Sachin misses out again on his 100th hundred

Arrhh! he missed it again! Twice!!!

Everything was aligned

• No pressure test with India already up 2:Zip in the 3 match series
• Perfect conditions for batting
• Huge run chase
• Home conditions
• Thousands of cheering fans

He came close, but could not get past the nervous nineties in the first innings. The cricket gods even gave him a second chance, after the pitch surprising started to spin on the 5th morning and WI collapsed in their second effort to give India a whiff of victory. All nicely set up to for Sachin to blast a ton and take India to victory with his 100th International hundred.. But it was't to be. Sachin missed, getting out early to a delivery that stopped on him. And India could not close out the win despite useful contributions from a number of other players. 

Australia, here we come...

Cricket loses out to Kabaddi?

The recent cricket matches between India and England and now India -WI have drawn poor response from spectators. While some of this was expected due to the heavy cricket calendar and string of defeats in England immediately preceding, the nearly empty stands have been surprising.  While, I pretend to care less about the results (vs earlier) I still am saddened to see India lose and am egging them on to win from the comfort of my living room. In contrast the IPL drew huge crowds.  This raises important questions for the administrators and players alike

1. Are the glory days of test cricket over, despite continuous cries for the purest format from the players because at the end a sport would survive only if there are spectators? 

2. Is ODI format destined to become irrelevant with Players wanting Test Cricket and Spectators wanting T20's? 

For India, importantly, this may be a chance to try popularize other sports. People are already trying to innovate in hockey to revive the game. Similarly there is brewing interest in other traditional and non-traditional sports. Kabaddi, for example.  It was interesting to witness huge in-stadium crowds for the kabaddi world cup organized in Punjab. While a part of the crowd may have been herded in by the gov't, it was massive.by any standards. Also, it helps, if team India is doing well. India emerged world champs in Kabaddi, on expected lines.

Perhaps, real acid test for cricket in India would be the series down under. India need to do well to stem decline of interest in the game

Ricky Ponting steps down as Australia Captain

Cricket World Cup 2011 performance took its first big toll today with Ricky Ponting stepping from his position as Captain of Australian Cricket Team. With this decision, he has perhaps avoided an early end to his career as otherwise, there is a chance that he may have been dropped from the team itself.

By voluntarily stepping down (as alleged by him) he has hit another master stroke following his ton in the quarterfinals. But it remains to be seen if he can rebuild on this

IPL spoiling team India?

There is a debate happening on whether the Indian Premier Leargue (IPL) money is ruining the Indian cricket team. The thought is absurd. The fact that the Indian team did not do well in the Champions Trophy does not mean that IPL is ruining team India or for that matter to even reach a conclusion that the Indian team is ruined.

After all, the Indian team was only recently (albeit for a brief period) ranked the the number one team in the world. I do not remember a time when Indian team was ranked at number one (Pre IPL) so one could argue that the actual case should be made in reverse. Although coincidence dows not imply correlation.

What do you think?

Padma Awards: Dhoni and Harbhajan Saga

Perhaps you may not agree with me, but the current anger by the Sports Minister on Dhoni and Harbhajan was uncalled for. The President may be the presiding deity for government officials, but is still a public servant. And therfore, that the two were unable to show up should not be held against them and is their perogative. Perhaps players's lack of respect for the awards is a reflection on what a sham and tamasha these awards have become over the ages.

The ministers who have made no real contribution to sports, or for that matter to any other thing, get to show their importance through angry (uncalled for) outbursts. They deserve to be snubbed. As for our sportsmen (and sportswomen) the award is only a recognition for their achievement and not the achievement themselves. Not being present on the award ceremony does not make their contribution less great.