The Battle lost within....!!!!

Just confused from where & how to start to explain why India played such a poor & heart breaking cricket in Australia.. The cricket lovers thought the young & enthusiastic team India would turn around the fortunes in  T-20, &  One day series  after  veterans failed to show their colors in the test series. We had all the required material to make this series remarkable & intriguing. Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni,  the high profile & attacking batsmen, Kohli, Raina, Rohit  Sharma the exciting future prospects of Team India, R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Irfan Pathan the  one day all-rounder,  Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar the swing bowlers, & the real quick  Umesh  yadav … What else captain would ask for to write down the success story.  Yes two more things which are more important than the individual record, caliber, & greatness those are commitment and team spirit which were missing.  The way we were getting thrashed in the test series the senior members & the core players of the team should definitely have shown some maturity leading to limited over cricket. Players need to understand that they are representing Team India & not the franchisee owned team where all this drama can be publicized to make the event more interesting. 

It is said that when Going gets tough, tough gets going. Sehwag not understanding the team’s need, Gambhir giving needless comment in the after match presentation , Dhoni termed as man with less emotions until the series started doubting his own player’s  abilities in the media. Did all this help to improve the team’s morale, or raise in the on field performance.  The coach is there to bind the team & keep it  focused on the ultimate target to win. Duncan Fletcher our team coach(?) reminds me the PM Manmohan Singh who appears mute faced in every circumstances & let the things happen as they are bound to happen.

Playing against Australia in Australia is not like the IPL matches where you can thrash the bowlers at any part of the ground at will. It’s a challenge, you need to plan your innings, your defense, opposition bowler’s flaws & waiting for the opportunity. Dhoni managed to do it to some extent. Such is the strength of Australian team despite  having  the new bunch they have the ability to turn the match around by keeping the pressure all the time with the committed efforts. The positive competition in the team keeps the players always alert for performing to the best of their ability. The fresh example is not far despite scoring the century & double century  in the test series and even being excellent fielder Ricky Ponting could not find his place in the playing eleven after just four failures. 

All of our players are so used to the batsman friendly pitches, even the ball one foot outside the off stump can easily be dispatched to the fence to third man or square off  the wicket without any foot movement. In Australia or the pitch having some assistant to the fast bowler the good length ball with just hint of movement can take edge & rest in the hands of hungry slip fielder. The likes of Jadeja, Raina, Rohit Sharma regarded as future  middle order have the talent but their casual approach is causing the detrimental effect not only to/ on Team India but also to/on their career. These players need to understand that it’s their performance and temperament   not the captain’s favor that will decide the place in Team India if they are serious about their cricket.  

If any individual pretends that there place in the team is granted & his only efforts can alone win the matches for team India, this scorching series is enough for him to come down on earth & walk with the team & it’s plan. And those who are dreaming to lead team India should better think again.

It’s not as easy as scoring centuries against mediocre team, it’s “A Shiv Dhanush “ first prepare to be competent  by playing with responsibility and then dream to think about it.

Ritesh Kadam
rityakadam@rediffmail.com
Cell:-09011020015

Feel the Heat, Feel the Power, Feel the Punch...!

If you people love cricket, you must have seen the promotional advt of India-Australia series featuring Vijay Raj, who explains why this series is always intense. In the end, he says, "Samajh lo ke kudarat ka karishma hai ye series..."

No doubt about it...India-Australia matches have always been intense & intriguing specially after the historic 2001 series. In most of the matches, Australia have maintained upper hand but facing to India was never a cake walk for them. The matches were always close and had nail-biting finish. India-Australia series has the same glamour as "The Ashes..." This time too the story won't be different. The bitterness of last series is still not been forgotten (Symonds-Harbhajan clash, Cheating in the second innings by Ponting, Australia Buckner..sorry Steve Buckner's hopeless umpiring in the Sydney test...) and whenever these two rivals have met, every now and then the glimpses of that event were experienced by India. Though Australia have not remained the mighty and that much venomous, the fighting & never-say-die attitude is still in their blood. Despite the main bowlers Johnson, Ryan Harris, D.Bollinger, Hauritz, and two key players out of action due to injury, Australia have enough fire-power in the form of Peter Siddle, Starc, and the new loaded weapon Pattinson to test the Indian batsmen's true skill on typical Australian hard, bouncy pitches...

And in the batting, best player of spin Clarke, Mr. Cricket Hussey, ageing but still classy Ponting, veteran Haddin and the few gutsy newcomers have the ability to settle the required score on the board...

On the other side, India's famed batting line-up needs to handle the Australian pace heat, and the fitness of fast bowlers to handle the Australian heat to make this series lively one.. Plus they have to absorb the shocks of Mental Disintegration theory laid down by Steve Waugh.

Star Cricket has rightly described this series as "AGNEEPATH". And I don't think this series will be without any controversy or some on-field tussle… because 2+2 = 4, the Sun always rises to the east, King Cobra is venomous, and Australian's are sledgers...these are the universal truths.

First match will be starting on 26^th of Dec. The Boxing Day (this is the day after Christmas on which the gift-boxes are kept at a common place for the poor people...the Box-opening Day).

So India, get ready to :

Feel the heat (Australia's weather),

Feel the power (Australia's Batting),

Feel the Punch (Australia's Bowling)….!

Ritesh R. Kadam

ritesh05kadam@gmail.com

Cell:- 09011020015

Steve Waugh's Mental Disintegration Theory..!

Hitler's Quote:-

"Demoralize the enemy from within - by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. In the end, victory matters..."

Steve Waugh was instrumental using this quote for developing his theory - The Mental Disintegration. Bowlers bowl bouncer, slower deliveries, reverse swing, googly etc. to intimidate the batsmen; but there is X-factor which separates the champions from the winners... Australia had and have that X-factor! How and when it started - Australia's Lillie, Thomson, Merve Hughes, were used to bowl quick & fiery spell and mutter few words towards batsmen, to unsettle them. These tactics were being used during the match only depending upon the circumstances. But it was Steve Waugh, who played it systematically, used it as a planning tool in the battlefield of cricket...and gave it the name:- Mental Disintegration. He says, "Entering into the mind of a player is an art..." Australians are master in this art. So how it works?

Rule No.1:

Distract the opposite team from the core course and make them discuss and think about undue prospects.

When the opposition team arrives, they pass controversial comments and add fuel to it by different remarks. E.g. Sachin is more focused on his records, India's batting line up can not face fast bowling on bouncy Australian pitches. Indian spinners won't get much purchase from the wicket. This is the prelim stage.

Rule No.2:

The next weapon comes out when series actually begins. Two against Eleven on the field. In the initial overs, they prepare for the wickets by bowling bouncers, sharp in & out swingers, and if batsman survives and starts playing some confident shots, then they start twitting some personal remarks.

Rule No.3:

When it seems that the opposition is closing in trying to grip the situation, the main weapon comes out. They start using abusive language, hurling at the batsmen, and provoking them. All these things affect the mind, and batsman commits the mistake...

Australia could achieve this because it had a clever captain in the form of Steve Waugh, Legendary bowlers like G. Macgrath, Shane Warnie, Brett Lee, Gillespie, Kasprowich, who would keep bowling a nagging line and length, not giving any respite to the batsman.

Sometimes they got too much carried away with it. Arjuna Rantunga, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ganguly got the most of the bitter taste of the theory. But again in the end, "Kill, Destroy, Sack, Tell lie how much you want... after victory no one asks why?"

Ritesh R. Kadam

ritesh05kadam@gmail.com

rityakadam@rediffmail.com

Cell:-09011020015

Hum Intezar Karenge….! (99 NOT OUT )

Hum Intezar karenge… hum intezar karenge tera kayamat tak….. Khuda kare ke kayamat ho aur tu aaye…!

This song best fits for the wait of Sachin’s 100^th century. All the media, public, fans are eagerly waiting for this milestone than Sachin himself.  Some of the local media have been discussing relentlessly in their own “UNIQUE Style” about Sachin’s missing innings of golden century. “Kya lagta hai aapko kya Sachin dabaaw zel nahi paa rahe apne milestone ka,  ya phir kuch zyadahi soch rahe who apni century ke bare me, Kaise khelna chahiye unko”, aur bahot saare swaal hai hum abhi waapas aayenge ik break ke baad….! & so on.

For Sachin the 100^th century will be special one for few moments & then it will be another count. At this phase of his career he also knows that every now & then there will be a record whenever he steps up on the ground. The feathers in record’s cap will get adding.  Right from the start of his career he kept scoring runs with the supremacy intimidating the world’s bowling attack. He didn’t bother about Abdul Kadar’s slogan “Go home & drink milk”, or the giant Merve Hughes sledging in Australia on Perth in the initial age of his play when he was just teen ager. He always loved to play with the style Daredevil Sir Viv. Richards used to play. If the ball is there to hit the Hit will be there for the ball. He loves his bat so does the century scored from that bat.  During the dry days of his career (Note:-In terms of runs…) Bat & music served him as the best friend. He got his first test century against England in 1990 but the one day century made him wait for nearly four years which he scored against his favourite opponent Australia. He went close to century nearly 10 times in his career but the cruel bowlers did not let him meet with it. Now the Golden Century is also playing hide & seek, He has been chasing it since England tour July-11 but still it is eluding him.   Gibson says Sachin is feeling the burden of expectation of 100^th Ton. He has been carrying the burden right from the first century & he feels it more whenever India looses the match after his century.  He is used to that burden. The “Poor Burden” sometimes thinks “I am feeling Sachin’s burden.”  Sachin has played the game with passion & dedication  and achieved lots of milestones.  He is on 99 for the next milestone let him get it with his own, till then” Hum Intezar Karenge….!”  

Ritesh R. Kadam

ritesh05kadam@gmail.com

rityakadam@rediffmail.com

Cell:-09011020015

The Mystery of Match Fixing....!

Yes, I have seen it… It was cited near New York, Himalaya lines is their home, US military and air force have already found the species and government is keeping secret about it. Every now and then we hear these stories and statement, whenever the Aliens, UFO are witnessed confidently narrate the stories. Match fixing ghost, too pops up like the UFO/alien stories whenever someone alleges the charges. No one has ever proved the existence of UFO or Alien on the Earth, but at the same time the fact is also not denied that they do exist and same theory applies to the match fixing incidences. Match fixing charges kept coming, but due to the nature of the game, it always proved difficult to catch. Players like Manoj Prabhakar, Rashid Latif, Dean Jones, were on the top list of different allegations and match fixing stories. Now Vinod Kambli has joined this list.

The 1996 semi-final between India and Sri Lanka… who can forget that match - two wickets in first over; Arvinda Desilva’s counter attack; Sachin’s batting; India’s collapse from 98-for-1 to 120-for-8; 90,000 people in the stadium started throwing bottles; and Kambli’s famous emotional outburst! Frankly speaking, everyone was surprised when Azhar won the toss and selected to field. Even the commentators expressed this doubt... Azhar is defending the fact that Sri Lanka were very good at chasing, but those were day games where Lanka won the matches by chasing target score. We had won against Pakistan by batting first and the history of Eden Garden stadium was also heavily supporting the team batting first at that time. It’s difficult to trust whether Kambli is telling the truth or it is just a show buzz; but even Azhar was throughout suspicious in his career span between 1995 and 2000. Even Sachin was not willing to have him in the team during the Australia series 1999-2000.

When Azhar came back in the team for South Africa series in the year 2000, Sachin resigned from the captainship for everyone’s surprise at that time. Two months later when Mumbai police opened up the biggest match fixing scandal involving Hansie Cronje, the BCCI banned Azhar from playing cricket for lifetime, after the CBI investigation. Azhar says that Kambli’s character and his behaviour in the team was not good; but what about you, Azhar? Especially, when Navjyot Singh Sidhhu returned from the middle of the England tour in 1996, questioning your behaviour and bad treatment?

BCCI and some other officials are asking why Kambli kept quiet for 15 years. Answer is straight forward - ask it to any employee working in big organization. For him, Boss is always right. Even when he (the boss) is doing wrong. Because he (the employee) knows that if he confronts with the boss for any issue, his future career prospects would be in gloom. For Kambli, cricket was his bread-and-butter. And such is the power of BCCI, he knew that if he had spoken during his playing days, it would even end his domestic career! Now that he is retired from all types of cricket, there is no harm giving these statements.

No one, who is active member of BCCI or some or the other way linked with the functioning of it, would express the view in neutral angle, because they know the current affair won’t last for long. Besides, who would like to pinch the shark in deep blue sea?

Azhar-Kambli debate will be discussed for few days, but the question will stay as it is and the mystery of existence of aliens and match fixing will remain a “Mystery”!

Ritesh Kadam
ritesh05kadam@gmail.com
rityakadam@rediffmail.com
Cell: 09011020015

That’s The Way… Maahi Way…!

“Kehte hain Agar kisi cheez ko aap dilse chaaho toh poori kaaynaat use aapse milaane ke liye jud jaati hai!”

The same happened with Dhoni. As I had mentioned in my previous blogpost, the series whole-heartedly accepted Dhoni’s bag. In England, India was struggling with injuries and even weather played spoil-sport in every match, which did not allow India to settle. Back in India, with normal working conditions, Indian batsmen pulled themselves out of the socks and gave justice to the ‘World Champions’ tag. For this series, selectors (behaving sensibly) gave chance to new crop that really came to meet the expectations. (For the first time, saw the selectors thinking positively about strengthening the bench.) The duo, Varoon Aroon and Umesh Yadav have very good pace with swing, and need to be preserved, nurtured for the future, especially for the test cricket. These two guys need to understand captain’s call and improve their accuracy to stop the run flow. As in any format of the game, if runs become hard to come, Batsmen tempt to try different shots and commit mistakes, Listen to captain chaps. In this series, batting looked very strong. Importantly, the improved temperament of Virat and Raina not only helped them individually but also to the team management to execute the plan.

What to say about Dhoni… I would say “Kaske pakad Jam ke jakad Lagaa...!” The helicopter shots and the clean hits are back in business again. The same Dhoni with improved version is back again. I think he has used the antivirus of “Keep It Simple”, formatted himself, cleared the infection, and the result working faster than 3-G! What an !dea, Sirji. His all innings were example in themselves. Dhoni in this Avatar is a healthy sign before the Aussie tour. Most surprising outcome was Ravindra Jadeja, whose transformation in batting and bowling was immaculate. In his initial playing phase, he neither looked a batsman nor a bowler. At Times, batted in ordinary manner. Number six and seven are such a slot where batsman cannot afford to settle in or attack on the go. It’s the sense and situation that needs to be judged, and Jadeja managed to handle it.

Though India lost 4-0 in England, the matches were very close. But in India, the Queen’s Eleven looked scattered, especially against spin. And their senseless sledging put themselves in trouble. All English media praising the team relentlessly for giving Team India clean sweep in all formats and dreaming “The Sun Never Sets and shall not set on this new England Team’s Success”, must have come to know that there is no term like invincible in Cricket! Alistair Cook as a captain, looked ordinary running out of ideas in tricky situation, and preferred plain strategy of completing the bowling quota. Cook also admitted that apart from Steve Finn, others could not even perform 10% of the just conceded series back home. If England are to stay in the top four one-day nations for long period, they have to improve their consistency and skill against spinner.

In the end, Dhoni proved the charm of luck and the stars are still with him, need not to mention the efforts he put in. So what’s the way to take the revenge???? hmmmm….

“That’s The Way…. Maahi way…..!”

(Kya) Hum Honge Kaamyab....

Vengeance, Revenge, Badlaa…
Name this series whatever you wish to. Definitely all the fans would have this feeling when this series starts. 4-0, 1-0, 4-0… just like a Tennis match, loss in straight sets. India was comprehensively beaten in the “Queen’s Land” not far ago. Now, the Queen’s Lads have come to India with same intent - to conquer the Team India.

Again our team is missing its star-rated players. England will start from where they had left Team India, with full strength army plus KP, the transformer. Considering the way they have been playing in recent times, and comparing with Team India’s freshers’ group, the needle of advantage is pointing towards Queen’s Eleven. However, as far as records are concerned, The Queen’s Eleven have always struggled on Indian pitches, and with recent hammering, they are aware that India will surely try to fight them hard. All the one-day battles in England were of close finish. Let’s hope the same trend will continue here, with at least one tie…! And this time, rains won’t come to help them.

We have just come out of the ‘Champions League’, marketed as Battle of the Champions. Thankfully, not many of the Indian players were involved till the end. (Dhoni had asked for the rest from first two matches against England. Why didn’t he take proper rest from last two matches of the Champions’ League? (Now that’s a million dollar question..!)) And also have a look at the new blend Indian Team. New bowling unit in the form of fast bowler Varun Arun, Leggie Rahul Sharma will be interesting and good bench strength for the future. Rahane has already proved his talent with gutsy performance in England. Given a chance, Manoj Tiwari will also come to know the difference between League and International fixture. Considering the Big Battle down under starting from the month of Dec’11, it’s a good decision by the selectors because in Australia, one need to be mentally rock-solid, not only to handle the chinnnnnn Music, but also typical Mental Disintegration theory..

For Dhoni, he would like to consider the year 2011 as with 9 months only, because he had never experienced the failure as big as three white wash in single series.

But as Shahrukh says “Hamari jindagi mein filmo ki tarah end me sab kuchh theek ho jaata hai, aur.. agar theek naa bhi ho toh woh ‘the end’ nahi hai…. Kyon ki picture abhi baaki hai mere dost…..!”
Similarly, for Dhoni, “The series loss in England was not the end ...
Kyon ki Series abhi baaki hai mere dost…..!”

Let’s see “Kya Hum Honge Kaamayab…”