Saturday, September 24, 2011

Cobras prevail




New South Wales could only put up a modest performace. The 130 odd which they posted were overrun by a ravaging Gibbs and Levi. These openers put on 88 for the first wicket and Cape Cobras won easily.

The issue was never in doubt, as NSW folded up for 130 odd. Watson( 34 off 29 ) and Warner ( 20 off 30 ) were crusing merrily when Langveld dimissed both of them. Daniel Smith ( 24 off 16 ) kept the scoreboard moving but Phlander removed him. Great expectations were on Simon Katich but he failed to deliver, falling a prey to Kemp. Steven Smith ( 16 ) and Henriques ( 18) then took NSW to a respectable score.

Gibbs started slowly, scoring just 1 run off 11 deliveries. Then he accelerated, blasting five fours and two sixes in a brilliant display of batting. His 55 off 47 balls was his 19th T20 fifty. He fell when just 24 runs were needed for victory. Levi scored 43 off 27 balls, before holing out to Warner. When Owais Shah ( 3) left, Cobras were 112/3, but then Duminy ( 14 not out ) and Ontong ( 11 not out ) knocked off the remaining runs with ease.

Earlier Warner and Watson got off to a blistering start, putting on 41 in just 30 balls. But then NSW lost their way, as they lost their top three batsmen quickly.

Malinga's new Avatar




Malinga played the best innings of his career, as he lambasted the Chennai bowlers to all parts of the field. With Bajji, he was involved in an unconquered 53 run partnership, which brought home the bacon for Mumbai Indians.

Eleven runs were needed in the ultimate over and Malinga hit the second delivery for four. Off the next ball he took a single and Bajji swung for another four. Bajji then hit the winning run by nudging a single on the leg side.

Off 18 balls, Malinga blasted 37 runs and Bajji 19 off 20 balls. For Chennai Bravo, Ashwin & Raina took two wickets each.

Chasing a modest 159 run target, Mumbai were in the doldrums at one stage at 106/7, before this partnership turned defeat into victory !

Bizzard (28) and Jacobs (18) gave MI a good start, but then MI had lost half the side in the first ten overs for 63!. Earlier Mike Hussey was at his best, as he cracked a belligerent 81 off 57 balls to help Chennai post a competitive 158/4. Three sixes and eight fours flowed off his bat but he could not get support from other players. Raina ( 18 off 17) and Badrinath ( 16 off 21) fell cheaply at the other end.

Lasith "formdiable" Malinga had done the impossible. He had proved Napolean's dictum " The word impossible occurs only in the dictionary of fools".

Malinga's new Avatar




Malinga played the best innings of his career, as he lambasted the Chennai bowlers to all parts of the field. With Bajji, he was involved in an unconquered 53 run partnership, which brought home the bacon for Mumbai Indians.

Eleven runs were needed in the ultimate over and Malinga hit the second delivery for four. Off the next ball he took a single and Bajji swung for another four. Bajji then hit the winning run by nudging a single on the leg side.

Off 18 balls, Malinga blasted 37 runs and Bajji 19 off 20 balls. For Chennai Bravo, Ashwin & Raina took two wickets each.

Chasing a modest 159 run target, Mumbai were in the doldrums at one stage at 106/7, before this partnership turned defeat into victory !

Bizzard (28) and Jacobs (18) gave MI a good start, but then MI had lost half the side in the first ten overs for 63!. Earlier Mike Hussey was at his best, as he cracked a belligerent 81 off 57 balls to help Chennai post a competitive 158/4. Three sixes and eight fours flowed off his bat but he could not get support from other players. Raina ( 18 off 17) and Badrinath ( 16 off 21) fell cheaply at the other end.

Lasith "formdiable" Malinga had done the impossible. He had proved Napolean's dictum " The word impossible occurs only in the dictionary of fools".

Friday, September 23, 2011

Ginger Curry, part of spicy Kerala cuisine






These are two dishes which I like. Inchi Thair, ginger in curd, is a great dish. So is Ginger curry.

Ginger has the ability to digest food fast and is used in all dishes. The Indian cuisine is modelled after Ayurveda, with herbs and spices in almost all dishes.

Ginger has the ability to reduce pain from arthritis, reduces cholesterol and is good in treating hypertension and heart disease. It is also useful in treating Anxiety Neurosis.

Warriors win off last ball !





When the 19th over started, the Warriors needed 19 off 12 balls. But they lost Prince, who miscued to Nannes. Thyssen followed, after cracking a boundary off the last ball. The last ball was hit by Boje for six and W needed just seven off six. Aravind managed to get two dot balls and Botha could not combat pressure and perished. With seven needed from 3 balls, Boje picked up a single off the fourth ball. The fifth was hit for a cracking four and two off the last ball by Wayne Parnell brought home the bacon for the Warriors !

This was a real humdinger ! Earlier Bangalore could only muster 172, thanks to Kohli ( 34). Warriors were in dire straits at 82/4, but Prince ( 74) and Botha ( 42 ) steered them home.

It was a day of fluctuating fortunes, as RCB fought back with the prize wickets of Botha and Prince.

Theron bowled superbly taking four wickets and thereby restricting Bangalore to 172/8. Warriors had won the toss and elected to bat and Gayle exploded with two sixes and two fours, in a typical Gaylian manner. Left armer Parnell accounted for Gayle. Villiers ( 31) and Kohli ( 34) were involved in a fiery 52 off 41 balls, before Theron had Kohli caught at deep midwicket.

Botha had his SA colleague Villiers caught, but Saurabh Tiwari blasted 28 off 15 balls to keep the momentum going. But Theron proved to be economical in the death overs, ensuring the Warriors victory. Theron picked up three wickets in the penultimate over, of Kaif ( 26 ), Mithun (4) and Vettori ( 8). And Parnell only conceded 8 runs in the final over ! Good bowling by Warriors.

Championship League kicks off today !




The IPL Champions League will start on Sep 23, to find out which is the best T20 Club team.

It will be a struggle for supremacy as 12 teams from different countries fight it out

The 12 teams are

Chennai Super Kings
Kolkata Knight Riders
Leicestershire Foxes
Mumbai Indians
New South Wales Blues
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Ruhunu Eleven

Auckland Aces
Cape Cobras
Somerset
South Australian Redbacks
Trinidad & Tobago
Warriors


Let us see who is the best Club side in T20 cricket !

“Stars will emerge from CLT20″, says J Sutherland, ceo, Cricket Australia.Fixtures & Results

Main Round

Date & Time (IST) Match Venue Result

Sep 23 (20:00) Royal Challengers Bangalore vsWarriors M.Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bengaluru

Sep 24 (16:00) Cape Cobras vs New South Wales Blues MA Chidambaram
Stadium, Chennai

Sep 24 (20:00) Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians MA Chidambaram
Stadium, Chennai

Sep 25 (16:00) Warriors vs South Australian Redbacks Rajiv Gandhi
International Stadium, Hyderabad

Sep 25 (20:00) Kolkata Knight Riders vsSomerset Rajiv Gandhi
International Stadium, Hyderabad

Sep 26 (20:00) Mumbai Indians vs Trinidad and Tobago M.Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bengaluru

Sep 27 (20:00) Kolkata Knight Riders vs South Australian Redbacks
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Sep 28 (16:00) New South Wales Blues vsTrinidad and Tobago MA
Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Sep 28 (20:00) Chennai Super Kings vs Cape Cobras MA Chidambaram
Stadium, Chennai

Sep 29 (20:00) Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Sep 30 (20:00) Mumbai Indians vs Cape Cobras M.Chinnaswamy Stadium,
Bengaluru

Oct 1 (16:00) South Australian Redbacks vsSomerset M.Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bengaluru

Oct 1 (20:00) Kolkata Knight Riders vsWarriors M.Chinnaswamy Stadium,
Bengaluru

Oct 2 (16:00) Mumbai Indians vs New South Wales Blues MA Chidambaram
Stadium, Chennai

Oct 2 (20:00) Chennai Super Kings vs Trinidad and Tobago MA
Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Oct 3 (20:00) Royal Challengers Bangalore vsSomerset M.Chinnaswamy
Stadium, Bengaluru

Oct 4 (16:00) Cape Cobras vs Trinidad and Tobago MA Chidambaram
Stadium, Chennai

Oct 4 (20:00) Chennai Super Kings vs New South Wales Blues MA
Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Oct 5 (16:00) Warriors vs Somerset M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Oct 5 (20:00) Royal Challengers Bangalore vsSouth Australian Redbacks
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Semi Final

Oct 7 (20:00) B1 vs A2 M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Oct 8 (20:00) A1 vs B2 MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Final

Oct 9 (20:00) SF1 vs SF2 MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai


Jointly sponsored by Cricket Australia, Cricket RSA and BCCI, CLT20 will be more popular than IPL. IPL is only Indian, CLT20 is international !

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Blood bath on Dalal Street




We have said in our sites and columns that Jove in the 10th is detrimental to the Indian economy. It was proved right as the stock market plunged 704 points.

It was virtually blood bath on Dalal Street. The Dow fell and so did all indices.

Even though India may become the third largest economy by 2012 ( by GDP PPP ), now for seven months ( during Jupiter's transit of Aries ), she is in for a turbulent phase.
It is better to hold on. only at the bottom should one invest.

Speculation is taboo as anything can happen. Gold is also falling, may be temporarily. So is crude.

The problem can be compounded when Saturn leaves Virgo on Nov 15th. Only in May, when Jupiter moves over to Taurus, in India's 11th can we hope to see a bullish curve !

A 4.2 percent drop was the least desirable. The Federal Reserve warned of significant risks to global economic growth. All other Asian markets fell with key indices in various countries losing between 2-5 percent. Selling pressure was seen all over the bourses, as all the broader markets and sectoral indices closed deep in the red. Realty, metals, oil, gas and banking indices of the BSE closed 4-6 percent down. Nothing to panic, say the technical analysts !