The legendary Spin Doctor marching Towards his 800 ??

The genial off-spinner from SriLanka has finally decided to call it quits in the test arena. Muttiah Muralitharan will play his last test game at Galle and against India. With just 8 wickets short of 800 in world test cricket, Murali will go into his last game. Muralitharan has always been on top of his form giving his hundred percent in whatever he does. He has remained a nightmare even to the world’s finest batsmen mixing up his deliveries and doing it intelligently. And for a matter of fact, this champion player from Kandy is currently the highest wicket taker in both tests and One-dayers. It for sure, tells you about his commitment, dominance and longevity in world cricket.

Though Murali hails from a family which runs a business making biscuits, cricket always took the priority. Way back in school, little Murali was a medium pacer and then on his coach’s advice the fourteen year young lad took up off-spin. Impressed playing school cricket, he went on to bag “Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year” in 1990-91. While his college cricket was brilliant, his club record was exceptional - 234 wickets at 14.51 runs in 46 matches. And from there everybody thought this young lad will make it big, but he has made it huge in SriLankan Cricket. Remarkable success and humungous fan following to this man who is rated as the greatest test match bowler.

When it comes to breaking world records, he is the man who has done it all after the genius batsman of the game, Sachin Tendulkar. Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers of the game. Murali now holds the record for most one day and test dismissals. Muralitharan was selected as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and in 2006. Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007 in the longer version of the game. He took the wicket of Gautam Gambhir on 5 February 2009 in Colombo, to surpass Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets. Muralitharan also overtook Courtney Walsh's record of 519 wickets on his stride. His 700 came when he bowled Syed Rasel of Bangladesh and his 750 when he grabbed the wicket of Sourav Ganguly of India. Muralitharan has taken five or more wickets in an innings on 66 occasions in test cricket, which is again a world record. Records never get tired of him. They come on and on and on.

Though Murali has been spectacular, there was a time when he was tested and tampered with. He really went through a rough and bad phase when he was adjudged of having processing an”illegal bowling action” and that it contravened the laws of the game. The stand-in umpire called a “no-ball” seven times for an illegal action during the Boxing Day test match in Melbourne. Later again in the triangular World Series competition, he was given a no-ball more then a couple of times by Ross Emerson again for an illegal bowling action. But the best part was, he was signaled a no-ball for his leg-breaks than his normal off-breaks. Murali was then forced to undergo biomechanical analysis in Hong-King, but then came the good news that his action created an “optical illusion of throwing” and that he can continue with his action. But again, doubts persisted regarding his action thereafter in the minds of the on-field umpires in the 1998-99 tour of Australia and the SriLankan side got frustrated and almost abandoned the game after their lead spinner was reportedly challenged with no-ball calls.

But Murali has always been awe-inspiring with great levels of determination and confidence in his action and especially in himself. He never lent his ear to the controversies that persisted around him and the way the Australian crowd mocked at him every time he came out to play. Muralidharan has always been a source of inspiration for the young spinners for his plenty of variations under his armory. Muralitharan also has the unique distinction of getting 10 or more wickets in a match against all other 9 Test playing nations as well as capturing over 50 wickets against each of them.

Much has been said about this very legend or the wizard of spin bowling. So many wickets under his belt, umpteen matches played, plentiful missions clinched, so much has been proved and accomplished and he is ever economical, but still the passion for the game never ever dies or fades out. He still plays the game as he is playing it for the first time. Murali has proved it to each and every one of us that he is capable of daunting any batsman in the world. But let’s see if this legendary Spin doctor can pull off 8 wickets given the two innings and land on the magical mark of 800 before he bids adieu to the longer version of the game. Its now an interesting contest on the charts..Lets see if Dhoni’s men are capable enough to guard their stumps denying Murali his 800 or will Murali, putting in all his tactics and efforts into play dominate the Indian batsmen.. Its a question only time can answer!!

Any Octopus to predict this One ??

Cricket fraternities here in India are occupied with their celebrations after the team India clinched its Asia cup after 15 long years. It has been a good and quick climb up the ladder after the disappointing Zimbabwe tour. Team India played their heart out in every department of the sport and outclassed every other Asian team, I would say. And generally the litmus test for accessing every team’s patience and depth in their attack will be a five Day Test game. Test cricket is a different ball game altogether and Team India will face a tough challenge playing a test series against SriLanka after playing an array of one day games. The SriLankans will be looking forward to capitalize on the ‘home ground’ advantage. Also since SriLankans record at home is quite convincing it will again end in favor of the Singhalese and give them a high.

This series comes sandwiching the Asia cup and the upcoming triangular series between India-New Zealand and SriLanka. The Champions in test will face the much competitive and spirited SriLankans and in SriLanka. I think it will be very apt to begin with the possible scenario in the fight for top spot. The situation is so intriguing that it is impossible not to speculate. Both the teams have a very powerful and an impressive batting lineup, a good and solid middle order and a good tail which can amass some valuable runs on the board. While both teams have a bright chance to grab the top spot the chances of Australia making it back to the top too cannot be ruled out. I’m very excited to see how the games shape up and what the standings will be after this short, yet interesting season.

Team India will be all smiles with their dashing opener Virender Sehwag making his comeback in this series after he was injured early this year. It’s high time Gautham Gambhir get back to his form assisting his senior partner upfront. And after a series of failures, Yuvraj Singh should be happy to grab his place in the middle order. The batting will continue to be as lustrous as ever even as the famous trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman enter the twilight of their careers. The amount of contribution we have seen from elite cricketers to the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar has been awe-inspiring and commendable. Even in their mid 30’s they seem to give the game a new dimension and their hundred percent every time they come on the field. Yet another promising player, Suresh Raina is on a dream run and hopefully he will continue to display his confident and punching strokes getting as many runs as possible on the board. This will be the Dhoni’s first game after his wedding and it remains to be seen whether his lady will bring in some luck and whether he is still the man with the Midas touch. Also the bench strength is going one notch higher with the much experienced Subramaniam Badrinath and handy Murali Vijay being the front runners to fill the batting slots should there be any vacancy due to one reason or the other. Wriddhiman Saha will be the back-up wicketkeeper and he must be waiting to cash in on opportunity given to him to prove his batting and glove skills and there is always a Harbhajan Singh to give us the entertainment and keep the scoreboard ticking in the end overs. Looks a good batting up, which is capable of ripping the Lankan attack.

The bowling department looks fresh with Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma getting a nod for this series. Both of them have been out of action for quite a time due to injury and now it will be interesting to see how both of them adapt to the SriLankan wickets. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan will miss out this series due to an injury and this will be a big blow to Dhoni and his men for sure. However, Abhimanyu Mithun will replace the much experienced fast bowler. The spin trio comprises of the high energy Harbhajan Singh along with Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. India’s strength in bowling will be their spin when we take the conditions in SriLanka into consideration. Dhoni will also be chipping in Sehwag, Raina and Yuvi in the middle overs as the part timers seem to have a good day with the ball.

It’s a home ground performance test for the SriLankans. It will be very interesting to see who their openers will be with now even Paranavitana joining the squad. Their skipper Sangakkara seems to be in a fine nick. His ability to play both the attacking and defensive strokes to near perfection keeps him amongst the runs. Mahela Jayawardena is also in a good form and his slow transition to a hitter is getting obvious and this five day game will be a good test to his patience and stroke adaptability. Dilshan will again be looking to free his arms and go over the top, his natural ability. It remains to be seen how well he is able to perform the balancing act. The middle order will be quite stable with players like Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews to shift gears. Thilina Kandamby is yet again another player who can play the anchor innings.

As far as the bowling department is concerned, they will rely on the pace trio of Dilhara Fernando, Dammika Prasad and Chanaka Welegedara. Fernando seems to have got that experience to pitch the ball on the right places. Walegedara also is getting the ball to do that extra swing and bounce. Their lead spinners will be Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath while Suraj Randiv will be the additional specialist spinner.

This series will India's big chance to keep their newly acquired numero uno slot but the Lankans will be keen to give it a fight and take revenge against the Asia Cup Champions. All in all, the stage is set for a pretty interesting tussle on the cards over the next few months with even the World Cup around the corner. Let’s keep our Fingers crossed and may the Cricketing action take over. So any octopuses out there,. predicting the outcome of this series??

Hail Football.. Let the Jabulani take its FreeKick!!

Its all Football fever catching up here in India. The four semifinalists have battled it out on the lush green ground to get a place in the top four. Both of the semifinal games are expected to be more competitive, aggressive and challenging. The Dutch face Uruguay on 6^th July while the second semifinal will see the favorite Germans take against the Spaniards on 7^th of July. Both Netherlands and Uruguay have bounced back strongly into the tournament winning against big teams to the likes of Brazil and Africans respectively whereas the Germans and the Spain have always stayed top favorites in any game.

The Netherlands came from a goal behind to the mighty Brazil to seal a victory 2-1 in their quarter finals. It was indeed a much deserved victory for the amount of football played by the Dutch. The first half was a tightly fought affair with just a goal from Brazil’s Robinho. The second half which saw an equalizer from Dutch’s favorite player Wesley Sneijder. And later in the 68^th minute, which belonged to the Netherlands, saw yet another power scoring goal from Sneijder. Double strike for the man in orange and yeah.. also a place in the top 4. Dutch did build on their lucky break! But, the sad news for the Dutch from that quarter final game will be the yellow cards picked up by Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong which mean they will miss the semi-finals. Watch out for an obvious Sneijder raring to pounce and bounce.

Uruguay’s performance in the World Cup has been exciting and their win against Ghana in the quarter final, saw the last African team being knocked out of the world cup. Ghana pulled up their sock and was in full spirits for the first half; saw a lovely strike from Sulley Muntari just before the half time to take a 1-0 lead against Uruguay. Shortly into the second half, both the teams were pressing hard and the equalizer came in the form of an absolute beauty of a freekick by Diego Forlan. 1-1 beamed the giant scoreboard. As the clock ran down, the jabulani kept whizzing around on the ground until the final whistle and then the extra time followed. No goals again. Penalty shootout came in. This saw a 4-2 win for the Uruguay. The yellow card that Jorge Fucile picked up in this game means he will also miss the semi-final. Another awesome footballer in the form of Luis Suarez proved a real Uruguay hero in the Round of 16, scoring twice to give them a 2-1 win over South Korea. Watch out for Fiery Forlan from any corner of the ground!

The second semi final between Germany and Spain is what we are expecting to be a cracker of a match. The much comfortable victory Germany had against the much fancied Maradona’s Argentina will have them on a high beyond doubts.

This German side is buzzing everywhere on the ground. This young side is beginning to look unbeatable and undisputed champions. In the quarter final game against Argentina, and when the game was just 3 minutes old, came the destruction from Thomas Müller, who headed in a freekick from the man of the game, Bastian Schweinsteiger. Müller is showcasing great football skills but still this man will miss the semifinal game as he picked a yellow card later that game. The second half of the game made things worse for the Argentina stars, as Germany went on to score three more of which two came from Miroslav Klose and one from Arne Friedrich. As a matter of fact, this is the third time Germany has scored four goals in this tournament. And Germans for sure will find it hard to replace their magic star Thomas Müller but two good players to watch out for will be Klose, Schweinsteiger.

The other semifinalist, Spain’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the quarter finals saw a lot of drama. And it was a very very tight game. The Spaniards found it tough to get the going, it was obvious from their ball possession, passing and control. The South Americans pushed themselves that extra mile to pose as strong contenders for the Spaniards. Antolin Alcarez can consider himself lucky not to have been given a red card when he fouled Spain’s David Villa in the penalty box. The jabulani hit the post 3 times so hard before going into the net giving Spain their much needed breakthrough and a win seven minutes from time. Spain started the tournament as favorites but once they succumbed to Switzerland 1-0, and their “favorite tag” went out of the window. Spain also has an impressive disciplinary record, so will be playing their best players as none of them are suspended and going out for the semifinal. All eyes will be on their lead striker David Villa to get an early breakthrough.

My Prediction goes with Netherlands from the first semifinal and Spain with the second semifinal and I foresee the underdogs Netherlands clinching the lady in gold, the WorldCup 2010. But, let’s keep our fingers crossed, and get ready for the overnight action with their jerseys and skull caps. Hail Football.. Adios Amigos!!

The New Face of Badminton, Saina Nehwal ..

The racquet sport of the 17^th century has suddenly reached its pinnacle here in India after an ace Indian shuttler made India proud becoming the first ever Indian to win a super series tournament. Indeed I’m talking about the 20-year-old India’s badminton prospect, Saina Nehwal. Gaining momentum from the three super series wins in a row, she looked confident and in high spirits. She in fact took a big leap forward realizing her dream to become the world number one player, after landing at her career best third in the world rankings recently. She also enjoys the privilege of being the first ever Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the prestigious All England super series championships.

If Saina battles it out on the badminton court against the world’s best players, it has been no less a battle for her father to let her do the same. Both Saina and her family have sacrificed a lot of pleasures and luxury to attain such a competitive and a commanding position in World Badminton. It is a very rare occasion wherein a middle class family would spend more than half of their monthly income to train an 8-year old kid on Badminton without even knowing if it would pay off in the early stages. The gamble for sure had paid-off now in a big way. But the BPCL support late in 2004 had helped her to come out of the financial crunch and ultimately, she was spotted by Mittal Sports Trust in December, 2005. Everything is favoring this 20-year-old Hyderabadi girl and success too seems to have been smitten by her!

Badminton in India has never been this great or has not drawn its due attention after its former greats and Padma Shri awardees Prakash Padkone and Pullela GopiChand left the game. GopiChand is now a very renowned coach who received the Dronacharya Award and is the main force behind the emergence of Saina Nehwal. Saina's rise follows back-to-back title triumphs at the India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series respectively. It took a complete changeover right from her position to her footwork once she joined the GopiChand academy of Badminton. Saina is now the face of badminton today, having taken over from where her mentor GopiChand had left it. She is clearly raising the bar, going places!

Her strategy of slicing the shuttlecock to perfection helped her earn valuable points deceiving her opponents at crucial junctures. The slicing of the shuttlecock is very difficult to react to as it follows a curved path rolling in the air and the deceleration imparted due to the slicing causes the sliced strokes to slow down suddenly and hence put the opponents on the back foot. Her spinning net shot or the tumbling net shot stayed some of the attacking weapons to her already strong arsenal.

This lady is making it big in the International arena and is striving hard to reach the number one spot. So far India’s best has been World’s best. Its true in Chess, its true in Cricket and sooner will she prove her mettle and stamp India’s name on this racquet game, Badminton!! And she has got more good news coming her way and the most recent news being that Saina Nehwal has been offered a police officer’s job by the Haryana Government. So far outstanding sportspersons at the national and international levels had been appointed in this category and that too directly to the level of Deputy Superintendent of Police. So DSP Saina Nehwal on the making ??

The Asian Champs !!

The people of India are now in a celebration mood after the Indian team clinched its Asia cup after 15 long years. It has been a good and quick climb up the ladder after the disappointing Zimbabwe tour. Team India played their heart out in every field of the sport and outclassed every other Asian team. The Asia Cup win will give the men in blue a thick edge over other teams ahead of the bigger event, the World Cup.

The win against Bangladesh in both the league games showed great team spirit and the players gained a lot of confidence. Players to the likes of Gambhir, Rohit Sharma are slowly unwinding themselves showing individual scores can bring about a good team total. The penultimate league game against Pakistan was a cliffhanger of a match, as it was expected to be. The players played with great competitive spirit and especially when India and Pakistan meet, there is bound to be some positive energy with both the players and their respective supporters as well. The final league game against SriLakans was a let down to the Indian team, but they were back with a bang providing the sucker punch in the finals.

The finals between India and SriLanka saw an awesome batting performance by Team India and their quality seam bowling under lights lit up the moment. Dinesh Karthik played a responsible innings until he succumbed to a Kandamby delivery. Raina’s quickie 29 came handy to the Indians when the run rate dropped down and Rohit Sharma yet again displayed a classic performance stitching partnerships with every man who came in. Ravindra Jadeja’s innings of 25 from 27 balls indeed helped Team India to climb to a target of 268 from their quota of 50 overs.

The high spirited bowling from the men in blue struck crucial wickets at regular intervals. The fall of Dilshan in the first over, was indeed a huge loss for the Singhalese. The next man to go, Tharanga let in a Zaheer delivery without attempting a shot, only to find his stumps rearranged and it confirmed the presence of some help for the quickies. Dhoni constantly operated his medium pace bowlers from both ends. And Once Nehra struck the wickets of Jayawardena and Matthews in his first over, the Lankans were put on their back foot. Sangakkara and Kandamby called on their brilliant cover drives to fetch some runs, but they were all short lived. The depth in the Lankan batting attack slowly began to dwindle but one man who made us all twist our heads his way was Kapugedara. The Lankan tail began to get some runs in his company. His swashbuckling batting ability began to gain some attention before the wickets of Maharoof and Kulasekara fell. It almost brought the curtains down for the SriLankans and it was all a matter of time before everything wrapped up and when Murali nicked a jadeja delivery into Dhoni’s army gloves, it signaled India’s jubilant win against the Lankans. Team India outsmarted the Lankans in every department of the game and not to forget the tidy spells bowled by spearheads Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra.

The Asia Cup win will have a huge impact on the Indian Team and will give them the much needed confidence and spirit. The boys will all be geared up to showcase their skills and prove their competitiveness in the bigger arena, the World Cup.

Now generally, the litmus test for assessing a team’s stature and dominance in world cricket will be the World Cup, which is coming up next on the charts. Dhoni’s army now has a big job up their sleeve and there is a huge expectation to fulfill the cricket-mad people back here in India. Team India will for sure be waiting to get their hands on the gold lady and go cock-a-hoop over their twin victories!