आवश्यकता अविष्कार की जननी होती है, यहाँ भी अविष्कार की कमी नहीं थी। बंदे ज़्यादा हैं तो शॉर्ट पिच खेल का अविष्कार हुआ जो कि २०-२० की तरह सरासर बल्लेबाज़ का खेल था। क्योंकि तेज़ गेन्द फेंकने पर पाबंदी थी, इसलिए रन पड़ने से रोकने के लिए एक से बढ़कर एक स्पिन की ईजाद की गई। इसमें मैं और एक अन्य लड़का सबसे आगे, नए-२ प्रयोग करते रहते थे(जब साथ में छोटे बच्चे खेल रहे हों या सामने कोई ढीला खिलाड़ी हो) और इन्हीं प्रयोगों के चलते हम दोनों ने एक-२ नई ईजाद की; उसने टप्पा खाकर रूक जाने वाली(या वापस गेंदबाज़ की दिशा में सरकने वाली) गेंद की ईज़ाद की और मैंने बल्लेबाज़ के पैर के पास टप्पा डाल अप्रत्याशित रूप से बल्लेबाज़ के चेहरे तक उछल जाने वाली गेंद की ईज़ाद की। ये दोनों गेंदे सही तरीके से अचानक प्रयोग करने पर बहुत मारक सिद्ध होतीं थीं। लेकिन मैंने महसूस किया था कि मेरी तकनीक उतनी कारगर नहीं होती विकेट लेने में जितनी वो रूक जाने वाली गेंद होती थी तो इसलिए प्रतियोगिता में रहने के लिए मैंने जल्द ही समझ लिया कि यह गेंद आखिरकार होती कैसे है(उस लड़के ने नहीं बताया था) और फिर उसको धीरे-२ सुधारा। लेकिन अपनी ईज़ाद की तकनीक को मैं भूला नहीं और उसको लाँग पिच वाले खेल में प्रयोग करने की कोशिश की। गर्मियों की छुट्टियों में भरी दोपहर में, जब कोई कुत्ता भी बाहर नहीं नज़र आता था, मैं उस सोसायटी हॉल में अकेले अपनी गेंदबाज़ी सुधारने का अभ्यास करता था और नए-२ तरीकों को आज़माता था। जितने गेंदबाज़ी के एक्शन मैंने बदले होंगे उतने पूरे मोहल्ले में किसी ने न बदले होंगे, चाह थी सिर्फ़ अधिकतम गति से स्टीक गेंद फेंकने की, हाथ से नहीं वरन्‌ कंधे के बल का प्रयोग करने की!! तो आखिरकार अपनी उस अप्रत्याशित उछाल वाली तकनीक को मैंने लाँग पिच वाले खेल में भी शामिल कर लिया, उस लड़के की रूक सकने वाली गेंद यहाँ नहीं आ सकी क्योंकि हाथ घुमाकर वो गेंद डालना असंभव है।

अब सभी तेज़ गेंदबाज़ प्रायः गुस्सैल क्यों होते हैं यह एक रिसर्च का विषय है, गुस्सैल अपन भी कम नहीं और अपन भी तेज़ गेंदबाज़ ही थे। शुरुआत में बाएँ हाथ से तेज़ गेंदबाज़ी किया करता था लेकिन नौ वर्ष की आयु में स्कूल से वापस आते समय बच्चों से भरे ऑटोरिक्शा के नीचे बायां हाथ आ जाने के कारण दाएँ हाथ से खेलना शुरु किया। बाएँ हाथ को कुछ हुआ नहीं, हड्डी वगैरह भी फ्रैक्चर नहीं हुई लेकिन उस दिन के बाद इससे गेंद नहीं फेंक पाया, कदाचित्‌ कुछ मानसिक असर था। बहरहाल, तो अपनी टोली में एक हुआ करता था सहवाग टाइप लपेड़ा बल्लेबाज़, बल्ले पर जो गेंद चढ़ गई तो समझो छक्का तो लगे ही लगे!! अब उसको गेंदबाज़ी करने का भी शौक हुआ करता था, लेकिन हाथ घुमाकर भी बट्टा ही फेंक पाता, मैंने और अन्य गेंदबाज़ों ने जी भर कोशिश कर ली लेकिन उसको ठीक से हाथ घुमाकर गेंद फेंकना न सिखा पाए। अब उसकी बट्टा गेंद से शुरु में हम लोगों की हवा टाइट होती थी, एक तो तेज़ फेंकता था(मेरे जितनी और मैं अपनी टोली में सबसे अधिक तेज़ फेंकता था, स्वयं मैं अपने जितनी तेज़ खेलने से उस समय घबराता था) और ऊपर से निशाना सही लगता था उसका, गेंद की पिटाई तो दूर विकेट बचाने के लाले पड़ जाते थे!! इसलिए आम सहमति से यही निर्णय लिया जाता था कि बट्टा गेंद प्रतिबंधित है और वो मुँह सुजाकर रह जाता था।

एक बार की बात है कि हम लोग खेल रहे थे, वो अपना बट्टा फेंकने वाला लपेड़ा बल्लेबाज़ दोस्त दूसरी टीम में था और उसका कप्तान पता नहीं काहे हम लोगों से चिढ़ गया कि खेल के बीच में ही(हमारी बल्लेबाज़ी के दौरान) उसको गेंद पकड़ा दी और फिर उसके बाद तो हम लोगों के रनों का सिलसिला थम गया, पाँच ओवर के खेल में हम कुछ खास न बना पाए। अब जब हमारी गेंदबाज़ी आई तो उनकी गिल्लियाँ हम निकाल रहे थे लेकिन पाँचवें ओवर तक आते-२ वही हाल हो गया था जो अभी २०-२० के फाइनल में भारत-पाकिस्तान का था, मतलब रन कम चाहिए थे लेकिन विकेट भी एक ही था। ओवर मेरा था और यदि चार रन पड़ जाते तो मेरे को बहुत भला-बुरा सुनने को मिलता(मत्थे तो मेरे ही मढ़ी जाती हार)। तभी मेरे दिमाग में एक शैतानी विचार आया, दूसरी टीम वालों ने बीच मैच में धोखा कर बट्टा गेंद फिंकवा हमारी वाट लगाई थी तो हम क्यों पीछे रहें, खून का बदला खून वाला जज़्बा वेग से मेरी नसों में दौड़ा, विरोधी टीम का आखिरी बल्लेबाज़ ठुकाई के मूड में था, और अपन दोनों टीमों में सबसे तेज़ गेंदबाज़(सबसे बेहतर नहीं लेकिन सबसे तेज़ अवश्य), इस पर विरोधी टीम का दुर्भाग्य कि मैंने कुछ दिन पहले ही बॉडीलाइन (bodyline) गेंदबाज़ी के बारे में टीवी पर देखा था। तीन गेंद बाकी थी आखिरी ओवर की, चार रन दरकार थे और आखिरी विकेट बचा था। मैंने सोच लिया था कि क्या करना है और अपनी सोच को अंजाम देते हुए पूरा दम लगाकर और निशाना साध बल्लेबाज़ के पेट पर सीधी गेंद फेंकी, वो सीधा हुआ और उसकी जंघा पर गेंद वेग से टकराई, कॉस्को की टेनिस वाली गेंद थी लेकिन फिर भी बहुत ज़ोर से लगी, वो तड़प के नीचे बैठ गया और उसके टीम वालों ने उसे घेर लिया, इधर मेरी टीम वाले प्रसन्न, मेरी ओर शाबाशी वाली निगाहें, ऐसा लग रहा था कि अब ये तो रिटायर्ड हर्ट (retired hurt) हो लिया और अपन जीत गए!! ;) लेकिन दस मिनट बाद किसी तरह साहस जुटा (और टीम वालों के प्रोत्साहन पर) वो लड़खड़ाता हुआ किसी तरह उठ खड़ा हुआ, इधर मैं भी तैयार था, पुनः पूरा दम लगाकर गेंद फेंकी और वेग से आती हुई गेंद उसको बचने का मौका दिए बिना फिर शरीर के उसी भाग से टकराई और इस बार उसका रहा सहा सारा दम निकल गया, अगले ने हाथ जोड़ दिए और आखिरी गेंद खेलने से मना कर दिया और मैच हम लोगों ने जीत लिया। ;)

उछलने कूदने चिल्लाने के बाद हम लोगों ने हमदर्दी और अफ़सोस जताते हुए उसका हाल भी पूछा और औपचारिकता के नाते मैंने माफ़ी भी माँगी लेकिन इस पूरे प्रकरण में अपने दोस्त(दूसरी टीम के कप्तान) को यह सबक मिल गया कि यदि स्वयं गंदा खेलोगे तो दूसरी तरफ़ से भी गंदे खेल के लिए तैयार रहना चाहिए, यदि तुम सेर हो तो दूसरा सवा सेर हो सकता है!! ;) रही बात उस बल्लेबाज़ की(अरे उसी की जिसकी सिकाई हुई थी) तो वह तो आने वाले कुछ समय तक मेरी गेंदबाज़ी से आतंकित रहा ही(जो कि गेंदबाज़ के तौर पर मेरे लिए लाभदायक था), साथ ही वह बट्टा फेंकने वाला अपना लपेड़ा मित्र भी यदि विरोधी टीम में होता तो मेरी गेंद को ज़रा इज़्ज़त देकर खेलता था क्योंकि उसको भी आशंका रहती थी कि कहीं मैं उसकी भी आरती न उतार दूँ!! ;) :D

I'm not a big fan of Twenty20 and find some of the rules absurd but even I am interested in this one. In what promises to be one of the biggest cricket matches ever, India will play Pakistan in the final of the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup at Johannesburg in South Africa. After the debacle that was the One Day World Cup held earlier this year, this is a huge blessing for the ICC**. India and Pakistan were both knocked out in the first stage and the rest of the World Cup plunged into boredom as Australia easily pummeled rivals to win it. In fact, the World Cup will probably be remembered more for Bob Woolmer's death than for cricket. So, this couldn't have come at a better time for the ICC. India v. Pakistan - it doesn't get bigger than this. For those who don't follow cricket, it's the equivalent of the Pats facing the Colts at the Super Bowl (which, I know will never happen). Yup, it's that big.

Pakistan thrashed New Zealand by 6 wickets while India managed to get past Australia by 15 runs in the semi finals. When the World Cup began, Sri Lanka and Australia (bboth finalists at the 2007 One Day World Cup) were heralded as favorites. No one gave India (without three of its superstars) or Pakistan a chance.

India and Pakistan have met thrice four (1992, 1996, 1999, and 2003) times in One Day International World Cups and once in a Twenty20 World Cup, with India having won all their past encounters. This, however will be the first time that they meet in a final, which means that past statistics don't matter. Will India make it five six in a row or will Pakistan find a way to beat India in their most important meeting in a World Cup? We'll know on the 24th.

*No relation to the Artist formerly known as Prince ... I think. 

**Which makes me wonder if this was fixed. :-)

After the press conference, Sachin and his new "bff" (best friend forever), Saurav Ganguly participated in an effigy burning of ex-coach, Greg Chappell, organized jointly by the Maharashtra  Sena and the Bengal Tigers.

Readers of this blog may be aware that the BCCI's decision was in response to Sachin's interview that was first posted on this blog.

<I never knew I'd be so interested in cricket. This rocks! I know I've been picking on Sachin Tendulkar a lot lately. It's fun.>

Despite a brilliant knock by the master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, India crashed to defeat against a brilliant Sri Lankan team. When India restricted Sri Lanka to a total of 254/6 in the allotted 50 overs, it seemed like the formidable Indian batting line up would get the job done. India was very much in the chase as long as the master blaster, possibly playing in his last World Cup match was at the crease. Sachin was at the crease for a total of five minutes , faced three balls and scored 0 runs with 0 fours and 0 sixes, none of which is a World Record. His exit resulted in a familiar sight for Indian fans with the rest of the team collapsing. While India's World Cup campaign is all but over, a positive for the team was their "brilliant" performance against Bermuda, a formidable opponent. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Indian team told the media that the two matches were fixed and that players of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were paid a lot of money to beat India.

Sachin, The Master Blaster.

Canada

ATN is showing it on their new channel ATN CRICKET PLUS. You can get the complete Cricket World Cup 2007 package (including all Group Stage Matches, Super Eight Series, Semi Finals and Final match) on ATN Cricket Plus channel for $179.99 only. This channel is available through Bell ExpressVu or Rogers Digital Cable.

US

For us Dishnetwork as well as Direct TV are showing it. Dishnetwork is offering the complete coverage of world cup for $199.95 which includes restricted broadband access as well.

DirecTV is also offering the same package i.e. all the games for $199.99.

India

In India, the private sports channel SetMax, in collaboration with Nimbus Communications, has signed an agreement with public broadcaster Prasar Bharti (Doordarshan) to provide live feed of the cricket World Cup matches. So this means both SetMax and Doordarshan are going to show the matches in India.

Online/Broadband

You can view all the matches online anywhere in world by subscribing to WillowTv's package again for $199.99.

It’s hard to believe that Indian cricketers who reached last world cup finals changed so much from superb team to second rate team.

Watching recent loosing trends of Indian cricket team in South Africa is absolutely heartbroken. Finalists of last world cup were unrecognizable. It was a performance of haunting incompetence.

Many tabloids and media started blaming the Indian coach, but for me there is nothing wrong with coach or his cricketing technicalities but the problems were and are in the minds of the players. They have lost self confidence and lost the appetite for winning matches and trophy.

The character and confidence which we had showed few years ago has been lost. When we were on our peak we forgets established a pattern of self believe and winning appetite. We created a momentum of our own down fall.

For me it doesn’t have to be this way. Indian team at least on papers is one of the best team in world but on fields I can’t find words to describe. Instead of carrying a momentum and character we had showed in last world cup and established our dynasty and dominance in cricket stage we gone towards disaster.

The nightmare is unfolding and Indians players collectively need to put a stop to it. Blaming coach or back room staff is not going work or finding any other excuses for loosing matches will put more misery for Indian team as well followers of Indian cricketers. Indian players need to rebuild their own self believe and confidence and come out in field with an appetite of winning the match.

technorati tags: Cricket, India, Indian News, Indian Cricket, Sports, Sport

Before WI, there was Pak's series. I remember in that series Ganguly was made a fool by selectors. The way Ganguly was treated by the board was senseless. He was in and out for no reason. India kept on losing starting from Pak's series. I agree that he wasnt a good test player. IMO, he's  a better one-dayer than Dinesh Mongia ( for some reason I hate this guy). There weren't great wins since Ganguly was ousted from the team both as a captain and player. I am not here to support Ganguly, damage was already made to his career both by himself and selectors.

If one looks at the recent games India played, it's hard to believe that is this the same team that had a winning streak last year. Hmm...after losing One-Day series in SA..now Ganguly is in contention for the test matches in South Africa. I don't know on what basis he will be selected. And with a few months to go for world cup and Australia and SA going stronger, chances for India to make it to playoffs ( or Super Six or Eight) are very bleak. I guess things went from bad to worse since 2003 world cup (except Aus and Pak series in 2003-04). If I compare the teams now and then we got a good captain and a keeper and lost Ganguly. So, is this really a curse of Ganguly?? I don't know..again..I want our team to win matches with our without Ganguly but I dont see it happening..

ICC pokes fun at losing Indian team

Every now and then, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed erupts like a volcano. In the worlds of sports and politics, which increasingly become the same things, the hypocrisy of ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed questioning state of the sport in the India and teams results has severely damaged ICC reputation and credibility. He seems to think it goes with the territory; with the office of chief executive of ICC to have go.

In my opinion his statements about India’s sporting credibility is rude and extremely offensive. Someone in his position to brand other sporting body and country as whole un-organized and raising the finger against the players is hypocrisy. I find it bizarre that chief executive of ICC, an organization which has built its huge wealth on the back of BCCI and Indian players, is having a go at BCCI. I guess he got very short memory that BCCI is richest cricketing board and out of six five sponsors of world cup are form India. ICC makes huge money form sub-continents. This shows that we are organized and far better than ICC who can’t even make enough money to survive without the support of BCCI and other sub-continent cricketing board.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, has drool nonsense, spat idiocy and talked rubbish. He is outspoken (even for the position he is in), doesn't understand cricket and brings the game into disrepute. This time, he's gone too far...Your statement shows that you are moaning about your failures. Please Do Us and Cricket world a favor Stand Down.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's long-running dispute with the International Cricket Council (ICC) flared up after the world governing body poked fun at the losing Indian team.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told reporters the big money that Indian cricket managed to generate due to its vast television audiences did not reflect the true state of the sport in the country. Speed also took a swipe at the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), saying he judged sporting organisations by on-field performances and infrastructure, not on how much money they had in the bank.

"I judge them on how well the team performs, how they look after stake-holders in terms of facilities on the ground etc, and how well they use resources like population to produce great cricketers," said Speed on Wednesday.

The BCCI, the richest cricket body in the world which this year signed deals worth a billion dollars, is on the warpath with the ICC over handing over players' commercial rights to the governing body.

India has refused to sign the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) of the ICC in its current form which binds teams to all major events for the next eight years, saying it affected the BCCI's own deals.

technorati tags: India, Cricket, Sports, News, BCCI, ICC,

Lee, in India for the Champions Trophy one-day tournament, is immensely popular and his fondness for the teeming cricket-infatuated nation has blossomed into a full-blown love affair.

The 29-year-old self-confessed Indophile says he was offered a lead role in a lavish Bollywood production when he visited Mumbai on his way home from Australia's tour of Bangladesh last April. "He asked me if I wanted to play the major role with him," Lee told The Australian newspaper in Mumbai.

Star Aussie paceman Brett Lee has Bollywood acting offers, burgeoning business interests and music projects in the pipeline in India.(AFP/File/Indranil Mukherjee)

 

"I said 'mate, I've had no acting experience in my life' and he told me that was OK, that they could sort that out.

"The only reasons I didn't do it was, first, I would have needed to make sure it was the right sort of role for me.

"And second, they needed 50-odd days to film and I just didn't have that time.

"But it's something that, down the track, I would definitely like to be involved in."

Business interests - he promotes watches and footwear - have lured Lee to Mumbai and New Delhi at least annually in recent years.

 

technorati tags: Bollywood, India, Australia, News, Cricket

Two Pakistani cricket players have tested positive for a banned substance prior to the their first match against Srilanka on 17th in ICC Champions trophy.

Pakistan have withdrawn fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Champions Trophy in India after testing positive for nandrolone.

The tests were carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board three weeks ago and showed positive results for the performance-enhancing steroid.

They are Pakistan's best new-ball bowlers but face bans of up to two years if the second test is confirmed.

Pakistan are due to begin their campaign against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

technorati tags: Pakistan, News, Sports, Cricket, India

 Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has apologised to the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) for wearing his hair open in an advertisement. "I apologise if I have hurt Sikh sentiments. It was not my intention to do so. In future I will take care of this," he said. However, he also criticised the SGPC for taking up the issue in media.

"It's bad that the SGPC took up the issue in media. If they had any problem, they should have called me like a son and told me. But, their action was wrong," he said.

Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), considered to be mini-parliament of the Sikhs, demanded an apology from off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for wearing his hair open in the advertisement. "Harbhajan Singh should apologise for appearing in the advertisement if he considers himself to be a Sikh. Our religion prohibits keeping one's hair open. We also strongly object to his appearing in the advertisement in this fashion," SGPC President Avtar Makkar said.

He said that since Harbhajan was born and brought up in a Sikh family, he should have known that his religion did not permit keeping free-flowing hair. "We are not even supposed to eat if our hair is not tied," he said. SGPC chief said Harbhajan should have refrained himself from appearing in the advertisement of the company, which is associated with a well-known liquor brand.

Sony Entertainment television Network won the ICC rights for cricket telecast during the Cricket World Cup in 2003 and thus, they have broadcasting rights of all the cricket tournaments which will be played under ICC's tags. They won this honour at a price of USD 255 million whereas the previous World Cup's telecast rights were sold at just 2 million dollars. This includes the coming ICC Champions Trophy and also the ICC Cricket World Cup in West Indies in March 2007.

The Hindi films and cricket channel of Sony, called as "Set Max" or "Sony Max" will do the telecast as they have been doing during the last two Champions trophies.

Commentary both in English and Hindi .

Well yes, its true. Set Max will telecasting the matches in Champions trophy in English while the other channel of Sony - Sab TV will telecast the cricket matches in Hindi. But Sab Tv will only show 6 matches - 3 matches of India, the two semi-finals and the final on 5th November. Here's the schedule of 2006 Champions trophy.

The Commantators :-

As I said that Champions trophy matches will be shown both in Hindi and English, the commentators are bound to be different. To me, it matters a lot to whom I'll be hearing during those tense moments in cricket matches and if you do care about them - here's the list.

English Commentary
John Wright (New Zealand), Tony Greig (England/Australia), Geoffrey Boycott (England), Novjot Singh Sidhu (India), Ian Chappel (Australia), Barry Richards (South Africa), Sanjay Manjrekar (India), Arun Lal (India) and Donna Symonds - The female Commentator from West Indies.

Hindi Commentary
Atul Wassan, Maninder Singh, Saba Karim and Nikhil Chopra - Of Course, all from India.

What they will be showing :-

Remember Mandira Bedi. From a soap opera called "Shanti" on DD1, and a "not so lucky" actress in Bollywood, Mandira Bedi finally made a name for herself by sitting among cricket analysts during the World Cup in 2003. It was the first time a lady was involved in a game which is driven by gentlemen for so many years... and this trend is not breaking during ICC Champions Trophy as well.

She will be supported by Charu Sharma - a well know cricket presenter who never played the game and together they will be presenting a show called "Extraa Innings", which will be starting 2 hours earlier to every match and will run through the Innings interval to an hour from the match's end.

So the show "Extra Innings" on Setmax will be starting at 12.30 every match day while the actual match in Champions trophy will start at 14.20 IST.

Prizes to be won though Set Max.

Set Max will be hosting plenty of contests for its viewers during this ICC Cricket tournament and if you are interested in it, read this.

How to get Set Max on my television :-

Set Max is one of the channel that you get through OneAlliance if you are using Dish Tv or Tata Sky satellite network. In fact, Set Max is a very popular channel through local cable operators in India, provided you are not living in Indian cities like Chennai and few others because Set Max is not available in those parts of our country.

You will have Set Max though "direct to home" methods anywhere in India but though local cable operators - you better check it out first.

For Cricket lovers living outside India, the offer for Set max might a little costly but here are the options - Set Max is available in USA, UK and Europe, South Africa, Middle east, Australia and New Zealand. I have found the following contact methods which might be able to help you find ways to get Set Max in your home --

The Contact address :
Sony Pictures Europe house,
25 Golden Square,
London,
W1F 9LU.

The email to contact Set Max :
Mr. Rajan Singh : rajan_singh@spe.sony.com

Alternatively :

Bharti Kabre
Tel : +912267081323
Mob : +919820346384.
Email : bhartia@setindia.com

Will Doordarshan show these matches :-

Cricket is in veins of India people. And now when festival season on Dussera, Diwali and Eid has come, cricket might be the answer for people who will be spending little bit more time at home than office.

Although Cable Tv has penetrated into 48 million Indian homes, and over 65 million world Wide, The question of DD National showing the matches remains very important. The news is half good for cricket viewers in rural area's of India, or at the places where Set Max doesn't reach because DD1 - the national channel of our country will be showing the matches in ICC Champions trophy but only those involving India, the semi-finals and the final.

This means that you can watch India vs England on 15th October, India vs Wet Indies/Sri Lanka on 26th October and India vs Australia on 29th October on Doordarshan along with the Semi-finals on 1st and 2nd November 2007 and the final on 5th.

What about All India Radio :-

News is again good for people who like listening to the runniing commentary on Radio as AIR (all india radio) will be bradcasting the commentary for all the matches in ICC champions trophy.

Important notes :-

1. There will be two "Combination matches" which will be played between two teams formed among all the international players who will be here in India for ICC champions trophy. These two matches will be played in Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and will be scheduled sometime after the ICC champions trophy final on 5th of November.

Here's how you can buy the tickets for Champions Trophy and also for these two combination matches.

2. Doordarshan will "live telecast" the four day Nissar Mohammad Trophy cricket match between the winner of domestic championships in India and Pakistan. that is - between Ranji Trophy champions Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan's national champions - Sialkot from 27th of September.

This Four day match will be played in India at Dharamsala. HPCA Cricket Stadium at be precise. Cricketers like Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and Naved ul Hasan has already agreed to play the match between the national champions of the rival countries and school children will have a free entry into this match.

3. The above informtion is very much limited to cricket lovers living in India.

Source:- It's Only Cricket

Interesting article in BBC:

A machine that can replicate the spin and swing of bowlers has been developed at a UK university.

The robotic bowler has been created at Loughborough University as part of a virtual reality project to improve match training for cricket.

Link to article

This is pretty useful for batsmen from teams like Kenya, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe that find it difficult against quality bowlers. Come to think of it, this'll benefit India a lot too. Even our so-called technically sound batsmen struggle against the likes of Brett Lee, McGrath, and [add a bowler] (I haven't been following cricket lately, so pardon me if our team has managed to tame these bowlers).

This was the image that was carried in the daily telegraph about a year ago. This made big headlines at the time and people from West Bengal were furious at the paper for displaying this image. Well, it all seems to be true one year after the news first made healines. We all have seen him play for years, first as a regular player and then as the Captain of the Indian side. But the Bengal tiger's days seem to be over. If there were any doubts of him making a comback to the Indian side for the World Cup, then the Challenger Trophey has put those doubts to rest. I can clearly see that Saurav Ganguly will not be able to make it to the Indian side for the Wolrd Cup. Call it politics, call it a conspiracy of Dravid and Chappel, call it his poor form but Dada will soon be history for Indian Cricket.

I am/was a big fan of his captaincy and always admired his guts to back his players. But you can't stay in the side just for your captaincy. You have to lead the side from the front and that's something that he wasn't doing at the time he was stripped of his captaincy. Though I always felt that the way he was shunned out of the team was a little too disgraceful for a player of his stature. He was the most successful Indian captain and the selectors should have asked him to step down as a captain and given him atleast two series to see if he can recover from his poor form.

If this Challenger Series held the public's imagination at any stage, it certainly didn't beyond 7pm on Tuesday, when the tournament ended for Sourav Ganguly. The one thing that the public was keen to see - if they could manage to tune in to Neo Sports, the newly launched television channel that is broadcasting this series - it was how Ganguly would bat. And if he did not last long enough during his 24 against India Blue, it was even more disappointing today in his game against the Reds.

Only 3 runs from 9 balls before an angled bat outside off redirected the ball back onto the stumps via the inside edge, and suddenly the question surrounding Ganguly changed slightly. It was now not so much whether he could make it back to the Indian team, but whether he still deserved a place in the Rest of India team that would take on Uttar Pradesh in the Zal Irani Trophy match at Nagpur, starting October 9.

Truly sad days for the former skipper and in my honest opinion he should just retire and concentrate on his business.

The Challenger series is sandwiched between the Indian team's return from Malaysia and the commencement of the ICC Champions Trophy, in India, beginning October 7. The Challenger trophy has been renamed Challenger Series for the NKP Salve Trophy and will be held from Oct 1 to Oct 4. Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan will be seen in action in the Challenger Trophy tournament in Chennai next week. The national selectors included them in the 'India Green' and 'India Red' teams respectively.

V V S Laxman, Ashish Nehra and Laxmipathy Balaji also get a chance to prove their credentials in the three-team tournament, which has 'India Blue' as the third team. India Blue will be led by Rahul Dravid, while Venugopal Rao and Mohammad Kaif will captain the Red and Green teams respectively.

Telecast:
The Challenger Series, like last year's edition, will be telecast live in the UK through Sky Sports, Fox Sports in Australia, Super Sport in Africa, Astro in Malaysia and on the internet through Willow TV. In India, the Challenger Trophy matches will be telecast live on Doordarshan. In India, the Challenger Trophy matches will be shown on Neo Sports, the channel of Nimbus group.

For US and Canada, there is no official word so far but more than likely Dishnetwork in US and ATN's CBN in Canada will be showing it live. For US and Canada, no one is showing it on TV but Dishnetwork is offering the telecast through Willow TV on internet. Read here for more details.

Teams:
India Blue: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Wasim Jaffer, M S Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravinder Jadeja. Coach: Ian Frazer

India Red: Vengupal Rao (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, T P Singh, D Karthik, V R V Singh, S Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Murali Karthik, C Raghu. Coach: Robin Singh

India Green: Mohammad Kaif (captain), Sourav Ganguly, V V S Laxman, Hemang Badani, Suresh Raina, Tanmay Srivastav, Piyush Chawla, Parthiv Patel, Saurasish Lahiri, Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji, Pravin Kumar, R S Sodhi. Coach: Lalchand Rajput.

Fixtures:

October 1: India Blue vs India Red
October 2: India Blue vs India Green
October 3: India Red vs India Green
October 4: Final

Also Read: Major domestic tournaments to be telecast live

Hmmm, don't you think Greg Chappel is doing a little too much of experimentation with the Indian cricket team. Getting Dravid to open by dropping Sehwag to No. 3 or No. 4 position, getting Pathan to come at No. 3 position in one match and then not play him at all in others, have Sreesanth play Malaysia tri-series knowing that he has been dropped for the Champions trophey would definately be making some people in the Indian cricket team quite nervous about their standing in the team. As seen before, even experienced players like Kumble, Zaheer and Ganguly are having trouble getting back into the Indian team, the new faces in the Indian team would definately have that in the back of their mind. I feel specially sorry for Sreesanth as he did wonderfully well in West Indies and deserved a place in the playing eleven.

Greg's experimentation should stop now and he should concentrate on making the current unit a winning side which needs to have the confidence that they can win any match, against any team and at any place in the world. Each player should be given the assurance of his place in the team so that they can concentrate on performing in the match rather than just thinking about maintaining their place in the side. The Champions trophey would be a good test for all the teams to see their standing for the World Cup next year. As it stands right now, Australia are the favourites to lift the trophey which has eluded them in the past.

The second last match of the Tri-series (DLF Cup 2006) between India and West Indies was a close affair. Bowled out for 162, India's bowlers breathed life into the team's campaign in Kuala Lumpur as they pulled off an improbable 16-run victory over the West Indies in the fifth ODI of the DLF Cup tri-series on Wednesday. Sachin's seventh wicket patership with Harbhajan of 78 runs provided some respect to the final score of 161 all out. Harbhajan Singh scored 37 runs before returning with bowling figures of 3 for 35 to be deservedly adjudged man of the match.

India's quest for self-preservation in the tri-series got off to the worst possible start as they lost captain Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in quick succession. The famous batting line up failed to show any class apart from just one individual whom we all call THE MASTER, Sachin Tendulkar. The other bastmen also didn't do much and went back into the pavilion one after the other. India were struggling at 78-6 when Harbhajan Singh joined Tendulkar in the middle.Harbhajan Singh's all-round performance proved crucial. The off-spinner gave a dazzling display of his talent with the ball and also proved a stoic batsman in the company of Sachin Tendulkar. He scored 37 runs and India had recovered from 78-6 to 156-6, when Harbhajan fell to Chris Gayle. India were all out for 161.

The West Indies shuffled the batting order to give the fringe players opportunity. Chris Gayle and Brian Lara were dropped down the line-up; result: the top-order cracked open at the slightest hint of pressure. Munaf Patel drew first blood for India when he had Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan in the space of two overs. Chanderpaul's attempted pull ballooned in the air before dropping into the hands of a waiting Sehwag, while Sarwan nicked the ball to the wicketkeeper. Those two wickets set the ball rolling, and Sreesanth, Agarkar and R P Singh chipped in to give India a serious chance in the match. Harbhajan bowled to a packed close-in cordon and brought in all the variation to have the West Indians in a tangle. He finsihed the day with the figures of 3 for 35. The West Indies, chasing 162, were bowled out for 146 in 41 overs.

Defending a modest target, the Indian bowlers came up with a spirited team effort to post an incredible win and keep their chances alive in the series. The West Indies, having already qualified for the final, paid for complacency as they were bowled out for 146 runs in 41 overs while chasing a modest 162 runs.

Indian bolwing finally came good and showed that on a given day they can beat any team and defend even the modest targets. Indian team need to learn a few lessons from this DLF cup as they have showed inconsistency in both batting and bolwing. They bat good in one match and bowl badly, where as in another match they do the opposite. For India to have a fair chance of winning the Wold Cup next year, they need to be consistent in both the departments.

Sources: Rediff & Cricinfo

For those of you who are more interested in discussing cricket than in Britney's latest escapades, Google has created a special page for the 2007 Cricket World Cup which begins soon (or has already begun - I'm not sure - I was too busy following the latest on the Anna Nicole front). Google has also created a blog where Krish Srikkanth, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad talks about the World Cup.

Source: Google Operating System

 My favorite teams: India, West Indies, and South Africa - in that order.

Oh, and before I forget, for the two readers who bothered to read my previous post, thank you! :-p

पहले क्षेत्ररक्ष्ण का निर्णय लेते हुए कप्तान द्रविड़ ने दक्षिण अफ़्रीका को पहले बल्लेबाज़ी करने के लिए आमंत्रित किया। चाल कामयाब रही और पठान तथा हरभजन ने दक्षिण अफ़्रीकी बल्लेबाज़ों का जीना हराम कर दिया। उनका भरपूर साथ दिया मुरली कार्थिक, सहवाग और युवराज ने। भज्जी ने सिर्फ़ गेंद से ही नहीं बल्कि अपने क्षेत्ररक्ष्ण से भी कमाल दिखलाया। दक्षिण अफ़्रीका के हाल इतने बुरे थे कि पंद्रहवें ओवर के बाद, लगभग बीस ओवर तक उनसे कोई चौका या छक्का ही न लगा और वे बेचारे पिच पर ही पसीना बहते हुए रन बटोरते रहे। वह तो जैक़ कॉलिस और विकेट कीपर मार्क बाउचर ने 81 रन के योगदान से पारी को संभाल लिया वरना दक्षिण अफ़्रीका ने मुँह के बल गिरना था। आख़िरकार दक्षिण अफ़्रीका ने नोच खसोट कर 6 विकेट ख़ो कर 221 रन बनाए।

भारतीय पारी की शुरुआत गौतम गंभीर और तेंदुलकर ने की। गंभीर को न जाने क्या जल्दी थी कि वह दूसरे ओवर में ही चलते बने। तीसरे क्रमांक पर आए वीरेन्द्र सहवाग ने आते ही अपना रंग दिख़ाया और नजफ़गढ के कसाई ने ऐसे पॉलक एण्ड कंपनी की जमकर ठुकाई की कि देख़ने वाले भी वाह वाह कर उठे। अपने घरेलू मैदान पर ख़ेल रहे तेंदुलकर भी कहाँ पीछे रहने वाले थे, उन्होने भी ख़ूब आतिशबाज़ियाँ की। पर सहवाग की सुलगती पारी का जल्द ही अन्त हुआ और " द वॉल " का आगमन हुआ। तेंदुलकर पूरी लय में थे परन्तु एक जबरदस्त कैच ने उनके बढते कदम रोक दिए। तीन विकेट लिकल गए थे और दिल्ली अभी दूर थी, इसलिए युवराज और द्रविड़ ने संभल कर ख़ेलना शुरु किया और युवराज के वापस लौटने तक मामला काफ़ी हद तक अपने हक में आ चुका था। आज " द वॉल " सीना ताने ख़ड़ी रही और आख़िर में भारत 5 विकेट से विजयी हुआ, और द्रविड़ को अपने अविजीत 78 रन की वजह से मैन-ऑफ़-द-मैच के पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया।

अब भारतीय रंणबाँकुरे श्रीलंका में टेस्ट श्रृंख़ला के लिए जाएँगे और दक्षिण अफ़्रीका जाएगी आस्ट्रेलिया। उम्मीद है कि भारतीय टीम के प्रर्दशन में कोई कमी न आएगी और श्रीलंका से भी वे विजयी लौटेंगे।

तो अब तक जो जिह्वाएँ स्टार कोच और अँबुजा सीमेंट के मज़बूत जोड़ से बने " द वॉल " की मज़बूत कप्तानी पर पुष्प वर्षा करते नहीं थक रहीं थी, क्या अब इस शर्मनाक हार के बाद उन्हीं जिह्वाओं से प्रतिवाद का स्वर निकलेगा? :roll: नहीं, मैं नहीं समझता कि ऐसा होगा, होना भी नहीं चाहिए, पर लोगों में कम से कम इतनी अक्ल तो आनी चाहिए कि कोई एक ही रात में तोप नहीं हो जाता और हमारे विश्व-कप विजेता कप्तान कपिल देव भी यही कहते हैं, कि नए कोच और नए कप्तान की योग्यता को परख़नें में जल्दबाज़ी नहीं करनी चाहिए, वे कितने काबिल हैं यह कुछ समय बाद ही पता चल पाएगा। :)

मेरे अनुसार भारतीय ख़िलाड़ियों को अब अपना ध्यान अठ्ठाईस(28) तारीख़ को मुम्बई में होने वाले आख़िरी मुकाबले पर देते हुए कमर कस लेनी चाहिए, श्रृंख़ला तो अब जीत नहीं सकते, कम से कम हारना तो नहीं चाहिए। जहाँ तक मेरा अनुमान है, मुम्बई की पिच बल्लेबाज़ों के पक्ष में होगी, तो इस लिए आवश्यक हो जाता है कि टीम इंडिया जमकर अफ़्रीकी गेंदबाज़ों की पिटाई करे और एक अच्छा स्कोर खड़ा करे जिसका हमारे गेंदबाज़ ठीक से बचाव कर सकें और श्रृंख़ला को बराबर कर दें। जाहिर सी बात है कि मेरे कहने का अर्थ है कि भारतीय रणबाँकुरों को पहले बल्लेबाज़ी करनी चाहिए और जहाँ तक मैं समझता हूँ, दक्षिण अफ़्रीकी कप्तान स्मिथ कोई मूर्ख़ नहीं है, तो आवश्यक है कि द्रविड़ टॉस भी जीतें, लेकिन इस पर उनका कोई ज़ोर नहीं, तो इस लिए अपनी किस्मत पर भरोसा रख़ें और जहाँ ज़ोर चल सकता है(बल्लेबाज़ी, गेंदबाज़ी और क्षेत्ररक्षण) वहाँ ज़ोर चलाएँ।

और हमारे नए नवेले कप्तान साहब के क्या हाल हैं? " द वॉल " का सीमेंट तो लगता है कि झड़ ही गया है जिसके कारण वह ढहने लगी है!! गांगुली की ख़राब फ़ार्म का डंका पीटने वालों को क्या नए कप्तान का रनों का सरोवर सूख़ा हुआ नहीं दिख़ा? क्या हमारे सूरदास चयनकर्ता यह न देख़ पाए कि ज्यादातर बल्लेबाज़ों की बल्लेबाज़ी को कप्तान बनने के बाद ग्रहण लग जाता है? क्या तेंदुलकर के साथ दो बार ऐसा नहीं हुआ? जब तेंदुलकर जैसे विख़्यात और कुशल बल्लेबाज़ के साथ ऐसा हो सकता है तो फ़िर गांगुली क्या चीज़ है? लेकिन क्या कह सकते हैं, भारतीय क्रिकेट बोर्ड तो एक मज़ाक है जिनका पाँच सितारा होटलों के वातानुकूलित कमरों में बैठ कर घंटों वाद-विवाद करने के सिवाय कोई काम नहीं है!! चयनकर्ता समीति और बाकी समीतियों में ऐसे पूर्व ख़िलाड़ी भरे हुए हैं जो कि अपने समय में तो कुछ ख़ास कर नहीं पाए(मेरा ईशारा जाहिर है कि सूरदासों के अध्यक्ष की ओर है) और अब बेहतरीन ख़िलाड़ियों से उन्हें जलन होती है कि उनके पास बोलने और जवाब देने के लिए जुबान क्यों है।

ख़ैर फ़िलहाल यदि मैच की स्थिति पर ध्यान दिया जाए तो हालत अच्छी नहीं है, 36 वें ओवर की 3 गेंदें हुई हैं और युवराज के अभी अभी आउट होने से स्कोर 152 रन पर 6 विकेट हो गया है। अच्छी ख़ासी साझेदारी चल रही थी कि उसका भी बैंड बज गया!! अब धूनी और कैफ़ पर ही उम्मीद कायम है कि ये दोनों स्कोर को 250 के आस पास पहुँचा दें तो जीतने की कुछ आशा है वरना स्थिति निराशाजनक तो है ही!!

घरेलू मैदान पर पहली बार कप्तानी कर रहे राहुल द्रविड़ ने टॉस जीत कर दक्षिण-अफ़्रीका को टर्न लेती हुई पिच पर पहले बल्लेबाज़ी करने के लिए आमन्त्रित किया। चाल कामयाब रही और पठान की बेहतरीन गेंदबाज़ी की बदौलत दक्षिण-अफ़्रीकी टीम 20 रन के स्कोर पर 3 विकेट खो कर पानी मांग रही थी। 100 रन के स्कोर तक पहुँचते-पहुँचते उनकी आधी से ज्यादा टीम वापस पैविलियन लौट चुकी थी। मुरली कार्तिक ने अपने 10 ओवरों में केवल 16 रन देकर दिख़ाया कि स्पिन गेंन्दबाज़ी कैसे की जाती है, हांलाकि कार्तिक को कोई विकेट नहीं मिला। हरभजन और सहवाग ने 2-2 विकेट झटके जबकि आगरकर और युवराज ने 1-1 विकेट लेकर अपना योगदान दिया। दक्षिण-अफ़्रीका अपने 50 ओवरों में केवल 169 का स्कोर ही बना पाई।

भारतीय बल्लेबाज़ी की शुरुआत गौतम गम्भीर और सचिन तेंदुलकर ने की। दक्षिण-अफ़्रीकी बल्लेबाज़ों की असफ़लता के बावजूद उनके गेंदबाज़ों ने हार नहीं मानी, भारत का ख़ाता 22 गेंदों बाद ख़ुला और 13 के स्कोर पर ही उन्होंने सचिन तेंदुलकर को 2 रन के निजी स्कोर पर वापस भेज दिया। गौतम गम्भीर ने पारी सम्भालनी चाही पर सत्रहवें ओवर में वे जस्टिन ओन्टोंग द्वारा 38 के निजी स्कोर पर रन आउट कर दिये गए। पठान को पुनः तीसरे नंबर पर भेजा गया और सहवाग को ईस बार चौथे नंबर पर भेजा गया। पठान और सहवाग ने 53 रनों की साझेदारी निभाई और 105 के स्कोर पर पठान के आउट होने पर कप्तान राहुल द्रविड़ ने आकर बल्लेबाज़ी की कमान सम्भाली और सहवाग के साथ 49 रन बनाए। 154 के स्कोर पर जब कप्तान साहब 10 रन बनाकर आउट हुए तब भारत को जीत के लीए केवल 16 रनों की आवश्यकता थी जो कि सहवाग और युवराज ने बना लिए। ईस मैच में सहवाग ने अविजीत 77 रन बना कर फ़ार्म में वापसी की, मेरे अनुसार यह अभी कहना अभी ठीक नहीं होगा। यह तो आने वाले अगले मैच और उनमें सहवाग का प्रदर्शन ही साबित करेगा कि फ़ार्म में वापसी हुई कि नहीं!! पठान को गेंद और बल्ले से बेहतरीन प्रदर्शन के लिए मैन-आफ़-द-मैच चुना गया।

बहुत से लोग भारत की विजय पर अत्यधिक प्रसन्न हो रहे होंगे, जबकि मेरा यह मानना है कि श्री-लंका की टीम जब यहाँ आई थी तो उनमें एक तरह से जंग लगा हुआ था क्योंकि उन्होने कुछ समय से कोई मैच नहीं खेला था। लेकिन दक्षिण-अफ़्रीका की टीम यहाँ विजय रथ पर सवार होकर आई है और रैंकिंग कुछ भी कहे, मैं दक्षिण-अफ़्रीका को श्री-लंका से बेहतर टीम मानता हूँ। ईसलिए जब भारतीय टीम यह श्रृंख़ला जीत लेगी, तभी मैं मानूँगा कि वाकई टीम के प्रदर्शन में सुधार हुआ है।

अब इस श्रृंख़ला में तीन मैच रह गए हैं जो कि चेन्नई(22 नवंबर), कोलकाता(25 नवंबर) और मुम्बई(28 नवंबर) में ख़ेले जाने हैं और तीनों ही दिन-रात्री के मुकाबलें हैं।

अगर सटोरियों पर विश्वास किया जाए तो वे लोग नहीं समझते कि भारत की जीत की कोई उम्मीद है। बाज़ार में 4-1 का भाव मिल रहा है!! अब देख़ना तो यह है कि हमारे स्टार कोच श्री ग़्रेग चेपल अपनी कौन सी तोप चला के दक्षिण-अफ्रीका की मज़बूत टीम और उसके तेज़ ग़ेन्दबाज़ों की तिगड़ी(पोलाक, एंटीनी, नेल) को ध्वस्त कर पाते हैं क्योंकि यदि कल भी भारतीय रणबाँकुरे हार गए तो उनकी इस 5 एक दिवसीय मैचों की श्रिंख़ला में वापसी लगभग असंभव हो जाएगी, आख़िर दक्षिण-अफ्रीका के ख़िलाड़ी कोई बच्चे तो हैं नहीं कि जीती जिताई सीरीज़ हाथ से निकल जाने देंगे!!

और फ़िर यह भी नहीं भूलना चाहिए कि इज्ज़त कमाने के लिए अपने आपको साबित करना पड़ता है, और हमारे स्टार कोच ने अभी तक ऐसा कोई तीर नहीं मारा। वे तो सोचते हैं कि हम लोग बस खड़े-खड़े ही उनको पहुँची हुई शख़्सीयत मान लें। श्री लंका को 6-1 से हराना कोई बड़ा काम नहीं था क्योंकि उनका तो समय एवं फ़ार्म दोनो ही ख़राब चल रहे थे, लेकिन दक्षिण-अफ्रीका ज़रा टेड़ी ख़ीर साबित होगी। श्री ग़्रेग चैपल को ये जान लेना चाहिए कि इज्ज़त कमाई जाती है, वो मन्दिर का प्रसाद नहीं है कि हर एरे गेरे को मिल जाए। तो इसलिए उन्हें चाहिए कि बेकार की चीज़ो से सनसनी फ़ैलना बन्द करें और अपने काम की ओर ध्यान दें जो कि टीम और उनके हित में है, वरना कहीं ऐसा न हो कि जैसे उन्होंने सॉरव गांगुली को टीम से बाहर करवाया है, वैसे ही उन्हें भी भारतीय क्रिकेट र्बोड कहीं लात न मार दे!! ;)