Bleed Green - India vs. Pakistan

Many of the experts in the world or our leaders have emphasized on this that "Our two countries shared the same destiny". Its there destinies have brought them against each other. As I wrote in my previous blog that Pakistanis had there revenge against Australian's. We took ours by knocking them out of the world cup. Both the countries had there revenges, which again adds to there incredible journey. Not to forget the humiliating exit from the 2007 world cup where both the teams knocked out of the world cup in span of 1-2 days.

Its really ironic that the teams who were considered to be the starters or new comers to the T20 game reached the finals of the inaugural edition of T20 world cup. They produced some pulsating cricket where they played with the pride and produced pulsating finishes. But this blog is for ODI cricket so we wont touch the T20 format now. I had to write this because it was the memorable moments for our generation as many of us have not seen the victory of 1983 world cup.

Its been a incredible journey of 2 teams where India was considered to be favorites and Pakistan wan't. Both teams had different approach or experiences in the games previous to this encounter. Pakistan had very easy games till now where in one of the game they got a humiliating loss against Kiwi's. I cannot say this in case of India, in fact they were in the tough group and hand to battle there way out of the first round. They had to wait for the loss of Bangladeshi's against SA. But any how both teams cleared first round.

In Quarter Finals each team had completely different experience where on one side Pakistan won the match pretty easily. They won like a champion side which bulldozed there way to semi's over WI. In that match I was expecting bit of fight from WI but you all know what happened. Where in case of India, we had toughest match in the tournament. Australia put forth the tricky target of 260 on a pitch where we lost more game than we won. It was the 3 times man of the match who helped team Blue to ecape the Quarter Final Blues.ha ha..

 This Quarter final matches have given a very wrong impression to Pakistani people that there team can win. I mean the team who was in the easy group had only one tough match or nothing at all. They had only 5 tough overs against the Kiwi's and in that too they faltered. Pakistan semifinal match also raised the expectation of the teams performance by hapless west indian's (God know how much more they will fall).

In case of India, we were in tough group, which was bit dramatized by the unpredictable England. This England was different from old where they either only used to loose the matches. This changed the the scenario of the group B. We had to win the last match to go through the Quarter Final and it took last match of the league. Even after qualifying to the Quarters, mighty Australians were waiting for us. They gave a very good fight, the fight we expect in the Quarter Finals unlike Pakistanis who had very easy game.

The Pakistani greats are harping on the fact that they are superior bowling side, I don't know to against which batting side's performance they are comparing. Wickets taken against the Canada, Kenya and Zimbabwe or for that matter NZ are going to be yardstick then India's state teams will be having the superior attack like Pakistan.

These encounter have been the end point of many cricketers carriours. Many pakistani greats got retired after experiencing the lows in these matches like Javed Miandad, Moin Khan, Saeed Anwar, Ameer Sohail etc..now its time to retire Yunis khan and Misbaah. Not to forget the Shoaib Akhtar who was always been the threat to the team India.

I came to know the similar gesture by our PM Manmonhan Singh when he invited Parvez Musharraf to watch the match. That match India lost but this time will be different. This Pakistani team is no match to team India so they should stop day dreaming. This encounter will be one sided.

Pakistan is a depressed nation right now who loves to live in denials. They will fight to tooth and nail to deny that India is a superior side, let them have some good moments because come wednesday they will cry there eyes out..ha ha ha...

Best of Luck Team India

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Time to Knockout Australia from this World cup...

The scenario which we most feared has happened. Team India is meeting with bruised Aussies in the Quarter Finals. Many of us must have prayed for it but I think it was our destiny that we had to meet Australia in knockout stages. We all know how well they play in these stages, but Team India has no option now. It is kind of nightmarish situation and we have to deal with it.

In the preliminary stage of the tournament both the teams kind of played pretty much similar scenario's. There are many similarities, let’s have a look.

1. Both the teams scored 9 point points from 6 games.
2. Each of them  has beaten 3 associate nations. ok ok..I know Bangladesh is not an associate nation but it is kind off if you have seen their performance against SA and Windies. I thought associate nations played well than them.
3. Both the teams have got 1 point from a game, we against English and they against Lankan's.
4. Both the teams have the captain with poor form.

I think the similarity ends here, both the teams had a different approach towards their games and both the teams have some unique qualities and weaknesses. A straight forward difference which I am seeing is our batsmen have scored 5 centuries against their tally of none. Lets dig further and see if we can find out something interesting or if not, just continue reading this blog..ha ha ha ha...

 Let’s analyze each team’s performance
Australia: If you had taken some pain to read my blog, I had predicted that Shaun Tait will be the impact player but from the matches so far he hasn't done well. This Aussie attack is Pace heavy and they are not getting help from the slow and dry pitches from the subcontinent.

As far as this pace attack goes,  it has always performed well in ICC tournaments, in fact Shaun Tait could have been Player of the World cup in 2007  provided, Mac Grath wasn't playing at that time. This was the one bowler who knew how to get the surprise bounce from the dead pitch. He was the most persistent bowler in the world with his line and length, and we cannot say this about their current bowlers.

The success of this team in the past in subcontinent is also dedicated to spinner like Shane Warne. See when we talk about Australia we had to speak about these greats. If we compare current bunch to these cricketer these don’t even come closer to half of their abilities.

India: People are talking about the weak bowling side of India, but if they see, we are like this only. The Only real concern is, batting collapses at the end, but to counter that our top order is scoring heavily. Every time we get to bat first, till 30th over it looks like we will score 300 runs. I think 220+ score will be enough to beat the Aussies. They are under tremendous pressure to defend this title and this time they are surely going to falter..

Our batsmen are in tremendous form unlike Australian's, they have scored heavily. Batting collapse can be dedicated to poor form of Mahi or bad luck of Indian batsmen. Every time they hit the ball, that ball found the fielder in the deep or they missed it completely. Same is the case with Dhoni, if India wants to put a good show in the Batting Power Play Overs then he has to click.



We have now a balance attack with 1 very good pacer and 2 good spinners. If any one of them clicks then Australians won’t find a place to hide their faces. If we compare two bowling attacks then ours is kind of superior with good mix of paces and spinners unlike Aussie. As this match to be played in Ahmadabad which is said to be a dead turner then imagine what will happen with their batsmen.

I think it’s the Ideal situation for us, as this current Australian team is very much beatable. Even if we play our normal game we have very good chance, as this team is actually out of form. If we win this match then we either meet Windies or Pakistan. If we do, then it’s better to meet the team which we have beaten in previous games and the other team which we have always beaten in the World cup.

As we have seen their performances in the league matches, they didn’t have a single close encounter. One which could have been a very close contest got washed off. Their openers have performed well in the league matches but most of the time with minnows. It is true that they played against NZ, but we all know the current form of New Zealanders. They were waiting for a close game and they got it against our neighbor, Pakistan, which they lost.

Now is the time to change the tide. Let’s make Aussies suffer, the way they have treated all other teams. If we succeed, we can send a man to forced retirement and team to lose it’s confidence after a long time. If we fail to do that, then they will have an easy go for semi’s and after that we know how they play.

Some where I read about why India lost finals of 2003 world cup to Australia, because in spelling of name we had InDIA (दिया) and they have AustraLIA (लिया). so We gave them and they took it. But as I wrote in my previous blog this team is on their way to down and sub-continental neighbors who will be responsible for it.

This event has become very important event in the history of the modern day cricket. If all of us can recall, Australia was playing with SA in 1999 world cup. They had to win that match for final, luck favored them. After that we know what happened, Australian’s got such a self belief that they can win anything. If Australia had not won that game, the history of world cricket could have been different.

Pakistan had their revenge of 1999 finals, by stalling their juggernaut of 33 consecutive wins. Now it’s our time to take the revenge of the 2003 Finals. In Commonwealth Bank Series finals we gave the thumping farewell to Adam Gilchrist. It’s now time of bad boy Ricky whom we need to tell that his time is over. My advice to him will be "don't try to chase Sachin cause we are not half as good and world knows that".

But at the moment I really have anything to write about this Australian Team. They are not even shadow of the past team. I was bit anxious about this clash, but now I have confidence that “Team India” will do well. As always let’s end this blog on positive note that

India will be the winner and Sachin will score his 100th Hundred against Kangaroos...

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Cricket World Cup (Part 2) - Rivals to the SubContinent

Lets talk about remaining test playing nations which we have not discussed in previous blog. In this list there are 2 world champions. One(West Indies) which is now only the shadow of the previous team and another(Australia) which is on the way to become one. Third team(South Africa) is the unofficial world champs only problem they have is they choke and that's been there biggest problem.

Forth Team is, I dont know what is the problem with them, they have reached to semi-finals on 5-6 occasions and still not tagged as chokers. Last but not the list is Country of the origin of Cricket, they must be feeling shame for eventing the cricket and not winning this tournament.

Don't laugh to England because they are running Ashes Winner. I dont know why this tiny nation, harp so much about there Ashes win because no buddy give a damn about it..enough of England bashing..let analyze remaining teams.

Australia: Current world champions must be finding themselves in a peculiar situation where first time in so many years they are not tagged as potential world champion. May be cause the world champion players have been retired and there recent losses at home. One thing is sure about them that never count them out. This team has some of the best fast bowlers in the world with quality and speed as well.

I have always been great fan of Australia, this team comes at you all the time. There never say die attitude made them the best team in the recent years. Its good that they are not tagged world champion as that has made this world cup interesting.

Even though this team has lost the ashes, they know how to raise from it like a phoenix and capture the cup which they love to win. I think this time also they will be unstoppable until they meet the team like Pakistan on the journey to World Cup Finals.

Impact Player - Shaun Tait: Fastest bowler in the world by long margin. He was instrumental in there last championship win in the Caribbean. He has the habit for straying on the pads or bowling wides but on song he is unstoppable. This is the guy who can consistently bowl all 6 deliveries for 150km range. He can look like a spoiled child, not listening to anyone about his like and length. But once he gets his act correct he can be devastating.

New Zealand: This world wont bring happy memories to the NewZealanders as there has been a massive earthquake in CristChurch. This small Island with population of 4 million which is actually lot less than population of Pune city.

I sometimes wonders about them as they have been in the semi-finals for as many as 5 times but are not tagged as Chockers. May be because they somehow qualify for it unlike South Africans who stamp there authority in the league matches.

This team always had potential but some how they could not produced the results they capable of. In recent months they have performed really bad. They are picking up themselves, Daniel Vittori is trying his best to lift moral his team.

Impact Player - Ross Taylor: When he came to the scene, he was regarded as next best thing in world cricket. But somehow like many New Zealanders he faded away somewhere. This person has shown us how patient and devastating he can be, he century has helped New Zealand to win match against unpredictable Pakistan. I am sure this Vice-Captain of New Zealand has to play big roll in reaching to Semi-Finals which this team is famous for.

West Indies: The tag of World Champion was experienced by them, they had it for fist two times. Thank god that they won those tournament because our generation could not had known to there greatness.

They are have come out of the shadow of there past. Once the team who terrorized the world with its fantastic players. Its has been similar team to Pakistan but failures..are not compared to Pakistan. They have shown some sparks in ICC tournament but nothing substantial yet.

This team is gelling well under Darren Sammy, with wealth of experienced player's like Chandrapaul and Sarwan in the ranks every one needs to watch out this team. Kemar Roach has bowling some express deliveries with spin of Sulieman benn at the other end. Its always been good to have West Indian team to spice up the world cup.

Impact Player - Kieron Pollard: 6.6" height is the typical West Indian characteristic. He may not have the flair which old west indies had, I haven't see the great old West Indian team but surely he has there power. This Trinidad born cricketer is just 24 years old and surely we are going to see lot of power hitting from him in future.

South Africa: Currently best side in the world with prolific run scorers like Hashim Amla and AB Devillers. My previous comment is pretty interesting as it does not include name of Graham Smith or Jaqous Kallis. This team has one of the best all rounders in the world. Best fast bowling attack with 2 superb fast bowlers Dale Styen and Mornie Morkal.

Most unfortunate team in the world or can I say 'Chocker' because they have chocked in some of the unbelievable situations. They always carried this tag of favorites but failed to leave up-to its potential. I think they will easily qualify for the Quarter finals but there journey will surely end there.

Impact Player - Dale Steyn : If South Africa has to win in knockout rounds he as to fire. If he does not fire from one end there is high probability that they will choke once again. He has shown in past 2-3 years as how deadly he can be in the Test matches but it is with red ball. He has to prove to everybody that he is good with white ball too. His batting skills could come handing in difficult situations.

England: I am writing this countries profile at the last because this is the place they come out at most of the time. In last 1 year they have shown bit of improvement but they need to improve more in there one day cricket skill. It is very amazing that the country of origin of Cricket cannot produce quality players. 

It very unfortunate to see that there whole world revolve around the Ashes. If u see there Arch-rivals from down under, they want to be best in every thing. This self satisfying attitude has taken England no where. The loss of league match to Ireland has proved that they are not the side that win world cup. This is the side who looks very good on paper with quality batsmen and bowlers but never performed on the field.

Current surge in the performance is based on imported players like Kevin Peterson and Jonathan Trott(South Africa), Eoin Morgan (Ireland). Don't know how many of more players they want to import because they are not able to produced one yet. In my view there best batsman was Mark Trescothick but he also has retired so only God can save Queens Team. ha ha ha..

Impact Player - Tim Bresanan: After very long time I have seen a bowler who can bat and bowl. In my view he is the true all-rounder. If many of you have noticed, he is the person who is new member of the team. Ever since he has joined the team, its performance has improved. He was the instrumental in the winning the Ashes and will has to play crucial role in world cup too.

You might say that I have written about the minnow team but to be frank, apart from one odd performance there is nothing to write. I sometimes feels that they are wasting there time. There is been talk of reducing the number of teams from the world cup but if u look the passion in eyes of these players you would understand that this world cup is the only forum where they can test there skills. This game is all about endurance and I think they have equal right to be here. If we discontinue them from playing then we wont see next Sri Lanka in near future.

Once again I have included 3 all-rounders in my list of impact players because in my view these are the players who get involved with the game for most part of 50 overs. They are one of the fierce-some hitters of the ball.

This world cup is going to be world cup of the all rounders, lets watch there performance and appreciate the game. As we are hoping for India to win the cup, we have to appriciate the people who make so many sacrifices for love of this game.

So whoever wins this world cup, lets wish all the teams 'best of luck'.

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