Transcript of the Commentary - Zimbabwe Innings

Karthik Ramamurthy (karthik_kumar@hotmail.com) Prem, Even if SL win today and better ZIM's NRR, ZIM could still get into the final if they beat India tomorrow! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Krishna Kaliappan () Prashanth, SriLankans morale is very much low and I doubt Sri Lankans can reach the score in 42 overs. But, you never know, in cricket anything can happen. If SriLanka comes to final, it will be an interesting contest. But I am always afraid of law of average. If they come to final, they might win like what India did last time. Prem: Wishart gone for 11 off 12, and with one ball left, Heath Streak to the wicket. Vaas the bowler.

Prem: There's the yorker on Wishart's toes, on middle, he can only get his feet out of line, and there goes middle stump.

Prem: subhashg:: in that case, I am right. *grin* Wishart this time gets under a yorker length one on off, clips it up and over midiwkce,t sweeper too square to get there in time, four more.

subhash () Prem, I send that when you said 47 over. cricinfo is counting one over more than you is what I meant Prem: four balls left in the last over of the innings, 253/6 the score, rennie on strike, vvaas, pushed to point, single.

Prem: vaas again and rennie swipes and misses, looking for the space over midiwkcet.

Prem: Niladri:: Works for both sides, friend -- you have a sweeper either between square leg and midwicket on the line, or wider, to back up midwicket and mid on. Vaas, overpitched, Rennie forward, down the track, hitting on the halfvolley and four. good shot.

goind () Prem: might be a good idea to provide a link to "crickinfo" scorecard. To avoid all these confusions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Niladri () Prem, thanks for explaining the term. I assume that a sweeper is normally on the off side. Or can we use the term for on line fielders on the on side too? Prem: huge heave, off the thick outer edge, single down to third man. Rennie on strike to the last ball from Wsinghe. 248/6 the score. wsinghe, and rennie sweeps, gets one to midwicket. 249/6 in 49.

Prem: nilesh:: this is the first wicket, the one INdia played the opening match on. true to form, more even, coming on better. outside off and this time, wishart missing with a heave. two balls left in the over and then one more to go.

nilesh (nilesh_deshmukh@hotmAIl.com) prem, how is wicket plAying todAy ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prasanna () RAX, Sri Lankan Batsmen have the talent and the ability to reach the score within say 42 overs. They are yet to display their batting skills in this tournament and considering the humiliating defeat yesterday, i think today is day Sharjah will see the lankan batsmen in their true form... Any Takers???? Prem: subhash:: I thought I said two overs to go, which means 48 overs gone? Sajjid:: havent checked the exact figures lately, why? Wishart meanwhile flicks and misses, that was a bad miss really since the gap was there. just a leg bye. wsinghe to rennie who pushes to midiwcket and one more. 247/6.

sajid bhombal () Prem, do you have any idea about How many tournaments Azhar has won as Indian Captain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- subhash (subhash_a@hotmail.com) Prem: cricinfo says its 48 overs. who is wrong rediff or them Prem: Wsinghe for the penultimate over, around the wicket and that is good thinking, full length on off the batsman, rennie, on his knee and just presents the bat, lets it go round the corner, one more.

Prem: 243/6, one ball left in the 48th. vaas, to rennie who plays it out on the on side, gets the one to mid on, 244/6 and two more overs to go.

Prem: Niladri:: Yeah. In the sense you have a fielder right out ojn the line. You have a point, a cover, a mid off, say, and you put one on the line either between point and cover, or cover mid off, depending on the kind of bowling and batsmen. That guys job would be to sweep up behind the orthodox fielders. Ballu: Lanka won, inserted Zimbabwe, they were 24/3 in 10, now 242/6 in 47.4, Johnson and Andy Flower in a very good partnership ifor the 4th.

ballu (ballusingh75@hotmail.com) Prem I have just joined after a long day Could you please brief me about the proceedings. Niladri (nchatter@cs.ucl.ac.uk) Prem, the term 'sweeper' is being used recently.What is meant by this term? deep cover? deep midwicket? Prem: Vaas continues, Wishart on strike with Rennie taking one off the first ball, full toss on middle played to mid off, single. 241/6.

Prem: Jaya now to Rennie, the reverse sweep, single to end the over, 239/6 in 47, three more to go.

Prem: Prasanna:: The scoreboard is on one server, the commentary on another. we have a problem with the one the scoreboard is on. but i have been giving the score here, if you notice. Zim 237/6 in 46.3, three more overs to go after this, and Jaya again, to wishart, the right hander, going round the wicket here. makes room, tries to club through long off, jaya follows him, cramps the batsman, no room. ball five, outside off, driven, single. 238/6.

Prasanna () Prem, I didn't expect this from you. Then why at all a score board which gives the wrong information ?> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sajid bhombal () Thanx Rao for Wisdens List. Prem: Jaya now to Rennie, wide of leg and the paddle beats the fielder, four more. Jaya has lots of experience but of late, he is way off line.

Madhu () Pity that Andy missed his well-deserved century. Sajid: Nobody deserves the Wisden award more than SRT, but I think Wisden is highly over-rated anyway. I've seen some unknown names in their Top-5 before, along with some greats like Vengsarkar, just because these others played well in the English Season. That's the criterea for Wisden, the English season... to me that sucks. I've seen some other new ratings recently, which were unbelievable, like having Australia, in tests, around No.5... Laughable. Prem: Yorker, goes under Wishart's bat there, 232/6 to Zim. Meanwhile, bit of news. Assume Zim reaches 260, then Lanka to beat their NRR has to get the runs by the end of the 42nd over. So you can extrapolate from there. 5.04 the run rate now.

Prem: wishart on strike to wsinghe, the drive is well played and timed, very square, two to the sweeper. 232/6/

Prem: Prasanna:: *L* I dont bother with all that stuff, pal, just sit here following the game as it happens. Rennie on strike and square drives, one more. 230/6.

rao () aravinda silva, sidhu, srt, jaya, azhar mahmood, dravid and azza are the top seven in wisden's batting. donald, akram, fraser. mcgrath, ambrose, murali are the top six bowlers. srinath is 14 th in wisden rankings -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prasanna () Prem, There is some problem in the score board. And RAX,Most probably it will be Ind v/s Zimbabwe in the finals. Do u think that the law of averages will catch up with the iNdians? Prem: Craig Wishart and Gavin Rennie the two batsmen out in the middle and both have yet to face a single ball.

Prem: Great catch there, Arjuna diving forward to hold as Brandes hits, trying to go over cover but not getting it in the middle, wickramasinghe gets his 3rd and Ranatunga held that superbly, diving forward.

Prem: Wsinghe now to bowl and brandes went for glory and missed with everything.

Prem: sajid:: no, havent had much time to browse and stuff of late. Meanwhile, the Zim run rate has gone above 5, now 5.08.

murali () GOOD MORNING PREM - Do u ever get a chance to talk to Azza? Please ask him to improve his approach to captaincy Prem: And now a superb inside out drive on the up, four more. Jaya getting taken big time here, and one ball left in the 45th. this partnership worth 45 off 33 and now Jaya bowls it way too wide of leg, trying to keep it out of the batsman's reach. another extra, another ball. Flower down the track trying to hit insdie out and a comedy of errors here. Kalu muffed the collection, broke the stumps, then recovered, gathered, pulled the stump out of the ground with the ball in his glove. that is tht for flower. he played a very good hand here, unlucky to miss hhis century, 95 off 109 the score and zim 229/5 in 45.

sajid () Prem, Who heads Wisdens Cricket Ranking now a days ? Is SRT going to get "Wisdens Cricketer of the Year" award this year. He deserves it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bull () So Australia has broken, at Lahore, the record of chasing the highest number of runs to win set by India at Dhaka... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Madhu () Joined you guys a few mts. ago. HAs Andy completed a century or what??? Looks like Lanka will be out of the Finals, whatever tomorrow's result!! Prem: lovely reverse sweep this time, and another brace. 224/4 and two balls left in the over.

Prem: Rajesh:: you got it. Jaya meanwhile continues, Flower driving but unable to beat the field on the first two balls. ball three, of the 45th, driven back over his head, two more. 222/4.

abhay () Good morning prem.. wow! what a day.. How about those Aussies? Looks like it is going to be Ind vs Zim in the final. Also, Prem best of luck in your mega deal.. hopefully, powerful servers that can handle the peak hits when Tendulkar is playing, are part of the deal. Great job, prem -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VICKY (charms69@hotmail.com) PREM MY QUESTIONS SEEM TO GET ANSWERED THE MOMENT ITS PUT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajesh (rajeshkv@yahoo.com) Thanks prem. I'll send it. Expecting you reply by next week. Prem: Last ball of the 444th, vaas to flower, single to mid on, zim 220/4 in 44 with six overs to go and lots of wickets in hand.

Prem: vaas to flowr, yorker, misses with the flick, leg bye taken, 218/4.

Prem: vicky:: 315. 217/4 Zim, flower on strike batting 86 and pulls the next one ut finds midwicket, no run. into the 44th over here.

Prem: vaas again, to flower, and that's a clean hit -- stepped across to off, hit it flat and cross bat, over midwikcet, hitting with the seam movement for four.

Prem: nice flowing cover drive from andy flowr, but finds the fielder there, no run.

Prem: 13 runs plus a wide in that last over of Jaya, and Zim now seem to be really stepping on it. Flower now on strike, brandes going 27 off 19 just now, and vaas coming back on.

Krishna Kaliappan () Amit, Australia scored 316 for four in 48.5 overs. Ponting remained not out on 124 and Bevan on 6. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Madhu () Amit: Aussies broke our record by scoring 316 /4 to beat Pak. 3-0. Prem: flower this time driving inside out, gets one more through cover, 205/4. brandes back on strike, to jaya, steps to leg, clubs it high over cover, two more before the sweeper can tidy up. Last ball of the 43rd, jaya to brands and ow, that was the heck of a hit -- got under it, got the elevation he needed and simply powered it back over the bowlers head for six, Zim 213/4 at the end of the over.

Prem: Brandes again, swinging hard and heavy, but only managing to find midwicket this time, single. 204/4.

Krishna Kaliappan () Prashanth, Great to hear that. I am also a great fan of Cricket. I am regularly discussing with Prem, atleast whenever India plays. Thanks to Prem & rediff. How are you. Are you in Detroit or Dallas now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shibu (shibug@hotmail.com) amit, australia have won by 6 wickets in 48.5 overs. indeed, as u have mentioned they have beaten india's world record created earlier in the year in b'desh. ponting is the man of the match -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- nambi () Got some work. catch u later. Prem: ball two, to brandes from jaya, he is down the track, swings it around very fine, long chase for dharma at fine leg, two more. 203/4.

Prem: Rajesh:: Send it any time, will respond after this weekend. Prashanth:: not to worry we are doing fine, and as to the cricket site, a huge deal is in the negotiation stage so no problem there. jaya menwhile starts over number 43 with a wide and that brings up the 200 for Zim, after being at one point 39/3 in 10. Flower sweeps, one more off the next ball.

Prashanth () Prem: With so many hits u could have advertisements at the top, which will certainly help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajesh (rajeshkv@yahoo.com) Prem, I've got some questions for u. But I dont want to mees up ur good work now. Can you tell me when should I send you a mail? Prem: Flower this time flicking, getting the single, 197/4 Zim in 41.5 and Brandes on strike. this is dharma's last over, and brandes clubs him around to deep mudiwicket, good running, gets two.

Prem: amit:: they won with 6 wickets and over an over to spare. Meanwhile, dharma bowling the 42nd, brandes on drives, 195/4.

Amit (anagrech@uk.oracle.com) Hi, Anybody knows what is the final score between Pak and Aust. I read that Aus. won match but score card is stuck up at 277/4. I am not sure but i guess if they completed their innings then they crossed world record held by india for highest run chase. Prem: Vicky:: Well, frankly, if Zim goes at 5 per over then irrespective of the result of this match, I would back them to be ahead of Sri Lanka on the run rate. Jaya continuing, last ball of the 41st, brandes paddles, plays it ver fine and gets the four down to deep fine leg, ends the ovver on 192/4 in 41.

VICKY (charms69@hotmail.com) PREM CAN U TELL WHAT WOULD BE GOOD SCORE FOR ZIM ON THIS PITCH TO ACQUIRE A BERTH IN THE FINAL? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Krishna Kaliappan : I am Chitra's Hubby. Hi, I am just a big crazy fan of cricket Prem: prashanth:: thanks, and nope, we haven't at rediff bothered too much with running for awards and stuff. the hits figures put us up there with the best, so we figure we are doing what the readers are looking for, which seems fine to be going on with. Jaya meanwhile contines, bowling to brandes who swings and misses. this is the 41st, brandes paddles, gets one more.

Prem: rajababu:; that will be computed after the zim innings is ended, so we will have that info at the start of the second innings. 186/4 in 40 zimbabwe, moving from 154/3 in 35.

Rajababu () Hi Prem, Any idea about the overs in which SL has to get the score to get ahead on run rate? We can guess the course of the lankan innings then. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Prem: U have been doing an excellent job, ARe u running for some sort of award on Best web site, etc. I am sure all of us here would favour ur without a question Prem: brandes now clipping off his pads, through midwicket, one more. 184/4.

Prem: ball three, flower sweeps, in the air but well wide of the fielder at backward square, one more.

Prem: ball two, yorker length and dharma digs it out, to long on, one more.

Prem: 180/4 in 39 Zim, things hotting up as the overs are run through here. 11 more to go. th 149 run partnership for the 4th wicket really setting this innings up, and flower off the first ball of dharma's over turns it off his pads and gets one more. 181/4

Krishna Kaliappan () Prashanth, Yes I am in Geneva -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PJ (PJ@hotmail.com) Hi Guys, Just logged in, saw Paki score, Australia really did very well. Prem: Jaya to Flowr and a cheeky reverse sweep, finds the fielder, but one more, 180/4.

Prem: srikanth:: nope I do it typing. the latest in voice recognition we dont get here. brandes meanwhile drives, singe to long on, flower drives inside out, another to deep cover, both batsmena ctively looking for runs here, jaya the bowler, brandes clips to long on, 179/4 in 38.4.

VICKY (charms69@hotmail.com) HI GUYS! PREM CAN U PLS TELL THE LATEST SCORE. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SrikanthM (cheeka@erols.com) Prem: I really hope you are using a dictation software (Dragonspeak, ViaVoice). Bad for your fingers if you are typing all this, man! I am leaving for India today; was really hoping for a Ind-SL match...oh, well! Will take anything right now, though. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sajid () Prashant, I was under impression that Azhar wanted to bat at #3. Thanx for giving the information. I still believe that Azhar should bat at # 4. Should come at #3 if wicket falls after 15 overs and stroke maker like him can keep the run rate going. Prem: Nalini:: If you look at my general pieces, you will find this reflected. In a match report, my business is not to talk of India's performance through the year, merely to describe and analyse the course of that particular game, right? Is why you dont find that here. Eddo Brandes meanwhile the new man in, one of those guys who can hit the ball a long way, Jaya the man on strike and flower working the single through midwicket, 176/4 in 38.1 and Brandes now on strike.

Nalini (girish_badgi@rocketmail.com) Prem: I've been reading your articles for quite sometime. First of all I feel that there is a vast difference between being on the field and analysing a particular game on the table. As we all know Cricket has been a great equalizer and that there is no definate solution for success. I was going thru the the one day records for the year 1998 and found that we played the highest number of one dayers in the last year and are placed second to SA in overall average. So we have done pretty well, I guess. Your articles do not seem to convey this. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Krishna Kaliappan : Are u in Geneva?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amit (anagrech@uk.oracle.com) I think it is quiet possible with jaya and kalu followed by Desilve. Mind u Zimbabwe is not having very good bowling attack. Prem: sameer:: I have a comp and line at home as well, but it is easier doing it here than through a dialup. here i have a dedicated lease line, there, given the vagaries of the indian telephone system, you never can tell. 72 superb runs meanwhile to johnson, and he really deserves the credit for having batting Zim out of the hole, kept his cool, restrained himself and played the waiting gvame to perfection. 174/4 in 37.5 the score.

nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) Prem>> Agreed. If a=b and b=c then a must be equal to c. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sajid () Prem, I understand. It was just a suggestion. I know most of the comments are typical. Thanx for excellent coverage any way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sameer () Prem, why don't you watch the match (and upload the commentary) at your home? Rediff should arrange for that, really. Prem: And that I think is the wicket of Johnson. Flower played to square leg, fielder in from the deep, they try for the second, the fielder in very fast, direct hit with only one stump to aim at and bang, full srike. batsman way out his ground.

Prem: nambi:: more. This year in Toronto, India loses because we are a bad side. Last year, Pakistan loses because they were out of form. Your sympathies are showing, pal -- not that sympathising with Pak, or being against Indian cricket, is a problem, but you do need a refresher course in basic logic, I would think. Meanwhile, we are into the 38th over here, 172/3 the Zimbabwe score and the more they get, the bigger becomes the task for the zim.

nambi () CORRECTION: cannot -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amit (anagrech@uk.oracle.com) I feel Srilanka is really an unpredictable side. I am sure they will bounce back here to defeat zimbabwe with a big margin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Krishna Kaliappan () Bad luck follows SriLankans. What to do. They did really well inititially. Prashanth () Sajid : In the pre match Azar did mention that he was going to drop down the order and give others a chance.. So it was predetermined Prem: nambi:: by the way, did you try telling an Australian that his is a weak bowling country? *laughing* you just said india beat Aus because they are a weak bowling country, then how come that country beat Pak, pal?

Prem: nambi:: this is becoming hilarious -- you make statements, contradict yourself, go back and forth... oh well. Aus beat aus in Pak convincingly. that is in the sub continent. India beats Aus in India convincingly. also in the sub continent. so by your own logic you should be slamming aus and pak as lousy teams. as to winning because of tendulkar -- so? tendulkar is an Indian, I thought, so what is wrong with an indian winning matches for India? As to his batting on sub continental tracks -- that one is so silly, I wont even bother. Look, what is your point? INdia is a lousy side? Okay, agreed. Now what? Meanwhile, 169/3 in 37 Zimbabwe, and now, with 7 back in the hut waiting to bat, the real push for a 250+ score should begin any time now.

nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) Prem>> They might be out of form. See we talk about Ausies. They can beat PAK in Pak convincingly. Can we do the same in st bwling contries? Dont talk about recent victory over auss. Its all bcoz of SRT. Even SRT is also can bat as good as he is doing against wk bwling countries & in Subcontinent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Prem :When Dalmiya became Chairman, one thought we could get more trips to the major countries, but all we have got is Bangladesh, Zimb, Sri... Prem: 159/3 in 36 and off these, these two have added 135 off 176 balls. SAJID:: my problem is, match ends at 11.30 and then I have a long match report to write and upload before a 45 minute drive home for dinner, pal -- really tough to waste another ten minutes on inane comments the captains make. as to the other, no, the question was not asked.

Sajid () Prem, Before I forget, I have one suggestion to you. Don't go off line immediately after the last ball is bowled. Please give us the comments on what happens during presentation. Specially the comments of respective captains. Meanwhile, Did Azhar give any reason why he sent Jadeja & Robin ahead of him ? Some body must have asked him this question. As per me that was a bad decision. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Sands : We have almost won a match everywhere (Aus in 92 Sydeny, WI under SRT). So that should be okay then to almost win a match Prashanth () During the careers of Lille, Marsh Chappell etc we had just one tour from Aus and that was a depleted team due to Packer Prem: Drinks on the field, guys, taking a breather here/

Prem: 158/3 in 35.5 and Vaas with the full toss, the flick findcs another single to square leg and Zimbabwe with every passing over getting into a better position, while Lanka looks like it has all but given up.

Jim (Jim@hotmail.com) raju: No..... the tiger is sleeping...just watch out for his batting today.. Prem: Prashanth:: Now we are getting closer to the point I am driving at. India to win abroad nneeds tto play abroad, to learn to play in different conditions. And for that, the board has to schedule tours with some sense of balance. Otherwise, for no fault of theirs, Indian cricket and its crickters get labelled as tigers at home. Schedule home and away tours, let the Indians get over their nervousness on fast pitches abroad, and then if India loses, such argumnents make sense. not now.

Prem: nambi:: I see. Anwar, Inzamam, Malik, Afridi et al qualify as a weak batting lineup?

Prashanth () Prem: Yes these are Hypothetical args. Like you have rightly mentioned in ur articles why dont we get enough tours from these countries (either home or away). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sands () I really can't understand why u guys keep complaining abt not winning abroad .. ok accepted we shld have won more .. but AGAIN if Aussies win on bouncy pitches .. they r accustomed to playing there. Big deal .. and didn't we beat 2 of the best sides aus n SA at home and almost won a test match in SA .. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) Prem>> Yes. Pakis should admit that ther batting was very weak last year Prem: Vaas being brought back, 15 overs to go. Flower on strike. over the wicket and flower drives, on the up and single.

Prem: flowr off the last ball off drives, checking his shot, walks the single. johnson 63, flowr 60, 4.4 the run rate and Zim 154/3 in 35.

Raju (raju_ilango@hotmail.com) Jim. Do u think Jayasuriya's days have ended. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Sajid: i.e. we are didcussing cricket. When wen discuss other areas like politics I would blame even them Prem: Sweera bowling to flower, 151/3 tth score and flower down the track, gets to the pitch, chips inside out over cover and gets two more, clever stroke that. 153/3 in 34.5.

Prem: Prashanth:: further, look at it this way. Suppose India goes to Aus and loses. Suppose someone turns around and says, look, Aussies can beat India only at home, see how they got mauled when they toured India. Then?

Dhirendra () Prashant >> Yes man-to-man we are a better team. The only reason we are less successful, I think, out players always play the way they play and not play accordingly to the need of the situation. For example, Gangully and mongia will always go for 4's and not for singls to rotate striks. and it is true for everyother player but Sachin. Prem: 148/3 in 34 the score. 61 to johnson, and 4.35 the run rate and now climbing all the time. Samaraweera back into the atttack, johnson cover drives, gets one off the first ball.

Prem: Prashanth and Nambi:: Do you think any purpose at all can be served by such hypothetical arguments? Can India win in Aus? CAn Pak do x? I mean, say you say yes, I say no, whatever, what does that do tto the price of onions? You can only play as per your schedule, right? Nambi:: by that logic, then, last year Pak had the better bowling line up and got thumped in Toronto, did that make them an awful side?

nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) Prem>> All in subcontinent. Pak convincingly beaten us in Canada without front line bowlers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prashant, I think we lack team spirit. We need to play like a team. But, I think we Indians as a whole lack this team spirit. Individually, we are very capable but as a team we never work together. This is in every field. Politics, Industry. Why blame only cricketers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim (Jim@hotmail.com) An excellent fightback by Zimbawe...Srilanka is out of the tournament -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Prem : Yes we did defeat Aus but do u think if we were playing in Aus we would have the same results? Prem: 141/3 in 33, going on from 118/3 in 30 so tthese last three overs have been very good. jaya continues, over the wicket to johnson, good off drive but a great stop on the follow through. next ball, clipped off his pads, single.

Prem: Johnson now onto the back foot, driving Aravinda to long on, one more. a certain lack of heart now apparent among the Lankans, they seem to be going through the motions here, now.

Sands () nambi : that way don't u think India too is not too strong in bowling, only some days back Kumble was supposed to have been sorted out by every batsmen, Srinath was out with injury ... if we havs a strong batting line up n the opposition has a weak bowling ... is it our problem ? Also taalso take into account we r one of the weakest fielding sides n then u realise what India has achieved with "limited" resource Prem: Uh oh, now these guys are opening out. ADS pitches leg turns to middle, Andy Flower on his knee, gets under it with a full swing, conneccts and powers it over square leg, six to bring up his 50 and now the cut, single, 140/3 in 32.4.

Prashanth () In case of Pak though they are loosing right now, just wait for Miandad to get comfy in his job, he will be cracking the whip. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naveen (Naveen1@rediffmail.com) Tomorrow India should play the reserves. Prem: 57 to Johnson, 43 to Andy Flower. the run rate now above 4 an over.

Prem: Major problems here for SL as these two are now increasingly abtting their side into a postion to go to 225+, which is the kind of total, given Zimbabwe's fielding, that will really tax the Lankans, keeping in mind they have to not only win, but win by a huge margin in terms of overs to spare. 129/3 in 32.

Prem: 103 off 149 the partnership and one more as flower sweeps Jaya.

Prashanth () Sajid : Yes the ability is there. man-to-man we are a better team but why do we never win. If this was a pro American team it would have been revamped and would have sought better results -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suarabh () Azar I guess stopped bowling due to his groin injury. But in 87 worldcup against Aus he had 3-18, which also included a great return catch of McDormet. Prem: nambi:: like I said, this year I think we beat Aus 4 or 5 times, with Warne in the side, be difficult to clal that a weak bowling side. Pakistan with the world's best offie leading the attack couldn't defend 314 despite bad light and all the rest of it. And when did Sri Lanka suddenly become a weak side to be clubbed with Bangladesh, New Zealand and Zimbabwe? I seem to remember that last year, this time, the Indian cricket fans were saying to me in mail that when the Lankans get here to India, they will pick up where they left off and tot up more world records, suddnely to you they have become also rans?

nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) Prem>> I mean need to play too often against Pak,Aus,SA &WI rather than playing Zim, BD,NZ&SL. Can anyone give a stats about our recent victories over st bwling side & weak bwling side. Prem: Dhirendra:: even in that case, cricket would have been a funny game. *shrug* that line was for the course of the match, not merely for the result. ADS bowling a tight line here, but his turn hasn't bothered either batsman till now and with no close fielders, they look completely untroubled. 122/3 in 31.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prashant, we are not trying to fool any one. Agreed, we have not won many matches abroad. But have ability to beat any team on any day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dhirendra (Dhirendra@hotmail.com) Morning Prem >> “Cricket is a funny Game” first sentence of your match report about yesterdays match. Just wondering how would you have reacted if ( just assume) the result were just reverse ( I mean Srilanka bating first scoring 196 and Ind getting all out on 98 ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saurabh () Prashanth: Well, we have seen Ravi Shastri turning batsman from a bowler. Even Azharuddin used to bowl effectively in one dayers during late 80's under K. Shrikant's captaincy. And Ganguly! He has been totally forgotten in this series as a bowler. Prem: ADS continues. Johnson on sttrike. into the 31st over here. he lays back and cuts, finds deep backward point, samaraweera has a long chase, three more, 121/3.

Prem: Jaya to Johnson, played to mid on, single, these two really batting nicely now, 118/3 in 29.5. flower flicks, no run, 6 in the over and 118/3 the score in 30.

Dhirendra (Dhirendra@hotmail.com) Morning Prem >> “Cricket is a funny Game” first sentence of your match report about yesterdays match. Just wondering how would you have reacted if ( just assume) the result were just reverse ( I mean Srilanka bating first scoring 196 and Ind getting all out on 98 ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saurabh () Prashanth: Well, we have seen Ravi Shastri turning batsman from a bowler. Even Azharuddin used to bowl effectively in one dayers during late 80's under K. Shrikant's captaincy. And Ganguly! He has been totally forgotten in this series as a bowler. Prem: nambi: *laughing here* wouldn't it make more sense to ban sides with weak bowling? Let's see now, this year we beat Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, so hey, they need to be banned!

Prem: reverse sweep first up, but this time flower finds the fielder at short third man. next ball, the reverse sweep again, finds the middle of the bat, places it well and four down to point.

Prem: Sweera goes out of the attack, Sanath Jayasuriya takes over, into the 30th over here.

nambi (ca_nambi@hotmail.com) India should be banned to play against weak bowling sides and boasting of great victories. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Sometime back Sunny was running for a position in Bombay cricket and the CM was also involved in the race. One expected Sunny to stand up and throw these politicians out but there is an understanding at the end and they wine and dine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- dfas (adsf@adf.com) what the hell is happening to Lanka ??? Prem: These two have added 88 and that is a 4th wicket record for Zim against Zri Lanka.

Prem: 50/80 to Johnson with that single. veryu good innings this, though a pinch hitter, he changed gear, played a waiting game when he saw three go down quick, and has helped zim out of a very big hole. 112/3 in 29.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Dhirendra, Yes, I checked it on cric info. Aus win by Six wickets. Ponting Man of the match. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () We consider ourselves to be a strong team. But other than Srilanka when was our last test win abroad? It was in 86 in England. Who are we trying to fool. Prem: Flower this time with the cut, both batsman letting the ball turn away from them and then playing the shots, one more, 110/3.

Prem: Johnson 48, and now driving to long off, another single. 109/3 in 28.3.

Prem: 107/3 the score and there goes Johnson, powerful pull, gets a couple and next ball, the cut, fetches one on the off. 108/3.

Prem: Sajid:: No, I think he will be back, the captain and coach both have a lot of confidence in him, so.... pras:; start of play, Lanka had a NRR of -0.7 against Zim's -0.25. So Lanka has to win, itt has to win very big, and it also has to take into account that Zim has one more match to play tomorrow.

Dhirendra () Morning Folks !! Sajid >> Did Aus beat Pak in 3rd ODI ?? - Dhirendra -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pras () Prem, what kind of equations r reqd today for lanka to qualify -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prem, do you think even Harbhajan Singh will find difficult to get in the team ? Hard Luck. Very promising young guy. Prem: reverse sweep now from andy flower, one more.

Prashanth () Saurabh: Indian Cricket has always been funny. We have the wins to show only because of the good players but not the coach or the system Prem: 3.68 the run rate, going up slowly but going up all the same, and now johnson sweeps, from outside off to deep midwicket, two more. 102/3.

Prem: Samaraweera to continue and Johnson cuts, finds one to point, 100/3 Zim.

Prem: 99/3 in 27 and four in the first over from ADS.

Prem: Flower driving insdie out, finds long off, one more. Given that Aravinda does get turn as always, a more confident Ranatunga would have brought him on earlier and at the least had a slip for him, had him bowling round the wicket so the ball is pitching off and turning away from the southpaw. here, a defensive field, the batsmen pshing singles.

Prem: Prashanth:: Tried IBM's first version, but that is very basic, you talk, then correct what is there, then put it up, too clumsy. donno about the duty bit, guess not if someone just sends it amex or some such. not bothered checking it out thus far. KANISHKA: NOT REALLy, merely that the days of awesome domination are long gone, now on they will be another very good side, with their good days and bad days, but opposing teams will go in knowing they can be beat. Aravinda being introduced, Johnson on strike, the use of the offie to the left handers is right on, but then there are no close fielders in place so ADS will have to play a holding operation here. Johnson gets one to mid off, 97/3 Zim.

Prem: Prashanth:: Tried IBM's first version, but that is very basic, you talk, then correct what is there, then put it up, too clumsy. donno about the duty bit, guess not if someone just sends it amex or some such. not bothered checking it out thus far. KANISHKA

Kanishka (d012@hotmail.com) Prem: Do you think this the beginning of the end of SriLanka? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth () Prem :Have u tried one. Can you import one and would there be duty Prem: flower down the track, pushes to mid on and runs with the push, gets the one. end of 26 and Zim 95/3 and increasingly, batting their way out of jail.

Saurabh (sau@arbornet.org) I totally agree with Prashanth. Infact no one had answer to this question from me wherever I put it. Prem: Outside leg, swept, but finds backward square, no run. 37 off 69 to Johnson. ball three, and that is a nice clean hit -- gets under the ball, lifts again the turn, taking it from middle and not making the mistake of overhitting, over wide midiwcket for six. and the next ball, line of leg, swung around against the turn, one more. 94/3 in 25.4

Prem: Sweera, and johnson is down the track and driving, but finds the bowler on the follow through.

Prem: Prashanth:: I type. Dictation software of the sophisticated kind I would need is not available here yet. End of the 25th, meanwhile, and Zim 87/3.

Prashanth () Do u type in the comments or do u have a dictation software Prem: dharma to johnson, this time hit around out on the on side, but finds wide midwicekt.

Prem: the reversesweep this time, the batsman misses but the keeper is unsighted, and four byes result.

Prem: Dharma continuing and the singles still keep coming. Johnson lookingg very fluent with his footwork now, really, he is nicely down the track driving in the v. That one from dharma pitched outside leg, straightened, rapped the batsman on the pad, huge appeal but not sure why, since it pithced outside leg anyways.

Prashanth () I dont know why Jadeja who came on as a bowler for Haryana does not bowl at all, but now they are trying to get Dravid to bowl his offspin. At one time Dravid used keep wickets (junior) Prem: Sajid: Granted, but he is going to find it very difficult to force his way back in now. ONe problem is he is an offie and we have two good ones now. The other is that the only player he can look to replace now is Robin. Meanwhile 80/3 in 24 Zimbabwe.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Australia becomes second country to chase 300+ and win. That reminds me of Kanitkar. Prem, don't you think Kanitkar should be in the team. We need young all rounder in the team. I don't know whose replacement. But the guy has guts Prem: Sorry for that break, back live with zim 78/3 in 23.4. sweera to flower, the paddle fetches one more. 79/3.

Prem: Just a second, guys,be right back, andy flower 18 and johnson 29, 48 off 98 this partnership.

Prashanth () Concistency is the key word, which somehow the Indian team lacks Prem: Dharma to flower, on leg, played off the pads, one more. 72/3, and this steady drip drip of singles can be potentially harmful to Lanka, who need to bowl Zim out for as low a score as they can manage. 29 to Johnson off 57, now on strike with two left in the 23rd, pushes to mid off, fineds the fielder. 72/3.

Prem: the score doesnt look like much at the moment, but the thing for Zimbabwe is, at this point they are conserving wickets, keeping the run rate around the 3 an over mark, and the more overs they ccan play like this, the better the chances for the lter batsmen to make a push at the end. flower starts the next over, from dharma with a fine sweep, gets one. johnson, batting very well now, down the track, checks a push to mid off and runs the single. 71/3 in 22.2.

Prem: Sweera now to Flower, the off drive gets one more, the fielder there is deep, 69/3 in 22.

Prem: Sweera continues, Johnson drives, finds the fielder. next ball, tries a hoik over midwicket, misses as the ball turns in more sharply than the batsman bargained for. ball four, thhis time the sweep-pull connnects, but only enough to find Aravinda at deep midwicket, single. 68/3.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Nayak, precisely because of that he is known as SACHIN TENDULKAR Prem: dharma continues, bowling over the wicket, flat and fast and on line of leg, last ball strikes flower on the pad off the sweep, big appeal but wasted, his line is wide of the crease and it is pitching outside leg. 67/3 in 21 Zimbabwe.

Prem: Parth: for instance, look at yesterday -- once Agarkar produced that dream second over, Srinath simply stepped up another gear. Kapil has done that, too, when he found support at the other end. Of course, there are guys like Agakrar who will keep bowling aggressively no matter what, but in time he will learn how to temper aggression with the need of the match situation.

Prem: Parth:: ACtually, I think that kind of analysis, based purely on scoreboards, is a bit silly. For instance, this: Srinath bowls the first over, beats the bat. Next over, his opening partner bowls badly. Srinath -- or in that situation any bowloer in the world -- will concentrate on repairing the damage by tightening his line and containing, in his next. More so because if the second over is horribly expensive, then the captian also tends to set a more defensive field. So saying this guy is a container, the other guy is an attacker, can really mean zip at times. 66/3 in 20, meanwhile, Zimbabwe batting their way slowly, but increasingly surely, out of jail.

Prem: Bad lilne outside leg, curling in, Flowre pulls, gets one through square leg.

Prem: 23 to Jonhsnon, 13 to Flower and now the former's turn to off drive, sweera's first ball, get the run. 62/3. sweera to flowr, and now, the field pushed back, all saving the singles, they aren't trying for wickets now.

andy (andy@hotmail.com) Does anyone know what isthe equation like - how many runs off how many overs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parth (Partha@hotmail.com) Prem, sorry to drag into a comparison with Kapil Dev in bowling. Many people doubt Kapil as a strike bowler in one day matches and they complain that he was more of containment bowler than a wicket taker to win matches, but whereas Srinath is different. Is that true? Prem: The over ends with a straight push by Flower, finds the fielder, no run. 61/3 in 19.

Prem: Dharma now coming over the wicket, trying to angle tight on middle drifting to off, John son looking for the sweep and missing. Into the 19th over here, ball five is off driven, one more, 61/3 Zimbabwe.

Prem: Nice line here from Sweera, pitching leg and middle and curling it to off, off the last ball johnson manages to get the single square on the on side, 58/3 in 18 the score.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prem & others, Thanx for the feed back. I wish all our players field well. That saves lot of runs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nayak () Andy I completly agree with your views...Thats well said -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nayak () Prashanth....It is a fact that of lately India's batting depends on SRT to a very large extent. Against Aus in Sharja in April SRT literally won the cup of India as One man show. Then in Dhaka again against Aus he scored a brilliant century and won the match. HE failed against WI and India could not recover. SO Whenever SRT fails the % of other batsmen steading and scoring is very less!!! Prem: Both these batsmen are batting quite intelligently, actually. they have been getting the odd singles, keeping things moving along, maybe not at a hectic pace, but the more runs they have on the board, the more the pressure on the lankans because it is not enough for Sri Lanka to win, they have to do so at breathless pace. Samaraweera introduced to the attack for Wsinghe in the 18th, and bwoling to Johnson, Zim going at 3.3 per over.

Prem: Parth:: Yeah, he really is developing into a very crafty bowler. He does the bowl the slower one, but does so very selectively. As to whether he can bowl the outswinger, *grin*, maybe they should ask Ranatunga -- is what he got yesterday when he was playing for the short one -- line of off, shifting to middle. Meanwhile, 57/3 in 17 the score.

andy (andy@hotmail.com) Sudeep, By ur logic India must have batted shamelessly in 1983 also. The trick lies in winning the match by marshalling ur resources. And till yesterday the Lankans were supposed to be world beaters, how come they have become oldies overnite -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- keyan (carti85@hotmail.com) sajid ! azhar is old but still the best fielder in india. couple of more good fielders jadeja & robin singh -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prashanth (svp_dallas@hotmail.com) I dont think we overdepend on SRT. One must really compare the contribution of other great players to their team in % of indv score vs team score in a series Prem: Okay, guys, back aft er drinks and andy flower pushes to mid on, runs with the shot, one more. Meanwhile, interesting news -- Australia have chased and won, 315 the target which means they break India's record. And for Pakistan, a bit of a morale blow -- this is the second time teams are chasing and setting world records against them.

Prashanth (svp_dallas@hotmail.com) I dont think we overdepend on SRT. One must really compare the contribution of other great players to their team in % of indv score vs team score in a series -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- () view -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parth (Parthar@hotmail.com) Prem, you were talking about Srinath's variation. Does he thrive on his inswingers a lot or he mixes them with outswingers. People doubt his ability to bowl outswingers and slower ones.No doubt he generates goos pace!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- andy (andy@hotmail.com) Sajid, acc to me Robin Singh is definitely the better fielders (despite his age) and also Jadeja -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nayak () Sudeep, I think you dont have the maturity to give expert commentry!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B S Chawla (bschawla@hotmail.com) Saurav needs to be talked to by the coach. Further, the coach needs to work on running between the wickets for Saurav. Off late, Jadeja has been run-out often! Prem: Sajid:: Azhar is outstanding, yes, but then so is Jadeja and Robin, Sachin in the deep, Agarkar is doing very well in the outfield. then there are days when even the Joshis and others up their fielding -- like yesterday -- and then they look a very good fielding side. trouble is, then they go and muff up next game. meanwhile, drinks, folks, taking a breather, be back.

Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prem, could you please give your comments about Indian fielding. I being in Thailand is not able to see the match on TV. Is Azhar still best fielder or someone younger has taken his place. Prem: Johnson batting 19, on strike and a nice little steer through deep point gets him two more off Wsinghe. 55/3 the score and somewhere between the 10th over and now, the Lankans seem to be letting the game drift.

Prem: Sudeep:: Which "just the other day" was this? I thought through this tournament, the spinners have been doing very well, Srinath has never really let go, and yesterday, agarkar came good as well. As to attributing it to luck when you win, then you might as well say "bad luck" when you lose, right, by the same logic?

SUDEEP (sudeepbh@hotmail.com) India was definitely lucky to win yesterday. You dont feel that India batted shamelessly and they could win only because Lankans are a oldies side now. How can you say India has regained bowling strength ,just the other day they bowled like school kids. Prem: True, Kiran. The problem is that when Tendulkar fires, everyone else is pushed into the background, so when he goes early I guess a bit of the aftershock does tend to be felt by the team -- a few more wins like yesterday and they will learn, though.

Kiran (kiron@email.com) I agree with you 100% prem. But If they stop depending on SRT they can be a great side. It a'int good for a team to depend only on one player Prem: full pitch, on leg, johnson flicks and gets one more.

Prem: Dharma, into the 15th over here, on leg stump angling it across the right hander, who pushes his pad in the way. 3.48 the run rate, and johnson finding cover with a back foot punch.

Prem: Chawla:: Yeah, same pitch, easier in pace and the ball will come on nicely, though dont forget, every day the tournament extends, the pitch does become fractionally slower. Not enough to really change its character here, though -- and Johnson demonstrates, down the track and a lovely on drive to Dharma, all the way through for four.

Prem: End of the over, 46/3 in 14, a tight over again but around now, Lanka needs to keep the momentum going, take wickets out at regular intervals.

B S Chawla (bschawla@hotmail.com) Sorry for the NONAME - it was me - forgot it! () Prem : Hi!. This is the pitch which was used on India - Sri Lanka match on the first day? Should be a batting pitch - ball comes nicely on to the bat - or is the ball already slow on to the bat? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Yesterday, Indians performed very well and played as a team. Let us give them the credit they deserve. We have a bad habit of calling our cricketers luck when they win. But we don't call them unluck when they loose. When they loose we criticise them for playing badly. It is not fair. Prem: wsinghe to johnson, outside off, a flashing square drive and tillekeratne dives and stops.

Prem: Anil, thanks for the update, looks like the Aussies will break India's world record here, the highest total ever chased. Meanwhile, Vels, read that report, I said, "as against the general perception" -- the trouble is that this is the image Srinath has, that he doesn't think, that he is just a slinger, all heart and no head, that kind of stuff, also that he is not a good strike bowler. 200 ODI wickets answers the second and as far as the first is concerned, I think he is a good, thoughtful bowler. if you notice, even when let down at the other end, he always thinks his first spells through, rarely gets caned, bowls the right line to each batsman, and after his injury, has conserved himself well, added variations in pace, cut down on his earlier habit of going flat out all the time. I think he is a much better bowler after his injury, frankly. Meanwhile, Johnson off the 3rd ball of the 14th, pushing to midwicket, quick single, wsinghe like yesterday seems to be bowling an extended dpell. flowre drives,, finds cover point, no run.

Prem: Dharmasena now taking over from Vaas, going round the wicket with two left handers at the crease, it is Johnson on strike, rapped on the pad but that was bowled wide of the crease and angled across, liable to pass the leg stump. next ball, pushe dto short mid on, atapattu hits with the direct throw, ricohets for two more, and the replay shows that the batsman had made his ground on that throw.,

Prem: very tight line here from wsinghe, zeroing in on the batsman's pads, which means the left hander is forced to either push back, or push to midwicket and both angles are covered. flower varies by trying to square drive the last ball of the 12th, finds point, no run. just one wide in the over.

Prem: shehan:: Sure, it's okay. problem is it is not a match winning lineup with the ball, they do their thing and then the batsmen take over. Kiran:: not lucky, no. neither will I say they have regained whatever. that was a typical India performance -- when they get pumped up they can be brilliant, other days, they look like a club side, and no one can predict which face of their cricket will be on view on any given day. yesterday was one of their good days with the ball, and the first time in a while that I saw both men bend their backs and bowl flat out and when they did that, they looked awesome, srinath fiery, agarkar getting lots of movmeent in the air and off the track.

Kiran (kiron@email.com) Prem, Do you think Indians have been lucky yesterday or they've regained their strengths in bowling ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shehan () its sl's batting and fielding thats gone downhill....bowlings ok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sajid (sajid@loxinfo.co.th) Prem, I agree with you. Only person who will keep his attacking batting all through his career is SRT simply because he is genius Prem: wsinghe being continued, into his 6th over here, vaas has bowled six, and wsinghe starts with a wide down leg. 40/3.

Prem: Maiden over from Vaas, the 11th, and Zimbabwe judging by the way they are batting now would seem to be settling down here for the long haul.

Prem: parth:: they have rarely if ever won because of outstanding bowling -- which is why they love to chase, because their strength is the batting lineup. They depend on Jaya to blaze away, destroy the bowlers confidence at the outset, and when he is doing that Kalu fires as well, and then the latter batsmen come in against demoralised bowling and keep knocking them around. by then the field is anyway well spread, singles are there for the taking and you get the odd boundaries anways. but with jaya being cramped increasingly, the later batsmen are finding they ahve to come in against fired up bowling without a lot of rns on the board.

parth (parthar@hotmail.com) Prem, you have been referring to SL as weak in their bowling. Does it mean that they were dependent on Murali so much.I cannot believe. I do not think they have a major problem with bowling,but it's their batting which is letting them down!!! Prem: chaminda vaas with a slip and short midwicekt in place, but at this point, both batsmen seem focussed on seeing off the quicks which to my mind is very good thinking. they aren't chancing their arm, preferring to play straight and in line.

Prem: Pramod:: his decline began during the tour of India, when Srinath started going round to him. the only time since then when he has really done well was in England -- but then, the England attack, well... yeah, I would think the superhuman mauler of the World Cup is over, now you will see a more human batsman, with a few successes and failures, but I dont foresee him becoming the nightmare he used to be for bowlers.

Pramod () Prem, Can we expect Jaya's decline now that bowlers seem to have sorted him out by bowling around the wicket? Prem: Makhan:: I think luck had very little to do with the win, it really was an outstanding display of pace bowling on an unfriendly track. As to the other, no, it is too early to start thinking of Kapil Dev. The boy's good, but why burden him with comparisons now? Flower meanwhile off his pads, ends the over with the single to square leg, 39/3 in 10 Zimbabwe.

Prem: Wsinghe continues, into the 10th over here and Flower the man on strike, looks quite settled now. On off, and he is defendiing with everything on line.

Prem: Krishna:: Well, yeah, all kinds of probabilities, but I dont see that scenario happening. despite loss of three quick ones, this really is a good batting pitch and once the seamers are off, the Lankans have very little to offer by way of bowling options.

Prem: To those who were asking questions, hang on, give me a few to finish with my visitor, then I'll have more time for this. Vaas this time beating a tentative drive by Johnson, outside off, the batmsna misses completely and Kalu collects. last ball of the over, middle and leg, played square on the on, one run.

Prem: Sorry for the delay in posts, guys, I have someone here with me, we are trying to put togehter a bit of a surprise for cricket fans, should be ready with it in about 10 days from now, but meanwhile, was distracted from the commentary for a bit. back now with Vaas to Andy Flower, into the 9th over of the innings and Zim on 35/3.

Krishna Kaliappan () Prem, If the Zimbabweans are bundled out for a paltry score and the SriLankans wind up the match in the first 15 overs, is it possible for the Lankans to enter the final. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bull () So SL are really going all out for today... But they have to still hope against hope that India doesnt become too complacent tomorrow... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Makhan (seru@home.com) Prem: Nice job, thanks, Sorry, it is concerning yesterday's game. India was either lucky to win or our bowlers have got to the basics i.e., to bowl to the stups. How is Ajit Agarkar shaping up? Do we have a person in Kapil's mould? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Krishna Kaliappan () Prem, Sorry to ask one more question. What happened to Pusphakarma, who bowled very well at times. Has he got any injury or dropped from the team. Nevertheless Wickramasinghe and Noyza are bowling well for the SriLankans. The present team is losing only because of batting failures and not because of bowling. Of late, especially after Vas's return, SriLankans bowling has got enough teeth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shehan (shehan@dot.net.au) Prem, pls keep up the descriptove commentary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- () your comments about the pitch today.joined in just now -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bull () Talking of Aussie coaches... Donno how much good has come of getting Bob Simpson to coach the Indian team... At best India is performing as it was before Simpson came in, in fact I thinks its performing worse than it was... Do you think it will still take time for the team to settle in with the new coach and perform better? Krishna Kaliappan () Prem, If the Zimbabweans are bundled out for a paltry score and the SriLankans wind up the match in the first 15 overs, is it possible for the Lankans to enter the final. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bull () So SL are really going all out for today... But they have to still hope against hope that India doesnt become too complacent tomorrow... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Makhan (seru@home.com) Prem: Nice job, thanks, Sorry, it is concerning yesterday's game. India was either lucky to win or our bowlers have got to the basics i.e., to bowl to the stups. How is Ajit Agarkar shaping up? Do we have a person in Kapil's mould? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Krishna Kaliappan () Prem, Sorry to ask one more question. What happened to Pusphakarma, who bowled very well at times. Has he got any injury or dropped from the team. Nevertheless Wickramasinghe and Noyza are bowling well for the SriLankans. The present team is losing only because of batting failures and not because of bowling. Of late, especially after Vas's return, SriLankans bowling has got enough teeth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shehan (shehan@dot.net.au) Prem, pls keep up the descriptove commentary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- () your comments about the pitch today.joined in just now -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bull () Talking of Aussie coaches... Donno how much good has come of getting Bob Simpson to coach the Indian team... At best India is performing as it was before Simpson came in, in fact I thinks its performing worse than it was... Do you think it will still take time for the team to settle in with the new coach and perform better? Prem: This pair will now have to forget about acceleration, concentrate on batting through a few overs, keeping the board ticking over. wsinghe to flower, pushed to square leg, no run, arjuna keeping his fielders within the circle to cut off the ones. wsinghe again, wide of the crease angled in to off, the ball that did for campbell but flower forward, full face of the bat to it, no run.

Prem: Johnson begins the next over with a asingle and Wsinghe bowls too wide, next ball, of off and Andy Flower gratefully despatches, through coverpoint, four the moment he hit it.

Prem: short on middle and johnson ends the over by working that away through square leg, one more.

Prem: With those quick strikes, the Zimbabwe batting in all kinds of trouble, Andy Flower the next batsman and off the mark wtih one to third man.

Prem: Very bad start for Zimbabwe, 3/23.

Prem: goodwin standing about a foot outside his crease, and there he goes, that one was the yorker, landed on his boot and there was no doubt about that one.

Prem: vaas to the right handed goodwin, over the wicket, pitches middle and a hint of inswing as well, tucking the batsman up.

Prem: Vaas now, bowling to Johnson who works the single down to tthird man, Goodwin, the most fluent strokemaker in the Zimbabwe batting lineup, now on strike.

Prem: Wsinghe has had a dream comeback to the side, both yesterday and today, striking hard and early.

Prem: Both openers back in the hut now, this is not quite the start Zimbabwe would have been looking for.

Prem: There goes the wicket, though, outside off seaming in, bowled wider of the crease, Campbell the batsman, has a rather tentative drive, the drift of the ball takes the inner eddge and back goes the stumps.

Prem: Wsinghe continues, bowling now to Johnson, middle and leg line, seaming away, the flick and miss, no run, no damage either as that one was climbing and missing the stumps.

Prem: Wsinghe continues, bowling to Campbell now, switching to over the wicket and the batsman pushes to square leg, they are off, one more.

Prem: End of Vaas's over and Wsinghe continuing, campbell looks like he wants to set out his stall, out there, and bat for the duration. very restrained batting here, and meanwhile, johnson gets one short and wide outside off, slams it through cover point, long chase for the fielder, three more to the batsman.

Prem: Krishna:: my comments about Jaya remain what they were, just before Lanka last toured India. At that point, I had suggested that he is a batsman whose style depends on muscle and on playing away from the body, that bowlers would begin going round the wicket and tucking him up and curbing his strokeplay, and that when that begins to happen, he will have to throttle back and play a more normal innings, one characterised by patience rather than by blazing shotmaking, or, in trying to bludgeon his way out of trouble, he would keep losing it. This was what I thought then, I haven't seen anything to make me change my mind -- it is not form, it is the bowlers, they have increasingly figured him out.

Prem: Vaas to Campell, squares him up, gets the edge, ball flying to point where the fielder is a shade deep, they get one more.

Prem: Correctioon, just the one taken there, it is campbell on strike. next ball, pushed to mid on, no run.

Prem: On off, Johnson edges, flies past slip and down to third man, two more.

Krishna Kaliappan () Prem, what do you think about Jayasurya. Is he not in form or the opposite bowlers have studied him very well. I think Jayasurya's complete failure along with some occasional failures of Aravinda de Silva are the major reasons for SriLankans loss. Prem: That was the last ball of the 4th, so it is Vaas again, with Campbell on strike. Johnson the non striker. This one is wide outside off, the batsman slashes, in the air and way wide of any fielder, down to third man, single.

Prem: Flower gone for 12 off 10, meanwhile an uncharacteristically subdued campbell at the other end and I suppose it will be neil johnson in again.

Prem: Bull: Well, it is not the Lankans at their most confident, hasn't been for a while. Their big problem now is that their forte, chasing, has become somewhat dicey with the lack of those blazing starts, they always were at best a decent bowling side, with more strength in batting, and now that is where the crack is. So... under confidence. Also, I think they messed up in sacking their Aussie coach. And there goes the wicket, Wsinghe pushing one through Flower as he shapes to drive without getting his feet to the pitch, gets the thin edge and it's easy for Kalu.

Bull () Prem, its nice to see your commentary, for once without others'. BTW Pakistan, after having set 316 to win for Aus are bowling so badly that Aus are now > 200/1 and going strongly! Is SL going all out today? I mean how is the body language, etc.? Prem: Krishna:: not really, I suspect Sri Lanka will win here, but may still lose on the NRR. VELS:: AGain, not all that strange -- their strategy depends on Jaya blazing away at the top, so the rest ofthe batsman can push the ball around later with less pressure. More and more bowlers are sorting Jaya out, so the rest of the batting comes under more pressure. Very tight single meanwhile, to Dharma at point, Flower just managing to make his ground after calling for the run.

Vels (svelmurugan@dns.ufsia.ac.be) Prem... Good Afternoon! Hope today you would be relatively free with SRT not there to keep you BUSY ALWAYS!!! Prem, ITS QUITE STRANGE to SEE the SUDDEN DIP in the FORM of SL!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Krishna Kaliappan () Good morning Prem, Can we expect a 0-4 for Sri Lankans today. Prem: Wsinghe, and campbell on strike, hit on the pad but ball angling down to leg, no problem.

Prem: on off, better line, no room for flowr to stroke through, but ten in the over, a good one for zimbabwe.

Prem: That one was shorter, seamed in and cramped flower on the drive off the back foot, finds the fielder, no run. next ball, driven through cover, slight misfield and two for it.

Prem: Ball three of the 3rd over, Flower on strike, wide of off and again, the slashing drive, ball flies off the thick edge, way wide of the only slip and four down to third man.

Prem: Vaas to continue, bowling here to Flower, lots of room outside off and short, flower onto the front foot, lets it come on and slams it through cover, good placement, four for it.

Prem: Wsinghe to campbell, on off and played defensively, just two in the over.

Prem: This time, the line is bad, along middle and leg and fullish, campbell helps it along, two more.

Prem: Ball three, wide of the crease and angled in tothe left hander, campbell plays out on the on, no run.

Prem: ball two, wsinghe to campbell, on off, played again to point.

Prem: Wsinghe, round the wicket, slip and gully in place, to Campbell.outside off and played forward, no run, finds point.

Prem: Wickramasinghe, who had a wonderful outing yesterday against India, bowling now and Campbell, batting one, on strike.

Prem: Vaas to Flower, onto the front foot, in fact, taking a couple of paces forward, shaping to hit over the top then checks, pushes defensively, end of the first over.

Prem: aslam:: yes, I always do that. Vaas, bowling to Flower, on the pad but that was seaming back and would have gone past leg stump, no problem.

Prem: Vaas in with a slip and gully plus point, cover, mid off. Third man, fine leg, square leg and mid on. So Lanka obviously concentrating on ensuring that the batting side doesn't get too many runs -- this field is more defensive than Ranatunga normally employs when he inserts the opposition.

Prem: In fact, the Lankan NRR is -0.7, which is really low. Vaas on his way and bowling to Campbell, ball one is on off and played defensively.

Prem: Sri Lanka has dropped Gunawardene, and brought in Hashan Tillekeratne. For Zimbabwe, Andy Whittall goes out and Gavin Rennie comes in.

Prem: Sri Lanka won the toss and has elected to field, which is not as dodgy a decision on this track as on the one yesterday's play was played on.

Prem: The pitch is the one on which India played Sri Lanka on day one, so the ball will come on nicer to the bat than on yesterday's pitch.

Prem: Okay, guys and girls, live again, Sri Lanka versus Zimbabwe -- a match on which much depends, for the world champions. They are now on -0.66 net run rate, Zimbabwe have -0.25, so Sri Lanka have to win, with a maring that bridges that gap, and also covers for whatever improvement Zimbabwe might make to its NRR in tomorrow's match against India.

Prem: Sri Lanka versus Zimbabwe live from 1600 hours IST.

Continued