CHENNAI: Sreesanth's ringtone says "I believe I can fly". But his performances of late haven't been upto the scratch and the Kerala paceman is now out of the Indian ODI side. R Vinay Kumar, on the other hand, has nothing of the flash and flair of Sreesanth. The hardworking Karnataka player, now an integral part of the Kochi Tuskers team, goes on performing day-in-day-out and despite bowling at a pace of 130, has worked his way back in the Indian One-Day side.
While Sreesanth has found himself in the middle of controversies even in this IPL, Vinay has just got on with his job. The Kerala player has lost his place in the team, too, once in a while, but the Kochi management has probably understood that it is something they have to live with. "We always wanted him to express himself. He is at his best when he expresses himself in his own way," Kochi's stand-in skipper Parthiv Patel said on Wednesday.
But one thing he didn't say is that Sree hasn't delivered what was expected of him. Vinay on the other hand, has been right on the money. "I do not try to do too many extravagant things... I always look to stick to my basics and I think that is paying the dividends," Vinay Kumar told the TOI on the sidelines of a Kochi practice session.
Vinay Kumar and Sreesanth are different people, both in terms of attitude and bowling styles. While Vinay works on subtle variations, swing and change of pace, Sreesanth is more of an attacking bowler who looks to experiment. That works for him on occasions, but in ODIs it goes against him too.
The World Cup final was a prime example when Dhoni played him ahead of R Ashwin, but the paceman disappointed. But Kochi's stand-in captain indicated that he is determined to get his rhythm back. "He is working hard at the gym. We all believe he can get back into the Indian team," Parthiv said.
Vinay Kumar, on the other hand, is looking to cement his place in the Indian team. "It was disappointing to miss out. But I had given a decent account of myself in the games that I have played. So I felt I can come back," he said.
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Kings XI Punjab crush Royal Challengers Bangalore by 111 runs
DHARAMSALA: It was supposed to be left-handed hatchet man Chris Gayle's party at the HPCA Stadium on Tuesday. But another left-hander, commendably assisted by yet another southpaw, gate-crashed in such stunning, hair-raising fashion that the night became an ode to him, a monument to his legendary powers.
Adam Gilchrist needed one defining knock in IPL 4, one which would make his season and measure up to his stature. It came against table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore, a blistering 106 off 55 balls which had eight fours and nine sixes, one of which went into the valley past the upper tiers beyond the mid-wicket boundary.
His second IPL ton and his record-shattering second-wicket stand with fellow Aussie Shaun Marsh, worth 206, took Kings XI Punjab to the season's highest 232/2.
And when Gayle was taken out by Ryan Harris for a duck in the second over of the RCB reply as the visitors chased an improbable target, the contest was as good as over. RCB meandered along to 121 all out in 17 overs to lose by a whopping 111 runs. A buoyant Kings XI, who won their fourth game on the trot, stay at fifth in the points table. They are breathing down KKR's neck and you cannot fault them for harbouring high hopes of making the playoffs. They play their last league game against Deccan Chargers on Sunday.
The Gilchrist-Marsh tango was the biggest in all T20 cricket, comfortably overshadowing the 186 Justin Langer and Cameron White put together for Somerset against Gloucestershire in 2006. Marsh (79 not out, 49b, 7x4, 5x6) was more than a good foil for his captain and played his part in the merciless dismantling of the Royal Challengers Bangalore attack.
It was a wet day in Dharamsala with intermittent drizzle threatening to disrupt the match which, thankfully, did not happen. But when the drizzle stopped, it began raining fours and sixes. Such was the ferocity of Gilchrist and Marsh's onslaught that one thought even the Dhauladhar and Shivalik ranges which encircle the scenic HPCA stadium would be quaking in fear.
It helped that RCB rested Zaheer Khan for the game. Without him, the bowling was easy fodder for Gilchrist and Marsh. New-ball bowlers JJ van der Wath and Charles Langeveldt went for 50 and 48 runs respectively while S Aravind and A Mithun too could not stem the tide.
toi
Adam Gilchrist needed one defining knock in IPL 4, one which would make his season and measure up to his stature. It came against table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore, a blistering 106 off 55 balls which had eight fours and nine sixes, one of which went into the valley past the upper tiers beyond the mid-wicket boundary.
His second IPL ton and his record-shattering second-wicket stand with fellow Aussie Shaun Marsh, worth 206, took Kings XI Punjab to the season's highest 232/2.
And when Gayle was taken out by Ryan Harris for a duck in the second over of the RCB reply as the visitors chased an improbable target, the contest was as good as over. RCB meandered along to 121 all out in 17 overs to lose by a whopping 111 runs. A buoyant Kings XI, who won their fourth game on the trot, stay at fifth in the points table. They are breathing down KKR's neck and you cannot fault them for harbouring high hopes of making the playoffs. They play their last league game against Deccan Chargers on Sunday.
The Gilchrist-Marsh tango was the biggest in all T20 cricket, comfortably overshadowing the 186 Justin Langer and Cameron White put together for Somerset against Gloucestershire in 2006. Marsh (79 not out, 49b, 7x4, 5x6) was more than a good foil for his captain and played his part in the merciless dismantling of the Royal Challengers Bangalore attack.
It was a wet day in Dharamsala with intermittent drizzle threatening to disrupt the match which, thankfully, did not happen. But when the drizzle stopped, it began raining fours and sixes. Such was the ferocity of Gilchrist and Marsh's onslaught that one thought even the Dhauladhar and Shivalik ranges which encircle the scenic HPCA stadium would be quaking in fear.
It helped that RCB rested Zaheer Khan for the game. Without him, the bowling was easy fodder for Gilchrist and Marsh. New-ball bowlers JJ van der Wath and Charles Langeveldt went for 50 and 48 runs respectively while S Aravind and A Mithun too could not stem the tide.
toi
Time to trial VJD method instead of D/L?
MUMBAI: Ten years after an engineer from Thrissur in Kerala, V Jayadevan, first introduced his self-invented VJD method for weather-affected cricket matches, the formula may gain some kind of recognition at last.
The technical committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to call Jayadevan later this month to give an official presentation of how his system works and will take a call on it after understanding all its implications.
Senior cricketers have been asked for their views on Duckworth-Lewis and many have come forward giving it a thumbs-down in recent past. That, in turn, has encouraged certain ICC members to give the VJD method a fair hearing.
For Jayadevan, this is a huge and emphatic step forward to help introduce the VJD method to the world, especially because in the last ten years, all his efforts to do so have been in vain.
The Duckworth-Lewis Method, first introduced by two English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis in 1996-97, has been used by the ICC in all international matches officially since 2001 and no other system, including the VJD method, has been given a try. In 2005, the Duckworth-Lewis method was revised and updated and once again the VJD method was left in the cold without a hearing.
The D/L method — as Duckworth-Lewis is called — is a mathematical formula designed to calculate the target score for team batting second in shorter formats of the game interrupted by weather. Experts have generally accepted the D/L method to be fair and accurate in setting a target score, but it has not happened without controversies.
Experts say D/L's G50 rule — in which the possible target is calculated based on the whole 50 overs of play in the first innings — is the method's biggest weakness because it does not take into account the possibility of a team scoring less than the set score that is projected by the computer-generated program.
"When the interruption comes in the first innings, you have to find out a projected score through a more validated method. D/L does not provide that," says an expert. VJD's biggest strength, he says is: "It assumes various milestones in a match. The advantage is that the VJD model lies much closer to the actual situation than the D/L model."
The D/L is universally accepted and regardless of how players themselves view it, the model has stood the test of time. However, it is unfair if the concerned authorities have refused to give the other method — equally good and one that claims to be better in certain situations of the shorter format of the game — a fair opportunity to present itself.
"It is primarily the BCCI's responsibility to ask for a VJD presentation and forward it to the technical committee to study it," says the expert.
The technical committee of the BCCI, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, has studied the VJD method in the past and has recommended it to the BCCI, particularly asking that the method be introduced in the Indian Premier League. The Indian Board, however, has steadfastly refused to consider it. It gets worse because neither the BCCI nor ICC has even bothered to inform Jayadevan why the VJD has not been considered.
Asking Jayadevan to give a presentation of his model is the least the board or ICC can do. The first step has been taken in that direction.
toi
The technical committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to call Jayadevan later this month to give an official presentation of how his system works and will take a call on it after understanding all its implications.
Senior cricketers have been asked for their views on Duckworth-Lewis and many have come forward giving it a thumbs-down in recent past. That, in turn, has encouraged certain ICC members to give the VJD method a fair hearing.
For Jayadevan, this is a huge and emphatic step forward to help introduce the VJD method to the world, especially because in the last ten years, all his efforts to do so have been in vain.
The Duckworth-Lewis Method, first introduced by two English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis in 1996-97, has been used by the ICC in all international matches officially since 2001 and no other system, including the VJD method, has been given a try. In 2005, the Duckworth-Lewis method was revised and updated and once again the VJD method was left in the cold without a hearing.
The D/L method — as Duckworth-Lewis is called — is a mathematical formula designed to calculate the target score for team batting second in shorter formats of the game interrupted by weather. Experts have generally accepted the D/L method to be fair and accurate in setting a target score, but it has not happened without controversies.
Experts say D/L's G50 rule — in which the possible target is calculated based on the whole 50 overs of play in the first innings — is the method's biggest weakness because it does not take into account the possibility of a team scoring less than the set score that is projected by the computer-generated program.
"When the interruption comes in the first innings, you have to find out a projected score through a more validated method. D/L does not provide that," says an expert. VJD's biggest strength, he says is: "It assumes various milestones in a match. The advantage is that the VJD model lies much closer to the actual situation than the D/L model."
The D/L is universally accepted and regardless of how players themselves view it, the model has stood the test of time. However, it is unfair if the concerned authorities have refused to give the other method — equally good and one that claims to be better in certain situations of the shorter format of the game — a fair opportunity to present itself.
"It is primarily the BCCI's responsibility to ask for a VJD presentation and forward it to the technical committee to study it," says the expert.
The technical committee of the BCCI, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, has studied the VJD method in the past and has recommended it to the BCCI, particularly asking that the method be introduced in the Indian Premier League. The Indian Board, however, has steadfastly refused to consider it. It gets worse because neither the BCCI nor ICC has even bothered to inform Jayadevan why the VJD has not been considered.
Asking Jayadevan to give a presentation of his model is the least the board or ICC can do. The first step has been taken in that direction.
toi
Dravid hopes to better 2006 performance in the West Indies
MUMBAI: Former captain Rahul Dravid is hopeful about the Indian cricket team improving upon its 2006 performance in the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
During the 2006 West Indies tour, the Indian team created history under Dravid's captaincy when they won a Test series in the Caribbean for the first time in 35 years.
"We won the series there last time around but I hope we will do better this time," he said on the sidelines of a promotional event on Tuesday.
"If the West Indies play their full strength side, they will be a tough team to beat. But it will be interesting to see if they have their full side."
Dravid became only the second Indian skipper, after Ajit Wadekar, to have won a Test series in the West Indies when he led India to a 1-0 victory in a four-match rubber in 2006.
Meanwhile, Dravid was confident that the last chapter in the rivalry between spin wizard Shane Warne and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, with the former announcing his retirement from the IPL, would be an engrossing one when Rajasthan Royals take on Mumbai Indians on Friday.
"Both are great players. If we see the history we will agree both are legends. It will be a good show by great cricketers. Every one will like to see such contests. Hopefully, there would be a good contest," he said.
The 38-year-old cricketer, who is part of the Jaipur outfit, said inexperience was the reason behind Rajasthan Royals' failure to make it to the playoffs of IPL 4.
"Look, our side has got a little bit of inexperience if you look at our game. There are 10 teams and at the end of the day other teams had probably more experienced players in this competition."
"We are not in a position to get to the play-offs. We have got some up and down performances. We have some youngsters doing well for us. We can improve next year," Dravid said.
He pinpointed Rajasthan Royals' Ashok Menaria and Ajinkya Rahane as the players to watch out for in the future.
"Happy to see some young players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria come through...they have shown a glimpse of what they can do. Rahane has done well for Mumbai in Ranji and domestic cricket while Menaria has done well for Rajasthan."
Meanwhile, South African Johan Botha, who was also present at the event, said he would be happy to succeed Warne as the Jaipur outfit skipper if he is asked to do so.
"I think when Warnie stops, a few guys could take over. If I get the opportunity, I will take it. But there are a lot of guys to take over like (Shane) Watson and Ross Taylor."
Asked about Gary Kirsten's chances of succeeding the outgoing South African coach, Corrie Van Zyl, Botha said, "I think honestly Gary has had a good time with the Indian team. If he takes over everone will be happy."
New Zealanders Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Rahane were also present on the occasion.
toi
During the 2006 West Indies tour, the Indian team created history under Dravid's captaincy when they won a Test series in the Caribbean for the first time in 35 years.
"We won the series there last time around but I hope we will do better this time," he said on the sidelines of a promotional event on Tuesday.
"If the West Indies play their full strength side, they will be a tough team to beat. But it will be interesting to see if they have their full side."
Dravid became only the second Indian skipper, after Ajit Wadekar, to have won a Test series in the West Indies when he led India to a 1-0 victory in a four-match rubber in 2006.
Meanwhile, Dravid was confident that the last chapter in the rivalry between spin wizard Shane Warne and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, with the former announcing his retirement from the IPL, would be an engrossing one when Rajasthan Royals take on Mumbai Indians on Friday.
"Both are great players. If we see the history we will agree both are legends. It will be a good show by great cricketers. Every one will like to see such contests. Hopefully, there would be a good contest," he said.
The 38-year-old cricketer, who is part of the Jaipur outfit, said inexperience was the reason behind Rajasthan Royals' failure to make it to the playoffs of IPL 4.
"Look, our side has got a little bit of inexperience if you look at our game. There are 10 teams and at the end of the day other teams had probably more experienced players in this competition."
"We are not in a position to get to the play-offs. We have got some up and down performances. We have some youngsters doing well for us. We can improve next year," Dravid said.
He pinpointed Rajasthan Royals' Ashok Menaria and Ajinkya Rahane as the players to watch out for in the future.
"Happy to see some young players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria come through...they have shown a glimpse of what they can do. Rahane has done well for Mumbai in Ranji and domestic cricket while Menaria has done well for Rajasthan."
Meanwhile, South African Johan Botha, who was also present at the event, said he would be happy to succeed Warne as the Jaipur outfit skipper if he is asked to do so.
"I think when Warnie stops, a few guys could take over. If I get the opportunity, I will take it. But there are a lot of guys to take over like (Shane) Watson and Ross Taylor."
Asked about Gary Kirsten's chances of succeeding the outgoing South African coach, Corrie Van Zyl, Botha said, "I think honestly Gary has had a good time with the Indian team. If he takes over everone will be happy."
New Zealanders Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Rahane were also present on the occasion.
toi
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