India in NewZealand: 2nd Test Preview

India lead the three match Test Series 1-0, and would be looking to seal-the-deal in the second test match to help give the big stars some rest and give chances to players like Rohit Sharma and Praveen Kumar. India should retain the same winning combination while Newzealand will have to make some changes to their squad to give India a fight.Injured players Daniel Flynn and Iain O'Brien have been retained in the New Zealand squad for the second Test against India starting on March 26 in Napier.


However Jamie How has been called up as cover for Flynn who bruised his hand in the first Test. There was no fracture, but the hand was swollen, affecting Flynn's ability to bat.

Off spinner Jeetan Patel returned to the squad after being released to play for Wellington in the State Championship match against Otago where he took 6 for 137. Coach Andy Moles had indicated on Sunday that Patel would play in Napier. Double spin attack should make some difference as Indian batsman in the recent past have gone after slow off spinners and lost wickets. Newzealand will be hoping that this change pays off as the chances of a win look very slim.

Glenn Turner, the head of the selection panel, said Oram was excluded because he was yet to regain full match fitness. "He's only had a couple of days in the domestic competition, and after talking with him we agree he'd benefit from more game time to get up to the fitness level needed for the Test side," Turner said. The only omission from the first Test squad is uncapped bowler Brent Arnel, who was not considered after picking up a side strain during a State Championship match. O'Brien also suffered a side strain during the Test but was hopeful of recovering in the next couple of days.

A lot will depend on the shoulder of Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori who scored centuries in the first inning to bail their team out of 60 for 6 to finish at 279 all out. If other batsman play cautiously and around tehm a score of 350-400 can be scored which is defendable and good enough to win a match.

India's downfall could come if they lose some early wickets. The Indian team makes huge scores only when the openers give a good start, Sehwag will be expected to play a fast but long inning. With Sehwag present no score is impossible and given a good batting track, Sehwag will not miss out. Gambhir needs to find some form before the IPL begins on April 18th 2009. Dravid looks to back in his own class specially after he played some of his signature shots including the back foot swipe towards square leg on a full length delivery. Sachin is at the peak of his form and will capitalize on every single opportunity thrown his way. The plight of the NZ bowlers is quite evident when Zaheer Khan brought up his 50 in the first test match.

It looks like a one sided affair unless the NewZealand picks up their game and tries matching up to the quality of Cricket Indians are showcasing. India on the other hands need to stick their feet on the ground and not get carried away like the South African who went on to lose the home series against Australia after beating the world champions on home soil. Match starts 3AM IST tomorrow.

More News updates, Previews and reviews follow. Keep visiting the Blog for more.

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Kunal

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IPL 2: Coming Soon?

With the continuing ‘Yes’ ‘No’ politics from the government, a deadlock still lies over whether the most awaited Cricket tournament of the year would even begin? Lalit Modi, Commissioner IPL, is still confident that the revision of dates will be accepted by all concerned parties and that the tournament will begin on the decided dates. The Tournament still hangs in balance of the coming Lok Sabha elections in India with concerns over security, Home minister, Mr. P Chitambaram has already suggested moving the IPL to later dates in the year.

The anger of the government has increased after it learnt that none of the states were even notified or consulted before the revised dates were submitted. TamilNadu does not want any matches to be hosted, Bangalore wants matches only after May 14th, Ahmedabad, nagpur, Jaipur and Chandigarh have requested black out days, Delhi and Mumbai have asked for additional para military forces. With the busy schedule of all international teams, the doubt about whether the second season of the IPL would ever take place this year still hangs in balance. Lalit Modi on the other hand remains optimistic on this front and hopefully he’s proven right.

Another rejection of the schedule by the government is almost certain to lead to the tournament’s cancellation this year, since there is no other window for the six week event in an overcrowded international cricket calendar. Postponing the tournament from its original April 10 to May 24 window has already been rejected by IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, with the eight franchisees having already gone ahead with their merchandising and ad campaigns.The tournament also cannot go beyond the scheduled date of May 24 because players need sufficient time to prepare for the forthcoming World Twenty20 Championships which commences in Great Britain on June 5. A way out is to drastically shorten the event by holding as many as three matches in a day and move some of the matches to smaller venues so that there is a relatively less dependence on the security forces.

IPL has suddenly turned into the Indian ‘ Problem’ League, with more problems coming IPL’s way, Sony Entertain-ment Television has dragged the Indian Premier League to the Bombay high court over the termination of its contract to broadcast the 2009 edition. Even I’m not sure about what the actual dispute is, It’s something to do with the production rights, see News for more.

What happens if the tournament stands ‘Cancelled’?
Sony loses about Rs. 250 Crores as it has already stated production, and marketing for the tournament. Ad bookings for the slots during the matches have also been booked. In case the tournament is called off, Sony will have to return the sponsor’s money and stands for a big loss. The franchisees lose well over their worth for the team, IPL governing body loses a few hundred crores for not hosting the tournament, more so the reputation of the board. A net loss of what is expected to be over Rs. 800 Crores.

They are all going to be out of Jobs

In Other News: South Africa welcomed the decision of the ICC to move this year’s Champions Trophy to SA. The ICC board approved the recommendation of its Chief Executives’ Committee to shift the event from Sri Lanka, which had been selected the host after strife-torn Pakistan was stripped of the rights, due to security concerns. This decision came after ICC learnt that there were problems relating to the weather in SriLanka during the time Champions Trophy will be played. Wanderers in Johannesburg and Centurion have been identified as the preferred venues for the event, scheduled from September 24 to October 5.

World twenty20 Championship begins on June 6th 2009 in england which will be soon followed by chmpions trophy 2009 in September. Expect More entertainement if the IPL starts as per schedule. It’s going to be a season full of entertaining world cricket. Enjoy and keep coming back for more.

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Kunal

PS: This is posted on my personal blog earlier. IPL 2: Coming Soon?

I'm making a switch to Blogger for all my sports blogs which i will update regularly. wef April 1 09, All sports posts be exclusive to this blog alone.

PS: Don’t forget this man.. He’s has only one source of Income.. IPL.. S Sreesanth.. Sobbing Sreesanth ( :’(

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