Our Funarena!

The consistent failures of Indian top and middle batting order since a couple of years at least, barring perhaps a few solid starts of the now-missing Rahul-Rohit opener duo, have become a rule rather than an exception. In the successful Test Series against both Australia and England (so far) we’d seen how the lower middle order, necessarily involving an all-rounder like Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin and at times even tailenders like Shardul Thakur or Mohammad Shami, coming to the rescue of the Indian innings and most often leading the team to victories. Not to speak about the tremendous bowling efforts of the same players in those magnificent victories. The final and the fifth ‘leftover’ Test match that started yesterday against England in Birmingham has become the latest example. Put into bat, the Indian top and middle order had ably managed to reduce the team to a precarious 98/5, almost giving up against James Anderson, Matthew Potts and Stuart Broad; but then, came the lo

Indian Premiere League-2022 (IPL-2022), with 10 franchises only for the second time and restricted only to fours stadiums in Maharashtra till the play-offs, was expected produce hot rivalries and upset wins or losses in the process. That’s exactly what’s transpired in the first ten days of the T20 cricket extravaganza. More definitively, the results so far are evenly split between successful chases and defenses, thus neutralizing the perception that in the Indian pitches the chasing teams always win the matches. Before going to those details, we must first capture what Pat Cummins, a leading Aussie fast bowler of world cricket in both Tests and ODIs, has done last night in a match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) played at Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium, Pune.   MI put up a rather dicey target of 162 runs to chase for KKR on a pitch where the batsmen have been seen to struggle to score runs. MI had the match in good control capturing the top 5 KK

If Pakistan is winning India cannot be far behind! And vice versa! Whatever one of these two great competitive neighbors do the other can hardly accept and instead of reciprocation they prefer to retaliate! In politics non-acceptance translates shamelessly into denial, and in cricket defeat translates seamlessly into victory. Of course, Pakistan won the toss both the times and chased both the times…maybe that was unavoidable. But after Pakistan won the first T20 international cricket match in Bangalore India was in grave national danger of losing the Series and facing the music. That too…after five long years and being the benevolent hosts. Therefore India had to retaliate or rather deny Pakistan another victory. India won the second and last T20 international in Ahmedabad tonight defeating a valiant Pakistan by 11 runs thus sharing the honors equally with the Series drawn 1-1.  Player of the Match Yuvraj Singh has delivered a tremendous match winning performance bringing bac

Riding on a vintage knock by the player of the match Yuvraj Singh (38 off 21 balls) and useful contributions by Raina and Dhoni India registered a comfortable 5 wicket win over England in the first cricket Twenty20 match in Pune tonight. Captain Dhoni won the toss and elected to field maybe due to dew factor. England looked to be in position for a big total, but thanks to some good bowling by Dinda and Yuvraj folded up for a modest 157/6 in allotted 20 overs. Team India never had any serious problems chasing it down with more than two overs to spare. India lead the two-match Series 1-0. The Scorecard: Take a look at the England T20 cricket team—no Test team there at all except for one or two players with captain Cook going back home after a rewarding Series win. Whereas, it is almost the same Test team for India. And MS Dhoni—he captains India or Indian clubs in all possible formats of the game. Poor him! As we all know he cannot be changed or replaced, because he continues

Yuvraj and Harbhajan The Indian team to play first two of the four-Test cricket series against visiting England has been announced here in Mumbai today by the selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It was the first selection exercise of the new Chief Selector Sandip Patil who replaced K Srikkanth recently. The 15-member team looks to be a mixture of experience and youth with the surprise inclusion of spinner Harbhajan Singh. And, Yuvraj Singh completes his comeback to cricket from cancer. There had been some doubts about Yuvraj Singh’s selection since Tests are hard five-day affairs unlike the shorter formats of one-day and T20 matches where the braveheart already made a comeback in September last. But his great show in domestic cricket where he scored a quick double century and in India A’s practice match against England finally convinced the selectors. Legendary Little Master Sunil Gavaskar has come in support of the decision. The non-perfo

Brendon McCullum Blazing Away! New Zealand in the death moments prevailed over India in a nail-biting thriller and won the second and last Twenty20 international cricket match by just 1 run in Chennai today thus winning the T20 Cricket Series 1-0. The first match in Visakhapatnam was washed out due to heavy rains. And, for all the eager fans—Yuvraj Singh played cricket again. He fielded, bowled and batted. His cancer was a thing of the past now—fought, conquered and forgotten. Finally in Chennai the rain gods had mercy and play began dot on time. Indian skipper Dhoni won the toss and perhaps to use the conditions and some little grass on the pitch invited New Zealand to bat first. As anticipated by Dhoni the Kiwis started badly losing the openers for just two runs on the board. Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan shared the two wickets. Star Kiwi keeper-batsman Brendon McCullum took charge and made a hurricane 91 off just 55 balls. Kane Williamson (28) gave him able company and the p

What a pity! All the attention and expectations focused on cricket superstar Yuvraj Singh's comeback have finally come to nothing. The first Twenty20 cricket match in Visakhapatnam between India and New Zealand   had been called off due to incessant rains. The rains had been falling almost the whole day and hope of an encounter was diminishing. Rains became the perfect spoilsport for a match made momentous by the eagerness of the fans showered on it. The Yuvraj Singh show thus gets postponed.  No reason to lose heart though as the brave-heart has already made the journey back into the game after winning a great battle against cancer. We can hopefully catch him in action on September 11 in the second and the last match of the T20 cricket Series to be played in  Chennai. And then all the excitement waits for you in the forthcoming T20 World Cup.  Over to Chennai now. Make your appointment with Yuvraj Singh for sure! 

The high moment every cricket lover has been waiting for is tomorrow evening 8pm by Indian standard time when the first of the two Twenty20 cricket matches between India and New Zealand will be played in Visakhapatanam, India. The highlight is Yuvraj Singh playing in it after fighting bravely and coming out successfully of a rare germ cell cancer. He played his last international cricket match more than a year back. Of all his fans the world over one American who is pleasantly surprised by the brave heart’s speedy recovery will also be eagerly waiting to see him back in his game. He is not a cricket fan and he understands less of the rules of the game, but he would be delighted as well. He is an oncologist from Boston, Dr. Lawrence H Einhorn, who treated Yuvraj and signed the cricket superstar’s discharge certificate at the Indiana University’s Simon Cancer Center in March this year. Dr. Einhorn is set to witness Yuvraj’s ‘ chemotherapy to competitive cricket ’ journey as ano

He has been India’s consistent match winner since 2000. The moment he crosses the half century mark or takes wickets off his slow left-arm spinners India’s win gets almost ensured. He has won many a battle for his country. And, when recently he fought the biggest battle of his life his country gave him full support to win it with flying colors.  Who could forget his incredible partnership that won India the NatWest Series Final against England in England in 2002? Who could ever rub off the electric memory of watching him hitting six huge sixes in one over by Stuart Broad in a match of the T20 World Cup in 2007? Who could pass over his contribution to India winning the ICC World Cup-2011 where he became the player of the tournament scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets?  Following that historic World Cup triumph he faced the biggest challenge of his life. After a long drawn and agonizing bout of confusion and wrong reports he finally confronted the truth— lung cancer.   He

Dashing Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has just won the most challenging match of his life—his battle against cancer. He had been suffering from mediastinal seminoma --a rare germ cell cancer in his left lung maybe from the time of the World Cup-2011 when he had bouts of coughing and vomiting even while in action. The brave soldier never showed his pain but went ahead fighting for his nation. His exemplary efforts contributed significantly towards India becoming the World Champions and him being crowned with the Man of the Series award. Yuvraj had been officially discharged from a hospital in Indianapolis, USA where he successfully completed the three cycles of chemotherapy. Doctors said that he had earned the ‘I will never return’ tag and could come back to normalcy within the next two months. Chemotherapy did not affect his liver and kidney adversely and these organs remained robust which was so important for a normal cricketing life, the doctors added. Yuvraj tweeted hi

Just when Indian dashing opener Virender Sehwag was needed most he was dropped or rested or whatever! In the first one day international cricket match between India and Australia in Melbourne on February 5 th Indian top order failed again and Team India had a disastrous start in the triangular one-day series too.      The argument was that youngsters needed to be encouraged. Where were these youngsters when the ‘seniors’ failed and failed and failed in the Test series? During that time Sehwag and others were not considered as ‘seniors’! We have always maintained here that young Indian cricketers should be trained and prepared for test cricket—the real format of the game. If you have no faith in them for the real cricket then your encouragement is immensely ‘short’ sighted! Sehwag has proved his worth in the shorter format more effectively than in the real one and just one explosive innings from him can turn a match on its head. Then again, on Australian bouncy wickets you go for two

Article first published as Cricket: The Full Truth About Yuvraj Singh! on Technorati.   Indian cricket team’s prime match winner Yuvraj Singh is in trouble. The earlier medical reports indicating his lung tumor as benign had been proved wrong by doctors in the US. It is found to be malignant and India’s star cricketer has lung cancer. The US doctors have said that Yuvraj’s proper treatment was delayed by a wrong diagnosis given by an Indian hospital. His physiotherapist claimed that the correct biopsy report was done in October end, 2011, but that report was allegedly stolen from his car. Then the Indian hospital gave the wrong diagnosis. This explains why Yuvraj’s f amily possibly informed the media as late as November end, 2011 that all was well with the superstar and he was likely to join India in the Australian triangular one-day series in February, 2012. Yuvraj Singh had been undergoing treatment in the Cancer Research Institute in Boston since last month. His lung tumor had b

Article first published as Cricket: The Truth About Yuvraj Singh! on Technorati.   Finally the truth is out about the persistent fitness problems of Yuvraj Singh , the Indian cricket superstar, over the last few months. The truth was revealed to the media by his mother Shabnam Singh. Yuvraj has a golf ball sized tumor in his left lung and was first diagnosed as cancer. Yuvraj Singh has been a consistent match winner for Team India since 2000 in One Day Internationals (ODI) and in tests since 2003. Whenever he happened to be in full flow scoring big and always quick India won invariably. He is best remembered for his incredible match winning partnership with Kaif in the Natwest Series Final against England in 2002; his six sixes in an over of Stuart Broad in a World Cup T20—2007 match against England again and his man-of-the-tournament performance in World Cup—2011 that India won. After the World Cup—2011 Yuvraj Singh has been in and out of the Indian team due to fitne

Finally in the Grand Finale Team India played truly to its potential and won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in great style! The Team scoffed at the idea of depending on one or two stalwarts and blazed away to an astounding victory celebrations for which do not seem to end and justifiably so. After 28 years, first team in world cup history to win it as hosts, first team to win chasing in excess of 250 runs and on! Captain Cool also known as the Great Gambler showed why he is indeed the best Indian Captain of all times. Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a masterstroke by promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj and finally delivered with the bat with such determination to win and such obsession that the World Cup had to come running for his country and of course for the living legend Sachin Tendulkar. Forget his decisions or gambling now, his disarming smile and humbleness make the win more memorable. Superb fielding and terrific bowling by Zaheer Khan in particular never allowed Sri Lanka to run a