Pakistan v Sri Lanka - Passion has beaten adversity

The stadiums at Karachi, Lahore or Rawalpindi are left empty. There is no festival of cricket in Pakistan as because a sad incident two years back has made Pakistan isolated. Countries don’t travel to Pakistan due security reasons. The passionate fans out there are unable to see their heroes in action and their sadness is hard to express in words.

But, cricket is still breathing in Pakistan.

Pakistan as a nation, over the years, has been kicked in the abdomen, slapped on the face, and tortured mentally. But despite all these pathetic events have failed to dent their passion for cricket.

At Dubai, today, Pakistan have just completed another Test series win by beating the 2011 World Cup runner-ups, Sri Lanka and with this, Misbah’s tremendous run as the captain of Pakistan cricket team is reaching towards new heights. Mishbah is yet to lose a Test series as captain.

Controversies kept on haunting Pakistan cricket again and again but still, they have been able to conquer all the adversities in style. They are not lucky enough to play on their own home soil, they don’t have a powerful board to support them or their financial status is not like their neighbours. But still their cricketing achievements have been better than many other countries despite all these awful events.  

It’s all because of their passion for this game and for this passion Pakistan cricket is still alive. The victory at Dubai is another victory of passion against adversity.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Virat Kohli - The choice of the new generation

If you watch his TV commercials, at first sight, you will start thinking that he is a very promising star who is all set to rock the Bollywood. He is confident, stylish, dashing and possesses all the ingredients to stamp his authority in Bollywood.

But he doesn’t rock the silver screen, but takes the world stage upside down with a cricket bat. Yes, he can bat and he uses that piece of wood in the most stylish and destructive manner to leave the world amazed. He's a commanding figure at the crease and his desires aren’t insatiable and his will is not satisfied with ordinary things. For him, the sky is the limit.

India’s one-day batting sensation fulfills the definition of a romantic hero in the cricketing arena. Like his stylish appearance and outlooks, his batting too is a subject of pure romance for the cricket romanticists.

The drive through the cover by balancing himself on his knees is poetry in motion while his aggressive stroke-play is like a Bollywood action movie – too hot to handle. Virat Kohli, despite his gung-ho attitude, offers a perfect balance in both aggression and cultured cricket – an ideal blend of Shah Ruk and Salman Khan.  

He is just 23 but Kohli has already hit seven one-day hundreds - four of them came while chasing targets. Add his electric fielding to the mix, and Kohli had been the vital cog of this Indian team over the last couple of years. His Test career might not be as gorgeous as his one-day career, but in the course of time it will reach at its peak as the boy has spirit to climb the Everest.

So, the boy not only offers a heroic presence with his style and glamour, but he is one of those guys who lets his bat do the talking. He has the spirit which always presses him to reach towards higher peaks and his and strives over leaps all the joys of earth from pole to pole. Kohli is a cricketer who offers colour and charm to the game.

Virat Kohli is the choice of the new generation.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Bangladesh v West Indies - Well done Elias Sunny but be careful!

 Yesterday, a young man named Elias Sunny hailing from Chittagong hit the headlines because of his brilliant bowling exhibition against West Indies. He took seven wickets in the Test match and a six-wicket haul in the first innings on debut.

Elias had bowled well and tested the Caribbean batters with his flight and accuracy and he is not one of those Bangladeshi cricketers who have earned his Test cap without playing domestic cricket in an appropriate manner. He has made his Test debut at the age of twenty five and for a Bangladeshi cricketer to make his debut at this age is quite surprising as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is habituated to gift Test caps cheaply.

But in case of Elias Sunny, it has been pretty different. He has earned his Test cap after proving himself well in the domestic circuit. It took Sunny seven years to play for Bangladesh and the way he bowled in Chittagong hinted that how spending enough time in domestic cricket can install professionalism in a cricketer.

The reason for this professional attitude has been the reward of watching the ups and downs in the domestic cricket where Sunny has spent almost nine years. It was in that domestic cricket, Elias Sunny, the smiling and charming Chittagong lad, has learned how to deal with failures and conquer adversities.

Another left arm spin bowler has emerged from Bangladesh and along with Shakib, Razzak and co, it is expected that, Sunny’s name will be heard regularly in the days to come.

But the question is, how long Sunny would last? I mean, even in the past we have seen the demise of Enamul Haque junior and many other promising players. The way the media and fans are euphoric about Sunny, it simply triggers fear in my heart as because, our over-hyped attitudes give birth to stars in no time and it affects those players badly. Suddenly, they lose their way and get vanished.

The media and fans need to understand the difference between encouragement and over-hype. Over-hype creates sudden-stars only to script premature ends. So, the media and fans must be sensible enough while Elias Sunny needs to keep his feet on the ground. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar    

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - I am missing Lasith Malinga in Test cricket

The Abu Dhabi track was placid and in the age of Twenty20 you don’t expect a team to bat defensively like the 70s and 80s when the tracks were favourable for the bowlers and batting was highly challenging. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have some very good stroke makers in the team and on such a benign track, I was expecting those batsmen to cash in big time.

But surprisingly, Sri Lanka’s batting was quite defensive and later, Pakistan also batted like the visitors. The good thing about Pakistan batting was that they didn’t panic like the Lankans and essayed an un-Pakistani style of batting display – less exciting to trigger somnolence.

When the Sri Lankan Lankan batsmen adopted a drop-the-anchor-down ploy, Pakistani paces – Aizaz Cheema and Nunaid Khan had dished high profile bowling to dent the Lankan’s resistance. In contrast, the Lankan bowling seemed toothless to challenge the Pakistani batters and without a doubt they were missing Lasith Malinga.

Such dead tracks are helpful for the exponents of reverse swing and yorkers and in modern day cricket who can utilize them better than Malinga!  

Malinga would have been able to test the Pakistani batting line-up and gift us some exciting moments. But sadly the slinger is not playing in Abu Dhabi. The cricketing world will not watch him in white kits anymore. 

Malinga had picked up a knee injury in 2007 during the tour to Australia. That injury threatened to cut short his cricketing career and to prolong his career, Maling only concentrated in playing the limited-overs cricket till 2010. He did feature in Test cricket against India last year, but after playing the first two Test matches, his knee problems showed up again and thus, he didn’t appear in the final Test match. In April 2011, he decided to quit Test cricket. His knee problems will not allow him to play Test cricket anymore.  

This has been a great loss for Test cricket. Charismatic bowlers like Malinga always make Test cricket more exciting and in an ear when such charismatic bowlers are lacking in Test cricket, the absence of Malinga simply kills the joy.

Personally, I am missing Lasith Malinga a lot in Test cricket.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Bangladesh cricket - Bangladesh batsmen have to learn the importance of mental routine

For some time now, batting has been the main cause of concern for Bangladesh as more of than not they tend to throw their wickets away by indulging in reckless strokes. This has led to the team suffering heavy defeats.

The Bangladesh batsmen have had sound coaching, but their failing can largely be attributed to lack of mental strength. At the highest level of the game, its temperament that divides wheat from the chaff.

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara’s mental make-up is exemplary. And that has been a huge contributing factor to their greatness. They follow a mental routine against all bowlers.

What is this mental routine?

According to Greg Chappell, mental routine comprises of awareness, fine focus and fierce focus

Awareness as Greg Chappell says, is the state of mind in which a batsman is well aware of what is happening around him, but he is not acutely focused on any one thing. It is used while waiting to go into bat, between balls and between overs.

Fine focus is the state of mind that comes after being aware of the situation and at this stage a batsman gets focused when a bowler is at the top of his bowling mark. At this point a batsman will move his focus to the bowler’s face and which gives the batsman an insight into the bowler’s emotional state and, via his peripheral vision, about the body language of the bowler.

As a bowler reaches his delivery point, the batsman mind shifts to fierce focus by narrowing his visual field and devoting his attention to the point from which the ball will be delivered and when the bowler will deliver the ball the batsman’s focus will only be on the bowler’s hand and the ball leaving it.

This is the combination that is needed to build long innings and script epic knocks. Only in the very rarest of occasions this combination is found amongst Bangladeshi batsmen. And unless, the Bangladesh batsmen come to grips with this all-important aspect, they will continue to flounder at the highest level of the game.

This article has been published in Cricket Country as fan post on 18/10/2011 http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-fan/posts/Bangladesh-batsmen-have-to-learn-the-importance-of-mental-routine-/post-2328/comments/page/1

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Bangladesh v West Indies - The Tigers have taken the revenge!

 It was a matter of great disgrace when the Tigers were bundled out for just 58 at Mirpur against West Indies during the World Cup. The passionate fans of Bangladesh cricket were shell-shocked and annoyed. That dismal show by the Bangladesh cricket team was an absolute national disaster.

In the next encounter against England, the Tigers did notch up a nail-biting win, but that shoddy performance against West Indies continued to haunt each and every Bangladeshi cricket fans and the team as well. The Tigers and its ardent followers wanted to humiliate the Caribbean in the same manner.

And the Tigers did take the revenge.

The Bangladeshi bowlers who looked dull in the first two one-day internationals, suddenly rediscovered their mojo and in the twinkle of an eye, the inform West Indian batting was blown away.

At 33 for 1, the West Indies looked composed enough. But suddenly, the golden boy of Bangladesh cricket, Shakib Al Hasan transformed into a monster and devoured the West Indian batsmen. He went on to cut through the lower order, finishing with figures of 4 for 16 as he ended the innings in the 22nd over.

The joy among the fans is enormous. They are happy as their team has been able to humiliate the Caribbean in the same manner like World Cup.

Though its sad to lose the ODI series, but this victory is suppose to boost the Tigers’ confidence. But at the moment, the nation is happy as because the revenge has been taken.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Bangladesh cricket - It's time to show faith in Alok Kapali

Alok Kapali, who has been in the wilderness since his return from the Indian Cricket League (ICL), has been included for the T20 and ODI series against the West Indies.

The erratic but talented leg-spinner-cum-batsman’s potential is unquestionable. Since his debut against Sri Lanka in 2002, he has impressed everyone with his immense talent. That series against Sri Lanka had been disappointing for Bangladesh, but the one positive for Bangladesh was Kapali's technique and temperament. He started batting at No 5 five or No 6 for Bangladesh and was quite bold against the fast bowlers. He has been instrumental in scoring quick runs or playing as the sheet anchor role.

Not a huge turner of the ball, Kapli is more of a stock bowler. He is still the only Bangladesh bowler to snatch a Test hat-trick.

Kapali was slapped a 10-year ban for participating in the ICL. But he quit ICL after one season and made himself available for selection again and started performing well in domestic cricket. But the selectors were unfair to him as they overlooked his impressive showing while selecting players like Raqibul Islam and Mohammad Ashraful. Unlike Kapali, Ashraful's talent has not translated into compelling performances.

The question now is: Will Kapali get picked in the first XI?

Ashraful still might be the selectors’ first choice in the middle-order but I would back Kapali instead of Ashraful to bat at No 4 in limited-over against West Indies.

Kapali’s temperament is better than Ashraful. The West Indies are not good players of leg-spin and this is where Kapali’s worth is enhanced.

Hopefully, Kapali will deliver the goods for Bangladesh and cement his place in the side.

Note: This article has been published on Cricket Country as fan post on 06/10/2011 http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-fan/posts/It-s-time-to-show-faith-in-Alok-Kapali/post-2247/comments/page/1

Thank You

Faisal Caesar