New fielding innovation?

Match 11. Sri Lanka Vs West Indies

When Angelo Mathews caught the ball Bravo had hit on the boundary line, lost his balance, threw the ball in the air, crossed the boundary line, (and then knowing the ball was outside the line) jumped Michael Jordan style, thumped the airborne ball back in to play, fielded it and threw it back, the third umpire didn't award West Indies the "6" they were expecting. Instead, they only got 3 runs which the batsmen had run.

If this ruling stands, would the fielders now cross the boundary line when they see the ball going out for 6 and repeat what Angelo did? It would be interesting if this new fielding innovation is seen again.

Close finishes eluding World T20

After 8 matches in the ICC World T20 2009, only one match (the first one which shocked England) has gone the distance. Given the kind of finishes one got to see in IPL Season2, one would have expected the World Cup to be more closely contested. Surprisingly, even the contests between the bigger teams have not bothered to invite the 'you-know-whats' to the edge of the seats.

Cricketing reasons are possibly not what is making this World T20 so one-sided atleast so far.

Is infighting finally getting the better of the undoubted cricket skills of the Aussies? We know they are not a big force anymore especially in T20 but what happened to the 'fight-till-the-last-ball' Aussie spirit? If it was there, it was perhaps written in white on a white sheet of paper.

Does Pakistan ever want to come out of its 'now-hot-now-cold' phase? The captain and the coach do not see eye to eye. Team mates openly contest the captain. And the chief of selection committee complains of interference and quits. This doesn't happen in a 'winning' team.

Has Bangladesh been done in by an unnecessary infusion of over-confidence? They came into the match against India hoping to replicate the WC 2007 shock victory but then as they used to say in my school days "everyday is not a Sunday". And they were a poor shadow of their Tigerself even against Ireland.

Cricket now is resembling the business world. Having skilled people is just a start - what makes the unit tick is how the skills are put to use and as it always happens in business, the team will only be as good as its captain and his ability to command respect. Especially in the "blink and miss" world of T20.

Shame, shame Australia

One more victory for Australia at the SCG. Record equalling they call it. Did India lose the match really? Or were they made to lose it? It is no secret that the Aussies do not like any other team dominating them. And they have shown at the SCG that they do not mind even resorting to cheating to have a win against their name. After all, the record book does not have space for qualitative measures like honesty and fairplay.

One Australian I respected was Adam Gilchrist. But by your appeal against Dravid when the ball clearly did not even touch the bat, I am afraid Mr. Gilchrist, you have lost my respect.

First of all, it is difficult to win against Australia - in Australia or away. And when you have not less than 8 decisions going against you, there could have been only one result. An Australian win.
At the end of the Sydney test, I truly believe that only 11 men out of the 24 people who took the field deserved to hold their heads high. And those heads belonged to the Indians.

I am sorry Australia. Record books might show you won. But in a true cricket lover's book, you lost big time.

Winning is everything

Last night's win over England in the 6th ODI at The Oval was remarkable in more ways than one.

Typically, when the team batting first does an amazing job in the finishing overs, these heroics end up being the difference between the winner and the loser. 51 runs off the last 3 overs and 30 in the last 5 balls is a dream end to the innings in most circumstances.

Secondly, given India's fickle record in chasing of late, anything was possible despite a great start.

It's been a while since rookies have raised their hands and demanded to be counted.

In the end, thanks Rahul & gang for a great show. And thanks Sachin for beginning to look like the old Sachin. Thanks Robin Utthappa for finishing the game. And for saving Yuvraj the blushes!!

Forget it! India won the series.

Cricket analysts will argue till cows come home about whether Rahul Dravid did the right thing by not enforcing the follow-on on England in the Oval Test. He is our captain and comes with a great cricketing brain. Let's credit him with the flexibility to decide what's best for the team. All of us have the advantage of looking back now but Dravid had to make the decision then - at that moment.

The fact remains that India won the Test series - after 21 years. This is the most important statistics future will remember. I would only say - 1-0 is good enough - 2-0 would have been great but no problem. :-)