Archive for Cricket

Times exaggeration of Mumbai schools

‘Most schools in Navi Mumbai ignore sports’ was a news article in The Times of India. It gives further statistics of Navi Mumbai schools and uses big words like Schools though charge heavily cannot bend it like Beckham.

We do not give importance to Sports in schools but outside how we public view and spend for Sports? Not in a big way. We do not spend for Cricket and our star players had little to start with. Now the minimum charges for entry into Twenty-20 game has become Rs500/- (This I heard from my friend). So money has to come somewhere – from gate collection to Ads. And the Cricket Board must also become accountable and without interference from politics.
Meanwhile my friend has developed a very nice software to play the Twenty-20! Interested? I will give the details later.

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Tendulkar 200

Sachin Tendulkar chose the best bowling attack, before bringing up the first ever double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of world cricket as they witnessed one of the country’s favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings.

Be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.
At 36, Tendulkar hasn’t shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn’t opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.

The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.
In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing. He didn’t raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn’t surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket’s highest run-getter reached the landmark.

Tendulkar’s innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay - taken in the 35th over - Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket. A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.

I just missed the match as I was not well. But my friends called me and I immediately clicked on Cricinfo! In my hurry I am just pasting here some phrases that I liked!

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Pakistan loses its First ODI

Pakistan lost today to Australia today in the first One day International at the Gabba stadium. There are five one day internationals between Pakistan and Australia and one Twenty-20 match. And theer will be five one day internationals between West Indies and Australia and two Twenty-20 matches.

Cameron White scored a brilliant 105 run. He hit 3 six’s of Afridi in his last off the 10th over. Australia was very slow to hit the required 275 runs. Each of the six would fetch $1000 for the Cancer fund. But this display was not shown after the 4th six off the innings. Then Cameron White hit three continuous sixes off Afridi’s last over. And Star TV which relayed the match suddenly switched over to showing the best hundred off Steven Waugh!

After the Aussies won I contacted an Australian lover and informed him about the result. He was surprised about the match and even further matches!

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Imran Khan says beautiful

Of the cricketing World, Imran Khan seems to be the best. His comments today not to blame any Government but to look for a solution is welcome. We all love Pakistani players and we would like them to play for IPL. India has money too much to spoil on Cricket. And Cricket will go on but what is it without a Pakistan player? IPL will continue due to Cricket lovers, if Pakistan or Australia does not have its players.

Yes we have the new Pollard gone for Mumbai and bond for KKR.
The Australian keeper Brad Haddin and English spinner Graeme Swann went unsold. South African pacer Wayne Parnell was earned on by the Delhi Daredevils for a price of $610,000.
We have the Sri Lankan, New Zealand, England, South African and most importantly the West Indian players. I wish this time matches are played at the Chennai Chepauk stadium, so that we all will watch the matches live!

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Google cannot beat Cricinfo

Google must understand its limits and not enter screening cricket live on YouTube. I feel very comfortable as are my millions of friends watching Cricinfo with a ball by ball live commentary.
Google has plans to screen IPL cricket live on YouTube by signing a 2-year deal with Indian Premier League. IPL and Google cannot revolutionise the way sport is broadcast by Cricinfo which is being read and not watched! No Ads and just the experts writing live commentaries is the way we all love to watch Cricket!

May be there is big money in the Twenty20 format but the latest innovation could not have the globe the way people watch and read sports like Cricket. With the dead commentary and office work, sure I would like to read Cricinfo. The IPL may show the tournament and may become the first sporting event to be shown live globally on a dedicated YouTube channel, but it will be wasting money.

This is the problem: In countries where the IPL has a deal with a broadcaster there will be a slight delay on the internet feed. IPL commissioner Lalit Modi may be really earning more by saying Google have never done this before and that this is a first for the whole of sport. The two-year deal will see Google and the IPL share sponsorship and advertising revenue. The tournament begins in March and runs until April.

The deal with the IPL in India is in contrast to the search engine’s troubles in another emerging market, China, where Google has threatened to quit the country because of hacking attempts and curbs on free speech.
So this is where Google has landed in a bad way – Keep away from Cricket!

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