Mumbai Indians: Points out of ten....

'Duniya Hila Denge!' The team which started with this punchline ironically itlself looked a bit shaken in the initial parts of the tournament coz of the absence of their talismanic captain Tendulkar and then the whole fiasco involving the stand-in skipper Harbhajan who first slapped and then got-slapped! It was finally under Pollock that the team started getting its act together and started getting some points on board. Since then they have refused to look back and gone on to win 6 consecutive games (an IPL record) and suddenly look good for a semi-final berth! Here we take a look at the individual performers of the Mumbai Indians and rate them on a scale of ten:-

1. Sachin Tendulkar: The captain was badly missed for the first few games with Bhajji's captaincy appearing a bit rudderless until the old man from South Africa took over! Sachins return, as expected has acted as a catalyst and has brought the best in his fellow team mates, especially his opening partner Jayasuriya. Sachin has looked flawless in his captaincy, making astute bowling and fielding changes and invoking confidence in the youngsters around. His batting is still to flourish, and it would do the team a world of good if he starts firing towards the business end of the tourney! (6/10)


2. Sanath Jayasuriya: Started with a string of poor scores, looked a bit out of place in the T20 format of the game, but has since found his feet and how well at that! With Sachin at the non-strikers end, he could perhaps be his normal self and go around carting the bowlers all over the park which is exactly what he has done. The sheer impetus that a 'Jayasuriya' can provide you at the top of the innings with his short-arm jabs is unmatched as of now in the IPL.
A utility bowler too, he can be used to stifle the momentum of the innings. (7.5/10)

3. Robin Uthappa: Uthappa, the most experienced and popular of the young lot, shoulders the burden of the middle-order. Has been fairly successful to carry the momentum of the innings in the middle overs and make the youngsters play around him in a few occasions. Is due for a big score himself though. With Bravo off to the caribbean, he needs to fire bigtime! (5/10)

4. Dominic Thornely: Injured his eye in the first game, missed the next three, has been wonderfully effective since then! Thats the story of the IPL for Dominic Thornely, an astute buy whoever decided to bid for him. A player neither too great with the bat or the ball, but does the job expected out of him. His presence in the middle order should come as a releif to the likes of Uthappa and Nayar. Needs to carry on the form and instill his aussie spirit in the team. (7/10)

5. Dwayne Bravo: The injury to Lasith Malinga was what prompted Sachin to quickly make a move for Bravo and it were Harsha Bhogle's PR skills that got him to Mumbai! It was Bravo's match-winning innings against the KKR that fetched his team the first win of the tourney. A typical calypso bat, coupled with the ability to take a few wickets made him an important cog in the team. His absence will definitely hurt, with doubts being raised if Andre Nel (his replacement) can fit into his boots. (7.5/10)

6.Abhishek Nayar: The 'find' of the tournament for Mumbai and eventually for India, as my friend Tapan puts it, he has been a revelation! Brilliantly fitted in in the role of the pinch-hitter in the final overs, this guy can also play the waiting game before pushing on if the team falters and loses quick wickets upfront. A brilliant team player along with a useful bowler on slow pitches makes him an integral component of the team. (6.5/10)

7. Yogesh Takawale: Takawale came into the team a bit late after the experiment to play Luke Ronchi as a w/k failed. Called upon to perform the twin duties of keeping wickets and opening the batting with Jayasuriya he immediately adjusted in his role and gave the team a few decent starts. Relegated to his original No.7 position in the batting order with Tendulkars arrival, he gives the team the much needed depth and striking prowess. (5/10)

8. Shawnn Pollock: It took a hat-trick of defeats and a suspended captain in Harbhajan for a brilliant Shawnn Pollock to step up and stem the tide of defeats for the Indians. Pollock not only got the best out of his men on the field, but also managed to keep the media wolves at bay with his consistent wit and sarcasm. His splendid line and length kept getting better with every game and gave him the double bonus of wickets and the second best run rate in the IPL (Mcgrath being the best). He has undoubtedly been the best performer for the MI's till date and they would want this old war-horse to keep shining! (8.5/10)

9. Rohan Raje: Another of the youth players who has put his hand up and contributed to the teams cause. A guy, who was trembling with the ball in his hand during the first game at Wankhede has grown both in stature and confidence thanks to the time invested on him by Sachin and Pollock.The bowl he castled Laxmi Ratan Shukla wud have done his confidence a world of good. Rohan Raje looks a brilliant prospect for the Mumbai Ranji side atleast if not for the Indian team! (6.5/10)

10. Dhawal Kulkarni: One of the stock bowlers for the team in the initial games, this inexperienced lad did well to bowl a nice attacking line and length, getting wickets per game for his captain. He was always a bit expensive though which perhaps cost him his place in the side eventually along with a groin injury. Will surely be required to make a comeback if the team needs him and is a good prospect to have on the bench. (4.5/10)

11. Ashish Nehra: Eyebrows were raised everywhere when the team management decided to get Ashish Nehra, a man flung into wilderness by the selectors from a long time. He has not only reposed the faith laid in him by the management, but has responded excellently and has turned out to be a wonderful foil for his new ball partner Pollock. Bowling alongside his captain has helped him a lot and could be the first step in getting his flagging career back on track!Needs to guard against his old enemy, inconsistency. A lot depends on the new ball pair of Pollock and Nehra if the MI's have to go a long way into the tournament. (7/10)

Of Vijay Mallya and his 'Royal' Challengers!

My respect for this flamboyant entreprenuer was as high as any Indian youth especially an MBA would have had, a little more than that probably too given his forays into the sporting arena with his investments first with the West-Indian cricketing outfit and more recently with the Formula One Racing team of 'FORCE INDIA' and with the 'Royal Challengers of Bangalore' in the IPL. I always looked up to him as a person who could play a vital role in turning around India's fortunes on the worlds sporting scenario with his financial might and keen interest in the area.
Its a bit hard to say though that his behavior in the recent times in response to his teams showing in the IPL has been disappointing at best, and not worthy of the charismatic character that he is; expected to lead from the front and help his boys out of the rut. He has infact came down cracking the whip on his CEO Charu Sharma and the iconic captain Rahul Dravid, blaming their selectorial blunders for the poor performance that has the RCB languishing at the bottom of the table.
I am not here to defend either Charu Sharma or Dravid, and I wud rather agree to the general beleif that they erred bigtime in their team selections. What I would like to say here though is that it was Vijay Mallya who in the first place appointed them as the CEO and the captain respectively and hence saying that 'the CEO didnt have proper understanding of the game' midway into the tournament that too after he has been fired doesnt serve any purpose. In Dravid's case, if one looks at his performances in the tmt he hasnt been all that bad, especially if you compare him with the other 'ICONS', he has been at par if not better than them. Even if we decide to take a look at the players Mallya himself was looking to buy had he got his way then, we see that the list consists of both Dhoni and McCullum, the inclusion of two high-profile wicketkeepers defying any cricketing logic. A look at the performance of Misbah-Ul-Haq, who Mallya forced Charu Sharma to bid for, gives a pale shadow of the player that he was for Pakistan in the T-20 world cup!
In fact looking at the performance of the RCB, they havent performed any worse as compared to what FORCE INDIA has been doing in the F1 circuit, so it should be interesting to see if the Fisichella-Sutil combo meets the same fate as Dravid and his men. I would only say here that its not winning or losing that matters as much as your behavior in each of the circumstances.......Wishing the Royal Challengers all the best in the reminder of the tournament and hoping that they spring up a few surprise results on the way!

On the Comeback Trail.......Typical Bolton!!

My sincere apologies for missing out on what can turn out to be the most interesting and crucial fortnights in Bolton's defence of their premiership survival battle because of my week-long visit to Saurav Ganguly's Calcutta.....As I had said before; the two away games, first at Middlesborough and then at the White Hart Lane against a determined Spurs side were gonna be the most tricky and crucial and Bolton desperately needed to eke out points to stay afloat!
And people, it gives me immense pleasure to say that Bolton not only managed to hold their own in these two games, but got a booty of 4 pts, with every point earned at this stage of the season worth its weight in gold, or whatever is costlier! The win against Boro and the subsequent draw at Spurs couldn't have come at a better time and it augurs well as an intensely close relegation battle (with 2 teams out of the 15th to 19th set to go down) goes into the last two Saturday's of the season.......
It was not only about the points but the manner in which they came was thrilling!People who witnessed the first half at Boro refused to give Bolton a hint of a chance in the game coz of their insipid display. But it was the typical grit, the defensive stubbornness, the hard-tackling abilities and the tactful use of set-pieces which is so typically Bolton that saved the day for them. It finally came down a set-piece goal from veteran Gavin McCann in the 55th min to take Bolton into the lead. From there on, they managed to keep the Boro attack at bay to carve out a crucial away win......
Moving on to a typically scratchy game at Spurs, it was an inspirational Stellios goal which put Bolton into the lead in the 46th, and had it ended at that Bolton would have been well on its way, but Spurs came back strongly and ended the game 1-1. With Birmingham managing a 2-2 draw with Liverpool and Reading a 0-0 with Wigan, the relegation battle remains that much more intense. What with Fulham, trailing 0-2 halftime at Man City and their season on the line, returned to take the game 3-2, it seems nobody at the bottom is ready to give an inch away!!
Just a snapshot of whats the exact scene like:- Boro 15th (36), Bolton 16th (33), Reading 17th (33), Birmingham City 18th (32), Fulham 19th (30)....I have hardly seen it get any closer in earlier seasons and though I am enjoying it I would like Bolton to seal the next game against Sunderland at home and guarantee another season at the top! Leaving it to the final day of the season at Stamford Bridge against a raging Chelsea side suddenly looking good for a double doesn't seem to be a very heartening prospect!

On Chelsea's drab draw and life beyond the football field......

There are two things that every football fan will die for at the end of an EPL season: an extremely close fight for the title; and an equally scrappy, entertaining struggle at the bottom for deciding the three relegation contenders. While I am happy to say that the relegation battle threatens to get ever-too interesting in the coming weekends, I am afraid that the title race is already over, with Manchester United having got a firm stranglehold on the title after Chelsea's drab, 1-1 draw with Wigan at Stamford Bridge.....Hats off to Manchester United though (and this should count for something coming from a person who is anti ManU from the bottom of his heart) for the way they have played all season, the Rooney-Ronaldo-Tevez trio at the front combined with a menacing looking midfield (Giggs, Scholes, Hargreaves, Carrick) and a solid defence makes them deserved champions if they go on to win it.
With the premiership saturday gone and no champions league or IPL to fall back onto in the mid-week I happened to stumble on a roadside bookstall and ended up picking a copy of Khaled Hosseini's (The Kite Runner) second literary work 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'. I would say it was one of my finest purchases with regards to books for a long long time, a wonderful novel dealing with the lives of two women, set on the backdrop of a war ravaged Afghanistan under the Taliban regime......

Bolton 1-0 West Ham....The battle is ON!!

Innumerous attempts at the goal, umpteen corners, two close goals disallowed for offside; it almost seemed like it was not going to be Bolton's day until Kevin Davies slotted home from close range from a Matt Taylor corner. Playing at home for the second last time in the season, Bolton desperately needed the win to keep any hopes of staving off relegation alive.....
What this win has given them now is a chance to leapfrog Birmingham to the 17th spot, provided results go their way on the next weekend! Alongside this result, it was Fulhams win from the 19th spot and Birminghams draw on the 17th that left the relegation battle wide open. The teams involved start right from the 16th placed Reading (32), Birmingham (31), Bolton (29), Fulham (27), the list concluding with the already relegated Derby.
The real concern for Bolton though is the apparent dearth of goal scorers, with the matchwinner of yesterdays game, Davies being sidelined for the coming two games owing to his 10th yellow of the season. Diouf looks scrappy, Nolan not having played enough due to his injury, its gonna be the young striker Raziak and the old warhorses Campo and McCann to take the onus for goalscoring!!
Meanwhile, the action hots up at the other end of the season tonight as Chelsea take on Wigan and Manchester United host a spirited and rebellious Arsenal team coming on the back of their Champions league exit at the hands of Liverpool.

Aston Villa 4-0 Bolton!! Already relegated?

When a club is going through tough times, it needs the men who matter to sit up, take notice and act in order to save it the blushes. As a Wanderers fan, I would take this opportunity to list down the men who matter for the club and what they were doing when Bolton, on the evening of 5th of April, took on a brilliant Villa side and was mauled 4-0.
Sam Allardyce:- Former Manager and messaih, we would have loved to have him in the Bolton box and not at ESPN studios where he was busy analysing their loss.Alas!
Nikolas Anelka:- The man of the season for Bolton, the savior for most part of the campaign, his transfer to Chelsea couldnt have come at more wrong a time.
Kevin Nolan:- The captain and the young leader, you would want the impact players to be present at this ever crucial time and injuries to him as well as to Ivan Campo have hit the campaign hard.
With the scenario looking as bleak as this, it wasnt a surprise that Bolton couldnt even manage a point away at Villa, though the margin of the loss did come as a shocker. With this kind of a line-up and form, I dont think theres a need for the fans to even turn up at the Reebok, as relegation seems to be a foregone conclusion.
What I feel was the only takeaway from the weekend was the fact that both Fulham and Birmingham lost, thus keeping Bolton firmly rooted at No.18 and still 4 points away from safety, no more no less as compared to last week. Ironic as it may seem, the only way for Bolton to stay up seems to be 3 other teams deciding on getting relegated.
What Bolton needs though is the likes of Nolan, Jaaskalainnen and Campo to come back quickly and take charge of the situation to rally the youngsters around them. And this needs to happen in quick time, coz every weekend from now on has the potential to decide the final outcome!!

The Road Ahead......

1. Aston Villa (A) 5th April :- An absolutely crucial game, maybe a six-pointer given both the importance of starting to win and the kind of opposition that waits ahead (Messrs Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea included). Failure to pick up anything less than 3 solid points at Villa Park will hit the campaign real hard. Given Aston Villas standing at No. 8 its going to take a real good game to get past them.
2. West Ham United (H) :- One of the easier games on view, need to make the best of it in view of the imposing opposition waiting ahead. Once again, West Ham's standing in the table (No. 10) makes them a not-so-easy opposition to deal with.
3. Middlesborough (A) :- Another of the mid of the table oppositions, Boro placed at 35 pts are unlikely to be drawn into the relegation strife bottom of the table. Bolton though positively need to pick up points from these three encounters to stand any chance!
4. Spurs (A) :- Spurs, an age-old nemesis for Bolton, should again prove to be quite tough given the stars in their kitty. They may have hugely underperformed yet again, being only at the 11th spot, but they have the ability to beat any team on their day.
5. Sunderland (H) :- A game with another of the relegation rivals, this game should be a virtual 6 pointer. One of the easier targets, given Sunderland's weak and inexperienced line-up, notwithstanding Keane's amazing rise as a manager. This game should decide the fate once and for all!!
6. Chelsea (A) :- The toughest of the lot, if they have to ensure their safety, they gotta do it before this game. Leaving it so late and against such a rival would mean a momentous task which seems quite improbable given the current form.....