India Clinch the One-Day Series

Just minutes before, it was announced that the 4th and final ODI between India and West Indies has been called off due to heavy rain. The ground was soaked with heavy rain and unfortunately the series was decided by the weather. India won a good toss to elect to field in a pitch which had bounce and swing for the fast bowlers. Ishant Sharma was able to exploit the conditions to pick Gayle for a duck and start the match on a high note for the Indian team. The two batsmen spend ample time to give West Indies a steady start until the match was halted due to rain. Both the team’s fans would have rather seen some cricket, then to see the match called off due to rain. Unfortunately, the rule of allotting a spare day to a cricket match has been removed and the series has been clinched by India 2-1.
Final Scorecard: - West Indies 27 for 1 in 7.3 overs.

FIA Vs. FOTA

It is time that Max Mosley takes a step back from his status as the president of FIA board. Until now, the FIA has not been able to achieve any negotiation with the FOTA board. Briefly, it was announced that both the boards had come to a compromise and had opted to scrap the budget cap for the coming Formula One year. However, it turned out that none of the boards had agreed to such a statement and still none of them are ready to compromise on their situation. In fact, the situation has worsened over the last couple of weeks, where Max Mosley and Montezemolo (chairman of Ferrari and FOTA) have been found mocking each other in the news media. The FIA is determined to maintain its budget cap rule and the FOTA is unwilling to participate in Formula One with the same ruling. Nevertheless, both the bodies cannot survive without each other in this recession crunch. A negotiation is the only way both boards can survive in the motorsport business.

Thrilling Victory

The third ODI between India and West Indies came down to the wire and was decided with merely one ball to spare in the match. India chased a moderate 186 runs to ensure that from here on, they cannot lose the ODI tournament. The match was delayed due to rain and was shortened to 41 overs. Henceforth, many rain interruptions disallowed the West Indies team to attain any momentum in posting a huge total. The match, due to rain, was shortened from 41 to ultimately 27 overs. Not a single expert understands the Duckworth Lewis method but all agree that this is the best solution available in cricket today and India certainly got the best of the system. When India was chasing the total, the team had merely lost 2 wickets to face their rain interruption. This factor worked in their favor and they had to chase a meager 64 runs in 51 balls. But the match came down to the last over, from which 11 was required. A huge six from Dhoni set the match for India and the team was able to seal the win on the second last ball of the last over. From here on, India will want to win the tournament but West Indies will try their utmost to draw the series in front of their home crowd.

Back to Basics

The 2nd match between India and West Indies was an embarrassing loss for the visiting team, not because of the defeat but the manner in which the Indian team suffered a defeat. You certainly can’t win all the matches and our media and fans are certainly unforgiving when we lose any cricket match. But the way the team applied their cricket basics to the 2nd ODI was appalling. At the toss, the Indian captain, M.S. Dhoni and the rest of the experts certainly misread the pitch to expect to bat first and post a total well above 300. Expectations can be made before the commencement of play, but once the players came onto the pitch, they failed to apply themselves according to the wicket. The batsmen, having a mental target of 300+, did not throw any caution to the seaming and swinging ball. If the players would have applied themselves and had seen the 1st 10-15 overs through, they would have then been able to post a total of around 250-275. A batsman has to play the game according to the conditions and not according to a predetermined goal.

Breakaway

The war between the two organizations of Formula One, i.e. FOTA and FIA has finally come to a standstill and has eventually split the F1 teams into a separate entity. The FIA initially was reluctant to meet the demands of the F1 teams and stated that no team should be allowed to dictate the rules and regulations of the sport. The governing body refused to meet any demands of the car manufacturers which led to the breakaway of Ferrari, BMW, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, Brawn GP and the two Red Bull teams from Formula One. FOTA said that "these teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners." Truly, F1 cannot exist without the big guns like McLaren and Ferrari, and a breakaway series will definitely hold more prestige and freedom to the motorsport industry.

It's all about Team Spirit

T-20 is certainly unpredictable but no one can remove the equation of team spirit in the cricket game. Most experts and bookies expected India to reach at least the semi – finals of the T-20 world cup tournament but that didn’t happen. It was certainly not fatigue and the absence of key players like Shewag and Sachin, but due to the fact that the team was unable to gel together as a unit. When Jadeja was struggling to get India through, did we ever see Yuvraj encourage the amateur? His facial expressions displayed nervousness and the lack of encouragement from the senior players did not help him either. On the other hand, the Pakistan team, which was written off from the series as a failure, has now reached the finals of the world cup. Most experts rated them as pathetic performers before and during the commencement of the tournament. But they performed commendably to squash the hopes of South Africa to win their first ever world cup tournament.

Farewell India

Tonight, we saw the departure of the defending T20 champions from the world cup. A very close match indeed, but India never played the match to their full potential. India looked jittery and nervous when they won the toss and opted to field. Many simple misfields showed that the team was not at all confident to defend their crown. However, Indian bowlers did do a decent job in restricting England to 153. The Indian batsmen got off to a poor start but the downfall of India came when the decision to send Jadeja came about. England was already exploiting India’s weakness to play short pitch bowling. In a time where the team was struggling, India should have sent their senior players like Yuvraj to handle the situation.
The next game of India is versus South Africa, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their pace attack further exploits the weakness of the Indians to play short pitch bowling. Back to the practice pitch boys!!!!

Do or Die for India

After losing the 1st match of the Super Eight’s to the West Indies, India has put itself in a rather difficult position to qualify for the semi-finals. Now, India has no option but to win all the matches of the Super Eights until it qualifies for the next round. The interesting factor is that India can still be out qualified by West Indies and South Africa, despite winning both the matches. England seems to be out of touch and frankly, I don't see them making into the next round. South Africa, as of today has already made it to the next round. If India wins both its matches and West Indies defeats England, then the match will be decided on the run rate factor. Thus, expect both India and West Indies to try and milk the English team to increase their run rate as it could be deciding factor between the fates of the two teams. However, the Indian team will be looking for a lucky break if England can manage to defeat West Indies on home soil.

India tames Ireland

Yesterday, India set a comprehensive win over Ireland in the T20 World Cup. This preliminary match to the Super Eights would not have affected the results of either team. However, India refused to show any complacency or experimentation in this warm up match to the final eights. As M.S Dhoni cleverly pointed out, that losing the momentum of winning matches in the T20 would spell doomsday for the Indian team. No doubt, at this stage and hence forth, Dhoni will be reluctant to test the combination of his side and will only replace team members, if they face any injuries. We prominently saw India dominate Ireland from the 1st over till the last ball of the match and we hope that India, under the leadership of Dhoni, continues to show the same dedication and planning for the rest of the T20 World Cup matches.

Spin Attack

Spin attack has found new life in the smaller 20 - 20 version of the cricket game. In the first season of the IPL, most spinners, except the few greats, had to face the wrath of the batsmen. The flat wickets in India did not help the spinners either and most captains were reluctant to use spin in the 20 over game. However, the IPL 2.0 did bring the spinners back to life with some support from the green wickets. The trend has carried on in the T20 World cup and most captains are exploiting their main and part – time spinners to reduce the number of runs scored by the opposition. In T20 cricket, batsmen do not get the opportunity to settle down and get their eye in to the ball. At such a stage, spin attack makes the life of batsmen more difficult, as they have to generate the shots to make any runs off the spinners. Thus, expect more captains to experiment with spin on the English wickets for the rest of the World Cup matches.

Doomsday

Friday, the 12th, will call for some serious changes to the presence of car manufacturers in the Formula 1 motorsport. The FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) has presented the FIA with a conditional entry to the 2010 season. The entry states that the budget cap should be postponed or increased for the forthcoming season. Meanwhile, several small teams, based upon the budget cap rule for the 2010 season, have proposed their entries into Formula One. The major car manufacturers, mainly Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BMW have threatened to quit Formula 1 and start their own series, if the budget cap rule is not scrapped for the next season. Now, the FIA has to decide, whether to lose the car giants or disappoint the small teams by delaying their entry into F1. Friday will be the day when Max Mosley, president of the FIA, will decide the future of F1. On one hand he has the opportunity to promote small teams, but on the other hand, he can face a breakaway of F1 from the current car manufacturers and expect direct competition from them for the 2010 or 2011 season.

Performance gap reduced

Complacency in any form of sports will bring about the downfall of an individual or a team. In cricket, this statement becomes more and more valid as the length of the game becomes shorter and shorter. In 20 – 20 cricket, a single over can turn the game drastically. The warm up match between India and Pakistan was a prime example of how the game shifted favors in every over. But the real shocker was the defeat England suffered in the hands of Netherlands. After the 1st 10 overs of batting, England batsmen showed the complacency of making runs without having any sense of urgency. Their grave mistake of letting the Netherlands batsmen run away with the game has now threatened their survival in the tournament. In the small format of the game, it is indeed very difficult to dominate even the weakest opposition and the last feature any team show display on the field is complacency.

Aerodynamics

One of the most prominent features of a Formula 1 car is its aerodynamics. When we watch motorsports, we fail to realize that the main obstruction of a F1 car is not the competitor, but the invisible force known as the air. The efficiency of aerodynamics is measured as the ability of the car to move quickly through the medium of air. The 2009 rules of F1 have placed great emphasis on the teams to dedicate their success to the aerodynamics of their cars. This feature is exemplified through the vast difference of performance between the Brawn GP team and the McLaren Mercedes. Both the teams are equipped with the same tires and more importantly, the same Mercedes engine. Yet, one is dominating the field, while the other is struggling at the back end of the grid. The problem with Mercedes is chiefly down to the car’s inability to move through the force of air in an efficient manner. Most teams spend millions of dollars doing wind tunnel testing to improve the aerodynamics of the car. But if the car’s aerodynamics is weak, then no matter how good the driver is, success is impossible to achieve.

Ferrari is back

Being a Ferrari fan myself, I am happy to state that Ferrari has once again become a competitive force in Formula One motorsport. Last year, Ferrari and McLaren were busy utilizing the resources to fight each other till the last race of the Formula One championship. Thus, they did not have ample time to develop a competent car for the following year. While McLaren is still struggling with its aerodynamic inefficiency, Ferrari has slowly crawled its way back to the grid to compete with the top teams. In Spain, we saw Ferrari overpower Red Bull and in Monaco, Ferrari were fighting for the top position. I expect Ferrari to improve throughout the year and it won’t be long until Ferrari wins its first race of the season. The next race is Turkey where Ferrari with Massa, has won three years in a row. Turkey is made up of long straights, so expect the Ferrari to utilize its KERS power to fight for victory.

The wonder called Brawn GP

How did a team, with no sponsorship for 2009, become a force to be reckoned with? In the beginning of the year, Honda had no buyers and did not even get the opportunity to test their 2009 Formula One car. However, Honda (now Brawn GP) took the opportunity to halt their 2008 car developments, and instead began concentrating on the 2009 specifications of their F1 car. In 2008, Honda realized that they were at the back of the grid, and decided very early in the season to focus their effort on the 2009 car. The results of one whole year of development became fairly visible when Brawn GP achieved its 1-2 position in the first race of the Formula One season. Honda decided to pull out of F1 for the 2009 season and sold its team to Ross Brawn. Brawn, with his immense talent took the opportunity to take Brawn GP to the leader board in both the championships, i.e. Constructors as well as the Driver’s title. It will be merely a matter of time before Brawn GP clinches both these titles. However, expect the big guns, McLaren and Ferrari to disrupt their plans in the next season.

FOTA Vs FIA

It’s a time of recession and like any other business, Formula 1 is trying to reduce the cost of the sport. The FIA came up with the proposal to apply a spending limit of 45 Million Euros for the teams next year. However, the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) rejected this ruling stating that most teams would unable to comply with the budget. Teams like Ferrari spend nearly 10 times the amount of that budget in a single year in Formula One. By cutting 90% of their cost, Ferrari and the other teams argue that they will unable to research any component to develop the construction of the car. Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport racing and this sport has led to the discovery of many innovations that have been applied to road cars. If the cap on spending limit is enforced, most team will not be able to apply their resources to further develop their car. Expect the FOTA to win this contest for scraping this ruling for the next year of Formula One.

Sport Injuries

The IPL 2.0 tournament is finally over, but the stress of playing more cricket is just beginning for the players. Especially the Indian team has played non – stop cricket for quite a months now. The entire team followed the tour of New Zealand and pounced on the IPL 2.0 tournament. With back to back matches, most players felt the stress to deliver their best performance. And with one week to rest, the Indian players have yet to go through the same strain of 20 – 20 matches in the T-20 World Cup. A tournament where players are forced to manufacture shots before they can get their eye in, is bound to generate a few stirs in the fitness camp. With 20 – 20 cricket being branded as an entertainment sport, let’s just hope that the careers of our team members is not shortened due to excessive cricket. The T20 World Cup is quickly followed by the tour of West Indies, where we expect to receive the entire strength of the Indian squad.

IPL 2.0 Winners

In the end, the Deccan Chargers did turn out to be “THE UNSTOPPABLES”. Under the great captaincy of Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers were able to deliver a commendable performance to win the second version of the IPL. Their captain certainly led the team from the front to control and exploit each and every player from his squad. Moreover, Adam Gilchrist was the leader on scoring the most number of sixes in the IPL tournament. IPL is all about scoring runs in a hurry. Interesting statistics reveal that three players from the top six were amongst the players who scored the most number of sixes in this tournament.
Batsmen Number of sixes
Adam Gilchrst ( Deccan Chargers) 29

Matthew Hayden ( Chennai Super Kings) 21

Suresh Raina ( Chennai Super Kings ) 20

R Sharma ( Deccan Chargers ) 17

Yuvraj Singh ( Kings XI Punjab) 16

Dwayne Smith ( Deccan Chargers) 15

Welcome To The World Of Formula 1

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport racing since its existence. Car manufacturers from over the world take part in this sport to show the superiority of their technicians and engineers through their machinery. The competition between car manufacturers results in the development on new technology that benefits all potential road cars. Power steering, Traction control and Turbo engines are some of the innovations that have been used from the world of Formula 1. The innovations in F1 technology have also benefited mankind in the fields of medicine. Life-saving carbon-fiber incubators have been developed through F1 technology, to help transport patients to the hospital.
To create a F1 car, researchers from the most sophisticated fields, apply their knowledge to develop thousands of units that combine to become a F1 car. It is not merely a car that competes with others to display speed and power. It is source of invention from the most brilliant minds in the world today.

The Champs Are Back

Last night, we saw the Rajasthan Royals achieve a milestone of making over 200 runs. Who would have thought that one of the weakest teams of this year's IPL 2.0, would have manage to achieve this much awaited feat. The absence of some key players from last year's IPL certainly weakened the structure of the team. The Rajasthan Royals struggled tremendously in their batting lineup to score and achieve meager totals. Thanks to their Lethal Weapon Yusuf Pathan, the team was able to win some close matches from their competition. But watch out for this team, as it has regrouped its batting strategies and come out and played the most awaited knock of the tournament. The revival of Graeme Smith has certainly improved their battling lineup, but the biggest surprise will unfold next week. The IPL 1.0 man of the tournament, Shane Watson will rejoin the squad in the upcoming week. Thus, watch out for the Rajasthan Royals to climb the charts to reach the semi-finals, and maybe defend their crown for the championship.

The Super Over

Last night we saw the first super over being bowled in the IPL 2.0 cricket tournament. The one over tie match was played between the Kolkata Knight Riders V/s the Rajasthan Royals. The tie breaker rule of bowlers hitting the wicket was replaced by a 1 over match. I think this rule is more interesting that bowlers bowling at empty wickets. We saw first hand how Yusuf Pathan won the tie-breaker match for the champions with a couple of huge sixes.

Here are the rules of the super over: -

* After a tied match, each team selects 3 batsmen and a bowler, and plays one over each. The number of runs scored and the wickets lost calculates the winner.
* If the number of runs scored and wickets lost in one over are equal, then the total number of sixes hit in the match by each team decides the winner.
* If the sixes are equal, then the number of fours decides the winner.

Please leave your comments on your views regarding this innovative super over rule.

The effect of rain on IPL

The change in venue has bought another factor into the IPL tournament, the rain. The South African weather is unpredictable and is affecting the results of many matches. We recently saw the washout of the cricket match between the Mumbai Indians V/s the Rajasthan Royals. But what worries me more is the Duckworth Lewis method. Even the pundits of cricket have been unable to figure this method out. Like the cricketers, we merely follow the target score achieved by this method. However, once the opposition sets the scores onboard, this method supposedly favors them, especially in T-20. Target run rates are high in these 20 over games. This pressure is further increased by the Duckworth Lewis method. No matter how many wickets you have in hand, it does get difficult when the required run rate is extremely high.

Today’s match features the Delhi Daredevils V/s the Chennai Superkings. This will be a match where the bowlers from both sides will be taken for a ride. Both teams consists of explosive batsmen, thus the team bowling with the best discipline will hold the upper hand. The pitch does look flat for this match and the skies look clear from the dark clouds. Even though the Delhi Daredevils have the most dangerous opening pairs in the form of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, expect the momentum of the Chennai Superkings to see them through this match.

IPL trends

The inaugural IPL cricket match at South Africa brought some interesting factors into play. The change in venue has definitely altered the basic idea of the 20-20 game. The South African pitches are definitely not as flat as the pitches at home, and making big scores like 200 will be a rare feat in the upcoming games. The first few matches highlighted that even a meager score of 140 can be easily defended on these seaming spinning tracks.Short bursts of rain and batting under the lights with the dew around the ground has made matters worse for this entertaining game. Most teams will have to alter the way they approach the game; thus expect the batsmen to give a little more respect to their bowlers in the future games.

IPL match preview day 1

The IPL 2 is on its way and most of the cricket fans can’t wait for the inaugural match between the Chennai Super Kings v/s the Mumbai Indians at Cape Town. 20-20 cricket is very entertaining because of its short duration but it still requires discipline to dominate the game. We witnessed this factor first hand, when the Rajasthan Royals, with their less renowned cricket players, won the first IPL. Most teams had a mixed bag of international players and that makes it difficult to gel as a team. The Rajasthan Royals were under a renowned cricketer and team leader, Shane Warne, who was able to command the team to a series of great victories. I think a successful leader brings the best out in a team. I am skeptical about the policy of rotating captains, but one thing is certain; this policy has certainly brought the morale of prospective captains to an all time low. Hence, we will see how this policy affects the team where it counts; on the pitch.