Blog Posts by Skandan Sampath

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Why did Yusuf Pathan kick the cricket ball?

He had just taken Parnell for 14, when he hit a ball that would follow his path to the non-striker’s end, the bowler was after it, and he appealed when Pathan kicked the ball deliberately. Umpire Nigel Llong had a long look at what happened, before going upstairs to the third umpire, who told him that Pathan was out for obstructing the field.

23 would be needed from 18. And without Pathan, Kolkata managed to get to 163/7, giving Pune victory by 7 runs. But the start to their 171-run chase, wasn’t ideal either.

Wayne Parnell started by removing Manvinder Bisla, with a ball that swung in, to hit the KKR opener on the pads. Jacques Kallis probably had a straight drive in mind, but the yorker needed a stroke with the front foot forward, bat and pad together. He had neither, and was bowled with his elbows up, by Parnell, who celebrated by pointing at the Pune dugout, with his off-side only haircut. Once Ishwar Pandey got Read More »from Pathan’s foot helps Pune trip Kolkata

David Miller: Midas with the finishing touch

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Mohali: This game was a contest between two left-handed batsmen.

But, in the end one of them had to bowl right-handed, and ended up on the losing side, after being smashed for 22 runs in his first over. The bowler’s name was Christopher Henry Gayle.

The batsman’s name was David Miller. For a man who is just 23, this left-handed batsman from South Africa knows a thing or two about handling pressure. Imagine walking in at 51/3, with the opponents on the field sitting pretty on a total of 190/3. Kings XI’s troubles increased as they lost David Hussey; most young batsmen would have given up hope by then. Not Miller.

With 123 runs needed from 60 balls, Miller got to work with Rajagopal Satish for company. He ensured that anything that was full, was promptly smashed for a six. Anything short was pulled away to midwicket for four. Good deliveries were respected, but not wasted. The ones and twos were added to the total. Importantly, the strike was almost always with

Read More »from Miller on the loose

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If you are a bowler. Run for your life. Chris Gayle has a helmet on.

The rain gods probably heard that, and came to the fielding team’s rescue when Royal Challengers Bangalore were at 11/0. Gayle had just struck two fours. They left soon, for another storm was coming. With the bat.

They would miss the sixes, all seventeen of them.

Six no.1 came off Mitchell Marsh. Gayle stood with his broad shoulders, front foot out of the way, and the bat in the air like always, muscling the ball over the long on fence. The man’s stand and deliver stance was in record-breaking mode. So much so, that by the end of over, 28 runs had been milked, courtesy four sixes and a four. Chris Gayle had brought up his fifty.

It was only the fifth over of the match.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away only a wide, to restore some amount of sanity. But that was because Tillakaratne Dilshan was batting. Pune brought the spinners on, in the hope that they could force aRead More »from Record-breaking Gayle grabs Pune by the tail

Also See: Scorecard | Gallery | Sehwag helps Delhi storm past Mumbai

It came down to 29 from 12 in the end, with David Miller (80*) and Mandeep Singh (77*) at the crease. The penultimate over began with Ashok Dinda being smashed for two fours by David Miller, one down the ground, and the other past point. Both deliveries being full tosses. It took a comforting gloved arm from Robin Uthappa to help Dinda keep his nerve. Giving away three singles is all right. But when Mandeep took two off the final ball, courtesy a misfield from third man Rahul Sharma, Dinda offered a mouthful.

Was it in Bengali or in English? Difficult to tell.

Luke Wright came in to bowl the final six deliveries. Miller and Mandeep traded strike, and the South African readied himself for the final four balls. Wright bowled full, and was smashed for six. Two runs later, the target came down to six from two. Man-of-the-Match Miller got a dull full toss, and was more than happy to send the ball over long off for a six, and

Read More »from Miller gets it Wright for Kings XI Punjab

The man with the moustache deserved the man of the match award
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Good start by Shikhar Dhawan:  A man with two pierced ear lobes got up, after making a desperate dive to get into the crease. With the 100th run in the pocket, he took his helmet off, raising his arms, with a smile aimed at the heavens. The shots that helped him enter the history books, were crisp and convincing. Dhawan’s strength is his superbly balanced stance, which ensures that he gets behind the ball at all times. The timing was excellent, and in full display, when he was essaying the cover drive, as also the ones that were driven on the up. The left-hander doesn’t play away from his body, but uses his feet to move towards the pitch of the ball. His inside-out shot against the spinners, with the feet criss-crossing like scissor blades, only added to Australia’s misery. Half-trackers and full tosses were given the respect they deserved, with the 27-year old’s gloves displaying pre-planned intent and restraint. Was

Read More »from Three Cheers and Four Jeers

It’s the shot selection.

Yes. There  have been some great deliveries from the Indian spinners, but to attribute their turnover to super-human brilliance would be as good as calling a right-arm spinner a chinaman. If you saw Ed Cowan’s expression after being beaten by Jadeja, and the fact that he was pouting his appreciation to both the bowler and the fielders around him, you could say that he was all at sea.

Or should we say lack of experience?

To a delivery turning in, Cowan played on the back foot, and the edge first hit Dhoni’s pad, before Virender Sehwag caught it in the slips. Mind you, he had his shades on, and not his spectacles.

Jadeja used his 'armed' ball

There is a lot being said about Ravindra Jadeja’s place in the Indian Test team. But when the man picks up the ball, fumbles, tries again and throws the ball at the stumps. It's out. When the sphere left his wrists, propelled by an under-arm throw, Moises Henriques was well outside the crease. Watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni Read More »from Cheers and Jeers: Why are Australia turning over?

Disputes between cricketers and umpires are not unheard of on the cricket field. When a genuine appeal is turned down, peeved bowlers usually ask umpires where they went wrong, or look away in disgust, to avoid the match referee’s gaze. But 33 years ago, Kiwi umpire Fred Goodall got a feel of West Indian muscle, in an ill-tempered series in New Zealand that was fraught with ugly disputes between the visitors and the match officials.

In the first Test at Dunedin, Michael Holding was unhappy when denied a wicket by umpire John Hastie, who turned down a caught-behind appeal. The man nicknamed ‘Whispering Death’ took out his frustration by kicking the stumps — an act that was clearly unsportsmanlike. West Indies lost the match to New Zealand by one wicket.

The second Test at Lancaster Park in Christchurch was no different, when umpire Fred Goodall said no when the Windies wanted Kiwi skipper Geoff Howarth back in the dressing room. Both teams went back to their dressing rooms for tea.

Read More »from Rewind: When fast bowlers attack

Wasim Jaffer.

The first thing that will strike you about him, is the ease with which he operates from the crease.  The manner in which he slips into a stance, bat slowly moving between the pads, moving comfortably onto the front foot, before getting behind the ball. Knife on butter. When he gets on top of the delivery, the man picks the gap with a silken grace that is pleasing to watch.

Well done.

When the cut shot is on offer, the feet move towards off-stump, and he moves closer to the ball. The elbows move inward, bat in tow, as the slash sends the ball past point for four. The man can drive, nice firm step forward, elbow out, with loads of timing. The head keeps still, with an expression that betrays nothing. Not happiness, not even a smile, maybe a shrinking dimple behind the beard. The same when he takes a foot forward, and leaves the cherry alone, not before making sure that nothing is left to chance.

Well left.

Turns out that he can play spin too. From the batting crease on one Read More »from Will the doors open for Wasim Jaffer?