Bringing some innovations in Sachin's Split formula for One Day Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar, in a recent interview had suggested to split the 50 overs one day cricket into two innings of 25 overs each to make it more attractive. 50 overs match had been the most charmed form of the game until IPL happened. Therefore, to make the game more attractive vis-à-vis T20 game, he lend his voice which now have become a hot topic.

Initially, there were not many supporters, but, when a man of his calibre speaks, everyone takes a notice. With the popularity of T20 matches, and, the popularity bar rising each day, it becomes necessary to bring in some innovations to make One day cricket more charming and save the game. One such formula is to split the game into two innings of 25 overs each as suggested by Sachin. Under this format, each team will play for 25 overs each and then, again, play for another 25 overs each. According to Sachin, 50-overs cricket is becoming too formulaic because results of "close to 75% of matches" could be predicted after the toss. But two innings of 25 overs would create new strategies and drastically reduce the influence of winning the toss in favorable conditions, especially during Day/Night matches.

The success of IPL has reduced the interest in One Day cricket to a certain extent. This has forced the England and Wales Cricket Board to scrap the Friends Provident trophy, the only 50-over domestic cricket tournament, in favor of an expanded Twenty20 competition along with a 40-over format. Many players have supported Sachin’s idea. But, there are some issues that need to be considered before implementing this format.

According to ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson, splitting the innings could take away scoring opportunities for the batsmen. He added: "I don't necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again. The charm of one-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred.”

If we compare the statistics of a T20 matches, we should find that the number of centuries are very limited. When we divide the 50 overs in two innings of 25 overs each, there would be many occasions when the middle order batsmen would not get a chance to bat. In contrast, an opener would always get to bat twice. This will result in very few centuries by a player.

In this scenario, the best thing to do is to make some changes I Sachin’s split formula.
Unlike, having two separate inning of 25 overs each, what ICC can do is to make the second inning 0f 25 overs a continuation of the first inning of 25 overs. Let me illustrate this with an example:
Say Team A decided to bat and scores 125 runs for 4 wickets in their allotted 25 overs. Team B bats and scores 115 for 5 wickets in their 25 overs. Now, when Team A comes to bat again, they will simply resume their previous paused game. They will not restart all from the base, but will continue from where they left, i.e., they will start from 125 for 4 wickets. The batsmen out in the first innings cannot bat again. Same would be for Team B. In this way, one can see more runs and more partnerships from the batsmen.

Unlike, in Sachin’s split formula where hitting a century becomes a very difficult task, in this newly twisted formula, one can continue to see their favorite batsmen feeding on good bowls and hitting centuries occasionally.

Federer Creates History

Roger Federer created history yesterday when he defeated Andy Roddick in a marathon five sets to surpass Pete Sampras’s total of 14 Grand Slam titles. Federer, from Switzerland, overcame Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 in a dramatic final on Centre Court - a victory which makes him arguably the greatest player in Grand Slam history. After this win everyone will be discussing Federer. But, the man who stole the show was Roddick who till the last game didn’t allow Federer to break his serve. Contrary, Roddick broke a couple of Federar’s serve. He held his nerve till the last serve and he proved that it was not easy for Federer to overcome him and surpass Sampras’s total of 14 Grand Slam titles. The best thing about Roddick was his service. Federer was forced to make more unforced errors. But, when the game started getting tough, Federer got tough (50 aces in a game). Only one time in the whole game, Roddick seemed to be under tremendous mental pressure when Federer won the second set where Roddick was leading.

One man that must be jealous of this would be Nadal who was out due to knee injury. The fight that Nadal would have given Federer in any game was given by Roddick. So, it’s not only a completion for Federer but also for Nadal. With this win, Federer also reclaimed his number one position from Nadal which he held since past few months.

Overall Records Accomplished by Federer:

Wimbledon 2003 — Wimbledon 2009 15 Grand Slam titles
Wimbledon 2003 — Wimbledon 2009 20 Grand Slam finals
Wimbledon 2005 — U.S. Open 2007 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals
Wimbledon 2004 — Wimbledon 2009 21 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals

Vijender Kumar misses the Golden Date!

Cheers! Another medal in Olympics! Boxer Vijender Kumar became the first to bring a boxing medal for India in all these years. The whole nation is proud of him. But, he could have done better as he failed the Golden Date test. He failed to convert India's third Olympic medal from bronze into silver or gold by losing his middleweight (75kg) bout today. He lost 5-8 to Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux in a closely contested semi-final at the Workers Gymnasium, but still his will be the first-ever-boxing medal for India. He not only missed the golden medal but also a golden date with Bollywood siren Bipasha Basu. Recently, Bipasha had said to Aaj Tak that she would go on a date with him if he manages to win the gold medal at the Olympics. This she said when she was told that she was a favorite of Vijender Kumar. But, he missed!. Though, he will be showered with lot of perks by different state governments and associations, still a date with Bipasha would had been a different thing.

Does Dhoni deserve Khel Ratna?

There has been a lot of hue and cry from various quarters regarding the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award being awarded to M.S. Dhoni. No doubt he is an able captain leading the Indian team but he has also produced results, which shows how deserving he is.

The "Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award" is considered as one of the most honorable awards. There are a very few number of sports persons from various types of sports who have been succeeded to win this award so far. All these extraordinary sports persons are amongst the best produced by India ever. After its inception in the year of 1991-92, the very first recipient of the award was the world famous Chess player Vishwanathan Anand.

This award is given after looking at your performances in a year. So, one should not raise such dull questions as there had been several other great players in the past. Yes, there were great players like Kapil Dev and his gangs. But, they were at their best before the award was incorporated. No, doubt it was Kapil Dev whose heroic win at the Lords in 1983 has changed the way we look at cricket. I will say that cricket got evolved in India henceforth. So, he deserves an award but an award greater than this, say, Bharat Ratna.

The award is given only to one person in a year. Yes, they made a mistake by not awarding an award to Rahul Dravid. But not let cry over spilt milk. Ever since Dhoni was named the captain of India, things started changing in Indian cricket. Remember the last Australian tour where our players showed them that we could match their attitudes on field. Remember how he leads. Sports is not just playing good on field but also how you manage yourself off the field. So, what if he is just 3 or 4 years old in Indian cricket. He had successfully led the Indian team to a victory in T20 world cup. He truly deserves this award for his performance. Let’s, not make another mistake. Or else, after a few years we would be saying again that he deserved the award but was not awarded just like Rahul Dravid (he truly deserves the award).

Mahi Ve!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, nicknamed Mahi, in a recent statement to the media has scratched the disease which was curing with passing days. According to him, his support for youngsters for the Australia’s tour has been proved right. The results are there to see.

He also said that by beating Australia, his team filled with young bloods has proved that the team can play well and beat others even if seniors are not around. No doubt about it. He has proved it.

But, Dhoni being a captain of India needs to show some sense while speaking to the media. Such statement was not required. It did not go well with many others in the game. The tour of South Africa has just begun, and by giving such statement at this juncture only creates confusion within the team.

He should not forget that the players he is referring are great players. They have proved their worth time and again. A bad patch doesn’t mean the player has lost the shine. Sachin Tendulkar by playing marvelous innings in the finals has proved that a mix of both, juniors and seniors is a must for the team to be number one. It also helped India to register its one of the greatest victory.

It is true that had India lost the series down under then, the media would have run for Dhoni’s blood. One bad patch and all is over. Statement like this will only demoralize the team. Seniors are there to guide the team. At crises, these seniors can be handy. Dhoni has been supporting Yuvraj Singh and Utappha. The later has shown some character, but regarding Yuvraj Singh, I feel the Indian team is carrying an NPA. If a certain player is not in form, give him rest. Let him get back his rhythm.

So, next time Mr. Dhoni when you make a statement like this, please be sure what you are speaking. You might feel that you are speaking your heart. But don’t forget that your heart is being read by millions of people