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Showing posts with label SRH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SRH. Show all posts
Manish Pandey, Rahane and other ODI bats in the IPL.
When scorpions fight to the finish
There is much in common between Virat
Kohli and David Warner: Bully openers,
closure masters, boss captains. While one had anger management issues, the
other continues to fuel his cricket with fury.
Both share the same star sign, Scorpio. Both are in their late 20s,
Kohli’s 27, Warner’s 29. Both have the identical top score in T20
internationals, a 90 not out.
Both are full-on Aussie in their approach to sport. Both have curbed their natural T20 instincts, preferring to battle boredom for the team. Both want to win this IPL so bad you can almost taste it on TV. Both have just about done enough to win it on their own. Going into the finals, Kohli has 919 runs, Warner, 779 runs. That’s the top two run scorers this IPL.
“When I went to Dehli, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me, ‘You’ll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a Twenty20 player’.”
And can both field. They hurl themselves at the cricket ball as if a magnetic field were pulling them to it. Both did not open in the World T20, but after this IPL, who will stop them?
Tonight, only one will win the IPL.
After winning five back-to-back knock-out matches and making it to the finals, the trophy seems like just another routine chase under lights for Virat Kohli.
Kohli has in his XI, four outright match winners with the bat, Gayle, de Villiers, Watson and himself. Warner has just one: himself. He’s pushed this Sunrisers’ campaign with his bat and his bowlers.
Even the absence of Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman hasn’t stopped him.
The IPL finals are at Chinnaswamy. For RCB, it’s not a home game, it’s a backyard game, with friends and extended family - 40,000 chants of R-C-Bee, R-C-Bee will be baying for Warner’s blood.
On 12th April, when the two played in Bangalore, RCB sucked the Chinnaswamy for all the runs it was worth – 228, beating SRH (Nehra and Mustafizur included) by 45 runs. Warner made a 25 ball 58. For RCB, Kohli 75, de Villiers 82 sealed the deal. When the Sunrisers returned home, they knocked off 194 beating RCB by 15 runs. That man Warner again, a 50 ball 92. One-all, one to play.
For RCB, off spinner, Parvez Rasool played both games. He played the last of his four games this season more than three weeks back. Will RCB play him again to counter the two left handers on top? Or will they expect Gayle to bowl with his big bat? Will Kohli risk his left arm spinner, Abdulla against Warner? Or will he go as Raina did with Jadeja against Warner, and not bowl him at all? What about the leg spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal?
What about out of favour Sarfaraz Khan? Has he shed enough weight to be picked? Not only is he an October 27 born like Warner, he tonked a 10 ball 35 when he played the Sunrisers, most of those runs were behind the wicket, scooping, paddling, doing all kinds of horrible things to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Such was his impact that day, poor Bhuvi all but gave up on bowling yorkers till just the other day. RCB might find more of baby Sachin in Sarfaraz than they will in Sachin Baby. It’ll be a gamble worth taking, negating Bhuvi could be the game. Bad memories do strange things to sportspersons.
The other big call for RCB is gambling with Lokesh Rahul behind the stumps. It could not just cost them runs, it could cost them the trophy. The only way wicketkeeper, Travis Head makes it to the playing XI if Chris Gayle does not.
Chances are RCB will go with their same winning eleven. And a prayer. It’ll be down to Warner to dismiss Warner. And hoping the other left handers, Dhawan and Yuvraj don’t mess up Abdulla and Chahal too badly.
Either way, a loss in the IPL final will not make either a lesser player. A win for Virat Kohli though, will feed the IPL dream like few things can. (Like Dhoni’s used to in his heyday, you remember?) It’ll add yet another chapter to that story he continues to write on the field. Through the covers. And sometimes, even in the dugout when he fails to score.
Both are full-on Aussie in their approach to sport. Both have curbed their natural T20 instincts, preferring to battle boredom for the team. Both want to win this IPL so bad you can almost taste it on TV. Both have just about done enough to win it on their own. Going into the finals, Kohli has 919 runs, Warner, 779 runs. That’s the top two run scorers this IPL.
Both their cricket journeys have been
shaped by Delhi in no small way. While Kohli is from Delhi, Warner’s opening
for Delhi Daredevils (under Virender Sehwag) by his own admission, defined his
game -
“When I went to Dehli, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me, ‘You’ll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a Twenty20 player’.”
And can both field. They hurl themselves at the cricket ball as if a magnetic field were pulling them to it. Both did not open in the World T20, but after this IPL, who will stop them?
Tonight, only one will win the IPL.
After winning five back-to-back knock-out matches and making it to the finals, the trophy seems like just another routine chase under lights for Virat Kohli.
Kohli has in his XI, four outright match winners with the bat, Gayle, de Villiers, Watson and himself. Warner has just one: himself. He’s pushed this Sunrisers’ campaign with his bat and his bowlers.
Even the absence of Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman hasn’t stopped him.
The IPL finals are at Chinnaswamy. For RCB, it’s not a home game, it’s a backyard game, with friends and extended family - 40,000 chants of R-C-Bee, R-C-Bee will be baying for Warner’s blood.
On 12th April, when the two played in Bangalore, RCB sucked the Chinnaswamy for all the runs it was worth – 228, beating SRH (Nehra and Mustafizur included) by 45 runs. Warner made a 25 ball 58. For RCB, Kohli 75, de Villiers 82 sealed the deal. When the Sunrisers returned home, they knocked off 194 beating RCB by 15 runs. That man Warner again, a 50 ball 92. One-all, one to play.
For RCB, off spinner, Parvez Rasool played both games. He played the last of his four games this season more than three weeks back. Will RCB play him again to counter the two left handers on top? Or will they expect Gayle to bowl with his big bat? Will Kohli risk his left arm spinner, Abdulla against Warner? Or will he go as Raina did with Jadeja against Warner, and not bowl him at all? What about the leg spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal?
What about out of favour Sarfaraz Khan? Has he shed enough weight to be picked? Not only is he an October 27 born like Warner, he tonked a 10 ball 35 when he played the Sunrisers, most of those runs were behind the wicket, scooping, paddling, doing all kinds of horrible things to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Such was his impact that day, poor Bhuvi all but gave up on bowling yorkers till just the other day. RCB might find more of baby Sachin in Sarfaraz than they will in Sachin Baby. It’ll be a gamble worth taking, negating Bhuvi could be the game. Bad memories do strange things to sportspersons.
The other big call for RCB is gambling with Lokesh Rahul behind the stumps. It could not just cost them runs, it could cost them the trophy. The only way wicketkeeper, Travis Head makes it to the playing XI if Chris Gayle does not.
Chances are RCB will go with their same winning eleven. And a prayer. It’ll be down to Warner to dismiss Warner. And hoping the other left handers, Dhawan and Yuvraj don’t mess up Abdulla and Chahal too badly.
Either way, a loss in the IPL final will not make either a lesser player. A win for Virat Kohli though, will feed the IPL dream like few things can. (Like Dhoni’s used to in his heyday, you remember?) It’ll add yet another chapter to that story he continues to write on the field. Through the covers. And sometimes, even in the dugout when he fails to score.
After Zaheer Khan's appointment as Delhi Daredevils' captain, it's now Ashish Nehra's turn to lead his IPL team.
On the back of Zaheer Khan's appointment as Delhi
Daredevils' captain, it has now been revealed that another IPL franchise is
looking to a senior Indian medium pacer for leadership. Sunrisers Hyderabad
(SRH) who purchased Ashish Nehra at the IPL auctions this year, have decided to
make him their captain.
In the current World T20, Nehra has been extremely vocal with his opinion, as was evident when he was seen speaking to MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya before the decisive 20th over against Bangladesh. Whether or not his advice was heeded is still unknown but that has never stopped Nehra from giving his two cents. Turning 37 next month, the old workhorse might well be in the twilight of his career, but it's obvious he still has a few tricks up his short sleeves.
Zaheer Khan last played for India over two years ago. Previously, in IPL 7, he only played half of his franchise's 14 matches. Now in his 38th year, the old fox has been made Delhi Daredevils' captain, with the backing of former teammate, and DD mentor, Rahul Dravid.
Ashish Nehra made a surprise return to the India
squad for the Australia and Sri Lanka T20 series, and was subsequently picked
for the Asia Cup and World T20. Before this, Nehra last played for India in the
2011 World Cup semi finals against Pakistan. He opened the bowling with Zaheer
Khan in that match. Before his latest comeback, Nehra's last T20 for India was
more than five years ago. Since his return in January this year, Nehra has
already played 14 matches for India. (also the maximum matches one can play in
the IPL group stages).
SRH coach, Tom Moody, commented on Nehra's
appointment, “We have been following his progress closely. He has been unbelievably
consistent. In three out of the four matches in the World T20 he has very
similar bowling figures – twice he has bowled his four overs for 20 runs and
once his three overs for twenty runs. It's as if he was born to play Twenty20
cricket and go for just 20 runs”. A closer examination of Nehra's figures show
that he has gone for less than 30 runs in nine out of his previous 14 matches.
Ashish Nehra has his own ideas when it comes to
captaincy. Not a big fan of technology or social media, Nehra has gone on
record to say, “I think smart phones are making people less smart. As I have
said before, I still use my old Nokia phone. In our team dugout, I will expect
the players to uninstall facebook, twitter and whatsapp. This way they will
apply themselves on the games and not on the apps...I have just learnt that's
what they call them”
In the current World T20, Nehra has been extremely vocal with his opinion, as was evident when he was seen speaking to MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya before the decisive 20th over against Bangladesh. Whether or not his advice was heeded is still unknown but that has never stopped Nehra from giving his two cents. Turning 37 next month, the old workhorse might well be in the twilight of his career, but it's obvious he still has a few tricks up his short sleeves.
Zaheer Khan last played for India over two years ago. Previously, in IPL 7, he only played half of his franchise's 14 matches. Now in his 38th year, the old fox has been made Delhi Daredevils' captain, with the backing of former teammate, and DD mentor, Rahul Dravid.
For years, Zaheer was team India's bowling captain,
setting fields for various captains and chatting with bowlers from his fielding
position at mid off. Reacting to his appointment as captain, Zaheer believes
that nothing will change - “I'll still be fielding at mid off and talking to
the bowlers”.
In addition to Dravid, Zaheer will renew his association
with India's former mental conditioning coach, Paddy Upton. Welcoming Upton’s
appointment as DD’s head coach, Zaheer was honest in his assessment, “Some of
the decisions DD have taken in the past...they have chopped and changed way too
often...they have also exposed a mental fragility. Someone like Paddy (Upton) will
help them overcome...”
Most experts are sceptical but cricketer turned
commentator, Virender Sehwag, was bullish as usual: “Go Nehraji old is gold”
and “ZAKS old is gold 2”. Shoaib Akhtar disagreed, “I have to disagree...my
producers have told me too”. Sehwag had the last word, “Of course...you are
not...agreeable guy”
Thanks to my friend, Bhaskar Khaund,
for inspiring this post.
(However
plausible this may sound, this is largely a work of fiction.)
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