tHe leGeND caLLeD - sACHiN tENDULkAR

It was a hazy winTer afternoon on the 16tH day of noVEMber in 1989 at Karachi...the little master has first entered the cricket field in the internaTional teST aRenA. India are 4 down for 41 in a test match, though the little master survied only for 15 runs, it was enoUgh to show the crikKEt world that a leGenD was born! The entry of the little master into the ODI arena was dramatic. A foggy day on the 16tH of decEMber in 1989 at Peshawar, the 50 over game was reduced to a 20 over a side and the paKisTanis made a handsome 157. The Indian chase started modestly and with 3 wickets down for 88, the little master entered the field and played a blinder of 53 runs in just 18 balls! eVeR since then tHe naMe is enOUgh to creaTe teRRor in any boWleR on the crikKEt field! It was moRe than 17 yeaRs that the little master has dominated the crikKEt world and is still going sTronG.

It was a testimony to the littlE masTer's sheer dominance on the gamE that the DON of crikKET, Sir Donald Bradman himself quoted to the crikKEting world that sACHiN reminds of him in his playinG daYs! This coMMent from thE DON was enough for the crikKEting world to recognisE the little masTeR as a leGeND! Time and again the crikKEting world has seen many greaTs play this beautiFul game but leGeNDs are a raRitY! sACHiN stands out from the curRent geNeration of playeRs and is the only leGeND. The otHer leGeNDs who have played the game are Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Viv Richards, Sir W G Grace to name a few!

There have been instances in the past when bowlers around the gloBe in the crikKEting worLD had niGhtmaRes thinKinG about the littlE geniUs. It was a tribuTe to the masteR's geniUs that the boOkies were afraiD to bet agAinsT iNDia or fix a matCH unTiL the liTTle maSTeR was out!

It shoWs thE sheER deDicaTion of the litTle maSteR on the game wHen he reTurnEd back to plaY in the '99 worLd cUP after his fatHer's suDDen deMisE! It was the tiMe when teaM iNDia was on the bRinK of eLimiNaTion from the '99 woRLD cUP anD the masTer's geniUs reneWEd the spirIT and vigOUR of the beleaGueREd teaM and toOk theM to the neXt rounD!

All thinGs said and donE a few people doNOT reAlisE that sACHiN toO is huMAn and he toO can brEak down oncE in a whilE! The injUriEs as weLL took a good toLL on the masteR's body!

For anyone oUT there, writE oFF the liTTle geniUs at youR owN peRiL! Donot forget that foRm is tempOraRy and cLasS is perManeNT! Watch out for the liTTle masTeR to boUnce back with venGeanCE and bReaK a few moRe recoRDs arounD befoRe he caLLs it a dAY!

I wish the maSTeR retIrEs in thE gRanD fiNalE at the 2011 woRld cUP plaYinG on his home soiL wiNNinG the worLD cUP!!!

sTay tuNeD for the seConD paRT oF the thE mASteR's achievements in deTaiL!
uNtiL laTeR... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

tHe so cAllEd sUpEr8 tEeeamS...bAndaz sUpEr8 picKs anD The anAlysIS!

aT thE tiMe of tHis wriTing, 8 oF the 24 matCheS in the sUpEr8 are alreAdY played. So let us anAlyse the sUpEr 8 teAms at this stage! ofCourse the '07 woRlD cUP already lost it'z charm with 2 of the sub-continent giAnTs facing an early exit...thanks to the iCC for it'z iNNovative foRmAt!

The invinciBle ausSiEs and the ever impRovinG kiWis are playinG their besT crikKEt at the moMent!

It was only 4 weeks back that many crikKEting greats commented that the ausSiEs are a spent force and how they are loosing their hold on the ever changing one day cricket! But oh boY...now it looks like a longtime back...the ausSiEs have proved yeT again that they are the best in the businEss when it comes to the biG ocCasSion. Hayden and Mc Grath are having their best time with Hussey and Symonds waiting to prove a point or two. There is always the Ponting factor which works at the cruncH time! I hope the sub-continent teAms iNDia and paKisTan take a leaf out of the ausSIE booklet! I rate the ausSies number 1 favorite on the curRent WC form!

The other teAm to watcH out for is the kiWis...this is a well knit team with a lot of utility players in Oram, Styris, Vettori and Mc Millan with the coGitative captaincy of Fleming! If there is any team that can beat the ausSies on a consistent basis, it is the kiWis! I would rate the kiWis higher than the next ranked team the pRoteAs. I rate the kiWis number 2 favorite on the curRent WC form!

The pRoteAs and the laNkAns are equally good with a good mix of youth and experience! If it is Kallis, Smith, Gibbs and Langevedth for the soUth aFricAns then it is Jayasuriya, Murali, Malinga and Jayawardene doing the joB for the laAnkAns! I rate both the pRoteAs and laNkAns a the number 3 favorite on the curRent WC form!

The other teAm capable of winning the coVeted tropHy is the enGlisH. They have been a revelation in the past few weeks and are always improvinG with each matcH. Peterson, Colly, Monty and Freddie are doing the joB for the enGlisH with good support from the others like Bell, Bopara and Vaughn(juSt for the capTainCy)! The enGlisH are the only other team capable of de-throning the ausSiEs!

The carRibeAns though a good uNit are not good enoUgh to pass tbe sUpEr8 stage of the tournaMent but for the one greAt man Lara! Anything is posSible with this great man!

The iRisH and the banGlAs are just filling in the numbers for the second stage of the tournament like in the '99 and '03 when zimbaBwe and kEnYa snEaked thru'!

My favorites to reach the seMis are the ausSiEs, the kiWis and two ouT of the three from the pRoteAs, the laNkAns and the enGlisH!

uNtiL tomMorRow... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

bAndaz sUpEr8 picKs.

Date	Match	Teams	Winning chance	Winning chance	Actual Result
mAr 27th	sUpEr8-Match1	ausSiEs vs carRibEans	ausSiEs 65%	carRibEans 35%	ausSiEs
mAr 28th	sUpEr8-Match2	pRoteAs vs laNkAns	pRoteAs 60%	laNkAns 40%	pRoteAs
mAr 29th	sUpEr8-Match3	kiWis vs carRibEans	kiWis 60%	carRibEans 40%	kiWis
mAr 30th	sUpEr8-Match4	enGlisH vs iRisH	enGlisH 75%	iRisH 25%	enGlisH
mAr 31st	sUpEr8-Match5	ausSiEs vs baNglAs	ausSiEs 80%	baNglAs 20%	ausSiEs
aPr 1st	sUpEr8-Match6	laNkAns vs carRibEans	laNkAns 60%	carRibEans 40%	laNkAns
aPr 2nd	sUpEr8-Match7	kiWis vs baNglAs	kiWis 65%	baNglAs 35%	kiWis
aPr 3rd	sUpEr8-Match8	pRoteAs vs iRisH	pRoteAs 90%	iRisH 10%	pRoteAs
aPr 4th	sUpEr8-Match9	laNkAns vs enGlisH	laNkAns 55%	enGlisH 45%	laNkAns
aPr 7th	sUpEr8-Match10	pRoteAs vs baNglAs	pRoteAs 90%	baNglAs 10%	baNglAs
aPr 8th	sUpEr8-Match 11	ausSiEs vs enGlisH	ausSiEs 50.5%	enGlisH 49.5%	ausSiEs
aPr 9th	sUpEr8-Match 12	kiWis vs iRisH	kiWis 80%	iRisH 20%	kiWis
aPr 10th	sUpEr8-Match13	pRoteAs vs carRibEans	pRoteAs 60%	carRibEans 40%	pRoteAs
aPr 11th	sUpEr8-Match 14	enGlisH vs baNglAs	enGlisH 60%	baNglAs 40%	enGlisH
aPr 12th	sUpEr8-Match 15	kiWis vs laNkAns	kiWis 52%	laNkAns 48%	laNkAns
aPr 13th	sUpEr8-Match 16	ausSiEs vs iRisH	ausSiEs 90%	iRisH 10%	auSSiEs
aPr 14th	sUpEr8-Match 17	kiWis vs pRoteAs	kiWis 49%	pRoteAs 51%	kiWis
aPr 15th	sUpEr8-Match 18	baNglAs vs iRisH	baNglAs 60%	iRisH 40%	iRisH
aPr 16th	sUpEr8-Match 19	ausSiEs vs laNkAns	ausSiEs 53%	laNkAns 47%	ausSiEs
aPr 17th	sUpEr8-Match 20	enGlisH vs pRoteAs	enGlisH 51%	pRoteAs 49%	pRoteAs
aPr 18th	sUpEr8-Match 21	laNkAns vs iRisH	laNkAns 80%	iRisH 20%	laNkAns
aPr 19th	sUpEr8-Match 22	carRibEans vs baNglAs	carRibEans 49%	baNglAs 51%	carRibEans
aPr 20th	sUpEr8-Match 23	ausSiEs vs kiWis	ausSiEs 58%	kiWis 42%	ausSiEs
aPr 21st	sUpEr8-Match 24	enGlisH vs carRibEans	enGlisH 65%	carRibEans 35%	enGlisH

based on the curRent woRld cUp fOrm of the teAms!
uNtiL laTeR... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

tHe woRld cUp foRmaT!!!

thE gRoup round is over and here are the resUlts to get inTo the sUpEr8!!! It is sad to see the crikKEting gianTs iNDia and paKisTan to be knocked oUt. b4 discusSing the teaMs in sUpEr8, let us talk about a few facts about the woRld cUp tournaments of the past and the present.

It was only since the '99 ediTion that the tournament was desiGneD into having 2 rounds beFore playing the semiS. There are a lot of merRits atTached to this nEw forMat if implemented properly! In the '99 there were a toTal of 12 teams participating in the tournament divided into 2 groups of 6 each! The top 3 from each group went on to play in the sUpEr6. unFortunately better teams liKe enGland and sRilanKa gave way for zimbaBwe to progResS into the sUpEr6! tHe forMat was thus comMented to leaVe out the biG teams but there was not much to blaMe since each teAm had played 5 group games beFore progresSing into the next round.

If the '99 ediTion had left out 2 of the biG teams out of the sUpEr6, the '03 ediTion was even worse! This time there were a toTal of 14 teaMs participating in the tournament divided into 2 groups of 7 each! tHe tOp 3 from each group progressed to the sUpEr6. This ediTion saw betTer teams like enGland and paKisTan from group A knocked oUt and zimBabwE entering the sUpEr6. similaRly soUth aFricA and wesTinDies from group B were knocked oUt and kEnYa entering the sUpEr6. There was a lot of complaining about the tournament format without 4 of the maJor teams not progresSing into the super6! This was still better thaN the curRent 2007 ediTion since each team got to play 6 group games in the 2003 ediTion before the sUpEr6 were decided!

The curRent 2007 ediTion has the woRst forMat designed till date! There are now a toTal of 16 teaMs participating in the tournament with 4 teams in each group! The top2 from each group proceEd to sUpEr8. So this gives only 3 games for a team before their sUpEr8 faTe is decided!!! is thiS valid...is tHis acCeptable...i aM sure iT is nOT. any best teaM in the world can have one bad day and that is what happened to the crikKeting gianTs iNDia and paKisTan to be knocked out of thE woRld cUp without a sUpEr8 berth! I hope the iCC wakes up from the deep slumber and design a betTer format for the fortH cominG worlD cUP tournaments! a woRld cUp should have the best teaMs playing with each other atleast for half the time! iT does nOT make anY senSe for the one OFF teams like banGladesh, kEnYa, zimbaBwE or iRelanD making it to the second rounD!

If the '99 ediTion of sUpEr6 was a sUpEr5, the '03 ediTion of sUpEr6 was even worse...it was a sUpEr4. The iCC improved fuRthEr making the '07 ediTion of sUpEr8 into a virtUal sUpEr6!!!
God only can help crikKEt...to maKe the iCC come up with betTer forMats for the woRld cUps of the futuRe! If this does not change, the woRld cUp would defintely loose its charm!

The '75, '79, '83 and '87 ediTions had no flaws since there were only a toTal of 8 participatinG teams with 4 in each groUp. Each of the teams played twicE within themselves before the toP 2 from each groUp played the seMis!

The '92 ediTion of the world cUp had the beST forMat only to be comparable with the '96 ediTion! If the '92 ediTion had a round-robin format where each teaM played with all the other teAms before the top4 played the seMis, the '96 ediTion introdUceD an inNovatiVe way of quarteR fiNals being played before the seMis. I personally like the '96 ediTion...thouGh there are a toTal of 12 teams, each group had 6 teaMs each. The top4 from each group played into the quarTers and so ON...

now tHat the 2007 format is messed up, I hope the iCC gives a betTer thinkinG into this subJeCt!

as pEr the curRent world cUp form of the teaMs, the ausSies, the lanKans, the chOkers...am sorRy the proTeas and the kiWis should make the semiS! Don't be sUrprisEd if the milleaniUM warRiors...the ausSies or the maRauDers...the lanKans lift the 9th ediTion of the world cUp...thanks to iCC for their inNovative waYs to twEak the forMat tiMe and agAin!!!

bAndaz picKs for mAr25th...

banGladesH shud wiN over berMudA comfortably!
banGladesH -> 85% winning chance
berMudA -> 15% winning chance (just for the surpRise element!)

based on the form of the teaMs since the last 3 months!
Until toMmorRow... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

bAndaz picKs for mAr24th...

soUth aFricA shud wiN over ausTrAlia very narrowly!
soUth aFricA -> 55% winning chance
ausTrAlia -> 45% winning chance

enGlanD shud wiN over kEnYa comfortably!
enGlanD -> 80% winning chance
kEnYa -> 20% winning chance (surpRise element!)

based on the form of the teaMs since the last 3 months!
Until toMmorRow... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

bAndaz picKs for mAr23rd...

iNDia shud wiN over sRilankA very narrowly!
iNDia -> 55% winning chance
sRilankA -> 45% winning chance

wesTindiEs shud wiN over iRelanD comfortably!
wesTindiEs -> 80% winning chance
iRelanD -> 20% winning chance (surpRise element!)

based on the form of the teaMs since the last 3 months!
Until toMmorRow... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!

bAndaz picKs for mAr22nd...

scOtlanD shud wiN over neTherlanDs in a close game!
scOtlanD -> 52% winning chance
neTherlanDs -> 48% winning chance

newZealanD shud wiN over caNadA comfortably!
newZelanD -> 90% winning chance
caNadA -> 10% winning chance (surpRise element!)

based on the form of the teaMs since the last 3 months!
Until toMmorRow... gOod morNing and goOd luCk!