7-50 is better than 9-29, n'est-ce pas?

Well, well, the race is on. I thought I would quickly put this post up to mark India's collapse, and see if I could get it up before India were bowled out. But I didn't make it. For India are gone again, unable to use their 50 overs. So, who is going to buck the pattern? The West Indies to stuff up a run-chase or the Indians to stuff up a defense of a reasonable score (268, after being 218-3)? Another race is on.

Breaking the mold

Well, by batting first, India have set up the first part of their template against non-minnows in this World Cup: bat first, get off to a good start, collapse at the end, and then fail to defend adquately. The early loss of the openers means there is a small blip in the template, and hopefully, there will be others. Otherwise, an unconvincing campaign will look even more insipid.

Cartwheeler!

Well, that was worth waking up in the morning for. Kemar Roach, perhaps the consistently, quickest bowler in the world, comes back for a new spell in the crucial England-West Indies game, and sends Ian Bell's off-stump flying with a peach of a delivery, that cut away just a bit. A nice cartwheel; if I was a gymnastics judge, I would have given it a couple of extra points.

Skipper not at the helm

A curious display of rudderless batting by Cap'n Team India, MS Dhoni in the final stages of the game. And, yes, India 296 all out in 48.4 overs. Unfreakingbelievable.

Lekker fightback by South Africa

After being 267-1 at one stage, India have made a sub-300 score (bowled out in less than 50 overs) a possibility.

Outlook article on the ODIs and the World Cup

I know, I know, I'm a lazy bastard, and I should blog more often. In my defense, all I can say was that I was traveling in India for 5.5 weeks, and on return, got swamped by teaching and the usual academic snafus. But, here is a small start, again at Outlook, a piece on why the ODI still packs a punch and why the World Cup is the right stage for it.

Coming up: a photo feature on Mumbai's Oval Maidan, and hopefully, a podcast series.

Opportunities for redemption

Yet another ODI tournament final featuring India (and thus, yet another chance to redeem a gloomy record in finals). Yet another India-Sri Lanka game. And most importantly, yet another chance for India's batsmen to redeem themselves, especially the young ones, and even more so when Sehwag has gone early. Of course, it's not just the young guns that need to come good, even an oldie like Yuvraj Singh needs a moment of redemption.

Early days, but so far, Kohli looks very good. He's definitely started to look more organized and compact in recent times.

Time to start paying attention to that ODI series

I have not paid much attention to the England-Australia ODI series - thus far. The World Cup has seen to that. Yes, cricket, my lovely, even you (in your here's-another-pointless-ODI-series form) can't compete with the world's premier sporting event. But ironically, now that the score is 3-0 England, I've suddenly become fascinated by it in that "I'm going to a NASCAR rally so I can see a crash" sense. For one thing, there is the chance that I will get to witness an extremely entertaining feeding frenzy in the Australian and English presses if this margin of victory were to be enlarged. But even more entertainingly, Ricky Ponting might wax poetic, both at postmatch interviews and in his own writings (if things are going really well, perhaps we can count on an on-field implosion in full sight of the cameras). The Punter is always good in these situations (defeat, that is); the perfect turn-of-phrase and the pitch-perfect facial expression.

Even if bat on ball hasn't quite done it for me in the last few weeks, the associated entertainments of the game always hold some promise. Especially when England seem to be lording it over Australia.

Sachin's double-ton; how utterly expected

Craigslist, this is for you :) A post on Sachin breaching the 200 barrier is up at Different Strokes.

Giving up and hoping

Yes, its true. I checked out for a while. I've tried on a couple of occasions this year to get excited about T20 cricket. It didn't work in the IPL; it worked in the WC; and it hasn't worked in the Champions League. I think I'm going to give up on club cricket. I'm too much of an old fart clearly. I consider myself a pretty flexible person but I don't think this format will work for me. I've given it a decent shot; time to call curtains.

That said, I'll probably pay some attention to the T&T team in the Champions League, just because it's nice to see a West Indies team do well, and just because Daren Ganga did make a big deal about representing the Windies in this tourney.

That done, the India-Australia ODI series awaits and while I think the seven-match series is typical overkill, I will still catch parts of it. I will be in a much more favorable timezone for part of the series (as I will be traveling in Taiwan for a week) so that should help a little bit.

Unfortunately, I find myself afflicted by a sneaky feeling of hollowness: when the team gathered to play on the world's stage this year, it fell down. I suspect only a test win against the Proteas next year will help. Fingers crossed.

A familiar situation

Watching India's incompetent performance on Saturday, and realizing that the Australia game was now a knockout affair, triggered a sneaking feeling: does India always start major tournaments poorly? It seemed to me that the Indian team has a talent for ending up in must-win (or dependent on run-rate) situations very quickly. I wasn't sure, so I went and checked just the World Cups.

The record looks something like this:

• 2007 World Cup - lost to Bangladesh (eventually knocked out in pool round)
  
• 2003 World Cup - beat the Netherlands; lost to Australia in the next, still needed to scramble against Namibia as a result; went on to final
  
• 1999 World Cup - lost to South Africa (eventually knocked out by Australia in second stage)
  
• 1996 World Cup - Beat Kenya, then beat the West Indies (eventually knocked out in semi-finals)
  
• 1992 World Cup - Lost to England, did not qualify for semis
  
• 1987 World Cup - Lost to Australia, knocked out in semis
  
• 1983 World Cup - beat the West Indies, won the cup
  
• 1979 World Cup - lost to West Indies, knocked out in pool round
  
• 1975 World Cup - lost to England, knocked out in pool round
  

Not a pretty sight. In nine world cups, India have only won their opening game three times. Two of those wins have come against minnows, and in one of those occasions, they still painted themselves into a corner by losing the next game. The one time India began their campaign with a win against a major team, they won the cup.

I know this is neither here or there but it was an interesting exercise nevertheless and told me I wasn't completely deranged in thinking the situation India find themselves in today was a familiar one (at least for fans!).

Well done (but did you have to be so sloppy?)

Congratulations to the lads on winning the Compaq Cup, though I'd have to say that that defense of 319 was amongst the poorest I've seen in a while: wayward bowling, lackluster fielding, and butter-fingered catching being prominently on display. Something like that when 319 runs are not up on the board is a sure-fire recipe for disaster when the Champions Trophy begins. (Yes, I know the inevitable defense, "they won't be so sloppy when they don't have 319 runs on board," but honestly, does anyone believe that?).

The Champions Trophy, though its ridiculed in various quarters, is useful in one regard: it serves as a template for what I think should be the world championship in one-day cricket. It is short, it is compact, and it takes place every two years (if I'm not mistaken). I think we should do away with the four-year world cup, rename the Champions trophy, and be done with it. That way, we'd have a limited overs championship ever year in one format or the other, and everyone would be happy. And that way, we might be able to get rid of many one-day internationals, and make the ones that are played much more meaningful.

Masters at work

Watching Dravid pull Thushara for four in the sixth over reminded me that very few batsmen play that shot better. There is the perfect transfer of weight accompanying the swivel of the feet, the bat goes horizontal and then face down, and the ball races away to the boundary. It's not a shot that is often associated with Dravid just because it doesn't fit into his overall vibe, but it's definitely one that is a signature stroke (jeez, just like the unbelievable cover drive that Sachin has just smoked off Kulasekara). Phew. Lovely batting here. Glad I got up early.

On to the Compaq Cup final

Right. So we have a one-day final tomorrow. The Compaq Cup (which features a pretty digital trophy, like totally 21st century, if you know what I mean).

India have a chance to do two things: take back the No. 1 spot, which they held for some 24 hours (at least, I think they get it back, but I'm not sure), and more to the point, they have a chance to try and get over the "finals jinx", because they have this really bad habit of losing in anything that ends with the word "Final."

Sri Lanka have the chance to just continue smacking India around the Park like they did on Saturday (can someone confirm if that was the same pitch on which India clobbered New Zealand? I'm serious).

Despite all my recent snarkiness about the one-day game, I'm genuinely interested in this game. I would like to see: Tendulkar and Dravid bat; the Indian trio of Nehra/RP Singh/Sharma fire; Dilshan/Jaya/Sanga batting; Mendis/Malinga bowling. I still like ODIs when the stakes are "high." This isn't a big deal as far as tournaments go, but there is always some national pride at stake. And importantly, Sri Lanka is playing at home, so the atmosphere should be have a crackle and pop to it. The one-day final, with a big crowd behind it, is still a marquee international cricket event. Fingers crossed, we'll get a good game.

Oh, and the times are good. The games start at 5 AM, and thanks to a pesky back injury, I haven't had any trouble waking up then!

The top's gone, and not much left

India's strangulation of this New Zealand innings, while satisfying from the perspective of the Indian fan, does create the rather unappetizing possibility that the ODI will drift to an end in that most dreaded of ways: a perfunctory, businesslike, accumulation of a rather low total by the side batting second. The crowd will struggle to stay awake, and I might go take a nap as well.

I'll make no secret of it. On subcontinental pitches, I prefer watching India bat first. One gets a little value for money if they rack up a big total, and then of course, there is the defense to look forward to. When their outcricket does as much damage as it has today, it doesn't leave much to be consumed later. (By way of clarifying, I do like India bowling first overseas on more bowler-friendly tracks; it often is their best chance of winning).

The return of the prodigal(s)

Right. So it has been a long time since I've seen India play any international cricket (the World T20?) and thus, here we are on a wet, dark morning in Brooklyn, watching India take on New Zealand in the Compaq Cup (I have given up trying to understand the provenance of these triangular ODI series). I confess to having tuned out just a bit over the last few weeks as India made noises about their team selection, and thus, it was a pleasant surprise to see Nehra and RP Singh opening the bowling. The former was in danger for being better known for a a little YouTube clip where he says terrible things about Dhoni's sister, and along with the latter, of becoming yet another answer to that well-known trivia question "Which promising promising Indian fast bowler is in danger of slipping into obscurity?". But Delhi's prominence on the national scene, and this stint in the IPL, has done him wonders. And here he is, taking two wickets in his first two overs, both LBWs.

Good Lord, the television screen tells me Nehra played in the West Indies earlier this year as well. Mea culpa. I hadn't realized. I wasn't paying attention to that ODI series.

Which fact brings me to one-day internationals again. A few weeks ago, when Pakistan were touring Sri Lanka, I had noticed that large crowds had not shown up for the ODI series, contributing to a rather flat atmosphere at the ground. While today's small crowd is not surprising, (given that Sri Lanka is not playing), it made me wonder whether it would be only India that could be counted upon to drum up large crowds for bilateral games. And perhaps, then, only for games involving India. Things are a bit worrying for ODIs.

Meanwhile, synoptic musings about various forms of cricket aside, New Zealand have lost three wickets as Taylor goes to RP Singh (I'm glad to see him back in the side as well). Looking ahead, another interesting return awaits: Rahul Dravid is back in action.

Well, hello, another pointless ODI series

I thought the India-West Indies ODI series earlier this year was a bit flat, and somehow incapable of generating interest. This England-Australia series is even worse, if that was possible. Play ODIs before tests; or have the occasional trophy tournament like the Champions or the World Cup. These interminable series, staged as unwanted desserts after the main course, are pointless.

Dubai dhamaka

I've just woken up and checked out the Pakistan-Australia one-day international in Dubai. First impressions: beautiful stadium, great outfield, real noisy crowd, tons of atmosphere. This could be a good place for Pakistan to play their international games during their 'exile'. The stadium isn't full by any means (there are lots of empty stands), and its not clear the attendance will be sustained over all games, but the feel of the place is good. And as I've been watching IPL over the past couple of days, the comparison between the two is fairly easy to make: there is a crackle in this game that hasn't been available in any of the IPL games. (Marsh's runout has just sparked a huge roar - don't think I've heard a Pakistani stadium this noisy in a while!).