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More Random Shots On The ICC World Cup
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The 10th ICC ODI World Cup features 14 teams. Of these, only six to eight teams have a realistic chance of winning the cup.
Discerning followers of the game have short-listed five teams to lift the trophy—India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, England and Australia.
Cricket Bytes: Really Random Shots on Team India’s World Cup
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The ICC ODI World Cup is almost upon us.
Practice matches—prior to the hurly-burly of the tournament—are in full swing. Teams are trying out combinations and players are trying out shots and deliveries—making sure that they are set for the real thing.
Tennis Bytes:From Melbourne Park Results To Predicting Winners … and Losers
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Spoilsport Novak
Novak Djokovic played spoilsport at the 2011 Australian Open annexing his second major after a dry spell of three years.
Sportswriters were forced to scramble to change the headlines they had imagined citing either a Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer triumph. They had to reinvent their catch-phrases.(Damn you, Djokovic!)
The Serb’s victory was welcomed as the emergence of the Third Force.
The fallout was swift. In a rush to hail the rise of the young brigade, ‘tennis pundits’ were quick to pronounce death sentence on the Federer- Nadal rivalry.
It may soon be a case of the doomsayers having to eat their words all over again.
However, they are not totally wrong.
Indian cricket: World Cup selection conundrums and death knells
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The Indian team’s preparations for the World Cup recovered from a minor hiccup when Shantakumaran Sreesanth replaced the injured Praveen Kumar in the side.
The UP bowler has not yet recovered from an elbow injury sustained on the South Africa tour.
Though there were some calls for Ishant Sharma instead, the Kerala cricketer is the man in form. Sharma is a far cry from the bowler he was on his debut Down Under in 2008. He has been bowled into the ground; a case of poor handling by captain and coach. In his case, the rotation policy is a joke.
Sourav Ganguly has not retired yet (Satire)
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Sourav Ganguly has retired from international cricket.
Sourav Ganguly has not retired from international cricket.
Sourav Ganguly wishes to play in the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly cannot play in the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly will play in the Ranji trophy.
Sourav Ganguly will play for Bengal only if he can play in the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly will play domestic cricket to stay fit for the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly is not confused.
I am.
ICC spot-fixing verdict puts Butt, Asif and Amir in a tight spot
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The ICC tribunal hearing into the spot-fixing scandal made public its verdict last Saturday, the 5th of February 2011.
All three Pakistani cricketers— Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir—were indicted and handed bans. The bans ranged from five to 10 years.
The youngest of the lot, Amir, was sentenced to a five year involuntary hiatus from the sport.Asif and Butt were handed seven and 10 year bans, with two and five years suspended sentences. In effect, all three cricketers have been suspended from the game for a minimum of five years.
Five Sizzling Questions Facing Indian Tennis
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The Wall Street Journal—at the start of the 2011 Australian Open—published an article titled Five Sizzling Tennis Questions.
The questions were:
Are Rafael Nadal‘s injuries behind him?
What about Roger?
Who are the other challengers on the men’s side?
Is this the year of the Woz?
Is the women’s ranking system legitimate?
The answers to four of the questions are still up in the air.
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open victory has given doubters more than a hint as to who’s not hanging to the coat-tails of the big guns—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Using the article as inspiration, I arrived at five burning questions for Indian tennis:
Cricket Bytes: Of Saurav Ganguly,spot-fixing verdicts and World Cup contenders
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Saurav Ganguly is going, going, gone…
The Bengali player’s hopes of participating in IPL4 were dealt a death-blow by objections raised by Royal Challengers Bangalore,Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. Team Kochi had evinced interest in the former Indian captain but could sign him on only if none of the other franchisees demurred. The iconic batsman remained unsold in the 2011 auction.
Although Ganguly fans—particularly Kolkattans—will be disappointed, bending over backwards to accommodate anyone is not the way to run a premier tournament. Accusations of ad-hoc decision making were leveled against Lalit Modi, the ex-IPL honcho. Modifying the rules to suit two interested parties is not in the best interest of the IPL. The IPL Governing Council is managing a business, not a charity.
Besides, if the Kochi team really needed the ex-skipper on their side, they ought to have purchased him outright when they had the opportunity. The chasing after Ganguly now smacks of ill-preparation. Verily, a case of putting the cart before the horse.
Quote/Misquote: Stanislas Wawrinka,Roger Federer,Novak Djokovic,Rafael Nadal,Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Na Li (Satire)
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STANISLAS WAWRINKA
"I have no idea. Sorry. I have no idea why."
What he really meant:
I don’t know why Europeans dominate tennis right now. I just play, man, don’t bother me.
What he definitely didn’t:
The Europeans have stolen the Americans’ and Australians’ spinach and will keep popping them in the eye.
(Popeye refrain "I’s bin hornswoggled!” in background.)
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