TVS Cup final - Australia v. India
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The Prototype
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New Zealand crickets is really in a bad way, well at the moment it looks that way. I wish I still had Pay-TV, after seeing highlight packages this series looked pretty good. I'm hoping the VB Series can be the same with all the run scoring, and big hits, and stuff like that. If that's the case, this simmers cricket is really looking like it's going to be a real good one.
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M@®©
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Donny
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Toss crucial for Ponting
By Andrew Ramsey
November 17, 2003
HAVING dominated the preliminary rounds of the tri-nations tournament in India, Australia head into tomorrow's final against the host nation in Calcutta only too aware that the toss of the coin is likely to decide the outcome.
The strength of both teams is in their top-order batting, which virtually ensures a big total for whoever bats first when the dry pitch is at its best and the outfield at its quickest.
Chasing big scores under lights on the sub-continent is difficult because the pitches tend to become lower and slower as the evening progresses, making strokeplay problematic.
No team batting second under lights at Eden Gardens has successfully chased a one-day score in excess of 200. Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth was in no doubt when asked what will be the crucial factor in tomorrow's sold-out day-nighter.
"The toss: the team that wins the toss in Calcutta will win the match," Srikkanth said yesterday.
Should Ricky Ponting lose the toss and concede first use of the Calcutta pitch to back-in-form Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who blazed twin centuries in Saturday's big win over New Zealand, his batsmen know they are in for a tough evening.
Key all-rounder Andrew Symonds said the advantage of batting first, coupled with the fanatical support from a deafening crowd of more than 100,000, would make the Indians a different proposition to previous encounters.
"It will be a true test for us, with them having their home crowd and us having to play at our very best, especially if we lose the toss," Symonds said yesterday.
"You can get away to a good start here because the outfields are so quick. It's not out of the question for a good score to be 290 and a very good score to be 330."
The crowd - the biggest any Australian one-day team has seen since their previous limited-overs appearance at Eden Gardens, the World Cup final triumph of 1987 - will play a direct role in the match.
Even though the ground officially holds slightly more than 90,000, it's likely to swell well above that by the time the first ball's delivered.
"One of our boys was speaking to (Indian captain Sourav) Ganguly the other day and he reckons there's a chance there will be 120,000 there," Symonds said.
"I don't know where they're going to put them all - a few might have to sit on the roof or something - but that's an exciting concept.
"It requires extra concentration when you're batting, the first few balls, just for the sheer noise factor. You have to concentrate that bit harder because you can get distracted because the noise is so deafening."
The Australians held their main pre-final training session at Eden Gardens yesterday while their Indian counterparts were making the two-hour flight from Hyderabad where they secured a final berth with their 145-run win over the Kiwis.
The Calcutta pitch looked typically dry when the Australians inspected it and the team hierarchy face some difficult decisions when they sit down to decide on the final XI today.
Nathan Bracken, who has had a stomach upset, will return to take the new ball with Brad Williams, which means Michael Kasprowicz is likely to miss out despite bowling impressively in Bangalore last Wednesday.
The selectors must also decide whether specialist spinner Brad Hogg is worth a recall at the expense of batsman-cum-part-time-spinner, Michael Clarke.
It is likely they will go for Clarke who has taken some key wickets during the tournament, with the knowledge that Symonds can also provide a few overs of off-spin.
Ganguly will wait until the morning of the final in his home town before deciding if he has fully recovered from a slight groin strain received while batting against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
"It's not very serious," he said. "I strained the groin while taking off for a run and I will have to wait till the day of the final to confirm whether I will be able to play,"
Ganguly finished batting with a runner and didn't field during New Zealand's run chase.
By Andrew Ramsey
November 17, 2003
HAVING dominated the preliminary rounds of the tri-nations tournament in India, Australia head into tomorrow's final against the host nation in Calcutta only too aware that the toss of the coin is likely to decide the outcome.
The strength of both teams is in their top-order batting, which virtually ensures a big total for whoever bats first when the dry pitch is at its best and the outfield at its quickest.
Chasing big scores under lights on the sub-continent is difficult because the pitches tend to become lower and slower as the evening progresses, making strokeplay problematic.
No team batting second under lights at Eden Gardens has successfully chased a one-day score in excess of 200. Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth was in no doubt when asked what will be the crucial factor in tomorrow's sold-out day-nighter.
"The toss: the team that wins the toss in Calcutta will win the match," Srikkanth said yesterday.
Should Ricky Ponting lose the toss and concede first use of the Calcutta pitch to back-in-form Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who blazed twin centuries in Saturday's big win over New Zealand, his batsmen know they are in for a tough evening.
Key all-rounder Andrew Symonds said the advantage of batting first, coupled with the fanatical support from a deafening crowd of more than 100,000, would make the Indians a different proposition to previous encounters.
"It will be a true test for us, with them having their home crowd and us having to play at our very best, especially if we lose the toss," Symonds said yesterday.
"You can get away to a good start here because the outfields are so quick. It's not out of the question for a good score to be 290 and a very good score to be 330."
The crowd - the biggest any Australian one-day team has seen since their previous limited-overs appearance at Eden Gardens, the World Cup final triumph of 1987 - will play a direct role in the match.
Even though the ground officially holds slightly more than 90,000, it's likely to swell well above that by the time the first ball's delivered.
"One of our boys was speaking to (Indian captain Sourav) Ganguly the other day and he reckons there's a chance there will be 120,000 there," Symonds said.
"I don't know where they're going to put them all - a few might have to sit on the roof or something - but that's an exciting concept.
"It requires extra concentration when you're batting, the first few balls, just for the sheer noise factor. You have to concentrate that bit harder because you can get distracted because the noise is so deafening."
The Australians held their main pre-final training session at Eden Gardens yesterday while their Indian counterparts were making the two-hour flight from Hyderabad where they secured a final berth with their 145-run win over the Kiwis.
The Calcutta pitch looked typically dry when the Australians inspected it and the team hierarchy face some difficult decisions when they sit down to decide on the final XI today.
Nathan Bracken, who has had a stomach upset, will return to take the new ball with Brad Williams, which means Michael Kasprowicz is likely to miss out despite bowling impressively in Bangalore last Wednesday.
The selectors must also decide whether specialist spinner Brad Hogg is worth a recall at the expense of batsman-cum-part-time-spinner, Michael Clarke.
It is likely they will go for Clarke who has taken some key wickets during the tournament, with the knowledge that Symonds can also provide a few overs of off-spin.
Ganguly will wait until the morning of the final in his home town before deciding if he has fully recovered from a slight groin strain received while batting against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
"It's not very serious," he said. "I strained the groin while taking off for a run and I will have to wait till the day of the final to confirm whether I will be able to play,"
Ganguly finished batting with a runner and didn't field during New Zealand's run chase.
Donny.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
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Donny
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The first time
Facts and Figures by Wisden Cricinfo staff
Australia will certainly remember their epic Test match against India at the Eden Gardens in 2001, but the final of the TVS Cup will be their first time against India in an ODI here. And they should know that India have won eight out of the 11 times they played here. Australia's only ODI at the Eden Gardens before was the eventful final of the 1987 Reliance World Cup where they edged out England by 7 runs.
Like most venues in India, the Eden Gardens has seen its share of high scores. On five occasions, the side batting first has posted 270 or more. Not surprisingly, only once in these occasions, the team chasing won. That happened when West Indies scored 273 and still lost to Pakistan in the MRF Nehru Cup in 1989.
In 17 ODIs that have taken place at the Eden Gardens, only four centuries have been scored. Kris Srikkanth opened the account in 1986-87 and was followed by Desmond Haynes and Marcus Trescothick. Of the current Indian team, only Sachin Tendulkar has reached three figures here.
Bowlers of all kinds should know that they have their work cut out for them. Only once has a team been bowled out for less than 150 in an ODI here. That was when Anil Kumble sliced through the West Indies in the final of the Hero Cup in 1993. West Indies made just 123 in pursuit of 226 for victory.
Having said that, seven bowlers have taken four wickets or more in one-dayers at Eden Gardens with Allan Donald and Saqlain Mushtaq being the only non-Indians to do so.
Facts and Figures by Wisden Cricinfo staff
Australia will certainly remember their epic Test match against India at the Eden Gardens in 2001, but the final of the TVS Cup will be their first time against India in an ODI here. And they should know that India have won eight out of the 11 times they played here. Australia's only ODI at the Eden Gardens before was the eventful final of the 1987 Reliance World Cup where they edged out England by 7 runs.
Like most venues in India, the Eden Gardens has seen its share of high scores. On five occasions, the side batting first has posted 270 or more. Not surprisingly, only once in these occasions, the team chasing won. That happened when West Indies scored 273 and still lost to Pakistan in the MRF Nehru Cup in 1989.
In 17 ODIs that have taken place at the Eden Gardens, only four centuries have been scored. Kris Srikkanth opened the account in 1986-87 and was followed by Desmond Haynes and Marcus Trescothick. Of the current Indian team, only Sachin Tendulkar has reached three figures here.
Bowlers of all kinds should know that they have their work cut out for them. Only once has a team been bowled out for less than 150 in an ODI here. That was when Anil Kumble sliced through the West Indies in the final of the Hero Cup in 1993. West Indies made just 123 in pursuit of 226 for victory.
Having said that, seven bowlers have taken four wickets or more in one-dayers at Eden Gardens with Allan Donald and Saqlain Mushtaq being the only non-Indians to do so.
Donny.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
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Donny
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Yet another heist?
Dileep Premachandran
Two years, eight months, and two days have passed since that moment, one destined to have a special place in the cricket histories of both India and Australia. On March 15, 2001, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar completed the most improbable comeback in Test history, riding the crest of a wave created by VVS Laxman's imperious 281, and Rahul Dravid's flint-hard 180. Tomorrow, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden will revisit the scene of cricket's biggest heist, hoping to leave the Eden Gardens with those Ides of March just a distant, aberrant memory.
Logic will tell you that Australia are the favourites, but there's something about Kolkata and a 100,000-strong crowd that is the exemplar of sporting fanaticism that can intimidate even the most confident side. India started the TVS Cup well enough, beating Australia with a measure of comfort in Gwalior, but subsequent drubbings at Mumbai and Bangalore means that they go into a home final occupying the underdog's kennel.
It shouldn't bother them. The Titan Cup in 1996 had followed a similar script with South Africa utterly dominant in the group stages, only for India - Australia were the odd men out - to romp home in the final. With the toss and the varied conditions under lights making one-day cricket such a lottery, only a fool would stake his gold on the basis of previous form, given that the best team doesn't always prevail as in Test cricket.
India will be in a much better frame of mind after that 145-run thumping of New Zealand. Tendulkar orchestrated matters, and the other batsmen played along sweetly to ensure that there would be no danger of the hosts missing their party. A similar effort will be needed against an Australian bowling attack that has made considerable strides in three weeks, with Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams to the fore.
They will most likely make the one change, bringing in Harbhajan Singh for Murali Kartik, sure to be disheartened after narrowly missing out on the tour to Australia. On the pitch where he earned the Turbanator nickname, Harbhajan would do well to prove that his bowling is a work in progress, rather than an abandoned project as has appeared the case in recent months.
There is another opportunity for Ajit Agarkar to add substance to his new-ball ambitions, while Zaheer Khan must perform to salvage an iota of comfort from an otherwise dreadful home season. Rest assured, Gilchrist and Hayden will be locking their sights the moment he walks to his bowling mark.
Ponting's big-hitting century at Bangalore ironed out the last crease in Australia's own batting, though Hayden has still to bat like the colossus we know he can be. The bowlers they have faced so far haven't been accurate, or good enough, to exploit their tentativeness against high-quality spin. Medium-pace is rare steak and a few kegs of beer for those boys, so unless Harbhajan and Kumble step up in a big way, it could be yet another trophy in the cabinet for an Australian team that seems to win games as easily as Mike Tyson won bouts way back in his heyday. Perhaps it's time for India to do a James "Buster" Douglas ...
Dileep Premachandran
Two years, eight months, and two days have passed since that moment, one destined to have a special place in the cricket histories of both India and Australia. On March 15, 2001, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar completed the most improbable comeback in Test history, riding the crest of a wave created by VVS Laxman's imperious 281, and Rahul Dravid's flint-hard 180. Tomorrow, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden will revisit the scene of cricket's biggest heist, hoping to leave the Eden Gardens with those Ides of March just a distant, aberrant memory.
Logic will tell you that Australia are the favourites, but there's something about Kolkata and a 100,000-strong crowd that is the exemplar of sporting fanaticism that can intimidate even the most confident side. India started the TVS Cup well enough, beating Australia with a measure of comfort in Gwalior, but subsequent drubbings at Mumbai and Bangalore means that they go into a home final occupying the underdog's kennel.
It shouldn't bother them. The Titan Cup in 1996 had followed a similar script with South Africa utterly dominant in the group stages, only for India - Australia were the odd men out - to romp home in the final. With the toss and the varied conditions under lights making one-day cricket such a lottery, only a fool would stake his gold on the basis of previous form, given that the best team doesn't always prevail as in Test cricket.
India will be in a much better frame of mind after that 145-run thumping of New Zealand. Tendulkar orchestrated matters, and the other batsmen played along sweetly to ensure that there would be no danger of the hosts missing their party. A similar effort will be needed against an Australian bowling attack that has made considerable strides in three weeks, with Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams to the fore.
They will most likely make the one change, bringing in Harbhajan Singh for Murali Kartik, sure to be disheartened after narrowly missing out on the tour to Australia. On the pitch where he earned the Turbanator nickname, Harbhajan would do well to prove that his bowling is a work in progress, rather than an abandoned project as has appeared the case in recent months.
There is another opportunity for Ajit Agarkar to add substance to his new-ball ambitions, while Zaheer Khan must perform to salvage an iota of comfort from an otherwise dreadful home season. Rest assured, Gilchrist and Hayden will be locking their sights the moment he walks to his bowling mark.
Ponting's big-hitting century at Bangalore ironed out the last crease in Australia's own batting, though Hayden has still to bat like the colossus we know he can be. The bowlers they have faced so far haven't been accurate, or good enough, to exploit their tentativeness against high-quality spin. Medium-pace is rare steak and a few kegs of beer for those boys, so unless Harbhajan and Kumble step up in a big way, it could be yet another trophy in the cabinet for an Australian team that seems to win games as easily as Mike Tyson won bouts way back in his heyday. Perhaps it's time for India to do a James "Buster" Douglas ...
Donny.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
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2 PIES IN CAIRNS
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2 PIES IN CAIRNS
- Posts: 524
- Joined: Wed Apr 07, 1999 6:01 pm
- Location: Cairns, QLD.