Blog Posts by Bikash Singh

There was this reporter next to me in the media box, typing vigorously on her little laptop between the 30th and 35th overs of the Ireland innings. Her laptop made a strange noise when she shut it down, and then she went on her phone and walked out of there. She came back at around the 45th over and asked, "What the hell just happened here?"

It turned out she had already filed a report of sorts, all about how England had won - and by the time she returned, that report had become fiction, with Kevin O'Brien busy sealing England's fate. She was excited for the Irish, of course, but she also had to do her work all over again as O'Brien led an Irish charge that resulted in the unfancied minnows scoring better against the supposedly resurgent English side than India, fancied to win this tournament, had managed to.

Two World Cup matches at Bengaluru saw teams scoring a staggering 1,332 runs. In the first match, India scored a huge 338 and hoped the job was done, till Strauss and his

Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium returned to international cricket for the first time since the Boxing Day debacle of 2009 when an India-Sri Lanka ODI here had to be abandoned due to a pitch considered unfit for play.

He lets his willow do all the talking. He may not know the nuances of proper cricketing shots but he forces opposition captain and bowlers to continuously re-work their plans. He is not any other number seven batsman who is happy to return to the pavilion after playing short cameo knocks.

Yusuf Pathan is not just brutal; with time he has evolved into a mature and responsible cricketer. Yusuf, who is calmer in his approach to batting now opens up easily and without letting the opposition get under his thick skin. It's pointless sledging him - he pretends he does not understand!

Yusuf has ensured the Pathan name will be in India's team sheet for the 2011 World Cup - his younger brother Irfan was in the 2007 Cup team which was sent packing at the group stage itself. The elder Pathan is part of an Indian squad which is capable of emulating Kapil Dev's 1983 World Cup winning team.

The younger Pathan was perhaps the best all-rounder India had after Kapil, but he now seems to have

'Every captain sooner or later reaches the end of his tether' — Peter Roebuck

Another Ashes defeat looms large over Australia and more importantly Ricky Ponting. He seems to have lost his focus, his game, his mates and is certain to lose his captaincy after the series. The distinguish player is heading for his third Ashes defeat as captain.

'Urn absolute disgrace'

Ponting started the Ashes series with a score of 10 and 51 in Brisbane which ended in a draw. In Adelaide, the Australian skipper managed a duck and 9 runs which the hosts lost by an innings and 71 runs. Though Australia came back strongly in Perth to register a 267-run win, Ponting got 12 in the first innings and 1 in the second essay.

The Boxing Day Test has been another trouble-filled game for Ponting. It started with him losing the toss; then the team was bowled out for 98 and if that was not enough, Ricky was fined 40 per cent of his match fee by ICC for a prolonged argument with Aleem Dar over a disputed referral. [An

We are going to be focused for Durban and will go for a 2-0 win - Graeme Smith

Scary, aye!

But India, still licking their wounds from the Centurion drubbing, can watch a DVD of the England vs South Africa match here and say "We know what England did last summer."

England produced a sensational innings and 98-run win over South Africa at Kingsmead in the second of the four-Test series. The series ended in a 1-1 draw with South Africa saving the series in Jo'berg.

Attention Bhajji: Graeme Swann took nine wickets on the famed Kingsmead's fast and bouncy wicket to trigger a South African collapse and ran away with the man-of-the-match prize. My boss will say, "Why is he still talking about Harbhajan?" But the fact is that he is still there in the team and he will play. God knows why.

Beware Durban jinx, SA!

In March 2009, Australia achieved a series-clinching win over South Africa in Durban. The visitors thrashed the Proteas by 175 runs in the second Test to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in