Wooden spoonists of yesterday, champions of today

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The curtain has fallen to the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that had to be staged in South Africa instead of India where it was launched with great fanfare last year.

The IPL 2009 produced far too many upsets and it was more about the tales of unexpected rather than anything else. Cricket is indeed a very uncertain sport but the manner in which some of the matches took place in the competition took many people by surprise.

Wtth the upset results being the order of the day there was absolutely no element of surprise in watching the wooden spoonists of the inagural IPL going on to play the final of the IPL 2. Yes it were Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who shared the last two positions last year, contested the final this time round.

Rajasthan Royals, who were the defending champions, were not even able to make the cut in the semifinals that was really astonishing. Delhi Daredevils, who were looking the most formidable of all outfits in the league matches, crashed in the semifinals against the run of play.

Who would have believed at the start of the tournament that Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be the contestants of the final. But with the unlikeliest of things happening throughout the month nothing could have been ruled out either.

The final was not spared of the unexpected drama as well. Bangalore appeared to have all cards in their pocket when Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor proceeded to the dug out at the stretegic timeout.

But as the trend had been throughout the tournament, the complexion of the game changed after the resumption of play. Not sure what strategy the Bangalore team discussed, they lost the plot so quickly much to the disappointment of their large number of fans.

One would have expected the likes of Dravid and Taylor to take the responsibility and take their team to the finishing line without any hassle because the asking rate was quite manageable and there wasn’t anything wrong with the pitch either.

But it was IPL and there had to be twists and turns. Deccan Chargers came back from the dead to win the final and it was Adam Gilchrist, not Anil Kumble, who got the privilege of lifting the sensational trophy.

Kumble, who had bowled exceptionally well, was let down by his batsmen and it must have been very frustrating for him to end up on the losing side despite having dominated the proceedings for so long.

Gilchrist had it the other way round. He had perished without scoring on the second ball of the innings, having been foxed by the wily Kumble. The former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman knew he had very little runs to play with when he led his team out on the park. The match was still in the Bangalore’s bag at the halfway stage of their innings.

But a dramatic collapse earned Gilchrist a new lease of life and he was all smiles by the time his team had completed a remarkable comeback victory.

Kumble had the consolation of picking up the Man of the Match award in the final but he would certainly preferred to grab the trophy that was collected by Gilchrist.

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Yuvraj’s self-destruction hurts Kings XI Punjab

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The sequence of unexpected results continued as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 entered in the final phase of its league matches. Both the games on May 20, the penultimate day of the first round, followed unusual patterns and produced amusing results.

The pitch at the Kingsmead in Durban was not very conducive to stroke-play and the conditions were indeed tough for batting. Yet one expected more number of runs to be scored since it was a Twenty20 contest and the participating teams had quite a few masters in their folds. Such has been the trend in the tournament that anything cannot be taken for granted and the unlikeliest of things could happen any moment.

Obviously one would have thought Kings XI Punjab would chase down the target of 117 in 20 overs against Chennai Super Kings. But for one more time the Punjab batsmen were guilty of not doing justice with their big reputation and the match was thrown.

Under the circumstances one can’t be sure if Kings XI Punjab felt bad or dejected at having lost the game in pursuit of a modest total that virtually meant the end of the road for them as far as this tournament is concerned.

It’s quite extraordinary how Yuvraj Singh, who can so quickly change the complexion of the game single-handedly, was found wanting in his role of a finisher in this particular. He has earned India some famous victories with his awesome hitting but he was somehow unable to do the job for Kings XI Punjab.

Nobody can believe that Yuvraj actually consumed 19 deliveries for scoring just six runs. The dasher, everyone knows, has the capaiblity of smashimg a half-century of these many balls. But he chose to play the Twenty20 game as if playing out time to draw a Test match.

Yuvraj’s tactics must have shocked the millions of his fans all over the world who must be wondering what actually had gone wrong with him.

Obviously it can only be desribed as a mystery that a batsman of the class of Yuvraj would look live novice while facing the spin bowlers in conditions that were more suited to seam and swing bowling.

In the other game of the day the defending champions, Rajasthan Royals were knocked over by Kolkata Knight Riders, languishing at the bottom of the points table.

The result meant the journey was also over for Rajasthan Royals, who had come up with stunning performance last year to capture the trophy. Shane Warne’s boys have not been able to make it to the semifinals this time round.

They fought back gallantly after having been skittled for 101. The match had come alive when Kolkata slumped to 45 for six in the 12th over. A fine partnernership between Laxmi Shukla and Charl Langeveldt ended whatever hopes Rajasthan had of sneaking a win. It was a consolation victory for Kolkata who had been very disappointing in the earlier part of the competition.

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Great Kumble leading from the front

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Watching Anil Kumble move with so much of energy around the South African grounds who would believe that he has actually retired from international cricket. He has been in great form with the ball and most significantly he has come up trumps in the shortest version of the game.

The champion leg-spinner, who is India's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, has bowled brilliantly for Royal Challengers Bangalore and his side is on verge of qualifying for the semifinals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009.

Bangalore were one of the big disappointments in the inaugural IPL last year but they have performed much better this time round and one of the star performers for them has been none other than the former Indian captain Kumble.

He has been in terrific form and Bangalore are now benefitting from his leadership skills too as Kevin Peitersen handed over the captaincy to him while rushing to England for the Test series against the West Indies.

In the first place a very surprising move on part of the management of the Royal Challnegers Bangalore to have installed Pietersen as their captain after Rahul Dravid, who led them last year, had decided not to continue in order to concentrate on his batting. 

Kumble should have been the automatic choice but he was ignored for the post and it was not until Pietersen had left when he finally got the opportunity he so richly deserved. He was the far better choice to lead Bangalore than Pietersen.

Pietersen might have been preferred because of his enterprising approach towards the game but what the movers and shakers of the Bangalore team had so conveniently forgotten that the nerves of steel are as handy as anything else.

Kumble has led the turnaround for Bangalore and even coach Ray Jennings has acknowledged that Kumble's tenacity and hunger to win have greatly helped in lifting the morale of the side.

Kumble's bowling and field placing have been spot on and it would come as no surprise if his team go on to win the glittering trophy that was clinched by another legendary leg-spinner, Shane Warne.

Kumble was streets ahead to his counterpart Virender Sehwag in every respect of the game when Bangalore overpowered Delhi Daredevils, having already qualified for the semifinals, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on May 19.

While Kumble was in total command of the situation from the word go, the usually flamboyant Sehwag was unable to regain his top form. The master blaster has been short of runs throughout the tournament and his team needs him to fire in the more important matches coming on. 

Kumble's bowling was as accurate and deadly as ever. He was right on money from the first ball he delivered. The only blemish was proably the couple of leg side wides he bowled in his last over but he made up adequately by picking up another wicket to prevent any late onslaught from Delhi.

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Sir Syed Club lift Ejaz Farooqui Trophy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

“Besides promoting cricket in the far flung areas of the zone, we have also made a point to increase the number of clubs to generate more activities at the club level.”

This was announced by Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, Chairman, Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) Zone II, during his speech in the prize distribution ceremony of the invitation cricket tournament named after him. Sir Syed Club annexed the title by overpowering United Gymkhana in the final.

“The registration of the Taisar Town Cricket Club augurs well for the development of the game. We will leave no stone unturned in promoting the sport in every nook and corner of the zone,” he added.

Prof Ejaz Farooqui expressed his satisfaction with the fact that their zone was throwing talent for the national competitions, firmly believing that the boys have the potential to rise to the next level.

Jamil Ahmed, Secretary, KCCA Zone II, revealed that as many as 32 teams took part in Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui Invitation Tournament contested on knockout basis. He further disclosed that there was no entry fee for the tournament and even the balls used for the matches were provided by the organizing committee.

He noted with pride that all the matches of the tournament were staged on turf pitches in order to let the talented young cricketers get the maximum benefit by playing for their respective teams.

He acknowledged the support of the zonal chief, Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, who personally took care of all the expenses that occurred during the course of the tournament.

“Prof Ejaz Farooqui has been doing a great service to the game by patronizing the tournaments and other healthy activities. We are grateful to him for devoting his time and energy, besides arranging funds for the events that we have been able to organize from time to time during the last couple of years in particular,” Jamil Ahmed reckoned.

Sir Syed Club proved too good for United Gymkhana in the final to run away with the title. Batting first, United Gymkhana rattled up a challenging total of 242 in the allotted 40 overs with Shoaib Akhtar (78), Shoaib Jaffer (40) and Ahsan Khan (30) doing the bulk of the scoring.

United Gymkhana could have posted an even bigger total, had their innings not been derailed by off-spinner Owais Aslam, who returned the figures of 4 for 56. There were two wickets each for Ali Raza and Irfan Ali.

Brilliant batting from Azhar Ali and Waqas Mahboob helped Sir Syed Club reach the stiff target quite comfortably in the end. Azhar left after scoring an even hundred but Waqas remained undefeated with 83 to guide his team home with full two overs remaining.

Shoaib Lodhi, Zohaib Shera and Muzaffar Hussain were the successful bowlers for United Gymkhana but neither of them could do much to contain the free flowing pair of Azhar Ali and Waqas Mahboob.

Azhar Ali, for his superb century, was adjudged Man of the Match and he received the award with an added cash bonus of Rs 1,000 from chief guest Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui.

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Pakistan exceed expectations, India falter and Korea complete Asia double

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

South Korea proved themselves the best team of the continent by regaining the Asia Cup hockey title at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium in Malaysia. Having claimed the gold medal in the Asian Games in Doha a couple of years ago they now have completed a rare double. They have also secured their place in the 2010 World Cup to be staged in India.

The Koreans were made to work extremely hard to earn a 1-0 victory over three-time champions Pakistan in the final with the winning goal coming just five minutes before the scheduled closing time of 70 minutes. Obviously the match would have gone into extra time, had that goal not be scored or for that matter if Pakistan equalized in the last five minutes which they couldn’t.

Not surprisingly the goal that settled the issue was scored by drag flick specialist and the man of the moment Kim Byung-hoon, who also finished as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. 
The Player of the Tournament award, however, was clinched by his teammate You Hyo-sik while another Korean, Hon Eun-seong, was declared Man-of-the-Match in the final.

The tournament brought glories for the Koreans and their coach Cho Myung-ju could not have desired a better start to his stint. 

“Our team's superior attacking in the second half proved decisive. We were confident and expected a close match. The win will spur us for further success in the coming year," the new Korean coach remarked at the end of the final.

The Pakistan coach, Shahid Ali Khan, reckoned that his team's defeat coincided with their best performance of the tournament.

"We had good control of the match and ample chances to score. We are on the right track and we have improved with each match. We will only get better from here," he was quoted as saying.

There was no cause of disappointment for Pakistan as far as the end result was concerned. They in fact exceeded expectations by having made it to the final after having overpowered teams like India and Malaysia and holding China, who eventually claimed the bronze medal, to a draw.

While the forwards came up with awesome display the performance of penalty corner specialist, Sohail Abbas, left a lot to be desired. The world record holder for the highest number of goals in international matches could score only one goal in the tournament and failed to capitalise on the three penalties that Pakistan earned in the final.

The defeat in the final now forces Pakistan to compete in the World Cup qualifiers to be held in November with China, Malaysia and Japan also in the fray.
India, having failed to qualify for the last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, are assured of a spot in the next year’s World Cup by virtue of being of the hosts but they had yet another forgettable outing.

The defending champions were not even able to make it to the semifinals after failing to deliver in the league matches against Pakistan and China. They still have a long way to go to regain their position as one of the top teams in the hockey arena.

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Rajasthan, Bangalore sneak home in IPL thrillers

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

What an exciting couple of matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 were witnessed at the Kingsmead in Durban on May 14! Rajasthan Royals recorded a thrilling two-run victory over Mumbai Indians after Royal Challengers Bangalore had edged out Chennai Super Kings by two wickets earlier in the evening.

Nothing could be more recreational for a cricket fan than close contests that go to the wire, be it the any form of the game. Even the Twenty20 matches become boring for a while if the side batting first is bundled out cheaply or the team batting second loses far too many early wickets in pursuit of a substantial total.

But there was a spectacle in store for the lovers of the game in Durban and the millions of them watching the action live in different parts of the world. Both the matches turned out to be thrillers. In fact they could also be classified as nail-biters with the body language of the players in the middle and those in the hut reflecting the tension and anxiety.

Two of the all-time greats of the game, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, were up against each other in the Mumbai-Rajasthan game with both of them leading their respective outfits.

What a contest it turned out to be between the two! Warne knew he didn’t have many runs in the bank after his side had been restricted to 145 for seven in the allotted 20 overs. He needed early wickets to stay in the game and his bowlers responded by reducing their rivals to 23 for three.

Tendulkar, having demoted himself in the batting-order, joined master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya with their team in dire straits. Both the seasoned campaigners opted to rebuild by cutting out the risk element and their approach looked a bit unconventional for the shortest version of the game.

With the asking rate hovering around nine an over, Jayasuriya perished when he attempted to break the shackles. Tendulkar lived longer and counter-attacked with purpose to bring the target within striking distance.

Abhishek Nayar’s cameo put Mumbai in front and they looked certain to wrap up the issue with just six runs needed off the nine balls. But a sensational final over from Munaf Patel won the day for Rajasthan instead. Warne’s captaincy, besides his bowling, was spot on and Patel’s composure under pressure was truly outstanding.

Earlier in the day Royal Bangalore Challengers had overcome some nervous moments to defeat Chennai Super Kings by two wickets with just two balls to spare. Bangalore made heavy weather of a modest target of 130, cruising home only after some good work by their lower-order batsmen.Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli revived Bangalore after a disastrous start. With the asking rate not that high, the situation was ideal for Rahul Dravid to have gone on to bat in his typically assured fashion but this was not his day.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s proactive captaincy kept Bangalore under pressure as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The match was wide open until the 19th over in which 12 runs came including of a six from Praveen Kumar.

With only five runs needed off the last over, Dhoni threw the ball to the tall New Zealander Jacob Oram who obliged the skipper by removing his compatriot Taylor on the very first ball to open up the contest once more. There could have been more drama had Laxmipatty Balaji not misfielded in the deep.

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PCB and ICC on a collision course

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a legal notice to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and by the look of things the chances of an out of court settlement are remote at the moment.

The notice was issued to the ICC President, David Morgan, through Mark Gay of DLA Piper, London, an experienced hand in the field of sports legal issues, having previously represented PCB as well. 

In the legal notice the ICC has been asked to rescind the decision of the Executive Board being ultra vires and void. 

The PCB has also informed the ICC that they would be shortly referring the matter for determination by an arbitral tribunal appointed in accordance with the Rules of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland under the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee. 

The PCB officials feel hard done by the ICC decision taken by its Executive Board on April 17. The PCB has contended that the views of the Sri Lankan captain, Mahela Jayawerdene, and ICC match referee, Chris Broad, were presented but the interview CD of the bus driver of Sri Lanka team that PCB had sent to ICC was never presented at the meeting and its transcript was circulated by e-mail to members after the meeting instead. 

The PCB functionaries have complained that they were not provided with an opportunity to explain their position and in a slip shod manner, a decision was passed by at the Executive Board meeting whereby PCB was stripped off its right to co-host the 2011 World Cup with the safety and security concerns being the basis of this decision.

“It’s very surprising that this decision was passed in a meeting which was not even authorized to do so. As per procedure, it is the IDI Board and not the Executive Board that is only authorized to make recommendation to the Meeting of Members of ICC which is the Annual Conference and which is alone authorized to take decision on it. The ICC Executive Board in which this decision was made on April 17, has purposed to exercise a power which vests only in IDI,” the PCB Chairman claimed.

"The PCB has not yet received the minutes of the said meeting of Executive Board, therefore the exact tenure of the decision is not known. But in reality, the decision of ICC is actually being acted upon. We can see that the Central Organizing Committee (which originally comprised of representatives of all four co-hosts) convened its meeting in Mumbai wherein PCB was not invited,” he added.

The PCB chief did not mince words in stating that the ICC Executive Board, while taking this decision, completely failed to take into account that the law and order situation in the entire sub-continent is not exemplary; 

He pointed out that Bangladesh recently faced mutiny by its armed forces and refused to host Pakistan on accounts of security concerns which resulted in cancellation of Pakistan Series in Bangladesh in March 2009. 

“Sri Lanka is embroiled in a long standing civil war. India due to law and order situation had to relocate IPL Series to South Africa although the official reason given is IPL schedule clash with the national elections. Recently Australia refused to send its Tennis Team to India for Davis Cup which was due to be held in Chennai, India. If security and safety was the only reason, no security assessment of the other three co-hosts has been done,” he added.

Ijaz Butt reckoned that under the host agreement, prior to taking any decision on relocation of matches, the PCB should first have been given an option to remedy the situation which was never done. 

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PCB organize offshore ODI series successfully

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

With the reluctance of the foreign teams to tour Pakistan on one pretext or the other, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been left with no option but to stage their ‘home’ matches outside the country.

The Australians in particular had not been willing to play in Pakistan for quite a while now. In the same period many teams toured Pakistan and expressed their satisfaction with the conditions but the Aussies refused to budge an inch.

It was quite an effort on part of the PCB Chairman, Ijaz Butt, to have convinced the Australian cricket authorities to play the earlier postponed series against Pakistan. The Australians were originally due to tour Pakistan the previous season but they had expressed their inability to come to this part of the world.

It was during Ijaz Butt’s visit to Australia earlier this season when he persuaded the Cricket Australia (CA) to play the series of five One-day Internationals alongwith a Twenty20 International in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the months of April and May.

Ijaz Butt, having taken over as the chief of the PCB only a few months before his visit to Australia, did a commendable job because Pakistan was desperately short of international cricket in the recent past. In fact Pakistan had not played a single Test match in the year of 2008 at a time when every nation had a crowded calendar.

The home series against Sri Lanka was also an accomplishment of the present Board, after the Indians had cancelled their tour to Pakistan this winter. 

It was a pity, however, that the Sri Lankan cricket team came under an attack at the fag end of their tour. They had played the series of three One-day Internationals as well as the first Test at the National Stadium, Karachi. It was during the second and final Test match at the Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore, when the bus carrying the visiting team was fired upon leading to immediate termination of the series.

The pressure was once more on the PCB as the foreign teams were unlikely to play in Pakistan in the near future. In fact the Australians were reportedly having second thoughts about playing the series against Pakistan in UAE.

It went to the credit of the PCB officials not to have allowed Australia run away. The PCB took the measures to ensure that the security arrangements for the matches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were to the satisfaction of the Australians. 

The additional security costs certainly hurt the PCB as it reduced their profits substantially but the shrewd handling of the financial affairs by their Honorary Treasurer, Mohammad Naeem, enabled them to stay afloat despite heavily burdened.

Mohammad Naeem, Honorary Treasurer, PCB, may be a man of few words but he’s believed to be having a proven record as a financial wizard. The Pakistan cricket needs his wisdom more at a time when the chips are downs and the revenues have dropped. 

He has done a great service to the game of cricket by having stationed himself in the UAE for the period of time when the series was being played. His financial administration helped the PCB in saving some bucks.

The services of Mohammad Naeem will be needed for a few more offshore series because Pakistan may have to play host to quite a few ‘home’ matches abroad in the near future. 

All in all the PCB has done a fabulous job by staging the series against Australia successfully in the UAE. There are a few indications that the PCB might be more interested in staging in staging their future games in the UAE than at any other neutral venue.

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