PLANNING OF A CHASE - 2

What a chase we had today! India, needing a bonus point win, chased down Sri Lanka's score of 320 in just 36.4 overs, to win by 7 wickets with 80 balls to spare. This win has kept India alive in this tri-series for at least 3 more days, and increased the interest in the last round robin match between Australia and Sri Lanka.

India knew right from the beginning that the target, whatever it may be, had to be chased down in 40 overs or less. So when the first half ended and the target of 321 became clear, the hopes of an average Indian fan were not too high. But the Indian batting unit, which has not enjoyed a fruitful tour of Australia, clicked well and - riding on a magnificent ton by Virat Kohli - chased down the target in a more than convincing style!

The chase was a brilliantly constructed one. Since the required rate for a 40-over win was above 8 runs per over, it was clear that a fast start would be of utmost importance. Sehwag and Tendulkar provided that with some audacious batting. When the mandatory powerplay ended, India had scored 97 runs for the loss of the two openers.

When Tendulkar got out lbw to Malinga in the 10th over, there were a lot of tweets on my timeline suggesting that Dhoni should come out to bat. Their logic must have been that he takes his time to settle in, and if there is time to be used up, it better be between 10 - 15 overs rather than later in the innings. That is fine, but I was happier to see Kohli come in to bat at No. 4, and happier still that he stayed till the end to guide the chase in a manner contrasting of how Dhoni would have done it.

My last post on this blog (about 2.5 weeks ago) was about Dhoni's planning of chases. This one is about how Virat Kohli planned this one, and comparing it with what Dhoni would have done (the latter part would obviously be presumption based on the pattern of his innings in the successful run chase against Australia and the tied match against Sri Lanka).

On of my biggest problem with Dhoni when he comes out to bat with overs in hand in a run chase is that he plays far too many dot balls at the start of his innings. Settling in is fine, but the same can be done more effectively by rotating the strike rather than dead batting the ball. Kohli too played 8 dot balls between 10 and 15 overs, but at the end of 15 overs, he was still batting on 16* (18b). Compare this with Dhoni's knock in the successful run chase against Australia, and you will find that Dhoni stood at 8* (24b) at one stage in that chase. Even if you grant Dhoni the benefit of a much easier chase on hand against Australia, I don't think you'd still justify 8 runs in 24 balls!

At the end of 15 overs, India stood at 118 for 2, and though only 21 had been scored in the last 5 overs, there was enough momentum to make Mahela Jayawardene delay taking the Bowling Powerplay, as he has himself admitted. Had Kohli made the kind of start that Dhoni made at Adelaide, India might have had about 10 runs fewer at that stage, and Sri Lanka might have taken the Bowling Powerplay, causing the batsmen to take a risk or two more than ideal. This is presumption, but by no means far-fetched!

In my last post, I had written: "if the best finisher of the team (MS Dhoni) is coming in to bat with 92 needed of 95 balls and batsmen like Suresh Raina (batting), Jadeja and Ashwin (to follow), and the team ends up needing 13 in the final over with two of these above batsmen still batting, then the chase has been miscalculated somewhere."

At Hobart, two of India's best chasers (Gambhir and Kohli) planned it in such a way that going up to the 40th over would not be necessary. One may argue that the early finish was more a result of the leaking Malinga - an assault that even Kohli would admit that he had not planned for - but I think it is still quite clear that Kohli had planned to finish the game off at least one over before the 40th. Their partnership saw calculated risks (mostly taken by Kohli) for boundaries every now and again, which allowed them to be unflustered if Sri Lanka managed to sneek in a good tight over. This is the reason why Rangana Herath's spell of 4 overs for just 20 runs did not have as big an effect on the result as it should have had.

When the second lot of powerplay overs commenced, Kohli executed the second half of his plan, which was to attack straightaway and keep the required run rate below 9 runs per over at all times, rather than chasing 13 off the final over! He was obviously helped by some poor bowling from Sri Lanka, especially some of the leg-stump lines... but one must consider that when a batsman is pulling off some calculated risks, the bowlers are under increased pressure and have greater tendency to falter.

India may still not reach the finals of the series, but it was a great match for the team... and something they dearly needed towards the end of a very difficult tour of Australia!

THE WIN IS SINKING IN

The last 2 days have been surreal. So much so that this is my fourth attempt to write a blog after India's win... and after deleting the first 3 drafts, I have decided that I will publish this one even if it does not really explain the things that are in my head.

I will go through the thoughts that erupted in my head as the day went by - the day being 2nd April 2011!

After almost a sleepless night, I got up unusually early and read everything that Cricinfo and other blogs that I follow had to offer. There was no way of getting back to sleep (which had been less even in the run up to the finals), so I thought I might as well get up and be ready in the lucky t-shirt that I wear for every India match.

Yes, God really was with us!

On the previous day, I had seen the weather forecast for this match and read that there will be wind (or rather, breeze) of 14 - 16 kmph from the west. When I had read this, I was of the opinion that Sreesanth should get a chance as the breeze will be from the direction of the sea and the moisture in that sea air will help him more than any other bowler. In fact, this also made me a bit wary of how Kulasekara would perform, for he can get some very good swing when there is assistance.

But when the telecast began, and Harsha Bhogle had a chat with those present at the Wankhede Stadium, I realised that there was no breeze at all. Not one bit! The shirts and ties of the men there were not moving an millimeter. And my thoughts changed immediately. In these conditions, R Ashwin was a shoo in for me.

When the toss happened, it was frustrating. But what surprised me was that even MS Dhoni showed his frustration. There was a very perfunctory shake of hands with Sangakkara before he turned his back to him in what was obvious show of dissatisfaction. That kind of convinced me that Dhoni must have won the first toss, but as it later turned out, it was Sangakkara indeed who had won both the tosses. So all well here!

I was disappointed slightly by the fact that India would have had to bowl first, yet confident that India will be able to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 260, a score which I thought India should be able to chase keeping in my mind the occasion.

Zaheer Khan started brilliantly. Even Sreesanth started fairly, despite his second ball no-ball. When Sehwag caught Tharanga, for a moment, I was under the impression that the ball had reached him on the bounce, and then I saw Zaheer celebrating with his arms spread. And I celebrated too, because the statistically best opening partnership of the World Cup had been broken.

Dilshan briefly threatened to shine, before he succumbed to the pressure created due to tight bowling and amazing fielding. Fielding! Oh my word! To see Yuvraj Singh make that flying stop off a Dilshan drive through the off-side was a throwback to the era of Ganguly's captaincy. It almost felt as if we had the younger version of Yuvraj Singh back in the team, and it was great to watch that.

When the Sangakkara-Jayawardene partnership was flourishing, I felt that Dhoni should have brought back Zaheer Khan. His famous knuckle ball works a lot better with left-handers and Sangakkara was definitely looking the more dangerous of the two then. Eventually, he was unlucky to fall to a long hop from Yuvraj Singh, who again bowled better than what is expected out of a fifth bowler.

I was a bit disappointed to see Zaheer Khan leak runs at the end... moreover because he was genuinely bowling bad balls for that period. There were too many length balls and they were taken full toll of. A target of 275 did make me wary, but there was still confidence in the team that had chased tougher targets without a full-strength team over the past one year.

During that short 20-minute break, I had texted a friend that in my opinion, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gamhir and Virat Kohli would be the main men in the chase. Later on, I also added Yuvraj Singh to the list. I chose SRT for the occasion, GG for his brilliant play against the spin, VK for his tremendous record in chases, and Yuvi for the obvious reason - his current form and confidence!

Sehwag's dismissal disappointed me, but did not dishearten me. I was not expecting much from him due to his poor second-innings record, but a contribution greater than 0 would definitely have helped! Sachin's dismissal shook me... not the confidence of a win, but the realisation that it was not exactly going to be a fairytale if we got there. Though it was a tense situation then, I still had the confidence in the team.

The next 4 batsmen vindicated my confidence in them, and each one played a knock to remember. Gambhir was brilliant. It was a solid knock paced beautifully. He was given a reprieve when Kulasekara did not catch a difficult chance when he was on 30, but what Gambhir did after that was very impressive.

Gambhir loves playing the inside out shot over extra cover to spinners, and Sangakkara had set up a trap for him there by placing a very straight-ish deep extra cover, along with a long off. After getting that reprieve, he did not attempt that shot again even once, even though he must have been very tempted to given the fact that he faced three off-spinners. He even played a conventional sweep, and I don't remember seeing him play that too many times in his entire career. He changed his game a little bit to suit the occasion, and he deserves all the accolades for that!

Virat Kohli continued to show cool head and maturity in a tricky chase under pressure. Even though he was beaten on that ball, but his dismissal was still more on account of a brilliant work by a Sri Lankan rather than him making a mistake. I would have to see him get a 50, just as I would have loved to see Gambhir getting his 100, but well, I am satisfied with the World Cup!

When Kohli was dismissed, I felt a little wobbly for the reasons that have now been discussed and dissected everywhere. I was uncertain about Yuvraj Singh coming in to face three off-spinners. And I was also uncertain about the running between the wickets of Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh together, who had had a series of mishaps in the game against Australia before Gambhir lost his wicket.

So I was quite okay to see MS Dhoni coming out to bat despite his bad form. A couple of hours later, he proved to the world that that particular move was a masterstroke from him, and played a very mature knock to guide India home. Yuvraj's assistance was also very good. There was a point after India had taken the batting powerplay when Yuvraj played 4 dot balls from Malinga. That was the moment Sri Lanka would have felt that Yuvraj is susceptible to a rash stroke. But he very coolly managed a 2 and a 1 from the next two balls to finish the over, and India knew that the Cup will soon be ours.

That winning six brought about different emotions in me. Watching alone at my house, I gave Dhoni and the team a long round of applause. But what was really touching to see was the emotions that came out then. Yuvraj in tears, unashamedly in tears! Harbhajan sobbing uncontrollably. Dhoni's twirl of the bat and then hopping madly to get a stump before Yuvraj could reach him. Kohli, Raina and Yusuf Pathan carrying Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders around the ground. The joy that was so clearly etched in Gary Kirsten's face. And then the smile of Sachin Tendulkar himself. Those were images that I am going to remember forever, and when I say forever, I mean it!

Ashish Nehra - awkward bowling action, awkward victory celebration!

After having fantasised about this moment for almost over a year now, I just did not know how to react, and I guess the members of Team India felt the same! I felt proud to be witnessing this moment, and not just proud because I am a fan of Indian cricket team, no! That would kill my joy!

I was proud of that moment in Indian cricket because I have supported Indian cricket team even through its darkest hours, like the World Cup 2007. I have had faith in these men and boys, and I have always wished for them to perform. There have been some players I have liked more than others, a lot of decisions from the captain that I have criticised, and I will continue doing so. I have and will continue pointing out shortcomings of certain players, and loopholes in our team. But through all this, I have never stopped supporting the team through its turbulent times, nor will I ever do so. I take pride in this fact!

For me, this triumph was also a vindication of the faith shown by me and many other cricket fans in our cricket team when there was criticism heaped upon them. We believed in our team when men like Steve Waugh and Allan Border tipped Sri Lanka to win the finals. We believed in our team when men like Dean Jones said that "Dhoni must be dreaming if he thinks that he can win the World Cup with a team like this". He has not been heard from since the night of 2nd April 2011.

Darren Gough had said after the Ashes win that England can beat India any day of the week. We will continue to believe in our team when we tour England later this year. We will continue to believe in our team when England visit India after that. We will continue to believe!

Thank you, Team India for giving the nation this wonderful victory. I place it as the biggest win in the history of Indian cricket for two reasons: A) It was achieved in the claustrophobic pressure of enormous expectations, whereas the 1983 triumph as well as the 2007 World Twenty20 triumph came when there was nothing expected from the team; B) I was born in 1988 - unable to witness the glory of 1983, so this will remain, to me, India's greatest cricketing triumph till date.

As I run out of thoughts, I would just like to say how glad I am to see the Indian team celebrate the win, and how overwhelming it is to see, as his fan, Sachin Tendulkar get a chance to lift that trophy. The respect that he has from his teammates was wonderful to see. Virat Kohli became the darling of a nation when he delivered the quote of the World Cup: "He (Sachin Tendulkar) has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years; it was time we carried him." Who cares about what Imran Khan had said earlier - that if he were Tendulkar, he would be embarrassed by all this mention of "We want to win it for Sachin" dialogue. To hear this statement coming from a man who talked only about his personal ambitions and failed to mention even a word about his team in his victory speech as a World Cup winning captain in 1992 is a blasphemy. It was also great to see how Sachin Tendulkar celebrated the win with his fan, and read about how the team's family time in the dressing room.

Well done, Sri Lanka and congratulations, India!

SHOAIB AKHTAR

Pakistan manged to pull off a win against Sri Lanka in a Group A match played out at Colombo. Filled with moments of brilliance and utter madness, this match lived up to its pre-match hype of being a "big game".

Shahid Afridi got 4 wickets for Pakistan and deservedly got the Man of the Match award for his performance. He is also now the current leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 9 wickets at the end of the first week of the World Cup. But this blog post is not about Shahid Afridi.

Shoaib Akhtar. His career has been a bit like this match, except that there have been a lot of controversies as well. He has been brilliant at times... and completely and inexplicably mad at other times. His career has seen more ups and downs that you'd normally associate with even a span as long as his in the international cricket fraternity.

I was never a fan of Shoaib Akhtar. I did enjoy watching him play because he was a performer... sometimes bad and sometimes good! But never been a fan of his, and I don't think I ever will be. There's something about all pace bowlers and leg spinners that's attracted me always... and Shoaib's bowling has just been one of that!

But his performance against Sri Lanka was something else. If there is a word I could pick to describe what I felt about his performance against Sri Lanka, it was RESPECT. A mellowed version of his past self, Shoaib Akhtar 2.0 has been as impressive as I have ever seen him. He does not come in sprinting during his run up, bowl a 100 mph yorker that uproots 2 stumps, and then go off for wild celebrations allowing his teammates to chase him. No, he is a changed man now... and by the looks of it, changed for the better!

With growing age and increasing maturity, men start realising their weaknesses and limitations. Some men cannot cope up with this realisation and wither away, while some men face them and alter their game accordingly.

Since India's tour of England 2007, this has been the aspect of Sachin Tendulkar that has been the most pleasing to watch. He bats more within himself, seems more human, and yet reaches inhuman heights. On the other end of the spectrum has been Ricky Ponting. He was unable to come to terms with the fact that he was (for some time, at least) having troubles with his pull shots and hook shots... yet continued playing them and falling to them. It was sad to see him in that phase. However, on his last Test tour of India in October 2010, it was pleasing to see the application and the fight he showed against his biggest perceived weakness... facing quality spin bowling. There were two knocks, where both the times he scored 77, that I have immense respect for. That is what you want to see from a legendary fighter!

And the kind of performances that he has put up in recent times is what you want to see from a bowler like Shoaib Akhtar. Sweating profusely, walking with a slight limp, and yet giving his heart and soul into his role for the team! He bowled with intelligence that only comes with experience... and did not lose patience when he did not have wickets to show for his efforts in the first spell.

It is no wonder that the captain showed faith in him when Sri Lanka's best batsmen, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, were batting together. Not for long, said Shoaib, and sent Jayawardene back with a wonderful length ball that jagged back in to hit the top of middle. Just when you wondered that he is looking too tired to be able to continue this spell, he would come back again... and never let the batsmen off the hook. Like the Pakistani batsmen had shown respect to Muralitharan earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan batsmen had no choice but to show respect to the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar.

Not for the output, but for its sheer quality and execution, this one was a performance for which I would truly and honestly remark, "Take a bow!"

FOUR SEMI - FINALS: PREVIEW PART 1

World Twenty20 Championship:

1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: England v Sri Lanka
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: Australia v Pakistan

World Women's Twenty20 Championship:

1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: Australia Women v India Women
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: West Indies Women v New Zealand Women

Preview of ENG v SL:

England are one of the two form teams of the tournament. Before their match against New Zealand, I had a feeling that they were over reliant on their star player Kevin Pietersen. But the way they went about dashing the Kiwi hopes of a semi-final was an eye opener. Rarely has the world seen an English cricket team so clinical and methodic in execution of its plans!

Apart from the limp to a mediocre 120 / 8 against Ireland, the English batting line up has never failed to cross 150, their best being 191 / 5 against West Indies in a match which they lost due to the anamolies of Duckworth Lewis method. Their bowling was untested during the initial group stages as the persistent rains at Guyana meant that their bowlers managed only 8.4 overs in the first 2 matches. However, the most striking feature of their bowling in the Super Eight stage has been the fact that they have managed to pick 25 wickets out of a possible 30. Its hard to imagine that at one stage of the tournament, they were in danger of being knocked out due to one bad batting performance and the numbers of Duckworth Lewis!

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have had an up and down journey to the semis. They lost their first match - a low scoring thriller against New Zealand lost in the last over. Then they rode on the brilliance of Jayawardene to defeat Zimbabwe and West Indies, the latter in the Super Eight. But then came a very embarassing loss to the Aussies - a loss of 81 runs after being bundled out for 87. Fighting for survival, Sri Lanka then pulled off a last ball win with a six against India just after having knocked them out of the tournament. It was exactly the kind of win they needed to boost their confidence. Such close finishes intill in teams a new belief and a greater momentum. Sri Lanka will try to make the most of it.

The match promises to be an exciting affair. England will have the services of Kevin Pietersen once again... but there will also be a lot of expectations from them, a situation that they are not used to. Most observers believe that England deserve to be in the final... I feel the same - they deserve to be there, but I doubt that they will win the semis. Sri Lanka have a better track record at handling the kind of pressure that a semi-final carries. Mendis, dropped from the game against India, might make a return. Can KP be the talisman that many English sides of the past have longed for?

Preview of AUS Women v IND Women:

I have not followed the Women's version of this tournament as closely as the men's... but I have kept an eye on all the results. Australia has been unbeaten so far. They were lucky to take the 2 points in their opening match against the defending champions England after a tie even in the Super Over (they won on the rule of Sixes Countback). However, they were exemplary in their next match, beating the South Africans by 24 runs - the only blemish being that they couldn't bat out the 20 overs (bowled out with 3 balls to spare). They then went on to defeat the hosts West Indies by 9 runs to determine the group toppers and the chance to play in the 1st semi-finals.

India started disappointingly, losing to the Kiwis by 10 runs. However, they followed it up with demolition jobs over the neighbours - Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For the second time in as many years, this team has outperformed their more fancied male counterparts. In the semi-finals, the key will be to target the fragile, yet combustible, batting line up of the Australians. The Australians have been dismissed twice and have lost 27 wickets out of a possible 30 on their way to the semis.

India, on the other hand, have lost only 12 wickets in the tournament so far and the top order has clicked well. The flip side is that the middle order has had only one below par outing against the Kiwis. Their batters, revolving around Mithali Raj, will have to be wary of the fact that Australians are capable of scoring at a very fast clip. They will be hoping that their bowling partnership of captain Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma will take care of that problem.

HIGHS AND LOWS AS KAPUGEDARA DOES A MIANDAD

A few hours back, I was on a high! I was delighted on hearing the news of Vishwanathan Anand's win over Veselin Topalov in the World Chess Championship. I wasn't expecting him to win with the black. In fact, I was hoping for a draw so that the Tie Breakers could come in... where Vishy would have had an advantage as he is one of the best players in the world at rapid chess. Considering that I have been a big Vishy fan since my school days, I was truly elated.

I was helped by the fact that when I heard this news, India was batting beautifully... with Gambhir and Raina looking good. Then, Gambhir fell. Dhoni walked in. I was expecting him to promote himself, even though I didn't want him to do so. It felt ominous...

Soon, my high started wearing off. Dhoni wasted the opportunity of batting on a flat track by struggling to an unbeaten 19-ball 23. India limped on to a disappointing 163 in their 20 overs. I was low by then. Soon, Jayawardene, the form batsman of the tournament, clipped the first ball he faced beautifully for a four. The mood went from low to lower.

Then Nehra got Mahela to edge one and Yusuf held on. Next over, the debutant Vinay Kumar got the veteran Sanath Jaisuriya to play one into the hands of Dinesh Karthik at square leg. Sri Lanka two down in 2 overs. The high had returned. The fact that Dilshan was out of nick helped that feeling.

Soon Dilshan found the middle of the bat as well as the boundaries consistently. No wickets fell. Harbhajan, India's most economical bowler, was thrashed in his opening over. Low again.

Dilshan got out. A flicker of hope. Then Sangakkara went on a rampage. Hit a few quick sixes. Hope diminished. Sangakkara bowled by the young debutant. Another flicker of hope. Angelo Mathews takes over. Piyush Chawla thrashed in the 18th over. Hopes gone!

I was confident that Sri Lanka will not be winning the game... but they will certainly knock India out. When, Suresh Raina's leap in the air still ended a couple of inches short of the ball which sailed over for a six, it was confirmed. INDIA ELIMINATED FROM WORLD TWENTY20 2010 was the message that flashed! What a shame!

And then Sri Lanka did something that I was confident they wouldn't manage to do. They pulled off a win... Kapugedara pulled off a Javed Miandad. He hit a last ball six when 3 were required to win. An exciting finish... especially for the Sri Lankan fans. The West Indians looked crestfallen after the six. Their task has become near impossible now.

I will be back tomorrow after some sleep to continue with my Dhoni-bashing. Till then, congratulations to Sri Lanka! And of course, Vishy Anand!

SRT v LEE AND SANGA - MAHELA v LASITH MALINGA

Yesterday's match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
My Prediction: Deccan Chargers
Actual Winner: Deccan Chargers

Today's Match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians
My Prediction: Mumbai Indians

So finally, after a long time, my prediction has come true! And I hope that tonight's will come true as well!

I hope Zaheer is fit and well-rested... I am not worried about him missing more matches for MI, but I want him fit for the World Twenty20 Championship. He is India's best pace bowler today by quite a distance... and he's not featured in either of the two World Twenty20 Championships that have been held till date.

Mohali will provide much better playing conditions that Chennai (in respect of weather)... so I am positively hoping for a big performance from SRT today! Incidentally, Sachin has hit just 1 six at Mohali in international matches - way back on 8th November 2007 against Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) in an innings where he was dismissed for 99! I'd love to see a similar performance tonight.

Some people are waiting for the Sachin Tendulkar v Brett Lee contest, but I am actually waiting to see the Sangakkara - Jayawardene v Lasith Malinga contest. Not so long back, another magician from the Emerald Isles - Muttiah Muralitharan - got the better of his countrymen when KXIP played CSK. Will the slinger-Malinga manage the same?

And yes, by the way, RCB's loss yesterday has thrown open the entire IPL table. Whereas just a week ago, 4 teams were fighting for 1 semi-final slot, now it has become 5 teams fighting over 2 slots. RCB's momentum has gone for a toss... and there have been numerous question marks from every quarter over their team selection policies.

They are due to host KKR tomorrow, who have suddenly found a new energy (especially, their skipper Sourav 'Dada' Ganguly). That match, I believe, will be a lot more interesting than tonight's fixture... but then, God's team will be playing tonight!

KUMBLE'S SELECTION ERROR

A huge Galye hit the Kings XI Punjab side at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata before Mahela Jayawardene applied a soothing balm to heal the wounds and bruises.

That innings by Jayawardene was not only soothing for the Kings XI side, but also to the eyes of many who, like me, are a little tired of all the slogs and mishits that have been carrying all the way for *** Maximums and being called **** Moments of Success instead of becoming ******* Kamaal Catches.

And thus, IPL III saw another game (two in as many days) where more than 400 runs were scored. This match has given another jolt to KKR in their quest for a semi-final spot. If they do not reach the semi-final this year, they will be the only one amongst the 8 original teams not to have reached the semi-finals ever when they start their campaign next year (I have obviously made a very safe assumption that Mumbai Indians will make it to the final-4 this year).

In the second match, Delhi Daredevils blew away the Royal Challengers Bangalore side. I think that Anil Kumble made a huge mistake by making 3 changes to a winning squad in order to accomodate Ross Taylor. There is no doubt that Ross Taylor is a very good cricketer, but was including him in the squad so important that 3 other players had to be dropped?

By dropping Manish Pandey, Kumble broke a solid opening partnership that has been one of the reasons behind RCB's good performances this summer. By removing Dale Steyn, he not only excluded from his squad the best fast bowler in the world, but also one who has been bowling in the Indian conditions for two months now and has his lengths well-adjusted. If he really wanted to go for Ross Taylor, he should have just dropped Cameron White.

But yes, if you have read my previous blog, you will know that RCB has continued its tradition of losing matches held on Formula One Sundays. Dr. Mallya did all the travelling from Sepang to Kotla in vain.

Today, Nagpur will host its first ever IPL match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals, where a loss for the former ('home' team) will almost be curtains for them in the tournament.