Oh My Bangla!

Stunned silent crowd,agonized Tamim Iqbal, a tearful Mushfiqur Rahim,
gloomy Nasir Hussain and a pensive Shakib Al Hasan. Emotions ran high
and the Sher-e- Bangla stadium was engulfed in it. Never had they
played such a high profile game; for the first time, odds were not
stacked against them and they played, played not like underdogs but as
heavyweights at par with their opposition, Pakistan. Stats generally
hide more than what they reveal, but here, the 2-run loss did not hide
anything, it only revealed character, the character of a bunch of
youngsters talented cricketers.
Bangladesh came agonizing close to a historic win as Pakistan scraped
past the spirited Bangladesh tigers by2-runs to win the Asia Cup 2012.
It was to be historic day for Bangladesh, but even without a win, the
day would be remembered in cricketing history as one of the best Asia
Cup finale. Chasing a target of 237, Bangladesh finished at 234/8.The
tournament itself was consequential as Bangladesh had defeated World
Cup 2011 finalists, India and Sri Lanka en route to the finals.
Tamim Iqbal had led the charge as he had been doingall along the
tournament, but his partner Nazimuddin showed signs of nervousness.
Generally an attacking player, he was overwhelmed by the occasion.
Tamim, with a form of a lifetime to bank upon had raced to 25 off just
27 balls while Nazimuddin crawled to 8 off 33. By the time Nazimuddin
perished after his patience vigil of 16 from 52 balls, Tamim had
reached his fourth consecutive half century. Jahurul Islam walkedin
and walked back without troubling the scorers.
By the 20th over Bangladeshneeded 5.56 runs per over to deal with the
chase , and that was the time the trio of dangerous Saeed Ajmal, wily
Afridi and the miserly Mohammed Hafeez gradually took control of the
game. Between them, the tweaker conceded just 98 runs off 30overs
picking up three wickets.
Nasir Hossain, who came in next, followed the Nazimuddin suit.He was
foxed by Ajmal's doosra, cramped for room by Hafeez and hurried on by
Afridi's quicker one. It took him 42 balls to hit his first
boundaryand his innings of 28 consumed more than 10 overs, 63 balls to
be precise. Hailed as one of the finds of Bangladesh cricket inthe
recent future, Hossain was probably the second victim of the big
occasion.
The turning point of the match though had already come by the time
Nasir settled himself. Playing confidently at 60 runs, Tamim, with the
same confidence went for a rash expansive drive on the rise only to
pick out Younis Khan at extra cover.
The momentum stalled for thehosts and from there on, thebig occasion
player for Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal, took control. Shakib walked in
andthe tweakers persisted with pressure. Bangladesh had tobreak the
shackles at some point. Shakib had done that earlier against India, he
had shifted gears during the powerplay, but here the powerplay yield
just 21 runs.As compared to Pakistan's 36, predominantly due to
Afridi's hard hitting, Shakib and Nasir had already missed the perfect
gear shift.
From there on, it became stiffer for the hosts each over. But, credit
to them thatthey did not crumble and stayed there, hanging in,
squeezing every bit of the vociferous crowds' energy. The equation
though never went out of hand. In the 47th over when Mahmudullah
cracked a boundary followed by Mortaza's stand up 'Marillier shot' for
four, they came close. Ajmal scalped Mortaza and conceded only 6runs.
But, 10 runs came off the second last over.
The equation became 9 runs off 6 balls. Aizaz Cheema hadthe ball in
his hand. He was taken to the cleaners early on, but had comeback well
with wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan. And eventually,
singles of the first and second ball followed by a dot and a double
plus one run overthrow, Razzaq perished.Four run of one ball and
Shahadat Hussain failed to dug out a block hole delivery.Cheema ran
towards Misbah not much with jubilation, but with relief.Mahmudullah
took his helmet off and stared down the track as the camera panned to
a distraught Tamim Iqbal inthe dressing room.
Earlier, Bangladesh had restricted Pakistan to a chasable total of 236
courtesy miserly bowling spells by the spinners led byAbdur Razzaq
(10-3-26-2). Shakib (10-1-39-2) supported him ably. After a crawling
slow start by Hafeez(40 off 87 balls) and early breakthroughs in the
form ofNasir Jamshed (9) and Younis Khan (1), Umar Akmal (30)and
Hammad Azam (30) had consolidated the innings.Later in the powerplay,
Afrdit(32) hit some hefty blows. Sarfraz Ahmed (46) chipped in with
valuable runs in the end. Shahadat Hossain had conceded 19 runs off
the lastover, the maximum in an over in the innings which included a
front foot no-ball.

Yuvraj’s chemotherapy almost complete

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing chemotherapy in Boston fora
rare germ cell cancer, is in the last leg of his treatment and is
eagerly waiting for it to end in the next four days.
The flamboyant left-handerhas said that only four days are left for
his chemotherapy.
"My last stretch 4 mor dys to go Can't wait fr it to end Set me free
dear lord," Yuvraj tweeted.
Yuvraj had last month stated that the tumour between his lungs is
almostout of his system.
Yuvraj, who has been in Boston since last month, is expected to be
back on thefield in the first week of May, according to his doctor.
The 30-year-old has gone bald during the treatment, which will go on
till the last week of March before the process of rehabilitation
starts in April.
After being diagnosed with the illness, Yuvraj has not played
competitive cricket since taking part in two of three home Tests
against the West Indies in November.He has so far scored 8,051runs in
274 one-dayers and 1,775 runs in 37 Testssince making his
international debut in 2000.
He was named Player of theTournament in the World Cup for scoring 362
runs and grabbing 15 wickets in nine matches.
During the treatment, Yuvraj had been paid a visit by legendary former
Indian spinner Anil Kumble.

ICC denies World Cup investigation

The ICC has dismissed a report in a British newspaper that it is
investigating the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan
over fears of match-fixing.
The Sunday Times ran a story which claimed to expose further
corruption incricket, including taped conversations with a Delhi
bookmaker. The newspaper reported that the bookmaker alleged the
India-Pakistan semi-final in Mohali was fixed, although he offered no
evidence to support the claims.
However the ICC, which was quoted in support of the original Sunday
Times story without specific mention of the semi-final, said there was
no evidence to prompt an investigation into the match.
"The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the
ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final between
India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading. The ICC has no reason
or evidence to require an investigation into this match," Haroon
Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said."It is indeed sad for spurious
claims to be made which onlyserve to cause doubt on thesemi-final."
New Zealand Cricket also came out strongly, rejecting claims in the
article made by the bookmaker that some of their players were involved
in fixing. "We have completeconfidence that the claims made are
baseless and have no credibility," NZC chief executive David White
said.
The Sunday Times story focussed on the alleged roleof Bollywood
actresses being used as honey traps for international cricketers, and
also included comments from bookmakers about howEnglish domestic
cricket is now an easy target.In the past six months, jail sentences
were handed out to three Pakistan players - Salman Butt, captain at
the time, and two fast bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif for
spot-fixing in 2010; MeryvnWestfield became the first player to
receive a custodialsentence for fixing in English county cricket; and,
in the High Court in London, Chris Cairns' libel action against the
former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, brought allegations about
corruption in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League into focus.

Bruised India eye redemptionin Asia Cup

Desperate to restore their battered reputation after the recent
debacle in Australia, title holders Indiawould be hoping for a
positive start to their campaign in the Asia Cup cricket tournament
when they take on Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.
The Asia Cup will provide India a chance to make amends for their
dismal performance in the triangular series in Australia, where they
won just three out of eight matches.
After having flopped in two consecutive overseas tours in England and
then Australia, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows the
importance of a good start that will hold them in good stead in the
regional tournament.
"Over the years the formathas changed in the sense now there are four
good sides. It is a very short series, and it is very important to
start on a positive note because it's not very often that you play in
a tournament whereall the Asian countries are playing together," Dhoni
said.
India are coming into the tournament with just a few changes in the
squad that played in Australia, with hard—hitting batsman Yusuf Pathan
and pacer Ashok Dinda drafted into the side, while Virender Sehwag,
Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested due to injuries.
The Asia Cup is also an ideal platform for Sachin Tendulkar to record
his much—awaited 100th international ton, after having missed the feat
in the Test series against Australia and the subsequent triangular
series.
The tournament will also provide another opportunity to young players
like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and RavindraJadeja to prove their
worthafter producing a below—par performance in tough Australian
conditions.Young Virat Kohli, on the other hand, will be oozing with
confidence following his impressive showing in Australia, which earned
himthe post of vice—captain in Sehwag's absence.
But looking at India's inconsistent showing in Australia, Dhoni has a
lot toponder ahead of his side's tournament opener against Sri Lanka
at the Sher—e—Bangla National Stadium.
"It's not that we have donereally badly. Of course, we had a patch
where we havenot done consistently well.
Especially when it comes to the ODI format, I think we have done quite
well. So weare hoping that we will stickto it and be consistent
throughout the tournament," Dhoni said.
The series will also see a keen contest between Jadeja and Yusuf
Pathan for the lone all—rounder's spot in the playing eleven.
"Unfortunately he's (Virender Sehwag) not there. We will miss him, he
is one of the most dangerous openers. But this means we have one space
in the playing elevenright now. It may go to somebody like Yusuf
Pathan so that we can balance the flair and the firepower and the
stability that's needed.
"I think it's an opportunity for someone like a Yusuf or a Ravindra
Jadeja to do well and grab that number six position," Dhoni said.
On the bowling front, India boasts of a relatively young pace attack
in R Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan, while
the spin department will be led by Ravichandran Ashwin with
leg—spinner Rahul Sharma for company.On paper, there is nothing much
to differentiate between the two sides, but going by present form, Sri
Lanka undoubtedly hold an edge over the Indians.
Sri Lanka have been a resurgent side this year. They narrowly lost the
five—match series in South Africa 2—3 early this year and reached the
finals of the just—concluded triangular series in Australia, only to
lose but not before giving a tough fight to the home team.
But the Sri Lankans have come here as a tired side after the long
tri—series in Australia, where they played five matches in the last 10
days.
"The intensity (of the CB series) was really high because we were
performing at a very high level. Even though we lost the finals I
thought the commitment of the players and the energy level was very
good," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.
"International cricket is such now, you need to adapt very quickly
mentallyand physically to the schedules that we have," he said.
If the islanders wish to win their fifth Asia Cup title, they will
have to rejuvenate themselves in no time as one bad day in office can
hurt their cause.

DRAVID - the forever Greatwall!

India's batting stalwart Rahul Dravid , second most prolific batsman
in Test history, onFriday announced his retirement from international
cricket where he has been a star for over 15 years.
Rahul Dravid's glorious Test career
Dravid made the announcement with the BCCI president, N Srinivasan
andformwer captain Anil Kumble at a press conference in Bangalore.
The 39-year-old Dravid had announced his retirement from ODI cricket
in England last year after been surprisingly recalled in the ODI team
due to his stupendous performance during the Test series against
England in which he scored three centuries.
Dravid played in 164 Test matches since making his debut against
England at the Lord's in 1996. He scored 13,288 runs for an impressive
average of 52.31 and aggregates second only to Sachin Tendulkar who
has 15470 runs in 188 Test matches.
Dravid, nicknamed the 'Wall'for his dour defence, is also a world
record holder in the number of Test catches.He took 210 catches,
mostly in the slip cordon.
Dravid is the first of the three ageing greats of Indian cricket,
besides Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, to retire.
The Karnataka batsman hada wonderful tour of Englandbut his
performance in the recent tour of Australia wasbelow par, prompting
calls that it was time for him and Laxman to hang their boots.
In an illustrious Test career, Dravid hit 36 centuries and 63
half-centuries with 270 against Pakistan being his highest score. In
ODIs, he has compiled 10,889 runs in344 matches for an average of
39.16. He also slammed 12 ODI centuries and 83 half-centuries.
Under his capataincy, India won away Test series in the West Indies as
well as England but had a disastrous 2007 World Cup where they were
out in the first round.
Dravid, however will be seen leading Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming
fifth edition of Indian Premier League.
Dravid gave up the Indian Test captaincy when no wasasking for his
head and just after he had led the side to a series win in
England.Also, like with the captaincy, the call hasn't been made in
haste in the middle of a series, there was a lot of deliberation, with
the clincher being that with the Indian team having finished with the
tours of the big three nations - South Africa, England and Australia -
the extra challenge that the man thrives on, would have been missing
for a while.
Now, Dravid couldn't really care if his runs came against Bangladesh
or Zimbabwe , he has always been hungry for more, but at 39, the plate
was always half-full rather than half-empty and that is the basis of
his decision. With the call having been made, Dravid is at peace and
now,most ironically, he can concentrate on the upcoming IPL, normally
the least of his priorities. Surely he would have expected a lot of
his IPL press conferences to centre around his Test future and in one
timely stroke, he has dealt with it.
Dravid may be at peace but Indian cricket surely will take some time
to recover from this body blow.Things will move on but it will not be
the same without the calming, assured presence of Dravid walking out
at thefall of the first Indian wicket.The gentle raising of the bat,
the shoulders stretched wide in celebration on reaching yet another
landmark, all following his literally sweating bucketfuls, will no
longer be on view.
Oppositions the world over will rejoice, bowlers will jump with joy in
the knowledge that they will nothave to work so hard to get a single
wicket. Batsmenwho had got used to their nicks being gobbled up at
slip by the man with the safest pair of hands will sigh in relief, but
to a man they will also agree that thegame itself will be poorer for
his absence.
Dravid, indeed, was a greatambassador of the game, a perfect role
model for the gentleman's game.
It's time to say goodbye andgood luck to a true legend. Thank you
Rahul for all the wonderful memories.

How to Play Straight Drive?

The straight drive is one of the most classical shots in a batsman's repertoire.
It is usually played to a full length delivery on or outsideoff stump.
Most of the work is done by the top hand, with the bottomhand lending
support, to keep the ball along the ground.
With your eyes fixed on the ball, lean in with the front shoulder (the
left if you are right-handed, the right if youare left-handed).
The front foot and a bent front knee form the base for the shot.
Raise the bat to give yourself enough momentum when making contact
with the ball.
The head should at least be level or ahead of the front knee, with the
back foot raised up to the toes.
This will ensure the ball stays on the ground, rather than flying
dangerously through the air.
The bat accelerates vertically and contact is madewith the eyes
directly under the ball.
The bat accelerates through a straight path, with the wrists relaxing
and the face of the bat pointing to the sky.
A high follow through not onlylooks good but also ensures good contact
has been made with the ball.

Sachin: I’ll miss Dravid in the dressing room

Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday paid rich tributesto Rahul Dravid, who is
expected to announce his retirement from international cricket on
Friday, saying there can be"no other" cricketer like him.
"There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will
miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle," Tendulkar
said.
Dravid has called a press conference in Bangalore onFriday, prompting
speculation that he may announce his retirement from international
cricket where he has been a star for over 15 years.
Test cricket's two most prolific batsmen, Tendulkarand Dravid together
fashioned many of India's famous wins with crucial partnerships over
the pastone-and-a-half decade.
Talking about those partnerships, Tendulkar said, "I have shared the
best moments with him. Our many century partnerships are testimony to
the hours we spent together in the middle.
"For someone who has played 164 matches and over 13000 runs, no
tribute can be enough."