ManU misses another opportunity!!

Yesterday, Manchester United missed another golden opportunity to close the gap with Chelsea and Liverpool and also surge ahead of Arsenal.
Liverpool and Arsenal struggled and drew their matches. ManU played later. So they knew that if they win, it would benefit them immensely. Yet they failed to capitalize on the situation and drew their away game with Tottenham.
The result is that Chelsea now has a superb opportunity to widen the gap between the others and become the leaders in EPL.
A few back too, ManU threw away such an opportunity when all the top four drew their matches and failed to score. I do not think that they will get such a chance again this season.
Yes, this season is full of surprises. The top four have hardly been consistent with their performances. But of the four, Chelsea are the one who are the most consistent.
And so though I hate to say it, I think the EPL cup is going to Stamford Bridge this season.

A twist in the tale?

Yesterday's drawn match between Bolton and ManU has given Chelsea a good chance to capture this year's EPL. After the draw, Chelsea are just 3 points behind ManU with 3 matches to go. Add to this the fact that the next match of ManU is away at Chelsea, and we might just have an exciting end to this season. Though speaking of Chelsea and exciting in the same breath might be exaggerating to say the least, it cannot be denied that this season has provided its share of thrills and spills.
A team that had the worst start of the season since many years (2 pts of 3 games) , now is in the position of capturing its second successive title and is also in the line for a double.
Talking of which the match at Nou Camp is very important for ManU as Barca are a strong team and it is vital that ManU try to score at least one away goal and prevent Barca from scoring too many. Also Barca's defence is a bit suspect at the moment. So the differential factor will be how Vidic and company handle Messi.

A new era in Cricket ?

IPL has started in a big way a couple of days back. The first match was a totally one sided affair with Kolkata hammering Bangalore to register an emphatic win. As it was disappointing to see Bangalore lose, I was also somewhat happy that the much touted tournament was off to a damp start. If the tournament is a failure it will be a good lesson to the arrogant bosses of the BCCI. They have left no stone unturned in using their power and influence to crush the rebel ICL. ICL meanwhile has been producing some good if not great cricket to provide entertainment.
And thats the USP of IPL too. Entertainment. Not superstars performing or cheergirls but the players dishing out an exciting fare. I have a feeling IPL will fail on that count.

As of now my ideas are turning a bit true. In two more matches played yesterday, only one provided some semblance of a fight. The other one was also one sided.

A sedate start

The WC 2007 got off to a sedate start yesterday with not much fireworks. The match between WI and Pak did not set the thrill meters jumping. But it was not a farce too as the match was contested nicely.
Coming to the match, Pak lost but not much should be needed to it. It is possible in the early stages of the tournaments to have a few hiccups and it might not cause any major upsets.

-Winz

World Cup 2007

As I am writing this, the Cricket World Cup 2007 has begun in the West Indies. I intended to write about this, but never found the time. Hopefully I will find some time in the next eight weeks to write something. I would really like India to win this one, though I do not see that we have enough players to play in crunch matches.

-Winz

Time FA did something....

I watched the match between Manchester United and Middlesbrough on Saturday. As a Man Utd fan, I am happy that the win took us 6 points of Chelsea. But the manner in which the first goal was scored left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Initially, I thought that there was contact, but replays showed clearly that there was no contact and the only reason I can think of Ronaldo diving is that he had lost the ball and thus the chance to score the goal. So he dived, ManU got a penalty and the rest is history. I for one thought that the boos he got were deserved. And to follow this, he dived again to get a free kick.
Now comes my question? How can the FA stop this? It has become imperative in light of the recent happenings where players from the top clubs resort to such tactics to get penalties, free kicks or get opponents sent off. And in my opinion, such behaviour from clubs like ManU, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool send a signal to the other teams that "this is the way to win" . So more and more teams will do so, thus reducing the game to a farce.
Some suggestions so that the FA reduces this:
1. Have a match referee who can annul goals or cards after the match. This referee should disallow a goal scored to a penalty or a free kick got from a dive. Similarly cards, given if any should be rescinded.
2. The player should be warned once, and for the next occassion, given a yellow card. For subsequent offences, the player should be banned from a couple of games. The only catch is that this should be done consistently to avoid charges of bias.
3. The club should be fined for repeated occurences. If they can be fined for the conduct of their fans, surely they can be fined for the conduct of their players too.
4. The club should be penalised by deducting a certain number of points for such behaviour. This may be harsh but putting pressure on the clubs is the only way to have any effect on the game.

I just hope that I do not get to see a match where the winning goal was scored by cheating.

-Winz

Going down.... down... down

So India suffered another defeat in the One day format. This time to South Africa. Though I had no illusions about our chances given that we have won only 3 matches against SA in SA, the margin of defeat was not expected. The way the most famous batting line-up in the world collapsed like a pack of cards does not inspire much confidence for the World Cup in 2007.
Of course, the coach Greg Chappell will come out with excuses like new conditions, not enough preparations etc etc. But the fact is that the Indian team has been screwed up big time. No Iam not asking to bring Ganguly back. But you should handle well what you have, anyway. Too many changes in the side, too many experiments in the batting order has hit the team hard.
The same team which blew away opposition last year and created a record, now is not confident of chasing a moderate total. Who is responsible for this? The coach and the captain of course. So let them, along with the selectors handle it. They have to make sure that the team selected performs well.
Click here for a picture depiction of India's misery in the 2nd one dayer.

-VP

So it begins

WC 2006 is finally here. Only half a day to go before the WC starts. I am expecting a great display of football that should keep us mesmerized for a month.
I will be making some observations of my own (When a WC start, everyone is an expert :-) ) .
Here are my pre-world cup predictions. Putting them down so that I can compare when it is done.

1. Winners: Brazil.
2. Losing finalists: Argentina
3. Semis: Germany and England.
4. Suprise of the tournament: Serbia
5. Disaster of the tournament: Holland.
6. Most goals scored: Klose.
7. Golden Ball: Ronaldinho.

Ok lets wait and watch as the drama unfolds in Germany

-Vinayak

Well done India

India again won chasing. Well whats new in that you may ask given that (If I am right) they have consecutively won 17 matches chasing. This for a team that was labelled "Chokers" and was driven by the mantra " Put a score on the boards and then dive to protect every run ". I may not be accurate, but I am pretty close.
Most of the times we batted first if we won the toss. And especially in important matches. If we chose to field, the results were often disastrous. Rememeber India vs SriLanka in the '96 semifinal or India vs Aus in the super sixes in '99? We won the toss, fielded first and then did a poor job of chasing.
So Iam really glad that India have turned the tide (at least for now) . We have a decent batting line up. I will not say strongest or anything coz they have not been really tested on bouncy tracks. WI tour will really provide us a better idea.
Coming to the match, it was good to see the youngsters perform well, again. Sreesanth picked up 6 wickets. Debutant Robin Utthappa scored in the 80s, Yuvi and Raina then took the game beyond doubt by posting half centuries of their own. Utthappa played well and then got run out to some really poor cricket. But he has a lot of time to learn from such mistakes.

So well done team India, hope you continue the same form in other tours too.

-Vinayak

What is Mourinho thinking?

Chelsea had a great season last year. They won the EPL etc etc. They are also the favourites this season. But going by what their manager, Jose Mourinho is doing, they may not last for too long at the top.

1. Buying good players does not make a good team: A team is a collection of souls and not just individuals. Buying good players may make the team strong on paper, but some time or the other, it will come crashing down. A team has to gel well and there should be a feeling of oneness among the players.

2. Having too many players will backfire in the long run: All players want to play as much as possible. They are annoyed if they are made to sit on the bench for a long time. Dissent will creep in. Players would want to leave the club. The end result is that the team and the club suffers.

3. Did he not look at Real Madrid?: Real Madrid also did the same thing that Mourinho is doing. They bought the best players and built a formidable team. But they have not performed up to the expectations since a couple of years. They also lost the premiership to Barca. Their players are leaving the club (Owen, Morientes etc) ...

Okay this is my hypothesis but I feel this is what will happen in a couple of years.

F's the buzz

I have been observing the world of sport. And F is the word that is creating a lot of buzz in the world of sports. By F, I only mean that the names of 3 superstars begin with 'F'.
The three guys are (Roger) Federer, Fernando (Alonso) and (Andy) Flintoff.

These guys have have made gr8 progress in their respective sport. But basically they have given a new star to their sport.

Federer has already become the next Sampras, Alonso is poised to become the next F1 champion. And Flintoff has provided a much neede boost to an English side which has taken on the Aussies. It is a real delight to watch the matches played between the two sides.
These 3 'F's have given us a lot to cheer about.

Hail Federer!

The first time i heard about Roger Federer in 2001, I did not like the guy. That's because he defeated my fav tennis player Pete Sampras in Wimbledon. I did not know that 4 years down the line, he would be my fav tennis player and I would consider him as the successor to "Pistol Pete".

But it is not only due to the fact that he equated Sampras' record of 3 consecutive Wimbledon victories. It is only one factor. It is due to the other factors. In sports, as in other professions, it is not only essential to do your job well. It is also important how the person handles himself/herself. It is here I feel that Federer is equal to Sampras.

His game is sublime. He plays superbly. At times it seems he is casual about the game. He plays it so naturally, it is a treat to watch. Also, he is very polite and humble about his achievements. He respects his opponents and relishes challenges (Not to mention that there are few who can challenge him). All these make you not to dislike him. You just cannot find a chink in his armour. I feel that he is here for a long time to stay. And if he plays like this, he can possibly overhaul Pete's record of 14 singles titles.

Catch 'em young

I know that the title has been used often w.r.t to young minds and sportspersons. But this has impressed me so much of late thanks to two sports, tennis and football.
In tennis, the champions start by the age of 16-17 and by the time they are 20 or so they are at the top of the world. By the age of 25 they hang their raquets or they are not the same force to reckon with. The age of retirement has come down considerably. Just look at the Williams sisters. Around 3 years back, they ruled Women's tennis. Now they struggle to get past players they would just brush away in their hey days. Though this phenomenon is not visible yet in Men's tennis, the major players are in their 20s and a few good players are still in their teens.

Secondly, football. Wayne Rooney is 18, C. Ronaldo 20 , Robinho 21 . These are the hot names in football and look at their ages!. Football being a very physical game gives a short playing time to players. So if you start early, you get some more time.

So what should we do? I do not think we can do much in football right now as it is a team game and it is difficult to get good talent really young. But in tennis, yes. Get the players really young. And make them pro by the age of 16 or 17. This will give them lots of opportuntites to win.

Bye for now.

Chelsea show why they are champions

Yesterday, I watched a match between ManU and Chelsea. Well, Chelsea had already won the title and ManU were playing for pride. I had an idea that this would be a cracker of a match and happily I was proved right.

First half

The match started on the right note with both teams making moves. ManU was slightly attacking and Chelsea were defensive. But the action was to begin soon. ManU broke the deadlock in the 8th minute with a Van Nistelrooy goal who got a fine pass from the sidelines.
This sudden goal charged the atmosphere and the exchanges just got better with each minute. But Chelsea are not the champions for nothing. They equalised in the 17th minute by a fine shot by Tiago which ManU keeper Carroll could do nothing about.
Then started the fireworks, both teams trying to wrest the initiative but not succeeding. Both teams had their chances but failed to capitalise. But I felt that the ManU defence was a bit shaky and allowed lot of chances if someone could get the ball beyond a point. But Chelsea's defence was very solid allowing few shots at the goal for ManU. Thus at the breather, both teams were evenly poised.

Second Half

If the first half was a breeze, the second was a storm. Both teams went to the attack immediately after the restart, with as many as 5-6 chances in the first ten minutes. The fast pace kept the viewers busy and also the referee ( 3 yellow cards in the second half and many fouls). There were also frayed tempers with Rooney involved in a couple of incidents.There were a couple of missed chances from both teams.

I mentioned that the ManU defence looked a bit shaky. In the 61st minute Gudjohnsen got past a defender and he just had to beat the keeper. And he did not miss it to put Chelsea 2-1.
ManU got into overdrive after this. Saha was brought in place of Fletcher to put more strength in the attack but the Chelsea defence held firm. ManU were trying hard for the equaliser when J Cole made it 3-1 for Chelsea in the 82nd minute. The goal was offside but these things happen in football and there was nothing to be taken from Chelsea for the hard work they put.
Final score: Chelsea 3: Manu 1

In hindsight, the main difference between the teams seems to be the confidence level. Chelsea did not flinch even after conceding an early goal. ManU were not that solid and this can be due the "chopping and churning" policy of Sir Alex and this does not help to gel the team.

Hope the wily Scot gets it right the next time. And thanks Chelsea and ManU for a wonderful game. I really enjoyed it.

India on Song

India on song in the second ODI at Vizag. Dhoni is the dark horse as he scores a century.
Add Sehwag's blistering 74 and Dravid's fast 40 , we have India 253/3 in 35.4 ovrs.

Ganguly fails again (nothing new, if he scores beyond 10 that will merit some attention)

They did it!! :-((

I am referring to a previous post where I had apprehensions that India will live to their pathetic record of losing the very next match after having won the previous one.

I also hoped that I would be proven wrong in the match at Bangalore. But alas! I was proved wrong as we lost to Pak by 168 runs. What is more disappointing is that barring Virender Sehwag, no batsman (including the great wall Rahul Dravid) showed any inclination to bat throughout the day.

The team has a bad habit of losing a game after being in a position of strength. Having lost just one wicket at lunch, the strongest batting line up in the world collapsed like a pack of cards to leave the Indian supporters disappointed.

Unless we have an attitude of not losing the advantage gained (this happened in the first test too) we cannot claim to be among the top test playing nations like Australia who come back from the dead to win.

I was proven right this time, but I wish that I was wrong.

Sachin Vs Rahul

There has been a debate about who is the best Indian batsman today. Is it Sachin or Rahul?
This has been debated so many times that I dont think I will be able to add anything to it. Rather I wish to state which side of the fence I am on and justify my decison.

• Well, I am of the firm opinion that "The Wall" is the best Indian batsman today on the basis of the sheer number of runs that he has scored in the past couple of years. There are some who feel that the little master is still the best.
  
• Well, I concede that it is more entertaining to watch Sachin that Rahul, but certainly you do not want "entertainment" when you desperately want to save a match or want to win one.
• One sign of the best batsman in your team is the one whom the opp bowlers fear the most. There was a time when teams feared India due to Sachin, but that time is gone. Of course they still value his wicket, but they are more likely to heave a sigh of relief when they see Dravid's back.
• Consistency: Dravid has been the most consistent batsman in the past couple of years. This is something that we do not see in Sachin. He also became the man to have the highest average after the Don. This itself is a great achievement.
  
• I also feel that Dravid has been in the shadows for a long time. In fact whenever he played a stellar knock, some one else would do a very good job (either with the bat/ball) and walk away with the honours. So to deprive him of the honour when he truly deserves it would be unfair to him.

Sachin, of course is the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket for a loooonggg time. He has fulfilled the expectations of a cricket crazy country for a decade and a half, but it is time we give credit where it is due and do not glorify an individual for his past deeds.

Something about Sports......

Well I had written a couple of daya back regarding my apprehensions about our cricket team
(Will They?) . The match started today. We started well but then Inzy and his deputy took over and batted really well to take away any hopes we had of having a good day. So it looks like we are all set to repeat our record. The Bangalore pitch deteriorates after the 3rd day and we have a terrible record here. So we will all know whether I am right/wrong in another 4 days.

Going to another sport, this time F1. Ferrari are in an awful form this season, but the season is just two races old and it is too early to say anything right now. Having said that, I think it is good to watch the other teams doing well for a change. I am of the opinion that Schumacher M is not that good without a good car and Ferrari's inability to come up with a good car is hurting them.
As far as Karthikeyan is considered, I feel it will be a biiiig achievement if he completes all the races (yes! that's true) and it will be excellent if he finishes in the top ten atleast once, though it is very difficult.

Nothing much to write about the other sport I follow, soccer. ManU eliminated from EuroChampions and with no chance of winning the EPL, they must focus on winning the FA cup atleast.

Will they?

I am a big lover of cricket. Well, you can say that if you are an Indian, you are a cricket fan.
And I love to watch my team win, especially against our neighbours.
Yesterday, our team beat our neighbours by a huge margin and needless to say we all enjoyed it.

But I need to say that India has a bad habit of losing the very next match after they have won the previous one in great way. Some one (I cannot remember his name) once said " Indians always win or lose in style!!) . We have lost in Australia, England, SA and even Zimbabwe after having won test matches handsomely oh! and yes last year against the same opponents this time of the year ( I am not considering the B'desh tour ) .

So the big question in my mind is " Will they repeat their dubious record?" or will they break the jinx like they did while they won in Kolkata?

Only time will tell. I am keeping my fingers crossed for that. Good Luck India..