MS Dhoni's choice of bowler for the Super Over during yesterday's tied tie against Victoria was a surprising one. Usually, a captain gives the ball to a bowler who has had a good day. That would have been Murali, given that both Bollinger and Ashwin had had a mixed day.
However, to my mind, the best option would still have been Bollinger. Here is a bit of trivia before I proceed further:
- Cricinfo archives show that there have been 12 recorded cases of Super Overs in Twenty20 matches, including yesterday's.
- Of these 12, I managed to find out who were the bowlers and the scores involved in 11 of them.
- The 1 match that I did not manage to find anything about was the Northern Districts v. Canterbury match at Seddon Park, Hamilton on 18th February 2009.
- On a completely irrelevant note, that day (i.e. 18th February 2009) saw 2 other cases of Super Overs in South Africa - Dolphins v Cape Cobras at Kingsmead, Durban and Eagles v Warriors at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth.
- Of the 22 Super Overs (11 X 2) I have on record, only 7 have been bowled by slow bowlers.
- Of these 7, only 2 have been won by slow bowlers. Incidentally, both these wins came when the opposition also used a slow bowler for their Super Over.
- So in the 3 cases where Super Over was a slow bowler v medium / pace bowler affair, the slower bowlers have always failed to deliver.
Now, I do not expect MS Dhoni to know these facts. But I would have expected him to learn from his mistakes. Just this year at the IPL, he had faced a Super Over situation where he chose Muttiah Muralitharan to bowl against Kings XI Punjab to defend his team's score of 9 for 2 (which were scored against Juan Theron - a medium pacer). Muralitharan managed 10 for 1 in less than 1 over as CSK lost that match and crucial points.
In the only other case of pace v spin, Ajantha Mendis had fared badly as Yusuf Pathan demolished him during IPL 2009's Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders match. Kamran Khan, the unheralded young Royals pacer had gone for 16 in his over as Mendis conceded 18 in his first 4 balls itself. And I expect Dhoni knew about this match.
Added to this were factors like constant drizzle and the grip on the ball during the Super Over yesterday. So Dhoni's decision to use Ashwin was pretty much a wrong one to me even before he started bowling and conceded those 20-odd runs. The match was effectively sealed then and the points secured for Victoria.
Showing posts with label Super Over. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Over. Show all posts
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
FOUR SEMI - FINALS: PREVIEW PART 1
World Twenty20 Championship:
1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: England v Sri Lanka
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: Australia v Pakistan
World Women's Twenty20 Championship:
1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: Australia Women v India Women
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: West Indies Women v New Zealand Women
Preview of ENG v SL:
England are one of the two form teams of the tournament. Before their match against New Zealand, I had a feeling that they were over reliant on their star player Kevin Pietersen. But the way they went about dashing the Kiwi hopes of a semi-final was an eye opener. Rarely has the world seen an English cricket team so clinical and methodic in execution of its plans!
Apart from the limp to a mediocre 120 / 8 against Ireland, the English batting line up has never failed to cross 150, their best being 191 / 5 against West Indies in a match which they lost due to the anamolies of Duckworth Lewis method. Their bowling was untested during the initial group stages as the persistent rains at Guyana meant that their bowlers managed only 8.4 overs in the first 2 matches. However, the most striking feature of their bowling in the Super Eight stage has been the fact that they have managed to pick 25 wickets out of a possible 30. Its hard to imagine that at one stage of the tournament, they were in danger of being knocked out due to one bad batting performance and the numbers of Duckworth Lewis!
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have had an up and down journey to the semis. They lost their first match - a low scoring thriller against New Zealand lost in the last over. Then they rode on the brilliance of Jayawardene to defeat Zimbabwe and West Indies, the latter in the Super Eight. But then came a very embarassing loss to the Aussies - a loss of 81 runs after being bundled out for 87. Fighting for survival, Sri Lanka then pulled off a last ball win with a six against India just after having knocked them out of the tournament. It was exactly the kind of win they needed to boost their confidence. Such close finishes intill in teams a new belief and a greater momentum. Sri Lanka will try to make the most of it.
The match promises to be an exciting affair. England will have the services of Kevin Pietersen once again... but there will also be a lot of expectations from them, a situation that they are not used to. Most observers believe that England deserve to be in the final... I feel the same - they deserve to be there, but I doubt that they will win the semis. Sri Lanka have a better track record at handling the kind of pressure that a semi-final carries. Mendis, dropped from the game against India, might make a return. Can KP be the talisman that many English sides of the past have longed for?
Preview of AUS Women v IND Women:
I have not followed the Women's version of this tournament as closely as the men's... but I have kept an eye on all the results. Australia has been unbeaten so far. They were lucky to take the 2 points in their opening match against the defending champions England after a tie even in the Super Over (they won on the rule of Sixes Countback). However, they were exemplary in their next match, beating the South Africans by 24 runs - the only blemish being that they couldn't bat out the 20 overs (bowled out with 3 balls to spare). They then went on to defeat the hosts West Indies by 9 runs to determine the group toppers and the chance to play in the 1st semi-finals.
India started disappointingly, losing to the Kiwis by 10 runs. However, they followed it up with demolition jobs over the neighbours - Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For the second time in as many years, this team has outperformed their more fancied male counterparts. In the semi-finals, the key will be to target the fragile, yet combustible, batting line up of the Australians. The Australians have been dismissed twice and have lost 27 wickets out of a possible 30 on their way to the semis.
India, on the other hand, have lost only 12 wickets in the tournament so far and the top order has clicked well. The flip side is that the middle order has had only one below par outing against the Kiwis. Their batters, revolving around Mithali Raj, will have to be wary of the fact that Australians are capable of scoring at a very fast clip. They will be hoping that their bowling partnership of captain Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma will take care of that problem.
1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: England v Sri Lanka
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: Australia v Pakistan
World Women's Twenty20 Championship:
1st Semi - Final on 13th May at St. Lucia: Australia Women v India Women
2nd Semi - Final on 14th May at St. Lucia: West Indies Women v New Zealand Women
Preview of ENG v SL:
England are one of the two form teams of the tournament. Before their match against New Zealand, I had a feeling that they were over reliant on their star player Kevin Pietersen. But the way they went about dashing the Kiwi hopes of a semi-final was an eye opener. Rarely has the world seen an English cricket team so clinical and methodic in execution of its plans!
Apart from the limp to a mediocre 120 / 8 against Ireland, the English batting line up has never failed to cross 150, their best being 191 / 5 against West Indies in a match which they lost due to the anamolies of Duckworth Lewis method. Their bowling was untested during the initial group stages as the persistent rains at Guyana meant that their bowlers managed only 8.4 overs in the first 2 matches. However, the most striking feature of their bowling in the Super Eight stage has been the fact that they have managed to pick 25 wickets out of a possible 30. Its hard to imagine that at one stage of the tournament, they were in danger of being knocked out due to one bad batting performance and the numbers of Duckworth Lewis!
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have had an up and down journey to the semis. They lost their first match - a low scoring thriller against New Zealand lost in the last over. Then they rode on the brilliance of Jayawardene to defeat Zimbabwe and West Indies, the latter in the Super Eight. But then came a very embarassing loss to the Aussies - a loss of 81 runs after being bundled out for 87. Fighting for survival, Sri Lanka then pulled off a last ball win with a six against India just after having knocked them out of the tournament. It was exactly the kind of win they needed to boost their confidence. Such close finishes intill in teams a new belief and a greater momentum. Sri Lanka will try to make the most of it.
The match promises to be an exciting affair. England will have the services of Kevin Pietersen once again... but there will also be a lot of expectations from them, a situation that they are not used to. Most observers believe that England deserve to be in the final... I feel the same - they deserve to be there, but I doubt that they will win the semis. Sri Lanka have a better track record at handling the kind of pressure that a semi-final carries. Mendis, dropped from the game against India, might make a return. Can KP be the talisman that many English sides of the past have longed for?
Preview of AUS Women v IND Women:
I have not followed the Women's version of this tournament as closely as the men's... but I have kept an eye on all the results. Australia has been unbeaten so far. They were lucky to take the 2 points in their opening match against the defending champions England after a tie even in the Super Over (they won on the rule of Sixes Countback). However, they were exemplary in their next match, beating the South Africans by 24 runs - the only blemish being that they couldn't bat out the 20 overs (bowled out with 3 balls to spare). They then went on to defeat the hosts West Indies by 9 runs to determine the group toppers and the chance to play in the 1st semi-finals.
India started disappointingly, losing to the Kiwis by 10 runs. However, they followed it up with demolition jobs over the neighbours - Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For the second time in as many years, this team has outperformed their more fancied male counterparts. In the semi-finals, the key will be to target the fragile, yet combustible, batting line up of the Australians. The Australians have been dismissed twice and have lost 27 wickets out of a possible 30 on their way to the semis.
India, on the other hand, have lost only 12 wickets in the tournament so far and the top order has clicked well. The flip side is that the middle order has had only one below par outing against the Kiwis. Their batters, revolving around Mithali Raj, will have to be wary of the fact that Australians are capable of scoring at a very fast clip. They will be hoping that their bowling partnership of captain Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma will take care of that problem.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS - ONE OUT, THE OTHER ON THEIR WAY
A couple of days ago, I mentioned on this blog that the Australian women beat the English women in the Women's version of World Twenty20 Championship on the rule of sixes countback. Now, that ridiculous rule has resulted into the end of the road for the defending champions, England Women, in this tournament.
England lost by 2 runs to the hosts, West Indies... and they deserved the loss. They were sitting comfortably at 65 for 0, chasing 123 for a win and a chance to stay alive in the tournament. But somehow inexplicably, they collapsed and stuttered to 120 for 9 in their 20 overs, falling short by 2 runs.
So England, the defending champions and the favourites to win this event as well, who have made just 2 runs less than their opponents thus far in this tournament (an ill-fated tie with Australia earlier), have already been knocked out.
I knew that the rule of sixes countback in the event of a tie in the Super Over was ridiculous... but I had no clue that it would result in such an unfair situation. And since this happens to be Women's cricket, I doubt ICC is going to give much thought into this rule. Had a men's team been knocked out in such a circumstance, ICC would have immediately taken note of its unfairness.
Moving on, after the Indian men surrendered meekly to Australia, the women brought some cheer by streamrolling arch rivals Pakistan by 9 wickets. Their next match against Sri Lanka is a virtual quarter-final, with the winner to advance to the semi-finals, to take on either Australia or West Indies. In the event of a no result, Indian women would advance due to their higher NRR.
And lastly, New Zealand's 1-run win over Pakistan has virtually knocked the defending champions out (they still have a mathematical chance due to the English win later over the South Africans). Though the Kiwis are yet to gain a semi-final spot, they are looking a strong and a formidable unit... especially now with the return of Kyle Mills to the team. They will gain enormous confidence from having beaten Pakistan - an opponent that has traditionally been a thorn for the Kiwis in major ICC tournaments. In fact, since their first ever meeting in the 1983 World Cup where the Kiwis prevailed by 52 runs, they had never managed to beat Pakistan in a World Cup match (One Day or Twenty20). These matches included three semi-final defeats in ODI World Cups of 1992 and 1999, and the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.
Now, the Kiwis will need to beat the Poms, who will be without the services of Kevin Pietersen (he will be flying home to be with his wife on their first child birth). If the Kiwis do manage to win and qualify for the semis, they should invite Mrs. Pietersen and Baby Pietersen at a Thank-You-Lunch for their exceptional timing!
England lost by 2 runs to the hosts, West Indies... and they deserved the loss. They were sitting comfortably at 65 for 0, chasing 123 for a win and a chance to stay alive in the tournament. But somehow inexplicably, they collapsed and stuttered to 120 for 9 in their 20 overs, falling short by 2 runs.
So England, the defending champions and the favourites to win this event as well, who have made just 2 runs less than their opponents thus far in this tournament (an ill-fated tie with Australia earlier), have already been knocked out.
I knew that the rule of sixes countback in the event of a tie in the Super Over was ridiculous... but I had no clue that it would result in such an unfair situation. And since this happens to be Women's cricket, I doubt ICC is going to give much thought into this rule. Had a men's team been knocked out in such a circumstance, ICC would have immediately taken note of its unfairness.
Moving on, after the Indian men surrendered meekly to Australia, the women brought some cheer by streamrolling arch rivals Pakistan by 9 wickets. Their next match against Sri Lanka is a virtual quarter-final, with the winner to advance to the semi-finals, to take on either Australia or West Indies. In the event of a no result, Indian women would advance due to their higher NRR.
And lastly, New Zealand's 1-run win over Pakistan has virtually knocked the defending champions out (they still have a mathematical chance due to the English win later over the South Africans). Though the Kiwis are yet to gain a semi-final spot, they are looking a strong and a formidable unit... especially now with the return of Kyle Mills to the team. They will gain enormous confidence from having beaten Pakistan - an opponent that has traditionally been a thorn for the Kiwis in major ICC tournaments. In fact, since their first ever meeting in the 1983 World Cup where the Kiwis prevailed by 52 runs, they had never managed to beat Pakistan in a World Cup match (One Day or Twenty20). These matches included three semi-final defeats in ODI World Cups of 1992 and 1999, and the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.
Now, the Kiwis will need to beat the Poms, who will be without the services of Kevin Pietersen (he will be flying home to be with his wife on their first child birth). If the Kiwis do manage to win and qualify for the semis, they should invite Mrs. Pietersen and Baby Pietersen at a Thank-You-Lunch for their exceptional timing!
Friday, May 7, 2010
AUS BEAT ENG BY 1 SIX TO 0
The women's edition of the World Twenty20 Championship kicked off on May 5. In just the second game between Australia and England, the tournament had its first tie... and the first Super Over.
But for the first time in international cricket (actually in all level of crickets that I know of), the Super Over also failed to deliver a result. After scoring 104 in their normal innings', both teams lost their 2 wickets for 6 runs in the Super Over. And so the 2 points were awarded to Australia by virtue of greater number of sixes hit (1 to England's 0).
The rules of Twenty20 cricket state that in case of a tie, a Super Over (also called a One Over Eliminator sometimes) will be played to break the deadlock. This is the commonly known part. What many people do not know is what happens if the Super Over also results in a tie.
In such a case, the team that hit higher number of 6s in their 21 overs (20 normal overs + 1 super over) will be declared the winner. In case of a tie here, the team with the higher number of 4s in their 21 overs. And in case this also results in a tie, then God help the teams because the match is awarded by way of a coin toss.
I know there are some rubbish rules in cricket, but this one takes the cake. The women from England fought just as hard as the ones from Down Under... but were not equally rewarded. Why? Because their method of scoring runs was different (less flamboyant) than that of their opponents. By this definition, Shahid Afridi is a better batsman than Rahul Dravid!
It's time ICC looks into this particular rule and changes it. Just last month, Sachin Tendulkar showed that runs can be scored in Twenty20s without hitting too many sixes... he hit just 3 out of the ground on his way to becoming the highest scorer in the IPL. If still the rules were to say that hitting sixes could eventually decide the match in your favour, it's a pity then!
Thank God that matches are not decided on the basis of the length of the sixes hit by the batsmen!
But for the first time in international cricket (actually in all level of crickets that I know of), the Super Over also failed to deliver a result. After scoring 104 in their normal innings', both teams lost their 2 wickets for 6 runs in the Super Over. And so the 2 points were awarded to Australia by virtue of greater number of sixes hit (1 to England's 0).
The rules of Twenty20 cricket state that in case of a tie, a Super Over (also called a One Over Eliminator sometimes) will be played to break the deadlock. This is the commonly known part. What many people do not know is what happens if the Super Over also results in a tie.
In such a case, the team that hit higher number of 6s in their 21 overs (20 normal overs + 1 super over) will be declared the winner. In case of a tie here, the team with the higher number of 4s in their 21 overs. And in case this also results in a tie, then God help the teams because the match is awarded by way of a coin toss.
I know there are some rubbish rules in cricket, but this one takes the cake. The women from England fought just as hard as the ones from Down Under... but were not equally rewarded. Why? Because their method of scoring runs was different (less flamboyant) than that of their opponents. By this definition, Shahid Afridi is a better batsman than Rahul Dravid!
It's time ICC looks into this particular rule and changes it. Just last month, Sachin Tendulkar showed that runs can be scored in Twenty20s without hitting too many sixes... he hit just 3 out of the ground on his way to becoming the highest scorer in the IPL. If still the rules were to say that hitting sixes could eventually decide the match in your favour, it's a pity then!
Thank God that matches are not decided on the basis of the length of the sixes hit by the batsmen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
