Archive for December 2014
MS Dhoni-- A Mediocre Test Captain at Best
Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his immediate retirement from Test Cricket quietly after the drawn test against Australia. It was indeed a Practical End to a Practical man's Test Career. A man who carried on with his business quietly, never saying anything, letting the World talk aimlessly. Dhoni grew as a player, as a man when he was given the captaincy of the test outfit. The level of Calmness, Composure & Maturity shown by him was untouchable. This brought an end to a glorious test career spanning almost a decade.
For some, He was a Legend, for others He was just an ordinary guy who got Lucky more often than not. For me, He was a mix of both. While his Captaincy performances in ODIs & T20s have been exemplary, his test record does not indicate the truth behind it.
Let us first go through some of his Highs & Lows as a Test Captain:-
Highs
- India achieved number 1 Test ranking for 18 months starting from December 2009.
- Captained in 60 of the 90 tests he played for India.
- Had a winning percentage of 45%.
- Crossed Saurav Ganguly's record of 21 Test wins to become India's most successful captain.
- Won home series against Australia in 2008, England in 2008-09, Sri Lanka in 2009-10, Australia and New Zealand in 2010-11, and the West Indies in 2011-12 and 2013-14 respectively.
- Whitewashed Australia 4-0 in Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2013 played at Home.
- Defeated New Zealand 1-0 in New Zealand.
- Dominated in Home Tests.
- Built the careers of many young players even if it meant compromising some Legends.
Lows
- India won only 4 out of 25 tests outside sub-continent under MS Dhoni.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by England in 2011 in England.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by Australia in 2011-12 in Australia.
- Lost 1-2 to England in 2012 after gaining a lead of 1-0 in Home series.
- Lost 1-3 to England in 2014 after gaining a lead of 1-0.
- Criticized for too much defensive captaincy in Tests.
- Never scored a Hundred outside Asia. Failed to inspire team to victory overseas unlike Ganguly.
- 8 Consecutive Test Losses.
- One more away Loss would have held him at par with Stephen Fleming for most number of away test losses as Captain.
All these points I made are only pertaining to Test Cricket. His biggest achievement remains Leading India to Number 1 Test Ranking built on a series of home dominance and performances by the Golden Generation & himself. Thus, making him a Mediocre Test Captain at best. MS Dhoni is a perfect example of "Zero to Hero", "Fortune favors the Brave" & "An ordinary man rising through the Ranks to Lead his Country to Glory".
Regardless of the stats, Dhoni will be remembered for many years to come & it will be very challenging for Captains of the coming generations to surpass his achievements.
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
Man Utd's Luke Shaw pays Cristiano Ronaldo £7,000 per month!
 |
| Image source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com |
Luke Shaw, the teenage defender from Manchester United, lives in Cristiano Ronaldo's Mansion in Alderley Edge, Cheshire on a rent of £7,000 per month.
Luke joined Man Utd for £30 million from Southampton past June.
After joining United in 2003, Ronaldo bought the five-bedroom mansion for £3.85 million. He decided to rent it out after it failed to sell when he moved to Spain in 2009.
The 19-year-old reportedly loves the Luxury House having an indoor swimming pool, its own wine store area & gym along with steam room & Jacuzzi It lies on a private road near other United players' home and has a gated entrance.
Glenn Maxwell: Weirdest Cricket Dismissal Ever!
Brisbane Heat beat Melbourne Stars by 1 Run
Obstructing the Field? Batsman getting timed-out?.... I bet You haven't seen something like this:
Yes, Glenn Maxwell, "the Big Show" actually left the ball. Isn't it totally Bizzare?
This happened today in a Big Bash League Match against Brisbane Heat, Maxwell charged down the wicket on his first ball & left it thinking that the ball pitching on off stump would leave him with the angle, but it was an absolute beauty by Ryan Duffield which nipped back in sharply & crashed into his middle & leg stump.
Anyways, we got another candidate for slip of the year early in 2015! Jake Reed's awkward slip on BBL debut, as if Maxwell wasn't enough for you!
Commentators as well as the viewers were totally flabbergasted on watching it. Enjoy the video folks!
Boxing Day Results from Premier League
 |
The winter finally arrives in earnest at Goodison Park.
Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
|
Chelsea 2-0 West Ham Utd 
Crystal Palace 1-3 Southampton 
Everton 0-1 Stoke City 
Leicester City 1-2 Totenham Hotspur
Sunderland 1-3 Hull City 
West Brom Albion 1-3 Man City
Man Utd 3-1 Newcastle Utd
Swansea City 1-0 Aston Villa
Burnley 0-1 Liverpool 
Arsenal 2-1 QPR 
Shahid Afridi quits ODIs
Afridi to retire after World Cup 2015
Shahid Afridi, the veteran Pakistan All-Rounder has announced that he will retire from One Day Cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be held in February-March in Australia & New Zealand.
"My journey has seen many ups and downs but I am feeling satisfied that I am leaving on my own terms," Afridi wrote on Twitter.
The 34-year-old Afridi, already retired from Tests in 2010, said the decision was "hard" but he had to leave with an eye to the future of the team.
"My 18 years' dream dedicated to Pakistan. First ever player (respect) to have taken such a hard decision but (it) will pave way for many new talents."
Afridi was the captain of the national team that lost to eventual Champions India in the semifinals in the 2011 World Cup. He has played 389 ODIs, hitting the fastest century (off 37 balls) on his debut in October 1996 against Sri Lanka in Nairobi at the tender age of 16. The record stood for more than 17 years before Kiwi Corey Anderson broke it in January this year by just 1 ball's margin.
"I am happy about my achievements and records but the only regret I have is losing fastest ODI century record," he said.
The flamboyant cricketer has scored 7,870 ODI runs at an average of 23.49 and a strike-rate of 116.29. He has also taken 391 wickets, the sixth-highest in ODIs, at 33.89 and an economy-rate of 4.62.
"Thank you so much for all your support and prayers throughout my ODI career ... it means alot to me ... love you all!"
WWE TLC 2014 Report
 |
| Ambrose jumps on Wyatt during their TLC matchup |
The New Day vs. Goldust and Stardust
- Kofi Kingston pinned Stardust after their double-team move, The Midnight Hour.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (Ladder Match)
- Dolph Ziggler climbs the ladder to win the WWE Intercontinental title.
The Usos vs. Miz/Damien Mizdow
- The Usos beat Miz and Mizdow by disqualification when Miz hit Jimmy Uso with the tag team belt to end the match.
Big Show vs. Erick Rowan (Stairs Match)
- Big Show pinned Rowan after a knockout punch. He used the stairs to hold him down to secure the win.
Seth Rollins vs. John Cena (Tables Match)
- Cena and Rollins both go through a table at the same time. The match was restarted. Cena then AA's Rollins through a table to win the match.
AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella (Divas Title)
- Nikki Bella pinned AJ Lee with the Rack Attack to retain the Divas title. Before the finish, Bella sprayed an unknown subject in Lee's eyes.
Ryback vs. Kane (Chairs Match)
- Ryback pinned Kane with the Shell Shock.
Bryant closes in on Jordan's Career Tally inspite of 'Soft' teammates'
Kobe Bryant just 9 points behind Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant scored 22 points for Lakers against defending champs Thunder defeating them 112-110 in overtime on their home ground.
Had Bryant played for the record, he would have easily secured it by the end of the night, but instead he went for the win and played the sort of team game that was required.
Kobe may have missed 15 of 22 shots, but he had ample opportunity to gun for Jordan’s scoring mark several times in this contest, but instead chose to make the intelligent and proper basketball play that suits his basketball genius – obvious passes he often ignores in order to launch yet another shot. He is now just 9 points behind MJ on the all-time high-scorers list.
Kobe Bryant returned to practice for the first time this month and called his teammates "soft" on Thursday.
Bryant and Nick Young were already trading barbs during the scrimmage with Young telling Bryant, "Nobody in the world can guard me one-on-one," and Bryant telling Young, "You're going exactly where I want you to go."
Later Bryant said, "You motherfuckers are soft like Charmin in this motherfucking. God damn, is this the type of shit that's going on in these practices? Now I see why we've lost 20 fucking games. We're soft like Charmin. We're soft like shit."
Bryant was also getting on Jeremy Lin during the scrimmage, daring him to shoot whenever he had the ball, yelling, "This motherfucker don't got shit. He ain't got shit right now. Shoot! Shoot!" After Lin missed a pull-up jumper, Bryant said, "I talked his ass right into that bullshit. I talked his ass right into that bullshit."
By the end of the scrimmage, which the starters won, Bryant said, "Practice gets real uncomfortable when I'm in this motherfucker."
After the team gathered together at center court to close practice, Bryant passed Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and said, "I'm supposed to practice and get better, Mitch. I'm supposed to practice and get better. These motherfuckers ain't doing shit for me."
Related:
Bryant Clinches 32000 Career Points
LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki in favour of shorter Season
NBA 2K15 Review
