Game on...

The ODI series of three matches was really fun. Close finish. Big numbers on the board. There are gonna be more people expecting more excitement from the T20 matches that begin tomorrow - 1st November 2017.And why not? A little bit of trivia. Did you know that the first T20 match was played on June 13th, 2003? Introduced in England and Wales, it was played between the two English Countries. The first international match was played by women. Yup you read that right. England and New Zealand Women. By men later in 2005. India’s first ICC World T20 was in 2016. Fun facts - Pakistan is the first and only team to have played 100 T20 international cricket matches. Wonder how that happened. India has played 72 and won 44 of them. Most sixes in an innings is by Netherlands. Yup that’s right. Virat Kohli holds the record of most runs in a calendar year with 536 runs in 11 innings. This happened in 2016. He also holds the record for most fifties in his career. Yay Kohli. Coming to t

India won. And boy! What a match that was. It could have turned out anyway. Every delivery I watched,  I ended up holding my breath. It was a very high scoring match. I started out watching the second innings thinking Ha!! One sided match. And then NZ came in. And did their best. Wow it was something. After a point I was hoping that every delivery took a wicket. Yup I am hopelessly optimistic when India is playing. That passion is very good. It could annoy people around you, but at that point that is hardly on your mind yes? It was a very enjoyable series indeed. The tournament was kept alive till the last match of the series. High scoring decider. India came into bat and slammed 337 runs on the board. It was brilliant to watch, not just for an Indian fan but for a cricket lover who appreciates solid batting techniques. Rohit Sharma’s 147 runs and Captain Kohli joined in with 113 of his own taking the Indian score to a really good score. Having to defend a good score is a pleasur

India has leveled the series. Phew. Winning by six wickets, India came back strongly after losing the first ODI. So this is where we stand. Three ODI match series. One win by each team. Meaning the third match is the decider. It is always fun when you wait until the last match of the series to see who wins the tournament. It kinda keeps the tournament alive and filled with excitement and suspense doesn’t it? Course there are some passionate fans who care more about their team winning first. Suspense and all later. Where do you stand? If you are reading this, do drop a line saying so. It will be nice. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the calm and composed, tried to bowl with the new ball in good areas more than swinging it. His confidence helped him get the needed wickets. The fitter he gets, the better he plays; is his theory. Having the bowlers and fielders click give the team a wholesome morale boost. Dhawan struck the ball well and Dinesh is adding to the numbers too. It was a modest target

West Indies stood by their earlier team. I thought they might need a change. But guess they didn’t after all. They won the first test match by a whopping 117 runs. In their first innings, they hit 219. Shai Hope could not complete his century as he ran short of ten runs and a partner. Kieran Powell made for a good partner for a bit but wasn’t along his side long enough. In reply, Zimbabwe hit 159 runs. Not even a fifty on this side. With a 60 run lead, West Indies came in to hit 373 runs giving the opponent a target of a massive 433 runs. They had the physical as well as moral advantage here. 316 runs was not enough. Zimbabwe lost. Devendra Bishoo won the man of the match award. His five wicket haul for 79 runs - phenomenal. Second innings saw him contribute 44 runs to the score and take 4 wickets again. He deserved it. Zimbabwe Squad Playing XI Brendan Taylor, Graeme Cremer (c), Hamilton Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva (wk), Malcolm Waller, Kyle Jarvi

The finals are finally here. The match we have all been waiting for since forever. The tournament lasted three months. Gujarat and Patna have come out on top. It has been months of struggle and the top two teams most definitely deserve to be here. Let’s talk a bit about the two teams. Patna Patna Pirates coach, Ram Mehar Singh is in a fab mood. He has done well for his team. This is the team’s third straight final. Pardeep Narwal, one of the highest scorers of the team, picked up a five point raid early in the game to give Patna the much needed early breakthrough. Early points in the game give the players a morale boost that helps them play better with the right frame of mind. They gave Bengal no chance afterward. 47-44 was the score. Seems a rather close one, yes? With 23 raid points in the semis, Pardeep is going to be the star of the finals. He hit a personal record when he became the first player to cross 600 points in PKL. Coach stated that he was one of the tigers of th

Sri Lanka is still in the losing phase. They lost the first T20 by seven wickets. Usman Khan won the man of the match award for his consistent bowling and taking two wickets. The rest of the scorecard is also not much to look at. Sri Lanka hit 102. They were all out in 18.3 overs. What is that? Really. Not even one score worth mentioning. The highest was 23. Pakistan, already in good form and high spirits, hit the target with no muss no fuss. Shoaib Malik’s 42 in 31 deliveries gave them their smooth ride. Today’s the second T20. Nothing more needs to be said. About the match anyway. The only worry is the security for the third T20 in Lahore. Pakistan Squad: Playing XI: Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Fahim Ashraf , Hasan Ali Bench: Umar Amin, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees Sri Lanka Squad: Playing XI: Mahela Udawatte, Isuru Udana, Thisa

I just wrote the blog for the other match - Bangladesh versus South Africa. And I find myself writing the same thing because Bangladesh had lost all the previous matches and now same with Sri Lanka. To be fair, they did win both the test matches, played in UAE. Pakistan won all five ODI. by fairly good margins at that. The T20 matches begin. Three of them. The third of which takes place in Lahore. That was on the minds of the Sri Lankan players who are still scarred by what happened many years ago. Enough has been said about it. Let’s talk cricket now. This is Thisara Perera’s chance to prove his skill and capacity as the captain. With most of the regular players out, Perera’s team is a fairly young and inexperienced side. Perera hopes to lead with example and score well. His highest score is 38. Not at all a good sign. Pakistan. Amir is back to the side. Sohail Khan Absent. Teams: Sri Lanka (From): Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Minod Bhanuka, Sadeera Samarawic

South Africa won by 333 runs. South Africa won by  an innings and 254 runs. South Africa won by 10 wickets. South Africa won by 104 runs. South Africa won by 200 runs. This is the story up until now. Two test matches and three One Day International matches. All that is left is a two match T-20 series and two more chances for Bangladesh to try and win back some pride. Does not the universe believe in balance? Is it watching? Bangladesh tried some changes in the leadership during the ODI hoping that would make a difference. It clearly did not. Now the players have to stay up and upbeat to fight through the rest of the tournament. Mental games have always been a part of sports. It must be a wholesome contribution from Bangladesh to see them win the next two matches. They must know that they do not have a choice but to bounce back. And hopefully in style. They know they have it in them. It is just the matter of getting an early breakthrough. A match winning opening partnership or e