Welcome to Keeda of sports

Share India were very much battered, beaten, bruised and thrashed in the first test against South Africa at Nagpur. When I heard it was the first test loss under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, I was pretty surprised. We haven’t exactly been playing champion cricket. The Nagpur performance had to be one of the worst in recent years. Bland bowling, weak batting but most of all, weak composure. After Hashim... 

Share During one of his talks to the students at the Sloan School of Management, during the early part of the decade, Michael Dell had a few words of wisdom to share when he was questioned by a student regarding Dell’s possible acquisitions of companies to enter a new product category – the PDA market if I remember right. “To enter a new product category, you don’t have to acquire a company,”... 

Share 243 all out against Bangladesh, a team which is exactly at the other end of the rankings table, on a pitch that demanded a little application, made me wonder whether India would be able to retain its number 1 spot in Test Ranking come South Africa next month. It is too early to write India off so early in the series, but questions are being raised. Ian Chappell recently quoted that Indian team... 

Share No one loves blood and war to be mixed with sport. Now, when that happens it is very tough for the nation and the region to come out of agony and excel in sport. As it is, there is more to life than sport and hence, sport is always a loser when politics and terrorism take complete control over every part of life. Pakistan is still reeling under serious terror threat and the levels of insecurity... 

Share There are a lot of duels played nowadays, both on and off the cricket field. A politician threw a kitchen sink at a cricketer who is probably bigger than any state, and found that a bathroom tub was hurled at him from all directions. Matches have been played in newspapers rather than on cricket fields. Small issues have been made obese thanks to the media, which acts like junk food to the human... 

Share THE REAL INDIAN PROTAGONISTS These were the real men who stood tall in times of stress and pressure. India’s most talented and most expressive batsmen found their niche in these slots in the middle-order. Right from the days of Vijay Hazare till today, where VVS Laxman’s silken touch still rules, India have produced a phenomenal number of brilliant middle-order batsmen, who’ve mesmerized... 

Share Indian cricket has been through a golden phase for the past year or two. In fact, we have moved on as a nation since the world cup debacle in 2007. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been prodigious over the last two years since he took over the reigns of captaincy first from Rahul Dravid and later from Anil Kumble. But, after the first round exits in World T20 championship and Champions Trophy in South... 

Share Group B’s preview can be found here. GROUP C ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE IPL 2009’s runners-up Bangalore will be led by Anil Kumble for the first edition of Champions League T20. Bangalore will be the team to beat in their group that also features Cape Cobras and Otago Warriors. Bangalore’s core group of foreign players are from South Africa, and this would help Kumble’s... 

Share What a batsman needs to do to score big runs – Part I Arguably the world’s best batsman during our lifetimes, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar also needs time to let his bat do the talking. Well, that’s exactly what he says when he is asked about how he builds his innings. It is not every day that we would find batsmen like Sehwag, Dilshan and Gayle. In that case, it’s very important for... 

Share When I was reading Saturday’s newspaper, it thrilled me to see India as the number one ODI team. But after crushing the Kiwis down, when they faced the real challenge of the Compaq Cup, hosts Sri Lanka, they literally failed to provide any kind of resistance. As a result, they will now hold a record of being at the top for the shortest period of time. This defeat at the start of season...