FIRST LOOK: CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Chennai Super Kings don yellow colored uniforms, which of course was the color of the Australian team’s jerseys till a few years ago. Co-incidentally, the man behind their success – they made the finals in the first edition, and the semis in the second – is also an Aussie: Matthew Hayden. The impact of this man’s presence in the side can be gauged from the fact that when he left in the middle of IPL 1 to resume his national duties, CSK slid to three consecutive defeats before winning four out of their next seven matches. This was after they had won their first four matches riding on some solid performances by Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey (another Aussie by the way).

An injury to Jacob Oram has nearly ruled him out of this edition of IPL. This means that their new buy this season, Justin Kemp, may get a look in. Let’s take a look whether the others measure up to the challenges that would be thrown at them.

Batting

Apart from Hayden, CSK’s batting will mainly revolve around MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. Hussey, if at all he comes to play, won’t be joining the team before halfway through the tournament. The supporting cast would include Parthiv Patel, S. Badrinath, Murli Vijay, George Bailey, Arun Karthik, and their new buy, Hemang Badani. Add to that the allrounders - Justin Kemp, Thissara  Perera, and Albie Morkel – and you have a batting lineup which can rattle up big scores provided the top four fire. Dhoni and Raina are in good form. Most importantly, Dhoni seems to have recovered his big hitting form; something which was missing last year. Michael Hussey may no longer be a part of the Aussie T20 team, but he still packs a punch and can be very useful if CSK lose early wickets. But he won’t be joining the team until after Australia’s tour of New Zealand. Hayden has not played any competitive cricket since IPL 2 which means that CSK cannot really count on him being in the same kind of form as he was in the last edition. Among the other batsmen, Parthiv Patel had a good domestic season. Whether he can translate that for in the shortest version of the game remains to be seen.  George Bailey too has had a good season in Australia, but he has not been too good in the T20 format. Badrinath and M. Vijay have done well not only in the Ranji trophy, but also in the Challengers trophy.  Hemang Badani may be a wild card here. Making a comeback to ‘official’ cricket from after a short, but moderately successful, stint in ICL, he can prove to be the experienced batsman that CSK need in the middle order till Hussey takes over. Kemp, like Badani, is making a comeback to the game and hence may take his time to settle in. Albie Morkel has been in and out of the South African side, and hasn’t really displayed the kind of form that compelled Chennai to pick him up. There are a lot of ‘buts’ in this batting lineup. If Chennai really want to make an impact in this edition, Hayden will have to come out with all guns firing.

Bowling

Bowling is one department where Chennai may lose out in this year. The lack of a spearhead may hurt them badly. True they have Ntini, but he’s not the force he used to be. Infact his poor form has resulted in him being dropped from the national side. His fellow Africans are not in great form either. Albie Morkel was carted around by the Indian batsmen in the ODI series, and Kemp is at best a slow medium pacer. Among the Sri Lankans, Murli is no a threat and most batsmen have sorted him out. Thilan Tushara and Thissara Perera can be backup bowlers at best, but not impact bowlers. That leaves the Indian bowling contingent, and the picture isn’t too rosy there too. Balaji is a spent force and Gony had a dismal second edition after impressing one and all in the first. But he’s had a good domestic season and Chennai will be hoping that he carries that confidence into the IPL. Under these dodgy circumstances, Chennai must be looking at Sudeep Tyagi and Shadab Jakati to deliver. Jakati had a great IPL 2, and Tyagi came good in the limited chances that he got. What’s more Tyagi was very impressive in the Challenger trophy, picking up three wicket in the finals to bowl out a side comprising of a lot of regular Indian players below hundred. Jakati too has done well this season. Both these two can be major impact bowlers for Chennai. And with the T20 world cup coming up right after IPL, Tyagi couldn’t ask for a better stage to impress the selectors. Dhoni also has the option of trying out the part-timers like Badani and Raina; and who knows they might turn a few matches around. Remember, the only hat tricks in IPL 2 came from the part-timers (Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma). But, looking at the overall picture, bowling is going to be a big headache for MS Dhoni, and he must be desperately hoping that his batsmen save the day for him.

Fielding

When a team does not have a great bowling attack, it’s imperative that the fielders give their bowlers utmost support. And Chennai do have the fielders who can do that. Hayden may be a big man but he can dive around as good as any compact and lithe man. Hussey is no sluggard in the field. South Africans are generally good in the field, and so are the Sri Lankans. Even among the Indian contingent, Raina is an excellent fielder, Badrinath and Vijay can field with gusto. The only suspect fielder may be Balaji. But then again, it remains to be seen how many games he gets given his current form. The interesting thing to see will be whether Dhoni dons the ‘keeper’s gloves or does he hand them over to Parthiv. All in all, if CSK are to restrict the opposition to a realistic score, then their fielders will have to be on their toes.

Final Verdict

As mentioned earlier, bowling may prove to be CSK’s undoing. However, in these shorter format of the game, a lot depends on how smart your captain is; and Dhoni is certainly smart enough to pull out a rabbit out of his hat when required. He has Stephen Fleming in the back room to help him. And Fleming has enough experience to turn the odds around with just a handful of stars in his team. Along with Hayden and Dhoni, he holds the key to CSK’s success.

Chennai Super Kings Squad

Parthiv Patel	Shadab Jakati	L Balaji
Matthew Hayden	Sudeep Tyagi	Manpreet Gony
M S Dhoni	Muttiah Muralitharan	Arun Karthik
S Badrinath	Murli Vijay	Mkhaya Ntini
Michael Hussey	Thissara Perera	Chandrashekhar Ganapathy
Suresh Raina	Thilan Thushara	R Ashwin
Hemang Badani	Justin Kemp	Jacob Oram (injured)
Albie Morkel	George Bailey

FIRST LOOK: DELHI DAREDEVILS

The foremost question in every Delhi Daredevils’ player must be: Will we be third time lucky? Despite having what is arguably the strongest side in IPL, they are yet to make it past the semifinals of the tournament. They have three of the best batsmen in the world right now in their rank (Sehwag, Gambhir, Dilshan), one of the best middle order players in the world (DeVilliers), and the best T20 bowler in the world (Vettori). Somehow, the Aussies have proven to be major bug-bears for them in the semifinals of both the previous editions of IPL. Shane Watson and Shane Warne smashed and spun them out in the first edition and Gilchrist hammered them in the second.

They have added Wayne Parnell to their squad this year at the expense of Glenn McGrath. It will be interesting to see how this change will work for the Daredevils. Meanwhile, let’s have a look at the rest of the squad.

Batting

As mentioned earlier, with Gambhir, Sehwag, and Dilshan at the top, AB DeVilliers, Dinesh Karthik, and Mithun Manhas in the middle order, and Vettori and Rajat Bhatia in the lower middle order, Delhi have a lineup that can terrorize the opposition bowlers if needed or prop up the innings to a respectable score even if they lose a few early wickets. This batting depth is what gives the Delhi top order the license to go after the bowling right from the word go. Besides these players who may be the regulars in the side, Delhi has a lot of batsmen suited to this format. Fervez Mahroof and Andrew McDonald have done reasonably well as all-rounders. Wayne Parnell showed his abilities as an all-rounder in the recent series against India. Amit Mishra has been batting well of late. And David Warner is in sizzling form, and might just give Dilshan tough competition for the opening slot. Among the regulars, Sehwag, as always, is going to be the key at the top. Gambhir will want to get into runs after having a lean series against South Africa, the one team everyone expected him to score against given his tremendous form. Dilshan on the other hand is causing the bowlers all around the world some serious problems; and I don’t mean just with his scoop shot. Karthik too, has been in good form lately. All in all, given their batsmen’s recent form, and given the fact that they will be playing in Indian conditions, we can hope for towering scores from the Daredevils. Looking at their batting lineup, it’s difficult to find any chinks. Gambhir’s form may be a concern, but he’s too good a player to remain out of form for too long. And they seem to have a replacement ready for almost every batsman. Sehwag and Dilshan’s ability to bat in the middle order means they can play Warner at the top incase DeVilliers is missing. And the fact that Warner may join the team a bit late wouldn’t bother Gambhir much because they have a loaded top order. The only concern for Delhi would be over complacency. But after their shock exits in the last two editions, I guess that they would be on guard against it.

Bowling

Despite the omission of Glen McGrath, the Delhi bowling looks quite balanced. They have four left-armers in their side; Dirk Nannes, Wayne Parnell, Ashish Nehra, and Pradeep Sangwan. Nehra will ofcourse be leading the attack. Nannes and Parnell will have to fight it out for the second seamer’s place. Nannes has been doing pretty well, and he did a good job replacing McGrath in the last edition of IPL. Parnell has lived up to his reputation as a young prodigy so far, but has a tough outing in India. He can ofcourse bat better then Nannes, but if Delhi have to rely on Parnell to make runs, then they can give up any hopes of winning the tournament. Vettori, ofcourse, has one of the best economy rates in T20 cricket. But what’s interesting is that he is also picking up wickets regularly, which means that leaving him out of the squad will be a huge gamble. Add to that his more than useful batting skills, and you have a very handy cricketer coming in at number eight. Amit Mishra has been showing inconsistent form with the ball lately. He had a horrendous series against Sri Lanka, but came back strongly against Bangladesh. Against South Africa he was lackluster in the first test, but bowled beautifully in Kolkata, including the magic ball to dismiss Kallis in the second innings of the test. Apart from these five, they have got excellent backup bowlers in the form of Sangwan, Mosies Henriques, McDonald, Avishkar Salvi, and Mahroof. Infact, Sangwan was pretty impressive last season, Salvi did well in the later stages of the tournament, Mahroof was not only economical in the limited chances that he got to bowl, but he also chipped in with a few wickets. Rajat Bhatia was another player who was very impressive bowling in the middle over, and occasionally during the death overs. Apart from these bowlers, Delhi will also have the off-spin services of Sehwag and Dilshan. The first word that comes to mind looking at this bowling attack is variety. The one area of weakness in this attack is that it might lack the incisiveness that McGrath brought at the start of the innings. True Nannes and Nehra bowled economically last season, but the conditions are going to be very different this season. And when it comes to bowling in the sub-continent, there are few who are better than McGrath. But with the kind of form their batsmen are in, I think that Delhi may not miss McGrath that much.

Fielding

The Daredevils look pretty good in the fielding department with DeVilliers and Dilshan manning the infield and the likes of Parnell in the outfield. Karthik will be the wicketkeeper and he will have one more chance to try and upstage Dhoni as India’s premier wicket keeper; atleast in the T20 format. The weak link for Delhi will be Nehra and Sehwag. And as we have seen repeatedly, no team can hide its weaker fielders in this format of the game.

Final Verdict

Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as a captain means Sehwag can concentrate on his primary job – slaughtering bowlers. This will be a huge test for Gambhir not only because he’s one of the mainstays of their batting, but also because he will be up against the likes of Dhoni, Ganguly, Kumble, and most importantly Warne, who’s proved that you don’t need a very strong side to win a T20 game. These are seasoned campaigners, and if Gambhir can pass this acid test, then he may even stake a claim for the Indian captaincy in the future. All in all, Delhi look the strongest contenders for the trophy this season, provided they can get past the Aussie jinx.

Delhi Daredevils squad

Tilakratne Dilshan	David Warner
Virender Sehwag	Pradeep Sangwan
Gautam Gambhir	Fervez Mahroof
AB De Villiers	Andrew McDonald
Dinesh Karthik	Mosies Henriques
Mithun Manhas	Umesh Yadav
Rajat Bhatia	Kedar Jadhav
Daniel Vettori	Aavishkar Salvi
Amit Mishra	Joginder Singh
Ashish Nehra	Sarandeep Singh
Dirk Nannes	Sarabjeet Ladda
Wayne Parnell

FIRST LOOK: ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

If there was one team that most people expected never to reach even the semi finals of the IPL, then that team was Royal Challengers Bangalore. Labeled a ‘test team’ at the start of the IPL, it consisted of players who are determined characters, but simply don’t look like they will fit in the shortest form of the game. But Vijay Mallya’s team reminded everyone that while T20 may be all about youngsters and being innovative, but orthodoxy still has a place in this version of the game. They finished IPL 1 in the seventh position, and after four defeats in the first five games, it looked as if they might finish even lower than before. But after that, things really fell into place for them and they really went from strength to strength before stumbling at the final hurdle. But even there they won the spectators’ hearts with a gritty performance led by the grittiest of men – Anil Kumble.

Let’s have a look at what might be in store for their fans this season.

Batting

RCB have a good mix of attacking batsmen and batsmen who can anchor the innings whilst playing the odd big shot. Dravid, Kallis, and Boucher are exactly the kind of men you need at the crease incase your team loses early wicket. They can rotate the strike quite efficiently and hit the big shots when needed. In the past one year Virat Kohli has grown a lot as a cricketer and has shown maturity which belies his age. Infact recently, coach Jennings had no hesitation in declaring him as the future captain of the team. Eoin Morgan, RCB’s sole buy this year too has shown impressive form. On the other hand RCB have got players like Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White, Ross Taylor, and the young Manish Pandey who can destroy the best bowling attacks. Even in the lower order there are players like Roelof Van Der Merwe and Pravin Kumar who can clear the ropes effortlessly. The biggest plus for RCB in the batting department is that a lot of their players have shown signs of good form over the last 12 months. Taylor and Pandey have been good; Morgan has left a lot of bowlers fuming and fielders panting, and Cameron White has emerged as a reliable number 5 for the Aussies. Kallis has been a regular fixture in the South African T20 side, and you can expect Dravid to turn up fully prepared for this version of the game. The big problem for RCB is that Pietersen’s availability is still in doubt, Taylor won’t be available for the first half of the tournament, and same is the case with White. Additionally, White may opt to play a four day final game for Victoria which would mean that his arrival will be later than most of the other players. This leaves them with just Manish Pandey as an attacking batsman. This means that either Kohli or Boucher will have to step up to take up the mantle of the second attacking option – or more commonly known as a floater. The absence of these big-wigs may prove a blessing in disguise for Robin Uthappa who has yet another chance to step up and be counted. Another batsman making a comeback will be S Sriram. Though it’s highly unlikely that he will get a game.

Bowling

RCB have plenty of variety in the bowling department. On one hand they have the fiery pace of Dale Steyn, and on the other they have the swing of Pravin Kumar available at their disposal. Add to that the emergence of A Mithun and Vinay Kumar as bright fast bowling prospects and you have got a bowling lineup which has a right blend of experience and youth. In the spin department, Anil Kumble will be well supported by Van Der Merwe. Apart from these bowlers, there will be plenty of others hoping to get a look in. B Kumar, K Appanna, and Dillon Du Preez got a few games each last season and most of them impressed. These frontline bowlers will have able support in the form of Jacques Kallis. Apart from these regulars, RCB also have the advantage of having good part-timers in the form of White and Kohli. For RCB to do well, Anil Kumble will be the key as he will bowl the crucial middle overs. If the RCB fans can be sure of one thing, then it’s that Kumble will turn up in top shape for the tournament. Whether his bowling will retain the same bite is another thing to be seen. Considering that their batting may not have all the foreign recruits in the beginning, the bowlers will really have to put their hands up and be counted.

Fielding

Fielding may turn out to be a major issue for RCB due to all the ageing legs in the side. But they also have some good fielders like Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, and Cameron White. Boucher will don the gloves for most of the games, but should the back injury that he sustained during South Africa’s tour of India return to haunt him (or if RCB qualify for the semis early) then Sreevats Goswami may get a lookin.

Final Verdict

RCB may have looked a test side in the first season of IPL, but the resurgence of Kallis and Dravid, and some wise player selections have ensured that they have a very balanced side with plenty of bench strength, both in terms of foreign recruits and Indian players. They are being led by a captain who has never given less than 100 percent on the field, and who is well respected by his team mates. A large contingent of South African players means that most of the foreign recruits will be present for the entire tournament and they have just played a series in India, so they won’t spend too much time getting acclimatized to the conditions. Most of the players have shown good form over the past one year, and should be confident of doing well here. The key men here will be Anil Kumble – for his experience and captaincy; and Kallis for the balance that he lends to the side. All in all, after being ridiculed in the past, the Challengers look ready to hit back at their critics.

Royal Challengers Bangalore squad

Jacques Kallis	Vinay Kumar
Manish Pandey	Roelof Van Der Merwe
Rahul Dravid	Srivats Goswami
Virat Kohli	Bhuvanesh Kumar
Robin Uthappa	Eoin Morgan
Cameron White	Kevin Pietersen
Mark Boucher	S Sriram
Anil Kumble	K P Appanna
Praveen Kumar	Steven Smith
Dale Steyn	Dillon Du Prez
Abhimanyu Mithun
B Akhil
Ross Taylor

FIRST LOOK: DECCAN CHARGERS

After all the political dramas, the player auctions, the surprise selections, and the surprise exclusions – whether for political reasons or business ones – it’s finally time to play. Eight teams line up against each other for what is fast becoming the most coveted prize in world cricket after the world cup. Big money, a chance to showcase your skills against the best in the world, and a chance to catch the attention of the entire cricketing world; what else would a cricketer want? The IPL season 3 starts on March 12th, and before the teams line up to face each other, let’s have a look at them.

In the first part of these reviews, we will start off with Deccan Chargers, the champions of the last season. After disappointing their fans in the first season by finishing last – despite having some of the biggest T20 heavyweights – they came back strongly in the last season to win the trophy.

Batting

Any batting lineup consisting of Gibbs and Gilchrist at the top is bound to be intimidating. Add Symonds, Rohit Sharma, and Dwayne Smith to that and you have got a power packed batting lineup capable of tearing apart and bowling attack on its day. They have a decent supporting cast in the form of T Suman, Venugopal Rao, and the much acclaimed Mitchell Marsh. The big problem for DC is going to be the selection of the non-Indian batsmen. If they were to pick the above mentioned international biggies, then it means that they will have to leave out Ryan Harris, who’s in red hot form following the series against Pakistan and Kemar Roach, who has been their big catch this season. Another big problem for DC is that none of their top batsmen are active in international cricket. Rohit Sharma has been out of the Indian side for a while now, though he showed glimpses of his talent in the last one-dayer against South Africa recently. Gilchrist has not played competitive cricket since IPL 2. Symonds has been playing domestic cricket in Australia, but recent reports suggest that he is not in the best shape of his life. He has been getting out a lot playing the pull shot and getting late onto it; and this is one shot that he plays excellently. Gibbs is still playing for the South Africans but his form, as usual, is patchy. Whether he shoulders the responsibility of anchoring the Chargers’ innings the way he did in IPL 2 remains to be seen. Seeing that they cannot afford to play more than two international batsmen in the top order, the onus is likely to fall upon Rao and Suman to play a steady hand in the middle order and support the big hitters. They have got a lot of youngsters in their side and we might see them in action in the late stages of the tournament provided DC makes it to the semis easily.

Bowling

If the Chargers’ batting is dominated by foreign recruits, their bowling is led by two young Indians. RP Singh won the Purple cap last season for being the highest wicket-taker. And while he may not have cemented his position in the Indian side, he still remains an important cog in the Chargers’ machinery. The other Indian who will be vital in their plans is Pragyan Ojha. Forced to wait his turn because if the Indian selectors’ preference for Amit Mishra, he has nevertheless done well in limited overs cricket whenever he has got a chance. He’s shown good control of his line and length. Even though he may not have a lot of variety in his bowling, but he varies his length, pace, and flight very well, and has a great temperament. But the star of the bowling lineup will no doubt be Kemar Roach. The 21-year old has impressed one and all with his sheer pace, and the IPL will be the most perfect stage for him to display his talents. With RP’s sharp deliveries and Roach’s pace, the Chargers have a good chance of making early inroads into the opposition batting. Gilchrist also has the option of playing Ryan Harris in place of Roach.  Harris has had great start to his career and he must be hoping to cash in on his rich vein of form. These pacers, and Ojha will be well supported by Harmeet Singh, who had a fantastic semi-final and final last year, Dwayne Smith (provided he gets a chance), and the useful spin of Venugopal Rao and Rohit Sharma (who had a hat-trick last season). The one man everyone is forgetting amidst all the hoopla is Chaminda Vaas. He may not feature in the Sri Lankan side anymore, but the wily left-armer has enough experience up his sleeve to trouble the best of batsman. But going by the current team composition, the chances of him getting a game are very slim indeed. But yes, Gilchrist may not regret trying him out for a couple of games.

Fielding

Any side having Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, and Herschelle Gibbs manning the infield can hope to save atleast 10 runs. And that is a huge amount in T20 cricket. Gilchrist may have aged, but given the professional that he is, you can expect him to turn out in fine shape. And given the fact that the team is mostly comprised of youngsters, you can easily expect the fielding to be good. Besides that I hardly need to stress the importance of having a good fielding side.

Final verdict

Given the fact that Deccan Chargers will have most of their players playing the whole season, we can expect them to go about the defense of their title vigorously. Apart from Ryan Harris, there is no active Australian player in their side, which is an advantage in a way because they won’t have to make many adjustments once the Australians come to the IPL. They may miss Shahid Afridi, but if Symonds strikes form then he may prove to be a bigger match winner than Afridi. The Telangana controversy has ensured that the focus stays away from cricket. But come March 12, they will have to focus back on the job in hand. They will have to plan well for the stronger teams in the tournament and execute the plans efficiently.

All said and done, one just gets the feeling that the most important factor – the one that may make a difference between victory and defeat – is going to be Adam Gilchrist. If he can capture the form that made him one of the most devastating batsman of his generation, then DC should be able to stroll to the semis. And we all know Gilchrist’s appetite for the big games. His fans must surely be hoping that he turns back the golden years.

Deccan Chargers squad

Adam Gilchrist (WK/C)	RP Singh	Arjun Yadav
Herschelle Gibbs	Kemar Roach	Azhar Bilakhia
VVS Laxman	Harmeet Singh	Anirudh Singh
Andrew Symonds	Ryan Harris	Rahul Sharma
T Suman	Chaminda Vaas	Mohnish Mishra
Rohit Sharma	Dwarka Ravi Teja	Dwyane Smith
Venugopal Rao	Bodapati Sumanth	Mitchell Marsh
Pragyan Ojha	A Ashish Reddy

And the juggernaut rolls on...

The Champion vs The Contender. This was how the Australian Open final clash between Roger Federer and Andy Murray was being billed. Federer - chasing his fourth grand slam at the Rod Laver Arena - had been in patchy form in the run up to the final. Murray, on the other hand, had had a much smoother sailing and was looking good enough to become the first Britisher to win a grand slam in 74 years having dropped just one set throughout the tournament. Both had won their respective semi finals in emphatic fashion; Federer crushing Tsonga in straight sets, and Murray, despite losing the first set, winning the next three emphatically.

First Set

So when they walked on to the Rod Laver arena on a sunny Sunday afternoon, it would have taken an extremely brave man to predict the winner of this contest. The match began in a pretty sedate manner with Federer taking the 2-0 lead in the first set. But Murray was soon able to break him and took a 3-2 lead. Federer however broke him immediately in the next game to level it at 3-3 and then took the set 6-3 to set the tempo. The interesting part about the first set was that none of these two looked in top form. Federer, even though he was executing his normal back hand flicks didn't look like settling into some sort of rhythm. Murray, on the other hand, seemed to have stage fright. He was moving around stiffly, his forehand just seemed to have deserted him, and he seemed tentative when it came to attacking Federer and taking half chances. You don't turn up like this against Fedex and expect to win.

Second set

Murray's zombie act continued in the second set as he fumbled more forehands. In contrast, Federer seemed to re-discover his touch as he went all out for the kill breaking Murray twice to take a 3-0 lead. Murray tried to fight back after that but this was just not supposed to be his day. With the second set scoreline reading 5-4, and Federer leading 40-15 for the Federer had two set points in his hand. Murray rallied to fend off one set point, but couldn't stop Federer from taking the set on the second one.

Third Set

With two sets in his pocket, Federer proceeded to take Murray apart again in the third one. And he seemed to be succeeding after breaking Murray's serve for the umpteenth time. But for the first time in the match Murray seemed to come alive and play the game he is capable of. He had declared before the match that if he can play at his best then defeating Federer cannot be a very difficult task for him. But throughout the first two sets he looked far from the man we expected to walk out onto the court. In this set however, with the scoreline reading 3-2 in favor of Federer, Murray started showing the kind of game that made people proclaim him as the main challenger for Federer. He broke Federer twice to take a 5-3 lead. And all of a sudden there were whispers going on about a five-setter. The broadcasting networks began to pull out statistics on how these two had done in five-setters, how many games had Murray won after losing the first two sets, and how many had Federer lost from the same position. For the first time in the match Federer seemed to be on the back foot. True, Federer had worked hard earlier in the match for his points, but most of the time he had been in control. Here, all of a sudden Murray's forehand - which had deserted him so far - seemed to return. He was packing in a lot more punch behind his shots, and was covering the court in a much better manner.

But the surge in energy lasted only for those few points. Federer fought back two set points - out of the total of 6 that Murray had in this set - to level the score at 6-6. In the tie breaker, Murray started off well to take a 6-4 lead to earn his third set point. But Federer came up with two superb aces to level the score and drag the match back into his favor. Indeed, the timing of Federer's aces - he seemed to come up with one at will whenever he needed - was impeccable. Infact, with the score at 6-5, Federer reeled off three aces in a single game to enforce the tie breaker. But, it wasn't such a perfect day for Fedex either as he squandered two championship points to give Murray some hopes of a fourth set. But those hopes were soon dashed as - with Federer having a championship point - he buried a tired backhand into the net.

As Federer exploded with joy, Murray saw his hopes of winning the first grand slam after Fred Perry going up in smoke. But if there is someone who can be blamed for Murray's loss then it's the man himself. He just didn't turn up. Let alone raising his game up for the big occasion, he couldn't even maintain the quality of his game that had got him to the finals. Sport can be quite cruel at times, and none more so if there are a million people pinning their hopes on you. The weight of expectations finally seemed to fall on his shoulders as Andy Murray sobbed unabashedly in front of the crowd that had come to support him. Just one statement during the presentation ceremony summed up his anguish: "I can cry like Roger Federer after losing a final, but I wish I could play like him.". You had to feel for him at that moment. Against any other opponent he would have taken this game to the fifth set, if not won it - even with the way he played on this day. But he wasn't up against any other man. He was up against a man who has conquered the pinnacle of the sport he plays, and can be talked about in the same breath as Mohammad Ali, Pele, Don Bradman and many other luminaries who have lit up their respective sports with thei dazzling display. A word about the man before signing off. An year ago when he stood in place of Murray, sobbing before the huge crowd, it was hard not to feel that his aura was gone. And that leave alone breaking Sampras' record, it would be a great achievement if he could just win another grand slam. But here he was, having won the third out of the four grand slam finals that he has played since then, and he had hardly broken a sweat. And you have to wonder, who will be good enough to stop this juggernaut before age and slow reflexes do the favor for other players. Maybe a fully fit Rafael Nadal can provide the answer.

Partners in crime

Virender Sehwag was right. It is turning out to be  a rather ordinary series. The only day of excitement on the test was the first day when Bangladesh had India on their knees. But thanks to Tendulkar, and some pretty shoddy performance by the Bangladesh team in the second innings, India managed to pull off a rather facile victory. If nothing else, this series has provided the Indian team to rack up some records. Gambhir for instance, had equaled Viv Richards’ record of 11 fifties in 11 consecutive tests. He is at par with Bradman’s record of 5 consecutive centuries, but it seems that he will unfortunately miss out on breaking the Don’s record unless Bangladesh get some formidable second innings total.
There was another record that was created on the second day of the Mirpur test; one that went largely unnoticed. Maybe it was because the two principal characters involved in the record are so used to create monumental records that this one was but a footnote in their illustrious career. I am ofcourse talking about Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and their magnificent 222 run partnership that helped India get a firm grip over this test. It was a typical Sachin-Rahul partnership with Dravid holding one end firm while Sachin milked the bowling from the other end, and finally upped the ante with some shots to the fence. While Dravid’s innings was like wave having periods where he was dominating and others where he was quiet, Sachin’s innings resembled the stock market in its heydays – rising steadily, getting more and more risky but still a treat to sore eyes. Both got some reprieves from the opposition ofcourse – with Dravid dropped once and Sachin twice. But the experienced campaigners that they are, these two veterans of Indian cricket made sure that Bangladesh would rue the missed opportunities.
For those who are statistical minded, this was the 17th century partnership between these two – another world record for the gentle giants of Indian cricket. They were previously tied with the pair of Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes and Matthew Hayden-Ricky Ponting. And looking at their current form they look far from finished; beware South Africa! For more than a decade, these two have been manning the number three and four positions respectively for India, and looking at this recent piece of statistic it must be said that they haven’t done too bad a job.
One last piece of statistic before signing off. It seems that Sachin Tendulkar can’t really make any runs these days without creating a record. This double century partnership between these two was the 15th such partnership that Sachin was involved; equaling Ricky Ponting’s record. With Australian batting not looking in the kind of shape it used to be, Sachin certainly has a great chance of going past the Aussie great. Amen!

The one that could have been

The Australia vs Pakistan Series can be best summed up based on the fourth day of the second test. Kamran Akmal dropped four catches on the day, and a test which Pakistan should have won easily, was handed out on a platter to the Aussies. After having taken a 206 run lead in the first innings, all Pakistan had to do was bowl sensibly, keep up the pressure on the Aussies, and make sure that they held onto catches which a kindergarten kid wouldn’t drop. Instead, they did what the Pakistan side has been famous for all these years: commit hara-kiri. Even apart from the poor fielding by Akmal, the most baffling aspect of the fourth day’s play was the bizarre captaincy by Mohammed Yousuf. On a day when Pakistan should had tightened the screws by keeping attacking fields and not giving away easy singles, they almost seemed to be in awe of Hussey’s and Siddle’s batting prowess. By the time Pakistan came out to chase the stipulated target of 176, it was a foregone conclusion that they would end up losing the game and that they would truly require a miracle to save it.
This loss was ofcourse sandwiched between two more losses by even bigger margins. But I guess it is the loss in the second test that must have hurt Pakistan a lot. Not many teams apart from Africa have had the Aussies on their knees at home the way Pakistan did. And yet no other team must have squandered such an opportunity to crush Australia at home from such a comfortable position as Pakistan did. The blame game began immediately ofcourse; with everyone from Yousuf, to Akmal, to the selectors getting blamed. Even T20 cricket wasn’t spared as Pakistan’s abysmal collapse was attributed to the influence of the newest member of the cricketing fraternity. Ofcourse the Australian team got the credit for scripting such a comeback, but everyone – including the Australian team – knew that Pakistan had lost the test rather than Australia winning it. The victory margins in the 1st and the 3rd tests – 170 runs and 231 runs respectively – are a testimony in itself of how the tests would have been played out. Both the tests played out to an almost similar script; Australia getting a big total in the first innings, Pakistan floundering in their first innings, trying to make a comeback with some good bowling performances in the second innings, only to see their batting give way again.
All in all, there were very few positives for the Pakistani team in this series. All the four pacemen who played in the series – Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Aamer, Umar Gul, and Mohammed Sami – impressed at one point or another during the series. But none of them, barring Aamer to some extent, could put in consistent performances. Amongst the spinners, Saeed Ajmal, who was supposed to trouble the Aussies, came out to be a cropper. But Kaneria, who was picked up from the second test, managed to put in some good spells. Like their bowling, the Pakistani batting too lacked in consistency. Apart from Salman Butt, none of the other batsman could come up with decent scores. Umar Akmal promised a lot, but failed to deliver. But perhaps the biggest disappointment for Pakistan, in the batting department, was the form of Yousuf. For Pakistan to have even some chance in the series, Yousuf had to display the form that had made him one of the best batsman of the last decade. But unfortunately he failed to do so and hence the Pakistan team were always found wanting in crunch situations. But more than their inconsistent batting and bowling, more than even the four dropped catches by Akmal, what hurt Pakistan most was Yousuf’s captaincy. Agreed he was under tremendous pressure, and being a captain of the Pakistan Cricket team is a specialized job in itself, but there were times when he himself seemed to have given up. And when that happens, it’s difficult for the captain to pick up the team.
For Australia, the biggest concern at the beginning of the series was the form of Ricky Ponting. But by the time the series ended, even that issue had been resolved for the Aussies. The rest of the batting lineup clicked for the Aussies time and again; except ofcourse the disastrous first innings of the Sydney test. A word about Michael Hussey here. He began his career with a near-Bradmanesque average, which has fallen to a more moderate 53, yet he remains the go-to man whenever Australia is in trouble; and this he demonstrated very aptly in this series. The only man who will have some concerns about his place in the side is Michael North. The only man who got less runs than him was Bollinger. And North knowing the Aussie system, North cannot hope to survive on his Ashes exploits for long. Amongst the bowlers, Bollinger continued his fine run in international cricket picking up handy wickets consistently. Johnson not only picked up wickets, but was economical too. His two wickets in a single over in the first over of the last day in the Melbourne test – when Akmal was threatening a turnaround with Yousuf –  really set up the Aussies for a big win, and a bigger mental advantage as was evident in the next test. Siddle battled on bravely despite not being completely fit, and Hauritz proved that while he is nowhere as good to fill in the hole left by Warne, he can still turn some matches on his own. His performance must certainly have come as a fitting answer to those who think that he is not test material. But the man of the series – and he was actually awarded the ‘Man of the Series’ award – was undoubtedly Shane Watson. He was rock solid at the top, patiently building the innings when required, and blasting the bowlers when the situation demanded, he well and truly came of age in this series as an all-rounder with some very tidy spells and important wickets to make sure that Australia did not miss a fourth seamer.
The ODI series starts soon and Pakistan must be hoping that the inclusion of their ODI specialists will infuse them with the much needed zest. But for that to happen, they must clear the cobwebs in their heads. Because a mentally fit Pakistan side can take on any comers and crush them at will.