The end of India’s golden era
It is hard to say whether Australia have rediscovered their mojo or whether India are in a free fall. The latter seems more plausible considering that India have lost seven away Test matches on a trot with four against England. Barring the series against West Indies at home, the team that was ranked number one about six months ago has been in a continuous free fall since the start of the ill-fated tour of England last year. The major issue leading to this has been the inability of the heavyweight batting order to pull its weight. The Indian batting line-up comprises of some ...
Read Full PostHas Dhoni lost the Midas touch?
The same captain who inspired India to a World Cup win not long ago followed by the IPL trophy for his franchise. He was the captain magnificent, leading from the front and was always calm in the face of the storm, thwarting it to achieve sometimes improbable wins. However, those days seems to be long gone. Six months after what were surely the best moments of his life, his world has come apart. Once the euphoria of the trophies wore off and Dhoni and his team came up against test champions England, they were crushed! Dhoni’s own form with the gloves and ...
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As Dhoni lifted the cup, I thought of Afridi
After a strangely placid Sri Lankan fielding performance, we watch India lifting the Cricket World Cup. Mistakes will be forgotten and achievements exaggerated until the late entry of Sreesanth is seen as a phenomenal decision. Everything is so much more legendary in retrospect. As confusing as the sight of Munaf Patel and Sreesanth holding the World Cup may be, when Tendulkar holds it, a strong case is made for eternal justice. What a fitting destiny for a player who ruled the sport for longer than many of his fans have lived. And his team seemed to acknowledge that, with constant dedications ...
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Pakistan vs India: An epic battle of nerves beckons
All the euphoria that followed Pakistan’s fantastic victory over West Indies is well justified. One rarely associates such an accomplished performance from a Pakistani team, and it has been a heart-warming experience witnessing such a spectacle. India’s win over Australia has set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between the arch-rivals. In my opinion, India as hosts will be the team under greater amount of pressure. The Indian public seems to have decided the result of the match already, with everyone taking a victory for the hosts as granted. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men are sure to feel the burden of such ...
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Cricket madness: India’s media frenzy
The ICC World Cup 2011 is just around the corner and the hysteria has already kicked in. Issues of the grounds and change in certain venues haven’t dampened the spirit in a country where cricket is close to being religion. With a Rs1.2 billion insurance cover to an estimated Rs6.3 billion of betting money riding on this game, this year the mania is a little different from the previous years. Undoubtedly, India is being counted as one of the hot favourites to win the World Cup. After the 2003 team led by Saurav Ganguly, this team captained by M S Dhoni ...
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When you pay cricketers peanuts, you get monkeys
So the Pakistani cricket team finally returned home last this week. I for one was a tad surprised not to see an angry mob armed with anday tamatar, to say the least. Cricket, as we all know, is the second most popular religion in Pakistan – we watch it, we talk about it, and until reality hits by age 16 – half our population dreams of becoming a pro in it. If you think about it, it’s extremely understandable – the public reaction – the shock and hurt over the latest match fixing allegations and the irritation over Ijaz Butt’s ...
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Pakistan are Afridi
Whisper it silently, and look around for some wood just for good luck, because it seems that Pakistan may finally have a captain. For the first time since Inzamam departed, the team really has someone in charge. This is clearly Afridi’s team – unlike the shaky Shoaib Malik era and the now-I’m-in-now-I’m-out Younis Khan tenures. (No one really expected Muhammad Yousuf to last more than a few months, did they?) The importance of a good captain cannot be overstated – unlike other popular team sports like football and basketball, the captain is a pivotal figure in cricket. Often it’s not ...
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