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Chennai is on a losing streak. Three matches lost and the team has some big problems. The auctions left them with a situation where 3 key players won them 4 games and just left. Of the replacements only Albie Morkel has more than justified his position and worth to the team. So what can Dhoni do to revive his team’s fortunes.

1. Drop Parthiv for a game. The guy has scored 96 runs in 7 matches and this is simply not good enough. Either get the dasher Aniruddha to open or bringing in the rookie Abhinav Mukund, who atleast is a specialist opener. Definitely persist with Fleming at the top.

2. Get Raina or Badrinath in at no 3. This floater no 3 is not working. Raina has shown promise and if he comes in early he can get a few balls to settle. Badrinath is also a technically correct batsman who can come in at 3. Either way I think numbers 3 and 4 should be Raina & Badrinath in any order.

3. Dhoni has to come in at 5. That is his best spot in the batting order.

My batting order for today’s game Fleming, Aniruddha, Badrinath, Raina, Dhoni, Vidyut, Morkel, Joginder, Gony, Ntini, Muralitharan.

– Sanjay

Earlier this year, David Morgan, President of the ICC, and others sought the removal of Sunil Gavaskar from the ICC Cricket Committee over his perceived conflict of interest (being a broadcaster and administrator) and his outspoken comments against Australian and English dinosaurs. Indeed, several reports, including this one by Christopher Martin-Jenkins, even said that Gavaskar had been sacked from his post! Peter Lalor weighed in to the argument too in this column on Fox Sports with a headline that reads “Sunil’s twin roles a ‘concern’”. Sunil? Duh?

Anyway, I digressed even before I began! Sunil Gavaskar chaired the ICC Cricket Committee which has come up with a list of innovations. Gavaskar’s committee — or should I follow the perfect journalistic example set by Peter Lalor and say Sunil’s committee, as though the object of discussion was my brother or my best friend? — included Mark Taylor (former Australia captain), Mickey Arthur (South Africa coach), Michael Holding (former West Indies fast bowler), Simon Taufel (ace Australian umpire), Steve Tikolo (Kenya captain) and Tim May (CEO of FICA, the players’ association).

Below are some of the major recommendations made by this committee to the ICC.

Decision Referral:

The major recommendation is that each team be allowed to refer a maximum of three decisions to the third umpire who could use technology such as Hawkeye to review the referred decision. Two things are not clear just as yet from the reports: (a) Is that three decisions each innings, each session, each day, each match? (b) If a team refers a decision and is successful in overturning the on-field umpires’ call, does that still count as a lost referral?

Although this experiment was reported to be unsuccessful when tried in English domestic one-day cricket last season, this referral system could prevent the sort of drama we saw in the Sydney Test (See this YouTube collection if you are an Indian fan and are in desperate need of a gut-wrench moment in your life!) between Australia and India early this year!

The referral experiment was said to be unsuccessful in the English domestic ODI season last year because it turns out that the 3rd umpires were largely loathe to turn on their on-field colleagues! Clearly, with some coaching, guidance, counseling and training, this issue could be overcome. The 3rd umpire has the benefit of technology as well as time and the on-field umpire should not see it as a blemish on his decision making prowess if a decision of his is turned down. Several other sports successfully manage a referral system that is aided by technology.

The ICC Cricket Committee recommended further that Hawkeye could be used only to determine the path of the ball up to the point that it struck the batsman. A wise decision in my view. The questions that could be addressed through this could be, for example, “Did it strike in line?” (for off stump LBWs), “Did the ball pitch outside leg?” (for leg stump LBWs), and “Was the impact too high on the pads?”, rather than, “Would the ball have gone on to hit the stumps?”

In another significant and good move, the committee has also recommended that the on-field umpire should eb allowed to consult the 3rd umpire on whether or not a catch was taken cleanly. That should put an end to the sort of stupid pact that Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting signed prior to the recently concluded Australia-India Test series — a pact that was torn up after the contentious Sydney Test!

Substitute Fielders:

Apart from this major recommendation which, in all likelihood will be accepted by the ICC, the Cricket Committee also ruled out “comfort breaks” that fielders use to reign in substitutes. The Cricket Committee has indicated that substitute fielders should only be permitted in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons. I am not clear what “wholly acceptable reasons” means in this context. However, if a player does require a genuine “comfort break” does this then mean that the fielding team will field only 10 players for the duration of this “comfort break”? This is not entirely clear from the report. This is, however, in my view, a good suggestion that needs to be adopted. This may also put an end to the sorts of incidents we saw in the 2005 Ashes series when Ricky Ponting and Duncan Fletcher had a war of words over Englands’ use of specialist fielders as substitutes.

PowerPlays in ODIs:

Another significant recommendation is that in ODIs the timing of one of the three Power Plays would be determined by the batting side! As a result of this recommendation, there is no “Second PowerPlay” anymore. In both the 2nd as well as the 3rd PowerPlay, the fielding team can employ 3 fielders outside the restriction circle.

Again, the devil is in the detail on this one. Who decides first whether a PowerPlay is on or not? The fielding captain? What if the fielding captain as well as the batsmen simultaneously decide that they want a PowerPlay to be employed? Is that designated as a batting PowerPlay or a fielding PowerPlay?

Bowl-outs in T20 games ditched:

Thankfully, the dreaded bowl-out that decided tied Twenty20 games up until now has been replaced by a one-over-per-team play-off! Sensible, in my view.

Test League:

The committee also recommended a Test League for the top two sides in the Test Championship. I think that this is a good idea. However, I’d like the Test League to be between the top three sides in the table. Thankfully, the Super Series idea — a dud in the first place — has been killed!

– Mohan

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– Mohan

Rohit Sharma should be drafted into all forms of the Indian team in a hurry. With the talent that he possesses and the kind of form that he is in it would be a grave mistake if he was not part of the national side. He played another little gem for the Deccan Chargers and in vain again. They threw away a game that they should have won comfortably after bowling well and getting off to a great start while batting. It was sheer magic to watch VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma while they were at the crease. This side has looked so close to winning most of its games but the points table tells a completely different story. The sides seems to possess the same kind of luck that its captain has had through his career. The one huge gain for that side and for India has been Rohit Sharma. It is not surprising that I have become a big fan of his approach to the game.

Punjab Kings X1’s casual approach in the last 10 odd overs almost cost them dearly. After a wonderful spell of seam bowling by Sreesanth and more significantly Irfan Pathan, they seemed to go into ” I am bored” zone. Also, Yuvraj may have made some tactical mistakes by not bowling Piyush Chawla when the Knight Riders were 50 for 5. It would be a great time for the leg spinner to bowl at David Hussey and Saha and attempt to get them to hole out. It was not to be. While VRV Singh and Gagandeep Singh bowled reasonably well during that stage, it let Hussey and Saha settle in to take them in the final stages. Irfan Pathan’s smart bowling in the last over denied a Warne like repeat performance. Piyush Chawla’s assault on Ishant Sharma in the last over may well have been the difference.

Tomorrow’s matches bring all teams at level as far as number of games played are concerned. Irrespective of the results, the point table will indicate that there is not much between the top 6 teams with possibly Delhi slightly ahead of the rest. I can’t wait to see the Tendulkar - McGrath/Asif and Warne - Dhoni/Murali challenge(s).

- Srikanth

The Delhi opening juggernaut powered on as they overpowered a depleted Chennai Superkings. While Sehwag and Gambhir certainly stole the game away in the first 10 overs of their innings, I think the game may have been lost due to some tactical mistakes that Dhoni may have made. Delhi does have a competent pace lineup including the incredible McGrath but Dhoni batting order reshuffles may well have contributed to their downfall. 170 was always going to be a gettable target on a fantastic Chepauk wicket. Chennai should have been looking at setting a target more in the vicinity of 200. Suresh Raina demotion in the order and the ignorance of the presence of Badrinath in the side could have been avoided. Dhoni is an astute captain, no doubt, but he does seem to have likes and dislikes. Badrinath for a strange reason has not won too many favors from his captain. While Vidyuth scored runs, he may have been fortunate in doing so. Raina and Badrinath ahead of Vidyuth and certainly that of Morkel could have been a better way to go. Having said that, Chennai had to lose a game (atleast if law of averages has anything to do with it). They are better of doing so at this stage of the competition than later on. I still feel they are strong favorites for the title with Delhi and Rajasthan being next likely.

Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram are now in England braving the english weather and playing in front of hundreds of spectators and already missing the fame, glory and cash that go along with playing in the IPL. Their statements in this article in cricinfo certainly justify the undisputed success of the IPL, a good sign in my opinion.

Looking forward to another exciting weekend of IPL,

Srikanth

Another disappointing day for the Mumbai Indians amidst a whirlwind called Gilchrist. Tendulkar called into work sick again, Harbhajan spent the day looking for DNA evidence to prove that he was indeed Sreesanth’s “brother” and Jayasuriya and Uthappa saw their stock take a tumble for the next auction. Tendulkar’s supposed involvement in the selection of the Mumbai Indians raises strong questions about his strategy. Is he out of touch as far as T20s go?

Sanath Jayasuriya is ready for retirement, period! the $900,000 odd investment is turning out to be an Enron like fiasco (Reliance should have known better!). I am willing to bet that Jayasuriya is unlikely to turn things around the way Gilchrist did. Robin Uthappa is an exciting player but to consider him as “the middle order man” was a big mistake. Mumbai should have fought for someone like Rohit Sharma (the localite) as well. Who is Luke Ronchi? He seems marginally better than a fourth division player in the Chennai leagues. How could Mumbai make such a blunder? Having done so, after having watched the Aussie play a game they should have asked Uthappa to keep and strengthen their batting order. Shaun Pollock is a great allrounder, no doubt, but past his prime to lead the bowling lineup. Ashish Nehra has hardly played cricket in the last three years or so and looks very rough. Even though Delhi invested in Mcgrath, they did go in for Mohd. Asif, Farvez Mahroof and Yo Mahesh as backup fast men. Dwayne Bravo has been a saving grace for the team, but he was not meant to be there in the first place. He came in as a replacement for the injured Lasith Malinga. The only positive I have seen so far has been the performance of Abhishek Nayar.

Why am I harping so much on the performance of Mumbai Indians? It is simple. It is extremely difficult to see “GOD’s” team losing badly. It is even more difficult to digest the fact he did not get it right as far as picking the team was concerned. Their only hope is that he comes back and comes back like the champion that he is and sets an example for the team. It is only good for the IPL that Mumbai pick up and give it fight hereon!

Punjab Kings X1 are on a winning spree. They are going to lose Brett Lee, James Hopes and Simon Katich however. Will they have the firepower in their bowling line up moving forward? They certainly have a strong batting reserve to back themselves. I am most impressed with Sehwag’s captaincy, his temperament and acceptance of defeat alongwith an amazing lineup should see Delhi remain in the top for a while.

With Adam Gilchrist setting things right for the Chargers and with the arrival of Herschelle Gibbs for the overpaid and overrated Andrew Symonds, that team certainly looks strong enough to climb further up.

All in all, an amazing weekend of cricket comes to an end with the “SuperKings” right on top and deservedly so! Looking forward to another great week of tamasha!!

Cheers,

Srikanth

A pathetic performance from the Mumbai Indians has put them in a terrible position after the 3 games. Are they being done in by too much star power or the lack thereof? They have been unfortunately hampered by the absence of Sachin Tendulkar (it is a convenient way to earn a million dollars by the way!). I am sure Sachin Tendulkar must be feeling terribly hurt and disappointed by the goings on. Sanath Jayasuriya has not turned on the screws. Harbhajan Singh’s captaincy has not been too impressive and add to that, he has been reported to have hit Sreesanth on the face leaving the fast bowler from Kerala in tears.

The team with what seems to be Shiv Sainik support staff (an all marathi support cast!) lacks a winning instinct. Can Tendulkar return soon and turn things around? The sunday game against another surprisingly disappointing team, Deccan Chargers, will be an extremely important game. I, personally, have mixed feelings about Mumbai. While it has GOD in its team, the line-up looks very weak on paper. It certainly does not carry enough ammunition especially being the most expensive side.

My loyalty undoubtedly continues to lie with Mr. Dhoni and his men. They have played very professionally and tomorrow’s game against the leaders, Kolkata Knight Riders should be a humdinger.

Play on…

- Srikanth

Initial reactions in India towards the IPL has always centred around how much money each one is getting. This is probably the frist time when main stream celebrities are having their personal finances dicusdiscussedublic. Yes we have heard reports in the past of Chiranjeevi or Rajanikanth getting paid so much. We have read about the deals Sachin signed when he had just arrived on the scene. But financial arrangements have never attracted as much publicity and media attention as did the player auctions of the IPL. For people outside India flipping through magazines or watching news channels always threw up reports of financial deals struck by a motley assortment of celebrities like sportspersons, film stars, tv stars, musicians signing with record labels, models, fashion designers etc. any successful human being will immediately have his financial deals discussed in public.

But the situation has never been like this in India. So when the IPL auctions created a huge media hype about the money being doled out. A lot of people found the whole process disgusting! After the first round of matches were played the questions came back to money. What did Symonds do after the first 2 games? Look at the money they paid him? Of course Symonds is a hard nosed professional and he came back to form in true style with a fine hundred last night only to be confronted by Ian Bishop with question “That’s why they paid big bucks for you.” Is it just the money that you can see? Is it not professionalism, pride, skill, and a host of other things that make a player perform???

Look at the way the international stars have performed. People who have watched county cricket in England know what I am talking about. These players can join any team and do their job just as well as they did it for their country. Of course playing for their own country is not the same thing but when playing as a professional, they do not in any way underperform. Let us enjoy the matches and celebrate the performance of the players and stop cribbing about the bucks!

– Sanjay

The first set of matches have been completed and all the 8 venues have had a taste of the IPL. The initial figures coming show that there is a lot of excitement in all the cities and crowds have been pouring in. Except for Mohali, which had a slighty smaller turnout, the rest of the venues had fantastic crowds. Yesterday was witness to arguably the best match played so far and the tournament promises more. The lottery that 20-20 can be was quite evident where a match almost given up was suddenly revitalised and finished in a thrilling manner.

The wickets have been batting heavy with Kolkata being the exception. That is what makes cricket so fascinating when a factor not related to the players themselves can change they way the game is played. With the ball turning around and a low score the Kolkata match was thrilling in its own way.

City based support for the players and teams will take a little time to sink in. But the signs are already there. Rahul Dravid mentioned today that he was surprised no one clapped when he hit a boundary in Mumbai! One could also see Veeru signalling to the crowd to clap after he scored his fifty in the Hyderabad game.

The professionalism of the players is really great. Each cricketer is so involved in his team and trying to give his best. The presence of the international stars is making the game a superb spectacle. At the same time a number of youngsters are coming to the party and performing so well. Old reputations are slowly taking a beating whilst new ones are being made. A friend commented about the failure of Symonds while The Hindu clearly sees Laxman as the weakest captain in the League. Some of the older stars like McGrath, Warne, Pollock have been excellent.

I like 20-20. The number of days when we sat down for close to 8 hours and had a horrible night after India lost in Sharjah are a thing of the past. This is quick and fast. It is a batsman’s game but the bowlers will learn fast. Hayden said yesterday that the bowlers are adapting very quickly and will have a crucial role soon. Like someone said the ‘bits and pieces’ cricketers of the ODI variety may not shine as much as the specialists. The exceptions being the genuine all rounders like Pollock, Watson and Hopes.

Get the Englishmen in quickly, find some Zimbabweans and Bangladeshis and let us get this International Indian Premier League rocking! Just a word of caution. The coming week is important as the next round of matches begin at the different venues. Will the crowds continue to come in? Especially as some International cricketers leave for fulfilling their country’s commitments? Let’s wait and see.

– Sanjay

It is early days in the DLF-IPL innaugural tournament. However, I figured there were some interesting observations that I could share. Here goes..

1. Deccan Chargers must be seriously contemplating on their million dollar investment, Mr. Andrew Symonds. He has been pretty ordinary in the two games so far.

2. The owners of Mumbai Indians would seriously hope and pray that they are the most expensive franchise for a very strong reason, Sachin Tendulkar. He did not play in the first outing and seems unlikely to figure in tomorrow’s game against the Chennai supermacchis. Their bowling lineup has more of a kanga league look and less of an international offering.

3. Mike Hussey surely has strong reasons to feel disappointed for being cheaper than his brother, his innings against Punjab was truly special and very professional. Assuming he will be auctioned again next year, his stakes will a lot higher.

4. In general, the big money winners have not recorded anything out of the ordinary yet barring possibly McCullum and Ishant Sharma. On the contrary, some of the icons have been more of an embarrassment to their respective teams. Captains of Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers come to mind.

5. Delhi Daredevils certainly look like the team to beat. It seems they do not require more than three batsmen in the side, the first three seem to finish off totals. It is a fantastic outfit and I was way out of mark when I predicted early that they would make it to the last four.

6. I am quite impressed with a few of the youngsters. Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma certainly have a bright and guaranteed future ahead. Rajat Bhatia, Siddharth Trivedi, Pazhani Amarnath, Shikar Dhiwan, Virat Kohli, and Badrinath are quite exciting to watch.

7. As I said it is early days, but the fun has certainly begun. Fortunately, thanks to a repeat telecast in addition to the live broadcast here I am able to watch all the games in total when I get home from work.

Cheers,

Srikanth