» Dhoni

CSK Starts IPL 2012 Campaign

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:06:00 +0000

The defending champions Chennai Super Kings started off their IPL 2012 (IPL 5) campaign with a loss to Mumbai Indians. For the start, it seems like CSK have lost their home advantage due to the nature of the new pitch laid in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai. The batting looked clueless on the new pitch and their slow bowlers were not as effective as they used to be.

Clearly, CSK's batting looks pretty ordinary. I personally feel that they don't have a solid batsman in the category of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis. They are certainly missing Michael Hussey, one player who could fit in the slot nicely. CSK owes their success last year to the solid batting by Michael Hussey up the order. CSK enjoyed the same support in the earlier versions from another Australian, Mathew Hayden. It seems this solid batting is missing this time. Vijay is a pale shadow of the hero who managed some extraordinary batting in the earlier IPLs.

Did CSK owners spent too much money to get Ravindra Jadeja? I am not sure, but that is the feeling one gets from his performance in the first match. He bowled one expensive over and did not trouble the scorers too much while he batted. Time and again he proves that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's trust on him is misplaced. But, in IPL, I believe Jadeja may come good. If CSK is to match the success of last year, he needs to step up.

The bowling looked better; Albie Morkel bowled well, Doug Bollinger was on fire (even though not on target), Ashwin was economical, Bravo showed he is a good all-rounder.

IPL is a long tournament; so, one loss should not matter too much. But, only the manner in which it was lost is a concern. Dhoni & his team has to gather themselves quickly for their next match against Deccan Chargers. This is an away game; CSK were not a great team outside Chennai so far. They have to change that at the earliest, with the home advantage slipping from their hands.

CSK Starts IPL 2012 Campaign

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Have We Hyped India’s Batting Line-Up?

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:03:13 +0000

The Reverse Sweep goes over India’s recent overseas batting:

For the record and in reverse order the sorry tale of inepitude against Australia, England, West Indies and South Africa reads: 191, 169, 282, 283, 300, 244, 224, 158, 288, 261, 286, 347, 201, 252, 246, 364, 228 and 205.

During this sorry run these are the averages of India’s top seven: Gambhir 25.00, Sehwag 20.54, Dravid 47.66, Tendulkar 42.71, Laxman 32.15, Dhoni 27.00, Raina 25.92 and Kohli 13.75.

That’s pretty damning, but the post goes a bit too far when it suggests India’s batting is more myth and propaganda than actual merit.* Here are the career overseas averages for the players listed above: Gambhir: 49.75**; Sehwag: 46.21; Dravid: 54.13; Laxman: 46.40; Tendulkar: 55.61; Dhoni: 35.07. (I’m not going to include Raina or Kohli because they’re too green at this level.) Those averages don’t suggest a line-up inept in the overseas circuit (though, admittedly, their averages in England and Australia specifically are likely to be much less flattering).

So why do these batsmen suddenly look like they’re playing in 1990s highlights? I don’t know and I haven’t seen a good answer from anyone. I wrote in an earlier post that India’s team management seemed to think that the England series was essentially a fluke compounded by bad luck and injuries. You can see why they didn’t seek radical change: Gambhir’s poking around off-stump works well in South Asia, but not so well against the swinging/seaming ball; Dravid and Tendulkar look great; Sehwag is and always has been a lottery and no one — no one — knows what’s going on with Laxman.

Whatever the cause, India’s batting-line up now looks like Sri Lanka’s: it all rests and falls with two men, Mahela and Sangakarra (or Dravid and Tendulkar in this case). Get to them (through a volatile opening pair), work hard to get them out (by restrictive lines and good luck), and you have a suddenly weak Laxman, Dhoni (not the best Test batsman) and a tail that goes from No. 6 down. If India fails to post a reasonable total in Sydney, the counter-narrative will begin to gather some momentum and more folks will be talking about “flat track bullies.” Either way, the series will be lost; Dravid’s (and possibly Laxman’s) retirement will be hastened, and a generation of fans will ponder why a team with such obvious promise and talent failed to rule the world at the start of the 21st century.

* I think it’s also a tiny bit unfair: teams like South Africa, Eng, and Aus will have higher batting averages in South Asia because pitches there are generally more welcoming (at least for the 1st innings). [I'm too lazy to check this hypothesis out -- am I right? Are subcontinent averages for batsmen from these countries high?]

** Gambhir’s overseas average is inflated by performances against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. On the other hand, he has done well in New Zealand and South Africa, which aren’t kind to most batsmen (let alone Indian ones).

The Follow-Up Question For R. Ashwin

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:08:05 +0000

This is what R. Ashwin — given the unenviable task of facing Indian reporters after Day 2 — said about India’s defensive field with Australia at 99/3:

“What else do you do with 190 in the pocket?” Ashwin said. “You’ll have to save every run possible. Supposing you get two or three wickets later on, and someone is having a good spell, we have those runs to play with later. That has got to be the only idea. It’s common sense. Nothing else.”

But please, sir: “Given that Australia’s run-rate did not dip below 4 through the day, doesn’t that mean you failed both at taking wickets and containing the batsmen? Wouldn’t you rather have conceded a few boundaries if an attacking field meant your chance of taking a wicket increased?” Good Lord, I sound more and more like Ian Chappell with each passing day.

Malinga powers Mumbai to close win

admin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:03:11 +0000

Lasith Malinga powers Mumbai to close win. Mumbai Indians Wins Chennai Super Kings and bringing end of their 8 continuous winnings at home ground in Chennai.
Dhoni captain of CSK mentioned that it was him to be blamed for missing a stumping of Malinga in the death overs. Mike Hussey’s 81 went off in vain.

Lasith Malinga was the man of the match for his match winning 37 in just 18 balls in the final Mumbai Indians innings.

CSK vs MI Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings 158/4 (20/20 ov)
Mumbai Indians 159/7 (19.5/20 ov)

From Cricinfo:
Lasith Malinga is expected to win matches with the ball, he does the job with the bat this time. Those two straight sixes off Jakati gave Mumbai hope, there was some senseless swinging after that, but Mumbai will be willing to forgive that as he ends with 37* off 18. The partnership with Harbhajan was 53 off 4.3 overs, it needed something special to beat Chennai at home – Malinga and Harbhajan provided that. Hang on for the presentation.