Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category
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Dinda has been very disappointing in the ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe
The ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe has proven one thing for sure that India will continue to struggle with the bowling well into the future. When Ishant Sharma made his debut he looked the part. He troubled the best of the best and bowled with pace and accuracy. There was never a doubt that he had enormous talent. The only frustrating part is that he let it all go within the matter of a year.
This has been the problem with the Indian bowling over the years. They all come in with a bang but fade away in couple of years. The list is endless; Nehra, Pathan, Munaf, Sreesanth, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma etc. have followed the same pattern. But looking at the current set of bowlers in Zimbabwe, they seem well short of International standard. None of them have even troubled a Zimbabwe team who has hardly played any international cricket.
This shows that we don’t have any good prospects coming up in the near future to take over the bowling mantle. So with the Indian team having a busy schedule ahead of them this year we surely need Ishant and Sreesanth back to their best. With India playing tests against Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa this year, we need one of these two to be back to their best. Even though BCCI had a noble thought of playing almost an A team in the Zimbabwe series I feel that they missed a trick by not having an experienced bowler to guide these youngsters.
If not Zaheer, they should have at least had Irfan or RP Singh as it would have also given them a chance to make a comeback to the Indian team. With all the bowlers being new and with zero international experience, they have come well short of expectations. Losing to Zimbabwe two games in a row is unacceptable even for an Indian A team.
Umesh Yadav, even though looks promising is way inconsistent to bowl at the international level, so is Dinda. With the spinners also disappointing in the current series it seems like it will be difficult to look past Bajji for some time to come. India needs to really unearth a potent combination soon as they have few important series coming up.
So it will be interesting to see what the bowling combination would be for the upcoming series in Srilanka and the Asia cup. I am expecting Zaheer and Bajji to be back in the test team but the rest of the attack is still undecided. I guess it’s time to go back to Ishant and Sreesanth and hope that they hit form.
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Armaan was brilliant again in Monza as he achieved his first top 5 finish
It was a brilliant weekend for the Indian contingent at Monza this weekend when we had 2 top 10 finishes by Armaan and Parthiva respectively. Armaan Ebrahim who is currently at 7th in the overall standings was unlucky to crash out of the race one after starting 7th on the grid. He more than made up for that with a brilliant 5th place finish after being 16th on the grid after the qualifying. This was Armaan’s best performance in F2 till date and he is getting closer to the podium finish which we have been waiting for.
Ajith and Parthiva at the autograph session after their brilliant show in Monza
Parthiva Sureshwaran also had a brilliant race where he achieved his first top 10 finish in F2. His race 1 was little disappointing as he finished on 15th but made impressive run in the race two to get his first top 10 finish and thereby grabbing his first points for the season. He will surely want to build on this confidence to climb up the rungs and aim for consistent top 10 finishes for the remainder of the season.
For Ajith Kumar though this was a weekend of another consistent performance as he finished 14th and 15th in the race 1 and 2 respectively in Monza. Considering that he qualified at 21 in both the races this was a brilliant achievement by the Tamil movie superstar. Ajith will be proud of finishing ahead of Parthiva in race 1 who is a more experienced racer than the star himself. Ajith seemed extremely happy with his performance and said that he was really proud of what he has achieved this season in the formula two championships,
Speaking after the race Ajith said,
“I feel proud and privileged to race amongst some of the best drivers in the championship, especially our own country’s Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran. I am thrilled to be racing on this excellent circuit in Monza, Italy and am happy that I have completed the race in 14th Position”
So a satisfying week for the Indian racers in F2 this weekend in Monza and this sets up the next race at Zolder brilliantly for the 3 of them. Let’s hope that we have another brilliant race at Zolder.
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Since I have not posted for a while I decided to compile all the happenings in the sports world in a single post. I have decided to split this into two parts.
World T20 – Bounced out once again
Indian batsmen were sitting ducks against short pitched bowling in the recently concluded World T20
The Indian team cut a sorry figure in the recently concluded World T20 as they were bounced out yet again two years in a row in the super 8 stage of the championship. This year was an exact replica of the 2009 edition in England where the Indian team failed to win a single game in the second stage of the tournament. The batsmen looked sitting ducks against the pace of the Australian and West Indian bowlers and handed the games without a fight.
The performance of the Indian batsmen was baffling to say the least as they very well knew what to expect after their experiance in England last year. Raina, Sharma, Pathan and Ghambir struggled last year in England against short pitched stuff and they repeated the dose once again in West Indies. The bowling was bad a usual as except for Harbajan Singh everyone else was either unfit or inconsistent. The team selections were confusing and the fielding appalling.
This year’s exit was made even worse when the team coach lashed out against few players calling them unfit to play any form of cricket. The coach Gary Kirsten even said that he was fitter than few players in the Indian team at 42. And there was also a report of few players engaging in a pub brawl after their defeat against Sri Lanka. All in all it was another pathetic ICC World event for India under Dhoni. The silver lining though is that India has chosen a young team under Raina to participate in the tri series in Zimbabwe and I hope that we unearth some good players in that series.
Formula two – Armaan sizzles in Morocco
Armaan Ebrahim was brilliant in Morocco as he finished 6th in both the races
Armaan Ebrahim finished 6th in both the races in Morocco to cap off a brilliant race in the 3rd and 4th rounds of Formula two championship. Armaan’s top 6 finishes was despite the fact that he did not do that well in the qualifying as he finished at 8th and 11th respectively. With a brilliant performance in the Morocco leg of the championship he currently sits at 7th in the overall championship race.
Ajith Kumar also had a good race in Morocco as he finished identical 13th in both the races. Ajith would be really happy with this performance as he was able to finish 4 races in a row and would like to improve on his standings in the upcoming races starting with Monza on the 23rd of May. Parthiva Sureshwaran though had a mixed round 3 and 4 as he finished 11th in the first race and had to retire in the race 2.
All in all it was a good performance from the Indian contingent and it seems like we are not that far away from a podium finish. Please visit Formulatwo.com for the latest updates on the Monza race.
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Chennai Super Kings win the IPL III defeating Mumbai Indians
Two semi-finals and one final appearance later Chennai Super Kings lead by Dhoni won the IPL title defeating Mumbai at D Y Patil stadium in Mumbai. It was a brilliant win by CSK as they were almost down and out half way through the tournament. Credit has to be given to the captain and the support staff along with the players who showed tremendous mental fortitude to script this turnaround.
For Mumbai though this was a day of mistakes as dropped catches and poor decisions with batting order punctuated their performance in the finals. Sachin Tendulkar will be really disappointed as Mumbai Indians were the best side in this IPL. Even though I was happy to see Chennai Super Kings win, I was really sad to see Sachin in the losing side. But in the end Dhoni’s captaincy and Chennai’s superior fielding was the difference between the two sides.
When Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat everyone knew that Chennai had the upper hand as teams chasing at the D Y Patil stadium had struggled in the past. The Chennai batsmen started cautiously with Hayden’s continued struggle at the top of the order and with Vijay having to do the bulk of the scoring. But the real push for the Chennai innings came when Dhoni joined Raina at the middle as they both hammered the Mumbai bowlers to set up a competitive total. Mumbai Indians did not help themselves as they fluffed two chances both of Suresh Raina and the Chennai batsman made them pay with an unbeaten 57 of 35 balls.
When Mumbai began their chase in the pursuit of 169 to win the IPL III crown Doug Bollinger and Ravichandran Ashwin choked them for runs. Bollinger sent Dhawan early and Sachin along with Nayyar forged a decent partnership but the run rate was well within control for the CSK. Murali, Ashwin and Jakati were difficult to get away and the Chennai fielders put lots of pressure on the Mumbai batsmen. Even though Keiron Pollard’s late flourish gave some hopes to MI chances, Chennai Super Kings won the game comfortably by 22 runs in the end.
It was a brilliant display by the Chennai team which was brilliantly led by their cool captain Dhoni. Stephen Fleming the coach of Chennai Super Kings also deserves a special mention along with the other support staff. Chennai was helped by the arrival of the Aussie Doug Bollinger as his presence in the team provided the much needed potency to the bowling attack. Dhoni’s decision to open the bowling with Ashwin turned out to be the masterstroke as the youngster responded brilliantly to finish as the most economical bowler of the IPL III. Suresh Raina as usual was brilliant and the turnaround of Vijay from a correct player to a swashbuckling opener was amazing. Badri was consistent and Anirudha Srikkanth played couple of crucial knocks in the end. Murali and Morkel should not be forgotten as they both contributed handsomely towards the CSK progress throughout the tournament.
Dhoni was brilliant with the bat and was very shrewd with his captaincy. Even though Chennai was not the best team in IPL III but they were the most consistent team across the three IPL’s. They were for sure the most deserving champions in IPL.
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Ajith speaks exclusively to Formulatwo.com
In an exclusive interview to Formula two website Ajith speaks about his goals for this season and also about the interest in motorsports in India. Ajith mainly talks about the current season and about his preparation for the next race in Morocco. He thanks his family for extending their support and for understanding his love for racing. He feels that it not always about winning or losing but it’s about living one’s dreams.
Please click here to read the entire interview from formula two official website.
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Virendar Sehwag ruled out of World T20
With just a week left for the start of World T20, India received a body blow when Virendar Sehwag was declared unfit due to a shoulder injury. This is indeed a huge setback for the Indians as Sehwag is a key member at the top of the order along with Ghambir. Sehwag had missed the 2009 version of the tournament too under similar circumstances.
Sehwag absence means that Murali Vijay gets a chance at the top of the order. Vijay has been in brilliant form for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL III but I am not sure whether he would be able to replicate the same at the international level. Sehwag played all the games for the Dare Devils in the IPL III, so his shoulder injury is kind of a surprise to me. He couldn’t have suddenly picked up the injury, so he should have been having it for a while. This raises the question as to whether the franchises should be more careful with the Indian recruits when they have a major tournament coming up right after the IPL.
IPL is a long tournament and I would be happy if the Franchises kind of rotate the Indian team players over the course of the series. I don’t think it is necessary for the players to play the entire tournament. Especially when the Indian team is going to participate in a major tournament right after the IPL, the team management needs to be little bit careful. I know that an injury can be picked anytime as we have seen players getting injured on the morning of the match while training but with a hectic tournament like IPL the possibilities are more.
With number of games increased for the next year’s edition, the teams have to be more careful about player fatigue. Resting major players in the team for few games in between shouldn’t hurt I feel. Indian Players representing CSK (Chennai Super Kings) and Mumbai Indians hardly get any rest before they fly to WI and will have to immediately get going. India does not even have breaks between matches as both their games are back to back in the World T20.
There is just couple of games left for the conclusion of the IPL and I hope that none of our bowlers get injured in the process as Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer and Bajji will be playing over the next two days. Sehwag’s injury should be lesson to the team management and the Franchises as representing India is more important.
Sehwag’s absence was felt in last year’s world cup when the youngsters struggled against short pitched bowling. Whether Vijay will be able to step into the shoes of Sehwag is something we have to wait and see. Ghambir will have the added responsibility of guiding the youngster through in a major event like the World T20. Hope that the rest of the team can pull their weight and guide the Indian team to their second title.
Armaan Ebrahim finished in the top 10 at Silverstone
Armaan Ebrahim finished at 8th and 9th in the two races over the weekend at Silverstone. He was the star performer for the Indian contingent F2 as both Ajith Kumar and Parthiva Sureshwaran achieved finishes in their first race of their F2 career.
Ajith Kumar who finished at the bottom of the pile (18th) in the race one, improved one position to finish 18th in the race two ahead of France’s Benjamin Lariche. Parthiva Sureshwaran though finished at identical 16th in both the races. Ajith would be extremely pleased with his efforts as he was able to complete both the races successfully and was able to beat one of the drivers in race two. Both Ajith and Parthiva have not been driving professionally for some time now, so it would have been a relief for them to finish both the races.
For Armaan though this was a good race and he ended up in points in the very first race of the season. He kept the Indian flag afloat in Silverstone and would hope that he can finish higher in the races to come. Parthiva and Ajith though would want to improve and try to finish in the top 15 in Marrakech on the 30th of April when the 3rd and 4th round of this year’s championship gets underway.
Good luck to all the three drivers and I hope that we get few podium finishes this year.
Ajith Kumar's decision to take a break from movies to concentrate on racing is a bold move
Actor Ajith Kumar recently decided to pursue his dream of racing and is currently participating in the Formula two world championship. He declared that he is going to take racing little bit more seriously starting this year. Well to be frank that’s a bold decision. We all know that he tried his hand few years back and met with some success in the same but was back with the movies after that. I was reading some comments by few readers on a popular website who were ridiculing his decision and wishing him a failure in his endeavor. This shows how grown up these people are. It’s easy to sit in front of a computer and type away on your keyboard and criticize someone’s effort to be different.
All of us know that moving out of your comfort zone is not that easy. Ajith Kumar is a super star in Tamil cinema. He has his own fan following and supporters. He is a big name in the industry, so it would have been easier for him just sit back and go through the motions like most of us do in our respective fields. But he has decided to be different and is following his passion for racing. How many of us have the guts to do the same? How many of us have the courage to come out of our cozy jobs to follow our interests and passion? The answer would be a grand zero.
But we will make fun of someone who does, as it’s easier to criticize somebody who dares to be different. We have certain happiness in declaring someone a failure without even appreciating the effort that individual has put in. We have been taught from our childhood that if someone doesn’t win in something he is a failure and we grandly follow that yardstick in every field. As far as I am concerned there are few things which go beyond success and winning.
Harsha Bhogle, one of the best sports presenters in the world was a graduate from the reputed Indian Institute of Management. He did not end up in a stereotypical management job as most of the guys doing MBA end up in; instead he followed his passion with sports journalism and presenting. He loved cricket and he followed his interests.
Not a lot of us get to follow our dreams and interests. We are stuck in a typical 9-5 job, uninterested but keep doing it for the sake of our family. When someone dares to be different, we need not encourage them but can be without ridiculing their efforts. Ajith is just an example I took to drive home the point. Anyone who can leave their comfort zone has to be extremely courageous. Ajith surely is doing that right now.
Congrats to him for following his dream and hope that he has a wonderful season in Formula two this year.
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Ashoke Dinda was one of the few Indian pacers to impress in IPL III
The Indian team for the World T20 was announced couple of weeks back and there was hardly any surprises in the squad. Vinay Kumar got his maiden call up to the national team, a reward for his excellent performances in the domestic arena. Piyush Chawla too gets a call up ahead of Ojha and Mishra as the second specialist spinner in the squad. The rest of the team picked themselves.
The fact that Ashish Nehra makes it to the squad right after a prolonged injury break with hardly any practice proves how much the selectors are deprived of options. Praveen Kumar the other pace bowler in the squad has been pretty ordinary in the IPL after few good games at the start. Mithun and Tyagi have been pretty disappointing in the IPL and don’t look like T20 bowlers, similar to Ishant. Ishant himself has been pretty ordinary for the past couple of years.
So we are going into the world cup with two world class bowlers in Zaheer Khan and Harbajan Singh, one debutant, one bowler coming back from injury and one bowler making a comeback into the team. The selection pretty much emphasizes the problem we have with the bowling. So basically the selectors have done the best they can with the limited resources at their disposal.
But heartening thing is that after a pretty bad beginning by the Indian bowlers in the IPL III the second leg has showcased some good young bowlers. Ashoke Dinda of KKR, Sid Trivedi of Rajasthan Royals, Harmeet Singh of Deccan Chargers and Umesh Yadav of Delhi Daredevils have all impressed with their bowling at crucial junctures for their respective teams. The spinners also have been on song like Ravichandran Aswin, Pragyan Ojha and Jakati have been fantastic throughout the tournament.
So it seems we have some gas left in the tank after all. The problem is tapping the talent and giving them breaks at the right time. Bowlers like Mithun and Tyagi should not be ignored either. More than having talents at your disposal, knowing when and how to give them chances are important. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the bowlers and using them appropriately is something the selectors have to look into.
Even though the bowling looks thin for India in the World T20, I am happy that the selectors at least tried something different by giving a break to Vinay Kumar.
11th placed Armaan Ebrahim was still the best Indian driver on view at Silverstone
The Indian contingent had a disappointing testing at the Silverstone earlier this week. The Indian drivers Armaan, Parthiva and Ajith finished at 11, 17 and 20th respectively ahead of the season opener this weekend.
Armaan Ebrahim who finished 5th at Snetterton ended 11th in the combined standings at Silverstone and still remained the best Indian driver by a distance. Parthiva gave a slightly improved performance at Silverstone as his 17th place finish was fractionally better than his 20th place finish at Snetterton. Ajith though showed his rustiness as he finished last at 20th. Ajith has not been driving for a long time now, so his lack of practice needs to be taken into account.
No such excuses for both Armaan and Parthiva though as they are both professional racers. With the season opener at Silverstone this weekend all the three drivers would want to put up a decent show. I hope that we see at least one top 10 finish this weekend.
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