Top 5 game changing moments in India vs South Africa match

With India registering a fine 26 run victory against South Africa in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, here is a quick look at the top 5 game changing moments from the match.

1) Absence of Dale Steyn - One of the key reasons why South Africa is regarded amongst the best bowling units is due to a certain Dale Steyn, who is inarguably the best fast bowler going around at the moment.  And with him missing this crucial tie against India due to the back stiffness, he suffered in the warm-up match against Pakistan, the embattled Indian openers could finally afford a sigh of relief.

2) Team composition gone wrong - In a move that was aimed at exploiting India's weakness against fast bowling, the Proteas packed their side with as many as 4 fast bowlers . However that move proved to be counterproductive, as with negligible swing and seam on offer and the ball coming onto the bat nicely, the Indian batters were more than happy feasting ,what was on offer. With their leading bowler in Morne Morkel injuring himself halfway into the innings, it was clear that they had missed a trick in not including another spinner in Aaron Phangiso. 

3) Promotion of Rohit Sharma - Rohit as a cricketer has time and again failed to justify his prodigious talent in the international arena. With scores of 5 and 10 in the warm-up ties against Sri Lanka and Australia, Rohit was widely expected to sit out of the playing eleven in today's match. But trust Dhoni  to do things differently. This time, in a move that raised quite a few eyebrows, Rohit was promoted at the top to partner Shikhar Dhawan. And what a masterstroke that turned out to be. The achilles' heel of Indian batting-the openers finally delivered and how. Rohit was breezy in his knock of 65 runs while Dhawan carried on from where he left in the Test against the Aussies to slam a resplendent maiden century on his ODI comeback , in a solid opening partnership of 127 runs.

4) Fall of Robin Peterson - In a throwback to the early 90's, AB de Villiers sent in Robin Peterson at No. 3 as a pinch hitter. Playing the role of the aggressor, Peterson along with the captain himself who came in at No. 4, ensured that the asking rate was always kept in check. Their third wicket stand was quickly taking the game away from the Indians, before a dash of brilliance in the field by Jadeja resulted in Peterson falling short of the crease by quite a distance. An unfortunate end to a brilliant knock of 68 runs was perhaps the stroke of luck that Indians required to get back into the game.

5) Sir Ravindra Jadeja - He may be the butt of jokes on Twitter, but Ravindra Jadeja definitely knows how to perform on-field too. With a direct competition from Irfan Pathan for the place of an all-rounder in the team, Jadeja excelled in all the departments of the game admirably. While coming into bat at No. 7, he was instrumental in ensuring an excellent finish to the innings, with a punishing 47 run knock laced with some crisp boundaries. In the field, his was his customary brilliant self. While the South Africans were threatening to run away with the game, his athleticism again came to the fore , when he dived full length to run out Peterson. His miserly spell along with a couple of wickets made sure that India opened their account in this tournament in a clinical manner. 

Top 5 reasons why IPL must be banned

While the perception that cricket is a gentleman's game had received a severe blow way back in 2000, when the Match Fixing Scandal had erupted with Hansie Cronje being at the forefront, the recent turn of events have made sure in no uncertain terms, the clean image that the sport enjoyed is bid adieu for good.

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) embracing it's sobriquet of the 'Indian Problem League', and doing more harm than good for Indian cricket and cricket in general, it is high time that that the league is permanently shut and laid to rest. Why ? Here goes :

1. CORRUPTION: It was inevitable. A format that is tailor-made for malpractices (read spot-fixing), in a country that is the epicentre of betting, being organised by a board whose interests lie solely in minting money, corruption in IPL was destined to happen.

While the three Rajasthan Royals players - S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan have been arrested for their role in spot-fixing during this year's IPL, it seems that the BCCI couldn't stay true to the adage 'Once bitten, twice shy' when even last year the writing was on the wall. As many as five players were banned from the league after they were found guilty of spot-fixing in IPL 5. Medium pacer T P Sudhindra from the now-defunct Deccan Chargers was banned for life. Shalabh Srivastava was banned for five years while little-known names like Abhinav Bali, Mohnish Mishra and Amit Yadav were handed a year's ban each.

Unfortunately, what seems pretty obvious is that there exists an intricate nexus between the underworld, bookies, bollywood, police force, political bigwigs and the cricketers, constituting a vicious circle.  

2. LOSING TEST SPECIALISTS : It is often said that a Test specialist can play any form of the game as he has the requisite technique to excel in any format while a T-20 specialist can at best hone his skills to play limited overs cricket. Since the inception of the IPL in 2008, the priorities of budding cricketers have changed drastically. And such has been the pull of the so called 'domestic tournament'  in India with all its razzmatazz, that young players in India feel content if they are able to secure a place in any of the IPL franchise. The recent 4-0 whitewashes  in England and Australia are testimony to the fact that India is fast losing out on quality Test specialists. While at home, the team has always maintained its impeccable record, it's acid test will come once again when it tours South Africa in November 2013. And it will be interesting to find out the potential Test stars (if any) that are unearthed from the current set of domestic players playing in the ongoing IPL.

3. FEIGNING INJURIES :  Club versus Country. While this debate kept doing the rounds every now and then, it reached its peak in the fourth edition of the IPL, when players like Gautam Gambhir and Lasith Malinga chose the former in spite of carrying an injury and had to subsequently withdraw themselves from the international assignments that were scheduled post IPL. While Gambhir, bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record $2.4 million aggravated his shoulder injury which he had picked up during the 2011 World Cup final by playing in the lucrative league, Malinga attracted criticism when he made himself unavailable for the Test series in England owing to injury claims while continuing to play in the cash-rich league.

4. EARLY RETIREMENT :  What does a player do when he is able to earn over ten times the annual salary from the parent board for just seven weeks' cricket in the IPL with glamour and popularity being additional perks. It's simple, he opts for an early retirement from international cricket and becomes a T-20 freelancer. From England's Andrew Flintoff to the Australian duo of Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee to even West Indies' Chris Gayle for some time, the big monies on offer have robbed the spectators and fans alike from witnessing these stalwarts ply their trade for their country for some more years.

5. CONTROVERSIES : IPL as a tournament has not only been besotted with controversies right from its inception but has somehow managed to thrive on it. From 'Slapgate' to 'Foreign Exchange Violations', from 'Fake IPL player' to suspension of Lalit Modi, from termination of the Kochi franchise to spot-fixing cases, the league has notoriously managed to stun the cricket fraternity along with the general public all along.

While the aforementioned reasons clearly justify banning the Indian Premier League for good, it is imperative that cricket administrators start spending the excess money in the coffers on the welfare of the cricketers. Closely monitoring the access to players will be a good start. 

Why Kirsten's absence is going to hurt South Africa ?

In an announcement that has sent shockwaves throughout the South African cricket community, Gary Kirsten announced that he would be stepping down as the Coach of the South African national team immediately after the Champions Trophy to be held next month. The South African had signed a two-year contract with Cricket South Africa in August 2011 and was given the option of a two-year renewal which was declined owing to family reasons.

Gary Kirsten took charge of the Proteas  post a highly successful tenure with the Indian cricket team of which the highlight was the 2011 ODI World Cup victory.

Being an avid reader and student of leadership, people and ways to get them to achieve their best, Kirsten has been able to instil a winning culture in the South African dressing room, which has propelled the national team to be a force to reckon with across all the formats of the game.

Under his astute guidance, the South Africans have clearly looked a class apart - solid and clinical - raising the bar in all formats. His exceptional interpersonal skills combined with a peculiar behind the scenes approach has paved the way  to some fantastic wins in Tests, ODIs and Twenty-20s .

Though the unassuming former cricketer has been less successful with the limited-over teams, winning 13 of 24 one-day internationals and nine of 18 Twenty20 matches, it is in the test arena where he has truly stamped his authority with an almost near perfect record, taking  the Proteas to the coveted No.1 spot in the test rankings.

South Africa lost only two of 19 Tests under Kirsten, who has led them to series victories against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England, arch-rivals Australia, and Pakistan.

For time immemorial, the South Africans have had the infamous tag of chokers, which has continued to haunt them time and again. However, Kirsten as their coach has managed to instil in his boys some much-needed self-belief and intent to be all-conquering. These proved to be the factors that helped South Africa scale the summit of Test cricket, ODIs and T20s.

From being less of a coach who wants to teach to being more of a quintessential influencer in the team, Kirsten's philosophy of not viewing his players as performance tools but rather human beings with issues with the responsibility of making them tick the best way he can, has in fact been instrumental in Proteas enjoying a consistent successful run at the top.    

While the cricket establishment has been quick in appointing Russell Domingo, Gary Kirsten's assistant as the head coach of the national team with the aim of maintaining continuity in the management team and thus enabling seamless transition from one coach to another, it remains to be seen how fruitful this association is going to be. 

Back to school : Australia announces an experienced 16-man squad for the Ashes

In a rare departure from their ill-fated 'youth first' policy, Cricket Australia has announced an earlier than expected 16-man squad to take on "the Poms " for this year's  Ashes in England with a strong focus on leadership and experience. From facing the ignominy of having suffered a comprehensive  4-0 whitewash at the hands of the Indians in their own backyard to being labelled as 'the weakest test team to have ever represented Australia' , the selectors  it seems have left nothing to chance while finalising the squad to recapture the coveted Ashes urn.

Out of the 16 men selected for the tour, six specialist batsmen, two keepers, two all rounders, five seamers and the lone spinner in Lyon have been included. While the Aussie think tank could be excused for showing pragmatism over long term planning especially considering what has transpired in recent times, it is interesting to decode certain selections which are bound to raise more than an eyebrow.

The selectors have opted for a brace of 35 year-olds in Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers. The duo not only bring a lot of experience to the fore but what perhaps clinched the deal for them were their history of being strong leaders especially in the wake of the leadership vacuum that was exposed by Shane Watson's stepping down as Test vice-captain.

While the former has come into the team primarily due to Matthew Wade’s below par performances with both bat and gloves in the just concluded series, Haddin's batsmanship will provide the much needed impetus to a middle-order that has been woefully devoid of runs in recent Tests.

The recall of Chris Rogers- who last played in a solitary match against India in 2008 has been surprising to say the least, but his exceptional form in first-class cricket for both Victoria and Middlesex for many seasons finally found favour with the selectors. Besides, being a former captain of Derbyshire conceivably turned out to be the deal breaker for the southpaw.

Another noteworthy selection is of all-rounder James Faulkner. While justifying the selection of the youngster, Australian selection Chairman -John Inverarity was profuse in his praise stating that "James Faulkner has impressed us all in recent months and recent seasons. He's a very competitive cricketer who gets things done - he's never long out of the game. His batting has improved significantly, he's made runs, he's formed partnerships and he's always lurking and taking a wicket." While it seems there is more to this than meets the eye,  Faulkner's inclusion is sure to put Shane Watson's place in the side on tenterhooks.

The bowling attack made up of Starc, Siddle, Pattinson, Harris, Bird and Lyon is quite well suited to exploit English conditions -with the only question mark being over a backup for Lyon. With Ashton Agar and Fawad Ahmed still in selectors thoughts, pending his eligibility to represent Australia , it would not be surprising to see late changes to the spinners spot during the Ashes.

Despite selecting what Australia foresee as their best bet at being able to recapture the lost glory, it is no secret that the squad being announced so early is subject to change – with half the IPL still to go and the entirety of the ICC Champions Trophy, there are bound to be a few injury and form concerns leading up to the Ashes. Australia A also have a tour of England leading up to the Ashes and with an overlap of players, there will definitely be some eager players waiting to impress the powers that be.

Ashes squad: Michael Clarke (C), Brad Haddin (VC), Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Usman Khawaja, James Faulkner, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Wade. 

Australia A squad: Brad Haddin (C), Steven Smith (VC), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Ryan Harris, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, James Pattinson, Chadd Sayers, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk.

Spinners - ready to rule the roost in IPL

In a format that sounded the death knell for spinners, isn't it ironic that it is in fact the spinners who have held their own, so much so that they hold the trump card for most teams in the cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL).

With boundaries getting shorter, bats bigger and pitches flatter, spinners have had to constantly reinvent themselves more than their other illustrious counterpart. Fast bowlers can bowl faster deliveries or radically reduce speed and thus create deception. Spinners on the other hand have had to keep trying new things all the time in order to be counted. From the 'Doosra' to the 'Carrom ball' to going around the wicket to make sure the batsman has less room available to free his arms, it is the spinners who have continued to evolve and be effective and mystifying while fighting a battle for survival.

From Kolkata's Sunil Narine to Hyderabad's Amit Mishra to Punjab's Piyush Chawla et al, spinners have influenced the outcome of topsy-turvy Twenty20 matches that have invariably gone into the last over without an assured victor.

A glance at the overall economy rates for spinners vis-a-vis the faster men in each season indicates how well they have adapted to the requirements of this format.

Pace and spin in each IPL season so far
Season		Spin-balls		Wickets		Average		Econ. rate		Pace-balls		Wickets		Average		Econ. rate
2008		2981		134		30.38		8.19		9886		467		28.42		8.05
2009		4963		226		24.77		6.76		7978		388		26.25		7.65
2010		4943		210		28.80		7.34		8656		405		29.64		8.32
2011		6235		268		27.60		7.11		10166		470		28.12		7.80
2012		6118		241		31.35		7.41		11090		531		27.19		7.81

 

Barring the inaugural season of the IPL, the spinners have consistently had a much lower economy rate than the pacers in all of the other editions.

From being cannon fodder as previously thought, they are bowling in the Power Plays, which shows the extent to which a spinners' role has progressed. While in the first IPL, spinners bowled all of 30 overs during the Powerplays over the entire tournament, it is pertinent to note that in the 2012 edition, spinners bowled 211 overs during the same period, a seven-fold increase over 2008.

At the same time, of the 11 Hat-Tricks that have taken place in the IPL so far, 8 have been taken by the spinners (a record 3 times by Amit Mishra, brace by Yuvraj Singh, 1 each by Sunil Narine, Ajit Chandila and Rohit Sharma) while only 3 have been taken by the seamers.

It is clear that the notion of spinners being easy meat and finished article in T-20 has in fact been emphatically put to rest. What is unclear though is the impact twenty20 cricket is having on potential young spinners throughout the cricketing world. Well that is a different story altogether. For the time being, it is time to rejoice in the role and importance that spinners have been accorded in the IPL.

Rajasthan Royals : Proverbial Underdogs ready to bite in IPL 6

Who doesn't like the underdogs ? And when it happens to be Rajasthan Royals (RR), the likeability factor increases that much more. Easily the most frugal amongst all the teams in IPL, their modus operandi for all these years has been rather simple - Gamble with youngsters (in what they consider as potential match-winners) picked up rather cheap and hope they will fire.  Add a couple of elder statesman of the game  who are past their sell by date in the international arena and dare I add unwanted in any other franchise, buy unheralded foreign players (mostly Australian) who are not even established T-20 stars and retain someone, may I add just one, whom they consider their lynchpin in Shane Watson.  And of course make one amongst the grey haired players as the captain. And RR is all set to fight it out in the IPL edition.

While the unheralded and surreal success in the first edition of the IPL, under the astute leadership of Shane Warne made the whole cricket community stand up and take notice of the team, their performance in the years gone by (Rajasthan have failed to finish higher than sixth in the last four editions) has all but ensured  that memories of that triumph have become foggy; a distant achievement that seems more like a dream. Since then, Shane Warne has passed on the captaincy baton to another veteran in Rahul Dravid.

While it is true that being thrifty has been the norm of the franchise, their tactical blunder of letting go of their star all-rounders in Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja has hit them badly. Also their reluctance in picking T-20 specialists has made Rajasthan Royals, for the past couple of seasons, look like a team content in making up the numbers.

However, all that is set to change in the ongoing edition of the IPL. For starters, their ever dependable all-rounder Shane Watson is available for the entirety of the IPL season, unlike ever before. Trinidadian Kevin Cooper, for whom the last IPL edition was nothing less than a fairytale has successfully recovered from his knee fracture and is available for selection. The acquisition of James Faulkner who has lately been in sensational form, helping Tasmania to the Sheffield Shield title is undoubtedly going to add more teeth to their fragile bowling attack. In Shaun Tait, Samuel Badree and Siddharth Trivedi  along with Indian cricket's enfant terrible S. Sreesanth also in the mix, Rajasthan Royals' bowling arsenal looks as good as any team this time around.

Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Rahul Dravid again hold the aces when it comes to their batting. They emerged as a magnificent opening pair and provided them solid starts in most of the matches, in the last edition. While Dravid's achievements in IPL 5 were noteworthy, Rahane is their best bet after Shane Watson provided he gets his mojo back quickly. In Brad Hodge and Owais Shah they have two veteran Twenty20 batsman who can absorb pressure and accelerate the innings.

With the inclusion of some fine domestic talent in Sanju Samson, Rahul Shukla, Sachin Baby and Harmeet Singh, the team is already starting to show that it has buried the ghosts of the past editions.

Having already fashioned convincing victories (three victories in four matches) against more fancied oppositions, Rajastan Royals couldn't have hoped for a much better start in IPL 6. With the momentum clearly with the Men in Blue so early in the tournament, one is compelled to say that though history has an uncanny habit of repeating itself, will it be this time for Rajasthan Royals. Only time will tell..

All things CSK

So, the IPL mania is back again. With the sixth edition of the much revered and equally detested premier domestic cricket tournament about to commence amidst  seemingly unending controversies and a new title sponsor, this showpiece event sure promises a lot of action on-field besides its off-field theatrics.

Thus, it's naturally pertinent to focus on a team that has been the most consistent amongst all the franchises. And no marks for guessing, it is the yellow brigade-CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK). Having  made it to the finals thrice in the last three editions and been crowned champions twice, it's the only IPL team to hold this coveted honor.

So what is it that makes CSK the powerhouse, that it is ?? For the critiques of the league and CSK in particular, it has a lot to do with some key personnel at the top. CSK is owned by India cements, whose Vice-Chairman and Managing Director is Mr. N Srinivasan.  For those living under a rock, and I doubt especially in India (how ironic is that !!), he is the President of the BCCI.  Having the captain of the Indian cricket team, heading CSK pretty much works as a combination destined for unmatched success or so they say..

But is it really that easy as it is made out to be? A closer look at how things work at CSK, might give us a better understanding of the whole issue.

Captain M S Dhoni and Coach Stephen Fleming have consistently maintained  the core team of CSK throughout the IPL editions. Retaining their key players who consciously make an attempt to do well for their team has emerged as a pivotal reason for their unprecedented success. Also it's noteworthy to note that CSK has made it to the semifinals in each edition of the tournament not because they have the best players with them but because they have most of the bases covered in the team. With a clear objective of making  the optimum utilization of the players, every player in the team has a clear description of his role and that makes decision making easier. Their batting revolves around Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, who have been dependable and consistent in the past. In Bravo, Sir( Ravindra Jadeja, who else!!) and Morkel they have three all-rounders who can provide the balance for the team coupled with some of the best fielders in the game in Suresh Raina, Sir again, Badrinath, Michael Hussey and many more. However, it's the bowling that is the weak link, and at the risk of sounding cocky, it is arguably the reason why they have been able to win only two editions.

Having said that, success brings its own windfalls. The CSK players will be only too happy to shed light on this. Players who have played  for this particular franchise – the likes of Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, besides skipper Dhoni, and to a lesser extent Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath – have had a clear edge over others in the race to make it to the folds of Team India.

Add to it the likes of players who managed to represent the national team from obscurity - Sudeep Tyagi, Gony, Joginder Sharma, Wridhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel and one would be tempted to wonder if being a part of CSK is the ultimate ticket for donning the Indian colours.

That said, CSK have bolstered their weakish bowling attack by bringing in Dirk Nannes (Aus), Ben Laughlin (Aus),  Akila Dananjaya (SL), Jason Holder (WI) and Christopher Morris (SA) as their foreign recruits along with signing a string of unheralded Indian bowlers ahead of the sixth edition of IPL.

With seemingly all of their bases covered, CSK undoubtedly is the team to beat in IPL-6.