Farewell Sachin

On 16th November 2013 ,a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar retired, ending a glorious career almost spanning a quarter of a century! There was an astonishing anticipation for the test match at Mumbai against West Indies once Sachin announced that it would be his last, and as events transpired it was almost the fairytale ending he and everyone in india hoped for, India won the game convincingly against an under-par West Indies and Sachin scored a stroke-filled 74, which was not far from a career being encapsulated in  an innings. He played his trademark shots which included the elegant cover drive, his cut against the spinners and a glorious straight drive to bring up his 50 . He did leave his best for last , by delivering a splendid and emotional speech which brought everyone in the ground and fans at their homes to tears.

But the question is ,Why so much hype around Sachin? What is so special about the man?

Everyone is aware of his mind boggling statistics, but I feel that the reason why he has such an emotional connect with the fans especially in India is because of his stupendous character he has displayed throughout his illustrious career.

In his debut series at the tender age of 16 ,he showed the world that he was a special player when after being hit on the mouth by a Waqar Younis delivery, he came back after receiving treatment and scored a gritty 57 against a formidable pakistani bowling line-up before being dismissed by Imran khan on a green wicket in Sialkot, thus setting up a platform for him to rise in international cricket. Sachin was always much loved amongst the fans because he controlled his emotions and stayed away from controversies, at many points in his career many questions were raised about him, be it by the a section of the supporters asking for his retirement, or by other players, like in the 2008 monkey gate issue where the some Australian players were upset that Sachin took Harbhajan's side. Surely he would have been upset by these questions and allegations, but he never showed it and resorted to the best reaction-silence. Many bowlers too have tried to get under  his skin, but after a while i think they realized that they would receive more of a "reaction" from his wax statue .

There was nothing more he loved than to play  cricket , it was clearly evident in his child like enthusiasm he had on the field. As VVS Laxman pointed out in an interview, Sachin  was always the one who started the celebrations after win, because of the pure joy an indian win gave him. Even in his last test, every time Pragyan Ojha came on to bowl he would run up to Ojha, take his cap and give it to the umpire,a tradition he followed with the great leg spinner Anil Kumble as he felt it gave the bowler some added luck, and boy! The tradition did work as Ojha finished with 10 wickets in the test match.

 Sachin will always be remembered as an inspirational human being who not only had the immense talent but also had the determination and devotion to the game which allowed him to enter the record book and into the hearts of millions.

 Sachiiiiiiin Sachin forever.

-AM

A final speech that touched every true cricket fan's hearts, a fitting send off where it had all started, with the whole nation and many others around the world listening with rapt attention, with moist eyes! This was the end of a 24 year long International career of one the greatest ever sportsman that walked (is still walking :p) this earth!

It all began when a short, curly haired 16 year old kid courageously stood up against the Pakistani quicks in his debut series. From there on there was no looking back for Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Too many memories this great man has given to the world, which included some, or actually many, of the world's most scintillating knocks. That innings in Perth, then the world's fastest, bounciest pitch, against a hostile Australian attack, during India's tour of Australia in 1991-1992, would always remain in everyone's hearts, be it those who were lucky enough to watch it live, or people like me who just got to watch video footages of that knock.I happened to read somewhere that Merv Hughes commented to Allan Border that time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."

And then the twin centuries in Sharjah, in April 1998, belting Shane Warne all over the park, resulting in him commenting that he had nightmares of Sachin walking down the pitch and belting hin right over his head.

What about that innings following his father's untimely demise midway through the 1999 World Cup, when he let out everything on an unsuspecting Kenyan team, thundering his way to 140 of just 101 deliveries.

His opening stands with Ganguly, and then Sehwag, The 186 against New Zealand at Hyderabad, teaming up with Rahul Dravid to bring about the record for highest partnership in ODIs.
The 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, with special attention being given to Shoaib Akthar, the upper cut, the hook shot that went flying out of the stadium, against England!

Another innings that comes into my head is that stupendous 146 against South Africa at Cape Town against some high quality swing bowling from an attack led by Dale Steyn, during the 2010-2011 tour.

And then that double hundred in the ODI agianst South Africa!! By this time everyone had starting talking about how old he's become and all that! But that determination and stamina to stay out there for fifty overs in an ODI, taking all those quick singles, running down the track to whack the ball over the stands, at the age of 37! Well, that's Sachin.

Sachin, for long, has been criticized for not being able to win matches. Things like "If he scores a century, India will lose", have always been said. There are some examples that might make this statement true, like his battling 136 against Pakistan in the historic Chennai Test, the 175 against Australia in the Hyderabad one dayer in 2009, or even his 100th century against Bangladesh in 2012 Asia Cup!!
But here are some statistics to show that Sachin was truly a match winner-
Out of 49 times that he has touched the three figure mark in ODIs, India has lost nly 14 times. The remaining 33 times India won!! And he averaged 56.63 in 234 wins he was part of.
And when we look into Test Cricket, Sachin has an average of 61.81 in Tests won, better than the modern greats he was usually pitted against, Brian Lara(61.02) and Ricky Ponting(59.46).
And then people always complain that he falters in big matches. Well, here are more statistics to prove this statement wrong-
Consider ODIs. Sachin has the most number of runs in tournament finals-1833. He has scored six centuries in the title clashes of multi nation events, and in all those occasions, India won!!
So, the next time anyone hears someone telling "Sachin lacked big-match temperament. Whenever he scored a century, India lost", do not hesitate, PUNCH that person on the face!

And Sachin's retirement ends that famed Indian Test middle order, the Fab Four. Rahul Dravid at number 3, Sachin Tendulkar at number 4, Sourav Ganguly at number 5, VVS Laxman at number 6!! A distant memory now.
He has now walked into the sunset of his career. His glorious straight drives, the look up at the sky everytime he scored a century, the childish smile on his face whenever he dismissed a batsman or India won a game, the whole stadium cheering for him whenever he walked out to bat, his sheer presence on the pitch, will be missed by everyone who has had the chance to watch this great man play!!
So long Sachin, Good bye!!


  
-SN

And when he saw Old Trafford, he said I'd fancy that!

A new manager. New methods. A few new first teamers. Manchester United are in a phase of transition. The shock following Sir Alex's retirement has subsided and the new manager David Moyes has taken charge. A capable manager who has repeatedly proven himself at Everton, working on a threadbare budget and delivering 2 consecutive finishes above their fierce city rivals Liverpool, apart from a fourth place finish and UEFA Cup experience for the Toffees.

Moyes is the ideal successor to Sir Alex. His teams are disciplined, work hard and play good football. These were qualities crucial to Sir Alex's tremendous success at Old Trafford, and Moyes would do well to keep the momentum going. The backroom additions of Phil Neville and Giggs has ensured that there is continuity, as well as new ideas coming in from Steve Round and Jimmy Lumsden, Moyes' trusted lieutenants. 

The pre-season matches have been enlightening, both for the fans and the gaffer. The main aim of pre-season is to build fitness for the season ahead. However, it has thrown up a whole lot of positives along with issues to work on.

The emergence of the youngsters Jesse Lingard, Adnan Januzaj and January signing Wilfried Zaha has been a big plus point for Moyes. Lingard has shown how lethal he can be in front of goal and is a true United academy product with deft thinking, good pace and accurate passing. Januzaj and Zaha are absolute gems, each with their own unique style. Zaha's direct threat, skills and pace make him a huge threat to the opposition; he has the potential to chip in with goals as well. Valencia, Young and Nani(if he stays put) will face real competition from this fleet footed youngster. Januzaj, from what yours truly has witnessed in reserve and pre season games, has a wand of a left foot with an excellent eye for the killer ball and can leave the opposing defender with his bum on the floor too!

 Michael Keane in defence is a great prospect, though is likely to go on loan after impressing in the Championship for Leicester City last season. Danny Welbeck has a lot to prove this season, and the manager has been impressed by the England forward's work ethic.

The pre season games, on paper, were supposed to be easy games for United. However, a defeat apiece in Thailand and Japan has shown United's weaknesses in midfield. With only 3 recognized men in the middle of the park in Anderson, Carrick and Cleverley, with Darren Fletcher still in recovery, United are in dire need of additions in the middle of the park. Fabregas and Fellaini have been mentioned in the media after the club lost out in the well publicized tussle for Thiago Alcantara.

Anderson is every United fan's pre season hope. Starts the season strongly but fades out far too early, in games as well as over the course of the season. The gaffer will have to evaluate his options quickly and make a few additions, or to somehow bring out the best in Tom and Ando, with Carrick being the established man.

There have been encouraging signs, however, from the buccaneering Alex Buttner and the returning Fabio, who has looked solid. Both will play crucial parts over the course of the season, as will Shinji Kagawa, who could take on Rooney's mantle if he does decide to leave.

Away from the tour, Wayne Rooney's future is still unresolved. He can be a pivotal player for United, along with Van Persie. The sooner his future is sorted out, the better for everybody. Moyes recognizes that and United fans everywhere are hoping he does what he needs to do as soon as possible. He is yet to meet some of his players, but I have no doubt he'll do a good job.

Get behind the red and white army. Because at the end of the day, 

The Reds go Marching on, on, on!

-AB

Triumph of cricket

Five days of intense cricket in front of a sell out crowd on all five days. This, Sir, is The Ashes. After 14 and half sessions of intriguing cricket with constantly changing fortunes, England had the laugh, racing into a jubilant huddle as a near full house cheared them on with complete enthusiasm. Valiant knocks, brilliant display of swing bowling! Matches like this ensure the victory of Test cricket. It all started off with 14 wickets falling on the first day, 5 of them going to Peter Siddle who helped bundle out England for 215. Australia's innings didn't start of any better, with Anderson picking up a five wicket haul, with a good use of reverse swing. But fighting half centuries from Steven Smith and Paul Hughes, and a score of nearly hundred by debutant number eleven Agar, in an astoninshing last wicket partnership ensured that Australia took the lead. A bad start by England to their second innings was followed by a stabilising partnership by the watchful Cook and Pietersen, who exhibited the use of the straight bat with near perfection. This was followed by a vital, fighting stand between Bell and Broad. Bell showed immense amounts of concentration and technique to bring up his eighteenth Test century, and rescued England from a precarious position along with Broad, whose innings included a controversial umpire decision. Being bowled out for 375, England set Australia a target of 311, difficult but possible, and would have been the highest successful Test chase at Trent Bridge if it was chased down. Australia did go about scoring well the batsmen getting decent starts, but wickets in regular intervals did not help them one bit. They went into the final day requiring 137 runs with 4 wickets in hand, Haddin and the first innings' Golden Boy Agar at the wicket. But Agar couldn't repeat his magic and Australia quickly lost wickets to be stranded at 231/9, requiring another 80 runs with only a wicket left. But Australia's last wicket pair proved to be a thorn in England's flesh yet again, this time involving Haddin and Pattinson, putting on 65 runs before Haddin, after a fighting innings of 71, was given out virtue the Umpire Decision Review System. Anderson picked up another five wicket haul, giving him ten wickets in the match, proving to be that one vital difference between the two teams, helping England clinch a 1-0 lead in the series.

 

-SN

The Investec Ashes- Debutant shines

England- Cook, Root, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Bairstow, Prior, Broad, Swann, Finn, Anderson
Australia- Watson, Rogers, Cowan, Clarke, Hughes, Smith, Haddin, Siddle, Pattinson, Starc, Agar

The first test of the Investec Ashes started with an inspiring bowling spell from Peter Siddle, exactly as he had done two years back. At lunch on day 2, Australia have taken a 14 runs lead, thanks largely to the batting efforts of Phil Hughes and debutant, number eleven batsman Agar.
England were bowled out in their innings for 215, with Peter Siddle 5 for 50. Jonathan Trott top  scored for England with 48 from 80 balls. He had looked completely in control of his innings before he dragged a wide one from outside off stump onto his stumps, that saw Siddle and the rest of the Australian team celebrate the fall of a very important wicket. This will surely be one shot that that the usually calm and patient Trott would not be proud off.

The first wicket to fall was that of English skipper Cook, edging a loose drive off a full length delivery out off stump. Pattinson let out a cry of delight as the ball went into Haddin's gloves, as the man who scored 766 runs in the previous Ashes series was now walking back to the pavilion with a score of just 13.
After a miserable first spell where he proved to be costly, Siddle came back with a bang his second spell from the opposite end, bowling a yorker with a hint of away swing which saw Root playing the wrong line and thus losing his wickets.
Come back man Kevin Pietersen was dismissed playing a poor shot, away from his body to a ball that shaped away, edging to Clark at second slip, giving Siddle his second wicket.
The fourth wicket to fall was Trott, giving Siddle his third scalp.
Siddle came back with a beautiful delivery to get rid of Ian Bell for 25. The ball angled in and then curved away fron Bell, whose thick outside edge carried to Watson at first slip.
England's sixth wicket fell, again courtesy Siddle, but this time it wasn't due to a good ball. An ordinary delivery, wide and short outside off stump saw Prior cutting the ball to Phil Hughes at point, giving Siddle his fifth wicket and leaving England tottering at 180/6.
England's tail was wiped away without any trouble, with the Bairstow providing some stability to the middle order after the dismissal of Trott, scoring 37 before he played around a a full delivery on off stump from Starc and losing his wicket in the process.
Australia came out to bat needing trailing by 215, but ended up struggling at 75 for 4 at stumps on the first day.
The first break through came when Finn, after being smashed to the boundary couple of deliveries back, induced Watson into a drive who edged it to Root at third slip, losing his wicket for 13.
Finn accounted for another dismissal, when Cowan played a horrible shot, chasing a wide one and ended up edging to Swann who took a good, low catch at second slip.

The next wicket to fall was that of skipper Clark, who fell to a peach of a delivery from Anderson. The ball was on length, curving in to pitch on off stump and then shaped back past Clark's outside edge, hitting the top of off stump, dismissing Clark for naught. But he can't be blamed as the delivery was truly unplayable.
Anderson accounted for four more Australian wickets, ending up with a five wicket haul, as his reverse swing worked completely in his favour.
Ausralia were struggling at 117 for the fall of 9 wickets, when debutant Agar walked out to bat, as even a score of 150 seemed impossible. But from then on the spectators were treated to some spectacular batting from Agar and Hughes as they added 153 runs for the last wicket enabling Australia to score 280 runs, giving them a lead of 65 runs.

Agar seemed much more than a number eleven number batsman, as he drove, cut, pulled and swept the English bowlers with immense confidence and perfect timing. His late cuts seemed to come off the bat of a top order batsman and he also smashed Swann for two biggies over the ropesm with superb use of his feet, as he raced away to 98, the highest score at number eleven. He was supported at the other end by Phil Hughes, who made a steady 81 and had absolutely no problem to let the debutant take control. Agar required only 101 deliveries to score his 98, before he was caught in the deep, narrowly missing a historical century, and he walked back to the pavilion with a roaring, standing ovation from the crowd which had witnessed a brilliant innings from a 19 year old debutant.
- SN

Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic -Wimbledon Final

Andy Murray ended the 77 year long drought to become the first British player since the late Fred Perry to lift the Wimbledon crown after beating Novak Djokovic 6-4,7-5,6-4.The Brit came through a nervous final game where he failed to capitalize on three championship points only to convert the fourth to win his first ever Wimbledon title.
It was an electric atmosphere in the Centre Court and even outside on the grass banks where the supporters gathered in huge numbers to support the Scot on a hot day in London .But it was worth it as after 3 hours and 10 minutes they erupted with joy as they had witnessed an historic feat by Murray ,who climbed onto the stands to celebrate with his family and support team.
Djokovic didn't  have a good day as he was unusually erratic and made many unforced errors off his forehand. On the other hand Andy was playing exceptionally getting a good percentage of  first serve wins and keeping his cool during the many long rallies in the game.
The match started with Murray putting good pressure and earning 3 break points. But he failed to convert any ,and djokovic fought back and took the game. Andy broke Djokovic's serve in the 3rd game ,but the Serb broke back with a vengeance to level the game at 2-2.Murray put pressure on the  Djokovic serve again and broke to take a 4-3 lead and he held on to take the first set 6-4.
Djokovic started the 2nd set strongly and raced to a  4-1 lead ,but Andy persevered and fought back to bring the set at 5-5.The momentum was in Andy's favour as he broke the World no1's service game and clinching the set 7-5 with an ace and taking a 2 nothing advantage into the third set with crowd almost sniffing  Murray's victory.
Murray looked to be in cruise control as he took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd set. Novak as he so often does, fought back and won the next 4 games to lead 4-2,but Andy was in no mood to play another set and displayed some fine tennis to claw his way back and serve for the title at 5-4 and finally to the delight of everyone the crowd and back home in Dunblane he held his serve, which was game, set, match and championship!

 

-A M

German Grand Prix Review

In what was another disappointing race for Hamilton after starting on pole , reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel cruised to yet another victory , his first on home soil.

 A poor start from Hamilton saw the Red Bulls move into 1st and 2nd places. Sergio Perez made an aggressive start, pushing Button off the track in the 2nd lap. Massa with an excellent early surge moved into P6 but his run of poor luck continued when he spun out on the 1st corner of the 4th lap ending his race. Meanwhile,Paul di Resta while making an early pitstop almost collided with J.Eric Vergne, in a case of dangerous release, which was decided to be investigated after the race.

A number of drivers made pitstops early in the sixth lap to change to medium compounds. Vettel was comfortably in the lead when he came in to the pits on the eighth lap, allowing Webber to take the lead. However Vettel came out ahead of Hamilton.In the next lap, a pit stop gone wrong resulted in a wheel coming off Webber's car and injuring a cameraman in the pit lane itself . Webber though , managed to continue the race in 21st place. Hamilton, just behind Rosberg in 4th wanted his teammate to give way at one point but the German wasn't party to it. 

Grosjean came out in third place after his pit stop, changing to mediums after starting on soft tyres. Raikkonen moved up with an excellent overtaking manoeuvre past Rosberg on the 15th lap. Grosjean was tearing through the Nurburgring with an excellent pace in second spot right behind Vettel. The other Lotus of Raikkonen too looked in fine shape, with him overtaking the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton using DRS, on the same chicane as before. The Brit had some real problems with the grip on his tyres and would have been gutted after another bad race from a very promising spot on the starting grid. 

Safety car was brought on the 25th lap after Bianchi's car rolled onto the track after a premature ending to his race due to an engine problem. The Toro Rosso of J.Eric Vergne was also out of the race at this point. 

Safety car went out before the 30th lap and the top four of Vettel, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Alonso began pulling away from the rest of the field. It was an engaging battle between the two Lotus cars for P2 from this point on with Grosjean in no mood to let his teammate Raikkonen gain the upper hand. Grosjean made a pitstop on the 41st lap and came out in 6th, with Raikkonen yet to make his 3rd pit. He was followed by race leader Vettel, who dropped to 5th after his stop. Raikkonen eventually made his pitstop preceded by Button, allowing Vettel to lead the pack followed by Grosjean. Alonso tried to get himself a spot on the podium with some fast laps, but was unsuccessful. Lotus ordered Grosjean to let Raikkonen into P2 .

Vettel did very well to hold off the flying Finn and take the chequered flag .They were followed by Grosjean , Alonso and Hamilton . Jenson Button finally earned himself some points claiming the sixth spot as did teammate Perez finishing eighth .The two were separated by the Red Bull of Mark Webber. Nico Rosberg finished ninth after starting from eleventh and Nico Hulkenburg took the last point up for grabs making it three out of four Germans to end up in the points ,Adrian Sutil being the only one who missed out in 13th spot.His teammate Paul Di Resta  didn't contribute to Force India's points tally either finishing 11th , this being the first time in the last seven races that he failed to do so.

With the race for the title heating up and the Mclarens hitting some good form all eyes will be on Hungaroring as the F1 troupe makes its way to Hungary for the tenth race of the season .

A B

Andy Murray Vs Jerzy Janowicz-Semi Final Match Report

The Wimbledon Centre Court erupted with joy as Andy Murray progressed to the finals by beating  Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-7(2-7) 6-4 6-4 6-3 and will meet the Serbian World no 1 Novak Djokovic who earlier defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in a marathon 5 setter.

The 6 8' Janowicz started very confidently launching some massive serves and thunderous forehand shots dismissing any signs of nerves on the occasion of his first ever grand slam semi finals. Andy did have a few opportunities to break Janowicz's serve but failed to capitalize and the 1st set went to tiebreak in which Janowicz prevailed to take the lead in the match.

Andy fought back immediately breaking Janowicz's first game in the second set ,he then survived a few breakpoints in his serve to take the set 6-4 and leveling the match.

But the momentum shifted again in this topsy turvy encounter as janowicz started the 3rd set  very strongly breaking Murrays serve and racing to a 4-1 lead .The Brit then fought back to the crowds delight and won 5 games in a row to win the 3rd set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The game then halted to close the roof of the centre court and play under lights due to the constant complaints of Janowicz about the bad light, this decision was greeted with boos  from the crowd and disgust from the world no 2 who felt that the light was good enough for another 45 min of play.

The game resumed after a 20 min break ,and Andy was back in the groove and his scintillating tennis coupled with some erratic play from Janowicz  ensured he took the set 6-3 booking his ticket to yet another wimbledon final.

After his emotional loss to Roger Federer last year in the final ,Andy would like to make amends and win the crown in front of his home crowd against Djokovic. Andy would take confidence in the fact that he beat Djokovic at SW19 at the Olympics last year .Djokovic too would love to add a second wimbledon victory to the one he one in 2011. This sets up a sumptuous clash to end a memorable tournament which included massive upsets and the rise of young stars of the future like Janowicz.

-A M

 

Lions to lambs

Two consecutive losses in the ongoing Tri Series and it looks like the tigers have been tamed. After lifting the ICC Champions Trophy, the Indians moved to West Indies with immense confidence, but it seems like fate has something else written for them. Disaster struck in the first match, when India lost the match by one wicket, courtesy a damp wicket and the capability of the West Indian bowlers to exploit the moisture perfectly. As if the loss wasn't enough, inspirational skipper M.S.Dhoni was ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to an injury, which meant Virat Kohli would be captaining the Indian side for the first time, in their second game of the tournament, against Sri Lanka. It was a positive start for the skipper winning the toss, and considering the previous two low scoring games on the damp pitch, he put Sri Lanka into bat first. Sri Lanka started off cautiously, scoring only 16 in the first five overs, without the loss of any wicket. Kohli seemed to have made the right decision, but soon the Lankan batsmen shed caution. It seemed like the pitch was much drier than the previous two games, as only Yadav seemed to be extracting something from the pitch, but he too constantly strayed in length, allowing Tharanga to cut with ease. As Jayawardene cut loose, Tharanga chose to adopt the cautious method at the other end. Some good stroke play, along with loose bowling from the Indian bowlers as well as some shocking let offs in the field helped the Lankan batsmen amass a big total. Jayawardene was dropped on 25 by Vijay at Short Backward point, when he took a risk playing a reverse shot off Jadeja, the first risk that the Lankan batsmen took. The Lankans piled up the runs steadily, rotating the strike very well, with Jayawardene hitting the odd boundary.

 Jayawardene's chips over Extra Cover off both the spinners, Jadeja and Ashwin, were more than delightful to watch, and he brought up his century, his first ODI century in two years and 50 innings. As Sri Lanka took the batting Powerplay in the 35th over, Tharanga opened up, carting both Ashwin and Ishant to boundaries. With the fall of Jayawardene's wicket for 107, Angelo Mathews walked, and Tharanga looked completely in control at the other end. From here on top gear mode was on as the Lankans took full advantage of the incompetent length bowling by the Indians, amassing 180 runs in the last 16 overs, as Tharanga went from 72 from 105 balls to the eventual 174 from 159 balls. As Tharanga brought up his highest ODI score, he was also involved in a double century stand with Jayawardene, the seventh time he is involved in a double century partnership, a record he now shares with Ricky Ponting. In his 134 run stand with Mathews, Tharanga was so dominant that Mathews scored only 44. As Yadav conceded 22 runs in the 49th over, which included a flat six over point, a wide which also ran away to the boundary and then two fours, Sri Lanka marched to 348 for the loss of only one wicket, the first instance of an innings in a 50 over game ending with only one wicket down.
 It was clear that India missed Dhoni on the field, as Kohli clearly felt the pressure of international captaincy, making blunders like playing Shami Ahmed instead of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Kumar has constantly given the much needed early breakthrough, whereas Ahmed seemed completely ineffective. Also Ashwin was introduced only in the 20th, after Sri Lanka had comfortably scored 90 runs.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews followed up his good batting with some intelligent captaincy and economical bowling. He took one of the new balls and started off with a maiden. Rohit Sharma fell early, caught at short mdwicket. Mathews brought both the spinners on within the mandatory powerplay, giving the Indian batsmen no pace to work with at all. At the end of the mandatory powerplay India managed only 28 runs, and Dhawan and Kohli soon perished, the pressure getting to them, and Vijay followed soon.

What followed was the typical Indian batting slump we have seen over all these years, with only Raina, Vijay and Jadeja making decent contributions, as India managed only 187, managing to beat Tharanga's score in the match. This 161 runs loss also happens to be India's biggest defeat after putting a side in.
-SN

Grit, Spit, and find Neymar.....

 

(with a few dives here and there)

Brazil 3-0 Spain

The Lineups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Paulinho, Gustavo, Oscar; Hulk, Neymar; Fred.
Subs: Jefferson, Fernando, Lucas Moura, Hernanes, Dante, Filipe Luis, Jean, Rever, Bernard, Jo, Jadson, Cavalieri.
Spain: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Pedro, Torres, Mata.
Subs: Valdes, Albiol, Javi Martinez, Azpilicueta, Villa, Fabregas, Soldado,
Monreal, Cazorla, Silva, Jesus Navas, Reina.

Brazil have deservedly won the Confederations Cup with a dominant performance against Spain in the final.

It was a scrappy early opener for Brazil. The cross in to Fred was missed by him and Neymar; in the ensuing melee, Fred tapped it it. Brazil started the game with a plan based on quick transitions from defence to attack along with pressing Spain hard and quick.

Oscar missed a good chance from inside the box in the 8th minute after good play from Neymar and Fred. Brazil did not allow Spain to get into their rythm, forcing them to uncharacteristically hack away the ball under pressure.

It was terrific pressure from Brazil, ridding Spain of possession; a snap shot from Paulinho almost caught Casillas off guard but he recovered well. Tempers flared in the 15th min with Neymar tried to run off the last defender Arbeloa, but fell theatrically as Arbeloa was yellow carded. Crowd pressure forced the ref to ignore quite a lot of instances of diving by the Brazilians. At the other end,Cesar had to save from Iniesta in the 20th minute, from Spain's first real chance; Torres headed wide from resulting corner.

 Brazil were not afraid to stick their foot in. Tackles were hard and their closing down stifled Spain greatly. 23rd min saw a speculative David Luiz-esque free kick from distance by Ramos, which was well off target.  Torres initially trying hard to create something for Spain but with little success; eventually faded out altogether. David Luiz and co got the job done in defence upto this point with minimum fuss.

An excellent counter saw Hulk feed Oscar who went down with Ramos in the vicinity; minimal contact there again! Hulk smashed it over and wide from the resulting free kick. Another counter from Brazil saw Neymar find Fred with a threaded pass, his shot parried by Casillas.

Spain were outmuscled and outpaced by Brazil, desperately searching for inspiration from the Barca pass masters in Xavi and Iniesta in midfield. Problem was Spain could hardly keep the ball and create something. A number of Spain set pieces were dealt with by Brazil with consummate ease.

It took a terrific goalline clearance by David Luiz to deny Pedro from inside the box after a excellent through ball from Juan Mata. That was Spain's first real chance of the half, in the 40th minute. But then Brazil with another lightning quick counter, playing around a little before Oscar found Neymar with a return pass, and the boy wonder smashed it into the roof of the net, giving Casillas no chance. 2-0 To the home team in the 43rd minute; it was a deserved lead. At half time, The Maracana erupted in joy; 2-0 against the World champions, things looking very rosy for Brazil. Spain struggling in defence and Busquets, Alba et al largely anonymous.

The Second half saw Alvaro Arbeloa rightly come off for Azpilicueta, given his bad performance on the day. But before Spain could realize what was happening, they were 3 down. A searching run from midfield by Paulinho found Fred after an intelligent dummy by Neymar, and the Fluminese frontman slotted home coolly into Casillas' left bottom corner.

The Brazilian full backs and midfielders continued closing down Spain. Del Bosque saw it fit to bring off Mata for Navas in the 51st minute, and the sub Navas won a penalty within a minute of his introduction with some quick feet, hacked down by Marcelo. Sergio Ramos was surprisingly the man to step up for the penalty. As many may have foreseen, the Real Madrid defender put the penalty wide. Spain effectively dug their own grave on that occasion.

Spain continued to probe; an excellent piece of skill saw Iniesta turn away from 2 yellow shirts, but his pass was quickly intercepted. That summed up Spain's match. Nothing went right for them. The ineffectual Torres was replaced by Villa as a last resort in the 57th minute. Del Bosque was effectively a spectator from this point on.

Navas continued his side's miserable evening with a wayward attempt in the 66th min. It got even worse in the 68th minute as a pacy run from the halfway line by Neymar following a long ball and a knockdown saw him brought down by Pique. The first straight red card of the Confed Cup saw Spain one man down, hoping the game would end then and there.

72nd minute saw the highly rated Jadson replace Hulk, suggesting it was little more than a procession from this point on. Yet, Scolari still unhappy with certain aspects of his team' play, wildly gesticulating on the touchline; it was no wonder Brazil worked their socks off, who would want to be on the end of that!


Big Phil decided to take Fred off former Man City striker Jo, allowing Fred to get the applause his performance deserved. But Cesar had to make a surprising stop from Pedro, and yet again Spain wasted the resulting setpiece. Hernanes was brought on for an increasingly comfortable looking Brazil; but not before Cesar made a classy save from a curler from Villa. Paulinho the man off, the last sub of the game. 2 minutes of stoppage time, with everybody who was. watching this game screaming for the ref to end it. And it did indeed end, with the Maracana cheering their team with gusto, after an outstanding performance from the home team. Spain did not turn up for this game, and the better team won, with panache. Is it the end of 5 years of world football dominance, or is it only a temporary blip?
-A B

British Grand Prix Review

On a day marked by tyre failures and safety cars, Nico Rosberg clinched the British GP ahead of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.

We couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining start to the grand prix with Felipe Massa and Adrian Sutil making their way ahead gaining six and two places respectively. Boy!! It looked like the traffic cops cleared the way for Massa as he made his move from eleventh to fifth seemingly effortlessly. Their move up was at Mark Webber’s cost who dropped out of the top ten and to make things worse for him a minor collision with Romain Grosjean damaged his front wing.

Lap nine witnessed the first of the day’s five tyre failures with Lewis Hamilton’s left rear tyre bursting . This caused the race leader to go right to the rear of the pack to 22nd place, leaving Vettel in the lead.

In the next lap Massa followed Hamilton’s footsteps losing his left rear tyre in the same stretch that Lewis did. This being the third left rear tyre burst of the weekend with Perez also facing the same problem during free practice. But that was not the last of them with Esteban Gutierrez ,Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez also having to retire from the race for the same reason.

With five tyre failures in the race and four of them being left rear tyres , there was obviously a lot of concern regarding the safety of the drivers, and Kimi Raikkonen would definitely consider himself a lucky man as he was hit on the helmet by some of the debris but thankfully nothing happened to him.

With the pit crew instructing their drivers to stay of the curbs to avoid any such incidents, a lot was left to be desired from the tyre manufacturers,Pirelli ,who will have a lot of answering to do. Pirelli must go back to their drawing boards and sort out this issue by the next weekend before the German grand prix as they can ill afford to have tyres that bursting like balloons, putting the drivers’ lives at risk.

In the meantime, both Lewis Hamilton and Paul Di Resta made their way from behind to battle for eleventh. In what was a very engaging duel of brilliant overtaking manoeuvres, Hamilton came out victorious finally making it past Di Resta using the DRS.

On the other hand, Vettel was cruising at the top , leading the pack right since Hamilton’s tyre failure and it seemed like he would take home yet another victory and move closer to the championship , but it wasn’t to be. A gearbox failure forcing him to retire in the 42nd lap leaving Rosberg in the lead, behind the safety car, followed by Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil . Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber having made pit stops during the safety car were on fresher tyres and once the safety car was off, easily made their way past Sutil and Raikkonen , both of whom were on a two stop strategy.

Lewis Hamilton too eventually made his way pastRaikkonen, to finish fourth followed by Raikkonen and Felipe Massa who pushed  Adrian Sutil down to seventh . The Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo took the eighth spot and Paul Di Resta once again ended up in the points after making his way from way back in the grid to finish ninth. Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber claimed the last point up for grabs.

With neither of the McLarens grabbing points yet again , their decision to focus on the next season seems justified, well let’s hope it pays off .

A podium finish for Alonso and a retirement for Vettel mean that the race for the championship is far from over. With both Alonso and Raikkonen snapping at his heels Vettel will have to produce strong results in the coming races if he wants to defend his title. Whether he can do so, only time will tell.

With the next race in Nurburgring just a week away the question on every body’s mind will be – can Pirelli spot the root cause the for tyre failure and correct it?

-AkV

Champion of Champions

As India take on West Indies today in its first match of the tri series, we got to look at the expectations from the Indian team in this series. After a near flawless performance in the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy, the Indians will be looking to continue their dream run. At the same time the hosts, West Indies, who have started the series with a mauling victory over Sri Lanka, will be looking to avenge their loss to India in the Champions Trophy.
A major concern for India prior to the start of the Champions Trophy was their openeing combination as both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir couldn't make it to the squad due continued below par performances. But that concern was soon wiped away as the new opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave India good starts very regularly in the tournament. The more prolific batsman of the pair was Shikhar Dhawan who, following his mindblowing debut Test century against Australia, looked to be in sublime form amassing 363 runs from the tournament with an outstanding average of 90.75. Two back to back centuries; 114 against South Africa at Cardiff and 102* against West Indies at The Oval; and also scores like 48 against Pakistan at Birmingham, 68 against Sri Lanka at Cardiff and 31 in the finals against England in a rain marred game at Birmingham, ensured that he lifted the Golden Bat award for the top scorer in the tournament. His partner Rohit Sharma seemed to have adjusted to the opener's role quite comfortable and seemed to be in his forte with two consecutive half centuries to start off the tournament, to silence his critics and also do justice to the faith that his skipper M.S.Dhoni has on him. But after that he again seemed to get back to his old self, squandering good starts. It will be very important to see how Rohit Sharma performs in this series as his inconsistency is a worrying matter that has constantly given the Indian team trouble. And also it is a matter of concern that big scores continue to elude this batsman whose strokeplay is absolutely beautiful when he is at his best. It is sad that a player gifted with such good technique and one who oozes with batting talent, hasn't been able to cement his place in the side for an extended period of time.
Virat Kohli, a player rated as one of the finest young batsmen in international cricket currently, didn't give his best at the start of the tournament, being dismissed after making good starts in the first three matches of the tournament. But a fine half century against Sri Lanka in the Semi Final and a well made, steady 43 against England when it mattered the most, assured everyone that this Delhiite's good form had not gone anywhere. A lot will always be expected from this Golden Boy of Indian cricket.
Suresh Raina, the exciting southpaw from Uttar Pradesh, didn't do much with bat in the Champions Trophy. But his talent with the bat and ability to give the team good finishes is unquestionable and his mere presence in the field lifts the spirit of the whole team, no matter what the situation is and is one of the finest fielders in today's game.
After centuries in both the warm up games, a lot was expected from the lad from Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Karthik. He didn't quite live up to the expectations but did score a valuable half century against West Indies at The Oval and he has always been a livewire in the field taking some breathtaking catches and making brilliant saves, and he seemed to be at his best in the outfield in the tournament.
Skipper M.S.Dhoni added another feather to his already full cap by lifting the Champions Trophy, which came India's way mainly due to some difficult but brave selections. Dhoni didn't get to do much with the bat in the tournament but was at his usual best with the gloves, and his captaincy, which seems to be maturing with every match, was absolutely impressive, especially with the use of Jadeja. One of the finest performer in the tournament was Ravindra Jadeja picking up 12 wickets in the tournament, which earned him the Golden Ball award, and proved to be more than useful with the bat, giving the side the perfect balance. He is slowly turning out to be one of the finest all rounders in the modern game and might actually be deemed fit to earn the 'Sir' tag if he continues playing the way he currently is.
India's bowling unit silenced all the critics with their 3 seamers and 2 spinners attack. India's recent find Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was at his economical best in suitable conditions, swinging the ball both ways. The lanky pacer Ishant Sharma seemed a different bowler, hitting the deck hard and also producing sufficient amount of swing at the same time. He picked up 10 wickets in the tournament which also included a 'Man of the Match' winning spell in the Semi Final. Pacer Umesh Yadav surprised everyone with his clinical bowling spell against Australia in the Warm up game to pick up a 5 wicket haul. His ability to take wickets at regularly intervals makes him an important addition to India's bowling arsenal but he needs to work on his economy rate. India's current spin wiz, Ashwin, picked up 8 wickets in the tournament. He continued to land the bowl in the correct areas, regularly foxing the batsmen with his carrom ball.
This Indian team looks to be in brilliant form and oozing with confidence and will look to go with all guns blazing into this Tri Series. The only drawback that the team might facing is fatigue, having very little time to rest after their Champions Trophy victory.
-SN    

British Grand Prix Preview

Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes grabbed pole position for the 2013 British grand prix at Silverstone . This was after he was unhappy with his car after a rain hit Friday practice session. His mechanics have surely worked very hard on the car after that to keep the crowd favourite happy in his home grand prix.

Coming in at a not so close second was teammate Nico Rosberg who was beaten by Lewis by a whopping 0.452 second margin. How often do we get to see that big a margin between the leader and the rest of the field?

The two Red Bulls - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took the third and fourth positions respectively, on the grid.

In what was a good day for Force India , Paul Di Resta took the fifth spot , his career best qualifying position so far , which would have made him happy ,more so after failing to make it past Q1 in the past two races .Adrian Sutil brought the other Force India home at seventh.

 The Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo came in at sixth , equaling his best , probably motivated by the prospect of replacing Mark Webber behind the steering wheel of the Red Bull next season.  His teammate Jean Eric Vergne , who is also vying for the Australian veteran’s vacancy , failed to make it to Q3 ,running wide on his final lap in Q2 and will be starting from thirteenth on the grid .

The two Lotuses of  Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen , the third contender for the Red Bull seat , set the eigth and ninth fastest times in Q3 and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari rounded up the top ten.

This meant that neither of the Mclarens or the Ferrari of Felipe Massa could make it to Q3.

Button who lost out on the final qualification round because of Kimi Raikkonen who just made the cut at the last moment , sending Button into the knockout zone and eleventh place on the grid.

With the mercedes’ lapping much faster than the other cars it will be interesting to see if either of the Red Bulls will be able to clinch victory here , but it doesn’t look like the Red Bulls or Mercedes’ will face too much of a challenge from any one else , especially with Raikkonen and Alonso struggling for pace . But who knows ? Especially with both of them gunning for the title too, they will be even more determined to prevent Vettel from increasing his lead over them.

We must keep an eye out for Toro Rosso though, as they looked very good during the qualifiers and will almost certainly end up in the points this weekend.

But being a Force India fan I will be looking out for Paul Di Resta. He looked very impressive in the qualifying session and even in the past two races , in which he finished seventh and ninth after starting from seventeenth in both races and now that he is starting in fifth , his dreams of making a podium finish seem a little more realistic and he would definitely be looking to improve upon his performance in Silverstone last year where he was forced to retire in the second lap due to a tyre failure.

Will it be the Red Bulls?  Or the mercedes’ ? Or will we see a fight back from the Ferraris and the Lotuses? Are the Toro Rossos capable of springing a surprise?

And will Paul Di Resta get that elusive podium finish?

Who knows? Let’s watch to find out!!

 -AkV

Aussie top order batsmen find form

One of the positives of the recently concluded 4 day warm up match between Australia and Somerset, at Taunton, is that the Australian top order managed to make good starts and get decent scores, thus ensuring a comfortable victory for the Aussies over the english domestic side. Usman Khawaja and Philip Hughes made fluent half centuries whereas Ed Cowan squandered a confident start. Play resumed on the final day with Khawaja and Cowan making runs very efficiently. Lady Luck too seemed to be favouring them as whenever they edged the ball, it always penetrated the slip cordon.
Cowan who didn't trouble the scorers much in the first innings seemed to be in prime forming, driving and punching with panache, before he was very unexpectedly dismissed. He raced to 46 in 89 balls (which is actually a decent paced innings in Test matches) before he was dismissed edging the ball to Alex Barrow off the bowling of Gemaal Hussain (who dismissed him for the second time in the match), when he tried to bring up his half century with a boundary. This continues the string of good starts that Cowan has made in First Class matches without converting them into big scores. The last time he scored a first class hundred was when Australia played South Africa in Brisbane last summer
Khawaja who didn't do much in the first innings (27 runs), seemed to be in complete control in this innings, rotating the strike very regularly and putting away that occassional bad ball to the boundary, before he was dismissed for a well made 73, caught by Trescothick off the bowling of Dockrell.
Hughes walked out at number three and he started off very positively, which included a huge six over mid wicket off the bowling of  George Dockrell. Hughes balanced hits to boundary with plenty of singles, while at the other end Khawaja brought up his half century. Hughes seemed to be carrying on from where he had left on the first innings (a well made, undefeated 76), before he was dismissed for 50 (of 90 balls), bowled by Dockrell, giving him his second wicket of the innings. He finished with 3 for 78, picking up his third wicket by dismissing Michael Clarke for 26, when Australia needed less than 60 runs for their victory.
Brad Haddin walked into bat after the dismissal of Hughes and played a confident, aggressive innings and scored 52* from just 40 balls. His innings was filled with eight shots to the fence and two above the fence. He brought up the winning runs with a six off the bowling of Dockrell.
A well made 90 by Watson in the first innings, one good start each by Cowan and Khawaja, two well made half centuries by Hughes, two decent starts by Clarke and by Haddin! These innings might seem enough to take the Aussies to victory against Somerset (obviously because their bowling came into place too), but their batsmen need to do much more if they have to give any trouble to the bowlers of the England Cricket team, who in favouring home conditions have been almost unplayable.
-S N

Hope At Anfield

Exciting times beckon liverpool football club as the early signings of Kolo Toure,Iago Aspas,Luis Alberto and Simon mignolet have been announced.The club seems determined not to repeat the mistakes last summer and in a way replicate the success of the january transfer window with the signings of Sturridge and the Mystical Philippe Coutinho.The sale of Andy Caroll is a clear indication of Brendan Rodgers's intensions that he wants to play a particular style of football and is ready to let go of andy who is the most expensive purchase in british football as he does not fit in his style of play. Many players are tipped for the door at Anfield,Ousamma Assaidi looks as though a return to holland may be on the cards after a torrid time last season.Jonjo shelvey too has been linked away as swansea may fancy to place a 5mn bid on the young midfielder.Luis suarez who's song was serenading the grounds regularly due to his goal scoring prowess last year by the Anfield faithfull has left some of the fans frustrated with his comments of wanting to leave Anfield as the supporters feel he should stay after the support he recieved from the club and fans .Even if he does leave it would add another 40-45 mn in LFC's transfer kitty which would suggest some more astute signings by the club. Henrik mkhitaryan has been heavily scouted nd linked to a move,but his 3rd party ownership is posing problems to complete a move bringing him to melwood.Liverpool are also linked with centre half options with tiago Ilori and the highly rated kyriakos Papadoupolos being potential transfer targets. Hopefully Liverpool make the right decisions in the transfer which would allow Brendan Rodgers to impose his style of pass and move football and take LFC to where they truly belong, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE football at Anfield. - A M

Well, this is the Junkies' first post! Lets see what's new then.

Spain defeat Italy on penalties. Man City new boy Jesus Navas with what Pellegrini will be hoping the first of many more joyous moments for him! Overcame chronic homesickness and is now on the search for the promised land with City.

And all of the mega-bucks that come with it.

Former Lord of the Manor of Frodsham and Ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse leaves QPR. Al-Gharafa and Panathanikos? Past his best, clearly.

Danny Simpson moves to QPR in what is finally some good news for R's fans. The former Newcastle man chooses to drop a division to help QPR compete for promotion.
Mismanagement and absence of relegation clauses means QPR are not in a very good state. Good luck getting out of the rut, 'Arry. Few better than the man-who-would-be-England-manager.

Will he? Won't he? Manchester United fans would like to think the prodigal son may return to Old Trafford.

Liverpool seem to have learnt from their past mistakes in the transfer window, having completed the signings of Simon Mignolet from Sunderland, Kolo Toure on a free, Luis Alberto from Sevilla and Iago Aspas from Celta de Vigo. 2 proven players at the Premier League level and 2 relative unknowns from abroad. Will things work out for Liverpool this season? We'll have to wait and see!

More to follow...