His innings finally came to an end when he was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. It was then Mahela Jayawardene's ( 136 ) turn to dominate the Indian attack. He was at his very best and milked the bowlers with ease. He was chasing Sir Don Bradman's record of most number of centuries at a venue. Sir Don Bradman had scored nine centuries at MCG and Jayawardene succeeded in equalling that feat. He has also scored almost a quarter of his test runs at SSC which also turns out to be his home ground. He has scored 2,167 runs at an average of 83.34 in 20 tests which is also a record for the most number of runs at a venue.

Then it was the turn of another lad from the same place, the hard hitting Thilan Samaraweera ( 111* ), to score his ton. He paced his innings beautifully at looked very comfortable against the Indian attack. He will come out tomorrow to start of afresh. But this innings was a treat to watch. This is the first time that three batsmen have scored centuries at the Singhalese Sports Club.

The other notable points were the review system which came into play in the 46th over when umpire Mark Benson ruled down a decision. However the batsman was declared not out. There were two more such reviews, both unsuccessful from the Indian perspective. Overall, a very productive day for the Lankans who now sit merrily atop.

While India returns to its time-tested and experienced lot, I will resume my slightly biased blogging with the occasional pretense of objectivity ;) Why you may ask? In the recently concluded Kitply and Asia Cup ODI series, I was indifferent, almost anti-Indian, as the team didn't feel Indian-enough for some reason. But this Indian team is our age-old one and a loved one featuring the Big Three, Fab Four, Fab Five, whatever you want to call it. There is also the added evil joy in the absense of Dhoni (sorry SP and other Dhoni fans).

There's plenty to excitement in store: umpiring referral, Tendulkar's record beckoning, Mendis against the famed Indian batsmen, Murali vs. Dravid, Ganguly vs. Vaas (Dada has creamed him the past), Indian spinners and Dinesh Karthik.

So time to cheer. Indiyaah! Indiyaah!

"You cannot compare Murali and Mendis. Murali has been doing it for years, while Mendis has just started."

The good thing about Mendis is that he is accurate, and that fact is way more important than the magic-deliveries shenanigans we are getting to hear from the media. And yes, his variations will soon be found out and with patience, batsmen will be able to play him much better than they are managing as of now.

(Theory: In tennis, nobody armed with only a big serve has ever been a great.

Reason: Other players get used to the big serve quicker than one can imagine, and in that changed level-playing-ground, other skills are put to test.

Proof: Sample these three names - Greg Rusedski, Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras. 

Link to current topic: Replace tennis with cricket and 'a big serve' with 'a few mystery deliveries')

And it is generally after he is found out that the real test of the spinner emerges. Will he be fine after being hit for a few sixes? Will he be fine after three tests against India, with 2 for 156 his best analysis in the three?

Well, accuracy is the first step. Mental strength is the next, much bigger one. Let's see if Mendis has that magic in his armory too...

And sure, let's keep this guy on our watch list for the while. Fantastic talent, no doubts.

Questions: Can performance enhancing drugs enhance the performance of cricketers? Is cricket like athletics? Can a batsman bat better, score faster, or notch up a century or two under the influence of performance enhancing drugs? Can a bowler bowl faster, spin more, or pick up more wickets? Can a fielder dive around and stop unstoppable balls? Given the vagaries of the game, can drugs be used to good effect in Test cricket? Or is Twenty20 cricket, with its shortness, speed and accent on power over short bursts, tailormade for a grand entry of drugs into the gentleman's game?

To me, death-by-spin was bound to happen to this Indian batting line up. While Q states here that Mendis ran through a line-up known as the best players of spin, I say that while that is historically true, it isn't of this batting line up. This Indian line up with "I-don't-play-spin" Yuvraj and inexperienced youth like Rohit Sharma and Uthappa, who in my opinion lack soundness in technique that has thus far embodied Indian batting, is far from deserving of the "best players of spin" tag. Historically, India earned the tag because the batsmen had a chance to play against the some of best spinners. That is no longer the case. Other than Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, there isn't too much of interesting stuff in India's spin closet. And no, Piyush Chawla, though seemingly effective, has a long way to go.

As for Yuvraj, if I were captain, I wouldn't know what to do with him. He's doubtless got talent, but I'm of the opinion that you can't play spin, you don't belong in the middle order. Perhaps he can open the innings - something that if I recall correctly, he has reservations about. Even better would be to pack him off to play Ranji - and he isn't the only one who should be going. So much for a guy who's upset over not making to a Test XI.

Meanwhile, our "anti-Ganguly-Dravid" friend Ottayan (I took the liberty of branding you that, Ott) suggests that this web around the batting line up is likely to heighten voices "clamoring for Ganguly and Dravid" in the ODIs. Yes, Ott, it might do just that. Though I must say you surprised me with your comment as  "..itself is not a bad thing". Guarded though it was, it was defense for "the Arms", as Soulberry calls them. Yes, Ottayan, I will resume my own clamoring though I have done that time and again. :) Thank you for egging me on.

Honestly, if were allowed to pick only two seniors, they would be Tendulkar and Dravid, who will play at the cost of Yuvraj and Sharma(?), at #4 and #3 respectively.

So what of Dhoni's captaincy in the final? Well there isn't much one can do if you pick Uthappa in place of a bowler. RP Singh has been off color and Irfan Pathan seems lost. These are folk, who along with Rohit Sharma (who I have lost patience with) that I will drop. The youngsters need seasoning and there is nothing like good hard Ranji for that.

Going back to Mendis, a star is truly born. He still has to a lot to prove, but judging by what we've seen so far, he augurs well for Sri Lankan cricket and for spin bowling.

This will make India's upcoming tour of Sri Lankan more watchable. Mendis or not, I was interested in the ODI series for the Tendulkar-Ganguly-Dravid against Murali foremost and umpire-challenging second. But the ODI series is now spiced up with Mendis being a definte inclusion. If he is picked for Test, then all the merier.

Bring it on! I can't wait for this tour!

Yet another Chetan Bhagat book. I thought Five Point Someone and One Night At A Call Centre were pretty alright. Nothing great, but readable at least. So, I did not have any expectations when I set out to read this book. (Actually I didn't even know there was a third book by him till my dad bought it. :P  So much for my quizzing claims)

Cricket:

I won't bore you about the contents of the books itself, but if you ask me, Chetan Bhagat is doing what his characters are doing in the movie. Making use of the Cricket Craze in India to make money. :) Maybe I am being harsh on him, but that's the truth. Nothing wrong with it though.

It's not that hard to write a book that has Cricket as it's central theme. But still, credit must be given to Bhagat for having made it readable.

Cricket Specific Things:

The Australia's tour of India when Harbhajan Singh emerged on scene has been blended into the story. Ganguly and his captaincy find mention.

One of the things I noticed was Sadagoppan Ramesh and VVS Laxman being thought of as quota players or players who have some influence and made it to the team. While I have nothing against the writer for writing that, that's actually how North Indians think of South Indian players. They can't speak Hindi after all. And if you are a vegetarian, there goes your only chance.

While S Ramesh might not have been the best player in his day, he was definitely a good player who deserved a place in the playing XI at least in the longer format of the game. (Test, not ODI. Too much T20 influence I say)

The same can be said of Laxman. One of the better Test players India has seen.

Gujrat Quake and Riots:

Bhagat has done some research in this book and woven real life incidents with fiction. That's nice. In a way, the reader (especially if from those parts), relates to the book. More than the quakes, the riots and the Godhra incident are woven in.

BJP VS Congress ?:

There is no mention of the Party names itself in the book, but you can't help wondering the similarity given the events and other such things. If that's the case, I must say Bhagat is Pro-Congress. :) Whether he is interested in entering Politics, you should ask him. Lok Paritran maybe ? :D

Product Placement-Frooti:

There were innumerable mentions of Frooti in the book. While, it might be coincidence or Bhagat's favourite drink, I think it's a case of product placement. When you notice a product in a book or a movie more times than you should, chances are it's roduct placement. He must have gotten a decent sum for it. (For people who don't know what product placement is, it's when Shah Rukh Khan wears a Tag Heur in his movies and gets paid for it. :) )

Other Things:

There are a few other things I would have liked to discuss, but then maybe you should read the book. But if I had to hint, I wish I could teach tuitions too and visit Bondi beach. ;)

From the team that won in Australia when India last played a ODI -- Harbhajan Singh will certainly not feature! He has had a ban slapped on him (pun totally intentional!).

Virender Sehwag feels that it would be fine for the young turks that have done well in the IPL to be considered for Team India ODI selection on the basis of their good IPL-showing. However, Dilip Vengsarkar, the Chairman of selectors is not one for making large-scale changes.

Having said that, it would be impossible to ignore the number of young cricketers that have put their hands up -- some more compellingly than others!

The Indian ODI squad that won in Australia included: MS Dhoni, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, RP Singh

Of these, apart from Dinesh Kartik and Manoj Tiwary, who have not set the IPL on fire, and Harbhajan Singh, who is not available for selection, not many have gone "backwards" in terms of their chances. Although Dinesh Kartik did win a game for Delhi Daredevils, one probably felt that he had blown a few chances to make an impression along the way. Munaf Patel has had an outing that could best be described as Munafesque! Praveen Kumar has also not had a fantastic IPL. However, I do not think he would be dropped.

On the other hand, players like Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa and RP Singh would have appeared to have strengthened their cases.

So, it would seem to me that the following will be retained:
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Sreesanth, RP Singh

That gives us a listof 14 players. I am assuming that Zaheer Khan is not considered. It may help India's chances if he --like Rahul Dravid, V. V. S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly -- is asked to focus his energies on Test cricket!

Assuming that the selectors may select 2 more to add to the above list, the impressive bench could well boast

Yusuf Pathan
Shikar Dhawan
Yo Mahesh
Pragyan Ojha
P. Vijaykumar
Ashok Dinda
Manpreet Gony
Abhishek Nayar

Of these, I have been most impressed with Manpreet Gony and Yusuf Pathan and would possibly get my nod ahead of anyone else.

So, my Team India ODI team would be:
Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Gautam Gambhir / Robin Uthappa / Suresh Raina
Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj Singh
MS Dhoni
Irfan Pathan / Yusuf Pathan
Piyush Chawla
Praveen Kumar / Manpreet Gony
Ishant Sharma
Sreesanth / RP Singh

-- Mohan

Moving on, this begs many questions. First of all, as Ajay Jadeja had alluded to during the T20 World cup, is this even cricket? Cricket has been a complex game: about strategy, declarations, field positions, "temperment", and much more, not merely about hitting the ball out of the park thereby making the bowler feel like a "extra" in a dance-number. Secondly, given the changes required of batsman, shouldn't we have two seperate teams - one for Tests and another for T20, which don't mix. Test cricket and T20 have only the letter T in common. One is for men, the other for adrenaline-pumping-boys. True, there is a fearlessness associated with T20, which can rarely be seen in a Test match, but the latter builds charecter and does more to the development of person than many other things in life. So much for the well know adage that cricket is a metaphor for life. If we do deciede that T20 is cricket, and if that be our metaphor of life, India is likely to be filled with a lot of arrogant youngsters, who will have nothing but thier arrogance to flaunt.

There is yet another alarming prospect - this is a bit of a stretch. Consider the case where the Utthappas, the Gambhirs and other fly-by-night hitters of the upcomming generation make it to Test cricket, with their new found batting techniques, thereby polluting it with their vulgar slogging. Assuming that international standards also drop a notch, thanks to the IPL, then, Test cricket won't be Test cricket anymore.

Granted, with time, games like language, are bound undergo change, but not at the cost of the very foundation. For once, I'm with the ICC on their pompous-sounding, yet mostly toothless declaration in support of Test Cricket. There is just some noise, not even a semblense of a game-plan to see it through.

While this is the case, the BCCI selectors have proudly announced that they are watching the IPL with an eye on selection for ODIs. This declaration the biggest embarrasement for Indian cricket, perhaps on par the Harbhajan episode.

If Test cricket dies and takes with it, the Dravids, Tendulkars, Kallis-es and Chanderpauls, damn you, BCCI. The Aussies might turn out as the care takers of the purest form of the game. Then, as a fan of Test cricket, I will then have to throw way my pride and turn into an Aussie fan, through and through.

The question here is is this enough. We all know what had happened that day between Sreesanth and Harbhajan. We saw Sreesanth crying. Harbhajan has gone to extreme of misbehaviour and slapped  Sreesanth. Whole word knows about it. Whether it is just enough to ban Harbhajan for 5 international matches and close the chapter. Well, I am not the judge to decide it. But what message you are giving to cricket players. They can do whatever they like and still escape with all these minor punishments. How many times Harbhajan is going to put India and BCCI red faced. There is a Limit !!

BCCI may quote various rules and say that actions were taken as per rule book. Again, we all know, any rule may be altered or action may be suitably refer to some rules offering lighter punishments. Knowing the way BCCI operates as per its convenience, this is quite  possible. BCCI is giving wrong signals by letting out Harbhajan with minor punishment.

The Institution like BCCI need to enforce discipline among all who come under its banner and the only way of doing this is to punish hardly if someone violates code of conduct. I only hope and prey that Harbhajan understands the leniency showed by BCCI and improve or at least try to improve in future.

Critically yours

Kiran

Personally, I feel both Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth should have been banned for atleast 10 one-dayers and a couple of Tests. But I'm not sure what the rule book says.

At the same time, Ricky Ponting's ex-team mate, Shane Warne, has come in support of Harbhajan Singh and said that he felt that this didn't happen wantedly and also felt that too much was being made out of it. In the recent development about this issue, when Sreesanth was contacted, he said that he wanted to concentrate on Cricket right now and rather put this behind.

It would have been better had both put Cricket in front rather than all these unnecessary activities that has brought critisism from all corners.

The Shane Warne/Sourav Ganguly crisis folded just as quickly as it began, with each player handed out the requisite fee and slap on the wrist. The window was open long enough, however, for the 24-hour news channels in India to get their word out. Watch Times Now dissect the "scandal" in clear, India v. Australia terms:

There are a few problems here. First, the "nation" analytical framework doesn't work in the Indian Premier League. Shane Warne wasn't representing an Australian side and, from all accounts, his Indian co-players have found his captaincy inspiring. In fact, the IPL's main attraction -- at least for me -- is its blurring identities, which produces dilemmas that, while not completely new to cricket, are still just as startling given the brash of national rivalries present in the game (between, e.g., South Africa and Australia; Australia and India; India and Pakistan, and Australia and England). What exactly unites a team when national identity is not at stake? Money? Victory for victory's sake? Those are more exciting questions, which international cricket doesn't need to entertain.

That's not what I want to talk about, however. What's most troubling in the above video comes at the very end, when the announcer praises Ganguly for getting under the Australians' skins, and "[beating] them at their own game." I heard this argument made repeatedly in Indian circles during the Sydney fiasco, and I couldn't disagree more: rather than proving the emergence of a superior India, this logic only emphasizes the scale of Western influence on our thoughts and actions. I'm not saying that sledging is never justified, but arguing that it is simply because the Australians do it only proves that we aren't playing a game we want to. We're just trying to satisfy rules and benchmarks set by other countries and cultures, thereby denying ourselves the chance to set our own path.

I think this line of reasoning helps fans avoid interrogating their own side. With the West as the constant comparison, many Indians never bother to ask themselves if Harbhajan Singh may have gone a tad too far during the Test series, or whether Sreesanth needs to tone down his erratic behavior. Instead, we hear the common refrain: if the West can do it, why can't we? But while we are beating them at their own game, when exactly do we get to play our own?

This argument doesn't constrain itself to cricket. When I was in India last, I was appalled to read on the front page of the Times of India a wide-ranging attack on Western demands that India adopt more environmentally sound policies. The same refrain could be heard in this debate: the West didn't have a cap-and-trade system during the Industrial Revolution, why should we? Or, the West still pollutes more than we do, why should we take the lead?

Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with criticizing industrialized countries for the damage their economies have wreaked on the planet. Go ahead. But don't use their bad behavior as an excuse not to study your own path of action. India may find it difficult to balance economic growth with keener environmentalism, but the debate doesn't disappear just because the West ignored it.

So, quit playing each India-Australia spat as an international crisis. It isn't: if anything, it only shows how Australia and the West long ago wont he contest, informing former Asian colonies what behavior should be emulated and held up to regard.

Pre-IPL school kid: Wakes up, dons whites, shrugs on his kit bag, warms up, visualizes his hero (one of top 10 list of run-scorers/wicket-takers on test matches over the last 5 - 10 years) , practises hard, dreams of donning the test cap...

Just over three decades ago, life in India was simplicity itself. Dyanora and Crown were the only widely available brands of television sets, the portly Ambassador or the angular Premier Padmini were the only two passenger cars available, Pele, Cryuff and Beckenbauer were the soccer-loving public's icons and Sunil Gavaskar was the cricket-loving public's homegrown ideal. For every kid who fantasized about the epitome of sporting achievement, it was simple; a match-winning performance (a hundred for 97% of the population, a ten-for for the remaining 3%) to win India a test match.

Today, electronics 'uber'stores showcase 23 brands of plasma televisions and 27 brands of the LCD variety, there are roughly fourteen different models of sedans, each with not less than 3 variants, Raikonnen jostles for poster space alongside Rooney and Lebron, and Yuvraj, Dhoni and Harbhajan are the cricketing superstars. While the fame was based on the on-field spats, chest-thumping sound bytes interspersed with the odd performance of cricketing relevance, it was still relatively easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. Obvious deficiencies in technique leading to failure to make it to the test team (which still counts for something) or to be sorted out by well-prepared batsmen meant that kids were clear about the difference between a Rahul Dravid or a VVS Laxman versus a Yuvraj Singh or a Mahendra Dhoni. The ubiquitous 'fan' might already be swooning at the sight of a 'Dhoni special' as he bludgeons the ball with the end of the bat describing a full circle as his feet leave the ground but the kid in the nets will still dream of standing tall on the backfoot and punching through the covers like he's seen Tendulkar do because he knows the supreme balance and coordination needed.

But what of it, three, maybe four years from now, when the IPL will hold consistent sway? When the TRP race will have elevated the bits and pieces cricketers to demi-god status, when those with the 'swishiest' blades (made that word up, but i think it conveys the meaning) will endorse their team owners' products? With test cricket relegated to those times of the year when the IPL can't be played (like monsoon season on the subcontinent), practising the long hit will make much more economic sense than getting in line and playing on length. Those knocking on the doors of the U-19 teams of their respective states will prefer adding part-time slow-medium bowler to their resume in addition to big-hitter than refine that non-essential skill of a backfoot defensive. The simple reason being the prospect of a bidding war that will pit his wares against his peers and that additional skill might tilt the balance. Sure, fielding skills will be significantly elevated in the manner of a season or two (amazing how much less grass burns hurt when they fetch you the additional $200K), but the younger generation of batsmen will look like mass-produced assembly line products, ugly ones, that move their front foot towards mid-on and rapidly bring their shoulders around to take almightly heaves at the ball, irrespective of line or length. The shortened boundaries and the ever-improving bats will ensure that any contact upwards of feathered edges will send the ball ballooning over the ropes and the crowds rapturous. Combine a continuously declining standard of bowling for no reason other than neglect and you only accelerate the decline in the standard of the game.

Post-IPL school kid: Wakes up later (coz of the IPL game last night), dons his multi-coloureds, snaps on the franchise headband of the Ahmedabad Kiteflyers, remembers the roar of the crowds as he attempts to launch each delivery out of the ground while complaining about the tinge of grass left behind by the groundsman, dreams of franchise cap/helmet/paraphernalia...

The doomsday scenario about the cricket has been overdone to highlight one thing, the short-term (hopefully) impact of the IPL will be to narrow the gap between the great and merely competent, between the sublime and the almost ridiculous. The impact on the next generation of cricketers might be enormous and far-reaching. Everyone has to have heroes, important that they be the right kind.

Watch IPL Live Online with IPL Live Scores - Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers Live from MAC Stadium Chepauk in Madras.

Click this link below to Watch the IPL live match from the Indian Premier League IPL, Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers Live Streaming Online.

http://livecricketzone.blogspot.com

vs

Sourav GangulyCountry: India

Left-hand bat, Right-arm medium

Bid price: Icon player

Yet to make his international T20 debut.

India`s most successful Test captain; was sacked as One-day player in October 2005 and from Tests four months later but made a strong comeback in the South Africa Test series and subsequent home One-day series wins over West Indies and Sri Lanka. Thereafter, he has bailed India out many times with his heroics.

Ishant SharmaCountry: India

Right-hand bat, Right-arm fast

Bid price: $ 950,000

Twenty20 Internationals: Bowling averages: 1 match, 8 runs, Econ 6.00

Ishant Sharma, India’s new pace sensation came to limelight during the 2007-08 Australia series. A promising youngster, who creates havoc among its opponents with his fiery pace and bounce.

Chris GayleCountry: West Indies

Right-hand bat

Bid price: $800,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 5 matches, 193 runs@38.60, one century, one fifty, strike rate: 164.94.

An aggressive opening batsman who loves to go on the attack early in an innings; Gayle`s approach is ideally suited for the One-day game and while critics have pointed out his lack of footwork, his stroke play has rarely suffered due to that deficiency.

Brendon McCullumCountry: New Zealand

Right-hand bat

Bid price:$700,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 15 matches, 299 runs@23.00, strike rate: 121.54, 9 catches, 3 stumpings.

Acrobatic wicketkeeper and dangerous attacking batsman with a Caribbean flourish to his strokes and a strike rate of 80. New Zealand have experimented with him at opener with mixed results.

David Hussey

Country: Australia

Right-hand bat, Right-arm offbreak

Bid price: $625,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 1match vs India, 2008

David Hussey, brother of Australian Michael Hussey, has been a prolific scorer in the English County side Nottinghamshire as well as his home team Victoria. He has scored 9119 runs in first-class cricket. A hard-hitting batsman and a great entertainer.

Murali Kartik

Country: India

Left-hand bat, Left-arm spinner

Bid price: $425,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 1 match, vs Australia 2007

A left-arm spinner who has been in and out of the team due to injuries. He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2002, and since then has played second fiddle to Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

Ricky PontingCountry: Australia

Right-hand bat

Bid price: $400,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 10 matches, 315 runs@39.37, 0 centuries, 2 fifties, strike rate: 138.15, 6 catches.

He is one of the best cricketers Australia has ever produced; Ricky Ponting, nicknamed Punter, provides a harrowing experience to opponents on the field. A master batsman who has made Australian cricket scale new heights under his captainship. Loves winning, and winning convincingly.

Ajit Agarkar

Country: India

Right-hand bat, Right-arm medium fast

Bid price: $350,000

Twenty20 Internationals: Bowling averages: 4 matches, 85 runs, 3 wickets, Best: 2/10.

One of the most experienced seamer in the Indian team, capable of producing sharp pace that belies his thin frame, but has suffered repeated injuries. Has cut down on pace by focusing on line and length and swing.

Tatenda Taibu

Country: Zimbabwe

Right-hand bat

Bid price: $125,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 2 matches, 2 runs, strike rate: 20.00

A promising batsman, who is improving in Tests as well as ODIs. Captained Zimbabwean side after Heath Streak resigned. He made his T20 debut against Australia in 2007

Salman Butt

Country: Pakistan

Left-hand bat

Bid price: $100,000

Twenty20 Internationals: 7 matches, 107 runs@17.83, strike rate: 81.06.

A fine left-hander with sharp techniques; he has played many crucial knocks for Pakistan. One of Pakistan’s reliable batter, he made his T20 debut against Bangladesh in 2007

Mohd. HafeezCountry: Pakistan

Right-arm offbreak, Right-hand bat

Bid price: $100,000

He is one of the top fielders in the Pakistan side; his organised approach to batting at opener and his ability to bowl tight off-spin are invaluable.

Coach: John Buchanan (Australia)

The home team's elation of stunning their league-topping rivals by 29 runs in a low-scoring match was dampened a bit when they copped a fine of US dollars 1000 levied by match referee Javagal Srinath for bowling two overs short in the stipulated period.

The Delhi outfit, led by Virender Sehwag, was also fined USD 500 for bowling one over short, an IPL media release said.

The IPL is being played as per the International Cricket Council Playing Conditions and Rules and any team bowling a slow over rate would be fined US dollar 500 per over, which would be decided by the match referee, the release added.

"Shoaib said that since the tribunal will take time to reach a final verdict on the appeal he has filed against the ban, he should be given a temporary stay for a month so that he can play in the IPL," Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, who heads the three-man tribunal, said.

The tribunal will now meet on Sunday to deliberate upon the fresh application but Farrukh said the majority's decision would prevail in the matter.

Farrukh, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court, said he had appointed a noted lawyer as amicus curiae to help the tribunal handle the case. He said the amicus curiae was an expert on criminology.

This appointment gives credence to reports that the two other members of the tribunal, former Test player Hasib Ahsan and former minister Salman Taseer had joined hands in favour of Shoaib while the justice felt the case made against him by the board was very strong and the ban justified.

The tribunal had recently turned down an application to stay the ban but had allowed the pacer to play anywhere outside Pakistan.

The IPL Chairman Lalit Modi has made it clear that Shoaib couldn't play in the league for any team until he cleared the ban.

The tribunal had earlier adjourned its regular proceedings to June but allowed Shoaib to play anywhere outside Pakistan while refusing to grant a stay on the ban.

Farrukh said regular proceedings would be difficult in May because of the commitments of the tribunal members.

"But we will deliberate on Sunday on his appeal and see what can be done. But it is hard to say now having deliberations with my colleagues if we can even grant him a interim relief to play in the IPL," he said.

Shoaib came under the five-year ban from the board in April for several and repeated violations of the player’s code of conduct.

The ban came after he criticised the policies of the PCB which didn't award him a central contract earlier in 2008 and told him to prove his commitment and match fitness.

Having won all their previous matches, the Chennai side looked invulnerable till Friday night when Delhi Daredevils duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir tore them apart, much to the delight of the Rajasthan Royals.

Since their first match defeat against the Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals' graph has shot upwards and fresh from their win against Kolkata Knight Riders, Warne's men are ready to come hard on the depleted Chennai side.

"We don't want to be the fourth team in the semifinal. We are looking for fifth win and one more will place us comfortable. Then we would like to carry on for as many more wins as possible. Our aim is to remain at the top," said Darren Berry, coaching director of the Rajasthan Royals.

The hosts have the resources and strategy to realise their dreams and their strategy of surprising the opponents has paid rich dividends too. Asking Swapnil Asnodker to open the innings against Kolkata Knight Riders was such a ploy that paid off well.

South African Graeme Smith has added to the batting depth, while Shane Watson has proved to a fine investment. With Yousuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja lending excellent support, the hosts' batting looks compact.

The bowling department does not look bad either. Apart from Warne who has always been threat to every batsmen, pacers Watson, Munaf Patel, Sohail Tanveer and Sidhartha Trivedi have proved that they have the variations to keep batsmen guessing.

The support in bowling comes in shape of Pathan, Dinesh Salunkhe and Jadeja who have been used as surprise package by their shrewd skipper.

In fact, the going for Rajasthan Royals has been so smooth that the only England player in IPL and Twenty20 specialist Dimitri Mascarenhas could not be accommodated in the scheme of things despite the fact that he is rated very highly by former Hampshire team mate and skipper Warne.

On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings now need to bounce back after tasting their first defeat. They have been dented by departure of Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram even though Kiwi Stephen Fleming is expected to bolster their batting lineup, while Dhoni's mere presence is enough to intimidate the bowlers.

Their bowling attack boasts of names like Makhya Ntini and Muttiah Muralitharan and though they could not rein in the the Sehwag-Gambhir duo on Friday night, they would be eager to put behind the setback when they take to the field on Sunday.

Having finished the semester, a friend and I took the afternoon flight out of Hyderabad to Bangalore. This gave us both our first opportunity to see the brand new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (it didn't escape Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy's fetish to name all new things after a dead Gandhi) in all its splendour.

Hell, it almost made the two-hour drive from our campus to the airport worth it.

For one, the baggage trolleys had brakes! The ordinary baggage trolley is about as controllable as Harbhajan Singh on a cricket field, and the looks one gets after inevitably running into a fellow passenger with a large pile of luggage would make Shanthakumaran Sreesanth on the pitch seem positively friendly.

Imagine our pleasant surprise when we found that we could actually walk smoothly with our large piles of luggage without having to play dodge cars at every turn.

We walked into the departure terminal and were struck dumb by the sight that greeted us. This wasn't an airport, it was a freakin' spaceport! Any moment we expected to hear the whoosh of ion thrusters as the Millennium Falcon lifted off with its cargo.

No, cancel that.

That scruffy smuggler, Han Solo and his tin can space-ship wouldn't have been allowed within a light year of this gleaming, shiny piece of world class infrastructure. This was a spaceport fit for the Pushpaka Vimana, carrier of choice of the Gods.

We spent a full five minutes staring at the vast vaulting roofs, the gigantic pillars, the space age architecture, the empty queues, and the efficient counters before we realized that if we didn't fill those empty lines and test the efficiency of the counters we would miss our flight.

We were still too awe-struck to notice that the plane was delayed and I had been stiffed for "excess baggage".

It was then that we noticed something odd and unfamiliar in the terminal.

The absolute lack of noise.

Even the announcements were barely noticeable (which was not a good thing since we almost missed the plane because of that). But strangest of all, the usual hubbub of voices, the hallmark of any gathering of more than one Indian and defining characteristic of the chaos and the disorder of the ordinary airport was missing.

Even our fellow passengers seemed to be overawed by the building, and barely raised their voices over a whisper. Plus, the whole airport was air-conditioned and one was more than adequately protected from the flaying heat of Hyderabad in summer.

It was all too... un-Indian.

My friend, somewhat of the socialist bent, disliked it. She felt it was part of a large conspiracy to make Indians docile and obedient consumers by putting them in unfamiliar, foreign surroundings. This, she pointed to the airport, was a way to entice budget conscious Indians into surroundings that would make them forget their budget conscious Indianness and spend all their money on expensive foreign goods.

I was too busy downing the overpriced latte to respond.

We finally got on the plane; performed contortionists’ tricks to get into our seats, and invoked all known deities as the plane repeatedly flew into alarmingly large pockets of turbulence. This only added to the inter-state-bus feel of flying a low-cost airline.

The comparison was complete when we landed at the Kempe Gowda bus terminus. At least that is what the overcrowded HAL airport seemed like when we landed.

Noisy fans, creaky conveyor belts, litter-ridden bumpy floors, unmanageable baggage trolleys (but for my friend’s alert intervention, I would have run over a kid with my trolley), low artificial ceilings magnifying the marginal heat of Bangalore, and a crushing crowd gathered around the baggage claim reminded us where we were.

We were back in India.

Also read: Bangalore: world's worst international airport?

PPP is where public is a puppet of the private

5+1 questions for M/s Ramesh Ramanathan, R.K. Misra & Co

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VS

In his very impressive rant against Sourav Ganguly, Shane Warne makes note of "that wall" that all the captains signed at the opening ceremony. Their signatures required them, he said, to act only within the "spirit of cricket," a vague and almost empty concept that means everything to everybody, depending on perspective and, apparently, nationality.

At some level, we understand what it means, but only with specific concrete actions: standing too long after being dismissed; shouting verbally at another player; pointing at some pavilion. But, like the slippery debate over torture in America, that's where the consensus ends, and the clashing dictionaries come out. How long does a batsman have to stand before they can be pulled up for dissent? How much (and with what words?) can a player swear at another before the match referee becomes involved?

Referees and authorities have inadvertently contributed to this muddle when they make it a point to punish only the worst offenders. Don't get me wrong; rude behavior should not be tolerated, but players understand that they can get away with a lot before they will be fined. So, instead of going all out with their offenses, they plan smaller scrimmages, and referees, interested only in the really glaring stuff, let things slide. Consequently, we begin to split hairs and make a mockery of the spirit behind the rules.

The IPL, however, should not even have had that Orwellian "wall" signed anyway. Again, I understand why they did it: if the primary purpose of this entire spectacle is, well, the spectacle itself, what would prevent a franchise owner from conspiring with another to encourage "close" matches? Only a supposed fidelity to the game's ethical background, obviously.

But there's a difference between cheating, and not acting cordially. I honestly don't have a problem with Harbhajan slapping someone else off the field, or Shane Warne rightly berating another captain. Authorities and observers have argued, again and again, that the IPL represents a new chapter, more showy and glamorous than "staid" Test cricket. So, let things get a bit out of hand now and then: let the players blow off the steam they can't in the international fixtures. Who cares if that makes the entertainment more "low-brow" or less proper -- isn't that the whole point anyway?

It reminds me of the different ways I played cricket with friends as a teenager in the Philippines. Playing in the school gym between classes, we joked around; we accused each other of ignoring rules; we argued about scoring -- but all in good jest. When the school's team played another's, however, or when we all dressed in white to play a gaggle of older expats, we knew the difference. Now, that doesn't diminish what we did in our school gym: that was still cricket, and all of it was fun.

So, just drop the facade, IPL: there is Test cricket, there is one-day cricket, and then there's you, gaudy cheerleaders and all. When you have pink helmets for the top scorers; when you measure the worth of a cricketing shot by how far it goes into the stands; when your advertising emphasizes conflict and aggressive players -- you really don't need to bring the ICC Code of Conduct and confuse things even further. Drop the pretensions.

"A lot of our cricketers start early in life and since university education is considered unnecessary, and inter-university cricket is long dead, they step into a bubble very early. They are indoctrinated into a brotherhood where cricketers are considered hallowed, where favours are meant to be received as a matter of right and the arrogance that is the inevitable result closes the door to further education.

"As a result most of our young cricketers, so good at putting bat to ball, know very little else and indeed are woefully unprepared for a life beyond cricket. You would have thought that if there was only one thing they were good at, they would bow before it every morning, pay obeisance to it. But humility is not a very well understood word, I suspect it is not a very popular way of life either."

Read the full article: 'Disease of arrogance is taking its toll'

Harbhajan Singh was accompanied by Lalchand Rajput and Harsha Bhogle whereas Yuvraj Singh and Maxwell came to support Sreesanth. The hearing started at 1PM IST and lasted for 1:30 hours. It took 1 hour after the hearing for the decesion to be made.

Kings XI Punjab termed Harbhajan’s behaviour as unacceptable and against the spirit of the game.

The match referee Farokh Engineer found conclusive evidence about Harbhajan’s guilt and Sreesanth’s innocence. While he banned Harbhajan for 11 IPL matches, no penalty was announced on S Sreesanth. He was let off with a mild warning. The match referee got video footage from 7 angles that proved beyond doubt that Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth without any provocation.

Harbhajan Singh, had carried a letter, which he presented before the commission. He also expressed regretted for his actions which hurt Sreesanth’s feelings.

Harbhajan Singh, now, wont be able to play in any league matches for IPL Mumbai team. It has not been clarified whether the previous match when Bhajji was suspended is part of the 11 games. If it is , it means that technically Harbhajan is eligible to play the semi finals in the event of Mumbai Indians reaching the last 4.

BCCI President Sharad Pawar said that he had told the IPL Chairman if there was prima facie evidence of wrong-doing on the part of any player, the IPL should take immediate action against the player.
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