While this is supposed to be a tech blog, I've sort of attempted to broaden the scope to all geeky pursuits including, with this post, cricket stats. I was always very good at the permutations and combinations part of mathematics in school because I always visualized problems using cricket tournament standings. So if I ever forgot the "formula" to calculate say "4C2", I would physically work out the number of matches in a 4 nation round robin tournament. Needless to say, like most Indians, being fond of math and having to support perpetually under performing teams, I'm at the forefront of "theoretical optimism".

  Thus I'm quite flabbergasted that SRK has already begun apologising when KKR is very much in the reckoning for a semi-final spot especially with the MASSIVE advantage of playing the final game against a team that has already qualified. They will know the exact run-rate required if it comes down to that and they'll be up against a not-so-motivated Mumbai side who might just take it easy. Forget KKR, even the beleagured Kings XI Punjab are in with a theoretical chance of going through:

14 Apr RC beats RR

15 Apr DD must beat CSK

16 Apr KXIP must beat DC

17 Apr  RC beats MI ; KKR beats RR

18 Apr KXIP must beat CSK; DD must beat DC

19 Apr MI beats KKR 

  The alternate scenario is that if RR beat RC today, then RC needs to lose to MI on 17th as well, to stay stuck on 12 points and KKR has the option of losing either of its two remaining matches to also stay stuck at 12. In both scenarios you'll have MI, DD and either of RR/RC going through to the semis and the remainder FIVE teams stuck on 12 points.

  After that its Net Run Rate and KXIP could well have the highest NRR though both DC and KKR will have an advantage of having their final match after KXIP. That's why it would have Read more...

Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL, Kings XI Punjab, KKR

They needed just one more victory to finally take that giant leap into the last four; at that time, of course, it seemed as simple as taking the next step during a casual stroll in the morning.

That step, however, didn't turn out to be so simple: in fact, it drew them away from home and into the killing climes of Chennai. There, first, the humidity sapped Tendulkar; then, the heat of the competition got to his team. Eventually, they failed to chase down a fair-game 165.

The next step was even more complicated, taking them all the way from down South to the fringes of northern India. On the face of it, though, it seemed like a facile mission: zip into Mohali, zap the already-down Kings and go back into the reassuring folds of home.

But then, you scoff at a pride of hungry lions at your own peril: not too surprisingly, Mumbai managed only 154 and just didn't have the heart to defend it. Suddenly, it was two defeats in two games; you didn't have to see the anxious faces in their dugout to know that they had lost the momentum.

That is, however, not the main reason for their anxiety; Mumbai Indians are probably worried about something else: the curse of the Number 14. Surely, the ghosts of an earlier lifetime, of IPL 2008, are haunting them again.

In the inaugural edition too, they won six straight games after a disastrous start to be called the momentum-team; but they lost the next three to be unceremoniously left out of the race. Clearly, they had peaked a little too early; is that the case this time too? Can they get past 14 points at least now?

More importantly, do they have the wherewithal to go all the way? Are they still as red-hot as they appeared to be just a couple of matches ago?

The answer, on current form, is no. First and foremost, their batting doesn't have the firepower to keep winning day in and day out; yes, there is Tendulkar but he must be feeling like Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL, Sachin Tendulkar, Twenty20

Every bowler’s worst nightmare finally came true: on a humid Saturday evening, and on a perfect sleeping beauty, one batsman after another went on the rampage to literally set the Chidambaram Stadium on fire.

In the end, it was nothing but a massacre; only a miracle saved the match from going down as a rabid joke.

  M Vijay, who showed signs of manic aggression in the earlier match, went berserk in a crucial match for the Super Kings; he started in a fitfully quiet manner, greeting Shane Warne’s trump card Yusuf Pathan with utmost dignity.

  But when Warne pulled out another card, Sumit Narwal this time, he cut loose: 6, 4 and another 4 got the heartbeats racing inside the packed stadium. They, however, didn’t give an indication of the mayhem to follow; runs flowed from his blade like booze on a wild night of partying.

  The original tormentor, Mathew Hayden, could only watch as his micro version attacked with the freedom and finesse of a soaring bird; he didn’t have time for a single bowler, neither for Shaun Tait, nor Shane Watson or Warne, as he towered over the blazing horizon.

  By the time dusk descended on Chennai, the Super Kings had amassed 246 for five, the highest tally in the Indian Premier League; Albie Morkel simply added more colour to the fireworks with his blistering 62 off 34 deliveries.

  If the hosts thought that the party was over, they were in for a rude shock: the Royals, like true warriors, simply don’t believe in giving up without a fight. Led by the lanky duo of Michael Lumb and Naman Ojha, they went after the target like hungry wolves.

  At the fall of the first wicket, Warne unleashed his trump card again; but a smart boundary later, Yusuf smashed what seemed like a clear sixer. Bollinger, however, was clearly Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL

When it first entered the realm of possibility, Twenty20 seemed to be too short a format to qualify as a contest: it doesn’t give anyone a second chance, they said, the most basic premise of any game; one mistake and you might as well kiss your grandma goodbye, they added.

  That, however, is just one of the myths that has exploded along with purse strings in the IPL. The current edition has slowly but very surely shown that you not only get a second chance, but also a third and fourth one. The key is patience, just like in its most pristine form: Test cricket.

  On Sunday night, Rajasthan Royals appeared to be galloping away after winning the toss; as Ojha raised 100 in just 10 overs, combining with Lumb and Fazal, a 200-plus total seemed more than probable. But then, Yusuf Pathan fell for 8, and pretty soon the inevitable slide began: in the end, they managed just 177.

  As M Vijay went on the attack, along with Hayden and Raina, the target looked even less intimidating; but then, Yusuf conjured a stunning run out to break Chennai’s momentum. Soon after, Dhoni too crashed into Badrinath for a crucial run-out. The match turned emphatically towards the Royals… until, of course, Albie Morkel decided to throw his bat and caution to the wind.

  He smashed 3 sixes off Warne, and raced to 28 off just 12 deliveries, to cut the match wide open. But then, Shaun Tait bowled a quiet, smart over to bring it back into their grasp; Siddharth Trivedi just had to keep his wits together to keep the smiles on his mates’ faces. He did, rather easily.

  Quite a few matches, thankfully, have followed this pendulum phenomenon. The most stunning example of a second chance, though, came in the game’s most miniscule form: catching. On Monday night, it seemed like a simple case of touch-and-go when Paul Collingwood hit one down David Husssey’s throat. Hussey, however, made a hash of it: the ball landed in his palms but bounced out of them to find some meaning beyond the ropes.

  He went after it, instinctively, to try and lessen the damage; he hung in the air, and Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL

After this duo, however, the batting leaderboard is a mixture of young, not-so-young and the old. Fascinatingly, the bowling list is also topped by a wily old hand, and a spinner at that: Muthiah Muralitharan; chasing him is his mate Chaminda Vaas, who is desperately trying to get back into the Sri Lankan scheme of things.

Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar Twenty20 Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL

IPL 3 has begun and a scrutiny of the finer points of this new avatar of the game will start. Imran Khan in his column has already told us how excited he is to see what new things turn up.

Cricket is a game that keeps evolving and that's why it is greater than any other sport and the fastest growing.

Just to take a review of the things that people have fine-tuned thanks to T20. The straight six, the reverse sweep which is more a hit. The slow sweep over short fine leg, the lofted cover drive, the drive over midoff and midwicket, late cut/steer, chip over slips, pull/hooks, flick over square leg.

For the bowlers, the yorker, slower ball, quicker delivery for spinners, bouncer, arrow straight bowling, doosra, flipper, off-cutter, flighted swing.

What we haven't seen perfected is a sweep or a scoop  over slip. Nicky Saldanha, the former Maharashtra Ranji bowler, would step out scoop from leg stump over his right shoulder over the keeper's head and over first slip. This irritated the keeper of our side, none other than former India keeper Nana Joshi, then in his  fifties. But that was the idea of Nicky.

Iqbal Khan played a similar shot in a one-day event at the CCI. He was a Mumbai Ranji player, who is now settled in the UK.

So what new did we see in the first two days of the IPL? One saw the slow bouncer of Angelo Matthews of KKR. In the match against Deccan Chargers he welcomed Hershelle Gibbs with a slow bouncer. Gibbs' greatness was that he saw it all the way and did not premeditate and let it go. When the regular bouncer came Gibbs pulled it away. Lesser batsmen would have remained in a confused state.

Mathews and Mahroof of Sri Lanka are bowlers who innovate and that makes them great competitors. Manoj Prabhakar was that type. India doesn't have one like him though Read more...

Pradeep Vijaykar IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Deccan Chargers, Hershelle Gibbs, Imran Khan, IPL, Mahroof, Mathews, Sreesanth

Every dark cloud, they say, has a silver lining; when it comes to Indian sport, however, the silver lining is nothing but a mirage. It is a trick played on our eye and will vanish when we blink.

      What else can you say when you see not only the country's most popular sport, but also its national game, embroiled in the vilest of controversies? How do you find something positive to hang on to, when you realise that the main source of this hara-kiri is politics?

      Let us begin with cricket: like always, Lalit Modi was patting himself after a job well done, when the clouds emerged. They started as a trickle, with the franchises simply holding on to their purse strings when the Pakistani players were put on the block.

      It was, without doubt, a reasonable gambit: why punt on a bunch of players who might not exactly be welcome in at least one city, if not the entire country? Why put their investments, if not the IPL itself, at risk when the government was not giving any clear signals?

      The clouds seemed to be quietly passing; but then, politics reared its hideous head: the government had no objection to the presence of our friends from across the border, declared the home minister. He turned a little spark into a fire by declaring that the IPL had done a disservice to cricket.

      Shah Rukh Khan, at the same time, gave a glimpse of the machinations behind the scenes: he revealed that there was a silent pact of a different kind among the franchisees; he even indicated that those who were keen on the Pakistani players were forced to back off. He turned the fire into an inferno by stating that the entire episode was humiliating.

      An already seething Pakistan became angrier: a team of parliamentarians cried off from their trip to India; another bunch of golfers too stayed home. There were calls to boycott the upcoming hockey World Cup as well. Clearly, the clouds had turned dark and they were ready to come down.

      The TOI, however, saw a hint of the silver lining, when it learnt that Deccan Chargers were on the verge of breaking the code; but the very next day, its team owner claimed that there were no plans to sign up Abdul Razzaq; Lalit Modi, as can be expected now, bad-mouthed Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar IPL Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Deccan Chargers, IPL, Pakistan, Shah Rukh Khan, World Cup

The reported decision by the Deccan Chargers to get Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq as replacement for an injured player in the third installment of the Indian Premier League would be widely hailed. Commentators, who were distraught when the redoubtable Pakistani players were not picked during the bidding process, would be happy that sanity has prevailed.

However, given the immediate reactions that followed the bidding process about ten days ago, if his selection reports are correct, Razzaq may have to face bouncers far more difficult to dodge than the ones he faces on the playing field. Most of Pakistan saw the move then as an insult to Pakistan, with their government too joining in. It seemed this act was a bigger provocation for stumping relationship between the two nations than anything else over the past several years.

  Scores of commentators on TV and Print in Pakistan, accused India of deliberately humiliating Pakistan (they uniformly dubbed it as a snub to Pakistan and not players from Pakistan) and whipped up emotions among the general public, which, though had its own take. The common man felt it was wrong on their players part, who they worship, to be available as a commodity for Indian money. For them, this aspect was even more humiliating than the fact that they were not picked. They were hurt that money power was more important for them than their nation’s pride.

  My advice to all Pakistani fans would be to be fair to their players. Whether it is Razzaq or Shahid Afridi or Sohail Tanvir, all of who were hoping to be the first choice of franchisees, if they agree to play still, it would be for the love of the game and never for money. Just like the Indian players, Pakistani players know that they have become famous due to the game, and it is only their love for the game that makes them desperate to play, not money.

  In fact, in this regard, players are no different from politicians who want to become ministers of important ministries, not to make money or to enjoy the trappings of power that comes with it, but because they really want to serve the nation .As I had argued in a piece in May last (Only the selfless lobby for ministership), why else would they lobby to head a department or a ministry when in every area the ministries look after, the situation is grave. Any weakling would shy away from such arduous responsibilities, but not these bravehearts, possessed by the desire Read more...

Rajesh Kalra IPL, Pakistan abdul razzaq, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Deccan Chargers, IPL, Shahid Afridi

The Pakistan episode of the IPL is turning out to be like a gripping murder mystery. The body is there for all to see; there are enough suspects, motives and witnesses too. But somehow we fail to zero in on the culprit, even though he is floating right in front of our eyes. The first clue behind the mystery surfaced on Friday afternoon. Even as Lalit Modi nudged her at the press conference, belatedly, Shilpa Shetty thundered: ‘‘Why should the Pakistan players’ security be our onus?’’ Then she said something-something about political parties and loony groups.

    The second part was important, but not critical; the first part was the real clue, the giveaway. A quick follow-up and a few calls later, the mystery solved itself: The government had refused to provide security for the players. For any player, not just Pakistan’s.

    The immediate thought was: Very good. Why should the government do anything? Isn’t this a commercial venture? If the IPL can pour out millions on players, and make billions in return, shouldn’t it take care of all aspects related to the tournament too, including security?

    Absolutely. Except that the motivation was not so straightforward. To unravel it, we need to go back a little, into the past: In the inaugural year, the government was like a silent partner; it turned almost every stone to make the ambitious project a runaway hit: visas, security, the IPL bosses simply had to name it, and they got them on a golden platter.

    The next year, however, the government became a hostile partner: it refused to play sweet ball, explaining that it could not guarantee foolproof security to the players, or to the tournament itself, owing to the General Elections. Instead of negotiating, or trying to convince the seat, Modi promptly whisked away the IPL to South Africa.

    Many in the Congress saw it as a slap on their face; more importantly, they were also worried that the backlash might hurl them into the wilderness again. Luckily, cricket proved to be a minor player, the mandate didn’t turn negative and it returned to power.

    But then, a hurt political party is more dangerous than a woman spurned: it was just a question of time before Modi would be made to pay for his audacity, for taking on the government itself. Is it a surprise, then, that the Congress mustered all its muscle in Rajasthan a few Read more...

Bobilli Vijay Kumar IPL, Pakistan Blogs.CMDN.com, Congress, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, IPL, Lalit Modi, Pakistan, Rajasthan, RCA, South Africa, Zimbabwe