India go from Bad to Worse...

England tour of India, 3rd Test: India v England at Kolkata, Dec 5-9' 2012

DAY 3

Day 2 ends with England still 100 adrift India's total of 316. England have 9 wickets in hand but if India can snaffle a couple of wickets early then anything can happen. A collapse is always lurking around on these Indian pitches. With these thoughts I sleep yesterday, possibly even dreaming of a come-from-behind Indian victory.

What a fool I was!! The morning session came and went, India remained wicketless. The misery piled on for the fans. Cook reached yet another 150, Trott got to his 50, the 100 stand was raised which soon reached 150!!! The fielding was ragged, bowling mediocre and the captain looked like he would better be on a vacation then on the field. Trott got out sweeping. Cook fell as he tried to evade a throw from Kohli, a lucky break for the Indian team. It was a splendid innings from Captain Cook as he entered the record books as the English batsman with most centuries. Its astounding that he already has 23 tons at an age of just 27!!!

Yuvraj came on as KP strode out to the crease but all he did was chuck a few pie's at the batsman which were gobbled with much delight and relished with joy!! Meanwhile Ashwin who had proclaimed before the series that he had a magic delivery to unleash on the English completed his very own 150!! The delivery has magically stayed away and he has only a couple of wickets in his last 250 odd overs!!! Zaheer might have lost the pace and venom in his bowling but he effectively retains the irritating habit of opening his mouth to have a chat with the batsman whenever he bowls a good ball once in every 20 overs. I still remember him sledging Gilchrist and Hayden in the opening over of the 2003 WC and being taken to the cleaners. He is yet to learn his lesson. My all time favorite fast bowler, Curtly Ambrose, never sledged. When the team came back after tea and was in a huddle, MSD probably cracked a joke because I saw everyone having a nice little chuckle. When your team is struggling to effect even one breakthrough, this sort of a thing looks extremely bad.

The day ended with England almost 200 ahead and still have the last 4 wickets in hand. I yesterday talked of a miracle saving India. The miracle men, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, sadly no longer play for the Indian team. The inspirational captain, Sourav Dada Ganguly, has also retired and is now seen in the commentary box. Perhaps the seasons for miracles is long over.

English Skipper Cooks up his 3rd Comp(ertable)ton on a Trott!!

England tour of India, 3rd Test: India v England at Kolkata, Dec 5-9' 2012

DAY 1

Dhoni won yet another important toss on day 1 of the third test at the Eden Gardens and as expected had no hesitation in deciding to bat first. The ball was moving a bit but the first wicket was gifted to England on a platter when Virender Sehwag was left stranded as he steamed down for a comfortable 3rd run. Gambhir was the culprit as it was an easy three. This, while he himself has not scored a century for India in tests for almost 3 years now!! Yes, 3 long years!! How and why the Indian selectors are still persisting with him is beyond me. And when they replace either Sehwag/ Gambhir (due to injury) they pick the useless M Vijay. When will guys like Rahane and Mukund get a chance??

Pujara had a rare failure as Sachin strode out amidst huge pressure. He was keen on defense and looked resolute to turn the corner. Gambhir fell after a scratchy fifty (hope it does not guarantee him a place as the opening batsmen for another 10 tests!!) and Kohli failed yet again in the series. Sachin opened up a bit after tea and eventually fell for 76, his first fifty in the last 10 months!!!

Yuvraj, after surviving a lbw shout that would have uprooted the middle stump while he was still on duck and another when he had a solitary run made 32. Dhoni, playing as ungainly as he does against the spinners, barely survived until stumps were called for with India at 273/7.

DAY 2

India were all out for 316 even as MSD eked out a painful fifty.

England openers Cook and Compton began extremely cautiously as England made just 20 odd runs off the first 11 overs. That was only the calm before the storm that was to follow. After lunch both Compton and Cook began to look out for runs, and runs they got!!

The Indian spinners looked as far away from picking up a wicket as a tourist is far away from water in the arid Sahara!! The fielding looked school boyish and the captaincy bereft of any new ideas. Cook reached yet another fifty, the hundred stand was raised, Compton got his fifty too, the one fifty stand soon ensued before Cook completed the annihilation his customary hundred!!! Compton finally departed with the English score reading 165.

Cook and Trott then rubbed it in further and were involved in an unbeaten 50 run stand of their own when stumps were finally called, much to India's relief!! England ended the day on 216/1, just 100 behind India.

India needs a miracle at the Eden in the next couple of days or else the scoreline will be 2-1 to England after 3 tests.

The New Sherlock Holmes Novel - The House Of Silk

Well, to begin the post let me tell you that this is the first time that I will be reviewing a book. I have reviewed many cricket matches and teams/players but this is well and truly a first for me, so please bear with me.

I came across 'The New Sherlock Holmes Novel - The House Of Silk' while I was just lumbering around in a book store recently. Though I would have never given the book a second glance as it is my belief that no one could re-create the magic and aura of a best selling novel other then the original author itself but the impressive cover made me pick up the book. It has a black background with little droplets of blood, scattered along and near the spine of the book. The second thing that caught my eye was that this book has been given the backing of Conan Doyle Estate, certainly a first!!!

courtesy wikipedia.org

Reading the outer back cover further drew me in.

It is November 1890 and London is gripped by a merciless winter. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221B Baker Street. He begs Holmes for help, telling the unnerving story of a scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent weeks.

Intrigued by the man's tale, Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from the gas-lit streets of London to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston. As the pair delve deeper into the case, they stumble across a whispered phrase 'the House of Silk: a mysterious entity and foe more deadly than any Holmes has encountered, and a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society itself.

... From the Outer Back Cover

And I was out of the book store with the book in tow a few minutes later!!

Anthony Horowitz encountered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work at 16 and he has been inspired by the great man and his extraordinary writing skills since then. Horowitz himself is the BAFTA award winning creator of Foyle’s War and also the author of the bestselling children’s series, Alex Rider.

The book begins with Dr Watson reflecting upon the circumstances in which he and Holmes were united at 221B Baker Street. He is reminiscing about the good old days and is penning this down after the death of Holmes as this adventure is too volatile to go to print and must be opened only after a 100 years have passed by.

The writer does an excellent job in his depiction of Watson and Holmes and their chemistry is as sizzling as ever. The descriptions of the 18th century London are done exquisitely well and once you get into the novel you can imagine how the city must have looked in the 1800's what with gas-lamps and hansoms.

The story is fast paced and keeps you involved and interested and intrigued as the events flit by and the genius of Holmes is brought to the fore regularly. Many of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories are referenced to at regular intervals and all the major characters are brought back to life in the most subtle manner.

The continuing cold weather and the well tended lawn had together created a perfect canvas on which all the comings and goings of the preceding twenty-four hours had been, in effect, frozen. 'There, if I am not mistaken, goes the thorough and efficient Lestrade.' There were foot-prints all around but Holmes had pointed to one set in particular.

'You cannot possibly know they are his.'

'No? The length of the stride would suggest a man of about five foot six inches in height, the same as Lestrade. He was wearing square-toed boots, such as I have often seen on Lestrade's feet. But the most damning evidence is that they are heading in quite the wrong direction, missing everything of importance - and who else could that be but Lestrade?'

The Irregulars or the Unofficial Police Force, the street urchins, are also described in a most heart rending manner and they play an ever important role in this case. I especially loved the fact that their lives are described in detail and the circumstances in which they live and work are shown.

Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child.

The story itself is much more darker in nature and the plot is incredibly sinister then anything that we have encountered so far in any of the original works. Humor is still, efficiently infused at many places!! The fact that the book kept me gripped till the very end and the fact that I kept hoping that book never ends is a testimony to the fact that I absolutely loved reading it.

It is a Pastiche done with a lot of Panache. All in all this book does full justice to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is a must read for any Sherlockian!!!

The Game's Afoot...

PS - My Friend Leo, after reading this review ordered the book and has reviewed it here. Do visit his blog.

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team West Indies

West Indies

Hits

1. Marlon Samuels batted like a man possessed. His blade came down on the leather ball like a ball of fire!! He played some superb innings right through the World T20. Three 50's, including the swashbuckling 78 which he made in the Final against the home team Sri Lanka was one of the most precious innings ever to be played in a T20 match.

2. Chris Gayle was expected to destroy bowling attacks and destroy he did, and how!!! He tore into the Aussie's, not once but twice, once during the group match and once again in the all important Semi Final. When he was not taking bowlers apart, he was picking wickets or he was plucking catches out off thin air. When he was not doing any of the above he was showing his dancing skills as he performed the Gangnam dance regularly in which his team mates duly joined him!!!

3. Sunil Narine confounded the batsmen with his vast array of deliveries. He was the reason the match against the New Zealand went in to the Super Over. He also bowled memorable spells in both the Semi Final and the Final against the Australians and the Sri Lankans respectively.

4. Ravi Rampaul was almost unplayable when he bowled with the new ball. He swung the ball and bowled with pace and most importantly almost always got early wickets.

5. Darren Sammy has been criticized so many times and by so many people but he has pulled this team together. He made sure they all played for a single goal. He brought the best out off his players and did his bit too in wining the Final!!!

Misses

1.The bowling against the Australians in the group match was disappointing as they bowled boundary balls at will. The Aussie's raced to 100 in just 9 overs as West Indies lost their opening match on D/L by 17 runs.

2. It was a bad choice to open the innings with Johnson Charles. He slogged across the line and promptly got out in all the innings except one against England. Dwayne Smith, one of the cleanest strikers in the West Indian team sat on the bench.

3. Andre Russel hits the ball long and also bowls decently well but he was totally off color in the World T20 in Sri Lanka. He did get many opportunities to showcase his abundant talent but unfortunately he never made use of them.

See the previous post's in Hits and Misses,

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand
Team England
Team India
Team Australia
Team Pakistan
Team Sri Lanka

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Hits

1. Sri Lanka depended heavily on their top three of Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in the batting department. And they all did the job perfectly. One of them almost always played an important innings and that was one of the reasons that Sri Lanka were the team to beat right through the World T20. Mahela's innings in the Semi Finals against Pakistan on a slow and low pitch which made run scoring extremely difficult was a masterclass in batting.

2. The middle order pitched in gamely when the opportunity presented itself and Jeevan Mendis and Angelo Mathews made valuable contributions against England in their last Super Eights match and also in the Semi Final against Pakistan. Lahiru Thirimanne deserves a special mention here for the incredible ramp shot that he played against New Zealand's Tim Southee in the final over to take the game into the Super Over!!!

3. Akila Dananjaya, all of 19 years, was given a game against the Kiwis and he had a memorable debut. He took a wicket in his first over but then copped a serious blow on his face as he failed to latch on to a difficult return catch off Rob Nicol. Playing with a swollen face he picked up another wicket in his last over!!! He bowled an assortment of deliveries... off breaks, leg breaks, carrom balls, googlies, the straighter ones and I loved the way he was not overawed by the situation.

4. The mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis, made his comeback to the Sri Lankan team memorable; with the performance of this T20 as he had figures of 4-2-8-6 against the Zimbabweans. He almost repeated those stunning figures as he completed the match against the West Indians in the Final with 4-0-12-4!!!

5. Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath all deserve a mention here. While Kulasekera was accurate with the new ball and got early wickets regularly for the Lankan Lions. Malinga bowled superbly as he defended 13 runs in the Super Over against the New Zealanders and gave away just 7 runs. He also grabbed a 5fer against England to kill their chase in another Super Eight game. Herath was called in specially to play against the Pakistan team who have a known weakness against left arm spinners. Herath duly responded with a man of the match performance!!!

Misses

1. Though the match against South Africa was reduced to a 7-7 farce but the Lankans should have won that, especially when South Africa managed only 78 off their 7 overs. To go at 11 an over for a 7 over period with all 10 wickets intact must not be that difficult a task but the Lankans struggled to even lay bat on ball as they lost by a huge margin of 32 runs!!!

2. Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis blew hot and cold as both of them leaked runs. Malinga bowled the most forgetful spell of 4-0-54-0 in the final against the West Indians as Marlon Samuels absolutely laid in to him. Ajantha Mendia had horrible figures 4-0-48-1 and 4-0-40-0 against New Zealand and England respectively.

See the previous post's in Hits and Misses,

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand
Team England
Team India
Team Australia
Team Pakistan

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team Pakistan

Pakistan

Hits

1. Though Nasir Jamshed made 3 single figure scores but he was also responsible for a couple of Pakistan wins. He started with a gem of an innings against New Zealand making 56 off just 35 balls and also made a crucial 55 off 46 balls against Australia in their last Super Eights match which ensured that Pakistan made it to the Semi Finals

2. Mohammad Hafeez made three 40's while batting and also bowled economically in all innings while also picking important wickets. He also led Pakistan team well and seemed in control for most of the times.

3. Raza Hasan, a twenty year old left arm spinner was the surprise package as he bowled with a lovely control and guile. He announced his arrival by bowling a maiden over to Jacques Kallis, one of the most accomplished players of spin going around.

4. Saeed Ajmal was not exceptional and probably underachieved of what would have been expected of him but bowled dream spells against the Australians and the Black Caps.

5. The way the two Umar's - Akmal and Gul, snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat against South Africa in their first Super Eights match was one of the most remarkable, come from behind, victories. Pakistan were 76/7 chasing 134 but won a thriller as Gul hit the ball like a dream!!

Misses

1. Imran Nazir looked good in all the innings playing a couple of good shots but threw his wicket away most of the time. He played just 1 innings of note in the entire World Twenty20, 72 off 36 balls against Bangladesh.

2. Shahid Afridi went from Boom Boom to Bust Bust as he struggled to lay bat to ball while batting notching a couple of Golden Ducks. One of that came sadly on the 16th anniversary of his fastest ODI Hundred that he had made against Sri Lanka. And we all probably think that Afridi is still just 16!!! His bowling, which has been his stronger suit for quite some time also failed him as he struggled to either pick regular wickets or keep runs down.

3. The entire team looked so flat and so tense against arch rivals India that they seemed to be carrying the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. It turned out to be their most disappointing performances of the World Twenty20, 2012.

See the previous post's in Hits and Misses,

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand
Team England
Team India
Team Australia

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team Australia

Australia

Hits

1. Who else but the Man of the Tournament Shane Watson. He did it all for the Aussie's in this World Twenty20... opened the batting, opened the bowling, took wickets when required, hit sixes at will and fielded brilliantly. He topped every conceivable list for a large part of the World Twenty20. 4 Man of the Match awards meant that there was precious little that he left for other team mates to do or achieve!! He eventually failed in the Semi Final against West Indies and Australia duly folded up without much of a fight.

2. Australia finally found a left arm pace bowler named Mitchell who could bowl with pace and more importantly control. Mitchell Starc bowled incisively at the start of the innings as he swung the ball at pace. He got early wickets and was one of the brightest stars in this ICC World Twenty20.

3. Mike Hussey was brilliant as always and he did the job required of him nonchalantly. His 54* which took Australia into the Semi Final was one of the innings of this World Twenty20. The next best score in that innings was a mere 15 as the whole Aussie line up capitulated against high quality Pakistan spin bowling on a slow and low, turning pitch.

Misses

1. The oldest player of this World T20, Brad Hogg, took just 2 wickets while playing all the games. It deprived Australia wickets in the middle of the innings. One of those wickets was against Ireland which made matters worse in the final analysis.

2. The Aussie middle order was always talked about as their weaker suit but they never got a proper hit in the middle until their final Super Eights match against Pakistan and against the West Indies in the Semi Final when Australia lost Watson and Warner early. They combusted spectacularly on both occasions going down completely without a fight. They were 5-65 and 6-43 against Pakistan and West Indies respectively and the matches were easily lost.

See the previous post's in Hits and Misses,

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand
Team England
Team India