You have to think and act very fast in a 20-20 game. Everybody thought Mumbai had an upper hand in the finals. However, we all know how 20-20 games swing on either side in a matter of seconds. Between Mumbai and Chennai I thought Mumbai should have won easily. Considering Mumbai's consistent performance throughout the tournament I thought Chennai would struggle. But after watching the finals I was left speechless. How low the fielding standards of international cricket (especially IPL) have fallen !! I can not expect even midwest cricket players to make such mistakes let alone international cricketers.
On seeing the highlights following things hurt mumbai very badly:
1) Raina's first drop catch-
What was Fernando thinking when he let Nayar approach the ball instead of pouncing on to the catch. Clearly it was his catch since he was approaching the ball in forward direction. Reminds me of a game when Fernando tried to act smart by not bowling after running and then staring at the batsman. This guy clearly is not made for big stage games.
2) Second drop !!
If first catch was blunder then there are no words to describe ZAheer's drop. Even kids who go to coaching classes should not make that mistake. Can you believe Jonty is training these guys for fielding. I can conclude only two things. First, Jonty is not doing a good job or his efforts are hampered by these big, bulky and lazy players who dont want to run and take catches (in practice). Look at ZAheer's shape and look at Johnty's shape. Here is a guy who is 10 years older to Zaheer but is much fitter and better fielder than him.
3) Shikhar Dhawan ????
IS this guy over rated ! Yes atleast based on his final performance. If you can not perform when needed the most, you simply are not good enough for the stage. What was he thinking when he let Ashwin ball maiden at the start. Are these guys really that weak to clear a 20 yard circle. My God !! let the softball kid take his place. They will definitely clear the inner cricle if not the boundary. Clearly a big bad performance by Dhawan.
4) Pollard's batting order ??
Ok you are chasing 169. well if your batsman (less capable offcourse) plays first over maiden, it is time to send hitter up the order. Whats the logic of sending pollard at no 8 when after 2 wickets the required run rate climbed to almost 12 runs an over.Huhhh. Who decided that batting order? Duminy cant clear the ground, Tiwari is too bulky (less agile), Rayudu is not that powerful either. In this case the only person who can respond to your SOS is Pollard.
Well now that the season is done, lets conclude by saying that it was just another game. But really, mumbai fell short by small margin , perhaps because of bad bad fielding. drop Catches cost Matches.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Vijay, technically mumbai lost to chennai but this is an upset. Mumbai will beat chennai 9 out of ten matches. It is just one of those 10 matches.They had a very strong team.
Please stop blaming people for dropping the catches, these players are not machines. They are human and therefore normally err due to many reasons like handling pressure, personal reasons, trying too hard, confidence etc. Cricket is after all entertainment. It was amazing final. Mumbai displayed some amazing cricket in IPL3. Very sorry to sachin. Hopefully Akron play similar kind of cricket in 20-20 and make it to the semifinal.
Even Tendulkar failed in the semi's. Does that mean he is not good enough and over rated? Shikhar Dhawan has performed well throughout the tournament. One bad performance doesn't make him a bad player.
Hayden made 17 of 31 balls, Dhawan made 0 off 8 balls. But Chennai won. So Hayden is better and Dhawan is crap???
Pollard was sent late because he cannot play spin. So when Tendulkar made that decision he wasn't "saving" Pollard for the last or anything like that. It was a clinical decision.
Fernando had best figures in semis and finals! How is he not meant for big games.
Jhonty is not doing a good job because Zaheer dropped a catch??!!
Come on man Vijay !!!
I agree MI lost because of the bad catching. But I think Dhoni won it for Chennai. Dhoni changed the mood of the game altogether. Dhonis bowling changes and field placements were impeccable. India is lucky that Dhoni is their captain.
Manas.
@Raj.
Thanks for your comments and good luck for Akron. Yes true you can not completely blame players for dropping catches. However, players do carry some sort of responsibility when playing for the team. Especially when they are chosen among millions. Trying and failing is ok, but absolute blunder can not be justified by any reason. This way people who drop catches should get sympathy awards.
@ Manas
-True that Sachin did not score a lot in semis. However if you looked at his innings you could see he looked dangerous. He might have fallen to a bad shot or a good ball, but he made his intentions clear from the start and he was aggressive. At least he tried his best. You can not compare this aggressive approach with Dhawan's absolutely submissive batting in the finals. He did not even try ! that my friend is pathetic
- In the finals you can not compare a mediocre score with 0. It was Raina who changed the couse of the game. Hayden hardly did anything to contribute, Dhawan however was worse.
- You simply can not justify Pollard's batting at no 8 no matter what. If the team needs 12 or more runs an over from 12th over, there is absolutely no point in holding him back, certainly not no 8.
-Fernando did bowl well in the finals. However you are remembered for the turning points in the game. But I agree with you, I was little harsh on him
- My comments were either Jonty was not doing a good job or senior players like Zaheer are not doing enough catching practice. I am more inclined towards later reason. Zaheer dropping catch does not mean jonty is not doing good job. It means Zaheer is simply not doing enough to take catching practice.
-I agree Dhoni did amazing things in the finals. We should be thankful we have him as our captain.
Post a Comment