Champions League T20 - The Final Showdown - Flair Versus Professionalism

The battle lines are drawn for the finals of the inaugural Champions League T20 - it is going to be the flair and natural attacking game of the Caribbean team versus the disciplined and strategic professionalism of the team from Down Under.

The momentum and the crowds, the bookies and even the Gods seem to be with the red brigade from Trinidad and Tobago. They have swept all before them, much in the same fashion as the hurricanes in that part of the world. And the boys do seem to be in a hurry, going from strength to strength as the tournament progressed. There is a lot of joy, both in their cricket and for those who have waited a long time to see the Windies style of cricket of the 70s.

The onus of planning for the finals seems to lie entirely on the shoulders of Simon Katich, the NSW Blues captain, as the T&T play their cricket very simply - straight from their heart. Katich's problems start right from the toss - if he wins the toss, should he bat first, relying on the form and power of Warner, while telling Hughes not to go for the singles and to play dot balls if they cannot be hit for a boundary or over the ropes? Surely, the bowling of the T&T side is their weaker link and the initiative gained from the start by attacking this chink in their armour. Or should he choose to bowl first and have Henriques complete his quota on the trot, to avoid a replay of the episode with Pollard? Should he prefer to let the opposing batsmen play a longer innings to give Dwayne Bravo and Pollard fewer balls to smash out of the park? Obviously, butter is out of the day's breakfast menu for the Aussies - you cannot take the chance of having butter-fingered fielders like the Cobras, knowing that the T&T boys prefer the aerial route, as seen from the high number of sixers they hit in their innings. Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Moises Henriques, Doug Bollinger and Nathan Hauritz have been successful in restricting their opponents to small scores, except for the blitz from Pollard, and this might prompt Katich to favour putting the opposition win. But I feel, this is one toss Katich would not mind losing, as T&T have put up the tournaments's highest score when they batted first.

All said, one can expect a real contest on the cards. The stakes are high - David Warner and Phil Hughes may be fancying their chances of overtaking Duminy as the tournaments top scorer; Dwayne Bravo would like to prove he is the leading all rounder and Pollard would like to enhance his reputation. All this is addition to the ultimate prize - the Champion's Trophy.

My take - I would put my money on the Trinidad and Tobago team - they are on a roll, jell well as a team enjoying each other's success, enjoy their game, have adjusted to their adopted home ground with a 100% win record, much to the disbelief of the actual home team, the Deccan Chargers, and they have beaten the NSW Blues once before, so there's nothing to stop them from believing that they can do it again.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Trinidad & Tobago

Brian Charles Lara played for the Trinidad & Tobago team in the Caribbean domestic matches. With that one statement, one can conclude the introduction to this team. But let's say more - the team has 2 pairs of brothers - Dwayne & Darren Bravo and Daren (the captain) & Sherwin Ganga. Dwayne Bravo has come to be the face of West Indian cricket in recent times - he is always in the thick of the action, be it batting, bowling or fielding, as seen from his performance in the IPL-2 and the T20 World Cup. The Stanford 20/20 Cup was established in 2006 and Trinidad & Tobago have an impressive record in the 2 seasons it was held. They lost the finals to Guyana in 2006 but cantered to a comfortable win in 2008 against Jamaica, to earn the right to represent the Windies in the Champions League.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 12
Matches Won - 8
Matches Lost - 3
No Result - 1

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
William Perkins, Daren Ganga, Denesh Ramdin & Kieron Pollard

Bowlers -
Dave Mohammed, Samuel Badree, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Wayamba Elevens

Wayamba in Sinhalese is North West and it is therefore no surprise that the Wayamba Elevens represent the North West Province in Sri Lankan domestic cricket, the local championship now being called The Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament. Five teams participate in the domestic tournament, instituted in 2004-05. In the 2009 season finals, Wayamba beat Basnahira South to qualify for the Champions League as the lone team from the Emerald Isle.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 14
Matches Won - 11
Matches Lost - 2
No Result - 1

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Mahela Jayawardene, the current Lankan captain, is the leading batsman for the team and has the experience and ability to be counted among the best; batsmen Jehan Mubarak , the captain of this side, Michael Vandort and all rounders Farveez Maharoof, K Lokuarachchi have played international cricket and are handy with the bat, while Mahela Udawatte is considered to be a promising talent.

Bowlers -
Ajantha Mendis, the mystery bowler, leads the attack and should be a thorn in the flesh of the sides that traditionally have a problem dealing with spinners; Rangana Herath lends variety to the attack with his left arm spin; K Lokuarachchi is the leg spinner and the pacers I Amerasinghe, Farveez Maharoof ensure that the bowling attack is well experienced.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Sussex Sharks

The Sussex Sharks won the 2009 Twenty 20 Cup beating the Somerset Sabres in the finals. Sussex, is supposed to be the birthplace of cricket, but the team had to wait for more than a century to claim their first English County Championship and this success was followed by a couple of more triumphs. Piyush Chawla followed the footsteps of his legendry compatriots Ranjitsinghji and the Nawab of Pataudi, when he was signed to play for the Sharks and Pakistani Yasir Arafat, the only Pakistani to feature in the Champions League T20, followed the example of the charismatic Imran Khan. Dwayne Smith of the West Indies was responsible for the Sharks win in the finals against the Sabres.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 57
Matches Won - 29
Matches Lost - 25
No Result - 3

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Luke Wright, the English international, has a century against his name in this form of the game and can be counted on for some big hitting; Dwayne Smith, the West Indian, can add some Carribean flavour to this English side.

Bowlers -
James Kirtley is the leading wicket taker for this team; Yasir Arafat, all rounders Dwayne Smith and Luke Wright and Indian leg spinner Piyush Chawla provide variety in the bowling department.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Deccan Chargers

When the team was announced, everyone picked the Deccan Chargers as the favorites to win IPL-1. Big names like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas, VVS Laxman and the T20 World Cup winning team members Rohit Sharma and RP Singh being the reason for this thinking. However, the team finished as wooden spoonists inthe first edition, a key parameter being their inability to win a single "home" match. With the IPL-2 being played in South Africa, the Chargers did not have to worry about their dismal home record, and coupled with a captaincy change, with Gilchrist replacing Laxman, the team went from strength to strength to beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished one rung above them in IPL-1, in a well contested finals, thereby fulfilling their potential, albeit a year later than expected.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 30
Matches Won - 11
Matches Lost - 19

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Adam Gilchrist, is a big match player and is awesome to watch when on song. One of the reasons for the team's success in IPL-2 was his ability to lead from the front; Rohit Sharma was in the running for the top batting honors in IPL-1 but did not have such a good run in the second season; Andrew Symonds can be destructive as he showed in a match against the Rajasthan Royals in IPL-1. However, he went from hero, after scoring a blazing century, to villain, in a matter of 20 overs, after allowing Shane Warne to milk his bowling, thereby handing the Royals an unexpected victory; VVS Laxman and Venugopal Rao can turn on the heat too.

Bowlers -
RP Singh is the teams main strike bowler, without a doubt. He has been consistent in both the IPL seasons and can be relied to be economic while also providing the team with early breakthroughs; Pragyan Ojha may well have been the spinner of the IPL seasons, even in the presence of more reputed and experienced spinners; Rohit Sharma made up for the lack of batting form in IPL-2 by being the surprise part-time bowler of the tournament, claiming a hat-trick in the bargain as icing on the cake.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Somerset Sabres

In the 70s, Somerset were represented by two of the biggest names, and most entertaining cricketers, in international cricket, best buddies Viv "Smokin' Joe" Richards and Ian "Beefy" Botham, in the English county. Add to this, Joel "Big Bird" Garner, and the team is strong enough to send shivers down the backs of their opponents. The current team may not be as strong, but they get their chance of representing England in the tournament, the format first being played in England to revive sagging spectator interest. Somerset lost to the Sussex Sharks in this year's Twenty 20 Cup, thereby qualifying as one of the two teams from England.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 59
Matches Won - 25
Matches Lost - 29
Matches Tied - 1
No Result - 4

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Marcus Trescothick, the attacking southpaw opener seems to have rediscovered his love for the game and an appetite for runs; Justin Langer, is the captain of the side and the diminutive opener, who represented Australia and was part of the formidable opening pair with Matthew Hayden, should be among the runs;

Bowlers -
Charl Willoughby, Alfonso Thomas, Ben Phillips

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Otago Volts

New Zealand's domestic T20 Championship is called the State T20, after the tournament's sponsor - State Insurance and was established in 2006. Otago Volts were scheduled to play Canterbury in this year's finals of the State T20 tournament, but as the final was washed out, Otago Volts were declared winners as they finished ahead of Canterbury on conclusion of the league stage, thereby winning their first major trophy and qualifying as the only team from New Zealand to play in the Champion's League.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 20
Matches Won - 10
Matches Lost - 9
No Reault - 1

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -

Brendon McCullum provided a dream start to the IPL when he went berserk for the Kolkota Knight Riders in their inaugural match against Royal Challengers, Bangalore, to record an amazing 150 plus. However, he has been unable to reproduce that form in subsequent matches and would also like to forget his stint as captain of KKR in IPL-2; Dmitri Mascarenhas is known for his big hitting as we saw in one over of Yuvraj Singh where he took Yuvi to the cleaners in an ODI; Aaron Redmond is a steady opener and fared reasonably well in the recently concluded Champions Trophy; Hamish Rutherford is the son of former Kiwi batsman Ken Rutherford and is quite an attacking batsman, unlike his father.

Bowlers -

Dmitri Mascarenhas, the all rounder, is capable of taking wickets and is considered as a specialist in the shorter versions of the game (and I am not being biased because we share the surname); Nathan McCullum, the younger brother of Brendon, should do well with his off-spinners; Ian Butler has represented the Kiwis in international cricket and has a reasonably good record.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Victorian Bushrangers

The team with the proudest record in T20 cricket, the Victorian Bushrangers will be the team to beat in the tournament. Though they lost this season's KFC T20 Big Bash to the NSW Blues, they have the best record among the participating teams, having won their domestic torunament for the previous 2 seasons in a row, since its inception. The team is led by the big hitting Cameron White and has batsmen Brad Hodge and David Hussey, allrounder Andrew McDonald and bowlers Peter Siddle and Shane Harwood in their ranks. This may be the only team to have more than one T20 centurion in their ranks, with Cameron White, Brad Hodge and David Hussey recording centuries. Cameron White held the record for the highest individual score before it was obliterated by Brendon McCullum in the inaugural IPL match in 2008.

Match Record:

Matches played - 20
Matches Won - 16
Matches Lost - 4

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -
David Hussey, the younger brother of Mr. Cricket Mike Hussey, is tailor made for instant cricket and has the advantage of having played in India before. His record is in sync with his reputation and ability as he is the side's leading sixer hitter, with the best average and strike rate; Cameron White is in good form as seen in the Champions Trophy; Brad Hodge is the team's leading run getter and is a model of consistency with a century and five 50s for his side.

Bowlers -
Peter Siddle is the closest the Aussies have come to find someone like Glen McGrath; Shane Harwood is the leading wicket taker for this team.

Champions Leagur T20 - Know the Teams - Delhi Daredevils

If it was Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir who stole the thunder for the Daredevils in IPL-1, then it was AB de Villiers and Tilakaratne Dilshan who were the star performers with the bat in IPL-2. All it took was one bad show with the bat against Rajasthan Royals for the talented team from Delhi to be ousted from the IPL-2. In IPL-2, it was a different story - the Daredevils came face to face with a red hot Adam Gilchrist in the semis. The Daredevils qualified for the Champions Leage by virtue of having topped the table in the League stage. Drawn in Group D, the Daredevils (D1) play their first match against the Victorian Bushrangers (D2) on the 9th of October. The Daredevils will be without AB de Villiers, Dave Warner (representing NSW Blues) and Daniel Vettori. This should enable Glen McGrath have a bowl after having had to sit out the IPL-2. Daredevils also have a new captain in Gautam Gambhir, after Sehwag's decision to forego the captaincy in favour of his close friend and fellow opener.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 30
Matches Won - 17
Matches Lost - 13

Playes to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Virender Sehwag all are familiar with his one liners "have bat, will hit" or "the ball is meant to be hit" and he must be raring to have a go after a long rest to recovery from injury. As expected, he has the best strike rate for his side (and maybe of the whole lot); Tilakaratne Dilshan - is rediscovering himself as a destructive batsman and could be at his most dangerous if captain Gambhir decides to come in at number 3, giving Dilshan to have a go at the bowers first; Gautam Gambhir is in the form of his life and, even though is the least flashy compared to Sehwag and Dilshan, is the most likely to get the most runs once settled. It remains to be seen if the burden of captaincy affects his scoring ability and one hopes that it does not for he is the side's leading run accumulator; Dinesh Karthik many may find it strange to see his name here, but Karthik is quite capable of proving everyone wrong but being a match-winner, specially if the wicket is not conducive to stroke play.

Bowlers -
Ashish Nehra made his way back into Team India on the strength of his good showing in IPL-2 and has continued to impress since his comeback; Dirk Nannes Dutch or Aussie, the guy is quick. The team will rely on his ability to get an early breakthrough; Glen McGrath - the old master of line and length can still be relied upon to produce a tight spell and account for some wickets to boot; Amit Mishra is the side's leading wicket taker' has a hat-trick in T20s and should shoulder the spin burden in the absence of Vettori.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Diamond Eagles

Diamond Eagles finished runner-up to Cape Cobras in the Standard Bank Pro 20 Series in the last season to qualify for the tournament. A young side led by former South African top order batsman Boeta Dippenaar, the side could well produce some upsets as not much is known about the players, which could hinder the strategy planning of the opponents.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 42
Matches Won - 22
Matches Lost - 17
Matches Tied - 2
No Result - 1

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -

Boeta Dippenaar is a steady batsman rather than a dasher and should take on the role of anchoring the innings, Morne van Wyk, the team's wicket-keeper is also a leading batsman and is just 7 short of a 1000 runs in this form of the game, Ryan MCLaren is the team's leading all-rounder

Bowlers -

Ryan McLaren will have to shoulder more responsibility in the absence of Telemachus, van der Wath and Nicky Boje, Thandi Tshabalala is the team's leading wicket taker with the best strike rate and economy rate too of the lot.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - NSW Blues

Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Simon Katich, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Nathan Hauritz, Dominic Thornley, Doug Bollinger, Ben Rohrer, Mark Cameron, Nathan Bracken... sounds like the Australian team? Well, it is a team from Australia - the New South Wales Blues laso known as the Speed Blitz Blues. NSW have the reputation of being the barometer of Australian cricket - all is well with Australian cricket if the NSW team is doing well. Don Bradman, Richie Benaud, Steve Waugh and Glen McGrath have all represented NSW in first class matches. NSW Blues won the last edition of the KFC T20 Big Bash, thereby qualifying for the Champions League, but will be without the services of Mark Cameron and Nathan Bracken. Drawn in Group B along side Diamond Eagles and Sussex Sharks, NSW (B1) play their first match against the Eagles at the Kotla on 9th October.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 18
Matches Won - 8
Matches Lost - 10

Players to watch out for -

Batsmen:

Simon Katich has the experience of playing T20 in India, having represented Kings XI Punjab; Dave Warner the explosive opener who made a strong impression against South Africa, playing his first international series; Dominic Thornley has the experience of playing in India too and should make good use of the fielding restrictions in the power play overs.

Bowlers:

Brett Lee back from injury and after a good run at the Champions Trophy, Brett Lee should do well. He has a huge fan following in India, having recorded a song with Asha Bhosle, and also for being the most lovable and sporting Aussie; Dominic Thornley features among the bowlers too, having been quite successful in the past. If you want a third and fourth name, look out for Aaron Bird and allrounder Moises Henriques.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Cape Cobras

The Standard Bank P20 championships in South Africa is the equivalent of the India's DLF IPL and the Cape Cobras are the current champions of their home tournament, thereby qualifying them as one of the 2 teams from South Africa to participate in the Champions League. The team is captained by batsman Andrew Puttick and counts Herschelle Gibbs and Jean-Paul Duminy amongst its ranks. JP Duminy is a known name in India, having represented South Africa in recent times, but is more well-known for having an outstanding IPL-2 with Mumbai Indians, their new recruit after season 1. As Mumbai Indians have not qualified for the Champions League, Duminy does not face the problem that Gibbs had. In the IPL, Gibbs plays for the Deccan Chargers Hyderabad, who qualified for this year's Champions League after winning IPL-2. Other players of Cape Cobras to have represented South africa in international cricket at one point of time or the other are bowlers Monde Zondeki (Once nick -named the black Allan Donald), Charl Langeveldt, allrounder Vernon Philander and batsman Justin Ontong. H Davids has scored the only sentury in T20 matches for the Cape Cobras.

Overall T20 Record

Matches played - 40
Matches won - 22
Matches lost - 15
Matches Ties - 2
No result - 1

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen - JP Duminy - top run getter for the team with 752 T20 runs in 31 matches with an average of 31.33 and strike rate of 114.11. The pinch hitter of the team is RK Kleinveldt with a strike rate of 160.28, mainly due to being the leading sixer hitter in this side with 24 sixers in 37 matches.

Bowlers - Charl Langeveldt by a mile. He has the most wickets (34 from 15 matches), best economy rate (5.94 runs per over), best bowling figures of 5/16, best average of 9.79 runs per wicket, best strike rate of 9.8 balls per wicket.

Champions League T20 - Know the Teams - Royal Challengers Bangalore

The inaugural match of the Champions League T20 is between the Vijay Mallya owned Royal Challengers Bangalore (Team C1) and Cape Cobas (Team C2) of South Africa, to be played at Bangalore on the 8th of October 2009, at 8:00 pm IST.

After a poor first season, when RCB finished second last, the teams fortunes were dramatically reversed in Season 2 when they finished runners-up to Deccan Chargers Hyderabad in the IPL. What is more surprising, is that the team managed the turn-around after their star player, Kevin Peterson, who promised much but delivered little, left the team for the Ashes series. After being labelled a "test team" in IPL Season 1, with the likes of Rahul "The Wall" Dravid and Jacques Kallis in its line-up, all it took was one inspiring knock by Ross Taylor, who won the match almost single-handedly against the Kolkota Knight riders, from a near impossible position. Coming in at the fall of the second wicket at 63, in the 10th over, chasing a target of 174, Taylor blazed his way to an unbeaten 81 of 33 balls, carving 7 boundaries and 5 sixers in his innings. IN the last league match, Manish Pandey became the first and only Indian to score a century in IPL-2 against Deccan Chargers Hyderabad and this ensured he got a "earful of batting advice" from Andrew Symonds, when the two teams met the next time in the finals.

RCB has it fair share of good bowlers for this format - you can hardly find anyone more miserly than Anil Kumble who rediscovered himself in IPL-2 after retiring from Test cricket. Throw in Dale Steyn, one of the world's fastest bowlers, Praveen Kumar and all-rounder Jacques Kallis and you have a formidable attack. And one should not forget Robin Uthappa's ability as a bowler - who can forget the "hat salute" act of his after he hit the stumps in the tie-breaker against Pakistan in the inaugural T20 World Cup. Mark Boucher, Jesse Ryder, van der Merwe and Virat Kohli are the other international players in this team.

Match Record
Matches Played - 30
Matches Won - 13
Matches Lost - 17

Players to watch out for:

Batsmen -

Rahul "The Wall" Dravid is the leading scorer for the team with 642 runs from 27 matches; Ross Taylor has the best strike rate of 148.44 runs per 100 balls faced, having scored his 429 runs in just 15 matches; Manish Pandey is the young sensation who has the distinction of being the only Indian to score a century in IPL-2 and he is the only centurion for this team, which makes his average of 84 after 5 matches look very impressive.

Bowlers -

Anil Kumble has the best record on all parameters - most wickets (28 in 26 matches), best bowling figures (5/5), best economy rate (6.67 runs per over), best average (23.25 runs per wicket) and best strike rate (20.8 balls per wicket) for the team; Dale Steyn can be dangerous provided he stays fit and gets a chance to play; Praveen Kumar is the next best bet for RCB

What's happening??? Where is he???

Does one hear these words ring out? In anguish? In concern? Or in just plain relief?

Has he been arrested for celebrating Alonso's win in the first ever F1 night race at Singapore in 2008, now that it is turning out to be a "race fixed by Renault"?

Or was he sitting directly in the line of fire (should it be ire?) of a frustrated Serena Williams and think the threat was being made to him and so is now maintaining a low profile, à la Salman Rushdie?

Is he heading for "the Rainbow country", intending to cover the ICC Awards and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy? Or is he busy with the calculators, working out the chances of the teams participating in the tourney, with an eye to make a fortune by picking a team underrated by the bookies?

Or is he just maintaining a low profile, hiding in shame, for his inability to predict the winners, or even the finalists, with the exception of Roger Federer (that does not need one to be a rocket (racket?) scientist) of the recently concluded US Open?

Or is he on board Vijay Mallya's luxury yacht, probably on its way from Italy after the Monza race, heading like an arrow for Singapore and the next stop for Team Force India's tryst with glory and destiny, celebrating a famous fourth place finish for Adrian Sutil at Monza, sipping Kingfisher beer as a token of appreciation from the boss for post on relieving Fisichella to follow his dream with Ferrari?

Or, knowing his love for solving complex maths problems and puzzles, is he trying to figure out the solution to the equation on how many matches India needs to win at the ICC tournament to get back to the #1 ranking, simultaneously working on the probability of England avoiding a yellow-wash in their series against Australia, while also figuring out what South Africa is likely to do to overcome the insult of not having any of their cricketers in the final nominees for the ICC awards and how to overcome their jinx of excelling in the league games and then ruining it all in one poor showing at the knock-out stages, not to mention the unknown factors introduced by a blow-bot, blow-cold Pakistan, the eternal bridesmaid of recent times, Sri Lanka, the talented but underperforming Kiwis or the second string from the Windies?

Or is he a confused man, undecided on whether to celebrate the first ever 1-2 finish by Indians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi at the US Men's Doubles a few days back or mourn Sania Mirza's inability to get on the board in only the second round coupled with Yuki Bhambri's quarterfinal exit when he was top seed in the boy's singles and expected to win?

Surely Pankaj Advani's success in the Professional Billiard's World championship deserved a mention, being only the second Indian after Geet Sethi to accomplish this feat? As did Vijender Kumar's bronze medal, India's first ever medal, in the Boxing World Cup. Then why the silence?

NEWS FLASH:

When last seen, the author of this blog was desperately trying to get a complaint through to set right a faulty internet connection, that probably went wrong due to the recent heavy rains, much like the city's roads. What a pity - such a let down, just an one's imagination was running wild.

Federer and the "hot dog" shot

The "hot dog" shot is one where a player chases back to retrieve a lob and then hits the ball between his legs with his back to the net.

Obviously Federer is very good at this, as he is with all the tennis shots - in the book and those that he will be adding to it. He also has the perfect sense of when to play it - to get to match point is absolutely the best time - it stuns you so much that playing the last point is just a formality.

So what does one do now?? 2 choices - either you don't play the lob against Federer or you put so much top spin in it that it races away after pitching. Then maybe Fedex will come up with a "hot dog volley". Till then, please watch and enjoy!!!

The Djoker and the King

The US Open this year threw up an interesting match up. Maybe for the first time, there was someone who was not in the top 120, nor a qualifier, or a wildcard on the court. This is fun, specially for all the John McEnroe fans like me. If he can do this at age 45+, in formals you can well imagine him in his prime.

Watch and enjoy!!!

ICC Champions Trophy - a look into the past - the 1998 story

The ICC Champions Trophy, as it is known today, was first played as the ICC Knock-out Trophy, in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1998 and, as the name suggests, it was a pure knock-out tournament. This ODI tournament was arranged with the aim to be the second most important limited overs tournament, after the World Cup. The first edition featured 9 teams, with Zimbabwe playing New Zealand in a preliminary match, followed by the quarterfinals, semis and finals.

New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets, to qualify for the main tournament, scoring the winning runs of the last ball of their innings. In what turned out to be a match between the captains, Stephen Fleming managed to trump the century scored by Alistair Campbell, bagging the Man of the Match for his 96 runs.

In the first quarterfinal, England, being captained by Adam Hollioake, won the toss against Hansie Cronje's South Africans and scored a creditable 281 off their allotted quota of overs. Again, the captain stole the batting honours with Adam top scoring with an unbeaten 83. In reply, 3 South African batsmen, Cullinan (Man of the Match for topscoring with 69), Jonty Rhodes and captain Cronje got past 50, ensuring a win for their team by a confortable margin.

The next quarters was between Sri Lanka and New Zealand and with the latter managing to post only 188, batting first, Sri Lanka were home for a comfortable 5 wicket win. Captain Arjuna Ranatunga (not another captain!!!) guided the team to the target, scoring an unbeaten 90, after the Lankans had lost 3 wickets by the 4th over.

The next match, between India, led by Md. Azharuddin, and Australia, led by Steve Waugh, really turned out to be a match between Sachin Tendulkar and the Aussies. Sachin, a real thorn in the Aussie flesh in those days, scored 141 in India's total of 307 for 8 and, as though that was not enough, went on to take 4 wickets for 38 runs, including the scalps of Steve Waugh, Michael Bevan and Damien Martyn. That effort ensured an easy decision for the Man of the Match adjudicator and also marked the beginning of a miserable run for the Aussies in this tournament, which finally ended with the title win in the last edition.

The final quarterfinal match was between the Brian Lara led West Indeies and the Aamer Sohail led Pakistanis. The Windies, after scoring 289 for 9, restricted the Pakistanis to 259 for 9, thereby qualifying for the semis.

The first semi-final between South Africa and Sri Lanka was delayed by rain and started as a 39 overs a side match. Jacques Kallis, who had a fine tournament exhibiting his all-round skills, scored an unbeaten 113 in his side's 240/7. Further rain interruption meant that Sri Lanak were set a target of 224 in 34 overs, under the Duckworth-Lewis formula. The Lankans did not last that long, being bowled out for 132 in the 24th over, giving the Proteas their first appearance in a major final.

The early dismissal of Sachin and Azharuddin, followed by Dravid and Jadeja at regular intervals, emant that India were always fighting with their backs to the wall. Ganguly fot 83 and Robin Singh an unbeating 77 in India's total of 242/6. Sachin, the bowler, again tried to turn the match on its head, but Chanderpaul had other ideas and so the Windies were in a major final after 15 long years.

Philo Wallace's 103 and Kallis' 5 for 30 were the highlights of the West Indian's innings when they batted first in the finals. For them to set an unbeatable target, they need Brian Lara to come good - and he did not. But the South African captain did not miss his trick and Cronje's unbeaten 61, coupled with some useful contributions down the order meant that the Proteas were home and dry - and at last found some silverware to justify their potential...

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The ICC Champions Trophy - A Preview

The fan following of this blog is growing, but not by leaps and bounds, as I would like it to be. In a country like ours, this means only one thing. That it is time for an article on cricket - after all, nothing sells like cricket in India. We are now in the midst of a short tri-series being played in Sri Lanka, involving India and New Zealand in addition to the hosts. In the first match, Sri Lanka got the better of New Zealand, by a comfortable margin, in a low scoring match. As this article is not really on the Compaq Cup, here's something for those interested in watching the match highlights (in 3 capsules).






An interesting fact about the Compaq Cup is that it is the first digital trophy, incorporating a small LCD screen which will display winning moments, key statistics, photographs and fan messages. A novel idea for a trophy indeed!!!

However, for the diehard cricket fan, the Compaq Cup is only like a promo, when compared to the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, to be played in South Africa, from the 22nd of September to the 5th of October. 8 teams divided into 2 groups and 15 matches in total - 12 round robin matches and 3 knock-out ones.

The schedule of the matches is as follows:

Tue Sep 22 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group B - South Africa v Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Wed Sep 23 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group A - Pakistan v West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Thu Sep 24 at 09:30 local (07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST)
Group B - South Africa v New Zealand at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Fri Sep 25 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group B - England v Sri Lanka New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sat Sep 26 at 09:30 local (07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST)
Group A - Australia v West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sat Sep 26 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group A - India v Pakistan at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sun Sep 27 at 09:30 local (07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST)
Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sun Sep 27 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group B - South Africa v England at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Mon Sep 28 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group A - Australia v India at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Tue Sep 29 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group B - England v New Zealand at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Wed Sep 30 at 09:30 local (07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST)
Group A - Australia v Pakistan at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Wed Sep 30 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Group A - India v West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Fri Oct 2 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
1st Semi-Final - A1 v B2 at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sat Oct 3 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
2nd Semi-Final - B1 v A2 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Mon Oct 5 at 14:30 local (12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST)
Final at SuperSport Park, Centurion

As can be seen, the 2 groups are
Group A - India, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B - South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, New Zealand

As all participating nations are regular test-playing nations, with no new comers, it is expected that all the 15 matches will be well contested. It is hoped that this tournament breathes much needed life into a format that many experts feel is fast losing ground to the instant thrills provided by the T20 format.

I'll be watching you...

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Dasvidanya Marat!!!

Marat Safin's last match, before retirement, was a true reflection of his career - unpredictable. Having wont the first set, by a mile, he promptly lost the next three to make his last Grand slam tournament an extremely forgetful one. Safin's career has been like a roller coaster ride and his ranking over the period of his professional career, stretching from 1997 to 2009, reflects this.

Take a look at this:
Year 1997 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09
Rank 0203 49 23 02 11 03 77 04 12 26 58 29 61

Absolutely sinusoidal. And that takes some achieving!!!

On his given day he could be brilliant. Blessed with a near-perfect physique, the factor that gave his opponents hope was his fickle temperament. While most of us have a split personality, it was more evident in Safin. One just wondered which Safin would turn up on court - the brilliant shot maker or the one bent on harakiri. Often it really did not matter - the self destruct button was never too far away if the brilliant shot maker did show up. Such a weakness would normally mean that the player would not stand a chance in the longer 2-week tournaments. That Safin did win 2 Grand Slam titles, in addition to reaching the championship round in another 2 Grand Slams, speaks volumes of his ability and talent. He also went on to be ranked world number 1 for 9 weeks between November 2000 and April 2001, soon after winning the US Open in 2000, defeating Pete Sampras in the finals. His amazing all-round game ensured that he reached the semi-finals of all the Grand Slams, thereby proving that he had the game to suit all surfaces, once he kept his famous temper in check. His most famous win was his thrilling 5 set win over Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the 2005 Australian Open - a match that ended Federer's 26 match streak over Top-10 players in Grand Slams and a result that must have been sweet revenge for his loss to the same player in the finals of the previous edition. He went on to win his second singles Grand Slam title defeating home favorite Lleyton Hewitt in 4 sets.

Safin's younger sister, Dinara Safina, also a tennis player, emulated her brother, to be the current world number one in the women's ranking and this must be a proud achievement for the Safin family. However, Dinara Safina is yet to win a Grand Slam crown despite reaching 3 finals, of which 2 were in 2009 (the Australian Open and the French Open). Let's hope that Safin's retirement gives him time to support his sister in her quest for Grand Slam glory. Heer's wishing the duo all the best in the future.

Oh - these Italians.... and an Indian's large heartedness...

There cannot be smoke without fire - what was said to be a rumor when Fisichella took the podium at Spa, was confirmed news a few days later. Fisichella has driven his last race for Team Force India. Ferrari have solved their driver problem by passing it on to Vijay Mallya.

In my previous post on the Spa race, a couple of reasons were put forward for Fisichella's lack of fight in holding on to the top position during the race. There could have been another reason - Force India driver Adrian Sutil was in line for scoring the teams first points on 2 previous occasions and both times it was Raikkonen who put paid to all such hopes. So was it a calculated gamble to let Raikkonen pass? After all, it is better to watch all his moves than have him sit on your tail. As they say these days, lessons learned, corrective action and best practices.

With the news of Fisichellas move, a devious mind could conjure up a fourth reason for allowing Kimi pass. A return for the favor to fulfill a dream? Surely, a team with no points in the kitty is going to be happy with 8 points and would not mourn the loss of 2 points. Was Fisichella approached before the Spa race? If I were the Ferrari boss, would I be more impressed by a driver who fought for the first place (against my team driver) or by one who took the safe route to take an almost assured second place?

Well, it takes all kinds to make this world and that's why it is so interesting. We will never get to know the truth, so let the case rest.

Whatever may be in everyone's else's heart, one can be sure that Vijay Mallya has his heart in the right place. As one in service for almost 25 years and having served out numerous bonds (or contracts as the players have), a gesture of relieving someone of his obligations is magnanimous, to say the least. Only a person who believe in chasing wild dreams could understand the dreams of others. Fisichella says he would like to end his career with Ferrari, a household name for every Italian. And what better place to join the team than Monza? Thanks to Vijay Mallya, Fisichella will get to live his dream. And this gives me hope too... maybe the same man will help fulfill my dream...

Follow the US Open

On the cards

The final tennis grand slam of the year - the US Open - is underway. And the men's singles event is going to be the cynosure of all tennis fans. While Roger Federer is the firm favorite, one cannot write off the chances of Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Roddick. The Federer-Nadal saga has taken a complete u-turn since last year, with the hunter now being the hunted. Nadal should now be feeling the shoe pinch, in addition to his troublesome knees, as the shoe is on the foot now. Last year Federer arrived at Flushing Meadows after having been mauled by Nadal in the French Open and robbed of his Wimbledon crown and the chance to go past Borg's five consecutive wins by the same nemesis, this time is a five-set classic though. And losing his #1 ranking - to who else - must have been salt in his wounds. However, he went on to put all the doubting Thomases in their place by making it 5-in-a-row at New York, with a truly majestic performance. And today, Nadal is in the same boat that Federer abandanoed at the Arthur Ashe stadium last year. In fact, he is facing a bigger mountain than Federer did on a cuple of more counts - in addition to the loss of his Wimbledon crown and the #1 ranking, he has lost his French Open title, which was unchallenged for 4 years and with it his aura of invincibility on clay. And he faces the question whether his knees can support his "chase-down-every-ball" game style. It really looks like his bulging arms muscles used to intimidate his opponents, for his record is more mortal-like once he stopped wearing his sleeveless T-shirts. Watch this space for the coverage of the US Open.

In September, we also have the ICC Champions Trophy coming up in South Africa. Here, again, the undisputed champions in the 50-over format, Australia, have lost their invincibility, and the other teams - South Africa, India and Sri Lanka - have turned in impressive performances, leaving a more levelled playing field. Interesting fare in the offing and one hopes for some close matches with nail-biting finishes, to get the charm back into this format of the game.

And I hope to do some writing on the Premier League and other football matches, at least to please The dream Chaser, if not for anything else. This will mean hard work for me, but anything for you, my friend.

Keep reading and sending in your comments.

Down Memory Lane - The Alonso Hamilton Mercedes Commercial

This one is pure fun - a well made commercial. Great lyrics too. And it was supposed to be made in the days when Alonso was having trouble with Hamilton and the McLaren Mercedes team, during his first season with them - this does not show though. A treat for all Alonso and Hamilton fans. A final appearance by Mika Hakkinen is the icing on the cake. The 5 red lights are off, signalling the start of a great race!!!

Force India's finest hour??? Well, yes and no

The day finally dawned when we got to see a Force India driver on the podium.

The place - Spa (Belgium).
The date - 30th August 2009.
The position - 2nd place.
The driver - Giancarlo Fisichella.

A long awaited moment. Force India moved up from the seemingly eternal wooden spoon position, ahead of Torro Roso. And what a giant leap. From cipher points after 30 races over its 2 seasons to a massive 8 points in one race, from one driver only. Enough reason to celebrate. But let's be a little critical. Surely Fisi's Force India car was every bit as good as Kimi's Ferrari. The eventual margin was only a second. From the way Kimi overtook Fisi once the safety car moved out on the 5th lap, it looked like he would open out a huge gap. But this was not to be. Had Kimi won by a big margin, I would not dare to write this. But as it happens, surely it now appears that Fisichella made a tactical error in staying too close to the safety car while it was out there. One driver who was a past master in safety car situations, when in the lead, was Juan Pablo Montoya. He would slow down the field so much, that when the safety car rolled in from the circuit, the drivers behind him had difficulty in catching up with him.
What could be the possible reasons for Fisichella's lack of aggresion in defending his lead? Could it be a mindset that the Ferrari, equipped with KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), would overtake him eventually? An overcoming sense on inevitability? At this point, many would ask what is KERS? I encourage those interested in knowing more about KERS to click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/formula-one-kers/11324/
Another possibility could be the anxiety to get the first points on the board for the team. Meaning, why take the risk of going for 10 points, when 8 points look a very safe bet? Understandable for a team looking for its first points.
Another point in Kimi's favor was that he and Fisichella turned into the pits, for both stops, on identical laps - the first time on the 14th lap and on the 31st lap the second time and both times, the Force India crew were unable to get their car out ahead of the Ferrari.
Whatever the reason may be, the golden opportunity of winning a race was lost. A win would have meant we got to see the tricolor being unfurled and the all-so-rare strains of the "Jana Gana Mana" filling the air but that was not to be. As my elder son, Bernard, said only the "chakra" is missing when Italy's flag is compared to India's. One only hopes that this was the team's first chance at glory and not their last. And now that the points are in the kitty, the team goes on to greater glory and what better than a 1-2 finish. Way to go, Mallya, Fisichella and Sutil!!!
And now for the rest of the race details. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton and current leading aspirant for 2009 Jenson Button both went out in the first lap mishap involving 4 cars. Alonso pitted late and promptly had trouble with the front left wheel this time - which was damaged possibly due to a collision with Force India's second driver Adrian Sutil's car. And the Renault management decided to play safe and call Alonso in, after the bouncing wheel incident at Hungary and the subsequent one-race ban and succesful appeal by the team. Button should draw aome consolation that his close competitiors could not score more than 6 points and so, should be happy at Kimi's first race win of the season and Fisichella's second place. For Kimi, his love affair with Spa continued with his 4th win there and for the Ferrari team, something went right at last, specially after Massa's accident.
Final verdict - a good race leaving many happy - some winners and some losers!!! And for our own Vijay Mallya - hopefully the beginning of Good Times!! Do I hear my friends say Long live Kingfisher!!!???

For all those who believe that a picture is worth a thousand words, here's some video footage of the start of the race - you can watch Kimi go wide at the start and the first chicane, the first lap accident.


Here's one more video covering the race highlights. You can see Kimi's ovetake, Alonso's front wheel misfortune, a glimpse of a celebrating Vijay Mallya, the near collision in the pit lane, the fuel nozzle problem for Jarno Trulli and finally the fire in Ruebens Barrichello's car after the race was over. Have fun!!!

Unfullfilled Ambitions - An Introduction

I have always been a sports fan and, to me, it really does not matter what the sport is. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of the times I spent in the ACC (Associated Cement Companies) Sports Club at Shahabad, Gulbarga, Karnataka. As I was growing up, I really did not know what profession I wanted to take up later in life. Some of the possibilities were - teacher, engineer and, of course, sports journalist. The last one was the most romantic for me and I used to think the ultimate joy would be in travelling around the world, covering various tournaments and events and interviewing the famous sports personalities. As it turned out, I became an engineer and soon fell in line with the saying "If you cannot do what you like, you should learn to like what you do". Having joined HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), I was presented with an opportunity to learn about the intriguing world of flight. And this learning filled my days, which turned into years, without me noticing it, which means that the time was well spent and my efforts were rewarded to my satisfaction - in short, I was happy. Now, as I am in my 25th year in the aeronautical industry, I wonder how I would have fared had I been a sports journalist. Forget about the travelling and the interviews - at least I can see how good my literary efforts are. Today's world of cable television means that we can witness many sporting events form the comfort of our living rooms. The urge to write is strong now and the perfect opportunity was presented yesterday - Force India notched up their first points, and first podium finish, in 30 races. So my maiden sports article will be on the Formula One race at Spa, Belguim on the 30th of August 2009. The only thing I request of all those who read this - please let me know your honest feedback; feel free to post your comments; and your criticism is welcome and will be used constructively.