VINAY KUMAR PRAYING FOR A DIFFERENT SCRIPT THAN M VIJAY

After India's performance yesterday, I was left speechless. I can understand having a bad game... but players learn from their mistakes even in a bad game. On the other hand, in yesterday's game against Australia, India never seemed to want to learn.

The spinners kept pitching it short, and the pacers on length. And the batsmen... well, I wouldn't blame them. They are just not good enough against good fast bowling.

When Sehwag had problems against the short balls climbing onto his chest, he found a way out. He developed the tuck behind square for a single, and when in mood, he used the make-some-room-and-hit-over-square-on-the-off-side. This has not happenned with the other guys in the team. Their inadequacies against the short balls were exploited during the last Twenty20 World Cup... and nothing seems to have changed since.

When his franchisee was looking at elimination even before the semi-finals stage in the IPL, MS Dhoni came up with a strong innings to propel his side ahead and eventually to the title.

But it's a completely different ball game here at the Caribbean islands. He is not at Dharamsala or Chennai... but far away at Barbados. He is not playing in his CSK yellow, he is in the Indian deep blue. And bowling to him will not be a well-payed-but-not-so-motivated Irfan Pathan, but some highly-motivated-and-vastly-talented quickies like Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Lasith Malinga.

It's high time that Indian players and selectors understand that country-v-country cricket is extremely different from the IPL. Murali Vijay gained entry into the team due to his IPL performance... and he flopped. Now, Umesh Yadav has gained an entry into the side. I hope he does not meet the same fate as Murali Vijay, though he is unlikely to feature in the playing 11.

The player who will be sensing that opportunity is not too far away is the young medium pacer R Vinay Kumar, who can atleast claim that his selection into the squad was not purely on his IPL performance, but also on the basis of his performance in the domestic season.

Time of reckoning for the young man!

DHARAMSALA: CRICKET'S NEW PILGRIMAGE

Yesterday's match: Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils
My Prediction: Chennai Super Kings
Actual Winner: Delhi Daredevils

Today's Match: Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers
My Prediction: Kings XI Punjab

My Score: 6 / 12

DD managed to scrap together a win yesterday against a buoyant CSK side to be almost certain of a place in the top-4. Gautam Gambhir must be relieved that none of his batsmen were run out in the match. It must be added here that the skipper Gambhir played a very mature hand after his top order had found new ways to commit hara kiri. I don't think he had ever imagined that he would bat 56 balls in a Twenty20 match and score just 57.

For the first time in this tournament, DD got the chance to go in with their first-choice new ball attack... and the effect was felt straightaway. Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes rattled the CSK batsmen and Hayden's mongoose-attack in their last meeting was soon forgotten.

This result does not make any difference to DC, though. They will still need to win both their remaining matches to qualify without getting into the run rate equations. And they would not want to rely on run rates, because their current NRR is -0.438.

I am neither a fan of DC, nor of KXIP. However, I am eagerly looking forward to the match tonight because IPL is moving to a new venue today.

DHARAMSALA. I have heard a lot about this cricket ground. The 21000-capacity HPCA Cricket Stadium is located at a height of 1457 metres above sea level and surrounded by Dhauladhar ranges, leaving the spectators with a breath taking view. The place is of immense religious value to Buddhists. Today, I want to see the scenic beauty for myself.

The high altitude might turn out to be a bit uncomfortable to the DC players who have, by now, become accustomed to the hot climate of places like Nagpur and Navi Mumbai. In fact, the next visitors to Dharamsala will be CSK, another team used to the hot and humid surroundings of Chennai. This should give a small advantage to KXIP, who have become adept at throwing away any advantage or momentum on their side.

So lets wait and watch out as IPL embarks on cricket's new pilgrimage!