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'I could never plan against him'...
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2010-07-20 23:39:34 ] |
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I will miss facing Murali. He is the most difficult bowler I played against. I am happy that I don't have to face him again, but at the same time I am disappointed he will not be around anymore in Test cricket.
He was difficult because I could never plan against him. I would try to watch his hand, and if I could pick him, I would play. Otherwise I would watch the ball closely to try to get an idea of the type of delivery he had bowled.
The first time I faced him, in the tri-series in 2001, was a nightmare because I could hardly pick any of his variations. |
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At times he would spin it at right angles, making my job nearly impossible. I tried to play him defensively and cash in against the other bowlers, because I was never comfortable against Murali. That's something that never changed.
One of the reasons I could never prepare against him was because he varied his pace smartly. In that tri-series, my original plan to combat him was to dominate, try and hit some sixes. But he figured that out and had me caught easily at long-off. Then in the 2003 World Cup, when I was batting well on 66, I hit him over midwicket without picking the doosra and was caught at long-on. There were so many occasions like that when I was confused about whether it was his offbreak or the doosra, and didn't have the time to adjust my body position or my mind to play accordingly. That is how he controlled me.
He would never give you any easy balls; you had to remain patient and improve your skills. He would be quick first up, then he would introduce the doosra, then he would suddenly bowl a really slow ball.
He was always at you, keeping you guessing. Over the years I learnt I needed to be patient. I think that helped me get those three centuries I made against Sri Lanka in the last three years - a double-century in Galle, a century in Kanpur and another double in Mumbai, last December - though I must admit his pace and spin were not as lethal in those matches as they were when I played him for the first time. In a way, those hundreds sort of offset the troubles I had against him previously.
Though I've managed to make some runs against him, I could never pick his doosra. It might sound strange but I can pick that delivery off any other spinner, but with Murali I was stumped. In the 2008 Galle Test, I decided to treat every ball as if it was a doosra and play it towards cover. I didn't hit the ball hard, just used timing to direct it towards cover. Along with that, I waited for loose balls to play shots on the back foot.
Murali doesn't spin the ball so much any more. It's hard to believe this was the same man who could, at one time, pitch it well outside off and get the ball to hit the stumps. That changed when he began bowling a lot of doosras and straighter ones; they probably affected his turn. Yet the doubt remains in my mind. Tomorrow if I walk out, I cannot say for certain that I will score against Murali. I can say that for other bowlers. And that applies through a match: against other bowlers, I usually find it easy to score over a period, but with Murali it did not matter if I was on 0, 10 or 100 - he was always a challenge.
I don't think any bowler likes to show his hand to a batsman, especially to one like me. But Murali is a very good friend. I don't know if he was joking or being serious but he once told me he did not bowl slower deliveries to me because he believed I would hit him out of the ground. He bowled quick so as to not allow me much time to hit or pick the doosras from the offbreaks. It was nice of him to say that. He knows I like to dominate bowlers, but he was equally dominating.
The first thing a young spinner could learn from Murali is a lesson in humility. His patience was also amazing. He told me sometimes he had to bowl 40-50 overs to get a five-for and at times he got it in just 15 overs. To excel at the highest level, you have to be able to exercise patience and have a strong character. That is the best thing anyone can learn from Murali.
I was lucky to be alongside him in the World XI team that played Australia a few years ago. It only confirmed my opinion of him. His best quality is his simplicity. He is down-to-earth; he doesn't make you feel he is a world record-holder. He always makes you feel comfortable in his company. On the field I've never seen him get aggressive or yell at anyone. He always challenged the batsman in a nice manner and motivated his team with a smile and through hard work. Even for an opponent, he was a shining example. |
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Sri Lanka sink India with last ball six...
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2010-05-12 07:26:10 ] |
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India were humiliatingly knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday when a last-ball six from Sri Lanka's Chamara Kapugedera condemned them to their third straight defeat in the Super Eight stage.
Sri Lanka, who have two victories in Group F, won by five wickets and will go through to the semi-finals if Australia beat West Indies later on Tuesday.
Seconds after Kapugedera, needing three off the last ball, drove Nehra mightily over cover for six, the Sri Lankan players raced on to the field in joyous celebration of the win which kept alive their hopes of reaching their second successive final |
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Seconds after Kapugedera, needing three off the last ball, drove Nehra mightily over cover for six, the Sri Lankan players raced on to the field in joyous celebration of the win which kept alive their hopes of reaching their second successive final.
For India, who enjoy huge financial and political influence in the game because of the success of their domestic Twenty20 league, the IPL, the result will be hard to swallow.
India made a challenging total of 163 with Suresh Raina hitting a sparkling 63 but they paid the price for slowing down significantly in the second half of their innings having been 90 for one after 10 overs.
"They bowled really well... they made it really difficult for us," said Indian captain M.S. Dhoni.
"Overall, batting is out strength and we should have done better. We didn't perform to our potential. The last 4-5 overs that they bowled really restricted us. We need to improve in quite a few areas."
Sri Lanka timed their run chase perfectly.
Although they lost key openers Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya cheaply and stood at six for two, Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) steadied things with some intelligent batting.
Skipper Kumar Sangakkara (46) and Angelo Mathews (46) then provided the backbone of the reply before Kapugedera (37 not out) took Sri Lanka over the line in spectacular fashion.
Kapugedera hit Vinay Kumar for two sixes at the end of the penultimate over to significantly reduce the target to 13 off the last over.
When Mathews hit the first ball of the final over, from Nehra, for six, victory was in sight but he was run out in the fifth ball of the over with still three needed.
By that stage the mathematics of run rate meant that India were already out but it was more than salt in the wound to lose in that fashion.
"At the end of the day, if you are outplayed and the opposition plays really well there is nothing much you can really do," said Dhoni.
Sangakkara was in markedly different mood.
"We have always talked about how good our young players are, and they showed that today. Whatever happens after this, we can rest assured we have done the best we can" |
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Jayawardene enjoys time at the top...
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2010-05-08 00:12:41 ] |
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Mahela Jayawardene is showing the world that an orthodox approach can be wildly successful in Twenty20. Jayawardene has scored 279 runs at 139.50 in Sri Lanka's first three games and his unbeaten 98 off 56 balls was responsible for a heavy Super Eight defeat of West Indies on Friday.
While most batsmen try to muscle every shot in Twenty20, Jayawardene has been able to succeed with a more traditional approach and still own a strike-rate of 163.15."I haven't changed a lot but, having said that, I am playing a few more different shots than I am used to in one-day or Test cricket because of |
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different tactics," Jayawardene said after the win. "You tend to analyse and see what works for you and what doesn't."
Jayawardene, 32, is also showing you don't have to be a young shot-maker to excel. "I am enjoying it," he said of opening the batting. "For me it was about me pushing myself with my technique and ability to see how it would suit for me to play T20 cricket.
"Batting in the middle was a challenge, I adapted and I did different things but I think opening the batting has given me much more freedom to go out and express myself - guys need to find that."
Trevor Bayliss, the coach, praised Jayawardene's mature approach, which will be on display again on Sunday when his side plays Australia. "Opening in the 20-over game is really one of the only spots you can make a big score from," Bayliss said. "We have got a guy [Jayawardene] here who is used to making big scores, knows how to go about making big scores, not only in the shorter version but in Test matches as well."
Jayawardene narrowly missed becoming the first batsman to score two Twenty20 international centuries after giving away the strike to his fresher team-mates in the final overs. "At that point I couldn't even get the ball out of the 30-yard circle I was that tired," he said. "I wasn't focused on the hundred but on getting as many runs as we could." |
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Watson, Hussey set up emphatic win...
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2010-05-03 00:38:35 ] |
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Australia 191 (Watson 81, D Hussey 53, Aamer 3-23) beat Pakistan 157 (Misbah 41, Tait 3-20, Nannes 3-41) by 34 runs
Australia began to right previous wrongs in this format with an emphatic dismantling of the defending champions at St Lucia, a 34-run win serving serious notice to one and all of their intentions in this tournament. They wear a fresh look about them in this tournament, under a new captain in Michael Clarke at a global event for the first time since 1999 and with some very handy specialists in the squad.
They went about their opening game in merciless fashion, |
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echoing their dominance over Pakistan months earlier. Brutal half-centuries from Shane Watson and David Hussey set them up, before equally brutal pace shoved aside Pakistan's batsmen. That the loss was Pakistan's tenth international in a row to Australia is neither here nor there; more relevant, Australia were very hot and Pakistan very cold.
It was that way from the start. Watson feasted hungrily in the summer at Pakistan's expense and his love affair continued in more romantic surroundings. A little luck initially helped him, two tough chances put down. More help came from the bulldozing ways of David Warner, the pair giving Australia a brisk start.
Pakistan very rarely open the bowling with a spinner and very quickly, Shahid Afridi's experiment with Mohammad Hafeez looked an unquestioned failure. Warner lofted him for an effortless six over long-off to end the second over and in his next, the game was blown open as the pair took 17.
Warner fell soon after, as did Michael Clarke, but like a right-handed Matthew Hayden, Watson simply bullied his way forth. The brutality of his batting has grown but so has, slyly, his handling of spin. Hafeez was heaved for three sixes, the last of which brought up his fifty in the 10th over.
He was intelligent against Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, not always picking them, but picking away each bad ball. A couple of full tosses were driven and pulled and one cut was a cross-format shot. Then, Hussey interrupted.
Pakistan's fielding was slowly unraveling and Salman Butt's drop when Hussey was 18 was particularly unnecessary; the reprieve unleashed a violent celebration. To rub it in, he took it out on Mohammad Sami, the unlucky bowler. He had bowled well until the 16th over, when his length and head went, allowing Hussey to loft and pull his way to four sixes and a 28-run over. Amid the mess, Watson's innings briefly forgotten, Hussey's own fifty came up.
Pakistan were schizophrenic with the ball; Afridi was again poor and the decision to bowl Hafeez even poorer. Hafeez and Sami went for 101 runs between them. But Mohammad Aamer and Ajmal were exemplary, pulling back some respect at the very end as seven wickets fell in the last four overs, including a remarkable five-wicket maiden last over.
That was to matter little as Australia's intent carried on through in their bowling. Spin, spin, spin has been the chatter, but Australia believe in pace and with some justification. Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson will trouble all but the very best on any surface. Tait and Nannes were too much for Pakistan's top order and the trio picked up a wicket each in their first spells; Tait in particular was sharp.
Any time the pacemen weren't on, in fact, Pakistan's batsmen looked good. Fourteen came off a Michael Clarke over, 17 off a Steve Smith one. Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq - a little more 2007 than 2009 - kept hope with a 47-run stand but the return of pace extinguished it. Afridi was bowled by Tait, Misbah and Abdul Razzaq slogged out to Nannes and the pace trio ended with eight wickets between them.
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Super Kings crowned IPL champions...
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2010-04-26 00:06:52 ] |
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Chennai Super Kings played the smarter cricket and deservingly won the IPL Cup by defeating fancied Mumbai Indians by 22 runs at the packed DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Super Kings shrugged off a slow start as "Player of the Match" Suresh Raina (57 not out), dropped twice, led from the front to pile up 168 for five and then turned in some brilliant performance in the field to restrict Mumbai Indians to 146 for nine.
The much-heralded Mumbai batting line-up caved in under pressure despite a brave 48 by skipper Sachin Tendulkar and big-hitting by |
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Kieron Pollard (27 off 10) even as the Super Kings took some brilliant catches with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni yet again spot-on with his field placements and bowling changes.
Apart from Raina, there were quite a few other heroes for the Super Kings. Spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (17 runs in four overs), Shadab Jakati (2 for 26 from three) and Ravichandran Ashwin (24 in four) and later, seamers Albie Morkel and Doug Bollinger, all chipped in at the right moment to author a historic victory for the Super Kings who had finished runners-up in 2008.
The other factor that tilted the scales in the Super Kings, who also won the Fair Play trophy, favour was the team composition, besides of course their superior fielding. The Chennai outfit kept their faith in their three specialist spinners and held their catches.
The Mumbai Indians went in with just one in Harbhajan Singh while opting for an overly pace attack that was not as effective on a pitch that grew progressively slower.
The home team, faced with a big target, never got into their stride despite a promising second wicket partnership between Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar who put on 66 runs. But Nayar committed a blunder attempting a non-existing single and was run out. The rot well and truly set in at that point.
Later, despite Tendulkar farming the bowling, wickets fell at the other end. The spinners came into their own with Ashwin up front followed by Muralitharan and Jakati, who dismissed Tendulkar and the dangerous Saurabh Tiwary in one over, doing the bulk of damage.
The Mumbai Indians kept back the powerful Pollard and when he came into bat, the asking rate had climbed to over 15. He blasted some massive hits, but it was all too little too late and he eventually fell to a brilliant catch by Matthew Hayden who thus atoned for a dropped chance earlier in the evening.
The turning point of course was Jakati's third and the 15th over of the innings when he removed Tendulkar and Tiwary. Thereafter, the rest of the batsmen, barring Pollard, were simply not up to the task and although Pollard took 22 off Bollinger in the 18th over, his exit signaled the end of the Mumbai Indians' challenge.
Super Kings did well not to look the gift horse in the mouth when they batted. The going in the initial overs was rather painful and scratchy despite a few big hits by the two openers, Murali Vijay and Hayden who looked distinctly out of depth.
In fact, Hayden was lucky to survive a plumb leg-before decision early in his innings, but even otherwise, was unconvincing. At the other end, Vijay batted quite beautifully until he tried to break the shackles and departed in the eighth over.
Hayden followed his partner back into the dugout, miscuing a big hit. Subramaniam Badrinath did not stay long and with the runs all but dried up, he too fell trying to force the pace and the Super Kings were reduced to 67 for three in the 12th over.
In walked skipper Dhoni and almost immediately set about repairing the damage. Raina, meanwhile, lived a charmed life, being dropped when on 13 and 28 and the Mumbai Indians were to pay a heavy price for these lapses.
The pair went on at a good clip to add 72 runs for the fourth wicket before Dhoni fell in the 18th over trying to maintain the brisk pace.
At this stage, the Super Kings still did not have enough runs on the board, but Raina and Albie Morkel came up with some big hits to push the score along. However, just when the partnership appeared to be flourishing, Morkel was run out attempting a bye in the final over.
Lasith Malinga sent down two dot balls to Raina and off the third, the southpaw batsman attempted a suicidal bye that caught Morkel well short of the crease. Another dot ball followed to new man Anirudha Srikkanth and then five wides. Anirudha hit the fifth legal ball to the boundary and finished the innings with a two.
Thus, a total of 168 gave the Super Kings lots to play with after looking hopelessly out of the contest in the first 10 overs when they scored a mere 59 runs. |
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