[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

Few observations:

I am mentioning again that had Faulkner bowled any delivery other that Leg-side full toss, I would've accepted that but as I mentioned again, the "advantage" of that delivery is that even if a batsman misses, its a sure shot wide or even better 5 wides if keeper misses it too. He did it twice in four balls. Also interesting to note that the batsmen had to do absolutely nothing special to send such ball for six.
What would be anyone's opinion on
a) Is there absolutely NO difference between a bowler bowling No-ball by few inches to bowler bowling No-ball by more than a foot. (Remember winning shot by Ravindra Jadeja in last IPL where Vinay Kumar overstepped by more that one foot, sincerely requesting to watch the clip) same match where Dhoni famously tweeted that if Sir Jadeja needs 2 runs to win off one ball, he does it with one ball to spare. No balls (More than a foot are quite a norm in IPL while they are a rarity in international cricket all these years).
b) Did anyone actually hear any of the captain calling at the toss as I totally missed it.
c) Are there people who believe IPL is 100% genuine, if yes than I am really a detective and if not, then such fans are what, lawyers.
I fully agree with this statement:
"If this match is fixed, then scrap Oscars and give it to all 22 players + Rahul Dravid".
One parallel comparison can be drawn that, it has been happening since old ages that one or two gentleman are used as a mask to cover all the sins, be it Bheeshma in Mahabharata, Dr, Manmohan Singh in UPA, Dhoni in CSK and n number of examples can be given. It it really dangerous to believe that mere presence of Dravid will make all RR players and team owners saints, while this is a known fact as to what kind of activities the owners are involved since long time. Also remember that what happen afterwards in Mahabharata, UPA-II, Dhoni is a well known fact.
I am reiterating again that all these "glorious uncertainties, or rather certainties" are too much to handle for me and my cricket related intelligence.

I never said IPL is totally clean or every one involved are saints or believe that any one who is working with me in IT company is actually a hacker. When a yorker goes bad it becomes a full toss and generally Indian batsman tend to go towards the leg stump in the slog overs and even mostly yorkers are aimed at the legs so a yorker getting a full toss on the legs is absolutely fine given the pressure of the match. But my problem is if we consider only these things and become suspicious then there would be no charm in the match.

In IPL over the years thousands of people are involved and had it been so easy to fix the matches, then some one would have leaked it for sure. Can not imagine every one being so tight lipped and loyal towards it. It takes a great deal of practice to switch hit successfully but if we consider only the straight drive to be the best and graceful shot in the cricket then we are not doing justice here. I was watching the game of a very young team and those guys played both the shots effortlessly and I was amazed to see that almost every one is hitting the reverse or switch hit.

My point is simple, rather than being the devil's advocate let us cherish the brilliance and leave the suspicious things to some other distinguished group of gentlemen. Is this justice to devalue the pressure which Kanitkar took to hit the boundary in the penultimate ball just because of presence of some one from the parliament . My 2 cents.

BTW, Javed Miandad did not step out, he was rooted in the crease.

[carwatcher]

I never doubt about Kanitkar's shot, infact, that victory to me kind of exorcised the ghosts of Miandad's six. It has that healing effect on me. I am surprised as to where in my entire post I doubted it, on the contrary, to justify the failed attempt to stop the boundary, I am assigning bad light rather than lack of intent of Pak fielders. Similarly it is no small achievement to read and hit best and dangerous spinner for a boundary in bad light is a no mean feat. 99 out of 100 times batsman would fail in that. That match was genuine IMHO but I had stated the situation behind that third final. I had also mentioned the reason as revenue to BCB rather than match fixing, etc.
My point is simple too, its too much too digest for me and as far as cherishing the brilliance, why are we spending our valuable time to write long posts here. We all love our cricket, isn't it.

Originally Posted by sam_boy

My point is simple, rather than being the devil's advocate let us cherish the brilliance and leave the suspicious things to some other distinguished group of gentlemen. Is this justice to devalue the pressure which Kanitkar took to hit the boundary in the penultimate ball just because of presence of some one from the parliament . My 2 cents.

BTW, Javed Miandad did not step out, he was rooted in the crease.

[harry10]

My 2 cents :
Anyone who has played any kind of limited overs cricket very well knows in pressure situation so many mistakes are made by the very best of people.

People who are accusing faulkner for bowling 2 full tosses simply chose to ignore how much he was under pressure. Both bowls were Ankle high which means he was going for a yorker which makes sense given the runs needed. He is a left arm bowler who is bowling to a RH batsman. 9 times out of 10 when he will attempt a yorker it will go to middle and leg stump cos thats his natural angle. Same way a RH bowler will bowl to a LH batsman. He missed and they became full tosses. He ain't a Wasim akram who can bowl yorkers at the right spot at will. If he had bowled a short pitch ball and again hit for a boundary then you guys will be saying match is fixed cos he could have easily bowled a yorker but he chose short pitch ball. People are so use to of doubting any great game of cricket that they will label it Fixed without understanding all the things involved.

Some points to ponder upon-
1.- Do you really believe the Richest man of India will stoop so low as fixing a game of cricket and risk ruining the reputation of his whole family? If yes, then why didn't he fixed all IPL matches since last 7 years? Why MI didn't win most of the time?
2.- If i am fixing the match will i fix it this way that its been decided on the very last ball. By chance Tare missed the bowl or get out then not only i lose all money involved in fixing but the basic point of fixing the match which is winning. No one is that stupid.
3.- If the match was fixed why will RR score 190 runs. They will simply score 130-140 so MI can chase in less than 15 overs. 190 was nearly an impossible task. Why will MI concede so many runs if they knew match is fixed?
4.- Anderson was never dropped. No run out missed while he was batting. Yusuf was dropped twice and in that one was a sitter by Anirudh. Why aren't you guys complaining that match was fixed? Steyn must be fixed then cos he went for 26 in one over.

Its ridiculous to demean a great game of cricket by saying its fixed. What do you guys want? A one sided match all the time so it should look its not fixed? Its a T20 game. 8 out of 10 times it will finish in last over.

In the end its to each his own. I loved both games. Pathan and Anderson did an impossible twice. I don't deny fixing doesn't happens but i don't see how this game was fixed. Also, since the Chandila, sreesanth fiasco BCCI and ICC teams are monitoring each match closely. I can't see with so much scrutiny how so many players can be involved in fixing and no one getting a whiff of it. Specially when they are getting crores easily by just playing why will they risk it after seeing what happened to sreesanth, Simple logic.

[SJD@NewDelhi]

So IPL7 playoff is on its way:

Here are predictions------
○ Qualifier 1:- KXIP vs KKR. Will be won by KKR in Eden Gardens.
○ Eliminator:- CSK vs MI. Will be won by MI in Mumbai. CSK will be eliminated.
○ Qualifier 2:- KXIP vs MI. Will be won by KXIP in Mumbai.
○ IPL 7 Finals:- KXIP vs KKR,
IPL 7 winner is KXIP!

No need to argue or fight. Lets SEE.

[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by SJD@NewDelhi

So IPL7 playoff is on its way:

Here are predictions------
○ Qualifier 1:- KXIP vs KKR. Will be won by KKR in Eden Gardens.
○ Eliminator:- CSK vs MI. Will be won by MI in Mumbai. CSK will be eliminated.
○ Qualifier 2:- KXIP vs MI. Will be won by KXIP in Mumbai.
○ IPL 7 Finals:- KXIP vs KKR,
IPL 7 winner is KXIP!

No need to argue or fight. Lets SEE.

Time to correct predictions

[ghodlur]

I strongly feel that Punjab will falter in their match against CSK, although personally I would like them to win against CSK and win the trophy. Hope they dont end up like the eternal chokers (SA).

Between KKR & CSK, I would want the best team to win. Both have already won the trophies and it wouldnt matter if they win.

[joe1980]

Looks like Sehwag is venting out all his capabilities against CSK. Surprisingly why only against CSK?

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Originally Posted by sam_boy

Time to correct predictions

Maybe.....there may be replacement of sideheroes but I've predicted the final ending. Now wait and watch

[PPS]

Thankfully CSK lost, else it would have got a bit boring to see them in the finals again!
Dhoni was quite critical of his International players, well he could have taken charge & promoted himself to no.4 , don't know why he keeps holding himself back!
Great fun to watch Sehwag in full flow & Raina was superb (why doesn't he play like this when he turns up wearing the Indian jersey!!).
Raina's run out was the turning point of the match!

[TorqueyTechie]

Some wonderful hitting on display today. Thought sehwag had taken the game away from csk but raina played a blinder . His runout was well thr turning point. Rooting for kings xi in thr final. Lets see..

Raina bats usually well on subcontinent but outside subcontinent he does not.
Dhoni being critical and using such sarcasm was uncalled for. Same players esp mccullum and smith were good all through the tournament. He should hold the responsibility himself and not blame others.

[Gansan]

I don't watch cricket nowadays. But when I do, I really enjoy the colorful, stage managed circus of IPL! I am very much reminded of WWF matches!

A bird told me at the start of the current edition it has been decided that Punjab will win this time!

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by SJD@NewDelhi

Maybe.....there may be replacement of sideheroes but I've predicted the final ending. Now wait and watch

Oh common, you have got 2 of them wrong. The final might still go in your favor though.

Originally Posted by Gansan

A bird told me at the start of the current edition it has been decided that Punjab will win this time!

And the same birds have been telling RCB will make it to the playoffs. KXIP might still win (hell, I hope they win) but to assume it is because it has been fixed is absolutely utter nonsense. A couple of apples may be bad but all of them - hell no.

--------------------------------------
CSK V KXIP:

Boy, what a game! First Viru comes up with quite a stunner and then Raina of all people produces arguably the best innings of the IPL atleast. The way he way (mis)treating the bowlers, the match might have well been over by 15-16th over.

And how many would bet CSK of all teams to wither under pressure? Not a lot. KXIP though thoroughly deserve to be in the finals.
MSD's criticism of his middle order was in line, but someone needs to ask why was Baz batting at 4 and Faff opening? Why did MS hold himself back? He did the same against MI in the finals and now, we have seen the result of both. I did not expect all the foreigners to fail at once in a single game and MSD has a valid reason to be unhappy.

I always thought they did not have a decent bowling lineup and once you give 220 odd you really needed something extra ordinary (which Riana was providing) for a long period of time.
-------------------------------------------------------------

The Final today:

KKR to me look the better team with a far better bowling order. I do not think Viru would click twice. However I would love KXIP to win this one, they have been such an impressive team this year.

Mad Max has failed against them in all the games and I not expect anything other than that. Both teams like to chase but somehow I feel KXIP are better off batting first, frees them up to play their destructive game (specially Viru).

Lets hope it's a cracker.

[ad3952n]

Wow!! A total Paisa Vasool 1st innings of Punjab. Ridhiman Saha was in top form. Punjab has given target of 200 to KKR.

Thanks

[ad3952n]

Update on 7th IPL Edition; KKR are the champions for the 2nd time. They won the match by 3 wickets and 3 balls left.

Thanks.

[PPS]

'Cracker of a game' as Ravi Shastri would say!
After Punjab made 200 it was a given that KKR would fall short but they surprised everyone considering they never scored 170+ before in the tournament.
Its was good to see young Indian players do well & it was surprising to see International bowlers like Steyn & Johnson being taken apart!
I do not what it is with Australian's at the death, first it was Faulkner & his full tosses & today it was Johnson. Johnson also gave away 4 overthrows!