Iceman’s Realm

Last year, when the Indian Premier League coincided with the multi-phase 2009 general elections, the Central Government of India couldn’t promise full security to the players. Believing that the forces would be stretched too thinly if they were to safeguard both IPL and elections, hosting Indian Premier League in India was out of the question. If that was one of the primary reasons why the second edition didn’t happen in India, here are some of the issues that are posing serious threats to the third edition of the event. First comes the recent bomb blast that wreaked havoc at the German Bakery in Pune. Though not many casualties were reported, blasts such as these can seriously deter the event from taking place. Then comes the Telangana issue. As people are still protesting, it’s quite evident that cricket can’t be played in any of the Hyderabad stadiums or in Andhra Pradesh for that matter. If these issues are indirectly threatening the event from happening, what about Shiv Sena’s threat that they would disrupt the schedules if Australian players partake in the IPL? Now with the IPL extravaganza less than a month away, Indian Mujaheddin the terror outfit responsible for the Pune bomb blast say their next target is Indore. If this is the case, be ready to shift the venue outside India this time around too. Lalit Modi, hope you’re listening!

Having asked to follow on by the South African skipper Graeme Smith, India after losing two quick wickets at the end of day three in their second innings are in a precarious position. India’s first innings with the bat wasn’t any good either. Their abysmal performance just goes to show how dismal they are without some of their key players. Apart from Virender Sehwag who notched up another quick fire century and Badrinath who scored a well made half century, no other batsmen contributed to the Indian total. This time with Sehwag and Gambir back in the pavilion without causing much damage, the onus is on the remaining batsmen. 2 days still remain and it’s highly unlikely that the inexperience of Murali Vijay, Badrinath and Saha will come to India’s rescue. Retaining the number one spot will be out of the question if this poor show continues. Sachin and Dhoni need to bat and they need to bat pretty well if they have any plans of drawing the test match.

The battle has begun. And it will be quite decisive because it will determine the number one side in Test Cricket. The home team are sitting pretty at the top of the test rankings with 124 points closely followed by the visiting side, the Proteas with 120 points. A couple of test matches will be played between these two teams and if the home team manages a draw from them, it’s more than enough to maintain the top spot. But if they lose, there could be a twist in the tale. Talking about the teams, South Africa with the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, and Dale Steyn to name a few, are relatively a much better side. Almost all their players are in fine nick and with batsmen friendly pitches like the one in Nagpur, the South African batsmen can make a mockery of the Indian bowling. India on the other hand are playing without Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Yuvraj Singh. Their absence has created a void in the Indian middle order that’s hard to fill in. After a day and a half’s play, it looks like the pitch is a good one to bat on and the visitors have made good use of the batting conditions. The home team might have got the prized wicket of Kallis but Amla is still piling it on. With a couple of batsmen still to come, a mammoth total is definitely on the cards.

When retired New Zealand bowler Shane Bond was preferred over Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Misbah-ul-Haq and a couple of other Pakistan players in the recently held IPL auction, one wondered what went seriously wrong with the franchisees. A few of them even thought how these aforesaid flamboyant players were not competitive enough to feature in the 3rd edition of this extravaganza. True, the relationship between the neighboring countries is not  amicable, but is this the way to snub them? Cricket, they say, transcends borders but in this case, it’s rather disappointing from the franchisees’ end. If the Pakistan players were to be disregarded in such a way, why were they even considered in the first place?

When all rounder Keiron Pollard went all guns blazing during the Twenty20 Champions league, it was quite evident that he would be the most sought after player in the Indian Premier League auction.  It comes as no surprise that he was one of the most expensive players this time around. Though pace bowlers were the flavor of this season, Shane Bond’s inclusion comes as quite an astonishment for many. On a sad note, the Pakistan players have been shunned and it looks like they won’t feature in this season either. Ace cricketer Shahid Afridi complained that he was unhappy with the attitude of the franchises. Afridi dude, let’s make it crystal clear that the exclusion of Pakistan players has nothing to do with the attitude or the political pressure from the government, it’s all about the availability of the players. However, visa problems have also been cited as the main deterrent and like the last time, not even one Pakistan cricketer would partake in the 3rd edition of the cricket extravaganza.

On a pitch that was conducive to batting and bowling conditions, posting a total of 279 runs was always a challenging and competitive score. Setting 280 as the target, little did the Men in Blue know that an inexperienced Sri Lankan line up would successfully chase down the total. Sri Lankans were relatively an inexperienced side without the likes of Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Jayawardene, Muralitharan, Malinga, Mendis, and a couple of their front line pace bowlers. Now if this naive side can register a comprehensive victory against a complete Indian side, what could have been the case when all their key players were there? Team India can give a lame excuse saying the dew factor was one of the reasons for their defeat but Sri Lanka who are high on confidence after winning two games on trot are clearly the favorites.

When Sri Lankan openers Tilakkaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga went all guns blazing, one had to firmly believe that it was yet another run riot. Things went on quite well for the visitors until the part time bowlers were introduced into the attack. And what looked like an excellent pitch to bat on at the onset and thereafter, suddenly started assisting the spinners a great deal. While Jadeja took 4 crucial wickets in his complete quota of 10 overs, Sehwag and Harbhajan chipped in with one wicket apiece. Wickets kept tumbling and ultimately, Sri Lanka could only settle for a modest score of 239 on the board. Team India’s chase wasn’t any bad either when Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar came out to play. At one end, Sehwag went on a leather hunt by going hammer and tongs and at the other Sachin was in no hurry and played the waiting innings. Chasing down 239 wasn’t that hard at all and with more than 7 overs to spare and with 7 wickets in hand, India registered a comprehensive and convincing victory. With this triumph, the home team leads the series 2-1. Hope they end up victorious!

When the home team piled up yet another mammoth total on the scoreboard, the Sri Lankan batsmen  had their task cut out. No doubt they were facing an uphill task. Despite being a batsmen friendly pitch and which offered hardly anything for the bowlers, the visitors however, were a bit apprehensive because they had to chase this huge total under lights. But when the openers gave them the perfect start, they completely felt at ease. Moreover, this wasn’t an intimidating total the home team posted - a run a ball and the visitors could easily get home. Although the Indian bowlers made crucial breakthroughs towards the end, it wasn’t enough for them to clinch another thriller. Sri Lanka had the last laugh and now with the series wide open, a cracker of a contest is always on the cards.

When Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bowl first without any hesitation, one would have thought that MS Dhoni lost a crucial toss.

Just when we thought that the Indian batsmen haven’t mastered the shorter version of the game yet, they have proved us wrong again. First of all, the credit should go to the Sri Lankan batsmen for notching up 200 plus scores on a consistent basis. Having elected to bat first, the Sri Lankan batsmen went hammer and tongs at the Indian bowling attack right from the word go. True, they dismissed Tilakaratne Dilshan cheaply but when skipper Kumar Sangakkara joined Sanath Jayasuriya at the crease, it was problems galore for the Men in Blue. The flamboyant duo were ruthless at the onset when they posed serious threats to the Indian bowling and it was ominous signs for the home team but once they departed, wickets started tumbling and they couldn’t quite carry it from there. Nevertheless, they reached yet another competitive total and the Indian batsmen had their task cut out. While Sehwag was at his belligerent best smashing the ball all over the park  from one side, Gambhir played the waiting innings from the other.  A couple of wickets fell but that didn’t hamper the Indian batting that badly and the batsmen continued to play their shots. Dhoni and Yuvraj played blistering knocks and that helped in chasing down the mammoth score quite easily. Ultimately, with 6 wickets in hand and with almost an over to spare, the home team leveled the series by registering a comprehensive victory. Way to go Team India!