Murali and Mendis combination bowled the Indian team out inside two days on a pitch where the home team had piled up 600 runs for the loss of just 6 wickets. The Indians showed no application or patience on a pitch which was not that threatening. Murali and Mendis accounted for 19 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall where as the Indian spinners just managed 2 between them. I would agree to Manjrekar’s comments that Indians are no longer masters of spin which they used to be few years ago.
Srilankan Jubilant after defeating India at SSC
Murali and Mendis combination bowled the Indian team out inside two days on a pitch where the home team had piled up 600 runs for the loss of just 6 wickets. The Indians showed no application or patience on a pitch which was not that threatening. Murali and Mendis accounted for 19 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall where as the Indian spinners just managed 2 between them. I would agree to Manjrekar’s comments that Indians are no longer masters of spin which they used to be few years ago.
Mendis had a perfect debut as he captured 8 wickets in the match and Srilanka won by an innings and 239 runs. He was largely helped by the excellent perfromance by the great Murali, who got the ball rolling for the lankans in the first innings. The Indians put themselves under pressure as none of the top 5 converted the starts they got. Sehwag played a reckless hook shot to get himself caught at the square leg boundary to gift his wicket to the home team. It looked like the Indians were still in the Twenty20 mood while at the crease.
VVS laxman tried to save his team from further blushes by getting the score over 200 with the help of the tail in their first innings. Anil kumble will be very dissapointed with this performance as this has become some sort of a habit for the Indian team. The consistancy is something which the team lacks and both the captain and coach would be aware of the same. During the recent test series against the South Africans after matching blow for blow in the first test the team crumbled to a heavy defeat in the second test.
This will really be a hard loss to bounce back from. Srilanka are a very hard team to defeat at home and now with Murali with his tail up the Indians need to do some serious planning to tackle him. The Indians should take heart from the way they bounced back in Australia after a similar performance in Melbourne. Anil Kumble though would realise that things can only get better from here. The coach and captain should work with the players to come up with a plan to deal with the Srilankan spin twins.
Even though all the focus is on Murali and Mendis the Indian think tank should not forget Vaas who might have few surprises up his sleeve for the second test. All in all this is the moment of realization for Kumble’s men and we will know how much this defeat has hurt the team when they take the field at Galle.
Thalaivar’s Kuselan on Aug 1st
Posted on: July 24, 2008
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The news of Superstar’s Kuselan releasing on 1st of August is sure to attract lots of media attention. This is the first time in the last decade that two Rajnikanth movies are releasing in a span of 1 year. The trailers are already out and is sure send Thalaivar’s fans to absolute frenzy. I watched the trailer and was really impressed about the packaging of the same.
It had everything in the right mix. You could get a jist of the movie and also a glimpse of the thalaivar in his various stylish outfits. The movie has lots of other stars too like Pasupathy (Who actually plays the title role), Meena (Back in Rajni movies after a long time), Sneha, Mamta Mohandas, Santanam, Vadivelu to name a few.I am so happy that this movie is releasing in Bloomington IL and I will be able to watch it on the 2nd of August. I am really looking forward to the same. There may be better actors than Rajni but there cannot be a better entertainer than him in the movie industry.
You know that if you are watching a Rajni movie you will be entertained for sure. I am sure that Kuselan will go on to become a huge hit for P.Vasu as I think he knows how to make a movie with Superstar in it. There is lots of expectations on P.Vasu as his movie is following Sivaji, a blockbuster in 2007. I hope that he would be able to do justice to the original Malayalam version. I am going to watch the movie for sure and there will be many others who will in the first few days. Watching the Superstar movie in theaters always gives you goosebumps. I am sure this one will be no different.
Vazhga Thalaivar!
Thalaivar’s Kuselan on Aug 1st
Posted on: July 24, 2008
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Superstar in Kuselan
The news of Superstar’s Kuselan releasing on 1st of August is sure to attract lots of media attention. This is the first time in the last decade that two Rajnikanth movies are releasing in a span of 1 year. The trailers are already out and is sure send Thalaivar’s fans to absolute frenzy. I watched the trailer and was really impressed about the packaging of the same.
It had everything in the right mix. You could get a jist of the movie and also a glimpse of the thalaivar in his various stylish outfits. The movie has lots of other stars too like Pasupathy (Who actually plays the title role), Meena (Back in Rajni movies after a long time), Sneha, Mamta Mohandas, Santanam, Vadivelu to name a few.I am so happy that this movie is releasing in Bloomington IL and I will be able to watch it on the 2nd of August. I am really looking forward to the same. There may be better actors than Rajni but there cannot be a better entertainer than him in the movie industry.
You know that if you are watching a Rajni movie you will be entertained for sure. I am sure that Kuselan will go on to become a huge hit for P.Vasu as I think he knows how to make a movie with Superstar in it. There is lots of expectations on P.Vasu as his movie is following Sivaji, a blockbuster in 2007. I hope that he would be able to do justice to the original Malayalam version. I am going to watch the movie for sure and there will be many others who will in the first few days. Watching the Superstar movie in theaters always gives you goosebumps. I am sure this one will be no different.
Vazhga Thalaivar!
Day 2 – Srilankan batsmen dominate
Posted on: July 24, 2008
Mahela Acknowledges the crowd after getting to his hundred
Three hundreds from Srilankan top order put them in comand on the second day of the first test against India. Warnapura, Jayawardane and Samaraweera scored hundreds for the host as the home team piled on 337 runs on the second day. The Indian bowlers were just able to take two wickets on the day when the batsmen dominated. The Srilankan skipper would be pleased with the position his team is in right now.
Srilanka finished on a healthy 422/4 at the end of second day with Tilan Samaraweera still at the crease on 111. The Srilankan team would want to press on the advantage and score around 600 runs before asking India to bat. A score of 600 will give the Srilankan captain to attack the Indians with Murali and Mendis with enough men around the bat. The hosts at the start of the test would have exactly hoped for this senario after first innings with two good spinners in the team
The Indians though would be dissapointed with their efforts on the field as only Ishant and Harbajan managed to get a wicket each. The Indians would be hoping that the pitch stays good for batting in the coming days as they are looking at a huge Srilankan first innings total. India would need all their experiance to counter this situation. The pace at which the lankan batsmen scored their runs also gives them enough time to bowl the Indians out twice.
The second day performance of the home team has made sure that there are only two results possible in this test match. It can either be a Srilankan win or a draw. The Indians would surely be hoping for the latter. yesterday I said that the key to Indian success was removing Mahela early which they were unable to do and the Srilankan captain scored yet another century on his favorite ground to guide his team to a position of strength.
Day 2 – Srilankan batsmen dominate
Posted on: July 24, 2008
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Three hundreds from Srilankan top order put them in comand on the second day of the first test against India. Warnapura, Jayawardane and Samaraweera scored hundreds for the host as the home team piled on 337 runs on the second day. The Indian bowlers were just able to take two wickets on the day when the batsmen dominated. The Srilankan skipper would be pleased with the position his team is in right now.
Srilanka finished on a healthy 422/4 at the end of second day with Tilan Samaraweera still at the crease on 111. The Srilankan team would want to press on the advantage and score around 600 runs before asking India to bat. A score of 600 will give the Srilankan captain to attack the Indians with Murali and Mendis with enough men around the bat. The hosts at the start of the test would have exactly hoped for this senario after first innings with two good spinners in the team.
The Indians though would be dissapointed with their efforts on the field as only Ishant and Harbajan managed to get a wicket each. The Indians would be hoping that the pitch stays good for batting in the coming days as they are looking at a huge Srilankan first innings total. India would need all their experiance to counter this situation. The pace at which the lankan batsmen scored their runs also gives them enough time to bowl the Indians out twice.
The second day performance of the home team has made sure that there are only two results possible in this test match. It can either be a Srilankan win or a draw. The Indians would surely be hoping for the latter. yesterday I said that the key to Indian success was removing Mahela early which they were unable to do and the Srilankan captain scored yet another century on his favorite ground to guide his team to a position of strength.
Cricinfo International Scores
Posted on: July 23, 2008
[clearspring_widget title=”Cricinfo International Scores” wid=”482c264908cd8b29″ pid=”488777862e489944″ width=”300″ height=”250″ domain=”widgets.clearspring.com”]
Ishant celebrating after dismissing Vandort
Srilanka finished on 85/2 on a rain curtailed first day at SSC. The Indian new ball pair of Zaheer and Ishant took one wicket each for their efforts. The pitch was dead and is supposed to help the spinners on the last couple of days and Srilanka would just want to bat once on this track. The Indians will be really happy that one of the two wickets was of Sangakkara considering the form he is in. The days play was too short to determine which team has the upper hand but I would say that the visitors would feel satisfied with their display.
The Indian new ball bowlers bowled impressively on a slow pitch and were rewarded with two wickets. The second days play is very important for both the teams and if India manage to remove Mahela early then Srilanka’s inexperianced middle order will have their task cut out. Removing the Srilankan captain will be really crucial for the visitors as he averages around 80 on this ground.
Hopefully the second days play will take place without any further interruptions. India would like keep chipping away at the wickets and Srilanka would want to put up a huge total. All in all an interesting day ahead.
Everything to Play for – II
Posted on: July 21, 2008
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Indians have already had a pretty hectic 7 months and things are not going to get any better for Kumble’s team. The good thing for India is that the core of the Indian test team has been well rested and will be fresh. The Indian team have played two very tough test series this year and the one against Srilanka is not going to be any different. India has everything to play for and Sachin’s world record will add more flavour to the series.
The Mendis factor also gives this series a definite edge. Even though the seniors have denied that they are worried about the sensational spinner from the island, I am sure that there will be plans discussed to counter him in the test series. The Srilankans though would be confident as they have the definite home advantage. They have a great bowling lineup with Mendis and Murali in the spin department and Vaas leading the pace attack.
Srilanka has not lost to India in a test series at home since the 1993 series. The last time India toured Srilanka they lost 2-1 to the host. The Indian bowling though would be bolstered by the return of Zaheer Khan who had a good warm up game ahead of the series. The rest of the bowling also looks pretty good with Ishant, Munaf, Anil and Harbajan with Ojha completing the lineup. The Indian batting though looks very solid on papers with the seniors returning to the squad.
The Indian batting would again be relying heavily on the middle order comprising of the famous quartet to help them put up decent scores. The opening combination of Sehwag and Ghambir will be expected to carry their one day success to the test arena.
All in all the series looks really interesting as both the teams are evenly matched with lots of experiance on both sides. The series will be watched closely for couple of reasons,
1. To see wthether Sachin breaks the world record
2. To see how the Indians counter Murali-Mendis combination.
We just have to wait and see what happens in couple of days. I am just hoping that the series lives up to the hype. I am going for India winning 2-1.
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My Thoughts 