WORLD CUP UPDATE

GERMANY START THE FAVOURITE

The German team is favoured to win against Sweden. The strikers of the home team, Podolski and Klose are in good touch and with the inspirational Ballack in the midfield, few would like to think otherwise. The Germans are always good in defence and the present defenders are not likely to allow much room to the opponents. But the biggest strength of the Germans is Ballack who orchestrates all the forward moves with great skill and creativity. No wonder, the home supporters were disappointed with the injury of Ballack on the eve of the tournament opener against Costa Rica.

GHANA

Ghana remains the only country from Africa to go to the second round of the 2006 world cup. The talent on show by the African teams that included the likes of Ivory Coast, Togo, Angola besides Ghana was exceptional, although the goals and the victories belonged to the opponents. Only the magicians from South America surpassed some of the skills displayed by the Africans. It is this brand of football from Africa that makes one sit up and take notice. One thing that is spectacular of the African footballers is the way the goals are celebrated. Roger Milla had his own style while the Nigerians like Kaanu put up their own style. This time also every goal was celebrated in a different and an unique way.

Ghana are unlucky in a way to play Brazil in the second round but that is something that the likes of Appiah would relish. The footballers from Africa see the world cup as an opportunity for better future in the lucrative leagues of Europe.

The only Ghanian to get international recognition is the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. Now a whole country and a continent can be proud of a group of Ghanians.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

LES BLEUS PULL IT OFF

The line-up for the second round has been completed. France fought off the stubborn resolve from Togo and scored two goals. The French have been joined by Switzerland who got the better of South Korea. With this defeat for the Koreans, there is no representative left in the world cup.

Spain consolidated their position at the top of Group H and Ukraine also go through to the second round.

ST.KITTS TEST

WHAT A FAST WICKET

Despite all talk from Lara about the ‘fastness’ of the pitch, the wicket at St. Kitts has not bothered the batsmen of the home team on the first day. The home just lost one wicket for a score of just over 200 runs on a day cut short by rain. Of course, the Indian bowlers also helped the cause of the home team. Barring Munaf Patel and Kumble, the other bowlers were thrashed by Gayle to all parts of the Warner Park. Gayle had a new sponsor for his bat and as to show off the new sticker, the left hander sent the ball over the fence 5 times.

There is something wrong with the Indian think-tank. Pathan was dropped after receiving tips from the great Andy Roberts. V.R.V.Singh was dropped justifiably so after the first two matches. Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth replaced these two bowlers. The Kerala bowler is proving to be a favourite of Gayle and Harbhajan could not make any impact, at least one the first day.
The Indians have do something dramatic on the second day of the match to take the match in their direction.

What has happened to the ‘pitch consultant’ who was supposed to make all the difference? If anyone wants, I am offering myself to prepare wickets.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

For a team that boasts the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry in its ranks, these are surely hard times. The Les Bleus have struggled since the last world cup and the showing in the first two matches does not inspire any confidence. He French have to beat South Korea to go through to the second round. The French could not go past the first round in the last edition.

I strongly believe that Henry and company have not able to replicate their club success at the international level. For a player who finished at the top of the goal scoring heap for the last two seasons in the English Premier League, Henry could find the net only once in the first two matches. Zidane has seen great days and the suspension makes him sit out the crucial match. If only the others play to their potential, Zidane can try one last time.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

THE PHENOM DOES IT IN STYLE


Everyone doubted the ability of Ronaldo to contribute anything of substance to the Brazilian effort. For a large part of the season injury kept Ronaldo out of the game. He was clearly overweight and struggled to find the touch and rhythm in the first games of the 2006 world cup. But in the match against Japan, Ronaldo managed two goals to tie with the all time leading goal scorer in the world cup, Gerd Muller.

Critics can undermine the effort citing the weakness of the opposition, in this case Japan. But the important part is that Ronaldo seemed to enjoy the game. That may yet prove to be dangerous for the opposition in the matches to come.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

BRAZIL HAS TO SHOW THE TRUE COLOURS
It is time for the Brazilians to show the magic that has so far eluded the fans in the first two matches. One can safely predict the outcome of the match between Brazil and Japan. But then the display from the likes of Ronaldinho and company has been laboured and unimpressive. That is the cause for worry for the champions have to get past opponents stronger than Croatia, Australia and Japan from the second round.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

GROUP E GOES TO THE WIRE

The first round has provided very little by way of surprises but Group E has the potential. All the four teams, Italy, Czech Republic, Ghana and the United States have good chances of making through to the second round. The race is even tighter when it comes to the first three. Italy just needs a draw while Czech Republic and Ghana need a win.

Italy takes on Czech Republic and might just defend to secure a single point. With Koller injured, the attacking options are very limited for the Czechs. The Ghanians are the favourites to beat the U.S. The Africans are carrying the hopes of an entire continent and that can be pressure enough.

LACK OF PENETRATION

Many years ago when I was just starting out on cricket, my uncle asked me whether I was a bowler or a batsman. I wanted to be a batsman and on times rolled the arm over. He was disappointed. Being an avid fan of cricket, he was frustrated at the lack of penetration in the Indian bowling line-up. At the same time, he was disappointed over the poor showing of the Indian batsmen when facing the fast bowlers.

To this day, the same story continues to the chagrin of the Indian cricket fan. It is the lack of a fast bowler who can bowl swinging yorkers, that has cost India many a match. The inability to close out the last two test matches in the West Indies is also a pointer in this direction. It is not that every bowler can become a Waqar Younis or a Wasim Akram, but at least no Indian bowler has ever looked like bowling those yorkers on a consistent basis.

Zaheer Khan came into the reckoning with superb yorkers in the ICC Champions Trophy in Kenya. If I remember correctly, it was a special from Zaheer that defeated Steve Waugh. But over time, Zaheer fluffed his lines and is now out of the Indian team. Pathan never relied on this kind of a ball to bag his wickets. Srinath was the best fast bowler to play for India since Kapil Dev. He also never bowled a yorker. Of the current lot, Munaf has got the pace and the attitude.

The yorker bowled with pace and aimed at the right direction can be a very potent weapon bowling on unresponsive pitches and at lower order batsmen.

LOOKING AHEAD OF THE THIRD TEST

India lost a great chance to win the first two test matches of the series. It is time that India finally does enough to win the elusive test match abroad. The team management is short of ideas, that is, those based on reason. The much-touted five bowler strategy was simply tossed into the seas. For a coach and a captain who are supposedly not defensive, this one is certainly not an attacking strategy.

Whatever do people like Ian Bishop say, it is time that V.R.V. Singh is removed from the playing eleven. Here is a ‘fast’ bowler who looks and bowls like a veteran of more than 100 test matches. His walk back to the bowling mark is something that takes the cake. His disinterested walk is not something that is cool for a fast bowler. Pathan continues to surprise with his lack of pace and imagination. Sreesanth is only fury without being able to subdue the batsmen.

Of the bowlers, Kumble and Munaf looked the part, while Sehwag is the surprise packet. The fielding, especially, the close-in ones do not inspire much confidence. This is astonishing considering the credentials of Greg Chappell as a catcher of repute in the slips.

WORLD CUP UPDATE

A PROUD RECORD
Sweden managed to keep their proud record against England intact. Twice in the match, the Swedes came from behind to level the score. The goal of Joe Cole reminded of the goal scored by Ronaldinho in the last world cup against England. Owen is in all likelihood going to miss the rest of the world cup. England have not looked the cup material. It is more hype than substance.

The home team scored a third win in their group thanks to the efforts of the Poles, Klose and Podolski. Klose now has 9 goals in the world cup and with Ronaldo not in a position to add to his tally, the German can catch up with the all time goal scorer in the history of the world cup.

The world cup is over for first timers Trinidad and Tobago. Their progress so far is nothing short of remarkable.

GANGULY-ONLY QUESTIONS, NO ANSWERS

New material has been added to the Ganguly saga. It is surprising that the former Indian captain has decided to challenge Jagmohan Dalmiya for the control of the Cricket Association of Bengal. Ganguly has received the backing of the government of West Bengal. Politics, for sure, makes strange bedfellows.

Is this the Ganguly way of distancing himself from the Dalmiya ? Does Ganguly think that his ouster from the Indian team is not due to poor form but because of the changes in the power equation ? Has Sharad Pawar given any indication that such a move would clear the way for the rehabilitation of the left hander ? Or has Ganguly decided to finally hang his cricketing boots and take to cricket politics in a big way, in the time honoured Indian way ? That would mean taking the ultimate revenge on his ‘enemies’.

In any case, there are only questions, no answers.

WORLD CUP

UPDATE

ARGENTINA CRACK THE WHIP

Argentina put up an awesome display to demolish Serbia and Montenegro. It was not that the team from the Balkans is ordinary. S&M, in fact, topped the European qualifying group that also included Spain. The final scoreline of 6-0 in favour of the Argentines would suggest otherwise.

The quality of the football on show from Riquelme, Crespo, Tevez and others was simply superb. Lionel Messi made and entry well into the second half and he made a great impact. He scored one goal and made another.

At times, Argentina was toying with the opponent team. A greater number of goals looked a possibility the way the South Americans went about their task.

The quality that separates the Argentines from Brazil’s Samba boys is the strong defensive game alongwith the touch that is so typical of South America. With today’s show, Argentina has simply reinforced the belief that it can go all the distance.

But the ultimate question is whether the Argentines have peaked a little too early. Of course, there is no cause for complaint as the other favourite teams have so far put up very ordinary displays.

WORLD CUP

The first round matches have entered the second stage with England, Germany and Ecuador having made sure of qualifying to the knock out phase. Germany scored 4 goals in the first match of the finals. But the hosts found the going tough in the match against Poland. The winner could only be scored in the injury time. England also made heavy weather in both their matches. The winner in the opening match came from the Paraguayans. The first timer Trinidad and Tobago caused a lot of problems for the English before Crouch and Gerrard scored the late goals. The surprise packet is Ecuador who scored 3 against Costa Rica. The South Americans were able to beat the fancied Poland in their first match.

Brazil was not convincing in the match against Croatia. There were few flashes of brilliance that is a signature of the Samba boys. There is some concern over the health of Ronaldo. Hope things are not going to take us back to the finals of 1998.

Argentina looked solid in the first match and so too the Czech Republic. Of course, one has to realize that the Czechs were playing against the United States.

Spain proved to be the best of all the teams. But in the past also the Spanish only flattered to deceive.

ABSENCE OF A SPORTING CULTURE

My father is interested in sports and games and that is the reason why my siblings and me do the same. My mother has the habit of making expert comments when she is least expected to. The football world cup is going to kick off from today and last night there was the mandatory discussion in the house.

My father was dismayed that countries like Togo and Trinidad and Tobago have made it to the biggest prize in football while India with a population that is one sixth of the worlds’ is down in the list. Many theories have been offered to explain the failure in mainstream sporting events (read non-cricket). A common reason is the lack of facilities and the lack of government support and patronage to sports like football. Notwithstanding the presence of people like K P S Gill, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Suresh Kalmadi and scores of others who are least interested in the health of sports or the sportspersons, I have a different theory.

As Indians, we don’t have a sporting culture or tradition. How many Indian parents encourage their children to take to sports seriously? How many families treat sporting events as family get togethers? Poverty is often cited as a reason for the lack of attention given to sports. In that case, no world class athlete or sportsperson would have come out of Africa or South America. I have come across parents who do not want to have cable television in the home for the fear of spoiling the children from watching sports and games.

We have awards in sports that are named after mythological characters like Arjuna or Dronacharya. There is no award that is named after a famous athlete. That is something which surely does not inspire Indians to take to sports.

My mother was not very much enthusiastic when my brothers and me used to play. She was more concerned about studies and our careers. The discussion ended when she commented that Indians are more interested in watching daily soaps on the television.

ANTIGUA TEST

The first test between India and the West Indies and the last test match at the Antigua Recreation Ground ended in a draw on the last ball of the match. The Indians who were behind the home team, looked the better side on days four and five, well almost.

Just as the bowlers could not finish in Karachi after the spectacular burst from Pathan, this time also they could not dislodge the tailenders. Then Kamran Akmal was the stumbling block, but Bradshaw and company do not possess similar batting abilities.

The strategy of playing five bowlers did not work in the end. V R V Singh was someone who looked completely lost. At times he just was ambling back to the run up mark and he did not inspire any confidence when the team was looking for wickets. Sreesanth was taken to the cleaners in the first innings but that did not stop him from offering glares and his mouth to the Windies batsmen. What a sight it was! Munaf Patel also looked out of sorts. It was Kumble who kept India in the hunt with able support from the new look Sehwag.

The much vaunted batting line-up came unstuck in the first innings and in the second innings with the pitch showing signs of easing off, the Indian batsmen could make big runs. Also, the bowlers of the home team were also guilty of undermining their side. Probably, they just ran out of gas.

There were few let offs from Indian fielders that proved costly in the end. Jaffer could not latch on to a chance off the blade of Chanderpaul. It is foolish for the slip fielders to stand that far when neither the pitch nor the bowlers were really that fast. Speaking about Chanderpaul, he once again feasted on the Indian bowling. Gayle is just continuing with the form that he showed in the one dayers. Lara once again could not make a big score against India.

With the draw, India have left a great chance to win a test and put the home team under pressure. With that, chances of a series win have also become slim.

ALL SOUND AND NO ACTION?

After the fourth match in the current one-day series in the Windies, the captain of the home team was speaking about the ‘comment’ of the Indian coach. India won the first match of the series at Jamaica and the coach came out with the statement that the Windies have ‘forgotten the winning habit’. Brian Lara asserted that the comment was ‘sly’ and that his team was out to prove the Indian coach wrong.

Having read many times about a similar comment made by the then English captain Tony Greig that his team would make the visiting Windies team ‘grovel’, I wondered about the possible repercussions. The West Indians were out to prove a point and they beat the English convincingly. A number of batsmen of the English team agree that the bowling faced was the most hostile. While the present team does not boast of Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, there was always a possibility of hurting the pride of the home team.

In the past decade, many former players and greats of yesteryears felt that the poor showing of the Windies was in part due to the lack of the pride playing for the country. But the sly remark of the Indian coach may have brought the sense of pride and that is a strong enough cause of worry for the Indians in the forthcoming test series.

SPARE A THOUGHT FOR GANGULY

In the aftermath of the loss of the fourth one dayer in the Windies, there was a lot of debate and discussion about the possible reasons for the loss suffered by India. In a particular television news channel, viewers were asked to vote via SMS the ‘culprit’ responsible for the loss of the series. Not surprisingly, the main accused was the Chairman of the Selectors, Kiran More. The second position was taken by Greg Chappell and the Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid came third.

One other point the viewers made was the non-inclusion of Ganguly, the much maligned man of Indian cricket, at least for some. It is not surprising since the left-hander happened to be the biggest match winner in one-dayers, with the sole exception of a certain gentleman named Sachin Tendulkar. It was foolish to say the least that there was a gross error of judgement in not taking Ganguly for the one-dayers, especially with the absence of Tendulkar due to injury.

The argument of Chappell and company that Ganguly was past his prime, when it came to running between the wickets and in the field, did not cut much ice when players handpicked and groomed fell by the wayside. Just imagine Ramesh Powar fielding the boundary. In a match, Powar slid and allowed the ball to touch the rope for a four. Ganguly could not have done worse. Further, Ganguly’s bowling would have been useful, even as another ‘experiment’.

Ganguly has become a pariah and the enemy number one for a large number of people. Harsha Bhogle has, in his scheme of things, has already made Ganguly retire. If Chappell is a true professional, then why should not be there any accountability? People have used the same justifications to sack Ganguly.

It was a well known fact that the Windies were a very weak team. New Zealand and South Africa completed clean sweeps while India are struggling to keep pace. With the kind of cricket displayed by India so far, the win the test series is still going to be a dream.

ST.KITTS

WINDIES GO ONE UP




The home team won with just the last ball to spare in the third one dayer of the current series. Incidentally, this is the first international match to be played at Warner Park. All the three matches have been very close ones, each going to the last over. But that does not hide the truth that the Windies outplayed India in the third match.

Sehwag and Kaif took their team to a strong position after the early dismissal of Dravid. But the other batsmen could not sustain the tempo and the innings of the tourists ended having posted a not so impressive total. The last 15 overs of the Indian innings just produced 42 runs. The slow bowlers like Samuels and Gayle proved to be difficult to score runs off. The absence of the in-form Yuvraj was very much felt.

Needing to score just under 250 runs in 50 overs, the home team was not expected to be stretched. But the Windies managed to do that despite the sterling knocks from Sarwan and Chanderpaul. These two have been thorns in the Indian flesh in the past, and this time was no different. Sarwan has an exceptional record against the Indians, which does not quite match his record when it comes to teams like Australia. The same is the case with Chanderpaul who has never shown his dislike for the Indian attacks.

Initially, the Indian bowlers were treated with disrespect with the exception of Agarkar. Pathan seems to be in a trance as he went all over the park. Harbhajan once again showed the control he has over the Caribbean batsmen. Powar was taken to the cleaners by Sarwan and with this showing, it is time the management takes a new look at the Mumbai off-spinner.

With the team being considered as a strong contender for the world cup in 2007, India ought to outplay an opposition as mediocre as the Windies.

TEST TEAM FOR WINDIES

The Indian team for the test matches does not have any surprises except for the inclusion of V V S Laxman and the non-inclusion of Ajit Agarkar. Probably, the last minute decision of Sachin to miss the tour gave the batsman from Hyderabad another tilt at test match glory. I am a big fan of Laxman but with the theories and ideas of Greg Chappell, it was always doubtful.

I have never been a supporter of Agarkar. I have always felt that the Mumbai bowler gets the opportunities just because he comes from a particular part of the country. But in the three one dayers, he has been a revelation. He bowled exceedingly well and a test slot was awaited. But the selectors led by the irrepressible Kiran More sprang a surprise by excluding Agarkar from the test side. The last time Punjab bowler V R V Singh was in the team, the selectors did not know about the injury he was carrying. Hope this time he is fully fit. I reckon the obsession with this bowler is more to do with the kind of influence that a particular gentleman wields in the present dispensation. The inclusion of Powar is baffling, to say the least. Maybe, that is something to do with the representation from Mumbai.With Kumble and Harbhajan, the Mumbai spinner will only sit on the bench. Wasim Jaffer will return to the test team to open the innings and that will spare us from the ‘sacrifices’ made by Dravid while opening the batting.

Raina has been included in the test squad following his impressive performances in the shorter version of the game. After a long time, the selectors have shown some sense in picking a second wicket keeper in Dinesh Kartik. Since it is a four match series, it is wise to have some contingent plan.

Lastly, the timing of the announcement when the one dayers are still to be played is curious, as always is the case with the current selection panel.