Today the Mumbai Indians lost their second game of the IPL 2009 to Kings XI Punjab, failing to chase 120 in 20 overs on a sluggish track. The previous loss was against Deccan Chargers chasing 169. In both matches they were well within reach and fell short by a few runs.
The good news is that they are finding the right combination and are now batting clinically, with roles well defined. Tendulkar, Duminy, Dhawan can provide the stock runs with par/above par strike rates. Jayasuria, Bravo, Abhishek Nayar can provide the burst.
The bigger question is who will provide the 20 odd runs which most teams fluke around with inside edges and mistimed shots?
In the match Mumbai lost against the Deccan Chargers, Duminy had one bottom edge square cut for four. Today they had a fluke four by Harbhajan to third man. Just 2 fluke boundaries in 240 balls is not acceptable by T20 standards!
Moreover, they had few wickets in hand. I think Harbhajan, Zaheer, and Malinga, (he can hit, and we do not know what Pinal Shah can do) can be used tactically, like a chess shot or at times like a tactical sacrifice or exchange....
In ODIs, there is often an issue about getting all out before the full quota of 50 overs. In Twenty20 Cricket, there is a concern that a side may not play itself in, as there are only 20 overs for 10 wickets.
Saumil
Mumbai,
29th April 2009
Dec 21, 2008
Views on Kevin Pietersen's switch shot
2nd Test, Inda v England 2008, Mohali
Listen to this blog?
England captain Kevin Pietersen is back in the news for his switch shot (where he takes guard right handed but switches to left-handed while playing a shot). This is usually a sweep and although it can be easily confused with the reverse sweep, it is a conventional sweep of a left-handed batsman.
Should this be allowed? From an innovation standpoint most viewers feel that any new type of shot is a welcome addition to the game. But technically, is this fair to the bowlers? This is what the pundits are pondering.
Here are my views on this:
1. The validity of this shot is dubious, since we need to be clear as to how to treat lbw and field placing issues. In cricket the laws restrict field placing on leg side- and also behind square on leg side. But what constitutes leg side or off side is based on whether a batsman bats right-handed or left-handed in the first place. Could Don Bradman and the Aussie's have negated leg-side fields during the Bodyline series, by switching hands? That was a marquee series as the laws for field placings were changed thereafter.
2. Innovation aspect: since there is an element of risk and entertainment, this shot does not seem unfair to the bowlers. But what happens if a batsman switches not to take risk but simply to dab it into a vacant gap on the leg-side (as during his guard)?
My bigger question is:
What if a right-handed batsman walks into the crease, but decides to take guard left-handed on a given day, and then switches to right-handed (his natural side), just as the bowler is about to bowl?
Then we have a right handed batsman batting right handed with vacant gaps on the other side!
This is not to take anything away from Pietersen's well constructed knock. This switch shot is welcome but certain restrictions and clarifications are needed for sure, else the basic logic of all laws which are based on leg-side or off-side (lbws, number fielders etc) will be exploited- at least at some phases in an innings -especially in ODIs where a few singles at a later stage are all important, even at the cost of a wicket.
Saumil
Mumbai, India
21 Dec 2008
Listen to this blog?
England captain Kevin Pietersen is back in the news for his switch shot (where he takes guard right handed but switches to left-handed while playing a shot). This is usually a sweep and although it can be easily confused with the reverse sweep, it is a conventional sweep of a left-handed batsman.
Should this be allowed? From an innovation standpoint most viewers feel that any new type of shot is a welcome addition to the game. But technically, is this fair to the bowlers? This is what the pundits are pondering.
Here are my views on this:
1. The validity of this shot is dubious, since we need to be clear as to how to treat lbw and field placing issues. In cricket the laws restrict field placing on leg side- and also behind square on leg side. But what constitutes leg side or off side is based on whether a batsman bats right-handed or left-handed in the first place. Could Don Bradman and the Aussie's have negated leg-side fields during the Bodyline series, by switching hands? That was a marquee series as the laws for field placings were changed thereafter.
2. Innovation aspect: since there is an element of risk and entertainment, this shot does not seem unfair to the bowlers. But what happens if a batsman switches not to take risk but simply to dab it into a vacant gap on the leg-side (as during his guard)?
My bigger question is:
What if a right-handed batsman walks into the crease, but decides to take guard left-handed on a given day, and then switches to right-handed (his natural side), just as the bowler is about to bowl?
Then we have a right handed batsman batting right handed with vacant gaps on the other side!
This is not to take anything away from Pietersen's well constructed knock. This switch shot is welcome but certain restrictions and clarifications are needed for sure, else the basic logic of all laws which are based on leg-side or off-side (lbws, number fielders etc) will be exploited- at least at some phases in an innings -especially in ODIs where a few singles at a later stage are all important, even at the cost of a wicket.
Saumil
Mumbai, India
21 Dec 2008
Dec 18, 2008
saumilzx.com launches automated podcast of blogs
Hi friends,
I will be provided automated audio productions of my blogs and views as podcast XMLs.
My first podcast is the version of my recent blog about the Chennai Test and Tendulkar's performance.
For the podcast URL:
Bookmark Cricket Podcast
Since this is based on text to speech technology, you might often get inflection issues and varying pronunciation of proper nouns. Yet, I believe the audio is very legible and hope you can enjoy it. I will also try to get my voice in often, but this automation is smooth for most needs.
Good luck
Saumilzx
Mumbai
I will be provided automated audio productions of my blogs and views as podcast XMLs.
My first podcast is the version of my recent blog about the Chennai Test and Tendulkar's performance.
For the podcast URL:
Bookmark Cricket Podcast
Since this is based on text to speech technology, you might often get inflection issues and varying pronunciation of proper nouns. Yet, I believe the audio is very legible and hope you can enjoy it. I will also try to get my voice in often, but this automation is smooth for most needs.
Good luck
Saumilzx
Mumbai
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