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Watch Live Streaming of Final Asia Cup 2008 between India vs Sri Lanka ODI from Karachi on 6th July, 2008. The match will start at 11:00 GMT. Watch live scorecard of this match of Asia Cup 2008 at CricketPulse.com .

Visit;http://www.cricketpulse.com/News/IndiavsSriLankaAsiaCup2008Final.asp

The year 2008 will be remembered as a turning point in Indian as well as World cricket. The introduction of the IPL will change the way the world plays cricket… for better or for worse, only time will tell. Even though the current players will pledge their support for test cricket, by recognizing that form as the biggest test of one’a cricketing ability, I am not sure whether the Gen-Next of spectators will have both the time and the patience to follow a game for 5 days with a possibility of not finding a winner. T-20 will be lapped up by the younger generation, whether the purists like me like it or not. The true commercialization of Cricket as a comodity has begun.

But that is a discussion for another time. The current year will also be remembered for other things relating to cricket. It will be remembered for the way the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has treated the greatest player India has ever produced. Die hard fans of Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly or Vishwanath may spend hours trying to argue that they are the best, but there is no doubt in my mind that the greatest cricketer the country has ever produced is Kapil Dev. Even if we forget all the statistical facts which underline his greatness (400+ wickets, 5000+ runs, 175 not out when it mattered the most, etc, etc, etc) just the fact that he lead India to her ONLY world cup win is a good enough reason to perch him atop that pinnacle.

And the same player is now being insulted in every way possible by the world’s richest cricketing body. It is quite ironical that this treatment is being meted out to him in the 25th anniversary year of India’s 83 World Cup win. And for what reason? For supporting a “rebel” cricket league. He was forced to leave the chairmanship of NCA, and then his pension was terminated. And the final, probably the worst thing for his fans, was the removal of his gigantic poster (in his delivery stride) from the PCA stadium in Mohali. Such kind of insults are unthinkable, for the most successful captain India has ever produced.

The behaviour of the BCCI in recent months has become that of a spoilt kid of rich parents. The behaviour reminds me of the way a big international software company behaves to kill any kind of competition. Not allowing ICL players to play in BCCI backed domestic tournaments, just because they are playing for a different league so that they can tend to their families’ needs is quite distasteful. And there are many such instances of flexing muscles even on the international stage, which does not help in befriending anyone. They have to realize that what goes up, eventually comes down.

What does BCCI have to show, apart from its money? It’s “Team India” has done little of note until winning the T20 WC and CW Series. A shameful exit from the WC 2007 was the worst possible result from the team of a board which is overflowing with money. I hope some sanity prevails and the real cricketing hero of the country is given the respect he so deserves!

But whatever the BCCI does, there is one satisfying fact that will never change. The image of Kapil lifting the Prudential World Cup. BCCI can try its best to act as if Kapil never existed, but for each person in this country, that one moment of glory can never be erased from his/her mind. It is the most fitting snub to the snobbish cricketing board of my country, a board of which I am totally ashamed.

Watch Live Streaming of 10th Match of Asia Cup 2008 (Super Four Round) between India vs Pakistan ODI from Karachi on 2nd July, 2008. The match will start at 11:00 GMT. Watch live scorecard of this match of Asia Cup 2008 at CricketPulse.com .

Visit;http://www.cricketpulse.com/News/IndiavsPakistanODI10.asp

The ongoing test series between old rivals West Indies and Australia has thrown up some riveting sessions of classic cricket. There are certainly signs of some resurgence in the West Indian team. For the sake of cricket let us all hope and pray that they don’t falter to deceive ( as they have done several times). Some amount of the resurgence can be directly attributed to the departure of Lara, whose retirement seems to have re-ignited the ‘team spirit’. A lot of it though, has got to do with that unsung hero of our times, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He has single handedly bailed out his team , time and again, in test match after test match. ( akin to Daniel Vettori, who has been surprisingly one of the most consistent test batsman in recent times - again an unsung hero).

It may also point to the decline of the Aussies, after the mass exodus of great players. Although India gave them a run for their money ( but for the ‘Sydneygate’, I feel that India were the real winners in the series), it was on expected lines. The West Indies making them sweat is something that is heartening to see.

It is also time to appreciate Ricky Ponting’s captaincy during this crucial juncture in Australian cricket. He has held the team together even after the mass exodus of several of their matchwinners, Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Bradd Hogg and now Stuart Macgill. Remember, Australia were down in dumps after the retirement of Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee during the mid 1980s. I still remember Kim Hughes, the then captain quitting cricket amidst tears, as he could literally win nothing , with a new look Australian team. It was left to the great Allan Border to tailor a turn around along with the equally great Bobby Simpson.

IPL is over but it has really given Team INDIA some of really talented young guns… Rohit Sharma continued to impress me, he has been the real find for INDIA in last year or so. He can just be the perfect replacement for Sachin/Dravid in years to come. He has this stylish way of playing proper cricketing shots but when needed he can really hit the ball long way and we have seen this happening on number of occasions in IPL.

Yusuf Pathan made a dashing entry in IPL. I dont know how many of you will agree but I think he Plays like Andrew Flintoff (when he was in his prime form). The way he sometimes clears his left leg in order to hit the ball, the way he makes yorkers into low fulltosses reminds me of Freddie at his best. I hope he continues to play like this and keeps himself fit unlike freddie who remains injured most of the times..

Suresh Raina is another guy who showed his talent in IPL. He has shown his skills in past and he has impressed lots of Players with his skills but inconsistency remained his biggest drawback. I hope he has learnt from his mistakes. He needs to focus more on his game and he along with all the youngsters can take guidance from Batting Genious Sachin R Tendulkar, not only on Batting skills but also on how to keep your focus more on Game. Raina has got the talent and has got shots all around the wicket.

M. Gony has surely impressed many of cricket lovers including me. He can hit the deck hard and he can be a useful bowler with old ball. India needs one or two Bowlers who can hit the deck hard and who can rely on Seem rather then swing. Seemers unlike Swing bowlers dont have to rely on conditions that much. So a balance of 2 seemers n 2 Swing bowlers can really do wonders.
I know I havnt written about Gautam Gambhir as yet but frankly speaking he has really surprised me in last few months with his form. I used to think of him as a Batsman who lacks shorts all around wicket, but he really proved me wrong and I am really happy that he did so. He has really come with a lots of passion, great technique, Superb timing and with lots of self confidence. This guy has got lot of class and he can hit the ball really hard.

There have been some other wonderful performers in IPL but I think these were amongst the best from INDIA.

First off, congrats to the Royals. They deserved to win the trophy. As far as Chennai goes, they did really well. Any other team in Chennai’s place would have given up the match after those monstrous sixes by Yusuf Pathan, but Dhoni proved once again why he is a good captain.

But then, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The case in point being Balaji. He bowled a horrible over which literally took the game away from Chennai. Two juicy full tosses at 120 kmph is something you just can’t afford to bowl to any batsman in any format of the game, let alone to a dangerous player like Yusuf Pathan, that too in a T20 match.

The 16th over from Balaji sealed the game for the Royals. Murali had just bowled a beautiful over and gave away just 5 runs. Balaji came in, bowled horribly, and gave away 13 precious runs. To win a match of this magnitude, you need all your players to fire up, and when one ***** up, it spoils the party big time.

I know some of you would say that I’m being unfair to Balaji and even Raina dropped an important catch, blah, blah, blah. But let me clarify one thing. Raina is a multidimensional player. A superb batsman and a very good fielder. He made up for his dropped catch with his superb innings and a terrific direct hit which got rid of Yusuf. But Balaji is a unidimensional player. He is a medium pace bowler. His batting skills and his fielding skills are better left unsaid. So, basically, if he screws up with his bowling, it’s going to cost the team big time.

Anyway, it was a fantastic match. Most importantly, the huddle after the match was good to see from the Chennai Super Kings. Usually, when teams lose, players don’t tend to look at each other and walk away quietly. But Dhoni, being the leader that he is, made sure he conveyed the message that they put up one hell of a fight against the Royals and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

The IPL has once again showed the value of team spirit and a good captain. Both Dhoni and Shane Warne are examples of what good man management can do. There are some differences between them though, with Shane Warne being more expressive. Dhoni rightly mentioned during the post match semi-final presentation ceremony that even though he may be tense inside, he does not show it outside, since it could affect his player’s morale. You can find the same trait in Shane Warne. Another thing that they share in common is that both of them seem to relish pressure cooker situations. Alas, this is not true with many of our ’superstars’ who always come a cropper when needed!!!! It does prove that if a captain does not pressure during crunch situations, the players would also not perform during such situations. IPL has also shown that it is a ‘team’ that wins you matches and not individuals.

It is all over for the Mumbai Indians. They started the IPL terribly and finished it even worse. It gave it’s fans a TON of hope by stringing together 6 fantastic wins only to follow it up with 3 heart-breaking losses. Now the Semi-Final stage is set with Chennai Super Kings playing against Kings XI Punjab and the Delhi Dare-Devils taking on Rajasthan Royals.

What does a Mumbai fan supposed to do? Who does he/she root for?

Should he/she root for Super Kings because it’s lead by Dhoni or the Royals because of Shane Warne, Delhi Dare-Devils for Viru or Punjab for Yuvraj?

Quite honestly as a Mumbai Indians fan, I am not sure what I will do. If I had to pick right now, I will lean towards rooting for Chennai. What about you?

The Rajasthan Royals chased it till the end and won the crucial match against the Mumbai Indians. The match was a delight to watch specially the last over wherein the hosts needed 15 runs to win. All the credit goes to the young lad Niraj Patel who scored 40 of just 29 balls and that made it possible for the Rajasthan team to win. The Man of the match was awarded to Tanvir, who bowled superbly and also has become the highest wicket taker in the IPL series.
The Rajasthan Royals put forth a commanding bowling display except for the last over of Watson which gave away 25 runs for the Mumbai Indians. The score to chase though seemed low at the beginning for the Royals looked like a daunting task when they lost early wickets. I lost hope that the Royals would win but a few miss fields by the Mumbai Indians allowed the hosts to conquer a last ball victory.

This is exactly what every Mumbai Indians fan (including yours truly) is hoping for. Mumbai could have clinched the Semi-Final spot by beating Delhi the other day or would have just needed one more win from now on if they had managed two more runs against Punjab.

They did neither, so the team finds itself on the brink of elimination. One good thing in this challenging situation is the fact that Mumbai’s destiny is in their own hands. If they win both their remaining matches they are through, regardless of what happens in the other matches.

Chennai needs to win their last encounter to guarantee their position. A loss their could create a very interesting situation.

Anyways, Mumbai Indians take on tomorrow Rajasthan Royals, the best team in IPL and if they win this match, it will setup a thrilling finale for the IPL round one.

Go Indians!!!