                                                24th November2012
                                               19.05 Hrs(IST)

A Surprising oddity

Abul Hassan ,a debutant 20 year old Test cricketer  in No 10 position , surprised the entire cricket world

in the second Test match against West Indies when he made 113 runs to take Bangladesh to a respectable score of 387 Runs..In fact ,the entire cricket world at Bangladesh got stranded.

But then, who doesnt like a debutant making a Ton in no 10 position?

Every one might have congratulated him at least in their mind.Chris Gayle , the giant Batsman of T20 Cricket, was the first to praise him.

The test match is still in progress&it kooks WI is marked for a win with a double Ton from Samuels &Chandrapaul in full form with Ton.

Whatever may be the outcome of the match,the picture of Abul Hassan, the surprising Oddity  of world of

cricket, would remain in the hearts of evry sportsloving people of the world.

All the Best to Abul Hassan for building up his cricketing carrier effectively&efficiently.

                                   SreedharanMundanat
                                   24th November 2012

The discovery of a Gifted Cricketer(Batsman)

India finally discovered yet another Gifted Batsman in Thejeswar Poojara.

The second Test match India vsEngland is turning into more interesting one than the first.

India can be proud of finding a dependable  batsman who is likekly to keep up her Prestige for a long time.

Poojara played with maximum patience,caution&control to lift India &rescue her from a possible disaster!

During his day he committed just one minor error when he was at 93 trying for a second run which wasnt there.But he realised it on time &retrieved his crease before England fielders could inflict a damage.

At one stage India was in a desperates situation at 119/5 ,the leading batsmen became victims of Momte Panesar ,Swann&Anderson.

What Sunil Gavaskar, the onetime Great batsman&Skipper of Undia,said was about to turn out to be true,Poojara &Capt Dhoni rose to the occasion &avoided what could have been a total disaster.

Gavaskar had said the decision to bat in a spinning wicket might backfire.

England could not overcome the resistacnce caused initially by Poojara&Dhoni &later on by ASWIN &pOOJARA.The final score at stumps was a healthy score of 266/6 which  itself more than enough to rattle England with 3 specialist Spinners at the disposal of India in a spinfriendly wicket. at Wankhede,Mumbai.

Poojara made 114/279 Balls&Aswin's healthy contribution was 60 from 69 balls/

Thejeswar Poojara carried the bat in both innings of First tst&on the first daty of Second Test.

In total without getting out he has scored 2 centuries thereby contributing 379 Runs from 3 inningsr emaining all the way not out.Avery rare phenomenon he could be proud of himself.

What a neat&clean century was today's!!!

England could not find any use from their most recognised Pacer Stuart Broad who bowled 12 overs in 4 spells without success.

The star of the day Thejeswar Poojara &the hero of the Day Aswin who played second fiddle to his partner with 60 glorious runs.

4more days left,England wiil have to sweat a lot to avoid a second defeat.

                             SreeddharanMundanat
                             23rd November 2012

Second Cricket Test match between England&India

The Second Cricket Test Match between England&India is scheduled to start at Mumbai,the Motherland  of Sachin Tendulkar on 23rd November2012.There are no records left in the vacabulary of Cricket for Sachin to achieve ,it looks!

Sachin when he was a schoolboy who studied in a famous school nat Dadar ,Mumbai had .\,perhaps,made the first record of school cricket in the company of Vinod Kambli ie the highest partnership over 500 runs in school cricket with his classmate.Their regular coach was Shri Achrekar who moulded them well.

Howevwer,Vinod Kambli one of the best lefthanders in Test cricket in  India   had to leave the game behind for reasons best known to him.

Sachin Tendulkar, however,continues with his Cricket carrier &is still continuing in Test cricket for India.

He achieved all sorts of records in Cricket the best being the highest number of centuries in International cricket.Other intesresting records he has are the highest number of runs in Test Cricket&oneday internationals.

His record of highest number of centuries , however, could remain in tact for a long time to come.

There are two Indian Cricketers capable of breaking the record .They areVirat Kohli&Thejeswar Poojara.

The best records for Sachin ,as far as I  could remember ,is the honourVIZ he was the only cricketer from

indiawho was invited to his residence by Sir Donald Bradman,the legend of cricket, to wish him every endeavour&success in Cricket.

The next Best is the one awarded to him by The Prime Minister of Australia recently for his extraordinary

brilliance in Cricket.The name of the award is "Order of Australia" .

As regards the selection of playing eleven for India is yet to be decided.

But it is almost certain that Sachin would be in the final eleven.Perhaps ,this could be the last appearence in

Test Cricket for Sachin Tendulkar as seen from his body language  in first Test when he got out at 13runs.

Umesh Yadav ,who appears to have got injured ,is likely to sit at the pavilion ,the replacement for him is

likely to be Dinda.

In any case ,it is almost certain for the Spectoters at Mumbai to enjoy yet another Grandfeast starting tomorrow.(23rd November 2012)

All the Best to England&India

                                              SreedharanMundanat
                                               22nd Nov(13-10 hrs)