March 15, 2007
Cricket: No Play and Yet, He's Not SaltyHumor
Wot’s this?? Apparently, boycandy Sreesanth will not be part of India’s opening line-up at the World Cup (damn you, Khan, Agarkar and Patel…damn you all!).
Paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth looks likely to miss out on a starting place for the World Cup but said that could be the best thing to happen for him.
…”I like it this way,” he said at a team net practice near Port-of-Spain on Wednesday. “I like to struggle and get something rather than get it easily. I’m sure I will get the opportunity.”[Reuters]
I dig a good chase too, but if my sweet little neyyappam ain’t playin’, suddenly, I am way less inspired to impersonate Mandira Bedi poorly. Many of you might recall that my fling with Cricket commenced with a post which celebrated Sreesanth’s glorious obnoxiousness towards Andre Nel:
After hearing about Mallu hotness Sreesanth (thanks, DTK), I had to visit ye olde YouTube to find out about this right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler, who is a right-handed tailender. Apparently, excessively lippy South African Andre Nel questioned Sreesanth’s heart/courage/skillz after Sreesanth evaded something called a bouncer. Sreesanth responded by hitting Nel for a six and then performing a dance I’d normally associate with an end zone. Oh, that was just brutal to write. I can’t imagine how many men I’ve just annoyed. ;)
I may not know a damned thing about what is arguably the most popular sport in all of South Asia, but I know the art of trash talk well and if anything could get me to fall in love with this very Brown game, it’s the video I’ve posted…[SM, biatches!]
…
Sigh. And we have so much in common, too:
Sreesanth, 24, one of India’s new crop of pacemen, has impressed with his spirit and wicket-taking abilities which won him Cup selection despite being expensive in one-dayers.[Reuters]
Hello??? I am too expensive for one-nighters! TOTAL SIMILARITY, I think.
Also this:
His natural aggression has caught the imagination of Indian fans since his debut against England in late 2005.[Reuters]
…sounds familiar, too. I’m naturally aggressive and I’ve caught the imagination of many Indian fans…though all of them are male…and for some reason, they’re way more in to my Flickr than my blog. Hmmm. I need to chew on my hair while I like, ponder this…wow, my conditioner smells fab. Wait what was I typing? Ah yes, I was discussing the kid who shares my nick:
The Kerala player was confident he would gain from his past Caribbean experience at the World Cup.
“I was lucky to play all the matches here last year,” he said. “One big lesson I learnt was to be patient, wait for the wickets to come rather than go looking for them.[Reuters]
I concur. The same philosophy has served me well; for example, I patiently wait for sales to come rather than go looking for them…and I nearly always score.
“It is not enough at this level to just run in fast.”[Reuters]
Enough talking darling, you’re ruining it for me. ;) And stop with the fakakta highlights already, would you? You look better with dark hair. Oy, I sound like my Amma…thankfully, since she does not read blogs, she’ll never learn that and use it against me. :D
anna on March 15, 2007 05:50 PM in Humor, News, Sports · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Aaahh damn Indian selectors...
Well can't wair to see Sreesanth busting his moves against the likes of McGrath and co.
GO INDIA GO!!!
p.s: Go Hokies too!!! Gobble Gobble :D
The Guardian on SS.
..the main man now is S “S� Sreesanth.
Is he the breakdancer? That’s the one. He also likes to paint and write poetry.
The Eric Cantona of cricket? Maybe so. He’s a feisty character and a real threat with the new ball, which makes him a very un-Indian seam bowler.
pointy shoes are so fUGghly. they get wrinKLey and the pointEE end looks like a saggy cross-eyed camelHump after a while and the tightness gives yOur toes bunions. i bet sREesanth's toes are splayed so wide you coulddo cat's crADles and swing ThRou.
Not if you
a) buy well-made shoes
b) take care of them
b) don't wear them constantly.
Furthermore, bunions don't happen when one's shoes fit properly. Novel concept, innit?
Now troll elsewhere if you're going to tYpE LiKe tHis, tHaNks.
I think ANNA's posts on this World Cup are going to remembered as classics
Will we get live threads for the big matches? :-D
Oh Ms Anna,
Just wait till the Super8 part of the cup starts. I am sure that by then a couple of the starting fast bowlers will have to be rested due to exhaustion/injury or just poor performance. Sreesanth will surely play in the World Cup.
Overheard in the bunker, in response to "bRing out the Tom YumYum soup. dont be 'fraid.":
"Appositely enough, the only time I had Tom Yum soup, I vomited."
what is it with the subcontinental cricketers streaking their hair - sreesanth, dhoni back to doing it for the world cup, danish kaneria and, the best of all, lasith malinga.
I totally agree. He is soooooooooooo hot! MMMMMMMM. Yummy
Sreesanth is also probably the only cricket player now (before Youhana converted) who crosses himself after entering the cricket field and after every dismissal.
Anna,
You must've loved the Indian Nike ad, then! Sreesanth is quite prominent.
robin uthappa and matthew hayden regularly cross themselves. not sure that what sreesanth does is really a "cross" in the sense that uthappa and hayden do it or a similar gesture.
Anybody seen mallu beauty Lola Kutty swooning about SreeSanth, I think it was on Channel V, I cant find it online... This post reminds me that.. Mallu girls think alike :)
On a side note, my gut tells me that England is going to win this time.. like my main man Stephen Colbert I speak from my gut.
Hang in their. When the time comes, he will deliver the best (Bowling & Dancing). Go Blues !!!
Sweet little neyyappam :-)
That's just about the smartest metaphor I have seen in a while. Nice!
Many great passions start with a crush. Welcome to the lonely world of ABD cricket fans, Anna, you are writing history as we speak. Today, at work, I attempted to rile some folks up on inter-office email. The only response I got was "why do they all dress like hockey goalies," as they went on with their March Madness "bracketology" or whatever that vodoo is called.
Speaking of bowlers, why the heck is that trifling of an inconsequentiality from a chickens a$$, Ajit Agarkar still in the team? After the super quick first career 50 wickets(or was it 100), all I remember about him is that the dude apparently thinks he is some sort of a Shoaib and so keeps trying to bowl short on dead dusty pitches and keeps getting hit to the fence. And when he is not trying to be that, all he sends are juicy half volleys with the same consequence. Apparently he is not so sharp on his feet to learn from his mistakes and keeps screwing us over in the final slog. Oh wait, I forgot one of his 'good qualities', he bowls really well when it does not matter.
Maybe he has improved since I last saw him which was a few years back (and since he is playing, I sure hope he has and I would be happy to eat my words as long as he helps India win). Has he? Because if he has not, it would be really awesome if he takes care of the H2O for the world cup.
i enJyoed it a much.
CaptuREd the fightinG Sptiri of the sporRt. Wish I knows the meaningh ofthe JinglE thoghu. Canst thou Helpo. Sez They - it be a goAn sound and Sonnnnnnnnnnngh. i loVe me some ghati bunNs.
RE: Whose God is it anyways?
the nike add kicks ass! as far as the streaking doni is now the brand ambassador for brylcreme's hair color gel products...teh commercial is lame, but the girls are hot so :).
Agarkar had a phenomenal ODI tour of the Windies earlier in the year and has probably been the most consistent (quality never associated with him) Indian ODI paceman in the last 12 months.
And my mom thinks he's cute.
Hi, this is Deepak Rawat. I have read your posts on your blog, i can say you are really good. Pls visit my site-http://www.deepaktherebel.blogspot.com.I want ot reciprocate links with you.
love the post...rockin post...i do like sreesanth too but sadly he looks like a monkey from a certain angle....kinda ruins it for me lol :P
Agarkar used to be very inconsistent but has improved a lot in the time he was out of the team, and since he can bat too, that increases his value on the side. Plus he's the sole right-arm pacer, IIRC. Zaheer has also really got his act together again. I always thought he kinda got short shrift, as do all bowlers on the side these days, a couple of not-so-great matches/one mediocre series and you're out, whereas the Sehwags and Gangulys would have to suck for a good year before they were kicked out.
As far as hotness goes, I'm an Irfan fan aaaaaaaallll the way. I know sensible thirtysomething married women who go weak in the knees for him too.
Boycandy??? So NOT!
Re: Agarkar,
That kid's an enigma. But he's one of the most consistent bowlers in last 12 months. His biggest achievement is not the quick 50 wickets, but his role in India's victory over Oz in Oz.
ANNA, re: similarity,
Sister he's a poet too.
They drop Sreesanth and take Sehwag??? This boggles me mind no end.
.He fires the ball all over the place too..better with the cherry
I guess you should stick to your typical issues of colour,discrimination and abuse....
Anna, thanks so much for your ongoing cricket comentary. Your first post made me feel guilty for not knowing much about cricket. But this post prompted me to spend 2 hours as a start to learning the game - after all, if I'm going to watch cute desi guys playing during the world cup, I should actually know what it is they are doing! Also, my cousins can finally stop teasing me about 'being so american.'
Red Snapper, they'll be remembered as...something. ;)
More comment-ary soon...
"the nike add kicks ass! as far as the streaking doni is now the brand ambassador for brylcreme's hair color gel products...teh commercial is lame, but the girls are hot so :)."
ah. thanks mohinder_suresh.
agarkar was india's best bowler in the recent tour of windies, i think.
sad news for bangladesh, one of their players, manjural islam, 22, was killed in a traffic accident today at home.
[i]As far as hotness goes, I'm an Irfan fan aaaaaaaallll the way.[/i]
Speaking of Irfan bhai, last I saw him I loved the way he used to bowl. But this friend of mine was telling me that recently he has cut down on pace quite a bit (i.e. he has become embarassingly slow for a medium pacer) to become more accurate on line and length and unfortunately is still quite wayward?
india doesnt have a team - they have a bunch of professional models who alternate between being sacred CoWS and playing TaG in lights.
Bangladesh is going to SO kick india's aRRSe.
Did you see the Ireland - Zimbabwe result? Ireland ran out the Zimbabwean batsman on the last ball to get a tie.
England are playing New Zealand -- England 27-1 -- Monty in the team but Bopara and Mahmood left out.
and now 30/2
go NZ!!
Mr. Bond is killing them w/ 1.81 econ rate. I am rooting for him. A genuine pace bowler who separates real batsmen from flat track bullies.
Not to mention the hurt he put on the Aussies.
^^^Correction: Currently bowling at an un-Bondlike pace of 80-ish mph. Sigh.
I think England vs New Zealand match is going to be tight... I wish Freddie comes to from so that we can see some fireworks.
Let me guess - no one is saying this, but Bond may be injured *again*. When healthy, he's one of my favourites.
I would love to see one of the majors upset in round one, and I'd really like that team to be England
at least oram didn't have to follow through on his desperate measure of amputating his finger to play in the world cup!
England are f*cked -- 134-6, Flintoff just caught for 1
oh dear, pietersen and flintoff in quick succession. england really need flintoff to get back into form (same with sehwag). i wonder if england will regret not playing strauss, even if his odi form hasn't been the best lately. but he's more experienced than joyce.
england 134-6 (both flintoff and pietersen gone in a span of two balls); bond, shane bond.
Holy cow, now its up to Monty to save England :)
My thOughts precissssssELy.
pannnnesaR rides to the Rescue but unlluCky to fall 95 shoRT of his cceentutry.
Patel, the Kiwi Desi is not doing too bad at the moment.
138-7
Dalrymple gone for 3
"but unlluCky to fall 95 shoRT of his cceentutry."
didn't get that on the first read. funny!
hopeless
NZ has to be the most under-rated side ever in the world cup.....
"NZ has to be the most under-rated side ever in the world cup....."
well, they still have to bat. but i dont' think they are under-rated at this world cup. wisden makes them the third favorite after aus and windies to win. in fact, wisden rates india's chances of winning the world cup the lowest of all the eight teams, even lower than england's chances of winning the world cup. I just hope india can prove them wrong, wrong, wrong!
Country- Chances of S8%- To win cup%- Odds- Possibility
Aus-- 96.4-- 40.7--- 3/2 Winner
WIn-- 86.3-- 18.0--- 9/2 Finals
Nzl--- 86.9-- 10.8--- 8/1 s/f
SAf-- 78.8-- - 9.9 -- 9/1 s-8
Sri--- 77.9-- - 7.6 -- 121 sf
Pak-- 79.6-- - 6.7 --14/1 s-8
Eng-- 72.2-- - 2.9 -- 331 s-8
Ind--- 73.1-- - 2.8-- 35/1 s-8
NZ has a desi player too...Jeetan Patel
174-7
If England can post around 190 they can still give the Kiwis a match
Red Snapper- Uh…we could enjoy such liveblogging…except cricket is not shown on a single one of the 300 "digital premium monopoly deluxe" channels (293 of which I don't even watch) I get. :)
WesternGhaat- Yayyy! :D
Whose God is it anyways- That picture of Lasith Malinga is going to give me nightmares. Thanks! ;)
Quizman- So I'm on the metro and your comment comes back to haunt me and I smile…and then I get confused; isn't he Hindu?? Also, yet another similarity with my neyyappam! I cross myself inappropriately, too! p.s. Thanks for the link to the Nike ad! :D
Indianoguy- Thanks for introducing me to Lola Kutty…never heard of her. I spent a good half-hour sating my curiousity about her last night…and yes, beeeyoooteeeful Mallu girls all are thinking alike, zimply becos we are all high from the mallippoo fumes. ;)
Anand- :D Go Blues, yindeed!
Coffeescoop- Yeah, I'm kinda surprised it popped in to my head to use as a metaphor too, to be honest with you. I guess I'm craving Neyyappam. Either kind. ;)
Risible- I share your consternation with this ubiquitous preoccupation with bracketology. In solidarity, one of the few, the proud, the ABD cricket fans.
AA Fan- I think it's cute that your Mom thinks Neyyappam is cute. :D
Deepak Rawat- Hi, Deepak and thanks for the comment! For more info on how we (blog)roll, please see our FAQ. :)
Tia- Aww, thanks! I'm trying to forget the simian part of your comment, though. ;)
SP- Who is this Irfan of which you type? ;) I must see him. I am an insensible thirtysomething unmarried woman and I already have weak knees. I shall google accordingly.
Karlton- Sreesanth is a boy. Sreesanth is fleeting, frivolous, fun sweetness, like candy. Ergo, boycandy. Quod erat demonstrandum, etcetera ad nauseum. ;)
Shodan-ji…suh-woon. Since "EiLS" is one of my faaaavorite choons of all time, I did own the 12", the B-side to which includes the song you wittily referred to in your comment. Squeee!!! :D Pixies AND Mozz??? You grow cooler by the nanosecond.
Jeet- Oh, I'm not bad with cherries. ;)
Bombaiaa- I think you must be new here; "Colour, discrimination and abuse" are not my typical issues at ALL. Fluff, myself and other stuff? Hell yes.
Ak- Awww, thanks! :D I'm in awe that my post inspired you to do something so constructive. You go, penne.
The rest of you...carry on! ;) I'll be back later...
England 200-7 -- one over left. Game on.
Patel is looking beleagured here. Hows the feed folks? So far so good with willow.tv
NZ need 210 to win.
Remember...always keep the seam up
ANNA,
that wasn't even malinga in all his world cup glory. i just hope he won't give india nightmares with his bowling next Saturday (you should see if any of the usual theaters that show indian movies are showing the world cup matches and catch this one on the big screen and then blog on the experience :))
"Hows the feed folks? So far so good with willow.tv"
willow good today. kept cutting out yesterday though. good thing it wasn't during one of the main matchups.
not a bad recovery from england. probably too low, but all is not lost yet.
Snapper,
Your hope-springs-eternal attitude make me wonder if you're an Arsenal man.
The game does seem somewhat on. Go deeper blues.
Is Neyyappam laddu shaped or pancake shaped?
Googled Neyyappam and found this film title "Ayyappante Amma Neyyappam Chuttu". Any idea what it means?
FYI, Gaurdian has funny commentary here
Anna :D. Did you see Lola Kutty's spoof on Hollyood/Bollywood movies here Hilarious stuff. I am so gonna get those posters printed.
More the former, in my experience. But I preferred the anomalous, flatter ones (they were the size of silver dollars).
New Zealand 1 for 1
New Zealand 3 for 2!
Flintoff one handed catch diving to the right!
WICKET! New Zealand 3-2
:-)
Gibbs hits 6 sixes in an over!! btw, can someone tell me about this liveblogging thingy Anna mentioned?
KIWI's are done... 19/3
Anna,
Speaking about Mallu's in cricket, don't know if you are aware that opening batsman, Robin Uthappa is half Mallu & half Kodava http://www.search.com/reference/Kodava .
Here's some info about Robin http://www.cricketfundas.com/robinutt.html
Not sure from this picture if he is hot or not. Just looks like any other Indian lad but he sure can play some great cricket
Not so fast... 55/3
Montys on
This was one cool post, Anna. Keep them coming.
Monty strikes
Hey Steempy, have you hearD the Panesar SonGG
GOD i have no satelite at my house so i cant watch cricket :(. im pissed about it actually. Anywhere on the net where u can watch?
NZ are 143/4..... it's getting hot in herrrrre....
aaaghhh,
if better teams keep winning like this how will we ever get the cup home...
Game, set, match - New Zealand.
England continues its ignominious march in International Sports.
SM: How about a post on March Madness for all the desi sports lovers?
Al_Mujahid... :
Not to steal traffic from my friends here at SM, but we do cover March Maddness over here (opens in a new window).
I tried to add the target tag, that did not work.
Oh, feel FREE if it means I don't have to manage bullshit like THIS. I'll thank you for it.
Lola Kutty singing By the Rivers of Babylon (Boney-M)
I don't have a TV, nor do I know where to go for scores. Even if I did, I'm in the middle of my own (not as fun and exciting) finals. But can I just say how cute y'all are on this thread... :D
Damn. Well at least Monty popped his World Cup wicket cherry. Better to get your bad performances out of the way in the first match.
indianoguy,
Ayyappante Amma Neyyappam Chuttu means Ayyappan's mother made neyyappam.
I don't have a TV, nor do I know where to go for scores.
There are many places online where you can get live scores, and brief ball-by-ball play free, and streaming for $$$.
Most famous portal is Cricinfo.com
Can someone comment on the selection process for the Indian cricket team? Do the best players always get picked or is it based on other considerations too? I'm curious about this because most if not all our players seem fairly middle-class and reasonably well-educated. I find it hard to believe that all our best talent comes solely from that demographic. Pakistan's team seems to have more of a mix between urbane sophisticates as well as more rustic or working-class people.
Most captains select mediocre players from their mohalla. Kapil Dev’s protege Chetan “full toss� Sharma is one such beneficiary of captain’s largesse.
Saurav Ganguly was a notable exception to this Desi captain malaise. He had powerful friends, but used his clout to select promising young players, not the usual bunch of losers.
Indian cricket is becoming less city-centric and throwing up exciting players. Sreesanth and Dhoni are not big city boys. Munaf Patel and Irfan Khan Pathan come from poor families. These are interesting times for Indian cricket fans.Doh! India 21-2. Tendulkar up. Very spirted bunch, the Bangladeshis.
Not to take any credit away from Bangla bowlers but Geoff Boycott's mum can get Sehwag out.
Blindfolded, I forgot to add.
Seriously, why is Dravid persisting w/ this fly-swatter?
In other news, will Ireland get lucky on St. Pat's day? They are playing w/ Jeckyll and Hyde Pakistan.
Well these days anyone's mum can get Sehwag out. Eejit. I remember watching him slap Sami around the field in 2004, sigh. I can't believe our batsmen are on the defensive against Bangladesh of all piddly teams.
Anna, I can't believe you haven't discovered Irfan Pathan yet, but for your delectation, here are some pictures. He was even cuter before he cut his hair so short.
WA WA WA WICKET! Tendulkar gone for seven. 40-3
The best batting line-up in WC *Cough* is blazing at 2.68 strike rate.
Sadness level: Somewhere between Mukesh and Radiohead.
But if you're a Bangla bandhu/bhagini, rock on. You deserve it.
Tendulkar is the Alex Rodriguez of cricket. Puts up big numbers, but seems to wilt when its time to step up.
Shodan, run-rate, not strike rate. Strike rate refers to the number of runs a bowler gives away on average for each wicket he takes.
Blasted top order have been failing regularly over the past year and leaving it to the middle order to do the rescue work. Prima donnas think the team can't do without them. They should be kicked out from time to time, it did wonders for Ganguly's form.
or like Thierry Henry.
I know! (re: Pathan's avg being better than prima donnas'). Can't wait to see him back in the swing of things with his bowling too.
My mistake re strike rate. I meant average. Hee - those who live in glass houses and all that :)
My bro is getting drunk with rabid Indian fans in a movie theater. He said the mood is subdued but optimistic, given the manifest stregnth in the middle order of the Indian lineup. All agree that the portly, bare-chested fellow painted in the colors of the Indian flag (who DirectTV keeps displaying doing exited jumping-jacks) is an embarassment to all brownz.
They are playing like its a test match
Aww, I have to see this!! :D Damn American cable, damn it to Walmart!
Anna, if you're in DC there's this hole in the wall Pakistani restaurant near GWU that used to show matches for a $5 entrance fee. Crowded and dark and occasionally smelly but great fun. Watched the last India-Pak world cup semifinal there. Sigh.
WWWWWICKET! Dravid the captain gone.
105 eats crow.
Gaaaah. Not dependable Dravid too...the shame, to Bangladesh of all teams. They probably underestimated and underprepared.
105 eats crow
I told you so
(I didn't, but it rhymes)
Mehran? Home of the oiliest, least veg-friendly samosas, ever? :D Ah, I know it well. But wouldn't I be the only girl there?? Eeek. This should be easier, like going to Lucky Bar to watch soccer.
Did you go to GW, too?
Aww, I have to see this!! :D Damn American cable, damn it to Walmart!
I think he sat back down now :) He'll turn up on YOU Tube soon, I'm sure.
Yes, Mehran, that's it. Never ever went there to eat as it was too crappy :) You will not be the only girl, you'll be one a few girls. Lots of desi male energy which can be a good thing and a bad thing.
Didn't go to GW but lived in DC for years.
See my post above for Irfan hotness links, btw.
Solly's at U street is also showing the games (and I think Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle at Bethesda)
Andy Bull from the Guardian jumped on the India bandwagon before this match started...
...and with he seems to have brought that wretched English luck. Whats the form of Indias bowlers? Any good? The batting is atrocious.
The pitch is apparently exceedingly slow (according to the commentators); makes it that much harder score of spin.
"AMAZING NEWS IS THAT PAKISTAN ARE 58 FOR FOUR AGAINST IRELAND. Both Yousuf and Inzamam are out! Incredible!"
Schadenfreude!
You definitely don't want to play Ireland on St. Patrick's Day! (At least not this early in the day...)
Excellent. Gird your lungi's bowlers!
Both India and Pakistan are getting bitch slapped. It will be so delicious if they both lose.
AMFD - those are fighting words around here. Retract, now.
Bowlers have been much more consistent than batsmen and yet are rotated more frequently (which makes sense partly for fitness reasons but also doesn't give them a chance to prove themselves, often). Whatever happened to Balaji?
fifty for Ganguly! sehwag must be feeling rather wretched now(wonder what vvs laxman is thinking - although he isn't an ODI blazer) . dicey for india, but probably a good test for them (providing they don't lose and if they do, a good wake-up call for them) in their first match rather than a blowout of bermuda a la australia vs. scotland or south africa vs. netherlands. after all, they got blown away by australia in the first match of the last world cup and went on to the finals. pakistan need to get over that windies loss. but the performance of bangladesh, ireland pokes holes in michael holding's argument that they shouldn't be at the world cup. this is how they will improve and gain confidence.
AMFD - those are fighting words around here. Retract, now.
Well, as far as India-Bangladesh game goes whats wrong with cheering for the small neighbor? Its a perfect David v. Goliath match-up.
As for the Pakitan-Ireland game, you absolutely cant pick against Ireland on St. Patrick's Day!
"Whatever happened to Balaji?"
think he suffered some injuries. gone the way of nehra for now.
Look at the bright side. India and Pakistan fans can get together and ask for a group discount on effigies.
Re: two-paced pitch.
Whatever happened to skillz? Little schmoopsy can't bat unless it's a flat track?
"Pakistan are 72 for six and Shoaib Malik is out! There is one of the great upsets of all time going on over in Sabina Park. Incredible."
Die suckers!!!
hope robin uthappa doesn't turn into a sehwag faster than sehwag. bigger hitter than gautam gambhir, but thought gambhir-ganguly or gambhir-sehwag was a steadier opening pair.
A wicked thought passed my mind.. Lets consider both India and Pakistan loose..they both will be treated as some kind of traitors..
Indian players have to ask for asylum in Pakistan.. Pakistanis have to ask for asylum in India ;)
India showing signs of life late in the innings... Can anyone give us novices a form sheet on how India bowlers vs. Bangladesh batsmen match up? I think I'm pulling for the upset but I'd love some straight-up dispassionate mid-match analysis to help me appreciate the rest of the match.
collapse time.
this is the tendulkar (and all the team!) we need for the world cup
Eek. So much for signs of life. My request still stands though...
Dhoni goes down. I'm stunned.
siddhartha,
Shahriar Nafees and Habibul Bashar are good, especially against spin.
I have to agree w/ ANNA's expert opinion :) on Sreesanth. He's wayward but can be good strike bowler.
Zaheer Khan is in good form. Agarkar can keep one end tidy.
Munaf is the best Indian pace bowler right now assuming he's match-fit.
A score of 210 could be interesting.
siddhartha, not specifically an indian bowler vs. bangladesh batsman analysis (cricinfo is a good source though - their stats guru link), but this is a general overview (so much for form!)
and, in keeping with cricinfo, india has most runs at world cup as a team, decent in the bowling, but our tail lags. what was that cute shot harbhajan tried?
Looks like not happening.... The wickets are tumbling, or falling, or whatever wickets do, left and right...
UNBELIEVABLE. 4 wickets in 11 balls....
I just woke up after a late night....and What is the world coming too??
India are 159/9 against who...Bangla..who..what? maybe I am too hungover and cant read straight
Pakistan are 92/6 against Irish???
I am going back to bed!
This is freakin' crazy. Pakistan are 103 for 7! If they lose they might be out of the tournament?
And look at India. This is crazy stuff going on!
AGAINST IRELAND!!
India all out 191?
Pakistan 106 for 8 against IRELAND??
Oh - my - God
well, this isn't called the group of death for nothing - the hardest of the groups. now up to the indian bowlers. good show from zaheer and patel - second highest partnership - should shame top order batsmen.
The Pak-Ire match .... should I utter the "f" word?? I mean "fixed" !!!!
Guardian couple weeks ago on Indias WC chances:
So India could win it, or maybe even lose to Bangladesh? Like William Goldman said, nobody knows anything.
rather..nobody knows anything about team India
India will have to beat Sri Lanka if they lose today or else it's goodbye baby blue.
"Bowlers have been bailing out batsmen for a while now. WITH THEIR BATTING SKILLS."
right now we need them to bail us out by taking wickets (and zaheer strikes on cue!) but we've already given away 8 extras in four overs. if ireland hadn't bowled 29 extras, pakistan would have been out for about 103.
zaheer takes out the first one..nine more to go
I am quite sure India will win the match...the Bangladeshi batting order isn't too great. I only wish they could have done it with more style.
not with the banglas are playing right now.
Chargin down to zaheer and consecutive fours!
I dont think so, there is Mohammad Ashraful, one of the world class batsmans in recent times.
Banglas are 67-1
India fans, pray for a Pakistan humiliation to at least salvage some good news on a day like this.