Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2021-22: Bihar Review

After last season’s run into the knock-outs, Bihar got promoted into the Elite groups. After a good start with a win against Railways, the momentum fizzled out for the Ashutosh Aman led side. Here is a game-by-game summary of the tournament for Bihar 

Game 1: Bihar 169/4 (20) beat Railways 134/10 (18) by 35 runs 

Highlights: Bipin Saurabh 72 (54), Abhijeet Saket 3/15, Hrishi Raj 3/31, Ashutosh Aman 2/25 

T20 Debut: Bipin Saurabh, Hrishi Raj, Yashasvi Rishav 

Game 2: Bihar 131/5 (20) lost to Kerala 132/3 (14.1) by 7 wickets 

Highlights: Sakibul Gani 53* (41), Ashutosh Aman 2/31 

Game 3: Bihar 135/8 (20) lost to Assam 136/17 (18.5) by 3 wickets 

Highlights: Babul Kumar 82 (57), Ashutosh Aman 1/9, Abhijeet Saket 2/25 

T20 Debut: Kumar Rajnish, Malay Raj 

Game 4: Bihar 59/10 (18) lost to Madhya Pradesh 60/1 (5.4) by 9 wickets 

T20 Debut: Shashi Anand, Shekhar Singh 

Game 5: Bihar 118/6 (20) lost to Gujarat 121/5 (19.1) by 5 wickets 

Highlights: Mangal Mahrour 64* (51), Ashutosh Aman 2/10 

T20 Debut: Anunay Singh 

Season Stats 

Highest Scorers 

1. Babul Kumar 131 @ 32.75, 1x50 
2. Bipin Saurabh 125 @ 25.00, 1x50 
3. Mangal Mahrour 119 @ 29.75, 1x50 

Highest Wicket-takers 

1. Ashutosh Aman 7 @ 10.71 
2. Abhijeet Saket 7 @ 18.29 
3. Hrishi Raj 4 @ 17.00 

Best Batting: Babul Kumar 82 vs Assam 

Best Bowling: Abhijeet Saket 3/15 vs Railways 

Players Used: 19 

T20 Debut: 8 

Overall, a poor run for Bihar finishing bottom of the group.

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2021: Bihar Review

Bihar had a good run in the tournament. Won all their games in the Plate League and with Nagaland-Chandigarh match called off got sole pole position to qualify for the Quarter-Finals. The Ashutosh Aman lead side had its moments against Rajasthan but fell short in the end. This was the first televised game for this lot, so lets see if any of them have got the eye of the IPL scouts. 

Game 1: Bihar 122/10 (20) beat Arunachal Pradesh 104/9 (20) by 18 runs 

Highlights: Ashutosh Aman 3/17, Sachin Kumar 3/22 

T20 Debut: Amod Yadav, Rahul Kumar, Sachin Kumar, Sakibul Gani, Vikash Yadav 

Game 2: Sikkim 110/8 (20) lost to Bihar 111/2 (19.1) by 8 wickets 

Highlights: Ashutosh Aman 4/18, Mangal Mahrour 55 (46) 

Game 3: Meghalaya 89/9 (20) lost to Bihar 92/4 (16) by 6 wickets 

Highlights: Anuj Raj 3/15, Ashutosh Aman 2/15, Shasheem Rathour 2/17 & 33 (28) 

T20 Debut: Anuj Raj, Akash Raj 

Game 4: Manipur 105/8 (20) lost to Bihar 107/1 (17.1) by 9 wickets 

Highlights: Amod Yadav 4/17, Shasheem Rathour 60* (40) 

Game 5: Mizoram 83/8 (20) lost to Bihar 84/4 (12.4) by 6 wickets 

Highlights: Ashutosh Aman 4/9 

T20 Debut: Mohit Kumar 

Bihar topped the Plate Group and reached the Quarter-Finals 

Quarter-Finals: Rajasthan 164/5 (20) beat Bihar 148/4 (20) by 16 runs 

Highlights: Mangal Mahrour 68* (58) 

T20 Debut: Suraj Kashyap 

Season Stats 

Highest Scorers 

1. Mangal Mahrour 168 @ 33.60, 2x50s 
2. Shasheem Rathour 142 @ 28.40, 1x50 
3. Babul Kumar 108 @ 27.00 

Highest Wicket-takers 

1. Ashutosh Aman 16 @ 7.63 
2. Amod Yadav 7 @10.86 
3. Samar Qaudri 6 @ 17.83 

Best Batting: Mangal Mahrour 68*vs Rajasthan 

Best Bowling: Ashutosh Aman 4/9 vs Mizoram 

Players Used: 15 

T20 Debut: 9

Coming Up Next: Vijay Hazare Trophy 

P.S. Incidentally, this is the 500th post on this blog!

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2021 - Jharkhand Review

The 2020-21 season got off to a belated start with the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. This season’s format ensured that you had to win every game in the league stage or hope for a bunch of other results going in your favour. 

Jharkhand, lead by Ishan Kishan, had a bad start losing their first two games, effectively getting knocked out. The team regrouped and won the next two comfortably before finishing off with a Super Over win against Hyderabad. Incidentally this was the first ever Super Over at Eden Gardens! 

Here is the tournament summary. 

Game 1: Tamil Nadu 189/5 (20) beat Jharkhand 123/7 (20) by 66 runs 

Game 2: Bengal 161/6 (20) beat Jharkhand 145/9 (20) by 16 runs 

Highlights: Monu Kumar 3/20, Virat Singh 47 (38), Utkarsh Singh 1/19 & 28 (14) 

T20 Debut: Kumar Suraj 

Game 3: Jharkhand 233/3 (20) beat Assam 182/7 (20) by 51 runs 

Highlights: Virat Singh 103* (50), Saurabh Tiwary 57 (33),Kumar Deobrat 31* (12), Monu Kumar 3/23 

Game 4: Jharkhand 182/4 (20) beat Odisha 128/10 (17.5) by 54 runs 

Highlights: Ishan Kishan 60 (36), Virat Singh 67 (37), Bal Krishna 4/21 

T20 Debut: Bal Krishna, Vikash Vishal 

Game 5: Hyderabad 139/8 (20) lost to Jharkhand 139/9 (20) in Super Over (14/1 to 23/0) 

Highlights: Vivekanand Tiwari 3/25, Vikash Singh 3/36 

Season Stats 

Highest Scorers 

1. Virat Singh 250 @ 62.50 
2. Ishan Kishan 142 @ 28.40 
3. Saurabh Tiwary 92 @ 23.00 

Highest Wicket-takers 

1. Monu Kumar 8 @ 14.13 
2. Bal Krishna 5 @ 9.60 
3. Rahul Shukla 4 @ 26.50 

Best Batting: Virat Singh 103* (50) vs Assam 

Best Bowling: Monu Kumar 3/20 vs Bengal 

Players Used: 18 

T20 Debut: 3 

It was a good chance for the players to showcase their T20 skills with the IPL auction coming up. Monu Kumar, recently released by CSK came good as did debutante Bal Krishna. 

And now we go into another period of uncertainty about the next fixture.

2018-19: Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy: Bihar Review

Bihar’s T20 debut as a team. Unlike the Ranji & Vijay Hazare Trophies, there was no separate Plate Group for the newcomers. And the inexperience showed in the results and numbers. Overall, a disappointing performance. Finished 6th in the Group, after scraping through with a win against Meghalaya. Hopefully it will have been a good learning experience! 

Game 1: Bihar 103/8 (20) lost to Vidarbha 104/3 (14.2) by 7 wickets 

Key Performers: Vivek Kumar 2/27 

T20 Debut: Mangal Mahrour, Vijay Bharti, Babul Kumar, MD Rahmatullah, Asfan Khan, Ashutosh Aman, Vivek Kumar, Prashant Singh, Vishal Das 

Game 2: Bihar 131/9 (20) lost to Tamil Nadu 132/4 (18.5) by 6 wickets 

Key Performers: Ashutosh Aman 2/19 

T20 Debut: Piyush Singh 

Game 3: Bihar 78/10 (18.5) lost to Himachal Pradesh 81/1 (10.3) by 9 wickets 

Game 4: Gujarat 199/4 (20) beat Bihar 116/7 (20) by 83 runs 

Key Performers: Keshav Kumar 61* (62), Vishal Das 2/40 

Game 5: Meghalaya 124/8 (20) lost to Bihar 126/9 (19.5) by 1 wicket 

Key Performers: Ashutosh Aman 4/15, Prashant Singh 2/16, Keshav Kumar 43 (40) 

T20 Debut: Puneet Malik 

Game 6: Rajasthan 129/8 (20) beat Bihar 110/8 (20) by 19 runs 

Key Performers: Prashant Singh 3/23, Vivek Kumar 2/29 

Season Stats 

Top Scorer: 

1. Keshav Kumar – 145 @ 36.25 
2. Asfan Khan – 70 @ 11.67 
3. Mangal Mahrour – 58 @ 9.67 

Highest Score – Keshav Kumar 61* vs Gujarat 

Most Wickets 

1. Ashutosh Aman – 7 @ 18.43 (Who else!!!)
2. Prashant Singh – 6 @ 21.17 
3. Vishal Das – 5 @ 24.80 

Best Figures – Ashutosh Aman 2/19 vs Tamil Nadu 

Player Count: 13 

Debutantes: 11 

Captain Count: 1 (Ashutosh Aman) 

Overall, a big learning experience on being the first time out of the comfort zone of the Plate League. No big standout performance as such. 

Till next season for Bihar!

The Last Ball Six

Everyone who has played any form of cricket has had this dream. Playing for your country. Hitting a six off the very last ball to win the match. Heck, we have even made a movie of it. Bhuvan hitting the last ball over the boundary to save 3 years’ worth of tax for his village in the climactic scene of Lagaan. Cricket could never have had greater context, an increasingly elusive commodity in modern times. But I digress. 

18th March, 2018. India vs Bangladesh. Dinesh Karthik lofts the last ball over covers to win tournament for India. Bringing a sensational end for what had been a pretty insipid tournament. 

It was one of the moments to cherish. And a reminder to myself why I love this game so much. Don’t remember when I was last jumping up and down during or after a game. And I had only watched the last 3 overs of this game.

In an age of cricketing overdose and no “context” to keep the fans engaged, there came a T20 tri-series (!), in Sri Lanka (!!), with Bangladesh (!!!), where India rested their stars (!!!!) and still sailed through comfortably. At the start, the most interesting bit of the tournament was finding the channel telecasting the tournament– Discovery Sport & Rishtey Cineplex!!! 

But things got a bit spicy as the tournament progressed, mainly due to the antics of the Bangladeshi players during and after their last game with Sri Lanka. Their “naagin dance” celebrations managed to piss off the Sri Lankan fans to such an extent that they came out in vociferous support of India (!) in the Final. Indian teams over the years have had vocal support in all parts of the world, mainly from our expat population. (Benefits of having over 1.3 Billion of us!!!). But never ever have we had the local crowds supporting us in such a manner!

This could be the defining innings for Karthik in an era of abundant wicket-keeping talent. Having made his debut in 2004, has been in and around the Indian team for all this time. Many a times playing as a pure batsman and only on occasion getting to keep wickets in Dhoni’s absence. No one has ever doubted Karthik’s keeping talents. Good to see this unsung performer finally getting his share of the limelight. 

Never has India’s wicket-keeping coffers been so rich. Dhoni is still there, and then there is a bunch of veterans fighting for his retired Test spot – Saha, Karthik, Parthiv, Naman Ojha, and the IPL brat pack – Pant, Samson, Kishan – vying for the limited overs spot! And just to get the mix more interesting, we have batsmen, who are also employed as keepers – Uthappa, Rahul, Jadhav! What riches in the wicket-keeping talent pool!

After such a game, comes out the heartening back-story of Abhishek Nayar, who played 3 ODIs for India, helped Karthik rediscover his mojo. Nayar was also the one who brought Rohit Sharma’s career back on track in 2011. Time to take Abhishek Nayar’s mentorship role more seriously.

And finally a few thoughts for Vijay Shankar. Felt sorry for him, as he tried to put bat on ball, but was simply unable to. Seeing his struggles while Karthik blasted from the other end, was a reminder that cricket is a very much individual game masquerading as a team-sport. Vijay Shankar struggled, but in the end, India won, so it was all OK. Hopefully, he does get another chance to showcase his talent at the biggest stage.

After all these years, Dinesh Karthik has finally arrived. If nothing else this shot will certainly go down in Indian cricketing folk-lore like Kanitkar's boundary!

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2018: Super League Jharkhand Review

Jharkhand had a poor run in the Super League winning one and losing three of their four games to finish bottom of the table. They did come close against Rajasthan but were absolutely flattened against Karnataka.

Absentees: Dhoni (MIA) Ishank Jaggi (injury)

Game 1: Mumbai 170/5 (20) beat Jharkhand 157/7 (20) by 13 runs

Key Performers: Virat Singh 81 (49), Saurabh Tiwary 32(22), Nadeem 1/23

Game 2: Jharkhand 157/5 (20) lost to Rajasthan 158/6 (19.1) by 4 wickets

Key Performers: Nadeem 27 (22) & 1/18, Ishan Kishan 39(36), Virat Singh 43 (28), Aaron 2/24

• Nadeem batting 1 down was a surprise!

Game 3: Punjab 149/7 (20) lost to Jharkhand 150/6 (19.3) by 4 wickets

Key Performers: Kaushal Singh 3/26 & 29(31), Varun Aaron 2/20, Ishan Kishan 54 (29)

Got to see the Jharkhand team in action on live TV after a long time. Only watched the second half of the game though! Key takeaways:

• Ishan Kishan needs a little more consistency for a call-up to the national squad – given that his direct competitors are Rishabh Pant & Sanju Samson!
• Manpreet Gony hurling abuses at little Ishan Kishan after being hit all over the park! While Harbhajan Singh gives a pat on the back after having bowled him. Good example of what is “spirit of cricket” and what is not?
• Kaushal Singh looks a wannabe Saurabh Tiwary, who used to be a wannabe MS Dhoni!
• Punjab’s fielding left a lot to be desired.
• And Nadeem seems to be specializing as a pinch-hitter now!

Game 4: Karnataka 201/4 (20) beat Jharkhand 78 (14.2) by 123 runs

Key performers: Vikash Singh 25 (16) coming in at No.10! 7 Varun Aaron scoring 3 off 30 balls.

Special Mention: Karun Nair got a 100 for the opposing side!

Season Stats

• Top Scorer: Ishan Kishan 273 runs
• Most Wickets: Monu Kumar 12
• Player Count: 15

So the auditions for the coming IPL Auctions are done. Let’s see which of the Jharkhand Auction XI has caught the eye of the scouts!

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2018: Zonal Stage: Jharkhand Review

Before we delve further, a piece of interesting news from the Honorable Supreme Court, who have directed BCCI to allow Bihar to play in the Ranji Trophy. So most likely from next season, Slipstream Cricket will be providing more Domestic coverage as we have two teams to follow now! But we shall cross that bridge when it comes. 

This year, BCCI has brought forward the Domestic T20 tournament, thus giving the players an added incentive of performing just before the IPL auctions. Last year, Ishank Jaggi grabbed his chances and got an IPL contract. This year with the complete overhaul of the IPL teams, more places are up for grabs. 

There was a change in the tournament format. Like every year, we need to keep tinkering with our domestic tournaments! The tournament is held in two stages, first the zonal leagues followed by Top two from each zone qualifying for the Super League and followed by a Final. Thus better team performances give more chances to individuals to showcase their talent to the IPL scouts.

Now for Jharkhand’s performance. MS Dhoni opted out of the tournament which was a big blow to the team. Varun Aaron lead the team.

Game 1: Jharkhand 163/6 (20) beat Tripura 139/9 (20) by 24 runs

Key performers: Virat Singh 43 (31), Ishan Kishan 26 (16), Ishank Jaggi 33 (26). 2 wickets each for Nadeem, Varun Aaron and Kaushal Singh who also contributed 20 with the bat.

Game 2: Jharkhand 177/9 (20) lost to Bengal 179/4 (19.2) by 6 wickets

Key Performers: Ishank Jaggi 72 (39) & Ishan Kishan 49 (35). 2 wickets for Kaushal Singh.

Game 3: Assam 148/6 (20) lost to Jharkhand 149/2 (16) by 8 wickets.

Key Performers: Monu Kumar 3/23, Ishank Jaggi 68*(37) & Ishan Kishan 36 (19)

T20 debut for Nazim Siddiqui.

Game 4: Odisha 123 (19.4) lost to Jharkhand 129/2 (16.4) by 8 wickets

Key Performers: Monu Kumar with 4/14; Ishan Kishan 51 (38) & Ishank Jaggi 40*(25).

Senior debut for Atul Surwar.

Jharkhand finished second in East Zone behind Bengal to qualify for the Super League.

Season Stats:

Top Scorer: Ishank Jaggi - 213 runs

Most Wickets: Monu Kumar - 8 

Arbit Stats #54: Maiden Starts

T20I #560: Zimbabwe vs India, Harare

India beat Zimbabwe in a low-scoring encounter by 3 runs. Special highlight of the game being both innings started with a maiden to the bowler. Tendai Chatara bowled one to start India's innings while Barinder Sran started off with a maiden to commence Zimbabwe's innings. 

Slight anamoly being that Sran did concede a leg-bye, but they don't count towards the bowler's stats (like byes).

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 15-16: Jharkhand Group Stage Review

Its been a good season for Jharkhand. Different format, yet the same result. Jharkhand marched into the second stage with ease in the national T20 tournament.

Game 1 : Tripura [146/7(20)] lost to Jharkhand [150/1(18.3)] by 9 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Tripura 0 

Lineup: Virat Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Saurabh Tiwary, Kumar Deobrat, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vikash Singh, Ankit Dabas, Monu Kumar, Prakash Seet, Kaushal Singh, Sumit Kumar 

T20 debuts: Ankit Dabas, Monu Kumar, Sumit Kumar 

Key Performers: Nadeem (3/18), Virat Singh (65), Jaggi (75*) 

Game 2: Rajasthan [120/9(20)] lost to Jharkhand [121/2(19.5)] by 8 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Rajasthan 0 

Key Performers: Vikash Singh (4/12), Saurabh Tiwary (61* & 3 Catches), Sumit Kumar (38*) 

Game 3: Jharkhand [104/9(20)] lost to Punjab [105/3(17.3)] by 7 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 0, Punjab 4 

Team Changes: Out – Saurabh Tiwary, In – Anand Singh 

Key Performers: Virat Singh (41), Prakash Seet (2/31) 

Game 4: Jharkhand [179/4(20)] beat Jammu & Kashmir [103/7(20) by 76 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Jammu & Kashmir 0

Team Changes: Out – Anand Singh, Monu Kumar, Ankit Dabas; In – Saurabh Tiwary, Shasheem Rathour, Sonu Singh 

T20 Debut: Shasheem Rathour, Sonu Singh 

Key Performers: Rathour (50 & 1/17 on debut), Tiwary (57*), Sonu Singh (2/16), Nadeem (2/16) 

Jharkhand beat J&K across all 3 formats in the 2015-16 season 

Game 5: Saurashtra [128/5(20)] lost to Jharkhand [132/3(19.3)] by 7 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Saurashtra 0 

Team Changes: Out – Ankit Dabas, In – Saurabh Tiwary 

Key Performers: Sonu Singh (2/23), Rathour (1/18 & 27), Virat Singh (41) 

Game 6: Kerala [169/6(20)] lost to Jharkhand [174/4(19)] by 6 Wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Kerala 0 

Team Changes: Out- Virat Singh, In – Ankit Dabas 

Key Performers: Nadeem (3/31), Jaggi (45), Kaushal Singh (33) 

Season Stats: 

Top Scorer: Saurabh Tiwary 174 @174 

Most Wickets: 9 @15.67
Player Count: 14

Jharkhand qualified for the quarter-finals finishing joint top of the group with Kerala. And alongwith Vidarbha are the only 2 dometic teams to reach the second stage in each of the 3 national competitions. Thats quite an achievement, specially given the absence of some key players on national duties.

Coming Up Next: Syed Mustaq Ali Super League where Jharkhand are clubbed with Uttar Pradesh, Delhi & Gujarat, with the group toppers reaching the finals. 

Fixtures: 

15-Jan-16: Jharkhand vs Uttar Pradesh 

16-Jan-16: Jharkhand vs Delhi 

18-Jan-16: Jhakrhand vs Gujarat
20-Jan-16: Finals

Podcast: Thoughts on Cricket - T20, India

After having reviewed India's Olympic performance through a podcast, presenting the second podcast done by the trio of Karthik, Ajay & Yours truly.

Though the discussions went on for long, the podcast has been restricted to less than 20 minutes play duration. 

Among other things we analyse and find why picking Chris Gayle for your T20 team is not a good idea.

A podcast reviewing the World T20, the currently underway CL T20, talking about the IPL and looking forward to India's upcoming series.

01:15 - Thoughts on the World T20 

06:00 - Quick thoughts on Anil Kumble becoming the ICC Cricket Committee Chairman 

07:50 - Champions League T20 Thoughts - Lack of champions, proposed future formats 

10:50 - Proposed changes to CL T20 

12:50 - The IPL, teams being terminated and feasibility 

15:00 - A few thoughts on domestic cricket 

16:45 - India's upcoming calendar and the case of the missing SL series 

18:30 - Closing comments

If you like what you hear, follow us @ajay_prasad @kcgadiyar and @nishantskumar

T20 World Cup - 2012 Review

Apparently a T20 Champions League is currently underway in South Africa. Quite a misnomer given that some of the Champion teams had to play in the qualifying while a 4th place finish gets a direct entry for some one else. BCCI be a little less greedy. Get 4 IPL teams but restrict direct entry to only two.

Also this is a perfect example of cricket overdose, coming as it does close on the heels of the T20 World Cup. I have hardly been following the Champions league. And am sure there are many other ardent fans who are also suffering from this excess.

Now for the main agenda for this post. Here are some thoughts on the T20 World Cup with a little focus on the Indian performance.

West Indies winning was liked all around. They certainly brought joy to all the cricket followers  through the "Gangnam style" cricket. But will this mark a turnaround in their fortunes. I don't think so,  given that most of the current West Indies lot is more interested in performing in one T20 league or the other across the world. Will the likes of Pollard, Gayle, Bravo, Sunil Naraine show the same commitment when matches of West Indies clash with the Big Bash or IPL etc?

Sri Lanka again lost in a major final (4th in last 5 years). But they have certainly been the most consistent of all teams in the limited overs format.

There was a strategic decision by Mahela Jayawardene to handover the captaincy to Kumara Sangakkara to avoid getting a ban. A move which raised a few eyebrows about the slow over-rate rule. Tony Grieg, the Cheerleader-in-chief of Sri Lanka went all gungho hailing this "tactical" move by the Sri Lankan team management. I don't have any issue as all this was not illegal. But what about the "Spirit of Cricket" nonsense which Mr. Grieg had harped on about earlier this year at the MCC lecture. In my opinion, Mr. Greig if this is not hypocrisy, then I wonder what is?

Shane Watson was a deserving Man of the Series. One player who certainly owes a lot to the IPL

A pattern has been observed in the tournament winners. They generally have very bad starts to the tournament. In fact, 3 of them have gone on to win the tournament without even a single win in the first phase. Here are the opening round performances of the 4 winners

• 2007 - India - 1 No result, 1 Tie (win in bowl-out)
• 2009 - Pakistan - 1 loss, 1 win 
• 2010 - England - 1 Loss, 1 No Result 
• 2012 - West Indies - 1 Loss, 1 No Result

ICC needs to review the necessity of a Super Over in League stages. Use it in the knock-outs, but why is required at all in a League game? A tie is after all a perfectly acceptable result in any league format across sports.

England, I am worried about you. If you could make Piyush Chawla look like Shane Warne, then a 4-nil thrashing is in the offing in India. Have to admit that the better players of spin (Pietersen, Cook, Trott, Bell)weren't in the squad. Which begs the question, why weren't they there?

Now for India. The team doesn't give the feeling of a team at all. A few thoughts on the Indian performance.

• Batting has become Virat Kohli + support. Only if, just in case, Kohli might have an off day (an increasingly rare occurence), the batting collapses completely. 
• There were some very strange team selections. The presence of Piyush Chawla, absence of Umesh Yadav/Praveen Kumar. Manoj Tiwary being forever benched. Rohit Sharma getting game after game. Irfan Pathan opening when there are 6 other specialist batsmen waiting in the dug-out. Quite logic defying.
• One highlight was the return to fitness, though not complete form of Yuvraj Singh. His return from cancer is certainly more than just cricket.
• Dhoni is looking weary. Its said captains have a shelf life. He seems to be at the end of his. All this non-stop cricket is certainly taking a toll. But no replacement seems to be ready to take over the mantle from him.
• Yet insite of all this, India did win 4 out of the 5 games they played. So there is hope.
• And yes, we continue our DOMINANCE over Pakistan in the World Cups (:D)

So these were my thoughts on the Gangnam style World Cup.

P.S. More than the Champions League, what I have been following is the ongoing Duleep Trophy. To be covered in the next post.

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy - Jharkhand Review

In continuation with this post here. 

The East Zone qualifiers were held in Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur. Unfortnuately, the matches were affected by the inclement weather. here are Jharkhand's results

Oct 21 - vs Tripura - Match abandoned without a single ball being bowled.

Oct 22 - vs Bengal - Match abandoned without a single ball being bowled.

Oct 23 - vs Orissa - Jharkhand won by 6 wickets.

Oct 24 - vs Assam - Assam won by 17 runs.
In all Jharkhand got 8 points and failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the national T20 championships. However with only 2 finished games not much can be read into the results.

Now its over to the Ranji Trophy, where Jharkhand are in the Plate League with the first game having begun against Hyderabad in Hyderabad.

Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy - 2011-12

The Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy for the 2011-12 season has begun. (Detailed schedule here). For the uninitiated this is the tournament which determines India's national T20 champions (and not the IPL as everyone believes).

Here is my team, Jharkhand's schedule of play for the zonal round.

Oct 21 - vs Tripura

Oct 22 - vs Bengal

Oct 23 - vs Orissa

Oct 24 - vs Assam

After the zonal matches, we have the quarter-final stage onwards in March (!!!). Some weird scheduling.

Wishing all the best to Saurabh Tiwary, Ishank Jaggi and Co. I know the team is quite depleted with Dhoni & Aaron on national duty but still it should be a tough fight.

The Wall - Debut-cum-Farewell

At the age of over 38, Rahul Dravid made his T20 international debut. It was a belated debut, as he should have been leading the Indian team in its first ever T20 game, but was injured on that day. And given that he had announced from Limited overs international cricket, this was also going to be his last match as well. A debut and a farewell rolled into one. He came in at his favored no. 3 spot. Started scratchily and then smashed 3 consecutive sixes to leave an indelible memory for his fans.

It has been said that in this thus far disastrous tour of England, the only good thing has been that Indian cricket and its fans have learnt to appreciate Rahul Dravid again. With every passing day, the Wall rises higher in our esteem. RESPECT.

Boxing Day Stories

It was an enjoyable Boxing Day for the cricket fan located in India. Action all day in the Southern Hemisphere. Quite a bit of it happened while I was still asleep. The Kiwis won a match after a long long time in the T20 against Pakistan. Pakistan started the innings with a bang and ended with a bang. In the middle Tim Southee took a "Michelle" including a hattrick.

Then to the action in Melbourne. Australia all out for 98 as another allround batting failure with even Hussey & Haddin not saving them. So I woke up to see Cook & Strauss coming in to bat and then put on a 150+ unbeaten partnership. An example of total domination.

It was nice to see the home team in such trouble and the Indian fan in me hoped for the same fate to befall the home team in Durban. Alas, it wasn't to be as Dhoni lost the toss (again) in cloudy conditions on a greenish pitch. I had flashbacks of Durban 1996 when India were shot out for 100 & 66 in the 2 innings. Bad light and rain stopped play early. Given the conditions 6 down for 183 is not too bad. Hoping the conditions remain same when Zaheer comes onto bowl. Highlights of the Day's Play Laxman's 5th career 6 and Tsotsobe's catch to dismiss him.

P.S. Given the number of tosses Dhoni continues to lose and the impact of the toss, it really is a wonder that India are the No. 1 test side. So maybe people might consider this factor before questioning India's numero uno status.

Sir Jogi

Joginder Sharma

Player - India, Haryana, Chennai Super Kings

Winners Medal - T20 World Cup (2007), IPL (2010), Champions League (2010)

Joginder Sharma (or Sir Jogi as he is affectionately referred to) will go down in all Indian cricket fans' memories as the person who was entrusted with the job of bowling the last over in the T20 World Cup final. Misbah-ul-Haq somehow managed to get out on the 4th ball and India became the first T20 world champion. Sadly this was the last time Sir Jogi played for India (so far). He went on to represent Chennai Super Kings in the IPL(Irony - this is a team from which many players went on to represent India but Sir Jogi went out of the nationalsquad). He went on to get the IPL winners medal, though was dropped in the later stages of the tournament. And now has the Champions League winners medal (without playing a single game).

Thus Sir Jogi is now the most decorated Indian T20 player (alongwith Dhoni) with 3 winners medals (Aside - between them Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly & Kumble have none. So now we know whom to select to have a better chance of winning the tournament :P)

Cricket Fatigue

I guess its official now. I am fatigued from the overdose of cricket. And have lost track of the games. There was India-Zimbabwe T20 international going on and I had no idea about its timings. BCCI lean fast or your loyal fans will start deserting you if you overdose them with this mediocre stuff.

Afghanistan: The fairytale continues

Today Afghanistan beat USA to register their 3rd consecutive victory in the T20 World Cup qualifiers being held in Dubai & Abu Dhabi. With this they have reached the super 4s stage and are probably just one win away from playing with the big boys. Its been a tremendous journey for Hamid Hassan's team over the last couple of year. From World Cricket League 5th Division to ODI status and now this, its been truly a fairy tale. And its been a journey far away from the arc-lights. There is nothing like sporting achievement to boost a country's morale. Its truly wonderful to have Afghanistan in he news for reasons other than terrorism and war. 

My full support is with the Afghanistan cricket team. May they qualify for the T20 World Cup. And then only the world will be aware of what this team has achieved.

The IPL Auction Tamasha

As I write this the India-Bangladesh 1st Test in Chittagong is on. India is in a commanding position after being in some trouble in the Ist innings. Gautam Gambhir has now scored centuries in his last 5 Tests & 50s in his last 10. And now has a good chance of equalling the records of Don Bradman & Viv Richards, respectively, in the next test.
Now over to the main theme of this post.

Date: 19.01.2010, Mumbai, India
Event: Players’ auction for the 3rd Indian Premier League
66 players from different nationalities had been registered for the auction. Between the 8 franchisees they had 13 slots available and a cap of $750K on the spending. Very few players were bought this around. Kieron Pollard, Shane Bond, Wayne Parnell & Kemar Roach were the ones with highest price tag. No Pakistani player was picked. Australians were also avoided. Very few franchisees seemed to be willing to spend too much this time around on others. Some highlights in this year’s auction were

• Champions League is the perfect stage to be noticed. Kieron Pollard would definitely agree. 4 franchisees wanted him at $750K & went though a “silent tie-breaker” to decide where he goes.
• Franchisees are looking for availability rather than just star power. That’s the only possible reason why in-form players like Haddin & Swann were ignored.
• Not a single Pakistani player was selected. This has already led to huge uproar across the border. There is no cricketing logic as to why Afridi, Gul, Aamer, the Akmal brothers would all be ignored. The turbulent political situation between the two countries was the main reason. I personally don’t think that it was a deliberate conspiracy by all the franchisees; they were just playing it safe.
• The “Silent Tie-Breaker”: Now this was the one issue which really made the auction into a big tamasha. If more than one franchisee had bid the maximum amount (750K) for a player, then the silent tie-breaker would take place. Those franchisees would then put in a figure on a piece of paper and give it to Lalit Modi, who would announce the highest bidder. This amount is not disclosed and goes to the IPL and not the player. Now, if this is not bribery, then what is? Lalit Modi does seem to continue finding innovative ideas of making money.
• The drama of Mohammed Kaif was even weirder. He was the lone Indian in the auction and a last minute entry at that. Nobody picked him in the first round. And in the second round there was great interest with 3 franchisees bidding for him. Curious!
• Players from Associate countries are overlooked. Picking Damien Martyn over Ryan ten Doeschate or Rizwan Cheema simply makes no sense.

So all this tamasha has ended (hopefully). And now I wait for the actual one to begin. I like watching the games. They are fun and good evening entertainment. But all this drama does leave a bad taste.