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[cyclone87]

A flood of pictures? How unexpected of you.

If I remember correctly Grug was actually at the game so maybe you should wait a bit before trying to slag him behind his back.

 

[artist]

Its exactly what you, Grug and others did to me .. and on more than 5 occasions. Dish it out but can take it?

I also know exactly what he's going to say ..

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Finally got to a computer!!!

Anyways good game, close, very close and there will always be next year

Few mistakes Ponting made though

Swapping Clark for Hogg, Hogg would have been good with the bat atleast and may not have been as expensive.

Letting Johnston bowl so many overs, 9 wides, we lost by...........

Letting Lee bowl his last 2, should have seen how expensive he was on his first one, Hopes and Bracken could have done the job and where no where near as expensive.


Anyways, need to take a good hard look at them selves, Top order is in shambles, Symonds needs to man up a bit and not always get out when his partner gets out, he will be there when you get back to the stands Symo, he still loves you.

Needs a new batting coach me thinks and some practice against swing and spin.

Just needs to clear their heads really, its been a long ass summer. Fully expect a massive resurgance next year, new players in the team and all and enough time to get to know their game and should be tops.

 

[tri_willy]

that pic of harbi needs to be photoshopped

 

[cyclone87]

Apparently Australia are touring India later this year, I would have thought these teams were sick of each other by now so it will be interesting indeed.

 

[tri_willy]

Apparently Australia are touring India later this year, I would have thought these teams were sick of each other by now so it will be interesting indeed.

apparently there's some sort of agreement that
aust will be playing india for the next few years...

 

[Pachael]

There isn't going to be a next year. Aren't A) the tri-series scrapped and B) everybody's into IPL mode?

 

[artist]

There isn't going to be a next year. Aren't A) the tri-series scrapped and B) everybody's into IPL mode?

That is what I was hearing too ..

In the final installment of its 29-year existence, a series that has become a part of Australia's summer culture came to a climactic end with a fitting humdinger at the Gabba.

and

Almost a year after Ponting lifted the World Cup he has experienced a brace of losses to India. The embarrassment is that he has not won the CB Series trophy, the country's annual one-day prize, for the past two years and will not have an opportunity to get it back. The Australian tri-series is finished and India will be the perennial holders.

edit: Yup.

 

[cyclone87]

Unfortunately Symonds might be in trouble for knocking down that streaker: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/05/2180075.htm

How bullshit is that!

 

[Grug]

Sooo tired.

Didn't get home from the game till 11ish and had to get up at 6 for an early lecture.

A hangover combined with some pretty serious sunburn and I'm feeling a bit under the weather.

All I can say is that was a great match to end the series on. There has been relatively few nailbiters this series and that one was a gem.

Hayden's runout was the turning point and we were pushing diareah up a hill from then on.

Congratulations to the great sportsman on the Indian team (all 10 of them) for pulling off the win, they managed to hit form at the right time and walk away with the bikkies. World cricket at the moment would appear to be Australia and India, followed by the rest. The ICC will be desperate to schedule as much cricket between these sides as possible in the near future.

I sat next to a couple of Indian blokes at the match and they were great value and good sports and ended up hitting the Chalk Hotel with them afterwards for a couple of beers, turns out we go to the same Uni. Good to know that the dickhead ones are the minority.

Lowlight of the night was Gilchrist getting out for 2, the crowd was just in stunned silence after that, but will always be remembered for walking in his last innings now. Suits his legacy as a great sportsman.

Highlights of the night were Sachin's knock (I seriously felt dissapointed when he holed out in the 90s). What a champ he is. And I am proud to say I was at his last Australian game.

Biggest highlight was obviously Symonds introducing a streaker to his shoulder. The crowd absolutely erupted when that happened. Amazing. :lol Its funny how the crowd's reactions to streakers works. When he first ran out, the streaker was the hero, but after Symonds took him out, he was just someone to be ridiculed. :lol

Did they it on TV? I know they have a policy of not showing streakers normally because it encourages them, but this was too good not to show.

There was a second streaker later in the night who went right for Harbhajan and waved his tackle at him. :lol Warm Queensland days + plentiful beer + Gabba crowd = strange behavior.

A guy in our section got arrested for making a beer-cup snake too. :lol

The fact that we were able to salvage 5 wins and a draw out of the 11 games we played while suffering the biggest and most widespread batting form slump in recent memory is quite remarkable. As the old adage goes... form is temporary, class is permanant.
3 weeks till the AFL season begins, so I will be back at the Gabba before the month is out for the Clash between Brisbane and Collingwood. Can't wait.

 

[Grug]

Symonds has been cleared of any criminal charges in the streaker incident by Queensland Police.

The guy went straight for him and got what he deserved.

EDIT: Has also been cleared by Cricket Australia and the ICC.

Sanity prevails.

 

[speedpop]

Yeah they showed the streaker. Was a huge panned view when he ran on so you couldn't see for certain what was happening other than a shitload of security and police, but it showed the replay of Symonds hitting him Sonny Bill style. Only showed it once on TV but youtube is our saviour.

 

[tri_willy]

Congratulations to the great sportsman on the Indian team (all 10 of them) for pulling off the win

:lol

i wonder if someone can do a gif of symo taking out that streaker

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Yeah they showed the streaker. Was a huge panned view when he ran on so you couldn't see for certain what was happening other than a shitload of security and police, but it showed the replay of Symonds hitting him Sonny Bill style. Only showed it once on TV but youtube is our saviour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTWOk6slU_Y

Was amazing.

You could hear the crowd chanting "Symos a wanker" for a bit.......... but fuck them, it was awesome.

 

[Grug]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTWOk6slU_Y

Was amazing.

You could hear the crowd chanting "Symos a wanker" for a bit.......... but fuck them, it was awesome.

The crowd mic must have been near an Indian contingent, because the rest of the crowd was worshipping him.

 

[artist]

Crowd mic .. haha couldnt get any more lame. :lol

Here is one excellent article from Cricinfo:

Just moments after what was arguably his finest hour, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a poignant and deeply symbolic gesture. "Sabse chota kaun hai?" (Who's the youngest?) he asked when the team assembled on the podium to pose with CB Series trophy. Nothing could have summed up India's triumph better, underpinning the value of the untried and untested. The sight of little Piyush Chawla, the youngest member, holding the trophy aloft captured the theme of the series.

It marked the end of a highly-charged tour littered with controversy. How fitting that the one-day triumph came exactly two months after the third day of the acrimonious Sydney Test, the eruption whose effects was felt through the series. But the Indian team did in splendid manner, swinging in Perth, fighting in Adelaide and shattering expectations through the one-day series. Leaving aside the first Test and one-off Twenty20 - both in Melbourne - they were competitive in every match.

The self-belief was evident through the tour. Dhoni grinned when asked about his side doing the unthinkable. "How higher would you take expectations? First tell me that." Eight of the finalists hadn't played a one-dayer in Australia before this trip and Manoj Tiwary was yet to debut. Here were a bunch of lambs ready for the slaughter.

India rode on experience during the Test series. Batsmen had responded because they had been in similar positions before; bowlers had fought back because, in Anil Kumble's words, "we've played enough cricket to know that a Test match can change very quickly".

The one-day series squad was picked amid controversy. Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa were included despite doing very little in the domestic circuit. Sourav Ganguly was jettisoned. Rahul Dravid was ignored. And a couple of selectors let it be known privately that it was a team picked at Dhoni's behest.

India don't rebuild too well, partly because teams haven't been granted enough latitude through the demanding phases. Youngsters have often been thrown in the deep, only for poor results to mess up the successions plan.

Greg Chappell's plan to put together a young side backfired when the losses piled up. Ditto in 1999, when a few greenhorns were tried in Australia, only to have their careers derailed. Youngsters fresh from domestic cricket have often found the transition too rough. A string of demoralising defeats - like in South Africa late in 2006 - would have blurred the selectors' vision.

Where would the runs come from? Who had the technique to counter the swinging ball? Who could guide a chase? Didn't this side have too many chinks? What this side did have, though, was balance. Often they played five bowlers, a luxury that often tilts the way teams play. For the last few years, India's one-day side has relied on an in-form Irfan Pathan, not so much for what he contributes but the options that open up with him in the side.

Agility on the field helped. No way would India have competed in the giant Australian arenas with a sluggish side. Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik didn't get a game but the energy levels perked up when they were on as substitutes. Tiwary made a couple of fine saves in the final and Chawla held his nerve to pouch a smart catch in the dying stages.

The fielders backed up what was a sustained bowling effort. An outstanding strike bowler (Ishant Sharma) was complemented by a duo who stuck to the basics (Pathan and Harbhajan). Praveen and Chawla held their nerve in the final while Sreesanth and Munaf Patel did their bit when called upon. They swung it in daylight and swung it more under floodlights. They were up against a wobbly top order, with Australia's batsmen not at the peak of their confidence, but the Indian bowlers ensured that they stayed there.

More than anything don't forget Dhoni. He's copped the blame for backing players - picking Tiwary on a 'gut' feel, sticking to Yuvraj despite the lean patch, throwing newcomers in the deep end - but struck gold. After going down to Australia in Adelaide he insisted that Yuvraj would play every match; a matchwinning 76 was to justify his faith two days later.

The batsmen didn't shine as bright - and it needed the mastery of Sachin Tendulkar to carry them through the finals - but the signs were promising. Every one of the batting line-up showed the willingness to change his game. Rohit Sharma carved out responsible fifties in the league phase before charging along in the first final; Robin Uthappa blitzed a fifty in Sydney before patiently laying a platform in the final.

Gautam Gambhir showed he could rip upper-cuts with the mightiest of biffs and charged spinners ferociously. Importantly he backed himself when under the hammer. Don't forget Pathan's cameos, both in the top and lower order.

Within six months of being handed captaincy Dhoni has won the World Twenty20, beaten Pakistan and claimed the CB Series. He's injected a sense of fearlessness and backed youngsters all the way. Eight years ago, from the rubble of the match-fixing scandal, another Indian captain began his tenure similarly. It was hailed as a new dawn. What an irony that Ganguly's one-day career is all but over with Dhoni's side beginning a mouth-watering new chapter.

Australia's ranking is tied with South Africa currently and New Zealand is tied with India. And guess what South Africa have some one days against Bangladesh, you can pretty much see where this is going .. :lol

India on the other hand have a tough series with South Africa coming up. And no time to relax either.

And the flak Ponting is recieving reminds me of how Steve Waugh was booted out of the team. Dont look for a scapegoat, the whole team (except Hayden) is in shambles batting form wise.

 

[cyclone87]

And the flak Ponting is recieving reminds me of how Steve Waugh was booted out of the team. Dont look for a scapegoat, the whole team (except Hayden) is in shambles batting form wise.

I'm going to have to disagree, it's batting is definitely at a low but not the whole team, Ponting, Gilchrist (for every big score hemakes, he makes a lot of no scores) and (in recent games) Clarke have been the let downs, everyone else has performed to some extent, Symonds is on the rise again and Hussey is solid as always.

 

[Grug]

With South Africa and Australia due to play series against Bangladesh and West Indies respectively, both sides are in a good position to shore up their high rankings in both tests and ODIs.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

India on the other hand have a tough series with South Africa coming up. And no time to relax either.

I'd like to see how India handles South Africa, which I'd consider a very well-balanced side. I would only put them as a definite second to Australia versus the rest of the world (as others have suggested) if South Africa gets beaten in the upcoming series. Personally, I still think South Africa (even missing Pollock to retirement) will come out on top - no matter the Twenty20 WC or the CB series. SA may be serial chokers when it comes to big tournaments, but they're quite consistent otherwise. Needless to say, it'll be interesting.

 

[Grug]

SA may be serial chokers when it comes to big tournaments

Remember this?

This is my favorite moment in cricket, I remember it so vividly it may as well have happened yesterday.

It was like 2am in the morning here when it happened, and judging by the silence around, you'd swear you were the only one in your street watching it, but when Donald dropped the bat, you could hear cheers and screaming coming from all around the neighbourhood. :lol

Was so amazing.

South Africa had it in the bag... one of the worst chokes in sporting history.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Remember this?

This is my favorite moment in cricket, I remember it so vividly it may as well have happened yesterday.

It was like 2am in the morning here when it happened, and judging by the silence around, you'd swear you were the only one in your street watching it, but when Donald dropped the bat, you could hear cheers and screaming coming from all around the neighbourhood. :lol

Was so amazing.

South Africa had it in the bag... one of the worst chokes in sporting history.

Remember that, haha, I was on the receiving end at the time. I was definitely a huge Klusener fan at the time, and I always had faith that "Zulu" would get us there, but Donald really screwed it up. It was a big moment, though, and a great game with some of my absolute favourite players in it. (Rhodes, Klusener, Ponting, McGrath, Warney, etc.)

Man, but Klusener was a great player. Gilchrist and him are very similar.

 

[legend166]

Still don't understand why everyone says it was Donald's fault. It was a risky run to begin with, and there were still balls left to get the single. Klusner screwed it up in my mind.

I still remember watching it though. I also remember going to the parade in Sydney and getting squashed at the front near Town Hall. I was 10.

 

[Grug]

Still don't understand why everyone says it was Donald's fault.

Klusener was running to the danger end, so it was his call.

It was a risky run, but Donald got the call and had to go.

 

[master15]

Remember this?

This is my favorite moment in cricket, I remember it so vividly it may as well have happened yesterday.

It was like 2am in the morning here when it happened, and judging by the silence around, you'd swear you were the only one in your street watching it, but when Donald dropped the bat, you could hear cheers and screaming coming from all around the neighbourhood. :lol

Was so amazing.

South Africa had it in the bag... one of the worst chokes in sporting history.

Ha, pretty much the same reaction here. I remember waking up with my Brother and Dad watching the game. When Klusner was going berserk at one point I really thought it was all over (Particulary after the dropped catch on the boundary by Fleming I think).

I remember seeing Klusner in person I think the next year in NZ. Man that bat he carried around was a beat as he smashed a 6 off the last ball to beat the Kiwi's in an ODI here. Pretty handy with the ball too.

South Africa have been lucky to get some really quality all-rounders; from Brian McMillan (Although I thought he was a bit of a dick), Pollock, Klusner to Kallis.

 

[artist]

That is one of the best odi games ever for me. I remember the resurgence of Australia in the '99 WC after Steve Waugh's innings .. they started out poorly but got back into stride with some inspirational performances, sort of like what India did in this CB Series.

And I was the lone person in the room celebrating, all my cousins were big Klusener fans (at that time he was unconquerable). :lol Goes to show that low scoring games can be exciting as well.

Coming back to the present, any predictions on the Australian tour to Pakistan?

 

[master15]

So just watching some of the England v New Zealand test match today and man it was pretty funny seeing Martin Crowe get into quite a heated debate with Mark Richardson (Better known for beating bloody Lehman in a sprint race) about the whole IPL/Rebel league fiasco. Hilarious stuff :lol

Oh nice to see Vettori picking up KP

 

[Grug]

Better known for beating bloody Lehman in a sprint race

Not much of an achievement really. :lol

 

[legend166]

So just watching some of the England v New Zealand test match today and man it was pretty funny seeing Martin Crowe get into quite a heated debate with Mark Richardson (Better known for beating bloody Lehman in a sprint race) about the whole IPL/Rebel league fiasco. Hilarious stuff :lol

Oh nice to see Vettori picking up KP

What was the argument about?

The ICL thing pisses me off. Especially when someone like Shane Bond joins it. They spend all the time trying to get him through his injuries, waiting for him, and then he pisses off.

Bah.

 

[Grug]

What was the argument about?

The ICL thing pisses me off. Especially when someone like Shane Bond joins it. They spend all the time trying to get him through his injuries, waiting for him, and then he pisses off.

Bah.

Loyalty (or lack thereof) goes both ways I guess.

The selectors are just as quick to drop a player once they are no longer useful.

With the money available in the IPL, you can't blame players for making hay while the sun shines.

I'm not a big fan of Twenty20, but the IPL will be a little bit of fun. Its like eating a cocktail weenie as an appetiser before you have lobster (test cricket) and dessert (ODIs).

 

[medrew]

What was the argument about?

The ICL thing pisses me off. Especially when someone like Shane Bond joins it. They spend all the time trying to get him through his injuries, waiting for him, and then he pisses off.

Bah.

Bond was originally told by NZC that he'd be allowed to play for the ICL without ramifications. Of course given the ICC mandates it isn't allowed.

Crowe's going to be one of the coaches in the IPL. And since Richardson has shown his want to play in the ICL in the past ( http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=gvfk_j1yZDw ok, it's a joke)... But more seriously Richardson hates the idea that the IPL promotes a very few elite to a status above their teammates and the effects that will have in the locker room and team environment.

 

[master15]

What was the argument about?

Well essentially Richardson was throwing a stropp because Lou Vincent recently left to the IPL while still being contracted and seems unlike Bond didn't go through the appropriate channels. Even though Vincent really has been going through the proverbial revolving door when it comes to a place in the New Zealand side, Richardson still felt he should be showing some loyalty and playing for the state side here in Auckland.

Crowe threw up that Richardson was once under contract as a NZ player and broke that to join the Sky commentary team. Just funny seeming them bicker and get rather personnel :lol

Crowe's going to be one of the coaches in the IPL. And since Richardson has shown his want to play in the ICL in the past ( http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=gvfk_j1yZDw ok, it's a joke)...

Seriously Crowd goes Wild is a great fucking program. One of the better things created here since perhaps Eating Media Lunch. So many laughs provided.

 

[medrew]

My favourite still has to be the Pulp Sport bit with Chris Martin
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=9qu4oVX-YHE

Showed that technique yesterday

 

[artist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rybb85zc5yY

 

[Pachael]

As nice as that hat-trick was, England completely self-destructed in their second innings. Good golly. 110.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=qMSRiPKehcw

 

[tri_willy]

well england deserved to lose after playing such a tight arse innings...
even ross taylor outscored them in one of his innings

 

[Tim the Wiz]

IPL begins tonight. Bangalore hosting Kolkata to kick off the tournament. Apparently, there's an hour or so delay for those of us without HD here in Australia, but that's pretty good for Network Ten anyway. (and excellent for those of us in Perth who are used to delayed telecasts, even for sporting events taking place in our city :/) So, who's watching?

Teams (in no particular order) are:

Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Ajit Agarkar, Debabrata Das, David Hussey, Murali Kartik, Brendon McCullum (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Ricky Ponting, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Bangalore: Rahul Dravid (capt), Balachandra Akhil, Mark Boucher (wk), Wasim Jaffer, Sunil Joshi , Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Ashley Noffke, Cameron White.

BTW, I took a peek at the live scorecard on Cricinfo.com, and it's Kolkata batting first with Ganguly and McCullum as openers.

 

[artist]

McCullum literally tearing Bangalore apart .. Ponting gone He looked like he had something to prove (that he was a bargain)

 

[artist]

hahaha

BB McCullum 158* 73balls 10 fours 13 sixes 216.43 strike-rate

:lol :lol :lol

Kolkata Knight Riders 222/3, Bangalore tsk tsk

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

lol smallest pitch ever.:lol

 

[tri_willy]

damn mccullum that crazy psycho!!! what a killer innings
he'll prob outscore the opposition at the rate they're going

 

[artist]

lol smallest pitch ever.:lol

What do you mean? Its a standard pitch ..

Told ya guys that Kolkata was a team to watch out for.

Ganguly to Khan, OUT, cleaned up, Zaheer missing the line completely for off stump to be pegged back and Ganguly runs off in celebration and Ponting runs towards him and the two embrace ... now thats a sight, eh?

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Bangalore Royal Challengers lose to the Kolkota Knight Riders by 140 runs.
Man of the Match: Brendon McCullum - His 158 (not out) record highest innings was brilliant.
Greatest Moment: McCullum moving to the offside and flicking a 6 over fine leg with a highly unorthodox (Haddin-esque) sweep shot.
Second Greatest Moment: Sharma clean bowling Dravid with his first ball. You can almost sense the Bangalore captain's disbelief.

First of all, this game can be seen as an early indication of the style of play better-suited to this tournament, however obvious that might seem. (except for the Bangalore owners, of course) McCullum showed once again that it only takes one explosive player to change the face of an entire game in 20/20 cricket. Hyderabad, containing the likes of Gilchrist, Symonds, Ul-Haq and Gibbs, looks even more dangerous after this game. In this respect, the wisdom of going for a strongly technical side over an unconventional, big-hitting batting line-up seems to have been a massive mistake for Bangalore.

Bangalore
Best Player: Kumar - The most enthusiastic player on his team.
Best Fielder: Kumar - Made an important catch and some impressive saves.
Best Bowler: Noffke/S Joshi - Noffke got the wicket, but Joshi was by far the most efficient.
Best Batter: Kumar - He fought all the way through and got the team's highest score. No-one in his team but him managed to get into double figures, which is absurd really, since he is a tail-ender.

From the looks on the faces of the Bangalore owners, I wouldn't like to be in Dravid's shoes, especially considering the poor form he's in. Overall, the team lost due to a relative lack of ability to make runs under the sort of pressure they were under. Whether because it was of the fact that they were playing in the first match of a huge tournament at home or because it was the first time they'd played together as a team, the players looked frightened on screen and no-one really stepped up to fight for the win. They have a solid batting line-up, but as discussed above, it's filled with batsmen more suited to test cricket and even in that sense, they failed miserably. The people you'd expect, such as Kallis, White and Boucher, to make some sort of impact on the scorecard, provided nothing. It was a total collapse. They also showed a lack of aggression from the start which could keep them to the bottom end of the table, with Dravid forgoing the move to bat first, although the wicket did look like hard work for everyone. (except McCullum, of course)

Otherwise, there are some positives for them. They were missing the talents of Nathan Bracken, a hugely prolific bowler with great control and variation well-suited to the shorter forms of the game. Kumar always looked dangerous as a bowler. Joshi, the spinner, was their most economical bowler, and should have bowled a fourth over. Spin really seems to be an important ingredient in this game. Noffke was solid, if disappointing at times.

I don't know, this game was like watching a car crash in slow motion from their perspective. Their bowling was decent, but I just feel that their batting and overall chemistry, especially in the field, will keep them down. It definitely appears to be a negative outlook from here on out.

Kolkota
Best Player: McCullum - He succeeded where no-one else could. Simply astounding.
Best Fielder: Ponting - Some great catches and a good presence on the field.
Best Bowler: Agarkar - He didn't get a chance to bat, but he had the best bowling figures of the day.
Best Batter: McCullum - A superb innings containing ten 4s and thirteen 6s.

This was McCullum's show. His century and a half was the best batting display ever seen in this form of the game. It was doubly amazing when you consider the quality of bowling present in the match, the amount of pressure he was under due to his high price tag and the environment he was playing in, as well as his recent brush with injury. Even though his strike rate was astronomically high at 216.43%, he also kept the scoreboard ticking over with 1s and 2s throughout, something not seen from any player in the opposing team at any stage of the match. As such, we saw a nice mixture of the unconventional and the conventional with his shots. Besides his display, however, there was not much else to be seen from the rest of the Kolkota batsmen, although there was a boundary from each of them and they all consciously played supporting roles to keep McCullum on strike. Ganguly got out to a good delivery, Ponting got a good start but got out due to a mis-timed hit, and White pushed too hard too early. Hafeez didn't get much of a start either. Dravid might have been correct that McCullum was the only one to work the pitch to the extent that he did, but unlike his team, all the Kolkota batsmen who got out looked dangerous as well, especially Ponting.

On the bowling side, Kolkota proved to be more than superior on the day. Their substitute for spin seemed to be medium pace bowling, and Dinda and Ganguly both exceeded expectations with two wickets apiece. Agarkar proved what an exceptional player he is, whether it be with bat or ball, as he took an excellent three wicket haul. The 4 wides might be slightly disconcerting, though. Sharma also qualified his hefty tag price by taking the big wicket of Dravid on his first ball. He seems to have a knack for those big wickets, actually. In general, their fielding was leagues better - for one, they had no misses near the ropes (or even near the inner circle :facepalm) which led to boundaries - than Bangalore's, and it helped in providing wickets. Ponting put in his usual exceptional performance here, even with that missed catch. Finally, it was the small things like this that displayed how much greater chemistry the Kolkata team had.

Conclusion
A weak showing from Bangalore all round allowed Kolkota to take advantage with a good bowling effort and the majestic exploits of New Zealand wicket-keeper, Brendon McCullum.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

What do you mean? Its a standard pitch ..

Told ya guys that Kolkata was a team to watch out for.

Ganguly to Khan, OUT, cleaned up, Zaheer missing the line completely for off stump to be pegged back and Ganguly runs off in celebration and Ponting runs towards him and the two embrace ... now thats a sight, eh?

:lol :lol :lol

Yeah, it was weird to see Ponting celebrating with Sharma and Ganguly.

Saturday's games are Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings, followed by Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals. Ten are showing them back to back, here in Australia, after the footy in the evening.

For the second match of the tournament, the teams (according to Cricinfo.com) are:

Punjab (likely) 1 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 2 James Hopes, 3 Sahil Kukreja, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Tanmay Srivastava, 8 Karan Goel, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Sreesanth.

Chennai (likely) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 S Badrinath, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram (or M Hussey), 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 S Vidyut, 9 Joginder Sharma, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

In the end, this will be a close match. I think Punjab rely a bit too much on the batting prowess of Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh. If both of them fail, Chennai are definitely in with the victory.

For the third match, the teams (according to Cricinfo.com) are:

Delhi (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Mithun Manhas, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Brett Geeves, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Pradeep Sangwan.

Rajasthan (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Yusuf Pathan, 3 Mohammad Kaif, 4 Darren Lehmann, 5 Niraj Patel, 6 Dimitri Mascarenhas , 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja , 9 Shane Warne, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

Unless Warney magic transpires, Dehli should win.

 

[tri_willy]

its amazing how bangalore managed to pick up 2 of test cricket's most tight arsed batsmen in dravid and kallis because their strike rates are so freaking shite despite their averages... thus, "the wall" would theoretically be useless in this format... unless he can change... which is hard...

 

[legend166]

I watched the first 30 mins last night. The whole thing is ridiculous, and I don't think I like it. At all.

 

[master15]

Shit missed the first game but saw on the highlights McCullam tearing Banglore a new ass. He had a couple of great innings against the English earlier this season and looks to be in good nick. Is he not keeping during the 20-20 fixtures?

Also as someone said it was nice and odd to see likes of Pointing and Sharma embracing after what went on earlier this summer.

 

[Rezbit]

I kind of like it. It's like the good-looking but slutty cousin of cricket. I mean those gold pads and helmets just looked ridiculous, but it was all pretty glitzy and it had a good atmosphere. It was a bit of fun.

 

[artist]

I watched the first 30 mins last night. The whole thing is ridiculous, and I don't think I like it. At all.

Some of the things they're doing piss me off as well but in the end its still cricket, and we've star players in action. I wont complain.

Did you guys catch the wicket-keeper + commentator idea? I remember some one had requested this feature .. that was pure comedy. :lol :lol :lol

 

[Pachael]

IPL looks like great cricket fun from where I'm sitting - enjoyed the many boundaries more so than the wickets.

 

[master15]

Guys catch any games over the weekend? There was one close game and some decent cricket played.

Loved Hussey's big innings and boy that was a shocker of a pitch in the following game. I've mainly caught the highlights just because it's about 2 am when the game starts over here in NZ. I totally didn't know about this orange cap thing McCullam was wearing as the highest scorer or good spirit points they were talking about.

At the moment Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab. Man it's amazing how could Warne still is, and bloody effective I might add in this form of the game. Glad Shane Watson has been spanked in the two games I've seen played. And oh dear and bloody Lehman dropping Youvraj...what a sitter.

They've been a few things that have bothered me which is outside of the cricket. Some of the product pushing is bloody transparent and pretty embarassing. When you have commentators taking time out to talk about Pepsi you know somethings aray, and do DHL have a contract that everytime a 6 is hit they have to mention their name? :/

Also yes we know some Bollywood stars are involved with some of the teams, and yes Petty Zinta or whatever her name is, indeed is very attractive but do we need a reaction shot evertime her team does something, jeez.

Apart from that, IPL hasn't been bad at all.